#i know it's always the same 10 writers but they're really very good
Note
I was given oral herpes by someone who didn't feel the need to disclose that they got cold sores before we had a one-time little dalliance.
I might've gone for it anyways. I'm self destructive. But I guess the lack of being able to choose whether to take the risk, it's left me feeling pretty bitter about the experience.
And I'm left feeling like a biohazard. I haven't really been able to explain to my friends yet why I'm suddenly extremely cagey about sharing my drinks and food. And all my favorite sexual activities are off the table forever. I know, dental dams, condoms, but half the fun of oral sex and making out is, you know, the taste, the heat, the absolute control. I was good at it.
It feels especially embarrassing since I'm ace and the whole reason I hooked up with the person was kind of... I don't know, fear that if I didn't, then we wouldn't be able to hang out anymore.
I'm not sure what I'm asking. Maybe, was it wrong for them not to disclose something like that? Considering how common it is? I feel obligated to disclose myself but maybe I'm just weird for that.
Thanks for doing what you do here.
Kind regards,
Asexual for Ethical Reasons Now I Guess
hi anon,
I don't often apologize for needing time to get to anons, because I really need people to have reasonable expectations about the amount of time I'm willing to commit to my inbox, but I am sorry for not getting to this one sooner. it's a topic that's very important to me, and I can tell you're dealing with a lot of hurt.
first off: I'm very sorry someone wasn't totally honest with you. that's never a good feeling, and especially in the context of sex it's a huge betrayal of trust. it's deeply unfair to you, and I hope you're able to recover from that.
having said that: you are not a biohazard. you're a person with an incredibly common virus. the World Health Organization estimates that somewhere around 80% of people worldwide have herpes (and that's a rough estimate, since they use different age ranges for HSV-1 and HSV-2). skip to the factual part of this tiktok at 00:10 seconds. herpes has been with us since before we were human; there's nothing disgusting or even unusual about having herpes.
herpes is different from most STIs in that it is lifelong, but that doesn't make you an unfuckable pariah. it makes you someone who may sometimes have open sores, and should give partners a heads up about your virus to avoid putting anyone in the same situation you're in. while you're at it, let them know that most people with herpes live asymptomatic and uncomplicated lives. many people never even know they have it!
I understand that spending the rest of your life with a viral buddy doesn't sound super fun right now, but I promise that as viruses go you can do WAY worse.
personally I've always felt the best way to get comfortable with something is to learn more about it. why not let clinical sexologist Dr. Doe talk to you about her own herpes, and how to be conscientious about minimizing the risk of sharing herpes with others?
youtube
youtube
or listen to writer Ella Dawson talk about learning to cope with the exact stigma you're currently struggling with?
or listen to Dr. Sydnee Smirl McElroy explain why herpes bears such a heavy stigma for such a mild virus in the first place?
you're not a biohazard, and neither is anyone else with an STI. that's a terrible way to think about yourself and others.
you're under no obligation to stop being sexually active if you don't want to be.
please don't feel that you have to have sex with anyone out of a sense of obligation anymore, but also please don't feel that herpes is a punishment. sickness isn't something that happens to people because they're bad or deserve, sickness happens to people because people get sick.
take care 💜
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My desire demon mini essay on why im mad theyre not in dai and why theyre so misunderstooood </3
In order to make my point I wanna describe the concept of what a desire demon is in the franchise. She is a demon who seeks to experience the thrills of living outside of the Fade, using her victims as her vessel. She may use sex as a weapon, but in the game the only notable time this happens is with the Warden when they enter Connor's mind (as an option).
Even if her appearance and attitude are alluring/sexy, the instances where we see a desire demon in action is when she fulfills desires that are almost always not sexual. Connor desired to rescue his father from dying, Amalia wanted a cat, Allure offered political power to lady Harrimann in exchange of her family. I think this contrast is what confused both fandom (example: we want incubus demons, people aren't only into women!) and the franchise itself (It's the mid 10's and desire demons have no place in DA:I! which I disagree.)
They are described as the second most powerful demons after pride demons, and sometimes the lines between the two blur. Where pride demons seek to dominate their vessel and then the world around them, desire demons co-depend. They feed on their emotions and life experiences, they seek to fulfill them as well as despair them. I think a good example of pride/desire difference is Connor. The desire demon seeking world domination was not expressed in the same way a pride demon would have, in my opinion, because she was put in a position to possess royalty, and what's more thrilling than to abuse that power?
This is why I feel really sad when I didn't see the desire demons in DA:I. During an apocalyptic scenario, what better time for a desire demon to use the rifts and experience the thrills of living outside the Fade, which is their whole premise? Maybe it can be said that they don't enjoy fighting like other demons, but they have proven to be able to amass armies, and in an event where demons are able to dominate Thedas, why not fight? (Imagine Mass effect banshee-like fights guwaaahhh) They have the upper hand. And even then, I believe with so many people's desperation over the rift ripping apart and desiring safety, it would have been so easy for a desire demon to utilize those common fears and vow for their 'well being'.
Maybe their designs and attitudes, as nice as they are (I LOVE THEM 😭) they managed to confuse their concept. It's really easy to see them as a simple sex succubus, and she can be at very little instances (I can only think of the ONE that I mentioned but I want to finish replaying the games to really know), but they are for the most part demons who fulfill dreams, at a heavy cost and with great trickery. What also confuses their concept might be their initial association with with the sin of Lust, which is what they're based off. The writers clearly didn't want them to go that way, but the designers did 😂
Anyways... i will go touch grass now :V
#desire demons theyre never gonna make me forget about u#im aware its not profound but im speaking of my own observations 🫡
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Cultic Iconography in Resident Evil Village
As the kind of nerd who loves all the creepy artwork you can find decorating Miranda-shrines around the village (like, just check out that one of the half-skeletal Miranda hovering in the graveyard and just tell me that isn't metal AF), I was on the lookout for the original image assets while poking through the game files. I'm hardly an expert on Catholic or Orthodox iconography (plenty of which is creepy enough just to begin with), but I adore how you can see all those elements being twisted and appropriated by Miranda's cult. You'll find these six pictures plastered all over the village in various combinations.
So you can imagine how thrilled I was to find a whole extra batch of unused artwork in the same set!
Lest you doubt these were all meant to go together, they all hail from the one big compilation file ‒ I've just cropped them out separately for ease of viewing. For all I know, maybe some of these were used somewhere in the game and I just never caught it (and if you have spotted any, please let me know!)
But taken at face value, our unused images consist of one picture of the megamycete, a 10-winged-madonna figure (why limit yourself to just 6?), a side profile of Miranda herself (possibly excluded because it shows off a little too much of her real face?), two images of dead crows, and (strangest of all) a man holding a goat head.
That last pic especially stands out ‒ and not just because I could (and, indeed, now have) legit write you a whole essay on just the significance of the goat's head motif as a protective symbol in the village (seriously, it's everywhere from the Goats of Warding to the symbol on the shield of the Maiden of War statue), so I'm going to be all over any new example. But who the hell is that guy carrying it? No other image centers anyone but Miranda herself as an object of worship. This looks more like someone's taken a generic pic of the likes of St Francis of Assisi hanging out with some animals (it's a theme, you can look it up), then just cut the poor animal off at the neck for added creep factor.
So do we take it that this guy was, at some point, meant to be another key figure in Miranda's cult? Or was generic-saint-with-animal-plus-extra-squick all they were really going for? Was it drawn before the writers made Miranda the cult leader? Or could this even have been intended (as the goats themselves seem to be) as some in-universe, pre-Miranda relic of an earlier era?
Also interesting: he appears to be holding one of those ornate staves you can also see in the fire and skeletal images of Miranda above (and can also find in the field near Luisa's early in the game, before they're all replaced by charred, semi-crucified corpses). Did that symbol predate Miranda too? Fascinating, either way.
Those two crow pictures may be even more intriguing still. I'm sure we all remember that spooky batch of dead and/or hanging crows Ethan discovers at the start of his descent into the village, but thereafter nothing like that is ever seen again. Given that Miranda herself is so closely associated with crows, it's reasonable to wonder if this very-literal murder-of-crows was in fact some act of heresy by an unbeliever, deliberately hidden out in the woods.
But if images of dead crows ‒ including one hung in the very same position ‒ were at some point intended to appear alongside other images of Miranda-veneration, then presumably veneration was always the intent for those dead crows out in the woods. Suffering is, of course, a key part of the stories of so many saints. And perhaps crows are sacred only in the same way that the goats are: ideal candidates for ritual sacrifice.
Much as I love all the concept art you can already unlock with the game, I'd pay good money for a proper artbook going into all this kind of design work. There's clearly so much more that went into the concept art stages of this game that I'd love to hear more about.
And while we're at it, here's a nice big version of the standard winged-fetus symbol too:
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Book Review: Metropolitan Man
[content warning: sexual violence]
It's been 10 years since I wrote Metropolitan Man, and last night I read it for the first time in almost that long. Since writing it, I've written over 4 million words, and hopefully, grown as a writer. I've also forgotten parts of the story, so was looking at it with as fresh of eyes as possible. These are my overall thoughts.
I should say, before I start, that I've read tons of comments and discussion on this story over the years. I don't know how many of these thoughts are my own, or how much I've internalized things that people have said.
Writing Style
There were lots of changes I thought about making while reading, but people hate change, and this story is about ten years past when I wanted to be making editing passes on it. In many places I kept thinking of little extras I would add, things that would make the dialogue pop a little more, or provide characterization. I had this idea for a line where I describe Lois typing out two letters like she was letting loose with both barrels of a shotgun. There's dialogue to clean just a bit more, a few places where words are repeated or something is just a bit awkward, and where it could have been tighter or more clear.
The biggest thing that stood out to me was how little time got spent on scene setting and how short some of the snippets were, just five paragraphs to get a scene across before we're onto the next thing. I might have webserial brainrot, but those are definitely places where today I would give a little more breathing room and maybe use the same amount of words to describe something in a more oblique and stronger way. One that stood out as a clear example was a private investigator going home with Jimmy Olsen even though she was done pumping him for information, which could have been twice as long and benefitted from it. Another was a brief little thing about a Superman spotter on the roof, where I'd now describe everything he was doing, and only get to the conclusion of "he was a Superman spotter" at the end of the section to let the reader have this mini mystery of what they're being shown and why.
I would describe things more if I was writing this today, trying to get those nicely tight and evocative descriptions and ditch the stuff like "she wore a white blouse", but I often feel that way about stuff that I'm revising from last week, so it's not surprising.
The plot is very tight, which is good. I tend to prefer my plots tight, but it takes work, and webserials aren't conducive to it because it's difficult to know when you're writing a scene whether it's really pulling its weight as far as moving things forward. The initial idea for MM was to move as cleanly as possible through a series of events: Superman -> Superman is invincible -> Superman is Clark Kent -> Clark Kent grew up in Smallville -> the ship is in Smallville -> the ship has a Kryptonite power source -> Kryptonite can kill Superman -> Superman is dead. The only thing that would make it any faster would be if we dropped the Lois Lane subplot, but that's like half the novel.
Superman is OOC
I've gotten tons and tons of comments on this story over the years. If I hated myself, I would go back through my email and count them up, but there are some death threats and "kill yourself"s in there, and I prefer not to reread them. The major thing that people hate is the ending, which I don't care to talk about, but the other major thing is that Superman isn't Superman.
In this, I largely agree, but then, I'm pretty sure I've always agreed. That said, Superman has had a ton of interpretations over the years, and there's a wide range of acceptable behavior from "a Superman", even if we're not counting the really out there variations like Red Son or some of the alternate timelines.
... but I still would probably make him more like a canon Superman if I had to do it all over.
There are a few things that raise red flags at the beginning, which is where I think they're inexpertly placed. Superman takes Lois off the roof and flies her around, making her very afraid, and this is fine, I think, a misunderstanding that might be stronger if we got his insight into what was happening before we got hers to help bridge some of the disconnect there and characterize them both better. But there's a little note after that, where Clark makes a joke about "Superman's girlfriend Lois Lane" that I think is a HUGE red flag, and which probably comes too early in the story. It would be better as a joke someone else made that Clark laughs along with, which raises the red flag to half mast.
The other major moment I would change is when the bombs start going off. Superman pulls back, unsure whether he's actually immune to mustard gas, and I think this is one of the moments that most goes against the character of Superman. Canon Superman would just say "welp, guess I gotta find out whether I'm immune to mustard gas in a hurry". Superman making the argument that he doesn't know the bounds of his powers and so should exercise caution reads as either cowardice or as him being way too bitten by the rationality bug.
This would then obviously have to change the plot of that section a bit, because in the novel as it stands right now, Superman is convinced by Lois Lane that he can't just sit on the sidelines for game theory reasons. Better to either scrap that section or have Lois convince Superman that for game theory reasons he should offer to have testing carried out against him in a way that doesn't harm civilians, which canon Superman might submit to if it saved lives. Then the rest of the plot can proceed as normal, because Superman is immune to everything and that's the whole plot beat anyway.
I'd definitely clean up some of Superman/Clark's dialogue to nail the character voice better, but I don't think it's that bad, and it's mostly a few places where the wording is off. I think in particular the points where he's feeling anger go too far, and are not how someone internally conflicted about the anger might talk.
And then, oh yeah, Superman punches a guy's head clean off, which I think is the biggest sticking point for most people.
I've thought about that scene a lot. I personally like it. But if I were ever trying to sell this story to DC, it's one of the things I would almost certainly change. Superman doesn't kill, except in that one movie that came out just before this story was published where Superman snapped a guy's neck.
The change I am most happy/comfortable with is that Whitman, the governor whose children were [REDACTED], is the one to kill Calhoun. This happens just outside the courthouse with Superman watching and not intervening in the slightest, or maybe catching the bullets as they go through Calhoun so no bypassers get hit.
I don't know, as I type it out, it doesn't have the same weight to it. It's not cool. It's not a watershed moment. Maybe there's a plot thread to pull there, where Superman has tacitly endorsed other vigilantes, and it would be a great time to pull in other mundane street-level heroes ... but that's an entirely different story at that point.
Another option is for Superman to simply fly off with Calhoun and put him away, but that lacks punch too, and gets talky, and ... it's about the rage, right? The feeling of injustice, not just at Calhoun, but at the entire world, and it's not just an unhappy side effect that there's blood everywhere, all over the clamoring press, that's part of the point.
Social Justice
I really enjoy how wide-ranging the novel is, and how many things it touches on. Good job me. There was a line I had completely forgotten about where Lois asks "Why doesn't Superman stop abortions?" that I had completely forgotten I had ever written, and which brought a big smile to my face (but no wonder some Superman fans hate this story).
There are a few other things that I raise my eyebrow at a little bit, at least sitting here in 2024. There's a particular line that Superman gives when talking about this whitewashed mural of the past they're walking by, and he says "It's easy to forget that slavery ever happened, you know?" Now, I will grant you that this is a part of a conversation where he's saying that maybe he should have been a better student of history, and is saying this as a white guy in 1934, but I wanted him or someone else to tear that statement apart. It never really happens.
"It's easy to forget that slavery ever happened [if you and your people have not been affected by slavery]". The novel takes place ~70 years after the end of the Civil War, which means that when Clark was growing up there would have been freed slaves who were in their fifties, probably many of them in Kansas, though Smallville is (notably) small. I don't know, it wouldn't have been historically accurate for them to have a discussion of privilege, but there's way more meat on that bone, and it's all left as subtext.
Also probably the case that if I were writing it now, I would pay more attention to race in general, but that I'm less sure on, because it would mean some major structural changes to be done well. There's a single black guy in the whole thing, who is barely a character and has no speaking lines: the farmhand Ma Kent has before he gets lured away with the promise of being an actor. I have never felt that any novel needs racial balance to it, but if you're going to be talking about slavery and whether Superman would have done anything about it, you start to make black people look like props, which is not a good look.
I mean look, I think it's fine for a given story to not actually take a stance on political issues or have a diverse cast, but this story goes from abortion to the Equal Rights Amendment to Prohibition to Nazis to the death penalty, and then despite being set in 1934 sort of talks around the subject of how shitty race relations were. As a white guy, I never feel comfortable talking about race, but I think it would have been appropriate to have here in more than the cursory way it was handled. But the cast is just not that large, and the way that modern Superman stories handle that is usually making Jimmy Olsen black and then not actually talking about the fact that he's black so it's just a palette swap, which I don't think would work here, especially since Jimmy is such a bit character, and also it's 1934.
Sexual Violence
Alright, I will say it: there's too much sexual violence.
Chapter 7 is when the two Whitman kids get kidnapped. Their driver gets his throat slit, the boy gets dismembered, and the girl gets raped. I knew it was coming and I was still horrified by it.
I would not remove this part. I would foreshadow it better with a few scenes with Calhoun, the brutes, etc., and I might change some of the details to be a bit less awful and gruesome, but I don't think I would remove it. There are a few core ideas here that I think all work:
The better class of criminal has left the city now, and all that are left are the worst of the worst, the people who will not respond to incentives or symbols or rational thought.
If you cannot strike at Superman's physical self, you strike at his mind instead, and one of the ways to do that is psychic damage. In Calhoun's case, this is irrational, a pure desire to hurt Superman in any way possible while his empire collapses.
The amount of evil in the world is enormous. The pain and suffering cannot be comprehended. I love what Superman says, that this isn't really unique, that these things happen to children all the time. He's upset about not being able to save them, but they're a drop in the bucket.
I think you have to be careful with sexual violence, whether it's depicted or hinted at or just briefly mentioned. There are tons of people who are not on board with that in their media, and even of those who are on board, it has to be handled carefully and can feel very cheap, as though you're just going to the worst and most transgressive thing you can think of for the shock value. People will see it as lazy and trivializing and making entertainment out of this horrible thing.
I think the world is shit. I think terrible things happen. I have always felt both oppressed by the weight of evil in the world and powerless to stop it. I think that's the thing that I'm gesturing at here, and it feels weird to me that sexual violence would get put on a pedestal as the one thing too horrible to mention, even though we're mentioning all the most horrible things.
How do Superman comics and shows and movies deal with this? My impression is that they don't. Surely Superman must be stopping rapes from happening, but I cannot think of a single time I've seen it happen. I'm actually having trouble thinking of a time it was implied to happen. I think this is probably a good idea on the part of the people who make these bits of media, but it's absolutely not realistic if you're thinking about how Superman would operate in the "real world". Sexual violence happens, child abuse happens, and I guess we just sort of assume that these things are dealt with by Superman off-screen.
Though ... I mean it impacts the characters, right? Does Superman not have a trauma response? Does he have a superpower where he can bottle it all up? He's definitely too late to stop certain crimes, and he definitely can't make things better for some of the victims, and I guess in the comics when he shows up to a burning building he generally has a 100% success rate and people come out with only minor injuries, but ... alright, this is definitely the sort of thing that led me to write this fic in the first place.
It's a question that the fic doesn't have an answer for: how do you go on living when you know that there's so much evil in the world?
I think dialing that particular scene back is, maybe, fine. But it's the sort of thing that would feel like I was being less authentic in a way, as though I wanted to grapple with the big questions but not that one, wanted to consider ethics and morality but silo myself away from things that actually are on my mind. I see the point of blunting that scene, and I rebel against it because I don't want to be blunted, I want to be sharp.
I would, however, remove a lot of the earlier references, or blunt those, because they didn't need to be sharp. There are, before the Whitman stuff, about five references to sexual violence, and maybe even just using "sexual violence" would be enough, rather than "rape". One of these references is to what crimes Superman is statistically most likely to stop, another is to a plot to besmirch his name, both can be massaged or they can go.
I don't know if I think about these things differently because time has passed or I've had a bunch of discussions about these issues, or whether it's just having the outside view. It's weird to think about what a conversation with myself would look like, if we were working on the story together.
Retrospective
I understand why Superman fans sometimes hate this story. There's the Superman OOC stuff, sure, but there are also a lot of questions about Superman that apply to canon equally well, and people hate that. Superman is a fantasy, maybe the ultimate comic book fantasy. He stops crimes and bullets bounce off him! You're not supposed to think about his stance on abortion rights. You're not supposed to look at the Clark Kent mask and say 'huh, that's strange'. I mean it's media, you can do whatever the hell you want, but if Superman is a fantasy, then there are a lot of questions that are fantasy-ruining.
I stand by the story as written about 80%, which is higher than I thought it would be, though there are certain things that I stand by more than others. There are certain structural changes and many line-by-line changes, and I'm glad that I didn't have the story open in edit mode, because it would have taken me three times as long to read and when I hit "save changes" people would grumble about archives or bad changes or whatever, because you can't please people.
About five years ago, I started writing A Common Sense Guide to Doing the Most Good, which was meant as a companion piece to MM. It ended up being all mechanics, no plot, and the plot that I wanted it to have was divorced from the center questions it wanted to answer. It didn't feel as grand, I guess, and the cats were out of their bags a little too quickly.
One of the Answers that MM gives is that the thing you should do in the face of overwhelming evil is to grind relentlessly, grind until your bones are scraping the grindstone and there's nothing left of yourself. The story does not believe this answer, but it's one of the places I ended up ten years ago, and am still sort of at now. The other answer is to live as best you can, be aware of the evil and do what you can against it without letting the idea of it (or the battle against it) consume your soul.
When I was finished reading, I kind of wanted to write an uncritical Superman comic. Something where Superman can be as his most loyal fans see him, someone who is Good and doesn't often have to grapple with what Good means, where the thorny edges of moral quandaries never come to light and the hero is always there in the nick of time. Where Clark Kent is a bold and noble expression of humanity rather than a deception and a mask. Maybe I will go do that.
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EXCLUSIVES INTERVIEWS
How Jared Padalecki Changed From A Gilmore Girls Kid To Walker Season 4's Father - Exclusive Interview
"Walker" is now in its fourth season. What about the show, and also the character of Cordell, has made you want to keep coming back year after year?
Well, so many things. But I think to answer your second question first, what I love about the character of Cordell Walker and what he is going through is that it feels, though very different, very similar to my own life. I mean, I am a father. This is the first chance I've ever had to play a father. So selfishly, I love exploring what that looks like. Our writers have been so diligent about making this show as honest as possible. I hope I don't sound like I'm disparaging the OG "Walker, Texas Ranger" in any way, shape, or form, but this is not a martial arts show as much as it's a human being show about adulting and about having relationships and having troubles, and things are dirty and messy and there's not always an easy fix.
It's not necessarily get the bad guy and everything's good for the week. It's sort of like, get the bad guy, but in the process of getting the bad guy, you ignored your daughter, so how do you fix that? Or in the process of getting the bad guy, you skipped out on your son. Or in the process of getting the bad guy, you locked yourself in your room for three weeks straight and weren't available to anybody, and now you have some relationships to repair. So it's much more similar, in my opinion, to life. Life as I know it, at least.
And to answer your first question about Season 4, I'm really excited. We haven't really explored past traumas in the sense of the Ranger world. And so we have this serial killer, the Jackal, and it's very clear that the Jackal — before Captain James (Coby Bell) was captain, he was just Ranger, and Ranger James and Ranger Walker were partners — he really terrorized these guys, specifically Ranger James, then Captain James. And Season 4 has been a great kind of dark dive into what someone can do to you psychologically when it seems like they're playing with your emotions, and they're one step ahead of you all the time, and you just can't save those around you when your job is to protect and serve.
"Walker" is your first dive into the world of executive producing. What has that been like for you?
My trailer's bigger, I get to tell people what to do. [laughs] By the final seasons of a show I did before "Walker" called "Supernatural," Jensen Ackles and I both had a say in the storylines and in the scripts and the blocking. And then, to quote the Bard, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." We weren't executive producers by any means, we weren't involved in all the meetings that artists aren't necessarily usually involved with, but we were so passionate about our characters and about the story and about the canon and about the cast and crew that our vote was counted, even though we were never producers on "Supernatural."
With "Supernatural," I think the executive producers were able to see through 10 years of example that Jensen and I cared about the story and the script and the characters, not about like, "Hey, it'd be cool if I took my shirt off. Hey, it'd be cool if I had leather pants and a motorcycle." They knew that we were doing what was best for the character. And so I think when you come in as the EP, that's assumed, and so that kind of bridge has already been passed, that speed bump has already been navigated. That's been wonderful.
I have a wonderful relationship with ["Walker" creator] Anna Fricke. Funny enough, her husband Jeremy Carver was executive producer and showrunner of "Supernatural" for many years, and that's how she and I first met. And from day one, she and I have just been on the same page. We just talked this morning, as a matter of fact, about the finale that we're shooting right now. And so it's been nicely passionate. I think what I've found in my 20-something years in the industry is that, as an actor, what happens between action and cut doesn't really interest me all that much. It's fun. But what I'm interested in is being home with a script, with the puzzle of how does this work? Where does this not work? How can this work better? What else could we do?
So to be a partner and trying to determine what storylines are most poignant and most pertinent along the way, and what works best for each character has been really special and I'm really excited about it. And even learning a lot about what happens, quote-unquote "behind the scenes," some of which is kind of unnecessary for me to know. "Well, hey, this location's going to cost $1,000, but this is going to be $1,200." I'm like, "Okay, well, what's better?"
I was a kid that spent time in my room building Legos, much like my middle son. I was just so fascinated by the way things work. And I think, frankly, for certain actors, that informs their performance as well, knowing everything that went into why a scene has to be a certain way. I can recall on "Gilmore Girls" or "Supernatural" reading a scene and going, "Well, wouldn't it be a lot better if we did this instead?" And now having been EP for years, I can read a scene and go like, "Oh, I know why this is inside, not outside. Oh, I know why they just push each other and don't get into a full-on fight. Oh, I know why this person has lines, or this one doesn't." So it kind of helps complete the puzzle, so to speak.
Speaking of "Supernatural," you've had some really big roles in your career, like Sam, and Dean on "Gilmore Girls," obviously.
OG Dean! I like to say OG Dean because Jensen was Dean on "Supernatural," but I'd already been Dean on "Gilmore Girls" for five years. So I like to try and kind of wink and nod.
What does it mean to have those fans that started with you on "Gilmore Girls" also embracing this newer character of Walker?
I can't put into words how grateful I am that people have enjoyed the work I do. And funny enough, even though it's scripted television, I feel like my work and career have been kind of like a journal. On "Gilmore Girls," I did the pilot when I was 17 years old and I was a kid fresh out of San Antonio, Texas, where the only apartment I could afford, the door didn't lock. It was in the parking lot of a liquor store. And then I grew up a little bit. And then at 22, I started "Supernatural" and I was still essentially a kid. But during "Supernatural," I became more of a man and an adult and a husband and then a father. And now on "Walker," I'm a father. And so it's really life imitates art.
And so the idea that people have taken the time to listen to me, I feel listened to. Which is ironic because I'm playing characters. This isn't a documentary by any means. But I'm flattered and I hope they all understand that I would not be here able to tell stories if it weren't for them, period.
Is there anything that you want the fans to know before they watch the "Walker" Season 4 premiere?
Yeah, we have a shortened season. We have 13 episodes. Jensen and I used to joke when we were doing a 23-episode season of "Supernatural," you're not going to win them all. If you go up to bat 23 times, you're not going to hit home runs every time. If you shoot 23 three-pointers, you're not going to make them all. But with 13 episodes, each one is wham, bam, don't miss, don't blink, don't walk away. We're bringing a lot of awesome, incredible, high-stakes stuff the audience's way, and I can't wait to watch alongside them.
Looper
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Some astro observations pt:4🧡
Hello how have yall been it's been a long long time so i hope you guys enjoy this post 🥹🧡
All of the observations here are based on sidereal/vedic measurements, this is what I have observed, take what resonates I'm not a professional astrologer, do not plagiarise my work !! I recently got into composite and synastry so i included some of my observations I hope you can relate to them.
🍁Moon - mercury - jupiter conjunction can make the native really intelligent and wise , but the downfall of this placement could be that you're always required to act tough in situations where you just need to let it flow or cry it out , it's like you have to be the mom of the house , like being the person who understands, they expect you to be the bigger person all the time , truth is it's not possible, the faster you realise that you choose your battles the better for you , always choose yourself and let your emotions flow , you don't have to intellectualise everything you got this sweetheart.
With this conjugation being in 10 H you might take an overload of work at your job , being in 11th too fixated on social media ,but at the same time you will be seen as someone who is really wise and would definitely listen to you , in the 5th 😭 it's like being a mother to your mother and people around you 😭 please don't, you are meant to live a free life , however with this being in the 3 rd house can make you a great writer a philosopher , very very intelligent, in 1st house would give you a nerd vibe or just someone who is very intelligent, this in the first could give you a very youthful appearance as well , since mercury represents skin along with the Jupiter and moon gives you like , people would say that you look like the young version of your mother . In the 12 would make you really spiritual and very psychic.
🍁The glass clear skin is a very Virgo thing y'all so pretty pretty. Along with it all chitras have a pearl shine to their skin , like greyish undertone , they're very famous as well.
🍁Having pisces placements in your big three might make you kind of aloof IDC what y'all say pisces know whom to give a fuck about, they ain't dealing with your half ass convos and half ass love, they are the loveliest people alive too i mean i don't know how they manage it , in purva bhadrapada know their worth they aren't sticking with you if you backstab them , they are mostly aloof and know their game very well , Uttara Bhadrapada's are great people very misunderstood, they are just kinda there is what people say , then one day you see the wrath of their anger and suddenly they are the villain like 💀 now no one likes them , you really cannot see a queen queening than that's your problem , with revati I've only observed one boy , like if you want someone to worship you get a revati man fr , they fall so hard in love , sometimes mould themselves which is not the healthiest thing , establishment of boundaries is quite a necessary theme initially for a revati after that you can vibe with what you have made for yourself.
🍁Pushya women will not hear you degrading yourself, they are one of the bestest friends you can have , they will love you more than you love yourself, be sure that you love them that deeply as well , their beautiful heart is a beautiful centerpiece it must be preserved with care .
🍁Hello Aquarius venuses so how many lovers did you gather this week damn like y'all charismatic as hell , i know some people with this placement they have so many lovers , they're pretty unforgettable 🥹 , also a lot of Aquarius Venuses could become others muses , they have the vibe of someone poets write about .
🍁9th H synastry is so interesting, like it's so much about wisdom and teaching each other stuff growing together, loving each other , being their for one another, like the person you are having with it could be a person with heavy anger issues and you are the only one who can calm them down , this synastry is good for partnerships , like in business as well , this will lead to the growth of both of you .
🍁Moon - sun synastry, oml 💀 initially it's great and nice and you love the play the tension, then deal with the ego clashes , i had it with an ex friend , could make you feel very unworthy, confused too but however it differs with houses as well , as for me it was my 1H moon so yeah 💀 rip my need to change myself anyway this was like when i was 13 or so , it's alright and works good if you're matured enough to handle it ig , no matter the synastry you can always work to make it in your favour .
🍁Composite moon in leo , is so good y'all see those relationships where people grow together and don't work against each other , this is that vibe , power couple, when with friends gives genuine happiness and appreciation for each other , in 2H might bring you money or you could work together for earning money , in 4H business investments, beautiful for growth .
🍁Composite moon in Taurus , i had this with two of the most closed off people I know you know what this makes them open up really easily to you like the whole world thinks they are really hard on themselves and always working but you know they love watching movies and cannot sleep without a soft toy and love heart shaped objects , how lovely is that 🥹.
🍁People with hasta placements are literally not addictied to the internet at all 😂 like please teach me too , and oftentimes they go off so that they can redirect their life , it's like initially they love being on the internet and then suddenly things happen in their life and boom they can't be found for months , but i think it's a good thing that they can focus on themselves now.
🍁Ardra woman and their joy and childlike energy and they way they love so beautiful so fierce , they are very upfront and tell you if they like you and will defend you fearlessly.
🍁Having punarvasu placements can make you very imaginative and good at writing, punarvasu placements can also deal with ardra like themes in their initial years , however due to the redirection theme of this nakshatra they go back to being soft . Also gossiping is a punarvasu sun thing not a punarvasu moon thing , you know i learnt that gossiping existed because of a punarvasu sun but then again that could be the synastry💀 .
🍁People expect Deva gana Nakshatras to be so giving oml it's just a gana no of us is a god 💀 and every Nakshatra has its good and evil side every human does , also a rakshasa gana keeps a Deva gana on their feet , like they can help them establish boundaries well , friendships between Deva and rakshasaganas are better than relationships. Manushya ganas keep vibing they can adjust with anyone which is the best part but if you're one know that your identity must only be influenced by things you wish to embody, don't just jump to get everything that attracts you , learn distinction, it's really nice to be a rakshasa gana , in this age you know how things work and can actively filter out what to fight for which is really hard for a Deva gana to do.
🍁Sun mercury conjunction can make you good with advice, your fame could be established through the education field, you could be really good at teaching people.
🍁Jyesthas literally do not have to try , they just naturally embody royalty, glamour , beauty , they know so much and are literally so humble , also i have noticed they're always busy or maybe it's a vibe around them , their life moves pretty fast they do a lot of things .
🍁Swatis are literally so pretty, so many popular and beautiful people i know have swati placements, rahu represents the divine feminine so makes sense, ardra being famous because of their childlike nature and social skills , Swati for their beauty and glamour , shatabhisha for their skills , rahu be ruling.
🍁An Ashwini woman is the definition of sophistication , so organized so pretty, knows their stuff and are really sweet and the bestest friend you can ever have .
🍁Vishakhas have had really hard experiences with their family, they could deal with a lot of emotional baggage of their mom , however i have seen most of it healing as they reach their adult stages after being in their teenage years, all the best to you my love you are strong and never alone.
🍁Mulas are very very religious ,they could even numb themselves through religion like it's okay to work on your traumas then to pray , like definitely god will help you but you gotta help yourself first , and after being really angry in their initial life they could become a believer of peace later, they value their alone time so much, also i know two mulas who just want to go down a pilgrim path although they are like so young.
🍁Uttara Phalgunis are so nurturing and loving, they literally love everyone which also makes them prone to being exploited 🤡 stop taking advantage of my queens 👑 , they deserve the world , they could also have a golden tint to their skin and are very enthusiastic towards life , could deal through some feuds with authority figure sometimes .
Do you guys want me to study divisional charts and make a post on it , if yes which one , general suggestions are very very welcome and requested , tell me anything you'd like me to make a post on 🧡
Thank you so much for reading
#please lmk if my tags are working#vedic astrology#sidereal astrology#astrology#astro community#sidereal zodiac#astrology notes#astro notes#astro observations#astrology community#astrology observations#astrology placements#astroblr
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What do you think about Jason's relationship (platonic!!! Father and son stuff. Still can't believe this ship exists. ) with Bruce? Should they even interact at all if DC only makes Bruce abusive and cruel towards him? Or do you ignore whatever is on those pages like it was always meant to be and like a lot of the fandom does?
(Personally, Bruce shouldn't be the best dad but he should never have raised his hand against his kids, unless during sparring and fighting off mindcontrol. The only exception I would make is shortly after Jason died and Bruce, out of his mind with grief, hit Dick who had kind of tried to comfort him. But everything else? Laughably out of character.)
Hello! Thanks for the ask friend!
Bruce and Jason's relationship is vastly complicated, but I personally don't think they should be on the best terms.
Bruce is very similar to Jason in that he's been written either okay or horrible by dc writers, but actual good characterization in the last like 10-15 years is pretty rare.
In terms of characterization of Bruce, I'm not as well-versed as I am with Jason, but I have a pretty good idea of how he should be. Bruce is heavily flawed. He has some significant childhood trauma that never got truly dealt with,leading to the creation of the batman. I also sense he has bpd or at least bipolar or something like that, as well as a superiority complex. He's also very stubborn and set in his ways and his instinct is that he's always right and everyone should do what he says. He's controlling and a hypocrite. But he has the best of intentions. He wants to keep everyone safe, he loves his kids and he just wants to protect people, but it has to be his way. I fully believe that Bruce never actually intends to hurt his family, but mental illness mixed with a need for control and a lack of socialization can lead to hurtful actions. In gotham war, Bruce truly believes that what he did to Jason was what was best for him, despite how crazy and abusive it actually was. After Damian died, he loved and grieved so much but didn't know how to handle it. He couldn't live without him so he did everything possible to bring him back, hurting his other kids in the process, but he didn't think he was seriously hurting his kids.
Jason is also very stubborn and a hypocrite. He has some substantial childhood trauma that also didnt get proper attention. he's not as hot-headed as certain characterizations of him like to say, but he is a VERY emotional and emotion-driven person. He thinks with his heart more than his head at times. He has very strong opinions and beliefs. He also loves his family and wants to protect people, mainly children and women, and he also believes that his way is the right way.
Bruce and Jason both think the other is wrong and neither want to compromise. And Bruce has done so much to Jason. And jason doesn't understand Bruce's pov because neither of them can actually communicate with each other in a healthy way and neither of them have healthy ways of executing their beliefs and morals, their actions don't always do their intentions justice.
So I think their relationship is strained. They're too similar and too different at the same time. They both have too many problems and don't take good care of their mental health, leading to some really unhealthy Coping mechanisms. But I do agree that some of things Bruce and jason have done have been super out of character and totally could be erased lol
Thanks for the ask friend!
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WIP Reblog Game
Ooooh this one looks fun. Thanks for the tag @kasienda!
I always feel like I see the same games going around and for the most part I've played them before and I feel like I have nothing new to say, so it's exciting to find something new!
List the titles your top five priorities for WIP updates (link your fics for new readers!)
An upcoming scene, event, or detail in each fic that you're looking forward to writing
Bonus: make a poll for your followers to vote on which top 5 WIP they are most excited to see an update on!
Then tag 10 writer friends!
WIP TITLES
everything i know (brings me back to us) - post-s5, post-adrinette break up ladrien fic
This Fire Won't Sleep Through The Night - alyanette princess/knight AU
Entangled - established ladynoir, post-hawkmoth angst, chat's ghosting lb. NSFW
Probably Not The Best Idea - ladrien roommates fic
Say Something - ladrien to prpr hurt/comfort in the aftermath of a sentireveal and gabe-is-hawkmoth reveal
I know I haven't updated Ladrien Roommates in almost a year and Say Something has been nearly as long but aksfbkdsjb I swear they're still on the list. Quite frankly it might take me a while to get back to Say Something though, because I'm just...very stuck. And I keep rethinking the next few chapters.
Also, Happier--my Adrigaminette WIP--gets an honourable mention in the priority list because I SWEAR I'm going to get back to it at some point 😭
UPCOMING
Okay I'm super excited about the arc that the next chapter (which with a little luck may be posted today...) is going to set into motion. Especially because I don't think anyone quite knows where precisely I'm going with it...hehehe
Hm. I have one heart-to-heart scene I have planned for a few chapters from now where Ladybug gets to know Alya a little better and maybe starts to fall for her a little...
Looking forward to the next chapter!! Like, all of it! The thing is, I feel like I need a good chunk of time to really FOCUS on writing it. And I'm still navigating balancing writing time with my work schedule.
There's a little arc that will pop up in the chapter after next where Ladybug has trouble sleeping...and naturally there's no better way to fix that than for Adrien to invite her into his bed 👀
There is a conversation between Adrien and Kagami in the next chapter that was one of the reasons the length of this fic got out of hand 😂
Okay, I think I can find 10 new people to tag... @celestialtitania, @ck2k18, @saiikavon, @mostmagical, @monpetitchattriste, @heartfulselkie, @liiinerle, @hueynomure, @rosie-b, and @wehadabondingmoment
[I'm just now noticing--because apparently when i copied the title over i did NOT read it--this says WIP REBLOG game...which maybe means I was supposed to reblog the original post akjfbskjd. but uh. too late now I'm about to post this 😂]
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Is there a way you personally think people should support your fics?
Whenever I write I’ve always been a ‘I’m grateful someone read it even if they didn’t enjoy it’ type of person but recently I’ve seen a lot (like seriously a lot) of people saying, if you don’t comment on fics (on ao3) you aren’t supporting them or the creator. I know I don’t feel that way about what I write because I’m not really a good writer and I’m just happy if one person likes it because that means someone took time out of their day to read but now I think maybe I’m an asshole for not like commenting on everyone’s fics?
You’re like the best writer of fics imo so I’m wondering how you feel about all of it? And I’m sorry that I haven’t left any comments on your work if that’s truly the correct way to support!
well. this has been a topic of conversation for a long time, and everyone will have a different take on this, but here's mine.
the downside to reading without commenting is that hits on their own.... don't really mean anything. hits just mean someone opened it, it doesn't even mean that they read it. i've opened lots of fics, started reading, found out it wasn't for me and closed it. it still registers my hit. kudos means they technically scrolled to the end of the page and clicked a button. they're nice, but i consider kudos w/o a comment to be the equivalent of "i didn't hate it" (i'm sure many would disagree, but this is my take!)
so, yes, i'm a firm believer in leaving comments. i will always comment on a fic when i read it, because if i had 5-10 minutes to read a fic, i have 30 seconds to write a quick comment. if i had an hour to read a fic, i have 5 minutes to write a longer comment. but i have the same mentality for eating out - i only go out to eat when i have the $ to leave a tip.
obviously, there are some fics where i end up leaving much longer comments, but i build that into my reading time (so if i'm about to read a friends fic where i know i'm gonna Ramble, i hold off until i have adequate time). does that mean i sometimes don't get to fics right away? yes. but for my own sake, i'd rather read it and write a comment while it's fresh.
i don't think you're an asshole lol, but i think you're kind of devaluing comments. and devaluing your effort as a writer! you're putting hours of free work into something they enjoyed, i don't think it's too much for you to ask for people who engage w/ your work to leave a comment.
the biggest pushback i see from people who don't comment is that it takes a long time, or that they don't know what to say. and to that, i say: i have people who simply leave a 💕 in a comment and that's enough. it still tells me way more than a lone kudos. and the people who put the time into leaving longer comments are just my heroes. the backbone of fandom, imo (my repeat essay commenters are like.... truly amazing, amazing people).
confession, i used to be a kudos-no-comment reader. i still remember the first comment i left as an adult (this was a few years ago) - it was on a WIP that hadn't been updated in ? a couple months, and i was like. i NEED to tell this person how much i loved this. and i felt stupid as hell writing the comment, but i powered through out of sheer stubbornness. and the author replied, and they said something like "i've been struggling writing the next chapter, and this helped!" and then they fucking updated the fic like 2 days later 😭😭 it changed me, i swear. so, with that...
comments are especially important for ongoing fics, because people will only leave a kudos once. that ratio of hits:kudos:comments can mess with the author (like 1000 hits, 100 kudos, and 10 comments is significant!). that's why i'm (now) a big believer in reading WIPs and supporting them along the way, it's disheartening to see the hits go up and nothing else.
i'm very grateful for the amount of comments i get! i think i'm really lucky in this way. occasionally i'll get a comment from someone who tells me they've never commented on any fic before, and like!! yay! the first one is toughest, but it only gets easier after that.
another important aspect of comments is it builds relationship between the reader and writer. i love seeing familiar usernames and icons, and i notice when people haven't commented in a while and it always makes me happy when they pop up again. i also really like replying to comments. it takes... multiple hours but it's my favourite part of the process second to writing the fic itself. i also occasionally will poke around on someone's profile and if they've written a fic, i'll give it a read. it's a good way to make new friends.
anyway. i'm not saying all this to tell you to comment on my fics, but more to gently encourage you to reframe how you think about comments in general. it's like... why we clap at the end of concerts. just because we're in the room doesn't mean we enjoyed the show, so we do things like cheer! clap! scream! we make our opinion heard.
comments are like clapping 💙 it's free to do, and shows our appreciation. why wouldn't we do that?
#long post#on fanfiction#vio answers#thank you for asking!#ao3#comments are like reblogging on tumblr#(altho rb'ing is easier)#it's simple and free!! just do it
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Hi GT, I was reading one of your wonderful responses and you mentioned you don't love what they did to Remus, and I have to say I 100% agree. In my opinion his relationship with tonks is weird (regardless of whether people think he had chemistry with Sirius) like he's at least 10 years older than her and he tries to leave her and it just seems like he goes along with HER infatuation without really caring about her very much. It also puts Tonks back into JKR's frequent dynamic for women, which is "badass who really wants to be with a guy who doesn't seem to appreciate her much" (see Hermione/Ron).
Do you have any further thoughts on that? I always found JKR's writing about women in relationships/who want relationships really weird. You definitely do it better.
JKR has many strengths as a writer, but I don't think anyone would say her romances are one of them. I think a lot of authors either consciously or subconsciously look down on romance as a genre because it's associated with sensuality and frivolousness, but writing and selling the idea that two people should and do want to kiss each other is like, really fucking hard to do, and it requires a certain set of skill checks as an author that not everyone has. Just like writing good horror or good fantasy, good romance has tenets and rules and things you can do to get the audience on board with you, and JKR didn't execute a lot of those things (to my satisfaction, YMMV) in the books. Bad romance is also a high-stakes problem, because it risks flattening out your characters and pitching them into OOC territory if the audience doesn't buy that the dynamic evolution is natural. But again, that's something you don't know if you haven't written romance, or tried to, before.
Mostly, you have to really lean into the vulnerability of the thing. Romance is silly and goofy and embarrassing. It makes you say dumb things and act in dumb ways. It can't be ironic or chilled or demure. At some point, to make a real human connection, someone has to get down, take off their dignity, and bare the rotten core of themselves. When we propose, we kneel on the ground. We get dirty. And all authors have a great terror of embarrassing themselves. They're doing something tremendously vulnerable; of course they want people to think they're cool and intelligent. It's embarrassing to put yourself in the head of a 15-year-old boy with a crush. It's embarrassing to write about a suitor earnestly confessing their love, because — what if this is too much? What if it's corny, what if it breaks the audience's suspension of disbelief? What if my readers are laughing at me? What if I'm the butt of the joke?
Anyway, I think a lot of really great books have terrible romance subplots for that reason. In The Great Gatsby, we never actually see Gatsby and Daisy alone together. We get their story second-hand, from people who can deliver it in a cool, reflective tone of mystery; we don't see them undressed, undone, emptying their hearts to one another. And Nick and Jordan, the romance we actually get to see develop, are easily the weakest plot in the book. Meanwhile, authors like Tolstoy have an incredible gift for writing romance that feels right, and is sensual without verging into purple prose. But Tolstoy is one of the greatest writers of all time. JKR wrote some very good books that a lot of people loved very much, but for her, the romances were accessories to the story. They weren't a focus. I'm certain she cared about Remus and Tonks's relationship, in the same way she cared about Ron and Hermione's relationship. Both take up too much space to explain otherwise.
TLDR: Writing romance is hard because it's really easy to fuck up, even if you care about it. I don't know that JKR put all that much thought into selling us on chemistry and interpersonal dynamics of the couples she threw together; I think she writes for plot, and the couples emerged as a part of that. That means the couples that don't necessarily make sense on paper lose out majorly because the audience doesn't know exactly what they're rooting for, and the couples that do make sense on paper lack a certain... I dunno, va-va-voom.
#we could also say fairly that as it's harry's story he wouldn't be witnessing most of the romances happening around him in private#but like that's kind of cheap to me because people have been writing rich ensemble stories in third person limited for centuries#you can sell a romance without literally showing them kiss#I don't see what my couple friends do behind closed doors but I know that I like them and think they're cute together#and that's kind of what you as an author are trying to do#greenteacup asks
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rapid fire list of my smosh-related opinions:
noah grossman needs to have been phased out 3 months ago. people acting like FREELANCER contracts are so fucking ironclad and that's why smosh couldn't do anything are so disingenuous. they phased out saige in 2022, they could've very easily done the same to noah -- they just didn't want to.
eat it or yeet it was fun for the first few episodes, but they ran it to the ground when they realized it was a hit with the locals/casual viewers and they needed those numbers. it's SO absurd that they made 89 episodes and it got really boring, really fast. (i'm glad anthony got to be on it before they got rid of it tho)
i've always found garrett annoying and unfunny for the most part. he's maybe said one or two funny things in all of my time watching smosh and i will never understand how some people stan him or find him attractive.
to be clear even if they replaced garrett as host on eioyi, it would still be boring and stale to me.
i miss kimmy being on camera. she wasn't the funniest and the smiley sunshine persona can be a bit much but she was one of the better sketch actors imo.
i do not want the og smosh games cast back. it's also weird they keep bringing up smosh on their ogsog content. i'm glad they appear to be on good terms with ian and anthony but unless there's ACTUALLY a future collab in the works they need to stop namedropping smosh so much.
i don't necessarily miss saige on smosh but i do miss damien and saige as a couple.
i don't care if people don't like anthony or don't find him funny, but the way a LOT of fans (mostly on twitter and reddit) blatantly disrespect him, the fact that he started smosh, and him literally reuniting with his best friend, just bc they got rid of the unscripted series on main really pisses me off. also he's not to blame for EVERYTHING wrong with smosh today.
HOWEVER, that being said, i do believe there was a better way to transition smosh main. they could've had anthony do a speed run of all of their unscripted series to give them a proper goodbye, and THEN uploaded the sketches.
EBE was a hit or miss, but when they did it well they did it REALLY well.
other than ian, anthony, and finnerty, syd and olivia were their best sketch writers.
people who are genuinely mad that they have memberships now are overreacting. i get that paying for anything sucks but if you're an adult with a job in a first world country $10 USD a month *maximum* really isn't that much. also, they're independent now, that's just the reality of capitalism.
people who act like smosh is above any and all criticism genuinely terrify me. they're a youtube channel and a company, and as audience members we're allowed to critique them.
the old smoshcast was better than smosh mouth, but i might be biased bc ian did host most of them.
agree to disagree was a good series, but they botched it when they started using more serious prompts which caused a lot of viewers to lose respect for some of the cast for problematic opinions.
i used to like olivia but considering she was only in 30 videos last year and she really doesn't seem like she cares anymore, i don't get how they expect any of us to still care about her. also she posted something in support of israel on her story, but hardly anyone knows about it.
i love the guy but shayne doesn't need to be in every video. i get that he brings in the views, but jesus christ.
smosh pit theater is their best pit series, followed closely by beopardy.
i find a lot of their defy era series on pit eg sleepover, show with no name, put it in my mouth, etc to be really boring and i’m glad they got out of defy and sarah whittle was more in charge of pit.
i didn’t like angela at first but i love her now.
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A few days late, but it's here! Just a tiny little list of stories that made me feel thing this month. I wish you all a wonderful December 💙
To all the writers - I love you and I appreciate you so much!
To all the readers - please, share the fics you read and love. The reblog really makes the change! It’s the least we can do to show our gratitude.
Also, please, mind the writers’ warnings!
🌉JAKE 'HANGMAN' SERESIN🌉
there's a honey by @bussyslayer333
↳ one shot, penny's niece!reader, first fic i read this month and what a wonderful start it was!
love that's a real long shot by @callsignvalley
↳ one shot, 18+, pilot!reader, fwb, angst, top tier story 🙌
birthday blues by @dilfsouls
↳ one shot, jake forgets her birthday, she tortures him but she's obssesed with him at the same time (which is very relatable)
first impressions by @imjess-themess
↳ one shot, 18+, mitchell!reader, there is a special place in my heart for all the "4 times... and one time..." fics
less misery, more company by @seresinhangmanjake
↳ one shot, “everyone loves when a hot guy suffers" - yes, yes we do 😊
forever winter by @hufflepuffprincesse
↳ one shot, beautiful piece of work 💙
birds away by @wombtotombx
↳ series, pilot!reader. best friends to lovers, high quality content 👏
🌉BRADLEY 'ROOSTER' BRADSHAW🌉
red flags, green flags by @roosterforme
↳ one shot, this was so fun and so so good!!
🌉ROBERT 'BOB' FLOYD🌉
he didn't have to be by @imjess-themess
↳ one shot, single mom!reader, this is so sweet i love it so much 🥺
return to me by @lt-bradshawaw
↳ one shot, wife!reader, wonderful fic!!
all i want for christmas (is you) by @bussyslayer333
↳ one shot, 18+, all i want for christmas is one robery floyd
bobby burns by @sebsxphia
↳ one shot, i just want bob to take me home to his ma and make me a part of their family, is it too much too ask???
🌉MICKEY 'FANBOY' GARCIA🌉
don't drop my baby by @callsign-squints
↳ one shot, the squad meeting baby garicia and i'm hjfkdhgjfhdkgd
as blue as your taste (i taste the same) by @rea-gar-targaryen
↳ one shot, 18+, if the summary doesn't make you want to drop everything you're doing and go read it asap, then i don't know what is wrong with you
🌉STEVE HARRINGTON🌉
bruised and bloody by @stvharrngton
↳ one shot, friends to lovers, pining idiots that make me go AHHHHHH
wine night by @pouringmyheartouttoastranger
↳ one shot, 18+, the final line of this fic is 'comfy, and happy, and in love' and that's exaclty how i feel after reading it
hot for teacher by @handful0fteeth
↳ one shot, 18+, this is some good shit™ right there 🥵
this fic by @sunshinehollandd
↳ one shot, dad!steve, can you hear my scream??? 😭 this is the most adorable thing ever
tell me again by @appocalipse
↳ one shot, friends to lovers but make it angst, we love to see them suffer 🤗
somewhere only we know by @stevebabey
↳ one shot, this was wonderful and made my heart grow 10 times bigger
this fic by @luveline
↳ one shot, oh to have steve harrington carry your photo around in his wallet :')
you and i by @chervbs
↳ one shot, look! it's friends to lovers again! and they're still idiots :)
keep my hand in yours by @harringtown
↳ one shot, i want to get a voucher for playing with steve's hair for christmas this year, please and thank you
i will always be right there by @familyvideostevie
↳ one shot, if someone told me 'you will always be my first choice', i'd be literally dead at the spot
heat of the moment by @appocalipse
↳ one shot, old friends to lovers, steve saying “you can move all the way to another planet and I still wouldn’t be able to forget how I feel about you.” leaves 4 dead, 21 injured
the upside of love by @osterfield-holland-andcompany
↳ one shot, 18+, this is a want but also a need
cute aggression by @retrobutterflies
↳ one shot, cute things ahead!
this fic by @forever-rogue
↳ one shot, SO CUTE I CAN'T
🌉EDDIE MUNSON🌉
the rest of the story by @jobean12-blog
↳ one shot, friends to lovers written by the wonderful Jo, of course it's amazing!
necking by @roanniom
↳ one shot, 18+, i think about his neck and jaw and suddenly i can't breath
baby, slow it down and baby, kiss me quick by @upsidedownwithsteve
↳ two shot, 18+, fwb, pure gold, each paragraph is better than the last
an attempt at a one night stand by @whoahoney
↳ series, 18+, single mom!reader, oh wow 🥵 that's my review
i want your video by @thefreak-thebanished
↳ one shot, 18+, modern!au, delicious 🤤🤤
🌉BUCKY BARNES🌉
what i wouldn't do and the lenghts i'd go to by @real-jane
↳ two shot, 18+, detective!bucky who is an idiot in love with his partner and i am an idiot in love with Kate's work <3
poet laureate by @real-jane
↳ series, professor!bucky, we don't deserve all this greatness that Kate's graces us with 🙌
the bet by @wkemeup
↳ one shot, the words can't describe how much i loved this
🌉SAM WILSON🌉
on a leash by @rassvetsky
↳ one shot, friends to lovers, SHSHHSHSHSH I LOVE THIS
🌉PETER PARKER🌉
eyes on me: dressed up by @thegirlintheswivelchair
↳ one shot, that man, i love him so much!!
🌉RHETT ABBOTT🌉
whiskey sour by @h0neyfire
↳ one shot, 18+, i have zero (0) thoughts in my mind right now, my brain is not working 🥴
white picket gences & embroidery by @sebsxphia
↳ one shot, the domestic fluff in this one just makes me want to scream, cry and throw up but like in a good way
#anna's fic recs#fic recs#november 2022 fic recs#top gun fic recs#jake seresin x reader#hangman x reader#bob floyd x reader#steve harrington x reader#eddie munson x reader#stranger things fic recs
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Soldier headcannons
Soldier Headcanons!
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I'm going to sob. I had to look up how to spell both words right. How am I supposed to be a writer if I can't write. Anyways, mutual appreciation comment time! Thank you for being mutual and correcting my spelling 😭
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I don't write enough for him, so I'm worried but excited to try!
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I stand by the fact that this man is the typical American dad, but... he's also such a fucking crazy?
Like one day, he'll be grilling steak in an apron that says "Gold bless America" on the tits, six pack half gone, (it's 10 am) telling you the story of how he went out and killed it with his bare hands only about seven minutes ago. Then, the next day, you'll see him eating half a bag of potting soil and rocks for breakfast. Like???? And he's still in good health, so I guess whatever he's doing is working?
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Nearly shit himself when he found the bombpop vodka. Nearly killed himself, mixing it with the bombpop Mt. Dew.
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I don't see enough content with Soldier and Pyro, which is sad because, like, they're both sweet and would totally be friends.
Let's be honest, Soldier would sit and tell Pyro every piece of American history he knows, and Pyro would sit and listen. Dare I say Pyro might even enjoy listening about the history of America.
But I do think that Pyro and Soldiers friendship is different from Engie and Pyros' friendship. Pyro and Soldier are like brothers. Engie and Pyro are like father and child.
I think Engie keeps Soldier in line, too. I think them as a group would be really cute.
(Also, I think him and Scout have a father and son bond. Please it would be so sweet.)
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Speaking of history! He has one of those tables where you can reenact a war with like plastic tanks and mini figures. (I can't for the life of me remember what it's called.) He's memorized every war, every move, every anything. Tell him a specific date, and he can set it up to match what happened that day perfectly.
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While this man does act goofy and al aot playfully criminally insane. I do think he has very real issues. He is super on edge most of the time. He can't deal with sudden loud noise without a warning. He's protective over anyone and everyone. (He would take a bullet for any of his teammates).
I don't know if I'd say he has PTSD but something happened to him, and the whole loud, proud American man! Is a persona, a way to cope and find a distraction from the bad times.
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You'd think for a man who's so pro America he'd be unaware of the world around him, but you'd be wrong. This man loves other countries too, it's just happens to be the U.S., which is his everything.
He knows about the culture and life in other countries because he learned about them after he met Medic, Heavy, Spy, and Demo. He wanted to get to know them and understand their country because he just assumed everyone was as proud of their home as he was, so he wanted to be able to talk about it with them in the same way he talks about America.
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I think he reads Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters books. I can't really explain why? I just get the vibe that he likes them.
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Fourth of July is obviously his favorite holiday. But considering half the base isn't American and the other half isn't too keen on celebrating, he always thinks he's going to have to celebrate alone. But NOPE. You bet your ass the Mercs celebrate with him.
He loves his teammates, and they love him.
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Love marine biology! A huge fan of sharks and whales. Cried when he found out about whale sharks.
"ITS JUST SO BEAUTIFUL! THE BEST OF EVERYHTING!"
His favorite sharks are hammer heads, and his favorite whale is a beluga whale.
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I don't care if he has a set home state in canon. THIS MAN IS FLORIDA CODED!
He's wrestled an alligator and fucking won!
One time, the team took a vacation to Florida. I imagine this happening with him and Scout. Like vividly.
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Okay so that was really fun! I hope you liked this because I was super worried halfway through that they weren't going to be good 😭
I think he's actually a really neat character, I'm glad I got to write for him!
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KEEP TALKING ABOUT THE SBI FIC THING IM REALLY INTERESTED!! I've always wanted to study that side of the fandom under a microscope but it's scary.
buddy that place is WILDDDD. ok so things you need to know abt sbi side
1. they're damn good writers
2. i don't think they know how to write fanfiction
3. in another universe they create some very well known, published authors
because essentially everything they write is so fucking detached the second it enters an au. with dnf and the general dt side of things, there are differences. sure often times it's a bit more identifiable as fanfiction but that's not a BAD thing. it literally just means people know how to write fanfiction which is what they were intending to do anyways so like hooray
with sbi, i've read SEVERAL (as in i can go into my bookmarks right now and count out at least 10) fics that have just changed and deviated so far from the original source material that it's hard to even understand what they're talking about. in that regard, 100% dnfers get caught out before sbiers, but that's only in the circumstance that they get published at all. sbiers are really creative -- TOO creative, obviously to the point of creation ocs with names and descriptions that often times only vaguely resemble phil, tommy, wilbur, and techno -- which gives them the upper hand publication wise.
that leads into dark sbi which, let it be known, i have NEVER EVER liked. i personally thought it was harsh and unenjoyable but also goddamn did they make some good stories. obviously i read them bc even though i hated the vampires and the kidnapping and shit, it was good. the upper hand of writing fanfiction is that shit is more fast paced and attention grabbing, due to the lack of exposition and shit. so sbiers likely get published first, get discovered on booktube (not booktok cause they only read romance that's packed with tropes to the point of dysfunction), and they at least semi-spread from there until someone is who can't handle any difficult topics in fiction gets upset. but that's a different kind of controversy entirely
sbiers are good authors but they're stuck in this weird limbo of "it's not fanfiction it's just inspired original content" which sort of creates a new genre entirely. they pull some good fanfiction elements into its own realm entirely and it's really frustrating when you want to read fanfiction of something but if you're looking for something fast paced and good to read that aligns with the weird fanon universe they've created, they're your subfandom.
a lot of fics also appeal to personal issues that people are able to project onto easily (i speak from experience) so, while dnf is typically shorter, more accurate, and lighthearted, sbi has dynamics that people often crave in their real life and more people that they can insert themselves into. um that sounds weird but ykwim
they also have The AU's which dnf has but it's just not to the extent that sbi has it. the trifecta:
1. superhero aus
2. royalty aus
3. foster care aus
ran that tag for a good 2 years minimum. those are the sort of Peter Parker Goes On A Field Trip To Stark Industries type of aus where you have a good baseline that people get attached to, so you can sort of rewrite the same story different enough that people feel like they're reading smth new each time. and it works!! if people were to publish an sbi fic (which would likely fall into one of those 3 categories), it'd be realllyyyyyy recognizable just bc it was such a staple in the community. ifl im missing some other big categories but those are just the aus that i remembered off the top of my head that showed up a fuckton
don't get me wrong, i ❤️ dnf fanfiction and you def could publish it if you tried hard enough, but those authors do shit right. the characterization is so niche and specific, the dynamics are so unique, and often times, there just isn't enough in one fic to build and create a story. so much of dnf fanfiction relies on the fact that you already know those two, you know who they are, how they behave, their stakes regarding each other, etc etc. with sbi, the authors end up essentially writing their own stories so much so that they have to tell the story like it's a novel rather than fanfiction. it's very interesting imo esp bc fanon tommy for example is so extremely, incomprehensibly different from c!tommy or cc!tommy, with only enough hits of similarity to keep you hooked into the story with the illusion that you're actually reading the same character, when more often then not, it's like 1/4 tommy, 1/4 fandom misinterpretation interpretation, 1/4 author projection, and 1/4 recycled oc. again, speaking from experience.
also, sbi authors are pretty cocky about their writing, and it's really noticeable when they write a fic with the intention of changing the names and couple minor details to submit to an editing company for a few rounds of revision before they publish their nyt bestseller a few years down the line. they didn't need to leave the fandom to abandon their shit. lorehead analysts have a decent grasp of their content (but i'm biased), but lorehead writers?? different monster entirely. the second dsmp stands for something like "delicious small mtown pforsuperherovillanvigilanteshenanigans" then you know they're too far gone. they're attached to THEIR characters, not the dsmp's; if it means sacrificing the original source material for real life recognition, they'd do it in a heartbeat. i don't blame them but the point still stands.
this is all over the place i'm so sorry idek if i said anything you wanted to know but
tl;dr sbi fanfiction sort of became its own medium between fanfiction and original work so they're more likely to get published, but they fall into the same dynamics in the same type of universes that would easily get them figured out. dnf writers just seem to mind their damn business more. anyway, most dnf writers that left the fandom seem to want to completely forget that they ever did That. usually they just orphan/delete and move on cause they're embarrassed.
sorry again i'm so not good at explaining my thoughts but i did NOT spend 2 1/2 years reading sbi fanfiction 24/7 for nothing. i need to put my experience to use somehow so thanks for letting me do that 😭😭😭
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I know you love The dragon prince and that’s great. I binged the show after season three released. I listened to podcasts about the show . I listened to yours and felt really happy when I found people who also liked the show. Unfortunately I fell of during the hiatus between season three and four. I am patient person but three years was long. Also I watched the show for rallylum and through the moon just kind killed my love for them.Then I found your blog and was really happy. Then I saw how you felt about the owl house and it bothered me. As a neurodivergent person the show made me feel really seen. I know it’s stupid to be upset about an opinion. As a person who wants to be an English major how do find parallels between relationships and characters. You talk about certain ones and I don’t see them at all. Your probably more seasoned as a writer than I am so
Ps : sorry this is long and hope tdp ends well in your opinion
Few things:
1) I'm also neurodivergent (hi!) - specifically Autistic - and I have also largely wanted to be understood my whole life, much like Luz (according to S3). While a show making you feel seen can certainly be wonderful, meaningful, and sometimes even life changing, to me that's not enough to make it a Good (per my subjective tastes) Show. That's not to say TOH is a bad show - far from it - but it's one that didn't appeal to my particular tastes due to 1) too many characters and not enough screentime, 2) a lack of theme (which many kids shows don't have a ton of because they're, y'know, for kids), and 3) all of the characters have very black and white morality, and that's just less interesting to me.
Being upset about opinions is very natural, and it's not stupid, but it is also important to acknowledge that 1) you can't control how anyone else feels or interprets things and 2) no one else can control how you feel or interpret things.
2) I adored Through the Moon. Rayla's tendency to leave (and why) is always a hurdle I expected them to have to tackle at one point, and given that it's her main character flaw, I'm really excited and happy with the way it's been handled so far and how TTM kicked it off. The graphic novel also really resonated with me in Callum's place, as I too have loved many of my loved ones through incredibly difficult periods regarding their mental health, and the graphic novel felt very honest about the toll that can take on both parties in different ways, and how love/support can help, but ultimately isn't enough if the person isn't ready (or willing) to start trying to get better. It's not an easy pill to swallow, but it is a realistic and important one and I've enjoyed how the show has continued that storyline with Rayla (and Callum) into S4 and S5
3) Being an English major is not for everyone! I know many people who love to read and who are very good writers where an English degree would not suit them at all. It's a lot of reading (by my final year, there were some weeks where I was reading an entire 400 page book roughly every week, if not multiple at the same time). It is also a lot of writing (and my professors regularly chewed me out for my grammar). You also tend to kind of double being a history major as depending on what you're reading, you learn a lot of the religious/historical/cultural context in order to understand the language, references, and messaging intended by the author (and then whether or how much to disregard it, lmao). Being able to analyze — to see connections between characters and themes in particular, but other forms of symbolism and messaging — quickly is probably the main thing that saved my ass and let me stay on Honour Roll throughout my undergrad.
I have also been writing pretty seriously for a long time (I 'started' at age 10 but only really count age 12 onwards, cause that's when I first started writing 70k+ drafts every 1-2 years for original WIP stuff). A lot of what makes a good writer is being a good reader, taking your favourite stories (books or otherwise — movies, musicals, tv shows, etc can be gold mines) and figuring out what works in them and why, or why you like them (or don't like them), etc.
For example: The Owl House is a primarily character driven > plot driven story. In book form, it'd likely be Middle Grade to early YA. It's interested in character relationships among the main cast (any of the more villainous characters like Belos are never given the same amount of development or screentime) and some mild worldbuilding. It has some social commentary (mostly on the school systems through Luz and mental health through Eda) and an overall theme of "being different is good," breaking away from abusive systems/dynamics, and the importance of solidarity.
If I compare and contrast this to TDP, The Dragon Prince is far driven in equal parts by the plot (because it's wholly serialized) and by character. It is also very thematically driven — most notably how to break intergenerational cycles of trauma and violence, but also self-destructive tendencies, abuse, responsibility, power, grief, and concepts of justice and punishment. This is also reflected in the fact numerous villainous characters (Viren, Claudia, etc.) share close to equal screentime with the 'good guy' protagonists and heavily explores morality across a decently wide spectrum. It thereby has a more mature tone in its subject matter and would easily be YA in book form.
Which is to say: the best way to get better at analyzing is to break characters down to their basic plot structures (Character A does this, they want that, Character B does this, they want that, etc.) and see what pops up (for example, in Avatar The Last Airbender, Aang and Zuko both cannot go home, and duel Ozai when they're 13 years old, ultimately refusing to be violent against their opponent). You can also look at similar personality traits (curiosity, selflessness, carelessness, etc). Practice looking at the stories you love and figuring out what works and doesn't work for you personally — and then go beyond relatability to look more at subtext and symbols. Some of the best things I've ever read were books that had nothing relatable to my personal experiences in them (like The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini), and that was why I loved them because they got to broaden my horizons.
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twenty questions for fic writers
tagged by @oatflatwhite thank you for tagging me <3
1. how many works do you have on ao3?
50 fics so far
2. what's your total ao3 word count?
252,448 words
3. what fandoms do you write for?
I tend to migrate from fandom to fandom. write a bunch for one then move on then write a bunch for another then move on lol. currently masters of the air and working on a band of brothers fic but I've written for succession, mindhunter, better call saul
4. top five fics by kudos
you go to my head (and you linger like a haunting refrain (mota)
have you forgotten what we were like then (succession)
bomber's moon (mota)
my breath reaches for the back of your neck (succession)
good men die too/oh, I’d rather be with you (mota)
5. do you respond to comments?
pretty much every single one lol
6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
probably my most recent one actually: if I could give you the moon (I would give you the moon)
7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
my mindhunter long fic ends pretty happily: the same deep water as you
8. do you get hate on fics?
no, I never have. I think the most critical thing someone said about one of my fics was it wasn't realistic to canon which is whatever who cares
9. do you write smut?
yup, if I feel it's relevant to the characters and their relationship
10. craziest crossover
never written one and probably will never write one
11. have you ever had a fic stolen?
not to my knowledge
12. have you ever had a fic translated?
yup!
13. have you ever co-written a fic before?
nope and I don't think I would I'm too much of a control freak with my writing I would go insane
14. all time favorite ship?
god who even knows. I bounce around a lot. kenstewy will always have a special place in my heart but I've moved on so probably winnix but I don't write for them
15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
a creature likes the cold my cobra kai kreese/terry vietnam war fic oh boy I just do not have it in me lmao
16. what are your writing strengths?
setting the mood and the atmosphere and the scene. at least that's what people tell me
17. what are your writing weaknesses?
probably plot as well lmao
18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?
currently doing this for the first time with german in my webgott fic and we'll see how it turns out. I've done research and try to find good sources for it, but if there are any egregious mistakes I can probably just say joe and web aren't native speakers and their german isn't very good (which isn't out of the question canonically)
19. first fandom you wrote in?
chronicles of narnia I think. when I was like 12
20. favorite fic you've written?
GOD WHO KNOWS I'm really critical of my fics and I kind of feel ambivalent about them once they're published. but my breath reaches for the back of your neck is probably pretty close to the top and maybe bomber’s moon
anyways, thanks for the tag! I tag whoever wants to do this I never remember who writes fic so if you want to do this say I tagged you <3 mwah
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