#i could also talk about chang here but he's canon material is so little so i guess there's not a lot to mischaracterize
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dimdiamond · 10 months ago
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❤️ for tintin if you're still doing the unpopular opinions ask game
OH RIGHT THIS GAME! OF COURSE! THANK YOU 💕
❤: Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?
*deep sigh* The most huh? What if I said Tintin himself? Look, I'm not against fanon interpretations and just going against canon because that's what you like and want to do. However, it gets really annoying when people take some interpretations as canon when it's actually not canon or, even if it is, not in the entirety of canon. And I think a big reason this happens with Tintin is because of the animated series, you know the classic one. Let me elaborate.
For many fans the cartoon series was their first approach to The Adventures of Tintin and for many of them it was a childhood favorite. This alone creates a bias, realizing it or not, especially if you haven't read the comics, the original material. Don't get me wrong, I love the cartoon and it's the most faithful adaptation we have of the comics but that doesn't mean it is faithful. Many scenes were cut, violence and alcoholism were limited to the point of changing scenes entirely (I'm looking at you Crab with the golden claws), heck even the official order of the episodes doesn't match the original publication order. There are many reasons for these decisions to have been made and it doesn't mean they're wrong, they just worked for this kind of media and for their target audience at that time (90s cartoons had many limitations regarding what it could be shown, including violence, but that's how we got artists getting creative with how to depict violent themes in a nonviolent way). Yet I have seen fans taking the ideas of this cartoon as if they are the original ones.
Tintin isn't a goody shoes. Tintin is very kind and caring but also chaotic and with his own values and ethics. He doesn't curse out loud and he represses many of his feelings and anger but he is also very patient and understanding. And most of all HE HAS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! Tintin from the first albums and Tintin in the last ones isn't the same guy! I understand people liking his character more in the first adventures but you can't characterize him the same in the later albums. And it's not only because decades passed during the serialization and Herge as an artist and writer changed. It's also showcased in the story, Tintin slowly gets stable companions, friends he shares his adventures and even his life and slowly he becomes mellower and yet more open and honest, he likes his peaceful life and doesn't chase adventure unless it comes to him. How can you have Tintin after Picaros behaving like prior meeting Haddock? As if his previous adventures didn't happen and affect him?
And what the cartoon depiction of Tintin does is to take his softer and calmer traits of his character and show them during all his adventures, regardless of how he acted at each adventure. This works for making an iconic and stable hero of a cartoon but it's not like that in the comics. The movie does the opposite but I see more fans accusing it of mischaracterization although this wilder side is also part of Tintin.
So in summary, my annoyance comes when I see Tintin characterized the same throughout all his adventures although this isn't how he is in the comics and I think this is because of the effect the cartoon had on the fans. In my opinion, Tintin's character is hard to grasp and get because he's the two ends of a spectrum at the same time, calm but violent, patient but impatient (his limits are known to himself only, you can try to kill him and not yell at you but you try to kill yourself and he'll make you regret it), selfless to the point of not caring about himself but selfish enough to do what he wants and believes is right etc.
He's such a fascinating character with many layers and it makes me sad when I see people read him as one dimensional character with no space for changes and development. However every person can have their own interpretation and such and I'm not the fandom police here so go have your fun!
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zerocoded · 2 months ago
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summary: headcannons about what is like do date zayne.
authors note: yay i love headcannons and i hope you guys enjoy this one! this is all written upon my perspective of zayne and his character, things that i think would suit him bla bla bla, pls don't take everything too seriously. i found this beautiful drawing on pinterest, credits to the beautiful owner.
warnings: husband material zayne i guess? • suggestive but nothing nsfw
word count: 0.8k
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☆ zayne who actually laughed when you told him your favorite song was snowman by sia.
☆ i get a feeling that zayne is actually ambidextrous which means he has the ability to use both hands equally well, which brings me to the topic that zayne is the king of multitasking.
☆ like you are having trouble with some buttons on your shirt? this man is helping you without even blinking while scrolling through his cell phone with the other hand.
☆ he been through an exceptionally tough day at the hospital? imagine him getting home and discarding his tie with one hand while already unbuttoning his shirt with the other, all of this while making eye contact with you.
☆ speaking of eye contact, i feel that zayne is another level of control freak with everything in his life. do you see how this man built his whole career around wanting to save mc from her disease? man NEEDS to have everything within his reach and on HIS conditions.
☆ that translates to the bedroom when you both are fooling around. like do you think you are closing your eyes anytime here? no, zayne is making sure you are looking at what he is doing to you or his eyes so he could turn your mind into puddy.
☆ are you embarrassed of your sounds or think you both are in a place too public to let yourself go? zayne is not having it. this man is pinning your hands wherever he feels like it and makes it particularly hard for you to shut up.
☆ well, maybe i should go back to the sfw first, i'll make another post about what i think zayne is like in bed hehehe
☆ BRO IS THE MOST GENTLEMAN A GENTLEMAN CAN BE. like in every sense and that is canon.
☆ you will not be opening any doors from now on and will never have to worry about paying in a date. or in anything.
☆ you know what else he does? he is not only a gentleman in his mannerisms but also in his attitude. you would never catch my man zayne raising his voice at you or anyone ever.
☆ he takes his time to listen to you speak. and i mean listen. be it two minutes or three hours about your new favorite tv program, this man will be devoted to each word you say.
☆ zayne is usually a silent type of guy, being the listener of the relationship instead of the speaker. even if you also don't talk that much, he is happy to enjoy a few minutes of silence with you at home. he really likes the fact that you love him and don't judge his more reserved persona.
☆ i see zayne as more of an insecure man at the beginning of your relationship. i mean, he doesn't let it show but later confesses to you how much he was scared you would go away after a few weeks with him.
☆ on the other hand, doctor zayne knows exactly what he wants. he has his opinions and preferences and he doesn't let anyone change that. i mean that in a sense that you guys would probably have arguments over everyday things like the way he thinks grocery shopping should go or how to dry clean twice a week the kitchen because he is certain that that is the dirtiest place at his house when you come over.
☆ zayne is a hard headed man and you are probably the only one who can convince him to change a little of his demanding habits.
☆ regarding his health, you guys argue over that a lot. somehow this man tends to overprotect you so much that it pisses you off when you see him not sleeping at all. how dare he demand something from you and not pay attention to himself daily?
☆ he always says sorry when you guys fight by building little snowmen throughout the house and leaving a corny note on the fridge promising he will pay more attention to his sleep schedule for now on.
☆ also i think that zayne is a big words of affirmation partner, he LOVES to praise you while making eye contact - again, control freak - and waiting to see your flushed cheeks because that is his favorite look on you.
☆ miss here have a late-night craving? zayne is running to the closest store at the darkest crack of dawn to buy you your wish, even if you try to stop him he is like "don't worry, love, i'll be quick" and proceeds to kiss your forehead while putting a jacket on and rushing outside.
☆ you’re so his passenger princess. this man will be moving mountains to do what you want and he’s so good at it.
☆ you can disagree with me but i will say it: zayne matches SO MUCH with a little age difference. like he is "too sweet by hozier" and you are a little "messy by lola young".
☆ but my favorite trope is zayne with a badass partner that is also a genius like him and they both make the perfect power couple at akso hospital.
☆ i'll stop here but i have so many of these that i could make 😣 let me know if you guys would like to see more.
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author's note: pls, i would love to hear what you think of this work! sorry for any misspelling. send me a request • my masterpost
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i-merely-jest · 9 days ago
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Welcome to the show, folks!
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This site is really fun from what I've seen so far... although I do have to comment on the lack of other Cookies on it!
What a shame, truly... that means less people to talk to, y'know.
Oh, and it sure is boring just sitting around and waiting for something to happen. Alas, I am trapped inside some sort of labyrinth, and my options are limited.
But hey! There's always something new on the internet, amirite? Boy, are a lot of you dirty little liars... Hehehe...
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//mod will remain anonymous and goes by he/they pronouns
the plotline for shadow milk cookie himself is after being freed from the silver tree, but then being put into a different form of containment afterwards. for some reason i wanted him to be in an ikea, so this different containment just so happens to be a fucked up version of ikea. shadow milk cookie is essentially stuck in the infinite ikea, but not exactly, since it's not an scp and it's my own take on the matter. basically, it's like the cookie run equivalent of ikea since it's made with materials seen in the cookie run universe, and he can't physically leave it usually.
it is unknown to others what entity sealed him away here, and even shadow milk cookie himself claims to not know what it is. given how he's unwilling to talk about it most of the time, he is either lying completely or only telling a half truth. furthermore, he's not willing to divulge much information about the place he's stuck in aside from ominous answers that leave people with more questions. if he ever has visitors, he's more than eager to toy with them a bit, especially since they're exceedingly rare. good luck getting out though...
when he does appear to others in the real cookie world, it's typically as an illusion or ghost-like figure from him using his powers to project himself back into reality, so he's translucent. furthermore, he can still do voice impressions, so sometimes he will only be a disembodied voice, as this is easier and more entertaining to him. it is also more common than an actual appearance of him.
he can still have some effect on the real cookie world and can choose to be tangible or not, but is usually the latter. it's incredibly taxing for him to use his abilities nowadays, so he has to remain in his alternate reality, constantly trying to find a way out. it's been so long that he can somewhat control the environment with his powers, but for the most part it seems like something else is in control of the space. sometimes he can forcibly open up a gateway out, but will always have to return since there's always this unknown force dragging him back...
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general dni, but if i find you annoying i might block you too
no nsfw, but some flirting is okay (don't expect shadow milk cookie to reciprocate in a genuine way though; he'd likely just see it as a joke) shipping generally depends because i honestly have NO idea who's he's even shipped with but. yeah. feel free to ask or try to plan something with me in advance (edit: okay so after figuring out it exists, i am kinda favoring shadowvanilla as a ship...)
i'm generally okay with either silly or serious roleplays, so have fun! this blog isn't selective for whoever wishes to interact, although i do appreciate dms from anyone hoping to interact first if you want to plan something. i won't bite, i promise. (unless, of course... i'm lying? who knows...)
i try to be active and respond as quickly as possible, but may get busy, especially since im in the process of trying to get a novel series published. furthermore, my rping style may change based on who im interacting with, so one moment it could be written almost like a novel, and then in other threads it takes a less serious tone. i love either one, and rping on tumblr is just a way for me to continue my hobby of writing.
i encourage oc interactions, as well as canon character interactions! i'm also fairly open to cross-fandom roleplays if it really comes to it. only disclaimer is that this is a sideblog, so i can't follow back with this blog, and i'm probably not just going to go around handing out my main just yet.
fun fact: this is THE most effort i have put into an intro post. credit for the eye dividers goes to sisterlucifergraphics, and credit for the other shadow milk cookie assets goes to phantasyze. is this blog kind of self indulgent? yes, and i freely admit this. i think he deserves to be in a hellish solitary confinement dimension though.
tagging system
-(liar alert) (an ooc tag that lets people know that shadow milk cookie is probably lying right then)
♧ snapped strings (ooc posts, but i will also tag them accordingly with other tags that say they're ooc just in case. also before any text there will be two slashes (//). tags in parentheses on any post are also ooc, and are typically used as communication whilst rping between whoever i'm currently rping with, or as a way for me to clarify things on certain posts)
♧ was it a truth or a lie? (answered asks)
♧ chronicles of the spire (lore related posts, usually ones set up like stories. basically like a mini fanfic or something)
♧ whispers of deceit (normal in character text posts, and roleplay starters usually fall into this category)
♧ collection of marionettes (in character reblogs. other tags without the parentheses are also completely in character, so hypothetically he could communicate via tags with someone, potentially. maybe as a side thing or something, i don't know)
♧ illusionary visage (queued and/or scheduled posts)
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longing-for-rain · 6 months ago
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What immensely bothers me about the way Kataang was written is that it not only hurt Katara's character, but Aang's character as well.
The writers set up the subplot of Aang needing to let go of his idealistic vision of Katara and then... just completely ignored it throughout the entirety of S3?
While I'm not saying that every ATLA character needed to go through an extensive character development, Aang having little to no development as a person and a leader (I am not talking about his physical training as a bender here) is some extremely disappointing writing, considering he is THE protagonist.
It's actually baffling to me how much the show deliberately dodges most oppurtunities to develop Aang as a character and how much the poor handling of Kataang plays a role in it.
Instead of Aang slowly growing to appreciate Katara as a person with all her flaws and quirks and trying to understand her way of thinking and culture, which culminates in him EARNING his Avatar state, we get the inconsistent mess, full of unresolved arguments and overstepped boundaries, that is S3 Kataang, Aang getting the girl only because he's the Hero™ (even though their last interaction before the kiss was an unresolved argument) and Aang being saved by Deus Ex Machina. TWICE. All of which could have been easily fixed, if the writers actually capitalized on the development that was already set up to happen.
I would be more willing to accept the points "he's literally twelve" and "why are you getting so worked up over which fictional characters are dating", if the writing didn't waste the blatant oportunity to develop the character, and if the ship in question didn't nuke any development its characters recieved.
Like, you don't even have to be a Zutara shipper to see how Kataang basically shat on both Aang and Katara as characters.
Agree with all of this, but I want to focus on this bit right here:
I would be more willing to accept the points "he's literally twelve" and "why are you getting so worked up over which fictional characters are dating", if the writing didn't waste the blatant oportunity to develop the character, and if the ship in question didn't nuke any development its characters recieved.
Here’s the thing. Aang is the protagonist of the show. You know, the one character who absolutely should have a solid arc and experience meaningful growth. I’m not saying he had no growth. But it’s just like you said, there are some pretty glaring plot holes surrounding his story. Could be excusable for a side character, but for the protagonist? Really not great.
And people will also act like romance is no big deal, but I think it really shines a light on how Katara is viewed by the creators and fans in relation to romance. From Aang’s perspective, romance can be treated as a minor add-on at the end because it’s narratively framed as his reward for saving the day. Aang doesn’t have to fundamentally change as a character to enter into that romance. It is written in a way that centers him.
Katara, however, does change. That can be seen in any post-canon material. I know they’ll keep trying to retcon this, but Legend of Korra will always exist to show us how little regard for these people have for female characters they’ve relegated to love interests.
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true-blue-sonic · 1 month ago
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The fandom doesn’t want a Year of Silver cause they don’t think it’ll perform well. I don’t want a Year of Silver because I have absolutely no faith in the current writer’s characterisation of him and do not wanna sit through an entire fucking year of that. We are not the same
Yeah, I understand fully what you mean. My thoughts on it are three-fold: firstly I indeed wonder if a year for Silver will really work out, because he's not as popular as others. The Year of Shadow worked because Shadow is hugely beloved, to the point there was a time he was more popular than Sonic himself. It's no surprise to me that a game with a storymode in which he plays a central role would sell well! But Silver does not have that popularity by far. On Tumblr people seem moderately fond of him, but I have no clue how he's seen on other websites. It might be quite risky to dedicate a whole year to him; I fear he might not be able to carry it. (And then of course there's also the issue that Shadow just plays like Sonic + Chaos Spear + extra gimmicks that are still very fast-paced, whereas for Silver's PK they'd really have to make changes compared to how he played (and ran lol) in '06, in my opinion. It might take some time for Sonic Team to work out what to do with Silver and in what playstyle, perhaps more than Shadow. That could make them hesitant to try, but that's just pure guesswork on my part.)
And then secondly, there's a lot of characters who are more popular than Silver, yet who don't really get much attention either. Sure, Amy, Knuckles and Tails became playable in Frontiers, but they got no year for themselves despite Knux and Tails starring in the second movie. I don't even want to imagine the fandom implosion if Silver got a full year starring him in a central role before any of these characters XD And I would understand it! To me, Silver deserves getting more spotlight, but that's because he's my favourite and we don't get much content on him. If your favourite is Tails or Knuckles or Amy or Eggman or Metal Sonic, and they'd get snubbed by a far less popular character, I can imagine very well that'll leave you feeling bitter (and also, it doesn't help that Silver is already scorned for '06 presenting him as the Third Male And Thus Very Important Hedgehog™️ at the expense of other characters, or at least so I've heard before). Perhaps after more attention has been paid to others in the cast could a Year of Silver fly over better, but as things in the fandom are now, I think it'd cause utter mayhem.
And thirdly, I agree with your point that Silver is not well-written in a lot of supplementary material. I have as extra point that I really don't like Bryce's voice for him; nothing against the guy, but in TSR Silver sounds like a cockier Sonic half the time and vaguely like a Silver the other half, and compared to what we used to have before with Quinton's Silver I consider it a huge downgrade. On the other hand, I adore Kirk's Shadow in SXSG and Kirk is quite a contested voice actor for him, so maybe with better directions the same can happen for Bryce? But in general on the topic of Silver's characterisation, I've been seeing more posts on Tumblr describing how Silver is highly OOC in e.g. the IDW comics, and then if you also count stuff like the most recent takeover's incredibly random "Silver is kinda like my little brother! :D" statement that has zero basis in canon... I guess overall we don't know what the future holds here, haha! But I think Sonic Team could be wary about making a whole Year of Silver, when keeping my first two points in mind. Though on the other hand, the more time goes on, the more chance there is SoJ pays more attention to Silver's characterisation in the West and implements changes there to keep him more in line with his game- and Sonic Channel personality, maybe?
Overall, we just can't know, but I wouldn't worry about it too much either: in SXSG I'd say Shadow was written really well in the way he talked and moved and just existed in the game, and I greatly enjoyed his storymode in no small part due to the fact he felt very authentic to the character to me. I think if SoJ is on the case (because they are probably the ones making a Silver game in the end), there'll be much more quality control around Silver's character than e.g. for the IDW comics or a takeover. But I think it might be years before we get a Year of Silver or even a game that has Silver in any way playable in a main role, to be honest. We'll just have to wait and see! In 2018 Takashii Iizuka said a Silver game could be a possibility, and Shun Nakamura is also still fond of his creation, or so I've heard. I'm curious to see what the future will turn out to hold🍀
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singularsoldier · 2 years ago
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Why Scout and Miss Pauling are a terrible ship
Alrighty, if you’ve been into tf2 for awhile, you’ve definitely seen this pairing pop up. This whole thing is probably gonna sound like I’m beating a dead horse, but I wanna give my full two cents on these two using canon material (comics, game, and Expiration Date). Before I dive in, my stance on these two is 100% never gonna change. Save the counterarguments and keep scrolling
VOICE LINES
In the game, Miss Pauling has a lot of voice lines both towards the individual mercs and to the player themselves. However, how she speaks to Scout vs everyone else is drastically different. Let’s look at Scout’s when given a contract:
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Starting off, Miss Pauling is…pretty rude towards him. “Wrap up whatever you’re bragging about” “I’m assuming you’re talking right now. Please stop” and others. It’s evident that she doesn’t want to hear a word out of his mouth. As we all know, Scout talk A LOT, but if she liked him to any degree, she wouldn’t be this mean towards him. If anyone even tries to say “well maybe she’s mean bc she likes him” no. Sorry, not how healthy relationships work. If anything, that further proves my point on why they’re terrible together.
Now, lets look at other lines (I’m too lazy to add everyone):
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See the major difference? Miss Pauling isn’t mean, rude, or dismissive. She’s friendly! She’s joking! Lines like these show that Miss Pauling considers Engie (and everyone else) her friends. Scout gets nothing like that.
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By the way, Miss Pauling canonically hangs out with the mercs (and Saxton’s assistant Bidwell). When you look at her contract lines with everyone else (including Bidwell), she’s cheerful and having fun. Scout on the other hand? She’s a frustrated dungeon master because Scout wants to make a muscle wizard and won’t stop flexing.
My experience with dungeon masters has been “fuck it, be whoever you want”. I had the dumbest, weirdest characters, and the DMs didn’t care! That’s the fun of d&d (g&g for tf2). Miss Pauling not letting Scout have a buff wizard, and Scout not even trying to follow the rules, shows how incompatible they are. Neither of them are willing to make a compromise especially because of the fact that Scout’s a pretty narcissistic guy. He’s a pathological liar in the comics (which are coming up) to impress people. Who wants to date that?
Onto the congratulations:
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Pretty standard, right? Nothing extraordinary or, honestly, anything outside of standard professionalism. Scout gets a quick thanks and the line goes dead.
For anyone else:
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The other classes get something Scout doesn’t: enthusiasm. Miss Pauling is beaming in her lines for the other classes. Also, Scout has the least amount of congratulations (only 5) out of everyone. Miss Pauling also says to a few other classes “i owe you one” and “i knew you could do it”. Again, ten times friendlier than how she speaks to Scout. If she liked Scout, she would have similar lines or ones that are even a bit flirtatious. Nope. Nada.
COMICS
If you’ve only played the game, you’re missing out! The comics are great (and unfinished), and they also reveal more of how Miss Pauling engages with Scout. For example:
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Immediately stopping him from talking again, and straight up letting him get hanged. If that was my crush, I would, you know, not let go so they don’t die. She has very little regard for Scout outside of “annoying guy I work with”. Hell, she canonically spends more time with virtually every other class (aside from Engie obviously and maybe Medic) than with Scout. Another thing in the comics:
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This right here. Scout has been working for Mann Co. for six years (meaning he joined at 21). In six years, Miss Pauling has made zero indication of liking him. What person goes six years without even trying to flirt or even hit on with their crush? Especially when Scout is VERY LOUD about his infatuation. Even the biggest introvert would jump on that free chance.
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Oh, another thing! When Scout tries to get some alone time with her (while fighting for their lives) she turns him down. Pauling would rather watch Soldier and Zhanna fight naked while cover in honey than go with Scout (who wouldn’t?) which, when you think about it, caused Scout’s death because he faced the Spy bots alone. Sorry Scout, ass and tiddies are more important than you!
EXPIRATION DATE
The long adored sfm video. While the video pretty much cements Scout’s feelings for Miss Pauling, it also cements her lack thereof. Lets dig in:
First off, we know that Scout only had the bravery to ask her out because he thought he was dying. How does he invite her? By setting off the briefcase alarm!
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As Miss Pauling says, it’s “the one button he’s never supposed to touch”. Not only that, but it wasted her only day off of the year. A fact she is visibly pissed about and refers to a couple times. Scout was pretty selfish to do that. Another thing, Pauling repeatedly refers to the “date” as a prom. (“Are you guys having a prom?”) She literally had no idea Scout was asking her out. Why? Lets face it, she would say no or dismiss him yet again. Even Scout knew that, so he faked a literal emergency that forces her to visit. Once again, lying to try and impress her with a date.
So, Scout comes up with an elaborately self centered plan to get Miss Pauling to come to the base, and when she wants to storm out, he desperately tries to save face with dinner. Cue our bread monster fight where Scout confesses that he likes her. And her response? Nothing. Throughout the whole sequence, Miss Pauling doesn’t answer or even respond to a word he says. You’d think if you were in mortal danger, you’d tell your crush “i love you! Now help me kill this bread monster”
At the end, Scout says “so its a date?” To which our beloved Miss Pauling says, “well, no. You did waste my one day off”. Not only that, but Pauling even offers for him to join her on missions, which he instantly says no to. Idk about you, but I’d bury bodies with my crush any day of the week. The fact that Scout was offered multiple chances to even be near Miss Pauling willingly, yet turned them down, is pretty telling of his character.
Scout wants a date, yes, but how he envisions it. Typical candles and pretty lights with a pretty girl. Meaning, what he enjoys and what he sees their romantic life being like. Not shaving off fingerprints or hiding bodies. Things Miss Pauling does literally 24/7. You know, things she likes doing. Its evident in her vacation lines that she wants to go back to work and that she isn’t a fan of vacations. Once again, Scout’s selfishness stops him from getting anywhere near the girl he’s obsessed with.
So, we have: Pauling doesn’t want to hear Scout’s voice, she’s barely cordial with him, she sees Scout as at best a coworker, and she was, indirectly, responsible for his death. (Note: not making this into A Point, its just fucking hilarious).
All in all, these two have no chemistry. Scout has a six year long obsession, and Miss Pauling has a six year long distain for our quirked up white boy. Their whole dynamic is the age old “dumb jackass loser wants pretty girl” and lets face it, we’re sick of that. Scout couldn’t even come up with a reasonable, honest way to see Miss Pauling in person. He selfishly wanted a date (that fits his myopic view of what dating Miss Pauling looks like) and didn’t care how he got it.
I’m not trying to attack anyone with this post. Its a ship analysis, and I hope it at least points out the major flaws between them. Unless Scout changes his entire personality (he won’t), Miss Pauling is never gonna like him.
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lonelywretchjervistetch · 1 month ago
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My DC Cinematic Universe - Creature Commandos: Part III
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Chapter Three: Flags and Walls
(Warning before we start, this one's a little long, but better than it looks! Some big images in this one.)
So, before we get anywhere else with our conversation on the Creature Commandos and...well, Creature Commandos, we need to talk about something regarding the set-up for the team. In particular, we need to talk about its leadership. And admittedly, this is a bit of a nitpick, but also a genuine problem the DCU now needs to handle. Bear with me here, this is important to my point.
Episode 1 of Gunn's series, Collywobbles, introduces us both to the team, the seemingly central conflict of the series, and briefly to its leaders and administrative controls: Amanda Waller, Rick Flag Sr., and John Economos. And yes, believe it or not, I'm also going to touch upon Economos here.
Now, having these characters in charge of the team is not inherently a bad idea. At all, actually. It's understandable that Gunn would attempt a tie between his previous projects and the new DCU, retroactively incorporating them into this universe, and giving the audience an immediate connection via the previous material they've been seen in. However, this is also a massive problem when you think about it, because that means Peacemaker is canon, and that's basically confirmed in the first five minutes, when Flag mentions the role Waller's daughter played in the continuity of that series, and the wider DCU. And again...this is a problem. Why? Oh, and spoilers for Peacemaker, by the way.
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Because now, Gunn has to explain this scene away.
Sure, you could say that Barry wiped the events of Peacemaker out of reality, but then the crack about Amanda's daughter doesn't make sense. So, now, we need to go back and explain that in Peacemaker S2, probably. But wait, maybe that did happen in canon, and it's just David Corenswet up there and an unseen actress as Wonder Woman. Cool. Uh. Ezra Miller's Flash and Jason Momoa's Aquaman were prominently featured in this scene. And it's DEFINITELY THEM, no question. And that's an issue, because Momoa was JUST CAST AS LOBO in the DCU, and he's definitely not playing Aquaman! Gotta assume that, since everybody else has been cast, Miller isn't coming back as Barry either.
So, that means we need to rewrite the events of Peacemaker to fit in this new universe, and/or we need to maybe reshoot or recontextualize that ending scene to maybe include Corenswet, and whoever is playing the others, just to show it took place in this universe. And that's just talking about the complications involved in one line of this series, and not THE CONTINUITY OF AMANDA WALLER AND RICK FLAG IN THE NEW DCU. Because we now need to explain and recontextualize Gunn's other project, The Suicide Squad, which means we need to discuss both the original Suicide Squad, and potentially even Birds of Prey!
AND I HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN TO THEMYSCIRA YET
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...OK. Let's be completely fair, and say this may not be a big deal, at all, if handled correctly by Gunn in future projects. After all, a few throwaway lines in Peacemaker season 2, maybe a quick shoot that fixes those problems (which is unnecessary, but still), or maybe even just establishing that the events of these films happened with a few minor changes, thanks to Barry rewriting the universe in The Flash. Still has a hell of a lot of holes in it, but OK, fine. We can fix it, and I'm making a big deal out of very little.
...Of course...there was another way to handle this situation. Now, this is a bit off the wall here, and a little bit crazy, but hear me out. Maybe instead, you could've just...NOT. Just, like...don't. Don't include the events of those series. Don't reference those events. And maybe most importantly here: change the characters in charge of the Creature Commandos, and start with a new goddamn slate altogether, which I will remind you, IS THE ENTIRE POINT OF BRINGING GUNN ON IN THE FIRST PLACE.
I know, I know, I'm making too big a deal out of this, but to make this mistake at the very top of the supposedly new DCU baffles me greatly. But OK, what's done is done. Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad, at the very least, are in the DCU now, with as-yet unseen changed to their stories to make them work in continuity. So using Rick Flag Sr. and Amanda Waller is completely worth it and necessary, right?
...Right?
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I think it's hard to deny that Amanda Waller is having a bit of a moment in DC Comics right now. This is a character that's been around since 1986, meaning she's going to have her 40th anniversary next year. And let me be clear about something right now: I adore Amanda Waller. She's always been one of my favorite characters in DC, ever since I got into this whole comic book fanboy thing. She's a no-nonsense taskmaster who cares about two things: her country and her family, in that order. The most lawful neutral character that's ever existed, with the occasional tip-over into lawful evil. And that word, occasional, is very important. Because Waller's personality has resulted in her...kinda being messed up in recent years.
Amanda Waller starts in comics in the way that most black female characters start: a single mother originally from the ghetto who clawed her way up to the top. And OK, it's incredibly overdone and mildly offensive by today's standards. And yet...I honestly think it works for every incarnation of Amanda Waller. This is an incredibly tough woman, and she has been through some shit. Doesn't matter what that shit is or was, because what matters is that she's at the top of her game now, and she's gonna stay there, no matter who she's standing on top of. And why? Because she's best for the protection of this country, and you'd damn well remember that. And she'll use anyone to get her way, no matter what happens to them, and no matter who stand in the path to victory. And because of that, she has no friends. Only subordinates, enemies, and those who are both.
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Amanda's been a major player in comics for years, running Task Force X, AKA the Suicide Squad, from the lit shadows, having them do the dirty work for the USA beneath the radar. And they were good at it, because they knew they needed to be, or be killed in the process. Waller was a manipulative asshole, but she was an asshole on the side of good...probably. She ran organizations like Checkmate, Argus, and very prominently in the DC Animated Universe, Project Cadmus. I mention this because the DCAU is almost certainly the best incarnation of the character in other media. CCH Pounder's version is incredibly iconic, leading her to play the character for years. I won't spoil anything else about her, but if you haven't seen Justice League Unlimited, PLEASE FUCKING DO I BEG YOU.
Outside of this iconic iteration of the character, Waller's appeared in Young Justice as the warden of Belle Reve (playing the same role with slightly less authority than usual); in Batman: Assault on Arkham as head of the Suicide Squad once again; in Smallville as head of Checkmate (and played by Pam Grier, ooooooh); in Green Lantern, as head of the Department of Extranormal Operations (and played by Angela Bassett, OOOOOOH), in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay as the New 52 skinny version of the character (don't ask, it was a stupid, sexist, fatphobic era for the character. Oh, and played by Vanessa Williams, ooh); and most recently in Suicide Squad: Isekai, doing this:
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That show is a fucking trip, and not one I really wanna take again. Yeah, I have issues with that one too, don't ask. If you really wanna know, ask me after I get over this essay series. Anyway, like I said, she's having a moment, and understandably; she's a great character. Which is why DC Comics has been turning her into a straight-up villain over the years, which I think is a mistake. Most recently, she went full-on, straight-up supervillain, taking charge of her own government division responsible for destroying all superheroes permanently, in exchange for her own little Legion of Doom. She lost, and was thrown in a prison of her own making...which is a choice, and maybe not the best for the character. I dunno, watching Amanda lose is fun, but we all knew she'd lose the fight. You go up against the Justice League, you best not miss, is all I'm saying. And, uh...she missed. Badly.
Fact of the matter is, to paraphrase a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude, you never go full villain. That's a surefire way to lose. But OK, enough about the comics version and other adaptations; I just love Amanda, and it kinda sucks to see her mistreated in recent years. What about Gunn's version?
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Let's start this (again) by saying Viola Davis is basically perfect casting, and obviously loves playing this character. She's genuinely an excellent version of the character, and one of the only things about David Ayer's film that I thought was almost perfect. Almost perfect. Waller, unfortunately, shares something with her modern comic book counterpart, in that she dips into the villainous a little too far sometimes. In the first film, she murders a room full of technicians in cold blood, no remorse. Waller's not the type to get her hands that dirty, frankly, and doing so with no qualms makes her...well, straight-up evil. "No witnesses" isn't exactly a heroic statement.
And funnily enough, that leads to the main problem I have with Davis' Amanda: she loses a lot, and makes a lot of mistakes. Amanda is one step ahead, always, even compared to powerhouses of planning like Batman. But she makes a number of mistakes in her live-action appearances that are...bad. Most egregious is Suicide Squad, where her complete lack of preparation unleashes Enchantress on the world (yeah, entirely her fault, that one, hard to unsee that). The Suicide Squad spins out of her control, but her actions in and of themselves aren't the cause of the problem. Peacemaker is similar in that way. Finally, there's her role here in Creature Commandos. While she technically doesn't make any massive mistakes, the show proves she would be very easy to fool, in multiple ways. The master manipulator is manipulated. Twice.
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We'll get to Circe later, by the way, because that's an even crazier situation that I straight-up don't understand the logic of. But as for Amanda Waller. She's obviously a favorite character of James Gunn's, understandably. But does she need to be the organizer of the Creature Commandos? To be honest...I don't really see why not. But also, no, not really? She's not a horrible choice, but she's far from the only choice available. Government leaders are a dime-a-dozen in the DC Universe, and while I think giving Waller an appearance in this series isn't a bad idea, I honestly don't think she needed to be in charge of this team. More on this later. Let's raise the flag real quick.
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OK, real talk here: why Rick Flag, Sr.? This is a completely arbitrary choice that makes very little sense to me? Is it because he has a connection to Rick Flag, Jr., played by Joel Kinnaman who died in The Suicide Squad? Maybe, must is that a character that people were super-devoted to? He was great in the end, and I like Kinnaman in that move for sure, but...did it have to be a character associated with him? Is it because Rick Flag Sr. has a link to the Creature Commandos? Well, no, he's got a link to the original Suicide Squad, who fought in the 1950s. Yeah, that's a whole other thing. Is it because he's hot? No, you made him hot, and sure, that was an important plot point, but any character can be hot! WHY RICK FLAG, SR.?
I guess an important question is, why NOT Rick Flag, Sr.? Well, first off, you wouldn't have to have that awkward-ass scene where he explains how he's so seemingly young, but had a son in his 30s. Plus, you also wouldn't have had a scene where a man in at least his early 50s HAS GRAPHIC SEX WITH A WOMAN IN HER 20S? KINDA WEIRD, GUNN! Granted, you didn't need that anyway, except, again, it was an actual plot point? That's...questionable, at best. Anyway, without using Rick Flag, Sr., you also wouldn't need to establish that The Suicide Squad was canon. Maybe that was the point, though. Maybe Gunn really wanted to establish that that film is canon. Real weird, though, that Shazam: Fury of the Gods and Blue Beetle weren't confirmed to be canon, despite happening after Gunn's projects. Huh. That's not nepotism at all, NOW IS IT???!??
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It's also at this point I should mention John Economos, played once again by Steve Agee reprising his role from The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. This is another blank slate character from the comics, having been the warden of Belle Reve Penitentiary that housed the member of Task Force X. Gunn and Agee's version of the character? Fine. I think Agee is fun in the role, and there's also nothing inherently wrong with this character. But again, there's no real reason to include him outside of being one of Gunn's favorites. In the show, even, there's not a lot of reason for his presence outside of comic relief, and there's already a LOT of that in the series. So, is Economos necessary? I don't think so, frankly. Plus, again, his appearance is confirmation of the events in Peacemaker, considering his broken leg, and mention of an alien invasion in episode 4.
It's at this point that you may be thinking: "Wretch, you're complaining A LOT. Don't just criticize; make constructive suggestions!" Yeah, yeah, OK, you're right. Who should be the humans in charge of the Creature Commandos? And a second question: which one? I won't go into my full planned roster(s) as of yet, but I will say this: I love the idea of the team in my hypothetical series being the modern Creature Commandos, succeeding a previous long-gone team of Commandos that fought during World War II, and possibly more. But for now, let's focus on the leaders of the modern team, sans Economos' replacement. Like I said, his role isn't entirely necessary, so let's simplify things for the time being.
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Last thing, though. I don;t think Waller and Flag are inherently bad choices for leadership; I just think they come with a lot of baggage and complication, and it feels like the only reason these characters are included is to form a connection with Gunn's previous DC projects. And is that enough of a reason? Not sure that it is. Having an opportunity to build up the DC Universe further feels like more of a priority to me than having something we've already seen. Maybe this was a choice to make the series more attractive to the unaffiliated, but I'm not sure anybody's going to be brought in by specifically Amanda Waller and the father of a previous character. Just saying. Let's look for more interesting choices here.
So, as I said in the first post, I'll put up two proposals: the purist option and the creative option. The former will try to stick to the comics as closely as I can, either through homage, or through direct adaptation. The latter will examine these characters narratively, and look at who can make the most sense (for has the most fun storytelling potential) for this role. Without further ado...
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The Purist Choice: The General and the Hunter
For the administrator role, if we're choosing from the comics, let's put Wade Eiling in this role. A modern choice in the comics, but also a genuinely interesting character to use here. Like Waller, Eiling is an ardent believer in putting his country first and foremost. He's also a believer in making controversial decisions in terms of soldiers. In the comics, Eiling is a part of Project Atom, which aims to turn a soldier into a nuclear-powered super-soldier, and succeeds...almost. Said soldier, Nathaniel Adam, disappears for years, after Eiling had blackmailed him into being altered for the project. He seemingly dies, and Eiling honors his memory by...marrying his wife and having children with her. Ah. Yikes. Not a great guy.
Bringing Eiling in means that we not only get the possibilities of Captain Atom in this universe (which is awesome), but also get the possibility of Eiling turning into a monster himself, as he becomes a character known as the General in the comics. The Creature Commandos could not only be Eiling's second attempt at the super-soldier game, but also would be foreshadowing for his own villainous future. Plus, in the purist spirit, this is replicated by the recent comic-book run of the Commandos. Honestly, even without that series, I think this is a good choice. We'll also assume in this universe that Eiling is inspired by the original Creature Commandos. As a general of high clearance, he'd be made aware of that group, and seek to replicate it thoroughly. And to do that, he'll need a human agent to control the Commandos in the field. So, let's stick to tradition.
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Our human field commander is Miranda Shrieve, a badass monster hunter, and granddaughter of Matthew Shrieve, the original field commander of the Commandos. Not only is this tradition, which would be important to Eiling as a conservative patriot, but Shrieve is a blank slate of a character that you can do anything with. Technically, this is a version that doesn't even exist in the mainstream universe of DC Comics, so go nuts! For our purposes, we'll say that Miranda was inspired by her grandfather's legacy to join the military, and was trained as a hunter by him when she was young. An excellent tactician with a stellar record of service, she's an obvious choice for Eiling to lead his new commandos as a liaison. And, honestly, she should hate it. But again, her personality is somewhat of a blank slate, which can be modified in whatever is the best creative direction.
Having Miranda here is not only an homage to the original Commandos and the Flashpoint team, but also references the Flags. If Waller hadn't snatched him up (and perhaps if he hadn't died in The Suicide Squad, if that's canon in this universe), maybe Rick Flag, Jr. would've been in charge of this group. Instead, we throw a different legacy character in the role, and the Shrieves are in charge of the Commandos then and now. She should be played, ideally, by someone in their '30s, and portrayed as such. Race, by the way, if flexible here; just saying. Broadens the field considerably, and the same goes for Eiling.
So, out first set of options: Wade Eiling and Miranda Shrieve. We're also solidly placing this team under the purview of the military, now. Let's get into the more inspired possibilities for these roles.
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The Creative Choice: The King and the Soldier
For the administrator role, let's throw King Faraday into this iteration of the DC Universe. Faraday is a classic character in DC, essentially a more hand-on Nick Fury. A spy that was young when the Cold War was old, he should be played by an actor in his '60s or so (maybe late '50s), and should be mostly no-nonsense. The Creature Commandos, in this context, is a government-approved organization with a bit more oversight than Waller's Suicide Squad, and you can even reference them in the beginning of the show and have fans question what exactly is canon, if anything. The idea of using superhuman assets, however, is a good one, and Faraday would approve of it.
I also think it's a fun idea to see Faraday interact with Waller, as two allies with somewhat opposed moralities. Waller runs her Task Force X with no regard for human life in sacrifice for a presumed greater good. Faraday also serves the greater good, but puts more value in life, human or otherwise. Also, unlike Waller, Faraday should be played as somewhat of a cool customer, more seemingly relaxed, but frighteningly competent, even in his age. Again, similar to Nick Fury. A secretly scary customer, and somewhat of a monster himself, he should be able to prove himself pretty much immediately against any threats. You come for the King, after all, you best not miss.
My inspired choice for human field commander is...definitely controversial. But hear me out, I beg of you.
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John Edward Brown is a veteran of the Iraq War, having served since he was 18, and climbing the ranks to become a sergeant, and known for an excellent service in the process. Still a member of the military over a decade later, he's called back for active field service by King Faraday, who brought him in based on his reputation, and upon rumors about certain aspects of his service. Regardless of this, when Brown is brought into this group, there's a serious question as to why. Oh, and he's Black American. Vital to his character, and absolutely cannot be changed.
But over time, he proves himself as an incredibly effective field commander, who also seems to be able to access surveillance information...without performing surveillance. He's not a metahuman, magic, or otherwise psychically gifted, so there should be no reason for this, outside of the occasionally heard mutterings and whispers to himself, often tinged with frustration. But we won't find out the reason for this until close to the series finale, possibly the penultimate episode. Turns out Brown is part of a long line of military men, with the family having served in every post Civil-War conflict. However, during his service in Iraq, John became the first military man in his family...to die. Not for long, however. When John, now a sergeant in charge of an armored tank division, and his command were ambushed by the enemy, John's heart stopped for exactly 31 seconds, until being restarted by his troop. However, when he awoke, they were still under attack...only to be saved by something truly unexpected.
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FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST HEAR ME OUT
OK. So, the ghost of a Confederate Army general, J.E.B. Stuart, is protecting the members of this armored tank troop. After the dust settles, it appears that he's protecting Jeb Stuart, a young soldier in the tank troop from Virginia, named after this famous general who died young. Everyone in the tank can see him, though, including Brown, who's understandably not pleased about having a Confederate ghost in the tank. But, he's actually incredibly valuable, if not also very intolerant and stuck in his old ways. However, Stuart does begin to get along with the group, despite their differences. Except, of course, for Brown, who's literally named after abolitionist John Brown, whom J.E.B. helped to kill during Bleeding Kansas. But still, whatever, there's a ghost on the team, he's helpful and folksy.
But then, Jeb leaves the troop. Maybe he's reassigned, maybe he's injured, doesn't matter. Jeb leaves, and J.E.B....stays. He's still here. Huh. I guess he just haunts the tank now, rather than protect a descendant, right? Well, uh...no. He's still protecting a descendant. But it turns out that the descendant was John Brown. Yeah. Oh shit.
So. Again. Hear me out. The Haunted Tank is one of my favorite forgotten DC characters, and a GHOST most certainly would fit in the Creature Commandos, not to mention a military ghost at that. But obviously...this could easily be a problem. But it's one that I think somebody like Gunn could actually work with.
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The Haunted Tank actually dates back to 1961, and is one of the classic weird war characters in the DC roster. However, that ghost of J.E.B. Stuart actually did haunt a good ol' Southern boy in a tank named Jeb Stuart, who was his descendant. But then, the character disappeared after an appearance in Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. Vertigo Comics, an R-rated subsidiary of DC, brought the character back in 2009 in the series pictured above, starring Jamal Stuart instead of Jeb, and set in 2003, during the Iraq War. And lemme tell you...DON'T READ THIS SERIES. Holy shit, this book is offensive as shit, so if you'd rather not read a racist (and especially Islamophobic), overall offensive MESS of a 5-issue series, ignore it. It also RUINS J.E.B. Stuart as a character at the very end, and while I won't spoil it...it explains how he has a black descendant. In unpleasant detail. It's just not the most fun read in 2025 hindsight.
Again, though, I think this character would be Gunn's vibe. And even without Gunn, I think this is a character worth adding, and sets up a tank in the last episodes of the series. And really, who doesn't like a tank? I recognize that this is a crazy choice, but I also think it's an interesting one, and a good excuse to bring in a human character, especially with some of the characters I have in mind for the creative version of the Creature Commandos.
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OK, this post has obviously been very long at this point, but I had a lot to say about both Waller and Flag, and needed to establish their potential replacements. Feel free to comment your thoughts, opinions, questions, etc., etc.! There are more posts to come, and the next one is going to jump forward to episode 2, The Tourmaline Necklace. Didn't really "review" episode 1, but that's coming in the future when we discuss the villains of the piece. Because lemme tell you...I have problem. Still, next time: the Frankensteins.
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See you next time (maybe, no pressure)!
Part One: Introduction and Adaptation Part Two: The Original Creature Commandos Part Three: Amanda Waller and Rick Flag, Sr. Part Four: The Frankensteins Part Five: G.I. Robot
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horizon-verizon · 9 months ago
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I'm still trying to see this complexity that TG has, and that's why TG stans like them?? Alicent changes her opinion and personality every hour, is the complexity of her still having any consideration for Rhaenyra? not have imagined that a war would start? or just have the same crying expression? Please....!! What complexity does Helaena have? supposedly having dragon dreams and not knowing how to interpret them? the girl doesn't say anything in 1S and everyone just thinks she's weird, she doesn't do ANYTHING! Aemond's complexity is that he was bullied and became a presumptuous arrogant who killed his nephew? and I'm not even going to talk about Aegon..... he's an abusive drunk but yes.... he's a complex character
A)
I think that "interesting" for them is actually"potential for high drama, spectacle, and foolishness just because" for some TG stans who say the greens are more interesting. Yes, the green side is actually a complex group AND they rely on fear (amongst themselves and sometimes against the blacks) & strategy...because they have to strategic in order to try to justify some of their actions or wrest the power Rhaenyra's allowed or could accrue at court. To wittle her already-given status as heir to a more passive role. And beyond-court, they wished to convince the realm that Aegon was the rightful king both before and a little after he's crowned. The greens basically had the task to work past the whole "my heir should rule after me" deal that many lords wanted to stay as solid and meaningful as possible by precedent while also arguing on the precedent set by the GC of 101...which was itself a vote based on the adulthood as well as maleness of the candidate chosen. So, again they had to be strategic and shady and underhanded. And that will inevitably give us more drama.
Funny. Ironic.
We already know that the greens were not that successful with the convincing part even with Rhaenyra at Dragonstone and their long success at isolating her, bc it is only Alicent's move to hide Viserys' body, imprison courtiers and servants, hurry to search for Aegon that enables the greens to take the throne at the end AND Rhaenyra still was able to have many more supporters fighting before and after her death for her and her sons' claims.
Which if this is why you like the greens and not bc you think Aegon deserves the throne or ay sort of leadership [bc we see how unwilling and determined he was to not allow his grandfather to actually try to rule him in canon for the very paradigm that develops from Otto-Alicent's style & aims, they created their own monster], valid. I admit, they make the perfect antagonists & foils to the blacks and they do what they are supposed to do.
B)
People, not just TGs, have cited Alicent's past affecting how she views her own and Rhaenyra's motherhood, that chain of abuse. I'm fine with this, this is true. As for Aegon, I wrote a whole master post for what I think is his "deal" HERE, which is long but you can really sum it up as him trying to prove how great of a leader and man he is in lieu of the all the years he's been on the side and Rhaenyra was Viserys' heir. Yeah his life and misery and nastiness is in part bc Alicent wishes to prepare him to become king and "peacefully" reestablish the order of patriarchal feudal primogeniture/order so she'd not have to confront her own suffering and still materially benefit from it in "exchange". This sentence in itself reflects more on Alicent's complexity than Aegon's.
Aemond? Show!him, as presented, is interesting in that he's going to show a sort of vulnerability from his inflexible role as his side's militant "guard" and his worth being drawn mostly from that. He is there to be the support to Aegon's claim. hamliet describes what I am saying well. "Love is a transaction for the Hightowers". He seeks to "prove" himself and tries to make the glory of a warrior replace real love, but it can never so he's a ball of terror.
And love is a transaction, conditional and more so than on the black side because the greens really rely on putting their children's bodies to some sort of use, from Alicent to Otto to Aegon himself and there is no recourse or sign of deep bonds where each understands the other, comforts each other, reaffirms their emotions etc., or tries to make them happy just for the sake of it formed between any green member. (prob should have made this part part of the 1st paragraph but idk how to):
Helaena's body is made into a breeding machine for Aegon's claim for Otto
Aegon is a tool for Otto's desire to move the crown how he wants and is thus not really asked to be a great leader so much as it there & take his orders/suggestions
Alicent was a Helaena for Otto
Alicent uses her kids to stick it to Rhaenyra (show & book) or else ignores them bc of the troubled context from how they existed even as she genuinely loves them
Daeron--if the show will show that dynamic b/t Daeron and Ormund--is suggested to be more of a tool for his way into high prestige behind Alicent and Aegon's own rise, which is why Daeron's sent to Oldtown in the first place, away from his own family for years...yes I know about fosterage, but I'm speaking to the effects this has on the actual bonds b/t these family member s being reduced to transactions towards their goal towards power
So this troubling, repression, and denial of love is itself intoxicating, and thrilling to people who even don't have to be part of any team. I don't blame them.
C)
This issue for me is then:
Alicent could have been a lot more coherent without the inherent benevolent sexism of her becoming Rhaenyra's only friend and underdeveloped writing that makes her a lot less rational, deliberate, & mentally vulnerable to manipulation than she was in the book....all of which undermines her "complexity" bc she becomes less active as a character much sooner than she does in the book
people say all this ethically justifies the greens' actions, determine that their moral examinations of psycho-social conditions yield the correct and only conclusions to then just reveal that they just want their thoughts to be the general thought in contrary to the evidence in text, or hide behind their real biases and need for validation of those biases through the greens
Don't get me wrong, the black side aren't angels and do heinous actions...but it is simply true that they do not create the conditions for the war to begin and are also reacting to the usurpation.
Moreover, the blacks are pretty open when they can be to be about their actions and Rhaenyra is also already the heir. But the show didn't explore her life as a mother, what her relationship to womanhood as a mother AND heir looks like without Daemon there, or her kids' development after episode 5:
Rhaenyra being reduced to her body (advertisement of "Realm's Delight"; affairs and talk of them)
her kids' understanding, more of this from episode 6 and how exactly they interacted with Alicent's sons...how does Aegon enlist them and their frustrations against Aemond and from their perspective; court interactions, including those with Viserys and Harwin or any of the Strongs; education
Rhaenyra's perceived lack of ability that really just comes from her society evaluating her gender
[book] how she forms bonds with women around her, her relationship with Daemon and their journey towards each other, her relationship with the other Velaryons (Corlys and Laenor)
Daemon as a father -> how he "settles" but not really -> how he navigates/learns to raise another life form(s) & instill pride in their heritage and family after years of his beef with Viserys and losses and his resentments he tried to allay or "make up for" through social advancement and by becoming a warrior/has moved for mainly his own validation [idk how to say this concisely]
how he met and developed whatever relationship he had w/Laena...Corlys and Rhaenys' reactions to that (yes, bring Daemon & Laena back from Essos sooner)
The blacks comparatively do not have to be as underhanded and sneaky, and yet you will also have green stans argue that they are entitled, malicious, terrible threats to a perceived order (a projection--the greens are more that bc they are going against the king's word and what I said above about heirs and precedents).
This and majorly bc of how much opportunity we lost from the writing of this show focusing on developing the greens is also why they appear as "boring" or uninteresting while overbearing, scheming, manipulative agents of destruction at the same time to some people, even though they have more than their fair share of drama and angst from the very hierarchies they are perceived to totally benefit from.
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thatswhatsushesaid · 1 year ago
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I’m so glad you like Shi Wudu because I do too and it’s rare to find people who don’t hate him in the fandom. Like how can you hate him! He did it all for his brother! It was all for SQX! Was it ethical? Hell no but he’s so compelling as a character! I have /so/ many extremely complicated feelings about Shi Wudu that I could talk for hours about but all I will say is that “I decide my fate and not the heavens” is so metal and I think that there’s so much to say about just that line it makes me go feral. His relationship with Pei Ming also makes me go feral because the amount of trust (love?) that SW must have had in PM to trust him, at his lowest, with the most important thing to him (SQX’s life). Especially considering the fact that SQX has been antagonizing PM and been openly hostile towards him, for what we can only assume is centuries, and yet SW was certain that PM would put all that aside for his sake (and he did!)
Also I am now curious about the JGY stan to SW stan pipeline because it seems like we both experienced it and we can’t possibly be the only ones so now I’m wondering if there are people who like one but not the other and why.
(Also I saw your tags about beefleaf and you managed to capture my feelings about them perfectly. Like no I don’t want to read fluffy modern AUs I want to read fics where they both love each other but it’s not enough, they never choose each other and they’re both miserable and fucked up about it)
(Sorry this is so long!)
yo never apologize for sending long messages with your thoughts/feelings on these characters, i am SO HERE for reading them!! i hadn’t considered the presence of a jgy-to-swd stan pipeline, mostly because when i’ve checked the character tag, i’ve mostly seen comparisons to nmj and nhs. which dgmw, i absolutely believe that nmj loved nhs and wanted to protect him! but we know exactly what nmj would have done to save nhs from an unspeakably awful fate in canon, because that’s already something that is completely within his power to change. and he doesn’t do it.
also absolutely i believe swd loved pei ming—like i don’t think there’s enough in the source material to support a romantic or reciprocated romantic ship there, but that absolutely won’t stop me from doing it anyway, and in canon, it says so much that pei ming is who shi wudu tells shi qingxuan to go to after he dies.
😭😭😭 waaaahhhhh i love shi wudu, he’s insane, he’s a war criminal, he ruined poor he xuan’s whole life and afterlife, and he did it all for love of his little bother!!
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catohphm · 6 months ago
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HPHM Ship Weekend - Day 3 - Sunset
A Moment by the Lakeside
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Morning everyone! This is my third and last addition for @hphm-ship-week featuring my MC x Canon ship Cato x Penny, or Reesewood! Here they have some time for themselves by the Black Lake at Hogwarts during their seventh year early on, reveling in their deep feelings for each other. Once again special thanks goes to @autisticarachnid and @eternalchaoschocolaterain! I hope you all enjoy, feedback is greatly appreciated!
One weekend during September 1990, the young Cato and Penny were taking some time for themselves on the grounds beside the Black Lake. The sun cast a huge rippling sheen on the water, calm as ever. They were sitting together on the grass. Penny was slowly running her hands through his hair back and forth. 
“I’ve been doing the best I can looking out for everyone against R and those vaults. I get tired of talking about them though. They’ve caused too much grief for us.” he reflected in a semi-exhausted voice.
“I know. I’m just glad everyone is okay. You and Bea are among the first two people I think about. R is still out there but we still sleep better with Rakepick facing justice.”
Cato smiled at this, even if his facial expressions gave off a hint of reluctance. “I don’t feel afraid as much going after them, or even taking my NEWTs. I still told myself that I’d want to have as much of a normal seventh year as possible.”
Penny smiled and answered back with an assured voice “I think we’ll all be able to have that, thanks to your efforts.” while resting her hand on his shoulder.
He looked toward her and went for her hand resting on her shoulder. Their hands grasped each other and relaxed on the grass.
“I’d want our years at Hogwarts to never end but having you is going to make even the harder times better.”
Cato shared the sentiment. “With you I don’t have to think what if not?” he laughed.
“Not at all! We’ve already done so much. I never thought in the beginning that we’d be breaking curses at Hogwarts. I’m still glad to have done it with you, Cato-bear.”
They went into a short-lasting yet slow and passionate kiss. Cato and Penny’s romance had only grown over the years as they came of age, defying any kind of obstacle from school drama, Cursed Vaults, and the incursions of R. It would only keep going as it would help them get through the stresses of their final Hogwarts term together. They also intended to dedicate the year to enjoying their bond before their lives would inevitably change after they left school.
The young couple exited their kiss and looked at the sight of the sun over the Black Lake for a moment to relax in silence, still holding each other’s hands while resting them on the grass.  
Cato and Penny broke out of their silence when he reached inside of his school robe for something. “I got something special for you.”
She gasped a little in excitement. “What could it be, Cato-bear?”
He pulled out a small tan box from the robe and gave it to her. Penny took off its cover and laid it underneath its bottom half, revealing a necklace with a yellow-orange translucent stone that had flat faces and round edges. It had a brass ring going around the circumference of the circle where the two edges met. The small chain meant to be worn around the neck was made of the same material as the ring.
“Cato, this is an amber pendant. You picked something so beautiful!” she exclaimed with glee. “I’m curious where you were able to find this great gift?”
“Just before the year started, me and my friends stopped at this bargain store in the town we were staying at while on holiday at the beach. You said you were attending a function for potioneering at the time. There was nothing much interesting in the store to me, except for the pendant that caught my eye.”
Penny blushed a bit “Go on!”
“I thought of you when I saw it. I spent some time gazing at it, and realized I had to pick it up. It didn’t cost me much, but whoever made it did a great job because of how cleanly cut the amber looked. Nobody asked as we were all way too hungry by that point to think about anything else. I’ve been looking forward to giving it to you since then. This felt like the right time to do it.”
She grinned and put on the amber pendant. “Thank you so much for the sweet surprise, Cato-bear.” Penny pecked him on the cheek.
“You’re quite welcome. It looks really nice on you! The amber matches the color of the sky.”
“And it matches the bronze on your Ravenclaw tie, Cato.” pointed out Penny, with a playful giggle. “This is perfect!”
He blushed some and was joyful with a sighful smile. “I’m so flattered you like it that much. The pendant was just something little I found while I was-”
“Don’t worry about it at all! I’ve seen you have so much heart in you.”
“I’ve seen the same in you, Penny! It's the reason why I think about you a lot and are important to me. Do you want to go back inside the castle? It’s getting a little colder out here.”
Laughing a bit, she responded “I was meaning to ask that too, good call Cato!”
They rose up and took a minute to admire the spectacle of twilight in the evening sky, Penny huddled together with him.
She then took the lead and they departed, holding hands together.
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warlordgab · 2 years ago
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Analysis of shipping: One Piece anti-romance arguments
Years before Oda was asked to write Strong World, years before the Summit War saga, even years before many of us joined the fandom, a significant portion of fans shared an anti-romance sentiment.
This perspective was so widespread that it seemed as if the One Piece community in general was convinced no pairing would ever become canon. Sure, there were some exceptions: 
Some people dispalyed indifference toward the anti-romance trend, but also towards the emotional narrative of the story. So, they would likely support shallow premises anyway
Others shipped characters by relying on inter-series comparisons that no longer hold up nowadays. (it didn't take long for perceptive individuals to find out how unlikely those "theories" truly were)
Some of these people were editors on other wiki sites, that pointed out how filler provided shipping fuel for stuff that never gets actual development in the manga. And yet, the same editors also promoted a non-existent "sexual tension" as many shallow shippers would, but I digress.
Still, since that era, a lot of arguments had been made for this position regarding romantic love; some were forgotten, and some stuck but in pretty unexpected ways.
So, here we’re going to consider those arguments, how bad they aged, and what possibly led to the anti-romance idea losing its initially strong foothold in the fandom.
The anti-romance idea through time
Firts, let us consider that one of the most important elements that helped the anti-romance idea to grow was how Oda talked about the subject. When the mangaka was asked about if someone from strawhats (except Sanji) was in love, he replied in a SBS they were all "in love with adventure."
While that was a pretty creative answer, it seems some readers weren't satisfied with Oda’s reply. But, it wasn’t like fans couldn’t agree that the statement was technically a correct.
Not to mention that fans back then didn’t have the Hancock character westerners simp so hard for. Instead, they had Alvida as the first woman calling dibs on Luffy...
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... But, this was easy to dismiss given how they never became allies or friends.
Still, that doesn’t mean the anti-romance idea didn’t have its weak spots. In fact, Oda gave us an interesting “insight” on one scene, that LuNa fans loved, in the SBS Volume 32:
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This was long before Summit War saga. It's interesting how the only girl that managed to make Luffy a “little horny" was Nami.
It’s true that the Oda’s answer would later change to what basically amounts to “bad influence,” when he was confroted with the fact Hancock’s beauty couldn’t get the same response from Luffy. But, the fact, still remains that it was Luffy’s response, unless people want to argue Luffy’s companions have a greater influence on his libido than Hancock’s beauty ever could. Doesn’t sound so good when you think about it, does it?
Of course, a lot of perceptive readers and even some anti-shippers know that being as “horny” as a “healthy boy” is not something inherently romantic. So, even if this moment left a crack on the anti-romance argument by displaying Luffy’s “healthy” reponse to Nami’s sex appeal, that still wasn’t enough to debunk it.
Needless to say, some anti-shippers may claim being “horny” is a must for a relationship to grow, but that myopic perspective completely disregards how emotional connections can develop by sharing meaningful moments instead of lusting after a potential partner. 
Moving on, Oda’s vagueness back then just encouraged readers to keep discussing the subject of potential romance by relying on the manga material they had so far. Still, the anti-romance crowd would shortly get another argument, when Oda stated the following:
“One Piece is basically a shonen manga, manga for boys, so romance isn’t depcited“
Ironically, this is where the another crack in the anti-romance idea starts to show. As many chapters later, we got something subtle about Usopp and Kaya at the end of the Ennies Lobby arc.
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But, the fact the story focused more on its plot, themes, and other characters, probably made it easier for everyone to miss how this relationship could contradict the 'no romance depcited' argument.
Later, the fandom got introduced to Boa Hancock. While Alvida’s interest in Luffy got scratched as “not romantic enough,” Hancock’s infatuation for the hero couldn’t be ignored due to how over-the-top it was. But, it still wasn’t enough, why?
Because the relationship between Luffy and Hancock never develops into something deep or truly impactful, as Hancock’s crush remains as one-sided as it can get.
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Luffy’s rejection to Hancock’s proposal just made it a lot easier for the anti-romance argument to stay strong despite the few cracks it had at that time.
Specially, when you factor context. Luffy’s reply was framed as a negative response to Hancock’s promotion of herself as a potential wife. Add Luffy’s personality to this setup, and no matter how you try to put it, he sunk that ship before it had a chance to sail.
Debunking the “no romance” myth?
So far, we’ve seen things that could a best put a dent on the anti-romance argument. But, what actually destroyed this myth?
We have to flashforward to the Dressrosa arc. Two pairings with tragic backstories were introduced: Kyros and Scarlett & Señor Pink and Russian
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Kyros' relationship Scarlett story serves as part of the compelling drama of his background. And we can tell how Pink’s relationship with Russian made his character and current state and struggle emotionally impactful.
This obviously destroyed the argument of “no romance in One Piece” and contradicts Oda’s own “romance isn’t depcited”
It became easy to see that romantic love was not only playing a part in the story, but it was doing so in a way that didn’t negatively impact the author’s work. Instead, Oda used romantic love to enhance both character and story.
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And this wasn’t going to be the last time, as One Piece Film: Gold gaves us something we’re about to consider in the following section, as Tesoro and Stella were depicted as lovers.
However, the greatest blow to this argument was delivered by something that not many people saw coming: SanPu's tragic love story
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We already know that Pudding’s initial affection was just an act to fool Sanji and carry out Big Mom’s plot against the Vinsmoke family. But, as soon as she has her first genuine moment with Sanji, she develops actual feelings for him as the chef shattered the image she had of her own self for years. 
Needless to say, due to their respective crews being enemies, this relationship couldn’t become official, as Pudding gives Sanji a pretty romantic farewell... before removing it from his memory.
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Here, romantic love plays a important role in the emotional narrative of the final scenes.
I could mention Kinemon and O-Tsuru, as well as Oden and Toki, but I think that would be overkill at this point.
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Still, while the “no romance” myth got destroyed, the anti-shippers didn’t give up, those who saw how this approach became ineffective in promoting anti-romance just made their arguments undergo a microevolution. And this is where we get to the final stage:
“They’re in love... with adventure”
Given that the statment of “romance isn’t depcited” became completely useless, one would think that’s the end. But, instead of trying to encompass the entirety of One Piece, the idea came back to its origin.
All strawhats are “in love with adventure,” so accordig to self-aware anti-shippers, there will be no romantic relationships between members of the strawhat crew, because adventure is their only “love.” But, as the philosopher George Santayana once said: 
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”
And even the old version of this argument started to shows some cracks at the Zou arc:
Nami was both happy and eager to receive Luffy and the rest, and as pointed out by perceptive readers, she could've ran to someone else, like Zoro, something some westerners in high positions clearly wanted, but I digress.
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Instead, she went straight to Luffy and only then she let out how she felt about their current predicament with Sanji...
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...people try to downplay it by saying the moment was all about the chef. But, the thing is, not only she could’ve ran to someone else's arms, she ran straight to Luffy, but also poured her heart out only when she was with him.
This scene was truly remarkable as it was not only impactful, but also consistent with previous developments between Luffy and Nami as seen in Oda's works.
As we already already analyzed multiple times in this blog, this matches the trend of Nami seeking (and finding) hope, comfort, and strength in Luffy.
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While this isn't something explicitly romantic, this consistent bonding could likely lead to a potential growth and an eventual relationship upgrade if the author keeps working on it.
After Dressrosa damaged the credibility of their arguments, and the possibility of more development from characters so important to the story, anti-shippers had seen better days. But, that wasn’t the only thing that left another crack on the last anti-romance argument.
Let’s talk about One Piece Film: Gold
At this point, a lot of LuNa fans, and many people who read my post already how Oda changed the climax of One Piece Film: Gold, and his work speaks for itself...
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...as explained in the special Volume 777, Tesoro was in a romantic relationship with a slave: Stella. Their romance ended up in tragedy when he failed to save her from getting bought by a noble.
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If we see the climax of the movie, as well as Oda’s draft of the scene, we can see that the intent was for Luffy’s situation with Tesoro holding Nami in his grasp to mirror Tesoro’s own tragedy back when he lost Stella. And thus Oda drew a parallel between Luffy/Nami, and a romantic pair: Tesoro/Stella.
However, many people would find such things too subtle or simply insufficient. But, even if we ignore emotional narrative and trends, the real weak spot in this “no romance in the crew” argument, is the basis itself: “They’re in love with adventure”
This isn’t only a clever response, and a way to avoid the subjet. It is a reminder of what One Piece is at its very core. 
You probably don’t hear this one pretty often, but One Piece story is “romance.” In fact, here are some definitions that show how that statement is far more accurate than more people would imagine:
Romance:
“A mysterious or fascinating quality or appeal, as of something adventurous, heroic, or strangely beautiful”
“A long fictitious tale of heroes and extraordinary or mysterious events, usually set in a distant time or place”
“A narrative in verse or prose, written in a vernacular language in the Middle Ages, dealing with strange and exciting adventures of chivalrous heroes”
– thefreedictionary.com, 2016
“A prose narrative treating imaginary characters involved in events remote in time or place and usually heroic, adventurous, or mysterious”
–  Merriam Webster, 2016
Romantic:
“Marked by the imaginative or emotional appeal of what is heroic, adventurous, remote, mysterious, or idealized”
“Having an inclination for romance: responsive to the appeal of what is idealized, heroic, or adventurous”
–  Merriam Webster, 2016
Remember what’s the title of the first chapter of the manga? “Romance Dawn.”
The claim of the strawhats being in love with adventure fits the definition of “romance” in the framework of the series. But, does this concept exclude romantic love?
No, this narrative style can easily include romantic love if the author wishes to. In fact, as far as we seen, One Piece featured this kind of relationships multple times in the story.
So, trying to uphold this anti-romance phylosophy is ultimately pointless as the only argument left is not enough anymore, and the story already debunks most, if not all of the arguments.
Shippers take the anti-romance approach?
While anti-shippers don’t have a solid ground to stand on, some of their arguments are still used nowadays. Ironically, they’re used by shippers in an attempt to discredit rival pairings
This why the “no romance in the crew” lives on. More often than not, shallow shippers don’t even try to quote the author, instead they repeat what they hear or read in YouTube or Reddit. 
This applies to many newcomers that lack the time and patience to stomach a long-running series, as well as people who let their bias for certain characters dicatate their view on the story, something akin to the mindset that feeds the endless squabble of Zoro Vs. Sanji.
Still. the point is that the anti-romance arguments are now the greatest assets for pretty loud individuals to wage shipping wars out of ignorance and hate.
However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t any active anti-shippers using these arguments. It’s just that LuNa seem to be their favorite target
But, that leads to the question: Why LuNa? Why are pairings like LuHan, SaNa or ZoNa seemingly getting ignored by anti-shippers for the most part?
Well, you guys probably realize I haven’t mentioned Sanji at all in the “Debunking” section. That’s wasn’t something incidental
By the time, the community rebuffed the idea of romantic love in the series, Sanji with all his corny flirting and pervy gags never made a dent in the anti-romance arguments because most people knew back then that being horny is not something romantic. Even when Hancock appeared, fans knew a well-written pairing could only happen if the feelings between the characters become mutual.
So, what makes Luna the favorite target of these people? What makes the pairing stand out to anti-shippers?
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Is it because their consistent bonding is the perfect setup for a relationship upgrade? Is it because their moments are far more meaningful and impactful from a narrative standpoint? Or is it because the alternatives to LuNa lack the potential to grow? I’m not sure about it
Still, those who had seen all of this, know better. At this point, anti-romance arguments mean little to nothing in the story. And Oda will keep writing characters and human relationships regardless of what fans do or say.
So, instead of going around making noise about how “there shouldn’t be a romantic relationship in the crew” or trying to start senseless war between fandoms, we should enjoy the ride and see what Oda has in store for us in the final saga.
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skayafair · 1 year ago
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John and Agency
I'm gonna be feral about Malevolent about John, of course, who am I kidding here for some time (we're SO BACK, yaaaay a hyperfixation!) so buckle up.
Another recurring big theme I've noticed that got some developement after part 40 is John's agency.
The thing he has to struggle with for the most part of the story is that he's utterly powerless. A former god reduced to a mere voice inside a man's head an the sight of his eyes. An arm and a foot give some leverage but it's still less than a human even, let alone any supernatural being. And while John is ok with being human - he wants to, after all, - he's not even remotely okay with being less than.
He rarely talks about it, but it shows so painfully in the mines, when he managed to cut the monster's tentacle from Arthur's head. Arthur wasn't doing anything, he was too overwhelmed, and it was completely John's doing. He managed not only do something influential on his own accord, but also be helfpul and basically save them both. Just how happy he sounded about it sells everything one needs to know about how he feels most the time. And Arthur dares to call him a parasite and a passenger who just sits back and does nothing, ugh. Not blaming Arthur here, he was in another Situation, but. I'm JUDGING anyway >:( And later, when he stitched Arthur up - John was so frustrated at how little he was capable of and how much effort it took to do this.
Another time his frustration shows is when he's talking to Kayne.
John HATES Kayne with passion and doesn't hide this. That's a remarkable thing, actually, considering that he's also a very cautious person and is afraid of Kayne, feeling just how powerful this being is. John doesn't deal with fear well. Whenever he encounters something frightening, his first response is a freeze one. And Kayne scares the shit out of him. Yet, every time John refers to him, it's with very audible animosity. John knows full well how dangerous Kayne is and doesn't give a damn.
If he could, he'd have obliterated Kayne. But that's the thing - he's p o w e r l e s s. So many times John tried to threaten him in anger with "I'll- I'll- !" - only to fall silent, because, well, he can't do anything. Couldn't have, really, even if he still had full King's power. But this stark contrast with Kayne emphasises just how little John is actually capable of in his current state.
And in part 40 it was reinforced again. Only this time after his little developement.
I LOVE this new ability to manifest. YAY FINALLY! I had a Hellsalem's Lot a.k.a. Kekkai Sensen AU when he could do exactly that, so it made me laugh to actually see this in canon.
It should help. Now John can do more. We don't know how much more - is his manifestation only a vision or he can influence the material world as well? Can he manipulate people's minds the way Yellow could? (John would hate this.) In any case, this is still... something. Something real, something of his own. A way to show the word he actually exists, and not only as a voice inside Arthur's mind. All John's issues with this considered, it a great thing.
So, now he technically isn't powerless anymore. He has power. It's better, right? Right?
Well there's a catch.
John won't ever be happy to be more present if it's on Arthur's expense, and that's exactly the cost his new abilities come with.
So while technically he has more power now, it's a "last resort" kind of thing. He can't use it much because killing Arthur is not even in the realm of the things he wants.
Still... I think it should have been euphoric - even if only for a short moment - to gain it. To feel more capable. To have more power. It's not an insane amount, after all, and in John's case is a perfectly reasonable desire - more like a need.
But how painful and devastating it should have been to be reminded by Kayne that he's actually still just as powerless as he was before? That this new ability doesn't change much? Kayne knows where to hit and does it every time.
Like, we know John is more capable now, and it's really great! But that moment when he had to shut up because there was nothing to say to Kayne's "you what?" has hit me like a truck :''') That was painful, like a "know your place", and John couldn't bite back. He was already drowning in guilt and this just made things worse. I don't want to imagine how he's feeling after all this :''')
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spiritsglade · 2 months ago
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12, 14, and 21 for the end of year asks!!
HI BIRDIE !!!
12. Oh I have so many concepts. I have an entire list. They're all about Jason because I have a blatant favorite. Top three contenders because I can't choose:
Jason Todd de-aging fic where he ends up back at age 14/15 & insists upon solving his own murder. We'd have to go through the logistics of the whole reveal of who he is now and the fact that he died and also the handwavey explanation for why he's a kid for the foreseeable future. But after that! He finds out he died due to going after the Joker alone, decides that it doesn't sound like something he would do, and singlehandedly tries to solve what actually happened in that warehouse while everyone else begs him not to run around potentially retraumatizing himself.
Jason Todd died outside Gotham and experienced his rebirth through the Lazarus Pit also outside Gotham, and then spent a lot of time running around outside Gotham. Gotham, being posessive and upset about this, literally outright rejects him by the time he tries to step foot back in the city for Hush. Concept's extremely vague but there's this general theme of changing so much you become unrecognizable that I want to explore? Potentially this manifests as a ghost-adjacent version of Jason who retains his Robin appearance + perhaps a bit from his catatonic days on the streets, because I love forcing Jason to confront different versions of himself. Bonus Gotham is literally evil vs. All-Blades that destroy "absolute evil" exploration possible here.
The Jason Todd & Tim Drake get drop-kicked into a shitty alternate universe where Jason killed Tim at Titan's Tower concept we talked about! We're definitely keeping Bruce perma-lost in the timestream, with Dick as Batman and Damian as Batman's not-Robin sidekick, Jason's in Arkham but about as flippant about it as he is in B&R #23. I am daydreaming about the amount of angst I could fit in this one.
14. Animation! I'm not very good at it or patient enough, but it's a lot of fun. Here's a silly little thing I made a while back. (cw: flashing)
In terms of writing, this is the first year I've really started writing fanfiction about canon characters (as opposed to ocs set in a specific universe). The back and forth of cross-referencing canon material & sifting through how much canon I actually accept + being concerned about how in-character I'm writing someone is something I haven't had to worry about much before.
21. "Something" is very vague. Um.
piece of official media: Moon Knight vol 9 (2021) everyone needs to read this right now. It works better as a culmination of everything if you read, at the very least, Lemire's run, Age of Khonshu, and Moon Knight's tenure on the West Coast Avengers first. And probably others that I'm forgetting off the top of my head right now. Alternatively maybe just every single one of his comic appearances prior to 2021 because Jed Mackay is fucking brilliant at tying that shit into one satisfying narrative.
fic: Everything goes away by blingbland broke into my house and bullied me to the point of tears. It's a Dick & Jason fic where Dick ends up sent back in time to the few weeks before Jason dies in Ethiopia. I love time travel but in a very narrow and specific way that means I usually don't like how they conclude. However. This one? This one had me by the throat and executed everything perfectly.
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zahri-melitor · 7 months ago
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20 Questions for Fic Writers Tag Game
Thank you @androxys for the tag!
1. how many works do you have on AO3?
I have 46 works on AO3 at the moment. There's a handful more spread over various other places, but at this point I've uploaded all of my back catalogue that I want to have archived there.
2. what's your total AO3 word count?
113,119 words. Which is pretty respectable given I tend not to write long pieces.
3. what fandoms do you write for?
Whatever is currently causing my brain to itch! At the moment that's most DC Comics, but I do have a few Yuri!!! on Ice drafts sitting around that I may or may not finish, at least one Girl Genius piece I could tidy up, a bunch of ATLA snippets, and I can frequently be provoked into writing Vorkosigan Saga if people pose the right scenarios.
4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?
College Daze: a Yuri!!! on Ice SkyGem Retirement Challenge piece, where I don't bother with the reveal. It's three separate scenarios where people meet Yuuri as a college student in the US and don't know who he is. I'm entirely unsurprised it remains my most popular - it was a very popular challenge in the fandom and it's a lot more accessible and pandering to fandom tastes than some other stuff I write.
Find Out What It Means To Me: an immediate sequel to Yuri!!! on Ice, set around Japanese Nationals. Yuuri doubts himself but succeeds and finds how much love and support he has from the whole Japanese skating community. I love this piece because it's very much a balance of things I enjoy (fiddly technical details) and characterisation.
the picture frames have changed and so has your name: DC Comics. What if Dick no longer loved Tim? What if Dick got Morrison Disease? Ahahaha I think you all know this one. It's my big DC piece so far, so I'm not surprised it's up here. It also contains female characters that casual DC fans have never heard of in major roles, so I'm also not surprised it doesn't get the attention fanon-based material does in this fandom.
Little Chick in a Nest: Yuri!!! on Ice. Victor introduces Yuuri to Lilia, without realising that Minako was also a famous prima ballerina. The YOI fandom loves Minako's Benois, but it's a tiny set dressing detail; Victor probably overlooked it and nobody ever talks about Minako as a famous dancer. I had a lot of fun setting up Victor to put his foot in it.
there's an endless road to rediscover: DC Comics. Dick and Tim playfight in the Cave and Damian misreads the situation. I think this one is popular just because of the interplay between the characters, and it was my first attempt at trying to get my head around Damian as a character.
5. do you respond to comments?
Pretty much always. It's the time I spent on LJ coming through, because comments are for talking, and if you talk to me I'll talk back. If you're waiting on a response it's usually because I'm formulating some massive post. Also I tend to meet people where they pitch their comment - the longer and more detailed it is the more detail and discussion you'll get back.
6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
I'll hold your memory in my hands tonight. It's pretty hard to beat this one for angst in terms of the subject matter. (I still giggle to myself over the pun in this title because it's dreadful) Anyway CTE is something I have a lot of feelings about and they recently diagnosed two women as having suffered CTE due to domestic violence, which is horrific and really shows the long term problems and dangers from family violence.
Then there's A Duty to Your Family and Soft, Small, Silent, Still, one of which contains attempted infanticide and the other which contains canonical accidental toddler death, so you know. When I give heads up warnings I tend to mean them.
7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
...Happiest? hmmmm. I have a bunch of fluff, but probably Find Out What It Means To Me for YOI, Herds of Little Vorkosigans for Vorkosigan Saga, and These Small Hours for DC Comics?
Yes okay that's two baby fics and the one where everyone tells Yuuri he's the best.
8. do you get hate on fics?
Almost none that I'm aware of; there's occasionally a bit of pedantry on the Vorkosigan Saga fics but that's from known notorious figures in the fandom and I largely ignore them. If anyone's busy having a hate on for my fics they're kind enough to do it the correct way, which is privately where I can't see it.
9. do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Nope. The closest I get is playing around with innuendo at times in my writing. I'd really rather insinuate and then fade to black, it's heaps less awkward to write.
10. do you write crossovers?
I was going to play good old 'what do you mean by crossover' as far as DC Comics goes, but the answer is a frank yes, because I've got a West Wing & Grease crossover drabble I'm Not Pregnant which is leveraging Stockard Channing appearing in both.
11. have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I've ever noticed, and I honestly suspect it's unlikely to happen. I would need to write things that get more attention than I currently get, designed to hit fandom popular tropes.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
No. None of my Vorkosigan Saga stuff is popular enough to get a Russian translation and it doesn't fit the preferred tropes of that end of fandom anyway.
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Nothing I've ever specifically published as fic. I do have some commentfic over the years where there's been back and forth between me and someone else, but alas commentfic is a dying breed in fandom these days.
(and it's a LOT more informal than proper cowriting)
14. What's your all-time favorite ship?
All time favourite? Oh gosh. Probably Wally/Norah from Billabong, which hits just so many of my favourite notes for a relationship. Nothing for me will ever beat Wally throwing himself at Norah's mercy to confess that he would rather have died than Jim as he's 'nobody's dog', and Norah claiming him as her own.
I've loved those two since I was a little kid, and you know how it is with ships you acquire in that formative period.
15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?
I remain hopeful about a lot of my stash but I just can't see myself finishing a piece I have about Steph's baby and Helena Kyle. It's a fun scenario, but I cannot work out the villain who came after them both, and so it remains a setting without a plot.
16. What are your writing strengths?
From what people have said to me: I'm pretty good at paring down language and telling a lot of story in small scenes and understatement. There's a bunch of compliments I've had over the structure of TES 34/64 that I treasure, and everyone lost their minds over "the shoes had eventually come in handy. For the funerals." in a gap where a parent should be.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
Oh, this is something I have strong feelings about. I don't like loan words being translated and multilingual fandoms often have a working level of loan words that is higher than background use: think for example the amount of French commonly used when discussing ballet. So I tend to think you should use languages at the level of comfort that the fandom has for them.
It often comes down to the fluency of the characters in the scene - I think dialogue in another language can be quite powerful if some of the characters understand it and others don't, because you can leverage that variation in understanding in your audience. However personally I'm more likely to note what languages are being used in dialogue tags than arrange for a translation.
I do try to localise for word choice to the setting of a fic but at this point I've been in fandom too long and and I'm too stubborn to localise spelling for my writing.
Which means if I were to write Wellington Paranormal fic I would probably be using my extremely scanty Māori mixed through the dialogue; I wouldn't bother translating kia ora or whānau for instance. But on the other hand I'm not going to write in another language unless it makes sense for the story to do so.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
That I published? Harry Potter. Which I'm not ashamed of or upset over, really. It was a good fandom to learn how fandom worked in, and it certainly inoculated me against a lot of nonsense behaviour later on. I still have friends I made back then, I learned a lot about how Internet communities function and behave, and it's sort of weird to have things I was on the fringe of and have contemporary memories of occurring having become Fandom Lore.
20. Favourite fic you've written?
Oh damn. Hmmm. Look, probably the picture frames have changed and so has your name, because I'm super proud of myself for finishing it, but in terms of underrated pieces I have to to point to the Mother's Day series, particularly Tea for Two, because DC mothers deserve so much more love.
I don't have anyone specific to tag so let's make it an open offer.
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typewriter83 · 6 months ago
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Hi! I've been following your work for some time now, and I think you're such a prolifically skilled writer. I prefer the canon dynamic between Joel and Ellie, and the fact that their relationship has father-daughter themes but isnt purely that, yet also isn't romantic. However, I will dabble in some stories about Joellie and I do find that concept interesting. Just out of curiosity, I was wondering what your thoughts are on one of the OG fics, Flying to Wyoming? I noticed you mentioned it in a previous post listing fics. I know that while it's well-written, it's also considered a rather controversial (and at times, extreme) fic, and for good reason. I'm interested in seeing what other people think.
Oh, hello! First of all, sweet new cub, you’re too kind - I’m so touched that you enjoy my stories. Like sincerely touched. Thank you.
I came into the the TLOU fandom from the show, looking for Joel&Ellie stories, and had no interest in the romantic ship - shh, don’t tell the cubs - but it was fics that drew my attention and curiosity and eventually the brain rot sent in. I’m a fan of the canon dynamics too - minus Ellie’s treatment of Joel in Part 2, but that’s a topic for another day.
But yes, let’s talk about Flying to Wyoming because on the surface, it’s the quintessential Joellie story - discussion below the cut - it’s LONG, so buckle up.
FtW is one of those stories that I should have let lie, should have let it be a one and done, enjoyed it and never gone back. I read the entire 600k word behemoth in less than a week, which means I was speed-reading, skimming and not in great depth and detail. But at the end, those last paragraphs of the final installment, I was crying, like tears flowing down my cheeks and I wandered my house like I’d lost real people in my life. (Am dramatic, didn’t y’all know?)
The basic dynamics of the story are there - a sweeping epic, cross-country survival adventure where a teenaged orphan girl falls in love with her older male protector, one of the first people that’s ever protected her, ever put her first. Much like the canon story, Ellie starts off terrified of Joel and what he might be capable of, and Joel treats Ellie like cargo because he doesn’t want to get close to her and fail yet another that comes into his life. And, honestly, this story could have been a platonic story, 100% it would have worked - even with undertones of a teenager crushing on an older man, it would have worked. But, because of the twist the writer takes, we have a whole different angle that’s being built up to - trust me, guilt-ridden Joel is my bread and butter and there’s a lot of guilt in his inner dialogue. Ellie’s a very curious, horny teenager - which is pretty much on target for the character. I’ve written both these angles, myself, and so have others.
So, what’s my problem with it? It’s a lot. The change in dynamics after the FtW2 - it’s been awhile since I’ve read it, so if I mess up the timeline, that’s on me - Ellie is still 14 when they set out for SLC and the explicit sexual activities ramp up pretty quickly especially at the bed and breakfast. I’m judging here - okay, maybe a little, and I have no place to judge - but that’s a lot for a young teenage girl. My problem with it is simply a matter of opinion - Ellie was so young. Am I a prude? Was I sheltered? Maybe - or maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea for reading material.
The writer is talented, his depictions of a broken world are brilliantly detailed. His depictions of how states would fight states and the scars left in the earth after battles that took place long before Ellie was born are gorgeously detailed. His descriptions of abandoned and desolate towns along the highways are incredible. Some of my favorite scenes come from their stops along the way, but namely the town at the edge of the Mississippi where they stop for bike repairs - it’s a real bonding moment for Joel & Ellie and the town’s description is vividly painted.
Those are my positive takeaways from the story - the writer draws you in with his depictions of the broken world and it’s part of the draw to the TLOU universe for me as well. The whole idea of two humans walking - or on the back of a bike - across a broken country, it’s just so compelling.
Back to the Joellie aspect of the saga.
It’s made very clear in the final story - which by the way is the best title: The Home at the End of the Road is just a perfect title to describe not only their home once they settle in Jackson, but Jackson itself is their home at the end of their long journey. I could weep - anyway, by the final story, it’s made clear that Ellie is considered an adult by end-of-the-world standards when she turns 16, and Joel is finally ready (at peace?) to give himself completely to her. I didn’t particularly care for the scene itself - it’s not how I would have written it, it’s not what I was looking for or expecting, but we’re not yucking on anyone’s yum here, it just wasn’t it for me.
The story jumps ahead by a good decade and immediately takes a sad, different kind of dark turn - we know Joel is mortal (for some of us, he’s not, but here he is) and the writer spends the last chapter showing that they’ve started a family but Joel’s mortality is this dark cloud over the home at the end of the road.
What I’m about to say next is entirely my opinion - I never had a chance to speak to the writer, he was long gone from ao3 by the time I read this story - this is my opinion. The idea of the war between FEDRA and surrounding communities felt like it was taken straight out of The Walking Dead - I don’t mean that in a bad way, just that it felt out of place for the universe. TWD and TLOU take place in different times beyond the start of their respective outbreaks - TWD is about 15ish years after the outbreak when the show ends and FtW is about 30-35 years after - that’s a big difference. I don’t think there are a lot of big communities out there in the TLOU universe - not like what was depicted in FtW, and an all out war against FEDRA. Again this is just my opinion.
When I set out to write Every Night Has Its Dawn, I wanted the epilogue to be an homage and draw inspiration from the final chapter of Home at the End of the Road. I wanted to show that living at the end of the world could be possible for Joel and Ellie and the family they have together. I was so devastated by FtW ending with not only Ellie losing Joel and one of her children, but then she loses her own life. It was too heartbreaking, and I had another vision.
That’s a lot of fucking rambling to get to the point. The story itself is a good story - the details and the way the Joel/Ellie relationship were written were not my cup of tea and I can see why you say that it’s an extreme example of the forbidden ship. It is. It’s a lot - there’s a lot of graphic descriptions of underage sexual activity, and it’s depraved, a lot of it. Does that make it bad? No, it makes it someone else’s enjoyment. It gives us writers inspiration though - there’s a lot he writes that I strive to write, but there’s a lot that I would change, and maybe did a little to fit into my universe.
Anyway, that’s my long winded take. If you stick around this long, y’all deserve a medal. Drop a line if you wanna add something to this. I would love to discuss more.
🫶🏻
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hyohaehyuk · 5 months ago
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fangirlish - ‘Interview with the Vampire’ Roundtable Interviews: Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid & Bailey Bass Talk Dark Gifts & Immortality
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Ahead of the release of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire, we participated in the series’ virtual roundtable interview with Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, and Bailey Bass. Before even getting into the insights the actors gave us into their experiences in playing these characters, let’s just be perfectly clear on a couple of things.
First off, these actors have done their research. And it shows.
And, for as great as the 1993 film was, the main research — especially for Reid — didn’t really come from there. As he told us, creator Rolin Jones’ “adaptation really spans the whole Vampire Chronicles book series.” That’s not to say that he doesn’t “love that film” (he does). But the series just doesn’t really reference it.
For Bass, who “wasn’t as familiar with the novel and the movie” during the audition process, though, “watching the movie was the fastest way [she] could be familiar” with the material. And, as she told us, “seeing Kirsten Dunst’s performance, and seeing how loud and unapologetic Claudia was, made me even more excited to be able to play her.” 
Next, let’s talk about actors and perfect casting.
Anderson and Reid, who participated side-by-side from a single location, simply are Louis and Lestat. Not even just in the series. The energy between them — if watching the series itself wasn’t already clear enough proof — is Exhibit A for why they were clearly the only two people who could’ve played these characters.
So, of course, no one’s saying anybody here is actually a vampire, or actually part of this love story in real life…
But there is just something very there in the two actors that screams, “we were meant to be Anne Rice’s Brat Prince and his beloved sufferer.”
One of the places where this dynamic was most obvious, actually, was when we asked specifically about Louis’ use of certain Gifts in Interview with the Vampire.
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Canonically, “I never revealed to him half my powers, and with reason, because he shrank in guilt and self-loathing from using even half of his own” (The Vampire Lestat, 2010 Ballentine Mass Market Edition, p. 498).
And yet, in AMC’s Interview with the Vampire…we see, perhaps, a slightly different Louis. We don’t doubt there’s still that old “guilt and self-loathing” somewhere, but he certainly accesses some interesting powers.
We asked if we might learn about that change, or if it maybe has to do with Louis’ future companions, or something else. And well. Let’s just say the shared, loaded looks and the way the actors finished each other’s sentences…was a lot.
Anderson started off the answer to this one, saying he knew what we were doing with this question, and Reid took over from there. “I’d just say, as somebody who…is a bit of a geek on these laws…And it is coming straight out of Anne Rice, when you drink from the vampire who turns you, you absorb their powers. Depending on how much you take, [it] also increases or decreases their powers.”
Here, Anderson picked the conversation back up in an attempt to keep everyone out of trouble. “I think, actually, we need to leave this question,” he told us. At that point, Reid interjected to agree, “yeah, just going to leave that there.” Anderson said we’d have to keep the question “a little bit more open” but confirmed we’re “on a track.”
And then, Reid promised we could “feel free to speculate.” Then again, as we were putting the subject to rest, and after Anderson thought they’d already said too much, Reid did push back in true Brat Prince fashion. He insisted, “it’s rule that exists in the universe, though.”
Also on the subject of powers Louis and Lestat have in Interview with the Vampire:
One of the questions that came up during the roundtable interview was which of the powers each actor would like to have. Reid answered first, saying “instinctively, you want to say flying. But the way he [Lestat] talks about flying is so terrifying…it’s obviously a horrible experience. So, I’m not going to go with flying.”
But Lestat’s other powers aren’t so attractive to wish for either: “And equally, mind reading would be extraordinary. But then again, quite painful to hear what people really think of you.” Eventually, Reid settled on Lestat’s “ability to hypnotize. His ability to get somebody to listen to him on an instant would be…not something that I necessarily want, but it would be a nice little power that you could have in your back pocket.”
At this point, the particular type of laughter from Reid was…pure Lestat. Not sure how else to describe it, so here we are. Another thing that’s pure Lestat? From there, Reid took the question and answer in his own direction.
“I think, you know, while vampires — and while I love them and do love Anne Rice and have for a long time — do seem, like, incredibly intoxicating, I think that a lot of…It’s actually quite a painful existence. And a lot of their gifts, and a lot of their power, come from a difficult place. And they challenge, and they work with them all the time.” He continued to say he thinks “Lestat wants Louis to love him without his powers.”
He also pointed toward plenty of times in Interview with the Vampire where Lestat could use his full powers to get out of virtually any situation — and doesn’t.
“But it’s because, all the time, he is trying to be loved for himself. He’s trying to be accepted for himself.” Even “when he’s violent, he often is violent just with his hands. He doesn’t actually use his…real power. So, you know, again, I guess that goes to show that there is a lot of guilt and a lot of struggle within being such a powerful being. So, I don’t know if I really want that. But it’s very, very fun to play.”
Anderson said he’d “take the Fire Gift,” which prompted a whole discussion from Reid about whether or not Lestat even has that Gift at this point in time. Yes, he also mentioned getting more Blood from the Mother — Akasha. Though he didn’t use her name, he didn’t need to — too.
On immortality…
Getting into the guilt and struggle that Reid mentioned when discussing powers fits perfectly with the concept of how much of a true struggle immortality can be. And, for those of us who’ve read The Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice’s vampires definitely struggle. Yes, even Lestat.
So, what are the actors‘ thoughts on immortality?
For Anderson, it’s “a process of endurance and acceptance” that’s “different for the individual.” Later, he’d add that it gives you “all the time” to “find any kind of acceptance of self.” But to have that time, “you have to keep going. You have to wake up — every night — and decide to…to be there. Which I guess…is a decision that we make every day as humans. But it has different implications, of course, with immortality.”
Reid said this is “one of the main, dynamic questions of the show and of Anne Rice’s work.” In the universe of Interview with the Vampire, “you either embrace that — you take it on, head on, and you just…dive down the hall of being this creature. Or you fight it…And they all, every vampire in Anne Rice’s world, at some point, struggles with it.” Therefore, to him, “immortality would be amazing. But, you also lose all the people you love. But then, also, you might turn all the people you love into a vampire. And then, you realize they didn’t like you in the first place anyway.”
And what about Bailey Bass? In her own words, “I would walk into the sun.” For her, “life is precious because we don’t get to live forever, you know? There’s such a limited amount of time, and that’s why it’s so wonderful.” She’s also worried she’d “want to turn someone to have a spouse,” only to wind up stuck with someone who actually doesn’t like her. “That’s just miserable.”  
…and extremes.
One place where immortality plays a large role is in how Anne Rice’s vampires are, as Anderson put it, “everything at the same time.” And one of the things about Louis and Lestat “that’s so special is that they do live in this incredibly complex, like…It’s like a cosmic scale.” And, sure, some of their extreme behavior “happens in the horror genre quite a lot” with “certain archetypes that you have to kind of — that you have to…check off. (Not Chekhov, check off! [Insert laughter with Reid and a comment on Chekhov plays here.]). However, it’s all “rooted in humanity, and it’s rooted in things, sometimes, that we don’t want to reveal about ourselves.”
Ever the scholar on all things Vampire Chronicles, Reid really tied this all back to living forever. For him, we all know vampires live forever. And Rice “really hammers that home, and Rolin’s really beautifully picked up on it.” Because of this, “endurance is a huge part of being a vampire. It’s not only just endurance to survive, to not walk into the sun because you’ve had enough and you can’t go on; it’s endurance to make life interesting. It’s endurance to make every day that you wake up — or every night that you wake up — not the same, monotonous merry-go-round of existence. And so, they do make things extreme. They are dramatic; they are Extra; they are a a lot, you know?”
Part of this extreme and Extra behavior goes back to the fundamental struggle of being a Rice vampire. “They’re aware that they are bad; they’re aware that they kill to survive. And there’s that constant push and pull between, you know, ‘do I embrace it, do I enjoy it? Or do I fight it, and do I hate myself?’ And then, that really just comes in, over and over again, throughout the books, you know? Particularly when you start looking at the Catholicism and the older…kind of Children of Satan…and all these kind of elements…there’s that push and pull between what they should be doing as demons and then, what they could be doing as conscious, emotional beings.”
Yes, he mentioned the Children of Satan. And yes, we were like “omg.”
Anyway. Continuing with what Reid had to say…
“So, yeah. It’s very extreme stuff. But it’s super fun — all you, sort of, dream of doing as an actor. So, to be given the license to do it is…very fun.”
Bass agreed, saying that dynamic was “freeing” for her as an actor. And, “like Sam was saying, every day has to — every night — has to be exciting and wanting to create something new.” For Claudia, specifically, she feels like ” because all her feelings are even more intense, being trapped in a 14-year-old body and her brain never fully developing, she’s always going off her first instinct. That’s really exciting as an actor because I felt like I could never do anything wrong on set. Which is always fun.”
A walk through history
But, one thing that immortality allows for — that vampire stories, and especially Rice’s vast world, promise — is getting to see a lot of history. So, we asked the cast of Interview with the Vampire what about the series’ chosen time period worked for them.
For Anderson, “there’s something really fitting about the period that Rolin chose to set this interpretation in. I think 1910, the 1910s, in New Orleans is like this sort of secret period in New Orleans’ history. And, Storyville was kind of — it was — like a Red Light district, ultimately, where taboos were made legal for this period of time.”
Eventually, though, “Storyville became like this gentrified thing. And it became like a pariah in, in sort of decent ‘Caucasian society.’ In quotations. That’s [important] — I’m putting some big quotations there,” he said while doing actual air quotes.
So, to tie this back into the supernatural element of Interview with the Vampire, Anderson noted, “I think that really speaks to something about how vampires are seen. This is a period of time where it kind of — it almost feels like it wouldn’t be that shameful to be a vampire.”
At this point, Reid hummed in agreement. And we’re pretty sure we were nodding along, actually. Anyway.
Anderson continued, telling us, “that’s something that is attractive to Lestat…Like, it makes so much sense. And it also feeds into Louis’ shame.”
He also noted that the time period is “very difficult to research. It was very hard to find archival material, particularly [about] Free People of Color and Creole people.” But that struggle to find good research materials is actually an advantage. “It feels like you can put fantasy in that period, and it feels…It almost grounds it even more.” 
Here, Reid noted that “the music, as well, from that period of time is…just amazing.” Which, of course, is…again, fitting for an actor playing the Brat Prince to say. As we all know, Lestat does love his music…
For Bass, the costumes were particularly important. “I think it was perfect that, when Claudia starts to question who she is and why she is, is right in the ‘20s. And that’s when women started wearing less clothing.” So, “because of that, she actually steals someone’s dress. Because she’s, like, ‘that’s great. That’s going to make me feel like I’m older. That’s going to make me step into a woman and not a little girl anymore.'”
This brought up more questions and discussions about the costumes from other journalists on the Zoom call.
How costumes contribute to the feel of Interview with the Vampire
For Anderson, trying on the costumes for the first time, he just “felt like Louis.” What came with that feeling? Well, if you’ve either read or seen Interview with the Vampire, you know that means tons of contradictions.
“He wants to stand out — he doesn’t want to blend into the background. And there’s, like, an irony and like a push and pull about that, that he also doesn’t want to be looked at. And he’s…And he’s carrying a lot of fear about himself and about being found out in lots of different ways.”
But, despite him not wanting to be looked at, “some of the purpose of Louis’ costuming is that he kind of glows. That he stands out. His color is gold.” When Anderson called it “peacocking, a lot of the time,” Reid laughed. (There’s that Louis/Lestat interplay again.)
But it’s really true! And for Anderson, that feeling of the costumes maybe being an extra element “that kind of draws [Lestat] in. Not that that’s Louis’ intention,” that was just one more thing to help the actor figure out how to carry himself.
Reid mentioned how out of place Lestat is when we first meet him in Interview with the Vampire‘s premiere. “He’s kind of still carrying the remnants of the century where he’s come from before because he’s come from a big journey. And then, he has to sort of…get a makeover — an update.”
(Here, Anderson snickers. Sorry. There’s no other word for it.)
Reid called the makeover “a bit clashy” because Lestat “doesn’t fit in these clothes.” But, from there, costume designer Carol Cutshall “found this way of incorporating just very subtle elements of bondage into the costumes. So, the waists would be much smaller. The boots would be made of patent leather…You know, he’d try, like, a silly boater hat on because he knew it was sort of, like, ridiculous and funny.” He also noted they were “always looking for the keys that come back to the character, even if he’s in a time that’s not necessarily ‘his’ time.”
Bass had similar praise for Cutshall. In that vein, she noted that “the costumes were so intentional. And that’s why putting them on made us really feel like our characters. There’s a story through the costumes as our characters evolve.” Additionally, she pointed out that “we pick our clothes in the morning. So, that’s something that we do intentionally. And Carol was aware of that. So, wherever the characters were in the story, she made sure that the clothing aligned.”
Another fun tidbit? Everyone had fangs and lenses. And, while others only had two, Claudia had four. “That’s so Claudia. Of course she has four and not two, you know?”
And just to end on a fun note…
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Anderson, Reid, and Bass all have other vampire stories they’ve loved — outside of Interview with the Vampire and the rest of Rice’s Chronicles.
Reid “was obsessed with Bram Stoker’s Dracula as a kid. And Gary Oldman playing Dracula,” while Bass is “absolutely obsessed” with Twilight. As a huge David Bowie fan, Anderson thinks “The Hunger is amazing and kind of…It bears something quite Riceian about it.”
Which, for the record, “Riceian” is our new favorite word.
Continuing with Anderson, he says of The Hunger, “it’s very existential and questions — lots of questions about aging, more specifically, and loneliness. And that kind of…the desperate grab for, ‘I don’t want to be alone, but do I want to be the opposite of alone with this person?’”
Riceian indeed.
So, if you wanted more vampire content, there you go.
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