#--bring peace to the world + nature etc. so basically the canon plot of the og show but with magic ✨ /hj

[hihopelessromantics]

magical balance, anyone ?

another day of fixing Nakba's mistakes ! aka fleshing out the Themes where he didn't

I think each clan’s existence plays a role in maintaining the fabric of reality as it is, and manifesting the magic that exists. Absence or excess causes intense problems and threatens the world. 

As put by my pal @exrolotus!

Goddesses: life 

Demons: death 

Fairies: flora nature

Giants: fauna / tectonic nature 

Human: willpower 

Basic Diagram of Magical Balance

(you can barely see the goddess clan! Just like nakaba!)

The given reason for humanity becoming more magical and the overall magical health of Britannia declining is plot convenience. But this is what I think it should actually be going on there: 

The goddess clan and demon clan both generally exist at a greater distance from humanity compared to the giant and fairy clan, either in another dimension or other place (my mutuals propose, for instance, that the demon realm exists in either Japan or Ireland); this distance representing how they stand on equally powerful and opposite sides of a spectrum. It’s so clear how far apart they are, how clear at first glance the line is between what they represent. I propose that their link to the magical balance between them is more precarious than that between of the giants and fairies, and much more vital to the manifestation of magic itself.

As for the giants and fairies: their clans’ supernatural relationship is easier to understand in that they both have ties to nature. It’s a more tangible concept - how does the environment exist without the earth? Flora without fauna? And when do we ever see fairies and giants going toe-to-toe? 

We see the Giant and Fairy clans join with Diane and King’s marriage. I’m going to dig for meaning and propose that this restored a balance between them that was always meant to be. That, in the same way that Elizabeth and Meliodas met and bonded soul-to-soul, their souls’ union was able to restore an ancient and necessary balance to their own clans. Elizabeth and Meliodas brought the end to an eternal war. I’m gonna say that King and Diane brought an end to an unnatural silence. An absence of a relationship, to parallel the absence of a supernatural union between light and dark, life and death, which, arguably should coexist without a third force (supernatural racism, the goddesses’ genocide agenda, etc.) attempting to eliminate one from existence. 

Drole and Gloxinia’s relationship in canon has mysterious origins. A lot of us seem to be shipping them, and I don’t think they’re wrong from a narrative perspective. Remember the giants’ connection to the earth and the faries’ connection to nature. It makes sense that their clans should have some kind of relationship, instead of not interacting at all. Love between them, whether romantic or platonic, could represent the same thing. I hypothesize that fairies and giants were always close (not necessarily physically!) in ancient times until the Holy War, and upon seeing the devastation and unnecessary death they “split” in order to prevent history from repeating. An angst disagreement, or a solemn and silent withdrawal. Giants, continuing on as some of the greatest warriors in Britannia, overemphasizing it in the hope their strength will continue to protect them and bring them honor and courage. Fairies, isolating themselves from all other interactions, neglecting their warrior skills to the point where they become as they are in nnt, relying on their king to do everything for them and “discarding their honor” in terms of their powers. Unhealthy war, unhealthy peace. 

I propose that the rifts caused by the Holy War are what sapped the magic from Britannia. When the goddesses and demons lose the ability to interact with the world “in-between” them, the magic drains. Etc. Humans, the “odd one out,” adapted. For fun, I think there should be some natural disasters thrown into the mix every now and again, as well as other phenomena which I will describe later. What happens when the ropes on all four sides, holding together the supernatural balance of reality, snap? This whole thing is inspired somewhat by the idea that in a fantasy realm, there is one more sphere of health you have to keep track of. It’s physical health, mental health, and magical health. Neglect your mental health? Uh oh! Neglect your magical health? UH OH. I think that if you’re not in touch with yourself and your powers, well, there are consequences. And something like that on a larger scale is happening to Britannia with two (?) upset balances.  

Thoughts? :D

#nnt #sds #anaylsis #or is this headcanons + analysis #all the clans yay! #goddesses #faires #giants #demons #humans #nanatsu no taizai #seven deadly sins #kiane #melizabeth #drole #gloxinia #writing

[gyokuto]

i’m rewriting yashahime in my head (i’m only half serious, oh also, i’m not a writer)

-i’m not keen on the idea of sessh procreating for some reason it feels ooc lmao (hello aroace king), but i think towa and setsuna are cute. it seemed like there was naraku symbolism & kagura fit nature vs. nurture, so for the sake of keeping the twins, somehow kagura is reborn, and we’re gonna say she is a half-demon. the twins are hers and sessh’s. they’re actually 3 quarter demons which i think is a cool contrast to their cousin moroha

-rin is the best older sister ever, and the apple of her father’s eye! i’m trying to think of what would be a good “profession” for her...but honestly i just want her to be happy and carefree lol. her childhood was very stressful

-i like the twins’ designs, but i haven’t thought about them much since i was never a huge sessh fan. towa is for sure nonbinary. personally, i wish their discomfort with gender norms was explored more in “canon.” setsuna, i have to think about more since they basically wrote her like a 14 yr old, less mean version of sessh, but i would wanna flesh her character out more. i think it would be cool if they were actually hisui’s age (and older than moroha by maybe a year or two?)

-once i had this thought that it would be cool if there was a time period where mixed human/demon ancestry was more common (maybe humans like sango and miroku have distant demon relatives like a great grandparent or something. can we explore this???), and something happened and it became taboo which is why inuyasha went through what he did, etc. so, there’s still discrimination over it, but things are getting better however towa and setsuna struggle because of who their “grandpa” (naraku) was. i think inuyasha (cause half-demon uncle) and rin (human who understands humans can be just as cruel) would play a big role in helping them accept that they’re not to be ashamed of their ancestry (side plot? maybe this is a side story apart from something else i talk about later in the post.)

-kohaku? he has no scar and his freckles are back! that boy has suffered enough. he still adores his sister & he is the best uncle ever! kohaku has very soft vibes lol for some reason i feel like he wouldn’t really want to slay demons after everything he went through. can we just let him rest? maybe he would become a healer of some sort. kohaku maintains a close relationship with sessh, kagura, and rin! lives with miroku and sango. maybe he is closest to his niece gyokuto?

-kingyo are BOTH alive and well. they’re both lesbians. gyokuto is spiritual like her father, and k’inu does her own thing. maybe she inherited his shady/flirty behavior? i feel like i saw a similar hc, and i think that’s cute. she’s off charming girls and that’s why we haven’t seen her

-hisui takes after his mom. he’s a sweet boy but he’s also serious. his mom trained him! he also learned some stuff from his uncle kohaku!

-miroku and sango are bicons. why is this relevant? cause i said so. i feel like it fits their characters idk why. they’re wholesome and happy because sango deserves the world. miroku is still flirty but only w/ sango because he’s matured and loves his fuckin wife. who wouldn’t? she’s amazing. also, we’re done with stupid misogynistic tropes! he never groped ppl. we are retconning that shit. kilala is also alive and well.

-miroku was the stay-at-home dad mostly while the kids were young & sango brought in some $ by doing slaying jobs, but i can see them switching it around and him bringing home $ from doing spiritual jobs. also, she is the head of the demon slayers because why wouldn’t she be? (she is the older sibling and unlike sunrise i’m aware that women can uh do something other than be wives, also kohaku’s done w/ that stuff remember?) 

-they live next to kagome and inuyasha! kagome and inuyasha had their beautiful little babeeyyyy moroha who takes after both of them. inuyasha loves his child very much, and is constantly overwhelmed by a happiness he never thought he would have! she’s pretty much like a mini version of him, and kagome finds their relationship very endearing. she loves them very much! like in the show, moroha’s in touch with her spiritual powers. i think it would be cool if something happened one day while moroha was by the well, and she ended up in the present time. sota, mama higurashi and grandpa higurashi would cry and dote on her properly. maybe the plot is that she is stuck there, and inukag gotta go get her back? cue eventual kagome reunion with her family that is very emotional and makes me cry.

-random, but i think it would be cute if miroku, kagome, and kaede taught the kids who were into spirituality and healing, and sango and inuyasha taught the kids who were more into combat/slaying. i liked the inuyasha and sango friendship and the miroku and kagome friendship, so i think that’s something i would explore more

-moroha and hisui are best buds since they’re basically the cousins closest in age (i mean towa and setsuna too, but i don’t think sesshoumaru + his family would live as close to everyone)

-kingyo are definitely moroha’s older sister figures too

-i think kaede is strong and not kicking the bucket anytime soon, so she would basically be like the go-to babysitter while the kids are young & she is fine with that. when the kids were younger, inu gang still went on little day missions while kaede looked after the kiddies

-little shippo...i don’t know what to do about him. maybe we can age him at the same rate as a human would until he is done with adolescence...? so maybe he would be around rin’s age? i think his role would be like an uncle/older brother to the kids. he lives with everyone in the village, of course! also, his powers and magic have gotten more sophisticated. i need to think more about his character

-my version would be more slice of life instead of everyone being unhappy and there being another big bad that needs to be defeated...

-we can keep kirinmaru cause his design is cool. he can be toga’s spiteful ex because why not?

-maybe there is a prophecy but it came from an oracle (maybe zero can be the oracle instead of his sister) who saw a quarter demon with strong spiritual powers would defeat kirinmaru in like 3 yrs time or something (he has become too powerful and tyrannical?) we can keep the manipulation of space-time as a thing. maybe he somehow triggered the events that led to moroha being trapped in present day? (she’s the MC of my version)

-maybe a chunk of the story follows her life throughout a few years trapped in the present-era, but it explores the ways in which demons are still a part of present day japan (that way she does get raised by her parents, but also is apart from them for a period enough for it to feel like there’s a conflict (mirroring when kagome couldn’t get back to feudal japan)

-maybe we see some of our og gangs descendants (moroha enrolls in school or something)?

-kirinmaru keeps tabs on her through osamu kirin????? she figures it out idfk

-inuyasha finds out his dads ex is scared of his 14 yr old daughter? dude idk someone said toga kirinmaru exes and my brain has been like fixated on this ever since. it’s like not even relevant but i will make it relevant some how

-after tearful higurashi reunion, they all go back to feudal era and kick kirinmaru’s ass. prophecy is fulfilled (maybe well stays functioning and kagome can once again travel back and forth. i have to work out how this wouldn’t screw time up. maybe we can just close our eyes and ignore it? hehe)

-omg i almost forgot koga. idk what would happen w/ him....i feel like he would definitely be like moroha’s uncle! ginta and hakkaku are married.

-OH! kikyo? she is fucking resting in peace. please let her rest. she went through so much lol.

#my posts #but it makes me happy lol #this is all in good fun i don't even wanna pretend like this would actually be good #yashahime

[marta-bee]

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Sherlockians, I want to talk about Mary. Or not about Mary the character, because enough words have been spent on that topic and I’m nowhere near brave enough to wade into that one on a snowy Sunday afternoon, but rather on the way we as readers can (perhaps should) relate to her. At some level what follows is about this Tumblr post, where an anonymous commenter asked for “any fics where Mary’s not the bad guy” and noticed that a lot of the evil-Mary fanworks “gets a bit misogynistic in my opinion”; but I’m also using that as something of a springboard, and don’t mean this as a direct reply to that post. (Which is why I’m not replying in a reblog; please everyone go check out that post and comment on it as well.)

Anyway, let me start with two basic points that I hope are pretty noncontroversial.

Mary is an antagonist, at least some of the time.

Mary has at least some aspects of her character that are bad-making (more on what I mean by “bad-making” in a moment), or at least would be if she were a real person.

The devil’s in the details here, as it is with most things worth talking about, so let’s unpack that a bit.

(Long post is long, and so continued under the cut.)

When I say someone’s an antagonist, I’m not really making a value-judgment. I’m purposefully avoiding that word, “villain,” which calls to mind “villainous” as a description of their personality and character. An antagonist is just someone who plot-wise stands in opposition to the character. They’re wrapped up in the conflict our hero has to overcome.

Let’s take a pretty straightforward (and unrelated to our fandom, so hopefully less emotionally charged for a lot of us) example: the first “Hunger Games” book. Katniss is thrown into a gladiatorial fight to the death with twenty-three other teenagers. With the exception of Rue and (later in the games) Peeta, everyone else is an antagonist in relation to Katniss. She has to hope for their death and be prepared to kill them because their continued existence stands in the way of her surviving the games. Most are reduced to numbers with s knowing precious little about them – certainly not enough to think they deserve death. But they’re still antagonists because they’re obstacles the hero has to work past if she hopes to succeed.

Or take Draco Malfoy, in the early Harry Potter books. He’s a thoroughly unpleasant boy, spoiled and sniveling certainly, but I’d be hard-pressed to call him bad. His biggest defining characteristic is he stands up and tries to fight Harry; but often as not this comes down to inter-house squabbling and the only reason he and Harry are on opposite sides is how they were sorted. As we learn, given the way he was raised and the political situation he was raised in, it’s actually pretty admirable how on the periphery of the Death Eaters he stays. But he’s still the antagonist, he’s the one Harry has to outsmart or outperform or otherwise get around.

It's only natural we cheer when the antagonists fail. We’re primed to identify with the protagonist, after all, and their failure means the protagonist gets to win. Even if objectively know the antagonist doesn’t actually deserve to fail, well. That’s just kind of how stories work.

Getting back to Sherlock, I said it’s pretty noncontroversial that Mary’s an antagonist. So when I say that I don’t mean she’s evil, or even that she’s only an antagonist. But the woman shoots our star character in the chest. It’s her secrets and her very presence that drive Sherlock into exile (and drive Sherlock and John apart) for a second time, undoing whatever victory  Sherlock achieved when he defeated Moriarty’s web. She’s certainly a problem to be addressed and worked past in HLV. In terms of canon and parallels with the Doyle stories, there’s quite a lot about her actions (particular in Leinster Gardens) that all but screams “Sebastian Moran.” Ergo: antagonist.

There’s also a quieter, more ordinary sense that I suspect will be more controversial but is worth talking about anyway. Like a lot of Sherlockians and Johnlockers, I’m a big fan of making space for John/Mary/Sherlock in happy OT3 land. I think Sherlock and John at least want some version of that in canon; maybe not romantically, but they like to imagine their being room in their lives for these different relationships to not be in conflict. But in BBC-canon that hope’s not really borne out. This deserves a full meta on its own, but briefly: when Mary observes that neither she nor Sherlock were “the first” (talking about Sholto), she situates them in competition for the same position in John’s life, rather than in distinct, complementary ones (which an OT3 seems to require); and when Sherlock notes at the end of TSOT episode that “we can’t all three dance,” he seems to come to a similar conclusion. I do love me some good Johnlockary fic, but I don’t think this is where the show was heading

At a more basic level, I’d actually argue it almost has to be this way with these three- at least if we’re to hold on to John and Sherlock being “the two of us against the world.” In the 1800s men and women had such different roles in society, a man would do very different things and relate in very different ways to his close (male) friends than he would to his (female) wife. So Watson could run off with Holmes and have adventure, then return home to Mary for the peaceful, even loving family life, without one really being in tension with the other. But by the twenty-first century those spheres aren’t nearly so different. Even if you don’t imagine them as lovers, it’s hard not to imagine a self-respecting woman today saying as Mary did in TAB, “I don’t mind you going; I mind you leaving me behind.” One of the biggest challenges for a modern Holmes adaptation (or indeed, for a modern consumer of the original Doyle stories) is how to balance Holmes’ and Watson’s private “intimate partnership” – however we understand that term – against (John) Watson’s marriage to Mary with all we moderns expect of that relationship in terms of emotional fidelity, equal partnership, shared future, etc.

Put more simply: Mary should throw a monkey-wrench in the mix; she should be something that must be accounted for and whose presence should affect how Holmes and Watson can interact. Not to mean her presence is incompatible with Holmes and Watson’s close and exclusive relationship, but at a minimum she’s a factor in need of an explanation. She can’t help but be antagonistic, at least to some interpretations of Holmes’s and (John) Watson’s relationship.

As I said, with antagonists, it’s only natural to cheer for the protagonists, which almost inevitably means rooting for the protagonists’ failure. At least we root for them being de-antagonized, converted into some other relationship to the main character. But if you’ve spent any time on AO3, you’ve probably come across fanfic focusing on the antagonists (*cough* Loki *cough**cough* Drary *hacks up a longue* Silm-fandom-this-one’s-for-you *cough*’s). We can be a thirsty bunch when it comes to our antagonists, for characters we by all rights should be primed to hate. And even at the level of primary-canon, one of the biggest ways the primary creator shows their emotional growth is by realizing their antagonists aren’t truly their enemy. Like most readers I had a tear in my eye as Cato suffered through the night, begging for death; and certainly I would have been outraged if Harry hadn’t saved Draco from the Room of Requirements in “Deathly Hallows.” Gollum’s treachery is explained and he is given his own completion; Darth Vader is spared by Luke and allowed to look on his son with his own eyes; and the Klingons, Cardassians, and Borg are given their own sort of redemption in Worf, Garak, and Seven of Nine.

All of which is to say: it’s understandable, even natural, why people would have a hard time rooting for the antagonist, but there’s a long history of fandom peoples steering into the curve on this one. So it’s also understandable, even natural, that people want to hear stories with them at the center, both new stories about them and also versions of the original canon narrative that don’t need them to wear the black hat all the time. Some folks want Mary, Sherlock, and John to all go crime-solving together. I personally think there’s sometimes a danger of turning an antagonist – especially one who is at least morally gray (and I promise we’re getting there) like Mary is – into a protagonist without wrestling with what turned them into an antagonist in the first place; so if you want to bring Mary back to the side of John and Sherlock you need to grapple with what pushed them into opposing roles in the first place, or else risk your plot feeling “cheap” and unearned. (In fairness, this warning could as easily be directed to Mofftiss as anyone in fandom!)

But at an absolute minimum, I think it’s pretty obvious that lots of fans want to imagine the antagonists as at the heart of their own stories, and lots of fan-creators have done a really good job of providing those stories. Just as a lot of fans will almost instinctively be drawn to hate them, well, if you want to go a different path you’re in good company.

Enough about protagonist/antagonist, which as I said is more about the role the character fills in the story than about their morality or character. This, for me at least, is where it really gets interesting.

Before we get started, though, I know a lot of people struggle against this idea of morality when it applies to fictional characters and fictional stories. They’ll point out (rightly) that just because they enjoy a non-con PWP doesn’t mean they approve of rape in real life; that their reading preferences come from a different place entirely than their moral judgments. But at the same time, a lot of people (equally rightly) struggle to enjoy stories that glorify things we don’t consider worth glorifying. It’s one thing to enjoy a story about Draco rejecting the Death Eaters, returning to mainstream wizarding society and joining the Aurors; quite another to imagine him dating Harry while he’s still walking around calling Hermione a mudblood.

Or getting back to the Sherlock fandom, a lot of people are most comfortable with stories with Mary’s the antagonist because she’s got a character history and just personality traits where, if we met someone like her in real-life, we’d consider her morally bad. Or on the flip slide, those fans who want a not-evil!Mary in their stories often like to imagine her as the kind of person we’d describe as good or redeemed or some such thing, if she were an actual person. Mary’s morality, at least the morality of a similar person operating in the real world (because --speaking as a former philosophy Ph.D. student who taught philosophical ethics for years-- let me tell you: talking about the morality of fictional constructs gets very messy, very quickly), seems to matter to a great number of fans. So let’s talk about that.

I said above I thought most people would agree, Mary had parts o her character that were bad-making. What I mean is there are aspects about her that tend to make a person bad, unless they’re explained by some other factor. I’ve got in mind something vaguely similar to W.D. Ross’s theories of prima facie duties (if any of you studied this in your Ethics 101 courses- you would have in mine). Basically, the idea is we have all these duties that apply to us, but they can seem to conflict, and we may decide (rightly) in any given situation that one or the other is the more important one for us to follow. The classic example is the duty to keep our promises and prevent suffering when we can. You can imagine situations where you can’t do both- for instance, if I promised to meet you for lunch and on my way to the restaurant came across a man who fell into a ditch and twisted his ankle along a deserted road, where it’s unlikely someone else would come upon him. If I stop to help him I’ll miss our lunch date and break my promise; and while I still have a duty to keep that promise, I think most people would agree it’s more important to stop and help the person. We’d all be hard-pressed to say if I helped the stranger, I’d failed at my duty to keep a promise; at least not in the same way as if I could have kept that promise and just chose not to. That’s Ross’s idea of prima facie duties: that we have all these general obligations on us, but which actually should govern our choices in any particular instance comes down to the details of that situation.

I think there’s something similar going on with Mary’s character. This is actually a good way to evaluate most of us morally, in my opinion, but it’s doubly useful when it comes to Mary because she’s simultaneously got so many troubling aspects about her that just demand some sort of justification, but at the same time, because Mofftiss really screwed the pooch here, we don’t really have the information we need to give a definitive answer. So it’s useful to say: here’s something about Mary that needs accounting for, even if we don’t have enough information to evaluate her definitively.

Let’s take Magnussen’s biggest accusation against her: “All those wet jobs.” Mary killed people on her own prerogative, and she left behind a lot of grieving relatives who would love their revenge – both a testament to the suffering she caused, and a real risk for John, the baby that will become Rosie, and everyone else in their orbit. But if that’s all there is to it, it’s not wholly dissimilar to John’s decision to shoot the cabbie. It may have been different, but we don’t have the information to know that; it feels different, but most because John was saving Sherlock (who we know), whereas if Mary was saving anyone, it’s not someone we the viewer have an emotional connection to. Still, to borrow a phrase from Ricky Ricardo, Mary, you’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do.

Or to take an even more serious charge, Mary shot Sherlock, was prepared to make John watch him die all over again and force him to go through that grief that so nearly destroyed him the first time around. Unforgiveable, yeah? The best shot at justification here is that Mary had somehow got herself cornered, so that shooting Sherlock was somehow an attempt to escape an even worse sitation. This really demands a full meta to dive in to, but very briefly, I think Mary never intended to kill Magnussen and was instead trying to intimidate him; meaning she couldn’t let Sherlock undercut her power, but equally she couldn’t leave Magnussen with the impression that John and Sherlock were somehow her partners; so shooting Sherlock was the best way to keep him from becoming a full target of Magnussen’s. If that’s the case, the whole showdown in Magnussen’s office becomes markedly similar to Sherlock’s decision to “kill” himself on the roof of St. Bart’s. Mary is willing to cause a lot of pain to avoid even greater destruction, but at the same time, the whole situation that compels this choice was fed by her limiting her options when she decided to intimidate Magnussen. Similar to how Sherlock, once he’s on the roof of St. Bart’s, has no better option than to fake his own death and leave John to grieve; but how he does have some degree of culpability for engaging Moriarty in the first place and egging on Moriarty’s destructive obsession with Sherlock.

My point isn’t that any of these parallels really hold up to scrutiny. Sherlock risked his own life in TRF (and John’s pain) while Mary was prepared to kill another. John was ready to kill “a bad man” to save our hero while whatever murders Mary committed were against unnamed people in undetermined circumstances, and narratively certainly don’t pull at or heart strings in the same way John’s heroic killing of Jefferson Hope does. But the point is, with Mary, so much of what a lot of fans object to involve these vaguely-told stories where whatever factors would excuse her actions just are left untold. What we can say definitively is “all those wet jobs” require justification. Mary’s willingness to shoot Sherlock require justification. These things are prima facie wrong (or bad-making, the kind of things that tend to make something bad in the absence of other explanations) and demand an accounting for.

I’m focusing on Mary’s violence more than what a lot of fans have identified as her abuse toward John. Partly, this is personal: I have my own experience with abusive relationships and don’t entirely trust my ability to parse similar dynamics in fiction; certainly I don’t want to tie that part of my past to public debate, and I’ve not worked out how to talk about Mary and John without over-personalizing it. But I will say, there’s a lot to be considered on that front as well, and people interested in thinking through Mary’s im/morality shouldn’t ignore it. As a starting point, inevity-johnlocked pointed to several of her old posts making the case that Mary was an emotional abuser. silentauroriamthereal’s fic “Rebuilding Rome” looks at a lot of these issues in a really powerful way if you’re looking for an exploration in fic form. I’ll just add, even if I thought Mary was justified and so “good” in some sense (and my internal compass is so screwed up, I’m not really qualified to tell at this point), the way she chose or had to lie about her past to John seems a particularly bad match for a man like him with his trust issues. So even if you think Mary is good, there’s a lot of justification for saying she’s still not good for him.

So what does this mean for reading fics involving a kinder, gentler Mary? First, I’d emphasize there’s no shame or judgment in reading what you want. Much as writers may choose to write about all kinds of things they’d disapprove of in real life, readers have that same freedom to scratch whatever readerly itch they like, with no need to defend that to anyone else. Kinktomato and all that. On the other hand, I know I personally enjoy stories more when I can lose myself in them, and – again, for me personally – it helps me do that if my values are at least compatible with what’s presented as praiseworthy. I don’t have to guard myself as I enter the story. So it’s definitely worth thinking about how comfortable you are with fiction that vilifies Mary or pardons her or something in between, because it may make it easier or harder to really immerse yourself in a fic.

Then again, maybe that’s just me. I am a rather persnickety chickadee with things like this.

I do know that many fandoms have an unfortunate history of coming down hard on the female competition to a popular slash ship. While I’m reluctant to apply “should”s to our consumption of fiction, I think there are genuine feminist concerns here. Not with thinking Mary’s bad/evil or even hating her, but hating her for the wrong. For me, it helps to imagine another character doing something similar, and think about why I would react differently if it was someone other than Mary doing the deed. Also to be aware of the details canon doesn’t answer decisively or answers different ways in different episodes.

(More than most characters, Mary does suffer from a really inconsistent characterization. I’ve often wondered if everything since HLV was Sherlock or whomever trying on different frameworks for her personality/psychology/what-have-you, to see which could account for what she did to him. First she’s a badass villain, then a Mycroftian operative, then a martyr, then a worldclass manipulator, and finally a sanctifier whose own personality was irrelevant, giving her imprimatur from beyond the grave. And that’s without throwing veteran/maths genius and happy homemaker into the bunch. Maybe the showrunners simply weren’t sure what they wanted to do with her. Whatever the situation, I do think we need to be careful about taking any one canon detail at face-value, especially with her.)

I’m also a little discomfited by this trend I’ve seen among Johnlockers, to write Mary as a monster as a way to lessen John’s pain at her… betrayal, I guess? Or just the loss at her death? I remember when a lot of fanfic authors back between S3 & S4 wrote about the baby being fake; or even after S4, as part of John’s “alibi” rather than a true detail. Or even just deciding the baby was David’s or some such. By itself, that could have been really interesting, but what I saw so often happening was people used that as a way to remove the complication of the baby. Or to let John skip the grief he’d feel if the baby wasn’t born healthy- for instance, if it didn’t exist, or died, or if Mary was killed or ran while she was still pregnant. The basic theme was if Mary didn’t deserve John’s pain, John didn’t have to hurt for so long or as deeply.

Complicated grief is a thing, though, and for a lot of people, grieving the loss of someone who hurt them and aren’t “worth” their pain seem to suffer worse and for longer, particularly if they also have to grieve the lost opportunity to make their peace with the person while they were alive. This doesn’t mean fanfic writers or readers have to give us some kind of sanitized Mary; certainly she has the potential to be a true east wind of a character. But I do think there’s a tendency to prefer a more evil Mary because this lets the story move past her or spares John some suffering often won’t feel true. It also runs the risk of disrespecting the suffering of people impacted by these kinds of losses. So while I think this kind of characterization can be really interesting and compelling, it also takes a lot of skill and thoughtfulness to do it well. Here be dragons.

For me, though, the point isn’t to be proscriptive, to say Sherlock fic writers and readers need to limit themselves to a particular read of Mary. Her character has such potential to give birth to such a wide range of fic. As a viewer of the show I wish the writers and other creators had given us more of a sense of who she was because I think it really contributes to my frustration with not understanding the story they were trying to tell. But as a (kinda-sorta-someday-once-again) fic writer, it’s a true embarrassment of riches. The trick, for those of us concerned about Mary’s ethics were she a real person, is to be aware of the dangers of reading her character certain ways and to be cautious around them if we want to play with those interpretations.

#sherlock meta #mary morstan #marta blathers #johnlock meta

[kendrixtermina]

It is me or are ppl really sleeping on Dedue?

To the point that ppl seem to shoehorn other characters into that same role/ space while he’s right there. 

Like whatever Rhea’s backstory is she’s been in power and privilege for the last 1000 years, she’s a fantasy creature, and everything about the distant past is subject to unreliable narration as we hear like 5 different versions of it all from biased sources (though I’d say Seteth is probably the most believable one, he was there, and he’s an honest guy)

Whereas Dedue is flat out a survivor of extreme prejudice, no ambiguity, no metaphors, no fantasy magic nor unreliable narration involved, absolutely non-debatable.

If you’re looking for a character who’s totally focussed on their social role/another person because of poor self-esteem and not sufficiently knowing that they matter themselves that’s also Dedue. 

Not Hubert. Like noo guys. Hubert states many times that he follows Edelgard out of conviction and no longer because of the tradition or because his father made him. He has his own reasons for hating corrupt nobles and the church. (Most apparent, I think, in the Byleth A and the Hanneman B support, but he mocks the church and the knights like all the time.). If anything, he’s less scrupulous than her (though I wouldn’t say that he’s completely amoral; He definitely has things that he repudiates (corruption) and outright tells Linny that he wouldn’t be friends with someone who’d abandon a person in need, or tells Byleth that he’s one of those people who can’t bring themselves to believe in a just god because of the evil in the world).

He also does pretty much whatever the fuck he wants, which is also established many, many times. Which Edelgard most certainly knows. She likes this. She listens to him (insofar as she listens to anyone), but she does so because she likes and agrees with his attitude. She chose to make this guy her right-hand advisor. She cares nothing for tradition and would’ve given him the boot and grabbed another advisor/attendant if she didn’t think he was supremely useful, and, as she put it “always right”. She kept him despite the tradition, because she likes intelligent, reason-driven people and he’s the third smartest person in all of Fodlan (numbers one and two are, of course, Claude and Lysithea). Plus he’s an accomplished mage without a crest. He isn’t even the loosest cannon in the imperial arsenal. She cares only about results, whether you’re from a peasant background like Manuela and Dorothea, unconventional/quirky like Linhardt or Bernie, or... whatever you’d call Hubert and Jeritza. So you could say that her leadership style certainly has both advantages and disadvantages. But Hubert himself seems overall pretty content with his position and doesn’t really expect anything else, because, after all, he chose it. Though we certainly have his father’s treahery as a cynism catalyst that lead him to be this super disillusioned cynical irreverent person who’s very slow to trust. 

It also can’t be because Dedue is boring. This is evident when you compare him to say Cyril, who also has the sort of effed-up past that, in RL, would deserve sympathy by default, but in the end this isn’t a charity for real people but fictional entertainment and he’s just not likeable. (likeability being subjective of course - there’s clearly SOME ppl who DO like him, and why shouldn’t they?)

 I mean boringness is subjective but Dedue has a whole load of characterization besides the fucked up backstory. there’s always that protective layer you need to get through (which is only realistic) but if you actually try to get to know him he’s got a lot of traits and hobbies and distinctive attitudes and complexities tragic plots. 

Like on the one hand he and Dimitri are as glued-together as they are because no one else can remotely understand what it means to have all your friends and family massacred in front of you, they’re both people who are naturally nice and peace-loving but wound up with the capacity for ugly desperate actions because of what they’ve been through but there’s also a contrast, they’re both sort of repressed but in different ways (though you could say that both struggle to express anger on their own behalf and thus channel it onto anger on behalf of others), Dimitri’s clumsy and emotionally volatile whereas Dedue is very careful/dexterous and calm, and that’s where the tragic part comes in. 

Because while he’ll go on with whatever Dimitri says cause he owes him his life and has nowhere else to go it’s quite clear that that’s not exactly what he wants (You get support points if you ask him what he wants even if he doesn’t give you a clear answer) - I bet he’d like nothing more than to just go live a peaceful life somewhere together without bothering with the revenge thing. (Though he’s got a better explanation/excuse than the rest of Team Kingdom, among whom no one will tell Dimitri to stop because of their culture’s overemphasis on loyalty. Even Felix doesn’t do much more than complain. It takes Byleth, a more pragmatic, cool-minded outsider to Faerghus, to put a stop to the kamikaze mission. )

He also has really sweet dynamics with Ashe and Flayn (who canonically like him even on other routes), also Mercedes and Sylvain if you did those supports. Because he’s kind of retreated completely into his social role as a vassal cause he has little else left and at this point he’s so used to being scorned that he preemptively tells ppl to keep their distance, but if you put in  the minimum effort to actually get to know him you see this sweet, chill domestic young man who’s still there underneath.  (Again contrast Hubert, whom you can’t really get much personal conversation out of, even Edelgard who’s known him all her life struggles to get him to spill what he’s really thinking, cause he’d just tell her what he thinks it would be useful for her to hear. And with Byleth he plain doesn’t trust them early on. He’s simply committed to being a consummate professional, by deliberate choice, though he definitely does have his own dephts to get to know, like being a bit self-conscious about his ‘scary’ mannerisms or ultimately being motivated by wanting to do something worthwhile and impactful with his short human life)

Ultimately, Dedue is very honorable, community-minded and reputation-conscious which means that he ironically fits in quite well with the Kingdom students, though that also probably makes it a special kind of hell to not only lose his community but to be stereotyped as a dishonorable scoundrel, because he cares quite a bit about his honor and reputation and that of his friends (see the Dimitri, Sylvain and Byleth supports) which puts him in this situation where he feels he can’t really be their friend without tarnishing their honor, there’s a complex mix of feelings where he’s of course as frustrated as any human being would be but has also partially internalized some of the crap from years of constant bombardment. 

The function of anger as an emotion is to ensure just treatment in the group, so for someone to just lie down and take crap like that it shows that they’ve totally given up on getting justice so for me at least this is really a character that I really want to see good things happen to and that makes me cheer every time someone thinks of him or when something good happens to him.

Like in a setting where nearly everyone’s backstory sucked his is quite possibly the worst. Only Jeritza and Lysithea (mostly because of the early death thing) even come remotely close. 

I feel like ppl would be all over this character if he were a bishie or cute girl, like just because of the “hides behind defense mechanisms but you can see his true self if you bother to be halfway decent” thing. Like usually ppl are all over that. 

Like to summarize we have a sad backstory, a tragic loyalty conflict, a frequently misunderstood demeanor that’s the product of a tragic past,  a basically sweet disposition that’s still not without the capacity for darkness, ample potential for wholesome Friendships (or more romantic ‘ships), what’s not to like?

Plus he’s got like one of the sweetest goddess tower events and S-supports. He gives you his jackets and looks at the starts with you etc. Bit too wholesome for my personal tastes [stuffs El, Hubert, Felix and Linhardt paraphernalia back into closet] but objectively loveable. 

tl;dr: Let’s all appreciate Supreme Chef Deddie-pie. 

#Dedue Molinaro #fire emblem: three houses #fire emblem three houses #fe3h

[bangtanxm]

Bookclub; February Highlight

February is the month of love and as we all know, love doesn’t happen over night. Whether it is angst, sexual tension or pining we all love to be on the edge of our seat hoping and begging that they would finally get together. So, naturally this month theme was “Slow Burn” and these are our our monthly fanfic recommendations from our bangtanxm; bookclub!

In the following you find a list of fics we recommend and reviewed this month. Please support these amazing authors! With every monthly recommendation, there is also a drabble game that everyone can participate in. You’ll find the masterlist at the end of the reviews. Happy Reading!

BOOKCLUB; recommendations

TIDES WILL BRING ME BACK TO YOU by @sujigguk​ [aka @ftyoonmin​]

— Summary; Fate is a funny thing. Humble fisherman, Yoongi, learns this when one evening, it's not a fish that sits at the end of his hook, but a bottle, containing a note claiming that a creature of the sea by the name of Jeongguk has been left stranded on land and is soon to draw his last breath.

bookclub; review

“This story immediately pulls you in with the amazing story-telling. Lou has a way of writing so beautifully detailed that it makes you imagine the amazing scenes in your head vividly. On top of that, it is a really heart wrenching love story, mixed with a wonderful fantasy theme of siren Jungkook and his fishermen Yoongi.” [@softjeon​]

“Wow. So, Tides Will Bring Me Back to You has been on my to read list for quite a while. I regret my choices in not reading it until now. This fic was an absolute work of art. The singular amazing thing I want to point out is the attention to detail. So, we as readers expect fics to be good, especially AUs. Like we want some world building and detail so that we can visualize the setting and location and what is going on with the characters that are being put into this new world. This fic was able to do that but MORE. The attention to the setting detail was unbelievable. There was so much in terms of vivid descriptors and explanations that painted this super vivid and pretty image in my mind. I’m scared of the ocean to be honest, so I have never gone out on a ship beyond like, a lake. And have only ever seen the ocean from the safe confines of the beach. But because of the detail in this fic, I was able to visualize it so perfectly and vividly, it felt like I was really there.I really enjoyed Jungkook as well. Obviously he’s a gorgeous young man in real life, right? Which is why I liked this fic because it wasn’t this stunning perfect man from the waist up, you know? He had the scaly back, the webbed fingers, the sharp and kinda creepy teeth, etc. I think that this made it more “realistic”, as realistic as a mermaid fic can get of course, but like… I don’t know, it felt more real and added a layer of uniqueness to the fic that a lot of supernatural AUs tend to lack in fanfic terms. Also, the ending. Some might struggle with this because it was so ambiguous (no spoilers of course) but I really liked it. Though I’m sure the author had like a set “this is how it is” ending or explainer, I like that it’s this sort of grey area for readers to think on and figure out.” [anon]

“Omg, I really loved this fic. It's a bit longer than I normally read because work sort of keeps me away from reading more than writing haha but I really loved how Yoongi had this NEED to help a stranger he had no idea existed or not. Then to watch their love blossom that way and Yoongi protect Jungkook. It's also cute that Jungkook calls Yoongi 'My Yoongi' and Yoongi first thought it was a mispronunciation of his name. I do love mercreatures too, so that also drew me to this one. I loved the details and the tidbits of background we get from Yoongi and his love for the sea/sea creatures. Sorry, this is just all over the place.” [anon]

BABY BLUE by @chimknj​

— Summary; Jimin is blue. He’s loyal to his customers and confident in everything he does. Namjoon is white. He’s pristine and maintains a perfect balance in life. When the two come together, they create baby blue, a color of freshness and something new. It’s new for both of them, but not all new things are bad.

bookclub; review

“What an amazing story! Even though Minjoon is basically already "together", although Namjoon is just paying Jimin to be there, it is just heartbreaking to read about how Jimin tries to get to know the other more, trying to get him out of his shell and falling in love while he is doing it. All while Namjoon tries to stick to his rules making it so much harder for Jimin, himself and the reader....cause damn!!! I could have screamed the characters sometimes and it literally hurt my hurt so much each time Namjoon pushed Jimin away ;; I can't.... I wanna cry just thinking about it again.” [@softjeon​]

“...beautifully written plot, where you just want to punch Namjoon in the face until he finally reveals his true feelings.” [anon]

“I didn’t mean to consume over 70,000 words in one sitting. I honestly didn’t. Over a few days, over a week. Space it. But I knew I was lost at the end of chapter one, the same way Namjoon knew he was lost the second Jimin’s cute hands started unbuttoning his shirt after date night.Honestly. This fic had everything. I laughed a lot, I cried way more than I’d like to admit to, I had the urge to take a cold shower more than once, I wanted to take Joon by his perfectly ironed lapels and shake the ever-loving crap out of him. Honestly though, it felt like a full-length novel. I mean it was, by length, but also by content. The world that was created was beautifully devised and detailed, and everything from the various business names to the design of the apartments was so easy to visualize due to the richness of the descriptors. Personally, I appreciate that. It adds to the ‘movie playing in my head’ way that I like to read.The smut was unbelievably well written. It was sexy without feeling too unrealistically “porn film fantasy” if that makes sense. Like the progression felt natural and easy rather than being rushed or faked like some fics tend to do. It was clear the author did the required research in terms of D/s and wrote what felt very accurately.I loved the involvement of the other members, I think they all played really great, vital roles as side characters. And honestly, they were so rich in their own right that I would love spin offs about their own arrangements with their respective partners!The ending was absolutely sweet and perfect too. I spent the whole fic praying it’d end in a way that was satisfactory to my wrenching heart and I feel like it gave me every single thing I wanted and more.” [anon]

EVERYGREEN by @softjeon​ & @cassiavioletblue​

— Summary; Yoongi felt that something was wrong the moment he had stepped foot into the garden. He hated that this sense of foreboding could mean anything and he had seen enough to have a very vivid imagination of what could wait in the bushes for him. His grip was tight and ruthless but when he felt he weight of something heavier he startled. In front of him on the grass, bloody and shaking was a deer hybrid; a boy, obviously younger than himself and apparently in a lot of pain.

bookclub; review

“Whuff. There's hybrid fics. And then there's THIS hybrid fic. I know that hybrid fics are one of those things you either love em or hate em, I honestly couldn't find a thing to dislike about this fic even if I tried. Firstly Yoongi as the grumpy on the outside (but squishy on the inside) raccoon is perfection. Imagining his markings and those growls and grumbles -- it's so endearing. And then there's JK who, a deer? Oh come on, I'm soft. Imagining him with the broken little antler and those soft, cute markings V_V It's tooth rotting, I swear. But for all the fluff and sweetness, there's this layer of angst and hesitation that makes this feel like such a deep, melancholy slowburn. The will they - won't they, the pull of each and push back, the "I can't" and "I want" -- GUH. Really, it's just so sweet and perfect.” [@kimlinebiased​]

“I read Evergreen as it came out. It seemed like such a cute take on a trope that’s pretty common in our fandom, but one I’m less comfortable with, so I was really eager to see these authors’ take on it, since I knew I love their work already. The story opened up with action that sucked you in almost immediately, but it really balanced that with some slower, almost peaceful moments. I think that’s a really big draw of this story, really these authors overall, but this one in particular. They have a handle on the ebb and flow of the story. What I mean is, things happen and it’s exciting and oh god cliffhanger, but then things slow down and give the reader a second to breathe (but not too long, because then it would get boring). The balance between breathing space and action can be really hard to balance and I think these two do it really well.  For this particular story, I think my favorite character is actually Namjoon. Sure, he doesn’t have a huge part, but I think he’s super well written and quite in character to the canonical person. (All of them are in their own way, but he sticks out to me). He’s so supportive but not afraid to tell Yoongi the truth even if it’ll sting. Further, he isn’t perfect. He lets his heart get in the way of his head sometimes (like with Jimin) and it makes him really endearing and realistic in a refreshing way. I think that he’s one of those absolutely indispensable characters in this particular world. Like sometimes, it’s easy to switch members, have x play y’s part, y play b’s part, etcetera. But I think that Namjoon’s part was written so perfectly, it fits him like a glove and made it really enjoyable when he was on the page. The plot has some things that the reader can “call” so to speak – like you might read and know there’s gonna be trouble for JK, he’s gonna get tangled up in the mess in some way, but even thinking you know, it’s still done in a way that it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment and “oh no” factor when the big climax does finally get rolling. Just like you know pretty sure, it’ll end happy, I still found myself worried about ‘well what if it doesn’t’. And I think that’s a testament to the authors, really. They are able to take these fanfic tropes and make them feel fresh and new, so even if you feel like you might know what will happen, the way that they weave the story together makes those emotions still hit in a really palpable way.I’d also like to discuss the overall setting of the story. There’s only a few locations that the readers really get a feel for, but particularly the cabin. I think that the descriptions of the cabin and forest and general development of the backstory and setting was really well done. Things like hybrid or other non-human AU’s can be really tricky to keep interesting but still give the right amount of backstory and description so that they aren’t confusing. We as readers need to know the rules, but not have a history textbook, and I think this fic really accomplished that as well.Overall, I just really enjoyed the feeling and emotions that this fic caused. I think that it was able to really convey some important messages while still being woven into a sweet, unique love story. [anon]

THE JUSTITIA PUGNATORES by ShoshinLaurels [AO3]

— Summary; When stable boy Park Jimin's best friend, crowned Prince Kim Taehyung finds himself under threat in his own palace, his guards dropping like flies, the only option left is to call on the Justitia Pugnatores, the 'Justice Fighters.'Three men boasting incredible skill and legendary pasts come barrelling through the heart of the palace, shaking everything in their wake.As the dilemma of the princes impending chances of murder only escalates, Jimin finds himself wrapped up in a mess of secrets, heartache and suspiscion.If only Min Yoongi didn't complicate things. 

bookclub; review

“It's been a while since I read this, but I would happily read it in one sitting all over again. I'm a sucker for royal settings and I absolutely ADORED the dynamics of this one. It's just the right amount of angsty and fluffy, and keeps you hooked throughout.” [@sujigguk​]

“Damn these apples! I really loved this fic out of various of reasons, the relationship between the characters are amazingly written, the setting and overall plot is so well thought out and it just has the perfect mixture between angst, fluff and comedy… i mean, just the first chapter had me laughing so much.” @softjeon​

THE WAY GUCCI LOOKS ON YOU by @joonsrack​

— Summary; “Funny how even in this ridiculously absurd situation, life had made Taehyung a third-wheel. Or a sixth.If Bangtan Dry Cleaning was his fairy godmother, Jimin his little mouse, the jacket his magic dress and the club scene his ball, where the fuck was his prince charming?A knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts.”

bookclub; review

“So, this fic is really is so cute. I started in on it just casually, but found myself entirely sucked in and couldn't put it down until I'd read all that was written on it. Taehyung specifically is such an interesting character - his thought processes and sass are just perfect. I adore Jimin as well. And then there's Jungkook, who is so -INSUFFERABLY ARROGANT- but not in a way that makes you dislike him. He's still so endearing and you WANT these guys to just get off their high horses and kiss or something, but you also kinda want Tae to pour water into his lap because he's such a rich boy. I love it so much. I can't wait for the next part.” [@kimlinebiased​]

“A story that could very well fit a movie! It’s everything you need on a sunday night! You laugh, you want to throw something at their rich faces and scream at the boys to just kiss already. A perfect Slow Burn!” [@softjeon​]

“The way that Gucci look on you (amazing) is such an adorable and absurd (in the best way) slow burn. It’s a wip now, and I honestly cannot wait until the author updates. The case of mistaken identity is such a good trope that honestly, I feel, isn’t done enough. Especially not in such a cute and fun way. Of all the ways for Tae to get outed as not who he said he was – this one was epic. Of course, it’s a slowburn, so you expect the endgame ship to you know, not be huge fans of one another, but the tension here is so palpable, it is awesome. Taehyung cannot stand that cocky little JK and JK’s arrogance is both hilarious and infuriating. But there’s very clearly something deeper to him, and I really like that the author is able to make that clear through hints and clues, rather than just outright saying it. It adds a depth to JK’s character that often gets missed in fics, especially because we know these guys so well, so to speak. Having those sort of subtle nuances really adds to the overall enjoyability of the fic. I think Jimin is such a great supporting character too. He’s the perfect mix of Jiminy Cricket and devil in your ear, so to speak, and his personality comes off as so honest to who he is canonically. It makes him so fun to read. (And the YoonMinSeok trio is helpful as well, what can I say, soft spot for poly even in side pairings). All in all, it’s just an absolutely stunning fic so far and I can’t wait for the author to continue it.” [anon]

UKIYO by Sharleena [AO3]

— Summary; A story of tender tides and unmoving hummingbirds.

bookclub; review

“I'm almost halfway into this story but I really have to rec it cause wow...if you like mafia and urban fantasy themes then this is THAT fic for you listen succbus jimin, mafia leader yoongi, a damn deeply laced mystery that I can't EVEN FREAKING FIGURE OUT I usually can connect a few dots in mystery stories sometimes bUT THIS STORY IS KILLING ME there is someone yoongi is looking for that's destroying his gang and he like DOESN'T FREAKING EXIST and I know once I reach the end I'll be like IT WAS RIGHT FREAKING THERE IN MY FACE lmao but seriously the authors' worldbuilding skills is freaking legendary and I'm always hoe for mixing different themes together and the mix of urban fantasy and mafia just ugh freaking beautiful. The Slow Burn is real in his fic, yoonmins' dynamics are annoying and frustrating as heck but can be really sweet sometimes because they're both very broken individuals and they're trying to find comfort in one another. The themes are obviously very dark so carefully read the tags and also author notes in the beginning so you know what to expect but seriously it's so damn worth it and I will be personally putting a long feedback directly on their Ao3 as well when I'm done because i know I'm going to have lots more to say. BUT SERIOUSLY THIS IS THE SHIIIITTTT SO FAR SO GOOD SO DAMN GOOD I FEEL FED EVERYTIME I READ IT GIVE IT A READ WHEN YOU CAN!!” [@flowerwrites06​]

FAKE SUGAR by minverse [AO3]

— Summary; "I guess," Jungkook pauses momentarily to inhale a deep, bracing breath, "I would just want you to come to my work events and laugh at my jokes and don't correct people if they imply that we're doing it.""Having sex, you mean," Jin clarifies gently, and Jungkook chokes on air. If his face was any redder, Jin would insist on taking him to the hospital. Jungkook clears his throat, obviously trying to play off the strangled, choked sound as a casual cough."Yes. Doing... sex."

bookclub; review

“I love a good concept for fic, and a face sugar dating  au sign me up!!! honestly this is one of my all-time favourite fics, cos its not only funny and entertaining but it has so much heart!!! like i just love the vibe of the fic, and i wish i could keep reading it forever. Plus the characters are so like-able and feel so human. Also jinkook holds a special place in my heart, and jk being all shy in the beginning and jins confidence is an unmatched pairing!!! EVERYONE JUST READ IT, ITS SO FUCKING GOOD, okay im done now sorry…" [@tinysweetscrown​]

“I read this a while ago, and also everything else by minverse... Everything they write is gold, the character construction, the dialogue, the relationship/chemistry, the humour, the plots...just everything. Fake Sugar kept me up at night with its brilliance and originality, i couldn't get enough of jin and jungkook's relationship, but also all the other members' interaction and storyline. It's expertly written and i sincerely think everyone should read it, if they have not already.” [anon]

“Aaaaaah i love this so much!!! I absolutely love the characterisation of jin!!! I find it very refreshing! In some ways it’s completely /jin/ yet in others it’s such a nee and fun way of describing him (the fact that hes a competition eater absolutely sends me its just. So! Jin!) i also love jungkook!!! Tiny gay babie kook having to impress ppl he doesnt want to impress and getting competitive over that dindjdjd once again i could genuienly see it happening! And oh boy oh boy am i excited to see how this story pans out! The little appearances by the rest of bangtan as well i love it! It all flows very naturally and none of the cameos feel forced or anything. AND JIMIN UDJDJDJD I LOVE HIM. the fact that hes just a chaotic brat having dumpster sex and causing trouble oh my god im still crying jsbsjsnjs.” [anon]

The Drabble-Game; MASTERLIST

— prompt; “Romantic attraction is literal: characters feel a pull like gravity to people they’re attracted to. The bigger the attraction, the harder the pull.”

Thank you to everyone who participated! Stay tuned for the next theme of the month to participate!

NUMINOUS written by @softjeon​ & @cassiavioletblue​

— Summary; “You’re fucking kidding me, are you?” He looked up at the ceiling and made an annoyed face. “You really want me to suffer do you? Stupid universe.”

— Join the Bookclub here! — official post — faq

#bangtanxm #bookclub* #bts #bangtan #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #february highlight*

[pipesflowforeverandever]

11 and 7 :0c

11: What do you like best about this fic?

Of the fic itself: The gradual buildup to and then the reveal of anything to do with Joey; delving into Sammy’s religiosity and mindset; creating a female character I can be proud of.

Of writing it: Seeing people analyze it and see everything I intended and then some, and then gush about it. 

7: Where did the title come from?

As a heads up, a lot of these refer to things in each arc so if you don’t want spoilers for parts you haven’t read (and don’t want to be spoiled ofc), I wouldn’t read about the titles you haven’t gotten through yet. It especially includes the major plot twist in ARITR and the end/climax of the whole series.

Hymns of Struggle: This was the very first thing I had to name, and I don’t remember a lot about the process, but I think I was just especially thinking of things I wanted to convey in a way that sounds good. “Hymns” fits both musicality and religiosity, and “Struggle” conveys a feeling of, well, struggle. And together, I intended to give the idea that people are praying through their suffering, with hope (either pointless or good).

Wonders of Heresy: I wanted to keep the same basic rhythm in titles, so this is where the pattern (blank) of (blank) starts. This in particular is supposed to point out the things Francine brings that are amazing, even if they distract or go against Sammy’s faith. This goes for both her phone and new knowledge as well as her meeting Alice. I also think it especially fits the very last chapter where Sammy is trying to teach Francine how to sing/pray to the ink demon and she just… *plop* to the floor like a little kid.

Parables of Empathy: I already knew ahead of time I wanted this part to be about Francine getting to know Alice and the Projectionist better. “Parables” in this case refers to biblical lessons meant to be modeled after, and so this part is about trials Francine (and Sammy secondarily) goes through that she and others will learn from and use in the future.

Flickers of Faith: “Flickers” simultaneously refers to a flame dying and a flame sparking to life; it’s an in between state and by the name alone, you can’t really tell where you are. It’s precarious, and dangerous, and the characters both physically and emotionally are threatened. My first chapter for it is called “The Last Stair,” which tries to convey the idea that sometimes the in-between is more distressing than whatever outcome is next. And so, Sammy for the first time has doubts in his faith, and Francine for the first time begins to question what Sammy has told her and goes out to test it herself.

Tides of Longing: In Flickers of Faith, I use the title here to refer to Francine’s want of something more eating something up Sammy holds dear- if I recall right, his sense of security in the ink demon. Here, I use it to also refer to a recently revealed Joey swallowing the studio up in his curse because he longed for his son. Joey, Sammy, and Francine are all shown here to deeply want something, and they face the moral complications of the pursuit of it.

Cares of Communion: In a way similar to Parables, I knew I wanted to talk about people “communing” or talking and being together. I knew I wanted Francine to talk to Joey again- inevitably so, as they are both very drawn to one another despite justified apprehensions on both sides- and I wanted Sammy to talk to Alice after Francine met with her again. This is probably my weakest title choice, but it’s still not necessarily bad imo because it sounds good and rolls off the tongue. I want to say I changed the title at least three times, even after posting chapter 1 of it.

Dances of Duality: I was talking at either @startistdoodles or @aceofintuition‘s stream and I was asking for ideas for titles of upcoming arcs in general, and Ace suggested either the whole title or at least the Dances part. In this section, I try to make it more apparent that something deeper is happening, that there is mirroring between Joey and the rest of his studio and between Francine and Henry. 

“Dances” is both literal and figurative, of course; it can both be something fun and intimate as well as an analogy to dodging one another in a fight- predicting their next move. It goes for Joey especially as he does his best to analyze Francine while simultaneously marveling at the warmth she brings other people, and so Joey ends of in one moment letting himself go and allowing himself to enjoy the otherwise horrid, murderous whimsy/power of the studio with her…and in another moment he has to predict what she is going to do, and what the demon is going to do. And well. I actually already drafted two dancing moments prior to writing this arc, so “dances” kind of fell in my lap…and especially so with Sammy’s dance mirroring Joey’s.

A Rock in the River: I had a big, long talk with Ace about this one. I was pretty attached to the title pattern at this point, but they convinced me that the finale needed something different, because something different is happening in a major way for the story and the characters. And so the title itself represents that- a change. The path of life is being redirected by something towards another direction. 

We first came up with the idea that something nature based and/or like a fairy tale is fitting, and a lot of the analogies I use of such things (candles, bodies of water, trees, rain, etc) would be brought full circle. In particular, I was thinking about the second or third chapter of Tides where Joey is described as having the belief that time is like a river, and when Henry left, fate was going in the wrong direction. Joey had faith in magic and believed that it brought him and Henry together, and therefore as a man of magic, he had the ability to change the flow of fate and put things where they were supposed to be. Of course, he only ends up in the most ironic way shifting it entirely away with his selfishness and lack of introspection, and so no one was allowed to continue living as their were supposed to not just as employees but as human beings with proper bodies and souls that can rest in death. Time is askew and means nothing to the studio, and this is not a world these people are meant to be in. 

There’s a few people that I could say are the “rock” that comes and changes everything to the way it’s truly supposed to be; most obviously, Francine brings about change and it’s entirely plausible the studio would not be set free if not for her influence. But I also really wanna give credit to Sammy, for one. Sammy goes against everything he’s taught himself to emotionally survive what he’s been through for nearly a century- he runs away with his faith and believes in himself and his friend. He basically kills his “god” in order to set himself free, he is the change he prayed for.

 …I really, really need to mention Henry too, though. Henry changed the studio- his game-canon arrival creating the setup of Hymns- but also in his own personal story, he sought for his dad and ultimately left again after realizing (one way or another) that he not only did not change in a way that mattered- and actually got even worse as his destruction created an eternal cycle of self-hatred and perpetuated harm and possessiveness. I haven’t written about this yet, but Henry presumably had to struggle with the aftermath of his decision and try to reconcile the truth that he did what was good for himself and his family. And in the end, Henry survived and left the studio, and he had his own peace living a full life with a loving family. And Joey realizing Henry in spite of Joey’s mistakes still had his own life in his hands of course couldn’t take back everything the 50 years of believing he killed his son did to him emotionally and to the studio, but it managed to undo the knot for Joey to let go; he let go of his son, and his son saw the sun again, and so could everyone else without him. 

It’s also less directly relevant, but I feel I should be fair and give a shoutout to Alice for changing too, going from someone that harms others because she believes they’re wasting away anyway- using their bodies to make herself who she wants to be- to someone willing to throw away the body she’s worked so hard for and put her fate into someone else’s hands. She learned to love, and to let someone care for her instead even after being reaffirmed in her first life and the eternal one that no one was really looking out for her.

As another note, I also already planned out the ending where everyone is released at Joey’s “heart”- or his sacred childhood home in a beautiful, natural scene like a fairy tale, and so the title helped wrap everything full circle that way too.

#hymns spoilers #ask box #gingie #hymns alice #hymns sammy #francine #hymns norman #hymns henry #tak talks #tak writes #long post #science5life #hymns of struggle #batim au #fanfic #fanfiction #writer ask

[wingheadshellhead]

Hi, I love your blog! So I've been reading a lot of 616 stevetony lately, and I've noticed that in both canon and in a lot of fiction, Steve seems to really dislike Extremis (even before superior iron man). Why do you think that is? Even without looking at this with shipper goggles (which I always am), I think it's really strange that Steve has so much disdain for something that essentially saved one of his best friend's lives.

(THIS HAS TAKEN ME 5 BILLION YEARS BUT HERE IT IS FINALLY)

i used to be in the same boat and automatically assumed steve’s dislike of extremis was one of those fandom headcanon things that was so commonly accepted it’d basically become fact, but it’s really, actually, all 100% canon. but the comics that deal with it happen right before civil war so i think many ppl have simply forgotten or skipped over that part of tony’s timeline.

execute program is the 6-issue arc that comes right after extremis and it’s the main thing i tell everyone they have to read if they’re putting themselves thru the ringer that is 616′s civil war. it is so so important to understanding tony’s headspace and where he’s at before the events of civil war occur. 

READ EXECUTE PROGRAM. a) bc it’s absolutely crucial to tony’s side of civil war, b) the follow-through from the extremis arc is just… amazing, virtuosic. i really genuinely think it is a fascinating, excellently-written arc, c) when it gets gay it gets very gay. truST ME you do not need your shipper goggles for this at all bc guess which of the following things are canon: the sound of steve saying his voice being the only thing that snaps tony out of (likely a dissociative episode) trying to murder a villain that nearly kills peter, dyeing his hair blond when he’s going on the run, tony stopping his heart to save steve’s life. all of them !!! all canon !!!!!! 

extremis is, basically, terrifying. to the average human being, hell even the average superhuman. it’s p much unfathomable the sheer level/magnitude/scope of extremis. extremis allows tony to access and control any piece of technology on earth and even in earth’s atmosphere, he can hear satellites. it’s like having the singularity as a superpower. 

so part 1, iron man vol. 4 #7 (2006), opening issue and we have tony stopping a villain with lethal force, all while counting down the milliseconds and bidding on priceless artefacts.

now, avengers don’t kill. and tony doesn’t, he stops the man’s heart, then restarts it, basically performing defibrillation. 

and then we get this conversation: 

and after tony jets off leaving the new avengers to sort out the aftermath, we get this disturbing reminder:

a proper reread might prove me wrong but i don’t think the writers ever clarify whether this transformation in tony’s personality is due to extremis or outside manipulation (which is the culmination of execute program’s arc as i’ll go into in a bit). but when your brain is literally a machine and you Have Become more machine than human, this is the natural progression of tony’s humanity – the aspects of compassion, empathy, etc. – fading into the background to accomodate for extremis. 

extremis brings out everything about tony that steve (and possibly the world) fears most. it makes him cold and calculating, and with a brain like tony stark’s elevated by the superhuman capacity to think and react at the speed of a machine, he’s unstopppable.

part 2, iron man vol. 4 #8, we have tony nearly straight up burning a man alive for almost killing peter and laughing about it. 

he’s so deep in Destroy Mode that he doesn’t even register steve’s warning, and here i think he acts entirely out of instinct –– like extremis is thinking for him rather than his brain prompting him to do this. 

extremis is also the cause of tension between tony and the newly-formed new avengers (one of my favorite line-ups!!), he almost gets into a fight with logan and jessica has to break them up. it turns out tony is missing time in his memory, which is extremely worrying for someone w/ his level of power…

what’s so fascinating about extremis, and why we have so much to thank warren ellis for (the writer of the extremis arc), is that it is the perfect and the most logical climax of the modern iron man story. tony’s worst villain, as we’ve known since the very beginning really, has never been anyone else but himself. and in the case of extremis, it’s a highly technologically advanced version of himself that can do and be everything he’s ever dreamed of being able to achieve vs. him. 

the question extremis asks is at what cost? at what cost does technological advancement, bleeding-edge breakthroughs, and the spirit of human innovation come at? how far would tony go to become the Ideal version of himself that he sees as superior in every way? what would he sacrifice for that?

extremis represents basically the pinnacle of sci-fi tech in iron man comics, it’s why even god awful superior iron man used a 3.0 version of it as the foundation for tony’s sins. it’s the farthest point he’s ever reached, and it’s also the lowest in terms of the damage and fallout that comes from it. because ofc, tony stark can’t have nice things like this, but also bc the hubris + nature of extremis allowing its host to play god can’t exist without there being negative consequences. really b ad consequences. 

huge respect to danial & charles knauf, the authors of execute program, too, because they find a way to perfectly bring the arc full circle as ellis did with his extremis. the central villain plot revolves around ho yinsen’s son. the kid hacks extremis and uses it to control tony, sending him to subconsciously assassinate a bunch of people on his kill list, i.e. a list of all the men involved in yinsen’s death. i mean like, HOLY SHIT, an iron man plot where a literal ghost from tony’s past – a direct victim of events tony was involved in, the son of the man that sacrificed his life so iron man could be born and so tony stark could live – shows up, weaponises tony’s own body + technology and uses him to murder people who are scheduled to participate in a peace summit despite the blood on their hands and the human cost of their involvement in the weapons industry.

DRAWING PARALLELS BETWEEN YINSEN’S LIFE’S WORK AND TONY’S LIKE DEATH AND DYING WOULD BE KINDER. again bc of my memory or even regardless due to constant retcons + reruns of the iron man origin story, i don’t know if it’s ever been explicitly stated before that yinsen also got into the weapons industry in order to get the funding necessary to support his other revolutionary work. but his son literally conflates yinsen with tony here, blending them into one + the same with that final panel and it becomes very obvious that at least a small part of him blames father for entering into weapons design. if he hadn’t, he might never have been captured by the the terrorist group that wanted him and tony to build them missiles. 

also, yinsen + villains involving yinsen are a recurring theme in iron man history but can we talk abt the fact that tony has never ever let himself forget the man bc jesus christ

yinsen’s kid is killed by a SHIELD sniper, activating the dead man’s switch and unleashing all the peackeeping units tony built that are now compromised. now, tony’s no jean grey or wanda maximoff but if this arc shows anything it’s not to underestimate him bc intentional or not (lmao) if he put his mind to it there’s literally no limit to the damage he could do. 

we see various heroes fighting off the peacekeeping units, and the new avengers are at the peace summit fighting a hulkbuster. 

and here it is people !!! the 23989485th time tony kills himself so steve can live. 

JUST. THE LOOK ON HIS FACE. AND THEN THIS ABSOLUTE LACK OF HESITATION:

so, yes. extremis was traumatising for pretty much every single person involved. steve has extremely good reasons for HATING extremis, even in the early stages or even if a fic is taking place before the events of execute program.

if you read the full arc, you’ll see tony running himself into the ground with his new abilities (world’s greatest multitasker can now multitask 192483958 things at once? ofc he’s going to use and abuse and exploit that), you see him spiralling and losing his grip on reality (mainly because he’s actually having dissociative episodes and losing time due to being remotely controlled to assassinate ppl but also bc of the Effect extremis is having on him). i brought up wanda and jean earlier as a casual reference but like, to put it in that kind of perspective, people just weren’t made to have this much power.

on a smaller scale, apart from eating up all of tony’s time and attention and mental health in a really bad way, it just Distances him from everyone. especially from the team. it’s Isolating, having this much going on in his brain and no one else in the world to fully understand it. 

and on steve’s side, you also have the fact that tony’s genius is both one of the things he loves and lowkey resents most about him. he has this deep-set anxiety about tony with all his brilliance and intelligence leaving him behind in the dust, or worse, laughing at him and how outdated and dim-witted he is in comparison. this is steve’s version of tony’s “i’m never going to be good enough for him”, a sentiment summed up in a quote from him as early as tales of suspense vol. 2 (1995): “yes, tony stark, a man of today and tomorrow is the man i’ll never be.” he’s so afraid of being abandoned + alienated by tony’s mind and the future that tony’s worked so tirelessly to build that might render him irrelevant. he’s scared of a future where he has no purpose, but more or just as importantly, he’s scared of becoming obsolete in tony’s life, of not being needed by tony anymore. one of the things that endeared him so much to tony, and which laid the foundations of their lifelong friendship, was the fact that from Day One (1), tony made him feel At Home. he never let him feel ashamed or isolated as The Man Out Of Time, he actively worked to make steve feel comfortable and to give him the things he needed to acclimatise and to fit himself into this brave new world. 

extremis undoes all of that. it propels tony so far and so fast into the future that it makes tony untouchable to steve. all of the ‘i can hear satellites’ stuff renders steve helpless and even more out of his depth than usual. it presses all of steve’s secret buttons and then some.

to sum this all up, and to finish my extra rambling abt tony bc u asked me about extremis and i couldn’t not finish with this:

here we have, ladies and gentlemen, everything u need to understand abt tony going into civil war. and it’s not on any of the official civil war fucking reading lists which really pisses me off because whether or not they did it on purpose the knaufs basically wrote all of execute program as the perfect precursor and characterisation groundwork for an antebellum tony stark. 

a tony stark who was just very recently manipulated against his will into assassinating people and causing a world-threatening incident that could have resulted in the deaths of thousands, including his own friends and teammates (and the love of his life), is a very different tony stark to the one ppl see in civil war #1.

what happens in stamford was an accident, too. no one meant for that to happen. tony knows first fucking hand what that means and what it feels like to carry that responsibility and guilt. his position in civil war supporting the SHRA is not only to protect the potential lives that could be lost in another stamford incident but also to protect superhumans and superheroes from ever being exploited against their will by villains to kill and hurt and destroy. 

superheroes are inherently susceptible to being used, it’s just part of the narrative convention –– a superhero is brainwashed or mind controlled or otherwise forced against their will to do something awful. and even if it’s not their fault there needs to be  accountability  for the victims. both the victims that suffer directly because of superhuman incidents but also the superheroes that become victims of ppl who abuse their powers. it’s abt protecting superheroes not just from civilians but from themselves. and if u’ve read a single comic u kno that this kinda shit happens way too often and way too easily.

sO YE S T hIS iS W HY. AND IT Ex PL AINS SO MUC H AND i j UST WISH P PL WOULD GODDAMN REA D THIS. LIKE EVERYONE WHO EVER WANTS TO SAY ANOTHER A GODDAMN THING ABOUT TONY STARK IN CIVIL WAR NEEDS TO FIRST READ EXECUTE PROGRAM FIRST OR PAY ME $10

anyway…………… one last time, i’m so so so sorry this took forever to get to. hope the wait was worth it!

#mod: answer #averageapplepie #stevetony #stony #extremis #text: meta #universe: 616 #comic: iron man v4 #original: meta #i'm so sorry u had to wait so long like #i should warn ppl that ever ask me a meta question that i might take half a yr to reply #......not to deter u tho bc i promise that my answer will be as well thought-out and in-depth as i can make it

[thecorteztwins]

@askprofessorx  SO I'M REALLY SORRY THIS IS A BIG FUCKING INFO DUMP but these are my muses and my ideas for what we could do with them and Charles

The Acolytes on this blog refers to Fabian Cortez, his sister Anne Marie, and their teammates Chrome and Delgado.At the beginning of the 90s, Magneto had basically retired and fucked off to live in space alone on the humbly named Asteroid M. Then all of a sudden, four mutants show up on his doorstep being chased by SHIELD agents and proclaiming loyalty to him. He lets them in. Three of them are sincere in their claims, but their leader, Fabian Cortez, has a plot. He starts manipulating Magneto, pushing him back into villainy, into doing things that scare the hell out of humans (like collecting fucking MISSILES) because "self-defense". This leads him into conflict with the X-men, who until now he'd actually more or less made peace with, and he sustains grievous injury from Wolverine. Psychologically, this makes him feel that much more isolated and rejected, making him that much more prone to Fabian's manipulation...and physically, he now needs to rely on Fabian's healing powers. Things get worse as Fabian also uses his ability to boost other mutants powers, because it's established that Magneto's powers are to blame for his mental imbalance, so more power equals more crazy for Mags. Fabian's plans all come together when Magneto gathers Xavier and the X-Men aboard Asteroid M, intent on brainwashing them to his side, and the governments of the US and Russia, motivated by Magneto's actions, decide that Asteroid M, and all those upon it, must be destroyed. Fabian, knowing this because THAT WAS HIS PLOT, gets in the only escape pod, leaving the others to die. The X-Men are able to escape, and offer a way out to Magneto and the remaining Acolytes, but Magneto chooses to stay, to use the last of his abilities to hold the asteroid together so the X-Men can make it to their ship...and the other Acolytes choose to stay with him and die at his side. So, why did Fabian do this? Why did he want to get rid not only of the X-Men but also his supposed "leader" Magneto, and his own team, his own sister? Power. Fabian had made Magneto a martyr now, instead of someone who abandoned his cause, and he used his name to rally a cult of new Acolytes, far more bloodthirsty and genocidal than the original squad had been...with himself leading them, of course. These new nasty Acolytes did a LOT of awful things, but Fabian got his when Magneto returned from the dead (typical!) bringing a super duper powerful mutant named Exodus with him who gave Fabs the boot.  Fabian flees to Genosha, kidnaps Luna (Pietro's daughter) to use as a human shield/hostage, demanding that Pietro, Wanda, Crystal (Luna's mom), and the Avengers all protect him from Exodus and Magneto or else he’ll kill Luna. He also gets the Genoshan mutants on his side (damn, this guy is charismatic!) and rallies them into causing a civil war so he can use the chaos to hide. Yeah, seeing the country “awash in a raging river of bloodshed!” is just to save his own slimy hide. What a charmer. Anyway, the good news for Fabian is that Magneto is braindead at this time due to Xavier finally whipping out the telepathic big guns on him after he ripped Wolverine’s skeleton out. The bad news is that Exodus is alive and well and shows up, kills Fabian. But Fabian doesn't stay dead. He comes back to caught more trouble, first with manipulating Joseph (Magneto's clone) and then when Magneto gets his mind back and becomes ruler of Genosha, Magneto comes back to recruit Fabian onto the Genosha cabinet (because as shitty as Fabs is, he's a good politician) and to be his personal battery since his powers are now depleted. Fabian starts secretly working to backstab Magneto AGAIN but then when Magneto's powers fully return, Magneto kills him. It mostly sticks this time. Mostly. He does show up during Necrosha though (an event where another villain mass-resurrected a bunch of mutants, of which Fabian was one, but that was a temporary thing) I play Fabian and the other original Acolytes as having been resurrected by unknown means (that's...not uncommon in Marvel tbh) Chrome, Anne Marie, and Delgado don't remember that it was Fabian who was responsible for their deaths, and have resumed their lives as terrorists with him as their teammate and leader. Naturally, Fabian doesn’t want them finding out the truth, and thus does everything he can to keep them from finding out Magneto is alive and at large, lest they seek him out and he tell them what really happened. Fabian himself also wants nothing more than to leave supervillainy at this point and have a normal life, not because he’s seen the light and turned good, but because he’s tired of getting beaten up and dying. Unfortunately, he doesn’t dare run for it, as he (rightly) believes his sister would kill him as a traitor if he did, and he doesn’t think he can escape her by murdering her again either, since he’s learned nobody stays dead (but he still doesn’t want to go through death again himself because IT’S HORRIBLE) With that setup, we've got the enemies deal down pat. Anne Marie will try to kill Xavier on sight. She can't be talked to or talked down. Chrome, it's possible to engage, and Delgado is actually unlikely to try to hurt Xavier UNLESS Xavier is getting in the way of something they're doing. As for Fabian...he might well try to get Xavier to help him out of this mess. Convince him to wipe the Acolytes minds, or rewrite their memories so they think Fabian is dead, enabling him to escape them before they can find out it was him that betrayed them and Magneto. In an XMCU verse, none of this would have happened. I'd picture it instead as Fabian and the others being fresh Brotherhood recruits, with Fabian having all these schemes in mind to betray and usurp Magneto, but not having done it yet. We could have a plot where they capture Xavier, or the X-Men have captured them, or things like that. Finally, in Evo, they're not terrorists yet, they're just teenagers. Fabian and Anne Marie are a couple of mutant kids, and they're not bad either! So, possibly students. They've actually got their powers perfectly under control more or less, and are quite comfortable with them, but they're interested in meeting others like them...and, frankly, Anne Marie needs to be taught responsible use. Because she's growing up with the ability to control the minds and emotions of other people and no one can tell her "no" on anything and it's not that she's evil but she doesn't have a concept of things like telepathic ethics and telepathic consent so she's kinda super dangerous despite being a sweetheart with no malicious intent. I do the 616 verse a lot so I'd actually be more interested in the XMCU and Evo options? I haven't seen any of the films after First Class, but your About section says that's where your default verse is, after FC but before DOFP or XMA. Over on @mypralaya I've got Haven, aka Radha Dastoor, she's a villain who showed up in seven issues of X-Factor during the 1990s. She's a woman who from an early age felt a calling to help ease the suffering and pain in the world, and worked in the streets of her native India helping the poor, caring for the sick, etc. Great person, total saint. Unfortunately, she fell in love with some cad, he knocked her up and then left her. Then things got worse, because a top-class demon known as The Adversary (demons = pretty regular things for the X-Men to deal with in the comics, actually) possessed her unborn child and started feeding her some major lies. Fast forward twenty years. She's still secretly pregnant, eternally in her first trimester. Her child is a mutant, and she can access its immense powers. She also believes it speaks to her with a divine voice, but that's the Adversary, who has made her amass a cult dedicated to spreading chaos and destruction in hopes of bringing about the Mahapralaya, a sort of Hindu apocalypse after which a beautiful age of painlessness and peace and joy for humanity will come, ending suffering forever. But Haven herself was still a really nice woman who advocated for mutant/human peace as a public figure (international best-selling author + lecturer) and in fact greatly admired Professor Xavier. But the whole "secret terrorist cult causing mass suffering" brought her into conflict with X-Factor, despite her desire to have them as her friends and allies. There's no shortage of bad guys with good intentions in the X-Men, but Haven was especially unusual in that she was a pacifist villain. She actually never attacks the good guys, even when they attack her. In fact, she tries to help them---she rescues Polaris from government agents, she heals Wolfsbane of the Genoshan brainwashing she underwent as a slave, and tries to heal Multiple Man of the Legacy Virus (X-Factor blames her for his death when she fails) We're told her cult is doing all these horrible things offscreen, but it's kinda hard to root against her when she barely even threatens anyone onscreen. Her story ends when the Adversary decides it's time to be reborn into this world and Haven...does not survive that in canon. I decided that she does, because I felt she deserved a better ending. In XMCU, demons don't really fit with the canon, so she could be a human or a mutant. Either way, not a villain, because not being influenced (and I don't really play her villain incarnation anyway, I'm more interested in what comes after) so not an antagonist, but more likely a friend or staff member? I feel like the "inspired by Xavier" thing would also be different, because she's in her early 40s, so she'd be older than your Charles, and that could be neat to explore. I mean, hell, maybe she could be a mentor figure to him, or at least a colleague in the same field (mutant/human relations) I'm guessing that it's rare for him to even meet a mutant who is older than he is, since he and Erik and the original X-Men/Brotherhood are kinda the OGs in the XMCU aside from Apocalypse. Then there's Shaw @sebastianshaw He's not a Kevin Bacon Nazi, he's not concerned with mutant supremacy, he's just concerned with money and power, to the point he'll happily throw other mutants under the bus to human bigotry if it makes him a profit. Seriously, this guy built SENTINELS for the government because it made him money, he gives no fucks about species solidarity. As for the Hellfire Club, rather than being a proto-Brotherhood, they're a worldwide social club for the wealthy elite. Most of its members (which includes the Starks, the Worthingtons, and the Braddocks) are just that, regular super-rich people who wanna hob-knob with other super-rich people at fancy parties, but behind closed doors, the Inner Circle that runs in (Shaw, Emma, etc.) are mutant bad guys bent on political and economic domination of the world. This has brought them in to conflict with the X-men several times, the most notable of which was the Dark Phoenix saga, in which the Hellfire Club recruited the telepath Mastermind to brainwash Jean into their service, resulting in her becoming the Dark Phoenix and the resultant horrors that followed, which ended in her death. Shaw's not liable to just attack Xavier, he's more like Delgado in terms of "I'm not after you, just don't get in my way" but there's still room for conflict there, as well as standard "good guy and villain have a chat" things like Xavier does with Magneto, with none of the affectionate history there. Shaw's shown to put himself on the same level of mutant influence as the likes of Xavier and Magneto  even if he's way overestimating himself (I mean, he's got a lot of economic/political influence on the world but he doesn't influence mutant culture like Magneto and Charles have, he's too private/on-the-down-low as a mutant) and to have opinions on that, as well as the typical 'thinks the heroes are fools wasting their powers' gig. He's also shown to be immune to Charles' telepathy, probably due to the same Hellfire Club technology that keeps Cerebro and other psychic stuff out of the building's walls, and even without it he's trained enough in telepathic resistance he was able to give Emma a very hard fight in trying to telepathically 'get' him.  So Charles can't just tell what he's thinking which makes for a more...normal/even conversation. Not that Charles goes around reading everyone's mind but like, Shaw is a bad guy, so it would be understandable if he tried just to be sure Shaw wasn't up to something, but he can't, so like...he's in the more normal person position of not being able to be sure. Also, he and Charles met in 616 before Charles formed the X-Men and before Shaw joined the Hellfire Club, but the details have never been revealed beyond that Charles embraced him as a friend and that the same young mutant (Tessa/Sage) saved both their lives, but Shaw rejected Xavier’s path and went his own way. In Evo, it's pretty easy to just introduce Shaw and the Hellfire Club as new foes on the scene, probably initially posing as a benign group with similar goals to Xavier, complete with a school of their own for young mutants (Emma Frost ran one in her Hellfire days in the comics) In XMCU...it's more complicated/difficult given the existence of Shaw there, but since that Shaw's real name is Klaus Schmidt, it's not impossible to say he stole this Shaw's identity or something, possibly along with taking/copying his powers via some kind of scientific experiment (since he doesn't display these abilities when he met young Erik) I also play Shaw's son @shinobixshaw and Fabian's son @malcortez. Shinobi is a 616 canon too, he "killed" his dad (Shaw got better) and took over his position in the Hellfire Club...and then proceeded to do nothing except drink and party and be lazy. Shinobi is not a serious threat in any way, even if he thinks he is, and thus really cannot make a decent antagonist, but he can certainly be annoying in his stupidity and arrogance and drunken shenanigans. Malcolm, on the other hand, is not from 616. He's from the Marvel Zombies universe, but has canonically access to a machine that can take him to other dimensions, including, oh, say, the XMCU! So it's perfectly plausible for him to be able to pop up in the mansion or wherever as a fish-out-of-water who needs help getting acquainted with this world. He's technically a villain in his own world, but his goals of "rule my village" won't really apply in any other world, he's just interested in his own home, not anyone else's. So he'd be more like a...very confused guest than anything else. 

#askprofessorx #info post

[brokenwandsrpg]

Welcome to Broken Wands Roleplay, Gabe! The background you’ve concocted for Remus is fascinating and I’m so glad you’ve decided to explore this take on the werewolf myth here with us. Check out this page for what to do next and let us know if you have any questions. We’re thrilled to have you come play with us!

OOC INFORMATION:

NAME & PRONOUNS: Gabe, she/her/hers!

AGE: 19

LANGUAGE: My first language is (Brazilian) Portuguese and sleepy grammar mistakes are a real struggle occasionally, but I’ve been writing in English for a really long time now.

EXPERIENCE: melancolialunxr is a little bit of an oldie because I went into hiatus for a long time here but, it still has some of my favorite pieces I’ve written in the hp verse, so it’s what I have to offer. I’ve been writing in tumblr rp groups for over five years now, but I have a habit of deleting my character accounts (because I’m lame and paranoid).

ACTIVITY LEVEL: Right now I’m on break and at my parents’ house, which means I can come online only at night when I’m left alone, but I’m usually lurking on my phone obsessively all day every day. School starts on February 20 for me, so while that means I’ll have papers and projects to do as classes pick up, I’ll also be back in the comfy loneliness of my apartment, so I’ll probably write more then.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO TELL US: Sometimes the millennial fetus in me comes out and I type like an asshole but I swear I mean well. And also, of course, if at any point there were any headcanons that don’t make sense or just don’t apply to this world, just hit me up and I’ll be glad to change them!

DESIRED CHANGES:

About the character? Some tweaks were made here and there regarding his past history, but your part of the bio was kept intact!

About the world-building? Nope!

About the game? Nope!

Alternative faceclaim? Okay, so honestly I was thinking of Reece King. I know there’s like a joke about him being in every fancast of every fandom ever, but I genuinely had forgotten about him until halfway writing this bio and everything sort of clicked so nicely for me when I put it together. I also know he doesn’t have that naïve boyish look, but if I’m correct he’s 22 currently, which isn’t that far from Remus’ age of 16/17, and in my defense he does look generally older in photo shoots and professional pictures, but he looks younger when he’s more natural. So I don’t know, I’ll let you be the judge of that, I know everyone has different views for different characters, I just think he’d be a really interesting addition to the part. But anyway! I also had in my list Dajé Barbour, who has less resources but still could make do. I also had picked up Jackson Hale’s name, but I wasn’t able to find any resources of icon or gifs of him, so that’s just upsetting. Let me know any thoughts? I’m always open for suggestions, too! [I think you’ll probably have the best luck with Reece King due to resources, and while he looks a little old for this Remus he also has a delightful face and a viable range of imagery -- and anyway, the books talk about Remus looking prematurely aged anyway, so why not? All joking aside though, he seems like he’ll make a fine fc and we’re happy to accept that change.]

CHARACTER BASICS:

NAME: Remus John Lupin, originally named at birth Remo João and changed eventually for convenience – a request from Lyall once they took the baby in. Hope always has and continues to call him Remo, as an attempt to maintain alive his origins. Currently, after the incident and ever since he’s been hiding from the Witch Hunters, if anyone dares ask he’ll introduce himself as John, just to play it safe. “Remus” isn’t exactly a common name, and he’s afraid if it falls on wrong ears, he might get taken back to them and punished for what he’s done.

BIRTHDATE/AGE: I believe he’d be 16/17? I’ll keep his birthdate as the canon one, March 10th.

BLOOD-STATUS: Muggleborn, werewolf.

GENDER & SEXUALITY: Remus hasn’t had a lot of time to think about affection. He grew up always feeling like the odd one out of the bunch, and while his parents taught him all love was equal, they also taught him to stay guarded and be cautious around other people. What he should or shouldn’t say, what he could or couldn’t show, his emotions were always very restrained. Lyall and Hope meant well, of course, it wasn’t an easy world out there for a werewolf who not even wixes understood, and it was only a matter of safety that he kept his walls up high. He is very much bisexual and cis-gender male, and while deep down he knows that, if anyone really cared enough to ask, they’d be met with a babbling, blushing mess of a boy who couldn’t quite put into words how he felt about people.

WAND/ETC: Hope let the boy keep his father’s wand once Lyall passed away, but Remus doesn’t know what to do with it. In fact, most of the time, he feels like the thing doesn’t even want to be with him at all. His mother was never able to teach him any magic, and so he carries the thing around like an amulet, tucked into his waistbands or shoved into his socks. The Hunters only wanted to use his wolf side as a weapon of mass destruction, as otherwise the slim, frail boy wouldn’t be of much use to them, so they never gave him any other weapons. Remus is not much of a fighter, and since he’s trying to go by unnoticed for the moment, he doesn’t see the need in carrying anything of the sort around.

APPEARANCE: Standing at 6’2” after a growth spurt that didn’t quite come with a manual, Remus still finds himself unable to fit into awkwardly long limbs ever since puberty hit him. He can often be seen running into doorframes with his shoulders or knocking things over with his pointy elbows. He’s slim in nature, his skin is dark, and he’s given up on taming his hair by now, it just does what it does. His eyes are a light hazel color, but you wouldn’t be able to tell, as they’re always either hidden by thick black sunglasses, or squinting in discomfort at the presence of light. Remus was raised wearing muggle clothing; he doesn’t think of style so much as simplicity and comfort, so his closet consists of many piles of almost identical gray sweaters, with the exception of one or two colorful T-shirts, and three of the same pair of jeans.

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

FAMILY: Lyall Lupin (Father): Passed away when the Ministry fell, Remus only knew so much of his father before losing him. He was six, and although he didn’t quite understand death just then, he felt the pain of his mother, who would cry when she thought he wasn’t listening. Despite only having very few memories, Remus holds the image of his father very dear to his heart, knowing he owes his life to the man. Hope Lupin (Mother): Ever since the tragedy, Remus grew very close to Hope, as she was the last piece of family he could hold onto. They only had each other, and they got by precariously for a while before she had to reach out to the Witch Hunters and ask for their help. Now that he knows she could be in danger, he feels protective, and he wants to find a way to keep her as safe as she kept him all these years.

ASSOCIATES: I’d love to talk to the members about any potential association Remus might have with any existing characters, I’m open for plotting always! But right now, I think it’s important to mention the hoard of stray dogs that would constantly follow the werewolf around town, wherever he goes.

LIFESTYLE: Remus is currently hiding from the Hunters, as he’s positive no good things will come his way when they find out what he’s done, so his living situation is complicated, to put it lightly. He’s comfortable blending into the muggle world, as he was raised on it anyway, so he’ll spend most of his nights on different homeless shelters, sleeping on sleeping bags and eating canned soup. He’s not the friendliest and is hardly ever charming enough to talk his way into jobs, but people will sometimes spare him a few coins here and there, out of pity or charity (he suspects it’s actually only because people feel bad for the pack of dogs following him). However, with the full moon approaching, he’s started to grow more distant, to wander around looking for somewhere he might be able to isolate himself in peace and not bring any more harm to anyone.

PERSONALITY: RETICENT: from the moment his biological mother got pregnant to the moment the Lupins took him home, there had always been one very clear warning label clouding above his head or hanging from his neck: caution – werewolf. The muggle world was terrified of the beast, while the wixes from England didn’t quite understand his peculiarities either, due to his origins. Hope and Lyall only had the best intentions for their son in mind when they sheltered him, over-protected, taught him to be discreet. Remus was told stories of a horrible world out there, a world filled with people who would look at him with cold eyes, people who would spare him no thought, people who would flinch and cower away if he ever spoke of who and what he was. From a young age he’s learned to keep his emotions and thoughts well guarded. If he keeps them locked up inside of him, then no one can take it away, right? DISTRUSTFUL: a childhood of learning to be careful and an adolescence of learning he was only good for destruction. Lyall passed away and Hope’s only choice was to reach out to the Witch Hunters, exposing their most precious secret (his most precious secret), and what she got in return was exactly what she never wanted. The Hunters only cared for him if he killed for them; a young Remus learned quickly that he couldn’t trust people so easily – or perhaps at all. He only trusts his mother and the always loyal pack of dogs that insist on tagging along, and doesn’t dare open his mouth to anyone else about his monthly transformations. GAUCHE: Remus is clearly not a people’s person. In fact, more than once his mother had tried to work on his tact and gotten no result. Being raised as he was, he grew cold towards the world and retreated further into himself; his mother’s friends would always say that “he’s just a shy boy” and “he’ll grow out of it eventually”, but that isn’t quite the case for this Lupin. He’s not necessarily nervous or timid around people – he just doesn’t know how to connect with them. Even something as trivial as small talk and discussing the weather to him can feel like a puzzle he has yet to decipher. Communicating and socializing just exhaust him. SOFTHEARTED: however socially inept the boy may be, Remus was still brought up in a household where kindness and respect were as important as breathing. Even in his darkest days, when all he felt for the world was bitterness and loathing, Hope was there with gentle hands and sweet eyes to soothe his pain away, to remind him not all of it is bad. His own skepticism is engraved into his core, but he knows he has some of his mother in him. Remus may be tactless and distant to strangers, but he’s still humane and caring in nature. STRONG-WILLED: although detached and reserved, Remus is not, by any chance, spineless. Sure, he doesn’t often speak up in groups where he’s not comfortable to do so, and he conforms to other’s rules when he believes it’s for the best, but he is stubborn and sharp if he believes otherwise. He agreed to fitting into the Witch Hunters because he knows he’s helping his mother by doing so, but he has his own firm viewpoints that don’t exactly match theirs. His voice is not loud and his words are habitually mumbled under his breath, but Remus can be all curt disputes and sharp edges if confronted. SELF-LOATHING: assured as he might be in his beliefs, the boy doesn’t do so well in the confidence department. Perhaps if it came down only to society’s intolerance towards werewolves, he’d get by just fine – after all, he had his family. But his family was the real blow on him. He knows his father loved him, and he knows they so generously took him in when he was a baby, but he also knows his condition isn’t adding good reputation to the Lupin name. He knows his mother loves him, as she’s never looked at him with the kind of tired eyes he sometimes sees in the mirror, but he knows he’s a burden she carries. Raising a six-year-old alone mustn’t be an easy job, but raising a six-year-old werewolf when the world they know is collapsing and your husband just passed? Remus’ admiration for Hope is as vast as his self-loathing is deep. He knows her life would be easier if they had never taken him in, and he thinks she’ll always be the only one who will accept him. He’s certain keeping his distance from anyone else is the rightful thing to do, though in reality it is only fueling his hatred inside of his chest.

SKILLS/WEAKNESSES: Despite not being the most charming nor the best in fistfights, Remus relies a lot on the fact that he’s simply BOOK SMART. Not being one to go out and socialize, whenever he could the werewolf took to books. He read all the novels in the Lupin household, and when he grew up to realize what kind of world he’d face out there, he read about tactics and schemes and maneuvers, everything that could help his poor survival skills (but of course, theory and practice are very different things). Quiet and introspective, Remus may not be good at quick reactions, but he’s CAUTIOUS.  Always alert, everything he says or does is well thought out, and he hardly ever acts on impulse. No amount of stealth could make up for the pack of dogs often following him. Remus seems to attract every stray dog in the neighborhood and, seeing as they think he’s the alpha, they’re insistent on tagging along wherever he goes. They’re loyal to him, and great blankets when it’s cold at night, but they’re not of much use otherwise – therefor, they can sometimes be the cause for unwanted attention, making it harder for him to blend in unnoticed. And as the lore from his origins also say, Remus is exceptionally PHOTOPHOBIC; if he doesn’t have a pair of sunglasses with him, he’s left to squint at every light source he has to face, doomed to have painful headaches in response to it.

HISTORY: Remo was born in a very small town in the north of Brazil, and his life had been condemned even before he was opening his eyes for the first time. In his country of origin, a common legend says that the seventh boy to be born after six girls is cursed to become a lobisomem: part wolf, part man. The transformation will occur in every full moon, and this werewolf will kill whoever crosses his path as he stalks around its village. It will rile up home dogs and make lights flicker and go off wherever he passes, always angry and thirsty for blood, his mind completely taken by an animalistic instinct to kill. Remo was born on March 10th, the seventh brother to six sisters. At the time, perhaps by sheer twist of fate or simply luck, Lyall Lupin was walking through the cities of South America to study the different variations of the werewolf lore and how factual or not they were. He found that nearly all of these “seventh sons” either mysteriously disappeared when very young or were filed as victims of “natural miscarriages” when still in the womb – until he found one humble family in a small town who had just had their child. He befriended them, asked to know more about the legends, and they begged him to take the child away. Remo was two weeks old when Lyall met him, and in a small town like that where religion and folklore ruled, the citizens were already planning to have the innocent boy killed. The family already had a lot in their hands taking care of six little girls, not only they couldn’t afford to have another mouth to feed, they would rather have their baby taken by a stranger into a possibly better life than have to watch him die in the hands of the intolerant population. Lyall and Hope at this time had been married for nearly two years. They were young, they had no children, Lyall couldn’t simply let this little boy behind; besides, he didn’t even know if this legend was real or if it was all this people’s mythology. He took a chance and he and Hope had always loved Remus as their own. They never once hid from him the fact that he’s adopted, and he’s never felt any resentment towards the family who gave him away, only gratitude that his father was there to take him in.

GOALS: Despite always being well aware of his history, Remus has never looked too much into the folklore of his condition – something he wants to explore. He thinks maybe if gets to the root of his very existence, he could find a cure, or maybe some kind of temporary antidote, something to help him with the transformations. He yearns to learn more about this part of himself, because he believes looking into the past will give him the answers he needs. On a more immediate level, Remus is concerned about being as incognito as he can while also trying to find a safe space to turn. He barely manages to get by on his own, but he wants to makes things right. He wants to make sure his mother is safe, he wants to keep the Hunters from hurting her at any cost, even if it means he has to risk his own safety at some point. He’s curious and he longs to learn more about this world, about his father’s work from before he passed, about this war he was dragged into, about wixes and their resistance, about everything.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW AND WHERE ARE THEY GOING?

PLANS: I��m really excited to just play this character out wherever he goes, because I think it’ll be incredibly interesting to play a Remus that may be a little bit sharper than the canon one. This Remus never had Hogwarts or the Marauders to show him that he could have friends, this is a world that hasn’t shown him compassion just yet, at least not outside of his home. I’m thrilled to write him and I hope others will like him, too, maybe? I’m curious to explore his relationship with Hope, I think he’d go a great deal of distances to keep her safe, and I think the Hunters will probably find out about that quickly. Surely they won’t let him go easy after killing one of them, so I want to see how that goes – will they find him at some point? Will they go for Hope instead? Obviously, due to Remus’ unsociable nature, I want to see who he’ll let himself communicate with. I want to see some of his walls break down and I want to see how he’ll deal with that, if he’ll feel comfortable growing attached to someone, or if it will throw him off completely. On that note, he’ll be spending this next full moon alone – how will he deal with it? Is someone, by any chance, going to see him turning and find out his secret? That could be interesting, as I don’t think he would willingly tell anyone he met, otherwise. And how would his relationship with Sirius and James be? Would they ever get along in this world? There’s also his relationship with magic in general! Lyall passed away when he was only six, so there likely wasn’t that much he could’ve taught Remus then. And Hope is a Muggle, so even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t be able to pass onto him any helpful spells or tricks. I want him to explore this more, to try and teach himself wandless spells or maybe to try to use Lyall’s wand (which would not work out, probably). Certainly he’s read a lot about magic, but I would assume he’s a little rusty when it comes to practicing it. With him running away from the Hunters and spending most of his time roaming the streets, I really want him to see a different kind of world than the one he’s been living in for so long. I want him to meet the rebels, the wixes who are fighting against the oppression, and the wixes who are quiet about it too, the ones who keep their magic hidden like he does. I want him to find comfort, but I’m also really interested to see how other characters will take to a werewolf. This Remus is not soft or easy to be friends with, he’s comfortable in his loneliness and he is not going to reach out to change this, as he assumes everyone will only turn their back on him when they find out about his condition. That being said, I’m also not opposed to the idea of everyone already knowing that he’s a werewolf – or maybe everyone quickly finding out? I think it can go either way, it would also be interesting to see him interact if everyone knew; I think he’d be a lot more wary and even harder to reach. A loose werewolf in town clearly is no good news for anyone, so I’m excited to see how his transformation can impact other characters. If he doesn’t find a place to transform where he can be locked up or isolated, there might be some havoc coming.

INTEREST: I haven’t ventured into HP group roleplays in a while now, to be honest, usually because I can’t find one that meets all my criteria, but this one is definitely more than I can even ask for. Remus has always been a favorite of mine and last year I’ve developed this AU for him that plays on my country’s folklore and urban legends, and I’m going to be incredibly stoked if I’m able to write him for more people. A (talented and awesome) friend of mine is in this game and recommended it to me, and of course I couldn’t help myself at the opportunity to bring my beloved AU to life inside this freakishly splendid plot.

OPTIONAL WRITING SAMPLE: I feel like I’m super late with this app already and because it’s already 4am, I’m just too excited to submit it in (and too tired) to add a writing sample. I hope the app can already give you an idea of how I write? But if your heart so desires, I completely understand, just please send me a message and I’ll write it up asap!

#remus lupin rp #hp roleplay #marauders rp #marauders rpg #marauders era rp #application #accepted #remus app