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collinrobinsonsglasses · 5 months

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Too Soft to Be a Pirate

Izzy Hands x Reader (GN)

I have never written fan fiction before, but over the past few weeks these amazing blogs have been absolutely keeping me fed:

@raggedy-dxctor @run-me-through-but-not-like-that @stedefxckingbonnet @dragon-kazansky @gonzo-rella @izzyhandswhore @seafoam-inserts @hard-to-be-the-bard @brwnicons

Thank you all for your amazing stories and for your inspiration. I figured I would give this a shot. I am hoping this is going to be a series. I really am writing it for myself and if someone else likes it too that's a win. It's a slow burn. The slowest burn of all time.

{Masterlist}

{Next Chapter}

Summary: The story of how you end up in Blackbeard's crew.

Chapter 1: Little Mouse

You stood on the quarterdeck, your arms resting against the weathered wooden railing of the ship as you gazed out at the vast expanse of the sea. The rhythmic dance of the waves was a peaceful distraction from the anxiety that had weighed on your chest all week. You had followed your best friend to a life on the sea, and along the way, you had fallen for him. You thought he had fallen for you too. As the moon hung low in the night sky, casting its gentle glow over the ship, your mind couldn't help but wander to the tender moment you and your best friend shared your first kiss under the same moon. But now, you could see he was falling for someone else on the ship, and the pain was like a storm surging within you.

He had barely spoken to you all week, despite living on the same ship. It’s hard to avoid someone on a ship unless you’re really trying to. Your loyalty to him and the promise you made to stand by his side kept you here. You actually grew to love a life on the sea, but it was tearing your heart apart to watch the person you loved fall for someone else.

Lost in your thoughts, you didn't notice the figure approaching from behind until a strong hand gently rested on your shoulder. For a second, perhaps out of pure habit, you felt your stomach fill with butterflies at the sight of him. But reality came crashing back, a cold pit settling in your stomach as you remembered why you were out here alone in the first place.

"Hey," he said stoically, "I've been looking for you."

“That’s a surprise”, you shot back, before taking a deep breath to regain your composure.

As the moon ascended, casting a cool, silver glow over the ship, your best friend's gaze settled on you. You could sense the frustration in his eyes as he took a deep breath, preparing to speak.

"Listen," he began, his voice a mixture of regret and pain. "I think you realize I’ve found someone else, and it's difficult when you both are here” His voice hardened, and he continued, "They mean the world to me, and I don't think it's fair to anyone involved for you to stay on this ship. I need to see where this goes, and it can't happen with you constantly by my side."

You reluctantly tore your gaze away from your friend, tears welling up in your eyes. His words stung, but deep down, you knew he was right. This ship, once a safe place, no longer felt like home. In a soft voice, you whispered, "I’ll leave at the next port we dock in, I’ll find a new ship"

As if acknowledging the weight of your decision, his strong arms enveloped you.. You leaned into the hug, your eyes closing as you sought safety in the warmth of his embrace, as you were so accustomed to doing. You felt his breath against your ear as he whispered “That’s not soon enough. I’m sorry, but you’re getting off the ship now”. The arms that were gently holding you wrapped tightly against your waist, squeezing the wind from your stomach, as he hurled you towards the edge of the ship. As you tumbled backward, his whispered words still echoing in your ear, the sea greedily welcomed you. The waves wrapped around you, their embrace tinged with the sting of saltwater, and you descended into the depths of the ocean.

The next moments were a blur. Amidst the crashing waves, you remember fighting the tumultuous current and trying to keep your head above water. After a while it was impossible to tell how long you’d been treading water. It felt like hours. Before you could truly process what was happening you felt your body being lifted into a dinghy. The next few moments were hazy and felt like flashes,

Your eyes fluttered open to find two formidable pirates peering down at you. One of the men had a long white beard, but what drew your attention the most were the gentle depth of his eyes. Soft and understanding, they betrayed a kindness, immediately putting you at ease. The second man had sharp, calculating eyes, locking onto you with an intensity.

“Ivan. Look what I found when trying to catch some fishies” the man with the beard exclaimed. You slowly sat up on a large ship, adorned with black sails. You noticed the ship was empty on deck, except for the two men still staring at you.

“Izzy is not going to like that you brought them aboard” Ivan remarked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"I am so sorry if I’ve caused you any trouble, Thank you for helping me" you murmured apologetically, still trying to process what was happening. As your body realized it was on solid land, no longer at the will of the sea, exhaustion overtook you. Your eyes began to close as strong arms wrapped around you once again and the quiet sound of the continuing conversation between the two men lulled you to sleep.

When you awoke again, you found yourself nestled behind some barrels and quickly assessed that you were likely in the galley. Your clothes had dried and you were wrapped in tattered blankets. Eventually, the two familiar faces from the previous night greeted you. They introduced themselves as Ivan and Fang. They handed you a few pieces of bread and a cup of water before beginning to speak.

“We’re keeping you here until we figure out what to do with you” explained Ivan. “Fang is worried that Izzy is going to throw you right back into the ocean if he finds out you’re here”.

“Okay” you whispered. Not having the energy to ask any follow up questions. You felt numb and shrunk back against the barrels wanting to feel as small as possible. As the men stood up to leave you grabbed both of their hands and thanked them again. Lost in your thoughts, you failed to observe the softening of Fang and Ivan's expressions at the gentle squeeze of their hands.

These interactions continued over the next few days, with both Ivan and Fang stopping in to bring you food. There wasn’t a lot of conversation exchanged between the three of you. You admired how both the men seemed to look out for each other and now for you, for some reason.

Two days passed, then one night Fang slipped into the galley, maneuvering behind the barrels to join you. “You mind if I sit here with you?” he asked gently, “Captain is playing knife parade again. I don’t like that game”.

"Please do," you said, shifting to make space for him to sit. "What's a Knife Parade?"

“Oh, it’s a game where the Captain chases you around the ship with a knife, screaming that he’s going to kill you,” Fang explained matter-of-factly, but you could sense the fear in his eyes.

“That’s terrifying” you frowned, squeezing Fang’s hand. “I would be hiding back here too”.

Fang flashed a smile, then playfully bumped his shoulder into yours. "I knew it was a good idea keeping you on the ship. You seemed too innocent and helpless to leave behind”

"I feel like that's not a positive thing," you chuckled, exchanging a smile with Fang.

“I think it is. I knew you wouldn’t be a threat", he said back to you gently. “You’re too nice to be a pirate”

"I could say the same thing about you," you began, but your words were cut short by the abrupt sound of the galley door being flung open.

"Fang! Your Captain is looking for you," a gruff voice called out, interrupting the moment, and the man's eyes narrowed as he spotted both of you sitting on the floor. "What the fuck is this?"

Fang swiftly rose to his feet, his demeanor taking on a more rigid stance under the scrutiny of the man. You, too, slowly stood up to meet the intimidating figure before you. He wasn't overly tall, but still taller than you. He wore leather trousers and a leather waistcoat. His green eyes were piercing into you. Despite the fear you were feeling, you couldn’t help but notice the striking handsomeness etched into his features.

"I found them tossed overboard, boss. They weren't going to last much longer," Fang explained.

The man scrutinized you, assessing your perceived threat level. "You know the rules, Fang. Blackbeard doesn’t allow pets on board," he sneered, casting a mocking smirk in your direction.

"Blackbeard?" you whispered in disbelief as the man seized you by the arm, forcefully pulling you away from the safety of the galley.

“How the fuck did you not know whose ship you’re on. I didn’t think it was possible for someone to be that clueless” he muttered, casting a disdainful look at you.

The next few moments you were being pulled across the length of the ship with Fang following closely behind. Ivan's nervous gaze caught your attention, but you averted your eyes quickly, not wanting to draw him into the unfolding scene. The captain's cabin door was forced open abruptly, and your body was forcefully yanked to the ground. You gathered you had finally met Izzy. It became clear why Fang and Ivan had been hiding you from him.

“Look at what I found, Captain,” the man said smugly. “Fang was hiding a little mouse below deck. Sneaking them food”. You shot a glare at the man who had forcefully brought you to your knees.

The imposing figure standing before you was a tall man with piercing brown eyes, tan skin, a long curly beard that added an air of ruggedness to his presence. His long salt and pepper hair cascaded down, framing his face. Like the rest of his crew, he was dressed in dark colors, and the unmistakable gleam of a gun and a knife at his side hinted at the formidable reputation he carried. Blackbeard looked you up and down with a measured curiosity before speaking. "Leave us," he commanded sternly, then, directing his attention at Fang, mumbled, "I'll deal with you later."

“Captain,” Izzy said with a condescending tone, “Do you think that’s wise?”

“Izzy. They’re fucking tiny. What do you think they’re going to do?” Blackbeard scoffed, rolling his eyes at his first mate.

Izzy left in a huff, and Fang trailed behind him. As Fang closed the Captain’s door he cast a pleading look at you, his eyes betraying his worry about what was going to happen. The knot in your stomach tightened at his look of concern.

As the door shut, leaving both of you alone, you noticed Blackbeard's face soften. He reached out his hand to you. "Here," he whispered, lifting you to your feet. "Sit down, little mouse," he said, guiding you to a chair in front of his desk. Blackbeard's eyebrows furrowed, and he stared at you for a while, as if formulating a plan for what to do next. “Have you worked on a ship before?” he asked.

“Yessir,” you answered quickly, “For a couple of years”.

"Do you fall off ships pretty often?" Blackbeard asked, raising his eyebrows and giving you a sarcastic smirk.

As you allowed yourself to finally think about the event that brought you to this point, the emotions you had been suppressing for the past few days began to overflow. Tears started streaming down your face, and you hurriedly tried to wipe them away. “Um”, you stammered, “I didn’t exactly fall. I got pushed off the ship”.

"What could you have possibly done to deserve that?" Blackbeard asked, his expression a mix of confusion and curiosity.

You gave up trying to wipe your tears, your voice shaky as you continued. "My friend knew about my feelings for him, but he started seeing someone else. I guess he wanted me off the ship as quickly as possible, so he pushed me overboard."

“Shit” he muttered, lips pursed, squinting in contemplation. "You got dumped... quite literally, right off the ship." He glanced down, noticing your distress, and knelt beside you, gently patting your hands that rested on your lap. "Breakups can be rough, mate. I once had a guy stab me after I broke up with him," Blackbeard chuckled, “Calico Jack”, his eyes glancing away as if lost in that particular memory. “Luckily, he missed all the important bits”

Blackbeard stood back up in front of you and walked back around behind his desk, his eyes glancing off, like he was in deep contemplation. "Iz would probably want me to throw you back overboard to teach Fang a lesson. That would be the usual," Blackbeard mused. “But we’ve lost quite a number of our crew in raids lately though and I’ll be honest, I’m tired of the usual. It’s fucking boring.”

You looked at Blackbeard curiously as he mulled over different ideas. This wasn’t the pirate you had envisioned from the stories you had heard during your time at sea. He was more charming than you expected him to be, yet you sensed how quickly he shifted from one emotion to the next. He seemed tired and disillusioned with the life of a pirate. .

"You can join the crew, little mouse," Blackbeard said decisively, a smug grin accompanying his words. "I need you to do me a favor. First mate Hands is going to be waiting outside those doors for my decision. I need you to tell him something for me."

You exited the Captain’s cabin and found the first mate exactly where Blackbeard predicted he would be. “First mate Hands?” you said cautiously, “Blackbeard wanted me to tell you that I’m the newest member of the crew, and it’s your job to keep me alive, Captain’s orders”.

The first mate glared at you with a look of disdain. “Fucking twat”, he muttered, heading back into the cabin you had just left.

You locked eyes with Fang and Ivan on the deck, and gave them a small grin. You rushed over to them. “The captain said I could stay,” you said with relief.

Fang and Ivan visibly relaxed, and Fang gave your arm a playful nudge. "Well, look at that—the friendliest pirate on the seven seas," he remarked with a grin.

{Next Chapter}

#izzy hands x reader #izzy hands #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd x reader

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griseldagimpel · 2 months

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Media Recommendations for Harry Potter Fans

Alright. So you’re a Harry Potter fan. You’re a Harry Potter fan because you love Harry Potter and you love the community you’ve built with your fellow fans, but J. K. Rowling is using her vast fortune to harm people and she says asinine shit about how anyone who likes Harry Potter agrees with her transphobia, and you know that’s not true, but maybe you’re wondering if there’s a different fandom you and your friends could go to, where if nothing else the creator isn’t using a massive platform and massive amounts of money to harm transgender people. This is a guide for you.

You really wish you could have a Harry Potter that’s just not Harry Potter. You want a magical school and aerial sports games and fighting a tyrant and the equivalent of Hogwarts Houses.

Check out The Owl House. It’s about a girl named Luz who wanders into another world and attends a magic school.

You can watch it on YouTube: Link.

You like the idea of a modern-ish fantasy book series (British, pre-Smart Phone technology age) with a big, rambling world to play around in.

Check out The Chronicles of Chestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones. It’s set across a multiverse and follows the lives and trials of young magicians.

Start with Charmed Life, which can be purchased on Amazon: Link.

You want a fantasy series with chosen ones, suffering, and sacrifice where anyone can die. Also, you like magical animal companions.

Check out The Last Herald Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey, which is part of the broader Valdemar series. It’s about the life of Valdemar’s greatest – and last – Herald-mage.

You can find it on Amazon: Link.

You love Harry Potter for the mysteries. You’d be fine with something for a bit of an older demographic, and you love supernatural horror and angst. You want to see the protagonist go through it. But you’d also love it if there was something akin to the Hogwarts Houses that you could define yourself by.

Check out The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir or The Magnus Archives. The Locked Tomb series is science-fantasy set in the far-flung future and has necromancy. The Magnus Archives is a podcast about an institute in London that takes down statements from people who have had encounters with the paranormal.

The Locked Tomb series begins with Gideon the Ninth: Link.

The Magnus Archives can be listened to on YouTube: Link.

Your favorite part of the Harry Potter series is the wizarding war, and your favorite house is Slytherin.

Check out The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. It’s about a necromancer who’s been resurrected. The necromancer in question is like 95% brat-turned-cool-uncle and 5% evil-necromancer.

The volumes are numbered and can be found on Amazon: Link.

There is also an adaptation entitled The Untamed that I have not watched yet, but it can be found on Netflix.

You really enjoy the social satire aspect of Harry Potter and think Hermione was right about House Elf liberation. Also, you’re okay with science fiction instead of fantasy.

Check out The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. It’s about an enslaved cyborg finding freedom, making friends, and healing from trauma.

The first book is All Systems Red: Link.

You like Harry Potter because it’s comfort media. Life is rough, and you want a piece of media that’s engaging but gentle.

Check out the podcast Welcome to Night Vale. It’s presented as the community radio broadcast out of a small, deeply weird town in the American southwest.

You can listen to it on YouTube: Link.

If you want something in print form, there’s The Lord of the Rings: Link.

If you like movies, there’s Jupiter Ascending: Link.

Don’t hesitate to ask if you want more information (such as content warnings) for any of the above.

#harry potter #long post #book recommendations #movie recommendation #podcast recommendations #television recomendations #media recommendations

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grassbreads · 2 months

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im curious, whats your favorite longfic??

Oh my god anon you are enabling me so hard right now. Are we sure you're not some deep splintered section of my subconscious that split off just for the sake of sending me this ask?

Anyway, my favorite fanfiction is a Homestuck fic by oxfordroulette called Vanitas Vanitatum. This mildly pornographic novel-length fantasy au dirkjohn fic is genuinely, independent of actual Homestuck, one of my all time favorite written stories.

Vanitas Vanitatum is the third fic in a long series, but it's technically a standalone. The first fic in the series is a jadekat fantasy road trip adventure, the second one is about jadekat getting dragged into a bunch of mysterious royal intrigue at Jade's arranged marriage to Eridan, and Vanitas Vanitatum is about the aftermath of that intrigue. John Egbert ascends to the throne of their country after the death of his and Jade's evil mother in the previous fic, and he's totally fine guys! He's definitely absolutely having zero mental health troubles!

Dirk, our pov character, enters as a new member of John's secret police. He slowly befriends his new king/boss and, in doing so, begins to discover the extent to which John is totally definitely okay! He's fine Dirk so you can stop asking! And because he's Dirk Strider, when he discovers how John is struggling, he immediately wants to Fix Him. Enter a twisted mess of genuinely falling in love and horrible shadowy puppet master schemes.

Vanitas Vanitatum is the ultimate "I can fix him" romance. It is an "I can fix him" romance to the extent that Dirk's desire to "fix" John becomes one of the fic's main conflicts—in addition to John's genuine mental health crisis and the political crisis that's happening around them. If you know anything about my taste in fiction, you're probably looking at "dark fantasy story about a guy trying to unravel and understand his crush's mental health problems" and going "okay yeah. I see why Andie is obsessed with this."

If you're a Homestuck fan, even if you're not usually a DirkJohn person, I cannot recommend Vanitas Vanitatum highly enough. It's well-written, it's funny, it's heartwarming, and it's absolutely heartbreaking. The plot is twisty and, especially if you've read the rest of the series, absolutely filled with delicious dramatic irony. The way oxfordroulette writes Dirk's pov is an absolute treat. And while the fic is fairly nsfw (there's only three actual sex scenes if I remember right, but lot of discussion and thinking about sex in the interim), the real porn in this fic is the food and costume porn. The author knows what the people want, and it's decadent food descriptions and crazy fantasy royalty outfits. It's also illustrated!

Honestly, if the fic didn't require an understanding of troll romance quadrants to make any goddamn sense, I'd be recommending it to non Homestuck fans as well. It's just a really good story.

Here's the official summary:

You've determined the hobbies of the monarch you serve are as follows: 1. Ill-timed pranks. 2. Cooking. 3. Subconsciously pulling elaborate political schemes off perfectly, ad infinitum, every one of which inches his mind closer to some ineffable dark chasm you're curious to find the depth of. Anyway, he makes damn good lasagna.

Read it here :)

#I'm normally a characterization stickler. and while I can't say VV John's characterization is perfectly in line with canon #it's clearly based on canon in interesting ways while being shaped by the very specific setting this au's John grew up in #and it's SO self-consistent within that newly constructed setting #it's so fascinating it's so good #and yes I'm aware of how funny it is that I'm a diehard fan of not one but two stories with vanitas in the title #that are about someone meeting a guy and trying to unravel his mental health problems before he goes over the edge in his depression #what can I say I like stories about death magic and trauma #anyway now someone just has to ask me to explain my SECOND favorite homestuck fanfic and I can die in peace lmao #invasion of the frogs #vanitas vanitatum #dirkjohn #ask #anon

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maturemenoftvandfilms · 11 months

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Abdullah II of Jordan Born: January 30, 1962, Amman, Jordan Physique: Average Build Height: 5'6''(1.67 m)

Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemite dynasty, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is considered a 41st-generation direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Popular locally and internationally for maintaining Jordanian stability, and is known for promoting interfaith dialogue and a moderate understanding of Islam.

Thanks to His Majesty Charles III's coronation, I've discovered this handsome pocket daddy of a King. Abdullah is married with four children and listed skydiving, motorcycling, water sports and collecting ancient weapons as his interests and hobbies, and is a fan of the science-fiction series Star Trek. Damn... he's a trekkie. Now I want to fuck him a little more.

#Abdullah II of Jordan #mydaddywiki #mydaddywiki royalty #royalty #king royal person

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ladymelisande · 1 year

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All right. I'm always perplexed when I'm told that Alice's writing in the book is uninteresting to deal with, because it's cliché. Like... the wicked stepmother trope is common, yes, but there's a reason for that. Like many well-used tropes, it is often very interesting, even fascinating. In fact, I've never seen a single version of this trope disappoint me until now. Especially in Asian fiction. So, I don't understand this aversion to this trope when it comes to Alicent. Of my classmates who watched the show, they all told me that the show version was better (in every way, not just Alicent) and that I was blindsided by the book's sexist writing. Sorry, but the writing of the series is sexist. At least Alicent in the book has agency and brains, and I can't express how badly seeing this fictional character I loved being butchered in the adaptation. And I'm not even going to talk about Daemon and Rhaenyra. A monumental disaster. But since I'm a big fan of bad guys and Alicent was my favorite until then, all universes combined, I admit I fell from above in front of the version of the series. All that to say that the fictional wicked stepmothers are great and very interesting to see, contrary to what many people say.

Honesty, if you want to go with deconstructing Wicked Stepmothers and turning them sympathetic, I think Snow White's types are more to be that, because that particular archetype is more shallow. Like this particular woman just hates that her stepdaughter is prettier. That's always shallow as fuck and one can go deconstructing. For example, one of my original projects is a deconstruction of Snow White mixing it with other fairy tales like Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin Maid Maleen. In that case, yes, you can deconstruct the Wicked Stepmother because you are drawing from the 'raw' trope.

When it comes to Cinderella types AKA Alicent's types. For me the archetype has to stay as it is because it goes in a lot of more emphasis on how this woman is around her own children too, not just her stepdaughter. It shows how toxic she is as mother, not only stepmother, under the guise of pretending she doing 'the best' for the kids. And there is a lot to drawn commentary about child-abuse on that. And Martin wasn't using the 'raw' trope either, women in nobility were like that when it came to power and her children. Why would they care for the children of other women having the bigger power when hers would keep them in power?

That's something that Ninicent in the show doesn't have because she has no personal desires since she is a stupid doll. Do they think Alicent wanted power 'to protect her children' in the book? Nah, that woman knew Rhaenyra since she was a child, and it was her who turned her sons against her. If she feared what Rhaenyra could do to them, why turning the boys against her? Alicent always planned to overthrow Rhaenyra, whatever it was marrying her piece of shit son to her (because don't think Aegon would have let Rhaenyra rule if they married) or to plainly overthrow her like she did in canon. Alicent wanted to be the first lady of the realm and that ended in the moment her husband died unless her son was the king. If Rhaenyra ascended without problems, she would only be the mother of a boy who was eight in line to the throne after all of Rhaenyra's kids, including baby Visenya. And of course that a proud arsehole like her wouldn't accept that.

Alicent in the book had a consistent motive and a consistent personality. Wicked Stepmother or not. Something that thing in the show doesn't have

#may answers #alicent hightower #asoiaf #anti hotd

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waterloggedsoliloquy · 7 months

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i know it was asking a lot but i was really hoping that maybe the thrawn we'd see post rebels is one that had been taken down a notch, yknow, kind of wanting for men and supplies, barely clinging onto any sense of normality or structure or authority, trying to get in touch with the Chiss Ascendancy to Come Pick Him Up. his men respect him but he got his ass handed to him by a 17 year old and his pet whale. he got his entire fucking fleet Free Willy'd into the next galaxy over because he underestimated a psychic who couldnt even legally vote. Thrawn got Critial Whale'd from Paradox Space (2014). That respect cant last forever my guy. especially not to weird culty standards which is solely for the audiences benefit instead of any watsonian reason.

and like. we spent 2 seasons, some 35 episodes of rebels!thrawn and a trilogy of books of him being a powerhouse in control, trying to navigate his needs around the prerogatives of other antagonists with varying degrees of power over the galaxy and thrawn himself, with only a few windows into what thrawn would look like in an interior, vulnerable context. and we had the perfect opportunity with visiting him at this place, at this point in time, to portray what thrawn looks like when he's had his shit handed to him and he's forced to work with way less than what he's come to expect whilst working within an institution. Instead he's just a wall again. I dont mind his portrayal in rebels, i dont think its necessarily out of character for him for the most part bc i know that rebels is a cartoon for children and the thrawn trilogy is for adults who enjoy (or at least are willing to tolerate, bc i seen so many fans who approach the 2017 thrawn novels w a shipping lens and im like what is even the point) reading military science fiction novels with mystery elements. But Ahsoka was a chance to show yet another side of thrawn, to do something interesting, but the Brand requires familiarity and rehash above all else, so he's just a slightly shabbier guy with an evil plan same as before, instead of a fuckup clinging onto dear life with an evil plan.

And of course the visuals and bizarre tone of ahsoka do nothing to cover up the absolute senselessness of any of the events that happen or any of the decisions being made. The show feels like a disjointed first draft or a child's story, a series of "and then this happened! and then she got attacked by bandits!" for 45-50 minutes. the only thing that prevents you from noticing that thrawn is behaving like an idiot because of shoddy writing is the fact that lars is a good actor with a silky voice.

#cecil drawls

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bartoonist · 1 year

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The Feeble Mudokon and the Radiant Feagle: This is my special Oddworld Fan Art illustration inspired by Michelangelo the Italian Renaissance Artist’s famous Creation of Adam church painting from 511 years (as of 4-13-2023 of this Tumblr post since Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam church painting was made in circa 1512 of course) in the early 16th century of course, and the reason I decided to make an Oddworld fan rendition of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam is because this is actually supposed to be my What If series conclusion to whatever number that Abe’s final chapter within the Rebooted Oddworld Quintology is really supposed to end on like… did Lorne Lanning originally intend on making Abe’s Story a trilogy within the Oddworld Quintology or a saga within the Oddworld Quintology? Oh yeah and that Oddworld Fan Character I created to take Abe to a fictional Heaven of Oddworld goes by the name of Lisafur the Feagle, and Feagles are an Oddworld Fan species of Angels I made up in my head too, Feagles are a mixed hybrid Angel Species with Rainbow halos on their heads, they’re a quartet mix of Foxes, Lops (which are floppy long eared rabbits of course), Eagles, and Mice, for they have the six wings, four fingered clawed hands and four fingered clawed feet of eagles, the bodies and faces of foxes, the floppy long ears and white fur of lops, and the eyes and tails of mice themselves, also this Creation of Adam inspired moment of a gun shot Abe reaching out to the furry angel herself coming down to grab Abe and take him up to an Oddworld fanfic heaven I call Allahlav, and its my what if series finale/heroic death ending for what I think Abe’s final chapter would be concluded: What If after the events of abe and his two litter brothers having journeyed and snuck into Nolybab, Abe uncovers the truth from his Mother who later gives Abe a new Shrykull power as a gift, Abe frees and liberated his own people into escaping Nolybab, takes them to a Red Sea like location where Abe later uses his new gift he received from his mother to make a Red Sea like ocean bridge for his people to reach their promised land Mullock the Glukkon and his whole multiracial army of Sligs, Vykkers, and Wolvarks arrive to try to recapture Abe’s people, Abe uses his Shrykull demigod form one last time to fight off mullock’s as his people successfully reach their dream home after all, then later gets in the chest by a barely surviving and slowly dying slig who collapsed to his death, a wounded Abe limp-walks up to a mountainous hill where Abe lays down to accept his peaceful death, where he meets the Feagle who later takes Abe to the Oddworld heaven of Allahlav where he ascends happily ever after, so there you oddworld fans have it and I hope you like my oddworld fan art illustration anyway of course.

#cartoonist #illustrator #fan art #blake andrew roten #colorist #ecf #ecfartcenters #traditionalart #oddworldfanart #fan character #abe the mudokon #what if #creation of adam

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alma-amentet · 1 year

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No one tagged me, as usual, but I feel bored and lonely (also as usual), so let’s go.

Do you play an instrument?

Used to dabble with the guitar and sing in the past... It was so long ago. Now I don’t - have no time.

Favorite book characters?

Serafina Pekkala from His Dark Materials

(HDM is one of my fav book series ever. I never liked Harry Potter - read just two books, wasn’t interested much and gave up. But this... This is love, for sure. You can tell where I took my Tarnished’s name - Lyra).

Liriel Baenre (Elaine Cunningham’s books are also love. As much as I’m not into Salvatore and others, I love her stories)

What's your star sign?

Cancer. I also have ascendent it Scorpio, and always note it because I don’t like general characteristics for Cancer. Like, shy and quiet people who like to stay at home, care for others, inclined to have a big family... They usually don’t care about their style\appearance. That’s definitely not me. Though yes, I may be shy and anxious and staying indoors, mostly due to mental problems. I’m also a show-off. And never wanted a traditional family - like, with children.

Favorite color scheme?

Green and brown.

Teal or torquise and gold (remind me of Ancient Egypt, there was a time I was pretty much fond of Egyptology)

Naps or long sleep?

Long sleep. It’s really hard for me to sleep during day, even if I’m tired or sick. So I’d rather have good night sleep.

What languages do you speak?

English and one other one.

I tried learning German, then French... Gave up and forgot most things.

Dreams/aspirations?

For now, I just want to feel better, happier, more inspired than I am now. That’s all. If I have enough energy, I may make more particular plans, but not now

Also I’d like to improve my drawing skills. To do that more efficiently, I need to learn to concentrate better.

Short or long hair?

I love long hair, but growing it and caring for it is pain... Mine never grew well, so I gave up long time ago. Also I love bright fancy colors (also I’m early gray. Started getting gray since 13, and now in my 30s I have hair grayer than my 70 yo mother. Yeah, that happens).

So I prefer wigs or other extensions. Currently I have gray synthetic DE-dreads, this way I can look stylish and not like a dull old lady, with no need to dye.

Tea or coffee?

Wine! lol 😏

If there’s none, then probably tea. I’m not a big fan of hot drinks, don’t drink them too much.more often I prefer just water

Bring a fictional character to life or go into a fictional world?

Go to fictional world. The reason I like fantasy is because I need to escape it, not a fan of modernverses. And if I try to imagine some modernverse, the characters are... weirder, geeks and fantasy nerds like myself, who are still more like portal-travellers than just people next door.

Not tagging anyone.

#ask game #alma.txt

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alarajrogers · 2 years

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There are two worlds, when talking about fiction.

There’s the world of drama, where things happen to characters in order to serve the plot. Where characters who die stay dead. Where a story arc that resolves rarely pops back up. Where there’s no alternate canon -- what happened, happened.

And then there’s the world of -- fanfic, for a better term, or pulp fiction, or whatever you want to call it. Where things happen to characters to serve the appetites of the audience, mostly. Characters come back from the dead. Alternate realities. There are nine and ninety ways of telling tribal lays and every single one of them is right.

While these are both valid ways of perceiving and creating fiction, one of them produces a sense of -- I don’t know what to call it, literary satisfaction? Things are clean and neat. You can see the arc. When surprises occur, if it was a well written story, you can retroactively see why it happened. Everything makes sense. It’s very intellectually satisfying.

The other one produces love and hate. Nights lying awake shaking in fury and grief that a character died. Days of excitement so intense it approaches fever. Making friends solely on the basis of we both love that guy. Stories that are written to satisfy our emotional needs at a deep level.

As a writer who writes original fiction, as a reader who enjoys the intellectual pleasure of dramatic fiction, I can say that if a story has decided that it has literary merit -- and you can usually tell from foreshadowing, from complex structure, from layout (in comics) or direction (in movies/TV/games) that is unusual and dramatic -- then what is there is there. The makers of the story will not revisit it and make any part of it not happened, or didn’t mean it. We’re not going to see a character come back from the dead if their impending death was part of their motivation and therefore a driver of the entire plot of a season of TV.

As a reader and writer of fan fiction, I am howling into the wind in fury, screaming “No! I deny you! This will not be! I reject your reality and replace it with my own!”

It will never be good enough because the canon, the thing that was there, has a much farther reach than your fic. And because it means you cannot imagine your dead character is out there running around doing cool stuff, and that you might see them again.

But if you turn the lens of fan fiction onto drama, you can find loopholes.

Such as this: a time traveling character who shows up to die might have had a full and entire life before showing up to cease to exist. Especially if when you see them, they look old... even if there was an explanation presented for that earlier. Especially if the explanation presented for that earlier was kind of obvious bullshit to explain why the actor is old. And the character has a habit of never entirely and exactly telling the truth about why he’s doing something, until he does.

Alternate realities exist. They even exist in canon.

When the universe in question started out as pulp fiction, so you get things like people ascending to become godlike energy beings, and now it’s drama so you know nothing like that will happen again... you can still say, but maybe it did happen. Maybe it happened and you didn’t know it. Maybe it happened because in this universe, in its pulp fiction origins, there can be exact duplicates of people formed by errors in a mindless machine. And even in this dramatic series, there was a death cheat earlier in the story where a person who died came back as an android who is physically entirely indistinguishable from the human he used to be.

So I’m just saying. There are loopholes. And if you can make your loophole look like it could be canon, without contradicting anything in canon, without introducing anything weirder or pulpier than has already existed in canon...

Well then. The powers that be will never make your idea into canon because you’re violating the laws of drama. But by the laws of pulp fiction you are absolutely in your rights.

#i'm vagueing #but my fan fiction career is under the same name as this url #so it really shouldn't be hard to figure out

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historyhermann · 2 years

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It’s all about that Kaisa: Analyzing the breakout witchy librarian in Hilda

In recent years, librarians have become more prominent in animated series. Unfortunately, most of these librarians either only appear in one episode, like Wong and O’Bengh/Cagliostro in What…If?, and Mira and Sahil in Mira, Royal Detective, or are stereotypical and problematic. There are some exceptions. Librarians Sara, Sarah, and Jeffrey/Desiree in Too Loud, Amity Blight in The Owl House, Naoufel in I Lost My Body, and Myne in Ascendance of a Bookworm all defy stereotypes in their own ways. Apart from these characters, one character shines through. She has become one of the best depictions of librarians in fiction, especially in animation, for some time. Her name is Kaisa. She is a casually gothic, witchy librarian in Hilda, an all-ages animated series. This article will analyze this character, noting her significance in representations of librarians in fiction.

Although Kaisa’s character only appears in six of the show’s 26 episodes – not even 23% of the series – she has become a smash hit among fans. She even appeared in three graphic novels by Luke Pearson that the series is based on: Hilda and the Great Parade, Hilda and the Nowhere Space, and Hilda and the Ghost Ship. There is a subreddit for her, which has over 180 subscribers, voluminous fan art, and cosplays!

Currently, fans have written over 90 fan fictions featuring her character on Archive of Our Own. The UK retail seller Forbidden Planet has shirts, keychains, and pins featuring the character. While Kaisa’s name is not revealed until the second season, she is based on the name of a Swedish actress with the same first name: Kaisa Hammarlund. As such, her voice is an “amalgamation of Nordic accents.”

Kaisa after casting a spell in the episode “Chapter 3: The Witch,” in the show’s second season, with Hilda and Frida alongside her.

Kaisa in the first season

In the show’s first season, she remains mysterious, only appearing briefly. She is still shown as having an unmatched knowledge of cemeteries, the dead, and mystical items. At first, she helps Hilda and her friends, giving them books of interest and anticipating their questions.

At one point, she reminds Hilda that reference books are not taken from the hidden special collections room. She gives Hilda, who is a bit snobbish in how she treats a reference book in one episode, the right materials so she can raise the dead! At the end of the first season, she is shown outside the library, walking across the streets of the city of Trolberg. According to a new interview, Kaisa was supposed to have more scenes in this initial season, but the crew and producers weren’t sure how to develop her character at the time. Despite this, by the end of that first season, she had become a breakout star.

Kaisa in the second season

In the second season, which aired in December 2020, Frida and Hilda help Kaisa find a missing book, with all three of them fighting beasts and finishing challenges on their way. Although they eventually find the book, the committee of three witches chastise them for not turning it in on time (it’s over 30 years late at that point), and they are sucked into a void, where a monster awaits them. This was the beginning of an expansion of plot points from season 1.

While Kaisa uses her witch powers to try and save them, she is helped by Frida and Hilda. They give her the right book so she can make sure the void is subdued, and all three escape unscathed! After all of that, she is still grateful to an elderly patron and powerful witch who was her mentor, a person who is pleasantly surprised to see her as a librarian. She is later shown outside the library in the same season, fighting Tide Mice who can take over people’s minds.

Kaisa asks Frida and David about body swapping in the recent film, Hilda and the Mountain King

Kaisa in the new movie, Hilda and the Mountain King

Not surprisingly, Kaisa appears in the recent film, Hilda and the Mountain King, a continuation of the animated series. Although she only has a guest appearance, she has an important part in the film. Frida asks her for help in reversing a spell cast on Hilda which has made her swap bodies with a troll. At first, Kaisa agrees to help but stops when she realizes it wouldn’t work, having a “purely mechanical understanding of the situation,” as one fan put it. While Frida is annoyed by this, when she tries to use the spellbook anyway, it doesn’t work, as witch magic can’t be mixed with troll magic.

Kaisa is shown to be right all along, to the chagrin of Frida, and David, to a lesser extent. Reportedly, in early stages of the film’s development, the crew tried to incorporate Kaisa into the climax of the film. According to the movie’s director, Andy Coyle, the scene had Kaisa rebelling against the rule that witches shouldn’t interfere in a fight. Sadly, the scene was cut from the final film because of a “limited amount of screentime.”

Characteristics of the Trolberg library and Kaisa the librarian

The library where Kaisa works appears to be “ordinary” on the outside. It is grand inside, with secret passageways going through one special collections room after another. This ultimately leads to an inner chamber with a committee of three witches controlling the Witches Tower. There are so many resources that someone could stay there for hours and days, studying to their heart’s content. It is a magic library in more ways than one, and is amazing, as real-life librarians have recognized.

Kaisa explains why she can’t help Frida and David in the recent film, Hilda and the Mountain King

Kaisa is a principled librarian who likely has a MLIS degree and is an atypical librarian who has a life outside the library. Her portrayal fulfills what I’ve termed the “Librarian Portrayal Test.” She is a twenty-something who wears headphones, like Kino does in Kino’s Journey, has a cassette player, and is skilled with magic. Despite this, Kaisa, like any librarian, is tasked with enforcing the roles. In one episode, she tells the show’s protagonists to “keep it down,” but never shushes them.

Her character has led some librarians to “feel seen” and others to note she used skills from her “previous career path” (as a witch) to save the day. Others have used Kaisa as a way to praise librarians more broadly. While some have said that her job isn’t as realistic as it might seem, some have countered this by saying that Kaisa and the series as a whole, communicates “very positive messages about libraries.”

She has a unique appearance since the series is in an intentionally nebulous time frame. It has a setting that is something familiar, something foreign. The series and the film was described by the director of Hilda and the Mountain King, to be set, vaguely, in the early 1990s. The series, and the film, are also inspired by Scandinavian folklore. This makes it no surprise that the two-leveled Trolberg library has “outdated” elements like library slips and card catalogs, along with “newer” elements like copiers. Despite this, it is abundantly clear that she has experienced burnout as a librarian. In one episode, she argued that patrons who borrow books are liable to return them, tying into the debate among librarians and libraries over the role of patrons.

Some have argued that Kaisa might be asexual, basing it on her character’s colors (purple, black, grey, and white), even though this supposition has not been confirmed, or denied, by the show’s creator or anyone on the show staff. If this is the case, Kaisa would be one of the recent depictions of LGBTQ librarians in pop culture such as Desiree in Too Loud and Amity Blight in The Owl House.

Undoubtedly, Kaisa will reappear in the show’s next, and final, season, which will go beyond the graphic novel series by Luke Pearson that the series is based on, and likely into new, and exciting, places. The season, which may premiere later this year, will likely be 13 episodes long, allowing for Kaisa to, once again, get a chance to shine in the animated series, serving as an important depiction of librarians in popular culture.

A bit about Burkely

Burkely Hermann is an archivist and researcher who works for the National Security Archive (NSA). He graduated from University of Maryland with an MLIS degree with a concentration in Archives & Digital Curation in December 2019, and earned a B.A. in Political Science, minoring in history, in May 2016 from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. He was recently elected as a member of the Society of American Archivists Steering Committee. He currently writes about libraries on his blog Pop Culture Library Review and about archives on his blog Wading Through The Cultural Stacks. He presently writes pop culture reviews of animated series and webcomics for The Geekiary and Pop Culture Maniacs. He also writes about his family history roots, and sometimes writes pieces for I Love Libraries, an initiative of the American Library Association. He has also been published in the American Archivist Reviews Portal, the SNAP Roundtable, Issues & Advocacy, Neurotastic, and the NSA website. In his spare time, he writes about fictional works, volunteers as a National History Day judge, likes hiking, reading webcomics, watching animated series, and occasionally swimming.

Sources used

Becker, Becky Briggs. “So @DeerTrivia & I finaly watched the Hilda S2 episode w/ librarian witch Kaisa riding an enchanted vacuum cleaner to suck up magical soul sucker mice. Love how this season expanded on previous season plot points. @darling_sammy @history_hermann,” Twitter, 30 Jan. 2021

Bunyan, Stephen. “Season 2 of @hildatheseries drops tomorrow on Netflix and Im super excited to be able to finally show off all the work we did on it! Have some Librarian slacking off to hold you over until it comes out. #Hilda #HildaTheSeries #HildaSeason2 #HildaFanart,” Twitter, 13 Dec. 2020

Clemente, Mike. “The Witch – (Hilda Season 2 Episode 3) – ‘Toon Reviews 46,” MC Toon Reviews, 8 Jun. 2021

Cook, Rhianna. “Absolutely loving this series! At least as much as I love the comics! It helps that it features an amazing library with a super cool librarian that anticipates the needs of the user before they even know what they want! #IAmALibrarian #Hilda #comics #PicturesMeanBusiness,” Twitter, 25 Sept. 2018

Davis, Victoria. “‘Hilda and the Mountain King’: Why We Love Our Trolls,” Animation World Network, 7 Jan. 2022

Definitely: Max. “I’m looking for jobs and you know what I REALLY want to do? I want to be the witch librarian from Hilda. I want to be up on a ladder shelving books and slide down when a kid is like “we need a book about ghosts” and hand it to them and leave. But that job doesn’t exist ,” Twitter, 13 Jul. 2021

Deo, Meera. “Librarians are superheroes! Many have gone way beyond the scope of their jobs to be campus #COVID testers, substitute teachers, & IT support. Extra pay? No way. Some aren’t even called “faculty” tho they do the work. One of many ways #PandemicEffects exploit existing hierarchies,” Twitter, 4 May 2021

“Five results for “hilda, librarian”,” Forbidden Planet, 2022

Hammarlund, Kaisa. “Go Hilda! And with a guest appearance from your favourite goth librarian[.] Streaming on @netflix now! @BabbleVoice,” Twitter, 30 Dec. 2021

Hammarlund, Kaisa. “Thanks Erfan! We love the show too. Kaisa is deliberately played with an amalgamation of Nordic accents. We wanted her to be a bit mysterious to place. So a mix of Icelandic and Swedish would be correct:),” Twitter, 2 Dec. 2021

Hammarlund, Kaisa. “Thank you! We adore our Lil Librarian Witch. Glad you’re enjoying season 2 as much as us,” Twitter, 15 Dec. 2020

Hammarland, Kaisa. “Thank you Matthew! We had such a giggle in the studio. Especially with the mean Marra;) And I agree..the mysterious Björk-ish librarian is ace. Perhaps she’s got more to come.. #TeamHilda,” Twitter, 25 Sept. 2018

Hermann, Burkely. “10 other beautiful libraries in animated series,” Pop Culture Library Review, 21 Feb. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “A Mysterious Librarian is the Breakout Star of Netflix’s Hilda,” Pop Culture Library Review, 22 Sept. 2020

Hermann, Burkely. “A scary intergalactic “library” in Megas XLR,” Pop Culture Library Review, 6 Jul. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Applying the “Librarian Portrayal Test” to librarian depictions,” Pop Culture Library Review, 31 Aug. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Authorized books and restrictions in animation,” Pop Culture Library Review, 9 Mar. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “BIPOC librarians in animated series: She-Ra to Yamibou,” Pop Culture Library Review, 26 Mar. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Countering the “shushing librarians” stereotype in animated series,” Pop Culture Library Review, 20 Apr. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Doctor Strange’s quest for power and the Black sorcerer-librarian,” Pop Culture Library Review, 12 Oct. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Fictional Librarian of the Month: Desiree in “Too Loud”,” Pop Culture Library Review, 14 Dec. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Hilda, hidden information, and research in a library,” Pop Culture Library Review, 16 Feb. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Is Kaisa, the librarian in “Hilda”, experiencing burnout?,” Pop Culture Library Review, 16 Nov. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Lacking “proper, consistent representation”: Librarians in popular culture,” Pop Culture Library Review, 12 Nov. 2020

Hermann, Burkely. “Libraries Take the Spotlight in this Disney Junior Show,” Pop Culture Library Review, 6 Mar. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Loved seeing my favorite witchy librarian in @hildatheseries “Hilda and the Mountain King” film which came out on Dec. 30! Hope to see her again in Season 3! #spoilers #HildaandtheMountainKing #HildaTheSeries,” Twitter, 3 Jan. 2022

Hermann, Burkely. “Messy libraries and more fights in the library,” Pop Culture Library Review, 2 Mar. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Myne the “bookworm” librarian and the Nippon Decimal Classification System,” Pop Culture Library Review, 29 Aug. 2020

Hermann, Burkely. “Restricted access and the unnamed librarian in “Merlin’s Story”,” Pop Culture Library Review, 14 Sept. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Sarah, the book jail, and the “sanctity of library property” in “Too Loud”,” Pop Culture Library Review, 11 Jan. 2022

Hermann, Burkely. “The “atypical” librarians in animated series,” Pop Culture Library Review, 6 Apr. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “The Mysterious Librarian in Netflix’s “Hilda” Finally Gets a Name,” Pop Culture Library Review, 8 Jan. 2021

Hermann, Burkely. “Uncle Grandpa and the “terrifying” 12 cent late fee,” Pop Culture Library Review, 26 Oct. 2021

“Hildalibrarian,” Reddit, 24 Jan. 2022

“Kaisa,” Hilda wiki, 24 Jan. 2022

“Kaisa | The Librarian (Hilda),” Archive of Our Own, 24 Jan. 2022

“Library,” Hilda wiki, 7 Nov. 2021

MacTaggert, Michael. “And remembering the entire “Hilda” episode that culminated in Kaisa conquering her anxiety about practicing magic as a “failure” of a witch by reading a magic book and using skills from her previous career path to save the day,” Twitter, 14 Mar. 2021

Miss Library. “I love that the Hilda creators put Kaisa the library witch in this show I feel so seen!,” Twitter, 17 Jun. 2021

Mohr, Sara. “Just finished watching the animated series Hilda on Netflix. It was recommended to me because the Librarian is a witch who know just what book you need before you even ask her. I can also definitely get behind the very positive messages about libraries,” Twitter, 26 Apr. 2021

mossedman. “I love that she didn’t even hesitate to help them and only stoped [sic] when she realized it wouldn’t work. It was never about morals or ethics, just a purely mechanical understanding of the situation,” Reddit, 4 Jan. 2022

Pearson, Luke. “I’m afraid it was not intentional on my part. I don’t know who exactly did her final design and made her hair purple though, so it’s not impossible,” Twitter, 18 Dec. 2020

The 2nd Dimension, “Making Hilda and the Mountain King | Full Interview with Director Andy Coyle and AD Megan Ferguson,” YouTube, 22 Jan. 2022. In the video, see 25:14-26:30, 17:57-19:00, and 2:08:39-2:08:52.

“Void of No Return,” Hilda wiki, 29 Sept. 2021

Zahed, Ramin. “Creative Team Behind ‘Hilda and the Mountain King’ Discuss Her Next Big Adventure,” Animation Magazine, 22 Dec. 2021

Reprinted from Reel Librarians since my main site, Pop Culture Library Review, was taken down (now its back up, with the post available here) in a decision that was never explained.

#librarians #libraries #what if...?#mira royal detective #too loud #the owl house #i lost my body #ascendance of a bookworm #hilda #asexuals #lgbtq #mlis

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wander-wren · 3 months

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on fanfic, original fic, and living on the boundary

most of the time, you hear about fanfic authors who eventually “make it” writing Real Books. very rarely, you might hear it the other way around. once upon a time, not too long ago, it was common for fanfic authors to aspire to write fic that mimicked Real Books, and very likely some of them still do. i’ve thought about it and realized the two were not separate experiences for me—something i suspect is becoming more common as fandom becomes more mainstream.

pretty much all of my earliest stories (elementary-age) were derivative. i loved multiple series about horses, and especially black beauty; the cats vs dogs movies, underdog, racing in the rain, and the whole dog’s life series. and more! those are just the ones i can distinctly identify as being stories i pulled from when i wrote about horses and dogs escaping abusive humans to go be spies. or wander the wilderness and be rescued by nice humans. i was also a big fan of dramatic angst, so not much has really changed. perhaps you could call those things fanfiction at a stretch, but i really wouldn’t.

once i hit 12-14, i started making things that were more original—all work is derivative, but this wasn’t consciously inspired by media i’d seen. i was, however, really big into ya dystopia, so that genre came up a lot alongside fantasy. i also found my way to fandom spaces and real fic at the start of this period. at the time, though, i didn’t even clock it as something different. i was simply writing “my warrior cat stories” right alongside my stories about kids in magic school and teens living underground post-nuclear war.

when i was around 13 i discovered the terms and community around fandom, moved to wattpad, then ao3, and more firmly separated origfic and fanfic in my mind. posted some more of both. finished like six things ever, all of them pretty short.

at 15, i started to Take Writing Seriously. i finally finished my first (original) novel, then my first longfic. wrote a few more fics. started a few more novels that didnt quite get off the ground. took a year-ish break from fic to really focus on original fiction, then wrote both at once again, and then in the last year or so, mostly abandoned original fic (except for editing) in order to throw myself back into the fandom sphere.

what i’m saying, in this very long-winded way, is that there is no ascending the writing ladder from lowly fic to super professional original work, to me. do i spend more time and energy on original stuff? sure! that’s the harder sell, and the one that, in theory, will eventually make me money. is my style exactly the same? no! they’re different mediums and i’ve honed each separately to reflect different strengths.

but my original work is still fanfic-y, in the sense of being extremely character driven, slim on the worldbuilding that’s not directly relevant, and emotional.

i think writing a first draft of something my own is a nearly identical process to writing a longfic, if that longfic actually has a plot (mine don’t always) and i know my audience is going in fandom blind. i still have to explain things like character backstory and how the world works, but it’s hardly the priority and i only need the bare minimum to get what’s going on. everything is focused on the high-emotion moments, skipping past all the boring bits in between. things happen with very flimsy justification, characters are ooc to serve the plot, and somehow we went on several tangents on our way to the end that didn’t all get resolved.

that makes my fanfic sound bad! but those things in fic are features, not bugs.

the second draft and beyond, then, is an effort to turn the story into a source material, rather than a fic based off the source in my head. features in fanfic are, unfortunately, bugs in novels, and they must be squished. but the core of the story is always the emotions, the character arcs, the relationships. they’re what i build around and what i follow like a compass when i revise.

i’m a very fannish person, i suppose. my silly little hope is that approaching my original stuff this way might entice a small fandom of its own to form around it.

this is also here as yet another reminder that you don’t have to use fanfic as “practice” for future, more legitimate works. it does not have to be a training ground until you’re good enough to move to the big leagues and push it aside. that’s not how this works for me. i would not have any kind of writing career without my fanfic. i would be such a wildly different human it is painful to think about. fanfiction is my heart, and it informs everything.

#wren wrambles #fanfiction #ao3 #writeblr #iiiiits 4am #so excuse any typos or over-poeticism #i used to separate these two more strongly. that has changed #i love fandom SO much #i will defend fanfic’s ‘flaws’ to the ends of the earth thank you

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very-grownup · 5 months

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Book 79, 2023

When Lois McMaster Bujold took a break from her Vorkosigan and Chalion serieses to write the Sharing Knife books, most of her pre-existing fans went "I am not digging this age gap rural fantasy romance" and romance novel fans went "this age gap romance in the fantasy American countryside is not romance novel enough" and I went "gosh she's having fun" because when someone is creating a piece of art or media that's wholly for them, I love their love for the work.

This is, I think, different from a certain kind of writing that Drops References to create a positive association between what you're reading and a thing you already like.

The podcast I Don't Even Own a Television (RIP) often had long digressions about music and bands and I rarely recognized the bands they were talking about, let alone possessing any kind of blanket familiarity with genres and scenes. But I loved getting a glimpse into their passions.

I hope you enjoyed this long walk to talking about Catherine Asaro's "Ascendant Sun", because I'm not sure I have ever read an author who is writing for herself and her passions as much as Catherine Asaro does.

I'm going to drop some creds both because I've literally never seen anyone but me talk about Catherine Asaro and also because I went to wikipedia to see if there were any egregious controversies like you maybe do about speculative fiction authors in this the year of our cursed lord 2023, so I have her wikipedia article open and it's fascinating stuff.

Asaro is a trained ballet and jazz dancer.

Asaro has master's degrees in physics and chemistry and a doctorate in chemical physics from Harvard.

Asaro is the daughter of one of the nuclear chemists involved in the discovery that lead to the theory that an asteroid collision caused the mass extinction event that took out the dinosaurs.

Until his death several years ago, Asaro was married to a NASA astrophysicist.

Asaro's main work is a series called the Skolian Saga. Some of the books in the Skolian Saga contain mathematical equations and quantum mechanic wave diagrams. The interstellar travel method she uses is based on a paper on special relativity that she wrote for the American Journal of Physics. I can't even begin to figure out what "spherical harmonic eigenfunctions" are. I don't understand any of it, but it appears to be the hardest of hard science baked into Asaro's worldbuilding.

Naturally, after assembling her world, Asaro has written a sprawling intergenerational political intrigue space opera full of fucking, incredibly tall, powerful, beautiful, and jacked men and women, complicated family trees and arranged marriages leading to genuine love and telepathy and telepathically enhanced super empathy sex, a planet of people who all have metallic gold pigmentation due to genetic modification for survival in that particular planet's hostile atmosphere and sun combo, AI cyberimplants and supersoldiers, with a key focus on the romantic entanglements of the members of this large family of aristocratic telepaths, members of whom are integral to the existence of intergalactic wifi.

I cannot overstate how thorough a manifestation of a certain kind of twelve-year-old girl's psyche this is, but also she has a phd. Did you ever make huge family trees because you wanted to have characters with all the different hair and eye colour combinations you thought of but also every character you came up with had to be related so they could always interact but also sometimes you just needed to make a new character to slap onto that family because you have a new interest or just saw a name in something that was too cool not to use?

Catherine Asaro is living that dream and making rocket scientists beta read about her over-powered OCs fucking.

"Ascendant Sun" is ALL OF THAT, in this specific case about Keldric, a prince of this empire and super telepath and interstellar fighter pilot and theoretical mathematician who's been missing for almost twenty years because he was stranded on a planet cut off from the wider galaxy, one ruled by warring matriarchal clans with harems of men whose value and rank is determined both by what they're bringing to the table physical-wise and what they're bringing to the table in the realm of ADVANCED MATHEMATICAL QUANTUM DICE PROBABILITY POLITICAL PREDICTION GAMES. He spent those years getting kidnapped and traded by various women and doing dice math and fucking but that was a different book, THIS book is after he fakes his death to both escape the planet and to settle some kind of brewing civil war, only to find that a tentative truce exists between his empire and their longtime enemy empire (made up of black-haired, red-eyed anti-empaths who get boners from suffering and love slavery) and also most of his immediate family is either dead or missing making him technically maybe the new hereditary military leader of the empire. Keldric has to find out what the fuck has happened while he's been presumed dead and figure out a way to claim his title and its wifi link without revealing that he's alive to definite enemies and potential enemies and yes it does involve a slave auction and a discussion on how to circumvent paying exorbitant tax on secret slave auctions.

It's fun. I can't comment on the accuracy of the science/math/sex, but it's a fun read, a sprawling, tumbling sort of narrative and we all know if a George R.R. Martin were writing this, dudes would be all over it.

It's got a buff shirtless Keldric in sex slave clothes on the cover while a sexy lady all in black ogles him from her setee.

I hope Catherine Asaro's having a good day.

#2023 books #catherine asaro #ascendant sun #science fiction #sometimes i feel bad about posting all this text #and then one of you motherfuckers do that colour of the sky shit again

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mapstone · 6 months

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Note : of the following fan fiction I own only the Characters Sal Hillander and Graeleela Hillander and Lhean Hillander my imaginings of Zachary and Karigans Children. All others are Kristen Britains Characters from the Green Rider Series Note : timeline of Karigan and Zachary’s marriage :

Karigan and Zachary would go on to marry and have three children one of which would acscend the throne after his older sibling died of Estora and Zachary’s twins , after Estoras death of course and their children were raised in the castle properly as any royal children. This of course would happen after the dragon battle which they would win and defeat MornHavon.

Estora had taken her place as regent Shortly after the war with Amberhill possessed by mornhavon. And kept regency till her son’s coming of age. Zachary decided after so much loss and bloodshed that he would retire behind the castle walls and live the life he wanted with Kari. Neither would accept royal duties only the occasional visit to the Elt who were now kin.

The Regent

Zachary faced his advisors , along with Estora , Kari , Weapons and green riders. Laren missing still , being searched for by Stevic Gladheon

“We’ve won, this battle with Amberhill is over , I’ve seen too much Bloodshed , We’ve all faced immense losses, But we stopped the Dragons , and now I must resign duties to live my life in comfort . I am Naming my Wife Estora as Regent till our Son Zachary Davriel II, comes of age and Takes the throne.”

Laren would’ve Certainly frowned on this , He knew , But with her still a prisoner of the foreigners he needed the peace he could seek.

“But how your majesty ? Why? “ came a chorus of questions from weapons and advisors alike

“Kari and I faced immense pain, and face it daily with Laren our colonel And my chosen adoptive mother still missing. So we choose to find joy in what we can. I choose to wed Kari at the earliest possible , there will be no public display or invitations , there will be private invitations only .”

Kari began her additional address to the room.

“This is as Zachary and I wish it to be. I suggested we go and help my father find Laren and bring her home , But the cost to us facing more danger is too much to bear. We instead have picked some of my Kin from the Elt to guide and assist our liege of Weapons here. They are arriving tomorrow . You are to find my father in the shores leaving to the Islands there. He waits in the Corsa Inn.”

Weapons bowed in silence and acceptance . They chose Fastion and Garth to lead with two others very new to the service. , Lhean would lead a small band of Elt to join them. They Knew Laren was a prisoner likely in a palace on the trade islands . They hoped this team would find her and return her home in a matter of months.

******

Kari stared at Zachary’s back while he closed the door behind them, and he asked the guards to make sure of no more disturbances .

He turned to face her , she was almost crying , she wanted to rush into his arms , no she wanted to slowly undress him, kiss him. She wanted to run her hands thru his chest hair and kiss every scar off his back .

He walked slowly toward her and took her hands in his , caressed her face pulled her close .

He Groaned “I’ve waited so long for this …. For us “ they kissed deeply.

It wasn’t till he lifted her onto the bed she noticed the tears they both had in their eyes . “Darling , why are we crying ? He asked.

“I .. “ She had no answer except to pull him close again .

Twenty five years later

*****

Sal knelt before his father, Zachary

Accepting the crown.

His half brother Zachary Davriel II died of a mysterious illness only having spent four years on the throne. His mother Estora , Succumbed to a fever that swept Sacordia two years prior. Leaving no hiers , decidedly his next brother in line Sal, named so for Salvistar , would be king.The brothers had almost two years between them and so a very Young monarch would ascend as had his brother.

Zachary showing his age and trembling as he lifted the heavy crown upon his sons head smiled proudly.

“I anoint thee SAL Hillander the first”

Karigan Proudly curtsied before her now grown son and King.

His black mop curled round the shining crown as if Salvistar had decided this would be a reminder to the Sacordians that he would ever be present in spirit or flesh amongst them.

The surviving Twin , Lady Esmere came from Coutre Province to celebrate , as she had married an eldorman of Coutre , Insisted on by her mother Estora to keep bonds between the Provinces and families. Karigan and Zachary’s remaining children, daughter Graeleea and a Son , Lhean, Named for his mothers adopted Kin the Elt , stood nearby curtsying and bowing.

#kristenbritain #Winterlight #greenriderseries #fanfiction

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junker-town · 2 years

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‘Winning Time’ is a flawed but fun look at the ‘80s Lakers

The show is coming back for more in season two, but its first outing was flawed.

Magic hoisted the trophy, Kareem pondered if the Lakers were still his, and Jerry Buss was ready to do it all again. Sunday night marked the season finale of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, which ended with the team’s first ring, and while we watched the drama of 1980 play out on our screens, plenty brewed off it in 2022.

Winning Time had no shortage of critics. Based off Jeff Pearlman’s seminal 2014 book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, the HBO series caused an extreme reaction from several who were a part of the Lakers at the time. Jerry West has been incensed by his portrayal in the show, going so far as to threaten legal action against the series, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has denied scenes from the show — including a moment during his filming of Airplane! in which he told a young fan to “go f*** himself,” after he was asked for an autograph.

We’re left with an occasionally brilliant, oft-frustrating show that can be uncomfortable to watch as a viewer. With the line between fiction and reality blurred to the point that so many are disagreeing with the content it becomes very difficult to swallow the show’s most hard-hitting and poignant moments, like Spencer Haywood’s struggles with addition and Kareem’s efforts to get him clean.

The lingering question is: Can we really believe what we watched all season?

That’s where this all gets murky. By all accounts Pearlman seems happy with show, judging from his Twitter account. Meanwhile Max Borenstein, one of the co-creators of Winning Time has defended the portrayal of characters in the series, saying it was “heavily researched,” not just from Pearlman’s book, but myriad sources. However, Borenstein still acknowledges that concessions had to be made to tell a story.

“It is, of course, a dramatization, and we’re not doing a documentary. So it’s something where we’re making choices and trying to tell the story of a decade in what will hopefully be a few seasons of television.”

The dramatization of historical events is nothing new, but it’s more rare to take on a topic where the majority of its central characters are still alive. Especially where so many are, even in fleeting moments, portrayed in such a negative light.

Haywood aside, the Lakers players themselves are largely all presented positively. Sure, there’s promiscuity and drug use, but nothing overtly negative. The others characters, however, is where this all goes off the rails a little.

Jerry West is depicted as a depressed malcontent, incapable of feeling joy and constantly looking to sap the life out of those around him.

Larry Bird is largely presented through Magic’s gaze, but the show portrays him as a foul-mouthed, country boy, with an abundance of racist undertones.

Jerry Buss is a misogynistic man-child whose business decisions are so bad he seems incapable of running a fast food franchise, let alone a professional sports team.

Pat Riley comes off as goal-driven, but also underhanded, and lacking any kind of empathy for Jack McKinney when the Lakers coach suffers a near-fatal head injury in a cycling accident.

It’s these over-the-top depictions that can make the “reality” of the show seem suspect. As Borenstein said, they weren’t looking to make a documentary, so there was ample dramatization — but this also leads to a major issue the show has.

Winning Time struggles at times to decide the kind of show it wants to be

Anyone with an interest in watching Winning Time knows how this show plays out. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of basketball knows the Lakers will become a generational dynasty, hell it’s in the show’s title. Unlike a fictional tale or a lesser-known team we knew the Lakers were going to win in six, beating the 76ers in Philly. We knew Kareem would be out due to injury. We know that Riley will ascend and become one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time.

With all these known quantities there’s pressure on showrunners to inject drama into the story, but this is also an inherent joy to the subject matter. We’re watching the rise of one of the greatest basketball players of all time, on one of the greatest teams of all time — that’s fun, it should be fun, and sometimes Winning Time struggles when it attempts to blend comedy with the drama in an attempt to make the show feel lighter.

The issue is that the majority of comedic moments come at a character’s expense, which is normally fine, but comes off as cruel knowing these were real people. In early episodes this worked fine. We had a funny montage of Magic doing his rookie duty of bringing Kareem his morning orange juice and newspaper, only to get rejected each time by the mercurial superstar, for instance.

As the show progresses these attempts at comedy become more awkward. West is often made the butt of jokes as his nervousness and neurosis take hold. Buss’ playboy lifestyle begins funny, with a half-naked John C. Reilly thinking he’s god’s gift to women, but becomes reprehensible when Jeanie Buss remembers witnessing a sex act between her father and a much younger woman in the booth of a restaurant. McKinney is presented as an ornery, pottering fool, only so later we don’t feel bad when he’s booted off the team as Paul Westhead and Pat Riley take control.

This may have been intentional on the part of the show’s producers, as a way to onboard us to these characters’ origin stories, but tonally the show doesn’t often hit its marks. It rarely feels like we’re laughing along with the characters in its moments of comedy, and instead laughing at them.

With this blend of uncomfortable humor lightening the tone for dramatic events we can’t really rely on, the end result was an enjoyable first season — but a deeply flawed show.

Where does Winning Time go from here?

HBO has already greenlit season 2, announcing in April it was renewing the show. We know that in 1980-81 the Lakers took a huge step back, as Magic Johnson was limited to 37 games with a knee injury, and the team was bounced in the first round of the playoffs by Moses Malone and the Rockets.

Borentstein has said to expect a more well-rounded presentation of Larry Bird in season two, not just limited to the critical lens of Magic, but it’s hard to imagine we’ll see a whole season chronicling just one down year of the Lakers dynasty.

What we’re really waiting for is 1983-84, when Boston and Los Angeles met in the NBA Finals for the first time during the Magic/Bird era — though it’s unclear at this time whether we’re get that far forward in just one more season.

Ultimately Winning Time is a fun, albeit flawed look at one of the NBA’s most fascinating eras. Quincy Isaiah shines as Magic Johnson, Solomon Hughes is brilliant as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Adrian Brody steals almost every scene he’s in as Pat Riley. However, in watching it’s helpful to take the subject matter with a big grain of salt and understand you’re seeing a hyper-dramatized version of what took place, while also appreciating that a lot of people who were on the Lakers at the time vehemently deny a lot of the subject matter. That certainly takes some of the shine off the finished product, but I’ll still be watching when season two debuts.

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