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sneek-m · 1 year

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Favorite Japanese Dramas 2022

I watched even more Japanese dramas this year. Here’s what I liked:

Waru ~ Hataraku No Ga Kakko Waruitte Dare Ga Itta? ~ (Wednesdays, 10 p.m.; Nippon TV)

What a powerful vehicle this drama was for Mio Imada, who delivered if not the year’s best comedy performance as Maririn, then one of the year’s most physical. Her character’s role as part-village idiot of the story called for the actress to practically be a cartoon character come to life, but she transcended the status of the central class clown by sheer committal to the act. Her performance is absolutely to the show’s benefit when the show’s actual politics isn’t as progressive as it thinks it is: it reveals the sad state of things, and how behind the conversation is, if the writers think we the audience should be applauding them for merely bringing up the existence of the glass ceiling and gender inequality in the workplace in 2022. Maririn seemed as though she was written as the modern Japanese Forest Gump, naively navigating the country’s workforce culture, but Imada turned it into a whole lot more.

Shizukachan To Papa (Sundays, 10 p.m.; NHK)

The chemistry between Tsurube Shofukutei and Riho Yoshioka as the titular father and daughter was incredible — I can watch them yell at each hour every week for months — but I also have to bring up the unforgettable Keiichi played by Hey! Say! JUMP’s Yuto Nakajima. An exaggeration of a character to deliver the point of communication, sure, but his whimsy is something I missed once I tuned into the actor’s following project, Junjou Dissonance, whose character was so tonally opposite, it completely turned me off.

First Penguin! (Wednesdays, 10 p.m.; Nippon TV)

Nao is another actress I’ve seen as a side character in past dramas, and so it was exhilarating to watch her take the wheel of First Penguin! as basically her star-making vehicle. A big hand to the source material for providing her the foundation of an already-strong character for her to further flesh out: First Penguin! is inspired by the real story of Chika Tsubouchi, who, like Nao’s Nodoka, rallied together fishermen, though not without conflict, to create the direct-delivery business in the form of what they call the “fish box” in the drama. While the actual politicking is questionable as real accounts, a true story from the Tsubouchi’s history does get expanded into one memorable episode: in order to win their favor and trust in the business, Nodoka treats out her fishermen to a Michelin-star French restaurant managed by a client in order for them to actually taste the fruits of their labor. Fact or fiction, the victory is priceless.

Tsukuritai Onna To Tabetai Onna (Weekdays, 10:45 p.m.; NHK)

Fifteen minutes feel way too short for the amount of sweetness each episode contains, though the length makes the story tidy, not slight. The drama presents enough without being expanded into a feature-length rom-com a la Kinou Nani Tabeta? I partly suspect the source material has yet to build the story and its lead characters to warrant such a length for an adaptation, but also the size of its conversations more properly fit in scale within a miniature, slice-of-life story such as this. The title gives away the simplicity anyway: while there are definitely moments of questioning — of sexuality, relationship dynamics, among others — it leaves the two feeling content to be just that: a woman who likes to cook and a woman who likes to eat.

Mahou No Rinobe (Mondays, 10 p.m.; Fuji TV)

As if I didn’t name Remo Love my favorite drama of 2020, Haru once again surprised me how great she is in a comedy. She appears so cool on the surface as Koume, and I also perceive her as a rather soft-spoken celebrity, so it’s a sight whenever she absolutely cracks in response to the dumb mistakes made by the series of pathetic men among her line of work. (You know who’s the dark horse among the men in the main cast? Taizo Harada of, yes, comedy trio Neptune.) I see this drama more in line with a buddy-cop comedy in the suits of a home renovation marketing firm than workplace romance, though not that it bothers to have some inevitable office love.

Hatsukoi No Akuma (Saturdays, 10 p.m.; Nippon TV)

Three of the main four leads are so idiosyncratic as characters that I worry they may present a barrier of entry for this show. But like the best shows written by Yuji Sakamoto — Quartet, Omameda Towako — it nurtures a one-of-a-kind relationship among them, enough to convince these oddballs deserve each other as companions. The actual mystery component to the story is fine, but it’s really about getting to know these characters and each of their dark histories. Or, more like how you can only know a version of them as they present themselves to you.

Tsuma, Shougakusei Ni Naru (Fridays, 10 p.m.; TBS)

Even with a wacky premise — a dead wife returns to the family in the body of a third grader — the least convincing part of the whole story is Misato Morita’s Yoshimi being attracted to Shinichi Tsutsumi’s Keisuke, who is at least 20 years senior as her co-worker. It helps the drama is self-aware of its absurdity, making for great, if expected comedic moments, like the constant reality check given to Keisuke of who he’s actually hanging out with whenever he’s out catching up with his “wife.” Get through that initial obstacle, and the drama reveals a poignant story about death, grief and how to ultimately make peace.

Mai Agare! (Weekdays, 8 a.m.; NHK)

Mai Agare! is the first asadora I’ve ever watched, and maybe I’ll find it less unique as I watch more of it in the future. For now, I am enamored by its simple, soap-y wholesomeness. I’m charmed by the innocence in Haruka Fukuhara’s Mai as she embraces her naive dream to become a pilot because she simply finds flying so life-fulfilling. (Meanwhile, her cohorts in pilot school is inspired by more noble reasons, like being the change in a male-dominated field or following the footsteps of his family, but the gap only further establishes Mai’s character.) I suspect it will get darker as the ripples of the 2008 recession has started to make its way into the drama now third of the way in, but I am not worried of it getting any bit of cynical. Call me to easy to please, but sometimes when I get back from a long day of work, I just want a heart-warming story like this one.

Silent (Thursdays, 10 p.m.; Fuji TV)

Here’s a question to those who also watched Silent: Did we need Minato? All I can say is that I sure was happy when he got out of the picture, and the drama finally gave floor for Haruna Kawaguchi’s Tsumugi and Ren Meguro’s Sou to deepen their relationship. The show actually opened up and spotlighted a whole other characters, too, after the first act, with each episode becoming more essay-like as it focused on its character of the week to deliver a point. I initially worried Silent would wear itself thin because it carried itself as a rather low-key slice-of-life, but that very day-to-day ease is what I loved from it, especially as matters between its character grew more complicated.

Other dramas I liked:

Elpis ~Kibou, Arui Wa Wazawai~

Atom No Ko

Jizoku Kanou Na Koi Desuka ~Chichi To Musume No Kekkon Koushinkyoku~

Kimi No Hana Ni Naru

Ishiko To Haneo ~Sonna Koto De Uttaemasu?~

Unicorn Ni Notte

#Now Watching

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hamliet · 2 years

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What do you think of Mercury and Cinder's relationship? Is that abusive in your opinion?

Unquestionably yes.

I think there is in general a reactionary response to any labeling of a character as an "abuser"--to be fair, I see why this is, because in fandom "abuse" is thrown around so trivially that it doesn't often even actually constitute abuse, and even when it does, the term is often used to condemn a character and any people who like the character.

But what people miss, in real life and in fandom, is the abuse victims can also abuse. It's a common response--lashing out, projection. Many victims don't do this, obviously. But some do, and it's not insignificant either. I think both in real life and in fiction we prefer to think of abuse as something simplistic, black and white--and in terms of the deed itself, it is black and white. But in terms of the person? It's a lot harder because a lot of them are victims themselves. Think of the mother who is abused by a husband who then lashes out at her children (for a fictional example, BNHA's Todoroki Rei failed her kids in a lot of ways). And I know there's the mantra of "abusers can't change" but the specific situations are sometimes far more complex, and the safe realm of fiction, it can be explored (such as with Rei, who is now a good mother after getting psychiatric help). Plus, abusers are often nice and kind, loving, generous--even up to like, 90% of the time. That's literally why people, romantic or familial or even platonic, stay with the abuser.

So anyways. All that to say: yes, Cinder abuses Mercury and Emerald. I think any statement otherwise is just misreading. It is tragic, because Cinder is very sympathetic and a victim of not just her horrific childhood, but of Salem's abuse. But she does perpetuate that onto Emerald and Mercury. She's a boiling kettle that boils over.

To be fair to Cinder, she's never had a healthy example of love or a good mentorship. The closest she had was with Rhodes, and Rhodes offered her a lot of good but also was extremely flawed and could be cowardly. So Cinder acts exactly like this with Emerald and Mercury. It's understandable, but it is heartbreaking.

Cinder's recruitment of Emerald and of Mercury is played as her rescuing aspects of her childhood self: her hungry, starving self, and her traumatized, lashing out self. However, there's another aspect here too: Cinder uses religious language in recruiting Emerald and Mercury. I don’t think it can be clearer that this is a type of mental grooming:

You will question everything you know.

Cinder quotes the Bible in recruiting Emerald. Specifically, she quotes Jesus.

Follow me, and you'll never be hungry again.

If an antagonistic character quotes Jesus, that's an antichrist archetype. It's not good. (Of note: many antichrist archetypes find redemption; see, Johan Liebert of Monster). Anyways, this is an amalgamation of two quotes from Jesus: follow me, and I will make you fishers of men, and whoever drinks of this water will never thirst again. The first in particular is said to Jesus’ disciples. It’s clear that Cinder is recruiting Emerald and Mercury as her disciples (the literal next line is “I wish to take on an apprentice”)... and that she is their god.

Why am I going on about this? Because there is a power dynamic here. I know that Cinder isn’t that much older than Emerald and Mercury in numbers, but she is absolutely framed as being an authority figure for them. Not only that, but she’s at this point an authority figure they can’t question (God). When Emerald does question Cinder (complaining about Mercury’s recruitment) Cinder literally hits her. That might make it clearer in the blunt sense that Cinder abuses Emerald, but there’s nothing in the story to indicate we should see Cinder and Mercury’s relationship differently--in fact, the story goes out of its way to put Emerald and Mercury on the same level, and to emphasize the sameness which with Cinder treats them.

The first time we see them really interact as a trio, Cinder literally appears above them with light behind her, and lowers herself down to their level.

Cinder chastises both Emerald and Mercury, telling them again some very religiously-laden words:

Don’t think. Obey.

And in all their scenes, Emerald and Mercury are coded beneath her. The animation is shot specifically to emphasize this in the most benign moments.

Cinder refers to Mercury as “our Mercury” at times. That is absolutely parental coding. When people bring up MErcury’s smirk while he records the chaos at Beacon, they forget he’s recording under Cinder’s orders. Even Watts acknowledges this by telling Cinder to “please keep your... posse in check" (implication: they are subordinate to her). Lastly, the EM confrontation in Volume 6 makes it explicit again by pivoting from Cinder to their parents:

Mercury: Cinder doesn’t care about you. She doesn’t care about either of us!

Emerald: you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Mercury: You’re in denial. If you’re going to start having a crisis of identity or some crap, keep me out of it.

Emerald: *attacks him*

Mercury: I’m sorry you didn’t have a mommy who loved you, but I had a dad who hated me!

Now, Emerald and Mercury respond to abuse differently. Emerald never had anyone before, so she clings to Cinder. She even says as much. Mercury has been abused his entire life, firstly by his father and then by Cinder, and now Tyrian/Salem. He shuts down and tries to find the useful parts of abuse to keep himself going and just survive. At least his father taught him to fight, which made him useful to Cinder. At least Cinder brought him to Salem, who also thinks she can make use of him. Mercury sees himself as an object, and it’s sad. Mercury’s response isn’t him taking abuse better, nor does it indicate he is not abused because he doesn’t break down crying.

What makes me say it is abusive is that Cinder exhibits complete control over Emerald and Mercury. They have to obey her, or they get thrown away. Not only that, but she specifically uses their vulnerabilities to make them commit to her: Emerald is hungry and alone. Mercury was abused physically and taught to kill or be killed.

The tragic thing is that Mercury keeps falling out of the frying pan into the fire. First, with his dad to Cinder, and now from Cinder to Salem/Tyrian.

Mercury: I known better than to disobey Salem. Look, even if what he said is true, we can’t stop Salem. You told me yourself. Hazel tried, he failed, he got in line. That guy’s not gonna pick fights he can’t win, and neither should we.

I sincerely can’t see how people could read/interpret Mercury as going from stated abuse with his dad to no abuse with Cinder to more abuse with Salem/Tyrian. Not how arcs work. He’s spiraling deeper and deeper, and it’s not going to get better until he leaves.

Fortunately for Mercury, he’s had repeated “save the cat” moments when the cat happens to be Emerald (he kills the bookstore owner so Emerald won’t have to do it--and later points out that the owner is a cat lol, rescues her in Haven, tells Roman and Tyrian off when they insult her, etc) It’s pretty clear their relationship is the key to his salvation and later redemption.

And, just to be clear: this isn’t me stating Cinder is just a horrible abuser who should be put down. I think she’s gonna be the pivotal character who saves everyone. Likely with a sacrifice, but still. You know. Like Jesus.

#rwby meta #rwby #tw #emerald sustrai #emercury #mercury black #i ain't tagging this

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trutrustories · 3 years

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Okay, this will be probably long and with many errors (my english isn´t very good) But I saw several posts here on Lokius tag, talking about this ship as result of gay fetish, and about non existing chemistry and how this ship doesn´t make sense etc… And from what I understood there is tagged Lokius because of genuine interest to understand others point of view, so here is mine: I wil try to explain where my frustration comes from, and how I feel about Lokius, Sylkie, AND representation + some other things which I saw here somewhere. But first of all: I like Sylvie, I don´t hate sylkie shipers, and after so many years reading fan fictions, I don´t mind selfcest – I read weirder things. I have some issues with this ship (the mainlythe fact that it isn´t Lokius), but this is not one of them. Also, I am not about to tell anyone, they shouldn´t ship sylkie.Ship whatever. And I LOVED the show as a whole.

I just want to defend my standpoint, that Lokius does make sense, people shipping it does make sense and whether it will happen or not, (I don´t have my hopes very high, and I learned to be very skeptical in this regard ) it is more than just about crack ship, or fetish. I´m honestly blown away that people are still surprised that this ship became a thing :D First of all, let´s look at some romantic story telling and tropes: I mean the way they introduced them in the first two episodes set the tone for all series and how the heck this isn´t romantic? Somehow there are all these romantic tropes existing in a show. They´re just there. Just chilling between Loki and Mobius and large portion of audience can´t even see them. (and some of those tropes were used for Sylki as well, so you could actually see them side by side)

For example: 1) traveling to the apocalypsis 2) breaking law/rules for the other 3) literally changing for the better thanks to the other 4) arguing like old married couple 5) saying secrets, personal things to the other 6) sharing glances, touches, visibly being happy around each other - in case of Loki happier then we´ve ever seen him before 7) being completely themselfs around each other 8) One knowing everything (even the worst) about other and still accepting him completely 9) teasing, being comfortable and domestic around each other 10) one being literally enthusiastic FAN of the other 11) Mobius defending Loki whenever he has a chance 12) Freaking amnesia trope that they pulled of in the end??? (It could be different Mobius, but point is he suddenly doesn´t know him - and Loki knows more, in contrast with the beggining) 13) the jealousy in ep4 14) Misunderstanding - when Mobius thought Loki betrayed him and Loki (thanks to Ravonna) thought Mobius betrayed him... 15) witnessing death of the other and being absolutely broken afterwards 16) The goodbye hug with romantic music in the backround 17) Saving life of the one (even when it means problems for the other ) - like Mobius saved Loki´s ass at least three times when he was trying to stop others from pruning him. 18) sharing deep conversations about meanings of life, freedom and how it would be fun to make some chaos and ride that fucking jet ski!!! 19) Inspiring the other 20) looking for each other (Mobius didn´t believe for a second, that Loki would die in the Void and the way how in the last minutes of the series Loki run through all places they were together when he was looking for Mobius... and I could go on. Point is, even if they are not planning to make Lokius canon, all these things are used on a daily basis to describe romance in media and they are used here. On top of that it´s just very poetic and cute, that this drama queen and powerful god of Asgard who looked down on people would find his match in someone, who is so quiet, ordinary on the first sight, and basically is just human from 90s, who loves jet skis. Mobius can´t even fight. But is highly inteligent and he also happen to be as good manipulator, such as Loki himself. - That´s why they work together so well. Mobius sees right through him and once Loki understands that, he drops his evil persona. Almost nobody expected to ship it for real. But story itself and chemistry between them just made it probably the most exciting duo in the whole MCU. And I mean it genuinely. Third episode, even though it was beautiful and Sophie was great in it (and is literally dipped in bisexual colors), is the least favorite for a reason. And that reason being, there is no interaction between Loki and Mobius whatsoever. Lot´s of people though that series slowed down a bit. Even when in fact there was more action, then when we watched Loki and Mobius working at the TVA.

(and let´s just talk about evil!Mobius narative for a bit and how some people say he is manipulative and toxic for Loki: show itself explore heavy themes and one of them is in Loki´s line: no one bad is ever truly bad and no one good is ever truly good. And as a theme in a fictional world, it is working as it should, for the story. When Loki and Mobius meet, one of them just killed lots of innocent people and destroyed almost whole city. The other one is a part of fascist organization – and in the beginning of the series they both believe what they´re doing is right. They´re both bad, they´re both good, they´re both broken. And they are changing with the help of the other.) From all reactions I watched - and there was many of them, lots of people actually didn´t see dynamic between Loki and Sylvie as romantic in the third episode. So it´s not like Sylvie and Loki had unequivocally love story right from the start.

The only difference is that lots of people won´t see romantic tropes, when it comes to two men in a mainstream show – show that isn´t primarily about relationships and problems that queer people has to face. Because in super hero story and science fiction we have to warn audience, that they´re about to watch two man in love, right? At this point It´s just frustrating really. There were many M/M dynamics that used similar story line, as for example Lucifer, or X-files, or Bone collectors. - But unlike those M/M pairings, no one was making fun of people for shipping main characters in these shows. But when it comes to two men suddenly you´ll see from all corners of the internet: “why can´t it be just platonic?” “There is not enough platonic relationships” “why can´t two man just be friends?” (They can and they almost ALWAYS are) and “if you think there something romantic between them, you´re delusional” “fetishist“ “And for god´s sake just let them be friends, Loki needs a friend more then....” oh wait, but Sylvie is allowed to kiss him. Sylvie doesn´t have to be just friend. (And I must say, that I love Sylvie, I liked most of the interactions between her and Loki and I think she is a great character ((I hope we learn more about her in the future)) it just doesn´t work for me as well as Loki´s dynamic with Mobius. Maybe partly because of chemistry between actors, partly because combination of characters and they´re personality and also because I had two whole episodes to fall in love with the pair before Sylvie was even introduced.)

First of all: people can be friends and then evolve into lovers. Not only it is common romantic trope, but it is also the most realistic one. And those relationships are usually strongest. second: If people want to see Loki in a platonic friendship so desperately, why can´t it be a woman for a change? They were acting like chaotic siblings for most of the episode three anyway. The age gap aspect is also very funny. Owen is only about 12 years older (That is not that much. But I imagine, some people would get uncomfortable. But If it was man and woman, most of them wouldn´t even blinked. But two men, that has to be somehow automatically son and father figure dynamic) And If you want to dive into age of an actual characters, then good luck with that in a series about gods, variants and time travel. Almost nobody cares about age gap between Lucifer and detective Decker, or Bella and Edward. On top of that, it was heavily implied, that Loki slept with older, silver haired guy in Ragnarok, so it´s not like he would have problem with that.

Different standards are projected in a way how we see romantic dynamics between fictional characters depends on what we are used to, how are we perceiving world around us, what we are expecting to see and ALSO, what we would like to see, that much is true. When people are used to make no differences between heterosexual and homosexual pairing, then everything what happens to the characters is measured with the same meter. (Even though I experienced queerbaiting many times (( Once upon a time, Sherlock, Supernatural, Good Omens – the last one hopefully is not the case, but I guess we´ll see)) I also saw lots of lgbt shows like Queer as folks and Sense8.) And when we are not used to see it the same way, well… then it looks basically like that one comment under Castiel´s “I love you” scene on youtube, that said “what a beautiful friendship”.

If we forget about all that chaotic mess behind the scenes (all those articles and contrary messages) What is happening in a show between Loki and Mobius can be objectively considered romantic and what is happening between Loki and Sylvie in a series can be objectively considered platonic (until the kiss) and vice versa. And then to see comments about how absurd it is to even think they have chemistry, and about gay fetish - it´s hard to swallow. I read posts about absurdity of a ship and how there is absolutely nothing that would suggests romance. Well there is, actually. But whether creators are going to work with it or not, that´s something we can only speculate. They already made Loki officially bisexual. So why should it be so absurd to assume, that there is an actual possibility of romantic subplot between Loki and Mobius? Oh right… it´s Disney and Marvel we are talking about.

So on a subject of bisexuality: Bi people can date whoever they want. But It is a little frustrating, when there is so many heterosexual pairings in the mcu and disney but when there is a promise of lgbt character (speaking of endgame) we get one line about date from a man we´ll never see again. And when there is a promise of lgbt representation you can´t even blink during movie, or you´ll miss it (Star wars, Beauty and the beast). And then Loki said “A bit of both, I suspect the same as you”. And I won´t lie, I was happy. And I think creators made biggest step yet with this one line (which is honestly terrible, that “a bit of both” coming from Loki of all people, is the biggest step forward.) But they played it VERY safe. Obviously, both Loki, and Sylvie are bisexuals, and in three episodes, we had Loki flirting with female flight attendant, Sylvie talking about her relationship with POSTMAN and then they fall for each other. So the only thing that suggests they are really as bi as Lamentis 1 is that little sentence, that can be edited out, or easily overheard. It´s the bare minimum. And I think that frustration with how freaking slowly we´re moving into some progress is understandable. From all those great M/M dynamics I talked about, those, that could make great love story, nothing happened, because too many people “don´t mind gays but don´t need to look at them” or are scared for their children. In 2021.

It is not a fetish to wish for a gay love story in superhero movies/series. (But anyway, I don´t think there is anything bad about it. Some men like to watch lesbian porn, some woman like to read gay porn. AO3 wouldn´t be were it is today, without people reading and writing slash :D – but that has little to do with what we actually see on tv)

I´m not delusional. As much, as I love these two characters together, I know how little chance it has. I´m not delusional. I´m just in the future, old and tired, waiting hundreds of years for at least one of my OTP to finaly become a fucking canon.

#Lokius #loki series #LOKI AND MOBIUS #mobius m mobius #loki

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nadohunter · 3 years

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I love your kuro art!!

I couldn’t ever ship seb x will tho. They both just seem like tops to me so I don’t think it could work lol

I mean... thank you! I'm glad you like my art.

However I will just say... the idea around not shipping something because "they both seem like tops" is uh... hmm...

Look its okay not to like the ship, but that kind of mentality is something that goes along with y*oi culture that kind of really fetishizes gay men? There is soooo much more to relationships than... that, and even if we want to go off this logic of them both being "tops" that doesn't mean they couldn't have a relationship.

I'm going to assume your young, so I'm not gonna get too high up on my pedestal, but I implore you to recognize that there is more the relationships and more to people then that. Yes, they may be fictional characters, but who is represented and how, yes, even in fan communities can have an impact. There have been men, gay or not, in real life that have gotten harassed or 'shipped' with another man by fangirls that don't really care about them or their interests but if they look 'hawt' together or not. This doesn't exist in a vacuum. Which is kind of why I want to put my foot down here.

What can make a relationship interesting or... for fandom, fun to ship - can be things like... they play off each other well, they have a general chemistry when tackling problems, or maybe they bring out the best in each other, or their 'love story' has some sort of interesting narrative potential. There is so much potential in a relationship that its kind of tragic that potential for story and character exploration can sometimes get lost in fandom.

When you go down this path of reducing people in a potentially gay relationship to 'who is a top' and 'who is a bottom' and project very straight values of one HAVING to be submissive and one HAVING to be dominant... its not only f*tishization, it's also so often an incredibly unhealthy dynamic. There's a reason we have the phrase "are the straights okay?"

Anyway, I hope maybe this is informative? Again, I really don't care if you like the ship or not, but I just implore you to grow from that kind of reasoning, because it is actually damaging and relationships are so much more nuanced than that.

#long post #tw #sort of #ramble #ish

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lillupon · 3 years

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So, I've got a very long rant/opinion here and Idk really know how to say this without coming off kinda bad but I'm gonna say it anyways. I agree with the fact that the seventeen tag has been kinda dry lately on most fanfic places, but it's really only in the smut area. It's the sane way with other groups too I feel like. All of the nice little innocent tags are boomin to this day and thats completely fine. I think the smut tag is dry tho bc lately I feel like a few social issues (like sexualizing people and disrespecting them and their identity) have crossed over into kpop and have been ?blown out of proportion? Lately there's been a rampage of people who like to say that writing smut about someone is disgusting and is dehumanizing because people want to assume that it would make the idols uncomfortable which could equate to some morality issues on how you are reducing someone only to their body without their consent and a bunch of stuff like that. It kind of pisses me off bc this is fiction. About grown adults. Clamping down on horny people who simp over hot asian men isn't going to solve the issues we face in real life. I think a shit ton is wrong with the world we currently live in, and deciding to come after something that isn't even real bothers me. Like what does that actually accomplish. But yeah, I think thats a reason why smut has been dying down. I mean, on youtube almost every video about unpopular opinions, or things they dont like about kpop will include something about shipping idols in fanfics. And then everyone in the comment section will talk about how its all fine and dandy in moderation, but once people start writing smut it's crossing the idols personal boundaries. It's something I've been seeing a lot more often and I think people who are interested in writing smut are being turned away from it bc we've gotten to a point where people are being called disgusting for having fantasies.

Hi Anon, thank you for sending in this Ask.

I want to preface this by saying: when I write or talk about Mingyu and Wonwoo fucking on my blog, it is a fantasy. I am not speculating about what the real Mingyu and Wonwoo might be like in bed. I am imagining the versions of Mingyu and Wonwoo that I have created in my head, that exist only in my stories. None of it is real. I understand that this can be a blurry boundary for some people. But for me, the separation between fantasy and reality is well-defined. Now, on to your Ask!

You’ve hit the nail on the head with this one. You’ve also touched on many of the issues I have been struggling with myself as of late. It’s difficult to argue about morals since everyone has a different set of values, as well as different comfort levels. Some people think real person fiction (RPF) is a gross invasion of privacy. Others are fine with it. And others don’t care one way or another. There is no single answer; I can only offer my answer. Which means, of course, people are welcome to disagree with it, or parts of it.

In this essay (LOL But forreal: this is an essay), I will be sharing my experience in the k-pop fanfic community from 2014 to present, the etiquette I personally abide by as a reader and writer of RPF, as well as my stance on RPF in general.

I started reading and posting fanfics back in 2014/2015 on a website called AsianFanfics (AFF). Obviously, no one on that site had a problem with RPF, since AFF is a platform made specifically for sharing stories about Asian celebrities. For many years, I read and enjoyed RPF with zero guilt. I scribbled away by myself in my own corner of fandom and curated my own content. I didn’t interact much with other fans, readers, or writers. I didn’t have a Twitter, and I only used tumblr to reblog memes. As a result, I’ve been able to avoid a lot of anti-shipping discourse, as well as purity and cancel culture. I had no idea there were so many negative opinions about RPF. It wasn’t until I became active on the subreddit r/Fanfiction last year that I learned about all the discourse surrounding RPF.

This newfound ‘awareness’ does make me feel guilty at times—but only because after mulling this over, I still don’t think this is something to feel guilty about.

Here’s what I remember, first and foremost, when I create and consume RPF: fanfics and my favourite ships are fictional, and fiction is fantasy. This is basic etiquette when it comes to RPF, and most people in the k-pop fandom understand this. Delusional fans exist, of course, but they are not representative of the entire k-pop community.

Another point of etiquette is to keep fanfics within fandom spaces. I would never push my fics into celebrities’ faces, or go around claiming that my fanfics are accurate representations of a k-idol’s life or personality, in any way, shape, or form. I would also discourage directing ship-related questions to official accounts, or bringing them up during fansigns or other face-to-face interactions; I believe that in these instances, shipping does have the potential to strain real-life relationships.

So with basic etiquette out of the way, let me share my approach to RPF in general.

As much as we like to think we know our favourite celebrities, we really don’t. All we see is their public persona. And this public persona is intentionally controlled, managed, and curated by a team of people: directors, tabloids, editors, makeup artists, publicists, etc. How “real” are these celebrities? We are so distanced from them that they may as well be fictional.

I draw from the public persona that idols project, and I work them into my own writing. But at the end of the day, these personalities are my own interpretation. My interpretation is probably nothing like an idol’s actual personality. I just use the “public persona/character” that idols portray as inspiration for my own stories, which are set in wildly different universes.

More than anything, I think of k-pop idols as “actors” in my fic. You know how when you write an original novel, you scroll through Google images, looking for the perfect person to portray your original character? RPF is literally that, except you might build upon pre-existing dynamics and personalities.

When it comes to explicit fanfiction, two main concerns are prevalent: one of consent, and one of sexualisation.

If we argue against explicit RPF due to lack of consent, we should be willing to apply the same lens to all explicit works. How do we know that the creator of a movie, book, series, etc., is okay with us using their characters in our stories, explicit or not? We don’t. Perhaps some creators encourage fanfiction, but don’t want their lovingly crafted characters engaging in sexual acts or experiencing trauma. We just don’t know. I feel this line is even more blurred when we talk about characters from movies or TV series.

Let’s take Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, as portrayed by Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan, from the Captain America movies as an example. I am willing to bet that when people consume and create explicit fanfiction about Steve and Bucky, they are imagining Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan in their heads. I doubt many people are imagining the 2D cartoon versions of Steve and Bucky, even though they’re technically the exact same characters. Why? Well, it could be because movies are more readily and easily consumed than comics, and so people are unfamiliar with comic book Steve and Bucky. But it might also be because fans find Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan attractive. Is this really any different from RPF, where fic authors make up everything about a celebrity’s life?

When readers and writers of fanfic talk about how hot Steve Rogers or Bucky Barnes is, those comments are about Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan’s bodies. When reading explicit stories, fans are going to picture Chris and Sebastian’s bodies in their head, doing sexual things. Can we say, “Well, it’s not really you, Chris/Sebastian”, when in a way, it is?

The reality is, people are going to thirst over celebrities, regardless of whether or not explicit fanfiction exists. They’re going to post thirst tweets on Twitter. They’re going to talk to friends and strangers online about how hot [insert celebrity name here] is. They’re going to fantasize about dating and having sex with their favourite celebrity. Or, as it is in my case, they’re going to make up stories in their heads about their favourite idols dating and banging each other. People are going to do all of this without ‘getting consent’ from the celebrity. Cracking down upon and shaming writers of RPF isn’t going to change any of that.

To be honest, I’m not sure why people think it is disgusting to imagine sexual scenarios about real people. It is okay and normal to have these kinds of fantasies. I suppose the alternative is to fantasise about having sex with cartoon characters instead? It’s a very binary way of thinking to say that if you imagine/write real people in explicit scenarios, you are immediately sexualising, dehumanising, or objectifying them. There is more to dehumanisation than writing smut about our favourite celebrities. For one thing, you can love someone and appreciate all parts of them, and still want to fuck their brains out. And generally, fanfics come from a place of love—love that is not only sexual in nature.

Is it the sharing aspect inherent to fanfiction? The possibility that a celebrity might stumble upon explicit works about them? The chances are very low, I think, of the k-pop idols I enjoy writing about coming across my English fics. But I also believe in curating your own content, and that applies to celebrities too. Perhaps a celebrity should not go searching for fanfics about themselves. And of course, people should not show celebrities their fanfics, unless invited.

Another argument I hear against (explicit) RPF is, “How would you feel if someone wrote fanfiction about you?” First off, I don’t like this argument because there’s a difference between someone who decides to be a public figure versus someone who decides to remain a regular private citizen. Celebrities should and do know what they’re getting into when they choose their occupation. (This is not to say, “They are celebrities; sexualise them all you want because that’s what they signed up for.” Here, I am only acknowledging that people might have sexual fantasies about celebrities they are attracted to. Presumably, celebrities are cognizant of this.)

If someone (whose existence I am not even aware of, mind you) decides they want to write explicit fanfiction of me in some tiny corner of the Internet, I wouldn’t care so long as: (1) they don’t shove it into my face, and (2) they don’t harass me and ask invasive questions about my personal life and relationships. It’s not hurting me or negatively affecting my life, so it wouldn’t even register as a blip on my radar. When fanfiction remains within its appropriate spaces, it is largely harmless.

Now, if a k-pop idol were to ask their fans to stop writing fanfiction about them, would I? Yes, I would. However, I can’t imagine that happening. Judging by the number of ‘sexy’ concepts, fanservice moments, and variety shows such as ‘We Got Married’, I am certain that k-pop idols realise they are the stars of many fantasies—some of which are explicit in nature. Considering the prevalence of shipping in the k-pop industry, I would argue that shipping is subtly encouraged.

It’s sad that so many talented writers are shamed out of fandom, or feel that k-pop cannot be the medium through which they tell their stories, or explore their sexuality, or cope with trauma, or simply have fun. Professional works and Hollywood love their RPF—readers and writers of fanfics should be able to, as well.

As you said Anon, “clamping down on horny people who simp over hot asian men isn't going to solve the issues we face in real life” (this is a lovely sentence, by the way). The kind of person who dehumanises another and reduces them to a sexual object will do so some other way, if not via fanfiction. I don’t think the issue of fetishisation can be fixed simply by telling people not to write explicit RPF. In my experience, people who read and write RPF are more respectful and thoughtful about these things than the general public. We’ve all seen the general public say highly sexual things about celebrities in the media and to their faces, or tag celebrities in their thirst tweets. Are these things less invasive than fanfiction? Personally, I don’t think so. And in my opinion, there are more pressing and damaging issues in stan culture than fanfic.

In conclusion, I don’t think there is anything wrong with creating and consuming RPF, both explicit and non-explicit so long as we:

Remember we are writing fiction

Keep RPF within its appropriate space, and

Do not harass celebrities about their personal lives and relationships

RPF is not for everyone. There may be people who enjoy RPF, but draw the line at explicit stories. This is fine. Everyone has their own personal preferences. What is not fine, however, is attacking people for creating things you don’t like. I’m not sure what kind of moral crusade people are on and what they hope to achieve by shaming writers of RPF, explicit or otherwise. Ultimately, fic authors are writing a fantasy. It’s not real; no one is being hurt. I think it’s important for people to curate their own content, and AO3 makes it very easy to filter out explicit works and unwanted tags.

Maybe this is me trying to justify my own participation in explicit RPF—I don’t know. What I do know is that I love k-pop, and fandom is an important part of my media and entertainment experience. I adore the k-pop idols I write about, and I just want to imagine them being happy and getting lots of love and orgasms. Let a bitch be horny, goddamn…

Some bonus fun facts!

At the time I am writing this, on AO3:

26.2% of Stray Kids fanfics are rated M or E

26.3% of Seventeen fanfics are rated M or E

29.0% of Merlin fanfics are rated M or E

34.9% of Captain America (Movies) fanfics are rated M or E

40.1% of BTS fanfics are rated M or E ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Coincidentally, I saw this post on Reddit this morning: Can we have a RPF positivity post?

#asks #my writing #fic & fandom #I keep coming back to fiddle and add things to this answer #but I think I've said all I wanted to now...

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hellreads · 5 years

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Chapters: 8/8 Fandom: 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Kim Namjoon | Rap Monster/Reader Characters: Kim Namjoon | Rap Monster Additional Tags: Angst, Romance, Drama, Fluff, Smut, Slow Burn

Summary:

You are betrothed to Kim Namjoon, the heir of a real estate mogul. To say that it was a fairytale romance would be erroneous. You’re instead loped in the sad tale of the rich and melancholy.

I am lost for words once again, this is such a beautifully written story, I have immersed once again into the role of a beautifully awkward woman who’s betrothed to Kim Namjoon.

what is love? how do you know it’s love? how do you know you’re in love? those were the questions I asked myself while reading this and wondering if all of this was worth it because I am fully aware of how beautiful love is, it’s one of the best feelings one could ever have, but it can also crush your heart to pieces because when you love someone you can’t just choose happiness then leave when you feel like everything’s too much, you have to take everything in, face the beautiful melody and the eerily haunting ones too and I applaud our MC here for loving with all her heart even if it’s painfully obvious that she got the short end of the stick and has to work her way to the top in order for things to work because even if all of this was just a farce she wanted to try, she wanted this to work because she wants to love and be loved.

I applaud op for writing such an amazing story her inspiration to write it made it hurt more because I have seen What Happened in Bali when it was released but I was too young back then to understand the dynamics of their relationship all I know was Jo In Sung was my type hjsdfgjsgdfjksd anyway be informed that this is a slow burn story if you can’t handle too much tension and build-up you might find this bland at first but you really should give it a read (especially if you’re after the smut because it’s worth the wait I promise) op made sure we know everyone’s backstory, I’m satisfied she chose that path in unraveling this equally beautiful and heartbreaking story, to be in MC’s shoes I would lose my mind, I’m a creature made to love so if I’d be set-up to marry someone for money, I won’t have the heart to fight my parents so just like her I would try, but with their set-up, Namjoon obviously just an empty shell drained by his former love who still owned his heart is painful, how can you try when his heart belongs to someone else? it’s frustrating and I would walk away just keep up the act for the press and leave once the contract expires.

the characters here are written as if they actually exist as if this was based on true events, tbh I hated all of them at some point even the MC (but my love for her was greater so I won’t elaborate on that one), but I’m starting (I'll be talking as if she was actually me because I literally absorbed and immersed all of her beautiful fucking pain) with the person I hated the most aka Namjoon, you literally crushed me and my hopes in some parts baby, it kinda hurt seeing photos of you in my dash after reading those parts that made me hate bits and pieces of you, but what I hate the most is that I can’t dare to fucking hate you with all I have because you are you, it was a lost cause to even try because I was too immersed and I loved you too much to just fucking flip and walk away from you, though I did pray for you to suffer longer, but you have suffered long enough from women who kept on taking parts of you with them, I am here to pour all of me onto you and fill you with love and heal until you’re you again, the Namjoon that got whipped for me at some point, the Namjoon that whipped me, the Namjoon that fate bestowed upon me with a challenge, the Namjoon I learned to love and spend forever with. Sana, I hated you from the beginning until the end, you were you and I would never fill the hole you left in his heart, but did you really have to hurt me and smack to my face how immaculate you are? you have good intentions and you were mature and I’m nothing but a petty mess but this is me, I wanted to love him in hopes he’d learn to love me too but you keep getting in the way, tbh I never like the friendship you offered, nor the projects you were proposing, it was for a cause but I am petty insecure mess and I see you as a threat, I saw you as a sly snake who would bite me with venom if you fail to make me pliant to your requests, but I trusted Namjoon though it was uncomfortable (I’m not comfy with it because it happened to me before and I happen to have a shitty memory of it so I’m not willing to do it all over again) but op was right, she wrote you in a way people would find it hard to hate you, I felt that way but my petty side got the best of me. Chairman Kim Je-Dong, I hated you for taking Namjoon away from me when I still had no clue as to why it happened that way, and the moments interrupted but I love and respect you with all my heart father, because if it weren’t for your advice I wouldn’t be this happy, thank you. I think the rest of my hate-spree were petty lol, so I’ll stop here now.

what I’m trying to say is this story greatly affected me, I have never felt so livid and bursting with tears at a fictional argument, it freakin’ ripped my heart to shreds, I was a crying mess during the fight, I felt like this was it, it’s the end, but they just needed to be petty and take a break from each other, I only fully understood their pain as soon as MC started to retaliate, both have their valid points this is why they should’ve remained honest with each other, honest about digging his past, and knowing him thru that small gift and be honest and not make any promises you can’t keep for fucks sake their marriage is painfully accurate because it happens irl, men slaves to their work to make a living, women either work or take care of the house and kids if they have any, and not everyone has the time to address the issue until everything is falling apart, and irreparable. I have fallen head over heels in love forgetting about the fact that this was all for show, they were a perfect match if you ask me, I keep getting butterflies in my stomach, they literally made me believe in the process of falling in love, it wasn’t rushed at all and their cute date moments made my heart combust, what more could I ask for? and when he knew that this was it god those moments crushed me and made me a really sad ball of floof covered in salty tears, all emotions were just so intense even the dramatic moments that tested me and probably everyone out, the hospital scene, the park scene, the villa scene, all of it making my heart hurt so much I cry. the smut took a while before we got what we all were thirsty for but it was so worth it, even if it dragged for quite some time I couldn’t complain because he did make up for it and it was all good.

in short this fic teaches us to be open, honest and loving, open your eyes and your heart for a new love, if you’ve been hurt before don’t close your doors happiness doesn’t happen once, sure somebody made you happy before but eventually had the heart to hurt you but your happiness doesn’t end there, let someone enter your life and make you feel happy once again. be honest and communicative about everything with your lover, talk about your feelings, your concerns, things about your day, food you ate, conversations you had, deals you closed, people you encountered, small talk matters in any relationship, hell you can even talk about potatoes and it would assure your lover you still care but never lie about anything because people can see through us especially when you love someone it’s much easier to decipher their emotions even if we don’t want to accept it if it’s not a pleasant one. be loving, don’t let your past harden your heart, love, again and again, and again if you must, because that’s probably the only salvation we’ll get in this hellhole. again op thank you for this masterpiece these words may not get to you but I hope wherever you are, you are doing good and know that you are amazing! | 🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒

#a:fringesofsanity #t:covenant #m:knj #ft:myg #g:angst #g:smut #g:fluff #g:drama #g:romance #series #au:arranged marriage #au:lovers #ao3 #🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒#the song recs here didn't hel at all because those tracks were once part of my sappy sad healing playlist lol #also mannequin really is perfect for this masterpiece #thank you for not hurting me all over again op #i mean i did hurt but not as painful as RoW because that is like the most accurate ending for any fic under the same genre #you did make sana hard to hate but it was totally easy for me to hate her -- probably because i'm reminded of someone lol

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tzigone · 5 years

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Favorite characterization of Dick Grayson

What's your favorite era or writer for Dick Grayson? What characterizations do you like or dislike?

Here are my opinions. I may ramble a bit. Sorry about that.

You can skip this paragraph if you don't care how I ended up here and which comics I’ve read - it's not particularly important, I just wanted to share. First, while previously having seen on-screen versions of Dick Grayson, and read a bit of DickBabs fanfic (Batman: TAS sold me on them before the show went directions I loathe), I never actually read any issues of DC until 2015ish. Had been a Marvel girl because they didn't do reboots, but then they destroyed Peter Parker's marriage and rebooted the universe, so I abandoned comics for a while. But then I saw some reruns of Young Justice cartoon. So I read some fic. Many fics incorporated comic characters. There I discovered Spoiler, who I really liked the idea of as Spoiler (someone who works against Batman's wishes and doesn't obey his orders and refused to back down, but isn’t a killer). So I read the Robin series for the first 100+ issues (quitting when I knew War Games was near because the storyline sounded bad). But that made me decide to read the Nightwing comic that stared in that era. Really liked that, and really liked Dick Grayson (on-screen portrayals had already lead me to favor him). Then Birds of Prey, Dixon-era, too. Then, because I liked Dick, the Original and New Teen Titans. Original was too Silver Age for me, but really enjoyed 1980-1986ish New Teen Titans (thought it went downhill after that, and abandoned when I reached 1990 issues). Also read assorted Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age comics. So I have relatively broad, but very shallow knowledge of most Bat-eras, with more in-depth knowledge of the '90s and much less of post-2000 (mostly fic, which isn't always representative of the comic).

While I have opinions on various Bat and non-Bat characters and storylines, I'm starting with Dick here. He was my favorite. It's so dependent on writing (as is ever character), and right now he’s Ric, and that is something I’m not interested in.

While I absolutely like aspects from other eras, and I dislike some aspects from these eras, my favorite time periods for Dick are probably 1980-1986ish and 1996-2000. There’s some good 70s stuff and I like certain dynamics of him as guardian/mentor to Damian (and some stuff with other family), but as whole, these two eras in his titles (Teen Titans and Nightwing) are my favorites. For his characterization as stand-alone (rather than his relationships with other characters).

Golden and silver age Dick merit a bit less discussion. Characters weren’t as distinct from each other back then. Nor, really, as consistent. But Dick was sometimes regarded as quite a mature young man in the golden age. Responsible, good grades, intelligent, etc. But so was Speedy - like I said, not much distinction. Despite some impressions, in the stories I read I did not notice Robin to make lots of puns or be unusually cheery and smiley.

Come to the mid-60s and Dick was so much a teenager. I mean the original Teen Titans fairly scream with it early on (so much slang, really folks). One writer I didn’t like had him behave like an idiot (I’m not the only one who thought so, judging by the letters pages, though opinions were split). Really, though, in the early original Teen Titans it felt like writer(s) were trying to push the “teen” thing too much, and they sometimes came off like caricatures. But it was a time in comics when stories and characterizations were shifting and there were, IMO, both failures and successes in trying to embrace new and different.

The ‘70s were okay. Some bits I liked, and some I didn‘t. Dick is usually responsible in Detective Comics stories. He did a little bit of playing the play-boy (with Silver), which isn’t my speed, since I like the idea that Dick, unlike Bruce, doesn’t put on a facade in day-to-day life. Had a few girlfriends - very normal and not either stunningly celibate or shockingly promiscuous. Though the entire 70s was one year of college for Dick.

I am not at all fond of the "goofy" Dick that seems to have popped up fairly often in the past 20 years. They often seemed to have seriously dampened his brainpower and detective skills (because Tim is the smart one and the detective and for some reason they can’t both be that). I’m not a fan of separate out all Batman’s skills and assigning one to each Robin. It makes the Robins all less than Batman and inferior to him and sets that they will never be his equals and that I do not agree with. Now this is by no means a *consistent* thing, but it does happen, and it does irritate me. I don’t like seeing characters diminished.

I really love old-school Dick. Back when he was young (late '70s to mid '80s), they showed us how mature he was (probably to contrast his youth and make him a viable peer to older heroes). Both Wally and Roy commented on it. Roy said how he always felt so much younger (issue where he got custody of Lian). Wally though Dick was always on top of things (Kory and Donna knew better). Heck, Terry's (Donna's ex) bachelor party was another fine example how much more of an adult he was than some men twice his age. He was pretty cerebral, a fantastic detective, a good fighter, etc. He could hang out and have fun, too, of course. He wasn't a stick-in-the-mud. He was too closed off and unwilling to talk sometimes (moreso with his team, and perhaps because he thought he needed to project confidence as a leader?). He was, in a reverse, quite willing to talk about other people's emotional issues. Sometimes as a friend, and sometimes as a leader. He behaved most immaturely when dealing with Batman, particularly as their relationship became more difficult - there were times when they brought out the worst in each other. Though it wasn't steady, of course.

We really got to see Dick as a leader in this era. Someone people respected and looked up to. Not that his team always agreed with him or that he was always right, but that but that he was a person that people did have trust in. And that he usually did a good job of deserving it. It’s not just other teenagers, though, but the older heroes respect him as well. It’s also the first time we a real, substantive romance - with Kory. Saw where he floundered and how he loved, and such. Which I thought worked well until it reached a point where I thought it needed to end, and it didn’t (or rather it did end, but didn’t stay ended). Readers who like the ship, though, will likely have a different perspective, if they are like me (I just blame the writing when this sort of thing happens with ships I prefer).

Batman: Year Three - not the best story. I don't remember most of it, to be honest. But one thing I really liked was the highlighted difference between Bruce and Dick. It hits that Dick is more emotionally healthy than Bruce. That Dick had the emotional support Bruce lacked as a child (I don't think continuity had yet settled on the idea of Alfred as a father-figure to Bruce). That could segue me into changes in Bruce's backstory and characterization, but I'll refrain. I will say that I preferred Dick with the nice-nuns orphanage to Dick-in-juvenile-facility (though I really, really like Dixon's run on Nightwing). It makes Bruce less of a "rescuer" of Dick, which I prefer. I do not like the idea that Dick was doomed to end up dead on street (or a criminal) if not for Bruce. Though I admit to preferring old-school Dick-goes-directly-to-Bruce's-home, no matter how unrealistic. I dislike the entire Talon thing even more. I hate the back-projecting of more angst and more terrible things, like his parents being murdered wasn't bad enough.

Now we come to Nightwing series. I really liked Dixon's run. I'm a DickBabs fan, so seeing them get together was great. I did read he wanted Dick/Donna, and I'm glad that didn't happen. Partially because I'm a DickBabs fan, but also because I really, really liked the platonic friendship between Dick and Donna during the New Titans. And I liked that it was platonic and that a friendship - rather than romance - could be so very important. I don't think friendships get near the credit they should as important relationships in fiction, and so often fans want them to be romantic. And the older I get, the more I value good fictional friendships and sibling relationships and so on. For the record, I also really liked the Vic/Gar friendship. And I still tend to think of Donna, rather than Wally as Dick's BFF. Though he has many friends.

Anyway, I really liked seeing Dick working on his own and having his own city. He was finding his own path and his rogues were being developed. I liked the idea of him as a cop, and I enjoyed Amy. I liked a lot of his banter with Barbara. But not just the banter, the serious stuff. Dick was looking for a real, long-term, serious relationship. And Barbara was the hesitant one - for understandable reasons. It's an everyday reminder of the things they used to do together. Things he can do that she no longer can. And she really wants to.

Of course, in this era, he was totally a big brother to Tim, a relationship he never really had with Jason (post-crisis). Now, Bruce's character was becoming worse and worse in this era, so that provided some conflict for Dick. Early in the series, Bruce wasn't that bad yet, and he and Dick had some nice bonding/reconciling moments. And so some of the issues were just on Dick's side. He has, since at least the Titans days, had a persistent need to prove himself Batman's equal. To others and to Batman. I was kinda peeved with Donna when she said he'd never be as good. He thinks Bruce thinks less of him on occasions when Bruce doesn't. But Bruce still treats him like an underling a good portion of the time. He expects Dick to take orders with no questions and doesn't give him full details of plans and doesn't listen to his opinions or consider Dick's needs. Way too often, Bruce just puts his goal ahead of everyone else. That's an issue with Bruce. But Dick feels like it's Bruce not seeing him as equal. Which it is, IMO, but mostly in the sense that Bruce tends to put himself/his goal above all others in terms of importance (a problem that has only gotten worse with time).

I wasn't real fond back-projection/retconning of the Dick/Babs relationship over the years. Or her de-aging. I like her at least 4 years older than Dick. With no involvement when he was in highschool. Flirtation when he was in college (1970s Batman family issues), sure, but nothing really happening until he's in Bludhaven and in his mid 20s and the 5-7 year age gap doesn't matter because they're both adults. I much prefer her pre-crisis background with Batman to the post-crisis one, but that's a topic for my post on her.

Then the Devin Grayson era - I don't agree with all the positions of the author, but I do agree about Devin Grayson: http://theflyingwonder.tumblr.com/post/107703923021/you-made-me-curious-and-i-couldnt-resist-it-tell and I think way too many of her aspects stuck with the character. Which I guess makes her a success, but doesn't work for me at all, because I don't like the character she describes at all and he is not Dick to me. I've read her interview on Dick Grayson and her perception of the character was just nothing like mine. She acts like he's not a thinker (even though got called too cerebral in the old days). She acts like Dick either "fights or fucks" everyone he meets, and totally disregards so many other types of relationships. Now, the Mirage-rape had already happened (and was horribly handled), plus the Raven-mind-controllish thing (also didn't work for me), but Grayson made Dick the sleeps-around type. That was specifically contradictory to earlier characterizations where Dick was the committed-relationship type - something he actually discussed with Roy at one point. I liked Dick being a relationship-only guy, it was a big contrast with Bruce (particularly post-Crisis Bruce). I don't like Dick being Batman-lite at all.

Not Devin Grayson, but Nightwing Annual #2 - ghastly. So incredibly out of character for who Dick was back then. Another not-my-review at http://theflyingwonder.tumblr.com/post/93534635531/can-you-explain-the-nightwing-annual-2-thing. Though I would go further in that it's reason I don't like post-Kory’s-political-wedding Dick/Kory. It felt like a lot of build up to "love isn't enough" and then he basically chunked his beliefs to stay with her, which makes the relationship a bad thing to me. Here's my less-well-worded thoughts when I read the wedding. http://tzigone.tumblr.com/post/170389768364/nightwing-and-starfire

So, Dick's life in Bludhaven was destroyed. His life as independent hero was destroyed. I enjoyed Dick with the Titans, but him in Gotham is a no-go to me. Because he goes back to being an appendage of Bruce. He's working in someone else's city, he's a subordinate (at least with Bruce is actually there).

I haven't read as much of the Dick/Damian relationship as I maybe should have. While interested in their dynamic, I'm not keen on Dick's wider characterization. I do not like lothario-Dick. And I do not like Batman-lite Dick. So I deeply disliked him taking Robin from Tim and giving it away without discussing it, just like Bruce did to him. Yeah. To top that off, I unlike many, did not like the first 12 issues of Red Robin, so there wasn't even pay-off. And then later we'd get Dick faking his death and hurting his family for the sake of the mission (Batman's mission). Too Batman-like. I do get incredibly frustrated with that no matter how badly he treats them, Bruce's "kids" keep coming back and following his orders. I didn't like his non-masked storyline, in N52, either. Sadly, at least Barbara (who I don’t like being a student of Bruce’s), Dick, and Tim have all adopted some of Bruce’s worse traits in regards to secrets and manipulation at one point or another.

But my biggest thing is that Dick all to often (not always, but even once is too often) gets treated like a joke. He's the lovable brother, and that part is okay. But he's all cuddles and cartoons and Disney and most of his maturity is just gone. This is heavy in fic, but it's present in the comics, too. At 19 he was man, and now he's a man-child. Not when he's working, I mean, but in personal life. Lex Luthor says he's not a big thinker and some people agree. And that is just totally wrong to me. For me Dick, while far from perfect, is a person that has earned and has respect not only from his peers, but from the first-generation heroes. And it just gets worse later. Late Pre-Crisis they de-age him and he's 21 in N52 (when it starts anyway). And I hated his de-aging, and Barbara's. It feels like they're being drug backwards and not allowed to grow up. Even though Barbara *started* grown up and Dick had pretty much been a man even during his endless year at Hudson. I don't like the idea of Dick as someone people don't take seriously. Bart or Booster, maybe is someone villains don't take seriously, but should. But Dick, at least as he reaches his adult years, should be someone that people (villains and colleagues) do take seriously and respect. Thought without the intimidation Batman has, at least with criminals. I will say I do think it was done partially to keep Batman from getting too old to do the job, but I still don’t care for it.

Don’t get me started on Dick and what he thought was Bruce’s body and the Lazarus pit.

I thought the entire issue with Dick and Bruce after Bruce’s failed wedding was bad. Dick tries to be the goofball. They try to redeem it at the end, but it falls flat because he was stupid enough to think it would help in the first place.

Some people seem to think it's the sweetest thing ever if Dick moves back to Gotham and lives in the manor and Bruce takes care of him, and that's just a no-go to me. It's infantilizing. He's grown up and should be allowed to grow up. I see a lot of infantilizing of Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian. I get why it's done (to see Bruce the dad), but dislike it intensely. It's demeaning to me. I like Bruce the dad, too. But he can be a dad to adult children and treat them like adults (well, the grown ones). And yes, like equals, but that it what I think the relationship between adult parents and children should be. Though it’ll be a long time before Bruce gets to a point where he’ll consistently do that.

Side note: the comments on Dick's body get a little old. I totally get that he's stunning. I'm cool with Kory or Barbara or his current girlfriend enjoying his body or complimenting him on it. But sometimes it seems like various characters (usually female) are discussing him like a piece of meat. Particularly frustrating when his hero colleagues do so. I know a good bit of this comes with me binge-reading, making it seem more often than when issues are read a month apart.

#Richard Grayson #Nightwing #Batman #Bruce Wayne #Barbara Gordon #koriandr #koriand'r

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njawaidofficial · 6 years

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How John Krasinski Became The Next Great Voice In Horror

https://styleveryday.com/2018/04/04/how-john-krasinski-became-the-next-great-voice-in-horror/

How John Krasinski Became The Next Great Voice In Horror

Emily Blunt in A Quiet Place.

Jonny Cournoyer / Paramount Pictures

When John Krasinski set out to cowrite and direct A Quiet Place, he knew he was in desperate need of a crash course in horror. For years, he had largely avoided the genre, but now that he was going to make a horror film of his own, he had to play catch-up.

“The first thing I realized was how ignorant I was to be so strident about not seeing movies because I thought they’d be scary, because what I did was I realized I missed out on some of the best cinema that’s been going for the last few years,” he told BuzzFeed News. “Get Out, The Witch, The Babadook, Let the Right One In — all these movies are so incredibly well shot, well written, well thought out, that I’m such a lover of genre movies now.”

Emily Blunt, who plays Evelyn in A Quiet Place and has been married to Krasinski since 2010, admired his binge-watching, although she confessed that she’s “terrified” of the genre herself. “John watched every horror film under the sun to prepare for this movie,” she said. “He was like, ‘Do you want to watch It with me?’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t!’”

Krasinski’s horror education seems to have paid off with A Quiet Place, the third feature he’s directed after 2009’s Brief Interviews With Hideous Men and 2016’s The Hollars. The reviews that have come out since its South by Southwest premiere have been overwhelmingly positive. The film — which Krasinski cowrote with Bryan Woods and Scott Beck — follows a family of four as they live in silence to defend themselves from alien creatures who hunt by sound. Krasinski also stars as the father, Lee, who — along with Evelyn — works to keep their daughter, Regan (Millicent Simmonds), and son, Marcus (Noah Jupe), safe. It’s a tight, at times unbearably suspenseful thriller, with some of the most terrifying set pieces in recent horror memory. And because the characters can’t speak out loud or make any noise, it’s overwhelmingly quiet.

But A Quiet Place also has a rich emotional core and resonant themes of parental anxiety and the endless challenges of communication. Monsters aside, it’s about the lengths a mother and father will go to to protect their children in a world of constant danger. And then there’s Regan, who is deaf and sees herself as a burden on her family, when, in fact, her disability proves to be one of her strongest assets. Her fractured relationship with her father (and herself) provides a critical through-line to the film. That deeper level recalls the similar thematic richness of the modern horror films Krasinski cited, and it’s what elevates his movie past being just a tense creature feature.

One of Krasinski’s major takeaways from his horror binge was that the standouts of the genre never rest solely on scares. But then, that was never his approach to A Quiet Place. He was first offered the movie as an actor; at that point, it was a 70-page treatment that Woods and Beck had written. Once he saw a way in beyond the surface-level horror, he signed on as a writer and director. “It was terrifying and I could see that there was a potential for this giant allegory for parenthood, and that’s what I put into the rewrite of the script and I really tried to go for it,” he said.

John Krasinski and Noah Jupe.

Jonny Cournoyer / Paramount Pictures

While he was nervous about taking on a new genre, he thought back to advice he received from Greg Daniels, the showrunner of The Office, on which Krasinski starred as Jim Halpert for nine seasons. Daniels told him that it wasn’t his job to be funny or to make sure his scenes with Jenna Fischer’s Pam were poignant; he just had to deliver the lines and leave the rest to the audience.

“I thought of Greg because I said, my job is not to try to make a scary movie, my job is to make a movie about a family that you care about and if you care about them enough, you’ll be scared to go through what they’re going through,” Krasinski said. “Yet again, I owe everything to Greg Daniels.”

Krasinski’s approach to A Quiet Place grounds the film in family drama without sacrificing any scares. It’s what drew Blunt to the project despite her reservations about the genre as a whole. She was moved by the script and its focus on a mother and father’s fiercely protective devotion to their children. A parent herself, Blunt said she identified with Evelyn more than most of the characters she’s played.

“It felt very close to home for me, as being a mother of two young children, feeling like I’m worried about exposing them to this brutal world,” Blunt said. “It’s a fragile world we’re in anyway, and wanting only happiness for my children, and their health and happiness and their safety, it’s like, this mother and the way she operates was so — it was a no-brainer for me.”

A major reason why A Quiet Place succeeds as well as it does is that the family unit at its center feels cohesive and real. There’s a bit of an unfair advantage, of course: As real-life husband and wife, Krasinski and Blunt were able to use their own relationship to give a bit of unspoken backstory to Lee and Evelyn. “John and I have that immediate shorthand obviously because we’re married and we have a whole lifetime of memories together to sort of draw from when imagining what life must have been like for this family before hell ensued,” Blunt said.

The film even includes real photos of the couple and their children as stand-ins for family photos. Given that built-in intimacy, there could have been some concern over privacy, but Blunt was unfazed. “Something that would have been more intimate for us would be a drama about marriage — that’s not what this movie is,” she said. “What’s been so cool about the reaction is that people talk about the film, they talk about [John] as a filmmaker, and then they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, by the way, they’re also, like, married in real life.’”

Blunt and Millicent Simmonds.

Jonny Cournoyer / Paramount Pictures

But it’s not just the parents who anchor the fictional family in lived-in honesty — it’s also the kids. Simmonds and Jupe are accomplished young actors who are able to convey the fear and frustration of their situation without ever opening their mouths. Simmonds, who earned acclaim for her breakthrough role in Wonderstruck last year, is especially compelling. For Krasinski, hiring a deaf actor for the role was non-negotiable. “She can give a much more honest and layered performance because she’s actually experiencing it,” he said. “I needed a guide. I needed someone to actually help me talk about the nuance of — or talk to me about the nuance of — what it’s like to be a member of a family when you’re deaf and they’re hearing.”

That authenticity shines through in all the scenes with the family — and it’s part of what makes the peril they’re in as the creatures descend on their farm so stressful for an audience to endure. Beyond their own bond as a married couple, Krasinski and Blunt had the younger actors and their parents over to their home. Krasinski said he learned the most about how to portray those fictional family dynamics by watching their real family dynamics play out in front of him. As a result, the unwavering parent-child bond that he wanted to keep front and center feels impressively organic and holds the film together.

With that combination of high-concept terror and potent emotional honesty, A Quiet Place emerges as exactly the kind of horror film Krasinski wanted to make — and one he was uniquely suited for. It’s also another great reminder of how a genre that has historically been dismissed and maligned can actually offer rich storytelling while still scaring the crap out of audiences.

“It’s a genre with sort of endless potential and possibilities,” Blunt said. “You’ve got a heightened reality, or a slightly heightened reality, and you can really actually create a sort of more profound backdrop for it. You can carve out new space for yourself in the horror genre, and I think that’s what films like Get Out and certainly John was trying to do.”

Krasinski is thrilled by the response he’s gotten so far — and somewhat relieved. He admitted that he was nervous going into this experience, particularly as a horror newcomer. But while he’s not sure what the next directorial project he takes on will be, genre fans can rest assured he’s eager to give horror another shot.

“This genre now is something where some of the most complicated storytelling is happening, some of the biggest conceits, some of the biggest ideas, so that’s where I want to be,” he said. “What was so thrilling about this was being outside of my comfort zone. I’d love to do it again.”

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