#i might rework or keep many ideas from this concept

[blackkatdraws2]

Early concept ideas for my Narrator (Black) visualized.

Black was supposed to have a final form, but I scrapped that idea and stayed with his humanoid form. (Inspired by Ramiel from Evangelion.)

I'm still keeping many ideas in the dark. I might keep some ideas from these concepts, they're too cool to remove.

#tsp blank scripts au #all concepts inspired by Ramiel from Evangelion #i might rework or keep many ideas from this concept #these are really cool #the only thing i removed from the concept was the narrator (Black) having a final form #which is just a yellow version of Ramiel #neon genesis evangelion #end of evangelion #rebuild of evangelion #evangelion fanart #ramiel #evangelion angels #the stanley parable #the stanley parable ultra deluxe #tsp #tspud #tsp au #tsp narrator #narrator tsp #my drawing museum

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

What’s your take on canon divergent fanfic’s ability to become publishable original fiction?

It's dangerous territory, in my opinion. But not impossible, if you're willing to put in the effort.

FANFICTION 101- Canon Divergence to Original Work

Especially in the cases of fantasy fiction, canon divergent implies that you are using the author's original world and characters, and writing it into a different plot. Which is fine if it's kept contained to fanfiction spaces.

But when you start talking about publishing, you're also talking about mass-distributing for your own profit, something copyright law protects against.

I. WHAT TO CHANGE

The only way I can see someone reasonably pulling this off is if they write their canon divergent fanfiction, then, in the second draft (where the fic is the first draft), they change fundamental aspects of that world.

Let's take, for example, a Marvel canon divergence.

Instead of superheroes vs. villains, change it to pirates vs. petticoats. Crime syndicate vs. the powers that be. The Capulets vs. the Montagues (which, btw, are totally in the public domain so feel free to go ham with that one).

Essentially, here, you would be using the events of your canon divergent fic and turning it into an AU.

OR

You could change the superpowers of every single one of the characters, as well as their backstories and any significant plot events that might happen in the Marvel version, but keep the idea of the fic relatively similar.

For this one, you'd also have to make sure that no part of your story takes place in recognisable Marvel trademark places. If it does, you're going to have to change the name of the place, as well as its concept.

This option is essentially: Rework everything about your fic to the point where it is nearly unrecognisable from canon.

What do I mean by unrecognisable? I'm so glad you asked.

Take, for example, the maximum security prison in Guardians of the Galaxy. In your work, it is no longer called The Kyln. It's called The Graveyard. It's no longer set in space, but deep in the bowels of some unplumbed underwater trench on a planet in the outer reaches of a far away galaxy.

See what I mean?

II. SOURCE MATERIAL VS. CANON

Since we know that authors often draw inspiration from–or straight up use–folklore and mythology to inform their work, there are also things to consider about your fanfiction and what counts as part of the author's Original World(TM).

Take Thor, for example. He is part of the Norse Mythological Canon. Marvel uses Thor, and many aspects of Thor's world, to inform their fictional world.

This means that Thor, Loki, Oden, Valhalla, etc. are not Marvel(TM). They are part of a larger pantheon that has its own lore, and is generally open to the public domain without risk of being sued.

However, and this is a big however...

Marvel changes quite a bit about Thor, too–even if some of the base elements remain similar to Norse legend. Thor's personality in the films, for example, is something that is trademark Marvel.

I'm no expert on Marvel or Norse Mythology, so this is where you, the author of a canon-divergent-soon-to-be-original work, come in.

It is your job to research as much of Norse Mythology (or whatever source material your canon text might use) as you possibly can. Immerse yourself in it. Really absorb it. Not only is this what any other author does (or should do) at the start of a project, but it's also to inform you what aspects of the source material canon uses, and what it doesn't use.

Where the canon text differs from its source material is what is considered under Copyright Protection. These differences are considered the intellectual property of someone who is still alive and earning a living off of that property.

Say, for instance, in the Marvel films, Thor's signature apparel includes rainbow striped suspenders. This would be a Marvel(TM) trait of Thor, since we know Norse Legend Thor does not wear rainbow striped suspenders.

Therefore, your work should not include rainbow striped suspenders in Thor's regular attire. You could maybe include rainbow striped suspenders once, for a special occasion, as a nod to the canon you are writing from. But I would go so far as to scrap, not just rainbow striped, but any suspenders from Thor's look in your work.

III. RESOURCES

This is all to say that it's possible to turn Canon Divergent Fanfiction into Original Publishable Work–but not without an abundance of time and effort. which is the sacrifice most authors must make, whether they're starting from fic or scratch.

If I were you, I would begin by thinking of your fanfiction as the skeleton of your original story. Use it to improve your style of writing, dialogue, tone. Use it to figure out which scenes enhance your narrative and which scenes work against your narrative. Use it as a framework or map for your original story.

And when it comes time to write that second draft where you must change things about the canon world, here is a list of resources I often use for my original work when I feel stuck:

Nameberry -> this is one of my favourite name sites because you can type in a name and it'll give you, not only the origin and meaning, but also a list of names that have a similar ~vibe~ about them.

Fantasy Name Generator -> this is a site dedicated to helping you come up with names for elements of your fantasy world. It has everything from people names to castle names to poison names to pub names. There are even options that will help you come up with a concept/description for places, animal species, armies, etc.

Reedsy -> plot generator

Theoi -> Greek Mythology Database

norse-mythology.org -> Norse Mythology Database

Mythopedia -> Celtic Mythology Database (they also have Greek on here too, I believe)

Pantheon.org -> World Mythology Encyclopaedia

I hope this helps you on your journey to authorship. If you have any other questions, please feel free to shoot them in my inbox, and I will get to them as soon as I can. Happy writing! ✍️📖

–Em 🖤🗡

How to Turn Fanfiction into Original Stories

Writing Tip Masterlist

#thanks for the ask!! 💜 #writing tips #writing advice #fanfiction #ao3 #writer #author #writing #fanfic #canon divergence #fantasy #am writing #just writer things #writer's desk #author things #novel writing #asked and answered #fantasyfox10123

[merakiui]

ohhhh i love hearing abt ur process!

Btw do you live in a dorm or at home? And if you do live in a dorm, how do you deal with noise and outside stressors? When you have writer's block or you write something and it just doesnt 'fit' to you, what do you do from there? Is there ever a time you wrote and regretted going the route you went when there were multiple options during brain storming? How do you choose a character when you have a really delish prompt that fits for soooo many people? Have you ever given writing a break? How do you keep from having fandom burnout or losing interest in a fandom? How long does it take for you to write your daily asks/concepts (as opposed to your longer fics)? Do you use bullet points or do you prefer to write a hard draft that is more like the finished piece? Aaaand last but not least, what is your editing process like?

Omg omg thank you for so many questions aaaaaaa!!! >w< I'm happy you like to hear about my process!

Do I live in a dorm or at home? How do I deal with noise and outside stressors?

I live in a dorm. Noise and outside stressors don't bother me much. I have learned to tune such things out and coexist with it. I actually don't mind it; sometimes noise is comfortable. But for things like studying which require silence and focus, I often go to the library. :D I'll write there if I've finished everything on my academic schedule.

When I have writer's block or write something that doesn't "fit," where do I go from there?

I leave the scene as it is and move to another one so that I can come back and try again at a later date. Or I'll read through it and attempt to find where the "disconnect" starts so that I can either rework the scene, cut parts out, or trash it altogether. If I'm very desperate and attached to the scene, I'll write it to finishing even if it doesn't fit at first and then go back to review and revise it. And if I have writer's block with an overall piece, I'll write something else to give myself a break so that I can return to the wip with a fresh, motivated mind.

Is there a time in which I wrote something and regretted the route it went when there were multiple options?

Aaaa hmmm,,,, it's not fandom fanfiction, but in a work I wrote for my ocs I killed one of them off and I do regret it a little because her character wasn't explored as much before her death. >_< if I ever write more for that work, I would like to provide more insight into her life and what she was like through the eyes of the characters who knew her.

How do I choose a character when I have a really delish prompt that can fit many others?

I think about character dynamics, chemistry, themes, setting, and much more when deciding who to use for a concept. I tend to default to Scaramouche and Octavinelle when writing just because I'm so in love with them, but for plots like alpha!Vil with an omega!reader (which was originally an idea I had for Floyd, but I put Vil in the concept because it's much more delicious) I think about how it might work if taken a certain way with [insert character here] as opposed to another way with [insert character here]. The time loop concept was something I initially wanted to explore with Jade because he's calculating and ruthless, but then I thought it would be much better suited to a character like Rook for reasons that I won't list due to fic spoilers hehe.

Have I ever given writing a break?

I don't think I have done so before. :o the idea of it feels unimaginable because writing is such a treasured hobby of mine.

How do I prevent fandom burnout/losing interest in a fandom?

For me, it's a matter of enjoying the fandom at your own pace. I'm still completing book six in twst and I have yet to do Scaramouche's story quest in genshin (although I'm stalling because I still don't know what to name him T_T). Don't feel pressured to keep up with everything in your fandom circle. Also, taking breaks and indulging in other hobbies/interests helps me to avoid burnout or losing interest. And talking about the fandom with others can also help to keep your interest. It's always very fun to exchange thoughts and brain rot with others!!

How long does it take to write daily asks/concepts as opposed to longer fics?

Not very long! I can write a lot when I'm inspired. It also helps that the asks/concepts are like bite-sized snacks that can be enjoyed leisurely, so I just write my thoughts as they come to me.

Do I use bullet points or do I prefer to write a hard draft that is more like the finished piece?

It's a mix of both! My bullet points are often written in two ways: either they are detailed and eloquent or they are unhinged. This is one of my scene notes for tmdg (this scene has been scrapped, so it isn't a spoiler)!

As you can see, it's wildly silly. ^^;;;; but I read these notes and something activates in my brain like: I read you loud and clear, boss!!!! For the most part I try to follow my outline and the scene bullet points, but there have been many cases where I've done something different than what I originally planned because I felt it would be better.

What is my editing process like?

Lengthy. I read through the entire draft to proofread and then I take it scene by scene to look for other errors or things that I may want to revise/add at the last minute. And then I'll read through it again in its entirety to make sure everything looks good. After that, I read it again because I often feel nervous that I missed something. ^^;;; but I often view the final reading as a means of giving the fic a homemade lunch and a kiss on the cheek before I send it on its way. :D

#chit chat

[taldigi]

Why does Astruc hate PV Felix again? I was under the impression that he hated Felix cause the cursed ring thing made him too selfish, but if that was never in the original concept, why does he hate him?

See that's the magic question. I don't think he ever disliked Felix to begin with. I think that he had been his character for so long that it's hard to like... Shake that right? Like, How do you write for and draw a character so many times and not love them in some capacity? Hell, his wall was covered and pictures of him and Marinette! And a lot of his early tweets came off as inffdifferent at best, and he was just resigned to whatever the company had decided for his story.

What I think happened is that he got enough harassment from fans and he got enough flak from upper management that he eventually started hunkering down and kind of spitefully started disliking the character. I don't doubt that Felix being less than perfect was a reason why he was rejected and reworked so thoroughly in the first place, but I wouldn't be surprised if enough bitterness and resentment had built up about fans that he just eventually completely said that this character was awful and bad and decided to take whatever he could from the many many years of development to frame the guy as bad enough that people would just shut the fuck up about Felix.

I don't doubt that they had sat down in a meeting one day and said: "What are some ideas that we can have to make Felix keep motivation to stay Chat Noir? because clearly he is a grumpy guy and we don't think that him being in love with ladybug is enough". And I don't doubt that one of those ideas might have been the ring curse. And that's where the idea came from. I don't think it ever left to that kind of... "What if" stage? And I bet that they were like dozens of other ideas that never even left that brainstorm.

And I think lashing out at Felix and dragging him through the dirt like they do is a way for them to cope with the fact that they changed a character that they liked. Felix wasn't perfect, so they had to change him. But it worked. Miraculous makes so much money. So much kids media money. And people are so obsessed with Adrian that they can't stop putting him in things in and places that he doesn't need to be. Decision was a successful one. Even if it wasn't the one that would have made more sense from a story's standpoint. From an artistic standpoint. Cuz you don't make money from being artistic or telling the story you want to tell, you make money from cutting corners and selling kids media.

[sylvaineglen]

After giving it some thought and a second watch here are my assorted thoughts about Peter Pan & Wendy:

-It feels wrong calling this a remake of the animated Peter Pan because, honestly it feels less like a remake and more like a new film that was adapted from the same source material. There are scenes that are similar, but those are scenes that also come from the original book.

-I like that Wendy spends time playing with her brothers and getting into trouble, it makes her feel more like an actual young girl where many adaptations keep her separate from the boys' pirate games. Also, her anxieties about growing up being centered around her being sent away to boarding school is a nice touch. It feels more like a real tangible change to her life than just being taken out of the nursery.

-When I first heard about the casting I remember being skeptical about Jude Law as Captain Hook. I honestly don't really remember why I felt that way, I just sort of did. Having seen his performance I can now say that my skepticism was not warranted at all, he was a great Captain Hook. I would honestly sit him next to Jason Issacs and Tim Curry among my favorite Captain Hooks. He manages to play Hook as both a ruthless, bloodthirsty pirate and as a vulnerable, broken man and these two characterizations never feel incongruous with each other and he is able to switch from the one to the other within not just the same scene, but within the same conversation.

-Also, Jim Gaffigan as Smee is wonderful. He manages to retain the comic nature of the character without coming across as goofy or over the top. He's befuddled and well meaning and clearly doing his best. I also like that they recast Smee as sort of a surrogate father figure to Hook, it's stated outright that Smee is the one who found James when he was lost at sea as a child and it's sort of implied that Smee basically raised him after he was taken in by the pirates.

-The Lost Boys are gender neutral and the film doesn't really say anything about that other than it's just a thing. The Lost Boys introduce themselves, Wendy points out that they aren't all boys, they say 'yeah, so what', Wendy says, 'well, I guess it doesn't matter', and they move on. And I think this was a good way to handle it. There are Lost Boys of various different races and genders and the film doesn't feel like that should be noteworthy.

-I am half tempted to buy the soundtrack for this film just for the sea shanties, because the pirates get some pretty great shanties in this film.

-It low key kind of feels like Tiger Lilly might have a bit of a thing for Wendy. I kind of ship it. Also, I like the reworking of Tiger Lilly's character into more of a legit ally of Peter and the Lost Boys rather than a one scene damsel in distress like she is in most versions of this story. She actually plays a role in the story and serves a pivotal function in Wendy's character arc.

-I'm not a huge fan of the 'Hook used to be a Lost Boy' idea, it always felt like something that belonged in the world of dark AU headcanons rather than an actual adaptation of Peter Pan to me. That being said, I really like how this film handled that idea, it honestly kind of sold me on the concept. It doesn't try to play it as some sort of big third act surprise twist. The reveal happens about midway though the film and hints of it are seeded through out the early parts of the film. You can feel the tension and history between Hook and Peter every time the two of them are on screen together.

-I like that Wendy's disillusion with Neverland happens relatively early in the film. She realizes almost as soon as she gets there that it isn't just the place of fun, happy adventures that she heard in bedtime stories. Neverland is real and dangerous, much more so than Peter's childlike attitude lead her to believe. It isn't the escape from her anxieties about adulthood that she hoped that it would be.

-The scene where Hook is talking to Wendy after he captured the Lost Boys is honestly, just heartbreaking. This man is weighted down by so much grief and bitterness which he typically hides beneath the surface of his cruel, bloodthirsty persona and just seeing all of that break through over the course of their conversation is just devastating.

-I love that Wendy's idea of 'happy thoughts' evolves over the course of the film from just remembering happy times when she was small, but to also envisioning what her life might be like when she gets older.

-If the scene where Wendy and Hook were talking in the brig was heartbreaking, then the final confrontation between Peter and Hook is devastating. They both have a lot of very strong feelings about everything that's happened between them and it all spills out over the course of one long sword fight between them. Peter actually apologizes to Hook for not being a better friend to him and Hook is too shocked to even believe it. I'm honestly at a loss for what's more emotionally devastating; Peter actually calling him James when he apologizes, Hook's shocked disbelief that Peter would ever apologize to him, or Peter still clutching on to his hook after Hook fell out of the crow's nest while Peter was trying to help him.

-If the scene between Wendy and Hook was heartbreaking, and the scene between Peter and Hook was emotionally devastating, then the final scene between Peter and Wendy was a level of hurt that I'm not sure I have a word for. It perfectly encapsulates the tragedy of Peter Pan as a character. He is an eternal child, and because of that he can only ever pass briefly through the lives of others. He locked himself into this state long ago and because he fears growing up he will never allow himself to be anything else.

-I like that they didn't kill off Captain Hook, or imply his off screen death like many adaptations do, it ended in such a way that implies that his and Peter's story will continue.

#peter pan #peter pan and wendy

[sudriantraveler]

can we see your Mid Sodor Heritage Railway wip?

That's a concept I've been working on for a little bit now. Unfortunately There really isn't much written story-wise for it yet, but I can explain some of the main information I've laid out for it.

After Duke's rediscovery, interest quickly grew regarding the long abandoned Mid Sodor Railway, and soon a group was organized to try to rebuilt a section of the old line from King Orry's Bridge in Peel Godred to Ulfstead Road.

I have a few ideas for the engines I plan to have run this line:

I'm using the magazine characters of Little Barford and Sidney as new-builds similar to numbers 7 and 10 on the preserved Corris Railway. Not many specific details planned out at the moment for them, but they are by far the newest engines on the railway.

Also part of the preserved MSR is the old Cas-ny-Hawin mine engine, who I have named Casny. I'm still working on her character, but I actually plan to maybe reuse/rework some ideas I mentioned in an older post here.

As for how Casny survived, currently the story is she was sold off by the old MSR and was passed around a few mines and industries before being acquired by a private owner who had planned to restore her themselves, but when they were unable to complete this project they donated her to the new MSR heritage railway. She is the only engine owned by the heritage railway who actually worked on the old MSR previously.

Next up are the lines two diesel engines, and they're who I have the most planned out for at the moment. They were the first two engines for the new heritage railway, and were the main engines who helped to rebuild the old line.

First of the two diesels is Cecil, based on the planet type narrow gauge diesel shunters like the one seen below.

Cecil is actually who I have the most written for, so brace yourself for a long backstory:

They were built at some point during WW2 for the Peel Godred Aluminium Works, where a few years later they meet Stuart and Falcon after the MSR closes and they were bought by the aluminium company.

Cecil is kinda reserved, keeps to themselves, doesn't actually have a name at this point, and so more just works in the background.

Stuart and Falcon are aware of them, but don't really know them other than that they help out with moving wagons around.

And then the Aluminium work's expansion project (which is what Stuart and Falcon were purchased to help out with) is completed... 

And while Cecil is to be kept on, Stuart and Falcon are actually at risk of being scrapped. 

Now, Cecil doesn't really know them all that well, but they don't want them to be killed... So they, their driver, and a few of the friendlier workers conspire to hide Stuart and Falcon out of view in a back corner of the works.

They then hear word that the Skarloey Railway might be looking for some more engines... So they send out a letter saying they know where to find some.

So anyway, after a bit of confusion for the aluminum work's higher-ups, who after a brief period had kinda forgotten they even had two steam engines somewhere on the property, Stuart and Falcon are bought by the Skarloey, get renamed Sir Handel and Peter Sam, and we know their story from there.

Cecil meanwhile, stays working for the aluminium company for several more years

Having done their good deed, they continues to work alone at the aluminium works... but over time they begin to wear out...

and now they're probably going to be replaced sometime soon...

Around this time the MSR heritage railway project begins building up momentum.

Good news for the diesel, the new railway needs engines...

Bad news, no one knows there is one right under their noses at the aluminium works.

So the new company asks around to see if there is anywhere they might be able to buy an engine from... and eventually they ask the Skarloey Railway if they know of anywhere they could look.

Duke, Peter Sam, and Sir Handel are all keen to help this movement to restore part of their old railway. Duke has however been buried in a shed for a lot of the last several years and so is not really able to come up with anything...

But Peter Sam and Sir Handel think long and hard, and remember that "wait a minute... wasn't there a diesel who used to work with us at the aluminium works?" 

They don't remember much about them, and they don't know if they're still there, but they make the suggestion to the preservationists that they might want to ask the aluminium works about the engine.

They were actually just in time, because they ask the aluminium works about Cecil just a few days before they were due to be scrapped.

So Cecil is bought by the preservation group, is restored and set to work helping to rebuild part of the old MSR. This is also when they get their name.

As the first engine for the new heritage railway, everyone else kinda looks up to them, which is a bit uncomfortable for an engine who has spent the majority of their life blending into the background, but that's another story.

Finally, there is Cricket the rail tractor. She is based on the Talyllyn Railway's original number 7, seen below.

Cricket was built by the Skarloey Railway sometime after Duncan arrived on the railway in order to have another engine to help Rusty with maintenance work.

She got her name after an incident described below: One particularly hot summers day her crew left her engine cowling open to help keep her engine cool. The crew forgot to close the cowlings at the end of the day. When they returned to start work the next day they found a mass of crickets had made their way into the engine housing during the night.

Unfortunately, Cricket turned out to be Somewhat of a poor performer despite her best efforts.

As the Skarloey Railway becomes busier over time she begin to be overshadowed by the other engines and becomes discontent with her position on the Railway.

It wasn't that she was being neglected, the railway and the other engines tried to help her out and give her stuff to do, but the Skarloey Railway was really just to big for her to be of much practical help.

About a year after Duke’s arrival on the railway, Cricket heard that the then ongoing project to restore part of the Mid Sodor Railway was in need of another engine to assist their diesel Cecil.

Seeing this as an opportunity for an adventure and a chance to maybe stand out and be happier on a smaller railway, Cricket volunteers to be donated to the preservation society rebuilding part of the MSR.

She helped to rebuilt the line alongside Cecil and is indeed much happier finally having found her place in the world on a railway which is just the right size for her. She even got her own special job when the railway reintroduced on a smaller scale the MSR's old horse and cart goods service for some of the farms and other local businesses along the line.

And that's pretty much all I have at the moment. I started working on this because I think it would be neat to look at a railway preservation movement from the perspective of the engines involved.

I think it will also be interesting to explore how these engines interact with the former MSR engines now on the Skarloey railway. I'm sure Duke, Peter Sam, and Sir Handel have a lot to say about this project to restore part of their old home.

That's all for now.

#WIP ask game #ttte #ttte mid sodor railway

[emily-prentits]

friends (just friends?)

read on ao3

Cindy’s pacing again. She’s always been such a pacer, especially when she’s ranting. Felicia’s just sprawled on her bed as usual, watching and listening, occasionally humming to show she's still paying attention. 

“Like I get the general concept. I know how to kiss someone in theory, it’s just… how do you lead up to it? You can’t just go up to someone and kiss them, like…?” Cindy huffs. “How do you even…?” She trails off again self-consciously when she sees the amused look on Felicia’s face, waving a hand in the air in a feeble attempt at finishing her sentence. She leans a hip against the dresser and huffs a breath. “You’re laughing at me.”

Felicia’s grin just widens. “So you want to know how to do what? Kiss someone? Lead up to it?”

Cindy hesitates, nods. “Yeah, basically.”

“Well,” Felicia starts, standing from the bed, “first you have to get within arm's distance of one another, but I feel like that's sort of a given.” She moves toward Cindy, meets her eyes. “May I?”

Cindy nods again, and Felicia slips an arm around her waist and pulls her flush with her body. Too close. They’re too close, there’s too many points of contact, and it’s hard for Felicia to remember what she’s doing, why she thought this was a good idea in the first place when she’s staring into deep brown eyes and when Cindy’s mouth is way too close to hers for her to be able to think entirely straight.

Teaching Cindy how to lead into a kiss. Right. She’s doing that. The absurdity of the thought alone brings heat to her cheeks. 

“Fel?” Cindy says, the slightest hint of amusement coloring her tone. “You good?”

Felicia almost falters. She wets her lips, inhales slowly. “Fine. I’m fine.” She’s most definitely not fine, but it’s fine. It’s fine.

It’s probably not fine, but she’s nothing if not skilled at ignoring her emotions.

The next step is to move Cindy into position. She’s touching Cindy already, but she thinks she might die if Cindy touches her.

But she doesn’t even have to say anything, Cindy slings an arm around her neck and brings their faces even closer, and really, Felicia is having a hard time dealing with it. Cindy cups her cheek with her other hand; Felicia’s mouth goes dry.

“Like this? Is this okay?” Cindy asks.

Felicia tucks a loose strand of Cindy’s hair behind her ear and nods wordlessly. It’s more than okay, but she's not going to say that. Felicia’s having a harder and harder time with every second that passes, eyes flickering to Cindy’s lips before she fails utterly at keeping everything inside and pulls her lower lip into her teeth. “Yes,” she says, voice low.

Felicia takes a steadying breath when Cindy’s eyes drop and don’t come back to meet hers right away. It’s completely normal to think about your best friend’s lips. It’s fine. She’s good. They’re doing great.

Felicia forces herself to retract herself and take a step back before she does something she can’t take back. “Yeah. And then, y’know, you kiss them.” She shrugs, forcing nonchalance. She really shouldn’t be this flustered just from holding Cindy’s waist. And from Cindy’s feather-light touch on her cheek that she definitely can't still feel. No, Felicia thinks, she should definitely not be this affected by just touching her. 

Cindy looks at her funny, and Felicia raises an eyebrow. “What?”

And completely out of the blue, Cindy kisses her.

Although she really should have seen it coming, holding her like that and not expecting consequences. She should have expected that one or both of them would have caved eventually. They’re only human.

Cindy pulls away so fast that Felicia doesn't even have the chance to kiss her back, and she’s left with a feeling akin to whiplash. What the fuck?

“Like that? Did I do it right?”

Felicia doesn’t answer, just stares dumbfounded. Cindy just kissed her. Cindy just kissed her. Cindy kissed her. Every way she reworks it in her mind, the result is the same.

Cindy and her. Kissing. Each other. Huh.

She must have been silent too long because Cindy is rambling. “Sorry. God. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

Felicia grabs her wrist, and Cindy looks at her, surprise evident in her eyes. “No. Don’t be. I was just… surprised.” 

Cindy opens her mouth, shuts it. Felicia releases her wrist. 

“So… was that right?” Cindy asks, a bit shyly. It’s adorable on her. It makes Felicia want to kiss her again, and it’s stupid because they've barely even kissed.

“No. More like…” Felicia draws her closer by the hip, brushing dark hair away from her mouth, leans in as Cindy’s eyes flutter shut, “this…”

She fits their lips together again.

#jo writes #silk #cindy moon #black cat #felicia hardy #silkcat #thea talks

[illicien]

Upcoming Fic List

Wait, this account still exists? WELL... guess it’s a good time to use it since I’m getting back into things!! Ready for a whole bunch of new-fangled fun and games?

You can find all of my works over on Ao3:

@ironstrangefrostohmy as Foxglove_Fiction

Info:

Q: Why is the list shorter than it used to be?

A: To my knowledge my former cowriter is no longer writing, so many of our previous ideas have been scrapped. This does mean I have the opportunity to write more detailed and focused fics, but they also will not likely be as long as many previous fics have been. 

Q: Why did/didn’t you tag (x,y,z)?

A: Tagging is intimidating as heck, and tagging on Tumblr is even more intimidating, I don’t know how any of you do this, please send help!! I’m doing my best.

List of fics below the cut, organized by progress.

On-going:

Collared

- IronStrange & full IronStrangeFrost because I have ZERO CHILL.

- Based on some classic IronFrost slave collar concepts

- Rated E

- When Wong drops off a collared and silent Sorcerer Supreme, Tony finds himself having to figure out how far he’s willing to bend his morals to keep someone he cares about safe.

- Currently 10/?

In Progress:

A Crown of Frost (pt2 of the Frozen Branch series)

- Do you like Loki ships? This one’s full of them. Listing them would be silly.

- This is a bit of a celebration of the love of Loki over my many years in the fandom, including both classic and modern Loki ships and gender-neutral Loki.

- Rated T (probably. We’ll see.)

- When the heir to the throne of Jotunheim is said to be looking for suitors, the Nine Realms are well-prepared to send in their best. But the Jotun heir will not be easily impressed.

- Approx. 7 Chapters

(Untitled omgv) ("prequel" to Betwixt)

- Loki & Fandral

- Because I got thoughts about young Loki presenting as an omega and Fandral being insufferable. Also because I love Betwixt.

- Rated T

- Sure, Loki wanted attention. But this wasn't exactly the kind of attention he'd been hoping for.

- 1-2 chapters

Metamour (sequel to Potential)

- Mostly Tony & Loki, but IronStrange and StrangeFrost

- Do you know what a metamour is? If not, come learn along with Tony!

- Rated E

- A metamour is someone who loves the person you love, values them as much as you do, and respects your bond. They may be a friend, an acquaintance, or more. A metamour may also bring you warm fluffy socks in an attempt to bond with you, because you matter to the person they love, and they have every intention of winning you over. Tony is learning what it means to have a metamour.

- One-shot

On Pause, But Not Forgotten:

Embraced

- IronStrange

- Vampires? Werewolves? Explorations of life and identity? Some of my favs!

- Rated E

- Sometimes dying isn’t actually the end you might wish it was. But then, there’s always something to live for, isn’t there?

- 8/14 Planned Chapters 

In Planning:

Beyond the Mirror Rework

- IronStrange / Stephencest

-  I was never totally happy with how BtM came out, and I deserve to write some Stephen-selfcest-horror

- E-Rating

- Mysticism and mirrors have gone hand in hand for generations. The thing is, those hands are supposed to stay inside the mirror...

- 5 chapters

The Asteria Court (pt3 of the Frozen Branch series) (Working title)

- IronStrangeFrost

- Medieval Fantasy AU

- Rating Unknown

- Loki has been completely content with the relationship he has, but on being made to marry he agrees to seek out a soulmate. Too bad that soulmate isn’t the man he was hoping it would be.

- ???? chapters

Vendetta  (Working title) 

- IronStrange

- Period piece dark fantasy AU w/ witch hunts 

- M-E-Rating 

- Wong hires Tony as a bodyguard to keep Stephen safe while he’s away, but Tony doesn’t know what exactly he’s keeping him safe from.

- ???? chapters

#fanfic plans #fanfic #IronStrange #StrangeFrost #ironstrangefrost #FrostIronStrange #Work In Progress #Planned Fic List

[parkduris]

self para, june 2023. duri's apartment. with the talks of secret garden wanting to see demos so soon again for a fourth full album, duri goes through the process of picking out the demos that he's recorded in a common theme of being a dreamer. secret garden accepts i am a dreamer. word count, #1,360.

he's sat on what he wanted to portray this time around. he wasn't entirely sure, truth be told. he had written down so many different notes to himself, about what he could have possibly done with the next theme of his album. all he knew was that a lot of tracks were going to be needed for it, simply because secret garden has requested a full album this time around, rather than a mini album. it only made sense for another album to come, right? rather than it being another ep, something that was quick to get out. for months and months, even from the last album, duri had been wondering what album theme he was going to go for next. his mind was always full of so many ideas, but sometimes, they weren't fully coherent; or sometimes, they were simply just a passing thought.

he's sat the computer in the bedroom that he's turned into his music room, of some sort. a portable hard drive plugged into the computer, one of the many places duri stores demos for safekeeping. if he was being honest, there were a lot of rather random demos that he had stockpiled within the hard drive. some of them, he thinks are really good, and he really likes them. but, the others, well, they were one of those passing thoughts that didn't sound quite right or turn out how he wanted. but, he had managed to still keep it and store it in a hard drive anyway, because he never knew if it was something that he could ultimately use. or maybe come back to it at a later time, and rework it. though, that definitely doesn't seem like the time to do so now; especially considering he has a lot of demos that he's done recently that would work better.

duri starts dragging a bunch of the song files out of the hard drive, the ones that would be the contenders for what he was going to end up putting onto the album. though, he knew that he still had a rather long process to go. but, it was okay, because he wasn't going to actually sleep anyways - that was something that was lost on him tonight, something that would happen to him every now and again - it's something that duri had ultimately ended up getting used to. nonetheless, he picks the demos that he knows are really good, the ones that he really likes - ones that were seemingly waiting to be used. it was just going to be a process of elimination of what might fit on there, what might not. though, he still had to decide what exactly he was going to make the whole... well, theme with the songs that he was choosing. the concept, everything else, was going to be picked by secret garden - he'll leave the professionals to that one.

he gets up from the computer after finishing the pulling of the files and makes his way to the kitchen. it was going to take some time, so he knew that he really needed something. though, he stands there for a few moments. should he risk making a coffee right now? or should he just settle for a hot chocolate instead? he contemplated his options before he decides that the hot chocolate is the better idea right now. plus, it was going to be a nice comfort as he moves through all the files that he had to get through. he gets the milk going, before he'd end up making his rather good homemade hot chocolate - something that he always preferred over the powder. but, the powder was always good in a pinch. he goes over all the ideas in his head - themes of growth, love, heartbreak, being apart, being far away, things like that. the stories that he had always told in the stories of the songs that he sings. though, which was he going to pick this time? he still wasn't sure. he pours the hot chocolate into the picked mug, before cleaning up the kitchen once more.

as he gets back to the computer, he starts up the playlist of the songs. he notices a pattern in a lot of the ones that he picked - dreams, dreaming, being a dreamer. that's when it had finally hit him in some sense, the theme would be dreaming, being a dreamer, and everything that comes with that. which was much different from the thoughts that he had in the kitchen. sure, maybe some of it went along with it. but, there was a sign that he couldn't avoid from everything that he had picked out. he starts moving everything that didn't follow that theme that he had come up with, things he can use later on - or maybe it's something that will never see the light of day. sometimes, songs just didn't fit or didn't work out, and he thinks that's okay. nonetheless, he continues his work.

it's hours and hours that duri spends just perfecting what he's doing. he's making sure it's all the right, finished demos, making sure it's all the songs that fit into an album together - that it's everything he needs. this album felt personal to himself and he was picking the songs that felt personal, the ones that really fit in well. duri himself his a dreamer, he's someone that's just always dreaming about things. he dreams about the big things, he dreams about the small things. it's a concept, a thought, something wonderful, that never seems to stop for him. ever since he was little, he had dreamed about the things that the wanted, about the things that were going to come to him. he dreamed about where he is now, being able to get to that point. he wants to show that he too, is a dreamer, like everyone else, and that it's okay to get lost within your dreams - to want to chase after your dreams. because even though duri has gotten here now, being incredibly successful, he's still dreaming about everything in life - the things he wants, the things he wants to do, the things he knows are tangible because he's putting his heart and mind to it.

hours after duri had started, everything had come together. he had listened to everything he could, dragging some songs back into the hard drive that just wouldn't fit and everything in between. in front of him, sits eleven songs and the instrumental for one, that he decided was going to be really good to include - bringing it to a tracklist of twelve songs. something that thinks secret garden is going to be happy with. he names the collection of files "i am a dreamer" something that encompasses himself as a whole. it's all songs about dreaming; it's songs that are sad, powerful; that showcase he's happy, but he also struggles because it's true, he struggles a lot. his heart is exhausted from the troubles that it carries, but something that he hides. he thinks a lot of the songs showcase that and it also showcases all of the love that duri has to hold, the reason is heart is so big. he likes this, getting the chance to possibly showcase such a personal album. all of them are personal to him, in some sense, because a lot of the songs are so important to him, some personal to him. but, the whole concept of this one really just holds something special to him.

nonetheless, he puts it together in a usb, and he's running to shower, to get ready because he has a meeting at secret garden to showcase the demos. it goes really well and secret garden really likes the demos, it's accepted, and before he knows it - he's in a whirlwind of now recording the album with a technician. it's a process that he always loves, just as much as he loves writing the songs, making the music, producing it, and then performing it on stage. he knows it's going to turn out really great. something he really hopes comforts others, as much as the songs comfort him as well.

#╰ ♡ filed under: self para. #thefourpoints

[2headlightshine]

project #3 - e-textile monster

when the prompt of "plush monsters" was brought up, i immediately had a concept in mind.

i have been trying to figure out a design for a children's character based off one of these bunny sea slugs. they're a real sea slug native to japan and they just... look like this. naturally. i can't believe they're not a made up creature. translating this little cotton ball into a character has been challenging and i figured this project might help provide some insight

i made some test sketches and a pattern for the body

this was my first experience actually sewing so i had to figure out a lot of things as i went. i was trying to leave a seam allowance because i know it's important to do so, but i don't think i executed it nearly as well as i'd like to have. regardless, it was a good learning experience for patternmaking.

the point of the project was having the plush interact with tech -- with help i set up a circuit and sewed it together with conductive thread

although i was trying to be careful i definitely crossed my positive and negative wires somewhere. because it was all one color i couldn't tell where the cross was, so i pulled everything out and started again. (sad) (depressing) (nightmarish) (worst day of my life)

it actually wasn't that bad the second time around. i was more comfortable with a needle and thread at that point, and color-coding the positive and negative circuits helped me keep everything organized. because the lines aren't crossing, the lights successfully turn on.

i think it was worth messing up the first time because now i'll never go into a sewing project without making myself a guide on the plush again. referencing a drawing just doesn't click with my brain.

then i had to sew my bunny's body together and stuff it

it's a bit of a hackjob -- when you hold bunny in your hands, there are spaces where the fabric has gaps and the stuffing pokes out a bit. i also had to cut the ears off and redo them because the patterns were totally misaligned. from there, i brought some detail back into her face and her ears, and sewed buttons on for eyes. (a little creepy, but a little cute, too -- like coraline!)

from there, all that was left was putting together some clothes to protect the stuffing holes and hide the circuitry. i designed some simple overalls with a limited color palette that could play off the pinks and purples on her body already.

once i had sewn the body together, i was able to add details and embellishments. i decided to play up the button details to emphasize that homemade quality. i had to cut out the fabric under the buttons so the lights would shine through -- it's very subtle, but still visible

here's a recording of the lights in action

overall i'm very happy with the result, and i think i learned the basics of some skills that will help me a lot with my senior thesis project next semester.

What does your plush monster say about you?

my bunny has been a workshopped project for a long time and i will be spending a lot more time with her in the near future. she's a testament to my stylistic/artistic passions -- cute and nostalgic things, children's entertainment and design, weird and silly animals -- and the artistic commitment i'm trying to stick to.

i have always found it difficult to sit with a project and explore all possible avenues of it -- my brain often works faster than my hand, and once i have a rough idea on paper, i want to immediately move onto the next. i'm trying to sit and get to know bunny in as many ways as i can. i think it's a good way for me to leave my comfort zone.

What was a surprising moment?

crossing the wires for my first circuit attempt was devastating. reworking it the second time gave me another surprise -- it wasn't nearly as painful as i thought it would be. at that point, sewing had even started to become relaxing.

If you had more time, what is one thing you would change? Do next?

i'd like to learn more about dollmaking and pattern drafting, so she could be more three-dimensional instead of pillow-shaped.

[theliterateape]

In Praise of Sensitivity Readers

by Don Hall

The kneejerk reaction to the very concept of sensitivity readers going through a work of literature and suggesting changes in the language written by authors long dead in order to revise and soften the potential harm these books might cause others is to throw up my hands and bellow "What the everloving FUCK?"

Agatha Christie mysteries written between 1920 and 1976 have had passages reworked or removed in new editions published by HarperCollins to strip them of language and descriptions that modern audiences find offensive, especially those involving the characters Christie’s protagonists encounter outside the UK.

The edits cut references to ethnicity, such as describing a character as black, Jewish or Gypsy, or a female character’s torso as “of black marble” and a judge’s “Indian temper”, and removed terms such as “Oriental” and the N-word. The word “natives” has also been replaced with the word “local”.

In the new edition of the 1964 Miss Marple novel A Caribbean Mystery, the amateur detective’s musing that a hotel worker smiling at her has “such lovely white teeth” has been removed.

Puffin did something similar to the collected works of Roald Dahl and now Ian Fleming's James Bond is getting the wash-over. Many changes are to remove racist language. In Live and Let Die, Bond’s comment that would-be African criminals in the gold and diamond trades are “pretty law-abiding chaps I should have thought, except when they’ve drunk too much” has been changed to “pretty law-abiding chaps I should have thought”.

Others are to remove sexist language; for example a scene where Bond visits a nightclub in Harlem, and a reference to the “audience panting and grunting like pigs at the trough” has been changed to “Bond could sense the electric tension in the room.”

James Bond without sexism?!

Not dissimilar from tearing down statues of Confederate Generals or renaming high schools previously named for statesmen with shady pasts, this practice seems like a strange revision of history as well as an odd work around to actual censorship.

On the other hand and upon reflection maybe the practice has some benefit after all.

The first question is why engage in this washing of the past? Simple. To erase the reminders that people were solidly racist and sexist in attitudes back in the day. To eliminate references to fat people because fat people don't like being reminded they're fat and to cross out any notion that cripples were in any way less than the non-crippled. To keep these classics—which we know will continue to be read because they've lasted the test of time—more inclusive. No one black should ever be confronted with the horrors of slave owning white people and no woman (you know, the ladies without cocks) should ever remember a time when they weren't girl bosses and not seen as property.

The second question is why would this be a good idea?

Think of it. History exists to understand the past so we don't repeat the failures and celebrate the triumphs. The discourse of the sensitivity readers ultimately leads to an erasure of that history so that two generations from now, no one will even know how horrible writers, politicians, and scientists could be. Sure, these future generations will wonder what all the fuss was about concerning social justice and will only see the Civil War as a fight for the economic autonomy of the Southern states because references to slavery will be scrubbed clean. These generations will not understand who Harvey Weinstein was or hear about McCarthy and the HUAC. They won’t understand that blacks had to struggle through Jim Crow America and won’t be amazed when a guy whose legs were blown off in a war can play basketball because we’ll all be exactly the same.

They will be adult children. It will be the Disneyfication of history and literature and art. How grand ignorance will be. How easily other countries will dominate and control them.

"Mommy? Why did Hitler kill the Jews?"

"He was bad. He didn't like them."

"But why?"

"He was like Donald Trump except with better manners. Stop asking questions. Questions like yours are why we were so dysfunctional back in the early 21st century. Go watch your vintage Frozen and the re-release of Song of the South."

"Uncle Remus was just a kindly person of advanced age, wasn't he?"

"Yes. Now stop with the questions and go plug in. I need an opioid."

[smt22]

This first term of my masters at CalArts I’ve been focusing on themes of belonging, especially connections made in my personal history through my female lineage, concepts of the female wanderer as articulated through archetypes like the hermit, the fool, and the crone.

These disparate directions have seemed to become more connected as the term goes on, and even more interwoven into a more singular stream of focus through a lot of the discussions and films experienced in this class. So much sticks out and sticks on my brain, but bell hooks’s words on Radical Openness, Bérénice Rynaud’s close reading on Wanda, and Cole Swensen’s ideas about the exile and the ‘inile’ have occupied the most space in my interior and very visual processing. I’m keeping these readings the closest to me for this final project as I wade through an attempted partial grappling with some of these ideas in reflections, creative interpretations, sketches, beginnings and offerings. There are so many questions here, in what sometimes felt like an ocean of possibility and inspiration with a spoon sized amount of time and energy with which to take it all on. I’m grateful for a robust reading and screening list to hopefully continually return to.  bell hooks has come up in every class this semester and her voice is always in my head in my negotiations of belonging, understanding, learning and transformation. Her ability/instistance to write herself and parts of her story into theory has often felt like exactly what I’ve needed to access difficult themes and to confront hard to name ways of implementation. I’ve spent so many hours listening to her New School talks this term. I imagine I feel similarly about her to the way Alice Walker did about Zoral Neal Hurston as she traced her footsteps in Florida for Ms. Magazine. She’s become an imaginary relative to me at this point…but one who will tell you to your face that you are full of shit when you are, because that’s real love. I’m aware of just how cliché that might sound, but it also can’t be lost on me that so much of my art practice is about evoking permissions through artist incantations that are definitely part of music from songs that have been playing for far longer than I have been here. Her words and teachings are always reminders of urgency for me. In Choosing the Margin as a Space of Radical Openness she writes, 

At times home is nowhere. At times one knows only extreme estrangement and alienation. Then home is no longer just one place. It is locations. Home is that place which enables and promotes varied and everchanging perspectives, a place where one discovers new ways of seeing reality, frontiers of difference. One confronts and accepts dispersal, fragmentation as part of the construction of a new world order that reveals more fully where we are, who we can become, an order that does not demand forgetting. “Our struggle is also a struggle of memory against forgetting.”

I also think so much about hooks when reworking and introducing new imaginings of what it means to be a feminist or to practice feminism today. So much of that has come from questions raised in about letting go of previous notions of what those ideas might have meant in the past. That it's okay to admit that you’re not really sure and that the collective rebuilding and finding-your-place-in-the-work of it is a kind of active reconstructing and participating from within the aliveness of a chorus of voices that is always being created.

I’m not great at it, but I’m also still thinking about how to sit in the unknown with integrity. To quote from your October 26th email on our collective fatigue, and The Mysticism of Work, “No poetry concerning the people is authentic if fatigue does not figure in it, and the hunger and thirst which come from fatigue.” I feel less fatigued when there is so much collective energy all around. 

Below: Mary Oliver, Thirst, 2006.

hooks, bell. (1989). Choosing the margin as a space of radical openness. Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media, 36, 15–23.

Oliver, M. (2006). Thirst. Beacon Press.

Walker, A. (1976). In search of Zora Neal Hurston. Ms.

[mccall67andresen]

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[shig-a-shig-ah]

4,13,17,18 for the ask game !

I answered 4 already, but here’s the others 😌

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

The build up part of smut is easy for me, like writing horny feelings comes pretty quick. Difficult subject matter… Idk to be honest. My struggles are usually pretty story-specific—problems keeping the tone consistent or whatever. I guess maybe writing about SA when it’s not just in the context of noncon smut? I’ve written plenty of noncon and it doesn’t really get to me but when I wrote Paper Skin and was trying to write about it in a more real way it was hard for me to get it right or not feel uncomfortable.

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

This is a small thing but in the last chapter or so of AtBI, reader noticed Shig all covered in dust or whatever, presumably from his Quirk but she didn’t really know why? And I couldn’t work it into the upcoming chapter with his pov without it sounding just incredibly fucking emo, but in my head he absolutely just destroyed a bunch of his own shit in an emo rage when he was packing up what he could after Kamino. Like it started in a functional ‘destroy evidence’ kind of way, but once he got going I imagine he was just in a really bad way and destroying stuff in a rage until Kurogiri made him stop.

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.

This bit from Addicted to Bad Ideas:

There’s a protracted silence before Tomura replies. “Did you every try it? Apply to UA or one of those school so you could save people?

His voice is sharp, and when you glance over you can tell that he's tense, hands clenched into white-knuckled fists and his lip curled much in the same way it had when he mentioned All Might during your first conversation about your Quirk. You already knew he had a grudge against heroes, so that disdain isn't entirely surprising, but it definitely seems more intense in this particular moment, and the abrupt shift in his demeanor has you frowning.

"No," you say slowly. He seems to relax a little when the word leaves your mouth, and you slump a little more in your chair, relieved that extra tension was short-lived. You'd been having a good time up until now and he'd seemed to be too. "No, I gave up on that well before I even reached middle school. You know how it is—life beats the hero hopeful out of some people a lot sooner than others."

Life, or incredibly questionable parenting in your case. You're almost tempted to elaborate on that, too, but Tomura's expression stops you. Most of his obvious displeasure may have dissipated, but it's been replaced by something equally tight as he finally turns to actually look at you.

"Yeah," he mutters, brows knit into an uncertain expression and the interested glint you know so well by now obvious in his crimson eyes. Something about that look, and the edge in his tone, quickly convinces you he's not just paying you lip-service when he murmurs his agreement. "Yeah, it does."

This was always meant to give reader a little bit of a hint that he’s got some personal beef, but when I started writing the fic it was actually supposed to go a lot differently, with reader basically asking him what kind of hero he wanted to be as a kid or something, and him getting kind of shaken up and asking what made her think he wanted to be hero. And then she would’ve just been like ‘Doesn’t everyone?’ And then I accidentally reworked the conversation too many times and lost that thread, lol.

Honestly though, I wish I hadn’t, because I still think things would’ve been a little more potent if Shig was all spooked for a minute that someone thought he’d want to be a hero, and kind of felt like he was getting unexpectedly read? But alas, it’s hard to keep up with all my concepts.

weird writer asks

#weird writer asks #ghuleh.plays

[nonbinarykai]

Great dev Kai theory time

Buckle up bc this is gonna be a LONG post

So do y’all remember that one scene in s4... goes a little like

Well a lot of people in the fandom has simply explained this scene as the staff possessing him. But personally I’ve never agreed with that statement for multiple reasons

Chen doesn’t have red eyes and he’s been holding the staff the entire time

We know from after this scene that the staff comes from these crystal caves, characters spend days in there and none of them have the same effect as Kai

Skylor has all the same powers in the staff but doesn’t go feral like Kai even when in the cave with the crystals

In s11 we see the red eyes again, it might be because of kais powers but since s11 seems to take direct inspiration from s4 I think it’s something a bit deeper then that

Ok so then if it isn’t the staff what is it then?

For the longest while I wondered that to, it makes no sense for it to be the staff, so then where could it have come from? However when I was watching s4 for the first time, a very specific line stood out to me.

This line comes directly before the episode where Kai turns feral. And considering they both have the same eye color I don’t think this is a coincidence either. The writers where clearly hinting towards something relating between garm and Kai in s4, and I think that’s great devourer venom.

What other parallels are there between the two?

In episode one and six we probably get the best example with chen using the exact same “he did what he had to do to win” line with both of them

Lloyds character arc did seem to resolve around them, his arc was meant to be him realizing he can’t just condemn people without knowing there motives first and to try to think and forgive in the perspective of those people. It starts off with Lloyd berating Kai and ends with Lloyd forgiving garm

Chen manipulates them both in the same way, with trying to convince them to turn against there friends in return for something they deeply wanted

While sure these examples don’t directly prove that Kai is infected with great devourer venom, I think it’s meant to show that there was meant to be a story parallel with Garm and kai, and Kai going evil with the staff was meant to be there way of connecting the two characters.

What happened with s4?

Wait but if these parallels were meant to be connected then why weren’t they expanded upon past episode 7?

Great question, I think it’s the same reason that kais arc was properly resolved and why garm was suddenly killed and why morro had an appearance to the end of the season.

The ending was changed

Now this is a VERY big claim I’m throwing out with little scraps of evidence to support it. Take it with a grain of salt but this is my personal theory for why the ending of s4 seems so disconnected with the rest of the series.

I personally think that the original ending to s4 was going to have Kai turn evil, but was changed last minute because they wanted to keep him as a ninja. Episodes 8 to 10 are all reworks to try to fit there new idea better. The scrapped idea for Kai were then pushed onto morro ((which is why we see him appear in s4 despite the fact it was clear that s5 hadn’t gone so far into conception. Morro after all has the same motivation of wanting to become the green ninja and seems to have the same demanding personality that evil Kai has in s4. It would also explain why kais character arc was cut short and why there seemed to be a lot of contrived plot ideas that seem to go against the first 7 episodes and why garm was sacrificed. It would also explain this season having a shorter run time then s1-s2

So then where does it go from s4?

While it might seem like the concept for evil Kai is cut from s4. I don’t really think that the idea of him has been completely lost yet. Throughout the series we see Kai be connected with snakes multiple times. Whenever there’s a snake for a villain it always seems to tie back to Kai in some way, either from it being directly tied back to him or it effecting him majorly. Multiple times through the series we see snakes as a sort of symbol for Kai, in S1 the snake symbol on the green gi was meant to represent Kai and in s12 we have a snake directly on his avatar outfit with the Harumi face mask. Snakes have been a running theme for Kai for the longest time now.

We also get s11, where we once again see Kai return to that feral state. While many people say this is due to kais powers, I personally think this is a sort of return from evil Kai in s4. Not only because of the red eyes but because kais lines in that scene seem to reflect evil kais lines. With him directly denying anything that doesn’t go his way. Considering the forbidden spinjitzu staff and ice emperor might be taking inspiration from s4 it wouldn’t be a surprise

It would also explain why Kai doesn’t seem to be effected by evil artifacts like the staff of forbidden spinjitzu or dark matter. If you notice throughout the series, whenever there are moments of the cast turning evil due to a artifact Kai seems to be unaffected. You can’t turn someone who’s already evil, evil

So when did Kai get infected? My personal theory is that Kai got infected in Season 2 episode 7, him being thrown off screen into some pots while venom was dripping from the roof would be a great time to slip it in without anyone noticing at first.

That’s personally just my theory, I do have a lot more personal concepts and theories on how the venom work but that’s just how I think it ties into Kai. 😳

#ninjago #kai smith #ninjago kai

[sedge-yells-at-comics]

Reprinted below, in case the link implodes.

Flash #27 Reveals Why Reverse Flash Is a Truly Unique Villain                

The finale of "Running Scared" provides a gut-wrenching Rebirth update to one of DC's most complicated villains: Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash.

By Meg Downey Published Jul 27, 2017               

If you’re a fan of the Flash, you’re probably pretty familiar with the concept of the Reverse Flash, a man named Eobard Thawne who, like Barry, has super speed and wears a flashy costume. Of course, the “Reverse” might sound like he’s the literal opposite of the Flash -- maybe someone who slows things down instead of speeding himself up? Or maybe someone who runs backwards?

There are a lot of obvious and incorrect guesses pretty readily available for casual or newer fans to throw darts at. The reality of the Reverse Flash is, however, pretty complicated. Mostly because his “reverse” status is actually ideological at its core. Flash media, be it print, animated or live action, has traditionally made this apparent by painting Eobard as someone who is essentially pure evil -- a sort of manic, time traveling serial killer who is motivated solely by his endless need to destroy Barry Allen from the ground up.

At that point, the problem then becomes finding a way to make Thawne’s homicidal drive, well… unique in the scope of the DC Universe, a place that just so happens to be populated by enough over-the-top villains to populate a decent sized Midwestern town. Why is Reverse Flash someone that’s specific to The Flash? What differentiates him from any of DC’s other iconic arch rivals, like Lex Luthor or The Joker?

Well, The Flash #27 has the answer, and it's probably not the one you expected.

Running Scared

The rebirth of the “classic” Eobard Thawne (as opposed to his New 52 revamp) began in the Flash/Batman crossover mini-event “The Button” back in April, a four-part storyline which connected the original Thawne to the events of last year’s DC Universe: Rebirth one-shot.

Since, then, Thawne’s taken up residence as a perpetual thorn in Barry’s side in the hero's own ongoing series, stepping directly into the spotlight for the three-part “Running Scared” arc which served to highlight Thawne’s Rebirth status quo. For the most part, it’s a story that fans will be pretty familiar with, borrowing heavily from elements of stories like The Flash: Rebirth and Flashpoint. Thawne’s from the future, he time traveled to kill Barry’s parents, he’s connected to a negative form of the Speed-Force, and so on -- But that’s where things start to get their Rebirth-specific legs.

It’s not that creators Josh Williamson, Howard Porter and Paul Pelletier are trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel with “Running Scared” -- just unlock a different side of it by shining a light on one of the most unique aspect of Eobard and Barry’s relationship.

Reverse Flash doesn’t hate Flash the way Lex Luthor hates Superman, or Bane hates Batman. It’s actually (appropriately) quite the opposite. It’s the reverse. Eobard Thawne loves Barry Allen, obsessively and vengefully, which is where his endless, destructive need to ruin Barry’s life comes into play.

“Running Scared” highlights the fact that a young Eobard grew up alone (though Williamson was quick to confirm that that particular story element came out of an earlier Geoff Johns Flash issue) with only his idealized and imaginary version of Barry -- a character from his history books -- to keep him company. Barry was, for all intents and purposes, Thawne’s only friend, confidant, and emotional anchor, despite the fact that the two of them wouldn’t actually meet for years and years.

It was plenty of time for a very troubled and very lonely Thawne to fall in love with a version of The Scarlet Speedster that existed only in his imagination...and, well, it’s pretty obvious how that particular emotional endeavor actually went down. Actually meeting Barry and subsequently being forced to deal with the fact that he was just a guy and not the cartoon character Thawne had built in his head for years, proved to be too hard a stress test for Thawne’s fragile psyche.

Fatal Attraction

Meeting and being disappointed by a personal hero is a rough experience for just about anyone, but rather than allowing himself to move on -- or even allowing himself to simply decide to hate Barry instead, Thawne’s obsession only doubled down.

As issue #27 hurtles to its conclusion, Thawne’s real motivations become abundantly apparent. As Barry, infected with Thawne’s own inverted Negative Speed Force thrashes Thawne within an inch of his life, he presses him with a question - Why, if Thawne has always been so inspired by him, has he gone out of his way to ruin Barry’s life at every turn? Why has he done all of these terrible things, from killing Barry’s parents to beating Wally within an inch of his life, to kidnapping he and Iris and hauling them to the future?

Thawne’s answer is as unexpected as it is heartrendingly honest: because these horrible things are the only way Thawne understands how to make Barry spend time with him.

It’s that simple.

Thawne’s love for, and obsession with Barry Allen has permeated his life so deeply and completely that he is even willing to count his time spent being pummeled half to death by Flash as a win. He’s completely unable or unwilling to differentiate between Barry’s affection and Barry’s hatred, and he’s ready to do whatever it might take to put himself at the center of either emotion in Barry’s mind.

“A few years ago, it would have really hurt my feelings to hear you say that,” Thawne taunts after Barry threatens him, “but now to think that I caused you that anger? That I could get under your skin like this? It warms my heart.”

It’s deeply troubling, of course, and horrifyingly uncomfortable to get a look into the head of a villain who is, essentially, the personification of a fan gone terribly, terribly awry -- a theme that only gets more difficult to swallow when you begin to think about the increasingly complicated relationship between fans and their idols in actual, genuine, non-super heroic world around us.

This subtle reworking of the Reverse Flash has made him one of comic’s most poignant ruminations of the idea of toxicity in fan communities, idolization of strangers, and self destructive obsession, and it did so in a way that boldly allowed Thawne to win at the end of the day.

The issue closes, and the arc completes, with Barry exactly in the position Thawne wanted him in: completely alone, just like Thawne was as he built Barry into a hero of mythological perfection in his head. Now, where Barry will end up, and whether he’ll be forgiven by Iris, Wally and the roster of people he’s been manipulating as he leads his vigilante double life, is still largely a mystery.

It’s clear that Thawne didn’t expect, or even really want, Barry to come running into his arms to start their life together the second he succeeded in isolating him -- he makes that abundantly clear as he warns that he’ll just return again and again and again, de-powered, killed or otherwise hindered. Iris may have added an exclamation point to the end of the story arc by “vaporizing” Thawne with a Black Hole gun, but it hardly matters.

Reverse Flash will be back, somehow, at some point, and it’s doubtful that his love and obsession for Barry will have wavered in the slightest. We know now that’s just now how his mind is capable of working. It’s unlikely that Thawne will ever feel anything for Barry beyond his own supremely twisted adoration, no matter how many times the Flash pummels him into the ground. It’s just not the way Thawne’s brain is able to process information anymore.

It’s complicated, messy, and uncomfortable, but it’s also one of the clearest articulations of exactly what makes Reverse Flash such an interesting villain in the scope of not just the Flash family of books, but the DCU as a whole.

#the flash #eobard thawne #barry allen #eobarry