#issue 40

[namorssideburns]

Baby you're so dynamic

[canideformed]

Actually crazy how if you so much as even breathe in the direction of supporting transmascs as a transfem how many people (cis people, transmascs, transfems, literally anybody) will crawl out of the woodworks to scream that you, “will never understand transmisogyny,” are “privileged,” are “being a whiny TME,” are being a “typical man,” are “speaking over women,” etc., without even considering the possibility that you might be transfem.

[hivemindscape]

im a big fan of esper powers slipping loose in harmless ways when they're happy

[crowsgrudge]

kayne: what kind of great old one calls himself fucking john

john:

[muffinlance]

Wait, what’s going on with Embers???? That fic has been on my read later list since 2021, what’s happened with it???

Brief overview, then I'm likely never touching this topic again, because this is not a Drama Blog:

Context: Embers is a super old AtLA fic that was written during the early fandom days, read widely at the time, and was the origin of the widely-used fanon name of "Wani" for Zuko's ship (kind of by default that it was one of the first popular fics to give his ship a name, I think?), even though most fic writers don't seem to realize it's from there anymore.

"What's Going On": I used to include a link in all my stories to it, because I believe in crediting other writers for borrowed elements, and I was using "Wani" in all my fics. But BOY did I not want to be sending readers that way anymore, so I've adopted a new name for Zuko's ship, and removed all Embers links.

None of the criticisms about Embers itself are new; I'm assuming they date back to when the fic was being written, because this isn't an "it aged badly" thing, this is an "actually yeah this gets worse the longer you think about it and I shouldn't have ignored my bad feelings just because some of the worldbuilding was interesting" thing.

An Incomplete List of Why I Made the Change:

I don't actually like the story that much anymore, and don't want to rec it

I tried to re-read it recently to see if some things were as bad as I remembered and it turns out they were So Much Worse Oh Yikes. More specifically, the treatment of Katara and Aang and their respective cultures has... rather a lot going on. One example: The Fire Nation and Air Nomads are both given multiple backstory elements in an attempt to make the average Fire Nation soldier's participation in the genocide/war in large part the fault of the Avatar and the Air Nomads themselves, and also fully justified from the Fire Nation perspective. And I do mean fully. One of its core tenants is "People from the Fire Nation (and only people from the Fire Nation) who don't follow orders Literally Die, therefore murdering pacifists and babies and continuing the war (and their regularly scheduled war crimes) is the only thing it is physically possible for them to do". I cannot emphasize enough how literal that is.

Also the name "Wani" means "Alligator" and is... objectively a pretty lame name for Zuko's ship? Where's the personality, where's the deeper meaning, where's the resonance with Zuko's themes? @tuktukpodfics initially thought I was calling the ship "Wanyi", and that's what I've switched to, because it is Objectively So Much Better. In their words: “Wànyī (萬一): Literally ‘one in ten thousand,’ ‘perchance.’ Used grammatically in Chinese to mean ‘what if’ or ‘just in case.’ I think a ship called ‘The Perchance’ is perfect for a boy clinging to false hope.”

TL:DR; I don't rec Embers anymore, because I don't actually like the story anymore, and there are things about it that get worse the more I think on them. I've removed links to it and renamed Zuko's ship to "Wanyi" ("The Perchance") because our boy deserves a ship name that reflects his character arc.

[followerofmercy]

Oh my God I just realized the reason Arlecchino is Like That is because she's never known a parental figure as anything but an antagonist. Essay incoming:

I saw some really good analysis pointing out that Crucabena's existence was almost certainly a retcon for the Knave/Director of the House of Hearth's unforgivable behavior, and I agree. Nobody's ages make any sense without having to do a mental contortionist act and there was a distinct vibe of the Chasm Hearthlings being particularly brutal.

(That is part of why I don't usually get into super long-running stories. There will inevitably be some half baked ideas that you have to introduce early on for foreshadowing, but then the rest of the story moves in a way where there's a better option, and then you have to find a way to make the new idea work with the groundwork already laid. Personally, I think a footnote saying "We changed our minds - this is the edited version" is perfectly acceptable. A story is a conversation between the audience and author but whatever)

ANYWAY! It feels so fucking weird saying this because while I'm on the "they should be Worse, Actually" train 99% of the time, this is that 1% where I think Arlecchino being on the very very light side of morally gray makes for a way more interesting story than if they had've kept her true to the original idea.

I love evil women more than the next guy but I think the continued operation of the House of Hearth being a spit in the face to the Fontainian government and the Fatui and the idea of how a 'normal' family should look - because none of these kids are normal and that has directly led to their abuse - and that being a good thing is. Idk. Refreshing? I think it's a much more powerful message that Arlecchino was the only goddamn person that actually got results trying to do something about all these abused children. She is actually doing some incredible work in a terrible situation. In a world where these kids’ options are “being trafficked” and “Fatui pawns,” I think “Independent child soldiers operating under the Fatui banner but staying true to themselves” is a pretty damn good alternative. 

It’s also important that the rest of society’s lack of care is directly responsible for the continued existence of the House of Hearth as it is. I mean fuck’s sake, Fontaine has a community of people living in the SEWER. If there was a public orphanage that wasn’t operated by predators, I’m sure most children would be there instead! But no. Nobody wants these kids. And, God forbid Wriothesley decided to do something about being sold. The victim blaming is off the charts. There is no way for Arlecchino to operate peacefully within the existing system, so she made her own. 

So the actual point of this essay: It’s everywhere in Arlecchino’s story, dialogue and actions that she wants her children to support each other, but because of how Crucabena raised her, she can’t really envision herself as part of that family (even if she actually is part of it and the majority of the kids love her dearly.) A parent is something to be feared, eventually killed, and removed from the path of their successor. Everyone likes to highlight little Perurere asking if it’s normal for biological mothers and daughters to argue. On some level I think she knows it’s wrong, but still. Literally all she’s ever seen is a parent as an obstacle to overcome. None of the children in her care had good parents and, if they did, the parents are dead. 

(Also hot take that Crucabena probably thought extremely highly of Arlecchino and gave her special treatment. She felt that Clervie was holding her actual favorite daughter back. I imagine Arlecchino also has very complicated feelings in Crucabena’s role in raising her to be as strong as she is while also being an objective monster, but that’s a topic for another time.) 

Even Arlecchino’s constellation talks about her being alone while instructing her children to care for one another. That separation ties into her being outwardly contradictory about rules. In her story quest, she spends the majority of it aware that her children are disobeying her, but as long as she doesn’t catch them, she can’t rightfully punish them now can she? Now excuse her while she makes herself scarce so they can get up to their mischief. She lip services - and by that I mean lies - about the importance of rules. She Actively Encourages her children to disobey her so long as they do it smart, which is a way to teach them how to circumvent the unjust laws of Fontaine and the Fatui without getting caught. If her kids fuck up bad enough she’ll “punish” them before they get actually killed by something worse than her, and if they successfully trick her (with her blessing), then there’s a good chance they’ll live. (Or, yk, if they wanna leave she’ll let them asldfj) 

So, again, I'll keep preaching that Arlecchino's whole MO is that she is setting herself up as an antagonist for her children, and her children's allies, to test themselves against. She actively encourages rebellion against her, unfair rules, the system, the Fatui, Fontaine, etc, because that's how she survived her own upbringing and the only way she knows for her family to protect themselves. She is keenly aware that she is Not Gentle, Not Fair (even if I do neglect that part in my own writing), and that there probably is a better way to do things. That’s why she wants Lyney specifically to succeed her. She cannot envision a perfect Hearth with her in it because she is the Parent, and historically, Parents are obstacles to be removed. 

Arlecchino’s greatest wish as the King of the House of Hearth is to be dethroned, and I think that is WAY more interesting than the abusive, violent tyrant Hoyo teased at first.

[0vergrowngraveyard]

"you decide: a couple hundred tons of snow falling on those innocent heads...or tails?"

[mothemotics]

Tim you have to stop tormenting this poor ex grad student he's not prepared for how cruel a bisexual 13 year old can be

[barrenclan]

New issue tomorrow! 🌙

[aobawilliams]

When Burrich said "I tried to raise you to be like your father" and he doesn't realise it worked in the worst of way because in all the way that matters he is Fitz's father

[firstkanaphans]

One of the things I struggle with most when writing original fiction is plotting my novels so that the midpoint—or the point where everything changes—ends up right smack dab in the middle of the novel. That’s literally one of the first things they teach you in any writing class. If your midpoint is in the wrong place, your story is going to have major problems.

This week, with Bison and Fadel finding out they’re being lied to in the final seconds of episode 6, THK became one of the rare BLs to hit that mark. I’ve been very impressed with the writing in THK overall. The dialogue is some of the best I’ve seen in the entire industry and I just wanted to nerd out about it for a minute because it literally gave me chills.

[chaoticvintagelesbian]

FiddEmmaStan AU where Emma May moved to Gravity Falls around the same time Stan took Ford's identity. She divorces Fiddleford & dumps him on Stan's (newly acquired) porch. While Stan is trying to fix the portal and run the mystery shack, and a recovering Fiddleford builds lots of robots for the mystery shack & does upkeep, Emma is raising Tate & having weekly Wine Nights with Stan (she finds out the truth of him not being Ford & they kinda become best friends about it). Fiddleford & Emma May fall for Stanley separately and accidentally fall back in love with each other along the way (Stan is Tate's favourite parent during the like 3 years this takes). Emma ends up moving into the mystery shack & with no prior science knowledge takes up helping fix the portal & gives some of the tours. Stan is having huge amounts of Bi Panic cause omg he's fallen for Emma May & Fiddleford and their son now calls him Dad (Stan balled his eyes put the first time) but they seem to be working stuff out and he shouldn't get in the way of that??? Anyway Fiddleford and Emma co-seduce Stanley. It works. The relationship is surprisingly healthy. They get Poly Married (it's Gravity Falls) but it's Emma & Fidds both being married to Stanley - when Emma May is annoyed with Fiddleford she describes him as her husband-in-law.

Mabel & Dipper visit Gravity Falls for the summer and are greeted by their Grunkle Stan, Grauntie Emma May, Grunkle Fidds & Cousin Tate

[yjcorefourenjoyer]

Not me wanting to make a mini holiday where all of us yj98 fans read issue #40 (the issue Santa gets hit with a meteor) on Christmas Eve because that’s when it takes place

haven’t come up with a name for it yet but i think it will be funny

Edit: we have a name, Doomsday Eve!

[back2thelab]

appreciation post for james acaster bc it’s his birthday ✨

LOOK AT HIM AND THE CAT. OMFG.

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Female X-Men Characters who all got solo comics.

[shalom-iamcominghome]

The most liminal feeling in judaism is knowing history that's deeply shaped jewish communities and yet... nobody but jews talk about it. Obviously, this isn't unique to judaism, but it's a very specific reminder that jewish history matters more to you than it does anyone else