#NOT super fun for people who enjoy fantasy for other reasons

[greenerteacups]

All this talk of HOTD convinced me to finally watch the show, so I put on the first episode. Fifteen minutes in, I had flashbacks of all the violence and mistreatment of women that went on in GOT, and I had to pause because, damn, does it get intense very very soon. I haven’t watched anything intense in a while, so steeling my heart and taking a couple of breaths before diving back in. Wish me luck.

Yeah it's a very graphic show. Like the books, it's trying to explore the way that classic "medieval fantasy" would realistically operate and, for HOTD in particular, how women would fit into that picture. If that's not your usual palate in terms of media, I can see how it might not be for you! I'm a sucker for thick worldbuilding and a low magic system, and even by its own standards I do think the writing is a cut above what you get on most "prestige" TV. But it's probably the most violent show on mainstream TV since AGOT/TWD.

[partyanimal167]

Never a Shortage PT 2- Miguel x F!Reader

Chapter Two: Too Old to Make the Same Mistakes

The voting was SUPER close with this chapter, but I'm excited to indulge into my salt-n-pepper Miguel fantasies. Low key at work, there's an older guy who looks almost how I imagine old man Miguel to look (like 60). We're shooting for like mid 40s with this one (not that that's old), but reader is def older than 21 so

Any way! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy~

PT 1

CW: SMUT, mdni, black fem reader in mind, older!Miguel variant, mild cussing, dirty talk, jealousy trope (not crazy toxic), praise kink, age gap, almost bed breaking sex, brat taming, author knows some Spanish

Life had a funny way about making things work out even when it seems like it isn't. You had the plan , but duty still called. However, maybe by the grace of the universe and LYLA, things could work in your favor.

In the moment was the idea to prove to Miguel that you had plenty of options great? Yes! However, you were now pondering how that was going to even happen when things in the Spider Society had been so busy that you and Miguel only had time to brief missions and work.

Boo! Work! Potato!

Things had gotten like this before, but that was when canon events and universes were at stake. This just seemed like an uptick in anomalies and necessary research. Which, hey, is not as stressful, so there's that. But you had fun to plan.

Things had finally been quiet for a couple days when your gizmo (watch) went off and Lyla popped up.

"Hey girl hey~" You could never truly be mad when she sounded like that. You stayed slumped in your bed and threw up a peace sign. "Wow totally unenthusiastic."

You laughed as you sat up and gave her more of your attention. "My bad. You know I've been running around everywhere." you sighed. "Don't tell me there's an anomaly here. Please, I'll cry."

Lyla's face glitched into a laughing emoji before she waved her hand while giggling. "No, silly! Pierre on Earth-161 needs some assistance on a recon mission. It's just some fancy party, but he'll need some close support if things don't go well."

It seemed easy enough, so you nodded along. "Miguel's sending me?"

Lyla popped her gum before shaking her head. "Nuh uh, he actually went home for once, so I'm just helping with the little tasks. Hopefully, he can get some rest. He was being a bit grumpy--well more than usual." You hummed as your brain was starting to roll with ideas. "Anyway, I'll send you some information while you rest. Party's tomorrow. Bye~"

You laid back down once Lyla was gone. You hadn't gone on many missions with Pierre, but he seemed like the strong, silent type. He mainly nodded and worked without comments. It kinda reminded you of those silent films except there were no text cards to see what he says or thinks. However, you never really heard Miguel complain about him, so that was something.

Speaking of Miguel...

You were a bit stuck on how to poke back at him for his little comment. You weren't lying when you said there were definitely people willing and waiting to bed you (some even again), but for whatever reason, a piece of you wanted a bit of a chase, a thrill, something new it seemed. You briefly thought about flirting with Pierre, but while you are curious to see if it got a reaction, you didn't want to accidentally hurt the guy's feelings. Who knows how he'd react?

You groaned as you swiped through wardrobe suggestions Lyla sent over and let your mind drift off.

~~~

The night was smooth-sailing as you looked around the buzzing gala hall as people spoke amongst themselves while others danced.

The mission's setting was safe and secure. You knew that Lyla and Miguel did their best to avoid sending people to universes where they could easily run into and/or interact with that universe's variant. You knew that there were no canon events at risk on this mission, but Lyla assured you that seeing another you wouldn't occur. It did bum you out though sometimes. It was nice to see the other versions and traits of a person. How were they living elsewhere? Did they pursue a dream that another had given up for something else? It seemed that the paths of life were literally endless.

For now though, you just surveyed the area while Pierre swept the building in search for some files and data. You sat pretty in a strapless navy blue dress with white fingerless evening gloves and gold accents from your earrings and necklace and hair pinned up. You weren't really a fan of dressing up, but it was nice to play the part once in a while. You also didn't mind the fun, consequenceless flirting with people who stopped to talk to you. You easily gave a fake name and believable backstory. The night was turning out to be more fun than work, and you wouldn't complain.

You glanced at your phone and saw a message from Pierre saying that he was transferring a large amount of digital wares to his base and it would take a decent amount of time. You chuckled that he texted; even earlier, he had only quietly thanked you after you confirmed the details with Lyla.

A server walked by with a tray of champagne, so you decided to take one and head outside for some fresh air.

The moonlight was bright with clear skies above. You hummed quietly to the distant music from inside and relaxed. Your body swayed along as you listened and melted into the moment. These moments were always nice to get lost into.

Suddenly, that familiar tingly flashed too late, but you barely gasped when large hands held your hips and your back met the hard chiseled chest of the stranger behind you.

"Ah, you're usually so much easier to scare. I must have lost my touch with time." the voice rumbled through you--deep and husky, but a light playfulness that made your heart skip and brain pause for a moment.

You decided to play innocent instead of going into fight mode. After all, this was a simple mix up. You weren't from here. You didn't turn towards the man but giggled sweetly in your hand. "Uh sorry, I think you might have the wrong person sir." You turned then and were surprised by the sight seemingly as much as the man was with you.

This was definitely Miguel O'Hara, but not the stressed out, authoritative boss of Spider Society. This man was an older version--modest sections of gray hair and a charm in his eye that came with time. He was still fit and large, but there was some taut skin that highlighted full veins on his neck and hands. There was a deeper set of brown in his complexion from years in the sun, soft lines around his mouth and eyes. You blinked a couple times seeming to want to capture this appearance permanently in your mind.

The gentleman spoke first. "Mi querida, you're so young."

The softness in his eyes and tenderness in his voice caused your brain to pause. It was very...sweet. You had those moments with Miguel of course, in the after glow. But the man seemed as if he would build the world from scratch for you. Fight battles for you. Destroy and create life for you.

It was shocking.

So you quickly turned away and ran.

It wasn't your best moment, but you made it back into the crowd before the man could stop you. You were thankful that you could walk comfortably enough in these shoes to get away. This wasn't really the place to shoot off a web and fling into the air. For a moment, you thought about calling Lyla to see if you could cut your mission short, but maybe you were being dramatic. Nothing was disrupted, and you got away. If you were lucky, this Miguel was just your average citizen.

You made your way to a secluded area of the building where small groups of people chatted quietly and took a breather from the fun. You stood by a pillar that faced one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and let out a deep breath. For now, all you needed to do was keep a low profile until Pierre finished up.

That tingly feeling again appeared; your eyes flashed open when a large presence blocked out the moonlight and loomed over you. Two arms caged you in, and you squeaked in response to the seeming growl that emitted.

"Amor, you should know better than to run from a retired leader of the Spider-Force." he looked down at you amused. It was just your luck--an older, wiser Spider-Man of course. Wait! Why didn't Pierre tell you anything? You were so going to cuss that sneaky quiet man out later. You pressed a little more against the pillar and felt the stone slightly give from your unrestrained strength. The man grinned. "So what game are we playing now? Is someone trying to tempt me with delusions? A clone from the past?"

And even if those were apparently threats, you could tell that man didn't mind at all. Even from the way he eyed you in place felt full of confidence. Not quite the same as with the other "main" Miguel. This felt more like control and assurance than cockiness. If anything, you felt more captured than him.

"Uh, no, sir," your brain randomly landed on that term, "this is really all a big misunderstanding. Um, maybe Spider-Man, Pierre, can clear things up; I'm not who you think I am. I'm from-,"

"Oh jeez, please don't tell me this is related to that dimension-jumping shit. I told those young ones to focus on what's happening here." the man grunted as he leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked more annoyed than anything. You stayed pressed against the pillar unsure of how to proceed. He kissed his teeth before taking a look at you. "Excuse me," he held out his hand, "Miguel O'Hara--retired Spider-Man, decrepit geezer who now just gives back to the city and fusses at the new kids." his smile made your heart flutter.

You took his hand and shook it firmly. "I'm y/n, Spider-Woman to Earth 1019. Pleasure to meet you, sir." Miguel chuckled at you calling him that. "And well, I must say you're definitely not decrepit." Wait why did I say that?

"You're a Spider-Woman and a flirt now? And I thought I had you all figured out." he grinned. Your eyes flicked down to the canine that peeked before meeting his eyes.

Crisis averted, so you could at least relax a little. "Well I'm sure you know, but I'm not exactly the same as the...me who lives here. I'm sure there are things you don't know about me."

And for some reason, that felt like a challenge. "You sure, princessa? Maybe I know things about you that you haven't realized yet."

You huffed out a laugh. "Like what, sir?" It didn't surprise you that a Miguel seemed to think they had you figured out. It'd be fun to see even this one be shocked.

You gasped as your chin was tilted up, and that gentle calloused thumb rubbed your bottom lip fondly. Miguel rocked a little to the side as if examining you. The moonlight reflected and sparkled on some of his gray locks. You bit your cheek to stop from whimpering. "Well an easy one is that language kink of yours. Sabes que te puedo a decir las palabras todas a hacer te mojada." he leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "And you only call me sir when you're being a brat, so maybe it's been awhile since you've been fucked properly." the moan slipped past your lips before you could even process it. "Mmm, so that's it. La princessita necesita mi boca a sentir bueno. Have you been a good girl? Maybe I can show you what you get when you behave."

It felt weird to be told about yourself. As much as you wanted to argue and fight it, the things he said felt too sure and real to ignore. Plus, your body made it very clear that he was telling the truth too. You hummed as you stick your tongue out and lick his thumb before nibbling. "You can try your best."

~~~

It was crazy; everything was crazy.

Nearly everywhere that handsome man touched felt as if it was on fire. Whatever challenge you threw his way, he eagerly matched it. You thought it'd be polite to warn him about your superhuman strength, but all Miguel did was chuckle and wink.

He was gentle with easing off your dress and mindful of your hair--all an illusion. Because as soon as your hands were on him, it seemed to have awaken something feral that was hidden beneath. You devoured the sight of brown skin with its own scars and stories of the past. The moon's glow made a nearly ethereal image which threatened your bratty nature.

And Miguel noticed it all. He pushed his soft hair back before reaching down to removing your heels. He knelt down at the bed before kissing at your ankles and caressing your calves.

"You look good down there." you taunted before gasping into a moan after a sweet spot of yours was nibbled.

"Behave," was all that was said before Miguel continued to kiss and lick up for legs. He fawned over your thighs and mumbled to himself. "La reina de mi sueno, you look so delicious." And you couldn't hide the shiver that went down even if you wanted to. "Mmm, I know mami, thanks for my meal." And the man tore off your lace before beginning to devour you messily.

You immediately begun to thrash and shake a bit, but your body seemed to barely move with how easily this Miguel held you and kept you connected to his mouth and tongue despite your best attempts. You moans bounced off the walls and grew once Miguel so graciously gave you a thick finger to stretch you out. You bit your lip and threw an arm over your eyes feeling that rare shyness make an appearance.

That earned you a slap on your thigh. "Ah ah, no you don't. I get to see how you feel pretty girl. Keep those eyes on me." And you so obediently listened.

Miguel continued. His tongue traced over your clit and sucked at your lips. He built more of a rhythm and fucked his fingers deeper inside. You didn't care about being loud anymore. The room was far away from the festivities any way. You groaned and held on tight to the man's shoulder and nearly anywhere you could get your hands on.

Soon, your orgasm was approaching; you chocked on your whines and sobs not even being able to hold out longer as Miguel sped up. "Come on my face reina, give it to me." The order was simple, and your body listened. You gasped as you gushed and clenched on Miguel's fingers. You nearly whimpered as he continued through your high, but you didn't want to fight. Even as it felt nearly too much, you still wanted more.

Your chest heaved up and down trying to get air in your lungs. Your mind was fuzzy, and you could barely make out that that slick that decorated Miguel's handsome mug. There was that cocky expression. "Aww bebita, I haven't even fucked you dumb yet." And if it was even possible, you felt wetter. You made a half-assed attempt to turnover, but a lazy flick of the wrist kept you on your back and looking up at this handsome man. Miguel simply kissed his teeth at you. "No, no. You don't get to hide from me. I wanna see those pretty tears, reina." He brought one of your ankles up and rested in his shoulder. He gave it a light peck. "Been dreaming of wrecking you for years."

And even though, you knew he didn't really mean you, you couldn't help the shiver that shot through or the whimper from your throat. "Fuck me sir...please."

And Miguel's grin in response was nearly feral. "Good girl."

It seemed as though both Miguels' knew that you could handle a bit of teasing. This one rubbed his tip on your clit and only chuckled as you whined and shifted--though his tight grip on your hips let you know that he could handle all that power you kept control. Whether you were super strong or not, Miguel could keep up and more.

A complaint was just on the tip of your tongue before you gasped at the sudden full penetration that made you melt. His member was in deep and pushed against your soft soaked walls. You groaned aloud and immediately went to grip on the headboard. The needy, lustful gloss in your eyes made Miguel fill with pride. "Hehe, don't go breaking my things, reina." And with that, he started a full and steady pace that had you split between losing yourself and minding how you only aided in the bed's abuse. Then, he started speaking again. "Damn, you feel so fucking good." and if you paid more attention, you'd notice how the sweat had Miguel glowing and how his hair flowed a bit more into his face. He was groaning and panting with how delicious you smelled and the softness yet fire in your eyes. Miguel knew he was whipped from the moment he met your variant all those years ago, but seeing you like this just like when you two met had him nearly blushing and busting from fulfilling that secretive long-time fantasy.

Those deep strokes continued as Miguel leaned forward and hungrily captured your lips. You were gone at this point. It was too much; everything was burning, yet you still wanted to keep going. Your eyes glossed with tears once Miguel started hitting your g-spot over and over. There wasn't enough air in your lungs as you panted and moaned feeling something give a little under the weight of your hand. You were clueless as Miguel brought your hand into his while the other started playing with your clit. He growled in your ear.

"Naughty girl, you're starting to break the bed," but he didn't sound upset at all, "maybe next time I'll web you up." He kissed right below your ear. "Mmm, but you're a strong girl. I'll keep you nice and cozy and bound. You don't get to escape me." He took in your hazy expression and bit his lip. So beautiful. "Now, let me feel how this pussy cums on my dick," he huffed and panted "now reina."

And you barely let out the broken cries of his name as you came and felt such a stretched out orgasm. You were floating yet sinking at the same time. You hummed and moaned as you came down and barely heard the praises or felt the gentle rubs in your hair.

"Good girl. Now's time for round two."

~~~

You sat blushing as you peered over the unfamiliarity skyline and sipped your tea. The warmth of the cotton robe was enough to keep you comfortable, but your heart occasionally skipped a beat when you caught the broken bed that was favoring one side. (Definitely not your fault).

You also pondered what you were going to say to Pierre once you saw him. In the heat of your...side quest, the man had reached out letting you know he was done. However, he sent a message thanking you once he didn't get a reply after thirty minutes. You couldn't remember if your gizmos were connected, but you hadn't been woken up by an irritated call from boss-Miguel, so hopefully Pierre had your back in the end. I'll need to get him a little gift or something...I'll ask Lyla what he likes.

A large hand pressed into a sore spot in your shoulder, and you were reminded of the exact events that lead to your..side quest. You couldn't totally feel bad. You got a good look as this Miguel took a seat across from you with his own mug. The soft sunlight was warm against his skin; he certainly looked gentler than last night.

"Sorry if I kept you from your mission. That definitely wasn't...professional of me." He chuckled lightly and even seemed a bit shy from the night's events. It was cute.

You smiled and shook your head. "Ah no worries. I wasn't really needed any way." You leaned forward and placed a kiss on the man's black and gray stubble. "It was fun."

The man took your hand and pecked it. "It was."

You two sat in a comfortable silence for a while before your thoughts kept poking at you and you finally gave in. "Well I do wanna know, uh, well. I mean I'm not complaining. Last night was great. And I'm sure you're attracted to me, but why-"

Miguel's hearty chuckle cut you off, and you awaited eagerly. "Why am I not with this earth's version of you?" He smiled softly and you peered a little to see the soft blush poke from under the stubble. "I just get incredible shy when I look at you, her. She's seen me through all my mess and problems. I could never do anything to lose her. She's...precious." you blinked for a moment before giggling lightly. "Nena, behave."

You smiled and waved your hand. "No, I'm not laughing at you! It's just so sweet." You hummed and stood to stretch. "I mean, you certainly care for her, and if she's been single for awhile, then who knows? You'll be a lucky man."

There was a sparkle in Miguel's eyes as he looked at you fondly. "Maybe you're right. Do you think Miguels and yous are meant to be?"

Miguel was amused by the pout on your gave after that question. "Eh, I don't know. The Miguel I deal with on the regular is an asshole. He just doesn't realize what a catch I am." You then posed.

The older man laughed fully before winking. "Well shame on him. I'll be around if you ever need a reminder." And there was a flash of hunger in his eyes.

Your face warmed up and you turned off to the side. "I will need your dimensional number if you have one...to send you some money for the bed."

"Haha, nonsense. It'll get replaced soon and it'll be a good reminder. I've got some work to do." He paused and your gazes met again. "Besides, I hope you don't mind, but I put it in there already--under my name and everything." You were about to point out the obvious problem with that, but Miguel had it covered. "Trust me, you'll know it's me." You hummed in response.

After trying to tidying up and some light conversation, you two Spiders said goodbye, and you opened a portal to your room.

You flopped on your bed and sighed deeply. That was surely not how you expected your night to go, but damn if it wasn't amazing either. You decided to check in with HQ later since it was still a bit early in the day. You'd at least reach out to Pierre for sure though.

The morning went on with you swiping at your phone and reading random stories when a notification popped up on your screen.

Sexy Señor Papi Miguel: Stay in touch, reina 😉

You laughed loudly before humming and replying. He was definitely a sexy Miguel, but corny like an old man too.

~~~~

Whew! I'm actually proud of this chapter. Smut takes me forever to write bc I get in my head about it 😅🙃

I think I have an idea for the next chapter, but feel free to drop some ideas here or in my dms. I'm gonna try my best to get it out before my vacation ends 🙏🏾

Thanks for reading!!!

Taglist: @sukunash0e @jinnieminniemoon @turtlegreentia

[fizzingwizard]

I was genuinely looking forward to Lupin vs Holmes in part 6, but what a disappointment it was. Actually, disappointment is too weak a word. In my opinion, it was pretty much a disaster.

There were so many reasons to be hyped for that crossover. You've got Holmes, the greatest detective of his time, and Lupin, the greatest thief of his. They're both canny, eccentric, and always a step ahead of everyone else. They're also both independent and live by their own set of morals. Holmes picks which cases he'll take without concern for money, and lets people go even if they're guilty if his own convictions say they don't deserve punishment. Lupin always does what he wants, doesn't let himself get pushed around, and enjoys wreaking havoc among inhumane criminals just as much as he enjoys flouting the law.

They're even perfectly matched in the ways they're different. I was open to them either liking or disliking each other (though I feel convinced they'd definitely have respect for each other), because I can see either take making sense. Holmes is calculations with a pinch of chaos, Lupin is chaos with a measured dash of calculation. Holmes eschews relationships aside from a very few - Lupin enjoys social interaction (but prioritizes just a few). Holmes is functionally asexual. Lupin is never not horny.

Even the supporting cast was so promising! To tell the truth, from watching previous seasons I didn't really think the rest of the Lupin gang or Watson would have much to do. But I hoped they would because there was so much potential.

I mean Jigen and Watson are both war veterans in their own way. It's not the best comparison (Watson was a doctor, and got shot almost immediately... but he is also a "man of action" and does have a lot of fight and pluck, even if he's not going to be a match for Jigen in terms of marksmanship). And they're the right hand men of two pretty difficult geniuses... couldn't they spend a moment commiserating lmao.

It could have been awesome to see Fujiko interact with Holmes because her usual tricks wouldn't work on him. I admit it isn't unlikely the show would have been like "Ahh, but this time they do work on him, just like Irene Adler!" and totally ignored that book!Irene impressed Holmes with her wiliness and not her sexiness... But I'm talking about my fantasy here. And in my fantasy, Holmes would have had a similar reaction to Fujiko's manipulation and acting skills similar to how he did with Irene. It would have been pretty cool to see Fujiko interact with a man who was NOT into her, but was just as smart and brave and perhaps wiser than Lupin.

Even Goemon would have had something to do. He could have had a super cool kenjutsu vs baritsu ("what even is that?") battle with Holmes. Extra points if Goemon walks away saying "I respect the skill of that fellow warrior, even if he can't spell his own martial art correctly."

And of course Lestrade and Zenigata's shenanigans at Scotland Yard are a nobrainer. But serious bonus points if they both pine away with equal envy and admiration for their respective smart ass thorns in the side hahahahahahaha.

I mean. There was SO MUCH there. How, HOW do you mess that up???

(Answer: By knowing absolutely nothing about Sherlock Holmes to begin with and basing everything on your memories of inaccurate movies from fifty years ago x'D)

So instead we got: perpetually sad, somber Sherlock Holmes, who isn't working the job that he literally loves anymore in favor of looking miserable a lot and raising a child. And the child is Watson's kid, who Watson can't raise because he's fucking DEAD, and mom can't raise because SHE'S dead (just say Holmes is her mom. Come on. We're in the future. Just say it). Also Watson is dead because Lestrade killed him like WHAT. Of all the twists they could have gone one, they definitely surprised me with that one. Was it a fun surprise though? ... No, no it wasn't.

Add to that the extremely dull characterizations of everyone, the heavy reliance on the danger to a little girl who isn't even a canonical character but is very cute, and the slow, slow pace of the episodes... What a mess. It was memorable, sure, but for the wrong reasons.

Like the only thing I can think of that I didn't hate about the whole arc was Lily taking her first steps as Holmes's assistant at the very end. Fine, that's adorable, and makes me feel ever so slightly better about Watson being dead. And I'm desperate for something to like here so let's go with it.

("It's not really Sherlock Holmes anyway because of the generational difference, it's his great grandson who has his exact same name and job! Same with Watson and Lestrade and sexy Mrs Hudson and and and-" I'm gonna stop you right there we all know it's Holmes. Whatever excuses they make, no matter how they have to bend time and physics to make it happen, it is Holmes Prime in every way that matters lol.)

A melancholy sigh for the Coolest Crossover Ever That Wasn't. As a Lupin fan and a Sherlock Holmes fan, I'll regret it till the day I die.

[kozh-lucium]

Warning, a rant of BG3 fandom (and of astarion)

BG3 and Astarion stans TM (not normal fans, mind you) made me realize I'm too old for fandom like...this.

Idk if I'm just unlucky or something like that, but the amount of people who equates "nuance" with "let's go full genocide bcs it's fun and to troll wyll/karlach" is too damn high.

Aaaand not surprising, almost all of them are astarion stans tm. Look, I'm not saying all of astarion fans are like this, but forgive me for getting more and more uncomfortable with how some people are acting. So apparently I am not allowed to complain about how astarion keeps being a dick in act 1, but they're allowed to hate karlach and wyll so much because they're "goody two shoes"?

Sorry, it sounds like hypocrisy.

Just the other day i had a fight with several people, over discussion of Gandrel (the gur we met in the swamp). It's crazy for me how they feel the need to invent ridiculous just to justify killing him. I can respect if the reson if "It's more pragmatic" (I mean, i still disagree since we can just lie to him), I even respect more when someone said "lol i did it because I'm an astarion simp, I'll do whatever he ask me to". But to say that gandrel is an amoral character who needs to die because he will make a deal with the hag just to find astarion? Or that he doesn't have proof that astarion is hurting people?

Are these people serious??

It's extra ironic how one of them just before this claim that I imposed modern morality for finding their action to be not neutral, and that faerun being medieval dark fantasy setting is suppsed to be more lenient to evil actions, elyet in the same breath accusing an NPC as amoral for trying to strike a deal with the hag, enought that it's okay to kill him.

For some reason, to them, not liking evil run meams you're media illiterate and can't handle nuance.

Look, i can't handle it, i wouldn't enjoy witcher 2 writing and def. will stake astarion the first chance i got.

Sorry for the long rant. I'm super cranky right now. I hate edgelords like them.

[4th-make-quail]

May I ask a clarifying question on your boundaries? I don’t consider myself “proship” or “anti” as I think those terms are reductive, and two people who may both fit under one label could have incredibly different opinions. However, I believe that the way I interact with media could be something that someone would call “anti”, in that I find it more interesting to look at fiction through the lens of reality rather than “fiction doesn’t effect reality”, by which I mean when reading Lolita I like to go “okay so what is this saying about how the psych profession saw csa at the time?” “How was this influenced by Nabokov’s own experiences?”, I see Marius and Armand as a reflection of child sexual abuse and enjoy analysing it under a more realistic lens, and would find wincest more interesting as a look at enmeshment between siblings under an abusive parent, rather than a ship (although what people mean by the term “ship” is also really vague and can differ wildly).

Based on that, and what you say in your pinned post, would you prefer I don’t interact? I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable!

Okay so to preface this, I don't go into much detail in my pinned because I hate the whole thing, and I hate spaces which are super dedicated to the pro/anti discourse. I try to keep my online spaces free of discourse and drama because its simply not fun! I don't want to spend my days steeping in negativity.

This got very long, so I'm gonna put it under a cut!

So. The thing is anon, the proship label originally came about as a response to antis, to describe people who don't actually care what other people ship ("ship and let ship", "your kink is not my kink and that's okay" and all that), but it's been massively conflated these days and now people take it to describe what they call problematic ships or art. You're right about them being reductive terms - and in fact, I have a lot of freak friends who are super into things I personally dislike or am outright squicked by (and vice versa), because we're not a monolith.

My stance entirely is this: I don't care what other people ship. I don't care how they ship it, or how they want to analyse and engage with that source material. I think what people ship and what art people enjoy has no say at all in what their morals might be.

What you describe as how you engage with those pairings is a completely valid interpretation! Preferring to look at a relationship through those lenses is perfectly fine, and in fact lots of people do this under the umbrella of meta.

What I personally mean by "ship" is the usual description - I want those two characters to have a romantic and sexual relationship. However, I also have no issues with people who don't have that viewpoint because it quite literally doesn't affect me unless they go about harassing others.

Liking a "problematic" ship dynamic doesn't mean you also condone that thing in real life. There's a reason one of the top sexual fantasies is noncon (see: any women's magazine list of these), and it's not because the person secretly really wants to be raped in real life. It's because human beings enjoy exploring taboo subjects in a safe and fictional environment.

Where my opinion stands on this is simple. If you think it's okay to harass people for the ships they like, if you think it's acceptable to write call out posts and smear people's names because of the ships they like, then I don't want to know you. If you think liking Marius/Armand makes that person a paedophile, or that liking underage ships leads to the person eventually moving on to real life kids, or that being an incest shipper means you're gonna go fuck your own sibling, again, I don't want to know you.

The same goes for both sides of this frankly stupid issue - far too many people who call themselves proship proudly love to dunk publicly on antis or people who don't share their viewpoints, which imo makes them just as bad! If someone's out there being awful to people who don't ship their problematic ships, then it's just as bad!

This is also why I don't do any DNIs or anything like that. If I see someone start to follow me and they have big obvious "PROSHIP DNI" in their info, then I will go ahead and block them, but otherwise I'm not interested in policing who can interact with me in that way. It's not for me to decide whether someone else wants to interact with me, it's on you to decide if you want to.

I'm not gonna be going out and ripping on people who dislike a ship I like, or who engage with art in a different way to me. However, if I come across posts in my tracked tags or on my dash expressing anti sentiments, or going on a negative rant about something I love, then I will also probably unfortunately be blocking that person. I don't like seeing negativity about shit I love on my dash or in the tags (really, does anybody? lol) so I'm proactive about that because a) it depresses me, and b) I spent a long time in the ffxiv fandom, where people think liking Garleans makes you a nazi apologist, and where they love to go on ranting screeds about how my favourite characters should die painfully, and I'm honestly not about that in my fandom life.

Anyway, all this to say: if you're comfortable interacting with me, a Marius/Armand bitch who does indeed enjoy their fucked up relationship because of how fucked up it is (and finds it incredibly sexy, actually), then I'm fine with you interacting with me. I'm not gonna be sharing or posting about that specific ship anyway, and I'm certainly not gonna be awful about people who find it distasteful or triggering or even just plain don't like it for whatever reason. It won't make me uncomfortable in any way to interact with you because you engage with those things in a different way to me, as long as you don't also engage in the other activities I discussed further up.

Sorry this got so long, anon! Hopefully it all makes sense. As an aside, I'm not interested in having any debates about these issues with anyone and will not be engaging with arguments about it. Sensible discussion, yes. Arguments, discourse and wank? No. Thank you for understanding! 💚

[mlmshark]

For the soft asks (I picked a lot, answer whichever ones you like the most)

1, 8, 9, 12, 13, 18, 21, 23, 26, 28, 29

1 - what song makes you feel better?

I really like forwards back and rebound by Adrianne Lenker. It’s soft and something nice to listen to when I’m upset

8 - tag someone (or multiple people) who make you feel good. 

Well, there’s you, @achilleanauthor and some others I love seeing post are @ace-up-your-sleeve @rowans-blues @ilovespidermansomuch and @pigeonpawz

9 - what calms you down?

I’m autistic, at least I think (my results were inconclusive and the doctor told me I “don’t fit into one box” so I have no idea what that means) and i usually have a bead lizard I carry around to help keep my calm when I’m having sensory issues or overwhelmed. The beads are fun to play with to calm me down, but also keep me focused. His name is sleepyhead and I made him myself :)

12 - how are you?

I’m good. I had a hockey practice this morning so I feel very accomplished. I’m also uh very because I’m cooking my lunch now as I’m answering

13 - what’s your comfort food?

Either maruchan ramen or fried chicken, specifically the kind my mom makes

18 - do you still love stuffed animals?

I love stuffed animals sm. I have way too many and that’s not gonna stop me from getting more. The one I sleep with is a red panda squishmallow my brother got me in middle school, and my childhood stuffed animals which is a cat, or I guess I called him a cat when I was younger but looking closer he looks more like a husky, named Shasta and a pink turtle named Shelly (creative, I know)

21 - if you could tell your past self one thing, what would it be?

Kind of a downer, but I’d tell myself to avoid one person. In freshman year of Highschool I had a very bad friend that would get very physical with me, and I do anything to go back and never be friends with them. If we’re talking more advice, I’d tell myself that I should just be myself and be unapologetically cringe because at the end of the days there’s always gonna be someone that doesn’t like you

23 - favorite piece of clothing?

My favorite piece of clothing is a hoodie I got from camp. It’s super comfy and I wear it almost all the time. It’s also super comforting. I’ve wrong it to different medical emergencies to help me feel more comfortable, and since I got it from camp, it reminds me of one of my favorite places

26 -what movie would you want to live in?

I love fantasy so maybe the hobbit. I’d also love to live in a ghibli movie because everything looks so nice there, as long as it’s one of the safe ones like Kiki’s Delivery Service

28 - hugs or hand-holding?

Definitely hugs. I love hugs and I’ve been told I’m a really good hugger. For whatever reasons, sometimes hand holding can make my hand feel weird, so hugs all the way

29 - morning, afternoon or night?

Probably night, it’s when I’m most productive and get the most work done or just enjoy myself. I do think the morning can be nice too though, it just depends on how early it is and how well rested I am

[liauditore]

Thought I might say hello and make some small talk, seeing that I'm camping on your trafficshipping tag and all.

Well hi! Lovely place you've got here. Fantastic art, GREAT vibes, very nice. I'm specially enjoying your character rambling; your takes on them are super interesting and they tickle my brain 👀

May I send Divorce Fource/Quartet and Majorwood for the shipping bingo? Divorce Fource were a right mess (affectionate <3) and a perfect one at that, but I can't help but wonder how the recipe would have turned out if the soul ties were Cleo-Pearl, Martyn-Scott.

Also there is so much potential in Limlife Majorwood for eroguro if you're nasty. Which I am. Time cannibalism, respawning mechanics, birthday time... blender go brrrr 👀

!!!!!!!

y'all are really enabling my habit of long ass posts huh 😭😭

OK SO first off thankyou so much?? thats so sweet?????? 😭😭 i really don't think my character ramblings are anything special, but i like reading other ppls insane takes so i thought i'd provide others with the same 👍

not to get too into it but i feel like a series like life smp is best enjoyed with your own crazy delulu takes (similar to touhou if anyone heres familiar w/ that fandom). and it makes me kinda sad to see ppl arguing abt whats 'canon' or 'correct' cus that's no fun lol

ANYWAY yeah uh im glad u like the vibes!! :J

TREEBARK

this one first cus chronology. I honestly don't know if there's anything I can say here that hasn't been said before? But yeah they're. tasty. something about martyn waiting the entirety of third life to betray ren and never getting the chance and now longing to have him back. lots of regret but regret. for what. yknow. and ren always looking out for martyn even from a distance. and then martyn losing that connection in limlife.

yeah i can see why people ship lmao

uhh i don't really know what else to write here so have some of my insane ramblings copy+pasted from my shipping doc 👍

Martyn fancies himself a schemer, someone who's not afraid to play the game the way it's intended. If that means earning a powerful ally's trust only to shatter it then he was going to do it. Only, Martyn's bark is worse than his bite, and every night he spends in lying awake in those soft, warm sheets that Ren had laid out just for him (freshly washed too, he might add. Smelled like sunshine) he wonders if he can do it. He can, of course. (he can't. he won't. he's too soft. soft and useless.) He'd cut his head off already. (he wants to vomit) (this is why no one needs you. wants you. loves you) Who cares about other people anyway? He is the only one who really matters. (the thought of being alone makes him want to cry) Ren, on the other hand, is a capable leader. The definition of loyal and dependable, if not a bit dramatic. He struggles with self-worth, being good enough, useful enough, powerful enough. But to others, he's the opposite, caring and protective of any who would ask for his aid. After all, every citizen deserves to live in safety and comfort, and providing that is what a good King would do. ~ Martyn's not as sneaky as he thinks he is. Ren knows. Ren sees the signs. It's a death game for a reason. But he doesn't let Martyn know. He doesn't even hold it against him. He doesn't see the bloodthirst anymore, only the broken pieces lying underneath. ~ or the King's Hand, it was the thrill of feeling Useful, Powerful, Feared (loved). He was going to miss it after he betrayed him, the high of bloodlust, the smell in the air as he charged into battle. (the way his hands held him so gently) For the King himself, deep down he knew it was never to be. He had met a monster, but he hoped his efforts calmed the storm ever so slightly. On some days, he pretends to forget about the death game entirely and imagines the speech he'd give to retire his Hand. "You don't have to fight anymore," he'd say, "I'll take care of you from now on, I promise. So put the sword down, okay?" But in the end, it was all a fantasy, wasn't it?

^ yes this is so cheesy but so are they.

Cry with me again Smile with me again Scream with me again Sing with me again Dance with me again Talk to me again…

"Lower One's Eyes" (Oktavia translyrics)

MAJORWOOD

I think.. I talk too much abt scott seeing as that's who everyone points out when it comes to my headcanons 😭😭 but uh i swear everyone else is just as messed up. and martyn is like. just as bad if not worse (if that wasn't made clear from my ramblings before)

anyway uh say it with me rebound 👏 relationship 👏

i think they're both.. very numb to it all once limlife rolls around. they're just tired and have this mutual understanding and both think they're horrible people. martyn just wants to play the game. scott doesn't even know what he wants anymore.

but ofc, they're both still human and want love and comfort, so they try to seek that from one another. even if it's fake. even if it doesn't matter in the end.

Baby, though I've closed my eyes I know who you pretend I am I know who you pretend I am

Washing Machine Heart (Mitski)

We’re the Delusioned Victim Cash-in Union Praise to the “love” that will bring salvation!  Two fools singing to a shallow melody Restart, reflation, teleportation Time and again we’re stuck in rotation Circles inside a love without any ending

MKDR (SirHamnet Lyrics)

Scott uses Martyn as a replacement for Jimmy and Martyn uses Scott as a replacement for Ren. they know they dislike eachother (see: all of double life) and that only one of them will make it out alive. but they can't get that love and comfort from anyone else now.

also uhhh eroguro my beloved...... im assuming this is getting brought up cus of my mentions of loving eroguro in the past. and yes to all of that very much i agree. but i do have kind of.. a limit to what i do w/ these characters specifically because of the fandom/ccs (at least publicly). if i ever do decide to share the nastier stuff in my head or go into detail on gore and whatnot i'd probs make a sideblog and tuck it away and maybe block scott and martyn for always somehow showing up on my posts lmao

[cartoon-buffoon]

We got the first casting announcement for the new Oswald horror movie and I'd like to share it on here as well as other news relating to this film that we have so far + my take on this entire thing.

I know Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters... That's about it? I'm not a big film guy as I struggle to watch movies unless I'm with friends and I haven't seen any of the Ghostbuster films since I was super young so I have no opinion on him as an actor.

Next up we have a plot summary of what the film is gonna be about, this screencap is taken from this horror film reporting website: https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3798317/oswald-down-the-rabbit-hole-announce-trailer-new-horror-movie-features-the-original-mickey-mouse/ this description of what the film is about is from their IMD as well so ya know, not much spread here other than notes from the director.

The website they list is also worth noting as so far all that's there is this screen that replays Oswald's Trolley Troubles on loop on the TV screen yet maybe we should keep an eye on it for teasers in the future.

Now this is also just word of mouth and I have no source for this other than some Twitter posts I saw awhile back which I did NOT save yet I heard this movie is supposed to incorporate live action with animation similar to Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Take this info with a grain of salt and this is a "dude trust me" moment.

Now I know people will dislike this film for well, obvious reasons ya know public domain kids property turned edgy and scary horror movie character, yet I'm fairly optimistic about this film? Do I believe it's going to be good? Oh abso-fucking-lutley not! However I still thinks it's cool Oswald is getting back to the big screen even if it means he's going to be a part of a horror film where he's the villain. The film is set to release in 2025 and I have no idea when it started production yet it's interesting to know they are holding it off until next year and it makes it seem like they actually care about this product. I don't think we should set any expectations for this film yet I think it's good to be hopeful at least for it being fun. From the descriptions we got it's gonna be a Alice in Wonderland inspired story where we—well—go down the rabbit hole into a world that Oswald (or at least this demonic version of Ozzie) comes from and he likewise is going to hunt down the cast of characters. It's stated to not be pure horror and it'll have fantasy elements which I'm excited for, I can hope this isn't like the Winnie the Pooh horror movie and this film will be more light hearted and take itself less seriously. At the end of the day I'm just excited this could get more people into Oswald, even if they only know of him from this movie they could take interest in his character and do research on Oswald himself and end up liking his old cartoons or his newer stuff like EM. I think we should just see what comes of the film while being respectful to the creators and all those involved, even if this movie does come out bad we can also hope it's going to be the good type of bad. I want a movie I can sit down, watch, get some laughs at, and not expect much from, I feel like that'll truly capture the feel of classic cartoons where the entire goal was to have fun and enjoy some goofy on screen characters.

[markantonys]

surprise bitch bet you thought you’d seen the last of my WOT recaps! turns out i have two more in me for my thoughts on rewatching s1 after having read the books! this one is episodes 1-4

episode 1

fuck me if the show isn’t still My Main WOT. i read all 14 books, yet as soon as i hit play on 1x01 i was like “ahhh, that was a nice 14-book AU but now we are back to the real versions of the characters and events” jkfjgh curious to see if it will always be this way since the show was my first ever experience of the characters, or if next season when we start to get to characters and events that i experienced in the books first, i’ll switch to the books being my primary version.

moiraine’s much-maligned opening monologue: while it’s telling rather than showing, as a WOT newbie i found it a very helpful quick intro to the lore surrounding rebirth and the dragon reborn and to moiraine’s mission, and i think it was good to lay out the basic facts here and tell us right off the bat what moiraine is trying to accomplish, so that someone unfamiliar with the story and lore can get oriented straightaway, and then these concepts are deepened and expanded upon later in the episode and the season. it also helps to lessen the “eotw is a lotr knockoff” vibes of the beginning of the first book by letting us know some of this unique lore straightaway rather than just starting us off in our little pastoral village with moiraine as the mysterious gandalf whose goals we don’t know. and it makes me laugh that people are mad that she criticizes LTT and doesn’t have the exactly correct version of what happened at the bore. that was 3,000 years ago, there was an apocalypse and a TON of knowledge and records were lost, and this guy caused the apocalypse, so it is no wonder that he doesn’t have the BEST reputation these days (also, it’s book canon that LTT was arrogant so). expecting moiraine to have perfect knowledge of LTT and the breaking would be like expecting us today to have perfect knowledge of something that happened in 1000 BCE!

i will also always defend the much-maligned liandrin chase opening scene. it was an incredibly effective and efficient way of introducing so many important concepts (the red ajah, gentling, madness for men who can channel, the difference between women channeling and men channeling, how terrible it is to be a man who can channel) in only a minute. when i first watched the show, i was hooked after that scene! i saw the guy talking to the other guy and then he vanished and liandrin was like “there’s no one there, the madness has taken him already” and i was like Whoa!

i think it was a good choice not to start with the eotw prologue of LTT and ishamael, for a few reasons. 1) starting with that and then hurtling us 3000 years into the future would’ve been confusing as fuck. it was confusing as fuck to me in the book even though i’d already seen s1 and knew who lews therin was and what his connection to our main characters is! and tv shows do not have as much freedom as books to be confusing as fuck in the opening minutes and potentially turn away audience members, particularly with wheel of time since the show aims to cater to a broad audience whereas the books are not something any but a hardcore fantasy nerd who expects to be and enjoys being confused as fuck would pick up. 2) holding off on showing anything from the AOL until the last episode made it a very fun surprise for non-readers when we find out that 3000 years ago was actually a futuristic society, and getting us settled in this medieval-esque society for 7 episodes and then revealing that pre-breaking was actually super futuristic really hammers home how catastrophic the breaking was and how much devastation the dragon wrought. 3) i’m SURE this scene will make it into the show eventually, whether as a cold open or in-show as maybe rand having an LTT memory or something, and i think that saving it until we know that rand is the dragon reborn and know more about what that means for him will increase the emotional impact on the audience of seeing LTT realizing he killed his whole family and then killing himself. rather than just being like “here is a random guy having a bad time. oh no! anyway” jkfjg

overall i think that among certain readers there’s a tendency to, on the one hand, instantly lambast something different from the books as a bad storytelling choice without stopping to consider how that choice may actually be helpful for people who aren’t yet familiar with anything about WOT or be necessary due to the different constraints of tv versus a book, and then, on the other hand, fret about non-readers not being able to notice or understand something that the show makes fairly clear to somebody with a modicum of critical thinking skills, which show-onlys DO have, despite some readers’ beliefs lmao

the first half of the above point is also why i shake my head at people who said the show would’ve been better if there had been an entire episode in emond’s field and the trolloc attack didn’t happen until episode 2. in a tv show, you CANNOT save your inciting incident until the second episode, it has to be in the first one. it just has to! books have more room for waffling about (even so, i was so bored by how long it took to get to the inciting incident in eotw that i probably would’ve put the book down if i hadn’t already been attached to the characters from the show) but television has to hook the audience quickly. call it consumerism or cookie cutter hollywood if you want, but it’s a simple fact that tv shows are a bajillion times more expensive to make than books are, so they need to earn a bajillion times more, which means getting as many people hooked on it as quickly as possible. and as someone who came to the show without being familiar with WOT already, i’m not sure i would’ve tuned in for episode 2 if the entirety of 1 had just been people waffling about in emond’s field. okay *i* probably would’ve because josha stradowski and zoe robbins are so pretty, but lots of other new viewers wouldn’t have jdkjfg

also, those complaints seem to be borne from people thinking that the ef5 and the Status Quo weren’t established enough in the limited time in episode 1, but i strongly disagree. this introductory portion was short, but very effective. as a show-only first-time viewer, a couple minutes of the boys hanging out together was enough for me to buy their friendship. a couple minutes of mat’s home life was enough to get me attached to him. one shot of rand smiling was enough to make me mark him out as a precious cinnamon roll too good for this world too pure. one shot of nynaeve sending off her lantern alone in the woods and hiding her tears from the village was enough to make me feel for her and get a sense of her Lonely At The Top place in the two rivers. etc! while i certainly would’ve enjoyed rafe’s envisioned 2-hour episode 1 bc i’m always a hoe for more WOT content, i don’t think it was actually necessary and i would imagine that many new and/or casual viewers would’ve been put off by 2 whole hours in emond’s field.

and my next bullet point has a huge book spoiler so i will put the read more here

explain to me why i cried when nynaeve was explaining the braid to egwene! egwene’s death was too fresh, i wasn’t ready to see her again as a little baby!

rand is so HOT god. “how come elayne falls in love with him after 5 minutes and stays in love with him for 14 books despite rarely spending time with him” have you seen him. Have You Seen Him. egwene is so strong for being able to turn him down in favor of her career, i would give up my whole life to be rand’s trophy wife. oh fuck am i min???? jdkfjg oh no

brief randlayne tangent: at the con this weekend ceara said that we first meet elayne at the white tower, so there go my hopes of her getting a meet-cute with rand before arriving at the tower and meeting egwene :( i’m very curious how their eventual meeting will go down because it would be a hugely different vibe if elayne meets him already knowing that he’s her best friend’s ex. i could see maybe elayne runs into him while she’s by herself and instantly vibes with him and thinks he’s cute but doesn’t realize that he’s egwene’s rand because he doesn’t give a name or gives a fake one, and egwene had told her rand had red hair but the cute stranger she just met has no hair djkfgh

i’m also preemptively fretting about how much time they’ll be able to have together in the show, because as we know they’re robbed enough in the books, but the show’s quickened pacing might crunch down their time together even more - what if this season ends with falme and then rand leaves for the waste and elayne for tanchico right away next season? and given the deepening of randgwene, it’d probably feel too soon for rand to already be making out with elayne in like 3x01 before they leave on their trips. maybe they will change the order around so that he and elayne have a Vibe when they first meet but nothing actually happens, and then he and avi hook up in the waste but she rejects him afterwards - this would eliminate the kinda icky feeling of betrayal of elayne on both avi and rand’s parts when they bang in the books, and avi’s very firm and in-character rejection of rand here would provide him a better excuse to go off and fuck other people than elayne’s impulsive ooc plot device letter. but maybe avi knows elayne has a crush on rand although nothing actually happened between them and so she still feels guilty for that reason, allowing her and elayne’s whole relationship arc to still happen. but then rand would have to be able to spend a longer chunk of time with elayne sometime post-waste in order to make their relationship happen. on the one hand, i’m fretting that they wouldn’t be able to do that since both characters are so busy doing hot girl shit in different locations for the whole series, but on the other, i have faith that the show would be able to change things around to allow them to spend more time together in the middle of the series.

basically i’m just terrified they might split the polycule into 2 monogamous pairings, rand/min and elayne/avi, since it WOULD be easier in pretty much all respects, but good GOD i can’t live like that, i’d kill myself if min was rand’s only love interest!! rafe’s comments about polyamory in the show have made me hopeful that this won’t happen though. and i don’t think they would’ve bothered introducing alanna’s polycule if not to pave the way for rand’s.

okay we got way off track, back to episode 1

me on the first watch when lan stepped into the inn, hood up, and stood there silently until every single person in the place stopped talking and looked at him: ooooooh mysterious

me on this watch: absolutely laughed my ass off over what a drama queen he is

i’ve cried over rand like 5 times in the first episode, it’s fine

when he talks about dreaming of his kids running through these woods just like he did 😭😭😭😭😭😭 the last scene in the show better be randlayne’s twins running through some woods while rand watches happily or i’ll riot. anyway, i’m literally in agony over how much rand wants to just stay here and have his peaceful little domestic life and how much he will never be able to do that. A+ writing choice to make rand much more family-oriented and attached to home than he was in the books (and having Plans for his future in emond’s field rather than being like “what does it mean that i get nervous when egwene is around?” lmao), it makes his having to give all that up extra gut-punching. this change, while smaller than laila and mat’s backstory, has the same effect of priming the 3 boys for the major series-long internal struggles they will face in a way that is more obvious and imo more effective than anything the books did.

in nynaeve’s defense, she is minding her business and moiraine suddenly appears and is like “you claim to be a community leader and yet here you are cleaning?” and then proceeds to alternate between being insulting and asking bizarro nosy questions, so I Too would not be the biggest fan of moiraine after that conversation lmao (especially since insecurity about her age and leadership status is one of nynaeve’s biggest pain points, and moiraine just swoops in and starts pushing right on it)

thinking about that post that was like “rand wheeloftime’s gay little jumper in episode 1″ that’s a world heritage post. i’m devastated that rand didn’t get to take his gay little jumper with him on the trip.

lan: we need to leave. now. do you know which one of them it is? moiraine: no lan: [silently resigning himself to the fact that he’s about to acquire 4 kids instead of just 1]

the way i was NOT PREPARED when trollocs showed up the first time i watched jdkfjg we’ve spent so long in a world where GOT is the genre-defining fantasy show despite barely having any magic or monsters or fantasy elements that my subconscious was not ready for monsters to show up in this show. when the arrow hit that guy i was like “oh it must be evil people attacking” and then it cut to the trolloc and i was like WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!!!!!

mat charging into the battle to find his sisters is THE perfect way to establish who he is as a person, i can’t get over it

before i was thinking that moiraine might have announced to the whole village that one of the kids was TDR, but now i see she, lan, and the kids were actually talking fairly quietly and no one else was too close to them or seemed to be listening, so i don’t think the villagers know after all (tho they do leave in front of everyone rather than sneaking out like in the books)

“your life isn’t going to be what you thought” 😭😭😭

me on first watch when moiraine said the whole “there are neither beginnings nor endings” line: okay

me on this watch:

to continue my opening ramble, in my personal experience the complaints of the show not doing enough to get the audience attached to the ef5 were crazy false. i remember that the first time i watched, when i went in knowing 0 about these people, i came out of just the first episode frantically signing adoption papers for rand, egwene, mat, and perrin and a marriage license for nynaeve. and all along i was far more invested in them than in moiraine despite the show making her the main character. but i know a lot of show-onlys genuinely did feel the opposite way with caring a lot about moiraine and not much about the ef5 (or 4, most people did seem to care about nynaeve), so maybe i’m just Built Different, who knows!

one thing i will say is that i vividly remember feeling so At Home in this show just after the first few episodes. rather than 16-year-olds saving the world or middle-aged men politicking and scheming, here our main group of characters are people in their 20s trying to figure out what the hell their lives are gonna look like. and the show is more mature than a YA show/book but not as gritty and graphic as other adult fantasy shows/books. and i remember feeling that it just really hit my “i’m too old for YA but too young for/just don’t vibe with adult fantasy, but there’s no middle ground” sweet spot. not to mention the plethora of well-written female characters and lack of sexism, male gaze, etc in the writing and production. i straightaway felt like this show was For Me! even before it was revealed that queer people exist and are considered normal and treated with respect by the writing and other characters!

episode 2

when episode 6 first aired someone said about mat staying behind at the waygate “[perrin watching the ferryman voice] he’s gone” and now i think about that every time i watch or think about either scene. another world heritage post (although i think this was actually a reddit comment, over on r/wotshow which is the only sane and reasonable wot subreddit)

lan and rand staring each other down after the ferry incident jkjfg lan just immediately clocked that rand is about to become The Problem Child

lorne balfe release the version of ta’maral’ailen that plays 10 mins into episode 2 challenge!!!! it’s so pretty and ta’maral’ailen is one of my favorite themes!!! i’ve listened to the soundtrack so much that i instantly recognize when a snippet of music in the show is not included on the soundtrack and get very sad. oh i can’t wait for new Themes in s2 - i’m thinking full version of the seanchan theme, AIEL THEME, elayne/trakand/andor theme, maybe some sort of zany unhinged Mat’s Luck Theme

when rand says moiraine might kill them like the ferryman if they step out of line, to his face egwene disagrees, yet the second moiraine gets her alone that night she’s like “are you gonna kill us like you did that ferryman? 😤” awww! i love them your honor! i totally didn’t remember that egwene WAS suspicious of moiraine at first, and only softens to her when moiraine shows her some honesty in this one-on-one scene.

the introduction of the three oaths was definitely a curveball for me on first watch! i remember immediately trying to think back to every line moiraine had said to see if she really had told the truth every time haha

it will be interesting to see josha get into actual Darth Rand territory because in this season every time rand gets mad i’m just like “awww he needs a snack, he’s cranky” and i want to squish his cheeks. to be fair, my reaction to book rand getting mad was always either exactly that or “daddy? sorry. daddy?” and no middle ground

rand definitely got too much flak from the fandom for the tension with egwene in this episode. even if we set aside the fact that he’s undergone an enormous amount of stress and trauma in the past few days, it’s entirely valid for him to say “you broke up with me, so you can’t now pretend like nothing happened, i need space” and to feel hurt and confused by egwene seeming to change her mind and want him back. it’s also valid for egwene to want the comfort of him and their relationship back now that she’s also undergoing an enormous amount of stress and trauma! also, when she replies to rand’s above statement by saying that everything’s different now and she won’t ever be nynaeve’s apprentice after all, while egwene certainly didn’t mean it this way, i could easily imagine rand interpreting that (and her overall behavior) as her going “you’re my second choice but i’ll take you back now since my first choice fell through” which definitely wouldn’t be a nice feeling, and would feed right into one of his greatest fears that we later hear from machin shin: that egwene will never love him as much as he loves her. she’s always been his first choice, but he knows that he isn’t hers and that hurts! and yet at the end of the season, he chooses for her to have her first choice even though that isn’t him! oh my heart!! but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. i will also note that in episode 1 he was 100% accepting of her breaking off their near-engagement to become nynaeve’s apprentice (to an almost unrealistic degree lmao) and it’s only in this episode when she starts changing her mind and giving him mixed signals (and when he’s undergoing all his stress and trauma) that his little pufferfish spikes come out.

i’ve noticed several times now that moiraine says “she or he” “women and men” “a girl or a boy” rather than our society’s unconscious standard of putting the male term first (in english). it’s such a small thing but i love it!

the CAMERAWORK in the manetheren story - focusing on rand while we’re hearing about the king, on perrin while we’re hearing about normal people banding together to protect their home, on mat while we’re hearing about holding back a trolloc army for many days against impossible odds, and of course on egwene while we’re hearing about eldrene feeling her husband dying and then dying herself by using too much of the one power. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

bad news: this means egwene will definitely still die in the show good news: it also means we will definitely still get gawene in the show (given that everybody but me hates their romance and thinks it’s pointless and detracts from egwene’s character, i did worry they might cut it haha) bad news: it also means gawyn will also definitely still die in the show

shoutout to the hilarity of mat going “i’m going to cheer the gang up with a nice song!” and moiraine going “i love that song! [proceeds to tell the depressing as fuck true story it’s based on and put a damper right back on the mood]” she’s the kid on the playground telling everyone that ring around the rosie is about the plague

godddddd randgwene hits SO different after reading the books 😭😭 i think this is definitely the Show Thing that having read the books improved the most for me (aside from the ability to recognize foreshadowing and easter eggs, of course). before reading the books, i was like “okay here’s our bland heterosexual couple who obviously won’t last very long so why are you wasting my time trying to get me invested in their romance” and now i’m like “randgwene sweeties i’m so sorry, i’m so sorry an ugly ass bitch (past me) would say that oh my god.” when they were sitting on the mountain talking about the future and crying and holding each other, i broke. when rand turned to egwene in the middle of an argument and said he could never hate her, i broke. when they were standing in shadar logoth quietly holding hands and looking out at the city together, i broke. that last one especially, MAN the “‘you will never be lovelier than you are now. we will never be here again.’ -homer” -troy (2004) energy of that!!!! weeping on the floor. the development of their relationship in the show is going to be absolutely scrumptious.

maybe it’s also that the Heterosexual Nonsense of rand/min was so bad that it made the Heterosexual Nonsense of rand/egwene look wonderful in comparison dkfjg you never know you’re in the good old days until you’ve already left them.

that time when we all shipped mat and perrin for a hot minute! barney harris committed to the “mat is unrequitedly in love with perrin” angle with all his heart in that one scene, bless him. i remember thinking “oooh is this gonna be my ship?” but then they immediately got separated, rip, and instead cauthor came in to take center stage. i love how many “ships you never would’ve thought of in the books but are fire in the show” it served us (i was so onboard with ef4 polycule after watching s1 and then after reading the books i was like “wow i was crazy for that” but this rewatch is ensnaring me in it again!) and can’t wait to see that continue as we meet more characters. manifesting rand/gawyn finally getting recognized as the Messy Gay Angst goldmine it is.

time to talk about the depiction of male friendship in this show, which is very important to me! this was another one of the major things that struck me immediately when i started watching and contributed to that feeling of feeling At Home in this show. the open affection and tenderness between rand, mat, and perrin is so so wonderful to see!!! no toxic masculinity anywhere! they aren’t bros, they’re boy besties! i remember making a gifset of mat and perrin way back when and ALL the reblog tags were people being like “they felt more like friends in 5 minutes of the show than they ever did in 14 books” and i was like “what! how can that be! they are besties!” and now I Understand lmao. the deepening of relationships all around is one of the absolute standout aspects of the show (both in comparison to the books, and on its own merits - on my first watch, throughout the season the relationships were what kept getting me over and over again), and especially the relationships between the ef5. they all feel like close childhood friends, rather than the book vibe of “rand and mat are homoerotic besties, perrin is a third wheel who never thinks about either of them and vice versa, and egwene and nynaeve can’t be real friends with any of them because they are GIRLS”

moiraine waking up just to roast lan and then passing out again is simply iconic

the real reason mat didn’t get hoisted up is because he is a skinny twink who never would’ve been able to bust the door open from the other side. they needed beefcake rand for that one.

and then the episode ends with nynaeve threatening lan’s life, immediately into mashiara as the credits music, amazing showstopping spectacular

episode 3

i heard some whispering and what sounded to me like a magic-ish sound effect just before nynaeve grabbed the trolloc’s weapon in the pool, so i’m kinda wondering if she may have unknowingly channeled a bit there?

the string rhythm of the dragon reborn theme layered under the aes sedai theme when nynaeve emerges from the pool!!!! and i haven’t heard it in the show yet, but in the soundtrack version of the goldeneyes theme there’s also a portion with the dragon reborn string rhythm underneath! It Was About Them All!!!!!

crossing my fingers that mat will get some sort of Theme next season, and i wonder if the al’naito theme might eventually move from siuan to egwene. that would be neat!

can you tell that i have an obsession with soundtracks

this convo between mat and rand exemplifies beautifully the fact that they have 1 shared braincell, like:

rand: EGWEEEEEEEEEENE!!!!!!!!!!! mat: [current braincell possessor] stop hollering who knows what’s out there and can hear us. now, we need to find a way home- rand: [grabbing the braincell] but moiraine said the trollocs will come back if we do. we need to go to the white tower. mat: [grabbing the braincell back] how are we going to get there? just walk??? to the white tower???? rand: they say all roads lead there. mat: [wishing with all his heart that they had a second braincell at their disposal] that’s not how roads work.

perrin being frantic to light a fire and apologizing that he’s not doing it fast enough perfectly encapsulates his book vibe of trying to be the leader and feeling responsible for egwene’s safety, but without the weird condescending and patronizing dimension that his book attitude had.

love the visual contrast between strapping young lad rand strolling along with his preppy sheepskin coat and his massive sword (that’s what she said) and his massive bow (that’s also what she said) vs. weaponless coatless scrawny twink mat scrambling to keep up. rand knows he is on An Adventure, but mat just wants to be removed from the story.

“that’s not how roads work” / “the man who once walked while a little chilly” / “we’ll take turns” “if you think she’s up for it” / “if i wanted a man i could do better” it is just back to back to back iconic lines in rand and mat’s plotline this episode!

the closeup of rand during thom’s song about LTT and you can see tears in his eyes 😭😭

i like thom’s grittier silver fox blues singer show vibe. i feel like in eotw he was just a weird old man with weird vibes jkjfg

thom telling rand and mat to go up and perform if they think they could do a better job than him, don’t tease me with the loss of the cauthor gleeman era 😭 one of the things that definitely had to go, seeing as a) not enough time, b) it’s a symptom of eotw’s Sillier vibe that doesn’t fit tonally with the rest of the series, and for that reason i think i would’ve felt weird in the show, but i’ll always love it in the book.

baby rand’s surprised little distressed face when he realizes mat got robbed. he’s like “you really think someone would do that? go into a tavern and steal someone else’s wallet? :O”

dana trying to make mat get to his knees and beg her while rand watches, she was READY for that threesome. mat was also ready for that threesome. rand, get your head in the game!

what a scene. “isn’t she a bit young for you?” mat confirmed milf chaser “i make exceptions” bi mat rights “we’ll take turns” “if you think she’s up for it” mat unironically down for a threesome with rand, it’s just one thing after another!

mat immediately gets Mean because he’s embarrassed to have admitted he wanted to have a threesome with rand when it turns out that wasn’t what rand meant, that’s my interpretation

still blown away by “you don’t need to go there for her. she wouldn’t do it for you.” mat is IN LOVE with rand. the repressed years-long unrequited crush energy is OFF the charts.

mat when dana makes him serve drinks: i’m being forced to do work and i’m being SO brave about it

ahhhh this convo between mat and dana is so soooo good. obviously it sets up dana’s motivation for joining the shadow, but it also is a perfect little peek into/foreshadowing of mat’s character. his wistful expression when she talks about going someplace new where no one knows you to escape the dirt you were born in - his show backstory really deepens and grounds his yearning to get out of the two rivers and travel far away, by anchoring that in wanting to escape a painful home life rather than just thinking that life as a farmer is too boring and too much work, as is his reasoning in the books. but then he brushes the idea aside by saying he’s got people back home who need him - that is mat to a T, he seems like an irresponsible fool who only looks out for himself but when it comes down to it he always puts his loved ones first.

nynaeve being like “don’t be so sure i’ll stick around with moiraine if you ride away!” and lan just gives her a look like “uh-huh.” he’s already got her all figured out, he knows she can’t resist either a) healing someone who needs her help or b) doing anything for her kids, and he’s neatly snared her with both things.

re: perrin trying to be the leader and protect egwene, in addition to not feeling condescending like it does in eotw, it’s also explained by what happened to laila. the guilt of that is driving perrin to feel like he has to protect egwene and take risks in her stead, etc. as opposed to the book reason for it basically being “i must be the leader because i am the man here and thus it is my duty to protect the delicate flower accompanying me”

overall, the various backstory changes have been perfect for explaining character behavior/traits that in eotw are mostly just silly goose behavior.

i can’t find the post again for the life of me, but it is time to reference the world heritage post that was like “egwene and perrin’s roadtrip is like ‘do you want to talk about your trauma yet? no? okay’ and rand and mat’s is a bickering divorced couple where one got caught cheating”

haha i love egwene perfectly repeating aram’s whole spiel about the song and then perrin just quietly going “uh we don’t know the song” when it’s his turn, that is THEM

the camera cut to the MASSIVE pile of chopped wood next to rand djfkgj he really had to work out those feelings after mat was Mean to him

rand inviting a woman to drink alone with him in his bedroom at night and then being startled that she tries to kiss him, he’s a baby, please protect him! the eotw rand vibes coming through even though show!rand already fucks.

thom lists “asinine attitude” as a defining characteristic of people from the two rivers, bless

“he was murdered by cowards who feared something they didn’t understand” ahh the backstory of thom’s nephew really underscores why he’s so upset about the aiel here :( and since he’s saying this line to mat, dare i hope that show!mat may have a better initial reaction to learning rand can channel? tho i feel like it’s kinda central to his character arc that he does react badly. i will likely speak more on this when i get to episode 5 and The Promise.

the whole scene with the aiel is peak “feeling incredibly smug that i understand all these references now”

dana’s such a fantastic 1-episode character! great writing, great acting, great chemistry with both rand and mat. on first watch, the twist that she’s evil shook me to my core! super effective way to introduce the concept of darkfriends. whereas iirc our first darkfriends in eotw were people that had obvious shady vibes from the getgo, much more unsettling that dana starts off so friendly and likable and nonthreatening.

lmao i remember seeing someone who was mad that rand couldn’t get the better of dana in a fight when he’s much bigger and stronger than her (and a man, as was abundantly clear they Really meant), but rand is just a wee lad, he’s never had to fight anybody before, he doesn’t even know how to use that sword, it makes perfect sense that he would be scared and helpless in this situation. protect him!

rand’s little “we’re gonna leave now” after dana finishes her Villain Speech cracks me up every time jdkfjg he’s a BABY

episode 4

getting so pleased with myself every time they namedrop a location and i’m like “i know where that is!” djkfgj (so far, tear, caemlyn, and ghealdan - though ghealdan, when i watched the show the second time and they mentioned ghealdan in the 1x01 winespring gossip sesh i was like “i know ghealdan! that’s where logain is from!” and was also very pleased with myself then)

the corrupted weaves are THE SHIT they look soooooo cool!!!

i for one am apprehensive about the fact that they’re making changes to the look of weaves in s2 because i love how they are in s1, but we’ll see what it ends up looking like!

why did people get so up in arms about mistakenly thinking the show was trying to imply that logain saw nynaeve’s weaves when moiraine says IN THIS EPISODE that women can’t see men’s weaves, implying that the show intends to follow book lore and make the opposite true as well

“why did moiraine have a dog when dogs don’t like aes sedai!” is THE stupidest hill to die on jkfjg dogs hating women who can channel and cats hating men who can channel was one of the absolute stupidest and most unnecessary pieces of lore and i’m thrilled the show went out of its way to establish that it’s not the case in this version lmao

show!alanna is so pretty and so likable, aaaaaahhhhhhh

very glad that they’re actually using the battle ajah angle as the main characteristic of greens and the main reason people would choose to join, rather than the “greens love men and sex and sex with men” angle

super interesting that moiraine mentions women AND men have claimed to be false dragons

haha i don’t remember previously catching rand saying “wouldn’t it be easier to just ask?” when thom is making the plan to break into the farmhouse to sleep. rand doesn’t want to do crimes!

rand in the last episode making constant snarky comments about how mat always dips out of work vs. in this episode when mat dips out of work, rand’s just worried because he can tell mat’s unwell 🥺

mat with kids 😭😭 the birgitte doll 😭😭 man i’m so sad that the doll got left behind at the farm, imagine if mat had kept it the whole time, promising himself he would be able to give it to his sisters someday, and then he meets birgitte herself and is like “hey i have a doll of you” and she’s like “what the fuck” jkjfg

rand: mat’s not an idiot me: wow Romance..........

the full line is him saying that mat would tell him if he could channel because he’s not an idiot, so rand just roasted himself djkfg

rand’s face when thom’s reply to this is that owyn knew all the stories about how men who could channel will go mad “and still he lied to me” 😭😭😭

look at show!perrin being happy to see egwene have a good time dancing with the tuatha’an! book!perrin take notes. he is definitely the character that was most improved by the show so far. remind me to talk about this more in my post on the second half of the series when we get to min.

i tear up during the way of the leaf speech every time. so so well done!!! standout scene!!

egwene saying she’d know if rand was dead and it’s explicitly meant to be romantic, meanwhile in the books rand and mat BOTH say at various points that they would know if the other was dead, even BEFORE they start having their psychic ta’veren connection 👀👀

“the leaf doesn’t fight the wind. sometimes the wind blows away from the tree.” that’s such a perfect line for egwene and the journey she’s going to go on and how she ends up being the one of the ef5 who leaves home furthest behind, aaaaaHHHH

AND WE GET TO “i’m here. you know that, right? no matter what happens, i’m here.” MY CAUTHOR ORIGIN STORY!!! the moment my brain chemistry was altered forever! let us recall one of my earliest tags on a cauthor post (tho now that i’ve sifted through the archives to find it i see that the post was actually from the next episode):

joke’s on me, i never did end up shifting out of cauthor mode!

anyway, rand blows out the candle so that he can have privacy to cuddle with mat, we all know it

also, on my second watch i lost my mind at that shot of rand’s face behind the candle as he’s about to blow it out because!!!! it’s a candle before the raging sun!!!!

ooh mat’s dagger vs. the fade is a good way to set up the concept that the evil of mashadar and the evil of the shadow are enemies (oh and they did show that trollocs are afraid to enter shadar logoth, of course)

backstory change explaining character behavior strikes again: nynaeve losing her parents at a young age and being taken in by emond’s field despite not having been born there is likely why she feels so fiercely attached to her found family, exemplified by how determined she is to get the ef4 back.

love the battle against logain’s army! great choice to show what aes sedai/channelers in general can do in battle right in the first season.

not to harp on about the missing music snippets but dammit there’s a beautiful sad choral version of the aes sedai theme as the battle is going badly, i want it lorne 😭

nynaeve’s power blast is another thing that makes me tear up every time!!!! like a raging sun!!!!! (which, speaking of the soundtrack, is the best track out of the whole thing.) i remember my jaw was on the floor the first time i watched that, as soon as the episode was over i instantly went back to watch the scene again.

update to add: i’m so glad they made nynaeve way more powerful than logain and are seemingly going to do away with the whole “on average men are stronger than women in the power” which is so stupid and creates a needless male-advantage inequality (once saidin is cleansed). i think there’s supposed to be a flipside that women are more........dexterous with their weaves or something? but whatever the flipside is was so irrelevant in the books that i can’t even remember what it is. i hope they also make it so that either men and women can both sense each other channeling or that neither can, as it’s also a needless male-advantage inequality that they can sense women but women can’t sense them. and also that male channelers who are bonded as warders can’t be compelled by the bond, but female channelers can. these things worked to balance it out while saidin was tainted, but once it was cleansed, it tipped the channeling scales over towards favoring men (and contributed to my overall feeling of a progression from an equal society into a patriarchy during the second half of the series, kicked off by the aes sedai being forced to kneel to rand and the asha’man at dumai’s wells and exemplified by an increase in men in positions of power and previously-powerful women having to submit to men’s authority - the aes sedai with rand, the wise ones with perrin, etc.)

[eccentric-nucleus]

sorry i'm still posting about progression fantasies

anyway one story i've been reading and actually enjoying is super supportive.

this got long so i'm putting it behind a readmore.

the setup: it's 2040. aliens contacted humans in the 1960s and were like "hey we'll give you superpowers and magic technology and access to our multiworld government. all you have to do is sign this contract. its fine. just, all the superpowered people are our property and we can summon them up as servants whenever we want to do whatever we want. you'll be obligated to provide some humans to do this. we'll pick who gets superpowers and no they cannot refuse. its fine." one other alien is like "it would be more easier if i explained (the my boss, the alien) that your friend was your pet or your property b/c 'friends' isn't really a reasonable category for them."

the degree to which the aliens are, you know, clearly and obviously taking advantage of humans cannot be understated in the initial chapters. there are supervillains too, and the aliens are just like, yeah we don't care if they murder some humans it's fine. there's a lot of intentionally-jarring narration about characters with skills going between "powerful superhero" and "forcibly-conscripted alien valet" depending on whether they're talking about their image vs. what they actually do. plenty of heroes get summoned out into the universe and are then never heard from again. the secretary at the alien consulate the main character goes to is a prisoner/slave who is under a geas so strong that he can't express food preferences. there's a short little aside about how "stat boosts" to your "appeal" stat also involve mental manipulation to make you more personable and agreeable, and yes yes technically forced mental manipulation usually isn't allowed according to the alien contract but by selecting points in appeal you implicitly consent to it! and yes you could technically say, every time you want to (or are forced by class requirements to) put points in appeal that you don't want any of the mental stuff but really that's just being stubborn and digging your heels in and people won't like that. etc.

it kinda reminded me of uhhh becoming alien in that it is about a human going "wow cool scifi adventure!" and then slowly realizing that the political & bureaucratic structures in play basically make it a meat grinder for idealists. that's fun.

anyway so it's a little jarring when we get introduced to some of the high-powered alien paladin-wizards and they're all perfectly noble and self-sacrificing. or, there's (to me) a very noticeable point in the story where it shifts from Initial Premise mode into This Is A Long-Running Serial mode, and it kinda jettisons some of the existing tensions so it can introduce new concepts. story elements that were introduced early on and connected to hazy, unclear corners of the worldbuilding get resolved in a way that sidelines them (like e.g., alden's gremlin stops being so much a thing with a story connection and a mystery around it to mostly just being a power he has. "hey why does this make me better at wordchains?" gorgon: "weird it's more fragmentary than i thought; it isn't supposed to do that; well, w/e")

i mean yes it is in-progress and it's clearly setting up for the eventual fallout of alden's whole pseudo-knight thing getting revealed (probably like another 100 chapters on), but i would be shocked if any of the actual knights objected to it in a meaningful sense + we have not actually seen any of the exploitative aliens we were promised with the introduction. like, ro-dan maybe. i'm sure artonian politics is gonna come up eventually but as it is currently a whole hunk of that was jettisoned w/ one conversation that's like "well okay maybe we do have this extremely exploitative contract system for all our resource worlds and maybe you are all effectively slave labor who can be compelled by the contract to do whatever we want but actually it's just messy political design-by-committee so it's not like they're all evil or anything. no further questions."

so like i'm sure there will eventually be a "let's talk about artonian politics" arc, probably around whenever alden's whole secret gets blown up, but the nature of serial fiction means that we're gonna be hearing about his time in superhero school for quite a while.

(long-running progression fantasy serials have these two moves that show up again and again. the "let's do a dungeon-crawl" arc and the "let's go to magic school arc". just like, these enormous filler arcs that don't really do much aside from consume the word quota for a while. i mean, super supportive's superhero school section is fine; it's more engaging than most. given the initial concept of the story it's both inevitable and also a natural part of the whole narrative; it's not shoehorned in. i'm just saying, it's an extremely common narrative chunk to throw into all sorts of progression fantasy stuff for no reason. it was very funny when i went to look up what books 3 and 4 of sporemageddon/spores and sorcery were, and the answer was: all of book 3 is a dungeon crawl arc where the only important or interesting thing happens at the very end; all of book 4 is a magic school arc where the only important or interesting thing... actually i don't think anything really happens the entire book. the mc assassinates some people b/c that was the entire point of going to magic school and then they leave and it's like oh okay this could've been a one-paragraph summary of doing a job for the union. anyway this is a tangent.)

anyway i think super supportive is already like 500k words or something so maybe by the time it hits a million words i will have been exhausted by the premise and be done with it. but maybe not!! it's been okay so far!!

[unmellowyellowfellow]

writer tag game!! <3

tagged by @at-thezenith !!! thank you i loved these questions

1. what was the first piece of writing you did where you thought "wow I'd love to be a writer"? i wrote a silly lil fanfic about my favorite bass player and had more fun doing that than any other hobby i've ever had, and then i started to read pretty avidly to help me escape my reality and that made me finally decide to write; because i wanted to help others escape their own reality.

2. how do you gather inspiration for your works? (pinterest boards, writing prompts, etc) usually either from pinterest or dialogue prompts! but sometimes the right song on the radio will also inspire something:)

3. what genre is easiest to write? what's the hardest? why? fantasy is by far the easiest to me. you can create anything you want for whatever reason you want no matter how historically accurate or downright silly. i think that romance is the hardest to write (personally) because it is really hard to be able to convey a person being in love in words; the feeling exceeds words. also my relationships in the past were all VERY toxic so i keep a lot of my stories platonic so i don't project into my writing lol (which is fine to do! i just don't want to write and relive all my relationship trauma. maybe one day)

4. what does a typical day of writing look like for you? a LOT of pinterest, lots of music, i clean my entire house because i can't write in a dirty environment; i get all stressed about cleaning. i can usually push out 3,000 words per writing session in a pretty quick fashion because i work best without preparedness and just spit whatever comes out of my brain instead.

5. free space! ramble about a character you've most enjoyed writing about. i think that emilio is my current favorite to write about and build around. he is my first diverse character to put up front, and i am loving it. i am doing as much research as i can to be as accurate as possible. i haven't done someone diverse in lots of detail before because i've always felt very uneducated and did not want to risk being offensive or inconsiderate. i do feel like i've grown in my writing enough now though:) he's super goofy and very strong willed and needs to be protected because he is precious to me.

6. if you could pick the brains of one author, who would you pick and why? CATHERYNNE M. VALENTE. her writing is my BIGGEST inspiration. i love her details and her characters (Saturday from tgwcf is my BABY). i was just telling my fiancé last night that i would sell my kidneys to go to a writing class if she offered one. that woman is a god

7. what's one writing tip that has stuck in your head? my answer is pretty vague but LEARN TO WRITE LIKE YOU. writing rules are cool and all but they are made to be broken. there are books out there, BESTSELLERS, with run on sentences that go on for pages. people publish with millions of commas or semicolons. do not let the writing "rules" hold you back. your story deserves to be told the way you want to tell it!!

this is SUPERRR OPEN TAG!! but (no pressure) i'd love to tag @avi-why @anonymousfoz @leisoree @moonlitinks and @daisywords !!!!

here are your questions!!

1. spill. who is your favorite author, and why? and what book is your favorite of theirs?

2. which book have you read that you dislike the most? why?

3. which wip (current or past) is your absolute favorite that you've written/are writing?

4. have you written a series? if no, would you ever consider it?

5. what do you hope your readers will take away from your wips?

6. would you allow a movie adaption of your wip?

7. brag about your current wip!! :) (if no current, brag about your favorite one you've ever done! or both hehe)

[allthefujoshiunite]

Hi, Nora.....do you mind if I ask for BL recs? A few of my favorite ships are Damen/Laurent from 'Capive Prince' novels (kind, protective, bigger build seme x clever, kuudere, beautiful uke) and Andrew/ Neil from from 'All for The Game : Foxhole Court' novels (both have strong personalities, can be reversible couples, looks weak but actually strong)?

Sorry for this long ask, but can I ask, for BL recs that have the same vibe as one or a few of them (up above)?

Feel free if you want to answer or not....

Thanks so much for your blog, that have become like my guideline (because I'm quite new in BL)....

Thanks again....

Hello! No worries, it's a joy for me to recommend BL and if people enjoy my selection, it makes me all the more happy! However, unfortunately, I haven't read the novels you mentioned... So I feel like my recommendations will be way off the mark but I'll try my best ~

My Dear Agent (Ebino Bisuke): This one has bigger, kind, and protective seme and a cool, beautiful, and funny uke (not a kuudere, though). I not only enjoyed but laughed a lot, and the art is gorgeous so highly recommended! Can be read on INKR (or you can buy it from any place you can get TOKYOPOP titles).

Lullaby of the Dawn (Ichika Yuno): Another bigger, protective, puppy seme with a reserved/detatched, beautiful uke pairing with fantasy elements. I've only read the first volume so far but it's super emotional and beautiful inside and out! Can be read on Bookwalker (or any other place where you can get ShuCream titles).

Our Paradise (Greeneer): My last big & cute, puppy seme with reserved, beautiful uke recommendation that I'm nowadays going crazy over is Our Paradise. You won't regret giving this webtoon a chance! Not only the main characters, but their friend circles and the second couple we started to explore more in 2nd season are also fun & really interesting! And obviously, I need MOAR people to scream about it with me. Can be read for free with daily pass on Webtoon.

Just Love, The Monster (Tsukizuki Yoshi): This is a high school delinquent x honor student kind of story. Both MCs are headstrong and fight a lot obviously, but it was fun to read! It's in Futekiya's library, can be read with your subscription plan.

Total Submission (Tsushiko): This is another delinquent x honor student story with dom/sub element that I love! If you're okay with spicy BL and you love seeing hotheaded characters getting tamed by their sweet and kind senpai, this is for you. Available on Futekiya's subscription plan.

We Aren't Secure (Sojima Yuco): This title is an Omegaverse set in high school. MCs are childhood friends and the story has a bittersweet tone to it, and it's definitely nice to read characters who are on more equal terms in Omegaverse instead of an apparent power hierarchy in between. Available on Futekiya's subscription plan.

BONUS

God is Probably Left-Handed (Mushiba): If you've read any of Mushiba's works before, you might know it takes time to warm up to their stories. They are full of surprises, wacky coincidences, and interesting characters that you don't usually see in BL. But these are the exact reasons why I love Mushiba's works so much, and they are quite unforgettable. God is Probably Left-Handed fits into only one of the criteria you're looking for (I won't mention what it is so I won't spoil the story) but I was sooo surprised the way the manga ended! If you're looking for something different to read, Mushiba is your artist. Highly recommended!

As I have said, I haven't read the novels soI just went with whatever seemed suitable to the dynamics you mentioned, hopefully you'll find something that'll be of interest to you. Thank you so much for the ask and have a nice day!

[the-wolfs-laughter]

Spider, Bat, Moon?

-🪶

Thank you for participating in the ask game 🥰

🕷 spider - lees: would you like being tickled by multiple lers at once? lers: would you like to tickle multiple lees at once?

I really love the idea of multiple lers. Maybe it's my masochism, or my praise kink, or loving physical contact from someone I care about. But having all that attention and focus on me? Because multiple people care enough to want those reactions? Getting shown love by several people even if in the moment they're being more sadistic than anything and it's pure torture shhhh ? The idea turns my brain to mush and makes my heart swell. So many of my fantasies involve multiple lers.. realistically though I don't know how much I could handle with so many vulnerable spots being able to be gotten at once. So much attention just on me, and if my brain were to just shut off as I turn into a dumb puppy with the lers cooing and praising and teasing while I have to just take it like a silly little tickle toy... Sorry what was the question? 😵‍💫

🦇 bat - do you enjoy the concept of punishment or reward tickles more?

I like both in general. The concept of reward tickles is super flustering though, especially if the ler decided to be a bully and talk about how this was all for me and my benefit... but also I have a hard time with stuff like that. My main thing with tickling has always been I don't want it done because I want it. I want my ler/lover/play partner to want to be doing it. So I think I enjoy punishment tickles more for that reason.. knowing that whoever is doing it because that's what they wanted to default to. Knowing that I can push buttons and be silly and test boundaries, without feeling this worry or dread that I shouldn't because if it was something where I fucked up then my ler wouldn't be going to something more intimate and fun and silly. That knowledge that I'll still be wanted even after I brat off. Plus on a much less depressing note there can be extra flustering with my partner then going in with teasing on how if I wanted attention so bad I could have just asked or other forms of calling me out and shit hcmakfbsljkl. And then there's also that I just kind of naturally swear and say no or similar things during a session so that would make me feel... weird in reward tickles. Doing good so I get a reward and then I'm swearing at them? Eehhh...

🌙 moon - who is one person in this community that you would love to have the opportunity to meet up with? (please be respectful with your answers.)

100% It would be my closest friend in the community @missamyrisa2 I'd like to think we've gotten close through our multiple blogs and always rekindling when new accounts are made, as well as the other various accounts on differing sites. One of my absolute favorite writers, but overall just also an amazing person 🥰 I don't even mean a meetup with tickling either, though ya boi would not have any arguments with the knowledge we both have on each other, but just as a get-together as friends would be so nice. I've gained and lost so many online friends both in and out of this community, but you're the one who's always stuck around and I'll cherish that for a very long time 💜

Thanks again for the ask!

[thenightling]

Why Wednesday is NOT a Harry Potter rip-off

Most of the “Hot Takes” about the Netflix series Wednesday are that it’s a shameless rip-off of Harry Potter.  Why? Because there’s a boarding school and supernatural creatures?   

Wednesday features Wednesday Addams going to Nevermore Academy, a school for “Outcasts.”  In the context of the show Outcast means monsters or people with super powers.  The school residents include werewolves, vampires, gorgons, and sirens as the main species based cliques. And the Principal was a shapeshifter. Other supernatural creatures in attendance include a telekinetic, an artist who has psychic visions and can temporarily bring his art to life, and a boy who can control bees.  A ghost and a Hyde monster also makes an appearance. And Wednesday, herself, is a seer.

 As far back as the 1930s the Addams Family has had witches. Charles Addams, himself, said that Morticia was a witch and he was her creator.  In the 1960s Addams Family show the opening theme song has the line “So get a witch’s shawl on, a broomstick you can crawl on.  We’re gonna pay a call on... The Addams Family.”  Grandmama brewed potions in every incarnation of the family and cursed a man in the 90s Addams Family movies.  Morticia’s sister, Ophelia, had flowers growing out of her head in the 1960s show.  If you think there was nothing supernatural about The Addams Family, you clearly were not paying attention.       

Now, in the show Wednesday, anyone with powers or who is of another species other than human, are called Outcasts.  Everyone else is a Normie. No, this is not a rip-off of Harry Potter’s Muggles.  In role playing games I sometimes had ordinary human characters called Vanillas.  In The Dresden Files TV series they were called civilians. Fables called them Mundies, which was short for Mundanes.  In Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula books the humans are sometimes called Breathers or Mortals.  Breathers is also what the ghosts in a few young adult book series call humans.  That and “Fleshies” like in the Casper movie.  In Bewitched and Sabrina: The Teenage Witch, non-magical people were called mortals.  The vampires of Anne Rice’s novels the human characters are called mortal.

So between Civilians, Breathers, Fleshies, Mundies, Mortals, and Vanilla, the idea of the supernatural society having another name for the non-magical ordinary humans also was not invented by J. K. Rowling for Harry Potter. You would have to have had very limited experience with the horror and fantasy genres if you think Harry Potter was the first to come up with the concept of a school of the magically incline.  

The Worst Witch- about a little girl in Witch School, was first published in 1974 and the first movie version was in 1986 and then it had two TV show adaptations. 

Even Monster High- which I, myself, have compared the school in Wednesday to- was not the first of it’s kind.    

In 1988 there was an animated movie called Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School where Shaggy got a job as a Phys Ed Teacher in an “All Ghoul school” inhabited by the daughters of the classic movie monsters.  You had the daughter of Dracula, the daughter of The wolfman, the daughter of The mummy, and a daughter of a ghostly phantom.  Sound familiar?  It was Monster High before Monster High. 

And don't forget even the novel Dracula in 1897 mentioned Scholomance (School of Magick) a mystical school supposed to be hidden in Eastern Europe over a lake. Also unlike Harry Potter, in the world of Wednesday, much like True Blood, the general public do seem aware that werewolves, vampires, and the like exist.  

Does Wednesday borrow from other Gothic Horror and teen dramas or who-done-its?  Of course.  But it’s done in its own unique way.  And it’s a spin-off of a beloved property, The Addams Family.  So just sit back and relax and enjoy it for what it is.  This is not a rip-off of Harry Potter.  It’s a hodgepodge of Gothic fantasy and it’s the first time Tim Burton has felt like ...well, himself, in over fifteen years.  Stop looking for reasons to hate it and just have fun. With Gothic horror films like The Invitation also embracing old Gothic Horror tropes, and Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman finally having its own TV show adaptation, I find it to be a breath of fresh air to see 2022 being the year that Gothic Horror has finally made a pop culture return without a cynical deconstruction by people who never appreciated the genre.  I had been hoping for this kind of entertainment for a long, long time.

[pleas3pretendimnothere]

May 2024

Only read two books this month, but one of them was the size of three books so... Let's talk about them!

The Way of Kings

By Brandon Sanderson - I'd been putting off this one for a long time, in part because the book is nearly 1,300 pages. I am a Brandon Sanderson fan (I've read 7 other books by the man), and I heard this was his magnum opus. I should have set lower expectations.

I still very much enjoyed Kings. I've read too many bad books to think this was actually bad. It's just...fine! Certainly not the huge, exciting fantasy epic everyone made it out to be. Online hype had me expecting Elden Ring, but all I got was Final Fantasy. We all like Final Fantasy, but by no means is it a modern feat of the genre!

A million people have reviewed this book, and most criticisms I've read are entirely valid. The highlight of Kings is Kaladin's story. Bridge Four's struggle is frightening and endearing--you want to read those parts because it really does feel like characters' lives are stake. That's good! But then, you don't really care about Kaladin when he was eight--please, get back to Bridge Four. Nor do you want to read about Dalinar, a flat, Aragorn-esque mirror of a dozen other characters Sanderson has already written. Shallan, our emotional female lead, is...fine. She's fine. All in all, it's tough to stick around for 1,300 pages with these plain, stereotypical, morally-impervious characters leading the way.

Nonetheless, there's intrigue in the world that kept me reading all the way to the end. Kaladin's story is strange and fantastical, and there's enough mystery peppered into Dalinar and Shallan's chapters to keep my attention. If only the book were a tight, 700 pages, which, I think Sanderson could have easily managed.

I could write about my qualms with this book for ages, but I think it comes down to this. Read Kings if you haven't read anything else by Sanderson--having already read Mistborn, Warbreaker, and Elantris, Kings brings nothing unique to Sanderson's cosmere. Read if you prefer worldbuilding to character work. Read if you want to finally know what the big friggin deal is! But this book isn't a masterpiece by any means. Just RENT IT!

Planesrunner

By Ian McDonald - Where Kings is often fine, Planesrunner is completely and totally fine. This is the definition of middle-of-the-pack. I picked this one up a million years ago from a used bookstore, and sadly, it's been sitting on my shelf all this time for no good reason. Super bad books are fun. Super good books are delightful. Average books bring nothing to the table.

I'm so sorry, Ian. The book's premise rocks. A London kid discovers his kidnapped father has left him a map that allows him to hop universes--a map that is heavily sought after by more sinister forces. Sounds fun, right? That's why I bought it!

And there was a lot to like about Planesrunner, but by the end, I just didn't care. The main character is a perfect, big-brained, Artemis Fowl archetype who believes in goodness and justice. Alternate-universe London is weird, colorful, and evocative of Lanthimos' Barcelona in Poor Things, but I never truly felt like our characters were in danger here. The main character was just too smart to ever be threatened. He made plans with his gang of witty Mortal Engines-like airship crew, and they always worked out brilliantly! When he ultimately succeeds at the book's end--oh no! One thing went wrong, and now we have to have a sequel! Having just read Catherine Fisher's Obsidian Mirror, which has a very similar plot of using a McGuffin to travel times/dimensions in search of a lost father, I would recommend Fisher's books instead. The main character's stubbornness and anger make him interesting, and you want him to succeed--or fail, even! You won't find any intrigue like that in Planesrunner.

This book is incredibly unspecial. Read Fisher's Obsidian Mirror saga or Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines series instead. This one, just SKIP IT!

[riverin-stories]

🏮 "FEAR NOT! So long as I am by your side, no harm will come to you!" 🔅 "For as long as you are willing to have me, I hope my skills will be of use." - monty / amani - huang / nia [here]

🏮 HUANG

A colorfully dressed AI with too much of a presence. Versed in staff-fighting, they are capable of summoning three other Imaginary-element selves to protect others in battle. To others' chagrin, Huang has an overly loud personality. Although they have a storied past, some of Huang's memories are inaccessible for reasons they cannot recall. They seek their original creator, a talented engineer from the Xianzhou Luofu who has not been seen in years.

🔅 LAVENIA FAIR

A young woman who offers her services as an astral navigator. She possesses an assortment of disjointed skills, knowledge she applies to get by in the vast cosmos. Though she dislikes combat, she will take on a supporting role if it is truly necessary. Nia has recently been forced to go on the run. She speaks little about her pursuer, only revealing that said person had orchestrated an attempt on her life that she narrowly escaped. As for what would happen if she gets caught… … …

hello again !! the promised second half of my main hsr au group is finally here!! while i had these designs solidified well before i actually did these sketches, it was still fun to draw them in motion and try to create more interesting silhouettes with them. just as we had monty and amani in the previous grouping, we're rounding out this little quartet with huang and nia! huang and nia have been intertwined since huang's conception, although i gave nia a lot more agency in later iterations rather than just a side-character to huang's overall history. i will always hold a soft spot for huang and nia in their original fantasy setting, but it's been delightful seeing how their story shifts bit by bit in each iteration! formally, this hsr au is both of their third incarnations! since i colored everything in monochrome, it might be harder to tell this, but huang dresses in a Lot of different colors that i tried to make distinct in different shades. this originally was going to have 3 other full-body peeps in huang's summons, but i found a way to skirt about that for my own sanity... i'm still super happy with how this turned out, i think of all my splash arts, huang was the most involved and i think truer to what i envisioned for them. i made a 1st attempt at a splash art for them a few months ago, but didn't feel happy with the results until i tried again recently!! nia's outfit took more time to work out beforehand, mostly because i had trouble with her sense of fashion / what would be most flattering on her. i eventually skewed more towards a sci-fi magical girl kind of vibe, not dissimilar to outfits like pela's or even bronya. (she's also descended from people who used to live on jarilo-vi, so i thought that'd be a good nod to that as well.) her trailing fabric used to be a full vest, but i felt that muddled up figure and layered things a bit unnecessarily. so i converted it into more of a shoulder pieces, and that way it showed off more of her dress without losing details. some extra belts and bags were added for practicality. my favorite personal addition is the higher socks going up to her knees, i think it made for a nice distinguishing fashion preference that separated her from every other boot-wearer in the quartet (which... would be everyone else, huh). this was a REALLY satisfying mini-project to give myself, especially since i'd been feeling down about my art in recent days. i hope everyone else enjoyed, and thank you so much for viewing !!