#it's interesting to look at how her base abilities as a writer have evolved over time

[grassbreads]

Finished Guardian arc 1. There's no way Shen Wei isn't the soul-executing emissary, right?

[marithlizard]

First Impressions: RWBY v8c9, “Witch”

"Witch", huh?  Presumably Salem.  Are we going to get more backstory lore? Because YES PLEASE.

The Atlas army vs. the whale whose teeth loom like mountains on the horizon.  They look like toys. I can't help thinking these soldier mooks equal any Huntsman in courage, if not in skill.  And this is the first real large-scale action any of them have seen - that anyone in the world has seen in their lifetimes.

eyy Ren has gotten over the snappishness as well as the despairing angst.    Suddenly gaining control of his evolving Semblance must help a lot with the feelings of powerlessness.  (And though we haven't seen him use it on Jaune or Yang, I'm thinking being able to know for certain how much your friends care about you and have your back  is a source of power in itself.)

They're discussing fairy tales MY HEART

Ozpin continuing to confirm he has handed over the reins completely to Oscar.   I don't like this about the accelerating merge, though. It feels like we're going to lose Oz  very soon. And yet,  Jinn's vision definitely showed us Oz and host coexisting in middle age.  Did they not use magic in that lifetime?  Or is the merge somehow not about "losing" either one of them?

Team FNKI in a line of regular soldiers!  They've got to have mobilized all the students, but I wonder if we'll see any others besi-  Neon. Neon you are wearing rollerskates to the apocalypse.  

...well, why not?  

Marrow,  YOU'RE just a kid.  You can't be more than a few years older, and you're not that much more seasoned. Though I understand the feeling.

So, Hazel, you're ready to rejoin fact-based reality?  Or at least listen to someone who pretty much definitionally can't be lying?  

(Actually...the only information we have about Jinn comes from her, and it'd be a hell of an interesting twist if she was editing facts to fit her own agenda.  I don't think it's very likely for meta reasons, but it'd make a great fic premise, wouldn't it?)

Huh.  He sounds much much calmer, and like he's been thinking through everything for the last few hours.  

....what? He's not even going to ask???  THAT is a surprise.  The existence of Jinn and knowing Oscar  gave him the password in good faith  were enough to deradicalize a violent extremist. (Wish it was that easy in RL.)

Oscar's little wave

(You know, now that I think of it,  Ozpin has never interacted with Jinn himself.  She's greeted him twice and he hasn't answered.  Does he resent her for not answering his predecessor's questions more helpfully?  Mistrust her?  )

yes rescue Emerald good

"Just to be  clear" - oh god I thought that was Salem's voice and nearly jumped out of my seat.

"I'll come back for it"  crap crap crap  Hazel's redemption arc is going to be short, painful, and fatal.   And Salem will keep the lamp, if not have the password.

And we'll just all turn our backs on the divine artifact-entity and walk away.  I guess they don't think she's enough of a person to say goodbye to?  

And our eavesdropper is...the one person who CAN'T summon Jinn or ask her a question.  

Oh no. No.  Please don't have the fandom descend into "Jinn is ablist" discourse. (ETA: upon thinking further I take it back,  the gods suck and providing a Relic that not everyone can use is in its way a tiny symbol of their callous attitude to people. ) 

RJY working smoothly together, nice. 

Robyn said people are always suspicious of her, and her truthsense ability has a clearly visible limiting condition.    But Ren can apparently read the emotions of everyone around him all the time without them knowing.  Surely that would make a lot of people uncomfortable.  (Although I expect  the writers to ignore this, and will be pleasantly surprised if they explore it at all.)

That's always the way isn't it, you roll a 4 on your concentration check right when a demonic jellyfish is floating by.

Huh, they separated from Oscar?  And Hazel is worried about him? I'm still dizzy from the speed of this 180.  

uh...hi, Salem.  Nice...weather outside the whale today?  Seen any good dismemberments lately?

Hazel,  you are a terrible liar and you can't bluff.   Admittedly the stakes are a lot  higher here than in the weekly WTCH poker game.

Salem NYOOM

No one can accuse Yang of not understanding the core competencies.

"Juan"???  I did hear that correctly, yes?  Marrow not remembering Jaune's name is hilarious.  And I was about to say understandable, but no, they worked with the Ace Ops for weeks!  Did you just have him mentally filed as "the blond himbo tank"?

O-kayyyyyy.    I can't blame Emerald,  but this could go so horribly wrong so fast. 

Isn't Hazel-disguised-as-Oscar  way too heavy to pick up like tha-  OHHHHHHHHH.  Now things make much more sense.  Oscar was the one worried about Hazel earlier,  and failing utterly to bluff.  Infinitely more in character.

Awkward Semblance is also extremely convenient in short-cutting negotiations. Nice.

I do not, in fact, have any doubt that Winter would blow up her sister.   And in this situation  I can't say it's the wrong thing to do.  As far as they know their bomb is the only hope.

Wow. I really did not think we’d go to toe to toe with Salem herself at this point in the plot.  It's so traditional to save the final boss fight for, well, the final boss.  She's terrifying and unstoppable, but not actually more terrifying than the giant whale.    

Her regen is just like  the Hound's body morphing, but far smoother and faster with a thousand "deaths" of practice.

She sounds more normal right now, oddly.   Her voice is lacking both the measured slowness and the resonance it has when she's making speeches.  I like the idea of that falling away when she's surprised and exasperated.  

Our heroes are very very lucky that RWBY is not a darker show, or those Grimmhand  restraints would be doing a lot of gross agonizing damage with their nails.   There's no reason she'd want to be gentle at this point.

Yeah, there's the sonorous voice again. Although it wavers again with that "Why do you Keep. Coming. Back?"   Does she not know? How can she not know, Jinn's vision said Ozma told her everything.  Perhaps she means: why do you keep fighting  me instead of hiding like the hermit.

Yang, don't give her information,  gah!   "Her again."  She sounds pleased.  I think we are going to find out Summer's fate this volume after all.  Salem will reveal it to break Ruby’s spirit.  Prediction: it will work. 

(EDIT: I completely missed the significance of Yang calling Summer “my mom”.  Wow.)

She definitely intends to turn Emerald into something like the Hound.

"No more Gretchens."   Oh, of course that's what Oscar said he needed before they could leave, the cane.

Hazel's life expectancy is minutes long but at least it included a satisfying KAPOW.   And every single sparkly crystal he owns.  Somehow he seems smaller here, less bulky than he did at Haven.  Less a titan and more a man.

yigh he's pounding her into mush.  Which he has several times before, apparently.  This is all to buy you time, Emerald, why are you not running.   (I know, I know.   She's never had someone actually help her and care about her, only scraps of affection to establish control.    At this moment Cinder's hold on her is breaking forever.)

(Neo, on the other hand.  Will she bring the lamp to Cinder, who frankly has been a totally crap partner and deserves no loyalty?    Is she still after revenge?   My bet is still firmly on her planning to backstab Cinder as soon as Ruby is gone.  But beyond that, we don't know her thoughts at all.  She might join the heroes, or disappear like Raven to hide while the apocalypse works itself out.)

That's true, Oscar, but what can you do to stop her?  

Hah!  Clever,  Hazel.  And she's actually screaming in pain from the fire, whereas she didn't make a sound when being pulverized.

What does the cane DO?  It's impressive as heck, but I can't tell.  Channeling his magic, certainly.  Are we going to lose Oz  right now?  With no chance to talk to Ruby or Qrow or anyone, to reconcile?  It seems all too likely, and such a waste.

Which makes me think, in turn, that perhaps we will lose Oscar too in a way.  Unexpected - I have always thought the merge would end with Oscar holding all the memories.  But maybe he won't be quite either of them anymore, even if he remembers both and the others still call him Oscar.  And that thought also makes me sad.

Anyway,  good episode, though now the title doesn’t seem particularly relevant. Hazel was much more the focus. 

[hennyjolzen]

Smell Your Way Home A razzle of citrus. Cut grass. Spike of bergamot crushed between dogteeth. Star-scent. Shiver-musk. Your antennae quiver with sparkling electrons. You hum and skim through oak trees, singing with your whole body until you reach it: the hollowed out oak trunk. The place your brothers and sister have been covering with a perfume called 'home'.   "Swarming bees locate a new hive and attract the rest of the colony through the use of a pheromone called Nasanov that includes such familiar terpenoids as geraniol, nerolic acid, and citral acid. Produced by glands placed parenthetically around a worker bee’s stinger, beekeepers have noted that the Nasanov pheromone can be detected by a naked human nose and smells of lemongrass. This is a fact that beekeepers take advantage of when they use lemongrass essential oil to trap bees or introduce them to a new 'hive'. In fact, bees' lives are intimately orchestrated by smells. The smells of flowers and, most importantly, the pheromones secreted by their queen. The queen coordinates behavior, hive-building, defensive techniques, and nectar-collecting strategies via her pheromones. Interestingly enough, if you remove a queen and wait for her 'smell' to blow away, you insert in another queen and drastically alter the collective behavior of the hive. The bees live in the Queen’s smell, her atmospheric aroma, like we live inside culture, unwittingly letting it orchestrate and organize our tasks and lives. Beekeepers have observed that when dealing with an aggressive hive, if you remove the queen and let her pheromones fade before adding in a 'gentle' queen substitute, you can create the conditions for a 'calm' colony.   "Smell is vital across species. Dogs are the most popular example, smelling oncoming seizures in human owners, unearthing Iron Age corpses, and locating prized truffles blooming darkly below the duff. In Texas, cadaver compound was injected into oil pipes, and the pipes were observed for vulture activity to locate where the pipes had sprung a leak. The vultures honed in on the smell of corpse emanating from the broken pipes. Elephants choose the most nutritious, highest sugar-content fruit, by way of a scent evaluation. Recent studies at Oxford University’s Department of Zoology demonstrated that Scopoli shearwater birds navigate great distances across water by way of 'olfactory maps'. The study shows that many other birds find their way home by smell. The ocean is an odoriferous landscape. It is a series of perfumed songlines. "The idea of songlines might not be that much of a stretch. The Vibration Theory of Smell posits that just as smell is, in a manner, touch – an interaction between scent molecules 'touching' into the olfactory cleft of our nose and setting off a domino-chain of electrons – so smell might also be sound. First formulated by Malcom Dyson in 1928, it suggests that a molecule’s smell is due to its vibration frequency. The theory has received pushback from the 'shape' theory, which posits that molecular shape is more important than vibration, but as a poet, I am drawn to the lyrical nature of smell as song. Perhaps that’s why, faced by impoverished smell vocabulary, we rely on phrases like 'chord' or 'note' or 'symphony' when describing perfumes and complex aromas.   "Humans, although we live in a culture biased towards visual and auditory stimuli, receive a remarkable amount of information via smell. Recent research has upended the myth that humans are smell deficient. The human nose is capable of distinguishing over a trillion distinct odors. A Scottish woman named Joy Milne can accurately make a diagnosis of Parkinson with her nose. In fact, her nose is a finer diagnostic tool than any technology, picking up the disease years before it even registers on traditional tests. It may be that this skill isn’t just her superpower. We are all making subconscious decisions based on smell all the time, like the worker bees inside the pheromonal ocean of the queen’s influence. In a famous study nicknamed the 'sweaty T-shirt' experiment, a Swiss scientist Claus Wedekind showed that people exposed to T-shirts soaked in different people’s body odor, unknowingly and consistently picked the T-shirt from the person with the histocompatibility gene (MHC) that was most different from their own. The MHC gene is responsible for the growth of a healthy immune system and it has been shown that mates that represent a diverse combination of MHC genes produce healthier, more immunologically robust children. Studies aside, most people have had the experience, at least once in their life, of smelling a lover’s body odor and knowing deeply, somatically, that there is chemistry. What if we didn’t date via visual cues, but dated via smell? Would we make better partner choices?   "We smell events before they happen. Cut grass blows downwind. Bad smells shepherd us away from fire, from pollutants, from eating rotten food. We smell events that have happened. And memory is intimately entangled with smell. A perfect blend of lily and gardenia summons my grandmother with such vivacity that the rest of her easily materializes: I see her powder blue dress, her dove broach, her mischievous eyes. Long dead, I open her old perfume jar and suddenly I can touch her again, speak to her. Smell is often the doorway into other sensory experiences. The Song of Songs, one of the most popular parts of the Jewish Bible, is a glossary of erotic smells. The smell of spikenard and aloes and myrrh leads us through the Gospels. Jesus is constantly anointed, washed, articulated by smell. As a writer, I have observed in the writing I love and the writing that I create, that smell is one of the most effective ways to build an embodied world. We know that most of taste is really smell. The first mouthful of wine on a summer night. The dark cherry of black coffee sipped as the sun spills into your living room.   "The artist Kate McLean, interested in biosemiotics defined as the exchange of sensory signals between animals and their environments, has created a project called Sensory Maps. She gets people to 'map' their cities by smell and creates complex 'smellscape' maps with the aggregate information she receives from participants. Mostly focusing on urban environments, McLean has suggested these maps can be utilized by Urban planners and developments. Where should smells be preserved? Where should we not develop, due to a bad odor? Diving into her work, I was immediately reminded of Bernie Krause and his Acoustic Niche Hypothesis in relationship to Soundscape Ecology. The theory is that animals in a shared ecosystem develop different tones and rhythms that collaborate like an orchestra. Each sound finds its perfect channel so that it doesn’t 'interrupt' anyone else’s song. "Poetically thinking with the Vibration theory of smell as being related to sound, I wonder what an Aroma Niche Hypothesis would look like? Do ecosystems evolve complex symphonies of smell – fungal, vegetal, animal, elemental – that all cooperate and combine into a polyphony? And if this is true, what of anthropogenic smell? What about smell pollution that is so pervasive it almost, especially in the smell maps of Kate Mclean, overwhelms any other biological, environmentally excreted perfumes? What if birds can’t find their song/smell lines across the ocean? What if we are wearing so much synthetic perfume that we can’t make a correct olfactory assessment of a potential mate? "I’m not trying to answer any questions. I’m trying to smell them. I’ve always had a problematically sensitive nose. I can smell when someone is sick before they know it. There are certain mycelium I know by a taste as I walk over their hidden underground bodies, not their visible fruiting mushrooms. I have often thought I will know I have found my partner when my nose tells me. My nose will know, better than my mind ever will. In fact, I harbor a deep, mushy belief that my nose is my most direct connection to my heart.   "What if, taking our inspiration from Kate McLean, and bringing it out of human-dominated environments, we tried to retrain our noses to detect subtle cues. What if you mapped your neighborhood? A nearby trail? Keep a notebook of smell observations. Don’t worry about using smell words. Make something up. Use a color. A sound. A feeling. The English language needs to be composted. It needs neologisms and kennings that properly reflect our ability to detect over a trillion different 'smell songs'.  Smell is haptic. It reflects our intimacy with the world every time we breathe in volatile molecules and let them cascade into our brain chemistry. Smell is song, vibrating with melodic messages about behavior and mates and environmental hazards. And smell is deeply erotic. It connects us with our deep somatic appetites. Maybe it even guides us toward our ecological olfactory niche. Just like the bees follow the lemongrass pheromone to their new hive, maybe smell can show us how to get 'home': home, for me, being a state of mind. A state of mind where I realize everything is alive. Everything is funky. Musty. Lusting. Loving. Everything, even without a voice, without a sound, is talking.

Sophie Strand

[wh-wh-whu]

Whumpmas in July 2021 Day 1 - (Re-)Introduce yourself and/or your creations!

Hi! I don’t think I ever made an actual intro post so I’m using this chance!

I am C, 25, and I have been into whump ever since I can remember (though I only learned this word much more recently, and even then I thought it was only about sickfics and stuff for a long time but that’s a story for another day). English is not my first language but I have been reading stuff in English online for over 10 years, and writing for almost as long (though not well, back then) so it’s a language I’m very comfortable using for my writing hobby (it’s even more comfortable than my mother language when it’s spicy stuff).

This blog is probably not older than a few months. I have written and published mildly whumpy stuff for fandoms I’m in before but I felt the need for content that is focused on the tropes rather than on particular characters, and on the way I found some very talented writers and their amazing OC stories. Unfortunately I can’t follow from here as this is a side blog to my fandom account and having a “messy” dash is a nightmare for me, but I check the whump main tag and the blogs of my fav creators + the people on my notes almost daily.

My masterlist is pinned, if anyone is interested. I usually write for a single fandom at a time, so now that I am dividing my time between my main fandom and whumpy stuff, I am still figuring out how to post often in both (how do you multifandom guys do it???), and it doesn’t help that this is a busy year. So my masterlist is currently short, but I hope to expand it soon.

Under the cut I rant about my works that I post here and talk a bit about my fav whump tropes

I am into slavery whump and dehumanization and this sort of thing. I’m not particularly into the “pet aesthetic” part of pet whump but I don’t mind, it and pet whump has a lot of Good Stuff so it’s probably what I have the most of in my reblogs. The part I am the most into is the whumpee having their whole life in someone else’s hand (be it a whumper or caretaker), and being unable to seek help because the whole thing is legal and socially accepted. I’m a big fan of non human whumpees (aliens, robots, clones, fantasy creatures, etc) as long as they look human, like, I want them to mostly look like a regular person but have the added angst bonus of not being one. I think the only whumpee species that is not fully humanoid that I actively search for is merpeople (all because one day I stumbled upon this art and got obsessed with the concept - I have a whole verse based on it that I hope to write soon).

As for my creations, when I was very young I would come up with whumpy scenarios but they were always random, with unrelated original characters I didn’t care much about. One day I got tired of having to come up with world rules every time, and so I made up a verse with well defined rules that I could use for all my scenarios from then on. As time passed, this verse evolved and I grew attached, I started making characters and plots and changing the rules to fit in with my new tastes. I actually started writing this story back in high school (and showed it to people, rip me) and got stuck when I realized making it more whumpy and making the characters be decent people were conflicting goals. I am currently focusing on making it whumpy and posting snippets of it on tumblr since now I know there are people who are into this stuff like I am, bless you guys (both my stories “Ni and Jay and Jane” and “Joy and Henry” come from it, focusing on different characters)

My other story that I post here is focused on my OC Violet, which I made in high school when I was learning to deal with my teen angst. She started as a self insert, but then I made it whumpy and sci fi and gave her self healing abilities and a creepy evil doctor to torture her so I guess it doesn’t even count as self insert anymore. I have three short chapters written of it that I am currently rewriting and translating, but I have a bunch of ideas, old and new, to try.

I also have in my future plans the mer verse I mentioned earlier, other characters from my big whumpy verse that I would like to write about, and a couple of fics from back when I read catboy AUs in fandoms I’m not in anymore that I want to rewrite and make whumpier. I’m basically dumping here a lot of old stuff that I see in a new light since I learned what whump is and that never reached its full potential back then because I thought no one would want to read a story only about a character suffering lol

[velkynkarma]

Why Brandon Sanderson Is an Amazing Writer (and Why You Should Read His Novels)

Last week I was recommending some novels to @bosstoaster and was really struggling to not fan squeal all over the place about just how incredible Sanderson’s novels are. Usually, when this happens, I try to pick 1-2 things I like about his writing to talk about, so I don’t talk a person’s ear off...but that usually means so much gets left out.

But I’ve been thinking about it since, so you know what? I can do whatever I want on my blog. So here’s my full, unadulterated breakdown of all the things that are so damned incredible (and consistent) about Brandon Sanderson’s novels (as well as his writing methodology). 

Does contain minor spoilers, but not for anything huge, and I tried to keep even the minor spoilers vague.

PLOT

Incredible world-building—that isn’t generic medieval fantasy-land

I love fantasy as much as the next person, and I enjoy most generic medieval fantasy stories if the plot or characters are great. But Sanderson’s always exploring different kinds of worlds, and entering them is always engaging. Magical cowboy western? A world continually buffeted by enormous hurricanes on a regular basis, so everything evolved to survive them, including the flora and fauna? A world where ash constantly falls? A world that is literally the embodiment of thought and concept? There’s always something exciting to discover.

Incredible magic systems

Like the generic medieval fantasy world-building, I’m used to the D&D style magic systems with energies and fireballs. Sanderson doesn’t touch these kinds of magic systems, though, and I’m continually stunned at just how creative the ones he does use are. Ingest metal, and use it to activate a latent power of yours? Bonding with the literal living embodiment of a concept in order to gain abilities? Re-writing the history of an item so it believes it can be different, and it changes? Using color as payment for a system based entirely around souls and soul coding? The list is long and always entertaining. He’s even written a whole article about how to design magic systems, which is also worth a read.

Really good at the ‘good’ kind of plot twists that leave you genuinely satisfied

I know we’ve all been frustrated by the recent trend that media seems to have these days: viewers or readers guess the direction the plot is heading in, and creators, in a panic, throw in a completely unrelated plot twist (changing the whodunnit, killing off a character, adding a resolution that makes no sense). Those suck. Let’s be real.

Sanderson does the opposite. He leaves the clues in his stories—they’re always there, and you can figure it out with the context clues, if you’re clever. If you’re not, he’s real good at throwing in twists that are hinted at, but still feel incredibly impactful and really satisfying. The end of The Emperor’s Soul still gives me chills, and I still love the twists regarding the big bads in Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive.

Also? He genuinely will catch you by surprise, sometimes. I consider myself to be a pretty experienced reader, and a decent writer. I can usually tell where plots are going for most stories. That’s satisfying, of course. But Sanderson has a way of still managing to sucker-punch me with a plot twist or reveal that feels shocking in a good way. I don’t see a lot of these coming, but the result isn’t disappointment, it’s a “holy crap—wow, how cool!” followed by an intense desire to reread half the story to pick out the clues that were sitting in front of me the whole time, now that I know what they’re actually for. 

Really interesting meta-level stories 

Depending on how invested you want to get, there’s a meta-level of interconnected story with the Cosmere. All of Sanderson’s stories are enjoyable on their own, and you’re never required to go deeper. But if you want to, you can, and suddenly there’s a whole second layer of information and characters in the background that you never really noticed, because most of his stories are actually connected to each other too. You don’t have to know who Hoid is or how he contributes to each separate story, you don’t have to be able to find the crossover characters that have literally crossed over from other books, and you don’t have to understand the whole Shards angle, and you can still enjoy all those books on an individual basis. But when you do know how to spot them in the narratives, it’s really fun, and you feel like you’re in on a great secret.

CHARACTER

Only male author I’ve ever read that actually writes GOOD female characters 

Brandon Sanderson seems to have hit on the not-so-secret secret that most male authors—who dominate the fantasy genre—haven’t seemed to figure out yet: women are people too. 

Consequently, Sanderson writes incredible varieties of female characters, each with their own personalities and quirks, who don’t necessarily fall into the “damsel in distress” or “masculine-coded action lady” stereotypes. See the politically savvy Sarene, the scholarly Shallan, the clever and artistic Shai, rebellious and somewhat childish Siri, the formal and analytical Steris. (These are literally just the ladies with names that start with S). 

But it gets better. Because even with action-hero ladies, they still have characterizations outside of ‘being a lady that beats people up like a man and strives to be as unlady-like as possible to prove she can beat people up like a man.’ Vin might be an action heroine, but she’s also a young woman who’s learning how to have a family, who’s scared of opening up to people, and who’s insecure about her place in the world. Marasi wants to be part of law enforcement, but admits to another character that she also likes the make-up and dresses and looking pretty—and she hates that people expect her to be a masculine action-lady that wears pants and starts fights, because she feels like she won’t even be seen in her field if she doesn’t, and like she has to represent all women. 

But I think the biggest example of this comes from his short story Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, which (despite its edge-tastic title), is about a mother trying to protect her daughter. Sanderson wrote it as a part of the anthology Dangerous Women, and in his post-script on the story in Arcanum Unbounded, he writes: 

“I thought for a long time about the nature of an anthology called Dangerous Women. I worried that the stories submitted to it might fall into the trope of making women dangerous all in the same way....I didn’t want to write just another cliched story about a femme fatale, or a woman soldier who was basically a man with breasts. 

What other ways could someone be dangerous? I knew early on that I wanted my protagonist to be a middle-aged mother.”

In short, Sanderson actually understands how women work and writes actual, believable, likable female characters, who are just people and not sexual objects or prizes for men to receive at the end of the novel. It’s something we need, and it’s refreshing to see.

But on that note—he’s not afraid to let his male characters be softer either

In the same way that most female characters in fantasy are forced to be masculine-like action ladies, most male characters are also forced into the same role. There’s this misunderstanding that male characters have to all be sword-swinging barbarians who can’t have emotions. 

Sanderson punts this misunderstanding out the window and will have none of it.

There are so many good male characters in this series too that don’t immediately make you want to cringe. Look at Elend, who’s an intellectual doing his best but genuinely screws up a lot, and is all but useless for the first half of the series as a combatant. Look at Wayne, and his heartbreaking moment at the end of Bands of Mourning, who grieves for a person who’d been family to him and isn’t afraid to show how much he cares. Look at Adolin, who seems like the quintessential sword-swinging action-oriented jock, but then completely subverts all expectations by patiently and carefully helping characters with mental illnesses deal with them on their bad days, and being unhesitatingly supportive of his autistic brother. Look at Gaotona, who spends the whole book trying to educate someone on how they’re wrong—only to learn from them instead, and realize he was wrong, and to admit to it. 

Men have their soft moments, written by a male author who’s not afraid to put those moments into his works. And that’s really good, too.

In general, just really good characterization

Sanderson’s characters feel like people. They have oddball quirks, realistic-sounding conversations, and occasionally do things that make no sense. Just like friends, family, coworkers, etc that you and I all no doubt know. Hammond’s philosophical rambling (and Breeze’s frustrated bickering over it), Lift making it her life goal to steal dinners, Wayne’s justification for his kleptomania since he ‘trades’ items instead, David’s weird speech patterns and idioms—these characters are just fun to read, and have extra layers that just make them feel more real.

His books have a strong non-romantic relationship focus

Media in general is inundated with romantic and sexual relationships, and doubly so for fantasy novels—especially when fantasy novels often have a ‘prize’ romance at the end of the epic journey. Save the girl, get the girl. It can be frustrating, especially for people who aren’t interested in romance as a genre (there is a reason a lot of us are reading fantasy novels, and not romance ones).

Sanderson loves focusing on all kinds of relationships though, not just romantic ones. Found family, real family, strong platonic friendships, mentorships, interesting rivals, bonds out of duty—they’re all in here, and Sanderson’s not shy about making it clear. Look at Kelsier openly telling Vin he wishes he and his wife had a daughter like her and admitting he sees her as one, or the way the rest of the team turns her into their little sister that they all teach and protect. Look at Wax taking in Wayne, a scared kid who’d gotten in over his head and didn’t know what to do. Look at Kaladin looking at an entire band of slaves and going, ‘yeah, you’re all mine now and I protect you all,’ and how he forms a whole family out of Bridge Four that ultimately turns around and takes care of him, too (and of course, a lot of Kaladin’s story is driven by his own relationship with his actual family, specifically his younger brother). Look at Shallan doing all that she does at the start of the series to protect her brothers. Look at Prof struggling so hard to protect his little band of Reckoners even as he struggles to protect them from himself. Look at Shai and Gaotona, how they’re set up as prisoner and jailer, and yet they grow to ultimately respect each other.

I could go on and on, but the point is, these non-romantic relationships are everywhere, and they are considered to be just as important as—and sometimes more important than—romantic relationships. 

But on the flip-side, his romantic relationships are very well handled

Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a big fan of romance or shipping. It generally doesn’t hold my interest. In most books, I skim or skip the romance parts, because I’m just not invested in those relationships. They feel flimsy. 

I don’t do that with Sanderson’s works. They’re the only books I’ve ever read where I genuinely feel invested in the characters’ romantic relationships. 

Because here’s the thing: all of these characters that are romantically involved, are also good friends, and that’s the basis of their entire relationship to begin with. And that means these relationships are accessible to everyone, regardless of romantic inclinations or interests. 

Adolin and Shallan just joking around and bantering, with him teaching her how to use swords, with her rattling off witty repartee to defend him in verbal spars? When they just genuinely enjoy each others’ company, without having to constantly make out or have sex to indicate why they like being around each other? That’s genuinely fun. It’s some lovely character interaction. Maybe I don’t “get” the parts where they want to do more romantically inclined things, but I can enjoy that they legitimately enjoy being around each other, that they’re good friends as well as romantic partners, and that they trust each other. And that means I can still be engaged in their relationship instead of yawning and skipping ahead a few pages.

Which brings me to:

He also takes common romantic tropes...and throws them in the garbage bin

Sanderson has other ways of handling romantic relationships that I (as a person who doesn’t like romance) finds so impressive it deserves its own section. Because he takes common romantic tropes, and subverts them, and makes the characters all the more healthy for it. 

On at least two occasions (in Stormlight Archive, and in the sequel Mistborn series), Sanderson has set up a classic love triangle...and then immediately broken it. In one novel, one of the male love interests graciously offers to back out if it will mean the female love interest is happy, because he really just wants her to be happy even if that means he’s not around, and she chooses him anyway...whereupon he makes it clear he’ll definitely help her with her mental health and he wants to be supportive of her. Holy shit, what a wild notion, an actual supportive character in a love triangle. In the second series, the love triangle gets set up, but ultimately broken when the man ultimately chooses the arranged marriage over the ‘true love’ angle, and then realizes he actually, legitimately enjoys the company of the lady in the arranged marriage, and the ‘true love’ love interest realizes that actually, that would have been a terrible idea and she wants to pursue her career. Again, a refreshing and ultimately all-around healthy take for all the characters on something that normally has some nasty fallout. 

In Mistborn, my first introduction to one of Sanderson’s series, I remember being genuinely floored and in awe of Elend’s and Vin’s relationship...because Vin is still really nervous about opening up to people and not comfortable with intimacy, and Elend is completely okay with that. He takes it slow with her, lets her set the pace, and doesn’t force her to do anything before she’s ready. Vin is most comfortable just being around/near him without doing anything inherently romantic, just being in his presence, and he is completely cool with that. And that’s such a healthy thing to see in a romantic story, because it’s really important for readers to see that yes, it’s totally OK to not rush into things, and yes, it’s totally OK for people to take it slower or easier for an uneasy partner. 

I could go on and on, but basically, romantic relationships in Sanderson’s novels are also engaging because a lot of the time? They’re healthy, and friendly, and toss most dramatic romantic subplots out on their ass.

While on that note?

He doesn’t do sex scenes

This one might be a loss for some, but it’s a win for me. Depending on how I feel on a given day, I’m either ‘irritated by’ to ‘really uncomfortable by’ sex scenes in novels...and unfortunately they’re prevalent, especially in fantasy novels. I usually end up uncomfortably flipping through these pages, trying to figure out where the scene ends so I can get back to the actual story. 

I honestly can’t think of a sex scene in any of his novels though. In fantasy, it’s stunningly refreshing, and I feel super safe and comfortable reading his novels because I don’t have to worry about uncomfortable surprises. Plus, circling back to the above points, it’s kind of nice to see characters having established relationships without it having to be solely reliant on them having a good or bad sex life.

Has LGBT+ relationships 

Yup, they’re there, and edge past ‘strongly implied’ to ‘blatantly stated’ in some cases too. Offhand, I can think of a pair of men in the Stormlight Archive who are noted to be in a relationship with each other, and a lesbian gunsmith in the second Mistborn series.

What I find important is not just the inclusion of these blatant relationships, but also how it’s treated as completely normal and not taboo in the context of these worlds, too. Non-straight relationships aren’t treated like a scourge or a difficulty these characters have to deal with; it’s just normal in these realities. 

Additionally, what I really like about them is the way other characters will get called out about it if they do cross a line (usually accidentally). In the above cases, Kaladin makes an ignorant off-hand remark about his gay Bridge Four soldier and is immediately called out about it by the rest of the Bridge Four gang, whereupon he realizes he’d crossed a line and apologizes right away. In the Mistborn series, Wayne repeatedly makes passes at lesbian gunsmith Ranette, who spurns his advances. But when he realizes she’s actually into girls, he backs off and respects that, rather than insisting on her dating him. These are some nice little lessons on how straight people actually should react regarding their non-straight friends and family, and normalizes non-straight people existing in society.

Sanderson has also been openly responsive to and cool about people interpreting his characters in non-straight relationships or reading “implied” relationships/romantic subtext, even if he hadn’t originally intended to put them there. Offhand, I can think of one situation where a reader told him he probably didn’t realize “just how bi” he’d written Shallan in regards to her interactions with Jasnah, to which Sanderson’s response was basically, “Well that wasn’t on purpose, but alright, cool, cool.” 

Also very good about inclusivity for mental illnesses and disabilities

While we’re on the topic of inclusivity, let’s talk mental illnesses and disabilities as well, because Sanderson is great about including these too. In Stormlight Archive alone, we have: 

Renarin, who in addition to having some physically disabilities (specifically, seizures and being physically weak), is confirmed by Word of God to be on the autistic spectrum. And he’s treated with respect and support by his family members and friends. His father shows up to meetings or events he wants to go to, just so he can feel comfortable going to them to show interest in things men typically aren’t supposed to. His brother protects him fiercely in combat but also does his best to give him space to grow, and understands that his brother is incredibly intelligent but sometimes just needs a little time to organize his thoughts or figure out how to communicate. Kaladin understands his physical disabilities immediately and is able to give advice on how to deal with them. The entirety of Bridge Four adopts him as another brother. Jasnah finds another way. I could go on, but basically, Renarin is great

Kaladin has clinical depression, and possibly some form of PTSD, even if they don’t have the technical words for this in-universe. He really struggles with this a lot in the series. Despite that, other characters look out for him a lot, and this creates some genuinely tender moments. 

Shallan rapidly developing some identity disorders. Actually breaks down and admits this to another character. The other character is fiercely supportive of her despite that and doesn’t give up on her so easily

Lopen doesn’t have an arm, but despite being physically disabled, Kaladin still immediately values him and he finds a place on the team. He’s also just...legitimately chill about being an amputee, makes missing arm jokes all the time, and doesn’t seem terribly bothered by it. I believe Sanderson even stated that there’s no real tragic story behind the missing arm...it’s just Lopen. That’s it. 

Teft struggles with substance abuse and insecurity, but the entirety of Bridge Four is super supportive in helping him break it

There’s a character who ends up paralyzed from the waist down over the course of the series. She thinks she’s done for and her life is over, but her mentor keeps encouraging her to try things anyway. 

Honestly, this series is enormous—there’s probably a ton more I’m not even remembering off-hand.

All of this is usually handled pretty tactfully and often brings in some really heartwarming character interactions when characters struggle with issues and other characters help them overcome them. Do you like hurt/comfort and whump in fanfiction? Sanderson does this in actual fiction. It’s great.

WRITING METHODOLOGY

He actually takes the time to write good stories

Sometimes a long-awaited book in a series coughDeathlyHallowscough comes out and you just know it was rushed. You can see it in the way the plot threads are resolved, in the way some threads are just never resolved and end up hanging there open-ended, in the way the epilogues are short and empty.

Sanderson doesn’t do this. He’s pretty transparent about it on his Twitter, where he’ll post updates on his writing progress percentages. Sometimes he apologizes for a delay on a book, because he wants to make sure it’s done right or he works out a plot point just so, or he needs to go back and re-read some old material to make sure there’s no hanging plot points. 

This is good. This is great. This means he genuinely cares about his work, and he wants to produce good content. I will happily wait an extra couple months if it means the book that’s going to sit on my shelf for years to come has a satisfactory start, middle and end.

He’s always ready to give advice to up-and-coming writers, and he’s great about fandoms

Sanderson has a whole segment on his blog devoted to answering questions about writing. He also has a whole series of lectures available for free online. I’ve even heard him in podcasts and blogs in other things. He’s not shy about giving advice and encouraging up and coming writers, and he’s always so encouraging about it too. He’s also totally cool with fanfiction, unlike some big name authors out there who get very elitist about fandoms and the comparative “worthlessness” of fanfiction. 

Some of his novels are available for free, right now, on his website

A bunch of his novels and novellas are available totally for free on his website, which means additional accessibility for people who don’t have the cash for books, ebooks, or audio books, and don’t have time to get to a library. 

Many of them are also available as audiobooks, which means you can probably snag them through your local library’s audio book checkout system as well. 

In conclusion

Brandon Sanderson rocks, his stories rock, and everyone who likes fantasy should really give them a shot, for all of the above reasons. 

[natsubeatsrock]

The Rewrite of Fairy Tail: Bonus (Gruvia)

How will I handle Gruvia in a romantic sense? 

Well, I've lived long enough. This might be one of the most contentious parts of the series. I alluded to this earlier, but there's no way I won't upset someone by posting this. 

I feel the need to reiterate an important point I've made many times before in this series. My interpretation of how Fairy Tail should be changed is not the only way to change the series or even the best. Everything I'm writing is based on my own interpretations of the series. Even as that interpretation is filtered through multiple readings of the series and about five years of interactions with the Fairy Tail fandom, it is still only one person’s interpretation. I try not to apologize for having the biases I do and, at the very least, do my best to explain how I got to the conclusions I have come to.

I want to start there because there are a lot of interesting ways to deal with Juvia and Gray's relationship as it happens in canon. While I've been an outspoken critic of Gruvia's handling in the series, the possibility for change is not lost on me. I even mentioned a while back that I'd be more apt to make Gruvia canon over Nalu if I were behind Fairy Tail. Heck, I started typing the second draft of this post not long after the chapter in the sequel that implies Gruvia being more possible in the future. I could take any number of routes with Gruvia and find reasonable justification within canon to do so. However, I can only (seriously) go with one interpretation of the ship for rewriting Fairy Tail.

With that said, I want to divide Gruvia's development into three sections: Phantom Lord to Edolas, Tenrou to the Grand Magic Games, and after the Grand Magic Games. How do I want to change what happened during each section? 

To be honest, I don't think there's much of a problem with Gruvia in the first section. If anything, I may smooth over some of the more contentious parts of this section of the series. However, I don't think that it would be a good idea for Juvia to not resemble her canon self in her over-the-top displays of affection for Gray. That feels like too much of a drastic change. 

Though, as I mentioned before, it's after Edolas when things get interesting as Juvia starts to make more active attempts at a relationship with Gray. Even then, I don't want to do too much different before the end of the Grand Magic Games. Considering I want Juvia to have more interactions with her friends, she may get talked out of some ideas. 

Some, of course, being the operative word. Like, does she decide to drug Gray into liking her and almost “destroy the guild” in the process? Probably not. Does she decide to go follow Gray and Erza on their mission? Probably, but not because she isn’t advised to do otherwise.

And then we get to the rejection scene at the end of the Grand Magic Games and we have a real decision to make. There are three ways I see this can be handled: a weak option, a hard option, and a soft option. As I like to remember them, they are interpretations from canon, fanon, and no one I know. (I tried to make them rhyme.) 

The canon interpretation, as you may remember, is that Gray tells Juvia that he doesn't reciprocate Juvia's feelings for him. (Choosing a translation for that would be fun.) However, Juvia effectively rejects the rejection Gray has of her. In the original, Juvia sees it as a way to make Gray like her more. In Fairy Girls, this is clarified as Juvia interpreting Gray's rejection as him being shy with his feelings. 

Frankly, it's hard for me to want to do this. The issue is not that Juvia likes Gray despite being rejected by him. Even if you want to argue that Gray isn't necessarily being sincere in his rejection, I don't think Juvia should act like his rejection doesn't matter. And if that actually was how he felt about Juvia, be it for the time or the rest of the series, it's incredibly disrespectful of Juvia to act this way. Effectively, it's a weak way to keep the Gruvia song and dance going along until Mashima decides to end it for all of us.

By the looks of it, a lot of fan writers seem to think the same way.  Their attempts to write a Gruvia rejection scene have evolved into what I consider to be the hard option for a Gruvia rejection. For the uninitiated, allow me to ruin any Juvia x [not Gray] story you may ever read. As you can expect, Gray decides to tell Juvia that he doesn't like her. However, he does so in a way that makes it very clear that Juvia was not and will never be able to make Gray like her. This usually results in Juvia being in a state of emotional availability (to put it lightly, in some cases) for [not Gray] to sweep Juvia off her feet and make her forget about Gray. Often with, and/or leading to, sex.

While I don't terribly mind this in fanfiction, I don't love this as a reflection on Juvia's ability to be in a romantic relationship that doesn't involve Gray. Nor do I think that it's possible to do this and keep Gray as a sympathetic character, let alone in character. If you're writing a story not bound to the rules that I am, these aren't bad things, in my opinion. But considering I am writing the rewrite with the rules I’ve put on myself, I can't do this.

The third option is one I haven't really seen done by anyone trying to put Juvia in a ship that isn't Gruvia. Some writers may skip the second option but they'll just cut to Juvia in the relationship they're writing for or ignore Juvia liking Gray and not liking him entirely. (Again, that's fine but not for what I'm trying to do.) The idea is that Gray still rejects Juvia but it doesn't break her or their overall relationship. They are still friends and can work together, but Gray is not, at that moment, interested in pursuing a relationship with Juvia.

I don't even think it's wrong for her to still want to be with Gray or even continue to work towards making Gray like her. However, what needs to happen is that, from this point on, she should be more subtle about it. This means that the dynamic changes from arguably willful ignorance towards Juvia's feelings to an actual sense of misunderstanding between them where Gray thinks that Juvia is content with his answer even though she is not. This state shouldn't be terribly hard for people to spot out. I have ideas for how this can look but I don't want to spoil too much. 

However, we get to what may be the most important question I can deal with: do they end up together? While I wouldn't call this a hard answer, I'm currently leaning towards no for at least three reasons.

First off, they didn't end up as canon.  While Mashima seems to be pushing them towards a trajectory of canonicity, he didn't keep them together at the end of 545, my cutoff point for considering canon ships. While their conversation in that chapter has been interpreted by many to be a romantic on Gray's part, I can't say they're canon considering he left Juvia at the end of the chapter. At best, it means he's genuinely willing to start a relationship with her when he returns. At worst, he's only entertaining the idea. Only time will tell how Mashima goes with this. (We don't call the man Trollshima for nothing.) 

Second, I don't really need them to be a couple. I don't know that anything is lost by Gray and Juvia not being a romantic couple. Much of the good about their relationship, as I interpret it, wouldn't be lost if they decided to stay friends and ended up in romantic relationships with other people. In addition to that, I'm not as invested in making them be a couple as I am for other smaller ships in the series I could also work with to make canon. 

But more than either of those arguments, there is the big elephant in the room: Juvia's death. (What? Thought I forgot what day it is?) I don’t have a definite stance on whether or not Juvia should die around the same time she does in the original in my rewrite of the series. There are a number of factors going into my decision based on how it played out in canon that I can easily spend a separate post about why it's not an easy decision. However, it's obviously impossible to make Gruvia canon if I decide to kill Juvia.

Based on Part 19

[theevershipping]

Most Sensible Voltron End Game Ships:

Note: this doesn't mean I don't LIKE other ships, but logically, given that Voltron is a CHILDREN'S CARTOON, these ones make the most sense story-telling wise. Here's why.

Hunk/Romelle:

I start here because I think this will likely be the least controversial. They set up in the first ep of S7 that Romelle and Hunk clearly think alike. They also set up that even though Lance is attracted to Romelle initially, she soon actually annoys him. On the other hand Hunk finds Romelle's thought processes to be so like his own that he acts she's like his own personal God-send ("It's like, I think it, you say it!") Likewise, Romelle seems to rather enjoy her interactions with Hunk, and the way he supports her curiousity. For once Hunk gets to be the one "in the know", and Romelle likes and appreciates the way that he interacts with her.

I know there's a lot of talk about doing right by an LGBTQ+ rep character, but I think the "Nice guy who's really smart and awesome but happens to not be conventionally attractive" rep deserves to get an attractive girl who he really does genuinely like and connect with and who genuinely likes, connects with, and respects him.

Lance/Pidge:

Although we are all understandably wary of trusting anything the writers say at this point, they have pretty much said that they do have an end game for Lance and it's not Allura. While I'd personally love to see a Klance ending, it seems pretty clear that Lance and Keith are both being set up to be straight--Lance shows attraction to basically every conventionally attractive female, and Keith/Acxa is a thing (and a reasonable thing, which I will get to next). So..

Lance and Pidge: first off, Pidge constantly points out and makes fun of Lance's crush on Allura, and at times even seems annoyed by it. She definitely doesn't show any sign of caring about the romantic interests of any of the other characters. Although it's been subtle, as Pidge's priorities have clearly, and rightly, been elsewhere, there's been some hints from the beginning that she's certainly paying attention to Lance's love interests, and is maybe jealous and just covering it up by making fun of him--which is pretty age appropriate, and typical of girls with older brothers: She's more comfortable approaching him on guy level and expressing her annoyances (unconscious jealously) through teasing him and, in the process, attempting to dissuade him from said romantic pursuits.

The writer's stated that Lance would get what he NEEDS in a relationship, not what he WANTS. Pidge is not girly/feminine in an aesthetic sense (what Lance thinks he WANTS), but she's perfectly pretty--it's not like Lance wouldn't be attracted to her once he gets passed his old-school markers of attraction based purely on conventional outer symbols of femininity (I.e. If he saw Pidge a few years older and in a dress, he'd almost certainly have a different reaction to her). Pidge does have an abundance of qualities that Lance NEEDS in a partner.

Pidge and Lance balance and trust each other. They have from the very first episode of Voltron. If you think of the first episode as establishing our main and most relatable characters, we really enter the story through the trio of Lance, Pidge and Hunk. Keith and Shiro--who they are and how they're involved in what's happening--are mostly mysteries to us in the first ep. In the typical trio story set up you have the main male character, who represents ego, in story structure, and you have his two best friends, who represent his ID and Super-ego. Often the Super-Ego character is female, and the ID male. The function of the super-ego is to check, regulate and correct the impulses of the ego, which the ID often supports/supplies. The super-ego, basically, is the one who thinks things through, when the ego doesn't want to, and the ID can't. Pidge is the super-ego.

What Lance NEEDS is someone who he both implicitly trusts and who can be the things he isn't in such a way that it helps him to grow, while still having his partner see him as an equal and having respect for the qualities and strengths he has as an individual and that he contributes to the balance of the relationship.

Allurance shippers will say "Allura can be those things too!" But she can't, because she is not and never will be his equal. She is a 10,000 year old Princess from a race of people that are vastly more evolved than humans. She was raised to rule a planet and take on the burden of the universe. No matter how much she might LIKE Lance and trusts him as an ally and a friend, that quality of equality and challenge that actually attracts confident and capable women to men does not exist between Allura and Lance--which is why she was attracted to Lotor.

The contrast between how Allura reacts to Lotor and how she reacts to Lance is a great representation of what creates actual romantic attraction vs. friendship compatibility: Lotor is her equal in his own right and can challenge her to see and grow beyond her pre-conceived notions, while having enough similarities that he understands and fits into the world she comes from and will return to (that of Galatic leadership and responsibility). Allura and Lance do not have that kind of shared reality and the ability to build together as equals that comes with it.

Pidge and Lance, on the other hand, start from the same place--they're kids who were smart and capable and followed a dream, and who have taken on the unanticipated responsibilities and adventures that came as a consequence of following that dream. They constantly demonstrate that their gut instincts are aligned. They do not have fundemental differences in terms of values and unconscious life expectations, and those things matter when you're talking endgame, because endgame means when two people are grown ups and they have kids and grow old together--that real life stuff.

Allura and Lance might have a minor romantic arch, in fact I suspect they will, because they will need to in order for all both Allura and Lance to fully realize they're not compatible. This will also force Pidge to become conscious of her feelings for Lance. From there we can from there spring board into Pidge/Lance and back into...

Lotor/Allura:

So, I'm not at all surprised we didn't see Lotor or Haggar in Season 7. It would have been too easy. We needed the stakes to be much higher, and the only way to do that was to bring the Galra threat to Earth, which couldn't have happened with Lotor as Emporer, or even with Haggar in charge--she's a much bigger schemer than just blindly chasing those lions across the galaxy like all those dumb male Galra meatheads want to do. Also, it gives her time to realisticly retrieve Lotor, fix him physically, and in the process develop some sort of relationship that would lead to them trusting each other enough to come back (allegedly) on the same side in S8.

I don't want to speculate on the plot of S8, and I won't. But I think that plot stuff aside, Lotor has to come back for the sake of Allura's character development.

ALLURA IS A RACIST. She is not malicious (just like most racists aren't malicious). But she seriously discriminates against the Galra just for them being Galra. She has a reason, no one can deny that--Just like someone who gets beat up by a gang of white guys has a reason to be wary of groups of white men, and they might take the trauma of the experience to the degree that they unconsciously start to demonize white men as a group... The trauma creates predudice because the brain is looking for a way to protect you from the trauma that just occurred. So it notes visual markers associated with the trauma, and when it later sees those markers it gets triggered into a state of flight/fight in order to (ideally) prevent you from reexperiencing the trauma associated with those physical markers. It's an evolutionary imperative--it's why we all jump across the room when we see a spider. But this primal imperative does lead to discrimination against groups of people. In my example, being fearful of groups of white men after being the victim of a gang beating is understandable, but is still a PREJUDICE based on their physical likeness to individuals who committed terrible acts, when in reality those physical traits have nothing to do with the terrible act.

It seemed like Allura was making progress with her predudices because of her relationship with Lotor, but Lotor is half Altean. He had to prove to her several times that he was "civilized" and even more knowledgeable about aspects of Altea than her. She fell in love with the Altean part of him. The literal second that she was given reason (by an ALTEAN stranger) to believe that he'd done something terrible and “GALRAN”, she instantly jumped to betraying him without even listening to his side of the story. This act proves that she didn't ever actually consciously see and acknowledge her predjudice and the irrational assumptions it causes her to make, she just was able to temporarily over look the Galran in Lotor for the Altean. So, Allura still has some major self realization to do in this department.

Next, the rash actions of the Paladins destroyed what could have been peace in the universe. Lotor gave them the option pretty much up until the end to stop and think things through even after they betrayed and attacked him. But at the end of S6 it's pretty clear it's Allura calling the shots on whether or not the team listens to Lotor or fights him. And we all know what happens:

She lets her emotions win. She prioritizes her anger--at herself for trusting a Galra--and she completely fails to care about (and likely think through) the bigger picture. Rather than realizing that the new emperor of a civilization that has been systematically enslaving the Galaxy for 10,000 years is trying to give agency back to planets, to create peace, harmony and a universe that works together to fulfill the needs of the whole, she doesn't even listen to him, she just attacks. With Lotor gone, of course the empire will fall and divide to the various generals of power. If Team Voltron had stopped and thought for 5 seconds about that they maybe would have realized that leaving Lotor in that rift was the most selfish and childish thing they ever could have done, humanitarian principles aside even. How many more worlds besides Earth suffered and will suffer for ALLURA'S emotional reactions that stem most deeply from PREJUDICE?

To be clear:

ALLURA believed the word of an ALTEAN she did not know, over the HALF-GALRAN she had fallen in love with, all because she FEARED she was wrong to trust someone with GALRAN blood: "You're more like Zarkon than I could ever have imagined," she tells Lotor. NOT "You're more like Honerva (AN ALTEAN) who began this whole mess by experimenting on quintessence and what happened when one combines it with their own life force and then became so addicted to it that she went crazy and enabled terrible things to happen to innocent peoples and planets." Nope. Even though in all honesty that comparison would have been more accurate, it didn't occur to Allura to accuse Lotor of being corrupt like his ALTEAN mother. What she says to him is essentially, "You're corrupt (and thus more) like your GALRAN father."

So, in order for Allura to grow into someone who is actually mature and responsible enough to lead the Voltron Colition and bring peace to the Galaxy, she's going to have to see the serious error in her actions, and the root prejudice that actually lead to them. And Lotor will be the one to make her see it.

From the moment the Paladins take Lotor prisoner he points out that Allura is discriminating against him based on species and parentage. It's pretty clear that this is set up to be their arch--Both of them are deeply flawed and magnificently gifted individuals who were born and raised to rule worlds, if not whole galaxies. They both have let their personal fears and flaws get in the way of what they could achieve together. In Allura's case the fatal flaw is predudice. In Lotor's it is lack of trust. He should have told her about the Altean colonies, but, rationally feared that he couldn't trust her to hear him out--irony being, if he'd brought it up privately and volunteered the info she probably would have reacted differently. However, Lotor has never had anyone he's trusted or who has trusted him, so he doesn't know that is how trust works. 😢

These two are designed to point out each other's flaws, and help them to correct them (not to make up for them, but to truly help each other change as people by, essentially, calling each other on their shit.) When they do that--Allura facing her racism; Lotor facing his lack of knowing how to actually trust someone fully--then the fatal flaws that lead to the ending of S6 (and the subsequent inter-galactic crisis that the simultaneous betrayal of these two baby-rulers, has caused) will be obliterated, the fatal flaws cured. Allura and Lotor will then be capable of resuming creating the new era of peace they were attempting before, but this time they will succeed because they will have learned to have real transparency/trust, rather than letting their unconscious fears be reasons to mistrust each other when they need to trust each other the most.

Lotura is a ship that is about real equality combined with real consciousness of self and other in relationships. Neither will be able to mature as characters until they see the flaws in Self that their initial (immature) love brought out in each other; the completion of the circle is then conscious change from seeing these flaws, and then forgiving themselves and each other for them. Only then can they can move into a mature love, which will allow them to bring out the best in each other without being blind to the flaws in each other and themselves.

Real love is seeing and dealing with both the good and bad, not ignoring one in favor of the other (this always backfires, as Lotura's first arch demonstrates). And that is a super valuable relationship lesson, that, in a show for kids, is profound and important. Love is seeing and accepting all of your partner and working together to change the things that need to be changed--not getting mad at each other, refusing to listen to what your partner has to say, deflecting with things like "your just like your dad," and subsequent retaliations that take the couple further away from the real issue, like Lotor does when Allura finally hits his weak spot and his basic response is "oh yeah, well your dad sucked too!" And from there it's all just them both being so hurt that reason is lost. That is the state of immature love.

Lotor and Allura are the only two characters who are each other's equals. They are the only two who can call each other on their shit effectively and who can help the other to change and grow. Their arch is about learning how to do that consciously and maturely. How to trust instead of doubt. How to see through the limitations of ego fears (Allura's prejudice, Lotor's not knowing how to trust) and to consciously choose loyalty to each other and to a fully shared vision. Without doing so, neither of these characters can transform from being in their immature Prince/Princess state to being ready for the mature King/Queen state.

Okay, Next...

Keith/Acxa:

I keep seeing posts where people are saying that this came out of nowhere... frankly, you all need to go back and rewatch the series. Keith and Acxa first meet in season 2 inside the guts of a Weblum. Even though it's clear to them from the start that they're on opposite sides of a war (thank you space suits) they still work together to survive and don't abandon each other even when it might benefit them to do so--they demonstrate immediately that they have a similar honor code/value system.

Every time these two encounter each other, despite remaining on opposite sides, they always help each other in this way that shows they both are in wonder about it--they don't know why, but something, some sort of "I owe you" that can't ever seem to be repaid no matter how often they help each other, is just in affect between them. Obviously, this continues to mount in S7.

So, why can't they just be friends? Well maybe they can, but I don't think that's where this is going...

For one thing, Keith is clearly drawn to his Galran side. He wants to be with the Blades of Mamora more than Team Voltron for a long stretch of time. Then he meets his Galran mom. Keith never got along well with other humans, as is established all over S7. He does get along with all these Galrans.

Those of you who know psychology know, we pretty much always marry some variation of our parents. Keith has a Galran mom who he likes and loves a lot. Acxa fits his mommy archetype. And, she's a half-breed like him--she knows what it's like to not fully belong to any one people.

Plus, as stated and well established in canon, these two just can't help but constantly save each other. I think more than ANY ship possibility, this one is obvious, and would totally make end-game sense.

So...

Shiro/???:

On the one hand, I'd love to see everyone all happy and paired up living happily ever after, but think it completely fits all of Shiro's character development to end up alone.

S7 firmly establishes that as a person, Shiro's ambitions/dreams matter more to him than the emotional needs of his partner, Adam. That's okay, there's nothing wrong with that, but, as a personality trait, it's not going to make for a happy long term relationship. In relationships you need to be willing to sacrifice things for your partner--not everything, not all the time--but you don't have the right to make serious decisions that affect you both without giving weight to the other person's needs. Shiro makes it clear that Adam's feelings don't matter to his decision to go on the Kerberos mission. That's not good partnering.

Adam, on the other hand, demonstrates a much more partner-oriented approach. He knows this is Shiro's dream, and because he loves him, he put his own wants/fears aside to support Shiro going on his first mission. He doesn't want to stop Shiro from being happy, but, when he tells Shiro that if Shiro goes AGAIN, Adam won't be here when he gets back, he's realizing that he's got to let Shiro understand that he can't be the only one in their relationship caring about the other's feelings. Adam needs a partner who will give the relationship serious weight in serious life decisions. Shiro demonstrates through his actions that he does not value the relationship more than his ambitions.

Shiro is a great team leader, but that doesn't necessarily make him a good life partner.

So, if Shiro ends up realizing this about himself and choosing to not have a romantic partnership, there is a really valuable lesson and story line there:

In American culture there is a lot of pressure to pair up. We are taught from childhood that real happiness hinges upon being partnered--at the end of every Disney movie the princess and prince finally get to be together forever and this is how we know they will "live happily every after". But not everyone is suited to relationships--and that has nothing to do with sexuality.

Shiro is gay, but that doesn't make him intrinsically more suited to long-term relationships than being straight makes anyone suited to long term relationships.

The LGBTQ+ community seems to be offended that Shiro isn't being represented in a relationship, but honestly I think they're being done a great service--Shiro is being understood as human rather than as his sexuality. His sexuality doesn't make him who he is. Being honest with himself about whether or not long-term relationships are actually something he is built for, is important for everyone to think about, and it's maybe especially important for LGBTQ+ kids to have a role model who does think about this.

One of the dangers of being LGBTQ+ is that people unconsciously reduce you to being a label--and you are so so much more than that label. Your sexuality is just one facet of Self, just like being straight is just one facet of Self for straight people. The pressure to be in a relationship as "proof" of your "identity" is very real for young LGBTQ+ kids, and the fear of leaving a relationship once you find one is far more intense because you fear your options are limited and you might not find someone else of your sexuality/who accepts your sexual-identity. So, LGBTQ+ kids are more vulnerable to staying in relationships that they've outgrown as a result of semi-conscious societal pressure to both pair up and to "prove" their "identity", and to fear that they might not ever find another relationship.

Shiro being the rep for the LBGTQ+ community teaches kids that you can be any sexuality/sexual-identity, and it doesn't change anything else about you--it doesn't change that you're smart and skilled and capable of being a space pilot, it doesn't change that it's perfectly possible and okay for a relationship (or even long term relationships in general) to not be right for you, it doesn't change your ability to be a good team leader... it doesn't change or mean anything else about you any more than a straight person being straight does. It's a facet of Self, to be weighed against many many other facets of Self.

...All that said, if they do somehow make it canon that Adam miraculously survived and he and Shiro are end game, that could be a great character development arch too, as long as it involves Shiro acknowledging that if he's going to resume being in a relationship with Adam he has to make decisions WITH Adam, and respect that Adam's emotions and needs matter equally to his own. If Shiro isn't willing to chose the truly rational emotional well-being of his partner (I mean Adam was reasonably scared that Shiro would die in space) over his own ambitions, he's not compatible with Adam. And that's okay too.

And, lastly:

Zethrid/Ezor:

Here's another rep for the LGBTQ+ community. In contrast to Shiro's story line, which may end up with him consciously deciding that committed relationships aren't as important to him as other parts of life and is happy being alone, we are now being introduced to a relationship in which two women who have worked together for a long time are discovering happiness through exploring their romantic connection. From what we've seen in S7, it looks like Zethrid and Ezor are experiencing a deeper trust and intimacy as a result of their new relationship.

I think it's great for two characters who are largely portrayed as villains/secondary shades-of-gray characters to demonstrate to people how relationships can change your priorities. Zethrid and Ezor seem to have made each other the first priority, rather than the ever-convoluted mission. They're still in the middle of this war, but now they care most about looking out for each other, rather than prioritizing the Galra Empire or Lotor. They are finding meaning in what they've fought for through their love for each other. I think they will be taken on an arch that is the opposite of Shiro's, in which they increasingly discover that their relationship and love for each other matters more to them than the military ambitions that may have once fueled them as individuals. ❤️

In conclusion:

While I think this is clear, in case it isn't, I am not bashing on ANY ship in this post, I'm just explaining why I think these ships are the logical end game ships for good story telling.

If you are so inclined, I'd love to hear your thoughts presented in a respectful and legible manner. ❤️

Thanks for reading, I know it's a long one. 😅

[nadziejastar]

hi I love your blog!! I just wanted to ask what your background is in spiritual matters are because you seem so well-versed in them and your applications of some concepts are absolutely spot on!! I’m just curious haha

Why We’re Never Going To Find Out How Saïx Got His Scar

Thanks! Pretty much all learned outside of school, haha. I don’t have a special background or anything. I am just an ordinary person drawn to strange subjects. I guess if I’m being honest, I became immersed in these subjects because I used to deal with depression, lol. I don’t anymore, but I still really love Axel’s character arc for that reason. He wanted to find hope. And he did.

His arc is based on the Phoenix—dying, rotting away, turning to ash, and then being born again. You need to experience a form of death, to shed away the old self. Only then can you be reborn into something higher. You need to suffer pain and despair. That is the only way to be liberated from your previous state. It’s one of those special character arcs that resonated with me strongly. It does kind of kill me to see a work of fiction incorporate genuine spiritual concepts, then get butchered. Because you don’t get that message from mainstream entertainment very often.

Zuko: “I used to think this scar marked me - the mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I’ve realized I’m free to determine my own destiny, even if I’ll never be free of my mark.”

The only other one I personally recall that had a similar realistic spiritual aspect was Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. He is another character that I connected with a lot. Another Fire-type character associated with the sun, strangely enough. Zuko’s arc reminded me of Axel’s, actually. As you wander through the valley of the shadow of death, you are purified. You shed the snakeskin of the ego, and are capable of transforming into your highest self. You become capable of unconditional love. He had his own awakening experience during a dream. The way he loved his sister Azula also reminded me of how Axel loved Saïx. He reminds me of Isa, too. Both have iconic scars that symbolize their trauma.

The deeper you go, the more you realize how interconnected all these metaphysical concepts are, too. Eastern/Western. Alchemy, Shamanism, Kundalini Yoga, Kabbalah, Jungian Psychology. Doesn’t matter. It’s all the same thing when you get right down to it. Raising your state of consciousness, and seeing the illusion of the world for what it is. This realization allows you to become a new being. 

The two snakes/dragons represent Masculine and Feminine. Yin and Yang. Shiva and Shakti. Sol and Luna. The energy rising up the two pathways and opening the chakras, is referred to as sacred fire. When these two energies unite, one becomes enlightened, and transcends desire, duality, karma, space and time, etc. One’s true nature is realized, which is infinite. You have the compassion and love of the Feminine, and can combine it with the strength and intelligence of the Masculine.

And Axel’s character arc is essentially the same. They are both alike in so many ways. His Ultimate Gear is called “Double Edge”. His Champion gear is called “Rapid Spinner”, referring to the chakras, which are said to be like whirlpools of energy in the body. Chakra means “wheel” in Sanskrit. And these weapons are shaped like mandalas of the Third Eye and Crown chakras. Mandalas are geometric figures representing unity and harmony. 

It’s also known as sacred geometry. It’s a symbol in a dream, representing the dreamer’s search for completeness and self-unity. Carl Jung used them a lot in his practice. He said they symbolize the wholeness of the self. These specific mandalas are used in Reiki for healing. And this is exactly why we’re never going to find out how Saïx got his scar. It’s fundamentally tied into these spiritual concepts.

Xigbar: “Xion’s disappearance is fascinating. It seems Saïx doesn’t truly “see” her.”

Origin: The Sanskrit name for the 3rd Eye Chakra is called the Ajna (command, or in control). The color of Ajna is indigo or midnight blue, associated with depth of awareness.

Xemnas: “As your flesh bears the sigil, so your name shall be known as that…of a recusant.”

Location – Brow: Located in the center of the forehead between and above the eyes, this Chakra governs psychic abilities and spiritual discernment. Bodily, it governs the pineal and pituitary glands.

Saïx: “Settle down. Xion’s failings won’t affect your standing with us. You’ve nothing to worry about.”

Roxas: “Won’t affect my– What is WRONG with you? Look, I’ll do my mission–later.”

Level of Consciousness – 6th: Ajna Chakra is the command center, or the seat of wisdom where the consciousness evolves to understanding and acting on what we experience from a much deeper place of wisdom and insight. When Kundalini Shakti (spiritual energy) is awakened in this Chakra, it opens the 3rd eye, the inner eye of intuition and inner guidance. An under-active Ajna Chakra may show up in a lack of spiritual depth and understanding.

Saïx: Do you know what happens to those who lose their true purpose? Inevitably, they destroy themselves.

Soul Journey Stage – Breaking-Open: You have an urge to connect with your inner wisdom, to live your life in alignment with your inner guidance.

Xemnas: “Our experiments creating Heartless were attempts to control the mind, and convince it to renounce its sense of self.”

Element – Mind: In yogic tradition, it is believed that the mind is made up of the same 5 elements that the universe is made up of (earth, water, fire, air and ether). Ajna Chakra transcends the individual elements and opens the door to universal intelligence.

Saïx: “Nonsense. I see no problem whatsoever.”

Xigbar: “Ha ha! Well no, apparently you don’t!”

Saïx: “Something you find amusing?”

Xigbar: “If people see with their hearts, Saïx, then you’re even blinder than the rest of us.”

Quality – Intuition: The 3rd eye vision is the inner vision of intuition, insight and wisdom.

Saïx: “Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts. The rage of the Keyblade releases those hearts. They gather in darkness, masterless and free… until they weave together to make Kingdom Hearts. And when that time comes, we can truly, finally exist.”

Origin: The Sanskrit name for the Crown Chakra is the Sahasrara, meaning the lotus of a thousand petals. Violet is the highest color in the light spectrum, and represents wisdom, awareness, and spiritual energy. White is also associated with the Crown Chakra. If your Chakra is underactive, you may lack interest in your spiritual self, you may not be open to intangible spiritual experiences.

Xemnas: “My friends! Remember why we have organized–all the things we hope to achieve. The strength of the human heart is vast. Soon, though…we will have gained power over it! Never again will it…have power over us.”

Level of Consciousness – 7th: This is the last milestone of the evolution of human consciousness, the door to Pure Consciousness. When Kundalini Shakti (spiritual energy) is awakened in this Chakra, the illusion of the individual self is dissolved. Self-realization sets in.

Xion: “I love Roxas and Axel. I’m sure Saïx would scoff at that. Call it a trick of my artificial memories. But the time I spent on that clock tower was real.”

Soul Journey Stage: You have an awareness of your own consciousness, a knowledge that the planet is connected by love, your philosophies are simple and straightforward.

Xemnas: “But then, through Roxas, Sora himself began to shape “it” into “her,” giving Xion a sense of identity. I was ready to scrap the whole project…”

Element – Energy: represents the cosmic energy that is awareness and pure consciousness.

Saïx: “Nngh… How much longer…Kingdom…Hearts… Will your strength never be mine?”

Quality – Bliss: When the Crown Chakra is open, we experience the eternal bliss, the peace that “passeth all understanding.”

Saïx: “Well, that didn’t take long. Did it break again?”

Roxas: “She’s not an ‘it’!”

Axel: “Keep your mouth shut.”

Sense – Empathy: This is because of the deep connection that we experience when the Crown Chakra energy is active.

Axel’s purple mandala-shaped weapons are the Emperor and Empress arcana of Luxord’s Tarot deck. The Red King and White Queen. Sol and Luna. Ultimate and Champion Gear. Saïx’s two weapons in these categories are the pink ones, lol. The ones shaped like Venus, the goddess of love, and Vesta, the goddess of sacred sexuality who’s known as the Keeper of the Sacred Flame.

And in Luxord’s deck, you also have the Sun and Moon arcana. For the Moon arcana, Axel’s weapon is called “Dive Bomb” and shaped like more sacred geometry, and Saïx’s weapon is called “Luminary”, shaped like energy healing.

The Sun arcana is the red “Omega Trinity”, shaped like the Ouroboros, another symbol of Rubedo and the union of Sol and Luna. It’s also a symbol of infinity, beyond the limits of time and space. And Saïx’s is called “Light Year”. Isa is light years away, but the red light can reach him and heal him. Their characters were all about healing each other. It’s why it’s so heartbreaking for me to see how Lea and Isa’s story was treated. You just don’t see many stories like theirs. It’s so positive and uplifting. 

The writers have all of these sophisticated concepts in mind, and their artistic integrity gets trampled all over. KH is a lot like ATLA. They are both marketed as child-friendly, but you can tell that the writers for both series are extremely intelligent and well-educated. Though even ATLA got compromised artistically to make the live action movies…

[fanofthefics]

Dragon’s Kiss by Jupiter 13

To the Fic!

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!

Ships (If applicable): Puppyshipping primarily, with a mix of Tendershipping, Puzzleshipping, Bronzeshipping, and Chaseshipping. Other, much more minor ships. are also sprinkled throughout.

Warnings: kidnapping and hostage situations as well as a few sex scenes, some of which border on dubious or a lack of consent.

There are, on occasion, times when I want a very good, heavy story. An epic tale that brings me into another world all its own.

You figure that would be just fan fiction in a nutshell but really I’m talking about fantasy worlds. I absolutely love fantasy, especially when a dragon is somehow involved. It’s a not-so-secret weakness of mine. I admire just about any story with the ability to transport me into another world and give me an epic tale from that world.

And this is where Dragon’s Kiss comes in.

This is a pretty old story by fan fiction standards. It’s also one of the longer, more intimidating reads; it sits as a whopping 260K words. But it’s really good at pulling you in.

This story is an AU High Fantasy type that repurposes all the characters in a way that makes (most of them) feel in character. More on the parentheses later.

The story follows Joey, the prince of Domino who has a deep interest in dragons. On his eighteenth birthday, he is gifted a small black dragon and, from there, it summons a very large, very pissed white dragon. He is then taken by the two where he learns more about them. He learns the younger one’s name is Mokuba and the large one is Seto. The two are brothers and the last of their kind.

Yes, Seto and Mokuba are motherfuckin’ dragons in this story!

He also gets to meet Yugi and Ryou from a small village at the base of the dragons’ mountain hideout (two kids born as mages after centuries of extinction) their animal mentors Yami (a hawk who can grow in size) and Bakura (a wolf who can become kind of anthropomorphic ), and Mai (A witch. Exactly what it says on the tin.) Not to mention Ishizu, a healer/helper for Seto and Mokuba who has the power to grant only one, very specific wish. And, later, there's the introduction of Malik, also a helper who’s hellbent on finding other dragons as his mission, and Marik, a werewolf.

Phew, that’s a lot to unpack… As I said, this story’s pretty much an epic.

The story becomes a Beauty and the Beast kind of deal if Belle was well… Joey… and if Beast was… well, Kaiba. But the relationship evolves over time and has a beautiful way of showing how the threats become teasing become flirting become. You know, typical puppyshipping stuff.

But, what would be a good story without a good conflict to match it?

You see, there’s a reason Seto and Mokuba are the last of their kind. And it has a lot to do with a group of witches seeking out and killing both the dragons and the mages. So, when one of the witches who was set on their destruction gets wind of their existence, she teams up with two people looking to take over Joey’s kingdom.

Now, I really did enjoy this story. I read the entire thing in a matter of days which, for its size and my reading speed, is pretty quick. A lot happens in the story and, while it did have moments that seemed unnecessary, it was always interesting.

I do have one minor problem with it and its something I find often with the older fan works. There’s a bit of Tea bashing in this tale. I mean I’ve seen it done a lot worse than this, don’t get me wrong. In fact, it could be explained away as the writer needing a proper bad guy. But, it did get into the idea that this kind of treatment to her character is normal which, at the time, it was. It’s a trope that did not age well and for good reason.

All in all, there are very few complaints from me. I’ve taken the time to enjoy this story a few times. All the main relationships feel real and believable and there were a few times when I felt actually sad for the characters. 

Did I cry? ....Maybe.

Where did I cry? Read the story and figure it out!

Ratings:

Boring Grammar Stuff: 9/10 (just a few minor things I noticed that took me from the story. Not much.)

Enjoyment: 10/10

Relation to the Source: N/A

Overall: 19/20 (I still go back to this story for the sake of nostalgia and to read some of my favorite parts. But this epic tale isn’t without its issues. Still, I enjoy this read and I’m pretty sure I’d be far from the only one.)

[love-takes-work]

Steven Selects: Episode 8 Recap

Steven Universe podcast “Steven Selects: Episode 8: Off Colors,” hosted by McKenzie Atwood, is the eighth of an eight-part series of spotlights on fan favorite episodes. The guests are Matt Burnett, Ben Levin, Ian Jones-Quartey, and Rebecca Sugar. The official description:

"Off Colors" is the Steven Universe episode that introduced fan-favorite Padparadscha, provided a more detailed look at Homeworld, and focused on Steven and Lars' relationship! And those are just a few of the things that writers Ben Levin and Matt Burnett discuss in this episode of the pod! Steven Universe Creator Rebecca Sugar also returns to answer some fan Q&A including a question about Lars' character development and initial ideas! Plus, former Steven Universe Executive Producer, Ian Jones-Quartey, tackles a few questions involving the "Rule Of Cool" and fun facts about Opal!

Outline:

McKenzie opens as usual with a question about how the episode changed from conception to completion. The first point they discussed was how they decided when the episode would end (before going into “Lars’ Head”). Since you have a significant character death and revival, you have to figure out where to place that in a storyline for the most satisfying storytelling. Sad cliffhangers are difficult, so they decided he needed to be resurrected before the end.

Another big point was that originally there were two more Off Colors! Their names were Flint and Chert, and they were Quartzes who'd had a moral objection to fighting. Then they decided that might just be too many characters, and also the Off Colors were supposed to have been rejected by Homeworld for who they were, not what they believed. So they decided to scrap the idea of these extra Quartzes.

McKenzie asks if, while coming up with the group as a group all at the same time, how is that different from coming up with individual characters? Matt and Ben discuss how they intended to show a snapshot of the kinds of Gems who get rejected from Homeworld, with the Rutile Twins coming out wrong, Rhodonite being a cross-class Fusion, Fluorite being a polyamorous Fusion, and Padparadscha functions differently--they're all not normal by Homeworld's standards.

Next, they discuss Padparadscha and how she became an instant fan favorite--how do they make her one joke so adorable throughout even though it's sort of repetitive? The writers say they had to make them memorable, so each had to have a special way of talking that distinguished them. The Rutiles rephrase what each other said, Fluorite is "consulting with many different Gems" so she speaks very slowly, Rhodonite is like a "reverse Garnet" so the Pearl side is always showing her freakouts, and then Padparadscha has future speech for things that already happened. People love her because she's so earnest and trying to help, she thinks her friends don't know the information she's offering and she just wants to be useful.

Regarding being on Homeworld, the writers said they haven't shown much of the world by this point but you do get that glimpse of the skyline as they break out of the trial room and then you get to see the core of the planet all eroded from the Kindergartens. Initially they had this idea that the palanquin would land in a populated area and the drones that came after them would poof some bystanders! But Matt says they wanted to focus on what really matters about the episode. The street level of Homeworld is like the lowest of the low, and having it so empty helps make it scary and hopeless. They're holding onto showing off populated areas of Homeworld for . . . another time.

McKenzie asks about tackling the Lars arc. They've had plans to kill Lars for a long time, but they thought it would happen earlier and less significantly--maybe even as early as when Steven first learns about his healing powers in the first place. They felt like waiting longer helped them "earn" a big significant character change for Lars. There's also the question of whether Steven always had the healing tears, but it's a little unclear; he wasn't able to heal Amethyst with his tears, but later he cried on Lars (without intent) and it brought him back to life. The differences of course were that Steven's powers have evolved since then, and also that this was the first time he's tried it on someone who needed to be reanimated. It's nice for Steven to have grown in his abilities so you didn't go into, like, episode 2 thinking Steven can bring people back from the dead.

McKenzie also brings up what might happen if Lars went in Lion's mane. They have no idea what would happen. They joke that if he went into Lion and came out his own head, it'd be like Inception, and he'd just have to continuously crawl out of levels of himself until he came out of Lion again.

Fan Questions (answered by Ian Jones-Quartey):

Question: How do you think TV animation is changing, or how did it change over the course of your time on SU?

Answer: Ian says TV animation hasn't changed too much. Cartoon Network is basically built on top of Hanna Barbera, and they pitch shows and episodes the same way they did. There's been a trend toward more creator-driven shows, but that's been going on since the 1990s. But because things can be more specific these days, they can do deeper stories sometimes, but the process is about the same. There's also the multi-platform thing, but the stuff Ian liked as a kid had toy lines and video games too. The characters and stories are new, and the process is similar.

Question: How do you find a decent balance between keeping fusion special and giving fans what they love to see? (In general, how do you balance timing reveals?)

Answer: Ian says they had so many ideas, but at the end of the day they'd decide what's the COOLEST way to unveil an idea. They aren't necessarily going for surprising--they just want it to feel good.

Question: Any fun facts about Opal?

Answer: Most of the facts about Opal are known. But she's based on two people with different personalities when they feel like they're on the same wavelength. Opal is designed to be temporary. Because she's made only for a specific use at a specific time, between two Gems who only get along sometimes, she would focus on a singular task. Opal is a little forgetful or distracted.

Question: When a character is introduced, how do you set them up in their first few episodes?

Answer: Every character needs their main gimmick that they're all about. You have to find what animates them to do that. Where do they get that from? For instance, Onion is kinda creepy, he does weird stuff, and then it's because his dad is gone all the time so he's always getting in trouble and doing weird things because no one tells him no. In later episodes, they'd lean on that idea whenever they have Onion around. As long as you as the creator know it, there'll be an internal consistency to the character.

Question: On Stewood Plaven Turbiverse?

Answer: Rebecca and Ian came up with the idea of a crossover episode between Steven Universe and Lakewood Plaza Turbo (the original title of OK KO), as a fun dream from when they were both coming up with their shows' pilots. Instead of a crossover exactly, they thought they would blend the shows together, resulting in K-Ven, Penid, Radethyst and Mr. Garnet. They'd go on an adventure. An idea like that, says Ian, is impossible--the best thing about crossovers is that you can reuse stuff, while a blending would be impractical. Never say never, but there'd be a lot of labor.

Fan Questions (answered by Rebecca Sugar):

Question: What is the process for coming up with plot devices and characters that will forward the development of challenging characters specifically?

Answer: The plot and the characters are not entirely separate--plots evolve from who the characters are and why they need each other, so it's all interconnected as to what ends up challenging them. For instance, the way that Pearl idolizes Garnet helps them function as a team but also is a problem for her as a character, and the reason she's like that is associated with her past. Amethyst is always covering up insecurities, etc. Once you understand who they are, you know why they are pulled together or apart--it always comes from the CHARACTERS.

Question: What are your favorite tropes?

Answer: Rebecca loves silly old cartoon tropes. One-dimensional, wacky tropes. She loves the idea of adding realism and complexity to these silly old clichés. Rebecca always wanted to make something completely original, but Ian encouraged her to use the groundwork that already exists that people will recognize, and build on those, since people already recognize them and you can do so much with them. She just likes classic, corny things.

Question: Was Lars's character arc always planned or more recent?

Answer: Steven resurrecting Lars was one of the oldest ideas in the show--always planned. Rebecca's first ten episode outlines originally included an arc for Lars that's similar to what eventually happened with him. Steven and Lars have always been counters; Lars can't accept help and Steven wants to help everyone; Lars is always putting on a façade and Steven can't do that to save his life. So they're always bouncing off each other in interesting ways. And of course, as mentioned in other places, Lars was an even older character from Rebecca's college comics; his relationship with Sadie was based on Rebecca and people she knew, kind of an amalgam, and the characters were also college students at the time. She wanted a mundane comic strip where very everyday stuff happens--she mentions having one about Sadie just sitting down and eating boxed mac and cheese, with no punch line. Very much about a college experience. Rebecca brought Lars and Sadie in from those comics because they represented the "real world," and that was part of the SU concept--the magical meeting the mundane. So she borrowed her own characters for that.

"Steven Selects" is now over, but new special episodes of the podcast start on December 19th, 2017.

[Archive of Steven Universe Podcast Summaries]

[careerjugglr]

Procrastinating In  Updating Your Resume?

Even though you may be well-settled in your current job, this does not mean that updating your resume should be completely out of mind. Companies when recruiting for middle or higher level positions target passive candidates in addition to active job seekers. There are times when recruitment consultants will find your profile suitable for an opening, and will reach out to you. Then, the first thing they will ask for is an updated resume. 

 You may not be looking for a job, but would you say “No” if an interesting opportunity came your way? 

 It’s essential to be prepared with that perfect resume when that happens. 

 Headhunters and HR staffers usually work on tight deadlines and expect interested candidates to send in their resume within 48 hours. So it is always better to keep it ready rather than sharing an old CV that would significantly diminish your chances of even getting an interview. Moreover, being prepared to share your updated resume at any given time gives you a competitive advantage. It prepares you for any call that might come when you don’t have the time to find your old one buried somewhere in your computer’s files. Uday Sodhi, CEO, , avers “We recommend that professionals should update their resume yearly as recruiters generally work on tight deadlines and an updated resume often saves them valuable time. It also gives the candidate an edge over others”. He maintains that “A resume should not only delve into the history of the candidate but also give a fair understanding about a professional’s future direction based on his/her capabilities and competencies”. 

 Looking at the way the industry has evolved, it is advisable to update as often as you reach / achieve an important professional milestone. It could be anything - from earning a new educational degree to winning a crucial project or taking on additional responsibilitiesat the workplace. A resume is a live document and just like you learn and grow every day, it should reflect the knowledge gained. 

 Your resume is also a marketing tool for your personal brand. Like all good marketing tools, it should directly result in generating demand for your skills. When you look at your old resume and find nothing to add, it may be time to call up a resume writing service provider. A professional writer, who’s well versed with current market trends, can help you identify new skills that can enhance your profile. Getting skills written by an expert also gives you the advantage of having a CV that uses industry-specific keywords, phrases and jargon for better visibility when searched by recruiters on job search portals. . 

 Has updating your resume been buried amongst your other priorities? Stretched for time to do this important task? Get started right way. Take action. Reach out to professional resume writers or you could end up losing out on a great job opportunity!If you are a migrant, just how to Job Browse

Are you one of the hundreds of migrants in the country that requires a task and you have no suggestion ways to begin trying to find one due to the fact that you are brand-new to the country? Rejoice to understand, discovering a job is very easy when you understand where to search. Below’s some task hunting ideas in order to help you begin as a traveler.

You may be assuming “Now where could I find employers considering that I m brand-new below”. How can you find your wanted new task?

Prior to anything else, you should determine your abilities and also capabilities, update your return to, and prepare to encounter the work process.

There are numerous methods to begin seeking work.

Work:

Look for job facilities that have countless job listings for various kinds of jobs. Many of the job centers keep up to date work listings on file. These profession focuses started out aiding the young work seekers up to 21 years old.

Papers:

Many papers and charitable papers still upload advertisements for task openings. You could find all the existing papers in collections and also check all the current job posts.

Journals and also publications:

Many markets have their own journals or magazines. Employers may post ads in these journals or magazines since they know they will certainly discover the specialists they require in a certain area. These could be located in magazine stands and others stopped by registration. Therefore, if you are wanting to establish your job based upon your discipline or experience, you could increase your work potential customers by subscribing to a specialist magazine in that occupation.

Agencies:

Employment recruiter deal with the majority of the existing job opportunities. You can find listings of employment service in the regional yellow pages for various industries or occupations.

Employer locations:

Many business post task openings in their location of company or on their internet site. Since these companies such as food retailers make use of interior notice boards, they do not promote in newspapers as well as companies. You can stroll into these business and also ask the front workdesk for work openings.

Internet:

Like it is being mentioned earlier, many business will provide their openings on the net. Most of the leading companies, employment service, and newspapers have their very own internet site. You can save time by exploring them individually as well as look for the task that matches your ԛualifications.

Just how to carry out a job search as a migrants

The adhering to are ways an immigrant could carry out a job search in a brand-new country;

Assembled a fantastic resume.

Prior to your work search ever begins, you require a return to. The return to is the very first contact you will certainly have with a prospective employer. It is an expansion of your life as well as a recap of your success. It is just how a manager will select you out of hundreds … possibly thousands of applicants. It could indicate the difference between amazing work meetings as well as a phone that never ever rings, in between success and failure.

This is a complicated task for 2 pages (maximum) of paper. That’s right, 2 little web pages to speak about your education, job experience, achievements and also awards, special abilities, training, specialist experience/affiliation, and more. Generally, you require to summarize your life, as well as make it intriguing, in two pages.

Identify the areas you may wish to live.

Some jobs are concentrated in certain areas and also the pay can be significantly even more compared to where you live. The substantial majority of computer shows jobs in the U.S. are in Silicon Valley, California.

However, pay isn’t whatever. To properly assess your situation, various other factors have to enter into play. Price of living, for example, could be substantially various from one city to an additional.

Put Out words.

When you have a resume and choose your preferred place, its time to obtain rushing. They are the foundation of your search and also a terrific source of info and leads.

The huge benefit of your network is that it is put together with people that currently understand you. Depending on your partnership, lots of individuals in your network will really feel a vested rate of interest in your success, as well as will go out of their way to assist. If they are available in contact with a possible employer, they could vouch for your personality and also job principles instantly and also help you leap to the top of the prospect pool.

Look Online

With the advent of the net, the initial place several work hunters search for work listings is currently on the internet on the net. There are more task search internet sites than you know what to do with as well as every one is informing you they are the ideal. The reality is they are. Careerbuilder.com is among the very best work search site online. They have excellent ideas, will create your cover as well as resume letter for, and get you job hunting in minutes. Careerbuilder will match you with companies seeking your, not an arbitrary checklist of jobs.

You could locate even more by mosting likely to Google.com and also doing a search for “jobs”. The secret to efficiently utilizing these websites is being organized.

Look Offline

Do not neglect the attempted and true methods of discovering a work. Get the daily paper and various other classified regulars to look for listings.

[oadara]

Kinda disappointed to see you like reylo. I love jonerys and don’t see why they would be compared to reylo. Dany and Jon are both heroes. Kylo isn’t worth redeeming. Anakin at least has the tragic backstory as a compelling reason for how he became Vader. Reylo would be abusive, would they ever get together. He said she was nothing but not to him. That’s the most cliché textbook line abusers use. I have a psych degree, so it’s really upsetting to see people ship Rey with that whiny man-child.

Hello anon,

It’s interesting how people perceive fiction and how they judge others by how they perceive it. There are many things in the fandoms that I’ve participated in that I’m not crazy about, some I outright dislike but I rarely get involved in the anti-movement in fandom. In fact, most of the times I’ve gotten involved is because of aggressive fans who come to me first. I don’t get the idea behind participating in something you don’t enjoy. If I stop enjoying something, then I stop it all together. However, I’ll play, along because you’ve decided to come to me with your grievance. 

Your statement about having a degree in psychology is not only pompous but it’s also meaningless. Unless you also hold a degree in literature and have published and/or done research on the Psychology of Fictional Characters with focus on the Star Wars Universe, your opinion holds doesn’t hold much weight. One of my bachelors is in pre-Law, I can tell you right now that in no way qualifies me to give legal advice. Having a degree in anything doesn’t automatically make you an expert. It’s your perception that whatever relationship exists between Kylo Ren/Ben and Rey is abusive, and that’s fair, it’s your perception, but that does not make it a fact. 

Abuse comes in many different ways and we all perceive abuse differently given our experiences. What I may consider abuse given my experiences with abuse might not be considered abuse by someone else. My view of abuse is that at its core abuse is about creating and maintaining a dynamic in which there is an unbalance of power. The relationship between Kylo Ren’Ben and Rey is a tug and pull by both of them. 

In The Force Awakens Kylo Ren/Ben and Rey were enemies throughout the film and whatever happened between them should be judged on what happens between any two people who find themselves on opposite sides of a war. I don’t see people talking about KR/B actions towards Poe and Finn as abusive and I think the answer is clear, it’s all about gender. Most of the world’s cultures/societies are patriarchal and therefore there is an ingrained misogyny in our thinking that is held by both women and men alike and most people don’t even notice it. The default is the male perspective. I haven’t been part of this fandom very long but when I saw how people used this “talking point” of abuse to drive the narrative of this ship I found it very perplexing. But as I thought about it I realized that what was happening here is that Rey was being infantilized by a certain segment of the fandom. Because of her gender and stature, in comparison to KRB, she was automatically perceived as weaker in the mold of the damsel in distress. However, nothing in TFA hinted at any such “weakness” in fact if I remember correctly the movie ended with Rey defeated KR/B and leaving him with a cheek to chess scar as a reminder of her abilities and strength. By the end of TFA the dynamic between Rey and KR/B is that of two enemies with equal abilities, capable of fighting each other on an even playing field.

In The Last Jedi their dynamic evolves, they go from enemies to something akin to friends and by the end, they are something akin to frenemies. The interesting part is that when they have their first Force Bond, KR/B tries to use his Jedi powers to compel Rey to bring Luke to him, while Rey tries to shoot KR/B. From there KR/B becomes very agreeable, even though Rey’s scar him for life and just tried to shoot him he interested in engaging with her. On the other hand, Rey is still, understandably, really angry and calls him a monster to his face. But as their relationship progresses through their Force Bond they find a connection with one another, based on shared traumas and feelings of loneliness. It becomes an even dynamic between the two. The throne room scene, which many of those who call the relationship abusive use as an example, has KR/B  utter the “you are nothing” phrase to Rey. While KR/B words are harsh, somewhat elites, and extremely inarticulate, if you take the entire scene into consideration I wouldn’t perceive his behavior as abusive. He was speaking the truth, but he said it in a really shitty way, however, being shitty doesn’t make you abusive. It makes you insensitive and in KRB’s case also desperate because he realizes he’s, Rey’s not buying what he’s selling and Rey makes that extra clear by trying to get back her lightsaber. The movie ends with Rey looking over KR/B while he’s on his knees looking defeated.

In fact, for two straight films, Rey has ended the movie standing tall while KR/B has been either on the floor beaten and bleeding or on his knees in defeat. As I said earlier, their dynamic is one of push and pull, but if any of them holds any power over the other it’s clearly Rey. I think antis would have served themselves better by going with the “unhealthy relationship” talking point in order to drive their narrative against the relationship. It’s a hell of a lot less misogynistic and much more realistic and I think a lot more people would be open to discussing it on those terms. Personally, considering that Star Wars is a fairy tale and how they are trying to develop their relationship, I would consider Reylo to be complicated and complex, as all relationship between interesting heroes and villains are.

Speaking of which, I’ll give you the same answer as to why I ship Reylo as I’ve given countless times as why I shipped Jonerys, and that is because that’s what the story is telling me. My personal preferences as to whom I would like character A or B to end up with are irrelevant, I’m not the writer of the story nor do I have any influence over the writing of the story. Having watched the films that’s what I deduced was the course the story was taking and I’ve made a personal decision to embrace it. It’s not a usual dynamic for an endgame couple, given the extremes of their positions, and I think it would make a very interesting story, a complex and complicated story if you will. And as anyone who’s ever shipped Jonerys would tell you, complicated is our middle name. In addition given KR/B’s and Rey’s Force abilities and their positions within their camps, they are equals and they see themselves as equals. 

On a final note, I would suggest you read up on Ben Solo’s background, he didn’t have some idyllic childhood. Take into consideration that Snoke has been praying for him since he was a little boy. It doesn’t excuse his behavior but it certainly puts it into context. Whatever harshness Anakin suffered he didn’t have some in his head manipulating him since he was a little boy.  As for his redemption, I think he deserves to have the opportunity and sometimes it takes a few tries. I also think that’s where the story is headed.

TTFN

[bifaq]

Bisexual Media Masterpost

Someone sent us a message asking whether we know any media containing bi characters and I thought “hoo boy time for another masterpost.” So here it is. Add your rec + at least one sentence describing it in the reblogs or responses and I’ll update the post to include them! [these titles] are ones that don’t actually label characters as bi but where a character has relationships with people of more than one gender and isn’t really labelled otherwise. These are ones that have been suggested by our followers. 

TV Shows and Webseries

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Police squad turned chosen family fighting crime and occasionally each other (in ridiculous bets). 

The 100 - Post-apocalyptic space society decides that for some reason, a bunch of teen delinquents are the best people to repopulate the earth. Except earth already has inhabitants. (cn: bury your gays, tragedy porn)

Black Mirror, specifically the episode San Junipero - Shy awkward gay lady meets bubbly bi lady for dancing, sex and technology-based hide-and-seek.

Orange is the New Black - BamBi discovers that being rich doesn’t (reliably) keep you from going to prison and that other people have real problems. 

How to get away with murder - Black bi law professor cannot believe what her students get themselves into. 

Orphan Black - Clones try to find out how many fucking roles Tatiana Maslany is capable of playing within the same plot. 

Lip Service - Scottish The L Word, which reminds me

The L Word - I really don’t know how to adequately describe this if you’ve never heard of it, please google it. 

Dear White People: A bunch of black college students have very different ideas about how to deal with on-campus racism.

Crazy Ex Girlfriend: Woman thinks moving to a new town to be close to her ex-boyfriend will cure depression, surprisingly finds that this is not the case. 

Couple-ish: Nonbinary bi artist and their lesbian (?) roommate have to fake a relationship for visa purposes. 

Greys Anatomy has a strong female bisexual main character called Callie Torres who is AMAZING but there is a lot of seasons of it

The O.C. - During the second season of this teen drama about a boy from a poor, troubled family being taken in by a wealthy family with problems of their own, a bisexual recurring character is introduced as a love interest for one of the main characters. [The Legend of Korra - Sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, follows teenage Avatar Korra as she tries to keep the world and herself in balance with some help from her friends and mentors. (Although the label bi is not used in the show, the creators released a statement explicitly using the word right after the finale aired and it may be in the sequel comics.)]

Shadowhunters - 18 year old girl finds out about her destiny of being a demon-fighting Shadowhunter and goes on a journey to find herself and defeat evil

Movies

[Cloudburst (2011) - adorable old sapphic ladies take a roadtrip to Canada so they can get married before their grandkid can put one of them in a home and split them up.]

[Margarita with a straw (2014) - Talented writer with cerebral palsy discovers that she deserves to be more than people’s token disabled girl, leaves behind unsatisfying boy crushes and (temporarily) her family to go to college in the states and fall in love with a blind lady.]

Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Bisexual shepherds get mistaken for gay cowboys. 

Appropriate Behavior (2014) - Confused twenty-something tries to reconcile being a model Iranian daughter with being a bisexual woman with a live-in girlfriend. (I’m pretty sure there’s some transphobic language, but unfortunately can’t recall the details.)

[When Night is Falling (1995): College professor is torn between boyfriend/colleague and local mysterious circus lady.]

3 (2010) - Midlife-crisis-y couple begins separate affairs with the same guy. (I’m not totally sure if this film is available in English, it’s originally German. It might be my favorite movie ever, though, and I strongly recommend you watch it if you ever have the chance.)

[Frida (2002) - A visually stunning biopic on bisexual painter Frida Kahlo. I recently learned that Salma Hayek was pressured by Harvey Weinstein to include a sex scene with another woman, and honestly don’t know how I feel about that. Not wanting to include a scene that confirms a historical figure’s bisexuality seems not super great, but forcing women to perform sex scenes for the voyeuristic enjoyment of gross dudes in power positions is super disgusting, so.]

RENT (2005) - Struggling artists do their best to (not) pay rent. Instead, they sing a lot (like people in musicals tend to do.)

Books (fiction)

The Second Mango (plus sequels), by @shiraglassman: Lesbian jewish Disney princess goes on magic quests, finds bi working class girlfriend and (platonic) bi royal consort/baby daddy along the way. Includes many more queer characters as well.

Rewriting the Ending, by hp tune: Sapphic broke-writer-meets-rich-heiress fluff. (cn: some unaddressed bi erasure on the part of one protagonist.)

Ex-wives of Dracula by Georgette Kaplan: Cheerleader and dorky girl-next-door develop a thirst for blood and for each other. (cn: grown man trying to hook up with high school girls.)

The Color Purple by Alice Walker: Woman gets mistreated by all the men in her life, realizes her husband’s mistress is the best thing in her life. (cn: domestic abuse & rape)

The Light of the World by Ellen Simpson: Local bi woman cannot believe that her grandmother was gay for another lady, enlists help of her friendly neighborhood historian to find out more. 

Orlando by Virginia Woolf: immortal person finds life is too long to settle for one gender (both identity- and attraction-wise).

[Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker: A non-linear journey through the lives and thoughts and memories of several connected characters, includes a section featuring the women from The Color Purple.] [Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis: A fantasy in which a boy in our world can for unknown reasons see through the eyes of a bisexual, servant girl in other world every time he closes he eyes.] [Some Girls by Kristin McCloy - a woman in her twenties moves cross country to make a life for herself in NYC despite the wishes of her loved ones.]

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo 

Books (nonfiction)

When we rise: My life in the movement by Cleve Jones - A personal memoir of an activist of the Gay Liberation movement. Not focussed on bisexuality in any way, but good context I think for debates with people who think it makes sense to define our community by “who originally started it.” Spoiler alert: There was no one person or group and also language and identity evolve over time. 

Sapphistries: A global history of love between women by Leila J. Rupp - It’s an ambitious project to cover all of human history on the entire planet, but this is a pretty good attempt. Deals a lot with evolving identities and the difficulty of pinning labels on historical figures. 

Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution by Shiri Eisner -  A radical look at bisexuality - its history, its power, and the responses it provokes in the world. Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith edited by Debra Kolodny - A multifaith collection of essays by bisexual people of faith. Published in the 90s, so some of the language is dated but it still is very relevant to today. Some of Us Did Not Die: New and Selected Essays of June Jordan  -  A collection of new and selected essays spanning the entire career of bisexual activist and author, June Jordan. She writes on issues of gender, race, sexuality, violence, writing, politics, etc.

Podcasts

Queery: Cameron Esposito talks to queer people about their identities, feeling ok in your own skin, coming out, and more. (I especially loved the episode where she chats with Stephanie Beatriz who, you guessed it, is bi. There’s also one with Evan Rachel Wood Bisexual.)

The Bright Sessions: Therapy sessions for people with supernatural abilities. What could possibly go wrong?

Love

mod platypus

[sciencespies]

A Dictionary of Science Fiction Runs From Afrofuturism to Zero-G

https://sciencespies.com/nature/a-dictionary-of-science-fiction-runs-from-afrofuturism-to-zero-g/

A Dictionary of Science Fiction Runs From Afrofuturism to Zero-G

In the summer of 1987, movie audiences first met Robocop in the science fiction classic about violence and corrupt corporate power in a future, dystopian Detroit. But the title word is much older than that, going back at least to a 1957 short story by writer Harlan Ellison, in which a tentacled “robocop” pursues a character. The prefix “robo-,” in turn, dates at least to 1945, when Astounding Science Fiction published a story by A.E. van Vogt mentioning “roboplanes” flying through the sky. “Robo-,” of course, comes from “robot,” a word created by Czech author Karel Čapek in his 1920 play R.U.R.: Rossum’s Universal Robots, about synthetic humans created to perform drudge work who eventually rebel, destroying humanity.

This is the kind of rabbit hole a reader can go down in the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction, a resource decades in the making that is now available to the public in an accessible form. Lexicographer Jesse Sheidlower started the project years ago, when he was an editor at the Oxford English Dictionary.

The OED is the best-known historical dictionary in the English-speaking world, and Sheidlower notes that it was also a crowdsourcing project long before the internet made it easy. When it was just starting out in the 19th century, he says, the OED put ads in literary magazines looking for volunteers to hunt around old books in search of particular words and their usage.

“People would mark up books, send in the notes,” he says. “To this day, it’s still how the system works to an extent.”

When the internet did arrive, the dictionary’s editors quickly took advantage. For example, Sheidlower says, at one point they were looking for early uses of the word “mutant” in the sense of a genetically mutated being with unusual characteristics or abilities. The earliest they’d found was from 1954, but they were sure earlier examples must be out there. So a freelance editor posted a query on Usenet newsgroups and quickly received an example of a use of the word from 1938.

Soon, the editors started looking for other online projects.

“This was at a time, around 2000, when there was the internet… and people were online, but it wasn’t universal like it is now,” Sheidlower says. “We wanted to do a project where people devoted to a particular field, fans, could make contributions.”

Not only were science fiction fans particularly likely to be online, but they were a valuable source of material. The world’s most prestigious libraries, where OED researchers did much of their work, generally didn’t carry back issues of pulp magazines of the mid-20th century, such as If or Amazing Stories. But many fans, it turns out had cartons full of them.

The new project, researching the history of key words used in science fiction, was written up on early blogs and sites like slashdot. Over the decade that followed, it attracted hundreds of contributors. In 2007, editor Jeff Prucher published a book based on the work, Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction.

The project might seem to have run its course, but Sheidlower, who managed the project when he was with the OED, thought there was still work to be done on it. When he left the publication in 2013, he didn’t lose track of the project. Eventually, he got permission to revive it as a personal project. He continued to add terms and references, something made easier by two factors. First, over the past year, the forced inactivity during the pandemic gave him time to work. And second, staff and volunteers of the Internet Archive have uploaded more than 1,000 science fiction pulp magazines, making their entire contents accessible and searchable online.

The May 1939 cover of Amazing Stories, one of the earliest magazines exclusively focused on science fiction

(Robert Fuqua / Ziff-Davis Publishing via Wikimedia Commons under public domain)

Elizabeth Swanstrom, co-editor of the journal Science Fiction Studies and an English scholar at the University of Utah, says the dictionary is “a fantastic resource” not just for fans but for scholars interested in the history of science and technology.

“It’s not uncommon in science fiction to see ideas that are being explored later being put into actual practice” she says.

In some cases, science fiction authors are also scientists who bring real research developments into their writing. Others alter the culture’s understanding of new technologies even without technical expertise. Swanstrom notes that the author William Gibson created the idea of cyberspace back in 1982 and helped found the cyberpunk genre, despite not knowing a huge amount about how computers work.

“The terminology that came out of that genre really shaped culture, and continues to do so” Swanstrom says.

Isiah Lavender III, a professor of English at the University of Georgia and co-editor of the science fiction journal Extrapolation, says the dictionary could help in the academic analysis of issues like the social and economic issues reflected in authors’ depictions of robots. He notes that Čapek’s original robots were essentially enslaved beings with human-like thoughts and feelings. Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics, introduced in 1941, could be seen as reflecting slave codes or the Jim Crow laws that still constrained many black Americans’ lives at that time.

“Having these origin dates in mind can help a student or scholar build a framework to analyze something like the concept of the racial ‘other’ where robots and androids (as well as aliens) are stand-ins for oppressed peoples,” Lavender says.

Lavender notes that the dictionary quotations, derived largely from mid-20th century pulp magazines, don’t reflect the diversity of the science fiction world. Many current black science fiction writers, such as Nalo Hopkinson and N.K. Jemisin, don’t make an appearance.

“From the little bit that I have explored in the dictionary, it comes across as a tool that supports a monochrome future envisioned by the golden age editors of the SFF magazines,” Lavender says. “So it’s problematic in that way.”

Nalo Hopkinson speaks at the 2017 Hugo Awards, a ceremony honoring science fiction works, at Worldcon 75 in Helsinki, Finland.

(Henry Söderlund via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 4.0)

Sheidlower acknowledges that the dictionary is limited in the authors and terms it references, but he argues that this is a product of its mission: documenting the “core” vocabulary of science fiction that turns up again and again, both in stories and in the real world.

“When writers do more ‘interesting’ things, it becomes harder to include them in what is meant to be a study of the core vocabulary,” he says. “Samuel Delany is quoted a number of times when he’s writing about the usual space-travel stuff, but not much when he goes out of that range. There’s only one quote from [Delany’s dense, stylistically complex] Dhalgren, for example, but a lot from Babel-17, just as the OED has ten times more quotes from Ulysses than from Finnegans Wake.”

In general, Sheidlower says, to qualify for inclusion in the dictionary, a word must either be adopted widely within science fiction or become part of the broader culture. “Ansible”—a word for a device allowing faster-than-light communication coined by Ursula K. LeGuin—makes the cut because other authors also use it. Jemisin’s “orogenes”—people with the ability to control tectonic energy—do not because it’s a concept unique to her Broken Earth trilogy. Similarly, “Wookiee” is in the dictionary because Chewbacca is a familiar cultural figure, but dozens of other named alien species from the Star Wars universe that you can learn about on Wikipedia (or Wookieepedia) don’t merit entries.

Of course, it’s easy to find deep dives about nearly every science fiction universe on Wikipedia or elsewhere on the internet. Sheidlower says the dictionary’s mission is different.

“A dictionary’s not an encyclopedia,” he says. “There’s a reason for encyclopedias and there’s a reason for dictionaries.”

The dictionary is a streamlined way to see how terms have evolved over time, and read historical quotations that illuminate their meaning. It also links many of its quotations to the Internet Archive, where readers can see their context and even read the entire story.

Sheidlower says the dictionary, which he is continuing to update as a hobby, is still a work in progress. He anticipates expanding into related fields such as gaming, comics and anime. He also hopes to systematically add entries and quotations from books that have appeared in the ten years since the original phase of the project wrapped up. While Sheidlower has been doing most of the recent work himself, he is looking for volunteers to help out with tasks like checking citations, looking for quotations and drafting entries.

“I do hope there will be interest here,” he says. “For now, I’m still doing everything myself but the system does allow for other people doing that work.”

#Nature

[bunnythemonsterlayer]

I Should Go: An Unpopular Opinion About Mass Effect: Andromeda

Somethings about Mass Effect: Andromeda (many things actually, but specifically this one) have been bothering me for a while, but because there is one so glaringly awful, I can't ignore it let alone keep it inside anymore:

I have a sever problem with how the Mass Effect: Andromeda 'writers' handled the Genophage and Krogan fertility. It is presented in such a sloppy and lazy way that any fans of the Original Trilogy (OT for short) should be insulted that the team even thought to try and feed us it. It's literally an insult to our intelligence.

Because of the nature of the fanfic I've been writing (dealing with alien babies and all), I have had to plunge myself into the depths of canon; rereading and replaying everything to make what I put down works and flows together and makes sense. After forcing myself to replay ME:A a second time and then rewatching certain scenes on Youtube of cutscenes, I have gathered enough evidence to support my claim that based on everything having to do with the Krogan in ME:A, the writers were completely ignorant and seemingly incapable in their ability to even do their homework on the series they were paid to writing for. I am thoroughly convinced that I have done more research for my stupid little self indulgent fanfic than the 'professionals' did during the making of this waste of a game.

Strap in folks as I take you on a journey of how the writers of ME:A single-handedly destroyed years of canon while making the Nakmor Clan the most disgusting characters in all of Mass Effect history.

It's about to get nerdy as fuck in here.

The canon of the Genophage according to the OT is as follows:

1. The Genophage was developed by the Salarians BUT was originally distributed by the Turians as a 'salt the earth' tactic during war. Everyone wants to act like it was the Salarians who threw it out there as soon as it was ready to go like a big middle finger to the Krogan but the Salarians had only held onto it as a 'hey, act right or we'll fuck you up'. Granted we can say that EVERYBODY had a hand in this happening (except the humans who were unaware of what was going on at this time in Space History), but it was in fact the Turians that threw it out there like pocket sand to weaken the Krogan population growth. It was only hundreds of years later that the second wave of the Genophage, which Mordin Solus is responsible for helping to create, was dispensed by the Salarians. This was due to the fact that the Krogan had begun to evolve a resistance to the first wave of the Genophage and since the Krogan had taken on a 'fuck it all' attitude due to surrendering to the fact that they thought their species was doomed. This attitude lead to the Krogan becoming more bloodthirsty, warmongering and careless with their own species safety. Couple this with the tales of Krogan violence that had no doubt trickled down generation to generation with other species, it probably scared the shit out of the Salarians and lead them to believe in a 'we have to make sure this keeps working for the good of the galaxy' mentality. Yes, there may have been Krogan like Urdnot Wrex out there who were actively trying to salvage the Krogan, but those numbers were much, much smaller than the ones who had surrendered to their fates.

2. The Genophage is not a sterilizing plague but a genetic 'latch onto your cells and fuck them up' mutation plague. This is severely fucked up when you think about it, especially when taking into consideration what genetic mutations in the real world look like, the least damaging being extra digits and the worse being misshapen heads and extreme cleft palates or twisted limbs and organs. They could have just made conceiving harder but no, they went with the good ole 'add insult to injury' approach apparently. It infects EVERY cell in Krogan bodies and pretty much makes sure female Krogan produce fetuses so twisted and deformed from genetic mutations that they die in the egg even before the female expels it, so they are left with a stillborn child in an egg coffin. Remember, it latches onto EVERY CELL in the Krogan body, which the game and wiki specifically state that it is designed to do this so the you CANNOT COUNTERACT IT WITH GENE THERAPY. Again, REMEMBER THAT as we move forward.

3. Do we remember Okeer? Grunt's Krogan dad who figured out it was easier to grow Krogan in a fucking tube after the lack of Krogan scientists made finding a cure fucking impossible? A direct quote from the wiki is as follows:

“Despite announcements about failed, krogan-funded research into the genophage by 2183, most krogan have not worked toward a cure as they are more interested in combat than science. Unless one is discovered and used, the extinction of the krogan seems inevitable.” This is in 2183. REMEMBER THAT TOO.

Now let's get into canon for the Nakmor Clan too because you can't address the handling of Krogan fertility without the Krogan they decided to tell it through:

1. The only bit of anything for Clan Nakmor in the OT is the Ambassador being at the Urdnot Camp to talk to Wrex about an alliance so they could be strong together and plunder and pillage x10 and all that fun stuff. We learn they are a small clan who are decedents of Nakmor Krall who proved how much of a BAMF he was by facing down a platoon of Turians and winning. This is how they keep from being mowed down by other larger clans according to the Ambassador. The Ambassador as well lets us know that he is a warrior that slaughtered his way to the top and carried himself as such showing the Nakmor clan is not to be fucked with. That's it.

Alright now that that's all out of the way, let's stick our hands into the rancid pile of shit that is Andromeda and see how all this lush, well thought out story and canon was kicked like a dalmatian puppy on a soccer field.

There is so much to unpack here that I will for sure have to probably leave some more in depth things out, like certain ways the structure of the Nakmor clan in the Andromeda Universe works and such, but they are not as important. I will make sure to touch on them as needed and probably do a more in depth post about that at a future time though.

Alright, let's begin:

THE GENOPHAGE IN MASS EFFECT: ANDROMEDA or as I like to call it WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR WRITERS CAN'T EVEN BE BOTHERED TO OPEN THE FUCKING WIKI.

I will once again use a direct post from the wiki which is backed up as well with what is stated in the game:

“When the Andromeda Initiative departed the Milky Way in 2185, its krogan colonists were still afflicted by the genophage. Before departure, however, the krogan discovered they had developed a genetic mutation that naturally resisted the genophage's effects. While the krogan colonists were in cryosleep during the 600-year journey to Andromeda, they also underwent gene therapy to bolster the mutation. By the time they awoke, the survival rate of their offspring had been improved from 0.1% to 4%. Nakmor Kesh said this gave her people a chance to have a future in Andromeda.”

Now, if you all read my little info bits at the top you will already know why none of this makes any fucking sense but just in case you need more explaining and because I am so mad I have to type it all out before I explode anyway I will now proceed to pick it apart:

So apparently 'the Krogan' not 'the Krogan scientists' or anything like that, just THE KROGAN figured out that they had developed a GENETIC MUTATION that NATURALLY RESISTED THE GENOPHAGES EFFECTS.

By the way, I know that they have 'Krogan scientists' in the Andromeda game, but even if we want to believe that these stereotypical nerds they tried to pass as actual Krogan were actually scientists who knew what the fuck they were doing, I would say they would actually need to have more viable ways to do 'research' and 'development' than the tattered, jigger-rigged computer system they obviously got when they waltzed off the Nexus after the Uprising. Also, judging from the state of Tuchanka you witness while playing the OT, I don't think they were running on anything better than that before anyway. The suspension of disbelief can only go so far because it becomes obvious bullshit. Also there are like, four scientists you talk to, so did the Nakmor clan just have this monopoly on Krogan scientists they decided to drag with them from their home world away from the ones who would need people like that the most? Think about that and we'll come back to it.

Now, back to the wiki entry above, it literally proves their claim to have found a natural resistance to the Genophage through a mutation is impossible by it having stated right before that that the Krogan launched with the Initiative were STILL  AFFLICTED WITH THE GENOPHAGE. This version of the Genophage being the most recent one. As it is stated in OT canon, that shit is on EVERY CELL. It's all up in you! Not to mention that the first 'resistance' the Krogan built up was done over hundreds of years! The current version was administered within Mordin Solus's lifetime and since he is only about 35 in Mass Effect 2, we have to believe that it has only been at the most 20 years since they released that new version! It doesn't make any sense that a new resistance would have built up over that short amount of time!

But hey, just in case that wasn't stupid enough for you, it goes on to say that while they were in CRYOSLEEP, you know, the thing that FREEZES YOUR BODY IN A SUSPENDED STATE OF BEING so NOTHING CHANGES? The thing that has to be tweaked and tuned and set to specific equations and levels for every person or thing because all bodies are different and you have to make sure that certain cells will survive and stay stationary and stable during a long period of said status (read VICE's article on Cryosleep, it's amazing)? Yeah, well while they were in CRYOSLEEP they underwent GENE THERAPY to bolster said mutation.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am no scientist, but I do have an intelligence level higher than a two year old so I can therefore understand and remember from the OT canon that the Genophage was specifically designed so that you COULDN'T FUCKING DO THAT! It is literally impossible by their OWN CANON! And you know what? They could have maybe tried to explain this all away, like you know maybe in the book have said that there was someone up on the Neux actually doing this shit who knew some trick to making it work. Or that Krogan bodies had some ability to take the radical changes that would have to happen during status to undergo such a treatment. Or they had made a deal with a Salarian back in the Milky Way who gave them the blueprint to alter themselves and blah blah blah! But NOPE! DIDN'T DO THAT! It just happened somehow!

Ya know, Kesh says in the book how EVERYONE is against the Krogans except for Jien. Morda says that Jien is the only friend the Krogan have in the Initiative but apparently we are suppose to believe that someone was up for 600 years or programmed into the Nexus the codes and means to make sure that this magical therapy happened for just the Krogan. No one ran a troubleshoot on this BILLION DOLLAR PIPE DREAM before launch and was like 'Hey, Carl do you know what this thing is that's ONLY hooked up to the Krogan passangers? Should we check it out'? NOPE! We are just suppose to take this swill and Naruto Uzumaki BELIEVE IT!

Then there is that STUPID plant you have to get back for Drack's personal mission that is made into some type of Lipton teabag that Krogan babies have to consume of 'they don't stand a chance of surviving'. Yep, forget the plague that makes it so their hearts form outside their body or their limbs corkscrewed so bad they can't move, just pour this shit down their throats and all will be well! Where did that even come from? What type of anti-vaxxer Krogan soccer mom came up with that?!

Also, I am no expert in mathematics, that's what I married my husband for; but I don't need him to tell me that 4% ISN'T 100%!

YET we get THIS little gem: REMEMBER KESH'S KIDS?!

FROM THE WIKI AND GAME:

“After the mission Journey to Meridian, Drack will reveal to Ryder that Kesh gives birth to a healthy clutch of Krogan infants. He also states that they should "Keep this to themselves".

I REMEMBER! I REMEMBER THAT ENTIRE SCENE BECAUSE I PLAYED THROUGH IT TWICE AND WATCHED IT FOUR TIMES AND WAS SCREAMING 'NO' ALL THE WAY THROUGH IT!

Drack and Kesh call you into Kesh's room and show you some type of soda machine incubator thing and state that there are Krogan babies in there and 'all of them are healthy'!

Do you KNOW what a 'clutch' is in relation to egg laying? Do you KNOW how many eggs are in a clutch?

I DO because I did the research!

A clutch can range from 3 to 16 for birds and 16 to 24 for reptiles. Seeing as Krogan look like giant turtles that means there is a pretty good chance we can subscribe them to that level of fertility. They have four testicles after all. However, then you look up how many eggs a turtle lays in a clutch you can count on the number of eggs being AT LEAST 20! Times that by four!

Now, if we wanted to be generous we could say that MAYBE there are no more than 3, even though on the Krogan information page it says that they were capable of laying a large clutch and breeding extremely fast so I highly fucking doubt it. Still there has got to be at least more than one because Kesh and Drack are like 'ALL OF THEM ARE HEALTHY'! ALL OF EM! EVERY SINGLE FUCKING ONE OF THEM!

So let me get this shit straight:

Your clan finds some magical mystical way to use a technique that a bunch of OCD salamander geniuses spent their lives creating even though there is no way that anything you say is possible, like seriously, just go through some gene therapy while you nap and then drink this herbal tea and your set, and suddenly this 3.9% gives you ON YOUR FIRST TRY a healthy clutch of no fewer than THREE babies?

I call shenanigans!

But OH, as if THAT isn't bad enough, if you weren't already frothing at the mouth over how much canon has been shat on so far, let's diverge a little and look into the real fucked up shit these writers decided to bestow upon us:

The real villains of Mass Effect: Andromeda are, in my opinion, The Nakmor Clan itself.

Yes, I said it. The Nakmor Clan are the most vile, disgusting people to ever grace the Mass Effect Universe, and before you start crying and telling me how wrong I am, I want you to consider this:

The Nakmor Clan, a small clan of Krogan who were so highly respected for their past badassery that no one fucked with them, one day for SOME REASON (I know they use the tired and cliched reason of wanting to make a new start for their clan or whatever but that isn't good enough) decided to take a portion of their ALREADY SMALL CLAN, Many of them being female (you seriously see at least four female Krogan in this game) and just LEFT.

They probably even left without telling anyone because I am sure if you tried to take even one female away from a small dying clan there would be a civil war like NO OTHER.

It is at this point that someone brought up to me the whole thing about Kesh getting 'tossed away' because she was 'weak' and 'useless' upon being born. Well people, let me tell you why THAT'S bullshit:

Number one, she survived and was apparently able to breed so, fuck that shit, get over it, obviously it wasn't that goddamn bad.

Two, that whole thing, that sob story they had Drack's poor voice actor have to say about how he was this 'tired, forgotten old man with sever depression from years of battle and torment and how be he got this sweet, little, precious glimmer of hope and light and get he through it' was another showing of how piss poor the writing is.

I am sorry to tell all of you but  you were all played for chumps. You were handed the most basic sob story of 'the old man needing something to live for' and were just expected to swallow it because no one could actually come up with a good backstory.

Females are so rare for Krogan that they are fought over and used as spoils of fucking war because every uterus counts. Had they had a competent writer doing this story, Kesh would not have existed, at least not in Drack's backstory the way they made her. 1 in 1000 Krogan children survive the Genophage and you want me to honestly believe they would just toss her out like the crust of a sandwich? They would have hooked that little bitch up to whatever shitty incubator made out of ryncol cans and varren bones they had laying around and kept her alive at all costs. ESPECIALLY since she was part of such a small clan who couldn't afford to just throw away females. Even if she was from a different clan they wouldn't have thrown her away! So yeah, sorry, y'all got played. You should be pissed. You should expect better!

But let's get back to the Nakmor clan as a whole. Besides the implied cowardice of just leaving in the dead of night probably to escape any blow back from, ya know, ABANDONING their clan and people, I want you all to realize this:

Yes, not only did they just ABANDON their people, they DOOMED them.

They doomed ALL Milky Way Krogan.

If what this game wants us to believe is ACTUALLY true, then that means that the Andromeda Nakmor clan took viable information regarding how to reproduce at least MORE successfully than what they had, along with the scientists needed to make it happened and just LEFT without telling ANYBODY. They literally said 'fuck you' to their entire species and remainder of their clan back in the Milky Way for the selfish and foul act of only thinking about themselves. They want to beat their chests and have Morda and Kesh cry about how much they love the Krogan and how ever Krogan is precious and important when in reality they don't give a flying fuck about Krogan! They're all awful snakes and I am happy they all went off to Andromeda where they would in an actual canon accurate game have died out within maybe a few hundred years if they were lucky to latch on that long. The Milky Way is a better place without them and they can suffer a slow death while baby Urdnot Mordin runs around on Tuchanka in their poncho cuz the Genophage actually got cured anyway! At least in my game.

“Oh, but Bunny! Bunny maybe they DID tell their clan, we just didn't HEAR about it! You don't know! You're taking things too seriously! Stop being such an anal retentive, bitter, obnoxious bitch!”

Naw, because let me tell you why that assumption is bullshit:

Given the events of Mass Effect 3 there was no way we could have missed there being any hope besides Mordin's sacrifice or Maelon's curing of the Genophage some time in the future if Mordin goes into exile or is killed. So that kicks that theory right out the door.

“But BUUUUUUUUUNNY! You said the Genophage got cured anyway so it didn't MAAAAATTER!”

And what if it hadn't?

What if you shot Mordin and didn't let his Maelon live to cure it himself later? Would you still throw that shit at me? Maybe, if you were a sociopath.

You can't take something like the Genophage and just whitewash it to be this widdle thing that can be taken care of with a genetic sleep massage and a cup of Earl Grey just so you can have some type of bullshit sappy 'aw look the Krogan are finally getting something good, they deserve it after being shat on for so long. DAAAWW BABIES!'. Guess what, they don't deserve it. In trying to make the Krogan victims and underdogs they made them egotistical, untrustworthy assholes. I'm glad this game bombed so I don't have to see the continuation of this horrible clusterfuck!

I love Krogan but I haaaaaaate the Nakmor clan in Andromeda. HATE THEM! And I HATE whatever writer thought this was even worth entertaining.

Fans are so eager to defend this game and almost all it's crap but this is stuff that can't even be defended unless you honestly think a 'don't worry about it, it's it's own game' approach is actually going to cut it. It's NOT, because it keeps trying to tie itself BACK INTO THE OT! Garras' dad appears in it! Wrex is mentioned in the book! The Rachni War is brought up! It keeps trying to tie itself to the canon that it took no time to give a shit about!

I know not everyone is going to agree with me, Hell, maybe no one will, but I don't care. I have standards and I couldn't just keep this all in when I am knee deep in it.

This has been Bunny with my unpopular opinion and I hope the person or people responsible for this destruction of a good series step off a curb wrong and sprain both their ankles every day for the rest of their lives. Not really. That would be mean. Besides, the fact that they’ll have to put that they worked on ME:A on their resume is punishment enough.

[polyrolemodels]

Shannon Ouellette

1. How long have you been polyamorous or been practicing polyamory?

As a teenager I remember wishing it was like the Archie comics where Veronica and Betty dated Archie, Reggie and others. I felt frustrated that attempts at casual dating resulted in slut shaming and social isolation. My husband and I have been together for nearly 27 years and throughout my marriage I struggled with the constraints of monogamy. Four years ago I read Sex at Dawn by Cacilda Jetha and Christopher Ryan and realized the only reason I was monogamous was because I did not know that I could be anything else and still have a healthy and functioning relationship. Knowing that others had a different relationship model was revelatory. I initiated a conversation with my husband and he was as interested in the idea of opening up our relationship as I was.

2. What does your relationship dynamic look like?

I began with some vague idea of open marriage thinking that my relationships would be compartmentalized away from my rural community and my 10 year old and 22 year old children. But before dating I found the concept of polyamory and I knew this aligned with my values. I inherently understood I would not be able to treat people as disposable. I quickly understood my partner/s needed to have say in the relationship. My husband and I had a strong need for personal autonomy. This set the ground work for a non-hierarchal poly structure.

I currently have two relationships. My husband works in Africa and my life partner is in the UK, and I am in rural Canada so I consider my relationships both long distance. My husband is polyamorous and has a girlfriend who lives with us but who I am not sexually or romantically involved with. My husband’s girlfriend is polyamorous and she has a boyfriend who is also polyamorous. Our relationships are all “V’s”

My life partner does not identify as polyamorous. I am committed to him in much the same way as my husband. We have been together for 3.5 years and we met when he was working in Canada. He was recalled but for over two years we have made it work by travelling back and forth to see each other. Although we do not mingle finances, we do have our futures planned, and we make life decisions together. We also plan to live together when he is ready to retire and I am done raising my youngest child in 4 years. I did live with him in England for 4.5 months, taking my youngest child with me and homeschooling her. This really helped cement our relationship.

Within our polycule each person has personal autonomy. Individuals can choose to be open or closed to new relationships at their discretion. Each person has the right to structure their relationships with others as they see fit. I do not need my partners to practise the same poly as me. I do not need the people in my polycule to practise polyamory like me. I think that people have the right and responsibility to identify and ask for what they want and need, and that everything is negotiated. Relationships succeed or fail based on compatibility, and they shift, evolve and transition all the time. My poly is constantly evolving and as such I identify closely with Louisa Leontiades description of Relationship Fluidity, with its three principles of Inclusivity, Humanity, and Integrity.

3. What aspects of Polyamory do you excel at?

I have above average skills at navigating and managing relationships. I have a background in counselling and deep interest in psychology, relationship functioning, and self-improvement. I am a tenacious relationship problem solver and a constant researcher who not only is learning new techniques and skills, I pass them on. Although everyone in our polycule is always working hard, I have a natural aptitude and skill for communication, negotiating, and mediating. I have some insight into my own issues and I am always actively addressing them, so that I can be a better partner. I am a social creature who is exceptionally collaborative.

4. What aspects of polyamory do you struggle with?

Being polyamorous in a mono-normative world, is not always easy. I choose to live openly and the constant potential for rejection and blowback is hard on the heart. The absolute hardest part of being polyamorous has been the loss of relationship with our families and many of our friends. People who loved me and spent time with me suddenly believed I lacked judgement and they questioned my ability to be a good mother. Many disapproved so much they chose to end our relationships. Some of these relationships I grieve, others needed to be ended. Every relationship was impacted, altered, or changed and I had a great deal of emotional upheaval to process.

5. How do you address or overcome those struggles?

I had to learn to accept that a life lived differently is always going to challenge others, and I had to accept that was the path I was on. I had to choose between comfort and courage. I had to decide to unapologetically claim the life I wanted, or to return to spending my life pleasing others.

I had to really get comfortable with my choice to be polyamorous. I looked for mentors, and models of success, and I learned. My education continues. Books, blogs, podcasts, workshops, discussions groups, Facebook groups, a nearby poly community, have all been affirming. I also have a wonderful therapist who is a tremendous source of support.

6. In terms of risk/aware/safer sex, what do you and your partners do to protect one another?

I struggle with answering this question. It isn’t a matter of personal privacy. If I didn’t want to share I would just say none of your business, or I’d prefer not to discuss.

I am very comfortable sharing personal information, even of a sexual nature. I don’t mind disclosing that I personally get tested regularly, and that testing regime depends on the sexual behaviors of my partners, and their partners. It also depends on the willingness of everyone else to get tested, share test results, and talk openly and honestly about the activities and number of partners they have. I ask questions of my partners, about their sexual hygiene practises and those of their partners and I also ask that information be shared so everyone understands the level of sexual activity and fluid bonding that people are engaging in to make informed decisions. I think if we can’t talk openly about it, we lack the maturity to do it.

So what is my issue with this question? I would like to ask why this information is relevant. If one was doing a blog about First Nations role models, or gay role models, or female role models I don’t think this question would be asked or considered appropriate. I don’t like the message the presence of this question sends. Too often, polyamory is seen as all about the sex. Having us lead with information as poly role models with our sexual hygiene practices shifts the focus on to the sex.

As poly people I don’t think we have to lead with this information, to reassure ourselves or others that we are being “good” and “safe” polyamorous people. I think it feeds into mono-normative and sex negative cultures that would shame us and have us believe our relationship model is inherently risk prone to STI’s. I know poly people whose sexual hygiene practises are exceptional, requiring a strict and frequent testing regime, along with use of dental dams or condoms for all sexual contact, including oral sex and even digital penetration. I know people who identify as monogamous but have way more partners, and can’t be bothered with condoms.

7. What was the worst mistake you have ever made in your polyamorous history and how did you rebound from that?

I think the worst mistake I made was not educating myself about the coming out process. As a result I came out before I felt certain and comfortable with my choice. I was defensive, insecure, and a bit apologetic. While I expected a range of reactions I did not expect the phenomenon of people being initially accepting and then rejecting, shortly thereafter. I lost most of my family and many friends. I think if I had been more confident people wouldn’t have felt comfortable venting their moral superiority. If I had been more empathetic, patient, and willing to let people be upset and gave more time to come to terms, some of these relationships may have been salvaged.

8. What self-identities are important to you? How do you feel like being polyamorous intersects with or affects these identities?

I do describe myself as a polyamorous woman. I am a wife to one man and a life partner to another. I am a mother to one teenaged daughter and one married daughter. I live in a conservative, rural community which has been surprisingly calm about our openly polyamorous relationship.

I am involved with, and I am passionate about participating in polyamorous communities and discussions. I am a writer. I am a university student who has a goal of becoming a therapist specializing in supporting polyamorous relationships. I definitely define myself as a feminist, because control over my body, my choices, and my sexuality are all incredibly important to me.

I am also Metis which is a mixture of European ancestry (Scottish, English, Irish, and French) along with First Nations. My tribe are the Cree. The aboriginal side of my ancestry historically had a much more accepting view of sexuality. Women definitely retained the ability to select partners with less social stigma both inside and outside of marriage. I am Canadian which means that I have greater legal protection than many polyamorous people around the world. (All this means is that polyamory is not a basis for my children to be removed from my home).

Bonus: Do you have any groups, projects, websites, blogs, etc. that you are involved with that you would like to promote?

I am a partner in a business called Mindful Hedonism which will offer relationship coaching, along with polyamory education and awareness in our local area. We are just in the beginning stages of development. You can visit us at www.MindfulHedonism.ca Mindful Hedonism @ Facebook and Tumblr and you can follow us on Twitter @mindfulpleasure.

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