#but ig it was kinder than i thought

[sylphwing]

i'm so close to getting the cute snowbear hat reward...!

[wildflowercryptid]

*leans back in my chair with steeple fingers* i just realized how well lower fits the "true" timeline for my villainess characters...

[yandere-yearnings]

Okay but see I'm so petty I would ignore vio forever now until he apologized that man needs to get on his mf knees if he even wanted me to look his damn direction fr

the promised continuation of the vio angst🥰 i didn't screenshot all the asks requesting for it bc then this would just be a very long post of nonnies slowly cursing vio out more and more violently with each pic ahaha (which i love tbh😩💕) but know that i've read each and every single one🥺🩷 i wrote this one in his third-person limited so there's a bit more insight into his thoughts❗❗

(that being said, there isn't much grovelling and his asking for your forgiveness here which i'm really sorry abt. i did try to go that route originally to align w/ some of the requests i've gotten, but vio actually just isn't the type. at least at the point in the relationship being depicted!! gotta keep in mind he is super arrogant and has probably never apologised once in his life😔💔 tho, he is suffering in his own way, rest assured. the silent treatment kinda broke him haha)

warning that there is a bit of violence here and gaslighting (??), ig just typically what you'd expect to see in a yandere work,, this really ran away from me bc it's like 800 words😭

Three days had passed. Vio sat inside his trailer, feet up on the dressing table, more annoyed than he’d ever been in his entire life. Blue hair in his reflection, mussed from his constant ruffling, looking unkempt and barely like himself — and it was all your fault. His agency was paying you a salary in five figures and your only job was to take care of him, which inherently, you were doing, but you were also ignoring him and Vio couldn’t stand it.

His eyes flicked over almost instantly when you walked in, tracking every movement from your shutting the door to hanging your coat over the back of the closest chair. All Vio could see were the snowflakes in your lashes because that was all you’d let him, your gaze downcast, avoiding his. Pride made him bite his lips, because actually, he fucking missed the way you’d look at him. He missed your voice and he missed your pretty words, and it was all lumping in his throat so he couldn’t admit it although he wanted to.

Something weak sounded from him; a desperate grab for your attention that didn’t work. He kicked his script to the floor knowing you’d pick it up, then watched with a clenched jaw as you did exactly that, not even a fleeting glare in his direction. Somehow, Vio felt like he was running out of time, papers placed back neatly and your back already turning, it was the curl of worry in his gut that had his hand snapping to your wrist and tugging you back to him.

“You,” he gritted, frustrated at the pull back, at your resistance — no, your refusal of him. “Don’t fucking ignore me!”

Clearly, you weren’t listening, for all that Vio wrested you into his lap, your eyes wouldn’t even meet his through the mirror. Your bones solid against his palm, and he squeezed, hard enough to take you in, to let out the anger. Though, watching your face twist in pain, tendons in your neck constricting just to cut off the whimper, Vio didn’t even know who to be mad at anymore. 

All he wanted was for you to give in. 

He’d missed you so much, he would dream of you saying his name again. As you always would, and give him that love he was addicted to — yours, that tasted like kisses to open flesh. Raw and sincere to the point that Vio would rather stay splayed and bloodied instead of getting help. He didn’t feel like he could come back from this, or who he’d become because of you. If he was falling from grace, he’d hale you with him.

“Y/N…” This time, it came as a whisper, erratic mind lulled quick to the sensation of your pulse pressing firm against his fingers. Counting throbs, taking breaths for you, telling himself to be kinder, kinder. “Talk to me,” his forehead rested on your shoulder blade, “let’s not do this anymore, hm?”

Gentility got a rise out of you, it seemed, in the form of a gasp and the violent twists to free yourself that followed. “Don’t you dare,” your tone was accusatory, yet when Vio leaned away he saw the tell in your tears, “you’re not allowed to act fucking civil after what you did.”

His brow twitched. Irritation. He didn’t have a clue what you were talking about. Either way, acting was already his whole career — it might as well have been his entire damn life, and he wasn’t going to be reminded. If you weren’t a director and he wasn’t the star of your show, he didn’t need you telling him what he could and couldn’t do. His grip on you tightened.

“I didn’t do anything,” he hissed.

Outside it had begun to rain, heavy droplets melting the sleet from the windows. Steady patters the furthest thing from therapeutic in his current headspace, Vio almost missed your broken, “liar.”

Knocking his knee to white wood had the make-up brush holder tipping, contents rolling around, more noise buzzing in his head as he adjusted you. Finally, you were forced to focus on him, and Vio's eyes were unblinking, boring into yours. “You’re making baseless accusations.” 

“You told me no one would love someone like me.”

“I asked you who could,” Vio bit back instantly, then, his voice softened, “...and the answer is me.”

Purple dotted into red when he let you go, wiping at your wet face. Speckled like poison in a garden of roses — what he was to you, and what you were to him. Vio thought it was fitting, beauty in that you were both to die of each other. His incurable illness. His darling disease. You shouldn’t have gotten so close to that gaffer.

“Only I can. Only I am allowed. Remember that, and love me in turn.”

[mentallyunstablethembo]

Reverse trasmigration au, where the peak lords (SJ + og!SQH included) transmigrate into stuffed toys.

So my first thought was that Shen Yuan is, of course, already an adult in this au, but then I thought; "but what if they transmigrate to a time when Shen Yuan is still a child?"

Sooo yea

There's more under this but I wanted to shorten it so it isn't that long on ppl's pages, and it's easier to scroll by :D (also because I wanted to try out the 'read more' feature-)

After all of the peak lords die (MQF also either got killed or did it himself due to the amount of guilt and grief, ig?), they all wake up as stuffed plushies. Now, they can leave these bodies at will (it took them a bit to learn and get used to it), but that's only at night or when they're home alone.

Now, imagine them waking up and they see Shen Yuan, a child that just looks a lot like Shen Jiu, just somehow softer and kinder. Also paler and more sickly.

The peak lords very soon come to the realization that SY is terminally ill, he has many issues to the point where it's a miracle that he's still alive, yet he's doing it but the future looks grim for him.

The doctors think that he won't live long, his family is worried and his siblings try to keep him company, but despite all of that, the kid is still lonely, so he talks to and hangs out with all the plushes that are actually the peak lords

Sy takes these toys to the hospital while he cuddles with them at home and treats them like as if they were real people (which they are, but he doesn't know that

Sy grows up with the peak lords by his side, his condition is stable and he's trying to pursue a career in teaching literature (he loves teaching and kids), but his condition suddenly takes a dive for the worse, rendering him unable to teach anymore

I say that he loves kids and teaching, but is sadly unable to do so anymore, and so he spends his time at home and then finds pidw, where he reads the story and critiques it just like in canon

This time however, the peak lords are present and read the story with him, some more horrified than others at the prospect of the story (they also definitively have an existential crisis or few because of it)

In this au however, Airplane also releases all of the drafts with the backstories and what pidw was essentially supposed to be, before it turned into the cash grab it was

Due to this, SY becomes enraged at this to the point where his heart gives out and he passes, making the peak lords freak out until suddenly they're back in their og world, before all of this happened and they all were disciples

I imagine that each of them get their memories from sy's world back once they join Cang Qiong, so they get their memories back a day or a week after joining

Many of them will be wary of SQQ or will be trying to prepare for his arrival, since they now also know what he's been through (many of them don't know how to feel about that yet)

Time skip to when they become peak lords, sqq one day flies off on xiu ya, much to the surprise and worry of all the other peak lords

LQG follows after him, since he's the strongest and therefore can bring sqq back easily, or so he thinks

Sqq has sped off at a speed that none of them knew he was capable of, almost like a man possessed

Cut to a few days later, the two return to cang qiong, however sqq is carrying a child wrapped up in a coat that is, much to their alarm, bleeding and injured

And wouldn't you know it? It's Shen Yuan! :D

As it turns out, sqq somehow managed to link his and sy's souls together, so that sqq could find him if they were both in the same world ever again

So sqq flying off so quickly was due to him sensing sy's soul, so he went to retrieve the now small toddler

Sy is still weak and fragile, but much to the horror of everyone else, he was already branded as a slave as well (hence all the blood)

I think that the peak lords all decide to care for the kid, while sy mainly stays on qing jing peak with sqq (sqq reffered to him as his 'little brother', so that all the other sects would stop asking and snooping around due to the child, but also due to the obvious resemblence)

Sy, of course, remembers everything from his past life, so yay to chaos? He does however decide that screw it, he's gonna do everything he can to prevent the fates of all of these people

The thing is with this au that I cannot decide the setting properly

I did mention sy joining the sect a little after the peak lords become, well, peak lords, but I also really want Luo Binghe to be older than him? Like, lbh meets this cute sickly child in the sect that everyone seems to dote on, and the child is super kind to him and stuff?

Now since the peak lords know about pidw, they all try to stop all of the bs from happening, including sqq who is still strict, but he's also just a much better teacher? He's still strict, but also a bit kinder and stuff? I like to think that he was unaware of all of the bullying lbh has been through because of his disciples, so maybe he stops it this time because he's aware of it?

Idk

This idea has been sitting in my drafts for a bit and I really wanted to finish it because I liked it so much

[doromoni]

Hunting Affections | CL16 , ?

Ships : Charles Leclerc x photographer! reader.

? x photographer! reader

Genre : fanfic + smau fic

faceclaim: Hwang Eunbi

warning : just a lil angsty

A/N : UP FOR EDITING 🤍

Part 1 : next>

Summary : Love is only just connections of neurons that take part in the brain … and yet, why is it the most painful when one falls alone?

or

Loving someone who doesn’t love you back , until you can’t no more. Maybe then they’ll actually know what they’ve lost.

y/n_stills.

Liked by carlossainz55, landonorris, maxverstappen1 , and 466,789 others

y/n_stills. Yo, @scuderiaferrari when do I get paid? Asking for a friend :DD

carlossainz55 niña , did you just…

y/n_stills. What? I need to eat @carlossainz55

landonorris our catering says otherwise

user1 lando u-

user2 lando woke up and chose violence

y/n_stills. U wanna take that back, kinder? @landonorris

landonorris yes ma’am, I apologize 😭

user2 Nvm i take it back

scuderiaferrari We’re.not.your.employer

user3 Y/N AND HER CONTINUES FEUD WITH FERRARI I CANNOT HAHAHHAA

y/n_stills. @user3 nahh ~ they luv me 😎

user4 Only Y/N, I swear.

mercedesamgf1 our garage is always open for you @y/n_stills.😉

user5 ariana what are you doing here??

user6 please do adopt y/n , she doesn’t bite… alot.

y/n_stills. @mercedesamgf1 🫣 I am on my way!

olliebearman @y/n_stills. where is the loyalty? Don’t leave me and @arthur_leclerc pls.

y/n_stills. Lmao ciáo~ @olliebearman

mclaren our food in exchange for race pictures 🤝

y/n_stills. DEAL! 🤝

oscarpiastri welcome to the team @y/n_stills. !

landonorris Noooooooo! my stoopwafels :(((

y/n_stills. This is why I love @oscarpiastri more than you @landonorris

user7 Big oof for lando, penalty for ocon.

redbullracing still visiting the garage next GP?

y/n_stills. You bet! or a certain driver will be all pouty and moody, we wouldn’t like that now do we @redbullracing?

user8 Y/N IS GOING TO REDBULL??!!

user9 holdupppp, a certain driver ?? Girl you—

user10 y/n please leave some for us 🥹

user11 y/n doesn’t collect f1 drivers, she collects f1 teams

liked by y/n_stills.

charles_leclerc

Liked by y/n_stills. , carlossainz55, scuderriaferrari and 1,537,157 others

charles_leclerc Race ready 💪

user1 Let’s go for podium!!

user2 Forza Ferrari!

scuderriaferrari Let’s go!

y/n_stills. Good luck out there Cha! ❤️

user3 oop… a soft y/n?

user4 feral y/n doesn’t exist when it comes to Charles

user1 wait… didn’t y/n take these photos?

user3 she did! Saw it on her ig posts

user1 then why did charles nor tag or give her credit?

user2 woah woah… that’s an L charles ://

user5 attentiones plagiarism 🔔‼️

user5 @charles_leclerc if you don’t bag @y/n_stills. Someone else will.

Liked by maxverstappen1

user6 YO?! Max liked the comment?!!

user7 What??

y/n.exe (y/n private account)

navi.exe I’ll start my goodbye by saying I love you.

***

It’s not smart to post something so personal on the internet, but I never said I was smart on the first place, now did I? Because would a smart person stay where they are hurt the most?

“Y/N! Lets go the race is starting, you’ll miss your shots” A random Ferrari engineer startled me out of my thoughts — I would’ve known who that was if they we’re to stay a second longer, but much like the rest the person blended into the garage where it functioned in the systematic chaos that ensues every race.

Grabbing my camera , I stood up went out to take portraits of the person who doesn’t appreciate my work nor appreciate my person.

No, I am smart, love just makes the most intelligent of people stupid.

[pencilgutz]

[Please click for better quality]

Sooooo I discovered some AUs after being inactive for a while

First up for Twin,

The Monster Lab AU by @etanow !!!!!

More info under the cut!!!

Lore IG

Tw1n (aka Twin) is made from a variety of metal Jax stole from around the Lab. Tw1n is unable to speak due to a incident with Jax and his voice box, and can now only play music to portray his mood and what he's feeling. For example if he's happy he may play some cheery happy song, but if he's angry or just overwhelmed he may just go static, or play some screamo, though static is more common. He does attempt to write though he doesn't have paper on him often. He doesn't have great balance due to the different types of metal and is prone to falling. He has several indents on his back because of this.

His right eye used to be cyan, though due to some... Unforseen events, he lost his eye, along with the ability to move his right arm at all. Yes it hurts, but he can't do anything about it because he knows little about himself because Jax refused to show him the blueprints. Jax is the only one who can fix him. And he refuses to go back.

RELATIONSHIPS!!!!!

Pomni- Tw1n tends to have sympathy and is often kinder towards Jax's experiments (or any kind for that matter) and Pomni was quite nice to him from the little interaction they have had despite her clearly being somewhat on edge because of his appearance, and his somewhat inability to respond.

Caine- Though back when he was under full control of Jax, he viewed Caine in a neutral light, he thought what Jax though. If Jax didn't like Caine, he didn't like Caine. But now that Tw1n is on his own, He doesn't like Caine very much, due to him humoring Jax and letting him experiment in innocent souls. Though its not pure unfiltered hatred like towards Jax.

Ragatha- Similar to Pomni, he is kinder and finds her to be lovely to be around. He often looks up to Ragatha despite them not being close. He admires her ability to maintain a positive outlook despite it being somewhat in vain. He finds her goal to escape quite ambitious..but he finds it interesting as well...he would love to escape and get away from both what he helped with and his...creator

Jax- Despite having created him, Tw1n has a extreme hatred towards him, and the fact he was blindly told these experiments were "humane" and "completely safe" despite them being the furthest from that. He was under complete control of Jax, like a mindless...object until he was harmed gravely himself by Jax. Before the incident and realization he looked up to Jax, wanting to do experiments like him, often following him around like a puppy. He never wants to see his creator's stupid smug face again, but its difficult considering he sees that stupid purple rabbits handiwork in the mirror each morning. He wants nothing more than to watch Jax crash and burn at his feet, however he refuses to stoop down to Jax's level again. Never again. He's a curious soul, and it's coded into him. That's not the case anymore. He's still highly curious yes, but ashamed of what he has done and has sworn off experiments all together because of Jax.

Gangle- One of the only ones Tw1n views as an actual close friend. Despite him not being able to talk, him and Gangle get along quite well, due to their shared love of Fanfiction and written works (As well as writing said fanfiction). How they first met is a mystery. Gangle is able to tell what he's trying to say or what is mood is easier than the others due to them being close friends.

Kinger- He hasn't talked to Kinger often, usually due to the clay golem freaking out because of his (often silent) appearances. Though Gangle talks fondly of him, Tw1n has decided to not form a opinion on him yet. Though it is leaning toward the positive side.

Bubble- It's bubble. What else can he say? Its...its just Bubble.

Zooble- Tw1n finds them to be somewhat of a friend. Key word Somewhat. He finds Zooble to be somewhat cold to him, but he admires their protection over Gangle, and their snake leg is quite interesting to him. He's highly curious about them and their powers, however he won't ask, due to him being intimidated.

Himself- It's complicated. He loves the fact he's alive, he loves the fact he is his own person now, but he's haunted and ashamed of the fact he helped Jax for the longest time. It's that stupid rabbit's fault he is even ALIVE. And it both infuriates him and hurts him beyond what his hard drive can comprehend. He takes drastic measures to never see Jax, including letting his injuries to neglected to avoid that stupid yellow smile. He wants nothing more than to be able to open up his chest cavity and move his components into a new body he made for himself, but due to not having the key Jax holds onto, he can't. He is his own person and he KNOWS that, however this body that was created for him isn't.

Tw1n views himself as both his own worst enemy and his very best friend.

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

Best and Worst of Both worlds (part 5)

TW: nothign much, just yves being a little pushy ig and short chapter today

vote on da poll below blease its gonna be active for 1 day onlys

Part 6

You let out the loudest 'NO!' in your lifetime as you watch the bus drive away.

You definitely couldn't outrun the engine, so your dash slowed to a mere stop. Placing your hands on your knees, you panted heavily as you blinked the beads of sweat away from your eyes.

Dejected, you dragged yourself back to the bus stop shelter. You have to wait for another hour.

At least you're fed. By Yves, literally.

You heave your bag onto the bench, ignoring the creak and bend in the wooden planks.

The sky is darkening, which means it's getting cooler, but it also means you're going to have to go home unbelievably late again.

If you knew this would have happened, you would get the next bus and have ample time to properly say goodbye to Yves. You brought your hands to your face and suppressed a scream, you pissed him off again!

Well. You can't change what happened in the past. You're definitely avoiding him at all costs.

You paused your ranting when you heard that familiar click of the heels. If you're not religious, you probably are now because you wonder what deity did you anger for you to deserve this.

Yves stopped right beside you, casting a menacing shadow onto the wall of the bus shelter. He has his arms crossed and face unreadable as usual, but the corners of his lips were subtly curled downwards to express his dissatisfaction.

He didn't need to say a word for you to start apologizing, recognizing that it was rude of you to just leave him alone like that without an appropriate conclusion.

Seems like that wasn't enough, because he's still staring at you with steely eyes.

You ended the sincere apology by asking what you could do to make it up to him, but you did give him a disclaimer that you aren't rich by any means, not even financially stable enough to know if you can afford the next meal.

It took fifteen seconds for the tension in the air to dissipate, replaced with a much kinder and softer one. He unfolded his arms and relaxed his face.

"You must be exhausted." He dug around his handbag. Yves took his car keys out and wrapped his fingers around the fob. "Come. I will take you home."

You said that you're fine, you could wait for the bus. But actually, you wanted to accept it so badly, you're rejecting it out of politeness.

"You said you wanted to compensate me. Did you not?"

You said yes.

"Then you can do so by sparing me your company."

That was enough to make you get up. He smiled and intertwined his slender, well-maintained fingers with your not-so-manicured fingers.

You thought your heart was going to beat out of your chest and you felt so light, floaty and free.

That's because your backpack wasn't on you. Yves took the liberty to carry it on one shoulder, he made it look weightless which amazed you to no end.

You said that you should carry it as it weighs as much as an elephant. He did so much for you, Yves shouldn't have to lug your crap around. So you tried getting him to give it back to you.

"(Name), no." Crisp, simple and clear. The tone made you quiet and compliant. This means less scoliosis for you.

The walk to the parking lot was quiet. You had nothing to say and neither did he. Your surroundings became dimmer and dimmer until the street lights turned on on their own. Come to think of it, you never did go to the parking lot. Because you didn't own a car nor did you have friends that would drive you around.

Your head turned to the beeps produced by his car when he toggled with his fob. It came from a black, sleek, luxury sedan car with pristine headlights and a seemingly perfect paint job. It may not be a car that costs way more than your entire tuition fee, but you know it's not affordable to the mass majority either.

He walked you to the passenger's side and opened the door for you. Muttering a thanks, you entered his car. Yves closed the door for you as you began buckling up.

He placed your backpack in the back seat, where he strapped it with the seatbelt.

Yves returns to the driver's chair and proceeds to ignite his engine. The interior was spotless, new and you could tell he regularly maintains it, the air freshener wasn't too overpowering and his air conditioning cooled the space relatively fast.

He explained that he needed to wait for a few minutes to warm his car up. In the meantime, he used the mirror in his sun visor to do some touchups on his lips, eyes and hair. Once that was finished, Yves kept his makeup away. He patted his face especially around his nose, with blotting paper.

It's intricate rituals like these that separate you from him. You don't think you have the energy and patience to maintain yourself to this degree. You tried making the excuse that it's because you're a student, you don't have the time nor money for that.

But he parked his car in the student's lot. Whatever, he must have been born in a rich family. So he already has an advantage that you can never get.

"You are staring at me. Did you want to use some too?" He offered the pack to you. Ignoring the humiliation of being caught admiring his beauty, you took a sheet and began blotting your predictably oily face.

He kept his personal items away, closed the mirror and flipped his sun visor back. Yves switch on his headlights and drove away from the parking spot. When he reached the exit, he asked you for your address. He knows the general direction of the bus that you're supposed to take.

You take a second to weigh your options.

[blueskittlesart]

any thoughts on how once again zelda was robbed of her agency because her "father figure" didn't listen to her? even if rauru was kinder to her than her father. and that she had sonia who was patient and loving for a little while before she died (just like her mother). i know rauru apologizes for his hubris but still, i wish we saw zelda be upset about it. and even if zelda was such a big part of the quest she still literally sacrificed her humanity once again because of someone else's mistake- because rauru literally didn't listen to the girl from the future that warned you that shit was going to go down. o know nintendo just loves putting zelda inside crystals and stones but i wish we got something better. even if it was her decision to become a dragon... did she have any other choice? it really just feels like they robbed her of agency again just like botw and the games before

i've been trying to figure out how to answer this one. because there are two ways i could analyze this plot point, either from a writer's perspective or an in-story perspective, but neither of those lead to me fully agreeing with your interpretation? I think there's definitely something to be said about zelda consistently being pushed aside in these games, but. well. ok let's get into it ig

from a writer's perspective, I do honestly have quite a bit of sympathy for the zelda devs as they attempt to navigate the modern political landscape with these games. The cyclical lore, though canonized relatively recently, holds them to a standard of consistency in their games in terms of certain key elements. one of those key elements is that there has to be a princess, and that princess must somehow be the main macguffin of the game. The player must chase her, and the end goal of the game must be to reunite the player and the princess. In 1986 this was an incredibly easy sell. women didn't need to be characters. players were content with saving a 2-dimensional princess whose only purpose was to tell them "good job!" at the end. but as society advances, that princess becomes a much more difficult character to write while adhering to the established overarching canon. (as a side note: i don't necessarily believe that the writers SHOULD be held to the standards of that canon. I think deviating from it in certain areas would be a good change of pace. but i also recognize that deviations from the formula are widely hated by the loz playerbase and that they're trying to make money off these games, so we're working under the established rule that the formula must be at least loosely adhered to.) Modern fans want a princess who is a person, who has agency and makes decisions and struggles in the same way the hero does. but modern fans ALSO want a game that follows the established rules of the canon. so we need a princess who is a real character but who can ALSO serve as a macguffin within the narrative, something that is inherently somewhat objectifying.

the two games that i think do the best job writing a princess with agency are skyward sword and botw (based on your ask, our opinions differ there lol. hear me out) in both games, we have a framing event which seperates zelda and link, but in both games, that separation was ZELDA'S CHOICE. skyward sword zelda runs away from link out of fear of hurting him. botw zelda chooses to return to the castle alone to allow link the time he needs to heal. sksw kinda fumbled later on by having ghirahim kidnap her anyway, but. i said BEST not PERFECT. botw zelda I think is the better example because, with the context of the memories, she's arguably MORE of a character than link is. we see her struggles, her breakdowns, her imperfection, specifically we see her struggle with her lack of agency within the context of the game itself. when she steps in front of link in the final memory, and when she chooses to return to the castle, those are some of the first choices we see her make almost completely free of outside influence; a RECLAMATION of her agency (within the narrative) after years of having it stripped from her. from an objective viewer's standpoint, this writing decision still means she is absent from 90% of the game and that she has little control over her actions for the duration of the player's journey. however I think this is just about the best they could have done to create a princess with agency and a real character arc while still keeping the macguffin formula intact--you're not really SAVING zelda in botw. SHE is the one that is saving YOU; when you wake up on the plateau with no memories, too weak to fight bokoblins, let alone calamity ganon. the reason you are allowed to train and heal in early-game botw is because SHE is in the castle holding ganon back, protecting YOU. When you enter the final fight, you're not rescuing zelda, you're relieving her of her duty. taking over the work she's been doing for the past hundred years. in the final hour, you both work in tandem to defeat ganon. while this isn't a PERFECT example of a female character with agency and narrative weight, i think it's a pretty good one, especially in the context of save-the-princess games like loz.

as for totk, you put a lot of emphasis on rauru not believing zelda and taking action immediately, which, again, from an objective standpoint, i understand. but even when we're writing characters with social implications in mind, those character's actions still need to... make sense. Rauru was a king ruling over what he believed to be a perfectly peaceful kingdom. zelda literally fell out of the sky, landed in front of him, claimed to be his long-lost granddaughter, and then told him that some random ruler of a fringe faction in the desert was going to murder him and he had to get the jump on it by killing him first. the ruler which this girl is trying to convince rauru to wage an unprompted war on has the power to disguise himself as other people. no one in their right mind would immediately take the girl at her word. war is not something any leader should jump into without proper research and consideration, and to rauru's credit, he DIDN'T ever outright dismiss zelda. he believed her when she said she was from the future, he allowed her to work with him and he took her warnings as seriously as he could without any further proof. but he could not wage an unprompted war on ganondorf. that's just genuinely not practical, especially for a king who values peace among his people as much as rauru seems to. as soon as ganondorf DID attack, giving rauru confirmation that zelda's accounts of the future were real, he began making preparations to confront him. remember that zelda didn't KNOW that rauru and sonia were going to be casualties of the war--she didn't make the connection between rauru's arm in the future and rauru the king until AFTER sonia's death, when rauru made the decision to attack ganondorf directly. I think the imprisoning war and the casualties of it were less an issue of zelda being denied agency and more an issue of no one, including zelda, having full context for the events as they were unfolding. if zelda had KNOWN that sonia and rauru were going to die from the beginning and was still unable to prevent it that would be a different issue, but she didn't. none of them did.

I think another thing worth pointing out with rauru and his death irt zelda is that rauru is clearly written specifically as a foil to rhoam. this is evident in how he treats both zelda and link, with a constant kindness and understanding which is clearly opposite to rhoam's dismissiveness and disappointment. consider rhoam's death and the circumstances surrounding it. He died because, in zelda's eyes, she was unable to do her duty; the one thing he constantly berated her for. Rhoam's death solidified zelda's belief that she was a failure, a belief which she KNEW rhoam held as well. his death was doubly traumatic to her because she knew he died believing it was her fault. Now contrast that to the circumstances surrounding rauru's death. Rauru CHOSE to die despite zelda's warnings, because he wanted zelda and his kingdom to live. rauru's death was not agency-stripping for zelda; in fact, it functioned almost as an admission that he believed her capable of continuing to live in his place. With him gone, the fate of the kingdom fell to her and the sages. he KNEW that he would die and still went into that battle confidently, trusting zelda to make the right decisions once he was gone. where rhoam believed zelda incapable of doing ANYTHING without link, rauru trusted zelda COMPLETELY with the fate of his kingdom. several details in totk confirm that when rauru died there was no plan for zelda to draconify, that all happened after rauru was gone. it was HER plan, the plan which rauru trusted her to come up with once he was gone. and I think it's also worth noting that zelda's sacrifice with the draconification parallels rauru's!! Rauru gives up his life trusting the sages and his people to be able to continue his work in his place. Zelda gives up her physical form trusting link and the sages in the future to be able to figure out what to do and find her. these games in general have this recurring theme but totk specifically is all about love and trust and reliance on others. zelda relies on link, link relies on zelda, they both rely on the champions and the sages and rauru and sonia and they all rely each other. reliance on others isn't lack of agency, it's a constant choice they make, and that choice is the thing which allows them to triumph.

The draconification itself is something i view similarly to zelda's sacrifice in botw--a choice she makes which, symbolically & within the confines of the narrative, is a demonstration of her reclaimed agency and places her at the center of the narrative, but which ALSO removes her from much of the player's experience and robs her of any overt presence or decisionmaking within the gameplay. again, I think this is a solution to the macguffin-with-agency dilemma, and it's probably one of the better solutions they could have come up with. Would I have liked to see a game where zelda is more present within the actual gameplay? yes, but I also understand that at this point the writers aren't quite willing to deviate that much from their formula. the alternative within the confines of this story would be to let zelda DIE in the past, removing her from gameplay ENTIRELY, which is an infinitely worse option in my opinion. draconification allowed her to be present, centered the narrative around her, and allowed the writers to reiterate the game's theme of trust and teamwork when she assists the player in the final battle, which i think was a REALLY great choice, narratively speaking.

In any case, I don't think it's right to say that zelda was completely robbed of her agency in botw and totk. Agency doesn't always mean that she's unburdened and constantly present, it means she's given the freedom to make her own choices and that her choices are realistically written with HER in mind, not just the male characters around her, and I think botw/totk do a pretty good job of writing her and her choices realistically and with nuance.

[iwillbreakyourfuckingskull]

just thoughts on the living openly as a system if it was safe or choosing to present as a non-system/singlet:

For me, it would depend on what openly means. Would it just mean that I can be open whenever I want to with no prejudices and only share who's fronting if I feel like it? Or does it mean that I would always share who's fronting, co-con, co-fronting, blurry, ect? Because the first one sounds ideal and the latter sounds fucking horrible. Hell, we don't even know who's there most of the time and that's probably on purpose. That's kinda the deal with CDDs, ya kno?

All that I personally want is for any type of plurality to be seen as just a thing that some people are. In an ideal world, other people would be open to experiences foreign to themselves. They'd not be scared when they hear terms like DID or "split personality disorder". They'd not be xenophobic when hearing about someone's cultural/religious/spiritual plurality. They'd not be ableist, racist, or just mean to someone for having a different lived experience that is completely harmless. We are not dangerous or worth less than anyone else

So ig my personal answer to that question is that I'd just want the stigma to fuck off and to live in a kinder fucking world

[kittyplushy]

TALK TO ME LIKE A REAL PERSON

Author's note: Ever notice how consistent the phrase "Don't be so hard on yourself" is in BTTWNS? Huh. Anyway Präludium spoilers ig.

I thought we could be friends.

I was 21. Grappling with an intrusive thought that was whispering in my ear for years. It spoke to me when I came close to a freshly killed goat. It spoke to me when I hid under my table whenever my mom came home from work. It grinded its teeth on the plane to Germany all those years ago. But I was hopeful that something in the realm of normalcy would take its place. Something less grim. Something gentler. Kinder. Like the generosity of a stranger. I've hopped on many cars and vans in my journey. We've all made small talk and laughed until I was thrown back into a highway or at a brothel. Nothing seemed to last between any of those conversations but nobody was as inviting. He let me camp with him at a private spot. He wanted to get to know me. He was earnestly invested in my little life until halfway through the hike I realized he was after something else. Nothing malicious, but he was looking to romance me. Nothing new but it was certainly unwelcome. What threw me off was the way he spun our conversations to revolve around him. Him and I. The two of us in a beautiful forest far away. Like we'd emerge happier somehow. Every attempt I made at opening up was hushed and every time I almost brought myself to tell him no, I held back. But the voice called for some retribution, it was familiar and cold and I was becoming sick of being hushed down.

"Don't be so hard on yourself"

Bandage solution. It was like I heard that sentence more than I could count. It encompassed every negative situation someone can take personally. Friendly Neutral enough to be ignored. Useful enough for someone to actually reconsider doing. But it never really solves anything. Why should it? It's your problem, not mine.

Molding that mask I wear took a while to perfect. I made myself likable, blank, and clean enough for people to project into but never truly know. I was good enough at acting kind or helpful that a simple pat on the back was enough to straighten them up. Nobody really came to me for personal advice or help, and small talk was easy if you danced their tune and nodded your head. No reason to be overly sympathetic. It was enough you just smiled or waved at them.

Truth is, nobody cares about authenticity in Woodbrook. It's best if you're honest but no one is asking for you to dampen their day when you say "I'm sad" to a conversation starter. You're just too sensitive. That's the secret to blending in. Don't talk like a person. Talk like a friend. Memorize what they like not what they're like.

Then the experience of acting like a friend blows up in your hands when you realize that there are people who aren't from Woodbrook. There are people who know how empty a sentence is. There are people like Julianne.

I initially panicked when she told me I don't mean it when I tell her to not be so hard on herself. She looked at me with a hurt expression and she sighed.

"Yeah, as if saying that hundreds of times helps me."

She cut her finger, slicing through a carrot in frustration. I went to take her hand but she resisted, washing the blood off her finger herself.

"Sorry."

When that didn't work out, my mind began looking for other reassurances or anything else to say. I was on the edge of frieghtened. I just tailed behind her to see if her finger was fine. Julianne wrapped it in tissue and applied pressure to stop the bleeding for a few minutes. I stood with her on the kitchen island until she could muster up the words to tell me to go away.

When dinner was ready, she accepted a band-aid I prepared for her and some medicine to avoid any infections. Julianne shamefully looked back at me after hours to apologize as well.

"Sorry. I know you mean well. I don't know why I came out like that."

We had both forgotten why she was venting in the first place. I wish I remembered so I could properly comfort her. But now there was nothing I could do to help her.

"It's okay to be blunt about it. I just don't know what to say to you."

"Sam, you don't have to say anything. You don't even need to worry about reassuring me. It's my problem that I want reassurance. If I'm sad, it's fine if you leave me alone. It's okay if I cook alone."

She cried during dinner and all I did was hold her hand.

She decided to go home instead of sleep over. I offered to drive her back but she insisted on walking. Julianne looked mad. Disappointed. Defeated. She made me her comfort food but we didn't have a good night or a hot meal.

Before she left, I pushed myself to give her a hug. I rested my face on her shoulder and squeezed her closer to my chest. She did not respond back.

"I do want you to feel better. Trust me."

"Please don't reward bad behavior, Sam. I just want you to talk to me like a real person."

But the problem is, I'm not a person. I'm barely even a 21 year old. All I know is to kill. All I know is to play neighborhood. I can't be a person now 25 years past my entry point. I can't do that for you.

I just hope you can find someone who will talk to you like they did love you.

I love you.

I can't be sure how I can love you the way you need me to.

[our-trans-youth-experience]

I had this conversation with a “friend” almost a week ago but I’m still thinking about it. I’m openly trans to her, and she seems to have accepted me (she’s cis but also queer so ig it’s not that big of a deal to her).

Then one day she suddenly goes on this very serious rant about, well, basically a lot of iffy exclusionist takes (e.g: “there are only ‘two genders and three sets of pronouns’ [???], people can use they/them prns but nonbinary isn’t actually a ‘real thing,’ homosexuality and transness aren’t normal because we were all born to reproduce” or some bullshit like that, etc. etc. etc.) I was trying to gently counter her ideas and explain the other side of things, but she clearly didn’t want to listen. I was extremely uncomfortable and trying to segue out of the conversation at some point but she literally just wouldn’t let me. After she was done, she asked me “Do you agree?” in like the most demanding voice possible, like I had to comply with her. When I said I didn’t, she was almost taken aback, as if I hadn’t been trying to get her to consider another, kinder, less-exclusionist viewpoint the entire time. After hearing and analyzing her rant, I realize that she’s influenced by transphobic ideas a lot more than I thought, and just because she doesn’t misgender me or other binary trans people (who more or less pass, might I add) doesn’t really make her any better.

It’s a weird feeling to have, knowing that this “friend” isn’t really a friend anymore (I know it was just one conversation, but from that alone, I don’t think things are going to improve and I’m not sticking around with her to see if they get worse). I’m not a confrontational person and even after that she still talks to me, but now that she’s shown that she likes to gatekeep labels, identities, and speak like she dictates other people’s lives, I’m definitely not comfortable with her anymore.

That's fair enough, you should only stick around people that accept you for who you are and who you are comfortable with. It isn't right to have friends who gatekeep, control, gaslight or manipulate you and make you feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

Gender is an individual experience, so in my opinion (which granted is very much shaped by the fact that I am autistic), there are infinite genders. Not neatly arranged from masculine to feminine on a scale but a bunch of individuals on a huge spectrum in which no two experiences are the same.

[chubb-e-cheese]

If you’re going to be alone, you might as well be alone and do something good for yourself.

Staying home is a sure fire way of worsening depression and anxiety. I say this from experience.

Go out and be alone. There’s nothing wrong with it. You just gotta learn how to be with yourself and enjoy your own company.

Like the last anon said, the library is a great place to start. It’s quiet and most people are there alone or with their kids. No one will bother you because that’s expected at a library. Or go to a local cafe and grab a drink and lunch for yourself. Go to a museum and enjoy the time you’re spending with just yourself and focus on the thoughts and feelings you’re having when looking at art or fossils or what-have-you.

I know it sounds weird at first, but you will become your own best friend if you keep at it, and then you’ll end up being kinder to yourself.

Hang in there!

Yeah.. I mean I know that’s right it’s just easier said than done ig

[thebroccolination]

Hey, just wanted to say that I'm really thankful to you for all the posts you've made about Krist so far

I didn't know him at all before BMF and only slowly "learned" about him through some people making snide comments about him before the show aired and people in the tags/comments then reiterating all the reasons why he's awful and should be cancelled with links to those standard "proof" compilation videos + posts and it's terrifyingly easy to get caught up in the hate spiral and the image it paints when that's all you hear about a person who at that point in time merely existed in the periphery of the fandoms you hung out in, especially if the people constantly spreading and reinforcing that image were people you used to really enjoy having on your dash. It made me apprehensive of the show before it even aired, which did both the show and Krist a terrible disservice

Your posts gave me a much more nuanced picture of him and the context within which the hatred got started and has kept persisting even now and it's really been a bit of an eye-opener regarding Fandom Discourse™️ and how it can influence your opinion of people you know nothing about even as you try to just mind your own business, possibly even thinking yourself somewhat immune to that sort of mindless cancel culture

I've made some adjustments to my dash and it has become a much kinder place for it now

I'm glad other people I follow also actively loved the show and posted about it and I'm glad you've been so vocal in talking about Krist as a person, it acted like an antidote to all of the vitriol that had one-sidedly poisoned my perception of him

Should it have been necessary? Probably not but that's not what this is about. Sometimes all it takes is one person speaking up and telling you to fact-check your blind bias and it really matters, especially when things have been taken out of context and twisted and amplified as much as was done with him. Thank you for unknowingly being that person for me, I truly appreciate it

Oh, Anon. :')

Thank you so much. I've teared up reading this, and it just makes me so happy to know I've done something small to change hearts.

When I became a fan in June of 2020, I barely knew him. I'd binge-watched SOTUS in May, and the hate went supernova shortly thereafter. I'd just been so moved by his empathetic portrayal of Arthit, I was skeptical that he could be this Deeply Homophobic Bigot that people were painting him as. And honestly, when I saw the IG story the first time, I just thought it had been a half-joking exaggeration to a question that annoyed him and it landed poorly. It wasn't enough to convince me of anything.

Fortunately, because I'd done a watch thread for SOTUS, I'd made a bunch of friends in the Peraya fandom, and a good number of them were queer like me. So I went to them and asked what they knew. They explained the whole thing: that it was from years before, that because KristSingto were the ones who started the "First Wave" they'd put up with a whole higher and wilder level of scrutiny and obsession and homophobia. They told me Krist had had a relationship with a girl at the time, that she and her family, his family, his friends, everyone close to him was being spied on or investigated by people who Needed to Know if Krist was secretly dating Singto. (Later, I found out about the whole KristGun thing, that their friendship had been tested by similar prying and accusations and homophobia and possessiveness by the more unhinged fans of the Real Branded Pairs.)

With that much background, and knowing Krist couldn't have been more than 19 or 20 at the time, I said, "Oh," and figured most people would have the same reaction when they looked into it.

But instead, it got worse.

It was surreal to experience as a new fan. Krist's Thai fans were exhausted by these interfans showing up and baying for his blood in languages they couldn't communicate in, and Krist's interfans were protective of him and impatient with the interfans on Twitter who'd just clap back with "LMAO NOT YOU DEFENDING A HOMOPHOBE?????" and racking up hundreds of likes and retweets for dunking on Krist fans. Any time Krist posted, they'd flood him with cruel replies and QRTs, and I have to reiterate that, like, to get that amount of hatred in foreign languages must have been such a horrible feeling. People demanded he apologize, but he already had. Multiple times. He'd just done it in Thai.

Worse than that, I've been told by an older Peraya that when the IG story was first posted, Thai fans knew he wasn't homophobic, so it didn't blow up with them. It was interfans even back then who misinterpreted him. He did apologize, though, and unfortunately, the fandom was small enough that the only person who translated it was neither fluent in English nor Thai. Apparently he said something like, "I was raised in the genre of Y series, and it's my home, and one I'm deeply proud of, so I'd never harbor any kind of bigotry like that," but the person's language ability limited what they were able to understand and translate, so they posted something like, "I'm a BL actor so of course I'm not homophobic," and of course interfans at the time only redoubled their attacks on him. "He thinks he can't be homophobic just because he was in BL!?" That kind of thing.

And when people have pushed back on the IG story, I've seen people just make bad faith interpretations of Krist's intentions in other scenarios. Like when he and Gawin were watching their sweet scenes in Be My Favorite, Krist hid behind Gawin's shoulder during their kiss scene, and there was a brief but enthusiastic wave of, "SEE HE CAN'T WATCH TWO MEN KISS." Even though…he was one of them?

The people who say, "He was jobless so he came back to BL," when he rarely has a day off, the people who say, "He was poor so he came back to BL," when BL doesn't pay well and Krist bought a house and supports his entire family off the money he makes doing other work. The music shows he co-hosts have higher ratings than literally any GMMTV BL series. They get something like 2.0 where the average GMMTV BL series gets 0.2.

I know it takes time and patience and resources to learn all of this, and I don't expect everyone to do the amount of research I have. I love him, so it's a pleasure and not a pain to spend time learning who Krist Perawat is. All I've ever wanted by talking about him and sharing more about him is to help lessen the hate he gets. He truly, truly doesn't deserve it, and he never has.

Like, Aof recently posted a GMMTV job listing to Facebook and one of the requirements was that you be a woman or LGBTQ+. I think the only way you'd remain employed in GMMTV with that level of community support if you were homophobic is if your family is well-connected or wealthy. Krist famously cleared his family's debt with the meteoric popularity of SOTUS, so he does not come from money, privilege, or connections. Arguably the one thing he had going for him when he was auditioning for SOTUS apart from his acting talent was his ability to Be Pale if he avoided the sun long enough. (Colorism, alive and thriving.)

So, so many of his friends are queer. His close friends. Not just random people he posts in his stories for clout or to Clear His Name or whatever. These are people who cuddle him and call him their son and speak of him with true knowledge of his faults and his virtues and love him deeply. People dismiss this as, "OH SO HE 'HAS QUEER FRIENDS' LOL OKAY SOUNDS LEGIT," but again, you have to look at the depth of these friendships. Oat has been with Krist since SOTUS. He "adopted" Gawin on the strength of how close Gawin got to Krist over the past year.

As far as I know, Krist has never made his sexuality public knowledge. What he has said (apart from the IG story, which, y'know, wasn't super nuanced) is that he doesn't care how people perceive his sexuality, and that if he ever dates someone of the same gender, he'll be open with the relationship because he wants his fans to know that side of his life and the person he loves—no matter their gender.

I see a lot of people saying, "Oh, he was homophobic, but he's better now," but from everything I've ever seen, I just don't believe it. At best, he was clumsy with how he expressed himself, which is understandable because he was nineteen or twenty and I'm sorry to be Like This but it is rare that you find an Overnight Famous Twenty-Year-Old Guy Without Media Training who's going to know how to communicate his feelings about being constantly harassed to the point where his girlfriend breaks up with him and he's bombarded with questions in multiple languages by fans around the world about his sex life with his senior and costar.

(I got to this point and was like, "I should add some photos so this isn't just a block of text.)

He's not homophobic, he never was. He's just a dude who loves his cats, is really good at acting and drumming and singing and causing chaos, is the beloved baby brother of PeBaCa, and wants more than anything to take care of his family.

Okay, I'm done.

Thank you again, Anon. The more I learn about him, the fonder I get of him, and it's harder and harder to stay quiet about how frustrating it is to see him get so much vitriol. I'm so happy you told me. Thank you, really. <3

……………

Okay.

I have to end this tangent on a positive note.

GMMTV, give me a KristGun series I'm so serious or I'll throw durians through every single one of your windows.

[the-ghost-king]

hello I would like to say thank you for introducing me to “Jason Grace is a judge in the underworld” because this is the best take and I’m obsessed with it now <3

is that not something that fandom has come up with before..? did I accidentally invent something..? wicked... anyhow! I think Nico would pull some strings to get Jason a place on the panel (300 slide slideshow for hades? getting minos removed from the judging panel for insubordination? idk, but something!) Hades (or Pluto ig) likes Jason because Nico likes Jason (and Jason has always been good to Nico) plus Jason is Jupiter's (Zeus's) son so there's no reason the Olympians would object to him being on the panel (there's a rule about so many of the judges having to be Zeus's descendants I believe but if not there's definitely one about Zeus having to approve judges for the underworld... I think that's how Minos was placed...? I don't remember very well)

I also read a fic one time where Nico appointed Patroclus to fill in for another judge on the panel and I've always loved that idea as well - I don't know if he would be full time like Jason, but at least as a substitute I think he could do well! (Eyridan's fic maybe..? I haven't read those in years)

I just think a lot of Jason and Nico's trust is founded on their shared sense of judgement- and Jason seems less emotionally decisive than even Nico (or if he is emotionally making a decision he seems to use kinder emotions than Nico does in this regard - Jason leads with kindness and curiosity where Nico might unintentionally lead with anger) and I would see Nico really appreciative of how cool and collected Jason can remain even in emotional turmoil.

Jason and Nico both also share a constant drive to improve the world around them and I can't see Jason just sitting in the Underworld twiddling his thumbs, he'd definitely want to be productive and Nico would know that + Jason would be drawn (imo) to correcting the justice system to be more fair than the current organization of the panel.

While him judging does go against his wishes near the end of his life to have less responsibility I see no reason he couldn't be eased into it or start a few years down the line or I have a strong feeling death would really change a guy (lol) and I could see Jason wanting to take on more responsibility again + with his new inability to complete temples and shrines he's probably looking for something to do (and I see temple and shrine building being passed off to Nico somehow or somewhat and Nico would like to know the Underworld is running smoothly without having to check in and having Jason there would definitely make him more comfortable in my opinion).

A bit of a ramble but I have thoughts on it!

[llycaons]

in cql, wwx's parents' generation (jfm, myu, lqr, possibly jgs) all look so much older than wwx and his peers do even when jc, lwj, nhs, lxc etc. must have gotten close to the same age as their parents by post-timeskip. you can't really explain this with cultivation since they're all cultivators, and nhs and jgs aren't even particularly good at it so there's no reason THEY would have stopped aging, but they both looks just as young as they did before, same as certified powerhouses jc and lwj, and just-came-back-to-life-in-a-20-year-old-body wwx

and the younger generation looks more like little kids too! ig you can chalk that one up to the juniors living in a kinder world with gentler guardians and less risk of imminent invasion and death, and thus they just act younger and more childlike, BUT my preferred reading that I just thought of is that we see the story from wwx's pov and he sees everyone older than him as very old and mature, and everyone in the junior's generation as little babies kjsdhkjas

[shadowynn]

I honestly get that the guys are not supposed to be good guys, and there are yandere themes going on... But I do feel for joong (and the rest) in the beginning of the chapter. It won't be fair for us to judge them in the same fabric as how we would humans, no? So... Yes, they might not be the best, and this is very toxic, but I do get where and why joong is coming from. And one has to take into consideration that they are trying to give mc space, so yeah, they do skirt the line but ig that's that. Wooyoung on the other hand... Yeah again, I get why he wants to access her memories, but that's something that definitely crosses that line so I'm actually glad the others were against it 🥰🥰

OoOoO, who's acting after so many years? Seems like they have history with ot8~ I agree with mc, they don't seem to be human oop— I get that mc is... Scarred and has had history that makes her not trust them... But I do kind of find it unfair that she's like "who's the real them?" I mean, not everything has to be black and white right? They can be both, the bloodthirsty daemons on the battlefield and the way they are in front of mc. It's not like they wanted the war anyways, it was the humans who did not agree to peace in the first place.

Oop— we're seeing HJ's mother soon aren't we? I'm kind of excited for the ✨spice✨ that she'll bring to the story hehehe (*cough*k-hotchillipeppers*cough) honestly though, I wish mc was kinder to herself T^T I FEEL BAD FOR HER ASDFGHJKL... Loved the chapter as usual, especially the little moment mc had with Jongho hehe~ 🥺🥺🥺🥺

(*peeps from behind the wall and waves before returning to the abyss of assignments* ~Sky)

ajfkl;jdal;kfjdl;kajflk;jda

you have no idea how excited i am right now. literally made my entire weekend hearing from you!! i hope life has been easing up on you and your assignments haven't been treating you too badly. literally sending all my love and all the motivation i can summon your way!! you've got this!! <333

i am right there with you with feeling for the guys. whenever i first started this piece, i didn't have their backstory fully fleshed out yet, so while, hongjoong's father was always going to be a terrible person, his effect on the others wasn't something i had thought of until i was writing chapter eight. and now, man, i have such a soft spot for them, like legit, i couldn't complete that chapter without joong getting a hug at the end.

as for the attackers, well... they're actually characters i also didn't plan on in the beginning, but an idea that came later that i'm actually really excited about and something that i feel is going to be really fun writing. i love the main character i have planned and am excited to delve more into it all here later on. (i have such a hard time keeping things i'm excited for secret, so you have no idea literally how much i just want to gush/talk ideas with you and others. but i will stay strong, no matter how hard it can be at times)

i really like you're take on mc. one thing that i've been trying is to make sure mc also has their own faults because sometimes i'm really bad at making my characters too mary sue. as much as i want them to be perfect, i know they can't be and having faults in a character makes them them. mc may be a kind person at heart, but despite all she's done for the daemons, she still harbors prejudice against them because of her upbringing and the daemons in front of her are so different than everything she's had engrained into her her whole life, she struggles to make sense of it all. just as the humans have made her feel less than human, she also has a lesser view on the daemons, so seeing them as real, complicated people just like her is almost strange and she can't help but feel like it's all an act based on her upbringing and past. ( and yes, both sides tell a very different story as to how the war actually began and why it continued on (always blaming the other). both leaders on both sides (talking joong's father here) lied to their people about it. so, while the guys might now the true history of it, mc doesn't and it certainly plays into her feelings/thoughts about them.

and, you have no idea how excited i am for joong's mother. originally she was going to be dead and seoyun was going to be the one adding *spice* but then i had a better idea for seoyun and kind of gave her original personality to his mother and i think it'll be really fun to delve into it.

as always, thank you so much for your wonderful thoughts and feedback. i always love reading and discussing it all with you. once again, wishing you all the luck on your future endeavors! <33