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pixies-and-poets · 9 months

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Wow, I haven't really followed the paper mario fandom, although I loved the games. But that sounds really bad. If it's not too personal, what sort of things happened? (if it is i totally understand if you'd rather not talk about it)

Wheeew! Let me tell you a sad story. At least what I experienced from my perspective.

So, I first got into the Paper Mario fandom not long before Super Paper Mario's release. This was back on deviantArt, mostly. I adored the first two games, and when I heard about SPM, I was skeptical at first. It was more like a platformer? Why was the art style so strange? ...But when it came out, it ended up being my favorite! I knew that as soon as I finished it.

Of course, not everyone felt that way, and there were already people who didn't like SPM because of how different it was, or the story didn't resonate with them. But to be honest, I didn't interact with those people very much. I was mostly friends with other SPM fans, and at the time, if they liked that game they probably had played and liked the first two as well, or at least one. It was a happy time as far as I was concerned. Most people, even if they didn't like SPM, seemed to think it was just going to be some kind of weird spinoff and they'd get back to the traditional gameplay soon enough.

....And then years later, Sticker Star came out and its complete blankness of story and personality hit us all like a speeding truck. This is when things fell apart pretty quickly. Pretty much EVERYONE in the existing PM fandom hated it, for good reason in my opinion. This is also where I became more sharply aware that certain people had a resentment towards SPM, since it was either seen as the "beginning of the end" as far as the gameplay starting to go off the rails, OR people outright blamed the story for being too out-there and emotionally charged which caused Nintendo to put the brakes on all that and go in the complete opposite direction (which was backed up by dev comments that came out around the time).

So from here on out I started to feel more and more like a weirdo for maintaining that SPM was my favorite, and a game that means a great deal to me personally. But after Sticker Star, the PM fandom just became an irreparably damaged and bitter place. Initially, the blame was put on Miyamoto because the understanding at first was that he had mandated the PM series 1) put less emphasis on story and 2) no longer be a typical RPG, really, since the Mario & Luigi series also existed to fill that niche. There were a lot of ageist comments made about Miyamoto in particular. Over time, as more info came out, the blame largely shifted to Kensuke Tanabe.

Things only got worse when Color Splash was announced and it looked like more of the same. People said the worst things about the devs, especially the people in charge, and looked for any reason to hate the new game and wish for it to fail. Even though Sticker Star and the soon-to-be-released Color Splash didn't have many defenders of their own, a lot of the larger Mario/Nintendo fanbase began to grow tired of old-school Paper Mario fans, as they... we... started to develop a bad reputation. And with good reason! Looking back, the complaints were understandable but the behavior was often unacceptable. And you know what? I got caught up in it too. I'm not gonna pretend I was above it all. Those were easily my worst days as a fan of anything. I didn't go out of my way to be vocal or mean about it in Nintendo's replies or anything, but whenever I did bring it up personally or on my own stream or discord or whatever, I was bitter. In the past few years I've sometimes come across old comments I made that I'd cringe at now. You might think of me as someone who is largely positive and tries to focus on spreading joy and dwelling on what I love, not what I hate. But the PM fandom at that time was bad for me. Between the Sticker Star and Color Splash days, I was definitely not the kind of person I try to be now.

When Color Splash came out, I didn't even play it for a couple years. But in that time, I largely stepped away from keeping up with the fandom, and I mellowed out a lot, and continued to grow into the person I strive to be today. And then when I finally did play Color Splash in 2018..... I liked it!!! The writing, the scenarios, the general creativity and even the gameplay are just SO FAR above Sticker Star and I think most people didn't even give it a chance, and because so few people own a Wii U, it might be forever doomed for people to just assume it's a slightly better Sticker Star unless Nintendo ever ports it.

And by the time Origami King came out, I was soooo done talking about the series and debating it. I had just totally burnt out. But I was at least tentatively looking forward to the game itself. And whlie I don't love every choice made for Origami King, I liked the experience as much as Color Splash, if not more. It's a nonstop interesting game with utterly fantastic graphics and music, and further steps back in the right direction as far as characters and lore go.

And that brings us to today. There are people, sometimes people that I myself have known for years, who NEVER stepped away, who never stopped acutely feeling the pain of the Sticker Star days, and wage a campaign of complaining to Nintendo to this very day. Meanwhile, Origami King (and to a smaller extent CS and even SS- what I'd call the Real Paper Trilogy) has a sizeable fanbase of its own, especially among younger players. Oldschool PM fans tend to see fans of the newer games as simpletons who have no taste, and fans of the new games often write off people who miss the old style of PM as boomers who can't accept change and are forever bitter and annoying. And then SPM fans just kinda feel like our own thing sometimes, the black sheep of the family. But as someone who likes (almost) all the PM games, I've had people be rude to me just for talking about any side of the issue. One time I was talking about how much I liked Profesor Toad from Origami King only to have some stranger, unprompted, reply to me about how ALL OF TOK'S CHARACTERS WERE SHIT AND THEY ALL SUCKED AND HAD NO PERSONALITY and I'm like no??!!?!? That's not true!!! That's not true AT ALL! I didn't stream TOK when it came out, I wouldn't fucking dare, because when I did play Color Splash for the first time it was on stream and I had to deal with at least one person coming in and being like "why are you playing a terrible game?" despite my repeated warnings that I didn't want to get into a debate on the game's merits. And on the other side of things, I've seen people come up with the most specious arguments to claim that TTYD is actually a Bad Game because it has some backtracking or whatever and that PM as a series was never actually good. There's just... so so many frustrating things I've encountered in the fandom that I'd have to double the size of this answer, which is already a novella, to enumerate them all.

But yeah. I kinda want nothing to do with it anymore. I'm just going to keep appreciating Flavio in my own time.

#alter answers #bramble ramble #I'm not about to tag this with PM because I don't want to get into arguments lol #THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE #look how afraid I am of anyone beefing with me

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spatort · 3 years

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I’m at my parents’ house and I have too much time on my hands apparently, so it’s time for a trip down memory lane! More specifically, a trip into the weird world of 1990s for-profit teen idol RPF, such as this beauty:

No, I did not find this at my parents’ house, I bought it second-hand specifically in order to make this post because I’m a person who enjoys studying fan culture in her free time. So, if you’re wondering what the hell the monstrosity pictured above is, and why it exists, don’t worry, I’m about to answer that question extensively.

LONG (AND HOPEFULLY FUN & INTERESTING) POST UNDER THE CUT

Let’s start with a bit of history: In the pre-internet era, fan culture differed from today in a few key regards. Although fanfiction existed, without the internet it was much harder for fans to share their stories with each other. Large fandoms such as Star Trek did have fanzines where fanfic could be printed, but all in all it was a much more niche thing than it is today with millions of fics accessible on AO3.

Fan culture in general, however, was a big thing in the 90s – particularly when it came to pop acts that appealed to teen (and tween) audiences, such as the Backstreet Boys, the Spice Girls, or (mostly in Europe) the Kelly Family. When I was in elementary school, you basically had to pick whether you were a BSB or an NSYNC fan – and god forbid you were a Kelly fan like me, then you were the lowest rung on the social ladder and the target of relentless mockery. Like many German kids in the 90s, me and my sister would religiously read teen magazine BRAVO, cut out every single bit of material about our faves and collect them in folders and self-made fanzines. We created fan art and fanfiction without having words for these things. Without the internet and social media, fans did not have a constant stream of content about their idols, and were left with no other choice but to cling to every bit of information they could find in magazines, on TV shows, or on the radio.

Enter a savvy businessperson who comes up with the perfect merchandise product to sell to these popstar-obsessed teens: fan novels! These books, featuring taglines such as ‘The novel for all Backstreet Boys fans’, typically revolved around a relatable female teenage protagonist who is a fan of the celebrity or music group in question, and usually ends up meeting their idol or, gasp, even becoming romantically involved with them. As far as themes go, they look pretty much exactly like your classic self-insert RPF. Except there is a big difference setting these books apart from ‘actual’ fanfiction: Rather than being written by real fans to express their ‘fannish’ feelings about the subject, fan novels were most likely commissioned works created by professional romance authors purely to profit off of actual fans. There is very little background information available about this ‘genre’, but I did stumble across an academic work on Google Books which featured a passage about these fan novels (translated into English by me):

There are several commissioned works by professional authors, which could be mistaken for fanfiction. Especially in the 1990s, when lots of boy bands were on the market, many books of this kind were published. […] These are fictional stories for fans [redacted].

Jennie Hermann: Backstreet Girl. Projektionsfläche Popstar - Wenn der Fan zum Schriftsteller wird (2009) [Popstar as Projection Surface – When fans become writers]

One of the things I find most intriguing about this type of commercially published fanfiction is the question of personal rights. Obviously, the celebs in question or their management must have consented to using their names in the story, their pictures on the cover and so on – because a profit could be made with this. Especially with the fan debate around RPF allegely being unethical, I wonder if the celebrities themselves were aware someone was writing these stories about them, putting words in their mouth, and if they had any clue what exactly happened in these novels. Now, I’ve read a couple of them in my own youth. Some of them deal mostly with the state of being a fan, e.g. I recall a novel about a girl who is so obsessed with Leonardo Di Caprio that she doesn’t pay attention to real life guys at all, only to learn that her actual dream boy has been in her life all along! This story did not feature Di Caprio himself as a character, it was more about the protagonist’s arc of realizing your idols are not all that matters in life. Others do describe fan encounters with teen idols, and some even feature (hints at) romance with a celebrity. When I decided to purchase a vintage copy of one of these books, I opted for one of the latter category, precisely because of the popular argument that writing romance stories featuring real people is somehow ‘wrong’. For only a couple of euros, I was able to get my hands on a weird and wonderful relic of fan culture: Mein Frühling mit Nick (My spring with Nick) by the likely pseudonymous Maxi Keller, heralded on the book cover as ‘the novel for all fans of the Backstreet Boys’.

The story revolves around 16-year-old musical prodigy and designated wallflower Katharina, who lives in a German small town and cares about nothing else than playing the organ – certainly not about boys, let alone ones that are super-famous American pop stars. This means she is not initially a fan of the Backstreet Boys, which I guess is something of a trope itself – the protagonist meeting a celebrity by chance without knowing who they are and the celeb being thrilled that someone doesn’t just like them for their fame. Anyway, the boys visit Katharina’s hometown while on tour in Germany because band member AJ is doing some research on his German ancestors who happened to live in this very town. Katharina runs into them, she and Nick (who was only 17 himself when this was published in 1997, so it’s legal) fall in love at first sight, she helps them dig up information on AJ’s ancestors and finds out the two of them are related, the boys invite Katharina and her friend Saskia backstage after their show and … nothing happens. The book is 200 pages long and Katharina doesn’t even get one kiss with her boy band sweetheart, even though they mutually crush on each other right away. Perhaps that’s as far as the band or their management agreed for the novel to go – a hint at romance, but no trace of any on-page action, no matter how innocent.

That said, the book is so hilariously poorly written that it was still very entertaining to read. Although I could not find out anything about the author Maxi Keller, and therefore assume this might be a pseudonym, their writing style very much suggests that their are a professional romance author who usually writes for an older audience (plus, the book was published by Bastei Lübbe, who also publish a range of cheap romance novels known as ‘Romanhefte’). The language is extremely flowery at times, and even teenage characters speak with an eloquence that is hardly age-appropriate, with some 90s teen slang peppered in at unfitting times (such as the overuse of the English word ‘girl’). Often the novel loses itself in pointless detail that does nothing to move the plot forward (such as an extensive description of a house party hosted by Saskia’s rich parents, with minute details of their luxurious lifestyle and assets, even though Saskia is only a supporting character in the overall plot). It appears as if the author is desperately trying to fill the pages with meaningless drivel so they don’t need to write too many scenes featuring the presumed main attraction, the boys themselves.

If Keller was indeed merely hired to write this, and is not a fan themselves, one must still admit that the author did their research when it comes to the band. Whereas fanfiction typically assumes that the audience is already familiar with the characters and often skips any introductory descriptions of their appearance or personality, Keller makes sure that even a reader who is completely unfamiliar with the Backstreet Boys can keep up. The author delivers extensive descriptions of the boys’ appearance and demeanor, even spelling out their full names repeatedly, and frequently peppers in ‘fun facts’ such as ‘Kevin was raised on a farm in Kentucky’. While an actual fan might do so to prove how knowledgeable they are, and earning their status as a ‘true fan’, in this case it only seems like Keller really wants to show off how much research they did – as if not a single piece of information they took in must go to waste by not being used in the novel.

When it comes to the question how realistically the non-fannish author replicates the way the boys act and speak, there are two barriers to delivering a well-founded answer: Firstly, I was personally very young when BSB were popular and I really don’t remember too well what each member was like. Secondly, the elephant in the room: the language barrier. All of the aforementioned fan novels were written in German, and the problems posed by writing about an English-speaking band interacting with German OCs (and teenage ones at that) are addressed poorly, if at all. Pretty much all dialogue is written in German, and the audience is left to assume that everyone is actually speaking English whenever the boys are involved – except the novel does nothing to explain why two 16-year-old German girls would be able to express themselves so effortlessly in a foreign language. (Remember, the internet was not a thing, so German kids were not exposed to the same amount of English in everyday life as they are these days.) It would have been easy to make one of them a language nerd who gets straight A’s in English class, and give the other a British parent and make them bilingual. Instead, Katharina initially even worries about the prospect of having to talk to boys at all, and in English on top of that! But when she actually does, the language barrier never comes up again. The suspension of disbelief expected from the reader is therefore immense. The language barrier also gives the author an easy way out when it comes to imitating the way the boys speak in real life – there is no need to take into account idiolects or regional differences (such as ‘you guys’ vs. ‘y’all’) if the boys’ speech is essentially translated into a foreign language. However, I wanted to give you guys (or y’all, if you will) a taste of how Keller attempts to write a scene where AJ and Nick discuss the latter’s crush on Katharina:

I would argue that this sounds realistic enough for what it’s worth, if a little cheesy, which is excusable in this genre. Perhaps a true 90s BSB fan would beg to differ, so if you happen to be one, feel free to drop me a message. But in my semi-professional opinion, this most likely holds up for readers.

So, to answer the initial question that drove me to purchase this book: Do fan novels like Mein Frühling mit Nick count as fanfiction?

If we assume that something is only a fanfic if the author themselves is a fan of the subject matter, then I would argue no, Maxi Keller is probably not a fan themselves and therefore this work of for-profit real-person fiction does not qualify as fanfic. However, fan novels definitely have a (however small) place in the history of fan culture and fan-adjacent works, and I personally found reading this relic both entertaining and insightful!

#fanfiction #fanfic #backstreet boys #nick carter #german stuff

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shinjukuspiritcommittee · 4 years

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A Message

I’ve been meaning to get this off my chest for a while now. With the current climate of a lot of situations and I just feel I should speak up to a larger audience. First, my impromptu hiatus. It wasn’t something I was prepared for or expecting but over the course of a few months I felt as though I was getting worse and worse. I didn’t quite know what it was but I just kept losing an interest in activities like writing the headcanons. I thought it was burnout at the start but that’s really scratching the surface of the bigger issue at hand. Just one by one things in my day to day life started losing their charms that I enjoyed and only recently did they blow up out of proportions for me since it has just felt it’s been piling more and more. It was getting to points where leaving the house for tasks felt like too much effort for not much pay off. While it sounds difficult things have been making an upward swing because I’m not going to try and keep those feelings bottled up anymore and just be more clear about what I am feeling. I’ve managed to re-establish important connections to people and I am trying my best.

For those of you probably wondering, I’m not sure if it exactly is depression. I don’t like using that word and I haven’t really consulted an expert on the matter since I’m not sure why I got like that so bad. I’ve never liked calling what I have depression because it feels a little like I’m just saying it for the sake of trying to get in with the buzz words or something. And to be honest it’s terrifying to think that you have something like that. It’s mortifying to think that something like that can be with you without ever realizing it was there to begin with and never really being able to be rid of it. The word just has a lot of serious connotations so I don’t like to just toss it around so casually. But those around me have spoken to are claiming that it is. I’m not saying this to get any sort of excuses or sympathy from people but rather hopes that this can maybe make someone’s day just a bit better. That you might think you’re alone, but really you’re not. All you have to do is to just find someone who can listen. Those are the first steps to getting out of your own doubts and anxieties.

This next part is about a lot of allegations that have been flying out on Twitter lately. In the broad YouTuber community, the Smash community- even the smaller communities like the Fire Emblem community that I like to believe I’m part of- are all swept up in turmoil because of stories coming forward about abuse, betrayal, sexual misconduct, etc etc. I get worried that the western fan base of Housamo might get caught up in it as well because of everyone coming forward and to some extent you can argue it’s a matter of time before a few people with their stories come forward. I want to say that first, all of our condolences should go to the victims of these tragic outcomes and the best way to support these people is by using your stance in the community to send a message. You don’t need to go on long rants (like this one) or put someone on blast for something that you don’t have much connection to do. All you need to do is choose who you promote and elevate in the communities you are a part of. These influencers really only have a voice because we as a community have given those people a voice. It’s important to remember that you’re support is the most important to an influencer. I know I’m nothing special and I’m a bit run of the mill with my headcanons and fanfics, but I’ll forever be happy that there are people out there just willing to give my stuff a chance because it fills that niche itch or because someone just genuinely likes what I create. Despite what I said earlier about my will to write losing it’s charm but I do mean it when I say I smile a bit more when I start to look past the doubt and think that maybe one person liked it. That’s the feeling a lot of content creators should remember. We have a platform, no matter how big or small, because of the communities we are a part of.

The reason I wanted to bring all this up is because a lot of the allegations coming forward towards certain individuals have hit… a bit close to home for me. Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with anyone in the community. It’s a bit more personal than that. I don’t want to go into the details for the sake of just not disgusting anyone publicly nor to drudge up too many old memories that just make me well up with regret. This next part is more to either help those who don’t understand just hopefully understand a bit better or to those who do unfortunately understand to feel less alone and powerless in their situations.

When in a situation like that, it’s not so much what the person did that’s the most damaging thing. Yes that person’s actions are genuinely terrible and anyone who does those things doesn’t deserve to be acknowledged, but the worse thing that can happen is that sense of betrayal and fear that overtakes you when these things happen. That constant fear when you’re around them that they were going to get at you in ways no one else could. It’s that craving to just get away from the person who wronged you. A desire to just forget and move on. I still remember that anxiety I’d get whenever I’d just lay eyes on that someone and that need to turn heel and just get away. It’s all psychological and emotional what these events do to people that haunt them. All because a feeling of guilt. Not a guilt that’s always genuine. A guilt someone forces you into by telling you all the times they’ve done nice things for you, or guilting you by turning your words against you, or guilting you by dangling their life over your head or even just throwing pity parties- the truth is there’s a number of reasons.

So in short, I’m not sure when the next wave of headcanons will be coming (hoping for this weekend). It’s a scary time and a lot of folks are going to be uncertain as to what they should do, you might even be afraid yourself. Just remember that you have control in what you do in communities and fandoms and its up to you to support what you believe in and what not to do. Remember you’re also not alone even if you feel like it.

I hope I never feel compelled to write a long sort of rant thing like this ever again because this is definitely not what I want this blog to focus on. This was a lot heavier stuff that’s been weighing on my mind and I felt I needed to get it out of my system more than through private chats. Thank you for giving this post a read, I know it isn’t what you expected but I hope that at the very least it helped someone out there. Or maybe I just wasted your time on a topic you didn’t care for to begin with. To each your own.

#update #this honestly upsets me that i feel i have to make a post like this #explanation #tokyo afterschool summoners

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steponmepinkjun · 3 years

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wow im literally the opposite. "i will continue loving the exact kind of things that i got bullied for in high school out of pure spite because if i let it get to me that it's not ""socially acceptable"" then they win and i Never Lose" kinda shit. i will stay here chanting MULGAMNORI MULGAMNORI MULGAMNORI like a lunatic and if anyone tries to judge me for it they best be running before i take over their sleep paralysis demon's job again. after kingdom im literally planning to stan all the groups on that show. they're all so talented and idc if them being so young yet so successful makes me feel shit abt my life! i will vicariously live thru their success and keep enjoying the absolute Bangers they keep dropping. but hey that's just me u do u bestie if anyone tries to come at you for liking kpop im here and im ready w them Facts they dont wanna confront (like the internalized racism and infantilization of asians that causes them to look down on kpop like it ain't just music in another language when they got way too turnt to despacito.) -felix bi anon

I mean realistically speaking—and we gonna shoutout to my therapist here—when it comes to how the world perceives me, I'm very much fixated on the control element of it. I like to think I'm very evolved and very dgaf (and in a lot of ways I am!) but the reality is more of the not really variety 😂 I can really only handle other people's perception of me if I feel like I can either guide it (through people pleasing) to be beneficial to me (by becoming what they want/need me to be) or by weaponizing it (for a number of years most of my outward identity was defined by going "oh you think I'm weird? Well, I don't know why you think that, and I don't know how to stop it, so if you think I'm weird I'll be the weirdest motherfucker you've ever seen, because FUCK YOU!").

If I can control the narrative, I'm fine with people thinking I'm weird—but subconsciously I can only handle it if they see me as the kind of weird I want to be seen as, you know what I mean? If I think I look fab and someone thinks I look like shit, that feels yucky, but if I intentionally look a way that I know will upset them, I'm still getting my desired outcome even if their reaction is negative, you know? So if I feel like I can't control the narrative I just try not to allow anyone to react to me at all—and since I can only feel confident in an interest of mine as I accumulate time + an absurd degree of knowledge, things that I'm new to feel generally unsafe for me to enjoy. Not to whip out the psychoanalysis but I'm physically unable to stop myself from hyper-analyzing all my own thoughts and behaviors 😂 And also when I'm hyperfixated on something, it's very lonely to have no one to share it with irl? Or even online? Like when I got into the arcana, it didn't matter if people I knew irl played or not, because the fandom was thriving and the people were all so easy to connect to and I made a lot of friends easily, it was a welcoming space filled with people I had a lot in common with (it's kind of...... different now. But that's a WHOLE other thesis paper 😂), but I like... cannot engage w kpop fan spaces. I don't see a lot of people I could connect with, so it's lonely to have all these fun feelings and excitement that I can't share with pretty much anyone. There are a few exceptions, like your lovely self, obviously 😉 but it's kind of like. A very niche thing to be obsessed w, for my little patch of earth. Kinda similarly to how whenever someone I know irl would find out I absolutely am obsessed with the art of drag, and immediately make assumptions about what they says about me as a person, and about whether I'm "allowed" to like it. The few irl friends I have aren't judgemental, they just like, really don't get kpop and aren't interested 😂 which is fine. But it's depressing to not be able to vibe out w people when you're having fun, so I'm sort of wishing this phase would pass so I can stop obsessively infodumping to people about a topic they could not give two shits about 😂

I think about the weirdness of how infantalized these idols are a lot—like you're so right, the way a lot of people view kpop is fueled by such a weird and specific flavor of racism. Like, it's pop music, but on crack, it's all the hallmarks of eye catching fashion and incredibly catchy, fun music and super lovable starlets, but turned up to 11. But it gets this weird side-eye. I think esp for the area of the world that I'm in, where it's very much machismo and theres a heavy catholic influence in the way everyone thinks about life but esp in regards to things like gender, it's very "men should be men and that looks like THIS" and its just this hypermasculine, angry, dominating ideal, so being open to or enjoying the androgyny and boundary pushing fashions in kpop is seen as like "why do you like men that all look like girls, you're weird, that's gross." And I honestly used to feel that way too, but OOP surprise it was actually just me being uncomfy confronting the fact that I wish I could look like them and be pretty in a very androgynous way and be the thin, angular, editorial fashion ideal that literally ANY garment will look gorgeous on and achieve their aesthetic but I literally never will, mixed with eurocentric beauty standard brain rot and internalized misogyny 😂 we still dealing with it all but a bitch is slowly learning lmfao. I still very much cannot fw any of the girl groups though—that shit will IMMEDIATELY trigger an intense wave of self hatred that I frankly do not have the energy to deal with at this point in my life, and I don't need more visuals that reawaken my ED 😔

The one thing I do wish I'd noticed sooner is the sphere of kpop fashion. Because growing up I wanted to be a fashion designer, as a teenager I would spend days doing nothing but obsessing over editorial layouts and seasonal runways and insane, avante garde pieces, and when the world of high fashion started to be controlled more by influencers looking to promote products, and less by artists trying to make a statement, I became sooo fucking disillusioned. I still think it's so fucking sad that we went from the opulence of years like Dior under Galliano's vision, the insane visual storytelling and artistry of fashion that was meant to SPEAK, to... every major fashion label cought in a chokehold by the likes of the Kardashians (derogatory). Controversial, but like. I miss when actual models used to walk the runway and command it, not socialites who bought their spot and can't even walk in heels. Like, when Paris Hilton did it, it was a cheeky wink at the brainless hyper-consumption of pop culture media, it was a clever little dig at the rise of digital age celebrity culture—it wasn't meant to be taken seriously, it wasn't meant to be the height of artistic expression like it is now. When actual artists commanded street style, not the Hadids 🤮 Socialites were socialites, and fashionistas were fashionistas, they may intertwine but were not interchangeable. If you can't tell, I hate Instagram fashion lmfao. Now what's in editorials is athleisure and Dr Miami ruined the world lmfao. Obvi popular fashion and media representation is a nuanced topic, but my core beef w modern western fashion is that it's elevated bike shorts to the likes of McQueen (may he rest in peace 😔). But the era of fashion I loved died with the rise of Instagram—except on kpop stages. Its just my opinion, but I see the opulence and intricacy that I miss in so much of what dominates that fashion sphere. There's less of the "I secretly got a BBL, which I will deny, and my parents have money, so anything I wear is Fashion™" and more of the risk taking, subversive, artistic expression that's fallen out of favor with the western fashion world. In my humble onion, anyways. No tea no shade no pink lemonade u kno 😌 But that's the nostalgia in me.

Idk I vibe really heavily w the sound and the energy of these kpop artists, there's a level of precision and dedication that western artists just don't have and don't aspire to emulate, either. It's a fascinating formula for success. I do not envy them because my impression is that it's grueling enough to arguably be inhumane, but the end result is pretty fuckin consistently flawless and I am LIVING 😂

#Opinions no one asked for 😂😂😂😂#Also I'm kind of living for rpdr down under so far #SO WHAT IF I DONT UNDERSTAND LITERALLY ANY OF THE CULTURAL REFERENCES 😂#The snatch game was honestly painful tho......... Like oo lawd #Anyways all unrelated #Hashtag no one asked sara #asksteppie #felix-bi-anon

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thedeaditeslayer · 4 years

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The Cool Side of My Pillow Interview: A Trip Inside the Mind of Bruce Campbell.

When you mention the name Bruce Campbell, the first thing that readily springs to most people’s minds is the boomstick toting, chainsaw-wielding final guy of the Evil Dead franchise, Ash Williams. However, for some of his fans, he will be forever linked with the Harvard educated, resourceful bounty hunter, Brisco County, Jr. Then, of course, there will be those devotees of Burn Notice that will be quick to let you know that Sam Axe, the ex-Navy Seal with a love of Mojitos and Tommy Bahama shirts is their guy because we all know, “Chuck Finley is forever.” For those of you that have never had the pleasure of watching the inventive spy show, Chuck was Sam’s alias that he would use as a cover on certain operations. The mere fact that Bruce Campbell is a part of three vastly different fandoms says quite a bit about his ability as an actor as well as his likeability quotient.

A headliner on the convention circuit for years, the minute he is announced as a guest, tickets go flying out the door and venues sell out. Campbell understands what the people want and he is more than willing to give it to them which is why most promoters clamor to book him. His Q & A sessions are legendary and audiences love the way he sarcastically banters with them. In addition to being an accomplished actor, director and producer, Bruce is also a New York Times bestselling author with four books under his belt. If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor, Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B-Movie Actor, Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way and his soon to be released, The Cool Side of My Pillow.

His latest book is a collection of essays or as he would say, “rants.” This venture is unlike any of the previous mentioned titles and perhaps his most personal effort to date. In a sense, you get to take a trip inside Campbell’s mind. He expresses his feelings and opinions on a variety of topics from current events and social media to his code of ethics. I was fortunate enough to chat with Bruce about The Cool Side of My Pillow, and his future projects. After reading his book, you come away with the knowledge of how genuine and thoughtful he is which is refreshing in this day and age.

Diabolique: What I like so much about The Cool Side of My Pillow is your honesty. Your writing style makes the reader feel as if they are having an intimate conversation with you. You don’t hold anything back. There are certain aspects in the book which made me feel a tad uncomfortable because you shared some information that was deeply personal, in my mind. I don’t know if I would have included some of the things that you did.

BC: Oh, sure. You always have to decide where you stop. Where is the line? For me, it depends on the type of book. It depends on the type of subject matter. Every project is different.

Diabolique: Were some of the subjects you tackled cathartic for you?

BC: I don’t normally do that sort of stuff. I’m happy to share if I feel something is useful. In the chapter, “What Are You On?” I’m not ragging on people who have habits. I have habits that was the point. There are very few people that just go through their daily life without jacking themselves up, knocking themselves down, knocking themselves out, you know? So, its kind of amazing. The human condition fascinates me.

Diabolique: “A Little Effort Goes a Long Way” is one of my favorite segments. A tale of hard work, ingenuity and perseverance. Which is key to succeeding in the entertainment industry. Where does your drive come from? Some people can pinpoint it to relatives, a mentor…

BC: I do attribute some of it to the Detroit metro area. A lot of my buddies worked on the line, they worked in the factories, it was a great summer job that paid really good money. In Detroit, it was weird. There weren’t a lot of discussions about hopes and dreams. But I could see things happen incrementally that encouraged us. My grandfather worked for ALCOA Aluminum for over 40 years. Would he want to do that job? Was it his favorite job? He wouldn’t even know; it was his only job. He had that job for his whole adult life. My dad wanted to be a painter. I call him a “go betweener” because he didn’t do exactly what he wanted to do but he didn’t do what he didn’t want to do. He got into advertising because it was sort of creative but it wasn’t creative enough so he got into community theater which was more creative. That filled a very strong niche for him and so he kind of straddled the line and then I came along. He allowed me to pretty much do whatever the hell I wanted to do in whatever industry I wanted. He was the first investor in Evil Dead. So, I benefited from the transition of ONLY having drive. Meaning, you just go to work, it doesn’t matter what the job is. The next generation is, “Well, the job kinda matters.” My generation is, “The job matters a hundred percent,” because it determines what you’ve decided to do with your life. So, I am grateful for having enough drive but grateful for being injected with enough freedom of thought to then do my own thing. Partly the drive is the Midwest because you put a tie on, put your sport coat on and you go to work. Get your briefcase, shine your shoes and off you go.

Diabolique: Do you think it is important if you want to be in the arts to have a benefactor? Not necessarily monetarily but someone who encourages you like your dad?

BC: Well, my mom did sort of amateur writing so she was sympathetic at least to that side of the arts. She liked that creative side. My dad was way more interested in acting. So, I saw him in plays and stuff. I definitely benefitted because I had a sensibility that was similar to my dad. My two older brothers could give a shit about acting. They never touched it. I think my dad saw, “Hey, the young guy likes acting just like me.” That was probably an advantage.

Diabolique: Another thing about that particular section that is fascinating to note is your resourcefulness. The anecdote that you recount about having to come up with a way to deliver newspapers in a horrendous snowstorm and the lengths that you went to just to do your job is inspiring. I feel like that isn’t something that would be done by the younger generation, these days.

BC: We were pre-slackers and again, this isn’t to sound like a crabby, old guy on a hill shouting down about the great old days, at that time there were no other options. Our boss dropped off these papers at the top of a hill. That was as far as his van could go. He dumped the whole thing on me and my brother. We delivered them together (the resolution involved Bruce donning hockey skates and a toboggan). So, we thought okay. There was no option of saying, “Dude, I can’t do it. They’re just not going to get their papers today.” That would be the current response. You would wait until the roads were plowed, like that night, and then you would get your damn paper the next day and you’d end up getting two papers. It wasn’t an option. There was nothing in my upbringing that said, you can tell your boss, no. Now, if I thought it would have been very dangerous or life threatening, I probably would have said, no but short of that, there was a slightly different mentality in the air. You did what you were fucking told, for the most part which is a little bit different now.

Diabolique: “The Princess Di Factor” was a thought-provoking chapter because you talk about the click-baiting, disinformation and too much information that occurs on social media. Some of your peers have their PR reps handle their feeds but you are very present in yours. Do you think someone who is interested in getting into show business has to obtain “influencer” status?

BC: I think there is certainly pressure to do it. The old actors when they were doing a film could get away with telling the local studio, “By the way, I don’t do social media.” They say, “I’ve never done it. I don’t have a Twitter feed. I’m not starting now.” They can get away with it. But a younger thespian has a website and at least two or three social media platforms. I think its important to get a distinction of what are using them for? Facebook is all mercenary. Whenever I post, its just for a link to get tickets. I just do that to keep the account warm but I won’t add to it. That one is really inflammatory. They are finally starting to take the misinformation down. It should just be illegal. The stats are mind boggling. Something like 65% of the people who refuse to do social distancing and stuff like that get their information from YouTube. Its not news sources. Its like the Wild West. I think it needs to be settled. I would introduce journalistic standards and practices where by if you tell a little white lie, you get yanked and if you get fact checked and the facts say you’re wrong, that gets yanked.

Diabolique: At the beginning of your book, you discuss the toll of COVID-19 isolation and changes to the convention and motion picture industries. After presenting the Ashland Independent Film Festival awards virtually, do you think conventions might go that route in the future? San Diego Comic Con has gone entirely online which is surprising. Galaxy Con is another.

BC: If we don’t straighten this out, yeah. Sports are going to be weird for a while. Large venues are just going to be strange. How are you going to figure out the San Diego Comic Con? How are they going to make people feel comfortable jamming 125,000 people over a four-day period into that convention center which is already elbow to elbow and unhealthy? I don’t know. I’ve talked to promoters about a bunch of different things. I’m doing a Drive-In tour. Also, some theaters have opened up again so I am going to encourage and reward that so I have added five theater dates for later this summer: Austin, Dallas, Houston, Oklahoma City and San Antonio. I’m getting back out on the road. This is not a tour year at all but when I heard that drive-ins were making a comeback, I thought let me be part of that. Some of them are struggling to open and I want to help. I’m tired of being on the sidelines. I want to get back into it. Drive-ins are perfect. You’ve got your distance. I can go up to cars and hassle them and there’s no problem. I can shine my flashlight in the cars, see if people are having sex, there’s a lot of fun stuff we can do. I want to be the first guy they meet when they come into the place to park. I want to be the guy that parks everybody. It’s time. Everyone wants to feel normal again. Eat the meatloaf sandwich. Going to the drive-in is the oldest meatloaf sandwich you could ever eat. Bring the hooch. Hide it under the seat. Bring a cooler, bring your reefer…

Diabolique: In The Cool Side of My Pillow, you mentioned that you were going to attend San Diego Comic Con, New York Comic Con and the 2020 Electronics Expo which were all canceled due to the pandemic. Were you going to promote the Evil Dead game?

BC: That’s what I was going to do. That’s what I was going to those conventions for.

Diabolique: What’s the status on it?

BC: I have been looking at and approving a bunch of new stuff. They are full-fledged, full bore into it. I think they are talking 2021 for an actual release. Its rolling along, looking great. It got delayed because of the nightmare of video games. Platforms change and evolve. You look at somebody else’s games and go, “Shit! We have to change everything now.” We have to stay current. I have to finish doing the voice work.

Diabolique: I know you are aware of all the rumors surrounding potential work in the future. You even mentioned in your book that you had a few offers. Is there a possibility that you might show up in Doctor Strange 2 and Mall Rats 2?

BC: The Kevin Smith thing could happen if it all winds up together but we haven’t had serious conversations about it. For Dr. Strange, everyone is at the mercy of what Marvel is going to do and this backlog of movies they’re going to do now. So, I think it won’t be until 2021. Marvel has to figure this all out. They have to figure out what movies they are going to do next, what movies they are going to delay, what movies they are going to shit can, what movies they are going to advance and speed up…the marketplace is ever fluid.

Diabolique: Do you have a release date in mind for The Cool Side of My Pillow?

BC: I have to say summer. We’re blasting away. We’re finishing graphics and photos and all that. We’re doing some legal crap. I’m starting a publishing company too. Tartan Media is going to release it. It will be my Campbell clan logo. It will be just to put things out. Movies, TV shows, whatever. That’s the new shingle.

Diabolique: Is there anything else on the horizon?

BC: Because the book isn’t going through Simon & Schuster, they’ll kind of have to find it where they find it. I’ll tweet about it. It will hopefully be available later this summer through Audible. I am going to do the audio book myself within the next two weeks because I want the e-book and the audiobook to come out at the same time. That way it gives you a choice. I want this to be a summer read.

Diabolique: Any updates on Bruce vs Frankenstein?

BC: With Bruce vs Frankenstein, I talked with Mike Richardson, who is my partner on this and we’re going to start with a graphic novel. So, I am going to adapt the screenplay. We’re going to put that out first so people in the industry can get a better sense of it. Mike has been selling a lot of projects to Netflix and he said that’s kind of the way to go with his material and fantasy stuff so he suggested we do that first. We’ll get a great artist, sell it in comic book form, people can totally see it and as a director, its kind of like doing storyboards. It’s a tremendous amount of extra prep that I can do just by going through it because I actually have to think about pages, panels and descriptions. It’s a format that’s not my normal format. Screenplay format, I can fart, I got that down. This is different with the way it looks on the page so it will be a very interesting translation process.

Diabolique: Are you doing any projects outside of Tartan Media?

BC: There’s this movie, 18 ½. It’s directed by Dan Mirvish. He’s with Slamdance. The story is about the missing minutes of the Nixon tapes and what happened to those minutes. Originally, I got hired to play a character in the movie and I couldn’t do it for a number of reasons and then the guy came back and asked if I would play Nixon.

Diabolique: So, the audience will just hear you?

BC: Yes. Apparently, it’s this 18-minute-long fight scene where you will hear Nixon in the background. Ted Raimi comes into play Alexander Haig and Jon Cryer is playing Haldeman. We did all these sessions over Zoom and we each recorded them separately (saying this in Nixon’s voice) having our conversations. They will put it all together and put it in the background.

Diabolique: Anything new to report on Evil Dead?

BC: The official name is Evil Dead Rise. We’re getting a new draft in. I don’t think anything will happen until 2021. Full bore ahead, we’re very excited about it. A whole, new ballgame. No more cabin in the woods.

#Bruce Campbell #The Cool Side of my Pillow

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jadinerhine · 4 years

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Thinking about 90s anime fandom, oh boy

IDK if it's because the end of 2019 had dawned on me recently, or if it's because I'm getting older, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about the days of 90s fandom, and how no one (?) has thought to interview people involved in fostering/maintaining it back then.

I'm specifically talking about the people involved in mags like Animerica and Protoculture Addicts, tbh. They were a lifeline for people like me, from a small Caribbean island. The only thing we had in terms of news direct from Japan, or learning about new creatives.Not just because for a bunch of oldtaku, they were sometimes our best and foremost anime news heralds -- but because they were the only thing we had.

I memorized the names involved, like Trish Ledoux, Julie Davis, Pork'n Beans (who remembers THAT artist), Claude Pelletier, Dana Lewis, Rachael Thorn or Toren Smith for translations, Carl Gustav Horn (Caribbean Kidd was where I heard of him, my brain wants to say) -- or the Manga no Mori column, the anime CDs reviews -- --the custom drawn covers Protoculture Addicts had (I liked those??) before they finally started to use licensed official covers --- the anime-lovin' punker MAI ANIME and her retired miltary grandpa mascots lmao

WHEN THE ANIMERICA LOGO CHANGED IN LATE 90S, IT WAS A HOT BUTTON TOPIC XD

( Sidenote: heck, who remembers when Antarctic Press started translating and publishing manga...that in hindsight ended up being doujinshi that they didn't have the rights to translate or super independent work that they mistreated in terms of publishing schedules )

To this day, I don't think anyone who read Animerica could forget the cool fanart sections (I sent in some and GOT ONE PUBLISHED...under a wrong name at first. Oops. I wrote in with the correction and I got a Ranma postcard set in addition to a printed apology), the 4-person reviews for fresh anime from Japan, the letters, the asking for penpals from other places, etc.

For Protoculture Addicts, it was filling in the holes that Animerica didn't, with their added insights and reviews on "niche-ir" anime, or giving us info directly translated from the listings or news of anime.

(What was fun to find out recently, was that Protoculture Addicts named themselves after the protoculture concept from Macross/Robotech...and it was actually a nice circle to learn that after I got into Macross two years ago. Now my memories are sweeter, to pen a nice phrase.)

I see a lot of good talk about archiving anime history -- but things like these magazines and the people involved in that era never seem to pop up. And that makes me sad because again, kid from the Caribbean, and I never was online like most of America at the time. Anytime people talk about irc this, rec this, r finding other kids their age online, I get envious, sad, bitter. But at the same time, I was very lucky and privileged to be able to read Animerica and PA frequently. I'm sure I may have been the only kid to do so for a LONG time.

And the reason why I say that almost arrogantly is because I never met any kids my age who liked "those Chinese cartoons." In fact, I was always made fun of. It's why I latched onto these magazines, and the letters column like Oh My Goddess' "Letters to the Enchantress."It was the only time I was able to see people talking about stuff I knew. I was made fun of in real life, and the only way I knew I wasn't alone was by seeing people who could have penpals asking for more friends, people with easier connections and their underground magazine/comic-making.

Only anime fans I'd met before, say, 2003 or 2004, were fans as old as my mother and usually male. Suffice it to say, I didn't hang much with them. The reason why I note the years is because I started cosplaying iirc and started to meet people who were getting into anime thanks to the broader internet availability and cable TV (Toonami!) -- and cosplay still wasn't big in Puerto Rico, but I kept at it and met new people. More ppl began to join me in cosplaying!

Of course, because anime was beginning to spread beyond, it also meant people now started to like "those Chinese cartoons" (ones that I was told were "just a phase") and suddenly forgot that they hated it before. And bullied me at times for it. And despite anime being cool now, I still wasn't one of the cool kids 🙃

(To be clear, I don't mind ppl getting into anime whatever way they do/did. I'm just more pointing how people like me don't suddenly become more important just because their hobbies were now cool.)

(That is, until I also was lucky to get Newtype Japan through the Previews catalog and people wanted to see these magazines to see what was up in Japan for about 3 minutes before pulling Beavis and Butthead moves and huh-huh-hu'ing about all the PRON SEXY STUFF XD Typical kids. )

...extreme tangents aside, people involved in those magazines SHOULD be heralded more, mentioned more. Only oldtaku, I'd wager, remember Trish Ledoux and even then, I wonder who ever looked at the credits page obsessively and committed some of those names to memory like I did.

(In fact, I was so happy to find her on twitter a while ago -- I'd wondered how she fared after she stepped down as editor of Animerica so many years ago. Y’all should follow her ! )

And if I may be frank, whenever I see CERTAIN people say that 90s kids "don't know what early anime fandom was," or that people my age aren't to be included in reminiscing about early anime fandom because it started in the 80s...ngl, can't help and mostly think "ok boom-x-er"

Imagine thinking that there wasn't anybody around in 1994 or 1995 becoming fans of anime because we weren't old enough or something -- or think that every single one of us thinks anime started in the 2000s.

Imagine thinking there's not such a thing called ERAS, and that Animerica and Protoculture Adults WERE part of 90s fandom, and fostered kids and adults alike throughout that decade.

Imagine being lucky to work in the industry and thinking that.

(This is why I don't look down on anyone who gets into anime one way or another, or has their own versions of anime fandom, or likes what they like. I don't want to become that gatekeeper person.)

And before anyone asks "why don't *you* do this archive work" -- I don't have those connections. I'm a Z-rate comicker. There's people who have those connections and haven't done it. They have other things to do in their lives or their fandom concentration is elsewhere. A-OK!

I just mention it because there should be someone out there who DOES have the time and connections, to get the direct insight on producing these materials for the Western sides before it's all lost. To collect for all of us to look back (or learn, for those who weren't there)

Because it's not just the Japanese side that needs to be saved for historical purposes. It's the Western, Eastern European, Western European, Caribbean, African -- any history of fandom outside Japan that needs to be saved too. We HAVE the technology now. We can do it.

thanks for coming to my tedtalk, as the kids say, sorry for the long introspective rambling rant thread.

#90s #anime fandom #fandom #Animerica #Protoculture Addicts #(is fandom wank even relevant to this as a tag?)#( it's not even the right usage of it but who knows at this point)#my ramblings

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skegulium · 5 years

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💎💎💎💎💎

@thottrolls - Crystal is absolutely one of my favorite RPers out here in the community!! They’ve got incredibly rich, well thought out characters and deeply nuanced plotlines that are very fun to watch! Even their ‘bad’ characters are fleshed out as people with motivations and have deeply sympathetic backgrounds, without completely erasing the terrible, awful, no good bullshit that they do. Their main character, Eli, is such a delight to watch and I adore watching their development from being a deeply flawed, angry and anguished character into someone who’s just trying to survive with a shitty psi that erases their own memories they dont want to forget.

as a mun, Crystal is an absolute blast to chat with! They’re hilarious, relatable, and i can toss ideas at them and have them batted back with the same intensity i smack at them. We have the same sort of unfortunate humor and jive hard when it comes to doing something for shits and giggles. Hands down one of my favorite people to RP with (WE NEED MORE PARA TOGETHER) and i will absolutely follow them to other rp places too >:y

@rebatrolls - Reba is also a huge delight to roleplay with! Her cast may be small, but this small cast means that each person she creates is full of life and deeply thought out. Every action of theirs is a cause and effect from the events that have happened in their life, but it’s not boring in the slightest to watch as they fumble through life. Even the character’s depressive moments are intriguing to watch as they fumble around and I’m always eager to hear the newest shenanigans that they get up to! I’m always delighted whenever we get to do something together!

As a mun, Reba is an absolute fucking riot act. She’s got one of the sharpest wits that I know and can blow everyone out of the water with some of the best burns i’ve ever heard. They’re fantastically hardcore about pushing through games as a group and is incredibly clever when it comes to absolutely demolishing objectives. Honestly one of the funniest people to play with!

@activatingaggro - Mar is probably hands down my #writing goals. Not only are they incredibly skilled on a technical level but from a storytelling one as well! They’re talented at maintaining a small cast with wildly different storylines and personalities but somehow meshing all of them together in a cohesive and very intriguing storyline with consequences that can ripple throughout the CR chain. On top of that, they’re also one of the most creative people i know who can pull the most bizarre yet plausible situations out of their hat. They always know how to keep things fresh and outrageous without upsetting the delicate balance of CR and instead strengthening it and enriching it! It’s just some plain ol’ talent, you know?

As a mun, Mar brings their creativity and outrageousness to every day life as well! Their silliness play so well off of their confidence and it means that every conversation with them can quickly go from serious to absurd and leaves everyone in stitches. They’re an incredibly curious person who loves to chatter and have discussions and this leads to an amazing back and forth that i love to participate in!

@havesomefantrolls - Cass is another mun i adore working with! They have a massive yet completely unique caste of trolls who all fill very niche, very interesting roles! This means that no matter the situation, they always seem to have a troll who fits the situation and can quickly go from angsty seriousness to absolute absurdity. Their style lends really well to the over-exaggerated and trope-y and EVERYBODY loves tropes! I want to see more of their trolls in action though - i know i’m very familiar with their OC work, especially in the blackout club, and i’m DETERMINED to nab more of those wonderful trolls in more plots with me >:yc

As a mun, cass is incredibly detail oriented and creative! Their artwork is a gift to behold and as a person, they’re nothing but a ray of sunshine. They’re always excitable and easy to talk to and more than willing to roll with ideas thrown their way. They’ve got a talent for creating the unique and the distinctive and absolutely loves sharing it with others and i love basking in the sheer amazing content that they bring!

@astriferal - Kitty is hands down one of the most meticulous and patient muns I know of! Their writing style is wonderfully aesthetically pleasing and incredibly flexible, which means that they’re very good at morphing to fit with their partner’s styles and can step up to plate for the shortest of replies or the most monstrous in length. Their characters as a whole are all very emotionally gripping and lean a lot more away from actiony to the interpersonal, which i enjoy immensely! I love the interpersonal drama that comes into play and when things do get hairy, it always tends to have that undercurrent of emotional depth that makes it really, truly engaging. Their characters can be unapologetically kind, without it being a weakness, and that’s an aspect that I think isn’t explored enough in fantrolls. I love it!

As a mun, i gotta say I cherish the fact that we’re friends! They’re one of the most considerate people i know and incredibly patient and kind - but also very resolute in sticking to their guns. I absolutely love watching them reach out to others and make them feel at home and watching them create so much amazing content for their fandoms! They deserve everything good in this world and I will Die For Them. (BADUMTSHH)

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galadrieljones · 5 years

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Writer’s Interview

thanks for the take @a-shakespearean-in-paris!! <3

Q: What is your coffee order?

Usually just a cappuccino? I don’t usually like sweet things in my coffee, except for at Christmastime when I order exclusively peppermint mochas lol.

Q: What is the coolest thing you’ve ever done?

Tbh the coolest thing I’ve ever done is probably be a fake socialite for like a portion of my late twenties and early thirties. My husband’s great uncle, who passed away last year, was quite wealthy and a huge, well-respected philanthropist for the LGBT community and gay rights. He lived in Palm Springs, and any time he had a gala or a fabulous event to go to, he would invite my husband and I to be in his entourage. We got to go to the GLAAD Awards about five times, including VIP events and cocktail parties with like, Leonardo DiCaprio, the Getty family, and Michael Jackson’s daughter. It was decadent and ridiculous but a fun role to play for a little while in my life.

Q: Who has been your biggest mentor?

My biggest mentors have been my professors from graduate school, both of whom are fantastic writers that taught me how to respect the work, stay grounded, and focus on making writing an important, central part of my life, no matter what comes. They taught me and my colleagues a very “purist” approach, which I appreciate to this day, revolving around the concept of inevitability: writing for love, writing for vision, writing in secrecy, ignoring the world as I grew and developed, and viewing The Industry as but a secondary factor that, when focused on with too much intensity too early in a writer’s career, can and will spoil their outlook and creative struggle forever.

Q: What has been your most memorable writing project?

I have several? My MFA thesis is memorable, because it was weird, and I was doing things back then in this very raw way that I can see and feel coming back to me now, eight years later, as a more mature writer and person. My Solavellan longfic The Dead Season also stands out as hugely memorable, as it took two years of my writing life to complete, and I believe it single-handedly improved my writing skills in ways I am only just now beginning to appreciate.

Q: What does your writing path look like, from the earliest days until now?

I have no idea lol. I have been writing since I could read. I started when I was very young, filling notebooks with horror stories and christmas stories and bad poetry and world building ideas. It was literally just notebook after notebook after notebook. I started typing my writing on a computer probably in fifth or sixth grade, and using it more consistently when I was in eighth or ninth grade. I wrote some fanfiction for boybands when I was in middle school, but that was short-lived. I continued to invent worlds and write shitty poetry all through high school lol, and then my senior year I started writing short stories. I went to college, majored in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. Taking workshops honed my short story writing and gave me lots of practice, and then I won a little prize money out of it which helped me pay for my graduate school applications. All I ever really wanted to do was be a writer. I took a year off after college and worked as a bank teller back home in Wisconsin, and then I got real lucky and got into a very good MFA program which moved me out to California when I was about 23. I wrote and wrote and wrote. I met my husband, who was one of my colleagues at the workshop table. We moved in together. I finished my thesis, he finished his. Then we went to Montana for a little while, and we got engaged. I published some stories, mostly in small places, a couple big ones, too. Then we got married, had a baby, and I came to fandom out of boredom and frustration with the mainstream, and I’ve been toiling away here every since.

Q: What is your favorite part about writing?

I agree with @a-shakespearean-in-paris that for me, the best thing about writing is discovery. Discovery of language, ideas, characters I love.

Q: What does a typical day look like for you?

Uh, wake up. Feed child. Snuggle with child. Derp around on tumblr. Drink coffee. My husband and I switch off mornings and teach on opposite days of the week. If I have to teach that day, I’ll lesson plan, go teach, maybe have office hours for my students, come home, hang out with my fam, put the child to bed, and then I get my nights. Mondays and Fridays the kid is in preschool and I don’t teach, so on those days I try to be as productive as possible with my own writing and also art (if I don’t have to comment on too many student papers lol). I write when I can. I don’t have a set schedule. My grown-up life has taught me the importance of speed and the kill instinct as a writer. Like when you have the chance to write, fucking just do it. Don’t hem and haw. And when you feel the need to finish something, don’t stop.

Q: What does your writing process look like?

Lol. Who knows. I consider music to be a big part of my writing process. I always use playlists that I keep on repeat whenever I’m not writing. I also do a lot of my drafting in the notes on my phone, a lot of the time in bed at night, right before I fall asleep. When I sit down to write, I usually have something in mind. I know what I need to do. At this point, once I start, I can go for a long time and write a lot of words in a very short timespan. It’s just getting to that point where I’m sitting down. But once I’m there, I can kind of just go.

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve gotten?

Stay in the room. I got this advice from one of my professors in graduate school. It literally just means: Once you’ve made the decision to write, don’t leave the room. Stay in the room. Because if you leave the room, you’ll lose your momentum. He always said the biggest challenge for any writer is staying in the room, ie: forcing yourself to do the work. Thinking of writing as work and as something that is not always pleasant but must be done anyway was very important to me. It taught me not to be so precious about my work and to just do the thing and let drafts be drafts. I also learned from him that the best thing you can do when finishing your writing day is to write one more paragraph. So when you think you’re done, write one more paragraph. It’s usually there that the best discoveries are made.

Q: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned?

Don’t focus on publishing. Writing is not a well-paying gig. Even those who get grand book deals are rarely living large. Unless you’re Stephen King or equivalent, you’re still having to teach and apply for grants and do other shit to get by. I’ve learned that the only true satisfaction that comes from writing is pleasing others, pleasing readers. Having readers at all. You can toil away on a story for months, publish it in a lit journal, and never hear about it again. It’s pure vanity. I’ve learned from fandom writing that there is nothing more gratifying than the response from and interaction with readers. Actually touching peoples’ lives with my characters, inspiring and affecting them in some way. That’s what writing is all about. It’s an exploration of the self, but it is not self-serving. It can bring real joy to people, and that’s the thing I want.

Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to start writing?

Just write. There’s no reason not to. In fandom, there is a lot of concern over not being good enough, I think, because of this culture of constantly sharing everything we make, and notes, and kudos, etc. But if you want to write, you have to just write. You can’t say, “Oh, well, I’ll never be as good as so and so, so what’s the point?” Writing is a journey of many choices. The first choice has to be: I will now write. Don’t compare yourself to others. Find a niche that works for you. If you like to work alone and avoid showing your work, that’s okay. That’s how most writers start out. You don’t need a “beta” or a workshop team, particularly not when you’re just beginning. Share your work when you feel comfortable. It’s not important to always be sharing. It’s important to always be writing. And try not to get ahead of yourself. You must write for your own reasons and not to impress others. That is a toxic mindset that will only bring you down. And write. And write. Skip the over-planning. Skip the worksheets and the organizational worldbuilding software. Just write. It’s the only way to find out what you actually have to say.

tags for @thevikingwoman @bearly-tolerable @idrelle-miocovani @pikapeppa @littleblue-eyedbird @ocean-in-my-rebel-soul @buttsonthebeach @ellstersmash and anyone else who’d like to do this!! <3

#on writing #about me #writer's interview meme

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agustdomain · 6 years

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Yello (:

Hey there, tumblr friends!

I’m not sure who is going to get around to reading this, but I felt like it was necessary to introduce myself before moving forward with my creative ideas.

I’m Angelo.

Well, some of you will know me as something different, and you can refer to me as my other name if we’re messaging. But from this point onward, I would prefer to be addressed as Angelo.

This seems wayyyyy to formal, but because of who I am, I wanted a chance to introduce myself.

I like writing, much like many other people on this platform. I’ve read plenty of works on here, fallen in love with them and the different styles of writing found by different people. I have only been around on tumblr short of two years, but it has been a roller coaster that was filled mostly with ups.

I was apart of a wonderful admin blog not too long ago, and tried my hand at writing on there. I’ve wrote on different platforms other than here when I was younger, and I loved it.

And since I joined tumblr, I always longed to just write and post on my own account. Just me. And my ideas. I never got around to it, because I either lost my inspiration or fell out of love with one of my works.

But the time has finally come to just put all of my doubts and worries aside and indulge in my love for writing. Soon in the future, I will be in another and new chapter in my life, and I felt like in order to make the experience even more better, I could pick up on my hobby again.

I spent all last night writing something that I loved, and in order to not chicken out I only read it once before deciding it was time to let my writing as Angelo see the light of day.

To offer up a little bit of information about myself, yes I was an admin on a blog a while ago, but my writing style has changed quite a bit since then and I personally feel like I’m different from the admin that I was on there.

I will always cherish those moments, but as Angelo, I’m not that similar to who I was on that blog.

My number one group is BTS. My first kpop group was EXO though and I still have a soft spot for my first loves (haha <3).

My other favorite groups are NCT, MONSTA X, and Stray Kids. I don’t necessarily have them in order after BTS, but those are my top four groups. As for girl groups, the only two I love and relatively know very well are Red Velvet and Blackpink.

I have written for BTS and EXO, but as of right now, I don’t know if I will continue writing for them. I know that for EXO, it’s a hard set no- although there is one EXO work that I hold dear to my heart and may get around to re-posting on here if I ever feel like it. As for BTS, I think it’ll depend on if I feel that spark. Right now, the spark isn’t there.

These days, I’ve been drawn to NCT. And Stray Kids. The writing I am going to post after this is NCT-inspired. So perhaps I found my niche, which is our Neo Culture Boys...

Who I write for is subject to change. I won’t tie myself down to any group, or limit myself as well. Whoever catches my eye and sparks my inspiration, will spark my hand as well. So hopefully I will be a multi-fandom blog (at least for my top four groups).

I would also like to say that I don’t think I will be a blog that accepts requests. It’s a personal preference of my mine, and the only times I think that will change is if there is a drabble situation that I create.

I am not giving myself a writing schedule, I just know that I miss writing, and I will post on here whenever I feel particularly inspired or as an outlet for my writing. I hope that you all can be understanding about that.

Anways, I think I’ve addressed all I need to address. Although this may seem a little too sophisticated, I feel a little bit lighter at taking an opportunity to get myself out there.

It is nice officially meeting whoever follows me and whoever chooses to follow me in the future. I hope we can be good friends and take care of each other.

With fondness,

Angelo

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thunderheadfred · 6 years

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I feel really disconnected from fandom right now (uhhh because I AM disconnected from fandom right now...)

Fandom has always filled this very specific but inconsistent niche for me. It’s an escapist coping mechanism when I have downtime, basically. During lulls, when my brain is kind of stagnating and needs an occupation, I’ve always turned to fictional comfort zones. In my case, whenever I'm busy (or rarely, succeeding) in real life, my fandom interests go on the backburner.

Because of this, I ordinarily don’t enter beyond the fringes of any given fandom community. I lurk and I observe and I consume only - because if I engage, I feel like I’m inconsistent and prone to ghosting. I’m terrified of disappointing people or being a bad friend. I’ve gotten so involved in the Mass Effect fandom over this last year, way more than I’ve ever really been involved in any fandom. Since I’ve been so fuckin’ busy and overwhelmed this month, I’ve felt really far away from the community, and I don’t really know how it’s supposed to fit into my life, particularly in the long term. Is clinging to fandom holding me back from doing other things? Or am I using that as an excuse to avoid working on my stories and art... again?

When the need to engage in fandom arises out of mental health issues, (as it did for me) is there any healthy way to engage with it? I’ve had this problem before, and I honestly don’t know. I’ve made a lot of good friends and grown a lot (and certainly wouldn’t have started writing again w/o fandom) so there’s obviously a benefit. I just don’t know why it doesn’t feel like that anymore. It feels... I dunno. Complicated.

This is all exacerbated by my feelings about NaNoWriMo - feelings I’m struggling with because I currently can’t get anywhere near my writing headspace. I’m so far away from creative flow - but also from the Mass Effect universe, the characters, any of my original motivations for writing at all. I try to re-read my wips and get my bearings and it’s totally disorienting, like reading someone else’s work. It’s a truly strange feeling, like I don’t even remember writing it. I know that’s depression brain hard at work, selectively erasing shit from my own memories, but knowing that doesn’t make it less unnerving.

None of this is to say that I’m leaving the fandom or abandoning Red Streak. Just that RIGHT NOW, in this moment, I feel five trillion miles removed from everything. Maybe it’s a symptom of moving, of feeling like everything in my life is completely upside-down. Maybe I’m just reading too much into things, as usual. Maybe I’m just fucking tired.

Anyway, it’s hard for me to feel this far removed from everyone and everything and not feel like a failure - as a friend, as a writer, as a person. The whole process of moving has been an endless stream of TOTALLY FREAKING OUT followed by days and days of heavy, sweaty labor. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Whenever I have a moment to get online, I feel like one of those kids who has been blindfolded and spun around on the handle of a baseball bat. I have no idea which way I was supposed to be running, I just kind of want to puke.

bleh.

#personal #fandom #whining #no real point to this #just trying to make sense of way too many thoughts

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markoftheasphodel · 7 years

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Shadows of Valentia Top 10 – #8 Clive: Only Human

“I wish I could stand by my choices, unwavering. I have always done what I thought to be right, even when my heart disagreed. But now I must face cold reality.”

Honestly I could go full tl;dr over why Clive is the flawed hero FE narratives need– as glamorous senior knight guys of considerable renown go, he’s pretty much the Leif of the group, but just because he ain’t Seth doesn’t mean he’s not an excellent character. But in-game he’s mostly talked about the same way someone like Seth gets talked about, and Seth single-handedly saves the day at least three times before the FE8 route split and the most Clive can do is to muster a dignified retreat and then look for someone competent to lead the Deliverance, so I understand the reaction he gets.

I felt that way too– why are Forsyth & crew putting this guy on a pedestal, why does he merit such a wide range of mourning quotes from the cast, why does his death change multiple endings? Why’s he so g-damn special when he’s… not special? Then you layer on his pre-war life of glittering privilege and the fact that his BFF is Fernand and it’s all rather nauseating. Doubly so if his gooey relationship with Mathilda does not float your particular boat. He’s indecisive! He’s too wrapped up by personal issues to run a damn war! His romance is self-indulgent! His handling of his lieutenants leaves much to be desired! His best friend is a horrible person!

He’s… human.

The thing about Clive is, he’s actually subjected to the narrative scrutiny that other characters filling his approximate niche of the glamorous senior knight guy evade. Seth’s strengths are so apparent and his (genuine) weaknesses so subtly lined out that a lot of FE8 fandom back in the day seemed to miss that he even had weaknesses. Frederick gets a layer of slapsticky humor to distract from the fact he (IMO) kinda sucks at his job but it’s so damn endearing that the effect is lovable whereas the humor around Clive is kind of queasy and just emphasizes his weak points. And then you have Finn who also fails at leading rebellions but has a deck so stacked against him that just being alive is a heroic accomplishment. Plus Finn never second-guesses himself over handing the reins of a g-damn war to a teenager, plus whatever role he had in the collective guilt of Leonster’s nobility get a) deflected by narrative sympathy for his personal suffering and b) dumped on Dorias, who serves as the scapegoat for everything wrong with the system.

Clive? He doesn’t catch that sort of break. He gets to be the Dorias and take the heat for Zofia’s sins as well as his own failings, with the apex of this being the demolition job Python does on him in their support chain. Despite that, Clive hangs on and keeps trying– even as he loses Fernand, even if he loses Mathilda in a blow that will ultimately kill him post-game. He keeps trying to be the person the people around him want him to be– seem to need him to be, really – even if he isn’t Valentia’s savior. At least he gets to keep both arms and gets a really hot wife out of the deal.

(As an aside, the Deliverance trio all definitely benefit from the way their support conversations with Clive cross-reference one another. Clive and Lukas laugh over the shortcomings of Python and Forsyth as advisors, Forsyth refers to a fight between him and Python that Lukas had to break up, and Python says that Lukas and Forsyth are being role models to Clive’s standards so he doesn’t have to be. Whenever one of the RGB Trio is in focus the other two are always at the edge of the frame. This helps them more than it helps Clive.)

I guess I went tl;dr anyway. It was worth it.

#valentia love #valentia meta #valentia top 10 #fe15 spoilers/#text post #long post

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afangirlsplaylist · 7 years

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Behave

Author: afangirlsplaylist

Rating: Explicit

Chapter: 1/1 Word count: 3,252

Summary: Prompted by THIS. AU - Link has come out and he’s finally sick of the sexual tension his hot and supposedly straight best friend has been putting him through. It’s about time for some follow through.

Warnings: Smut and everything that goes with that, Dub-con (sort of), D/S undertones, a little alcohol drinking.

Notes: Not a huge amount of plot for this one. Wrote this one shot as a warm up for the serials sitting in my drafts. 1000000% fictional.

Read it on archiveofourown

It wasn’t a big deal when Link came out. Rhett knew his friend too well to be overly surprised and the crew wasn’t fazed. Stevie practically celebrated the news, high-fiving a blushing Link when she heard.

Of course telling the Mythical Beasts was a whole other story. There was a fair amount of expected backlash, but it didn’t surprise them to find that the majority of fans were supportive. The shipping niche of the fandom, in particular, were very vocal about what the two of them could do with the information, the increase in suggestive comments making Link a little fidgety with discomfort. Rhett himself had seen enough screen caps of the two of them floating down the Tumblr dash on Jen’s computer to have questions of his own, although he was never conceited enough to voice them.

Given the tension, he supposed he could’ve been a little more sensitive to his friend’s feelings. He could’ve reigned himself in several notches during the touchier wheel endings or bit his tongue when the urge for innuendos arose, but he didn’t. His playful nature won out every time, resulting in Link sitting squarely in his lap for another wheel ending that didn’t call for it.

“Why did I have to be on your lap for this?” Link grumbled.

“Because you’re my patient Link.” Rhett joked. “I gotta save your life.”

The room erupted in light chuckles but Link’s died quickly, his body freezing in place as Rhett adjusted his knee and unwittingly rolled his crotch a little more firmly against his ass. Shooting him a deeply serious look, Link quickly slipped off Rhett’s lap and reclaimed his seat, tugging at his collar to compose himself.

“Welcome to Good Mythical More.” Link plowed on.

It wasn’t long before Rhett was able to dismiss the small moment, as Link was the picture of innocence throughout ‘more. He steepled his fingers and rested his chin on them as if he was carefully contemplating what Rhett had to say, speaking very little himself. It was one of the many times in their lives that Rhett would miss the dangerous glint behind the polite facade, the kind that would usually result in a fight.

Signaling to Stevie that they had enough footage, Link called a cut on the episode, already halfway across the room before he noticed Rhett wasn’t following. “You coming?”

Rhett raised an eyebrow but followed, his long legs walking quickly to keep up. “You in a rush to get to lunch or something?”

Not bothering to reply, Link held the door open for Rhett as they reached their office, letting him go ahead.

They had barely heard the lock click on the door before Link reached up and grabbed Rhett by his hair, pulling him down for a sharp, wet kiss. Startled, Rhett didn’t have time to respond, still feeling dazed as Link pulled away from his mouth.

“That’s for grinding on me.” Link said with satisfaction.

“I don’t rig the wheel man. What are you doing?” Rhett argued.

Link simply answered his excuse with another kiss, this one so rough and enthusiastic it made Rhett flail, clawing at Link’s shoulder until his body stilled and he gave into it. He knew he could push Link off at any time, but there was something about Link’s talented lips and the fierce look in his eyes that stopped him.

“Look buddy roll.” Link drawled, peeling his lips off Rhett’s again. “You’re my best friend - but keep playing with me and I will fuck you.”

“You wouldn’t - “ Rhett cut himself off with a gasp as he felt Link reach down and squeeze his dick through his jeans.

“I wouldn’t what Rhett?“ Link growled.

“Okay.” Rhett squeaked. “I’ll stop.”

Humming thoughtfully as he considered that, Link’s hand began to playfully paw at the front of Rhett’s pants with teasing rubs. "You gonna behave and stop starting something you can’t finish on camera?”

Biting his lip, Rhett fought to resist the small moan that threatened to escape as he spoke. “I’ll behave.”

“Good.” Link smirked, promptly releasing Rhett’s crotch. “You wanna take our lunch break in a half hour?”

Thrown off by the change of topic, Rhett blinked. “Yeah sounds good. I’m just… Gonna go to the bathroom.”

Link made no comment but his grin widened wickedly as Rhett hurried out of the room, determined not to let Link see the bulge that had begun to fill out his jeans. Thankful to find his path free of employees, he threw open the door of the nearest bathroom, peering around the empty room and open stalls until he was sure he was alone.

Taking a cubicle, he palmed himself roughly through his jeans until he couldn’t handle the pressure anymore, finally shoving them down along with his underwear. Sighing in relief he wrapped a hand around his girth and stroked himself feverishly, dry humping his fist until there was enough precum to slick up his hand.

He tried to pretend he wasn’t replaying what had just happened in his head multiple times, and he tried to pretend it wasn’t his best friend that had reduced him to a horny teenager. He also tried to pretend that jacking off in the studio wasn’t turning him on, and that he wasn’t imagining Link’s slender hand on his cock rather than his own. He failed on all counts.

Cumming with a quiet grunt, he pressed a hand to the wall for support as his knees buckled and his ragged breathing slowed. Usually, he would bask in the glow of the moment, but this time he cleaned off and left the room hastily. It was as if by immediately destroying the evidence of the event itself he could make it so it never happened, along with the feelings that came with it.

He avoided Link’s gaze when he returned to their office, focusing a little too intensely on his screen. It didn’t help matters when Link proceeded to take their lunch break to enjoy a banana, a fruit Rhett knew his friend didn’t even like. He glared every time Link’s tongue lingered on a piece of the fruit as if every taste Link took was sending a bitter sample of his own medicine back at him. Link looked at him as if daring him to say something about it, but Rhett didn’t give him the satisfaction.

It was typical of their relationship that they didn’t say or do anything more about what had happened after that. In fact, the only acknowledgment either of them made was the effort Rhett put into keeping things from getting too awkward or touchy on the show from then on. Somehow he actually managed that for several episodes, but it was inevitable that he’d eventually slip up again, just when he’d almost forgot about Link’s warning.

They were both shirtless for a challenge when he’d brushed his hand over Link’s chest, flicking across a nipple for a brief second. Fortunately for him, the camera angle completely missed the dark shadow that fell over Link’s face, and the mic missed the way Rhett’s breath hitched as he realized he may have screwed up.

But then Link seemed to shake it off, at least until the watchful cameras were turned off and the set lights went dark. It was then that he felt Link rise from the desk and move behind him, gripping his shoulder.

“I’m coming to your place tonight.” Link said, his voice dangerous and low enough for only Rhett to hear. “Send everyone home and get in your car.”

It didn’t occur to Rhett to ignore him or take offense to being ordered into his own car. He simply did what Link wanted, encouraging the crew to follow Link’s lead out of the studio. It took him a surprisingly short time to lock up after that, as he questioned why he was so eager to get to whatever was about to happen.

He found Link leaning against his car in the car park, totally engrossed in his phone and looking for all the world as if he’d known he wouldn’t be kept waiting long. He grinned and gave nothing away as Rhett approached, killing all chance of immediate answers. He was still tight-lipped after they’d slipped into Rhett’s car.

They drove in that silence for a while, letting the hum of the engine fill the quiet until Link finally spoke up. “So what’d I say the other day?”

Momentarily confused about what Link was talking about, Rhett was very quickly reminded when he felt a hand trailing a path over his thigh.

“What did I say, Rhett?” Link repeated.

“You told me not to tease you.” Rhett gulped, gripping the wheel tighter.

Link nodded in satisfaction. “I told you what would happen if you did too.” He added, now rubbing his hand along the top of Rhett’s waistband

Between that and Link’s hot breath in his ear, he had to will his blood not to rush to his dick when Link started kissing up and down a spot under his ear. He struggled to focus on the road as he surrendered to his throbbing need, and had just started to enjoy the sweet torture when Link’s hands and lips were off him again.

“I’ll deal with you when we get to your house.” Link promised.

Lamenting the fact that he couldn’t turn and wreck Link’s face with his mouth for that, he may or may not have pushed the speed limit in his hurry to get home. He was still a turned on mess by the time they’d pulled up at his house, bounding out of the car like kids getting out of bed on Christmas day.

They never bothered to invite each other inside whenever they visited each other’s houses anymore, so Rhett followed Link in, barely making it off the very public doorstep before Link commenced his assault.

They made out enthusiastically for a few minutes, their awkward dance of lust leading them to the lounge. Rhett almost tripped as Link pushed him onto the couch, shoving him back into it when he tried to lean forward and capture Link’s mouth again. “Stay there.” Link warned.

He found pleasure in the disappointed moan that escaped Rhett’s mouth as he left the room, sauntering towards the kitchen. To prolong it he purposely took his time pouring two shots of whiskey, watching Rhett’s gaze flicker between the amber liquid and his body when he re-entered the lounge.

Balancing both glasses in his hands he walked over and draped his legs either side of Rhett’s thighs, sinking onto his lap. As he skilfully downed his own shot in one he was very aware that Rhett’s lusty eyes were glued to his neck, following a spot of whiskey dripping down his throat. Leaning forward, he placed a hand behind Rhett’s head and brought the other shot to his mouth. “Drink up.”

Noticing Rhett’s hesitation he decided to reassure him

“You’re gonna need it for what I’m gonna do to you brother.” Link said huskily. “I won’t let you forget anything.”

Rhett shivered a little but obediently opened his mouth, allowing Link to tip the shot in. His lips were still wet with whiskey when Link swiped his tongue across them, tasting the alcohol and desire.

“Damn Link.“ Rhett groaned. “You always been like this?”

Link laughed, putting the empty glasses aside before settling himself in his lap seat more fully. “You know that night in college when Gregg was away for the weekend and I went out without you? I came home with a guy that night and you know what I did?“

Link leaned in and whispered the next words in Rhett’s ear. “I fucked him in my bed while you were sleeping.”

Rhett’s eyes widened at the dirty language issuing from his friend’s mouth, holding onto every foul word.

“I had to gag him with my shirt and hold him down to keep him waking you up.” Link continued.

Letting out a pained whine, Rhett’s hands flew out to Link’s ass, grabbing at it needily. “Gosh, why couldn’t you wake me up?”

“You jealous I fucked some other guy?” Link asked, rocking his ass against Rhett’s large hands. "Or are you upset there are things you didn’t know about me?”

Rhett’s only answer was to palm Link’s cheeks harder and mouth at his neck like it was an oasis he’d found in a desert. The delicious feeling of Link grinding against his now painfully hard lap was officially the greatest torment he’d ever experienced, giving him some relief but never enough. He almost screamed when Link slid off his lap until Link started to tug the zipper of his jeans down.

Stepping out of his jeans so he was standing in only his shirt and briefs Link stepped forward, silently inviting Rhett to pull him out the rest of the way. Rhett took the hint, hooking his thumbs in Link’s waistband and easing the briefs down. Even as he pulled out his prize Rhett felt himself blushing and looking away, as if seeing that part of his friend suddenly felt indecent.

“You wanted to touch.” Link scolded, grabbing Rhett’s hand and bringing it to his cock. “So touch.”

His cheeks still a little pink, Rhett took in his first sight of his friend hard and warm in his hand. It was strange to think that the hardness he was feeling was all for him, almost as strange as the response he could feel straining against his own pants. It would have been a little frightening if the man he was feeling it for hadn’t been Link.

Feeling bolder, he wrapped his hand more firmly around Link and started stroking, getting used to the feeling. “You’re big.” He noted.

“You aren’t the only one of us that can be big.” Link teased.

Rhett squeezed him hard enough to make him yelp for that comment before tender stroking his thumb over the tip to make up for it.

“Take your shirt off.” Link said lustily.

More than willing to do anything that might give him some relief, Rhett ripped his shirt up and over his head, before returning to his task without missing a beat. He knew he must have been doing something right judging from the sounds he was drawing out of Link’s mouth, so he stroked harder and faster. Spotting precum leaking from the tip he unconsciously licked his lips, inching his mouth closer. This didn’t go un-noticed by Link, who pushed himself closer until his cock was almost rubbing on Rhett’s lips.

“I want you to look at me when you suck it. Need to see you.” Link said, need finally trickling into his voice.

Staring up at the sincerity on Link’s face Rhett obliged, looking him in the eyes as his tongue snaked out to meet his cock. He began with little licks and kisses as he got used to the sensation, which quickly turned into french kisses and light sucks on the head. Eventually, he managed to take some of the length down his throat, bobbing his head just a little.

“That’s it.” Link keened, affectionately stroking Rhett’s hair and letting him take in as much as he could handle. “You’re so good.”

He threw his head back in ecstasy at the sight of Rhett sucking him off, taking him in deeper and deeper until he was almost deep throating him. The visual was just about as good as the feeling of Rhett’s mouth itself, the tight heat bringing him close to the edge. When he felt the pleasure getting too much he placed a hand on Rhett’s chest, nudging him off.

“Lay back baby.” Link breathed.

Rhett slowly lowered himself onto his back before Link was on him again, moving his hands down Rhett’s body to stroke his lower stomach. Rhett tried to move further up the couch to force Link’s hands’ closer to where he wanted them, but Link dug his nail into the sides of Rhett’s waist to keep him in place.

Link sat on his heels to unbutton and throw off his shirt before giving Rhett what he wanted him what he wanted, sliding Rhett’s jeans off. Moving up to kiss some of Rhett’s anxiety away, he trailed his hands and mouth all the way down to Rhett’s thighs, easing them apart with his hands.

“I don’t want to stop but I gotta get you lube.” Link warned.

“Use your mouth." Rhett begged, pressing a hand against Link’s to stop him leaving.

More than happy to do that Link sucked two fingers into his mouth, running them against the leaking slit of his cock for added measure. He brought them to the cleft of Rhett’s ass and carefully inched one past the ring of resistance, enjoying the feeling of Rhett’s body writhing beneath him.

Working the finger in and out until it slid in easily he added a second, waiting for Rhett to adjust before he started fucking him with them. “You gonna admit you’re gay for me?”

Rhett opened his mouth for a smart retort before Link’s finger slammed against his prostate, killing all coherent thought.

“Yeah you are.” Link drawled, twisting his fingers and slamming into the spot again.

Sensing when Rhett was open enough for him he pulled out and licked at his fingers, serving the dual purpose of tasting Rhett and slicking them up further. Looking down at the open hole waiting for him he pumped his cock a few times before positioning himself between Rhett’s cheeks. “You ready?”

Rhett’s responded by wriggling forward, desperately trying to close the final inches between their bodies. Link took pity and lifted Rhett’s legs to rest either side of his waist.

“I don’t want you to fake being macho, if it hurts you have to tell me. I’m serious.” Link warned.

"Just do it already would you?” Rhett whined.

Pushing forward, Link inched himself inside, watching his length disappear until it was buried completely. The sudden pain and fullness were unlike anything Rhett had ever felt before, so intense that he almost didn’t notice Link easing out of him, preparing to start moving.

Clutching the couch’s armrest Rhett braced himself, half expecting to be pounded into oblivion once Link found his rhythm. He was surprised when Link took him deep, loving and slow, their bodies sliding smoothly across the fabric of the couch with every thrust. It was far more intimate and punishing than anything Link could’ve done by taking him fast, hitting parts of his body and soul he didn’t know existed.

"More. Please.” Rhett pleaded, his long arms failing to grab onto Link’s hips.

“Sssh, we’ll have that some other time Just take this.” Link said gently, rocking his hips in a way that Rhett could feel somewhere near his stomach.

Sliding out as he sensed their approaching release, Link got his hand around Rhett’s cock, stroking him until they both came like they lived their lives - together and fiercely. Rhett came hard over his stomach when the sensations got too much, while his noises sent Link over the edge with him. They were still taking shaky, gasping breaths when they fell into each other in a spent mess.

“Love you.” Link mumbled.

Rhett waited for a second, expecting the ‘brother’ he was used to Link tacking onto the end of that sentence, but it never came.

“Love you too.” He said with a smile.

Notes: *blushes and covers face* well that was dirty.

#rhink #rhink fanfiction

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theycallmeshaggyrogers · 6 years

Text

Essay Two: The Pokemon League Champion Archetype

March 25, 2018

This post will contain MAJOR spoilers for all mainstream Pokemon games. There, I'm guiltless. You'll thank me later.

I can't stress the importance of the previous disclaimer. Since the inception of the Pokemon franchise, the league champion effectively acts as the game's final boss. By design, a final boss should be something we are emotionally invested in, whether it pertains to a crucial plot point in a game or is a character we are able to feel strongly towards. I think I speak for the majority of gamers, casual or not, when I say that the plot of a video game matters to the overall experience we will have playing said game to begin with. If a game's story is good, or at the very least memorable, we are more inclined to remember it better and more fondly than say, a game whose story is bland or otherwise poorly-written. There are exceptions of course. In my opinion, the three games that make up Fire Emblem: Fates have particularly awful storylines. At best, they are bland and rely on the standard narrative trappings which Fire Emblem games are known for. At worst, they are so narratively broken that their exceptional terribleness is remarkably memorable. That said, FE Fates' “Conquest” route is salvaged only by challenging level design and game mechanics. The degree of polarization regarding Conquest's quality between the quality of its story and gameplay is remarkable to say the least, but it is simply from said polarization that the game is memorable to me personally.

Pokemon, however, is much, much different than Fire Emblem, which prior to 2013 was just a niche series for introverted elitist weeaboos like myself, and the popularity of both franchises in the two decades both have been around very much determines the memorability of an individual title. Perhaps I speak from bias when I say that every mainstream Pokemon game is equally memorable to me, given my twelve or so years as a fan of the franchise. I even started with one of the blander installments, Pokemon LeafGreen, a remake of the original Pokemon Green from 1996. That said, Pokemon is very much a formulaic series. Very little changes from iteration to iteration, from its story to its battling system. As the fandom likes to poke fun at time and again, you often play as a prepubescent Asian child who starts off in a small boonie town that happens to be within proximity of the laboratory of some biologist whose last name is in reference to some kind of a kind of plant. Said plant-named biologist offers you a Pokemon to start your adventure in exchange for collecting more of them to fill up a digital encyclopedia as you travel throughout the game's map (a task you will likely never complete). Oftentimes you have a rival who is also a prepubescent Asian child and also on the same journey to keep you in check as you build your party. You are both likely challenging gym leaders in hopes of one day reaching the penultimate title of champion. There's also at least one organization of bad guys wearing impractical uniforms whom you and your rival have to curb-stomp whenever they pop up in the story, but you've likely trashed them and emasculated their leader by the time you get to the champion themselves. I'd say every game has exceptions to these tropes, but the fact that I am able to give a succinct idea of how these games function narratively should probably queue you into the fact that Pokemon is a franchise rarely allows itself to change. And sure, helpful mechanics have been added over time to service the metagame, such as abilities, natures, IVs and breeding, but once these mechanics are in place, they are there for the long haul. Perhaps that is why I keep coming back. The games never feel incredibly alien even if I don't play one for more than a year.

I don't think the same could be said for these games' plots however. Every game leads up to battling an incredibly strong trainer, usually referred to with the prefix of “Champion”, and the reveal of the champion is meant to be a shock to the player. In almost every game, the champion is a recurring supporting character who at times helps the player on their journey to varying degrees of frequency. Oddly enough, the acting champion never tell the player about their high status in the Pokemon League, and this never has never been explained or justified within the canon. I completely understand this merit from a mechanical standpoint though. In the case of Pokemon, you don't know who the champion is because the game itself is encouraging you to build a well-rounded team to take them on, diverse in species, movesets, type and function. It is worth noting that while some champions specialize in a certain type of Pokemon, the majority of them tend to diversify their team for the very reason I stated.

This deliberate withholding of information also works from a storytelling standpoint too. Like any good JRPG, fighting the final boss of the game needs to feel earned to be memorable. These fights tend to be long, difficult and exhausting, but to ultimately prevail over them is deeply satisfying. In the case of Square Enix's Chrono Trigger, arguably one of the greatest JRPGs in the history of the genre, the final boss has three stages, incorporating movesets from all previous bosses while also possessing its own attacks that the player has to figure out as they continue to fight it. Final Fantasy 6, while less impressive in both aspects than Chrono Trigger, also has a multi-stage final boss fight, whose epicness is amplified with choirs and vaguely Christian imagery, as the boss himself is effectively the reigning god of a now-ruined world, one whom you would not initially expect to be the final boss until the original candidate has been eliminated. The fight is also very much a grudge match, as the final boss, Kefka, is a power-drunk psychopath. To date, Pokemon has only used the grudge match-type final boss fight twice, one of whom is not even the final boss, but a fake-out miniboss of sorts.

The exception to this unspoken rule of not disclosing the champion's identity is Alder, the Pokemon League Champion of Pokemon Black and White's Unova Region (which incidentally, is the first game where you are in fact no longer a prepubescent Asian child, but rather a teenager of indeterminate race because we're in New York City now, baby). In fact, he is introduced as the champion the moment you meet him! Going into Pokemon White in 2011, I knew that Alder was going to be the game's champion because I had listened to a rip of his battle theme posted on YouTube, but I did not expect him to be revealed outright as the champion. I only learned later as I progressed that Alder was not the true final boss of the main game, but instead your mysterious, slightly autistic wunderkind rival, N. By the time you defeat the four obligatory minibosses, dubbed the Elite Four, you find that N has already defeated Alder, and as the proclaimed chosen one by the dragon thingy on the opposite game's box art, he challenges you to a penultimate battle on the top floor of his massive Long Island castle as proof that he is the true king of Unova or something.

And then!

And then!!!

After you catch the guy from the boxart and defeat N, Ghetsis, the leader of the evil team (who is incidentally N's Machiavellian paternal guardian) throws a shitfit and battles you, revealing him to be the game's real final boss. When you defeat him, you reconcile with N, who sees the errors of his ways and leaves Unova on the guy from the other game's box art, then the credits roll to awesome fanfare. (Sidenote: I seriously consider Black and White's credits theme to be one of the best songs in the series). But there, you have finally completed the game, which was in my opinion had Pokemon's most ambitious and best plots to date. Alder can still be battled as champion, sure, but at this point he technically counts as a postgame boss, similar to Red at the end of Pokemon Gold, Silver, Crystal, and its remakes, or Steven in Pokemon Emerald.

I think Generation V was when the writers over at Game Freak realized that the series was getting predictable. Not counting the Gold and Silver remakes, the plot of Generation IV's Pokemon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum versions very much adhered to the same story beats as its predecessor, Generation III. Similar to Gen III, in Gen IV, the big ol' dragon from the boxart makes an appearance because they are summoned by the evil team's leader, seeking their powers for himself. After you beat said leader and catch the boxart-Pokemon for yourself, you are allowed to finish up your adventure, collect whatever gym badge(s) you still need to get, then you head on over to the league to fight the Elite Four and then the champion, who has shown up to help you in small ways throughout your journey. This had also been done to a lesser degree in Generation II, as assisting Lance in uncovering Team Rocket's hideout in Mahogany Town and later liberating the Goldenrod Radio Tower is what ultimately prevents you from reaching the eighth and final gym badge required to challenge the Indigo League. Generation V decided to do away with this formula entirely by making N the rival, evil team leader and de-facto champion, only to throw a curveball by making Ghetsis the real threat, when he had been established this whole time as someone who had long since released his own Pokemon as per the moral duty of Team Plasma's Seven Sages. Black and White's plot makes me happy for all sorts of reasons, but departing from Pokemon's traditional roots of setting up final boss fights made the battles between N and Ghetsis more memorable overall, but I'll get to that later.

From what I've observed, the champion archetype in your mainstream Pokemon story goes as follows: the player encounters the champion early in the game, usually after winning their first gym badge. When encountered, they express their interests a bit, then give you an item with a varying degree of usefulness from game to game. Their appearance throughout the story usually triggers other scripted events required to progress the game along and give you access to the next city or objective you must travel to. Regardless, the story reveals very little about their background, exchanging personal history for a brief explanation of their ideals or motivations. They are often absent from your adventure, but pop in at times to give advice or another item. They will be present for, or at the very least involved in the final confrontation with the evil team as a supporting character while the player confronts the boss. They thank you afterwards and do no appear again until the end of the game. As it stands, this formula applies to four champions, but components of it are subverted in the more recent games (discounting remakes of course).

I want to argue that this champion-reveal archetype started with Generation II rather than Generation I. In Gen I, the champion was your smug, cocky rival who was always three steps ahead of you despite starting at the same time that you did. He belittles you on your whole adventure, even after you beat his over-leveled team. During your run-ins with Team Rocket, he is not involved in those confrontations save for one time, where he battles you in an enclosed area in the Silph Co. building before your second battle with Team Rocket's boss, Giovanni. It is also worth noting that there is no eleventh hour crisis in Red and Blue; that trope doesn't start becoming a thing until Ruby and Sapphire. If anything, the champion archetype of later generations isn't applicable to Gen I because Red and Blue have very different story goals. While it is very much an adventure RPG with the set goals of filling the Pokedex for Professor Oak and becoming the strongest trainer, the core of the narrative is the dynamic you share with your rival. His reveal as the champion works because it has already been established that he progressed through the league challenge faster than you did, not to mention his ceaselessly deprecating attitude towards the player character makes dethroning him all the more satisfying a conclusion to the story.

I personally think Gen II did the champion reveal the best. Lance was established as a strong trainer who asks for your assistance in investigating a strange radio signal, which in turn reveals that the culprits are in fact Team Rocket from the previous games. After you help Lance out, he more or less just disappears without any hint of returning until you challenge him. If you played Generation I or its remake, you would know that Lance was a member of the Elite Four, so assuming that he is still part of the league is warranted. It is only by the time you defeat Karen, who has taken Lance's place as the fourth member from the previous game, that the notion that he may be the champion is not far-fetched.

Gen III's Steven Stone shows up a few times to progress the plot in some arbitrary way or another, is around to express concern when the Hoenn Region starts flooding or drying up (depending on which version you're playing) and he is established as a very strong trainer, but his lack of any spoken association to the league makes his reveal a little less powerful in contrast to Lance. Part of me thinks Wally could have worked as a champion just as well, if not better than Steven did. Here you have this timid, waifish kid who you meet early in the game and encounter about as infrequently as with Steven. He may not deliver on a memorable battle in the two instances he challenges you, but his presence as a champion would have been a nice surprise considering his outward frailty, not to mention given the face that the Hoenn Elite Four's typing is strikingly similar to that of the original Elite Four from Gen I, the rival posing as the champion would have been a nice little thematic reference to the original games, even if it would probably make the reveal more predictable. Regardless, I appreciated Steven as a champion in Ruby and Sapphire than Wallace in Emerald, a character who, while breaking parts of the formula, we do not meet until the evil team-induced crisis is in full swing. The most we know about him is that he was once the gym leader of Sootopolis City, but stepped down and was replaced by some cheesy artsy French fop with a Spanish name. He really only makes a lasting impression in the remakes.

Gen IV's Cynthia meets the archetype beat by beat, and even more so in Platinum when she joins you on your search through the Distortion World to find and confront Team Galactic's Cyrus. Barring Alder, the first champion to subvert the archetype established by Gen II, Cynthia is probably the most plot-active champion to act within it, with the exception of Steven in Gen III's remakes, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. She also delivers one of the most challenging champion battles in the series, as her team will likely be 10-20 levels higher than that of your entire party unless you decide to train your Pokemon and challenge the league later. She also makes use of some of the most powerful and rare Pokemon in the series, namely Garchomp, Spiritomb and Milotic. From what I can tell, Cynthia is also extremely popular as far as champions go within the fandom, having appeared in every main series game since as an optional postgame encounter. I want to attribute this popularity to both her design and the intense difficulty of your battle with her.

Alder, as already discussed, broke the slowly encroaching archetype set for champions, but is explicitly the champion in name only because it is crucial to the plot for him to possess that role. By the time you battle him, the main story is over and you are likely well into the postgame at this point. I don't consider Alder to be a champion-proper because to be a champion in a strictly gameplay-based sense would imply that his battle isn't optional, which it very much is. The Gen V games in general give you a remarkable amount of stuff to do once the main story has concluded, all of it completely optional. The battles against both Alder and Cynthia in Black and White, along with their sequels, are completely optional too. Hell, I'm pretty sure on a playthrough of Black in 2015, I never bothered to challenge the postgame league. What Alder primarily serves within the games he appears in is that of a role model. He's this lighthearted, virtuous old dude who loves his Pokemon and is not opposed to challenging the worldviews of others, as he does with your milquetoast smart-guy rival Cheren, in order to help them grow as people. He is not nearly as threatening as Cynthia, but he is far and away the most multifaceted champion to date.

However, for the sake of argument, let's say Ghetsis counts as Black and White's champion, even if he is not one in name like Alder. While he fits the archetype well, he is also a subversion of it. You first encounter him delivering a speech in Accumula Town, encouraging the locals to question the morality of owning Pokemon. His speech is offset with a foreboding piano piece, indicating that he will inevitably be a threat to the player in the future. Much of his role on your adventure throughout Unova is to discourage and intimidate the player, but not by way of battling. Anyone who has played the previous generations prior to Black and White will likely assume that Ghetsis will be revealed as the boss of Team Plasma, and while he is the mastermind using N as a puppet leader, the game does not present it this way until you reach N's castle and learn about his upbringing as Ghetsis' groomed successor. Ghetsis' unique design sets him apart from the Seven Sages and establishes him as their leader, but then that would only imply that he would be a higher-ranked admin of Team Plasma, not the leader itself.

Because Gen III and Gen IV had very similar story beats, I honestly thought Ghetsis' arc was going to play out as Cyrus' had in Gen IV. I assumed that you would have to raid the hideout of Team Plasma and face Ghetsis down and fighting/catching boxart-guy afterwards, and only then would you be allowed to complete the gym challenge and subsequently face the league. This was of course flipped on its head when N reveals to the player three gym badges in that he is the king of Team Plasma, and Ghetsis serves under him, not the other way around. This makes Ghetsis' reveal as the final boss shocking, but not too much so that it feels forced. We know that Ghetsis is threatening, emotionally manipulative and of higher standing within Team Plasma's administration than the Seven Sages based on his actions and character design, so the possibility of facing him after facing N becomes a realistic expectation. To be blunt, Ghetsis doesn't fuck around. His team very much feels like a properly-balanced champion team, with Hydreigon acting as his team's resident pseudo-legendary, and his theme music is composed of foreboding drums and choir vocals. He feels more like a champion than Alder does. Ultimately, I would say Black and White has two champions: a story champion and a gameplay champion. Alder fits the former while Ghetsis fits the latter, and while I love this dynamic for its creativity in a very formulaic series, I wish we had more of it. None of the Pokemon games since Black and White had this degree of ambition in integrating and subverting the series' narrative and game-play trappings by way of a fake-out final boss, even its direct sequels, who perhaps played it a little too safe.

In Black and White's sequels, Black 2 and White 2, Alder's role as a mentor becomes literal, as he helps the player character get better accustomed to the game when they reach Floccessy Town (which incidentally is supposed to be based off Newark and I think that's hilarious). Instead of acting as the Unova League Champion, Alder is revealed to have stepped down from the league and has been replaced by the former Opelucid City gym leader Iris instead. Now, Iris adheres much more to the champion archetype than Alder does, but that really isn't saying much. In B2W2, she appears in Castelia City at the same time and for the same story function as she did in the previous games: you have to help her track down Team Plasma. That's it. You could argue that she meets the archetype better if you take her role within the predecessor game into account, since in Black and White, Iris is present during the eleventh-hour time of crisis, along with the gym leaders from all of Unova's cities (barring one) rallied up by your other, comparatively less annoying rival Bianca. If you are playing Pokemon White, you will have to face Iris in order to win the final gym badge, which makes her somewhat more relevant as a character, though only in White alone, as you fight her mentor Drayden in Black instead. In spite of this, I wouldn't say that Iris is a very memorable character within both stories she is in, and the time between these encounters are massive. By the time you meet Iris again in Opelucid City in White, it is to challenge her, whereas in Black she acts as a move tutor without any relevance to the plot. In B2W2, she will appear in Opelucid City to wish you luck with your battle with the city's current gym leader, but you won't see her afterwards until her big reveal as the new champion of Unova. While her theme music is catchy, I wouldn't really say the battle itself is incredibly memorable. To this day, I can't recall her team save for her Druddigon without having to look it up on Bulbapedia. It is worth noting that B2W2 have incredibly large postgames that near-eclipse the amount of content provided from the main story, which itself was less ambitious than Black and White and took a more Diamond and Pearl approach regarding to pacing the story with gym challenges, so Iris' memorability can easily be overlooked in a game with so much content.

Now if any champion meets the archetype the least, it is Generation VI's Diantha, and when I say “least”, I don't mean the least faithful to the archetype, because as previously explained, that title goes to Alder. Rather, Diantha's lack of screentime within the main story leads to a weak champion reveal by the end, even more so than Iris or Wallace. In Pokemon X and Y, your two encounters with her prior to the Pokemon League are incidental, as you run into her first at a cafe in the not so subtle stand-in city for Paris, and then at a monorail stop in where I can only assume is Normandy. She doesn't give you any important item or clears any obstacles for the player to advance the plot. Rather, she talks about herself a bit and expresses a desire to battle the player in the future. I probably wouldn't have remembered her leading up to taking on the league were it not for her character design, which fans have likened to that of Audrey Hepburn, and I can kind of see it? It's a fitting comparison given that Diantha is supposed to be a well-respected actress, but that aspect of her character alone is problematic from a storytelling standpoint should you choose to turn off your brain; if Diantha is this insanely famous actress, why wouldn't she immediately be identified as the Kalos League Champion as well by NPCs whenever she's out in the public? Last I checked, Parisian cafes and monorail stations aren't necessarily private venues, and it's not like Diantha is attending these places incognito. One line that particularly annoys me in her first encounter is, “I'm a Trainer myself, in my off time. I look forward to us battling someday!” To me, this line feels like a deliberate misdirect on the part of the writer, because what kind of league champion would brush their battling career aside as a hobby despite being the named strongest trainer in the entire region? There's just something incredibly dishonest about what is ostensibly supposed to be a throwaway line. It implies that we are not meant to assume that Diantha is an exceptional trainer of note, and are meant to see her primarily as an actress instead. This makes her reveal as champion ultimately fall flat, and you as a Pokemon fan could probably assume from thematic shorthand that she was going to be the champion simply because she had nothing better to do in the story.

Diantha's lack of presence in the narrative is what ultimately sells her short. Unlike previous champions, she does not appear during the obligatory time of crisis, though I wouldn't call this subversive, nor is she present during your recurring run-ins with Team Flare (aka the French fashion mafia). To be honest, I think some extra screentime in the vein of Cynthia would make her reveal less forced, or at the very least some hints on the part of random NPCs hinting of her battling prowess. This isn't to say I don't like Diantha as a character, or even X and Y's story for that matter. I actually quite like it. I just wish I saw Diantha more frequently. She is implied to be acquainted with Lysandre, who is revealed to be the boss of the French fashion mafia. Why couldn't that be explored? Hell, I even would have taken a part in the game where you wind up on a film set and you see Diantha performing! Pokemon X and Y took a much stronger influence from the part of the world it is based on than Black and White did, so it's kind of a shame that an aspect of French culture as a famous as their cinema was more or less pushed to the wayside.

At the time of this writing, I had recently finished my playthrough of Pokemon Sun. I accidentally spoiled myself to the champion reveal via YouTube, discovering that your final obstacle before becoming the first ever champion of the Alola Region was Professor Kukui. Compared to Diantha, my battle with Kukui was incredibly memorable, because I lost twice against him before finally emerging victorious. Of course, recency bias is very much a thing and my feelings regarding the quality of the battle are subject to change, but I think it's telling that a lot of thought went into how difficult this final challenge was supposed to be. I have issues with Pokemon Sun and Moon's balancing system, namely the fact that most trainers don't have more than one Pokemon until you're halfway through the game. I understand that the contrary would make the Exp. Share as insanely broken as it was in Gen VI, but in hindsight it appears to have been a necessary evil. By the time I challenged Kukui, both of our teams were almost perfectly balanced, making the battle less about sweeping the opponent's Pokemon as quickly as possible with the right type matchups and more about the strategy it takes to get there.

I would also be remiss not to mention the uniqueness of Kukui's champion reveal, because he is not the champion at all! Technically, you, the player, have become the first champion by being the first to beat the Elite Four, a feat achieved only by your rival in Red and Blue. This final battle you have with Kukui is a formality, as it is explained in the story that he has spearheaded the efforts to establish a Pokemon League in Alola, integrated in with the traditional Island Challenge. Kukui makes it very clear that he studies Pokemon moves, making battling an integral part of his research. It makes him a little one-note at times, but I don't think Pokemon has had as active of a champion character within the main story since Cynthia, and I mean champion in the sense that Ghetsis could be considered one. That said, I don't think anyone would have a problem if SuMo went the route of Black and White and making Lusamine in her drugged up possession form the final boss. My biggest issue when battling Kukui is that I didn't really feel strongly about the character himself.

Obviously I'm speaking from bias, but I think the past twelve years of playing Pokemon have conditioned me to champion trainers who, if they weren't depicted as calm and collected, were at the very least formidable and intimidating. Kukui is probably one of the most high-energy characters in the entire game! Previous champions all had an air of mystery behind them, whereas you practically spend 1/3 of SuMo's 3-hour tutorial being guided by Kukui. You pick up his mannerisms, you find out what he's all about, you find out he's married to a physicist, etc... Even if the game threw a curveball and actually made you the champion before anyone else could make a claim, Kukui's reveal as the final boss feels... underwhelming. This guy has been holding your hand and supporting you practically through your entire journey, and while Alder had a similar role in B2W2, it was not nearly as pronounced by comparison.

That spark of intensity you feel battling a champion like Steven and Cynthia just isn't there. What do you have to prove about yourself as a trainer if there is no champion to challenge at the end of the long road? This is honestly a shame because I was actually hoping around the time of Gen V that we would get a game where the story throws a curveball you become the first champion, albeit with the caveat that you have to compete with someone for the penultimate title. I still think this is possible, but from what Kukui has shown us, it needs to executed differently. I have not picked up Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon yet so I don't know whether or not Game Freak decided to switch up Kukui with someone else (though I'm gonna assume now that it's either Hau or Gladion), but I would honestly welcome a change, not to mention better battle music.

This current generation of Pokemon signals a shift in the way these games will likely be made for the years to come, both in terms of gameplay and narrative. I wasn't a huge fan of the Island Challenge in hindsight, but it was a fresh take from the past 20 years of gym battles. While the story of B2W2 may come close at times, I don't think we've had two successive generations that followed similar story beats like Gens III and IV did. That said, I very much adhere to the notion that Pokemon needs to continue making memorable final battles for the player. Each story in a mainstream Pokemon game has remained memorable to some degree, but I strongly believe that the games which hold up better are the ones who execute their champion reveals the best, even if it means adhering to a pre-established archetype. Archetypes aren't a form of bad writing, but their overuse turns them into cliches.

#shaggy essays

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anotherdoor · 7 years

Photo

Within Amalfi Town square, there’s a rather impressive statue:

This is none other than Saint Andrew the Apostle, the First Called.

Look at this enigmatic figure, a charismatic scholar of the Correspondence Discordance!

In all sincerity though, travelling through a region with a history far longer than our own has re-contextualised the role of culture within society for me. Just as pop culture causes its own obsessions within the niche roles of various fandoms (Marvel superhero stories, D&D characters, Dark Souls mythology, Game of Thrones, etc.), I’m realising the roles that these religious icons had within European life. They weren’t just abstract figures - they were legends, and ones that you could tell stories about, reason and obsess over, just as we have today.

Unfortunately for you, dear Reader, I am not versed in history or culture. So, instead of being able to interpret these statues and religious relics correctly for you, I instead invent wholesale a ludicrous interpretation born from my own ignorance.

Why? Well, because speculation is fun. And furthermore, it was ridiculously inspiring on a creative level. Having centuries of artwork retelling and reinterpreting a single apostle within the larger context of Christianities story essentially creates this large volume of ‘canon’ or ‘lore’. Much like how Dark Souls doesn’t really give you a narrative and more ill-defined points along a series of events that happened long ago, these artworks felt mysterious but self-consistent. That put me within the mindset of designing for mechanical systems - things that are internally consistent and interact together to produce novel outputs.

With that in mind, what I hope to share with this post is how my misinterpretations of historical art caused me to be inspired with my own ongoing projects.

To begin, recall the singular point of import contained within the walls of the Vatican City:

A dove. Is shooting Holy Light. Into a Saints forehead. And he gets crazy mad blessed. A halo! All around him is bowing and deferential and whaaaaaaaaat is going ooooonnnnnnnnnnnnn...

This mystery would compel me to look further into this matter. And thus I have invented wholesale an explanation that has been driving gullible scholars insane ever since. This theory was only made possible via the artefacts contained within the Cathedral of Saint Andrew and the Umbria National Gallery.

Upon entry to the antechamber of the Cathedral, I notice an individual with a halo/corona in a faded fresco within the halls of St Andrews. I idly muse to myself, I wonder if this presupposes the existence of a Dove...

Dove with halo DOVE WITH HALO

Incidentally, Kate and I stumbled across the legitimate Sacred Heart. You know, just chilling out. It was in a GLASS CASE KATIE, OK, don’t break my heart ;_;

it’s totally legitimate T_T (homing tears now pew pew ahem)

Anyway where was I oh damn look at this Dark Souls-esque staff:

Now, these next three pictures contain several points of interest, but I compel you to examine the halos within each:

Something of interest to me is how different periods and artists represent the halo - although more interesting is how consistent the various representations are across different bodies of work. The dove, coupled with the different states of halos/coronas, made me very interested in how they worked.

For example, within the first picture you have a representation of all the apostles with the simple banded halo, whereas Jesus has a solid corona of light. This implies to me a continuum on which the halos rest. Keep in mind that these objects are typically invisible to mortals, like angels or cherubs. Their presence signifies a certain degree or capacity for holiness. Absent a halo, a single golden ring, then the interior filling up until you have a solid golden corona. This idea is something that I’ll continually return to, as it leads me down some interesting design choices for interactive systems.

For now though, let’s examine this dove statue:

Love it, the statue being damaged and lacking a head just adds to the deliciously creepy factor for me. A creature, unseen by most, who confers blessings to those who earn Sainthood by suffering. A far more interesting a premise than any H.R Geiger monster. So, the whole point of the dove is to represent the Holy Spirit, as shown by this fresco within the Umbria Gallery:

What I like about this idea is this recurrent and strong use of internally consistent logic applied to a medium or story. The dove represents something, it’s a strong visual metaphor, so whenever we see a dove we know what that means:

Better, from my perspective, is for interactive storytelling - it’s a way to distil complex motifs into a clear visual, something easily programmed and then robust to player actions. The picture just before the above one is also really useful for demonstrating the spectrum of halos I was discussing earlier - the huddled masses don’t have them, the nuns and monks have a slight distortion around their heads, those blessed are with a corona and we can see those divine figures have even more detail within their halos. Look at the corona on the Dove itself:

I like to think of this as a way of approaching secrets in a really well defined manner. The nature of the dove is mysterious - you are lead down a path you do not fully understand. As your comprehension grows, you can develop a distortion around your head - this feeds into your own understanding. Progression systems are abundant in interactive systems - I prefer it when they are visual and interesting, as opposed to meters or abstractions (XP, etc).

Plus it means finding a ‘dark halo’ is suddenly very interesting:

But enough musings on halos, what about Saint Andrew?

I’ve picked the two pictures above because they show a lot about his ‘character’ progression. Andrew was a scholar, always present with his book. The first statue is very cleverly done - Andrew doesn’t have a halo yet, but see how the fresco has a negative space that clearly implies one?

The second picture was taken above Saint Andrew’s Crypt - at the end of his journey (mad adventures with the holy spirit dove), he’d been crucified crux decussata (X-shaped cross), developed a corona, sometimes shown to wield his tome as a weapon and all around just comes across as a character straight out of a fantasy novel. Deification, huh.

See how this statue, the halo is represented by the hollow ring, yet in the Andrew statues they are filled in and detailed? This sort of thing makes me believe that they knew what they were doing with the halos and their hierarchy.

Really appreciate the way simple visual stand-ins for concepts are used to communicate meaning.

Saint Andrews cathedral made me examine a lot about how we create characters and build legends out of them, how we tell stories that we get excited about and want to believe in, and how we’ve been doing that for thousands of years.

It’s made me realise that the game I’m working on will definitely have some kind of headless dove in it, and that if we follow it, we’re going to start seeing things no else has seen.

I’m feeling very inspired.

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