#i'm sure i have characters the fandom's fawning made me hate

[firedragon1321]

^ s0wwwiku

category of blorbo called "technically i like them but fanons obsession with them to the exclusion of other characters pavloved me into having a negative reaction whenever i see them"

[lover-of-mine]

I'm not your Lady Whistledown, but the Oliver stuff started very subtly following the joint interview. I think reality hit a few of them following that. They built it up as this big springboard for the ship and when it didn't go that way the, there were no more interviews, or promo for the pair from the show, anger at Oliver started to creep in. It was subtle until Lou closed his cameo, but once they lost their direct contact with him, lots of them blamed Oliver. They believe the show forced him to shut it down. And many believe Oliver had something to do with that. It didn't help that immediately after he closed his cameo he also stopped interacting with or answering their questions on Twitter. And of course Oliver started blocking people as well. There are lots of them who are also freaking out over the SWAT stuff because he's clearly going back to that show, in some capacity, and they don't know what that will mean for his availability as far as 911 goes.

Ryan's interviews aren't helping them either. He's kind of been systematically disproving each of their arguments with every interview he does. The Men's Health interview with Oliver, I think was just what finally broke some of them. He's not going to get on board with Tommy, whether the show gives him canon Buddie or not, he clearly isn't vested in or going to vest in B/T and I think that's getting harder and harder for them to pretend away. I think it's also becoming clear that Lou's enthusiasm for it has certainly dimmed as well, for whenever reason. They're not being fed anything to sustain them anymore because all of it was coming from Lou himself and once he stopped they didn't have anything else to cling too. So being mad at Oliver is all they have left because they're never going to blame or be angry at Lou. So now Oliver, Tim and even Ryan, because lots of them think Oliver would be fine with B/T if Ryan wasn't around, are to blame for everything. Their ship was never about Oliver or Buck. Once Lou made himself available to their fawning and played along with it, all while taking their money, it became a fandom about Lou. Buck was just the character paired with the actor they were fetishizing. Hopefully they follow him out the door.

wait, they are blaming Oliver for the cameos stopping? I mean, I keep joking if it came down to it the production is gonna do what keeps Oliver happy, but to say Oliver has that kind of pull is just a lazy excuse to hate him. Lou was creating a type of publicity that didn't line up with the route they were going. That's even if Lou was told to stop, we don't know that for sure, do we? Dude can just get tired of playing it up not that he got the exposure he could get and now it has run it's course. I have a little prayer circle for him to book something else and not come back, so if he's back in swat, you will hear me cheering, but seriously, the more I learn the more wtf i am. But it does make sense that they built the thing around the shiny new actor and now can't keep up because the part of the ship that actually matters doesn't care, that adds up. I kinda wanna scream tho, Ryan's interviews are because he's promoting a movie. The dude is not getting interviews because of 911, the fact that he can't shut up about buddie doesn't change the fact that he is not there to talk about them. And since the beginning, Oliver keeps talking about Buck being bisexual outside of Buck dating Tommy, and it's crazy to watch the fantasy crumble when there was never to back it up to begin with. Honestly, I do hope that when Tommy goes he takes that part of the fandom with him, because my god....

[porkcutletbowl44]

Hello again!!! Makes almost one month since the last time I read anything related to Far From Perfect (college is draining all my sanity and time) but I finally read the latest chapters and I've to say they're delightful.

The start of chapter 19 surprised me a lot since I didn't expect Kyle to be the one to help Simon while he's drowing himself in alcohol. I expected to see Johnny in this situation, but it's a pleasing surprise to see Kyle instead since I think he's a really nice character. It was also so cute and heartbreaking to see mama taking care of Simon in the hospital. It's obvious that she cares deeply about his happiness and well-being and yet he's insufferable most of the time (actually impressed that he wasn't in this chapter). Being honest I actually laughed so much while mama was helping him to undress😭 I couldn't believe it and honestly I'd laugh too if i was in her shoes because the situation is awkward to even think of.

Reading the wedding scene in chapter 20 made my eyes a bit teary (was waiting for it since you mentioned once), I really love the way you make me feel nostalgic and melancholic about mama and Simon's old dinamic before he fucked up with it. They were such a lovely couple that it makes me furious, sad and so many other things I don't know how to name that it was all throw away because he was insecure and refused to communicate before taking drastic decisions about their relationship. Now talking about my lovely man Keegan, he's the most perfect man I've ever seen😞❤. I find myself smilling at my cellphone while reading about him and Fawn interacting because they have a wonderful relation. She's a bubbly and sweet kid and he's just so carrying towards her, when he takes her to a bike ride the whole situation about Simon falls on the background and the whole thing gains a calm and light-hearted, it's just so perfect💞. I think i talk too much about my love to this man, but he's one of my favorites and it's way too hard to find good content of him in the fandom.

About the notes on chapter 21's start, I just want to say that your work makes me really happy. I'm sorry that you received hate your content and I hope you've gained motivation again to continue this wonderful series❤❤❤. Now about the chapter itself, seeing Fawn worrying about her father is one of the cutest thing in it (also them watching Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends bring me some good memories, that show was amazing). This whole chapter was sweet and sad at the same time, but mostly sweet. Fawn's game was a wonderful scene too, definely one of my favorites. It's just so good to see Keegan growing even more fond towards mama and her daughter even when he isn't even part of the family (hopefully this will change soon🙏) . Although sometimes I fell bad for him, I mean imagine falling in love with someone who still loves and misses their ex and that has recently passed through a divorce? That's tough, and I'm impressed on how well he hides his jealousy and how patient he's with mama. And when Fawn calls him "daddy" my jaw fell to the floor. Wasn't expecting that, either wass him, mama or anybody I'm really sure of that. Honestly I think that it was really just a slip up this time, but considering that Simon almost doesn't spend time witb Fawn as he used to and that Keegan is way more present now, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns into a common thing for her.

Now Ghost went back into being a completely idiot on chapter 22 damn. It was taking too long but he started saying things without thinking again, and reading this was a real rollercoaster of emotions. First of all, how dare him to suddenly show up on mama' workplace with their daughter and refer to her as his wife like he didn't absolutely destroyed her mental health with the divorce? Sorry but i'd be livid if I was in this situation (not related but her boss is actually so chill, like wdym she can take an early day off just because her family is there? I loved it). The car ride was just so overwhelming😭 first they're calmly chatting and suddenly the air is tense because of him, he definitely doesn't know how to properly formulate phrases without sounding like an ass. He's so misarable and it's delicious to see him dealing with the consequences (even tho he doesn't know how). Now Colleen, Jesus Christ she also makes me livid💔. Honestly it impresses me that even after she made his daughter scared about her mother's safety and happiness he still allowed her to be near Fawn, it's almost like he forgot with who he's living with. The most responsible adult there was mama, especially when she punched Colleen (like shshshould've done earlier). I just can't with her and Simon, they're both inresponsible and selfish in their own ways and its insufferable.

Now finally talking about everything, I really hope mama doesn't allow her daughter near that woman ever again. It's surprising that even when Simon claims to care about her and Fawn more than anything in the world he' still able to do idiot things related to them. Deeply wondering when he's going to dump that bitch because she literaly slapped his daughter, what kind of sane person does that??? Read a comment on Ao3 about everyone in this fanfiction needing therapy and they're so real about it. If i remember good mama already goes to therapy, but I highly doubt Simon does because he doesn't know how to deal with his emotions and with the variety of scenarios he can pass through, and if he really wants to get things back to what they were before the divorce, he needs to get his feelings on check. Also noticed that Fawn is more talktive in this last chapters (?) but idk, I think I might be imagining things here, althought if I'm not, I need to say that I found it wonderful. And I'm deeply hoping that mama doesn't accept any advances of Simon's part because he doesn't deserve a second chance. He's horrible for her mental health and I'm praying that she'll choose Keegan instead and finally get over her ex because she deserves better that how he treated/is treating her.

Anyways, I'm really sorry for the gigant ask but I needed to talk about this fanfiction so bad💔. Missed a lot reading your wonderful righting and seeing the lead this whole thing is getting. I wish you a wonderful week and that you keep continuing with this lovely work💞💞💞.

Oh the smile on my face reading this while eating sushi 🤭🥰🥰🥰

I'm so glad to see you in my ask box!!! And I'm so sorry to hear that college life is draining :( I'm cheering for you until it gets better!!! 🫶🏻

Everything certainly is messy! I will say right off the bat Simon is 100% done with Colleen's bullshit, he obviously cares way more for his kiddo than her so she will be letting the door hit her on the way out (for a reason I will not disclose just yet 🫥)

Simon has been doing so much reflecting and trying to navigate what the hell is going on, feeling new things for the first time is a broken rollercoaster sheesh 😬

I'm honestly debating on enabling comment moderation because there's simply too much judging based on the first few chapters when things are meant to go slow, and it's a little bit irritating because I can tell when someone reads and gets a full understanding rather than skimming and forming an incorrect assumption without going through the whole series. (Also debating on posting a very indepth Simon analysis on how his character is in the fic)

And yes! Mama does self therapy with her little journal and whatnot, and that seems to be helping (I think I'm gonna leave the poor lady alone now, depression is NOT fun :(

But now that I have everyone (at least mostly everyone) hating Simon, time to pull a little switcheroo 🤭😈

As always, I love rants, and my ask box is always open to those who want to talk about Far From Perfect 🫶🏻

[purpleheartskies]

(These are general thoughts and not directed at anyone in particular.)

I recently got into The Mandalorian a month or so before its s3 started coming out. At first, I'd told myself I'd wait for the whole season to come out and then binge watch it, but I caved a few days after the first episode came out and watched it. Since then each week, I've been watching each new episode, reading fan comments, and watching how the fandom responded. If you haven't watched Mando s3, I'm not gonna spoil anything in this post. I'm just going to do some reflecting on how fans have responded to Cobra Kai in light of how fans responded to Mando s3.

Honestly, it's been so refreshing to watch a real found father-son story in which no child of any species has been replaced in the process. Din and Grogu's story has been so fun and heartwarming to watch. Many CK fans claim that Johnny and Miguel's story is a found father-son story, but it's clearly not presented to be, primarily because the entire context of Johnny and Miguel's storyline throughout the 5 seasons has been that Johnny abandons/neglects (including emotionally) Robby in favor of Miguel. Their stories are all interwoven to show the clear contrast between Johnny's behavior wrt Miguel and Johnny's behavior wrt Robby. Johnny has a son who needs him and who Johnny willfully abandons/neglects for a random kid. (From Robby's pov, Miguel is a random kid). This is still an important part of the story in s5. Also, an important part of the story is how Robby has been affected by Johnny's behavior throughout the series. Robby's behavior in s5 (fawning) is truly nothing to cheer on, like the majority of fans do because they got the endgame they wanted: Johnny's dream family with the Diazs, and Robby tacked on as an afterthought. (I've talked in detail about Robby and Johnny's relationship in s5 in this post.)

As I mentioned, I wanted to talk about the fan responses to CK and the fan responses to Mando s3. Getting CK seasons as 10-episode dumps followed by a period of waiting is somewhat similar to getting an episode of a season and then having to wait a whole week for another episode. It gives time for the hype of the new story content to die down, for disappointment to set in and permeate, for more analyses to happen, and for different groups of hive-mind thinking to form and echo throughout the fandom.

I really enjoyed watching how the story unfolded as each episode of Mando was revealed. There were those who, like me, recognized that this is a story and, well, storytelling is taking place. We enjoyed watching the pieces being laid out, the layers being assembled, things slowly coming together, etc. However, there were those who were just bashing the season, saying things aren't making sense, they're not getting the story they want, the writers don't know what they're doing, etc...

This made me think of how the CK fan response has evolved with each season. As each season has come out, the fan response has gotten worse. People aren't getting the story they want, they're insulting the writers and the storytelling, they're complaining that things were too "rushed" and this is a "dumb" show so the serious elements don't matter, they're claiming that their fics would have been better, "this is the way it should have gone... [insert fic with completely wrong characterizations]...", etc.

I know I'm a rarity when it comes to loving Robby's character and not hating on the writers' storytelling abilities. I'm disappointed with them for sure for the messaging so far, and I completely understand why some have quit the show and the fandom. (The topics explored in CK (childhood trauma, mental health, dysfunctional relationships, etc) can be very personal and how they're depicted, even in the interim, absolutely matters. Also, interacting with fans who don't care about these topics can be draining.) However I will say this: the writers have a really well-thought-out story that has been consistent and has been building this whole time. They have always said that they have their major story beats figured out and some endgames in mind, and that hasn't changed. With all the analyzing I've done, I believe them. However, I also do understand the disappointment that fellow Robby fans feel. I had certain things I would have loved to have seen happen in this story too. But, for a while now, I try to remind myself with every show/movie I watch or book I read that I'm not writing the story. I'm just along for the ride. I know with moving to Netflix there has been a change in how things look in the show. However, if someone analyzes the patterns in behaviors and dialogue in order to understand the characterizations, they'll see that the storytelling approach and characterizations are still consistent.

Watching Mando as its new episodes dropped and browsing that fandom each week has helped put some things about this fandom into perspective for me. I've browsed other fandoms as well, but I'm mostly immersed in these two fandoms these days and the similarities in fan responses in these fandoms just stuck out to me. Storytelling is an art, and I wish people would be more open to treating these stories like stories.

Despite how much people hate the writers, they're the ones who gave us Robby and keep him the best, most central character in the show, regardless of how much he's resented and his traumas are minimized in the fandom. The writers still treat him like the most important teen, and imo, the most important character because Robby overshadows/drives Johnny's character journey as well. For example, in s5, Johnny still kept mentioning Robby when it came to the baby. If Johnny were redeemed or absolved, he himself wouldn't keep bringing up his failures with Robby. Robby's relationship with Johnny is still complex and painful and his relationship with the LaRussos is still complicated and meaningful. Robby was the key to bringing Daniel back and getting everyone together against Cobra Kai, something established in s4 when Sam first went to Robby to get him to come back and when Daniel realized he needed Johnny's help to coach Sam in the avt because Robby had taught the Cobras Miyagi-Do. Robby was also still the only character with people he cared about on both sides of the dojo war, as has been the case since s1. Robby's scene with Silver in s5 especially establishes Robby's importance amongst the teens. Silver mentions the 3 senseis, and Kim says that they're pests and they'll swat the next one that lands on their arm, and then Robby walks in immediately after. No other kid gets equated to the senseis like Robby does. There's more I can say about Robby's significance in the story, but that could be another post later on.

Out of all the characters, Robby's story is the deepest. He's a teenager trying to overcome his worsening c-ptsd (due to childhood trauma and other experiences) using the different karate styles/philosophies while everyone, especially the adults that "care" about him, keeps failing him, even in s5. I know the karate part sounds silly in a way, but there's nothing silly about c-pstd or coping with it. Robby's trying to apply what he learns to cope with it while caring about who he is. He's trying to overcome all the odds that keep stacking against him and to be the better person he wants to be. And part of his struggles with his traumas is that he's too hard on himself about how bad of a person he is. He's literally one of the best people in the show. If only he and the people around him could see that too. Robby coming out on top in karate and in life next season will be the most inspiring story this series could possibly come out with.

Like I've posted recently, I want to keep talking about the story and its nuances because Robby's story especially is important and represents the struggles of many in society who have experienced or are experiencing similar traumas to those he has experienced and is currently experiencing.

Robby is THE underdog in the story.

Cobra Kai is Robby's story.

I have spoken.

These two cuties 🥰

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

Hey! I wanted to know why Taryn's character gets a lot of hate even tho she was trying to survive in faerie just as Jude did. Except her way of survival was more traditionally feminine and demure.

this has honestly been my point since like... forever lmao. if you've been on my blog for any length of time, you'll know i'm a pretty big Taryn apologist. i speak more about it in this post. but essentially, it's exactly what you said. and i have more to say.

[DISCLAIMER: this post is tagged as pro-Taryn Duarte. any comments or asks i receive expressing the reason why You Hate Taryn are entirely unsolicited and will be deleted on sight. if you don't like my opinion you can block the pro-Taryn Duarte tag, and scroll away.]

I. Me, harping on about Madoc deserving more of the fandom's scorn, part 300

it will always boggle my mind how this fandom allows Madoc every grace of "the complex character/relationship" but we don't afford Taryn even remotely the same attempt at understanding. even when Madoc committed infinitely more betrayals, infinitely more attrocities, than Taryn ever committed–or indeed has had time to commit given her extremely young age (compared to Madoc's centuries of life).

that's not to say i don't love Madoc. i think he's a great villain and his character, particularly his relationship with his children, is very complex. but why can't this be the same way we treat Taryn?

regardless of this blatant double-standard, people still hate her, and i think it has a lot to do with (as you said) the way Taryn handles her traumatic life events.

II. Trauma Responses and How They Are Received

[FOR LEGAL REASONS, THIS POST IS DISCUSSING HOW THE TRAUMA RESPONSES ARE PERCEIVED STRICTLY IN TERMS OF CHARACTERS, NOT IRL PEOPLE/SITUATIONS!]

i've discussed this on here before, but the Duarte sisters exhibit three out of the four recognised trauma responses in the way they cope with their parents' death/being taken to Faerie:

Jude- fight

Vivi- flight

Taryn- fawn

i think we can all agree that, in terms of what an audience wants to see from characters, Jude's fight response is the most palatable of the three. not only because she is the main character (and thus, everything is from her perspective/justified in her eyes), but also because it is what i believe most of us would want to be able to do ourselves in the face of adversity and hardship.

it's the most commendable. it is probably also the hardest to maintain (as is made apparent by the series as a whole). which is why the other two sisters employ alternative modes of survival.

as discussed in this post, Vivi survives by escaping. whenever and however she can. i'm not sure how everyone feels about this one. until recently, i had no idea people even had strong opinions about Vivi.

but i do know that the flight response could be considered a bit cowardly, even if it's effective. if there's anything to be respected about it, though, it's that the person knows in no uncertain terms that they are not cut out for facing the trauma head-on. and they are the first one to admit it.

the fawn response, however, is a kind of camouflage. it's doing everything in your power to be perceived a certain way, to fit in, to please people.

the thing i think people dislike about the fawn response, is that (if you twist the perspective enough) it could be viewed as dishonest. deceptive or manipulative. perhaps even spineless, depending on the situation.

and indeed, these are all phrases i've seen thrown around in close proximity to Taryn's name.

throughout the book, Taryn plays nice in order to get people to like her. she does whatever the fae tell her to do, even at the expense of her own or her sister's humiliation. and instead of making her own place at court, she announces that she will "fall in love" to earn her seat. meaning that she will rely on one of the fae (likely someone with station) to give her the privilege of staying at court, through means of marriage or children.

it's a more passive route to survival than Jude's. but that route isn't any less valid. it's just less masculine.

III. Active vs. Passive (and how it leads to misguided sensationalism)

society has taught us not to see passivity as a mode of operation, and unfortunately, this makes for overtly sensationalised (and therefore inaccurate) interpretations of character.

if the only actions a character takes are deceptive ones, we conclude they are intentionally deceiving people. if the character doesn't act at all, they are apathetic people. no matter the character's own motives. if they do not act the way we wish them to act, they must be in direct opposition to what we want.

take Taryn, for example. if her modus operandi is to camouflage, or passively fit in, we don't recognise this as an action. rather, we look at what she does do.

in order to achieve her goal, Taryn must actively betray her sister (multiple times), lie to her (multiple times), and kill her husband in cold blood (an attribute, if you ask me, but whatever). through these actions, we, as the audience, realise Taryn is not nice. but she portrays herself this way so she can get what she wants. as all good writing does, we are made to feel deceived right along with Jude.

but even though Jude herself forgives Taryn eventually, we still dislike her. because she is not our sister. she is not the main character. she doesn't mean much to us. we don't regard her as a nuanced person–she becomes, to many, this two-dimensional "enemy" or "other".

and if you aren't thinking critically about the text, and instead take the story personally, then yeah. you're going to hate Taryn at the end of it all.

people have a way of interpreting actions as the sole basis of character, while disregarding motive or intention. i don't think this wise. it's reductive at best, disingenuous at worst.

actions are a product of our nature and the conditions of our environment. Taryn is in just as much peril as Jude is in Faerie. the only reason you, dear reader, might not like Taryn is because she didn't act how you wanted her to act, and because she didn't act how you wanted her to act, she ended up hurting someone you care about (Jude).

this well-meaning loyalty unfortunately doesn't do much for an accomplished understanding of the text. which i get it. some of us are just here for fun and that's fine. but if you take the time to hate a character with as much passion as people seem to hate Taryn, you have time to think at least a little bit critically about the text.

—Em 🖤🗡

more theories & analysis

[olderthannetfic]

You can't tell me that Shinji wouldn't have some fierce pent up rage he'd let out in the bedroom whenever he manages to make it in there.

Idk, I know my experience isn't universal but I only saw the anti-pages and flash games in the fujoshi sector. Flame wars on LJ with het ships oh absolutely. Hello stalking and other such nonsense. If you saw any hate/kill pages for het ships I'd love to hear about them because that's a weird part of internet history that I sometimes wonder if I dreamed up. That experience was a big milestone during my formative years. I could've done better without that experience. Either way, internalized misogyny is something we all get to battle, I'm sure, but I do take exception to people weaponizing and pedestaling Teh Gays to do it. Or any race someone doesn't have a dog in really but to stay on topic. The overall vibe I recall was 'this is so taboo and that makes it sexy so let's play in this filth for a while and kill Asuka' etc and I just think it'd be nice if that was done? So yeah. 1) Are we normalized yet and 2) What's the updog on the female character hate-sites?

IS IT SAFE YET?

--

Hmm... an intriguing point.

Fandom! Please weigh in on this pressing topic!

How does Shinji fuck?

--

I think the het side of fandom just called their enemy characters "whores" instead of "stupid and boring" like the m/m-shipping side tended to. IDK. It's not like over-the-top hate for the character in the way of the ship has ever been restricted to one group.

Plenty of female character hate I remember was from straight dudes who pretended not to care about shipping. That absolutely includes jokey shit about Asuka being raped or murdered for not fawning on their self-inserty take on Shinji or for not being a ~demure lady~ like Rei or some bullshit. I'm sure they too would be quick to blame it on the icky m/m shippers now though.

There's a really toxic subtext to your comments that's a lot more pressing than someone's character hate webshrine from twenty years ago.

"Or any race someone doesn't have a dog in really" is such a covert radfem way of thinking. That's for two reasons:

1. A shitton of conflicted AFAB m/m shippers grow out of their "girls suck" problems when they finally realize that they are not girls and that this hatred of everything to do with women is coming from a place of being constantly triggered by how people perceive them.

I remember reading some of Billy Martin's old stuff as a teenager and being really grossed out by how it treated women. I liked the m/m parts and the kinky shit, so I kept reading, but yikes. Years later, finding out that Poppy Z Brite was struggling for years and eventually became "Doc" and then Billy Martin made so much sense. That doesn't make misogyny cool, but I'll cut the dude some slack for taking a while to figure his shit out.

I don't restrict that to trans men. NB people and, frankly, a lot of more-or-less cis women with non-normative gender in some way follow a similar path.

2. What makes you think I don't have a dog in that race? What makes you think a woman cannot relate primarily to male characters or equally to male characters?

As a bisexual woman, I like bisexual characters. I don't give two shits about lesbian ones. My first point of identification is orientation, not gender.

The reason I say your (extremely common and thrown at me daily) talking points are covert radfem is that they posit a situation in which women should identify first and foremost with other women. We should choose women. We should center women.

Why?

What if you want to center your ethnicity? What if you want to center your age? What if you want to center your neurodivergence?

Or what, for that matter, if you want to write about the inside of your head and not the outside of your body? There are many, many reasons people choose these cross-group identifications for that purpose. The entirety of drag queen culture and gay men's use of female celebrities is a version of this. Sure, some trans women have been into the same stuff, and it was an expression of them being women, just as some m/m-writing AFABs in fandom turn out to be men, but there's also this whole other thing that has to do with making art that expresses your insides, not a representation quota.

--

Are we normalized yet? Is who normalized? Gay men? People who hate on m/m shippers in cliched ways? Yes to both. If you want to hang with the cis gay dudes, I'm sure they're around somewhere, though probably not in the middle of AFAB-ville on fanworks fandom tumblr. If you want to find a bunch of dickheads who hate "fujoshi", often in self-hating ways, they're all over the place though. Throw a rock. You'll hit one.

Character shrines, positive and negative, are long dead thanks to geocities and its ilk deleting our collective internet history, but as long as you see strawmen lurking around every corner, it will never be safe for you.

[neutronstarchild]

M, R, Z

Thanks for the ask my beloved @ruddcatha!

M: A person who got you into a fandom and what fandom they pulled you in to.

I had to think about this, because I often just sort of plow into fandoms myself but... @sapphirestarxx is mostly to blame for my Demon Slayer obsession. Sure, there are others involved (like @fawn-eyed-girl and @skyelara). And YOUUUU made me discover the wonder that is That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime!!! I'm so happy y'all did! They're wonderful!

R: A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships.

I answered one of these for @nikkxb, but I want to see if I can think of another tiny boat. The closest thing I can think of is probably Shippō/Hōjō (it worked, I swear! AUs are awesome!)

Z: What's a ship that you want to ship publicly, but everyone on tumblr hates it so you keep your mouth shut about it?

Ahhh the many many ships that can ignite the ship wars. I think for me now, that is probably Kohaku/Rin. They're such a great complement and could make a wonderful pair. He needs someone patient who can heal his broken heart, and she needs someone down to earth and a protector, to remind her that humans are not terrifying. I rewatched the anime, and the two really did form a pretty deep bond really quick. It would have been a great arc and character growth, for both of them.

Thanks for the fandom questions my dear!!!

[zero-max]

Here is your excuse to Rant about Evil Eiji- Aria

Whdjejdj okay so, I know this is a very, very late response but since its been a hot minute and I have thoughts I'm gonna take the time to just talk about Eiji in general. Mostly cause in the context of why my Evil Eiji au's exist I think it's kinda important.

Sooo, I've been lurking in the bf fandom for a hot minute and I've had plenty of time to go over my feelings on Eiji's fandom portrayal (specifically in fanfic) and decide I kinda hate it. People have painted him as this "uwu soft boy" for a while, occasionally going for the manic pixie dream boy route, and it's be frustrating especially since I've spent hours of my life picking about this guy only to see people boil down his character into a few small descriptors.

Obviously this isn't old news, this was something plenty of people around me expressed distaste about long before I even started making/writing au's and something people still talk about. This period of time definitely defined how I ended up writing Eiji as a whole, and especially why I found myself creating not one but four Evil Eiji au's.

Now for those who don't know, my og Evil Eiji au, focused heavily on the idea of Eiji utilizing his sweet and innocent persona in order to get away with things like murder, emotional manipulation, and a bunch of other stuff all prompted by his newfound obsession with Ash who he ends forming a relationship with pretty early on.

The inspiration for this au came initially from a discussion I had with friends where, someone mentioned a similar idea only it was about Ash and not Eiji. It basically took Ash's canon preservation of Eiji's suposed innocence and flipped it on it's head, where Ash had this fixed idea of Eiji in his head and was actively uncomfortable whenever he ended up doing things that contradicted that vision.

I was immediately captivated by this idea. I mean at that time I'd only seen a handful of people recontextualize Asheiji and have the negative aspects of it be the focal point. Naturally, this got my brain juices flowing and it got me thinking, what if Eiji was the one purposely getting others to perceive him as innocent? What if he was emotionally manipulating people into protecting him, getting them to basically worship him and fawn over him? What if he was so good at this he could get others to literally murder for him?

Mind you the context of the anime was still fresh in my mind and I was looking back at all the instances Eiji's effects on people were shown on screen or referenced. Hell, Max even flat out says Eiji makes people either want to protect him or destroy him. And yet absolutely nothing is done with this info. Neither the anime or the manga even mention or hint whether or not Eiji's aware he has this effect on the people around him, even though the potential this has for Eiji's character is massive.

Sure people have made joking mentions of Eiji weaponizing his cuteness to get what he wants before but I ended up taking this to the extreme, spending hours discussing and curating this entire story around him actively utilizing his appearance and persona to do absolutely terrible shit, just because of one small conversation with friends.

Now you might be wondering, "Max why does any of this actually matter?", and to that I say, because this is just a tiny example of how Eiji's character can be twisted in a fun new interesting way where he's not just some prop for other to explore Ash's trama through. Don't get me wrong I've read some really fun takes on Eiji's character, and I don't think people shouldn't be able to use Eiji as a way to explore Ash in depth, but I just wish more people would capitalize on the idea of Eiji taking charge of his story. To have him act on his own, make decisions, do things that aren't related to his relationship with Ash or his story, and to just have him feel like an actual person and not some half empty glass of potential.

Like I wouldn't be here with so many Eiji centric au's if the guy wasn't actively so easy to write a bunch of interesting new character takes for. In a way, this au was meant to be an outlet for me to implement all my fucked up Eiji ideas and to just show people this guy isn't just so innocent soft boy, whose only here to "fix" Ash. He's his own person, with his own issues and flaws and with so many little tidbits you can twist and bend until you've eventually got a bunch of new character traits to shove onto him and make him even more interesting.

All this to say, I love Eiji, I love Evil Eiji, I love it when he's allowed to commit murder and I especially love torturing him because nothing screams character development like putting him through increasingly more traumatic scenarios.

Anywho, thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope this isn't a terrible disjointed mess but whatever as long as my point came across I can live with that lol

[ben-the-hyena]

Okay so after YEARS of inactivity in the HM fandom, it is time to make some changes to some headcanons I had that aged badly (feel free to ask me for more details about stuff I will not talk about here because I didn't change them)

I had a Mary-Sue OC named Sally Meaker who was supposed to be the first wife and victim of Mr Meaker (an unused concept character I reused as a semi OC, he was an inspiration to both Ghost Host and Constance since he is a black widow who hung himself after he accidentally killed his beloved cat in one of his murders) who forever felt betrayed and sad as sweet as she was and she had a chatse crush on Ezra. Lmao bullshit. I'm keeping the origin story aspect but I think I am going to make her bitter and weary about everyone so that she won't have be "boohoohoo sweet" anymore as well as considering having her and @papabirdurskeks' Oswald have a relationship or at least feelings. The thing with Ezra : to the trash ! I see Ezra as a playboy so having him want to comit himself felt so off and they would have clashed too much in personalities, so to the bin with it. Also made her full name Salomea

Finally gave Mr Meaker a first name too, Beauregard

As I recently said, the Phantom Manor changes and the Disney Parade that goes with it now has me think Henry Ravenswood/the Phantom lusts over his own daughter hence his obsession in killing all men around her. As a mortal and as long as his wife Martha was around, he kept it bottled up oggling at their daughter in secret, but when he returned as a ghost and saw Martha had not returned, that was free real estate, nobody could judge him again and he was all powerful and unstoppable. He now wants to keep her "pure" until she would finally give in to him and stop being a waiting bride. Give her time, she will give up and he would finally be able to take her, he thinks. Wouldn't be surprised if in his folly he would want to marry her too since now it can't be a deadly sin anymore since they already are dead (I FEEL SO DIRTY WRITING THAT...). Plus reminder I HC he can shapeshift and is Mélanie in the end of both old and new ride

I don't remember if I ever wanted to do anything with Mélanie's heart necklace since it was given by her fiancé and according to a Disney parade beats like a real heart (and who knows maybe it was what beats in her tombstone) but now what if the whole time her fiancé's soul was locked in there by her fathee and she has no idea that all this her love was there with her because the Phantom knew she would no idea to look in there ? The heart beats when she has strong emotions as a result of her love and loneliness reacting to his presence inside without her to know what it means

Changed the meetcute between Emily and the Hatbox Ghost. It used to take place on a stormy night after he had to find shelter in the first building he would see aka the Gracey Mansion and bang at the door (since I HC she is a Gracey, daughter of Master Gracey who died young when she was a baby), and it would be a love at first sight and courting for some months or years I wasn't sure until proposal. Now, I go with her uncle and her aunt (the Ghost Host and Constance, siblings of the mate Master Gracey in my HC) being worried that at 21 she still had no suitpr and fearing she would end up as a spinster, so one day when a rich hat seller and hatter would come to bargain, they would find the occasion to push him to her hoping she would say yes with time (they didn't hate him yet, reminder for those who forgot my HCs they would hate him when they would find out he took her before marriage and the only reason they wouldn't have killed him was because they already were engaged at that point lol) Hattie/Randall Pace was very confused and awkward like that was not planned at all and he didn't want to force that stranger albeit beautiful woman and Emily was MAD because back then she and Little Leota (childhood friend) were fawning over some young and handsome but poor lumberjack who was interested in return, so she was grumpy and stubborn around Mr Pace. To the point of seeing the lumberjack in secret as superficial as he was like a sort of Gaston minus the evil, even speaking of eloping some day because the world so uuuunfaaair. After some weeks, Emily being a good person would apologize for being so rude to Randall telling her that she just is not interested and felt forced, Randall reassuring he doesn't plan to marry her either abd they could just start all over as good friends, pretending to be courting when her aunt and uncle are around but nothing concrete. And yet it would be after months of being friends and seeing they had a perfect chemistry and a lot in common or complementary they would actually fall in love no matter how ugly he was and even if that was technically arranged, hesitating (the time she realized what these feelings were) in eloping with the lumberjack or not and ending up refusing him at the very last moment when the departure was planned. Of course being superficial and just seeing her as pretty and having any pretty girl he wanted, he went "HMF. Frigid bitch bye" and left. So now she and Randall would truly court each other until he would propose 2 years later. If you remember my old posts you know how it ends up for them : wedding, murderered on their wedding night in the train that was leaving for their honeymoon by Mr Meaker who needed their wagon to hide after he had just killed his recent wife and needed to pass it not as his doing but a serial killer's (stabbed his bride and beheaded and hid his head a buttler with whom he switched clothes so that people would think it was him so he could run away from that state, stabbed Emily and beheaded Hattie whose head he hid in his hatbox), return as ghosts etc

Yeah I never decide myself on Emily's age lol now I see her as 23 when she dies

As for the Hatbox Ghost I used to imagine there was a big age gap like 40 and 50 and that he needed a cane making him look like an old man because he had ruined his back falling from a ladder one day he was carelessly organizing his hat shelves in his shop but I scrapped that. Now he is 30 only but just looks old and ugly. Hunchbacked ? He was boen with a hunch. Shrunken with age ? He is just short, the hunch gives an illusion of age shrink. The need for a cane ? He limps because he was birn with a leg longer than the other, not very visible to the eye but he sure feels it when he walks or stands (see how he slightly leans to a side). Balding ? The poor guy had no luck, RIGHT before his wedding the barber didn't ger his request right and shaved the top of his head which he horrifically hid with his hat reassuring it would grow back anyway but he died hours later and so is forever a bald ghost

Emily is au naturel for her wedding and as a ghost, used to HC because she wanted to but now I think it would make a cute and fun parralel she and Hattie would laugh off if she too had gotten unlucky right before the ceremony and her boudoir and all the products on and in it collapsed under the weight of a big crate Little Leota carelessly put on it "of course you need all these jewels" *bam* *CRASH* "..."

Always drew a face to Emily despite being in my HC the faceless Bright Eyes bride using the excuse the animatronic did have traits in the light of day. But I am actually starting to get very attached to her truly be faceless and considering it, tell me what I should do (and how kisses and eating would work)

Used to imagine Little Leota died by climbing a tree branch to see Emily's train departure better and falling down a river and drowning. Now I see her going up the attic and leaning too much over the window, slipping, falling and dying. Nobody would notice since all would be partying inside the house, only Madame Leota would realize right before dying herself overwhelmed by ghostly energies (all these tragic deaths coinciding in that small aera caused a sort of of paranormal short circuit in her magic ball that snatched her life away too, like in my old HC, but now in my old HC I leave it ambiguous if that truly was what killed her or the grieving shocking knowledge through her divination gift her daughter had died like all these deaths that same night and that caused the short circuit)

Also I read on TV Tropes Madame Pandora actually CAN materialize outside of her ball fullbody and all but just chooses to be inside it most of the time because it is her comfort zone. That's funny and cute and I did always see her super introverted especially with everything that happened to her so I accept it

Madame Leota and her daughter Little Leota randomly lived in the mansion in my old HC because she offered frequent divinations in exchange for being accomodated she and her baby daughter now she was freshly widowed and homeless. Now in my new HC inspired by a bit of one of the canon lores (again there are so many no wonder fans give up and just take pieces here and there to build their own fanon lol) she and her baby daughter had to run away from place to place for being "witches" until Master Gracey the Ghost Host/Vincent Gracey took pity and allowed them in against Constance's wish, and so it is a thanks Madame Leota offers divinations and helped the family that was starting to get low on money redo their wealth. Also stopped that weird idea I had of the Ghost Host being a creep on a grown Little Leota ew wtf was my younger self on

Used to imagine Emily's mother who died in childbirth would be named Elizabeth Henshaw like the bride in the movie but given how they had no common point married to a Gracey aside (and this time not even out of love at all but just arranged) and are not even of the same race, I scrapped it. I need to find her a name now

Used to imagine May and Victor were related to Phineas and that before himself died he was grieving his daughter and grandson who died in the swamp. That went nowhere so now I just see them as unrelated. Keeping him as the doctor of the town who already knew the Graceys before death though

I know Ezra is balding but using the excuse that his newest animatronic has more hair than before I will go with the "Dick Dastardly the 3rd" logic and have him have more hair he combs a bad way making him look like he's balding when he's not. Also enhances his attractiveness since I keep the HC he was a handsome lady's man in his lifetime

I used to imagine like a lot Master Gracey was the Master of the House, and thus despite being the middle child in my HC because I stupidly had their father prefer him over his own brother the Ghost Host. But not only was that forced family drama, I learnt "master" was just a title young upper men too young to be called sir since it does fit with I imagine him he was 18 when he died. So now the Ghost Host truly is the Master of the House from birthright after all, and not just because his brother died early

Speaking of Master Gracey, used to have him HC his ghost only looks like his final looks in his changing portrait without taking account of the middle looks. So now HC he actually shapeshifts too like the Phantom, or rather like Mélanie since it's only altering his OWN age and looks (young, old, corpse and skeleton) ; for indeed now Mélanie can do the same : young, old, corpse, skeleton. Maybe more age ranges too

Also hesitating in making him gay or bi

As you guys know I love to HC there are several Beating Heart Brides because I think every unique design is cool and reflects different personalities and that having to choose one would be a waste for me, and that Emily is the faceless Bright Eyes bride because she was one of the earliest if not THE earliest to some people who count that picture with an undetermined date as if it were a first or a concept and also because she's the one bride shown standing next to Hattie on the one piece of merchandise he is with a bride (COME ON SHE IS CANONICALLY HIS BRIDE ACCORDING TO A 1969 AUDIO WHY HAS THERE BEEN ONLY ONE FUCKING PIN SINCE 1969 THEN !?!). However I used not to count the Tokyo Bride and consider she looked too much like the middle Baby Face blue bride and that she just was her with her veil down. SUMIMASEN NANI THE FUCK How did I ever think they ever looked alike and could be one and only person !? Baby Face as her name says looks the youngest of the brides and innocent where the Tokyo Bride not only doesn't have the same face structure and hair at all she has a very mischievous smirk making her look everything but innocent. Given how the imagineers originally wanted the bride as evil until the following years made her tragical and sympathetic until Constance came along, I now officially adopt the Tokyo Bride as her own person in my fanon cast and make her a black widow just like Constance. Let us say she just arrived to the Haunted Mansion later like 1983, and that her name is Priscilla Emily Boogeyman Voodoo Gore Cavanaugh De Claire Meaker born Vampire, who lived inna similar lifestyle as the Addams Family (reminder I HC it's the same universe), 5 husbands she killed and one who actually killed because he was Mr Meaker (she was the one he killed before he ran away to that one train and killed Hattie and Emily in the process) which actually did break her heart since for the first time she was marrying out of love and willing to put her greed and murderous needs aside. But as betrayed as she was and resulting in her to travel to Tokyo to be depressed and alone there (being half Japanese she wanted to stay in the family home forever to be sad there far from America ; plus since it was a sort of Addams Family place they were okay with seeing her again as a ghost "aw sweetie look what happened to you you should have waited for them all to die out instead of offering them their ggist shapes so early as kind of you it was-" "shut up you mix up everythting"), she got better and decided to start anew by travelling back to that town back to her mischievous self and found shelter in that Haunted Mansion with other Beating Heart Brides like her. After all she, is evil only if you marry her and are a walking wallet to her eyes, she is not the friendliest and is creepy and sadistic in her humor and morals but she is an okay buddy, it's just she was raised into knowing murder and death are alright since well extreme goth aesthetic. When Emily's aunt Constance would have to move in with them in 2006 because her own house got destroyed to build a hotel, they both were cold at first to have to "live" with another black widow because it is THEIR gig, but they got better with time. And in faaaaaact I am tempted to ship them lol

Hesitating in making Constance a closetted lesbian hence why she could never ever get attached to any man and just see them as walking wallets whose access was unlocked through murder

If you guys remember my headcanon for the Spinster Bride, I had her be enthusiastic over finally getting married and she was killed by Mr Meaker on their wedding night because she was a rich cabaret owner and she was the one he killed before killing Emily and Hattie. Nope now in my new version of the story she never met Mr Meaker, and on the contrary she was a voluntary spinster because she always rejected her suitors her mother brought her because they were a rich family abd she only wanted to do sssssCANdalous business with her cabaret, therefore bringing shame to the family by getting old and not getting married and doing an unholy job ! So when she was in her late 40's someone, Mr Roberts, finally accepted to marry her again after years of suitor silence, her old mother grew hopeful again and seeing how old her mother was getting the Spinster Bride (reminder I also call her Victoria Ramsley or (H)Auntie Vicky) sighed and accepted. However her will for freedom during the ceremony took over and she said "I don't". That was the LAST straw for her mother who couldn't take any more rebellion and humiliation and grabbed a big candelabra and stabbed her here and there on the altar in a fit of madness

Also decided to rename the Corpse bride and the Baby Face bride I used to respectively call Emilia Cavanaugh and Alice Cavanaugh. Now I call them respectively Emily Sarah "Sal/Sally" (she never liked her first name and that helps since now she haunts with an Emily) Little and Emilia Alice "Millie" (that way I use her 2 fan names) Little. I give Sal's (new nickname she used to differentiate herself from Sally Meaker) boyfriend and fiancé the name John O'Hannon and her and Millie's cruel heartless father (reminder he didn't five a fuck about them, engaged Sal or back then "Emilia" to an old man but she eloped to marry her fiancé, upon finding out the father just decided he would marry Millie or back then "Alice" instead ; Millie commited suicide stabbing herself before the ceremony and meanwhile the old fiancé was mad the first girl would cheat him so he followed her to her secret ceremony shot her an arrow during it) Caleb Little, and the old fiancé and murderer Mr Gorelieu

Used to HC the changing portraits were ghosts of people who would look like a gorgon, a panther etc but nah now it's just the portraits changing out of alteration. Pluuus maybe instead of being ghosts they could be monsters, I hesitate in putting monsters and zombies (like the claustrophobic coffin man) on top or the 999 happy haunts since now I see it as the same universe as Petit Vampire and Addams Family where all these creatures exist

Used to headcanon there was Heaven and Hell. Now I leave it ambiguous, there just is an afterlife. Also had that it was just out of pure fate that some didn't join but remained in Earth as ghosts. Now since I make it fit the Petit Vampire movie continuity I apply its same lore that you become undead if you had gone through pain in all meanings of the term. And it does fit the HM ghosts too

Will see what I can do more but if you guys want more details, ask me !

[amorremanet]

Personally I don't think the young actors will have much screen time in Fantastic Beasts. Young Gellert, Albus, Newt & Leta are all heavily loaded characters, so Warner Bros is not going to cast someone with no prior acting experience and give them a big role in the film(s). If Rowling had gone into detail with the characters' past, I'm sure there'd have been an audition, not a casting call. Now all you have to do is submit your photo and they'll call you back if you look like the

characters enough. Perhaps the young actors will appear in short flashbacks (like the Marauders and Lily) or on photographs only. What do you think?

*shrugs* I haven’t actually thought about it in near as much detail as you have, nonny. I saw a question about why Toby Regbo and Jamie Campbell-Bower might not get asked back (it popped up on my dash while I was taking a chill break from working, because I still track the Grindeldore tag), and chimed in to suggest that:

a. they might be busy, since both of them already have their careers and don’t really need bit parts in Harry Potter stuff anymore,

and b. they’re probably too old to play teenagers, especially since they’d have to do so as counterparts to Jude Law and The Thing That Should Not Be Anywhere Near Harry Potter Anything (though if he just never worked again, ever, that would be cool, too)

—all of which took about five minutes to type up, and less time to think of, since it’s all pretty generic surface-level stuff

Personally, I’m probably not even going to see Fantastic Beasts 2 unless I get some kind of definite confirmation that they’re not jerking me around and, at the very least, Albus is for sure definitely gay. Not, “oh, it’s kind of implied, you could totally read it that way,” not, “oh, he made eye contact with a dude in some dance scene and fawned all over a straight dudebro (I say, pointedly looking askance at the live-action Beauty and the Beast),” not, “Jude Law worked it into how he played Albus, even if it’s not actually said out loud” (while I would appreciate the work on his part, it’s 2017 and I’ve still seen people try to go, “Well it wasn’t in the books, so Dumbledore doesn’t need to be gay,” and I don’t want them to have any room to keep doing that), and not, “well, JKR confirmed it at Carnegie Hall in 2007, what more do you want from her” (idk, some actual in-text representation before she tries to grub for Good Ally Cookies™? that would be a start)

—because, I mean. I haven’t even seen the first one yet (like, it looked like it could be interesting and I thought about it, but then it turned out that He Who I Refuse to Name Not Out Of Fear But Out Of Loathing was not just in the movie, he was also playing Gellert, so there went my desire to go watch Colin Farrell apparently do a pretty good job, only to be superseded in the end by I Only Hate Him So Much Because I Used To Love Him And Then Learned What A Shitty Person He Is Over A Period Of Several Years, Through Myriad Incidents, And Yeah No, I’m Done With Him), and unless Albus being gay is actually going to be in the movie……… eh.

Basically, while I am grateful to JKR for a lot of things and can say that her books (and their fandom) saved my life more than once, I’m also pretty fed up with her consistent casual homophobia and don’t think I can really be bothered to care that much about Fantastic Beasts 2 unless she does the barest of all possible minimums and has actual in-text acknowledgment of Albus as a gay man