#like if a movie or show is based on a book i can't physically bring myself to watch it without reading the book first

[l-carlyle]

Lockwood & Co. feature on the January 2023 Issue of the SFX Magazine

I'll put the text under the break if anyone can't access the photos :-)

"JOE CORNISH IS HAUNTED. NOT BY ANY BONE chilling apparition or plate-flinging poltergeist but by a time. A vanished age, of strange torments and diabolical dread.

“This is a world of draughty houses and windows that don’t quite close properly and creaky floorboards and clicking pipes,” he tells SFX, smiling over a Zoom connection. “The world I remember from my childhood, before double-glazing and insulation!”

Welcome to the phantom-infested Britain of Lockwood & Co. It’s a little like the 1970s, only even weirder. Adapted from the popular series of books by Jonathan Stroud, this new Netflix offering pits swashbuckling teens against the unquiet dead in a London spilling over with paranormal activity. Even the local A-Z, you strongly suspect, drips with ectoplasm.

ANATOMY OF A GHOST “I love supernatural stories,” says Cornish, who serves as lead writer and director on the eight-part series, “and it’s unusual to find a story where the science of ghosts has been so thoughtfully defined. There’s a broad set of rules for ghosts that most stories adhere to, but there’s not really an almost Darwinesque analysis of different types of ghosts, different species, different behaviours, a taxonomy.

“The idea that they can kill you by touching you completely changes the dynamic of a ghost story, brings it into the action-adventure realm. So you get everything great about a ghost story but these other genre elements really take it into a new place. “On top of that you’ve got terrific worldbuilding. This takes place 50 years into a ghost epidemic, and the world has really changed because of it. Different economics and different social structures have emerged. Because young people are more sensitive to the supernatural, which is a classic trope in ghost stories, it’s extrapolated into this world where young people are employed by massive adult-run agencies to detect and fight ghosts. “So it’s a pretty amazing bit of thinking, based on a very attractive set of genre ideas that have been around for ages but have never really been reinvented in such a clever way.”

It’s a more analogue world, where technological progress stuttered. And that’s a premise that appeals to Cornish, who made his name with the hand-tooled, micro-budget joys of The Adam And Joe Show – a pioneering ’90s celebration of geek culture, knocked together from toys, love and cardboard – before promotion to the big screen as director of Attack The Block in 2011.

“The world changed tack when the problem started, because everything that would be regarded as pseudo-science became real science,” he explains. “So the world stopped at the time of Amstrad word processors! “It became a more industrial world, because iron and salt and water can repel ghosts, so suddenly these almost Victorian industries are revived. Also, in a weird parallel way, old things are suddenly scary. Anything with an ancient history is potentially lethal, because it might be the source of a ghost.

“For me it felt like the early ’80s, when I was a teenager, because that was kind of pre-digital. It was a world that still had analogue media and you could buy records and fanzines. There was a world of printed youth culture that existed in a social way, that wasn’t on telephones and computers. You communicated in a much more person-to-person way back then. So that was pleasing for me as well – the series has this kind of retro-contemporary feel to it that’s half modern and half 50 years ago.” The spectral aesthetic in Lockwood & Co also takes inspiration from the past. “We started by looking at Victorian spirit photography. Because photography is pre-digital, it’s chemical, the ghosts feel very different, like a real physical presence. They feel as if they exist in the world of natural physics – we can’t really get away with hiding them.

“In other movies or TV shows you might glimpse a ghost as a jump scare and then it’s gone. Our ghosts are really present, and our characters fight with them, so we had to come up with a design that you could really train the camera on, and involve in an action sequence, and would be able to leap around and dive and swoop and bolt into a corner.

“They’re all made out of smoke, they’re all made out of something ethereal. There are lots of different types in the series, lots of colours and densities and shapes. We tried to get away from super-digital ghosts and make them feel like they could really exist in a science experiment.”

Lockwood & Co looses its phantoms in some genuinely creepy abodes. What’s the secret of bringing a legitimately goosefleshing haunted house to the screen?

“We worked really hard on lighting, and light levels, making sure stuff was legible enough but that you’re also slightly peering into the shadows. I think sound is hugely important, and also silence. A lot of modern media is frightened of silence and when nothing happens that’s often the most interesting moment. We tried not to do too many jump scares. We do one or two, but we try and create an atmosphere of creeping fear rather than give people heart attacks.”

Stroud’s five-novel Lockwood series launched with The Screaming Staircase in 2013 (the TV version adapts this tale but also goes beyond it, Cornish reveals). Its young ghostbusters are Lucy Carlyle, gifted with psychic powers, and Anthony Lockwood, the dashing and enigmatic founder of the only agency to operate without adult supervision. The show captures the dashing spirit of the books, quippy heroes slicing at wraiths with rapiers, but plays things commendably straight.

“It’s a very sincere endeavour,” acknowledges Cornish. “We believe in the characters and we believe in the world. Stuff like this only works if you really commit to it and decide that it’s real. I don’t love shows where the characters are winking at the camera, or there are meta jokes. I want the world to be completely absorbing and credible.

“One of the most important and compelling things for people who love these books is the relationship between Lockwood and Lucy. It’s a relationship that has an enormous fandom – there’s an amazing amount of fan art out there. It’s a sort of unrequited will-they-won’t they relationship. This is a world where young people shoulder an incredibly grave burden, at a time in their life when they shouldn’t be thinking about death, or mortality, all the things that older people have to think about, and yet here they are, armed with weapons, having to fight things that could kill them.

“But then another brilliant thing about the novels is that if you get too depressed you get more vulnerable, so the ghosts can get you if you feel too bleak. So they have to cheer each other up and make quips and jokes, for safety purposes. We just approached the whole thing as if it was completely real.”

Given the rabid fandom, getting the casting of the leads right was crucial. Bridgerton’s Ruby Stokes ultimately won the role of Lucy. “She’s the centre of the story,” Cornish tells SFX. “She’s vulnerable, damaged, kind of abused and exploited as a child, comes from a broken home, has lost her father, yet has incredible gumption and ambition and a very strong sense of self-preservation. “She has this gift that she really doesn’t want, and she packs her bags, runs away from home and sets out to London with no qualifications, nowhere to stay the night. Her powers are an expression of her emotional sensitivity. In the book it’s like teenage emotions are being made into a supernatural power.

“So we just had to find an incredible young actor who felt like she could do it, and who you believed had that inner emotional life. Before I did this I always wondered how castings worked, whether there was some super complicated methodology. But a person just walks into the room and you go, ‘Do I believe that she’s Lucy?’ Ruby was actually one of the first people we saw, and we all just went, ‘Oh, there she is! There’s Lucy Carlyle!’”

Newcomer Cameron Chapman bagged the title role. “Lockwood was much harder, actually,” shares Cornish. “We saw hundreds and hundreds of actors, and Cameron came in pretty late in the day, at the eleventh hour. And that’s equally hard, because he’s got to be sort of handsome and cool and yet really vulnerable and haunted. He’s got to have swagger and braggadocio but also be a bit of a bullshit artist. He’s like a sort of teen entrepreneur. In the ’80s everybody wanted to be a teen entrepreneur, and he’s that made flesh. But he’s also wounded and secretive and has sort of a death wish.

“Cameron had all that. Weirdly, he looks very like the illustrations on the book covers, and he wears that long coat really well. He does the charisma, he does the vulnerability, he’s a bit of a dick – not in real life, in terms of acting! – and then he can be very romantic and swoony. It’s a heck of a part for a young actor.

Out of the three main actors [Ali Hadji-Heshmati plays George, Lockwood’s second-in-command] he’s the guy who really hadn’t been on camera before, but he does an exceptional job.” But while fan approval is vital, even more key is winning the heart and mind of the man who dreamed up Lucy, Lockwood and their spook-riddled world in the first place.

“Jonathan has been very involved from the start,” says Cornish. “I formed a relationship with him in order to get him to give us the rights to the book, and then we’ve let him read every draft of the scripts. He’s come to visit the set, he’s sat down with the actors. He’s really into it and he’s been extraordinarily supportive, but sensibly he said to us, ‘Look, you go and do your thing. I understand this is a different beast, between the page and the screen.’

“But I hope, and I trust, that he has been surprised by how much we’ve just stuck to what he’s done. Because it’s really, really good. He’s provided pretty incredible material.”

Lockwood & Co is on Netflix from 27 January.

#lockwood and co #l&co. netflix #ruby stokes #cameron chapman #ali hadji-heshmati #lucy carlyle #anthony lockwood #george karim

[jakethesequel]

My biggest demand of the comic book industry is that I think they gotta go cheaper and broader. You know why more people are watching your shitty movies instead of reading the decent books? Because it costs 20 bucks to walk into any movie theatre and see Avengers: Infinity War; but a paperback of the Infinity Gauntlet storyline it was based on costs 25 and you probably have to go to a comic-specific store to find it. Even the blu-ray of the movie is only 23!

You can't get new people into comics if it's both inconvenient and expensive to do, and if you don't get new people into comics, you're not going to have the die-hards you now rely on a few years from now. People like comics, and they like superheroes, as the popularity of webcomics and CBMs show, this should be an easy sell! And digital releases is no fix! For one, it has no advertising, people will only find it if they already want to read comics. And second, no one in this day and age is going to open up their browser and figure out how to give you their credit card information without first googling "how to read comic online free." Focus on physical, people like having things in their hands, it feels like their money actually went somewhere instead of just opening a DRM lock.

Bring back newsstands! Make comics cheap and widely available! Even if it's just your broad-appeal titles, don't underestimate the tempting power of something for sale in the checkout line with a sub-5$ price tag, I know I've fallen for more than enough candy bars and soda pop with that trick. Diversify your fuckin market my guy!

#comics

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

BRING ON THE NOVEL!!! Oh, I love your responses to my questions BECAUSE they're always so in-depth and informative, and I just drink it up because it's SO GOOD! I love the amount of thought you put into your answers, I can see the passion plain and simple, and it gives me a lot of food for thought for my own interpretation of Grima, so thank you!!

hahaha I'm glad you enjoy them! I love answering questions about him, so it's always a joy to see one in the inbox.

It's really fun thinking through what we know from the various canon sources (granted I don't really go into unfinished tales, save for the Grima-Nazgul-Face-Off reference [Grima loses]) and logicing out what we can from it. Then, of course, just making shit up. Love that sweet, sweet world building.

But I'm always curious to hear what other people think! I love seeing different interpretations and what people run with, given that we're all working with the same, rather limited, base material.

And lolol yes. Grima's type is absolutely "can they kill me with their bare hands and I wouldn't stand a chance? yes? excellent."

Re: Eowyn and Grima - I've always much preferred Eowyn in the books (pre-Faramir personality change up) to Eowyn in the movies, because Eowyn in the books is a stone cold bitch with a bit of ruthlessness in her (aside from her being obvioulsy high-hearted as Hama says, and generous - she is beloved by her people for a reason) and I am here for Grima simping after her and she's like "What is this? did I trod on a cockroach?" and Grima is like "please trod again my lady" etc. etc.

With Eomer it's basically the same dynamic plus the added benefit of Eomer being able to do the slinging-over-a-shoulder-like-a-sack-of-spuds. Not that Eowyn's a light-weight, she's not, but it's more just a bit of a larger size difference and it makes for a funnier visual. Granted Eowyn would win the yearly Husband-Carrying competition. She doesn't have a husband for them, of course, so she just picks the biggest guy she can find who isn't married or whose wife can't enter for whatever reason and carries him through the ridiculous course that's been set up. (It's Hama most years, they're a great team. If not him then Grimbold.)

One year she had to skip it because she was down with flu and everyone was pleased because it meant there was a chance for someone else to win. Grima offered to go in her place and she was a little tempted by it, if only to have some rep at the game and he's built like her so it's a bit of a fair switch, but she ended up turning it down. ("You'll die. Hama will squish you. It's a prospect I'm not adverse to, save that it means you'd lose in my name." "My lady, I'm the youngest of many brothers, I'm used to being at the bottom of the dog-pile. I'll be fine." "...yes. yes you would have been at the bottom." "Anyway, I've a few tricks up my sleeve." "No. Cheating." "Just think about it, my lady." "No. Cheating.")

I think Grima also has a bit of a hard-on for competency and so that's where the intellect and confidence come in. Which, when I write Eomer/Grima, it's Eomer showing up and being very good at his job, and his cousin's future-job, that has Grima going "oh no. There are stirrings and they shouldn't be stirring."

Grima carrying Eomer for the husband-carrying competition is objectively hilarious. It's not about roles or anything, because that's a nonsense, it's just something funny to do of a summer afternoon. I feel like he's surprisingly strong for a man who avoids physical labour as much as possible. That said, he'd be dead for the next four days after the competition. ("You broke every part of me, Eomer." "...isn't that what you're into?" "Not quite like this. I can't move my arms above my head.")

Anyway. Now I've become distracted with Rohan's left-of-centre highland games (Eomer would be stellar at log tossing. Grima runs a betting ring on it every year and somehow makes a killing despite everyone knowing the odds. Eomer keeps trying to get him to not fiddle the books but it never works).

Thank you so much for the asks! I love this stupid, greasy snake man and any chance to natter on about him is a blessing. <3 <3

#ask #reply #grima wormtongue #lotr #lord of the rings #eomer #eowyn #grima thoughts

[hypermania]

I can't tell if you liked Shadow and Bone or not and it's killing me lol

i also can't tell if i liked it! i know for sure i liked s1 a lot better than s2. s1 was an interesting viewing experience because i had to adjust to the fact that they really weren't following the books and i wasn't prepared for that. i think what they did with the grisha trilogy worked really well. pretty much every change was for the better. it made the characters more likable which serves the plot a lot better. the crows stuff, however, was more jarring both because i'm far more invested in them and because the changes were bigger and without any obvious payoff. but once i got over the hesitancy of the story being changed it was mostly fine. there were still a few things i didn't like but overall it was like okay i get it. we're moving chess pieces around because we're setting stuff up.

going into s2 i knew they weren't following the books closely so i went in with the mindset of "hey this is its own thing and you should judge it based on what it is, and not what it isn't." and then... they just shoehorned in a bunch of big Moments(tm) from the books that... have no relevancy in the story they're telling?

like what was the point of kaz bringing pekka to his knees begging? pekka still has a crap ton of people loyal to him. he's still running shit from hellgate. there was no emotional catharsis to it. and kaz hasn't built up the reputation of "When everyone knows you're a monster, you needn't waste time doing every monstrous thing" yet soooooooo it kinda just feels like kaz showed that yeah he can figure out what is most important to someone and push that button (figuratively, because he won't actually do the horrible thing) but it ultimately doesn't even matter because... ??? like i don't know why that mattered in the context of the story they're actually telling. it was just a big moment from the book plopped into the show. if they wanted to rearrange the pieces so that pekka would be in hellgate with matthias, they could have done that without using the alby storyline in a place where not only does it not fit, it completely undermines the point.

same with the "i will have you without armor" interaction. i'm not a big fan of that line in the books to begin with. it's fine. i just think there are way more *scream into my pillow about it* moments but i know it's a fan favorite and it feels like that's the only reason they included it. when it happens in the book, it's because kaz hasn't offered inej anything, really. he's asked her to stay in ketterdam but that's the most vulnerable he's allowed himself to be with her. so it serves as like a linchpin for him to do better, sort of? but in the show... he's already told her about jordie. he's already given her freedom from the menagerie and a lead on her family. he's already given her everything except physical skin to skin contact, and so that line just comes across as "you're not good enough because you're traumatized" instead of "we're both traumatized but i want to get better and i won't let you hold me back from that. you have to at least try" so it's... kinda gross?

the jesper and wylan changes are mostly fine but their relationship feels very rushed and i don't really understand what the point of doing that is. like jesper watching wylan play piano and having a moment about it felt like... nothing? because wlyan is just a guy he had a one night stand with. what new light is it shedding on a guy jesper doesn't really have any mis-formed preconceived notions on? and why are they already basically married? maybe this is just a personal preference but that's not fun to me. i am much more interested in watching them awkwardly fall for each other over time than having immediate confirmation that they're a couple.

(also i have a pretty big gripe with the way jesper being grisha is handled. but that's a whole other discussion.)

idk i guess the point i'm making is that s2 felt like a marvel movie. it had a lot of quippy one-liners and Big Emotional Beats that we knew were Big Emotional Beats because there was swelling music and lingering shots but there was no substance to any of it?? none of it mattered in the context of the story they were actually telling. it only matters if you already have a built-in connection to the story via the source material.

that being said: kaz bar brawl and nina spy competence = very sexy. and as much as i just talked a bunch of shit about jesper, he really is amazing. kit young continues to be an inspired stroke of jesper genius. almost everyone was perfectly cast, actually.

there were other things i liked and disliked about it but this is the general gist of where i'm at, i guess.

#replies #anonymous #sab #negativity for ts

[phoenixduelist]

Uno reverse bitch! All of the relationship asks for the pirate polycule

Headcanons based on ship development

☀️ » what was your character’s first impression of their partner ?

James, the Idol of the Navy who actually has the skills to hold such position. A great duelist, a formidable opponent whom she would've hated to kill.

Jack, a glittering gem among everyone. Interested from the start and not falling for the ‘drunk idiot’ facade. She knew, she sensed there was so much more to the man.

🍯 » what trait does your character admire the most about their partner ?

The same what brought many problems, including his death: his sense of duty. She simply can't understand how James managed to stay not only sane but loyal to his values. And his emotional strength is something she truly admires.

A tie between his acerbic wit that matches hers in a maddeningly brilliant way and his emotional intelligence which undoubtedly helped a lot to recover parts of her.

⚡ » who spends more time on the phone ?

Jack. I can picture both of them simply calling him while in the same room as him to get his attention.

✏️ » who takes longer to text back ?

James.

💡 » what’s the first movie / tv show your pairing saw ?

A true crime show and the serial killer who leaves a dried rose behind hasn't found yet.

🐣 » who has the best style ?

....I think all three of them has the best style of their occupation/rank

🔑 » who is the better driver ?

If we are looking at safety, James. If overall; Jack. Don't let the Devil take the wheel.

⭐ » what are three things that your pairing have in common ?

A child. Communication issues, swordplay and ultimately the sea.

🌩 » how does your character calm their partner when they are angry ?

Encourage James to fight them until it turns out to be Jack. Ultimately she tries to understand what made them angry and there's a high chance upon finding out she will be mad too, if it isn't the banter between them.

🌼 » who was the first to say i love you ?

Rozy did at first to Jack. Absolutely correct Winter quote: but the first one to say I love you to all three of them would probably be Norrington in a why "Why am I in love with both of you?"

🧀 » who is the better cook ?

James. Jack is bringing the spices so the food has a taste. Rozy occasionally throws in some paprika and helps with chopping/cutting stuff.

🌻 » who is the better listener ?

I would say a tie between Rozy and Jack. They both have...not so pleasant life experiences, understanding deep down and have the urge to help.

✨ » what is your pairing’s favourite thing to do together ?

Stargazing & swordfighting.

⚠️ » who has the crazier family ?

Rozy's dead if we don't count the Vihar crew, James's too probably but we know his father was a DICK. So yeah Jack. But. In the long term Rozy wins by a landslide.

🌙 » what are your character’s love languages –– gifts , affection , words ?

Murder. I mean, a combination of everything. Rozália loves both men dearly and probably couldn't live without one of them. She is incredibly observant, reads both of them like an open book even Jack. She knows what to say, when to say, what gift would move their hearts. Ultimately though, it is physical touch. Rozy went through inhumane things and it is a miracle she hadn't gone completely mad. And for that tortured woman to trust someone enough to allow and furthermore initiate contact speaks volumes.

🌤 » how long has your pairing been together ?

I have dyscalculia. But if I think about Wings United verse they probably had known each other for around 10-ish years

💛 » who says i love you more often ?

James ➡ Rozy ➡ Jack

😭 » who is most likely to forget an anniversary ?

Jack. James although will remind him

🍌 » what is your pairing’s favourite place ?

Shore of the beach is the perfect answer as despite the growth, Rozy still prefers to be out of the water.

#🩸 headcanon ⚔ | a glimpse behind the fame; behind the fanged grin #🪶 jack (winter's club) 🧭 & 🌹 rozália⚡️& 🌊 james (ashotdropandasuddenstop)🌙 | fates forever intertwined #🧭winter's club / jack sparrow🌊 | witty trickster with eyes like brilliant black pearls #🌊 ashotdropandasuddenstop 🌙 | l only can hope you still see the ruins of my halo

[whimsicaldragonette]

ARC DNF Review: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

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Add to Goodreads

Publication Date: August 23, 2022

Synopsis:

Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness. Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest. After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born. If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most – Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares – each other?

My Rating: ★★

My Review below the cut.

My Review:

This was... underwhelming. I requested it because I love fantasy, romance, grump/sunshine, epistolary romance, enemies-to-lovers, and You've Got Mail. So it really *should* have ticked ALL the boxes for me. Instead I found myself feeling lukewarm about the characters at best and the story just didn't hold my interest. Also the whole dealing with zombies and dead bodies (with associated fluids and scrabbling through intestines for appendixes) thing was ... gross. The first stumbling block for me was worldbuilding. A quarter of the way through the book I know very little about the world it takes place in. A few terms tossed in but never explained, a vague hand-wavey 'super complicated portals thing that no one understands except that one guy who invented them', references to old gods and new gods and demigods, and a brief 'lesson recitation' for background on the zombies themselves. (I forget the in-book term for them, which tells you a lot about how invested I am.) I don't understand *why* everyone thinks Hart is such a jerk. I don't understand the beef he and Mercy have with each other. I don't understand... basically anything. Also, the physical descriptions and fantasies Mercy and Hart (unknowingly) have about one another are far too graphic and lewd for my taste. And I'm still at the 'we can't stand each other' stage before they get physical. (disclaimer: I'm ace and very much don't like extended on-page sex. Yes, there technically hasn't been any yet but it's clear that there *will be* and based on the vibes I'm getting so far it will not be my cup of tea AT ALL.) The story is also ... very much a You've Got Mail retelling with zombies. I knew there were similarities and that it was perhaps inspired by the movie but parts of it are way too close to the original for it to feel fresh or new or anything but heavily inspired (only grosser because that's apparently what the original needed?). There *are* some things that the story does well. The day-to-day lives of Hart and Mercy and their relationships to their families / friends / coworkers are really well done. Hart's apprentice he's forced to take on is endearing and I like that he brings out the softer side of Hart. The animal couriers are amusing. Parts of it are really funny. But. That's not enough to make up for the parts I found dull, boring, confusing, or distasteful. I feel like this will miss the mark for many fantasy and romance readers. For romance readers, the world is too confusing. For fantasy readers, there aren't enough details about the world and it's too romance-heavy. The narration was all right. Nothing stood out, and a few of the voices used for the characters felt off to me. It certainly wasn't terrible, however, and if I'd liked the book more I would have found it to be perfectly fine. I'd definitely try a different book read by the same narrators. *Thanks to NetGalley, Orbit Books, and Hachette Audio for providing an e-arc and audio arc for review.

#shilo reads #arc review #netgalley #audio arc review #arc dnf review

[beaudeanw]

Soldier Boy- What can we expect?

- Possible spoilers ahead

Gif credit : @justjensenanddean

The Boys S3 will have Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy - A Captain America-esque Supe, also known as the original superhero.

In the comic books, there are three versions of Soldier Boy. Ackles will be playing the first one. According to Eric Kripke, Soldier Boy is like the Homelander before Homelander. He has a similar kind of ambition & ego. It will just come in a different way.

He was a leader of the Team Payback - a Parody of The Avengers.

In the show, Soldier boy was the only one to ever exist.

Soldier Boy as a Character

As said above, Soldier Boy is touted to be very powerful. His powers are almost on the same level as Homelander.

According to a recent q&a with Kripke, he mentioned that Homelander will be threatened by Soldier Boy. Soldier Boy is said to be very Charming and Funny.

He will have this charisma that attracts the public towards him. As mentioned in the first episode of The Boys Season 2, Soldier Boy killed Nazis by a huge amount and he helped the Allies win the World War 2 against Germany. After that he went on to become a movie star and a huge mainstay of American culture.

During the course of S2 we saw some Easter eggs like his movie posters on the wall. Kripke compared his character to somewhat like John Wayne. If you google search John Wayne, you will get to know that he was conservative, racist, homophobic etc. John Wayne although famous for playing Soldiers in cinema, never served in WW2. He also had a complicated relationship with women.

Soldier Boy might take some similar route considering the fact that he is in fact from the 1940s. The q&a mentioned that he will be involved in a lot of Sex, Violence & Swears. Needless to say, soldier boy can totally be a. One of the 2018 tweets of Kripke said that Soldier Boy was involved in drugs & stuff. This might also be a part of his personality.

Since it's also said to be a parody of Cap America, Soldier Boy a complete anti-thesis of what former stands for. Cap America is sort of a moral, altruistic, kind & good superhero. Soldier Boy might be completely opposite. That he has no shame in hurting people & possesses no morals in order to get his work done & his ambition fulfilled. He can be the reason for the war crimes that America did after the WW2.

How the character might fit in S3

Now The Boys Season 2 ended with Stormfront becoming Stump-front. We have Homelander who got blackmailed by Queen Maeve with the footage from the airplane back from S1. We have Starlight & A- Train back in the Seven. However, the most important part is how both Vought & Homelander are completely screwed in the public eye. As we know in S2, Homelander was getting boo-ed by the public for indulging in war crimes. Now Stormfront's Nazi reveal should have some serious repercussions. The public people might boycott Vought because of their alleged ties with a literal Nazi. Homelander might not get the same love & respect in the public because he had love affair with her. We also have a Federal Bureau of Supe Affairs to keep Vought into check by Victoria Neumann, who is also a supe but thats not the point. The point is Vought needs a good PR to get themselves out of this mess.

Enter- Soldier Boy

Now there is a common theory that Vought must have kept him in some kind of facility & have him trapped. This is a very good possibility since that will mean that he is basically has no idea about the modern world. During S2 we saw a statue of Soldier Boy which showed that he sort of died in the 80s. So it will be interesting to see how Vought brings Soldier Boy back in the public eye.

Now Soldier Boy coming back to Vought can help them with Good PR. I mean who better than a Supe who killed Nazis in WW2 can help Vought clean up the Nazi shitstorm. He is the golden boy of patriotism. He is like a blue print of how they wanted Homelander to be when they created him the lab.

Another common theory that spread which was also kind of agreed by Laz Alonso, the actor who plays Mother's milk said that only his character until now never had something personal against a supe. We also learnt sort of MM's backstory in S2 which mentioned his father working against Vought & how he fought until he died. We have an idea that there is a possibility that both Soldier Boy & his father might have existed at the same point & SB might have something to do with his dad.

This can also be the reason why he vanished in the 80s & Vought lied about his death.

This also makes sense because at the end of S2, we saw all the members of The Boys seperated. One of the major reasons why they come back together is to help MM. I mean MM has been kind of a backbone keeping all of them together. A moral conscience. He is a good friend of all. So if he is in problem, the boys will come back together to help him for a change.

I am pretty sure that with Soldier Boy we will get to learn a lot about the dirty past of Vought & metaphorically, America.

Soldier Boy and Homelander

So first of all, Ackles' Soldier Boy & Homelander didn't have any sort of sexual relations. What happened in the comics was a sexual assault. That was Solder Boy #3. That character was a bumbling idiot, subservient to Homelander who got manipulated by him. It's also not logical for the show to have that kind of relationship of SB & HL. Homelander doesn't have that kink that is shown in the comics. Also, soldier boy in the show looks like has a dominating personality as opposed to of an idiot.

What Ackles is playing is Soldier Boy #1, the one fought in WW2 & as mentioned above, he is the only one to ever exist in the world of TV Show.

However, both of these characters have a lot of similarities. They are both powerful, egotistical, narcissistic, pathetic male superheroes. The difference is the situations they will be in. Homelander is currently in a problematic situation as his issue with wanting validation are bare open. He is emotionally at its weakest point. He wants to be loved. He longs for validation from the public which Maeve uses to threaten him. As he was made in a lab, he didn't have a normal childhood. He didn't have friends or anything. However, Soldier Boy was given Compound V when he was an adult. That means he might not require the same kind of validation. He is a very self-assured man. Also, since he was around in public life for decades, he has received love for years. So he not only he is physically strong, he might be emotionally capable against Homelander.

S3 might create a problem of Power Struggle.

Homelander might struggle to keep his head strong & possibly be threatened by Soldier Boy. Since the latter seems very confident, he might be able to take his position in Vought back. In the S2 premiere, we get to see how Homelander thinks of himself as indispensable for Vought as a company & how Stan Edgar shuts him down. Now think about how Homelander will react when Vought's original golden boy comes back & takes his what he thinks is his. There is a power struggle here. It's likely that Soldier Boy might corner him because of how popular he is in the public and how Homelander wants that same love that SB is getting. S3 might present a situation in front of him when a supe who might almost be as powerful as him & emotionally stronger than him kind of threatens both his power and position.

Soldier Boy and Stormfront

Speaking of Stormfront, Eric Kripke mentioned in a TV guide article that Soldier Boy had a connection with her when she was Liberty. Now both of them were created at the same time by the same man. Liberty was married to Frederick Vought but he then joined the Allies & injected Soldier Boy with Compound V. Now they are basically two sides of the same coin.

Some of this is from articles with Kripke's description of the character, some of them are common theories that have floated around & some of it is my predictions about what direction the character's storyline can take. This is majorly based on everything I have read, heard or watched. It doesn't mean that any of it will turn out the way it's written here. But I still hope this is helpful.

Anyway, I am very excited to see Jensen in this new role. I know he will rock it and I can't wait.

Some Articles I took into consideration -

#soldier boy #jensen ackles #the boys #the boys s3 #the boys tv #the boys amazon #Homelander #Stormfront #vought #solider boy #antony starr #aya cash #eric kripke

[writingquestionsanswered]

Not sure you even answer this sort of thing as it isn't really that much about writing but ... might as well. Any tips on how to find the "ideal cast" to your characters? I simply can't seem to find somebody that fits the description enough. It's okay if you can`t help, but I'm not even sure where to go to about this so here I am. Thanks already

Guide: Casting Your Characters

You came to the right place! I’ve been casting my characters since before the internet as we knew it existed. The first time I ever did it was in the mid-1990s, when I cast a fan-fiction OC out of a Teen Beat magazine. I’ve got you covered!

Why Cast Your Characters?

No matter how well you flesh out your character, it can still be difficult to conjure up a crisp image of them in your mind’s eye. Casting brings their appearance into full focus and can make it easier to visualize them moving through a scene, imagine their body language and facial expressions, etc. It’s also handy when creating non-promotional character aesthetics and other inspirational images.

5 Tips for Casting Your Characters

1) Flesh Them Out FIRST - This is SUPER important. Your character needs to be fully fleshed out internally and externally before you cast them. Otherwise, you run the risk of being influenced by the faceclaim or characters they’ve played.

2) Avoid Well Known Celebrities or People You Stan - Also super important. As tempting as it might be to cast your favorite K-Pop star or your latest MCU crush, this can also lead to being influenced by them and not the character you created. Try to stick with people you’re not that familiar with, whose careers you don’t follow closely.

3) Remember: These are “Faceclaims” Only - You’re casting based on physical looks, not personality.

4) Proper Representation Matters - Even though this is about physical appearance, I do think it’s important to cast people correctly. If you’re casting a character who is deaf, try to choose a faceclaim who is also deaf. If you’re casting a character who is Native American, don’t choose a white person who happens to have dark hair and brown eyes.

5) Casting Isn’t Set in Stone - Casting is mostly for fun and because it can be helpful, but don’t feel like your choices are set in stone. You may find someone who fits what you’re imagining better. Or, you may decide later on down the line that you’re not happy with a choice and you want to recast. That’s fine!

Where to Find Faceclaims

Tumblr - Tumblr has been at the forefront of the faceclaim game as long as I can remember. Simply go to the “search tumblr” box and type in “faceclaim” and you’ll find tons of posts and blogs dedicated to helping you find faceclaims. You can also do a Google search for “faceclaim tumblr” and blogs will pop up.

Google Searches - One of the best ways to find lists of potential faceclaims is to go to Google and do searches for actors/celebrities/models with the criteria you’re looking for. “Up and coming actors under 20″ or “popular teen actors” for example. “Up and coming Latina stars, “red-haired actresses” or “male actors over the age of 60.”

Google Image Search - You can also go straight to GIS and type things like “Black actress teenager” or “Chinese actress.”

IMDb Cast Lists - One of my favorite ways to find a variety of actors I’m not familiar with is to look at the cast lists for different TV shows and movies. You can start by looking at TV shows and movies that are likely to have a cast that will fit what you’re looking for. For example, if you’re writing a story that features high school aged characters, look for current shows or movies that take place in high schools, then go through the cast list to find options.

Casting Agency Web Sites - Sometimes you can find options in databases on casting agency web sites. If you’re lucky, you might find someone with enough acting experience that you can find them in IMDb or elsewhere online.

Pinterest - Pinterest is an amazing place to find faceclaims. Not only have people put together extensive galleries (boards) you can browse, but if you go to the search bar and type in “faceclaim,” you get a wall of options right from the start, plus popular keywords for beginning your search. To find faceclaim boards, go to the drop down menu beside the search bar, where it says “all pins” and select “boards.”

Stock Photo Web Sites - Pixabay, Pexels, Unsplash, StockSnap.io, and Gratisography are great places to find pictures of people who aren’t known actors or models to use as faceclaims. The best thing is these photos can usually be used for promotional images, though you should always check the rules on the specific web site and photo.

Make a Faceclaims Folder - Create a faceclaims folder on your computer that you can search whenever you’re casting. I have mine divided into sub folders:

babies

kids 0 - 6

kids 7 - 12

middle grade

young adults 

college age 

Adults 25 - 40

Adults 40 - 60

Adults 60 plus

Adults 80 plus

For each sub folder I have a male folder and a female folder. When you’re looking at faceclaims using any of the methods listed above, when you see people you like but who aren’t right for the character you’re casting, save them to your faceclaims folder. That way, you have a “first stop” in your casting process before you throw out a wider net.

How You Can (And Can’t) Use Faceclaims

One thing to keep in mind: you should never use actors, models, or celebrities as your faceclaims in materials used to promote a book that is for sale. Avoid using them in book ads, book trailers, book covers, etc. For those, you will need to use images from a stock photo site that allows promotional use of its images.

You can use faceclaims in non-promotional character sheets, aesthetics, dream cast posts/galleries, etc., just nothing that you profit from or that promotes something you’ll profit from. (And, as always, I’m not a lawyer or expert so always be sure to consult a lawyer if you’re concerned.)

Good luck and have fun!

————————————————————————————————-

Have a question? My inbox is always open, but make sure to check my FAQ and post master lists first to see if I’ve already answered a similar question. :)

#writeblr #writing #writing tips #writing help #writing advice #writing community #wqaadvice

[thedragonslibrary]

I'm having problems communicating with my spirit companion. Like, I just can't do it. Maybe it's because I'm new, maybe I'm rushing it. But, opening my third eye and telepathy are things I don't know how to do. And everything I've seen so far is either too vague or something I haven't even heard of. So, could you help me? You could link me things or just write it out. P. S. Astral travel is scary but if I had more info and more real life stories I feel like is be more comfortable. Thank you.

Hi there!  I know this is an extremely belated answer, and I really hope you were able to resolve this situation.  But I’m going to go ahead and answer it anyway, since it may be helpful to someone now!

If you’re new to the idea of witchcraft, opening yourself up, astral travel, and the like, it can be really scary and overwhelming.  If you’ve already gotten yourself a spirit companion, it may be the first time you’re introduced to any of these things.  But there is no rush - your companion likely knew this going in, and they are not desperately trying to batter through your natural psychic barriers!  They are on the other side, being just as patient, waiting for you to be ready.

One of my all-time favorite books about opening yourself up psychically, which has exercises I still use to this day, is You Are Psychic by Debra Lynne Katz.  The book preaches an end goal of clairvoyance, but I find that even its first few exercises teach a lot about visualization, and its importance in energy and spirit work.  I recommend starting there.

The thing about spirit and energy work is that it is often going to feel like it’s “all in your head,” especially when you are starting out and don’t yet have the skills to tell the difference between yourself and “the other.”  But the most important thing for me is being able to explain this in a way that feels logical, even to those who might never have touched any kind of new age thing before.  So, yeah, I’ll say it - sometimes it feels weird and out-there.  It doesn’t make the most sense in a real-world context.  It doesn’t always feel real, you don’t always see visions clearly or in real-time, most people can’t hear the voices of their spirit guides in their physical ears.  Almost none of it is physical, actually.  A lot of it feels internal.

Telepathy can feel like you’re talking to yourself in your head.  Astral travel can feel like daydreaming.  Witchcraft can feel like saying silly words over silly items.  What brings it gravitas and power is what you bring to the table - how seriously you’re going to take it.  How frequently you’re going to show up.  I consider it to be a lot like this: I played in bands and orchestras for years.  Before, all instruments sounded the same to me, or I didn’t care to differentiate, even if I knew what they looked like and what they were supposed to sound like.  But I showed up every day and participated and listened for years, and now I know what each instrument sounds like, what it sounds like combined with others, and how that differs from my own instrument’s timbre.

So, if you’re just beginning to develop your psychic skills, start here.  It will take time, and practice, but your patience will reward you in time.

Learn how to ground:

Visualize a cord, or roots, stretching from the base of your spine and down into the earth.

Breathe deeply.  As you breathe in, imagine energy from the ground pulling up through that cord, filling you with light.  As you breathe out, imagine that light washing away any darkness or blockages with you.  

Work from your toes to your head.  Take your time.  If you feel you need to spend more time on one section, stay there for a while.  

When you feel you are done, imagine the cord detaching painlessly from your body.

Learn how to stimulate your third eye:

The third eye cannot be forced open (or if it can, it’s not extremely beneficial for you).  When doing the grounding/cleansing exercise I outlined above, take time to focus on the point in the middle of your forehead.  

It might naturally tingle, and one day you might feel its sensations come naturally to you.  But very few people can physically see with their third eye.  It’s going to be more about spiritually seeing - not with your eyes, but with your non-physical sense.

Throughout the day, imagine energy swirling around your third eye, like one of those twirling loading circles.

Interact with your third eye.  Press it with your thumb.  Think about it casually.  Put your palm over it and imagine giving it a warm glow of energy.  Put diluted oil blends on it (and be sure to wash them off later, if your skin is sensitive).  Take time to take care of it.

Repeat this often.  This is an elongated process with no specific end-point.

Create a psychic space for yourself:

Learn to enter and craft a space inside yourself.  This is especially helpful as a meeting place for you and your companions.  A good friend of mine calls her “The White Room.”  Mine looks like a treehouse.  Allow yours to fit your needs, and your personality.  Let it change and evolve as you do.

Find some quiet time to meditate.  You can use free, guided meditations on YouTube to help with this. Once you’ve gotten yourself into a meditative position and a quiet mindspace, imagine going somewhere in your mind.  Open a door, go down or up stairs, climb a ladder - whatever feels right.  Once you have done this, you will find yourself in a space.

This will feel like daydreaming, and it may not be entirely solid.  But you can make it your own place, and over time, with practice, it will solidify.  Fill it with furniture, paint the walls, fill the pantry with food.  Invite your companions over.  They may not feel tangible or may look/feel fuzzy.  That’s okay - they’ll get more solid over time.

Ah - whoops!  Surprise!  You just did your first astral travel!  Really!  It was inside yourself, but it was real.

And since you were looking specifically for other people’s astral experiences, this blog is pretty cool, although it’s not active anymore.  

Practice telepathy with your companion:

This is not going to be like telepathy in the movies at all.  It’s a subtler form of communication, and if you struggle with it, you can always try other communication techniques like pendulums, tarot cards, and automatic writing.

Notice your thoughts throughout the day.  If you have unusual, stray thoughts, if you catch your thoughts responding to themselves, if you have strange urges to look at or interact with things you might not normally interact with, these are all signs that your companion may be attempting telepathy with you.

Like meditation, sit in a quiet space and let your thoughts drift.  Invite your companion to join you, and just let your mind go.  Are there any ideas or thoughts that feel out of place?  Anything that sounds like not your own internal voice?  

This can be a very hard process, especially if you’re not using any other communication method.  I personally learned to perform telepathy with my companions by first using a pendulum and alphabet board to talk with them.  Eventually, I was able to recognize what voices sounded like “theirs,” and differentiate them from mine.

You can read my post on communication for more info on this!

Above all, I feel I need to emphasize this: Your practice does not have to look like anybody else’s who has written their experiences on the internet.  It is allowed to be imperfect, unfocused, messy, and fun.  A lot of people, myself included, sometimes go to great lengths to make it seem as though when they are astral traveling, they feel as though they are physically there.  That level of immersion is very difficult to reach and can take years after years of practice.  I am not even there, I promise you.

Anyway, now that I’ve written an Entire Novel, I hope this was helpful to you or to somebody!  Thank you for asking!

#spirit keeping #spirit companion #spirit communication #spirit companionship #communication #nolifekat

[thesharondefenseleague]

mlm imo werent sexualized to the degree that wlw were in most canon media mostly because of the male gaze. Gay and Lesbian relationships or moments got very limited representation. One was probably more sympathetic but also heart breaking like say brokeback mountain. One was explicit but depicted as grotesque or twisted or perverted or immoral in some way. And the last version was the titillating version. In western media because of the assumed straight male gaze lesbians making out to titlate guys was a common thing like say in Jennifer's body. The equivalent of that with guys wasnt really that common not in western media. Not that wlw couldn't like that content but it was made to be fanservice for men .

So thats what I kind of mean by wlw were sexualized at least in western media. This equivalent with mlm in fandom never really existed they never made out for girls to find hot in the same way. It was never marketed like oh look hot guys making out. Fandom did that but not canon.

As for comic book men being sexualized kind of. There is definitely the unrealistic beauty standards but theres that debate of was it for the purpose of titillating women? Or a result of toxic masculinity putting this unattainable unsustainable goal for men. Maybe both? But both in comics and the movies they are based on the posing and clothing and moments with women get made to clearly sexualize them . It especially ovbious with comics with them twisting their bodies so their boobs and butts are jutting out. Or like movie moments like Bruce landing in Natasha's clevage. Or angles where you are staring down a female character's shirt or she has a boob window for some contrived reason. Or just reasons to give full page spreads of them in skimpy clothing.

Its rare men get depicted like this or posed like this. And when they do it often stands out because its not the norm. It's something unique. Not true with men. Even in form fitting spandex they are often posed and framed to make to make them look powerful or intelligent or to reveal things about their character.

Again not that men never get sexualized or that fanservice is always bad. Or that its not a concern that men are having these terrible body image issues. But just that for women for the sexualization its so pervasive and constant was my point.

Its just as bad in wlw in canon as it is for women in relationships with men in canon when it comes to that sexualization but i hear so much more about the problems about the wlw ship than the mlw ship. Like to use DC as a example i hear so much about how people sexualized or mishandle harleyivy but compared to that i hear very little about batcat in comparison even though Catwoman is often just as sexualized in that ship.

As for misogyny in shipping wars yes it definetly exists and is a problem as is racism and homophobia. But my issue is mostly that the problem isnt because the main popular ships are mlm. But so often I see the argument framed that way.

Like shipping wars existed between m/w ships and still do today. And they are still often pretty misogynistic towards the woman in the other ship. I don't even have to look at other fandoms I remember Steggy vs Starton getting real ugly.

Mysogny in fandom doesn't uniquely pop up when mlm are the more popular ship. Its often just as bad in fandoms where m/w is the popular ship. But people just bring it up alot more they make it bout valuing the men over the women .

Well i mean that goes both ways you could say its homophobic for valuing the straight ship as better than the gay one or liking it more. But either way its stupid they dont care bout sexism or homophobia only that their ship is more popular.

Thats the sentiment of all ship wars the gender dynamics and racial make up change nothing. Nothing except the bullshit you use for the ship war.

The problem is that people are being homophobic and mysogynistic and racist not just in regards to fictional characters but towards real people just to win a ship war. It comes out so easily. Thats the problem imo.

Mysogny for example i think isnt discussed as much when its a m/w vs m/w ship war or drama because as both ships have women it can't be used to slander the other ship. But when its drama between fans of a m/m and m/w it comes out alot again not because anyone really cares but because now because one ship lacks a woman it can be used as fodder for what people actually care about. Tearing down the other ship.

Again not that mlm fandom doesnt have mysogny. They definetly do. But they aren't mysogynistic because they ship two guys together. Thats not proof they hate women. Having a ship with women isnt proof that you aren't sexist towards women. There might be homophobia in fandoms of mlm ships and mysogny in fandoms of m/w ships.

But in the drama between a m/w and m/m ships that doesn't get brought up because no one cares if that problem can't be used to show that someone only doesn't ship your ship if they are bigoted against it. Who cares about misogyny if your ship is two guys? Who cares about homophobia if your ship is straight?

No one because they cared about the popularity of their ship not the actual issues.

Gonna under under the cut for length again.

This is a lot to read so I'm gonna respond paragraph by paragraph and hope for the best in terms of comprehension.

When it comes to media made about the LGBTQ+ community, you have to keep in mind when it was made, who made it, and who was it made for. And that it's been shown that straight women have had the same reactions to mlm content as straight men to wlw content. QaF was dumbfounded to find that the majority of their audience was straight women when the show's sex scenes were 95% between two or more men and yet that's what they ran with because hey, it got the views. The views of mlm and wlw content in the mainstream media before then was minimized, despite how fucked a lot of the other content could be. If by "most canon media" being directed at the male gaze being summer blockbusters, and more specifically comic book movies, then sure. If we step out of that box, then not really. The film examples you chose are interesting because BB is portrayed exactly how the author of the original short story wrote it which was meant to be heartbreaking since it was a tragic dramatic piece while JB has a woman who wrote and another woman who directed it while purposefully trying to allow to actress to have a level of sexuality without exploiting her as past directors have (also neither of the main characters are lesbians - one is bi, the other I think is straight but maybe questioning?).

The sexualization of wlw in modern western media is definitely a thing. I mean, the first Iron Man film has stewardesses on the private jet pole dancing if I remember correctly. It took until 2016 to stop sexualizing Scarlett in every movie: the changing scene in IM2, the lowered zipper in A1, the ass shot in Cap 2, the boob faceplant in AoU (in your third paragraph, but mentioning it here anyway). It's a joke that you know when a man directs a wlw indie film during the sex scenes. But the mlm equivalent did exist alongside it, and it's what kicked off the century.

Comics and their movies were always for men. The male bodies are male wish fulfilment for their physical appearance. The women are male wish fulfilment for their dream girls. Funnily enough, one of the least sexualized women in comics I've ever read is Sharon. She's rarely, if ever, drawn to be sexualized for the audience. I'm not even sure she's even been in those swimsuit issues Marvel did years ago. And it shows heavily that Marvel struggles to know how to appeal to women without being aggressively in your face about it. The best example of them appealing without pandering is WV, and the worst is the group shots the Russos did in IW and Endgame, especially the latter.

But the men get those poses in the movies too. Thor bathed shirtless for no reason in TDW. There's a scene in Endgame dedicated to talking about Steve's ass. Pratt in GotG. Rudd in Ant-Man. Most actors are expected to look good shirtless and put themselves through intense shit to look that way. So do the women, but they aren't doing it to have the glamor shots of their muscles. And the MCU is not the only film franchise like this. Most, if not all, franchises with majority or entirely male leads expects them all to look like bodybuilders. And I'm gonna take back that it's just for the male audience, because these bodies are meant to appeal to women who are intended to thirst for these actors too. They think these bodies is what will bring women to the theaters.

None of this will change, as you say, that women's sexualization is "constant and pervasive". The film industry is just a part of the larger whole of media. Television and advertising have a treatment of women that's beyond whatever you or I say because there are decades worth of shit to go through that would take dozens of essays worth of writing to fully divulge beyond "please stop it's gross".

Now DC is a whole other ballgame. They're pretty infamous for their artists' sexualization of heroines and villainesses. Harley, Ivy, and Selina are definitely pretty bad, but when I remember what I've seen drawn of Kara, Kori, or sometimes Barbara... But outside of one artist, I think Harley and Ivy as a couple have been drawn tamely. Can't say the same for Selina, because they just can't not draw every part of her body even when she's fully clothed.

I think it's hard not to talk about fandom misogyny outside of m/m ships because of how often popular m/m shippers have rooted their shipping into misogyny. And even with m/f ship wars, a lot of the time the "faulted" character is always the woman when majority of the time it's the man who sucks. I don't get why everyone is fighting for who should kiss Steve because Steve sucks and they'd be better off without him. But because Steve is the object of affection for our fave, we have to fight off everyone else.

Don't look at other fandoms for m/f ship wars. We don't appreciate how tame we were, even at our worst. I'm serious, I've seen so much worse.

I think why the topic of misogyny comes up more with m/m ships is because they follow a similar principle of the male characters being more developed in canon and fanon so it's who people gravitate towards.

There is definitely layers of homophobia in fandom, but there's many versions of how we see it. Homophobes who won't ship anything that's not m/f. Homophobes who ship m/m but won't support IRL rights. People who love m/m but abhor f/f, and vice-versa. The shippers who use them for personal fodder. But the sexism is more prevalent than the homophobia. And the racism way more than both combined.

And it does cause a lot of ammo, and much of it severely unjustified, in ship wars. Literally the bullshit I've seen pulled out of thin air to accuse Sharon of not being worthy because someone said she's a racist for [they literally had no reason just called her one because we said Sam and Sharon are friends because they are] and other nonsense.

The real world repercussions of the homophobia, the sexism, and the racism in fandom... there's just so much. Like we are all still people, and yet we decide because we hide behind screens to be antagonistic, and use homophobic, sexist, and racist shit to attack each other over ships just because we want to paint the other person as crazy, I guess? If you can't see that there are no enemies in ship wars and that the other side is still people, maybe you need to sit out and log off. It's baffling how often it still happens to people. Then it's no longer about ships, it's about who is an asshole.

I will say that Steve and Peggy vs Steve and Sharon is probably the only m/f ship war I've seen where misogyny is talked about. Is, not was, because it still is. Both sides call the others misogynistic. I don't think either side is, but you can see in individuals. Those who tweeted at a certain actress that she was a slut for kissing her costar certainly are though.

You are right that shipping m/m isn't inherently sexist. But tearing down women in those ships to prop up m/m has made me stop shipping certain characters altogether. People, seriously, we don't have to justify why we like them! We can just like them! And other characters can still exist! It's never been that deep.

And you're right, the popularity of the ship helps people ignore any deeper issues within them and this is a power used to silence valid criticism if it pops up.

(I hope I answered everything well for you.)

~Mod R

[mugoki]

[ 5 March — 14 March, 2021 ]

1K Pages Readathon wrap-up

Here are all the books i read for #1kpagesmarch challenge! 💗

Total pages read: 1104 / 1000 (if my math is correct)

Here are my book reviews:

The Old King in His Exile (2017) by Arno Geiger

Arno Geiger tell in great detail of his father's slow change into dementia, how his strange behavior and mannerism suddenly isn't made to fit in their everyday life, as if he'd been put in exile. But also of his father's childhood, in a way to explain the new ideas and needs the illness put in the old man's head. Beautiful story of a man struggling to chase his memories as the world around turn stranger. 180 pages 🌟 4/5 stars

- - - - -

Diary (1956) by Olof Lagercrantz

Went into this book blind, don't think i've read this author's books before. Idk, i couldn't get into it. The text doesn't feel 100% genuine, feels written specifically for an audience instead of personal journal and even if the language is poetic - is like uninteresting smalltalk. Olof lives near a graveyard, and when he isn't thinking deeply about death and life, he mention cute women he has seen during the day. I dropped this book at 55 pages read (out of 159 pages), giving it 1/5 stars 🌟

- - - - -

111 Ways to Save the Planet (2019) by Jonna Karvonen and Marie Schjulström

111 listed ways to save the environment as a single human being! First the book tell of the bigger picture, if each person change their old ways and educate, we are bound to make a difference. If not for everyone else, at least do it for the animals.

I haven't read much environmental books but after some severe signs of our dying earth lately, i felt i wanted to do something but had no idea what. Found myself incredibly inspired by this book! Many of the points speaks to different kind of people: like the regular joe or the broke student or the business owner or a parent. Like the book have something that everyone can do within their own restrictions and boundaries.

I used post-its to remember a few points that spoke to me. 92 pages and 5/5 stars 🌟

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Aniara (1956) by Harry Martinson

Tried reading this sci-fi novel after watching a super interesting youtube movie review, but the language of the book made me too impatient to continue. The concept sound insanely good though! The spaceship Aniara on its way to Mars suddenly end up off course and hover indefinitely waiting for an asteroid to help turn them back, but as the years go by, the passengers grow more desperate and crazier.

When reached chapter 15 (out of 200) i felt frustrated, like "i can't go on like this". Got myself through only 32 pages out 188 pages before calling it quits. 2/5 stars 🌟

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Homework (1989) by various authors*

Anthology short stories about childhood school memories from early 1910s up to 1960s. Very interesting how school looked, worked and felt like during those days - more god praising and physical punishment than i far expected. But every story had something i enjoyed reading. 223 pages, 4/5 stars 🌟

*Bengt Anderberg, Mats Arvidsson, Sun Axelsson, Jonas Gardell, Lotten Gustafsson, Staffan Göthe, Cecilia Hagen, P. C. Jersild, Nina Lekander, Bodil Malmsten, Agneta Pleijel, Margareta Strömstedt, Maarja Talgre, Karl Vennberg, Claire Wikholm, Herta Wirén and Pia Zandelin. Editor: Lena Persson.

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Desperate Characters (1970) by Paula Fox

Sophie and Otto are a married couple in their 40s. She is a bit naive or at least timid while he is cynical and bad at showing emotions.

Sophie gets bitten pretty severely by a wild cat, and for some reason she doesn't want medical attention. I think it's because the bite is the most exciting thing happening to her life since forever, or maybe she just doesn't want to be a bother? So she let it become infected spreading up her arm, but with the pain, her personality changes from being someone passive - to being able to argue, angry and be loud.

Meanwhile Otto has a problem of his own. His longtime business partner and friend Charlie has decided to start his own lawyer company. Charlie manipulate their customers to turn their back on Otto and join his new company. At first Otto is very cold about this, as if he doesn't care but as the story progresses he slowly open up how betrayed and hurt he feels about the whole ordeal.

Other stuff happen in between, memories of when Sophie had a secret romance with someone else, their house get vandalized, they go to dinner parties.

All the other characters speak in this weird similiar manner btw - they hold monologues about something that leads to another topic that leads to another, then back to the first one. It reminds me of the theater somehow. 182 pages and 3/5 stars 🌟

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It is Strange Nowadays (2009) by Karin Flygare

Birgitta cares for her mother who slowly succumbing to dementia. It's ugly and tragic and frustrating, but also beautiful. When suddenly becoming a mother for her own mother, Birgitta finds herself struggling to maintain her own identity and life to care for a woman who is rude, reluctant and downright bothersome towards her with constant need for attention. I quote "Even though i'm worried, i'm angry over the fact that she's ruining my day." and i can't help feeling frustrated with her. Every waking moment, always calling, taking care of everything and still get no recognition. But also a child's love for their parent, staying through everything despite getting hurt. I can relate so much with my own life situation.

I know this is fiction but it all sounds so realistic, and even the care-home process feel well researched. At one point, the agent of a low quality home tries to sign themselves as their legal guardian for her mother, but luckily she is quick to notice and makes herself present. Good job! Also, good book! 207 pages and 5/5 stars 🌟

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The Sea-man (2012) by Carl-John Wallgren

A big sister witness how some guys at school drench a cat in gasoline and sets it on fire, killing it. This leads to the bullies to daily harass her little brother who has slight intellectual disability. One day they get jumped, the brother is forced to eat dirt and the big sister get a branch shoved up her rear (no joke, wtf). Then another classmate shows up and bargain to leave them alone in exchange for something. The bullies want $100. The big sister and classmate start stealing clothes from shops to resell them. I only read to page 106 out of 287, when the sea creature finally gave an appearance. But by then they had already payed the bullies and gotten rid of the conflict. I felt exhausted and unmotivated to continue. 1/5 stars

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In the Grip of the Lindworm (2014) by Hans Ohlsson

One of many horror stories from his novel collection called Stranger, Intruder. The story tells of a grandfather taking his granddaughter on a three day hike through mountains and forest, as a pick-me-up after a recent accident took both her parents. She is bitten by a snake during her pee break and start getting really sick. We feel stressed with grandfather as he tries to find help before it's too late. It's based on a Swedish mythological creature called Lindworm, which could bring both luck or misfourtune. Never heard of it causing illness but wish he would have filled in some info instead of relying on the reader to automatically know. I'm definitely going to continue reading this collection though! 4/5 stars and 27 pages 🌟

#personal #books #booklr #1kpagesmarch

[anxietalyn]

ACL reconstruction

so. last week on Tuesday I got ACL surgery, and I've looked on a few tags on Tumblr for tips and what to expect. but, I didn't find a lot, and when I did they weren't really descriptive. so ima do one to maybe help some folks out. this is tips and my experience so far.

Edit: this turned out waaaay longer than I thought it would

THIS IS ALL BASED ON MY SURGERY AND RECOVERY. I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IT WILL GO. I WENT TO A TOP ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON BC MY FAMILY HAD HEARD A LOT ABOUT MY DUDE AND THEY TOOK MY INSURANCE(he turns out to be one of the top orthopedic surgeons in Texas. If you live in the Houston, Texas area, the dude is Dr. Barrett Brown at Fondren Orthopedic Group in the medical center. whoop.) :

if you have the time, money, and availability, go to therapy a few weeks before the surgery. it'll strengthen the muscles in the injured leg, and the leg that isn't going under the knife. it'll help you after the surgery when you're having to use crutches or a walker. trust me on that. I was going to therapy 7 1/2 before my surgery. my orthopedic said that I should've gone at least six weeks.

when I went to therapy for the first time after tearing my ACL and MCL back in October, he was concerned. *I was also in a wheelchair for ten days*.

don't do that

I wish I would've looked up how or asked a family who is a doctor how to use crutches. because I was miserable in that wheelchair. my muscles in my left leg(injured leg) shrinked because they weren't used in a week and a half. and my leg muscles are pretty strong for my height and weight. that was the most difficult part of therapy leading up to last Tuesday. the fact that my strength and body changed.

if you're learning how to use them, or they are unavailable for a day or so, go ahead and use a wheelchair. bc, I'll be honest, it is a lot easier.

You might be at the hospital for a while before they take you in. I was told to be at my surgeon's office at 9:30, and I wasn't taken back for prep until 13:00(1:00pm)

You might also be in the prep area for a bit.. but there is where you get the hospital dress, no-slide socks, a "fall risk" bracelet(which I should've gotten when I started to walk when I was little bc I'm hella clumsy), your IV, I was offered a numbing shot for the area of the IV but I dunno if that's universal

if you have a family member or friend back there with you, ask for them to distract you. I had my goofy brother to make faces at me

if you are offered that numbing shot, they will tell you this, but for about ten seconds it burns like hell

at my hospital, everyone who would be in the OR had to come introduce themselves before surgery, so if you have any questions, ask! they are there to answer your questions. no matter if you think they're stupid.

my Anesthesiologist(the dude who gives the knock out juice) came over, asked if this is my first surgery, and when I told him yes, he explained EVERYTHING. He said that all the folks in the room(for me it was 6) would come by, ask my name, birthday, what was happening during the surgery, and which leg. he then said that the anaesthesia I would get was a non-narcotic which is to help you not throw up after surgery(which I didn't).

five more people then introduced themselves

when they were wheeling me to the OR, they said it would be cold so they gave me a second blanket

they wheeled me up to the table, had me crawl onto it, had a foam pillow for my head, and extended arm holders for my arms to lay outta the way

Steve(anesthesiologist) then asked if I was ready, I said I was scared. one of the nurses then held my hand as he put in the knock out juice. he then said I did good, and to help the anaesthesia work faster, put an oxygen over my nose and mouth until I was out.(last thing I remember)

when I woke up, I was still in the OR, but I was incredibly dis-oriented. I know ASL, so I started signing "want brother" over and over. none of the OR folks knew what I was signing, so they found someone who knows a little ASL and they interpreted what i was signing

they told my that I had to wait for a little bit so they could check to make sure my vitals and wrap up my leg(it's a 30 minute waiting period)

when my parents came in, I was offered sprite(You can't eat anything after ten o'clock the night before, or drink anything(even water) after midnight.) because my sugar level was low

!!!start drinking water a week before the surgery!!!it's so much more difficult to find a good vein for the IV!!! my grandma was poked seven times in different places to find a good juicy vein!!!

the anaesthesia will most likely make you feel weird.

I called everyone cute. everyone. nurse, doctor, patient, people who I don't know. everyone. I asked my nurse out on a date. I told my mom who Is married she's jealous of my "mad flirting skills"

You need to eat something on your way home. I stopped and got soup to-go. I recommend soup, just because it is easy on the tummy

You will not have an appetite for at least a week. regardless, you need to eat protein during recovery bc it'll help your Incision.

I keep repeating this but. YOU NEED TO EAT. YOU WILL NOT FEEL LIKE IT. BUT EAT. I AM AN 18-YEAR OLD AND I GO TO A COMMUNITY COLLEGE SO I STAYED HOME. I HAD THREE PEOPLE TELLING ME TO EAT. AND ONE WHO FORCED ME TO EAT. GET YOU SOMEONE THAT WILL MAKE YOU EAT WHEN YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE IT.

your leg will hurt. there's no way to sugar coat. it will hurt a lot.

find something to distract yourself. my Alma Mater was in the state championship for football, and I love football and star wars. I watched The Force Awakens an ungodly amount, that I could quote every. single. character.

just find things to do that you don't need to exert yourself too much. I like colouring books, reading, and watching movies. just have something to do while you recover. please.

you'll get prescribed four things: pain medicine, meds for muscle spasms, meds to help with nausea, and a shot that helps prevent blood clots in my leg while I can't move it regularly

I'm about six days into recovery, and the shots are the worst part currently.

The first three to four days are the worst of it. your nerves are waking up, you're getting used to not bending your knee, your learning how to walk again. they are just bad.

take the pain med when your pain level is a 3 or 4 on a 1-10 scale. it'll kick in right before it gets too bad

on that note. DON'T LET SOMEONE TELL YOU HOW BAD YOU HURT. YOUR BODY. YOUR PAIN. EVERYONE'S PAIN TOLERENCE IS DIFFERENT.

when you stand, it will hurt.

when you put pressure on it, it will hurt.

when you move it, it will hurt.

when you hit it(on anything), it will hurt.

when you have to adjust the brace strap that is riiiiight on top of the incision, it will hurt like no other.

that pain, will pass.

I PROMISE you that the pain will reduce. in the moment it may seem like your leg is on fire, but fight on, Strong Warrior. fight on.

elevate your leg from behind your ankle

elevate when ever you can. you're told to, and 10/10 recommend it because it will reduce swelling

you're gonna swell anyways. a little bit of swelling is normal. it's your body trying to heal it's self.

don't take Ibuprofen: it flushed out the good things that the swelling is bringing to heal your body

ice your knee. ice. ice. ice. it will help with over swelling

you don't HAVE to elevate your foot while you sleep though.

You will not sleep for a couple nights. it will suck. it will be frustrating. and it will awful. last night was the first night since Tuesday(it's a Monday) that I got more than four hours of sleep. You will eventually get sleep though. and personally, I was able to take small naps during the day.

I personally, have self-harm scars on my left thigh. so I was slightly uncomfortable with people being around them. You'll have to have someone wrap an ace bandage around your leg(mine is wrapped from my ankle to mid thigh.). Have someone you are comfortable with touching them wrap your leg.

You may not always be fully comfortable during recovery, but try to get as comfy as you can

Go to physical therapy.

it will help(and it's prescribed)

and for goodness sake. Do your at home exercises they give you. they seem like a waste of time, but they honestly do help.

find a PT group you like. **look on your insurance to find a place that is "in network". it'll cost a whole bunch less.**

for PT it's completely okay to go to different people until you feel comfortable. You will do so much better when you're with someone you trust and can tell they know their shit.

I'm curious by nature, and my therapist has the alphabet behind his name. so if you get a card, Google the letters!

for example, the alphabet behind his name is: PT, DPT, FAAOMPT. When I searched them, I found that PT is the good ol' fashioned Physical Therapist. DPT is Doctorate of Physical Therapy. and FAAOMPT is  American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists("The “Fellow” is a physical therapist who has demonstrated advanced clinical, analytical, and hands-on skills in the treatment of musculoskeletal orthopedic disorders and is internationally recognized for their competence and expertise in the practice of manual physical therapy." Basically, my dude knows his shit).

Warning though, if you're curious about what a certain exercise does, and you ask,they might touch your body and physically show you what muscle the exercise works. and while you're doing an exersice, if you're doing it wrong, they will fix your position themself. this is why I say find someone your comfortable with. They are very hands on. I was lucky because the first one I went to, we hit it off. we both have mutual interests, and he isn't annoyed when I sass him. he sasses me back.

In pictures of me within a couple weeks of the operation, you can see how swollen my foot is. the brace I have is a pretty general brace, and it I locked straight. I cannot bend my leg while I have it on. under it is two ace bandages, and then on my incision there is a steri-strip. My nurse said not to touch it/try to remove it because it's keeping it clean and helping it heal. I got four holes in my knee for a camera and tools. the graph that is now my ACL is from my Patellar tendon, so the incision is between 6-8 inches.

I'll continue to update this as my recovery continues. and if you have any questions, feel free to message or send me an ask!

#acl surgery #acl reconstruction surgery #surgery recovery tips #i believe in you #you'll do great