#this is an important hc of mine & I will never stop reblogging it

[shychick-52]

'Day of the Sorcerers' stuff (long post)

Ok, so I've been considering making individual posts for all of these, but I think I'll simply cover it all here.

@naoisbroke made a post about what a missed opportunity it was to make 'Day of the Sorcerers' a multi-part episode, given how rushed it was for such a HUGELY IMPORTANT episode.

I reblogged their post with some of the things the episode could have touched on in a two-part or three-part episode, but I wanted to make it a separate post too with additional ideas:

We didn't even see the rest of the Order get stopped or what happened to them (Magnus had been quick to fire Slickwell after his treachery in 'Baileywhoops', so it's safe to say he did the same to Greylock for what was obviously something even worse, assuming he didn't have him banished or locked up)! Craig Gerber confirmed on his Twitter shortly after the episode aired that they were stopped, but c'mon, it's called showing- not telling!

Sofia could have told Cedric (and the rest of her family) that Merlin and a bunch of the good sorcerers from the Conjurers' Conference headed off to their respective kingdoms to stop the rest of the Order (which we at least saw them leaving to do, but it was never even brought up again).

It would have been so awesome for Cedric and Sofia to join the other good wizards in going after the rest of the Order of the Wand and help stop them (as another one of Cedric's first acts of truly being good and taking responsibility). Maybe at the end of the episode when James asks Cedric for a magic show and Cedric happily agrees, Cedric would have instead said "I'm afraid I'll have to take a raincheck, my prince. I must join the other sorcerers in stopping the rest of the Order of the Wand!" Sofia could have said "I'm coming with you!" and he and the family (especially her family, who- unlike Cedric- rarely saw how capable and strong she is on adventures through the show) would have protested that it was much too dangerous, but she would insisted that they were doing this together, then Cedric would have proudly said "Then come along, my fine apprentice!" which would have ended Part 1, leading led to Part 2.

Sofia could have actually told Cedric she learned from Merlin there was a way to reverse the effects of the Medusa Stones after all (despite Grimtrix emphasizing the spell was totally unbreakable, which I think he deliberately lied about). I hc he asked her off-screen how she found out removing the stone from the wand and dropping it breaks the spell, but it would have been nice to see.

It would have been neat to have Cedric and Greylock speak to each other or, at the very least, acknowledge each other at the Order of the Wand meeting (like Cedric did with Morgana when he was shocked to see her there), especially after they sort of became friends by the end of 'Baileywhoops'!

It would have made more sense if it better explained Greylock's motivation to betray his king, maybe even as part of a big confrontation/battle between him and Cedric during a scene where Cedric and Sofia try to help stop the Order.

I'm glad Cedric was at least shocked to see Morgana at the Order of the Wand meeting, tho it would have been nice if he'd demanded to know how she got out of Merlin's mirror! And why didn't she acknowledge him at all? Surely she was feeling vengeful toward him after he helped Merlin defeat her during their last encounter (in season 3's 'Gone With the Wand')!

Speaking of Morgana... like I discussed in another post of mine (about how Grimtrix was blatantly manipulating Cedric in 'Day of the Sorcerers') how Cedric and Sofia teamed up to defeat Grimtrix in season 3's 'Hexley Hall', it would have been interesting to have Morgana doubt that Cedric could be trusted to be on their side, knowing for herself- like Grimtrix- how close he is with Sofia and similarly having experienced defeat because of them both (plus, she would have likely used the fact that Cedric had helped Merlin defeat her as further proof he's too much of a goody-goody to be trusted). I can see Grimtrix assuring Morgana he had Cedric wrapped around his finger (again, see that post of mine for more details), and that they'd only freeze him with the Medusa spell if necessary.

It would have been good to actually find out what would have happened to Grimtrix; the guards seized him in the actual episode, but it could have been announced that he would no longer be the headmaster of Hexley Hall. (Ooooh, and maybe near the very end of the multi-part episode, Cedric could have told Sofia he was contacted and offered the job as recognition for his part in stopping the Order, but that he declined and told them his place is serving the royal family and kingdom of Enchancia).

In the end, Cedric could have earnestly told Sofia how much her friendship, kindness, and support always meant to him, how it changed him for the better, and they finally could have shared a mutual hug (because Cedric did neither of those things in season 4, and it really bothers me).

Maybe the end of the multi-parter could have included strong hints of Wormwood being VERY disgusted with Cedric's new goody-goody ways, and hints of their friendship really turning sour.

@cedric-my-beloved @moonypears-blog @bettathanyou @fantadym @sweetmariihs2 @majoresca

[feynavaley]

That's not true, atleast not in canon, when he sees france is truly down about his new uniform he shown real worry and even America when he's down after being dismissed by African citizens, he cares and he acts, his acts are rejected inboth the cases because he's not exactly in good terms with either of them yet but that hasn't stopped Jim from showing worry. And it continues in modern world too.

I know HC mean making stuff up but do you have a reason for believing this way

Hi and thanks for the questions.

I have already partially addressed this in a reblog of that post [x], which I have since deleted because you guys are right – I did go overboard compared to what I actually meant to say. I'm sorry about this, I was half-asleep and posted that without thinking too much. I don't think England is unkind or callous at all. I do think he may come across this way at times, though.

Regarding the last point, there’s an important clarification to be made: coming across as something doesn’t mean truly being like that. England cares a lot and he has a big heart, I’ve never claimed the contrary. All I was trying to say was that he has trouble expressing it.

Furthermore, I should mention that my headcanons aren't meant to be taken as absolute. You can't encapsulate the entirety of a character in a few lines, they're much too complex for that. When I write such a short headcanon, it's only about one aspect of a character. In England's case, this is even more important than it is for other characters. I see England almost like an onion: there are many layers to him and to how he behaves, and his behaviour changes a lot depending on the situation and how uncomfortable he is.

Now, let me reiterate one thing: England is kind. In a neutral situation, when there's nothing he particularly cares about at stake, he has no trouble being kind and attentive. In spite of this, England is also extremely insecure – an insecurity born out of many rejections and bad experiences. Due to this, I think England may have trouble expressing himself and his true nature in situations that are more emotionally loaded. On one hand, he'd like to – on the other hand, the fear of rejection holds him back.

This doesn't mean England never intervenes. I never actually meant that (but definitely came across too strongly in the post) because he does when he cares about people and he thinks they're upset – but I do think it's extra hard for him, and it may make him come across as harsher than he means to. Even the situations you mention can lead to this: as you said, England was kind – only for his actions to be misinterpreted and overlooked. After these multiple experiences, don’t you think it would be harder for England to keep trying? I don’t think it would be far-fetched. Moreover, his confidence has been shaken more and more over the years, which I think would make him more hesitant to intervene.

England has also being called ‘a tsundere’ by Himaruya himself, which was also shown in several snippets: even when he’s being kind, if he’s feeling vulnerable he becomes flustered and acts in a sort of roundabout way that can make him come across as harsher than he means to. Once again, the key-word is ‘come across’. England isn’t like that, but he does tend to act in a way that portrays his character as worse than it actually is.

That being said, I acknowledge that I definitely went too far and worded that speculation of mine too harshly. It’s true that England does intervene, at last. Still, I do think it takes a lot out of him.

Lastly, there’s another point I’d like to address because I think that one ruffled some feathers and might have been a reason behind some harsh answers I got: I do not think Canada is, overall, a better person than England. The reason I made that comparison is that Canada and England share similarly severe self-esteem issues. However, Canada is younger and more naive than England – and, more importantly, other personifications are much kinder with him than they generally are with England. I’m simplifying a lot here, but as a result, Canada developed a positive mindset whereas England turned to pessimism in order to protect himself from the disappointment. I’m of the opinion this can also make Canada more likely to act even though he’s internally second-guessing himself just as hard as England is – but Canada hasn’t faced the same kind of rejection, which does make an impact.

I hope my point makes sense now! And thanks for correcting me.

[rpbetter]

As a female I get tired of seeing psa post about /It's important to treat female muses with respect/ or /Female muses deserve better treatment!!/ it's this constant thing I get slapped in the face by mutuals who reblogs that once in a blue moon, but ignore male muses or treat them like shit. I'm sorry to come off as sexist, I wish people would look out for male muses too and those who are gay since they get the short end of the stick and not appreciated. Don't get me wrong it's important to respect all muses regardless of their gender, but these post are coming off as quite feminist and Tumblr is known for being a man hater. I feel really bad for saying all of this.. I'm sorry for this rant, RPbetter. I just need to let it off my chest.

It's all good, Anon! I did tell y'all you could do exactly this!

I know, as in, I can actually feel the hackles of the RPC rising preemptively, this is going to rub people the very, very wrong way...so, I'm asking you to at least try to put that on hold and consider some things about this as a different view from what you've experienced before you get angry with Anon or myself.

Because I think the issue with this, and all PSA's that are especially full of delineation like these are, is that it isn't going to be everyone's experience in the RPC.

We tend to feel like the RPC is our little corner, or for some of you, vast empire. Sometimes, an overlap of both - our little area we have cultivated with our mutuals, our preferred resource blogs, all the blogs that branch off from us and the larger RPC specific fandom community we're a part of. I mean, I know my fandom is huge, my highly cultivated homestead within it is tiny.

I also interact with people from equally huge RPC fandoms. So, between the two, I see some major differences. The differences in some of the minuscule RPC corners I have people in can be even more extreme.

Example?

I have a mutual who is open to crossovers and spends time in three bigger fandoms with their muse. The muse is highly desirable in the fandom they come from, had no issue adapting and being desirable in the second big one, but in the third, it was quite different. Same approach that worked out wonderfully everywhere else did not work in this third fandom because the muse...is female in a male and gay ship predominant fandom. So, while this mutual never experienced trouble getting/keeping interaction and respectful treatment of their muse/themselves everywhere else, they suddenly got slapped with it there. It's often a problem of specific fandoms and their material.

Another example?

Myself.

My main muse is everything that the more hateful PSA's of this sort say is the desirable muse that unfairly gets all the attention and respect: extremely well-known main character, conventionally attractive, male, white, young, and the way he presents in canon, you can play with HCs about him being not being cishet pretty easily. Highly shippable muse that can be made even more so without messing with canon much, if at all.

So, you'd think that I would never have any trouble getting interactions, ships that I want, plots I want, and good treatment of my muse (I mean by other muns, other muns not being total assholes about my muse, what happens between muses, when it isn't directly due to the mun's attitude, is different), right? I don't.

Don't get me wrong, I have the interactions I want, they're perfect. I have the writing partners I always wanted, the best ships, stunning plots, but that's entirely because I am OC and crossover friendly. I'm open to accepting writing partners based purely on the writing. My own fandom does not like my muse, outside of one specific version anyway, the canon ship is not supported, the popular fanon ship is likely to get you a callout in the RPC.

In my fandom, the female muses do get more respect and attention for the most part. It's one of those fandoms pretty into...well, fandom as an act of activism. That's not to say, before anyone loses it on me, that creating or picking up a female muse is doing it for woke points. Just that there is a rather open prerogative in my fandom to create/choose muses based on the idea of "representation" and "fixing canon." If you have one that is like mine, you're automatically assumed to be a lot of really shitty things. Getting called a school shooter, love that for me.

The whole "respect female muses or die" take isn't necessary there, it's the take. Doesn't stop it from coming around weekly, though, so I do feel you on this, Anon.

Furthermore, I'd personally prefer it if we'd all consider getting back to the take of just respecting muse choices and writing, period. People are always going to have preferences, in one place it might align with your own, in another it doesn't. That's perfectly alright and does not mean anything horrible about those people unless they're actively being horrible with it!

Preferring female muses doesn't mean you're a radfem, preferring (or just having even one) a f/m ship does not mean this or that you're homophobic either, nor does it make a bi/pan muse suddenly heterosexual and "bad representation/you're just saying they're bi and that's gross." Just means those are the ships that developed.

Preferring male muses doesn't mean you're "part of the problem" or "taking the easy way," and having or preferring a queer ship does not mean you're a "nasty fujoshi." It also doesn't invalidate what someone has established about their muse's sexuality, a bi/pan muse isn't Gay Now because their primary ship is m/m.

And that's to say nothing of how weird, and often at least mildly offensive, all of this is to both muns and muses that are not on the gender binary. You should probably consider that before you keep implying to a mun that the muse they've established as not cis is exactly that.

Or, that writing a female muse might be impossible for some muns for more reasons than just preference, a thing that is valid enough on its own. A decent number of muns in the RPC are also not cis, this may be the only safe place for them to drop being gendered as they were assigned at birth, it might even trigger dysphoria for them to write a female muse. I know that I am incredibly uncomfortable writing female muses. It's a little ridiculous to keep dropping the implication to outright demand that everyone needs to do their part in filling the female muse quota in the RPC or they're misogynists and/or phobes.

My experience, and I am not alone in it, has been getting plenty of shit for having male muses only, always assumed to be cisgender and often heterosexual. Plenty of shit for not writing the canon as cishet, too...and plenty more for my main ships being with female characters because they're the ones that worked out and stuck around.

No one is lying when they say that there are places where their male muses and queer ships are not looked on positively.

The thing is, I also witness female muses being treated like shit, yes!

And I will say, that treatment is so much worse if the muse is also an OC, has a canon f/m ship they'd like to write or just to write a ship with a canon if they're an OC, or they're certain types of female muses. Because the demands do not stop at being female. You also have to write a Strong Female Character to be of interest, and she had better be available to shipping and smut while not presenting as too sexually open. It's become an impossible obstacle course.

I see it on the dash, I see absolutely valid complaints, and the majority of my friends write female muses. I'm very aware of the problems they've faced, bias against them does exist!

Example of this?

Writing partners who have both male and female muses experiencing, repeatedly, their male muses being picked over the female muses, and their emotionally softer or less sexually available female muses being chosen dead last. The writing is great, these muses are well-done and interesting, easy to interact with, but they'll get told on the blogs for the male muses that they're only interested in them, the other mun having missed that this is the same mun behind both muses.

And it always comes down to wanting to ship m/m. Even when the muse is established as being heterosexual, they'll just keep trying to push it into happening with their male muse. If your male muse is heterosexual, that is like a violent act against the whole RPC.

So, that's also absolutely not a lie either, it does happen, it is a problem. It's valid to be upset about this!

In my opinion and experience, these are both significant problems predicated upon the same, overall issues:

not respecting choices and preferences equally

performative activism in fictional communities

requiring personal information as justification in order to respect choices/preferences as valid and not problematic

not being interested in writing for its own sake and characters for their own sake, but rather, what they say about oneself/in validation and display of one's ideals and/or personhood

not understanding that just because a character is x, y, or z does not, actually, make them interesting or a good character, let alone to everyone

So, I really think the answer here isn't saying that there is a single problem with muse gender across the board, everywhere and without variables, and demanding that people "respect," a thing that actually translates into "you must accept all of x as writing partners no matter your interest in them or viability, as writing partners" all of any one type of muse. I think that's just weirdly pressuring and remaining at a distance from the incredibly simple answer of accepting that people have preferences that do not always benefit you, that you might even find offensive, but that's a right they have.

It's okay if you're not interested in the conventionally attractive, canon male muse, even if someone has HC'ed him as queer. It's okay if you're not interested in the Strong Woman female OC, even if someone has given her other labels of significance. It's okay if you're not interested in someone's well-developed, well-written female OC or canon, someone's male OC or canon, or someone's proudly genderless creature. (Again, don't come at me folks, I literally call myself that, it's a joke based on the way people who do not ascribe to the gender binary can be treated/viewed by others who do, thanks!)

Your likes and dislikes are okay! Even if they're "not inclusive," yes. So long as you're not being a fucking bigot, you're alright. It isn't anyone's job here to be correct the ills of reality in their fiction, let's just all start focusing less on the fine details and more on respecting each other regardless of whether individual preferences benefit us or not.

Forcing people to interact based on guilting or shaming them is the opposite of the answer. Always. And just because it is one extreme in your RPC area does not mean it's like this in everyone else's. I'm genuinely sorry that anyone has experienced negative things based on such ridiculous factors, but please, be sure you're not turning around and doing the same shit to someone else.

Going to repeat:

Forcing people to interact based on guilting or shaming them is the opposite of the answer. Always.