#there are some problems within the show but honestly i'm convinced this is some of the best fiction ever put out

[nances]

i can't wait for whatever else the duffers come up with after stranger things ends bc if the standard is going to be the same you best believe im gonna eat that shit up with both hands

#the way they write characters is just 😩🤌 #and the lore #the cinematography #UGH #there are some problems within the show but honestly i'm convinced this is some of the best fiction ever put out #peak media #byler #stranger things

[oneatlatime]

Sokka's Master

pleasebegoodpleasebegoodpleasebegoodpleasebegoodpleasebegood

Strange choice of master but we'll see where this goes.

The meteor shower animation is quite meditative. I wouldn't mind it as a screensaver.

How to describe something exceptional to your blind friend: "You've never not seen anything like this." It's amazing the quality put into even the tiniest of throwaway jokes.

Are meteor strikes flammable?

I love how whenever Sokka's disappointed he gets noodle arms. A surprisingly consistent characterisation.

Momo butt skate.

Iroh. The fuck?

ok. So he's playing a part for the guards. Why?

Pretty.

Funny to think about, but as a former WWE character, Toph's probably had more hero worship than the Avatar.

Lots to say about this! First, I stand corrected! i honestly thought that Sokka would be immune to this specific insecurity by virtue of him not being a bender. I was wrong! Second, I love how, as soon as Sokka expresses that he feels that he isn't as talented as the rest of them, the others respond by listing his actual, invaluable talents, without which the group would be completely at sea. They don't respond with "no you're perfect!" they respond with "no one can read a map like you can" and how he keeps their spirits up with jokes. They're not using false praise. They are using specific facts. I love that an episode that looks like it's going to deal with a character feeling down on themselves establishes from the get go that the character is invaluable, actually. So often, the 'low self esteem stock episode' puts the affirmation of the character's value at the end. Which means the viewer spends the whole episode being convinced that the character in question might actually be useless. Here, we're told from the start that the character is invaluable - the problem is that they do not perceive themselves to be so. Quite on the nose for a show that deals so much with identity.

OMIGOD IT GETS BETTER!!!!!!!!!!

Validating Katara sweeps in and a) validates his feelings, while b) clearly explaining that his self-perception is not in line with how the others see him, which c) doesn't invalidate a) !!!!

Katara has such emotional intelligence when she chooses to use it.

Nuanced intelligent discussion of the complexities of emotions and self-perception in a Sokka episode I am so happy I am blessed the gods are shining on me today I'm sitting here twirling my hair and swinging my feet and doodling hearts on the corner of my journal

SHOPPING!!!!!

btw that's the same face he makes when he says SUKI!!!

"Reinvigorate my battling" this boy. just. this boy.

He lasted a lot longer than I would have with nun chucks.

Aang the Happy Meal toy.

Some say that Halberd is still spinning today.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present: the 45 degree Sokka.

Some Foley artist had the time of their life with this weapons sequence.

Why thank you for that exposition, Mr. Exposition. Now walk away and we'll never see you again.

Toph does NOT move ONCE this whole scene and it's ever so slightly freaking me out.

Toph tells you she learned from Badgermoles and no one wants to discuss this further?!? We're going to gloss over that?

So this episode has a training montage theme.

Sokka goes freestyle on those door knockers.

That's one hell of a castle. Must be dark in there though. Tiny windows.

Which explains the several hundred candles. This show. Set up with one hand; slam dunk with the other.

This guy's reciting Sokka's s1 introduction on Kyoshi Island.

Sokka: Actually. I am a dumb. The Master: Sold.

The face of someone who is definitely picking up what you're putting down.

It's been ages since I watched the episode, but is some of what the Master saying here about swords an echo of what Zuko says to the kid in Zuko Alone when he's decapitating sunflowers?

A Sokka-less Gaang. Depressing and they know it.

The way Katara's voice actor says "oh everyone's a critic" is gold.

Multidisciplinary education vs. kid who's never been within a mile of the box he's being told to think outside of. Fight!

Yikes that was a meaty hit. Does Sokka have a nose left?

They're wearing beehives on their heads.

Was Sokka always this short?

The greens in this episode are such a delight.

The way he says "I'm finished!" Sounds like "Am finished" and you can actually hear the smiley emoji he throws in.

He's good.

What do they FEED him?

Sokka's voice actor had a great time this episode. All the voice actors had a great time actually.

Sokka invents the La Z Boy

Katara inadvertently invents a fandom war by attempting a joke.

They're all so useless and it's wonderful.

That was all only one day? That's a lot of outfit changes for one day.

"You mess things up in a very special way." Compliment? Let's go with compliment.

Sokka is so very Sokka this episode.

A reason to live is coming!

*thundering herds of shippers in the distance*

That's clever. The inciting incident gets smelted. Haven't seen that before.

This whole Iroh gets buff montage has been completely dialogue free on Iroh's part. Crazy levels of inner peace, that he'd doesn't need to snark back at the guard.

Seriously. What are they FEEDING these children. Also how is that door that shiny.

Sokka really has it in for those door knockers.

Apropos of nothing, the clouds in this episode are all so yummy. All these soft slate colours and misty layers.

Meteoric iron is actually a thing, right?

Ok but aren't mold made swords crappy?

HI YUE

I love how they managed to made a crafting montage where the character who does the least work is the one who looks like he's working the hardest.

"I saw a heart as strong as my garden decor"

"No it certainly wasn't your skills. You had none."

Creativity, versatility, intelligence, meat, sarcasm.

You've known him like two days and you can already tell he's more worthy than any man you've ever trained? Sounds like you had poor taste in students.

"No. This is my fight. Alone." Bro you are going to DIE. The first time you held a sword was two days ago. You might need the avatar on this one.

Guard who never shuts up actually kind of has a point here. He's a dick about as usual, but it's entirely possible that the rank and file of the Fire Nation army view Iroh's actions as a betrayal. Does anyone remember in Star Wars movie number 7, or maybe 8, when that Trooper sees Finn after he's switched sides and yells "traitor!" and it's the best part of the movie? Yeah, like that.

This episode throws the concept of linear time out the window. In two days, Iroh gets swole and Sokka masters sword fighting.

Do you think Sokka's realised yet that this is his final exam?

Yummy yummy clouds.

One in a million pocket sand shot.

One in a million stick placement.

So this master is like a sword spirit or something. He can't be human. There's no way he could get the scabbard to fly on perfectly without seeing.

"Try Lee, There's a million Lees. There's a tea shop in Ba Sing Se that has a super cranky waiter called Lee."

This guy's just this side of committing treason and I love it.

I see this Master is a devotee of the 'Hakoda school of shoving outrageously over the top compliments into Sokka's thick skull in the hopes that 1% of them will stick.' I approve.

This last scene has gorgeous hills and skies but you'll have to take my word for it because I've hit the image limit.

Sokka's been inducted into the super secret boy band!!!

He saved space earth for Toph! He's so considerate! He's fuelling the ships!

Let's compromise and call it space dirt instead.

Final Thoughts

This episode every two minutes: Sokka, you are currently flawless and you're about to get better. Me: Yes. Yep. Yeah. Seconded. I concur.

I like it! It's great! It's 24 minutes of the writers and characters fangirling over Sokka! Of course I like it! It made me criminally overuse exclamation marks! What else can I say?

Hands down my favourite episode is Bato of the Water Tribe. For Sokka's story, this episode is Bato of the Water Tribe part 2. Of course I'm going to love it. This episode was lab grown specifically for me.

Now let's see if I can say something about this episode that isn't poorly disguised squealing.

I love how the characters respond to Sokka saying he's not special with an evidence-based refutation rather than blanket reassurance.

I love how shopping cheers up Sokka. I love how Katara knows that shopping will cheer him up. This must be something she's learned since the show started. I don't think there were malls in the South Pole. So Katara was paying attention when Sokka and Momo went through the bag saga.

I love how much the master is baffled yet impressed by Sokka. He seems almost charmed by this breath of fresh air. I think it's hilarious that, when Sokka first approaches him, he's expecting early season 1 Sokka. He'd better send Suki a thank you card.

I also really like "The way of the sword doesn't belong to any one nation." It seems obvious to us, but in a world where there are weaponisable skills that are quite literally inseparable from the nations their wielders inhabit, it's probably something no one in the Gaang has ever heard before.

Obviously the episode is a little rushed - half hour kid's show and all that - but it's still pretty crazy that you can apparently impart a solid basic knowledge of swordplay in two days.

Toph going all tsundere is funny, and makes Aang and Katara unapologetically desperate for Sokka's company twice as funny as it already is. Toph's like "whatever" and the other two spent the day making a welcome home banner.

I love how Sokka's happiness is always so loud and shameless. It makes it contagious.

This episode highlights what Sokka's actual strengths are, by instructing him in what he thinks his strengths are. If that makes sense? Sokka is brain, which he's finally starting to realise by attending brawn lessons.

He's also heart, and I'll die on that hill.

Iroh getting swole was honestly just a thing that happened. No comment really, except it was interesting to have a reminder from the guard that a character we perceive as the good guy is currently perceived as the bad guy by everyone but us. When the Fire Nation does inevitably get defeated, a whole nation is going to have to reset their worldview and that will not be an easy process.

More like this please!

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #sokka's master

[axelsagewrites]

Aegon Targaryen*Promise

Pairing: Modern Aegon x reader

TW: Alcoholism, addiction, mentions of abuse but not explicit

Summary: After being expelled and disowned for his drinking problems Aegon and the reader cross paths again as Aegon starts his path to sobriety

Sad vibes dudes but wholesome end

Word count: 3472

Masterlist Here

Aegon Targaryen’s reputation had not exactly been kind to him. Over the years he had made many high mistakes and drunk decisions causing him to be known around town as an alcoholic man whore. In school he had always shown up either high or drunk or both or on the rare occasion he was sober he was hung over with his head on a desk. His name could only keep him there for so long before one day enough was enough and Aegon was expelled from the Kingslanding University. 

You remember the day everyone found out and how the rumours flew. His family had down their best to keep the damage to a minimum, but students talk. Some said he had shown up to class drunk and tried to fight the teacher. Others were convinced he had been found fucking a teacher in the library. Someone even though he broke into the heads office and stole all his books. It was all getting a bit too extreme as you watched the other Targaryen’s sink into themselves out and pretend, he had never existed. 

You had known Aegon when you first arrived at the school but not very well or for very long. But he had been so kind to you that you were shocked how he turned out. 

You had met him outside the guidance office on your first day of university. He was already sat outside waiting for his appointment when you approached. When he saw you coming, he quickly took his bag off the other chair and gave you what after became a rare smile. "I'm Aegon" were his first words to you as if you couldn't guess from the white hair and lilac eyes.

You told him your name as you sat down and within seconds you had dove into a proper conversation with a stranger. You were almost sad when the guidance counsellor poked his head out and called Aegon inside.

It was one of the few conversations you had with him, but he had been sober, freshly showered, and genuinely interested in hearing your voice. You ran into him occasionally when you went to the guidance office, but you soon realised, he showed up at the same time every week and grew curious. One time when he was leaving, he admitted to you that he was going to therapy but asked you not to tell anyone. His family hadn't known about the appointments, and you could tell from his watery eyes that there was a good reason for it. You'd tried to comfort him, but he shook it off, telling you it was fine. 

However, as he started to drink more, and his reputation grew his appointments began less regular and eventually you only ever saw him in the corridors. You honestly thought you may never see him again when he got expelled. You had grown close with his brother Aemond but even he refused to talk about his elder brother saying he could be dead for all he knew. 

You might have believed him if Aegon had not just walked into your cafe. During the summer you worked in a cafe for the extra cash and suddenly you were faced with a hollow version of Aegon. He was skinner than before, his face appeared grey and even his white hair had dulled. He was wearing a hoodie that had clearly been worn to almost death and was covered in stains and tears. His jeans were just as bad. When he came closer to the register you did your best to ignore the smell coming off of him as your eyes watered. 

He barely even looked up as he dumped out a pile of change on the counter and began to sort it. "What can I get for uh $2.30?" he asked, finally looking up. His lilac eyes hadn't dulled but you could see that they recognised you as his grey cheeks became red at the sight of you. 

"Aegon?" you asked but you already knew who he was. 

"I'm sorry I didn't know you worked here, or I would've gone across the street. I'm just really hungry," he said as his eyes welled up with tears. He had clearly been hungry for a while, and you assumed thirsty by his chapped lips. 

In all honesty all he could really afford was some soup but that clearly wouldn't be enough. Not wanting to embarrass him further you smiled and began to scoop his changeup "Why don't you take a seat and I'll bring you over some of my favourites?" 

He nodded and kept glancing back at you as he started to shuffle away. He didn't say anything, but you knew he saw you dump the change into your tip jar, not even opening the registrar before grabbing a tray and grabbing his food. Your co-worker had come in at this point to take over from you, but you wanted to finish his order. 

You walked over to the boy who was now sat picking at the skin around his already bloody thumbs. You did your best to put on a smile as he looked up at you and he gave a weak one in return. "I just finished my shift. Do you mind if I sit with you? Or I can leave it here if you want?" 

His smile became realer when you said that, and he nodded profusely. You placed the tray on the table and took your place. "You have to try the soup" you said as you sorted the food out "and I couldn't pick one sandwich, so I picked the best ones. Some crisps as well of course and I figured water was best, but you look like a soda guy, so I grabbed some coke as well," 

He hesitantly began to eye up the array in front of him "this is a lot of food for a handful of change,” he said, and you smiled. 

"Don't worry about it. Dig in," you said as you picked up your own sandwich, so he didn't feel out of place.

He was quiet at first, the only noise between you both being him devouring his first sandwich. He began to gulp down his coke can after and you stopped him," If you rush, you'll make yourself sick," 

Aegon nodded and gave you a smile as he began to sip his drink instead. You felt the growing need to know what had happened to turn him into this shell. You cleared your throat and attempted to ask. 

He was reluctant at first but soon the truth came spilling out. He had been expelled for coming to a meeting with the principal and his parents drunk but he had insisted no one had told him about the meeting before showing up at his form to drag him there. His parents kicked him out of the house for it all and he had nowhere to go. He had crashed at his sister Rhaenyra’s house to begin with but with her new young children in the house she hadn't felt comfortable with him always being there. She had tried but the situation just wasn’t what was right for her family. You couldn't blame her though. He admitted he had been an alcoholic in school, and he was thankful he hadn't become addicted to worse though he admitted to trying out drugs. They had made his mind too active though and it was a numbness he had craved. He told you briefly about his parents and why he felt the need to detach from it all in school and you could only assume this was the cause for his therapy when you first met him. He was open and honest at every turn with nothing left to lose from telling you. 

"But I'm sober now," he said as he reached into his pocket looking for something and eventually pulled out a chip, "60 days," he said with a childlike smile on his face, "I never thought I'd even get to 30,"

You took his hand and squeezed it, "I'm so proud of you Aegon," you knew it was a kind thing to say but his eyes began to well up and he was on the verge of crying "what did I do? I'm sorry Aegon how can I-" you started but he cut you off. 

"Thank you," he checked out. "Everyone else. They've gave up on me. I don't blame them, but you've been so kind to me. I can't repay you for the food, but I'll do my best," 

"You can repay me by staying sober. I'm here for you. I promise. I'm far too stubborn to give up on you anyway," you said and this time he laughed. 

He wouldn't tell you where he was staying but you figured from his appearance, he was homeless or at the best couch hopping. You gave him all the tips you had made that day and while he tried to refuse, he accepted them eventually. You told him your shift schedule and every day you worked he would come in after his alcoholic anonymous meetings. He would wait for you to finish work and you would sit and chat over some sandwiches and soup which you never let him pay for. On days you weren't working all you could do was worried about him. 

Once you had been doing this for a couple weeks, he began to walk you home from work and eventually he began coming in for a shower and dinner. You managed to thrift him some new clothes and he finally looked more like his normal self. His skin wasn't grey and his cheeks less hollow. He actually smiled these days. 

Then it came time for you to go back to school. It was your last day in the cafe, and you asked Aegon to take a seat and wait for you when he came in. He seemed confused since he had been doing this for weeks but didn't question you. When you walked over your manager joined you both and sat down. "As you know I'm sure (Y/N) is going back to school next week," your manager started and Aegon nodded confused, "this is gonna leave us a man down at the cafe. So, I was wondering since you're here more than I am," he chuckled and you smiled knowing what he was already gonna ask, "How would you like to come work for me?" 

"Are you serious?" Aegon asked and your manager nodded causing Aegon to stand up and start profusely shaking his hand, "I won't let you down sir I promise. I'll work harder than anyone ever has I promise," 

"It's alright son I believe you. The pays shit and the customers aren't all as nice as you but it's something,” but that didn't matter to Aegon who was true to his word.

Now it was you every day coming to his work to visit him. He kept his meetings going and eventually made enough to move into his own flat. Well, his own room in a flat but his roommates were nice enough and finally he had his life back. Finally, he was Aegon again. 

The day he moved in you came over to celebrate and that's when he kissed you. His lips were far softer than they looked when he first came into your cafe and the kiss left your head feeling dizzy. 

You hadn’t realised you were drifting from your university friends until Aemond had pointed it out. Aegon had almost begged you not to tell his brother about your relationship, knowing he would not be happy to hear from him again, and despite arguing at first you agreed. All your friends knew you had a boyfriend but now Aemond was determined to find out who it was.

“I just don’t get it you’re always busy with this guy and I’ve never even met him,” Aemond protested as you were sat in your dorm, trying to study with your little free time.

“You have met him,” you muttered as you copied down more notes.

“Okay so who is he?”

“Secret,” you said causing Aemond to huff and steal his notes back, “Hey!”

“No more help till you tell me who he is. You’re my best friend I deserve to know who keeps stealing you,” Aemond said, and you sighed.

You had been dating Aegon for around 4 months now and it was tiring not being able to talk about him because he was always on your mind. You knew he would be mad, but Aemond didn’t even know where he lived or his number to confront him, “You can’t be mad,” you started but it only made Aemond’s face contort into confusion, “Its Aegon,”

Aemond was silent for a moment. Like the calm before the storm. Then he opened his mouth, “Please tell me you’re fucking lying?”

“And if I wasn’t?” you asked, not able to meet his eye.

“Are you- Am I- “Aemond stuttered out, “Are you fucking stupid? You are, aren’t you? Is that twat even alive?”

“That twat,” you started with venom dripping off your voice, “Is my boyfriend. And he’s changed. He’s sobered now,”

“Impossible,” Aemond snapped, “that bastard couldn’t be sober for a million bucks,”

“Well, he is,” you snapped right back, “he gets his 6-month chip tomorrow. He goes to meetings all the time. He hasn’t touched drugs since he got expelled and he’s not drank the whole time we’ve been together. He’s got his shit together. He’s trying Aemond,”

“He always tries,” Aemond said, his anger mixed with sadness, “but it never lasts. Do you know how much money my parents spent on rehabs and treatments?”

“Aemond his story isn’t mine to tell but he has changed. I promise. He’s got a job now and his own place,” you said which caused Aemond’s head to snap up. Before he could even ask you stopped him, “That he pays for himself. He’s never accepted money from me. He’s trying Aemond he’s tried really hard, and he has changed,”

Silence fell over the room. You knew while Aegon had been through a lot so had Aemond and his sisters. Aemond sighed. “So, he’s sobered now?” he asked, and you nodded. Aemond cleared his throat. “Then I want to meet him. I need to see him. Can you ask him?”

you had agreed to at least ask Aegon for Aemond but the whole time you were at his apartment you were worried to bring it up. While cuddled up in his bed he paused the movie you had been watching together, “What’s up love? You’ve been acting funny since you got here,” Aegon said and you sighed, “is it something I did?” he asked with puppy eyes, and you realised there was no escaping.

“It’s what I did. I was talking to Aemond today and well basically. He knows,” you said and Aegon’s eyes that had previously were looking at yours turned to focus on the wall, “He kept asking about who I was seeing and I just. I didn’t know what to say. Im sorry,”

“Its okay,” Aegon said but he was now as stiff as a door. “What did he say?”

“He wants to see you,” you said and at that Aegon laughed. “He was being serious.  He wants to know how you are,”

“He wants to see if you lied to him. He wants to see if im sober,”

You sighed but took his hand into yours, “Aegon please. He’s your brother. He misses you,”

The room fell to silence as Aegon stewed it over in his head. “Just him. No one else,”

“Just him,”

The setting up process went easier than you expected but now you were walking Aemond to the café that Aegon was working in. Aegon had finished slightly early and was sitting at a table waiting for you as you walked in together. he hadn’t wanted to meet at the flat encase Aemond had brought their parents along and you couldn’t blame him for worrying.

Aemond froze when you opened the door. You waited for a moment before giving him a nudge. Aegon had looked up at this point and the brothers stared at each other motionlessly. Aemond eventually broke his silence by clearing his throat, “You promise he’s sober?” he asked, and you nodded which made Aemond let out a deep breath.

Finally, you three were sat at a table but the silence continued. “Would anyone like a drink or anything?” you asked but both boys shook their heads. “So…” you said, trailing off into uncomfortable silence.

“How long have you been,” Aemond started to speak but Aegon cut him off by placing down his latest chip on the table.

Aemond looked at it and finally Aegon spoke, “It turned 6 months last week,” Aemond nodded as he picked up the chip, turning it over in his hand, “It’s not fake,”

“I never said it was,” Aemond snapped before sighing and placing the chip down. “Im not here to attack you,”

“Why are you here?”

“Because I fucking missed you,” Aemond said and you could see the tears welling in his eyes, “You’re my brother man. I didn’t want to lose you, but I didn’t want to see you kill yourself day after day,”

Silence fell upon you all again as Aegon hung his head in shame, “You have no idea how much I regret what I’ve done,” Aegon started, his voice scratched as he tried not to follow his brothers’ watery eyes, “But I promise that I do. I regret every drink. Every shot. Every word I said. I regret it all,”

You sat with the brothers to begin with but moved to go behind the counter after 10 minutes to give them more privacy. Your ex-manager of course didn’t mind and was happy to see the brothers talking. Him and Aegon had grown close over the time he had worked there and Aegon never broke his promise. He worked harder than anyone you knew.

Eventually he brought Aemond over to his apartment which was a large step down from their family home, but Aemond tried his best not to show it on his face. It wasn’t long after that that Heleana began to visit Aegon who was now 8 months sober. She was reluctant to begin with, but the sibling trio did their best to rebuild their trust.

Over time Aegon didn’t have to go to as many meetings but made sure to go at least once every other week and whenever he was struggling you were right by his side to make sure he went to them.

When Aegon was 11 months sober he received a letter from his mother. Aemond had delivered it to him, promising that he had not given her his address. Aegon stayed in his room for almost a full day after he read it. when he eventually came out, he told you what it had said.

She was apologising for everything that had happened, explaining why she had become the way she had. Alicent explained how she took the abuse she had faced from her father and husband and took it out on her children. The day Aegon had left their home she had her own private breakdown and had to be admitted for a week. She apologised over and over again in her letter, promising to do better, saying she understood if he never wanted to see her again. A week went by before Aegon sent a letter back saying he wouldn’t see her till she had left his father.

Aegon was 11 months sober when Alicent left his father. She sent him a copy of the divorce letter she had served him and another letter praying for his forgiveness. He never replied to this. However, when Aegon got his final chip at 12 months sober he decided to have a small dinner party to celebrate in his flat. He invited his mother to that.

For the first time in nearly 2 years Alicent hugged her son. There were so many tears, so many smiles, so many promises made. She hugged you, thanking you for being there for him and helping him along. You told her it was Aegon. Aegon had done it all.

he kept counting the months even after his last chip. It helped his mind stay clear. He was 15 months sober when you moved in together after you graduated university. he was 19 months sober when he had saved up enough money to start his own café. And he was 24 months sober when he proposed. And in all the months and all the years he stayed sober he never broke a single promise he made again.

A/N: If word corrects Aemond to Almond one more time imma give up and rename him

#house of the dragon imagine #house of the dragon #house of the dragon preference #aegon targaryen #prince aegon #aegon targaryen x reader #aegon imagine #aemond x reader #game of thrones imagine #game of thrones #hotd #hotd imagine #modern hotd #modern house of the dragon #modern aegon #modern aegon targaryen

[olderthannetfic]

The main problem that I have with Youtubers who attempt to approach media analysis and fandom through theory and academia is that the vast majority aren't academics. Just being in undergrad isn't actually enough, contrary to the thoughts of many. Reading a Wikipedia article and reiterating what one may find in some Google, even Google Scholar, searches. Ideally, these would be topics approached by people involved in academia as a profession, people with doctoral degrees, who can discuss complex topics in a way that is easily understood by the masses. "What is the negotiation between gender and sex in BL?" "How does CMBYN articulate/complicate hierarchal roles within the gay novel?" "Could SnK express an alternative reading of the formerly isolated Japan?" These are complicated questions they attempt to answer in their video essays when they seldom ever understand the theories they employ.

Yes, I understand this can sound elitist, but as a Black afab person who is currently in a doctoral program for literature, there aren't "easy" answers to any of the questions they attempt to pose, and many Youtubers who primarily make long-form video essays lack the life experience and expertise to sufficiently discuss anything. They're usually too set in their thoughts to answer or explore the broader implications of their claims. Defending a dissertation forces you to do this. Forming a committee of experts in various fields and convincing them to aid you in the development of your dissertation forces you to do this. Being in academic and cordial communication with your peers from all over the world in your field forces you to do this. It's not easy to constantly intake new information from various eras and nations (depending on your topic), meld this information into a coherent essay, and continually make edits as you learn new information, thus changing your outlook on things. Also: it's really petty of me, but it's also incredibly annoying to grade poorly researched undergrad essays who, after some prompting in office hours, say they got these ideas on books, movies, and shows from breadtubers like Somerton, SZ, FD Signifier, or hbomberguy. Cue: me going to watch their videos and realizing they have no idea what they're talking about 88% of the time in terms of theory and application of said theory. Even the ones who frame themselves on being educators in real life, like Signifier, lack any nuance, depth, or media literacy to make a compelling argument if you know even the slightest bit of information. On the bright side, I now know why I've encountered several students with ideologies that are basically conservatism with a veneer of progressivism, or "conservatism in a queer hat."

This concludes my long-winded way of saying "Don't turn to Youtubers for media analysis. You're better off just reading articles by people who have to actually know what they're talking about. The majority of Youtubers (especially the breadtubers) don't have the bandwidth to discuss anything more complex than an episode of Blue's Clues."

--

I mostly agree, but I'd point to a slightly different problem. I'm hesitant to say that the PhD itself is the deciding factor, but I do think a lot of video essayists are insufficiently prepared.

I'm a big fan of Folding Ideas who does have some formal schooling in film, but I don't think it's that education per se that makes him great. He sets himself apart from other video essayists by actually doing his research and having an in-depth approach to his subjects. He doesn't resort to clickbait, and—here's the key—he often takes months or even a year to work on something.

Honestly, I think that's a big part of it: the hoops most youtubers who want to make a living at it have to jump through involve a lot of clickbait and pandering and a fast production schedule. They don't involve reputable peer review except by the court of shriek-y public opinion on twitter.

They'd like to present themselves as documentary filmmaking (which is essentially what Folding Ideas' longer videos are), but they don't actually live up to any of the usual standards of that either.

I think it can be elitist to say that someone needs to have certain letters after their name, yes, but what really strikes me about your average youtube media analysis type and the fanbase is that they want shortcuts.

Exploring the whole history of the gay novel so that you have enough background to talk about CMBYN means reading quite a few novels. Even if you decide to throw out all past scholarly opinion on the topic (which you shouldn't), if you're going to have a meaningful personal theory, you need to have read a lot of novels first. How can you hope to be the person providing the neat overview of the whole genre if you haven't familiarized yourself widely with said genre, and not just through a summary by someone else? That amount of reading doesn't happen overnight.

The trite, surface-level media analysis online is often from people who want to be hailed as great intellectuals but who aren't willing to put in the years it takes to do all the background reading and to develop their skills in argumentation, writing, etc.

Grad school is a convenient and probably faster way to go about all that, but I think you could do it outside of a formal framework... But you would need to actually do it.

I think it's driven by a bunch of people who were The Smart One in grade school and never learned how to work hard on long-term projects instead of pushing through in a sprint. They're used to relying on being the smartest to cut corners and do things before they get bored, only they probably aren't the smartest anymore anyway, and they mistake being smart at one thing for being smart at all things.

There's a real lack of respect for the entire concept of expertise.

[spacedadkronos]

Ooo, lol, looks like someone got their knickers twisted so hard they wrote a whole essay about how they're categorically correct about an ultimately subjective matter. That's always a winning approach.

Please do not try to "educate" me the difference between writers and executive producers in animation. I have an animation degree. I'm not a child.

 I follow both Brent and Alan on Twitter and have been for like 3 years now. I have been watching their updates since the announcement of the show 2 years ago. I have pics of them celebrating finishing up the writing. Here's proof that they wrote it, including screenshots of the IMDb Brent had linked on his Twitter. 

I said this is not what they consider THE sequel. Obviously it is *a* sequel. I'm saying people should not be treating it like Megamind 2 when it is a pilot for the TV show. They want a real theatrical sequel.

This is a random screenshot I felt was important

I think this person better put what I meant about not as many people would care this much if it wasn't on streaming:

Megamind was an arrogant little egomaniac for the entirety of the first movie. Not sure how you missed that. Roxanne appears dissatisfied with her place in life from her recording at the Metro Man Museum with Hal onward, and does her level best to become the hero her city needs because no one else is going to stand up and do it - not sure how you missed that, either, but her whole character arc is about stepping up to the plate to do good. Well done reducing her to a single career point and then discarding her. I wasn't surprised to see her frustrations with going right back to reporting. That was a headspace that made a ton of sense for her. It was set up incredibly well.

And Megamind himself says, "some days, it felt like it was just me and Minion against the world," so you might think I agree with you there - but in fact I'm going to point out the SOME days, it FELT LIKE. There is no reason to believe that he never had any other professional associates between the time he left the schoolhouse and the time we see him as an established supervillain. In fact, I can and will argue that there's room to interpret *he himself* saying he wasn't always flying solo. It's up to interpretation - but it's there.

And no, Roxanne and Megamind are not and should not be "quasi-dating" unless you want to look past the enormous Bernard lie. Which I can't say I'm surprised you did, since Roxanne doesn't matter as anything other than Reporter Romantic Interest, apparently. The end of the original implies they have *potential.*

But I'm not trying to convince you. At the end of the day, you didn't enjoy something you hoped to enjoy. You missed a few key points about the original, so the pilot of the show didn't line up with some of your expectations and it pissed you off. That's a shame. But instead of offering some grace and recognizing it for what it is - a movie designed for a younger demographic than the original, the first ounce of love Dreamworks has shown this IP since its initial release more than a decade ago, and as much story as could be crammed into 83 minutes because the people making it only had so much time within which to work, which is *honestly a fun ride* if somewhat tonally dissonant compared to what YOU were hoping for - you've decided instead to focus on what it wasn't: What You Personally Wanted. And you've decided to make your disappointment everyone else's problem instead of processing it like an adult and moving on.

I think you're boring, I think you're unkind, I think you're a whiny little bully who came onto MY POST to bitch and complain about how you're the god of what I'M allowed to enjoy. Block me, if I make you so miserable. I'm busy having fun.

#megamind #megamind vs the doom syndicate #megamind rules

[imaginesandbandfiction]

Dating the OBX Crew

Headcanons based on Taylor Swift albums

Pairing: John B Routledge x reader, JJ Maybank x reader, Pope Heyward x reader, Rafe Cameron x reader, Topper Thornton x reader, Kiara Carrera x reader, Sarah Cameron x reader

Word Count: 3.7K

Warnings: Alludes to some mild gay panic

Summary: What dating the kids from Outer Banks would be like, as told through Taylor Swift albums.

A/N: I had SO MUCH FUN with this!!! I have a few JJ fics that I'm editing that will be coming out soon, but I'm down to write for anyone from this show. Please let me know if you want dedicated fics based on anything from this list because I will write them all if you want me to, haha.

Masterlist

John B Routledge – Debut

Childhood best friends to lovers arc!!!

Your relationship would be super wholesome since you’re two years younger than him and you grew up together and your parents are friends so he wouldn’t want to move too fast (at least not at first)

You’re also best friends first so you have the most fun together

10% angst, 90% fluff

Top 3 songs: Mary’s Song, Our Song, I’m Only Me When I’m With You

Mary’s Song: Do I even need to explain this one??? Mini golf dates, front porch kisses, taking long drives in the Twinkie when he finally gets his license just because you can, play-fighting, ugh I can’t!!!! You’d get married on the beach (obvi) and everyone in the Cut would watch as you sail away on the HMS Pogue to your honeymoon. Your daughter was conceived on that boat, and John B swears he has never loved you more than when you’re holding her. He’s an amazing dad and wants another, like, immediately, but you convince him to wait a couple of years. His patience pays off, though, when you give birth to twin boys two-and-a-half years after your daughter was born. You raise your kids in a little house just a few blocks from your own childhood homes, and they are the cutest beach babies in the OBX.  

Our Song: He would 100% sneak in through your window at night when everyone else was asleep, at first when you’re just friends and he wants to hang out with you but then when things become more and he misses you. Your relationship is defined by all of the mundane things about life in the Cut; sneaking out through broken screen doors, running barefoot on the beach, late-night swims, laughing 24/7. One day, when you’re driving with the windows down in his car, you ask him what your song is, and he tells you ‘everything,’ and it makes you melt into your seat. 

I’m Only Me When I’m With You: Laying on the beach and stargazing, comfortable silences, home is anywhere you’re with him, you know everything about each other so you’d be super open and honest about everything and work through any fights or problems as a team because, at the end of the day, that’s what you are and what you’ve always been.

JJ Maybank – Red

You grew up on the Cut with the Pogues but had your own group of girlfriends so you weren’t always with them

You spent enough days (and nights) with them to know that JJ Maybank was no good for you, but you fell for his bright blue eyes and charming smile anyways

He’s a hothead so you’d probably have some big fights but you would always make up and your relationship would be stronger for it

30% angst, 70% fluff

Honestly, this whole album is just perfect but I’ll narrow it down I guess

Top three songs: Treacherous, State of Grace, Stay Stay Stay

Treacherous: This song describes what it feels like to fall in love with JJ. You know you shouldn’t, and he’s probably just going to break your heart, but it feels right. It’s exciting and you get swept up in his wild adventures and somehow you become best friends within the span of just a few weeks. He’s always showing up at your house early in the mornings to take you surfing, or late at night to smoke and then go get ice cream from the gas station. You let him take the lead and every day is something new and exciting. 

State of Grace: It’s on one of your late-night adventures that he finally shoots his shot. You snuck into some Kook’s pool, and it’s dark but the moon is bright and it makes everything glow, especially JJ. His blond hair looks shiny and golden, and his blue eyes sparkle when he looks at you. He challenged you to a shotgun contest earlier, so both of you are feeling a little tipsy. You float on your back and pretend like you’re floating amongst the stars, and you babble about whatever random things come to your mind. JJ swims up to you and slips his hand in yours which makes your heart race. He pulls you towards him and you kick your legs back down so you’re upright. Your tip-toes barely bounce on the bottom, but JJ can stand, and he grabs your other hand to keep you from floating away. He pulls you in, slowly, with a cheeky grin on his lips, until you’re pressed up against him. His hands wrap themselves around your waist and his eyes flicker up and down from your eyes to your lips. When you whisper ‘kiss me,’ he does. 

Stay Stay Stay: I read a fic inspired by this and it’s perfect but I can't find it so if you know it or wrote it please send it to me so I can link it! Your fights are mostly about stupid stuff, and JJ would 100% wear a football helmet to apologize to you, sort of as a joke but also just in case. He definitely loves to rile you up because he thinks you’re hot when you’re mad. Sometimes you think you guys just pick fights because making up is so fun.

Bonus! Starlight: Because you and JJ would absolutely go thrifting for fancy clothes and sneak into a Kook party. You’d get drunk on champagne and eat little finger foods, stumble around on the dance floor, and talk about all of your crazy dreams together. You’d end up getting kicked out and would walk home on the beach and look at the stars and plan out your whole future together. 

Pope Heyward – Speak Now 

You’re JJ’s sister so you’re technically off-limits but, really, what did JJ expect when he dragged you along everywhere he went. If you didn’t fall for Pope, it probably would’ve been John B

You’re the quieter, more studious sibling, so you and Pope have always gotten along, especially when the rest of the group is dreaming up some crazy scheme. You would make eye contact and just roll your eyes at each other

Pope likes having you around because at least someone understands his literary references and wants to discuss more academic topics. As much as he enjoys JJ’s philosophical high thoughts, he likes talking to someone with educated opinions and a wider worldview

5% angst, 95% fluff

Top three songs: Long Live, Mine, Innocent

Long Live: Despite the fact that you’re both pretty content to just read on the beach, you still get pulled into the Pogues’ crazy adventures. You never feel more alive than you do searching for gold, or running from the cops, with your best friends. Even before you start dating, Pope would always make sure you were keeping up, and he was the first one to offer a helping hand or encouraging words when you needed them. 

Mine: You start studying at Heywards Seafood just to get out of your house, and when it’s slow, Pope will quiz you with flashcards or help you with your homework. Even when it’s busy, he would still make sure to check on you frequently and keep your soda full. He’d bring you your favorite food without you ever actually ordering, and he wouldn’t let you pay for anything. You fall in love in his parent’s little restaurant, during quiet afternoons, and eventually, you start keeping him company while he cleans up at the end of the night. He takes things slow because he knows you’re afraid of falling in love because of your dad, but he’s patient and helps you through it because you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him. 

Innocent: You and JJ have gotten yourselves into lots of trouble just trying to survive with your father being who he is. You’ve done things you’re not proud of, and experienced the darker side of life that some lucky people never do, and yet, somehow, you’re still the most innocent person Pope knows. You’re so sweet and trusting, and instead of being paranoid and defensive (kind of like your brother can be, at times), you always give people the benefit of the doubt and are quick to forgive. Whenever things get just a little bit too dark, he’s always there to turn the light back on for you. 

Rafe Cameron – Reputation 

I mean, come on, it’s obvious

Your relationship is a hurricane. Intense, chaotic, and dangerous, but beautiful at the same time

Broken champagne glasses, screaming at each other in the middle of a party then having hot make up sex in the bathroom, being the hottest couple everywhere you go, glamorous dresses and designer suits crumpled on the floor

85% angst, 15% fluff

Top three songs: Ready For It?, So It Goes, New Year’s Day

Ready For It?: ‘Let the games begin’ is SO ACCURATE. Your family just moved to Figure 8 from NYC and you are the hot new it girl on the island. Rafe is obsessed immediately. You play hard to get for a bit, but then hook up one night in the bathroom at some fancy charity gala, and from then on it’s intense and messy. You’re both the jealous type, and you love making each other jealous. It’s like a game, you see how far the other person will let you get with someone else before they burst in and interrupt. Is it healthy? No. But it’s fun and the sex afterward is incredible. 

So It Goes: This song describes the moment you realize you love Rafe. The two of you are at a club on the mainland and he’s playing your usual game, dancing with some hot 30-year-old. He makes eye contact with you over her shoulder and then whispers something into her ear. She kisses him, hard, and moves her lips across his jaw and down his neck. Instead of marching over to claim him, you slip into the hallway to the bathrooms and lean your head back against the wall, willing the tears not to fall. Eventually, he realizes something is wrong and he comes to find you. Her bright pink lipstick is smudged on his face and you lose it. Rafe catches you before you fall to the ground and holds you while you cry. When you calm down enough to be able to speak, you confess your feelings. He wipes your tears away and tells you he loves you too. You’re the only one he dances with for the rest of the night and your chemistry is so intense that no one in the club can take their eyes off you.  

New Year’s Day: You’re the only one who ever gets to see his softer side. It doesn’t come out often, but you cherish the quiet, romantic moments when you get them. Cleaning up after his parties becomes one of your favorite things because he’s usually more subdued when he’s hungover. Clingy too. You laugh about the stupid things your friends did the night before while you pick up discarded bottles and sweep up glitter and confetti. It takes twice as long as it should to clean everything up because he’s always interrupting. He’ll take the broom from your hands and pull you in close, swaying to whatever music you’re listening to in the empty foyer. The juxtaposition of the remnants of last night’s debauchery and his pajama-clad body makes you giggle, and in these moments, you know you’ll stand by him through everything, whether he’s the king of Figure 8 or disowned from his family. 

Topper Thornton – 1989

You’re a Pogue, he’s a Kook, can I make it any more obvious?

He’s not as unhinged as Rafe, so your relationship is less dramatic and more fun

Going golfing just to get drunk and race golf carts, dancing on tables at parties in Kook mansions, skinny dipping, 

30% angst, 70% fluff

Top Three Songs: I Know Places, Style, Wildest Dreams

I Know Places: Your relationship is a secret, at first, and you take turns showing each other your favorite hidden spots in the OBX. You spend a lot of time on the mainland, too, and it’s there that some random Kook catches you shopping hand in hand a few months into dating. She posts it on her Insta story and by the time you make it home, everyone knows. A lot of people are very unhappy about it, and they are not shy about letting you know. When people yell things at you on the street, Topper turns toward you, shielding you from their view with his body. He’s always a little tense after that, ready to protect you at a moment’s notice. When things get to be too much, you grab his hand and run to one of your secret places where he can finally relax for a bit. 

Style: Things die down eventually and people don’t care as much. Topper is lowkey a sugar daddy, not because he expects anything in return, but because he genuinely loves spoiling you. He loves taking you to Kook parties and coordinating your outfits and the two of you become the best-dressed couple in school (they even give you an award in the yearbook). You think it’s more about your attitude than the clothes, being in a Pogue/Kook couple and not hiding it, you need to have confidence and be above all of the petty high school drama. The whole vibe, cool clothes, and the way you are so openly happy and give no fucks about what anyone else thinks is just chef’s kiss. 

Wildest Dreams: He gets into an Ivy League school and you’re going to UNC, and it throws you off. While your relationship was able to work in the OBX bubble, your insecurity and self-doubt get the better of you. There are going to be so many smarter, prettier, richer girls at his new school, and having a long-distance girlfriend is going to get old after a while, especially since you won’t be able to afford to visit him as often as he can visit you. He’ll grow to resent you (you just know it) so you decide that you need to end things before they get to that point, while you’re still in love with each other, so you can always remember your time together as happy and fun. After prom, he takes you to one of your favorite spots just to chill and you break up with him. You both cry, and he begs you not to do it, but you don’t budge. “I want you to remember me like this. In my prom dress, at sunset, with my makeup all done up and cheeks flushed with love.” You’d definitely get back together the summer after your freshman year, though, because both of you were lovesick all year. 

Kiara Carrera – folklore

The gay cottagecore relationship of your dreams!!!!

She would be the most touch-feely girlfriend ever, always grabbing at you whenever you’re within arms reach

Braiding each others’ hair, secret kisses during sleepovers, looping your arm through hers whenever you’re walking anywhere, being iconic ‘best friends’

20% angst, 80% fluff

Top three songs: seven, betty, invisible string

Seven: The two of you used to be best friends in elementary school but you grew apart, mostly because her parents didn’t want her hanging around with Pogues anymore. You were so close that even at seven years old you knew something was different about Kie. You had other female friends, of course, but they never wanted to hold hands on the swings, cuddle at sleepovers, or say I love you whenever you had to leave each other. Nobody else knows, but Kie was your first kiss. It was sweet and innocent, it happened on the playground late at night, at the top of the jungle gym. The darkness hid your blush, and the two of you ran all the way home afterward, holding hands and niggling like maniacs. You think that her parents found out somehow because it’s shortly after that when her parents stop driving her over to the Cut for playdates. 

Betty: You reconnect with Kie in high school, when you’re assigned to the same homeroom. Your heart skips a beat when she saunters into the classroom just seconds before the bell and slides into a seat in the very back row, laughing at something on her phone. When the teacher comes in, she shoves her phone in her pocket and looks to the front of the room where she meets your gaze and flashes you the biggest smile. She waits for you at the door of the classroom and throws an arm around your shoulders as you walk towards the science wing together, and just like that, your friendship is rekindled. It’s just as intense as it was when you were kids. She’s very touchy-feely, and every bit of your skin that she touches burns with electricity for hours afterward. It only takes a few months before she kisses you on the couch in her parents’ basement during a sleepover, and you feel like you’re going to pass out. That unlocks a whole new element of your relationship, and whenever you’re alone, you can’t keep your hands (or lips) off each other. You never label anything, though, so when you see her dancing with JJ Maybank just a little too close to be platonic, you feel like you don’t have the right to be upset. But you’re upset anyways. You avoid her for a few days, and then you hear from a girl in your Algebra class that Kie and JJ were making out at a kegger over the weekend. Weeks go by where you don’t talk to each other until she shows up at the party your brother throws when your parents are out of town and confesses her love for you in front of everybody. You don’t respond with words, just kiss her as if your life depends on it, and then she asks you to be her girlfriend. Again, you respond by kissing her. 

Invisible String: Kie’s favorite thing to do is visit you at the ice cream shop just off the beach where you work. During the summers and school breaks, when the Tourons descend upon OBX like they own the place, it’s always busy, but in the in-between months, things are slow enough that she can spend your whole shift sitting on the counter. Over the free scoop she somehow always manages to charm you out of, she gives you the play-by-play of the ‘lost years’ (as she calls the years where you weren’t friends). She goes through every single time she saw you, and what she felt in those moments, what she dreamed about doing. You interrupt when you have your own stories to share, and the two of you decide that there’s some invisible force tying you together, that no matter what directions your lives could have gone in, you would always make your way back to each other. 

Sarah Cameron – Fearless

The ‘I’m in love with my best friend’ cliche that pretty much every baby gay goes through

But you’re lucky enough that your best friend loves you back 

Because you’re both Kooks, and there are expectations you need to live up to, it takes a while for you both to be comfortable with your feelings, but once you are, it’s like a fairytale come true

30% angst, 70% fluff

Top three songs: Fifteen, You All Over Me, Fearless

Fifteen: Sarah Cameron is your best friend in the whole world. You do everything together. When you finally get to high school, you’re both excited to wear makeup and flirt with the boys in your classes, and whenever things go south, you’re always there to comfort each other. You share every intimate detail of first kisses and sloppy hookups, but none of it fulfills you. One day, you connect the dots, and the shock nearly knocks you over, but you vow to keep it a secret forever, scared to lose your best friend. 

You All Over Me: It’s Sarah who makes the first move, on one of your early-morning, sunset-chasing walks. It rained yesterday, so everything is damp and dewy, and the island smells fresh and rejuvenated. Everything is golden in the early-morning sun, and Sarah turns to you with her hair blowing in the breeze and her bright smile shining and she pulls you down to the sand and presses her lips to yours. It’s soft and slow and sweet, everything you’ve ever dreamed about and then some. When she pulls away and you open your eyes to see her eyes closed and a small smile on her lips, you forget to breathe. But then her smile fades and her eyes open, and she mumbles ‘I have to go,’ and runs off, back towards her house. You sit there, touching your lips, for what feels like hours, and you spend the next month trying not to think about Sarah as anything other than a friend (you fail). 

Fearless: At Midsummer, you try and pretend like nothing is wrong so your parents don’t get suspicious, but you and Sarah are unusually quiet, standing on the edge of the party nursing your drinks instead of taking over the center of the dance floor like you usually would. Sarah’s parents try and push her and Topper together, and when they’re dancing to a John Legend song, tears prickle behind your eyes and you slip out the back doors of the country club. It’s storming out, which feels like a dark omen, so you huddle under the overhang above the door and try not to cry. You have no idea how long you stand there, shaking from both the cold rain and your sobs, but eventually, Sarah finds you. She runs out into the rain, which stains her perfect white dress with dark streaks, and confesses her feelings for you. When she finishes, she takes a deep breath and steps forward to hold out her hand to you. You take it, and she pulls you out into the rain with her where she spins you around wildly and then kisses you. You’re both smiling and giggling into the kiss, and you spend the rest of the night dancing in the rain with your new girlfriend. 

#outer banks #obx #outer banks headcanons #john b x reader #jj maybank x reader #rafe cameron x reader #pope heyward x reader #topper thornton x reader #kie x reader #sarah cameron x reader #outer banks imagine #obx imagine #obx fanfiction #outer banks fanfiction #john b x you #jj maybank x you #pope heyward x you #rafe cameron x you #topper thornton x you #kiara carrera x you #sarah cameron x you #headcanons #taylor swift #john b x y/n #jj maybank x y/n #rafe cameron x y/n #pope heyward x y/n #topper thornton x y/n #kiara carrera x y/n #kiara carerra x reader

[fruitzbat]

There is this bizarre mischaracterization problem with Kingsley in the CR fandom that I think shows a certain level of contempt for the character himself — and honestly, I think it’s really revealing about a troubling hallmark of conditional support of nonbinary people in real life, which I find beyond hypocritical given…well, let’s get into it.

For starters, I'm not bothering with leaving a disclaimer about how not all fans do xyz or why I think that anyone should listen to me over anyone else. We’re adults here, we should know that things are nuanced by now. I also think talking about my own qualifications here is silly and masturbatory given that this is fandom and I'm very much doing it for free along with almost everyone else, so I'm not gonna waste the space.

Getting into the exceptions and such is well beyond the scope of this post, and I frankly don't think anything I say in this will convince anyone of anything — I just need to get it out there. If any of does change your mind, great! Icing on the cake.

*eyes glowing* anyway,

Given the admittedly considerable amount of work I do relating to his character, I wade through Kingsley's character tag a lot, and in many different places. On here, on Twitter, on AO3, his tag is full to the gills of bits of people writing stories in which he steals up to a certain member of the Nein and showers them with gifts and forehead kisses and...for lack of a better term, 'Mollyisms', and lays there enraptured while they talk about their relationship with Molly — who, obviously, is him. He's called "circus man" and is unbothered by it; it's testimony to the fact that this person and Kingsley have a history that transcends silly things like death.

Thus, the general depiction of Kingsley within the fandom is one that is not unlike Molly's, if not a 1:1 replica: a fun-loving, carefree libertine whose sun often rises at a certain other member of the Nein's forehead and sets are their toenails. He's curious about his past lives, but sees minimal distinction between them and himself.

And that's utter motherfucking hogwash.

The thing is, Kingsley's not an act II of Molly. He’s arguably a very different person from Molly, and the drift in Molly’s canon and fanon depiction is an essay on its own (not to mention the shift in perception in-universe, also brilliant and fascinating in its own right).

And I sincerely want us to think about that oversight in the same vein as if there were a considerable amount of Critters making content about, say, Beauregard Lionett falling in love with a man when she's explicitly a lesbian. Like, to me, it is that dire. And I will explain why that is momentarily: once I finish talking about who he actually is, and one of the principal culprits that I blame for this schism.

"But fruitzbat," some people might cry. "But fruitzbat, we have so little to go on. He's hardly shown himself on stream and he does, in the end, come from Molly!"

To that I would reply "skill issue," because Kingsley very much has distinguished himself from his siblings. Fandoms have extrapolated way more about a character with far less in the past. I didn't live through Superwholock on this website for anyone to tell me that they can't pull a fully-fledged character out of one episode of something. With all due respect, git gud.

Kingsley is a hustler and a cutthroat. He's driven, micro-managey — like, PAINFULLY Type-A, and interested in staying alive and making a name for himself; but in contradiction with this sense of self-preservation, he’s also ready to impulsively give himself up for a greater good and/or "make new mistakes", which can be read as altruistic at its best and unhealthy and self-deprecating at its worst (a trait which he definitely shares with Molly). In commenting on his new outfit, I’ve shitposted in the past that Kingsley is frum, but it's really not that far off. He doesn't like to leave things to chance, and also strongly believes in taking care of his own — he notably takes excellent care of the Nein Heroez’s crew. He doesn't suffer fools, he's snarky (too many examples to list them all, but have a few of my favorites), and also thoughtful and analytical and a skeptic. And most of all, he’s eager to learn and curious — not just about Molly and Lucien, but in general.

He jokes about being Lucien at one point, but makes it very clear that it's not him when people in his life make that slip-up. He's also been making the point that he’s not either of them as early as the campaign finale. And within the special, too, it’s pretty unambiguous. And then there’s Taliesin himself, also making it very clear that he’s a separate animal and on top of that, that he’s an absolute fucking badass.

And as mentioned, it's true that there's overlap with some of Molly's business — he's theatrical and loves fashion, for instance. But honestly, this character has far more in common with Lucien than he does with Molly. Lucien, who spoke multiple languages and lead a mercenary group into Aeor and back multiple times. Lucien, who even the mere prospect of him being resurrected was enough to reassemble the Tombtakers. If that’s not the makings of a Plank King, I’m not sure what would be.

And here's another thing: "Kingsley came from Molly" in and of itself is a misnomer. Based on both the stream and the addendum from the Lucien novel, Kingsley is mostly the reforged soul of Lucien — Molly's soul fragment was reintegrated into the rest of Lucien's. Kingsley is what was born from that fusion. When interceding on the failed Raise Dead spell, Caduceus said "put it back...whoever it was." There's just as much potential to say that it was Lucien's soul returned to that purple body by Melora as it was Molly's.

In all candor, I think it has a good deal to do with how many vocal Molly fans wanted Widomauk to be canon or somehow endgame.

The inherent tragedy of the dynamic between Caleb and Molly is that there is a constant specter of what could have been. Neither encountered each other when they were at a point to pursue their attraction, and Molly was dead before anything could come to pass. As a passive observer, I think that this what could have been has bled into the fanon interpretation of all kinds of purple tiefling content, mostly because there's so little to analyze otherwise. One only has to glance at the tags for the Lucien novel or the Molly origin comic to see what I mean. And I think that this has also significantly impacted the fanon depiction of Kingsley.

I find that this fandom in particular has a huge problem with sacrificing characterization in the name of fanon archetypes and tropes, but due to the distinct nature of Kingsley’s character this can veer into…I mean, pretty ugly territory.

People love the reincarnated lovers trope, and I see that applied here the most, to which I always want to remind people that Kingsley is probably more like a joined Trill. He has these past lives and memories, but just like Ezri isn’t quite Jadzia isn’t quite Kurzon Dax, Kingsley isn’t Molly isn’t Lucien. Ezri didn’t hop up and get busy with Worf, even when Jadzia had been his wife. Far from it, actually. Similarly, Jadzia had an entire exploratory episode dedicated to encountering Kurzon’s spouse and deciding that she (regretfully for lesbians everywhere) felt differently.

It’s true that it’s not completely baseless; I’m genuinely not saying that. It’s true that one of the first things King did was flirt with Caleb when he woke up. And then when he’d come more into his own, there was all that wild talk they had during the…

Oh wait, that’s right. They didn’t speak one on one even once during the reunion. So the argument could easily be made that in the chunk of the stream that showed us the most about who King was as a person, he didn’t touch Caleb with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole. Meaning that at this point in time, the basis of the ship is predominately Caleb’s relationship to his elder siblings.

I don't have time and ultimately have no interest in unpacking that in terms of it being solid foundations for a romantic relationship — we all can read, baruch hashem — and will also assume that there’s content about that dynamic that explores that weirdness with all the complexity that it deserves. But my central point here is that I’m seeing vanishingly little of it, and far more of it being used in a way that denies Kingsley his own identity. The point isn't hating on a ship. Widoking in and of itself is fine, the point is that people aren't actually shipping Kingsley with Caleb. They're shipping him with someone wearing the skin of his dead older brother.

Which brings me to my next point...

I find this aspect to be incredible given the extraordinary way that this campaign explores trans identity and narrative. Plenty of other folks have written about the extent that campaign 2’s focus on identity as a theme has resulted In one of the most comprehensive studies of several different types of trans stories. Like, VETH?!?

BEAU?!?! Not to mention FJORD’S UNRELENTING T-BOY SWAG?!?!?!

And yet.

And, yes, it is that deep. Let me explain.

Molly and Lucien are canonically genderfluid. Kingsley hasn't come out as anything yet, so the jury is still out... though many people, myself included, headcanon that he's some flavor of not cis.

For me, this is because Kingsley’s narrative is arguably more a traditional trans one than Lucien or Molly's: being born with the expectation that he would be one thing, then coming to his family — who hold that expectation quite dearly — and asserting that he is someone and something else completely different from that. Lucien and Molly are trans characters, no doubt, but their stories are not about being transgender. And there is an intrinsic quality to King's that definitely is.

The notion of "trans narrative" is also something applied to someone like Nott/Veth, even in a world where transness is not stigmatized. So while transphobia is not a thing as we understand it in Exandria, that doesn't change that Kingsley “came out” and transitioned in a more recognizable way to us than Lucien or Molly ever had to — in the same light as Veth arguably struggling with her self-image in a way that many trans viewers find exceedingly familiar.

If we can apply the queer critical lens and think of Fjord being a trans guy deconstructing toxic ideas of masculinity, or of Beau being a trans girl dealing with transphobic parents that wanted a son, got one, and cast her aside, we can also use that same level of discernment when it comes to Kingsley. There's precedent.

I don’t mean to get personal here, but the flat out dismissal of Kingsley's identity as an individual and not as the sum of other parts reminds me so much of my own experience of having come out as non-binary and then telling people that I was going to start HRT. The support dried up almost immediately the minute I made it clear I wanted to switch pronouns again and pursue medical transition, though I still conceived of myself as effectively genderless.

So long as you’re fun and funky and trans in a way that isn’t obtrusive, it’s fine. Well, “fine” isn’t the right word, but people are so fucking terrified of you becoming one of “those” trans people and taking the scary hormones and changing your body and getting the surgeries. It's the cousin of that perennial TERF talking point of "why can't you just be a tomboy/effeminate gay guy". As if being a tomboy/fem guy is somehow easier, too!! But I digress. To a lot of folks, Kingsley can be whatever he wants..........so long as he doesn't reject Molly as a foundational part of him, if not the, and heaven help him if he diverges from the mold Molly left for him.

For this reason (and for other transgender reasons that I don't want to get into), that has made engaging with a lot of this faux-Kingsley content difficult. Because Kingsley came out! Kingsley has told everyone who he is and what he's about, and folks are ignoring that in favor of an interpretation that centers a different person's existence entirely. And with this coming from a group of fans that tends to trend towards being trans, too, that's quite the bitter pill.

Creatively, I firmly believe that people can do whatever they want forever. And everyone has the right to make content where their Barbies scissor. I, for one, also am 100% guilty of it in other contexts. That doesn't bother me.

What does bother me is a collective delusion where a significant chunk of the fandom, in missing their tragically dead non-binary character, effectively stuff a separate one that resembles him back into the closet without noticing the cruelty of doing so. In fact, relishing in it.

And while these people are fictional and aren't real and can't feel pain aside from what we inflict on them narratively, it gives me pause about the way this trend mirrors common transphobic behavior I have experienced as a non-binary person myself. Thus, I cannot possibly watch it happen and not feel compelled to say something about it.

In essence, Kingsley has told us time and time again who he is and what he's about. If we say as fans that we respect the narrative integrity of Campaign 2, I think it's important that we listen and honor that.

#critical role #kingsley tealeaf #cr2 #mighty nein #'remy are you procrastinating' AND IF I WAS #new tea leafing #meta analysis #remy yells #remy writes

[aeide-thea]

tagged by @aldieb! thx for thinking of me, these little questionnaires are like. a cute little blast from tumblr's more interactive past :)

last song: i was going to have to give a sad little answer here about how i don't listen to music nearly enough anymore (never mind sing) and it's very definitely a reflection of my depression, but then i entirely out of nowhere and very urgently was like 'wait actually i have to listen to gordon lightfoot's "song for a winter's night" right now' so then i dashed off and did that and now that's the answer:

if i could know within my heart that you were lonely too i would be happy just to hold the hands i love on this winter night with you…

favorite color: oof so so many!! colors are so important. the signature one has gotta be a really highlighter-vivid chartreuse (🎾), but i do also really love me a good marigold orange? not to mention vermilion, or ochre, or moss green, or really saturated cobalt, or shades of rust or russet…

last movie/show: shetland bbc, which is a quiet well-acted murder mystery series set in a very beautiful very remote landscape. soothing if you like the british isles and can bear to entertain the fantasy of a decent policeman, at least for an hour or so at a time. also i admit to enjoying douglas henshall's face.

sweet/spicy/savory: all the best things are savory and also spicy! like. the jamaican curried chicken i grew up with. indian curries. malaysian laksa my beloved. can you tell i like curry. :D

relationship status: sidebar but this is such an amatonormative question lol. like why are we societally expected to look at 'relationship' and infer 'romantic.' also it seems like a weird outlier given that all the other qs are low-stakes little softballs abt yr tastes. however. extremely single! sometimes i'm sad about it because i miss sexual intimacy and i'm too shy to pursue that with strangers? but honestly most of the time i'm just as glad, because i don't actually know how to love people romantically without making a whole self-abnegating religion of it, so i'm not really convinced that dating was ever really all that good for me, on the whole…

last thing i googled: i use duckduckgo now, and you should too! :) having said that: 'yoal boat.' which is a very beautiful traditional style of shetland boat—apparently descended from a norwegian model?—that the islanders used to use for fishing, and then for storage draw up onto the land into these little prepared hollows called noosts (they have marinas now), which like. obviously i think is the most charming word imaginable. a cozy little noost for a lovely little boat! 🪺

current obsession(s): yoals aside, i guess the thing that best fits this category is that sometime in the last year or so i turned into Merino Guy??? like. even my boxer briefs are merino now (well, a merino-tencel blend) and like. it's so good, guys. comfy in a startlingly wide range of temps, helps me lessen my contribution to the microplastics problem, somehow even makes for reasonable athletic wear in the right weights and cuts: what's not to like. anyway brb, gotta go print out my 'NOT 🐑ISH ABOUT MERINO' bumper sticker. :D

tag 9 people: oof idk, do this if you'd enjoy it and ignore it if you wouldn't? gonna make like west and pull some names from my activity feed: @e-b-reads, @ghostofasecretary, @leatherbookmark, @nathanielthecurious, @obstinatecondolement, @papavera, @quailfang, @tisiphoness, @youcanthandelthetruth

#mundanities #memes

[maniacwatchestheworld]

Siiigh. Just gotta say that I'm a bit disappointed with how they did Clayface in The Batman (2004). Because like... They have some good ideas here! Though to be honest, those good ideas were taken from the good ideas present with Two-Face as a character... A man of the law who is good friends with Bruce Wayne turning to criminality after a horrific incident that changes him forever? Great ideas here! Obviously! Because these are the things that make Two-Face an interesting Batman villain! But they couldn't have Two-Face in this series, so I don't particularly have an issue with them trying to give this backstory to another villain but just... They didn't really do what they needed to do to really pull it off! It just... Feels like they didn't understand what makes this story work to the point where they could adapt it to a different character well >.<

Honestly, it feels like they should have made this story a 3 parter. A lot to ask of a show like this, I know, but they really are missing an integral part of Ethan's transition from good guy and friend of Bruce Wayne to murderous criminal, and that could have been remedied if they had just a bit more time to show Ethan's attitude changing.

Like... What they show us of Ethan's brainwashing just didn't really feel like it was enough to convince me that this would drive him to insanity... Honestly, I think that they show us too much of the process of him being brainwashed while not showing us anything to convince us that this would have a deep, long lasting effect on him... They show us the Joker talking to Ethan, him looking at one of those hypnotism black and white spirals but like... The Joker didn't feel forceful enough for me to really feel convinced...? Like... If they had to keep this scene in, they could have at least had the Joker hit him, right? Just once... Maybe give him a black eye (which would be how Ethan finds out that he's clay at the end of the episode). I feel like that's within the realm of what would have been appropriate for this show to really bring home the idea that Ethan is being tortured in this scene... Either that or cut away entirely and only imply what happened to him. They show us enough that it honestly feels like what he went through wasn't that bad! They show us both too much, but not enough. Obviously it would have been in poor taste to show the Joker actually torturing a guy on a kid's show like the Batman, but they didn't cut away when they should have either! They didn't leave enough to the imagination so when Ethan embraced villainy, blaming it on this scene, it just... Didn't feel like it was enough!

And just... While Ethan first discovering that he was made of clay was executed well enough from that point on, he just... Didn't feel like he was Ethan anymore. He felt like he was an entirely different character. Which you know. Works for Two-Face! Because in iterations where he's plural, he's literally not the same person from that point on! And Harvey's alter... Well... His answer to most problems is murder! But to our knowledge, Ethan doesn't have any of those kinds of problems. We know Ethan. And he's never been one to jump to violence as an answer to his problems. It made sense that upon first finding out that he was clay, he would freak out and try to get help. But once he discovered that he could control his own form... Well... Why does he immediately jump to the idea of murdering the police commissioner...? At the very least, in the Animated Series, they had Big Bad Harv try to assault a guy before they get disfigured to establish that, yeah! Violence and murder is a conclusion he would jump to! But while Ethan was a bit snappy at the commissioner, they once again didn't go far enough to convince me that violence is a solution he would jump to.

What it feels like they should have done was have Ethan try to convince himself that this is alright. He can fix this. No one knows the clay creature was him. And now that he's able to look normal, he can go back to the way things were! No one has to know. No one will find out. He tries to join Bruce at the basketball court. He convinces himself that this is fine. He's alright. He can just go back to his life and pretend that nothing happened. But then it all goes wrong. He can't hold his form together. He's different now. And no matter how much he wants to convince himself otherwise, he can't go back. Everyone sees him as a freak and a monster and would hurt him if given the chance. No tolerance. Asking for help didn't work. Pretending that nothing is wrong didn't work. And then it's at THIS point where he decides to choose violence and kill the police commissioner! But as the story stands it just... Doesn't quite work! It's missing that middle step from helpless panic to active and purposeful violence.

It's just... So disappointing that this idea was so very close to working! But that episode just doesn't work! Clayface but with Two-Face's backstory is a good idea! But they are different characters with different things that make the character tick, so the fact that they just didn't use the Clayface aspect to this story quite as well as they could have is disappointing!

#clayface #ethan bennett #the batman #the batman 2004 #the clayface of tragedy #batman

[villainelle]

☕ + current state of the mcu

this is pretty hard, b/c i'm gonna be honest, i stopped watching sometime after the first seasons of the spin-off disney+ shows.

out of the spinoffs, i liked wandavision the most. felt the most entertaining/intriguing

tfatws was okay-ish, i'm actually in the sam should be cap camp so that worked for me but overall i found myself p bored conceptually with the show, it definitely didn't feel like anything new. i'm so beyond tired of the mcu coming back to the "glitch" and the super-serum

i absolutely hated the loki show i'm sorry. and i say this as a huge loki fan as my edits will kinda speak for but everything i loved about him was basically stripped away and it felt like i was watching a new character. the worldbuilding was awful, the concept somehow managed to be boring, the show felt static, the acting either bland or over-the-top, with the most ham-fisted dialogue i've ever seen.

um. thor 4. i was excited bc i enjoyed ragnarok for the most part. i think it has its flaws, but it was entertaining, i enjoyed hela a lot as a villain, i liked the new direction thor was moving in, but i honestly turned it on and turned it off within the first ten minutes. i was kinda convinced it was a joke. (this says a lot tbh bc im a huge thor lover, to the point of defending some of the p bad writing his franchise gets stuck with)

those last two were kinda the nail in the coffin for me. overall, i feel they've really oversaturated their own market quite badly, and it's putting out show after show (movie after movie for a while there too), often poorly produced, relying heavily on vfx, often re-using same past plot points. with old characters gone, a lot of the nostalgia that kept people tied to it is gone and i don't think many of their new projects have been exciting to get people invested the way they used to, tbh.

in general, this problem is more of disney+ problem i think. i find that when i've watched other disney+ shows (just recently watched percy jackson, but also the star wars spinoffs like the mandalorian and obi wan kenobi) i am struck by how poorly produced many of them are. the plot is paper-thin, there's almost no physicality to any of the sets bc of the overreliance on cgi, costuming/makeup has gone downhill, writing has been stripped down where there's no subplots interweaving at the same time, just point a to point b, then the next episode is point b to point c. even shows i've enjoyed have this issue, and they end up feeling so soulless.

#replies #answered #anonymous #wank for ts // #marvel wank // #ask games for ts

[apaintedmaypole]

The future for Vegas and Pete

WARNING. I'm having a lot of VegasPete thoughts and I need a place to put them.

TL;DR Version: Let VegasPete be messy! Let VegasPete be kinky! Only fic can save us! (Probably.)

ONE: I really dig @lutawolf's take on VegasPete in the book vs. VegasPete in the drama. Luta argues that book!Vegas is "basically a criminal sociopath" and that this is one of the key differences between book vs. drama Vegas. (Read the link for the full take.) I definitely buy this take on book!Vegas in the first half-ish of the book's story. I'm not sure the canon continues to support this interpretation towards the end of the book though? I'm also not sure the authors see Vegas this way. It's hard to say, but I suspect the authors' inclination is towards some sort of redemption arc. The question is, what kind of redemption arc? There are some really annoying ways this could go. It'll be interesting to see where the new VegasPete story (supposedly coming from the authors soon) will take the characters.

TWO: Overall, I find the drama version of the story more interesting. It feels like we're getting more developed and nuanced versions of the characters overall. (Although, obvs, it's hard to give the book a fair shake when you're relying on online translations.) The drama version of VegasPete gives us more of a history and context for the characters, which is important. We understand where they come from, what's shaped them, how they might be uniquely suited to one another.

THREE: BUT... here's the piece I think is crucial. The history and context the drama provides should not be over-utilized to "explain" or pathologize their kinks. Instead, I see this history as a) context for their individual weaknesses, struggles, and needs. And, b) context for their current inability to safely/sanely acknowledge and act upon their kinks. They each have so much fucked up baggage dragging them down. It is a huge obstacle to their ability to understand themselves, communicate with others, act in healthier ways, or form safer kinky relationships.

FOUR: This is also why I'm so drawn to this couple and so interested in where they go next. An important question to me is: What does it mean to try and "fix" Vegas and Pete as characters? Or, to try and "fix" their relationship? Or to give them a happy ending? What does that look like? I think the authors, the drama team, and fans are all going to have very different and competing takes on this. My take?Within this storyworld, no one's going to run out to get therapy. This is still a very violent and dysfunctional environment. Within that context, how do Pete and Vegas muddle through? I don't think their version of a happy ending is any kind of domestic fluff. I think it's something a lot more complicated. I'm not saying they can't have happiness. I'm saying that I don't think falling on stereotypical happy ending tropes (babies and domesticity) is the answer. Babies and domesticity can be interesting story elements to include, but they aren't a magical balm which should be used to erase kinks, erase the characters' histories, etc. This couple has to work on a lot of stuff within and between themselves if they're going to stay together and not self-destruct.

AN ASIDE: Does anyone else remember fic from the show Oz? (YES I AM OLD.) I feel like Tobias Beecher and Chris Keller may offer some interesting parallels and contrasts here.

FIVE: The final VegasPete scene in the drama makes me nervous. It's just so fluffy and domestic. Yes, it's very cute, but how did these characters get here? Is one month in a hospital enough for this kind of domesticity and affection? What happened to make this possible? Honestly, I don't buy it. There might be a fic out there which could convince me, but I haven't read it yet. Instead, I'm nervous that the drama's solution is to skirt all the issues and just throw family and a dead dad at the problem. As if that alone just magically "fixes" everything. And somehow Vegas is just soft and cuddly now? No! That dude is fucked up. Yes, he's had a big scare and he's learned some important things, but that's step one in a complicated journey. Also, Pete is not a martyr or a gentle fawn. He has his own forms of masking and survival. He has his own coping mechanisms. He's also very skilled at his job. I don't think the Pete's future is one where he just becomes domestic and plays house mom for Macau and Venice. If he's a metaphorical hedgehog, then he's got his own shit to work through too!

SIX: Ultimately, I think the drama version of VegasPete is easier for me to work with and to see a future for than the novel's version. However, I really don't think that future should be one where they leave their kinks or their baggage behind. I think the pairing works best when Pete and Vegas have a lot of baggage, are also kinky, and are trying to figure out what all of that means. I think their future involves them trying to disentangle their issues from their kinks. I'm not sure they'll be 100% successful at that, but the more interesting part is the attempt and the ongoing work. This is also why I think the more satisfying versions of VegasPete's future might be found in fic, rather than in a season two or a new piece of the novel. I'm not sure I trust the drama or the novel to fully follow through on the story they've started. The ending of the VegasPete story in the drama and the books give us hints that both book and drama canon may opt to go for a more superficial ending. Fic, however, has more freedom to be messy, sexy, and kinky in the ways that VegasPete seem destined to be messy, sexy, and kinky. But who knows, maybe we'll get a new installment of the book or the drama and they'll surprise me!

--- YES, this is overly long. YES, I am epically overthinking this. I don't care. I have a lot of feels and I need to process them somewhere.

Also please, for the love of god, PLEASE feel invited to send me fic recs. I'm reading any VegasPete I can get my hands on right now.

#kinnporsche #kinnporsche meta #vegaspete #vegaspete meta #pete x vegas #pete phongsakorn #vegas theerapanyakul #hedgehogs #MY FEELINGS

[thebreakfastgenie]

I'd love your commentary on Wake, specifically on the way you chose to write Peg! your take on her is so interesting and fits so well, and I especially love it because she hardly exists as a character within the show, she's more just an extension of BJ, but you really gave her character and substance so I'd love to hear your thought process and commentary on how you chose to write her, and the conversation her and BJ have throughout and how you made it happen

Oooh thank you!! I had work and class so I just got to this and I had a lot of thoughts so I'm putting them under a cut!

Wake was one of those impulsively written one shots, but Peg in Wake is the product of a lot of thinking I've done about Peg before.

I have thought about Peg a lot as a representation of so many thousands of real women. The way Alan Alda talks about the characters telling the stories of real doctors and nurses is how I feel about Peg. I think I love Peg because I love my grandmother so much. My dad was born the same year as Erin and my grandpa was a doctor (who narrowly avoided the Korean War). There were so many women like her, who were wives and mothers, and they were all people. I want to show them.

I wasn't thinking about this consciously at the time, but I was probably influenced by Pete Seeger's song King Henry, which is from the perspective of a young widow whose husband was killed in Vietnam. A lot of my MASH interpretations come back to folk songs.

A lot of it did come from BJ, too. In Welcome to Korea we get this really striking portrait of this young man who was pulled away from his family so I thought, what does the other side of that look like? Here's this young woman who planned on raising her daughter with her husband, and now she's effectively a single mother of a newborn. Bringing in the bits of information we have, her parents live in Oklahoma, while she's in Northern California, so she's really on her own with her baby.

We see BJ fear the way the war is changing him and that he will no longer have a place in his family, so it made sense to me that Peg would share those fears. They shared a vision for their life and future, which was interrupted by the war. And yet, for all they share, for all that it's happening to their entire family, it still isn't the same, because BJ actually has to live through a war. So I wrote Peg as aware of that, as not wanting to burden him with her problems because he has enough of his own. I think about the loved ones seeing the interviews a lot and with Peg in particular, it's the most visceral look she gets at what the war is doing to BJ.

And honestly, I love characters like Peg. I love creating OCs, but creating and using them takes a lot of time and energy I don't necessarily have, so a lot of my writing right now is fanfiction. I love filling in those mostly offscreen characters. So often they give me just the right number of constraints to be foster creativity.

BJ and Peg's marriage in the show is a lot like the one-sided phone calls and you can infer a lot from the half of the conversation you hear. The conflict between honesty and wanting to protect the person you love when you know they're already struggling is timeless and it's raised several times in MASH, even with BJ and Peg specifically. Hawkeye convinces BJ not to be honest with Peg in Hanky Panky because it would only hurt her. We see the consequences of Peg's honestly a couple of times, when innocuous letters send BJ into a tailspin because they remind him of what he's missing. In Period of Adjustment, Peg tells him that Erin called Radar daddy, and unlike some I don't blame her for that, but it does touch on the theme of whether a policy of telling each other everything continues to work under the circumstances. Both of them beginning to keep things to themselves to spare the other pain, but experiencing the guilt of making that decision without discussing it, made sense to me.

The original idea behind Wake was exploring the idea that maybe BJ had changed too much to go back to his life, but showing that idea to be a fear, not a reality. That's why Peg's nightmare is BJ being unrecognizable, and why BJ understands that. The title refers to the theme of waking up that threads through the fic. I wrote "He woke from sleep, but not from the nightmare," about Korea, but it applies to the night of the fic, as well. BJ is awake, but Peg joining him in the kitchen is Peg waking him from the nightmare.

I thought of Wake as being about BJ, but it did end up being a lot about Peg. I like when characters surprise each other, and sometimes they end up surprising me. I especially like it when characters defy or exceed expectations. In this case, BJ thinks he's alone, and Peg surprises him by telling him she had a nightmare too. Peg drinking with him was something I knew from the beginning I had to include. Drinking straight whiskey is coded as masculine in fiction a lot of the time, and I was deliberately playing on that here. Peg is a fifties housewife and mother (though she does get a job) and the few images we get of her in the show are very feminine. It's kind of a cheap way of adding depth and defying expectations and I can justify it in all kinds of ways but ultimately it did the job. The fact that she takes his glass and refills it after she finishes it is significant, too. It's very intimate and it shows Peg walking into this space where BJ thought he was alone. The little contradiction of Peg worrying about how much BJ is drinking, but offering tacit approval by drinking with him, was very intentional. Humans are full of contradictions. I want the readers to find the nuance for themselves. I loved the image of Peg wearing BJ's kimono, but I also loved the significance of it. Peg has wrapped herself in something he brought back from the war.

The conversation starts with a compromise. Peg leaves the window open, BJ leaves the light on. I gave Peg specific recurring nightmares so BJ could ask "this one or that one?" to show how well he knows he and underscore that they share a life. The Latin exam was for @onekisstotakewithme, the captain of the Peg fandom who has definitely influenced me a lot in our discussions of Peg. But the choice of nightmares was to evoke different phases in her life--a mother fearing for her family's safety vs a student with academic anxiety--and to weave in a little more of her. She studied Latin seriously enough to have nightmares about exams. I phrased it a particular way on purpose, "you forgot to study" because Peg is studious and conscientious and only forgets in nightmares.

The nightmare I wrote for Peg is the only nightmare I've ever come up with that felt real to me. I find capturing the surreality of dreams with the conscious mind incredibly difficult. So I'm personally very fond of that part.

The real climax of that conversation, at least in my mind, is

“I want to help, you know,” she said softly. “I want to make it easier for you. I wish you’d tell me how.”  “I wish I knew.” 

It's the sleepover moment, the kind of stark honesty that only happens in the wee hours. She's just confessed to keeping something from him, and BJ has confessed not to her but to the reader that he's done the same. But here they are being honest again. And this is the reality: they don't know. “We’ll figure it out," comes in because I felt like she had to say something. Ultimately this is a hopeful fic, so it is intended to show Peg's faith in them, but it's also for the rhythm of the conversation.

This fic is a little atypical because it is the only time I will write short Peg. I normally picture Peg as Catherine Mayfield's height and I joke that I'm a class traitor for being a tall Peg truther. Short Peg in Wake was partly for Ally, but it came from me, "someone who’d grow accustomed to moving through a world that she didn’t quite fit," is how I feel sometimes about being 5'. It worked so well here as a symbol of how BJ feels about not fitting back into his civilian life after the war that I simply had to use it. It also shows Peg's independence, which she had to develop more of while he was gone, and which is not a bad thing. BJ is not only adjusting to it, he might be learning to appreciate it.

Peg's reaction to the alcohol in the morning is meant to indicate that drinking in the middle of the night is atypical for her. It's not going to become a ritual for them, which is good because doing that often would be unhealthy. Not everything will have a "cheerios" solution, but the point of the ending was to give them a place to start. BJ was afraid it was insurmountable, but it isn't.

[fishylife]

Thoughts on Painter of the Night chapters 103-126

First of all, it's pretty unfortunate that Byeonduck has been going through so many health problems :/ I know comic artists are under an immense amount of stress with deadlines and such. I'm glad that they're able to take hiatuses from drawing and writing, but hopefully they can take MORE of them :///

On to Painter of the Night, chapter 126 ends with Nakyum in jail because he took the fall for Seungho's crimes, and Seungho is there vising him. They're at a bit of an impasse because Nakyum is insistent on taking the blame, whereas obviously Seungho doesn't want this.

At this point, the story is kind of formulaic. Nakyum gets hurt because of something to do with Seungho, Seungho does what he needs to do to get Nakyum back (often using violence), rinse and repeat. And yet, I CAN'T STOP READING lmao. I just love seeing a guy get whumped for love, and that is what's happening to Nakyum. But the patterns are rather obvious now.

The handful of chapters after the murders of the lords, when Nakyum was still recovering, and Seungho had wanted him to stay at the kisaeng house...honestly those chapters had me tearing up. Nakyum was so worried about being abandoned by Seungho that he was doing everything he could to show him that he wanted to be there, pretending to be happy, even making sexual advances to Seungho. And Seungho...he reacts so gently now. I remember in the early days when it was so hard to read Seungho; he was so erratic, you never really knew what he was thinking or going to do. It was terrifying, even just as a reader. Even though Seungho and Nakyum's love is kind of obsessive, we can't deny that the love has grounded him a bit, for better or for worse.

After the deal at the kisaeng house, we see Heena mulling over things, probably because she sees with her own eyes that Nakyum wants to be with Seungho. Before, she was still kind of convinced that he was being held captive but now, seeing him run after Seungho, she's thinking about how things have changed, and probably aren't how she thought they were. Side note on Heena, it appears that she was the person that had been saved from the water, because she was looking for Inhun's stuff? And I think it was Seungho's people who saved her? Sorry, I'm picking this manhwa back up after a long time so my memory's a bit foggy, and I know that that panel was a callback to that time when Nakyum confessed to Seungho followed by a panel suggesting that Inhun had possibly drowned. But we're supposed to interpret it as Heena having been saved after looking for Inhun's stuff. I think lol.

I do love the scheming!!!! One of my favourite themes in historical stories. We start to see more into the relationships between Seungho, Seungwon, and their father who I'll just call Lord Yoon. Seungho isn't totally out of it, being a noble himself, he has an inkling of what's going on behind the scenes, because he knows these people well enough. And we come to realize that the reasons why Seungho is still alive right now is (1) because he has some dirt over the older nobles and (2) his dad still has a sliver of love for him. Apparently the older lords like Lord Yoon and Lord Haseon had done some shady shit and the petition was evidence of that, which Seungho held.

I CHEERED when I found out that Seungwon was on Seungho's side, and was the spy within the Yoon family. We'd only seen him briefly before, but I was always hoping that Seungwon would be cool and he is lol. I do appreciate that Seungwon is in the middle between Seungho and Lord Yoon though. He understands that Seungho's been through shit, and he's very sympathetic to that. However, he is also there to push Seungho to get it together. See, Seungho lives in a manor with people who all report to him. Nobody is telling him to get his shit together. That can only come from outside, and the only noble that Seungho even barely trusts is his brother Seungwon. And it's not that Seungho needs to study for the civil service exams like his brother and get a government post. But it's clear that because he handles things recklessly, that danger is always coming back to him and his loved ones, including Nakyum. So yes, there is a need for Seungho to get it together, and imo Seungwon is right to push him.

Inhun was approached by Lord Haseon to get the petition. I did enjoy the conversations between Inhun and Lord Haseon. It appears that long ago, Inhun had berated Lord Haseon for bullying a child Nakyum at the kisaeng house. And here they are, years later, Lord Haseon ordering Inhun to find evidence of Lord Haseon's own misdoings, and Inhun desperate to do so. There was that panel where Lord Haseon said that "time changes us all," and we see Inhun on the floor, kowtowing in desperation for another chance. Inhun was once a bastion of justice and the bureaucracy broke him down to the man he is now.

Lord Haseon pointed out that Inhun already showed that he was a man that was open to bribery the moment he agreed to an audience with Lord Haseon. Anyway, Lord Haseon got Inhun to look for the petition, and in return, Lord Haseon would help him get a government post.

It appears that Inhun always knew about Nakyum's affections for him, and used that entirely to his advantage to get the petition. It was so ugly when we saw Inhun burst into tears, feigning worry over Nakyum's "captivity," because we know how fake those tears were. But ever since Nakyum confessed to Seungho, we've seen his fondness for Inhun go from romantic to something of admiration for an elder. And that's what it is now, it's his admiration for a man he used to look up to, whereas Seungho is the one he wants to kiss, the one he wants to spend his days with.

See, this round of Nakyum being whumped and kidnapped is a little more personal than the last round (with the lords), because Inhun and Haseon both have personal connections with Nakyum and Seungho. Nakyum choosing Seungho over Inhun to his face is a big step.

As for Seungho, we're finally getting to see more into his past. It was hinted at that he'd suffered sexual abuse as a teenager (?). According to Seungwon, he believes that Lord Yoon does still love Seungho, and pushed most of the blame of the abuse onto Lord Haseon, which is a bit of a copout because they both should be responsible. But I'm guessing the story wanted to set up Lord Haseon as the big bad with regards to Seungho's depravity, and then Lord Yoon is going to be the big bad in terms of keeping Seungho and Nakyum apart. In any case, Seungho killed Haseon so that chapter is kind of closed. Kind of. It depends on how Byeonduck's going to handle Lord Yoon and Seungho's conflict.

And that brings us to where we are!!!!!!

Seungho and Nakyum's toxic relationship grows to be slightly healthier, if only because they considered the running away together. Seungho's starting to understand that...you should want to make people you like happy, and Nakyum being around all the people that hate Seungho is only going to hurt Nakyum. But they're struggling just to leave because Seungho's enemies are too strong and all around.

That being said, I don't know that Seungho has a lot of tools in his arsenal. He has no political power, except for the petition. I also don't know that he can get either him or Nakyum out of the crimes because, like, my man did commit them. Maybe he can get some leniency on punishment but ??? how???

For some reason I was under the impression that Painter of the Night was going to end happily (not sure why), but I wonder if this is going to end with Nakyum and Seungho dying together. Byeonduck once mentioned that in our world, Seungho would be a criminal, and even in his original world, he is a criminal. It's going to be a rough time getting out of this one, but with the power of bureaucracy and an imperfect political system, maybe there's hope for Seungho and Nakyum.

For some love stories, dying together isn't a sad ending to me. Usually when it just hurts too much to be together. But despite the ills they went through, I don't think dying together is necessarily the happiest ending for Seungho and Nakyum. Maybe because there was hope, and there was intention; I do think there's a realistic possibility that they could be happy together in their own world, not bothering anyone. But we shall have to wait and see what Byeonduck has for us!!!!

#thinking out loud #manhwa #painter of the night

[moregraceful]

patiopostin...the tl;dr is that i do not have pollinators yet and nico the jade plant continues to choose life. i did however just buy a new phone so when the bees come i am PREPARED. (bunny correctly told me i did not have to live in such a way that my apps did not work on my phone. a concept 🤨)

somehow through multiple frosts and rainstorms, the 2020 draft class poppies have not yet died and seem to be growing bigger? haven't bloomed yet but they're getting taller. the lavender and rosemary isn't growing very quickly (or at all in the case of the rosemaries), but frankly if anything survives the second atmospheric river we're getting in the next few days i'll just be grateful. like it snowed in los gatos which is only slightly west of me, the fact that none of my plants are dead yet is good enough for me.

my stepmom needed a break so she raked and swept my entire patio yesterday and i've had little birds poking around all afternoon. the more i watch them, the more i really want a birdfeeder. but i think my dog would be too mean to them if they were within his eyesight, so i have to think about it. the last time he was mean to a bird, the crows put me on an enemy list and would divebomb me every time i left the house. i had to start feeding them dog food just to get back on their good side. DO NOT FUCK WITH CROWS. i might be able to hang something from the overhang of the patio which is high enough that it wouldn't occur to him to look up. the problem is i am very short and don't have space to store a tall ladder so i'd have to set something up so i can reach the birdfeeder to refill lol. also is that too much wildlife for one suburban apartment complex, i really don't know

mom has been on me to get something to cover up the fence because it's very sparse and you can see right into the apartment from the street :/ pour one out for all the times i've stood shirtless in my kitchen eating cereal. hope the neighborhood enjoyed the show. but i kept putting it off and she finally got fed up, especially after beryl and ash were over, so she's coming over tomorrow with bamboo fencing, if it's not raining too hard. i think she also needs a break. what is grief but a kind of love etc etc whatever keeps them busy and takes their mind off of their hurt, honestly, and if that's fussing at me, i'll take it.

i was so convinced i would only be in this apartment for a year so i was reluctant to put too much work into decorating beyond hanging art inside and getting some patio chairs. but as my 5 year plan (GROSS) starts to firm up, it's looking likely that i'll be here for at least a couple more years, which i think is why i'm more interested in creating an outside space that is pleasant and productive. whenever possible i'm hanging out outside in the spring, summer, and fall, so why not fill the space. if i'm here for a while, why not make it a place that the pollinators remember to return to. idk. our lives are so short, why not give back as much as we can

#jack campbell jr and mars jr #fresno oilers.txt

[amysubmits]

So, I had my first babe a little over a year ago, and while I’ve lost the pregnancy weight (shy of 8 pounds), my body is completely different and honestly it just disgusts me in every way possible. I was a hardcore fitness type of person for many years and that’s something that has completely taken the backseat since my little was born.

I have always struggled with body image (significantly overweight to severely underweight and all stages in between) but this is killing my dynamic with my husband. I can’t submit. I can’t relax. I’m afraid he’ll touch my belly and be as repulsed as I am.

I so terribly miss it but the idea of showing my body makes me frantic with anxiety. I even lock the door now when I shower so that he won’t walk in and see me. We haven’t had sex in months. He says he doesn’t think my body has changed much but I’m convinced he’s just being nice.

I don’t really know what kind of advice I’m asking for, if any, but if anyone has had a similar experience within a D/s dynamic I’d appreciate your input on how to move past this.

Hello :)

Congrats on the little one! I'm so sorry that you're battling body image issues from how pregnancy has changed your body though :(.

CD and I read a book recently called Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life, by Emily Nagoski and it covered body image and how it can cause problems with sexual intimacy including the postpartum period, so you might find that book helpful.

I always have anxiety about suggesting therapy to people, because I know that some find that suggestion insulting, and some use "get therapy!" as an insult...and when I suggest it, it’s never meant as a bad thing whatsoever. I think literally everyone could benefit from therapy, that it isn't just for people with mental illness or those in crisis, though it can be extra helpful for people who are struggling. So I hope you're able to trust that my intent isn't negative here at all...but I suspect therapy could be really helpful.

My perspective from what you've shared is that your anxieties related to your body image have made you feel like you can't be physically intimate or even naked around your husband right now...as that would feel really unsafe to you to risk him seeing or feeling your stomach, I imagine that you feel like you're protecting you both by blocking him away from your body. Yet I think the reality is that you're soothing your anxiety by not having sex or being naked around him....but it's likely hurting you by keeping you from submitting which is something you terribly miss, in your own words. I imagine it’s also hurting him, as he likely misses those things terribly, too...and is aware that you’re feeling like you have to shut him out in order to be safe, which would be hard to face as a partner (maybe especially as a Dom?) even when knowing it’s not really about trusting him. So while you're trying to protect yourself, it's causing collateral damage.

In my mind, when an anxiety is having to be catered to so much that it prevents you from doing things you really want to do, that's a sign that the anxiety has become too powerful and it may be time to get outside help to find ways to reduce how much power it has over you so that you can go back to living the way you prefer to live. I think therapy is just a really awesome tool and I see it as the best way to take control of your life and to get guidance with creating the life that you want.

I am sure that others can relate to your situation and may have advice that is more based on personal experience so hopefully those people will chime in with advice too. 

#asks #d/s

[micamicster]

You've watched tbs&tdh?! Yay! What's your favourite part, what would you change, and do you have any headcanons for the characters' future? 👀

hi babe! Yes i did--and I wouldn't have if it wasn't for you posting it, so thank you for that! The book series it was based on looked terrible, tbh, so i was surprised by how good the show looked in the gifs you were posting. I really enjoyed it!

I think the best parts of the show were a) the cast. The main three have great chemistry and the lead is charismatic enough to pull off being a tragic chosen one without being a drag, which is hard to find in ya! I also think it was a good decision to cast a black lead. I know opinions and execution varies on this, but I tend to prefer a racial allegory in fiction to be backed up by actually casting a non-white actor in the role. Even though this casting isn't strict throughout the show (its not like all blood witches are black and all fairborns are white), having him be the biracial child of a black father felt like a deliberate choice on the part of the showmakers, not something incidental or shoehorned in.

Love a fantasy road trip. Not much else to say there, just a personal fave of mine <3

The other big thing I really liked about it was the unique style the show had! It felt distinct from other fantasy ya shows, from the costuming to the set design to the mundane, muddy, tramping through the woods scenes. And some of the magic was genuinely very creepy and unique--the scene with mercury possessing his grandmother in particular scared the crap out of me!

And lastly, I loved the decisions made with the relationships. I liked that each of the three central characters has their own arcs and their own relationships with each other--it made the group convincing and balanced. While I wouldn't really have minded a bisexual love triangle (as long as the girl doesn't get sidelined), I really enjoyed where they ended up as something pretty explicitly poly! I was surprised to see that play out so purposefully on screen--i guess id assumed it was mostly fan interpretation, but no, it really seems like what the showrunners were going for!

Now for the negatives lol. (And tbh im inclined to blame most of these on the book series.) Firstly, I think that the magic system is unclear. The idea that each person has a power, fine. But then some of those powers (like gabriels) seem to be just, can do witchcraft and potions? Okay. Also there's no clear distinction between what blood witches and fairborn witches can do. Which is fine if that's the point they're making thematically, but it really seems like there were supposed to be differences in abilities in these two different groups that are just... never shown clearly on screen?

My other criticism would be that I think they've written themselves into a conflict they can't write a satisfying solution to. Which is the problem with discrimination-based fictional conflict--there isn't an easy solution in real life, so it's hard to find one that's satisfying in fiction, unless you have plenty of time and very skilled writers. (Which, lets be real, most ya netflix shows do not have.)

Where would I want them to go from here? I'm rarely of this opinion, but honestly I think they'd be well within their rights to say fuck it, and hop a boat to america or something, leave this all behind. I think the most likely outcome is that they try to use their combined power to force a truce on the adults, initially fail because they're young and easily manipulated, but eventually gain something more equal and lasting. But what I would really enjoy seeing is them all, like, going to the beach. Waiting tables. Getting terrible hobbies. Continuing the fantasy roadtrip but, like, not dying this time. You know?

#thanks for introducing me to this show! I had a really good time <3 #also sorry this took me so long to answer but I had a lot to say lol #the bastard son & the devil himself