#when humor actually adds depth to a story

[piracytheorist]

Spy x Family would have been so fucking bleak and depressing if it weren't for the comedy angle. It could have easily been a story highly focused on how war impacts people even years after it ends, being constantly pessimistic and dark and focusing on the monstrous things people are capable of. It could easily show just the hopeless side of it.

Instead, while it's very realistic on how the characters have been affected by the war, it chooses to put that face-to-face with natural, everyday humanity. Twilight's reluctance to accept his feelings for his family is treated with a touch of humor because it's compared to the innocent way Anya and Yor offer their love - and that's what being human is.

We're meant to live with each other. We're meant to love each other, it's literally in our fucking DNA to create bonds and depend on others for emotional support. Our very first instinct upon being born is to cry because our DNA tells us we will be brought into a world that will hear our cry and help us. It's how people find hope in each other, in small acts of everyday kindness because we're meant to live like that, to support and help and connect with each other.

And the characters' bleak past is contrasted with humanity's innate everyday kindness to the point of making it humorous because war is such a deviation from how humans are meant to live that a man who spends his entire life affected by it looks almost comical in contrast with a little girl who, based on her basic human instincts, believes that she can find a family to love her and can help achieve world peace, with someone right in the middle being one who has seen war but had had a constant reminder of how humanity is about connection and love (Yor, with Yuri being her reminder).

And I just find it so very fitting and also very based of Endo to choose to add that angle in the story. Humanity is not bleak. Even if we deviate from our path we can still find our way and we're naturally inclined to that way. We just have to see the good in each other, to believe that we will not be left alone, to share and know that if we're ever in need, someone will offer their hand to share with us.

[pygmi-says-hi]

writing tips - banter

I LOVE BANTER WE ALL LOVE BANTER HIP HIP HOORAYYYY!!

Banter is a lovely addition to dialogue between characters. It means a lot of different things - sass, genuine insults, flirting....all sorts of options.

But overusing banter can make conversations sound circular. It's a fun 'fluffy' piece of dialogue, but doesn't do the best job conveying plot.

Pedantry vs teasing

Pedantic speech is basically nit-picking. Somebody who can't bear to let anything slide, no matter how small. This is an interesting character trait and one that adds depth, but if it's unintentional it sounds frustrating. Sassy characters are fun, especially when they go off in an inner monologue.

If a character has a quip for everything, it adds a layer of whiny-ness. Sarcasm is a fun way to tease and complain. Constant complaining gets on a reader's nerves after a while. Soon there becomes so much commentary it's hard to dissect what is actually being described.

Unless your OC has no sense of social boundaries, there's usually a break in between jokes to read the room.

How do I know when enough is enough?

Think about the character. If they have that wonderfully sardonic rapport with their peers, that's great! Why do they act like that? Is it a sense of humor? Is there a running joke? When you incorporate the banter, keep it in the confines of those parameters. It'll still enrich the conversation without overwhelming it.

It's a learning curve!!!!!

I like to do it this way:

write the dialogue as banter-y and indulgent as possible. When the scene is finished, I reread and pick out the really funny bits and discard the rest or move it to a different scene.

Sometimes those indulgent character moments help the really good stuff push to the front of your mind. Go for it! You know your story better than anybody else; if it's telling your story the way you want, that's all that matters.

[butterbabyflapjack]

Just a scene from wild animals I liked where Brian opens up to you about what happened to his mother

Desperate to ignore the embarrassed heat crawling up your face, you slow past a row of different saws. The wheels of your cart dragged to a sudden halt before a vast array of chainsaws, which admittedly seem a little heavy for you to wield, seem a little much and are surely overkill, but...

Still. You’re oddly drawn to them. One hand already reaching to test the sharpness of a bright, hornet-yellow one’s row of exposed teeth.

You’re so distracted you don’t notice how Brian’s stopped his ever-incessant clever commentary.

“What do you think?” you ask, unturning, as you mull the idea of you with a chainsaw inside your head. “Too messy? Or…”

Silence, from your ever-yapping instructor. And at last you glance back at him, standing just behind you. Dark eyes trained to the blade-teeth you touch, yet as though he’s staring right through them.

As your expression becomes inquisitive, he blinks, dragged from the seeming depths that leave him lost inside his own head.

“Hm?” he asks, like he hasn’t heard you.

Your interest curiously traces what little his expression ever betrays to you. “What?” you ask of his uncharacteristic silence, though he just impassively eyes you.

“What?” he returns; innocuous, mirroring you.

Your brows furrow up at him.

“Don’t what me,” you counter. “I saw you thinking about something. And if you don’t tell me what that is, you’ll swiftly learn how annoyingly persistent I can be when my bloodhound brain grabs scent of something.”

He regards you down the length of his strong nose, seeming taller than he actually is, which is already towering. Eventually carding back his hair, dark curls tangled in his fingers with his incensed glance away. “You really are a headache, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely I am. Now tell me.”

With mild exasperation, his dusky eyes return to you. Their grief soon to fade in place of muted speculation. “I was just lost in memories. Private ones, I might add. Ones I’m guessing Dexter never told you.”

Your confusion, just like your interest, slowly rises. “What are you talking about?”

He eyes you a moment more. Unreadable. “I’m talking about our mother, Detective Nosey,” he says. Gaze assessing yours, as if searching for something there, weighing if he should tell you. And you’re not sure what he looks for, if he finds it, though eventually he continues.

“She was butchered with a chainsaw,” he says at last, far too casually. Reaching past you to drag one lengthy finger along that chainsaw’s serrated edge. His eyes gaining that faraway look again. “Right in front of us, when Dex was three and I was four. Dismembered limb by limb, as that engine echoed off the walls, along with her begging us not to look, to close our little eyes, and we were left in the mess of it. The blood of three addicts and our mother–two inches thick, by the time that engine finally stopped.” His finger slowly drags down the jagged length of the blade. “They didn’t find us huddled in that blood-damp, hellish dark for two days, and by then the only reason I cared was in protecting my brother.” He exhales a little laugh with zero humor to it. “Apparently that’s all anyone cared about. ‘Cause he was adopted by the first cop on scene, and I–decidedly–was not.”

His dark gaze turns to you, and you cannot comprehend what lie beyond its blackish surface.

“So, to answer your question,” he says, so nonchalant in your speechless horror from responding, “It’s not a bad choice. Though certainly messy.”

You can’t seem to think. The story he’s spun sinking a weight in you, dragging your stomach right through the floor. Left with not knowing what to say, blown away by the cruelty held within such an offhand confession.

“Brian, I'm…”

Your tone is raw. Quiet. And he smiles at you unhappily; hand falling loosely to his side.

“Don’t,” he cuts you off. “What’s done is done. Pitied apologies never help.”

“I know they don't,” you counter, voice stricken, and you swallow with the effort to make it more firm. “But that's… That's fucked, Brian. And… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that happened to you.”

For a moment, he merely watches you. Every line of his handsome face sculpted into place, held perfectly still.

“Are you expecting me to thank you for that?” he asks at last.

You hate how vulnerable you feel, when he’s the one confessing something so traumatic that it surely formed him. His and Dex’s extracurricular pastimes make a lot more sense now.

“No,” you say, feeling stupid, feeling childish, that you’re so unwound by such a ruthless tale, while he clearly isn't. “I just had to say it.” You meet his watchful gaze, your jawline hardening. “And if I could kill the fucks who did that to your mother, I would. I’d hunt those fuckers down. And I’m not the one who should make them pay whatever price for what was done but I’d still make them pay it.”

Some part of you’s already planning how you might, how you could–if they’re even still alive, if indeed there's more than one of them–and you’re not sure if he knows how much you mean that. If it even matters, when it probably doesn’t. But he eyes you as you eye him, in drawn-out silence. Something beyond the veil of him seeming fixed on you, keen at your edges, as if gauging your scent. Toying his curious touch across your depths; those waves with unclear surface.

Eventually, he scarcely smiles, and you cannot comprehend that little glint within his gaze.

“C’mon,” he says, taking your waist again; warm hand smooth across the small of your back and he guides you further down the aisle. “We’ll save the chainsaw for next time. I’ve something more easily controlled in mind for a first-timer like yourself.”

[maggplays]

Bio? Something like that.

How did I start modding? Literally no one has asked this, but here's my story, don't worry it's not long... I guess that depends on what your definition of “long” is, haha! Hang on, here we go.

On a random day in January, 2024, a few days before my birthday, I might add... I woke up to stars in my right eye. A few days later, I was told I had a very rare injury and it would never heal. Those are not words an artist/gamer wants to hear! Long story short, I am now legally blind in my right eye. If you think, oh that's not a huge deal, you can still see. Humor me, get a cheap pirate eyepatch, put that on, then pour yourself a cup of coffee. Not as easy as you thought, right? Depth perception. It’s a thing. Anyway, on with the story. Suffice it to say, I was depressed. Majorly. Then, through some random conversation somewhere, I found Stardew Valley.

Perfect! 2D animation, cute pixel art, story that's not sugar-coated anime, I love it! Got to year 3, TBH I've never played past year 3 because ADHD, and realized the dialogue was quite lacking. Then I discovered mods. What the-, it's a freakin' goldmine! Downloaded a lot of things, mostly dialogue, and tossed half of them. While playing through a Sebastian run, I saw it. Oh. My. God. It's a coding error glaring at me in my dialogue box. This is NOT acceptable. I tried to ignore it, but then it happened again. Okay, time for some investigation. I opened the folder and found... json files. Interesting, I wasn't entirely clueless since I do know HTML code from back when the internet was a baby, Facebook had no ads, and dinosaurs roamed the earth. Okay, okay, the internet was more like a spoiled toddler. Yes, I'm old. Shut up. But I digress. It didn't take long to discover the misplaced punctuation and go on my merry reality-avoiding way. Until I got bored again.

I looked for more Seb mods, but there were like seven. Three were yandere, not my jam, and only 2 were updated for 1.6 and were dialogue-only. Solution? Make my own mod for myself. I spent six weeks downloading mods, learning code, Googling to very little effect, writing dialogue, learning how to make an event, discovering I knew nothing, and on and on. The perfect distraction from the whole eye thing. I finished a decent draft, loaded it up, and praise Yoba, it worked! And on we play. At some point, I saw a comment complaining about the lack of Sebastian dialogue mods. Huh, yep, they're right. Too bad. Oh. Well, I guess I could load this thing I made, it's really just my own internal story monologue while playing the game, I'm NOT a writer, and most people probably won't get it. But I did spend a lot of time on this, and maybe someone out there will like it. Heck, no skin off my nose since it's free. So I took a deep breath, made peace with my inner demons, and threw it out into the void of Nexus, expecting it to be swallowed up and ignored. That... didn't happen.

In the first few hours, several people downloaded it. Huh, Nexus must have a decent search algorithm. That was literally all I thought about it. The next day, 300 downloads. And comments! Mostly positive with the exception of one wild demand I subsequently ignored. At one week, it had 3,000 unique downloads. I was floored, 3,000 weirdos downloaded my mod. Add to that, people seemed to actually like it! I've never gotten so much positive feedback for anything in my life. Seriously. Apparently, my oddball internal monologue, thanks ADHD, is quite entertaining. Heck, might as well make another one... and here we are. Yes, I've gotten negative comments and unreasonable demands, but I do my best to ignore them and practice staying positive. Trolls be damned! It's a lot harder to do that for yourself than for other people, turns out.

So, bottom line, found something interesting? Try it! Does it make you happy? Keep doing it! Even if it's only for yourself, do the thing and let it make you smile. Share it with the world if you're so inclined. Get out there and kick ass!!

[disheveledtranquility]

The Venom Movies and their connections

Rewatching the first two Venom movies, and it really seems like they DID plan to make three movies from the start, while also leaving everything absolutely open for another company to pick up and choose however they wanted to go with it.

It's actually a really smart thing to do, especially since the movies made so much money. It would be stupid for someone not to play with the storyline later.

Fair warning: Sleeper + a possible pregnancy arc thoughts included under the cut included.

Also, I talk too much.

They really included everything that anyone could use, from the dark and scary, to the silly, to the whole ass pregnancy arc. There's sprinkles of a lot of different scenarios spread out through the three movies, but none of them are directly addressed in a specific way.

There's instances of seriousness and fear in the first movie where it could be taken in a horror movie/thriller kind of way if someone wanted. This also ties back to Knull being introduced, where someone could easily make movies off Venom going under Knull's control like in the comics and become 'evil' in a sense. Having Venom rebel against Eddie would be a great betrayal (no romance needed). They could have Venom even destroy the codex itself, choosing to coin the meaning behind the codex as an ultimate bond. Because they are soulmates and soulmates can be friends. They can be family. They can be lovers. A soulmate can be anyone.

There's bits of romantic tidbits in the second movie that feels a lot like Eddie and Venom are a married couple, if you choose to see it that way. That story arc is playable. It's also a good arc to write as platonic friends because of how the writing is. It's heavily doused with humor to mask any real intent, which is great for any new person to pick up and choose which to follow.

I feel like the third is where the thread ends. It adds the depth needed to answer any questions from the first two movies while giving more ideas for future movie writers.

I remember I didn't understand why Venom was trying to tell Eddie the symbiotes 'found' them, because it was only talking to Eddie.

"You didn't find us, we found you."

That and that they needed Drake's rocket. Even though, through Venom and Eddie's conversations it's revealed the symbiotes were going to use the rocket to bring other symbiotes to Earth, the reason still didn't feel complete. I was so confused but I ran with it because ok, whatever you say. I forgot about my confusion by the end of the movie and completely lost that train of confusion when the second movie hit because the plot was different.

Since the third movie, we learn the symbiotes were 'running'. They were trying to break free from Knull. They probably didn't have a plan initially, just to float in space until they found a planet that could sustain them.

By chance Drake discovered them, and the symbiotes realized these 'aliens' could potentially be a key surviving tool. So they let themselves be captured, thinking they would lead them back to their planet, where they would surely find a way to escape. The plan then was to stay on Earth, steal the rocket, and bring back other symbiotes who wished to deflect.

Since humans reproduce and there's already billions of them on the planet, it probably seemed like a miracle planet to them: a perfect place to hide while being able to eat what they needed.

Only they realized late that the simple confines on Earth would prove to be difficult for them to escape without the help of a host. They were too weak in their natural forms to free themselves. They underestimated humans.

So it makes sense why these big and bad beings seemed so weak until they got a decent host.

Then there's what I call the 'pregnancy arc', or the third movie. Again, no writer in the future has to write a movie that way, because there's enough in that movie to pull from for a different storyline. I just love Sleeper and choose to hope for this particular arc.

It makes sense even though it's never explicitely called out.

In the comics, Venom's seeds/spawn are taken from it in a lab. The last time it is able to spawn is after all that, when it's completely comfortable and completely synchronized with Eddie. It feels safe, and decides it wants to raise it with Eddie (even though symbiotes hold no emotional attachment to their offspring). Sleeper can be a symbolic reference to their symbiosis in a way.

If you follow the thin line of this arc from the first movie, Venom knew it was a death sentence reviving Eddie when Riot and Drake killed him, because it would create the codex (maybe this is the 'symbolic reference here).

But finding a host capable of sustaining them long term was a challenge, and Venom had grown fond of Eddie. There was too tight a window of time to make the decision.

I imagine for Venom it was like a ticking timebomb from then on. But it decided not to tell Eddie what had happened.

After watching the third movie the idea of this Codex kind of felt like the gestation and birth of Sleeper, from the comics.

Venom didn't tell Eddie initially until it had to, until it was close to spawning Sleeper. It kept the knowledge from Eddie, even though he was having "pregnancy" symptoms (which was odd and unexpected as hell to read in an American comic let me tell you).

The same thing happens in the third movie, mostly. Just different symptoms. In the comics Eddie has lucid and detailed dreams while suffering from morning sickness, whereas in the movie my man is super moody and in a constant state of being "hungover".

Venom, like in the comics, didn't inform Eddie something was different until it absolutely had to. In the case of the movie, it was because they were being hunted.

The reason why they weren't discovered during the second movie is, again using my 'codex is actually code for spawn that's connected to them both', the 'codex' was still developing. It didn't have the power to be found then.

Also in the second movie, Venom was also super moody, even going as far as being petty and lashing out like a scorned lover. Now, I've never been pregnant, but my cousin was twice and during her first pregnancy she was over emotional in the first trimester. She was a nightmare.

When I rewatched the 2nd movie this time around it made more sense to me, and less of a simple funny scene. Because the spawn would be from Venom, and simply just connected to Eddie as a growing parasite attached to his spine. It makes sense the symbiote would be outraged about being so hungry, while still keeping the secret, but not willing to share why.

So, the end of the 1st movie is the beginning of the pregnancy, 2nd movie is the early gestation period, and the 3rd movie is nearing the end of that pregnancy where instead of Venom feeling like shit it's Eddie because the spawn is taking so much from him without his knowledge. He already has to account for Venom. His everything is constantly in overdrive.

Also the longing scenes and the Moon family read like nesting to me in a weird way. Eddie giving off paternal vibes and Venom being a gentle noodle is everything to me. By this time they've spent a year with this 'codex' growing inside them. It's a long time to be connected to something.

And this idea, as well as the timeline for how long this has taken, can be a decent story. It can be the reason why Sleeper would choose to stick with them, fight with them. Maybe a spawn created in this particular way is the reason why it's so powerful right out the gate.

You also technically wouldn't need romance to go this route. It could be dark, it could be funny. Having Eddie go through all this just to later be revealed as second-hand pregnancy symptoms would be funny as well from a non-romantic standpoint. No sex needed. Just Venom spawning inside Eddie and Eddie having to carry the little leech is comical, especially when he finds out and loses his shit.

It could be written as romantic, it could be written as normal and funny. The symbiote doesn't need Eddie to spawn, but a perfect symbiosis that created a perfect symbiote? Kick ass story.

All of these different scenarios are 'could be's peppered throughout the movies, and it's really brilliant.

[bookwormcosplays]

Misconceptions of Sherlock and Co

Here I am going to list some misconceptions that I saw before getting into Sherlock and Co that I felt need to be corrected for any new people trying to listen. The things listed might be dubbed critiques. If you are someone who does not like criticism on your favorite pieces of media, please show yourself out now.

Johnlock is endgame

I beg every Sherlock lover who love the stories in every variation and specifically Johnlock, please stop setting yourselves up for disappointment. Unless it is explicitly said, don't believe it's canon. The reason why I say this is when this podcast first started to come out, everyone said johnlock was going to happen. Those are some of the most popular tiktoks about Sherlock and Co. And I won't lie, it was the push that made me listen to the podcast. I can't find where I saw it please if you can find it, send it to me. They said, the creators, that wasn't within their plans. John and Mariana though? I don't know if it'll actually happen, but it just feels like that's what they're pushing towards. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but the name Mariana is a lot like Mary. Speaking of Mariana--

It's just John and Sherlock

It may appear like that for a couple of episodes, but Mariana becomes an essential part of the team and she is here to stay. If you were one of the people who just wanted the boys, you're probably going to be disappointed because that is not the case here. Mrs. Hudson whose real name is Mariana also helps in solving crimes. Usually I would say if you didn't like Molly appearing in episodes, you also might not like this. But Mariana actually has some type of depth. So maybe you'll actually enjoy her appearances in episodes.

These Are New Interpretations of Sherlock and John

Yes and no. This might be controversial, but it didn't feel new. And it didn't feel like ACD's characterization. John and Sherlock's characterizations seems like they took a lot of inspiration from bbc Sherlock even down to some of the mannerisms especially the way they speak. It feels almost like fanfiction where they took the bbc Sherlock character interpretations of John and Sherlock and put them in an alternate universe. Over time though, they seem to be straying and they're now becoming their own characters. But if you told me at the beginning, "oh this is a new podcast based on bbc Sherlock fanfiction" I would've believed it.

POC Friendly

LOOK LISTEN, I'm not saying they're spouting out slurs. But someone, a white person, posted this is a poc friendly podcast. When I heard that, I assumed certain things. I assumed they had POC cast and crew, they had sensitivity writers, cultural consulting, etc. The cast and crew, respectfully, are majority if not completely white. I remember looking up Sherlock's voice actor after seeing all the fanart and I was so confused seeing a white man. Now this doesn't mean that POC should run away from it, but this does mean that when they say/do certain stuff there's no one to tell them "hey maybe let's not do that." There are instances that felt ignorant and unnecessary. In the Blue Carbuncle, they read a letter or a transcript from someone who saw an incident in the street (avoiding spoilers). I don't know how to phrase this, but it felt very much like they were mimicking some type of POC (most likely black). And they didn't put on a blaccent or anything, but just the fact that it was a white writer writing this making fun of how they spoke rubbed me the wrong way. And it went on far too long. Then there was Sherlock bowing at an Asian restaurant and John told him it was inappropriate, but I was stuck on why was it added? It wasn't humor and didn't have to do with a case. It shows Sherlock's ignorance, sure, but it just really didn't add anything. When it comes to content made by white british people, the bar on racial awareness for me is to the ground. I don't expect them not to have ignorant moments. But stuff like that, it is something that should be accounted for when you try to say something like it's "poc friendly." So would I say POC friendly, not really. Is it welcoming of everyone no matter what race or ethnicity? Yes. There's not a sign on the podcast that says POC do not enter, but be aware what majority demographic is a part of this and that they probably are going to say stuff out of ignorance.

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I've been meaning to write this post for awhile, but I haven't gotten around to it. Plus, I wanted to see if anything else changed before I made a post. I genuinely don't see this as critiques just pointing out stuff for those who might go in thinking this podcast is something it's not. But I still put the criticism warning for people who might not want to see this. I really enjoy this podcast and it inspired me to read the original stories. They put a new spin on these stories that's modern, different, and still entertaining.

[writing-with-sophia]

Miss Sophia, I have a question. Um, well first of all...

I actually like slice of life, fantasy, romance, horror, sci-fi.

But my question is... Ahem. How do you make romance scenes non cringy?

Becsaiw sometimes when I'm writing them, I cringe, and feel weird. Others, my my heart flutters.

How to make romantic scenes not cringe?

Well, honestly, for me, this question is so hard to answer... As my strength is romance, I can't give you any advice based on my experience. What I do when writing romantic scenes is simply… imagine and write. So, I searched the internet, read some articles and learned a few things. Hope it will help you.

Tip 1: Develop realistic and relatable characters

Ensure that your characters are well-rounded and have depth. Give them distinct personalities, flaws, and motivations that readers can connect with. This will make the romantic interactions more believable and engaging.

Tip 2: Show, don't tell

Instead of explicitly stating how characters feel, demonstrate their emotions through their actions, dialogue, and body language. How do they treat each other? How do they talk to each other? When one person is sick, what will the other person do? Are they shy or bold when meeting the person they love? The more details you tell, the more genuine the feelings between them will be.

Tip 3: Build emotional tension

Establish a strong foundation of emotional connection and chemistry between the characters. Develop their relationship gradually and create moments of anticipation and longing. This will make the romantic scenes more captivating and less cringe-worthy.

Tip 4: Prioritize consent and respect

Ensure that the romantic interactions include clear communication, mutual respect, and consent. Avoid any scenes that may promote unhealthy dynamics or non-consensual actions, as they can easily become cringe-worthy or uncomfortable for readers.

Tip 5: Use subtlety and restraint

Sometimes, less is more. Avoid over-the-top gestures or exaggerated romantic dialogue that can feel forced or insincere. Instead, focus on small, genuine, and meaningful moments that allow readers to connect with the emotions being portrayed.

Tip 6: Balance romance with other elements

Incorporate other elements such as humor, conflict, or character development alongside the romantic scenes. This will add depth and prevent the story from becoming overly focused on romance, which can sometimes lead to cringe-worthy moments.

Tip 7: Read romance novels

You cannot write a beautiful love story without reading any romance novels, unless you write it based on your own story. You can read famous works like Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Red, White & Royal Blue, or anything else that interests you, and learn how the characters interact with each other. This is the best way.

That's all. Good luck!

[lendeah]

Hey I saw ur recent thing about astarion/durge w scars and I raise to Astarion/Tav with a shit ton of scars they actually do have stories for (either really dumb or really cool or kinda traumatic) and astarry just lovingly traces them and asks about them

YES!!! I love the idea.

Here you go, I hope you enjoy it and thanks for asking! 🤍🫶🏻

Astarion loved tracing the little scars dotting your body. Even in moments of exhaustion, as you both lay on the bedroll after a arduous day of battle, he would gently trace the intricate lines of your skin with lazy fascination.

"Now, I bet this one has a story worth hearing," he drawls, caressing with his finger along the long scar on your arm.

You let out a small chuckle and decide to humor him. "This one here? That was from a sword fight. I was trying to protect my brother because he had been having an affair with a married woman, and it got pretty intense. I ended up taking a pretty bad hit, but luckily I lived through it."

The vampire cocks an eyebrow, a sly smirk playing on his lips. "So let me get this straight," he drawls, "you got this scar defending your brother's honor from a scorned lover? Sounds like your brother could have used some self-defense lessons."

You shrug "I guess, but he is my brother. I couldn't just let him struggle on his own. Besides, I'm the better fighter of the two of us." you say with a smirk.

A mischievous chuckle escapes his lips, "Always the hero, huh?" he lets out a resigned sigh, but his eyes glint playfully. "You know, your stubborn selflessness isn't the most attractive trait."

You raise an eyebrow. "Oh really? And what is my most attractive trait to you?"

Astarion chuckles, then brings his cold fingers to your forehead, gently brushing the skin there, "This scar above your eye? It's quite the attractive feature. Really adds to your whole intimidating aura," he purrs, "I must hear the tale behind it."

You roll your eyes, trying not to let his teasing get to you. "Ugh, that one gave me nightmares for weeks." You say with a grimace. "I was being chased by an angry tabern owner because I may or may not have stolen some of his ale. Anyway, he caught up to me and I fought him off as best as I could, but he still managed to get a knife to my face." You shudder at the memory and the thought of your mother's scolding afterwards.

Astarion chuckles, "Oh darling, you? Stealing? And ale, of all things? Positively scandalous. I find it hard to believe."

You give him a playful glare, "Oh please, I was young and reckless. Plus, the ale was really good."

He shakes his head in disbelief, but the fondness in his eyes is unmistakable. As he takes your hand in his, his soft fingers tracing over the familiar lines and curves, you feel a warmth spread through your chest. His thumb gently traces the jagged scar on your palm, "This one looks like a fish bone" He says with a smirk.

You roll your eyes "Yeah, well, I got that one in an attempt to save my friends when I was young." you say "We were out at sea enjoying the warm weather, when suddenly a massive creature emerged from the depths. It had razor-sharp teeth and writhing tentacles, and before we knew it, our boat was under attack. I reached out to help my friends and next thing I know, I'm tangled up in this thing's grasp. Thank the gods a wizard happened to witness our struggle and put down the beast. Lesson learned: never underestimate the power of the ocean's creatures."

He rolls his eyes back, "Of course the heroic, strong, selfless and pretty one would make something like that sound like a normal and not crazy thing to do." He looks back at your hand, "But no worries, darling, your hand is just fine. In fact, it's quite charming in its own rugged way." He says, taking your palm to his lips, making you shiver. Despite his teasing, there is a genuine admiration in his voice that warms your heart. His hand then moves up to cup your cheek. "You certainly have an interesting collection of scars."

You can't help but blush at his words, feeling a mix of happiness and vulnerability. No one has ever taken the time to truly listen to your stories before, let alone find them interesting. But with Astarion, it feels different, like he sees you for who you truly are, flaws and all.

"Back home, some people said I was a monster because of them" you say, gesturing to the marks on your body, "but I like them, I think they all have a story behind them worth telling."

Astarion raises an eyebrow, "People called you a monster? What foolishness."

You shrug, "It's just how things were back in my hometown. They were afraid of anything different or out of the ordinary."

A playful glint dances in his eyes and his sharp fangs glisten. "Oh, I'm sure I'm a real nightmare to them," he quips with a smirk.

You roll your eyes, "Well, it's not every day someone meets a charming vampire like yourself."

Astarion leans in closer, his warm breath tickling your skin. "You know, I never tire of hearing your stories. You always manage to surprise me."

You feel your cheeks flush at his words, but before you can respond, Astarion leans in and presses his lips against yours softly. It's sweet and gentle, but also filled with unspoken words and emotions, and you can't help but wrap your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as you both lose yourselves in each other.

When you finally pull away, he rests his forehead against yours, breathless and smiling. "I could listen to your stories all day," he murmurs.

"Well, lucky for you I have plenty more where those came from." you reply with a teasing grin. "Ah, but what about your scars?"

Astarion's playful smirk returns as he starts tracing your skin again. "Oh, mine? They come from a life of bloodlust and and danger."

[rocketboots564]

My Thoughts on Movie Bobby Drake (aka Iceman)

It’s important to understand I love ALL Bobby Drake interpretations equally (except for AOA Bobby… but like… if there was an X-men I’d wanna die to it’s definitely Nightcrawler, so good on him)

But I do enjoy a lot of what movie Bobby (the OG X-men trilogy… plus the DOFP movie… I guess) brings to the table in terms of Bobby’s characterization.

Is this my nostalgia bias talking from watching the films and having a childhood crush on Shawn Ashmore?

Yes. Yes it is. (and he is still very handsome in my eyes)

Some of the BEST stuff from comic Bobby in my eyes is when he’s able to drop his “class clown/comic relief” side, and actually get very serious and emotional. (I adore his humorous side, but sometimes it does get a bit cringy)

Movie Bobby kinda does this, by having him almost drop the jokester aspect of his character entirely, say for a few small quips.

Problem is, at face value, movie Bobby is kinda…. bland. Outside of the “coming out” scene in X2 and mostly just the scenes with him and Pyro in X2 and Last Stand, there’s not a whole lot of depth to him, which I mostly blame on the romance & later love triangle between Rogue and Kitty. (Not that i dislike those characters, just that their romance with Bobby feels… forced if not cliche and boring)

I feel if Bobby had more time to develop his character past his romances, he’d be so much fun in the movies. Especially if they went further into his relationship with Pyro, and how their ideals contrast each other (in a similar fashion to Xavier and Erik, which Pyro & Bobby parallel PERFECTLY)

This would DEFINITELY be more enriching if we got a closer dynamic between Bobby and Warren in the 3rd film. Not only because they’re best friends in the comics, but because Warren is technically one of Bobby’s first real male crushes.

Imagine if John resents Bobby because he feels as if Bobby just replaced him with Warren? That’d be amazing!

Not only that, but what if we add a bit of contention between Bobby and Warren? Let’s say Warren is envious of mutants like Bobby, as he can hide his mutation, but Warren can’t. They have a heated argument, but this eventually pushes Bobby to use his ice form more, accepting that side of him.

All of this, and then add a bit more of Comic Bobby’s funnier personality into the mix, make it slightly more snarky and sarcastic, and still keep a bit of Movie Bobby’s personality (a split 50/50)

I think that would be a perfect change to Bobby in the movies, and his story as a whole.

Side Note: But going back to X2, Shawn Ashmore captures this absolutely fantastic sad look in his eyes when his mom asks “have you tried, not being a mutant?” and I love it. I don’t know how to describe it outside of a “sad puppy dog” look.

[avelera]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. spread the self-love ❤

Ooh, thank you for this! As for tagging onward, I'm terrible at picking people and I hate to impose, so if you see this and want to fill it out just say I sent you ^^;;;

Giving Sanctuary: The Sandman, Dream/Hob, Canon Divergence AU. Basically, "What if Dream and Hob got together in 1689 when Hob was at his lowest and they bonded over the fact both of them have lost their sons?" Probably one of my most emotionally mature works, I poured a lot of my own meditations on life and grief into it, and it has some of the best dialogue I think I've written to date. I'm also quite proud that it's complete, lol, a running theme in this list.

The Only Way Out is Down: Pacific Rim, Newt/Hermann, post-Uprising but in an attempt to make sense of Uprising and add some depth and poetry to the years Newt and Hermann spent apart. Newt is trapped in a coma after the Precursors are destroyed and Hermann Drifts with him to try to wake him up. In the meantime, they pass through a mindscape inspired by Dante's Inferno, in which each of the 9 years they spent apart take on an aspect inspired by the Circles of Hell that they have to disrupt in order to move on to the next one. Basically a Newt Recovery fic that flips the script and explores how gut-wrenching and traumatizing those years would have been for both of them, but with a lot of humor and healing, this is not meant to be an angsty slog and some of my best comedy is in it too I think. Quite proud of how I interwove Dante's "Inferno" into the structure of the story, quite proud of the fact it's finished and novel-length, and I think I grew at writing character voices and sustaining them throughout a massively long fic with this one. I still jump to read any comments I get for this one because I'm so proud of it, you would not believe how much work went into it.

Prayers to Broken Stone: The Hobbit, Thorin/Bilbo, BotFA fixit in a way but we take the long way 'round. Dragon Sickness literally turns Thorin into a dragon and he and Bilbo need to survive being locked up alone inside Erebor long enough to find a cure for him, or else. The story is much more psychological than it may sound, it's much more about exploring Thorin's trauma through the lens of him turning into the creature he fears and loathes most in the world. Very proud of this fic since it's the first long fic I ever finished, it's the one that made me actually attend some highly competitive writing workshops since I finally felt like I had become a competent enough writer to be able to actually complete a novel. Also quite proud of the characterization, voices, and mythology created for this one.

Shanghaied: Pacific Rim, Newt/Hermann, post-Uprising again. Post-recovery fic, Newt returns to Shanghai where he was held captive by the Precursors for ten years and slowly spirals mentally when forced to confront the physical location of his torment once more, all while trying to put on a brave face for Hermann that only grows more manic as the night goes on. Still perhaps one of my most emotionally... sincere? works? It's the most based on personal experience during a bad time in my life but translated into a flavor of angst I don't see as much of in fic, it's probably one of my more literary pieces in that respect? Anyway, I'm very proud of the maturity of emotion in this one so I always race to see any comments that get left on it.

5. Come live with me and be my love: The Sandman, Dream/Hob, alternate 1789 hookup. Dream loses a bet to Desire and must live for one year as a normal human, in this specific case, one year as the husband or wife of a human of his choosing, without almost any of his powers, in order to better understand how humans live. Dream chooses Hob as his spouse, naturally, since Hob is the least unbearable of humans and not mortal and therefore not in danger from him. Hob is only too glad to oblige but unfortunately, this means Dream has to pretend to be a woman in order for them to blend in, so shenanigans ensue. While this is still a WIP I do intend to return to it and I am massively proud of it. I think it's one of the works I've done the most worldbuilding for from scratch, in the sense that I had to quickly familiarize myself to a reasonable degree with early 1800s England, a period I'm not actually all that fond of in history (I'm not really an Austen or Bridgerton fan, to say the least). I think it has some of my most ambitious writing in terms of scope and scale and some of the more clever writing in terms of building tension and crafting original characters who lend realism to the setting without overwhelming the central, more important characters of Dream/Hob and their story.

[mha-grievances]

MHA and Hori’s Stat Rankings

Ok, so if there’s any post of mine that someone can call nitpicky, it’ll be this one cause what I’m about to talk about doesn’t really affect the story of MHA in any meaningful way. Rather, it’s just going over some supplemental information that really makes no sense.

So hardcore MHA fans and/or frequent visitors of the MHA wiki know of the Ultra Archive Book and the Ultra Analysis Book. In these books, various characters are given rankings based on several stats: power, speed, technique, and intelligence/wits being the stats shared between the two books. Cooperation, the final stat in the Archive Book, was replaced in the Analysis Book by each character having a humorous stat that tells the reader a bit about them. Denki’s signature stat is Friend (6/6 S), Izuku’s is Presence (1/6 E), etc. In addition, the Analysis Book is slightly more in depth when ranking stats. Each letter has their own tiers, either being positive, neutral, or negative. For example, Izuku has a power score of 5/6 A+ while Ejiro has a power score of 5/6 A- and Mezou has flat score of 5/6 A.

The way the stats are written are easy to understand. However, when you compare the stats of some characters to one another and what we’re actually shown them being capable of doing, a lot of it doesn’t add up. Here’s I’ll be breaking down some examples of what I mean.

Power:

Perhaps the biggest examples of this area being bullshit are Shota, Hitoshi, Stain, and Tooru’s strength rankings. Throughout both books, all four characters have had a consistent power ranking, with only Stain’s really changing from a 3/6 C to a 4/5 B and Hitoshi changing from a 1/6 E to a 2/6 D. Meanwhile, Tooru has a power ranking of 2/6 D and Shota’s is 3/5 C. However, keep in mind that neither character has any sort of offensive abilities granted to them by their quirks. Stain’s is a paralysis quirk, Tooru’s makes her invisible, Hitoshi brainwashes people, and Shota’s shuts down quirks. You can make an argument for Tooru being able to refract/reflect light based quirks, but that’s something she learned later on, so keep that in mind. Meanwhile, Izuku in the Ultra Archive Book, has a power stat of 1/6 E. Now, it is basing his strength off the fact that he’s unable to properly use OFA without breaking himself, but there is absolutely no way he should be weaker than Shota, Stain, and Tooru in the power department. Izuku is at peak human strength. You can definitely say that both Shota and Stain are as well, but Tooru isn’t, struggling to do a pull-up. Despite that, she’s a tier higher than him. Speaking of Stain and Shota, you can argue that their weapons are also accounted for when Hori gave them their ratings, but that makes no sense in Shota’s case cause his capture scarf can be cut by a knife. As for Stain, his blades haven’t been shown to have any special properties, so how the hell do his blades alone allow him to beat Mina’s 3/6 C+ power. Mina’s acid melts through stone and steel with ease. Stain’s swords have nothing on that. Speaking of Mina, her power stat’s somehow lower than Mashirao’s. Sure Mashirao’s tail is pretty strong, but his best feat in the strength department is cracking concrete while Mina’s disintegrated steel with no effort. Himiko Toga also gets screwed over in terms of a power stat, being a 1/6 E in both books. Despite not having an offensive quirk at the time of her ranking, she has shown off superior strength than Tooru and Hitoshi by pining Izuku. Sure, a successful pin does involve technique, but a twig isn’t going to be able to pin a peak level human without some sort of strength. Another character who’s rated lower than they should be is Tsuyu in the Ultra Archive Book, also being a 1/6 E despite her quirk granting her enhanced strength. This was rectified in the Ultra Analysis Book with her getting bumped up to a 3/6 C, but there’s still no way Shota, a man with no superhuman abilities, should have an equal power ranking to Tsuyu, who could probably shatter a skull with a kick. Finally, there’s Dabi, who’s always thrown in the 4/6 B category. While he might not be able to use his quirk for extended periods of time, the fact that his flames are confirmed to be hotter than Endeavor’s means he deserves to be ranked higher. There’s no way you’re telling me Katsuki’s explosions are stronger than Dabi’s flames. I can also ramble about how Kyouka’s quirk is arguably one of the strongest quirks in the series but that’s for another time. To conclude, the power rankings are wonky. Peak human characters are either ranked lower than characters they should realistically beat in terms of power or are ranked higher than they should be, and characters who should be ranked higher like Mina and Dabi aren’t.

Speed:

Arguably the most consistent stat in this series is speed. There’s really only one example I wanna talk about and that’s Mezou. Mezou has a low speed ranking of 2/6 D in both books despite having some of the best performances when it comes to raw speed. He was able to save several of his classmates at the USJ before Kurogiri could warp them all away, he easily intercepted and backhanded Himiko (someone who both Shota and Izuku struggled to keep up with even when the latter was using 5% of OFA), he ran away from a full powered Dark Shadow, and he successfully countered a full barrage of Pony’s horn missiles with only his fists. Despite this, his speed stat is lower than everyone else I’ve mentioned when it should be higher.

Technique:

Easily the most flawed stat here. For starters, Hitoshi in the Ultra Archive Book has an equal technique stat to Izuku, the guy who is able to counter people by reading their body moments, and Shoto, who has been trained by the number two hero. Mind you, all we’ve seen Hitoshi do is mind control people and flail pathetically against Izuku during the Sports Festival. Katsuki, who has a 5/6 A and 5/6 A+ stat in technique, has not received any form of training and has only fought people weaker than him prior to U.A, so he also shouldn’t have a higher skill stat than the son of the number 2 pro hero. Dabi, the guy who managed to mimic the special move Shoto had to take time to learn and has the ability to mimic all of Endeavor’s moves, only has a technique stat of 2/6 D. Mezou and Jurota, the characters Hori said were the strongest characters of the first years when it came to fighting without quirks, both possess lower technique stats than Katsuki. Yui Kodai, the girl with 5/6 A+ technique, somehow got easily defeated by Ochako, who is a tier lower than her in technique. Yes, she got a surprise attack on Reiko, but Yui should’ve been able to jump her after Reiko went down. Mashirao and Itsuka are both martial artists but they both only have technique stats in the B ranks, which is lower than most of their classmates. Pretty much Hori’s rankings when it comes to technique is either constantly ignored and/or makes absolutely no sense.

Intelligence/wits:

For this section, I wanna mainly focus on Minoru. Minoru’s intelligence stat is currently ranked at 5/6 A+. Now, I’m not saying Minoru’s not smart, because we’ve seen that he is smart, but his intelligence stat’s a bit too high. For starters, Kyouka scored higher than him on the midterms despite only having a maximum intelligence score of 4/5 B. In addition, he’s ranked above Tenya, who had the second highest score on the midterms. He’s also tied with Mei, someone who Power Loader described as a “one of a kind genius”. Now, some of you might be saying that Minoru might be better at working on his feet, hence his higher intelligence stat, but Izuku’s able to accurately read an entire battlefield and scored fourth on the midterms, blowing Minoru out of the water in these instances. Moving away from Minoru, Power Loader, the head of the Support department, only has his intellect at a 2/6 D according to the Ultra Analysis book. That’s lower than the majority of 1-A and 1-B’s intelligence stats. How is the head of the support department going to have such a poor intelligence rating? Dabi, who once again is a prodigy, was the only one who had suspicions about Hawks’ loyalty, and is capable of instantly mimicking moves that Shoto and Endeavor had to take time to develop, only has an intellect of 3/6 C, which is crazy to me. Hori really has no idea what he’s doing with regards to these stats.

TL;DR: Hori’s stat assignments are bullshit and need to be drastically reworked.

[piracytheorist]

What's your thoughts on the episode where that fake waiter 'poisoned' Yor, and Anya intimidated him into supposedly leaving the crime life? The stuff he thought and whatnot, as well as Anya in that scene? I'm so curious as to your thoughts

I think that Anya, honestly, has the time of her life making her fantasies come true and saving the world.

All kids dream of being superheroes and doing cool stuff. Courtesy of her mind-reading powers and girlbossing a spy and an assassin into adopting her, Anya can actually act on that stuff and go up against bad guys and overthrow plans for war, and I think, to her advantage, she's a little too young to understand the gravity of her situation. She stops a bomb, saves her father and many many innocent civilians, practically putting an end to an effort to reignite a war that ended before she was even born... and then she goes back home with a bright smile like "Hero Anya has saved the day!"

And I think something similar happened in this scene. She faced a professional criminal, created a bomb that he was going to create, even put her signature on it by adding peanuts, actually hurt him, and then warned him with knowledge of his personal life. And all without breaking a sweat.

Honestly, the sight of a terrorist kid who knows all your secrets and works for the assassin you were just trying to kill sounds like enough of a terrifying concept, enough to turn you away from a life of even professional crime. I mean, the guy already was thinking of giving up on that life, for the sake of his girlfriend and believing that it was a miracle he'd survived the Thorn Princess' massacre. It was just the immediate sight of her in his cover job that made him think it was his fallen comrades asking him for revenge. And he tries that with a poison, Yor shakes it off because she's a tank, and he goes for a last ditch effort with the bomb, but then a fucking kid creates that same bomb before him and lets him take the blast. And then tells him about his own secrets. He realizes he's out of his depth, he's being given a second (third?) chance, and decides the life of a criminal is over for him.

Honestly, I think it's fucking hilarious. Spy x Family manages to have an excellent amount of unhinged humor that somehow makes sense. Anya wasn't playing around. She literally made a bomb and exposed the man's secrets. It was enough to scare him off any attempt at continuing this life or his effort for revenge. And as weird as it is, it actually sounds pretty reasonable. Again, I'm not sure Anya grasps the full weight of her actions - she probably thinks that she scared him off because she was Cool™ and all that, when in fact it was because it's pretty scary to have a child bomb you and expose your secrets - but in a story with spies and assassins, I don't find it all that weird. It just adds to the unhinged humor of it all.

Cause yeah, despite how unhinged it all is, Spy x Family somehow touches reality in a very... "secure" way. I don't know if that's the right word to use, lol. It's just that even when characters have extreme reactions, it's always on something you can understand and maybe even sympathize with. Even when we're dealing with criminals such as that guy, it's always focused on humanity and a deep understanding of reality... but also in a very malleable way. Like, who would have thought this was the way to discourage the way from a life of crime forever? Tatsuya Endo, that's who.

(Anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga)

[fallenhero-rebirth]

Got asked for some writing advice

How did you improve your writing specifically beyond 'just writing more'?

The first thing is to read different things from different genres. Read an old book, and see how that is written. Read a genre you normally don't read. Read some poetry. Go to the library and walk to a random book, open it in the middle and read. Read on paper, and out loud. And then read some more. And when you read, try to think about why you don't like or likes something. Is it boring? Why? Is it hard to understand? Why? What is it in the words you like? Does it feel good to read out loud? If it doesn't, why not?

A tip is to take a book you think is interesting. Take a paragraph from the middle at random, and write it down in a word document. Pay attention to how it feels to write. How are the sentences? Do they feel different from your own? Close the book and continue to write a few paragraphs. Does your style change? What is the difference between your paragraphs and the one above? Sentence length? Comma use? Does it make it better or worse

Another tip is to write down a bit of dialogue from a tv show or movie you like. There might be transcripts online even. Take that dialogue and write a scene with it. Especially if you find dialogue hard to sound natural this might be freeing. Or, you might even find that what sounded good on the screen looks terrible on paper when it's not said by a charismatic actor.

A third is to write fanfiction and try to make it as good as you can. Try to make it real, as if it might have been from the original source. Think about what it was you liked about it, and then try to imitate that and make your own story. Fanfiction gets a bad rep, but it is a great way to experiment with writing without having to come up with characters and a world. That way you can just focus on the language.

Would you have any tips regarding writing interesting characters? Mine are always very flat and bland OR 'mary sues'

First of all, there is nothing wrong with a "mary sue". The way this is used these days, it might as well mean "protagonist". If Batman or James Bond can get away with their shit, your protagonist certainly can too. And your characters will be flat at the start because a story consists of so many parts. You have your language, your plot, your world, your story rhythm. And when you are starting out, there's simply too many things to focus on. You won't get depth in all of them, and the characters are what you spot being flat first, because that's usually what attracts us to a story in the first place.

My characters were terribly flat when I started out, but I wrote short story horror so it didn't matter. Nobody read that for the characters.

A trick I have to try to get my characters to feel alive is to write arguments. Take two characters you have trouble with and let them talk. Argue about something. Be stuck in an awkward situation together. Don't bother writing anything but dialogue, never mind the actual scene. Just write them talking, and after a while you might get a feel for how they feel different from one another. Maybe they start talking about things about them that you didn't even know. Explore. Have fun. Have them say something weird. Something hurtful. Write reactions. Don't bother thinking if it's usable or not. I've written pages of dialogue just to get a feel for how people talk.

I usually build characters by combining archetypes. I start with one people will know immediately, then add another, and a third. They will be uncovered one at a time, adding depth. Let's take Ricardo Ortega for example. The first archetype is "the sexy leading man/hero". Then, we get to know what I fondly call "the himbo". And finally, we discover "the clever, sneaky asshole". I didn't need to bring in all those things at once, as long as I got writing the first archetype, people would be interested and intrigued when they learned about the new facets.

Would you have any tips on writing humor/banter? You're pretty dang good at it but I could never figure out how to be funny lmao all the jokes I write are Extremely Cringe.

Oh I wish. I honestly have no idea. I was terrible writing characters and dialogue. I think something clicked when I wrote massive amounts of DA2 fanfic, because that was a game which consisted of nothing but banter, so I tried to mimic it the best I could. I have never liked comedies or really understood humor, so I never try to be funny. It's the one part of my writing I truly does not understand, some of my characters are just like that.

What's your plot planning process like, if you have a consistent one? I can only figure out the very generic broad strokes but it falls apart as soon as I try to come up with details.

All plots are generic broad strokes. Rebirth is basically just emo protagonist monologues a lot, meets up with some old friends and proceeds to beat them up. That's it. All plots will look flat and boring in your head, because what makes a plot cool and interesting is that you don't know what's going to happen. You do. You're the author. So of course it will look flat and uninteresting in your head. The hardest thing is trying to ignore this.

My workaround to this is only knowing the barest of broad strokes. I know where I want to go, who the opposition is, some basic scenes that needs to be there (not in detail) and then I write and discover things as I go along. That is the only way for me to remain interested in the plot, if I had planned it in detail I'd get bored. And oh, sure, there's a lot of foreshadowing and hidden things in my writing, but that's only because I know some big things that's going to happen. It's not like I have sat down and detail planned every chapter, what things I need to plant there, and so on. A lot of the times I forget things, and have to go back and add them, and so on. I would say focus on the characters before the plot. If you manage to figure out how to write fun characters first, nobody will care if the plot is bland.

[tiger-moran]

OK, Sherlock & Co's The Gloria Scott, probably the best episode so far, also probably the darkest episode so far but it was the first episode where I've felt like the main characters really started to develop proper depth (I still like Mariana more than Sherlock or John though), but I really don't get the thing with the music. I don't get what the point of the music was both in the context of John choosing to edit music into it and the creators choosing to put all that in? Like what's the point of almost drowning Victor out with the music before it shifts to a practically unrelated later scene? And maybe there was meant to be some sort of 'dramatic irony' with the song there or something but I don't know what that song is and I can't tell what the singer is saying either so if there was some sort of symbolism there it's lost on me. And just, the tonal shift of it, where Victor's really upset, apparently Sherlock is also upset, but there's no actual resolution to Victor's story and the ending is just John making these rather flippant remarks. I mean I get why they wouldn't want to record Victor after he's shouting at Hunter to get out but if that's the last we hear of him, there's no actual resolution for his story for us. Which sucks when you've just introduced him as an actual character in the here and now, not someone who was solely from Sherlock's past as he is in the canon (also this Victor is such a sweetheart). Then the end is John rambling in a presumably meant to be humorous way about putting the music in like it was supposed to add something but the music really detracted from it for me, also about pirates and stuff but his tone felt really weird and inappropriate considering how dark the storyline was.

I love Victor Trevor anyway and overall I liked this take on him - bringing him into the present, making him canonically queer, even practically introducing him with him having a full on anxiety attack, I liked most of what they did with him but then that sort of makes it worse when his storyline doesn't have any real closure for us? (Also at least in the canon he's had time to come to terms with everything before Watson writes the story up and publishes it for the public to read. This though does feel a bit like another one of those times when broadcasting something almost right after it happens doesn't feel appropriate.)

[artist-issues]

*shrieks into the void*

“Let me free you from having to agree that Dune is a good movie series!”

There’s no emotional depth. The three things you’re supposed to care about, with the characters, in this movie are a) Paul’s family/household, their name and their wellbeing. b) The Fremen, their cause and their wellbeing. c) Chani, Paul’s relationship with her and her wellbeing. But the movies do not display any genuine moments of these characters being relatable or human or empathetic in a way that we can all empathize with. Paul’s interactions with his father before his death are too formal and take themselves too seriously. There’s little to no humor or relaxed moments between them that the casual viewer could relate to before big, dramatic moments ramp up the tension. When everything is solemn and Shakespeare, nothing is impactful or hits you in a real way. It all quickly becomes emotional white-noise, whether the dad is screaming about a assassination attempt on his son or his death is revealed to that son—who cares? Paul and Chani? They have no build-up to their relationship. There’s no reason they should like each other beyond animal attraction. And no audience member can relate to the experience of having supernatural visions about a girl, then meeting her and gaining her trust through pitched combat and ritual training. So nobody cares when he betrays her, no matter how much dramatic music you play. And Paul’s mother’s motives are either unclear or wholly unrelatable, so you don’t care what she’s after or how it will affect everyone else.

The writing lacks pacing. There are barely any jokes or moments of regular, normal conversation. Every single conversation is weighed down by solemn “fantasy culture” references, every single line is burdened by dramatic mic-drop one-liners. Paul and his mother never talk about what they miss about their old planet together, in a normal fashion. That would be the most natural thing in the world, as they travel through the desert.

The villains are shock-jock puppets. You might as well have a clip show of people getting run over by cars or falling off of bridges playing, instead of every scene with Fayd Rautha or any Harkonen, for all that the villains add to the story. They’re just there to be loud, or erotic, or gory—but don’t worry, the movie will play dramatic, chanting music behind everything they do so that you feel a sense of “epic dread” when they’re actually doing nothing intimidating or clever, or scary. They’re just yelling and smashing people. If they twirled their mustaches and “mua-ha-ha-ha’d” they’d at least be a little campy and fun to watch—but they’d be exactly the same amount of ‘effective or interesting in the story.’

It’s all sugar, no nutrients. The sugar just happens to be pretty music, good sound and visual effects, and nice-looking actors & actresses. The message is “power is derived from the successful manipulation of those with faith.” That’s it. That’s awful. That’s an awful message. What am I supposed to do with that information? What am I supposed to carry out of that theater? I’m supposed to start abandoning submission and faith in any higher power or authority, and use those ideas for selfish ambition and control, if I were to listen to Dune.

And don’t tell me it’s profound to take your main character and make him the villain. Boo hoo hoo. That’s not profound, I don’t care if it is Timothee Chalamet. Nobody cared about who he was before he betrayed his girlfriend and seized manipulative power for himself. When Anakin Skywalker falls to the dark side and kills his wife and turns on all the people who looked to him for help? You care. Know why? Because you saw who he was and how he struggled to live up to that, before the fall ever happened. He was a human character with relatable flaws like pride and human moments, like teasing his girlfriend or making his best buddies nervous, with hobbies, like tinkering. With a competitive personality. With a deep angst over loss. Paul Atreides? Lazy. Lazy in comparison. We’re just told his dad died and told he’s sad about that, but there’s no real human attention given to that. Just big dramatic, angsty declarations and acting-explosions. We’re told he loves Chani, and expected to believe it, but given no evidence except a suggestive post-sex scene with zero romantic tension or buildup, or even bonding. All Paul Atreides is, is a character who has a laundry list of epic hard-to-do chores, and he gets them done, while dramatic music plays, as if there was some doubt he was going to be able to do his chores and you’re supposed to see his completion of the list as a moment of victory. Guess what? I don’t care about his chore list, no matter how “cultural” they are. So I don’t care about his rise or fall, or anything he’s doing, because he’s not a relatable human character. He’s just a caricature. And that would be fine. If there were any relatable human side characters to look at him through the eyes of. But there aren’t. Because this whole story is “shock and awe, look at how important we are, hear that rumbling bass in the soundtrack, see this character brooding into the horizon for the seven-thousandth shot?” What am I supposed to take away from this? All sugar. No nutrients.

[the-phantom-author]

I just found your account, and as a Hasan enjoyer, I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE your writing and stories 🥹💜

For the request, hear me out on this!!!

Pre-relationship: you’re a gaming streamer who’s streamed with Pokimane/Ludwig/Sykkuno etc (not super familiar with who Hasan games with since I’ve mostly watched his politics/true crime stuff). You mostly stream cozy games, but have been known to pop off on Valorant, Among Us, and Dead by Daylight when invited to play.

Since you’re a gaming channel, you don’t talk about much outside of that, but you’re actually super knowledgeable on politics/leftism/current events/history and other more serious topics Hasan covers. Very few members of your audience have picked up on it, and your streaming friends never go in depth on it since they usually get caught up in gameplay/don’t know as much about it (nothing malicious ofc!!!)

One day, Lugwig decides to host another Among Us stream and he invites you and Hasan to join. You and Hasan haven’t officially met at this point. Sure, you’re mutuals on social media and have common friends, but you have never talked to each other and aren’t really familiar with the content the other makes.

During the game, Hasan makes a comment on an ongoing political problem (“This is worse than the don’t say gay bill! How dare you betray me!” or something similar). You add onto the joke in a way where he just KNOWS you know a lot about the topic. The rest of the stream has both you and Hasan making similar jokes, to the point Lugwig jokingly bans you both from making them.

After that, you and Hasan start talking wayyy more. You guys start texting each other, watch the other’s content, and pop in to the other’s stream from time to time. One day, Hasan invites you to react to a right-wing grifter and everyone gets a whole new look into your knowledge on subjects Hasan covers. Not only that, but the chemistry between you and Hasan shines through; keeping up with his points, same type of humor, etc etc.

From there, just a slow burn friends to lovers where everyone can see you both just fit together well and AHHHHHHHH CUTE SHIT 🥹🥹🥹

Thank you for reading this, i am brain rotted by Hasan 😤✨

NONNY!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!!

This is the cutest. The slow burn strangers to friends to lovers.

The way I know Hasan would love to show you off. Like he knows that you don't think that your stream is the best place to do political commentary, but his is so he loves having you on his.