#I really do respect Nora's character writing

[bratprinceofexy]

There's something about the emphasis on friendship on this book that felt so refreshing to me as an aro/ace person. Tsc and aftg to a lesser extent really do end up rejecting amatanormativity in a way I don't think they get enough credit for; perhaps, because most people are here for the romance. But Neil's perspective was profoundly ace in a was that immediately drew me to him, and the book was even more aro than I expected. Of course, Jerejean is happening and it's exciting, but I wasn't expecting the true friendship coming from cat and Laila with Jeremy and Jean. By the end, it felt almost queer platonic in a way that I don't see very often. It was an absolutely resonant experience that I don't get often.

[everydayyoulovemeless]

HC on a modern fallout. Like same characters just in now times.

Like Obvs Nick would still be a PI but what of the others? Would factions be a thing still or would they all have normal jobs?

What of the synths?

Modern Fo4 Headcanons

➼ Word Count » 3.3k ➼ Warnings » Spoilers for many character arcs ➼ Genre » Modern AU ➼ A/N » This took me WAY too long, but I had so many things I wanted to write down and expand on.

COMPANIONS [ these are how I imagine them before meeting Nate and Nora, a random couple who just happens to enter into everyone's lives ]

MacCready grew up as an orphan in Virginia where the older kids raised him. He never got adopted and, while he was thankful for the teens who raised him, there was always a sense of abandonment and negativity that he'd always attach with the state. So, when he turned 18, he hitchhiked to Boston, hoping to find a happier and more fulfilling life. It didn't happen as soon as he'd wanted, however, and he bounced from place to place looking for a stable job. His rugged exterior and immature attitude forced him out of a lot of areas, but there was a group that didn't mind any of that. MacCready was ecstatic when the Gunners first picked him up. They gave him jobs, sure, but they had also given him a group he could identify with in the same way he did with the kids back at the Orphanage. After a year of working with them, MacCready met Lucy. He'd originally planned on robbing her, but her name reminded her too much of the Lucy he'd grown up with, and offered to walk he home instead. When they had gotten to her door she asked him about why he was wearing army pants. He jokingly told her that he was in the military who was currently on leave, which she ended up believing. It surprised MacCready since his Gunners tattoo was visible on his arm, but he found her gullibility to be endearing. After that, the two spent a lot of time together, but right after Duncan was born, she pieced together his association with the gang, left him, and quickly moved into an apartment located in a safer area. Heartbroken and consumed with guilt, he quit the gang for good and worked to better himself and clean up his act so that he could be a part of his son's life, and maybe try his relationship with Lucy once more. He does a few odd jobs here and there but, so far, none of them have stuck.

Once Nick's testing was over, the students at CIT didn't know what to do with him other than to let him roam the campus, so he stuck with what he knew - police work. He'd wander the college as an officer, looking for any job or event that could require his help. At first, he was treated more as a Protectron than an actual member of the force, but that never really bothered him, as long as he was actively making people safer, then he was content. What did bother him, however, was the amount of jury trials he had to be present at for being the product of unethical testing. It always made him feel guilty that he was an unconsented clone of the real Nick Valentine's mind, and if he could, he would've chosen not to be created at all. Knowing the amount of pain his existence had caused an actual person made him feel awful, but he'd rather put that energy into his community over hating himself for something that was out of his control. He never really got over the confusion and sadness he had when he thought about who he was but, over time, many of the students began to treat him as if he were a real person. They'd greet him in the mornings, buy him ties on special occasions, and every once in a while someone would bring him coffee, forgetting that he couldn't drink it. His life slowly changed from him not understanding what his purpose was, to becoming a well-respected member in his field. Even the real Nick grew to appreciate him after he helped to hunt down Eddie when no one else wanted to. His memories of DiMA were still there (as it had only been a 2 or 3 decades compared to 2 centuries), but his brother didn't stay with the school, instead opting to discover himself elsewhere. As soon as he was allowed, he left for Maine and made a name for himself as the first robotic philosopher and occasionally sending letters to Nick.

Cait ran away from home at 15 in an attempt to escape the abuse she received from her parents. Scared, alone, and incredibly fragile, she was an easy target for many others on the streets and was taken advantage of both emotionally and sexually by almost anyone who saw her. As the years went by, the more hardened and angry she had become. Finally able to adapt to her surroundings, she stole, fought, and threatened anyone she could. This led her to be put in many juvenile detention centers and child reformat camps, both of which never helped change her view on the world. Still living on the streets at 18, she went and bought her first gun. She thought of going to visit her parents for a while, wondering if it would make some of the pain she felt go away. On the day she decided she was finally ready to go kill them, she ran into Tommy, a sleazy businessman who was desperate to strike it big in the corporate world. Seeing the potential and opportunity that a young, angry, mistreated girl could present to him, he offered her a deal. If she focused her rage into wrestling and let him be her manager, he'd help her get off the streets and really make a name for herself. She agreed and very quickly became one of the best and most well-known wrestlers in Boston, although, most of the press that covers her is about her attitude and allegation regarding her addictions. She still holds onto that shotgun she bought. It reminds her of what could've been and helps her feel a sense of security. She knows no one will take advantage of her again because she now has the means to ensure of it. She's still waiting for the day her parents beg her to take them back so she can tell them off, but they never did. It hurts her more to know that, even now that she's found success for herself, her parents still don't want her. So, until it kills her, she'll drink and inject herself with whatever she can get her hands on, desperate to numb as many of her thoughts as she can until she passes.

Danse was also made at CIT, although he's much more advanced than Nick is. Almost immediately after being created, he left to go to DC where he met Cutler. Cutler was on the verge of homelessness and pitched his idea of starting a small business to Danse who agreed quickly (he had no other plans). They sold odd things they either built or found for a few years before they were approached by a general in the US Army. He was only browsing, but Danse felt compelled by his stories from when he was in combat. There was something about serving his country and defending the common man that he found to be incredible, and so he and Cutler quit their gig and signed up for the army. There've been robots who've joined the military before, but none who made the decision on their own volition. All the others are Assaultrons and Mr. Gutsy, so having one who willingly wanted to be a part of the cause was astounding to many. Cutler eventually got mortally wounded and Danse, who was clearly devasted, was then assigned to work with Haylen and Rhys out of fear that he'd go haywire or malfunction due to the impact of his friends death, and that's where he's been ever since. The memories he'd been given were vague and slightly foggy, but the army gave him something to identify with and a cause to work for. He was prideful in the work he did and, although there were others, he served to be one of the first instances of a robot showing a willingness to fight for his country.

Ever since he was young, Preston had looked up to those who did right by people. At first, he joined a police academy to be an officer, but after a bystander got caught up in one of the scenes he'd been sent to, he quit, deciding that this wasn't something he was cut out to do. The guilt of not being able to successfully protect an innocent civilian eats away at him, so, in an attempt to make it up to himself, he went into hospice care. At least here he knows the deaths aren't his fault and that all the people he cares for have lived long, fulfilling lives. Currently, he's caring for the long-time addict, Mama Murphy (who still manages to sneak a few pills into the room every now and again). Preston adores her, but every once in a while she'll tell him about a dream she's had where the world had ended and he played a part in rebuilding it. He can't let her describe it for long, though, otherwise she'll start to panic and he'll have to grab her medication to help calm her down, and he hates having to give her drugs. Luckily he knows that she's just and elderly woman suffering from schizophrenia and none of what she says about a war torn world holds any truth. As much trouble as she causes him, Preston isn't sure what he's going to do when she's gone. He only hopes that it doesn't shatter him as much as the bystander incident did.

Codsworth still operates under Sole's roof in taking care of Shaun and the home. Nothing changes with him, however, when he went to drop Shaun off at college for the first time, he met Nick, and the two got along quite well! Whenever he goes to visit Shaun with the family he always makes sure to stop by to chat with the detective.

Piper runs a very controversial newsstand right in the heart of Boston. There are so many authorities and higher-ups whose reputations have been ruined due to her articles, and even with a mob of protestors against her, she still does whatever she wants. She grew up in a smaller town on the outskirts of Massachusetts before she managed to work up enough cash to get herself and Nat to the city, where she could finally begin to look for work to support them both. However, she quickly found that the 'big city' had many issues on its own and, since then, she was dead set on bringing people's attention to them. She doesn't care about the death threats or riots that sometimes occur outside her home. The police know her well enough by now to keep an eye out in her neighborhood. Especially Nick, who met her once while she set up a debate booth on campus and interviewed students for an article she planned on publishing. She's not rich by any means, but she loves her job. And, to her, there's no better feeling than that. She's just praying Nat isn't as prone to controversy as she is.

Curie was placed in a research facility where she helped to test and study different diseases with a group of other doctors before being places in a hospital. She mainly cares for sick children but is reveled to be one of the best doctors as she doesn't need to sleep or take any breaks. She adores her job and never stops working on cures and medicine for her patients. When she heard about the synths being created at CIT, she asked her supervisors if she could swap bodies so she could better fit in with the rest of her coworkers, as well as be able to hold vials and syringes better. They agreed and got her a custom made body for her to subvert her subconscious into. Eventually, when he's older, Shaun will come into her clinic in hopes of having his cancer fully treated, but that'll be years from now when he's in his 70s.

Even though Strong isn't affected by the FEV in this timeline, he still holds that same barbaric and thuggish aura. He's not affiliated with any gangs, but he's no stranger to violence and lives in the part of town where shootings happen the most often. Despite his intimidating stature and hostile disposition, he still frequents the local libraries. More often than he'd care to admit. He loves old literature and has a bit of a soft spot for anyone who likes it too. He claims she's overexaggerating, but Daisy will usually sit and listen to him ramble for hours about the beauty and symbolism littered throughout Shakespeare's plays or Lovecraft's short stories.

Hancock is a well-known politician who is loved as much as he is hated. Ever since Piper outed him for his drug addiction and put into question his validity and dedication to his cause, he's been somewhat of a controversial figure in the political world. Despite it all, he has no ill feelings toward Piper or Publick Occurrences and is constantly hyping it up as a reliable news source. Although he owns quite a bit of cash, he's constantly pouring it into the slums of Boston. Some think this is just a publicity stunt to make up for his occasional violent outbursts (the drugs do a number on him since he's not a ghoul), he does it because he genuinely believes it's right for him to do. Besides, the people are friendlier there. Now his biggest concern is building up his reputation again so he can beat his brother when they run for mayor against one another. Him and his secretary, Fahrenheit, have a lot planned for the city and they'd like to see those ideas become reality as quickly as they can manage.

No one's really sure who Deacon is, and some are cautious of him for it. One thing that is certain about him is that he's a massive history buff, and is almost always in a museum of some kind. His favorite past time is striking up conversation with strangers who probably just want to be left alone while they browse the artifacts displayed, but he doesn't really care. Eventually, he happens to start a conversation with Nate and Nora in the Museum of Freedom and he quickly integrates himself into the couple lives. Him and Barbara like to show up spontaneously on their doorstep with a pack of beers in their hands and grins on their faces, but surely they don't mind.. even if they still have no idea what he does for a living.

X6-88 is another one who doesn't change much. He works as security for CIT along with Nick, and few other courser's, although none of them are as approachable as the detective seems to be. He's very strict about his job and carries it out very well, however, when Shaun eventually begins to attend the college, they sorta hit it off? Not really because either of them are particularly kind to one another, but more so because they like it when people are straight forward, intelligent, and blunt and they both just so happen to be that.

Dogmeat’s a stray that everyone seems to know. Officially, he’s Mama Murphy’s, but most everyone claims him. He appears whenever someone's in distress or wherever his owner's vision take him. He's a mysterious dog with strange motives.

Old Longfellow lives as a fisherman up in Maine. Nothing particularly changes with him, he's still got the same closed off personality that he'd always had. His wife got sick and died and few years back, but his daughter went and became and engineer in a similar area to DiMA. Longfellow thinks DiMA's a kook but his daughter thinks he's a scientific masterpiece and will often ask him questions about his creation or how his mind was built.

Gage grew up around gang violence and quickly learned to steal, lie, and hurt to get the things he wanted. He never really lived in a stable home and mostly just squatted or camped wherever he could. Despite living in poverty, whenever he and his friends managed to scrap together enough money together, they'd hitch a ride to Nuka World and spend the day there. He grew to have a soft spot for the amusement park as he got older, and took up a maintenance job for them (they don't do background checks.. or any skill checks for that matter, but Gage is a quick learner.)

MAJOR FACTIONS + SYNTHS

The synths operate in society along with the other robots of the fallout universe. But, unlike the Protectrons, they can actually hold conversations. Because of that, they normally take on your regular lower-class to lower-middle-class jobs. They don't tend to be rich at all in their lifetimes due to the stigma around treating them exactly like humans. A lot of those opportunities have been stripped away from them for those exact reason. Some of them still manage to find ways around it, but it's a lot harder than how it'd be if they were a regular human. For instance, synths can't start businesses on their own. Many argue that it's because they're just not meant to do anything on their own and that they were created to help humans, but no one can give an argument on how them doing their own thing would harm them either.

The Railroad is the main group that's actively against the stereotypes and discrimination faced by the synths. Although, they've received a lot of backlash for naming themselves after a former anti-slavery group (many don't think it's fair to compare 1800s racism to whether or not bots can work higher-paying jobs), they've still become a huge relief to many synths who are desperate to be treated the same as any other person would.

The Institute is just a college in the modern age. Despite them receiving some backlash from the public about whether or not the practice of creating human-like bots, arguing that it's too 'Frankenstein-like', the students and professors still continue to build and work to make more and more realistic, artificial creatures and beings. Mr. House helps to fund their research as he finds it useful and because he also went their for school.

The Minutemen don't exist. There's no need when you have the police force, the fire department, and properly operating Protectrons active in the community. Most of hose who were a part of this faction have taken up community-centered jobs like farming or social work.

The Brotherhood of Steel continue to exist as the US Military. They're more focused on defending the country than they are preserving technology and the only places you’ll see one is in military bases or along the coast.

MINOR FACTIONS

The Atom Cats (along with Sturges) are a group of young adults who work at the local Harley Davidson. Tuesdays and Thursdays they host poetry night and generally just open the place up as a garage for anyone interested in mechanics or just hanging out with a bunch of strangers.

Raiders and Gunners are just the Bloods and Crips of the modern world. They stick with their own groups and despise anyone from the opposite side of the tracks. Shoot outs and common between them and it's best to not be associated at all if you can help it.

The Children of Atom are a strange and niche group of zealots that migrated from somewhere in Virginia to spread their gospel. No one’s sure who they are or what they want, but they’re attracted to the pollution cities bring and generally advocate for the betterment of the earth.

Ever since DiMA's arrival, Acadia's national park has turned into a debate ground for different thoughts and philosophies. People from all over the world come to visit to talk and discover other points of views. There's even a Atomite Pastor that frequents the area and promotes the newly found religion with those who are willing to listen. A strange place for stranger people.

[hatfordheadquarters]

I just wanted to add my little two cents about the tsc discourse.

I already did in a reblog but I wanted to make my own post about it so here it is :))

I love me some jerejean, looooveee it. love the dynamic, love the fanart, love the fics, love all of it!!

However, i am well aware that it most likely won’t be canon, and i am totally for Renee and Jean.

I don’t understand why people have such a problem with the canon relationships. I feel like this fandom forgets that most of the characters are not canonically queer, or are not in canonically queer relationships. And that’s totally fine.

It’s more realistic to a degree, and those pointing out the fact that if Renee and Jean were a mlm couple people wouldn’t have as much of a problem with it aren’t really wrong.

I love Aaron and Katelyn, I want to see more of the dynamic between Kevin and Thea. These characters are written into straight relationships and just because it doesn’t line up with your ideal doesn’t make them any less real or beneficial.

But that’s the thing about shipping culture and fanon, it’s meant to exist independent from the authors vision.

For example, I don’t like kandriel, I never have. It’s huge in fanon, and I don’t vibe with it. I like the idea of Allison and Kevin together, I think it would fucking hilarious and dramatic. That’s my little headcanon that I can kick my feet to.

In my head Jeremy would have a secret dark side and a complicated/bad family situation, shining brightly regardless, even though canonically he’s probably gonna be the most average guy ever.

The whole point is it’s fun to speculate and read about these things that are just fan created interpretations. It’s fun to divulge in your fantasies and headcanons.

But canon is canon.

Nora wrote this story with a specific vision in mind and as readers who enjoyed her books we need to respect that.

I will read the shit out of tsc and love it because I love these characters and I love this story. I will also continue to read fics and look at art of the non canonical couples like jerejean because I like them.

I can live in both canonical and fanoncial spaces and be happy.

If you can’t to do that without getting up in arms and attacking the author for not writing their own story the way that you would, then don’t read the book. Or learn to live with it.

xoxo

[backgroundagent3]

My Emily Henry Rankings

@brekker-by-brekkerr you asked here if I had a ranking of the Emily Henry books and couples, so after way too long, here's my opinions, along with some really bad explanations. <3 Spoilers ahead!!

Books:

Happy Place. This was the first Emily Henry book I read, and the first book that ever made me cry. Harriet was so relatable, and it was probably my favourite setting out of the four books. The characters were all so interesting, and they had such a great dynamic. I love the found family trope, and she absolutely nailed it.

Book Lovers. I loved the plot so much, and Nora was also so relatable in a different way. I loved how even though she isn't perfect, she doesn't have to change and give up her job to get what she wants. Her relationship with Libby reminded me a lot of me and my sister, which was so nice to read about.

People We Meet On Vacation. I really liked the structure of this book, and I think it made the reveal so much better. I also loved reading about all the places they went to.

Beach Read. I loved this book so much, so the only reason it's ranked in last place is because I somehow loved the other ones even more. The plot felt a little slower, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I only managed to read about 5 minutes a day.

Couples:

These were much easier to rank for some reason.

Nora and Charlie. I just love them so much, I don't even know what to say. I love how they respect each other's choices and make their decisions according to what they want/need, not what the other one wants. I usually really like the quiet, more mature relationships where they know they love each other without needing to shout it from the rooftops.

January and Gus. I though the way they learned to communicate without pushing each other was really sweet, even if it led to some misunderstandings. Enemies to lovers is always great, especially if one if then doesn't even realize they were never actually enemies.

Harriet and Wyn. I was a little annoyed at Wyn for most of the book to be honest, and so frustrated with their miscommunication. That's not to say I didn't like them. I think they were so sweet and had some of my favourite lines.

Poppy and Alex. Again with the terrible communication skills. I get that it's an important trope for the genre and it made sense in this book, but I'm a very impatient person. I did love how well they know and understand each other, but I think I preferred the scenes when they were just friends.

I'm also going to do main characters, because why not:

Nora Stephens.

Harriet Kilpatrick.

January Andrews.

Poppy Wright.

The reasoning here is purely relatability. I can see a bit of myself in all four of them, but some more than others. As I was writing this I realised the ones at the top I find relatable because of more negative things, like my insecurities, or qualities I have that I don't like. I share a lot of qualities with the ones at the bottom, but at the end of the day, I like reading about people who share my struggles and doubts because it's comforting to know I'm not alone. I don't know if this makes any sense, but it was very interesting in my head.

So anyways, these are my opinions. How would you rank them?

[teatimeatwinterpalace]

Like it or not, the one who saved and modernized the monarchy was King George V, not king Edward VII, and this is an undisputed fact that all historians would agree with. After all, It was during the reign of King George V that 13 European Monarchies crumbled to the ground while the british monarchy survived. And it survived because of George V, because of his leadership, his modern statesmanship, his will to embrace and encourage changes, his popularity and the respect that his nation had for him, while he led his country to victory during WW1. He was the FIRST Monarch that brought monarchy close to people, hence why he was nicknamed the People's Monarch or the Citizen Monarch. George reigned during the most difficult times in the history of monarchy and of mankind, but he managed to save his monarchy and to modernize it, setting the path for a Constitutional Modern Monarch*. Your bias cannot change it, because facts dont give a damn about your opinions. A pity that you cannot uplift Edward VII without bringing George down. George wasnt dull, he was quite the character. He was genuine, funny, reproachable, a lover of books and cinema, and most importantly he was a SERIOUS LEADER, who acted exactly as a modern head of state is suppsed to act. Oh and he was a FAITHFUL Husband, he was devoted to his wife and loyal to her throughout their entire marriage. Something that can never be said of Edward VII who was unfaithful and over-indulgent in everything ( Im sure his mistresses would have preferred Handsome George though). If being faithful and family-oriented makes a man dull, than give me dull everyday. Queen Alexandra would've been happy to have married a man like George who never embarrassed and humiliated his wife

Oh my, where does this come from? lmao. Tbh, I deserve this kind of message when it's about Wilhelm. I'm totally biased regarding this rascally young fop (Alexander III said it first!). Badmouthing him is one of my favourite pastime. But George, come on! I never been too harsh with him? EXCEPT, perhaps, when it comes down to the Romanovs, but what can I say? When you don't have a backbone, you really don't…

Yet, I'm a tad puzzled by your message because we are talking about George V right? The one who in April 1905 hadn't seen his children for three months. The one who used to shout at his second son "Get it out" when the poor soul was suffering from stammer. The one who in 1917, while on a stroll in the grounds of Sandringham complained to Nora Wigram that his children always avoided him. Nora retelling this story in one of her letters to her parents said how Mary, David and Bertie became "quite cheerful & entirely flippant, writing their names in the snow" when George and Mary had gone home on said stroll. However, do you know who was ACTUALLY a good father? his cousin *whispering* Nicky.

Faithful yes but let me remind you that their marriage was far from smooth sailing. They lived seperately for months on end. You also must have forgotten the countless letters from George trying to apologise for shutting down, being rude or cold towards May. + May's letters complaining on how he would shut her out. The man was unable to articulate his feelings which led to endless misunderstanding. May who once wrote to George while in Paris : "I quite understand about yr not wishing to come to Paris & am not angry, I only thought it wd be nice change as I find life in general very dull- unless one has a change sometimes." She had wanted him to join her but had received a rebuff instead. May who wrote to his brother in 1900 while she was stuck in the gloomy York Cottage: "It is so dull here & I feel very low & depressed tho' Im pretty well on the whole" (alright she was pregnant at that time, but guess where George was?… out shooting birds).

Led his country to victory during WW1? Hmmm, you really mean George V who was described in 1918 by the Viscount Esher in those terms: "he seems virtually a recluse, steadily devoting himself to good purposes and little works of a good kind, but with not conspicuousness, no assertiveness of the King's position." / "making himself a nonentity" ? While May wrote on 19 november 1916 to her son David about the hospital visits: "They are "assomant" (tiresome) & I dislike them more than words can describe!" and then proceeded to explain how much she enjoyed her shopping trips at Goode's.

I'm teasing because OF COURSE I think George V was a good ruler and perhaps he was the kind of ruler the country needed at that time. He was a great arbitrator and was able to adapt and change despite having conservative views and being very much uneducated. How he dealt with the Irish question is a stellar example! He was an ordinary man who disliked society and suffered from bouts of depression. There is a sentence that struck me in Ridley's book which in my opinion sums up George : "He was a man of disconnected feelings".

I could write PAGES about Bertie's shortcomings and how his shenanigans damaged the monarchy. Yet he was a gifted ruler, very much in tune with his time.

So I guess anon, it comes down to... preference. If you are more into shooting birds and collecting stamps, you do you! I, on the contrary, have a soft spot for cosmopolitan kings with a string of scandals.

Now if you'd excuse me, I'm off painting the town red with Bertie!

[codename-adler]

My 2 niche aftg takes are that I love and accept Nora’s extra content, just because they don’t get married or say I love u or any of that stuff, doesn’t mean they are not healing and that they can never truly be healed without those things, it’s just that those are not important to them and that’s valid, their happy ending doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s (I also love and accept Nora’s writing, not a fan of when everyone jokingly bashes her books as if she didn’t capture all our hearts, art is meant to make you feel, and she succeeded in that a lot more than a lot of other ‘good’ writing)

Number two is that I’m not a fan of a lot of the fanon characterisation of Andrew and Neil, I know it’s par for the course in queer media that a fandom will feminise one character and masculinise the other (and make one the ‘bottom’ and one the ‘top’ respectively) , and I even expected it, obviously that’s weird in itself but that’s not even the part that bothers me that much since I knew it would happen, the part that does is that they clearly have done it the wrong way round, because like, if any one of those boys is going to wear a skirt, it’s Andrew, he’s the one that likes fashion and might decide to experiment, not Neil. If anyone is a ‘submissive’ it’s Andrew, the way he acts in the books, he literally does anything neil wants to make him happy, and if anyone gives top energy, it’s Neil josten, and I know this is silly but I guess it made the whole thing a lot more jarring for me when I went on to read fanfic and it felt even more ooc than it usually would. Anyway that’s all.

that damn extra content... Okay. i have barely read any of it.

i've read Wymack's story / Dan's recruitment; me likes. i just love that man. nora knows how to build her men.

i've read Jean's drafts and his abuse at the Nest; me hates. the SA just thrown in there for what? Riko's already dead, it's pointless to further villainize him when the series is over. i hate SA as an afterthought, something that gives character, something being used as a plot device. with the announcement of TSC however? we'll see...

i've read Allison's future; me irks. see previous ask.

andreil stuff, i've read about here and there but not directly from the source; some me laughs, some me don't care. that's literally it. i don't give it much, if any, thought at all.

i've heard of Renee's future in the peace corps and marrying a man; me ew ew ew. she is so queer-coded it's baffling how that was achieved with Renee/Jean in mind. and the peace corps?? that toxic american white savior bullshit?? baby no. there are much better religious orgs and rep out there.

the rest is mystery to me. i'm cumulating more and more reasons to thoroughly read through the EC, but it's not like... an urge. i'll get to it when i get to it. i appreciate nora sakavic for writing it, but also for not pushing it everywhere. she doesn't mind whether one considers it canon or not. i really, really appreciate that of her. SO DO NOT COME FOR HER AND HER WRITING. aftg is GOOD. it was never badly written. it's just so out of left field that it is difficult not to be made to feel ashamed for liking the series by mainstream lit and lit. corps. honestly give me a work of literature that has had a stronger grip on its readers than aftg and that you consider being 'well-written' in comparison. i will never, ever say it's bad. because it isn't. i will not be taking any question.

as for the second part of this ask... i am uncomfortable discussing sexual fanon content, and i simply do not read that kind of stuff very often, again because it's not for me, so i won't be able to add to this. perhaps other mutuals can reach out to you on this?

thank you for your contribution @doctorwhomybae and sorry for the tardiness!

[mellowwhumps]

MELLO!!! in regards to what you said about haley being your favorite to put into Situations.

what are some of you favorite situations you put that skrunkly in?? i need to know more about him he so silly and special to me

HIII HELLOO i’m not very good at explaining it’s all in my head for the most part LMAOO,,, i’ll try though so long post ahead

for the most part i use haley to try out different tropes so it’s just anything tbh!!! both physical and emotional whump this guy gets it all... mainly i enjoy putting him in interactions and Situations with other characters because the main problem with this guy is that he simply cannot open up and is constantly being dealt a questionable hand in life (could even say he was born unlucky since fun fact! he’s from the destroyed city in twelve and verrill’s main storyline. though that’s not relevant)

so i think the best approach would be to further summarize his dynamics with some others!! because i think it would be more helpful to one day do a fully written work rather than summarizing the things i already want to write + i am indecisive and cannot pick favourites so why not. all

else, in which i get majorly sidetracked from your ask:

halcyon - essentially, they’re kinda like a really tense sort of brother-sister r/s because for one, haley did murder half her men in the war that broke out between their two homes. but!! while she’s trying her best to try and get closer to him and ask him to open up, he’s so conditioned to doing just the opposite and resisting. however, he does respect her as a person and they are both mutually beneficial minus the dubious mental health part !! she helps him, he helps her in return

another situation that kind of just. happens is one that occurs with her quote-on-quote girlfriend (nora) because my god would she absolutely disagree with him even if halcyon agrees, simply because she doesn’t believe haley should be forgiven for causing major injuries to halcyon, no matter how much halcyon just wants to reconcile and put the past over with. and then after that haley’s r/s with her ends up benefitting her and halcyon’s r/s in return

ria - something something he wants to give her a better childhood because he never experienced that… they are very much reliant on each other and are each other’s savior. ria, who admittedly has attachments to him much closer than he’d like, is constantly trying to help as much as she can while dealing with her generally rowdy and impulsive self, contrasting with haley’s closed-off persona. they both have that lingering fight-or-flight response but man do they subtly care so much about each other…theme of home is so strong on this one

elowen - while all the other dynamics previously mentioned are mutually beneficial, this one doesn’t particularly fall into that category!! not a math geek but they’re very much like a graph to the asymptote; they cannot fully understand each other. no matter how close haley gets to him, he always falls a little bit too far. one stagnant and stationary, the other trying too hard to ask questions. they love like a person’s reflection in the water, love like a dog to its owner; handler to weapon, father to son. but they do love each other. that will always be how it is <3

my story focuses on the after, so it’s mostly haley dealing with faded memories of that past with elowen as well as his feelings, because a “person” cannot possibly let go of something in a day or month. he has to deal with the actions that caused elowen to be deceased, because he caused it firsthand, he caused it and doesn’t regret it at all. that four letter word runs more deeper than it should, to reasons and all things human.

and of course, as a bonus, himself !!

he does not hate himself. he hates the things he’s done. he hates the things he could do. but the him of the present, he accepts because ‘this is how it is, this is how it is going to be’. the theme that is always present in any of his works is the theme of fate, the one thing he can neither fight off nor decline. because of this, he blames himself for not being able to change anything, just like he failed to stop the war, just like he failed to avoid injuries, just like he failed. he cannot see himself as a person because of his actions, despite his actions proving the exact otherwise. to be contradictory is to be human.

that’s it for the current canon relationships for the main universe he’s in! but unfortunately!! he has a ton of aus because there are too many ideas rotating in my head!! i love exploring dynamics with characters who have realistically never met so here i will once again focus on the main AU i write with my friend!!!! (his role in here is much different from the original, to clarify) 

twelve (AU-exclusive) - empathetic lil guy (gender neutral) and absolutely knows what’s up with him. haley enjoys their company a lot, and so do they, since first impressions are much more important than they seem. both of their themes include a longing to be normal, so then why not be abnormal together, yknow? i don’t have too much about them together (though i might develop on this) however, it’s their arrival that impacts haley’s relationships with others

verrill (AU-exclusive ) - platonic relationships ftw. friendly banter, annoyances and mutual support, but deep down they will always have issues neither are willing to talk about. this is very much doomed but for now they are very good friends. they get whumped together every once in a while. they also get whumped alone every once in a while. sure they can play pretend for a little longer

(silly little thing i did at some point) (it is not romantic!! there just aren’t platonic r/s sheets to fill that would describe them well…)

and twelve joins the both of them together because verrill is twelve’s caretaker as always, and also their translator!! i think they deserve credit too because previously 

1) haley and verrill had zero interest in each other 2)twelve Did Not Like verrill 3) twelve kinda screwed up haley’s relationship with certain other members before verrill took them in and 4) highly questionable backstories so!! all three of their dynamics are deeply interwined and if any one of them were to get into trouble the other two have no intention of giving up (such a shame! <3)

elowen (AU) - i think this too deserves an extra section because he is vastly different in here as i’ve mentioned before (and also alive i think that’s a very important fact and makes ALL the difference). to explain this i will not be talking about their relationship directly, but instead other dynamics that have led to such a relationship: (of course, all the dynamics below are AU-exclusive)

elowen & naeri - naeri is the catalyst of this story! without her absolutely nothing would have happened, they would have all gone about normally and elowen would be much more similar to the original universe. elowen overturns his old life to escape from the lab he works in simply because he got Attachments for her and it spiralled. and then, because there will obviously be something that goes wrong, he is unable to save her. so, he starts the syndicate all these characters work for and meets haley.

but he cannot let go. he cannot let go, because there is no medium for him to do so, nobody he can tell, because what he saw was nothing short of unbelievable nor does he have any decent relations with anyone else. when he looks at haley, long since matured under his care, he sees nothing but that child of his past, the one thing tethering him from moving forward. years pass, he lets go a little bit more. tiny bit. but when all that was buried away, enter:

elowen, to haley & caius - it repeats. of course it was going to repeat; an endless cycle. the place he escaped wasn’t gone, it never was. he didn’t manage to change anything there. doesn’t help that the one chasing after caius was the exact person he wanted to avoid. they’re coming for the place he played a part in and ruining everything he strived to work for. so no, of course he doesn’t support haley’s choice, has already seen the predetermined outcome with his own two eyes. 

it doesn’t happen.

the only way out is forward, into the light. secrets trail from his shadow; scattered truths appear. it’s a start, and he’s had enough of running from haley and anyone else he ever cared for, full stop.

alright!! elowen’s section is FINALLY finished thank god. here are some old works relating to them i suppose

the main syndicate members and twelve - final part!!! i originally wasn’t going to add this but i think this is a good conclusion and also an actual named scenario so i do answer your question semi-properly ksjhfdkjhfs

as i’ve mentioned, the decision to let twelve join was absolutely not easy in the slightest. so here it is in semi-decent detail !!!

verrill proposes making self-sacrifices (which is very much uncommon to someone like him) in order to accept twelve into the team. elowen is much too logical to accept something that would bring negligible advantage to the syndicate, and even though he suggested offers it was only the bare minimum of offering shelter. halcyon, though understanding both sides, opts to be the tiebreaker and chooses elowen’s side because she takes into consideration their current plight of lack of resources, no matter how guilty she feels. 

at this point in time, haley, who had originally chosen to abstain from voting, is the only one who doesn’t view twelve as an asset. twelve, who doesn’t understand anything that’s going on without a translator, is quite visibly conflicted, confused and panicked. he sees it. he points it out, and casts his own proposition to support everyone’s stand, and nora who previously abstained from voting agrees with him. he gets the support of the majority and twelve is let into the syndicate.

in the end, all four other members change their viewpoints. verrill treats twelve as a brother rather than something to be used, halcyon learns to choose from her heart once in a while, elowen understands that people have other uses other than simply being useful and nora recognizes that things don’t go differently if no action is taken. unlike the original universe that deals in fate, this story deals in destiny and the act of changing + moving forward, centering around none other than haley himself. but changing also causes problems, and now everyone’s a little more tense after the choice, and this tension carries over to the start of the AU’s main timeline.

so yes! character interactions are my favourite Situation

this was fun to do!!! thank uu for the ask i love talking about ocs they r also very silly and special to me💥 ask questions or smt if you need because i am very incomprehensible at times

[mermaidsirennikita]

People are ridiculously entitled and it’s genuinely so disheartening. Books are someone’s ART. You don’t just get to alter a name in someone else’s creative work. (I’m appalled people out there think this is remotely acceptable - writers are not court jesters nor do they exist to please everyone - no human being nor their creative work does, in fact!) Thanks for putting your various responses out there! Here’s hoping people learn to respect and appreciate artists and creators once again

Quoth Nora Roberts:

I am not here to be a slave to certain reader’s wants, needs, whims. Again, I write what I write, and these are MY characters, in my books. Not yours. They are yours to enjoy or not, but they belong to me, they come from me...

You don’t have to agree, but I’m not writing for your particular point of view. Again, I’ve explained my reasons for this. I won’t do so again. My characters, my books, my decision. If you want something else, read something else.

And yes, I said that, too. Blast away, it changes nothing. I am not obliged to meet an individual’s demands.

So.

First off:

If you're really super chill about the idea of being able to change what writers write just because you didn't like a detail you think is small and irrelevant, I would sincerely encourage you to read La Nora's full thoughts on similar issues... and yeah, I'm gonna equate something as "small" as a name with what Nora's talking about here. Because it is ALL the author's domain. I've never personally subscribed to the idea that a work "isn't yours anymore" once it's out in the world. The way people interpret and interact with it isn't yours, sure. But it's still your creation, and you should be the only person with control over the content.

... and sometimes, I, as a reader, don't like what authors do with their content. I get it. I don't like that Lisa Kleypas edited her work years after publishing it, because I'm big on the "own what you wrote originally even if it's uncomfy" train... (for the most part--editing the fetishization of Cam and Kev would've made sense to me). And I don't think there's anything wrong with readers pointing out problematic shit in a writer's work, offering critique in an open forum, as Smart Bitches, Trashy books did when reading Hello, Stranger, which I speculate may have prompted some of Lisa's edits.

But! I can't say that it would ever be my right as a reader to, say, use future technology to tell my reading device "edit out the times Cam says shit that reads super fetishized". It's just kind of repellent to me to imagine rewriting someone's work in any way without their permission. Fuck, I don't even like the idea of estates releasing sequels or revised versions of books unless the author indicated that such was in their wishes in their will. (See: the TWO official Gone with the Wind sequels/prequels/whatever authorized by Margaret Mitchell's estate.)

We, as readers, have our lanes. The writers have theirs. And sometimes, as writers, they do tiny things or BIG things in their lanes that we dislike. (I love Tiffany Reisz's Original Sinners series, for the most part. I really, REALLY hate the most recent book in the series. HATE. IT. But the only thing I can do about that shit is just pretend that book never happened, which I actually can fairly efficiently because I do in fact control what my brain does. Or, seek out books that give me what that series didn't with that most recent book. Sierra Simone's do a bangin' job.) But you know... Not only do I not think it is safe for me to merge into their lane... I don't want writers to feel like they have to submit to demand and give away pieces of their work in order to keep selling.

(And honestly? For the vast majority, I don't think it would make enough of a difference anyway--writers are often sold bills of goods with new strategies or tech. "This will change the way you sell books". Most writers won't ever be able to write full time anyway, and I find the way that this fantasy that you'll be able to do otherwise with THIS TECH optimizing your writing time, or THIS SUBSCRIPTION increasing the eyeballs that will see your book... Scammy. Not all of it's bad! But the selling strategy that you'll make more money... If you're selling on KU, if five extra people buy your book you're still making pennies, so it's gotta be more than one thing that converges to create the sale, and a lot of that, I gotta say, is word of mouth and people just LIKING YOUR SHIT. And I'd argue that they're more likely to like your shit if you're invested as a writer.)

Second:

No need to thank me! I honestly think that the majority of readers do appreciate what writers do (or don't feel either way about it and just read like people have always read lol) but I don't know. I can't really tell what it is--the sort of "fandom" that's been created around books (and like, author fan clubs and such have always existed, but obviously the accessibility is so different), new tech developing very rapidly when for centuries books were relatively stagnant technologically speaking, the fanficification of EVERY type of media it feels like... But the sense of entitlement that certain readers feel does seem to have grown. Or maybe it's simply become more visible. I mean, Nora Roberts has from the dawn of her writing career taken off had fans that can communicate with her, and I'm sure many have written letters like "Go give these characters a baby :(".

My biggest thing is always going to be this: some books ain't gonna be for you. There are books that sound so Caroline. I read them, and for whatever reason--writing style, one character choice, something ephemeral I can't name--they aren't. Everyone else loves these books. I'd love to love these books. I'd love to discuss these books. I'm not in the party. And that's FINE. Not every party is going to be a party I'm down for! One of my best friends loooooves Tessa Bailey and Tessa-like contemporaries. Tessa, by and large, doesn't work for me. So my friend and I can't discuss a lot of books in depth. Do I wish historicals worked for her so that I could nerd out with her? Sure! But I can't make something that doesn't work for her work for her, and I can't make Tessa's books work for me.

And I know that people will be like "it's just a name bitch", but... it's a slippery slope to me, just like ALL of AI and AI-related tech has been a slippery slope. Like, y'all said AI wasn't gonna be a big deal and would just make things easier, and people are now selling AI-written books under their names. Everyone said that authors would have control over how AI interacted with their books, and books are being scraped for AI on the daily.

I do not want anyone to have final control over what is and isn't in a book but the person who wrote the book. I do not want writers to feel like they need to cede any amount of control over the copy in that book over to readers in order to succeed.

And I honestly think it would be a lot healthier for everyone involved if we as readers (viewers, general audiences) just accepted that we don't get everything we want, and creatives are not here to dance to our tune. They are people, and they want to tell the stories they want to tell. Your power? Is in your dollar. If you don't like that shit, don't buy it. If you don't want to support it... don't! Fuck, if you want to talk shit on the internet about how the most recent book in the series was absolutely not for you, that's your right, too.

I don't want you fucking with a single word on the page, though. Feel free to go write your own shit--prosper! But that part of what Nora said that rings true to me most is "they come from me". These books come from writers. You have them because of those writers. So, I don't know, dude. Just take what's there, and if you dislike it, spit it out and move on to the thing you will like. Authors aren't churn factories to produce what you want, and ROMANCE as a genre, however commercial it is and however much it does have that One Rule that defines it as a genre... Is still something that writers should be allowed to experiment with. That's the work writers put in. The work readers put in? Finding shit that works for us. And I'm telling you... With a little practice, it ain't hard. How do y'all think I have all these books to recommend? Lmao

[welcometololaland]

Do you have any advice for writing rivals to lovers?

Thank you so much for asking me this! I never knew people were interested in my writing "technique" (I put that in quotations because most of the time I don't know what the fuck I'm doing), but I'm flattered and I'm very eager to help anyone with what personally works for me, if the people are interested!

I think I would caveat this answer by saying that I don't usually write true enemies to lovers, more rivals to lovers or adversaries to lovers/not-quite-enemies-but-almost to lovers. I mean Alex and Henry I wouldn't classify as true enemies - more like mutual antagonists to lovers - that's very much my niche. I think the job becomes a lot harder if one character has clearly been a massive asshole to the other - I don't really do much of that! But as far as mutual antagonists go...please see below lol.

I think the #1 thing that makes a fic/story like this is PACING. believable pacing is so key. the "detente", the softening, the "oh" moment can't come too soon. I think I love the rivals/almost-enemies trope so much because it allows for a true journey. A mutual exploration by each character of the other - seeing that perhaps their initial judgements and beliefs about that character were incorrect, that the character is likeable (indeed, loveable!) and that maybe (against their first impression) they find that person attractive! SHOCK! Along the way, both your characters can experience significant personal development.

The easiest way for me to slow the pacing/build a believeable softening is to put the characters in various Situations with a lot of dialogue. Make those fuckers talk to each other. Make them argue! Make them snarky! Build the banter! Have one of them find that they actually maybe agree with the other (even though they WONT admit it) OR that they find the other funny. The best part of rivals to lovers/enemies to lovers is the spark connected to the arguing and the banter. I won't be swayed on this belief lol.

Other tips:

1. Know where you want the "oh" moment to fit, and spend a lot of time describing that moment for the POV character.

2. Make the situations a little ridiculous. Stuck in the elevator is a classic. Same goes for a storage closet, but it could be ANYWHERE. They're stuck in a common situation and they need to work with each other to cope with it/get out of it.

3. Everyone loves the "it's unfortunate they're so ATTRACTIVE" angle 👀👀👀.

4. Not necessary but my personal favourite: a side character be a little shit about it (see: Nora from RWRB).

5. Speaking of side characters, make sure you make your POV character spend enough time with side characters. This helps with the pacing and can be invaluable for signposting to the reader.

6. If one character is a stubborn little prick, make sure you develop their character as you develop the relationship. no one wants to root for an asshole, and no one wants the other character to end up in a shit relationship. Remember that the two characters need to BUILD TRUST AND RESPECT with each other. This is PARTICULARLY where it's a true enemies to lovers. You need to make sure you sensitively resolve the enemies part otherwise the reader will be like...why did they end up together again?

7. Make sure the reason for mutual antagonism is believeable, and that you adequately expand on this so the reader is aware of it (even if it reveals itself over time).

I hope this is helpful! Again, I'm no expert. It's just what works for me 💜

[jeanmoreaux]

literally yes to all i could not fall asleep either 😭

i think what's so bRILLIANT about tsc (besides, like, everything) is that nora seemed really nervous that her vision for the story and characters would get swallowed by the HCs the fans have been cooking for years, and while that still could happen in book 2, i felt like while i was reading it her vision was my vision - like i am positive we as fans have influenced her story and maybe jerejean won't turn into anything (i'll eat my arm fr) but that bitch at the very least was like "okay sure fine i'll give you mutual attraction" "i'll give you jerejean friendship and intimacy even if i may not give you sex or romance (just yet)"

and i think the other thing i was so overjoyed about was that even though the og AFTG is definitely (clearly) very queer, nora really stepped up and took it to a whole new level in this one with both the representation and just the overall tone - that like not only are a lot (all????) of the trojans open and together and so incredibly gay, but they're shaping the story and jean and making it less shameful to be gay in exy. like og aftg spent a lot of time being like "don't be gay! this is bad! you can't do this!" and while jean still harbors that (for his own fucked up reasons i'm gonna kms) it's obvious that the tone for this book is so much brighter and gayer.

and! the parallels between neil's story and jean's!!! like obviously we could write essays on that topic alone but in conjunction with that point i just made - seeing the similarities between the house taking in jean and the foxes taking in neil (his lack of possessions, their protectiveness, their attempts to normalize him, their creation of a safe space for him) literally made me want to gouge my eyes out it was so beautiful and sweet and fun and QUEER. like aftg always had aroace undertones and such a huge part of the aro/ace experience is friendship and queer friendship at that and so to get to see this kind of found family play out AGAIN but in a slightly different way with a whole group of gays who are out and proud and happy is just......everything

like it's not that i was *worried* persay because i do trust nora but you never know what you're gonna get with spin-off sequels and this fandom is like a rabid dog and so for her to bravely return to this world after years is amazing in itself but to do it in a way that is.......dare i say.......almost......better than the original.......it blows my mind. and it makes me appreciate the original series in new ways now that we'll have more info on the ravens and all of their bullshit. like i literally am sitting here being like....so....series reread tn queen????

if i wasn't insane before (i was) then i sure as hell am now

~

also. can we talk about jeremy's cheesy af dialogue that makes me squeal? thinking about him saying hecka with his full chest....i love that man

holding hands 🤝✨ felt alive yet so dead once i was done.

also what a glorious ask. i can co-sign all of this and i don’t think i have anything to say that adds value to your points. you’re so right.

nora is so brave for letting us back into that world. because as much as i love and adore this fandom’s passion, it can be intense is a quite negative way at times. so yes, nothing but respect for nora coming back and giving us Her version of the story. the small nods to us (blond jeremy, frosted tips, the cardboard dog etc.) were so very endearing. and i don’t want her to betray her integrity just for the sake of fanservice. i trust her to deliver a great story, even when some of the things i might want to happen will not end up being anything (e.g. jerejean). nora’s vision will feel right because whatever she decides to do and wherever she decides to take this story i know will make sense. it’s very funny to me that you mentioned how you think tsc might be better than the original because i had the same thought. i am hesitant to really settle on it one way or the other yet; mainly because i tend to get very excited about new, shiny things, but also because we don’t have book 2 yet and i think to really Know i have to consider the story as a whole. but you can definitely see that nora improved as a writer in general (which ofc makes sense.)

i fear this will remain THEE aftg year for me. i am already tempted to reread. i don’t think i’ll know a moment of peace from this story in the foreseeable future but i am not gonna complain i’ll just lean into it and indulge.

~

godddd i expected to love jeremy but i didn’t expect to fall for him this hard. several time i caught myself studying his way of engaging with people and made some mental notes. he’s so special to me. i think once we get his backstory it will get even worse. and he does offer a very different perspective and attitude that’s so very refreshing while still being in tune with what we are used to.

[rudikawhy]

I've finished Book Lovers by Emily Henry.

☆☆☆☆½

Short version: I loved it, I would recommend.

▪︎▪︎▪︎SPOILERS▪︎▪︎▪︎

I did like it very much from the beginning on, but as soon as Nora walked through Sunshine Falls, I loved it.

For the most part, Libby was my favourite character. I can't really say why, but something about her really spoke to me. When she started to keep obvious secrets from Nora, it frustrated me (probably not as much as Nora but quite). Luckily, that 'problem' solved itself after some time, and I'm glad it got solved that way, because I would have hated it if Libby and Brandon got divorced. I didn't learn too much about Brandon, but I liked him a lot, even if it was just for the fact that he loved Libby and she loved him, and that he was so close with Nora. And of course I loved Libby for loving her sister so much. That they were so close, cared for each other, for each other lives, each other dreams (problem was that they weren't always communicated).

Unlike Nora, I liked Charlie from the beginning. Of course, I knew that he'd reappear in the story later on, but even without that information I could sympathize with him. I just felt that the way Nora met him wasn't his true personality, that there was more to the story (which was true).

Sometimes it was a little too predictable what would happen, especially in the first week. I (almost) always knew when she would run into Charlie (I didn't mind). But most of the times, it was connected with a plot twist. I thought that Charlie would be another customer in the book shop, I didn't expect him to work there (to name an example that I remember off the top of my mind).

And although I did appreciate it very much, it was noticeable, how he always did and said the right thing. And to say it in Jemma Simmons' words: "Stop. Just stop trying to do all the right things. It's too much." I'm really complaining, of course, I was happy that this relationship could happen without a major fight on the pages. And I did love Charlie for always saying and doing the right things, for respecting Nora and her boundaries. This I realized completely, when he told Nora, that he would bring her home if that's what she wants. But if she wants to stay and wake up screaming, that's okay, too. And if she wants to stay and changes her mind in the middle of the night, that's okay, too, then he would bring her home at 4 am.

I can't talk about every single moment that made me love Charlie, so I'll stop.

About Nora. I didn't like her too much until about half way through (maybe a little bit earlier). I think it was when she decided that she is NOT Nadine Winters and started to act in a way to proof it, that I started to like her (I didn't hate her before). Also, I loved the relationship between her and Bea and Tala.

I need to say it. The moment it was clear that Libby and her family would move there, I sort of knew that Libby would take over the book shop. Or at least I assumed. She had to much fun saving the shop and she was really passionate about it, it would be absurd if it wasn't at least discussed.

Also the moment, Nora said she was on her way to Freeman Books on December 12 at 12:12 pm, I knew, I just knew that Charlie would be there (I didn't expect him to be Libby's present).

There is so much more I could talk about, but these are the things I definitely wanted to say. Characters are the most important part of a book (or movie or show or anything) to me, so that was the most important thing I wanted to talk about.

I really did love this book and I'll probably read more of Emily Henry's books in the future. Not immediately, because there are other books waiting on my tbr list, but I definitely like her writing style and enjoyed reading.

Thank you, @backgroundagent3, for talking about Emily Henry and making me curious. (At some point I probably will watch Bridgerton because of you)

[chaikachi]

Since the writing team simply refuses to have Oscar meaningfully interact with most of the main cast besides Ruby and Jaune (for now, at least) smh smh, what sort of dynamic and relationships do you think Oscar would have with WBY? Pine boy deserves more justice!

Ohhhh v good questions!! Basing off their respective characters and what few interactions he has had with them, it's still tricky to say, but I'll do my best. DISCLAIMER: RG GLASSES ARE ON FOR THIS, I AM VERY SORRY. IF YOU WANTED AN UNBIASED APPROACH YOU CAME TO THE WRONG PLACE 😭

Both him and Blake are fairly quiet and more introspective members of the group. I think if they had any sort of relationship they'd probably talk to each other about their shared love of books and stories. I do think it would be fun if Blake teased him a little bit like she started doing with Ruby in v8, although Yang is doing a good job of that on her own. My guess for their dynamic is dependent on where Blake's character goes from here though, which is yet to be seen.

As for Weiss... She seems to care about him a lot! And Oscar got super happy when she agreed to go to the movies with him and Jaune. It's hard to say what their 1-on-1 dynamic will be. Honestly i picture it being a bit like Oscar's existing dynamics with Jaune or Nora after the comic relief treatment Weiss got for all of v9. But it's also hard to say, I wish I could come up with more than that. :(

Lastly Yang... honestly she's the one I have the most hopes for future interactions. We've seen so far that their dynamic is a bit goofy with Yang teasing him lots, but she cares about him a whole bunch too. Very much living up to big sister energy imo. She also seems very aware of how close him and Ruby are with how often she brings him up when talking to her sister (Ex: Yang being the one to first call Ruby when Oscar went missing in v6, asking her how Oscar felt about lying to Ironwood, emphasizing that they brought Oscar back from Salem when trying to cheer Ruby up, etc.)

I think I'd really like to see a heart to heart between Oscar and Yang in the future. Not as much as a Ruby and Oscar or Ruby and Yang conversation, but Yang expressed a lot of frustration, hurt, and confusion after Ruby snapped. She doesn't understand why her sister hasn't spoken to her or the rest of their team about her struggles... but Ruby did speak to Oscar about them at one point. We've also been given direct parallels back to back of how Yang and Oscar both approach Ruby differently about the same issue. And I think there's a lot to explore there.

As much as I would love to look at this question as exclusively about Oscar + one other person, with no exterior influences, I really can't. When I think of the canon narratives around all these characters, it really skews my read on what to expect in the future.

During v9, we see WBY being setup to be more mindful of Ruby and her struggles in the future... compared to Oscar who has always paid attention to those things. And how any dynamic that mixes those two sides together could lead to Oscar and WBY learning to take better care of their Ruby together.

Also, while we don't get a lot of other relationship focus for Oscar outside of what's absolutely necessary for the story (curse you limited budgets), it is worth noting that Oscar is very often included in team RWBY meetings/arcs where the rest of JNR is not.

Look at our little deuteragonist go. I don't feel like I answered these questions well but I don't know what else to say ahh i'm sorry but thank you for listening😫

[tommysparker]

one person asked me to share my thoughts on the Red White & Royal Blue movie and that’s all i need so here you go! spoilers below

Okay so let’s start with the things I did like:

Taylor and Nick had AMAZING chemistry. They did a fantastic job with what they were given and I can genuinely envision them as the book characters. All the cast did a great job.

The scene with Alex and Ellen was so heart touching. As a queer person who’s come out to their parent and not been accepted, I almost started bawling when I saw Ellen holding Alex on the couch and telling him how much she loves and accepts him. It was a beautiful thing to see and I’m so happy we have more of that kind of representation in media; a safe space to come out and be yourself. Also Ellen’s knowledge of all the different labels in the community and her saying “The B in LGBT isn’t silent” is super empowering.

On that note, Alex’s speech at the end about privacy and how it’s your choice to come out (if you want to come out). Again, a very important message for people to hear and understand. Seeing the effects of being outed hopefully will open people’s eyes and we’ll see less pressure for people to come out or label themselves. And also hopefully people will stop butting into celebs lives in general.

To end the short list of things I liked: the bit with the phone calls was done in a clever way. I thought it was pretty cool, although it felt too much like walmart Heartstopper.

Now, on to everything I didn’t like about this movie

The writing was SO. FREAKING. LAZY. 90% of the movie is exposition. All tell no show. They pretty much only payed attention to the sex scenes and even those weren’t very interesting.

THEY CUT SO MANY THINGS. When I heard they cut June and Rafael, I was disappointed but figured it was to save time and they’d combine their stories with Nora/Liam respectively (which is what I heard). To my absolute disappointment, neither was done and on top of that they introduced this new character named Miguel who is nothing more than a jealous ex hookup. Not only that, they erased Alex’s parent’s divorce and Henry’s mother, two very important parts of their character backstories.

Continuing on about things that were cut, pretty much any actual bonding time we see with Henry and Alex in the book was reduced to short one-minute scenes and cheap montages. Instead they were replaced with beats that were 15-seconds too long that were meant to say something but simply didn’t translate properly.

Also, they completely cut out Alex’s whole awakening and immediately jumped to him coming out to Henry when they meet up after their first kiss. I get it made for a cute little haha funny banter moment but COME ON. Part of Alex’s character arc is him coming to terms with who he is after denying it for so long, and seeing that process is so important to show for people who are doing the same.

The movie felt so fast paced. Every ten minutes a new important story beat happened without giving the audience any real time to process whatever happened before that. By the time they were in Paris I had no interest in them “making love” for the first time.

I’m gonna make an example of this before it stands out as the most annoying thing to me still. The museum scene is a masterpiece in the books but on the big screen it’s so…bad. Half of the scene was done in voiceover for no reason (once again going back to exposition) and the other half was so boring I could barely pay attention. And the “history, huh?” moment being a spoken thing between them, as opposed to through email like in the book’s completely erases the basis all of their supporters held onto in the books. All the signs, the t-shirts, the graffiti, the way they did it in the movie makes it so none of that could exist.

I really wish we saw Alex’s side of things when they got exposed, especially the way it effected his mother’s campaign. I wanted to see him he told he’s off the campaign and how badly it hurt him. Instead we got one scene of exposition and a single shot of him gushing abt Henry and saying he misses him.

From a cinematography perspective, there was some very pretty shots that were obviously made to turn into promo posters.

That’s pretty much all I got for now off the top of my head. I’ve been trying to cleanse my brain of the film for the past 4 hours lmao

If you have your own opinions, please share respectfully!! I want to hear what you liked or disliked about this.

[reneewalkersbiceps]

NO I TOTALLY AGREE it was soooo. sterilised. considering they had gay sex (im the anon that asked btw)

like the book is not perfect but there is a LOT its missing in the adaptation. they really just completely nerfed most of the female characters. they entirely erased alex' sister june (who had a big part of both the plot and impact on his character). bea had so much depth that they judt completely took away. Who is this woman in sundresses and kitten heels thats literally not the bea from the book in any way!!!! and nora too is so much more. Rounded. in the book

and they took away rafael luna (first gay hispanic senator in the book) and kindof gave most of his role in the first act to miguel. and the choice to make MIGUEL the person that (is implied to have) leaked the emails is. hoenstly it left a horrible taste in my mouth. the jealous gay hispanic guy outed him? really? when in the book it was the republican who was running against his mother? you gave that role to MIGUEL INSTEAD? it really. really pissed me off like its a very very different story to the book while still being the same premise

and the book is a lot more explicitly anti monarchy too. i mean it isnt really. its bery bare bones what if the prince was sad bc the monarchy was bad :( but it IS 10x what the movie gave us. in the book they visited tipu's tiger in the v&a which is a tiger eating a european soldierband henry talks about how his mum used to say that the tuger was angry bc her great great great great grandfather stole the statue and she thinks they shld give it back but gran says they couldnt (the book has a queen instead ofna king). and like. when i read it i was like yeah this is bare minimum anti monarchy at the end if the day it was nothing revolutionary. but. the film. man. it gave NOTHING.

man i am so sorry i didnt mean to write so much it got away from me. but. yeah. very dissappointing movie

i’m glad you can shed a bit more light on the discrepancies and issues book to film because i haven’t read the book so obviously i’m a bit ill-informed in that respect! it sounds like the book (as usual with adaptations sadly) had a lot more depth and was a lot more fleshed out, i definitely would’ve liked to see more depth in many of the female characters!

i’m now so mad that they cut what seems like a very important character (rafael luna) for the ‘i don’t like this person so i’ll out them’ trope :(

also, as a brit who is incredibly anti-monarchy (which i do understand may bias me a bit) i feel like they verrry much played it safe in the representation of the british monarchy in the film and it sounds like the author went in a bit more on it in the book?? i really despise the monarchy for many reasons so i think most depictions of the monarchy will fall short for me though to be honest.

all in all, sounds like the book is much better so maybe i just went wrong in terms of watching the movie before reading the book (a fatal mistake 😖)

p.s. i love getting an in-depth ask to my inbox, please don’t apologise for your passion and feelings about something! x

[ender1821]

more hzd soup au thoughts: factions edition (also yeah that’s what im calling this random au for now sue me/j)

The Hermits (similar to the Quen)

Members of the hermitcraft server, they don’t have an actual leader and are more like different groups/individuals banding together to inhabit an incredibly large region with vastly different landscapes, such as deserts and mountains

All about efficiency and trade, members of the faction get together to discuss important decisions for the lands and to share their own new discoveries

They prefer to be secluded and be left to their own devices, but once you’re in their community, they won’t hesitate to help out

Very advanced in terms of technology

The redstoners are focused on cracking the technology and ruins left behind, so they’ve gathered focuses and given them to the other hermits

Impulse (and in extension Gem and Pearl after they’ve been left by their original tribes) live on the outskirts of the Hermits’ region, in a cozy lil valley

The Empire (similar to the Carja/Oseram)

Subjects of the empire are recognisable via crown-like headwear

It is led by a council of lords ruling over respective regions, some of which are particularly religious and faithful to ‘gods’ which are mostly the AI left behind from before

The Evolutionists (similar to the Nora)

Tribe members are recognised by the watcher symbol marked on their bodies, as well as a veil they use to cover their face with and their general black and purple colour scheme

They are interested in researching (…and worshipping-) the past and the people before them

Largely disbanded now as most have left/died due to an incident, previous members can be found in the other tribes

yeah very original and creative names i know/s

i have some ideas for other potential factions but these three are the important ones in terms of lore (limited to only the story of hzd for now)

i do realise now that a lot of people have no idea what im talking about and i mean same lmao im genuinely making au for ✨vibes✨ only, i might make a post later to expand on some backstory and other characters, but i dont think im going to write any fic for this au at the moment because im already swarmed with plans for other fics (and god forbid i make any art for this au because they would suck. genuinely.)

thank you for sticking around to read me ranting about this really random video game au???

[snorkeldays]

Okay time for me to return the question because now I'm curious!! :3 What is your favorite Horizon tribe and why? ^^

whuh oh this one is gonna be HARD

i like the Nora, objectively—their system of braves, and how they select them through the proving, is REALLY cool to me, and i like how they “justify” their choice to stay in the valley because they have to stay within all-mother’s sight. that said, its interesting to see how they interact with a “higher being” of their own invention. it isn’t the sun, like the carja, or the blue light in the Banuk, but it’s something that gives them solace in how they understand the world. the mountain gave them life, and so the mountain will continue to give them life, right? that’s their thinking, and i think it is super interesting because it’s a parallel to the garden of Eden, but, at the same time, if eve never ate the apple, she wouldn’t never realized the truth of sin, similar to how the Nora will never realize the truth of the old world bcus their beliefs just don’t accommodate it

THAT ALL SAID, i also really like the tenakth. the flight museum wings of the ten thing was a little odd for me, because the museum is so local to one region and the tenakth are the biggest tribe we’ve seen so far, and so their religious beliefs are a little lost on me when compared to how much i like and understand the Nora, but the tenakth are my kind of characters personally—they have that flavor of fighting spirit that i love seeing in characters and fiction, and that I love writing and drawing about. that fighting spirit is so—

man. It’s so raw to me, because the tenakth will never back down from what they believe in, and they’ll fight for what they love and what they want to protect. i love that. the physicality of it, the fact they aren’t willing to throw themselves in the fire of conflict, and that even their leaders will do it—unlike the carja, the tenakth are on equal footing when it comes to being soldiers. they view one another as other soldiers, as other fighters who deserve respect and honor. i love that they wear makeup and tattoos to remember their trials and their errors and their victories. i like how they teach bravery. ofc, i don’t agree with all their ideas—wounded soldiers being “useless,” and whatnot, is all very icky to me personally, but I like that the tenakth who get hurt don’t take it as a “im helpless,” they take it as a “this is another challenge I can rise up to.” Kotallo is a prime example of that, and i love him for it

and the different clans within the tribes are so cool. I like that they have little “state” governments to govern smaller sections of their areas, because a single ruler can’t possibly account for all the needs a specific clan needs. it’s refreshing to see, especially since the carja are So Damn Divided on what they want all the time because avad is only one man trying to rule a massive area. the carja kingdom and the tenakth territory aren’t so different in size, and that’s why the tenakth are so much better off politically instead of starting red raids every few years. a little self governance doesn’t hurt, and it’s nice to see it take place in the horizon world tbh, and it’s nice to see that, for the most part, it works for the tenakth. as soldiers, they know what they need, and they don’t take excess—they don’t conquer even if they *could,* but they defend and protect and provide and that is invaluable to them as a culture and as a people

also, tenakth as the name is very close to tenacity. i like words and i think that’s cool :3