#so I'm not sure how much of this is just 'deconstructing tropes' and how much of it is 'Main Character Perception Syndrome'

[musical-chick-13]

I think people who pick one character from AsoIaF/GoT to be The Protagonist are missing the point, because pretty much all of the characters think THEY are The Protagonist™ and that’s ultimately what screws them over.

(I also want to preface this by saying that that’s the reason I find these characters so interesting, and that this is not meant to insult any of them. I LOVE this story, and this is one of the many reasons why.)

Cersei thinks she’s the Villain Protagonist™ of a gritty drama. Even if it doesn’t make sense for things to work out for her, she assumes they will, seeing everyone around her as faceless idiots serving her narrative. Anyone and everyone will betray her because that’s what always happens in stories like this, so she won’t give them a chance to ever get there. People will move the way she assumes they will; everyone is predictable and stupid and shallow and cowardly. And as such, no one possesses the necessary skills to take her down. If she’s more ruthless and ambitious and paranoid than everyone else, she’ll get what she wants. But that’s not how life actually works, so all she does is alienate those around her, even necessary allies. People aren’t always predictable, not all of them are compliant or subservient or easily-frightened or incompetent. And if you prioritize ruthlessness and distrust, the people who aren’t those things aren’t going to see any reason to keep you around or give you aid.

Jaime thinks he’s a Cynical Misunderstood Antihero. He doesn’t need to work on bettering himself or de-internalizing his violent impulses, because he’s not the problem, it’s society, it’s people’s incorrect assessment of him. Look, he made a friend in Brienne, that must mean he’s not all bad, right? He thinks this story ends in a Public Image Rehabilitation, but he still conflates love with violence, and he still has a fucked up relationship with consent, he’s arrogant to a fault, he still insults Brienne (and just about everyone else) when the opportunity presents itself, and he never bothers trying to change that. And it’s all of this that prevents him from every truly becoming a good person. He’s so mired in this idea of being misunderstood that he doesn’t make a concerted effort to prove that he actually is. People think he’s an oath-breaker, that he has too big of an ego, that he doesn’t care about the people he swore to protect, and he thinks that simply going, “Yeah, but they don’t have the whole picture” is enough in and of itself to prove them wrong because, in a lot of stories, it is. But all his behavior does is cement his reputation as these things.

Dany thinks she’s The Chosen One, which means whatever she does is automatically the right decision. People will accept her rule because it’s hers, she deserves it, it’s morally right. All of her enemies are blanketedly wrong on all accounts in all cases. Her goals supersede anyone else’s because those goals are the way to a Happy Ending, and she doesn’t consider that other people might not see it that way. Many people’s gripes with her stem from gross places like misogyny or wanting to continue keeping slaves, but she forgets to acknowledge that some people’s issues with her might actually be valid. And that The Chosen One is actually a terrifying idea to people outside that person’s immediate personal context. She has three sentient WMDs, essentially. And if she thinks that using them is always morally correct, that the fallout from doing so can’t possibly be a problem because she’s using them and it’s for a noble cause, you end up with what happened in Astapor; and you end up with Drogon killing a child in Mereen and, eventually, her demise at the end of the show.

Sansa starts out thinking she’s an Optimistic Child Hero in a fairytale. This leads to her being held captive at court (she trusted that the authority figures were benevolent), writing a letter to her family that almost comes back to bite her to a deadly degree once her sister finds out in the show (she thought she could solve everything herself via a peaceful resolution), and to her trusting a complete monster of a boy until it’s too late (she thought he was Prince Charming). She thinks that being the Soft, Beautiful Heroine means people will love her and everything will end nicely and neatly, but sometimes instead of “love”, people just take advantage of you. And sometimes their reaction to your beauty isn’t innocent appreciation-sometimes you end up with Littlefinger. (Or Tyrion or The Hound who...let’s just leave it at “they have their own issues,” especially book-wise.) This morphs into assuming that a fairytale-esque betrayal will befall her with every new person she meets. It’s why she defends Petyr after his murder of Lysa, and it’s why she doesn’t leave with Brienne; if she’s going to be betrayed anyway, she might as well at least stick with a villain she understands.

Ned thinks he’s the Noble Hero in a typical fantasy series. He doesn’t consider everyone else’s capacity for cruelty or the idea that honor alone might not be enough. Sometimes there are no perfect choices, sometimes mercy does not give you the end goal you envisioned, and sometimes you can try your best and that can all be undone by one impulsive, unforeseeable action. You can’t honor your way out of ruthless political conflict.

Robb thinks he’s a Romantic War Hero, and thus everything will magically work out for him. His ideals and his marriage will conquer everything. But he broke a marriage promise to a powerful family, and that has consequences. The world won’t bend to his will, not even if he is doing the right thing or has noble goals, not even if he’s had war success, not even if the people at home love him, not even if he’s in love (show) or doing the most honorable thing he can (books). He thinks that being the hero means he can make it through Westeros without having to play the game, and he gets murdered for it.

Theon thinks he’s an Underdog Outcast Hero. He’ll come up from behind with an unsuspecting War Victory, and that will earn him respect, the love of his family, and a legacy he can look back on with pride. And that mindset leads him to murder two children, to drive away any allies and good grace he had at Winterfell, and the reason that the War Victory he imagined was so unexpected is because it’s completely untenable. He gets more and more desperate and it’s increasingly harder and harder to hold onto the control he’s managed to obtain. He has reasons for wanting this that make sense, and he’s been dealt a pretty bad hand in life, and he thinks that’s and his determination to overcome his personal identity struggles is enough to not only justify his actions, but ensure that those actions will be successful. And then his plan blows up in his face, he assumes he’s been miraculously saved (probably still having something to do with seeing himself as The Unexpected Hero), and ends up at Ramsay’s mercy.

Arya thinks she’s a Badass Heroine in the making, a skilled swordslady and Rebellious Princess who’s destined for more than this stuffy life of politics and dresses and formalities. But rebelling isn’t always enough. It doesn’t help with the Mycah situation, and she still needs to rely on others’ help in getting out of the city after Ned is executed. When she does try to embrace the “fully self-sufficient sword lady” idea while with the Faceless Men in Braavos, she is told to functionally discard her identity completely. She does an unauthorized kill because she, not her assassin-persona-in-training, wants to (though the victim’s identity differs in books and show), which leads to her being temporarily blinded and prevented from going on assassination missions, and outright forced to beg for food in the show. In the show, after being reinstated as an apprentice, she is tasked with killing an innocent person, refuses (rebels), and realizes that this life is one she can’t handle. She goes home, and her heading straight for her sword is one of the things that almost completely ruins her relationship with Sansa. In the upcoming Winds of Winter release, her chapter excerpt has her prioritizing revenge over her apprentice duties, and she remarks that her new identity is ruined with this rebellious action. When you rebel, there are consequences-this doesn’t change just because your intentions are good or because you are or think you are important.

Jon thinks, similarly to Ned, that he’s The Good Guy, that doing the right thing, that following The Code is paramount. He thinks that, because he’s The Good Guy, that doing the right thing with the maximum amount of good for everyone will always be a workable option, and that the heroic option will always yield the best result. This is why he thinks proclaiming his love to Ygritte in the show will end well (because love is good and conquers everything) and is, instead, shot by her several times. It’s why he doesn’t foresee a mutiny in either medium, which leads to his (temporary) death. (Let’s be real, he’s getting resurrected in the books, too, this is the one thing I’m sure of.) Because yes, everything is tense and he’s on bad terms with the Watch, but surely they wouldn’t go that far. It’s rough going, and he has to juggle the needs of several widely different groups of people, but he’s doing the right thing and that will win out; his conviction will protect him, at least for the time being while he tries to manage the bigger threat of the White Walkers. The real fight is with them, the mysterious overarching enemy, not within his own ranks. This is a story where everyone puts aside their differences to fight a greater threat-except for the times when it isn’t.

Even Catelyn isn’t immune, as she assumes that Petyr, since he’s her childhood friend, is invested in solving the mystery of what happened to Bran when he tells her the dagger used in the attack was Tyrion’s. Lysa is her sister, she can’t possibly be suspicious. She thinks the Lannisters are evil, her instincts tell her that they were behind everything, she’s the Protective Mother Heroine, so she must be right. But although she is to a certain extent correct, that’s not the complete picture. And this slightly-misplaced confidence leads her to arrest Tyrion, the retaliation of which is Tywin siccing his forces on her homeland, one of the major first steps in the upcoming political war. Then, her continued focus on saving her children-something that must take precedence because they are her children, and this is her story-leads her to taking Walder Frey’s supposed offer of a fix-it solution for Robb breaking his marital pledge at face value, despite House Frey’s reputation, and despite this neat resolution seeming far too good to be true. She’s so focused on the Lannisters-the Obvious Endgame Enemy-that she doesn’t consider the possibility of betrayal from the Freys. She thinks that the world is giving her a break-because she is so desperately looking for one, because she deserves one, because her family deserves one, and those are reasons enough for her to have one-that she doesn’t even bother to re-evaluate the situation until it’s too late.

Melisandre thinks she’s a Religious Hero, but she ends up burning a child alive and alienating one of her few remaining allies in the process (and Davos was barely an ally to begin with). She thinks she’s Doing What Needs To Be Done to serve her savior, but it hurts Stannis more than it helps him, and he just ends up being murdered by Brienne. This is obviously in the show only (at least at this point), and I don’t know if Stannis is going to burn Shireen in the books or not. Stannis thinks he’s the Lawful Hero, and thus, because according to law he’s the Rightful Ruler, anything he does is automatically excusable; he’s just righting a wrong. And in the process, he imprisons his closest friend, has a hand in murdering his brother (when kinslaying is one of the most universally hated breaches of conduct in this fictional universe), allies with a dangerous woman that much of his own court despises, and, in the show, murders his only child and drives away most of the rest of his remaining team.

They all think that, since they are the main characters of their own stories, that they’re the main character of the larger, overarching narrative. That having understandable reasons or sympathetic qualities or even just having a clear goal that they desperately want, that’s enough to cement their importance. And they think that means that they’re justified in everything they do, that everything will work out for them, that the consequences will be lesser for them than for others, because that’s what it’s like to be the main character. The whole point is that there is not A Protagonist™ and that maybe we should examine why a story needs A Protagonist™ in the first place and what that narrative tradition tells us. When GRRM said he turned down adaptation offers because they only wanted to focus on Jon and Dany, this is why.

#asoiaf #got #asoiaf meta #got meta #most of this is directly related to everyone deconstructing the archetypes they would represent in other stories #so I'm not sure how much of this is just 'deconstructing tropes' and how much of it is 'Main Character Perception Syndrome' #also obviously this isn't every character I ran out of room and honestly some of them like davos and brienne and maybe even loras #probably don't think they're The Main Character which there's a whole other essay in there about how they're The Good People #I personally think Bran never gave off 'I think I'm the main character' energy but I know haters will disagree with me on that #like...Idk his sense of self-worth kind of went away and he spent a bunch of time trying to get it back and figure out how to get by #in a society that now thought he was worthless. and how to get enjoyment out of life when his goals were no longer reachable #it read less as 'I think I'm more Important™' and more 'I'm just trying to survive man' but also I love bran I might be a little biased lmao #cersei lannister #jaime lannister #dark!dany #sansa stark #arya stark #theon greyjoy #jon snow #catelyn stark #robb stark #ned stark #melisandre #stannis baratheon #I take my life into my own hands by putting actual names in the tags but I talk about these characters and I don't know how else to tag #this to ensure people who don't want to see it won't have to see it #also for anyone wondering where tyrion is on this list: I was too tired to delve into this phenomenon regarding him because it is ESPECIALLY #prominent regarding him. and this post was already so long and talking about tyrion in this context probably would've made it TWICE as long #there genuinely isn't enough space in here to include him but know that I'm counting him too. most definitely #behold! a creation!

[jelliezellie]

Hiii, saw that you were taking requests!! How about the friends to lovers trope in modern!AU with Levi? Maybe they've known each other for a long time and they've decided to become roommates, so one night when one of them is really drunk, they confess.

I'm not really creative when it comes to things like this, so you could really change it any way you want. Thank you :)

"And They Were Roommates?!"

A/N: I’m not apologizing for that title. Also, I changed it just a little. Levi is moving out and Y/n doesn’t think time is on their side. Enjoy!

When Erwin, Hange, and a few of the scouts came over to someone’s house, you called it a party. Levi called it a cacophony. Erwin brought the drinks—usually fancy wine or other drinks that had neat labels and elegant packaging. Hange brought the food. Nothing consistent; sometimes, they’d bring bread and butter, sometimes, cheese, and other times, a deconstructed mound of something that only Erwin was brave (and stupid) enough to touch. The other scouts usually brought something edible. 

Levi claimed that he hated when they came over because they caused too much noise, something would break, and someone would get too drunk. Yet, he always stayed on the couch instead of his room when they came over. He’d stifle smiles and hold his breath to not laugh at some of the things he heard.

Tonight, though, the party/cacophony was at Erwin’s house. He and Hange challenged you to a drinking contest. You only did it for fun, not really thinking you could win because Erwin was the (almost) undefeated champion at these. Levi was always the judge, despite being able to beat Erwin. The rules were simple: Levi would call out who was getting too drunk to stand—nobody could get too drunk tonight because you all had work tomorrow. 

A few drinks in and you didn’t realize your body was swaying back and forth until you looked down. You stumbled a bit but pulled yourself back to the table. You felt Levi’s eyes burn into your skin. “Y/n is out,” he declared in a monotone voice, watching the other two down more drinks. 

“Already?” Hange gasped, giggling a bit. Their words were a bit slurred. “I didn’t know you were such a lightweight.”

“Hange is out.”

“What?!” They exclaimed, tumbling backward.

Levi crossed his arms. “Erwin wins again. Do you want a gold star, Erwin?” 

“No, no,” you mumbled, taking another shot. “I’m still in.”

Levi glared at you, then at Hange when they joined in again. “If Y/n is still, in, so am I!” They took another shot and Erwin shook his head, taking another, too.

“You’re all idiots.”

“We’re all winners,” Hange corrected. 

You laughed a little as you drank more.

You weren’t sure how much time had passed, but after a few drinks, you had to sit down. Levi pulled out a chair and you stumbled into it. He frowned, looking up at Erwin and Hange, then back down at you. “We’re going home.”

“You two…” Hange snickered, pausing. “You’re like… an old married couple…”

Erwin smiled. “You are. Most people start dating before they live with each other.”

Levi glared at them, helping you up. “Shut up, both of you. I don’t want to hear it. I’m moving out in a few days, anyway.” You leaned on him as he wrapped his arm around your side for support and helped you leave the bar. It was late—probably midnight. It’s not like he would’ve been able to sleep now anyway. You wrapped your arms around his side, hugging him. 

“Leviii,” you mumbled, and even though his name was slurred in your mouth, he wanted to hear it again.

“What?”

“You’re so…” you leaned against him, your eyes half-lidded. The words that came out of your mouth felt foreign and slurred, but you felt the need to say them anyway. “You’re so nice.”

“That’s a first,” he grunted as you approached your house. “I thought I was your meanest friend.”

“Dumbest, meanest friend.”

“Right, right.” You befriended him with your idiotic comebacks that he wished were a little better so he wouldn’t laugh at their poor deliveries. “You’re still my most idiotic friend.”

You pushed him playfully but ended up nearly falling over. He grabbed you by the waist and pulled you to his side again, keeping you upright. “I’m not letting you participate in one of those contests again.”

“You’re not my boss,” you groaned, sliding out of his grip again as you reached your shared house. 

He snickered as you knocked on the door as if someone would answer. Then, when nobody did, you stepped back onto the cobblestone streets. You didn’t want to go back to your house. Levi’s stuff would be packed because he wasn’t going to live with you anymore. He was going to live alone, where he could drink his tea in peace and not have to deal with you and your drinking contests. Levi sighed. “Right now, I am your boss because I’m keeping you from getting concussed. C’mere.”

You stumbled back to his side as he unlocked the door and helped you in. Levi practically carried you to the couch, setting you down gently before he filled up a glass of water and gave you some toast. “Eat this. Carbs slow down alcohol absorption.” 

You ate as Levi sat next to you, patting your shoulder. “Go to sleep.”

You frowned as you stared at him, reaching your hand out. Confused, he took it. “Levi,” you mumbled drunkenly. “Levi… Levi.”

“What?” He grumbled.

“Levi—I like your name. That’s… my favorite name. Leeeevviiii…” Even though you were drunk, you didn’t miss the pink that dusted his cheeks. “I think you're my favorite name… person…” You mumbled.

He tilted his head, suppressing the smile that threatened to come to his face from your drunken rambles. “Get some sleep.”

“No,” you mumbled softly, squeezing his hand. “I don’t want to.”

His eyes narrowed. “Y/n.”

Your words left your thoughts as you looked at the clock on the wall. An analog clock, because Levi preferred analog things and you preferred Levi. It taunted you, ticking as if you were running out of time. “You’re like a clock. And I’m you…”

“What?”

“The clock. Our clock.”

He followed your gaze and his brow rose. “The clock? Y/n, you’re drunk.”

“I prefer you… Your stupid symbols and your stupid hands and your stupid numbers. I prefer you.” You sniffled as tears threatened to spill. “Levi. Levi. Levi. I want to say your name. And I want you to say mine…”

“What?”

“Every day. Like, when we… wake up. I want my first words every day to be ‘Good morning, Levi.’ Y’know?” You mumbled, closing your eyes. “I wanna… own your first words every day. And I wanna give you mine…” You shuddered. “I don’t want you to move out.”

He swallowed, unsure of what to say. “Y/n, you’re drunk.”

“Maybe a drink was what I needed… Maybe I needed to get drunk… Maybe I…” You stared at him, smiling like an idiot. “Maybe I want to kiss a clock—I mean, maybe I want to kiss your name—you. You.”

Levi tucked your hair behind your ear. “I’d love that. But I’d prefer to not kiss someone who isn’t in their right mind.”

“Are you calling me crazy…? I’ll… show you crazy…” You murmured, reaching up and kissing his cheek. His face went red and you giggled like Hange when they get drunk. “You’re a tomato.”

Levi scoffed. Not the annoyed scoff he gives when you agree to Hange’s less-than-sane antics. But the scoff he gives when you deliver the punchline to a joke wrong. He patted your head and stood. “I was calling you drunk, not crazy. I’ll get you a blanket. We can talk about this tomorrow.”

“But I wanna talk about it today. The night is young…”

“But the bags under your eyes are dark. Sleep. I’ll be right here, ready to deal with your massive hangover and more love confessions in the morning.”

“I mean it… y’know? I’ll say your name first thing in the morning… Every morning…”

“Say it when you wish me goodnight,” he said, bringing you a blanket and tucking you in. He sat in the chair across from the couch with his own blanket. “Goodnight, Y/n.”

“Goodnight… Levi…”

Part Two: "Oh My God. They Were Roommates."

#levi ackerman drabble #levi ackerman x reader #levi attack on titan #levi x reader #aot x reader #levi aot #levi ackerman fanfiction #aot fanfic #levi ackerman fanfic #levi ackerman fluff #snk fanfiction #levi fanfiction #aot fluff #shingeki no kyojin levi #levi ackerman x you #levi ackerman requests

[inevitably-johnlocked]

what are your fanfic.net exclusive fic reccs? or fave fics from ff.net. I've never read sherlock ff from that site so I'm curious.

Anonymous asked: Steph!!! FF.net is probably closing or being abandoned, and I need to know the best fanfics over there before it closes forever!!! Any recs?

-----

Hey Lovelies!!!

Ah, I've so many FFNet fics... it's where I started, just haven't filed them like I did with my AO3 fics, hahah. I've done lists in the past you will enjoy, but I'll use your asks for an excuse to do another list!! <3 Hope you guys enjoy!

As an aside, I just want to state that I don't know if these are EXCLUSIVE to FFnet; they probably have AO3 counterparts, I just don't know. These are just fics, at the time of making this list, I had on my FFNet bookmarks and haven't found on AO3 yet :) Enjoy!

TOP 25 FAVE NON-AO3 FICS Pt 3

See also:

Top 25 Fave Non-Ao3 Fics (Nov. 2019)

Top 25 Fave Non-Ao3 Fics Pt 2 (Apr 2022)

Five Seconds by xXLadyLovelaceXx (K+, 658 w., 1 Ch. || TGG Pool Scene, Friendship, Introspection) – In the half-second before Sherlock shoots the jacket, John notices something.

Message Not Sent by Queerasil  (K, 762 w., 1 Ch. || Angst, One-Sided Texting, Pining Sherlock) - Sherlock texts John after the fall and during the hiatus. The messages are sent, but never received. Sequel to WORDLOCKED, TSTM, and Wait, How Do You Play This Game Again?

The Three-Word Tin Collection by TheBookshelfDweller (K, 1,885 w., 1 Ch. || First Person Sherlock POV, Mild Pining, Angst, Romance, Hiatus) – What happens when Sherlock has to store the things he wants to say to John while deconstructing Moriarty's web, but the Mind palace proves an inadequate place to store them?

BBCSH 'The Comfort of Company' by tigersilver (T, 2,769 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF/Mary, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Bed Sharing, Grumpy John, Touching, Clingy/Handsy Sherlock, Cranky Sherlock, Fluff and Light Angst) – It's a trope that John and Sherlock end up sharing in the same bed eventually and I admit I do adore it unconditionally, along with all it infers as to the lowering of defenses and the heightening of trust. I put forth for your consideration that the notion persists because those who think about these things realize these two men are each in dire need of some good company.

Explosions, Literal and Otherwise by Jennistar1 (T, 3,288 w., 1 Ch. || Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Worried Sherlock, Sort of Rev.-Reichenbach) – Sherlock does not react well to the idea that John might be dead.

Very Good Indeed by StillWaters1 (T, 4,531 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Doctor John, John Whump) – John Watson was a doctor, trained to observe details; a fact Sherlock had never been more aware of than when a drugged John’s lifesaving instructions were based on an unlabeled syringe and an unconscious murder suspect’s body.

De Veritate Unicornis Moderni by tepid sponge bath (T, 5,260 w., 5 Ch. || Fantasy & Drama) – John Watson, a unicorn of this day and age, is trapped in a mortal body. Life as it is seems pretty pointless, almost unendurable, until he meets one Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective and very much a virgin.

London's Ghost by JustlikeWater (K+, 5,642 w., 1 Ch. || Tragedy, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Post-TRF AU, Sherlock POV) – "Today, it's been weeks since Sherlock died. Other times, years. He doesn't know for sure, though. Time passes differently for the dead" 

Same Same But Different by Kerkerian-Horizon (K+, 6,435 w., 2 Ch. || Friendship, Angst, Post-TRF, Gladstone, John/Mary, Christmas, No Slash) – After Sherlock's return, a lot of things have changed, things the detective has to learn to contend with- or rather, to accept. A sometime-post-Reichenbach story in two parts, no male pairing. Contains Mary, the puppy Gladstone and Christmas as well.

Not Without You by thisisforyou (T, 6,313 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Adventure, Mycroft is a Good Brother, Pining Sherlock, Suicide Mention, Sherlock First Person POV, Post-TRF / Reunion Fic) – "I can't, Mycroft, I can't do this without John." Mycroft comes up with an alternative solution to the three years of two broken hearts that would have otherwise happened. 

Five Times by AliuIce0814 (T, 6,667 w., 6 Ch. || Drama, Canon-Compliant S1 & 2, Angst, 5 and Ones, Reunion) – ... Sherlock woke John, and one time John woke Sherlock.

Lost for Words by notactivesherlockaccount (T, 6,709 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, John Whump, Temporary Mute John) – While on a case, John temporarily loses his ability to speak, and he and Sherlock have to find a new way to communicate.

Catastrophe Medicine by LaSuen (T, 11,550 w., 1 Ch. || Hurt / Comfort, Suspense, Adventure, Whump, Hard Core Bromance) – Chasing after a pyromaniac bomber Sherlock and John wind up in a deserted building which explodes and leaves them trapped under the rubble, both severely injured.

Always the sun by Rose de Sharon (K+, 12,377 w., 3 Ch. || Song Fic, Alternate Post-TGG, Friendship/Bromance, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection / Reflection, Injury Recovery, Obsessive / Protective Sherlock, Nightmares, John’s Past, Bed Sharing / Cuddles) – Sherlock ponders about how much his life has changed since John has become his flatmate.

A Study in Linguistics by rizandace (T, 12,425 w., 1 Ch. || S1 Canon Compliant/S2 Divergence, Friendship, Slices of Life, Communication, Cranky Sherlock, Hospitals, Sherlock Whump, Pet Cat, Jealous John, Sherlock’s Violin, Anxious Sherlock, John Whump) – Sherlock Holmes and John Watson had their own language. It was a language of few words and minute facial expressions, and John had learned that it was nearly the only way to have an honest conversation with his eccentric flat mate.

Sunset's Wake by StillWaters1 (T, 13,136 w., 4 Ch. || Angst, Hurt /Comfort, Minor Character POV) – It wasn't until that moment, when the dazed man in the practical black jacket came pushing through the crowd and into her arms, that she understood why she had been drawn outside St. Bart's that day. 

First Response by Arwen Jade Kenobi (T, 13,516 w., 6 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Five and Ones, Whump / Injury) – Five times John had to perform first aid on Sherlock and one time Sherlock had to perform it on John.

The Acronym by DancingGrimm (T, 15,057 w., 12 Ch.|| Humour) – "'Bee Ay Em Eff'. Hm, that's a new one on me. Do you know what it means, Sherlock?" John might not know what it means, but there are many little ways in which he proves the acronym suits him.

The Haze by Ulura (T, 15,381 w., 12 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Whump, Turmoil, Mystery, Worried Sherlock, Mycroft Helps Sherlock, Flashbacks, Blood, Kidnapped John) – Sherlock wakes up, injured and confused on the floor of 221b, the last two days a complete blank. He must struggle not only to recover but to figure out what happened to him and most importantly, find his missing friend John Watson.

Obsession by storylover18 (K+, 15,213 w., 10 Ch.. || Hurt/Comfort, Case Fic, Friendship, John Whump, Sick Fic) - Dr. John Watson wakes up ill one morning but it is not the 24 hour flu he thinks it was. Soon he lands in hospital, quickly deteriorating and Sherlock must work to find out what has happened to his blogger before it is too late. Case!fic mixed with sick!fic / No slash.

The Consequences of Caring by Richefic (K+, 16,156 w., 5 Ch. || Friendship & Angst, Domestics, Platonics) – Sherlock might scoff at this 'caring' lark. But John Watson's situation cries out to be 'solved' and there is nothing that Holmes likes more than solving things. A series in four parts.  

Partners in Crime by Richefic (T, 16,560 w., 5 Ch. || Post-ASIP/Pre-TBB, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Sick John, Meddling Mycroft, Caring Sherlock, Domestics) – John Watson receives some devastating news which puts a spanner in his medical ambitions. Will Sherlock prove capable of the kind of comfort and reassurance he needs or will their partnership be ended before its even begun? 

Pressure Points by Starlight05 (T, 17,677 w., 11 Ch. || Suspense & Friendship, Intense Themes, Torture) - SEQUEL TO ‘RIDDLES IN THE DARK’ – Sebastian Moran is locked away in prison, but he plots to escape and seek revenge on Mycroft Holmes. Meanwhile, Sherlock and John are dealing with a change in their relationship, trying not to fall apart. And as ties are tested and allegiances altered, events unfold in the streets of London that threaten both the Holmes brothers and everyone they care for.

M Is For Moriarty by ElvendorkInfinity (T, 29,882 w., 12 Ch. || Suspense, Mystery, Case Fic, Worried Sherlock, No Slash, Whump) – A figure at the end of the hospital bed; a needle in the dark...Moriarty has John, and Sherlock must follow the paper trail through London to find him before time runs out. Sequel to BANG.

Sentenced by SarahKnight (T, 44,777 w., 30 Ch. || Dev. Rel., Alternate S4 Canon, Drama, Angst, Pining, Feelings are Hard) – Virtual series 4 opener. Sherlock's in prison being targeted by a murderer, John's married to a pregnant assassin and Moriarty's back.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #my fic recs #non ao3 fics #ffnet fics

[faelapis]

Is there any story trope you personally dislike aside from redeemed by death/ the ultimate evil?

oh sure, plenty. everything is context sensitive, there's very few i'm gonna straight up say is bad in every iteration, but here's a few that stand out to me as "usually a bad sign":

brainwashing. if the central conflict between the characters is just due to your friend being brainwashed rather than having real disagreements with you, thats typically weak.

hate sink-characters. the more "emotional" a trope is, the more difficult it is to define... but sometimes you can just. tell. that the author despises a character and wants the audience to feel nothing but hate towards them. this can be so pushy and exaggerated in the narrative that i defiantly find myself doing the opposite - removing all emotion, analyzing them from a purely meta perspective of what, exactly, makes them "hated" by the narrative.

torture porn. what it sounds like - excessive, gory violence which is so uncomfortable to look at it distracts from the story. this is, of course, appealing to some, its just VERY not for me. and if it focuses on the bodies of female characters, it oft becomes the more general societal ill of sexualized violence, which is its own can of worms.

can be deconstructed or reframed to call attention to sexism and the violence against women, such as in works like the handmaids tale. however, these tend not to be sexualized violence in the same way, because they're not framed to be tittilating.

strong woman = femme fatale. aka "badass woman as written by horny man." i tried to not pick too many tropes that are just "sexism", but i had to say something about this. and yes, i know there's plenty LGBT+ fans of this trope. i know that its not always bad to see sexualized characters. even if those characters are mainly women.

but there's just... something very annoying, when a male author is trying to do female empowerment, but it HAS to be in relation to her sexuality or attractiveness. its just such a "tell" that that's your main lens of looking at women. like ok. good to know "using your sexuality to lure men" is the only way you can conceptualize women as active characters. definitely doesn't just mean you need every female character to be hot.

characters being too smart / self-aware. by that i don't mean being "mary sues" or whatever. i mean when theyre so self-aware of their own flaws and issues that you don't really buy them as characters. this can work in a comedy, but it can be frustrating when employed in drama and works against the conflict.

a reason i can only "like" but not "love" atla is that i feel the characters would do this a bit too much. like when zuko explains directly to the camera how even at the age of 12 he totally knew the fire nation was evil and bad, despite all his cultural socialization and education pointing to them as rightful rulers and liberators.

think also when characters speak like their own therapists - totally aware of their own flaws and insecurities, like they were objective outsiders with writer clairvoyance rather than someone actually living through those problems. this CAN be earned, but often, its not.

endless escalation of villains. especially in relation to redemption.

i wrote this one last because i have a lot to say here. what i mean by "in relation to redemption", is this: lets say you want to redeem an antagonist. but you also want that former antagonist and the good guys to go on adventures together.

what do you do? you write in a BIGGER, BADDER antagonist, who is higher up / more powerful than the last one.

and if you defeat or redeem that one, you write in an EVEN BIGGER, SCARIER villain to be the True Evil, who is not afforded any of the humanity of the "lesser" villains and exists to be hated. usually someone who abused the previous antagonists.

i was actually a bit worried steven universe was gonna do this for a while. namely, when peridot had her confrontation with yellow diamond, and when it was revealed pink diamond was abused by the other diamonds. but thankfully, the show was consistent enough to humanize even its "worst" antagonists. it understands that the point of a "cycle of abuse" story isnt to destroy the source, but to see how everyone are products of their environments and capable of change.

unlike horde prime in spop / the fire lord in atla / the storm king in mlp / the core in amphibia / bill cipher in gravity falls / the beast in over the garden wall, etc etc etc.

its not that this trope can never be done well. its just that its an overdone cliche, and when continued in perpetuity, gives the impression that the only way redemption is possible is if there's someone "even worse" out there you can blame everything on. it reinforces black/white morality "but with rare exceptions" if you were a sad abused woobie rather than a true villain.

#not su / #(well not mainly) #tropes #writing

[justanisabelakinnie]

I hate this fucking picture so much you guys have no idea. It completely misses the point of each of these princesses' movies. Ik we've all seen this shitty image before, but I'd still like to deconstruct each of these messages one-by-one:

Let's start with Snow White: "At first it may seem terrible, being so beautiful that other women get jealous enough to try and kill you. But don't worry, once your beauty attracts a man, he'll protect you." Totally fucking wrong. While I do concede that Snow White gets almost killed by the Evil Queen for being more beautiful than her, and how this can send a sexist message about women's motivations and relationships with each other, Snow White was far from relying on a prince to "protect" her. Sure, she sang about wanting her prince to come, but she spent a large portion of the movie living with the seven dwarves and cooking and cleaning with them. She showed a lot of inner strength for a fourteen-year-old girl who was hiding for her life because of a vindictive and jealous queen. She was strong-willed, kind, compassionate, charismatic, and found the beauty and joy in the simple things in life. And once again, she sings about wanting her prince to come, but what's the matter with that? In my mind, this is a sign not of her passive domesticity or sign as a damsel in distress, but a display of her unwavering optimism and bravery, her ability to see the silver lining in a situation and look forward to a more hopeful future, a better tomorrow, is what makes her a strong female character in my eyes.

Next, Cinderella: "If you're beautiful enough, you may be able to escape your terrible living conditions by getting a wealthy man to fall for you." Not at all what fucking happened. Cinderella didn't escape her abusive household just by batting her eyes at the prince. She got out because of the help of her fairy godmother, and because of her strong will and ability to stay pure and kind even with all the horrible stuff that she went through at the hands of her evil stepfamily. Cinderella's movie does NOT teach that a princess' only worth is the ability to look pretty and snag a man. It teaches the importance of kindness and perserverance, and, similar to Snow White, of being optimistic and looking forward to a better life than the one you have, not letting the horrible circumstances you are under get you down. I'm getting really tired of people acting like Cinderella's message is only to be a dutiful housewife and scrub floors until a man saves you from your dreadful existence, when it is quite literally the opposite.

Sleeping Beauty: "Pretty girls don't even need to be alive to get some hot princely action." is such a disturbing way to look at the movie and also such a narrow thing to focus on. While, yes, I can understand being disturbed by her being kissed while she was asleep, true love's kiss is a trope that has been around since the invention of fairytales, it's not meant to justify sexual assault, it's meant to be a show of...well, true love. And while I don't blame anyone for being uncomfortable with it, it is still leagues better than what happened in Sun, Moon, and Talia, the original version of this fairytale. Seriously, go look up what happened there, if you don't know already. Traumatized much? I will admit though that it can be frustrating to not see Aurora do much but snooze throughout her movie, but she still shows way more personality than just being a slumbering damsel in distress; she is shown to be sweet, idealistic, humble, kindhearted, a little bit mischievous, and also somewhat sheltered and mistrusting of strangers. Plus, Enchanted Tales gives her more of a fun-loving, dorky, and silly personality, and sure, a lot of people shit on this portrayal(as seen here), but we should all be glad that they gave Aurora more of a personality than just being the perfect, swan-like, graceful princess that she was often seen as prior. I mean, it makes more sense that she would act like this, as she's not quite used to being a princess yet.

Belle: "Appearances don't matter, what counts is what's in your heart. Unless you're the girl." Oh really? Then clearly we weren't watching the same movie. Belle has never been reduced to just her appearance. She has been shown from the onset to be a smart, independent, bookish, dreamy, and adventurous young woman. While it's true that the other townspeople say she is the most beautiful girl in their village, they also spend a lot of time gossiping about how weird and strange she is for liking to read, which was seen as rather unbecoming of a woman in that time period. The only one who objectifies her and reduces her to just a pretty face is Gaston. He only "loves" Belle and wants to marry her because she is the most beautiful girl in town, and the only one "as beautiful as him". He's beautiful, she's beautiful, therefore they are a match, and for no other reason. Belle was never reduced to just her appearance, and in fact it was quite the opposite, with Belle's kind and compassionate heart being what wins over the Beast and breaks the spell. Or are you just mad that she wasn't the one who became a big, ugly beast? Which, btw, is also ignoring the point and themes of the movie?

Ariel(holy shit this is my LEAST favorite one): "It's okay to abandon your family, drastically change your body, and give up your strongest trait in order to get your man. Once he sees your pretty face, only a witch's spell could draw his eyes away from you." I am so sick of saying and repeating this, but Ariel did not give up her voice and seek humanity only to chase a man. I AM SO SICK AND FUCKING TIRED OF PEOPLE CONTINUOUSLY PARROTING THIS LIE!!!! Ariel has always been shown to have a keen interest in human life and becoming a human herself even before she met Eric. Or did we all just sleep on "Part of Your World"? Hmmmm??? And furthermore, Ariel did not get Eric just by having a pretty face. Sure, she didn't have a voice, but they became lovers because of their similar tastes, Ariel's thirst for adventure, her dorky and curious personality, and ability to be friends with everyone she meets. She was not just a boy-crazy ditz who only cared about snagging a bite of that man-candy, and I am going to start biting and maiming the next person who dares slander my girl Ariel with this fabrication of an event that didn't actually happen.

And finally, Jasmine: "As a woman, your political worth is reduced to your marriageability." I...I just...*sigh* You really didn't pay much attention to the movie itself, did you? Jasmine's entire plot was that she didn't want to be reduced to a bargaining chip, with no power or worth of her own other than being the wife of a Sultan. She wanted to marry for love, to be more than just a prize to be won. And in the end, she gets that through marriage with a man whom she actually loves, Aladdin. She is not reduced to her marriageability, because in the end, she actually gets a CHOICE on who she marries. She gets some free will and is able to make her own decisions. She becomes more than a prize to be won, and only gets with a man because she wants to, not because it's been decided for her. She gets her happy ending because she FIGHTS for it, not because it's all she's worth. For Pete's sake.

Another thing about these shitty complaints that they ALL have in common is that they reduce all of the princesses down to their physical attributes. As if the movie is sending the message that your beauty is all that matters when you're a Disney Princess. Which is NOT FUCKING TRUE. While, yes, all of these princesses are beautiful, and their beauty is a large part of their character, it is not the only part of their character, it is not even the biggest part of their character, and none of these women are reduced to being just pretty objects for a man to win. They all have personalities and goals and messages to send that are about more than their appearances, or that even critique the idea that their beauty and status as princesses are all there is to them. They are not just bubbleheaded bimbos who wait around for man all day and look cute. They are SO MUCH MORE than that, and quite frankly, the fact that you are cherrypicking details from the movies to show that their looks are all that matter in their storylines shows that, in truth, YOU are the one boiling these women down to nothing but being beautiful. Not the movie. But YOU. YOU are to blame. I won't say that these movies are above criticism, but also have some self-awareness and critical thinking skills, and quit projecting your own misogyny onto these Disney Princesses, who are all remarkable heroines/characters in their own right.

I can't stand it when people slander the Disney Princesses in such shallow and misogynistic ways, and will defend them until the end of time.

#disney princess #misogyny #sexism #snow white #sleeping beauty #the little mermaid #cinderella #aladdin #my post

[marta-bee]

I've been ruminating (some would say obsessing) on that word I keep seeing used to describe the situation in Gaza. Genocide. Long post is long, so let's put this under a cut.

I know there's debate on some quarters on whether it's accurate; I'm not sure it is, but also think that question misses the point, because whatever else Gaza is, it's a humanitarian fuck-show. And it's caused, beside the obvious, by Israeli willingness to risk human life rather than tolerate a risk to their own security (which they're much better equipped to protect themselves from than the people of Gaza are), coupled with Israeli refusal to make lasting peace with their neighbor enabled by American military and cultural support. So yes, this one feels personal to me both as an American and someone with mixed Jewish-Christian heritage. People who claim to represent me are enabling said humanitarian fuck-show, which is nothing if not uncomfortable.

That said, every time I see that word it gets stuck in my craw a bit. Not because it's untrue but because mass human suffering caused by violence against an ethnic minority is hardly limited to Gaza, or to the present moment. So I'm questioning whether the Gaza situation is uniquely terrible. Not that it needs to be; I don't post about it much here because Tumblr is my refuge from the offline world, but I am doing quite a lot in RL to support Gaza, and to press my congressmen to take a stronger stance against Israel. I don't want to give the impression I'm not bothered or lukewarm just because I'm not vocal about it here.

But the fact that this suffering and violence isn't unique makes me really uncomfortable with that word because, let's face it, the language is intended to outrage people. I've been thinking about a phrase Fred Clarke (the blogger "Slacktivist" at Patheos, a moderate Baptist who often criticized Christian evangelicalism and fundamentalism) used to parody fundamentalist stances on abortion. "Satanic baby-killers" - it was how the fundamentalists supposedly described abortionists and pro-life folks; not sure if they really used it or if Clarke invented it to make his point. The point being, even if you believed this was accurate of what abortionists were doing, the real reason to use it was to make abortionists and fellow citizens who happened to be pro-life seem so other, so --well-- Satanic, that it was morally impossible not to support them. It was meant to radicalize their own side and dehumanize the other.

I'm not so worried about dehumanizing Israelis and Jews more generally. I mean, yes, that's a concern, but it's possible to criticize Israel without being anti-Semitic, and this word at least doesn't play into all those old tropes, at least not in a way I can see. I'm more worried about how it shapes the way we think about our fellow Americans. Because America isn't as overwhelmingly outraged by the Gaza crisis as Tumblr and other left-leaning social media would make you believe. A recent Pew Research poll (results published 3/21/24) found that 31% said their sympathies lie entirely or mostly with Israel, and another 26% said they were equally sympathetic toward both groups. There are reasons for this, not particularly valid ones today but historically I understand why so many Americans (particularly older ones and more conservative ones) are primed to support, but for the most part those reasons are outdated, something they need to be encouraged to reconsider and move on from. Accusing them of supporting a genocide only puts them on the defense.

(The short version, based on my personal conversations with family and neighbors: they think of Israel as a democracy in a sea of dictatorships and monarchies, no longer true; Israel is our ally so it's unpatriotic to criticize them, would take more space to deconstruct but if we can't criticize our friends when they do shit like this who can; and they see Israel as a necessary safeguard where Jews can go to escape discrimination, which is vaguely racist and surely a much less humane and effective approach than addressing the anti-Semitism where said Jews actually live. As I said, not valid reasons, but reasons nonetheless I'm trying to help them grow out of through our conversations. Which means they need to feel safe enough to consider they might actually be wrong.)

The bigger concern for me, though, is what this does to the people using that language. That's why I brought up that "Satanic baby-killers" phrase. Because it ratchets up the sense that your neighbors are moral monsters. It dehumanizes them, so you don't see people who are wrong because they haven't educated themselves or even because they have some valid reason to support Israel I'm not seeing (I'm human, I'm fallible, and I always want to hear new ideas I haven't considered because I want to grow). Instead, they see someone despicable, someone who's wholly other from people like them. It dehumanizes them. And, speaking as someone who grew up in the American South in the '80s and '90s, so yes, I did live through that Satanic baby-killer mind set if not the actual language: that shit will mess you up. I'd rather my current friends not have to go through that.

On the other hand: Gaza is still a humanitarian fuck-show. And evil still needs to be opposed. I know that, and I do that. Possibly I should just get over my hang-up over that word and focus on the things that matter more in terms of RL consequences. Still, it bothers me, and -- being me -- I needed to take the time to unpack why.

#gaza #politics #marta blathers

[stickthisbig]

8, 11, 22!

8. How slow is a slow burn?

I know you asked me this on purpose because I have a variant opinion

So, okay. We are talking about two different things when we talk about a slow burn. A slow burn is both

A pair or group of characters experiencing incremental, often nonlinear progress towards a sexual or emotional catharsis

A way of manipulating a reader's experience through the incremental building of plot or characterization

One usually serves the other, but it sure doesn't have to. We can decouple slow burn the story element from slow burn the writing style very easily. That leaves us with two questions rather than one:

How slow is a slow burn for the characters? Which begs for an answer in linear time

How slow is a slow burn for the readers? Which begs for an answer in word count

I think most people who want a slow burn reading experience aren't happy if it's under 10k; I don't really know how to judge it past that because I neither write nor read slow burn. For the characters, it takes as long as it takes to get irretrievably hot and bothered. You could write a story about a slow burn and get it done within a couple thousand words; it's just not going to satisfy people who want the reading experience.

11. Three tropes that are fine but overrated.

I can come up with loads of tropes that are overrated and I hate, but this is trickier!

Right now I'm really over deconstructions and bad-faith interpretations? "Actually, X is the real villain" and that kind of faux intellectualism is not doing it for me these days.

Yeah hatesex is cool and all, but have you tried doing impossibly freaky shit to each other because you have a basis of mutual respect

In trying to read published fiction and not just fanfic, my god there is so much maledom/femsub and my lord I am tired of it

22. What is it about watching the same two idiots falling in love over and over again?

Because we love the idiots, and we get to fall in love with them.

#s is writing #s is not writing

[getting-used-to-different]

I'm so glad we got to know more about Tamar and she and Mary learned to get along much better in this episode! I like how they highlight differences between the two: Mary is rather open, conciliatory whereas Tamar is a bit more reserved but upfront and honest. There's also that tiny "different people cope with trauma differently" detail which I really appreciate.

Yes, I like the blend of personality differences with cultural differences. Like, Tamar was harsh for sure, but how was she supposed to know how "a woman" is supposed to "speak to an elder"?

Also I think this character arc with Mary M is a good deconstruction of the "Token Female" trope (you know, the female character who is perfect and always has the right thing to say but doesn't get to do anything because she's not "The Chosen One"? i'm really glad this isn't that) but i'll have to make another post on that there's just too much to say

but one more thing...i do want to mention that you don't have to share your trauma with someone in order to be treated with kindness!

#the chosen season 3

[sometimes-love-is-enough]

Fanfic asks: 1, 2, 3 (does it help you to share ideas?), 34, 43, 50, 76, 78, 79 and 80 (How do you deal with writer’s block?)

I’ve been kinda feeling…creatively constipated, is as best as I can describe it. Ideas and worlds in my head but they stay locked up without a key to free them. So I guess I wanted to pick someone’s brain, writer to writer, see if there’s anything I can try to get myself inspired again. I hope that’s not weird.

1. Do you daydream a lot before you write, or go for it as soon as the ideas strike?

For the most part, I force myself to daydream a lot before I sit down to start writing, because otherwise there's the very real chance I'll sit down and get 3k into it and realize, 'oh. there's not very much meat on this one at all. I don't want to finish it anymore.' There's something to be said for the concept of 'Writing For The Sake Of Writing', but a lot of the time getting a decent length into something and just, not having the ideas or drive to finish it.. it kind of sucks.

2. Where do you get your fic ideas?

All sorts of places, although I tend to draw a lot from real-life experiences and things I'm currently learning about/interested in (e.g. philosophy chapters of Pick A Side, chessboxing), as well as various types of mythologies and lore (Eucat, Melliferous).

3. Do you share your fic ideas, or do you keep them to yourself?

I'm the sort of person who hoards the fine details of my WIPs very close to my chest until I'm absolutely sure that I'm going to stick to writing the whole damn thing. I'm not great at sharing. But also I really enjoy sharing out of context little bits and pieces as I go, and constantly want to talk about the things I write - I'm a contradiction of a person.

34. How much of your personal life/experience do you include in your fics?

Well, when I was 17, I died, went to bee hell, and had to wait for the combined-yet-separate fractals of my personality to come bail me out I don't include an overwhelming amount, I don't think, but sometimes real life is the best source for an interesting story. It gives it a bit of spice and depth. For example, the thing in Syzygy with Thomas blaming his creaky apartment on an 'apartment ghost' and constantly talking to it because he's lonely is something that I do in fact do in real life.

43. Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet?

Yeah, I want to do a thorough deconstruction of a soulmate AU. And/or the hanahaki trope, because neither of those are something that I'm entirely fond of. I'm not sure if this is the right fandom to do it in or not, but I have a feeling I'll end up writing it eventually.

50. How would you describe your writing style?

Absurdist realism and/or magical surrealism.

76. How do you deal with writing pressure, whether internal or external?

Internal pressure is a sign I need to take a break and do something else for a bit, or stop taking myself so seriously. External pressure is a sign that I either need to block a rude commenter, or gently remind people that I'm a human being and I do this for fun.

78. What motivates you during the writing process?

Knowing that at the end of it all, I'll have a finished product that a) I will be proud of in some respect b) that other people will enjoy and c) (hopefully) scream at me in fury about. Getting to that end point where I can actually hit the post button and see something that I made show up in the tags is just the best feeling in the world.

79. Do you have any writing advice you want to share?

Be joyful with it. Writing is a game you're playing with yourself, so play. I recognize that this isn't the most helpful and specific of advice, but I can't stress enough how much you should experiment with stylisms and point-of-view and unreliable narrators and all the rest of it! Pastiche someone else's style! Write in reverse chronological order! Give yourself restrictions and take away your pre-existing restrictions, and BREAK THE RULES.

80. How do you deal with writer’s block?

Writer's block (for me, at least) is my brain telling me that it doesn't want to work anymore. It's had enough. It doesn't want me to work! Which is the point where I close the document, and go do something else that my brain does want to do. Sometimes that's going for a walk or making myself a fancy drink or snack, sometimes it's lying in bed and watching Youtube for ages, and sometimes my brain is just screaming and sobbing and kicking and doesn't want to do anything at all, in which case I just have to gently sit with it and wait for it all to be over. Either way, I'll get back to writing when I get back to it - either whatever WIP I was working on at the time, or something new that I'll enjoy writing. Forcing myself to write when I'm not on an actual deadline or timecrunch never works out well for me, so I try to be very gentle about it.

And I hope you get past that brainblock eventually. I've been there too, and it's the worst place to be in. Hopefully you find that idea or project that makes your brain start singing again soon! I wish you luck, and hope this helps.

#fanfic ask meme #long post #asks

[bitacrytic]

I think why it is so difficult for me to let go of kp is because this truly is my first and last bl. Idk if you remember me, but you used to get a lot of anons on the seedier side of bl industry. That was me. I tried to give bl a chance many many years ago, but certain tropes didn't really sit comfortable with me. Now you might say well the relationships in kp aren't healthy either ( and I am a vp shipper😅) but I felt there was something here that was missing from all those years earlier, and I fell so deeply into the brainrot. And now it is gone and I don't have anything else ( I mean I am sure the other queer love stories are made with just as much care but still...). Nothing.

Anon, I feel you, 100%. Long time no see.

As someone who spent years deconstructing my love for M&Bs, it is so ironic that some of my favorite bls are Tharntype and Kinnporsche.

To me, I fell in love with Kinnporsche for two reasons.

It was very obvious about its bad behavior. The first thing I saw n the trailer was the main character coming out to SMOKE!!!! and then he fell in love with his rude boss... and then his boss was parading other partners in front of him. Not to mention the hinting at the sexual torture. I was sold. I was ready for a show that wasn't going to pretend to be about fun and love, all the while parading toxic behaviors as good behavior.

I was sold on Porsche being a bad ass. This was something Type from Tharntype gave me a bit of, but I was upset with him sometimes because he was the abuser. I was happy to see the "bottom" character being given a backbone because too many times those characters are made spineless. But that trailer with Porsche gave me hope.

I went in to Kinnporsche expecting these two things and yes, I will admit that they let me down because Porsche became a little spineless and the show tried to portray Kinn's fuckery as good behavior.

But the beauty of it all was that while I didn't get exactly what I wanted, I got other things. I got intruige. I got action sequences in a bl. I got shenanigans. And best of all, I didn't have to spend 90% of the time staring at school uniforms. I cannot explain how much the adultness of this story appeals to me. I love that they weren't children. At least, they tried to make us forget that Porsche, Jom and Tem were in school but that was so fine by me.

And best of all, KINNPORSCHE KILLED EVERY SINGLE SEXUAL SCENE. The kisses, the sex, the handjobs. Oh Lord. they did it better than everyone who came before and anyone who has come after. Even down to that crying scene in the bar where that silly bartender strolled out and ruined the vegaspete moment, anyone can admit that we were hoping for some wall action. And if they'd done it, the show would have killed it.

Right now, I'm judging western sex scenes using Kinnporsche as my metric. Anything less is cringe, as far as I'm concerned.

So yes, Anon. I understand completely. other bls are trying their best to live up to the legacy of Kinnporsche, but to me, they're not succeeding. I've found some nice ones with good acting/storytelling, but... it's just not it. At least not yet.

I'm waiting with crossed fingers to see if BOC can replicate that magic or if Kinnporsce was a fluke. GMMTV and the others have been pretty consistent but BOC doesn't have a record to track so I want to wait. If another show comes out, I will give it a chance. I'm praying for Man Suang to quench this thirst in my spirit.

Honestly, in my head, I doubt that anything can top Kinnporsche right now. Especially with the cast separating and doing different things. I loved them all together. I got so used to seeing them all as a unit that it's going to be hard to watch something with one or to people. But I will try because I need my fix.

Like I said, my fingers are crossed TIGHT!

#kinnporsche #vegaspete

[kitkatopinions]

This presents the question of how should we portray abusive wives/girlfriends in fiction without falling into the jealousy stereotype?

There's a large amount of tropes that are often used in harmful and/or bigoted ways and this one in particular is the same as them. How do you avoid writing for a best friend character who is queer without turning them into the stereotypical Gay Best Friend trope? How do you write a girl character to get in trouble and need rescuing without making her a helpless damsel in distress? How do you write for an alcoholic character without stigmatizing alcoholism which is a legitimate disorder? How do you write for a villain that's an abuse victim without villainizing abuse victims? How do you write for a woman that's flirty and sexual without objectifying her? How do you write for an abusive ex-wife/ex-girlfriend without making her a harmful 'crazy' ex-girlfriend/ex-wife trope?

It's just being careful, being aware of the history of how these kinds of tropes or characters are used, making sure you deconstruct any of your own bigotry (both obvious bigotry and 'subtle' bigotry) before delving into writing for something like this, knowing what needs to be treated as serious and what you can use for comedic effect, listening to the people who criticize the use of these tropes to see what to avoid, so on and so forth.

With the RW/BY writers, I feel secure in calling out the misogyny of making their main villain's main motivation a man, making her so obsessed with hurting Oz for the crime of leaving her that thousands of years later she's still at it, literally writing her to have once been a poor sad damsel in need of saving, and leaning on concepts like her being 'deformed' and 'looking more and more like a monster as she gets more evil'... I'm pretty secure in calling that misogyny when so much of RWBY is baked over with misogyny because the majority male writers clearly haven't taken the time to check their own bigotry.

#rwde #anti rwby

[whatspastisprologue-blr]

I'm not, and never have been, a fan of Henry Cavill. It's nothing against him, more just a lack of interest on my part; there's other actors who have just really impressed me. Am I still sad he's leaving Netflix's Witcher, though?

Yeah. Over the almost-year that I've been a Witcher fan, I saw how much he loves the story and I learned how hard he fought to get the role. I respected him for fighting as much as he could to keep the show faithful to the books (and I'm not saying a show adaptation has to be 100% 1:1 faithful to the books; Lord of the Rings, Good Omens, and The Sandman are all adaptations I love). I know he said that he'd stay as long as the show was respectful of the books.

And now he's leaving. That's why I'm disappointed. To have someone who fought so hard for a project, and fought for it to be good, walk away because at least some of the Powers That Be hated the source material they were adapting? That's harsh, if it's indeed true (I'm skeptical of the scheduling conflict claim).

I'm also concerned what this means about the quality of S3 and S4. How bad will they be that Henry decided to jump ship? (Again, of that's the real reason he left, which seems possible.)

But I'm still grateful for the show. I hadn't heard of The Witcher until after S2 dropped and it felt like almost every post on my Tumblr dashboard was about this show (and, often, about Geralt/Jaskier, tbh). Sometime in January 2022, I caved and decided to binge the first two seasons.

Knowing nothing about the source material, I liked it, even if S1 was a bit confusing and it did at times feel like a Generic Fantasy Show designed to be the next Game of Thrones.

At some point, I heard of the games and the books. I'm not really a gamer but I might try them eventually. I was curious about the books, though, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to read them because I'd heard they could be a bit misogynistic and there were racist fans who were upset over casting people of color.

Eventually, I gave the books a shot and I was hooked almost immediately. It was a struggle to put the books down once I started reading and I think I finished each one in about a weekend. It's not that I don't have issues with the books (so glad Jaskier respects women in the show!) but I loved the characters, how they're more than their appearances might suggest, found family, the themes in general, the deconstruction of fantasy tropes, and the humor. The books reignited my love of reading in a way that nothing had since I first read Good Omens, just before the first season aired.

Before I began reading the books, though, when I was browsing Tumblr re: The Witcher, I kept hearing about this band, The Amazing Devil. Slightly more accurately, I kept seeing parts of their lyrics as fic titles on AO3, usually credited but sometimes not (maybe taken for granted that readers would know). It got to the point that I could guess the title was from a TAD song without having heard them because there was something unique about their lyrics. I kept seeing the band be recommended, that it was just so good. I gave the band a try and fell in love.

So, even if the show spontaneously combusts and ends in a burning wreck, I'll still be grateful for it, because it introduced me to this universe and to The Amazing Devil. I'll still have the books, I might eventually play the games, and I'll listen to whatever TAD graces the world with. And I'll be even more grateful for adaptations that actually care about the source material (which broadly refers to Lord of the Rings and the Neil Gaiman Cinematic Universe).

#the witcher netflix #joey batey #the amazing devil #madeleine hyland #love run #the horror and the wild #the witcher #netflix witcher #good omens #rip the witcher #the sandman #the witcher season 4 #the lord of the rings #lotr movies #tad ruin #tad

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

uh as someone who is in svsss fandom; not sure what that other person was talking about in terms of everyone “glossing over” how it ends. people know it’s bad. that’s... kind of the point, both of the entire series and that scene. spoilers for that, and the rest of svsss though I’ve done my best to keep everything vague, but you can choose to disregard this and I wouldn’t fault you for this. tl:dr svsss is definitely not for everyone and if this isn’t your thing, probably not for you. sorry in advance for the essay. it is an absolute train wreck, which is kind of the point.

that scene involves sex. that scene involves one person withdrawing consent. that scene continues despite the withdrawal of consent, and mind you it’s not what most people would call erotic by any definition.

this book is a horror that gets masked by the comedy from an unreliable narrator; what if you got isekai’d into the absolute worst of the worst online web novel, that is just porn and a revenge catharsis male power fantasy, what if you were stuck there? what if you were stuck in the role of a character created to be the source of misery, a character who actually has to suffer that horrifying punishment that is inflicted by the protagonist of this revenge fantasy by the end if you fail to change a story that’s already been written?

it’s a terrible world to be sent to because the book is deconstructing that entire genre that honestly I don’t think exists to the same extent in english, it’s a genre that is made to sell chapters via exactly that; a revenge catharsis story built on male power fantasy, with flimsy justification for porn at every turn. so this terrible situation to be in ends like that; with god awful porn tropes everywhere, of course the world ending and trying to avoid it involves sex that, if anyone involved with was real, would be horrifying.

the main romance is, as has been joked about, a solid red flag finding solace in another solid red flag. they’re both doing terribly mental health wise without much prospect of getting better but considering the circumstances it’s the healthiest dynamic they both could be in.

i’m not saying it’s a perfect story by any means, but I feel like people’s disdain for it often comes from the expectations. if you go into this with the expectation of it being like tgcf or mdzs you will be blindsided by all this, and it’s a lot to be suddenly exposed to without warning. personally I would absolutely not have enjoyed this as a romance primarily; but I still do enjoy it as a black comedy that hides the horror of what it’s deconstructing, and basically just happens to have an absolute trash fire romance in the background.

if you somehow got this far; thank you. if you don’t want to read svsss that’s fair, it really isn’t for everyone for various reasons. but if you’re willing to read it, reading it as a romance might not be for you. the protagonist and point of view for us is a very unreliable narrator and I’m not sure why entirely but this fact gets thrown out a lot when people get around to reading it.

I don't think it's necessarily unfair to say it gets glossed over at least in the sort of...idk, public-facing side of the fandom? Like I'm sure there's deeper discussions and meta and such going on within the fandom, but from the outside I've seen like 3-5 posts about the darker stuff and 100 cutesy memes of the curly haired guy being a whiny baby 😅

THAT SAID, I really like how you've broken down the premise here, and it is very interesting. I love SO MUCH about MDZS even though I don't like the sex, and I love MXTX's storytelling, so I could definitely be down to read some dark comedy-horror trope deconstruction from her. I do think that management of expectations is a big part of it: I daresay most people come into MXTX novels via MDZS or TGCF first, and both of those are certainly to large degree romances. So it kind of makes sense that then people head over to SVSSS expecting more of the same and get unpleasantly surprised. I appreciate both you and the other person I was talking to kind of breaking down the differences. I definitely do feel like, if/when I do read it, I'll be going in now with a much better sense of what to expect and how to interpret it. Thanks so much!

#asks

[fluffykitteninabox]

ok I'm gonna say it because it's been bothering me for months

I watched a review of across the spider verse a bit after it came out, I don't remember which youtuber it was, but basically they said that they didn't like how overly focused the film was on the emotional parent speeches. Now that's a personal preference thing, they can say they don't like the parent-child dynamic being the main theme, I'm not here to say they're wrong for disliking it.

However they said in their review they thought that specifically the scene with Peter and MJ at the end was unnecessary. Their reasoning, as I remember it, was that we already have the Miles and Rio scene and then the Gwen and her dad scene, and so we don't need to see the same scene again. And this has been bothering me ever since I heard it. I couldn't exactly put into words why, but it just didn't feel like that particular criticism was right, or even genuine tbh. It felt like they just wanted to say something negative about it and they came up with this.

After rewatching the film many times I'm finally able to express why I felt that. All these parent speech scenes are trying to accomplish something different for the narrative. There not just interchangeable, and if you cut one of them out it would definitely affect the film for the worse.

Cutting Gwen's reconciliation with her dad at the end ruins her character arc and the entire side plot of her "starting a band". She needs to hear her dad say "I quit" for her to have the final realisation that "canon" can in fact be changed. Otherwise she wouldn't be gathering everyone to go help Miles.

The Miles and Rio scene is needed for a lot of things. It's a set up scene and there's multiple pay offs during the rest of the runtime.

Miles hesitates to tell his mom that he's spiderman, then later he actually says it to 42Rio

Rio tels Miles to not let people tell him that he doesn't belong, then Miles beats the spider society and Miguel after he literally tells him that he doesn't belong

Rio tells him she's afraid people won't accept him like they do, and then Miles tells 42Rio that she was right and that they didn't want him

These all seem small but they're very important for his character arc. If the Miles and Rio speech doesn't happen, Miles wouldn't have the motivation to tell his mom he's spiderman. This would fundamentally change the ending of the film

Finally the entire reason I'm making this post in the first place. The MJ scene.

In my opinion this scene is actually ESSENTIAL, because it encapsulates all the major themes of the film.

"there's no playbook for raising someone like her... or being someone you. You just gotta make the right adjustments at half-time."

This is literally foreshadowing the answer to the main conflict. I kept coming back to these words specifically because they are the perfect summary for the main theme of this film.

Across the spider verse deconstructs the meaning of being spiderman. It asks us to consider what it truly means to be spiderman. Is it just a set of repeating tropes across different timelines, or is it about helping where you can? And despite the trilogy not being finished yet, the answer to this question is very obviously there in front of us.

There is no set way to be spiderman

Sure the different variations have gone through some similar events in their lives, but even the supposed "canon" that Miguel tries to uphold isn't actually something they all share. Miguel himself was never bitten by a spider and doesn't even have a spider sense, yet he's still very much spiderman.

These rules aren't set in stone

There's no destiny, there's no "canon", there's no script to follow. Just like there's no answer to the meaning of life™. You give your own life meaning.

You write your own story

#gif warning #across the spiderverse #there I said it #now brain please shut tf up about it and let me do my damn assignment!

[gofancyninjaworld]

I've been really annoyed at a lot of takes I see on Reddit and couldn't put my finger on why, but today I realized it's because they have a lot of snobbery towards shounen and assume ONE is making fun of every element of it. which I don't think is true. he pokes fun for sure, but I see a lot of "he's deconstructing the shallow shounen trope of blah blah and ridiculing it" which feels excessively mean. Most of the time someone presents the trope being "deconstructed," it's something shounen already handles with nuance. So it's extra annoying because it sounds like people who don't actually read shounen and just assume everything in OPM is ridiculing it. OPM is definitely subversive, but idk. It reminds me of how people who read "real literature" scoff at YA fiction as if there's no way it could ever tackle nuanced themes. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. I guess I just dont wanna think of ONE as being so petty and snobby. What do you think? Maybe i'm too sensitive

Talk about a late, late reply. Sorry!

It's a good observation. I'm not the right person to talk about shonen in detail because I tend to dip in and out of individual titles so there's a lot of nuance I do miss, but you're right, people who dislike a genre tend to lump all its tropes together into an undifferentiated mass.

A slight digression as I introduce you to Boulet, a fantastic French comic strip artist, has a splendid comic collection online (https://english.bouletcorp.com/). Sadly, I'm unable to find the specific strip I have in mind but in it he's imagining how vastly different films would feel if you just kept the camera rolling a little longer. So we get to the aftermath of the Ewoks's victory and see these cute critters dragging the corpses of the Stormtroopers away, mocking some of them... really changes the feel of it. The thing that's different about ONE's handling of shonen tropes in One-Punch Man isn't that he deconstructs them per say -- he loves shonen stories and really has put a lot of thought into how they work -- it's that he keeps the camera rolling. What happens then? So what? What happens as a result? And then? That's what makes it feel like a deconstruction and also serves as the springboard for its seinen genre...

More seriously though, One-Punch Man isn't a parody at its heart: it has a lot of parodic elements but its focus isn't a genre -- it's got bigger things to tackle. ONE does remind me of Terry Pratchett in a way: the Discworld series may have started out as parodies of common fantasy tropes but they quickly outgrew that purpose and the stories became much richer explorations of various aspects of human nature, all while staying fantastic and funny.

I tend to say that ONE parodies heroes -- he loves the weird, contradictory, earnest people who step forward when everyone else avoids trouble and there's a lot of affection for them even as he pokes fun at some of the silliness the superhero genre has thrown up. He satirises corporate culture, and there's a lot of horror that's just put out there without comment for the smart reader to notice and piece together.

It does get annoying when there's fans who claim it can all be understood at a high level and that it needs must be a zero-sum game: if you like OPM, you must disparage the 'standard shonen'. Fortunately, one can simply... ignore the fools. I know I do!

Life is short. You won't stay young forever -- unproductive discourse is something to cut hard and early out of one's life!

#OPM #asks #OPM may not be a shonen but it dresses in its clothes -- for reasons #however yeah people pretending that it's a high-water mark from which to look down are... sad #also don't really get the story either

[ascendance-bookworm]

Spoilers for the end of Season 3 and corresponding light novels.——Is it just me? Or were you disappointed they didn't include the funeral in season 3? Kazuki-sensei really made me legitimately mourn a metaphorical death—the death of connection, family ties—and masterfully deconstructed the trope of death being meaningless. The funeral really showed her writing chops, but it was cut and replaced with a quick shot that was not only wildly inaccurate to the books, but to the anime world building.

Pt 2 Obviously season 3 is season 3, and I'm not really complaining that it's not what I want. I'm mostly just sad that the scene that absolutely demolished me for literal weeks and made me go into actual mourning only made it for a single Canon-defying shot so it couldn't absolutely destroy my friends who only watched the anime. I need partners in my misery.

I noticed and lamented a bit, but it was also clear that they were wrapping the series up and I'm sure they didn't want to leave it on a such a depressing note, at least not even more depressing than it already was... maybe if they had another season they might have added more, but to keep it hopeful made sense given the anime ending... they wanted to focus on the more positive and maybe perhaps encourage those who liked the anime to pick up the manga / light novels and not turned off by a depressing separation... assuring them that her family and Myne are fine moving forward and still connected, even if it is hard.

The entire season seemed rushed, they got all the main points in, but I wish they could have fleshed it out more... animation was lacking in many areas. That was my take away at least, been a while since the initial impact, but honestly I was just hoping we would get another season, but that ending kinda said otherwise, as much as I would like to wish otherwise (I mean they spent time setting up some of the villains that would be more relevant much later in the story, so I was hoping). Part 3 and 4 have been so good so far, I wish the entire series would get an adaptation, but that is not the anime market, honestly never has been, especially for series like this.

Wish a series like this was more popular and had more money behind it, given how many anime get made now, many seem more like advertisement for the manga / light novels, as they only get 1 (maybe 2) seasons, but story continues on in print... with the market so flooded each season there is just too many series for niche properties to stand out and gain enough of a new audience and keep them. So getting 3 seasons was not too bad a showing, but I can't help but lament that the best part of the series was just getting started.

#ascendance of a bookworm #honzuki no gekokujou #bookworm ask