#‘we all kind of have a thing for kiara’ etc etc etc.

[gladiatorcunt]

trying to enjoy obx and then i’m reminded it’s a netflix show with netflix writing

[alphinias]

Not trying to be negative, just sincerely asking: How are Kiara physical touch is my love language Carrera and JJ what's personal space Maybank not all over each other all the time?

I don't mean they have to kiss everytime but I think there is a lot of missing casual affection and touches, like the intimacy that you can feel for Jarah.

They touched more before they got together lol

That said, loved everything we got from them, episode 1 will not be topped. The dance, the I love you, the forhead touch. Arrrrgh. I'm feral!

I mean, I don’t think Jiara is ever going to be lovey dovey in the sense like Jarah is. That makes sense for them as a couple to me because they’re still the best friends first dynamic. The only casual thing I’m missing is I really think we should’ve gotten things like JJ giving her a hand into the truck etc when they’re climbing in the back of it. I feel like that’s the type of stuff JJ would always do. And all the touches we’ve gotten are definitely scripted.

Couple wise I think at a glance it also seems weird that JJ isn’t automatically touching her like after the drink got thrown on her, but that’s actually a wonderful detail imo because they have him verbally checking in with her and just being there for her and reading what she needs instead. Kie has never liked to be crowded in moments like those and to me it shows that at the least they mostly understand Jiara in a mature way.

Relationship wise it’s pretty clear JJ is still learning what a relationship is and they’re basically treating the Jiara ship as if 18 months didn’t already pass with them together at all. Which is stupid and not realistic but I honestly am kind of happy about it because I was so mad about missing out on their early relationship lmao.

I think we’ve gotten some REALLY good stuff from JJ (HYPERBOLIC CHAMBER JJ AND PROTECTIVE JJ LOML) but I will say I do want some more scenes of him initiating affection/I love you’s by the end of the season. I want to see some growth there. And I want my damn confirmation that he’s had feelings for her for a long time. That’s the main thing they’ve dropped the ball on so far but overall I’m eating up the season!

My favorite scene so far is their “you almost died” conversation in episode two but literally stuff in every episode 1-4 had me hitting the floor

[multifandumbmeg]

Can I say something potentially controversial? I haven't been in this fandom long enough to feel out the prevailing opinions so here's a take:

Idk why people hate on [redacted, not trying to start shit] when John B is right there.

I'm so (not) sorry but like- as someone that was and is so fucking lucky to have grown up with an absolutely ride or die tightknit friend group like the OBX kids, FUCK JOHN B.

Why? Because he's the only one that never checks in on JJ. He makes faces when JJ eats ROTTEN FOOD in his house like "wow ur so gross lol" like he doesn't know that boy LITERALLY DOES NOT HAVE FOOD AT HOME. He straight up ignores JJ in one episode when he actually tells him, "can we eat first? I haven't eaten in two days" like?!?? He disappears and leaves all his friends hanging when he finds [spoiler, iykyk]. He causes discord by bringing Sarah in where she was EXPRESSLY UNINVITED instead of talking it through with Kie first. He ignores Sarah's warning about the Nassau house and nearly gets them both killed. Meanwhile:

Pope expresses concern over JJ's situation multiple times, by hugging him, apologizing, and checking in. He's a kid and he doesn't know what to do, but he clearly does what he can and worries about JJ. He goes along with the group's schemes even when it jeapordizes his whole future and the life his parents are trying so hard to set up for him. He talks through emotions with Kie when theyre friends and does his best not to hold all the mixed signals against her after dating. And while I don't think he's right for it, he also criticizes Kiara for not being there wholeass when John B's dad disappeared, which shows he was. He's always getting into conflicts with and hurting his parents for John B's schemes.

Kiara not only comforts JJ, she's also the ONLY one to confront his dad (despite the danger). She offers to go in with him when he has to talk to his dad. She makes the connection between his reckless behavior and his fucked up childhood. She also checks in on John B numerous times in the first season because she knows he's avoiding and suppressing the trauma of his dad being most likely dead. She also calls ALL the boys out consistently, but usually with a lot of tact and kindness for acting out on the feelings they're avoiding.

Obviously JJ self-sacrifices for his friends all the time. Taking the fall for Pope, risking his future committing crimes to help his friends, and often risking his life for them, or making deals others wouldn't to get them out of a pinch quick. He also tries to call John B out for risking his and everyone else's lives on the incredibly slim chance his father is still alive and trying to leave a trail of bread crumbs early on. In fact, he seems to be the most realistic and honest about Big John when he's talking to John B, and the others criticize him for his lack of tact, but he's the only one who seems to realize feeding into delusions isn't a kind thing to do in the long run. He goes in INSTANTLY when he finds out Pope got jumped, he goes feral when Kiara gets kidnapped (long before he realizes there's any chance of dating her), runs headlong back into a fight with 4 or 5 guys when Raefe insults her, loses his job publicly defending John B from murder accusations etc etc etc...and let's not forget after getting beat half to death by his dad, emotionally trainwrecked because no matter what he does he seems to lose, he blows the money on what? A car? A boat? His shitty house with no food? NO. He orders a bunch of shit he can enjoy with his friends and spends the whole evening setting up fucking christmas lights in the trees despite the amount of evident pain he's in just so they can all be happy and have something TOGETHER. And I'm just gonna stop there because the list literally drags on like crazy, he does everything for his friends, especially John B.

And what has John B done for his friends?

Hmmmmm well there's that one time he stops JJ from starting a shootout with the entire sheriff's department and going down swinging by turning himself in.

Now on the other hand, he repeatedly manipulates his friends into doing things they don't want to or shouldn't do, often at the risk of their lives. He basically spends all of season 2 on a revenge quest, culminating in him not even considering that he should comfort his girlfriend when her father dies in front of them. Repeats what other people say about JJ being "just like his dad" despite knowing both his circumstances and that it's a trigger for him. There's that one time he goes home for the gun to kill Ward and basically ATTACKS all his friends to get through without talking about it?? And never apologizes?? Isn't ever concerned about Pope's scholarship, or in any way sensitive to the fact that he's BLACK and so much of what they get into involves his own generational trauma?! Is told several times Kiara's on the verge of being sent away to a Troubled Teen camp and straight up never once acknowledges or comments about that at all? Shows up to confront Topper and Sarah at Kiara's parents' party, knowing full well she's on thin ice and her parents DO NOT like any of them right now, including having just had a blowout with JJ, who insists on staying out of it.

Honestly, he got real tired of [same spoiler] by the end of season 3, so I'm hoping now they're dead in season 4 he's finally gonna wake up and start looking after his friends more because up to this point? Dude lacks empathy to a criminal degree and has a mad case of toxic main character syndrome.

Just like...as someone who was considered "the glue" to my own group of extremely troubled youths, all of us traumatized to fuck, this dude is failing with flying colors. Please look outside yourself and your romantic relationship some fraction of the time.

[kierreras]

so, i think that there is one major flaw that made this season less enjoyable than others (except big john cause we all agree that his whole storyline is a disaster). the lack of pogues interactions was so noticeable. i absolutely adore each and every couple and i’m really glad that the writers gave them time to bond and develop romantic connections, but this show is first and foremost about friendship. we have pogues separated for the most part of the season. the first time we have john b/jj interaction past poguelandia is episode six. six!!! they are supposed to be best friends, but john b is preoccupied with his father’s gold obsession for the most part to even acknowledge that his best friend could be homeless. the same goes for his girlfriend. he didn’t show any interest in where sarah is staying, whether she has food, etc.  how many times the pogues were at the chateau this season? i can count two - when they reunited with big john in episode six and after john b was released from the police department in episode eight. i always considered twinkie and chateau as characters, honestly. however, this season the only pogue beside jb that was in twinkie is jj. it feels like the whole group dynamic was somehow sidelined. and i don’t think that it has something to do with couples getting some focus, because we also kind of had relationships storylines which were mixed with group dynamics without any problems in previous seasons. this season we havr a huge treasure hunt which kind of ruins the whole vibe. those local gold/cross treasure hunts were cringey in some ways, but they have one element that el dorado doesn’t have - we have a connection with them throughout one of the pogues. el dorado is big john’s focus, so it explains why we as viewers don’t feel some sort of investment into that storyline. i think that the lack of friendship moments is also to be blamed on limited screentime (the huge amount of which was wasted on el dorado). we literally had some scenes cut - like sarah talking to pope and cleo about rafe coming back (there was a bts of cline, jd and laci in their episode four outfits outside of heywards). also, in episode seven we could have had sarah and kie talk heart to heart, but that time sarah somehow decided to ignore kiara’s worry for jj. it was such a good moment for girls to bond through boys troubles, but i guess adding another singh “you know” line was more important. also, i really think that we were robbed on pogues interactions in general. like are pope and john b even aware that jj is basically homeless? if pope knows, why didn’t he invite jj to heywards as well? i’m sure jj doesn’t need the whole room to himself, but a simple place to sleep and eat would be nice. 

moving to sarah and jj. just imagine if jj was home when sarah came after being rejected by carreras? i would give everything to see them co-living for at least one episode! by the way, about carreras, kie simply lets sarah go after her parents acted like jerks and threw away a homeless sixteen years old girl. kind of unbelievable for me, but i understand that this whole thing happened so that sarah could accidentally meet topper. there was an opportunity to show the girls bond. was there at least one friendship moment with any of the girls with cleo? it’s such a waste. also, kie saw something between pope and cleo and she could have teased them about it. and do not even get me started on jiara interrupting cleope’s kiss and not saying anything. jj keeping his mouth shut? never heard of it. again, the whole group not having any reaction about kitty hawk? guys, your best friend was sent away and you are just acting like it’s not a big deal? by the way, i understand why many people like episode five. it has this chaotic vibe from earlier seasons. pogues (minus john b) are finally on the mission together and it is pure cinematography. we got their chaotic energy again, a bunch of friendly fights, comedic moments. and these things were exactly what attracted so many viewers in the first place. also, personally i was interested in this mission because pogues were there to get the cross, an artifact that really mattered to one of the characters. so once again viewers are emotionally invested in the mission. whereas there are no emotional investment in el dorado plot. i think in general friendship vibe was present in the first episode and somewhat in the end of episode eight. lack of pogues in the finale is very palpable and it sucks because we have so many wasted opportunities here. i will forever mourn that we didn’t have surfing scenes, hammock scenes, legendary obx parties like boneyard or kegger. still, let’s hope that in next season we will get back our pogues friendship moments. we were absolutely robbed this season, guys.

[spinnysocks]

For that Choose Violence ask game: 9, 10, 16, 17, 19, and 23 for the Lion Guard

hey!! okie!! :D

9. worst part of canon

oof that is definitely one to start with! personally, i would say ushari's death and how the outlanders were handled in Battle For The Pridelands and after. ushari's death is a common talking point in the fandom, but i also think the waving off of scar's army who literally were the main villains for a whole season should've had something more, to end with at least...

also, how the whole circle of life ideology in tlg Does Not Work and is inherently speciesist in how they handle it, but i will spare you my rambling as there's plenty of good posts and videos about it

10. worst part of fanon

damn this one's even harder, i don't actually know i'm sorry 😭 i'll come back and edit this if i think of something

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

hmmmm!! as i said here, i'm pretty open to a lot of different ideas. but i have thought of another one: i've seen a few people shipping Simba x Kovu (IN AUs WHERE KIARA DOESN'T EXIST DW) and it's like... yeah, okay, we want mlm representation and there isn't that many non-related canon tlk characters - i get that - but the age gap... no thank you. (from my understanding, if it's an AU then maybe they would be the same age, but it rubs me the wrong way naturally) it's not like a massively popular ship but i've seen it a good few times, enough for me to talk about it

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

i've said it before and i'll say it again, the crocodiles!!! the outlanders!!! i would sell my soul for a comic or fic about the outlanders reforming and that is a promise.

but yeah. my happiness, excitement, pure joy when i find a fic with the crocodiles is unbridled. i get so (positively) freaked out i have to put my phone down to collect myself 💀💀

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

erm. my crackships....... yeah. except i'm not actually that mad, ashamed, or horrified i'm having a jolly good time laughing about my stupid ideas 😭 hint: the crackships are all for kiburi HFGHDG

this prompt didn't specify anything so i will also say i am unreasonably obsessed with poacher aus, purely because it is PERFECT for angst and hurt/comfort ideas >:3 i'm sorry to all my faves you have been Captured!! for the purpose of me studying your character </3

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

hmmm! usually, i decide pretty quickly whether or not i like a ship from first glance, for example i immediately clicked with your Hodari x Njano crackship because it's so funny 😭 but i would say your ideas about Shupavu x Njano have altered my brain chemistry in a good way lol! i would also say Makuu x Ucheshi really grew on me :)

others include Makuu x Akina from The Crocodile's Journey and Kiburi x Zula from The Northern Crocodile. when i tell you i am so strict about what i personally ship, and they aren't what i'd normally be interested in at all, but they started growing on me and i was just aAAA. they're not my main ships at all, as in i only think about them in the fics that they're in, but i do think about them

(the choose violence ask game)

thanks for your ask!!! loved doing this! now i want a "choose peace" ask game 😭

[lovebvni]

the people have spoken — here’s my lore <3

hellooo!! <3 you guys said you wanted to see my lore from my main dr that i actually got from js thinking about my dr!!!

for context, this is for my main mha dr <3 i am siblings w himiko toga but she also has 2 more siblings including me, kuro (kurtis is his american name; he is also himiko a twin sibling) and himari (halo) (i just changed her name as of typing this)

i js realized how y/n this sounds but ykw it’s cool shit ok?

tw for assault (or battery idk im not a lawyer), cutting of skin, drug use of minors, getting drugged .

please stop reading if there is anything that is a trigger to you. and also know this is all FICTIONAL in this reality so please do not worry abt anyone lmfao 😭😭

im going to be as brief as possible! i dont wanna type long blog although this is interesting <3

soooo our family moved back from america when i was in ~5th grade. i was like what… 10 because i started school early (i started developing fast oopsie‼️), himiko n kurt were 14/15 idk man i can’t do math their birthday is after mine 😭 but we were all still young. halo was 6/7ish

so around the time we moved back to japan and himiko real REALLY didn’t wanna go back to japan. she had friends in the us who she felt like accepted her n whatnot, she has a girlfriend she had to break up with because of the move, etc. there was lot going on in her head — it wa as big change to move back to japan so our mom could thrive in her business.

so, himiko came up with a plan — to drug her family, run away and fly back to america to continue living her life.

now, obviously, she didn’t complete the whole thing because she felt bad. she would be without her twin and two younger siblings.

she drugged all of us at a family celebration dinner. i don’t know the details for this i didn’t think it through/didn’t get told what she used. it started with an a though, idk LMDAO 😭😭

anya ways she drugged us at this family dinner then decided, as a way to show her love, she was going to take some of all our blood and cut a heart out on a various part of all our bodies.

my mom got a heart on her outer right thigh, my dads was on his right shoulder blade, kuro’s on his left arm, mine on my left eye and kiara’s on her left hand.

i don’t quite know why she did this but obviously, right for her parents, left for her siblings. idk if it means anything to her but yeah!

anyways hospitalized stitched, blah blah medical recoveries whatever.

now with this next part i’ll be kind of brief. some of kurt’s school friends found out abt the incident and they were like “hey we got set that could help u” but he decided to bring me since i was his next closest sibling — whatever.

they were older or something so they had like drugs (😧😧😧😦😦) ( i can’t take this seriously it’s insane) anyways we went to a lot of parties like every friday n saturday night but on saturdays we wouldn’t get as high bc we have church on sundays (we watch the american one online 💀)

it was crazy tho bro!!! but anyways both kurt n i have nic addictions 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️ woopsie poopsie!

i didn’t script all of this btw. i just scripted the part abt himiko drugging us then fucking dipping. all this other shit was included.

also dw i won’t get cancer or anything serious from using anything 😭😭 js temp shit!

anyways yeah! sorry it’s shorter than u expected. i have a weird headache that keeps coming n going (along w migraines) so i tried to keep it short so i wouldn’t stress myself

anyways!!! i hope yall enjoyed! if u have my questions feel free to ask or smth idk 😭

[dragontamerno3]

DS9 S2E16 - Shadowplay

This episode was so sweet! I'm not sure if I'd say this is my favorite of Odo so far but its definitely one of the top five. I am a little unsure on how much "Odo is a real boy" that I can take, though, especially since we just did that whole deal with Data. It feels different enough that I'm not actually too bothered by it yet but it is sorta pulling my out of the story each time so we'll see if I get sick of it lol

I hadn't considered a whole society of holograms and the folks really took it extremely well, all things considered, but it was overall a nice episode, I think. Personally if someone said I was living in some kind of simulation or if I wasn't real I'd probably start walking around screaming "end program" to shut it down, but that's very much just a me thing.

Because of the weird acceptance and a few other things (Kira's investigation/hunt to stop Quark, Kiara's sex life, etc) that made the pacing on this episode to me. I mean, it was fine, I was engaging with it no issue but it did feel like it jumped around a bit.

On a side note: Bashir mentioning how Garak is teaching him spy stuff made me squee. The boyfriends are too cute.

Before the reveal of holograms, I kind of thought they were in some kind of city with an invisible barrier and the others had left. By force, by weird subconscious impulse, or completely voluntary, that part was uncertain, but I would not have guessed holograms.

Odo with Taya was adorable af and it started out so subtle. He seemed more or less indifferent towards her just like he is with most people and then she basically made him her best friend and he melted into the goo he is. It was super sweet. And I'm glad he shifted for her eventually. Even if she wasn't real, he grew attached.

In a way this episode kind of reminded me of the TNG episode where Data has been communicating with the alien child and he saves her from the erupting volcano planet but then has to wipe her memory of him. This time, though, Odo gets to keep his friend (that we'll probably never see again lol)

On the subplot side of things, I want to once again shout from the rooftops how good of a man and dad Benjamin Sisko is. He may have been pushing for Jake to get a job, which I find to be a little ick but experience is a great thing to have and a station like DS9 really can use all hands on deck sometimes, but he listens to his kid. Jake had every right to be nervous about admitting he didn't want to follow in his dads footsteps because life changing conversations like that are scary, but the way Sisko reacted? He didn't yell, his questions were all gentle and none of them were aggressive, leading, or accusatory, and it was clear that all of his attention was directed towards making sure Jake was happy. I love their relationship so much.

I also want to say Miles is a great dad/going to be a great dad when Molly is old enough for these kinds of conversations too. The way he helped Jake find the courage to talk to Sisko was sweet. And he was super patient with him while he learned a skill he knew next to nothing about.

All episodes should be character building but there are sometimes specific ones you can point to and show where the dynamics change and I think this is one of them.

7/10 - I was hesitant with this one but the character stuff was too good to mark any lower, I think

[marciabrady]

So I read your thoughts on TLM II and I was just wondering if there was a princess or couple you’d like to see have a child/children - maybe not for a full feature length film but for maybe a 10 - 20 minute short film.

I’m very wishy-washy when it comes to children. Sometimes I love it when media gives a fictional couple I like children but sometimes it puts me off. Sometimes I’m split in the middle.

For example, I love the idea of Simba being a dad in TLK II and I really liked his character and how the movie showed how the PTSD from the childhood trauma Scar inflicted on him still affects him even though he appears to be this strong and powerful king and how even as an adult he still looks up to his dad. Unfortunately, whilst Kiara isn’t a bad character, I hated all of the next generation stuff. Like you said for TLK 2, it’s obvious that the sequel is much more cartoony and targeted for like seven and under compared to the wider demographic that the original film has. I can watch Lion King today and still love and enjoy every second. The same can’t be said for the sequel. Like how you came for Ariel and got too much Melody, I came to a movie called SIMBA’S pride and felt like he had to give up the spotlight to his daughter (and yes his personality was also reduced to ‘protect my daughter’).

This is an interesting question! I know they wanted to bring back the nine old men at one point in the late 90s and have them animate the princesses (up until Jasmine iirc) with children! I love the idea, but purely because I would've wanted to see Marc Davis return to Cinderella and Aurora, Glen Keane to Ariel, etc, but I don't really love the premise of any of them having children. Like I mentioned, I don't love having to divide the time we spend with a character with an OC. Most media doesn't do a good job of keeping the character intact after having a child either, it literally just becomes all about the kid and keeping the kid safe and who the original character was kind of gets lost and eroded in that entire thing, too. I also hate aged down content and "next generation" throughlines.

Out of the princesses I care about, I think Cinderella would be the most fitting to have children? Again, this is supposing the original creative team was involved (which is impossible since they've all passed on). But we've seen hints of what Cinderella would be like as a mother, through her relationship to the mice and I think she'd probably struggle with infertility due to how mistreated she was and neglected growing up, as well as the extreme manual labor she was forced to enact and how much of a toll that took on her body. Just like the dress enacted a plot device for Cinderella to connect with her mother, thinking of the type of parent she'd be during a pregnancy would probably recall so much of her own parents to her. It would also remind her of what not to do and of so many scars that her stepfamily inflicted. All of the things she had to repress to continue living with those monsters would then be brought back up to the surface. I think it'd also create engaging conversation with how the Prince was brought up and his own past and see where they agree and where they might conflict in ideologies pertaining to rearing a child. I don't think Aurora would have a child, since she's so defined by being a daughter to her parents and the three fairies. I don't know about Snow White- I'm sure she'd want them, but she's a perpetual girl in the best way possible to me. And, honestly, I think Ariel needs more time to discover who she is now that she isn't under Triton's repressive grasp so her having a kid would not be good lol of the princesses I don't care about as much, I don't know who I'd want to have a kid because a lot of the later Disney couples feel more like brother/sister to me than romantic (like Aladdin and Jasmine, for instance). I don't like Naveen, but I think Tiana having children would be really cute and would soften her up because the writers made her so career oriented in the film. I would love to see Mulan as a single mother teach her child the values of respecting your elders while also staying true to yourself and her validating her kid would be so cute. I don't trust literally any of the other later princesses to be moms though lol

[maningrey0204]

for character ask meme, emiya alter ^^

(based on this post)

thank you, anon :D I hope I'm not too late to this ask meme thing in the FGO fandom, because I will happily gush about Emiya Alter to anyone who asks. that man needs more love.

favorite thing about them just one? all right. Emiya Alter's gone through so much-to the point where it clearly had lasting & damaging effects on him-the nihilism, abysmally poor memory, self-destructive tendencies, etc etc. he's symbolic of the "Hero of Justice" role to its furthest ends, a "weapon" meant to be of service whilst his own identity is pretty much an afterthought. but he also dives for Melt, giving her the second chance he never had. he guides Ritsuka out of his own hellish mindscape, and gives them a tow cable-a lifeline-for a Valentine's gift. he assists Voyager in saving Erice, and there's at least one or two lines where he can relate to her being an agent of death. there's hope for him yet, even though he's reached his own tragic ending. his ideas of "help" can be messed up, obviously, but he's going out of his way to try if nothing else. moreover, he needs some peace of mind after basically going through hell and back.

least favorite thing about them his original JPN design, obviously. the racism surrounding it has become indelible and synonymous with his character. obviously we don't know for sure, but it would not surprise me to learn that the reason he's received little attention in Craft Essence art is because of the controversy surrounding his character.

favorite line "Don't apologize. Good intentions are like sandpaper." I've probably analyzed this line to death, but I believe it summarizes Emiya Alter perfectly: a man whose own charity and constant vigilance for justice has eaten away at him. at the same time, he tries to disregard his own state of being as if it's no big deal; however, since he does not perceive himself as human anymore, the outcome is a lot more distressing than perhaps he might expect.

brOTP maybe Assassin Kiritsugu? I know, I know, Kiritsugu's basically a father to Emiya, but Assassin diverged from his own path in Fate/Zero so I'm sure it's fine here. my other brOTP idea is of him secretly thinking Hijikata's swordmanship is cool, even if he can't understand why Hijikata's so hellbent on upholding the Shinsengumi all the time. I can also see Alter putting up with Tamamo Berserker's outrageous behaviour towards him in a "I can't stand this, but she won't stop and it'd be a waste of energy" kind of way, and it developing into a strange but heartwarming bond later on.

OTP Emiya Alter x Yan Qing. I've only seen one (1) piece of content about it on pixiv, but they've got enough similarities (being Shinjuku villain Servants and having identity issues) and differences (Alter's serious and to the point, forging weapons-while Yan Qing is more flippant in a laid-back manner, using his fists & feet as weapons) that I'd love to write a fic shipping the two of them.

nOTP apparently a few people have shipped Alter with Kiara, of all people. I'm also personally not very fond of the Emiya Alter x Jalter pairing.

random headcanon Emiya prefers to eat alone, but he'll tolerate it if other Alters sit at his table. he wishes Nitocris Alter would stop talking about death so evocatively, as if it were a service she were performing upon other people; he sees death as an aid to his toolkit, and nothing more.

unpopular opinion I love his edgelord behaviour. it's incredibly comical how cynical he gets (his brooding over board games in BGA comes too mind), which is part of the reason. but there's something that just hits in how played straight his character usually is, and how genuine the depths of his despair go.

song i associate with them No title by Reol. a fitting song name for someone who's wholly embraced being Nameless. the chorus' lyrics particularly come to mind: Slowly and gently, it crumbles and breaks Wrap it slowly around my neck til I can't breathe And the me from yesterday was killed Slowly and gently, our scattered ennui When I hear you speak so unethically It turns to a voice I don't know

favorite picture of them he doesn't have a lot of FGO art, but I've always loved Emiya Alter's Formal Dress CE. it's sleek, sharp and overall just...so cool-looking. the pinstripe suit brings his self-ascribed mercenary role to a focal point; such suits are typically worn in professional settings, natch. then there's the smaller details, like the gears on his tie and how the tie bar on it has a Chaldean symbol. I also appreciate how his grey polo shirt is strained, emphasizing his muscles and torso.

[kiesvalentine]

Jiara birthday headcanons

JJ’s birthday (august 8th)

- they never really spend serious money on birthdays so kiara gets him things like: handmade bracelets, weed themed socks, a crochet granny square blanket (also handmade ofcourse) etc

- when they actually get together kiara starts adding little handmade cards for his birthday, nothing cheesy but just a cute and funny message like “second best date of the year after 4/20” and it has little doodles and shit

- JJ doesn’t like his birthday because he never really celebrated them at home so he always insists on not doing anything but being the attention whore he is (*cough* leo *cough*) he hopes there’s something planned anyways

- kie takes nudes on sarah’s poleroid camera and at the end of the day he gets them but only if “he was a good boy” (because we all know JJ is a power bottom👀)

- the night of his birthday the two of them go nightsurfing, they’ve been doing that for years and it started because the others just didn’t wanna come but now nobody else is allowed to be there and it’s their little tradition

Kiara’s birthday (july 16th)

- kiara is 23 days older than him and she always teases him about it. In those days before his birthday she always jokes about him being a baby and he hates it

- JJ usually gets her things like tarot cards, crystals and astrology books and he always pretends he doesn’t get it but actually really looks into what kind of crystal would fit her zodiac sign and shit

- when they’re together JJ takes her to get a piercing because she’s been talking about getting one. She ends up getting a nipple piercing and he’s absolutely obsessed with it

- there’s this field out on figure 8 with little orange flowers that kiara loves, nobody’s allowed on the grass but the first year they’re together JJ takes her there anyway and they have a little picnic (and it turns into a tradition)

- (not really jiara but this was just on my mind) they always go out to eat on everyone’s birthdays and for kiara’s she insists on everyone being completely vegan for the day, they all do it but are so pissed about it at the end of the day

[alphinias]

Do you think if the pogues don't see them together that Kie is going to tell them she was with Rafe and probably working with him to escape after they all reunite? Cuz I could totally see that being a point of tension later on if Kiara keeps it a secret.

Like we know JJ and Rafe are going to have some kind of confrontation on a boat at some point, so what if Rafe tells him about him and Kie working together in Barbados and makes it sound like more than what it was just to get under JJ's skin and that's when a fight breaks out.

That could also potentially be part of the reason for why JJ is so upset with her at the anniversary party. I'm sure there's going to be multiple reason for the fight, but maybe Kiara's trying to explain the situation and he's just so angry over what Rafe said that he can't hear her out and ends up storming away?

I don’t really see it being a point of tension between Jiara, but a point of tension between JJ and Rafe, absolutely I can see that and am even expecting it a bit.

Honestly, I don’t see Kie keeping that as a major secret and I’m thinking the pogues are just going to be so happy to get her back that they don’t care. At least not directed at her. I could be wrong, depending on if more context is added on to Riara’s past (which I personally don’t think they have much of one other than him being a creep at her best friend’s house but I know a lot of people do), etc. I also don’t really think Rafe is going to be a part of the fence fight. I hear what you’re saying about JJ already arriving pissed at Rafe though, so like, maybe on that end that just helps escalate his mood on the problems between Jiara. I’m not sure of the order of this entire episode (party at beginning or end. I’m thinking beginning if it’s actually episode eight?) so that’s also a factor. It’s gonna be an INSANE one.

I do think Rafe would insinuate things to JJ about the situation to escalate and goad him into a fight, though. In fact I hope we get this djekekek. “Tell kiara she looks pretty hot for a pogue” will always be one of my favorite moments and I’m here for a part two.

[kiaratheronappreciationweek]

The response we've gotten to this week we've gotten so far has been amazing! We've seen all kinds of things - detailed headcanons on Kiara's home and family, amazing art, heartwarming fanfic!! We treasure each and every entry we have got so far and know that there's more on the way 🥰🥰🥰

Our last theme for the week is a fun one: Fashion! With a duchy that is often considered the art and culture capital of Cordonia, and roots in France - a country well known for its impeccable style, there is no doubt that a Kiara Theron will have her own unique style and a penchant for fashion. In fact, in a Hana scene where the MC can mention her love for ClickIt listicles, Kiara is mentioned for her eclectic choice of wardrobe for her own cotillion!

There's a lot of ways we can experiment with this theme: imagining what her style statement would be like, conceptualizing outfits, maybe even reimagining better outfits for some of the canon occasions! (Eg. You could even think of what she could wear for the Costume Gala!).

Any sort of content is welcome - fic, art, headcanons, appreciation posts, anything! We also accept WIPs and older content. If you can't get the content ready for a particular day - don't worry, you can always send it later and tagged with the day you intended it for.

I know some of the participants need a little more time to finish their content for KTAW, so we will be keeping the week open till 5th Nov, after which we will release our thank you post and masterlist! So don't worry in case your content is ready yet...we still have our bonus week!

Be sure to do the following in your posts for the week:

1. Use #kiaratheronappreciationweek and #KTAW in your tags, along with the day you intend the content for (#KTAW Day 1, #KTAW Day 2 etc)

2. Tag @kiaratheronappreciationweek in your content, as well as co-hosts @sazanes and @lizzybeth1986

Optionally, here are some fan-community events you can participate in if you'd like!

@choicesficwriterscreations - Primarily fanfic. Has a roster of weekly events that you can look at here.

@choicesmonthlychallenge - Any and all content welcome. Current events running: Naughty and Nice, PICKtober

@choicesprompts - The blog is currently on hiatus but they're still accepting entries for previous prompts till January!

Happy Kiara Theron Appreciation Week, everyone!!

[where-our-stories-start]

How to Write Dialogue, Part 2: Formatting and Dialogue Tags, or Being Clear About Who’s Talking

So, we’ve all struggled with dialogue tags. In short, they’re a headache. We need them to tell our readers who the hell is talking, but it’s easy to get bogged down in exactly what verb you want, where to put the tag, etc. Do you use ‘said’ over and over? Do you vary it up with ‘exclaimed’ and ‘shouted’ and ‘inquired’? Do you just say fuck it and leave them out altogether?

I’m going to write a second post about how to effectively make decisions about your dialogue tags, but for this post, let’s just tackle formatting.

1. Placement and punctuation of tags

Dialogue tags can go before or after the spoken text; it’s largely a matter of preference and style. They can also go in the middle of a longer quote.

If the tag comes at the beginning, it should be separated from the quote by a comma.

If the tag comes at the end, it should be separated from the quote by a comma unless the quote ends with something other than a period, like a question mark or an exclamation point.

If the tag is in the middle of a single spoken sentence, there should be commas before and after it. The first letter of the resumed quote should be lowercase.

If the tag is between two spoken sentences, there should be a comma before it and a period after it. The first letter of the resumed quote should be capitalized.

So, some examples of correctly formatted tags:

Shanti said, “I can’t wait for school tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow,” Shanti said.

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow!” Shanti said.

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow,” Shanti said, “but I know you’re nervous.”

“I can’t wait for school tomorrow!” Shanti said. “My presentation will be awesome.”

Remember that you should only put a tag in the middle of a quote if the character is taking a beat there, because it will break up the speech for your reader. Take a look at these two examples:

“Do you want to join the staff baseball team?” Fred asked. “I think you’d like it.”

“Do you want,” Fred asked, “to join the staff baseball team? I think you’d like it.”

In the first example, the dialogue tag is placed correctly. It falls in the gap between the two sentences, where Fred would naturally take a breath. In the second example, we’ve got an unnatural pause in the middle of Fred’s first sentence, and it makes the line feel clunky. That doesn’t mean there’s a hard and fast rule about breaking in an unusual place, but you should do it deliberately, when your character is actually pausing for emphasis.

At that moment, Sonya came running into the room. In her arms, she held the biggest, hairiest, ugliest cat her friends had ever seen.

“What,” Simon said, “do you call that?”

In this case, Simon is actually pausing after just one word. Putting the dialogue tag where it is helps convey his tone.

2. You can use actions as dialogue tags

One of the ways to avoid the dreaded “I feel like I’ve used ‘said’ a million times” problems is to use actions as dialogue tags. Basically, this means that instead of specifically saying the character said/asked/exclaimed/etc. the text, you simply place their action next to the dialogue. This can also happen before, after, or in the middle of their spoken text, but unlike an actual dialogue tag, it should always be treated as its own sentence. Where you put it depends on both your style and on whether your character acts before speaking, after speaking, or while speaking.

Pedro grinned and slung his backpack over his shoulder. “Oh, this is gonna be awesome. I cannot wait.”

“Oh, this is gonna be awesome. I cannot wait.” Pedro grinned and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

“Oh, this is gonna be awesome.” Pedro grinned and slung his backpack over this shoulder. “I cannot wait.”

3. Each new speaker/actor gets a new paragraph

This is one you probably vaguely remember learning in elementary school, but it’s a lot simpler when your characters all speak one at a time in basic [subject-verb-object] sentences.When you’re writing complex conversations, it’s easy to get muddied up.

Basically, every time we switch focus to a new character, they get a new paragraph. Mostly this means when they speak, but it also includes nonverbal forms of communication. For example:

“Are you coming to the movie?” David asked.

“I think so,” Shaun said, “but I have to double check with my dad.”

David frowned and said, “He can’t still be mad about your math grade, can he?”

Shaun shrugged.

“Whatever, man,” David continued. “We’ll help you figure it out somehow.”

Notice that Shaun gets his own paragraph even when he’s just shrugging. If we put that action in the middle of David’s speech, our reader has a hard time keeping track of who they’re “watching” at any given moment. With more complicated actions, they might even get confused about who’s acting and/or talking.

So what happens if a more complex action comes from a character who’s also talking? Well, it kind of depends. If the speech and action are pretty interspersed, you can put them all together:

“I don’t know why you listen to her,” Naomi said. She put the phone on speaker and set it on the counter as she began to unpack her groceries. “It’s not like it’s any of her business.”

“I know, but she just won’t quit calling,” Tina answered.

This works, because Naomi is talking while moving around, so we want to experience both together. If she pauses, however, or if the action gets too unwieldy in our paragraph, we can give it its own paragraph.

“I don’t know why you listen to her,” Naomi said. “It’s not like it’s any of her business.”

She put the phone on speaker and set it on the counter as she began to unpack her groceries.

“I know, but she just won’t quit calling,” Tina answered.

When written this way, Naomi speaks to Tina and then moves on to unpacking the groceries, rather than doing both at the same time.

One thing to be wary of: your reader will expect focus to shift back and forth with each paragraph. That’s not a hard-and-fast rule--you can see above that Naomi gets two paragraphs in a row--but it does mean you have to be careful about splitting up a single character’s actions. A character can have two or more consecutive paragraphs if they’re carrying most of the conversation, but one character should never speak in two consecutive paragraphs. Dialogue in separate paragraphs must always be split by action. Consider this example, and note the confusion we run into:

Kiara bounced the basketball a few times and then tossed it to her sister. “I just don’t know if I want to be the editor, you know? I mean, I’ve liked writing for the newspaper, but editor’s a big responsibility.”

“You’d get to work with Alexa, though,” Alicia argued. She shot at the hoop, missed, and passed the ball back to Kiara.

“Yeah, I mean, I guess,” Kiara said. She raised her eyebrows at her sister in a challenge. Dodging Alicia easily, Kiara dribbled up to the hoop and sunk the ball through it.

“I guess I could say yes,” Kiara decided.

Alicia shrugged. “Just think about it is all I’m saying.”

See how after Kiara sinks the basketball, we expect the next statement to come from Alicia? It’s jarring when Kiara speaks again, because we’ve used the format to indicate we’re shifting perspective, but then we don’t actually shift away from her. Instead, we should either put it all in one paragraph, or give the action between her two statements its own paragraph.

Next time, I’ll get into how to choose your dialogue tags and what your different options do for you. Full series of these can be found here. I hope people find them helpful!

[airgetlamhh]

Nasu’s Culpability in Fate Writing

Hot take but we as a fandom need to hold Nasu accountable for more of the stuff that is in FGO and Fate as a whole.

There’s a thing I see around sometimes where people complain about specific writers and the stuff that they do, and how they’re either dragging down stuff they work on with Nasu or flat out just dragging down the entire work if they’re flying solo, and like...

Nasu is, at his best, probably the best writer FGO has. Some of the most emotional moments in the entire work which have stayed with me for years at this point are Nasu, not to mention the original FSN, Fate/Extra and CCC etc. His skill as a writer, when he wants to exercise it, is undeniable. 

But he still has his flaws. Nasu’s kind of terrified of female sexuality, for one, and for all he depicts it he tends to depict it as a cruel and corruptive force. Medb is a villain entirely because she’s open and earnest about wanting to fuck Cú, a motivation he made up entirely. Kiara is entirely selfish and focused solely on pleasure, literally fucking the world to death in CCC. Even as far back as FSN, when he wants to emphasize a woman being evil, he does so through sexuality, like making Medea dress up Saber and do That Thing She Does. 

I bring this up mostly because it feels like Nasu kind of gets a pass on stuff that FGO does sometimes, like the Prisma stuff, or Agartha, or even Kama recently. It’s held up as other writers that Nasu should be stopping, even though frankly it’s something Nasu himself would and probably did write. And even for things we know he wasn’t involved in, Agartha primarily, Nasu still signs off on it. I know that the Epic of Remnant stories were held up as not having Nasu involved, but aside from the fact that Shimousa was clearly a collab between him and Sakurai, Nasu would still have had to read the stories and sign off on them before they could be implemented. Nasu looked at everything in Agartha and said that it was A-okay. 

I do think Nasu is a great writer, and I do think that he produces some of the best moments in the games he writes. But I also think it’s important that people don’t put him up on a pedestal just because FGO offers leagues of other writers to potentially use as scapegoats, because absolutely every bad thing you’ve ever complained about in FGO is something Nasu personally had to sign off on before it’d be allowed in the game, and I think that’s something that people should keep in mind when considering who wrote what.

[sophxwithers]

Hanging in the Balance

Soul Sistas group chat - 7:25 am

Lily Grey > Sienna Trinh - 7:40 am

Lily’s snap story - 8am

Instagram upload - 8:30

Intern’s group chat - 10 am

Instagram upload - 10:30 am

Soul Sistas group chat - 4pm

Intern’s group chat - 5:30 pm

Instagram uploads - 6:30 to 7pm

Lily’s snap story - 8pm

Open Heart book 1 chapter 3 told through the gang’s socials

Sooo, this may be for the chapter 3 replay which may have taken place a month ago. Life’s been busy that’s for sure but this has been a super fun thing to add to each day and it’s kind of my baby now. She’s a big one that’s for sure!

This definitely contains a lot of my personal headcanons (especially Lily being hungover) and I’ve included a lot of my MCs sisters (Meiling and Guan-yin) but I hope those add to the charm a little. A couple things from the chapter I struggled to translate into social media posts so they've been left out but most is in there somewhere. I hope you all understand it since its been a little while since we all played it. 

Ps. ignore the odd formatting issue or no username etc, I don’t have the energy to fix them now I’ll be honest!!

Okay, mandatory waffle done and dusted, I hope you all enjoy and I hope you all have the most wonderful week :)

Tags

@genevievemd @gryffindordaughterofathena​ @alina-yol-ramsey @estellaelysian @aestheticartsx @schnitzelbutterfingers @choicesfanaf @mm2305 @kiara-36 @actuallybored​ @mysticalgalaxysstuff​ @missmiimiie​ @valentineramsey @potionsprefect @starryeyedrookie @maurine07 @monsoonblooms12​ @headoverheelsforramsey​ 

@choicesbookclub​ 

As always let me know if you want to be added or removed 

[itsmariejanel]

ASK TIME!! (sorry for hitting unfollow!!)

for Jace: biggest regret?

for Jace: biggest fear? What about "normal" fears, like spiders, the dark, etc.

for Serena: Do they believe in soulmates?

for Mia: what was her first kiss like?

for Gemma: what did they want to be as a child? what is her goal in life now?

for Erwin: waht does he daydream about?

for Raven: greatest desire?

for all the roommates: Cats or dogs? Both? neither?

for Kiara: does she ever see herself having children?

for Makoto: does he get jealous easily?

for Jace and any other 2: fatal flaw? bonus: are they aware of it? (list if you need it)

describe your story in 5 words or less

pick a favorite character. yes, you have to pick, yes, you can only pick one.

which character do you relate to most?

favorite scene of your story so far?

Have fun!! <3

omg VIIIIBBBIBNGGGG, thanks morri! <3 gonna put this under the cut, since its a lot ahahah rubs hands lets do this

jace doesn't have a lot of regrets. he thinks of the things that happen are experiences and we should learn from them and grow :) something he learned from evanora actually! right now, i would say that he regrets not having dealt with the breakup as he should, and that's what he's doing now.

ooooffff, jace's biggest fear is dying actually. having lost his father from a young age made him fear death. normal fears huh, well jace is afraid of spiders kfjfkf

serena doesn't really believe in soulmates, she thinks thats a myth

her first kiss was with j huntington iii, and it was absolute shit. quoting her right now “the guy’s hot, but holy shit he sucks so bad” 💀

gemma wanted to be an austronaut actually! right now, a part of them still wishes they had gone trough with this dream. right now, they just wanna be a good spellcaster. the family has high expectations for them, which is very overwhelming at times. 

ughhhh, erwin daydreams about aliens, and more aliens, anddddd more aliens. he also wakes up in a cold sweat when he remembers what he read on reddit about the earth being flat. 

raven’s greatest desire is to have guidry beside her 😩 she also really wants to open a lil coffeeshop with lots of plants 

jace likes both ; kiara LOVES cats ; makoto likes both ; serena is a dog lover all the way, she doesn’t hate cats tho ; mia is afraid of cats, so dogs eheh 

kiara sees herself having children, absolutely. she wants to be a mom eventually! right now she thinks its a bit too soon, but definitely someday 

hmmmm, it depends really! makoto tends to be jealous if there’s a reason to be jealous if that makes sense. he’s not a possessive guy tho, he would talk his concerns with his partner and figure it out. 

it might not seem, but it’s hard for jace to open up. when he open up for kiara, it’s because kiara has gained his trust. they have become very close friends since sulani. it’s not easy to accept or deal with feelings if that makes sense. he is very aware of this ; serena is a very stubborn person. when her mind is set on something, its vveeeeerrrryyyy hard to change her mind, if not impossible. she’s not aware of this fkjfkf everyone tells her and she’s like “this is not being stubborn” ; erwin tends to be a bit too trusting and often gets hurt. he is kind of aware of this, like he knows he trusts people very soon, but he also thinks everyone deserves the trust. 

ugh man i can’t do this, sorry :/ 

fuckfuckfukcufkcufkcufckffkfkf..................... j....a, jakiakonaliomia :) there you go! and no i didn’t cheat. 

oooooffff, might be cliché and say all, but it’s truly all. when i built my characters i made them with a lot of my own personality and experiences in them. so i do relate to all of them for this reason. i think i relate to kiara the most tho. 

i think i’m gonna have to go with this one - x 💖 such a happy moment between all of them