#post: [decent commentary abt his character]

[terriblygrimm]

why do i still see posts complaining abt how kylo ren was “wasted potential” bc they didn’t “commit” to him being a neofascist fuckboy? like - he was never meant to be. and they also DID touch on that and show growth beyond that.

catch me DEAD defending the sequel trilogy but here we have ben, a character who was DESPERATELY trying to be dark sided, to rebel against his parents and against his uncle he felt slighted by, and also brainwashed by the voices in his head (good fuckboi commentary to me!) but despite all that, he was constantly pulled to the light. that was his “flaw”. he was incapable, at his core, of being a fully fledged dark-sided character! which was SO fucking interesting and unique and original!! we’ve never seen that before! his journey into accepting his light sided nature is trigged by han giving up his very life out of love and selflessness, and by leia (who was obviously supposed to interact w him in the third film but carrie passed), who also spoke his name on her last breath. ben then allowed rey, the strong female character, to “kill” him, thus being reborn. like on a surface level analysis, does that not satisfy the fuckboi to decent human being pipeline enough?

then you have rey, chipper and optimistic rey, who is good natured and well meaning but somehow always pulled to the dark by her ancestry and her confusion over her place in the galaxy/saga. the sequel trilogy failed their dynamic by not beating the audience over the head with this honestly beautiful & twisted dynamic of star wars mains. we’ve never seen it before and it was fumbled too much to really pack a punch. but it was there.

so no, ben was never meant to be a super evil one-dimensional nazi lol. we already have palpatine. and for this specific trilogy, those shoes were meant to be filled by hux (who was also mishandled bc they made him a teehee funny spy???? diminishing his frankly terrifying speech in the first film). ben was meant to foil rey.

[piratemadi]

genuinely curious about why you don’t like (i’m aware “like” isn’t the most accura word here but i can’t find a better one rn) thomas? would love to hear your thoughts!! also ur analysis and commentary on black sails genuinely enriches my rewatch of it, so thank you!!!!

well he's a colonizer. and i understand flint was too but flint's evolution is beautifully rendered and ends in genuine revolutionary action. thomas had good intent but he didnt know what he was talking abt he considered the new world england's rightful property just like his dad did. and the fact is that's all we really know abt him besides that miranda and flint loved him! he's not a character in his own right, he's a narrative device that ONLY exists for the sake of flint's character development.

so he's a flat static character and a colonizer and most of all a device in flint's story. i'm ambivalent abt that part. it's good writing thomas gets as much attention as he needs in canon. what i HATE is that fans treat this character and this relationship as if it's on par w any of the other actually fleshed out and well written characters and relationships of the show. flint/thomas is not a ship its a happily ever after. thomas is not a character he's a plot device. and yet! there are 1500 fics on ao3 featuring thomas and not even 500 featuring madi. how could it be that a white man w about 20m of screentime and no character arc of his own gets over 3 times the fan attention as a main protagonist and love interest of the latter half of the show. ill give you three guesses.

people will write thomas/flint/silver (something that would NEVER happen) out of character and ridiculously porny before they ever spend ten seconds thinking about MADI's presence in the relationship. bc the final triumvirate of black sails isnt thomas/flint/silver its madi/silver/flint and all decent post canon content MUST grapple w madi's feelings and thoughts abt all this. but no, its more fun to write abt 3 white men fucking (which i cant stress enough is extremely out of character for all three of them) than it is to give any thought to an ostensibly straight black woman who's an indispensable part of the story, UNLIKE THOMAS. reconciliation aus should have thomas as window dressing. maybe he gives flint some advice. but post canon content involving silver and flint necessarily involves madi too or else its meaningless wish fulfillment and also racist. like thats just it there's no other reason that all this attention and exploration of depth is given to thomas who is not even a real character and madi when she does show up in fanfiction is more often than not relegated to silver's perfect supportive girlfriend or helping silver realize he's gay. it's racist.

[ectonurites]

Irony is a Tim Drake fan complaining making up stuff inorder to bully2 a character. Is this a Joke? If so then it's in poor taste Especially right now Just as bat fandom has finally come together to address the problem of Tim Drake fans lying making up things and spreading misinformation to vilify Dick Grayson on various platforms, [this started in 2011 Morrisons run still going to this day] Batfamily blogs coming together to give casuals the canon truth isn't bullying.

I can be annoyed both that people make shit up about Tim (the coffee crap, altering his backstory, in general just projecting their own traits onto him to make him an uwu sadboi that bears little resemblance to his canon self, etc) to baby him and use that stuff to poke fun at him (which is what i meant by bullying, like maybe thts too harsh a term but idk in terms of when talking abt fictional characters me and many others use ‘bullying’ as shorthand for ‘making fun of even when its lovingly’) rather than his actual traits, and ALSO be annoyed at people spreading other false things presented as canon facts (even about Dick- trust me the fucking ‘ohhhhh Dick tried to send poor baby Tim to Arkham 🥺’ shit bugs the crap out of me because that did noootttt happpeeennnnn)

like. i’ve only been active in comics fandom since the pandemic, I was more casually into stuff since like 2014 but i didn’t really post meta or commentary or anything (just occasional art/cosplay) before 2020. acting like just because i like Tim that i’ve also been an active participant in/am in support of spreading false shit about other characters is just dumb.

like, a decent chunk of what I post here is me trying to show people what actually happened in canon vs what the fanon perception of it is, in WHAT way does that make it seem like i’d be angry over other batfam blogs trying to… tell people what actually happened in canon?? like thts not at all what i’ve been annoyed about and I feel like that should be… pretty clear. i mean maybe you just came across a reblog of an ask of mine or something and saw the tim icon and jumped to conclusions but. debunking fanon is a major thing i do these days so this being directed at me is so funny.

[doyouremem8erme]

this fic for the commentary because i relate to it a whole bunch!!

cw for discussion of irl bullying. also, marcy harm in the fic.

so ok! the night before i wrote that fic (i actually wrote it at the same time as this one but didnt publish the one you asked abt until much more recently; even that other fic was posted a decent time after i wrote it) i had just sat down and had a conversation with a friend from middle school whose instagram i'd just found.

(this bit gets a bit venty so skip if you want)

they and i were in a small friend group in middle school that group were some of my only friends! however i had lied to them to fit in with the group (im not comfortable sharing what) and eventually was like. ok i dont care if you ditch me and leave me to be bullied by the people at this school who hate me (i was genuinely concerned that some of them might actually kill me based on the seriousness of many of their threats.) i cant lie anymore. and i told them the truth one day at lunch and tried to cling to our friendship but they backed away. basically it sucked!!

anyways one of those friends eventually started talking to me again but the other completely ignored me. i wont get into the rest of that drama actually bc its even more completely irrelevant! so the better friend is the one who i ended up talking to on instagram late one night last year. and they were basically like. yeah that other guy sucks he's messed with a ton of other people like this. he wasnt worth it.

that conversation was rlly important bc it let me realize a lot of things. namely, the reason im so drawn to marcy as a character. i see a ton of myself in her.

the fic you asked about is basically me trying to project the day those friends ditched me. trying to handle those emotions that were coming back all of a sudden from that day.

this? this is pure projection.

and this is in large part, me trying to come to terms with my own mistakes from when i was a kid. sure it's hyperbole, but things get more extreme when translated like this if i want venting to work.

after a last passage of venting lmao, we get back into the more fictional bits. "the bitter wind" is ofc a generic phrase but i was lowkey thinking abt "emmylou" by first aid kit while writing that line.

girls when italicized ohs

me: (is mildly sad) hmmmm. *harms marcy*

it's clear what of this was written after i got what i needed to vent about out. the reason this took over 6 months to get published was that i only wrote a short bit of such intensely personal writing before i switched over to the other fic i used to vent about the same topic. i just tacked on the last few generic, fictional, canon-compliant marcangst stuff in time for the true colors anniversary.

hi basil if you relate to this fic "a whole bunch" i might recommend you a pinch of therapy (<- went to therapy for years following the events that led to me writing this)

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

turn-offs: elizabeth hate in norrington posts

[faunusrights]

‘AFTER THE FALL’ - LIVEREAD

I say ‘liveread’ but there’s a pretty decent chance this’ll turn into a RWDEread.

So, After The Fall is finally out in the UK and my copy has landed arse-first on my desk, so I’m gonna read it and post my observations here so that you can experience it with me! And also experience whichever stages of grief I go through as we go!

I will preface this with a warning: as much as I love the characters of RWBY, canon is currently the target of all of my spite, so I’m approaching this novel with HANDFULS of wariness and also salt! Most people who follow me already know I don’t pay attention to canon, nor care for it, nor listen to it, and most of you also know I headcanon Velvet as a 6ft+ trans and queer beefcake who can bend your spine into a pretzel, so I’m already at odds here. As such, if it seems like I’m not approaching this liveblog with the benefit of the doubt: that’s because I’m not!!! Yay!!!

So with that said, let’s enjoy Murphy Wishing Velvet Were Big, But Isn’t, And So Suffering Never Ends:

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Firstly, this book is thicker than I expected, whilst the font is bigger than I’d have thought. I know it’s for teens so it’s not as if this was gonna be, like, 1000 pages in a size 10 font, but this probably won’t take me long to read (although it’ll take longer by virtue of me adding to this as we go). There doesn’t seem to be a chapter list, though, so I have no clue how long each chapter is. Guess we’ll find that out when we get there.

Secondly, the cover of this book sure is, uh, a Thing. What’s going on with Velvet’s face?

Thirdly, the cover is Not Nice to Touch. This is a weird observation, but trust me, I’m tempted to laminate the cover just so it doesn’t feel so... dusty.

PROLOGUE

Velvet’s the narrator, and Murphy isn’t surprised! Velvet’s such a fan favourite that having her not be the narrator (at least for some of this book) would have been an absolute crime.

Okay, halfway through the first page and I did laugh at ‘a terrible place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there’. I may pass that line along to my dad, because it’s a, how you say, big mood.

Fox’s Semblance is Telepathy, which is... a thing, I guess? I’ve seen some pretty creative thoughts on what Fox might have, and this seems kinda lackluster, but the phrase ‘special teamspeak’ IS funny and I love the concept of them acting like it’s a voice channel on Discord. That’s good, and for that I accept this.

(I will note I trust the author of this novel. He seems neat and I already like the humour. I don’t trust M+K but we already knew that.)

‘As [Yatsu] stepped onto [Velvet’s] linked hands, she heaved upwards and stood, boosting his jump as he catapulted high over her head.’

Velvet, bridal-carrying Yatsu: idk he weighs the same as a couple of grapes

I will say, it’s nice having CFVY content at all. They might be Fools but I do love them,

‘[Velvet] pressed the stitched heart emblem to open it and then removed Anesidora, her high-tech camera that used special Dust--’

Anesidora???? That’s the name of her camera??? Of all the things I expected, that was probably the LAST thing I expected. What??? Wikipedia says it’s Greek for sender of gifts, but why that’s the name I am, Not Sure,

‘Combined with her Semblance--photographic memory--Velvet could wield these 3-D replicas with skills and moves that otherwise would have taken years of training to master.’

That’s no surprise, really (and I did already write a short about Exactly That) but I probably wouldn’t have called it photographic memory. Muscle memory, more like? But yeah, that’s pretty expected.

REESE GOT MENTIONED ILU REESE,,,, when will my gay child return from the WAR. LITERALLY. WHERE IS SHE.

Velvet’s thinking abt Weiss dustbun confirmed!!!!!!!!!!! But seriously when will Velvet kiss a small gay Schnee??? What must I do. Whomst must I kill.

OUGH VELVET LOSING THE PHOTOS OF FRIENDS SHE ISN’T SURE HAVE SURVIVED,,,, OWIE. THAT HURT MY FEELIES MR MYERS,,,, but I AM enjoying this angst and that I shall not lie about.

Ruby and Coco, leaders in arms... I will say that the moment of them kinda regarding each other as equals would have landed considerably better had they ever really, uh, interacted in the show. I tend to write Ruby being Coco’s little protege, but we don’t actually have a ton of canon evidence of that really being a thing? So even though I’m enjoying this li’l tidbit, it’s really lacking some foundation, alas.

Fox’s tonfas (is it tonfa time? I think it’s tonfa time) are called Sharp Retribution. Which MMORPG did he get that from?

“We’re Shade Academy’s newest star pupils.”

The sheer cockiness of it all. Ilu Coco.

Okay so, y’all know that Murphy’s about to say: I HATE that Velvet gets treated like a goddamn marshmallow. I’m trying my BEST, I SWEAR, not to complain abt canon Velvet because everyone knows this is my biggest sticking point, but god I hate that she’s written to have such a specific semblance and be so squishy. Aaaaaaaaaaaaa--

Also: we’re having a case of a jumpy POV, particularly with the conversation with Glynda. I know this tends to be something that happens with writing for younger audience, but woof am I noticing it.

I’m liking Yatsu!!!! He had like, no lines (at all) in the show, but he’s actually more of a smartass than I had dared hope for, so that Something.

Oh yeah, Fox is a Vacuan boye! I do like that he’s very chill with everything whilst Velvet is begging for seven different types of death (but could I make a comment abt my Velvet here? Yes. Am I going to? I’m trying not to).

CHAPTER ONE

Owie wowie this is already gettin’ kinda long. If chapter one causes a lot of commentary, I may have to add on in a reblog so the people don’t have to suffer.

Coco is our narrator now! Let’s see how many times the word ‘sunglasses’ comes up (hint: probably enough times that if I took a shot for every one I’d be very dead).

/sees the name Alabaster YOU aren’t a big chunky polar bear Faunus! Leave!

“Who’s your tribe?” “I’m from Kenyte,” Fox said. “But it’s been a long time.”

Vacuan tribes, baby! I’m tempted to see how I could work this into anything, but my lore is pretty stick-stuck so I’m probably just gonna jot this down as a ‘cool thing’. Oh, wait, they’re tribal nomads, which means it DOES fit the lore!!! Nice!!! Murphy guessed it!!! Cool!!

‘A perky Faunus waitress with a pig snout came over.’

With a what. Canon, where are we with traits? Also, like, I feel there are multiple childhood movies that scared the crap out of me with people getting pig snouts so I’m making the executive decision to ignore this line. Never happened.

Racism incoming, so I’m getting a cup of tea.

And we’re back! This guy also has a mace and a mohawk and is he just the combination of team CRDL or what?

‘Coco couldn’t take her eyes off the fit, dark-skinned woman.’

I presume they mean fit as in physically fit but my BritBrain is like ‘hell yeah shes fit’ and now I’m envisioning Coco as, like, maybe a scouser. Can you imagine her with a beehive? Anyway, moving SWIFTLY on.

‘--chain mail crop top--’

I’ve never seen a worse combination of words, which is impressive when I wrote Velvet as wearing bright yellow boardshorts with a neon-blue tank top that one time. And by one time, I mean, every time,

I’ve seen this outfit in pictures ‘cause of Amity Arena but god it sounds even worse in words like. Nobody is hot enough to pull off this absolute jumble of clothes. Nobody is.

I do enjoy big lesbian Coco though, so there’s that.

People have already mentioned the ‘could you picture me in a uniform’ line w/ Thirsty Coco so I won’t give it more screentime but it is a mood, and now we know coco has a uniform kink,

“We’re doing this for school credit,”

fox: i do not want money i want an a+

Velvet POPPIN OFF for Mysterious Reasons... is this gonna be like Qrow’s bad luck Semblance only someone has the Semblance of ‘Will Piss Everyone Off In Vicnity’? I think we call those anons,

CHAPTER TWO

I think I’ll stop after this chapter since this chapter’s a little bigger, and this liveblog is already too dang long. It’s a flashback!

‘Vale has been [Coco’s] home all her life.’

I’m quietly ignoring this line in favour of Atlesian Coco. You cannot stop me. But Coco does have a younger brother, so that’s neat! Kinda! IDK what to do with this information but it sure is there existing!

‘And to top it off, [Glynda] was also hot--’

This is the only bit of canon I will accept, because it’s true and Coco should say it.

‘[Velvet and Coco had] both come from Pharos Combat School--’

Another tidbit ignored because I favour Menagerie-born-and-bred Velvet, but I do like hearing the names of other combat schools outside of Signal. Looooooore.

OH there’s a GOOD PARAGRAPH HERE that I don’t really wanna type out, but Velvet is mentioning how she doesn’t like bunny jokes or puns (’hop to it’, she classifies as ‘harmless-but-hurtful’) and THANK YOU, oh my GOD. I’ve written about this before but if I see one more person have Coco make a bunny joke in a fic I will fight Them Myself,

Oh, Fox’s Scroll has an ‘Accessibility Dialogue Assistant’ (ADA)! That’s quite cool, actually. I’ve been wondering how tech might have functioned for Fox, so we have some confirmation about a Scroll’s use for accessibility stuff! That’s neat! I like that! Also, his telepathy also lets him sense people -- pinpointing them exactly the better he knows them -- so that’s a cool little side-effect, too. Although, I swear these Semblances are getting more poorly named by the minute.

Coco’s weapon is called Gianduja, which is... a type of chocolate! Unsurprisingly.

‘Besides, Coco wasn’t looking for a girlfriend--’

yet.

Coco and Fox have a fun dynamic, and I enjoy it immensely. They’re bros...

Also, how does Velvet procure this very expensive Dust for her weapon, anyway? I wonder if we’ll find out later.

“You’re from Mistral,” she said. Yatsuhashi blinked. “So?” “Your people don’t tend to like my people.”

That’s an interesting tidbit that Mistral as a whole has a reputation. I suppose they mean the Kingdom and not the continent (of Anima), but still.

“Don’t worry,” Velvet smirked. “I’ll protect you.”

ah, that is, how the kids say, hott,

“So it’s a Death Stalker den. Only an idiot would go in there.”

Jaune found dead from a sneezing fit.

Awh, I like Coco describing the temple bit. Already she’s looking out for her Best Boye. Also, playing cards are a cool thing, and they’re the King of Hearts! That’s ‘cause they’re gonna win a lot, too,

Okay, I now understand Coco’s Hype Semblance. It’s interesting! I’m curious how else it can be used, aka how versatile it is, but it’s a neat concept.

Velvet dabbled in fortune-telling when she was younger and I am enamoured with this idea. Also, picking the Queen of Hearts ‘cause it’s the only one w/ good vibes? Love it.

Okay, end of chapter! RIP Velvet who constantly looks like a squishy baby, and even though that still Irks Me As a Person And A Gay, at least it’s. Maybe gonna be a plot point or smthng idk. Anyway, I’m stopping here for now because this is slow going when I’m adding commentary, so I’ll probably reblog this and add onto it later. Less RWDE than expected, but it’s still early chapters yet.