#this specific genre of gay people destroys me

[crazycatmilo]

Guys holy shit. I just watched the first two LOTR movies for the first time. I see how Martin was inspired by Sam. Frodo and Sam are so Jon and Martin coded I’m losing it I should’ve watched these a long ass time ago.

ALSO “It’s your Sam” like oh my GODDDD.

Also Legolas is so cool I love that guy.

[ichayalovesyou]

Why Do Old-School TV Duos Have SUCH MLM Vibes?!

I think there’s something very specific about the formula and writing style of non-serialized/semi-serialized shows from the 60s to 80s that featured two grown men going on wacky dangerous adventures that makes my gay little literary analysis brain go absolutely off the wall bonkers. I’m trying to figure out why!

I’m writing this on my Trek blog because I don’t think this pattern in people actually shipping these types of relationships the way they do if fandom as we know it wasn’t born via TOS in syndication. That being said! I also think it has to do with the way these shows are designed that makes myself and others OBSESSED with a specific character dynamic that feels (to me) damn near impossible to replicate in modern television. In a way that’s more than just fandom, it’s in the way TV like this was written at the time!

Further explanation under the cut!

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

I think what it usually boils down to is this. There’s a charming protagonist whom without the series could not operate, frequently top billed or the title character! (See: Wild Wild West, Starsky & Hutch) BUT he doesn’t have anyone to play off of! So what do they do pretty much every single time? Give Mr. Idealized Vision of Time-Period Masculinity For Genre a second guy to rhyme with!

See but the other guy has to play opposite but parallel to our hypermasculine protagonist. So what frequently ends up happening is that in order to play off our “normal” guy, even though he’s also a white dude, is that he’s still somehow Other.

They’re always perfect for each other, and they always get into scenarios that would be written, shot and interpreted by conventional audiences as romantic IF either one of those characters were a woman! Especially at the time these shows were made in.

If the one is aggressive, the other is gentle. If the protagonist is violent, his counterpart is intellectual. If the one is stoic, the other is emotional. Which (while one size def doesn’t fit all) usually makes the second guy come off as much more queer-coded (and sometimes other minorities like neurodivergent/disabled etc) than the other because of the traits associated with masculinity vs gayness at the time! Our prime examples in these gifs are Spock, Hutch, Artemus, and also *BJ!

*(M*A*S*H is a bit of a unique case since the show flirts with queerness more openly in ways that people more into the series have explained better than me but I think it still fits the formula I’m discussing.)

Here’s the thing though right? We’ve got two best friends, and the show NEVER really feels right if one of them is missing unless the focus of the story is how A & B operate without each other while trying to find the other one. They stick with and rescue each other unfailingly in scenarios that might destroy a regular friendship.

Hell, there’s often stuff that would emotionally/physically destroy a regular person/character in modern media. But because it’s not serialized they always seem to pull through seemingly through the power of friendship alone or dealing with it off-screen! Emotional consequences? Yuck! (Unless it’s M*A*S*H or Starsky & Hutch, like I said, not monolithic)

Here’s the thing that some people might say throws a wrench into the interpretation I’m discussing. What about the absolutely non-stop parade of conventionally attractive women the main protagonist (and less frequently the supporting man) goes through?

I would reply: how many of those female characters actually emotionally impact our protagonists as characters long term?

The answer is of course, because it’s NOT serialized, almost none! Kirk can watch Edith Keeler get killed by a car accident and still be making eyes at Spock the next episode. Hawkeye can have a “life changing” romance with a Vietnamese humanitarian woman, then share a blanket with BJ next episode like she never existed!

The Doylist explanation of course is not just the fact it wasn’t serialized but also just, constant, blatant 20th century sexism. Which SUCKS!!! As well as not wanting a long term love interest to throw off the character dynamic of our duderagonists. It’s the 20th century tv equivalent of bros before hoes.

However the Watsonian explanation always seems to result in no love interest EVER being more important than what the two protagonists have no matter whether you think they’re queer or not. No attractive woman could make our reputed babe-hound protagonist abandon his buddy. There’s no earnest romance our more queer-coded supporting man doesn’t end (or get ended for him) often for the protagonist’s sake.

Now some of these women are incredibly well written and straight up GOOD matches for our guys. So why wouldn’t they get involved in something long term UNLESS!! They were in love with each other the WHOLE time?

What if protagonist (frequently the babe hound) doesnt know he’s queer, or knows but doesn’t know he’s in love with his bestie, or any number of similar fruity explanations? The supporting man also runs into this explanation but people tend to believe he’s already aware that he’s queer but either also doesn’t know he’s in love or is keeping it to himself because time-period homophobia and/or thinking (probably not unreasonably) that babe hound is straight?

Between the inherent closeness of being narrative foils. The regularly scheduled life or death drama creating sometimes insanely romantic (in the narrative if not a literal sense) drama between the two. The revolving door of weekly women they never seem to get attached to enough to leave one another. The non-serialized nature resulting in sparse personal information/history about the protagonists as a result.

I think between the very NATURE of the way tv shows were written at the time. Plus the way fandom was shaped by a dynamic that has rippled through how media works and is interpreted by fans for decades upon decades. It’s not hard to imagine getting really emotionally invested in the possibility of the protagonists being in love is a fantastic way to enjoy the media!

In conclusion, it’s really fun and easy to go “these bitches gay! Good for them good for them!”

[antimony-medusa]

Okay so inspired by nothing in particular (it's inspired by reading the notes on the ace swag final poll, fun stuff in there), I have been thinking about being Cringe. Cause like, you enter a fandom, and usually, you find out shortly that somebody else hates that fandom. There is no fandom niche enough that it's not Weird to somebody, and there's no fandom mainstream enough that it's not Annoying to somebody else. And given the fact that some people do hatred recreationally, there's often going to be somebody mad enough about your fandom that they're going to go on diatribes about how your fandom is bad and actually harmful and destroying the fabric of civilization, etc. They're gonna pull out anything negative and blow it up until it's the size of the skyline and attack you for liking this negative thing.

Fun times, we've all seen it.

And the thing is, there's an impulse to have this happen and immediately find somebody else to point to and say, yeah, well, I might be weird, but at least I'm not THAT guy. I might read YA, but at least I'm not a Furry— those guys are sexual deviants! I might be into actual play podcasts, but at least I'm not into mcyt— those guys are all harmful and my guy is fine. I might be into danmei, but at least I'm not into bandom— rpf is so gross. I might be a furry, but at least I'm not into mainstream romance novels— senseless drivel aimed at middle class white women. Y'know. Immediately find someone to punch down on.

And boy do I understand why you want to do that, when people are pointing at you, but I don't actually think that it's helpful.

Cause like, every fandom has a logical train of thought and reasonable human impulses behind it. You might not share those impulses— I'm not a furry I don't think, I don't really get true crime— but that doesn't mean I can't have it explained to me by a very patient person in in the writer's workshop common room and go "oh, yeah, kinda pretending to be an animal, but you're gay about it, yeah, makes sense", or "oh yeah, morbid curiosity from the safety of your headphones, it's like a horror movie but real" and nod. Like there isn't a fandom or group out there that doesn't look weird from the outside, and there isn't a fandom or group that can't be explained if someone has thought about the human psyche enough.

And that isn't to say that there isn't sometimes salient critiques for what fandoms are doing or not doing— to grab the two examples above, I have heard people talking about issues with true crime reinforcing the current fucked up justice system, or bigotry at furry cons. But a) most of the time, there is already somebody inside that community that's fighting against those issues, and you just threw them under the bus with the problem they're trying to fix b) you don't usually know the nuances of the actual conversation and problems, you saw a couple callout posts. You saying "Yeah I'm a board game nerd but at least I don't play competitive trading card cames, those guys are doing nothing but feeding the capitalist machine" is not usually helpful towards fixing the ctg scene. It's just a cheap way to score points.

Like, I assure you that the YA scene is aware of the calcification of the genre into a tighter and tighter romantic form and their dependence on going big on tik-tok to sell enough to keep publishing. They know.

You specifically saying that your fandom is better cause it's not [problems you heard about other fandom having] is not actually going to make the person who's hating on you stop hating. They already decided that you're the person they're better than and that they're punching down on, you passing the punching down on to another fandom just makes more people sad on the internet, and potentially starts yet another chain of someone punching down at someone else. The wheel grinds on, everybody gets punched.

I guess this is just kinda turning into a "why hate on the internet, what good does that do" post, which is broader than I meant it to be. But like, there's a difference between thoughtful critique of problems (complicated to do fairly but very necessary) and finding someone new to curbstomp to make yourself feel better/morally superior (look, I'm writing this on a mcyt blog, we've all seen this happen, it does not increase the joy in the world).

Like in MCYT, we all decide to punch down on [other server we hate], or RPF, or people who write kidfic, or people who write e-rated fic/art, or people doing the popular trope of the moment, and sure, it lets you feel morally superior for the moment, at the cost of slapping the guy next to you. Haven't we had enough slapping the guy next to you? There but for the grace of god (got a fun idea/watched the wrong stream/ended up in the wrong brainstorming circle/got fixated on the wrong funny guy) goes I. You're not better than another group just because you saw a couple more callout posts (usually from people inside the community trying to fix things) about them.

We are all Cringe. There is nobody who's not Cringe. Don't say that you're not Cringe because someone else is more Cringe. Stop that.

[bengiyo]

Hi! I'm here for the ask game and ready for you to choose violence! I'm interested in questions #3, 12, 18, and 25. If you don't mind, I want to narrow these questions to BL only, unless you have a particularly violent non-BL answer that's too good not to share. I don't have any specific BLs in mind, but if a restriction like "only those that finished or will finish airing this year" or "not this year" is interesting or productive, have at it. Thanks!

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

I'm just gonna keep talking about La Pluie. I saw multiple reactions calling most of episode 8 boring. I am sorry, but if you came to the show interrogating the concept of soulmates and were bored because the two romantic leads said that they choose each other even if they aren't destined to be together, I think you are too jaded and need to take a break from romance.

Sincerely, it baffles me to see people engaging with genre stories and seemingly getting mad that a show is playing around with the conventions of the drama. The spoiler culture brain rot is destroying media literacy and it really makes me sad that it seems like we're chasing the high of something new and unexpected. This on the website of the people reading the same kind of fanfic for the umpteenth time to get their fix.

I just don't get going into romance and being mad that they're doing the big romance things in a show literally about big romance.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I am going to interpret this to mean a character that the fandom doesn't like, and not just someone that folks don't know about. I could write about Uncle Man from 21 Days Theory, and I've already written about Framboise.

So I'm going to write about Korn from UWMA. Sometimes I will say on the podcast that "y'all don't like gay men when we're not pretty, funny, sexy, or entertaining." I have to suffer through comments about how Kao is a bad actor or that Korn sucks all the time, and both are wrong. Y'all just don't care about the stoic gay boys that try their damndest to pass and quietly suffer.

Korn is a tragic character because he was trying to be the man that he was expected to be, and then Intouch came along. He was harsh to Intouch throughout much of their romance because he knew what he was going to do. You can see the pain leaking out of that man's eyes the entire time. Intouch tried to save him. Hell, they brought Perth Tanapon to cry about their deaths to hammer home how sad the whole thing was.

It just makes me really sad sometimes around here that we're only ever going to get worked up about the loud and flamboyant characters, or the especially pretty and charming ones.

I am here for characters like Korn (UWMA), Mamoru (Kabe Koji), Shiro (WDYEY), Mitsuru (EY), Teh (IPYTM), Cairo (Gameboys), Shin (3WBF), Inthawut (180DLPTU), and many more.

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

Currently, I feel some kinda way about how people keep looking for reasons to hate Patts in La Pluie, as if his ideal partner signalling is somehow to be mistrusted. It's just a bit sad for me that folks seem determined to hate the lead in this.

I don't really ever get second lead syndrome that often, so everyone on the Lomfon-Tai train confuses me. Lomfon is RUDE, and I do not fuck with that boy.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

Not a specific complaint, but I've said many times around here that I really hate when folks abuse the tools of criticism to say that they didn't like something. Y'all really don't need to pathologize why you don't like something and reach for flaws in the storytelling or production to justify why you don't like something.

We are a niche fandom. We are not seeing the huge sums of money poured into our productions that huge setpieces are going to get. Y'all need to show a little fucking grace to the creators bringing these things to us.

🔥 choose violence ask game 🔥

[incorrectsibunaquotes]

i’m taking a class on horror films through a queer lens and today we covered a theory called ‘infiltration anxiety’ and how secret societies are often stand-ins for queer people because “how are you supposed to tell who’s part of this hidden ‘other’ group when they look and act like everyone else?”

i think unsurprisingly this infiltration anxiety (and subsequent potential for queer reading) can be applied to s1 and s3 of hoa respectively— more so than s2 for obvious reasons.

in many horror films throughout history, the secret society preys on impressionable youths, whether to influence or harm them. this impact is most obvious in three student characters in hoa s1: joy, patricia, and jerome. oftentimes in horror films, these societies (often queer coded) target teens who are either loners or have missing parental figures. all of them are students at a boarding school so no parents, and while joy’s dad is present, he’s still a central point in the society.

and, as we know, secret societies are often queer coded. who are our main players in the s1 secret society/society adjacent group? victor, rufus, and mr. sweet. now, idk about y’all, but… do i have to say it? 💅🏻 okay, in case it’s not clear, these three characters in particular are queercoded in some way, shape, or form. at the very least they’re all bi. and they all prey on teenagers in some way, shape, or form— whether through gaslighting, grooming, or, more often than not in the case of the hoa adults, both. joy and patricia were essentially groomed and gaslit by the society and rufus respectively, and jerome was definitely exploited, which is a lot of what anti-gay propaganda claimed was happening to children because of the existence of secret society type groups in the mid-20th century.

(i want to be clear that especially in the horror genre, a lot of queer coding is inherently homophobic to get around the production code that was put in place to combat “perversion and depravity” in film, so while equating homosexuality with predatory behavior is obviously not good, it’s still filed under a “queer reading”)

now, in s3, it’s a more traditional sense of infiltration anxiety. this is applicable to a horror films like invasion of the body snatchers or in lots of vampire movies. there’s also the inclusion of a curing trope, but i’ll get back to that.

in s3b, the sinners (the name alone gives me enough fuel for a traditional horror queer theory reading, but i digress) operate as a sort of secret society in and of itself. my professor literally used the words “they walk among us” in reference to the pervasive fear in the 50s and 60s in america about both communists and queer people. and i don’t have to talk about how queercoded robert frobisher-smythe is, do i? i mean…

anyway, if we’re looking at this all as a metaphor, we once again get that homophobic read on infiltration anxiety. here’s a queercoded man/monster preying on children and recruiting them to also be queercoded monsters preying on children. it’s an old and potentially problematic trope if we look at it through horror film queer theory.

now, let’s look specifically at the dynamic between sibuna at this point, because they best represent the “discovery plot” often used in horror films that feature infiltration anxiety:

straight couple who discover a thing: obviously it’s the whole club who discovers that frobisher is on the hunt, but two of them are paired off so they count.

they are aware the thing is there and dangerous and they’re trying to convince other people of that: more specifically applicable to kt trying to convince sibuna that she’s been set up by patricia.

the couple (or group) is not believed until it’s too late: fabian learns the truth and immediately gets picked off

the female character in the couple is in danger from the thing (may also succumb to the threat): patricia (or arguably kt but in a different context)

the hero discovers the thing’s achilles heel and exploits the weakness to destroy the monster: eddie & co vs team evil smack down

If we look at this through a queer lens, particularly point four stands out, especially in the context of s3b and sinner!patricia’s behavior with kt and eddie separately. the female protagonist is in danger/harmed by the thing and has succumbed to its influence, thus infiltrating the good group. her behavior with kt is physical and obsessive, and as i’ve pointed out before… can be read homoerotically. on the flip side, her behavior with eddie is a pageantry of straightness— she is acting as the “perfect straight girl” should with her boyfriend, only to further her evil agenda.

the curing trope was often used in queercoded horror films to overcome the evil, aka curing the monster of its queerness. that might be a religious curing or it may be a straight curing, like in the nightmare on elm street sequel where freddy is defeated bc the girlfriend of the queercoded boy he possessed kisses him and he melts back into her boyfriend. ring any bells for s3?

once the evil (queerness) has been eradicated, everything returns to normal (heteronormativity)

both these s1/s3 instances of horror tropes are very interesting… and potentially products of a problematic production code chic

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 12 - Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

So, like everyone on tumblr, I was at least peripherally aware of The Untamed, if only as ‘the C-drama with the impossibly pretty men everyone loves shipping about necromancy or something.’ (Also the one crossover porn fanfic with so many tags that it broke AO3.) So I wasn’t quite coming into this blind, but I think I came pretty close. It sure as hell wasn’t anywhere close to my vague expectations.

Anyway, this was fun! Also absolutely let me cross off reading something from an entirely unfamiliar literary subculture off my metaphorical bingo card for the year. Just reams of assumed context I absolutely did not possess. Kind of loved it (but the occasional clarifying footnotes were very much necessary and appreciated.)

Which is to say – there was so much more slapstick and physical comedy than I expected from the vague intimations of feudal politics and magical warfare I got? Not usually my sort of humour but it got a laugh out of me once or twice. My favourite character is Wei Wuxian’s donkey.

The conceit of the first story – reviled and abused failson destroys his own soul and offers up his body as a host to the spirit of a legendary evil wizard to wreak bloody vengeance for him, but fucks up the bit of the ritual that tells the spirit who to take revenge on. Also the whole ‘legendary evil wizard’ reputation was at least partially and vaguely due to a propaganda campaign by his enemies and he’s not particular enthusiastic about the ‘murder a whole family’ thing – is also just incredible. I kind of wish it had been more drawn out, before the whole ‘gotta collect them [chunks of a specific super cursed corpse] all!’ plot became the main justifying connective tissue.

Not that the overarching plot is really the story’s strong point – it’s basically just the excuse to keep Wei Wuxian and Wang Lanji together and having adventures. The actual selling points are the backstories and character interactions and to a lesser extent the monster of the week stuff. All of which are pretty well done!

Though as far as monster of the week stuff goes – I’m vaguely aware that cultivation fantasy is a whole, like, genre, with about as many weirdly specific shared assumptions as ‘generic’ western fantasy written by people swimming in a sea of Tolkien/Conan-as-interpreted-by-Warcraft-and-D&D, but I’ve really got zero clue whatsoever to what degree the worldbuilding of this is typical of the genre? Not that it particularly matters, beyond some of the reveals making much more sense if they’re building off an assumed awareness of how the world’s expected to work, all more or less new (though more or less intuitive) to me either way. Fun to see so much magic based around music.

Anyways – obviously I’m going in with a biased perspective but my god can you see how this ended up with a massive shipping fandom. The entire story is nothing but impossibly beautiful men flirting/pranking/sexually harassing each other while being utterly and entirely capable to even understand let along communicate their feelings. The two lead’s entire relationship in this volume is like a dated mid-2000s comedy sketch about two ostensibly straight guys playing gay chicken and both being so competitive that they just end up fucking. Author really knew what they were doing with the fanfic bait.

(Though honestly I’m legitimately unsure if it’s just a matter of narrative choice to not dwell on motivations or Wei Wuxian really is the single most unselfaware asshole in the entire universe. He legitimately seems incapable of understanding his own motivations most of the time.)

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the art, which really is very lovely. Though I will be entirely honest that there’s only so many handsome black-haired men in flowing robes I can keep apart in my head.

But yeah, fun read overall. Don’t exactly feel compelled to go seek out the next volume, but don’t regret having read this one, damn sight better than some other things I’ve read this year.

[darlingofdots]

That comment seems kind of reductive about both fanfiction and popular romance, in my opinion. Fanfic and romance are really close cousins, and people who study them academically often use resources and theory from both fields (including me!) because the overlap is that big. @ibex-ascendant is absolutely correct and I (and many romance scholars) would even argue that Regency Romance as it exists today is a form of fanfiction that evolved from Georgette Heyer's romances in the 1920s and Jane Austen, and it functions basically the same as, like, soulmate AUs or omegaverse: there's no official manual that tells you how to play in this space and every author will do something slightly different with it, but through the process of lots of people reading and writing stories inspired by each other, we have established a general understanding and expectation of what to expect when we see a fic or pic up a book with this tag. A lot of romance is also just kind of fanfiction, anyway, considering how much of it is retellings/re-imaginings of pre-existing stories like fairytales or mythology. For some really meta shit, check out Maya Rodale's "Keeping Up With The Cavendishes" series--they're all Regency Romance adaptations of classic romcoms, including one that's a Regency adaptation of Bridget Jones' Diary, which is a modern adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, which is basically the blueprint for all of Regency Romance.

When I pick up a new Regency Romance, which is the subgenre I'm most familiar with so I'll keep using it as an example, I'm not expecting and don't really want an in-depth explanation of how the ton works and why the protagonists can't be caught alone together. I already know! I want to get to the fun bits, I want to see how this author writes certain tropes (which are often the exact same as in fanfiction! Seriously, if you read a lot of fanfic, I can almost guarantee that there is a romance author out there who writes the exact stuff you're into. Yes, even if you're into gay stuff. Romance really isn't just white cishets, people just don't bother looking past their own preconceived notions about this genre. But I digress.) or explores certain dynamics. Romance novels have a specific structure--not necessarily a formula! Think of it like a hero's journey but for two people falling in love--that a lot of shippy fanfiction also follows, because humans like stories to work a certain way and we've figured out that this is how we enjoy our love stories with happy endings. Look up Pamela Regis' Natural History of the Romance Novel or, for more of a writing advice perspective, Gwen Hayes' Romancing the Beat. Obviously there is a lot of variation in how that structure plays out and different authors can be good or bad at it, but to say that 'fanfic has different story beats than traditional fiction' is just a really inaccurate statement, unless you don't consider romance novels to be traditional fiction, in which case you should work on your biases.

I'd also argue that there is like, absolutely nothing wrong with fanfic-turned-published-romance. I kind of love picking up a book and reading the summary and going 'oh this used to be fanfiction' but usually that's because I have a pretty decent awareness of fanfiction and can usually figure out what pairing it used to be, but your average non-fanfic reader probably won't even notice. Yes, a lot of the time fanfiction only works as fanfiction because the character dynamics etc. are so specific to the source material that you can't really file off the serial numbers without destroying the whole thing, but the kind of fic that gets published usually is already an AU! A good writer, working with a good editor, can absolutely turn a decent fanfiction into a decent published romance novel.

I'd argue that the issue with fanfic-turned-published-romance has nothing to do with either of those forms or genres. There's probably way more of those around than anyone realises. But the ones you hear about are the outliers that have a lot of hype around them and like, I'm sorry to say this, but those aren't necessarily going to be the ones that are good, you know? You see this in fandom too, the most popular fics are not necessarily the ones with the highest quality of writing or the most complex and meaningful themes, the most popular fics are the ones that appeal to the broadest audience. That's just how it works, in any form of entertainment. So if you have specific tastes or high standards for what you want in a book, yeah sure you probably won't enjoy the One Direction fanfiction that was such a massive hit on WattPad that it got a publishing deal. Publishing deals don't go to the best, most nuanced, richest texts out there, they go to stories that people in charge of making money think will make them the most money. Simple as that. The company paying to print that One Direction WattPad novel is going to put in the absolute minimum amount of effort to make sure they're not going to get sued and then they are going to print it and enjoy the payoff. At the same time I guarantee you that there are a lot of fanfiction writers out there who look at the 80,000 word AU they're crafting and realise, huh, this is pretty good, and then they put in a bunch of effort on their own and shop it around as if it were any other manuscript and if they're lucky they'll get a publishing deal, and I might pick it up and go 'oh lol this used to be fanfic' and then I'll read it and have a good time because they're a talented writer of romance stories, which is what fanfiction often is.

TL;DR: stop making sweeping statements about entire genres based on non-representative samples especially if you don't know enough about those genres to back up your argument.

this comment on that vulture article about the "fanfic-to-romance novel pipeline" is very interesting and not something i've seen articulated...much to think about...

[simonalkenmayer]

I’m sorry, could you explain more how humanism is linked to right wing fascism? My only prior knowledge of the term is the art movement, and even trying to read more about it is just telling me that it’s a belief system that prioritizes people over divinities, which strikes me as a good thing. I’m just not really understanding the link between these two.

Humanism is good. It’s about elevating the human experience in all its diversity, and protecting it. Making up for what humans lack through organizing a society. It’s what “liberalism” has been in the US for a hundred years.

Let’s see…how to say this without a chronological essay that you can get through your own reading…

Let’s start with Joe McCarthy. It goes all the way back to the slave trade, but for now let’s just start there. McCarthy and other conservatives in the post WWII era, were angry about how badly the Nazis had done. So were the remaining Nazis. Many of them went to South America and aligned themselves with dictators there. In dribs and drabs here and there, former Nazis joined right wing groups and began to say things like “in the power vacuum, communism will rise.” And so it did, but they vilified it. In fact, the World Anti Communism League was founded by a Hungarian Nazi sympathizer and death squad runner. They raised money for dictators, no joke, to “reject communism” but that is merely code for “keep Nazi ideals open”. Back here in the states, anti-communism became a dog whistle and a scare tactic. Any liberal who said a social welfare program might be good, was called a communist and their careers were destroyed.

When McCarthy tanked his career in back-biting narcissistic stupidity—as bad people often do— the communism scare fell apart. And those organizations split into two primary groups, reforming under different banners but with the same leadership. One wing targeted the end of segregation and the civil rights movement, and one began preaching moralism, specifically Christian moralism. This is when the myth of America as a Christian nation began, and through clever manipulation, they equated non-Christian to unAmerican.

Barry Goldwater jumped into that full speed, joining a group that evolved out of the anti-communist garbage. It was he who said extremism in defense of liberty is fine. When he ran for President, he allied the party to this new right wing religious stupidity. The several groups he was a part of folded up and flipped into the Christian Right and Moral Majority, and they are the Old Testament NeoCon radicals I’ve talked about. They’re the ones who are malicious and sneaky. Yes. I mean that.

Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson single handedly turned themselves into king makers, using their television platforms and the Christian Broadcasting Network to funnel shit into people’s ears. Their principle bone to pick? That Humanism, celebrating or protecting the human condition, is an act against god, who demands obedience. To them Gay people deserve to die. Anyone who isn’t Christian ought not hold office. To them, women should not have any rights, and the idea they can control their own uteruses is horrendous. It’s against god!

During his presidency, Reagan courted these radicals to use their clout. But he also sympathized with them. He had many ties to white supremacy and Nazis, but that’s another story. He destroyed the “Fairness doctrine” in broadcasting (easy to do since nazi-affiliated neocons had already gotten key positions in broadcasting) allowing for the new genre “infotainment” to exist. Television personalities who discussed news no longer had to give balanced coverage.

A couple months later, Rush Limbaugh put out his first episode, and within weeks was syndicated by over 200 stations. Roger Ailles, who worked for Reagan, loved his style, his crass, divisive, speculative hatred. It was on that model that he built Fox News for Rupert months later.

Conspiracy theory has often been used to influence voting, but in this case, conspiracy theorists and all their garbage, ties DIRECTLY back to Nazis. Humanism says being cruel to anyone is wrong. It is anathema to their way of life.

But wait! There’s Newt Gingrich. When he became minority leader, he put out a memo to all GOP candidates, specifically outlining how to manipulate voters. He listed words to use. He talked about how critical propaganda is. We have him to thank for “radical left” “leftist media” and other Trump phrasing. And then he rolled that over into his Contract with America, aka the GOP platform. During the Clinton years, when he wasn’t quietly passing these horrific changes, he was working with an entire group of right wing researchers to find dirt on Clinton and the mill it into something that would stoke the moral outrage of the right. When they found the Lewinsky scandal, they struck gold. Ken Star, recently fucked off to hell, was not even supposed to be investigating sex. He was supposed to be investigating the Whitewater business. He claimed that during the course of hearing from witnesses about the real estate deal, he’d uncovered an affair, and when asked about it, Clinton lied, because his wife didn’t know. And then? They impeached him for lying about a controversy they dug up.

Go google the news. McCarthy just enacted a new contract with America. In it? Abortion bans. It’s the same MORAL Majority, Nazi-backed platform it always was. Except that now they’re saying the quiet part aloud.

The problem was that the opposition never called a spade a spade and just let it happen.

That, my friends, is how we got Trump.

The GOP is so closely interwoven with these groups, it doesn’t actually know who it is. It really doesn’t. And it sculpts its base through vilifying humanism as an act of rebellion against God. They do not have solutions. They are a party built around gathering power, influence, and wealth. They hate anyone who is not male and white and Christian.

[crazycatmilo]

Currently in the depths of my TMA hyperfixation still and after seeing everyone comparing Jayvik and Jonmartin I might have to get into Arcane. Even though I know how it ends now 🚶this specific genre of gay people destroys me yet I love them dearly

[wishingicouldfly]

I've been actively blogging for more than six months, even though I've had a tumblr account for ten years. I started reading One Direction (specifically Larry) fanfiction about the same time.

Originally, I read exclusively canon compliant fiction--I was hungry for industry insider, what-could-have-happened narratives. But I've slowly branched out into other genres. I find fanfic--good fanfic--super calming. When I've had too much stunting, too much noise, I grab a fanfic and immerse myself. So I thought it was time to do a post about my favorites. Keep in mind, I'm terrible at cataloging, and I have over 150 bookmarks on my A03 Account, so this is by no means an exhaustive list.

I'm not including the classics like Tired, Tired Sea and Escapade. While I do love both of those (so well written), because a lot of people know about those already.

My all time favorites are by @helloamhere

1. The Multipicity of Powers - https://archiveofourown.org/works/28580229

Maybe in another universe he isn’t different. Maybe he hadn’t been given an impossible choice. Maybe he wouldn’t have lost everything and broken everything and then fallen impossibly, irrevocably in love with the first next thing that was kind. Maybe in that universe he doesn’t feel like he’s never breathing, always pretending, teaching the kids even though they all have to learn alone, trying hard not to read the headlines, and so afraid, every day, that he won’t be a good enough teammate to the superhero he can’t live without. He knows that love isn’t supposed to feel this way, slid secret under your skin like a surgical razor, an invisible war held close over the tender vein that keeps you alive. On the other hand, Louis wonders, had he ever known how to do it any other way?

Maybe there’s a universe where he doesn’t have to keep all his secrets on the inside.

But this isn’t that universe.

//an X-Men AU.

Me: I never thought I'd love a super hero 1D cross over, but this is so well done. The backstory, the pacing, the characterization, the friendship. Read it.

2. Saving Symphony Hall and it's prequel Night Out - https://archiveofourown.org/works/12633921

“I think I have an idea,” Louis said. Slowly, and reluctantly, but with a growing sense of the inevitable. “God damnit, I think I have a really good idea.”

“Oh christ, that's the problem-solving face,” Babs said. “Last time we saw that face, he sold a company.”

“Wait, what?” Zayn asked.

“Right place, right time,” Louis said. “Also, fuck my life,”

“What?” Zayn repeated. Niall patted his hand.

“I usually just roll with whatever Louis is about to do,” he said. “It’s better for us all.”

“That’s the attitude,” said Louis, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Tonight, I need to do some research. Zayn, give me your number. I’m gonna save our symphony.”

Me: The best sex scene I've ever read is in the prequel Night Out. Sexy, but tender. I love the characterizations in this duo--ABO but not traditional. Doesn't feel out of character.

3. Just Let Me -https://archiveofourown.org/works/11695350

The party was going well. So well, Niall had already sworn undying love to one multi-tiered chocolate cake, two friendly corgi-poodle mixes, Zayn’s hair, and the entire population of Los Angeles. So well, Zayn had only laughed and ruffled Niall’s hair and not even twitched towards a cigarette. So well, nearly everyone had spilled far past the boundaries of the night’s original plans, extracting bottles of vodka from the cabinets and losing a lot of clothes. Harry had proclaimed that he was finally going to throw a small and very grownup dinner party and of course here they were three hours later, fifty people half-naked in the pool. Soon to be full-naked, if Louis had to guess. Everybody in LA loved a heated pool. Everybody loved Harry.

Me: I love love love this. Harry is so gentle, and Louis is so stubborn and needy. It's ABO but subtle. I'll read this one again and again. It's comforting.

@HelloAmHere is one of the best writers I know--amazing stuff. I also love their werewolf story, but it's not finished, so I won't link it here.

Other favorites:

1. Seven Up by cherrystreet - https://archiveofourown.org/works/5828539

Very loosely based on the British TV show "The Up Series" and somewhat inspired by the song “Something I Need” by Onerepublic, we follow the lives of Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson in an interview setting every seven years. They fall apart and come together, their lives and emotions recorded. Harry calls it a time capsule. Louis calls it a pain in the arse.

Me: Trigger Warning, major character death. I literally SOBBED through the end of this. It was lovely and devastating. So good. But be warned.

2. Light, Spark and Fire series by @greenfeelings

Life’s pretty ordinary for Harry. He lives with his best friend, got into university just like he’s planned, and manages to support himself just fine for an unbonded omega. If he sustains that lifestyle by getting paid to help alphas through their rut every now and then, that’s nothing to be hung up on. Until he’s hired by an alpha that turns everything upside down.

Or, Louis and Zayn run a music label, Liam is Britain’s up-and-coming pop star, Harry’s working on taking Louis’ walls down until he builds his own up, and Niall holds them all together without realising he does.

Me: A nice healthy three-parter. Characters you just want to live with for a while.

3. Relief Next to Me by dolce_piccante - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117942

AU. What happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific Craigslist post? Fate, friendship, food, and maybe more.

Me: This one is super long, so be prepared when you dive in. It's got a lot of lovely bits, and some great smut.

4. 2012 'Verse by ashavahishta - https://archiveofourown.org/series/27601

Me: This is a five-parter and satisfies my love of canon compliant stories. It spans most of 2012 and into 2013, and illustrates the difficulties of Harry and Louis' relationship amid the band success and management disapproval.

5. Love After the End of the World by mercurial-madhouse (writing_practice) - https://archiveofourown.org/works/31251434/chapters/77248901

Society shattered when all electricity suddenly cut off across the globe, plunging the world into darkness. Now, Prometheus Industries is the sole remaining supply of power, a saving grace to those who survived Lights Out. As fugitives in no-man’s land struggling to break into Prometheus HQ, death lurks around every corner for Louis and Zayn. Things get complicated when a routine recon falls apart and Louis collides with Harry and his mates Niall and Liam, survivors with their own agenda.

When staying alive is already a constant battle, the deadliest weakness is to be in love. For Harry and Louis, finding each other sits on top of the endless list of What Else Could Go Wrong.

Me: Really unusual (as far as I can tell) end of the world story. I loved the characterizations of soul mates here at the end of the world.

6. Flightless Bird by audreyhheart - https://archiveofourown.org/works/6401653/chapters/14656807

AU where Louis Tomlinson is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. When his rival from ballet school, moody dance prodigy Harry Styles joins the company, old wounds are reopened and old passions reignited. During the company's production of Swan Lake the secret that doomed their love is finally revealed, but will it be too late?

Me: Trigger Warning, sexual assault (by an original character to a major character). This was a little brutal because I hated to see a broken Harry, but it was well written and has a happy ending.

7. Wear It Like A Crown by zarah5 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1816771/chapters/3900322

AU. As part of a team of fixers hired to handle a gay scandal in Buckingham Palace, Louis expects Prince Harry to be a lot of things—most notably a royally spoilt brat. Never mind that the very same Prince Harry used to star in quite a number of Louis' teenage fantasies.

Me: I loved Louis in this one--actually they are both pretty great. Scratch that, they are ALL pretty great.

8. Shake Me Down by AGreatPerhaps12 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/3331958/chapters/7285322

Harry's new to college, fresh out of Catholic school and conversion therapy camp, and Louis runs the campus LGBTQIA organization.

Me: I don't like the self-hate here, but it was necessary for the story and H comes around. Found family vibe.

9. Gods & Monsters by Velvetoscar - https://archiveofourown.org/works/2090982/chapters/4550871

The instructions were simple: seduce and destroy Harry Styles. Not once did they discuss the option of Louis actually falling in love. So, naturally, that's exactly what he did.

Me: I loved Harry in this one. Louis gets there. I don't like Liam, but I don't think you're supposed to. Zayn is great.

10. Own the Scars by crinkle-eyed-boo (KimmieRocks) - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1010796

Louis has never felt like he was good enough: for his stepdad, for his life-long best friend, for the life he's supposed to want. After an accident that nearly costs him his life, Louis' parents send him to rehab where he’s forced to face his demons. On the long and difficult road to recovery, Louis must confront the truths he’s been avoiding about his future, his relationships, and his sense of self-worth. Because before he can love anyone else, he’s got to learn how to love himself first.

Me: Harry is lovely in this one. Trigger warning, substance abuse and near death.

11. Wild Love by purpledaisy - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1030904

AU: Two best friends try to date each other for forty days. It's supposed to be fun until emotions make it complicated.

Me: I loved this way more than I thought I would. It's lovely and messy and I love it.

12. Victorian Boy by audreyhheart - https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosann1986/readings?page=6

Victorian AU. Harry the virgin Duke of Somerset knows little of love, while Louis the sly Duke of Warwick knows too much. When the two dukes come together for the Bilsdale fox hunt in York, Harry finds himself drawn into Louis' bed. But when secrets from Louis' dark past come to light, Harry fears that the fox isn't the only one being hunted.

Me: Historical fiction I didn't intend to love. I LOVE Harry in this one. LOTS of smut, so be warned.

13. Keep Me Closer by zanni_scaramouche - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30752633

Louis expects Harry to react poorly, maybe even file a formal complaint and that’s gonna suck ass but Louis won’t say shit cause he knows he deserves it, so he prepares an apology before Harry’s even turned around.

What he doesn’t expect is Harry to fucking drop.

Me: lovely, protective Louis just trying to do the right thing.

14. Turning Page by purpledaisy for SockstheDog

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11826345

AU: Harry Styles tries to get lost in a place he’s never been.  Louis Tomlinson has been perfecting the art of being lost for years. What they don’t expect to find is each other.

Me: sweet love story. Niall owns a bar, and is pretty great.

15. Freedom Always Comes With a Price by Cyantific - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30278514/chapters/74624262

A shared dream brings them together onto the X-factor stage, but one decision changes Harry and Louis’ lives overnight. Thrust into a world of instant stardom, they're forced to live a lie to sustain their dreams, but years of living in the shadows and under strict management takes its toll.

With the bands impending hiatus, there’s no better time for change, so they think.

Desperate for a solution, they turn to an unlikely source with a radical plan. An unfortunate accident sets everything in motion, but not how they intended, leaving Louis’ memories altered, Harry broken-hearted and full of regret.

Can Harry figure out a way to fix everything? Will he even want to once he sees how Louis moved on after the hiatus? Will Louis ever find out the truth of their past and can he forgive Harry after all this time?

In the end, two friends find out that memories are elusive, trust is everything and love is the only antidote.

Me: Heartbreaking when they lose each other, but really good in the end.

16. Little Technicolor Things by scary_crow - https://archiveofourown.org/works/6025519/chapters/13821628

Louis is a poor writer and recent university graduate, depressed, anxious, and living in London when he meets Harry, an artist with a secret who likes to paint sunrises and pretty boys from California.

17. Hold You Now by solvetheminourdreams - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30253536/chapters/74556744

Three years ago, Harry Styles said goodbye to communications consultancy firm McQuiston Worldwide, leaving a life of travel and agency PR behind. When he accompanies his best friend to a family wedding across the Atlantic, he'll be forced to reopen old wounds and face his past—one that no one wants to hash out, but may just have to.

Me: Niall is great. They almost miss each other in this one, and you just want to bash them over the head. But they figure it out.

18. At Risk, I Fold by clare328 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/26542480

2015 is a stream of hotel rooms and whisky on the rocks, tired glances and touching hands under tables. It’s the bears and the bees under a rainbow sky, and Harry and Louis have to figure out how to grow up together, instead of apart.

Me: A canon compliant fic that feels like it could have really happened. Set in 2015. Lovely first chapter and scene where Harry writes If I Could Fly--i could read that chapter over and over.

19. Into The Blue by zarah5 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035822/chapters/2065499

AU. In which Louis is Harry's scuba instructor and quite happy to provide the requested special treatment, pun fully intended. It can't be all that difficult to convince Harry that they're on the same page, right? Also, Niall and Liam may or may not be dating, and Zayn is surrounded by emotionally stunted idiots. He bears it with dignity.

Me: AKA the Scuba fic.

20. Tie Your Heart by ArcadianMaggie - https://archiveofourown.org/works/546688/chapters/973236

Harry grows wings.

Me: How can you not love a fic where Harry grows wings? Trigger warning: injury of a major character.

21. I think I'll end this here. My last and probably first favorite (read it more than once) is...

my heart is breathing for this moment in time by usedtothebeach - https://archiveofourown.org/works/934996/chapters/1820282

When Louis first saw Harry at the 2010 X Factor Auditions, he thought he was watching a peculiarly special stranger. But Harry has known Louis ever since he was five years old.

Because Louis has a rare genetic disorder that causes him to Time Travel to important moments in his past and in his future - and to Harry, always to Harry. When they're put into a band together, it seems like everything Harry has been waiting and wishing for has finally come true. Except for the small fact that Louis doesn't know that Harry is in love with him- that Harry's always been in love with him. Fate, it would seem, is just getting started.

A story about growing up and growing together, and the impossible love that makes it all worthwhile.

Me: I LOVED the Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and I'm a huge fan of time travel, so this is right up my alley. It's really well done, weaving canon into fantasy and then going years forward in tme. I love everything about it. Great character development. Really good smut. Trigger warning, there's a little underage sex, so be aware. Anyway, LOVE this one so much.

I'll add to this but it's already longer than I meant it to be.

[okthatsgreat]

@jackrackhams

TLDR; they changed choreographers and the dancing gets lazy and bad (in my opinion, which i feel strongly about)

ok so fun fact about me is me and my friend love to hatewatch the zombies franchise and we have been actively keeping up with it as its been released. we love those movies. they are quite bad. i have so many problems with the zombies franchise, a lot of which stems from how they choose to depict different minority groups as literal actual monsters, taking civil right events from human history and reworking it so its zombies/werewolves/aliens etc. but in every storyline they make it clear that the monsters are the minority group, and even though the end message is always "we need to treat everybody as equal through peaceful, non-violent means (which is ALWAYS cheerleading)", they still make it clear that these people are either a) zombies who eat people and are only docile because of the nice calming bracelet the humans gave them, b) werewolves that are very hostile, or c) aliens that destroyed their home planet because they all like peace and have "one mind". the next movie is confirmed to have vampires and my friend reckons they will be an allegory for gay people. we cant wait

anyways all of this to say one of things i actually liked about the original zombies movie was their use of choreography, specifically in the opening song "my year". right out the gate they make it extremely clear which side is which, and these different styles of dance get maintained throughout the movie. the humans dance sharply, have a much peppier style and tend to keep their centre of gravity high. its clear their style of dance is influenced by cheerleading, with a lot of claps and FORMATIONS, the latter of which being very important in showing how they all "move as one". even when they walk, they all walk the same peppy way, and keep themselves nice and unified whenever they switch formations. the ZOMBIES on the other hand are typically grouped with "organized chaos", where they are choreographed to look as if they are simply strolling into the scene and giving a few dance moves. immediately this tells us that these zombies dont feel the uniformity the humans do (this is good choreography and storytelling!!!!). the zombies have a lower sense of gravity and their style of dancing is influenced by hip hop, with far more fluid movement and cheeky references to them being undead (head snaps, "zombie arms", stumbling movement).

these two conflicting styles are most obvious at the end of the first song, when both groups dance at the same time on opposite sides of the fence. they are doing the same choregraphy, but modified to fit each style. this is GOOD!! they perform well, it was clearly rehearsed down to a tee, and it's very fun choreography!! and it was important to establish how different these two dance, because as the movie continues it becomes more and more clear that these two styles are beginning to merge. this is most prominent during the final cheerleading competition where the zombies arrive on stage to help out-- it's a clear blend of distinct genres. great way to convey unity that isnt them outright saying "this is us being unified" like they often do. this is good choreography

in the second movie it becomes a liiiittle more muddy, but it's still pretty good. i BELIEVE they use a new choreographer here, and it unfortunately kind of shows, but not enough for any loud complaints from me the first time i watched it. the zombies and humans have been living in unity for a while now, and while there are still groups that are against them (in the first number the opposing group of all humans still use the peppy, sharp cheerleading style), they are still co-existing. so it makes SENSE for the style of dance to switch up to become more of a blend. there are still some moments where i wish they would convey humans vs zombies more (specifically in that student president rap battle-- that is SPECIFICALLY a zombie vs human moment and it honestly could have been cool for zed's choreography to slowly turn more 'human' as he tries to win people over), but overall i get it.

but THEN, the WEREWOLVES show up. if we are to be consistent, then the choreographer needs to give the werewolves a distinct style of dance that would then be implemented alongside the humans and the zombies. and they do this, kinda. the werewolves are very acrobatic, and keep low to the ground a lot of the time in this "prowl". a LOT of claws, as well, and overall rather animalistic and strong moves. you look at them and go "yea these are werewolves". its not my favourite choreography (i really prefer the first movie for that), and has odd moments here and there, but overall it's still lots of fun and makes sense. it also LOOKS really clean and visually appealing, which is important to have even if you are choreographing characters to be a bit more "rough".

and THEN. and THENNN we get to zombies 3. the one with aliens. different choreographer. immediately, the second you realise that we're dealing with aliens here, you can get a gist of what kind of choreography it might be. or, at least, i had expectations for what it might be going in. an extremely sharp, synchronised style of choreography that LOOKED inhuman and perfect, in a sense. this would contrast VERY nicely with all of the current dance styles in seabrook. and honestly this should have been the end result!! it seemed as if they were TRYING to do something like this, anyways, but they were notttt successful. and honestly some bits of choreography still make me laugh because they were so out of place and awkward looking. my friend and i still approach each other doing the choreography from "alien invasion" and going WE COME IN PEACE

their first song should have given us a CLEAR image of who they were, and when they started dancing i kind of got the idea that they wanted to incorporate sharp, robotic movements and have a lot of synchronisation. but as they did that i realised it just looked a bit sloppy. unusually so for this franchise. this group of monsters in particular should have been the CLEANEST, and while the dancers were great i really think they could have benefited from a couple more rehearsals or better direction just to really sharpen their synchronisation. the entire POINT of the aliens is that they do everything perfectly and TOGETHER. they are supposed to be extremely polished. these guys just kinda look like they came back from getting second place at a state level hip hop competition on a thursday night

not only that but their choreography was just sooo disappointing. because its clear that they had the same thought as me at the beginning, but it just became so lazyyyyyy. and i dont mean lazy to say "oh the dancers werent giving enough energy", they WERE, i mean lazy in the choreographers just werent thinking that hard about it. some sections of that "alien invasion" dance looks specifically choreographed to be a tiktok dance, and i really think that was the intention here which is so sad. a lot of the aliens "perfection" could have been far more heavily emphasised if they bothered to do more original formations-- i REALLYYYY think they missed out on having the aliens choreography be formation heavy. having them perfectly weave in between each other without need to look where theyre going. THIS LEVEL OF UNITY COULD HAVE BEEN SO VISUALLY APPEALING AND REALLY GOOD FOR STORYTELLING

and then. and THEN. they have moments where they entirely drop any attempt at looking sharp for some really really ridiculous dance moves and i mean RIDICULOUS. i would not look at that and think "alien". i would ESPECIALLY (!!!!!!!!!!) not look at that choreography and think "they come in peace"!!!!!!! if somebody came at me like that id immediately think they were lying to me!!!!!!!!!!!! because all of the sudden the alien choreography becomes so unnecessarily HOSTILE, and if the point of the song was that they looked "scary" and were frightening the people of seabrook all while since "we come in peace" then they achieved this poorly. it just made them look so silly and even less clean in choreography and formation. and dont even get me STARTED on that silly dance move they make the people of seabrook do as they approach the aliens. it makes me burst into tears every time. why did they do that

they could have made the aliens look super intimidating without giving them choreography that suddenly went against the clear and distinct style they had arrived with. again, FORMATIONS and synchronicity could have been implemented SO much more wisely in that opening number. here are a bunch of emotionless, robotic looking aliens slowly marching towards you like a bunch of soldiers, perfectly in unison with one another with no visible weakness!!!! thats SCARY!! and then have this contrasted by having the people of seabrook descend back into that "organized chaos" i mentioned earlier! each race (human, zombie, werewolf) can take on choregraphy that is distinct to their style, and BECAUSE they are so out of sync they look far less prepared. the aliens did NOT need to start breakdancing in a style that just completely ruins any sort of distinction they had been given in the opening number, ESPECIALLY when it looks so GOOFYYYY. like did NOBODY catch that?? was there not a single choreographer on set that looked at their meagre set and realised "oh wow the way we made the people of seabrook and the aliens approach each other looks really dumb, but now looks even lamer now that we're actually on set"??? its just LAZY its really lazy

and it doesnt really get better as the movie goes on. i really cant put my finger on why EXACTLY it looks so off, but all of the alien choreography just looks really sloppy. maybe it's because they are supposed to be so perfect that im being more critical during moments where they look like they're falling behind idk. the werewolves get a moment to show off their dance style but it feels lackluster to the second movie, i cant remember any moment where we distinctly get a zombie dance break bc zed is either singing about how much he wants to impress the human college or doing a duet with addison (which btw those two songs are probably my favorites from the movie lmao. weakest movie for songs out of the three but some of them are catchy what can i say).

anyways cant wait to watch the fourth one and see how the fuck it up badly. i know i wrote this whole essay out but i am actually unreasonably excited. i cant believe they are milking this franchise out for yet another movie. 10/10

i have opinions about disney's zombies that you couldnt even fathom. i have opinions on the three disney original movies in the zombies franchise (soon to be 4) that arent exactly that strange but will make you say "hey most people dont think about things like this?"

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 8/10/21

got a bunch of followers (many of you are Cool Teens, so also a reminder im 26 and an adult and you’re responsible for curating your own internet experience) anyway there’s a bunch of new folks since the last time this was a regular series, so i am going to pre-answer some things that popped up in my inbox last week.

a quick reminder that this is empathetically NOT a recommendations or review blog series. this is a quick snapshot of what i’m thinking about with regards to mass media this week, and sometimes i’m funny about it and sometimes i also do interesting diy shit

a work can be culturally or historically relevant and important in the history of a genre AND be extremely difficult to recommend unless i know you very well due to. hm. let us say many pitfalls due to the inherent nature of the genre or the time it was made in it any number of other factors that make it unpalatable to modern audiences but still worth knowing about. doesthedogdie dot com will be your friend here for anything i talk about ever

being critical of a work doesn’t just mean pointing out its flaws- was it successful in telling the story it wanted to tell? were the techniques it used effective? were the emotions it elicited in me probably the ones the creators set out to elicit? these are key components of a good review and often help me break down what i want to say about a particular piece of media in any given week, but this isn’t a review series of blog posts either.

i am literally just some guy and you should question everything i say

listening i’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair (from the musical South Pacific) brought to you by a random mix of classic movie musicals bc apparently im that kinda gay this week.

like a lot of other fifties media that aged like milk, i have fond memories of watching this with my grandmother. this isn’t even my favorite song from the musical (that would be bali hai’i) but i think it is one of the more technically interesting non-solo ones. specifically, the faint siren-y dissonance on “ahoy, ahoy!” has really been stuck in my head. the melancholy “ah fuck we’ve broken our hearts again” vibe on “rub him out of the roll call/and drum him out of your dreams” with all the girls singing is probably a result of a soprano-heavy cast, but it’s almost chimey in a way? the rhyme scheme of those lines has an excellent mouthfeel. ms gaynor singing “cancel hiiiiiim” has a very different vibe in 2021

two (really three? maybe four? the world is large and mysterious) things can be true at the same time: i don’t think i could watch this musical again as an adult because i don’t think there’s a good way to salvage or update it. the very qualities of this musical that make me go “fuckin yikes” as adult were the very qualities that made my grandmother love it so much. i can hold a bittersweet memory of a rare late movie night with a complicated lady and at the same time wish she were a better person. the dead never leave you with answers.

reading yet another fallow week. this field is turning back into forest

watching i often say “AAA video game (derogatory)” when talking offline about the bad batc/h, but this was a real bioshock ass lookin episode. i don’t think this show is succesful at making or having a point. mostly because it cannot contradict any existing lore in one of the most traversed time periods of this franchise, even with the expanded universe reboot. it falls into the uncomfortable realm of most starred wars media: this is a franchise for children but it also has to cater to legions of grownup fanatics with lots of money. but by god does it “feel” like starred wars. something not all the sequel trilogy movies or much of the clone wars series were successful at.

as a sidebar to that last sentence. the most memorable (imo) scene of the fucking sequel trilogy is the back-to-back battle couple thing in ep seven, which i have just rewatched, and it simply does not hold up. there are too many cuts to other sideplots, which kills any tension dead, and it’s mostly fighting on opposite sides of the room in frantic desperation instead of what i wanted, which was more than five seconds of synergy. it’s a bad rhyme of the final throne room fight in rotj and my memory of the thing is so much better, which is always disappointing.

back to the main point, i think a big part of something “feeling” like starred wars is big setpieces and fights that make you go “HAHA YES FUCKIN SICK WHY NOT!!!!” like, nobody ever Just gets shot in the head and temporarily incapacitated, they get half-vadered by the engines of a derelict ship trying to go to hyperspace while it’s grounded. this franchise has never met a location it couldn’t destroy in a beautiful and awful shower of light while the string sections of three combined orchestras play their hearts out.

this franchise is so fucking stupid and i am so invested in it

playing got my hands on the death trash early access, very hype to play it, have been too busy turning this apartment into a functional and comfortable space to live in for three separate people with their own separate toiletries and groceries and work from home/school schedules

making related to the above, the fucking kitchen table and chairs are done.

things wot i did friday night/saturday morning:

new rubber feeties on everybody

wrapped the legs that structurally couldn’t get new rubber feeties in jute to be kinder to my rental linoleum

bolted the legs back on the table and rebalanced it bc the jute wasn’t quite even

did a very halfassed job of fixing the drawer rails on the table

bolted the chair tubing back together

took all the old decorative tacks out of the backs of the chairs

scrubbed the seats and backs and the pieces the tacks were holding down with mild detergent (partially effective, it still has some patina but is sanitized)

re-covered the bottoms of the chairs in remnant black polyester to replace mildewed black canvas

put in new decorative tacks on the seat backs

bolted the vinyl parts to the chrome tubing parts (a long and frustrating process since there were two sizes of decidedly non-standard nuts and bolts)

wiped everything down again for idk good luck

sitting at my kitchen table in the sun eating a breakfast sandwich and some terrible iced tea on sunday morning was very nice. i lived in the south just long enough to get Opinions on iced tea and how the north can’t get it right. shouldn’t be gritty. shouldn’t be bitter. how is this even happening

some very very halfassed “during” pics

[project-paranoia]

Live Watch: S.C.I. Mystery Episode One

I enjoy camp because I've always enjoyed analysis and examination.  I enjoy looking at something from all sides, testing it with my fingertips. When I was a child I would sit for hours just looking at something until I had it all held in my mind and I felt like I understood it.  Camp necessitates that understanding the way that imitation and - good - parody requires it.  To quote Susan Sontag - who articulated what camp is so well - Camp is "a sensibility that revels in artifice, stylisation, theatricalisation, irony, playfulness, and exaggeration rather than content."  Because of this camp takes on head to head gender, sexuality, expectations, any sort of defined norm and sequins it up then shakes it down until understanding comes out.  When understanding something there are three major ways to work your investigation - what it is, what it's imitation is - the close but not quite, and what it isn't.  Camp handles all three, to quote again: "Camp sees everything in quotation marks. It's not a lamp, but a 'lamp; not a woman, but a 'woman.'"

Why are we talking about camp?  Because SCI Mystery is some of the best kind of camp outside of drag or screaming about wire hangers.  It deals a lot with mental illness in a way that would destroy a serious show, but in this one "mental illness" is a metaphor for being marginalised and a way to talk about the mouse and cat in the room.  This show is about being queer.  About being gay loudly and quietly, about resisting specific labels and needing them, about the threat of a cure and the blessing of acceptance.  All the messy realities of queer life as varied as queer people. Like Lil Nas X's Montero, you can appreciate the effort without being comfortable with it. While the show's allegory of mental illness when many queer people are still told they are ill is done well and there is reason to the choices and tone, things are said which can be hard to hear.  Knowing they're there because they're hard to hear and have been heard doesn't help everyone.

With all that said, it's also a fun, silly bl drama.  Don't let the analysis scare you off.  While the information about camp can be something to be aware of, all this show requires to be enjoyed is a willingness to be amused and spooked in turns.

You know the drill, spoilers below!

* I have memorised the youku sound, I have a triggered response with it. Not all triggers are bad, this one reminds me of Guardian

* Welcome to episode one where we just leap in!  But don't worry, one of them has a cute earring and they are colour coordinated.

* Watching from youtube the episode is 38 minutes long while most of the others are 45.  Attach whatever emotion you want to that fact.

* The exposition is handily delivered by asking a question which tells us some things, thank you show, I appreciate it

* First episode and he's already giving his partner an in case I don't come back letter to be opened if he dies

*  Wait for me!~  Go!~~

* Slow walk with dramatic music: 1 (don't make this a drinking game You Will Expire) this time with bonus almost looking back

* I've seen a similar shot on Hawaii Five O

* Don't explain what's happening, just knock everything over with a jump kick in some absolutely spotless white tennies

* Running with dramatic music with bonus looking back: Does it count?  We have yet to hear back from the judges

* They leap into the water with an explosion behind them, we are less than 2 minutes in and I love that for them

* At first I thought the boats were making a big heart before I remembered that I am very silly and they are not doing that

* This one is going to be long

* I can see his pockets through his trousers, why are his trousers so thin?

* It's not kissing to dramatic music in the surf if it's CPR

* Each story line has its own intro and that's very sexy of them

* Slow walk/dramatic music: 2-6

* These people are totally goofy and and yet the Seriousness

* Two Weeks Ago!

* The police school bus has arrived to shoo away the crows circling around Dr. Zhan staring (dramatically) at the body

* Sport scar policeman dresses even more unprofessionally than Zhao Yunlan who at least looks like a detective who was jumped by so many criminals he just gave up wearing a suit and went for jeans. Chief Bai's clothes are so thin, I'm under constant anxiety someone is going to tear them off.

* Also several of the cast pictures on MyDramaList look like the pictures your auntie insists taking to send to your other aunties and I love that for them

* Triple axil spin from the victim, the judges are loving it - this is the camp I'm here for

* The dramatic slo mo and music budget for this show was so big, just as it should be

* He's mad because he's angy

*  Master Psychiatrist can tell all about the killer from crouching by the body, it's a trope and this is one of the few places I like it because it serves the show instead of the show serving it

* When you're almost boyfriend is going away for reasons and it's not your decision but you can't go with him because of your job so you're just low key bitter about it

*  "You can't control me"

* The pettiness between these two

* Professional women who worked hard to get where they are still are constantly obsessed with boys according to most cdramas

*The male posturing in those three second has accidentally circled back around to being gay in the way those bro shows accidentally do and I love that

* I live for this 80s-90s police chief perm

* The Pettiness

* I always tend to like doctor characters, I don't know why.  Even when they aren't my favourites I like them.

* She's kind of adorable, I like her (I've seen a lot of this show and every time I say I like someone it ends badly ;-; )

* "the victems"

* If you love Creative English, this is the show for you!

* Chief Bai's crew is trying so hard to get them back together

* Dr. Zhan is so good at psychology he can tell what someone looks like from some tire tracks - this trope is used all the time in crime shows, but they push it a little farther in SCI and it really helps the viewer know what the rules for the show are

* The scene in the psychiatrist's office hearkens back to queer coded villains and the way they're treated in old black and white horror cinema - but done so artfully it's almost invisible.  It's incredibly well done, and the awareness of tropes and types all throughout the series is tremendously successful as much as it's campy fun.

* There's also the trope of someone who manipulates someone into feeling like they've been "purified" and then weaponises them against the "filthy". And of course the fact that the killer's blade is a mirror - that he's killing in others what he sees in himself. This trope hasn't just been queer-coded but has been applied to any sort of physical or mental disorder. Thesis have been written about this trope and the anxiety attached to it. I can't write them better and this is long enough, it's just a small part of the excellent handling of the themes showing up in this genre and I wanted to point it out because it deserves appreciation for the skill and knowledge in the writing.  

* The whole you need evidence vs you're saying psychoanalysis isn't trustworthy feels very much like a coded angry exes discussion

* I love the establishing shots, so good

* He kind of deserved that door to the face, what was he even doing

* Police violence in crime shows is supposed to be a release for the viewer, but many countries have issues with police violence so it hits wrong.  Here it's far more performative in a way that at least has some awareness

* The weirdest phone call, you call someone to tell them something important and they say two things to you and hang up

* The tongue thing, why always the tongue thing?

* When a serial killer tries to compliment you by calling you a carnivore and you shut down the whole alpha male supposition by calling yourself a vegetarian

* At this point I've written almost fifteen hundred words and taken almost two hours to watch 23 minutes

* This is my life, these are my choices

* Dutch Angles

* You could make this conversation about being gay, I have had this conversation about homosexuality before

* Unfortunately while I had it I was on the bus trapped in a window seat

* The conversation didn't end with me saying something cool and everyone clapping

* They just got off the bus to go to work

* The banality of evil, yo

* Her shorts are Incredibly Short, good for her

* "arrest the perp behind my back" that's his job, broheim

* He doesn't ask why she checked behind their ears

* DUN dun dun!

* Slo mo file drop, and of course the file is blood stained and aged

* Chalk Art of Doom

* Chinese word play!

* Caught almost putting his coat over his crush, embarrassing XD

* Backstory!

*  I love all the little character details, I could quote lines I think are funny all day but that would start getting silly

* Bai Yu Tong is marked as clean and having OCD but we don't see what's apparently a huge character trait at all other than the all white, do love that he's good at cooking

* Dr. Zhan: Brilliant!  Genius!  Cannot feed himself.

* Dr. Gong has indifference level 100% which is true and also I love that for him

* I love that Wang Shao part of the team because he's good at making friends, I love that for him

* Poor Zhao Fu: scared of ghosts and dumb and sweet?  At least he has an 8 pack

* Jiang Lin is very tropey except the mention of her nearsightedness

* Ma Han's height 1.7m and legs 1.8m is hilarious and I love it

* I stopped recording the slo mo walks, but if you were drinking along with them you might be dead so I really appreciate you taking time out of your afterlife to continue reading.  We appreciate all our ghost readers

* And that's the first episode!  Thanks for making it to the end!

[tomatograter]

How do ya capture the "voice" of homestuck characters so well? Besides studying the comic, is there any other media you consume to really get in their head?

First off: Thanks, i’m happy you enjoy my stuff! Secondly… there ARE a few steps i take to the madness.

I basically come from a Dungeon master/Open-world roleplay management background, so when approaching HS cast voices and trying to understand a character to write a story for them i usually take into account 1.INSPIRATIONS, 2.INTERESTS & due to homestuck’s nature, 3.INTERPRETATIONS (As opposed to “player intent”- Hussie’s work is an amalgam of himself and the public input.)

Rereading their logs/sections always helps when you’re trying to figure out their language, pacing, and a bit of their temperament, but getting too lost on mimicking their messages as-is without looking into the character itself may risk leaving them ringing hollow or repetitive (specially for the section of the public that may be more familiar with this character than you are. This is something that may matter to you or not, if you WANT this work to appeal to a specific public or are just messing around.) Because it may just come down to mindless quirk indulgence. In my experience, readers are more forgiving & enthralled by creators who, while not following the specifics of a character’s quirk to a T maintain a sense of internal logic that is congruent with what is shown throughout their appearances. Some AU’s specifically remix, remove or substitute these aspects, and the reason why people usually don’t complain about it is that “it makes sense- given (x) and (x) context.” Like kidswap aus, etc. 

Another thing about Quirks is that they can very easily be broken. Having a grasp of how quirk rules affect a character based on their emotional state and how it changes over time is more valuable than internalizing a hard set of rules that never changes. (Ex: Sollux’ quirk evolves over time. So does Aradia’s, as she changes bodies. June’s quirk takes on Vriska-like qualities after they begin chatting, Vriska uses 8’s and exclamation points more liberally and/or nonsensically when she’s angry/distressed/desperate, Jake’s transatlantic slang and embellishment of speech is mostly at the backseat unless he’s pretending/anxious/overwhelmed, otherwise he’s pretty simple.) Knowing how to break a quirk is just as good as knowing how to write it - traditional prose in fics *may not use quirks at all*, but they’re so good at grasping the particular intonation a character uses when stringing words together at a given situation that you don’t mind that at all. It’s a smooth adaptation.

[GREAT RESOURCE: this google drive has a compilation of all logs between characters in Homestuck separated by participants but usually only lists them on one-on-one basis, so you may wanna look at groupchats in the original comic. I think the epilogues section may be still unfinished. I forget who originally posted it on twitter but i know they have a dedicated tumblr, i’ll edit this if someone can name their blog]

“INSPIRATIONS” are usually how i define character personalities by their distinct mix of archetypes. This is the “PROTAGONIST”, “GOTH GIRL”, “SILLY GIRL”, “COOL GUY”, “WEIRDO”, “GAMER GIRL”, “CODING WANNABE” and other such little buzzwords that HS will throw around in reference to each of its characters, and that usually, but not always, function as a setup to subvert the expectations based on that character come a certain point in the story. Where does the character you’re trying to write fall into, when you try to describe them in these terms? Does their story humour this definition, reject it, destroy it, or evolve it? Does this seem like a genuine fact about them, or a facade? Why do you think that is? (Asking questions is my preferred way of pulling apart and understanding a character, this may work differently for you.)

“INTERESTS” is where i look into for that chunky, fatty, well-grilled meat that goes in the middle of a character’s text. Homestuck characters are defined by what they like, what they aspire to be, and what they fail at becoming(& how that shapes their actions going forwards). Interacting with the media they like may not always be the way, but having a general idea of how it functions and what it means to them is usually very helpful. I was already familiar with a lot of things my favorite characters enjoy, and thus it was easier for me to get attached to them. I also had to watch a lot of shitty movies sometimes. You win some, you lose some.

EX: It’s easier to write Dave’s pov if you have a good grasp of the pop culture & economics he so often references. (What he likes) It’s easier to write Rose’s pov when you’ve searched a bit of armchair psychology wikipedia definitions and familiarized yourself with the genre and existential questions usually involved in Eldritch Horror, and how it evolved outside of Lovecraft. (What she aspires to be like) It’s easier to write Jake when you understand his persona is a collage of juvenile and outdated archetypes taken from action flicks & shitty mainstream comicbooks, that he ultimately fails to ever live up to and hinders his development as a kid at odds with self-imposed traditional masculinity, dreading to publicize the big “Gay” word. (What he fails at becoming)

It’s always useful to ask yourself “Why does this character like (x)” and what that particular thing may say about them. It doesn’t have to be a big groundbreaking revelation, just put yourself into their shoes and try to reverse engineer what you’re presented about them vs their environment, personal issues, and you might just find yourself understanding why they do what they do. 

“Karkat probably likes cheesy romantic comedies because they’re peak middleclass normalass media for someone who’s ostracized from troll society and is purposefully a shithead to keep people away”

“Terezi probably likes dragons because they’re FUCKING COOL but also whoops here’s all this historic lore about Redglare and their lusus and a tragic sense of JUST1C3”

“Aradia probably grapples with the concept of mortality and the ephemeral nature of life, so she’s really into the morbid observation of disasters & archeology & bones, i guess? Is this because she died really young? Oh. Maybe yeah.”

But if you find the above too hard to access on your own, that’s where 

INTERPRETATIONS come in to make this process smoother in the case you just wanna write an extended cast thing and frankly you could not give less of a shit about (x)’s lore, you just want to have a sense of what people like about them, and why people read about them, and how you can purposefully adapt that into your text so socmedia user halfucker69 isn’t crying on your mentions for 11 whole threaded comments about how you did their babyboybaby wrong. I can’t exactly point to you where you can FIND meta because this highly depends on the character, and sometimes you just have to make your own food, but you’ll be good if you try to look into creators who post about these characters, whose thoughts or fan media seem to be congruent with your idea of said character or solid enough that you can easily see how it’s been developed from point A to point B. Interact with more fanworks. Find out what works for you and what doesn’t. “Character study” is a whole genre of fanfic, if you don’t wanna go for shippy stuff - but a lot of “shippy stuff” has its own valuable edge to seeing how people internalize a character, and shouldn’t be as easily dismissable as it is. Again, you’ll have to rely on your own sense of internal logic here - you can’t take EVERY work as the universal truth, but trying stuff out will give you a better sense of who you think this character is.

Then you have to get around trying to write it, which is easier said than done. A lot of times writing about a character will lead you to understanding them better, and you may even find yourself disagreeing with things past-you said when you were first beginning to think about them, and that’s ok. You only get better at writing by asking better questions and then writing some more. Take your time with it. I hope this helps!

[padawansuggest]

In case you guys are actually interested in this one. I know my fic where Jango adopts Obi-Wan is growing pretty fast but I have all the way up till 5th year planned for this fic. I ONLY just finished writing the scene that triggered me to start this fic. Basically Bill Weasley destroys the horcrux in Harry’s scar on accident and magic is like ‘lmao take responsibility now’ and forces a magic adoption on them. Bill is perfectly delighted to steal the child lmao he’s the oldest of 7 he def knows how to take care of a kid okay. Ron is so excited and Hermione is the sweetest lil thing who’s so happy her friend doesn’t have to go back to abusive people.

Anyways. Um. It’s also massively AU in the sense that a major plot of this is that everyone has specific magic talents (I just realized I could classify it the same way as The Magicians in a way but a different world building overall, they have gift types and then specific gift designations but in the end I wasn’t actually thinking of the Magicians when I wrote this lol) and Bill’s is that he’s a curse bloodhound so he was able to track the curse in Harry’s scar down and kill it. I’m genuinely having so much fun with this fic.

I’m also reopening the cringe vault by doing magical creatures (playing with Fleur’s quarter Veela heritage by comparing her to Blaise who I’ve decided is a very rare male full Dark Veela lmaoooooo I’m opening that vault back up it’s actually gonna be a slightly hilarious comparison okay) and also everyone is bi and trans thanks. Harry only CURRENTLY identifies as male. He will not always identify that way. And then after he won’t always identify as female. Or other. They gonna have fun with that. Fuck gender I don’t believe in the existence of male Harry Potter iykyk ✌🏻

Also the genre of this fic is Everything Is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts which if you don’t know it means that I am gonna try my goddamn hardest to make sure everyone who’s good will eventually have their happy ending and no one we love is gonna die. I even made Snape go to therapy and now he’s an easily annoyed but overall sympathetic teacher who wants to correct the mistakes that used to happen in school while he was attending. Lmao we giving them all therapy. Dumbledore is just senile.

Idk man, we having fun over here. But remember, once more, I’m opening up the cringe vault. I’m having fun with it. Everyone is gay. I’m allowed to write HP because I’m making them all gay and trans and everything that threatens JKR’s life. We respect and adore the goblins. We love Hagrid and are gonna fix some bullshit. I’m. Having. Fun. But also I’m putting my fucking brussy (brain-ussy) into this. So. Thanks.

Me: *writing a heartwarming fic where Bill Weasley adopts Harry Potter and Harry is allowed to be a kid and not the hero*

Harry: *sees a shiny* 👀👀

Bill: He's not a real child, he's a niffler turned into a human I just know it

[raymondshieldsofficial]

Finian Dara Nye?

:O THREE!!! I will put them under a readmore thing:

Finian

Full Name: Finian Oisin Murphy Gender and Sexuality: bi man Pronouns: he/him Ethnicity/Species: human, Irish Birthplace and Birthdate: County Kilkenny, the exact time and date is unknown to me! Guilty Pleasures: it sounds strange but he loves balloons. balloon animals specifically. every time he sees a balloon salesman he has to say to himself "Finian. you are a grown adult. these are not for you" Phobias: break-ins and carbon monoxide poisoning What They Would Be Famous For: his alchemy, and his poker playing What They Would Get Arrested For: his alchemy, if the wrong people found out about it OC You Ship Them With: your OC, Deva <3 OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Dara, probably, or any of his in-laws Favorite Movie/Book Genre: he likes historical dramas! Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: anything that makes the mob look cool, he doesn't like the Cool Mob thing Talents and/or Powers: he knows how to use magic and is pretty good at it! he's also very very good at poker, in as much as someone can be Why Someone Might Love Them: he's passionate about what he believes in, he's funny, straightforward, and has very soft hair Why Someone Might Hate Them: well he does marry a prince. hatred of the monarchy is hatred of him! How They Change: well, he (usually) stops going out and starting bar brawls! he learns a lot about how to be a prince, and sorts himself out a bit, kind of like in Cinderella 3, and he gets more involved in the politics of the country, that sort of thing, Why You Love Them: I have a lot of fun writing him and his screwed up family dynamic! also I really enjoy his personality and thinking about him learning the royal stuff!

_

Dara

Full Name: Dara Seamus Murphy Gender and Sexuality: bi man (just like Finian) Pronouns: he/him Ethnicity/Species: originally an Irish human, later vampire Birthplace and Birthdate: County Kilkenny, 5 years after whenever Finian is born! Guilty Pleasures: folk dancing - it's only a guilty one because it isn't what his in-laws or mafia associates expect from him, he thinks, Phobias: clowns, and the dark, when he was younger What They Would Be Famous For: he married the Head of the Family's daughter, so he's pretty well-known as is! What They Would Get Arrested For: one of the many, many crimes he's committed OC You Ship Them With: Eufemia, his wife who genuinely loves him very much!! OC Most Likely To Murder Them: honestly, Finian Favorite Movie/Book Genre: gothic literature, whatever that is. stuff like Wuthering Heights Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: where the fancy parties get broken into and things get destroyed Talents and/or Powers: standard vampire fare, plus he's a genuinely good dancer Why Someone Might Love Them: he's sweet and kind when he wants to be, though he's also assertive enough and stands up for people he cares about, and he's always been that way Why Someone Might Hate Them: he has done a lot of objectively Not Good things How They Change: he's probably the definition of "I can make him worse" because that is literally very much what happened! he joins the mob yes but he's much, much happier that way, too, and he genuinely believes in the projects they fund Why You Love Them: his entire character is just very enjoyable to me, and I also love how much he loves his wife,,

_

Nye

Full Name: Aneurin Gwyn Rhys Gender and Sexuality: gay man Pronouns: he/they Ethnicity/Species: welsh human Birthplace and Birthdate: November 1st 1884, I think Guilty Pleasures: he actually doesn't feel guilty about any of the things he enjoys - he did, as a child, because he was never into particularly masculine activities, but he grew out of the shame Phobias: the dark, spiders (though he'd never kill them), driving, being killed by the vengeful spirits on Calan Gaeaf What They Would Be Famous For: in a modern verse I could see him as one of those cottagecore-aesthetic influencers What They Would Get Arrested For: accidentally poisoning someone, probably OC You Ship Them With: your Rafaäl, his beloved husband! OC Most Likely To Murder Them: ...two of his own brothers, Gareth and Dylan, Favorite Movie/Book Genre: he loves a romance, like a proper soft and sweet one, Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: ..."does the dog die" is his go-to website in modern verses Talents and/or Powers: he's a very very talented baker, he's fantastic at embroidery and needlecraft, and he knows so much about plants and gardening, Why Someone Might Love Them: he's a genuinely gentle, kind and sweet person, and he's very good with children and animals, Why Someone Might Hate Them: his brothers hate him because he's inherited their grandmother's house How They Change: he becomes more confident in himself, and doing things that make him happy, regardless of what other people think. he also learns to ask for help when he needs it, without feeling bad, Why You Love Them: I love him because he's so sweet and peaceful and calming and I want his life tbh