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dragonbat2006I've been around, just mostly posting directly to ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
musing_way. I'm playing Cass Cain and Jim Gordon there. It's sort of rp, only not necessarily. Basically, you claim a muse and commit to making one post per month per muse. Other than that, your muse/character can comment on other posts or just keep a journal. Prompts go up every week and never expire. And entries can be as short as two words.
I've been having fun.
A conversation withbiting_moopie in addme_fandom reminded me, though, that my first passionate fandom love wasn't the DCU at all. It was Dungeons & Dragons.
I grew up on Saturday morning cartoons in the 70s and 80s. I remember Superfriends and the Filmation Batman (the one with the voice talents of Adam West and Burt Ward, where one of the catch-phrases was "Bat-Mite, the best way to help is not to help!")
With the exception of Looney Tunes/The Bugs Bunny Roadrunner Show/Merrie Melodies—the name changed every so often—which had been written for adults in the first place, it seemed that a lot of those shows talked down to kids. That is when they weren't thinly-disguised 22-minute toy commercials, interspersed with other toy commercials.
And then, there was Dungeons and Dragons.
First of all, the characters were about as fully-3D as you could get in a 22-minute show. They had personalities. It wasn't just "One's a brave fearless leader" — Because Hank could get scared. He was easy-going, but sometimes he lost his temper or shrugged off his responsibilities. And, very occasionally, he made stupid mistakes (In "The Traitor," did he think Venger would let Bobby go once he'd led everyone else into a trap?). Or "one's a malingering pain in the butt," because Eric was able to be brave when it counted.
Not only that, but they had back-stories, and they remembered things they'd learned in the past. Uni's teleporting comes to mind, but over time the kids all became more of a team. Eric in particular.
Second, the girls weren't any more prone to messing up/getting captured than guys were. Sheila was a bit timid, but then, so were Presto and Eric. And while she did get captured in "The Lost Children," we can sort of balance that with Hank and Bobby in "The Traitor," Presto in "Night of No Tomorrow," and Hank in "Winds of Darkness."
Now let's look at the typical tropes of 80s cartoons. Was there a cute-but-silly animal sidekick comic relief, more often than not voiced by Frank Welker? Well, yes. But at least Uni never said "Right Ronzie!" just before messing up Cupcake's Time Machine so the Happy Days Gang couldn't get back to 1957 Milwaukee! Uni was a baby and she was occasionally clumsy. Heck, sometimes her constant support for Bobby got a little annoying. But it never really veered into cringe-worthy territory.
Was there a malingering complainer? Yup. But bit by bit the backstory came out. He was wealthy, with a father who pretty much ignored him. He was whiny because for the first time in his life, he couldn't buy his way out of his situation or call his dad on the walkie-talkie to have the gardener pick him up in a golf cart. Every coping mechanism he had was useless. Every learned behavior was dangerous, and for the first time in his life, his actions had consequences. A lot of his bluster was covering up his fear, but even his name-calling and challenging Hank never really crossed the line into bullying. He was
Yes, he was scared and he wasn't such a trooper. But as the series progressed he, possibly more than any of the others, grew.
Then we get to something I mentioned in theaddme_fandom thread:
I think I can pinpoint the moment that D&D crossed the line from good to awesome. It seemed that in the 80s, most of the adventure/action/superhero cartoons would have at least one episode that went something like this:
Hero has Villain totally at their mercy. It's the perfect time to settle the score and take care of them once and for all. And without fail, Hero rescues villain from certain doom. And then would come the dialogue that was pretty much verbatim, no matter which show you were watching.
V: "Why didn't you let me fall?"
H: I guess I care more about life than you do, Villain. Even yours.
And then, if it was a random oneshot bigbad, they turned good. And if it was a recurring bigbad, they returned the favor once to even the odds, then went back to normal.
And then... "The Dragon's Graveyard."
First of all, the kids actually decide to be proactive and stop running from Venger. Deal with him now and worry about going home later. Logical... but on a "kiddie cartoon"? Where the good guys don't ever seem to think about killing? Like it never crosses their mind for a second? Wow.
But then we get to THAT moment. And the script goes a bit differently...
(Yeesh. Just realized that V and H don't just stand for Villain and Hero, but Venger and Hank!)
V: Why... did you not finish me?
H: If I did, we'd be no better than you are. We've beaten you and you know it. Do you understand, Venger? I didn't do it for you... I did it for us!"
I was cheering at 12. Almost 30 years later, I still have those lines memorized.
biting_moopie pointed out the diversity on the show. It could have been better, but it could have been SO much worse...
For some reason, I've never written fanfic for D&D. Maybe that'll change one day. I'm working on a Bat-epic at the moment, but when there's a fandom auction (likefandomaid, I often toss my hat in the ring, and I list a bunch of fandoms that I know but don't usually fic in. D&D is on that list, and maybe if a bidder asks for it, that'll be the kick I need to get started.
musing_way. I'm playing Cass Cain and Jim Gordon there. It's sort of rp, only not necessarily. Basically, you claim a muse and commit to making one post per month per muse. Other than that, your muse/character can comment on other posts or just keep a journal. Prompts go up every week and never expire. And entries can be as short as two words. I've been having fun.
A conversation with
biting_moopie in addme_fandom reminded me, though, that my first passionate fandom love wasn't the DCU at all. It was Dungeons & Dragons.I grew up on Saturday morning cartoons in the 70s and 80s. I remember Superfriends and the Filmation Batman (the one with the voice talents of Adam West and Burt Ward, where one of the catch-phrases was "Bat-Mite, the best way to help is not to help!")
With the exception of Looney Tunes/The Bugs Bunny Roadrunner Show/Merrie Melodies—the name changed every so often—which had been written for adults in the first place, it seemed that a lot of those shows talked down to kids. That is when they weren't thinly-disguised 22-minute toy commercials, interspersed with other toy commercials.
And then, there was Dungeons and Dragons.
First of all, the characters were about as fully-3D as you could get in a 22-minute show. They had personalities. It wasn't just "One's a brave fearless leader" — Because Hank could get scared. He was easy-going, but sometimes he lost his temper or shrugged off his responsibilities. And, very occasionally, he made stupid mistakes (In "The Traitor," did he think Venger would let Bobby go once he'd led everyone else into a trap?). Or "one's a malingering pain in the butt," because Eric was able to be brave when it counted.
Not only that, but they had back-stories, and they remembered things they'd learned in the past. Uni's teleporting comes to mind, but over time the kids all became more of a team. Eric in particular.
Second, the girls weren't any more prone to messing up/getting captured than guys were. Sheila was a bit timid, but then, so were Presto and Eric. And while she did get captured in "The Lost Children," we can sort of balance that with Hank and Bobby in "The Traitor," Presto in "Night of No Tomorrow," and Hank in "Winds of Darkness."
Now let's look at the typical tropes of 80s cartoons. Was there a cute-but-silly animal sidekick comic relief, more often than not voiced by Frank Welker? Well, yes. But at least Uni never said "Right Ronzie!" just before messing up Cupcake's Time Machine so the Happy Days Gang couldn't get back to 1957 Milwaukee! Uni was a baby and she was occasionally clumsy. Heck, sometimes her constant support for Bobby got a little annoying. But it never really veered into cringe-worthy territory.
Was there a malingering complainer? Yup. But bit by bit the backstory came out. He was wealthy, with a father who pretty much ignored him. He was whiny because for the first time in his life, he couldn't buy his way out of his situation or call his dad on the walkie-talkie to have the gardener pick him up in a golf cart. Every coping mechanism he had was useless. Every learned behavior was dangerous, and for the first time in his life, his actions had consequences. A lot of his bluster was covering up his fear, but even his name-calling and challenging Hank never really crossed the line into bullying. He was
- The only one to apologize to Hank in "The Traitor."
- The one Dungeonmaster freely and willingly gave his power to in "Day of the Dungeonmaster." Yes, Eric challenged him. But Dungeonmaster wouldn't have done it were it the equivalent of giving a nuclear weapon to a toddler.
- And while it was stated outright in "Beauty and the Bogbeast" that Eric hated the realm more than anything, he was also ready to send the others through the portal and fight off Venger.
Yes, he was scared and he wasn't such a trooper. But as the series progressed he, possibly more than any of the others, grew.
Then we get to something I mentioned in the
addme_fandom thread:I think I can pinpoint the moment that D&D crossed the line from good to awesome. It seemed that in the 80s, most of the adventure/action/superhero cartoons would have at least one episode that went something like this:
Hero has Villain totally at their mercy. It's the perfect time to settle the score and take care of them once and for all. And without fail, Hero rescues villain from certain doom. And then would come the dialogue that was pretty much verbatim, no matter which show you were watching.
V: "Why didn't you let me fall?"
H: I guess I care more about life than you do, Villain. Even yours.
And then, if it was a random oneshot bigbad, they turned good. And if it was a recurring bigbad, they returned the favor once to even the odds, then went back to normal.
And then... "The Dragon's Graveyard."
First of all, the kids actually decide to be proactive and stop running from Venger. Deal with him now and worry about going home later. Logical... but on a "kiddie cartoon"? Where the good guys don't ever seem to think about killing? Like it never crosses their mind for a second? Wow.
But then we get to THAT moment. And the script goes a bit differently...
(Yeesh. Just realized that V and H don't just stand for Villain and Hero, but Venger and Hank!)
V: Why... did you not finish me?
H: If I did, we'd be no better than you are. We've beaten you and you know it. Do you understand, Venger? I didn't do it for you... I did it for us!"
I was cheering at 12. Almost 30 years later, I still have those lines memorized.
biting_moopie pointed out the diversity on the show. It could have been better, but it could have been SO much worse...For some reason, I've never written fanfic for D&D. Maybe that'll change one day. I'm working on a Bat-epic at the moment, but when there's a fandom auction (like
fandomaid, I often toss my hat in the ring, and I list a bunch of fandoms that I know but don't usually fic in. D&D is on that list, and maybe if a bidder asks for it, that'll be the kick I need to get started.
