#memes : let me be a part of the narrative in the story they will write some day | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mario-art · 5 months

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HELLO, you made such an interesting point in the tags of my post:

You know what’s funny? Is that Thrawn is really being turned into a “Machiavellian” type of villain, but what’s even funnier is that Machiavelli himself received this type of treatment. Now idk how much familiar you are with the 16th century author, but just know this: Machiavelli and “Machiavellian”, and whatever people can take from him, is heavily misunderstood (I actually really hate the use of the adjective, but perhaps that’s a story for another type). Now I know that Zahn wrote Thrawn based on a certain extent on the Machiavelli archetype (I remember reading it somewhere, pardon if I have no proofs), but I’m actually laughing hard thinking that as characters they are having the same treatment by popular media. Lemme explain: Machiavelli wrote the Principe not because “oh he cynic!1!🥶He mad!1🤬”. No. Machiavelli wrote what he wrote because he wanted to save Italy dalla Ruina, from its ruin. Machiavelli dreamed of a more compact and unified Italy. He had a vision and just as much as Thrawn, he wished to serve his people, Florence (in Thrawn’s case, the ascendancy) and Italy (which didn’t existed at the time).

And now, with Thrawn being reduced as you said in a villan without complex motifs, I can’t help but think how poetic is to be doomed to the same narrative as the figure who inspired your existence. Maybe this was planned all along, I don’t think so personally, but Thrawn is being oversimplified by Filoni the same way Machiavelli gets reduced as just a “pragmatic person” and “the ends justify the means” by everyone (don’t let me start on how wrong the quote is).

To sum up: Thrawn and Machiavellian are rhyming in the same direction in popular mainstream media.

This was my Ted talk, sorry in advance for possible writing mistakes, I just woke up✌️

Hiii! Thank you so much for the spontaneous Ted talk 😄😄 Your parallel between the Ascendancy and Florence+Italy is sooo on point, it blew my mind for a second. Now I have to delve deeper into it

Actually there was a period of time when I was really invested in this topic, I read his 10 letters, history of Florence +the Prince obviously and almost fell from a chair when they put him into Assassins Creed game, but now there're just small bits that I remember. Maybe it's time to refresh things

I didn't know that Zahn was actually inspired by Machiavelli. I'm new to this part of the fandom, so I haven't read anything about him or his working process, but after you mentioned it I'll take a note for the future. I must confess I learned who Thrawn was only during the Ahsoka show and due to the fandom. Like there were so many memes about him here on Tumblr, there's no way fans will hype some basic dude so much. And then my friend recommended the new trilogy

So yeah, it's such a pity that not 1, but 6 books of new material got completely ignored and the character simplified to what we've already seen so many times literally everywhere. You phrased it beautifully

I haven't read the old trilogy yet, heir to the empire, only know the plot in general, but I'm curious what exactly motivates Thrawn to rebuild the empire. And how the characterization of him differs between these trilogies. Is he mostly the same or did Zahn change the character after so many years like Terry Pratchett's Vetinari evolved from the very first version of the Patrician to his later works (I can't help comparing them after yesterday, though I hadn't done it before idk)

So yeaah... At least I'm happy that there're so many talented fans here and we can happily ignore whatever happens on the screen 🙃

#again thank you so much #im always happy to discuss our old blue man #even if i'm still going through the ascendancy trilogy #once i get my degree im so going to draw #and read #also im much closer now to getting him in star wars galaxy of heroes game #sooooon (in a year /j)#star wars #thrawn

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bobbydagen24 · 16 days

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Personally I Really don't like Flapjacks death the more I think about it story wise.

Brooklyn nine nine meme aside 😂😂 part of me does feel it was a touch unnecessary and I have Read a Bunch of people's points Regarding the point of Flapjacks death

but IDK its not like Flapjack's death was actually necessary to Hunter breaking free of Belos since he already did that due to him being hurt

sure the self sacrifice is sweet and all but it does kinda just feel like angst for the sake of it for Hunter's character

when the episode seemingly did tie up his arc in a good way at first showing him moving on from Belos and be happy throughout the episode

only to have his old abuser show up and still try to control him and use him one last time

only for Hunter to actually stand up to him and break their tie for good which he didn't actually do when he left the coven before

so this would have been a great episode to end Hunter's Arc like so many claim it did

if they then didn't have Flap's death leaving a sour spot and seemingly setting up more story for Hunter only to not really do much with it

sure he was upset for a few scenes but I'm sorry I don't feel that alone justifies this writing decision especially when it just ruins what could have been a good ending to Hunter Breaking free from his abusive parent.

by just kinda not letting the story between them die there and instead having the relationship end on Belos Delivering a crushing cruel blow on his victim and then the show never really paying it off

since this is Hunter and Belos's last interaction so instead of their relationship ending on an empowering nice note for Hunter it ends on a cruel one.

this is why I was disappointed with the lack of a final interaction between them in the finale prior to Belos's death, to be clear I don't think Hunter should have killed him or even witnessed his death

but I do feel not having a final interaction between them Just makes Flapjacks death more cruel tbh

as that is the canonical ending to Hunter's Relationship with his abuser and its a sour one tbh.

So it does just end up feeling like Hunter angst just for the sake of it.

IDK I just don't really like Flapjacks death the more I've thought about it over time I've seen a ton of people talking about its narrative purpose and whatnot so I understand people's reasons for believing it was the Right story choice

and Hell I ain't necessarily saying it objectively wasn't

( I ain't a professional writer what do I know? 😅😅 )

But I do just wanna say after thinking about it a while I do Dislike it writing wise no beef with anyone who does like it tho.

#the owl house hunter #toh hunter #toh flapjack #the owl house belos #toh belos #hunter toh #emperor belos

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maddiviner · 2 years

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People say TikTok is terrible for witches, and plenty of terrible stuff about witches on Tumblr. Let me tell you. Facebook’s worse. I’m on there for my friends’ meme pages and a few political and local groups. I still belong to some witch groups, but don’t visit them often or engage, really. Because it’s such a dumpster fire.

Shadow work is a popular thing right now, as is posting other people’s images without credit, so naturally, you have people occasionally spamming those “shadow work prompt” images on the groups. As is usually the case with shadow work, it asks uncomfortable questions like, “what is your biggest regret?” and “what is your most negative trait?”

I’m starting to think people just don’t get the concept, though. You get people who don’t grasp that shadow work is (usually) supposed to be private writing novels in the comments section about how their biggest regret was being friends with people who didn’t appreciate them. Their most negative trait is just that they care too much and give too freely, of course.

This is typically followed by four or five people simply replying, “Same!” “Me too!” And “OMG so me!”

I realize shadow work is personal, and I shouldn’t try to judge other people’s progress as such. However, when it’s posted publicly like that, I kind of get the impression that these sort want someone to read it, absorb it, and have an opinion? Otherwise, why post it? That doesn’t mean it’d be appropriate to reply or comment to them or where they can see it, of course, so I’m not doing that.

It’s just hard not to read that kind of thing and think, “maybe this concept is broadly misunderstood?” I don’t think telling yourself the same stories about your life that are already in your head counts as shadow work. I’ve always thought shadow work is about dismantling those narratives.

You can’t escape the concept of narrative, though, personal or otherwise. It’s just what we’re stuck with as part of being conscious beings like we are. It’s beautiful and frustrating at the same time.

You can deconstruct your existing narratives, though, and rebuild new ones that suit your life now, that are healthier, more productive. Sometimes this merely means recognizing that you’re not the de facto protagonist of the story, and may sometimes have even been the villain, so to speak, but that’s for another post, i guess.

I just have to wonder if there’s any benefit to this kind of work if you’re not dismantling what you already have, examining your past and your self-image. I’m sure if I had replied to those comments, the person would’ve said “I’m definitely doing that!” But were they? 90% of the time, when someone’s posting their “shadow work” publicly, it never seems to involve serious admission of fault or self-criticism. I guess that might be why they’d post it publicly, but is it really shadow work, then?

I don’t know, though. Shadow work is very personal, and I think that when doing it, we’re all kind of walking alone. Might not be my place to be critical of Facebook people. Do you have thoughts on this?

#witchcraft #witchblr #witch #magic #occult #eliza.txt #facebook #shadow #shadow work #unsure #still thinking about my place re this #am i being overly judgmental?

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wetcatspellcaster · 10 months

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for the dvd meme, chapter 7 of pieces still stuck in your teeth, from where astarion says "i knew it" to "you returned to me. i knew you would." i've read that chapter like five times it's SO delightful, SUCH a fun narrative payoff too HAHA

Thank you for the ask, anon! I will copy and paste the text you're referring to under the keep reading tab, just so this doesn't end up being too long/I don't expose my IRL mutuals to the horniest part of my fic lol :')

So, here we are, at the horniest part of my fic :-)

In more serious commentary, this was one of the scenes I had from the very inception of this story - I knew that Astarion was going to have killed people to get Tav back to the Gate, and I knew he was going to reveal it at literally The Worst Possible moment. I really wanted to write a chapter that turned from horny to horror without warning, and this is the speech that I envisaged doing that work for me. As such, it went through many, many drafts!

I know I said this in comments at the time, but... when examining this chapter from Astarion's perspective? Why *wouldn't* he be this fucking cocky? He has no idea what's going on in Rose's mind or why she's agreed to go to his house so easily, and why she's gotten so close to him with complete disregard of the wider situation. So as far as he's concerned, he murdered a bunch of people (which was the only risk in his plan, he thinks) and she's still down to fuck only days later. Honestly, he doesn't even *need* the ego he has, to think this is a done deal.

I also said this a lot in comments, but as such, any respect he held out for her is just gone in this moment, and that's why he immediately plays his whole hand, because he doesn't see her as a worthy opponent in the slightest. I was leaning on what developers/writers said about how he loses respect for people who fall for the superficial sex appeal and endanger themselves because of it- if this is the means by which he can do them harm, then he feels they've sealed their own fate. In his eyes, this is exactly what Rose looks like in this moment (not knowing anything about her own hidden agenda).

I also think that, if you've romanticised the one thing you've lost and can never get back, and then suddenly it's there, and it's almost... too easy, then that also makes you disappointed and angry. Maybe part of the reason he says all this heinous stuff here to try and test the waters further, maybe even anger her so there's some spark of a challenge or a fight. Maybe he wanted to make everything a little more difficult for the both of them, just so it stays fun and interesting.

As I said in previous asks, I am not really a Dead Dove writer - I appreciate the girlies who are, but it's just not something I can do (I mean, I can't even write smut lmfao). So I wanted the violation and emotional impact of non-con without any of the graphic depictions of it... lots of people have said in comments that the moment he refuses to let her go is the moment he proves he's evil, and I certainly approve of this interpretation. But here, I was mostly just in thrall to the Yandere tag lmao. He can't imagine her protests being true bc he can't imagine a world where they aren't destined for each other. And also, in this case, a world where his seduction techniques (now so well honed, now nearly unstoppable, now the only thing people seem to want from him) do not work - especially on her.

As to some specifics about the section itself:

the phrase 'little love' is, I feel, single handedly responsible for any and all Ascended ending brainrot I have. Like COME ON. What a term of endearment! What a term of endearment to MAKE EVIL!!!!

'I was bored' got workshopped a lot as the 'foreshadowing' phrase, bc I really struggled to find something that was both vague but also had ambiguous meaning from the beginning. If the delivery is a little clunky here, that's why... I agonised over this for weeks lmao

'Every meal without savour' - cue Chapter Ten, when he gets really excited that Rosalie wants to drink hot chocolate with him, and briefly loses any composure bc the future he envisages is finally getting tested out.

"how you much used to hate slavers.” This is me still making digs at Grymforge, 4 months later. Fucking Grymforge.

"You yourself would've carved through that room like a righteous blade, my love." Look. I wrote this line. And I decided. It would work on me.

DVD commentary ask

"I knew it,” he repeated.

“I knew it was only a matter of distance," he muttered into her shoulder, almost to himself. He kissed the spot: she jumped at the touch, and he hummed approvingly. "I knew that the moment I got you here, darling heart, that this would be inevitable. A matter of days, Rosalie. That is all the time you could hold out on me, the longest you could bear to resist. You don’t want me to charm you? Fine. I don’t need glamour, to make you like this. Let us both know that this was all you, and only ever for me.”

She tensed up, and he soothed again, making a chiding sound. “Hush, now, don’t be prideful. Why fight this, little love? Why deny yourself? You're not very good at it. Isn’t it so much better, this way? Doesn’t it feel good?"

"I - what?" Rosalie said, fighting to clear her head as fear and desire warred within her thoughts.

Had he not caught her? Because if so, she had done what was needed. But now she was trapped - and each word that came out of Astarion's mouth was more sinuous and sinister than the last, coiling decadently around her.

"So bored,” Astarion murmured in a low voice, nosing along her collarbone, breathing her in. “Every day the same, every day interminable. Every meal without savour, every conversation dull, and I knew you were what's missing. I knew it. I knew all I had to do was lure you back to me. And you do so love to play hard to get, but it wasn’t exactly difficult, was it, my love-?”

Rosalie struggled to make sense of what he was saying. It wasn’t precisely a threat, but it wasn’t bedroom talk either. What did he mean by ‘bored’?

No, actually, Shadowheart had said, when Rosalie had asked how the Vampire Ascendent had responded to the murders. He gave a three word reply: ‘I was bored.’

“No, in fact, it was easy,” Astarion smirked into her skin. “You put up a good front, my darling. But here you are: with me. Where you’re supposed to be. Where you will stay. You will make everything better. All I needed to do was to make you come back to me, and finally, here you are.”

Rosalie froze up. Her mind began to whir, almost as if she couldn’t dare let herself think, to follow the logic too far to its horrible, inevitable conclusion…

"The party," she said, heart pounding. “Those people who died-”

She tried to pull against his hold on her hands, moving her body back as far back from his as it would go. But it was like pulling on iron shackles, and Astarion didn't budge, simply leaning in further into her space, her legs trapped on either side of his body, and the evidence of his reaction to her utterly impossible to avoid.

"All terrible, heinous people, I assure you," Astarion told her conversationally, kissing his way along her shoulder without any concern for her sudden resistance. "No one who deserves to be mourned: all wretches and ingrates, murderers and thieves and flesh peddlers and slavers - I remember, pet, how you much used to hate slavers.”

Rose tugged at her hands, again - he ran his thumbs over her knuckles, and pinned them down harder.

“You yourself would've carved through that room like a righteous blade, my love. But I did it, all for you. I invited them all there, and they all came, like the cattle they are. And then I slaughtered them for their crimes, and now they’ve served their purpose, for here you are again, with me, once more."

Astarion's mouth was still moving all over her skin, which had begun to crawl. He reached behind her back and undid the clasp of her bra as he narrated. He whispered the words against her, like her body was made for his secrets, and then kissed the flesh, open mouthed.

"Astarion," Rose said, "you need to stop - I need to think - you said you didn't do it for any reason-"

His hands came up to her arms, and tightened to bruising, holding her in place even as his thumbs stroked circles designed to soothe.

"Of course there was a reason. You said that if I killed people, you'd come back and stop me," he said, moving back and pressing his forehead against hers, silvery lashes blurring with the closeness of her vision. His breath ghosted across her still-damp mouth as he smiled with utter tranquillity. “But you didn't try to stop me, did you? Cornered in Ramazith, and you simply let me walk away. And now, here you are. You just… came back. You returned to me. I knew you would."

#wip: pieces still stuck in your teeth #dvd commentary ask #asks #anons #thank you for your compliment I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter anon!#ask games

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fellowship-of-sleep-reads · 6 months

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Prologue/Chapter 1 Ramble

This is the first time I'm actually reading the LOTR books, so I wasn't expecting the prologue to be an in-universe anthropological article! Maybe the lack of familiarity with the LOTR universe beyond seeing the movies a few times (and the memes MANY times) is the reason it took me a long time to get through it. There were so many details, and it seems the author assumed readers' familiarity with the geography and such.

So, it must intentional on the author's part since it IS an in-universe document (complete with maps! At least in the copy I bought). It really does give a sense that the story will take place in a complex, wide, and well-realized world. (I wonder what readers of the original publication must've thought. Maybe they read "The Hobbit," but the world of LOTR wouldn't have been part of the cultural zeitgeist the way it is today.)

Regardless, the narrative writing in the first chapter was closer to what I expected in the book. JRR Tolkien was easier to get through than JSTOR Tolkien 😅. So much so that I didn't realize I read ahead to the following chapters! I don't have the book with me right now to confirm what we end Chapter 1 with, and I don't want to accidentally jump ahead in the discussion, so I'll just say: WHAT a birthday party (and aftermath)!

*If I'm using the submission feature incorrectly, please let me know! I just thought this would be a lot to put in the replies lol

#submission #fos reads lotr

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captmickey · 2 months

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Seriously I could ask every single one of the meme game, get right into your head. But. We can limit to five, I guessss. 1, 12, 15, 34, 35.

1 - What inspired you to start writing fanfiction? Spite. I'm not even joking or trying to be funny. Spite was what got me into writing fanfiction because I got so frustrated with how people were writing Guybrush and I didn't want to be that gremlin who went into people's comments and went "uM aCtuAlLy..." (because it's both rude and because I was a coward to leave comments at the time). Soooo I decided on the next best gremlin-esqe thing to do: Write the darn fic myself. And here I am, a good several years and Monkey Island stories later. Still writing it and still inspired by spite haha. 12 - Are there any cliches or tropes that you actively avoid in your fics? Hmm...Flanderization and the Woobie Trope. The former because, well, remember the spite inspiration? It was a fic where it MASSIVELY flanderized Guybrush and Elaine and I can not stand it in any fic. At all. Characters have depth, stop being such a coward about it. As for the latter, not because it's bad entirely, in fact, when written really well (and not to the point of flanderization) it can be a strong trope! But I just... it's not often done well? It's often removing the character's agency and has them go from scared but heroic to just straight up cowardly and weak and I'm just... no. I don't want to do that to the characters. I don't mind (and actually love) putting them to their limits, but they have got to keep that agency. 15 - Do you plan your fics or prefer to let the story unfold as you write? I actually answered this, haha. But yeah, still prefer planning bigger fics, even if they're one-shots. But for like, lets say, prompts or asks? When it's on the spot? That's when I usually let it unfold. And uh... that's usually when those short prompts become long ones or I accidentally make multi-parts. 34 - Are there any fic writing tips or tricks you've learned along the way that you'd like to share? Uh... haha, this one took me a minute to think of a tip or trick. But really? It boils down to "READ. MORE. BOOKS." for the most part! I've been on a bit of a reading kick the last two years and I've been hopping genres: from action/adventure, to comedy, to slice of life, to contemporary.... it's been helping with getting ideas of how to get a point across, what worked in a narrative and what didn't and seeing all types of writing styles. Fanfictions count, yes, but it doesn't hurt to try something outside your usual reading wheel (example, I prefer murder mysteries or something with comedy, but I've been venturing to fantasy, action/adventure and even contemporary). Same goes for movies/shows. It always makes me cackle when I'm told the way I write banter is my strongest suit because my favorite movie since I was in high school was practically banter-heavy and the director has been a massive source of inspiration for me... especially when they said the same thing of "READ. MORE. BOOKS.", but in relation to movies. And from there, from all that, try and understand why it worked so well, why it felt so strong or so natural or what have you. Don't be afraid to get floral with your words, sometimes building up so that final punch is something simple is just as strong.

....I really hope I'm making sense. OTL 35 - What do you enjoy most about being a fic writer? Also answered! But aside from the quicker route of getting it out (I say quicker but it's not really quicker), I really enjoy finding unique ways to get the imagery across without it being too descriptive or run-off-ish, how to get the action across without saying "He stepped his left foot, then his right, then his left". It's easier in comic format to get them from point a to point b, you can make up excuses, but writing? That's a challenge and a fun one for me... sometimes.

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bonesandthebees · 8 months

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*clears throat*

Anyway…

Things I liked about this chapter in no particular order:

The flashback with Niki and Quackity

Quakcity warning Wilbur about the bandits indirectly, doubles as foreshadowing and a hint that he’s behind it (though let’s be honest, it was probably Schlatt’s idea)

Oh and you should have seen my face when I realised [“Hand him over!”] I swear puzzle pieces have never snapped into place faster in my brain. I literally went “OH FUCK QAUACKITY WHAT DID YOU DO?”

Niki might think that Wilbur is lying again but I don’t have the mental energy to think about that right now for obvious reasons.

I cannot stress enough how much I’m here for this.

The l’manburg backstory. I was trying to put it together and analyse which character’s would be narrative parallels only the realise that it was literal based off of actually canon pogtopia and c!Wilbur and c!Tommy. I love it. Also made me think of Niki when she does not get the throne.

Wilbur saving Tommy’s life (twice? Attempted at least). Nothing says bonding like life or death situations.

Also at first I thought it might be something meant to be part of it or a plan by Phil and then the foreshadowing hit me like a truck.

Put Quackity and Schlatt on the most likely to be executed list right now. Not because I think Wilbur is smart enough to figure it out but because the person who was trailing him might.

Also, I love the consistent pov and the way you write it, but I would pay actual money to know how everyone reacts. I want my sand duo angst of Phil sending his son away against his will only to learn that might have killed him. I want to watch them turn the country upside down. I want to see Quackity in shambles because he might have killed his friends and the man he loves (? Is it mutual?) I want to see Niki’ reaction. But alas, we get Tommy and Wilbur in a SITUATION. Instead.

I do fully believe people will come looking for them, but now I’m worried we will get a chapter of snowstorm in the wilderness first.

Again I better get a sand duo hug after this is done. I need Wilbur to know that his dad loves him.

Also, at first I was like, “I wonder why Jack isn’t here?” Then the guards started getting sliced and I was like “oh that!s why.” Nobody gets plot armour in here. Jack’s cranckyness just saved his life.

Also, Tomys copying the way Wilbur eats his food tells us he looks up to him and trust his judgement. Maybe he did something right with his paranoia expenation.

Also, the consequences for this are going to be so good whether Wilbur figures out it was Quackity or not.

Anyway, I’m going to bed now. So good night! And a good day to you!!! What a great chapter I did not see that coming at all but I love it.

P.s. AO3 is being mean and Wouldn’t let me comment “BEE, WHAT THE FUCK!” but that genuinely was my first reaction.

-🌲

lol thank you, a lot of the flashback bit regarding wilbur and niki changed from what it was originally planned to be. I don't know how it happened but I got really into the flow of the scene and I'm very happy with how it turned out

HA the puzzle pieces falling into place about the bandits right at that moment. just "what's going on- OH"

I'm very glad you picked up on the l'manberg story not only being c!crime but also the parallels it could hold to rose!niki

life or death situations are the best for bonding!

don't be so sure we're only staying in wilbur's POV this time around spruce :)

LMAO yeah literally while I was writing about them leaving the palace in the morning I was like "shit wait I can't have jack here but I need to come up with an explanation for why he's not here" and jack's morning crankiness came about. he would've been killed so quickly by those bandits and I don't want this story to lose The Manifold so soon

wilbur and tommy eating their lunch is like that meme of miles morales and peter b parker in the first spiderverse movie you know the one

#ask #spruce anon #rose ch 6

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shittyelfwriter · 10 months

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ALRIGHTY here we are at weeks three and four for the santa clauses series! I did not rewatch a second time because genuinely, these melted my brain. anyway, lets get into it below the cut!

So apparently according to the tsc tag, episode 3 that I missed last week is a sort of filler episode? OH BROTHER REALLY

Normally I would not complain bc I miss old format, 20-23 episode series but because I know this Isn't That? DREAD. how are you going to plot well and good in 7-8eps if some are filler? that is just SO condensed, my guy

Counterpoint to people who were sad about it but: I thought the teen romance was annoying and I'm GLAD they ended it even JUST for a bit (it will come back to haunt again, trust. It’s a disney series ffs.) Whoever is writing this needs to ask a teen about how they talk nowadays. This is not it.

I also think we're driving the whole "Buddy is terrible at everything" punchline WAY past its breaking point. Which I would argue was last season entirely, but. At the very latest, last episode with how heavy on cringe it was. Yes, EVEN for kids/teens.

Again, they are not antagonizing Magnus Antas enough for me to hate him. waaaaay too funny to be a villain. I can't take him seriously and DON'T want to

The way that Noel keeps sideyeing the Betty cutout as if to say "do you see this shit?" during his brunch with the Clauses SENT me tbh. That's bernelle coded and I love it

I do not know why Disney gets OFF on the Clauses being absolutely inept parents but I wish they would stop

SHOUTOUT JUDY OMG JUDY'S ACTRESS THAT’S JUDY JUDY IS HERE YOU GUYS (SCREAMINGGGG)

LOVING the exterior shots of the workshop and Elfsburg. As someone who has POURED over all available screenshots from the movies of those I am LIVING for new angles (even though I do NOT think bernelle would live that close to the Workshop, but it doesn't seem like Betty and Noel can POOF like Bman and Elle can (and do))

I don't know why there are TWO instances of a "misspoken turn of phrase" in this episode but neither were funny and TWO OF THEM was REALLY bad

CHUBBY BUNNY DID NOT EXIST THAT LONG AGO. NOT IN MAGNUS ANTAS' TIME. THAT WAS AN INTERNET FAD LESS THAN TEN YEARS AGO. WHAT ARE WE DOING DUDE. WHAT ARE THESE WRITERS ON (it's not good, I don't want some)

Crossing guard callback? For what? (okay, shrug I GUESS dot meme)

Why does this specific franchise always have to make EB SO WEIRD. WHY. Nothing about this is funny it's just off-putting. Just like the previous EB flirting with Carol's MARRIED MOM in tsc3

This Carol and La Befana scene was actually very good. LOVE it when they actually just let the characters be HONEST with each other. Women supporting women core. Even if Carol's reason for being mad at her was really shallow and obviously stems form Carol's lack of identity as Mrs. Claus because they just cannot wrap that plot point from last season up.

THE LETTERS DEPARTMENT. It looks dope but HATE the explanation for it. Half assed as hell. WARNING! Rant incoming: like from what I know a LOT of postal services have little lore stories about how they get the letters to Santa. WHY COULDNT WE JUST SAY THERE ARE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN SANTA AND OTHER ADULT PEOPLE WHO KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE FOR OTHERS AS WELL? Why is this series so obsessed with making everything only powered by magic and never by others (yes, humans) who want to keep the spirit alive as well? It feels like magic is being used as an "explain it all away" crutch narratively. Even in season 1, the "solution" to mass consumerism wasn't for people to be kind to each other and do little things to keep the magical parts of Christmas alive, it was to show the world that magic was real. Season 2 so far, the answer to everything is also just magic. I'm hoping that maybe the B plot with Kris will touch on this. Because as it stands right now, it feels like the writers are talking out of both sides of their mouth. Commercial Christmas is bad, but Kris is a loser for having a Santa theme park. Like?? Homogenization of Christmas is the Big Bad at large, but also up at the Pole they are trying to find ways to do the same thing to be "current". CHRISTMAS IS MULTIFACTED. It is both secular and religious! That is OKAY, I don't even think "woke" people are arguing about that. Sheesh.

Can't believe I'm micro rambling IN my ramble post. New achievement unlocked omg

The way Magnus Antas picks up on modern slang so quickly practically puts Scott to shame. Good for him

AGAIN, the misturn of phrase jokes. DEAD. Not funny. STOP

If they are going to make Sandra so op that she can just Wanda Maximoff chaos magic "I just say something when I'm mad and it happens, anything I want with no negative impact on me" I will not find that swag. That is in fact Mary Sue territory, lads

Sandra's little outburst @ La Befana was giving magical nepo baby for a moment there. Oof. "Too bad I'm just naturally more skilled than you even though I'm new and you've been a witch forever" girl SHUT. UP. You are like a little baby. Also that is so mad disrespectful like no WONDER La Befana is wanting you to slow tf down. You fly off the handle WAY to easily and we ALL know you lose control when you do! Okay loose cannon! Werk!

Riley. Girl. "we never see each other" you were just up at the Pole?? Like. OFTEN?? This is so stupid of a breakup but they are teenagers so go off kids, be dysfunctional or what have you. Rah rah, as Jack would say

Episode four now, lord help us. God has cursed me for my (loving this one Christmas movie series) hubris and my work (watching it's hellish series spin off) is never finished

"Reversing a transformation is never a guarantee" what is this La Befana? the Sims? Sounds like transformation ray odds. Magic is not THAT unpredictable, even by in-universe logic

CURTIS-ITIS!??? CURTIS FUCKING EXPLODED??

ARE YOU SO FUCKING FR RN. SO BERNARD IS MARRIED TO A SENIOR CITIZEN AND CURTIS. FUCKIN VAPORIZED?? FROM STRESS? WHAT'S NEXT? Lemme guess, Judy joined the circus. Quintin is a crypto investor or works for Tesla. WHAT ARE WE D O I N G

Not Scott moving the scissors like he's afraid Buddy will shank him or others?? SIR

SANDMAN AHHHHHHHHHH HELLO SIR /POS :D

So they just con him? As though that's a long term solutio-- OH MY GOD NOT SCOTT USING SANDMAN'S SAND ON SANDMAN HIMSELF?? that's ILLEGALE?? According to tsc3 lore: "We legendaries can't use magic on each other?" I am so bewildered by the level of retcon occurring before my very eyes at BREAKNECK speed

Sandra doesn't need magic she needs THERAPY for her ANGER ISSUES bruh. Damn. She doesn't need a rage room (in someone's house too I might add? okayyyy) she needs to learn to process like a normal human being wtf

Scott being able to look like his normal self whenever he wants and they just didn't tell him? For like. 25 years? Like its clear that by the series standards, the elves think he's a total moron. But it pendulums hard and fast between "haha funny joke" and "damn they really think he ain't shit, huh"

Edie being a fashion diva is such a serve she's grown on me this season ngl

"I had to teach him how to do all the Legendaries jobs" Scott I know you're waffling, absolutely FUMBLING but what the FUCKKKKK is that excuse??? What's Cal going to do? Be EVERY Legendary? TERRIBLE AWFUL HATE IT UNINSPIRED. Not to mention, SOME OF THE OTHER LEGENDARIES MIGHT NOT TAKE THAT NEWS WELL. Some might even feel THREATENED

"The man I die for in my sleep every night" UM? Noel? You okay there bud? Holy heck

THE PURPLE JACKET IS SWAG AND SCOTT IS A HATER. HE CANNOT SEE THE VISION

Do you guys think according to this new lore Edie made Jack's suit? because me thinks PERHAPS

Magnus Antas is kind of popping off, damn. Like I think if the gnomes hadn’t given him MAJOR delusions of grandeur and an ego trip, he could have stayed totally a vibe. But stop giving the Santas snow powers and reconning Jack holy SHIT dude. First Scott now him? HATE IT

The way they made Scott and Cal look when "invisible" is Not a Good Look heck. Its like a bad picsart filter

These Scott visions. I get why, its through the Santa magic, right? But dang its corny

So Scott knows Magnus Antas is back now. Okay. They got away from him. Lost visual on Olga, have a bad feeling she somehow sneaked into the sleigh. Weird cliffhanger but EVERY episode has been like that so far

Final thoughts: I feel like they're definitely trying to make this season take itself less seriously, but I feel like the trade off is that the writers are taking too many liberties for diversions from source material and are therefore, losing the plot entirely and retconning movie lore at will and convenience. Tl;dr, it's messy. Concepts are fun until things just become so irreverent they fall apart or lean into entirely unfunny territory. Which is just a hallmark of T*m All*n brand humor, tee em, but you know.

It feels like this series is doing everything and nothing. It wants woke points, but immediately doubles back and makes fun of those same things. It wants us to feel empathy for these characters, and immediately makes them insufferable. I am so confused as to what the takeaway is supposed to be. It all feels so poorly executed--the series retcons itself constantly, not to mention the movies. I want it to be fun, and to take it at surface value, but if you know literally anything about the movies, that becomes a challenge to do. I'm just so confused dude.

I will be shocked if this gets a third season. Truly.

Also, I miss Betty too, Noel. Wish this whole season was about HER shenanigans, instead.

So. See you all next week then?

#coping is our number one skill in this household huh #don't get me wrong! thrilling to have new tsc content to talk about but at WHAT COST #ana liveblogs tscs #I am also nearing a point where I can safely say I hope they don't show more legendaries if this is how they are going to TREAT THEM #tscs spoilers #the santa clauses

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natsumi-no-hotaru · 9 months

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Chihayafuru #55: Karuta is so unpredictable... and fun!

AKA. I was completely blown away by how AWESOME this episode is.

[Previously: The four-on-four team match and all hail the Shiranami Offensive!]

Gosh, what an episode. Absolutely wild, chockful of surprises and oh so meme-able! The pacing is faster and so much happened in 20 minutes. Seriously, a lot and wow, I haven’t felt that energized after watching Chihayafuru in a long while. Not that the last couple of episodes were dull or anything, but they kind of lack a certain spark that makes them truly memorable and leaves viewers at the edge of their seats. This is definitely not the case with Chihayafuru #55. As soon as I finished watching, I felt compelled to start writing, and had it not been for the intense workload and pressure at the office, this post would have come out much sooner.

Picking up from where we left off, the match between Chi-chan and Haruka entered its most critical juncture, as Chi-chan snatched back the Chihayafuru, the one card that Sakurazawa never managed to take from the former Queen.

Why she plays karuta

The loss of Chihayafuru was a considerable blow to Haruka, whose inner tumult gave Chi-chan the chance to reduce the card difference and turn the tides in her favor. Facing a fearless young opponent who played with such tranquility and enjoyment, Haruka became trapped by strenuous thoughts of having to “throw off [her opponent’s] pace and not let her have fun”.

Her elder kid is so cute!!!

Instead of making the overly enthused Aki a burden to Haruka and her pursuit of karuta, the narrative took a step far from the beaten track, in turning his curiosity and budding interest into a source of strength and encouragement for the young mom.

The game was momentarily interrupted but it gave Haruka just the needed headspace to recall her karuta origin story. Turns out that her parents were also karuta players and she, along with her sibling, joined their karuta practice ever since they were little. Haruka grew into a successful player, as proven by her holding the Queen title for 4 consecutive years, and became a young mom with two adorable kids. Convention would dictate that she should be satisfied with what she had, with the implication of giving up karuta, akin to a part of herself, to focus on her kids. But that was not the choice that her parents made, and this is the one case where “history repeats itself” does not mean a negative thing.

“But the realization that parents can have something they treasure as much as their kids set me free.”

I am once again blown by the bold and mold-breaking direction taken by Suetsugu-san (the mangaka), and subsequently honored by the animation, with regards to Haruka’s storyline and character. At first glance, Haruka had all the family trappings that, in your run-of-the-mill competition narrative, would have weighed her down and turned her into a past-her-prime mom player. But this is definitely NOT the case here. Previously, we have seen how supportive her husband was of her karuta to the point of sharing in the child-rearing and caretaking responsibilities and how Haruka herself was not content to rest on her laurels. All of that culminates in this episode, where she demonstrates a solid conviction to be a model for her children, to show them that a rewarding lifelong pursuit does not need to come at the cost of family. She plays karuta because she wants to stay true to herself and believes that by not giving up on her passion, she is passing on her parents’ gift to her children - a chance to embark on the journey of self-validation and self-affirmation from a young age.

To this end, there was no other way for Haruka to proceed but to play the karuta that she excels and enjoys. Instead of dwelling on how to break Chi-chan’s momentum, she recovered herself in time to showcase the top-tier hearing that carried her through past games and astonished all.

In a battle over a multiple-syllable card, Haruka emerged victorious when she swiped at Chi-chan’s card after hearing only the first syllable, which, technically, should not be enough to let her know which card the reader was reading: hers or her opponent’s. Yet it was not a grab made in desperation or blind luck. Haruka knew which card was read with dead certainty because she could pick up on the tonal variations of the card reader (who is from the west like her). There was simply no contest possible for Chi-chan in this regard.

Just as the match was about to take a more serious turn, a curveball came out of nowhere in the form of a card being slightly moved upon the reading of a dead card.

A moment of confusion gripped the room as everyone tried to figure out who moved the card.

But for the two persons in question, it was no more than an amusing incident, a much-appreciated reliever of tensions that brought them closer. It is also another instance that highlights Chi-chan’s growing maturity as a karuta player; she would have been so flustered had this been a year earlier. The fact that she could laugh about it and enjoy a bonding moment with her opponent, a former Queen for 4 consecutive times no less, speaks volumes about her mindset and approach to the game. Her little routine of wiping her face, fixing her sleeve ties and hair, and exhaling deeply before returning to the game without a hint of stress viscerally reflected Chi-chan’s inner composure and enjoyment of the game itself.

“I’d thought she’d tense up against a former Queen, but right from the start, and even this close to the end, she’s not getting worked up. Maybe in Ayase’s mind, the only Queen is Wakamiya Shinobu.”

Damn, this moment gave me the shivers. It is precisely why I ship Shinochi - this fleeting yet tenacious connection between two very talented and quirky players, both in search of personal fulfilment through competitive karuta. Previously, Shi-chan found in Chi-chan a promising rival who wants nothing more than going head to head against a Queen that went all out. In Shi-chan, Chi-chan found an indomitable will to aspire to, a constant source of inspiration that buoys her up at challenging moments. If Chi-chan can face Shi-chan after a merciless match and came out all the more gratified for it, then how can she lose heart in front of an opponent lesser than the latter?

What puts the cherry on the top for me is how these insightful observations do not come from the usual sources, like Kana-chan, Tsutomu, Taichi or more recently, Sakurazawa-sensei, but from Nishida. The fact that he could grasp this facet of Chi-chan’s psyche so well speaks to the bonds between Mizusawa karuta club members. It’s a very beautiful and understated way of showing how much they care for one another’s progress.

“This is it, Taichi”

“Even Wakamiya Shinobu isn’t invincible.”

Mentions of Shi-chan and her defeat at the hand of Arata made for a smooth transition into Arata’s unanticipated loss against the unfavorably compared Tsuboguchi. The latter’s victory was such a major upset that left everyone dumbfounded in the most hilarious of ways.

LOL, look at their faces. I absolutely DID NOT foresee this turn of event at all, too. Kinda bet on Chi-chan facing Arata in their first official match in this tournament. Turned out that would have to wait.

Me very glad that it was not an actual bet me made. Would be a major loss here lmao. Who would have thought that Arata would lose here, to high school karuta coach Tsuboguchi-san of all people, cursed or not by the latter’s student?

Nothing seemed to go according to plan for opponents of the Shiranami Society. Murao-kun, Arata’s senpai, managed a win against Harada-sensei, but at great expense to his stamina. Imagine the kind of unyielding battle Harada-sensei must have waged against this much younger player, to have brought the card gap from 10 down to 4 at the end.

It was a vicious tug of war for Chi-chan and Taichi, both locked in a tie against their opponents. At a juncture where many would play cautiously, our beloved President and Vice President persisted with the Shiranami-famous offensive style, living on the edge as their sensei and senpai would have it.

The imagery is a little silly in how it made Harada-sensei and Tsuboguchi-san the dearly departed, instead of the still kicking members of the Shiranami Society; but the emphasis on the bond between all members and the influence they had on each other’s mentality, playstyle and decisions rendered depth to the story, neatly harking back to the team-tournament spirit espoused by Harada-sensei before the quarter-finals, as well as to the desire to stay true to oneself in karuta, as embraced by Haruka at the episode’s beginning.

Chi-chan ended the game victoriously on the poignant note of “Since I could not hide my love” (remember when Taichi himself pulled through the class A ascension game with this same card?) and promptly fell into sleep on the spot, to the joy and dismay of Kana-chan and Nishida. The only match undecided left was Taichi’s, and as per his usual luck, it came down to a luck of the draw, again. Good thing this was not a cliffhanger cos I was literally holding on to my tea mug for support.

Feels like Taichi is becoming a Master on his own at luck of the draw...

The instant the reader started reciting, Taichi reached for the card on Sudo-san’s side, before the latter even reacted. It was not that he could hear a decisive sound as the basis for his judgement. It was simply a move borne out of much arduous experience.

Lmao, it was too outrageous even for Sudo-san.

Regardless, GO, Taichiiiiii!!!! *exhaled in relief* Semi-finals, here we come!

Well, before the semi-finals was a somewhat out-of-the-blue segue about Chi-chan’s mother, who sought to juggle between doing her own work and supporting her daughters in their career/pursuit.

It did find its way back to an unconscious Chi-chan cradled in the arms of friends but still, bit disjointed, albeit an interesting glimpse at the dynamics among the Ayase women.

“I’ll take the loss by default.”

In another surprising turn of event - well not the post-march dead-to-the-world Chi-chan, Hiroshi chose to lose by default to Chi-chan, instead of making her lose by not being able to show up for the match. Certainly one may chalk this up to team spirit but that would not be ... sufficient. Hiroshi’s concern for Chi-chan - “just let Chihaya-chan sleep” felt very brotherly, which is nice because it didn’t seem like she was showered with enough familial care and affection at home.

Taichi is a different story though. It’s not that Hiroshi did not care for Taichi but like a big brother, he knows exactly which button to push to get his sibling fire up, the way he did back at the Omi Jingu team tournament as a karuta high school coach. Hiroshi knew that Taichi needed someone to acknowledge his efforts and progress without sugarcoating the thornier parts.

“Most people here think you’re just a kid who rode a wave of momentum to get here.”

As Hiroshi rightly said, Taichi could never rely on momentum or luck, but pure skill. This helped to bolster his spirit but also placed the weight of expectations on him, as someone with the skill. Thankfully, he was motivated by the fact that Arata would be watching him - a chance to show Arata what he could do now.

An easy win is not gonna help Taichi mentally and I think that’s partly why he said that he would not have yielded to Taichi, the way he did to Chi-chan, in response to Harada-sensei’s question. Certainly, rivalry also fueled this answer but at the core of it is Hiroshi’s desire to show that he takes Taichi seriously as well as his deep awareness of Taichi’s inferiority complex.

“This is my first time watching Taichi play.”

Gosh, that cute chuckle of Arata. This is, if memory serves me well, the first time that we got to see Arata showing an interest purely in Taichi, without being occupied by other considerations such as forming his own karuta club or joining group tournaments. His flashback was of the few interactions with Taichi that did not directly involve Chi-chan too - the incident with Arata’s glasses in their early days and Taichi’s tsundere attitude towards playing karuta with his childhood friends. I personally enjoy very much these brief moments of camaraderie between Taichi and Arata and look forward to more of them, be it in the rest of season 3 anime or in the post-s3 chapters of the manga. There is a lot of potential to flesh out meaningful character developments from these interactions, not just from Aratachi or Taichihaya moments.

Before getting back to Serious Land™, and I do mean it, cos oh boy the ending, here are Chi-chan’s lovely selves.

I do want to see Chi-chan and Shi-chan decked out in all their goofy glory for a karuta game lol.

The perfect defense

In previous episodes, Taichi has shown a certain affinity towards incorporating others’ techniques into his own mentally rigorous playstyle. Against a Murao-kun whose "simple-minded aggressiveness” has been whittled away by the attrition battle waged by Harada-sensei, Taichi held his own and maintained a large card difference against his opponent, even finding opportunities to test out a new pull-back move (which is Sudo-san’s move right?).

While this battle’s outcome is more or less decided, especially with the large card difference and Chi-chan already being slated for the final, it would be nice to be able to delve deeper into Taichi’s state of mind here. Seemingly in response to the unvoiced question from Tsutomu-kun and Nishida, Taichi mentally pointed to the presence of Arata in the audience, Harada-sensei’s previous whittling effort, and Chi-chan’s absence. I am not quite sure how all these pieces fit together to bring about this version of Taichi; hopefully we will get some insight in the next episode. The most ominous piece is Chi-chan’s absence... considering what several people already said regarding Taichi’s performance in her absence.

In the meantime, Harada-sensei clearly sensed that in spite of the offensive karuta he was taught, it is defensive karuta that increasingly defined his playstyle and brought him victory this time. I vaguely recalled someone already making an observation to similar effect, was it Sakurazawa-sensei, during the team tournament in season 2?

And here we go, the match that has been hinted at for quite sometime now - an official match between Taichi and Chi-chan!!

Chi-chan certainly is the better player and she has proved herself against very strong players, from Queen candidates to actual Queens, so I think there should be no surprise as to the final outcome of this match. Nonetheless, I am certain that Suetsugu-san would not have this important turning point to be without its share of twists and drama.

Can Taichi hold his own against Chi-chan? Will he lose to himself? And more importantly, what will he do to improve his karuta, especially the defensive playstyle, in the aftermath? I eagerly await the next episode (or episodes, since the match may take longer) and what it has in store for Taichi.

Before ending this post, I just wanna drop a quick note for all readers, new or regular (gosh, do I have any left after more than a year of hiatus). Thank you so much for your support and I am sorry for disappearing for so long. Life has been putting me through the wringer ever since and drained me of any interest in putting out my own written word. This is not the first time this happened, unfortunately. But regardless of my pre-occupations, be it professional, gaming or anime-wise, I remain invested in seeing my series of posts on Chihayafuru to its completion. So buckle up, cos this train is resuming service, to the next episode of Chihayafuru and beyond!

#natsumi talks #Chihayafuru #chihayafuru marathon #chihayafuru anime #chihayafuru season 3 #chihayafuru s3 #Chihaya Ayase #ayase chihaya #Mashima Taichi #Taichi Mashima #taichimashima4tw #Wataya Arata #Arata Wataya

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calchexxis · 2 years

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FANFIC APPRECIATION MEME

Post recommendations for your ten favourite fanfics and tag the authors if possible. Tell us what you like about their work.

Tag five people of your choice to do the meme too."

I was tagged by @blood-lich-crow @heroinejinx and @ghostofyaz

Fair warning, I do not read much Fanfic anymore as I spend most of my time writing it, so some of these fics are probably going to feel really scattered. With that said, let’s get into it.

LIGHTCANNON (Lux/Jinx)

Non-Linear Growth by @booking-and-blogging (Elfen1012 on Ao3)

A lot of people reading my work have said that Flashbangs is the Lightcannon bible, but if that’s true then NLG by Elfen1012 is the Lightcannon New Testament. It hits the ground running from the perspective of a Jinx that is trying to piece herself back together after the end of Arcane and it is something to behold. I cannot recommend this enough.

Luxurious Anarchy by @cannibalelf (Cannibal_Elf on Ao3)

A kind of Soulmate-lite longform fic in which Lux is drawn across the span of Valoran to find her one-and-only: Jinx, mad and still struggling with the events of Arcane. This is just a really fantastic romp through the world of Piltover and Zaun, thoroughly enjoyable on every level. The prose are punchy, the narrative is clean, and I really enjoyed my time with it.

Friction Coefficient by @blood-lich-crow ( Blood_Lich_Maeve on Ao3)

I would argue this is probably the best Modern!AU Lightcannon on Ao3 right now, at least in my very subjective opinion. It gracefully deals with a lot of delicate topics like internalized (and external) homophobia and transphobia, trans issues, and addiction. This is one of the messiest romances I’ve ever read and I am here for it.

PISTOLWHIP (Caitlyn/Jinx)

the lover of my impossible soul by Goldfyshie927 on Ao3

This Modern!AU features Caitlyn as a professional escort who is drawn into a relationship with the wealthy and chaotic Jinx in order to keep her father happy and convince him she had mellowed out somewhat. The profound sense of loneliness you get from both characters throughout the story, and the way they inelegantly mesh together is really profound, and I look forward to seeing more of this story come out. Big recommendation for very unusual ship.

SYLVAINA (Sylvanas/Jaina)

Vintage by (jointly) @redisaid and @uninspired--poet

How do I put this. To date, I’ve read the entirety of Vintage six times. Vintage isn’t just a fanfiction I think is good. Vintage is one of the fanfictions I go back reread every now and again to remind myself what willful romance is supposed to look like. In this Modern!AU where Jaina is a college student and scion of a wealthy family, while Sylvanas is the owner of a small, failing vintage goods shop in New York. It’s a story about falling in love and then choosing to stay that way despite the many things that crop up. It’s about coming up against the difficulties in relationships and choosing love, with all its messy difficulties, over the path of least resistance. Read this, I am begging you.

Fearless by @redisaid

This might be the best example of modern magic I’ve ever read. It’s as subtle as it is overt, and as entrenched a part of the world as it is wholly separate from it. Jaina, a ghost-eating witch, finds a house haunted by a powerful banshee, and fully intends to consume her for power. Over the course of the story, that changes, and everything from the side characters, to the small moments, to the strong finish has stuck with me to the point that it inspires aspects of my own writing.

Within The Drift by @uninspired--poet

It’s hard to do a good crossover, even when the crossover’s make a kind of thematic sense. Writing a good crossover when the two subjects have jack shit in common is testament to a great author’s skill. Within The Drift is a fantastically put together sci-fi/fantasy action-romance crossing over Pacific Rim with World of Warcraft, featuring Sylvanas and Jaina as contentiously drift compatible pilots. I’ve read this story back to front several times, and it never gets old.

KAZULA (Azula/Katara)

Measure Each Step to Infinity by paxbanana

Set in Post-Canon ATLA, Measure is fantastic enemies-to-lovers-to-wives story full of angst, intrigue, action, and redemption. It has one of my favorite depictions of Azula and, surprisingly, Aang, which the story humanizes wonderfully. Azula is as morally gray as ever, and her struggle to leave behind the horrors of war and emotional abuse inflicted on her by her father to be better, and Katara’s growing dedication and devotion to her over the course of the story is gripping.

KORVIRA (Korra/Kuvira)

you know you'd look good in my hand by Goldfyshie927 on Ao3

Phenomenal Modern!AU Kuvira fic and I will shamelessly plug this because I love a good bartender character. Kuvira and Korra instantly charm in the first chapter, and their friendship blossoms into a lot more. This is a story that’s impossible to summarize without spoilers, but it is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, drama, angst, and disaster gays from start to finish and you’d be doing yourself a favor by reading it.

PILTOVER’S FINEST (Caitlyn/Vi)

Run At The Cup. by @thehomelybadger (TheHomelyBadger on Ao3)

I’ve reviewed this story before on this very blog so I really feel it’s necessary to have it here. I don’t read a lot of CaitVi but this one absolutely knocks it out of the park. Or rather, into the goal. Run At The Cup is a Hockey!AU, it’s a fantastic underdog story of a brand-new NHL team, the Zaun Sumprats, and it’s mix of sports jargon, action-packed hockey games, and interpersonal and political drama make for an absolutely gripping story.

#lightcannon #sylvaina #kuvira #kazula #piltover's finest #CaitVi #pistolwhip #caitjinx #fanfic appreciation

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jacquelinesbookclub · 5 months

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The Eyre Affair – Jasper Fforde

“Jasper Fforde has gone where no other fictioneer has gone before” claims The Guardian in the front cover endorsement. What a load of genetically re-engineered dodo crap. Who amongst us hasn’t day-dreamed about going into the books we love and meeting our favourite characters? That’s where it all starts for us “fictioneers”. The first stories we tell are clunky re-imaginings of the things that speak to us, we get enraptured by a story and it motivates us to share that story too. It’s a tale as old as human communication. Oral and written tradition is just this, sharing stories, and over time we add parts of ourselves to the narrative and mould it to better fit us. It’s how we learn to tell our own stories, by first copying the things we love. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness”, or so it has been said.

Lately I’ve been attempting to shift my time-use away from consumption and towards creation. I had found myself trapped endlessly scrolling social media, or watching stuff I don’t care about just to have something on the telly. I felt like I was wasting my time and getting nothing out of any of it. But the real kick in the arse was watching my kids emulate that same behaviour, and being unable to connect with them on any conversational level for the two days a week they live with me because they’d rather hide themselves away in a hole of Sonic memes from TikTok via Gacha Life via YouTube shorts. And how could I blame them? I was in my own hole of complaining about Formerly-Known-As-Twitter drama and voyeuristically watching old men build things with their hands (my guilty pleasure). None of us were engaged, and all of us were miserable. So I turned off the TV, deleted half the apps from my phone and YouTube from my Switch, and loaded up on art supplies from the dollar store, ready to set an example and give us all something to bond over. And it worked! (Mostly. As I’m writing this, my daughter is watching Spirit Rangers on Netflix and I’m listening to music with my headphones on. Lets just call it parallel play, alright?)

By the end of the first day without the addictive pull of easy dopamine machines, both of my kids had written multi-thousand word short stories. My daughter (10yo), who’s special interest is kid horror like Poppy Playtime and Five Nights at Freddy’s, wrote about a little girl with a traumatic past who solves puzzles and befriends the big scary monsters. My eldest (12yo) on the other hand is big into anime, their favourites right now being My Hero Academia and Tengoku Daimakyo. They wrote a character driven isekai turned reverse-isekai slice of life, naturally. Given the freedom to write whatever they wanted without guidelines from teachers, both of them re-told their own favourite stories with a personal flair. This is how we learn to tell stories, it’s how we learn anything really, through repetition. Just like how babies learn to speak by imitating the sounds its parents make until it learns meaning and context, in imitating the stories we love, we learn story structure, flow, framing, technique, effective use of dialogue and thematic meaning. It’s not the only way we learn, of course, we get taught the nuts and bolts of writing in school, and some take that all the way through university in order to perfect their craft, but I think that’s all polish. The people who study writing are the people who have a passion for the craft they’ve learned through personal experimentation, and it’s passion that is key for motivation.

In response to a recent live stream question about encouraging a creative design environment in the classroom, Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame) said “New skill acquisition, for me, has always been based on desire.” Without the desire to emulate, without the love of a story or stories, our writing is dead before it’s even born. Writing is a slog sometimes, it doesn’t come easily to any but the luckiest few, so we need the love of the influence to fuel the work. I’m not just talking about the derivative copy cat stuff we all practice on, even the most original novels have influence. The reason we have genres of literature is because of the influence of authors who came beforehand. In 1818 Mary Shelley publishes Frankenstein, in 1886 Robert Lewis Stevenson publishes Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, in 1896 H.G. Wells publishes The Island of Dr Moreau. We have science fiction as a genre because authors read science fiction stories and said “I want to write that too.”

The world Fforde has created in The Eyre Affair is one that those of us who were teased for being bookworms as children would long for. It’s a world in which people wear their love for their favourite stories proudly on their sleeves. Where literature is so important that the British Government have a Special Operations group dedicated to preventing book crimes. Imagine if people cared that much about literature in real life? Could you imagine people door-knocking and handing out pamphlets to argue their theories of who wrote Shakespeare? People changing their names and their dress to honour their love of poet John Milton? Imagine hundreds of people torch and pitchfork protesting over the possibility of Jane Eyre being changed. This all sounds hauntingly familiar, actually. There is one place in the real world where people have such strong opinions of their favourite stories: fanfiction.

Savage continues: “It’s frankly within pop-culture you’re often going to find a lot of intersection of desire for a thing.” Our modern internet is lousy with pop-culture, it’s incredible just how pop our culture has gotten. It drowns out any culture that isn’t pop by smothering it in mounds of double extra servings of pop. Our pop is so pop we had to create hyper-pop to contain it, another magnitude added to the pop-Richter scale, and boy oh boy, is there desire for it. I have many criticisms about fanfic, both the art and the culture, but I’m not going to go on a tirade here. What’s important is that people are doing it. They’re taking the stories they love and expanding upon them, putting their own spin on their favourite characters and creating something new and interesting out of it. As Savage says “I personally don’t care where somebody gets interested in creating something, I just want the act of creation to occur.”

The Eyre Affair is a love letter to the stories that compel Fforde, like Arthur Conan Doyle’s Through the Magic Door made narrative. Published in 1907, Doyle’s collection of essays is adamant that popular fiction is vital to creativity, so this isn’t new age thinking. What is new is that we have more accessible places to share with each other, to create community around the things we love, and yet it still feels so closed off. When we say fanfic we think of a subsection of the internet filled with wierdos, from Trekkies and X-philes in the 90’s, to whatever is popular in fanfic today, I don’t know, what are you into? Is it Gideon the Ninth? Y’all still doing One Direction? Whatever the case, it’s delegated to a shadowy basement corner filing cabinet and forgotten by the rest of the literary world, and that’s a shame, because it is often where our most base fantasies as readers play out.

“Gone where no other fictioneer has gone before”? Fforde goes where all of us go, that’s what makes this book so compelling, only he does it in public where everyone can see.

#jacquelinesbookclub #book club #bookblr #writeblr #jasper fforde #the eyre affair #spoilers #long post

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angleofmusings · 2 years

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ok danger days analysis. this starts with bulletproof heart because i was super feral about it and couldn’t wait until after look alive sunshine and nanana.

bulletproof heart. “too much talking with a laser blade” it isn’t about using violence as a form of diplomacy. it’s not that at all. it’s the opposite. there’s too much talking with weapons instead of words. insert that astronaut meme “it’s all anti-war?” “always has been”

sing. “sing it till you’re not / singing out for the ones that’ll hate your guts” well fuck okay. if that ain’t something that they sure as hell r living up to now.

planetary (go!). it’s saying, let’s fucking get out of here! “this is a letter / my word / is the beretta / the sound of my vendetta / against the ones that planned it”

the only hope for me is you. well. this is just. a letter to queer youth. it’s no accident that it’s right after planetary (go!) on the album. it starts with “remember me” and invoking imagery of nostalgia and shared history, then the fucking amazing lyrics “and if we can’t find where we belong / we’ll have to make it on our own / face all the pain and take it on / because the only hope for me / is you alone”

jet star and the cobra kid / traffic report. and then jet star and the cobra kid fucking die so. hello narrative foreshadowing

party poison. anygays this one is very interesting tbh it needs a whole analysis of its own. for this purpose tho it basically is the turning point in terms of like, no longer being able to safely play along with society even if you wanted to

save yourself, i’ll hold them back. the first fucking lyric: “right now, i hope you’re ready for a firefight / ’cause the devil’s got your number tonight / they say! we’re never leaving this place alive / but if you sing these words we’ll never die”

the “they” is evidently jet star and the kobra kid, which just. ough sobbing rn. but the interesting part is the first half, basically like, yeah this is about to boil over, i hope you’re ready.

“for all of us who’ve seen the light / salute the dead and lead the fight / hail hail! / who gives a damn if we lose the war? / let the walls come down / let the engines roar!” so these lyrics are linked ofc. “salute the dead” -> “hail hail!” and then “lead the fight” -> “who gives a damn if we lose the war? / let the walls come down / let the engines roar!”

so yknow. it’s about being okay with losing the war. as long as you lived life to the fullest. who cares what happens in the end as long as you live on the way to it?

“be a burning star if it takes all night” the night in the desert is when you’re safe from the sunlight that kills you. well you gotta leave your mark somehow! be a burning star, even though you gotta spend all that safe time getting there.

“i’ll tell you all how the story ends / where the good guys die and the bad guys win / who cares!” it doesn’t fucking matter what the ending is! we’re doomed to die but that doesn’t mean the story is lost! even if they win, that isn’t the point of the story. the outcome is irrelevant, what matters is the legacy you leave behind. the graffiti they write on your grave. i’ll hold them back so you can leave a mark on the world before we go. i can give you tonight, make it count, leave behind a memory of who you really were. be broken glass when the sun rises on the empty space we fled from.

s/c/a/r/e/c/r/o/w. now this song is talking to a child, coaxing them into shelter before the bomb hits, knowing that when society falls it’ll be devastating no matter how terrible that society was. of course s/c/a/r/e/c/r/o/w is like an actual BLI thing that is a very real threat in the zones and you have to hide from it, and they come out during the day in the sunlight, but you still gotta move yourself when that sunlight of BLI’s presence is gone, because if BLI dies then that means something worse is on its way. and not even love is enough to stop that from coming. no matter how strong or defiant or queer that love is, it won’t be enough. you have to run.

#yeah this was actually just a ‘‘contextualizing save yourself ill hold them back’’ analysis sorry. its still so feral tho #mcr #danger days #ddttlotfk #lyric meta #lyric analysis #angelofmusings lives up to their url

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mothheart-ships-archive · 1 year

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So I think I'm coming to a decision and here's what I want to say:

I am choosing to be neutral. I do not want to take sides, and I don't really wanna be involved in discourse and see people say that someone should die or something. That's wayyyy too hard for me, as someone who has lost someone close to me to suicide, and has witnessed many more crack under the opinions of people who don't even know them.

More under cut.

I come from a fandom where darker topics are roleplayed all the time, but the people there agree that certain topics are yikes and do not support them irl. We agree that characters intentions, thoughts, opinions, etc. do not equal the intentions, thoughts, opinions, etc. of the roleplayer; the fandom source is dark, and it allows us to explore darker themes, angsty plots, and interesting stories. We recognize that some stuff just isn't our cup of tea so when engaging with each other we don't engage in those topics!

Additionally, I think characters and ships and narratives all rely on the source and CONTEXT they are based on.

Another example: It's like cancelling George R.R. Martin for writing about war and murder and incest and rape in Game of Thrones. These things, unfortunately, happen, and exploring them in fiction is normal for a lot of writers and they are still able to admit that these actions irl are wrong. And yet Martin is not cancelled. People who are not comfortable with these topics don't watch the show nor read the books. People who do engage with the media make ocs and ships with murder and darker themes as it is within the realm of belief for the source. It does not mean that they, nor Martin, support rape or murder or incest.

This. This is what I'm understanding of Proship at the very least. I do not know enough about comship as it is a new label that I'm not as familiar with and I am still struggling to understand it. I think it is VERY important to be critical about the media you consume, to question themes and the creators is healthy, but I do just as genuinely believe that people can explore darker themes without actually endorsing it irl. THAT is the most important thing to me. If someone is prancing around saying they whole heartedly wanna do things to children... that is a completely different story. That is not even in the realm of shipping. Those are the people to watch out for.

Think about the memes about this, too. The "i could fix him" and "i could make him worse" memes. That's toxic idealization, but put in a way that is humorous and something a lot of people can chalk their very own ship dynamics up to. I don't see people sending death threats over that.

Which means it's all about context and intent. Not all proshippers agree with various dark themes, and from what I've had explained to me and from what I've seen it is generally just letting people explore fiction the way they want to. Sometimes it's a way to cope. Sometimes it's to create a story. Sometimes it's just to have fun.

If you're reading this and choose to disagree, that's your decision and it will be respected. People are allowed to agree to disagree over something as simple as fiction. Feel free to block me.

This said, here are my boundaries, I would like for them to be respected if we have a conversation/talk about ships.

-I do not support incest irl and would prefer not to engage with romantic incest ships. I will block if this is disrespected.

-I do not support pedophilia and would prefer not to engage with adult/minor age gap romantic ships. I do not mind ships with age gaps as long as a MINOR is NOT involved. I will block if this is disrespected.

-I do not support rape irl. I do not support unhealthy relationships where sex is more important than the emotional well-being of the partner. I do not support situations where 'no' is not respected. I do not support non-consensual actions between individuals. I do not mind it as a detail of narrative, I do not mind it as being part of a character's/oc's/insert's back story. But if there are heavy themes of active noncon in a ship then I do not want to engage. I will block if this is disrespected.

-I would like to get to know the actual human person I'm talking to before judgement is made over the little things.

-However, fascists, racists, pedophiles/MAPs, terfs, anti-lgbt, antishippers/anyone who actively harasses anyone for differences or brings harm to others ARE NOT welcomed here. If you identify as these or with the ideologies of these identities then please do not engage with me. These are not little things. That's a person's life.

Thank you for reading, regardless of your stance on the subject of pro/neutral/antishippers. I hope you have a nice day whoever you are.

#self ship #self ship community #selfshipping #proship #anti harassment #neutralship #im probably gonna get some angry anons #which would be very funny and ironic given everything ive said

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yowlthinks · 1 year

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Numbers Game

Something happened today in the way of mixed age social group dynamic and I am still thinking about it. The key question I am still struggling with is what is better, what is healthier (for all the participants): segregate the participants by age with lower and upper limits, or just let everyone who wants to be part of the group be there? And then if we say "better", for whom exactly is it better?

A few days ago a massive GO fandom WhatsApp group was founded and pretty soon it swelled to nearly a 100 participants globally. Did you know you could reach 1500 (one thousand five hundred) unread messages in a group by just not looking at your phone for a couple of hours? Neither did I, but now I know. Anyway, it was lovely, just as this whole fandom is, and among all the one-liner chatter there were some really nice more in-depth discussions about life. It was a little overwhelming, but I liked it.

Now, the age of participants varied, you could see that straightaway, but that was not a problem, because it wasn't like there was anything in the discussions that you could not discuss with a teenager. But then today the inevitable question of "how old are you" came up and apparently some members were shocked to find out the age differences. When you're 36 and a 16 year old asks you "What are you doing here?", I'm not gonna lie, it stings a little.

You want to turn around and tell them that in those 20 years since you were their age you have not, in fact, disappeared. You still read and write fanfiction, enjoy a good meme and generally are allowed to have fun. Yes, even if you have a job, kids and all those other adult things. Especially, because you have all those other adult things and they weigh on you, but you are still you and it is good to remember that. You want to turn around and scream that you are not "old and boring". That you need that little happy corner to dive in and let yourself go happily unhinged over fictional characters. And you have every right to do it.

But then I guess, if you are 16 and you have this fandom where you run away from school, parents and teen angst, you want to have this as your own world. You think people who are in your fandom are essentially all more or less like you. And finally someone understands, someone knows your suffering!! And when it turns out that apparently there are people closer to your parents' age enjoying these same things, well, it feels like a betrayal. Like some sort of spies infiltrating your fortress of happiness, and you want to turn around and shout at them. How dare they take this from you?! You are already going through so much, and now these old boring people dare to steal this one happy thing from you?!

The thing is, Internet is great at mixing people and bringing them together. And fandoms are a place where discussions happen, which wiuod never happen in real life. And to get those discussions, it is good to have different perspectives, and yes, this diversity includes diversity of age.

It is also good for teens to know that life does not end after 20, or 30 or 40. Or even 50, or 70. Life only ends when you die. And there is noone who should police what you enjoy as long as you are doing this without harming others. You do realise that the first modern fanfiction authors are pushing 70 and 80 now, and can you honestly tell me that these people suddenly lost their ability to imagine and enjoy the things they love? I bloody well hope not, because being ale to enjoy what you love is what makes life worth living. It is just a little uncomfortable to think your gran is probably not averse to reading or at least imagining Kirk/Spok stories in her head, yeah, probably saucy ones too. This thought doesn't really fit the narrative, so you push it away. But knowing that it is possible, makes the thought of being an old person a little less scary. "I will still be me".

Anyway, long story short, there is now a separate group. It is smaller and also devoid of stickers (did you know WhatsApp has stickers?! I had no clue, I don't know if it is a generational or cultural thing, but whatever), and I hope it will be a joyful place and full of discussions.

That "what are you doing here?" still stings a bit. But I guess, it is the right thing to let the teens have space wherever possible, they are going through it all, so let them be.

And hey, look at me, having fun on Tumblr, coping with being in my mid-30ies so well.

#fandom #age #social dynamics #thoughts

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