#or even headcanons that don't erase real canon!!! there has never been a time where what's canon for things like sexuality mattered less

[giantchasm]

can i hear some of these dark taranza thoughts of yours...(kinda like sharing memories of a deceased loved one bc hal is never bringing him back 💔)

Hehehe. Gladly!

(As a note, almost all of this is regarding a Dark Taranza as I imagine he exists in the actual Kirby universe. I don't have a tons of thoughts on the specific incarnation that appears in the Clashverse, because... well, I don't have a lot of thoughts on Clash period. Although I also imagine a lot of this could also apply to him.)

In my interpretation, Mirror Worlders represent and embody what a person most dislikes about themselves. They're born the minute someone first attains an insecurity, usually sometime in childhood, and live lives that... well, reflect the experiences of their real world counterpart.

Let's use Meta Knight and Dark Meta Knight as an example. Meta Knight, in my personal headcanons, did indeed at one point serve Nightmare, just like is implied in the anime. This is something he harbors deep shame over, feeling as if his origins are that of a monster's. He also knows he's regrettably stubborn, dangerously impulsive, and emotionally distant.

As such, Dark Meta Knight is an extremely emotionally distant and stubborn jerk who’s still in eternal servitude to an irredeemable monster he considers his father (Dark Mind). He still has some positive traits, ostensibly, but overall he is a caricature of how Meta Knight sees his worst self.

So Dark Taranza embodies the traits Taranza most dislikes about himself. What are those?

-His ego. Taranza knows he's prideful and vain. He has a habit of getting overconfident, then having things blow up in his face. Just look at his behavior during Triple Deluxe! He was so... smug throughout all of it, only to have that confidence crushed.

-His envy. Taranza would never let it show on the surface, but he's a deeply jealous person. He wants what other people have and he wants it deeply. When he sees other people attain a happier ending than he did, he'll congratulate them, of course, but he'll also always feel a little resentful, something he, in turn, feels bad about. Why can't he just be happy for people?

-His loyalty and codependence. These don't necessarily seem like entirely bad traits on the surface, but Taranza's devotion can be dangerous. Just look at where his dedication to Sectonia took him. It not only got him hurt, but led to him committing various atrocities, all in the name of a love that wasn't even returned. This is something he now deeply regrets. And yet... if he were given the chance to see and follow someone he loved again, he would in an instant. He's simply needy in that way.

So Dark Taranza is an extremely egotistical, overconfident, and insufferable person, even though he's frankly not that cool. He has a violent jealous streak, and despite how confident he seems on the surface, he's secretly a follower.

After all, he doesn't just represent Taranza's pride and his resentment. He represents his fealty. All of his love and dedication to another.

Dark Taranza lives to serve, and there's just one problem with that.

There's no-one to serve.

There is no Mirror Sectonia in my verse. (Er-- well, technically there was, once upon a time, but she was retconned out of existence in the events that created the corrupted real-world Sectonia we meet in canon. There's no memory of her. She's been erased from history). Dark Taranza is a maniacal right hand man with no leader, and so he's forced to play leader himself, even as just one half of a whole.

Something which, perhaps, suits his ego. But at the same time, he feels empty. He brims with allegiance, but has no-one to dedicate himself to other than himself. This makes him deeply restless and unsatisfied, and in turn, he lashes out.

Needless to say, he does not have a good relationship with the actual Taranza. Taranza sees everything he doesn't want to be in Dark Taranza, and Dark Taranza sees everything he doesn't want to be in his original. Taranza is weak... emotional, sad, lost and lonely. Dark Taranza feels he's better than him because he is not experiencing the same emotional turmoil Taranza is. He openly makes fun of him for it and says he's much better off having always been alone.

...But deep down, he's jealous. He cannot escape the jealousy that is inherent to his being. Even despite feeling he's better than Taranza, he sometimes secretly wishes he had what he had... was also able to experience what he lost. Not that he'd ever admit it.

TLDR: Dude who's pretty much intrinsically a mook is forced to play head honcho, both to his pleasure and dissatisfaction. All the while the age old question is asked as he contrasts with his real world counterpart:

Is it better to have loved and lost, or never to have loved at all? Better to care, but then be hurt and discarded, or better to be lonely and safe? As long as he never trusts anyone, he'll never get backstabbed, but he'll also never experience genuine connection. And he secretly craves that more than anything.

He and Taranza are kind of like this song from City of Angels to me

You're in my plot, I'm still your creator I call each shot, I'm your private dic-tator You are so thick, you eat, breathe, sleep fiction I'm your meal ticket, knew-deep in cheap fiction You gloating ignoramus You haven't any shame Hey, I'm a famous shamus And most people don't know your name You're nothing without me Without me you'd just disappear Right into thin air And no one would care Or notice you ever were here A puppet, an upstart A loser who's destined to fall I'm everything you always wanted to be Let's deal with the issue, you wish you were me You're nothing without me Without me, you're nothing at all

Do you see my vision?

#kirby #taranza #dark taranza #kirby headcanons #for my followers who know warrior cats: he's kind of like a darkstripe to me #he loves being evil but he needs someone to follow. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BOSS HIM AROUND #once there's no more boss he's completely lost #sack’s kirbyverse

[lucienarcheron]

As one of your Black followers it makes me really feel a type of way that you’re constantly bringing up Black people when you’re talking about Helion and Lucien. I get you want your rep and that’s totally valid but the way you constantly express that desire comes off as you being angry at the black community for wanting some more rep, too. And that’s fucked up.

We can headcanon different things and that’s okay, but what’s not cool to me is you telling people that we’re in the wrong for having our own headcanons (especially when they’re representation related). You have a difference in opinion and that’s your business, but the least you could do is keep Black people out of it. You don’t have to say “why do people always say he’s Black” “he’s not Black” etc etc when you’re talking about this — fight for your rep and keep us out of it.

Your issue should be with SJM for failing to adequately portray race in acotar, NOT with people for wanting helion/Lucien to be Black. Do better.

Honestly, I'm really glad you brought this up with me. Going to put it under a read more!

I never ever want to come off that way, especially to fellow people of color. I can see how the way I speak about this frustration of mine can come off that way but please know, it is never my intention ever for it to be read that way. For that, I am sorry. I really do apologize for ever making you feel like that and this is a general apology to any other friends/followers where my frustration has made them feel that way. Please know that is never the case. Ever!

My frustration is always directed at SJM first because her lack of writing POC characters well leaves us in spaces where we feel unseen. My other big frustration is with readers (many times white readers) who have a very specific idea of race and start pulling out their color charts and telling me, a woman of color, that the way I think of Lucien and Helion isn't correct. My issue becomes with how over the years those types of fans don't listen to a woman of color straight up telling them "Hey, there are other sides to this! There is more than one way to view this character!" I've been vagued about how I view Helion even though it comes from a place of trying to give room for other interpretations of this character. Since knowing that the artist who worked with SJM to create the coloring book aimed at a Persian-inspired Helion, I will always view him that way. To me, that is canon. He will always be a brown man to me. To me, he isn't black, and when people come at me for saying that, it feels like we're erasing one POC in favor of another. You may like to view him and headcanon him as black and you should absolutely feel comfortable to do so but it also shouldn't be at the expense of Middle Eastern rep. For example, to me — it is clear as day that Tarquin and many of the people of the Summer Court are black with no questions. Helion is not because dark-skinned doesn't always equal black. We all want to feel seen in our favorite stories and I would never want to make people feel like I'm trying to sour that for them but I also don't want people souring it for me.

My other issue becomes with readers (again, many times it being white readers) who headcanon both Helion and Lucien as black, stating it like it's fact, and then trying to make those who don't make Helion/Lucien a specific shade of brown or say that they don't see them as black feel like they're wrong. The one thing we can all agree on is that they're not white but we also have to remember, race isn't viewed the same way everywhere and that above all else, is the message I want to get across whenever I bring him up. People of color don't exist in one way or have one specific look or one specific shade of "brown". Let's be real, SJM is a white woman, and her "golden brown" is like a super tan white person lol. But also, tan is a color people of color have. There's this one family I always use as an example because they're half arab and half white but those kids straight up look like redheaded white kids lol. And it's not just about skin tone (though this is always what comes up first). It's also about drawing these characters with Middle Eastern features that don't happen. My frustration always comes down to how color/race is discussed with this one lens without considering how, outside of the US/Europe, people do not see it the same way. Especially when it's white readers trying to tell people of color what shade of color these characters should be. People don't like to consider that Lucien is "white-passing" but that is a thing in many cultures because people of color can still be light-skinned.

Your "do better" at the end feels a tad condescending and this ask feels overall a little rude but I want to give you the benefit of the doubt that you're truly trying to be helpful and coming from a place of friendship. I hope you extend me the same grace knowing that anything I've said is all said from a place of love and understanding. I think in general, we all can do better, especially fellow POCs in the fandom, to uplift each other and give each other space to be/feel seen.

And because this is a topic discussed by quite a few people in the fandom on tumblr/discord today specifically, I want to make it very very VERY clear — I am not being vague about anyone. I am not trying to target anyone with this response. This is not meant for a specific person or group of people. These are my overall thoughts because I've been in this fandom space for years and these conversations keep happening.

I am 100% trying to come from a very respectful place with this response because I know that these kinds of conversations can be awkward and uncomfortable for people. Please know, that my intentions are never to harm or make anyone feel bad but I hope people also extend that grace and understanding to me and my perspective on it. I always want my blog to be a safe space and welcoming for everyone. This fandom and the people in it have been a significant part of my life and joy for so long so it's important to me that none of this is taken in any negative context. I appreciate you bringing this up to me.

#asks #Anonymous #helion #helion spell cleaver #lucien vanserra #Please remember to be respectful if you have something to add. #I'm not trying to argue with anyone about anything. #I am trying to give some respectful understanding so please remember kindness! #Going to hold off on smtb chapter because I feel like this is important to let marinate lol #anon

[rollercoasterwords]

why are you invalidating people’s real concerns in this fandom? you’re naive if you think that “the fandom” doesn’t have opinions they all agree with that become popular. sure people have their own opinions, but honestly that’s very rare and not seen. you and i both could list popular headcanons in the fandom that people mostly take as canon. remus and sirius have turned into a straight couple, especially with the headcanon that sirius is now a girl. as a woman myself i love sirius as a girl but i hate how the fandom treats feminine sirius. sirius doesn’t have any depth anymore besides being remus’ love interest and sirius is always in the wrong and sirius is always the bad guy - just like society always blames women for everything and men always get a pass. literally look at the fanart. remus’ disabilities have been completely erased. remus is drawn as this huge super manly guy towering over little dainty feminine sirius. in fanfics remus is verbally abusive to sirius bc oh he’s a man and has anger issues. remus is a slut who everyone was in love with but eventually settles down with sirius. these are all stereotypes. idk why you’re trying to tell people this isn’t a thing in the fandom when it literally is.

assuming this is about the two anons i responded to two days ago, one of which was saying they did not like my particular characterization of r+s in a fic and asking me to rewrite it and the other of which was responding to it. both of my responses were focused around saying that my characterization didn't even fit the dynamic being complained about and saying the terms in which that complaint was being stated were odd in the first place (assuming one character being shorter than another automatically makes them feminine, calling a gay relationship heteronormative, asking to making a non-canon-compliant fic more canon compliant, etc). if someone has a real concern with my specific fic that is not premised in gender essentialism then i have yet to hear it; otherwise, i'm not sure how you want me to "validate" that concern unless you are also asking me to rewrite my fic. in which case, the answer is still no lol

and i genuinely do not think "the fandom" is monolith in which everyone agrees on everything; calling me naive is not going to change my mind. i agree that there are popular hcs, sure, but even those are not monolithic in their application and can be filtered and avoided--i know this because there are many popular hcs that i filter and avoid to the point that they are virtually nonexistent in my fandom space. i suggest others do the same with hcs they dislike because i genuinely think that's the best way to approach fandom: curate your space for your own peace of mind.

your experiences with fandom are not singular and are not representative of everyone's. from where i'm sitting, writing sirius as a girl is not a super popular hc--i've seen the hc from time to time, but overwhelmingly i've seen it in the context of r/s femslash, not people writing them as a straight couple. and even then, i still mostly see r/s written as gay men in the vast majority of fics i read and like...posts the people i follow make on tumblr.com. i don't use other platforms to interact w marauders content nor do i stray outside my small circle of mutuals' posts, so if this is some mega-popular hc elsewhere i am simply unaware. from the actual fics posted on ao3, though, gay r/s still seems to be dominating the wolfstar fandom. and to then say that sirius has no personality past being a love interest and always being blamed for everything--again, this is genuinely not something i see. i have never read a fic where sirius is a one dimensional love interest or where it's just sirius-bashing; i'm sure they exist out there somewhere, but i have not found them to make up a majority. maybe i've gotten lucky and miraculously managed to avoid the numerous fanfics where sirius is this caricature you're describing, but personally i think it's more likely that this is an extreme representation of the way people write the character. if you'd like to send me some of the many fics where this is happening to illustrate what you mean, though, feel free.

remus's canonical disability is lycanthropy. that has not been erased in any of the fics i've read that are set in the magical universe. in every non-magical au i've read, he has been written as a disabled character as well. there are plenty of people in this fandom who are not erasing disability as an aspect of his character. if you're not able to find those fics i would be happy to recommend some, and i'm sure others would as well.

i have not seen the fanart you're referring to where remus is drawn as a super manly guy towering over dainty feminine sirius. i'm sure it exists out there, but most of the fanart i personally see doesn't portray them that way--it is definitely not the only way these characters are drawn.

none of the fanfics i've read have had anything that i would characterize as verbal abuse between remus and sirius. nor have they had remus as "a slut," (not crazy about your tone here, tbh) though he is sexually active in some fics i've read with people other than sirius. personally i don't mind characterizations where the two have had or do have sex with other people before getting together. in fact, i prefer it to fics where they only ever sleep with each other, as it more accurately reflects my own experiences w the world (ie, most people are not virgins until "settling down" with one person etc).

all of the things you're describing here can be stereotypes, sure. but i personally have not seen an overwhelming number of fics characterizing r + s this way. i'm not saying it doesn't exist; i'm saying that i have curated my own space to avoid any such one-dimensional portrayals and encouraging others to do the same, because there are tons of people who are not writing the characters this way. "the fandom" is not a monolith, and if you feel like there are certain hcs that are super popular it's possible you've become stuck in a feedback loop where you're seeing them over and over again when in other parts of the fandom they are virtually nonexistent (case in point: i was blissfully unaware of all of this discourse until i started getting these asks). personally, i find it more useful to just block and unfollow people who are posting stuff i don't like, because i don't really see a way to try and police what people are or aren't allowed to write about when it comes to gender in fanfic that doesn't eventually devolve back into gender essentialism. if the concern is that you're noticing what appears to be a certain standard of femininity or masculinity elevated over others, then i personally find it more helpful to have conversations breaking down gender roles + gender essentialism more broadly (as opposed to sending people anonymous messages about how everyone is writing sirius too feminine and remus too masculine), which is something i already do pretty frequently on my blog.

this is the only ask about this whole discourse i'm going to answer; any complaints that "the fandom" as a whole is doing something are not something i'm interested in entertaining because the fandom isn't a monolith and 90% of the time the complaint in question is not even something i'm seeing based on how i've curated my space. i really don't know what to tell you beyond that--if there are things bothering you about what you're seeing in your fandom spaces, coming into my askbox is not going to fix it and will most likely just end with me blocking you, because i have better things to do with my time than deal with other people's discourse.

#ask

[not-poignant]

So for some reason I cannot explain at all I've gotten a bee in my bonnet about the relationship Arden and canon Ash would have and I CAN'T. STOP. THINKING ABOUT IT. If you feel like indulging this thought experiment, what do you think their relationship would be like? I'm hung up on the canon-adjacent (god I feel like we need to start assgning them Marvel-esque names... Fae Tales-847) like TWW Ash. obv setting aside inherent Ash consent issues, I want them have like... top bff book club hour???

Hi hi anon!

This might be one of those things you enjoy more when you imagine it, honestly, because I really struggle to.

For a start, Arden would have to be fae, because Ash doesn't really like hanging out with humans on a friendship level, and doesn't really have any human 'friends.'

And then secondly, Ash is actually a massively solitary person? He doesn't even like spending that long with Augus. For all that he fucks a lot of people, he makes no lasting relationships with them, and the humans he's closest to outside of that are bartenders. He has no real close friends in the fae world either.

Ash isn't really the kind of person to want to be BFFs with anyone. And another person being a top doesn't actually make Ash any more likely to be interested in them (he's shown even in TWW he can be pretty badly squicked by other tops - he's not even interested in what Augus does, and is often grossed out by the idea of BDSM. He has to be coaxed at the very end to accept what Gwyn experiences, and even then, it's obvious that it's not his comfort zone).

So it's like, do I change Arden to make him a completely different person, so he's no longer obsessed with BDSM and is only a top? That's kind of...boring to me. But Ash wouldn't be interested in chatting with someone who was into BDSM precisely because he doesn't really like BDSM.

Basically I can't forget the canon or even the AU versions of Ash like other folks can, anon. If you want them to have those things, you have to do the thought experiment on your own, because in my head I can't see it working even if they meet each other and exist in the same universe, exactly because they're both tops and specifically because Arden loves BDSM and the tools of BDSM, and Ash has always been kind of squicked out / grossed out by those things, and never really understood why anyone finds them necessary.

But yeah, if you want to like, have a headcanon where Ash does enjoy the idea of BFFs and isn't super solitary like he is in general, and isn't completely squicked out by the idea of BDSM, let alone talking about it, then have that headcanon! I can't erase enough of Ash to make that work in my head and have him still be Ash, but that's the joy of headcanons, you get to make them your own, with or without my thoughts or endorsement.

And frankly, they're better when you don't get my input, because a lot of the time, I'm writing stuff like this in response to headcanons which is a tl;dr of - I can't see that working in any universe.

It's much better when it works in yours, tbh. Because at least that's a place where it can exist / you can enjoy it.

#asks and answers #fae tales au #fae tales #ash glashtyn #arden mercury #you don't need my approval or my thoughts to enjoy your own headcanons anon #in my world ash just isn't that person to ever enjoy those things #but thankfully you don't have to live in that world! #i invite you to give yourself permission to just enjoy what you imagine #whether or not it's in character #or it's something that the creator can imagine #headcanons and AUs and other things are meant to be whatever you want literally #it kind of goes against the whole point of them #to see if i can imagine it too y'know?

[clairenatural]

i just really think more people on this website would be happier if they freed themselves from the chokehold canon has them in. canon is over. it can’t hurt you anymore. supernatural killed its own author on screen. “you can’t just say things didn’t happen because you don’t like them” yes i can <3 we can do whatever we want!!! it’s our sandbox now!!! just loosen your death grip on canon just a BIT it’s more fun i promise

#obviously canon is. important #and like canon IS factual that IS the world so don't like. gaslight people #and like this isn't me talking about sociopolitical stuff in the show or how it actually impacts our real culture ofc #or. u know. apologism #i'm talking about more specifically in fan spaces and fanworks and the way fandom interacts with the source material #like yes i CAN say that the jack in the box storyline was ooc and therefore i do not see it #it's not illegal! :) #people just get SO up in arms about ''it's not canon >:('' and ''you can't just say something doesn't count because you don't like it >:('' #which i get is ESPECIALLY frustrating in arguments #but consider: on my own blog in my own space i can do whatever i want and i am having a lot of fun with it <3 #or even headcanons that don't erase real canon!!! there has never been a time where what's canon for things like sexuality mattered less #people attack queer hcs with ''it's not canon'' but that is NOT the weapon you think it is anymore. it never was but #it's never been less effective #mae.txt

[gracieryder]

If Eddie revealed in the next few episodes that, all his life he's been drinking coffee but he doesn't really like it, and now he discovered tea and found his perfect drink, would you reconsider your stance on the superiority of gay lo-- err tea?

Oh man. Anon, I know you're just in here teasing, but you have accidentally stepped in an issue that makes me want to word vomit all over Tumblr.

As much as I'd like to engage with this at a surface level and stick to talking about tea vs. coffee, you've turned the discussion into something else.

I'm not upset with you, but this is gonna be a rollercoaster of a response. So bear with me.

People in fandom have a really bad habit of forgetting what the point of fanfiction and the like actually are. It's right there in the name. The word fiction.

As much as people like to think otherwise, fanfiction and headcanons and whatnot are not fact. They're ideas created by fans. None of them are canon. The words headcanon, fanon, etc. exist for a reason, and it's okay to explore something in fanfiction that has no real basis in canon.

Because the entire point of fanfiction - of creating things in a fandom - is to explore non-canon ideas. What would happen in this situation? What if we put these characters in a different universe where so-and-so owns a coffee shop? What if, what if, what if...? It's all about having fun with the characters, setting, etc.

One of the problems in this particular fandom is that people can't seem to differentiate between exploring ideas and applying those ideas to canon. And that's an issue.

And I'm going to use the issue you brought up to explain it.

The Gay!Eddie vs. Bi!Eddie discourse is important. Now, the issue isn't with people addressing this in fanfiction. If people want to write about Eddie being closeted this entire time and yadda yadda, more power to them. Let them explore that idea.

But talking about it as though it has a basis in canon and wishing for it to be canon can be problematic because then you dive headfirst into erasure. Eddie very much loved his wife. He not only loved his wife; he enjoyed having sex with her. A lot. He was not only with her for Chris. He was fucking her while hiding her from Chris entirely. That was for himself. What we see on-screen is him very much being into Shannon. Sneaking around just to get into bed with her. Dude is having a grand time. There are no actual signs that he didn't love her and no actual signs that he wasn't attracted to her. Just a lot of twisting and reading into things by fans.

So, using your own analogy, him discovering he likes tea does not mean he never liked coffee. It doesn't mean he still doesn't like coffee. It just means he's discovered something else that he enjoys.

And people will say "Oh, but Michael." But we have no idea what his and Athena's sex life was like. It's not like we saw him fucking Athena into incoherency and enjoying the hell out of it just for him to turn around and be like "Oh. I'm gay." It was implied that this was something he wrestled with for quite a while before being honest with her. We don't even know if he ever sought her out for sex. We don't know what he felt when having sex with her or how into it he was. Not to mention there are mental and physical aspects to sex. Mental and physical stimuli. And they're different.

Bi erasure is a big problem irl. The idea that "Oh, well you like so-and-so now or this gender or whatever means that you didn't really like/love that other person before". The writers going ahead with Gay!Eddie in canon would mean they would literally have to erase and invalidate his previous relationships. Particularly his relationship with Shannon. Because canonically, as I've already mentioned, the dude was really into his wife, and we literally saw it on-screen.

They'd have to go back and be like "Nah. That wasn't legit."

Nothing was erased on-screen for Michael. Like I said, we saw nothing of his relationship with Athena beyond the fact that they care for each other, and that didn't change.

But with Eddie, it would literally be a push to validate bi-erasure, and that's not okay. There is literally no reason for them to invalidate his previous relationships just to confirm that he's into men. None whatsoever. If they confirm he's into men, it should be "also" not "instead of". And pushing for "instead of" and trying to twist previous interactions he's had with Shannon to disprove the legitimacy of his past relationships with women in canon is erasure and is a problem.

If you want to explore it in fandom, feel free. But when you start twisting canon or saying certain things should have been done in canon, you're crossing a line that you might not even realize is there.

And it's not just with this issue.

90% of the discourse in this fandom would fucking vanish if people understood this more.

Even the anti-Maddie fics aren't an issue just because they exist. Technically, you can write what you want. Because yes, "Dont like; don't read" is a thing. People can just filter you out and move on.

But this fandom doesn't just write what they want and tag problematic content that can then be easily filtered. They then defend it and talk about it as though this is how it should have happened.

"Maddie should have been arrested." "Buck should have blah blah blah when she told him about Daniel."

People in this fandom want their bashing fics to be validated instead of just acknowledging that they're bashing fics. So in author's notes and Tumblr posts and the like, they'll say this should have happened and twist entire interactions to justify whatever problematic content they create.

And that's fucked up. Because no. None of that shit is what should have happened to Maddie. Victim-blaming is extremely dangerous and damaging.

But again, this fandom can't just be like "This is bashing and you won't like it, so stay away." They try to defend it to actual victims. They're spreading dangerous ideas because they want validation that they're right about a character or a situation to avoid having to acknowledge that they're creating content with problematic themes.

And that's not okay.

This fandom needs to learn how to explore something in fiction without:

Acting as though it is or should be canon.

Acting as though projections on a character are equal to analyses of a character. (Ex. Buck did not care about Taylor unlocking his phone even if you would have. Your boundaries are not the same as every other person on the planet's.)

Hiding behind "Don't like; don't read" as a blanket statement to spew hate and dangerous ideas. (Tag your hate and own that what you're writing is some kind of guilty pleasure fic instead of trying to promote and defend the idea as a good and legitimate one that applies to actual people.)

Anyway, I've gone wildly off-topic. This doesn't even touch on things like racism and the like. I could vent all day about fandom.

But Idek how much sense I'm making anymore, so lemme stop here. I'm literally rambling now.

Anyway, anon. I know you were just teasing, but you kinda stepped on an ant pile. Sorry. 😂😭

#good god i talk a lot #in this essay i will #911 discourse #i guess anyway #anonymous #mist answers #long post

[nevermindirah]

Do you have any thoughts on the use of AAVE for Nile (or lack thereof) in TOG fanfiction? I've been reading some Book of Nile fic and some writers seem to write her as a Millennial™ (using words like "fave" and "woke") but never acknowledge her Blackness in her patterns of speech. I know we don't see her use as much AAVE in the films, but I would argue she's in situations where code-switching would be valued (first in a "professional" environment in the army, then around a group of non-Black strangers).

Hi anon! I have many thoughts on this and I'm honored you asked me! But I should start by saying I'm white and any thoughts Black fans and especially Black American fans have on this that they want to share would be beyond lovely. (I'm not gonna tag anybody bc that feels rude but please add onto this post if any of y'all see this and want to!)

The main reason I personally avoid AAVE for Nile in my own fics is because I'm not Black. But Nile-centric fics by Black writers tend to avoid using much of it too, at least from what I've noticed/understood, and my guess is it's largely for the reason you mention, that she's in situations that encourage code-switching.

In movie canon Nile is highly competent at tailoring her language to each situation she finds herself in. This fantastic linguistics analysis meta shows how skillfully Nile chooses her vocabulary and grammar to meet her goals with different conversation partners in different contexts. In comics canon Nile had a bunch of different civilian jobs before joining the Marines, so she would've had experience code-switching in the ways that made sense for all those different contexts as well as the Marines and her family and high school and wherever else she spent her time before we met her. And now she's spending her time with a handful of immortals none of whom are native English speakers and a fellow Black American but one with a Queen's English UK accent whose professional experience is in the CIA where high-status code-switching is often an absolute must for success or even survival.

Fics featuring Nile are charged with extrapolating from that to how it might show up in her use of language that she's coping with a traumatic separation from her family and her career and pretty much everything she's ever known and now she needs to be able to make herself understood to people who seem to care about her and each other but are super duper in crisis, three (soon to be four) of whom predate Modern English entirely and the only one who's anywhere near her contemporary she's not supposed to talk to for a century. All of these people are telling her that pretty much any contact with any mortals poses an existential threat to her and the rest of the group. How the FUCK is she supposed to cope with that, like, generally? And would it be a more effective way for her to cope if she talked to Andy Joe and Nicky using the speech patterns that she used to use with her mom and brother, to at least retain that part of her identity even if it means having to do a lot of explaining, or would it meet her needs better to prioritize Andy Joe and Nicky understanding what she means with her words over using the particular words and grammar forms she used with her family?

I've seen several fics, both Nile-centric / BoN and otherwise, explore this a little bit in how/whether Nile uses Millennial™ speak. It's often a theme in Nile texting Booker despite the exile because of the popular headcanon that he as The Tech Guy is the only other immortal who understands memes. But Nile's much-younger-than-Booker mom probably uses Boomer and/or Gen X memes and Andy has been adapting to new communication styles for forever as evidenced by her canon high level of fluency with standard-American-accented English.

Which brings us back to people avoiding AAVE because they're not Black and they don't want to make mistakes (or they're not Black and they don't want to get yelled at for making mistakes, though I think many people overestimate how much they'll get yelled at while underestimating how much these mistakes can hurt). I can imagine some Black fans hold back from using much AAVE in fic because they don't want to share in-group stuff with white people who are likely to then adopt and ruin it, as white people so often do with Black cultural stuff. Some links about this including a great Khadija Mbowe video. I'm saying this gently, anon, because you might not know: woke, an example you cited as Millennial™ speak, is AAVE, and that's gotten erased by so many white people appropriating it and using it incorrectly online.

And also there's the part where fandom is a hobby and you never know when you're reading a fic that's the very first thing someone's ever written outside of a school assignment. This cultural considerations of language shit takes a level of effort and skill that not everybody puts into every fic, or even could if they wanted to because they haven't had time to build their skills yet. It's definitely easier for non-Black fans to project our millennial feels onto Nile than to do the layers of research and self-reflection it requires to depict what Blackness might mean to Nile, and it's not surprising that often people sharing their hobby creations on the internet have gone the easier route. There's not even necessarily shame in doing what's easier. It's just frustrating and often hurtful when structural white supremacy means that 3-dimensional Black characters are rare in media and thoughtful explorations of them in fandom are seen by the majority of fans as not-easy to make and therefore Nile Freeman, the main character in The Old Guard (2020) dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood, has the least fic and meta and art made about her of our 5 main immortals.

I've been active in different fandoms off and on for twenty years and I barely managed to write 5,000 words about Sam Wilson across multiple different fics in the 7 years since I fell in love with him. There's an alchemy to which characters we connect with, and on top of that which characters we connect with in a way that causes us to create stuff about them. Something about Nile Freeman finally tipped me over the edge from a voracious reader to a voracious writer. It's not for me to judge which characters speak to other individuals to the level of creating content about them, but I do think it's important for us to notice, and then work to fight, the pattern where across this fandom as a whole Nile gets way less content, and way less depth in so much of the content that's in theory about her, than any of these other characters.

Anyway, back to language. My two long fics feature Nile with several Black friends — Copley and OCs and cameos from other media — but all of those characters except Alec Hardison from Leverage aren't American. It's very possible I'm guilty of stereotyping Black British speech patterns in I See Your Eyes Seek a Distant Shore. I watched hours and hours of Black haircare YouTube videos in the research for that fic and I modeled my OCs' speech patterns on what I heard from some of those YouTubers as well as what I've heard people like John Boyega and Idris Elba saying in interviews, but the thing about doing your best is you still might fuck up.

I'm slowly making progress on my WIP where Nile and Sam Wilson are cousins, and what ways of talking with a family member might be authentic for Nile is a major question I need to figure out. For that, I'm largely modeling my writing choices on how I hear my Black friends and colleagues talking to each other. I haven't overheard colleagues talking in an office in a long-ass time, but back when that was a thing, I remember seeing a ton of nuance in the different ways many of my Black colleagues would talk to each other. Different people have different personalities! And backgrounds! And priorities! A few jobs ago my department was about 1/3 Black and we worked closely with Obama administration staff many of whom were Black and there was SO MUCH VARIETY in how Black people talked to each other, about work and workplace-appropriate personal stuff, where I and other white coworkers could hear. There are a few work friends in particular who I have in my head when I'm trying to imagine how Sam and Nile might talk to each other. From the outside looking in, God DAMN is shit complicated, intellectually and interpersonally and spiritually, for Black people who are devoting their professional lives to public service in the United States.

One more aspect of this that I have big thoughts on but I need to take extra care in talking about is the idea of acknowledging Nile's Blackness in her patterns of speech. There's no one right way to be Black, and Nile's a fictional character created by a white dude but there are plenty of real-life Black Americans who don't use much or even any AAVE, for reasons that are complicated because of white supremacy. (Highly highly recommend this video by Shanspeare on the harms of the Oreo stereotype.)

Something that's not the same but has enough similarity that I think it's worth talking about is my personal experience with authenticity and American Jewish speech patterns. My Jewish family members don't talk like they're in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and I've known lots of people who do talk that way (or the millennial version of it), some of whom have questioned my Jewishness because I don't talk that way. That hurts me. Sometimes when another Jew tells me some shit like "I've never heard a Jew say y'all'd've," I can respond with "well now you have asshole, bless your Yankee-ass heart," because the myth of Dixie is a racist lie but I will totally call white Northerners Yankees when they're being shitty to me for being Southern, and this particular Jew fucking revels in using "bless your heart" with maximum polite aggression, especially with said Yankees. But sometimes I don't have it in me to say anything and it just quietly hurts having an important part of me disbelieved by someone who shares that important part of me. The sting isn't quite the same when non-Jews disbelieve or discount my Jewishness, but that hurts too.

Who counts as authentically Jewish is a messy in-group conversation and it doesn't really make sense to explain it all here. Who counts as authentically Jewish is a matter of legal status for immigration, citizenship, and civil rights in Israel, and it's my number 2 reason after horrific treatment of Palestinians that I'm antizionist. But outside that extremely high-stakes legal situation, it can just feel really shitty to not be recognized as One Of Us, especially by your own people.

It can also feel really shitty to be The Only One of Your Kind in a group, even if that group is an immortal chosen family who all loves each other dearly. Sometimes especially in a situation like that where you know those people love you but there are certain things they don't get about you and will never quite be able to. I'm definitely projecting at least a little bit of my "lonely Jew who will be alone again for yet another Jewish holiday" stuff onto Nile when at the end of I See Your Eyes Seek a Distant Shore she's thinking about being the only Black immortal and moving away from the community she'd built with a mostly-Black group of mortals in that fic. Maybe that tracks, or maybe that's fucked up of me.

Basically, this got very long but it's complicated, writing about experiences that aren't your own takes skill which in turn takes time and practice to build, writing about experiences not your own that our society maligns can cause a lot of harm if done badly, it can also cause a lot of harm when a large enough portion of a fandom just decides to nope out of something that's difficult and risky because then there's just not much content about a character who deserves just a shit ton of loving and nuanced content, people are individuals and two people who come from the exact same cultural context might show that influence in all kinds of different ways, identity is complicated, language is complicated, writing is hard, and empathy and humility and doing our best aren't a guarantee of avoiding harm but they do go a long way in helping people create thoughtful content about a character as awesome and powerful and kind and messy and scared and curious and WORTHY as Nile Freeman.

#nile freeman #linguistics #TOG POC Love Fest #nileweek2021 #tog meta #tog #long post #mine #antiblackness #jewish things #hi i'm an antizionist jew no i don't really want to talk about it

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

[1/?] Sorry for venting. I just saw some bad takes that gave me a lot of feelings. Personally, JC stresses me out every time he comes on screen, but I don't mind it when JC fans say fan-typical things like how they like JC because he wears purple, or is grumpy, or they think he's hot, or that they ship x*ch*ng because the cql actors have nice jawlines. They're harmless, fun takes, and while I don't agree with some of them, I see where they're coming from

Hello there anon, vent away as that is what my blog is open for as I love/hate on Jiang Cheng as he is in the plot, as well as all of my beef with what has been done to him for the EN side of the fanbase! I am more than fine listening and engaging with the unsavory "unpopular" discussions of his canon behavior and this goes for anyone of course that needs an open play area. I'll try to engage with what you have sent point by point as succinctly as I can.

[2/?] (some of these are obviously crack, and I am a fan of a few problematic faves). But then there are stans that just have to put other characters down to make JC look good. Like, I think some fans take their freedom of interpretation for granted because most of these takes aren't even labeled 'headcanon,' 'ooc,' or 'crack' anymore. Stans feel that their interpretations are valid, and while they are, valid =/= canon, and they're treating these takes as canon, which becomes popular fanon.

I enjoy Jiang Cheng for what he is, however as I had said it took me another reread to get to my stance of him being the negative mirror to Lan Wangji's positive and my comfort with that for the story once I realized what purpose he served. He is only insofar tragic in regards to his circumstances, but it does not absolve him for what he is at his core (no pun, but I can make a very nice metaphor that even with a piece of Wei Wuxian in him he is still forever unable and unwilling to stand by him equally all while stagnating where as Lan Wangji is able to flourish, grow and mature with nothing of import left from Wei Wuxian in a technical sense). As for ships, I am a little dirty Xicheng whore for fun and can say there is a sense of entertainment for me making it work with two people where one is wildly ignorant and the other wildly rabid. But that is outside of what is established as canon in the work and I always try to keep the two strictly separate due to the skew fanon perpetuates.

3/?] And now, it's not clear what part of the fanon references canon JC or the canon events of mdzs. JC is an asshole; I don't like him as a person, but I do think that he's a complex character motivated by many issues (sup, YeeZY), which makes him fascinating to explore. Unfortunately, erasing his culpability also removes his agency. JC should be allowed to be an asshole character who makes his own decisions even if they're the wrong ones. He has made his own tragedy by constantly casting Wei Wuxian as the villain of his life.

Now thanks to you I will be using YeeZY to forever and now to acknowledge Madam Yu (this is your fault for the new tag). From a standing from storytelling I agree that he is complex in the Jianghu for MDZS. Where in the usual political intrigue of Wuxia, he would be the mustache twirling villain that is outright unforgivable in narration, it is by favor of Wei Wuxian's narration that has an early steeping of empathy for him. And he is not meant to be seen as ultimately sympathetic, the work builds up his hate against Wei Wuxian who tries to rationalize it all several times until he is finally unable to. Jiang Cheng is the antithesis to Lan Wangji and the false bait to get attached to in Wei Wuxian's first life. I will make the note their meeting in Yiling is lukewarm between both as they exchange nothing really in terms of conversation and all pleasantries are left in terms of Jiang Yanli for Wei Wuxian. By this point Wei Wuxian has already switched his yearnings of platonically wanting a part of Jiang Cheng's life, to subconscious romantic inclinations about Lan Wangji and the perceived loss of being in the other's life.

The very point of Jiang Cheng as the deconstruction, is that he has no passion in life despite his apparent exploits because he put a shadow to hang over himself as an excuse to say others think he is not good enough. He has no deeper motivations than pure selfishness by the end of the work and is pure frivolity that he has built up losing the meaning of his sect as a tradition. He had his agency (more than anyone I might add in the work due to his social position) that he used to build his reputation as a passive rich sect leader that has little to do with civilian problems.

4/?] And I think a JC, somehow, that realizes that he did something wrong and is working hard to change for the better and gain self-actualization to become that UWU best jiujiu the stans want him to be, who is ready to talk (not yell at) with WWX, apologize to him, and create a better, healthier relationship with him is a much more powerful reconciliation and happy ending than 'everyone is wrong and mean and they all apologize to JC, which magically gets rid of all his issues'.

He is forced out of culpability in reconciliation because simply put, his audience do not like the reality that relationships fray and dissolve with no further resolution other than we as adults both need to move on for safety and good health. It is not acceptable in real life and fiction is allowed to place that also in it's thematic relationships. He has a small, small spark of recognition at the end of the main story, however he himself seems to choose to ignore it, as change is hard and he has never taken to that well as was foreshadowed with his dogs and the idea of sharing a space with Wei Wuxian. To write this is an awful lot of work into his psyche which is not a nice place, he is a terrible being and downplaying that to make a sugar sweet person does not work instantaneously. He is the one responsible for the entire fallout with Wei Wuxian and he hysterically realizes that even as he tries to continue to blame Wei Wuxian.

The issue that I have with his current stan culture, is that they already view him as something he is not. They play at bicycle with all of the other protagonists that have positive traits that they strip as they see fit; Good affirming loving to children adult Lan Wangji, Self-sacrificing ultimately did it all for love and care Wei Wuxian, Hard exterior but softened to who they consider an annoyance Wen Qing, Loyal as partners in their exploits on the field and always have each others back Wen Ning. They even take Jin Guangyao's persona of playing damsel and using that as a positive to soften up Jiang Cheng into something he has never been for anyone for ships.

[5/5] Also, making WWX/WN/LWJ apologize just makes them look better than JC. Like, stans supposedly love JC, so they ahouldn't be lazy and work hard to give him actual character development. Again, I'm sorry for spamming your ask. It just really baffles me about where they get these 'hot' takes (All I'm going to say is that JC was ungrateful, and WN had a reason verbally dismantle him).

They see this, but, they will spin it in any way to excuse Jiang Cheng due to the story itself showing that he was in the wrong to everyone he flung accusations at and his hate. No one but him is at fault for his spite as he had gotten his revenge on the ones that had ruined Lotus Pier and killed his parents. His own resentment pitted him against good and well meaning people that he refused to help as he mimicked his mother's words about raising their heads higher out of goodness instead of keeping low and staying self-centered. There is the underlying criticism of taking individual arrogance as self-care at the cost of others. Each point that Wen Ning makes is exactly what Jiang Cheng himself knows as he hated Wei Wuxian for being something he could not be or even wanted to be. Jiang Cheng wants kindness but does not understand that kindness to others needs to be selfless and accept the hurt that can come with that in life. He encompasses the fall from the path of buddhist lifestyle, "The Three Poisons" to Wangxian's "Without Envy" at the stories end.

[6/5] P.S. I'm not saying I want reconciliation fics, but I just feel that if stans want JC to have a happy ending, then I think that he should actively work for it. I think it would be interesting to see what force of nature would push him through a character development because throwing a therapist at him would result in a murder.

"I'm not saying I want reconciliation fics, but I just feel that if stans want JC to have a happy ending, then I think that he should actively work for it."

They do not think he has to work for it, they say his tragedy is enough, while heaping accusations against Wei Wuxian and saying his own are not enough to absolve him. Something Wei Wuxian has never denied and told all present they are allowed to forever hate him for what he had done in the past, but that they need to find a way to live in a life that is always moving on. He learned that grudges do nothing once they are absolved and it leaves you with hate with nothing else to do with it once that object is gone. In terms of reconciliation, I do not ever think that either want anything other than a distant peaceful out of each other's life set up. Jiang Cheng does not need Wei Wuxian in his life to be satisfied and never has since he used him as the handicap to hide behind to stay angry and miserable. Being without that fallback opens the world far more for him to change than him ever interacting like an old friend with Wei Wuxian ever again, if he ever had the guts to do that.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #jiang cheng #yeah I am using that tag block me if it upsets you #pokes this sorry for the length I tried #listen... only i am his trash queen

[shadow-assassin-blix]

Hi before I start I want to let you know that please, please don't misinterpret what I'm about to ask as hate because it is not what I intend, I am generally curious and the thought hasn't left my mind all day...

So earlier, I stumbled over your Pacho/female reader story and as a gay person myself I just want to know what prompted you to write it? Because there are so many ridiculously good-looking, heterosexual men in the show(s) so what prompted you to write about the one who's not interested in woman, like he's literally surrounded by men whenever he's on screen and I don't think he ever showed even the slightest bit of interested in a woman, normally I wouldn't have said anything but since Pacho Herrera was an actual person I just wanted to know your thoughts on this? Did you had a hard time writing your story because of the lack of content to work with? I'm a writer myself and I find it incredibly hard to write about shows in a non canonical context, I tend to stay true to the material that has been given, maybe that is where my curiosity comes from. Again please, please do not get the impression that I am in some way trying to hate on you.

Pacho is a fantastic character, and even though he's a bad guy, I felt represented seeing him onscreen, not because he's a good example of gay representation or because he was such a fantastic character in the show(s) (well maybe a bit) but because he was a real person that actually lived, who shows that gay people didn't just started to exist, we have always been here...

So you, I hope you have a great day and always remember that I didn't write this ask out of spite or malice but out of curiosity :)

So. Thank you for asking. I will admit I had some hesitancy in writing this story in the beginning. I didn’t want to take away his sexuality or interest in men, that was not my intention. The man himself, not much is actually known about his personal life (the real person). In fact, the fact that he was gay was revealed by an author/journalist, I believe. In the show, they went the direction of just making him openly gay, and yet, there’s not much evidence on how open he truly was given how secretive/private he was. Like I believe I read at one point, they weren't sure how rich he was because of how private he was, they just know he lived a luxurious life. 

I admit, there’s a lack of Pacho Herrera stories and I wanted to fill that void a bit. I had seen some others, kind of describe of him as maybe being bisexual or even pansexual in their headcanons and such. I wanted to keep true to that. I didn’t want to take away that part of his identity. It’s part of the reason why in the story, I still have Diego (even though... I dont think they ever gave his lover a name??). I didn't want him to be straight. I was not going to erase his identity like that. One, that’s dumb and two, it’s almost cruel in a way? If that makes sense? My intent was never to just wipe away his identity, as a gay man. 

I chose him because of the villains on the show, he was my favorite. I loved the representation that he showed as well.  He’s very sly and devious, and I love it. Don't get me wrong, I love Javier, Horacio, and Felix from Narcos Mexico as well, but Pacho. I don't know. He stole a place in my heart somehow and I don’t know how it happened. Maybe its because I myself have been questioning in recent months my own identity when it comes to sexuality? (Or am I finally accepting a part of myself that I never wanted to acknowledge? Idk to be quite honest). I just know I loved him beyond his looks and I loved his openess about his sexuality. Like. He never hid it. Idk. I can't really explain it but I loved him in ways that I can't properly describe.

I also really like the actor, Alberto Ammann. Ive been trying to actually see more of his shows as well. Netflix only has so many so its been a slight search.

I hope this answers your questions. I’ll admit I was a little panicked thinking “oh god I hope I didn't write anything offensive” because that was never my intent. I just wanted to show a little love to one of my favorite characters.

#asks #anon #pacho herrera

[aegor-bamfsteel]

Yo man, I hear that the Blackfyres and their supporters were Conservative, sexist, brutish usurpers who couldn't stand to see a feminist king on the throne but here you are, an honest to God bra burning, women's lit thumping feminist unironically supporting the Black Dragon. In this entire fandom you're the only person I've found openly supporting them. If you don't mind me asking, why do you like them so much?

Hey dude, you’re asking me to talk about sexism, fandom hypocrisy, and my Blackfyre love in an inflammatory way that could result in getting me in trouble with the fandom? I probably shouldn’t be answering this, but ok. This has been sitting in my inbox for a week, and let no one say that I leave any ask unanswered. Wankery found under the cut:

Eyy dude, what if I told you that the perception of Blackfyres as sexist, brutish usurpers in fandom is largely due to some prominent people’s intellectual elitism and projection of neoliberal political views? Aspects of GRRM’s writing like the unreliable narrator, villains-are-heroes-from-another-side, and history is written by the “victors” are given no credibility in favor of condemning the Blackfyre supporters as racist, sexist, and ableist (?) in fandom. I’m extremely annoyed that no one seems to be asking the sort of questions or making the sort of connections that I have due to this blanket ban on Blackfyre sympathy. I’ve answered your broader question on why I supported the Blackfyres in an earlier ask (they were more honorable, less absolutist and cruel than the Targaryens, even demonstrated some meritocracy, and most died horrifically) so I will try to answer based on the sexism angle: How come I like the Blackfyres so much and support woman’s liberation at the same time?

First of all, you come into my askbox and tell me that Daeron II was a feminist king? Nah bro. A real male feminist ally in a position of power would’ve passed laws to ensure his father’s predatory behavior would be banned. He would’ve been trying to apologize for the way he and his father treated the Bracken sisters and actively sought to make amends instead of making the situation worse. He could’ve given widows a pension or granted certain protections to mothers with illegitimate children. He could’ve opened up exit shelters for prostituted women wanting to learn a trade, as Empress Theodora did back in sixth century AD Byzantium. Why does fandom think he is so Feminist™ when he did so little for women? Are they referring to him having Princess Elaena as an unofficial advisor while her husband Ronnel Penrose was Master of Coin, a man who could barely string two numbers together? (Which really undermines the claim that Daeron was a reformer who chose wise men as councilors, since he selected an incompetent based on his own family status) Might I remind everyone that Daeron arranged Elaena’s second marriage in the first place, a woman 3 years his elder who had been locked in prison for 11 years by her brother, bore illegitimate twins by her cousin, forced to wed an old man by her uncle/Aegon, and may have been forced into sleeping with the horrific Aegon IV? You’d think after enduring so much at the hands of her male relatives, the Kind™ Daeron would’ve backed off, but she has to pay for his son Aerys’ failed marriage by sacrificing her hard-won independence. How feminist. But I guess it’s OK, because after Ronnel died Daeron generously gave his blessing when she wed someone she truly loved! I can’t imagine she felt much affection for this entitled shit. But maybe the Great Fandom Minds™ are referring to how Daeron treated his wife Myriah, who is a blank slate in terms of personality and political actions? I can’t even think of any other names of women Daeron might’ve canonically “empowered”, so how exactly is he a feminist? And why does thinking he was a self-serving politician who treated all of his family members except his sons like expendable trash make me sexist? Do tell, Fandom Minds who know so much more than I.

By contrast, how does liking Daemon Blackfyre and thinking he’d be a better king than Daeron make one sexist? Eustace Osgrey said that he hung out with warriors rather than septons and women, but GRRM himself said that Daemon did have female followers (some we know even participated in the Second Blackfyre Rebellion, like Ladies Vyrwell and Smallwood. Not to mention the cause owes its continued strength after Redgrass to Queen Rohanne) who were “drawn to him.” There’s the rumors that Daemon thought that he could marry Princess Daenerys and Rohanne of Tyrosh, but even the biased Maester Yandel said that claim only developed long after the wedding from a few Blackfyre supporters, which is a few steps removed from the original source. I believe that version of the story was an attempt by the Westerosi Blackfyre supporters to acknowledge Rohanne of Tyrosh’s invaluable contributions to the cause of the exiles while still maintaining the romanticism of a Daemon/Daenerys forbidden romance. It absolutely blows my mind that Daemon gets more flak for what he might have said at fourteen than Daeron does for helping a teenaged girl and her two-week-old son get banished for something her father said. Because Daeron is called “the Good” and thus incapable of doing wrong, obviously.

But outrageously, the fandom has to headcanon abusive behavior on Daemon to make him look like a villain. Seriously, I’ve heard people claim he was an abusive father to Daemon II, cheated on or never loved Rohanne, would have killed his nephews, and tried to rape Princess Daenerys based on no canonical evidence (in fact, the evidence goes against the honorable father of at least nine presented in canon). Even a Daemon-hater like Yandel had to concede that Daemon’s love was for the mother of his children to whom he was married for 12 years. Daemon died protecting his son Aegon from the Raven’s Teeth arrows; he’d never hurt his children. As for the children of others, his faction during the First Blackfyre did not kill children (in fact, Quentyn Ball spared Lady Penrose’s youngest son, some say on Daemon’s orders), especially not those too young to fight. The fandom’s portrayal of Daemon as a vicious monster really serves to emphasize how little evidence they have that Daeron II was a truly good person; the man with grudges against two of his father’s underaged rape victims isn’t a hero, so they have to make his rival an even bigger villain despite it being complete nonsense in canon? Can I have at least a balanced depiction of a Daemon who loved his wife and kids, even if they do think he was an ambitious reactionary?

An especially infuriating piece of fandom hypocrisy is that to make Daemon sexist, they have to demonize or erase all of the female influence in his life. Example one is that for his first 12 years, he was raised as the son of Daena the Defiant, who GRRM said in an SSM raised him alone in the Red Keep. Some people in fandom claim she was an ambitious woman who wanted a son so she could be Aegon’s Queen over Naerys, which is a claim so insulting in its wrongness (Daena could’ve been Queen in her own right, having an illegitimate son actually hurt her chances of queenship and a stable future, she referred to Daemon as hers alone so she never wanted to acknowledge his father, she never agreed to wed a man after Baelor, etc) I’m shocked the people who make it can call themselves feminists with a straight face. Others are kinder toward the Daena-Daemon relationship, saying that Daena must’ve died before Daemon was four so she couldn’t pass on her ideals of honor and self-sacrifice for one’s children; this completely ignores what GRRM said about Daena “raising” Daemon alone, meaning he knew her well enough to remember her. Both these ideas about Daena either demonize one of the most beautiful mother-son pairs in Targaryen history (she loved that kid so much she put him ahead of her own reputation and chance at being Queen. I cry.) or they take away her influence in order to claim that Daemon had no female role models growing up. A mother like Daena, strong-willed, independent, a sportswoman, would’ve doubtless have shaped Daemon’s opinions on women, and especially on mothers of bastards. He may have grown up knowing a woman didn’t necessarily need a husband to be happy, that she could shoot and ride as well as a man, and that a princess could with smallfolk and minor nobles on her own. She was far away from a submissive woman and was Daemon’s sole parent until he was 12, and you mean to tell me her son was a raging misogynist? Nope, I don’t buy it.

Fandom also erases Daemon’s other important female figure: Rohanne of Tyrosh. Elite Tyroshi women are most similar to elite Dornishwomen out of all the ladies of Westeros; I say this because the Archon’s daughter was to serve as a cupbearer for Prince Doran without having been betrothed to Quentyn, indicating that they are valued as political actors for their families outside of marriage alliances. Tyrosh is a mercantile society where the elites don’t like to fight, which traditionally equalizes roles between the sexes. Rohanne was the reason the Blackfyre cause survived for so long; she didn’t need help from Bittersteel escaping to her own fucking country, rather the landless Blackfyre supporters needed her protection after they lost everything at Redgrass. Without her giving them a stable base of operations (and certainly using her dowry to pay for their accommodations), they wouldn’t have been cohesive enough for Aegor to create the Golden Company. I realize that Rohanne has very little canonical characterization, but neither do Princess Daenerys and Myriah Martell, and that doesn’t stop Fandom from writing fanfics and meta on these two while ignoring Rohanne. On a similar note, prominent meta writers claim that the Blackfyre cause is obviously based on the Jacobites (no, Daemon Blackfyre was based in part on James Scott the Duke of Monmouth, who was staunchly anti-Jacobite. Just because these writers don’t know about British history in depth doesn’t mean that they can make spurious claims), and use this comparison to make headcanons for how the Blackfyre court in exile operated. For some Unfathomable reason, these headcanons never include the invaluable contributions that the female Stuarts made to the cause; Queen Mary and Princess Louisa were much more popular than the charmless James II and the drunken womanizer Charles III, having great relations with the French court and funding the education of the daughters of Jacobite exiles (it was said that even Queen Anne wept when Princess Louisa died, for she had hoped to wed her son to him). For a fandom who loves to make headcanons about minor female asoiaf characters, and loves to show off its (rather one-dimensional) knowledge of history, I see no such fics and metas for the female Blackfyres. I guess Feminism™ can’t be wasted on the wives and daughters of “traitors.” Just ask Sansa Stark.

To conclude, Daeron II was not a feminist king who raised the status of women in Westeros; in fact, he used his power as prince and king to banish Barba Bracken and wed Princess Elaena off to an ally. Daemon Blackfyre was raised by a strong single mother and was successfully married to an older foreign woman, and enjoyed female support for his cause, so calling him a misogynist seems like a leap to me. I’d make the argument that it’s Fandom with the misogyny problem, as they ignore the suffering, contributions, and characterization of female characters they don’t like in order to prop up a “sexism” narrative that contradicts canon. Just because other people bleat about how sexist, racist, and ableist Blackfyre supporters like me are, it doesn’t mean it’s true.

#Angry #fandom critical #asoiaf #house Blackfyre #anti Daeron II