#i just think we as a fandom should at the very least recognize this aspect of ourselves

[dangerous-advantage]

thinking about how raph, april, and mikey are less focused on by the fandom than donnie and leo, the only two main characters in rottmnt with white voice actors

[wario-speedwagon]

The Blackjack Essay I thought up at like 3am because Blackjack is a great character if you really think about it hard enough

I had some Blackjack Thoughts yesterday night (cuz I woke up in the middle of the night and I always soothe myself back to sleep by brainrotting over characters or made up scenarios). Cuz yknow, okay:

So Blackjack is the soul, and he's a soul that was blackened by regret yeah? And not just that, but he takes the form of a his childhood dog rather than of himself (which is interesting, more on that later). I think we can agree that, while we never get to know in meaningful detail what the living Jack Kennedy was TRULY like, soulless Corpse!Jack is probably closer to his original living self in personality than the Blackjack we saw at the end of DSAF 3 True Ending, or rather, in most of what we see of Blackjack's coded/capitalized lines (more on that later too). Corpse!Jack is more chill (in a feral way of course) in that he moves on from things like grudges or regrets, which in the good routes manifests in him being able to keep going despite how emotionally hard it should be to e.g. leave his family once and for all, or to forgive his sister's murderer in favor of seeing the good in him. It's not a perfectly moral aspect, as there are things he probably should be hung up on (cough cough Dave), and Blackjack sure is. (We love some moral greyness in this household.) And then of course, in the evil route, it manifests in Corpse!Jack having a very easy time befriending and emulating his siblings' murderers and even killing his siblings himself. Obviously Blackjack could never conceive of acting in any of these ways, and he definitely lets evil Jack know.

So. I am of the headcanon that, all the trauma of Jack's death and the events leading up to it, all of his regrets from it, Blackjack took it all with him, leaving Corpse!Jack with little to none of it left. For better or for worse, Corpse!Jack does not carry the same emotional baggage from his personal tragedy that Blackjack is completely lost in. And then my point about Blackjack taking on the form of a dog instead of himself... and him not really acting like his old self compared to at least TrueRoute!Jack. At least most of the time, as we'll see soon. Because in the True Routes, Dee and eventually Peter are able to recognize True!Jack as their old brother pretty easily even despite the circumstances, but Blackjack? He's unrecognizable to all of them except eventually Corpse!Jack himself. According to her, Blackjack warned Dee about Evil!Jack's true nature in DSAF 2 (when you're doing a route with her as Legacy!Jack), and she didn't realize who he was, she only saw a Shadow Doggo; and of course at the end of DSAF 3, even after revealing who Blackjack is, Peter and Dee sure don't treat Blackjack like their dear old brother the way they regard Corpse!Jack. He's just a stranger to them now, and of course he is, because he's little like how he used to be in life, how Corpse!Jack still is in life. And after a faux eternity of being a Shadow Doggo operating behind the scenes with every opportunity to reveal himself, I'm of the opinion that he wants it to be this way, that he be forgotten in his failures while someone else takes his old role for him and does it well.

And it's because he is so steeped in his hatred born from his regret, that it completely warped his way of thinking to focus on revenge against Henry, or also his hyperfocus on Evil!Jack's wrongdoings. But while that's what most people see him for in his entirety (in both canon and fandom), as it's the front he nearly always puts on, people often forget one really important scene from him that may be the only glimpse of his more authentic self, one that isn't steeped in regret or any emotions stemming from it based on it. Do you remember the little speech Blackjack gives to Corpse!Jack after the True ending in DSAF 2 after the Happiest Day? He talks about him being "proud of us" (hinting at his and Corpse!Jack's link), but then ponders the possibility of redemption and decides, if it is possible, then he is glad that Corpse!Jack has been redeemed. So still excluding himself from that redemption despite just prior finding solace in what Corpse!Jack has done on both their behalf. It's like he sees Corpse!Jack more as himself than, yknow, himself (and you can imagine that this same truth probably also leads to why he despises Evil!Jack so much). And all of this must be very good for his self-esteem /s

Very notably, this one scene is the only dialogue of his that is not Caps locked or coded, and a recurring theme among souls is that caps locked dialogue is always steeped in more powerful (often but not exclusively negative) emotions, while regular lowercase text seems to show much more human authenticity. We see it in Jacob before vs. after he calms down and comes to terms with his death, we see it in Dee always being lowercase, as she seems to always be her honest self, we even see it in Fredbear, as he is always grandly talking in all caps as the powerful entity he is except in his promise with Jack's corpse where he is entirely lowercase and talks much more sincerely like a real person to him out of honest humility. So anyway, this one scene with Blackjack in my opinion is the only scene we really get to see Jack's real personality shine through in him, a personality we see much more readily in Corpse!Jack.

And now to finally return to my point about Blackjack taking on the form of a dog instead of as himself. So lets combine all these previous points: 1) He is blackened by Regret; 2) He is in a nearly constant state of negative/powerful emotions stemming from his regret as indicated by all his his caps/code text; 3) he is still capable, if rarely, of showing his more human personality; 4) Dee and Peter seem to much more readily recognize Corpse!Jack as their brother than Blackjack; 5) Blackjack is proud of True!Jack's good actions in DSAF 2 and implies that only he (but not himself) is deserving of redemption; (and heck, let's also throw in) 6) the fact that he chooses not to hide in an unrecognizable form and seems to estrange himself from his siblings to let Corpse!Jack fulfill his role as Jack for them in his place

What I'm getting at (finally) is that I think Trauma Fucked Him Up™; I think it completely fucked up his self-esteem replacing it with deep-rooted self-hatred and shame. It might be that he simply cannot bear to resemble himself, not after all he's done (leaving his sister's party to bury their dog and drink away his sorrows, which left her to die, lowkey (highkey?) betraying both of his siblings' trust, and then failing in his attempt to right his mistakes by dying instead and making things worse, at least from Blackjack's POV who didn't have any sort of promise to turn his death into a chance at redemption).

Except, he can hopefully make his death into some sort of chance for redemption thanks to his powers born from sheer regret-fuelled hatred by trapping and seemingly torturing Henry. At least, this is how he chooses to cope with all of his feelings in a way that feels productive. But of course, they don't solve the root of his regret, or the root of his low self-worth, as he is really just indulging in and marinating in his negative emotions for a theoretical eternity. And during all this, he is also watching over Corpse!Jack in all of his parallel timelines, seeing both the best and worst versions of himself (literally). He sees his neutral/evil route selves indulging in the worst vices imaginable without care, and he must see himself in them anyway, because Corpse!Jack did inherit his vices after all, naturally including his drinking problem for a start, except now he's actually acting on them much more freely without a soul to restrain him either. He is forced to see the worst of himself played out in reality, and he's the one who feels shame for them. (Now Corpse!Jack also experiences things like self-hate and regret for his actions, but again, he seems to move on from these feelings fairly easily, coping with them instead with a "no fucks left to give" attitude, the kind of attitude someone who knows he doesn't have a future would have. A soul does not have that luxury.)

Meanwhile, though, Blackjack is also forced to see the best of himself in True!Jack; the Jack that actually worked his ass off to right his, or rather their mistakes. And also the Jack to actually be present in their siblings' lives as their brother Jack, the one that actually acts like their brother Jack, like his old self, while Blackjack seems to have either forgotten how or lost interest in doing so. It's easy to forget because DSAF is fiction, but experiencing something like what Jack has experienced is gonna leave severe trauma, and severe trauma is gonna change you pretty fundamentally whether you like it or not. Except being soulless, based on his actions and reactions, Corpse!Jack seems to have escaped much of this trauma while Blackjack is practically characterized by it. I wouldn't say Corpse!Jack is entirely unaffected by any trauma by any means (even Evil!Jack loses his shit when seeing Dee's scarf), but again, he sure seems to move on from it by shoving his negative feelings aside for later or even outright ignoring them, while Blackjack copes by feeling them and acting on them all the time. They both cope with the same issues in completely opposite unhealthy extremes.

So while Corpse!Jack is seemingly not affected enough by what happened, Blackjack is unrecognizable to himself, to anyone who could recognize him (including even Corpse!Jack himself, as Corpse!Jack doesn't realize who Blackjack is till the very end), so Blackjack takes more comfort taking on a form that isn't himself. (Instead, he takes on the form of the only family he got to send off with closure, the only family member whose death doesn't inspire some sort of Regret, hm?) He even doesn't take on his own name, preferring Blackjack over just Jack. Despite holding some contempt toward him, he still allows Corpse!Jack to keep their original name.

And he clearly does have mixed feelings toward Corpse!Jack, even toward True!Jack, as he is "proud" of him at the end of True DSAF 2, but then also spiteful toward him in True DSAF 3, and honestly that's pretty understandable, as True!Jack has done the work and reaped the rewards for redeeming himself and getting to be family with Dee and Peter again, essentially living as Jack for him, but Blackjack, despite his uninvolvement in reality or the Flipside where his family are, he is the one who faces the trauma and emotional burden of what happened to him, and it's not like Blackjack hasn't done anything either (even if what he did was misguided and ultimately harmful). It would be hard not to hold some contempt for a version of you that can move on so easily from your worst regrets and who can get to live your life where you left off for you in your name. And he's happy, and he deserves to be happy, and you aren't, and you don't deserve to be. You don't even deserve to be yourself, you've decided without realizing, because he's doing it much better than you ever could anymore anyway. He's the one who can actually save them all, he's the one who's worthy of redemption, but you? You're the only one who can make Henry face what he deserves, and by god you're gonna do it even if it costs your entire self, it's not like it's worth much anymore.

All of this is to say, yeah, Blackjack's character is perhaps a little disappointing in DSAF 3 due to lack of time to explore it after the reveal, but combined with his character in DSAF 2, he is a much more interesting and 3-dimensional character to explore than people realize. And also I think I might have ADHD. Might.

[simplyclary]

Standing Up for Your Privacy

(Photo edit by me)

Entering Taylor Zakhar Perez's fandom last August 2023 was a moment of joy for me. I admired him for his talent, charm, and the authenticity he brought to his roles. However, my excitement was quickly dampened by a troubling issue: multiple accounts on Twitter threatened to out Taylor about his sexuality and private relationships. This was my first encounter with the darker side of fandom, and it's an experience that still frustrates me deeply to this day.

Outing someone without their consent is a gross violation of privacy and respect. It is an act of betrayal that no one deserves, least of all someone who has given so much joy and inspiration through their work. The fact that this threat was made during Pride Month is not just insensitive; it is a blatant disrespect to a time meant for celebrating acceptance, love, and the right to live openly and authentically.

What makes me angrier is the timing of this threat. It coincided with a particularly difficult period for Taylor and his family, as it is also around the time of the anniversary of his eldest sister Kristy's passing. In such a time of grief and need for personal space, the last thing anyone should have to deal with is an invasion of their privacy. It’s a heartless act that shows a complete lack of empathy and understanding.

It seems that some people did not learn from the powerful speech delivered by Taylor’s character, Alex Claremont-Diaz, in "Red, White & Royal Blue." The speech poignantly addresses the pain and violation of being forced out of the closet. Yet, here we are, facing a repetitive issue that disregards the very message that resonated with so many fans. It’s disheartening to see that some individuals in the fandom have missed the essence of that message entirely.

For me, it doesn’t matter whether Taylor is queer or not. What truly matters is his happiness and comfort. I want him to live his life on his own terms, without fear of being exposed or judged. His personal life should remain personal, and he deserves the same respect and privacy that we all do.

To share a personal anecdote from January 2024. I came across an old video posted by Taylor’s sister, Maria. In the video, Taylor was wearing what appeared to be a wedding ring. While some fans might have jumped to conclusions, I didn't think much of it, however, I did share some of my feelings and thoughts to some people through Twitter DMs. To me, all that mattered was that he seemed happy. His well-being is what’s truly important, not the details of his personal relationships.

Taylor owes us nothing beyond his projects and the work he shares with the world. We should respect his boundaries and allow him to share what he wants, when he wants. It’s never okay to force someone to come out, especially not an actor who has chosen to keep certain aspects of their life private.

Personally, as a Scorpio empath, I find it impossible not to be deeply affected by such invasions of privacy. Every time this issue comes up, it infuriates me. It's not just about respecting Taylor; it’s about recognizing the basic human right to privacy and autonomy. The protective energy I have for Taylor make every issue against him extra emotional for me. Sometimes, it makes me want to cry because I feel the unfairness of the situation.

To the fans who think it's acceptable to pry into someone’s personal life, I beg you to reconsider. Think about how you would feel if your privacy were invaded in such a way. Celebrities are people too, and they deserve the same respect and consideration that we all do.

To Taylor, if you ever read this, please know that there are countless fans who support you unconditionally. We admire you not only for your talent but also for your strength and authenticity. We stand with you, respecting your right to privacy and autonomy.

Let’s create a fandom that upholds these values, where we celebrate our favorite stars without crossing the lines of decency and respect. We can love and support Taylor without needing to know every detail of his personal life. Let’s focus on the incredible work he does and the joy he brings us, and let’s stand against those who seek to invade his privacy.

To wrap it up, it's never acceptable to force someone out of the closet. Respect Taylor’s privacy, celebrate his work, and remember that at the end of the day, his happiness and comfort are what truly matter. Let’s be better fans and better people by showing empathy and respect for all.

Peace!

[dreadfuldevotee]

Thank you for this last post. The discourse on this fandom can often be so annoying. I hate it when people are like "this is a Gothic horror, let them be toxic and problematic!!!!11!!!1" because it's not take they think it is? At the end of the day, they still want us to root for these characters and relationships, right? So how can we do that if they're stereotyped vampires, who is dark, cold, just hurt each other and don't have an ounce of growth, development, empathy and humanity? And this is such a dismissive opinion of the show and even the books, because their conflict with humanity and vampirism is a central aspect of the plot. That said, if you reduce them to the abuse alone, you're also missing the point of the story? I mean, you can totally have your opinion, you can see them as unforgivable even on this fictional universe, you can hate and root against them... But this show isn't about punitivism, it is about them navigating immortality. There are consequences for their actions, as there should be, but the goal is for them to find a way to make this work. You don't need to agree (idgaf about the British monarchy and still watched a few episodes of The Crown for the acting, for example), but if you expect otherwise, you're just playing yourself? But this fandom seems to have a problem with finding a good balance. Not to mention the hypocrisy of never forgiving certain characters and reducing them to their problematic actions, but treating their faves very different lol. And I'm like, okay, you don't need to love everyone, it's okay to have a favorite, but at least don't be contradictory? Your fave does the exact same thing or worse? Anyways. Thanks again for putting it so well. It's refreshing to see posts like that here.

Thank you! I'm glad that other people get anything out of my ranting and raving, as I am a chronic yapper and really only talk for my own health LOL.

But yeah, there is a lot of selective hearing in any fandom, really; but it pisses me off a lot here because of all the "Gothic Horror" handwaving going on. Interacting with the fandom, reading the books and seeing clips & bits of personal writings from Anne Rice, the image it paints for me is a profound unwillingness to engage with contents of the story if they're not fun and sexy. Shit, even my own odyssey into the books is spurred on in one part, to be able to form my own opinion and critique on the writing and secondly, realizing that book readers were straight up lying at times about how things went down.

And there is this persistent idea I've seen on here and twitter of "If you have issue with XYZ then this series isn't for you" and like, okay if you don't wanna see gay people who have everything-but-the-bagel of mental illnesses then, yeah, sure. But when someone goes "Hey there is like,,, a ton of casual pedophilia and CSA in these stories that is framed as cute n' casual and/or deeply romantic, I wonder what that's all about" and then people crawl out the woodwork trying to convince you its not weird or that you're weird or weak for think its kinda fucked up- then at that point, I think maybe there is actually a different issue occurring here, you know?

Anyway, I think where I'm going with this is- TVC is a cultural phenomenon and has a tangible impact on Vampire and Gothic Horror canon and that's good and fun. But if we can recognize something like H.P Lovecraft's racism/classism/general fear of change having a profound effect on his writing and the spark of the entire Cosmic Horror Genre, then I think we can interrogate how AR as a Rich White Woman who grew up in mid-21st century New Orleans has an effect on the kind of stories she writes and how she does it.

[dearweirdme]

In BTS, Tae has this image of being fragile, of having to have JK by his side to protect him etc. But with his performance in the military, I wonder now if he was just pretending to be this "damsel in distress" member that BH gave him to portray. Honestly, he seemed to be doing way better than JK in the military. I was expecting JK to be the one to excel the most and not Jin, Jimin and mostly not Tae. In real life, it was the complete opposite. JK didn't even receive any award during their graduation.

Hi anon!

I find myself having a completely different perspective on this. I’m not sure if your assessment of Tae’s image is correct. It’s not how I view him for sure, but I do know there’s some Tkkrs who see him as fragile and as needy towards Jk. That is not reality though. Tae is smart, he’s physically very fit, and he has a strong head on his shoulders. I am not by any means surprised about how well he seems to be doing.

I’ve been expecting all members to do well actually (a bit of an exception for Yoongi since his situation is vastly different). When you compare members against each other, sure there’s outliers; Jk being seen as the strongest, Namjoon as the smartest. But when you compare them to the average person… they are all very much above average in many aspects. They are all physically more fit, they are all used to extreme situations, they all have experience with training hard and having little sleep… the average person going into the military will not be as prepared as the members were.

I don’t think we actually know how well Jk is doing. Just because he didn’t get a medal, doesn’t mean is is doing badly, it just means there were at least six persons doing better during training. What I think is important for fans to understand, is that Jk is there against his will. I am one hundred percent sure that man did not want to go. So, so what if he doesn’t want to give them his best. The army might be able to claim his body to be present, but as long as he does what is expected.. they cannot claim anything more. Maybe he just doesn’t want to give them his best and if so.. good for him. I think fandom should be careful about putting these expectations on him. We are fans of Jk the artist, I really don’t need him to push himself for something he might not want.

Like I said, I do not recognize the ‘damsel in distress’ Tae you mention. Tae is hugely misunderstood and if you think he might’ve been faking this.. I think maybe you misunderstood him as well. In the past (when they were beginning their careers) I feel they were playing up certain emotions or actions for the sale of entertainment. I believe all members did that and it is not that odd in the entertainment business. But when they matured things evened out and I think it has been clear that Tae is not ‘just a pretty face’ (like BH also kinda pushed him to be). Jk himself described Tae as ‘some sort of genius’… and I absolutely agree.

[justblaterando]

Looking at the usual craziness of the hotd fandom for the new episodes made me realize I might have an issue w the show that might be unpopular or at least unnoticed…

The lack of personalities for like half of the characters we are supposed to care about.

For such an abundant cast half of it is relegated to make the scene look fuller in the background, relying on the over abundance of content for them online for all the infos that would make them actual flashed out characters. I think the fandom frenzies of who has the higher moral high ground perfectly feeds into it, people are so obsessed into proving their faves are better and their enemy are monsters y’all hyper analyze and throw random tropes at any lucky frame you get, make edits of anything and everything treating any assumptions made by people that like the same characters as you as canon.

I wonder what fans without a presence online and knowledge of the book get from the show, what they do and don’t remember, how they read certain aspects that the internet community has already given for certain.

This thought mainly came from the maelor question and baela and rhaena.

For Maelor, from what I understood the writer have stated that they had to change B&C partially cause it would have been weird to add a child that hadn’t been already introduce. I find this pretty ridiculous as I don’t think anyone but the obsessive side of the fan base would have realized aegon and haelena had one more child than in s1, the twins were barely in it, I’m half sure their name hadn’t even been stated and that many wouldn’t even have realized who’s kids they actually were due to how irrelevant they were made out to be, adding another one at the last minute wouldn’t have changed anything to viewing experience and I think many would agree with me here.

For rhaena and baela is another story. Their issue came to mind due to a bunch of edits I came across about them in the new episode, I couldn’t stop myself from wondering how the heck were people acting like rhaena crying for lucerys or baela being with Jace were such deep moments. They are supposedly protagonist of the war and they have yet to speak one line the both of them since the recasting, frankly had I not read all the infos about them or watched edit I would have even forget their name, I have seen multiple post pointing out moments in which the show showcases their personalities but frankly they are nowhere to be found, the actresses are giving everything they can with the materials but they were given nothing to work with, literally. How can the audience be expected to recognize a difference of importance with rhaena crying for Luke compared to the others if the only interaction we have ever seen between the two is them standing next to each other, and baela acting like a vallette to Jace isn’t that much better, at least there if you squint you can came up with a multitude of HC about it but let’s be real that was nothing. I have seen multiple edits about it, and I have never had an issue with fans creating entire cosmos out of thin air but it feels like the show is over-relaing on the fans work to improve its shortcomings.

And frankly I don’t buy the ‘there isn’t enough time’ excuse, or any other genre of this excuses ‘they don’t have enough budget’ ‘it was the only way to not traumatize the child actors’ (it wasn’t and it is frankly tiring seeing everyone accuse others of very vile things just for disagreeing) Got and many others well written shows were/are masters in showcasing characters and moving the plot forward in even the most ‘mondane’ scenes without wasting any second, Hotd and many new shows seem unable to do so but they should very much work on it or we will find ourselves w another dany goes crazy moment.

[the-irken-pony]

Haven't visited this blog in a long time, finally decided to follow. Anyways, the new Among Us show. Trailer's out. Heard of it? Thoughts?

Yes I have watched it and yes I have thoughts lol

First of, my one main criticism: I don’t think Among Us lends itself well to a thin-lined art style. At least, not as thin as the show uses. While thin line art makes animating easier and is useful for smaller details (such as hands or outfit details, the Among Us art style is already very simple and the thin line art doesn’t look nearly as nice when it’s applied to the whole body. Even just a border along the outside of the characters would be an improvement imo.

Ok now onto the good stuff lol

It looks like we could get some info on what the crewmates and the Skeld in particular actually do and what their mission is, which I love. While finding (or running from) the impostors is the point of the game, there’s a lot of small details that tie the various areas together, such as the loading room/Skeld being present in Mira HQ and Polus. By extension, I notice that a lot of characters’ concepts are drawn from the various tasks in the game, which I also like.

I have no opinion on the VAs since I don’t really recognize any of them and we didn’t get any voice clips in the trailer. Better than all the voices once again going to Big Name VAs, though.

Given that the series is drawing from the various maps for pretty much every aspect in some way or another, that means we should address the elephant in the room (or my personal hiding hole, specifically) of what they’re planning to do with the airship map. The airship map is solely an homage to Henry Stickmin and holds no remnants of the Skeld or any Among Us continuity, so it could easily be just passed over and not appear in the series at all. Alternatively, it could lend itself well to a one-off crossover episode, either being just an AU of both Among Us and THSC, or being a meeting of the Skeld crew and the AU!Toppat Clan (haha AU bc it’s an alternate universe but also it’s… sorry ignore me). Of course this all depends on if PuffballsUnited would even want to, but while I won’t keep my hopes up too high I also wouldn’t discount the possibility.

That brings me to my final concern, which strays from the main topic a bit so I’ll put it below a cut:

With the new series comes the potential for there to be a resurgence of the THSC fandom. On one hand, the THSC fandom is pretty homogenous, and it’s hard to gain traction unless you either work your way into one of two, maybe three circles of people in the fandom, or you happen to fill a specific niche that no one else does. On the other hand, while I didn’t join the fandom right after THSC released, I did catch the tail end of its time having been more popular (particularly the discourse), and that’s a part of the fandom I wouldn’t want to see revived. I won’t say that the fandom as it is now is immune or exempt from displaying toxic behavior or stirring discourse, but it is a lot better than it was around 2021. That said, my autistic ass is probably biased in that regard.

[heyclickadee]

Yeah, okay, here goes:

I think some fandom infighting would be less toxic if we a really understood that all of us are here for different reasons.

And I don’t just mean that different kinds of stories are going to be helpful for some and hurtful for others and vis-a-versa, or that different people are going to tell different stories, you know, differently, and that should do our best to let people enjoy things. I mean that, at the end of the day, there’s a spectrum of the parts of fandom people enjoy.

For example, I have a sibling who’s in some fandoms strictly for the transformative aspect of fandom. Canon is more like a jumping off point and, to some extent, an afterthought. Their primary interaction with whatever a fandom is centered on might be fanfiction and other fan works. The characters and world they interact with in those fandoms are often completely unrecognizable from canon. The goal is often to create characters—self-inserts or otherwise—to exist in completely new stories that are (vaguely) informed by canon, but not beholden to it in any way. Most everyone in that fandom has a self-insert OC or a Y/N. The whole point is taking something you like, or wanted to like, and shaping it to fit you better. That’s fandom for them. And that’s great!

And then there’s me, who’s almost the exact opposite. Canon is more of a focal point. I love seeing fanfiction and fanworks that completely veer away from canon events and characterization, I appreciate them, but I don’t like making them myself. I love to write, but I have a hard time writing fanfiction, I couldn’t write a fic-it-fix to save my life (no, not even in the highly unlikely hypothetical scenario where it turns out a lot of us are wrong and Tech is dead for real). The closest I get to fanfiction are either short little half analysis/half story blurb posts, or doodley fanart that’s either a theory for something I think could happen in the future in disguise, or silly drawings about scarves. I compartmentalize fanon, my headcanons, and actual canon a lot. And I love seeing people’s OC’s, including the self-insert ones, but I dont want to make one myself. I don’t want to be in the story, because it isn’t about me; one of the things I love most about interacting with fiction I didn’t write is that it helps me get outside my own head and see things from a different point of view. I write a lot of metas and theories, but my favorite thing is being able to look a story that’s completely told and done, and getting to tease it apart. And that’s also okay.

Now, the two points I’m using as examples aren’t really opposites; there’s a ton (A TON) of very good character analysis and interpretation in fanfiction, and there’s often (maybe even usually) transformative aspect to analysis/intepretation. And I’m betting that most people in fandom fall somewhere in the middle of the range between transformative and interpretive when it comes to what they like about fandom. A lot of people write great fanfiction and equally great meta posts, and honestly, I think being good at the one makes you better than the other. But they are different approaches to enjoying and interacting with fiction, and I think at least a little of the friction in fandom can come from not recognizing that we all often have different approaches to this fandom thing.

Edit: I need to also mention that when it comes to interpretation and analysis, there’s a lot of wiggle room for contradictory conclusions that are all equally valid. Do I think that interpretive conclusions not supported at all by the text exist? Oh boy howdy, yes. But I also think there’s a lot of space before you get there, and a lot of ways for even one person to interpret the same thing, let alone an entire fandom.

Edit 02; I should probably also acknowledge that, as a lifelong Darkwing Duck fan, I also really enjoy shows or even books where ‘canon’ is more like a loose set of guidelines or a basis premise and the whole idea of the show is to do wacky things with that premise. I’m way more likely to get involved in the transformative side of things when this is the case.

[ravenyenn19]

thoughts on the ferolind esque scene in episode eight?? Personally I was screaming at my screen the entire time 😂 I still can't stop thinking about it!!!! Freddy and Amita are so so talented. OH also what are your thoughts on show Wesper?

Hello!!! I am sorry this is a few days late- after I opened my asks the other night, I promptly realized I had left my laptop charger elsewhere... in true fanfic-authorTM fashion. <3 PS- for any others reading this, spoilers ahead for both the books & the show! Be warned, wary tag scrollers.

BUT

Regarding your first question & the Ferolind-esque scene in the Chapel... I loved loved hearing that line of dialogue on screen. It was a beautiful portrayal by both Freddy & Amita and I genuinely don't think they could have done such a pivotal scene adaptation from the books any better. <3

HOWEVER... I do wish to be honest about the fact that I think the weight of those words were not quite as heavy for non-readers. This is because in the show, we did not get a real focus on Inej's own issues regarding intimacy/ the amount of trauma she herself possesses. Now, I do firmly believe that the showrunners/writers intend for her backstory to take a firmer foothold on the screen in either the SoC spinoff or S3, but I cannot shake the belief that they should have pushed Inej's story to an equal with Kaz's in some aspect THIS season. I watched the show with someone who has not read the books, and for him, he didn't understand why Inej said those words to Kaz beyond essentially saying "Please just hurry & heal", which was never what "I will have you without your armor, Kaz Brekker, or I will not have you at all" really meant. At least, it was never so simple to me (nor I suspect most of the fandom).

I can't help but worry that this was the same for other viewers with no detailed knowledge of Inej's past. I do also recognize that netflix needed to cut much out in order to merge so much material. Yet I firmly believe without Inej's internal monologues of the book nor external flashbacks/ conversations (as they did with Kaz), it is harder to grasp her words as meaning more than literal. Or, in some contexts, almost cruel. Which Inej never was, not once.

Anyways, I almost would have preferred to see a line of dialogue in the vein of "It's not easy for me either", in order to portray Inej's own depth of understanding in how hard it is for Kaz, because she too battles her own mind & PTSD.

This is all to say, I adored the scene. I understand why the writers did it, and I am glad they did if only for ensuring we did get to see it, no matter what happens with renewals etc. I also think a few small changes could have led to a more balanced representation of Kaz & Inej's intricate relationship. I know this is a lot of thoughts, but because I've spent so long writing for kanej, I obviously value their characters too much to stop my writer's mind.

I guess, for me, the epitome of Kaz & Inej's relationship is true equality, and I don't know that it carried over to the show as much as I wish it would have. TL;DR: I loved the scene and the characterization was gorgeous. I think one or two things could have made it even better. <3

WESPER

Your second question... I honestly loved them in the show. Of course it was very different from the books, but... Idk. Somehow, the heart of it was still so very much them. I think it was genuinely sweet in a way, that they were able to just... push forward with their love story on the screen. <3

Kit & Jack are somehow ripped from SoC, their portrayal was SPOT ON. I cannot commend them enough. Sincerely. <3

Thank you for being here & asking!!! I am just excited to rave with fellow fans. <3 Also I commend you if you read this whole thing, I know I'm long winded...

[doberbutts]

I'm proship, and I'm sorry you've had a bad experience with proshippers. I'm mixed race, and I feel you. Some people take-up a certain ideology because they have a certain interest and only care about how it benefits them. But that doesn't make that person *not* part of the ideology, and those attitudes should be constantly combatted by those in the community rather than saying "Oh but they're ~not really~ proship" and washing their hands of it.

It's why a lot of POC who agree with proship ideology feel disconnected to the label as well, and why instead they're taking up different labels or just generally stepping away from it. I mostly use it because it's a recognizable label but I too feel that disconnect more and more.

I also agree that writing something doesn't mean someone is free from criticism, and there's a fine line between critiquing and harassment in fandom spaces, especially with people who are more reachable than say, a big name author or media company. Emotions fly, friend groups get angry, and people who are being talked about are going to confront the person talking about them, and it gets nasty fast when someone feels they've been insulted. Harassment is bad, but conflict is also not inherently harassment, and I wish more people in every aspect would understand that and would just block people, vent about it in private, and move on rather than making it into a moral crusade and tagging posts about it with the intent to garner more attention to it. And that part doesn't even necessarily apply to shipping discourse but can apply to any community.

Not to be all fandom old, but I really do think part of this is how mainstream fandom has become. Instead of people making and culminating their own communities with like minded people, everyone gets tossed together. I'm not saying it never happened back in the day, but when people with opposing views are now stuck together, it naturally causes tension and conflict to arise, and since again, everything in now in only a select few places that are all easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection, things get nastier faster while being more in public view

Not to BACK IN MY DAY or anything but I so miss the days of thousands of PHPBB forums and IRC rooms for every little niche of fandom and how you could really find your people very easily in that manner. I don't mind that I have a one-stop-shop for the bulk of my blorbo needs but having lost the separate fan spaces I think really changed the way fandom works nowadays.

That and how many fandoms are barely a flash in the pan before people move on to something else. It's natural that things slow down after a while but it feels like people are more willing to hop franchise to franchise rather than stay and curate a space, and so a lot of people demand that these spaces cater to them specifically without actually giving back or putting any effort into making spaces that suit them better.

Not that there wasn't plenty of fandom drama back then, don't get me wrong. But I feel the problem was different- the drama was insular, rather than someone in XYZ fandom saying someone in ABC fandom is inherently a bad person because the source material showed a titty. The Zutara vs Kataang wars of old were nothing compared to this proship antiship nonsense. And we at least recognized it was nonsense.

[get-starfingered]

When I first watch the anime I didn't mind the Jotaro ost since in general I don't care about ost usage but now that you mentioned it reeks of fanboyism . I know Jotaro is a symbol for the series but ffs this wasn't his part ,it was about the bonds between the part 6 cast . There should have been a whole new ost together ,maybe a combination between Jolyne+Weather themes since that was what the moment was about . They either got lazy and were searching for excuses or just wanted to shoehorn Joot in there once more .I wouldn't have mind if it wasn't the fandom's overall treatmemt of stone ocean too .Always making everything about the part about him .Sorry for my rant .

See, I definitely don't have a problem with some tracks carrying over from previous parts. It's not even the first time this has happened! "Hidden Feelings" which originated from Phantom Blood's soundtrack appears in Stardust Crusaders, for example. And themes from previous parts getting an adaptation for another part has also been done before, and hilariously with the contested theme in question, Jotaro's. His SDC theme got a more part-appropriate revamp, that matched the tone and style with Diamond is Unbreakable (the track is called "The Stardust Man Appears"). It's never used for other characters besides Jotaro, and only where it works with the scene at hand. This is all very cool! Intentionally selecting or reworking tracks can create a strong through line, and Stone Ocean should be no different.

What makes this especially aggravating regarding the final Emporio versus Pucci fight is not only that they chose Jotaro's theme to placate viewers, but that it's the unchanged, original SDC version of the song. So it's more bombastic, confident, no-fucks-given style, which gelled well with Jotaro laying a final beatdown on whatever Stand User he was fighting in SDC, feels so tonally incoherent to this scared kid cornered by the big bad with a divinity complex, who lost the few people he ever grew close to, in a different universe, in his first fight ever, desperately pulling a victory from the sacrifice/deaths of his friends, and clearly uncaring about what happens to himself afterwards as the second universe collapses in on itself after pummeling Pucci into a fine red paste. Like. How the fuck does that jazzy song with a strumming base guitar pumping up the audience make any narrative sense???

This is so much insult to injury too, because the original songs composed for Stone Ocean, from what we can hear in the anime itself, are really good! But that's the catch: no official soundtrack has yet to be announced, let alone released! So we haven't gotten a chance to really appreciate the few new tracks created for this part because, oops, you have to listen to it via the show itself (and bless the fans who attempt to extract the music from the show, but the quality understandably takes a hit). And the saddest part? It's clear that there aren't that many new songs, or at least it doesn't feel that way given how many reused tracks I could recognize from previous parts (mostly part 3, some part 1).

But getting back to the rest of your ask (sorry, I clearly have Feelings™ about this, lol), yeah, I get that Jotaro is often treated as The Jojo for the series, or at least the original universe. Which is. Eh. I get it, but that's never felt accurate to the generational aspect that sustains Jojo's enduring longevity. And I love Joot! I do. But second only to that specific segment of the SBR fandom's dudebro diehards who think all other parts are trash, SDC fans truly think that every part, including parts 4-6, exist in service of part 3. And so this use of the track incidentally or otherwise seems to echo this perspective.

The fact that there are people who legitimately think Jotaro is actually the main character (or at least the deuteragonist) in Stone Ocean is peak embarassing. But then you get the final battle using his theme. Cool. Because this victory was Jotaro's, right? It was actually a Jotaro versus Dio fight, part 2 electricboogaloo, yeah? Fuckin' 🙄🙄🙄🙄

I love the idea of a combined Jolyne and Weather theme! Hell, does Emporio even have his own theme?? That would have worked well too, or at least incorporate some notes in there. But alas.

I do chalk a lot of this up to the combination of budget issues, budget constraints, COVID, Netflix, the absolute shitcanning that the animation industry is suffering around the world, and that little dash of SDC favouritism for how this turned out overall. I really don't want to disparage the great work the David Productions crew has done to finally make a Stone Ocean adaptation a reality, particularly when we look at the hurdles it took to get here. I appreciate it so much. Part 6 really does get thrown in the trash by damn near everyone (and having a rather flawed but still enjoyable adaptation has helped people to discover and appreciate this part of the saga, which is a win). But I'm not going to act as though critique is unwarranted. There are a lot of issues, and the music choices are one of them.

Total aside, but I gotta give it to them that at least the two opening songs are absolutely fantastic, and the choice of Duffy's "Distant Dreamer", which I know Araki is responsible for choosing, hits the themes of finding new life and seeing hope and struggle in stride.

Anyway, thanks for the ask! Honestly I appreciated reading the rant, and getting to vent even more on my end.

[imakemywings]

Thingol for the character ask?

Character Ask Game

Ah, one of my defense clients.

one aspect about them i love

Other people have elucidated in more detail than I will here, but Thingol stands out among the cast of Silm for actually learning from his mistakes. He does recognize when he's fucked up and he tries to do better, although due to Silm's tragic nature it doesn't really help him :')

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

I have to pick only one? I wish the fandom would just stop going out of their way to villainize him. There is a substantial part of the fandom that takes anything he says or does in the least generous light possible when I think the narrative makes it fairly clear Tolkien intended him to be flawed, but sympathetic (see the above about learning from his mistakes).

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

He's taller than Maedhros and Turgon

one character i love seeing them interact with

Luthien! The Lay I think implies they had a loving relationship, although the spotlight we get on it isn't great 😬 I love seeing works that address the positive parts of their relationship.

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

Finrod - I can very easily see Thingol taking on a mentorship role with Finrod as the leader of Finarfin's people (and I think the text supports this) and Finrod seems to both like and respect his granduncle so I would love to see more works that acknowledge this relationship

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

He really spoils his favorite minstrel rotten. Daeron can do virtually no wrong as far as Thingol is concerned and he tolerates things from Daeron that no one else but Luthien would get away with. He just thinks Daeron is a fun funky little dude and if he wants to walk on the table during dinner and make insulting rhymes about party guests he should be allowed to do so.

[theminecraftbee]

Where did winged!grian come from? I love him but want to know why everyone's art has him with (quite pretty) wings.

came from a lot of things! as it is with many things in the hermitcraft fandom, keep in mind some of this originates from "the hermitcraft fandom really likes non-human characters, as well as giving characters Recognizable Character Trait to make them visible in art, especially if their skin is kind of plain otherwise". (that has generally been my observation at least, keep in mind that i'm new around here.)

so, anyway: season 6! it was grian's first time using an elytra, and he started out pretty bad at it! however, over the course of the season, he got so good at flying it basically became his whole thing. elytra course was very hard and the speeds he could complete it at were impressive. he just... really liked flying, man. he also played a ""superhero"" character called poultry man, who would fly around and throw eggs at people. and, hey, chickens have wings, right? (if you've seen him as a chicken man, hey, now you know who that mysterious chicken man is! nice!)

and sometimes that's enough, you know? however, also big during season six - and i know some people don't like blaming this fic for everything because newer fans haven't read it but from everything i've heard it's still important - there was a popular fic called "and the universe shifts". (it's still the third most kudosed fic on ao3 under the tag, under shells in the foam and a tommy superhero fic i haven't read that apparently must have grian in it.) in it, we find two things that stuck around in fandom: the most common watcher tropes and design, and the original popular "hey grian has wings" fic, where his wings were because he was a watcher. (note that i have no idea if this is the first fic where grian had wings; i wasn't around then. i just know this was the first stupidly popular one.)

if you've seen grian's wings as purple, this is probably the origin point, and at that point, a lot of people started giving him purple wings.

however, then season 7 started! not only did new fans start to come in during season 7, but grian picked up new bird imagery! namely, the entire "pesky bird" thing started to happen during season 7, as well as all of his parrots. grian being a pesky bird (parrot) in the jungle was all a lot of fans needed to start shifting the design - his wings became the parrot wings that are probably his most common wing design because of that during season 7. plus, he was still clearly one of the best fliers out there and enjoyed it, which was enough to keep giving him wings.

at this point, i'd say that within the fandom, the original atus part was lost - new fans just saw people give him wings and were like "heck yeah its a guy with wings, haha, pesky bird" or "ooh watchers have wings" and didn't know there used to be a Big Fic that made that stuff popular fanon. so then, and then especially during season 8, fanon started shifting more directly just... assuming grian has wings.

since then, there have been little things that affirm to the fandom that grian should have wings. he refers to them as such, some comments he made during 100 hours about needing his wings, i think doc just outright called grian a pesky bird in his april fool's episode in season 9 which is really funny to me for some reason. it's become a pretty established part of grian's design, to the point that i'm pretty sure it's known to all of the hermitcraft creators and to the point that some people can't recognize a grian if you don't put wings on him, lol, even though that's not really an aspect of his skin.

i'd say at this point also the wing designs tend to just... vary by artist and what they like! i've seen a lot of people trying to take them from stuff he does every season because it's more fun that way. i know i've joked about grian's wings being shaped wrong and the wrong colors to actually be any real bird, and also the thing where they have eyespots, so that's a thing in my design, although i'm not an artist! at this point the why grian has wings varies too: some will tell you it's because he's a watcher, some will say it's because he's very good at flying, some will say it's because he's a pesky bird. up to the individual, and technically he also doesn't need to have wings! it's just sorta like philza in that it became really established fanon that keeps on skirting the edge of just sorta being canon at this point.

anyone who's been in the fandom longer than me can add to this and i'll reblog it

[wtheckzukasubs]

Sharing and gatekeeping in the fandom

This will be long and there’s a big chance it won’t reach those who I wish read it, but here it goes...

Though most should be aware, there have been an abusive use of subtitles in this fandom. Along with that, the fandom have been “outed” in platforms like Tiktok, where it gives over-exposition to our illegal subtitles and streamings.

Yes, making subtitles to a commercial show is illegal. Of course, streaming them is also illegal. However, we’re in a fandom that is hard to access (no subtitles in the releases, the need of specific VPNs or the high costs of using a proxy, shipping and paying for import tax—in my country the latter can be more expensive than the total I’ve paid for the product, when the product isn’t lost in the way). And we’re a fandom, we love our product, we want people to know it, and people won’t if they don’t understand it much less if they can’t have contact with them. That’s why we take these risks.

Why not just share with a friend, who we can trust not to leak us and get us sued/arrested? More than many, as someone who takes meds for anxiety and depression, I know it’s hard to become friends with people, say hello to me and I’ll take days to say hello back because I’ll be freaking about how much I should tell this stranger who wants to talk to me (and why would anyone? Did I do something wrong??). So, if it weren’t for these amazing people sharing there stuff with me, my knowledge of Takarazuka could have ended when I came back from Japan and could no longer have uninterested access to it. I wouldn’t pay my month’s salary on a video of a show I don’t even know I’ll like just to practice my Japanese, as it all started for me. That is why I know the importance of sharing beyond my real friends (there’s also that my non-zuka friends never became zuka friends lol).

However, and this becomes a cycle hard to break from, Takarazuka is a super small fandom. There may be people who will casually watch it, but those who are willing to put their time and/or money into supporting it as well as being involved in group activities only because they like the same thing, that is still a small number. We can have communities on Livejournal or servers on Discord with over 500 people, but how many are active? Even including all those who just forgot to leave the servers when they gave up on the fandom, 500 is still a small number for people all over the world supporting a company as large as Takarazuka.

My point is, we’re so so so small, anything we share is easily traced back. I have never said my name here, and you still know who I am, for example. It’s different from the anime comms who work in large teams, their subs are done in so many steps the translator would probably not recognize their own work. I’m one person. I know my word choices, I know where I tend to do things wrong.

This is not about getting credit or thanks (will never be about getting money). This is about being traceable to people who’d want to do me harm. I’m going first person, but I’m still lucky not to live in Japan (in this aspect only lol) and be the first to get the blow. Some of us, however, either live there or have ties there, which makes them sitting ducks for a lawsuit or at least a very traumatizing cease-and-desist order.

I’m keeping my subs available here. For now, I have weighed the risks for me, and I think it’s still worth it.

But if you are not sharing your stuff, things processed on your computer that could have your fingerprint on it (and probably do), you may not understand the we’re not keeping any gates but protecting our integrity. This doesn’t deny that gatekeeping exists in this fandom. It does in all fandoms. So do foreigners unaware they’re proliferating xenophobia against us foreigners enjoying Japanese media. It’s good to always ask ourselves why the hell we’re reinforcing this or that rule. Some had a reason at a point and lost importance along the way. Some were never meant to exist. Some are so selfish compared to the number of benefits nor following it would generate...

Notwithstanding that, don’t call it gatekeeping so lightly when it does endanger the individual, someone we can name and so could their lawyers.

I feel I had some more to say but I’ve forgotten. And it’s already too long.

Follow the rules of anyone sharing content with you. They’re probably the ones who personally went through the headache of making it happen, and each share to even a friend is increased liability. People sharing around are publicly exposing the very members of the fandom who make it possible to make it grow so we can have more people. The more we get, the more anonymous we become, the harder it is to point fingers. That’s how it’s becoming easier to access. But we’re still not there. We must continue to test limits to increase territory but doing it without risking others.

Lastly, thank you everyone who have alerted me, I’m not in the Tiktok generation and I never search for Takarazuka on Youtube, so I’d never know about it. And thank you all for keeping to the rules of this site.

(If anyone had the energy to read these ramblings and still want to leave their opinions, feel free.)

[bcbdrums]

I’ve actually seen many people talk about this even before i joined the fandom and recently the creators have confirmed that Shego age was between late twenties to early thirties. Even the show points out to this being the case.

And we have the live action movie which casted an age appropriate Kim and Shego and without the stylistic animation, the age difference becomes very jarring to see.

Is just that if there’s such a big age gap between Kim and Shego and has always been, then why would the writers deliberately hype the ship and play up aspects of it? I don’t know about you, but that sounds super weird.

I remember there was someone who had worked in the show (they had a sample of the last episode graduation) an d they had went on record to say that as far as they were concerned there was no delivered intent to make Kigo a thing and that the writes were seemingly against it.

But again it kinda contradicts what we saw in episode like “stop team go”.

I’m not sure, but all of this is weird.

And yeah I don’t like using words as pedo, but it’s been confirmed that Shego is at least 10 years older than Kim, which makes everything about this and the ship itself super uncomfortable to me

I should redo this and make it more organized, but here's my analysis of a canon-realistic age for Shego. This is the logic my headcanon is based on: Essay: how old is Shego? And yes, I think she starts the series in her late twenties.

I LOVE that the live-action showed a realistic age difference! I think they nailed it, and your description of "jarring" is pretty accurate when one starts to think in shipping terms. But for those of us who have always seen them as the adult and child they are, it's not really any surprise. I wish the live-action had more traction JUST for that reason. (Not to mention...Drakgo were awesome in it!)

@a113cowgirl I'm fairly certain has scans of the original script to Graduation which includes unused material, which definitely pushed Drakgo more as a couple. Now what I've heard unfortunately is that the Drakgo ending was just fanservice and not the writers' intent. What we DO know about the writers' intent, is that Kim/Ron was always endgame. It's been documented many times, and it's extremely clearly built up to in season 3, with So the Drama the always planned ending. It's season 4 that was the weird wild card.

I'll be more clear... During season 4, I don't think the writers were attempting to push the Kigo ship. I think that it was probably just recognized that hot girl on hot girl stuff...sells. The fight at the spa in Mad Dogs and Aliens... Literal mud wrestling with Shego in a bathing suit... That was wholly unnecessary. It's not trying to push the ship, it's trying to use sexuality to sell. To attract viewers. I don't care for that course of action with these characters because it encourages a child/adult ship and that is Wrong.

I feel like Stop Team Go showed a highly exaggerated version of Shego... One that ultimately probably wouldn't last in terms of friendship with Kim, because it wasn't really her and it just...wasn't real. That episode was another...pandering to fandom. A "what if they were friends" thing, clearly. Almost like fanfic onscreen.

In the end, Kim and Ron were always endgame, season four never departed from that, but the writers/animators were happy to pander to fandom a bit since they'd had quite some time to see what was popular. And in the end it's all about drawing in viewers, and thus, money.

So no, still, there was no deliberate attempt by the writers during the series to push Kigo in any way. And label it or don't label it, but Kim being a minor and Shego being a much older adult makes it not okay. If it doesn't sit right with you, it's for a reason... The reason probably being, it's a minor and an adult.

Hope this answers your questions.

[fan-clan-fun]

Right, so some friends and I were discussing kitten mortality, namely as caused by other cats. Fun fact, toms are less likely to kill kittens (maybe just based on lack of opportunity) compared to mollies, even the mothers themselves! Some moms have a tendency to kill, even eat weaker kittens, or abandon/kill them if stressed, or play with them too rough like they would a toy or prey, or just... never seem to recognize them as kittens at all (my good bud knows a feral like that).

So I got to thinking of some pretty morbid worldbuilding questions surounding this. Are permanent/regular queens partially there to intervene or otherwise discourage this? If a kitten is unwell, is it sent to the medicine cat asap, both to give it care and keep it away from mom? Are mothers seen as being more 'in-touch' with Starclan about their kittens, thus the clan accepts this behavior when it happens as a sign the kitten would have died anyway/been evil/etc? If so, would intervention be seen as going against the will of Starclan? If both toms and mollies have minor risks around kittens, might a neutered cat be the perfect nursery aid (given they tend to be more chill)? Might mollies prone to this be forbidden from having litters, or have their litters fostered to a different mom? Might it be an instinctive, impersonnal thing, or might it cause a strong emotional reaction from mom or others? Could kittens only get named once they're past the 'risky' phase when this might occcur? All the potential cultural implications, and opportunities for conflict and drama, are very juicy indeed!

Of course the whole thing could be handwaved with 'the Clans selected against this', which could give a nice little justification to bringing new blood in - steal a litter from an outsider 'for their safety', you see, for queens outside Clan borders are *so* very prone to hurting their kittens, and who knows when a roving tom might find her nest unattended.

(I love the idea of *Leopardfoot*, not Pinestar, believing she is being told to kill Tigerkit once the stress of her mate leaving gets to her, because the ambiguity of it all is far jucier imo)

Apologies for taking some time to get back on this as we discussed, but I think i can talk about it now.

I feel like a lot of warriors fans unfortunately don't take kitten mortality into consideration for their writing and worldbuilding, but its an important aspect of real life that should be discussed. Even in cases of people caring for mothers and kittens such as fostering situations, you won't always succeed in raising kittens safely. In fact my last set of fosters I sadly lost one due to medical reasons. And its even worse in the wild, because you are right, not all cats are ready to be moms. I definitely think this is something that could be further developed in clans.

Part of the risk of mothers not knowing how to care for their kits is due to many feral moms having kittens far too young, like having kittens as still kittens young. In some ways the clans fix this by not allowing anyone to have kittens before they became warriors which the fandom generally considers to be at least a year. This wouldn't solve all the issues of course but it would certainly help. I believe most reputable breeders are the same, if not starting litters at two years.

I doubt any sane clan would allow a queen to harm her kits in any way. Kits are far too valuable to waste or lose. Religious intervention and how they view kits and their health would rely entirely on each clan's worldbuilding, but again I would doubt kits would be abandoned or given up on without very specific reasons. I think being in a clan setting would cut down on a lot of mistreatment or lack of understanding about kittens since these moms have the support of other moms and the rest of the clan and hopefully education ahead of time.

I think that having permanent queens/caretakers would solve many of the other issues. Should a mother show any signs of having issues with their kits a medicine cat or caretaker would step in, though it would definitely be a case by case situation on what would be done. Some cases might require removal of kits from the mother to be fostered to another, some might require additional medical, emotional, and psychological support from the medicine cat and caretakers, or simply some extra teaching and information. Permanent queens, caretakers, etc would be the backbone of the community care for both queens and kits, and honestly are invaluable to a clan. I do think they should be developed and explored more honestly, considering how much cats share their kit-raising in community.

As for whether fixed or unfixed cats would be better, I think it is a bit subjective of worldbuilding and how realistic you want to be. But also its very dependent on the individual cats. Some un-altered females might be better with kits, but just as many might be terrible! And same with male cats. This is the case even in real life I would say. Like, both my altered female cats are NOT cuddly mothering to any of the kittens I have fostered. And they are supposed to be more chill. My cats are definitely not chill. I would almost advise people to maybe put aside certain generalizations and focus on individual characters and clans and what makes sense and fits for them.

Now personally most of my clans have naming ceremonies for kits at around a moon, because most (though not all) kit deaths tend to happen in those first few weeks. But again that's a personal choice, maybe kits are named earlier because if they dont have a name how could they find their way to Starclan? Or maybe they aren't named until apprenticeship for... reasons, idk.

As for your other speculations they could be plenty plausible! A struggling clan could use any excuse to get more kits, or a starving clan could use any excuse to have one less mouth to feed if a kitten was floundering. So many options and ideas to play with!!