#like I'm having this conversation with my Audience(tm)

[honestlyvan]

I s2g there's something so weird and unpleasant to me about the default mode of character analysis on this site seemingly being "he's just like me fr", "self-disclosure through character" discourse.

Like. There's absolutely nothing wrong with seeing yourself in a character, obviously,

but

I wanna be very clear that when I talk about Wheeljack's bravado? When I talk about Isurd's type A cholericism? When I talk about Casey's addictive personality? I'm doing a bit.

Am I picking out these traits because they resonate with me, fascinate me, that I have personal insight into? Yeah. But I'm still doing a bit about them.

All of this, this is all narrative. You, my audience, being able to read me through my work? Is intentional.

And my hope is that we're, like. On the same page about that, for the most part. I'm not your friend, I don't get to say what your takeaway from my words are, but you're also not my friend, and don't get to say what my intentions in my heart of hearts is.

Y'know?

[miwiheroes]

Season 1 Mike Wheeler Queer-coding

Just some of my favourite pieces of queer-coded Mike evidence that I have found from season 1. Let me know if you have never seen these before because I'd love to add to the conversation <33

My overall conclusion from season 1 is: Mike gets taught that being queer/ not liking girls is dangerous. It means you die/ disappear. Being 'normal' or straight is therefore easier. Take this conclusion in mind as you read this.

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion. If you want to interact with this post because you disagree with me, please be respectful.

(Yes I will be doing all the other seasons at some point but it will take a while because this one took me a WEEK)

1. Ted's Comments

Take these with a grain of salt, because when I watched the show again I was a little unsure of whether these are actually implicitly homophobic or due to other things.

So here Ted says 'see Michael, you see what happens?' after Nancy storms off and goes to her room. This could be in relation to Mike shouting at Nancy earlier and that's why he's scolding him a little, but also Mike was talking about how it isn't Will's fault that he's gone missing. It's also kind of established that adults in the town think that Will is gay (more on that later) and was hatecrimed, so Ted could be referencing that.

It's also notable that Mike thinks his dad is talking about Will's disappearance because he then says 'what happens when what? i'm the only one acting normal here. i'm the only one who cares about will.'

So I think it's pretty clear what he's insinuating here. He didn't want to explicitly say 'see what happens when you're not like everyone else' but you can tell. And why would this be said to Mike in relation to Will's disappearance if not for queer-coding? Even early on in the show, Mike could associate being queer with going missing.

Ted, later on in the season, says 'our son? with a girl?' which tbh i thought could be because he's a nerd and only likes hanging out with his friends.

But now that I'm thinking about it, they also say that kind of stuff about Will in season 3. And people on twitter who were against Will's queer-coding before season 4 figured that a lot of the reason people called him slurs was because of him being shy/ stereotyped/ a nerd/ sensitive. But it was confirmed after season 4 that the slurs were queer-coding aka we were right. So the same could easily be said for Mike in this situation.

2. The 'Talk' tm

We've all seen a lot of people talk about this, but I have a teensy bit more to add onto what others have said already because it's sort of funny.

This scene is different to both Karen and the audience. To Karen, she's basically asking Mike if he's feeling particularly sad about Will being missing because of reasons. But to the audience, and Mike, this is a moment for him to be worried about the fact he's hiding El in his closet.

Karen says: 'with all this that's been going on, with Will, i can't imagine what it's been like for you. i just-- want you to feel like you can talk to me. i never want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me. i'm here for you. okay?'

This feels like something Joyce will say to Will in season 5 LMAO like-

If you aren't queer, you will never understand how obvious this is that it's a gay talk. The word 'hide' is so often used in these situations. What is she insinuating? I understand that the 'i want you to feel like you can talk to me' might just be about Mike's sadness, but the emphasis on 'hide anything' is crazy. Also this is about Will and nothing else because at the beginning she pointedly says, 'with Will'. She's basically insinuating there's something different about Mike's relationship/friendship with Will.

What she could also be insinuating is that she thinks that Will's disappearance had something to do with him being queer, (which is rumoured about). She then applies this same logic to Mike. She may be thinking 'oh if Will didn't feel safe about being queer, I'd better let Mike know he is safe.' -- This could be far-fetched though.

Okay so what is very interesting is that El's in Mike's closet at this time. There are multiple reasons for the directors to put her in there: One, to show a flashback from when she's in the lab, and Two, for her to be in the closet during the queer-coded conversation.

Here's why: RIGHT AFTER KAREN SAYS ALL THE HIDING STUFF, THERE'S A SOUND FROM MIKE'S CLOSET......

Walk with me here folks... To the audience, this is funny because Mike is hiding something. He's hiding El. But. Also the sound came from his closet. He's hiding the fact he's in the closet-- *gunshots*. Double meanings exist i swearr

3. Lucas's Teasing

This whole scene is so interesting to me. I used to ignore it because it's possible Mike and El proof but...

It reinforces the heteronormativity of Mike and could even feed into how he acts in his relationship with her. First of all, Lucas tells Mike that just because he is being nice to a girl he must want to marry her and love her right?

This could be a 'Mike could like El' scene, but no. Mike is literally like, 'Lucas what are you talking about?' HE IS CONFUSED. He's also fed-up, he's not embarrassed. He's not flustered. He's not like 'omg shut up hahaha' he literally bluntly says 'shut up Lucas' in this voice that sounds kind of tired.

What Mike learns here is that being with a girl is kind of expected. He's not allowed to be friends with a girl or care for a girl without people assuming they're a thing.

This leads perfectly onto the next point.....

4. Bullies' Homophobic Comments Exhibit A

Straight after learning that Lucas assumed he had heterosexual feelings for El, Mike learns that being gay is a 'bad thing'.

These comments could just be coding for Will, sure, but there are indications that it could be Mike queer-coding as well.

First of all, 'He's dead, that's what my dad says. Probably killed by some other queer', is a very weighted comment. The fact that Troy's dad said this to him implies that Will's sexuality is like a rumour amongst adults in the town. It's also the show portraying how hate like homophobia can be taught from parents.

Mike's then the one to be like 'just ignore them' and goes to walk away. SPECIFICALLY IT IS HIM THAT IS TRIPPED. I REPEAT!!! HE IS TRIPPED NO ONE ELSE.

This could imply that the bullies were targeting him as well as Will for homophobic bullying, maybe in the past as well, and the 'killed by some other queer' comment could be directed at him. I guess you could say that he was tripped because he was the nearest person, or that he was the one speaking, but the directors chose him to be the one walking there. And SPEAKING. Why??

So: Mike has just learnt from Lucas that being nice to a girl can be seen as attraction and means he has to love her. THEN Mike has just learnt from the bullies that maybe Will died because he was gay, and that being gay gets you hurt (tripped over).

Mike is given a choice between the lesser of two evils: choose to fit into a heteronormative society but get made fun of Lucas, or embrace being gay and get killed/ bullied like Will.

Later on in the season, he finds out Will has died. Let me repeat that. He. Believes. Will. Has. Died. Would this maybe reinforce what the bullies said? That being gay = disappearance. Oh poor MIKE OMGGG

Queer coding all up in this scene lads. (+ a reason for internalised homophobia uwu)

5. Bullies' Homophobic Comments Exhibit B

This scene and the previous scene are inherently linked.

Mike is the one to confront the bullies about Will, defending him, so the bullies instantly resort to homophobia. This means that they may be implying that Mike trying to defend someone who they view as gay is also gay.

In the last scene, I guess you could say that the comments weren't particularly targeted at Mike as well as Will because he wasn't at the forefront of the group (even though he was tripped over). But in this scene he definitely is. They chose to utilise homophobic language about Will because they know it touches a nerve with Mike: This homophobic language doesn't just affect the person they are talking about but also the person they are saying it to.

So here's what they say: 'Besides, what's there to be sad about anyway? Will's in fairyland now, right? Flying around with all the other little fairies, all happy and gay.'

The words that Troy is saying here are obviously more linked to how Will is queer-coded throughout season 1, but the way that the scene is shot, the music, the implications, they're all coding for Mike.

'Will's in fairyland now, right?' is posed as a question. They didn't have to make it a question, but they did. This is basically them saying 'oh we've told you this before, shouldn't you know?'/ implying that Mike would know because he's also gay.

Another line they didn't have to include unless it was queer-coding for Mike is: 'Flying around with all the other little fairies.' They could have just written Troy to say 'Will's in fairyland now. All happy and gay,' or something along those lines etc. The jab at Mike is that other gay people exist, and that Will is being gay 'with them'. The words 'all happy and gay' here doesn't actually imply Will's sexuality by itself, but the act of 'being gay together' or in a gay relationship so to speak.

So if you put the pieces together, they're making a point about Mike and Will's friendship in a sense. Also the fact that Troy at the beginning of this insult says 'What's there to be sad about anyway?', basically means that he's trying to get under Mike's skin by saying 'Why are you sad that Will's happy and being gay with other boys? Are you sad he's not with you?' I know that's like, on the nose, but whatever.

(Also Mike has tears in his eyes during this part showing how the words are also affecting him and not just Will)

Another thing I want to talk about is the music. Obviously this music is foreboding and is trying very hard to make the audience uncomfortable, trying to let you know that something bad is going to happen. When Troy walks away, the music swells and the camera zooms in on Mike's angry expression.

Then, Mike pushes troy over for the homophobic comment. This is interesting why? Because Troy tripped Mike over in the previous scene I talked about. Meaning: the scenes are linked. Troy was being homophobic to both Mike and Will. Mike's had enough, so he retaliates in the same way that Troy had treated him earlier.

I'd also like to add that before El saves Mike, he just stands there as Troy stands up and says 'You're dead Wheeler, you're dead.' He was ready to take whatever Troy was going to throw at him. Which is interesting because in the previous scene I talked about, Troy spoke about how being 'queer' means you'll get killed. ('He's dead. That's what my dad thinks, probably killed by some other queer.') So Troy is going to kill Mike, just like how Will is dead too.

A lot has happened between the previous scene and this one. Mike thought Will had died. Yes, during the assembly scene, he doesn't believe it anymore, but he watched Will's body being dragged out the water just recently. Just like in the scene where he jumps into the quarry, this is yet another instance of Mike not caring if he gets hurt in regards to bullying/ Will.

6. More Lucas Comments

"Screw you Mike! You're blind, blind because you like that a girl's not grossed out by you! But wake up, man. Wake the hell up!" (btw I'm not saying that Lucas is being homophobic here, they're little kids and they've been through a lot)

I mean, come on. This basically implies the classic compulsive heterosexuality concept of Mike choosing which girl to have a crush on because she's the easiest option, since she didn't know him growing up or didn't go to the same school together. Even if this isn't accurate, it is still coding because they wrote Lucas to say that jab at him, it hurts Mike inside, because he knows deep down it's at least a little true.

He looks saddened by this, not angry. Mike usually gets annoyed much quicker than this and whenever he's insulted he looks shocked or has a scowl on his face, but here he just looks... sad. Because he knows that Lucas is touching a nerve. (The top pic btw)

He's completely silent. Until, of course, Lucas starts talking about Will:

'She knows where Will is. And now, she's just letting him die in the Upside Down.'

'Shut up!' -- Mike suddenly shouts either because a) he doesn't like that Lucas is insulting El or something OR b) he hates that Lucas is implying that it is his fault that Will is dying in the upside down because he's being blinded by the fact El isn't grossed out by him.

I think it's B tbh <3 (this scene isn't toooo important for my overall conclusion but it's a little nugget of info i guess)

7. Mike Jumps Into the Quarry

Let's be honest here, before this scene, almost everything seems hopeless for Mike finding Will. Firstly, he physically saw Will's 'body' being dragged out of the same water that he's about to jump into. Then he found out he was still alive but somewhere extremely dangerous and he could be dying there for all he knew. Then his one hope at finding Will (Eleven) is gone and he can't find her ("She's a weapon!... We're no use to Will if we're dead!") and Lucas won't agree to help him find her.

This scene was foreshadowed earlier on, making it a very important scene anyways -- Hopper said that no one would survive the jump and the water 'turns into cement, hits you like a tonne of bricks'. Mike would have died if El didn't save him. And he seemed okay with it.

The camera focuses in on him, and if you listen closely, you can hear his heartbeat. You could say that he's only really doing this to save his friend, but like, why is he so willing and why did they so pointedly zoom in on him?

Here's where we get a little serious: Mike would have committed suicide if El wasn't there at the last second. He would have died in the same place where Will's body was discovered.

Quotes about how being gay gets you killed:

'See Michael? You see what happens?' --Meaning: What happens when you're gay? You disappear.

'He's dead, that's what my dad says. Probably killed by some other queer' -- Meaning: Being gay gets you killed/ means you should die.

'Besides, what's there to be sad about anyway? Will's in fairyland now, right? Flying around with all the other little fairies, all happy and gay.' -- Meaning: Will's dead along with all the other gay people, that's where they should be etc.

'You're dead Wheeler, you're dead.' -- Meaning: Mike you should die too, because you're just like Will, and you should join him in 'fairyland'.

(from this scene) 'Jump [into the Quarry].' -- Meaning: Mike you should die just like I told you earlier and in the same place that Will died. (Honestly I believe the whole town now think that Will is dead and his body was found in the quarry, so Troy would know too and use it against Mike.)

Then, after Mike survives this queer-coded death (which can be paralleled to Will's hypothetical death because it's in the same place), he says to the girl that he cares about and has been presumed to 'like' by his friends: 'You saved me. You saved me.'

(just wanna note that i think that is a very sweet scene and doesn't just have to be all about Mike's queer-coding. it's a bond between the party as friends because Dustin also hugs El. But still.)

You tell me what this scene means then.

8. Mike wasn't Lying (Theory)

Okay so this is more of just a theory than queer-coding, because there is something about this scene that I just find... weird.

I personally think that this scene with both Nancy and Mike talking about their so-called 'crushes' is meant to be so you can see the difference between someone who is lying and someone who is telling the truth. Their reactions to the questions are very different to each other (although it could just be a difference in their characters).

Mike: 'Do you like Jonathan now?'

Nancy: 'What?' *looks to the side, fighting a smile* 'No... no, it's not- It's not like that.' -- She's clearly lying because she's being vague, looking to the side, stuttering over her words etc. However, Mike nods like he believes her. This is key for later.

Nancy: 'Do you like Eleven?'

Mike: 'What? No. Ew. Gross.' *looks her up and down in disgust* -- Telling the truth because he stares at Nancy, doesn't stutter over his words and is very direct.

The fact that these reactions are so different (and we know that Nancy likes Jonathan lets be real) is purposeful in my opinion. It shows that at this point, Mike doesn't like insinuation that he likes her in that way.

Something else that happens later in the episode is also quite interesting to me, which further points to Mike 'telling the truth', which is that Mike thought his and Nancy's conversation was mutually truthful.

Why? Because he was completely confused when Lucas says that her and Jonathan are romantically involved later:

Mike: 'They're gone. Nancy and Jonathan. His car's gone.'

Lucas: 'They're probably just sucking face somewhere.'

Mike: 'What? No. No way.' -- Clearly showing that maybe he thought that Nancy was being truthful, meaning he thought their exchange was mutually truthful.

This seems a bit far-fetched but... something to think about.

Btw, I was going to talk about how the First Kiss between Mike and El is queer-coded, but tbh, it's more like... weird. Because they're 12/11 years old and El literally has no idea what a kiss is and they have this exchange about being brother and sister (ew). Then Mike kind of says 'oh i want to go to the snow ball with you, but not if you're my sister', just gives me vibe that he's just doing what he thinks is normal as a result of what others say. But that's it, not much else to say abt it really (also im tired of writing this post ive been doing it for so long <3)

In conclusion: Mike gets taught that being queer/ not liking girls is dangerous. It means you die/ disappear. Being 'normal' or straight is therefore easier. He internalises this for a while poor child <3

Thanks for reading!!! I love you <33 Let me know if you have anything you want to add or if you have contradictions idk byeeee

[canonicallyobserving911]

Eddie journals his thoughts: Entry #145 – “Going to the chapel and we’re gonna get married.”

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

Part 5 is now available on AO3

New Buddie Fanfic - It's been three months and I'm still pissed about that BS "Vertigo" storyline because I hated it and I wish TM would have written something better for Eddie. There were several options but he just chose to use some wacky foolery because he likes it instead of considering the audience's response to it.

Eddie journals his thoughts: Entry #145 – “Going to the chapel and we’re gonna get married.” - Eddie journals about the day him and Buck got married.

Eddie journals his thoughts: Entry #145 – “Going to the chapel and we’re gonna get married.” - Eddie journals about the day him and Buck got married.

14.8K Words; Rated: Mature

___________

Here's a snippet from Eddie's journal entry that he wrote the morning after him and Buck got married.

___________

t’s Tuesday and the clock shows it’s 9:21AM but I’m sitting on the couch journaling my thoughts. I’m so excited that I can hardly hold this Apple Pencil in my hand because I spent a fantastic four day weekend with my fiancé in Malibu, CA and after we proposed to each other Thursday night, I journaled Friday morning but I haven’t written anything since then because I’ve been busy. It’s not an excuse, it’s a fact because yesterday, I got married and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I’m literally so happy and I’m smiling so big my cheeks have been hurting since Buck said, “Yes.”

Other than the day Chris was born, I don’t believe I’ve ever felt like this. First and foremost, I’m grateful for my son. He’s my pride and joy and I’m thankful that we’ve mended our relationship. It’s been a long road but he forgave me for messing up our lives and our family earlier this year and now we’re on the right path.

I’ve been married before and during that time I learned a lot of lessons that included the importance of communication. We didn’t know how to talk and all we did was argue instead of learning how to communicate therefore, I’m going to ensure it's drastically different during this marriage because we're going to be together forever.

Things are completely different this time because I wasn’t pushed or pressured into it and I know our love is the foundation of this lifetime bond we’ll forever share.

What happened on Eddie's and Buck's wedding day? 👀

Did they invite anyone to attend the ceremony or was it just the three of them?🙃

___________

Eddie journals his thoughts - Currently 5 Completed Works; 42K Words: Rated; Teen and Up Audiences: This is a FANON series I’ve created and titled “Eddie Journals His Thoughts” and it will include several journal entries he writes as a healthy way to therapeutically process and work through the thoughts and feelings he had at the end of season 7.  Some of the things he writes will be heavy and emotionally angsty while others will be domestically and romantically fluffy.  As previously mentioned, I HATED the way 9-1-1 didn’t let him talk to anyone about the way he was feeling at the end of 7x10 and it pissed me off when they let his parents abruptly show up and take Chris to El Paso, Texas with them.

Eddie journals his thought: Entry #118 - Future Tense - 5.3K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: Eddie journal about his future.

Eddie journals his thoughts: Entry #125 - Parental Conversations and Confrontations - 5.7K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: Eddie journals about his strained relationship with his parents.

Eddie journals his thoughts: Entry #132 – “Would I be doing it for Christopher or for me?” - 8.3K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: Eddie journals his thoughts after having a long overdue conversation with his son.

Eddie journals his thoughts: Entry #144 – “Will you marry me?” - 7.0K Words; Rated: Mature: Eddie journals the morning after he proposes to Buck.

Eddie journals his thoughts: Entry #145 – “Going to the chapel and we’re gonna get married.” - 14.8K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: Eddie journals about the day him and Buck got married.

Now Available on AO3

[lambcow]

My Plan for the Upcoming Twilight TV Show so that it's actually Good

I heard recently that they're doing a Twilight TV show. The rights are out there at the very least. Who knows when it will happen and what network will produce it where, but it's going to happen.

But here's my thing - they're going to do it wrong if they do it the way I think they will, which is anything like the timeline of the Books/Movies. As a hardcore Twilight fan (yes I'll admit it, I spent a long time in fandom as a preteen, okay? It was my first online fandom and the first fanfiction that I wrote) I have Opinions(TM) about how to make the show in a way that would make it interesting. Stephanie Meyer had interesting ideas and I stand by this! There's a lot of untapped potential in the series and I think if they did it right it could be a really, really cool show! But there's not much going on if we just rehash the same events of the books over again at an episodic level.

No.

I present to you, not the TV show "Twilight", but the TV show "Cullens", which starts off with Carlisle Cullen as he has come to America when he finally starts to build his Coven.

This is NOT the story of whiny Bella Swan and her falling in love with Edward and becoming a vampire over 4 books or 5 movies, but rather the story of a man who has already spent over two centuries as a vampire, struggling because of his love for humanity as he finds purpose and meaning as he builds his family. We follow his story as he collects his coven.

We truly open on the show when Carlisle finds Edward dying of Spanish Influenza and decides to turn him for humanity's sake because he would die and because he as a man is lonely and this boy is so young, only 17, and Edward's mother begs him to do whatever he can to save her son and who knows, maybe Carlisle's been watching him and he sees him like a son already too. Maybe we get flashbacks to Carlisle with the Volturi for those 20 years he stayed with them in Italy back in the early 1700s, who knows. The fact of the matter is, that Carlisle is a doctor at the hospital where Edward is, and for whatever reason that we as an audience are compelled to understand in this first and important episode is Carlisle is finally done being alone and craves family and Edward resembles that for whatever reason, so Carlisle gives in and turns him. The next several episodes are an arc about their relationship as we deal with newborn Edward. We know how hard it is to adjust to being newly turned. After he calms down, Edward then has to confront his mortality and that of his family, we see him start to remember his family and confront those memories. More flashbacks to the Volturi as Carlisle explains what being a vampire is to Edward etc.

We follow the pair then as they travel around with the cover story that Edward is Carlisle's nephew. It's three years later when Esme enters the picture. What we know already is she attempted suicide and Carlisle turned her to save her - and that they have history since Carlisle treated her for a broken leg some ten years prior when she was 16 years old. Fast forward to now and she's gone through an abusive marriage where she ran away from her husband several times, most recently after getting pregnant, and has just lost her baby due to a lung fever. At her wit's end with all of it, Carlisle finds her after she jumps off a cliff attempting to end her life. They end up falling in love and getting married after she is turned. That's several episodes I'm sure. GREAT ARC. But Esme struggles with blood lust, which is a great transition into the conversation for what happens just a few years later with Edward...

We can tie more vampire politics into the show (especially the Volturi into it) when Edward goes through his Ripper phase when he decides he doesn't want to drink animal blood like Carlisle teaches him. The two fight but what can Carlisle do? Maybe there are other vamps around as well to cause extra drama. Who knows? It is a TV show, after all. He goes off on his own and that's a whole plot. I'm sure the network could find some interesting ways to make this dramatic for a few episodes and keep enough plot points alive. Add in some new OC's and side characters. Remember the Denali clan? When do they start being formed? There's not a lot of context on them, just that they're close with The Cullen's. Maybe we get some of their story and interaction here. Maybe Sasha (the original leader who was killed by the Volturi for creating an immortal child) reaches out to Carlisle at some point near the beginning and this is when they all become vegetarian vampires together before the whole Denali clan is formed too.

Fast forward to when that arc is resolved. Edward is back with Carlisle and Esme and the peace is back. Now, we get Rosalie... Now, the thing with Carlisle, is he doesn't turn people just to turn people. He's very moralistic. We learn that all the time about his character. I'm sure our little trio has traveled on from Chicago and is in New York where they encounter Rosalie Hale who was assaulted nearly to death by her husband and all his buddies. Carlisle is somewhat of a matchmaker here and hopes Rosalie and Edward can keep each other company for their immortal lives... it makes me wonder what episode and background we can throw into the show here. Did Carlisle know this girl in any other capacity? Why are his dad senses tingling about Rosalie anyway? That's gotta be an arc.

Anyway, turns out Rosalie is not only not interested in Edward, but she's only really interested in staying with the Cullens because being alone forever would get lonely, so she stays with them... but that's after her revenge arc because Rosalie Hale is a certified Bad Ass. She goes after her Fiance and all his Dude Bros and takes them all out, and I can just imagine her executing this flawlessly as a vamp. I do wonder if Edward reads her mind about her plans and asks if he can help her, though. Eventually, she gives in and it's Sibling Bonding(TM) at its finest. It's this bonding that convinces Rosalie to stay with the Cullens after all, and that's that.

Next, we get Emmett. Now, this is a fun one! Because we get Emmett who starts pining over the gorgeous Rosalie Hale when they move to this new place. I'm not sure it says where they are, but I digress. Do we have a bit of the Bella/Edward vibes here? Are there warnings of "don't let the human close"? Is this around the time when we've just had the Denali arc and are reminded of the human child being killed? Is Carlisle having flashbacks? What is the drama? Make it interesting, TV people! Is Edward mad that Rosalie is flirting back? Is it harmless? Who. Knows. -- But then, it doesn't matter because Emmett is getting mauled by a bear in the woods and... wait, why is Rosalie even there? Why does she even find him? Hmmm, seems like she's following him around protectively ;) well- whatever the reason and drama, Emmett is near dead and she saves him and brings him to Carlisle to be turned. The reactions of the coven... the reactions of the town, of his family, of his friends, the drama. Make it interesting, once again, people! This is TV gold! It's cliches and everything you want for TV, c'mon! And then, of course, since they were already practically in love already, they really can be together, but now they have to leave because Emmett is supposedly dead and the Cullens are complicit in that for some reason too perhaps. So they get out of dodge and where do they go now?

If you guessed Forks, Washington, you're right. It's the first time and it's time to get into the legends and deal with The Wolves(TM). It's all about the Quiluetes and it's time to make a treaty with The Pack(TM). Ephraim Black is Jacob's great-grandfather and the leader of the tribe. Whoooa boy. I can think of sooooo much they can do with this,. And just how long do the Cullens stay in Forks the first time around? It's a whole arc. Maybe it's a season. We get some good wolf content. We get some pack dynamics. It's great. We get some beef between Rosalie and the wolves maybe, because there's obvious dislike between her and the wolves later and it's gotta be for a reason more than just their smell, I know it. So, several episodes there. Maybe even some fighting. I know it ends with a treaty, but that's not easily won. Maybe it's Rosalie they found first and one of the wolves attacked her before they were able to make talks for peace. Yeah. I can see this season being really fun.

So, after all that goes down, maybe there's something with the Volturi? Something with the Denali? They do end up staying with the Denali Coven for a time. Maybe they go somewhere else for a little while after they've overstayed their welcome in Forks. Sometime around the 1940s they leave. During the 1950s Jasper and Alice wander upon them and at this point, I fully believe we would get a several-episode arc of Jasper's origin story with the Civil War and the Newborn Army - but they've gotta make it interesting somehow, so there's gotta be a parallel conflict in the timeline that makes it relevant, like I keep saying, make it interesting. Who knows where the Cullens are living right now at this point, but there's crazy everywhere and they're vampires they're practically magnates for danger and chaos. Make something up. Family drama, vampire drama, whatever you need. Where are more of those OCs. And don't forget! We have all the covens and vampires from the battle in Breaking Dawn that we can draw on at ANY point in the show for extra vampires to make any of this interesting as well! Make. It. Make. Sense. How does Carlisle know everyone all the time??? Add spice, add interest, and make the Cullens well-connected in a way that makes sense!

Once we get through Jasper's origin story, we get how he and Alice met, which of course is that Alice saw him in a vision. Alice is such a fun character.

And what do they do in the interim 60 years until Bella? Um, not really sure, but we can find some filler or we can time skip. Not like we haven't been doing that anyway. I also have this vague idea that the whole first few seasons are vaguely a la How I Met Your Mother where they're always telling the story to Bella or Renesmee or someone anyway -- oooh telling the story to Ren would be cute actually... that has potential. Grandpa Cullen telling his granddaughter about how all the family got together. That's adorable, whether you like Renesmee as a character or not. Tell me I'm wrong... Anyway, so then maybe it's like, "So what about mom?" or something and we jump to the actual plot of the Twilight books.

But we don't just get the Twilight books, we get the full in-depth. We get the shifters in La Push full with Emily and Sam and Quil, Embry and Jake, and Paul and all the bois, we get the whole story from Bree Tanner on the side as that develops. We get random check-ins with the Denali clan, because that's relevant! We get Edward's perspective on things as well when he meets Bella and how he runs away to the Denali clan because he's dead lusting for her blood! We get complex feelings and all the arguments about it! We get Rosalie and Edward fighting because isn't she being hypocritical about Bella?

We get the Volturi and more drama from the throne room as they learn about the Cullens and their drama just like we have been following Volturi drama on and off all series long. We know the personalities of Caius and Marcus and their dynamic with Aro. We've already heard the origin story of Jane and Alec and we know how brutal the terror twins are. We get the Volturi women Sulpicia, Athenedora, Chelsea, Heidi, and Renata. Don't even get me started on Demitri and Felix and my headcanon of their epic friendship. So, yeah, Volturi stuff.

All of it comes to a head at the final battle in Breaking Dawn just like we know but with so much more meaning than ever before because of the rich history we have from seasons upon seasons of "The Cullens" or "Cullen" or whatever you end up calling this show. It's amazing, it's beautiful, we've laughed, we've cried, we've become a family over and over again and Carlisle has a family and this is his family and he is happy.

Will they make it like this? Probably freaking not, but this is my one request to the universe. Don't make a "Twilight" TV show. Make a "Cullen" TV show.

Please.

[rametarin]

Angry about something

Please, please, please, let movements be horrible on their own without saying, "The're the [previous thing] of [subject]"

We don't say the Nazis were the modern Napoleonic Imperialists. We don't say the Napoleonic Imperialists were their day's Golden Horde of Genghis Khan. We don't say Muslim pirates and abductors from Tripoli cruising Europe for slaves and conquests were "totally Trans Atlantic Slave Trading it." Muslims were abducting Europeans for slave applications for centuries before Europeans did it for

And when people talk about modern day Intersectional Feminists, capital P Progressives and oldschool TERF-flavor feminists get nasty in accordance with their values all over a pasttime, a hobby, or a group of people that enjoys something and tells them they're doing it wrong thanks to a VERY unreliably narrated assessment of what they are and why they are, they tend to treat their behavior as if it's the same stock mindset of previous experience related to Christian puritainism and religious evangelism.

Don't fucking do this. Their values are not the same. They come from a different place, and you doing this helps them do something they SPECIFICALLY like to do. First, muck around acting like assholes in self-righteous quests to control how people interpret reality and see things, and when called out for it, have their own controlled mea culpa where they apologize because, "that's just the old Christian White Supremacist in me, the feminism part of me isn't like that and can't be like that because feminism is just good and can't be bad. I'm sowwy. :C"

No. Fucking no. Do NOT fucking allow that to happen. Feminism is not a simple act of seeing women as equal, it's an entire dogmatic baggage that necessitates Class Struggle Theory, the willful adoption of the idea the only thing that matters in sexual politics is that "Women Are Oppressed (TM)" even when circumstances and culture are entirely equal and even handed with them, and that society owes them something to compensate for this inherent oppression- at the expense of men. And that Society is the third wheel in their relationship, automatically there to redistribute from the man.

Feminism bills itself as simply a phenomenon of 'equality'... for women.. but it is no more this than Christianity is synonymous with The Good(tm). It certainly is a shitty way to see the world, but it is not the definition of seeing the world. It boils down to making some very very intensely specific logical leaps and shortcuts out of convenience and then dogmatically insisting these values are immutable and unquestionable.

From that position, we come to the other little black box in the equation. The idea that something that exists in culture that represents an icon or concept, oppresses and exploits that icon, object or group, and that it is specifically wrong to objectify that, but only if it's a woman, a group that is "oppressed." (it's however perfectly justifiable to objectify an 'oppressor.' See how that works.) Right before they say some apologetics like, "It's not MY fault cisheterosexual Judeo-Christian Patriarchy is sexually binary! Maybe if you agreed in more options we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

And it's because of this shitty point of view, they argue that even having big booby fictional characters that are female, boobily boobing down the stairs for the appreciation of the audience, they jump to the next facet of their belief system. Male Gaze Theory.

Built off their idea that Classes Struggle (tm) and Women Are the Obligate Oppressed Class(tm), and that any reference or participation by women is inherently an act of an oppressed political group in bondage to and beholden to their oppressive captors, AND that works of fiction and literature are part of culture, these facets of culture give groups their marching orders, programming and ideas on what they are, mean and even their existence. They believe, uncompromisingly, that your very perception and understanding of reality is built solely upon what books written by the state have to say about what is real and what isn't. That if society writes books about a murderer and don't go out of their way to omnipotently, omnipresently dictate with no ambiguity that, "Murder is bad, ackshully," that you endorse a society where murder happens. And, no joke, this is how they imagine murder, theft and antisocial behavior happening. Because it exists in that cultural bubble like evil waves of energy, just going unneutralized to warp the minds of unprepared people who haven't been told what is right and wrong by society, making them rapists, murderers and exploiters of those weaker than them (and they only care when the person exploits someone weaker than them.)

So they see sexy drawn women as depictions of an oppressed minority being reveled over by a slavemaster class, exploiting their image and the idea of that group for profit (which they also despise) and believe the women should also be profitting off their "exploitation" in fiction, and some sort of state council should exist that oversees the expression or interpretation of women in fiction, or else abolish the work from existing for not fitting their moral and social view of how literature and culture are "allowed" to see women. Seeing this very dour, extreme interpretation about how all men depicting women is exploitation, and by default society is meant for a male, oppressor perspective, is called, "Male Gaze Theory."

At no point in this equation did their greviance or conceptual principles cross over with Puritainism or Christians. They are their own totalitarian beasts, and like the Nazis are not Napoleonics are not The Mongol Horde, FUCKING TELL IT LIKE IT IS AND ACCEPT RADICAL FEMINISM IS JUST LIKE THIS.

You can somehow see one radical conservative and condemn the entire conservative or right-wing party as inherently racist, white supremacist and homophobic, but you can't acknowledge that radical feminism has more Ls to its name and more bad ideas and more bad values than rejecting the idea that trans men and women aren't men and women. All their ideological supremacism, all their logical leaps, all of their antagonistic marching into any fandom and demanding the fandom most conform to their ideas of what is mentally, emotionally an socially healthy, are their own. They are not Puritans, they're fucking radical feminists. Do not use the bad behavior of past groups as an ablative shield when you fucking mean what you mean.

"Well complaining about feminism makes me sound like some kind of CHUD..."

That's a you problem. In the past, complaining about the Church when it was synonymous with power would've made you a "pagan" or an "unbeliever." And before the T in LGBT got traction, it was just "anti-feminist" for a biological man to argue with a woman, giving them infinite instant Ls, even if they did identify as a woman. It starts somewhere.

Call it like it is and just realize radical feminism is rotten from the top windows of the attic to the foundations.

[andyouweremine]

I am very slowly making my way through a rewatch of Season 1 of Arrow and listen, nothing gives pure Olicity like this season. I don't care if they kiss or hug in other seasons, nothing is as pure or as close to the actual dynamic of their relationship that I wanted to see as Season One and there are some good reasons for this:

(1) Writers are still like 99% sure that they are going to stick with the spin cycle Laurel/Oliver relationship through the end of the series. Felicity as a character is Not A Thing. She's there to help facilitate plot points and make the audience laugh.

(This is not a slight on Felicity; she is not a real person--she's a character and the fact that thanks to EBR she's actually doing more than the writers need her to do is incredible. More so the fact that she does in-fact upstage the Official Comic Book Love Interest who is just not vibe-ing with the lead in the way they need to but I DIGRESS. Her function in the narrative is to provide tech help to move the story-of-the-week along, and do some heftier plot work with helping Walter and later giving Oliver his Mom's Copy Of The List (TM). Characters are allowed to be narrative tools. That's literally how story-crafting works, and I personally think it's something beautiful when a character who initially exists to do some narrative lifting ends up being incredibly beloved by fans and writers and therefore promoted and fleshed out beyond their initial conception. EBR and Stephen and some very cute episode 3 writing made Felicity. I DIGRESS AGAIN.)

(2) Felicity connects with the audience because she makes us smile the same way she makes Oliver smile, which is almost against our better judgement and kind of by accident. We like her because she's insanely likeable, and Oliver likes her for the same reasons. Enough to keep going back to her when I'm sure that Queen Consolidated has more than a one-woman IT department, and he could probably have reduced suspicion by going to someone else another week rather than literally give Felicity all the clues to figure out his identity. But he goes back to her again and again because he's in this perpetual darkness post-island and she's a literal ray of color and light. I will also say that costuming and hair and make-up for Felicity is absolutely top-tier this season, it never gets better than this. She's professional and colorful and I love the bright lipstick and ponytail of curls. I don't completely have an explanation for why her style alters so dramatically post season 1 other than Whoops She's A Female Lead Now and we Are The CW so she needs to be wearing Fashion and not Panda Bear shoes.

(3) She's not supposed to be a love interest, literally not the point of her character at all. So when the writers actually start deviating from The Plan and pulling her more and more into the story, her relationship with Oliver is portrayed as this genuine burgeoning friendship as they learn to trust and rely on each other. Honestly my favorite Oliver/Felicity scene of ALL TIME is still in Big Belly Burger when she brings him Walter's copy of the notebook. "I'm not an idiot; you've dropped some pretty big lies on me, and yet I still feel like I can trust you." idk, I love it. You can pry it out of my cold dead hands. THIS is the best moment of this ship hands down and again I will die on this hill.

(4) There's such a stark difference in how Felicity and Oliver have important conversations after season one. Season two is okay, but by the time we hit Season three the big differences are starting to show. Compare, simple things like "I still feel like I can trust you" or "If you're not leaving, I'm not leaving" to the dramatic "I don't want to be a woman you love" or "Then say never. Stop dangling maybes." or literally my least favorite line in all of television "You opened up my heart in a way I didn't even know was possible."

(I SWEAR TO GOD, "I don't want to be a woman you love" was initially written for Laurel to say. I have no proof of this, but once you think about it it's such a Laurel/Oliver line. I would bet money it was sitting on a whiteboard for three seasons and the writers just couldn't get over how much they liked it so they had Felicity say it.)

(5) Oliver and Felicity's relationship is actually healthier in season one? I don't care that he's lying to her about the laptop or the syringe of vertigo or the arrow or the flash drive, she knows and she's choosing to press him carefully on all of those things without pushing too hard. (This is important because Moira and Tommy and Laurel and Thea and even Diggle are pressing Oliver super hard to open up in literally every other scene, but he's just not responding to them. Felicity lets it go. These look like bullet holes? Opens the laptop anyway. Flash drive has insanely high encryption for a scavenger hunt? Okay, she'll give the info anyway. They become friends-- to the point where a shot and bleeding Oliver goes to Felicity because he does actually trust her.)

Season One Olicity was the Best Olicity don't come at me.

[lazywitchling]

Review: The House Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

3.5/10 - This could have been a zine. As it stands, I was not the target audience for this book.

Maybe I'm just being mean since I read this one directly after Queering Your Craft, but my goodness I don't think I was the target audience for this one. I am cis-adjacent girl-not-woman, single, living at home with my highly conservative christian parents, and keep my craft in the closet. This book is for a cis-woman who is probably married, runs a household, has a couple of children, and is the spiritual-head-of-household who teaches the kids to say their prayers to the abstract Divine every night before they turn on their essential oil humidifier for bedtime.

It sure would be lovely to live in the world that Arin does, where I could consult with the other family members about their particular Spiritual Beliefs (TM) and integrate those into an Altar in the kitchen where we all make our offerings and say our prayers to the household spirits, but that is not the world I live in. If I tried to start that conversation at home, I'd very quickly wind up with a very aggressive visit from the local pastor who spoke at a rally for 45. Thanks, Arin, but I'm... gonna skip the build-an-altar-in-your-kitchen-and-invite-your-family-to-participate step.

So here's the thing. (And I'm starting to notice that this is a pattern with a lot of the witch books I read...) I would probably have loved this book if it were more of a personal memoir than a How To Witch 101 guide. And I get the feeling that this was more of a problem with publishing than with the author. I mean I could practically feel Arin bursting at the book-seams to tell me about how she practices her witchcraft spirituality in her home, but instead she's stuck trying to write about Hearthcraft (TM) as if it's a universal thing, since that's what's easiest to sell. The whole book feels like it's formatted and marketed to be a Witchcraft 101 book, but it doesn't do it well at all. In fact, in the beginning of the book, Arin practically scolds the reader by saying 'this is a spiritual path, not a magic one, and if you want a magic one, go get a book about magic.' Like... Arin, honey, your book is called The House Witch. I thought I was reading a book about witchcraft.

Furthermore, it feels like this book is filled up with a whole lot of pillow fluff to fill in the gaps. Did we need a whole chapter of cauldron mythology that we never ended up tying into anything else in the book? Did we need that? It seems like there's a lot of stuff in this book that was just put in for a page count; something to make the book seem like it has the wide-appeal of a Witchcraft 101 book. But it just came across as... idk, not genuine.

I just keep coming back to how much I would have loved to hear about Arin's own personal practice that she's so clearly passionate about!

Hey, but also... this book was an organizational mess. Why was the cookie recipe in the chapter with the cauldron lore instead of in the recipe chapter? Why were the instructions on making a clay figure of a household spirit in the chapter with the imaginary altar instead of in with the chapter on household spirits, or the chapter on crafts? Why was there a section on ethics sandwiched in between a section about talking to a tree spirit and a section about talking to a blender spirit, instead of in with the cooking chapter when we actually referenced ethics?

-sigh-

Look, while there wasn't really anything in this book that made me go "Oh wow that's a great idea, I need to use that!" there were a few sections that made me say "Hey, that particular thing is not of use to me, but the idea behind it absolutely is, and I should look into that." Which, once again, comes back to how much I wish this book was a personal memoir. Finding the little nuggets of information that told me what Arin does and how and why were so much more useful than the vague-and-generic step-by-step instructions of... whatever the instructions were for.

BTW, I read through this whole book, and I still am not sure of the definition of "spiritual" nor of "hearth" that we were using. I never did figure out if "hearth" meant "fireplace" or "center of the home" or "kitchen" or what.

Ultimately I came out of the book more confused than I was going in. It's not the worst witch book I've read -- [waves to Skye Alexander] -- and I did get at least some things out of it that I can ponder on my own. But man... idk what that book was for. I'm tired. I'm going to bed.

[skaruresonic]

What are the other religions that appear in the novel? I'm guessing the main ones would be native briton, Anglo-Saxon, and various Roman religions? Though of those I'm assuming that the Britainic Christianity is the most prominent.

As I've said, it's pretty much pagan Welsh, pagan Anglo-Saxon, and Yoruba religion.

I want to keep a tight focus; including other religions when they're not thematically pertinent might wind up causing unnecessary confusion.

And tbqh, I'm worried three religions might already be pushing it in a project where each culture will probably be considered "foreign" to the audience in some capacity, because there's a lot of context I need to provide. Which is why in lieu of infodumping in the narrative itself, I've opted instead to move that information to codices which the reader can access at their leisure. Like... Show, don't tell. I have to write conversations between Arthur and Bedwyr where they talk about fantastical figures as if they're normal everyday occurrences, but draw the line at Creoda's specific brand of resurrection being the thing that's just a little too fantastic to believe. Add the need to distinguish one character's superstition from the other and the tightrope grows even narrower.

I have to impart the conceptual significance of the àkúdàáyà as Morgan's personal way of explaining the resurrection cycle without exoticizing Yoruba belief in the process. (Or any of these beliefs, really.)

I have to write an Anglo-Saxon ritual spear dance without coming out and saying the words "Anglo-Saxon ritual spear dance." And since there's a paucity of information on what Anglo-Saxon pagan rituals entailed, sometimes the best I can do here is guess, coupled with large amounts of creative liberty.

On top of that, I have to grapple with the VN's own diegetic universe and how it functions, particularly in regard to Mona's system. Part of me wants to lean on some degree of ambiguity as a critical element in understanding the themes, but I also know being too vague might not be good.

That's a lot of information to put on the reader without also going "And now let's see what the Church is doing," you know what I mean? Too many "unfamiliar" elements and I might wind up losing people.

It's also difficult to delineate boundaries between cultures; where would I put Baldr, for instance, if we're talking about Woden in an Anglo-Saxon pagan mythos and not the Norse Odin? Would they be considered the same character? Likewise with Celtic-but-not-Welsh deities like Belenos. So on and so forth.

I think Mithras, the Roman soldier's god, may have popped up in the deity codex, but honestly I've been considering cutting him since my version of Arthur isn't terribly Romanized, aside from his brief stint in his youth as one of the guys stoking coke ovens along the Antonine Wall.

..."Coke" as in ash from burned trees. To make iron. Not like drugs lmao. Bedwyr we need to cook

---

I'm assuming that the Britainic Christianity is the most prominent.

Considering all four main characters are pagan, and only Gwenhwyfar is a recent Christian convert, Christianity actually figures very little.

There are several reasons for this---chief among them being that, ironically enough, I'm just not familiar enough with the history of Christianity in sub-Roman Britain to be able to do it justice. All I know is that prominent Christian theologists had a knockdown dragout no-holds barred fight round table discussion and decided Pelagianism was heresy about eighty or so years before the events of the VN. That's about it. xP

Plus, to be quite frank, I'm not interested in attempting it. There are plenty of Arthurian novels where the principal ideological conflict revolves around "Christians vs. pagans" and that kind of thing doesn't really light my fire. I guess I'm also afraid of bungling it and accidentally pushing some Church Bad(tm) message.

But like, unless Gwenhwyfar shows up (which I don't plan on doing right now since she doesn't appear in the demo) Christianity's not terribly relevant to the immediate setting. Arthur and Bedwyr mention other characters who are Christian, but it's not like

[qqueenofhades]

I was wondering how you approach historical research for a fic, especially for periods you're not already intimately familiar with. Do you do as much research as possible before beginning to write, or do you research as you go to make everything as accurate as possible? And what are the moments you say "fuck it" to accuracy over stories?

Well, it is probably different for me than for your average layperson fanfic writer, since a) I am a professional historian and already have a breadth of general knowledge, and b) the settings I am interested in using for fic are usually those that I know well anyway and thus have to do a relative minimum of supporting research to flesh out. I did do a ton of extra research for the Swan and Crossbones series, although it was a setting I was at least relatively conversant with, since the 18th-century Caribbean/colonial world is not my primary focus or something that I have done much work on, but it happened naturally as the fic went along and filled in tons of plot points and background detail overall. But If you're too paralyzed with achieving Historical Accuracy TM to actually write, this is your official permission to go "fuck it" and just start writing. It probably won't be nearly as anachronistic as you think, you can fix obvious howlers later, and besides, do you ever go into someone else's fic determined to joylessly vet it for complete Accuracy as determined by you, Noted Internet History Expert? No, you go for a good time and to be reasonably convinced. So let yourself have some of that same grace.

Likewise, part of it is being a generous reader, especially when you're reading amateur (as in not paid people who don't write for a living doing this for fun in their free time and thus should not be expected or criticised against professional standards, even if their stuff is often better than some published writing but I digress) authors. I once had some excessively pedantic douche complain that I used the word "sodomite" in TNR, and this was Wrong since the biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, from whence the etymology of the word derives, does not exist in fantasy-world Westeros. And just like... what? This is obviously utter bullshit since every OTHER modern English word has an etymology traceable to events that don't exist in fantasy worlds, I'm not going to make up a completely different word to attempt to clumsily convey to my audience what they know to be implied by the word "sodomite," and since ASOIAF/GOT loudly and repeatedly claims to be Accurate to Medieval Europe (lol), it IS the word that GRRM himself would almost have surely used (you know, if he ever wrote about gay people in any substantial or meaningful way). So.

I do try to avoid using, as I said, obviously anachronistic references; once I didn't use the words "quixotic" and "kowtow" in medieval historical fiction because they obviously herald from a later era. In the last chapter of OMM, I initially used the metaphor of a nuclear bomb before remembering the scene was set in 1917 and obviously that wasn't something they would be able to know about or compare to. Likewise, much Internet Historical Accuracy is total nonsense, based on an extremely skewed and shallow view of the past and what is Modern, and can usually be generally disregarded anyway.

[banavalope]

Thank u for the thought out discussions. Shipping discourse is like the most difficult thing to talk about with any sort of nuance (in American fandom spaces) cause a huge number of ppl will take anything you say to mean “I literally love seeing irl children getting abused” I’ve never wished more to be fluent in another language so I could step out of this US-centric bubble

While I can't speak to what fandoms of other countries are like - though I have made a large number of fandom friends outside of the US - I can say at the very least, US fandom is among the most reactionary. If I'm going to be brutally honest, I can't even blame anyone in fandom for being reactionary. So many people acting in bad faith or just being too exhausted having to explain themselves, people trying to protect themselves; like, man I get it.

But like, I'm an artist working hard towards posting more of my own original content yeah? I want to have a discussion with My Audience(tm) about my characters and the narrative I'm constructing around them. I see art as a conversational device. I can use fiction to temporarily place myself in the role of "agreeing" with a perspective I disagree with, for the purpose of exploring a theme that asks a much bigger question. Maybe that's what we're failing to break down what we mean properly, and why so many people in fandom will jump to the immediate assumption that writing about a topic in fiction places you in support of it.

Like, in my writing of Amadeus, he uses his status to manipulate a situation to his advantage, and it ruins his life. In narrative I've loosely constructed this as "he's outed for cheating in a battle of the bands type concert, he parasocially manipulates his fans and pays off another band in order to win. when he's found out for this one incident, other actions of his are put under a microscope; as a result, he's banned from participating in concerts altogether, and his career takes such a massive hit that he's unable to respectably recover" This is my way of starting a conversation about cancel culture, neither in favor of nor against any side of it. Amadeus has a redemption arc as a means to explore how artists relate themselves to their art, how we place our worth on the consumption of our art, social (media) expectations, the sensationalization of innocuous events, what puts someone in a position where they feel they have no choice but to make a very poor decision, and how an artist reconciles with the mistakes they make.

The twist is, I don't actively care about making a stance on my opinions of cancel culture. You'd think I do with the way I gave a character this entire backstory, but I've tricked you. It's a thematic device.

That's the energy of discussion I want to support having with people. Far be it from me to tell people how I think they need to live their lives or experience them, all I can do is ask questions and hope I find someone with the same level of enthusiasm who wants to answer. My world becomes more informed that way.

[caatws]

IMO making Gamora a ravager hurt her character. There's no arguing that when it comes to the audience only characters who are guardians are receiving much attention. Those are the characters whose arcs are being praised. When it comes to performances that's where the focus is, which is particularly sad because Zoe killed it in the film. As you brought up even merch is focused on the guardians. I notice James Gunn is focused on the guardians as well as Rocket's friends. His only real interest in ravagers has been Yondu and Kraglin both of whom he made guardians at some point. That says everything.

As a lead Gamora helped form the guardians. Her desire to do something good with her life influenced how things moved forward. She created the foundation the story has been built upon with the other OG guardians. That's not the equivalent of joining the ravagers from a narrative or audience perspective. It would be like killing Tony Stark in the same way she was and then bringing him back in Endgame as something other than an Avenger and saying it's the same. Fans would have called that disrespectful to who he was and what his character represented.

Gamora was demoted from female lead too. She was the first woc lead and on a popular team she formed no less. It feels wrong that it's all because her abuser did something terrible and she had everything messed up for her. Vol 3 diluted how much of a leading role she had before by only having Peter attribute any part of the guardians to her. It also downplayed she was abused and came very close to covering up her murder all together with the memory loss comments and none of the characters even mentioning what happened in IW. except Peter in his magic cliff rant that made is seem the whole incident was relatively benign instead the horrifying experience it actually was for Gamora. I don't want to come across as hating but I feel like if a novice writer/director had done this it would come under fire. Some stuff I can see getting a pass, but avoiding conversation about her murder, moving her out of a leading role she had from the start and not giving her much development or arc after everything/this being the last film, is a little too much to ignore.

i think this is definitely fair...like i'm not fully against gamora being a ravager in her new life, but that final shot of her with her "real family" at the end after she leaves the gotg hurts me so much every time it's like twisting the already existing 5-year-old knife in my gut further 😭 peter gatekeeping being a ravager from her was so real lmao like you're so right king thank you

and yeah it all would've been better if gamora was still The Female Lead(TM) but she wasn't even that anymore which just felt so strange coming off the heels of vol 1 and vol 2 in the imax marathon. like wot

but yeah i agree with you on all fronts here anon. they never would've done this to one of the white male leads in the avengers lol i mean, those guys got Funerals 😧😧😧 like they got Grieved 😧😧😧😧😧😧

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie: Chris was looking for his dad.

In season 6, both Chris and Denny were looking for their dads.

Full Disclosure: Before I delve into this parallel, I have to admit that I ABSOLUTELY LOATHED the way the Hen, Karen, Denny and Nathaniel storyline was handled and I mentioned it several times in my Season 6 -Constructive Criticisms posts (main one about stereotypes linked here). I don't believe the show did a good job of capturing most of the things they attempted to illustrate for the audience throughout the season but it's over now and there's nothing that can be done about it. Thankfully, TM is back as the ONLY SHOWRUNNER FOR SEASON 7 so he can fix the mess that was made by KR for seasons 5 & 6.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Over the seasons, I've found many instances where Buddie and Henren were paralleled and so were their sons, Chris and Denny. They're friends and they have been for years just like Eddie and Karen (post linked here) but they're barely shown together anymore. Was it on purpose, maybe but they along with Harry were the youngest of the 118's children until Jee-Yun was born in season 4.

IIRC, the last time Chris and Denny were shown talking to each other was in 5x10 when Hen arrived with Denny and he ran over to talk to Chris.

In season 6, they weren't shown together at all but their lives were paralleled A LOT with regards to their dads!

Reminder, Eddie calls himself Chris' father when he talks to Buck about Chris (post linked here). Even though I completed a post about the way Chris was looking for Buck in 6x11 during Buck's coma dream (linked here), I didn't notice the parallels between Chris and Denny that I'm including in this post until recently but they've been there hiding in plain sight. I think I missed them before because their scenes happened in different episodes starting in 6A and they continued through 6B.

In 6x9, Denny went off on his bike looking for his dad but he didn't tell Hen or Karen where he was going. When he arrived and Nathaniel opened the door, Denny introduced himself and said, "I think you're my dad."

Reminder, for his birthday, he asked Hen and Karen if they had any information about his birth parents and they gave him a folder. Later in the episode, he overheard Hen talking to Chimney on the phone after Eddie and Buck dropped off their four-way call and he started looking for him.

Fast forward to 6x11 and Chris was looking for his "dad" (Buck), not his father (Eddie) in Buck's coma dream. He asked Buck, "Can you help me find my dad?" but Buck told him he wasn't real which means he didn't believe Chris is already his son too even though he's been coparenting him with Eddie for six years.

Reminder, Chris already knew where Eddie was but he asked Buck to help him find his dad because Chris is the son Buck's been searching for since 3x1 - 3x3.

Both Buck and Nathaniel were in the hospital in season 6 and Chris and Denny were both upset by it. In 6x11, Chris insisted Carla take him to the hospital so he could see Buck and in 6x13, Denny and Nathaniel were in a car accident but Hen and Karen didn't know Denny had been spending time with him. Denny got upset and stopped talking to Hen and Karen because he thought they didn't care about the fact that Nathaniel might die.

In 6x10 Buck did die but Nathaniel didn't in 6x13. Chris asked Buck to come back and he did but Hen and Karen went to see Nathaniel in the hospital after Toni had a conversation with them.

The scenes above are similar for two reasons. First, they both happened in 6x13 and second both Denny and Chris were spending time ALONE with their dads. The difference is Eddie KNEW Chris was with Buck and I always wondered why he just dropped Chris off and dipped so they could bake cookies for Chris' whole class (post linked here) but it wasn't the first time he did it (and it won't be the last). The first time was in 3x1 before the Tsunami.

In the scenes below, Chris asked Buck, "Can you help me find my dad?" but after Denny knocked on Nathaniel's door and he opened it, Denny said, "I think you're my dad."

Why is this important?

It's important because Chris has always considered Buck to be his second dad/parent while Denny was looking for his dad. Buck is the one who hasn't realized he already has a son even though Nathaniel did. Reminder, Eva told Nathaniel about Denny and she showed up with him in 2x5 even though she lied to Hen and said she didn't know who his father was.

Also, Nathaniel made an agreement with Hen and Karen that he would follow their lead. He broke the agreement, they didn't.

Eddie put Buck in his will and named him to be Chris' legal guardian but he waited a whole year to tell him about it. One major difference between Buck and Nathaniel is Buck WAS ALREADY COPARENTING CHRIS WITH EDDIE! But Nathaniel was not in the picture and he hid the relationship he wanted to have with his son from Denny's mothers.

Let's be real for a minute because KR did a horrible job of making sure these parallels got recognized and it might have something to do with the fact that there was so much BS included in season 6 that it made everything EXTRA messy. From the sperm donor storyline; to interim captain to Buck wanting to be happy, Hen working towards completing medical school, AA sponsors that were created out of thin air, dating storylines that came out of nowhere, characters acting out of character... just everything overlapped and it was too difficult to determine what they were trying to do.

Will things finally be better in season 7? I hope so but only time will tell.

[eldestsuphering]

There's a kid in the clock app recently that have been causing a bit of anger, cause this kid brought up Tamsyn's past on here in the HS fandom and how it's a problematic way of coping.

I'm not really going to say anything that peeps on twitter hasn't already said and that I agree with them more than I do with this kid. One thing I wanted to give my thoughts on is at one point she asked why TM didn't bother hiding it her quote-unquote problematic past on here. Here's a something from a person whose been in fandoms, but has mostly lurked:

Considering that she's been in fandom for a good lot of her time in the internet and has built skills and friendships and, especially in this conversation, coped using it, it'd be a massive blow on her emotionally to just take it all away as, yes, fandom and the internet has shaped her and then seen her evolve into an amazing writer;

And the most pertinent one here in my mind is, that it's essentially a means to softly apply a trigger warning to people like that kid for her work. As previously stated, she knows the internet have and will try and find her past, it has happened to others before her time as an author, and she knows she can't really hide anything permanently on here, she knows that. It's essentially a means to give people like that kid that she'll be exploring things in this vain and should tread carefully or stay away if needed;

Those weird speculative fiction that she encourages us to make and write, is not out of fetishes. It's more on the area of the fact that, mush like her works, the human condition and experiences are as nuanced as hell irl, and she's encouraging us to be more open into examining different avenues of that. Fanfiction is a chaotic but, by in large, a unique space to explore them safely and without harming anyone... It's like a an anger room where you can smash stuff with protective gear and within an enclosed space with privacy to cry if needed; it's a means for catharsis, as well.

TM and every member of her audience of hers knows that her books maybe polarizing for others and we as an audience, whether your actively engaging on the material and fandom or not, should be more critical in researching about a private figure who has been using spaces like tumblr or ao3 as a means to safely cope and cultivate something through or past it.

[tyrannuspitch]

seriously can't stop thinking about 4.08. like. the audience is *more or less* left with the option of it being merlin's magic, but. none of the characters have that. literally what is gwen meant to think. she had that conversation with merlin where he was super evasive and i bet she was really embarrassed like ten minutes later bc it was sooo obvious and it wasn't fair to try to make him say it. and like the KNIGHTS? they didn't just witness merlin being immune, they were picking up on lamia's hostility to him and it was clearly a different hostility from what they felt for each other or gwen. lamia looked merlin in the eyes and screamed. the knights know lamia saw merlin as different(tm) and they know she had them shun him for not being in love with her. they know. like i'm sure they'll all be cool about it. they probably won't say anything to merlin except an apology, because, you know, ambiguously mediaeval, gotta be tactful, but like. they're good friends. men of honour in fact. and not only is their dear friend merlin clearly a homosexual, they kind of owe their lives to his homosexuality, so now there's an unspoken understanding that upon their honour if anyone has a problem with that they can take it up with the knights of camelot. and all the while merlin is just here like. Ah. damn. i was trying so hard to conceal my sorcery that i momentarily forgot i was meant to be in that closet too :/

[steamberrystudio]

As someone who has read amazing YA books with LGBTQIA+ rep by authors who are allies and LGBTQIA+ members; this whole #ownvoices going on in the indie VN community is upsetting. There should never be fear of writing LGBTQIA+ rep. I understand that it is important to uplift queer creators but if that means condemning someone for writing diverse cast of characters, then no. And yes, I am part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I’m latine, gnc before someone asks. What people need to do is TRUST authors to know what they’re doing and trust them that they know their responsibility when it comes to representation. I discovered my first queer character in a kickass YA Fantasy book by a woman who was an ally of the community. That character and rep meant the world to me. I would hate to see people become afraid of having representation in their work over this debate. We should be celebrating queer rep in every work no matter if they’re allies or LGBTQIA+ members. I do agree that supporting queer creators is absolutely important in a community but not if it means shaming others from writing diverse characters or representation. Otherwise we’d have a problem where we’ll end up demanding that creators include rep in their work if all we’re seeing is white cishet characters and accuse them of being homophobic

I do think it would be nice if we could always just assume positive intent when it comes to creators.

But I do understand why people can't always do that. I know there are years of frustration, hurt, and sometimes trauma behind some opinions.

I think what it comes down to for me is this:

1. If there is a game that includes some kind of PoV representation (IE. with the main character(s) through whose point of view we are seeing the story), it would be great to assume it's there because the author felt comfortable writing that point of view (perhaps because it's their own). Even if the experience portrayed differs from your own, you can't assume the author was outside their lane and didn't know what they were doing; nor should you demand they prove themselves to you by sharing their experiences in a public setting to defend themselves. By harshly judging things that don't align to our personal experiences, we can potentially invalidate the lived experiences of the creator or any authenticity/diversity editors that worked with them. I do think we have to be open to diverse representation portrayed in diverse ways.

Even within my family, we often have very different opinions about representation that affects us.

2. Conversely, if there is a game that does NOT include some kind of PoV representation you want, just understand it's very possible that it's outside the developer's experience and they genuinely do not want to mess it up or take the spotlight off other creators who can write that PoV authentically. Many devs are happy to include representation outside of the point of view characters while keeping the point of view character closer to their own experience as a way to balance inclusion and authenticity on both sides of the process.

As I said in my last post on this topic, I think this is a complicated and dynamic topic. There are so many opinions on how representation (of all kinds - not just LGBTQIA+) should be handled and who is equipped to write what. Some of those opinions conflict with each other but are equally valid.

Some creators make different decisions than I make. And I may make different decisions with future projects. I have not locked myself into a single path forever and ever. Every project is different!

I'm definitely not a Representation Authority (tm). I, like a lot of creators, just try to gently feel out the right path for each project. I want my audience to feel represented and reflected in my work and I also want my work to be authentic.

A lot of my time and emotional energy goes toward contemplating that balance and how to approach it.

Thanks so much for stopping by to share your own thoughts on this subject.

[desencante]

oi, march reads! I read a lot this month.

Please, don’t forget to leave a comment or kudos for the authors of these fics!

(The texts aren't the summary, just my ramble thoughts.)

Loving Cannibalism by glittering_git/@glittering-git (Mature, 2 works, 952 words) | Post-War, Angst, Established Relationship

Two marvellous and poetic histories about (loving) cannibalism. This is such a dark and heavy theme but the author does a great job writing and makes me enjoy reading them. (And I'm definitely here for more.)

(Please, read the Author's Tags.)

don’t say you love me, that’s extortion by LowerEastSide/@lower-east-side (Explicit, 1k) | Post-War, Angst, Fluff, Established Relationship

It is a domestic and loving and little sad history – about not saying 'I love you' but acting in that way.

The Pink Paradox by vina_writes/@dracothecupcake (Teen and Up, 1k) | Post-War, Humor, Auror Harry, Unspeakable Draco

Harry Potter Is Obsessed With Draco Malfoy TM. And Draco has pink hair. Have a fun time!

Harry's Promise by JosephineStone (Teen and Up, 2k) | Post-War, Angst, Reunion, Established Relationship

This one it's kind of part two of Circumpolar. The history continues the consequences of Draco's change, after the war – left me with a warm heart.

Burnt Casserole by Samunderthelights/@samunderthelights (General Audiences, 2k) | Post-War, Fluff, Established Relationship

Nervous Draco for Meeting Ron and Hermione. Getting back together and meeting your boyfriend's friends (who may hate you) showing them your (not) great cooking abilities.

Magical Homes, and Where to Find Them (in the arms of your lover) by Erebeus/@erebeus-roxy (General Audiences, 2k) | Post-War, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship

Who doesn't want some fluff established relationship sometimes? Harry has a painful case at work and then comes home to a calm and domestic night with his husband.

Together Like This by shealwaysreads/@shealwaysreads (Explicit, 3k) | Post-War, Getting Back Together

Draco Malfoy in the Muggle World TM. I find it so interesting reading stories where Draco denies Harry's love because of the war, and Harry is there to change his mind. Here we have that and it's written the super talented shealwaysreads.

For Old Times' Sake by thestarryknight/@the-starryknight (Teen and Up, 3k) | Post-War, Drugs, Potioneer Draco, Artist Harry

This one gives me such a cosy and domestic vibe. "'It's Complicated' is their relationship status" resume perfect what this fic is. (There're some cool references too, so pay attention.)

Like Gold by The_Sinking_Ship/@the-sinking-ship (Explicit, 4k) | Post-War, PWP

(It's always good to see.) Harry Has a Motorbike Just Like Sirius! Harry rides a motorbike and Draco rides him.

Harry and Draco's Little Talk by Ladderofyears (Teen and Up, 5k) | Post-War, Angst, Established Relationship, mpreg

Who doesn't hear 'I need to talk to you' by someone you like and run with? Harry thinks Draco will break up with him and freak (a little) out but maybe the subject of Draco's conversation is quite the opposite.

Sugar Sweet by The_Sinking_Ship/@the-sinking-ship (Teen and Up, 5k) | Post-War, Humor, Fluff, Auror Harry, Healer Draco

It is a very sweet story with a surprise party for Draco and Harry getting late but not so late.

Show them the night that they dreamed about before by fluxweed/@fluxweeed (Explicit, 6k) | Post-War, PWP, Threesome, Boss/Employee Relationship, Dubious Consent

(Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter/Percy Weasley)

All I have to say is: 😳😯🤫😈🔥🥵🔥🥵😈😏!

This Is How by bixgirl1/@bixgirl1 (Explicit, 6k) | Post-War, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, a/b/o

Omega Draco has an incident in the ministry Alpha Harry is there to help. After they fall in love! (One more reason to read: it's written by bixgirl1!)

It Never Occurred to Me That I Would Fall in Love With a Frenchman by lamerezouille/@elsalapizza (Teen and Up, 6k) | Post-War, Angst, Humor, Established Relationship

OMG, I never read something like this! The plot was so surprising – you will ever think about the Malfoys meeting the Dursleys? BOOM! Here it's a very awkward dinner that looks funny but has some depth stuff going on.

Litany by thistle_verse/@thistle-verse (Mature, 7k) | Post-War, Angst, Pandemic, Isolation, Touch-Starved, Ghost Draco

Ghost's story isn't my cup of tea, but I give this one a chance and don't regret it. The magic world is passing through a pandemic (just like us!), Harry is doing quarantine at home alone until ghost Draco, directly from Azkaban, shows up. Then, we have fluffy and sad conversations between the two and a turn of events in the end. (And lots of lists.)

As the Crow Flies by thestarryknight/@the-starryknight (Mature, 7k) | Post-War, Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Animagus Draco, Werewolf Harry

Draco helps Harry on a full moon night. Domestic vibes with some angst. 10/10!

Circumpolar by LowerEastSide/@lower-east-side (Teen and Up, 8k) | Hogwarts Era, Angst, Sectumsempra Scars

I see an amazing fanart and spend some days obsessed with Draco having worse scars from Sectumsempra. (There's, in this list, another two fanfics with this concept.) In this one, because of the pretty bad scars Draco's plan about the war change – is interesting to imagine how one incident could put another thing in perspective for him. And Draco and Harry have a touching conversation on the Astronomy Tower! (I'm a sucker for long expressive conversations about feelings.)

if somebody’s there, then tell me who. by kryptidfox/@kryptidfoxwrites (Explicit, 11k) | Post-War, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Housemates

Much more like Idiots to Lovers! Draco has a disastrous way to make Harry notice him – bring every man possible to a one-night stand then call their name very loud – until things go wrong when he brings a guy named Harry. I constantly have a good time reading these two making dumb thing in their path to be together.

Commander by Cassiopeias_shadow/@cassiopeiasshadow (Explicit, 14k) | Post-War, Horror, Suspense, Drugs, Animagi, Auror Harry, Light dom/sub

Almost a case fic with dark things in the plot. Draco is addicted to potions and in a pretty bad place when he has a chance to help the auros in a big case. It turns out that Draco got so much involved with the case he needed Harry, to make him put his feet on the ground – the fine line between doing everything to make up for your past or lost yourself doing things for the great good. Featuring: Harry as a snake and parselmouth kink.

(Please, read the Author's tags.)

Fire and Wonder by Lomonaaeren (Mature, 15k) | Post-War, Dark-ish, Veela

Lomonaaeren written dark Harry, I'm here for! After the war, Harry get wing and has some controversial ideas about The Great Good. So, we see him put these ideas into practice with his mate Draco.

Hold what's dear in your hands (and never let go) by Fae_vorite/@faevorite-main-blog, PollyWeasley/@polly-weasley (Explicit, 16k) | Post-War, Arrange Marriage, a/b/o, mpreg

I was always here for some a/b/o and this story is a chef kiss! Harry can't find a partner; So he goes to an upgrade tinder and matches with Draco, then they live happily ever after. Featuring intersex Draco and a lot of sex kinks.

Keep Me Close (I Need Your Faith) by aviforsrose (Explicit, 23k) | Post-War, Angst, Friends with Benefits, Light dom/sub

Idiots in love! The old same GOOD story: I love him but he loves me? Yes, of course! Man, you two have been pinning each other for years now. Let's do some love confessions.

The Critiquer by dysonrules (Explicit, 24k) | Post-War, Humor, Romance, Secret Identity

Drunk Harry doing dumb stuff with Seamus and Dean, take him a very funny drive to Draco's hearty. Draco and his assistant interactions was another very humorous part. Can't forget to congratulate who made all of the edits, principally the text divisors.

The Nobility of Ascent by Lomonaaeren (Explicit, 27k) | Post-War, Angst, Politics

I love reading Lomonaaeren stories with dark-ish Harry. This is another great example of just not the good or evil side. Harry can't Make a Better World because of pureblood politics so he goes to Draco for help.

Can I tell you something? by GallaPlacidia (Not Rated, 33k) | Post-War, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Sectumsempra Scars, Drugs, Auror Harry, Burlesquedance Draco

What I can say about this one? It's by GallaPlacidia, go read! The story takes place during a few years, after the war, Harry collides in parties with a drugged Draco, things happen – they lived a very real journey of connecting with someone, learning to love and to be loved and understanding the mistakes of the past... 10/10!

Says The Magpie To The Morning (Sorrow, Take Your Own Advice) by Femme/@femmequixotic (Explicit, 33k) | Post-War, Angst, Getting Back Together

Draco Horrible Sad TM after a breakup with Harry. Featuring so much PDA by Pansy/Ron, angst, miscommunication, angst, sharing a house with your ex and angst. If you are up to a sad time before a happy ending this nice story is here.

Eight Days (to Save the World) by gnarf/@gnarf (Mature, 47k) | Post-War, Friend to Lovers, Housemates, Case Fic, Auror Harry, Unspeakable Draco

Shit happens in The Wizard World again so Harry, Draco and company get together to Save The World Again. What will you do if you receive an order not so right by your superior? A very interesting story begins with the ministry's haunted easy target to blame for the new conspiracy. Enjoy too Protective Harry.

Turning Leaves by Kbrick (Explicit, 112k) | Post-War, Angst, Fluff, Time Travel, Auror Harry, Unspeakable Draco

Draco Tries to Concert His Friendship With Harry by Time Travel. This gives me The Cursed Child vibe but so much better, Draco goes to several scenarios trying to change one important moment in the past to make Harry like-like now. A great story who think about what will happen if Draco acts differently in the Hogwarts years.

Cannot Save You Now by tigrelilje (Mature, 132k) | Hogwart Era, Angst, Horror, Dark, Vampire Harry

Harry dies and comes back (as a vampire) for revenge! If you want to see Harry hating almost everybody this fanfic this here. Featuring: Slytherin Harry.