#bc I can't imagine or remember any story in my life where a character who's not fat CHOOSES to look that way

[sergle]

I don't disagree w this person's tags in general BUT!! my thought: it's almost even better that way- the fact that she CHOSE to be fat and that wasn't even her default appearance. like that she could choose to look any type of way, and that's what she picked.

[elliespuns]

I heard once that in the discarded drafts, Joel would have a romantic partner, I think her name is Esther, I just don't remember what happens to them. But anyway, I'm glad they sent this idea away bc I can't imagine Joel dating anyone, you know what I mean? And I'm not a Joel fangirl, so It isn't jealous, It's just... Doesn't fit him? Since I've watched first game I always thought of Joel as a sort of a loner most of the time when it becomes to relationships, and It always had been my headcanon that it is even more reinforced after the events of first game, cause Joel already thinks ellie is enough in his life and heart. But at the same time, his "Well, I am the romantic type" line still makes me think. Anyways, any toughts anyone?

Yeah, Esther was supposedly Joel's romantic interest. It was Tommy who paired them originally. As stated by one of the directors; they were supposed to meet her through one of the earlier flashbacks when Ellie was younger—like 15 or freshly 16. Joel and Ellie would visit her in a city near Jackson (she wasn't living in Jackson with them but lived nearby). They would find her infected and trying to heal herself after a bite. In this scene, Joel sent Ellie to bring water, but on her way outside the house, she heard a gunshot. And neither Ellie nor the player would have known whether it was Esther pulling the trigger or Joel.

Joel was also supposed to get remarried to this woman at some point, but it got scrapped because the creators didn't have time to establish her, as they said. She was a legit character, but she didn't make it into the actual story.

I also have a feeling that Joel is a loner. He loves being alone and the only woman in his life is literally just Ellie. The only one who he let's get closer—so to speak—in his bubble.

But I'm not gonna lie. I would love to see some of Esther because I have a feeling that young Ellie would be a little jealous of some other woman stealing Joel from her with her abandonment issues. It was already seen (for those who noticed it) that show Ellie was a little jealous of show Joel reuniting with Tommy. Maybe 'jealous' is not the right word to use, but she would definitely be scared of getting replaced. I would just love to see game Ellie have these thoughts. Because not only would it be freaking cute, but also, can you imagine a scene where Joel finds out and tries to reassure her of his love?

[wakaposting]

I don't know if you have any strong opinions on them but either Shizuku or Tokitsugu :3

I DOOOOOOOOOOOO. looking at you with my big eyes

Shizuku

First impression: I know that Matsui-sensei gives all his characters their time to shine, so I was excited to see how he'd treat her as the story progressed. Her deadpan delivery was really endearing to me.

Impression now: I really adore Shizuku!! Her arc is such a beautiful example of so many themes that are important to this story. I can't wait to see her grow into herself and become more outspoken, and fight for her desires...! and also just experience the pleasures that life has to offer!

Favorite moment: "I want to feed your eyeball to a snake ^_^" is one of the first things she said that really made me giggle hehe. Her gambling battle against Mima is so insanely iconic and I think about it all the time.

Idea for a story: If I had to write about her... her having a vision and talking to shige post-timeskip (similar to what happens during the mima boat battle) would be interesting. whatever i wrote would probably be very quiet and introspective. i do also want to keep working on the role swap au where toki is a god of a shrine and shizuku has known him since they were very small!!

Unpopular opinion: I can imagine people would get up in arms about her relationship to toki bc she calls him 'nii-sama' lol. It's very clear that she does have romantic feelings for him. unpopular opinion i suppose is that i love her love for him, and i think it's as beautiful and valid as mima and ayako's, too, but it's also important to me that they do NOT end up together. the only answer is for him to marry all three of them or none of them tbh, lol. this is an opinion that is exclusive to nigewaka and matsui's writing bc i literally detest harem/love triangles in any other media.

Favorite relationship: I like her and Ayako trying to navigate both having crushes on waka tbh, lol. which again is a testament to how good matsui-sensei's writing is because as I said before i usually Hate this angle.

Favorite headcanon: she's weeeeeeird bro. let her be weird. i can't remember if they actually make this joke in the manga or if i made it up but she's a kid who would sit and squish ants or drown them a little bit fr (sob). i think we need to let her say strange unknowable and slightly unhinged things more often

Tokitsugu

First impression: tokitsugu freaked the hell out of me when i first saw him because at the point where he showed up, i still hadn't been able to figure out if shizuku was shige's biological daughter or not, lmao. so i was like WTF DO YOU MEANNNN HE HAS ANOTHER KID. he sent me into a tailspin trying to figure out how old shige was, too, lmfao.

Impression now: I LOVE HIM. i love him. i freaking love the suwa family so much. beautiful man and his horrible son. i love them

Favorite moment: I love when he cries a little bit and blurts out that everybody ignores him when his dad is around. it's so freaking funny. more poignant answer is when he admits to yorishige that he snuck into his bed as a child... cries forever.

Idea for a story: I really really REALLLY wanna write modern AU answer to the 'kunitoki meets shige' fic where shige introduces tokitsugu to tokiyuki. i think he'd want to be supportive. but he also is like. this is..... unusual...

Unpopular opinion: More people should pay attention to him. GIVE HIM ATTENTION!!!! I love you forever Tokitsugu

Favorite relationship: I think about him and Yoritsugu a lot. i can't imagine it was easy raising a kid like that, haha...

Favorite headcanon: in modern AU i headcanon him as not being fully blind, but having a degenerative eye disease that has been slowly getting worse as an adult :( he's a single dad and lives with yoritsugu in a rural little area maybe 45 minutes away by train from where shige lives, but his health problems have been making it harder for him to come and visit his dad.

[mrpenguinpants]

YOU POSTED A THING! Ignore how long it took me to write this up, I've been,,, honestly? I've not been doing things, I've also not been doing this, but-

So the two plots stolen from Genshin is the Chenyu Vale story quest, and I've forgotten the second one, oops- I thiiiink it's kinda like the Mondstadt festival (the one where u have to pick that fuckin flower and it didn't matter abracafuckyou /lh)

LOOKING AT MY THINGS THERE WERE MORE okay hold on-

So the concept of the campaign is every character is a fallen god who's forgotten their divine life, and they regain a shred of their memory and now must find a way to ascend due to the fact that only Whole Mortals can reincarnate/be reborn, but if you die as a mortal-body divine-soul That's It (yadda yadda, non-dnd approved type shit; there are actually multiple ways they could go about it but I have no idea what they'll do beyond revive the sun) - One player didn't do that, but it's fine, he is instead POSESSED by a goddess, it's chill, and I adore his backstory and he's the only one with a backstory tightly interwoven with the world's lore and local area the campaign takes place in he is THE ONLY MAN WHO MATTERS T O M E (/j)

The Genshin Quests that I have plots for bc I stole them are as follows; Natzissenkreuz Ordo, Chenyu Vale, and the Windblume Festival. I won't get into it rn so you don't have to tag this ask as spoilers (unless... thinking emoji) BUT oooOOOOooOoOOo you wanna hear abt my dnd So Bad sdfsdfsdfg (I just wanna talk abt it SO BAD bc we're on a month hiatus bc one player's in the middle of bumfuck nowhere for a while)

I ALSO HAVE A ONESHOT PLANNED FOLLOWING/INSPIRED BY THIS YEAR'S SUMMER EVENT IN GENSHIN! I'm planning on running it at two tables (different groups) and potentially even a third when I get to sorting it out, ASK ME ABOUT IT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE asdfgh

DND ASIDE- I recently found out one of my irls plays Genshin and I've been talking to him about it and honestly??? very nice, very fun (very demure /j) asdfgh I got into genshin to play w/ some other irls but now I am the last,,, genshin player standing,,,, and we're gonna help eachother farm when Natlan comes out bc I love running domains >:3 I'm a lil domain fiend

-Lucky

Ignore the fact that I'm responding backwards. But the pressure did work 👀 now I just need it to happen again because I blinked, and a month rolled around. I thought it was at most a week but no, my sense of time is fucked.

I'm so bad at names, and I barely do the story in any game I play unless I'm forced to (I missed an event in ZZZ because I wasn't on the third chapter yet ;-;). So I don't remember if I've done, seen, or even heard of the Chenyu Vale story, but I do know Mondstadt, at least.

I love it when my friends actually get invested enough with my imagination/ideas that they actually tie things into the ever-working narrative ;u; sometimes I feel like people don't do it because (they don't fucking care lol) they don't want to overstep on something that's made up by you. I understand, but man, it feels so uplifting when it happens. Keep that man alive. Are you planning on revealing parts of their divine life as the campaign goes on? I remember watching this youtube short about DND where they basically say that each player is given a blank sheet, and as they progress through the story they learn more things about their characters based on outside reactions.

I only know Windblume Festival but if it's a required quest/event quest, then I've most likely played the others. But yess, feel absolutely free to dump all your DND lore since I know you can't say it to your players unless you reveal too much. I'll tag spoilers in case you want to get more specific with the genshin quests because I do not remember any of them.

Here is your spotlight Lucky, lay it on me. What is this summer event-inspired oneshot?

I was talking to an old anon on another blog and it kinda makes me sad how the genshin community died out. Not in the sense that there's no fandom there, but that old players have either quit or lost interest. It makes me wonder if I even like genshin or if I write it because it's what I've been doing for so long.

[littlespoonevan]

"#i so firmly believe so many fan ships start because of logistics skajdfhas" okey so this sent me into a analyzing spiral i notice most popular ships are made by two main characters which makes total sense considering you have the time and space to explore the characters as individual and develop the couple alongside the different stories and arcs so i started thinking about couples that are still good with main characters and recurring ones mainly in ensamble show because is pretty common with secondary characters and outside of hen and karen who have a established relationship since the beginning i though of another two firefighters shows :station 19 and chicago fire (2021 was the year i switched from medical to firefighter shows lol) in station 19 we have a couple that starts with one main (maya) one recurring(carina) that turns into main and that allows a bigger development to their relationship so again more time better ship that actually ended up becaming the most popular , in chicago i'm not in the fandom but from i can tell this is not one the biggest ship but still is pretty significant again main character (Cruz) and recurring one (Chloe) that so far is still that and it works because they get a couple of episode where half of the time is dedicated to them and the episodes where she doesn't appear or they are not the focus there are still a couple of mentions things so simply like other characters asking Cruz's about his date last night or if they choose they place they were going to move already, him mentioning how the wedding plans were going stuff like that that still work to show the audience how is the couple doing without actually showing them and that's the thing 911 has never done with any LI with buck and eddie like i can't remember any episode not focused in those relationship were they were just casually mentioned with the intent to show some small develop

oh yeah 100% doing little things like referencing the love interest when they're not around does a lot to establish their significance in the main character's life!! like i still think buck and ali and how they handled it was just the Wildest thing.

we got the date at the end of 2x08 which, okay cute! ali seemed nice!! and he mentions her to maddie??? once??? (i'll confirm when i get to that point in my rewatch) and that's just to say she's out of town a lot with work and then we nEVER SEE HER AGAIN until 2x18 and they're acting as if she's an incredibly important part of his life for the whole ep and it's just so jarring bc it's like, who is this????????

when i watched for the very first time i genuinely thought i'd accidentally skipped an ep bc i was so confused. and that was with me binge-watching over a few days so i can only imagine how confusing it was for viewers who last saw her in like, november only for her to show up again in may after hearing nothing about her character or their relationship for months askdjfh

in general, 911 has never really given the vibe that they're committed to buck or eddie's love interests which definitely impacts your conviction to be committed as a viewer 😅

[selchwife]

i think the function of azem in these misogynist fics is interesting tbh the more i think on it bc like

within the actual game there's a sort of ambivalence to the nature of wol's relationship with azem. they Are azem, in a sense, because they have the same soul and are reincarnated, but they are Not, because they are a new person with new experiences. this is textual. azem and wol share similarities because they are parts of a temporal whole, but they are not the same person, precisely. the wol's present identity is who they truly are, so discovering the secrets of azem's past is something of a moot point and is not really explored in the game beyond to hint that some of azem's personality traits are familiar. ultimately azem is well and truly dead, but a piece of them lives on in wol. and because emet-selch cannot square that, just as he cannot square ANYTHING about what the world has become, anything he has with wol is doomed. emet-selch's Tragic Flaw (lit class voice) is his stagnancy and his marriage to the past; he ruins what he touches because he cannot divest himself of his nostalgia and look toward a future.

so i find it interesting (somewhat derogatory) when this is sort of turned on its head in these fics. rather than their current self being the truth of their existence, many of these wols' stories are framed such that their past incarnation with azem is the true core of their identity. but obviously because these characters cannot remember being azem, it takes emet-selch to come in and reveal these things - to define their identity for them, essentially, and show them who they Really Are. he automatically knows better than these women (because once again, this shows up most often in m/f writing) about who they are because he knew azem, so the best service he can do for them is to show them. and, of course, it's usually in a context where azem is his former wife or girlfriend. rather than being his Tragic Flaw, his marriage to the past is framed as not only a positive, but as sacrosanct, because he has control over this supposed Truth of Who His Partner Really Is that he has to impose on her. and because he is the arbiter of this divine and secret truth about wol's identity and role in life she can only become fully actualized by obeying him, which (i would hope unintentionally) echoes some very dark rhetoric from the religious right in particular about women's roles in society as a whole.

and i wonder so often like, what is the spin here that makes this desirable? is it the idea of having a partner to whom you don't need to do the work of communicating? like, since he already understands your every desire and who you are fundamentally, you never need to have any difficult conversations about your needs and desires? you never have to ask anything of him because he already knows to do it? like, i can understand that, but it comes part and parcel with being constantly under his power and allowed no freedom or agency. is THAT related to like, wanting to rest? wanting someone else to step in and help you once in a while? i feel like there are less extreme ways to fantasize about meeting that particular need. i don't know. it's difficult for me to imagine the appeal of a man like this or relationship like this, especially having experienced similar in non-romantic areas of life. speaking from my OWN experience when someone else is dictating to you Who You Are and how you ought to find self-actualization and you are constantly living under his control it's not really nice and you kind of want to kill him with a shovel. so i can't imagine those things as a positive.

[vampacidic]

YES YOU CAN BE A NATURE GIRL!! Basically there was this youtube trend going around where people were like "Guess this twisted wonderland character's name / unique magic" but a lot of them were having their parents guess and so in one video this person had their mom and dad guess, one half of the cast was for their mom and the other for their dad, when it got to their dad's side he thought they were all girls

Jade is surrounded by mushrooms (She is a big fan of those) so with this knowledge he called her "Nature girl" so thank you to that very confused father because now I see Jade as transfem.

She ran away from octavinelle once because she was being very petty and so was Azul so she goes to pomefiore and tells Vil she's going be his faithful servant from now on. Vil is like.. okay.. interesting. So Vil bosses her around and turns her into an errand girl, after serving Vil for a while she's like. "Vil, I have decided I am going to work with Azul again. I am no longer mad at him. Peace!" AND I COULDN'T STOP LAUGHING THAT IS SO STUPID. SHE TRIED SO HARD TO PROVE HERSELF TO VIL JUST TO GET AWAY FROM AZUL. EVEN GOING THROUGH THE ACT OF TRYING TO CHANGE DORMS, and I can't exactly remember everything Vil asked Jade to do but it was getting to a point where Vil would ask Jade for the simplest of things that Vil was PERFECTLY capable of getting done on her own. Jade did this all with a smile. She is SO SILLY. My friends are very big leech twin enjoyers but one likes Floyd and the other likes Jade so I sat in a call with them while they argued about who was the superior twin. Fun times. ( I love both of them, Floyd was actually the final push I needed to start reading through the whole main story. So thank you for that buddy!!) Fun fact I actually have a Vil plushy.. she is big and I love her. I get into my room and look at her and I tell her how important she is to me. DEAR I AM RAMBLING ON. I will confirm though, Azul is very guy and no matter how hard I try he does not leave my head. I love him though and I wouldn't have it any other way. For the question you asked I was actually thinking about this, you can just call me Light.. I'm not very good with names so I just chose the easiest option. Thank you for asking about twst though I love this game lots.. giving you so many kisses right now!! (Also please feel free to ramble about anything you want to with me I would love to hear it)

IM TELLING YOU ALL MALE GACHA CASTS LOOK LIKE LESBIANS!!!!! the dad was right she's a girl. 2 me ❤️ jade's so real for being a mushroom enjoyer... i used to be big into mushrooms and then i did some poking about decay and uhh. well now they freak me out a bit if i think about it too long but i still like them a lot.... decay exists as an extant form of life etc etc

don't feel bad about rambling i really enjoy it... you get very impassioned light dear and it's nice to hear you go on :] twst is one of those games where i Know it's right up my alley but my brain is like ummmmm. no you will not open it and play ❤️ sorry ❤️ but maybe i'll start soon... maybe you're my push hon. (the only hesitance is this makes it very easy for me to spend money at cons bc twst is so big..... sighs)

jade seems funny though.... she has ummm a je ne se quois to her. i feel like she'd eat me but not on purpose just in a oopsy i bit too hard way. not that i'd say no to it. she's a little bimbo ish it's ok. i love stupid women ❤️ i love siblings with the worst shit imaginable going on ❤️❤️

OH my friend acfually has a malleus plushie... waves Hi kyo if you see this. i have no idea if she consumes twst at all actually but like. uhhh twinsies...? can our giant vil and rei plushies be best friends

light sounds good to me... maybe i'll pick something more fun in the future when i'm not so tired lol.... i'm answering this before i go to bed ehehe.... hehe i'm accepting all of your kisses gracefully!!!

oh but my interests.... they're ummm. eclectic ? some of them are incredibly scholarly and then there's enstars. sighs. no idea how much you know about enstars love but i've been stuck w it for. nearly 3 years now....? give or take. my beloved idol gacha game. but other than that i play a uh. range of video games.... i've been trying to chuck through hades but i'm incredibly bad at it LMAO asterius and theseus are beating my ass. i've gotten to 3rd form(???) of hades before but never beyond that.... sigh. i'll make it through one day. other than that i like uh. final fantasy here and there + horror games despite how easily terrified i am. i wouldn't say i'm a horror buff but i do love the genre... big psych horror enjoyer. i also like writing and drawing here and there but most of my art has gone to class recently.... other than games and such i have my more uh. scholarly interests ? i like biochemistry a lot (of course you have autism and like science) and i have what i like to call 'history blorbos' whcih are guys i have a weird obsession w. this includes vladimir lenin, mao zedong, rasputin, and karl marx. no idea what makes me obsessed w them but you know. shit happens. history as a whole makes me go insane.... 20th century in particular. love the russian revolution + ww2 specifically but all of the 20th century is insane to me. also really like language (im teaching myself jp and am uhhhh. semi fluent in spanish. k can scrape by verbally) and to an extent religion.... i like catholicism from an aesthetic point but as an american raised in a catholic school it's uhhhhhh. Interesting relationship w religion esp w regards to my gender/sexuality.... i like dissection stuff like that. can you tell i have autism. i'm more than willing to detail just about any of this stuff if interested bc hooooo boy do i love to talk about my interests. light honey i hope you have a good night!!! mwah mwah my darling <3

[corleylexi]

so a thing i like to do is tell stories through a playlist. i recently worked on one and it’s short but i think it’s done. idk for sure the first one i ever did has been modified since it was “done” so i’m sure i’ll keep going but for now i’m just enjoying this lil story and damn it’s good. wish i could share it w someone tho. so instead i’m making a post about it.

it will be a long one…

the hardest goodbye

Promise Me (Acoustic) - Badflower

Only Love - Badflower

right where you left me - Taylor Swift

champagne problems - Taylor Swift

Midnight Rain - Taylor Swift

Bigger Than The Whole Sky - Taylor Swift

*** if you have never heard these songs before (and you’re actually reading this and give a 💩) listen to the playlist before reading on (: ***

ik what you may be thinkin; that’s only two artists what kinda playlist is this?? but that’s actually intentional. josh is the voice of character a and taylor is the voice of character b (and in my mind they also play the characters). some context: josh’s character is wildly imaginative and quite emotional as well. the story starts w his pov - but he’s a completely unreliable narrator (we all are really and so are these characters). what you can gather from his two songs are that he’s in love w taylor’s character (obvs). but the first impression you get is he’s talkin about someone he’s loved his whole life (which he has) who has died (which is what he feels like). these characters are the ones who’s moms were best friends so they grew up as best friends and as they got older they got closer. they went away to college together fell in love it was beautiful it was comfortable it was happy.

‘promise me’ is character a asking character b to stay with him til death. she refuses. he feels the separation like it’s a death. he wanted them to stay young and stay together and go home to live the rest of their lives just like the beginning. she wants something else.

“We're getting old now (they���ve graduated college it’s time for them to move on to the next chapter)

But I don't feel it (A feels like there’s no question where his life goes next. he’s known his whole life he wanted his life w B he’s always imagined)

I say you're beautiful (I mean it’s a given)

And I still mean it (A has always loved B)

And I don't wanna know (A doesn’t want any other life than the one he’s seen for himself)

What old age feels like (he believes together they will always feel like this)

So promise me you won't (A is asking B to commit to their life together)

Give up on this life (this life as in the life he imagines they’ll have together - it’s important to remember this song and his pov is filtered completely through his emotions and imagination)

And we'll be busy tryin'

While the rest of them are dyin'

Promise me we'll never grow up

I don't wanna let go

I wanna stay young

And even when the wrinkles show up

We'll be laughing, and

We can play forever

Don't make me face the truth

I think it's obvious

That we'll stay happy

'Cause I'm the happiest

When you smile at me

And we won't end the same

A broken family

I'll never walk away

Without you with me

And times are getting harder

But I'm nothing like my father

Promise me we'll never grow up

I don't wanna fall out

I wanna make love

And even when we can't, so what?

We're together, and

Happy ever after

Don't make me face the truth

That I'm dying soon

That we're dying

Don't say goodbye (he compares death to the end of the life he imagined so it’s less a literal death of either character and more like the dream has died)

We're so much older...

All I want is one more life with you (he wants to keep the life he thought he’d have with her)

When did we get so old?

Why'd you get so sick? (not ill but he feels like she’s “sick of their relationship” bc he can’t imagine a reason for wanting anything else)

And how could you die? (how could she not want that life too?)

You promised me you'd never grow up

Now I have to let go

God, I miss you so much

And even when your heart gave out (he believes she lost love for him and that’s why she would want a life other than the one he dreamed of)

I was thinkin' how

I won't say goodbye

You promised me you'd never grow up

But you fucking grew up (she wants something else in life than what he’s imagined)

God, I miss you so much

And even when your heart gave out

I was thinkin' I'd

Love you 'til forever

And I can't face the truth

That I died with you

That you lied (we can assume from here he doesn’t believe he had any reason to think she would want something else)

You died (they broke up - again we still only have few actual details of the story)”

only love explores the way he feels in the aftermath and some time following the break up. he’s reflecting on the way he felt during the relationship and the pain he’s in since. we even get a glimpse of how it’s affecting his life as he tries to cope with and mourn the loss of the life he thought he’d have.

“Calm down, I'm okay, it's only heartbreak

Don't scheme, just mourn

The cold nights in our bed when you'd steal the blankets

I'd let you sleep warm

It's only love

It's not like I'm missing part of me

It's only love

It's heartbreak and I'm in recovery

Your eyes are better than my favorite song

I'm addicted and I'm possessive

This is no ordinary love

Calm down, breathe in

I feel like I'm dying

I miss you, come home

But it's only love

It's not like she's bleeding out of me

It's only love

I'm not dying, I'm in recovery

But I won't get better

I'm not letting go

I will be right here where you left me

Losing my home again

A life without my friend

Who I depend on, oh-oh

She's everything to me

The best I had, the worst mistake

I'm all fucked up and I'm not okay

Even my therapist said, "To hell with this"

I'm not healing

I'm dying, write me off

I'm stuttering, I'm high on drugs

Loser, lonely

It's only love

These wrist cuts won't bleed it out of me

It's only love

I'm not dying, but I'm in recovery

I won't get better, I'm not moving on

I'm the same way now that you left me

This is no ordinary love”

gotdamn that hurts.

the slight pause represents time passing and the pov shifting

right where you left me shows how B feels similarly to A after the breakup in that it felt like time stopping, life ending. character B is the storyteller of the two, so we get more details from her pov but it is still filtered through her feelings. in right where you left me, she plays the victim almost - not exactly but she’s also not entirely taking responsibility for it and instead ties it into what’s happened in the time passed. in champagne problems she reveals the depth of the situation and she takes the credit for the “betrayal”. she also reveals some of what has happened since the breakup in these songs, but w midnight rain we get the whole story. past, breakup, post breakup - all of it is revealed.

“Friends break up, friends get married

Strangers get born, strangers get buried

Trends change, rumors fly through new skies

But I'm right where you left me

Matches burn after the other

Pages turn and stick to each other

Wages earned and lessons learned

But I, I'm right where you left me

Help, I'm still at the restaurant

Still sitting in a corner I haunt

Cross-legged in the dim light

They say, "What a sad sight"

I, I swear you could hear a hair pin drop

Right when I felt the moment stop

Glass shattered on the white cloth

Everybody moved on

I, I stayed there

Dust collected on my pinned-up hair

They expected me to find somewhere

Some perspective, but I sat and stared

Right where you left me

You left me no, oh, you left me no

You left me no choice but to stay here forever

You left me, you left me no, oh, you left me no

You left me no choice but to stay here forever

Did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen?

Time went on for everybody else, she won't know it

She's still 23 inside her fantasy

How it was supposed to be

Did you hear about the girl who lives in delusion?

Break-ups happen every day, you don't have to lose it

She's still 23 inside her fantasy

And you're sitting in front of me

At the restaurant, when I was still the one you want

Cross-legged in the dim light, everything was just right

I, I could feel the mascara run

You told me that you met someone

Glass shattered on the white cloth

Everybody moved on

Help, I'm still at the restaurant

Still sitting in a corner I haunt

Cross-legged in the dim light

They say, "What a sad sight"

I, I stayed there

Dust collected on my pinned-up hair

I'm sure that you got a wife out there

Kids and Christmas, but I'm unaware

'Cause I'm right where

I cause no harm, mind my business

If our love died young, I can't bear witness

And it's been so long

But if you ever think you got it wrong

I'm right where you left me

You left me no, oh, you left me no

You left me no choice but to stay here forever

You left me

You left me no, oh, you left me no

You left me no choice but to stay here forever”

“You booked the night train for a reason

So you could sit there in this hurt

Bustling crowds or silent sleepers

You're not sure which is worse

Because I dropped your hand while dancing

Left you out there standing

Crestfallen on the landing

Champagne problems

Your mom's ring in your pocket

My picture in your wallet

Your heart was glass, I dropped it

Champagne problems

You told your family for a reason

You couldn't keep it in

Your sister splashed out on the bottle

Now no one's celebrating

Dom Pérignon, you brought it

No crowd of friends applauded

Your hometown skeptics called it

Champagne problems

You had a speech, you're speechless

Love slipped beyond your reaches

And I couldn't give a reason

Champagne problems

Your Midas touch on the Chevy door

November flush and your flannel cure

"This dorm was once a madhouse"

I made a joke, "Well, it's made for me"

How evergreen, our group of friends

Don't think we'll say that word again

And soon they'll have the nerve to deck the halls

That we once walked through

One for the money, two for the show

I never was ready, so I watch you go

Sometimes you just don't know the answer

'Til someone's on their knees and asks you

"She would've made such a lovely bride

What a shame she's fucked in the head, " they said

But you'll find the real thing instead

She'll patch up your tapestry that I shred

And hold your hand while dancing

Never leave you standing

Crestfallen on the landing

With champagne problems

Your mom's ring in your pocket

Her picture in your wallet

You won't remember all my

Champagne problems

You won't remember all my

Champagne problems”

“Rain, he wanted it comfortable

I wanted that pain

He wanted a bride

I was making my own name

Chasing that fame

He stayed the same

All of me changed like midnight

My town was a wasteland

Full of cages, full of fences

Pageant queens and big pretenders

But for some, it was paradise

My boy was a montage

A slow-motion, love potion

Jumping off things in the ocean

I broke his heart 'cause he was nice

He was sunshine, I was midnight rain

He wanted it comfortable

I wanted that pain

He wanted a bride

I was making my own name

Chasing that fame

He stayed the same

All of me changed like midnight

It came like a postcard

Picture perfect, shiny family

Holiday, peppermint candy

But for him it's every day

So I peered through a window

A deep portal, time travel

All the love we unravel

And the life I gave away

'Cause he was sunshine

I was midnight rain

He wanted it comfortable

I wanted that pain

He wanted a bride

I was making my own name

Chasing that fame

He stayed the same

All of me changed

Like midnight

Rain, he wanted it comfortable

I wanted that pain

He wanted a bride

I was making my own name

Chasing that fame

He stayed the same

All of me changed

Like midnight

I guess sometimes we all get

Just what we wanted, just what we wanted

And he never thinks of me

Except when I'm on TV

I guess sometimes we all get

Some kind of haunted, some kind of haunted

And I never think of him

Except on midnights like this (midnights like this)”

the last song was added after several listens through the playlist thus far. and while it was revealed the depths of each character’s feelings around the end of everything, it didn’t feel complete. this song is a big song for me personally and so i added it just to try it on and now i can’t imagine this playlist without it.

“No words appear before me in the aftermath

Salt streams out my eyes and into my ears

Every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness

'Cause it's all over now, all out to sea

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye

You were bigger than the whole sky

You were more than just a short time

And I've got a lot to pine about

I've got a lot to live without

I'm never gonna meet

What could've been, would've been

What should've been you

What could've been, would've been you

Did some bird flap its wings over in Asia?

Did some force take you because I didn't pray?

Every single thing to come has turned into ashes

'Cause it's all over, it's not meant to be

So I'll say words I don't believe

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye

You were bigger than the whole sky

You were more than just a short time

And I've got a lot to pine about

I've got a lot to live without

I'm never gonna meet

What could've been, would've been

What should've been you

What could've been, would've been

What should've been you

(What could've been, would've been)

What could've been, would've been you

(Could've been, would've been)

(Could've been, would've been)

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye

You were bigger than the whole sky

You were more than just a short time

And I've got a lot to pine about

I've got a lot to live without

I'm never gonna meet

What could've been, would've been

What should've been you”

so the whole story really only takes place at the time of the breakup and the midnights following when the two reflect on the breakup.

so, break up… character A’s midnight breakdown… character B’s midnight heartbreaking storytelling. which took place so far after the fact bc she refused to even process it emotionally until she found out that he really did move on.

i like to imagine that now both characters are happy and grateful for the whole thing. they loved and lived a beautiful life together at the beginning. then they each got what they wanted (after lots of processing and pain, but eventually they get there). perhaps i’ll add more to show that, idk... actually i’ve already got some ideas but i’m really a perfectionist when it comes to these playlists so i need the lyrics and the vibes to flow right otherwise it won’t tell the story right. this is the first playlist tho where the irl singers are consistent with the characters. usually the characters have no gender and any gender in the song (from the singer to the pronouns used) may or may not be relevant. but the characters always have consistent vibes that are represented in the songs. this is becoming one of my favorite creative hobbies actually.

if you made it here, thank you for reading (:

[waitingforminjae]

wait why do you think some of the members didn't like j*y p*rk? I remember there being rumours of 2pm bullying him and while that's very fun to think about alot of the rumours came from people who biased him and hated the other members so i dont rlly believe those rumours 😔I like your thoughts/meta on kpop idols so I just want to know why you think some of the other members didn't fuck with him

I've always thought he did something really stupid (not the MySpace thing) because even after the MySpace thing he hadn't left the group and jyp even went on a show to talk about how he went to america himself to make sure he was practicing his dancing and singing and also said that he was fundamentally a good person then a few months later he was kicked out because of a serious personal issue in his private life or smth.

Like i feel like insinuating that he was gonna come back then kicking him out obviously is going to cause more backlash and is just more work in general then kicking him out straight away soo🤔

The members were alll sad and left his space open during their mama performance, said things like let's walk together and that 2pm is one on some site then deleted because of the hate that they were getting and talked about him during their speech and everythingbut idk the idea that they secretly hated him makes me happy so I wanna know your thoughts

People also genuinely think he knocked up hyuna and while I don't think he did that I do think he either did something in those few months or confessed to something in those few months of "self reflection"

they did giggle when taec said smth like the hip hop guy who isn't with us anymore and junho did call him the dirt that's been filtered or smth like that so I feel like they don't like him atleast

Maybe it's like an exo situation where the dynamics were a bit off at the beginning and the traumatic experience of losing a member while you have deranged fans and are just getting popular made them all closer because watching old clips with him in them make me cringe and I just can't imagine him sitting doing a vlive with them or him just fitting into the group in any capacity

okay so i got four hours at a dead desk at work so let's get into this lol

(this got soooooo long so i'm putting it under a read more </3)

tbh i'm only joking when i mention 2pm hating him lol i actually don't rlly know anything abt their dynamic w him beyond the one (1) episode of wild bunny i saw with him </3 which i described here and here.

iirc the official story is that he took a hiatus from the group, and then after much discussion w jyp he left the group bc he was unhappy as a kpop artist? which i think is probably true i mean the dude was obviously miserable and as messy as he is nowadays i do think he's happy.

god the rumors abt 2pm bullying him are so funnyyyyy i need to hunt down the article where i read them and read it again lol but i do remember whenever me and my roommate watched that wild bunny episode (after binging soooooo many 2pm fan compilation videos) we were SO shocked by how different and terrible their vibes were aksjdsdkljfflgglhjkl

it really made me realize how much group dynamics are like tetris tbh. like removing that one person made the whole rest of the dynamic fall into place?

like obviously, there is no way to know what their ~real~ personalities were like at the time, because they had just debuted so they all had a persona that they were pushing + a character for that show. but he certainly came across as incredibly immature and irresponsible, and it was frankly rlly uncomfortable to watch......like idk but i think jun.k and nichkhun were genuinely pissed off at him for stealing nichkhun's wallet and ditching them at the karaoke room, going to a club with taec and chansung (who had JUST turned 20), and then not answering the phone. he rlly came across as an older friend who could get you into trouble, but can't get you out.

i also remember the others came across (especially taec) as being "followers", who would just go along with his shenanigans because it was funny or interesting. ofc they were all really young then, and like i said before, this show obvs had set "characters" for them to play, so who knows how accurate my opinion was! but i definitely left that episode feeling very grateful that he left the group, or else he would've gotten them into some real serious trouble.

i think one of the most important aspects of a group's dynamic is their ability to keep each other in check. i think it's important for members to be able to be honest and call each other on their bullshit if they're getting to cocky or arrogant or otherwise becoming an asshole. after all, a kpop group is a brand that you are building together - one person's integrity becomes synonymous with the group's integrity as a whole. that's why scandals are kinda serious business: groups are pushing an image of closeness, ranging from "besties" to "found family". if one member is exposed to be an asshole (or just downright evil, i.e. burning sun) it immediately casts doubt on the other members character and integrity.

i also think that the leader of a group is really influential on the vibe of the group as a whole, and we've seen what a mess jay park is. i think if he had stayed with the group, they would've had a lot more scandals, and had a very negative image as a scandal-ridden group. to be clear, 2pm members HAVE had scandals (incl pretty serious one's, like a couple DUIs), but they've managed to shake them off to have a pretty clean image.

2pm's dynamic as 6 just.....works? like they're fun to watch and it seems like they all genuinely like each other and like working together. i've never really gotten an ~off~ vibe from them, or that they secretly hate each other. especially after seeing them w jay. it just felt wrong and off and uncomfortable. also yeah, i think the whole ordeal of losing a member would naturally create a trauma bond amongst everyone else lol

ik that fans voted jay park the leader bc he got first on their pre-debut show but i have always felt like jun.k should've been the leader the whole time....like again it's hard to know bc wild bunny was obviously very contrived, but he certainly came across as much more responsible and level-headed than jay. i think him and nichkhun are a very solid "hyung/leader" line tbh like ik they've each had a DUI but in general they come across (to me) as very stable guys who take their job and their image very seriously, which is important.

and tbh i'm always a little skeptical when groups w/ a member who's on a scandal hiatus say stuff like "let's walk together" or "2pm is one" or do things like leave their space empty.....like i mentioned before kpop groups are pushing an image of "best friends" or a "family" and when the person hasn't left the group, the idols are still having to deal with and interact with that member's fans. when things are unclear or it seems like hiatus is only temporary, it would be soooo bad for their image to be like "fuck that guy", you know? fans would lose their SHIT and it'd only embroil the group in more drama tbh......but i do agree that if the company's going to cut ties, it's better to do it immediately rather than get fans hopes up.

that got soooooo long sorry </3 but tl:dr idk if they hate him or not but i do think they look at him now and think "man, we really dodged a bullet" lol

[plan-d-to-i]

hey plan! as i continued my scrolling through twitter (thinking that there might be some accurate representation of the rotted grape, but *sigh* can still find any) i found this post instead and can i ask your opinion of this?

i just felt so mad reading this. them thinking that jc wanted to "protect" wwx is so dumb?? like didn't jc want wwx to let him go back to the sect because he didn't want to deal with the wens who he OWES HIS LIFE TO?? and then these clowns saying wwx pUbLiCly hUmiLiaTed jc like didn't jc humiliated himself because orchestrated the death of his saviors?? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE GRAPE LOVERS because without wwx wn & wq's combined help, your UwU sAd bAbY gRaPe would be coreless and probably DEAD (sorry if it got long because of my rant here but i truly do want to hear your opinion on this)

and i present this art i found on twitter where wwx calls out jc for being a homophobe https://twitter.com/farisaki/status/1445458768322445325?t=mWTeCTAE3HMmwtfZ9ZbiDg&s=19

haha I'm sorry to say but your first mistake was continuing to scroll through twitter. -2/10 do not recommend

Like far be it from me to dampen the enthusiasm of this person trying to reinvent the wheel w their groundbreaking think piece, but wtf are they talking about. Honestly I remember some other beacon of wisdom saying: "how come WWX was so dumb and didn't just kidnap a random Wen soldier and make WQ use their core for the transfer?"- like they didn't grasp that the whole thing hinged on the willing participation of the donor. Same here.

Wei Wuxian knew jiang cheng's character very well. At worst he's always seen the jiangs through rose tinted lenses. So while WWX would know very well jc wouldn't actively help him save the Wens since nothing in their past half lifetime of knowing each other had ever shown jc to give two fucks about helping people, he probably only didn't imagine jc would leave him with no option to help them other than defection. AND MAKE NO MISTAKE, jc didn't bring any compromise to the table that included saving the Wens other than for WWX to cut ties with the Clan. jc doesn't help the Wens because he DOESN'T WANT TO not because he can't. WWX makes it clear that the reason he's defecting isn't because he wants to but because he doesn't want to involve YunmengJiang and jc agrees. "“Jiang Cheng’s tone was indifferent, “Then let’s arrange for a duel.” jc's "compromise" was I'll destroy Wen Ning for you, and turn in the rest of the Wens- that jc in his own words called “the old, the weak, the women, and the children.”- to their death or you're out on your ass and WWX understood him.

“Jiang Cheng, “You burn this corpse right now and return to them all these leftovers of the Wen Sect. That’s the only way to make the subject die!” As he spoke, he raised his sword again, preparing to attack.”

“However, Wei WuXian clenched his wrist, “Are you joking?! If we return Wen Qing and the others to them, they’d meet nothing but a dead end!”

Jiang Cheng, “I doubt you’ll even return all of them. Why do you care what kind of end they meet? A dead end it is, then—what does it have to do with you?!”

Lmao- "I NEVER see this take. That WWX acted like a rogue agent" yes you absurd, classist, intellectual dead zone, bc it's a ridiculous take that the story does not intend any reader with a modicum of understanding or empathy to take. The author thought surely people will GET why it's nifty of WWX to want to save these innocent, vulnerable people: these nice siblings that helped them, this sweet Granny, this cute toddler etc. jc himself doesn't disagree that they owe the Wens a debt!

“Wei WuXian finally lost his temper, “Jiang Cheng! What- What do you think you’re talking about?! Take it back—don’t make me give you a thrashing! Don’t forget. Who was the one that helped us burn Uncle Jiang’s and Madam Yu’s corpses? Who returned to us the ashes that are in Lotus Pier right now? And who took us in when we were chased after by Wen Chao?!”

Jiang Cheng, “I’m the one who fucking wants to give you a thrashing! Yes, they helped us before, but why in the world don’t you understand that right now any remnant of the Wen Sect is a target of criticism!”

These people are somehow more self absorbed than jc. So pathetically selfish they can't even stand altruism and heroism in a fucking fantasy novel.

[aerltarg]

Maybe this is a stupid question, buuuuut:

I just can't imagine a world that Rhaegar comes back from the Trident, wins the war and becomes king. No, I'm not a anti Rhaegar, matter of fact I like him very much, I'm just can imagine how would Lya, little Jon, this whole affair, would settle in the capital. The norm that fics (at least those I read) tend to follow is to make Rhaegar:

1. A douche, paranoid and destiny-obessed king.

2. Completely incompetent, aloof monarch, that deep down has a heart of gold, but can't really be understood.

I mean, isn't he supposed to be a scholar since he was a kid? What's are your thoughts about it?

oh, yeah, i can totally understand this! it's is the whole point in canon actually, "the wrong man came back from the trident". you would expect a hero win against his antagonist and have a happy ending w his lady love but it doesn't happen. instead the subversion happens to them with rhaegar being killed by robert who becomes obviously a shitty king and lyanna dying after him. they were never supposed to have happy ending, they were created as tragic and doomed and dead from the beginning for the whole plot to start, jon to have his parentage mystery and dany to take the passed baton as the last dragon, prophesied savoir and the heir who has to carry entire house on her back now.

as for the realistic rhaegar wins aus that's the difficult question. tbh we just don't know enough abt their situation, plans and wishes. you see, e.g. in agot we can be right in ned's head and see his motivations, what he was thinking abt, what he was planning, what he was hoping to do. but if his story was told the way rhaegar's was i bet he would have his own crowd of haters and ~intellectuals~ jumping out every two seconds w their "hot takes" how actually all hints abt what rlly happened (ned being a good man w his own sense of honour, justice and experiences affecting him and the deal w cersei's children) doesn't matter and he was an ambitious prick, planned to grasp the power by being joffrey's regent and make his daughter sansa queen. (you can actually insert there any bullshit and still don't reach the level of stupidity of such "hot takes" this fandom loves so much lmao). also he would be blamed to the hell and beyond for being too stupid and not foreseeing the future and actions of other ppl bc ofc after everything happened it's so easy to say what was so obvious to notice. also they would say that the deaths of his men and horrible fates of his kids are 100% his fault and even straight up say he killed them lmao. i can rant abt it for hours so yeah. this is a situation w too many unknown variables bc it depends too much on actions of too many characters we don't know enough abt. the only thing it's possible to tell for sure is the fact that there couldn't be any perfect solutions since things got too complicated at this point.

such fics as you've mentioned tho are just a part of this dumb fanon where rhaegar is "too prophecy obsessed"/"incapable of love"/shrodinger's rhaegar both smart and stupid at the same time/whatever/all of this combined lmfao. the man was notably intelligent from the early age as you've absolutely rightly mentioned, his guesses abt himself being tptwp have nothing to do w egocentrism as some parts of the fandom would want us all to believe unless he wouldn't be so reasonable abt it and later on, after so many years, wouldn't have changed his mind and thought his son could be tptwp.

and literally fuck all antis that think you shouldn't consider prophecies that hold real power in this fantasy world lol. you know, aegon the conqueror was said to be motivated (or at least partly) to unify westeros by the prophecy and still got the treatment of perfect/maximum close to perfect figure of a leader everyone should look up to from the narrative and grrm. prophecy obsessed much, huh? i don't even talk abt all these parallels between him and rhaegar grrm put there not for bitches to ignore them completely! and i will never get tired of reminding that dismissing prophecies is UNWISE for targaryens of all people. the house whose story is built on the dream of young daenys and her father aenar that listened to her despite common sense (or what local "anti magic"/"anti prophecies" clowns consider to be common sense). targs would be as dead as the rest of dragonlords if not for daenys the dreamer. who else in the world has as many reasons to take prophecies seriously as them?

yet antis out there act as if rhaegar is one dimensional weirdo whose every character trait is abt mf ~prophecy obsession~. like how can they miss one of the main points so badly?? the game of thrones distracts ppl from the real danger beyond the wall, yk, the one rhaegar was aware of and meant to deal with. there wouldn't be such a problem if he became king and had as many years of head start before ice zombies apocalypse as ignorant bobby b did. rhaegar had to die just for westeros to sink in shit and our main heroes to save everyone to make this story more epic LMAO

so yeah, too many ppl portray rhaegar as this one dimensional robotic creature without any knowledge of what feelings are idk even for what reason. it seems these ppl can't read for real bc rhaegar was not only intelligent af as well as dutiful ("it seems i must be a warrior" but "he loved his harp more than his lance") but also. ugh emotional?? my boy had constant emo sessions w brooding at ruins of summerhall, sleeping out there beneath the stars all alone and writing songs that made all women cry. does it sound as someone who "isn't capable of love" lol? folks act as if he was completely heartless from the day he was born (bc he didnt play w other kids ig??) but in reality their emotional range is less than the one of a spoon in comparison to rhaegar's lol. i'm not even gonna address the horrible attitude of demonizing him for his implied depression, vile clowns never listen to themselves when they talk abt targaryens and their "madness".

tldr; these fics are mostly lame af and suck at characterization if they're making rhaegar like that lol. anyway his character isn't abt being a good or a bad king, it's abt being a would-be-king for characters in books and readers in reality to sigh over his tragic aura and pretty aesthetic abt how it could've been. however, grrm clearly doesn't write rhaegar as evil or incapable as some parts of the fandom would want to try to persuade others. realistically speaking in the scenario where he wins there couldn't be any perfect decisions but it's a territory of speculations on thin air and lit nothing more since canon doesn't provide us with enough information to rlly theorize anything instead of building biased headcanons some ppl call "analysis".

but remember what barristan said about rhaegar while practically watching him all his life, from a literal baby to the man grown:

“I know little of Rhaegar. Only the tales Viserys told, and he was a little boy when our brother died. What was he truly like?”

The old man considered a moment. “Able. That above all. Determined, deliberate, dutiful, single-minded.” (ASOS, Daenerys I)

“Prince Rhaegar’s prowess was unquestioned, but he seldom entered the lists. He never loved the song of swords the way that Robert did, or Jaime Lannister. It was something he had to do, a task the world had set him. He did it well, for he did everything well. That was his nature. But he took no joy in it. Men said that he loved his harp much better than his lance.” (ASOS, Daenerys IV)

[samstree]

One memorable scene? You expect me to choose only /one/??? Hahah, nope. That's impossible I'm afraid.

1. "Love in the Air" : when Geralt Axiied Jaskier. I remember gasping at that. I read that fic, expecting some pining, some miscommunication and instead I got punched right in the feels.

2. "A reason to fight": that first crack of the whip. Between Jaskier's pleading and Geralt's resignation that first strike was painful to read. Geralt thinking about being resigned in one thing. Actually seeing him not fighting back and just enduring is so much worse.

3. "his impossible happy ending": (one of my absolute favourites) the moment Geralt's disguise drops. I always love reading Geralt being insecure and thinking Jaskier is going to leave him and here we have that pain only to have the beautiful conclusion that Jaskier knew who he was all along. It hurt my heart and then it melted my heart <3

4. "Will you be gone again?": when Lambert tells Jaskier not to go to Geralt bc he will only end up hurt, but then Geralt is just really soft and gentle with Jaskier. It's got Lambert being Lambert, it's got tender Geralt and it's got Jaskier taking care of Geralt. What more could you want?

5. "For luck": I would like to say the entire fic but that would be cheating (I say as if I don't already break the rules by not picking one scene). But like, I'm just going through your AO3 to nudge my memory so that I don't forget to mention any favourites. I see that title. Just the title! I remember everything and immediately I have tears in my eyes. Just,,, every single sentence is tearing my heart out. But if I have to choose I'd say the moment I'd pick the one where Geralt is waiting for his kiss and then leaves when he realises he won't get a kiss that day. It's the same thing like with your Orpheus au (which I will obviously mention later): you manage to show so much emotion of the characters who isn't the pov and it's so powerful. I have no idea how oyu do it, but you make me know what they feel just by showing their reactions and it's so damn impressive and it's hurting my heart.

6. "forget me (not)" : yes, I know I literally just read it so technically I can't say if it's memorable, but that last line. Just. So many emotions. So powerful. So heartwrenching. How very dare you

7. "Hug a witcher day": when Essi tells Geralt that Jaskier was sick and they both think that he might have caught the pox. Geralt's panic and Essi's desperation are so so well written and my heart cannot deal with how Geralt doesn't hesitate to go to the city and stay there with Jask.

8. "a single buttercup": do I even need to say anything? /Can/ I even say anything to convey just how much I love that fic? I don't think so. It's so hard to pick the most memorable scene, because they are all so powerful, but the one that took my breath away was the scene where they are lying in bed and Jaskier talks about how vulnerable Geralt is around him. The fact that Geralt knows that Jaskier will kill him and he's still willing to /trust him with his life/!! It's just,,, reading it I felt so many emotions that I can't even all name. Definitely dread. Fear. Unease. But also so many good things, because Jaskier doesn't know. He's just happy Geralt feels comfortable around him and Geralt just loves him so much and I will never not think of that scene and get emotional

Oh my god I can't believe you recounted so many things I am in tears.! I don't really know what to say except that I love that you love all these stories and I'm glad they made an impression on you. Although, funny you mentioned that Essi part because it wasn't until I posted that chapter that I realized that I never mentioned either of them telling her that Jaskier is alright. So, um ... imagine it was done. She's not been worried for a whole year and my conscience can let me sleep at night. 😂

tell me the most memorable scene from any of my fics 🌼🌼

[sotorubio]

"like what was the eye closeup thing in the christmas dinner clip" - unpopular opinion n i understand if u won't post it. I think sascha's actor is so bad in acting. He only can smile and make puppy eyes. Like literally saschisi have a bingo of no good story, no good acting and no chemistry at all. It's disaster comparing to other druck pairings, 'cause all of them have at least good chemistry. So they use this close-ups and purple bubbles to "help" to create some kind of ~chemistry~.

unpopular opinions always accepted here 🤙

this is an interesting take n i don't completely disagree w u. generally i can't rly judge the skam actors' acting bc i'm not fluent in any of the remake languages (well except for austin i suppose) so i usually can't tell if line deliveries etc are good or not. however i have had issues w the chemistry too...

i think i talked abt this briefly before but like the whole sascha is ~ in love ~ w isi just.. didn't translate to me at all especially at the beginning of the season. it was clear from the writing bc that message was pushed from left n right constantly but i just like wasn't able to see it in the chemistry. remember that clip where they're playing music at sascha's place & isi starts talking abt lou & then leaves w umut n the camera focuses on sascha's face? so many ppl were just going ahhh he's so sad :( he's so gone for isi ☹️ n then i watched the clip myself n if i hadn't read those reactions beforehand i honestly would've just thought he looked bored... generally i think his acting is very one-note, i can't evaluate if it's good or bad since i don't know the language well but it's definitely just very similar from clip to clip regardless of context.

but then again idk if that's just specifically sascha's actor or if the problem is in the directing bc he's not the only character who has those moments. like i see eren as a pretty solid actor but even they had moments where the emotions were just.. not rly there. like the clip druckaddicts themselves posted abt? "wow kieu my thinks sascha likes isi n this was isi's reaction 😱" the reaction in question: 👤

so yeah i definitely agree that the chemistry is lacking, i'm just not sure if it's bc of the acting or the writing or directing or what.

the point abt close ups & lighting as a way to make up for it actually does make a lot of sense tho. i doubt that the team is looking at the scenes like wow our young actors suck ass we NEED to do smth abt this let's add close ups But now that u mentioned that i do think the intention is to make those scenes more intimate/intense/spectacular. like isi themselves told lou it was "magic" with sascha. so they're trying to overcompensate w weird lights & close ups to rly drill that in us like yeah these ppl are soooo soul mates trust me they're definitely so in love look how magical !! (pro tip: give the couple some development n show the magic in the writing itself next time ✨)

n i think that's just a preference thing but ive always been against this sort of cinematography heavy aestheticization of skam seasons (skamfr says hi), there's a certain style of cinematography that fits the realism & every-day-life feeling that they aim for but stuff like this just makes me feel like i'm watching some hallmark christmas movie smdjlsjd also... i say it's just a preference but apparently like half of the fandom wasn't sure if the kiss was real or just isi's imagination bc of the way it was shot so.. maybe it's actually just objectively bad 😭

so yes you're right the close ups r probably supposed to boost the chemistry but they're just... failing miserably. like the weird staring n shots of their eyes was so awkward like i could barely watch it but then immediately after there was a good moment when they were simply walking down the hall to the table slightly bumping into each other like that mightve been the most clear chemistry they've had all season 😩

[discoveringmiraculousartist]

Hi anon! I'm so sorry for taking so long to answer is that I haven't had much time, also...

I'm not sure I said anything about Lila so I don't know where the ask came from, I generally don't say my opinion about the characters and the ships in this blog so I can't imagine when I said something that made you send me this ask djkfgnfk And for the same reason of not sharing my opinions over here, I'm still not convinced to answer you hehe But more than that... Ch*rch? How do you know I'm C*ristian? Or did you just assume it? sorry, I was a little... impressed. I've heard that Thomas is not religious and that he says the show on that is neutral, so I'm going to put religion aside in my response hehe

That being said...

Lila is not just a brat, she's a bad person. Yes, it's true that she's 14 so I don't hold her responsible in the same way as other older characters on the show who are also bad people. But Lila has done some very serious things that can't just be "ignored" and there's no way to justify them even for how shameful her past might be.

As far as I can remember, only in Oni-chan they reveal a more fragile side of Lila: a busy and somewhat absent mother who could give rise to a whole history of difficult family life, and, moreover, her father has shown no sign of existence. If the show or a fan decides to develop this further to give us some insight into why Lila is the way she is, I have no doubt that we will be able to empathize with her.

But a difficult past would only give us insight into aspects of her character, make her more human, but under no circumstances would that be an excuse for her actions. Especially because in the same show we have a character like Adrien, he has her same age and he has a canon background that is very hard: her mom disappeared and her dad is a monster who only shows him coldness (along with everything else from his personal life that we all know). Just here he already has a big difference with how little we know about Lila's background because in Hero's Day shows her mom being very warm with her.  Also, despite all his terrible background, he is nothing less than a ray of sunshine and one of the heroes of the story. 

Another character with a complicated background is Chloe. With her, the show has shown that even though her family life can make us feel a lot of empathy for her and makes us understand why she behaves like that, as long as she doesn't regret it and take responsibility for her actions, she won't have a miraculous. Nothing justifies her actions in spite of all the empathy we may feel for her. That empathy makes us want her to redeem herself and grow. I personally really hope that they redeem her, but I know that her redemption cannot be just a: "I am bad" *poof* "I am good". The redemption starts once you understand what you have been doing is wrong, a realization that takes a lot of time. And from that realization, you take responsibility and work hard for improving that part of yourself... A process that has many ups and downs, it's not just lineal. 

Lila is 14 yo! of course I believe she can be redeemed! but I’d perfectly understand if the show doesn't give her a redemption arc (what I think it's more likely to happen). Anyway, I think it would be great if a fan develops from those 5 seconds of canon a difficult personal history for Lila or invents something completely new. Personally, I am not very interested in developing it and this is the kind of thing I will only explore if it's canon, maaaaaaybe if I had the time I would but I don't even have it TwT

Also, with redemption, I don't just mean that she ends being friends with everyone like nothing happened. No matter how much empathy you feel for someone and how much you can forgive them, that doesn't mean you forget everything that happened. To feel empathy is not to justify, to forgive is not to forget. Forgiveness is a good thing, you are free of the resentment and revenge wishes that can be so bad for you, as Don Ramón says haha (you probably don't know him but anyway xD): "la venganza nunca es buena, mata el alma y la envenena"//"revenge is never good, it kills the soul and poisons it". But forgiving is not the same as being stupid, you can forgive the liar but believing them again immediately after is just stupidity despite the all goodwill that goes with it. 

The relationship you'll have from that moment on with the person you forgave will depend on the circumstances and the actions you forgave, ignoring them could be bad for you bc that person could harm you again, and it could even worse for the person bc maybe they would never learn their actions have consequences in other people too. If you are willing to continue to have a relationship with that person(again this depends on the circumstances), rebuilding the broken bond takes time, and it takes much longer if there was never a true bond but only one founded on lies (like between Lila and the Miracu-class).

If at some point in the show they explain through a difficult past her present attitudes, and they transform it into a redemption arc (which I doubt), and even if  Marinette and the rest forgive her, that forgiveness doesn't have to be just a "let's start over and be BFFs". I want it to be seen that nothing justifies your bad actions, that you must take responsibility for them and that, as much as someone can forgive you, it doesn't mean that nothing happened. That other person has already given you all that they can give you with their forgiveness and they don't have to stay with you for any reason, and that doesn't make them bad. If they leave maybe they don't who knows, I believe it's a great instance for you to learn your lesson bc it would be one of the consequences of your past actions that you have to take responsibility in order to really grow into a better person. 

[charrfie]

For your Frankenstein hcs, how are you imagining Walton, Victor, the creature (Adam), and Margaret all come together? Specifically, the creature— I’m a sucker for backstories! Also is Ernest in the picture?? :))

I have plans to type out my entire au in detail separately and share it here another time, but I'll give you the basic rundown, hopefully I don't write TOO much (its inevitable that I'll write too much)

Basically, in my au, everything follows canon up to the point where Victor's health starts worsening. Instead, he begins to get better, and his outlook on life, while still VERY much so grim, starts to stabilize and become somewhat bearable thanks to Walton's support and friendship. Then one day, as in the book, Creature boards the ship and, rather than being faced with guilt and sadness after seeing Victor dead, his anger and thirst for revenge is still there once he discovers Victor's still alive.

The conflict that then happens involves a lot of detail, so I'll save a majority of that for the detailed explanation of it I'll write later, but long story short some shit goes down, Walton gets really fucked up trying to defend Victor, and suddenly, right when Creature has the upper hand, he sees himself in Victor's eyes and remembers the day his cottager family attacked him. Everything catches up to him at once and he becomes extremely silent, sullen, and limp- he refuses to fight anymore.

Victor and Walton escape their cabin where they were and inform the crew of everything immediately, but before anything bad happens and the crew can do anything about this, Victor speaks up about wanting to find the reason behind everything that's happened, and why Creature didn't kill both him and Walton when he had the chance to. They go back to the cabin, things happen that I'll explain later, and it comes out that Creature discovered all of Walton's yet-to-be-sent letters, which has let him see a whole different perspective on his actions.

Blah blah blah things happen that will make this a whole fuckin essay if I type them all out but long story short things eventually work out on the ship and tensions cool just slightly (although the relationship between Victor and Creature is still fairly hostile, nothing violent happens between them, and whenever things start getting more tense, Walton is always the mediator and calms things). The ship finally gets back to England after Walton accepts that they need to turn the ship around, and so Walton takes both Victor and Creature back to his home where Margaret is so they can meet her (she lives at his house bc I've always imagined the man she married to become Mrs. Saville to not be around, whether that means he died or left or???? Idk??? I honestly just assumed that from the very first time I read the book and even did any character work on her so I'm rolling with it)

Margaret is instantaneously fascinated with the two strangers after having heard so much about them in her brother's letters (that she finally received a month or two before they arrived). Shes a very kind soul and not timid at all, so she's not the least bit spooked by Creature, despite all that happened and the possibilities of that happening to her as well. Shes honestly the biggest help in the whole au when it comes to Creature finding a friend that he can confide in bc she doesnt judge him from the start- and she's also the one who eventually gives him the name Adam.

I'm desperately trying to figure out how to add Ernest into the story!! Just havent gotten that far development-wise yet. I can't imagine what his reaction to this would be... I almost feel like he'd refuse to speak to Victor for creating the one who murdered his family, and obviously would refuse talking to Creature because, well, he's the who killed his family in the first place. But I really want to figure a way around it bc he deserves some plot time :^< he wasnt in the book almost at all like Margaret, and I gotta do him some justice like I've done her. So I'll try my best to include him in the picture :^)

Hopefully this is good enough though! It's very sloppily typed out and theres a LOT of details left out that let the story flow more smoothly or make more sense but I tried to include the highlights on how they all get together?? Lmk if you have any questions at all and I'll gladly explain!!!!!

[notesofarichlycolorednight]

I have the headcanon that Luke is a Venus Legacy. She's very important in the Roman mythology. And there's more: he has the power to redirect Aphrodite/Venus magic,like firebenders can redirect lightning (very risky and a bit difficult, though). Okay, I'm so obsessed with those headcanons that I can't believe May to be totally mortal. On the top of that,Luke seems to be way above his siblings in power and skill,and we all know that mortals aren't much in Percy Jackson,with the exception of...

Continued. With the exception of Sally,Rachel, perhaps Frederick and Paul(that doesn’t bother me, though. I have (little more than) a bit of bias against the badass normal trope,in most cases. They want to pass them as everymen with cleverness,but I can’t buy someone like Ty Lee as an everywoman. Sokka is great, though). Frank is way more powerful than even Clarisse, despite his lack of experience. Is May that much of an snowflake to have a powerful demigod from an ordinary god?

Continued. Or is she a legacy? Okay,Luke is probably a perfectionist workaholic,so he gets the credit. But being strong enough to get to host Kronos’ essence? Sorry about the length and the anti badass normal rant.

BTW,I love your prankster/mischievous Luke Castellan. I usually am not fond of that kind of headcanon for him,since fandom usually makes him too much like Travis and Connor,and Luke is very different from his brothers (Percy himself even lampshades it). Besides,the whole “silent mischief” fits his personality better,IMO. Luke didn’t come across as a loud guy to me,and he seems to act responsible most of time(for good and for bad, though). 💗💓💝💓💓💓💓

hi there! thanks for being patient with me on this. been busy ;_;

under cut bc it got longer than i was expecting

i really like this idea that May is a legacy. it’s interesting you pick Venus, but given how good-looking Luke was described as and how charming (tho, that could reasonably come from Hermes bc con-ppl are often charming) it makes sense

not to mention, as you say Luke did seem more powerful than most other demigods, being able to take on the curse of Achilles, hosting Kronos, not to mention holding up the sky for however long he did. i think it was Chiron who mentioned that only the greatest heroes are able to hold up the sky, but Luke was so clearly on the wrong side, and Percy even notices that in the books, but it’s like…never explained???

so for him to have more than just half godly blood in his system would make a lot more sense than the “it’s complicated” explanation we’re given in canon

i really like that hc that he can redirect Venus magic (my mind first went to charmspeak) but that it’s difficult and dangerous. like it’s such a cool concept, tho i’m not sure how much it applies to Luke? like maybe that’s a skill that any child or legacy of Aphrodite/Venus would have, but Luke was unable to unlock that power, or at least the full potential

bc it’s just that, and i think it’s mentioned by Annabeth in moa, but a big reason that Luke fell into Kronos’ trap was because Kronos fed Luke a lot of what he wanted to hear, manipulated his thoughts and it’s implied by Annabeth that Kelli also had a lot to do with manipulating him by using charmspeak

like i guess if it’s difficult and dangerous, it would make sense that he was unable to redirect her charmspeak, esp with Kronos also manipulating his thoughts and emotions, but it doesn’t quite fit…tho i think that has a lot of potential to be a story arc regarding the development of Luke’s character, kind of like how it was for Zuko and lightning

but that would also imply, following Zuko’s story arc, that Luke eventually realized the error of his ways and joined the gods’ side

altho, it would be more interesting, playing off him being able to hold up the sky, despite not being the “hero,” if he learned how to redirect charmspeak but remained “loyal” to Kronos

anyway /tangent

i can see where you’re coming from regarding the normal badass trope. i’m not sure how well Rick executed it (if he even did) bc in my opinion, it’s not necessarily that Sally, Rachel, Paul, and Fredrick are what i would term as a badass. Sally can see thru the mist and Poseidon loved her so much he offered immortality. that speaks to her character, but isn’t exactly badass. Rachel is the oracle, but doesn’t have any combat skills to speak of. in en extenuating circumstance, Paul used his sword-fighting skills to help protect Sally and others, but i doubt he’d have much else use for swordsmanship except if he were to take up acting. like Paul, under extenuating circumstances, Fredrick piloted a plane and shot at monsters with Celestial bronze bullets he’d made himself, tho i imagine that’s as much action that plane is going to see for the rest of Fredrick’s life

the acts themselves are certainly badass, but it doesn’t necessarily speak to their character as being a badass.

now, of course, being a badass doesn’t constitute being able to beat someone up. Rachel throwing her hairbrush at the lord of titans is p badass. and sally charming one of the Big Three gods so much he offered her immortality, not to mention killing Gabe and his buddies indirectly, is v badass. so being a badass can take many forms, i’m not denying that

but it doesn’t quite fit what i see the trope being, as defined by society, whereby to be a badass, you have to have some combat and strategic planning skills or smth. i hope that makes sense

i guess this is all just more complicated than i was originally thinking, bc if badass can be defined in so many ways, so can normal?

you mention Ty Lee, right? now i haven’t watched a:tla in forever, but from what i remember of her character, i never actually saw her as some everywoman. she was friends with a sociopathic princess whose father colonized the rest of the world. that’s not exactly normal. i mean even taking away the sociopathic and her father part, she’s friends with a princess! that’s not exactly what i’d constitute as normal you know?

but it’s hard to say what’s normal in that universe, right? bc nonbenders, like sokka, are considered “normal” and average bc they can’t bend, when a majority can. and sokka is often talked abt like he’s “normal” but his tribe taught him how to be a warrior from a young age. his father went off to war, and his mother was killed by a firebender when Ozai began colonizing the other tribes. that’s not normal. even in that universe, bc the avatar is supposed to keep peace b/t the different benders

so it comes back to how society defines the trope, where normal is your average person (no special powers, no secret talents, just goes abt their mundane day at a nine-to-five and binges TV shows on Netflix when they get home) and badass is having that hidden talent (that they most likely don’t even know abt) or learning to be a badass as their character arc and as the story progresses

gosh, hope that all made sense. long story long, i agree with you that it’s a tired trope (in that we’re introduced to someone we consider and are supposed to think is average but, surprise! they actually have a hidden talent that turns them into a badass), but i think if done right, it can be really cathartic and exciting

/tangent 2

yes, i think being legacies definitely affords demigods more power, bc they have more godly blood. and you make a good point: why was Luke so powerful and special? esp as a son of Hermes. i think a reasonable explanation would be that he’s a legacy

by definition, tho, him being a legacy means that May is also a legacy, bc Hermes can’t have other godly blood from other gods with him being a god himself already (disregarding the fact that gods don’t even have DNA)

no worries! as you can see, i kind of went into some rants too!

oh thank you!! i’m glad you liked those hcs. yeah, i like to think that Luke definitely pulls pranks and enjoys it too! but the way he’s portrayed in the books, he’s much more serious than Travis and Conner, probably bc of the house he had to grow up in, being on the run at a young age, and then going thru so much heart-break and trauma before he even turned Travis and Conner’s ages. that ought to subdue you a little

so i wanted to make sure i expressed that in my hcs, long story long lol. i like to think of Luke, before Kronos and all that shit, as a fun and easy-going guy but in a quieter and more subtle way than Travis and Conner specifically

thanks again for sending these!! i love, love, love talking abt to ppl abt stuff. my inbox is always open!

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