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General Fandom
Developmental Beta: Of Canons Unknown to Me: Developmental_Beta (Emmessann), zjofierose (AO3) - "What happens when your beta doesn't know your canon?"
topic:fanfic
10 Rules For Making A Modern Transgender Superhero: Marcy Cook (blog) - "I then realized that I knew an awful lot about transgender superhero representation throughout comic book history, and this got me thinking about how to make a modern transgender superhero."
fandom:comics, topic:transgender
"It’s [Not] Okay": How Women Die In Comic Book Movies: Samantha Field(blog) - "Tropes are not intrinsically bad."
fandom:comics, topic:sexism
Square Enix Is The Only Publisher That Would Touch Life is Strange Because It Has A Female Protagonist: Sam Maggs (blog) - "Apparently with Remember Me, people took issue with male gamers playing a female character who kisses a male character."
fandom:gaming, topic:sexism
perceived westernness in anime: guiltyred (DW) - "Read an interesting discussion on the io9 Observation Deck today: "Why do some people think anime characters are white?""
fandom:anime, topic:culturalappropriation, topic:race
Draco Malfoy and the undying appeal of bad boys and Big Bads: Chris Osterndorf (blog) - "Our current love for villains is complicated indeed, but it has roots in ancient storytelling traditions. If we truly look back at archetypes of good and evil, we notice that the walls start to come down, and our favorite heroes and villains start to look rather similar."
topic:villains
Here’s the real reason you should be sick of ‘Let It Go’: Alicia Swiz (blog) - "But the time has come to, well, let it go. In doing so, let us also relinquish the disproportionate feminist reputation it has earned."
topic:feminism
So you wanna be podficced?: akamine_chan (AO3) - "So you wanna be podficced? Here's a handy-dandy guide that may help you get your wish. I make no promises, though."
topic:podfic
SFF in Conversation: Foz Meadows - Thoughts on Fanfiction: Foz Meadows (blog) - "The first book I ever wrote was a work of fanfiction."
topic:fanfic
Magical Mondays: Baby, My Heart Could Still Fall As Hard in Every Soulbond AU: porluciernagas (blog) - "In the soulbond AU, two (or more) persons find that they have a magical bond connecting them to their soulmate. Now, this is a trope that could easily become a cliché, but the development of the trope has, interestingly enough, taken on an increasingly intersectional feminist turn as it’s been allowed to change through the internet."
topic:fanfic, topic:tropes
In defense of violence in video games:sqbr (DW) - "I've been paying more attention to video game criticism lately, and it feels like there's this growing backlash against the ubiquity of violence in video games"
topic:videogames, topic:violence
Specific Fandoms
Agent Carter
Agent Carter: meganbmoore (DW) - "so, Agent Carter, one of the most anticipated new shows for most of the people I know, started this week. I have...somewhat mixed feelings about it? Or rather, I got EXTREME enjoyment out of watching it, but also have to sigh a lot about the ways it's chosen to limit itself."
fandom:agentcarter
Brief Agent Carter Thoughts: starlady (DW) - "It seems pretty clear to me that the show's Feminism 101 narrative also ties in to its other major oversight, which is that it is so relentlessly white--the only characters of color so far have been servants or musicians in the background with the exception of the guy who gets shot in 1x01."
fandom:agentcarter
The Superhero Period Drama: Marvel’s Agent Carter: mikelywhiplash (blog) - "Last night, Hayley Atwell, scenestealer extraordinaire of Captain America, took center stage as Agent Peggy Carter in ABC’s new miniseries, Marvel’s Agent Carter. As the first woman to take a title role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’ve all had high expectations for this series, and have no doubt, Atwell delivers."
fandom:agentcarter
10 Things Agent Carter Did Right: xmenthefanficseries (Tumblr) - "The seven tests that Agent Carter passed in two hours, and the three it thankfully failed."
fandom:agentcarter
Avengers: Age of Ultron
What Do Scarlett Johansson’s Scenes in the Age of Ultron Trailers Mean For Black Widow?: Victoria Mcnally (blog) - "Personally, I’m of the mind that more Black Widow is always good"
warning:spoilers, fandom:mcu
Ancillary Justice
Ancillary Conversation: Liz Barr (blog) - "Ann Leckie’s 2013 debut novel Ancillary Justice exploded on the SF scene and, in 2014, won a whole lot of awards and considerable praise for its portrayal of imperialism and depiction of gender."
fandom:ancillaryjustice, topic:criticism
Batman: the Animated Series
The Arkham Sessions, Ep. 47: "Mask of the Phantasm": The Arkham Sessions (podcast) - "To celebrate the 1-year anniversary of our show, we decided to analyze the most requested topic from our listeners, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm! In this special episode, we delve into this extremely beloved animated mystery movie released in 1993 with our explanations about Batman’s struggle with love, relationships, revenge, and morality."
fandom:dcanimated
The Arkham Sessions, Ep. 46: "Almost Got ‘Im": The Arkham Sessions (podcast) - "As each villain describes his or her most impressive attempt at destroying Batman, we learn a lot about their psychology."
fandom:dcanimated
Diana Wynne Jones
Dianna Wynne Jones, growing up and unreliable narrators: Layla Lawlor (blog) - "As an adult reading her books, I sometimes find the plots very hit-or-miss, and in particular the endings frequently leave me feeling let down or simply frustrated."
fandom:diannawynnejones, topic:unreliablenarrator, topic:books, warning:spoilers
Dragon Age/Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Inquisition -- Glimmering Gems in a Morass of Disappointment: Ira (DW) - "In the last 2-3 months I bulldozed my way through the entire DA game series, have arrived at the end of DAI, and boy howdy, I have opinions. Let's have a spoiler-free summary up here first, with spoilery details below the cut. Overall I feel like Bioware tried to add a lot of grey, particularly to issues they'd seen people getting pretty black-and-white over, and really overcorrected with the grey."
fandom:dragonage
dorian pavus is an alcoholic: benshaws (AO3) - "A meta explaining why Dorian is an alcoholic and how he displays traits associated with alcoholism."
fandom:dragonage
Sex/romance optional Bioware "romances"?: alias_sqbr (DW) - "There's no reason romance has to lead to sex, and the fact it almost always does, and that the player may find their characters having sex when all they explicitely agreed to was love, is really unfortunate. "
fandom:dragonage, topic:relationship, warning:spoilers
Emelan Series
Sexualize Saturdays: Deconstructing Rape Culture through The Will of the Empress: porluciernagas (blog) - "Once in Namorn, they quickly find that Namorn has a kidnap custom that reads like a pretty clear rape allegory."
fandom:emelan, warning:rape
Galavant
Galavant Hits Some Sour Notes In Premiere: Lady Saika (blog) - "Unfortunately for Galavant, it didn’t really deliver."
fandom:galavant
Ghost in the Shell
DreamWorks will whitewash "Ghost in the Shell" remake: Marissa Lee (blog) - "DreamWorks has cast Scarlett Johansson in their adaptation of Ghost in the Shell."
fandom:ghostintheshell, topic:racism, topic:whitewashing
Ghost in the Whitewash: Annalee. (blog) - "The Major apparently fell into a giant vat of whitewash on her way to Hollywood."
fandom:ghostintheshell, topic:racism, topic:whitewashing
Gotham
The 7 biggest problems with ‘Gotham’: Dan Marcus (blog) - "Gotham was supposed to be a fresh new beginning for heroic, rookie cop James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and his quest to rid Gotham City of corruption but instead feels tired and exhausted."
fandom:gotham
Gotham’s Penguin, Thin Privilege, and Fat-Shaming: MadameAce (blog) - "For the most part, I like what the show has done with Penguin, but I question a few of the decisions behind his character design. That is to say, by making this incarnation of Penguin thin, while also making him sympathetic, the show unfortunately perpetuates a damaging mindset about body weight."
fandom:gotham, topic:bodyimage
Hannibal
"#Hannibal Did This… and So Should Everyone Else," by storyalchemy: lorimori (blog) - "there’s acknowledging fandom, there’s encouraging fandom, and then there’s legitimizing fandom, which is what #Hannibal Did This did, an elegantly timed two weeks before the show returned to the small screen."
fandom:hannibal
The Hobbit
On (Not) Keeping the Faith in Five Armies: Squid, Inc. (blog) - "This notion is one of my biggest pet peeves about how people consume art: the predilection to judge a work of art as a reflection of its source material."
fandom:thehobbit, topic:adaptations
Into the Woods
Is Disney Out Of the Woods? An Into the Woods Review: Tsunderin (blog) - "Based on the previews it just looked like Disney trying to grimdark another movie with Johnny Depp in it to make some bank à la Alice In Wonderland."
fandom:intothewoods, fandom:disney
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Oh, My Pop Culture Religion: Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Rape Culture: Lady Geek Girl (blog) - "Now that I’m older and know my Bible a lot better than I did before, I have to say that the musical seems a lot darker to me than it used to, but it’s really, really not trying to be."
fandom:joseph&theamazingtechnicolordreamcoat, warning:rape
Justice League and Justice League Unlimited
Throwback Thursdays: The Justice League Animated Series, Wonder Woman & Sexism: Lady Geek Girl (blog) - "And while much of the show is just as funny and interesting as I remember it, there was one thing that really struck me as an adult: Wonder Woman was not written very well. Not to say that her character wasn’t well-developed or complex, but as an adult, I noticed Wonder Woman upholding really problematic and sexist ideals about women almost any time she commented on gender."
fandom:dcanimated
Legend of Korra
The Psychology of Inspirational Women: Korra: Dr. Janina Scarlet (blog) - "If you watched The Legend of Korra, you might have first sensed that something is wrong with Korra at the end of Season Three."
fandom:legendofkorra, topic:psychology, warning:spoilers
Norse Mythology
And if your feels about the binding of Loki were unbearable then you're welcome chordatesrock: (DW) - "I'm looking at my own list of myth!Loki plotbunnies, of which I have seventeen, and out of that seventeen, six are based in while or in part around the idea that Loki's binding is a massive trauma on a scale no one with a normal human lifespan can possibly comprehend"
fandom:norsemyths, topic:fanfic
Person of Interest
CBS crime drama ‘Person of Interest’ confirms slash pairing -- kind of: Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (blog) - "For the past couple of seasons, the relationship between hacker/assassin Root (Amy Acker) and former government agent Sameen Shaw (Sarah Shahi) has been decidedly flirtatious. And in this week's episode, they finally kissed."
fandom:personofinterest
Romeo es Julia
Tybalt's Father in Romeo es Julia carmarthen: (DW) - "I wanted to expand a little on the parts of canon that went into my tiny shreds of characterization and why I don't think Tybalt's father was necessarily (physically) abusive or had malicious motivations towards his son."
fandom:romeoandjuliet, topic:characterization, topic:canon
A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire and the A+J=C&J Fan Theory Ace’s Favorite Theory Ever: MadameAce (blog) - "So let’s discuss my favorite A Song of Ice and Fire theory. Though it is by no means popular among the fanbase, there is a theory that King Aerys II Targaryen and Joanna Lannister, not Joanna and Tywin, are Cersei and Jaime’s real parents."
fandom:soiaf, warning:rape
True Detective
Where True Detective Meets Community: Character Based Meta Examinations: Harry Edmundson-Cornell (blog) - "The show managed to deftly prod and point out the fourth wall as a thematic and tonal tool without actually breaking the intense and necessary "reality" of the show."
fandom:truedetective
Vikings
Vikings: The Physical Culture of the Series: aelarsen (blog) - "I want to make a few comments about the physical culture of the series, by which I mean the sets, clothing, and props. "
fandom:vikings, topic:history
Welcome to Night Vale
Paralles from Condos to Now: sailorptah (DW) - "Someone on Tumblr was going "how can you criticize Cecil and Carlos's relationship, look at Condos, it's obviously healthy," and it got me thinking...."
fandom:wtnv, topic:relationship
White Collar
More Thoughts on the White Collar series finale: sholio (LJ) - "Being as nonspoilery as possible, I'll just say outside the cut that the tone of this one is different from the tone of my last post about the finale, and leave it at that"
fandom:whitecollar, topic:canon, warning:spoilers