#which is not to say they're not good writers

[billveusay]

I just watched Gundam Wing and...

Man. Oh man, that was so much fun.

First off, if you didn't know, I liveblogged the whole thing to @theotherwesley, and reposted a bunch of screencaps (413 of them) everyday by servings of 10 for the last few weeks. You can find the first one here, and the index post listing them all, as well as my other reviews and various Gundam stuff here. Now, onto the subject matter:

I remember saying beforehand that even if I didn't expect to find it good, I at least expected to enjoy it very much, because I had seen the scene™ and I live for that cheesiness and melodrama. And I was right, this show delivered beyond my expectations on that level, but it was also actually really good on many others. Not flawless, far from it, but the vast majority of the flaws made it more fun anyway. It's in the delicious sweet spot where there's no gap between unironic and ironic enjoyment, so you're left with nothing but a pleasant experience.

But because a fun mess is still a mess, it's hard to know where to start. So let's stick to tradition and begin with the pacing. It's wild. I'm thinking back to Zeta and Turn A, in which the general situation barely evolves in the first half. Meanwhile in Wing, during the same time frame, the Gundams attack the earth, the world government is overthrown in a coup, the colonies capitulate, the Wing Gundam is blown up, Zechs gets a heel-face turn, everyone moves into space, Sandrock is blown up, Lady Une is revealed to have two personalities, Trowa goes undercover, Deathscythe is blown up, Quatre (momentarily) turns evil, Trowa is apparently dead, Lady Une gets shot, Treize retires... Gundam Wing takes the notion of status quo, shoves it into a rocket and fires it into the sun. In another show, this would probably turn into meaningless noise, but because these constant curveballs work as pretty organic repercussions of preceding events (and curveballs) that are then followed through with subsequent consequences (and curveballs), the plot maintains a sense of flow. Plus the theatricality of it all puts you in the right mindset for expecting wild shit to hit the fan every alternate episode, so it takes effort to be bored.

But that probably would not have carried the show if the characters hadn't been so delightful. I don't think there's a single one I actively dislike, they all range from "Genuine love" to "Fun to poke with a stick" (again, either ironic or unironic entertainment, no unenjoyable in-between), with some of them being a tad forgettable at worse (sorry Quinze). Even putting aside the crazy, they're all pretty well rounded, and the writers are very good at writing fun dynamics and chemistry between them. But I think one of the most brilliant piece of writing is to keep them separated for most of the story. It's the kind of genius idea that sounds deceptively simple and counter-intuitive on paper, but brings a plethora of qualities. It allows the story to go deeper into the dynamics between two characters by letting them be alone with each other for a while, it makes the viewer look forward to new pairings, it ensures that the story always has something interesting to cut to and when they all assemble towards the end, it feels impactful. One of the best example if the way they start off with Heero and Duo's vitriolic dynamic. They let us enjoy the banter for 9 episodes, and then, before it gets repetitive, they split them off so Duo can hang out with Quatre, and Heero with Trowa. Immediately, you can feel that they and their new buddies are much more on the same wavelength, and it gives them and the audience a nice breather after the roller-coaster of the previous episodes. And then after a dozen episodes, Heero saves Duo from execution, they instantly start clapping back at each other and you realise how much you missed it. Great stuff!

But as I said, it has flaws. First off, it's still derivative. Granted, some of the recurring elements are an inversion or a deconstruction of elements from the original timeline, but there are also many places where I wish they took a bit more distance from it, especially when it comes to Zechs. Secondly, it's hard to follow, between the dodgy translation, crazy characters and breakneck speed of the plot, I often found myself pretty lost (the pinnacle of this was the confrontation between Treize and Heero. I completely gave up on trying to understand what these two were on about). I had also heard about the issue of redundancy within the quintet prior to watching the show, with three of them being broody loners. And I agree with that, but it ended up being less of a problem than I initially thought thanks to the aforementioned good character dynamics. And finally... boy do they treat the mass murders over the shoulder. I feel like that could be the deal-breaker for many people since by the end, the number of characters without unaddressed innocent blood on their hands could be counted on the fingers of Daryl Lorenz's hands.

Going back to qualities, I really liked how you could feel that each mobile suit worked differently and varied in danger factor. Most main line Gundam shows will introduce a new one every other episode, but 60% of the time it won't feel that different from previous suits. They will have distinct designs, and maybe induce slight variations in the choreography, but it mostly won't seem like it makes a difference. Here, especially in the first half, the feeling and stakes of a fight scene are very different depending on whether they are fighting a Leo, an Aries, a Taurus or a Virgo, and that makes it much more interesting.

Side note before I do the usual character round-up: The more time passes, the less well-disposed I find myself towards Gundam 00, and watching this didn't help. I can handle derivative, this is the 18th piece of Gundam media I watched, but the madness of Wing also threw the genericness (is that a word?) of 00 in sharp relief. And there are some things that they really shouldn't have brought over, like ruining one of my favourite character with additional, allegedly "nice" personalities that are much less interesting than the mean one (I can accept it for Wing but I'm still genuinely mad at what they did to Soma Peries).

Now for the character round-up:

Heero Yuy. Very much in the "fun to poke at category", but he ended up growing on me. And after reading a few essays on the characters, I agree that he does have some depth and interesting ideas behind him. However, the way everyone latches onto him despite him acting like a feral kitten is a bit weird. Especially Relena, but she's as crazy as he is.

Not only is Duo best boy, I think he does more for the show than people think. A grounded character can work wonders in helping a viewer engage with a story that has weird or hard-to-follow elements. This is why I still (mostly) like Bioshock Infinite, the appealing relationship between the two leads who are as lost and confused as the player most of the time, despite the rest of the story being bonkers and completely up itself. And while Duo is still crazy, he provides some much needed "what the hell are you two on about?" when Heero and Relena are doing their thing.

Trowa is definitely the blandest of the quintet, not helped by his generic amnesia in the middle of the show, but he also grew on me and his undercover arc was very fun, if a tad shaky. Everyone clocked him as a Gundam pilot minute one except for lady Une, because the sharpness of her clothing sadly does not extend to her intellect.

Quatre is a very sweet boy, and I love an uncomplicated likeable character, at least when the rest of the cast provides enough nuance and variety. His wild ride in Wing Zero goes a bit unaddressed (he did blow up a whole colony) but that's in line with most killings being glossed over so I won't lose sleep over it.

Wufei is... I didn't really get his deal, even after reading an essay on the character kindly provided by my liveblogging partner. He is entertaining enough, and has some great moments, but he's still my least favourite of the five.

Next is Relena "Come closer, I am a generic love-interest princess-HEERO WILL YOU SHOOT ME IN THE FACE ALREADY?!" Peacecraft. Not my favourite character either, it does feel like she latches on to Heero because meeting a dark, mysterious and handsome assassin targeting her is the most exciting thing that happened in her boring life of luxury, but she also has great moments, like her cute silent reunion with Heero at the Sanc airport.

Zechs is... well he started the tradition of the Char-clones, but I can't even be mad at him because he also started the sub-tradition of having fun with Char-clones by one upping the dramatic bitch aspect of the character (see also Harry Ord and Graham Acker). He definitely is still the most derivative of the bunch, especially in the final third where he goes full CCA, but he was enjoyable nonetheless, and without him we wouldn't have had...

Click... click... click...

Noin is <3. She's gorgeous, she's adorable, she could kick my ass, I love her.

Treize is a lot. I also had to read an essay to understand his deal (cut me some slack, I'm a Frenchman watching a Japanese show poorly subbed in English), but I think I got a better idea of the character. And even if I had trouble grasping the meaning of his monologues on the nature of humanity (beyond "I love it when people fight, as long as it's done with gusto. And I want Zechs to fuck me"), he was a very enjoyable antagonist.

Lady Une in the first half is in the same family tree as Poe Ajie and Iok Kujan that was started by Jerid Messa (I.E, incompetents fuckups from middle management in the villain hierarchy) but where I forgave the former two because their incompetence was an intentional part of the story, here I mostly forgave her because she's fun to watch and that icy glare could ironically melt my heart. Really could have done without the split-personality though. Not only did it age poorly, but while both personalities are intentionally caricatural, an exaggerated "evil" persona is fun, and an exaggerated "nice" persona tends to be aggravating. And then when the two combine, the result is sadly a character with less personality than the sum of her parts. But it's alright, her bespectacled identity is still great, so much so that I might have accidentally drawn pin-up illustrations of her- whoops, who said that.

Dorothy Catalonia. Wow. She's the biggest nutcase in the whole Gundam franchise, despite some steep competition, and as I mentioned in my liveblog, she's so aggravating that she comes back around to being fun somehow. She also probably emits the same pheromones as Heero Yuy, because I still can't fathom why most people just let this unhinged gremlin hang around and hold positions of authority.

And finally, the Science Polycule. I like them, I like how expressive their designs are, and I mostly mentioned them because I love calling them the Science Polycule.

Onto the animation. Frankly, it might be the most beautiful of the 40+ episodes TV shows I watched. It does use a lot of recycled footage, but I can easily forgive it because the rest of the production value is so high, with fluid animation, dynamic cinematography and lighting, and a bunch of Gundam silhouettes backlit by explosions. On a less technical side, it also has one of the best character designs of the franchise. I could tell because there was only one time where I didn't recognise a character who wore a space helmet. They're all full of personality, distinct, appealing, and a bunch of them are very very pretty. Costume design is also great, from the spacesuits to the fancy uniforms, Heero just needs to put on some real pants. I'm a tad more mixed on the mechanical design for the suits. They're great, but some of them just feel a bit too toyetic for my personal taste, like Shenlong. The Aries and Virgos are great however.

Next Endless Waltz. It did feel like an addition rather than a conclusion or a continuation, if that makes sense. Probably because the movie ends with basically the same status quo as the beginning, as opposed to something like CCA and A Wakening of the Trailblazer (which both ended with drastic game changers to the global situation), or Narrative (which ended with a return to status quo, but featured a different cast). Though to be honest, that didn't really bother me, because of the very character-focused nature of Wing. And even if the global situation didn't change much once the dust settled, most characters evolved in interesting ways, especially Heero and Wufei (at least I think so for the latter, I still don't understand his deal but I trust my friend's opinion and analysis). Story-wise, it's feels a bit rushed, bloated and confusing, but frankly that's the norm for Gundam movies at this point, save for AWatT which I remember being pretty well-paced. I'm just mad about the whole "Redesigns? What redesigns? These Gundams have always looked like this". Animation is stellar though.

And to conclude, an obligatory big-up to the music. Kow Otani's score is great, obviously, he is the composer of Shadow of the Colossus, but most of all...

JUST

WILD

BEAT

COMMUNICAAAAAAAAATION!

Phew, this post took a while to write, and even still, I feel like I didn't write enough to do justice to this show. See you next time for Twilight Axis. I won't lie, I'm very much looking forward to something short and uncomplicated right now.

Gundam Reviews :

> Hathaway's Spark > Mobile Suit Gundam > Gundam Zeta > 0083: Stardust Memory > 0080: War in the Pocket > 8th MS Team > The Witch from Mercury > Gundam Thunderbolt > The Origin > Turn A Gundam > F91 > Gundam Unicorn > Gundam 00 > MS IGLOO > Gundam Narrative > Iron-Blooded Orphans > Gundam Wing

[mortalscience]

criminal minds evolution 18x06 thoughts (SPOILERS)

Voit is remembering more and more about himself now; he can remember not only the things he did, but why he did them and how he felt doing them, but since apparently his redeveloped sense of empathy is sticking around he doesn't feel good about being a killer anymore. and I STILL cannot decide if all of this is real, or if he is faking hard. and if Ochoa is in the network and very possibly the Disciple like is my belief, then she could be assisting in faking. OOOhhh it's so good, I NEED ANSWERS!! I can tell already that when the season is over I'm going to immediately go back and watch it again after finding out the outcome hahaha.

I knew I would and it was true, I LOVED the scenes with Penelope and Voit. Their bonding over computers and saying the same thing at the same time and actually sharing some smiles was WILD. I love Penelope's freakish empathy and that she connected to him like a person. And it was so cute how excited she got when she figured out how she could get through to Voit/help with his memory, using one of the things she knew best.

I liked the shift in Voit's attitude between Penelope and Tyler - he talked to Penelope easily and they bonded, they were vibing on the quantum chip, then Tyler walked in and it was like a bucket of cold water was dumped over Voit. He's scared of Tyler, scared of having to confront the loved one of someone he killed. Zach Gilford is so gooood.

I get why they had Penelope paired up with Tyler, she was previously the only one he really confided to about any of what happened with Alison, she broke the news of the confirmation of Alison's death to him, and obviously they hooked up after that so yeah, she has the history with him and none of the other team members would have shown the level of understanding that Penelope could give him. I'm happy they're friendly supportive coworkers, and I enjoyed their scenes, but also like I GET IT, can I please have some Garvez scenes back, lmao. It's hard not to feel like we're missing out on Garvez scenes in favor of Tynelope scenes (because I know the writers don't know how to do both at the same time).

But I did like that cut to Tyler when Penelope talked about how she was forced to come back to the FBI cause of Voit, and Tyler had the decency to look guilty about that. Voit and Tyler deffo share the responsibility on that one.

And when Penelope told Tyler "you've never sconed a day in your life." But Penelope and Luke broke scones together. <3 <3 <3 (I'M CALLING THESE CRUMBS AND I'M TAKING THEM!!)

That said it was funny when Penelope was like I am coming with you Tyler and you can't fight it and he just had this look like "what just happened." Penelope Garcia happened, that's what ahahaha.

when Voit was talking about serial killers during the pandemic and he said it got him wondering "what are they doing right now?" is so funny because that's exactly what I said about the Criminal Minds writers during the pandemic. That Evolution came about because they were sitting around during the pandemic twirling their hair and wondering "I wonder what serial killers are up to rn". Haha.

It was nice that we finally got a scene with Tyler and Voit talking and addressing what happened. Kind of a final bit of closure for him. Most people who have a murdered loved one don't get that many answers.

This was more of an ensemble episode, which made me very happy. Love you JJ but I was starting to miss the other characters who've taken a backseat the past 3 episodes lol.

The team talking about the hidden meaning regarding "hell is empty and the devils are all here" and Emily being like "I'm not convinced it's that deep" = the Criminal Minds fandom discussing amongst ourselves when we're not sure if something is a clue or not lmao

Emily with the big soft curls and the glasses, jaysus *bites fist*

Luke leaning sluttily against JJ's desk. Fuuu. *bites fist*

Tara being a little protective and territorial over Rebecca was so funny but also hot. Also I kinda don't believe that guy about having a fiancee, LOL. He could have had that photo on his phone and the story ready to go any time he was caught.. my boyfriend thought he was trying to get in on a threeway with the both of them. And this show's new fascination with threeways and throuples made me believe it was a possibility. lol.

Luke showing off his explosives knowledge yay! Better than getting a bomb in the face.

"No body, no crime" just makes me think of that Psych episode.

The unsub almost killing his own kid was a twist I wasn't expecting hahaha but him saying "what makes you think it was just one" in combo with the "devils are all here" quote means the BAU is really gonna have their hands full next week. O_o

And inside the box waaaaaas.. another Noh mask. Okay? Interesting. Why would that set off an alert? Unless it was because the box just appeared inside the building? In a government building no package would come inside without going through an x-ray first so maybe it was brought inside by someone. (Someone.. like Ochoa.. I won't be convinced away of this theory until/unless the show canon proves otherwise.)

I had a lot more to say about this episode than I expected. It was great!! I really enjoyed it, and I can't wait for next week!!!!

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

i have seen a lot of posts about lucanis & illario lately, that specifically call out that some of the things Lucanis says about him are kinda mean. usually in context of 'yes what illario did was fucked up but they BOTH went thru the fucked up training and lucanis says shit to him too' etc etc. and i'll be honest as someone who does have a contentious/estranged/very-low-contact sibling relationship. everything lucanis said came off as super mild to me and they should both be WAY nastier to each other actually. yes even when you include their dynamic in wigmaker job which was both more lighthearted And heartfelt. but like if you want realism they should be going from that to 1 minute later annoyed enough to break out the super cutting remarks dragging up the worst things the other has ever done/said, specifically becuause they know it will hurt the other most. then i would believe it more tbh.

[pynkhues]

Okay apparently there was a whole thing last year of someone talked to Chris Stack after seeing him Stereophonic and he said he was invited to film IWTV s3 in April, but he couldn't because of another project, which we now know is Stereophonic's West End run beginning in May. So multiple thoughts. For one, that seems to confirm at least some Nola flashbacks, since I doubt they'd only film one or two and have him be in one, though of course anything's possible. I figured there would be Nola flashbacks but it's cool to have some strong suggestion that there might be several. And maybe now he can do it! Since the filming would be happening when the show is running rather than in rehearsals. I also wonder if filming was initially supposed to BEGIN in April, or if it was beginning earlier and he was just being brought in in April? Maybe it suggests filming was supposed to start earlier, since if they film the episodes in order, you'd think Nola flashbacks might be in the second half of the season, at least. Plus there was what that person told you about Sam being on call to start filming by February, though I wonder if that was definitely to start filming or that he was on call to work on other things. If they were supposed to start filming in April, then April to June is not a big shooting difference. Though I guess even Feb 1 to early or mid-June isn't a HUGE difference, it's four months, so...who knows! And of course we don't REALLY know how long it takes them to make the show, they've never had a "normal" production season, so that doesn't tell us that much. Hmm.

That's super interesting about Chris Stack, anon, and if it's true, definitely seems to imply that there are going to be a few NOLA flashbacks, which deeeelights me, haha.

I actually don't think the person I know was wrong? I deleted my original post about it for y'know. Reasons. But the producer I know had spoken to his Aus agent, who said Sam wouldn't be available due to IWTV from end of Jan/the start of Feb at the latest, which - given it seems like he's been in America since the first week of Feb recording and rehearsing - has been true? I think I might have misinterpreted that (full disclaimer!), to be about filming, but that could be a Sophie Fuck Up as opposed to the person I know being wrong, because they were asking in the context of his schedule to film something else, not to know the schedule for the show.

But yeah! I guess we'll find out soon enough given April's literally tomorrow, haha.

[jq37]

Descendants: The Rise of Red is kind of a bizarre movie to talk about critically because, imo, it almost doesn't make sense to talk about it in the usual terms of good vs bad or enjoyable vs not enjoyable when the way more obvious tension is finished vs unfinished.

Because, more than any other movie I've ever seen, it does *not* read as a full movie. And I don't mean in a "this movie has a cliffhanger" kind of way. The Empire Strikes Back and Across the Spiderverse fit that description. They end on big dramatic cliffhangers that point to a resolution in the third installment.

But Rise of Red just sets all this stuff up and then...ends without concluding anything. It doesn't feel like the first movie in a trilogy (or duology). It feels like the first act of a two-act musical. It very specifically reminds me of the end of the first act of Into the Woods where all the main characters sing the song Ever After about how they all fixed their problems with magic and nothing bad will ever happen to them again and then the narrator ominously says "To be continued" before the curtain drops. But in Into the Woods you know there's a second act and this movie wasn't sold as the first act of a bigger story. Like sure, it has the, "You didn't think this was the end" tag at the end like all the other movies, but those movies were complete, self-contained stories even though they had sequels. This was NOT a full story. It's half of one story.

Like, if we're supposed to take this as a full story, there are so many bizarre choices:

Why did they make sure to mention that Cinderella and Charming fell in love at the ball at the top if it wasn't meant to set up Back to the Future style, "Oh no, I accidentally got my mom banned from the ball so she's not gonna fall in love with Dad and I won't be born" shenanigans?

Why did Maddox very pointedly have that bit about "you could lose your mom completely" if that was never going to come into play? Red never did anything to endanger Bridget or endanger her own birth so it doesn't make sense as a warning in that way.

Why was there all this focus on this Carrie on prom night moment for Bridget if we LITERALLY NEVER SAW CASTLECOMING? Why dance around this moment and talk about it all cloak and dagger with no specificity if they weren't building up to some big reveal that it wasn't as straightforward as it seemed? And like, they leaned in HARD with making Bridget the nicest, sweetest, cotton candy princess as a teen so I need WAY more than, "She got pranked by known bullies she's been enduring with a smile very handily up to this point" to buy that she went from that to "murderous dictator". And even if she did become murderous, I find it insanely hard to believe that she'd include her best and only friend on the list of people she wants to suffer unless there was a betrayal. I find it INSANE that there wasn't a falling out scene at any point in this movie with how thickly they were laying on the admiration and camaraderie.

(Note: And adult Cinderella def has guilty vibes re: the Queen at orientation. Which I know I'm not imagining because it's literally spelled out in the Jr Novelization!)

Before the time travel element of the movie started, I thought they were going for something like they go to the past and realize that Bridget was bullied not by the VKs but by the spoiled royals, and Ella ends up joining in the bullying once she gets with Charming, betraying Bridget and justifying her whole "Love Ain't It" philosophy. Or Ella ditching her at the last minute to be with Charming meaning she has to deal with the monster prank alone and it was the being alone rather than the prank itself that hurt her (though that is NOT a good enough reason to go all off with their heads on your subjects). The fact that, as far as we know right now, it literally was just a relatively mild and reversible prank that caused all of this is just, such flat storytelling, you know?

But! All of this makes way more sense if this is meant to be the first act of a single contained story. And I don't wanna be all "Pepe Silvia, secret good 4th episode of Sherlock" about this but I did see this picture:

Which seems to indicate that this was written as a Part One. Which, if so, idk why they wouldn't advertise it that way but whatever. The point is, if that's the case then it means that we're potentially in bad pacing territory rather than straight up bad storytelling territory. Because this isn't a bad place to be halfway through your story:

The heroes, warned that time travel is dangerous, have gone back in time to change the heart of a brutal tyrant before she can stage a coup. They seemingly succeed in their mission and when they come home, everything is great! But then, the side effects of time travel start to catch up with them. Chloe realizes that, in breaking the vase, she prevented her mother from going to the ball and falling in love with her dad (who was conspicuously absent from the final scene btw) which means she's starting to be forgotten and erased from the timeline. And Red realizes that though this new version of her mom is as sweet and kind as the teen she once met, she's a complete stranger to her (fulfilling the Hatter's warning that she could lose her mom completely). So they have to go back in time once more to make sure the Ella and Charming fall in love again, perhaps at the cost of whatever bad thing that happened to Bridget happening again and bringing back the original version of her future self. But, now with more context of how her mom became that way, Red can now talk to her mother and persuade her to give people another chance.

Boom, that gives us time to go back and hit everything we haven't yet hit. We can pay off the time travel tropes that were set up but not explored. We can go to Castlecoming which feels so obviously set up to be the centerpiece of this story (like, come on, Back to the Future literally does the school dance thing. This is Time Travel Storytelling 101). We can actually get info about what the prank was and why it affected Bridget so completely.

(Note: This is a side thing but it really strikes me as so crazy that Bridget would so SUCH a big 180 here. Like, I know the Queen of Hearts is a silly, goofy, campy villain, but she straight up murders people and there's no way to get around that if we're taking her out of the surreal story she comes from and putting her in a (comparatively) grounded story. If I wasn't doing a betrayal plot, I would make the twist that the spell that turned Bridget into a "monster" didn't just have a physical effect, it had a mental effect and it magically twisted her personality to be the way it is now. So they broke the physical half of the curse, but neglected the other half and it's been festering the whole time, turning her as evil as she was sweet. Because like, a simple physical transformation isn't that big of a deal to have such heavy security--Bridget made cupcakes with a transformative effect and that was totally fine. I'm not saying that that's what's gonna be the case. I just think it would be an explanation that makes sense for why she changed so crazy much that makes more sense than a simple prank or even a betrayal. Her mom wasn't even evil! How did she go from zero to murder without even an evil mom to push her onto the path? But I'm super digressing right now.)

(Note #2: OK, one last thing. The trap on the book presumably would have hit the VK's and trapped them in Merlin's office regardless of what Chloe and Red did, right? That's like, net zero influence on the timeline. I genuinely can't tell if that's a straight up plot hole or set up to be like, "Oh no. Actually when she said that she was turned into a monster in front of everyone it was meant in a less literal way." Like she was just made to look bad and that was the real thing that pushed her over the edge. Like idk. It really feels like the only thing they really did that would change the timeline was get Ella banned from the dance and presumably out of the way where she couldn't hurt Bridget. OK NOW I'm done.)

Anyway, my point is that this is not how I would have structured my movie and I think this was a super weird way to go into the second era of Descendants movies, but they can still tell a complete story if that's their plan. I'm genuinely really curious to see if this pans out to be a fairly competently told story that just happens to be split over two movies or a complete fumbling of the narrative bag because it could really be either at this point and it's fascinating to me.

[itischeese]

Should I (attempt to) go back to posting weekly with less polished works, or post less often but much more finalized works (ie actually edited)?

(please note that the piece I posted most recently was, in fact, edited.

Also, If I post polished works less often, I will inevitably post much less of what I write; only the stuff that can be made good.)

[peaceblank]

Man, it's so annoying how recently there has been several things that really emphasize just how much it takes for some people to accept a character is jewish.

Be it from heavily coded in the text with an added word of god, to literally shown or out right stated in the text. Somehow, people will still crawl out of the woodwork to say, "well that doesn't mean they're jewish".

Meanwhile, in almost every piece of media a character could do absolutely nothing in regards to any religion and everyone will immediately just assume they're some flavor of christian. It is treated as the default and not something that has to be revealed. You do not need to dig and sift through the characters entire existence to justify having them celebrate christmas, but god forbid you have the briefest hint of giving them some other religion. People will come out of nowhere asking you why you would do this, demanding you cite your sources for why you would dare sully this character like that.

[whitestopper]

I don't care either way about straight vs bi Eloise, but I think it would be really funny if this is her and Michaela's dynamic in S4

[coolspacequips]

Have been reading this sci-fi romance and like UGH u ever really wish a book was just at least a little better??? There's stuff in this that's interesting but also a lot about it that's so... Juvenile and kinda undercooked lol...... But it's so hard finding good romance bc for a lot of romance readers this is enough, except even then not really since they prolly didn't fuck nasty enough in this book for the ppl that just need the merest pretense to read smut (which is fine if that's what u like there's just an oversaturation of this, esp when you can have a light plot/heavy smut story with slightly better writing and internal world building without having to explain and describe the 'boring' parts 😅)

[throughdarkeningskies]

when I was a teen and I read everything I could get my hands on, I had this rule in my head to seperate 'literary' fic from 'chick-lit'. and the rule was this: if they have sex and its bad its literary. if they have sex and they enjoy it its chick-lit.

alternate variations:

- if there are dark serious themes explored and everyone is dark and serious about it it's literary. if dark serious themes are explored but the characters crack jokes about it its chick-lit

- if a man writes it its literary and if a woman writes it its chick-lit

- if its written with the most dry boring-ass prose possible it's literary. if its written the way an actual person would talk its chick-lit

[corbinite]

I don’t want a fionna and cake series. Please hbo just let this show have a narratively satisfying end pleaaase. The ending of adventure time was so good and such a good sendoff and it only WORKS if it’s an actual ending, it only works if we’re actually saying goodbye. Literally the whole message of the finale was that sometimes you have to let things end and accept that things will never be how they were, and that there’s beauty in that acceptance because no matter what changes it doesn’t erase what you had. You cannot literally have that be the entire THESIS of the last three or four seasons and then keep drawing it out for cash and nostalgia

[artemisdesari-blog]

A writer friend told me something that broke my heart a little bit today; they're going to quit publishing their fanfic.

My instant thought was that they had been trolled or attacked or that something terrible had happened in their life because this person is so passionate about their writing. It wasn't any of that. Engagement with their works has been going down, as it has for many of us. Comments are like gold dust a lot of the time, and just looking through the historical comment counts on old fics on ao3 demonstrates this trend very clearly. It was not simply the comments dropping off which caused them to decide to stop posting, however.

My friend came across a discord server for their fandom (I should point out here that their fandom interest and mine diverged a couple of years ago, we stay in touch but don't currently read each other's posts because I'm not into their fandom and they would rather gouge their eyes out with a wooden spoon than read anything Star Wars) and specifically to share fic in that fandom. They joined, because we all love a good fic rec, only to discover that their latest multichapter fic, which has almost no comments and very few kudos, is being hotly discussed in this server as one of the best stories ever. Not one of these people has bothered to say this to them on the fic. When they asked, none of participants could see the point in telling the author of the fic they apparently loved so much that they love it.

This discovery has absolutely destroyed my friend's love of sharing fic. They share because they love seeing other people's enjoyment, and fic writers do that through comments and kudos/reblogs/likes because we don't get paid. There is no literary critic writing a blog post/article about how amazing the story is for us to copy and keep/frame. There is no money from royalties. All we have are the words of the people reading our works.

Those people on that server could have taken five minutes of the time they spent gushing about how amazing my friend's story was to other people and used it to tell the one person guaranteed to want to hear that praise how much they loved it. They could have taken a moment to express their opinion to the person who spent hours upon hours plotting, writing, editing, and posting those chapters. Instead, they deprived my friend of thing that keeps them sharing their writing, and in the process have killed their love of it. My friend now feels used and unmotivated.

I won't be sharing a link to their fic, they said I could share their experience but not their identity. I know they plan to post one final chapter. I know they intend to express their hurt at being excluded from the praise for the thing they created, and I know they intend to announce that as a consequence they will not be posting for a long while, if at all.

So please, I beg you, don't hide your love of a story from the writer. It's just about the only thing we have.

[inkskinned]

which is fine, because love is love, and you're getting gay-married, so it would be kind of ironic if love was only sometimes love.

except The King Of Demons (his is Edmund) is always late, to everything, always. which is fair, because time doesn't work in hell, and it's not like he can just catch a bus. except that you specifically asked him not to do this, didn't you, because he's always doing things like this.

He splays out his hands, the light catching on long, ivory claw tips. god, doesn't he know not to wear white to a wedding?

so many people are screaming right now.

it's not that he's the golden child. you guys had normal parents, middle-class. your mom was kind of an "almond mom," according to your fiancée, who pursed their lips when they found out about how your mom used to wrinkle her nose any time you asked for an extra snack in your lunchbox.

you close your eyes for a moment. think of your beautiful almost-spouse. ashe. their name like a bloom inside you. how the dress looks on ashe's body, their shy little smile. how they'd walked down the aisle, and you'd both been half-laughing, half-crying. your hands had trembled when you saw them. like the whole world was pouring down your throat, golden. like you were catching a moment and casting it in amber.

ashe'd been the one to help you when your parents were pushing for you to invite edmund. god, the amount of fights you'd gotten in with your parents - the same six sentiments, over and over again.

you'd been sitting on your bed, biting your lip, your fingers hovering over the little button send. ashe'd nuzzled your neck. you used to be close, and i think that's important. but you know your relationship to him the most. i'm willing to make the effort, and i love you no matter what you choose, they'd said. we don't have to if you don't want to, though, no matter what your parents say about him.

you'd thrown yourself down, supine, arm over the eyes. he's just... we are just.... you tried to phrase that-which-is-love-and-rage.

you're the normal twin. your "big thing" was only "being a lesbian." in high school, edmund started being able to make birds die by looking at them. you came home, trying to tell your parents i kissed a girl. i think i'm - and they just kind of nodded at you. edmund was eating the bible in front of them, like a goat.

on the bed, you'd held your hands out vaguely to ashe. edmund is a just always a lot.

ashe had shrugged. don't invite him then. and it was that - that they were okay with either of your decisions - that is why he even got an invite, in the end.

and now here he is, like how you wanted (?), and your hands are red, clenched hard around your bouquet. the officiant is crying. some people are on their knees, praying. some are trying to touch your brother, like he could impart a blessing.

"i made it!" he's triumphant. "i know i'm late, i'm sorry, there was - do you know anything about right-wing politicians?"

"i'm going to fucking kill him," you say, although you're not actually sure who you're talking to, or if he can be killed.

ashe is blinking, their face in a tiny oh of surprise. you take their hand, drop their hand, take their hand again. they blink at your brother. their voice is low but steady. "there's, um. is there a dark halo around him?"

you duck your head to meet their eyes. "fuck, ashe. i'm sorry. he wasn't supposed to -"

"did i miss it?" Edmund is swinging his head around far-too-wide. his 2 sets of horns leave little red mist any time they scour through the air. "I didn't miss the kiss, right?"

the town clerk is in the audience, and she's frowning. you send her an apologetic look. she shakes her head. "as we've discussed," she manages to throw her gentle voice over the din, "the wedding isn't official if someone objects. that is the legal statute. which people tend to be understanding of." she sends a dirty look to edmund, and that makes you love her. she seems completely calm, which makes sense, because she works in the town hall, and this probably isn't even her first demon-showing-up-at-a-wedding.

he somehow hears her, holds his hands up. "i'm not objecting!" the back of the event hall catches on fire. of-fucking-course. "i'm not - don't mind me, uh, please continue." edmund sends a look to the back-of-the-room fire and it whimpers and gutters out. he flashes you a winning smile, and then puts his hand to his king's-garb chest and mouths sorry! and then cartwheels his glittering talons to say go ahead.

"i think i'm going to throw up." the officiant's voice is barely a whisper.

you watch in horror as edmund tries to awkwardly slide into a waiting line of chairs. the sound of begging follows him, people on their knees at hell's king. he pats a few of them on the head, holding up his finger in a sheepish shh! while his touch leaves a bleeding rune on their skin. his hooves click, and his footprints leave ruby-bright fireroses in his wake.

he tries to sit down, but the wooden chairs are made for people and not the lord king of demons, so he has to span his furred hindquarters over two seats. he smiles again, offers you a little wave.

the room is dead silent, minus the weeping. you look back to ashe. you ruined this. you shouldn't have invited him. you spent so much money on this event, and ashe looks so fucking handsome, and you haven't even gotten to kiss them. to make it official.

ashe looks up at you, manages a little smile. "could be worse?"

you feel yourself start to smile too, but then edmund's chairs give out, and he falls directly on the floor, and with his startled yelp, everything around him bursts into the cold whip-crease of hellflame, disintegrating everything that isn't-a-person, including the flowers and the decorations and the cake and the tables. everything you saved for months to be able to afford. the venue that you both agonized over choosing. you picked this place because it was significant to both of you and was equidistant from both your parents and had a deal with the local hotel for people coming out of town. two years of planning, literally burning down around your ears.

edmund manages to stop the fire pretty much immediately, but it's too late. the officiant faints clear away. the town clerk gives you a sympathetic look and mouths see you soon and steps neatly out of the room, taking ashe's parents with her, chatting gently. an arched flower frame collapses into dust with a loud whoomp. pretty much nobody is left in the building, and you're standing at the top of the steps, at the fucking hour of your marriage, and there is nothing left but blue-cold embers, the lights blown out in favor of the eerie hellfire glow.

you sit down, hard. after a few seconds, you feel ashe sit down next to you. you put your head between your knees so you don't puke with rage, which would be somehow more humiliating than everything else happening at the moment.

"okay, it's definitely too soon," they whisper in your ear, "but i have to admit there is something that's going to be so funny later about my name being ashe and my wedding going up in flames." they wrap their hand in yours. "i can't believe we worried about candles. we should have just gone with them instead of worrying about safety. are you okay?"

you send them a look. "am i - am i okay? this absolute bitch -" you gesture with your free hand out to where edmund is trying to piece together the cinders of his chair, "ruined my fucking wedding."

your mom is standing awkwardly in what used to be the "family" row of chairs. your father is absent, of course. she makes a noise at you. "don't call your brother a bitch."

"oh my fucking god." you have to put your head between your knees again, fighting that stupid fucking rage-puke urge. your blood pressure has obviously reached "skyrocket".

"he's here, isn't he? you're not being particularly grateful," your mother says, because of course she does.

"oh my god! ohmygod. ohmygod." you feel yourself hyperventilating, and then you start laughing, and you hate the hyena hysteria of it, the way it pitches dangerously close to a sob. "this is just - this is just like you! this is the fucking - you blow out the candles on the birthday cake! you curse the kids i'm trying to babysit! you get straight-A's on every test without studying, and get all the friends, and everyone is obsessed with you! and then when i graduate from art school, do i fucking get a party? nope! but hey, let's throw edmund a party for his 300,000th tortured soul! and his 300,001st! and fucking everything else. and fuck me, i guess! edmund gets hurt on the playground, let's burn down the playground. i got fucking bullied, and our parents don't even notice. i am fucking struggling, but we need to pay attention to edmund. he gets fucking everything. while we're at it, why don't we let him fucking ruin my wedding!"

you are dimly aware of ashe wrapping one arm around you and then the other, and then you are sobbing into their shoulder.

"oh, come on. stop with the hysterics," your mother chides you. "you had a perfectly fine childhood. all kids fight. you should have gotten the ceremony done faster. and you know i didn't approve of you spending all this money when you have student loans to -"

"respectfully," ashe's voice is cold and cutting while they rub circles on your shaking back, "and i know you're about to be my mother-in-law, but -" you hear them force a smile, "maybe you could choose this moment to leave your daughter the fuck alone?"

you are so fucking in love with ashe at that moment that it stops your weeping like you got hit by a truck. you look up at them, and want to go back to crying, just overwhelmed by the sheer fucking amount you care about them, but then you look over at your mother, and her shocked expression, and you burst out laughing.

your mother makes a few almost fish-like motions with her mouth, and then turns on her heel, stomping over cinders on her way out. and then it is just you and ashe and edmund and how you are half-crying half-laughing quietly to yourself, like a tap that won't stop dripping.

edmund has put the chair down. he is staring at his hands. he is at least 500 pounds and over 7 feet tall (he doesn't use metric, he's the devil). and somehow, right now, he just looks... small. crestfallen.

"yeah, i mean." his voice cracks. there's no boom of thunder or hellhound echo. he sounds like he did as a kid, before the strange powers and the levitating and the souls of the damned. he sounds like he did the night he accidentally melted most of the pieces in your first glass art show. he sounds - like your brother. he puts the heel of his palm against his eye. "i ruined my sister's wedding."

ashe offers him a little half-grin. "i do just want to say i love the aesthetic, by the way. but you did very much ruin my wedding too."

he points at them, finger-guns. "....ruined their wedding too." something in the attempt at humor - how his voice breaks on the words, how lonely he sounds. it makes you have to close your eyes against the sound. "....you seem cool," he says. "it's... it was nice to meet you."

you hear him come over, his hooves clacking slowly on the floor. when you open your eyes, he's sitting closer to you.

he opens his hand. inside are two little ceramic figures. wedding cake toppers. "i... i made them for you two. i figured i would try - how you make art, without magic. i... i took a class, and i made - i made them." he looks down at the little white-dressed people in his wide, calloused palm. "it's... i wanted to be ... good. i..." he looks at you, and then at ashe. "i tried, you know?"

ashe reaches up, lets him roll the figures into their palm.

he stands up. folds his hands in front of himself. "i don't. know how to be good. i know it doesn't come naturally to you, either. i saw you... choose. to be kind. you could have treated me different, too. like everybody? i was weird, and everyone knew. if you'd been ... mean? it would have been okay. but you." he shrugs. "one time you tried to kill me in the bathroom."

you don't know why you're crying. you look up at him through the cracks between your fingers. "twice," you croak. "but the second time i had a knife." you tuck your hair behind your ears. "but that was only after you pushed me down the stairs at grandma's and i broke my leg before a dance performance. you fuckin' deserved that one."

"i pushed you because you were being a wretched bitch."

"hey now," ashe says, a little edge to their voice, "that's my wife."

you squeeze their hand. "no, he's right. i had deleted his pokemon gold save file right before the elite four."

ashe drops your hand like you scalded them, showing the only horror you've seen this whole time. "you - girl, what the fuck?"

you shrug a little. "i was being a wretched bitch. and he did break my leg about it."

edmund shifts a little. "i just - you are...." his voice dies.

in your family, you don't say i love you. in your family, you don't touch each other or show affection. in your family, you just show up for each other, quietly. neither of you knows how to speak or process what needs to be said. you can see that lacking flashing over his face, literally playing out in shades of crimson. you get that weird twin-sense of something unsaid.

ashe sets the little ceramic people to the side. "she treated you like a person when everyone else treated you like a prophet."

you cut your eyes to them, and then edmund, who gives you one very short, sharp nod. "i, uh. i can. never try." he clears his throat. "i can never try hard enough. for that. i can - what you gave me. by. doing that. by ... just. i made. one thousand. wedding toppers. so it could be perfect. because - i ... it needed to be perfect." he appears to be dying of embarrassment, which does imply he might be capable of dying. oh good. in case i need to try to kill him a third time.

the thought makes a weird, wet laugh bubble out of you. "remember that one time i failed my math test and you set mr. fog's car on fire about it?"

edmund looks shyly at you, and a very small grin spreads across his face. not the dark lord - just a 30-something year old man who has just upset his one-and-only twin.

"you're throwing us the most ostentatious, egregiously expensive wedding," you tell him. "above land."

he frowns a little. "okay, but i'm not doing anything in miami. the vibes there give me the heebie jeebies."

ashe holds up their hand. "and you'll be repaying the deposit on literally everything. oh, and replacing the cake."

you kiss their cheek and then point to him. "and you'll be on time for it."

he shrugs a little. "okay, i literally can't perform miracles, so like. set the bar lower. i can't promise i'll-"

you look down at your feet. "i'd like you to be my man of honor this time. like. by my side. so. you can't be late this time. okay? we do it the right way. finally."

"huh," ashe says, looking between the two of you. "you guys have the same smile."

edmund's grin becomes a little wider, a little easier. he raises an eyebrow at them. "okay, i get that you're cool, but you're like, very cool about this whole thing."

ashe lifts a shoulder. "used to work for the monster under the bed."

"oh shit, simon? fuck." he points to them. "remind me not to mess around with you."

you want to tell edmund i love you and i missed you, but you can't. instead, you pick up the figurines. they're not perfect, but you can tell hours of his life went into each. his hands are so big - it must have taken him so much work to make these things so small. you picture him with his back bent over a workbench, trying to get a face into a tiny clay figure. the ceramic version of you is smiling. he's given you little fangs and a unibrow. he gave ashe a tiny yellow crown. you make the two figures kiss.

snow is falling indoors, little icicles of hellfire. ashe reaches out and take edmund's hand, and then, very awkwardly, he reaches out and takes yours too.

for a moment, it's just the three of you, and the beautiful quiet of the room.

You’re standing at the altar, about to get married to your beautiful fiancée. When suddenly the king of demons bursts through the door of the room, which naturally causes panic. You tried to warn everyone that inviting your sibling to the wedding would mean trouble, but they kept insisting.

[noodlesarecheese]

My job is going to have to invent an award for me. I feel like Rock Lee taking off the training weights.

[docholligay]

Do you think authors sometimes don't realize how their, uh, interests creep into their writing? I'm talking about stuff like Robert Jordan's obvious femdom kink, or Anne Rice's preoccupation with inc*st and p*dophilia. Did their editors ever gently ask them if they've ever actually read what they've written?

Firstly, a reminder: This is not tiktok and we just say the words incest and pedophilia here.

Secondly, I don't know if I would call them 'interests' so much as fixations or even concerns. There are monstrous things that people think about, and I think writing is a place to engage with those monstrous things. It doesn't bother me that people engage with those things. I exist somewhere within the whump scale, and I would hope no one would think less of me just because sooner or later I like to rough a good character up a bit, you know? It's fun to torture characters, as a treat!

But, anyway, assuming this question isn't, "Do writers know they're gross when I think they are gross" which I'm going to take the kind road and assume it isn't, but is instead, "Do you think authors are aware of the things they constantly come back to?"

Sometimes. It can be jarring to read your own writing and realize that there are things you CLEARLY are preoccupied with. (mm, I like that word more than concerns). There are things you think about over and over, your run your mind over them and they keep working their way back in. I think this is true of most authors, when you read enough of them. Where you almost want to ask, "So...what's up with that?" or sometimes I read enough of someone's work that I have a PRETTY good idea what's up with that.

I've never read Robert Jordan and I don't intend to start (I think it would bore me this is not a moral stance) and I've really never read Rice's erotica. In erotica especially I think you have all the right in the world to get fucking weird about it! But so, when I was young I read the whole Vampire Chronicles series. I don't remember it perfectly, but there's plenty in it to reveal VERY plainly that Anne Rice has issues with God but deeply believes in God, and Anne Rice has a preoccupation with the idea of what should stay dead, and what it means to become. So, when i found out her daughter died at the age of six, before Rice wrote all of this, and she grew up very very Catholic' I said, 'yeah, that fucking checks out'.

Was Rice herself aware of how those things formed her writing? I think at a certain point probably yes. The character of Claudia is in every way too on the nose for her not to have SOME idea unless she was REAL REAL dense about her own inner workings. But, sometimes I know where something I write about comes from, that doesn't mean I'm interested in sharing it with the class. I would never ever fucking say, 'The reasons I seem to write so much of x as y is that z happened to me years ago' ahaha FUCK THAT NOISE. NYET. RIDE ON, COWBOY.

But I've known some people in fandom works who clearly have something going on and don't seem to realize it. Or they're very good at hiding it. Based on the people I'm talking about I would say it's more a lack of self-knowledge, and I don't even mean that unkindly. I have, in many ways, taken myself down to the studs and rebuilt it all, so I unfortunately am very aware of why I do and write the things I do most of the time. It's extremely annoying not to be able to blame something. I imagine it must be very freeing. But it ain't me, babe.

Anyway, a lot of words to say: Maybe! But that might not stop them from writing it, it might be a useful thing for them to engage with, and you can always just not read it.

Also, we don't censor words here.

[iamthedukeofurl]

Discworld is an interesting beast in the age of ACAB. Like, the city watch books are a story about police and the way in which a good police force can help and protect people. Which would make it copoganda. And I'm not going to say that the City Watch books are completely free of copoganda, but they also do something interesting that fairly few stories about heroic police officers do, and I think it has a lot to do with Samuel Vimes. A lot of copoganda stories like, say, Brooklyn 99, are perfectly capable of portraying cops as cruel, bigoted, and greedy, but our central cast of characters are portrayed as good people who want to help their communities. The result is that the bad cops are portrayed as an aberration, while most cops can be assumed to be good people doing a tough job because they want to help protect people from the nebulous evil forces of "Crime". The police are considered to be naturally heroic. Pratchett does something very interesting, which is provide us with Vimes' perspective, and present us with an Unnaturally heroic police force. In Ahnk-Morpork, the natural state of the watch is a gang with extra paperwork. It's the place for people who, at best, just want a steady paycheck and at worst want an excuse to hit people with a truncheon. Rather than be an army defending people from the forces of Crime, the Watch is described as a sort of sleight-of-hand, big burly watchmen in shiny uniforms don't stand around in-case a Crime happens in their vicinity, they stand around to remind people that The Law exists and has teeth. The Watchmen are people, when danger rears it's head, their instinct is to hide and get out of the way. When faced with authority, their instinct is to bow to it out of fear of what it might do to them if they don't. Carrot is a genuine Hero, but his natural heroism is presented as an aberration. Normal Cops don't act like Carrot does. The fact that the Watch ends up acting like a Heroic Police Force is largely due to the leadership of Sam Vimes, but Vimes himself is a microcosm of the Watch. The base state of Sam Vimes would be an alchoholic bully of an officer, one who beats people until they confess to anything because that makes his job easier. Vimes The Hero is a homunculous, an artificial being created by Sam Vimes fighting back all those instincts and FORCING himself to behave as his conscience dictates. Vimes doesn't take bribes or let his officers do the same because, damnit, that sort of thing shouldn't happen, even if doing so would make things a lot easier. Vimes doesn't run towards sounds of screaming because he WANTS to, he forces himself to do so because somebody needs to. It's best summed up in Thud “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Your Grace.” “I know that one,�� said Vimes. “Who watches the watchmen? Me, Mr. Pessimal.” “Ah, but who watches you, Your Grace?” said the inspector with a brief little smile. “I do that, too. All the time,” said Vimes. “Believe me.”

In the hands of another writer, or another series, this exchange would be weirdly dismissive. To whom should the police be accountable to? Themselves, shut up and trust us. But from Vimes, it's a different story. Vimes DOES constantly watch himself, and he doesn't trust that bastard, he's known him his entire life. The Heroic Police are not a natural state, they're an ideal, and ahnk-morpork only gets anywhere close. Vimes is constantly struggling against his own instincts to take shortcuts, to let things slide, but he forces himself to live up to that ideal and the Watch follows his example. Discworld doesn't propose any solutions to the problems with policing in the real world. We don't have a Sam Vimes to run the NYPD and force them to behave. We don't have a Carrot Ironfounderson. But it's at least a story about detectives and police that I can read without feeling like I'm being sold propaganda about the Thin Blue Line.