#if you truly believe in representation then understand that it's more than just being seen. it's about being heard too!!

[remnants]

franklin armstrong walked for 56 years and is only just now getting his flowers. 56 years. the fact that y'all would sooner let the same thing happen to duke thomas than respect the characterization he's already been given is sick. It's laid out in ink and color for all to see and you still avert your eyes. that you would demote him to straightman for the sake of white comfort is shameful. franklin armstrong walked for 56 years, and you would have duke do the same?

[inhonoredglory]

Aziraphale’s Choice, the Job Connection, and Michael Sheen’s Morality

Update: Michael Sheen liked this post on Twitter, so I'm fairly certain there is a lot of validity to it.

I’ve had time to process Aziraphale’s choice at the end of Season 2. And I think only blaming the religious trauma misses something important in Aziraphale’s character. I think what happened was also Aziraphale’s own conscious choice––as a growth from his trauma, in fact. Hear me out.

Since November 2022 I’ve been haunted by something Michael Sheen said at the MCM London Comic Con. At the Q&A, someone asked him about which fantasy creature he enjoyed playing most and Michael (bless him, truly) veered on a tangent about angels and goodness and how, specifically,

We as a society tend to sort of undervalue goodness. It’s sort of seen as sort of somehow weak and a bit nimby and “oh it’s nice.” And I think to be good takes enormous reserves of courage and stamina. I mean, you have to look the dark in the face to be truly good and to be truly of the light…. The idea that goodness is somehow lesser and less interesting and not as kind of muscular and as passionate and as fierce as evil somehow and darkness, I think is nonsense. The idea of being able to portray an angel, a being of love. I love seeing the things people have put online about angels being ferocious creatures, and I love that. I think that’s a really good representation of what goodness can be, what it should be, I suppose.

I was looking forward to BAMF!Aziraphale all season long, and I think that’s what we got in the end. Remember Neil said that the Job minisode was important for Aziraphale’s story. Remember how Aziraphale sat on that rock and reconciled to himself that he MUST go to Hell, because he lied and thwarted the will of God. He believed that––truly, honestly, with the faith of a child, but the bravery of a soldier.

Aziraphale, a being of love with more goodness than all of Heaven combined, believed he needed to walk through the Gates of Hell because it was the Right Thing to do. (Like Job, he didn’t understand his sin but believed he needed to sacrifice his happiness to do the Right Thing.)

That’s why we saw Aziraphale as a soldier this season: the bookshop battle, the halo. But yes, the ending as well.

Because Aziraphale never wanted to go to Heaven, and he never wanted to go there without Crowley.

But it was Crowley who taught him that he could, even SHOULD, act when his moral heart told him something was wrong. While Crowley was willing to run away and let the world burn, it was Aziraphale (in that bandstand at the end of the world) who stood his ground and said No. We can make a difference. We can save everyone.

And Aziraphale knew he could not give up the ace up his sleeve (his position as an angel) to talk to God and make them see the truth in his heart.

I was messed up by Ineffable Bureaucracy (Boxfly) getting their happy ending when our Ineffable Husbands didn’t, but I see now that them running away served to prove something to Aziraphale. (And I am fully convinced that Gabriel and Beelzebub saw the example of the Ineffables at the Not-pocalypse and took inspiration from them for choosing to ditch their respective sides)

But my point is that Aziraphale saw them, and in some ways, they looked like him and Crowley. And he saw how Gabriel, the biggest bully in Heaven, was also like him in a way (a being capable of love) and also just a child when he wasn’t influenced by the poison of Heaven. Muriel, too, wasn’t a bad person. The Metatron also seemed to have grown more flexible with his morality (from Aziraphale's perspective). Like Earth, Heaven was shades of (light?) gray.

Aziraphale is too good an angel not to believe in hope. Or forgiveness (something he’s very good at it).

Aziraphale has been scarred by Heaven all his life. But with the cracks in Heaven’s armor (cracks he and Crowley helped create), Aziraphale is seeing something else. A chance to change them. They did terrible things to him, but he is better than them, and because of Crowley, he feels ready to face them.

(Will it work? Can Heaven change, institutionally? Probably not, but I can't blame Aziraphale for trying.)

At the cafe, the Metatron said something big was coming in the Great Plan. Aziraphale knows how trapped he had felt when he didn’t have God’s ear the first time something huge happened in the Big Plan. He can’t take a chance again to risk the world by not having a foot in the door of Heaven. That’s why we saw individual human deaths (or the threat of death) so much more this season: Elspeth, Wee Morag, Job’s children, the 1940s magician. Aziraphale almost killed a child when he couldn’t get through to God, and he’s not going through that again.

“We could make a difference.” We could save everyone.

Remember what Michael Sheen said about courage and doing good––and having to “look the dark in the face to be truly good.” That’s what happened when Aziraphale was willing to go to Hell for his actions. That’s what happened when he decided he had to go to Heaven, where he had been abused and belittled and made to feel small. He decided to willingly go into the Lion’s Den, to face his abusers and his anxiety, to make them better so that they would not try to destroy the world again.

Him, just one angel. He needed Crowley to be there with him, to help him be brave, to ask the questions that Heaven needed to hear, to tell them God was wrong. Crowley is the inspiration that drives Aziraphale’s change, Crowley is the engine that fuels Aziraphale’s courage.

But then Crowley tells him that going to Heaven is stupid. That they don’t need Heaven. And he’s right. Aziraphale knows he’s right.

Aziraphale doesn’t need Heaven; Heaven needs him. They just don’t know how much they need him, or how much humanity needs him there, too. (If everyone who ran for office was corrupt, how can the system change?)

Terry Pratchett (in the Discworld book, Small Gods) is scathing of God, organized religion, and the corrupt people religion empowers, but he is sympathetic to the individual who has real, pure faith and a good heart. In fact, the everyman protagonist of Small Gods is a better person than the god he serves, and in the end, he ends up changing the church to be better, more open-minded, and more humanist than god could ever do alone.

Aziraphale is willing to go to the darkest places to do the Right Thing, and Heaven is no exception. When Crowley says that Heaven is toxic, that’s exactly why Aziraphale knows he needs to go there. “You’re exactly is different from my exactly.”

____

In the aftermath of Trump's election in the US, Brexit happened in 2018. Michael Sheen felt compelled to figure out what was going on in his country after this shock. But he was living in Los Angeles with Sarah Silverman at the time, and she also wanted to become more politically active in the US.

Sheen: “I felt a responsibility to do something, but it [meant] coming back [to Britain] – which was difficult for us, because we were very important to each other. But we both acknowledge that each of us had to do what we needed to do.” In the end, they split up and Michael moved back to the UK.

Sometimes doing the Right Thing means sacrificing your own happiness. Sometimes it means going to Hell. Sometimes it means going to Heaven. Sometimes it means losing a relationship.

And that’s why what happened in the end was so difficult for Aziraphale. Because he loves Crowley desperately. He wants to be together. He wanted that kiss for thousands of years. He knows that taking command of Heaven means they would never again have to bow to the demands of a God they couldn’t understand, or run from a Hell who still came after them. They could change the rules of the game.

And he’s still going to do that. But it hurts him that he has to do that alone.

[tempestgnostic]

Cultivating Authenticity in the Community Garden

A whole world of possibility opened up for me years ago when I realized that alterhuman/nonhuman identity isn’t solely one experience. You don’t have to believe in past lives. You don’t need to go through shifts. If you don’t have a visual representation of your alt/non identity, that’s alright. Our experiences are broader than that, and we need to encourage others to understand and affirm this, so we can encourage authenticity and learn about different paths to this identity that still hold the core of what it means to be alt/non.

I believe conceptkin truly changed the game for our community in a profound way. Here we see folks who possess very strong and impactful connections to abstract concepts, to the extent that they are these concepts, just as I am the archetypal werewolf. I see little difference between our experiences in general. I don’t personally believe my identity comes from a past life, and I only have the fuzziest ideas about what I would look like if I could physically represent myself accurately. This isn’t uncommon in the broader alt/non community, but it seems to be an experience shared by many conceptkin in particular.

Archetropes are another excellent example. We’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what being alt/non is for us, in order to explain ourselves more accurately and hopefully pave the way for others to do the same. Our community thrives when we take the anthropological approach: we start from the assumption that others want to represent their beliefs and experiences honestly. We keep in mind the limitations of language, as well as the accepted norms of our community that often dissuade ‘fringe’ belief. The truth is that our experiences are fundamentally real and ultimately valuable to understanding who we are.

If we want to truly encourage authenticity in the alt/non community, we must cultivate a hungry curiosity. We must learn to parse out what is truth and what is trolling, but also to give that initial benefit of the doubt, however briefly. We must recognize that we don’t all speak the same language, nor do we all agree on which terms mean what, and many of us have only been exposed to bits and pieces of the whole. We all make mistakes that require prompt correction, but we should approach that correction with some level of grace. Community-wide understanding is not instantaneous—far from it. Our work must be painfully collaborative.

None of what I’m saying here is new or revolutionary, by any stretch. Our community has decades of history, kept alive and accessible by amazing community members who have dedicated an incredible amount of time and energy to doing so. I repeat these sentiments because they bear repeating. I’m a big fan of the “Holy shit! Two cakes!” philosophy, and if my perspective can offer something insightful, then I’m happy to share it. (Hell, I’ll share it anyways.)

I have been welcomed into this community with open arms (and open limbs and wings of all kinds). I’ve had the pleasure of meeting fellow community members offline, and discussing our alt/non identities in meatspace has been a joy that’s wholly indescribable. I’ve never felt so seen, so profoundly understood, and I consider it a fine blessing to have found my way here.

[chronicbeans]

Romantic Wally Darling with an Aro/Ace Reader Headcanons:

TW: None

The aro/ace community needs more representation omg. I did my best, but since it is a bit of a spectrum, this might not be representative of everybody!

🌹 You, most likely, recently moved into the neighborhood. I believe Wally knows everything about everyone in the neighborhood, so for him to not know much about you, you HAVE to be a recent addition. He's like that nosey neighbor, but instead of it being for a negative reason like suspicion or whatever, he is just childishly curious about others. Especially when it comes to new people, too! He has a bit of trouble understanding a person's boundaries when it comes to meeting someone for the first time.

🌹 When he saw you move in, it was like love at first sight for him! He truly believes that love at first sight is a thing, especially because of all the books he's read. Many of them include love at first sight, with their explanations of how it feels being exactly like what he feels right now! He immediately gets a bunch of flowers and treats to gift to you. He is a bit confused by the slightly uncomfortable look you gave him, but he just chalks it up to the two of you only recently meeting. So, he plays it off as a welcome gift.

🌹 As it goes on, you begin to try to figure out how exactly to break the news to him. It is EXTREMELY obvious that he has some sort of crush on you. The amount of times he has given you roses, candies, and love notes from "secret admirer" that is so clearly his handwriting is telling. The most confusing part is trying to make sure he doesn't cry or anything from believing he has made you uncomfortable or unwelcomed in anyway, and to make sure he understands that you understand he meant no harm.

🌹 You decide to ask Eddie for help, seeing if he can give you any advice. He knows Wally better than you do, after all. The best advice he gives you is to just be honest with him, since he loves to learn. He even explains his own situation when he explained that he and Frank were getting married. Wally was a bit confused, but immediately accepting of the situation. He just never heard of such a thing before.

🌹 So, you take a deep breath, before marching over to Home to visit Wally. When he answers the door, he opens it with wide, excited eyes, practically bouncing up and down with joy. You take a deep breath, again, before saying "Can we talk? Maybe over some snacks?"

🌹 Sitting him down, you begin to explain the situation. He asks a bunch of questions, such as "So... no romantic feelings? At all?" "Yes, none at all. It isn't just you, so don't take it personally." "Okay... did I make you uncomfortable?" "A little, but I know you didn't mean to and didn't know. I don't blame you." "Oh... okay..."

🌹 He is... unusually quiet. Then again, you have never seen Wally when he is learning something. However, he keeps asking small questions. What are you comfortable with? What about his actions made you uncomfortable? Was it the romantic intentions behind doing it, or was it the fact that the action itself is seen as romantic by society? Wait... how the heck does he know something like societal standards-

🌹 You quickly learn that Wally is a lot smarter than he looks when it comes to socialization. He might act a little strange to some, but he clearly knows about things like social stigmas, societal norms, and the likes. He just doesn't seem to care about conforming to them. Which, from what you can tell, makes him much more accepting of different people with a wide range of personalities, backgrounds, and identities.

🌹 He has this strange way of understanding not understanding. As much as he wants to know what it is like to be you, understand everything about you, and know exactly how you feel, he can't. He knows he can't because he isn't you. So, he just accepts that identifying the way you do makes you happy, explains who you are the best way that you can, and allows him to have a slightly more clear view of your boundaries. It makes you comfortable, which is something he would never dream of taking away or invalidating. In a way, you are a lot like Eddie! Someone he didn't understand at first, but now has a clearer picture of. Same with Poppy and Frank, too!

🌹 Depending on your comfort range with romantic actions, the two of you could become queerplatonic friends, acting in ways seen as romantic by most while the relationship is explicitly platonic. Or, if you are not comfortable with that, it is perfectly fine to Wally. Wally is content with just being friends in general. He might be a little disappointed, but after some thought, love at first sight could just be... Well, love at first sight! Love doesn't have to mean romantic love! Love could be platonic, romantic, loving a food, activity... Whatever! So if him loving you at first sight means that you were destined to be the best of friends, he is completely content with that.

[puppyvenom]

crutchie - akb vs matthew duckett !!!!

alternatively titled - cast disabled people jesus christ

listen i am having so many thoughts and feelings about crutchie and at the risk of annoying the fuck out of my partner i am putting them on here instead!

prefacing this by saying:

i do not speak for all cripples

matthew’s duckett was my first real introduction to crutch and yes i am probably biased because of it (because matthew was an absolute sweetie when i met him)

i do not actually hate AKB as much as i dislike his crutchie

★

i think the main problem i have with his crutchie (and i understand that it is not entirely his fault at all!!!!) is that it’s so sanitised in so many ways. it is so of its time and not really in a good way, it came about in a period where representation wasn’t a big focus and i very much understand that, but i also hate it.

it’s so easy for disabled characters to fall into this weird ,sanitised, almost infantilising position, where their struggles are shown (abuse from the delanceys that was directly because of his disability, the fact he’s more likely to be put in the refuge because he’s seen as ‘weak’), but they’re bound by this kind of happy-go-lucky persona where they don’t show any real anger or upset. it’s fuelled by the abled need to see disabled characters as some sort of inspiration porn. “he’s crippled but look how happy he is despite that!!!!!! if he can do it i can too!!” he has this air of innocence and can-do-no-wrong that kinda falls a little flat compared to all his friends of the same age, and whilst this wouldn’t be a problem in itself, it fits a repeating pattern of the innocent, docile physically disabled person that is shown so much.

i loved matthew’s crutchie so much because he was so much more than that. he was happy, he was kind and an big laugh, but he didn’t shy away from being truly angry or scared (in the finale when he is brought back and cuffs snyder) and he was still a bit of a dick, he felt a lot more like he truly belonged. one of my favourite examples is at the start of the show the first time we see katherine, he helps one of the boys (i can’t remember which one) steal something from darcy and keeps it on him through the rest of the show. he’s as playful and annoying as the rest of them, shooting paper balls at them with his slingshot (especially during the finale, i love him so much for that). he has an attitude. he has the energy of a boy who was raised on the streets and knows what the fuck is what.

and thats what i think changes him the most for me. it’s all the same script (?) but it’s all so different when you think about how smart crutch actually is. i think the biggest change is my idea of him specifically when he’s being so nice to weasel at the beginning, when all the boys are being annoying and dicks, crutchie is so sweet. i don’t believe he’s doing that because he’s just such a nice guy who can look past weisel and the delancey’s being assholes to them, i think he realised quickly how to play the game. he’s gonna get sympathy, he knows that, and he knows if he acts all innocent and is overly kind, that they’ll somewhat pity him and he can use that to his advantage.

i hate being pitied by most people, i hate being looked at differently, like i’m almost helpless. but i also know how to use it to help myself, i know when i can play the poor little cripple card to my advantage. and i fully believe crutch does the same.

edited to add because i forgot to add this entire section in sorry!!

when i say sanitised i also mean literally. as in they made him cleaner. specifically in the finale again when he’s brought back from the refuge, broadway crutch looks way too clean. he’s a little bashed up but he’s not dirty. he doesn’t look like he’s been battered and then subjected to awful conditions. it takes away the impact of his time at the refuge. when he got back in the uk production they actively were disgusted by how much he smelled, because he’d just got out of a place where he couldn’t look after himself for a multitude of reasons. he suffered in there, mentally and physically, and in more ways than one. he was not given nice clean clothes and a pat on the back, he was taken out and put right back into the mess without much time to check himself over, without any time to process or heal.

i just think it has a much bigger impact when you can see, from his actual appearance and the other guys’ reactions, how much he actually struggled in there. they were glad to have him back of course, but it really drove home the point of how badly it affected him.

and once again in that scene, you could see the fear on his face and the anger when he faced snyder and when he made a move at him. he was fucking scared of the man that had subjected him to all of that. even when he was being a little goofy and put on the hat to handcuff him, there was still that fear, and there was evidence to why.

(end of edit)

but like i said, i don’t think it is entirely akb’s fault or his intention, he almost definitely wasn’t aware of the way it came off and how it perpetuates stereotypes. but it’s just another reason why giving disabled roles to disabled people is so important. plus we know how to use mobility aids properly

★

shoutout to my beloved partner who proof reads my shit and also is the reason i am into newsies . thank u babie @fizzloves-blog <3

[velvet-vox]

All of the points that go in favour/against Doll coming back to life.

So, originally, I wanted to make a post of theory/analysis on Cyn and the possibility of her being redeemed at the end of the show; one of the points that I was going to make for said redemption was that Doll's death was meant as a cautionary tale, the main team of the series is abuse and how trauma affects us into becoming the worst version of ourselves, Doll was a trauma victim who was so dead set in her unhealthy coping mechanism that she ended screwing over her entire life, granted said redemption for Doll wasn't unreachable as showcased by her last living moments, but by then the damage was done; Cyn, on the other hand, could have potentially realised all of the harm she was doing even as far back as before the gala massacre, but then, it kind of reminded me why I ended up never making that post.

You see, the thing is, I don't understand Cyn.

At all.

Like, I also for the longest time couldn't understand Doll despite being hyper obsessed with her, and took over a year, countless analyses done by other people and (unfortunately) episode 7 until I could finally come to understand her to the deep, narrative level that I do now, and I still don't know if I truly got everything.

But with Cyn, not only do I not understand her like I do with other characters, but..... I also kind of feel left out.

To me, it seems like the fanbase at large is obsessed with this little gremlin; I'm autistic as well, since that's the main head canon floating around, yet I don't really relate to a word she says, to me, the hype surrounding Cyn feels similar to the hype surrounding Nori pre episode 7: we have this almost blank slate character that is characterized enough to not be an head canon dump, she is super relevant to both the plot and to one of the protagonist backstory, it's one of the main antagonistic forces, and is generally super important.... Yet I still don't get her nor do I get her surrounding hype. I've read a couple of analyses, and would gladly accept if someone sent me some more, since just a single Murder Drones character requires a lot of digging to fully comprehend in its entirety.

But finally going back to Doll, I want to make a short list of all the points in favour and against a possible resurrection of her character, starting with the pros.

Pros:

- Doll is definitely a big selling point for the russian audience of Murder drones, as I have seen various people lament her death on the fact that she was russian alone; funnily enough, this was also my main reasoning to not kill her off as I and other people started learning russian all because of her.

- Gonna reiterate the fact that Doll is, currently, peak russian representation, and it just feels rather insensitive from Liam to kill her off permanently when there's already Yeva and her dad, two russians, whose death is much more acceptable.

- Doll, unlike Alice, Beau, Rebecca or others, had so much potential as a character, being Uzi's foil and all, and to not capitalize on that would be a huge waste.

- Her death, although very impactful, was not, per se, as narratively satisfying as it could have been (see Nox from Wakfu), so it might've been a mislead, and if V comes back, there's a chance Doll might come back too since Doll x V is the parallel dynamic to Uzi x N.

- Gonna mention personal bias. It's not important nor is it a valid point but it had to be mentioned.

- Doll parents are already dead but we had a whole Yeva flashback in episode 7 that I can't explain in ways other than she'll be relevant in the future, and if she turns out to be alive, even if mind controlled, Doll's death is inevitably going to lose a lot of impact because, as it stands, it's balanced, but with the twist, it could retroactively feel like drama porn.

- She wasn't unreademable, just unreachable and deeply hurt, if she had a second chance to make up for her mistakes I believe she would take it in a heartbeat, I can only imagine the immense amount of guilt she was feeling while dying, she must've realised she only caused more damage in the long run and couldn't do anything to fix it, so if she could help Uzi out even as a digital ghost, it might just give her the sense of closure she so desperately needed.

- If Nori can come back as a core, so can Doll, they just need to cut Cyn stomach in a non lethal way.

And now, for the sadly more probable cons:

- This is Liam Vickers we are talking about.

- Even with all of her potential, hers and her family backstory feel rather.... disconnected from everything else going on right now? Like, Yeva might have been this important figure into Nori's past, but as of right now, aside from her impact, she really doesn't seem too relevant to the main plot; same thing with Doll, in fact, it was Doll's own insistence to be relevant that led to her demise, because, despite everything, the story revolves around N and Uzi manages to survive because she is important to N, and even then, she still sacrifices her own life for him.

- The narrative has always been pretty disrespectful to her? Like, I'm not talking about her sad backstory, sad development, and even sadder death, (this master guide over here realistically had no end in sight as you could just go on and on forever) I mean in general there was a clear lack of commitment to her side of things from the writing team, I think I've read somewhere else that in the original animation Uzi even walked on Doll's body as she was running to N; many theorised that they only came up with her story only after the pilot dropped, and I can't help but think that it has to be true because she had this air of mystery that in my opinion went anywhere and in the pilot she's a background character. I don't know, from a supposedly sympathetic villain the writing was rather unsympathetic towards her whole situation and she felt more like your average b##ch in the episodes following the prom.

- She still fulfilled her limited narrative role, so changing it back could alter future developments and remove impact from the tragedy of this cautionary tale, since, in all honesty, Doll's side story would require the show to switch off the plot too much and unfortunately that's never been a priority for the writing team. Also bringing back up Nox from Wakfu (still gonna make that comparison post) whose Doll shares some themes with, even though his personal story was extremely tragic, it was extremely disconnected from all of the main characters as he was more of a warmup baddie for Yugo to get in the groove, and he never returned physically aside from passive mentions and an illusion.

- I don't think they went out of the way to showcase Cyn eating Doll's core just for it to be a fake out.

- Even with all of my personal biases, aside from her starring episode she never had a real purpose in the grand scheme of things so her death was probably just a way to cut off loose ends.

- She isn't a protagonist despite what she deluded herself into, so plot armour applies even less to her than it does with the main trio (spoiler: it doesn't).

Ultimately, in my heart and mind, despite what I really want, I know Doll's not coming back.

She was disrespected, screwed over by both the writing and her own twisted mind, and since this is a somewhat heavy horror show despite the comedy, I really don't think we are going to see her reunited with her parents as a ghost nor will she be in robot hell or heaven, I really think she is just dead.

That's so sad. What a shame.

Farewell, comrade.

Want more?

[gemstarstarlight]

IDK if you've seen Crown of Candy yet, but it's treatment of Not-Christianity is much better even if ultimately still negatively-oriented. It's more centered around the historical institution with Not-God being more of a force than a sapient being, and the pagan representation turns out to be sinister so it's consistent in not endorsing any strain of divinity in particular. Ravening War likewise does some interesting stuff with church-drama that doesn't cast genuine faith in a bad light.

I have watched both of those and I agree with you! It’s definitely a bit better because of all of that. It’s also more my genre anyway, which made it more fun.

It’s so tricky because there’s truth in both Comida and Fantasy High’s depiction of religion. I’ve met the Bobby Dawns and read up on the Belisabeth Brassicas. I understand that God can feel distant, like a force and nothing more. I am so angry and grieved at the damage the church has done to people. Any time there is a grasp for power or a putting down of others or another goddamned cult I want to just cry because this isn’t what it’s supposed to be and it’s horrible to just watch. Also I do believe that as much as possible there shouldn’t be an endorsement of one religion over another in entertainment, so not endorsing any particular religion in Dimension 20 is good.

But I feel such a connection with characters like Sir Morris Brie. Because I’m a Bible-believing Bulbian. I’ve studied my god and I’ve also met him. And he’s not like Helio at all. He loves me. Has always loved me. Has always wanted what was best for me. Has grieved with me when I’ve lost everything in little ways over and over again. Has been my father and friend when I haven’t been able to trust one and didn’t know how to have the other. And I’ve been able to trust the Bible over and over again even if I haven’t always agreed or understood.

And it’s just never represented. D&D has always felt like the closest thing to representation for me, as a Bible-believing queer person. And Dimension 20 (again, understandably, it sounds like Ally’s experience was awful and part of healing has been leaving) rarely if ever portrays someone with genuine faith in a Christian-esque god. Or if they do, it’s portrayed as toxic or ill-informed. And that sucks, frankly.

I get it, I truly do. No one gets more irritated than I do at bigoted ignorant Christians and I will fully doxx myself by saying I have been to the American South and I would NEVER live there willingly because of the culture.

But I tend to listen to the more neutral Dimension 20 campaigns. It took me so long to try A Crown of Candy. Because I don’t just respect my religion; I love my God. And I hate to see the slander, especially because some of it is true and even more especially because some of it is not.

[orionsangel86]

I would like to hear your GOmens opinions! I feel like the fandom is a mix of reasonable and bathshit dumb opinions.

Oh nonny I don't know if you truly do! My opinions are controversial at minimum and likely to get me cancelled by GO fandom at most!

*deep breath* Okay you asked for it. Don't come at me when you don't like what I have said.

I'll put this under a cut cos it'll no doubt get long and ranty and look fair warning to anyone clicking read more, these are JUST one person's opinions. We can disagree on those things. I'm not going around screaming at people that they are wrong and I've kept this all very close to my chest for a very long time now. So please take that with a pinch of salt before you decide to read my rant.

*sigh* this is probably a bad idea but here goes...

The thing is, I love analysing TV and film and literature, and I take an analytical view of things where I try to set myself apart as much as possible from the highly emotional volatile fandom response. (I dont always succeed in this but I try).

One thing I always stress is that characters in TV shows or movies are *not real people* and therefore you can't apply real people sensitivities to them. They are instead frankenstein mixes of what the creative team wants them to be, and every little decision about the characters is carefully thought out. Intention and interpretation matters. My view on a character is not an invalidation of a real persons identity. If I say a character is not X, that does not mean I think that real people who are X are not valid, or that I don't believe in their real life identity. Is this all clear so far? Okay.

Representation also matters and I have seen Good Omens fandom tie themselves up in a frenzie of policing fans and call out posts accusing anyone who wants more from AziraCrows relationship a whole multitude of x-phobics depending on the buzzword of the day. To the point that these fans have convinced themselves that a kiss or love declaration or ANYTHING from AziraCrow that would be considered more explicit than what we got in Season 1 is something they DON'T want because somehow that would take away from the *x-identity rep* theyve decided to claim as canon. But sadly these fans have rather deluded themselves because none of those identities are *canon* in season 1. Even the claims that AziraCrow are gender non conforming non binary etc are not *canon* because *canon* means that any dumbass regular audience member could watch the thing and say "oh. That character is x". Yes Crowley is Nanny Asteroth for a time, but a general audience is just going to view that as male Crowley in drag. Sorry but its the truth. They see David Tennant playing Crowley, they see a male actor playing Crowley, they are gonna view Crowley as a male. Unless it is textually stated by Crowley that he isn't male, then they aren't gonna get it and it isn't the rep you want it to be, because representation should mean that everyone ELSE also notices and learns to understand about those marginalised identities.

Take Sandman. Very gay. Very very gay. So gay that people from the dumbass general audience (the DGA going forward) went online to complain about it being gay because the gay was so very obvious to them, so obvious in fact they claimed *every* character in Sandman was gay and having gay sex and I'll be honest it left me rather disappointed when Morpheus didnt fuck Hob Gadlings brains out in episode 6 like he clearly wanted to, but I digress.

Take OFMD, Jim is a canonical non binary character and the show makes this clear in the canon text without ever having Jim say they are "non binary" or have the clumsy awkward explanation that is clearly for the DGA about it, but instead the conversation flows naturally - are you a woman? I don't know. Are you a man? I don't know. I'm just Jim. Okay Just Jim. We will refer to you by they/them pronouns now. It's all cool.

But Crowley and Aziraphale are characters played by male actors who always use he/him pronouns. Even as Nanny Asteroth no one ever refers to the nanny as "she". So its not clear to the DGA. Them being asexual may be a valid headcanon, but its not canon if its never mentioned. If at some point someone said something to Zira about sex and he said "oh I don't go in for that sort of thing" then sure, that's got some canon merit to it, but otherwise Good Omens can NOT be applauded for being good asexual representation on television.

If your general audience of braindead heteronormative idiots isnt seeing it, its not technically canon. Its implied, subtextual, queer coded, hinted at, etc, but not *canon*. Its not gonna get a GLAAD nomination for representation and a bunch of queer journalists writing articles about it if its only *subtext*.

I don't recall any of the queer media people applauding Good Omens for being queer representation. I recall them all sort of scratching their heads being like "is it...?" and I recall a lot of people getting rather annoyed because NG took a stance online proclaiming that it was an obvious love story when really, from just watching the show... it kind of wasn't?

God this is gonna get me so much hate... *sigh* okay look. I adore season 1. I was totally with you guys celebrating how queer it all seemed to me and loving NGs responses on Twitter to anyone questioning the "friendship" between Az+Crow. I was also online getting wrapped up in the fandom echo chamber claiming it was 100% canon and anyone who didn't see it was a homophobic moron or whatever... yeah... but I've grown up a lot since 2019 surprisingly - the whole Destiel going "canon" and then getting shoved forcefully back into the metaphorical closet was a big eye opener and everything changed after November 5th 2020.

Suddenly, what Az+Crow had in season 1 wasn't enough anymore. It should never have been enough to begin with. I recall my very first watch and how I was seeing all the subtext and coding and clear romantic tropes build and build and then we got to that final scene in the ritz and all I wanted was for them to take each others hands, I watched with eager anticipation and... it didn't happen. I can vividly recall the disappointment I felt at that moment. I didn't need a kiss, or a declaration, but I wanted them to hold hands in that scene. They got so close! Zira leans in and places his hand on the table right by Crowley and my GOD it was like being edged without the pay off. I hated it. I HATED it because it would have been SO EASY but they didn't do it.

I also recall getting quietly annoyed at NG for claiming they held hands on the bus. I watched the slowed down zoomed in gifs of that moment and sorry, but no. They don't. Even if the actors actually DID hold hands, the camera doesn't pick it up clearly enough for it to mean a damn thing.

I totally understand people claiming that Az+Crow are already queer. It's totally valid to see yourself in them and want them to represent you. But the painful truth is that in season 1 of the show, they aren't anything of what you claim them to be. They are two characters who are male presenting who are very good friends to the point that its all a bit homoerotic. The DGA isn't gonna take any time to think about the complexities of angel and demon gender or the lack thereof, they are only gonna see two male actors playing said angel and demon. They aren't gonna think about you and your identity, and they aren't gonna pick up the subtext even if it is painfully obvious. Because they won't see it as gay unless it is explicitly gay.

But Saz, why should we care what the DGA thinks?

Because thats what this whole argument has always been about. Because that's what canon means. No one, not even the DGA are arguing today about whether or not Castiel is gay. No one in the DGA is arguing about Stede and Blackbeard, or Lucius. No one is arguing about the Corinthian or Johanna Constantine. They see that these characters are queer, they accept it. Simple. Because of this, it counts towards representation. Because it normalises our identities. By putting our identities into mainstream stories in such a way that they are unavoidable for the DGA, THAT is what representation is.

When characters and stories keep our identities buried in subtext and allusions and queer coding which quite frankly should have been left in the hays code era, it doesn't count towards representation, no matter what your fandom echo chamber may scream into the void. Or, for that matter, what your creator and fantasy genre author may claim in the void either.

Word of God may help us in a lot of ways, but if they aint putting it into the actual text, then word of god is meaningless in terms of representation as well. Disney claiming Valkyrie was bisexual doesn't mean a damn thing if she never discusses her bisexuality or has any scenes where she shows interest in the same sex. Thankfully that changed in the latest movie, but for a long time it was a problem.

Okay then. So what am I saying? Was NG queerbaiting us with AziraCrow in season 1?

No. Gods I hate that word. Queerbaiting is only occurring when the creators involved maliciously add queer subtext with the explicit intention of gaining popularity among queer audiences specifically with no intention to reward them by actually making those characters queer.

Now, I may not agree with people who claim Crowley and Aziraphale are explicitly queer in season 1, but I also don't think NG ever intended GO to be a queer show. He made GO to be a popular fantasy show as a last wish for his friend Terry Pratchet. He made it extremely faithful to the book in every way (in some ways, to the detriment of the show) and that includes keeping AziraCrows relationship in safe platonic territory. Yes he ramped up the romantic subtext, but I fully believe that this was because he had already decided he was going to further develop the story if season 1 was a hit, but I don't think for a second that he predicted that it would gain such massive traction in queer fandom circles.

No malicious intent to utilise the queer community, no queerbaiting. So lets just stamp down on that accusation once and for all. It's bullshit.

But that changes in season 2. So here is where I have been getting annoyed at GO fandom lately with all this "we don't need it to be explicit! A kiss would invalidate my identity! If they do anything it'll take away from ace rep! etc etc" SHUt UP!

Why do all these fans think kissing is something ace people don't do? Why would an innocent kiss invalidate ace rep? Are you HEARING YOURSELVES?! and okay, even if you are an ace person who does not ever kiss, are you so opposed to words of affirmation too? Are you a hater of love declarations now? Why is THAT such a terrible thing? You are deluding yourselves, and I get why. You are trying to protect yourselves from disappointment because you have spent 4 years screaming at people online and policing people who dare to say that AziraCrow aren't already canonically together and in love and have somehow tied your own identity into these characters to the point that you are frightened that season 2 might disprove your words and somehow invalidate your identity. Gods forbid if they DO kiss now you have lost the precious representation you claimed was so important to you right? But its NOT the case!

If nothing happens in GO S2 then it WOULD be queerbaiting. For the FIRST TIME. Because NG knows now how important AziraCrow's relationship is to the queer fans and he himself has been claiming its a love story for 4 years. If he didn't put his money where his mouth is and make them explicitly canonically queer and together in season 2 then I'm sorry but it would very much be queerbaiting. Keeping the loud queer fanbase on tenterhooks, getting them all excited so that GO trends on social media and then NOT following through? That's CLASSIC QUEERBAITING.

But NG isn't doing that. Because they are going to be together. Because it will be explicitly queer. Because even the trailer indicates this is the case. The season 1 GO trailer didn't include any of the romantic subtext if I recall correctly, it was solely promoted as a silly fantasy show. The season 2 trailer leans into the romance. It'll be explicitly clear - because I don't think NG is stupid enough to not go through with it. I understand why he didn't in season 1, there was a lot more at stake and he wanted to keep it totally 100% faithful to the book, but season 2 is a blank page, open book, nothing stopping it from happening. Plus, in 2023, in a post Destiel confession, post OFMD world, not going there would be just the most idiotic bad for business move the man could make.

So can GO fans please stop making bad faith arguments about why AziraCrow shouldn't be more explicitly together in season 2? Because I'll be honest, it is coming across less like you wanna protect the supposed "Ace representation" and more like maybe you are just uncomfortable with the idea of two middle aged male actors being physically intimate on screen.

Also if NG doesn't have the balls to go through with it, then can y'all please stop protecting him? I love the guy. I do. I think he is a talented genius who has done more for the fantasy genre than anyone else alive today. But gods, if he doesn't let AziraCrow at least confirm to themselves or other people that they have non platonic feelings for each other, in such a way that the DGA understands that this is a non platonic love story, then he deserves all the angry asks and queerbaiting accusations he will inevitably get. Personally, I don't think he's that dumb. So perhaps his fans can also have a bit more faith in him too.

**to anyone who may want to address the spoiler in this post, please don't. I am aware of it and have chosen in this ask to not acknowledge it so that all fans can read this, besides, the spoiler itself does not actually change anything I have mentioned here especially with some of the daft theories I have seen surrounding it.**

Okay I'm done. Rant over. Proceed to cancel me if you must.

[meraki-yao]

thank you so much for your reply <3 i think grief is a good word to describe what i'm feeling. it might sound silly to some but the book has been one of my favourites since 2019 and the 'what could have been?' aspect of the movie's promotion devastates me bc the crew and the fans deserved more. i think im also a bit terrified of ppl moving on from rwrb to nick's other projects meanwhile i can't (and don't want to) do it, ugh it's just a mess of weird feelings and sadness and longing for something we've never had. not to mention how some people already talk about his new projects being upgrades from rwrb. that hurts me on so many levels bc henry is a complex and beautiful character, rwrb is a wonderful story and i genuinely think that even with all the changes they created something amazing.

Glad I could help <3

It's not silly at all. I'm in a similar position: if you've followed my blog you might have seen this but long story short my irl life is a bit fucked up and I was really, really depressed. (still kinda am) July and August, waiting and watching RWRB release became the happiest I've been since January 2022, and in the following months RWRB and the fandom (well, and my sister) nearly became my sole reason for hanging on. So trust me when I say I get the feeling.

I understand your fear, and I'd be lying if I say I wasn't afraid that the rwrb tag will be full of George instead of Alex and Henry, but please remember that liking something new doesn't necessarily always lead to leaving the previous fandom: I know for a fact that me and a couple of my mutuals are going do both. We're gonna be happy to watch M&G (personally not interested in the idea of you but the same applies) but we're still going to make RWRB content. M&G will be a great show but it won't have nearly the same emotional weight to me as RWRB. It's been five months, so those of us who hang around and are active are active for a good reason.

As for the comments about "upgrade", that's ridiculous and a very surface-level assessment. One of my best friends is studying to become an actress and we talk about acting often. Here's the thing: there isn't a thing called "easy" acting. Every genre of acting has its own challenges: for comedy many times you need to sacrifice your personal dignity; Sci-fi blockbusters you need to interact with nothing and make it look believable; even for things like kid shows you need to be hyperactive so the kids can focus and find it entertaining, which can be so draining. M&G is a historical thriller, TIOY is a romance, and RWRB is a rom-com. These are three different film genres, and each set out to achieve different things. For example in terms of relationships: TIOY needs to make the romance believable, RWRB needs to make the romance believe, funny, and be a fair representation of a queer relationship, and for M&G if history serves there's no "true love" relationship at all. You're right: Henry's a complex and beautiful character, and Nick clearly put all his heart into him. But you cannot take Henry's layers of grief, love, fear, and self-esteem, and say it is lesser than Geroge's cold ambition. Funnily enough, while Henry is so careful with his power as the prince, George rose to the same if not a higher level of power and abused it so badly, that it caused his assassination and downfall. A well-written character is ultimately, a human being, and there isn't truly a human being who's "easy to be". So don't listen to those haters.

I'm all ears if you still want to talk <3

[hitchell-mope]

Phrases I think [tumblr] needs to learn.

They are. Temporal context. Periphery demographic. Queerbaiting. Collateral damage. Three of which a lot of people use incorrectly to their advantage. And another that I’m 90% sure they’re ignorant about the actual meaning of. So for the purposes of this post I’ll be listing them along with the meanings and some examples. Like so:

Temporal context. Understanding that when a show, film or book is made and/or set more often than not influences its contents. For example. Stranger things. Friends. Harry Potter. Original star trek. Classic doctor who. You cannot and should not approach these with a 2022 mindset because things made and set twenty or a hundred or hell even five years ago are never going to match the current morality system you’ve cultivated through social media. Either continue being mad that a show set in Reagan’s America hasn’t said the words gay or lesbian to describe its two lgbt characters yet or acknowledge they’re doing a helluva lot more than an actual show from the eighties would’ve done, move on and enjoy what they’ve done so far. Trust me. You’ll be so much better off if you do

Periphery demographic. Why we aren’t getting actual canonical lgbt characters in mainstream Disney movies while the current old guard are still around. It’s all very well and good to go on about how “don’t they know what I would’ve done for representation as a kid?” But they don’t. Because they don’t care about the Tumblr demographic. They care about entertaining the five year olds and the parents with the money to spend on the film who might not want to take the kids to see it if there’s anything they might find objectionable in it. And sadly. Quite a few believe that lgbt content kids films is poisonous to their precious offspring. It’s a truly, truly, horribly shitty belief system. But still. It’s the ugly truth.

Queerbaiting. I’ve heard of it. I’ve never seen it. And all the pairings I’ve seen labelled as it. Ain’t it. Destiel. Supercorp. Swan queen. Byler. Johnlock. That’s not queerbaiting. That’s fans latching on to something that isn’t there and going ballistic and quite frankly terrifyingly entitled when it doesn’t happen. Just because you think a character that’s only ever been interested in the opposite gender is secretly gay and in love with your obsession doesn’t make them gay or make you right. No matter how much meta, fanfic or gifsets you make and consume. Clothes, eating habits, hair and way of speaking doesn’t make someone gay. Do you know what does? Actually being homosexual. Which Dean, Kara, Emma, Mike and John are not. Headcanons are fine. But if you have to change every single little thing about a character to enjoy the show. Then you shouldn’t be watching said show.

Collateral damage. Audrey Rose in descendants. Lindsey Lister in Gilmore Girls. Side characters (Lindsey) or antagonists (Audrey) that exist to be a background character in the main characters story. Unfortunately. Many fans latch onto these characters are bleat about how they deserved better. When they didn’t. Especially in Audrey’s case. Lindsey existed purely to show that Dean Forester, that poor poor mistreated boy, wasn’t over Rory. Audrey existed as the stereotypical bitch that the boy leaves for the better option. And when they tried to give her depth. Her still didn’t get wet. I hate Audrey. Always have. Always will. And I don’t care about Lindsey. But they served their purpose. And fans should leave it at that.

So there you go. Four phrases that [tumblr] should learn. If you do. Then you might wind up being ever so slightly calmer than you were before.

[m0e-ru]

izanami is such a fucking asshole with Marie that she says—she's TOLD—she's a "spy" on humanity. a little fucking prick decided by the same bitch that lied to her face like it was breathing. I mean, you can't say iznmi's wrong right now because they know that you kept her alive. Which meant they were there at her tomb (BECAUSE THEY WERE THERE TO PERSONALLY CLOSE HER CASKET). BUT this fucking bastard laughs when they notice for the first time that you have the comb. the comb they should be full aware of where it's going, which hands it's being passed to—IF THEY WERE AWARE IN THE FIRST PLACE. if they actually USED Marie as the spy she was made to believe she is. She's the perfect vessel, the perfect walking nanny cam for Inaba, but NO. the ONLY time izanami has ever seen through her was in her tomb. has ever used her. has ever possessed her. in the realm definitely not for humans. the world they were born in and not an external factor to the nature of their birth.

BITCH gives a poor girl, dressed up as the representation of personality and rebellion and her poet aspect showing her loneliness and isolation, a false sense of purpose right when she was born. that she's just a trashcan for fog with a tomb adorned in flowers and memories at its dumpsite. that she was there to watch people and walk around the human world to remember nothing and be remembered by nobody. if yaldaboath can kick an old man out of his stupid blue office, what more than izanami using a child as a periscope in their guinea pig's dreambase of operations and understand the power of Persona and Truth and Bonds and counteract these meddling kids' and their Power of Friendship in stopping the formation of the New World where they can grant the majority's wish to live in lies and their stupid shitfuck fog.

not that I'm saying I do want god to make full use of their powers and have a better advantage at rigging their social experiment that already concluded by this point but like. fucking asshole didn't even need Marie. so why. put her through so much unnecessary grief. why not dispose her form the start when she'd be thrown away in the end anyway. why make her go through this field trip to remember the home she loves and protects if she could only remember.

why make her suffer through this humanity both of you were supposed to have. make her believe she's nothing and have her put herself to sleep quietly pushing away all the people she loves and who love her when you'll just make fun of her entire existence. did you do this to laugh? were the humans you born from give you the template to make people who search for the truth suffer? that anyone thinking of protecting these selfish masses should just die? that developing humanity is a bad thing? that that's your humor? could you not kill her yourself? was this only for your entertainment? a sick representation of the people who gave birth to you truly are?

[the-midnight-cow]

on being a queer fan of media

*this post contains brief mention of ted lasso s3 e5 spoilers!*

this topic has been on my mind for a while, as a queer person who is soooooo normal about media. and after a conversation with @heyheymarrymearchie (hiiii babe ily so so so much i miss you already take me back to ur city please), another queer enjoyer of media, i decided to make this post.

last night, keeley and jack (two women) kissed on ted lasso, one of my favorite shows at the moment. and when i tell you that i went insane, i’m not kidding. sitting next to my mom in bed i was genuinely shaking and hyperventilating i was SO excited. and for those who don’t watch/aren’t caught up with the show, this was a duo that was presented with a lot of tension and romantic subtext. as far as tv relationships go, the hints were really obvious. and so when my mom saw my reaction, she was like “didn’t you see this coming?”

and that’s when it hit me. if you’re not a queer person, you don’t consume media in the exact same way as queer people do — and that’s not bad! we need people to experience media in all different ways, however, i’d never truly noticed the difference until last night.

see, i had noticed all the clues and hints in advance. but because of all the queerbaiting and experiences of me just reading too much into things, i didn’t let myself hope. i’m not used to seeing explicit queer rep in media that isn’t marketed as specifically queer, and i couldn’t let myself believe that it could exist. i’m quicker to look for red flags in (fictional) queer relationships, i’m wary that they won’t work out, much more so than if it was a straight relationship.

i think this is part of the reason fandom spaces are often so dominated by queer people. seeking representation, we refuse to take media at face value. we search for subtexts, we look for the smallest clues in tv (for the record YES i got hyped when i saw trent’s rainbow mug in the background)—hell, there’s an entire online archive where (mostly) queer people can write the stories we don’t get to see. shoutout to ao3. mwah.

we are so used to getting tricked, so used to being disappointed, so used to only seeing ourselves represented in our own imagination that we believe that’s the only place we’ll be seen. the most famous incidences of queerbaiting are well-known in online spaces, we accept we won’t ever see what we headcanon onscreen. and as a coping mechanism for all this, we accept it. we mourn, sure, but then we steel ourselves for the future. we don’t let ourselves hope. we find solace in creating our own content, we acknowledge our hearts are the only place it will ever live in.

so yes. yes, i saw last night coming. i always do. but i don’t dare let myself believe.

and so for anyone who always sees their sexuality represented, they will never quite understand this unique experience. there is joy in the progress we see and the communities we make, there is anger in what has not yet come to be. being a queer fan of media is an experience like no other. but no matter what, i wouldn’t trade it for the world.

[minafeu]

It personally upsets me as someone who has a disorder that causes me to get violent on accident when I get overwhelmed or upset that Katelyn had no self awareness at all. As someone with bipolar 2 I have hella self awareness and even am afraid of hurting my friends.

Although compared to katelyn I did have someone there in my childhood to care about me(my twin @eumeliafeu who I'm very thankful for) and help me regulate though I do believe that katelyn did have an older brother who did try to help regardless of not understanding how she felt, especially after their mother left.

Though it can never be canon it is very evident that Katelyn does have BPD(I have remembered to update this finally but the post is by the lovely @katelynsimpsince2016 and you can find it here it makes me so happy to see stuff like this for characters who may not have been meant to be written as portraying it but sometimes end up being better than actually canonical characters with it but thats for another time.) and so much points to it. Growing up with multiple siblings especially if one or more of them have health issues its gets you overlooked. Katelyn was absolutely overlooked as a kid and it wasnt right but its evident her father lovers her anyways.

I'm saying all of this to just scratch the surface of how she is going to be in my rewrite. She will be self aware and downright hesitant to even befriend anyone due to her self awareness because I am and even my friend with BPD is the same way and realizes after they've calmed that they where being a dick.

Anyways I truly just want good representation of people with mood and psychological disorders like bipolar and bpd because we dont get it enough and it's so evident in many characters even if it's not canon. Having awareness of how it affects people brings light to so much of Katelyn writing and I dont want her to be seen as just abusive, I want her to be seen as a human who can fuck up but at the end of the day loves her friends and apologizes

[mlpelemental]

MLP: Elemental

I didn't like Make Your Mark, so I rewrote it. Information under the cut!

Chapter 1, Part 1 - Chapter 1, Part 2

Chapter 1, Part 3 - Chapter 1, Part 4

Chapter 1, Part 5 - Chapter 1, Part 6

Chapter 1, Part 7

This is four chapters, just like the actual show(so far). Each chapter is 8 episodes. Chapter 1 is just entirely build-up, but once we spring into Chapter 2, things heat up. This is much more of an adventure based written show than a slice-of-life town show. I wanted to delve a lot more into certain things while straying away from certain themes the show focused on.

Major Changes

Sunny is a permanent alicorn

Sunny is a holographical alicorn in Make Your Mark. In this, she's just an alicorn. I think it's unfair that only unicorn born ponies have the opportunity to become alicorns. So when it happened to Sunny in the movie, it felt like a great step away from the normal standard. But then it just felt unfair that the only Earth Pony born alicorn got non-permanent wings that she didn't always have the ability to access. It just felt like it was ruining the entire point of the Equality allegory. So in this rewrite she's just a simple alicorn.

Sprout will become a main character.

Sprout is a character I've always loved to psychoanalze. I believe the writers do not understand how amazing of a character they've created. With this rewrite, I'd love to explore more of his relationships with Hitch, Sunny, and especially Phyllis. Of course, this wouldn't be the main part of the show, but I'd like for it to be a part of it. I'd also like to explore a "Redemption Arc" of some sorts, diving deep into Sprout's self-worth and undeniable generational trauma.

Twilight is a more improtant character

I feel as if her cameo in the show is very brushed over. Getting a message from a well-known alicorn is a big deal, and I want her to be more of a guide to Sunny. Her appearances in the Prisbeam are going to be live conversations rather than left messages. Celestia, Luna, and Candence have all chosen to pass on. Twilight and Opaline are the last alicorns left(that we know of). So Twilight is going to be playing a bigger role in the defeating of Opaline.

Opaline is redesigned and more evil

Opaline and Misty's evil arc in the show tends to come off as anticlimactic, especially knowing Opaline as the alicorn who almost succeeded at draining all of Equestria of it's magic. I want to make her more scary, powerful and raise the stakes. Instead of her being Opaline Arcana, I've written her to be Opaline Luminary, a forgotten Princess of the stars. Jealous of her Sun and Moon counterparts, she ventured out to get the love and power she deserves. The dragon stone will also become a bigger part of the story. The dragon stone is powered by, as you know, dragon fire. Which brings me to my next change!

Dragons will become a key part

In the show it's mentioned that Dragons haven't been seen in Equestria for generations. And then the show skips over that and moves on. I want to delve into the disappearance of Dragons, Hippogriffs, Seaponies/Sirens, Griffons, etc. Dragons specifically have been continuously captured and enslaved by Opaline to power her dragon stone and herself. My ultimate goal here is to make Opaline a much scarier villain.

Misty Brightdawn will be evil

Misty's character was given a redemption arc in the show when, in reality, she was never really evil in the first place. Opaline is Misty's adoptive mother, I intend for her to encourage Misty to really want to rule all of Equestria alongside Opaline. I feel like for a character to have a satisfying redemption arc, they need to be truly evil at first. And though I do intend for her to receive that arc in the future, she will be a genuinely evil character first. No worries, she's still cute as can be, just evil!

LGBT Representation

What I always want for children targeted shows is healthy representation and also realistic representation. Shows tend to stray away from saying the words "gay", "transgender", etc, because those words have been poisoned by the public eye. There is nothing wrong with these words, and I want to be able to say them outright in this rewrite. I want to be able to represent it, crack jokes, and idolize it in a completely healthy way. Children aren't born prejudice, we teach them to be. And if kid shows give them realistic and great examples from an early age, there will be nothing unordinary about it.

Diversity/Racism allegories

As a person of color, allegories like this need to be done right. Even when it comes to oppressors breaking out of racist habits. I feel the show did a great job with representing cultural differences and learning how to grow out of being prejudiced. But after that, it sort of was forgotten about. They had one episode centered on Earth Ponies having trouble getting used to other species living with them, but it was dropped after that. Though this won't be a gigantic main part of this rewrite, I'd love to delve into it a little more. After all, racism wasn't solved after one big adventure. It took time for these things to happen. You have to teach, learn, and be willing to listen. I'm not saying I'm making anyone straight up still racist(besides Phyllis Cloverleaf kinda), but I want to represent reformed people still making small mistakes and being willing to listen and learn from them.

Elements of Harmony return

This is the main reason as to why this rewrite was named "Elemental". After Chapter 1, this show will mainly focus on the current main six venturing off and finding the broken shards of the elements of Harmony(as destroyed by King Sombra) and reconnecting with them. Finding themselves in those elements and working together as a group to strengthen that power once more. As the stakes have been risen with Opaline, they'll need these to take her down.

New Ponies and Characters!

While the current main six are venturing out, there will be new original characters and friends to meet along the way. Though most of them will play a minor role, I think it'd be fun for the main cast to adventure outside of Bridlewood, Zephyr Heights, and Maretime Bay. Those aren't the only three places in the world, and I'd like to explore different places too! I only plan for one or two to play supporting roles, but that really wont come in til Chapter 3.

That's all, folks!

I'm sure there are more changes I've forgotten about or skipped over, but no big changes will come to any of the characters you love. I'll simply take them and put them into new situations! I hope this is something you can all enjoy! It's still a very silly show at heart, but it's just way more adventure based! Chapter 1 is practically done. I have a few more things to work with, but I'm about 95% done with it. Plus, this rewrite will be done in script form! Though I'd love to put it into view, I'm more of a writer and less of an artist or animator. If this ever gets that big? Maybe one day! Maybe I'll record a little read through for funsies? But for now, I'll just be sharing the scripts :)

If there are any questions about this? Please ask! I'd love to get any comments, questions, or feedback from you all! I love G4 and G5, and I hope I can do them all justice. ♡

[hyugahell]

Thoughts about other clans

Thoughts on the other clans that Hiashi cared to remember of Konoha!

Uchiha:

One of the founding clans and nobles of the village. Powerful and prideful clan, deserving of the respect they had! Their only downside was... Fugaku. That idiot.

Hatake:

Now I'm going to pretend Kakashi is a representation of the clan, as I have very little memory of any other members aside from his father. In any case, they're a powerful clan if even his father could rival the three sannin in terms of strength. I'm almost surprised it wasn't considered a noble clan, especially because of Hatake's reputation! Now if only he'd do something about his need to walk around reading a damn porn book. That's the only habit I'm hoping the clan didn't share.

Inuzuka:

Excellent trackers and loyal to their goals, cause, and partners. Although outside of missions, they're incredibly noisy, run around all day, and act like animals when angered. They probably smell just like their ninken from always having those hounds around! Oh, and their leader likes to bite me at any moment she feels like it. I dislike her sometimes.

Aburame:

....They frighten me. They're the most discreet of all the clans, all while having some... ungodly and unsavory capabilities, especially because of those insects they wield. I have never seen the clan collectively angry, as they always keep up such a still, monotone stature. But I always reckon that the day even one is truly angered is the end of times for the village. They are the clan one must always keep an eye on.

Akimichi:

I regard them as the most well meaning, good hearted people of the village. No, really. They're often the first ones to put themselves forward if for the sake of their comrades, especially the Nara and Yamanaka. And visitors are always treated like old family friends. But keep in mind you will not be leaving that clan household hungry, they feed guests a little too well-

Nara:

Some of the most intelligent people there is. Yet somehow also some of the laziest you will meet, with the leader and his son being the worst of them! I cannot fathom how they can live like that.

Yamanaka:

Boast some of the greatest understanding of botany and the human mind, thanks to that signature jutsu of theirs. Now, I don't truly like visiting the clan household itself because the last thing I need is someone probing into my mind or taking control over my body. I would probably drive them mad.

Uzumaki:

I know only two Uzumaki, but both are quite similar: confident, brash, loud, quick to get annoyed, and a large amount of chakra. However the first Uzumaki I knew of had red hair (which she insisted was an Uzumaki trait) yet there's that one I saw at the chunin exams and he had... bright yellow hair. You know, like a highlighter. Also, this kid is about a thousand times more of a crackhead than Kushina ever was! It's concerning.

Sarutobi:

They're...something of a clan, alright. Not much to say about them, really.

Hiashi: I believe that's all the clans of the village.

Hinata: Father, I-I think there's still some other clans you didn't mention.

Hiashi: If I didn't mention them, they weren't important enough to be remembered.

[yellowymellon]

leak for acheron's identity!

+theory and rambles-

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my honest reaction :

listen....my fav aeon having an emenator stirs excited violent feelings in me, and while i do like acheron i expected IX's emenator to be different. OKAY WELL FINE it makes sense that some nihilsitic ppl would mask their thoughts, or you know have fun at times, it's just.... as an emenator, acheron isnt the epitomy of a mini nihility representation.

And the many ppl theorizing she is a finality emenator, i agreed with them since it logically makes sense which made me doubt the leaks for a second lol (but they were confiremed abt 3 times by now...)

but you know how this will make sense? i think acheron's identity reveals A LOT than just the existence of a nihility emenator.

aven suspected that acheron may be a finality emenator OR a nihility, and a previous SU remark by herta throws us off from reaching the assumption that, nihility has absorbed finality.

herta questions the existence of destruction when finality exists, since they have an overlap.

but when all clues of acheron point to her being a finality emenator, and in reality she's a nihility, i guess that theory sounds silly still, but has more weight.

altho tbf, destruction is abt nanook destroying the universe, while terminus stands for the natural finality of everything, while IX agrees with the last.

"They believe that the ultimate fate of the multiverse is nothingness, and therefore, worthless."

IX believes that the multiverse is destined to end, AND it never had meaning. in a sense, IX stands for finality more than terminus does, cuz terminus may believe in the finality of everything but their powers involve prophecies and time travel.

the theory of IX absorbing terminus is a bit too far fetched, especially since finality has active believers, so here's the next best thing : we know that all paths eventually converge towards the path of finality. IX being the closest, there's some kind of connection.

acheron's ult portrays a black hole, black holes wrap time, CONCEDENCE? I THINK NOT.

id like to mention that if IX truly absorbed finality, i'd have two nickles which isnt a lot but weird that it happened twice. in fact there's another aeon who disappeared mysteriously that overlaps with IX. THAT WILL SHOW HERTA TO PUT RESPECT ON THEIR NAME

it's oroboros, the voracity. from the name it doesnt sound similar but they have many description that fit IX :

"In the eyes of Oroboros, life is a flickering fragment floating in the sea of void, destined to return to the darkness along with the stars which birthed them "

now this line is interesting, as it represents oroboros metaphorically and IX literally, yet wasn't used for IX:

"the black hole with thought."

"They are reserved and uncommunicative, occasionally resulting in unintended consequences when attempting to speak — such as inadvertently consuming their conversation partner."

and what's the parallel in IX? as seen in our first meeting in SU, where TB's mind almost breaks, and supported by IX's profile :

"do not glance at the abyss of the void... for it holds nothing except for the ability to make mortals lose all reason and thought."

apparently acheron is one of the few individuals who can resist IX's mind break, the reason her character tricks us into not considering the nihility emenator option i'm jealous. i loved her authority tho ITS SO COOL! the actual damage she does to her surroundings... we understand now why she didnt unsheathe her sword against death, cuz then, well :3 spoilers! cant wait till i can freely talk abt it EEEEEE

now in reality, the closest finality emenator we have is elio, he might be an Omen Vanguard. it kinda makes sense for this path to be gatekept for a later stage in the story

and tadaa!

i cant say this in tags so ill say it here, PLS DOCTOR OF CHAOS EMENATOR PLSPLSPLSPLSPLSPLSPLSPLSSPLSPLSPLS

already feeling emotional abt IX blessing one of them 🥹

first doctor of chaos SHALL BE MINE