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jbaileyfansite · 5 months

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Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer's Interview for WMagazine (2023)

Warning: Spoilers for Fellow Travelers ahead.

Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey had a feeling their characters’ sexual escapades in Fellow Travelers would ignite a social media firestorm. But apart from some in-person encounters with fans who watched the Showtime limited series, both actors claim they’ve avoided going down a rabbit hole of reactions to their performances.

“The first week of just seeing a GIF of a toe was kind of alarming,” Bailey says in a joint interview with Bomer. “But when you’re doing a scene like that, you know what function it serves—not just in the story, but in the selling of a TV series. I call it the Trojan toe: You slip it in, get people watching, and by the time they get to [that moment], they’ll understand exactly what the show’s setting out to explore.”

Adapted from Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel, Fellow Travelers chronicles the clandestine romance between Hawkins Fuller (Bomer), a debonair State Department employee, and Tim Laughlin (Bailey), a wide-eyed college graduate, who fall in love at the height of McCarthyism and the Lavender Scare in 1950s Washington D.C. As they weave in and out of each other’s lives across multiple decades, Hawk and Tim’s enduring relationship hurtles toward a devastating conclusion in the 1980s. Following Tim’s terminal AIDS diagnosis, Hawk visits his lover—whom he has nicknamed “Skippy”—one last time in San Francisco, where they both come to terms with the significance of their volatile romance.

“A lot of people feel seen—not just by the sex scenes, but by aspects of queer identity on the show,” Bomer says. “That’s the hope, right? That whatever you’re pouring your heart and soul into resonates with somebody or makes them feel seen.”

On a recent visit to New York City, Bailey and Bomer were affable and laid-back—a far cry from the brooding, tortured characters that have defined their respective careers. Bouncing ideas off each other, the charming costars spoke with W about their approach to telling their characters’ epic love story, the surreal experience of shooting their final scene together, and what to expect from Maestro and the next season of Bridgerton.

Why does Hawk and Tim’s connection make them question everything they thought they knew about themselves?

Jonathan Bailey: You will never really know what Hawk and Tim would’ve been like [as a full-fledged couple]. You can’t judge them on anything, because there’s a survival element at play, which reflects the brutality of the world they were born into. As [the show] expands and this liberation blooms, we see more of [Hawk’s wife] Lucy [played by Allison Williams] and the impact of Hawk’s decisions on the characters around him.

To me, it’s a love story for the ages because you can follow any thread and it comes back to the political backdrop. But ultimately, there’s a real meeting of souls between the two. They complete each other in a way that’s so painful. But in a world where joy, connection and absolution are so hard to find, especially in the ’50s for gay men, it becomes addictive, and there are toxic cycles that come from it.

Matt Bomer: There are aspects of their own personal trauma that are complementary of each other.

JB: And they feed the other’s insecurities.

MB: The sad thing is, when Hawk is finally at a place where he can be his most authentic self and be available and empathetic enough to be a real partner in a relationship, it’s too late.

Hawk has a very specific moral code as a gay man living a double life in the 20th century: He is clearly able to show genuine affection for Tim, but he needs control in his relationships and is able to code-switch in public. Tim doesn’t understand Hawk’s ability to compartmentalize his life, but he still finds Hawk irresistible. How did you want to embody the many contradictions of your characters?

MB: For me, it all went back to Hawk’s childhood and that horrific incident that happened with his father [and his first love, Kenny]. He refuses to be a victim, so he’s going to find a way to survive and thrive in whatever way he can. It all ties into the fact that he will never be the victim of a homophobic society or family again.

JB: What Tim’s really drawn to in Hawk is his center. Hawk is the epicenter of all these people’s worlds because he doesn’t afford them space to veer him off in any direction. Tim’s always there for Hawk when he needs him, but Hawk’s never really there for Tim, and that is something Tim is drawn to. Tim’s quest in life is his desperate need for a groundedness, and the choice I made early on was to physicalize Tim so that his inner and outer world were matched.

Tim finds it really hard to lie; he can’t not be completely transparent. The decoding of Hawk is something that fills all sorts of needs in Tim. But as he gets older and [society’s] way of thinking aligns with his need to disassemble the cards he’s been given, Tim finds a stillness and a calm, which is reflected in the way he can then handle Hawk.

MB: Hawk does have his allegiances and his own sense of empathy, but if it comes down to anything that’s going to threaten his survival, he can go full Scorpio and cut it off. [He’s] a little Mother Teresa, a little Tony Soprano. [Laughs.]

JB: And in the performing of [those scenes], Tim felt so much more love than I thought he would. In episode two, I think it became more confusing to play Tim in the best possible way, because when he says, “I don’t understand you” [to Hawk], it’s because he can see the palpable empathy, love, and compassion. That is just as real as everything else, and that is a bind for Tim and really hard to step away from. When they look at each other, there’s no one else that’s ever existed. And if you’re lucky enough to have that with someone, it’s really hard to let that go.

There are little details that anchor each of Hawk and Tim’s sex scenes—the eye contact, the importance of consent, the shifting power dynamics, the negotiation of how much of yourself you’re willing to give to another person. How did you want to subvert traditional depictions of queer intimacy?

MB: We were so fortunate that those scenes were just an extension of the story, that the relationship was never the same after one of those scenes as it was before. It was always an externalization of what was going on with the characters internally.

JB: I think it’s a rule that [creator] Ron [Nyswaner] learned on Homeland where every single scene has to further the story—and that’s true of the sex scenes. Because there haven’t necessarily been elevated, eight-hourlong gay dramas like this; there was space to breathe, and that constant negotiation between the two of them is so vital. I remember speaking to [executive producer/director] Dan Minahan in Toronto. We had a good few hours, and we ended up talking about intimacy and how you can capture it on film. The thing that I understand [from] enjoying love stories or intimacy on film is the moments where they surprise each other.

MB: Yeah! It’s not like Hawk’s pushing the envelope the whole time; Tim upends Hawk as much as Hawk upends Tim’s expectations.

JB: We basically started with the chicken soup [scene in episode one], when Hawk seduces Tim for the first time. By the time we were in episode four, we were really emboldened as a team. As Jonny and Matt, we were always whispering, “This is absolutely fine, if you want to do this.” For so many people, it’s bizarre to think of that as a job. But when the material is as rich as this, no stone will go unturned into [depicting] how intricate, sensitive, celebratory, and joyful those moments are.

MB: I believe everybody should get to play every role, but I think the fact that we’re both openly gay men lent an ease and an understanding of a lot of the aspects of the relationship.

JB: You can have conversations between yourselves of why your instincts are cropping up in those moments. It was a bit like when, just before they dive, synchronized divers do that thing where they jump up and clap.

MB: [Laughs.] That was us! And there’s no [going] halfway in scenes like those that are written in this [show]. You know you have to go all the way.

Knowing that the entire emotional weight of their relationship rests on the penultimate line, “Promise you won’t write,” what did you want to convey in Hawk and Tim’s final scene together outside the governor’s ball? What do you remember from shooting their goodbye scene?

MB: I remember everything about that day.

JB: Yeah, I do too. Everything was in hyper-focus. It was overwhelming.

MB: It’s one of those scenes that you’re really glad you didn’t have to shoot on day two, because we had five and a half months of history [with] these characters. It was one of the last things we filmed together.

JB: I left [Toronto] early as well [to shoot Bridgerton], so we didn’t finish [shooting] together. We finished the love story in that scene.

MB: Yes, that’s right. It was one of those days at work where you have to try to get out of your own way and trust that all you’ve invested in these roles and these relationships will be inside of you. You don’t have to try to force or push anything; you have to just try to keep it alive and spontaneous when the cameras are rolling.

JB: I think we filmed it in the first take, didn’t we?

MB: Yeah.

JB: There are moments in that scene when it was like the world melted away. It’s amazing to see Tim establish his boundaries and be really kind with it. In that moment, he’s fully centered and aligned, and Hawk helps give him that final push to go, “I know what I’m doing, and what I’m saying is the right thing.” He’s never really known that with Hawk.

MB: Yeah, Hawk is finally emotionally vulnerable. I had every intention of coming into that scene and not letting any emotional vulnerability creep through, but it’s just one of those things where the scene takes over and you don’t want to block it.

Have either of you given much thought to what a second season of Fellow Travelers could look like?

JB: What I hope this [season] will be is a trampette into telling other queer stories, because two white gay men are the way in [to start a larger conversation], and it would be so interesting to have a world explored of [Jelani Alladin’s] Marcus and [Noah J. Ricketts’] Frankie. They were such a massive reason why I was like, “Okay, this is going to be good.”

MB: They weren’t in the book, and it was so important from the creatives that we included that narrative.

JB: I would totally come back and support Frankie’s story.

MB: Yeah, I would come in and do two days—whatever they need me for.

JB: Frankie and Marcus up front, and I’ll be there.

Surely, we all deserve to have the two of you star in a rom-com together (with a happier ending than this one).

JB: If someone comes up with it... Who would be the dream?

MB: To direct?

JB: Yeah. Luca Guadagnino?

MB: Yes, Luca or Andrew Haigh.

JB: We’ll do it!

MB: We’re there. And Russell T. Davies, if it’s a miniseries.

Have you discussed collaborating again in the future?

MB: Listen, sign me up to work with Jonathan Bailey any time. [They shake hands.] I will bring a tray to his character at the dinner table in a scene.

JB: Stop it. As long as it’s [like] Upstairs, Downstairs…

MB: [Laughs.] Yes, exactly. I would love that. Next time, I have to be British though. And I’ll come to London.

JB: I’ll be a Texan cowboy. [They laugh.]

In addition to Fellow Travelers, you both have new projects that will be debuting in the coming months. Matt, what were some of your takeaways from working with Bradley Cooper on Maestro?

MB: Bradley is such a generous and beyond talented scene partner—and his style of directing is so electric and present. He wants everything happening on the camera for the first time. I feel like I was really the beneficiary of his process before I started work on Fellow Travelers because I got to watch him and Carey [Mulligan] travel through all these phases of their multidecade romance. And then, [I was] getting to work with Johnny—who’s so similar in many regards, so generous, always keeping you on your toes and bringing things to the material that make the scene richer.

JB: Has Bradley watched Fellow Travelers?

MB: I keep telling him to! And Carey says she wants to. She keeps asking me where it’s on in England.

The third season of Bridgerton will premiere in two parts on May 16 and June 13, 2024. Jonathan, what new layers of Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony’s relationship will we see in the new season?

JB: I’m a massive fan of “Kanthony.” There’s so much to enjoy for both of them now, and we explore that in season three. They’ve overcome a lot. [We’re] talking about the need for communication in a romance, and that study of how they communicate and how little they did communicate until the very end [of season two]. So now, we can see them completely celebrate each other for who they are. There are really lovely conversations about heritage and familial roles, and once you meet someone who understands you fully, having sacrificed so much for the families as they both have, how exciting [it is] to make decisions that might change the course for them [as a couple].

Source

#fellow travelers #jonathan bailey #matt bomer #interviews #interviews:2023 #wmagazine interview #NEW!

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iheartgod175 · 11 days

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Some Thoughts...

While I've still got some Zula Patrol brain rot, I've been rediscovering some old shows from Playhouse Disney (the fact that I called it that versus Disney Junior should tell you how old I am, haha XD). Special Agent Oso was one of them, and I remember watching an episode because Phil Lewis was in the series. But I didn't care for it, even though the theme song is a total bop. Then I started rewatching the episodes. And then I stumbled upon that lore video by Athena P. And then I realized I'm in too deep XD

Watching the show, I understand why folks initially disliked Oso. On one hand, his incompetence is not something a secret agent should have. On the other hand, he's a cinnamon roll. He just needs a little extra help, that's all. Not to mention that during season 2, he gets a lot more independent and competent, with his overconfidence being one of his main flaws. He's a himbo, plain and simple. That's probably why I like him.

I read that the show's creator, Ford Riley, has a son with autism and that his son's autism therapy was the main reason he implemented the "three special steps" into the show. As an autistic woman myself, I just wanted to say kudos to this guy for creating a show geared to teaching autistic children, and sorry for my initial criticism.

I also discovered that there were ships for this show: Wolfie/Dottie and Oso/Dottie. After confirming their ages (because for some reason, the Disney Junior wiki's got Dottie as an eleven-year-old while Oso and Wolfie are in their twenties--which is, uh...SUPER WEIRD O.O), my general consensus is this: Oso/Dottie is a solid "nah" for me. To me, they're more like siblings rather than a couple. Wolfie/Dottie, though...I see the vision. You've got me, folks. (I totally didn't come up with that after seeing the "One Unique Pair" video xD) If you enjoy Oso/Dottie, that's cool! I won't bite your head off for it, lol XD

If I had to pick a character I liked aside from Oso, I'd say that Wolfie is my favorite. And not just because Phil Lewis plays him. He's just too darn cool. Oh, and he has the patience of a saint.

Those dark theories are something else, though. And of course, I now want to write a story with my own spin on those dark theories. Yesterday, I spent about two hours writing up page after page of a proposed fan fic where Oso uncovers the true purpose of U.N.I.Q.U.E. and, uh...doesn't take it well. And he messes up everything for everybody so badly that outside forces (aka the Super Readers) have to get involved. To put it simply, he becomes this fic's Origami Tobiichi. (@0range-flames, this is why I had that Super Why: Infinity War joke XD)

I decided that in this story, Jack is gonna be heavily involved. Playing Revue Starlight gave me an idea of how Jack could be a fighter, heavily inspired by Fumi's Orpheus card.

Speaking of Disney Junior, I'm thinking of writing more Callie/Peck. As of last night, my Wattpad story, Time After Time, is now the number one Sheriff Callie story. That filled me with such indescribable happiness, that I felt inspired to work on a Callie/Peck one-shot for the first time in forever.

That being said, while I haven't forgotten the Disney fandom or the fans who've read this story, I'm writing this purely for free. Badgering me about updating this story (or my Wattpad story collection) will not make me write it faster. Please show some consideration for your fellow authors!

The response to the Bula/Firestorm WIP has been really heartwarming. 12 notes already?! You guys are awesome!

#special agent oso #disney junior #playhouse disney #super why #pbs kids #zula patrol #the zula patrol #fanfiction #ramblings

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rebelsofshield · 8 months

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You had something maybe, maybe months ago, or a year ago, about how some fans are creatures of comfort. You didn't use that exact term but that's what I'm going with. It was in response to this ask about Din and being a leader I know this is going to sound awful, but I do think it's a bit strange that some fans can't just accept story progression. You said it's because they don't view it through a narrative lens, which I agree with But it does make me go insane that they just want to stay in this status quo bubble of Din being a wandering dad. Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with that, but to me it's like, don't they want to see him be more than that, do more than that? I know certain people would defend this by saying, "Din's not a leader!" and another can counter this by saying, "You're right, he's not, but his story can be about him learning to become one." This is mostly me venting

I think there is a general desire among a lot of fan communities to see characters they've become attached to only go through stories that are easy or comforting. Some of this I feel is due to the development of parasocial relationships with characters in media. People come to care about Din and what makes them happy is to see him exist in an easy or domestic lifestyle because to them that would be like checking in on a friend and seeing that they are happy and doing alright. I think this is also a key motivating factor in fan fiction as a whole. It allows you to continue revisiting characters in scenarios that official narratives do not and often times those are very lowstakes and emotionally soothing stories.

Additionally, there's a large amount of people that just turn to media like Star Wars for escapist entertainment. When they go to the theater or open Disney+, they want to see narratives that are exciting and full of spectacle, but don't make them uncomfortable. They want characters who are cool and likable doing cool things that never lead to experiencing genuine pain or becoming less likable. There's a part of me that understands this desire. We live in a very stressful, scary world and many see Star Wars as their way to step away from reality for a little bit of time. It lets them catch up on characters they care about and see some imaginative imagery.

The issue is that this sort of narrative is ultimately sort of empty. Its a fast food burger that dependably tastes the same regardless of where in the world you order it. You get what you wanted going in. But that's not art. That's not story. That's product. There may be artistry involved in creating said product, but the product itself doesn't want to do anything other than sustain its existence and continue providing similar feelings to the people who want it.

The issue is that Star Wars can be and has been more and is stuck in this consistent battle throughout its existence on how it wants to be product and how it wants to be art. You swing too far one way or another and you end up causing a firestorm. The Mandalorian to me seems to be a series that has at least some aspirations on being art or at least telling a story, but all too often feels compelled to return to its roots as a product. Its why you get big character changes for Din that are ultimately undone or seasons that function as guest star conveyor belts.

And I don't know, I don't even think there's something inherently wrong with Star Wars "the product." I love being served a little nostalgia or comfort every now and then, but eventually I start wanting something with a bit more flavor or thought? And sometimes that means making me a little uncomfortable or challenging my expectations.

#Star Wars #asks #ask box #anons #anonymous #The Mandalorian #Din Djarin

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winxbutbetterimo-ovo · 4 months

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Bloom long ver 1

(some stuff is from the fan wiki i just tweaked)

Name: Bloom (adopted) Aideen Peters / (bio) Draconis Arcanum

Looks: is a slightly fair-skinned girl with waist-length 2c red-orange hair with a single small hair strand sticking up and large cyan eyes.

Relationships: She loves her pet “bunny” Kiko (lets be real kiko is nOt a regular bunny), her soulmate is sky, and her bestest friend ever is Stella. She actually has a pretty similar life to Icy so their rivalry has a very complicated relationship because Icy saw her little sister (Saphire) in Bloom

She shines in her normal, charmix, Enchantix and Bloomix (duh) forms the most.

Personality: Curious, has great instincts, resilient, likes to draw and loves mythology. Compares herself to Daphne a lot. After daphne comes back, they agree that daphne is going to remain a nymph and become the next queen on domino, and bloom will be its guardian fairy (ofc in addition to the queen of Eraklyon) she is a born leader, and enjoys strategy games like chess, risk, so on. Bloom starts off as an insecure girl because she doesnt know her true origins and powers. As she learned more about magic and herself, she will grow increasingly curious about everything. She has a tendency to run away when things get too hard or confusing for her, and can also be impatient and stubborn, with a short temper. she was also impulsive at times. Bloom has also been known to make some selfish decisions and can act rather self-centred at times.

Her greatest strength and greatest weakness was her status as the guardian of the Dragon's Flame, drawing annoying people to her (villains).

Despite her flaws, Bloom still has a heart of gold. She cares for all of her friends, allies, and families (both adopted and biological) deeply, and is always willing to help and fight for a good cause. She has shown herself to be selfless, caring, brave. Bloom is tough when needed to be and always lends a helping hand to people in need. As she grows in later seasons, she will become wiser, and a far more focused and effective leader to the Winx.

History: She was born in Domino to ing Oritel and Queen Marion. when the witches attacked, Daphne fused the Dragon's flame with her and sent her to earth so she would be safe. She was found in a burnig building by her dad and grew up in Gardenia as a human with Mike and Vanessa, but she discovered her powers with Stella. and because of that she is closest with stella because she taught her just about everything she knows.

Powers: she has fire-based powers that can manifest in the form of fire dragons, fireballs, fire beams, firestorms and explosions. She also has displayed fire-based defensive spells such as firewalls, flame shields, force fields. can spontaneously generate and manipulate heat. she learns to ignite large wildfires and control dangerous infernos by thought. throwing blasts of heat energy, causing objects to become soft and melt, and using fire to fly. Lastly, she can summon the essence of the Great Dragon (in the form of a giant red dragon).

The intensity and strength of Bloom's magic is proportional to her emotional state where her powers are at their strongest when she gets angry. her telekinesis being fueled by her calmness, her bravery employing her offensive spells, her depressed and non-confident moments occasionally block her powers, and when she is scared or panicky she deploys defensive spells. She is also able to freely share her powers with other living beings (Bloomix).

She can see people's true natures, has a mental connection with her elder sister Daphne. Bloom was also able to sense Valtor whose power was of the same nature. she can also sense different magic trails but on a much stronger level as she is able to bypass cloaking spells along with being of very few beings in the entire magic universe capable of sensing across other magic dimensions.

#winx #magic winx #winx rewrite #winx headcanons #winx bloom #winx au #winx redesign #winx club bloom #winx club redesign #winx club rewrite #winx club

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nooowestayandgetcaught · 7 months

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20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @clotpolesonly 💜

How many works do you have on AO3?

Officially it is 2,434 fics but probably 4-6 more fics under anon. I will eventually de-anon those but I'm not right now,,,, 👀👀👀

What’s your total AO3 word count?

2,912,560 words.

What fandoms do you write for?

I have written for 489 fandoms so far but I collect fandoms like Pokemon so I'm sure the number will be up in the end of 2023, hehe. I will list the top ten fandoms though I have done so far:

DCU (222)

Merlin (TV) (180)

Marvel (132)

Game of Thrones (TV) (125)

Marvel Cinematic Universe (111)

Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime) (108)

Voltron: Legendary Defender (97)

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling (96)

Young Justice (Cartoon) (82)

Stranger Things (TV 2016) (77)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

2,699 kudos -- Take Me Up (G-rated, Knights of the Round Table & Merlin + Merlin & Arthur Pendragon, BBC Merlin)

Excalibur acts like Thor's Hammer - only for the worthy. Magic prevents others from grasping it.

2,105 kudos -- Sleepless In New York (No Rating, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Banana Fish - Anime & Manga)

Ash goes missing and Shorter discovers him taking care of a sick Eiji. It makes sense why Ash hasn’t contacted anyone. Or bothered to glance at his messages. Ash’s head gets fuzzy when it comes to Eiji, Shorter realizes once more. That’s what happens with love.

1,722 kudos -- Belonging (E-rated, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, BBC Merlin - warnings for mentions of underage and noncon)

“I’ll be fine here,” Merlin insists, upright and curled in the dark, velvet blankets. He’s naked as sin, beautiful with morning-light in his thick, sable hair, his nipples exposed to cold air. “You’ll only be away for a season, maybe half.”

1,688 kudos -- A Matter of the Heart (E-rated, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Yuri!!! on Ice - warnings for mentions of violence)

If there's a single thing Yuuri can't get enough of—it's Viktor's attention. People want it. The letters from Viktor's fans beg for it, for a photo or an autograph, for him to respond. One of Viktor's most ruthless stalkers attacks Yuuri in broad daylight.

1,615 kudos -- It Was Only You (E-rated, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, BBC Merlin)

Looking across the playing field, Arthur dripping with sweat and mud, knocking away the ball from the other footie team, Merlin feels the pull. It starts at his belly, from the centre of his navel, and radiates pleasantly to every nerve-end.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I love to respond to comments and talk and possibly make more writer friends! 😊 And I also wanna respect boundaries with commenters so I implemented a new idea: If you comment with a certain emoji, I will leave your comment as it is and not respond. It has been a GREAT decision for the people who admitted they're shy.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

OHHHHHH GOD. THE FIRST ONE I THINK OF IS THE LAST HOURS (E-rated, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, BBC Merlin) WHERE THEY DIE IN THE END BC THEY ARE ON VACATION IN AUSTRALIA WHEN AN ASTEROID HITS EUROPE AND THERE'S A FIRESTORM COMING. IT IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH THE READ THO. IT'S A FAVE OF MINE.

I do wanna say that Bereavement (T-rated, Sirius Black & Harry Potter, Harry Potter) where Harry, instead of Sirius, falls through the veil and No Matter What Happens, You'll Return To Me (T-rated, Porsche & Porchay + Porsche/Kinn + Porchay/Kim, Kinnporsche (TV)) where Kim dies bc of a random act of cruelty by a stranger and Porchay overdoses on sleeping pills and it's all in Porsche's POV,,, those are very strong competitors for the #1 spot of angsty endings.

no no I'm sorry,,, no it's definitely Devil's Side (T-rated, Lord Asriel & Lyra Belacqua, His Dark Materials) because I cannot explain to how fucked up that story got me and basically everyone I inflicted that on

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Ohhhhh god this one is harder ASJSDJ,,,, if I'm picking a fic with angst, Up In Smoke (T-rated, Korra/Asami Sato, Avatar: Legend of Korra) has a satisfying ending after a group of people burn down the Sato residency and Asami grieves,,,, but if I'm picking a fic that is fluff and has an ending I like, then Pulled From The Wreckage (No Rating, Aziraphale/Crowley, Good Omens (TV)) because I'm love them.

Do you get hate on fics?

Oh most definitely. It's happened. Either some mfer didn't read the tags I got up and they got something smart to say,,,, or is a ship hater🥱,,,, or leaves poorly masked constructive criticism,,,,,

When I do think of AO3 hate I've gotten, I do think about the time I posted a Bellamy/Clarke & Clarke/Lexa vee-relationship poly fic from The 100 tv show where both shipping fandoms showed their own asses in the comments. (And I would do it again to laugh at them.) Or I think about the guy who came onto my Merthur fic where Arthur had terminal cancer and he practiced safe consensual sex (like some of the most consensual I've ever written) and called Arthur 'a whore' because it wasn't enough Merthur sex going on in my fic??? Like you gotta be out of your goddamn mfing mind to do that nonsense.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I got 505 explicit rated fics and they're 99.9% full of smut! Mostly the smut is between OTPs/ships I like, but sometimes it's just because! I gonna recommend three smut fics of mine just for shits and grins:

Don't Fall In Love So Madly With The Night (Lestat de Lioncourt/Louis de Pointe du Lac, AMC's Interview with the Vampire + Novel Canon, 666 words - warnings for graphic content)

Louis anguishes over consuming his own flesh-and-blood, and Lestat dotes. Because Lestat enjoys it.

Come And Get It (Loki/Sylvie, Loki (TV), 3902 words)

Loki and Sylvie wind down, hopping from apocalypse to apocalypse, by trying to kick each other's ass.

Hold Me Close (Padmé Amidala/Sabé & Padmé Amidala/Eirtaé/Rabé/Sabé/Saché/Yané, Star Wars, 1000 words)

Padmé has no immediate recollection of the Festival of Light, long after dusk, save for the matter of too much scentwine — purplish in quality and strong with its bright, floral aroma. She wakes among her handmaidens, come morning light, savoring their conversation and heat and presence.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not very often! But they do happen! I've done J. Robert Oppenheimer/Barbie (BARBENHEIMER!) with An Old Friend and Part II Ellie Williams meeting HBO TV series!Ellie Williams with Me, You, Us and Prince Charming from Disney's Snow White/Prince Phillip from Disney's Sleeping Beauty with Love's First Kiss and Emily from Corpse Bride/Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas with Butterfly Bush and then I did something kinda cool in The Autopsy of Jane Doe/The Witch crossover with Long, Long Ago!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

AND THAT'S WHY I FUCKING HATE WATTPAD. YOU EVER SEEN MY ACCOUNT ON WATTPAD? I AM THERE TO HUNT PPL DOWN. I THINK I MADE TWO ACCOUNTS JUST IN CASE. AAAAAAAAAA.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! I have had a couple of bad experiences with people asking to translate my fics so I'm a little wary now but,,,,, yeah there's a few.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Me and @glove23 have cowritten fics! It's So Goodbye Until Tomorrow! There's also The Lie Of Living, The Truth In Wanting! I'm a terrible and temperamental cowriter sometimes, I'm sorry ☹️

What’s your all time favourite ship?

SHRUGS. IT CAN CHANGE OVER TIME. I'm gonna say Peter Pan/Wendy Darling though. Easily you're gonna get me with that.

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

If you were ever holding out for an update on Fate's Design, Facing the Darkness, or Game, Set, Match then oops.

What are your writing strengths?

SHRUGGGSSSS. I just think through experience probably and writing as much as I have, I've mastered some kind of writing style? Or at least my rhythm in it? I know I put a lot of detail into what I'm writing.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I could be doing more with expanding on parts and structurally setting scenes up. Like I can SEE where I can improve and I wanna.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Eh. I've done it.

First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter?

Favourite fic you’ve written?

THAT'S HAAAAAAARD. I HAVE TOO MANY FICS.

You know what, if you wanna get on my good side, just talk to me about anything out of Your Childhood Cishets, Now WLW/MLM ashsdsahjsaj the entire thing is my ongoing and beloved project

---

Tagging @glove23 @merlinsbed @onestrangenovelist @greyisbetterthangray @rapha-reads @divorcedmalewife and literally if you got some fics on AO3, this is an open invite to do this!

(Blank question format inside!)

20 questions for fic writers!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

#about rie

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realhousewives-fan · 4 months

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Is Robyn’s Reality Stranger Than Fiction?

We’re picking up with the housewives in Potomac at a strange time.

This is the aftermath of the revelation of Robyn Dixon’s version of the truth.

We’ve watched season after season as the women on the show has attacked relationships.

Somehow, Robyn’s relationship has been off limit.

When Andy Cohen had confronted her on WWHL, Robyn claimed that she was waiting for Karen Huger to bring up the stories about Juan Dixon.

There was so much that Robyn did and said last season that was… misleading and self-righteous.

And the fans were booing at her during BravoCon.

The fans, the producers and the other wives weren’t happy with Robyn, and we start the season with a conversation between Juan and Robyn.

As usual, their conversations are giving me high anxieties.

It seems like Robyn is tiptoeing around the topics because she knows that Juan doesn’t like this.

It’s like they’re seconds away of him blowing up or storming away from the cameras.

Robyn was mystified to how her podcast could cause such a firestorm.

But how are fans going to take it when they learn that Robyn has been hiding this from the show – and is willing to talk about it through her Patreon?

Her bestie Gizelle Bryant arranged an intervention on her with Charrisse Jordan-Jackson and Ashley Darby.

Their conclusion was that Robyn is in denial.

Everybody was expecting to see the group confront Robyn this season.

They might not have expected that Mia Thornton’s marriage to fall apart though.

After the trailer was dropped, she announced that she was separating from her husband!

They’re still struggling financially after Gordon Thornton’s family pushed then out of their business, and they’re struggling to make the ends meet.

And after all the talk he has been doing before the season premiere, it seems like she looked for another man who could provide the lifestyle she craves.

She said in her confessional that she was working how she could fix this or turn her situation into something even better.

The accusations about her being a gold digger started ringing in my head.

#Real Housewives of Potomac #RHOP #Robyn Dixon #Andy Cohen #WWHL #Karen Huger #Juan Dixon #BravoCon2023 #BravoCon23 #Gizelle Bryant #Charrisse Jordan-Jackson #Ashley Darby #Mia Thornton #Gordon Thornton

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icedteaandoldlace · 1 year

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A couple years ago, my family and friends had a PowerPoint party where everyone put together a presentation and delivered it before the rest of the group. Mine was on Snowbarry and the fandom drama wrapped up in it, and though I initially wasn’t going to let it see the light of day on the Internet, because I didn’t want a bunch of angry shippers in my DMs, I’ve decided to go ahead and post it (‘cause tbh the worst luck I’ve had in this fandom has been with fellow Westallen shippers).

Quick disclaimer: I love all of these characters and their canon dynamics with each other, so I’m not bashing any of them here. I’m also not saying that anyone is wrong for liking the idea of Barry and Caitlin as a couple, or that shipping them inherently makes someone a bad person. But I am speaking critically about both the ship itself and a good chunk of its fandom (see: reading them for filth), and some of my points will be fact-based and some will be opinion-based. I myself do not ship Snowbarry, and that fact is made very obvious in this post, so bear that in mind if you wish to continue reading.

Also, the images are not sized to Tumblr’s dimensions, so I recommend clicking/tapping to see them more clearly.

As an additional side note, I made this presentation before the major Killer Frost retcon, so Frost is referenced as a part of Caitlin and not as a full-fledged individual separate from her. I’m also disregarding the last two seasons entirely because 8 was trash and I didn’t even bother with 9.

Now on to the presentation.

Just what is Snowbarry, you may ask? Snowbarry is the ship name for Caitlin Snow and Barry Allen, two characters from The Flash, usually shipped in opposition to Westallen (Barry Allen and Iris West), which is the main couple in Flash canon.

If you are not familiar with the characters on this show, take a moment to look at the chart above. Pretty self-explanatory. Got everyone’s names and relationship to each other? Good.

Moving on.

So right off the bat, let’s get into how this ship got its start. Barry Allen is, of course, a comic book character first, and it was already canon in the comics that the love of his life was Iris West, so naturally it followed that she would be the person he’d end up with in the TV adaptation. One noticeable difference between the Iris from the comics and the Iris from the TV show is that Iris in the comics was drawn as a white woman, and Iris in the TV show is played by Candice Patton, a black woman. This caused a big stir among Flash fans before the show even aired, because the TV version of Iris “isn’t comic accurate”.

Neither is Barry, a hunky blond man, now being portrayed by brown-haired beanpole, Grant Gustin, but that detail didn’t get nearly as much or nearly as dramatic of backlash. Most fans are very pleased with Grant’s portrayal of Barry, and some even think he should play him in the DC movie universe. But Candice’s casting was received with an inordinate amount of vitriol, with many fans going so far as to bombard Candice with death threats and other forms of harassment, and people began calling for Caitlin to be Barry’s main love interest since before the first episode even aired.

It’s worth mentioning that Caitlin wasn’t even a Flash character before the TV series; she’s a character from the Firestorm comics who was brought in for this adaptation specifically, so there was no basis to say that she would be a better fit for Barry when there was no preexisting relationship between them in the comics universe. (Comic accurate whom?)

So basically, Snowbarry as a romantic ship was born out of racism, if you didn’t pick up on that already. They became a popular ship, even among people who had liked Iris in the comics, and had their own ship name before anyone had even seen them share screen time. All because they didn’t want to see Barry in love with a black woman.

Now that you know how the ship originated, let’s take a look at some fan arguments for how it maintained its popularity after the show started airing. While there are some Snowbarry shippers out there who will state outright that they don’t like Iris because she’s black, most of them have the sense to not want to be thought of as racist, and have defenses for why they prefer Snowbarry to Westallen.

I have encountered a handful of Snowbarry shippers whose claims are genuine, and who even like Iris/Westallen, or even ship all three of them as a polycule. The majority of Snowbarry fans, though, dislike (if not outright hate) Iris, and claim that their reason for preferring Snowbarry is simply that it’s a better relationship, and/or that Caitlin is simply a better character.

A common argument in defense of this preference is that Barry has more chemistry with Caitlin than he has with Iris. I’ve often heard it said that chemistry is subjective, but it’s hard to believe that Barry and Caitlin have such great chemistry--or even that the people who say they do feel it with conviction--when the Snowbarry fandom relies so heavily on photoshop.

If Barry and Caitlin had such outstanding chemistry, it would show in their scenes together, and it would be easier to find un-manipulated images of them looking like a couple.

Furthermore, if Barry and Iris had such poor (or nonexistent) chemistry, slapping Caitlin’s image over Iris’s wouldn’t make it look like Barry was in love with her. If Barry and Iris were so lacking in chemistry, their scenes together would not be a desirable template to make Snowbarry manips out of.

As a bonus, here’s some shots of Caitlin with her main canon love interest, Ronnie. Ronnie is absent for the majority of season 1, and dead for the entire rest of the series, but he is hands-down the person Caitlin has the biggest case of heart-eyes for, as well as the person she has the most passionate kisses with.

On to the next pro-Snowbarry/anti-Westallen argument, which is that Barry and Iris’s relationship is incestuous. Because as is the age-old fandom philosophy, if you don’t have a good reason to take the moral high ground, make one up.

Do Barry and Iris share DNA? No. This alone makes their relationship non-incestuous, but even when you get into the particulars, their getting together is still...not weird or bad at all.

Did Barry and Iris grow up in the same house? Yes. Starting at age eleven. At which point they already knew each other as friends, and Barry had already developed a crush on her, and then had to deal with moving in with the girl he liked. Because he had no choice.

Are Barry and Iris legally siblings? Technically unconfirmed, but most likely no. Iris does refer to them as “kind of like brother and sister” in the pilot episode, but in the same sentence, she also says the words, “we’re not brother and sister”. And Joe has been referred to as Barry’s guardian, adoptive father, and (unless I’m mistaken) foster father, and Barry has also affectionately referred to him as simply his father, and called him “dad” once. Exactly what the legal terms of Joe’s custody of Barry in his childhood were is unclear, but it’s safe to say Barry isn’t his son in the full legal sense of the word, considering he still goes by his biological father’s name and he didn’t run into any legal issues in marrying Iris.

Regardless, it’s Barry’s relationship with Iris that should determine whether or not his getting with her romantically is weird, not his relationship with Joe. If seeing Joe as a father figure makes getting with his child incest, then you could argue that any combination of Team Flash getting together would be incest because Joe is practically everyone’s dad at this point.

There are scenarios in which a romantic relationship between two characters in a situation like Barry and Iris’s would be weird and uncomfy, and come off as practically incest even though it wouldn’t be in a literal sense. Adoptive siblings do count as ~real~ siblings, and a romantic relationship between two unrelated individuals who grew up under the same roof can absolutely have some of the same negative ramifications that such a relationship between blood siblings could have. But Barry and Iris simply do not have the kind of sibling-like relationship dynamic that would cause those kinds of issues, so that plus the fact that there’s no biological relation between them makes the incest argument, frankly, stupid.

Sure, everyone has their own comfort level on matters like this; the most believable/relatable sibling relationship on this show is between two characters with no biological or legal ties to each other, and who met in their twenties (more on them later), and it makes me viscerally uncomfortable to see people ship them as a couple because they’re too much like brother and sister. But I consider myself an expert on siblings--I have six of them myself--and that’s not what Barry and Iris are.

Perhaps the most common claim among Westallen antis is that Iris is a bad person, or at least a bad girlfriend, or maybe even straight up abusive. These claims are...incorrect, and once again we delve into outright making stuff up, when simply blowing small matters out of proportion doesn’t do the trick. No one is perfect, and Iris is no exception. That doesn’t make her a terrible person.

As a person, Iris is brave, caring, ambitious, stubborn, loyal, charismatic, honest, assertive, forgiving, jealous, selfless, and protective, among other things. As Barry’s partner, she is very gentle and supportive, and she is often the only person who can get through to him when he’s either being too hard on himself, or being too single-minded and needs someone to talk some sense into him. They don’t fight often, but when they do, their issues are usually resolved fairly quickly with open and civil communication. Iris shares the responsibility of protecting the city with Barry, despite not having any powers of her own, in addition to finding ways to help people outside of official Flash business. She has her faults, but overall she’s a pretty good and well-rounded person.

The one negative claim against her in this matter to have some degree of credibility is that the individual fan simply finds her annoying. Annoying is a subjective term, so I can’t really argue that someone is wrong for being annoyed by someone I find to be very lovable. There have been moments where I was annoyed with Iris, and I think that Iris is the bee’s knees. There have also been moments where I was annoyed with Caitlin. And with Barry. And even Cisco (and I’ll fight anyone who dares call Cisco annoying).

What this argument against Iris basically boils down to is nitpicking over her being human and thus flawed. Well-written characters should be wrong now and then, and even the most lovable person can be annoying on occasion. But when it comes to Iris, first of all, a lot of the criticism for her is non-factual, and often wildly so. But also, even when it comes to valid critiques of her, there’s a tendency to focus on the negative when her positive traits far outweigh them--yet when the same or even worse negative traits are present in another character, they’re often excused or overlooked.

I’m not going to pretend that Iris stans aren’t guilty of doing the same with other characters out of bias for their fave, too (and boy do they), but by and large, Iris is the one who is disproportionately judged unfairly and subjected to double standards by the fandom.

If you’re just a fandom puritan hellbent on liking only the most unproblematic of characters, then technically Caitlin should be the one getting more flack since she has the longer rap sheet between the two, and Iris has one of the strongest moral compasses on the show.

As for personal preference? Of course, it’s totally possible that someone “just thinks she’s annoying”--but the tendency of black characters (or any non-white character for that matter), women, and especially black women being labeled “annoying” regardless of personality is a little too common to be taken at face value, so I’m automatically suspicious of anyone who calls her annoying, and bases their whole opinion of her on that, instead of recognizing her merits (because if you haven’t guessed, it’s not very plausible that that many people genuinely find her annoying as a person with no underlying prejudices at play).

Now, there are some people who started shipping Snowbarry during season 1 (y’know, after actually seeing the characters in action), because there was actually some groundwork laid for it. Not much, but it’s not nonexistent. Barry had a few love interests before ultimately getting with Iris, and a fleeting romance with Caitlin was also considered, before Grant vetoed that idea in favor of prioritizing what he felt was the more interesting and satisfying relationship, i.e. Westallen.

There were a few hinting comparisons drawn between Barry and Ronnie in early episodes, and a few platonic-but-in-a-heteronormative-way interactions between Barry and Caitlin. One episode in particular more overtly teased the idea of a possible attraction between them that they were too hung up on other people to recognize, but nothing ever came of it (partly because that episode also served to introduce one of Barry’s temporary love interests, Linda). And even the more shippable moments in it came across as mostly one-sided, and more as Caitlin trying to get over Ronnie than as being truly interested in Barry (spoiler alert: it didn’t work).

There have also been moments of light fanservice with no depth, such as the two kisses pictured above, which are two moments that the Snowbarry fandom treasures, and points to as validation of their ship.

The first is of someone who is not Barry, Caitlin just thinks he is in the moment. It is actually Hannibal Bates (aka Everyman), a shapeshifter who is causing trouble around town by committing crimes while impersonating innocent people. He kisses Caitlin to distract her while she’s trying to work on something to negate his powers, and Caitlin is confused and weirded out by his advances. And while one could argue that she started to seem a little into her second kiss with him, if she was, it didn’t last. Regardless, she was clearly not feeling the first one, she was relieved when she learned that it hadn’t really been Barry putting the moves on her, and she got uncomfortable and jumpy later when, for a split second, she thought the real Barry was going to try to kiss her again (so romanticizing that situation isn’t concerning at all).

For the second pictured kiss, Caitlin was in the middle of a mental breakdown/being taken over by someone whose actions she was strongly opposed to when she was stable and in control, and she kissed Barry not because of any feelings she might have toward him, but with the intention of freezing him to death with her ice powers--yup, she was actively trying to kill him with that kiss.

So to review, there are two Snowbarry kissing scenes in canon, and both of them are:

nonconsensual

not done with romantic intent

not really between Barry and Caitlin

Moving on from the Snowbarry fandom’s perspectives, now it’s time to address the elephant in the room that no Snowbarry stan ever wants to address, and that is the matter of the dynamic of O.G. Team Flash.

As indicated at the beginning of this post, Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco are a best friends trio. This kind of friend group is a common occurrence in both fiction and real life, and in the case of fiction at least, it’s common for there to be a favorite friend (which is almost always the main character).

In the case of the two other trios pictured above, for example, Gordo and Miranda have their own friendship independent of their respective relationships with Lizzie, and Shawn and Topanga similarly have their own friendship independent of their relationships with Cory--but in both cases, each friend has a closer relationship with the protagonist (Lizzie and Cory) than they have with each other.

O.G. Team Flash also has one character who is closer with the other two than they are with each other, and is therefore the favorite friend. And in this case, that friend

is Cisco. By a landslide, it is Cisco. It’s obvious in the show-don’t-tell sense that he is the friend they each have the closer bond with, whom they are both more likely to turn to for comfort or advice, and whom they would rather hang out one-on-one with, given the choice between him or each other. But it’s also implied in the way they talk about each other.

Cisco has referred to Barry and Caitlin both as his best friend, independently of each other, and it’s a tough call to say whether he’s closer with one or the other.

Barry has referred to Cisco as his best friend (singular) multiple times, with no mention of Caitlin, but in the times he referred to Caitlin as one of his best friends (plural), he did so in a way that was inclusive of Cisco. He has never called just Caitlin his best friend the way he has with Cisco (or with Iris, before they started dating).

Caitlin as far as I can recall has never used that term in regards to her friendship with either guy, but it’s obvious who she’s closer with. For that matter, Cisco is easily the most consistent and most important person in her life, whether she is aware of that fact or not. (At this point in the original presentation, my mom interjected to ask why Cisco and Caitlin weren’t the big fandom ship then, and I explained that they act like siblings and canonically think of each other as such, so most of the fandom doesn’t ship them romantically because That’s Weird, and their canon platonic relationship is something that most everyone values as is.)

I mean, heck, in The Icicle Cometh--an episode widely regarded as a ~Snowbarry episode~ because of the amount of scenes Barry and Caitlin get together in it--Barry all but says outright, “Cisco cares about you more than I do.” (pictured above)

Seriously, what does that line even mean if it’s not an acknowledgement that he does?

Of course, many Snowbarry shippers don’t like the fact that Cisco is the favorite friend because it blows holes in their ship, so they rationalize that closeness by likening Barry and Caitlin to his parents, which is all kinds of wrong and gross and just, no.

Considered but not included for this slide (because it would be hard to fit and would’ve required providing context for a room of people who don’t watch the show) was a screencap of Barry asking Frost, aka Caitlin’s other side, “How do you convince your best friend not to save your life?” while referring specifically to Cisco, just to further emphasize my point.

And speaking of Barry and Cisco,

I could do a whole PowerPoint presentation dedicated to why they would be better and more sense as a couple than Barry and Caitlin!

(And for the next PowerPoint party I kind of did, plus I’ve made a few other posts related to this subject.)

It just doesn’t make sense to me to make such a big fuss over two people who are clearly each other’s second-favorite friend. Personally, I’d be a little embarrassed to be shouting from the rooftops about how much better Snowbarry is than Westallen, and how Caitlin is the person Barry really loves and should end up with, when they don’t even like each other as much as they like Cisco.

And for my final slide, here’s some screenshots of Snowbarry fans being awful and unhinged + my commentary on them.

It’s not that Snowbarry is an inherently bad ship or entirely baseless--no more so than many of the other fanon ships for this show--but the fact that it’s as mainstream as it is when it has such little canon support and such weak arguments in favor of it reeks of racism, with a dash of hetero-/amatonormativity. The most sincere and non-toxic Snowbarry shippers I’ve seen around tend to be multishippers and/or rare-pair fans, which is where I see Snowbarry as a romantic ship making the most sense. But for such a large number of people to be adamant that the show should change its trajectory to make Caitlin the love of Barry’s life instead of Iris? That’s just bullshit.

#the written version will probably take longer to get through than the version I presented live #anti snowbarry #anti snowbarry fandom #some brief shade at KV as well #The Flash

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jujupepi · 1 year

Text

A Pre-History of Fanfiction IV: Slash Trek

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Chapter 4: Slash Trek

BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING. It is true that Star Trek exploded onto the SF scene and changed the fandom forever. Star Trek premiered on NBC September 8th, 1966 and aired for three seasons. Star Trek fans were dismissed as “TV star smitten pre-teen” and not “true fans” (Bruce Soutard). Despite gatekeeping by THE ‘true fans’ Star Trek fans made a huge splash in the community. Star Trek zines account for a ridiculous amount of total zines. The first one, Spockanalia was published in 1967 by Devra Michele Langsa and Sherna Comerford aided by fanzine vetern Juanita Coulson. Spockanalia was what was known as a ‘secondary universe’ zine which assumed the world put forth in Star Trek was real. It was a massive 45 double sided pages and it sold for 50 cents at the World Science Fiction Convention. Spockanalia was so widespread, Gene Roddenberry and Leonard Nimoy sent letters to the editors that were published in subsequent issues.

Notably, the third issue has a very early example of real person fanfiction wherein Kirk, Spock, and Bones travel to the set of Star Trek and meet Gene Roddenberry. Besides that, many of the articles had to do with Vulcan history, archeology, and language exploring what was left unexplored in The Original Series. There’s sexy stories, too, one presented Spock involved with a part-Vulcan woman. All the sex happened off-page but it was controversial to ST fans at the time who in all honestly come off as very prudish as a group.

It’s time now to get to the part we’ve all been waiting for: the SLASHFIC. Kirk/Spock or K/S skyrocketed in popularity in the 1970s among the women publishing fanzines at the time. The first documentable K/S fic is The Ring of Shoshern written by Jennifer Guttridge in around 1968, maybe earlier. She didn’t want to publish the story for fear of litigious action by Star Trek actors. As common as it is today, writing a story with gay protagonists was not a trivial choice, especially in England were obscenity laws were tightening. Later, the fanzine Alien Brothers published Shoshern without Guttridge’s full permission. (Comandini and Sinclair)

The first official slashfic is A Fragment out of Time published in Grup issue 3 in September of 1974 written by Diane Marchant. The story is sexually explicit but doesn’t identify the protagonists by name. The subjects are made clear by line drawings of Kirk and Spock. Funnily enough, the first line of the fic is “Shut up… we’re by no means setting a precedent.” It went on to set the greatest precedent in fanfiction and fandom in general.

In 1976, Gerry Downes published the 1st standalone K/S zine named Alternative: An Epilog to Orion. It was 50 pages, with 12 pages of poetry, 21 pages of prose, and the rest containing art. It was described as “A new mature-theme zine from Gerry Downes. A different kind of love story for Starship Captain James T. Kirk and his first officer, Mr. Spock.” The plot dealt with a psychic creature invading Kirk’s mind defeated by Spock’s Vulcan mind meld. During the meld, Kirk’s mind reveals the depths of his love for Spock.

Do not fear, these stories did not exist without THE DISCOURSE. After publishing Fragment out of Time Marchant wrote an essay defending her work called Pandora’s Box… Again: A Psychological Discussion of the Relationship Between Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock. Marchant maneuvers around expliciting defending gay love, but those in the know read it as a argument for a sexual relationship between Kirk and Spock according to Joan Marie Verba (Boldly Writing). It created a firestorm in the community, inspiring both derision and zeal. At this time, pins started to circulate at cons with the letters K/S crossed out.

So why Star Trek? For one, Star Trek was much more accessible to new SF fans than Amazing Stories type magazines mired in history and SF subculture while still showcasing what made science fiction so attractive. Star Trek was a mainstream television show airing at a time when there were only three channels in America. There was a good chance you caught Star Trek at some point, whether you liked it or not. And as for what made Star Trek special, I would say that there is a reason fan obsession seems to orbit around Spock. He’s a compelling character, stuck between two worlds, unable to show or understand his own emotions. That kind of tension can set a creative mind going with ideas.

So why slash? Well, for one, if you’re going to write romance about Star Trek characters, then there aren’t many woman characters to do it with. This isn’t to degenerate or diminish those actors and characters, but men characters took up most of the screen time. In a more philosophical sense, Star Trek presents a world where race, nationality, and creed don’t matter and that isn’t a step too far from sexuality and gender not mattering.

Writer PJ Falzone speculates that K/S isn’t gay in the tradition sense but instead indifferent to gender. It’s not the sex or gender of these character that matter but the dynamics between them. Kirk and Spock aren’t a bonded pair but a divided self. A dyad in the Force, if you will. This theory is also acknowledged within K/S fandom itself with a trope entitled “We’re Not Gay, We Just Love Each Other.”

Petty fandom drama could have also stoked the proliferation of K/S. As much as Star Trek fans were marginalized in larger SF fandom, women Star Trek fans were marginalized further. It only makes sense that they would coalesce around a few zines that accepted them. Some fanfiction theorists take a more psychological stance positing that these fans might have been writing romance stories as a way to explore sexuality without the potential dangers of real-life relationships (Falzone).

After the explosion of K/S, fanfiction was divided genetally into three categories: ‘slash’, ‘het’ or ‘adult’, and ‘gen’ meaning general.

K/S set a precedent for a fandom that is fueled by shipping. The influence can be seen from LiveJournal to Tumblr. From Fanfiction.net to AO3 and from fandoms as disparate as Supernatural and Hetalia.

#fan fiction #fanfiction #history of fanfiction #fandom history #fandom culture #slash #slash fiction #star trek #my writing #gay

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codenameq · 2 years

Text

November 1985 || Six Months Will Never Be Enough || Eddie Munson x Reader

Near the start of the 1985 school year, two teenagers meet, unaware of the firestorm headed their way in six months. 182 days. What would you do with that time?

Eddie Munson x Reader // Fluff // Slow Burn // Will follow events of season 4

Parts

[oct] [devil's night] [ November 1985 ] [dec] [jan] [feb] [mar]

Friday, November 15, 1985

"Okay, wait. It's still farting out errors, but I'm 100% positive we have it isolated to the lines here." Crackles of static followed Dustin's finger where it connected with the CRT monitor glass screen, pointing to the suspicious bit of code. After a month of work, the attendance tracker program was almost done, and the soft launch date was looming. The school admins wanted to start testing the program now before it was expected to be in full use at the start of January. Dustin had taken the rickety wood and metal seat at the computer; he looked back at YN standing over his shoulder. The only computer allocated to the computer science club was left overnight Thursday to compile the last batch of code changes. YN and Dustin dragged their sorry asses into school at 7am to review everything. Mr. Younge, who had drawn the short straw to let them in early, left the two nerds on a desperate hunt for coffee. The tired, struggling computer fan whirled in protest for being left on nearly 24/7 since the project began at the start of October.

"Okay, can you print it for me again, just that section though. Mr. Younge is gonna kill us for wiping another forest off the map." YN rubbed her eyes while stifling a yawn as she pulled back from leaning over Dustin's chair to look at the monitor over his shoulder. "We have to finish this by tonight so the whole thing can compile over the weekend."

"Hehe, yeah, right." The soft chuckle indicated that Dustin thought it was a joke. He turned around on the chair to face YN, gripping onto the back of the chair for support. YN stopped mid-stretch to scowl at him before Dustin quickly raised his hands in defensive protest. "It's Hellfire tonight. I can't" YN continued to look at Dustin, unblinking, letting her arms drop to her hips expectantly, "You know how Eddie is; he would skin me alive. We just made it to Makbar." A hint of a whine crept into Dustin's tone while he attempted to plead his case.

"I can work on it, but I might need to tap you in." YN snorted as she bent down to grab her book bag and flung the strap over her head so it rested across her body.

"I'm happy to help YN, but when? The school is locked over the weekend. We need to wrap this shit up today."

YN bit her lower lip and clasped her hands around the back of her neck under her hair. She started pacing the length of the computer desk, her eyes glued to the ground as she spaced out, trying to come up with a solution. Dustin spun around to insert the print commands into the computer operating system. "What if I come to Hellfire? There is space to the side there–"

"Are you serious?" Dustin whirled around.

"I won't bother you until I need you to second check my changes. I have to stay at school to punch in the changes anyways."

"You're gonna have to talk to Eddie about that one."

"Yeah, no problem." YN's voice rang with a false sense of bravado; she knew damn well it would be a big problem. Dustin raised his eyebrows with an arrogant smirk.

"No problem? Just tell me when you're gonna talk to him so I can get out of the carnage splash zone."

"He's…. Reasonable, kind of." She went back to pacing in front of the computer desk. YN started nervously to chew on the inside of her cheek. Who was she trying to convince? Dustin or herself?

"I'm sorry, have we been hanging out with two different Eddies?" Dustin sat back with an incredulous look on his face. His eyes followed YN as she walked in front of the desk.

"Eddie will understand."

"Yuhuh. I think we still have the box the computer was shipped in." Dustin scanned the area before gesturing to the massive box shoved unceremoniously on the top shelf of the classroom far out of anyone's way." You might want to tape together some armour before you talk to him at lunch." YN's eye followed the direction Dustin was pointing, her brows furrowed as she continued to bite at the inside of her lip.

"A shield wouldn't hurt."

———

"Ah, Eddie, do you have a sec? I just want to run something by you." YN called down the table where Eddie had come to a dead stop at the sound of her voice, hovering over his usual seat, mid-sit-down.

"Uh, sure." He snatched the sandwich bag of pretzels he brought for lunch before he sauntered over the empty chair to YN's left. "You okay?" his eyes bounced between the new printouts and YN, who was fidgeting under his gaze. "How's the coding thing going?" He pulled out the chair before taking a seat, resting his arm on the table as he swung his body around to face YN's side. His cheek rested on his shoulder, and YN could feel that 100% of his attention was entirely on her.

"It's going." YN shrugged, drawing in all her strength to ask her question; his intense stare made it difficult. She leaned back, resting against the back of her chair, folding her arms across her chest before turning her head to meet his gaze. "We are at the end of it. The school wants to see a working program by Monday morning." She bit her lip as her right hand reached out to fiddle with the folded corner of one of the pages. YN could feel Dustin freezing up on her right in anticipation of her question. "W-would it be okay if…at Hellfire tonight..." Shifting her attention from Eddie back to the printouts in front of her. "If I sat in?" YN's eyes darted to Eddie to watch him draw a sharp breath to respond as he sat back. Not wanting to let him convince her it was a terrible idea, YN quickly continued. "I won't be in the way, and I won't distract the guys. I just need Dustin to double-check my work towards the night's end. You guys have breaks, right? It won't pull away from your game, I promise. If you don't want me there, I can work in the –" All the points she had been mentally practicing all morning during her classes, words tumbled out in a panicked rush. YN could feel the anxiety bubbling up in her chest, and her very core started to shake, threatening to overwhelm her.

"Woah, hey, hey." Eddie's eyes were worried as he searched her face, watching the panic build up. He reached over and gently placed his larger hand on top of hers. The metal chains holding the broken zipper on his jacket sleeve clattered against the table's surface. She could feel the roughness of his fingertips from years of playing guitar as they brushed the back of her hand and fingers. His thumb slid between the paper and her fingertips, giving the poor crumpled and folded corners a break before they disintegrated from her fidgeting. "It's okay, YN. It would be great to have you there."

"R-Really?" YN pulled her hand away, tucking it close to her chest, hoping Eddie didn't feel her shaking. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to hide the blush that blossomed across her cheeks from his touch and close proximity.

"Uh, yeah" A soft, kind smile played across his lips as he chuckled and leaned back, letting his hand that had been abandoned on the printout fall to his lap. "I, uh, been meaning to ask if you wanted to check out the game for a while anyways." His attention fell to his hands in his lap as he started to break apart some pretzels through the closed sandwich bag. "All I ask is that you save any questions until after I'm done narrating a scene for the guys."

"So no interruptions at all?" YN rolled her head so she could feel the tension leaving her body

None" Eddie's eyes sparkled with excitement. His lips attempted to hide the wide grin that was trying to break through.

"What if your seat was on fire?" YN giggled.

"Let me burn, baby." Eddie chuckled, shaking his head for added emphasis, the wide goofy grin finally breaking through. YN's heart skipped a beat at his use of 'baby.' "If you have any questions about what's happening in the game, save them until after the session, and I'll be happy to answer them for you, 'kay?"

"No problem. Not sure how much I'll be able to pay attention. I'll be pretty focused –"

"Well, I'll just have to add an extra flair to my storytelling to pull your attention to me."

Jeff snorted, and Grant choked on the sandwich he was eating at lunch; YN thought the group had been too quiet. This was the reason they had been listening to the entire conversation.

"Extra flair?" Gareth asked incredulously, "What else are you gonna do? Put sparklers in your butt?"

"If that's what it takes to get Duckie's attention" Eddie flashed a smile as he gave YN a wink.

For the rest of the lunch, Eddie didn't take up his usual seat at the end of the table. Still, he stayed by YN, watching over her shoulder as she worked in-between eating and table conversation. He had even opened her coke for her after watching YN struggle with the can, flipping between code pages and conversing with Dustin. It was the quietest she had seen Eddie, only one outburst the whole lunchtime, a new record for him, according to Gareth.

———

A soft metal on metal knocking interrupted YN's focus. She had just finished punching in the command for the computer to compile the program code. Turning her head, she saw it was Eddie, he had knocked on the door, and it had been the sound of his ring hitting the metal door frame with his right hand. Using his right arm as a brace, Eddie leaned against the doorway, and in his left hand, his D&D book and well-used black binder tapped against his leg. "You, uh, almost done, YN?"

YN felt guilty for all the fuss she had made at lunch about interrupting Hellfire night. Together with Dustin, they pinpointed the problem earlier in the night, so the bulk of her time was spent in the classroom where the computer science club computer lived. Punching in all of the changes, double and triple checking her work as she went. YN had barely spent time in the drama room where Hellfire was playing.

"Oh, you guys are done?" Yn rubbed her eyes as she pushed herself away from the computer desk. "What time is it?"

"Around 8:00, we wrapped up 20 minutes ago and just finished cleaning up." Eddie pushed off the door frame swinging his left leg in a kick as he stepped further into the computer room. The arm that rested on the doorframe fell to his side as he walked away from the entrance towards the computer desk. "You were missed at hellfire, Duckie." Eddie teased as he sat on the corner of the desk; his eyes bounced between the very clearly exhausted YN with droopy eyelids and the computer screen.

"I'm so sorry I thought it was going to take longer to figure it out, but –" YN's words started to slur together.

"It's okay; there is always next Friday to indoctrinate you into The Cult of Vecna." Eddie's voice was low and soft, his eyes searching YN's face as his head tilted in concern over her current state.

"Wait, I thought you guys played Dungeons and Dragons?" YN looked up at him through squinted, tired eyes.

"Yeah, uh, Cult of Vecna is the name of the– " Eddie's eyes dropped to his feet. He kicked at some dust bunnies on the classroom floor before looking back up to YN's sleepy face, "It doesn't matter. I'll explain it to you before next Friday. Common, I'll walk you out."

———

Eddie grabbed YN's bookbag from her shoulder as he swung her jacket so the hood hooked onto her head. Their soft, tired laughs echoed through the empty hallway heading towards the parking lot. The silence wasn't awkward or felt like a void that needed to be filled. It was calm and warm, both of them finding an unfamiliar comfort from simply being in the other's company. Eddie took a few extra steps to reach the heavy metal door leading to the parking lot first. With a loud metal-on-metal bang, he pushed the latch open and with a hint of a bow and a fluid sweeping motion of his arms, he directed YN through the door first.

Walking through the door into the parking lot YN and Eddie caught sight of Jeff, Grant and Gareth leaning against Jeff's car in conversation. Getting closer, Eddie called out, "You guys haven't left yet?

"No, we've been waiting to see if you needed another jump or not." Gareth called back, his attention pulled from Eddie as he watched YN stumble toward the bike rack.

"My mighty steed is fine; I got a new battery for her last week." Sensing YN's absence from his side Eddie dramatically whirled around to see where she was headed. "Where're you going, YN?"

"My bike is over here." YN yawned as she pulled out her keys to unlock her bike.

"Nope, absolutely not. You can barely stand. It's freezing. What were you thinking? Riding your bike in November" Eddie rushed over to YN's bike, placing one hand on the handlebar while attempting to brush her hand away from the would-be death trap.

"When I biked this morning, it was clear I'm fine." YN bent over her bike, unlatching the lock and twisting it back around the middle bar for storage

"Yuh-huh, and it's 46 degrees, raining and dark as hell now1." Eddie got onto the bike a peddled it over to the back of his van. YN followed, dragging her feet with a pout but was too tired to fight as she watched him toss her bike into the back of his van. "I'm driving you home. No arguing Duckie." Eddie placed his hand on the middle of her back and gently guided her to the passenger side. Opening the door, he let his hand trail down along her back and then her arm before gently holding her hand. "In you go." Using his hand as support, YN pushed herself onto the worn black leather seat.

Eddie shut the door as soon as YN was settled; He turned around to face the guys as he started to walk around the front of his van. "Go home and think about the mess you made tonight, you gaggle of murder hobos."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Gareth called back to Eddie. The three of them waited until Eddie closed the door behind him before they started to frantically wave and call to her. YN stared blankly at the group, taking a few long minutes until what they were trying to tell her clicked. She twisted around to grab the buckle, shaking it in front of her face so the guys could see that she listened to their warning. Even from a distance, she could see their sigh of relief as they all flashed thumbs up before turning around and piled into Jeff's car.

"They, uh, don't like my driving." Eddie's deep voice cut through the silence as he threw the van into gear and ripped out of the school parking lot.

After providing directions to her house, YN slowly released her death grip on the door handle. Since they were going straight for most of the trip, YN grew accustomed to Eddie's speed. Eddie had been fiddling with the heater, turning it up as high as it would go and attempted to direct most of the warm air towards YN.

"How much explaining are you going to have to do when you, uh, get home? Being dropped off by the town freak won't go over well. I won't be shot at by a pissed off over-protective father or brother, will I?"

A soft chuckle escaped past YN's lips. "No, I live alone." Eddie reached for the volume dial to turn down the metal music blasting through the speakers; he remained silent, waiting for the rest of the explanation. "Last year, my parents were posted to the Embassy in East Berlin. I'm 18 and want to go to MIT next year, so it just made sense to finish high school stateside. My mum grew up here, so she knows some of the folks around town and gets them to check in every so often. It works." YN looked down at her hands in her lap as they fiddled with the hem of her jacket sleeve before looking over to Eddie. His profile was lit up as they drove by the occasional street light. "Um...Thank you for tonight, Eddie. Agreeing to let me crash Hellfire and for also driving me home."

"Crashing hellfire?" Eddie snorted. "You were barely there, Duckie."

"Is that a hint of disappointment in your voice Munson?" YN let her cheek fall to her left shoulder. The last remnant of energy was quickly leaving her body.

"Maybe," A crooked smile spread across Eddie's face as his eyes flickered to YN, "I'm always on the hunt for, Uhm, new players."

"Ah." YN couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice; for a moment, she let herself hope it was her he was excited to have at Hellfire and not just new blood for the club.

Eddie's grip on his steering wheel shifted around nervously. "If you, uh, wanted, we can meet up this weekend, and I … I can walk you through the game and campaign so far?"

"Really?" Between the excitement of hanging out with Eddie without the rest of the group and the exhaustion, YN's response came out like a whisper.

Eddie let out a soft chuckle as he pulled his van into the driveway of YN's house2 and put it into 'park.' "Yeah, We can order pizza or something. Make a night of it tomorrow." Eddie turned off the ignition, opened his door, and jumped out to pull YN's bike out of the back.

YN got out of the van and walked around the front to the garage door, unlocking it with one of the keys off her keychain. Eddie rolled up on the bike to meet her as She lifted the door open to let him through. "Okay, I'll bake some of my world-famous cookies too." She started to walk towards Eddie as he got off the bike and leaned it against the wall of the garage of her parents' small house. They had purchased it years ago with the hopes of it being their forever home once they had retired from Government work. It had been rented out up until last summer when YN moved in.

"Cookies?" Eddie laced his finger through the belt loops at his side as he took a sheepish step forward, a mischievous smirk on his face with an accusatory glance. "What will be in these, uh, cookies?" Eddie teased as they both walked back to the garage door. She reached out and lightly jabbed him in the stomach.

"Chocolate chips and salt flakes on top, that's it." YN laughed as she watched Eddie duck back under the garage door.

"Hehe, alright, I'll come by tomorrow around 6?"

"Okay." YN and Eddie both reached for opposite sides of the garage door handle, smiling back at one another. YN thought about wrapping her arms around Eddie's waist for a hug good night, but before she could move in, she found herself pulling down on the garage door to close it back up. "Good Night, Eddie," was all she managed to get out before the garage door stopped on the cement floor.

"Sleep tight, Duckie." Eddie's muffled voice called out from the other side. Followed by soft metal-on-metal tink as Eddie's brushed his palm against the garage door before turning around to head home. His head was swimming with thoughts about tomorrow night.

References

“November 15, 1985 Weather History in Indianapolis Indiana, United States.” Indianapolis November 15, 1985 Historical Weather (Indiana, United States) - Weather Spark, https://weatherspark.com/h/d/14754/1985/11/15/Historical-Weather-on-Friday-November-15-1985-in-Indianapolis-Indiana-United-States#metar-07-00.

👀

#eddie x reader #eddie x you #eddie x y/n #eddie munson #eddie munson my beloved #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson slow burn #stranger things season 4 #six months will never be enough #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x you #joseph quinn #fanfic #soft eddie munson #eddie munson x female reader

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firesofdainix · 2 years

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Give me all the non spoilery details about ur fan season pls. I’m starving for content.

Hoooo boy *rubs palms*

BASICALLY, in simpler terms, Firestorm is a fanseason between Seabound and Crystallized, because EVERYONE assumed Kai was getting a season (we got a Lloyd season out of nowhere), and we Kai fans are seasonless once again. However, the gap between Seabound and the next season after Firestorm will be more than a year for this season to work.

So far, the story goes like this: Kai hides his grief and caters, but one night, when he was out trying to avoid Nya's posters he runs into thugs that were harassing a woman. Kai got pretty angry because they were disgsracing the city Nya sacrificed to protect. He meets a young man named Alvern Wand, who acts like a counselor and wants to help him with his grief.

Things get a LOT more complicated after a few secrets are revealed, and new threats that involve a 'virus' that continues to haunt him even irl, some 'glass warriors' trying to convert him to their side to kill Alvern, him not being able to remember what happened when he spends too long with Alvern... you know... normal things.

Normal, right?

#chel answers #ninjago #lego ninjago #kai smith #kai ninjago #ninjago kai #fanseason: firestorm #ninjago fanseason #it gets worse before it gets even worse #i think i posted something abt alvern in my ao3 #keep in mind it's non-canon #'warm beds cold bodies' is the title #kai goes apeshit

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denimbex1986 · 10 months

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'The Barbenheimer craze is showing no signs of subsiding any time soon. While expectations that Barbie and Oppenheimer would dazzle critics and audiences alike were high, it's safe to assume that even the most attuned industry insiders couldn't have predicted how enthusiastically the world would embrace such a unique double feature. Giving movie theaters a much-needed boost, and proving that a cross-promotion marketing strategy rather than a bitter rivalry can do wonders for competing blockbusters, the movie event of the year has only just begun and will no doubt sustain its place in the cultural zeitgeist as awards season approaches.

For all its stunning success, however, the high-profile nature of Barbenheimer has raised thought-provoking questions and inspired debate regarding the relationship between media hype and historical reverence. At a time when mainstream marketing machines are increasingly dominant and influential over public perception and discourse, the line between entertainment and exploitation seems to be getting ever-thinner. And given Oppenheimer's contextual nature, particularly the world-changing events at the center of its titular protagonist's story, the sensational glitz and glam surrounding the cinematic phenomenon have struck some as unintentionally undermining the tragedies that occurred in Japan in August 1945.

Warner Bros. Has Come Under Fire for Some of its Barbenheimer Marketing

Though the idea of films cross-promoting one another isn't unheard of, the notion of films as tonally and thematically divergent as Barbie and Oppenheimer debuting together has led to a once-in-a-generation set of marketing campaigns operating simultaneously. The word "Barbenheimer" first began appearing online in April 2022. However, it was hardly intended to kick off a media firestorm but rather was meant to playfully acknowledge the upcoming double feature. Matt Neglia, editor of Next Best Picture and the man first credited with using the term, told NBC News, "It's cool statistically that I might show up as the first, but I never meant to start a hashtag or anything like that." It didn't take long for Barbenheimer to make an impression, going viral across social media platforms and rousing the interest of people around the globe. And once the pop culture event seemed to gain the momentum of a runaway train, sensible and carefully considered marketing strategies ultimately gave way to some more egregious forms of advertisement.

Shortly after the films hit theaters and became box office sensations, several tweets put out by Warner Bros. to promote Barbie were met with backlash by the studio's Japanese affiliate. One tweet in particular features Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) holding Barbie (Margot Robbie) atop his shoulder as an atomic mushroom cloud rages in the background. This prompted #NoBarbenheimer to trend in Japan, and the nation's Warner Bros. branch issued the following statement: "We consider it extremely regrettable that the official account of the American headquarters for the movie ‘Barbie’ reacted to the social media postings of ‘Barbenheimer’ fans. … We take this situation very seriously. We are asking the U.S. headquarters to take appropriate action. We apologize to those who were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions."

While Barbenheimer as a pop culture phenomenon is undoubtedly unique and worthy of attention, such forms of advertisement are indeed tone-deaf gestures and a distasteful way of capitalizing on a major moment in entertainment history. According to Variety, Warner Bros. responded to the backlash with, "Warner Brothers regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology." Considering that Barbie and Oppenheimer are so stark in contrast, perhaps it was inevitable that a combination of wildly differing sensibilities would eventually miss the forest for the trees, losing sight of the bigger picture that a film like the latter is tapping into both historically and contemporarily.

'Oppenheimer's Exclusion of the Atomic Bombings Has Drawn Criticism

When Oppenheimer was announced as Christopher Nolan's next project, speculation abounded over whether the film would depict the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After all, one may argue a film about the creation of the atomic bomb that doesn't show its devastating power would be akin to Titanic not showing the ship's sinking. But with Nolan opting for an intensely personal prism through which to experience the film's narrative, Oppenheimer leaves such a horrifying spectacle to viewers' imaginations. While the three-hour epic has received widespread acclaim for its performances, screenplay, visuals, and overall ambition, some moviegoers have questioned whether its omission of the bombings is an error on Nolan's part.

People who've voiced opposition to showing the bombings maintain that Oppenheimer's subjective point-of-view takes precedent in telling his story. According to NBC News, Nolan said that "to depart from Oppenheimer’s experience would betray the terms of the storytelling. He learned about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the radio — the same as the rest of the world. Everything is his experience, or my interpretation of his experience. Because as I keep reminding everyone, it’s not a documentary. It is an interpretation. That’s my job." On the other hand, critics of Nolan's decision have cited it as an example of dismissal, and even erasure, of the harrowing experiences of those impacted by the bombings. Brandon Shimoda, a Japanese-Amercian writer who oversees the Hiroshima Library, told NBC News, "Even within the realm of entertainment it's still demoralizing and making, once again, unreal the experience of Asian people. The experience and perspective of Hibakusha (survivors) needs to be centered in whatever way possible."

The decision to feature the bombings or not presents a damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don't conundrum from a storytelling perspective, and compelling arguments can be made for either side of the debate. While including those horrific events in Oppenheimer would have given representation and a voice to those who were killed, injured, or otherwise suffered long-term impact over generations, such inclusion could have also been perceived as gratuitous, exploitative, and an unintentional way of re-traumatizing survivors. If he'd decided to recreate the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagaski, Nolan would likely have been equally criticized, perhaps even more so, by viewers deeming such a cinematic recreation distasteful and bordering on sensational. In tackling one of the most fraught and divisive moments in global history, Oppenheimer's exclusion of the Japanese bombings was undoubtedly carefully considered on Nolan's part but wasn't intended to minimize or downplay the tremendous suffering and trauma that persists to this day.

The Barbenheimer Phenomenon Shouldn't Distract From History

As expressed in Oppenheimer's tagline, the world forever changed in August 1945. A critical turning point in the history of civilization, the unleashing of such cataclysmic power via weapons of mass destruction can never be undone, and for better or worse, humanity has to reckon with the actions taken by a handful of powerful and determined people. Though the bombing of Japan ended World War II, and such weapons miraculously haven't been used in warfare since, what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is one of the ultimate cautionary tales, deserving of attention and thoughtful consideration for those who were and remain impacted. With more than 200,000 people estimated to have been killed by the end of 1945, many more succumbing to injuries and radiation sickness, and an entire generation (Hibakusha) traumatized, the horrific scale of what happened can't be stressed enough.

As all the hype and sensation surrounding Barbenheimer continues to enamor people around the world, audiences should resist the tendency to overlook or memory-hole the core tragedy at the center of Christopher Nolan's film. Instead, moviegoers should embrace Oppenheimer not just as a crowning cinematic achievement, but also as a jumping-off point to more deeply consider what led to the tragedy, how it affected generations of the Japanese population, and what kinds of troubling consequences have risen as a result. Oppenheimer certainly poses difficult and disturbing questions without supplying any easy explanations, and that's exactly why viewers would do well to keep it in perspective.'

#Christopher Nolan #Oppenheimer #Cillian Murphy #Margot Robbie #Barbie #Barbenheimer

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aspiringsophrosyne · 1 year

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Season 2, Episode 1: The Rise of The Chroma Conclave

Before we get started, I would be remiss not to address the passing of Lance Reddick, who provided the voice for Thordak and whose body of work included (but was far from limited to) the Wire, Lost, and Fringe. Most likely, the third season is already recorded, and if so, it will be one of his last projects.

The crew of Critical Role, us critters, and the newbies were even luckier to have him than we knew. Thank you, Lance Reddick, and rest easy.

On to the episode.

No intro again? Well let's get right to it then. Lights are going down, curtains are going up. Let's watch the show.

The Good

I mean....dragons. Dragons. There really isn't much I can say besides that. This whole episode is....dragons.

Dragons

I'd seen some fans call Brimscythe distracting; I never really thought so. But even so, the dragons here have very obviously had an overall. They look even more smoothly integrated into this world, and watching them fly over such a huge and beautiful city as Emon is a thing to behold.

Something interesting about Raishan's breath weapon: it's easier to notice when all four are in action that it contrasts starkly with the other dragons'. Umbrasyl's, Vorugal's, and Thordak's breath weapons are tremendously damaging to structures and buildings, but Raishan's is not. While the boys' breath weapons are very visually, viscerally, and dramatically deadly, Raishan's poison appears deceptively harmless until her victims start bleeding from every orifice. It marks her as much more subtle and insidious than the others, which is true to form.

Hearing lines right out of the campaign in Cree Summer's and Lance Reddick's voices; god damn. We can talk about Cree more later when she gets a more significant moment to herself, but with just what she gets here: she is terrifying. She gets Raishan's gleeful sadism and understated danger (understated compared to her peers, anyway) across perfectly.

Lance Reddick's Thordak is commanding, authoritative, and dismissively confident. He talks, and he expects the insects who hear him to do as he bids without question, and given what he can do, it isn't a surprise. There is no room for doubt or bargaining. Only the promise of certain destruction. Lance played Thordak like a firestorm that can talk; you can't reason or argue with it. You can't stop it. It just is, and it's going to wreck your shit, and only if you're lucky will you live through what it deems to visit upon your houses.

If he did record season 3 already, it's going to be very interesting to watch Thordak's further descent into madness play out. I can't wait.

That acid attack is nightmarish. It already was even back during the stream when we didn't have a visual and it was left to our imagination. Seeing it here, and how excruciatingly it kills so many people of Emon and nearly Percy....it's shiver and shudder-inducing. And it helps set up Umbrasyl for later in the season.

One thing I can't praise enough is the individual designs for the dragons. I never expected them to look that different from each other, but the design team went above and beyond for them. They all look like different species, which fits, given these are supposed to be very different kinds of dragons who are not supposed to work together. Umbrasyl's frog-like throat sack for his acid spew, Raishan's serpentine form and movements, Vorugal's bigger, stockier build with icicle rhino spikes coming out of his face and back....all of it is so, so good.

And Thordak....even from the previews, it was easy to pick out the crystal in his chest and those four curling horns that almost give a crown-like appearance. And even before we see his fire breath, the lamp posts melting in the presence of his body heat is just....it shows how hard it'll be just to get close to him and not burn; what's fighting him going to be like?

And then the actual fire breath weapon.....awe-inspiring. In the original (and we'll see how much this is touched upon going forward) Thordak being imprisoned in the Fire Plane and merging with that crystal physically changed him. It made him bigger and more dangerous than even normal red dragons, and those are pretty bad already. The vents and the horrendously devastating fire breath he unleashes to utterly destroy the palace of Emon are a fabulous way to lean into that; it establishes a distinct power gap between him and the other dragons. However hard they'll be to deal with, he'll be that much harder.

The explosion of blood when Vorugal hits people with his ice breath...that's the best kind of nasty. It's a great way to avoid any ambiguity as to his victims' fate and avoid the Harmless Freezing trope, which Trinket actually fell victim to in the stream.

And that shield over Vorugal's eye was a clever way to portray blindsight. Another lovely example of show-don't-tell.

And that, alongside Grog breaking his axe against Raishan's throat, is another confirmation for the characters and the audience that they're going to need new tricks if they want to fight these guys. Because the ones that took down the Iron Storm are not going to work.

Miscellaneous

Allura and Gilmore get to flex!! We don't have a wizard or sorcerer in the main crew this campaign, so it's nice to see these two show off a little. And Kima even gets in a hit too!

I nearly lost my shit when I realized who decided to show up early. But...if there was ever a time or place that called for the Matron's presence, it would be there and then.

It's exciting to see they're already establishing a low-key rivalry between Keyleth and Raishan. The wind attack that mitigated the latter's breath, and then the flashback to the orbs as the green dragon makes it clear she very much remembers Vox Machina were the slayers of Brimscythe and it's another thing that makes for a pretty good set up.

I appreciated that they addressed whether or not this was Vox Machina's fault and rightfully dismissed it after Percy pointed out what Brimscythe had been up to. During the stream, the characters and some of the players agonized over whether or not they triggered the attack by killing Krieg and/or re-exploring his place right before the dragons attacked. It's just good to see that addressed here.

And yes!! Vasselheim! You guys don't know how much I wanted to see that and how worried I was we might not get to. To say nothing of who and what we might see on Issylra. That was the cherry on top of a hell of a first episode back.

The Bad (or at least not so great)

Because we were going to run into Allura later, I think it would've been better to show she was casting a spell before the rocks hit where she, Kima, the council, and the sovereign's family were. Just some visual flair to show she was trying to cast, even if the audience wouldn't know if it worked in time until later.

By the same token, it could've been made clearer (without Scanlan having to spell it out to the audience) that Raishan was using magic to dispel Scanlan's Foot.

And then there's this:

Gilmore: [...]This could be the end of civilization as we know it.

Scanlan: Yeah, but, come on, civilization's overrated. I say fսck it, let's hit Marquet.

I...am sure this wasn't deliberate, but doesn't this come off as saying Marquet isn't civilization/civilized?

You know, Marquet, the continent Matt made a deliberate effort to model after countries of the middle east like Turkey and Palestine? In order to break a little from the overly anglo influence in high fantasy in general that we can see in a lot of Exandria in particular?

And Scanlan's saying this to the Marquessian man who just saved all their lives and sells them all their stuff?

Oy vey. Badly phrased if nothing else.

Scanlan is also the most immediately and vehemently against even attempting to fight the dragons, and it's not portrayed as an unreasonable point of view....but, well, we'll get into that farther down the road.

After Scanlan suggests booking it, Pike says she thought they stopped running from their problems. Which...is something I'll address next episode. For now, I'll say it caught me by surprise.

I think it could've been hammered home a little harder that what they tried with Brimscythe wasn't going to work with the Conclave. Not just to drive it home for the audience, but because part of the group doesn't know Scanlan's illusion magic wouldn't work, and another part of the group doesn't know going for the throat again won't work. Not until they talk it out together, anyway.

The characters throw around the word "Ancient" more than a little here. While stream watchers and/or d&d enjoyers in general would know that when it comes to dragons that word is a crap-your-pants-and-run trigger, it means little to the newbies. It would've been better to take a second to explain it at some point.

Nitpicks

I'm a little sad we didn't get some of the things with Gilmore that we got in the stream, but there's time to get into something like that later. So we'll see about that.

On that note....why does Gilmore have a crystal that can teleport to Vox Machina's keep? I mean...I can make a pretty good guess why, but if it's not explicitly stated it can come off as weirdly convenient.

Also, I would've loved if after Grog flicked the rock off the balcony at the end with Scanlan, we heard Vax yell as he's hit from off-screen.

That's the start of Season 2, everybody. Things are about to get really damn crazy, for better or worse.

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thealieninhiding · 1 year

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Happy 7th Birthday Legends

Although this is about the Legends, I can’t start this post without The Flash. I didn’t watch Arrow to begin with (too dark and brooding for my taste) so my journey in the Arrowverse started in 2014 with the Flash. I fell in love with the show instantly, the humour, the mystery, the characters. But my focus today is on the legends, so let’s start with the first ones I met.

The Legends

Snart and Rory, the duo, were always a delight to see in an episode of the flash. Beginning with Flash 1x04 and following their character arc you can see there is more to them than meets the eye and that they aren’t bad people just criminals. Snart was one of my favourite characters on the Flash.

In Flash 1x08 I am introduced to some Arrow characters for the first time (but not Sara because she’s dead 🥺), and we first meet Firestorm (1.0). I love Robbie, instant fangirl, but he isn’t a legend so let’s keep going. Martin Stein’s disappearance is one of the many mysteries that S1 Flash is unraveling. The strange merging to become firestorm was such a cool story. I'm a Victor Garber fan and a big lover of scientist characters so obviously loved him in this role.

I started watching Arrow when the crossover of The Flash happened 1x08 / 3x08 so Sara was dead at the time and the main arc in Arrow was about her murder but I didn’t really care too much at the time. So we will circle back to her in a minute.

I first saw Ray in Arrow 3x9. His storyline is blurry, I remember him and Felicity were a couple and that I loved when he was a dorky little goofball but Arrow is too dark and brooding for that most of the time.

Anyway… back to Sara. I love S4 of Arrow. It's my favourite season of arrow hands down no contest, Damien Darhk is the best. This is finally where I meet Sara for the first time. The Buffy fan in me was LIVING for the resurrection storyline culminating in John Constantine restoring her soul. It’s just chefs kiss.

Kendra starts out as a small character in Flash 1x23, but it was clear to be building to something. She doesn’t stand out but the entire point of her character is that she thinks she’s just a regular person until it’s revealed she isn’t.

The final Legend to be introduced before the series is Jax in The Flash 2x04 and I’m honestly sad because I love Robbie and it feels too convenient that Stein can just merge with someone else. I go on to adore him but that’s how I felt in the beginning.

The Crossover

The Flash 2x08 Legends of Today and Arrow 4x08 Legends of Yesterday make up the 2 part crossover Heroes Join Forces and serve as a set up for Legends of Tomorrow. We get our first taste of the story arc for Legends, the introduction of Vandal Savage and the Hawks. Carter exposition dump is everything, I absolutely love the Hawks story: ancient Egypt, soulmates, deathless villain, resurrections, I eat that shit up. So I enjoyed the hell out of these episodes. The wing reveal was iconic, sure it’s very tropey but so good. The flashbacks give me Mummy vibes, I loved it so much. Time travel🙌. Seriously though, I love these episodes.

Legends of Tomorrow

The Legends of Tomorrow pilot lived up to my hype, I knew and loved these characters and time travel is my favourite sci-fi concept. I was most excited for more Snart and I just love a good ragtag team up. Reading the synopsis while I type, oh yeah, I was super pissed at Stein - seriously wtf he drugged Jax. Rip’s agenda - like I get it mate but you still kinda suck. It was clear the show had potential and the characters (and actors) had good chemistry, despite them only just getting to know each other and becoming teammates, plus time travel is just soo fun.

A wobbly first season that I still enjoyed the entire time, While by no means as good as the show ended up being, a start. It wasn’t my favourite Arrowverse show that year but it wasn’t my least favourite and some weeks it was the best episode of the week. An incredible journey from that beginning to becoming not just my favourite Arrowverse show but one of my all time favourite shows. The show went from mediocre with potential to great in the second season and then outstanding in its 3rd and then somehow each season after was it still better than the last.

Bring them back.

#legends of tomorrow #sara lance #ray palmer #leonard snart #mick rory #jefferson jax jackson #martin stein #kendra saunders #save legends of tomorrow #legends season 1 #arrowverse #the flash #arrow #mine

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hopeshoodie · 2 years

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For the LITG ask game: 22, 24, 25, 38, 48

22. Are there any non-canon couples you think should have been canon?

Boah oh my god oh my godddddd. Or at least a canon scene of Noah rejecting Bobby sakjlkdjfksd.

24. Pick 3 end-game couples and tell us how long you think they lasted after the show?

Hope and Noah barely make it a couple of months. Hope is reckoning with the media firestorm, Noah’s clear pining after MC on the show, and disliking her own actions, but when she tries to confront/work through it with Noah he’s reaction is to avoid the conversation. They have one too many fights on the phone and break up a couple months after.

I kiiiinnndaaaaa… Think Elisa and Bobby lasted after the show. Like Elisa likes having Bobby on her feed to drum up interest from fans and he’s happy to go on a date and be her photographer (also he’s not bad in bed), and I think Bobby is complacent in relationships that he’s not fully committed to. I feel like they have a friends with benefits relationship for a couple of months after the show, even if neither of them would consider it ‘dating’. Their situationship lasts longer than Hope and Noah’s, and none of the other couples from season 2 (because Sveta disrupts Jo/Rahim and ultimately ends up with Noah, meaning Jo and Rahim don’t have time to get in deep with each other) last past the show.

Viv and Seb stay together for years, because they like each other well enough and neither of them have motivation/desire to seek out someone who suits them better. It’s not really a passionate love affair type relationship as it is them being comfortable around each other. Like they’re both so low-drama and supportive of the other, that it seems like sort of an inevitability than a choice they’re actively making. They’re roommates and best friends before they’re lovers.

25. What is your most controversial/unpopular LITG opinion?

While I think S2 is the most compelling season, I think the format of S1 is most effective. The condensed season makes it more replayable, the limited love interests makes each character/route unique, there aren’t chapters that I slogged through like with S2.

I think the biggest thing for me is that I’d prefer to only have 2-5 love interests, if it meant that each other has a really distinct, well written route that makes sense with the characters’ personality and motivations. I think the trend of making every character romanacable/endgame or creating characters specifically made to be appealing as an endgame option cheapens the story. I know that’s ‘the point’ of these kinds of reality tv dating sims, but personally for me the point has always been dating sims with conflicts/stories driven by distinct characters instead of ‘how do we make the hottest character possible?’. Because ultimately I think the romantic scenes between MC and the LI are the least impactful part of the game, it’s the friendship scenes and the story arcs where characters are developed and the relationships between NPCs that stick with me.

38. Do you have any opinions (on the story or the characters) that have drastically changed since you started playing?

When I first played the game I was obsessed with Talia, but with time I’ve kind of come to regard her as shallow (in writing not in character) and lifeless when compared to Jake, Rohan, Erikah or Tim.

I’ve had this whole Thing™ with Bobby where I went from not caring about him, to hating him, to begrudgingly liking him, to ‘reclaiming’ him as a gay icon and only disliking his ardent stans.

I think originally when I played the game I stereotyped Lucas a bit too hard as the ‘sexy rich bad boy player’ and ended up conflating that with him dating lots of women or being flippant about romantic relationships, which is a disservice. I do think he came from a rich household, but that’s not as much part of his personality as it is his worldview and tastes (but he’s not as aware of ‘I’m rich therefore I’m hot’ as I originally thought he was). His manipulativeness/flippancy towards MC during the Blake situation contributed to that player idea, but I think he either wasn’t that into MC or he felt too into MC and panicked- depending on the playthrough. Ultimately I’ve changed my opinion of him to be more nuanced than I originally thought, lmao.

48. If you could pick any 2 characters from different seasons and swap them into each other's seasons, who would you pick? Why?

Jake into season 2 so he could be there for Hope and Lottie into season 1 because she deserves it, lmfao.

Genuinely, I think Seb would have had a field day in S2 (he would have been the hot potato that Marisol, Lottie, Chelsea, and Priya passed around, to his chagrin), and I think we need someone like Lottie or Hope in S3 to create any modicum of conflict.

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