#but the dynamics they both have with so many other characters in that story r just sooo much fun to me as well….and the u add the messiest

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Saw a post not too long ago (don’t even remember what it was about lol) and everyone in the comments was in agreement on how TWST should have an Emperor’s New Groove event with a Yzma twisted character that would be so fun and somebody should be turned into a llama.

…

…

…

I think Vil would make a great llama.

…

but really who out of our cast do you think would suit an ENG event and who do you think would be the best llama? 🤔

When I think of The Emperor’s New Groove, the four characters that come to my mind are Kuzco (ie “The Llama”), Pacha, Yzma, and Kronk. That’s perfect for the usual limited SSR, 2 SRs, and R introduced for new story events. Each of them could wear an outfit inspired by their Disney film counterpart. There could also potentially be a new twisted character introduced, but this only occurs for “hometown” (ie visiting other countries) events and Halloween events sooo 😅

For our Kuzco stand-in… Well, someone from a rich and influential background + has a ton of arrogance makes sense, right? So my immediate thought was Malleus or Leona, the royals. Idia or Riddle could also work, but they’re not quite as dickish. Of those, I think Leona works the best since he’s the most overtly asshole-y of the bunch and also it would be a little funny for the beastman to actually become a fluffy animal/j. Plus, he comes from the Sunset Savanna, which could be made into a reference about how Yzma’s original plan was to “snuff out the light” of the sun.

Something I’d really like to see is Kalim dressed as our Kuzco. He’s not a traditional asshole, but I think he could stand to learn a lot from being made more aware of how the less fortunate (like Pacha’s family) live. This might be valuable in connecting Kalim with the plight of the common folk, as well as get him to realize how some of the things he says/does are unintentionally very callous. The “snuff out the light” of the the sun metaphor also works for Kalim since he is usually so sunny + depicted as the sun, which contrasts with the moon (ie Jamil). The moon is also mentioned in the song lyrics, seeking revenge, reclaiming “[my] right”, and a world of darkness.

Pacha is very fatherly and kind, so I immediately thought Trey would fit in the best out of all of the “parental” students. (The others seem way too sarcastic or snide in underhanded ways.) Plus, that green poncho Pacha wears would look nice on Trey :>

Yzma has many potential candidates! I think Vil actually fits in a lot better as Yzma than as Kuzco, especially granted her obsession with maintaining her looks (very Vilcore) + penchant for potions (his best subject). You could also consider Azul, as he wants to maintain a certain public image and also seems to be good with brewing potions. On the more treacherous side, we could look at Jade (who shares the same best subject as Vil) and Jamil. There’s literally lines like “I’ve really stopped at nothing/Murder, treachery, and lying”. Jamil works super well especially if Kalim is our Kuzco for that moon and sun dynamic.

Himbo Kronk also needs a himbo to match! A physically strong yet well-meaning boy with a heart of good but not a lot of brains… It makes me think of Deuce or Silver. Jack and Sebek could also work here, but both of those guys are pretty (book) smart. Doesn’t have to be an exact match for Kronk though. I could easily see a situation where Sebek’s brazenness or Jack’s bluntness results in something stupid happening.

[latinokaeya]

just remembered mdzs. novel tailor made to appeal to me < guy that loves being a contrarian and finding joy in every other pairing possible outside of the Main Story Defining One

[pagesandpothos]

Hidden Gems of 2024

I read a lot of new releases in 2024 and many of those are really great books that have been getting a lot of well-deserved attention. There are a few however that I think deserve some more hype.

Here are a few underrated gems that I think deserve even more readers and much more praise. All of these are LGBTQIA+ and most are romantasy since that is what I enjoyed the most this year.

Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy: As I've said many times, this is my favorite book of the year. If you love fantasy, queer slow burns, spells gone wrong, or the forced proximity trope then this is a must-read. There's no release date yet for book #2 but I'm hopeful we'll get a date soon! I can't wait to continue Leo and Grimm's story!

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland: Alexandra Rowland is an author that most fans of queer books love, so this might be less of a "hidden gem" than some of the others on this list, but I'm still including it because I think it deserves even more attention. This is truly the funniest book I have ever read. I don't think I have ever had so much fun reading a book!

Shoestring Theory by Mariana Costa: This was one of the biggest surprises of the year for me. This is an excellent queer romantasy that has complex characters and relationships with an exciting time-travel plot. If you love complicated enemies-to-lovers stories, you should check this one out.

This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher: is a sweet and funny cozy romantasy about a group of heroes who once saved their realm. Now, they're on a second mission after a decade of estrangement. This is a silly and fun time with two second-chance romances (one is sapphic). There's a great friendship storyline as well.

All The Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows: is a followup to the popular queer romantasy, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance. This is just as good as the first book with an exciting political plot, great development for Vel/Cae, and good new characters.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell: A delightful and dark fairytale that somehow manages to be both gruesome and feel like a cozy fantasy at the same time. There's a sapphic monster romance with an asexual human woman that is incredibly sweet.

The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn: Is a terrific redemption story about two men who fought for the villain's side in a devastating war. Orpheus and Fenrir have an amazing rivals-to-lovers story that starts as a little comic relief and grows into something truly heartfelt. The world-building feels like a cool blend of high-fantasy, post-apocalyptic, Dystopia, and even horror. This is a unique and adventurous addition to the queer romantasy genre.

Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis: A historical mystery that focuses on two sisters with references to Charles Perrault's The Fairies. It's about the two siblings' complicated dynamic and how every story has two sides. There's also a Sapphic love story involving one of the sisters.

The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin: A dark and queer fantasy based on Jewish mythology. The last half of this book is so riveting and shocking. I truly had no idea what would be happening next.

Key Lime Sky by Al Hess: is a sci-fi romance about a non-binary character who witnesses an alien invasion. The main character is memorable and the plot is delightfully weird and fun. The romance is fantastic, with a seriously charming and funny meet-cute.

[curio-queries]

Are You Sure?!

Episodes 5 & 6 Notes

It was very fortuitous that I've been so busy over the last couple of weeks as I really needed both of these episodes together to make sense of my thoughts. This post is definitely far more conceptual than my last ones so if you're up for it, click on though the cut!

AYS's Main Character?

I would like to propose that AYS has a main character OTHER than the individual humans we're following along on screen. (I warned you, this post was going to be conceptual.) And the main character is the relationship itself, how each of the members relate to one another.

Here's Google's AI overview on what this concept means:

A story can center on the relationship between characters as the primary protagonist, with the dynamic and evolution of that connection acting as the main driving force of the narrative, rather than the individual characters themselves.

Key points to consider:

Relationship-centric stories: Many genres, particularly romance, often focus heavily on the relationship between the main characters, exploring its complexities, challenges, and growth throughout the story.

No single protagonist: In such cases, the "character" is the bond between the individuals, not just one person's perspective or journey.

Exploring the dynamic: The narrative would then focus on how the relationship changes, adapts, and reacts to external situations or internal conflicts.

Examples:

"Before Sunrise": The entire plot revolves around the single night encounter between two strangers, with the developing connection being the central focus.

"Brokeback Mountain": The story primarily explores the forbidden love between two cowboys, highlighting the complexities of their relationship in a restrictive environment.

"Steel Magnolias ": A group of girls in a small town in Louisiana experience grief together, including weddings, fatal illnesses, and the loss of loved ones.

Now before anyone comes for me saying I'm just pitching an argument for xyz fanwar, please note that I included the above just to illustrate the concept of a non-person main character rather than stating any of the above are comparisons to the individual member's relationships. We're talking about a show that was produced and distributed for entertainment, nothing further.

Episode 5

My main feeling after finally being able to watch episode 5 was overall unsettled. There was something sticking with me about that episode and I could NOT figure out what it was.

I knew I was feeling like the entire episode was stretched well beyond what the footage wanted for a complete episode. I'm all for getting to spend more time with our fellas but the Jeju trip would have benefited from being cut down to 2 episodes rather than 3, in my opinion.

There was just a whole lotta nothing happening. The guys eat, travel around a little bit, and eat some more. I had some vague thoughts about how I could quantify some data for y'all to explain this point but then it was time for the next episode...

vs. Episode 6

And what an absolutely lovely breath of fresh air this episode was. I know there have been some Run eps that I review with a smile on my face throughout the whole episode but AYS6?? That was 73 minutes of pure bliss.

So I started thinking about what must be different between the two eps. The guys eat, travel around a little bit, and eat some more...wait, that's exactly what I said about ep 5! Lol

But I think the main difference between the two is episode 6's plot points continually focus on the relationships between the members, while 5 falls a little stagnant.

Some examples:

JM/cat & JK/dog. I'm ALWAYS down for more footage of BTS with pets but this is frankly too much time spent on these scenes. It's honestly footage I would have expected in the bonus content instead of the main product. It's not just an establishing beat or a setup for a callback, this is supposed to be a scene but since it doesn't contribute to the journey of the main character aka the relationships. It could maaaybe work if they'd cut it to highlight the juxtaposition of how JM is calm with the cat vs JKs energy with the dog but that would have shortened the time it occupied and they were clearly trying to keep absolutely everything in that would lengthen the episode.

JKs stew. The ONLY thing that ties this plot point into the narrative of this show (other than it happening while he's in Jeju and Jimin is nearby) is the offhand comment he made that Jimin would like it while he was in NY. I'm going to talk more about this footage below but this was absolutely crucial for this whole beat making it into the episode. This is also why the footage of JM eating it and randomly taking off his shirt was kept in. The cut they chose is actually pretty bad story-wise but they used it anyway. We hear JM saying how much he loves it and how glad he is that JK is a good cook. It ties all of this time we spent watching JK do something alone back into the real main character of the show (the members' relationships between eachother in different circumstances).

Anyway, I won't belabour the point any further. With Tae constantly disappearing from scenes and the slightly diminished lack of focus on the member's relationships, episode 5 left me on an odd note.

A Little Production Note

I was completely thrown by the footage of JK in NY that we got this episode. But not for the reasons you may be thinking. (I do wonder if the anon that was sending in asks about the financing behind the documentaries is still around because we're getting into some of tidbits finally.)

So, all along we've been trying to sus out as much as we can, just a few details about how AYS came to be. We've had some hints but the inclusion of this footage may be another indicator.

The facts as we know them:

AYS is distributed by Disney.

Jungkook's documentary is being distributed by Trafalgar Releasing NOT Disney (at least not now, maybe it'll make it onto streaming after cinematic release but who knows?)

Questions due to the footage of JK in NY:

Was this footage captured as part of JKs documentary?

If so, when was it pulled to be utilized for AYS? Did the editors find it or were the writers involved?

We know that HYBE gathers behind-the-scene content without always having a full plan of how it will be used. But there are times where it did seem intentional for a specific purpose. Where did JKs Golden footage fall in?

Once upon a time, production houses would make deals with distributors about quantities of projects that would be delivered. Was that the case with the Disney deal or has every single project been negotiated separately and we only heard about it once there was a confirmed quantity. Somewhere in the middle perhaps?

And that's all I've got to say for now. I do have some more thoughts about things I've gleaned during these last couple of episodes but it'll likely keep until the end.

Anyway, this footage bumped me because it broke the rules of cross-project production. They got away with it for JKs SEVEN footage in ep 1 because they likely were using the same production crew since it was literally the same day so it doesnt feel like they're'breaking the wall'. But the NY-Jeju crews could have been completely different.

Editing to add further clarification to this point in this ask.

On a sidenote, do y'all remember the last time we got footage of jikook in a hotspring?? I'll jog your memory if not, it was in BV:4 and they 'washed each other's faces'. I can't even imagine what we're about to see in episode 7.

Link to my AYS MasterList

[heavenlymorals]

I absolutely NEED to hear your thoughts on Bill liking Kieran your writing is so good

@escapingsin

Thank you so much ❤️❤️

I am but a servant of the people and I have been put on God's green earth to serve (cunt)- so of course!

Let's start off with the basics- Bill is gay. Though it hasn't been officially confirmed by Rockstar, it doesn't take a genius to see that that man is gay. He's the only male gang member with no female relationship or mention of a female relationship and his sexuality is implied multiple times by gang dialogue: "Arthur and Martha, or Bill and Phil." "Is he about to kiss that guy or punch him."

Oh and the hair pomade request. That was a lubricant back in the day and Bill is balding- doesn't mean he can't use pomade to slick back what he does have, but let's put two in two together, babes. He's messy, stinky (Dutch: "You could try washing"), and doesn't really take care of himself. I doubt he wants pomade for the sake of styling his hair, let's just get that cleared up.

And there is also his reaction to Arthur getting r**** in the swamp. I won't go too deep into it in this post but I have made a post all about it here :

But the main point of that post is that Bill is trying to test the waters to see if Arthur is also gay because I doubt Sonny would tell him what actually happened.

So yes: Bill is gay.

He's also gay in 1899 America, where homosexuality and homosexual acts can be met with jail time or even death. It wasn't a kind time period to gay people and Bill represents this by his general attitude. He's isolated and angry because of men. He hates them and he is attracted to them and that makes him act flustered and violent many times throughout the story. He can't properly express how he feels either about men because even in the gang, it wasn't accepted of him to be gay and it was treated as an out of sight, out of mind sort of thing.

So what does this have to do with Kieran?

Well, Bill likes Kieran, but what makes their dynamic interesting is that while the rest of the gang members, bar Dutch, Hosea, and maybe Arthur as the old guard, have the same status, Kieran doesn't. He is below them because of his former status as an O'Driscoll and any mess up or disrespect can very much end with him getting killed or punished in some way- the amount of characters threatening to castrate him is insane.

Kieran doesn't have the same protection as the other gang members, nor the respect, so Bill can get "close" to him without any real pushback because no one would stop him. And given the frustrations that Bill already has + the homophobia of the 1800s + the opportunity to hop on some "fresh meat", he wouldn't know how to express his interest in Kieran besides aggression and overly friendly aggression.

Like there is the scene where he tries to give Kieran a drink out of kindness. He starts off friendly, but when Kieran declines, he becomes aggressive, and Kieran being terrified for his safety, takes the drink and runs away, with Bill begging for him to come back, confused at the whole situation. He can only do that because of his seniority status over Kieran. Remember the reaction Bill has to Arthur being SA'd? He is playful, not aggressive, and doesn't get aggressive because Arthur, even though he aggressively tells him to get lost, has a higher rank than him.

And of course, you have Charles and Arthur talking about how Bill likes no one and then Charles says that he likes Kieran with both him and Arthur then laughing at it because of what it implies.

Bill likes Kieran but because of the life he lives and the attitudes of society and the gang in regards to homosexuality and just him in general, he can't bring himself to act normally with Kieran to express his attraction to him, which leads to poor Kieran getting terrorized the way he is.

Poor, poor Kieran.

[therealtsk]

What Your Favorite Worm Ship Says About You

some people have found my crusty, old ass tumblr post on this very topic, so im making a new one with my updated opinions! Cause those are, in fact, allowed to change. Enjoy! Taylor x Lisa: you recognize the obvious fact that these two have more natural chemistry then any of the actual relationships in Worm, and you're into relationships that could be dysfunctional or healthy with one push in either direction. also something something sun lesbian moon lesbian. Taylor x Rachel: You love dogs, and you want a girlfriend who can kick your ass. You're also into bomber jackets. I respect you. Taylor x Alec: Sadly, you do exist, and you did make it weird. Go away! Taylor x Amy: You read altpowers on the daily and complain about canon worm being too grimdark. Solid odds on you having never read worm. To be clear, it's worse if you have. also something something FBI OPEN UP Taylor x Victoria: You like the vibes of Lisa and Taylor's dynamic, but you want them to be a little more heroic and a little less dysfunctional. But only a little. Taylor x Clockblocker: You're straight and liked that one joke that cropped up. I also haven't seen any of you in a hot minute, thank god. No offense but this ship is mad boring.

Taylor x Sophia: You've come to realize that Sophia is a great character who gets done extremely dirty by the rest of the fandom. Also, rivals to lovers. Taylor x Emma: This can go one of two ways. Either you adore childhood friends to lovers, or you love enemies to lovers. Either way, you're obsessed with hurt and/or comfort fics. Taylor x Theo: You actually read Worm and recognize that Theo is criminally underrated in the fandom. Now just stop shipping him with Taylor and you'll complete the next step on your journey to enlightenment.

Taylor x Simurgh: I can't say for sure you're a anime fan, but you're definitely at least a little bit of a monsterfucker. also something something inherent eroticism of being world-destroying power couple. Taylor x Greg. You read Worm SI's unironically and get really defensive when people say that Greg is an incel. Completely unrelated, you haven't spoken to a woman other then your mother in five years. Taylor x Cherie: I've been informed this is a ship. I've yet to be informed as of a reason why I should like it. Cherie likers stay mad!

Lisa x Rachel: I don't remember the last time I saw this ship that wasn't also tagged as a polycule with Taylor, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're an OT3 enjoyer.

Lisa x Victoria: You’re into the “enemies to lovers” trope, but more of the "Spiderman x Black Cat" type then the "you murdered my entire home town but i can't help but find you sexy" type. Also you have a thing for blondes

Lisa x Faultline: Your ideal relationship dynamic is bickering married couple. You're also into heist movies.

Lisa x Simurgh: You have a thing for smart girls... who hate you. Also, you really liked Part of the Whole.  Contessa x Alexandria: You're fucking based. Also something something inherent eroticism of girlbosses winning. Contessa x Numberman: you're friends with Peri and enjoy memes about pants and math. Numberman x Jack Slash: You think serial killers are hot and are starved for m/m ships. Danny x Eidolon: You're losersexual and are starved for m/m ships. Also you frequent r/wormemes. Danny x Miss Militia: Honestly, i think you all died out. I couldn't be happier, this ship is fucking dumb. Amy x Literally Anyone Besides Taylor: listen, there's like a hundred different jokes i could make here, but all of them boil down to amy fans always defending the rapist for some reason so let's just agree amy defenders are fucking cringe and move on Dragon x Defiant: You understand that this is unironically the only healthy relationship in worm with some of the best character growth and romance in the entire story, and a majority of all of it happens off screen. You're extremely bitter that so many fanfics do both of them so dirty they get beaten into different characters. Alec x Aisha: You like the idea of this ship, cause two pranksters making everyone miserable is the kinda vibe you enjoy, but constantly run into the issue that Alec is...well. Alec. That or you're into Alec's brand of shit, in which case, FBI OPEN UP Aisha x Missy: You read It's Cold Out There Every Day. I did too. Fuck, this fic is so good. I'm going to go cry about the ending again. Lily x Sabah: Yes, you know the age gap is a little problematic, you just want to be happy with your relatively healthy canon lesbians goddamn it Purity x Literally Anyone: You don't understand why people keep calling you racist. You're not! You're just weirdly defensive of the hot milf who murders people of color and seem to constantly bring up that Kaiser didn't actually believe the nazi propaganda he was peddling. You are racist btw Taylor x Brian: You...are Wildbow

[nightcolorz]

Daddy wants 2 hear ur thoughts on Armand’s relationship with lestat ‼️if you don’t I will aggressively butt fuck you and spank you like the naughty little boy you are

Xoxo -TOTALLY not your favorite boy toy Edward

(Also I imagine someone already asked you this cuz ur so hot and popular so u don’t have 2 answer if u already answered someone else’s ask about it)

Edward I instantly recognized ur sexy voice and I pissed myself cuz I was so eager to answer ur ask 🥹❤️. I love how ambiguous this prompt is so I can talk about whatever I want 😈💦💦. I sure do hope my answer is sufficient so that u won’t butt fuck me and spank me bcus im a naughty boy who needs to be punished 🥺

uh anyways. Armand and lestat !! They r my favorite ship in the vampire chronicles ssh don’t tell anyone. Devils minion is a very, very close second. By nature of the polyamorous blood orgy dynamic of all of the vampire chronicles characters, all of the main cast is in some way deeply in love with every other member of the main cast. The great thing about this is that every character has the capacity to have a deep and important romantic and sexual connection with any other given vampire, regardless of how many deep and romantic connections they may have. But even with all this in mind, in my opinion, out of all of the loves of his life Lestat has had, I’d argue that Armand was the most significant. By this I mean their relationship is fundamental to literally every relationship Lestat has had there after and the vampire chronicles literally wouldn’t have happened if lestat and Armand hadn’t become insanely psycho sexually bonded for a little bit in 1700s Paris. Even tho Lestat and Armand never end up as “endgame” bcus they r 100% incompatible and their love is less like an affectionate desire to be with someone and more like a virus they can’t control, I think that Armand is always going to be lestats “soulmate”, in the sense that if any pairing in the vampire chronicles is destined to always find each other in every universe, it’s lestat and Armand. I mean this incredibly derogatorily btw.

Armand and lestat remind me of Batman and the joker, they r like in universal unable to exist or be completed without the other while simultaneously hating each others guts. The great thing about that is that they also genuinely like each other despite the hatred and betrayal and see each other in a very affectionate, human way that isn’t common for either of them. But lestat and Armand require each other in a way that I perceive as very cosmic. I love the concept of two characters who hate each other very much being bound by some force that compels them to care for each other. And that’s lestat and Armand to a tea. They are very brothers to me, Cain and Abel but if Abel is immortal and gives cain wedgies and affectionate punches on the arm after Cain kills him for the one billionth time. Can’t have a cain without Abel, rlly.

Lestat will always forgive Armand for anyway he betrays or wrongs him bcus he is connected to Armand in a way that he is with no one else. They sort of fulfill this primal desire in each other that is impossible to get from anyone but each other. Lestat sees Armand in a way no one else does. He basically has had Armand’s entire life’s story and whole self inserted into his brain by Armand in magnus’s tower, and he ends up knowing Armand in his entirety and being like “well what a pathetic little fuck. How embarrassing.”

It’s important to Armand and to lestat that they both see and understand each other in their entirety and the feelings they come away with are “wow. Ur so gross and weird. But I like u anyway.” Lestat and Armand both have problems with having their identities romanticized or treated like mythological tales to the point where they kind of can’t perceive themselves in anyway that’s normal or comforting. Lestat has his issues where he acts like he’s a doomed god who’s every action and step is some sort of thematic representation of evil, and Armand has been told since he was a child that he’s not human and hes unable to be like humans or even be like any vampire who understands what being a human means. So I think to the both of them, having someone who understands them so intimately, and perceives them just as that jerk nasty they can’t help but like is so important. Who else would ruffle Armand’s hair but lestat? Anyways

most of Armand’s hatred for lestat comes from a place of expecting him to be more important then he is. Lestat takes away Armand’s divine purpose, and then he’s like idk what u want from me I’m like 20 and stupid. Lestat is just as lost as Armand is, and neither of them can give each other the guidance or support in immortality the other is looking for. they r both just kids who have been abandoned who happened to wander into each other on the street. And I think that, ultimately, this what lesmand is all about. While lestat and Armand both have amazing relationships with other characters that define who they r in unique and interesting ways, lesmand breaks them both down to their barest essentials, it strips them of the glamor into smth dirty that they both can’t help but see in each other and love.

in conclusion #lesmand for life!!!thank u sexy for sending me this ask mwah

[curiosity-killed]

Heyyyy! Dunno if u r still on ur 7 hour flight wait. If u r, based on ur latest reblog post, i would be so interested in hearing your thoughts on (1) ship: huaqing and (2) character: Jiang Cheng. Feel free to answer or not. No pressure 100% . Hope your flight safe and less boring w this question asjdfjgkldl.

we're ignoring that this is from 2 months ago when i was on a different continent!!

(1) Huaqing

I had zero thoughts about this (except for my general cattiness about ships where people just replace the characters' personalities and dynamic with the main pairing's in order for them to work) until @veliseraptor sent me a prompt about them and then i sort of lost my shit. I think a couple of things that get me about them are that they have these moments where if you inverted the colors, their relationship could have turned out totally differently: they're both skilled with a saber, they're both picked out especially by Xie Lian (compare Feng Xin who was assigned to Xie Lian), they both are outsiders to the privileged, polished existence that Xie Lian and, to a lesser extent, Feng Xin grew up in. There is a world in which Hua Cheng doesn't run away after the parade and he gets adopted into the Clown Trio and learns from Mu Qing (I wrote half this fic on Twitter before i deleted my account :') ...i think i still have it saved somewhere).

That isn't the world we see in canon (which already opens up a lot of fun questions), but even in canon, there's a history there—of Hua Cheng hating Mu Qing especially, of their oppositional orbit around Xie Lian, of the fact that Hua Cheng could have ruined Mu Qing (and Feng Xin) too if Mu Qing had only taken up the same challenge as the other 33 gods. Any time you have history that you don't get to see onscreen (or only get to see parts of), imo, it creates a frame with an open warp where you get to start weaving in your own ideas for the missing pieces, which is exactly where the best ground for fanfic is

(2) JC

my boy! my angry youngest sibling forced to grow up too fast struggling with a spiraling older brother boy!!! yeah! I mean, there's a reason that I spent the first month of being obsessed with The Untamed being like "they're just like me fr" even though it's about ancient Chinese cultivators and i am. not that!

idk if there's much i can say about my feelings about JC that isn't already in the fics i've written (and the many additional wips stuck in my folders), but I think the ultimate thing that always gets me is just. god. he loves his brother so much. there is no story without that love. there is no wangxian. there is no jin rulan. there is nothing without that love. And he is so angry at his brother. and it's fair and it's not and he did all he could and he didn't do enough and there is no flagellation you can throw at him that he hasn't taken to his own back and he was a child and it doesn't matter. but he loves his brother and he has been so angry for so long

[roe-sesandthorns]

unfiltered thoughts on deadpool & wolverine

first, lemme just say I enjoyed the movie. it was a first movie-in-cinema experience after a looong while and I saw it in 3D. granted was a bit unwell so mayyybe that influenced my experience idk.

spoilers under the cut

is it an enjoyable movie? YES. absolutely. i liked the comedy, liked the characters, liked the plot (generic but we'll get to it)

there was obviously a lot of love and care in the movie, for ALL the characters - not just the main ones but also the variants of older marvel movies (or non-movies) like Electra, Blade, and Gambit.

the fight scenes were as always amaaaazing

the dynamic between wolvie and dp was beautifully done

basic premise of the movie works wonderfully. especially given the previous movies as well as the in-universe explanation.

they handled the multiverse thing a bit better than the other ones. there is a legit reason for deadpool to go through the multiverses looking for wolvie to fill in the gap Logan left in his.

speaking of, i was confused how deadpool was in the 616 timeline (which, still fucking bitter they decided to use that for the MCU shitshow) for the meeting with Happy and then 6 years later in the 100005-whatever-the-fuck of his universe if both of those happened after the second deadpool

OR the meeting w Happy was before deadpool 2 and then he goes back and creates the alt timeline which leads to 10005 or whatever. the second option makes more sense so that's what i'm going with.

still confused about how deadpool changing the timeline affected the Logan universe or if they merged cause Logan's death cause the destablisation but wouldn't deadpool's timeline be a new one with some other anchor being - possibly deadpool

anyway, they very strongly claimed that deadpool wasnt the anchor being - which, so many misdirects in the movie that deadpool leans into as almost a mouthpiece for the audience and then they pull the bait-and-switch

sidenote: the misdirects were well done, it didn't cheapen the "twist" or surprises. deadpool's (and our logic) was the obvious track before they flipped it. so no gripe there. it was a good use of calling out the thing then adding a twist or surprise.

anyway the anchor being and the timeline TVA stuff was (as usual) a bit annoying and hard to follow at times logically BUT this is also a superhero movie and it DOES obey its own in-universe laws so the problem I have with Marvel's TVA shit is a personal opinion and not a reflection of the movie itself.

also the movie (through deadpool) IS aware of how godawful the multiverse shit in Marvel has been - and honestly, I agree w DP - fucking stop w the multiverse shit Marvel. it's not fun anymore cause you dropped the ball a long time back. (Multiverse of Madness, anyone?)

I had mixed feelings about wolverine's backstory on the initial watch

they hyped it up as him doing this unthinkable thing and him being irredeemable and then they are like oh no, he just didn't answer when they called. and it was like.... okay, and? I kept waiting for there to be more or the story to be different. the real revelation was that he had started killing people. and killing indiscriminately using the xmen uniform. this was given in the middle of a crucial high tension point

i see the appeal in doing it this way - logan was hiding his REAL sin deep within himself. he wouldn't offer it up to someone especially not someone he had just met hours ago. and in hostile territory. that's not him.

secondly, the impact of the revelation I feel was supposed to be more earthshattering than it ended up being. it was meant to be a huge shock. but after seeing him claw through people (and deadpool) repeatedly taking kill shots and after so much DEADPOOL level of Rated R violence, it landed a bit too softly for the moment to make an impact.

it was later as I thought about it that I was like, oh shit yeah like that was a big ass deal and his whole relationship w charles and the guilt he feels etc... that emotional weight didn't land in the middle of the moment. especially cause it was immediately followed by him quipping at Cassandra and trapping her

so was it true? must've been cause she was in his head.

does he feel the guilt the same way? that's what he says.

does that show in the aftermath of the moment? kinda, when he decides to spare her for charles.

but idk, it just didn't hit the way they might've wanted it to hit. Maybe allusions to him being a murderer or something before? set it up? his mistake was catastrophically world ending or at least world impacting. the loss of the x-men was not set up previously or alluded to soooo it rings a bit hollow.

maybe dropping a few hints before the reveal would have helped.

ALSO, sidenote but how tf did humans end up killing ALL of the x-men?? that seems v unlikely given that they are the fucking X-MEN. idk maybe i missed something.

Moving on...

as a deadpool AND wolverine movie, it delivered. there were some really amazing moments - the danceoff obviously, the cameos, the misdirects, the action sequences were amazing

am I a bit tired of seeing the "lose vanessa - save the day and vanessa - get back w vanessa" cycle for the third time? yeah. I mean I get he loves her and all but it's a bit too cyclical to hold impact. like cool, again? really?

again, not a plothole, a personal preference.

would have loved exploring more of wade's dalliances like shiklah or even Death. would;ve been cool.

not that I am mad about a decent mostly healthy relationship and a stable love interest in a Marvel movie (v tony stark-pepper potts coded)

speaking of stability, or lack thereof, I felt like this movie in particular did not delve as deeply into deadpool's unique mental headspace. i was hoping sometime they would bring in the more debilitating aspects of his mental health (the boxes, the hallucinations, the suicidal/self-harm tendencies) but I get that it might be a bit too grimdark for Fox/Disney

would've been nice to have a bit more of that aspect of his character

although who's to know maybe MCU wade's support system helps him be a bit more well adjusted

also why the emphasis on Peter? is it for a joke cuase he's just some guy? is it a cheeky peter parker jab? is it both? it's mildly funny so i don't mind. just meh about - again, personal preference.

ok something that's more objective:

i think there were too many 4th wall breaks. it was fun, the references were amazing. some of them were really good. loved the opening one, the one where he smashes the camera, and some other moments.

but after a while it felt stale or too much. the jokes did hit. it's not like they were unfunny like the rest of marvel's humour

some of the deep cuts were D E E P but it's not even about the content. deep cut references are a staple for the character.

but just the frequency of the meta jokes and the 4th wall breaks was a bit excessive?

but then again, deadpool isn't deapool if he isn't a bit annoying or excessive. my guy's the arachetype for a comedic motormouth

the woke-jokes were funny but not as edgy as he could go. I felt like the jokes were a bit too tongue-in-cheek to make them almost cringe? but whatever. they played it safe and i'm not mad about it.

as a movie, it felt a bit too attention grabby in the wrong way. there was a "aren't i so clever" or smarmy marvel overtone of "look at us being self-referrential and allowing you to laugh at us becuase you've been joking about our products being shit but when we allow ryan reynolds to do it we beocme edgy and cool and don't u wanna buy more now? look we got so much to sell you? did i tell you RDJ is coming back? which, holy fucking shit fuck that shit it sucks "

maybe it's just my anti-marvel agenda idek

still, sometimes just having fox's logo in the back rather than pointing it out is enough ig

for someone who was and is so tired of Marvel, it was a refreshing movie

i enjoyed it, it was a decent movie, a good deadpool movie not as good as the previous two and a GREAT deadpool and wolverine movie. does that make sense?

i never really cared for wolverine much in the past decade but this movie made him cool again, which was awesome

the teamup and dynamic was great

marvel needs to learn to give people who love the characters (not just their own but OTHER characters esp the oft forgotten ones) and want to do them justice more creative control and let them tell the (hopefully self contained) stories rather than focusing on playing join the dots behind the scenes OR try to catch attention through shock value

it doesn't work. it's like jumpscares in horror. you pay attention for a second cuase you're startled but the real impactful horror is the one done through themes and story - not a loud bang.

altho i have a feeling that the lesson marvel is gonna take is about shoving more and more (esp obscure) cameos in a work than actually doing justive to characters and stories

oh, also. it goes to show that the two best received (so far) movies post Endgame have been the multiverse ones with nostalgic characters

MCU's """sacred timeline""" is fucked because of them. people want to feel what they felt like watching the older more self-contained stories like the x-men or the tobey spidey movies

it's not jsut nostalgia, it's about story and characters and HEART.

phase 4 is proof that marvel doesn't have a heart.

parting thoughts: the only interaction i want from deadpool and the main MCU is with spiderman. preferably andrew garfield but i'll take holland in a pinch.

I have hope that as long as ryan has the reigns his deadpool projects + appearances will always have heart.

And I have NOT touched on how GAY (non-derogatory) the movie is and I think I need another long rant for it cause goddamn the movie is queer af and I love it. the euphemistic van scene alone GODDAMN.

it's like ryan and team were NOT here to play - deadpool is queer, get with it or perish. love that energy.

Edit: the set pieces holy shit. it was a gorgeous movie that was shot amazingly and the practical effects and CG were ON POINT. LOTS of attention to detail.

[pinksilvace]

If cats the musical ever have an animated tv show and or movie what do u think it will be like ? specially on how they write the characters, setting etc.

YAY HOORAY YIPPEE I LOVE THIS QUESTION

In an animated context, I'm very much a fan of aristocats-esque anthro designs; @/etchif and @/oggysonart have both made really fantastic ones in the past. I highly recommend checking their stuff out if you haven't already.

Anyway, this ask strikes me as two separate questions, so I'll answer it in two parts.

Movie

I'd picture this being more or less what Disney wanted to do with the original poems: it would be more or less a 1:1 run-through of the show and serve as an introduction to the music, story, etc. for a younger generation.

The stage format inherently presents a challenge when it comes to a central focus, especially in a production with so many characters, while films tend to highlight character moments very effectively; because of this, I think an animated adaptation of Cats could be quite a bit plottier than the stage show, even without changing any details. (This would also address the common concern that an adaptation would cut down on the appeal of live dance.) I imagine it primarily following Munkustrap, Demeter, and Victoria, as they each more or less represent different plot threads: the Ball/Choice, Grizabella/Macavity, and Community, respectively.

At the same time, there are small moments with other throughout the show that could benefit from the range of sceneries available.

I'll say this for Cats 2019: seeing Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer in their element is a must. I've actually thought about this specific scene a lot with regard to this prompt. When the junkyard scatters before this number, the camera follows Quaxo/Misto down a few alleys and to M&R's nice house, where he watches them through the windows and narrates their actions a la original production. Maybe he messes with them; either way, it'd give viewers a reason to keep his character in mind for later. Maybe the song ends when they show up tardy to the Ball.

Another scene that would benefit greatly from an adaptation is Gus', obviously. I'd love to see flashes of his life or, optimistically, a dreamlike sequence of GLS, which I have too many Thoughts about to include on this post.

The big one, though - the killer - is how Macavity could be adapted. If Demeter's segment of the song had some abstract recollections as visuals... Good Lord

It'd be nice to see the characters be visually distinct (at least, more so than that are onstage). I love the idea of the camera cutting over to Pounce and Tumble (who'd Very Obviously be kittens) fooling around and getting into trouble every now and again. All of the character dynamics would be more obvious, for that matter, because in film, every shot and camera angle is a choice. When Alonzo sticks around at the Macavity scare, the audience would get it. When Plato changes his attitude from how he is around the kittens to how he is with Victoria, the audience would notice. When Munkustrap waves his arms and tries desperately to get everyone into place for PP, the audience wouldn't have to work to spot him doing so amidst all of the everything else happening at the same time. Like, I adore Cats as a stage production, but an animated adaptation would 100% be able to add visual clarity.

TV Show

Stylistically, I imagine this the same as everything described above, but I wouldn't want it to cover the course of the show. Instead, I think this universe would be really charming as a series of animated shorts that focus on just a handful of characters apiece, slife-of-life style. Episode ideas include:

Gus attempts to teach the kittens a performance so they can impress Munkustrap later; they don't do well, but it still makes Munkustrap happy

Plato tries really really hard to be romantic and impress Victoria for Some Special Event coming up, ft. Pounce and Tumble as wingmen

Munkustrap is busy/sick and Alonzo has to take over for a day; he learns about the power of asking for help

Origin story of how Tugger and Misto met

Electra, Etcetera, and Rumpleteaser do their darndest to figure out how the Jellicle Choice is actually chosen

This would give some leeway in regard to the musical aspects of the IP, which I imagine are difficult to replicate. These shorts would also be enjoyable for a very broad audience in a way that the stage production and its usual adaptations are not.

[dullyn]

Arthurian Retelling Book Review III

Far From Camelot by River Hale

This is an incredibly explicit book, rated R if we're following the movie scale. Therefore, this review is 18+ as a forewarning.

Also ignore the language I use for certain explicit stuff, I am trying to avoid angering tumblr, so some word choices are goofy.

Here's the spoiler free version if you wanted to actually read the book (I don't recommend reading it, you could read better 18+ stuff on like ao3 for free (and without having to read Merlin/Mordred sex scenes)).

Mordred kills Arthur due to Morgan's manipulations, Merlin is upset he failed to save Arthur. The Lady of the Lake teleports Merlin to like a different dimension that's just our world, he lives in this world for 1000 years. 200 years later, The Lady of the Lake teleports Mordred to this same world.

The two meet up in modern day in a dive bar because Mordred is in a punk rock band (he also has tattoos, piercings, edgy style, the whole nine yards), while Merlin is a bookstore owner who is friends with the owner of the dive bar.

They hate each other, they have sex about it, it is the most toxic and cringey thing I have ever read. The dialogue? The way the author describes their body parts? They also have sex every single time they have a conversation, like they will talk about their feelings about Camlann and then suddenly they are freaking nasty style. All of the dialogue reads like shoddy 80s p*rno films, and there's a weird BDSM-esque dynamic that is oddly reminiscent of the inaccuracies and terribly unethical stuff in Fifty Shades of Grey. Not safe or sane, sometimes not even consensual.

It seems like Merlin has a thing for Arthur for most of the book and then sleeps with Mordred as some weird stand in thing. Mordred in turn sleeps with Merlin about some weird daddy issue thing.

Morgan is Mordred's mother in this, she is so flat as a character. She is the most 2D villain I have seen in a long, long time. Her dialogue reads like a kids cartoon, all of the men in the story call her a "witch" or a "b*tch" at least once. Mordred and Merlin refer to her as both of those things constantly. There are only four female characters in this entire book, two of them are side characters that are reduced down to lesbian stereotypes, one of them is evil mother Morgan, and the last is the Lady of the Lake who gets four pages of booktime total. It feels misogynistic and stereotypical. Also Morgan is not Arthur's sister in this, so Mordred is not an incest baby, a small win I guess.

The conclusion of the story is a big battle, obviously, the whole Once and Future King Arthur thing plays out. For the entire final battle Merlin and Mordred are just thinking about how hot each other look or actively making out. Guys please stop.

Literally this is horrendous. The sex scenes aren't even good. There is such potential in the plot, and there are some parts where it's like "Yes! This writing is good!" and then it immediately devolves into shoddy sex again.

1/5 ⭐

Here is a content warning for you all, I pulled it straight off of the author's website:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FULL REVIEW WITH SPOILERS BELOW

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Strap in, this is a doozy.

We'll start with positives, there aren't many.

The way they go through the lake portal thing is actually pretty cool, its like going to the bottom of the lake and then the world flips and they can walk out of the lake back to Camelot from modern day. I thought it was a neat spin on the concept. There's an unreliable narrator view of Arthur is kind of interesting. Merlin thinks he's wholly good and a just king. Mordred hates Arthur's guts because of how he treated him and rejected him as his son. MORDRED GETS TO PULL THE SWORD FROM THE STONE!! This is because of the whole the true high king of Britain is the one who can and since Arthur is dead and Mordred is his only son (even as a bastard) Mordred can pull it out! Give that man a sword, not this version of that man, but like another one.

"'I think if I was a son he could've loved, he would've been a good father'" (p 309), Mordred talking to Merlin about Arthur. Thought this was a pretty good line, if only the rest of the book was like this.

Merlin names his pets after knights of the round table because he misses them. He named his cat Percival, and Percy the cat is the best character in this and shouldn't have to deal with those around him. This was kind of sweet and the only redeeming part of Merlin's character.

Also for a period of time while he was in the modern world, Mordred went by the alias of Lancelot, which is just a funny concept.

Now it's the bad stuff:

Worldbuilding

Somehow Camelot has not developed at all in 1000 years, permanently stuck in the early medieval era. This makes absolutely no sense nor is it ever explained. It is literally confirmed that time has passed and generations of knights have lived and died and yet they are still knights and horses and castles and peasants.

Merlin built Stonehenge and stored his magic in the rocks. The way he gets it out of the rocks is by doing the nasty against them with Mordred (I am not exaggerating this is literally what happens).

Concepts

This book is so weird about lesbians. Like it leans so hard into the cliches and stereotypes and its like the author gave the two girls no common sense.

"I kept my promise and spent nearly the entire day with the band yesterday - with the addition of Ava's new girlfriend Willow. Lesbians work fast" (p 79). Mordred thinks this to himself.

"She shrugs. 'One month is like six in lesbian years'" (p 239), Willow, Merlin's friend/Mordred's bandmate's gf says this line.

I just hated the way the author handled this. It seemed like these two characters had nothing else going on other than being lesbians, and therefore the author also made them impulsive to fit with the "U-Haul" stereotype.

Characters

Everyone keeps saying "bang it out" like literally every character has said this line. I hate it so much.

Okay back to the Morgan thing. She's portrayed as being like beyond evil, and while she is not related to Arthur, she does claim she is at some point to try and justify ruling Camelot. Therefore, everyone in Camelot thinks Mordred is a child of incest even though he isn't so that adds to the reason why he left? I think? I only say I think because this entire plotline was only addressed ONCE right before Merlin and Mordred start freaking it nasty style. Morgan tricked/magicked Arthur into sleeping with her to conceive Morgan (a la Uther/Igraine, Elaine of Corbenic/Lancelot, Claire/Bors, etc). She then uses Mordred as a pawn in her schemes and is a terrible mother to him. Adding onto the villainization of her, Morgan used to lock Mordred in the dark as a child to punish him, this is then revealed when Mordred refuses to let Merlin put a blindfold on him during sex.

You will see that everything important is mentioned immediately before or after, or sometime in the middle of, sex.

Mordred has a lip ring, and a tongue piercing, and nipple piercings, and 5 peener piercings, all of which are brought up frequently. He also has a massive shlong, which is also brought up frequently. Every time they mention it, it is in the most horrific dialogue possible. Mordred also is a full blown sorcerer and is immortal. He has so much magic, he can teleport, turn invisible, turn objects into other objects or even give them sentience, most of this is then used for sex reasons. Mordred has the most insane daddy issues i have ever seen, his fascination with Merlin seems to come from this on account of the fact that Merlin was part of the reason that Arthur denied Mordred being his son and heir.

Merlin and Mordred are such a rancid pairing. Like I can get behind toxic relationships (Sebile/Morgan my beloved) but this is just like creepy. They literally start their sexual relationship with Mordred convincing Merlin to give him a bj while Merlin is actively having a panic attack. There is so much weird cliche bad boy possessiveness, it is rampant. Genuinely they both remind me of like the "dark romance mafia boss" novels that are all over social media. Here are some examples:

"I'm the only one who gets to hurt him" (p 110), Merlin about Mordred.

"My voice comes out somewhere between a groan and a growl. 'You've been avoiding me and denying me this sight for two days'" (p 162), Mordred why are you growling?

There's also the insane amount of just weird and bad lines surrounding them. Here are some more examples:

"'I think I'm starting to love hating you'" (p 145), Merlin says this to Mordred. Then like two paragraphs later we get the line of Mordred going, "I give him my signature smirk."

"'Please, Merlin. Show me how much you hate me. Take it all out on my a*s'" (p 166), this is the only line you need to know exactly what this book is about.

Merlin calls his semen "his hate" when he's screwing Mordred. His pet name for Mordred is "little monster" I am disappointed in myself for finishing this book, it is in fact worth it for the ability to write this review though.

"'Now can you hurry? It's cold as balls out here.'" ; Turning his head towards me, he smirks. 'Are your balls cold, baby?'" (p 264), this is Mordred's POV. I hate this.

Mordred ties Merlin up with snakes during sex and the snakes bite Merlin and he likes it, (p 214). I cannot describe the absolute astonishment I faced during this scene.

There's a whole scene that involves Mordred asking Merlin to knight him with his wiener and then Merlin calls him "Sir C*cks*ut" (p 285).

I wish I was making that last one up. I'm not. It is a real scene that happens in this book.

Since the book is in first person it reads like the character speaking to the audience, that's just the style of the POV kind of. However, there are some scenes that feel like they explicitly break the forth wall or it's like things are stated way to blatantly and like, no one thinks to themselves like that? Examples:

"To be clear, I still hate him more than I've ever hated anyone. And that's why this is all sorts of complicated and fucked up" (p 152), Merlin thinks this. It's unnecessary for this line to exist the audience is already aware that their relationship is messed uppp.

"Look at me being all mature and shit" (p310), Mordred thinks this. It feels so random.

"That's just great. I'm officially so fucked up that anything deviating even slightly from pure animosity from my father gives me the ick" (p 312), Mordred thinks this to himself. I don't think I ever actually was immersed in this novel enough for any line to take me out of it, but this was just jarring.

The End

They go back to Camelot to resurrect Arthur and kill Morgan and save the kingdom and whatnot. Mordred gives up Excalibur and the chance to kill Morgan by himself to prove to Merlin that he loves him, BOOOOO. They pause resurrecting Arthur for exactly an hour, to freak nasty in a cave. They are in the middle of battle and Merlin is talking about how sexy he finds Mordred.

Mordred is in the middle of being tortured with magic by morgan and he gets like locked inside his body and so merlin breaks into his mind and they start confessing their love for each other. Odd choice. During this it is clear that Mordred has no internal self value, he only thinks he is finally worthy of redemption because Merlin loves him and he thinks Merlin is wholly good. LAUGH. Merlin? Wholly good? LAUGH.

In the middle of the last battle, Arthur proclaims Mordred his heir, there is literally no discussion of this, it is only done for a "potent quotable" soundbite and dramatic shock value. Especially if you read to the end because Arthur doesn't even make Mordred his heir until the end of the second epilogue, which happens years after the end of the book. In fact, Arthur still doesn't really like or trust Mordred very much even after the end of the final battle.

Mordred and Arthur kill Morgan together. Literally they both stab her with their swords at the same time. It is dumb. After this, Arthur gets recrowned king and is taking the throne for the first time in 1000 years and Merlin and Mordred are making out on the floor of the throne room.

The first epilogue is 20% Mordred showcasing his competence as a potential prince, 80% Mordred and Merlin doing the nasty in an pillory. In the second epilogue, Mordred gets crowned prince of Camelot, him and Merlin freak nasty beforehand. Then they watch Mordred's old punk band perform a show via magic, which is so so so random to just chuck in at the end?

Uh yeah. That's the book. This was a long review, there was a lot to point out I feel. Yipes.

I give it:

1/5 ⭐

[itsyagurlchip]

hot takes, small details or personal headcanons you have in your au?

you. you are my reasonnnnnnN THANK YOU FOR THIS ASK IT'S GONNA BE ONE OF MY LONGEST ANSWERS. VEEEEEEE THANK YOU <3333 (I'm sorry if none of these headcannons match up with any previous ones i've made, simply imagining them as people makes my brain run on 1000)

(me now) Umm. Seeing this is finished you know you better prepared to sit down and read.

Keep in mind that reader is a child! They will not be the average y/n, she won't try and solve everyone's problems, and they're still learning and growing as a person! (That's what this whole fic is for-)

okokookookkokokokok these aren't all relevant to the Au per say, but this does apply to the plot and some of the lore for the fic.

im sure you saw the post- but I headcanon the skeles to be able to pop out their eyes. and at first it seemed random- but Papyrus has fucking eyes in the game (!?!) and so does sans, so why tf not?

Now a thing that I do not headcannon is their bones being able to pop out. I don't have any reason, I just don't like the idea of their limbs being Legos (but fsr eyes r ok?)

They do have amazing dance moves tho (Sans gets a lil zesty when he does the worm).

Everything in this universe is like a sitcom, and while predictable things happen, it's not in the usual way it would.

Ebbot is in New York. (you know why, and if you don't be prepared for a particular chapter.)

In this universe, pollution doesn't exist as much as it does in the real world. Give these guys a chance to see those beautiful ass stars.

Dynamics I'd Like to Explore:

Horror and reader.

I would love to explore that "Mama bear" dynamic that Horror could have without dumbing him down to just "hungry" "traumatized" and "comfort".

I want to show how being in a starvation crisis still affects him, while also wanting someone to take care of.

I think reader would appreciate a person who always makes sure that they eat, because they didn't have that as often in the program they were previously in.

I also really really really want to make Horror very disturbing and unapproachable, so it would make him and reader need their characters to develop for their relationship to actually bloom.

I also wanna see him do odd things, like grinding his teeth to a piercing shriek, or putting things in his skull to remember for later, and reader's reactions and approaches to them.

Sans/Papyrus and reader

Ah yes, they will be a joy to write.

Sans and reader's relationship will come from a place of mutual respect almost? While also blatantly disrespecting each other at the same time???

They dont really do much together, other than chill.

And in the small moments that they actually do things together, they don't actually talk much (in a serious way) at all.

Papyrus and reader start it off rocky a bit, because of the surface level reason for why she was adopted.

Papyrus tries to engage reader in activities that he likes, but every try leads to some kind of avoidance or lack of enthusiasm.

(insert sans threat here)

But after having a deep conversation with each other, they become the bestest of friends!

Payarus hypes up reader every chance he gets, and reader makes so many gifts for him that his ego just can't take it!

I feel like the three of them together would be so wholesome, whether it's Sans reading Papyrus and reader a bedtime story, or if they all go shopping together.

There's never a dull moment with these two!

Swapfell gold Sans and Papyrus

LET THEM BE WINE AUNT BESTIES PLESSSSS

LET THEM TALK SHIT ABOUT THEIR BROTHERS WHILE ABSOLUTELY LOVING THEM TO DEATH.

They always walk in the room stunning, Swapfell Sans won't ever let Paps walk in the room with rags while he's there.

Both of them enjoy those live-laugh-love type decorations at hobby lobby, and always decorate the house up like a doll.

They curse without actually cursing and it's so funny.

"AW CORNUTS!!"

"YOU BITTER HARLOT"

"Outrageously strong-stenched sinner."

"Papyrus I swear to all stars shining if you do not get your scraggly pelvis in this room your femur will cease to exist."

Mostly a crack dynamic, but that's what this fic is for.

Sans and Papyrus

A lot of this is half-personal and half-out-of-spite-in-the-fandom-because-i-hate-the-way-they-are-sometimes-portrayed-in-fanfiction.

Papyrus calls Sans "lazy" in a lighthearted way instead of actually believing as such. He knows that Sans could do many things, but he won't do them because of his mental health.

I like to think that since Papyrus has such great control over his magic, he's very much patient as well when it comes to people.

Especially Sans, because he of all people needs it the most.

Sans loves his brother, but not to a possessive extent. Yes, he will kill anyone and everyone for the coolest guy on Earth, but not without reason.

They take care of each other as much as they can actually.

They also have more complications other than "just keeping secrets". It's actually communication as a whole.

Something that I will not explain because it's a headcannon and not my story yet👍

Red and Sans

I feel like they'd be assholes together. That's all I need.

They probably make card houses out of boredom, but with packs of condiments.

They hate each other at first, but neither of them want to fight so it's passive aggressive comments between the two.

Imagine two Loona's (helluva boss) in one room. One emotionally stumped and the other too laid-back to do anything about it.

Suddenly the hostility goes away and everyone else is confused.

Very nice.

Fresh and Reader

Okay I admit this one is purely crack.

I need them to go to Chuckie Cheese and make fun of two year olds when they lose a game.

I want them to attack Karens in the parking lot with possessed furbies.

I want Fresh to scare reader with an ominous statement about her soul and go back to living life free.

LOOK INTO MY EYES!!!

I want reader to believe he's not real and only a part of the fever dreams she has since the world changed.

I NEED FRESH TO PLAY ALONG BC HE THINKS ITS FUNNY

Dream and Nightmare.

Most of these headcannons are inspired/from Ano (@/signanothername). So if my brain is rotted no it's not.

Their relationship is...complicated.

At first, they sabotage each other for fun and competition.

But next thing you know! They're full blown fighting, throwing jabs at each other physically and verbally.

Most people like to think that the two fight each other because they represent and protect different and opposite emotions.

But they fight because they are mentally teenagers, who are SIBLINGS<

It's very tiring to experience and be apart of, because you never know what the two will do in a room alone.

Coming from experience, when I would want my sibling to feel something that I was trying to get through to them, I would say something that hurts. Like really bad.

Dream and Nightmare remind each other of their past mistakes with aggressive and ingenuine kindness when no one's looking.

While Dream isn't an asshole per say, he just has a hard time keeping himself in check around Nightmare. Other than that he's the kindest soul.

Nightmare is an asshole, but he doesn't make any move to "confront" Dream or make a meaningful conversation with him. He still has regrets and animosities from the past, but won't intentionally heal from that.

^^These all will contribute to main plot and subplot. Nothing will be completely resolved, but each relationship will be expressed with more realistic situations rather than "they feel this way because everyone else says so." (cough cough fandom cough cough)

Every other dynamic like Reader and Gaster, or Star/Bad Sanses will be explored as well- those are just the main ones I'm excited for. Of course, I cant fit them all in (because it'll just be run-on words with no actual plot), but I can try to give everyone a situation where they can interact with each other.

Unfortunately, Swapfell Gold won't be in this story at all- only Horrortale and Underfell and the usual multiverse deities. I may not be able to fit them in one fic, but I can make side content and my own fanart to satisfy myself. (WHY WONT MY BLORBOS FIT IN!!!)

Sans

Sans actually does sleep in my au, probably too much really. He uses it as a means of escape because it's hard for him to come to terms with "no more resets"

Frisk isn't the same anymore, and throughout the story he'll get more and more paranoid.

Sans will trip Gaster any chance that he's given.

I like to headcannon that Sans doesn't have an obsession with ketchup, and it's moreso "gasp! the ketchup guy!" type thing. I also like to believe that the only reason why he can drink so much ketchup like that is because of people's reactions.

Sans is a comedian at heart, so he will do/say most things that people consider outrageous; hence the ketchup thing.

I like to think that he only pursued physics because of his dad, rather than mathematics like he initially wanted to do.

Sans hates slime and the grease it leaves on his phalanges as well as the sound it gives off.

He'd probably bring ketchup popsicles to the function.

Papyrus

Imagine that he can 'port' as well, leaving Gaster the only one who cannot. He just doesn't do it because the "void" makes him uncomfortable.

You could call him the "emotionally intelligent one" despite him not understanding a goddamn thing. He's just good at solving problems with patience.

He can see how someone feels, but he won't use that to read the room and understand what to do and what not to do.

He doesn't understand some social rules, like "comparing yourself to others for competition" and "tips for a cup of coffee"

It's confusing he thinks. Which can also lead him to misreading someone's emotions.

If you open up his closet there's a trick wall in it. And behind it, there's a dart board with Gaster's face on it. He's still mad at him, but won't let it show as to keep the family as peaceful as possible.

Sometimes when he's out with Sans, Papyrus would grab him and hold him under his arm and just carry him like that.

He is actually a pretty decent cook. And Sans doesn't lie to him about that.

Gaster

He actually falls when Sans trips him. It's funny as hell.

Since we don't know much about Gaster, this personality is kind of all over the place.

As I've stated before, he is morally ambiguous, and is comfortable with justifying things that seem wrong to most people.

Like cutting holes in his hands to get children instead of getting a wife.

On the other hand, he finds most arguments that humans have tedious, annoying, and easily solvable.

Or testing on a subject's soul who's figured out how to reset time itself instead of asking various questions.

He probably takes the top off of muffins and puts them back in just to spite Sans.

He loves his sons, but doesn't have a way to show them without making them feel awkward.

Despite him being open minded on human affairs, he can be very closed-minded when it comes to new things like routine, emotional intelligence, and boundaries.

Reader

Reader believes that the only reason why she was adopted is because Sans wasn't okay. Like she was supposed to "fix" him in some way, and kind of resents Papyrus because of that.

She's just a kid! How are they gonna help a stinky blob of depression?

Otherwise, it's probably the best they've ever lived.

When there's chaos, reader will remind Sans how "good" they're being and expect a reward when it's over.

She stims by rubbing her knuckles vertically across the joint of her arm (like me, tehe), and picks at her hangnails when she's under stress (also like me).

Granted, she doesn't remember memories from when her parents were alive, but right now she feels like she's in a place where she belongs. Like people actually want them.

Reader grew up in a place where they were older than everyone else, so they were immediately dubbed "older sibling".

Despite the wholesome sentiment, the way those kids would treat her would be toxic, but a small part of her still misses them.

Cannot match clothes to save her life (she walks out the door looking horrendous AFTER Papyrus gave her an outfit-)

She's fine with it though, "No aesthetic can fit me anyway."

Okay I'm done y'all, sorry for putting you through that torture.

I don't think you guys understand how long I want this fanfiction to be. Like bro IM PLANNING CHAPTERS NOW. I know I was trashing on the "fandom", but do know that whatever opinion you have is fine with me. I just have different ones and I prefer to express that through writing rather than arguing/causing mess.

And reminder: THESE.ARE.HEADCANNONS. If you agree, that's fine, if you don't that's also fine. But please do not come to my comments with your fists up. I'd rather discuss more headcannons for variety/diversity rather than claiming that a character can only be represented in one way. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk :))

૮₍˶• .•⑅₎ა tags: @kittykittyanon @bonefanatic @oleander-nin @towomatos @thealphagirl

૮₍˶• .•⑅₎ა@ziipzeepzop-eez @wheezdostuff @spongejuice @cyb3r-st4r @matteo-hamato

@clown-froggi @acesgarden

if you would like to be added, check my blog. if you would like to be added, check my blog. SEE? I SAID IT TWICE!!

[stardustdiiving]

What popular familial headcanons do you not like? If you're willing to share, of course

This post was specifically about parent / child interpretations of Zhongli & Xiao and Nahida & Wanderer ! which r my favorite genshin character dynamics and also involve my two category 5 genshin blorbos . Like obvious disclaimer I don’t have a problem with people liking said hcs but I have kind of a bad grudge against both bc I’m a bit polarized out of people just Really Really insisting on them whenever I talk / make fanworks about the characters ☹️ along with just really not liking the characterizations attached to both dynamics esp in how they handle Xiao & Nahida

Elaborating on both for fun & how I like to characterize them under the cut

I like Zhongli & Xiao as a form of character study where you kind of lean into the god/follower power dynamic and the way Xiao’s idea of duty/devotion blends with his internalized dehumanization. The idea is Xiao gives Zhongli a lot of power over him bc he wants to be devoted to Zhongli as a weapon more than a person while Zhongli is, used to being in a position of power but trying to navigate around this bc he wants Xiao to learn to exist outside suffering

Its not a very actively destructive dynamic for either of them but it’s kind of challenging Xiao’s dehumanization of himself and willingness to die/suffer for Zhongli out of a deeply engrained loyalty and devotion to him. I like zhongxiao (their ship) in the sense I think it can be fun to throw in very unbalanced complicated romantic feelings into this for added drama/ambiguity because I had my brain chemistry rewired by Pearl & Rose from Steven Universe when I was 11. I was so captivated by the idea of Pearl having such an intimate and tragic and self destructive devotion towards another woman it single handedly made me comphrend the fact I could gay

I’m just really not into the father/son portrayal bc I feel it’s just really awkward and weird to do any of the complicated emotional introspection or w/e I’m interested in doing w the dynamic through that lens. Also there’s only so many times u can draw zhongxiao and have people insist on interpreting it as father/son (?????? Soemtimes even while acknowledging i specific my work as romantic omg) before you just get kind of uncomfortable with it….im not a fan of the characterizations either…I feel ppl infantilize xiao a lot and EURFH idk it just makes me uncomfortable to think about bc of how I view the characters personally yk

Nahida & Wanderer I do enjoy exclusively platonically / even as found family, but I am a rare case of being a Nahida fan over a Scaramouche fan so it doesn’t do much for me when Nahida is reduced to being his mom/therapist/etc especially when a big reason I love hat radish is the way both characters compliment each other and make the dynamic a fun ground for mutual character study

I specifically don’t like her as a maternal figure because well. Nahida is a 500 year old child and I think this is important to her character & how she furthers the themes of Sumeru. The entire reason she’s neglected her entire life is bc she’s a child and the sages disregard the idea a child has any “useful” wisdom to offer them and feel emboldened to mistreat her because of that. Its that kind of mindset that we’re in conflict with throughout Sumeru. To have the Archon be a child who is still really smart and full of wisdom is like. Thematically sound to the story when the message is essentially don’t use wisdom/knowledge as a way to disregard people and seek only power/control. Its that exact mindset that Scaramouche, as an antagonist, is the cumulation of in the AQ

So to have him come to respect Nahida and listen to her is really sweet, and I think it’s additionally sweet when you lean into this kinda duality of Nahida being really wise and in a position of authority but also a kid, and Wanderer 100% rolls with it. (Especially given the fact Wanderer is established to have a soft spot for kids, I like imagining Nahida’s more childish qualities put him at ease and r something he actively likes about her—which is sweet when it’s her childishness that she was disregarded for yk) I think ppl struggle to grapple with that kind of contradiction of Nahida being a child on some level but not the same as an average human child, which is a shame bc that’s something I like seeing interpretations on

So with all of this in mind if I am viewing a character as a child where a big part of her character is it was wrong to disregard her as a God of Wisdom bc she’s a child, I don’t exactly find it really appealing or cute to have her dynamic with a character who is absolutely treated like an adult man in the writing be her parenting him and tending to all of his emotional angst 😵‍💫 the way it’s done esp with Scara being likened to an immature edgy teenager son here (which is kinda ooc to me) while ppl insist on Nahida being the mom feels very. Well. I am not really a fan of the idea of a female character being reduced to the mom friend and people being more willing to view a fictional adult male character as a “teenager” than the girl who again I feel is on a certain level written as a child? I and unfortunately it makes up maybe 70% of Nahida showing up in fanon NSJNDJCKDNND

[myloveforhergoeson]

ash's august 2024 reading round up

find all the books and fics i read (or didn't read...) this month under the cut with a link to the synopsis and my reviews/ratings attached :)

this is just for fun! i'm not a professional, i just like to read <3

booklist:

The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey (18+!)

• review: ugh. this book was so bad lmao. which does pain me to say because i historically have really enjoyed bailey's writing. and i was super excited for this one because i love hockey romance too! but something about it just felt... off to me. perhaps it was the mmc, burgess' protectiveness of this woman he met one time months ago or how much he thought about how they weren't right for each other or maybe i just didn't like him as a character in general. i also didn't like the fmc, tallulah all that much either; i just found her kind of... allowing herself to be a product of her own situations throughout the entire book. i am sympathetic to her previous bad experience with her ex boyfriend and how he treated her, but i also believe there are better ways to draw attention to the fact that "burgess is a strong, violent hockey player and she was abused by her ex, how could they ever be right for each other?!?!" like... does every woman in a hockey romance have to experience this in order to make this dichotomy known? i just would have liked some more originality on that front i don't know. i also think there was a huge missed opportunity for lissa, burgess' daughter, to have helped bridge the gap between the two adults. as tallulah becomes her part-time caregiver while burgess is away, the two of them really hit it off - i think they had the best dynamic in the entire book and i wish there was more about them and how seeing his daughter and the woman he liked getting along inspired burgess or something. but overall. just a pretty flat story to me. i didn't feel the chemistry, i didn't like how burgess treated tallulah like he owned her, and i didn't like that sooo many times each of them thought they weren't right for each other. why? because it was fucking true! there's a reason you're both feeling this! the best part of this book was the ending chapters where they attend the wedding of the mc's of the first book in this series. i was very excited to see josephine again, i loved her so much. the barnes + noble exclusive bonus chapter was literally the best thing in the book but doesn't make the book itself better in anyway as not everyone got to read it lmao

• rating: 2/5 hockey skates

fic list:

1. Assorted works of @selangkir <333

• Continuation of their Jo/Lucy fic!

MY GIVE A FUCKS ARE ON VACATION

i truly cannot get enough of jo and lucy and your beautiful mind... the dynamic these two have going is already making me giddy and i'm so obsessed with your take on this alternate universe where the boys leave instead of jo! the background you're spinning for lucy has also got my attention in such a grip, the scene at jett's party when she's thinking about her brother and how they used to have these kickbacks with all of his friends. the way we don't learn much about her family in btrtv left so much room for expansion, and i just love the direction you're taking it! AND of course the perfect continuation of our GTR au... god, the kendall and katie scene was so funny to me i love how Sibling they really are. the expansion work on kendall is just fascinating too and running a donation campaign on top of that?? augh! tysm for sharing your work w us <3 (and the private post you sent me with your wips... oh augh i cannot wait for what's in store in the future!!)

2. Assorted works of @ceruleanmusings :))) <3

• Big Time Audition - The Masons

.10

.11

.12

Blood Diamond; Year Three

as always, i ADORED your work this month... lord... i thought about big time audition - the masons for like an entire week. the way each girl is introduced and the way it fits them so perfectly had me feeling like i was there in the house with them, tracking through room to room to see what each of them were doing and how you chose to share them with the world. not only that, but micky watching james' audition literally made me fall out of my chair AHH! i just love them so so so much; the 10-12 blurbs were so wonderful. blood diamond year three was also an incredible work - i loved the direction of choosing to have it be purely conversational but it was still packed with so much raw emotion. the last line also felt like a sucker punch to the face i don't think i'll ever forget it.

3. Assorted works of @partiallypearl / @praetoravila !! <3

hold tight

but we're evergreen

her sense of style, it really rocks

jelisa kiss blurb

cause you got me, and baby, i got you

i tried not to face the truth

be my bad boy (be my man)

oh, i leave quite the impression

our human loneliness

show me your colors

ok.... the way i have been so olivepilled this month is just insane. i'm obsessed with her, i love her, she is my special perfect girl. thank you so much for feeding us with all this good olive content this month - i might die without it. everything about her story, from the introduction with her and her sister (wren... loml) and the first time she meets logan, to their ongoing friendship --> relationship dynamic has me SCREAMING. i love the story you are weaving and i'm so thankful to be able to see it unfolding in real time. she DOES leave quite the impression! the two of them make me illlll. ty for letting me send you a million lolive songs and tiktoks this month and thank you for letting me steal her for the wag au!! it will happen again (affectionately). and your lucy blurb was so captivating as well; your take on her life events leading to her arrival at the palm woods was fascinating. i love her so much! your writing only solidifies this hehe

4. Assorted works of @icegirl2772 <33 !!

• Take A Shot In The Dark Chapter 15!

We Do (But Friends Don't)

girl... you should have seen my jaw DROP at the end of this chapter... oh you got me sooooo so sosoo so good. i was throwing parties in my head... screaming... and then i was crying 😭 A DREAM??? so impactful to my health and wellbeing i stg. i cannot wait for the james and neil show down i am so ready for it... and the new addition of we do (but friends don't) was lovely. god i can't get enough of james and kaelyn!! <333

5. Assorted works of @inkameswetrust :)) !!! <3

The Windowsill

The Windowsill (pt. 2)

The Windowsill (pt. 3)

hiii bestie welcome to the reading round up... your kames fic had me screaming and crying and throwing up (affectionately) even if i accidentally started on the second chapter and not the first hehe. the dynamic between james and kendall is so sweet - james being sooo thoughtful and surprising?? hello?? i a puddle on the floor - and the dynamic you created between kendall and his family in the second edition was so cute. the knights are so special to me and i love that you chose to highlight them (even during kendall's james freak out) :)) the third edition was so cute as well! logan and carlos cutting off their conversation... teasing kendall about what happened... omg. the two of them make me so giddy and this fic is making me collect my own butterflies in my stomach hehe and the classic kendall fumble at the end had me rolling... tysm for sharing! i love your work!!!

[nikethestatue]

TW: sexual assault

I just need to vent. I saw a post today (and it’s been the case almost everyday this last week) of a certain Gwynriel posting about Gwyn’s SA and how she can have a sexual relationship. I know when Elriels even bridge this conversation we get destroyed and told we’re disgusting. I think there are obviously problematic takes on both sides of this and a lot of nuance. However, even when very informed people share their thoughts about this topic, that side goes into attack mode. Even when it’s sensitively handled, people get attacked. Even when it’s clearly stated nobody is saying Gwyn or survivors cannot have a healthy sexual relationship. Even when it’s stated this is just the opinion based on how Gwyn’s character is written and how challenging that book would be to write (and read) with power dynamics, etc.

Well today, I saw a post of a bigger Gwynriel saying that Gwyn is not a virgin and I am just…at a total loss. I sincerely do not know how this is not incredibly offensive, but people on the other side who say Gwyn is very traumatized and has severe concerns associated with her trauma, to the extent that this would be a highly triggering and complex book to write, are evil and offensive. How is it not extremely offensive for somebody to associate a violent sexual assault with a character not being a virgin!? R*pe is not consensual. It is not sex.

If this person is so upset and opposed to this dialogue, why discuss it all the time? Why bring this up every single day this week?

I’m sorry but it’s frustrating for us to be told we’re these evil and terrible people for saying that a character who is a survivor of sexual assault, who lives in a court-funded shelter for vulnerable women and can barely leave said shelter without 1. Permission and 2. High levels of anxiety and struggles to be around men, would have a more powerful story healing outside of sex and a man. It’s so frustrating that this is such an offensive take to them, but it’s fully acceptable to use this character’s sexual assault as a rationale for why she isn’t a virgin and can have a sexual relationship?? It’s fully acceptable to say that Gwyn is going to jump into a sexual relationship with bdsm involved when she hasn’t even expressed sexual interest in anybody? That’s acceptable?? But we’re the bad guys for pointing out Gwyn is uncomfortable around men and this would be a highly triggering book for so many actual, real-life women bc the book would have to deeply explore themes of intimacy after sexual trauma and have an on page first sexual experience after this?

Just because some people heal via sex and bdsm does not mean it would be and is healing to all people who have been through a similar experience.

There would have to be major disclaimers and trigger warnings to that book. And that’s something a lot of people just do not want to read. And that’s valid. I don’t want to read that, personally, either. And I want better for Gwyn’s character than for this to be the mechanism of her healing. For sex and a man, who witnessed this happen to her, and is in a position of authority and has power over her, to be that vessel of her healing.

Idk - it just seems like there is ownership of this topic on that side. I’ve seen posts accusing us of not being survivors when statistically we know this isn’t true and is again, insensitive. There is just so much nuance that is missed. People respond to trauma differently and some characters are written with more symptoms than others. If it’s somehow acceptable to say Gwyn isn’t a virgin (when as far as we know the only experience she has had was non-consensual), but it’s unacceptable to say her character, who is written as highly traumatized, may need more time and her healing in this regard not happen on page after the last book where we left her struggling to leave the library to go to Nesta’s mating ceremony, idk what to even say.

It really feels like some people in this fandom are absolved of accountability and can say horribly offensive things but it’s ok bc they’re gwynriels. How is that compassionate towards a character you claim to care about?

And using Rhys and Lucien as a rationale for why this is possible is just…not even a justifiable comparison. There is so much nuance to this and again, everyone recovers and responds differently. Rhys and Lucien can be around women comfortably. Rhys and Lucien can be in public spaces. Gwyn will get there, but not bc of a man. But bc of her own strength and fortitude in her recovery.

All of this nuance is why I think it would be difficult to write this story sensitively. I guess in summary, of course Gwyn can have a sexual relationship. I don’t think anybody has said otherwise, as far as I have seen. It’s the timing and nature of these spinoffs that make it difficult to give this story the justice it deserves. And I argue that there is nothing offensive about believing that. But there is something highly offensive about saying Gwyn isn’t a virgin when we know her only sexual experience to have been non-consensual.

Sorry. I needed to get that out.

I agree with everything you said, Anon. I think, overall, Gwynriels are so consumed by this ship, the overwhelming NEED for the ship to happen that they fail to see the optics of the ship.

In general, Gwyn wasn't written to be in any ship, at least as it was written in ACOSF, Gwyn wasn't written to be a LI to any many, let alone Azriel. Her whole history was made up for SJM for one purpose, to put her in the Library and make her a friend to Nesta.

This utter misunderstanding and misappropriation of her character by GAs leads to all these very charged and uncomfortable conversations. The issue isnt that she is ready or not ready, or that people in RL ready or arent ready for sexual relations -- it's that she wasn't WRITTEN as a character who was meant to be having any sex with anyone. She isn't going to be tying Azriel up with the ribbon in the Library, or having BDSM sex with him, because again, she was written as a Valkyrie and a friend to Nesta.

That's why the infamous bonus was so sexually charged in the beginning, and then completely lacking in any sexuality in the second part. The sexual potential, the attraction,the desire were firmly set up with elriel. NOT Gwynriel. That's why Azriel wouldn't touch her, that's why there is an underlining theme of him being her teacher, being an 'opponent' to overcome (aka cut the ribbon), and her not being interested in him.

It's not 'oh evil Eriels don't want Gwyn to have sex!!! because they hate women with SA!' (we've all heard this nonsense). We don't give a fuck, frankly, if Gwyn has sex. What we DO understand is how characters and interactions are written. If Elain is extremely uncomfortable with Lucien, we are not going to twist and write 50K metas about how she is secretly pining for him. Sometimes, things are stated with specific intention. Same with Gwyn and Azriel and Gwyn and men--SJM isn't going there, because it's not a place she needs to be as a writer and that's not where her story is going. The setup is Elriel. That's it. It's not us. It's the author, who didn't write Gwyn as a LI. That's it.

[bathroomtrapped]

ohmygod i literally just made an account on letterboxd bc i watched saw (2004) and loved it so much and ur interview was so inspiring to me and ive been on an absolute craze trying to reblog like every single saw post on tumblr and i somehow found your account what the heck?!!?!?! ur art is AMAZING and i absolutely love ur takes on saw as a franchise and its significance to the queer community. i hope to be as knowledgeable of this franchise as you are one day despite me only being a baby saw fan!!

i had a quick question; i found on the saw heritage post blog that they thought leigh/james/someone else confirmed that saw (2004) did not actually occur the day before 9/11 despite the phone given to them being set to that date. however, when i asked them if they knew where this source was from (bc im so curious!!! i want to know everything!!!!!!) but neither they nor i could find the actual source for that so i was wondering if maybe u knew??? just curious :3

regardless ty for taking the time to read this and dedicating so much time to this fandom!! i love that horror fans like you exist in a fandom that i previously thought would be weird and slightly disturbed film bros (i had a lot of incorrect preconceived notions about saw that have been quickly resolved i promise)

thank you!! im glad that people feel the same way about it as i do but even if people thought i was some crazy transexual making everyone else woke and pronouns, i wouldnt care. the story, especially lawrences but adams as well, really resonates with me as a trans person for so so many reasons, more than i listed in the interview. to me, i cant read his character without filling in the gaps with trans subtext. it not only explains but also enriches the personal experiences of these characters as well as their dynamics with each other. theyre both characters that are defined primarily by how theyre seen by other people, themselves, and eventually each other. the narrative is soooo focused on perception and masks and who u truly are, i find it hard to separate any kind of queer theory from that.

as for the 9/11 question thats such a dumbass pet peeve of mine. its one of the things that makes me shout UMMMM ACTUALLY at the top of my lungs. my blood pressure sours to inhuman levels when someone confidently says the movie takes place not just in 2001 but the day before 9/11. not because of some interview or confirmation from any of the crew because my knowledge of old fandom history is incredibly spotty. old sites and interviews r a mystery to me for the most part BUT! the reason it is for sure not before 9/11 is because during the flashback of pauls trap (during lawrences monologue about jigsaw) kerry tapp and sing are all at the scene with other officers and i believe its kerry who holds up an evidence bag thats labeled 2004. the scene takes place 5 months before the events of saw 1 so its not possible that it takes place 3 years before that. it just seemed like a funny (but insanely bold considering how 9/11 was only 3 years before) joke and easter egg for people to catch on to, not actual lore meant to be taken seriously.

if u want to look for the interview, i would honestly just listen to the commentary tracks bc it mightve been said there. i know in the one with leigh, james, and cary they discuss plot holes fans complained about, questions fans had online, the fanfic they read (briefly LOL). ive only seen that one (and once) but theres at least 2 other commentary tracks with different people that i havent gotten around to for fear of like. completing saw? idk i cant bring myself to watch all of the commentary tracks but theres a chance they discuss it there! i can only speculate on the reason, all i know is that saw 2004 takes place in 2004 based on actual evidence from the media itself

if u have any other questions let me know. i still have the original draft of the interview which had more questions and longer responses bc i couldve gone on for days abt the lore and saw queer theory and ill never shut up about it