#which is why usually i leave them to actually competent people

[comicaurora]

A bit of a strange question, but if there were any of your videos you were to "remake" today for any reason (ex: you feel like you misrepresented the original text or spread misinformation), which would it be and why? None of them is a perfectly valid answer

Again: bit of a strange question, but I've been thinking about my own creations and how I could have done so much better with some of them, but I also know that is a sign of my growth and constantly chasing "what if I did this instead" isn't always healthy for nurturing a creative mindset, and I was wondering what your opinion might be as a Creator of Things with a bit more experience than I

There's been a few trope talks where I've thought later of other angles I could've explored that might warrant sequels or part 2s, but I don't dislike any of the summaries enough to justify a rework.

I always find "I could've done this better if I made it now" to be a bit of a fallacy. I'm only better at making things now because I made all those earlier things. If I knew everything I'd learn from making a project before I started the project, it wouldn't come out the same.

I think when it comes to the "rework remake perfect" instinct, it helps to zero in on what the impulse is really grounded in. In my experience, more often than not, it's not actually about making the art better, except incidentally. It's usually about showing that you are better. It's demonstrating your competence and your higher standards and your skills, and more importantly it's overwriting the proof that you were once less than perfect. If people look at your old work and think that's all you're capable of, they'll be judging you poorly!

If that's the motivator, it's a very unhelpful one. You can't control for being harshly or incorrectly judged. It's a fruitless effort to stave off potentially upsetting outdated criticism, and it's not even going to work. Fear of critique is an unreliable and untrustworthy motivator.

If it really is about making the art itself better, perfecting your magnum opus with your newly leveled-up skills, that's a little more solid. But from where I'm standing, it's always better to use those skills to make something new instead of polishing something old. The older, unpolished work has already acquired its audience that finds it appealing for reasons that might never occur to you. Trying to bury or overwrite it just deprives that audience of the thing they like, and maybe makes them feel bad for having liked it in the first place. Also, usually when you look back on the older work, you'll conclude that the problem is everything and it'll need to be torn down and started from scratch. I know when I revisited the first three chapters of the comic, when I let my critic brain spin up, it wasn't shading or lineart I wanted to fix - it was panel composition, overall pacing, the entire structure of the chapters as a whole. I would've had to make them all over again to be happy with them, and they wouldn't be the same story by the end.

I've been thinking a lot about the Discworld through this lens lately. It ended up over 40 books long, but everyone agrees that the first two are not what you should start with, because they're the worst ones. They're entirely parodic, purely referential of at-the-time major fantasy series, and borderline mean-spirited in places. If you haven't read Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and Dragonriders of Pern, you're not gonna understand like a full 50% of The Colour Of Magic.

It's clear that when he started in on them, Pratchett was entirely focused on taking the piss out of a genre he found mostly shallow and unimpressive. But the Discworld wouldn't leave his head, and everything he made fun of he clearly eventually found himself overthinking. He'd make little one-off jokes in the early books about Dwarves having no women and a hundred words for gold, and then twenty books later he'd have a Dwarf gender revolution make waves across the Disc, and then he'd write Thud!, a book that delves deeper into the nuances of Dwarf societal structure than Tolkien ever did.

If you look for them, there are continuity errors everywhere in Discworld. In his introductory book, Carrot defused a dwarf bar full of rowdy brawlers by guilting them all into writing to their poor lonely mothers back home. Shortly thereafter, Carrot will be outraged at the mere concept of an openly female dwarf. Pratchett even eventually wrote Thief of Time, a book that loosely explains that the Disc makes no sense because history has been broken and put back together incorrectly twice, and therefore any continuity errors are because of that.

He's the writer. He could've gone back and fixed it, edited the reprints to be less disruptively discontinuous with the later books. Instead he continuously moved forward and allowed the world he made to grow without cutting it off from its roots. And because he didn't bury his older, far worse work, we have the privilege of following the Disc's evolution from the very start, and seeing how this shallow, stock fantasy world parody became something incredibly rich and complex without ever pretending like its early installments never happened.

Anyway, that's why I think it's better to move forward. You make more good stuff that way.

[grantmentis]

It has become abundantly clear that the PWHL is intent to just be as vague as possible on trans issues and hope they don’t piss anyone off in order to get everyone’s money.

Despite journalists asking monthly, they still have not created a gender inclusion policy. After the incident with Curl, the league made sure to never say anything explicitly against transphobia but just make general statements about the league being an ~inclusive environment. The PA has also never made an explicit statement supporting trans athletes (but have made general support of pride month and gone to Pride events, and past and present players have individually expressed support)

This is not unique to the PWHL, most other sports leagues are in the same boat. A lot of the mainstream majority men’s leagues rarely even can muster up any support for general pride initiatives (and when they do it’s usually led by individual players), where as majority women’s leagues usually do embrace LGBT+ initiatives but leave support for trans people and trans right initiatives purposefully vague. This is, however, ultimately a PWHL blog so I’m going to focus on them here.

if we understand the role the PWHL plays as role models and spokespeople for women’s hockey - something the league and the PA has embraced and marketed themselves as - then we can understand why it sucks that the league and many of its leading voices refuse to lend more explicit support. PWHL players are also in a unique position where quite a few of them actually have played with a trans woman in the cwhl/pwhpa, many played with a trans man in the phf, and they have an active nonbinary player now.

Affirming support of trans people through both clear words and actions is a necessity, first and foremost, because we have a responsibility protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities from injustice and violence. But it’s also important to point out that trying to be vague in order to avoid backlash from conservatives is not going to work, because the inevitable endpoint of this rhetoric is that athletic excellence is outside the realm of possibility for women as a whole and that any woman who is a great athlete is not actually a woman, which we’ve seen time and time again now. This is not to say that everyone is equally in danger to this, nor that the act of protecting trans people isn’t a necessary action on its own, rather i am just addressing what the scope of this really is. We’ve already seen multiple Olympians and other professional athletes get “transvestigated” and experience harassment campaigns (disproportionately, these have been Black athletes) and shady sports organizations use hormone level tests to try to bar athletes they don’t like from competing. The fight for the inclusion for trans people in sport is ultimately a fight for human rights, for bodily autonomy, for labor rights, and for gender equity and participation in sports

[fluentmoviequoter]

Finally Home

Requested Here!

Pairing: Tim Bradford x fem!shy!military doctor!reader (r is Lucy's adopted sister)

Summary: You enlist your boyfriend Tim to help you surprise your (adoptive) sister Lucy after being deployed for several months.

Warnings: brief angst and depictions of loneliness/depression, then lots of fluff!

Word Count: 1.6k+ words

Picture from Pinterest

Masterlist Directory | Tim Bradford Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List

Being adopted into the Chen family continues to be the best thing that ever happened to you. It didn’t help your shyness much, but the love and sense of belonging you’ve found outweigh all the bad you’ve experienced. When you joined the military, becoming a military doctor, you overcame your shyness enough to be a great doctor. However, when you stop being a doctor, you’re back to the shy sister Lucy knows and loves.

The last time you were stateside, you met Tim Bradford and fell for him quickly. During the six months you were home, Tim learned nearly everything there is to know about you, and he loves all of you.

Now, in your seventh month stationed in Europe, you look forward to your weekly call home. You call one of two numbers: Tim or Lucy. They’re always together when it’s time to answer, so you know you’ll get a chance to talk to both of them and grow shy from across an ocean. Your dog is sitting beside you as the call begins.

“Hey, sis!” Lucy greets happily when the line connects.

The picture is blurry today, but you smile when you see your sister. She’s in her uniform, in an empty office at the police station. Being seven hours ahead means you usually catch her or Tim while they’re at work.

“Hi,” you answer. “Is Tim there?”

“He’s actually on patrol,” she answers. “I’m sorry; there’s a huge problem here right now so they’ve got a ton of people out there.”

“That’s okay. How are you?”

Lucy looks up when a door opens and turns the computer away.

“I’m pretty good. I want to hear about you, though, because not much has changed here.”

“Move,” Tim demands.

You can only see his hand as he reaches for the computer, and you duck away from the camera as they compete for your attention.

“Chen,” Tim says.

“Which one?” you ask.

“The one whose badge I can take. Just let me say hello.”

“Why don’t you just sit together?” you suggest. “Not to say I don’t enjoy this.”

Tim huffs as he pulls a chair beside Lucy, forcefully turning the computer so you can see both of them. He smiles, and you forget what you were going to say.

“Any word on when you’ll be home next?” Lucy asks.

“Nothing. I’m hoping to hear something soon though. There isn’t much happening, so they’ll probably need to move me soon anyway.”

“Then they should let you call more often,” Tim comments.

“I agree. I miss you.”

Tim elbows Lucy gently.

“She meant both of us,” Lucy argues. “Didn’t you?”

You nod and look up suddenly.

“I have to go,” you explain. “I’m so sorry. I love both of you and I’ll talk to you as soon as I can.”

“I love you,” Tim replies.

“Love you, sis. Be safe,” Lucy adds just before the call ends. “I miss her, Tim.”

“I know.”

Lucy continues staring at the blank screen, and Tim asks her about something he noticed days ago.

“What’s going on?”

“I just- I’m sad all the time. I don’t know if it’s just because she’s gone because I’ve been dealing with her deployments for years, but the only thing I want, have wanted for weeks, is to see her. It’s hard doing everything without her when she’s the only person I want to share things with.”

“I’m sorry, Lucy.”

“Bradford, Chen, we need you back out there when you’re done. This crime spree is getting worse each time we try to make progress,” Wade says.

“Let’s go, we’ll ride together,” Tim offers.

“Like the good old days!”

“I hope not exactly like those.”

✯✯✯✯✯

“Superiors are giving you a choice,” your MC commander begins. “Transfer to Germany or temporary leave before being stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas.”

“What would I be doing in Texas, sir?” you ask.

“Continued training and teaching, mostly. And the temporary leave is only two months, but after all this time in Europe I assume you’d return to sunny Los Angeles.”

“I’d like to take the Fort Bragg position, sir.”

“Okay, I’ll let the Surgeon General’s office know. I’m sorry to have interrupted your call; video broadcast has ended, but if you’d like to make a phone call, share the good news, go ahead.”

“Thank you, sir.”

You walk into a private office, dialing Tim’s number and hoping he’s alone. Lucy has been down the last two times you’ve talked. She hides it well, but you’re her sister and can see through her.

“Bradford,” Tim answers.

“Chen,” you reply. “Are you alone?”

“Yeah, I am. What’s going on?”

“Is my sister okay? She’s seemed really sad.”

Tim sighs before he answers, “She misses you. A lot.”

“Then I need your help with something. I’m coming home.”

“When?” Tim asks. “I mean, I’ll help you with anything, but I’m so happy to get to see you again.”

You press your lips together, feeling heat rising in your cheeks.

“I should be there in a week or so, but I’ll let you know a date when I have one.”

“Okay. And the help?”

“I want to surprise Lucy. Any ideas?”

“Well, there is a restaurant she can’t stop talking about.”

“Tim? I’m going to be home for two months.”

“I get you for two months?”

“I can’t wait,” you answer sarcastically.

“Give me a date and time and I’ll get Lucy there.”

“Will she get suspicious?”

“Who do you think I am? She won’t have a clue.”

✯✯✯✯✯

A week later, Lucy has been checking her phone nonstop. She hasn’t heard from you since you abruptly ended the last call, and her concern and sadness about missing you are beginning to overflow. All of her fellow cops have noticed, so when you call and ask a few of them to meet at Lucy’s favorite restaurant to cheer her up, they happily agree.

“Get ready,” Tim demands at the end of the shift. “We’re going to dinner.”

“Why?” Lucy asks.

“Because we’re both worried and need a distraction. She’s fine, but you’re going to make yourself sick worrying like this, Lucy.”

“Okay. Give me ten minutes. Where are we going?”

“Your favorite.”

Lucy smirks as she walks to the locker room. Tim checks his phone but hasn’t received any message saying you landed.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Easy, boy,” you whisper, patting your dog over the Military K-9 vest as the plane lands.

The other passengers are kind enough to let you get your duffel bag and exit the plane first, rushing to the car rental counter and leaving for the restaurant. You’re running late, and don’t even think about letting Tim know you’re back in Los Angeles. As you park, seeing the ‘Service Animals Welcome’ sign on the door, you realize you forgot to tell Tim your dog is with you.

“Let’s go introduce you to my family.”

Pulling your phone from your pocket, you call Tim.

“Hey,” he answers. “I don’t have long before your sister shoves me over a balcony to talk to you.”

“Patio?” you ask, smiling.

“Yep.”

“I’ll be over in a minute.”

“Is that my sister?” Lucy asks, attempting to pull Tim’s arm away from his ear to take the phone.

“Tim, I have to go. I love you. Tell Lucy I said hi,” you say before ending the call.

✯✯✯✯✯

Lucy sits down, dejected. She tries to enjoy the appetizers and her friends sitting around her, but she wishes you were at the party. The door opens, and Lucy glances over before picking up her head and giving her full attention to the person walking through the door. Her jaw drops as she watches you walk toward her, a dog at your side. Lucy’s shock turns to a smile as she jumps from her seat to hug you. As you return her hug, smiling as you whisper how happy you are to see her, Tim’s hand covers yours as he takes the leash from you.

“Hey, bud,” he says to the dog. “Lucy, could I get a turn?”

“No,” she says against your shoulder.

“Hi, Tim,” you greet, turning your face away when he smiles.

“Hiding from my smile,” he muses. “Can you survive two months with me?”

“Two months?!” Lucy repeats, pulling back.

“I like your dress,” you murmur, seeing her for the first time in too long. “And, yes, I have two months of leave before I move to Fort Bliss.”

“Where is that?”

“Texas.”

“You’re staying stateside?” Tim interjects, wrapping an arm around your waist. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

You shrug, turning in his arms to hug him.

“Welcome home,” he says, kissing your jaw as his arms tighten around you.

“Thanks for helping me with the surprise.”

“I’ll always be here with you.”

“So will I!” Lucy adds.

“Are you going to fight to hug me now?” you ask.

“Yes!” everyone at the table answers.

“And you brought a dog!” Lucy cheers, lowering her hand to pet your dog.

“I love you,” Tim says, pulling a chair out so you can sit between him and Lucy.

“I love you,” you reply softly. “I have one more thing I didn’t tell you, though.”

“What?” Lucy and Tim ask together.

“The position I took is a teaching job, so I’ll have more time to visit.”

They hug you simultaneously, no longer fighting over who gets to go first. You drop your chin towards Tim’s arm and smile. When your dog puts his paws in your lap and joins the hug, you know you are finally home. Sitting at a table with the two people you love most in the world, you know the next two months will be amazing, even if you're shy the entire time.

[luckybyler]

I have a theory on why the Diaz Parents want to steal Chris from their son Eddie

Last episode we saw that the Diaz parents 1. Clearly were trying (and almost succeeding) to replace Eddie as Chris’ parents, 2. were actually inconsiderate of Chris’ needs (see: the handling of Chris’ crutches), and 3. never thought there was anything wrong with the way they parent/ed. Also, some people have noticed that usually the eldest sons in Hispanic families are treated like gold, which clearly isn’t the case here.

So if the Diaz parents have already raised three children and have no regrets about their parenting ways, why do they want Christopher as their do-over child?

My hypothesis: Because they have always wanted to have A Son, but in their eyes, Eddie’s not said Son. Because deep down they know he’s gay.

The Diaz parents wanted A Son, and they got one… until it became evident (to them) that he was different (read: effeminate/gay/delicate/etc). Hence the “you’re the man of the house” talk when he was just 10 and the competitive edge to ballroom dancing, for example. And even though Eddie did everything to conform - compete, get a girlfriend, become a (teen!) dad, get married, go to the Army, get a Silver Star, get a “manly” job such as firefighter, raise his son, buy a fixer-upper and fix it up himself instead of calling “the guy”, etc. his parents still know deep down. Deep down, to them, he’s fundamentally defective as a male.

So now they have this grandson, and they thought and think this is their chance to raise a “real man”, especially since he’s growing up and so far seems to be a typical straight boy with typical straight boy tastes. So now Ramón can have his true “heir”, so to speak. Notice how Ramón referred to himself and Chris - but not Eddie - as “the Diaz men” in last night’s episode.

Also notice how they tried to get him to leave Chris to them when he was little: Helena asked Eddie to “not drag Chris down with him”. And they keep treating Eddie like he’s somehow bad for Chris even though, under any measure, Chris is objectively better off with his dad, and not just because it’s his dad. My hypothesis is, again, that they think if Eddie raises Chris by himself (or worse, with a *male* partner) he might *turn him gay* (and therefore not a “real man” to them). Perhaps by encouraging feminine hobbies or making him “soft” or whatnot.

I don’t think the Diaz parents are tiki torch homophobes or the kind of people that would hit or kick their child out of the house for being gay, but they’re the insidious type, to the point I’m not even sure the it has ever occurred to Eddie that he could be anything other than straight; For example, where Eddie and Buck (correctly) saw a problem because Chris was dating many girls at the same time, Ramón would’ve been proud, like “that’s my boy”.

Whereas Buck didn’t know why his parents didn’t love him (or at least didn’t seem to), Eddie doesn’t know why his parents are disappointed in him even though he has done nothing wrong. However, Eddie’s true self is still there, no matter how repressed.

[dxmedstudent]

Things to not say to infertile folks:

A lot of people don't really know what to say when discussing infertility, and a lot of people who are struggling with it complain that people say hurtful or triggering things to them - often unintentionally.

So I thought I'd write a guide about what not to say, taken , unfortunatelyfrom hearing or seeing people express these opinions:

You just need to relax/get drunk/go on holiday/not stress so much/not want it so much.

Telling someone to be more relaxed or less stressed doesn't work - kind of like telling someone to calm them down doesn't, in fact, calm them down. It also minimises the fact that a lot of people with fertility problems have actual medical problems causing the situation, which may require treatment or might even be untreatable.

It also comes with the (likely unintentional) implication that it's your fault for not conceiving because unlike everyone else, you're just not relaxing enough. You fail at relaxing. You're doing trying wrong.

So you can't have kids? Like, at all?

Putting aside that it is a little insensitive to say this, technically infertility means that a couple tried to have kids for a year or more but were unsuccessful. Infertility is reduced fertility, and sometimes the term subfertity is seen as more accurate.

People can be told that they have a condition that affects fertility like fibroids, PCOS or endometriosis, but they may still conceive if having unprotected PIV sex and should still use contraception if they do not wish to get pregnant.

This is also why folks on T and folks on oestrogen/progesterone HRT should talk to their team about contraception, whether they are cis or trans. Whilst taking HRT can sometimes reduce fertility it does NOT render you sterile and people often need to use an additional contraceptive.

Sterility means being completely unable to have kids - for example, if you have had both gonads removed.

Infertile couples can sometimes eventually have children unassisted, and most infertile couples manage to conceive with fertility treatment.

Have you tried having sex/tracking ovulation/insert absolutely beginner knowledge here)?

Oh crap, we've been mistakenly putting it up the ass this entire time! Silly me!

Unless you're the couple's doctor and your job is to walk them through every possible issue and make sure nothing is missed, please assume that they have done their research and have the basic stuff down.  Treat people as if they are sensible and competent. Believe people when they say there is a problem. Leave the diagnosing to their fertility team.

Because when you think about it, if a couple have been trying for like 3 years and you ask them if they've tried LH strips, it's kind of patronising.

You didn't become an expert just because you accidentally got pregnant 5 years ago or conceived first try with your second. People who have been struggling with a health problem for years have usually done a ton of reading, speaking to healthcare professionals and lots of tests - they almost certainly know a lot more than you about it.

Oh yeah, I know how you feel! I've been trying for 2 months / hope to have kids and I'm terrified of being infertile, I couldn't stand that. It would ruin my life!

There's a place for sharing your concerns, but please don't expect people suffering a condition to have to console you about how bad it would be for you to live their life. Infertile people don't want to hear that their life is your worst nightmare, it's just a rude thing to tell someone.

Don't tell people with coeliac you'd die if you couldn't eat pasta, don't tell people who are blind that you'd end yourself if you couldn't paint or watch TV. Just ... have some tact.

Ha, being a parent is hard, are you sure you want that? Would you take one of mine?

No, Debra.

Please stop making light of someone's personal grief or disability. This is like making boomer "I hate my wife" jokes to someone who just lost their spouse.

But what do I say, then? I don't know what to say!

I've legitimately seen people say the most insensitive thinfs and then turn around to say this.

But...

You don't have to say anything- believe it or not you don't have to offer an opinion or advice on sonething you know nothing about. They aren't waiting on YOU to fix their problem or give them advice on something a team of specialists hasn't been able to fix.

If someone tells you that they are having fertility issues, just tell them you're sorry to hear that and that you hope it works for them soon. Or ask them if they want to talk about it and let them know you are there to listen.

More things not to say after the cut...

My friend's aunt's cousin was about to have infertility treatment, then they just had twins! I'm sure that will happen for you, when you stop trying!

Everyone tells us their one in a million "miracle stories"... but they just aren't fun to hear, for many people with infertility. They may give some people hope, but they can make people feel even more isolated and unlucky because we KNOW how unlikely it is that we'll have that same luck.

Also for most of us, stopping trying would make actually conceiving and carrying to term extremely unlikely. Please don't discourage people from seeking medical help when they need it.

Well I don't think IVF/using a donor/single parent families/lgbtq families is right/natural.

It's great that you don't need it and don't have to have it, then! But your opinion is kind of irrelevant to everyone else.

Lots of modern medicine isn't natural - and as a doctor, I REALLY don't think "naturalness" or your personal comfort level with a treatment you are completely ignorant about is a relevant metric for how beneficial a medical treatment is to the people who need it. 

We've spent all of human civilisation working to give us more tools (and better ones) to help people. IVF is a tool. It's an accommodation for a disability or inability due to circumstances that lets some people overcome their medical conditions or circumstances.

Are you saying that to cancer patients? To people wearing a cast for their broken arm? To people wearing a prosthesis for their amputated leg? I absolutely hope not. Please do not do that.

Other people's medical treatments are between them and their clinicians. If you don't like it? You're free to not have said treatment. If you don't want kids, you are free to not have any. I'm a passionate advocate for access to reproductive care, contraception and abortion.

But if you're pro abortion, you cannot meaningfully be anti-fertility treatment. Because you either believe in bodily autonomy or you don't. You can't pick and choose only when it benefits you.

I just think that if you can't have kids naturally, then your body/nother nature/God is telling you something and you should just stop trying. Maybe your genes are just bad and shouldn't be spread. Maybe you just wouldn't make a great parent.

Look, nature is stupid. It gives kids type 1 diabetes and genetic conditions that kill them in infancy and gives your loved ones cancer. Do you go around telling everyone that they should just due or accept being permanently seriously ill or disabled because nature gave them an illness? Do you refuse all modern medicine because you should be listening to nature's plan for your body? I bloody well hope not, because that's dumb when modern medicine exists.

There are all sorts of dumb reasons why people are infertile - why would having a tube blocked by endometriosis or slow sperm make someone a bad parent? Why are you literally telling someone to their face, whose meducal problems you dont even understand, that you think they are just too defective to make a family?

Let's stay away from the eugenics, shall we? We could have a nuanced conversation about how genetic testing of embryos can potentially reduce or eliminate rare fatal diseases which kill children and have no hope of a life without significant suffering. And how most couples who have IVF successfully go on to have healthy chikdren who live normal lives. But no, Steve, stopping your mate with a mild varicocele from having children is not going to revolutionise the human race or fulfil some alternate divine fate.

Well, fertility is a first world problem, some people have real problems, we should be focusing on that instead.

Actually, it's a problem for millions of peole, around the world. The IVF industry is huge in certain parts of the Global south, for example India.

People think it's a white rich people problem because most of the people who can  afford to undergo fertility treatment privately or adopt...are the wealthy. But it's always been a problem - that affects people across cultures, socioeconomic groups and sexualities. And infertility has often been accompanied with shame and ostracisation. Stigmatising fertility care hurts everyone. Especially the poor.

Many LGBTQ couples need fertility care - whether because their gender affirming surgery or HRT or health complicates things, or they and their partner's combination of gametes makes things tricky. Making fertility care less taboo and more accessible helps them too. The conversation very often side tracks and ignores them but their struggle is valid too.

You people only want kids because they are brainwashed by the patriarchy. Infertility wouldn't be an issue if women were emancipated and not brainwashed by the patriarchy.

Look, I've been feminist in online spaces since before some of you were born. I'm not unaware of the patriarchy and how it colours our choices.

But we have to stop infantilising women abd removing their agency. I know single women and lesbians who have spent decades working through their issues with the patriarchy...who still want kids and are dealing with fertility treatment. Sure, we will never be entirely free from the many ways society affects us. But that doesn't mean we're all blindly falling into motherhood.

You don't want kids, that's great. But it doesn't mean that every single woman choosing to have them is brainwashed and unable to understand what she is getting into - and it's pretty misogynistic to frame it that way.

Nobody should be having kids because the economy/environment/etc

OK there's a conversation to be had about cutting our carbon footprint and being aware of how our choices affect others and the planet. We should all be trying to live more sustainably - I say as I wear thrifted clothes whilst typing this on the train.

But... are you saying that to able bodied people having kids? Are you sacrificing everything that you want for the cause? Or is the easiest thing to give up the thing that someone else wants? I'm all for encouraging everyone to be mindful of the planet but we shouldn't be restricting the rights of people with a disability to make that happen.

We make choices for ourselves, not for other people.

Why not adopt or foster? Adopt don't shop!

Well this is a whole post in itself...but basically, please assume that anyone who is trying for kids for a while... has at least considered adoption. Please tryst people to choose the right option for them and their family.

Children are not puppies, and the massive adoption industry isn't always ethical or safe, can be hugely expensive (often moreso than IVF in some places!), and also doesn't actually guarantee that they get to have a child at the end of it.

There can be a lot of trauma and complicated feelings for the adopted child and their birth family and many kids need very specialised support that not every potential adoptive parent can provide.

There are also far more infertile couples than kids who need adoption - so not every individualor couple could adopt. Many kids just need temporary fostering with the aim of placing them back with their family, which is important but very different.

I intend to flesh out this argument more in a separate post but IMO adoption should ideally be rare - because birth parents should have free access to contraception, abortion and be empowered and supported to look after and raise their kids within their communities if they want them. Adoption should serve the needs of the child, not the potential parents. And certainly not the agencies.

If you truly believe there are millions of kids out there needing a home, why aren't you adopting? Why aren't you clamouring for every fertile couples to adopt? Because on some level society still that's these kids as a consolation prize. And because many of the people judging infertile couples for having IVF over adoption aren't all that invested in actially learning about these kids or helping them.

Infertile people aren't solely responsible for solving complex societal problems on their own. This is something that we as a whole society need to address.

[remember-digimon]

Next up is my favorite, Matt!

Wow what a cool guy.

So, Matt is usually described as a loner, Tai's rival, and the Angsty Cool Guy. None of these actually describe who he is, so let's dive into that.

1. Loner. Matt isn't a loner, he's lonely. Big difference. He keeps others at a very long arm's length as a self-preservation mechanism; due to his parents' divorce basically breaking his little heart at a really young age. He learned then that other people could hurt him by leaving, and decided from then on he wouldn't give them the opportunity to hurt him. His loneliness is so deeply rooted that it's interpreted by others as aloofness, while he is only 11 years old. Like damn wtf

2. Tai's rival. Outside of the Cherrymon incident, which was just good ol' manipulation to get the two most powerful Digimon in the group to fight, Matt was really only considered Tai's rival in early promotional stuff that had a little bio for each character. Matt likely gets interpreted as Tai's rival because they fight a lot, but it's not that simple. Matt doesn't want to compete with Tai, he doesn't want to be the leader. He butts heads with Tai because they're basically opposites. Matt is acutely aware of the group's feelings and needs, while Tai remains laser-focused on the goal at hand. This dynamic isn't like Ash vs Gary, where they're actively competing with each other. Matt gets frustrated with Tai very easily, and he feels things so intensely that he can't really help but blow up.

3. Cool Guy. Let's get one thing straight, this kid right here is not cool. This was more of a thing in the dub iirc, but regardless, his attitude is just a cover to keep people from getting too close. Hell, it takes Gabumon a few episodes longer than the other Digimon to really get close to Matt; before that point, Matt certainly isn't a total dick to Gabumon, but he isn't fully trusting yet either.

Matt's relationship with TK is an interesting one. He feels like it's his sole purpose to protect TK, not just from monsters but from anything unpleasant in life. All of the familial love and affection he gets comes from TK so it's understandable why he would feel this way.

One complaint I often hear about Matt is that his breakdown in the Dark Masters arc when TK gets kidnapped by Puppetmon is way overblown, that he wouldn't normally react that way. He left TK at the amusement park during Weregarurumon's Diner, and when he couldn't immediately leave he didn't break down like that.

The difference in these situations is obvious if you pay close attention. First of all, from the time the kids get up on the day Bakemon raid Odaiba to when they're back at the digital world and split up after talking to Homeostasis, is all one day. It feels much longer because of how many episodes that is, but they're all on at least 24 hours without sleep or taking a break. Also, keep in mind that Matt woke up earlier than the others, before sunrise, as his dad got him and Gabumon to the warehouse to keep them from getting abducted by the Bakemon.

Second, in that span of time the kids have all realized what they're up against. They've lost Wizardmon, Chuumon, Piximon, and Whamon in quick succession, the last three to the Dark Masters. Learning that his little brother has now been captured by one of these Dark Masters would lead Matt to fearing the worst.

Then there's the big fight he had with Tai just prior to the breakdown. He accused Tai of being obsessed with fighting and ignoring the others' grief at the loss of their Digimon friends. By the time he and TK are in the tree with their Digimon, he's already showing signs of wanting to break away from the group, saying that they don't need the others.

Matt also feels that his growth is stagnant compared to the others; this is untrue, as Gabumon would not be able to digivolve to higher levels if Matt wasn't growing and changing. But his self-image is so damaged that he always sees the negative aspects of his personality when comparing himself to his peers.

And of course we have to talk about the Dark Cave. Because of how the Digital World operates, Matt's depression materializes and manifests as a cave that he can't escape until he comes to terms with it. Obviously this quick recovery from a depression spiral is not based in reality, but this is an episodic kid's show so I'm surprised we even got this much.

Matt's experience in the cave is one that a lot of people who have dealt with depression and loneliness can relate to. He says he wants to be alone, but Gabumon calls him out on that and makes him realize that isn't what he wants, actually. He wants to be more open with people, he's just under the impression that he's not really important, not wanted, so it's better off to just not even try. His relationship with his mother is highly strained because of the divorce, and because he has an overwhelming sense of loyalty he probably feels he has to be cold to her for his father's sake.

As for his father, Hiroaki is at work more often than not. Every time we see Hiroaki and Matt interact, Hiroaki is either brisk and business-like or even annoyed; when Matt meets up with him at the TV station, Hiroaki is angry that he didn't stay hidden. Obviously this is out of concern for his son, but still. A moment later, when TK shows up, suddenly Hiroaki is much softer in speaking. So I imagine that this dynamic would also have an impact on Matt's mental health; his dad is almost always at work, and when we do see him with his dad, Hiroaki is a bit tough with him.

But it isn't all sad times and angst with Matt. He loves music, later forming a popular band in middle school and high school. Once he realizes that he can open up to people, and they won't intentionally hurt him, he's able to create real, lasting relationships that aren't based on the cold exterior he uses to protect himself. It's clear that he needed to learn to let others in, and once he did learn that, he becomes much happier and more willing to open up and let those walls down. Even if it's just a little bit.

[vroomvroomintomyroom]

Phantom Troupe x Reader Part 4: The Death Tally

POV: A God or higher-being (who knows, really?) decides to reincarnate you, a clinical psychologist, into a strange, limbo-like void. Your mission? To reform the notorious Phantom Troupe and transform them into functional members of society. The only catch? You can't leave until they're reformed, and the Troupe is far from cooperative. And, even when the Troupe tries to kill you (which they will most certainly do) you've been gifted or cursed with the gift of infinite respawns—much to their annoyance.

As per usual, (Y/n) stood at the front of the group therapy office, which now featured a giant whiteboard she had summoned out of sheer spite. Written across it in big, bold letters were the words: DEATH TALLY: HOW MANY TIMES YOU’VE KILLED ME.

The Troupe, scattered around the room, watched as she wrote names in neat columns and began marking tallies next to each one.

“This,” she said, slamming the marker down dramatically, “is why we’re still here. You people keep killing me during our sessions. It’s counterproductive, it’s unnecessary, and frankly, it’s getting on my last nerve.”

“Don't you just respawn anyways?” Phinks asked, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s not the point!” she snapped. “The point is, I’m trying to help you, and your response is to turn me into a piñata.”

“Wait, wait,” Uvogin said, leaning forward with a grin. “Who’s got the most?”

(Y/n) froze, marker still in hand. “What?”

Uvogin pointed at the board. “The most kills. Who’s winning?”

“‘Winning?’” she repeated, her voice incredulous. “You turned this into a game?!”

The Troupe collectively exchanged guilty (and, in some cases, proud) looks.

“Alright, let’s see,” Shalnark said cheerfully, standing up to inspect the board. “Looks like Feitan’s in the lead.”

Feitan, who had been sharpening a knife in the corner, glanced up. “Hmph. Of course.”

“Wait, how is he winning?” Nobunaga complained. “I’ve killed her, like, five times this week alone!”

“Six, actually,” (Y/n) muttered, adding another tally next to his name.

Nobunaga smirked. “See? I’m catching up.”

“This is not a competition!” (Y/n) yelled, slamming the marker onto the desk.

“Oh, I think I’m in second place,” Hisoka said with a smirk, casually inspecting his nails. “Not that I’m counting. But, you know, twelve seems about right.”

“You are counting!” (Y/n) accused, pointing the marker at him.

“Thirteen,” Feitan muttered. “Killed her again yesterday.”

“See?” Hisoka said, shrugging dramatically. “He’s always trying to outdo me.”

“I’m going to lose my mind,” (Y/n) groaned, dragging a hand down her face. “Not only have you people turned my repeated murders into some twisted sport, but you’re also competing over it like it’s the goddamn Olympics.”

Uvogin leaned back, laughing. “Hey, if we’re stuck here, might as well have some fun.”

“This is not fun!” she cried. “This is psychotic!”

Chrollo, who had been silently watching with an air of amusement, finally spoke. “Perhaps if you didn’t respawn so quickly, it wouldn’t be so…entertaining.”

“Wow, thanks, Chrollo,” she deadpanned. “Super helpful.”

Shalnark grinned. “You know, if you put the tally board up sooner, we might’ve gotten serious about this. No one wants to lose.”

(Y/n) glared at him, then glanced back at the board. Sure enough, everyone looked a little too invested in the tallies. Feitan was already glaring at Hisoka like he was ready to “win” another round.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay. New rule: you kill me, you lose points in therapy.”

“Points?” Phinks echoed, frowning.

“Yes, points,” she said firmly. “I’m implementing a point system now. Every time you kill me, you lose one point of progress.”

“What do we get if we have the most points?” Nobunaga asked.

“Freedom,” she replied bluntly. “Out of here. Back to your regular murdering lives. Don’t you want that?”

“Depends,” Shalnark said. “Do we get to keep the whiteboard?”

(Y/n) stared at him, speechless, before groaning in frustration and throwing the marker into the void.

[kalybaly]

PoV: I decided to be a hater and clear some shit up from, like, 5 years ago because I look back on this and it's mega embarrassing... For those who wrote about it.

TLDR; Old Nefarious Roleplay Community Drama

Okay so ages ago someone tried to make one of the most misinformed call out posts that I've ever had the displeasure to scrape my eyes across the screen and sacrifice my brain cells to. I know who wrote it and it's such a shame that they're just as entitled, self-righteous, and woefully doomed to make assumptions as I remember they were. Mind you, I'm usually a fair and reasonable person, always willing to hear people out, and I've given this person more grace than I should have for their many, uh... Deeply uncomfortable moments they've caused. I'll leave it at that. But in regards to THIS POST...

They didn't respond to my DM, instead trying to out me me for being concerned, trying to clear things up, and even offering an olive branch for open communication to work through whatever's got them trippin'. Obvs, that went out the window so lmao.

Btw, important info: I was, and currently am an admin of the official fandom server for Nefarious/NJC... And I was a moderator in the roleplay server... So I literally had knowledge of the ins and outs of the whole thing. So when I said they were learning info second hand, they were. I learned the info BECAUSE I WAS LITERALLY AT THE HEART OF IT LMAO??

They're acting like the whole community has been so hush hush about the issues within the roleplay server, and to a degree, the drama had been mostly contained there... Because it wasn't a main server issue. It was a roleplay server CREATED by fans of the official server so they could gather and rp without fighting on the main server. Because the fighting there was getting to be so bad that the mods/admins were just going to nuke the channels. It was because they were nice and gave the roleplayers a second chance that the channel was kept for as long as it was. Although all the drama and entitlement from it proved to be too much and it was archived anyways. That's its own shitshow and story for another time.

Hitting me with the "um actually it WAS affiliated with the main server" is laughable af because, no, it wasn't. It was its own server that made its own rules and WANTED to be a part of the main server. But it wasn't. Which is also why, after its time being allowed to feature "big rps" in the main server, essentially to showboat, was cut off due to ongoing conflicts. My friend casually mentioned making a different RP server, which she was allowed to do because SoR couldn't have been the ONLY roleplay server in the whole world, and then was attacked over it? It wasn't even going to be a fandom affiliated server, she was making conversation in the chat WHERE SHE HAD FRIENDS. And then everyone took that and ran with the idea that it was going to be competition. It wasn't. And if anyone knows the friend I'm talking about, competing for attention in fandoms is NOT how she operates at all and I will literally body slam anyone who comes at her sideways again.

Anyways defending the guy you accused of being a p*do because he showed a cropped image of his own oc that was flashing booby. And the one time he accidentally sent NSFW art into the server and took it down immediately, felt IMMENSE embarrassment and shame for it, and was temp banned over it anyways? There's a stark difference between being a predator and being a dumbass. And he's the latter (we don't speak anymore for other reasons, so I will not be defending his ass). I was criticized for not acting within 5 minutes of it being posted because I was busy too, and that's just outrageous 💀 I'm an adult with a job.

Also hey on their last post, they did share screenshots.... From completely different times and instances. Also if this is the person I think is posting their screenshot evidence. Hi. I know you have a history of cropping screenshots to look better for defending your insanity. Remember when I stayed up until 2 in the morning talking to you about how it's not okay to lash out at other players because you were dealing with some stuff in your personal life? How I tried to have a genuine conversation expressing empathy and concern for what you had going in, while remaining firm that it's not fair to other people to have to take your anger? And then you took ONE part of the conversation where I said "I know you're dealing with stuff at home but... <:/" and sent it to your friend as "proof" that I was "gaslighting" you? Damn you're one HELL of an unreliable narrator just saying. 💅 Didn't show how we kinda virtually hugged it out in the end and got back to joking around. I thought you understood that you couldn't just be an asshole to everyone around you. Instead you doubled down on it and it got you banned because you'd make servers with secret group chats to talk shit about your own friends where they couldn't see it!!! 🤗 And that you were going to bring your percieved slights to the server owner and essentially bully him into letting you and your friends run wild!!! 🥰 So very thoughtful of you. You're such a good person, and this pointing fingers game is REALLY going to make sure that EVERYONE knows it.

That was sarcasm.

They're literally one of the most unhinged people I've ever had the immense displeasure to meet in any fandom, any community, or in any online space really. This high and mighty act might make them feel better, but they need some serious therapy and work on self-reflection. Which I do genuinely hope they got, but I'm not keeping my hopes up.

[indignantlemur]

So I was re-reading Emigre and was thinking about Thoris (who ranks in my top three and needa more appreciation). In chapter 8 after Dagmar is slightly warmed up by a cuddle sandwich, he wakes her up/surprises her. It made me wonder. Does he sleep in the communal area? Also in the area where everyone seems to be cuddling at least a little, I can't help but struggle to see him in there.

Love the story and can't wait for more.

Hey! You're absolutely right to be dubious - Thoris does not sleep in the communal area!

Being a significantly higher rank than most of the Andorians at the embassy, and a higher-risk asset security-wise, Thoris retires to a more isolated area and shares his sleeping quarters with very few people. This would probably bother most Andorians, and rightly so, but Thoris has had a long time to get used to being held apart from his subordinates.

Thoris is a Very Important Person, and most of the time VIPs don't get half as much personal freedom as ordinary folks do. He can't just wander off to a coffee shop, or go for spontaneous walks, or share sleeping spaces with the rest of his retinue. In fact, the vast majority of his day-to-day life is dictated by his security detail, which might seem odd given how much authority he wields in Andorian society - but that authority is precisely why he can't be left to his own devices. Andorians prize experience and competence, and Thoris has both of those in spades to be sure, but what makes Thoris especially valuable is his unusual ability to find fair compromises with alien diplomats without yielding ground or losing face. He may be bad-tempered and difficult to get along with, but he's very, very good at what he does. Most similarly experienced Andorian diplomats are too proud and too arrogant to even consider compromise unless beaten into submission first, and no one on the intergalactic stage would respect them afterwards. Accordingly, his loss would be a terrible blow for Andoria, and he must therefore be monitored closely not only for his own safety but for the benefit of his people.

Sadly, this means there are no giant cuddle puddles for Thoris in his downtime. He sleeps just fine on his own, of course, and he'll actively deny anything else if asked.

As for who Thoris does share his sleeping quarters with, he can share with his spouses and children just fine, as there is a low-grade psychic component there which alerts him to who's present on a subconscious level. Otherwise, there are very, very few people outside of his family unit who are welcome to join him at all.

Can Thoris share a sleeping space with another person, or several other people? Yes.

Is he generally permitted to? Not unless they're pre-approved individuals who've passed the prerequisite background checks.

Does he actually want to have other people around? Meh. He's gotten used to minimal company, so he can take it or leave it.

He can tolerate Thelen, Shral, and a small handful of other security folks in his personal space, but he doesn't demand their presence. Those individuals usually split their time between ensuring the ambassador doesn't become a complete recluse and sleeping in the larger rooms with the rest of the retinue so they, themselves, don't become similarly isolated.

[hendrik-ten-napel]

High number too good! Investigating horror in Cthulhu Dark

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Back to thinking about dice again. Specifically, the meaning we attach to certain results. In a previous newsletter—one of my first, actually—I was fascinated by an ability in F.I.S.T. that had a one in six chance to succeed but the player got to call out the number. This doesn't change the odds, but it does change the meaning you attach to them.

That interplay between abstract chance and the narrative it helps create continues to interest me. So when a friend of mine ran a reskin of Cthulhu Dark, I latched onto its resolution mechanic pretty much instantly.

The game uses the implied hierarchy of a die's numbered results to emphasize its themes in a very elegant way, taking the usual 'high number good' just one step further.

Consumed by discovery

Investigative horror is about dangerous knowledge. It's about getting to know more than is good for you, more than you can maybe handle knowing. An investigative horror game needs its players to both pick up clues reliably and be increasingly horrified by what they find.

Cthulhu Dark's resolution mechanic brings this whole narrative together in one roll of the dice. The mechanic kicks in when you investigate something, and 'you are investigating whenever you are trying to discover something new.' Now grab some dice. There's a die you roll for everything that's humanly possible, one for your occupational expertise, and one for risking your mind and body. Pick up whichever apply and roll. 'Then your highest die shows how much information you get.'

That's right, you always keep the investigation moving, but a higher result means you find out more. Sometimes, too much. On a five you already discover more than a competent investigator would find out. But, on a six:

you discover all of that, plus, in some way, you glimpse beyond human knowledge. This probably means you see something horrific[.]

There it is, the horror the investigation is getting you dangerously close to. This is what it's all about: the darkness you're trying to uncover will try to consume you.

The real danger

Every roll you make, you risk getting a little too close. Recontextualizing the highest result as too high perfectly encapsulates the genre. The investigators need to be careful, but they do need to investigate, and while only uncovering an ambiguous lead might be called a setback, the real danger is the one they are getting closer and closer to.

If you do encounter something horrific, Cthulhu Dark has you make a so-called Insight Roll. Insight measures how much you know of the horrors and goes from one to six. At six, once again, you know too much. You 'understand the full horror' and 'leave everyday life behind'. Every time you roll higher than your current Insight on your Insight Roll, it goes up.

This gives the game a nice arc. Your investigator is relatively safe at the start of the mystery but can easily rack up more Insight. Progressing through the story, your investigator gets closer and closer to a full Insight meter, but is also less likely to raise it. Why not try and discover a little more?

Slow-burn horror

This elegant bit of design hones the whole of Cthulhu Dark in on the story it wants to tell. It's about the dangerous, possibly tragic tales of people risking life as they know it to uncover the dark truths at the center of their existence. Designer Walmsley writes:

Every mystery [in Cthulhu Dark] is ultimately about hubris. It is about the Investigators’ overconfidence in their own importance and that of humanity. This is undermined when they encounter the horror, which shows them how insignificant they really are.

Cthulhu Dark is obviously themed for stories of cosmic horror, but I think its mechanics are great for any slow-burn about more-or-less ordinary people risking a tragic ending by getting too close to great danger. Jesse Ross’ Trophy Dark shows how the general formula can be adapted to a fantasy setting, and Walmsley himself is adapting his game for weird space horror with Cosmic Dark.

[macabrecabra]

And the last set of characters for the Pokemon AU, End of the Line! Sort of the part highlighting the pokemon fighting side of the worldsetting, which is how they got grouped together!

Pokemon fighting is a HUGE money maker, but it leaves it marks on those that are in it... read below for more info on each character! <3

LIAM BRENIM (Breloom) A rising star in the realm of Pokemon fighting competitions, Liam is aiming for the top, inspired by the long career of Cometti, both a good friend, fellow fighter, and his mentor. Liam is a spry fighter with a lot of go and ambition, if sometimes a bit lost in his work as he puts everything into training and growing stronger. He was sad to see Cometti go and is sort of still in contact, just to keep tabs on his mentor and friend whom he is concerned about...given everything that had happened.

Design Notes: I had no idea what this character's pokemon type was at first! He was just a concept and character without a face, so I let followers help me figure it out! Breloom came up a lot and looked like a fun design, so Liam was born!

YUAN QIU (meinshao)

A long retired champion in the Pokemon League and once an international star in their own right, Yuan has retired to a peaceful life running the Sweet Berry Tavern in Viridian Village, more than content to let the world go by and keep to themselves. They were a mentor of Cometti and at hearing what had happened and their one-time student's decline, was the one who urged Cometti to consider an early retirement and come stay with them to clear his head. They are a sly sort with an eye for things and well aware of the questionable pasts of people they associate with and have friends in places they can call upon. However, they like to keep to themselves and focus on running their inn.

Design Notes: I named this character after the landlady in Kungfu Hustle because it just felt right and lent itself to their Chinese aesthetic. Always liked the shape and profile of this pokemon, so was a lot of fun to design that into a character!

COMETTI TYCUS (Hitmonchan)

Cometti Tycus, once known as Unstoppable Comet, was a huge fighter in the pokemon world. Internationally known, competing in both the Pokemon Battle League and Pokemon Champions League, he was the face of the competition and was an inspiration to so many. He was at the peek of his career when a horrific accident took place which completely destroyed his mental health and he began to lose fight after fight, falling into heavy depression and alcohol abuse. Eventually he would retire under the advice of Yuan Qiu and move out to Viridian Village to get away from it all.

A tough soul, he is known to not have much of a sense of humor and a savant knowledge of battle. He tries to distance himself from battling though, taking up small jobs fixing up the inn and places around the village. He isn't the sort to let others struggle though, which is why he adopted a young Magikarp he helped get away from an illegal pokemon trade ring. Usually he keeps his gloves off, although by law, all hitmonchans must keep their gloves on hands given their punches are far more devastating when the gloves are off...

Design Notes: Oddly enough, his design and character idea came from James Braddock, a real heavyweight fighting champion during the Great Depression! Having a tough character with a heart of gold appeals so much to me and it really fit in with the story I'm telling, as well as being a solid mentor for many of the characters. WATARU TYCUS (Magikarp) formerly named NOGI WATARU

Wataru doesn't remember his parents or where he actually came from. All he remembers is people coming into their village and stealing all the magikarp children to then sell for 500 poke dollars a piece to become house servants. A fate he managed to escape from where he ran into Cometti who helped get him to safety. Despite best efforts, they never could locate his parents, thus Cometti adopted him as his son. Magikarps are more or less treated like absolute trash by the population, seen as useless, dime a dozen pokemon that cannot evolve, just labor and workforce to exploit at best. Wataru though wants to become a champion fighter and prove that even a magikarp can be a powerful fighter, although...he still just only knows how to splash. Cometti though is doing his best to try and train the little fish and help him find his dream.

Design Notes: Should start with this: the knowledge of Gyarados and evolving into one has been lost to time, thus in the present day, no one is aware of Gyarados being a thing, save a few scholars. Wataru is named after Lance from Pokemon and also is a shiny pokemon to show those DO exist! That all influenced his design a lot. He's a little booger who plays a sweet and important part in the story.

[spotlightlowlife]

Writing for Millie should be hella easy

Stereotypes and cliches can work.

Right infront of us we have a tought southern farm girl, already a half written character. Millie's family, the first full family we meet, who don't even get to say much were actually crucial for her character building, they're a big family who are set in their ways, they're loving but not supportive of Millie's choices in a very passive aggressive way.

All these episodes later, these points are barely touched upon.

We would learn the Millie likes attention, she enjoyed playing a character who was the coolest person on the scene who could show off

which makes sense if you look at her rowdy upbringing, which could also explains why she is giddy at Moxxie's grand gestures and adoration of her.

Yet why did she have to play a role and take herself out of her usual setting in order to enjoy herself? This made sense for Moxxie who's sensibilities and hesitations aren't heard and is constantly frustrated, but why give Millie a similar storyline (not the first time a couples stories were awkwardly and disproportionately merged)? Having moved far from her family, having a supply of attention on tap from her biggest fan of a husband, working with a coworker she gets along fine with Loona and Mille worked together just fine when Blitzø and Moxxie got snatched, there were no differences between them, they actually appear to have hardly engaged with eachother?

and a boss who she's on excellent terms with in their small company, a boss who's intrusive ways she sees no issues with

which could also go back to having a big, noisy, busy body family who are slack with respect and boundaries something many people can relate to, why exactly did she need this moment in the spotlight?

Perhaps she's phased by being friendless?

Loona is

I she even friendless? Who knows. Her relations don't matter outside being a plot device, she even got sidelined in her families episode several times because it served to introduce Striker and show how much of an outsider Moxxie is.

On the topic of relations

Why do Millie and Moxxie have the same ex?

Why did neither of them know this?

What difference did it make?

Why such hostility?

No reason, nothing matters, none and ?

An ex would have been yet another person needed to give her some content but it would have been character building none the less.

Where did they meet and what would have been the mutual setting that lead to this guy being in both their lives then them coming together?

Has Millie had a life away from the farm as a single woman or did she leave home for Chaz? So many possibilities. Being that she is the stereotype rough and tumble country girl, she could have consciously decided to go to the city to hang about in places where those supposedly unlike her are so that she could stand out and be appreciated without having to compete with anyone. She would have her own thing going on and this would be a good way to meet hipster Chaz and thespian Moxxie.

Of course, Millie could have shown up one day and met Moxxie on the job.

Blitzø and Moxxie being the buddy cop type lead characters is fine, it's clearly the dynamic that's intended and on the few occasions we see them working together this is what we get.

The lack of characters doing the jobs we are told they do is an issue that affects all characters.

Being a side character should offer a load of flexibility, not having to carry the story offers room to be busy doing irrelevant stuff, or serve as a voice of reason or scepticism to help move the plot forward, side characters can wrap up side plots writers can't be bothered with, but side characters being ignored serves nothing.

There have been shows that have a leader and their more competent sidekick who quietly does the work and never shares in the credit.

This could work for Mille, however dispite her lack of content, she is not the quiet sidekick. We are sold a praised and admired bruiser whose performance isn't up for criticism, someone not always clued up when faced with a challenge but that's fine, challenges are rare and she's someone we have no reason to believe is a pushover, she is also someone happy to have more of a say but also fine with how things are. OK, what next?

Neutral.

Why not commit and tone her up?

Play on that country bumpkin casting. So far Millie is the fun and violent scrapper which fits but this role is also totally appropriate, someone is going to fill it, other than that she's, just there, with no say.

In and out of work, why not have her behaviour be socially neurotic, inappropriate, possessive and apathetic?

Why doesn't she stand up for Moxxie more? Is the casual workplace bullying something she's used to, comparable to the regular fun mockery that circulates throughout the family home/town banter etc? Is she used to not being heard? Growing up not having her own things, having to answer to someone, ignorance, comparassion and lack of personal space could result in someone who doesn't like being challenged or ignored, doesn't like a lack of control but has been sheltered enough to not take consequences too seriously? Anything goes after all.

It works for Blitzø, whose modest and tragic past, isolation, guilt and loneliness has lead to a sympathetic, overbearing and desperate hustler

I actually think Millie's character is fine but is she just a decent side character who is only 'fine' because she's underutilised? I'm not sure?

[dangermousie]

"In this world as a cauldron, we are the fuel. Living for the boil, why should death be feared?"

I have NO idea why I am continuing with Cang Lan Dao, when I have novels I actually enjoy. Mo Shu Bai usually leaves me really cold in general - I appreciate her writing but it doesn't click (Mountain and River Pillow and The Remaining Life Has Its Limits being the only two exceptions; I adore them.) But I normally like them OK even if I am not involved and I really really really dislike CLD.

A LOT.

It's a competently written novel whose characters' behaviors make sense but I loathe the FL protagonist and the ML her love interest intensely. In fact, the sole character I actually like and root for is the origin of the quote, the prince FL wants revenge on. If I am rooting for the villain with all my heart and want him to grind FL and ML under his heel, you are doing something wrong, book!

This is yet another "transmigrated after an unjust death" scenarios and I often have a problem with them when protagonists seek revenge when reborn in their younger selves because THE BAD STUFF HASN'T HAPPENED YET.

That is why I like novels like QSCK's Rebirth of Star General (FL is reborn into a continuing timeline; bad stuff really did happen - the vengeance is a minor driver of the narrative to boot but it's also for stuff that people have actually done, not what they will do in the future), Mo Shu Bai's own Mountain and River Pillow (FL is reborn but she doesn't want revenge and also different behaviors result in different outcomes and characters - her awful life n1 sister ends up heroic and wonderful in this life; she will never love her life 1 husband but he gets redemption etc etc), Peng Lai Ke's Wishing You Eternal Happiness (once again, FL does not want revenge, she just wants to live) or Reborn As Tyrant's Pet (FL is killed by ML and SML and is reborn back as a kid; she does the sane thing of "they are kids! they haven't harmed me yet! why the heck would I go after them!")

I find it very hard to connect with eg heroine of PLK's Pihanjin (she puts ML through hell based on his ignoring her in life 1; but he hasn't yet started here! By the end, I was just tired of her) but even more here - she "wakes up" after dying in exile when she and her family fell victim to intrigues instigated by her prince fiance (where I am, not clear if he framed her fam or just stood aside.) The thing is, it hasn't yet happened!!!!! Her father died in both timelines I suppose. But the rest hasn't happened yet.

She is an awful, bitter, murderous, manipulative person which makes her a perfect match to ML who is also this way but makes her incredibly unpleasant to read about (I can like awful characters but it takes a certain ability to make me invest and seeing that I have problems investing in MSB's perfectly nice characters...) Also, I find it a bit of a disconnect for the narrative to go "it's OK for her to be horrible because she has trauma and issues" when the prince she wants revenge on has trauma and issues as bad as hers and we are supposed to root for his defeat. Pick one!!!!

I think my issues with this novel are made starker because I just recently finished QSCK's Deng Hua Xiao, which also has a bitter, ruthless murderous woman seeking revenge with help of a terrifying high up military dude. But DHX made me full on bawl. And here...

[ranahan]

Mandalorian clans & government

Headcanons ahead! You have been warned. Approximately 1% of what I’m about to write is canon. But I’ve been thinking a lot about how a clan based space-age society would function (how do you pay taxes? what’s the government like?), and I thought others might get a kick out of my musings too so I finally put them down and here we are.

I want to star by saying that what I describe here is far from a utopia. I wanted to explore a Mandalorian society that would be functional (no, their government is not only based on a magic sword). But I also wanted to explore where all these conflicts within the Mandalorian society come from. In my experience, some conflicts do stem from ideological differences, but most of them actually go a bit deeper and are questions about who has the money and power? Who wins and loses economically? Whose accustomed rights are being infringed on? So I wanted to explore what kind of legitimate grievances the different factions of Mandalorians might have against each other. Because that’s where stories would get interesting, organic conflicts from. I’m not interested in reading or writing perfect, can-do-no-wrong characters or sides. Give me people who have legitimate wrongs they want to fix, and other, sympathetic wrongs they want to commit. Give me people who want to do the right thing, only their right is in conflict with another people’s right. When it comes to stories, interesting is so much better than morally pure.

The origins of the Mandalorian clans

I imagine that the Taung, the original Mandalorian race, either was a clan-based society or developed into one during their wandering days after leaving Coruscant and before settling Manda’yaim. For a nomadic people, their clan would be their safety net and their basic social unit.

I also like to think that the archaic Mando’a word for a clan derives from a word for a ship: the Taung were not just nomads, they were space faring nomads. In those early times of space travel, it would have actually been the ship that was the basic social unit and the ship crew would have been the origin of the clan. And that’s why the words belly and home are related: they both derive from archaic words for a ship or a ship part. Aliit is a Modern Mando’a word that derives from a ’command group’, and was coined by Neo-Crusader recruits.

When the Taung settled on Manda’yaim, they had to adapt to a more sedentary lifestyle with permanent bases and sharing space with other ships’ crews. But when a nomadic culture adopts a sedentary lifestyle, they don’t just abandon their culture. And that’s the origin of clans—the Taung built up their organisation and government on top of the existing command structures. Ship captains became clan chieftains, ship crews became clan members. Very traditional old clans might have kept still some other positions.

And they also kept certain social attitudes: a crew is not based just on family ties (although in the early days of space travel, the crew would certainly have had their families on board). Additionally, when the Taung settled a new planet, they began as resource-rich and people-poor. So the basic social dynamic developed into one where clans compete for skilled workers and strong warriors, who in turn are free to choose which clan they want to belong to. If a particular clan has a tyrannical leader, they would start haemorrhaging workers to other clans with better leadership and/or better perks. That leads to the clan losing income and resources. Eventually the remaining members would overthrow their old leader and choose a better one. That dynamic only got reinforced when Mandalorians started conquering the nearby regions of space: war requires a lot of bodies.

In the modern days, an adult person may choose which clan they wish to belong to. Usually that’s the clan of one of their parents; sometimes though, they come to a better agreement with another clan. When you marry, you and your spouse typically decide which of your clans you want to belong to. Sometimes spouses decide to stay belonging to their clans of origin, but that’s fairly rare. Children belong to their parents clan until adulthood, at which time they may decide which of their parents clans they want to belong to. Poaching young adults for another clan is highly frowned upon, although it might be technically legal in some circumstances (it used to be completely legal, but then some assholes abused the system and now there are some additional laws and agreements in place).

Administration, bureaucracy and taxes

Administration and bureaucracy got built over top of the existing Taung command structures too. The Mand’alor is effectively the commander of the entire fleet of ships (=clans), but expects the ships (=clans) to largely function independently. The clans would pay a tithe to the Mand’alor which would finance larger public works like space ports, but a lot of local infrastructure and works would either be completely financed by local clans or at least supplemented by them. Many large endeavours would also require the Mand’alor to get additional financial backing from the clans, because the Mand’alor doesn’t directly tax their subjects.

That’s right: the basic taxation unit is the clan. In the modern days, most people choose to file their taxes under their clan (and let the numbers guy in their clan worry about it), and work out their fair contribution and tax rate with their own clan leaders. This is a fairly flexible system: when you are down on your luck, you can rely on your clan for welfare; when you prosper, so does your clan. The clan then uses a certain amount of funds to e.g. provide medical care and schooling for its members, and to pay their tithe to the Mand’alor. Originally, the tithe was based on the number of able-bodied and armoured warriors the clan could muster; today, it’s in practice based on the number of adult members in a clan.

Taxes might sound boring, but I cannot stress this enough: without taxation base and tax records, the Mand’alor cannot govern. (Did you know that the first thing most historical peasant rebellions on Earth did, was to burn the tax records?) The Mand’alor rules only with the support of the clans. The Mandalorian government is not a democracy, but it’s not a dictatorship either. In effect, an aspiring Mand’alor needs to get the backing of the clans: most critically, the big houses, but they would also receive a steady trickle of smaller independent clans and even individual people swearing to them.

Guilds and Houses

Guilds would have started out as co-operative organisations for people who either come from very small clans or don’t want to financially associate with their clan. A guild would generally provide a similar package of benefits for its members as a clan: medical care, life insurance, filing income taxes, etc. The House system is another adaptation to this dynamic. Smaller clans can band together or under the protection of a larger clan. Effectively most Mandalorians either belong to a fairly big clan, a House, or a guild. In the modern days, there is an option to file your taxes independently, but few people choose to do it—its easier and more flexible to work things out within your own House. It’s more popular in Sundari and other areas with more centralised governance (that typically hails from the caretaker government post-Dral’Han) and more public services. Belonging to any of these organisations is in no way mandatory—pretty much the only one you need to declare for any official purpose is your clan—but belonging to none is a pretty precarious way of life.

Oh and the schools and hospitals and other such institutions? Most are private, fairly affordable due to being subsidised by donations from local rich clans and big companies (Mandos have a strong tradition of contributing to the community) and operate on a sliding scale of payment. Some (e.g. small local schools) are wholesale owned by local Houses. If you belong to a clan, its most likely your tuition was (at least partly) paid by the clan instead of your parents. Ditto for your medical bills. There’s also a healthy competition in the market: if you don’t like or cannot afford a school or a hospital, you go somewhere else. Sundari and the other domed cities have more publicly funded services, since a tightly packed city inside a biodome requires centralised administration to function.

tl;dr: The clan, the House, or the guild is the basic unit that provides welfare services for an individual. Usually, the school/hospital/etc. is a private enterprise or a foundation, with ties or contracts with local clans or Houses.

Mining and land rights

The land and its mining rights belong to a clan. The ancestral clan lands go all the way back to the original settlement of the Mandalorian worlds. Since the discovery of beskar, land- and mining rights have been hotly contested and have been the source of many civil wars and inter-clan conflicts.

That means that technically beskar belongs to a clan. Indeed, it is the clan’s duty to arm its warriors. In practice, beskar’gam is partly earned by the individual and partly given by the clan. Beskar is sufficiently rare that only the richest and oldest clans can afford to clad their warriors entirely in pure beskar. Most make do with beskar alloys of various quality (the beskar content of many plates has gone down over the years and their many reforgings). Many wear partly or all durasteel or even composite. However, because of the cultural significance, usually at least the kar’ta beskar is actual beskar (or beskar alloy), even if the rest of the plates are not.

In the olden times, clan tithes could actually be paid in beskar, and often were by clans with good beskar mines. And thus the Mand’alor could then gift (or sell) the beskar to other deserving clans or warriors.

Since the land belongs to the clans, most farmers are either clan members or tenant farmers, although the tenancies are generally given to families (=family lines), not individuals, and the tenant farmers receive many of the benefits of the members of the house if they’re not members themselves (which they often are). The clan that owns the land would usually pay for infrastructure projects and the like, often with manpower provided by the communities living on their lands.

Fishing and hunting rights and other natural resources similarly generally belong to the clan who owns the land.

As an aside, this system unintendedly contributed to the Ba’slan shev'la after Dral’Han. Many clans had their lands and livelihoods obliterated, and faced a choice to seek refuge in one of the less-affected areas of Mandalorian space (which were crawling with other refugees who had recently lost everything in their name), or leave and try their luck elsewhere in the Galaxy. Many chose to leave not because of some grand strategy or masterplan, but to find work, make a living, and raise their children somewhere that was not a radioactive desert.

Disasters like the Dral’Han have left many Houses land-rich and people-poor: it’s not unusual for them to grant lands for smaller clans and families swearing to them. It’s in everybody’s best interests that the land and its resources gets managed—preferably of course by a loyal vassal clan, who pays tithes to you.

Government and law

I like to think the Mandalorians have a split system of law, kind of like common law vs. statute law. There would be the military law and the military tribunal—or in Mandalorian terms, the Mand’alor’s law, with the Mand’alor acting as the supreme commander of the armed forces. And the other branch would be the other powerhouse in Mandalorian society: clans.

I imagine there’s a Mandalorian equivalent of the House of Lords, or what might be called a Moot: a body that consists of all the Mandalorian clan chieftains. When they vote about anything, the votes are probably weighted based on the number of warriors (historically) or adults (in modern times) in their clan. In practice, a lot of the smaller clans belong to a House which would also act as a voting block—almost like a political party. This is another dynamic that makes Houses compete for clans and warriors declaring for them.

The original function of this body would have been to decide matters that are beyond any one clan—and furthermore, to arbitrate matters between clans or intra-clan grievances that cannot be solved within the clan. And this could lead to them developing into a body that handles a lot of the high-level civilian matters—or appoints civilian administrators and judges to handle them. There’s probably some wiggle room and a lot of power plays about which matters belong to the Moot and which to the Mand’alor and which perhaps are decided by the Moot, but require the Mand’alor’s agreement. On Earth, that has historically been the case between monarchs and their Houses of Lords too.

The clan law is effectively a huge pile of historical precedents upon historical precedents. So it’s a customary law in character. It’s the Mand’alor’s law that’s the more flexible one: they can just give executive commands, effective immediately. But then the next Mand’alor might countermand all of their orders. In practice though, the military law is again a pile of previous Mand’alore’s executive orders building on top of each other—that’s a part of why Jaster’s Codex was 700 pages or whatever. In this way, the Mand’alor’s position could be compared to the president or the prime minister of some democracies: they’re the highest executive power, but they don’t make the civilian laws and don’t control the courts. I do think the Mand’alor has more power than Western presidents/prime ministers though, and that they e.g. name their own cabinet. Although politically savvy Mand’alores would in practice fill their cabinet with members of powerful clans to keep them happy.

Oh, and the magic sword as the basis of government? It’s a cool prop, but it’s hardly the whole story. The right by combat sounds to me like a very old tradition preceding the Darksabre. The Darksabre just got caught up in the old tradition, and became a visible symbol of having won a duel against the old Mand’alor. However—and it’s a pretty big however—like I said previously, no one rules Mandalore without the support of the clans. There are probably many stories of some hotshot young warrior thinking to make themselves into the next Mand’alor. And they might actually manage it—for about five minutes, until the old Mand’alor’s warriors line up to challenge them. You might win one duel, but no-one will win a hundred duels in a row. Even if they would manage to keep the Darksabre, if the clans didn’t support them, they would shortly go bankrupt, and find their armies going home when they stop being paid.

So there are probably some five-minute-wonders in the history, who are quickly succeeded by the previous Mand’alor’s second or third in command. I’d also like to point out that there’s an incentive to leave the previous Mand’alor alive: they are still (often) the clan head or at least the commander of a significant number of troops present in the capital, and if they’re alive, they can order those troops to stand down. If they’re dead, those troops may choose to fight instead and hope to make the challenger’s reign very short indeed.

The New Mandalorian government

Now on this stage comes the Republic, who in 738 BBY bombs key Mandalorian worlds and leaves large swaths of them inhabitable. They also installsa caretaker government to make sure that the Mandalorian threat would not rise again. And I imagine that from the get go, this Republic oversight would have been universally loathed. But it also split Mandalorians between those who on principle refused to recognise the Republic’s puppet government, and those who saw that Mandalore was in no position to evict them militarily, and needed to do everything to ensure the Republic navy didn’t have a reason to come back and finish the job. So they chose to work within the system to fight tooth and nail for an independent, Mandalorian government.

And, well, that itself is a huge source of friction. Mandalore essentially has two governments, which don’t recognise each other: the post-excision government that grew from the Republic’s caretaker government and the Mand’alor. The clan Moot would probably be something of a grey area: perhaps it was recognised but reorganised by the post-Dral’Han government; or perhaps it was not, but traditions are not so easily killed and it still holds a lot of power in practice. Individual Houses operate in between all of these separate systems of power, striking a deal here and giving a nod there.

But I also think that a lot of the Core-inspired laws installed by this post-Excision government, and the laws that are needed to make the tightly packed domed cities run, come into conflict with the traditional Mandalorian laws. So now you have what is effectively a tripartite system of law. And there’s certain friction between all of these parts, and lots of arguments about which law applies in which case and who has jurisdiction.

This is also how the Mand’alor can be a rather hands-off position (depending on the Mand’alor) after the Dral’Han—there are two other forms of government to keep things running.

Citizenship

Let’s start with a couple of basic assumptions. First, the basic unit of Mandalorian society is the clan. Aliit is also a part of the Resol’nare. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that one cannot be a Mandalorian without a clan. I mean, in a religious sense, you have to be adopted into a Mandalorian clan to become a Mandalorian and share in the Manda. That’s why the adoption vow is literally ”name and soul”. Well, that’s the orthodox, religious view anyway. I imagine modern attitudes are laxer, but older views are probably reflected in many laws still.

Secondly, a lot of the Mandalorian space was originally conquered by the Taung. The conquered peoples could become Mandalorians, but I always got the vibe that it was an individual choice (both of the adoptee to want to become a Mandalorian and of the clan to accept them)—conversely, there must have been many people who decided not to convert. I doubt they were all put to sword either, especially after Mand’alor the Ultimate’s reforms.

So this creates a situation where there are both people who are Mandalorians by creed and by clan, and people who live on Mandalorian worlds and are not one or the other or neither.

And I like to think that Mandalore, by the accident of history, effectively has two kinds of citizenships: ”full” citizenship for members of Mandalorian clans, and ”civil” citizenships for residents of Mandalorian worlds who are not considered Mandalorians. And that these two kinds of citizenships come with different rights and responsibilities. For one, only the Mandalorians have representation in their House of Lords. Conversely, only Mandalorians are expected to answer the Mand’alor’s call and to serve in the military. Yes, this came about because I wanted to explore that whole are Jaster and Jango Mandalorians or not, and who even is a Mandalorian debates. Where do they come from? Could there be some reasonable explanation that gets garbled in the translation to Basic? In my version, there’s both a religious/creed aspect to being a Mandalorian, and a legal citizenship aspect, that overlap. So perhaps Jango was born on a Mandalorian world, but not as a Mandalorian. Just a thought.

Now the people who aren’t born Mandalorians but wish to become one by creed, they have an easy precedent available to them. They either get themselves accepted into a clan (the most common way); or I like to think there’s some kind of a provision for people who for one reason or another don’t want to be adopted. Perhaps they need to have a sponsor who’s a citizen of good standing (this would be the adopter for those who are adopted into clans, or perhaps the spouse or the spouse’s clan head for those who marry in), and let’s say two witnesses who testify they have completed their verd’goten or an equivalent trial. A clan can’t really be just one person, so I imagine that if a clan shrinks to just one member, they keep their lands etc., but lose some other e.g. political privileges until they became a clan (of more than one) again, and conversely, newly minted mandos who don’t have clans don’t get all the benefits and representation either.

Then we have people who are neither. Now these people could have legitimate grievances against how the political system operates, because it disadvantages them. And I think that’s an interesting point and an interesting conflict. Which is what stories are all about.

And then we have New Mandalorians, at least some of who are Mandalorians by clan—but they refuse some duties that come with that, and which probably actually are codified into traditional Mandalorian law. So that’s a legitimate grievance on the part of the old guard against the New Mandalorians: they want all the benefits, but dodge the draft and other legal duties. But it’s also a legitimate grievance of the New Mandalorians (mandatory military service is a violation of individual rights as their government defines them & answering to a Mand’alor who is not recognised by their laws). And what else would they define citizenship by, if not birth and residence on the Mandalorian worlds?

And I imagine that New Mandalorian government either defines or wants to define citizenship in a new way that’s not based on creed and being a member of a clan. And this is also a source of grievances and conflict. The traditionalists feel that being a Mandalorian is a creed, a choice; and that choosing to walk the way of the Mandalore has been a foundational right since the time of the Mandalorian Wars. After all, all of the modern day Mandalorians are descended of people who made that choice.

[majorasnightmare]

FREE DIRGE LORE!!! 8, 20, aaaand 22 pleaseee

FREE DIRGE LORE ON NAADYS BIRTHDAY!!! as a present he offers an inside out torso 🕷️🕸️🕷️

8. How does your Dark Urge feel about the wilderness?

I think his feelings about the wilderness surprise him, because hes actually really fond of it. He enjoys the simple and consistent behavior of animals, even if he has to kill them, and he really deeply enjoys the distance from people. Hes also really fond of natural water sources, a remnant of growing up next to the Chionthar, which was one of the only places in the city where the Urge wasnt quite so loud. He doesnt quite realize how much he enjoys the wilds until he gets back to Baldur's Gate and fucking hates it lmao

20. Is your Dark Urge open about their Urge or do they try to hide it? Why?

Hes SOOO open about it to a RIDICULOUS degree. Pre tadpole he identified completely with the Urge so anyone who had the privellege of knowing him As He Is (and not when he was trying to stealth through the city) would know who and what exactly theyre dealing with. Post Tadpole, he feels he has to rely heavily on this group of strangers for his own safety and sanity, and tries to be as open and forthcoming as possible about the Urges, first because it scares him and he wants help, and then when he gives up on the idea of receiving help as a matter of responsibility. He owes it to them to tell them when he might fly off the handle in case they have to put him down for everyones collective safety. He doesnt even try to hide Alfira's murder, and its everyones reaction to that event that solidifies his decision to both tell everyone whenever the Urges risk them (his own mental health is an acceptable sacrifice), and his decision to handle them almost entirely by himself

22. What first impression does your Dark Urge give off to strangers?

It depends on how much effort hes putting into "passing" as it is. Act 1 is when hes at his most offputting, a twitchy mess poorly concealing the burning desire to kill, and most peoples first impression is that theyre interacting with someone very deeply sick. By the time Dirge is leaving the Grove behind, hes stabilized enough to no longer come off like someone on a very bad LSD trip trying to ground himself. The general impression he gives off is one of lethal competency and assured unflappable confidence, with a fairly easygoing but professional attitude, which persists all the way to the end of act 1, throughout act 2, and only starts collapsing in Act 3

Once he learns hes a bhaalspawn, the combined stress of that revelation plus the ones hes learned in moonrise towers has started puncturing holes in his carefully constructed facade into a frankenstein of his Act 1 and 2 vibes. The end result is someone with the same lethal competency as before, but teetering on a very unstable knife's edge. Some of the twitch has started to come back, and hes snappier and more irritable than usual, because there just isnt any relief from the endless pressing throngs of people, and its driving him up a wall. The confidence is now taken as anticipation of bloodletting, and his general affect is more unsettling for it, like someone trying ever so slightly unsuccessfully to hide the fact theyre actively fantasizing about peeling your skin like a banana. Hes aware of it and tries to talk as little as possible to as few people as possible, made more difficult by the fact that by this point hes established himself as the partys go-to haggler and interrogator-of-npcs.

thankies for dirgeposting oppurtunity, heres him in the faded drow leathers dyed in his usual colors!!

[oldtvandcomics]

Pulptober 2024: 26 - Not Like We Remember

"It's inevitable that, through the adaptation process and the passage of time, people's ideas of what a character is changes. This is for characters where this is...particularly drastic such that the way people envision them is often radically different from how they were originally." - Original prompt by @krinsbez

I have A LOT of thoughts about this, so I'm going to change my usual pattern of going for a character and write an essay instead.

TL;DR: In my experience, one could argue that this is true for all stories that have gone through some adaptations. At least it is in the minds of the general population. Fans who are invested enough to watch/read the original might be a little different, depending on which character you're talking about.

Many fans have pointed out fandoms' bad tendency to simplify and occasionally twist characters in order to fit them into neat narrative boxes, and the way that this hurts fanworks, because they now fail to interact with any of the things that made said character unique to begin with. What I would like to propose:

Mainstream adaptations and popular perception of a story do this too.

Trends that I have observed to happen during adaptations:

All clever characters -> insufferable genius who is full of themselves and keeps rubbing this into everyone's face (Sherlock Holmes; the Doctor, occasionally)

The one woman important for the story -> the hero's love interest, if he didn't originally have one (Irene Adler; Lenore "Casey" Case; Lieutenant Uhura*; Dan Reid Sr.'s wife (who also appears to have changed her first name from Linda to Rebecca in the process? *The 2008 Star Trek movie is ALSO guilty of erasing two out of the three important female officers, leaving only Uhura. If you were to give Spock a love interest, why didn't you stick with Nurse Chapel?! But those movies are a rant for another time.)

"Cool" male hero -> Insufferable asshole who thinks that he is cooler and better than anyone else and treats women like assets to get across how cool he is (Captain Kirk; Han Solo too, at least I personally would argue so)

White hero + partner who is a person of color, both more or less equally competent -> White guy is a complete idiot who wouldn't be able to keep himself alive + partner is insanely competent and does the work for both of them without receiving any thanks (The Lone Ranger + Tonto; The Green Hornet + Kato)

Any period typical prejudices that might have been present in the original get amplified by ten (The Green Hornet; The Lone Ranger; Sherlock Holmes; the First Doctor)

Two very close male friends -> They hate / barely tolerate each other (The Lone Ranger + Tonto; The Green Hornet + Kato; Kirk and Spock (!!); Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson)

Any woman in a leading position -> Girl with a sword and very 21st century attitude (Nimue that one time; Not sure how much Enola Holmes counts because she is an original character, but....)

Woman who is NOT in a leading position but doing her thing -> Screaming damsel in distress (Susan Foreman; Lois Lane in the minds of those who don't actually consume these stories)

There are absolutely more, these are just the most obvious ones that are bothering me. My general attitude towards older stories is to approach them with the best possible intention, and try to read past any outdated language and tropes. There is SO MUCH beauty and diversity there if you do that! But I really have the impression that the people making these adaptations don't always approach the original with the same good faith, if they really read/watch/listen to these stories at all. And then there is of course the inevitable game of telephone between people who know the original and understand the cultural context it was made in, people who know the original but don't understand the context, and people who only know the original through pop culture osmosis.

IDK, the only solution I see is to drastically shorten copyright, so that the people who get to retell these stories are the ones who actually love them, and of course to give Hollywood writers the time and resources to actually do their research. None of which I see happening.