#don't separate these characters from their things

[vanilla-twilights]

Attorney from the US here, working in the entertainment law field here, and who deals in copyright matters on the daily, which is, in fact, my favorite area of US law (even thought its hot garbage mess on the best of days).

In the US at least, the requirements for something to qualify for copyright protection are genuinely very minimal. In other countries, it may be more or less. If you're French, the law is generally massively in your favor as an artist even. No one does artist protection like the French, truly.

But in the US the only requirements are 1) originality of expression 2) fixed in a tangible medium 3) in one of 8 categories of works (literary, dramatic, pictorial/graphic/sculptural, choreography/pantomime, music, sound recording, motion pictures/audiovisual, archtecture). If your work, or parts of your work, meet all three you "own" a copyright to the work or those parts of your work.

So actually there is a high degree of protection affordable to fanfiction and fanarts, outside if the limited elements from canon that someone else holds the copyright to.

For clarity though, an idea is not copyrightable. It's the original expression of that ide which is. For example, an idea is "coffee shop meet cute". The expresion that is original is what an author does with that idea, the plot and the story beats, the dialogue and the descriptions. You know you've seen or read various expressions of this idea across fanworks and fandoms to know it can be developed in a myriad different ways that are each unique. That uniqueness is the part of a story that would always qualify for protection under copyright law, regardless of the names and physical descriptions of the characters in the story.

DC might own batman and superman, but if you write a coffee shop meet-cute au fanfic about those characters, your original story and plot elememts, and especially, the particular syntax and dictionary of your story is highly protectable. That is your originality of expression in a literay work. It's what sets your fic apart from every other cofee shop meet cute written in every fandom under the sun, probably, including any other that may exist for Bruce and Clark.

See 50 Shades of Gray, notorious for having started its first life as Twilight fanfic. Not my fandom, but im sure its not the only kink fic that existed in that fandom. And clearly, the story had sufficiently original elements to it to be able to stand on its own and be a commercial sucess as a copyrightable work with some judicious filing away of specific canon elements.

Now, if you make something truly derivative of canon (think an different looking superman or batman suit), that would be a grayer area, beacuse one of Supes defining traits is that he has the suit with the S shield on it. When you get too close to something made by someone else, its harder to separate your originality from someone elses. You can't really "file the serial numbers" off a Superman suit too easily after all, without modifying the artwork significantly to where its no longer a "superman" suit. That isn't to say there aren't or couldn't be protectable elements in the artwork, it's just that they'd be so entrenched with the canon elements that a court would almost certainly consider the work as a whole derivative. Saying something is derivative does not void it of all originally of expression, it's just that it steps on the toes of someone else's rights to their elements. This is the reason fanart generally cannot be used commercially. The idea behind that is that your taking a bite out of someone else's money pie and that isn't fair in the eyes of the law. It's not to say that there was no originalty of expression in your work.

But that cuts both ways, which is why authors don't want you sending them detailed ideas for a story, and why studios return unsolicited screenplay unread. If DC came up with their own original Bat & Supes meetcute story, the last thing they want to contend with is a fanfic author trying to sue them for stealing their story elememts. If they don't look at anything fanmade, they can assert that as part of their defense. For the love of your fandom, don't send your fanfics to the authors! It's the fastest way to make sure that idea never sees an official light of day.

All that said, RPF is actually a very intersting area, because there is no copyrightable canon elemts you're using. Traits of a human person are not copyrightable. Mother nature cannot hold copyrights in the eyes of US law. RPF, especially sport rpf, is not tyically pulling from a "canon", unless it's pulling from music videos or other creative work, but from real life traits and events of people. The reason these cannot be commercially marketed is because they'd infringe on things like someone's right of publicity and potentially could be considered libel, if the person was fussed enough about the content, but only if you were trying to posit the fic as true and factual events (its why true story film say "based on" or "inspired by" actual events rather saying these are true and actusll events). RPF though, as far as copyright goes, almost definitely entirely protectable.

Tl:dr you do own lots of elements of your fanworks, just not the specific bits that are pulled wholesale from canon. RPF surprisingly even more protectable.

You don’t own fanfics. They’re inherently public domain because they aren’t your IP. Agree or disagree with AI, there are no grounds for “protection” from AI because it isn’t your IP to begin with. That’s what you chose when you chose this medium

Oh dear.

Okay, you get an answer, because at least you took the effort to write your ask out properly, even if you are hiding behind the grey, sunglassed circle.

Do I, or any fanfic author for that matter, have any legal claims to our work? No, not really, no. (Although if someone took a fic, filed off the serial number--deleted the fandom specific elements--, and then had it published for financial gain, yeah, that would be a case.)

BUT

Fandoms are built on a social contract that says we respect each others work, the effort people put into their art. We don't steal or disrespect the work of our peers. By feeding people's fanworks to AI you both steal and disprect it, and we need to make people realize that before it's too late--before fandom falls apart, because there will be no more real, actual fanworks.

Disrepectfully,

Orlissa

(i can't believe I have to say this)

[helluvathings]

Satan and the Nature of the Deadly Sins

First note: Viv has confirmed that Satan is lying.

But I do have thoughts on where the lie here is, and what's being said or implied about the Sins. Because even accounting for the falsehood, I actually think this does strongly hint that the Sins aren't angels, and have been part of Hell from the start: presumably created when Eve ate the apple and humans gained free will, leading to sin, implicitly leading to "the Sins."

Note, Satan talks about an endless dark, "long before" Lucifer fell. He's making himself out to be a primordial entity that preexisted Lucifer and Hell's current system by a substantial margin. As if way, way back when, Satan was "in charge." If the Hazbin creation story is accurate, Hell existed without Lucifer for the duration of time it took him to be banished. We don't know how long this was, but presumably it wasn't that much time.

We also have Ozzie saying he knew Mammon "from the start of Hell." I've seen people theorize that this can fit the fallen angel theory, and he's referring to how they all met when Lucifer rebelled, but there's been so little indication that there was a big rebellion in heaven previously—as opposed to Lucifer getting kicked out for the sole act of the apple/trying to institute change as an individual—that there doesn't seem to be much evidence for additional angels having been punished. (In Hazbin, Sera warns Emily she might end up like Lucifer, citing him as an individual). It'd also be an awkward way to phrase it (something like "from before our Fall" would work better in that case). Ozzie's words in 2x07 imply, I'd argue, a common origin point, and that he and Mammon began at the same time in the same place. Which fits the Hazbin story (Eve -> apple -> free will -> sin/Hell -> Sins). It even matches with Bee saying Satan is like a brother. Common origin, but not technically related.

In which case, there possibly was endless darkness like Satan mentioned. But also, likely not much to rule, or much time for Satan to do so before Lucifer fell, when Lilith took over and structured Hell into what it is today. Given there would've been confusion and a lack of order, it likely would've been chaotic and undeveloped (Lilith being the as-of-now-canonical reason things shaped up). Satan, implied as the strongest, maybe would've scrounged up a semblance of power, but a) not for long, and b) not over anything substantial. Hence, this look from Ozzie and Bee:

But what really stands out to me is the way Satan refers to Lucifer, and the way Lucifer is separated out from the other Sins on the whole. Calling him "the golden angel" and referring to "his fall" as a distinct event separate from Satan himself does make it seem like Lucifer was something foreign that came crashing in. Note how Lucifer still looks like his angelic self. Notably, the very distinctive angel's wings none of the other Sins possess. Being a fallen angel is a massive part of his character, his motivations, his actions and beliefs. It dyes every part of who he is. On the door to the courtroom, Lucifer's angelic wings and nature are dominant in his symbol's design, and he's placed above the other Sins, whose designs revolve around their sin, or prominent physical features.

It could be argued that the others got over the Fall better, or were different classes of angels (so look different after being punished). But it's a factor that's so absent from their backstory or characterization that it'd almost undermine Lucifer's struggle to have something that colors his whole existence be totally irrelevant to the other fallen angels. I get the impression more so that Lucifer's angelic nature actually stands out, and might be one reason he feels so isolated, especially after his divorce. If he had six people who'd gone through the same trauma, he'd have something. If he's instead forced to brush elbows with and work alongside six demons that symbolize his ultimate failure, and who resulted directly from his actions with the apple, that's more complicated. Again, Satan calling him "the golden angel" makes it see like he's separating angels as something other. And "the angel's fall" is another separation. Satan lying about that part doesn't serve much purpose; if anything, if he was a fallen angel too, he could assert himself as the one who stepped up while Lucifer crashed and burned.

Instead, Satan attempts to distinguish himself from Lucifer in this entirely different way, by framing himself as something far, far more deeply rooted in Hell, older and better. It's not just an 'I'm the strongest' bluff, but there's an attempt to establish himself as the one who's always been here. And I'm thinking, when Viv says Lucifer has always been "first," she means in terms of hierarchy. Where it leaves room for the Sins to have been created as part of Hell, but Satan's lie comes from asserting the "a long time" and that he'd ever been in charge. It feels more natural to assume that Satan is doubling down and exaggerating his past authority, but not lying about his origin.

Final note: it is canon that Lucifer inadvertently created Hell, and was thrown into the pit he created. Also, confirmed that Ozzie has known Mammon since the "start of Hell." While there's a chance Ozzie is using hyperbole: it's framed like Hell was, in some form, around at least a short time before Lucifer showed up. And that Ozzie and Mammon were present. Unless there are wordplay shenanigans involved, discounting Satan's words to the extent it butts against that established timeline is probably throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Summing it up: I've seen a few reactions to Viv's post about Satan implying that it doesn't make sense with previous lore or that things aren't adding up, but I think that view overestimates how much of what Satan is saying is actually false. He's bullshitting being a primordial god-like power for sure, which fits Ozzie and Bee rolling their eyes. I think if he was lying about the whole creation story altogether, they'd have been less 'shut up, wtf,' and more visibly confused. Of course future episodes could disprove all of this, but my impression is that the way Satan referred to Lucifer and his presence in Hell actually solidifies that he (and the others) aren't fallen angels, and his "for a long time before" thing being untrue is actually a mark in favor of the Hazbin creation story being at least mostly canonical (since it wasn't a long time; he probably had like two weeks to try flexing), as opposed to proof against it.

Also maybe sets up Satan having a quiet rivalry with Lucifer or at least pushing his authority? I think it might be very relevant that Satan goes the route of I've always been here when he's trying to set himself above and apart, and that he points out Lucifer falling in as an outsider. That might just be speculation, but that framing feels intentional.

[temis-de-leon]

When they don't know you as well as they thought they did

Characters: Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub and Belphegor (x reader, separately)

Main Masterlist

C/W: the boys are crushing on MC and it's implied MC is crushing as well, but there isn't any established relationship. Just friends feeling things for their friend, very common. Self-insert, perhaps?

A/N: this is just fluff, very silly, a little ooc maybe, but I'm not sure. I just wanted to make something fun and lighthearted after the recent news.

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No one is surprised anymore at the firmness the brothers speak with when they call you part of the family. Between the pacts and the unsolicited free therapy, it’s only fair, and only an idiot wouldn’t be able to see the affection running through the House of Lamentation.

Still, there are instances every once in a while where, although it’s difficult at the beginning, the boys have no other choice but to accept the fact that you have a completely different life back in the human world and they may not know you as good as they would like.

It starts with the small things; embarrassing conversations where their ignorance gets you to laugh like a maniac more than a couple of times. There they are, blushing in self-consciousness while you cackle uncontrollably because they believed some urban legend about a faceless suited man with freakishly long arms.

Then, slowly, but surely, it turns into more personal things about you, like your irrational, downright, phobia of lizards or the fictional characters you’re surprisingly attracted to.

(Some of those aren’t human, which makes them all feel a strong sense of hope, but you don’t need to know that).

The brothers learn about your studies, favourite subjects and what you’d like to do with your future, even if it sounds hopeless or unlikely. They also keep every bit of information about your friends and family; little comments that you let go here and there and help them understand why you are someone they love so much.

The whole situation evolves in such a way that inviting them to your birthday party in the human realm seems to be the obvious next step.

‘It’s so I can celebrate it with all my loved ones’ you say, and they really can’t deny your offer after that.

So, after a few awkward introductions and half-truths about their origin, everyone is happily talking to each other and eagerly waiting for their turn to be with you.

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Lucifer, who has had a special interest in your family for a while, finds himself chuckling in understanding when your mother complains about the occasional mess in your room. In your defence, he feels obligated to partially throw his brothers under the bus and blame them for keeping you in a constant state of disarray, but then she says something that… perplexes him.

You don’t like perfection? His eyes open wide at the revelation and your mother chuckles, misinterpreting his expression. She doesn’t know who he really is or what he represents, after all.

Just how vast is the veracity of that statement? Does it refer only to a state of mind or do you apply it to everything else?

Thankfully, he doesn’t have time to feel too anxious before he remembers the little details. When your triumphal smile shone in the dimness of his room that time he made a silly mistake in chess, ultimately granting you the win; or when the Anti-Lucifer League managed to leave his hair unkempt for an entire day, which got you to shamelessly look at him for longer than any of his younger brothers would’ve ever liked.

Not being perfect isn’t something he would ever do consciously and he had always found solace in the fact that you like him despite his mistakes. However, knowing you actually like him because of those mistakes? Perhaps letting those cracks show in his façade isn’t so bad as long as it is for you.

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Not far from him, Mammon chats with your human best friend. There’s an air of competitiveness between them, both wanting to be the ultimate best friend, but it all stays light-hearted. There’s no real threat when Mammon gets to be your first demon, you know? It’s a unique position!

But he still makes sure to assert dominance by stating he would’ve made the perfect party for you, better than the one you’re currently enjoying; with food and decorations from the Devildom and the Celestial realm included, matching outfits and, of course, keeping everything hidden so you can have the best surprise of your life. He had thrown a lot of those with Asmo’s help back home, so he knows you love them!

Or he thinks you do, at least.

Your friend sniggers harmlessly when they hear that last part, pointing at him with an infuriating smartass attitude, and immediately shatters Mammon’s reality.

What the heck do they mean, you don’t like surprise parties? He’d done a lot of those back at the Devildom and you’d never complained, appreciative as you are, even helping him do the same for other’s birthday parties!

Sure, you had always looked dumbfounded by the loud cheering and the confetti after stepping through the door, but that was part of the fun… right? You would tell him if you wanted him to stop, wouldn’t you?

He feels a pang in his heart when the idea of you being uncomfortable for his sake appears in his mind, but it doesn’t make sense. While you undeniably treat him better than anyone else in all of the realms, you still correct him when you see fit and him making you unhappy on your own birthday would be one of those occasions.

He trusts you to confide in him when things are wrong just as much as you trust him to do his best. That’s what friends are for, after all.

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And where else would Levi be if not hidden in a corner playing with his DDD?

He had tried mingling with people at the party, or at least tried hanging around them, he swears, but conversations became repetitive and boring and then he received a notification for a daily reward from one of his apps, so, of course, he had to sit down to collect it. Then minutes passed as he completed minigames to power up his cards and… you get the idea.

So when a friend of yours walked towards him, complimenting the pins and badges on his bag and the faint music coming out of his headphones, sure, the evening started going way smoother.

He talks enthusiastically, just like any other time his interests are mentioned, wildly gesturing with his hands and letting the little bubble around them be full of their eager exchange. However, a casual lament from his companion stops him right in his tracks.

It’s a shame you don’t like anime…? His first reaction is to laugh, enumerating everything you’d watched, and later commented on, with him under a blanket in the tranquillity of his room, but the utter surprise in your friend’s face leaves him speechless.

You really don’t like it? But… But he’s made you see so many things! Did you like any of them? Did you lie to his face when you said you enjoyed them? He would’ve never chosen a best friend like that; you were not like that and he refused to believe the contrary.

Also, would a liar buy merch on their own like you did? Would they watch the best episodes again or listen to the soundtrack on repeat when they had a bad day? This new revelation only makes him aware he was the one to change your perspective of the fine arts and he’s damn proud of that.

You are still getting an earful when you get back home, though.

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Satan thinks the kid is a young cousin of yours, but he really hasn’t been paying attention to anything in a long while. How could he, when the enthusiastic toddler had taken their mother’s phone just to show him the family cat’s pictures and videos?

A Mackerel tabby cat, too chubby for his own good but not enough to be actually concerning; playing with feathers, blinking slowly, bumping his head against legs and shoulders, meowing sweetly and, basically, opening his heart in half and making it roam inside his chest like a butterfly.

What a good party.

He mentions all the stray cats behind his house, obviously leaving behind the name of the House of Lamentation and the Devildom, and all the times you’ve gone with him to feed them and play. Satan even shows pictures on his DDD and stops with an adoring expression when you appear on the screen, sitting on your toes with a kitty on your knees and smiling past the camera, straight at Satan.

However, what he hears next takes the air right out of his lungs. He sits down and clutches his pearls and the kid stares at him in anxious confusion, clearly witnessing but not understanding the severity of his distress.

Who, in their right mind, doesn’t like cats?

He remembers the first few times you had accompanied him to his route, intimidated and slightly lingering behind. Initially, he had assumed it was due to the novelty of your friendship or a possible fear of Devildom fauna, but nothing against cats!

Were you afraid of them or just plain uninterested? Why keep going with him if you weren’t as fond of them as he thought you were? Wouldn’t it be because of him, would it?

A warm feeling covers him like a blanket, makes him search for you with his eyes and then immediately blush when you excitedly wave at him, point at the kid and mouth ‘Cute cat!’

Yeah. Very cute.

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On the other hand, Asmo hangs out with the people responsible for the decorations of the party and compliments them on their work. The colours are well-coordinated, there’s nothing out of place and the distribution was thought with all the guests in mind.

Although he hasn’t been able to help in that regard, he’s made sure you would be the centre of attention that evening; a complicated feature coming from him, but he had never minded sharing the main spot just as long as you were the one by his side; and everyone knows that.

You look cute and pretty and hot in your outfit, a style that both compliments and pleases you. You also worked together in your makeup for hours before getting to the party.

However, taking that much time might have been due to scrolling through social media and gossiping so much, but never mind that. Everyone agrees you look incredible and that is more than enough for him.

It isn’t until one of your friends mentions how weird it is to see you wearing makeup that he dares take his eyes away from you to stare at them in disbelief.

He would’ve never guessed that given that one of your favourite pastimes together is makeup as a whole: going shopping, watching tutorials, following trends, doing your own next to each other, doing each other’s… And, even if he wants to use it, his charming power is useless against you, so he knows you do your makeup because you want to and not because you feel forced by him.

Whether it’s something you share because you enjoy it or something you enjoy because you share it with him, he isn’t sure, but he can swear on his precious damned soul that makeup isn’t a need for you.

It’s just a bonus to your beauty.

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Sitting at one of the tables, Beel is simultaneously talking to your older sibling while gulping down an entire plate of bite-sized snacks; thankfully, whatever apprehension anyone felt at his hunger died hours ago and now the conversation flowed more naturally, mainly centred around you.

As much as he loves having you near him and his brothers in the House of Lamentation and thinking of you as another member of the family, he is very interested in knowing how your human family is, especially your siblings. It’s another way of relating to you and making him feel closer.

Plus, he gets to know stories from your childhood you may never tell him on your own; anecdotes that will stay at the table he is currently sharing with your sibling.

Unfortunately, they reach a point where, although he wants to keep asking questions about you, doing so with a mouth full of food might end up with Lucifer’s scolding of the year. Also, he really wants to make a good impression.

So your sibling begins asking the questions. Surprisingly, they start with his tattoo; dark red curling around his muscles and almost going unnoticed under the colours of dusk. Beel smiles without giving it any importance because it really doesn’t have it, but forces himself to stop gulping down food when your sibling throws a fun fact about you.

You find tattoos attractive?

He feels an instant burning on his cheeks followed by the rapid beating of his heart and a knot in his stomach, but there’s also a faint unpleasant sour taste in his mouth.

You’ve never asked him about his tattoo, barely sparing a glance at it when you worked out together or he took off his jacket.

He wonders if you don’t like it or if you think it doesn’t look good on him because all he can remember is the focused look in your eyes while looking at his and the curve of your smile growing bigger as you listen to whatever he says, even when it is entirely about food, and…

You know what? He doesn’t really mind. He is fine with things as they are.

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As both a friend of yours and a fellow younger brother, Belphie respects your sibling’s decision to spill your darkest secrets and thoroughly enjoys the air of comradery between them.

Don’t worry, he won’t let it go past actual serious matters; if you want him to know any of that, he’d rather have you telling him yourself when you’re ready and not get betrayed by your sibling. Silly and harmless pieces of information, however? Those are more than welcome.

And he already has a favourite.

You need to hug plushies to sleep? Tell him more. He doesn’t judge you for feeling the need to hug toys or pillows while sleeping. Actually, he understands.

Do you have a favourite? Is it in the human realm or is it in your room back at the House of Lamentation? While he can recall seeing that ugly zombie iguana on your bed, he’s never seen you cuddling it while sleeping and, other than that, he doesn’t remember seeing one, so he wonders if you hide it somewhere when you know he’s going to your room; but what about those times he enters uninvited?

Does that mean you left your preferred plushie in your room in the human realm? Does that mean that you don’t actually need to hug anything to sleep?

Whenever you share a bed, which is pretty frequent, Belphie can sense an invisible barrier between you that he’s dying to break. It’s nothing physical, given that only he knows how truly comfortable your lap and your chest are, but it’s obvious in the way your hands hesitate to bring him closer.

Shy and indecisive, while you don’t reject his advances, he’s still unsure what your feelings on the matter are. He’d initially thought you weren’t used to having anything so close to you while sleeping, but… now… Maybe he has to assure you that you can hug him as hard as you want.

Belphie is just as good as any plushie, after all; if not better.

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Taglist: @ilovecandys2010  @ollieoven @kingofspadesdelusion @whimsybloom

[acourtofthought]

Sarah and Retcons

I don't like 'em because of the lack of consistency but clearly they matter enough for her to change things that happened from one story to the next.

Lucien's father was retconned from Beron to Helion which has now changed his entire arcs future trajectory.

Sarah retconned the behavior of Az's shadows. Before they were something Az simply controlled but as of SF they are now sentient. They are afraid of the sun, tend to disappear around Elain, are curious about Gwyn, and sing their own sort of song.

Sarah retconned what happened in Sangravah so that Az would be the one to save Gwyn and Mor then took her to the library.

If Sarah retcons something, you don't get to pull examples from multiple books back to prove a point, i.e. what his shadows did around Elain in book 3, when that information is no longer relevant to the new direction Sarah is taking things. That would be like my trying to prove Lucien is still white because she wrote him as such in book 1.

All that matters now is Lucien is biracial, Az (in his own thoughts which matters more than someone's interpretation elsewhere) confirms his shadows are his companions who will always be there for him then acknowledges they tend to vanish when Elain is around. Shortly after we see Gwyn as the only person who treats the shadows as being separate from Az (similar to Nesta being the first person to treat the House like a person) whereas Elain ignored them in his bonus, we have Az thinking on how they're curious about Gwyn's breath and content to watch her, that they calmed in her presence.

These details matter for the direction Sarah is now heading with these characters. A girl who was always so full of light and wants Sunshine with a mate who is destined to be Heir to Day?

A girl who can sing to the shadows that will always keep Az company?

[greyplainsttrpg]

I trust you, so sure, let's talk about it.

First, I want to draw a clear distinction between something that is fascist and something that is fascistic. FATAL is a clear example of a game that is openly and overly fascist. It exists for the sole purpose of advancing fascism.

Next, the definition of fascism I want to use for this discussion is something along the lines of "Ultra-conservative, race-state-capitalism." Any group of people who fall into this orbit I will consider fascists, and anything that intersects with it I will consider fascistic. The Nazis are fascists, but the US Confederates are as well with this framework even if they existed before fascism was penned as an ideology.

Something that is fascistic is something that shares characteristics with fascist media or ideology (usually unintentionally). The most common sources of a fascistic element in media comes from "maggots" which are tagalongs of a genre from the past that have terrible origins and are not fully examined in the genre itself. Fantasy is extremely vulnerable to maggots because of what it is.

An easy example of this is the D&D race system. Like, I don't think I need to explain why race is a ridiculous way to describe different "kinds" of people. Race science is the basis of fascist ideology, and D&D plays into the concept of race as if it was: a) real b) what they were even talking about in the game (they are describing species which is fine because there were multiple species of humans who coexisted for most of human history). This is not D&D's fault, and, no calling it "heritage" isn't enough because that's kicking the can down the road. What kind of heritage, WotC? What kind of heritage? Could it be... racial... heritage?

This is not D&D's fault, uniquely, but it is an obvious example of how Hasbro accepts fascistic framing without critically considering the origin of the central game mechanics that compose their game. They apply a liberal coat of paint to race science, either making the skin color of the people depicted more diverse, but this doesn't really address the fundamental problem.

What is D&D's fault uniquely is alignment. Moral objectivism isn't unique to fascism, but rejection of nuanced understandings of morality into a convenient and memeable morality chart feeds into a fundamentally conservative framework. Being able to neatly define us as good and/or lawful and them as evil and/or chaotic should be pretty obvious why that can lead to problems. When morality is used to justify violence (the gameplay element players are pushed towards the most), this conservative framing is transformed into justifying violence for the sake of lawfulness and goodness. Killing something that is evil, if the PC is good, is considered morally unquestionable by the framing of the game. This has some obvious and uncomfortable applications such as Orcs and Goblins who have historically been given a lot of traits from stereotypes of Indigenous Americans and Jews respectively.

There is also the separation between player characters and non-leveled NPCs. Being framed as inherently a hero and as powerful for simply existing is concerning rhetoric. Like, in most superhero stories there is usually some kind of explanation or context as to why the character can do things other people cannot. "People" exist in D&D as cartoonishly weak and frail creatures that can only survive the horrors of the outside world because of Adventurers fighting the BBEGs and whatnot. Non-leveled NPCs cannot meaningfully contribute to their own survival. This contributes to why murder-hoboing is such a common problem in D&D and not as much in other games which lack this clear narrative and mechanical divide between PCs and NPCs. Being morally, objectively good superhumans whose purpose is to plunder tombs and kill objectively evil people because we are among the good races of people... I mean. You know? It's a bit uncomfortable if you're familiar with fascism.

There's also the economy of D&D which doesn't reflect any economic system besides capitalism. Like, there is a narrative veneer of feudalism politically, but game doesn't introduce any of the economic realities of feudalism and instead just advances a "cash is king" solution to all economic situations. Which sounds like a dumb thing to say if the only economic system one has been exposed to or is familiar with is capitalism. Like, duh money is the solution to doing the economy, THAT'S WHAT THE ECONOMY IS but like no, not for the majority of human history. D&D does not consider engaging with economics outside the scope of what they are familiar with (capitalism). Which I get, but the default economic system is capitalism in D&D and that is something conservatives love. "Do not consider alternative economic models--capitalism is inherent to the human condition" kind of thinking. Performing violence at the behest of capitalism as the only entities with any real power (adventurers) is a fascistic framework. Don't believe me? You might want to do some research of the Japanese occupation of Manchuria between the years 1931 and 1945. In a D&D world, leveled characters of a certain status become The State in terms of who has the capacity to administer "ethical" violence. Being an adventurer is weirdly kind of a racial category of its own, maybe even more so than the coincidentally, although unhelpfully named, "races." Thus by around 8th level, a D&D party is performing State violence at the behest of a morally objective universe in order to propagate capitalism as a superhuman breed of mankind. It's uncomfortable. At the very least, it makes me uncomfortable. I made my own game partly to detangle a lot of this mess and play with player expectations of what a fantasy game expects from them.

I know that these can be handwaved by a barrage of details in the setting or through DM agency to use the game to not tell those kinds of stories. Yes, mind flayers are "evil" okay, I'm not an idiot. My point is that the structure of the game via its mechanics maintain numerous and unexamined, ultra-conservative frameworks that make it very easy for fascists to draw people into their orbit. Nazis LOVE D&D. They do so because it is a useful tool to draw in dumb teenagers with "shared values." "You like D&D, but don't you HATE all that DEI nonsense that Wizards of the Coast are doing to YOUR hobby?" It's a pretty easy pitch because D&D shares a lot of common ground with fascists.

As a thing, the person in this thread who commented on studying me like a mental patient has openly supported fascism on their Tumblr page as well as sharing tweets of Candace Owens about trans people inherently being pedophiles, so I blocked them.

If you or anyone else wants to talk more about this kind of thing in detail, that's fine. I'm explaining my position here, but I don't really want to argue with anyone about this. I'm too old and tired to argue with people on the internet--well meaning or otherwise. I'm sorry to thydungeongal for bringing up fascism. My bad. I think it's relevant to Elon buying Hasbro SPECIFICALLY to access D&D.

Like, he's not trying to buy Evil Hat Productions for Thirsty Sword Lesbians, you know lol.

Musk apparently is considering the idea of buying hasbro to secure the rights to dnd. Thoughts?

I think it would be really funny if Musk managed to do to D&D what not a single "play another game" warrior could only ever dream of,

[jennelikejennay]

Why Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a (very good) fanfic

I like SNW, for the most part. I enjoy the characters and it's nice to see largely episodic Trek again. But the idea that it fits into the existing canon is pretty easy to debunk.

Honestly, Paramount is promoting an illusion when it presents canon as a singular thing which runs from series to series as an unbroken continuity. It's not just a matter of minor glitches; those happen within episodes. It's that each show is written by different people with a different idea of how the universe even works.

Memory Alpha is partly to blame for this. Instead of actually recording what happens in the show, they construct timelines and smooth over inconsistencies to give the impression that the number of moons Vulcan does or doesn't have is a matter of simple canonical record, which it isn't. (This is an attitude that bugs me in Bible scholarship too. We can't just say "John says Jesus was crucified sometime after noon and the synoptics say nine am," oh no. They fiddle with it and explain it away and then tell us Jesus was on the cross from noon to three like that is an established historical fact.)

Anyway, if we approach Star Trek like atheist scripture scholars, we should be taking each series as a separate account with its own slightly different worldview. This was obvious by the time Enterprise came out. TOS takes place in a time not long after the invention of the warp drive, where the Enterprise is one of only twelve starships and sent on a long-range mission far beyond where humans had traveled before. Their technology is new and clunky and there's an obvious frontier feel. You really gonna tell me the NX-01 had virtually all the same tech and the warp drive a hundred years earlier?

No, and if we want to play it Watsonianly (as I prefer to) we should say that all the time travel monkeyed irreparably with the timeline, such that the Eugenics Wars happened in the 90s but then, after many different time travel events, it has been moved back to the 2040s or so. First Contact moved earlier, maybe WWIII won't happen at all. And so on.

Therefore, when you're dealing with TOS there shouldn't be this pressure to try to fit SNW events into it. You shouldn't feel the need to make Spock a guy with a long heterosexual history in a TOS fic—you can simply read him as the gay or ace guy he is clearly written as.

This is clear from the very first episode of SNW, where T'Pring proposes to Spock. In TOS they've been more than betrothed since the age of seven. There's never any sign that those two had an actual relationship. If they did, why is the only picture Spock has of her, of her as a child? That would be pretty weird!

"Charades" made this even more obvious as T'Pring's mother objects to their relationship. She set it up! In arranged marriage cultures, you don't have to impress your mother-in-law, you have to impress your betrothed!

The Chapel thing, too, is an issue. First off, her reason for being on the Enterprise in TOS is to search for her fiance, Roger Korby. If she'd been on the Enterprise before, under Pike, that would be a really odd thing to say.

But her relationship with Spock is of course the really odd part. The creators were trying to make a reason for why she pines after him in TOS. But she doesn't pine for him like an ex, she pines for him like she's curious. It's very apparent that she hasn't had sex with him before:

CHAPEL: Mister Spock.

SPOCK: What is it, Nurse?

CHAPEL: Mister Spock, (takes his hand) the men from Vulcan treat their women strangely. At least, people say that, but you're part human too. I know you don't, you couldn't, hurt me, would you? I'm in love with you, Mister Spock. You, the human Mister Spock, the Vulcan Mister Spock.

SPOCK: Nurse, you should—

CHAPEL: Christine, please. I see things, how honest you are. I know how you feel. You hide it, but you do have feeling. Oh, how we must hurt you, torture you.

SPOCK: I'm in control of my emotions.

CHAPEL: The others believe that. I don't. I love you. I don't know why, but I love you. I do love you just as you are. Oh, I love you.

SPOCK: I'm sorry.

These two straight up haven't dated before.

Taking points like this, it's clear that we don't really need to worry about the fact that Spock's character is a little bit off. They're not rewriting his character; they can't, his character is a finished project between Nimoy and the TOS writers. They are writing their version of his character, which is different from mine. I daresay mine is a little more consistent with the source material than theirs, but not all fics are trying to be exact, and they're riffing off the idea in their own way.

As a fanfic writer, my conclusion is this: when I write a TOS fic, it uses TOS canon. Anything I steal from SNW is simply because it's cool, the way I borrow from other fics or from the novels. I needn't feel obliged to put Michael in every single fic about his childhood. I can write him as a virgin before Kirk if I want to.

Meanwhile I can also write an SNW fic where he leans into his human side and experiments with women and waxes his chest if I want to. And if I push his characterization more toward what I think it should be rather than what is on the screen, well, that's my business!

I hope I do not see a trend in fic toward so much respect for paramount's official universe canon that everyone feels like they have to stay consistent with SNW all the time. TOS isn't so why should your TOS fic be?

[staybabblingbaby]

Best Friend Protocol #14 (Team Meeting part)

[Caution: These are not full fics, or even full parts of fics for some, these are part of my writing progress archive!]

Concept: You're Felix's childhood friend, and you and he have been planning a visit to see him for his birthday for what feels like years now. Unfortunately, SKZ is a very busy group, and the week-long vacation you'd planned for doesn't seem possible.Until Felix decides to ask his bandmates a favor...

Word Count: 2672

Notes: IT'S FINALLY HERE! ALL HAIL THE LEGENDARY FIRST WRITTEN PART OF BFP! I meant to have this out over a week ago, but it's here now! I will be attempting to get a regular chapter out here shortly to fulfil my promised 4 november chapters. Wish me luck! Huge shout out to one of my beautiful beloved betas, @brbwritingfanfic for taking the time to make sense of this damn thing lmao. I appreciate you spotting all my errors, you a real one <3 For those familiar with my archive style and curious, this is A3D2 for this chapter. It was kicking my ASS. If enough folks are interested I don't mind releasing the other attempts, but BFP is a bit divorced from the usual archive proceedings, so I'll leave that up to y'all. I actually really loved how Felix's character came through here, and i'm pretty pleased with how the dialogue turned out. My poor fiance had to sit through like 5 separate rants about how i could not roll back the details enough and kept having to scrap dialogue so it sounded less like AI attempting classical literature.

Warnings: She/Her Reader. Sort of? Polyamory negotiations. More like, the possibility is tossed out there.

Leave me comments or questions or anything! Love hearing from folks

Additional Note: I'm always taking interaction requests. Just fyi

Masterlist | Prev Part | Next Part (coming soon!)

The meeting goes something like this;

They pile into the living room of his and Seungmin’s shiny new dorm without discussion. It makes Felix both nervous and grateful. They’ve always had these meetings wherever Chris happened to be, before. It feels like an unspoken declaration of allegiance. Like they’re letting Felix take the lead, here.

The pressure is kind of getting to him already, as they all settle in. He doesn’t even know how he feels about it all himself, making a decision doesn’t seem like something he should be in charge of right now.

Still, he’s grateful. They’re being so mindful of him in this, and he kind of wants to cry about it. He feels seen, and loved. A bit too seen, maybe, but as embarrassing as it is he’s still a bit gooey inside about it.

Felix drags a beanbag over to where Hyunjin has settled on the couch, plopping down to lean against the other man’s legs. A hand automatically goes to bury itself in his hair, like an anchor against Felix’s stormy thoughts.

The grounding warmth of one of his best friends soothes Felix as Chris calls the meeting to order.  

“So!” Their leader casts an inquiring gaze around the room, “Who wants to start? Where are we at right now?”

A few glances are cast Felix’s way, but he tips his head back against Hyunjin’s knees to avoid their eyes. Everyone must get the message, because no one prompts him.

Jisung is the one who eventually bites the bullet, and Felix sends a silent ‘thank you’ to his birthday buddy.

“Well, I’d like to clarify everyone’s, like, goal in this?” Jisung puts forward tentatively, “Because I’m at the point where it’s more of a ‘I’d like to get to know her’ thing than a ‘I want to date her’ thing.” he shrugs to himself, “I haven’t talked to her much yet, I just think she’s cool.”

“I’m a little bit smitten,” Changbin admits from across the room. He gives Felix an apologetic grimace, but all Felix can do is wave him off with a worried smile. 

“We talked for quite a while the other day and, I dunno... We clicked? I guess? I feel like we did, anyway. I kind of want to see where that could go if we let it.” 

Changbin sends an almost appealing look to Felix as he speaks, and honestly? Super awkward for Felix right now.

Because, see, Felix’s first instinct is to get super defensive and shut everything down. He doesn’t really want to be talking about this, and it scratches at something delicate and boyish in him that they’re having this discussion at all.

It’s embarrassing to know that the feelings he’s kept so close to his chest for so many years are out in the open. It feels a bit like a betrayal that this meeting is about the fact that most of his friends have feelings for the girl he’s had a crush on basically his whole life, instead of planning how to get him to stop being stupid about said crush.

It’s just... Uncomfortable. On so many levels. An ugly monster wants to tear out of Felix’s throat as he locks eyes with Changbin, but a light scratch at his scalp from Hyunjin stalls the beast.

Right. Felix reminds himself that these aren’t any old friends. These aren’t just some acquaintances he could burn bridges with, or strange men he had to protect his angel from.

No, these were his brothers, the people he’d shed blood, sweat, and tears with. The men he’d lived with, grown with, the guys who’d seen more of him than any other person in the world.

Felix finds it in himself to spare Changbin a strained smile. He means it to be reassuring, but he’s so tangled up in his thoughts right now that it’s the best he can offer. The older man seems grateful for it anyway.

He turns his gaze up to Hyunjin, the catalyst of all this, and Felix’s current rock in the storm. He tries to keep in mind how much he loves these people as he moves the conversation forward.

He has to hear them out, at least.

“Thoughts, Hyun?” Felix gently inquires. 

Hyunjin briefly presses his lips together, gathering his thoughts into words. 

“I’ve been pretty open in my flirtation from the start, I think.” he finally says, “So I guess I’m more surprised that anyone else is? Surprised, I mean.”

Felix has to hand him that one. For all that his ‘no flirting’ rule had been mostly a joke, it did mean that he’d expected them to flirt with her. 

He wonders what makes things different now? He’d been okay with the flirting when he’d thought everyone was just joking around, has anything really changed now that he knows it’s real?

Felix sits with that thought while Minho throws his two cents in.

“I don’t think surprised is the right word,” their second eldest ponders aloud, “I’m personally more... worried about how this might work out.” He draws the words out slowly, like he’s tasting the flavor of them before he speaks.

It’s off-putting to hear Minho speak so cautiously- he’s usually so blunt with his words. 

“I’m more worried about how this will affect us as a group,” Minho admits, “I mean, I like her, she’s fun, but I don’t want her if it’s going to cause issues among us.”

And the older man has a point. Anything that causes discord in a group like theirs is a disaster waiting to happen. Especially something like this, where a misstep could lead to long-term resentments and jealousies.

Felix feels pressured by the group’s regard for him all over again. One word from him, and he knows it all ends. The moment he says he can’t handle this is the moment that the rest back off. The emotions won’t fade, Felix knows, but they’d do it anyways.

Because they love him.

He loves them right back.

“I really like her,” Seungmin pipes in, face blank. His eyes cast toward the floor for a moment, before rising again to meet Felix’s. “I really like her,” He repeats, “I don’t know that I would be okay with letting go without trying.”

Felix pulls his bottom lip between his teeth and nods at the younger man. His head tips toward his lap while he thinks, brow furrowing as he loses himself to his tumultuous thoughts.

It helps to hear everyone’s feelings put so bluntly, Felix thinks. Having everyone’s stances laid out clearly like a map in his mind’s eye. 

Han, who’s not invested but interested anyways.

Changbin, who’s probably in deeper than he’d really like to be.

Hyunjin, who’d been open about his intentions from the start.

Minho, who the fact that he’s even considering her means more than Felix thinks the man realizes. And yet, he’d give her up at the first seed of discord among the group.

It’s kind of heartwarming, when Felix thinks about how much love their second eldest had shown them with those words. 

Finally, there’s Seungmin. A man whose compliments are hard earned, and whose feelings are closely guarded. A man who’d just handed Felix his heart on a silver platter, trust and love etched in every word, spoken and not.

Felix’s first instinct is still to shut them down. His clouded heart tells him to scoop up his angel and hide her away like a dragon with its hoard. To claim her as his and his alone, and feel slighted if anyone tried to contest that.

But that’s not fair. Not to his members and not to her. Not even to himself.

They’d shown him respect and care every step of the way, the least he could do is give them more than a knee-jerk reaction.

“Is it really all that complicated?” Jeongin ponders aloud.

Their maknae looks almost bored from his armchair, staring at them all. His furrowed brow gives away his worry, as does the way he allows Chris to pull him into the elder’s side with an arm around his shoulders.

“I mean, it’s up to her in the end, isn’t it?” their youngest continues, “she’s the only one that can really make a final call.”

“Could we handle that?” Felix finally speaks up. It’s a little scary having everyone’s attention snap to him like that, but this is the crux of the matter, he thinks.

“If she chooses one of us, could we handle that?” he elaborates.

A contemplative silence descends over the room. Felix kind of wishes he could peek into the member’s brains at this moment. He wants to know if they’re as worried as he is, if they’re worried about the same things he is. 

Because, quite honestly, the more he thinks about it the less he really minds if they flirt with his angel.

It’s taken him this long to untangle the ugly knot of emotions in his chest, and he still can’t see all of it for what it is, but the core of it all, he thinks, is fear.

He’s afraid that, at the end of it all, he’ll be left behind. That he’ll lose two of his very best friends, his favorite people in the world, to each other.

He doesn’t think he could handle that.

It’s an unjustified fear, Felix knows. His bonds with all of these people, the seven present in the room with him and one halfway across the world, are stronger than anything. Forged in fire and elastic with time, he’s sure there’s nothing that could ever truly break them.

That doesn’t stop anxiety from creeping up his spine.

Felix lets his eyes wander around the room, landing on each of his members in turn. It’s like something in him believes that they could guide him in this, just by looking at them, the way his gaze lands heavily on each of their forms.

Hyunjin’s hand drops from his head to knead at the base of his neck, and Felix feels himself soften. A little bit of the anxiety drains from him at the comforting touch, and with it gone he can see something new under the miasma of fear and uncertainty.

It’s bright, like hope, and a bit more exciting. A giddy little thought bubbles up with it-

“What if she chose more than one of us?” Han beats him to the punch. His eyes flick between them all anxiously, looking very much like the rodent he’s nicknamed for, and when he’s met with seven confused stares and Felix’s suppressed grin, he starts to babble.

“I- I mean, we’ve all shared partners before. Like, sexually, at least. I just- I mean- We’re not strangers to sharing, is all I’m tryna say!” Han explains himself.

His shoulders rise up to cherry-red ears under the weight of their stares. Minho places a calming hand on his thigh, even as he pokes holes in the other man’s claim.

“We’ve never shared romantic partners though,” He points out, annoyingly reasonable, “That’s a completely different thing.” 

“I’d be willing to give it a shot,” Hyunjin shrugs when all eyes turn to him.

He was, admittedly, the last of them Felix had expected to back the idea. Hyunjin was the most romantic of them all, and the least likely to indulge one of them in sharing a partner or two.

“I love you guys, and I really like her,” Hyunjin states plainly, “I don’t see an issue with it.”

“So.. what? We try for, like, a.. polycule kinda thing if she wants?” Changbin questions. He scrunches up his face in concern at the concept, pointing out, “That feels a little unbalanced, doesn't it? Is it fair to hinge the whole thing on her?”

“It's going to hinge on her whether it's fair or not,” Jeongin interjects, “You all have crushes on her, not on eachother.”

“I just don’t know how comfortable I can be with that,” Changbin explains, “There’s one of her, and currently six of us. I don’t think it’s humanly possible for her to split her time enough for all of us, and it’s really unfair of us to expect it of her.”

“It could be a good thing, though,” Han argues, “None of us have the time to dedicate to a relationship how we should. Having more than one of us to turn to could be a good thing.”

“Okay, but you’re all forgetting something very important in this hypothetical,” Jeongin stresses the word, making pointed eye contact with his hyungs, “situation. She has to agree to it too. We can’t make a decision without her.”

Felix can't help but be proud of their youngest for reminding them of y/n’s place in all this. It’s not like they’d forgotten, but it was a good reminder anyway. It did feel a bit icky to be talking about their relationship with her like it was a foregone conclusion.

“I’m just saying!” Han proclaims, throwing his hands in the air, “It’s a possibility that we should be open to if it happens!”

Finally, Chris loudly claps to get everyone's attention and forestall any oncoming argument.

“Oh-kay!” he enthuses, “Let’s refocus. Show of hands, are we okay with everyone flirting with her if they want to?”

All hands go up, none of them opposed to anyone else shooting their shot. Felix pretends like all eyes aren’t on him as he easily raises his arm.

“Alright, next” Chris pushes on, “Do we think we can handle it if she chooses one of us?”

Hesitant murmurs sound around the room at this, but Felix has come to an understanding with himself during this meeting, so he speaks confidently when he says, “I think we’ll be okay.”

His words seem to reassure the others, and a ripple of agreement and gentle ribbing starts circling the room.

“Alright,” Chris nods to himself, interrupting the wave before they could get started with any mischief. He really does know them too well.

“And finally,” he starts, an indecipherable expression crossing his face, “show of hands, who’s alright with the poly thing if it comes to it?”

This subject is more divisive, Han, Hyujin, and Felix’s hands going up, but Minho and Changbin stay quiet with worried faces. Seungmin holds his arm out in front of him with his thumb held out sideways. When questioned, he just says he’s not sure how he feels about it yet.

“We’ll circle back on that later, then.” Chris decides, “I think that’s one of those things we need to be unanimous on.”

Agreements sound out, and the atmosphere relaxes. The evening quickly devolves into an impromptu game night, the group quickly descending upon Felix’s console games like a pack of hyenas.

Felix gets up to switch the TV over to his switch, intentions of strong-arming everyone into playing Mario Party in mind. Chris grabs him by the elbow as he walks by, nodding over to the kitchen. Felix follows him over, already unbearably fond. 

“You sure you're good?” Chris asks lowly, “You've been her friend the longest, and we quite literally thought you were dating her already for a while there. They'll back off if you ask, you know.” 

Felix nods, smiling softly at their leader’s care. “I'm good I promise.” he swears, “I meant it when I said I liked it when my favorite people get along.”

He turns to look through the doorway back at the living room. Despite the strange and personal nature of their conversation, jokes and laughter flow easily now. As if there was never any tension at all. 

Felix can feel himself practically melt as he looks at them, a sentiment he knows their leader shares.

“It would hurt,” Felix admits, “If she chose someone else. But there’s no one I’d trust to hurt me more, y’know?”

Chris doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t really need to. He squeezes Felix’s elbow gently as the younger dives back into the chaos, and Felix knows he’s been understood.

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[acid-ixx]

If you don’t mind me asking, what does your planning process look like for your chapters and what do you write first?? I’m trying to write my own Ybatfam fic rn but I just don’t know what to add to my chapters and really just how to start them.

I love your work, your really the one who inspired me to try writing my own🩵🩵🩵

hii anon !! i'm glad u asked this, though i am no way an expert in writing, i've been doing so for years now and i've learned quite a lot from it. thanks for asking this and i hope this is comprehensive enough 😭

so when it comes to planning for a chapter, or just a one-shot, i always write out what i want to establish within it. ask yourself; what does the chapter center around? would it be the relationships with characters, or the emotions you want to portray, is it angsty or just hurt/comfort? in planning, i write the general gist of what will happen through the entire thing (read: planned fanfics) before i move on to outlining.

and here, outlining helps like a god. i like to separate a chapter into multiple parts, and combine them altogether in the end. so when it comes to outlines, i just write out what i want to write and not the actual dialogue or actions in it (example: in this scene, jason tries to talk it out with you, you fight back and force him to let you out. in the next part, you're of the apartment and near to breaking down, you don't notice two sets of eyes watching over you).

sometimes, if i'm ever stuck i just write in the middle or the end because it helps me establish a flow and the build up.

also, setting the settings, changing the atmospheres, adding parallelism, and using figures of speech (simile, metaphors, personifications, etc. (e.g. conner knows you're perfect, with just how the flowers at the manor sings for your presence or how the beams of sunlight always directs itself at you)) are really helpful for when my writing feels dry or doesn't feel as compelling. it's not always required but it helps adding flowery (but not-so much) words or relating characters into objects with symbolisms to give readers an even deeper insight of who the characters is and why they are like that.

writing for the actual chapter, even starting it is always going to be the hard part. it's like starting an essay, but i suggest treating it like an essay— what do you want to focus on? always remember that the start of a chapter helps set up the mood and pacing of the story, so whether it'd be action packed or something lighthearted, reflect it upon the flow of your words too.

start with an interesting hook, whether it'd be rhetorical questions or digging deep into a character's personality and diving into specifics about it, have key points and expound upon it; and always take note of the atmosphere of how your entire story should be, show it through actions, reactions, gestures and dialogues.

otherwise, i've not much to say but take your time and don't pressure yourself with trying to achieve perfection. i'm pretty much someone who likes to write out my ideas before the actual planning so most of the time i wing most of what i want to write (loving family, unpalatable desire is a product of it) and hope to god that whatever outcome will be decent.

and thank you so much anon for finding me as an inspiration 🥹 it's unbelievable, the amount of support i mean— and if you ever do wish to post your own fic and feel doubtful of it still, you can always also chat me through my chatbox here in tumblr since it's pretty much open for anyone.

[l0ganberry]

HB Satan headcanons

(all random thoughts to feed all you simps, including myself)

☆There was a time where all the deadly sins had a band, and Satan was and still is a professional with playing the guitar. (Either one but I would love to see him with a Electric guitar, shredding it)

☆Is definitely one of those muscleheads that worry about working out on their arms only. Never legs

Like this (HE LOOKS LIKE THIS. Broad chest with skinny legs):

☆does meditations on his freetime, with the help of Yogirt

☆is one of those healing crystal girls

☆doesn't care about messes

☆BIG COLLECTOR

☆since he's a dragon, he definitely has many piles of hoards

☆he will be only tidy with his hoards so he knows what's with

☆Examples: a separate hoard of weights and another of crystals

☆but the amount of stuff becomes so bad like one of those tv shows where they visit trashed homes, piled up with shit everywhere.

☆loves ASMR (FIGHT ME!!)

☆I love the idea that he did babysit Charlie Morningstar when she was a baby

☆He would pretend that he hates it, but in reality, he enjoys it

☆Softie to children

☆has serious anger issues but overtime has admittedly gotten better from help on strategies

☆overconfident af

☆cares deeply about his appearance

☆that means he is obsessive with self care

☆has favorites

☆I don't think he goes through that many imps to act as his comfort buddy, like Yogirt

☆Oh! Also can tend to have a soft spot for imps

☆he canonly admits to making imps to be obedient, so does see them like pets (for how terribly belittled they are, yes.)

☆his feelings for imps always shift depending on the situation

☆imagine Satan's and Yogirt's relationship is the same as Asmodeus's and Fizzarolli's?(I'M CALLING IT!)

☆grunts all the time

☆favorite food is deviled eggs (eh🤷‍♀️)

That's all I can think of right now. But I'll make more headcanons. Feel free to go wild with any of these headcanons that you agree with. That's the fun things with headcanons. They're like little fun theories about the character. True or not, it's not meant to be taken serious. (Unless proven true in future episodes<3)

[utilitycaster]

for the controversial opinions thing: Neve and Lucanis's romantic relationship is good actually.

obviously, agreed; I literally considered the potential of their relationship to be an outright selling point for the game, and I've alluded heavily to it in a few posts, but time to actually talk about it.

I don't think you can ENTIRELY discount all criticism on the basis of the fans from which it comes, because that's an oversimplification that fails to provide any sort of defense, just a counter-attack. WITH THAT SAID it does feel like the vast majority of criticism of the relationship comes from people who have a very "I can fix him...and ONLY I can fix him" attitude towards the Rook/Lucanis romance option and are looking for something fraught and dramatic and angsty and are mad that Lucanis is not looking for that in his relationship, either with Rook or with Neve. Like, I cannot stress that the fact that the most popular non-Crow Lucanis romance option is Rook Mercar is WILD to me when it should be the least popular by a country mile has been ENLIGHTENING to say the least. I definitely think the fact that Neve is a woman of color does not HELP but I think even people who like Neve and are not being racist or misogynistic towards her are still mad that Lucanis is depicted as, well, bisexual but not playersexual, and he still has clear preferences and Neve is among them. (I have NOT seen the same criticism among Neve romancers which is interesting to me and I think that again while racism/misogyny play a part, I don't think people are interested in that same I Can Fix Her/I Am Her OTP narrative).

Anyway getting to the actual relationship and why it's good: Neve and Lucanis are both people who are quite private about their lives but in different ways. Neve doesn't show vulnerability out of cynicism and the way she's had to force herself not to get too invested because she's lost people in her line of work, whereas Lucanis doesn't because he is proud. Neve's response to you choosing Treviso is "you don't care about Dock Town; most people don't and it bothers me but I can't show it does, because if I did I couldn't go on doing my work." Lucanis's response to you choosing Minrathous is "I begged for your help publicly and you turned me down, so I'm never asking for your help again." And they both, despite those separate motivations, instantly get how the other feels. Neve doesn't blame Lucanis because she's also fighting for her city! Lucanis doesn't have the same hangups about Neve because she was ALSO begging for help.

From what I know they also romance each other in a way not unlike how they romance Rook, and I think that's indicative of like, a well-formed character with clear preferences. Like, they are people who would, indeed, like each other. Everyone in the Veilguard has a great deal of pride in what they do, that's kind of the point, but Lucanis is an extremely patient and cautious person in romance, and Neve responds to that! If you're not going to do a full wisp stakeout with her she's not interested! And Neve is both extremely kind towards Lucanis and supports you telling him he shouldn't be used to Spite taking control, but doesn't turn this into a melodramatic "oh you poor thing" production, and a lot of what Lucanis wants is to be treated kindly but normally.

The canon banter they have about the relationship with other companions really boils down to, well, I know it gets used a lot, but the EEAAO Laundry and Taxes line. They are both people who have suffered greatly but what they're looking for is someone who will make them coffee at four in the morning and be patient when they're not forthcoming. Essentially they're BOTH really sensitive to being treated as A Project To Be Fixed and want someone who will not do that, and who will instead be patient and domestic and blissfully undramatic with them and give them space to open up rather than push them.

I started to go off about this in the tags and realized I should put it in the post but: I think a lot of people DO understand the companions/factions are all genre stories but DON'T get that the companions do NOT (with the possible exception of Taash) want their romance to be that genre. Lucanis is in a soap opera and Neve is in a detective story and BOTH of them want their love life to be a respite from that, not more of the same.

[deadlysoupy]

as i prepare myself (mentally) to replay da2 i think about Isabela and Rook's relationship and how there's so little of it it makes me want to throw up (and how i imagine their relationship to be)

with Rook's background of being a Tevinter galley slave (i think this happens regardless of race which. Okay) Isabela could so easily see Fenris here. even in da2 she has a banter with him about freeing slaves:

Fenris: "So you freed a group of slaves?"

Isabela: "Would-be slaves. They weren't slaves yet"

Fenris: "Still, you did a brave thing. Many would turn a blind eye"

Isabela: "Don't read too much into it, alright? It just... seemed like a good idea at the time"

so this part is totally in character. she may joke about a lot of things, but she believes everyone should be free, as do mages, who are met with disgust by so many people in Kirkwall. so imagine her freeing our Rook and taking them in to give them a better life, so they wouldn't end up like Fenris did: angry, full of prejudices and uncontrollable rage

it would be odd for her to want to have kids, considering what her mother was to her and how quickly she gave Isabela away, but it would be interesting to delve into that side of her, especially if she's in a relationship with Hawke. if Teia and Viago get to have that dynamic, why can't she? with the way they bantered with each other after Rook and Taash come back for the first time, it's very subtly implied that she taught them everything they know

and with the way the Lords are, it's no wonder Rook's personality would be shaped by them: Isa is a cocky swashbuckler, and she'd hate to have that rob off on them, but it does. they're both so awful at feelings and emotions, so Isabela wouldn't be able to outward say how she wanted to protect them from harm by Politics, and they wouldn't be able to admit how they want to be back and how they miss being with the Lords

and during the finale i really wanted Isabela and Rook to have some closure. it felt like they separated on a sour mood, and with so much happening in the final battle i would have loved seeing Isabela giving Rook some affection because, in a way, they're her apprentice, her special little guy, and she worries for them even if she really hates to do that. maybe she even promises to get Rook back into the Lords (why they were expelled in the first place is always a mystery to me but whateverrr)

i almost wish the Lords weren't an official faction but a pirate crew or something, a trader's post, a guild, but they have so little content i don't even know what they are, fully. and who cares at this point i say we headcanon the shit out of them

[rei-ismyname]

Let's talk R-LDS

R-LDS or Resurrection-Linked Degenerative Sickness was alluded to in X-Men #4 and the Infinity Comics before being named in X-Men #7. We're told that Magneto has it and it's directly caused by Krakoan resurrection/The Five, kinda.

Here's Beast doing some alluding.

In the panels above, we learn that Hank McCoy is the only one working on the problem - the problem being Magneto's loss of his powers and his body breaking down rapidly - his very chromosomes unraveling. He seems quite sure that it could happen to 'any of us' though the lack of quarantine suggests it's not contagious.

The next bit of information we receive is from Magneto and Scott in conversation, reflecting on The Iron Night. They took down a wild sentinel that was attacking the town and Mags lost control over his powers immediately after, requiring Scott to knock him out for safety's sake. Scott is no scientist, and while Magneto is a genius polymath autodidact (with plenty of experience in genetics) it's not a character trait that's seen focus lately. Thus, I'm assuming they're discussing it as amateurs and as patient zero in Magneto's case.

Magneto confidently names the condition for the first time as well as using an acronym for it, suggesting it's confirmed to exist, he's had a positive diagnosis, and they're using the term enough to require shorthand. He even spells out the subtext for us - it was a hidden flaw in Krakoan resurrection. I'll come back to that notion. Scott says 'we don't know that for sure,' implying that R-LDS is just a theory or speculation, which Mags doesn't directly refute. Instead he lays out the worst case scenario. They can't both be right here, so what's the deal? Magneto's symptoms are obviously confirmed, but how did they get from there to here?

If Magneto is the first and only person affected by his condition, why are he and Beast so sure about its providence and everyone being in danger? How could they possibly link it to Krakoan resurrection? I'm no scientist but I do know that there's only so much you can conclude from a single data point. Magneto was indeed only resurrected by the Five once, but he died again after that on Arakko (X-Men Red #7). The body he's in came out of a portal from Overspace in Adam Brashear's underwater base (Resurrection of Magneto #3.) His body suffering a condition borne of something that happened to a different body doesn't make sense. Considering he's the only person to return to life that way AND the only one allegedly with R-LDS, that would be the place to start for Beast's sciencing.

There he is, good as new.

Word of God

In a recent AIPT interview, Tom Brevoort removed any ambiguity and just straight up confirmed it. With the caveat that his recent X-history knowledge seems pretty poor, he is the de jure ultimate authority on the matter. I don't agree with that, and not just because I don't respect him as a creator. This habit of on-panel ambiguity and editorialising in interviews is vexing.

It's especially vexing when he contradicts himself. He counterpoints his own information with some of what I just pointed out, but the fact that they've made a list of who was and wasn't resurrected suggests R-LDS is a plot point they're committed to. I have to wonder why he bothered giving a detailed answer to this question if it's 'yes,' then 'maybe', then 'it will definitely be a thing you'll see as we progress.' Saying all of that and then ending with 'we know very little so far' really makes me wonder what he's thinking. Tom Brevoort could have given his usual cagey answer about not wanting to spoil anything, but he didn't here. I'm saving most of my Brevoort-specific criticism for a separate piece, but this glib and irreverent tone is typical of his commentary - even managing a light jab at Jordan D White.

Frankly, I think it's a graceless and cynical development. There are so many character beats, mistakes, and conflicts to use from the First Krakoan Age that choosing to create R-LDS feels like a shot at the core of hopefulness and creativity that blew our socks off in 2019.

HoxPoX

House of X/Powers of X was hopeful and magical. After a decade plus of endless misery and genocides, dull stories and bizarre characterisation, for once mutants got a W. The ability to use mutants working together to right the horrendous wrongs they'd suffered was central to that - the power of community and cooperation. What they built wasn't perfect but The Five was something they got right.

What would possess someone to take the cornerstone of the greatest X-Men story of all time (don't @ me) and try to tear it down? Remember, when the dust settled we ended up in Moira X life 10E. In 10A, the original Krakoan experiment, the mutants won! They thrived and protected what was theirs against Dominions. It took a literal apex AI God existing outside of space and time directly opposing them to fail. Enigma, on the back foot, sent Omega Sentinel through time to start ORCHIS years early and ensure Krakoa's collapse. Am I to believe 'no, sorry. That was a dead end?'

Haven't we been here before?

We've had mutants suffer from the Legacy Virus and M-Pox already, and I might even be missing other examples of nebulous diseases that threatened to wipe out all mutants. Obviously it's the prerogative of the X-Office to use whatever plot points they want, but do we really have to do this again? There are plenty of ways to sideline Magneto as a combatant that don't require repackaging old storylines. We've even had Hank McCoy decades behind the curve desperately trying to catch up before - in All-New All-Different X-Men.

Small World

Defenders-era Hank McCoy might be the worst possible 616 scientist to tackle this problem. He's literally decades behind the science curve and doesn't have the experience in dealing with anything like this. He's not the same guy that worked on M-Pox or the Legacy Virus. He never set foot on Krakoa and has never met any of the Five. We don't know how much data was recorded or kept from The Five but Beast may not have access to it.

Why isn't he talking to Cecilia Reyes, Forge, Jean Grey, Reed Richards, Doctor Strange, Adam Brashear, Healer, Doctor Nemesis? Even doctor dickhead that extorted Storm has the ability to instantly diagnose anyone. It makes the world feel tiny, and when you're following an era of interconnectedness that's just so disappointing. Portraying him as supremely concerned about 'all of us being ticking time bombs' rings hollow if he's working on it solo. Hank McCoy has always had a sense of arrogance where his scientific ability is concerned but not to this degree. Look at the guy! He's hating the stress he's under.

Sins of Sinister and the White Hot Room

I have to wonder if the implications of linking Magneto's illness to The Five's resurrection have been fully considered. The Sins of Sinister timeline ran for a millennium with the Five resurrecting on an industrial scale. Rasputin IV would have noticed, or the Quiet Council. The mutants left behind in the White Hot Room in RotPox spent 15 years bringing back ALL the dead mutants. That's 16 million, minimum. 15 years is less than a thousand but it's still longer than the First Krakoan Age, several times over. Nobody noticed anything? Elixir, member of the Five and Omega biokinetic, with his unlimited mastery of DNA didn't notice anything? Sounds dubious as hell to me.

Towards the end of the era many humans were resurrected too. 5% of the Five's work was set aside for bringing back poor children etc through the Phoenix Foundation. Steve Rogers was resurrected into his current body on Judgement Day. I am extremely skeptical that this has been considered, and in Steve's case whether the X-Office can even use him.

Conclusion

Magneto's physical degradation has been swift. Here he is in Uncanny X-Men #700, implied to be at most 6 months before X-Men #1. I think I've demonstrated that the concept is nonsensical and to reiterate, I think it's a terrible narrative choice. If I'm being generous, it'll be interesting to see if they can explain R-LDS in a way that makes sense - if they can do something new and interesting with a tired concept. There's only been one issue since it was introduced, so perhaps I'm jumping the gun on breaking it down. Let's check back in 6 months.

What do you think of R-LDS? Do you think my reasoning is sound? As always, I'd love to hear what other fans think.

[lonelylittledot]

Wicked

~ a Wicked scholar's thoughts on the movie

Okay. I had detached myself from any feelings about the movie truly years ago, and so I walked into the movie theatre with really low expectations.

My overall opinion: it was not a bad adaptation. I'd expected to give it 3/10, it turned out as a solid 6.5/10.

Here are just a few things that stuck out to me:

The landscapes - didn't hate them but didn't like them.

The costumes - amazing. Pretty much every outfit slayed. I feel like they could have been even a bit more extravagant, but they were great as they were. - As for Elphaba, I think my favorite outfit was the first Shiz dress and the post-Popular outfit. - Glinda's bubble dress was exquisite, and I really liked her Emerald City ensemble, although I do miss the yellow dress, I feel like it doesn't get enough love

I liked Ariana's G(a)linda surprisingly a lot. Maybe it's because I know she's a huge Wicked fan, but I felt like her love for the source material really showed.

I wasn't really sold on Cynthia. Don't get me wrong, she has a truly fabulous voice, and she absolutely did shine in the big, loud parts - but overall, I wasn't a fan of her versions of the songs. She looked and acted great, though.

Michelle Yeoh, the woman you are. Fantastic casting, no notes.

Jonathan. Oh, dear, Johnathan Bailey. Looks? Hot. Vocals? Gorgeous. Vibes? Flawless. I wish he'd played the role a decade ago, because he does look forty and not college-age, but I think everything else about him truly makes up for it.

Speaking of - I liked that Fiyero got just a few tiny little additional scenes/lines, really helped to flesh out his character more.

Grammar-nazi Elphaba, my beloved.

Listen, I have shipped Fiyero and Elphaba since I was 14. And I'm not going to stop now. I stan them, I loved their chemistry in the movie, I will ship them until the day I die.

The direction on G(a)linda/Elphaba - hella gay. But I didn't quite feel their chemistry, neither friendly nor romantic. It was okay, but didn't blow me away.

IDINA AND KRISTEN???? love love love love my og queens

The movie dragged on. A lot. This is my only really big criticism, unfortunately it's a really important one. I think they could easily have made the whole musical into one 3h long movie, and it would have been much better for the pacing. - there weren't even that many added scenes; and a lot of the additions were pretty good, actually - some were totally unnecessary though. like the guards chasing Elphaba and Glinda and the whole balloon shenanigans? - similarly, many scenes were just unnecessarily stretched out; with the camera staying too long in one place or one moment being dragged out way too long - some of the songs just had slightly longer (like 2 bars?) breakes between the choruses added for no reason

Defying Gravity. This is the same thing as one of the previous comments, but I feel like it deserves its separate mention. The pacing in that scene (or, here, more like a collection of scenes) was extremely off, the song losing all of its momentum by being chopped up into pieces. And the way they made us wait for the iconic vocalization at the end; I honestly thought I'd die of boredom.

Sometimes I felt like the movie couldn't decide if it wanted to be more stage-y and theatrical, and lean into the whole campy vibe, or more cinematic and "naturally" acted; and sometimes it switched weirdly between the two.

There was one single thing that looked way better onscreen than onstage. The Lion cub. In the movie, he looked extremely cute, tiny little adorable darling baby kitten. Way better than the creepy-ass puppet they use in the show.

There were many more tasty little details that I simply couldn't remember/write down, or else I wouldn't have been able to pay any attention to the movie. Once it's available, maybe I'll rewatch and dissect it in more detail (I should also finally watch the 1939 Wizard of Oz, it's a CRIME that I still haven't! I'm sure people who know it well could also see many references in the new Wicked - even I noticed the ruby slippers in Popular, for example!).

Summing up this unnecessarily long rant:

It was not a bad adaptation; although I doubt it will make many people into Wicked fans. At the end of the day, it's clearly a story made for the stage, and even though it was transferred to the big screen fairly well, I think it still belongs in the regular theatre, not the movie one.

[afterthelambs]

Same anon as before! Can you please elaborate on why 306 is where you think MHA started failing? I'm so curious because I've never seen anyone say that before.

No problem! To keep is as short as possible, there are two main reasons why 306 (when Deku leaves UA, start of vigilante arc) marks the decline of MHA's quality for me: loss of structure and loss of intimacy

Loss of structure

My Hero Academia's early quality can be found in the name: academia. The school setting provided Horikoshi with a structure for the story that helped keep it in focus. Every major arc since the beginning has been centered on a school activity, whether it's a sports festival or an exam or a summer camp. It ensures that everyone will have something to do, a tangible goal for the arc. But 306 ends that. The first war was still a school activity, it was an extension of their hero internships. But after that, the school setting ceases to exist. UA is still relevant, but only as a refugee shelter.

There is no longer a strong framework for Hori to work with, so characters start feeling like theyre meandering. The goals became vague 'defeat the villains' and 'save the country' when they used to be personal, like saving a friend or improving on a skill to pass a test.

Basically loss of structure damaged the plot.

2. Loss of intimacy

If I asked you what is the most iconic or impactful fight in MHA to you, what would be the first thing in your mind? Most people would say things like the Deku v Shoto sports festival, or All Might vs AFO, or Deku vs Kacchan (both of them), or even Iida-Shoto-Deku vs Stain. What do these all have in common? These fights are limited to a handful of people. They're intimate.

Horikoshi has always been more comfortable writing small battles. During the first ever big fight between class A and the nomus, what does he do? He separates all of them in groups of 2 or 3. During the summer camp, is it class A vs the entire LOV? No, he has them fight villains in pairs. It's Bakugou and Shoto vs Moonfish, or Kendo and Tetsutetsu vs Gas Mask kid (i forgot his name), or Uraraka and Tsuyu vs Toga. These smaller fights allow the characters to be intimate with each other and fully interact/ develop unique interpersonal dynamics.

chapter 306 shifted the focus into large battles with too many people and factors involved, and because of that characters don't feel like they're actually connecting on a personal level.

The best example i can think of is comparing Deku vs Shoto fight with the Shoto vs Dabi fight. These fights are identical in concept. Deku is trying to reach out to Shoto, who is consumed by anger at Endeavor and is destroying himself because of it. Shoto is trying to reach out to Dabi, who is consumed by anger at Endeavor and is destroying himself because of it. This is the most clear-cut parallelism you can get. And yet the execution of the fights are so different. Deku and Shoto are only focused on each other, they're having a personal conversation, we see them change over the course of the fight because of the other's actions. A genuine bond was formed.

But Shoto and Dabi were not just focused on each other. Iida was there (bc hori has to give him something to do), Dabi keeps trying to leave to kill people, Shoto isn't allowed to converse with him because the rest of the battle keeps interrupting, and the rest of the Todofam get involved. Despite being set up as a fight between brothers where Shoto could apply the lessons he learned from Deku a long time ago to save his older brother, it ends up losing focus. I don't feel like Shoto or Dabi feel differently about each other by the end of the fight at all. Dabi is given a moment where he realizes his family cares about him, but what about Shoto? We don't get to see how it changes him. The intimacy was lost, so their relationship falls flat and their development is underexplored.

If loss of structure damages the plot, then loss of intimacy damages the characters and relationships.

Thats longer than I thought it would be, so sorry about that. But yeah I feel like these shifts in the way the story was written answer why MHA has so many issues down the line. There is also the issue of the awful decisions made (killing the villains, abandoning All Might and Bakugou and the hopeful tone, etc.) which can't be fixed by pacing or smaller fights. But I do think those decisions reflect how the focus was more on 'ending the war' rather than giving characters satisfying relationships and conclusions. Ever since 306 came out, I could tell Horikoshi's priorities and writing style had shifted so I kinda figured the ending was not gonna go well. But yeah I never predicted just how bad it was gonna be😭 I wish he just stuck with the Heroes Rising ending, it would've been perfect (intimate battles limited to class 1A only and well-structured within a school work activity! thats perfection right there).

im really sorry the MHA fandom is having a bad time with the ending though. Let's just all cope through fanworks together, who even needs canon. MHA fans are some of the brightest and most brilliant ive ever seen. The fanart is god-tier and the fanfics are so fun and even life-changingly good. Like Horikoshi could never match edema-ruh's TWYUTD, that fanfic is actual literature. Thanks for the character designs sir, but we'll take it from here.

[cripplecharacters]

one of the main characters of my story is Deaf, and because the story is set in a very small town, he doesn't really have any chance to connect with Deaf culture, so should i change that?

his parents are divorced, and he used to live with his mum, who's also Deaf, but has been living with his hearing dad for a while now in this small town. the story kind of focuses on a theme of isolation in small towns, so my current plan is to show how he's isolated from the rest of the town because they don't bother to learn sign language to communicate with him. the other main character, is his best friend, has learned sign language, so he can communicate with her and his dad (there's some other people who know very basic signs but aren't really putting in the effort if that makes sense)

is it better if i acknowledge that living in this very small, isolated town means that he is cut off from Deaf culture (especially compared to when he used to live with his mum) and ergo doesn't really fit into the rest of the town. i want to make it clear that it's on the town for expecting him to assimilate and not use sign language, all because they don't want to learn yk?

any advice in this is appreciated!!!

Hi!

Why doesn't he live with his mom anymore? Is there times he can go back to her and the Deaf community he (presumably) has there?

Also consider when this story is set. If it's modern day, there are so many ways to connect to people online, so he wouldn't be entirely cut off from his community.

The thing about small towns is people will know him, as the Deaf person. Consider what that attitude will be like. Will people be understanding and know, even if they're not willing to learn sign, to get out a pencil and paper for him? Or will the attitude be more condescending, infantilizing, or unwilling to accommodate in any way?

Another thing to consider in small towns is access to accessibility resources. Is he able to get interpreters? Are they qualified? If he can't access qualified interpreters, what accommodations is he being provided?

Community is important, and especially depending on these factors, your character will react differently. If he genuinely cannot connect with anyone else in his town, what are the consequences? Is he depressed? Does he seek out online community? etc.

I'd also like you to consider: why are you isolating your Deaf character? Deafness in a hearing setting on its own can be a huge isolator, without even factoring in the "small town with no other signers" part. Is there a reason he's been separated from his community?

You don't necessarily have to change your story, but there are several more aspects you should consider to figure out exactly how your Deaf character goes through his daily life.

Mod Rock

[bwat5-blog]

**Spoilers for all of Arcane**

A detailed refuting of the concept that "Vi is the Jinx"

So what are people saying when they make these accusations regarding Vi’s character? Well the only way I can think to take it is people are saying she is the cause of their misfortune and suffering. The cause of her loved ones demise, and the driving factor in the darkness and pain of their universe. No facet of the show supports this as I will explain below.

I have written about this extensively in a variety of posts. I am not unaware of this. I am also not unaware of the fact that ultimately, people are free to consume/enjoy/interpret this wonderful and heartbreaking story in any manner they see fit. What I aim to do here is an in-depth, detailed examination of the primary negative occurrences in the story, and given the information we are given demonstrate that Vi is not the issue. Why? Because I am continuing to champion understanding and literacy of one of the best stories/tv shows we have been blessed with in my lifetime. For any of you who are patient and kind enough to read this. It will be quite long, and it will likely repeat some content from other posts, but I believe that for those of us who love incredible storytelling, standing up for those stories that are worth it matters. To those who take the time, thank you. Continue to stand up for the importance of stories that live in you long after they are over.

Season 1: Act 1-

The absolutely vital thing to remember is that although this is the beginning of the story for us, we are in joining these characters just before the dynamite goes off that will shatter their world. Below is a list of factors that should be noted regarding this idea:

Vander and Silco's long running conflict, with Silco waiting for his opportunity to strike

Years and years of oppression and hostility between Zaun and Piltover

Jayce already being well into his hex-tech research (which as we will come to learn was being helped along by space jesus Victor even then)

The long developing of shimmer and machinations of Singed

The situation is a powder keg. Years of hostility and oppression, a brilliant and calculating criminal mind waiting in the shadows for his moment to seize control, an idealistic young scientist with no idea of the danger he is dabbling in, and a brilliant scientist utterly devoid of morals in the service of his goals. By the time we join our characters the ship is already sinking, we just don't know it yet. Now taking that into consideration, lets dive in.

The Explosion at the Lab: This is undoubtedly the driving force of Act 1 in terms of the incident and its effects. Keeping things simple, below you will find a bare bones list of all the negative effects in act 1 that can be attributed to this incident not considering blame or fault:

Death of Milo, Clagger and we are lead to assume Vander

Separation of Vi and Power and by extension, the birth of Jinx

Trial of Jayce Talis and by extension, his partnering with Victor, leading to the true birth of hex tech

Deaths of Grayson and Benzo, allowing Marcus to take Grayson's place as Silco's corrupt sheriff

Silco seizes control of the lanes and all of the negatives that come with it (shimmer, violence etc)

Now at a glance, its easy to say "See! These things only happen because of the explosion, and the explosion happens because Vi takes the kids there. So Vi is the issue!". This is extraordinarily simplistic thinking to the point of willfully ignoring the context. Lets delve deeper:

Order of events as we understand them:

Jayce Talis enters the undercity, purchasing equipment for his research. He interacts with Echo.

Echo tells Vi and friends about the lab after following Jayce

The kids go on their heist, causing the explosion

Jayce is locked up and put on trial, being banished and having his research taken

Enforcers enter the under-city causing conflict over series of days

Vi tries to turn herself in but Vander takes her place

Silco uses Shimmer mutant to murder Grayson and Benzo and take Vander

Jayce and Victor become partners taking Hex-Tech into the next phase

Vi, Milo and Clagger make rescue attempt ending in death of the two boys, vander, and the separation from Powder leaving her vulnerable to become Jinx.

Accusations people make from this information:

Vi got Vander, Clagger, Milo, Benzon and Greyson killed

Vi is responsible for hex-tech because the explosion she caused pushed Victor and Jayce together

Vi makes Jinx because she hits powder, yells at her, and calls her a Jinx

Since Vi got Vander killed she is the reason Silco is able to take the Lanes and flood them with Shimmer and so on

Responses:

Vi is the reason for hex-tech: This is quite simply untrue. Jayce is well into his research when this incident occurs. In fact when he is found out he insists he has almost cracked it. Victor is Heimerdinger's (the leader of the city and a preeminent scientist who already knows Jayce personally) assistant and a scientist with self-admitted ambition to become more. Not to mention their wealthy benefactor in Mel who is looking to make a name for herself and finances them. Now sure you could make the argument that the explosion is what draws attention to hex-tech bringing Mel into the equation. But Mel by her own admission is searching for that way to earn her place in the world and Jayce was absolutely going to keep going. This was a matter of when, not if. And every single person involved bears more responsibility than the girl in her early-mid teens who had no idea it was there when she lead her family on an adventure trying to feed them.

Vi makes Jinx: I have covered this extensively and if you are reading this that means my writing doesn't bore you to death so you have probably read my thoughts already. So i'll try to keep this brief. Silco made Jinx. The grieving teenage girl who had just watched her whole family die violently and barely survived herself lashing out at her sister in a moment she clearly immediately regrets is not to blame here. The broken man/crime lord taking that shattered little girl and weaponizing her grief and guilt is to blame. and if you want to say it's Vi's fault for leaving Powder in the first place. She defends Powder to everyone. She tells Powder she believes in her and that her gadgets will work. She tells Powder her differences make her strong. She only leaves Powder behind after being lectured by Vander on her responsibility to keep her safe, and after seeing the horror of the shimmer mutant unleashed.

Vi is the reason Milo, Clagger, Benzo, Grayson and Vander are dead: Each of these characters is dead because of one person. Silco. Milo, Clagger and Vander all die during the rescue mission of Vander from Silco's hideout. Sure the explosion Powder sets off is what kills the boys, but they are only in this mess because Silco took advantage of the chaos to kidnap Vander drawing them there. Vi's part in this is fighting for her life against multiple armed adult thugs even though she isn't even grown yet. Silco stabs Vander and Vander sacrifices himself taking Shimmer to try and get Vi out. Benzo is dead after verbally confronting Silco, and Grayson is murdered as an opportunity for Silco to install Marcus as his puppet.

Vi is the reason Silco can take control: This is really just an extension of everything we just discussed. This is quite frankly silly. Silco has been waiting for years. He has an army, weapons, and most importantly Shimmer. Which brings us to Singed. A brilliant scientist utterly devoid of Morals who manufactures this substance turning the downtrodden people of Zaun into Silco's monsters.

Conclusion- Yes, Vi leads them on the heist which causes the explosion and the related ripples. But she is not to blame. The tragedy that unfolds is the result of years of suffering in the under city, the machinations of a crime lord so secure in his convictions he will harm anyone he deems necessary, and the innocent overreach of a young scientist who brought forth the end of the world in his dream of improving lives. Vi may be the deer that walks out in front of the car. But the driver is drunk and angry, the mechanic he just left cut his breaks, and years of neglect by the city have left the roads broken and jagged making everything worse. Vi is not the perpetrator, she is just another victim

Season 1: Act 2-

Act 2 of season 1 sees a very different world for our characters. Vi has been imprisoned for seven years. And in those seven years Vi's sweet, clever little sister Powder has become the feared notorious criminal Jinx. Silco has risen to power, smuggling shimmer with the assistance of the corrupt sheriff of Piltover and conducting his operations under the sheriff's protection. Hex-Tech has become globalized. And the firelights have risen in opposition to Silco.

The Hunt For Jinx Begins: The driving conflict in this act is Jinx's attack on the city, theft of the hex gemstone, and the hunt for her that leads to Caitlyn and Vi's mission.

In this act, there is much less for people to try and link to Vi in terms of trouble but for a barebones look at the various conflicts:

Jinx attacking the firelights, enforcers, and stealing the gem

Hex Tech development into the Hex core, and the ousting of Heimerdinger when he protests

Jinx mental turmoil ratchets up in the discovery of Vi being alive and their reunion

Accusations:

Vi made Jinx, so Vi is responsible for Jinx's crimes

Vi caused Hex tech, so every progression toward the bad thing we know is her fault

Vi's reentry into Jinx's life and trying to help her be Powder again makes everything worse

Responses:

Vi made Jinx so she is responsible for her crimes: No she didn't. No she isn't. see above

Vi caused Hex Tech so every progression is on her: No she didn't. See above.

Vi's reentry into jinx's life and trying to help her be Powder makes it worse: Vi spent every day for seven years hoping and dreaming of finding her sister again. When she does and jinx tells her she is different and "did things" Vi does not judge her or shame her and welcomes her back as family. When Vi is taken driving Jinx further into that mental darkness its's against Vi's will after being knocked out by firelights

Conclusion: This act is the result of the changes all brought into the world at the end of the first act. So not much to discuss. Primarily as Vi did not make Jinx, her sister's crimes are not on here. Not that that will stop her from feeling guilty since Vi has a good heart and loves her sister.

Season 1: Act 3-

Act 3 primarily deals with forcing Vi to see that her sister is not who she was, through the "Dinner Party" and the attempted and failed making peace with Zaun. In terms of Vi, there isn't much new here to discuss in terms of what people are trying to blame her for. Anything Jinx does is blamed on Vi for the erroneous statement that Vi made Jinx, including by Jinx herself. Its important to remember at this point Jinx is giving her own sister the choice between killing Caitlyn or "Getting Powder Back". There is no getting Powder back. This is Jinx at a peak of manic and aggressive behavior. Her blaming Vi is a way to cope and hurt someone besides herself. There are however important developments that will be extremely relevant to this entire conversation moving forward into Season 2:

With Singed's help they progress hex-tech into the hex core and we also see the hex core kill for the first time.

Ambessa's arrival

Jinx's killing of Silco and murder of three Piltover council members moments from Zaun being given independence.

**Vi's guilt over stopping Caitlyn from hurting Jinx only to then witness Jinx kill Caitlyn's mother is a very important moving forward, but we must remember Vi is a young woman in her early twenties in a terrifying situation trying to keep her sister and the woman she loves from killing each other**

Conclusion for season 1: So quick recap. Vi did not make Jinx. She is in no way responsible for Hex Tech. She is not responsible for any of Silco's actions and she is has been victimized and hurt by most of it.

Season 2: Act 1-

Season 2 picks up in the immediate aftermath of Jinx's attack. Vi is in the terrible position of grieving the loss of who her sister was, guilt over not being able to stop her sister in general, and IMMENSE guilt as her sister killed the woman she love's mother. I'm not going to repeat myself in terms of Hex-tech or Jinx related guilt unless its needed for new context.

Ending the First Hunt for Jinx: This act is primarily the conclusion of Vi and Caitlyn hunting Jinx together in terms of Vi' story and in terms of what fans are trying to lay at Vi's feet there isn't much here. Primarily there is a lot of talk over her decision to put on the uniform of the enforcer and what the strike team does while she is on it.

The Accusation: Vi putting on the uniform is a betrayal of her people and her family

Response: I have addressed this in depth in another document so will try to spare you all the rant. Put simply, The use of the grey was morally questionable. That is not debatable. But it's not fatal like people make it out to be, as we see characters exposed who walk away unharmed other than some discomfort. Vi explains to Jinx it was to keep innocents off of the street during the fighting. And in terms of putting on the uniform itself, some things to remember:

She refused the first time

Piltover retaliation was already guranteed. Then after the attack on the memorial it was exacerbated.

Caitlyn shares she is afraid if she goes after Jinx alone one of them is coming back in a box (AKA Vi's worst nightmare)

Only agrees after the memorial attack and sends everyone but her and Cait away as soon as they find Jinx

Conclusion: Vi was between a rock and a hard place and did the best she could in an impossible situation

Season 2: Act 2-

Act 2 of season 2 finds Vi at her lowest point. She has lost everyone. Jinx seems totally beyond redemption and her beloved Caitlyn, the first person to show her kindness in seven years left her after hitting her and telling her she was no better than the woman who had killed Caitlyn's mother and so many others.

The Primary sources of conflict in this act are: The finding and losing of Vander (included within this is Vi and Jinx starting to become family again), Caitlyn's redemption, Victor's losing himself to the hex tech/arcane completely.

Of these sources of conflict none of them can be laid at Vi's feet. But to tally the losses since the "Vi is the Jinx" people are still holding on to this:

The loss of Vander again-

The death of Isha-

The "death" of Victor and his cult

Accusations:

*disclaimer I have not seen anyone saying these specifically. Just tracking the logic for the people trying to blame her for everything*

Vi got Vander killed again-

Vi got Isha Killed-

Vi got Victor and his cult killed-

Response:

Vi got vander killed- Vander was "killed" again due to the attack by Ambessa and interference of Singed who was willing to sacrifice him for his own goals. The only part Vi played was having to watch her father die. AGAIN.

Vi got Isha killed- see above but swap father for little girl.

Vi got Victor and his cult killed- Jayce killed Victor on Victor's orders (weird time is relative cosmic stuff) but nothing to do with Vi

Conclusion: Vi's story sees her at her lowest point in this act. absolutely devastating to see her smile during that brief moment of happiness before its all ripped away. But none of what she loses is her fault

Season 3: Act 3-

This is the big finale and this act has been the primary driving factor in this idea that Vi was the problem all along. For those of you have stuck with me this far I appreciate you more than you know and hope this has been worth your time to read. Lets dig in.

The Big conflict driving the conclusion of this story is: The war with Ambessa/Victor, The destruction of Hex-Tech before it ends the world, and the fate of Jinx. I have addressed each of these topics throughout this post and will not be laying out the accusations/response/conclusion format. To begin with, we have to talk about the AU Episode-

The AU Episode:

Echo finds himself in a seemingly idyllic Piltover/Zaun. Hextech never was fully realized. Benzo, Milo, Clagger and Vander all live. Jinx is Powder, grown up and happy. Silco and Vander are reconciled. But Vi is dead, the explosion during the heist having taken her life. Powder keeps a shrine to her sister. Vander has a tattoo bearing her name. People have taken this to mean that it was in fact Vi all along that was the issue. This is, in a word, nonsense. The point of this universe in the words of the showrunner himself (see Arcane Afterglow for Season 2 Act 3), is for Echo to see that there is a version of their world still worth fighting for. He sees a world without hex-tech and how things could be. The world is not better without Vi in it. The world is better because Vi's death drew attention to something terrible and dangerous before it went even further. Imagine in our world there some new toy that is shaping up to be very popular with children, until a flaw in its safety is revealed when an innocent child days from an accident involving the toy so the the toy is taken off of the shelves. and children everywhere are safer, the world is better. But it's not because it was that Childs fault or they did something wrong. They were the victim whose blood paid the price.

*Additionally, something I don't see brought up enough is that Heimerdinger had years in this universe before Echo even arrived. He has clearly has been putting the time into the Undercity he didn't in the main universe*

Vi and Jinx: Vi and Jinx both learn a similar lesson in this act. While Jinx learns that she has to walk away, to break the cycle, to stop running in circles, Vi learns she can't keep chasing Jinx trying to save her. She has to live for herself and allow herself to be happy. That's why despite the accusation that she is a bad sister, Vi's romantic encounter with Caitlyn is Vi finally letting herself have what she wants, rather than chasing after Jinx and panicking and spending what could be her last night alive continuing to ride the roller coaster. Instead, she steps off the ride, and allows herself to know love, and pleasure, and warmth with the woman she loves. People really focus on the location of it but in that moment the location was irrelevant. Vi has finally seen the light in this regard and the woman she loves has redeemed herself in Vi's eyes.

*Vi speaks on how she always chooses wrong and it has cost her everyone. People have also taken this as a sort of mission statement for their undeserving campaign against this character. The thing is, the show proves her wrong, and does it quickly:

Caitlyn immediately and passionately shows Vi that Vi has not lost everyone. She is there, she loves here, and knowing she was going to make the choice to free the woman who killed Caitlyn's mother, she does it anyway

Even though Echo seals the deal, Vi didn't choose wrong by believing and trusting in Jinx. Jinx comes back to her, leading the under-city forces and turns the tide of the battle. She was the hero her sister believed she was

Vi got Jinx Killed: And at last we come it. The final of the great injustices people are laying Vi's character. I covered this in a recent post as well but the short version is as follows:

Sees her birth parents killed

Sees her adoptive father die

Gets him back (in a heavily mutated form) for a punishingly short time only to lose him again horribly

Watches him die again.

She is literally standing over him at the end of all the horrible things they have been through, sobbing and going to cradle his head. We see her flashing back to the first time she watched him die. It was just too much. I and many others have said it really seems like she can't even hear Jinx in that moment. When "Vander" pops up to his feet Vi doesn't even fight. She scrambles back afraid saying Vander's name and sounds like a scared little girl who just wants her dad. Its HORRIBLE. And even though she is not dead, Jinx takes the opportunity to make sure the older sister she loves, who never gave up on her gets away.

Vi's ending is bittersweet. She is sitting alone, drinking, humming the song we hear in the beginning of the show. People with no understanding of human behavior have claimed she looks too happy, she doesn't care about her sister. Yes she does. She is finally on a path that can lead to happiness with Caitlyn' because of her sisters sacrifice for her.