#there’s a number of smaller things i’ll probably change/add to but lol this has the gist
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I’ll revise/add to this in the larger fic it’s a part of but this is a good description on how I’d view things post-canon (40+ years later, around the present day or a few years later). Mainly in terms of Greaseball’s position and view of Electra after the guy kicks the bucket. tl;dr he gave it up for the heritage/corporate train life years ago and thinks Electra’s perpetual number chasing is a sad losing battle
Greaseball watched Wrench drag the dead engine down the line to the museum. Dead, not sleeping, not preserved. There was no Snow White revival for him. He’d heard the news. His frame was so cracked it was almost a wonder he didn’t self destruct on the rails, and his transformers were drained when their oil was outlawed. There WAS no way of repairing him without basically making a new engine. They’d just repaint his faded shell and place it next to the husk of Big Red, like taxidermy figures.
Greaseball was far out of his home territory and never felt right out east. It was too flat and small compared to the wide open ranges and mountains out west. But at least it was a safe and comfortable retirement alongside Dinah and several of his old friends. He was still beloved as an icon of days gone by. He wasn’t beating any records or winning any races anymore, but he no longer cared. That stopped ages ago. All that number chasing just meant nothing compared to being around those he truly loved. Numbers would be beaten, replaced, forgotten, relegated to footnotes… but a true love, platonic or romantic, was never truly interchangeable.
Electra never moved beyond his obsession with performance though. Being faster and stronger than the GG1, making the best time he could, keeping up with if not surpassing more modern engines. Always having to be on top, or at least outstanding for his size or age. He always felt that knife against his back knowing the government wanted him gone, whether that fear was legitimate or not. He just kept going and going, seemingly aware he’d go down like John Henry eventually. Watching that shell be rolled into place, Greaseball solemnly nodded, that prophecy fulfilled.
His speed records were broken. Modern engines did times he could never do and pull things he could never pull. If anything he was somehow known for his reliability in his sunset years until he really started to decline. The common populace didn’t cheer because they recognized him from movies or media, like Greaseball. He wasn’t that romantic ideal of a train, cruising across the open landscape with comfortable facilities. He was a flash in the pan 40 years ago before being turned into an overworked busybody doing thankless commuter and freight trains half the time. He tried to glamorize it but nobody cared.
When he was younger, he would have felt smug victory. You live for numbers, you die a statistic. But it was just pathetic seeing him go out the way he did. Struggling on too long and not even surviving his final trip. He never even liked Electra but even he wanted better for him.
#my fics#there’s a number of smaller things i’ll probably change/add to but lol this has the gist#next to “fund passenger rail or you’ll end up a car hellscape” my next biggest message is “track is whack do literally anything else”#i am a gleefull competitive running hater. I wasted a decade+ of my life on it and learned nothing of value.#It is mindless and talent based and unapplied. do literally any other physical activity and it will be more interesting and worthwhile#and that’s why i do not make racing a big thing in the train world. i make it much smaller than canon#because it’s a world i’ve known and i know just how hollow and pointless it all is. I refuse to give it a positive light lol
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B, N and T for the ask game and with the Flash fandom :))
Yay!!! Thank you for the ask! (for my favorite fandom no less🥹) and sry I took a bit to get to this.
Time for my ✨silly little ramblings✨™️
B “A pairing-platonic, romantic or sexual-that you initially didn't consider, but someone changed your mind” : Ooooooo, this is a good one. Well I’m not a big shipper naturally tbh, unless I see undeniable chemistry and/or suggestive scenes between characters, I’m probably just going to ship what was canon— that was until I fully entered tumblr and related fandom spaces. Now I see ships everywhere. Especially with Ao3.
Ao3 has made me ship soooo many ships, the OG being Superarrow/Kariver
More recently tho: Coldflash (my current OTP), Snowest, Hartmon, and I personally prefer them as platonic but I definitely support them as a ship— Barrisco
Also as much as I hate to admit it— I understand Eobarry and why people ship it (One sidedly it’s basically canon) but I still do not like it and definitely don’t ship it. (Ok but how tf could it ever be two sided guys— it’s also creepy af) nvm I’m not jumping into that rabbit hole today.
N “Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice)” : Hmm— does more fanfiction count?💀 Ok ok, three things let’s seeeee
1: More merchandise. I finally have a STAR labs sweatshirt and it is one of my most treasured possessions— but I wish there was more options, I wish we could get Ciscos vibe glasses or smth like that (I know we can on ebay and stuff, but it’d be nice if the CW or WB put in merch effort) Ah. The pain of smaller fandoms (and I say this in relation to my other big fandoms being Star Wars and the MCU)
2: Less discourse/hate. I’ve calibrated my space here on tumblr to be on the positive side of the fandom but I remember when I couldn’t look at comment sections without seeing at least 10 hate comments (from other fans may I add). Idk maybe it’s not as bad now. I also notice this was primarily around the topic of shipping; specifically around Westallen vs Snowbarry, I saw some pretty bad stuff on both sides. Personally I just believe in ship and let ship. If you don’t like a ship then that’s fine; but don’t attack the people who do. But like I said; maybe it’s not as bad now. (Sry that was a long one lol)
3: M o r e w h u m p— including taking place in later seasons; 9x4 has so much potential and I really want someone to take advantage of it (I say, knowing full well that I could write it— I can’t though; The Bad Ending is taking up all of my writing time/energy)
Either way; whumpers I love you and I hope more of you find this fandom
T “Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?” :
*Rubs hand together* Oh do I— it’s ramble time
Now as a fanfiction writer, I have to have headcanons; it’s how I make the story and characters work while giving them extra depth. Naturally however; it’s not something I would usually think of outside of that. I have created the most fanfictions for this fandom by far (It was also the first media I ever wrote it for) so naturally I indeed have headcanons that will make their way into my fics.
Oliver trained Team Flash in hand to hand combat Now this one is less of a headcanon and more something I wish happened— cause where tf did they get their training from?? Maybe I’m missing/forgetting something and if so sry my bad— but this seems like something that absolutely could’ve happened. (I’m not counting superhero fight club as canon btw; as fun as it is)
Everyone goes to therapy
Gods this one is more wishful thinking than anything else— I’ll never forgive the CW for having Barry and Iris take couples therapy when what they both need is therapy therapy. The number of life threatening scenarios the entirety of Team Flash has gone through is more than enough to warrant therapy (and some form of PTSD but that’s a whole nother topic). The only possible exception I would make is Barry, because it would not surprise me at all if Joe had him go as a kid and the therapist didn’t believe him about the man in yellow just like everyone else; plenty of people have bad experiences with therapy that make them not want to go and that’s completely understandable.
Team Flash has movie night
You can’t look me in the eye and tell me they don’t.
Barry has claustrophobia
Nothing to support this really, but hey— that’s why it’s a headcanon
Also I have sexuality headcanons for most characters but I’ll do those another time.
Sweet! This was so fun and again; thank you for the ask!!! Sorry that it was so long but I had a lot of fun :-D
#asks#ask games#ask game#fandom ask game#the flash#cw the flash#headcanons#my posts#answered asks#my silly little ramblings
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Glee Musical Retrospective: Don’t Stop Believin’ (Pilot)
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Sung by: Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson w/New Directions Original Artist: Journey
Here we go - the first time we see Glee’s most iconic performance number. And unlike a good half of you (and half the cast) I still really, really love this song and this performance. I’ll be honest with you - the Pilot of the show didn’t do much for me, but the first time I heard this - I got chills. This arrangement is fantastic. The kids are so earnest here. And it’s the first time I sat up and thought - oh, this is going to be good...
The funny thing about this number is that it is rough, in a way. These kids definitely look (more than they sound) like novices. And while infamously show choreographer Zach Woodlee had a tough time of getting these non-dancing kids to move together - I think the roughness of the these kids just having fun and coming together to make a good number really is the heart of what this show is about. Connecting to each other through song -- even if they don’t dance very well, lol.
It’s kind of hard to articulate why this song resonates the way it does, but there’s a couple of factors going on here.
First of all, the way the song is written - without getting into the musical theory of it all - it’s meant to evoke that positive dreaming kind of emotion. The song is about, quite literally, not giving up on yourself, even if your circumstances suck. And, again, that’s really what’s at the heart of this show. That these kids, despite the fact that they live in a small town in Ohio, aren’t going to give up on their dreams. It’s a theme that’s going to carry all the way through the length of the show.
Secondly, I think the song evokes a strong sense of nostalgia (at least for us older people?). It’s an 80s power ballad, and thematic for a show that’s steeped in 80s nostalgia. And while I didn’t go to high school until the late 90s, it still takes me back to being a teenager - when these kinds of songs really emotionally resonated, and I think pairing that feeling with a group of new and earnest kids who are just starting out on their own dreams, really resonates.
Some interesting things to point out --
This song is a New Directions song, but Finn and Rachel take the lead. This not only to signify that these are the main characters, but to highlight that these characters are going to be in a romantic relationship. Did you notice that they spend most of their time quite literally dancing around each other? Pulling away and coming back to each other? I’m sure that’s intentional.
Also their opening lyrics are quite resonant with who Finn and Rachel’s characters are. Finn is a small town kid, and despite being popular - is a bit lonely and lost. While Rachel, being a city bound girl, just wants to be where it matters. And then they find each other - which is really where our story begins.
Meanwhile, I love Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, (and Artie) in the background. While Finn and Rachel take the lead - they’re along for the ride - the colorful accents in this story. I love that each character gets its own style of movement in the song -- especially Kurt, who completely pulls focus. It’s noticeable (to me) because Kurt is going to end up pulling focus as the story begins to shift from this story of two lonely and sad teenagers falling in love to this strange kid dancing in the background.
But also, importantly, this is the first group number the kids do. It’s about them all coming together - all these “strangers” meeting up for the first time and creating something special -- again a theme of the entire show -- and how they’re going to try to make their dreams come true, but can only do so if they rely on the special thing they’ve made together.
I should note that most of the time I’ve talked about music in the Pilot being used for comedy - but like Rachel and Will’s solo - this song is very much about the emotion it evokes, and that’s purposeful. This is a real, and full number, because the show wants you feel those real emotions of these kids finally bonding over the music.
Two more musical asides -- a) this song has a ton of layering of tracks to make it sound fuller. If it were just the six of them, the sound would be much, much smaller - but maybe not as resonant. b) You can tell there was choreography but mostly - the kids are a bit stiff because they aren’t dancers, and end up just roaming around the stage. It’s kind of funny, but works for me, because these kids are not supposed to be professionals.
I also like that their costumes are simple. I’m not sure if I can go into color theory the way @snarkyhag can (maybe she can shed some light on it!) but the solid colors can mean that they’re stripped down to the basics.
I should also add that this song is important to Will’s character, too. This song, evoking memories of his own childhood, and his own dreams, is what brings him back to teaching. The kids are literally singing about not giving up on their dreams - and Will is very touched by that.
On top of that - there are deliberate pans to Sue (and Quinn and Santana) and Puck off on the side -- representing the antagonists, and how they’re waiting in the wings for the future stories where they’ll challenges for our characters.
Fun Fact: There is no such place as South Detroit. I’ve always joked that South Detroit is Ohio - but according to Journey it’s Windsor Ontario. And now you know.
vs. Studio Version: There’s really not much difference between this and the aired version. There are a couple of extended musical moments in the studio version, but the song is, intentionally, left mostly intact on the show. Since it’s the final group number - these songs aren’t as cut down as some of the other ones.
vs. Original Version: Something I didn’t really notice until they’re played side by side, but the original Journey version is much slower and in a lower key. The tempo change might be due to the fact that it’s being used for TV - and TV has time mandates. The key is probably because the kids needed to singing it higher. One neat thing to notice - this song is known for its infamous piano chords played at the beginning (and throughout). In the arrangement for the show - they gave it to the background singers (Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, and Artie) for great effect.
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Alright, If We’re Gonna Play with Az’s Bonus Chapter, Let’s PLAY with Az’s Bonus Chapter (Pt. 2)
Yeah baby, part 2 of a PAINSTAKING close read lol.
Azriel winnowed into shadows before she could say anything he uses the shadows to ESCAPE, they are a coping mechanism, appearing at the door to Rhys’s study a heartbeat later. His shadows whispered in his ear that Elain had gone upstairs. It’s interesting that the shadows specifically report on Elain’s whereabouts here and not earlier, as well as later not reporting on Gwyn.
Rhys sat at his desk, fury a moonless night across his face. He asked softly, “Are you out of your mind?”
Azriel donned the frozen mask he’d perfected while in his father’s dungeon. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Rhys’s power rippled through the room like a dark cloud. “I’m talking about you, about to kiss Elain, in the middle of a hall where anyone could see you,” he snarled. “Including her mate.” It is not out of line for Rhys to acknowledge that this was stupid. If for no other reason than that it would hurt Lucien if he saw/felt them.
Azriel stiffened. Let his cold rage rise to the surface, the rage he only ever let Rhysand see, because he knew his brother could match it. Which is the mirror to something that Rhys notes in ACOFAS, that they are similar in their darkness. Because Rhys is really the only person Azriel can be himself with, completely, I think it’s important to acknowledge that this is unprecedented ground for them and specifically for Azriel. This is the first time Azriel can actually voice ANY of these thoughts out loud, and only because Rhys saw them, he did not bring this concern to Rhys himself. “What if the Cauldron was wrong?”
Rhysand blinked. “What of Mor, Az?” Also very not out of line thing to ask. Feyre is the only person Mor has really told about her sexuality, and so to Rhys and co. AND Azriel, nothing about this situation has changed in the past 500 years. The fact that Azriel is able to get over Mor, without that confirmation of her sexuality, because of Elain, is significant I think.
Azriel ignored the question. Hmm yeah, but he can’t keep ignoring this question forever, and that’s another reason he and Elain did NOT kiss in this chapter. He and his family and Mor all need closure regarding their relationship. “The Cauldron chose three sisters. Oh boy, I have a lot to say about the number three later on! Tell me how it’s possible that my two brothers are with two of those sisters, yet the third was given to another.” He had never before dared speak the words out loud. NEVER BEFORE DARED TO SPEAK THE WORDS OUT LOUD. This is the first time he’s even verbalizing these thoughts - of COURSE he doesn’t know how to navigate this conversation. This is raw emotion being spewed out right now, enhanced by the unresolved tension from his interaction with Elain.
Rhys’s face drained of color. “You believe you deserve to be her mate?” So, he says that his two brothers ARE WITH two of those sisters, which is a way to acknowledge the fact that both people in each pair accepted the bond and that it was a mutually built connection. Then he says “the third was given to another” which is actually really different. He’s saying that Elain was given to Lucien by the Cauldron, suddenly one member of that bond is not an active participant - and this is mostly true! Elain has ignored Lucien diligently, and she hinted about her lack of feelings for him when she asked Feyre why he should be entitled to her affections just because of the cauldron and whatever amends he has made. I don’t like Azriel saying that Elain is something to be given as opposed to a person to be connected to, but I’m not sure exactly what it means that he did that. ANYWAY, Rhys really does supply the word deserve, and we have evidence from earlier in this chapter that essentially proves that Azriel does not believe he deserves Elain, anyway. He is having an argument with Rhys, yes, but it almost feels like he’s arguing with himself.
Azriel scowled. “I think Lucien will never be good enough for her, and she has no interest in him anyway.” (THE ONLY TIME ELAIN’S ACTUAL FEELINGS, ACTIONS ARE CONSIDERED IN THIS DISCUSSION BTW) Also, not that he doesn’t answer Rhys’s question. For Azriel, this isn’t necessarily about what HE deserves in this moment, it’s about what Elain wants. Almost certainly, Azriel DOESN’T believe that he deserves Elain, but he sees the injustice of her being forced to accept a bond with someone for political or spiritual/societal reasons. So while to Rhys it may seem like Azriel is is putting Lucien’s claim down in order to boost his own, I actually think Azriel is trying to distinguish a different issue - Elain’s agency. This same thing happened with Mor and Eris. ABSOLUTELY THIS IS NOT ALL LIKE THAT SITUATION BECAUSE LUCIEN IS NOT ERIS!!! I am not trying to compare their behavior. BUT, Azriel would have dueled Eris for Mor’s agency regardless of whether or not she chose to be with him.
“So you’ll what?” Rhys’s voice was pure ice. “Seduce her away from him?” Rhys, I think, misinterpreting Azriel and it’s mostly not Rhys’s fault. Azriel doesn’t communicate well and is not currently communicating well. That being said, I wish he would give Azriel more benefit of the doubt.
Azriel said nothing. He hadn’t got that far with his planning, certainly not beyond the fantasies he pleasured himself to. HE HADN’T PLANNED ANYTHING, this whole conversation is just like a raw nerve.
Rhys growled, “Allow me to make one thing very clear. You are to stay away from her.” Well come on, now, Rhys, what if she doesn’t want to stay away from him? BE A FEMINIST RHYS, just add, “unless she wants to see you”!
ALSO, DID RHYS TELL FEYRE ABOUT THIS? MY MONEY IS ON NO, AND IF RHYS DIDN’T TELL HER ITS BECAUSE HE KNOWS HE’S NOT WHOLLY DOING THE RIGHT THING BY ELAIN.
“You can’t order me to do that.”
“Oh, I can, and I will. If Lucien finds out you’re pursuing her, he has every right to defend their bond as he sees fit. Including invoking the Blood Duel.” Another really big sign that this is going to play out Elriel style is the mentioning of the Blood Duel. Chekhov’s gun eh?
“That’s an Autumn Court tradition.” The battle to the death was so brutal that it was only enacted in rare cases. Despite being an outsider, Azriel had wanted to to invoke it when he’d found Mor all those years ago. Had been ready to challenge both Beron and Eris to Blood Duels and kill them both. Yes see? He would have done this regardless of Mor’s feelings toward him. Only Mor’s right to claim their heads in vengeance had kept him from doing so.
“Lucien, as Beron’s son, has the right to demand it of you.” But hey fun fact Rhys knows that Lucien is almost CERTAINLY not Beron’s son. Interesting to consider in context.
“I’ll defeat him with little effort.” Pure arrogance laced every word, but it was true. Again, Azriel is dodging Rhys’s points and is honestly being pretty immature right now, but he hasn’t actually said ANYTHING about an intention to pursue Elain with any of this. Rhys has filled in the blanks, and Azriel has responded to smaller aspects of Rhys’s macro-points with which he finds fault. I think this is also because he knows Rhys is right about a lot of the realities of the situation, but he is in the mood to be contrary right now, so he’s fighting back where he can stomach it.
“I know.” Rhys’s eyes flickered. “And your doing so will rip apart any fragile peace and alliances we have, not only with the Autumn Court, but Also with the Spring Court and Jurian and Vassa.” Rhys bared his teeth. Rhys’s motivations are based entirely on things that have nothing to do with Elain’s feelings, which is sad. But, they’re not insignificant considerations. Though come on dude you did pretty much enable Hybern’s arrival to Prythian by alienating The Spring Court with Feyre’s escape.“So you will leave Elain alone. YES, ALONE, because Elain probably is PRETTY FREAKIN LONELY If you need to fuck someone, go to a pleasure hall and pay for it, but stay away from her.” Low. Blow.
Azriel snarled softly.
“Snarl all you want.” Rhys leaned back in his chair. “But if I see you panting after her again, I’ll make you regret it.” I do think this is a really ungenerous description of what was happening downstairs with Elain. Their interaction was careful and consensual, we have painstaking detail to prove that, and it was far from panting/animalistic in action.
Rhys had rarely threatened punishment or pulled rank. It stunned Azriel enough that it knocked him from his rage. This is another person taking ANOTHER choice away from Elain. I think she may find out about Rhys doing this and I personally think she’s gonna be rightfully pissed.
Rhys jerked his chin toward the door. “Get out.”
Azriel tucked in his wings and left without another word, stalking through the house and onto the front lawn to sit in the frigid starlight. To let the frost in his veins match the air around him.
Until he felt nothing. Was again nothing at all. With Elain, he is SOMETHING. Because he feels things.
Then he flew to the House of Wind, knowing that if he slept in the riverside manor, he’d do something he regretted. He’d been so vigilant about keeping away from Elain as much as possible, Further evidence that Azriel never intended to fight Lucien or make a stink over Elain and had stayed up here to avoid her, and tonight... tonight had proved he’d been right to do so.
He aimed for the training pit, giving in to the need to work off the temptation, the rage and frustration and writhing need.
He found it occupied. His shadows had not warned him. I am not sure what it means that his shadows didn’t warn him. It could mean that Gwyn is protected from his shadows/immune to them. It could mean that his shadows wanted him to go see Gwyn - either out of a desire for Azriel to find some peace with her or out of curiosity as to who/what she is?
It was too late to bank without appearing like he was running. Azriel landed in the ring a few feet from where Gwyn practiced in the chill night, her sword glimmering like ice in the moonlight.
She stopped mid-slice, whirling to face him. “I’m sorry. I knew you all were going to the river house, so I didn’t think anyone would mind if I came up here and—“
“It’s fine. I came here to retrieve something I forgot.” The lie was smooth and cool, as he knew his face was. His shadows peered over his wings at her. They are… wary of her? They’re shy around her?
The young priestess smiled — and Azriel thought it might have been directed at his curious shadows. But she just hooked her coppery-brown hair behind an arched ear. “I was trying to cut the ribbon.” She pointed with her sword at the white ribbon, which seemed to glow silver. Some interesting language here and above (glimmering, glow etc.) to do with light, and again a juxtaposition between light and dark. But not a golden light, a colder/silver light.
“Aren’t you cold?” His breath clouded in front of him.
Gwyn shrugged. “Once you get moving, you stop noticing it.”
He nodded, silence falling. For a heartbeat, their gazes met. Gaze is definitely a romantically charged word, this is one of the tiny details that makes me unsure about the future nature of their relationship. He blocked out the bloody memory that flashed, so at odds with the Gwyn he saw before him now. I definitely do not think they are mates. I’m not closing the door on them being romantically involved, I don’t have enough evidence to do that, but I really think that if they were mates, Azriel would have known when he saw her at Sangravah.
Her head ducked, as if remembering it too. That he’d been the one who’d found her that day at Sangravah. Shades of Cassian’s reactions to Emerie’s wings having been clipped, in ACOFAS. “Happy Solstice,” she said, as much a dismissal as it was a holiday blessing.
He snorted. “Are you kicking me out?”
Gwyn’s teal eyes I have a lot to say about these teal eyes :) flashed with alarm. “No! I mean, I don’t mind sharing the ring. I just... I know you like to be alone.” Her mouth quirked to the side, crinkling the freckles on her nose. “Is that why you came up here?” I’ll talk more about this later, but there are a few small moments in the book where it seems like Gwyn might have a crush on Azriel, or some kind of special awareness/interest where he is concerned. I have seen almost no evidence that Az returns those potential feelings, except PERHAPS for the moment where he hears her screech and pays attention. But I think anyone would pay attention if someone screeched? Also he watches reverently as she cuts the ribbon, but that also feels like it would happen regardless of any romantic feelings he might have. But I don’t know for sure!
Sort of. “I forgot something.”
“At two in the morning?”
Pure amusement glittered in her stare. Better than the pain and grief he’d spied a moment before. So he offered her a crooked smile. He cares that she not be feeling pain and grief, as he does with anyone he deems good, and that is part of why he offers her the smile, as he clearly says right here. “I can’t sleep without my favorite dagger.”
“A comfort to every growing child.”
Azriel’s lips twitched. I think her irreverence matches his sense of humor quite well. He refrained from mentioning that he did indeed sleep with a dagger. Many daggers. Including one under his pillow.
“How was the party?” Her breath curled in front of her mouth, and one of his shadows darted out to dance with it before twirling back to him. Like it heard some silent music. This shadow is acting totally independent of him. She’s asking a simple question of Azriel at the moment, and he CAN’T hear the music he believes that shadow might be dancing to. Lightsinger evidence, I’d say.
“Fine,” he said, and realized a heartbeat later that it wasn’t a socially acceptable answer. “It was nice.” LOL I will say here that Azriel has to make a lot of conscious effort in this interaction. He makes himself respond in a specific way, which is not language that was used to describe his interactions with Elain earlier in the chapter. This could totally just be because he doesn’t know Gwyn that well, and certainly that’s a big part of it, but I think there’s something to be said for the fact that he is still filtering himself here with Gwyn in the quiet.
Not much better. So he asked, “Did you can the priestesses have a celebration?”
“Yes, though the service was the main highlight.”
“I see.” LOL
She angled her head, hair shining like molten metal. More glowing-type stuff “Do you sing?” I love Gwyn.
He blinked. It wasn’t everyday that people took him by surprise, but... which is great! Elain surprises him with the headache medicine in ACOFAS, Feyre surprises him with her intuition and tenderness throughout. I think this indicates that they will have a significant relationship regardless of its exact nature. “Why do you ask?”
“They call you shadowsinger. Is it because you sing?”
“I am a shadowsinger— it’s not a title that someone just made up.” It’s super-duper interesting that they actually discuss the fact that he’s a shadowsinger. When Feyre meets Azriel, she is curious, but specifically doesn’t ask follow-up questions or for expansion on the ability. Why specifically remind us here that Azriel is a shadowsinger and that Gwyn sings? If not to foreshadow something related to the ability and Gwyn?
She shrugged again, irreverently. Az narrowed his eyes, studying her. “Do you though?” She pressed. “Sing?”
Azriel couldn’t help his soft chuckle. “Yes.” I love Gwyn. She is the reason I now realize a lot of what I’ve been doing in my life is irreverence :P
She opened her mouth to ask more, but he didn’t feel like explaining. Or demonstrating, since that was surely what she’d ask next. So Az jerked his chin to the sword dangling from her hand. “Try cutting the ribbon again.” I love this so much. Maybe it is romantic, but I think that’s debatable. What’s not debatable is that it’s completely charming.
“What— with you watching?” It’s actually pretty funny that in order to avoid giving a demonstration of something that makes him vulnerable and puts Gwyn in the role of expert he flips it and makes her demonstrate vulnerability while he is the expert. Gwyn might be quite a bit braver than Azriel in some ways.
He nodded.
She considered, and he wondered if she’d say no, but Gwyn blew out a breath, steadied her feet and balance, and sliced. A beautiful, precise blow, but it didn’t sever the ribbon. SEE? Brave. I love Gwyn.
“Again,” he ordered, rubbing his hands against the cold, grateful for its bracing bite and the distraction of this impromptu lesson. Distraction is a notable word here. Azriel’s thoughts don’t really ever stray from Elain and his turmoil throughout this interaction, that’s what the word distraction tells us.
Gwyn sliced again, but the ribbon remained unyielding.
“You’re turning the blade a fraction as it comes parallel to the ground,” Azriel explained, drawing his Illyrian blade from down his back. “Watch.” He slowly demonstrated, rotating his wrist where she did. “You see how you open up right here?” He corrected his position. “Keep your wrist like that. The blade is an extension of your arm.”
Gwyn tried the movement as slowly as he had, and he watched her self-correct, fighting against the urge to open up her wrist and rotate the blade. She did it three times before she stopped falling into the bad habit. “I blame Cassian for this. He’s too busy making eyes at Nesta to notice such mistakes these days.”
Azriel laughed. “I’ll give you that.” I sense a lot of compatibility, just, again, not sure it’s romantic.
Gwyn smiled broadly. “Thank you.”
Azriel dipped his head in a sketch of a bow, something restless settling in him. Even his shadows had calmed. As if content to lounge on his shoulders and watch. This is another line that I think offers the most evidence for something significant between Gwyn and Azriel. It’s lovely that she has helped to settle something restless in him with the distraction - and I think it’s important to note that it might not have done the same thing had he encountered Emerie or another trainee on the roof. At the same time, maybe it would have. Also love that his shadows like to watch Gwyn. Lightsinger/Shadowsinger evidence! This all being said, I can’t really think of an SJM romance that is built around a comfort zone. I can think of many friendships that operate that way, but not so much with the romances. There’s usually nervousness and flutters and passion and… restlessness, somewhere in there.
But— sleep. He needed to at least attempt to get some.
“Happy Solstice,” Azriel said before aiming for the archway into the House. “Don’t stay out too much longer. You’ll freeze.”
Gwyn nodded her farewell, again facing the ribbon. A warrior sizing up an opponent, all traces of that charming irreverence gone. I love Gwyn.
Azriel entered the warmth of the stairwell, and as he descended, he could have sworn a faint, beautiful singing followed him. Could have sworn his shadows sang in answer. This feels VERY much like Lightsinger/Shadowsinger evidence. His shadows, as this chapter has demonstrated time and again, operate independently of him, and they react to Gwyn’s song. I also think it’s possible that Gwyn is sort of always singing, even when she’s not. Like she glows with song on some level, and that’s what his shadows are reacting to - because I don’t think she’d necessarily actually sing while attempting to cut the ribbon.
He slept as well as could be expected which means pretty much not at all y’all — he makes it clear he never expects to sleep well, but when Azriel returned to the River House to gather his presents before dawn, he found Elain’s necklace amid the pile. He pocketed it. Spent the rest of his day, even the blasted snowball fight, with every intention of returning it to the shop in the Palace of Thread and Jewels. How did the necklace get there??? Did Elain really put it there??? Seems like even more evidence that he assumes too much about her understanding of his feelings. Also, though, it seems really rude/OOC for Elain to do that. She gave up very quickly after he gave her a really thoughtful gift. SOMETHING’S FISHY.
But when he returned from the cabin in the mountains, he didn’t go to the market square.
Instead, he found himself at the library beneath the House of Wind, standing before Clotho as the clock chimed seven in the evening. Important to remember that this is one of the longest nights of the year, which means dusk is coming on later than it was when Nesta attended the evening service weeks/months prior- a service that started almost exactly when seven bells rang the time. It is very well possible that Azriel finds himself at the library as the evening service is happening. The one in which Gwyn sings. If she does have some kind of Lightsinger power in her, it may be that he was lured by that power instead of returning the necklace. Even if they always start at 7, he still arrives exactly at 7. The only point against this surmising that I’ve done is that Clotho led the service which Nesta attended, and yet she is here to greet Azriel. Either I’m wrong and the service is not happening at or around this time, OR the service can take place without Clotho occasionally, and this served the interest of the plot so that Az could speak with someone.
He slid the small box across her desk. “If you see Gwyn, would you give this to her?”
Clotho angled her hooded head, and her enchanted pen wrote on a piece of paper. A Solstice gift from you?
Azriel shrugged. “Don’t tell her it came from me.” Yes, it really doesn’t seem super romantic to re-gift a necklace to Gwyn. It just feels sour, if this is the start of a romance between them.
Why?
“Does she need to know? Just tell her it was a gift from Rhys.”
That would be a lie.
He avoided the urge to cross his arms, not wanting to look intimidating. He blocked out the memory that flashed— of his mother cringing before his father, the male standing with crossed arms in such a way that made his displeasure known before he opened his hateful mouth. This feels very important. We know VERY LITTLE about Azriel’s story, his past, and his family, and so I want to point out ANY and EVERY nugget we get!
“Look I...” Az searched for the words, his voice becoming quiet. “If there’s another priestess here who might appreciate it, give it to them. But I’m not taking that necklace with me when I leave.” I’m not exactly sure what it means that Azriel says this. It could be that he doesn’t want to make a thing of his potential feelings for Gwyn and so tries to deflect with this statement, both to convince Clotho and himself that it’s not about Gwyn. It could also mean that Azriel needed to be rid of the necklace, and wasn’t in the mood to fight with Clotho over an ultimately secondary (to getting rid of the necklace) impulse to give it to someone who provided him comfort and companionship at a time when he needed it.
He waited for Clotho’s pen to finish writing. Your eyes are sad, Shadowsinger.
He offered her a grim smile. “I lost the snowball fight today.” HE LOST THE FIRST SNOWBALL FIGHT IN 200 YEARS! And I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because Gwyn made him feel better the previous night. I think he lost because he is in anguish over the situation with Elain. Again, I understand that anguish shouldn’t necessarily be a romantic thing, but in SJM’s writing it often is. This is a romance series, angst is a thing, stakes are a thing. It’s not necessarily the most healthy, but it’s also not all-the-way unhealthy. He just feels strongly about Elain and there are a lot of obstacles between him and finding a way to resolve those feelings for good or bad.
I am a counselor for folks who have and are dealt/dealing with sexual, gender-based, and interpersonal violence, and if you want me to do an analysis of all of the relationships in SJM’s writing that aren’t wholly healthy, there won’t be any left over. Except for maybe Sartaq and Nesryn. they really do have their shit together. I suspend a fair amount of my disbelief and professional knowledge in reading these books because I love them and they are fictional :) Also, relationships are complicated. It’s pretty rare for me to work with a client that has a cut-and-dry, black-and-white story.
Now, in my PERSONAL NOT PROFESSIONAL experience, shit is messy, and messiness, even in real life, doesn’t always mean something isn’t worth the strife. Though absolutely abuse and assault are a whole other thing. I think it’s really good to think critically about relationship dynamics in fiction, because it’s a safe place to do great learning and reflection. I also think it’s important to consider that the rules of our reality are not necessarily the rules of the reality being written by an author. Maybe you personally find Azriel’s feelings toward Elain (as they have been expressed so far) are beyond redemption, and are unhealthy to a point where the relationship cannot be salvaged. But that is not realistically a reason that the relationship in question won’t happen. Pretty much any negative/toxic assertions that can be leveled against Elriel based on the VERY SMALL amount of first-person perspective we have in the relationship could be leveled against at least a few of SJM’s other endgame couples. Totally happy to get into this more and provide those examples :)
Clotho was smart enough to see through his deflection. She wrote, I’ll give it to Gwyneth. Tell her a friend left it for her.
He wouldn’t go so far as to call Gwyn a friend, but... “Fine. Thank you.” Not sure what this means. Maybe just that it takes Az a while to open up to people and call them friends.
Clotho’s pen moved once more. She deserves something as beautiful as this. I thank you for the joy it shall bring her.
Something sparked in Azriel’s chest, but he only nodded his thanks and left. He could picture it, though, as he ascended the stairs back to the House proper. How Gwyn’s teal eyes might light upon seeing the necklace. For whatever reason... he could see it. And here we have the most romantic evidence for Az and Gwyn as a couple. Maybe he is falling for her and that’s why he can picture her smile. I really don’t know. I think it could also be that he is happy to be able to make her happy, in recognition of the comfort she gave him the previous evening. Maybe he can picture her because of her potential lightsinger status. Thoughts?
But Azriel tucked away the thought, consciously erasing the slight smile it brought to his face. Buried the image down deep, where it glowed quietly. The image glowing, again, lightsinger-supporting language.
A thing of secret, lovely beauty. So now he is referring to Gwyn’s smile here. This is interesting, because Gwyn’s smile wouldn’t necessarily be a secret, but perhaps it is if you think of her as being hidden in the library, or that he’ll know about her smile and her receiving the necklace even though she won’t know that he’s the one who gave it to her. Or maybe he’s drop dead in love with her! Another thing that I don’t think is true given his stony attitude post-Solstice (when Gwyn is very much around) and the fact that he doesn’t seem to react viscerally to Gwyn’s kidnapping until Cassian points out that bad things could be happening to both her AND Emerie, as well as Nesta. He knows Gwyn just as well, if not better at this point, as he knew Elain when he reacted to HER kidnapping in ACOWAR. He was very riled, he was the one who noticed she was gone, he vowed almost immediately to go get her, knowing it might mean certain death (to be fair, he seems to have a bit of a death wish, BUT he’s still a pragmatist and doesn’t try to WASTE his life on things - either they’re essential to the court and/or Prythian’s wellbeing or essential to someone for whom he cares deeply.)
#azriel#azriel shadowsinger#elriel#elain archeron#rhysand#gwyn acosf#acosf#acotar theory#acosf theory#azriel bonus chapter#azriel pov#azriel x elain#lightsinger#shadowsinger
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Hey!
I really feel like I’m writing forum messages again haha, that’s a lot of fun :)
Yeah the popularity of Kylux is pretty impressive, the fanlore page is interesting if you want to have a look. I wasn’t really there to see it but apparently it grew pretty slowly but steadily, contrary to those ships that get super popular suddenly. I honestly think it’s so fun that the like, 2nd most popular ship on AO3 for all of Star Wars has this rando who doesn’t even get 15 full minutes of screentime over 6 hours of movies as one half of it, that’s pretty impressive (and yes I did time that when I rewatched the sequels, I was kinda surprised, he doesn’t even get a full 15 minutes! More precisely, it’s ~4:20 in ep 7, ~6:30 in ep 8 and a measly ~2:20 for ep 9! Counting those seconds you see him vaguely laying on the ground dying! What the hell, JJ Abrams, what the hell. But I mean, if we’re talking about Hux, what happened to him in ep 8 wasn’t… yeah. I have a few rants ready at all time and the one on whatever the hell they did to Hux is one of them haha). I know I have the potential to get into Reylo somewhere in me, I just know it, but I never did because… I don’t really know, maybe the fact that I’m generally not a multishipper and Kylux is already there, something. I’m honestly pretty curious of what ships are popular on what platforms and with which audiences and how much and when and all that? There are so many things that could influence that, it’s the kind of thing that would deserve a study but also you can’t really do one. I didn’t check FFN though, even if that’s where I started reading… I’ll add that to my notes for when I finally feel like writing down numbers. The advantage with the sequels is, contrary to all the older fandoms, I imagine the LJ population is much smaller and there won't really be archives, it’s just too recent for that. Look at me getting all excited for maths and statistics when I should be doing literature homework lol. Anyway, apart from that, I too could talk about ships for hours, I get the feeling :’)
The “fixed point in time” was a Doctor Who thing, I thought it was clear but maybe I’m biased because I have the context. It’s this thing where some events are fixed, they happen whether some time travelers decide to change history or not. A lightly spoilery example: in one of the seasons of the 11th Doctor, there’s this whole thing with his death, and it’s a fixed point in time, that means he’s always going to die whatever all his friends do to try and make him stay alive. The internet archive idea is super good though, that’ll help me flesh the thing out! I have to say, I have a deep fondness for the whole citrus scale, but I don’t think I feel quite ready to explain what a lemon is to a classroom haha.
Yeah fandoms get… intense sometimes, it’s pretty scary to hear about it. That Hetalia thing sounds ridiculous, though it’s funny to see another variation on why genderswaps are bad. There was a bit of that with John’s wife in BBC Sherlock, what with the show having quite a lot of queerbaiting, but you could pretty easily avoid it. I never got it either, people really do weird stuff on the internet.
Thank you!! Probably mostly flimsi, but I imagined she would also try other mediums like metal or wood? Kind of like your arts classes where you drew but also tried sculpting and all kinds of techniques (even if here you can’t sculpt a map, but I think she’d try stuff for the fun of it. Also, an engraved map of a sector on a piece of wood sounds dope). The Mary Sue thing is so bad for confidence when you’re young, I totally get the strong feelings, me too tbh. Like I always saw people criticising their old cringy OCs or other people's and I desperatly didn’t want to “fail” at anything, even something you can’t really fail because as long as you’re having fun you’re good, so I just didn’t create any, since I was sure I couldn’t do it properly. Internet is fun but sometimes not that much actually.
I hadn’t even realised for “dear one”, I mean it makes sense that he wouldn’t say it in canon but it just… fits so much!! That’s a thing you read once and go “yeaah he WOULD say that” because yes he would. And you know what this makes me even more curious of who thought “Yan Dooku” was good, because yeah it is, honestly I like it, it sounds like a SW name, it works. By the way, I’m super curious about the human naming conventions in the galaxy, where do the names come from? Cause they have normal names that you could give a kid in our world (if you exclude the fact that some of them are Star Wars Names and immediately off limits), like Luke, Leia, Norra, Wedge, Caleb, probably Han or Sinjir, Ben, Owen, Amilyn, Armitage, Rey, Poe, Finn, Orson… you get the idea. Then there’s the more ambiguous like Lando or Satine or Padmé and her handmaidens, they’re not really real names but they might work if you want something original. And then, well. Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon. Anakin. Shmi. Temmin. Mace. Cliegg. Sheev. Dryden. Mon. Galen. All of the damn Knights of Ren, if that’s even their real names? I suppose Lor San Tekka’s name is Lor?? Anyway, you catch my drift. How do they work is my question. I’m not gonna start on birthdays and certain things not existing because what they’re based on doesn’t have a SW equivalent (like uuh the name Christopher is based on Christ but they don’t have Jesus), because you gotta know when to stop. I just can’t figure where they found those weird human names and what would sound fine. Are the same names considered basic and timeless? Are there weird ones that sound perfectly normal to them? How does any of that work?? Because picking a name for a species that has few info available is fine, you just invent your own stuff and fill in blanks, but humans? That’s us! … Maybe I just answered my own question and I’ll have to invent my own stuff. Still curious about how the fuck Obi-Wan came to be though, that's a very nice but weird name. Also I know I’m not the first one to notice but I think it’s very funny that it’s more or less official that the strip of cloth Jedi have around their waist under their belt is called an obi. Because haha, funny joke, Obi-Wan is a Jedi, Obi's obi, all that.
Oh this is pretty comforting actually, thank you! There’s always that “I don’t want to be annoying” voice in the back of my head but putting it in perspective does help. I’m glad that you’re having fun too then :)
Also unrelated to the rest but I really want to talk about it, I went to a con this weekend, and while it was more fantasy themed, there was a stand for the local lightsaber combat association, and they did demos and short little initiations. I didn’t catch any of the demos but I did get to learn a few stances with a saber and it was super cool. I mean I’m really bad at most anything physical so I probably looked like a tiny initiate having their first lesson but hey, at least I tried! I also have renewed appreciation for literally anything they do with lightsabers in the movies and series because those movements are not easy, even when your weapon is pretty harmless. The instructor tried to teach us how to do the little twirly wrist movement you can do at the end of your salute when you’ve finished a session, the same kind Obi-Wan does when he “unsheathes” his saber in TCW sometimes, and my friend got it right away but I couldn’t for the life of me figure it out lol. So yeah that was fun, there was also a super nice cosplayer who came as her own OC with an apparently Revan-inspired design that looked really cool.
Now that I’ve written the equivalent of the homework due tomorrow on some text analysis I should have been doing instead, I think I’ll go attend to my actual responsabilities (sadly, because this is much more fun). Have a nice – I think it’s late-afternoon/evening in the US, so a nice end of your day I suppose, and don’t worry, I did see your answer! (I think at that point the anon isn’t very necessary BUT I’m shy lol)
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Hey ☂️! Thanks for your patience with me, I really appreciate it!
Ngl that kind of popularity from kylux is crazy impressive. I remember it being the crackship back in the early days of the sequel fandom, that was before TLJ had come out. Its really epic that its gone from being a crackship to the 2nd most popular ship though! And its such a good ship too, it definitely deserves that popularity lmao!
Okay so ik i say this a lot but Hux really did deserve better from d*sney. Less than 15 total minutes of screen time? How dare they! And they gave him this terrible awful backstory and then refuse to show any of it on screen, like his whole relationship with Brendol could have been so interesting to see outside of comics but no ofc not and his bio mother isn't even a named character in canon and thats!! So terrible!! Im very defensive over him i love him very much (yes he's a villain ik but look) and like maybe im just super defensive of him because I built an entire backstory for him for fic purposes (that i can't really talk about until the kylux big bang is released) but I love him and he deserved!! So much better!! And how dare they just kill him!! I have a whole rant about this somewhere lmao, im so glad we can agree on this!
I can def agree with kylux being the better ship compared to reylo. Why have het enemies to lovers when gay enemies to lovers is right there? But legit reylo is what got me to like the sequels back in the day, they're still a soft favorite of mine 😅
Now exploring ship popularity in comparison to which platform you're on would be very very interesting! I can tell you that tumblr has a very small kylux base these days (i go through that tag almost weekly these days and there's very rarely new stuff that im interested in) compared to say, reylo or obikin where there's constantly new stuff being posted. But there's also a ton more "hate" in the obikin and reylo communities compared to kylux, so by popularity are you going for traffic overall vs positive interaction vs just the negative interactions and you're right, there's so much that can influence it and its definitely worth a study if someone has time!
Oh, im gonna be honest I stopped watching Doctor Who after Eccleston. With your explanation though it makes a lot of sense! Seems like theres a few of those in the prequels fandom, generally there's always the Clone Wars and generally unless its a fix it au Anakin always falls.
Explaining lemon to a classroom, thatd be,,,, rough lmao. Its probably a good idea to leave that one out 😅
Fandoms do get intense. Its pretty crazy, and I say that as someone who's been around fandoms for the last decade. I have so many Opinions(tm) about it lol, it really is easy to avoid the stuff one doesn't want to see and ngl its a lot better that way isn't it
Omg an engraved wood sector map would be so so cool!! She sounds like a great character, im very excited to hear more about her whenever you want to share!
The whole concept of "cringe" is kinda sucky tbh, I dont know how to explain it but it feels like it was just a way to make fun of people for their ocs or their writing or art or whatever. You're right, the internet is fun but also not sometimes. But yeah, you really can't fail as long as you're having fun! Just getting over that initial hump of feeling anxious about your oc is the hardest part! This reminds me of that one meme, "I want a good grade at [thing], something that is both normal and possible to achieve-" and I dont remember where it started but I remember @/mandocule having a good one somewhere, I think it was about fic writing?
Okay so human naming conventions is such a hotly debated thing! Or was at one point, i dont keep up with fandom drama anymore lmao. I remember seeing something on reddit saying Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon must have come from the same planet because their names use similar conventions, which is very interesting to think about but also! There's so many different planets and cultures that its absolutely impossible to narrow the naming conventions down to a single thing, and I doubt even Lucas and d*sney have it all figured out so if you can find a naming convention go for it yknow! I think also thats the benefit of fanfiction, we can make up whatever we want and it'll be plausible because the SW universe is so vast whos to say xyz thing isn't true. That got a little meta, but yeah you did answer your own question there!
Also yeah Obi-Wan is a v nice, v weird name. Re: obi also being the belt, do you think its maybe one of those things were theres a name variation of a word? Idk if that question made sense, yknow how theres words that are Also Names? Bc it could be like that, so maybe "Obi" as a name prefix isn't actually that weird? Again, making it up as we go along but! Wouldn't that be interesting!
Let me reassure you again then, you're not annoying me whatsoever! I love talking about this stuff :) this is really fun, and delving into these topics also gets me thinking about stuff I wouldn't have normally thought about!!
Omg testing out lightsabers is so much fun!! I have two lightsabers myself, I've been messing around with them (and actually have to replace the electronics in both whoops) and its so so hard to get the movements right! And its good to try new things!! Im not sure which actor this was said about but there was an interview once about how the lightsaber duels were choreographed like actual sword fights or something, and there was one actor who was really good at it and worked really hard at it and stuff. It was either Mark Hamill or Hayden Christensen, im pretty sure?? Anyway, yeah that stuff is wicked hard and good for you for trying it!!
Omg i hope you got your homework done! And attending real life responsibilities is never as fun as fandom stuff, its too bad its necessary 🥲 you're always welcome back in the inbox for more analysis :) im not sure what timezone you are, so I hope you're having a good day/night today!
#anon ☂️#ahhh i had a lot to say today#i have a whole rant locked and loaded about hux lmao#most of it will have to wait until after the kylux bang is released in december though lmao#as always i love having you in the inbox!!
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Hi. Do you have any specific thoughts about venue’s COVID restrictions (I know certain venues have none…) for Harry’s shows?
I’m a Canadian (RIP my show, I would have sold my other tickets had it gone forward) with tickets to both NYC and LA. I’m very much uncertain that I’ll be attending… (starting august 9th, Ill be able to cross the land border (air never closed) as a double vaxxed person, we’ll see if it holds of course…)
For NYC: “All guests will be required to provide proof of full vaccination, meaning the day of your event is at least 14 days after your final vaccine dose. The only exception is for children under the age of 16, who may provide proof of a negative antigen or PCR COVID-19 test, or full vaccination, to attend a fully vaccinated event when accompanied by a vaccinated adult.” (The unvaccinated under 16s have to wear a mask.)
For LA: “All Guests will be required to confirm on the day of the event, prior to their entry into the Forum, that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of the date of the event or that they have had a pre-entry negative COVID-19 test* before entry into the Forum.”(As of right now in July 21, non vaccinated people have to wear a mask at all times and it’s recommended for vaccinated people.)
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Does the 100% vaccinated in NYC make a difference for you? (As in it’s a better bet to not get infected?) I haven’t read anything that was 100% conclusive on transmission rates in vaccinated vs unvaccinated people, have you?
I obviously will decide for myself in the end (and there are other factors in play), but would you attend a show without restrictions (hello Las Vegas! From what I read), with LA type restrictions, or with NYC type restrictions?
I know ventilation is THE thing but there’s no way for me to check that… Would bringing myself a mini electric fan help or make it worse? Lol, I dk.
Thanks for your thoughts!
(I sent an ask several hours ago re: COVID restrictions for Harry shows (LA and NYC). Just to add, I was wrong about the border. It’s only opened on the Canadian side starting august 9th so double vaxxed Americans can come in but Canadians still can’t cross into the US by land. I didn’t want to misinform anyone.)
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Hi anon,
It's great that you're vaccinated anon.
To me, personally, the rules at the venue wouldn't make much difference. I think those sorts of rules are mostly for show, so that people to feel like the venue is safe.
There's a few reasons I think that, but the first is most fundamental: such requirements are not able to be enforced in a meaningful way. It would basically require more than doubling the staff that you need to check tickets to check vaccine status in a meaningful way (you're talking photo ID checks as well as making sure ). Venues that say they have these reqirements will end up waving people in. On top of that the documents are pretty easy to forge. (The popcast episode about the return of live shows invovled people describing both these experiences already going to shows in NY).
The vaccines do work very well, and as well as reducing severe disease and death (which is the main goal), fully vaccinated people have a reduced chance of catching the disease and are less likely to pass it on. You asked if I'd seen definitive information - I've seen some good studies about household attack rates of vaccinated vs unvaccinated people - but I can't find them now. What I remember was the risk was reduced, but there was still household transmission. The takeaway message I've got from what I read is that the risk is reduced, but it's still there. As for the test - testing lots of people will act as a screen to reduce the total number of people who have COVID - but there will always people who test negative on Thursday, but are infectious by Saturday).
So the key point is that while these rules may lessen the risk that someone with COVID-19 will be sitting next to you during a concert, they don't eliminate it, whatever the rules it's a very real risk.
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What all this means is that no matter what rules a particular venue has, you are risking being exposed to COVID-19, by going to an arena concert. Rather than rely on venue rules, that are probably more theatre than anything else, I would accept that there is a risk (and decide if you want to take mitigating steps like mask wearing) - and think about the worst case scenario.
I assume that you don't have a medical conditions that suggest the vaccine might not be effective - people that do would probably not come to me for advice. So the vaccine will protect you if you do get COVID. So the two things to consider are you then infecting other people - and your own fear.
I don't know the situation where you are - but take the risks of infecting other people seriously. Are most people in your community vaccinated? Do you have particular people you see regularly who are vulnerable and/or unvaccinated? People are in wildly different situations - and I think it's only by thinking about your situation carefully that you can figure out what sort of risks are appropriate for your situation.
I have two more things to say about fear - a little contradictory. First of all respect your feelings and your fear. You'll figure out over time what feels safe and what doesn't
But also - you, like everyone else, are deeply influenced by cultural ideas about disease. And one of those cultural ideas is that people who get sick deserve it. That plays out in all sorts of ways in general - but in this pandemic it has meant people have overestimated the risk of things that are fun and joyous and underestimated the risk of things that are more mundane (I just read this article, which touched on some of those issues which I really liked) A lot of discussion of the arena tour I've seen suggested that an arena would be a different order of magnitude than anything else when it came to risk. I don't think there's any reason to think this is true. Singing in a place with lots of other people is obviously risky, but so are lots of jobs and going to the gym, and living with people. It's a risky thing to do, in a world where there are lots of thing that are risky - not exponentially more risky than anything else.
So to answer your question - if I had the option to go to one of Harry's concerts - then whether I'd go would depend on what other decisions I had made about how to navigate this part of the pandemic. If I was regularly doing things inside, with other people and without masks (whether that was eating out, or going to people's houses, going to the gym, or going to smaller events), then I'd think about going to Harry's concerts.
When I had to make those choices for myself, I was very cautious, and I wouldn't be doing most of those things in the UK at the moment if I was still there.
I know I'm very lucky that I don't have to make these decisions any more. I found them very anxiety inducing and upsetting that I did make them. I was always worried that I was being impossibly reckless and would get sick, but also that I wasn't taking the opportunities that I had to meet some of my needs.
You have time - New York and LA aren't until October. You can wait and see how you feel, and how the situation has changed in the next few weeks. Good luck making a decision. I hope that whatever you decide it's an easy decision and you sell your tickets easily/have a great time.
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All the odd numbered ones 👀👀
Oh wow. That’s a lot lol.
Some I’ve already answered, but I can copy and past those answers here. I’m going with original works on this, but the same basics hold true for me with fan fiction as well :D
1. Where do you typically get your ideas?
All over the place. I have an Evernote folder that I keep half-baked ideas in for my original works. I’ll jot down whatever it is that sparked it and then, if/when more comes, I’ll add plot points under it until it builds into something interesting that I can work with.
So, for the pilot I’m working on now, the idea started with the premise: a privatized, covert organization that keeps its secrets by bringing in operatives that will either be fully devoted to the organization and move up in the ranks or will be taken out. When an operative becomes obsolete or a danger to the organization, another operative with a similar skillset is brought in to try to take them out. If they can, that new operative takes their place. If they can’t, the original stays on. From there, I started building outward with character and the types of individuals that would be connected to that organization and others within the world setting.
For my Codename: Grey series, that started with characters. I was coming off of a novel that I really wasn’t getting anywhere with and knew I needed to find a new story to tell. I started looking at what I enjoyed writing fan fiction-wise, the types of characters and stories that I gravitate to, and ended up with Jake Riley and Cassandra Smith. From there, I started developing a world and plot to better explore the story I wanted to tell with them.
TLDR; everywhere.
3. How do you know when a scene is “done”?
I don’t always. One of the pieces of advice I see repeated again and again for script writing is ‘come into the scene as late as you can, leave as soon as it’s done’
I’m still finding that balance.
5. How do you know when a story is “done”?
More times than not I know about where I want it to end when I start. I may have a detailed scene or at least a general idea of the feeling I’d like to end with.
It’s the final lines that get me though, especially in prose.
7. How do you feel about prologues?
They have a time and a place. I’m a big fan of Teaser acts though. Those are the 2-5(ish) minutes that open up an episode before the title card.
9. Do you tend to have an external narrator or use one of the characters?
I’m not a fan of first person narratives.
11. What punctuation do you love too much?
Dashes. I love dashes.
13. What grammar tends to cause problems when you’re writing?
Effect vs Affect kills me every time. I don’t know what it is, but I’m always looking it up to make sure I’ve chosen wisely.
15. How do you write a really good metaphor?
Ehh…. Not sure I’m the best to offer that advice.
17. What is your best piece of advice for writing hurt/comfort scenes?
Make them earn it, but once they have, don’t you dare forget the comfort.
19. What is your best piece of advice for writing action scenes?
Just keep writing them. I used to avoid them like the plague because they always felt stiff and difficult to me. Somewhere along the way I realized I’d gotten much better at them and now I enjoy writing them. Who’d have known?
Also, keep them tight. Show the blows you need to show, avoid overwriting them, and keep the lines snappy like the movement. Personally, I like short lines of action for it. Sometimes they’re not even full sentences, and as long as it’s clear you’re using it for stylistic effect rather than out of ignorance, that’s totally okay. It’ll keep the readers’ eyes moving as fast as the action itself.
21. What is your best piece of advice for writing romance scenes?
I’m very much a fade-to-black writer, but I think it has to be right for the characters. You may have a set that their love language is in grand gestures, another that expresses their affection in small and maybe even missed gestures. For one couple a kiss may be the height of their romantic moment, another it’ll be pressing their foreheads together, and another may be a moment of honesty where their partner reaches out. Honestly, it just depends on the character.
23. How do you balance your characters in an ensemble story?
So, this is something I feel very strongly about. It all depends on the story you’re telling, how many lead characters you have, etc etc…
A, B, and C stories help with that, at least for me.
Using Codename: Grey for an example I have my two leads (Jake and Cas) and their individual teams that share the case of the week 99% of the time. So the A story would probably be that A story (the goal that they all have). The B story would be a conflict or opposing goal that one of the teams has that’s going to blow it all to chaos, and the C (and maybe D story) will be a smaller character arc.
I think, after you have all that laid out, it’s about making sure that if a character is in the scene they’re doing something. Quinn isn’t just standing there twiddling his thumbs because he hasn’t been in a scene for a while. He’s there because someone has to be the voice of reason when Jake tosses caution to the wind.
That’s the theory, at any rate. How well I actually follow through on it depends on the story and the day :P
25. How do you create an original character?
Oh wow… that just depends. I think I find them more than create them. Jake and Cas came about because I needed a new story to focus on. I started with the bare basics: what kind of characters do I enjoy writing? Strong, dangerous women that are consistently underestimated. Emotionally compromised men that just want to protect their families that they’ve sort of tumbled into. I have types. So sue me.
Sometimes I start with the characters and sometimes I start with a scenario and find characters that fit into that world.
27. Do you try to do most of your research ahead of writing (when research is necessary) or do you do it as things come up?
It really depends. For scripts, I’ve gotten into the habit of outlining with plot points and those tend to be pretty fleshed out. I’ll do a lot of research at that point in my writing.
When I get into the script itself, though, things change. Just as an example, I had a whole scene plotted out with a character looking at her conspiracy evidence board and coming to a conclusion. When I got to the actual writing I realized that it wasn’t nearly as engaging as I thought it’d be, so a character I hadn’t even thought about yet was introduced on the fly. That kind of stuff happens all the time with my writing. It’s pretty fluid, so when research is needed along the way, it happens then too.
What I try to avoid (if I can help it) is using research as a way to procrastinate the actual writing process. It’s a bad habit of mine.
29. How do you plot your stories?
I start with plot points.
Act
Setting
details
I work through the story while working through those plot points, usually with just a vague notion of where I’m going until I jump in and start on this.
Then I write the script, find out all the many things wrong with it, and reassess the plot/events to make it better.
Rinse and repeat until I have something that doesn’t make me want to cry without ceasing.
Author Asks
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→ headcanon: romance & relationships.
let’s talk jae-ha relationship headcanons tbh. this is kinda written with modern in mind, put mostly applies overall anyways. i’ll add to this when i think of stuff
one. jae-ha’s never actually been in a serious relationship. he’s somewhat averse to them; he’s got commitment issues. one of the most important things in his life is his freedom, and he says that relationships would tie him down. really, though, he’s probably just afraid because he’s used to keeping himself at a distance from others. he’s guarded, he’s evasive, and committing to a relationship means he has to let people in. it’s going to be hard. he’s not used to it. physically getting close to him is easy; emotionally not so much.
two. because of the first thing, most of his relationships have ranged from friends with benefits type things to more casual ( open ) dating. he has cut things off and withdrawn when it got to be too serious. he knew he wasn’t ready for it and wanted to stop before anyone got hurt.
three. he’s totally into terms of endearment. calling his partner dear, love, baby, princess ( or pince ), among others, is something he would do.
four. he’s very physically affectionate. he likes pda a lot. he’ll shower his partner in kisses and compliments. if he’s out with them, he’s probably always touching them in some small way, mostly unconsciously. also, sex isn’t the most important thing to him, but he does care about chemistry in that regard, because he enjoys it. he’s fine with waiting a bit though. he would only proceed if his partner is comfortable tbh. he likes to be on the giving end a lot ( but ofc loves receiving as well ).
five. yes, he’s into grandiose displays of affection as well. expect lots of spoiling, probably in the form of roses. he’d like to play his music for them. he’d cook for them ( and wouldn’t mind learning how to do their favorite dishes ). he’s totally into the whole ideal boyfriend thing.
six. he doesn’t get jealous easily. he won’t be in a relationship with someone if he doesn’t trust them, so he won’t have any issues about jealousy. he does like slight jealousy in his partner, but over possessiveness would turn him off. he’s extremely loyal; he’d never cheat on his partner. he’s fine with them being a little clingy, but he needs his space.
seven. trust is his number one thing in the relationship!! he wants his partner to trust him, and he wants to be able to trust his partner. no trust is a no go. he’s probably thinking: why are we together if we can’t trust each other?
eight. he can be kind of flighty or moody at times. sometimes he’ll come off as withdrawn, just give him space. don’t force things out of him because that just gets annoying tbh. it’s better to let him say it when he wants to. he’ll do the same when his partner is upset — he’ll always be there for them. and he’s patient, take as much time as you need.
nine. lol at getting him to settle down for marriage, but if his partner manages, he wants a huge wedding. he wants doves. he wants roses. that’s all.
ten. couple costumes during halloween tbh. all that needs to be said.
eleven. don’t play games. he’s not into it lol. he likes a little playing hard to get before the relationship, but don’t string him along during it. tell him if it’s not working, if he does things that upset you tbh. but don’t try and change him.
twelve. he likes to tease a lot, verbally. he’d totally be into someone who could go back and forth with him. someone with a good sense of humor. this also goes with flirting, because he never gets tired of it.
thirteen. he likes his hair being played with. he actually doesn’t mind much where his partner touches him, except his right leg. it’s because he hates the look of his dragon leg.
fourteen. if his partner is smaller than him ( which is pretty much almost guaranteed a lot of the time ) he loves them stealing his clothes and wearing them lol.
fifteen. he never forgets important dates. anniversaries, birthdays, etc. he has plans ready, whether a private dinner together or a surprise party, depending on what his partner is into.
sixteen. he’s a beast at darts and any type of aiming games, so he’ll win his partner all the prizes lbr.
seventeen. he’d prefer not to be the first person to say i love you. if he does say it, it might be accidental ( but he’s pretty cautious about what he says, so he might be drunk if this happens). he won’t say it unless he truly means it though.
eighteen. he’s not really into the idea of kids. will need convincing.
nineteen. sorry if he sexts randomly tbh.
twenty. he enjoys texting and social media a lot. so he’s big on taking lots of couple photos. he also is the type to text good morning and good night at the minimum, if it’s a busy day and they can’t really talk.
twenty-one. jae-ha has a preferred type of woman but it’s not a hard rule, obviously. but he tends to like women who are older, more experienced, or strict, kind of sadistic. the more demanding you are, the more aggressive, the more into it he is. but he does have a soft spot for the docile and those who appear to need protecting.
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Marvel 20 Questions
I wasn't tagged, but I saw this on @musette22‘s Tumblr and decided I wanted to play. Thanks!
1. Favorite solo film? It’s so hard to choose. It would be easier to list my top five. :-) But, I have to go with Thor: Ragnarok, because it is funny and heartwarming and I love it. Plus I have been a sucker for Thor since his first movie. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a really close second, though.
2. Favorite team-up film? The Avengers. It was so cool seeing all the characters we’d watched in the solo movies come together for the first time. Marvel really did the solo movies to team-up movies formula right--didn’t rush it like DC did. The payoff in that first Avengers movie was great. Plus a good villain, high stakes, and a plot that I didn’t have problems with. A good mix of humor to action. Love it. Also, I’m really partial to the AUs where the Avengers all live on their own floors in the tower, and that is the movie that sets that up (even if I’ll forever be sad that they did nothing with it).
3. Favorite female character? There are a lot of BAMF chicks in the MCU, but my absolute favorite is Peggy Carter. She is strong and gorgeous and knows her worth, even a time that is worse that today about allowing women to have that value. I liked her in the first Cap movie, but I loved her even more in the Agent Carter TV series. While I like the Peggy/Steve backstory, I like Peggy better on her own. Darcy Lewis is a really close second favorite--only second because, while I liked her in the Thor movies, it was fic that really fleshed out her character, while Peggy got all that character development on screen. But we’ll see how things go with Wandavision. Maybe Darcy will get the more developed character in cannon that she deserves. (I guess the Netflix shows no longer count for the MCU, huh? Because Jessica Jones was pretty awesome, too.)
4. Favorite male character? Oh my gosh. I love both Thor Odinson and Bucky Barnes SO MUCH--it’s nearly impossible to choose. However, I have to use the rule that I used for favorite female character, and give Thor the number one spot because his character’s awesomeness is fleshed out on screen. While I still think that his first movie could’ve used a bit more middle (more time than just one night on Earth to grow and change into someone who would give his life for others), I’ve loved watching Thor’s character grow and change over the years. He tried so hard to be a Gryffindor, but he’s really a Hufflepuff. While he would’ve been an all right king due to training, he doesn’t have the heart for it, and I think he finally realized that. He is so much more than muscles and a weird accent--he’s loving, supportive, and really smart; he forgives; he’s just an awesome guy. Bucky has that whole tragic redemption arc, which is great, but they really cheated his character out of development on screen after CA:tFA and CA:tWS. Like with Darcy, a lot of his development comes from fic and head cannons. I’m really hopeful for the Falcon & Winter Soldier TV series. Maybe now Bucky will finally get the character development he deserves!
5. Best canon ship? I’m not really tied to many of the cannon ships in the MCU. I liked Tony/Pepper a lot; probably because they got a lot of screen time, and Pepper is another favorite BAMF MCU lady. Scott/Hope is also pretty good. I would’ve said Thor/Jane, except then they broke up. Maybe they will resurge to the top of the list when we get Thor 4.
6. Best non-canon ship? I love so many non-cannon ships for the MCU! I like Stucky, Stony, WinterShock, WinterHawk (but only with the more comic-esque Clint who is deaf and a disaster; not boring family man movie Clint), WinterIron (but only in no power AUs without the Bucky killed Tony’s parents angle), ShieldShock, TaserTricks a bit... Basically any ship with either Bucky or Darcy in it would have a chance, and even though I don’t love cannon Steve all that much, I like a lot of ships with him in fanfic, too. Weirdly, I never read fic about Thor or Peggy--maybe because they are so fleshed out in cannon, I don’t need more from them.
7. Favorite actor? Man, another rough one. I love Chris Hemsworth and Sebastian Stan so much. I think I have to go with Sebastian on this one, though. Chris is great, hot, and I adore him, but Sebastian did so much with a character that had relatively little screen time overall. I mean, Bucky was in five movies, but in a lot of them he was there more for the action than the actual character development (which makes me sad! he deserves more!). But the fact that he took a smaller, supporting character and made him one of my favorites in the whole universe says a lot for Sebastian’s acting. Like, a lot of actors can make you love a character when they are the main character in multiple movies, but how many can do it from the sidelines? (**crossing my fingers for lots of good Bucky in the F&WS show!**)
8. Favorite actress? Gotta go with Hayley Atwell here. The way she played Peggy was masterful. I also really love Kat Dennings, though. Second only to Hayley.
9. Favorite director? Taika Waititi, hands down. He should do all MCU movies from here on out. Prior to him, it was Joss Whedon for his great work on the first Avengers, but Joss let me down with A:AoU.
10. What was the first MCU movie you ever watched? Iron Man. Aside from Spiderman: Homecoming and The Incredible Hulk, I watched all the MCU movies in theater in the order they came out. We are dedicated Marvel fans that way. :-)
11. Which MCU movie have you watched the most? Hmmm... I’m honestly not sure. I’ve never specifically counted viewings. I know the top contenders would be Thor: Ragnarok, Ant Man, The Avengers, Thor, Captain America: the First Avenger, and Iron Man. I have definitely watched every MCU movie except the Spiderman and Hulk solo films more than once, though.
12. Favorite super-suit? I think I’d have to go with the Iron Man suit. I mean, it’s by far the most useful, and it has Jarvis (or Friday) inside. And it lets you fly! That said, if we take it as most attractive suit, then I’d be torn between Steve’s navy and white suit (sans cowl) from the beginning of CA:tWS and Thor’s suit when it bared his arms (the long-sleeved version was weird looking).
13. Favorite weapon? Mjolnir, by far. Even though it creates some weird questions/plot issues, I love the idea of a weapon that only someone with a worthy heart can use. I think my favorite moment in End Game was when they paid out on that bit from AoU and Steve busted out fighting with his shield and Mjolnir. Steve and Thor fighting together with the hammer and the axe was fabulous. I do also like Cap’s shield, even though it’s a weird choice. I’m really looking forward to Thor 4, if the rumors are true and we’re going to get to see Jane use the hammer. That will be excellent!
14. Favorite origin story? Oh, another hard one! I am a sucker for a good redemption story arc, so I think Bucky/Winter Soldier edges in for the win here. Overcoming 70 years of brainwashing and mind wipes for his best friend, struggling to get back to human again, and then trying to make up for some of the wrongs from the past (which I hope is where we’re going in the F&WS show) is excellent. Though, Thor’s journey from spoiled brat to someone who is willing to sacrifice himself for others to king to someone who realizes that he isn’t the best king and is willing to hand the crown to someone else for the good of the people that he loves is a really good one, too. I also like tiny anger-ball Steve taking a risk to become a hero with a good heart. Didn’t necessarily agree with all his choices later, but did like the origin. Solid third.
15. Favorite villain? Definitely Loki. His arc in the first Thor movie is great. And knowing that in the first Avengers movie he was affected by the mind stone adds a great layer. Plus watching him continue to mature and grow until he finally was willing to be there for his brother in Ragnarok. That was a great arc, and the character toes that line of gray morality but redemption that is so compelling to watch. His death was the worst one to me in IW/EG--I really thought he was pulling some other con, and I’ll forever be sad they dropped that thread. I hope that his show is good, and I’ll give it a chance, but I’m still bummed that we’re going back to post-Avengers Loki and losing all that character development from Thor 2 and 3. :-(
16. Favorite fight sequence? Honestly, the action and fighting are probably my least favorite parts of these movies. I know, that’s atypical, lol. Like, they are the less interesting bits I have to put up with to get the character growth I want from my superheroes. Often, the action sequences go on too long. Shorter action sequences would allow them to both keep up momentum and put in more character development, but no one in charge asks me. :-P That said, I like the action sequences best when they show character development, and the best one for that is the highway fight in CA:tWS where Cap and co. fight the Winter Soldier for the first time. No one in the whole movie had challenged Steve that far, but the Winter Soldier truly put him in danger for the first time, and his friends, too. The Winter Soldier was menacing, and then paired with the Bucky reveal at the end. Best action sequence. Though I do also love the Revengers vs. Hela in Ragnarok when Thor finally gets his full lightening powers down and crashes into the battle. He is so OP now, but in an awesome way.
17. Favorite line from any of the films? I love that bit in the first Avengers movie when Thor snags Loki, Tony flies out after him, and Nat tells Steve not go because they are basically gods. I love Steve’s line of, “There’s only one God, Ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.” That one cracks me up even now that I’ve watched it so many times.
18. Favorite scene from any of the films? Pretty much any scene with Darcy in it is a favorite. Her stuff in the first Thor movie is gold. I also like Bucky and Steve’s goodbye scene at the beginning of CA:tFA.
19. If you could pick an Infinity Stone to keep, which would you choose? Huh... I don’t know that I’d want any of them. I guess, if pressed, I’d choose the Space stone because I think it would let me teleport. The Time stone/time travel seems interesting, but I’d be afraid I’d mess up the timelines.
20. Which Disney Plus MCU series are you most looking forward to? Falcon & Winter Soldier, hands down. Though, when I heard Darcy would be a character, that jumped Wandavision up to second place.
I think that @virtual-insomnia would enjoy this. :-)
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Hey I know that you all see me as the Grand Authority on Movie Opinions in that I am correct and can never be wrong and also my opinion on things is NEVER unsolicited because I’m literally the most important person on the internet and you CRAVE my opinions.
So I saw Shazam last night and I’m gonna talk about it under this readmore because I dunno how long it’s gonna be and I respect y’all’s dashes like that (plus if y’all don’t care abt what I thought then you can keep scrolling). There will be spoilers but I will clearly mark them.
So I’ve been thinking to myself on whether or not Shazam was the best DCEU movie. All things considered, it didn’t have too high of a bar to leap over, seeing how Wonder Woman, which was originally my favorite, had a lot of incredible moments, but was bogged down by a few of the scenes around those moments and a frankly terrible final act. And if I were to put it into numbers, (which people seem to love) I’d put Wonder Woman at about 50% INCREDIBLE 20% ehhhh and 30% GOD WHY, plus add a few bonus points for being so inspiring within its social context as a female-led superhero movie that isn’t terrible, sexualized or both. Shazam, on the other hand, doesn’t get those bonus points of social context, but has about a 60% Pretty Good and 40% ehhhh with one small bonus point for having one scene that personally hit me pretty hard that I’ll talk about later. It doesn’t reach any of the LOWS that any other film in the DCEU had, but at the same time, it didn’t really hit any of the highs either.
Something that’s worth addressing is that as someone who likes to partake in any and all drama because I’m a gremlin who loves seeing complaining, I saw plenty of DC fans complain that this movie was falling into a sort of trap set up saying “ITS ONLY BEING LIGHTHEARTED BECAUSE IT THINKS THAT IT HAS TO BE MORE LIKE MARVEL AND THATS WHY MORE PEOPLE LIKE IT” and I do want to address that because it’s a stupid argument. While Shazam is a departure from the DCEU’s more serious tone thus far, it’s not a black and white deal. DC isn’t strictly defined by being “the more serious Marvel” or vice versa. Being lighthearted did help Shazam out, not BECAUSE it was more like a Marvel movie, but because unlike movies like Batman v Superman, it didn’t try (and fail) to tackle more complex themes and down to earth schemes that made it lose focus and become an enormous mess. That being said, Shazam’s schemes and themes were much simpler, and it made for a much SMALLER mess if/when it did lose focus.
Before I dive into the spoilers, I’ll give my two cents on the film as a whole. Like I mentioned, the light-hearted tone did help out the movie, and it took itself a little less seriously with things while still balancing out some emotion in the story, and the whole theme behind it, while not PERFECTLY drawn out, still had a coherent message behind it. Visually, the movie was definitely trying to break out of the Zack Snyder mold that had been set up back with Man Of Steel, and while it still chills out in Low Saturation City a lot of the time, it IS doing a better job. Zachary Levi definitely deserves a shoutout in this movie for probably being the second best actor in the DCEU closely behind Gal Gadot in terms of casting choices, perfectly encapsulating the idea of Shazam, and pulling off the role of a Big Billy Batson, however he seems to have taken away the acting talent from half of the rest of the cast, because some of the acting in this movie is.....not great. And that’s not counting the child actors who did alright considering they’re child actors (Freddy in particular was fantastic).
The dialogue in this is pretty solid and indicative of the situation, and they really tried to lean into the idea that it’s some middle school (or early high I cant really remember) kid who just got these powers, and they do a pretty good job of that in both the dialogue and in the first half of the movie. And like I mentioned, there is a bit of Emotion in this movie that they really tried to deliver and they did a pretty good job delivering it. That being said, it’s very clear that they’re going for a kinda cheesy sort of vibe. Which makes sense, since the concept is Kid Becomes Superhero, which is ripe for picking like some kind of Cheese Tree....orchard.....thing.....and it leads to just a fun experience. It’s something that knows it shouldn’t be taken too seriously, which is why I’m writing an incredibly long analytical review of it, because I’m a curmudgeon like that.
ALRIGHT SPOILER TIME SCROLL DOWN TO THE VERY BOTTOM IF YOU DONT WANNA GET SPOILED
Lol alright so this spoiler section is gonna have a lot of negative points, so let me start with some positives.
The overall theme of this movie is sort of an idea of Found Family (which I’m an absolute sucker for), and there’s a subplot that follows this idea where Billy is looking for his mom. The movie starts showing a flashback where Billy’s mom gives him a compass saying “it’ll always help you find your way home” and then very shortly afterward, Billy gets himself seperated from his mother and had to be put into foster care and is now searching for his mother by looking everywhere he can to the point it causes him to run away multiple times. It’s not too surprising how this ends, with him finding his mother, only to find out that she just didn’t pick him up because she was 17 at the time and felt she COULDN’T take care of him. And that’s the point when he realizes “maybe my REAL family were the kids in the foster home all along”. Billy Batson sees that his birth mother’s life is tumultuous, taking on new lovers, working part time jobs, and not having time to even consider caring for Billy, moreso just hoping he turned out alright. Billy, as a sort of symbolic gesture, hands his mother the compass saying “you’ll need this more than me”. And then she replies with two words that just killed me for some reason.
“What’s this?”
I don’t know. It was a line that hit me. Kinda reflecting that sort of disconnect. Alright enough being nice, let’s talk things that are Alright but could be better.
The villain was alright. His character was pretty fun at the beginning, but after he got revenge on his father for Toxic Masculinity™ he became pretty boring, acting more like a CGI Monster Vending Machine. Of course it kinda leads into the whole Cheesy vibe they were going for, but it’s hard to make your movie seem like it’s gonna be campy and cheesy when your villain doesn’t really fall into the role once he actually fights the hero (also with the color palette). Just wish they would’ve sorta gone full Sam Raimi and just leaned into the campiness, with this movie kinda afraid to jump into the pool past its bathing suit.
And then there was the climax of the movie in the carnival, where I felt like it went a little bit downhill, not really being the best that it could be, but still pretty serviceable. The director seemed to be REALLY into using slo-mo, using it a little more than necessary to the point of being distracting, and while the Shazam concept was used in a few fun creative ways, there were some moments where it could have had more utility, or one moment in particular when he absolutely needed to change back and probably had time to say “Shazam” like twenty times over, but he didn’t, which was a LITTLE frustrating, but that’s way more nitpicky. Speaking of nitpicks, there were a few shots that were.....questionable (most notably the Santa.....moment? It seemed to be a clear funny moment, but it didn’t really land and didn’t flow either)
And also the climax has a bit of a fun twist moment that helps round out the Found Family moment where all of Billy’s adopted family also become superheroes, which is pretty sweet, but there was one SMALL nitpick that doesn’t overwhelmingly detract from anything but I found strange. Every character had a power, with one person showing the super strength, another showing super speed, another with lightning, another with flying, which were Shazam’s powers. And then Mary was there....and we don’t really get to see her powers? I did research and apparently she’s a character in the comics with all the powers of Shazam, but Mary was one of the only other characters with an arc and we don’t get to see her with any powers, which is a bit weird (we also don’t get to see her arc formally conclude. We can draw conclusions but still). So in the end it looks like Mary essentially kinda got Kairi’d. Oof.
But that’s really it for spoilers, in terms of the “bad” it’s really just that it didn’t really give it enough of an impact and while it knew what it wanted to be and isn’t disingenuous about it, it also doesn’t really commit to BEING what it wants to be.
ALRIGHT SPOILERS ARE ALL DONE YOU CAN LOOK NOW HERES MY BOTTOM LINE
Bottom line is that this movie is definitely flawed, and after consideration I don’t think I’d put it at the top of the DCEU, if only because Wonder Woman reached higher points than this one did, but that shouldn’t be a slight against Shazam at all. Heck, I would consider putting it a little bit above Captain Marvel if we’re inevitably comparing rivals.
So all in all I give it a Shazam/10. A good fun time. Not the BEST movie you’ll see this year, but you’re there to have a good time and you’ll have it.
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Continue writing, or pause and edit what I have?
Somewhat complicated to explain. Please bear with me.
(If you know Fire Emblem Echoes, you get the easy version! I'm writing an AU where Slayde is killed in the Prologue and Celica stays in Ram, eventually joining the Deliverance with Alm and friends. Conrad ends up becoming the "protagonist" of Celica's half of the story, and Celica and Alm tackle what was "Alm's" half together. I'm a few scenes away from finishing Act 3.)
The epic fic I've been working on for a while is a canon divergent AU essentially rewriting the whole game. In the actual canon, there are two protagonists (as well as a large supporting cast) and the game is split into five "Acts". The two protagonists spend most of the game apart, having separate storylines which only cross over at a few points, and only join up again for the final battle.
I'm following a similar structure in my fic, so up until the end of Act 3 (where I'm currently at), I've been able to basically write the story as two separate plotlines: I finished the first half of Act 3 some time ago (what is the male MC's storyline in canon) and am nearly finished with the second half of Act 3 (what is the female MC's storyline in canon). I've been able to do this because major plotline divergences have yet to happen and the focus has been on the differences to the characters and character interaction.
Act 4, however, presents a major problem. I'm introducing a totally new plotline with a (formerly) antagonist figure, and as of yet I don't know how this plotline is going to change/interact with the canon plotlines or character arcs. (Yes, I do need to sit down and plan this out eventually.)
On top of this, one of the things I have wanted to do with this fic is to showcase the amazing cast of supporting characters in this game. I'm already juggling POVs, character arcs, and interactions for a lot of characters, and that's something I want to maintain and even expand upon in Act 4. (For example, in the second half of Act 3, the cast is missing some major members compared to canon, because these characters had no reason to join up with the new protag. They are going to merge with the new protag's party at the end of Act 3, however, bringing the total number of characters on that plotline to 15. This is the smaller party, by the way.)
Finishing Act 3 will probably put the story at something like 105k, but I think Act 4 and 5 will add another 80-100k. So I've got a lot of complexity to juggle in terms of characters and storyline, which brings me to my actual question:
Should I stop where I am for a while, and go through and edit? This would allow me to consolidate the character arcs I've been building, to tweak them/make them more streamlined, as well as help me pick up potential for subplots I laid and then forgot about (or to quietly remove them, lol). On top of this, it's been a while since I wrote the characters/plotline of the first half of Act 3, since I finished that one first, so I inevitably forgot things and of course it's quite time consuming to read through, like 60k of fic to refresh my memory.
Hopefully, this will lead to a more solid foundation as I attempt to tackle the complexity of Act 4. (It's worth noting as well that editing 200k of fic, or more, would be quite a challenge, and I'd have the same problem of forgetting things I'd established in Act 1, 2, 3 by the time I get to 4, 5. So getting a major part of the editing out of the way now could help a lot in that regard, too.)
Or should I plow on and jump into writing Act 4 ASAP? I'll be honest, the thing I'm most afraid of is that I won't return to the fic at all if I stop writing to edit. I've been a serial fic abandoner in the past, although I have been better with finishing things over the past year or so. On top of that, a new game in the Fire Emblem series is coming out in July, which I'm incredibly excited for. Realistically that is going to draw a lot of my attention, and a lot of attention from the fandom which will making writing fics for the new game more attractive. Will I want to go back to the dumb epic fic for the remake of a niche 1992 game at all by that point? Especially as editing is so damn hard? I could very well put this big fic aside for good, but that means throwing away 100k worth of work, which is just... I mean, you can imagine how I feel about months of work and effort going down the drain, lol.
I know I said I've been better about finishing projects, but my resolve has never been tested like this before either. And this project is hard. It's caused me a lot of emotional turmoil. If you've seen me on the sub kicking myself for being a bad writer, why can't I do XYZ, I'm so terrible at ABC why did I even bother, or any sentiments like that--there's a 95% chance that it was caused by me struggling with this fic. The cast of characters is enormous - I think I have at least 15 different POVs so far even if they aren't all getting "major character" levels of screentime, the cast overall is probably about 25-30. On top of that it features a ton of things I'm very uncomfortable with in a major way, namely fight scenes and battle scenes (even cutting it down to major fight/battle scenes, or ones important for character development, there are still at least a dozen so far in the fic, maybe more than that), and romance (both storylines now feature a prominent romance, one of which is canon, and one of which I added because I hate myself). And I'm only half way. I'm going to have to write probably the same amount again to finish.
What I'm saying is, there's only one potential downside to stopping to edit Acts 1-3, but it's a really, really major downside, I'm poorly equipped to judge the outcome here, and I could really use some advice.
submitted by /u/holliequ [link] [comments] from FanFiction: Where Magical Ponies battle Imperial Titans http://bit.ly/2IKDpWb
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→ headcanon: romance & relationships.
let’s talk jae-ha relationship headcanons tbh. this is kinda written with modern in mind, put mostly applies overall anyways. i’ll add to this when i think of stuff
one. jae-ha’s never actually been in a serious relationship. he’s somewhat averse to them; he’s got commitment issues. one of the most important things in his life is his freedom, and he says that relationships would tie him down. really, though, he’s probably just afraid because he’s used to keeping himself at a distance from others. he’s guarded, he’s evasive, and committing to a relationship means he has to let people in. it’s going to be hard. he’s not used to it. physically getting close to him is easy; emotionally not so much.
two. because of the first thing, most of his relationships have ranged from friends with benefits type things to more casual ( open ) dating. he has cut things off and withdrawn when it got to be too serious. he knew he wasn’t ready for it and wanted to stop before anyone got hurt.
three. he’s totally into terms of endearment. calling his partner dear, love, baby, princess ( or pince ), among others, is something he would do.
four. he’s very physically affectionate. he likes pda a lot. he’ll shower his partner in kisses and compliments. if he’s out with them, he’s probably always touching them in some small way, mostly unconsciously. also, sex isn’t the most important thing to him, but he does care about chemistry in that regard, because he enjoys it. he’s fine with waiting a bit though. he would only proceed if his partner is comfortable tbh. he likes to be on the giving end a lot ( but ofc loves receiving as well ).
five. yes, he’s into grandiose displays of affection as well. expect lots of spoiling, probably in the form of roses. he’d like to play his music for them. he’d cook for them ( and wouldn’t mind learning how to do their favorite dishes ). he’s totally into the whole ideal boyfriend thing.
six. he doesn’t get jealous easily. he won’t be in a relationship with someone if he doesn’t trust them, so he won’t have any issues about jealousy. he does like slight jealousy in his partner, but over possessiveness would turn him off. he’s extremely loyal; he’d never cheat on his partner. he’s fine with them being a little clingy, but he needs his space.
seven. trust is his number one thing in the relationship!! he wants his partner to trust him, and he wants to be able to trust his partner. no trust is a no go. he’s probably thinking: why are we together if we can’t trust each other?
eight. he can be kind of flighty or moody at times. sometimes he’ll come off as withdrawn, just give him space. don’t force things out of him because that just gets annoying tbh. it’s better to let him say it when he wants to. he’ll do the same when his partner is upset — he’ll always be there for them. and he’s patient, take as much time as you need.
nine. lol at getting him to settle down for marriage, but if his partner manages, he wants a huge wedding. he wants doves. he wants roses. that’s all.
ten. couple costumes during halloween tbh. all that needs to be said.
eleven. don’t play games. he’s not into it lol. he likes a little playing hard to get before the relationship, but don’t string him along during it. tell him if it’s not working, if he does things that upset you tbh. but don’t try and change him.
twelve. he likes to tease a lot, verbally. he’d totally be into someone who could go back and forth with him. someone with a good sense of humor. this also goes with flirting, because he never gets tired of it.
thirteen. he likes his hair being played with. he actually doesn’t mind much where his partner touches him, except his right leg. it’s because he hates the look of his dragon leg.
fourteen. if his partner is smaller than him ( which is pretty much almost guaranteed a lot of the time ) he loves them stealing his clothes and wearing them lol.
fifteen. he never forgets important dates. anniversaries, birthdays, etc. he has plans ready, whether a private dinner together or a surprise party, depending on what his partner is into.
sixteen. he’s a beast at darts and any type of aiming games, so he’ll win his partner all the prizes lbr.
seventeen. he’d prefer not to be the first person to say i love you. if he does say it, it might be accidental ( but he’s pretty cautious about what he says, so he might be drunk if this happens). he won’t say it unless he truly means it though.
eighteen. he’s not really into the idea of kids. will need convincing.
nineteen. sorry if he sexts randomly tbh.
twenty. he enjoys texting and social media a lot. so he’s big on taking lots of couple photos. he also is the type to text good morning and good night at the minimum, if it’s a busy day and they can’t really talk.
twenty-one. jae-ha has a preferred type of woman but it’s not a hard rule, obviously. but he tends to like women who are older, more experienced, or strict, kind of sadistic. the more demanding you are, the more aggressive, the more into it he is. but he does have a soft spot for the docile and those who appear to need protecting.
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I LOVE YOUR HUSKY, HE'S SO CUTE!! I'm thinking of getting one myself, do you have any tips?
Aw thanks anon, Milo appreciates your compliment
Huskies are beautiful dogs but they can be a handful if you don’t know what to expect tbh; I guess I’ll just run off whatever comes to mind lmao hopefully this all makes sense
I’m on mobile so I can’t do a read more soRRY FOR THE LONG BLOCK OF TEXT
- Huskies are very athletic, energetic dogs. I can’t stress this enough - this should be the number one point on every “Things You Should Know Before Getting A Siberian Husky” list. Most people give up their huskies because they don’t realize how much energy they have. They were bred to pull heavy sleds for extremely long distances, so they have a lot of pent-up energy that needs to be released. Huskies need A LOT, and I stress on A LOT, of exercise. My dad takes Milo out for a 45 minute walk in the morning and I take Milo for a 45 minute walk in the evening, and by the end of the day he still has enough energy to sprint laps around our backyard. If they don’t have a productive outlet for their energy, it will manifest in very destructive behaviours. If you don’t think you can keep up with that, I don’t recommend getting a husky - or any sort of dog that falls under the “working category”, to be honest. These kinds of dogs need something to do or else they’ll find their own way to release their energy, like destroying things around the house or barking excessively.
That being said, Milo is an AMAZING exercise companion. Power walking? He’s down. Jogging? He’s your guy. Hiking/long distance walking? He’s all for it. You even go sprinting if you want; he’ll be able to keep up with you. Sometimes I even hop on my cruiser and let him pull me down the street - it’s the closest he’ll ever get to sledding lol. Not only does he get his exercise, but I do too, so it’s a win-win for both of us. If you’re looking for a running buddy or a pal to go on adventures with, huskies are great for that.
- Huskies don’t bark, but they can be incredibly noisy. I somehow got the one husky that makes absolutely no noise (Milo’s so quiet that I often forget he’s there), but for the most part huskies are very vocal dogs. They howl, and they love to “talk” to you and other animals. If you prefer a social dog, huskies are the breed for you, but it can get exhausting, and your neighbours might not be so fond of it either.
- Huskies can be very difficult to train. A lot of people think huskies are stupid because they aren’t as responsive to commands as, say, a German Shepherd or a Lab. They’re not stupid at all - Siberian Huskies are very independent by nature and they don’t live to please their humans; they’ll do pretty much whatever they want whenever they want. They weren’t bred for obedience; they were bred for their athleticism. If you’re looking for a dog who’s willing to do everything and anything with you, a husky might not be the best breed.
Milo won’t do anything for me if he doesn’t see a benefit in doing it; if I want him to a trick, there has to be something in it for him, like a treat or a few minutes of playtime. Huskies respond best to positive reinforcement, and like most dogs they learn best when you start training them as early as possible. Puppy classes are extremely helpful for stubborn/independent dogs - though some huskies are so clever that they’re actually able to tell the difference between a class and just training at home. They know to behave when they’re in class, but if you try the same training methods at home it might be a completely different story lol. Huskies can be super manipulative - they really know how to get what they want, so the key is to maintain consistent, and to be firm. Huskies are very pack-oriented and if they don’t sense a clear/obvious leadership role within their pack, they’ll have no problem taking it for their own.
If a husky allows you to pet and cuddle it for a little while, and then suddenly it’ll get annoyed and walk off, don’t be offended. Again, huskies can be incredibly independent and not a lot of them look for validation from humans. They’re kind of like cats in dogs’ bodies lmao sometimes they don’t mind being affectionate, and sometimes they’d rather have their own space. It’s completely up to them.
Of course, it’s a case-by-case basis. There are some Golden Retrievers out there who may not like to play fetch (Btw, a lot of huskies don’t play fetch. They weren’t bred to retrieve, so it’s not something that comes naturally to them like Labs or other breeds that fall under the Hunting category). No two dogs are alike, just like humans! They each have their own personality, so you might get the one-off super affectionate husky.
That being said, a lot of huskies HATE being alone, which is weird - this is another instance where they can be very cat-like. They don’t want your attention, but they don’t want you being away from them either. They can get very upset if they’re left alone - I think this stems from their instinctual desire to be in a pack, so they always feel the need to be part of a group or a family. There are various ways to train and condition your dog to adapting on being on its own - because realistically, you can’t be around your dog 24/7, it’s gonna have to be alone every once in awhile. Some dogs just need more time and effort to get used to it, that’s all! Just be patient, consistent, and firm - this goes for overall training your husky, not just in terms of being left alone.
- Prepare to have fur EVERYWHERE. Siberian Huskies are from…well, Siberia, and Siberia can get super cold. To cope with this, huskies have two layers of fur to keep them warm - and when you have two layers of fur, there’s twice the amount of shedding. You will find hair everywhere, and I mean everywhere. My mom brushes Milo three times a week and there’s still an abundance of hair around the house. If you get a husky - or any breed from the Spitz family, really - be prepared to do a lot of sweeping and vacuuming.
Dogs with double-layered coats will go through a period of super heavy shedding during parts of the year when the seasons change, usually when summer turns into fall and when winter turns into spring. There’ll be even MORE fur than usual, and it can come out in clumps - like….you can legit grab fistfuls of a husky’s fur and it’ll come out just like that. Since my mom brushes Milo so frequently we’ve never gone through that, fortunately, so my advice is to brush them as often as you can. Two to three times a week minimum…and you’ll probably have to vacuum at least once or twice a week just to keep your house tidy.
But there are upsides to this as well!! Their coats aren’t as oily as other breeds, so they don’t have that “dog” smell to them. They’re also very clean breeds and only need baths a few times a year (Milo actually hates water; giving him a bath is a nightmare). Huskies also clean themselves like cats do; it’s so weird. They also don’t need to go to the groomer, since they shed all of their fur anyway. You’re not supposed to shave a husky’s fur, even when it’s super hot out, because their long fur protects their sensitive skin from the sun.
- They don’t eat often. Huskies adapted to living in the Siberian Arctic, where food can be scarce. They are incredibly energetic and can burn off a lot of energy, but surprisingly they only need a little bit of food each day to get by - especially for their size. Milo only eats one a day, and he only eats 2 cups of his food at most. Sometimes he’ll only eat one cup, sometimes he’ll eat a cup and a half. If you try to force him to eat any more than that, he’ll ignore you.
I’m not sure if this is a general husky thing or if this is just a Milo thing, but Milo’s a super picky eater. He gets bored of his food fast so we always have to find new, creative ways to get him to eat. We’ll add shredded chicken on top, or crush his favourite treats into powder and sprinkle that over his food.
- They’re shitty guard dogs. Most people think huskies would make good protectors because of their intimidating, wolf-like appearance - but in reality they’re nothing like their wolfy ancestors, even though they look a lot like them. Huskies are extremely friendly dogs and most of them are warm towards strangers. Milo LOVES people, and he’ll run up and kiss whoever allows him to, even if it’s just a random person who passes us by when we’re on a walk. I’m sure if a burglar ever broke into my house, Milo wouldn’t do anything except beg the guy to play with him.
- Huskies have a high prey drive. This means they’ll usually chase after anything that moves, especially if they’re smaller. If you have a cat or any other small animal in the house, you have to take a lot of precaution because huskies can end up accidentally killing or hurting them. Usually if the husky is a puppy, they’ll grow up with the other animals and so they learn how to behave around them, but if you’re adopting an older husky, it might be difficult.
That’s all I can think of right now tbh, but I think I got a lot of the main parts down. This is all speaking from personal experience and from the research I did before I got Milo, so I hope it’s informative enough for you!!
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So I’m doing some math (I’m terrible at it) but nonetheless, I did some thinking and then some subtraction and realized that it was in about 1998 that my family got a computer with Microsoft Windows installed along with a dial-up internet connection. And so this is technically my 20th anniversary of reading fanfic and being a part of internet fandom. I figured I should celebrate it a bit.
I don’t remember the exact date or time or whatever, I can barely add or subtract, so June seems like a good in the middle of the year kind of time to recollect and think about what I’ve been doing with my life. Think about why I read so much, why I reblog things, why I am the way I am.
This ask meme was written by @mabel-but-slytherin and I decided, I’ll just answer the whole damn thing. I’m sure absolutely no one is interested in this info but I don’t give a fuck. 20 goddamn years of my life in fandom, do you seriously think I give a fuck anymore? I don’t care about you or your eyes. I officially left the give a fuck building a long ass time ago.
If you have seen a fandom ask meme about being a lurker (which I was for a good ten years) or about reading fanfic instead of just writing fanfic, send it my way and I’ll answer it too. I have stories.
1. What was your first fic and could you stand to reread it today?
It was Thursday Night Routine and it’s readable but I find it a bit repetitive and out of character. Although, with Glee, how was I supposed to know who these people would become, lol. ;A;
2. What’s your most recent fic and how far do you think you’ve come?
My most recent was Vesper Lynde for the Spy fandom and I think I’ve grown as a writer but my characterization is still clumsy and my comedy isn’t as sharp. I think I was funnier before. I also have issues getting to the sex scene that I never had before. It drives me batty.
3. In your opinion, what’s your best fic?
The thoroughly depressing and out of nowhere for me fic, Ozma. That night was a eureka moment, it was bliss writing that fic. It flowed. I probably got the closest to american gothic and poetry with that fic--which is my usual goal when I do creative writing off the internet.
4. In your opinion and without looking at any numbers, what’s your most popular fic?
So much of what I wrote was done anonymously before AO3 and Tumblr so it’s hard for me to say but I’m gonna guess Everybody’s Pickin’ Up on that Feline Beat because the cat!boi thing really slapped. Like people loooooved the cat!boi thing in 2010.
5. Is there any fic that makes you super happy to reread and remember you wrote that?
Third is the One With the Treasure Chest. It has some issues but I still can’t believe I wrote it, like that was my third fanfic ever and it was a muppet babies’ orgy. I have no idea how I did it, :D
6. Is there any fic that makes you super embarrassed to reread and remember you wrote that?
Not really? I’m not embarrassed by what I write (I can’t be, I write weird shit), but I don’t necessarily want people to come up to me in real life and start describing my fic to me. Like I don’t want my realities to intersect. That’s what I’m really sure would embarrass me.
7. What’s the fic you most want to continue (unfinished or no)?
I’m not gonna finish it, like it’s not happening, but I kind of wish I had finished Look What You Made Me Do. I still noodle a about Sarah Plain and Tall Klaine story. I did a lot of research into Gilded era hair and fashions.
8. What’s the oldest (longest since last update) fic you most want to continue (unfinished or no)?
Probably the epically awful and creepy Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make me a Match where Sandy and Karofsky kidnap and assault Kurt. I was fascinated by how absolutely horrific Sandy Ryerson was as a character. He’s the worst. I’m not doing a sequel though. I’m not.
9. Have you ever written for a fandom without watching/reading/playing the source material?
Read? Yes. Written? No. I don’t think I’m the best at characterization but I do feel a need for a basic grasp on it before I start writing anything.
10. Have you ever written for a fandom without reading other fanfic for it?
I wrote Vesper Lynde before I read any of the fic which was probably a good thing because there are some really good fics out there that already cover the subject I did (and did it better). But I’m glad I wrote it anyway because I have so many feelings about Rayna and Susan.
11. Have you ever written a fic for a concept you know someone else has done before? How did it impact your writing process or feelings after posting?
I honestly don’t know so I’m going to say no. I have seen these stories after I wrote what I wrote and have thought, Oh I should have done that or why didn’t I think of that?, but I have never seen a fic beforehand and thought that I could do it better or different enough. I wrote fic in order to fill a gap of weird skullfuckery that was missing before I showed up.
12. Have you ever written a fic and decided never to publish it? Why?
Yes. It was bad, I wrote myself into a corner and had no interest in fixing it. The writing felt dull and flat. If I post an unfinished work, I do it because I think the writing has merit.
13. What’s the biggest change between your style when you started in fandom and today?
I write more original work now, I write poetry mostly nowadays. And fanfic I do write has been smaller vignette pieces, has had way less sex in it and minimal wacky shenanigans. I kind of want to go back to wacky shenanigans honestly.
14. What’s the biggest change in your taste between when you started in fandom and today?
I’m riding a girl swing this year so I’m way more interested in stories that involve cunnilingus and strap-ons, boob devotionals and short fingernails. I sort of got into that in the middle of my Glee career (the Golden Age) before swinging back to boys and their balls (the Modern Age). In this new Age, I’m back to ladies.
15. Have you ever purposefully written one fandom/fic idea over another because you knew it’d be more popular?
I think I tried to do that once but then I failed because my niche is being an off-beat weird motherfucker, not popular. I thought that I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman would go awf but instead it fizzled. So I stuck with dickpunching.
16. Have you ever stopped writing a fic/for a fandom because it wasn’t receiving enough attention?
No. I didn’t really get a lot of attention outside my circle anyway.
17. In your opinion, what’s your most overrated fic?
I guess the Cat!Kurt fic? I think it’s a good story, I just think that I wrote some that were better.
18. What’s your most underrated fic?
And if the world runs out of lovers, my Blaine/Finn fic. I had a lot of fun with that one and I think I got some really funny lines in.
19. If you had to pick one fic/scene/chapter of your work to describe your entire portfolio to a stranger, which would you pick?
I would say, They’re Both Just Full of Feelings, OK? which is a story were Puck and Mercedes get very drunk, complain about their homosexual tendencies and then motorboat each others tiddies. I feel like that about covers the gist of my aesthetic.
20. Have/Would you ever rewrite a fic? If yes, would you take the original down?
I am doing a slow ass sloow rewrite of As Needed, just some clean up of tense issues and little nudges here and there of some of the wording. And I will take down the original when I do that. It needs better grammar, it does.
21. If someone starts kudosing and commenting your fics in a spree and has a few works of their own, would you go look through theirs?
Yes. I love spying and I love other people’s bookmarks. I keep mine private because I’m a hypocrite and I don’t know how to make them public en masse. I am not doing that individually.
22. Has there ever been anyone who’s made you freak out because they read your work and followed/favorited/reviewed?
No, but I freak out at every follow/favorite/review regardless. There are people who I love love love but they aren’t in the fandoms I write in so I never expect to have an insane fangirl moment like that.
23. What’s the nicest review you’ve ever gotten?
When I wrote Ozma, someone on the kinkmeme said that it read like a contemporary short story and I was flattered!
24. What’s the meanest review you’ve ever gotten? Do you think the reviewer intended it?
25. What constructive criticism, however well-meaning, always makes you feel bad when you see it in a review?
Gosh, that’s tough. I’m gonna go with criticisms that question your intent? Like when someone goes, “Did you mean to say this or that?” but not because it makes me feel bad but more because it makes me feel like I didn’t get my point across clearly enough that the reader could make their own conclusions about what was happening. I am very much of the author is dead style and part of that is leaving enough there to satisfy the reader without giving it all away.
26. What aspect of your writing do you most enjoy to see praised?
My humor. I like it when people find me funny. I don’t feel like my humor makes sense a lot of the time. Also, when people say that they re-read my stories. That’s always a heart warmer.
27. If you could only ever write crossovers or single-fandom fics ever again, which would you pick?
I prefer single-fandom fics as a writer. Crossovers get messy for me, too many locations to choose from.
28. if you could only ever write for a single crossover or a single fandom again, which would you pick?
Schitt’s Creek. David/Patrick 4eva!
29. Does the division of your writing across fandoms line up with your reading? What’s the biggest discrepancy?
Absolutely not, LMAO! I have done way more reading than writing in any fandom. My participation is a pebble on a mountainside.
30. Do you continue to write for a fandom after you’ve moved on or do you focus solely on the new one?
I wrote Glee fic (and I am still working on As Needed) after I had moved on from the show but a lot of us did. My attention span allows me to multifandom.
31. Who’s the one character you’ve just never managed to get perfectly right?
Susan Cooper. She’s an enigma.
32. Who’s the one character who shines without you even trying?
Puck, I feel like I wrote a very solid Puck.
33. Is there any particular character whose scenes always wind up being longer/more frequent than you expected? Does the quality hold up?
I would guess Brittany but I don’t think the quality holds up. I liked writing Brittany but I don’t think I captured her essence.
34. Was there any fic that you wrote that really surprised you in the fandom reaction? Was it just by the numbers or did they take it an entirely different way?
I get a lot of requests for a sequel to Sex Bomb even to this day and it surprises me.
35. Have you ever written a ship into a fic without meaning to?
No, I was ready to write anyone with anyone in any fic. I love it.
36. Have you ever sincerely written a ship you do not support into a fic?
Don’t support? Well, I don’t support Kurt/Karofsky but I write non-con fic so...
37. Have you ever purposefully bashed a character/ship in a fic?
I would only in an in-character sense, like the character would be against that pairing because of the show dramatics. At least, that was always my intent.
38. Have you ever purposefully written something you know your readers would find uncomfortable/would not enjoy? If yes, why?
Because that’s how the glee_anon meme worked sometimes LOL. Sometimes, you gotta have the anal worm lay the eggs.
39. Do you consider yourself to have a readership?
Not anymore lol, if I ever did. I don’t write enough.
40. Do you feel like you put out enough content?
I peaked with the Muppet Babies’ orgy, that was my third fic. Everything else was gravy.
41. If you cross-post your fics on multiple sites, do you have a favorite? Are there certain fics you would only post on certain site?
I want all my fics on AO3 largely because I think livejournal is gonna die soon and tumblr is unsearchable and lacks a forum function.
42. How many views has your most popular fic gotten?
(Based on AO3): Ozma at 28672 Hits
43. Your least popular?
(Based on AO3): There’s a Lobster Involved at 38 Hits
44. Do you follow/favorite/kudos/comment/review more stories than you have received?
Oh gosh, I never thought of it that way but I hope I at least kudos more than I’ve received! I don’t have that many bookmarks and I don’t review and I rarely comment (I’m more like to DM you) but I do leave kudos a lot.
45. If you had to call yourself an author of a single genre (besides fanfic) what label would you give yourself?
With my original works: poetry. With my fanfic works: absurdism
46. Do you consider yourself a diverse author?
Yeah, I think I covered a wide range of topics and styles along with a lot of different characters. I had humor, drama, horror, angst, slice of life, porn, I covered a lot of ground.
47. If someone you know in real life who isn’t involved in fandoms asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first?
NO.
48. Does anyone you know from outside of fandom know you write fanfic? Are they involved in the same fandom too?
Yes, they know and they were also Glee fans but not necessarily fanfic readers. Just how much they know will remain a mystery between us because they won’t tell me and I won’t ask them to tell me. I don’t need that knowledge and I don’t want it.
49. Has anyone in your life ever read your fanfic just because you wrote it?
NOT THAT I KNOW OF AND I DON’T WANT THEM TO TELL ME IF THEY DID. KEEP IT TO YOURSELF.
50. Has writing fanfic had a significant impact on your life? Would you say it’s entirely positive?
I have an absolutely incredible circle of friends that I would not have had without fandom. So many people that I know out of fandom don’t spend as much time on the internet, they aren’t as easy to reach as my internet friends. You guys give me your time and your energy and that means so much to me. It really does.
I wouldn’t say my time in fandom has been 100% positive. There are always downfalls to being in a large group. I have had my moments of internet drama, on anon trolling, and bad feelings. But my friends make it all worth it. You guys are the best.
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would you ever post tutorials on how to achieve the effect on your latest pictures? watching you do reshade is truly a work of art O_O
I’m blushing, anon. You can’t see me, but I’m blushing.
When I make the pictures with the weird effects I’m generally tweaking shaders on a picture-by-picture basis, so there are no specific values or numbers to input that I could tell everyone about that would achieve the same thing wherever you wanted to take a picture. But I’ll ramble on regardless!
The key is experimentation.
Experiment with shaders that do things that look weird, and experiment with changing the values outside of their recommended ranges (you’ll often have to double-click on the input field to type in numbers manually once you’ve hit the maximum or minimum end of the slider).
For example, for the picture right before this reply I used the HQ4X shader. Without changing any of the settings it’s a relatively uninspiring thing that just makes the screen a bit blurry and tries to smooth out some edges. But what I did was fiddle with a few values and then whacked up the strength to 200, which gave me the weird effect you see here (I had to increase that number to 942 in order to reproduce the same effect when hotsampling with SRWE to 6000x3000px, because most shader effects don’t automatically scale with resolution).
For my sandstorm picture I had already set up the leifx shader to create some nice pink-toned richness (it also has epic yet fine and dainty scan lines), and I started messing around with the deband shader settings. I use deband all the time with very mild values to counteract some of the banding effects that occur when you use a lot of shaders, but by increasing some of the values (some of them far higher than they’re meant to go) you end up with something that looks very painterly. That, combined with the leifx shader, as well as the adaptive fog and depth haze shaders I regularly use, gave that sandstormy look.
All this fiddling around takes a lot time. It’s not for the fainthearted!
Ultimately, my super short and handy little list of tips would be:
Make a copy of your preset before starting in case you change something to one of your regular shaders and can’t remember the original values. (I have done this. A lot. It’s painful. I still do it. It’s still painful.)
Try new shaders that you wouldn’t think of using, even if they don’t look very interesting with their default values.
Try using really extreme values (for new shaders you’re experimenting with, or with the shaders you usually use), because this is where the magic usually happens.
Mix-n-match shaders that otherwise don’t necessarily look amazing, because the most unexpected things might end up complimenting each other.
Sometimes a screenshot will look different to how it looks in-game if a shader is one that has motion (for example the glitch shader, which I used in these pictures). You may have to take a few sample screenshots.
If you use SRWE to hotsample you will probably have to work out different (higher) values so that the effect looks the same at a higher resolution as it does when you’re setting it up.
Be prepared to go down the rabbit hole. Once you’ve popped you can’t stop.
Abandon all hope for sanity once you start editing the shader code directly in the files (as I have done to get matso’s dof looking like this and like this, and this in ME:A).
You can check out my OKAY THEN album on flickr for some of my weird experiments across a few different games. Judge for yourself the success of them, lol.
I first started using other people’s ENBs (like ReShade but in some ways better) at the end of 2012 with Skyrim. I started experimenting with tweaking SweetFX (like ReShade but worse) in 2013. I started experimenting a little with tweaking ENB things later that year. By mid-2013 I’d got my own customised version of someone else’s ENB for Skyrim. Towards the end of that year I was helping an ENB preset author with their latest one. In April 2014 I released my first SweetFX preset (for ESO). [In May 2014 I started playing TS3!] When DA:I came out I started making ReShade presets for it (unreleased, just for my own fun). That was really when I got stuck in and learned a lot more about how to put a preset together.
That’s a lot of fiddling and learning from when I started encountering this sort of thing in 2012 and when I felt confident enough to put together entire presets and achieve specific goals in a vaguely competent way. Since then there have been various misadventures with Mass Effects, random smaller games, and of course my epic adventures in TS4.
And I still know nothing.
I’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to editing the shaders themselves. I don’t understand the language, and have only attempted to tweak the odd number (sometimes with shader-breaking results). I spend some time now and again on the ReShade forum. I browse around the threads where shader creators are chatting, and I don’t understand half of what they say but over time little bits of floating knowledge sinks in.
And that’s how it works, really. You roll your sleeves up and get stuck in, hack away at some numbers, see what breaks and what doesn’t, read why it broke, follow people who do amazing things with shaders and see what they do (I should add when I was playing Skyrim that’s when I fell in with a super great screenshot crowd– was in the right place at the right time and I owe absolutely all of it to that), and try it for yourself. Eventually cool things will happen. Usually sooner than you think.
And if you want to see how screenshots are really made, take a look through this flickr group and be amazed.
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let’s talk jae-ha relationship headcanons tbh. i’ve probably mentioned them but i guess i wanted to make like… a composite list. this is kinda written with modern in mind, put probably applies overall anyways. i’ll add to this when i think of stuff ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
one. jae-ha’s never actually been in a serious relationship. he’s somewhat averse to them; he’s got some commitment issues. one of the most important things in his life is his freedom, and he says that relationships would tie him down. really, though, he’s probably just afraid because he’s used to keeping himself at a distance from others. he’s guarded, he’s evasive, and committing to a relationship means he has to let people in. it’s going to be hard. he’s not used to it. physically getting close to him is easy; emotionally not so much.
two. because of the first thing, most of his relationships have ranged from friends with benefits type things to more casual ( open ) dating—which is basically the same thing to him. he probably has cut things off and withdrawn when it got to be a bit too much. he knew he wasn’t ready for it and wanted to stop before anyone got hurt.
three. he’s totally into terms of endearment. calling his partner dear, love, baby, princess ( or pince ), among others, is something he would do.
four. he’s very physically affectionate. he likes pda a lot. he’ll shower his partner in kisses and compliments. if he’s out with them, he’s probably always touching them in some small way, mostly unconsciously. also, sex isn’t the most important thing to him, but he does care about chemistry in that regard, because he enjoys it. he’s fine with waiting though. he would only proceed if his partner is comfortable tbh. he likes to be on the giving end a lot ( but ofc loves receiving as well ).
five. yes, he’s into grandiose displays of affection as well. expect lots of spoiling, probably in the form of roses. he’d like to play his music for them. he’d cook for them ( and wouldn’t mind learning how to do their favorite dishes ). he’s totally into the whole ideal boyfriend thing.
six. he doesn’t get jealous easily. he won’t be in a relationship with someone if he doesn’t trust them, so he won’t have any issues about jealousy. he does like slight jealousy in his partner, but over possessiveness would turn him off. he’s extremely loyal; he’d never cheat on his partner. he’s fine with them being a little clingy, but he needs his space. he can be clingy too.
seven. trust is his number one thing in the relationship!! he wants his partner to trust him, and he wants to be able to trust his partner. no trust is a no go. he’s probably thinking: why are we together if we can’t trust each other?
eight. he can be kind of flighty or moody at times. sometimes he’ll come off as withdrawn, just give him space. don’t force things out of him because that just gets annoying tbh. it’s better to let him say it when he wants to. he’ll do the same when his partner is upset—he’ll always be there for them. and he’s patient, take as much time as you need.
nine. lol at getting him to settle down for marriage, but if his partner manages, he wants a huge wedding. he wants doves. he wants roses. that’s all.
ten. couple costumes during halloween tbh. all that needs to be said.
eleven. don’t play games. he’s not into it lol. he likes a little playing hard to get before the relationship, but don’t string him along during it. tell him if it’s not working, if he does things that upset you tbh. but don’t try and change him.
twelve. he likes to tease a lot, verbally. he’d totally be into someone who could go back and forth with him. someone with a good sense of humor. this also goes with flirting, because he never gets tired of it.
thirteen. he likes his hair being played with. he actually doesn’t mind much where his partner touches him, except his right leg. it’s because he hates the look of his dragon leg.
fourteen. if his partner is smaller than him ( which is pretty much almost guaranteed a lot of the time ) he loves them stealing his clothes and wearing them lol.
fifteen. he never forgets important dates. anniversaries, birthdays, etc. he has plans ready, whether a private dinner together or a surprise party, depending on what his partner is into.
sixteen. he’s a beast at darts and any type of aiming games, so he’ll win his partner all the prizes lbr.
seventeen. he’d prefer not to be the first person to say i love you. if he does say it, it might be accidental ( but he’s pretty cautious about what he says, so he might be drunk if this happens). he won’t say it unless he truly means it though.
eighteen. he’s not really into the idea of kids. will need convincing.
nineteen. sorry if he sexts randomly tbh.
twenty. he enjoys texting and social media a lot. so he’s big on taking lots of couple photos. he also is the type to text good morning and good night at the minimum, if it’s a busy day and they can’t really talk.
#( ❝ headcanons // jaeha. )#only reposting bc i couldn't edit the original post cuz of the readmore#sklnlkdsgn
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