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alieinthemorning · 7 months ago

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Tired of Us Yet? [Leona Kingscholar]

Content: Fluff, Established Relationship, Happy Birthday Leona!, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert

Pronouns: None

Header: @/kyuu9 on Tumblr

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

After promising to go shopping on the weekend, time seemed to slow down exponentially, as if taunting you. Your first outing with Leona in what felt like forever (it had been a month)! You were so excited that you kinda accidentally made it to the gates about 10 minutes earlier than planned.

“You’re damn near hoppin’ off the walls. You that excited?” Leona commented as he approached you.

You hadn’t even noticed that you were rocking on your heels, “Well, duh. It’s been a while since we’ve been out.”

A frown caught his lips for a moment before he leaned down, pecking your temple. “That’s gonna change, alright?”

“I know.” You were certain Leona would keep his promise.

Shopping for Leona was actually pretty easy. All he really wanted was comfortable furniture to lounge around on and anything else (ie. the decorations) could be left to you, and he didn’t fuss about it.

“At this point, we’re making a glorified fort.” You chuckled, “Not that I’m complaining.”

“So what you’re saying is we should use these big pillows,” He pointed to a comically large orange pillow, “as the floor?”

You plopped down on it. “Hmmm…maybe so? It is pretty comfy!”

“Oh yeah, you look like you’re on the edge of dreamland there.”

You kinda were. There more you laid here, the more you actually considered using these as a floor for his fort—room.

Ping!

Pulling your phone out of your pocket, you gasped, absolutely shocked at what you saw.

Leona_Kingscholar_Official just posted

It was you. Right now, laying on the pillow. Posted to his Magicam.

You smiled as you stood, “I think we should get at least this one.” You pocketed your phone, then hauled the pillow in the cart with his help.

Shared to Story

hey.hey.its.cay.cay commented on your Story

AYOOOOO

ARE Y’ALL OUT ON A DATE RN

“Welcome back, my dear.” Azul greeted you, but his eyes were on Leona. “I see you’ve brought a guest with you this time.”

Leona didn’t respond to the obvious taunt, he simply pulled out his phone, fingers quickly gliding against the screen.

“Don’t, Ashengrotto.” You warned. “Just get us a table.”

“Why, of course, my dear.” His smile widened (you hated that smile) as he led you.

“And stop calling me ‘dear’. I’m clearly with my partner.”

“Yes, yes.” He waved you off, gesturing at the table that he had chosen for you. “Here you are.”

The table was in the middle of the lounge. You were sure he wanted everyone to get a good view of Leona ignoring you or something. Well, this would be quite the boring show. At least, that’s what you thought, but then a large, boisterous crowd entered the lounge. You glanced at Leona, who was already looking at you with a grin.

Drinks and a show, how lovely.

“I’m sorry, but we’re currently at full capacity, so if you’d be so kind—” Azul attempted to dissuade the group from coming in any further, but—

“Nah, they’re with me.” Leona spoke up.

Azul didn’t even bother to hide the frown. “And as I said, we’re at full capacity—”

“I’ll rent the whole place out for double what it would normally be worth.”

Watching Azul debate with himself over selling out or withholding his morals was fun.

Of course, he sold out in the end when Leona offered to pay triple the price.

Leona_Kingscholar_Official just posted

LeechTwinJade commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

I’m glad to see the two of you dining together in our establishment, @The_Monstro_Lounge_Offical We hope to see the two of you again soon.

Apparently, Leona wasn’t done with the surprises because one day during lunch while you were standing in line with the other first years, he suddenly appeared, gently removing you from the group.

“Oi! What are you doing?” Jack reflexively grabbed your arm. The lunch line was a chaotic mess, and if someone stepped out of line even accidentally, they lost their spot and had to take the walk of shame to the back of the line.

“We’re not eating in here, so let go, pup.” You could have sworn there was a bit of a growl at the end of that sentence (but maybe you were imagining it).

“Oh?” You cut in, easing yourself from Jack. “You cooked for me or somethin’?”

“Ha!” His laugh was sharp, “Nah, you know I can’t cook—since I’m a prince and all. I ordered out.”

Your eyes lit up. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Of course, the little lunch date was set up in the botanical garden. It looked like he had gotten some help from the fairies that managed it with the set-up, and even to give you two some privacy. You popped a bit of your favorite dish in your mouth, almost tearing up at the burst of flavor.

Leona_Kingscholar_Official just posted

Epple_Apel commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

AND YOU COULDNT HAVE SHARED????

JackAttack commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

Wow. Okay.

0rth0_2.0 commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

I am very happy for the two of you! However, if something bad happens, just know that I’ll be there! :)

“Party’s here, but I’m pretty sure you ain’t here—” Ace stopped short, brain short-circuiting at what he was seeing.

And Deuce followed suit. “Quiet as usual—huh?”

There in the lounging in the lounge was you, Grim and Leona. But that wasn’t the weirdest part. No, the weirdest part was the fact that you were laying on top of Leona (which wasn’t all that weird) and Grim was lying on top of you (once again, not weird), but like Grim was laying on top of you who was laying on top of Leona which was weird.

However, once Grim caught sight of them, he scrambled out of your grasp, which woke both you and Leona up.

“Save me!” He scrambled behind Ace. “They’ve been holding me here hostage for hours now!”

“We’ve literally been asleep for maybe an hour. What are you talking about, Grim?”

“I didn’t ask for a front row seat to all of this!” He gestured widely at the two of you before jumping onto Ace’s shoulders. “Let’s go! Before they kiss or something!”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t—OH MY GOD—EWWWW!”

You were caught off guard just as much as Deuce was. You knew Leona was cheeky, but you didn’t expect him to kiss you in front of your friends like that (not that you really minded a kiss from him). He didn’t let you go until the front door slammed shut, and when he did, you knew it was only for a moment.

Oh well, at least you didn’t have an audience anymore.

Leona_Kingscholar_Official just posted

Call_an_Ace_an_Ace commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

Y’all are literally like that one couple that everyone is rooting for, but also finds annoying.

Double_Deuce_2 commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

THIS IS THE GREAT GRIM AND I CAN CONFIRM THAT THEYRE SUPER ANNOYING

“It’s that time again, My King.”

“Time for you to say that you’re tired of me?”

You lightly slapped his arm, earning a chuckle from him. “Of course not.” You cupped his face, making it meet yours that had moved closer. “It’s time for me to remind you that I am so deeply in love with you.”

He closed the distance, capturing your lips. “Right backatcha. I’m actually more in love with you than you are with me.”

“So it’s a contest now?” You kissed him again. “How do we decide a winner?”

“I can think of a few ways”

“Well, the two of you are gonna have to wait until later.” Someone stopped the two of you from going any further.

Leona sighed. “Always coming in at the right moments, aren’tcha Bucchi?”

“Shishishi…but nah, for real y’all are really gonna have to wait to do all of that later.”

You smirked. “What? Tired of us yet, Ruggie?”

“I wanna say, yeah, but the pay is too good, so I’ll just smile and nod.” He did neither.

“Alright,” Leona straighten himself then pulled you into his lap. “Let’s get this over with.”

“‘Course the two of you are gonna be difficult till the very end.” Ruggie shook his head, but begun his repot nonetheless, not like he could do anything anyway.

The two of you wouldn’t listen to anyone, but each other, at this point.

Now and forever.

King_Leona_Kingscholar_Official just posted

TheRuggieBucchi commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

In front of my salad? On god? I deserve a raise.

King_Leona_Kingscholar_Official replied to TheRuggieBucchi

Get used to it.

Sunset_Savana_Sovereign_Official replied to TheRuggieBucchi

On god. And we’ll do it again. Shenan once to shenan again.

LISTEN HERE STINK! IT MAY BE YOUR BIRTHDAY, BUT THIS

THIS WAS NOT NECESSARY

GRIM PITY?

ALL MY KEYS

GONE

AHYUK! I SEE IT!

THE DOOR TO DARKNESS

Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist

#alie series: forevermore #alie ficlets #alie ficlets: twst #twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #leona kingscholar x reader #happy birthday leona!!

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typewritingyip · 25 days ago

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First! Get better soon you awesomesauce typewriting fellar!! treat yourself with some warm tea and some rest!

also for the Q/A thingie i got a few question if it doesnt bother u much!

what inspired you to start writing and how did you get here? (as in writing bangers for the TF fandom we love you man)

For arcturus: do you have like an ending or story in mind? do you have scrapped ideas for the ending? (and may we peek??)

On the Arcturus 3 snippet we got the confimation that no texaid is taking place, however do you have other ships planned/ what are the pairings within arcturus? looking at u with googly eyes rn 🥺

ty for reading :3

Thank you so much!

Okay, let’s go in order!

What inspired me to start writing and how did I get here?

I started writing in middle school, not long after I had a major surgery and was in a dire need of an outlet. I mean back then I was writing on my index cards for class and just trying to escape the hell I was living in.

As for how I got here, I graduated from college back in May and sorta realized I hadn’t posted fanfiction in years, I have a few old pieces up on this blog but certainly nothing like Arcturus. I needed an outlet again cause I was spending 99% of my time studying for the LSAT. I never gave up writing, just gave up on posting it for whatever reason. So when this AU came along my sister and I were talking about it, then I started to write things down before it became my beloved Arcturus. If it weren’t for @keferon I probably wouldn’t have posted for another few months cause at the time I was working on a 10 chapter TFA Rock Star AU, which I’ll get back to at some point. This just was so inspiring.

For Arcturus: Do I have an ending or story in mind? Do I have scrapped ideas for the ending?

So, yes, I have an ending in mind. I’ve had this ending in mind for a bit honestly and love it so much, I just hope you all do too. As for scrapped ideas, well.. originally I wanted Red Alert to be human, then forgot and had him show up. I went back to my outline and just about cried. But it’s fine, I’ve made adjustments.

(As for peeking, mayhaps… I do a lot of stuff that I alter to a document in my commonplace book with other characters/my OC to get the ideas moving so maybe.)

Do I have other ships planned/what are my pairs in Arcturus?

Alright, I actually do have TexAid in this. So, the crew of Arcturus One does not know that First Aid is piloting suit 11, and the Arcturus universe of this AU, they’ve taken to calling that suit Vortex just cause he was such a famous pilot and they all know something isn’t quiet normal with that suit or those first generation pilots (they’d all be in their late 40’s early 50’s rn, so Swindle is maybe 46?). First Aid is pilot 3113, he was originally in Arcee’s spot for Arcturus 3 but I personally think that the eating the alien episode happened right before the announcement and things were moved around while he gets a psych evaluation done and the suit is cleaned. TexAid is canon to this AU even if I don’t know the characters well, I hope to understand them more by the time I write stuff for Arcturus 5.

Other ships? Now that’s where I’m having a blast. The obvious ones are Mirage/Hound, Knockout/Breakdown, Jazz/Prowl (they already are dating, just don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable), and Sunstreaker/Bluestreak for sure (maybe Sideswipe too but I’m still debating on how I want to do that/handle that.. idk yet.) We have background MegOp because it’s just a favorite of mine.

Then, we have Arcturus 3, Ratchet/Drift is just, *chefs kiss* to me, so that is happening but at the moment Deadlock is heavily pinning and Ratchet is oblivious. Honestly, most of Arcturus 3 is completely oblivious and I love that for them.

I plan to have other ships, but I think I’m going to hold those cards to my chest, for now.

Thank you so much for your questions! 💜

#tf mecha universe #tf mecha au #the arcturus missions #transformers #yip asks #Arcturus asks

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thaltro · 3 months ago

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Hey there! I've been following for a while bc I saw your absolutely gorgeous bad sans ref for Nightwatch and upon finding more content and context i am so excited for the comic- I love the characters and worldbuilding- I wanted to ask a few questions bc I've been loving this everytime I see new art I eat up the new meal :D no pressure to answer all of them ofc! Take your time if you need it-

Will you post the comics on tumblr or a different website?

Was there something that inspired you to make this comic/Kickstart the want to make it?

As someone who really struggles with motivation to do stuff does anything motivate you to draw and worldbuild? Or does it just come to you?

Not sure if anyone has asked this yet but do have a favorite character you made or are making for Nightwatch?

Like I said no need to answer all the questions, love your art and content! :)

Ooh a QnA ok

1) I’m definitely posting the comic to tumblr, but also on my toyhouse! I won’t just suddenly post it though, before that I’ll release pmv trailers which should be very soon.

2) for inspiration I’ve always loved horror- what started the idea of nightwatch was reading I have no mouth and I must scream, the idea of perpetual inescapable torture is fascinating, especially personalized hellscapes. I also really liked AM as a character and he heavily inspired Atrophy (I headcannon his voice to be AMs) (wait I guess it’s not a headcannon hm)

3) I love world building, im a history major and also studying sociology and psychology- I’m definitely inspired from human history and global cultures. Nightwatch’ s world building is a conglomerate of different social stratifications, but leaning heavily towards conservative religious cultures. For world building I really recommend learning history- it makes you passionate about the patterns of humanity and more aware of the tropes you can use.

But for characters it just comes to me naturally (literally) most characters are based off of my Alters haha. So a lot of them like dream, psych, atrophy, memory, killer, horror etc are all aspects of myself. As the host I hold our productivity, our ego, and our low empathy- that’s what psych is heavily based off of. Dream is based off two parts who hold a lot of of our childhood trauma and religious trauma, likewise Atrophy also is based off of alters who hold childhood trauma. When your a system you go typically through some crazy stuff, when I’m done nightwatch I plan in the future to write horror stories based off it but yeah. Aside from system experiences a-lot of the characters who will experience ableism like memory does, is based off my experience with how people treat my physical and mental disabilities.

Suffice to say, I’m an angry person and I hate the world around me. Nightwatch let’s me vent that hatred in a coherent artistic way. I have a big ego and like to think I’m an interesting person so I write stories based off that because I think it’s interesting. My hatred for pop psychology, ableism, child abuse, and religious abuse is pretty obvious in it I guess. If your struggling to write the easiest thing for me at least is to write about what you hate or are scared of the most- then develop a world around it.

4) my favourite character is Dream probably- I mean I never stop drawing him, Atrophy comes close too. Though there are alot of characters I enjoyed writing like Fresh, Dr. Fell, Dust, Epic, Error yk- I like writing comedic characters. But what I’m most proud of writing it’s probably just Psych, Dream, and Atrophy as I put an equal amount of effort into writing both.

Thanks for the questions it feeds my ego nom nomnomnom- kidding I just genuinely like not shutting up and it’s weird that people actually care to ask

#utmv #sans au #undertale au #nightwatch au #nightwatch #psychology sans #thank you

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blainehasregrets · 1 month ago

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What’s your view of the Blam crush?

Also you should tag your meta with character name as it’s not being seen, only by your followers.

It makes sense Blaine would find someone to project on/have a crush on in the meantime while he’s broken up with Kurt, since he’s someone who loves love (Silly Love Songs comes to mind), but he gets over it pretty fast (he could barely even think of any good parts of Sam’s personality in Tina In The Sky With Diamonds lol I also think quite a few Blamtina scenes felt very much like Blaine completely forgot he ever had a crush on Sam) with, in my opinion, little lasting effects.

I feel like, since Blaine moved on so quickly and just went back to Literally planning his wedding with Kurt like nothing, it showed being rejected by Sam didn’t foster any hurt, resentment, or regrets inside of him. He literally just did not care anymore lol Whereas I think Kurt’s crush on Finn and even interest in Sam, though brief and done after their arcs were over, continued to affect him going forward. Those events definitely furthered his communication issues and knocked down his self esteem, which in turn ended up causing problems within his relationship with Blaine.

Though I do think Kurt ultimately loved and chose to be with Blaine because it’s what he wanted, I felt he sometimes had this belief that nobody but Blaine would ever love him. Ex: Saying “I don’t think I’m ever gonna find someone else who’s going to make me feel [safe, connected, and loved like Blaine].” in Love, Love, Love. But I don’t think Blaine had that same fear?

I mean, sure, abandonment issues are the go-to thing people talk about when it comes to Blaine, but I think his abandonment issues were like. Solely focused on being abandoned by Kurt. (Note how he didn’t give a fuck about abandoning the Warblers himself…they loved him so much and worshipped the ground he walked on and yet he left them as soon as Kurt said “I want to spend every minute of everyday…with you♥️” in PPP. Blaine would take that hyperbolic statement to heart and make it his life’s mission to accomplish just that.) I don’t think he ever thought “I have no choice! Nobody but Kurt will ever love me! 😩” It was more like “I don’t CARE about anyone else, even if another person proposed to me right now, I only want KURT!!!!!” Ex: Never pursued Sebastian despite all of his flirting, literally about to throw up after he had sex with Eli (and I think it’s interesting Blaine says “I cheated on the one person I love more than anything in the world” in Dynamic Duets, like that’s his takeaway here. It’s not about feeling like Kurt is his only option, it’s that Blaine wants his only option to be Kurt, which is made more obvious with how he could and did hook up with Eli, yet doing so just made him think “wow I really only gaf about Kurt”), had a crush on straight guy Sam which would clearly go nowhere (and could be argued to just be projection and a safe way to experience a crush without it being reciprocated…), dated Dave as a power move more than anything (and this could come with its own set of 5 canon scenes to link to and explain), and does not even care to give Jeremiah a second thought in Transitioning. Though maybe blangst fans would disagree lol

And okay I got ramble-y there for a second, but that’s all to explain why I don’t think Blaine ultimately cared too much about his crush on Sam after the fact!

And while it may be classic Klainer cope, I do think the song he sang “to Sam” in Guilty Pleasures fit Kurt better!

Also thank you for reminding me! I need to organize my tags a little more in general… I went back and fixed up my last post a little (it’s still more messy than I’d like and I also want to add more specific canon scenes as evidence 😔 I’ll have to keep working on it) and tagged it! I’m so used to writing my glee thoughts on private accounts I forget other people can and want to see this stuff…

#this opinion is untouched by rival shipper delusion though I can assure you that #I know how to be objective! and besides I felt this even before I liked Klaine (which was actually pretty recently lmaoo)#should i tag this too…#blaine anderson #kurt hummel #anaylsis #kinda

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coralhoneyrose · 6 months ago

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fun chrom and or robin headcanons? chrobin headcanons?

alternatively what are some widely accepted or constantly brought up things in the awakening fandom that you hate?

my fun headcanon is they try to both be objective and somewhat professional as leaders but when c&r are alone together they love to gossip. you know theyve seen some stuff

Oooh what a fun question! I’m sure as soon as I hit post I’ll remember a bunch more but here’s what I was able to come up with~

Robin: I actually like head-canoning Robin as having ADHD. I could ramble about that for ages tbh but I think they fit the “twice exceptional” profile really well and that a combination of being an anxious perfectionist and having an attention disorder would make a lot of sense given that we know Robin is both very confident in their tactics and intelligence but also prone to workaholic tendencies with pushing themselves to extremes to make sure they’ve thought of everything. I also headcanon Robin as being kind of a slob LOL like I think their room would always be a mess with things strewn everywhere but *they* know where everything is meant to be so don’t even think about moving anything, Frederick >:(

Also this may be obvious from my writing, but I like headcanoning Robin as having darker skin than in canon in large part to circumvent Awakening’s unfortunate tendency to only feature that trait for Plegians who are antagonists. OH! And I love the idea of Robin being touch-starved when the shepherds first find and adopt them too.

Chrom: I headcanon he has very pretty cursive handwriting that he was forced to learn by his tutors growing up; that he low-key kinda likes PDA; that he’s mindlessly touchy with Robin specifically, even before he realizes his feelings; that he has a praise kink; that he is a morning person; and that he’s not particularly religious, despite being….ya know, the exalt of a halidom.

Idk if it’s cheating to also list that I headcanon him as biromantic demisexual (given that I have a whole fic about that) but I’m restating it anyway because that one is very dear to me. Also! I did not come up with this one myself, but I saw a tweet from another Chrobin author once about how they hc that Chrom would abdicate the throne before he gets particularly old to help ensure that Lucina’s coronation is a happy and celebratory event, and I love that idea and thinks it suits both of them really well <3

I think the one you shared is cute and fitting for them too! Both of them take their jobs really seriously so I can absolutely see them making an effort to keep too many court politics out of their work but then debriefing about stuff and laughing at all the stuffy nobles together after to help maintain their sanity.

As for things brought up / widely accepted in the fandom that I dislike and / or strongly disagree with, the three that come most immediately to mind are:

- That Chrom and Robin have a dumb one / smart one dynamic. I think they’re both very competent leaders and that while Robin is clearly the smarter of the two, I’ve always interpreted Chrom as probably having above average intelligence and just being really blunt and kind of oblivious / not tactful in certain delicate social situations which….tbh I fully believe Robin can be guilty of that sort of thing as well LOL

- That the f!Chrobin supports are “objectively” some of the worst in the game”. I can definitely understand and sympathize with some of the complaints about them, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re my favorite supports in awakening full stop. And I do also think that a subset of the complaints leveled at them are wildly off base

- That male and female Robin have different personalities. I just do not think this is true. I think the differences we see in their supports are pretty much always a direct function of being treated differently by the other character on account of their gender and responding to those differing circumstances accordingly

I have started drafting and ultimately aborted so many posts making arguments for all these points but somewhere along the line I usually remind myself to take a deep breath and that people can enjoy these characters and ships however they want to. Ultimately if I don’t like something, it’s easy enough for me to tune it out and keep doing my own thing and I’ve found fandom has become a lot more pleasant that way LOL

Andddd I think that covers everything? Thanks so much for the ask—I had a lot of fun answering it as probably evidenced by how long this turned out to be asjfk

#Asks #impolitecat #headcanons

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sylvies-chen · 2 years ago

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okay I’ve refrained from posting my thoughts on the ted lasso finale until now in the interest of making sure they’re expressed properly so that people understand how correct my opinions actually are. but I’m here and I’m queer and LET’S DO IT FOLKS:

TED LASSO FINALE THOUGHTS

THE GOOD:

Nate!! Nate was a timid, sweet note in this episode. It was such a gentle little reintegration of his character back into the team and seeing him get a secure happy ending after all that time of insecurity was the part of the episode that provided the MOST payoff. Seeing Nick Mohammed’s post about Nate and his family life and understanding how much he put into that character was so beautiful to see too. I adore actors who very publicly (and in a nerdy way) love their craft!

His conversation with Ted also made me cry like I have never cried before.

COLIN KISSED HIS FELLA AFTER A WIN!! Ugh such a beautiful payoff and full circle moment for him, I was truly squealing with joy <3

The team’s rendition of So Long, Farewell had me GIGGLINGGG oh my god, I’m a die hard Sound of Music fan so I loved it! I would have maybe liked a little more emotion from Ted, I felt like his reaction was kind of… meh? meek? but other than that the song itself was FANTASTIC.

Obviously I love that they won the game, duh

They also had a lot of really amazing and thoughtful callbacks in this episode, like Keeley’s parallel to her entrance in the pilot was great, Ted’s bbq sauce mantra, Nate leaping into Ted’s arms, the ussie guy, the winning play being the play from season 1. All of those little moments showed a strong attention to detail I truly loved.

I love that Rupert made HIMSELF unlikeable in the end. Rebecca didn’t need to ruin his life; she stopped caring and soon saw he was doing a perfectly fine job of doing it himself. Karma truly is Rebecca Welton’s boyfriend!! Or is it?

Jake the motherfucking client seducer over here turning out to be a total dud like yesss!! I don’t want Ted and Michele back together by any means but fuck that guy lol, glad to see she and Henry were getting sick of him

BELIEVE. 😭

Which leads me to…

THE BAD:

I know you all know I ship Tedbecca, but this is truly not coming from a shipper standpoint when I say that that first scene of them was absolute BAIT. It was pretty disappointing because I know Ted Lasso’s been prone to red herrings and fakeouts every now and then but I didn’t take it as a show that would truly bait their fans with something like that??

I don’t care if I’m biased, I don’t care if the writers were trying to be avant-garde with their ending for rebecca, I’ll say what I’m about to say a million times: writing off 1 of your 2 most main characters into a happy ending with a man whose name the audience doesn’t even know is literally never a good writing decision. I think this should be obvious.

I have no hate to Boat Guy, Rebecca’s whole thing with him was basically the plot of Before Sunrise + Before Sunset (all hail Richard Lanklater) if someone watched those movies and then tried condensing them into fifteen accumulated minutes of television

Keeley, Roy, Jamie… they did you three so fucking dirty my babes. Keeley you especially. I’m beyond disappointed, bordering on genuinely hurt, by how much they screwed up Keeley and all of her adjacent storylines this season.

I loved RoyKeeley so much in seasons 1 and 2, they had such a sweetness and a magic to them. There were so many elements like that to season 1 and 2 that I feel the writers gave up on in the name of growth or… honestly, at this point, I don’t know why they did this. Roy was a little insecure in seasons 1 and 2, but I never felt like he was needy. It felt so cruel to have shown us RoyKeeley in all of these moments of such stability, such healthiness, and such genuine love for so long and then rip it away for some version of Roy Kent that felt hollow, twisted, and who just Did Not Get It. It makes me so sad.

It makes me sad for Jamie too. Him falling for Keeley again was like the last thing I needed to see from his character. There’s so much else they could have done with him, and instead they took that beautiful moment of him being accountable and respectful with Keeley and the tape, and they turned it into something ugly: they had him weaponize it as a bargaining chip against Roy.

I don’t understand why they thought having our favs engaged in this very sexist outdated convo with such possessive language in the name of comedy was a good idea. I get it was poking fun at them but it was the kind of fun that shouldn’t have to be poked at by now. They’re not these men, I don’t recognize this version of them. It’s such a regression.

speaking of weird and uncomfortable shit being played off for laughs… beard and jane got married! ted wasn’t even there! she shredded his passport to keep him in captivity! how creepy! (see the joke is that they’re crazy and do toxic things to each other. you’re supposed to laugh.)

#ted lasso #abby meta #roykeeley #roy kent #jamie tartt #keeley jones #tedbecca #rebecca welton

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strandnreyes · 1 year ago

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18 and 26? for lonestar

18. Which character do you think needs more character development/would you like to see more character development from?

The obvious answer here is Nancy. All we really know about her is that she has a sister and like $25k or whatever it was in savings

26. Do you have any particularly strong headcanons you'd fight for?

I’m sure I’ll think of more as soon as I post this, but:

TK is fully capable of cooking, driving, carrying out responsibilities etc etc etc. He is canonically smart and is excellent at his job (on the field and on paper) so can we please stop treating this man like he’s incapable of doing things, or is dumb, or needs to be babied 24/7. We’ve seen TK get mad at Owen for hiding his cancer from him in 1x04 because he doesn’t like being treated like he can’t handle things. He deserves way more credit than he’s given sometimes. Okay rant over

Carlos is the first boyfriend of TK’s that Owen likes (it’s just a fun idea and I like it)

Similarly, because it’s a fun idea, ‘15 minutes after we met’ was literal to me. Bar bathroom first time my beloved <3

This is unpopular and I wouldn’t exactly fight for this because I don’t disagree with other interpretations, but I don’t think Carlos necessarily knew about Nancy prior to her ‘dates in heels’ line. Him not outwardly being surprised doesn’t mean he necessarily knew; I think his smile was one of support and easy acceptance. That feels very in line with his character to me. I can’t see him having a reaction like the rest of them in that moment

#ask

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disasterbijamietartt · 2 years ago

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I’ll need a few days to really process the last episode, so don’t expect any meta until the weekend.

But I wanted to write a post about why I believe in the writers and why I think that … this sounds so arrogant and delusional, but that my predictions here* are roughly what will happen and queer folks can stay hopeful.

(*tl;dr: Essentially that Colin will be the inspiration for main characters to address their queerness, Ted Lasso spent two seasons straightbaiting its entire audience and this season will end queer as fuck)

When I started watching Ted Lasso I thought it would be a fun, but silly little sports comedy, but very soon it got obvious how the show featured heavier themes and that they didn’t follow the expected script. Like, when Rebecca tells Ted the truth, you’d normally get some drama and rising conflict – but we got instant forgiveness.

And it got soon obvious we’d get a love triangle with Jamie, Keeley and Roy and – as someone who knows how the script goes – my first assumption was, that Roy x Keeley will be endgame (which was sad, since I adored Jamie x Keeley from the beginning, but I digress).

But some of the things that usually put me off love triangles were missing: there was no prolonged unnecessary drama after Roy learned that Keeley hooked up with Jamie the night before, Jamie and Roy didn’t fight over who would “get” Keeley (even though Roy’s jealousy sure was one reason for the tension between him and Jamie, but it wasn’t the only one), Jamie didn’t try to actively win Keeley back throughout the second season, he didn’t try to sabotage their relationship, even though he still loved her. The rocky parts in Roy’s and Keeley’s relationship weren’t related to Jamie at all, on the contrary, Jamie kind of unintentionally fixed their problems.

So, when they diverge so much from the expected, should I really still assume they’ll end the show with the thing everyone expects to happen? (like, in classic romance structure, Roy and Keeley now had their third act break-up, that always happens before the happily ever after … but as Phil said in an interview, they’re situation is a lot more complex than you’ll usually get.)

So, anyway, Ted Lasso was playing with expectations from the beginning. You’d expect Ted x Rebecca and Roy x Keeley endgame cause that is how the classic narrative works but the show subverted classic structure in the first season. So why should we assume that they just stick to the classic script now?

Also the theme song:

“Yeah, might be all that you get,

Yeah, I guess this might well be it“

I always thought, for an optimistic show like Ted Lasso this was a kinda sober beginning. But if you look at this with a queer eye … Cishet people are so used to seeing their happy endings playing out, so that is what they’ll expect to get. Until the last couple years, queer people barely got any stories with happy endings, so you didn’t exactly grow up with the expectation you’ll get a happy ending.

So you just had to take what you got.

But on the other hand the song has this hopeful bit about trying and not giving up. And … okay, I’m not sure where I’m going with this, but, idk, it just feels like it would fit as the theme song for an ultimately hella queer show?

And there are a lot of allusions to “The Wizard of Oz”, starting with the title of the first episode, Ted being the “Man from Kansas” aka Dorothy – googling I found this post pointing out a lot parallels in the second season, so it is not just me being delusional again.

For context: The movie was released 1939. Between 1934 and 1968 due to the Hays Code people couldn’t be shown as being explicitly queer in movies in the US, so writers started to queercode characters to still indicate queerness. And there is of course queercoding in “The Wizard of Oz” just like Ted Lasso and the movie as a whole resonated a lot with queer audiences, making Judy Garland a Gay Icon (see here).

Both the movie and L. Frank Baumans novels have a lot of queer subtext (like, there is even kind of a trans character in the novels?). "Friend of Dorothy” was a way gay men referred to each other at a time, where they couldn’t just openly ask about someone’s orientation.

Fun Fact: The movies title song “Over the Rainbow” soon became a queer anthem and people wondered whether it inspired the rainbow flag. But the creator, Gilbert Baker, said he was inspired by,

wait for it,

“She’s a Rainbow” by the Rolling Stones (see here).

Rings a bell?

The episode “Rainbow”?

Roy returning as a coach to Richmond?

Also: Jamie comparing the team to the Rolling Stones? Himself to Mick Jagger and Roy to Keith Richards, who both wrote the song?

And, looking at episode titles some more: The color "Lavender" is so queer it has it's own LGTBQ-section on Wikipedia. Also the bisexual pride flag, where the colours overlap to form lavender? There was probably some other reason I forgot that the episode where Jamie returned was called like the queerest color ever, but still …

WHAT A BUNCH OF CURIOUS COINCIDENCES!

Oh God, the more I look, the queerer everything gets! I think I could go on some more, but I need to get breakfast and then some work done.

#my meta #ted lasso speculations #jamie x roy #roy x jamie #ted x trent #tedtrent #tedependent #colin hughes #jamie x keeley x roy #this doesn't reference any ship but might be relevant soo #if I'm wrong I delete my tumblr #and burn something down #kidding I'll just never trust a tv show ever again #ted lasso meta #queer coding #ted lasso

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finalgirlminamurray · 1 month ago

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for the new year i thought i’d start making some progress on laying out my ideas for my sort-of ocs/au setting, so here’s something i’ve had on the back burner for a while: the closest thing to visual depictions of the main four sawyer sisters that i can make. this is sort of a precursor to the big lore dump post i'm planning to drop soon about them

since i can’t draw (yes, i know anyone can learn with practice, but i don’t have the patience or discipline required for that) i’ve spent a lot of time playing around with picrews and similar icon makers to create my ocs’ likenesses as they exist in my head. these characters are maybe a bad choice for trying to recreate in picrew but i think this one gave me the best passing, if simplified, resemblance to how they look. this inherently makes them a lot cuter/prettier than they really should be but i had fun. you can probably tell who’s who from this

design notes and other notes under the cut, as well as me actually using proper capitalization for once:

Patience should really have some gray streaks in her hair, but with this one I could either make it all gray or all black, and I chose the latter so she’d look more like herself. I’m sure everyone who’s played with these knows how hard it is to get older-looking characters in general - but she is supposed to be younger than she looks, and younger than her canon counterpart probably is anyway.

She has darker blue eyes and her hair is naturally wavy when it’s down, which it isn’t often. (Most picrews don’t have many good options to show her hair in a bun like I was picturing, so this worked out.)

The cigarette is there because it seemed right even though I don’t actually imagine her smoking that often. She probably does it when she’s alone, maybe when she needs an excuse for a break.

I liked making her look pissed off and about to snap at someone, but maybe can’t right now since she’s in public or something. The second they get home at least one of her sisters is going to get it—

I think their mother had black hair and brown eyes, and their biological father who they don’t talk about had lighter brown hair and blue eyes, and the girls inherited a mixture of traits, some of them also coming from their grandparents. The younger ones have no way of knowing how much of their father is in them physically - there’s no pictures of him in the house. Patience is the only one with any clear memories of him.

Chastity can be one of the hardest characters to make in these things but also the most fun. It’s just hard to find one that lets me get her hair right - this was the closest, and I still had to mirror-flip the image and give her a fancy scarf. (Just imagine the plate is where you’d expect it.)

Flipping the image also meant I had to sacrifice the approximation of her birthmark being on the right side, but it’s kind of hard to see anyway. If there are options for scars or other facial markings, I usually give her something blue-to-purple colored on her left cheek, and since she always has the palest available skin tone it usually shows up.

She has black hair and pale blue eyes, though that point isn’t always obvious when she’s wearing sunglasses (if there’s an option for pink or purple-tinted shades and/or heart-shaped sunglasses, that’s what I’ll give her). She’s meant to be kind of unsettling-looking (the “staring into your soul” eye color). I think she takes after their grandmother the most.

She does need glasses and has worn them since she was about seven, but she prefers sunglasses now that she’s older, because her eyes are especially sensitive to light and it just looks cooler, even if it doesn't help her see any better.

If I can’t get the right hairstyle, I’ll just give her long, straight black hair and say she’s wearing her usual wig (also helps explain the lack of visible head injury).

She’s usually wearing a lot of accessories, but this one’s limited with how much I can give her. I think she pierced her own ears with a heated sewing needle when she was 14 and only didn’t get in trouble because it took a while for Patience to find out, and in the meantime she hadn’t gotten an infection. She strikes me as the type to like making jewelry out of random small objects, so I like when the game has that kind of thing as an option.

She’s got a very cultivated aesthetic, and I’m usually going off the right vibes when I make her. I can almost always have her flashing a peace sign, though.

(Other things I like for her: dark eyeshadow that makes her eyes look all the more sunken, chipped black nail polish, stars and other astrological designs in her accessories, multiple necklaces at once, a splash of brighter color like hot pink or rainbow motifs, and of course as many pins as you can fit on her jacket or vest. I see her as someone who perhaps ironically started presenting a little more femme after coming into her queer identity, but very much in her own way.)

Temperance is sometimes the easiest one to make and sometimes the hardest. I can usually get a bloodstain to pass as her birthmark, if that’s an option, since people do tend to mistake it for one.

I used to have a harder time finding picrews that had long, wavy hair as an option, but it’s gotten better. I can’t do much to make her look perpetually windswept and kind of greasy, but I can make her look at least a little unkempt.

Her hair is dark brown, not black like her sisters, and she has brown eyes because I’ll only take inspiration from their canon counterparts’ actors if it suits me. I want to create a good amount of contrast between her and Chastity; they’re definitely fraternal twins.

I liked this jacket for her because it’s the right color and it looks like it has pockets, which are very important to a girl who’s always carrying a bunch of stuff, including things she picked up on the road. Plus it looks like she’s got some kind of bag over her shoulder, too.

I also liked this expression for her because she looks kind of sinister and sly like she does right before going for a knife. I could have had her grinning cheerfully like her twin but it seems more fitting for how I write her to have her be the sinister sniler instead

I love when one of these has the jewelry option of a bird skull necklace because that’s part of my ideal image for her even though her canon counterpart doesn’t have one (that we see). I’m also fond of this picrew since it has that option and also a necklace made of teeth for Chastity - I might share my designs from that one someday after refining them a bit. Any sort of bone-related accessories really contribute to matching her vibe.

(Also I like when I can give a character only one earring, because I think Temperance only has her left ear pierced since Chastity offered to do it after her own went smoothly, but then she started bleeding and Chass, still not quite accustomed to that kind of thing happening to her sisters, freaked out a bit. Temperance, of course, didn’t mind since she finds the sensation of pain more interesting than anything, and she left it asymmetrical because it looked cool.)

If a picrew has a diverse enough range of skin tones (which they should!) I’ll make the other three sisters slightly more tanned so Chastity will stand out more; with Temperance it especially makes sense since she spends the most time outdoors in the sun.

Also, if I’m working with a full-body dollmaker (which I don’t do as often; I’m not that good at coordinating outfits even for fictional people), I’m more likely to have her wearing a long skirt. She dresses primarily for her own comfort and practicality, and anything you (or your sewing-inclined younger sister) could get more pockets into seems fitting. I’ll note that I won’t put the girls in anything I couldn’t see their canon counterparts also wearing, for what it’s worth.

Lacey is of course the hardest to make unless you remind yourself that she’s not wearing her mask here, and even then it’s often hard to get her looking right. This might be a version of her that’s a bit younger than in the main timeline.

The vibe here is wide-eyed, innocent, slightly nervous farm girl who just noticed a stranger in her kitchen, and is still caught in the brief moment between fight and flight mode before she whacks you over the head with a sledgehammer killing you (hopefully) instantly.

She has beautiful big brown eyes and light freckles even though she doesn’t expose her face to the sun very much, because it seemed right.

I think out of all the sisters, she physically takes the most after their mother. She has her hair, her eyes, her build, probably most of her face even if she doesn’t see the resemblance…

She prefers her hair shorter for convenience, and she likes being able to change her appearance quickly with the masks, which helps her shift easily to whatever persona she’s taking on for the situation. She still is sometimes fond of accessorizing “secretly” under the mask, though.

(She was standing in the bathroom doorway watching Chastity and Temperance try to pierce their own ears the whole time, and when they turned to her and offered to do hers after Temperance’s bloody disaster, she fled the room. Years later she took Chass up on it and now sometimes privately wears her mother’s old jewelry. She gets the sense Patience might not like it if she knew her sisters were going through their mother’s things, but Patience never goes into their mother’s room herself, so who knows how she feels about it.)

She’s pretty equally comfortable presenting more “feminine” and more “masculine”, and the masks help - she finds it kind of fun to be able to try on a lot of different identities like that, including experimenting with gender. Sometimes their dinner guests aren’t very nice about it, but they’re never around for long anyway, are they?

She's the one who looks the most like her canon counterpart in my head, which is part of why she can be the hardest to make in a way that looks distinctive.

I should stop now because I have a whole big loredump post in the works with more information about these characters and I still haven’t gotten to Lacey’s section yet and I need to save details about her for that. But enjoy this as a teaser of sorts in the meantime 👀

#tcm #texas chainsaw massacre #technically #the sawyer sisters #that will be my tag for any future posting about my au #because there will be more

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tongue-like-a-razor · 3 months ago

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In "There Are Rules", I can't help but resent Maverick. Especially after how he treated her when they were caught by Cyclone. As if she were nothing and could be cast aside as if she were little more than shit stuck to his shoe. And he's always doing that, while she's obviously always there for him and would clearly do anything for him. He just doesn't treat her like he loves her. It's obvious that she would love him if he wanted to. It seems like she loves him much more than he loves her. He just seems like he doesn't regard her in the same way, that he doesn't care about her as more than just a dirty secret that isn't worth that much. I understand that the situation isn't the easiest, but I think I'm used to Mav being that guy who would always fight for what he loves most, even when faced with the worst situation. Even if they weren't together, in my mind he would be the type to act differently and not in the cowardly way he has been acting. And because I have that image of Mav being the kind of guy who doesn't give up, it seems like he actually does not care that much about her. Mav is not afraid of breaking the rules. Does this make sense?

It seems like he doesn't value her. And that Charlie stunt made me furious. He really needs to learn a lesson. At the same time, I really want them together and in love 🙄🥰

He needs to grovel, apologize profusely and make sure everyone knows how much he loves her and would do anything for her!! Because the way he rejects her while she pursues him just isn't right. He needs to suffer and give her the care and importance she has.

I can't wait for part 6, do you think you'll post it this month?

Your writing, especially those scenes they have together alone or when they are desperate for each other with everyone around but can't do anything, is just 😍😍👌gives me butterflies, it's soooo good. I can't tell you how many times I reread this fic. It's imprinted on my brain and heart 💘

Also, would you write for Cyclone?

This is the most perfect way to describe Mav in this fic and I absolutely love this interpretation! I totally agree that Mav is typically the kind of guy who goes against the grain and would do anything for the people he cares about. And that’s exactly why it was so much fun for me to explore the cracks in his foundation, so to speak, and expose his weaknesses. I just loved playing with his character in this one and I’m so happy that it’s resonated with so many of you and that his persona here has become a topic of discussion!

I wholeheartedly agree that he doesn’t deserve reader in this fic. Personally, I can’t see myself being with someone who can be so inconsiderate and inconsistent. However, I’m also a huge fan of the redemption arc, which is why I often like to really shatter my characters or make them extremely unlikeable, just so that redemption is that much sweeter. I’m not sure he’s worthy of redemption in this one, though 🫣

Thank you so much for your message, I LOVE LOVE LOVE messages like this that delve into my stories and analyse the characters 🥰 Character development is my favorite part of writing, so I will ALWAYS talk characters to anyone who will listen haha

In terms of posting, I really just have to find time for an evening off and, unfortunately, these have been few and far between lately. But please know that I’m still here and I’ll be posting as soon as I have a moment to spare!

#there are rules #top gun fanfic #maverick fic #asks #lena talks back

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neverlookatthisblog · 2 years ago

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Love island

A/N: I got super bored and I was on an love island binge and got really inspired to the point where I decided to make a story out of it I wanted to do like a mini series off of this but I’m not sure just know there is gonna be a part two with smut😏

Another note: In this it’s not y/n the character actually has a name so yea I’ve actually had this written for longer than you think but I just decided not post it until now and I didn’t proof read this either so- if there’s something i miss spelled or it doesn’t sound right mind your business!!!! 😭😭😭✋🏽

You used to watch love island with your family every week there was a new episode you were so excited when you got the call that you will be on love island

“Oh my godddd mir!!!!!” Your sister said excitedly

“I know I fly out there in a couple of days!!” You said it was true you had to fly out there soon because you we’re gonna be one of the new arrivals

On the plane ride you kept thinking about how awesome this was and you were excited if anything there was one boy that you did have interest in

And that was Jack

You thought he was cute

Watching him on the island you knew he’s the one you wanted to go for

When you got off the plane you weee met with a person driver he greeted you before putting you stuff in the trunk and opening the door for you

The ride was a little long but it was also peaceful

Once you got there you couldn’t believe it You knew that you weren’t going into the villa right away because they had the girls go out for drinks while the boys stayed and…. Did boy things

You did you introduction about your self while waiting you met two of the other girls

Bee and Abby

“Hii I’m mir nice to meet you girls” I said they both smiled

“Your really pretty” Bee said in her Australian accent

“Thank you so much” you said

“I fucking love your hair how did you do that” Abby said

You laughed You explained to her how you did my hair until it was time for you guys to go into the villa

All the girls were nervous but they pushed it aside walked straight in

“Heyy boys” bee shouted at them they all shouted

They walked over to them

You were a bit nervous but you were so happy because you finally get to meet Jack after crushing over him on tv

“Hey I’m mir nice to meet you all” you said they All smiled at you but one of them stuck out

“I can’t believe this is happening” Aj said he was a cute boy he had a fro a couple of tattoos

Eventually all the boys settled down you wanted to talk to him so bad you talk to bee about it

“Girl your in here for a reason I really think you should try and talk to him while the girls are still gone” she said and she was right you weren’t really gonna have time to talk to him with Diamond all over him

“Alright I’m gonna do it” you said she hyped you up about it you walked over to where he was sitting

“Can I sit” you said

“Sure” he smiled

“Hii I’m mir nice to me you” you said obviously he knew who you were because you already said that but you wanted to start a conversation

“Jack nice to meet you” you thought you we’re gonna melt he was so cute

“So how are things in here besides the obvious” I said

“I mean for me it could be better” he said

If one thing you’ve been keeping you know that diamond said she didn’t know how she felt about her and Jack she was playing with his feelings

Maybe you coming into the villa you would change things

“Look I’m gonna just be straight forward I came in here for you” I said

“Oh wow okay!!!” I nervously laughed

“Yea I’ve been watching and I know who I have my eye on” you said

“Well I’m open to try” he said smiling at you

Wanting to just kiss him so bad you knew you couldn’t because it’s really too early and you just met

“Well I’ll catch you later jack gonna go talk to more people” you said

You walked around getting to know the other boys there was Ben,Aj,mark,Alex ,and Jack

And honestly out of all of them you still wanted jack

You were talking with Alex when you heard the girls come back they all look puzzled to see three new girls talk to there men

One of the girls came running to you her name was Alison

“Omg welcome!!!” She said she was really sweet

“Thank you so much”

All the girls greeted you except the diamond she just stood there you got the impression and you already knew you wanted to try to talk to her and see for your self

“Heyy” you said

“Hi” she said kinda dry

“I’m mir nice to meet you” you said holding out your hand but she swiped it away

“Mhm” she said walking away

Unsuccessful if you ask me

The day went on it and night time began

You were sitting by yourself collecting your thoughts thinking about how this experience was gonna go you felt someone sit next to you looking over you smiled

“ so how has you experience in the villa been so far” jack said

“Ehh besides one of the girls not liking me” you paused for a second

“Good I’m liking it just a little bit” you said

“That’s great” but before he could say something somebody had gotta a text

“I GOT A TEXTTTT” they yelled

Jack and Mir both ran over to them

“Tomorrow all the boys will get a chance to talk to the 3 new girls

#newgirls #changingthegame” Alex said

You smiled you had been talking to Jack but you wanted to get to know him even more so going on a date with him and getting to know him was the perfect thing for you

#jack harlow #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow concepts

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away-ward · 2 years ago

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Note: I think this is "The Will Post" people reference sometimes, but I'm not sure. Here and Here are the links to the original Anon messages. This was the first time I'd ever received a message like this, so I answered it differently that I would today. Which is probably obvious if you've been here for any length of time.

I think, first and foremost, it’s essential to get out of the way that to enjoy this series, you can’t look at any of the characters too closely. Because once you do, you’ll realize almost everybody here sucks in some way or another.

That being said, let’s look at the characters way too closely.

But thank you so much for reading my fics! The fact that people spend their time doing so is always such a big compliment, even if some of the things I wrote...didn't quite sit right with you.

First up:

Will and Alex

You’re absolutely right that Will and Alex only knew each other for about five years when we got to Nightfall. I messed up when I wrote Reality and said seven years. I realized it about two to three weeks after posting it and never went back to fix it. Good catch.

I see that you have a problem with Alex. That’s valid. I’m not entirely sure if it’s how I portray Alex and her relationship with Will or Alex from the source material that you have a bigger issue with. Still, I’ll try to explain my feelings about her beyond what I’ve said in other posts.

Feel free to correct me if I get anything wrong because, honestly, I have disregarded most of what Alex has said and done. After all, it hardly ever matters to the plot. Like you, I have the viewpoint that Alex’s involvement in the story doesn’t affect anything and, more often than not, makes a scene worse. I can’t think of a single time when Alex did something one of the other characters couldn’t do.

I think the timeline is that Will was arrested at 19 and released at 21/22. He would have met Alex, soon after his release. It would be just a few months before the beginning of Corrupt.

We first meet Alex through Michael. She comes off as confident and self-assured, in complete control of herself. She doesn’t hesitate to let Rika know she’s an escort when the opportunity arises. Her boldness gives off the feeling that she’s world-wise, with years of experience.

The reality is that she’s 19 - the same age as Rika. During her first year at college, she wasn't working as an escort and it was only after she lost her scholarship due to the events in her first year that led to this. Knowing this, she would have only been in this line of work for a few months. It tracks that Alex would be reeling from losing her friends and scholarship. According to her, she didn’t just lose Aydin when her roommate betrayed her. Alex lost her entire support system, and her plans for the future. Maybe she did figure out how to land on her feet through sex work, but I don’t think she was completely content with it – at least not as much as she tries to appear to be. She always said it was temporary, not a forever job, and she planned on doing more once she graduated.

Towards the beginning of their relationship, Will and Alex had a more casual approach to each other. We can see their progression over the years in small moments

In Corrupt, when Damon is being aggressive with Alex, Will laughs and leaves it alone. I think his feelings are that this is her job and she can handle herself. Damon is his friend. Will sides with Damon.

While they genuinely enjoyed each other’s company, they weren’t close. After Damon has betrayed them and they decide to cope by partying. Will invites Alex from Meridian to Thunder Bay, even sending his family's helicopter to retrieve her. But he doesn't pay her an unusual attention. Rika finds her alone and irritated because she's surrounded by high school boys, with Will nowhere near by.

By Hideaway, a year later, they've had some time to get to know each other, and develop a closer relationship. As an example, Will supports Alex in the shopping scene. His comment to Banks is pretty neutral but more positive than the year prior.

In the third year of their friendship or relationship, Will defends Alex against Damon.

Damon's petty words are nothing compared to the way Damon physically treated her just two years ago. Yet, Will's response is much more condemning. Some might argue that Will is acting out of his anger towards Damon, and using Alex as an excuse to lash out. That's fair. Will isn't the most emotionally intelligent person at this point of the story.

However, I think it's a mixture of both. Will wants to hurt Damon by letting him know he's been replaced (with a girl nonetheless. The horror). But it's also that his relationship with Alex has changed. He cares for her more now than he did even a year ago. He won't tolerate Damon saying spiteful things to Alex.

In Kill Switch, when Damon is threatening war, Will is the one who brings up Alex. She's not just a number; he sees value in her being at their side.

A Side Point -

But even then, alex and will was never close like that, no. Because if they were close, then why wouldnt alex knew will's personality, passion, motive in life etc.? I guess their relationship is still shallow af.

Anon, you asked how their friendship could be that deep if she didn’t know that Will was missing, or really anything about him. To address the latter, I don't think Will knew much about himself either. He never had a direction in life, and contrary to what he presented to the world, he didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, which you already said.

Two, I don’t have Conclave on me, so I could be wrong, but weren’t Will’s parents lying for him? First, he was actually globetrotting – posting pictures on social media from various locations. Then the lie was he was with some program to help in third-world countries? Either way, it’s entirely believable that it would take a while to figure out something wasn’t quite right with the story. Should they have figured it out earlier? Sure. It shouldn’t have taken his younger cousin to make his three closest friends aware that Will was missing.

At the end of Kill Switch, Damon mentions they got Will clean from drugs, but alcohol was a bigger issue. He also mentions that he's been leaving messages often, waiting for a response. Damon was mad that Will missed the birth of his son. Damon was trying to make Will aware of what was happening back home.

In the Horsemen’s defense, they’re married with children and running businesses. You can't blame them for not prioritize Will, a grown man. Will made the decision to leave without telling anyone and go to a location they wouldn't be able to find him. He further arranged for his family to lie about his whereabouts. As weak as it is, the boys have a valid excuse for not knowing something was wrong.

The way Conclave focuses on other issues is not the character's fault; it's what the author wanted to focus on. But there's nothing to say that the characters didn't eventually get down to business and figure out what needed to be done to get to Will. I agree that that portion of events would have been a more interesting story and would have set us up beautifully for Nightfall, but I've digressed enough.

Getting back to Alex -

I find that she tends to lean towards putting her pleasure above all else, unless the situation is dire, or she's been given a direct instruction by one of the other characters. She has moments where she takes things seriously. However, for the most part she seems to flounce around with a childish air. Will does too. Maybe that’s why they gravitated towards each other. While Kai, Michael and the others are growing, Will is stuck and Alex is on a similar level. They leaned into each other, and this worked for a while. But when Will was ready to grow up, he knew he couldn't let his friends carry his weight any longer, and that included Alex.

The bottom line, I don’t like Alex. I’ve never liked Alex. I was indifferent to her for a while, but Nightfall did her no favors in my eyes. In reviewing the series, I’ve come to dislike her even more. To use what you’ve said, Alex gives me the "ick." The way she naturally falls into coercing and manipulating people is gross. I'm not saying she's ever forced someone to do something they didn't want to do, but possibly things they'd rather not?

For instance, in Hideaway, Banks acknowledges that Alex "coerced" her into drinking. Banks, while wanting to enjoy a "normal" life, also felt it was important to keep her wits about her when around Kai. So Alex forcing her to drink us slimy behavior. It reads to me that she doesn't care what other people want.

Again, in Hideaway, Alex as pulls Lev away from his post in an attempt to have sex. Same as before, Lev wasn't opposed to the idea of sleeping with Alex, but he had a job to do. That moment was not the time. But Alex ignored that because wanted what she wanted. And like a child, she wanted it there and then.

But when I’m writing about these characters – especially when the setting for a fic is in the canon universe – I don't want to ignore PD intended for their relationship. Will and Alex to had a deep connection, different from what he shared with the others. I’m not convinced it was ever meant to be romantic, but it was meant to be deep.

I think you’re also correct in saying that Will used his friendship with Alex to soothe and distract from the pain he was in. His heartbreak, the trauma of prison, and almost drowning. Will was going through a lot, and at 22 years-old. Compounding all of that was Damon's betrayal.

Which brings us to our next part.

Will and Damon

Damon and alex were always just tools for will to not face reality and not to be alone (even though this fandom really did love to overly romanticise, sexualise and fetishise willdamon's relationship possibly bcs its MxM unlike Rika and Alex who were FxF pairing). One thing to note though, i dont think alex and damon ever truly knew will bcs it always felt like will cared about them more but they only cared about using him to enable themselves?

I think it’s a bit harsh to say Damon was always a tool to distract Will from reality. I believe Will quite liked his reality in high school. He was privileged, wealthy, attractive, athletic, popular, and had a good home life. The only thing missing was the girl of his dreams, and he was delusional enough to think it was only a matter of time before she gave in to him. Will enjoyed every bit of it. He loved the drinking, the partying, the sex, and the camaraderie between his friends and teammates. He lived for it.

What did he need to be distracted from, other than the occasional existential crisis?

Perhaps that is where he used Damon. Regardless, he wasn't doing it consciously.

Alternatively, I think Damon loved Will. He wanted to keep Will “safe” inside this little bubble where nothing could hurt him or take away his joy. Damon wanted Will to be happy. . . as long as that happiness didn't take Will away.

The second Will started talking about Emory like she was different from the other girls was the second Damon began to hate her (which, come to find out later, was the first moment they met). Emory had the ability no one else had: she could either take Will away, or destroy Will. And Will would let it happen because he’s full of love, and he's soft.

Damon did know Will. He knew what he liked, what he wanted, how he thought. He probably understood Will better than Will understood himself. Which is how he knew exactly what to say and what do to hurt Will.

Damon loved Will. That's why Damon was sick at the thought of losing him, completely out of his mind with grief at what he’d done. That's why when Damon thought of leaving, all he wanted was to take Winter, Banks, and Will.

I’d dare to say it’s Michael and Kai that Damon doesn’t care about all that much. Not that he hates them. He’d kill for them. Walk through fire for them. Go to prison rather than rat them out for a lighter sentence. But there’s something different about Will that Damon wanted.

The problem is Damon's a little control freak in the worst possible way. He always goes way too far in everything. His whole redemption arc is him learning how not to do that and still be okay.

I’m not a Damon apologist, if there is such a thing. Damon’s trauma and redemption arc didn't really do much for me. However, I won’t deny that he does add to the series for me. If Damon was on the page, I was paying attention, whether I liked him or not.

I would have loved for his redemption arc to be the last part of the series because it makes more sense as a conclusion. To read Nightfall, not knowing if he was really their enemy would have made his scenes in the past, especially with Emory, all the more chilling and suspenseful. As it is, they lack an edge because we already know Damon's conclusion.

But the story is what it is, and again, I don't want to ignore what PD was trying to do with Damon and Will, so when I write about the two of them, where one is, the other follows.

Besides all that, PD did an excellent job of introducing the potential bond that Damon and Emory could potentially share. They can relate to each other on multiple levels:

The abuse.

The love for Will.

Their artistic visions.

The way they covered for each other when they didn’t need to.

Their bond would be much stronger than Emory's is with Alex, and I wish the fandom focused on it more.

Moving on.

Will

You’re right when you say that Will was doing all those things before he went to prison, before he almost died, and before Damon left him.

The difference is that he was doing it for fun.

He didn’t need to do it. His life didn’t revolve around it. It wasn’t an everyday thing. Things changed after Emory broke his heart and his friends left for different colleges. That's when he started to spiral out of control.

Once his support system - the routine of school, friends, basketball, seeing Emory regularly - was gone, he couldn’t cope.

I like to focus on that aspect of Will. He was weak and soft before because he’d never faced a real challenge. His privilege, and later on Damon, prevented him from experiencing any difficulties in life. When change was on the horizon, Will didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know who he was outside of being a rich teenager. Had things gone along without interruption, he probably would have continued down that path, either never growing up completely or eventually dying from an overdose.

Will had an easy life, but it wasn't to his benefit. Going to prison might have saved him. He might have been okay...

If Damon hadn't betrayed him.

Damon did betray him. And after, he started spiraling again. But this time it was worse. He couldn't go a day without something to dull the pain. As Banks said, he was only sober long enough to get to his fridge. Nothing was good.

To add salt to wound, he didn’t even have his friends to fall back on. His two remaining friends were moving on without him. The girl of his dreams didn’t care that he went to prison for her, and in his head she cared so little about him she couldn't be bothered to call. Rika wasn’t the revenge he was hoping for.

The fandom talks a lot about Damon’s trauma, but we ignore entirely that between the four boys, Will comes in a close second for the most traumatized.

In his early 20s, Will had to cope with losing Emory, going to prison, nearly dying, and losing his best friend, all within a matter of about four years. That's a lot to go through for anyone, but especially for someone who had no coping skills to begin with. All he had going for him was Alex, and how easy she was to lose himself with.

I haven’t considered how much Alex effected him and in which ways. I want to think that since they were new friends, she took an “it’s not my place to tell him what to do / his friends will step in if it goes too far” position with Will. But as I mentioned in my Alex section above, Alex had the habit of encouraging people to make unhealthy decisions in an attempt to mask her own pain. It's possible she egging him on because it’s what she wanted.

Not that he is excused from responsibility. Will was an active participant in his own downward spiral. Just like Alex, he'd hide his pain behind a mask of smiles and good times, which is why they got along so well.

It worked. Until it didn't anymore.

His friends cut him a lot of slack. They let his stupid mistakes go unchecked and unpunished because it’s Will. In their eyes, he never meant any harm, or he was young and dumb, or he was hurting. They gave him a million excuses because they loved him. They weren’t strong enough to be the firm hand and give him the tough love he needed. Will knew when Damon came back, there would be no more excuses. That pressure of needing to grow up was already setting in.

Will was able to kick his drug habit with his friend's help. With the clarity that came with being sober, he saw himself dragging his friends down. They were starting families and businesses, but he was still stuck in the past. Kai said it best when he said Will never did anything on his own. They were leaving him behind, and he couldn't join them yet. Will knew what he needed to do, but he was too embarrassed to ask them for help. He was aware that everyone thought he was the weak link. And they were right. After William Sr told him about the pictures and the fake police report, he knew he had to do something to protect his friends. So, he makes a decision completely on his own:

He'll go to Blackchurch. If he can survive this place without the help of his friends, and come back with a loyal group of men, he'll have proved he deserves to be a Horsemen. That he's not just hanging on to their coattails.

He needed to be the strong one, and save them for once.

In Blackchurch, Will gets stripped back to his core; his barest form. He's still working to gain the loyalty of the group there, but he's lost the drive to leave. Questions about who he is and his worth still plague him, and he's not ready to return to the real world and discover the answers to those questions. In Blackchurch, he can be the animal he feels he is. He doesn't have to grow up. His friends will be fine without him, just as they always were.

Emory appearing shakes him up. She reminds him of the anger he feels towards her, and by extension Martin and Evans. She reminds him that sometimes you have to grow up, even if you don't want to. She reminds him who he used to be, before things went wrong; the version of himself he actually liked.

I’m not sure where I’m going with this thought. But I think all the reasons people commonly complained about Will are why he went to Blackchurch. He wanted to get sober to grow up, and stop being the weakest Horsemen, and protect and be there for his friends the way they've protected and supported him.

I hated Will through most of the series because of his actions, the way he treated Banks and Winter specifically, and how boring he was on page. Once I realized the smiles and stupidity was to hide all his pain, his motives and actions became more obvious.

I'm not a Damon Apologist, but apparently I am a Will Defender. Go figure.

If there's one thing that true about all four Horsemen, but was never more clear than in Nightfall, it's if you hit low, they go lower. They’ll go to straight to hell if it means getting revenge on anyone who's pissed them off.

They’re petty.

The Horsemen

I love friendships. Especially strong ones. The kind that don’t make sense on the surface. The kind of friendships where you know if it weren’t for unconditional love and loyalty running through every word they say.

On a separate note, i feel like the relationship between the horsemen or even will and alex was always a tad bit too shallow.

I agree to a certain extent. The problem with the Horsemen is that because they are supposed to focus on the four romances, we don’t get much of their friendship. Sucks for me, because it was the most addictive part of the series. PD gives us small glimpses here and there, and then says, “Just trust me, they’re closer than brothers.”

However, that leaves a lot to be desired when the entire plot hinges on them practically dying for each other every other year. But I’ve read other books about solid relationships. I’ve watched shows with the same dynamic. The idea of a unique foursome with an unparalleled bond isn’t unheard of by any means. So, I can fill in the gaps, and to pull inspiration from other sources to fill-in what PD clearly intended.

As you said, Anon, there were many times when their problems could have been solved by communication. However, I don’t think communication was a skill any of these men developed. Especially when admitting they were wrong, or talking about their feelings, or showing any sign of weakness in front of each other. Pride is a cruel master; it will tear you down if you give it a chance.

Never once did I consider faults to be a lack of love for each other. These characters would live and die for each other, which they've proved time after time.

Michael was overly cautious where Will was reckless, which often caused disagreements. Michael acknowledged this in Corrupt. Yet, his distress at seeing Will in the water is so clear. Kai being concerned that Will was acting out wears on him in Hideaway. Damon giving Will the chance to pummel him proves that he cares about what Will was feeling. Damon's focus on Will during all of Kill Switch is also unignorable.

I get why you’d say they didn’t care about Will if you're only looking at the window of time when Will was deliberately concealing things from them, taking advantage of them being distracted by work and their growing families. Just because Will did something he never did before and they were caught off guard doesn't mean they didn't know him.

Emory... versus the world?

so on the basis that men can be scums, why cant women, so if aydin taylor will can be shit, why cant emmy?? And people always like to act as if the women always had to be good even when her circumstances shown otherwise. No one needs to be the bigger person here. If the men can destroy, let the women go ballistic too yk. And they hate em too, and be simping over damon, just bcs 1. She was mean to will, 2. She never came back for will. You understand what i mean with double stanrds and purity culture applied to women here?

Emory learned to think on her feet through trial and error with Martin. Unlike Will, she had to learn to survive, which made her think things through before making a decision. Of course, it made her too wary and overly defensive at times. One wrong step and she could have lost her life to Martin losing control.

Emory had a plan to survive and eventually escape. It didn't include falling for a pretty boy with pretty words. She knew, as good as it sounded and as much as she wanted it, any plan that Will came up with to save her and her grandma could have gone sideways real fast. She made the decision that had the best chance of succeeding, because it relied on her alone. It was made out of fear and loneliness, but I don’t think that fear was misplaced. Hating her because she was forced to make that decision is dumb.

I will say she gave Will mixed signals. Will said she's not the same in the daylight, and that comes from the times they were alone together and she was different. I don't blame her for that. She liked him too, against her better judgment, and she was young. He was the one good thing in her life outside her grandma, and for once she let herself enjoy it. I can't blame her for being human and needing him, but it's not wrong to hold her accountable for hurting him nonetheless.

Just like it's not wrong to hold Will accountable to the fact that he didn't listen for the three years she tried to warn him to stay away. Just like it's not wrong to hold him accountable for pushing her when she had previously said no.

I don’t understand Alex and Emory’s relationship. I don’t get why Alex was so friendly with Emory when they first met, and then later judged her for not being around when Will was hurt. Either she understood Emory’s struggle, or she didn’t. Either way, she's lying in one of those scenarios and it doesn’t make sense.

As for Aydin - I don’t care about Aydin. I hated him. I still hate him. I hate that he’s barely three years older than Emory, abducted her, messed with her mind, forcibly kissed her to make Will and Alex jealous (which is still considered a form of sexual assault, by the way), and she still wanted to consider him a mentor. I don’t care that he was more valuable as an ally. I thought their bond was too strong after less than a week to be taken that seriously.

I mean, Anon, you’re criticizing the bond between the Horsemen even though they’ve known each other for over a decade, but Emory's known Aydin for all of five days, and that’s all it takes for her to need him and understand him? Because she realized he’d be better as their ally against the families? Because she's smart? I call BS on this entire thing. This was one of the weakest storylines in my opinion.

I still don’t know what Aydin brought to the table that Micah or Rory didn’t. He's there because of only because of Alex, so to favor him while despising her also doesn't make sense to me. They're literally the same.

Anon, are you talking about how other fans treat Emory like she’s the worst character because she hurt Will? When literally all of these characters have hurt each other—all of them. So, if people are hating on Emory for hurting Will, then they're probably biased toward one of the other girls (probably Alex). Not saying that readers can't dislike Emory for other reasons. She won't be for everyone and I'm sure there are valid reasons to dislike her. For me, she was the one I could relate to the most out of the main four, and I really felt for her struggles. She had the most realistic character arc, and her finding her way back to Will made the most sense over Rika, Banks, Winter, and even Alex with Aydin.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on everything you said. Somewhere along the way, I lost track of what I was actually attempting to say. Regarding my way of writing specifically, since I'm filling in voids and holes that I felt were too unanswered, I tried to remain as close to canon as I could. Not necessarily what was there, but what was intended. I don't always keep them in character as PD wrote them, but I try to get the same vibe.

***

Anyone is welcomed to share their thoughts...if you're brain's not numb by now. If it is, I understand. Thanks for making it this far and listening to my rambling.

-KO

#devil's night series #asked and answered #asked and answered 11 #the horsemen of devil's night #the women of devil's night #will grayson iii #no alex tag #anti-damon torrance #emory scott #debated putting DN tag in because this is a lot #let me know if I should remove it #I don't write essays #I just wanna write pretty words and characters smooching

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