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away-ward · 5 months ago

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"I think you're on to something with Michael and Emory both seeing what the group needs and how people can be used. Maybe that's how they bond. And Emmy has time to sit and observe them up close, but I think even then she's just natural at understanding people."

yeah this. I'm ngl, i understand how people love to find the similarities and compare emory with damon, but i've always been on my michael x emory mastermind family and friends agenda, alright. I know many people dont like michael, but hear.me.out. I think because temperament wise, D & E matches and are pretty similar to each other on a surface level, readers tend to confuse them being the most similar with each other, but vision and role wise? Personality? Goals in life? Interests? The way they look at the systems around them? The way they handle their conflicts in life?

Damon and Emory could not be any more different than each other! And their differences in everything was clearer as we get to will's pov in nightfall, and we came to the conclusion that to a certain extend, one was an enabler, and one was an usurper. This shows their thoughts, words, beliefs and actions' patterns. What made them an enabler? An usurper? How does will come to that conclusion? Only two traits bring them back to be similar: dominance and aggression. But nothing else beyond that because the way they want and vision their life to be are very different from each other. Damon wnating his friends and banks, emory wanting the best for everyone and settle down his responsibilities towards education, caring duties and career first. (Their financial background does play in this factor, but hey, michael and kai were from rich families too, they werent acting all entitled towards their inheritance and life like damon. Much to think about). And Despite being angry and hopeless, emmy still put one foot in front of the other, visioning whats her future gonna be like. But damon want to be in hell, he doesnt give a fuck about anything else, even his company was started out of nowhere, he didnt even have the skills to know that people would want to pay for his labor's services, and when he fucks up too much, he didnt know how to reconcile with all that. Only promised that he'll make sure he deserves them later. D & E are so different, i was always confused when they relate one with the other. I believe, much to the disgrace of a lot of readers, damon was more similar with rika than he was with emory, or even banks.

Thats why it's also infuriating to me when readers said damon and will married the girl version of each other, because did we read the same books? What about will and winter, and damon and emory is the same to a T? This is Penelope Douglas we're talking about, they're not shy to write raunchy sapphic, polyamorous, dubious relationships. If they wanted a gay relationship between Damon and Will to happen, it wouldve happened, but the text always made it clear that theyre not into each other like that because of what they wanted the most in life, and also because damon only use sex to control people. Not until winte then he felt like he can just enjoy sex without pain. And now in this bonus, even Kai called him out for it. Not even will, his #1 bff had the power to change that. And will had years by his side, but this winter pops out of nowhere, and fix that for him in such a short amount of time (which emmy also knows that winter's the ony way to damon, interesting). I'm not even a fan of winter, but even i can't say that theres anyone else who would fit to be damon's lover or even anyone else in this series because they all have their very specific wants in their partners that they couldnt find anywhere else. Not even their best friends can fill in the rika, banks, winter snd emory-shaped holes in their lives. Ofc, fanon interpretations are allowed, so wtv. Damon and Emory has no similarites other than 1. Theyre in the same family for the same call of void, 2. They love will very much, 3. They had a very sad backstory that impacted their plots, and 4. Theyre grumpy on the exterior, dominant and aggressive. But even point 4 is debatable, because even though emory is dominant and aggressive, she is still pretty amicable to people as long as those people are or can be usefull to her or her higher motives.

Do recall her first interactions with Alex, Aydin, Micah, Rika in the present time. She saw what they can do for her, and she wasnt sorry at all to use them. I like that her character can be questionable sometimes, and i even like it when Alex called emmy a manipulative monster, because just like michael, i never saw something wrong with that. This is a dark romance with fucked up people who do want they want, who think they actions and words justify their ideas and beliefs, in an ugly way, why can't we see the potential of emmy being someone else's monster? And her not even denying alex? I was screaming!!! Because Isn't that cool? That she's not just this pure innocent nerdy girl from the town? Finally after 3.5 books, we actually see a dominant questionable FMC in this series. Let FMCs and women be morally grey!! She's a fictional dark romance character, let her be slimy AF just like the men in the series! Let her bully her lover! Let her use and support that serial killer and the son of a terrorist! Let her be friends with that same leader you hate (michael/aydin)! Emory Scott was not a morally righteous person, let her do her thing, and enjoy the ride. This is also why I like it when she was dealing with the police' questioning and reaffirming will about their family in fire night. It's for this reason. And noticed how michael didnt care what she did? Because he knew she did it for them! We need more questionable FMCs in literature, pleasee.

Now, coming back to damon and emory, i cannot deny, D & E both did make up to each other's strength, weaknesses and quality of what they want at work. That's why their partnership work very well. But that's where their pesonalities' similarities end (other than the ones i listed).

Onto my Michael x Emory family and friends masterminds agenda, M & E are like leader x architect mastermind. Theyre always in the position to either lead, or in an active stance, unlike kai, will, rika or winter. Damon and banks did fluctuate between passive and active depending on what others needs, but michael and emory's the pioneer. They're the front and center. Their opinions and decisions are usually what shape their current situations or the final say in a discussion. Their approach towards strategising is more hollistic, and it touches pretty much all aspects of their life. What i meant by that is their leadership, opinion and building of something doesnt just revolve around their work, but it also shapes the dynamic of the group, the role they or others play in their family, and they execute their role very well. Michael more so a leader than emory was. But i 100% believe than unlike damon, if emory actually wanted to take over michael's position, she could. She's an usurper, i dont think she'll just let michael have it easy if she didnt agree with something. And this is beyond like banks and michael bantering because they have some weird tension and families' companies. Emory actually do have input on what they do, and she is known to have a say in things, that other might not agree with.

another interesting thing about michael and emory's interaction with the people around them is, Being around people like M & E can make you feel like you're a fish in the water, not only you're breathing, but you feel at home, because when they disagree with you, it feels like youre being chided or corrected or shamed, but them being by yourside made you feel good about yourself. This part of M & E are not always explicit though, but you can see the implicit text by observing the reactions of how people react to their words and actions. Like how rika, kai, damon snd will reacted to michael's approval, help or disappointment, like how will, damon, aydin, alex, micah and rory reacted to emmy's actions and disagreements. Their words and actions have very impactful rippling effect on people unlike the rest. You can actually feel like you can achieve or be who you want to be, or where you want to Be with them. As if they knew where your wrong or right on your path to somewhere. I think rika, kai and will felt that with michael, and will, aydin and others felt that with emmy. We dont see much of others but we know that this is can be possible especially after ten years. Because their personality revolves not only being visionary, but them being accustomed to the system around them, made them able to have the ability to execute their plans to get what they want. Emmy doing all that in nightfall to support her grandma, to get a degree and a job, to have aydin's ally, to be friends with micah and rory, to borrow rika's items, to have someone by her side with alex, to offer herself to them sll in that train. "Nothing wrong if she just give in to what you want". Michael too with rika, with his nba career, to stay loyal with his friends, to open that resort, and many more. Can you see the vision, KO? (Pun intended)

M with the horsemen and later on with all the addition to their family, and E with the guys at blackchurch, and later with their big family, making decisions around them, finding what fits best for them etc. They both knew what was important to their values in life, and how to keep the family up, and it's not only within the group, but also to match the system outside of their family, like their potential allyship with khadirs and morreaus, enemies with ilya evans martin trevor, police system when they cause mischief around town, third and significant places of/in the town like the tower, church, cathedral, resort, etc. M & E knew the vision, what and how to preserve, and how to polish or do better so that they can move forward and profit more. This Doesnt mean that theyre better than the rest but this was where their strength lies best as compared to rika, banks, kai, damon, winter and will who took care about rules, state policies, morales (in private and in public) or tradition, They all take care of each others strength and weakness like this.

Unlike the majority of the fandom, i Never saw how D & E can be similar other than the ones listed above, but M & E? They've always been pretty similar, i believe. If not their background, it's the way they move. I still believe that Emmy is smarted than Michael but Michael is more intuitive than Emory. Hence why i think michael understand will's need for something more, above and beyond. Not like damon who he knew will didnt need alex. But michael would know WHY will needed emory. Someone that not only makes him see what's up there, but also someone who can take him up there to see what he's made of. Sounds similar to how michael made rika feel huh? The difference is that michaelrika just wanted to feel and discover something unknown, outside of their monotonous privileged life, but willemmy wants to use whatever unknown path in the light and dark to ACHIEVE something bigger, better, something above what they already knew about themselves. MichaelRika felt like an idea or a calling, but WillEmmy is like the tough final destination executioner, with KaiBanks as the strong steady pillar, and DamonWinter as the whimsical storytellers and dreamers of the group. WillEmmy would be the final destination executioner that wraps up all of their unknowns, where they gather the ideas, pillars and dreams from others and then set up a more structured, efficient and profitting path that benefits their families and everyone, knowing when and where to anticipate people like how they always deal with everyone. and i believe that was how they build their world when i finished the series then, I always get this feeling from these couple. This bonus just strongly reaffirmed my opinions about them building things together. WillEmmy "we build thunder bay together now, Em"! Exactly! Now they know what theyre made of!

side note: Made me also think about Rika and Emory's interaction throughout the series, and from that bonus from banks' pov, emory IS a steady, firm and strong support system for their family. Like a big sister. Like a pillar. That's why i also believed that nightfall should come before kill switch so that sensitive matters like rika's pregnancy can be handled better if she had a stronger, mature and steadier female presence and support system by a big sister like emmy, who's love is always flowing and very unyielding. I just knew that emmy would know how to breach this topic with rika and she would spoil them all always. That bonus really just showed that even in a short period of time, she was a very adoring and doting sister to everyone. Banks just didnt realised that emmy loved her the same way she did with rika because of her insecurities. Now this made me crave a rika, banks, winter and emory get together! What would they do on the weekends or for fun, huh?

Anyway, back to my M x E agenda, It's interesting too because at one point, i had the thought of switching michael's life with emmy's and i wonder, if emmy grew up like michael, how different or similar would she think, act, lead, follow etc. and how would michael react if he grew up like emmy. Sex and gender swap included. Because the very big differences for them would be their dinancial status and physical strength to overcome their abusers. Hmmm? How long would they take since by the end of nightfall, michael still havent killed evans, but martin's dead. And between michael and emory, emory was more likely to use physical violence than michael. Interesting, no? out of all the horsemen, michael and kai were the most class conscious. Like they knew how the system around them works, and only people who knows how system works can get far in life. damon and will had a late awakening, due to whatever things they were going through or enabling themselves with, but michael and kai were pretty clear-headed. Emory was clear-headed too. Making tough decisions was her forte. Again, the M x E crossover. But how would their class consciousness impact them if they swap realitues and sex/gender?

idk i havent think that far, but it's something that interests me now. What do you think of all these, KO? What do you think were similar or different about michael and emory? Or even other horsemen with her? I fully believe what alex said in emmys car at that cove scene was very important. In chapter three about what alex and the family needs. And emory knew it too, she just cant have it. Them.

but vision and role wise? Personality? Goals in life? Interests? The way they look at the systems around them? The way they handle their conflicts in life?

I totally get what you’re saying (I think). The thing about Emory and Michael is that they can see the blueprint.

Michael, as Kai said, is like The Builder. He sees how all the parts of something make the whole. How their strengths and weaknesses balance each other, who can hold what load, and where they need reinforcement.

Emory (an architect that can actually read blueprints, so it’s just funny in literal and figurative sense), does the same with people. She can destruct them, see how they fit together, and move forward based on that.

However, Damon, like Michael and Emory, is not without the ability, he just uses it differently. He sees life like a chessboard; people are just pieces to move. That takes understanding how people work, who has what power, where is their weakness, what holes are they leaving unprotected.

But going back to your point.

Reading this first point, I realized how true it is that Emory and Michael share a lot of the same traits. They’re both determined, realizing what they’re good at from an early age, set a goal, and took a path to achieve that goal. They were both able to make careers out of something they loved, despite all obstacles – family, financial, or otherwise. The only other person who shares this quality with them - knowing from a young age what they wanted to do and finding a way to do it - was Winter.

Additionally, the way that Michael allowed Evans to stay alive at the end of Nightfall to take care of his mother sort of echoes the way Emory let her grandmother stay with Martin. Both were on the condition that the person they’re letting off the hook is going to take care of the person they actually care about. At the same time, Emory acknowledges that a part of her loved her brother, at least the memory of him. And while Michael doesn’t want to take another person away from his mother, there might still be a part of him that wishes things could be different between him and Evans. At the very least, both Michael and Emory wanted their abuser to leave them be, without wanting to take revenge for the abuse.

Both were aware of class differences. I think Michael, aware of his privilege might have admired, or even envied, Emory because she had to fight for everything she got. Every accomplishment, every bright of recognition; none of it came because she was anyone’s child or she had an advantage. In fact, she had nothing but disadvantages and it didn’t stop her. Michael would have recognized that. In the bonus chapter, Trevor questions whether Michael would be as good at basketball if he didn’t have a court, and Michael wonders the same. In Nightfall, Emory wants the pool to herself because unlike them, she doesn’t have access to a private pool in her home. Micheal would have respected that, I think, even if Will hadn’t asked them to leave.

Michael doesn’t want to give up his privileges and good life; he wants to earn them for himself, apart from his father. Emory doesn’t want to stay poor, as if that would be revenge against the wealthy classmates she hates. She wants to earn it all herself and show them up. They have similar lines of thought about money and privilege.

They’re not always right; sometimes their biases get in the way. Still, they have much in common.

But after reading your message, something else occurred to me. We’ve been talking as if there can only be “X is most like Y”, “A is a reflection of B”, “C and D are literally the same, just different fonts.”

And none of that is true. Truth is Damon and Emory do share a lot of similar traits. They’re more reserved, they’re more calculating and suspicious of new people. They can endure a ton of pain by themselves, both physical and mental, possibly more than anyone else in the group could tolerate.

Emory is a lot like Michael, in that both of them can see people for what they are, they’re strengths and weakness, and make a plan to use them to the best of their ability. Like you said as an example, despite knowing that the group didn’t like Aydin and that he’d used her, she could see the value and benefit of keeping him close and including him. She didn’t let her personal opinion get in the way, and I think if it were Michael alone, she could probably sway him. But he as the think of the group as a whole.

Emory is also a lot like Kai in that she’s patient with people, and she realizes when she might have said something insensitive and backtracks (Emory with Elle in Nightfall vs. Kai with Damon in the Bonus Chapter). Emory also cares a lot about people, like Kai does, and they’re willing to do the dirty job of caring for those even when they don’t want to.

Emory is like Will in having a sense of curiosity and adventure, wanting to create something no one else has before.

And I’m guessing the same could be said for any of the other characters, and that’s why they’re a family? One thing I picked up from the Bonus Chapter was how often they guys commented ‘I need him for xyz reason’ Michael and Damon had their fathers in common and a dislike of extreme drugs and alcohol abusers (Will excluded, though Damon got on that fairly quickly when he came back). Damon and Will were wild, where Kai and Michael were cautious. Michael and Will were curiosity, and Kai and Will were easier to be around. Kai and Damon were opposites in almost always, but they both agreed that sometimes you need some healthy violence. All of these traits play into and off of each other, and as their family grows, the same can be said for each new addition.

I like the idea of comparing the characters, seeing where they are similar and where they are different, and what those differences mean of the situations they get into. So perhaps it is time to lean away from the “Damon and Emory are exactly the same” talk, and replace it with “what do the similarities mean? What do the differences mean?”

I was trying to think of where this discussion was coming from. We see Emory compared to Banks and Damon, and now Michael. We see Rika and Winter compared often. As you mentioned, so people compare Will with Winter.

At first, I thought that it was the "If this hated female character where a man, they'd basically be this male character who is universally loved." But that's not really the case here, is it?

D & E are so different, i was always confused when they relate one with the other. I believe, much to the disgrace of a lot of readers, damon was more similar with rika than he was with emory, or even banks.

And this goes to what I was saying above. Damon and Rika do share a lot in common. They like playing games of manipulation, treating situations as if they’re a game of chess. They value family (Rika forgiving Christiane because that’s her mother vs. Damon not seeing her as family because he’s got all the family he needs, and the fact that they fight over what makes someone family). They both wanted children. A lot.

While I get that what you’re saying is the comparison between Emory and Damon is weak when there are others that are more alike, I think the discussion of MBTI as shown me that these characters are all really different and that’s what makes the group work.

I, fortunately, haven't been confronted with this comment (that I can remember), but I can imagine people saying it.

I think the case for comparing Emory and Damon is stronger than comparing Will to Winter. Though I can see why they do. Will and Winter are easy to deal with (in theory). They’re both generally warm and welcoming people. But those are basic traits, and I’m not sure if there’s are deeper aspects in their personalities to draw comparisons to.

Still, I don’t agree that any of the characters can be compared as if they’re a 1:1 version of each other. Therefore Damon and Will couldn't have married the female version of the other. That’s stupid.

If they wanted a gay relationship between Damon and Will to happen, it wouldve happened,

That’s what I think every time I see someone state with complete confidence that they were in love. As if a part of this story isn’t that there are different ways to love a person. That not all love is romantic. As if their brotherhood doesn’t and can’t exist because Damon and Will care about each other deeply.

“But the sex!” they cry.

Yeah…because neither of them ever had sex with someone they didn’t love? Or had no real emotions towards? Because Damon never used sex as a manipulation tactic, and Will as a way to ease his pain? I’ll accept that they’re not completely straight as an argument, but I highly doubt either of them would ever fall in love with a man.

To have this as an example after saying that Damon and Emory don’t have anything in common is interesting, because I remember Damon using Alex to get information on Evans. He had no problem seeing what she can do, and using it to his advantage, even if it meant going behind the group's back. Alex even had a few words for him at that party, too, and Damon didn’t really care.

There’s the phrase “two sides of the same coin”?

These people are like six sides of the same dice. (Die? Is a single dice a die? You know what I mean.)

Because while I think Damon and Emory are the same in this situation, I can argue that Damon is more extreme than Emory.

Remember when Damon said that he didn’t think any of the boys would help him murder someone, but then when he was killing Natalya, Emory jumped in. She didn’t even really know the situation, but she recognized something in Damon that was in herself.

We know she never took the chance to kill Martin, because for her, it never got that far. She was never that desperate, though I have no doubt that if the situation were life and death, she’d be able to make that decision. Similarly, I don’t think Michael would have killed Trevor if the situation wasn’t life and death. Michael and Emory match up in that aspect, but that doesn’t mean Emory didn’t get there before him.

I think on the scale of No-Murder to Murder, she’s probably a lot closer to Damon than she is to Michael.

who think they actions and words justify their ideas and beliefs, in an ugly way, why can't we see the potential of emmy being someone else's monster? And her not even denying alex? I was screaming!!! Because Isn't that cool? That she's not just this pure innocent nerdy girl from the town?

I mean, I think Emory always sort of owned that she was a bomb waiting to go off in Will’s life, and that’s why she tried to get away from him. She never denied that certain things were her fault. She always had a backbone and was willing to cross the line if she needed to. She accepted accountability easily.

But I thought Alex was calling Aydin a manipulative monster, not Emory, because he was able to “manipulate” Emory into thinking she doesn’t have to answer to them, even though she owning up to her role in Will's life. She was essentially calling Emory weak for being Aydin's victim.

However, Emory came to that conclusion because she was ready to, not simply because Aydin opened her eyes. As Emory said, her view of Aydin was more complicated than Alex was willing to comprehend. Even so, Emory refused to apologize for it, which I guess made her a monster in Alex’s eyes, too.

Their [M&E] opinions and decisions are usually what shape their current situations or the final say in a discussion.

And it’s in this way that Will and Rika are similar. Both had to wait for the person they desired most to be ready to accept the inevitability of their love. They spent years watching, waiting, following, as their person was just outside of their reach. And when they finally thought that they’d grabbed hold of them, after just one night, Michael and Emory slipped away again.

Just an interesting comparison I thought about as I was reading.

But i 100% believe than unlike damon, if emory actually wanted to take over michael's position, she could. She's an usurper, i dont think she'll just let michael have it easy if she didnt agree with something.

I don’t think Emory would let Michael have it easy either, but is she persuasive enough to sway the group as a whole? I’m not so sure. Micah and Rory were different because their bond to Will was different, as well as their view of him. For over a year, he’s been a friend and ally, but all of the sudden he and his six friends – who they have no loyalty to – are ganging up on this girl they’ve come to care about? It’s no wonder she was able to get them to change sides. Not sure Emory would have as much success with Kai or Rika.

But she might have success with Damon, though. Because they have similar thought processes.

My point is that it all plays into each other, and it’s why I would have liked to see more of the dynamic between Emory and some of the others, especially Michael, but they hardly share more than a sentence in the entire series.

this is beyond like banks and michael bantering because they have some weird tension and families' companies. Emory actually do have input on what they do, and she is known to have a say in things, that other might not agree with.

But a part of Banks' character is never coming to the table without a plan, even if she knows Michael isn’t going to agree with it. She still tries; she puts it out there, states her case, and will argue to get Michael to see things her way. And sometimes she wins, like we see in Conclave when Michael eventually agreed to her idea.

There’s a reason people compare Emory and Banks, too. They think and strategize, and they don’t let people they see as equals boss them around.

They both knew what was important to their values in life, and how to keep the family up,

I do see your vision (haha!). But I think Emory probably isn’t as skilled in this as Michael is, if only because he’s had more time to develop and live with the responsibility of making this team, this family, work. You said that Emory was smarter, while Michael more intuitive. Emory is book smart, but then her goals in life relied on her getting out of town and into a school, while Michael relied on his intuition to survive his father and find his real family. Both are logical and goal orientated.

I can see Michael teaching Emory how to develop her skills. Maybe not directly, but identifying that she has these same skills and helping her cultivate them by testing her, giving her the opportunity to make plans and see them through. He did that with Rika. And being a mayor, Rika is something of a leader now. Banks learned from Damon, and A.P. how to execute her role as a Senator. But no one is there to teach Emory how to use her skills to the best of her ability, and as a leader of the family and the other person who can see the blueprint – the builder, the visionary, the mastermind, as you said – Michael could help her in that way.

This Doesnt mean that theyre better than the rest but this was where their strength lies best

Agreed. This doesn’t mean that they're better, just that their skills serve a different role. If they were all leaders, it wouldn’t work.

The difference is that michaelrika just wanted to feel and discover something unknown, outside of their monotonous privileged life, but willemmy wants to use whatever unknown path in the light and dark to ACHIEVE something bigger, better, something above what they already knew about themselves.

This is interesting, because I see your point. To me, it feels that Michael and Rika are very inward focused; they are concerned with themselves and what their family is doing, but not overly focused on things outside the group (this isn’t to say they’re unsympathetic or unwilling to help when they see a problem in Thunder Bay or the world), but that their concern will first and foremost always be them and the family. Whereas, Will and Emory are very focused on Thunder Bay as if the entirety of It (the town, with its traditions and mysteries and lore) is their family, and they want to build it up and take care of it. They’re more focused on the external.

I’m not sure if that’s what you were getting at but it’s how I heard it. Again, neither better or worse. Just different.

And between michael and emory, emory was more likely to use physical violence than michael. Interesting, no?

I completely forgot you made this point when I was talking up there but I think we agree?

if emmy grew up like michael, how different or similar would she think, act, lead, follow etc. and how would michael react if he grew up like emmy. Sex and gender swap included.

This really gets into the idea of nature vs. nurture, which is not something I’m competent enough to discuss thoroughly, but it’s an interesting question all the same. If we had Emerson Crist and a Michelle Scott instead?

I fully believe what alex said in emmys car at that cove scene was very important.

I believe it too. It was a fundamental theme in the story, but I think I would have liked it coming better from Michael, seeing that Emory was the missing piece that kept their family from reaching its full potential. Since he was the builder, after all. Instead, we got him being all defensive and acting like he didn’t know they needed her. Sure the family could continue without her, but he had to see the benefit if he was the visionary of the group.

Sorry it took so long to reply. There was a lot to reply too! Thank you for the message and the thoughtful comments. It was interesting to see Emory and Michael, and the group as a whole, from this perspective.

Let me know your thoughts!

#asked and answered #devil's night series #damon torrance #emory scott #michael crist #character discussion #asked and answered 304

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itchyeye · 2 years ago

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all those bands you listed for gerry are my faves (especially type o negative you have TASTE) and if i didn't love him already i love him more now

i saw that you hate arcade carpet michael (i'm assuming just him dressing in funky colors, which i personally think is fun aesthetic wise and also idk what else it would mean) so i was wondering what your interpretation of him is??

he is my perfect darling and he can be YOURS TOO for the low low price of recognizing that he is a 30-something y2k goth who was forced to hellraiser peel his own mother and then travel the world as her ex-girlfriend's lackey

and ty for your interest!

honestly it's not the bright patterns specifically, the bright patterns are a symptom of something larger

so i can't speak for anon ofc but to me "arcade carpet michael" is using the aesthetic fanon representation of michael to talk about something broader

i know in s5 it was confirmed that the distortion's hallways are a dull beige and not a technicolor explosion, so more like the backrooms than the stranger things video game levels many people were picturing (i, personally, have always pictured the hallways as being warm fleshy tones, with thick humid air and orange/brown/red lighting. i think this comes from michael asking jon if his hand in any way owns his stomach. since i heard it say that i've always pictured it trapping its victims in an eternal hell maze as a prolonged digestive process, so the visual has always been very organic and meaty for me, like a digestive tract filtered through mc escher architecture, something that was never supposed to have human characteristics but does, now)

but for me my complaint isn't the color schemes or the clashing patterns, even though i do think that making a character wear checkerboard print and stripes is a lazy shorthand for saying they're "zany"

my complaint is that michael is described, specifically and often, as being difficult to look at. it is, after all, a distortion. trying to see it hurts your brain. it's supposed to hurt your brain! it probably hurts your brain less than half as much as it hurts michael to be seen at all, because it isn't even supposed to have a michael shape. it is meant to be an impossible door, and here it is with this new appendage, living inside and beside and adjacent to it

sasha describes its terrifying, ungainly, spindly, meaty, enormous, boney hands, and this has somehow been fanon-ized into sexy salad fingers (i'll be honest if people's fanon depictions of michael were MORE like salad fingers i would be much happier about it)

the vast majority of michael art i encounter is just a very attractive, thin, tall, blonde, white man with very long hair. the indication that he has been consumed by an eldritch entity of lovecraftian delusion is that this thin, tall, blonde, white man with very long hair is wearing a loud shirt

that's disappointing.

and i personally cannot draw at all, so that is the grain of salt with which i would ask you to take my fan art complaints. i am just a guy looking at fanart who is incapable of producing any himself. but i have written about michael a lot, so i am personally committed to representing it as the throat of delusion incarante using my own preferred medium.

tdlr; michael is a character meant to be a perverse approximation of a person whose very presence in your field of vision gives you migraines and people instead draw him as a pretty, willowy man wearing clashing patterns

#[💌] asks and replies #anonymous #[c]🚪

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literallylivingfortuesday · 8 months ago

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So I've been watching the office US recently ive got to season 5 here are my notes:

found a fic for jim/pam/ryan -and once ryan has done a tone of growth ofc- OT3!!! polyarmory is cool. I'm envious of their kids having a whole other parent, also seems easier to manage a schedule with 3 parents

S5 e10, Jim and Pam getting close enogh to kiss then whispering threats about the chair/photocopier, even as an aroace, that was hot. I want to write something about that, but like I have to finish my dissertation first :(

Jim and Pam, now that they are together, have a healthy relationship, this never happens to tv characters ??

Why was Jim so 'ooh i couldn't wait to get engaged' like dude it's just a patriarchal social construct

(Coincidently I think the detachment for the state is quo norm might be why I like their ot3 because they all grow and learn to be better ppl and better parents together and then realise that they love eachother, are better together and choose to do be happy despite it being untoward especially as in fanon they're living in texas - from my limited understanding, not a great place to be queer)

Pam is almost unrecognisable from who she was in s1 and I love that for her

god I hate Dwight sometimes

god do I hate Michel more must of the time

twice the show has mentioned or indirectly mentioned housing prices, jim buys his parents house- and they haven't even shown him like Scrimping to save for a deposit!! And their shopping habits haven't changed since they brought it bc their broke now.

Why does Michael hate Toby so much? Like sure he's boring, but he's not done anything gut hatred worthy

~Also at one point Andy in an interview said something along the lines of 'why trust some idiot when you can trust a guy who a and b and has a $400 a month apartment' if you could find somewhere to rent for £400 a month it would be a beach hut /garage, a fucking tiny room in someone else's house, or it would be at your parents house. It's fucking insane.

Fucking hell ryan he's so manipulative!! I think I might have liked him in season 1 bc he, like jim and pm were played as the 'normal' real ppl as opposed to the Caricature characters like Michael, Dwight, Angela or Creed

Creed is a funny character, but i would Not feel comfortable in a room with him

#the office #the office us #jim halpert #pam beesly #michael scott #dwight schrute #ryan howard

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borreloadsavagedragon · 1 year ago

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Of course I have to ask for Kaito, but also, the Arclights :3c

Oh boy........ I did mr Tenjo already, so it's time for the drama club family

First impression: Honestly... I was a little bit terrified! I knew how beloved all of them were and I was waiting for one of them to ruin my life lowkey, so definitely a little terrified

Impression now III: My favorite Arclight, I want to protect him and also let him throw swords at my enemies for the rest of my life and his, I love that's he's the definition "call an ambulance! but not for me!!!!" IV: I hope Thomas IV Arclight is very pissed that Kaito's my favorite Zexal character; surprisingly, even tho he's my kind of crazy, I'm not rly a huge fan of him in canon, but more the idea of him? If that makes sense, like I like him but he ranks surprisingly low compared to most of the cast because I wasn't too big on how his character was handled, sweats nervously V: I love you and I think you’re very a interesting character, but I really want to pull hard on your long beautiful hair sometimes because you have no right, please wear your hair in a braid again though, that was a LOOK Tron: A Yugioh Dad tm, no real feelings one way or another, but I'm glad he came around for his boys, compared to other token parents in this franchise he ranks surprisingly high! I imagine he destroys all three of them in Mario Kart

Favorite moment III: Throwing a whole ass sword at Mr Heartland omfg, WHY DID IT MISS!!!! WE COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED!!!!!!!!! He also was never leaving Yuma's side after Astral sacrificed himself and that's gjdsklagjklgjdsklga IV: I’m torn between his duel with Nasch because he’s just such a freak how he talks sometimes, and I also love how he just… goes all out against a pair of middle schoolers, like there was never a hinge on him to begin with💀 I also love that Thomas is introduced as this celebrity, champion duelist but NEVER wins against a named character that isn't one of Yuma's background friends or in a tag with someone else gjdaskljgdklsaj, accidental cringe king V: I really like the arctic moments, specifically when he makes this face

Tron: Being an absolute menace at the WDC second round party fjdhdhdh, you can just tell he’s the father of the other three

Idea for a story: I have no idea honestly fjehdjje, they’re usually just recurring characters or background in the drafts I have But I do love writing my friends’ oc and canon pairs so they’ll usually get the focus in those, which I gotta finish the Vkou one soon 👁👁👁👁

Unpopular opinion: SWEATS I've never been shy about this fact, but I am not a huge fan of how quickly some of the Arclights' conflicts with the main cast get resolved and that really impacts how I view the Arclights' relationships with the cast gdjsaklg Like it's yugioh and cards/character popularity will always do all of the talking, there's no way you watch yugioh for great character and story writing, but like Rio could have fucking died from her duel with Thomas lmao It makes for some BANGING fanon content and like we get all of the context for why everything happens and for Thomas' motivation and guilt in general, but... if you put someone's sister into a coma in intensive care, I feel like canon should probably do a little bit more than some bickering and dueling with her brother, you know-

Favorite relationship: I do love their family dynamic and how they’re trying to patch it back up, it’s very touching and Michael’s original anguish and resentment towards Yuma’s family is very touching 🥹 III - Michael was in love with Yuma even though he knew it was unrequited, send TWEET IV - What do you mean Momoya isn't canon, she's canon to ME; I'm disgustingly biased but I love how much IV and Kaito just hate each other lmfao Also love what could have been his turbulent friendship with Ryouga, you know they subtweet each other on the daily V - Kousei ofc, what do you mean he's also not canon; I always affectionately refer to Kaito and Chris as divorced I REALLY wish we saw them go through more of the hurdles to get back to ~before~, we only saw a little in the arctic but you know these two are bickering Tron - I need a post canon one shot of how him and Faker work together, I want to be a fly on the wall of the first day

Favorite headcanon: They ALWAYS host dinner parties for the squad, Thomas and Tron need to show off how much better their estate is than the Kamishiro's so they always offer to host

#THANK YOU CONI #this one took a while gjdsklaj #asks #answered

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tomorrowusa · 2 years ago

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Relatives of the late US Capitol Police Ofc. Brian Sicknick who was murdered by pro-Trump terrorists during Trump’s January 6th coup attempt refused to shake hands with Mitch McConnell or Kevin McCarthy at a ceremony where he was posthumously awarded a medal.

Fallen officer's family snubs McConnell and McCarthy at Jan. 6 gold medal ceremony Officers who responded to the Capitol attack pointedly refused to shake hands with the two GOP leaders as they received top honors from Congress Tuesday.

Police officers who responded to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and some of their family members pointedly declined to shake the hands of Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy as they accepted Congressional Gold Medals on Tuesday.

Officers and the family of fallen officer Brian Sicknick shook hands with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as they accepted the medals, but quickly moved past the House and Senate Republican leaders — despite McConnell outstretching his hand. All senior congressional leaders were participating in the event to honor U.S. Capitol Police officers, Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police and others who responded during the riot.

[ ... ]

Police officers have criticized McCarthy’s response following the attack, including former D.C. officer Michael Fanone, who suffered a traumatic brain injury and a heart attack in the riot and secretly recorded a meeting with the House Republican leader. Some House Republicans have downplayed the seriousness of the attack, and McCarthy has personally minimized former President Donald Trump’s role in stoking the mob.

At first Kevin McCarthy criticized Trump’s inaction and attitude during the assault on the Capitol. But when he realized that offending the GOP God-Emperor was a big political no-no, he flew down to Mar-a-Lago to grovel for forgiveness.

To say that Kevin McCarthy has a spine made out of Jell-O would be an insult to the solidity of Jell-O.

#january 6th #assault on the us capitol by pro-trump terrorists #brian sicknick #congressional gold medal #snub #mitch mcconnell #kevin mccarthy #donald trump #coup attempt #us capitol police #michael fanone

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dailymichifer · 2 years ago

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do you ship midam?

short answer: I like them a lot but no, I can't say I actively ship them. It's more of a fun ship-in-law.

long answer:

I'm not very invested in it. I kind of wish I was! I read fics that include them, but I don't go looking for stuff that focus exclusively on Michael/Adam romance (unless I randomly decide I want to read pwp, or if it's a fic rec/a fic written by someone I really like/trust with the characters).

I AM interested in their dynamic, but mostly the non-romantic themes (friendship, vesselhood, etc) and most of the time I'm much more invested in Michael (= what it means in terms of character development for Michael in general) than Adam... If I had to choose a Michael/human ship I would probably pick Michean or Michael/Sam because I'm much more interested in these human characters and the character development that would need to occur for them to end up with Michael.

One big turnoff for me is that a lot of fanon Midam dynamics are based on late season canon (which makes total sense since their only real interactions take place in S15), and I dislike most post-Kripke era characterizations, especially Buckleming!Lucifer, meaning Cagefics/Cage hcs are a bit annoying to me in the context of Midam in a corner + Buckleming!Lucifer who is mostly ignored or used as a plot device for Midam angst (trying to torture Adam or whatever); I also dislike how Buckleming!Lucifer's unidimensionality leads to a less complex interpretation of his dynamic with Michael, which flattens Michael's character as a consequence (e.g saying S5 Michael was lying when he told Dean he didn't want to kill Lucifer, etc.) that's a big nope for me - not matter the pairing/story, if your version of S5 Michael is completely indifferent to the idea of killing Lucifer then it's not Michael to me (and the swan song script agrees with me!) - and I'm not interested in him.

Speaking of flattening, that's another aspect that turns me off... there's nothing wrong with liking that, but the "pure, healthy unproblematic cinnamon rolls" interpretation of the ship does not appeal to me at all. I do like fun normalcore domestic aus, but only with some spice you know? Not necessarily angst, drama and heavy codependency, but at least something that addresses that the characters are more than y/n + y/n-with-wings in a coffeshop. (The same could be said for Michifer ofc, there are some popular fics/hcs about Lucifer being a smoll bean who did nothing wrong/etc.)

I don't think the "100% unproblematic" interpretation I just mentioned is the most common though, I've read great fics/hcs/metas that explore their characters in much more compelling ways... and in general I think Midam is fun and has a lot of potential for all types of interesting dynamics!!

However, looking for Midam 'content' is like a dodgeball game to me because of the headcanon incompatibilities I just mentioned (and the ones I kept to myself djfkjd), and at the moment the ship's potential doesn't motivate me enough to fuel me with the energy I would need to actively, regularly thread my way through this part of the fandom to look for things that tick all my boxes. Add Lucifer to the mix and it changes everything though; Midafer ftw 👑!!

#mod replies

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 3 years ago

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The Chicago chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police union is going to bat for one of its members who stormed the US Capitol and now might lose his job with the Chicago Police Department.

The revelation came in court filings one week after police who responded to the January 6 attack publicly blasted the union, and other unions, for not doing enough to support officers who protected the Capitol.

CPD Officer Karol Chwiesiuk was charged in June with two misdemeanors after breaching the Capitol and the office of Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley. Prosecutors said in charging documents that Chwiesiuk used the N-word when bragging to a friend about his actions at the Capitol that day, saying, "n---a don't snitch." He hasn't yet entered a plea to the charges.

He wasn't accused of violent crimes, so he was released by a judge and ordered not to have any guns in the home and to give up the firearm owner ID card that is required under Illinois law. But in new court filings, Chwiesiuk asked for permission to retake possession of the ID card, because he says he needs it to keep his job, even though he was moved to desk duty and doesn't carry a gun.

The vice president for the Chicago chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police union sent a letter to court officials saying that the union will try to block Chwiesiuk's possible firing and will "start the grievance process to get Officer Chwiesiuk into a pay-status" if he gets back his firearm ID card.

Daniel Gorman, the union official, said he sent the letter after Chwiesiuk asked for assistance, according to a copy of the brief letter that was included in court filings from Chwiesiuk's lawyer.

Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather hasn't ruled yet on whether to return the ID card.

This comes one week after some of the most well-known police officers from January 6 publicly rebuked the national Fraternal Order of Police union, accusing it of being uncharacterizable quiet about the insurrection.

Last week, DC Officer Michael Fanone, US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and USCP Sgt. Aquilino Gonell gave emotional testimony to the House select committee about their experiences defending the Capitol. They later said they were disappointed that national union hasn't forcefully condemned the insurrection and done more to support the officers who responded that day.

In response, the national union pointed out that it condemned the violence while the attack was underway, and said it will "continue to offer our support, gratitude and love" to officers who responded on January 6.

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bananonbinary · 4 years ago

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i know it literally doesnt make any sense considering her actual canonical characterization, but the human/monster relationship lover in me (with an added dash of assassin!au love) kinda adores the idea of an au where NotSasha accidentally genuinely befriends the archives gang and does a Found Family and eventually has to be like “listen im not the person u thought i was and im actually experiencing Regret about that for the first time in my existence but i really care about you all now and i cant let the other monsters hurt you”

#the magnus archives #Not Sasha James #i find it interesting that no one really seems to love notsasha? compared to the love other monsters get i mean #like the anatomy students and helen/michael ofc #ive never really seen any lighter fanon version of the notThem #idk this is maybe a really weird idea its just stuck in my head #i like monsters getting infected with morals what can i say

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magicabout · 2 years ago

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Howl’s Moving Castle Scum Villain AU

aka what my scum villain brain rot has driven me to produce- headcanons (long, whoops) under the cut

Howl: Shen Yuan would actually make a good book grad student!Howl, but ofc it has to be Binghe. I mean. “Demon Lord Luo Binghe” instead of “Wizard Howl Pendragon.”

And he starts out all suave and charming and shit, but then at the end when Sophie says “A heart is a heavy burden” he just breaks down in huge sloppy tears like sticky white lotus Binghe.

Probably his outfit would change to reflect that going from the pointy tight donghua blackened Binghe to softer (imo) novel version. It would make sense for his hair to go from straight to curly after he stops hiding the curls but I wanted to draw curly-haired Binghe so bad lmao forgive me ヾ( _ _ ;ヾ)

idk about Howl’s messiness... maybe it’s more like Binghe is too busy seducing left and right to get his work done so it’s more flakiness?

none of these are going to be perfect 1:1 interpretations such is headcanon

Sophie: Shen Yuan as oblivious-to-her-own-powers book!Sophie is perfect. His reaction to being magically old would be an immediate millennial “guess I’ll die” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ which is A++

In a pseudo-xianxia setting his health would probably be more “delicate” than the “constantly on the verge of death” it is in fanon, but he’d likely still accept being old with deadpan “wow never thought I’d get here!” kind of excitement.

He’d never see Binghe as a viable romantic option first because “Demon Lord Luo Binghe only like pretty people” (insert his siblings’ resigned eye rolls), then because he’s old and old = undesirable in his mind.

With delicate health he’d likely be kept to contained inside-type activities, so maybe he was managing the expenses? Is really good at book-keeping and organizing paperwork? Comes into the castle and flawlessly manages all of Binghe’s household while accidentally crafting spells? Something like that because you won’t catch this boy doing Sophie-typical housecleaning lol

Cue Binghe following him around and spoiling him rotten and Shen Yuan just thinks it’s filial support for the elderly.

Calcifer: It’s Meng Mo. Annoyed at putting up with these kids and their antics? Grouchy but sympathetic despite himself? Did not realize tying himself to Binghe meant being present for all of Binghe’s nonsense? Yes to all of the above. Plus, it makes him cute, which is funny.

Alternatively it could be Sha Hauling for some of the same reasons, but-

Witch of the Waste: If you’re going with the movie’s more sympathetic version it would be Sha Hauling. If you’re going for book version it’d be Xin Mo (”Heart Demon of the Endless Abyss, Xin Mo”). If you’re going for an in-between version it’d be Xin Mo, but Sha Hauling the trapped fire demon gets freed at the end.

Michael: Mobei-Jun did NOT realize swearing allegiance to Binghe would involve so much customer service and household management while his Junshang goes off on “dates.” Like, they are basically living the young demon bachelor life up until Shen Yuan shows up and suddenly it’s not acceptable to have slabs of raw meat or small pest demons hanging about.

One day Mobei-Jun finds a nice secluded courtyard to take a quick breather and a worker from a nearby shop comes out to talk to him, but unlike Junshang’s customers he’s not expected to answer. He comes back on a whim and the same worker tells him a story, completely unprompted. It’s very relaxing to be talked to without having to talk back, and with whatever’s going on with Junshang and Shen Yuan Mobei-Jun decides to start visiting regularly...

For the Hatter Sisters it makes more sense to change the birth order and make Shen Yuan the youngest.

Lettie Hatter: Shen Qingqiu is the oldest and most beautiful of the Shen brothers. Overprotective and fussy, he and their middle brother work while delicate Shen Yuan is meant to stay home.

Maybe he was working at Cesari’s like in the book/movie (despite customer service being a horrible horrible job for him lol) until Shen Yuan’s disappearance prompts him to get both himself and their other brother apprenticed to Mrs. Fairfax (Ning Yingying).

Martha Hatter: I’ve seen fics where Shen Qingqiu and Shen Yuan are siblings, but none where Shang Qinghua is related to them and I think that’s a shame because the character dynamic potential is real good.

He’s the middle Shen brother (and arguably the smartest by being the least oblivious). Not suited to learning magic, he’s apprenticed to a printshop because it’s close to his ambition of being an author.

This really handsome guy just turns up one day when he’s taking his break and starts listening to Shang Qinghua’s stories. No way is he this lucky (but, omg, handsome guy listening! to! his! stories!!)

Mrs. Fairfax: I just really like the role reversal of Shen Qingqiu being taught by Ning Yingying instead of the other way around. She could be Qi Qingqi for Shen Qingqiu sniping reasons instead.

Wizard Suliman/dog-man: Yue Qingyuan spends a lot of his time in this AU cursed. If you’re going off movie-version this won’t make sense, but in the book he’s a romantic interest for Lettie Hatter (Shen Qingqiu).

I imagine Shen Qingqiu’s way of thinking is that Yue Qingyuan is an idiot for getting himself cursed, but if he’s willing to teach Shen Qingqiu then Shen Qingqiu is going to take him for all he’s worth. He definitely doesn’t like Yue Qingyuan, or appreciate him, at all! When Yue Qingyuan shows romantic interest in him it’s obviously the perfect opportunity to secure himself a stupid, rich husband. His brothers’ matches are so unreliable, Shen Qingqiu needs to be the dependable sibling who can support them if their situations fall through. Love has nothing to do with it!!

Prince Justin/turnip-head/scarecrow: It’s Liu Qingge, also spending most of his time in this AU cursed lmao. Mostly because I want Liu Mingyan to be the King of Ingary, but I guess it conveniently makes him ineligible as Binghe’s rival for Shen Yuan (not like Shen Yuan isn’t enough of a roadblock on his own). Ah, yes, Liu Qingge the brilliant tactician who’s always going off on his own and getting himself in trouble. V appropriate.

Wait, but all your headcanons are based on the book, but you drew a scene from the movie? The skywalk is just very iconic ok (´-﹏-`；)

#my art #svsss #scum villain #howl's moving castle #studio ghibli #fanart #text post #I didn't draw anything for years #and then I made this #why am I like this #why did I spend so long typing up headcanons #the brain rot is real #I am just a vessel for the infestation #crossovers

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olderthannetfic · 5 years ago

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Fuck branding and consistency: For my precious Miami Vice, we’re going full 80s!

Miami Vice is a cop show from the 80s that helped usher in an era of neo noir and radically altered how television is cut and scored. It is both an ensemble crime show and a buddy cop show. The central duo are Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson, center) and Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas, on the left). They start out pointing guns at each other and end up best friends... with a detour through amnesia and attempted murder along the way.

Their boss, Martin Castillo, is played by Edward James Olmos, who has had the exact same death glare for his entire career as you can see above. Rounding out the main ensemble were two comic relief guys, Switek and Zito, and two women, Trudy Joplin and Gina Calabrese.

Yes, they’re super hot, and I ship them too, along with the very obvious Crockett/Tubbs, but that is... not what the fandom shipped. More on that later.

MV had only a medium size fanfic fandom. As a source of annoying middle aged men who own that speedboat and still don’t wear socks, however, it is unparalleled. It was a mega-hit in its day but is largely ignored now.

As far as I can tell, the height of the slash fandom was just after the show ended, around the time Escapade was getting going. It was something that was in the air (hah) at the time but not popular enough to make it onto the program much. There were a scattering of vids and panels in that era, including:

1992 - Miami Vice (cops and music, right, well, maybe there's a little more here...)

Indeed there was, but you won’t find that out from most people! The cultural osmosis version of this show is deeply offensive to me, far worse than “womanizer Kirk” and its ilk.

I. How I got into the fandom

Miami Vice is a brilliant show, so far ahead of its time that it instantly dated itself and has been a subject of constant mockery by people who only know it vaguely from cultural osmosis during the 90s. Its revolutionary editing is what inspired me to go back to film school. Its cinematography is equally iconic. The soundtrack literally changed television forever. And no, children, synthesizer is not automatically a bad or cheesy instrument. Jesus.

I got into MV in 2010. I’d been reading about it in the first Film Noir Reader and had been intrigued by the black and white stills. I looked it up and found that it was a rare DVD release that secured all of the music rights, unlike the butchery of Wiseguy and too many other shows. I bought it on the spot.

It was a religious experience.

By 2010, even the little Yahoo Groups fandom it had eventually grown was long gone. The zine fandom certainly was. I started buying all of the used zines I could get my hands on. One thing stood out to me over and over: Rico, my favorite character, does have great fic, but it’s all gen and het. The slash zines treated him with absolute contempt. The only fan from the 90s slash fandom who had any clue how to write him was @flamingoslim.

So I did what any fan would do: I got into her current fandom, Starsky & Hutch, and stalked her to her S&H con.

What?

II. Why didn’t fandom love Rico?

So why were the slash zines like that? Yes, okay, the answer is racism.

But the more zines I read and the more oldschool fans I’ve talked to, the more apparent it is that the way it played out is specific and interesting, not some generic “he’s not hot” thing. The big problem was that the slash zines came from a tiny handful of publishers, with the more popular ones coming from a single publisher. Looking at their editorials in the front of volumes, I see cartoons of the two of them dressed as their ship, Crockett/Castillo. I’m getting full on otherkin vibes from how they talk about that ship.

This was very clearly a case of hating the other man who got in the way of the OTP. Even so, the particular way Rico was written in many of the stories in those zines is incredibly racist. Flamingo writes him as a supportive best friend to Crockett. This was... not the norm.

This wouldn’t be such a big problem except that this was not an era when you just go on AO3 or even FFN and post whatever you want. Getting a zine together is hard. It takes money. It means finding a printer that is willing to print gay shit--something that can still be an issue in 2020. It means having a job and a lifestyle where being outed as a publisher of gay shit will not fuck you over. They were the only game in town, and their bad takes ruled the fandom.

Contrast to the gen/het zines: Rico wasn’t specifically more popular than other characters, but he wasn’t in the way of somebody’s OTP, so he shows up pretty often as a major character, written similarly to how he is in canon.

The gen/het zines are also just plain well written, making all of the characters more nuanced and interesting than in a lot of the slash fic. That’s what happens when you’re dealing with tiny fandoms and tiny numbers of writers: one or two great talents shape the whole feeling.

The other answer to why people weren’t super into Rico is simple: Castillo.

MV is a show full of buddy duos. And then there is the boss, a mysterious lone wolf whose identity only goes back a handful of years. He is aggressively moral and incorruptible, yet also executes a counter-revolutionary in cold blood rather than let the CIA take him back to South America to continue his reign of terror.

What, you think Castillo isn’t a murderer?

Hate to break it to you, but not only is he, but Rico is the one who found out and never reported him. It’s one of the most interesting moments between them.

I’m not surprised fandom wanted to ship Castillo with someone. I just wish people hadn’t only ever reached for Crockett/Castillo when Castillo/Tubbs has just as much great material. But if I get started on my ship manifesto for that, we’ll be here all day!

Suffice it to say that MV suffers from what lots of old fandoms do: people only rewatch certain parts, and it’s hard to remember which bits are fanon.

I’ve heard people say that Rico didn’t seem like he really cared about Sonny on the same level that the oldschool slash juggernauts did. I think this is a combo of not rewatching the episodes more heavily focused on him and of fandom liking a particular kind of woobie/enabler ship. Rico usually caved in the end, but he set boundaries in a way some of these ships never did. He was also portrayed with a particular kind of bragging confidence that is way more common in black characters. I think it reads wrong to some people, though in fact, he’s just as much of a ride-or-die bestie as the usual slash duos from back in the day.

The same thing happens with a lot of specific moments fic does heavily reference. Many significant Crockett/Castillo moments involve Crockett being the only one who can get through to Castillo, yet in those actual scenes, it’s Tubbs who does or it’s both Crockett and Tubbs.

Yes, friends who I will be seeing at Escapade, even that scene and also that one. You are just flat out wrong.

III. The Fanworks

First, my eternal rec. It’s het with an OFC. No, no, come back! MV was one of those fandoms where this was sometimes the best fic, and all the more so since the ship is with Castillo, he of the mysterious past and not enough personal connections.

Dark Side of the Moon by @dejlah

I also really love Temper of Revenge by Mary Van Deusen. It’s one of three she did to the same song and it’s about the dark, dark ending for the comedy relief duo. If you’ve heard Francesca Coppa talk about vidding history, you’ll have heard of this vid. (No, we’re still not the same person.)

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I’m also a big fan of MVD’s Crockett/Castillo vid, Ready for the Times. It manages to perfectly capture the dominant fanon take on the ship. I can’t even put into words exactly why, but it brought back all that fic powerfully.

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This fan-made trailer does a good job of showing the kinds of twisty episodes he got:

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My first vid I ever sent to Vividcon was a Gina/Trudy one that gives a good sense of the awesome costumes and also how often they had to go undercover as hookers. (AO3)

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And finally, for those of you who don’t want to watch five whole seasons of 80s TV, I vidded that arc. (AO3)

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Wow, this is only like 15 screens. Practically a haiku when it comes to me talking about Miami Vice!

#escapade 2020 #escapade con #fandom history #fandom meta #miami vice

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