#They're his sisters and he will always feel he should have been first choice. (Also the Targaryen arrogance/way is quite embedded in him)

[mermaidslabyrinth]

My OC Rhagerys Targaryen with the two people who he would do anything and everything for.

His younger half sisters, Baela and Rhaena. They mean the world to him. They are his weakness but also his strength to keep going. He is their big brother and has been taught to protect them at all costs.

The way I see the three are as the sun, moon, and stars. Rhaena is the Sun. Along with her dragon Morning. Baela is the Moon. Along with her dragon Moondancer. Rhagerys is the Stars. Along with his dragon Starsong. Each are present in one another's lives but in such different ways that people forget that they're connected to one another. That in some way they always will be.

This gorgeous artwork was done by the wonderfully talented @lonelymagpies. They did such marvelous job. The hair, the clothing, the jewels, their looks.

Also a special thank you to @dr-aegon. They reblogged a post mentioning that lonelymagpies was doing commissions. So, thanks to them, I was able to have this artwork created.

[bonefall]

since squirrelflight isn't sparkpelts mom, or brambleclaws mate, whats the context (i think squirrelflights hope) where sparkpelt calls her a mouseheart for sticking up for brambleclaw

I think a lot of people forget that the context in the book was not great to begin with, since we collectively remember it from Moonkitti's video where she's making a point that Sparkpelt is acknowedging Bramblestar's mistreatment. It's part of her argument, demonstrating that even cats WITHIN the Clan can see that Bramble is treating his wife poorly.

But people who haven't read the book (or haven't in a while and half-remember it) construct context backwards from that, and think it was Sparkpelt trying to tell her mom to stop getting pushed around. It's not.

The context was; Sparkpelt wants Bramblestar to nonsensically start a war with ShadowClan because she thinks they poisoned Larksong.

She's not thinking straight because she's stressed. She's blaming ShadowClan because they'd previously poisoned SkyClan, and believes the motive is that they're angry with Bramblestar for trying to keep the peace. Yelling at her mother is supposed to be an example of irrationally lashing out.

It's also, probably, another opportunity for the writers to torment Squilf tbh. Sparkpelt screams at her that she's being a coward for defending the things Squilf had to BEG Bramblestar to do, so that Bramblestar can step in and tut-tut her with, "don't call your mom a mouseheart when ACTUALLY she's a bitch." Then he turns around to cry that his whole family hates him and he's actually the saddest little ducky in the kiddie pool. Lmaoo

So anyway. Squirrelflight's Horror.

Yep, Sparkpelt's no longer Squirrelflight's daughter; these two are Apprentice and Mentor.

And, yep, Squirrelflight broke it off with Bramblestar after OotS. They never get back together; Sparkpelt's mother is Jessy. But, in the very beginning of this book... she starts to feel bad for him, a tiny bit of the love they had re-sparks, and they're courting again.

Not "mates," but the equivalent of dating.

...Much to the chagrin of Squirrelflight's children, as all three of them have disavowed Bramblestar. Fallenleaf and Jayfeather awkwardly try not to get involved, and Lionblaze probably ends up in a argument with her as he tries to forcefully warn her about what a stupid choice she's making. They both dig their heels in because they are a lot alike, and Lionblaze's explosive confrontation only made the situation worse.

And tertiary effects: Toadstep takes his mate's side, but his mother Daisy (Squilf's best friend) and sister Rosepetal, (Squilf's first apprentice), choose to support Squirrelflight in whatever she does. Squilf's grandchild Hollylark and her apprentice, Sparkpelt, are... cautiously optimistic.

Sparkpelt's relationship with her dad has always been extremely strained. She wants to love him... but she's been involved in his little "tests" before. Squilf was always the one who PROTECTED her from them, an emotional rock during the storm that was her adolescence. Squilf knows what she's doing. She's aware of what she's getting into. She wants her dad to be happy. She knows he hasn't been happy since Jessy left him.

They All Know This. Yes?

So... she should be glad, right? That the people she loves are going to make each other happy? Maybe this will... you know... fix him. And her kits can be born into a happy world where their grandfather isn't so... frustrating.

Or, maybe she can just, HOPE, y'know? Maybe things can be okay after all? Just once?

Hollylark meanwhile is like, "Sure babe it's all gonna be fine! Nothing terrible is going to happen, hahahahahahahaha" as xey purchase 14 fire extinguishers, an insurance plan, and consult the Clerics on the best god to pray to. Alderheart solemnly tells xem that if there was a god who could help, he would have worshiped them long ago.

Leafpool sighs, "at least try goldenflower."

Squirrelflight's Horror's purpose is to set up the events of TBC. Bramblestar's controversial choices here, getting his entire Clan wrapped up in an abusive game he's going to play with his ex-wife/sort-of girlfriend, and ultimately leading his Clan into a controversial battle that gets Leafpool killed, is why no one caught that he was replaced by a cruel impostor.

But most of all, it's about Squirrelflight. It's her going on trial to defend Fire Alone as an ideology in the modern era, it's setting up how her worst enemy will kill to hurt her but how her allies support her, and it's her finally rejecting any love she has left lingering for someone who has proven that he can't treat her well, so that she can focus on all the people who do.

Her heart WILL lead her to make some rash, destructive choices, but nothing she's ever done out of compassion will be something she apologizes for.

SO the change of context around Hollylark's poisoning and death.

For one, Hollylark is now something more interesting. Xey are a Nature Spirit, one of the new entities in BB that I'm still solidifying the rules for.

Other examples of Nature Spirits: Brokenstar, Star Flower.

They're quite rare, and typically born of bits of nature that were beloved for generations before being destroyed.

Hollylark was born because one of xeir moms had a magic misfire. So xey're extremely weak compared to those two.

Fallenleaf has no idea yet how exactly she did this... or, even, how far her own powers extend.

Over the course of this story, Fallen is also having a tiny realization of her own that she can't stay in ThunderClan. She's a God, now, with Sol trapped inside her chest.

Bramblestar WILL be trying to drag her into the conflict, and she has to stand firm and argue that her powers can't be used for politics... or...

this part she does not say, knowing that saying it out loud would only make Squilf double down like Lionblaze's big fight with her did,

Or for Bramblestar's stupid drama.

Of her siblings, she's carrying the least pain about Bramblestar's treatment. She dropped the secret, and then vanished into an adventure that took her from this life for a thousand moons.

Everything still feels very far away, in a sense. Like she's still a distance away from the Hollyleaf that she once was.

So... Bramblestar feels small. This all feels small. Petty.

Beneath her.

So, whatever happens to Hollylark... it feels like a cold rainstorm. If she'd felt somewhat numb and dazed before, reality HITS her.

She couldn't SAVE her child. She has NO IDEA what her powers really are, or their limits.

This causes Fallenleaf and her mate, Cinderheart, to leave the Clans in search of those answers. To find out what Fallenleaf's role, as the new God of Autumn, should be.

But that's Cinderheart's Travels. One of the BB books that doesn't have an equivalent canon book lmao.

And back on Hollylark.

My current thought is that Sparkpelt should end up a LOT sicker from the prey-poisoning, while Hollylark is the one who's less affected by it.

In my head, Hollylark through this SE is in a sort of role where xey're not giving a ton of xeir own opinions, clearly just trying to support Sparkpelt and the kits. Xey're unbelievably stressed out, but xeir response under pressure is to fawn.

So the context of Sparkpelt snapping at Squirrelflight would be that she's physically sick. She's tired, terrified for herself, her kits, and in her state, she's taking it out on Squilf.

Instead of blaming ShadowClan, though, I'm thinking it would be more relevant for Sparkpelt to be angry that Squilf is "Making Bramblestar so upset."

If she's going to be making accusations that are emotional and don't make any sense, Squilf should be noticing that Sparkpelt is being sucked right back into being the self-conscious, terrified child she used to be. Before she had a mentor to rely on.

She hates that Squirrelflight is "upsetting" Bramblestar, blaming her for his actions, in a way that she used to do to herself when she was young.

And at first, Squilf is going to ACCEPT that, and APOLOGIZE... until something happens in front of her to make her realize that if she did that, she would be saying that the toxic impulses she had to train OUT of Sparkpaw were "correct."

A recognition of herself through Sparkpelt before her. And a realization that, no matter what happens, she NEEDS to be there for Sparkpelt because she still needs someone in her corner.

I'm still working out the non-Trial parts of Squirrelflight's Horror, so this is still getting shuffled around. But next,

Bramblestar barges in to "defend" Squilf.

What I like about the original context is the way that Bramble takes a fight between Squilf and Spark and makes it all about himself. I think it's intriguing and telling that he takes the opportunity to guilt trip Squilf again.

And what I'd like to do with the idea in the context of BB, is have Bramble try to force himself into this very personal moment like he's both a hero of Squilf AND hurting sooo very much to do it. Like it was a favor he was doing her, to cut through his immense pain at being undermined and betrayed, to "stand by her side."

And Squirrelflight sees this and feels sickened.

How could she EVER apologize to Sparkpelt for making Bramblestar upset, when he's so callous he'll BARGE in to "save her" from his sick daughter?

Something he MOCKED her for, once, before she chose him over Ashfur?

She's not fully ready to FINALLY purge herself of Bramble, no, but it's one of the last steps. Apologizing to Sparkpelt seemed like the correct thing to do... until Bramblestar reminded her where their guilt comes from.

MOSTLY, I'm unsure of how to resolve this scene. I know I don't want Squilf to stand up for Sparkpelt yet though.

And I want that to bug her. She was such a swirling whirlwind of guilt, shock, and offense, that she did nothing. Caught between too many emotions, she froze.

So Bramble could either storm off like he does in-canon, OR, have Hollylark finally push in to tell them that they need to leave and cut it early.

At some point, perhaps as an ending to this scene or later, I do want Hollylark to express frustration at the way Bramblestar is changing Squirrelflight, and how she just stood back right there

Xey're wise enough to realize it's not Squilf DOING it, but can't help but feel a crushing disappointment that she's THIS old, THIS wise, been through SO MUCH because of this guy...

"I LOVE you, but it's not just about you either. Can't you see how he's finding aaaaall these ways to drag everyone in, just because he wants to get at you?"

And especially Sparkpelt. She needs all of her allies right now, most of all the very mentor who taught her she didn't deserve to feel the way her dad often makes her.

But Squilf did not push back for her. It was only one moment... but it was an important one. And she lapsed.

She can't let that happen ever again.

As for Hollylark, I know that I need to kill them before the end of this book. Like canon, xey're gone before Squilf has her trial. My current thought is that xey sacrifice themself in some way in order to save Sparkpelt's life, perhaps deciding to "take their pain onto myself" and dying in her place.

And that's the context, so far. I've got the Trial pretty solidly mapped out, but the reworked politics and interpersonal stuff are still a WIP. I know the beginning and the end, but the middle's still loose!

[coff-in]

We can have Toxic!Siblings Graves x Y/N (Andrew and Reader Romantic) (Ashley and Reader platonic)

Y/N would have been the babysitter when they were just kids, it wasn't by choice obviously, as Y/N's parents were working all day and couldn't leave a child alone all day, while Mrs. Graves simply couldn't. He wanted to take care of his own children.

So they decided to make Y/N a full-time babysitter for the Graves family, she gets food and isn't left alone while the Graves Siblings are taken care of, everyone wins :D (Sarcasm)

Their relationship was a little tense at first, Leyley was a pest to Y/N, calling her several names and accusing her of stealing her brother, which resulted in the two fighting all the time.

Even so, she didn't understand why Leyley still insisted on staying close to her, she didn't know that for Leyley, Y/N was the closest thing to a mother she had.

While for Andy, he found it strange to obey someone who is only 1 year older than him, but he liked the idea of someone looking out for him.

Until the infamous box day arrived.

Andrew felt so overwhelmed by that day, that he started to become more clingy/protective towards Y/N, as she was the only one who was understanding of his feelings, who became his safe haven and he was afraid of losing that. .

It got to the point where he and his sister created false rumors about dating/friends so that Y/N wouldn't abandon them.

The two siblings didn't know that Y/N knew that they killed Nina, she just didn't tell them because Mrs. Graves (out of a minimal maternal feeling) threatened her by saying that she was also an accomplice, since she should be taking care of them.

Because of this, as time passed, Y/N began to behave colder/aggressive/distant towards most people, especially her parents. Since they were responsible for her being practically abandoned and for practically selling her childhood to be a "mother" of two brats that no one wanted to take care of.

Until we reach Chapter 2, after sacrificing Mr and Mrs. Graves, Y/N received an amulet from the Demon that is capable of entering the dreams and memories of others while she sleeps. Then she accidentally manages to see the memories of Andrew and Ashley that they made with her behind her back.

note from coff-in: GOD THIS IS SO YUMMY!!! i love how long and detailed the ask is as it gives me something to build off of (which is always welcomed, i’m not always the creative i want to be). thank you so much for requesting! i think my characterization of andrew and ashley was a little wonky. i tried watching playthroughs of the game to see how they talk and think but i literally get too flustered to look at them whenever they're on screen, hahaha!! more Ashley focused than what you migh've hoped for but i tried my best to keep her interactions and thinking platonic and andrew's romantic. this was a wonderful idea and i have to thank you again so, so, so much for requesting. please enjoy!!!

[fem] reader-insert, reader is older than andrew by 1 year

Like a worm to an apple, they've carved their way into your life.

[reader] fucking hates the Graves siblings, hahaha!

Okay, maybe she doesn’t hate them, but [reader] definitely has a strained relationship with Andrew and Ashley. I don’t think that the quarantine helped them out much either. [reader]’s parents not only abandoned her and left her to become a parent of kids not that younger than her, but they actually sold her off. They probably heard of the quarantine from Mrs. Graves and decided that it sounded fun, I guess.

Ashley mellowed out her hatred towards [reader] as they grew up together. I don’t think we’ve ever seen Ashley interact with someone she sees as a friend (besides Andrew). I think she’d be very possessive over them. [reader] is her friend! She should be focusing on her and Andrew and no one else!

She and [reader] probably share clothes in the quarantine since [reader]’s clothes would all be at her home (wherever that would be…)

Andrew’s fucking living the dream. The rumors he and Ashley spread of them and [reader] worked to keep [reader] close but I don’t think that [reader] actually dated Andrew. I mean, if the boy you babysat during your childhood killed a little girl and got away with it, would you date him?

The quarantine has given him and [reader] that forced proximity that he hopes would work to get her into his arms. (And maybe under the sheets, too…? Hehehehe!)

He would go to [reader] during the night to sleep in the same bed during his nightmares. I think he would also go to Ashley for comfort from his nightmares, too, since she was actually there when Nina died (I’m pretty sure that’s what the nightmares were about) but this is just a personal thought/headcanon of mine.

Overall, they’re both clingy, possessive and kinda obsessive over [reader] and she hates it. Their relationship changed once they killed and cannibalized their cultist neighbor. With Nina, [reader] didn’t really have a choice… she wasn’t there in the room when they killed her in that box and Mrs. Graves didn’t allow her to tell the authorities to rightfully send these fuckers to jail!

“You’re an accomplice” my ass, [reader] thinks to herself.

But now? Sharing a meal with the two people she despises the most next to her parents, made with the blood and flesh of another human? Yeah, she can’t possibly say that she’s an innocent party now.

Once the gang pulls up at the hotel [reader] is ready to leave the Graves’s asses. This is her chance at freedom now! She doesn’t need to babysit them anymore, they’re fucking adults now!

Her chances are dashed once the hitman comes over to try and kill them. I never mentioned the demon and the vision trinket but I’m sure [reader] tries to block it out from her mind as much as possible. Kinda hard to do it now that she knows that yes, the trinket does work, and yes, there are actual fucking demons that exist in their world.

At the Graves parent’s house, [reader] probably wouldn’t do too much there. Obviously she can’t talk Ashley out of sacrificing them and Andrew is more-or-less aboard with the idea. [reader] just kinda stands out of the way when it comes to the bondage and actual killing/sacrificing part. I think [reader] would sleep with Ashley in the basement much to Andrew’s chagrin.

“[reader]? Are you okay?” Ashley looked at [reader]’s side profile as they lay on the floor next to each other. “You haven’t said much since we got here.”

[reader] stayed quiet. In all honesty, she was probably disassociating at that moment. Looking back at her memories in hopes of finding a piece of happiness lost somewhere so she can grab it. This whole fucking ‘adventure’ has been a total shitshow… 

“If it’ll make you feel better, we could kill your parents afterward.” Ashley offered carefully.

“Why the fuck would we do that…?” [reader] didn’t look at Ashley and continued to stare at the ceiling. She tried to focus on the cool concrete of the ground, the darkness that covered the walls, and their victims sleeping just upstairs.

“They weren’t any better than our parents, were they? I heard our parents talking when you were younger… you’re another child that wasn’t wanted. Just like me and Andy!” She smiled at [reader] as she got up to sneak towards the staircase. “It’s something that’ll bring us together! We’ll be orphans and friends! Unwanted children to the very end!”

When they finally sacrifice the Graves parents, everyone is shocked that the demon decides to give [reader] a trinket of her own. It’s a simple trinket in the shape of an eye with three stars dangling from it. It looks very similar to Ashley’s trinket.

That night (or day, I guess?) [reader] wanders about the demon/dreamscape and finds the memory of Andrew and Ashley spreading rumors. (You mentioned that it was on accident, so maybe she was trying to avoid looking at Ashley’s respective vision for the route you wanna go down). I mean, it’s not too hard. Who knows where any of those doors that litter the place will lead?

“Did you know that [reader] my friend?” Ashley would tell other students during lunch at school. “She’s my best friend even, so I don’t need you guys to sit with me or anything!” The other classmates give her demeaning leers and skeptical stares as Ashley turns away to find you in the cafeteria.

“What a fucking weirdo… there’s no way [reader] would be friends with her.”

“She’s probably lying about it.”

“I could see her and [reader] being friends… doesn’t she babysit her and Andrew?”

“Isn’t [reader] dating Andrew? Someone said that Andrew and [reader] were dating…”

What the fuck? What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?

Anger starts to boil up in [reader]’s veins as they replay that interaction in their mind. They’ve been pulling the fucking strings from the start. They’d been slowing sinking their teeth around her neck until she was trapped in their jaws, unable to escape the hell of their design.

What. The. Fuck!

----

coff-in

[lonelychicago]

inspiration saturday! 🎄🦌

tagged by the lovelies @hippolotamus @daffi-990 @spotsandsocks @the-likesofus @thewolvesof1998 @hoodie-buck

okay so, i have a few ideas for holiday fics and i haven't really decided which ones to write. so... here's a christmas moodboard for inspiration and the options, if you guys could vote ur favorite i'd love u forever and ever.

1. it's chris and eddie's first christmas without shannon and also away from texas. it has to be perfect— they have to choose the perfect tree but the cute, stupidly hot guy selling the trees is really not helping.

buck's been working extra shifts at the station and now also selling christmas trees on his free time since his sister is in town asking for his help to hide from her psychotic husband and can't currently find a job. he meets the most adorable kid ever and the hottest dad he's ever seen. they flirt, they bicker a little bit and buck thinks that's it. he won't see the guy ever again... until he shows up at the toy drive they're hosting at the station and accidentally stands under a mistletoe. what other choice does buck have but to kiss him??

2. buck and eddie are exes. they haven't seen each other in years. until sophia invites buck over for christmas and some feelings reemerge. their love might not be dead after all.

3. buck gets dumped on christmas eve and eddie being the amazing friend he is, he tries to cheer him up. christmas has always been better with them together anyway, who needs a stupid girlfriend?

4. buck ends up in a coma and somehow, his neighbor eddie ends up on the hospital bed next to him with buck's entire family thinking they're dating. when buck wakes up with amnesia and he thinks eddie's his boyfriend, things get a little bit more complicated. eddie finds it really hard to not tell the truth when he hasn't ever felt this at home before.

tagging (no pressure): @buddierights @monsterrae1 @rainbow-nerdss @prettyboybuckley @heartshapedvows @spaceprincessem @messyhairdiaz @eowon @exhuastedpigeon @malewifediaz @jeeyuns @eddiebabygirldiaz @bigfootsmom @devirnis @disasterbuckdiaz @wildlife4life @jesuisici33 @tails89 @jamespearce9-1-1 @giddyupbuck @maygrantgf @housewifebuck @911onabc @911-on-abc @bekkachaos @athenagranted @pirrusstuff @gayedmundodiaz @watchyourbuck and anyone else who wants to do it! <33

[beloved-daydreams]

You know, I've wanted to talk about Taryn for a while because I genuinely think she's such an interesting character (and is SEVERELY underrated my god), so here are a couple of things I sometimes think about in no particular order: (and if I'm mistaken about any of those feel free to tell me!!!)

1) In The Cruel Prince, when Vivi brought Jude and Taryn to a shopping mall in order to cheer them up, Jude noted how Taryn is like a chameleon. That if they had to return to live in the human world, she wouldn't be able to adjust as well while Taryn probably could.

2) Despite people often portraying Taryn as a jealous/envious person (which I believe is partly true of course) that part of her has never seemed that big to me and I'm actually more inclined to say she was often on a fine line between being very driven and very desperate. Just like how Jude wanted to find her place in Elfhame, Taryn wanted to find her own through marriage. (Which, I'd like to add, is a totally valid wish in her situation even if it's not considered to be the more "girlboss" choice to make, out of all the things she has done/chosen to do, I don't think this is one if the things she should be shamed for.)

3) Although she accepted Locke's unfair conditions in order for him to take her as his wife knowing that Jude would inevitably get hurt, I believe she has always felt guilty about it deep down which is ALSO why she was so SO persistent with Jude in TCP. She wanted Jude to stop defying the fae because she didn't want her to get even more hurt than how much she already had (+ knowing that the reason Jude's being targeted in the first place is her fault, which is why she felt so responsible in making her stop her defiance.)

4) I'd also like to acknowledge how humiliating this deal with Locke must've been. People always think about how embarrassing it was for Jude but can you imagine how desperate you must be to let your "boyfriend" date your sister? Taryn saw him as a lifeline, as a way to survive and get some sort of power in Elfhame, and while she definitely didn't do it the right way, let's not pretend that she enjoyed it. Who would enjoy having a man play with you and your sister? This is pure disrespect NOT only towards Jude but also towards Taryn, which I find sad. This "relationship" was abusive and unequal from the very start.

5) Additionally, I think deep down Taryn always knew/understood that Locke doesn't especially care about her. It has been hinted at multiple times in the story that Locke didn't actually care which sister he would find that night he came to look for one of the twins and I don't even believe he properly knew how to differentiate them. Near the beginning of TCP there's a scene where Jude's and Locke's eyes meet (at that point Locke and Taryn are already "together") and he smiles at her, possibly because he might believe she's Taryn, and Taryn seeing that their eyes met, tries to get Jude to forget about it. So she HAS in fact noticed that Locke can't differentiate them at that point yet she keeps "dating" him. Why? Well...

6) The sacrifice line in The Wicked King, when it says Taryn looks more like a sacrifice than a bride. I think this was the "goal" all along. Taryn's whole thing is that she keeps making herself small and pleasant and "fitting into the picture". She is also shown to be more like Oriana than Madoc, Oriana who is known for being very careful and making the most "safe" decisions for her well-being and Oak's (+ always warning Jude and Taryn to not go anywhere during the revels and to not interact with the fae because they're humans and weak, and it would be dangerous for them). Taryn is doing the same with Locke, she wants security and some amount of power like Oriana who chose to be with Madoc for her and Oak's safety. Plus, again, Taryn obviously wants a place where she can belong. So ultimately she is "sacrificing" herself to Locke for that freedom.

7) In the lost sisters, Locke tried to make Taryn take pleasure in cruelty by making her dance with that fae boy then stealing her away and making her see how heartbroken that made the boy feel. And it did work somewhat but I believe the reason why Locke and Taryn didn't work out well together in the end is because Taryn is capable of feeling guilt. Locke and Taryn are shown to be similar in the aspect of "being good at telling stories" except Locke likes to make stories happen around him for his entertainment (Drama, basically). I don't think Taryn has that in her just because of that night in the lost sisters, in fact, that might've not even been the cruelty in itself that gave her pleasure but the power she had and was capable of having over a fae for once, instead of them having power over her.

8) Another reason why Locke and Taryn didn't work well together is because Taryn was unequally putting way more effort in this relationship than Locke was. In TCP when Jude and Locke are "dating", he gives her a tour of his estate and it's all mostly empty because no one gives enough of a shit to renovate any of it. Yet in TQN, when Jude is pretending to be Taryn, we see how his estate has changed for the better. Almost each empty room has been filled with furniture and the wardrobes have beautiful clothes in them. Showing how all of this has obviously been done by Taryn. Plus, why did the servant give "Taryn" (Jude pretending to be Taryn) a fairie fruit for dinner? Is it because Locke has made her eat some in front of his guests and Taryn complied to be seen as the "fun/pleasant" wife who does everything her husband tells her to? So maybe, just like how Jude was poisoning herself to build an immunity against poison, is it possible that Taryn was doing the same with faerie fruit? To build an immunity so she can still be somewhat aware of herself during Locke's maze/garden parties?

9) I think in the end, Taryn is more similar to the Ghost which is why they ended up hitting it off. Both of their thing is "being in the shadows/fitting in". Moreover, the Ghost does feel guilt for killing Oak's mother seeing how uncomfortable he got when Jude uncovered that. Plus he's half-human, so that will be easier to bear for Taryn instead of that bullshit Locke was telling her about "fae loving in a different way" to make her comply with his real-life sized drama club.

Overall, I like how layered all of this is if you look for it BUT I wouldn't say any of those conclusions/assomptions are especially difficult to reach if you're careful. I'm just kind of tired of female characters being seen as one-dimensional compared to their male counterparts who will get "understood" much more easily. My very hot take about TFOTA has always been that the truly gray character/problematic female character of the story is in fact Taryn and not Jude. Since Jude is the protagonist and we're always seeing her pov it's not hard for us to understand or be compassionate with her. Despite her actions being "morally gray" in-story, from the readers' pov, I believe the truly problematic female character here is Taryn since we can't actually see the inside of her head. All we get is pieces of information we have to put together.

[matan4il]

Hi I read your post about the fallen victims and I had to stop at 5 year old Ido Avigal and just cry. If he was still with us he would've been my nephew's age today (and my nephew is my entire world). And his adorable smile looks like my nephew's so it's even more painful. I can't imagine what his family feels or his friends. Poor thing. I hate all of the pain and suffering in the world I truly hate it.

I'm not Jewish but I will pray for these people and their loved ones. I hope their loved ones have a strong support system and that pain will probably never go away but I hope their loved ones find strength and peace and courage to continue living.

Idk I'm rambly and emotional.

Sending you hugs too. 🫂

Hi Nonnie!

Thank you so much for your very humane response! I have a nephew as well, I know exactly what you mean. I've always loved and adored kids, but there was something about accompanying my sister on her motherhood journey that made me realize just how much more it is to be a parent. And in that sense, an uncle or aunt, too. What it means to raise a child, and love them before they're even born, and be so invested in every single second for years, things I might have known as an idea, but have such a more profound impact when you actually experience them...

Ido Avigal specifically is someone who I remembered even before my sis got pregnant. Like you said, that sweet smile! The contrast before the first pic of him that was shared, in which he's seen in a Purim costume (such a joyous occasion, and you take it in while trying to process such a tragedy). The fact that the family did everything right... When Hamas fired their rocket, the warning siren went off, the family heard it in time, they all got into the bomb shelter, they closed the door and the window... they did everything right. And still, the rocket hit the next door building, a splinter of the rocket flew off and hit their window at such an angle, that it went through the shut metal covers on the window. Ido passed away a few hours later, in a hospital, but the family had to watch him get hit with a lethal strike right in front of their eyes.

How did it happen? Because when the decision was made on how thick the metal covers over the windows in every bomb shelter had to be, Hamas' rockets were less advanced than they are now. Even with all of the effort Israel invests in it, it's simply not possible to keep "updating" our bomb shelters at the same speed Hamas get rocket upgrades from Iran. That's the tragedy. That defense systems, no matter how good, are always bound to fail eventually. And we can talk about statistics (Iron Dome did succeed in intercepting 97% of rocket threats in May 2021), for that one family, nothing is going to ever fix what happened, and bring their kid back.

If Israel hadn't left Gaza in 2005, our soldiers could have done more to intercept what Hamas is getting from Iran, to make sure they can't upgrade their rockets, and become more lethal. But we didn't want to rule over Gaza anymore, we wanted to try giving it to the Palestinians, give them autonomy, give them something to develop and invest in, give them something to lose if they choose terrorism, so that hopefully they wouldn't... So here we are, realizing we have to sacrifice our 18 and 19 year old children in order to protect our 5 year old kids, the kind of choice that no nation, that no parent and family, should have to make.

And you know what's even worse? Since Ido was killed, in May 2021, I've seen his pic more than once, used in anti-Israel propaganda, presenting him as if he was a Palestinian kid (along with Nadine Awad, a 14 years old Israeli Arab Muslim Bedouine girl, who was also killed by Hamas during the same time). Ido's mom publicly spoke out against them doing this, BTW. They're literally appropriating our dead, and using them against us, to de-legitimize our self-defense, and bring about more murdered Israelis. I can't understand that kind of moral failure other than in terms of antisemitism.

I can tell you that Ido's dad wrote and published a song in his son's memory, called "measured hope," and an article from two days ago stated that Ido's mom has been giving interview to explain Israelis better to the world, since Oct 7.

Thank you again for the very kind words and hugs! Sending you big hugs and much love right back! xoxox

(for more of my posts regarding Israel, click here)

[ameliesopp]

1: I absolutely love your marquis fic 😍😍😍

2: could you do one where the readers mission to kill the marquis goes wrong

Hey lovely, thanks so much!

Here you go - I don’t love this but eh it’s what came out💀🫶

(Fluff and angst)

Of course I do - Marquis de Gramont x fem!reader [oneshot]

"Can't say I'm not disappointed."

Vincent has his hands in his pockets as he turns around to face you.

Your hand holding the gun is shaking a little, you need the second hand to stabilize it.

"I'm sorry", you say softly.

"They gave you my name."

"They did."

"Why?"

"I didn't get a reason", you say softly.

He scoffs.

"And you said you'd do it?"

"You know better than anyone that I don't have a choice."

"Who are they gonna kill? I thought you didn't have family", he asks, calm as ever.

"We don't have the time for this, Vincent."

Your voice is trembling, you're close to tears.

You don't want to kill him. You really don't.

"Don't you think I at least deserve to know who I'm dying for?"

Vincent tilts his head as he comes closer and you swallow.

"My sister. She's still a kid, Vincent. A kid. They'll kill her and you know it. I can't let them do that."

"Of course not."

He's still coming closer, so you take a step back.

"That's close enough."

He doesn't stop. Every step makes the room feel smaller than before, your chest tightening like a noose around your heart.

"But we both know you're not gonna shoot me, right?", he says smiling.

He's close enough for the barrel to touch his chest.

"I have to", you say indignantly, tears forming in your eyes.

"Are you going to?"

"Yes!"

"Hm."

He musters your face, the trembling lips, the twitch in the cheeks, the tear clouded eyes.

"I don't think you are."

"I'm so sorry, Vincent, you know this is the last thing I wanna do, but-"

"Then don't", he says, almost laughing.

"You know I can keep you safe. And your sister, if I have to."

"No. You can't."

"You should have come to me first."

"They already have her. Otherwise I would have."

"Hm. That is unfortunate", he says. "Well, it's been fun, chérie, but you know I can't just let you shoot me."

"You also don't have a choice", you say, your gun clicking.

Your finger hovers over the trigger.

He swallows.

The cold metal feels heavier than usual in your hand.

Then you hear another click, this time behind you.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to drop the gun."

You freeze, a chill running down your spine.

You close your eyes for a second as tears run down your cheeks.

No. No,no,no,no,no.

"Drop it!", you hear again and slowly open your eyes again.

Vincent places his hands on yours. As shaky as yours are, his are completely steady. Warm and safe, as always.

He looks almost like he feels bad for you.

"I'm sorry, chérie."

"No, you're not", you whisper, voice cracking. "You're the reason this is even happening. I should have never slept with you. I should have never talked to you. I shouldn't have fallen for you. They know. They know and that's why they asked me to do this. It could have been anyone, but they chose me."

You swallow as you it dawns on you how you've been manipulated.

"They don't want you dead. They want me dead. They knew I wouldn't be able to do it. That someone would come save you. And that I'd probably die in the process. Or I'll get killed because I failed. Either way, I don't come out of this alive."

You chuckle a little at your own stupidity.

"I'm so naive. This is my punishment for getting involved with you."

"It's a warning", he says softly. "They're using you as an example."

But he doesn't look happy about it. In fact, he looks quite devastated.

He swallows heavily as he comes up to you to gently cup your face and wipe your tears away, his touch immediately soothing you.

"You should have run away with me when I asked you to", he whispers as he leans his forehead against yours.

"I couldn't leave her behind", you whisper back, more tears falling down your face.

He sniffles as he gently strokes your hair out of your forehead.

"We'll find a way to deal with this. And I'll try anything I can to make sure she is returned home safely. You're both getting out of this alive. I promise."

"How?", you ask through your tears. "They'll kill her as soon as they hear you're not dead."

"No. They need her to make sure you don't disappear.  I'll figure something out."

"Why would you do this for me? I just tried to kill you!", you say indignantly, wiping your face, and he swallows again as he gently caresses your cheeks.

"Because I love you."

You almost forget to cry as you look up at him with big eyes, your breath hitching in your chest, the chaos of the situation suddenly fading into the background. Suddenly it's just you and him, alone in this moment.

"You...you love me?", you ask when you've regained your composure.

"Obviously."

A soft smile tugs at the corners of his lips. "Otherwise you'd be long dead, sweetheart."

[recreationalfanfics]

For Assassin's Creed hc how would the Connor Kenway, Jacob Frye, and Ezio having a pletonic relationship with a fellow assassin who is younger then them and is a medic in training?

Just strictly pletonic yandere with a female assassin

AAAH, THANK YOU FOR MY FIRST AC REQUEST!!

Platonic Yandere! Connor:

- No because Connor has dad vibes or at the very least, protective older brother vibes and that is EXACTLY how he'll be with you.

- Maybe you joined the Brotherhood and he took you under his wing or maybe he was assigned to be your teacher but either way, he will always be nearby and watching you just to make sure you are safe.

- He will also help educate you in your medical education as best as he can, introducing you and getting you familiar with helpful plants that have medical uses and such.

- He also insists on being the one to teach you how to fight properly because even though he knows your main focus is healing and helping injured assassin's recover, he'd never forgive himself if he allowed something to happen to you. Don't worry, he's a gentle teacher who eases you in and has a lot of good advice.

- He has killed people for you. Templars who tried sneak you or drunken men who tried to hit on you. When you panic and ask him why he did that, he says that he had no other choice. You think that maybe he could've just knocked them out, tied them up somewhere and left them, but...it IS Connor. He usually chooses the most peaceful and diplomatic options.

- Maybe...maybe you're overthinking it. After all, Connor would never lie to you...right?

Platonic Yandere! Jacob:

- You definetly meet Jacob when he's brought in by the Brotherhood with some new injury he got that was probably from doing a stupid stunt. Either way, it's not too bad and it was good practice.

- He's a fun and lovable guy, honestly. He's cracking jokes and making you laugh and asking about how long you've been with the Brotherhood. You feel relaxed with him, he's so much more casual than other assassins and you're more drawn to him.

- He lets you hang around him and the Rooks, all of them love you like a little sister and are always happy when you come around. Sometimes Jacob calls you in if one of them needs to be patched up and he jokingly says that maybe instead of the Brotherhood, you should just work as a healer for him and his gang.

- You laugh it off and so does he but he's actually deadly serious about it. Jacob isn't gonna act like the Brotherhood is all peachy and perfect because they're assassins and some of those heartless bastards wouldn't feel any guilt leaving you behind on a mission or something, but...if you worked for him, you'd be much more safer. Everyone loves you, everyone adores you, and everyone (especially Jacob) would ensure your safety before their own.

- Most definetly has started fights over you, like some drunk tells you that you'd be a better whore than a medic and Jacob loses his mind, both Evie and Henry and even some other rooks have to pull him back as he beats the man shitless for saying those things about you.

- He kinda treats you like a kid, which is ironic because he hates being treated that way himself by older Assassins and Evie, but he can't help it. You're still so innocent to this world, too innocent to even be an Assassin, so just leave it to Jacob and keep everyone happy with that adorable smile of yours, yeah?

Platonic Yandere! Ezio:

- NO BECAUSE HE'D THE W O R S T OUT OF THESE TWO AND MORE NOTICEABLE AS A PLATONIC YANDERE. ESPECIALLY IF YOU REMIND HIM OF HIS BROTHERS IN ANYWAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.

- You'd be way too star struck to notice it, though. After all, you're meeting THE Ezio Auditore! AND HE SEEMS TO NOT BE ANNOYED BY YOUR INEXPERIENCE LIKE THE OTHER ASSASSINS.

- Unlike Jacob he won't deter from being an assassin and he'll also teach you to defend yourself like Connor but you just fill in a gap in his heart that he thought would always be empty after what happened to his family.

- You start to notice his yandere tendencies when an Assassin snaps at you because you might've done something wrong and Ezio just threatens them with death straight up. He charms his way out of it but the even still kinda lives in the back of your mind.

- NO BECAUSE BOTH TEMPLARS AND ASSASSIN'S FEAR YOU. Because if a Templar captain sees his troupes bring in an Assassin Prisoner and it's YOU, the captain will start crying as he asks his men if they know what they've done. Other Assassin's have seen the injuries Ezio has given to those who ALLOW you to get hurt and for that reason, you are to stay close to them at all times for fear they might meet the same fate.

- Depending on which Ezio we're talking about, he'll literally make it so that you're always under his protection and that he can always have his eye on you.

- Bonus thing: he does not trust boys, given his background and how he played with women, he'd much rather choose one of his own assassins that are your age than risk having you get your heart broken, he's a good dad that way.

[esseastri]

For the curious, my Rook list:

Revira Thorne, mage, elf, romanced Davrin. She was a lightspeed story-mode run that Lisa and I did together so we could avoid spoiling each other, and we both accidentally fell in love with her.

2. Tetalya Mercar, mage, human, romanced Lucanis. Her playthrough is actually finished, as she was supposed to be my personal Canon, but. I love her, but I should have gone with my gut and not done Shadow Dragon first... I just didn't really connect (note her wearing all the Crow apparel... sigh).

3. Vida de Riva, mage, elf, romancing Lucanis. I just finished Weisshaupt with her, and she is rapidly becoming Canon, as she should have been because let's be real, my canon was always going to be a Crow. I am predictable. I, um. Am obsessed with her. To an embarrassing degree.

4. Thova "Laidir" Durwindor, rogue, dwarf, gonna smooch Harding. She's not actually a Lord of Fortune, her faction is Inquisition Agent, it's complicated because I love making shit up for backstories. She is my self-indulgent delight.

5. Renan "Aldwir" Devarin, mage, elf, romancing Bellara, possibly. Also deeply Not Canon. Just entirely Not Canon. She's an Inquisitor, but like hell is anyone else tracking down Solas while she still draws breath, so now she's Rook.

6. Dovari Thorne, rogue, dwarf, is romancing Harding. She's on the big city Choice because I have no self-control, a LOT of Feelings about both Dwarves and Wardens in this game, and a deep need to get her to Weisshaupt.

7. Descence Laidir, mage, qunari, will eventually romance Taash. This pic does not properly show off how teal they are. They're not even out of the tutorial yet, but I am OBSESSED with their design.

8. Sabina Ingellvar, mage, human, gonna kiss Emmrich. She was never meant to exist. I blame ek johnston and my sister. Help me.

9. Serasio de Riva, warrior, human, will either romance Neve for the city Choice drama (betrayer of his home! for LOVE!) OR he will kiss Bellara as originally planned because she deserves some romantic nerd to come sweep her off her feet. I have no idea which way it'll go, but I do know: Boy Pretty.

10. Evithali Aldwir, mage, elf, will romance Davrin and then send him on the distraction team because she's for the Nightmare Difficulty run and the Nightmare Runs always have Terrible Decisions in them. I will be remaking her on the PS5 when I've got a free slot though, no way I'm doing nightmare on PC, so this might not be her final form. We shall see. But she is Last on the list, gotta do all my easy and normal plays first!

[changingplumbob]

hey, 4-6, 28, 43, 44 questions for Reece 👀

resource

*does warm up arm stretches*

My boy Reece!

What is your sim’s ethnicity?

Reece is your basic average white person with no culture (I feel like I can say this as I'm also a basic average white person with no culture [also being white is not a culture and if someone says that they're probably a racist to some degree]). In my lore his family is from France way back when (obviously anyone who has strong ties to a European country is not a basic white person) but I haven't had much chance to do much with this fact. It'll probably come into play more when he and his siblings get around to having kids (because let's sing ALL the french nursery rhymes)

Does your sim have any nicknames?

Yes but also no. Samir has called him Blondie since way back when they first met (yes Samir likes blondes). Now he's a YA Samir has also started to call him Gorgeous, this is a good pg choice if they are around others. When they're alone and Samir is feeling romantic he calls Reece a good boy. When they woohoo he also calls him REDACTED and REDACTED because Reece does enjoy his kinks.

Outside of his relationship though he does not have any nicknames. His family have never shortened his name when talking to him, and all his friends call him Reece. Some people's names don't get the nickname treatment, like Devin or Adam.

Do they have a job? If so what is it?

He is applying for University at the moment. He may be a happy forest hippie but he is a genius. He will be doing a biology degree (just like his older sisters Charlie and Keira) and it looks like he'll be able to get into the distinguished degree.

I think his ideal job would be a forest ranger. Using his smarts to make sure the local flora and fauna is maintained you know. But this is not an option in game... If you know of a mod that adds this career though let me know! His second choice is to be a doctor (yeah he's so stupidly brainy the medical field is his second choice)

Does your sim like books? If so what’s their favourite one?

He wasn't always a fan of books, he's been an outdoor lover since childhood, but now that he's a geek he does like to read a bit. For non fiction he'd go with a book talking about plants. Fiction... he is a fan of werewolf romance novels. I do not read them so I can't tell you his favourite but it'll be whatever one has the most steamy parts.

Bonus: There is a 100% chance that Samir will lightly restrain Reece and read him the steamy bits with sporadic kisses until Reece is begging for woohoo. Maybe I should make this a scene in their next chapter? I don't know how the screenshots would go but it would be fun!

What is a wish your sim has?

General gameplay would have me believe he wants a kid. Plot wise he wishes that they can figure out what happened to Samir's parents so that Samir can heal (as much as you can heal with your parents having being butchered). He has already achieved the Inner Peace lifetime aspiration and is working on the Zen Guru one.

What is a flaw your sim has?

He gossips all the time, probably about things he shouldn't (but he's not telling anyone Samir is a werewolf unless Samir says it's okay). He is indecisive, he often thinks of many choices and options but will be slow to take action. This is where Samir's tendency to be rash can balance out their efforts.

That was fun, I love you really Reece!

[casino-lights]

7, 12, & 17 for Lidia ❤️❤️

god I love writing codex entries. especially for crows. they're all so unserious. thank you for the ask!!!

7. someone describing a time your OC hurt them 

House Valisti is one of the more unremarkable Crow Houses, certainly. At least here in Rialto, they have neither the reputation of House de Riva nor the success of House Cantori. Still, if the rumors are true and there is a Valisti in Treviso, I do hope your husband has taken the liberty of hiring more guards for your grounds. Though I am loathe to recall it, the Santuono affair in Antiva City left unmistakable scars upon my mind and I shudder to think that your city may now be home to the same Valisti I encountered that night. Though my hand trembles as I put my memory to the page, you have asked many times and I do not wish to deny you the tale any longer.

The night of Santuono's ball, a woman whose face I did not see but whose delicate voice still lingers in my nightmares accosted me as I was enjoying a moonlit walk in the gardens outside the ballroom. The evening meal had not sat quite right with me, I must confess, and my husband remained indoors, so I made the foolish mistake of leaving alone. I was held at knifepoint and interrogated as to the identity of the man I had been dancing with before the meal, and any details he revealed in our conversations, but none of what I had learned about him seemed to satisfy her. She made me vow, on penalty of death, not to speak with him or his associate again, and not to tell a soul at the ball that I had spoken with her. She left as quickly as she arrived, but she sliced a small V into my palm, deep enough to bleed but not to scar, and told me it was a reminder to never cross House Valisti or make her regret her mercy.

I do not know what occurred at the ball after that. I gathered my husband and we departed immediately. I never saw Santuono that night, nor did I cross paths with the gentleman the assassin was asking about. A pity, as he was as handsome as he was charming, and my husband and I had been quite eager to meet him in our suite that night.

- From a letter sent by Lady Amanti of Rialto to her sister in Treviso.

12. your OC overheard while drunk

A letter in Viago's crisp hand:

Teia,

I will not "look after" Lidia. I am already "looking after" Illario. I cannot be in two places at once, and I will not be putting them in the same room. I encountered Lidia last night after two bottles of wine and she had some choice words about him. "I should have slit his throat when I had the chance and saved myself the trouble" was uttered more than once. It seems the two of them share the trait of repeating themselves incessantly while drunk. She also stated that she intends to "strangle him the second he fucks up again" and said that "he doesn't deserve the air he breathes, the food he eats, or the water he drinks." Additionally, she called the First Talon "a cowardly old hag who would rather pit her boys against each other than see them succeed, because the second they stop competing with each other they'll see it was her they should have been fighting all along." She then looked me in the eyes, worryingly sober for the briefest of moments, and said, "this is why the Talons are always at each other's throats. If their leader turns her own House into a cockfighting ring, what example is there for the rest of us to follow?"

Whether these are her true feelings or simply the nonsensical rambling of a drunken woman, I leave to your judgement. I put her words to paper only as my plea to have someone else watch her, if she must be watched at all. We really should just loan her to Rook and be done with it.

Yours,

Viago

17. a description of your OC’s family by a future historian

The resurgence of the Dellamortes is a fascinating subject. Caterina Dellamorte lost all five of her children and six of her eight grandchildren to a rival House, as we know, and it was thought to be the end of the family entirely when Lucanis Dellamorte was presumed to be an abomination and Illario Dellamorte was disgraced. However, following the Battle of Minrathous, they seemingly began working as a team, each taking on different responsibilities within the leadership of the Antivan Crows. Of particular interest, especially when studying the way the family resurfaced after near-total extinction, are their wives. Lucanis' wife, once known as Rook, was a legend amongst the Mourn Watch and brought several of her Nevarran traditions to Antiva. Perhaps even more strangely, Illario married an elven woman, Lidia, due to her surprise pregnancy with their first child. No records of previous marriages between an elf and a human have been found in the Dellamorte family tree, so it seems Illario was the first to risk their bloodline and reputation in such a way. Despite all odds, the name Lidia Dellamorte is revered amongst the Crows alongside such legends as Andarateia Cantori, the Demon of Vyrantium, and - though he remains a controversial figure in Crow history - Zevran Arainai. The Dellamorte family currently flourishes in Antiva, and all members trace their lineage directly back to either Illario or Lucanis. Thanks to their wives, both elven blood and strong magic now run in the Dellamorte blood, and those who descend from one of Illario's two children usually bear pointed ears while those from Lucanis' side of the family tend to have strong connections with the Fade.

- From the foreword of The People's Royalty: A Study of Antiva's Dellamorte Family.

[linkspooky]

hiii i really enjoy ur jjk metas and especially ur thoughts on megumi's character. I wanted to know what your opinion is on chapter 268 and the subsequent ones about the way his character was currently handled. I always believed he had to save himself and go against reggie's curse of "let fate toy with you" by fighting back but I can't lie and say I'm not disappointed with what we got instead. he ended up just being saved like a damsel in distress by yuuji and he never really gained back his agency, someone had to give it to him without any work from him (except a puddle and that's about it lmao). and him in the end choosing to live for someone else again when that had been the problem since the start is just irritating me. he doesn't seem to have shown any signs of growing at all and in fact regressing to his old state but just replacing tsumiki for yuuji for who to live for.

and the way his character is after these chapters just seem flat and stripped of any defining qualities like he just woke up from a bad dream and not the worst time of his life where he lost everything. none of what happened to him gets addressed or dealt with by him and it just feels he regressed back to the start of the story as opposed to having the Showdown's events affect him. his sister's death is just shrugged off and the only thing we get is an empty scene of him not even saying what he had always wanted to say to his sister, not even to her grave. he just seems indifferent. and even if he wasn't close to gojo, I feel he should atleast mention or talk about the fact his mentor had died by his hands, even if there isn't that deep of a connection.

I also knew megumi was never gonna get any power ups as that kinda contradicts his character arc of finding value outside of jujutsu, but he never even does that. he just goes back to jujutsu work (the mission at the end of 270. I'm really hoping the "last" part is right otherwise I'm gonna really question the effectiveness of this story tackling its themes of cycles and breaking them lol) and nothing about his powers get addressed (what he thinks of it, if they're even functioning, etc etc) so it just makes 266 (which is one of my favorite chapters) and what it's trying to say about megumi's character lacking for me. he wanted a simple life outside of jujutsu, but he returns to it anyway? yuuji was the first person to give him a choice, some sort of agency, but it doesn't even matter because he never really takes it, just chooses to hinge his life's value on someone else again? sure, it's a choice and a significant one to want to live when you were shown earlier to want to die, but that decision rings hollow for me when he never realistically did anything to work for it. he just got a talk from yuuji and we weren't even shown him having a moment to himself deliberating on it or realizing he has worth to other people, we're just shown him making that decision without any self-reflection.

I feel like I'm missing something crucial. it just feels so out of left field from what I understood about megumi's character that it makes me wonder if I understood him wrong this entire time.

I know megumi values the people he loves so to me him choosing to live for yuuji works in a vacuum, but after what happened with Tsumiki and how it failed for him the first time and frankly the lack of development or weight given to this decision therein after just leaves me feeling numb. though even if he chose to live for himself it wouldn't be as effective for me anyways with how next to nothing he did in this entire arc to try to regain his life.

and also, what about his domain? I know he's not going to get power ups but why was it never completed? his domain had represented him since the start, and how he is an incomplete character with a shaky sense of self and his domain reflected that, but is it just going to stay incomplete forever? I was so sure the climax of his character arc would come with him completing his domain as to show that he finally understands himself and what is reflected in his soul but what now lol. if it was never gonna be completed why even make it an incomplete domain and have such a narrative weight and meaning to it? (him unlocking it right after gojo's talk of being selfish). if gege really just needed a random power up for megumi then he didn't need to go to such lengths of making it matter, and attaching an "incomplete" label on it practically dangling it in front of the audience that this'll have payoff at some point but it just seems unfinished. unless the incomplete part is some sort of commentary about megumi's character? I'm not sure, the decisions being made these chapters are just completely out of left field to me so I'd like a second opinion to provide some clarity on the matter

Hello, anon. I did my best to address several of your points here.

I agree with lots of your points about Megumi's endgame and Gege's writing choices, but I'm still moderately satisfied with what we got out of the ending and I did my best to explain why.

[sanaserena]

Yay, finally I'm posting the screenshots from Episode 7! This is Part 1. Had I been less busy lately, this would have been sooner. Congrats to SAG-AFTRA for securing a new deal and to the end of the strike! This happened a week ago, but still, this is good news for OPLA!

For the other parts see: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

So, Episode 7 is one of my favourites, even though OPLA's version of Nami's arc is both honoured and perhaps also my least favourite interpretation adaption. BUT, even so, I can never stop myself from watching the whole episode through because it has so many great moments.

Immediately, I love Sanji's dynamic with the crew. I do wish he's more present, but he is also only introduced in episode 5. But for the time we see him, he gets some good moments with Luffy (love the fishing scene) and with Zoro (over a woman no less), and later with Usopp.

I can't. Buggy's head is great. That shanty he sings is even better!

I wanted to get more screenshots of Jacob as Usopp, because he's such a good choice. I hope we get to see more Usopp development properly in Season 2. He has some in Season 1, but not as much as we'd expect. Usopp has never been a big favourite Strawhat for me, but I do admire his growth throughout the series! OPLA Usopp feels a bit more relateable, but I look forward (hopefully) to Water 7.

Chioma Umeala does a wonderful job as her version of Nojiko. She's not exactly the same as Nojiko that we know in the manga, but I was sold her version.

As always, I love the dynamic between the Strawhats in this episode. One of my favourite moments (among many others for this episode) is when Zoro holds Luffy to tell Genzo why they're here looking for Nojiko. I love how Sanji uses his skills as a way to get Nojiko to share Nami's story. And I love Usopp's way of persuading Nojiko.

The banter is great. It's fun to see the adaptation's version of some of my favourite dynamics.

I love the tension and onscreen chemistry between Nami and Luffy during the scene where he confronts her the first time - and then bam! later in the same episode we have progress in the chemistry between Zoro and Luffy. OPLA has its faults, but it's undeniable how they show the progression of trust between members of the crew. If you remember, previously, Luffy didn't talk to Zoro about something important like "feelings" or his "thoughts". For 8 episodes, this feels like a natural progression.

The child actors also do great in their roles. They do their best and they should be praised for that. For sure, I could never do that. So props to them for bring young Nami and Nojiko to life!

It's interesting how OPLA brings about the link to the tangerines and windmills. Only manga and anime fans would note the significance of the windmill on Genzo's hat that we see in the flashback. In the OPLA adaptation, present day Genzo no longer has the windmill in his hat, which makes sense as OPLA chose not to adapt the key plot point where the villagers of Coco Village knew Nami was trying to buy back the village. It's also interesting that Nami's tattoo later on is implied to be because of the tangerine windmills she makes with her sister and her mother.

Emily is great as Nami. There are so many nuanced expressions that I had to capture because of what they say about Nami. I think she did the "Help Me" scene perfectly. And I loved how Luffy/Inaki gives back the perfect amount of emotion.

(Okay, my only gripe with how Nami's backstory is adapted is that it makes no sense for young Nami to visit Arlong and show him her map without him having seen her work beforehand and commenting on it. As in, no one to acknowledge that her maps are "better than the ones adults make", since as we know, adults alike are infamous for not taking children seriously. While I can understand that they wanted to have young Nami be more proactive, there is no guarantee before this point that her map wouldn't be rejected - again, because a child drew it, and there was no vocal validation that her maps were "good". If we had been given a small scene of Arlong noticing a "good map" in Bellemere's home just before he kills her, it would have made more sense. This was one of my main nitpick of Nami's arc, among a few other things! )

[that-angry-noldo]

*cackles* oh I'm so glad you liked the Finrod reveal ramble, I was a little hesitant bc some people get a bit HOW DARE when other people do more than ask questions.

I wasn't meaning to imply Fingon was demanding or telling Mae what to do, more that he was being another voice for Mae to consider? And a new ear/shoulder for him to speak to about this? Like, you know when you KNOW you should do something, and it's really hard and it WILL hurt, so you're trying to do everything BUT that until you talk to a friend or family member and it clarifies and untangles the situation in your head so you can finally FINALLY make the choice you need to?

I see Fingon as one of the people Mae has for this. (He is Mae's favorite rubber duck) And Maglor obviously, but a sibling is too close for that sometimes. Fingon was outside the situation.

OH WOW YEAH Maedhros is gonna have some ISSUES when he realizes he's been treating his cousin like a pet. Having undergone his own horrific dehumanization and torture, it's gonna make him feel horrible to have unwittingly done the same to his cousin.

This is obviously NOT actually his fault, there was no way he could know that this was FINROD, but ptsd does not respond to logic.

I'm picturing him sitting beside a thoroughly unconscious Finrod all blank faced and torturing himself by going over every SINGLE interaction he had with wolf!Finrod desperately wondering how he MISSED THIS.

Maglor is no help, he's doing the same thing. Fingon is juggling both of their responsibilities probably for a few days, while also being beside himself about this.

Finrod is in a healer concoction induced sleep, floating in a lovely pain free cloud right now, and is unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile Fingon is ALSO trying to think about what to tell Finrod's SISTER probably. How d'you draft THAT letter? 'Hey Artanis, so you know how everyone said Finrod died...' O__O;;; (Really, he probably won't write it into a letter, not if they're gonna keep this on the down low, it could be intercepted, but it's a fun image)

please i now can only picture this

Fingon, rolling into Himring: yodeley my dudes how it's going? how's it rolling??

Maedhros, in the middle of existential crisis: fingon HELP me to DEAL with the MORALS

also have you looked into my brain because THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING. maedhros sitting near finrod's bed not being able to think about anything else

anyways i'm gonna say it. maglor's guilt strikes ten times harder because he literally proposed to slit werefinrod's throat when they first captured him so. KEKW I GUESS

i could've given finrod a healer induced sleep because imo he deserves it, but i'm gonna give him sauron induced nightmares/visions instead because i'm evil :D

ALSO YEAH DECIDING ON WHO AND WHAT TO TELL IS A MAJOR THING MAE AND FINNO HAVE TO DO

they decide not to tell anyone yet, at least not before finrod comes to his senses. but if they were to draft a letter it would look like this:

Hey. Yeah it's about your brother. Yeah a dead one. So about him, you might want to recall a funeral. Yeah. No yeah he was risen from dead. No no he's not a zombie. No he's. Um. He's a werewolf. Yeah like a shapeshifting one. So uh. Congrats?... Sorry. Yeah. Maedhros's been feeding him well though. No?... Oh. Alright. No yeah I understand. Yeah. Okay. Sorry.

meanwhile galadriel in menegroth is like. i feel a great disturbance in the force-

and PLEASE i ENJOY getting asks like these, i'm always open to asks about my aus or fics or silmarillion in general! it's basically if someone wrote it down instead of me and i'm always exited to read them

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 4th August

A linguistic curiosity this week: two songs both with the contracted form of "ev'ry". That's not something you see much nowadays. I don't know when it faded out, either - I guess you only really see it in songs, otherwise there's no reason to specify that you're using the contracted version, outside of lyrics? I wonder if Americans were also doing it, or if this is a specifically British type of stuffiness?

Ev'ry Day of My Life - Malcolm Vaughan (peaked at Number 5)

Malcolm Vaughan was a Welsh singer who I had absolutely never heard of before this entry, but apparently alongside the McGuire sisters, he did a version of this song, later popularised by Bobby Vinton in the 70s. So I'm hoping for a serviceable pop standard, fresh enough for people 20 years later to want to revamp it. Is that too much to hope for?

We start with some very dramatic violins, and then a rather operatic slow-down into the main lyrics. And what lame lyrics they are, right out of a book of clichés, about how Every day of my life, I'll be in love with you / Every day of my life, I promise I'll be true. Et cetera. Malcolm will prove his love every day for the rest of his life, he'll prove it over and over, he'll be devoted always to you. Honestly, it smacks of either desperation or protesting too much. There's such thing as too much effort, Malcolm!

The only really notable thing is the bizarrely RP accent on youuuuu at the end of certain lines. Malcolm was Welsh, but you wouldn't know it. I feel like the Beatles might have been a tipping point here, with regional accents suddenly becoming okay in music, but I'm excited to see if somebody else comes along sooner to prove me wrong.

He has a set of pipes. You can't deny that. So of course we get a Big Old Ending. It's tolerable, because Malcolm really can sing, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

I have nothing else to say about this, but researching it I found out an excellent fact about a song that will appear on this blog in the 1956 section. So look forward to that, I guess.

Ev'rywhere - David Whitfield (3)

In any other entry, I feel like I'd have a sense that the only was was up, at this point. But it's David Whitfield, so I suspect we're going to get more of the same, but with less vocal chops. I'm open to being proven wrong, though. Maybe this will be the David Whitfield song that I finally love?

We start with some gentle violin melody, and then - and I am not making this up - an even more ridiculous version of the silly RP "you" that Malcolm used. Even worse, there's a pronounced "h" sound in the titular "ev'rywhere" and a distinctly reedy-sounding "meeeeeee" at the end of the line. So the first line sounds like Youuuu are everyHwhere, / EveryHwhere youuuu're there / Night and day youuu share with meeeeeeeeee.

This carries on throughout the song - if there's a choice between pronouncing a word normally or in an irritatingly affected fashion, you know which one David has chosen. There's a bit of his trademark strangled delivery on other lines, and then of course, the Biggest Oldest Endings of Big Old Endings, because David will not be outdone by some Welsh upstart.

You know, this made me wonder if David also has an accent he's suppressing, and wouldn't you know, he's from Hull. So probably also a bit of an accent-based classism dynamic. Which really ought to endear him to me a bit, as a fellow Northerner, but somehow doesn't.

It doesn't help here that the lyrics are super creepy. They're meant to be about how David's love is always on his mind, but it also sounds plausibly like they're dead and he's hallucinating their ghost? How else should I take lyrics about how Now I know you’re gone / You still linger on / You’re a haunting memory, or about how, walking down an empty street his love is still there, For now I’m on my own / I’ll never walk alone.

Actually, I think the ghost interpretation maybe improves this song. Otherwise, it's just about a break-up that David's hung-up on. Which is much less interesting. But ghost love following you around? That's some good material, metaphorical or otherwise.

Well, those songs were cut from very similar cloth. But my distaste for David Whitfield cannot be stifled! I cannot wait for him to no longer be scoring top 10 hits.

Favourite song of the bunch: Ev'ry Day of My Life

[dearaliya]

A Court of Thorns and Roses: Missed the boat, but got caught in the waves

Dear Aliya,

Booktok might know what they’re talking about.

I’d been seeing artwork and hearing snippets from this series for a while and eventually took a chance on the first book. I can’t say how glad I was, I love a good magical romance with severe parallels to Beauty and the Beast.

Well within reason.

It's actually the enemies-to-lovers trope that I wholeheartedly adore, and it's in this series a few times so naturally I was hooked. Stockholm syndrome isn't ideal, but pining and dancing around one another until someone confesses? My kinda book.

Shall we dot point? Stop me if I'd spoil things

Characters Maas does some pretty good character work in her stories. A bland story is permitted to exist if the characters can carry the show and they did so well that I had to always know what was next for them. So let's discuss a few!

Tamlin Look, we're talking about the first book here. In this one, he was pretty... okay? He's a dude thrust into a bad situation and he's making the most of it sometimes, other times not so much. I kicked my feet a few times, twirled my hair once or twice I'm not immune to charm.

He wasn't my outright pick, though I enjoyed his interactions with Feyre and they might have hit it off better if he was just slightly not so overbearing.

Short of it is, if I got swept off my feet by him I wouldn't say no, I just didn't love how perpetually unhelpful he seemed to be towards the end of the book.

Feyre You know what? I really like some of Maas's female characters. They're as strong and independent as you'd expect a woman in these types of novels to be, but there's always a facet of them that is so grounded it's kind of refreshing. Feyre learned to hunt, put her own needs aside for her family and got rewarded for that for at least a little while. She only wanted simple things, like enough money to look after herself and maybe buy a few paints.

Her cataloguing and noticing colours and everything that an artist would notice was a lovely little touch to make her feel more like a person and I really appreciated it.

She does have a lot of things go realllly well for her so we're walking the fine line of mary-sue character but it pulls back enough that it scrapes by.

Lucien Look, I have a thing for snarky mean gingers and as soon as Lucien opened his mouth I was fully sold on the book. Make of that what you will, but he’s not the only character I enjoyed following who was sporting the red hair and we'll sure get to that.

I was almost disappointed when I found out he wasn't part of the love interest cast honestly cause he had good chemistry with Feyre. I did at first think it was going to be a choice between him and Tamlin, and I would have chosen him! He helped during the challenges, it was my last push to jump ship.

I also find the headcanon that he was staring at Feyre during his challenge, unable to read, and losing his mind because the words on the wall were probably just, no, nope and this one hilarious so bless whoever placed that in my mind.

Amarantha I do not condone the actions and atrocities committed by Amarantha. No one should be excused for what she did.

Now that the formal disclaimer is out of the way she was a little bit cool. She's a terrible person and if I met her IRL we'd be brawling under the mountain, if I were able to get close. In that vein, however, fucking up the guy who tortured your sister to death so hard that all that's left is a knucklebone and an eye that you fused to a ring to force him into uninterrupted consciousness for centuries? My kinda bitch. Not all men but definitely that one and she made sure he never forgot it.

Not to mention she crippled Prythian overnight and kept it under her control for fifty years. She nearly sealed her place on a throne permanently too, if not for the power of love. She was getting shit done, I was almost sad to see her go and not end up an asset to the courts given she was a general to Hybern.

Rhysand Lucian was in the lead till this one showed up. I am just as basic and unoriginal as everyone else and once Rhysand stepped into the story I pointed, cheered and put myself firmly in his camp. (I did cheat a little, he was the primary focus of a lot of fanart.)

'There you are, I've been looking for you.'

Howl walked so this man could RUN. I assumed there was a reason he'd been looking, upon finding out what it was later in the series? What a long play, what a setup and what a payoff.

Under the Mountain was not his finest time in terms of winning over Feyre, he's mouthy and cocky and inebriated her most nights under the guise of lessening the pain of being trapped there. However, as stated a little higher with Lucien, I love a smartass and he fit the bill perfectly.

Plot Girl kills wolf. Girl meets beast. Beast is man. They will-they won't-they for most of the book. He sends her away. She comes back to fight for him. Wins. They live happily(ish) ever after till the next instalment. I give you, ACOTAR.

Okay, I'm not being totally serious because there's more in there and you could bare bones a lot of books this way. I've heard a lot made about this story and how paint-by-numbers it is and while that is true in some aspects it's not true in all. There were a lot of nice, humanising scenes and interesting worldbuilding that painted Prythian as its own place while still keeping snippets of traditional fae folklore and myth. It's not fully fleshed out, but the central focus is supposed to be the romance between the two main characters so it doesn't really have to be.

Other The Suriel CARRIED the drama dispersed through these books, starting with this one. Came for the clothing, stirred some shit and promptly disappeared into the shadows until another part of the plot needs to be jumpstarted. The other magical creatures were also interesting as well, though I couldn't consistently pronounce any of their names and neither could the girls narrating the audiobook.

Golly, is that a segway?

Yes! Speaking of audiobooks, this series is fully covered and I own them all! I don't always have the time to sit in one place so I appreciated that it was all completed and the narrators were great. There are a few audiobooks that I refuse to buy because of the way the narrator's voice sounds but that's a me problem. Another me problem is that they keep changing who narrated what book! ACOTAR and ACOMAF are both the same but it switches once we get to ACOWAR and again during ACOSF (which is slightly less of an issue because we are following Nesta this time). Each lady does a great job, but pronunciations changed and it felt a little jarring at times to experience.

Nothing more comes to mind, so I appreciate you listening to my thoughts. I’ll see you next time, stay well!

Hannah xx