#but no seriously sorry for giving you an essay but by god this IS the highest compliment

[chuuyanakaahara]

I’m so in love with Act of Faith, I don’t even like SSKK very overly much but I read the preceding fic anyway just to get to it so it would make sense and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the SSKK you wrote!! Usually it’s not my thing (I don’t really like the common fanon interpretation of a relationship dynamic between them, and I think I prefer AtsuLucy tbh) but you converted me for the purposes of this fic!! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE your Chuuya and the messy messed up bitter but not broken relationship dynamic you’ve got going on for SKK! Chuuya still loving Dazai but bitter and done with it all and not willing to go there with him again, and Dazai clumsily trying to get him back but determined to do it without actually like, talking about anything important or being straightforward about anything, is how I’m reading it. I can’t wait to see how everything resolves itself!

oh my god thank you so much ?? this is the highest of compliments :o

ironically, i like skk more than i like sskk too; i'm a multi-shipper at heart (as i'm sure you know) so i write / read a ton of different ships, and while i like sskk, it doesn't interest me nearly as much as skk ! i hope i was able to make their dynamic interesting & up to par bc i find that canon sskk tend to have a much more rounded dynamic than fanon, where i think they often get flattened out ! atsulucy is a good ship too theyre really cute together - plus, there's something to be said about changing the trajectory of your life because of someone you met, like lucy did...

and thank you so much on the skk dynamic compliment !! you've got it down - that was exactly how i was writing them; their dynamic is screwed-up and it's been fractures in so many ways, not by time but by each other, and chuuya is wary because he lives with his heart on his sleeve and last time he let dazai have it,,, well. dazai is trying in the way that dazai knows how - but it all comes down to the communication. that's their biggest problem right now, as far as act of faith goes; they trust each other, that much is certain. you cannot drop off the side of the building on blind faith that your ex-partner is right about something if you don't trust him. it's just not something you do.

but they won't talk about it. that's where their fallacy is and where the fractures begin; there is so much hurt and bad blood and lovey dovey moments and soft firsts that they will not acknowledge and who are you if not the experiences you've lived? how can you talk to someone like you're friends if you never want to acknowledge the memories you have together?

[heartofthedragons]

Rotten Deal Pt. 1

Modern!Aegon x Fem!Reader

Summary: When your ex boyfriend cheats on you and spreads a vicious rumor about you, you want to make him suffer. So you make a deal with the man you can’t stand: Aegon, the most infamous fuckboy at KLU.

Chapter Summary: Aegon comes to you asking for help and you use it as the perfect opportunity to deal with the disaster of your breakup.

Warning(s): Cursing, mentions of sex, sexual innuendos, cheating mentions

Word Count: 1614 words

When you walked in on your (ex) boyfriend Jason Lannister cheating on you with Cassie Baratheon last night, you didn’t think things could get worse. What could be worse than seeing your boyfriend balls deep in another girl? Well, you find out that things can get much much worse.

As soon as you enter the campus cafeteria and approach your friends, you know something is wrong. The four girls are all huddled together over the table in a heated discussion, and when they take notice of your form near them the air becomes thick with discomfort.

“Hey,” you say plopping down beside Helaena. The silence is palpable as all the girls give you a pitying and worried glance. You can feel your heart drop and your anxiety spike at their reaction, “What’s wrong?”

You see Sara bite her lip for a moment before she speaks, “Jason and Cas are official on socials.” You frown, “Seriously? Already? It hasn’t even been a full day.”

Baela sighs for a moment before picking up where Sara left off. “That’s not all though,” she says, “Jason got called out for everything, and, to put it simply, he started telling everyone that he dumped you because you’re a shitty lay.”

Your jaw drops, “I’m sorry. What?”

“Seven hells Bael, way to put it gently,” Rhaena says sternly. But Baela simply shrugs off her comment. “When Jason and Cas started posting each other everyone asked him what the hell happened,” Rhaena says, “He started getting defensive and not so subtly implied that the reason he broke up with you and cheated on you is because you didn’t…satisfy him.”

“Oh gods,” you exclaim as you drop your head into your arms. You feel like you could die of embarrassment. Helaena rubs your back gently attempting to soothe you as best as she can, “It’s ok Y/N. It’s really not that bad. You’re just too close to the situation.” Every the sweetheart Helaena is trying desperately to salvage your feelings and soften the blows of the news you’ve heard. But this time she’s desperately wrong. Your heart has been shattered, your trust broken, and now your reputation has been completely tarnished.

You lift your head and give Helaena a weak smile in return before facing the other three girls again, “How many people know?”

“Well, Jace and Creagan both know,” Sara says.

“And all of Cas’s friends, plus their boyfriends,” Baela adds on.

“Great so…everyone I know, you guys know, and Jason knows thinks I’m bad at sex. Wonderful,” you stand up and grab your belongings quickly, “I’m going to go to the library a bit before classes. I need a moment to myself.” All four girls nod at you and shoot you apologetic smiles as you turn away quickly. You need to get away from everyone now because you can’t bare to face everyone. They’re all pitying you or judging you and you hate it.

‘Seven Hells, things really can’t get worse’ you think.

Aegon is having a pretty shitty day as well. When he took Valyrian History he thought it would be a breeze. That’s his culture after all. And when he heard that attendance wasn’t mandatory for the class on the first day, he did not return. As far as he was concerned this was a fluff class that he could easily pass by winging it, giving him the time to have fun and focus on…better things.

And now, the consequences are biting him in the ass. He’s still in shock as he stares at the 45% on the top of his essay. It turns out that this class and professor were not easy at all, and Aegon’s passive approach has led to him essentially flunking the class.

“C’mon prof, there’s gotta be something I can do to fix this,” he says pleadingly. The professor looks up at him completely unimpressed as she continues to clean up her work space, “I’ve already told you Mr. Targaryen, there’s no way to change your grade. Your best chance is to improve your performance on any future assignments and exams.”

Aegon groans in frustration. At this point he’s months behind in material and has no idea where to begin. “Might I suggest,” the professor says, “seeking extra help from one of your peers?”

Aegon sighs before nodding his head in defeat. “Yeah, sure. Ok,” he says before shuffling out the door. He doesn’t know anyone in this class due to the whole not attending lectures thing. So, he shoots his sister a quick text asking if she knows anyone in Valyrian History, and her reply comes a few moments later, ‘I’m pretty sure Y/N takes that class. Why?’

Aegon deflates. Of course you’re the only one that can help him. ‘Any idea where I can find her? I need to ask for her help with something,’ he texts back.

‘She should be in the library, but I’d leave her alone right now. She’s not in a great mood.’

Aegon reads the text but shrugs it off. As far as he’s concerned, you’re almost never happy around him anyway so not much will change.

He makes his way to the huge library on campus, and as soon as he enters he scans for your form. He sees you tucked away in a corner reading a book.

The frown on your face is evident even from afar, but even then, he can’t help but think about how pretty you are. It really is a shame that you’re such a stick in the mud and seem to dislike him so much, he’s always thought you were smoking hot and he’d have a good time with you. If only you’d drop your icy walls when he’s around, he bets you’d be extra fun.

He makes his way to you and casually drops into the chair beside you. He throws his arm around the back of your seat before leaning in. “Hey, hot stuff,” he says with his signature smirk, and you audibly groan.

“Go away, Aegon.”

His smirk doesn’t falter even for a second before he continues, “Wow, five seconds. That must be a new record for you, love.”

You shut your book in annoyance before turning to him, you look pissed. More than usual. “What do you want?” You say dully.

“I need you to tutor me in Valyrian history.”

“No.”

“Why not?” He asks, clearly upset with your quick and blunt response.

“Because I’m dealing with a lot right now, and I really don’t want to deal with your shit too.”

Aegon frowns and furrows his brow. He really needs your help if he wants even the slightest chance at passing this course. “Please Y/N. I really need your help. I’ll do anything. Name your price.”

You’re silent for a moment. You’ve got so much going on now. What could possibly make spending time teaching Aegon remotely worthwhile? And then the idea pops into your mind. A terrible idea that can lead to no good. But it feels so perfect.

“Anything?” You ask. There’s a hint of mischief in your eyes now, and Aegon falters in his decision for a moment before doubling down, “Yeah. Anything.”

“Ok. I’ll help you,” Aegon smiles in relief for a moment, “But it’s gonna cost you.”

“How much money are we talking?” He asks.

“I don’t want your money.”

“Then what do you want from me?”

You bite your lip. There’s no good way to say this so you just come right out with it. “In exchange for me helping you pass, I want you to pretend we’re sleeping together.”

Aegon is shocked. You’ve always been a bit of a prude around him so hearing you talk so forwardly is beyond weird though not unwelcome, “Why do you want me to pretend we’re fucking? Aren’t you dating Lannister?”

You drop your gaze away from his. “We broke up,” you say matter-of-factly, “I caught him cheating on me yesterday with Cas Baratheon.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah. And to make matters worse. He decided to go around and say that we broke up because I’m bad at sex.”

Aegon has no idea what to say to that, and he’s not sure anything he could say would even help, so he chooses to move on from the topic.

“So you want to pretend we’re dating to get back at your ex for cheating and lying about you?”

“No. Not date. Just pretend we’re having sex.”

Aegon looks at you quizzically, “What’s the difference?” You can’t help but scoff at the question. Of course notorious fuckboy, Aegon Targaryen can’t tell the difference between fucking and dating.

“I don’t want to fake date you because you can’t keep it in your pants,” you say dryly, “You’ll end up sleeping with some other girl, and then I’ll look like the idiot who got cheated on twice in a row. If we’re just sleeping together then I don’t look like a fool.”

Aegon nods, “Ok…so you want me to pretend we’re fucking to make Jason jealous?”

“Basically. I also want you to tell people it’s good”

“Why?”

“Because if the infamous, handsome fuckboy, Aegon Targaryen says that sex with me is good, then nobody will believe what Jason said is true.”

A wolfish grin takes over Aegon’s face, “You think I’m handsome?” You groan and lightly hit him with your elbow. “Shut up. Do we have a deal?” You ask outstretching your hand.

“We have a deal,” he says, but then he leans over to whisper in your ear, “I’ll see you tomorrow, fuck buddy.” He gets up to leave throwing you a wink before making his way out of the library.

What have you gotten yourself into?

Part 2

Tag List: @mysingularitybts

[jujumin-translates]

★ Main Story | Act 13 - Budding Spring | Chapter 1 - New Prologue

Towa: (So this is Veludo Station~. It’s smaller than I thought it’d be. The exit should be this way…)

Towa: (Umm, the map app says…)

Towa: Yeah, over there.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Towa: So this is Veludo Way…

Towa: (This is the heartland of theater, the place with the highest concentration of theaters in all of Japan… all kinds of theater companies, both large and small, are based here.)

Towa: (I’ve only ever seen it in videos, but there really is theater no matter where you look.)

Towa: (It’s amazing that theater continues all the way down the street.)

Towa: And just beyond that is where… the Holy Land…!

Towa: Calm down, calm down. Okay.

*Camera clicks*

Towa: (I’ll let the guys know…)

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

momo has entered the chat.

momo: At Veludo Way rn

Iv: congratsss. haven’t seen where you are rn in a hot minute lol shiki: That’s Veludo Way? Kar: AI detected momo: But it’s legit! Kar: Kinda blurry tho shiki: Congrats on your long-awaited pilgrimage to the Holy Land! Happy for you! momo: Haven’t gotten to the Holy Land yet. Gotta calm down first Iv: lol you’ve gone all that way and still haven’t done that? momo: It’s called the Holy Land because it’s a sacred place that you can’t just wander into, so it’d be impolite to be too careless about it Kar: What’s with the sudden essay lmao Iv: bestie’s trying to hit the nerd count shiki: You’ve been working hard all this time to get to the Holy Land, so you should enjoy it to the fullest. momo: I’ll do that!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

*Bump*

Towa: !?

???: “--Gh.”

Towa: Huh…

Towa: (He’s crouching down? I wonder if he’s okay… is it my fault for bumping into him…?)

???: “The hell are you doing?”

Towa: (Huh? That voice, I think I’ve heard it before…)

???: “C’mon, let me give you a hand.”

Towa: …G-GOD-za’s Haruto Asuka and Shift Arakawa!?

Shift: “It’s no use~... I can’t walk~...”

Haruto: “You drank too much.”

Shift: “My life’s a mess… I can’t even take another step forward…”

Haruto: “Quit overreacting just because you two broke up!”

Towa: (Ah, could it be… this is Veludo Way’s specialty…)

Shift: “I’m not overreacting! I’m always stuck playing a supporting role. At best, I’m just here to be used. I’ll never have a starring role!”

Shift: “If I keep living like this, I’ll just be stuck as a supporting role in someone else’s life.”

Shift: “What’s even the point of living like this…?”

Haruto: “Then live your own life, not someone else’s. The reason you can’t do that is because you put others at the center as the starring role.”

Haruto: “You’re the leading role in your own life. You’re the one who gets to decide what kind of life you live.”

Shift: “I’m the starring role in my own life…”

Towa: (I can’t believe they can do theater like this without a script…)

Towa: (I’ve only ever seen videos of street acts, but they were doing it so naturally. Amazing…)

Haruto: Thank you very much~!

Towa: --.

Shift: Past GOD-za performances are streaming until tomorrow! It’s only for a limited time, so don’t miss out!

*Applause*

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Towa: (It was way too lucky of me to be able to see a street act done by GOD-za’s top two here…!)

Shift: Ah, sorry for bumpin’ into ya before.

Towa: !! No! Don’t worry about it!

Shift: See ya.

Haruto: Thanks for watching us~.

*Footsteps*

Towa: Haaah~... I should’ve taken a video…

Towa: (Veludo Way really is the place to see street acts done by a whole bunch of different theater companies.)

Towa: (Maybe I’ll see them too…)

Towa: (No way, it’d be impossible to have that kind of crazy luck two times in a row, but, but, what if I really did meet my oshi…)

Towa: --.

*Paper rustling*

Towa: (It’s something that’s way too good to ever actually happen, but I’ve decided that in the unlikely event that I do meet him, I’m going to make sure I get him to autograph this.)

Towa: (My most treasured possession…)

Towa: Ah, wait, did I bring a pen to get his autograph…

Towa: (Huh, I don’t have it. Did I seriously forget it~?)

*Wind blows*

Towa: Ah--!

*Paper falls to the ground*

???: …?

[ Next Part ⇢ ]

[stop-talking]

ughhh the derek fic is sooo cute and i love it i think you did an incredible job giving him a more complex personality than just a douchebag we see in the movies and it makes me so soft for him 🥹

Derek Danforth is a complicated character

Or at least, that's how I see him.

• He has a weird/strained relationship with his mom, and his dad is dead. (And it's implied his mom doesn't like him, "God I wish he was alive so I could kill him" or something.)

• But even so, he claims the reason he started his little scam operation in the first place was to help her win the election. (Which is probably partially true, he started it to help her, then kept it going because he liked the money/power/thrill of his little crime empire.)

• And even in the movie?? He's not a COMPLETE douche. I'm probably reading too much into things, but there's this short scene where he bumps into his mother's assistant and says sorry and moves out of her way

• Just before that he was flirting with this other lady (in a totally stupid way... offering her crypto?? seriously??) but even then he wasn't saying or doing anything rude. He was just being dorky.

• He's likely been under a lot of pressure his whole life to keep up a good image, considering he was born wealthy. And it probably got worse once his mom started pursuing a political career, since he couldn't jeopardize her reputation.

• And finally, Josh Hutcherson said one of the notes he got from his director (like, instructions, guidance, something to keep in mind while acting out a scene) was "Just remember that all of us just want to be loved and we can only ask for that with the tools that we're given."

• I'm not saying he's innocent and growing up as a troubled little rich boy was sooo hard that I don't blame him for turning to crime. These things aren't an excuse for his actions, but an explanation. He was definitely in the wrong, but he isn't some stereotypical comic book villain either. He isn't evil.

ANYWAYS sorry for writing you a whole ass essay when I should be writing fanfic, you just got me thinking. At the end of the day Derek Danforth is a bad guy, yes, but he's also just a dorky little mama's boy.

[prince-strife]

So I watched “Like Minds” (I’m super unwell about gay people)

this one is like 3x longer than the tenet one

spoilers for a movie that came out 20 years ago ig

alex is clearly rly smart but he’s a right prick about it

nigel sure does like to stare 🤨🤨

oh so he’s a little freak. bro’s got a taxidermy cat in his luggage

ARE THEY MAKING BOMBS??

well. def explosives

DOES HE TAXIDERMY THE ANIMALS HIMSELF

he rly likes dead stuff…

not the gay little obsession

GIRL RECORK YOUR WINE BOTTLE

NIGEL WHY ARE YOU DISSECTING BIRDS IN YOUR BEDROOM

he’s so pretty tho fr mfer has gorgeous eyes

bro fuck this cop frfr

he did not seriously just punch this kid

oooh alex is fucked in the head too. inch resting

alex is one of those rich boys ._.

“obligations” hmmm i Do Not like the sound of that

WAIT THAT WAS HIS DAD??? that explains that ig

wait why is alex on the villains wiki. WHY IS ONE OF HIS CRIMES NECROPHILIA

interesting that alex is so aggressively anti-church (as an establishment, i mean)

ooooh nigel is Looking at him

not him fighting with his teacher

taking detailed notes about the people around him…nigel colbie autism

nooo leave him alone :((

alex is so mean to him omg. let him be a little freak in peace

HOLY SHIT HE JUST KILLED THAT KID

OHHH SALLY ROWE IS FUCKIN. JONI THROMBEY

wtf ym you “can’t find” the colbies..

omg staring across a casket at each other..

tom sturridge is so fucking beautiful i’m unwell

“i almost missed him” 🤨🤨

38 minutes in and i think this is the longest we’ve heard nigel speak

THE FUCK BOOK IS HE READING FOR THIS CLASS

idk i need nigel and alex to kiss

WOAH NIGEL JUST GOT REALLY CLOSE

“i’m really sorry about your friend” baby don’t lie no the fuck you’re not

smth abt the way nigel said “but you don’t have to worry” reminds me of the scene at the end of batman where joker is telling the riddler he did a good job.

THE GLARE AT THIS POOR GIRL nigel looks jealous as fuck

nigel baby giving the boy you like a hand is not the way to his heart

“it looks like you need a hand.” BABE. NO. TOO ON THE NOSE

he’s so cute in his lil jumper

SITTING ON HIS BED??? LEANING OVER HIM WHILE HE SLEEPS???? nah this is. gay behaviour

“alex, wake up. i’ve got a night planned 🥺” aww they’re gonna go on a date

oh they’re super close. NOW KISS

ooh hanging the essay over his head

the big smile… “are you having fun?” the little giggle. the smirk. he hates his ass. he is so in love with him. WHAT IS GOING ON

hmm i do not trust this

THE PUPPYY

“i’ve never brought anybody here before” INTERESTING (“i’m being vulnerable plz don’t be a dick abt this”)

i’ve still got an hour left of this movie good god

my mom is watching gbbo rly loudly and i just got super confused as to why the music Did Not Match the scene

“do you like it 🥺🥺” NIGEL. BABY. he’s so proud of his weird little lab it’s so cute

these little history nerds…

i rly thought nigel was gonna cuddle into him for a second

HELLO NIGEL IS STARING AT HIS LIPS????

“do you know what a pike is?” batting his eyes, looking as coquettish as possible. oh my god. oh my god.

CALLING HIM JACK. i’m so unwell this is so gay.

“we’ve been brought together for a reason” oh my god he thinks they’re murder soulmates

HIS SMILLLLEE

“for eternity.” gnawing on the bars of my enclosure

not him asking her out, nigel’s gonna be PISSED

the sword to his neck 🤭 OMG THE RUNNING IT DOWN HIS SPINE WHAT THE FUCK

the way he says “jack” i’m gonna pass out

“my name is alex. stay away from me.” NOOO it’s ok nigel i’ll be your jack

taking the gay goggles off for a second nigel clearly is in desperate need of a friend and is trying so hard to make alex his friend and it’s making me super sad bc he doesn’t seem to quite understand why it’s not working :(((

but also nigel baby stop breaking into his room

it’s giving yandere tbh

“what’s with the knife” *biggest most innocent doe eyes* “i don’t know what you mean, jack”

HOLY SHIT NIGEL. I FIGURED HE WAS GONNA KILL HER BUT WHAT THE FUCK.

i feel bad for her fr tho she didn’t do nothin wrong. not her fault alex is oblivious to his psychopath boyfriend

lol alex looking around for nigel when he finds out she’s dead. he’s not stupid, i’ll give him that

HE TOOK THE KNIFE

nigel’s very bad at acting innocent

“i sense some hostility” NO REALLY

they look like they’re abt to kiss

“no jack, you did it.” babe.

“feels good to vent one’s anger doesn’t it jack””i don’t want any part of this” “too late for that”

oh he’s CRAZY

he so sure that alex is just as nuts as he is.

OHH MCKENZIE IS IN THE CLUB TOO?? INTERESTING

wtf happened to nigel’s parents

babe being cryptic is not helping your situation

OOOH ARE THEY GONNA FIND NIGEL’S LITTLE ROOM OF CREEPY SHIT

i bet his parents are dead

hehe the jack <3

his jars of dead shit are so weird

was that a drawing of the dead kid?

nigel has rly nice handwriting omg

idk if the knowledge that it’s purely for scientific interest makes the pictures of the sleeping girl better or worse

HE TAXIDERMIZED HIS PARENTS???

he calls them helen and john???

love him introducing alex like he’s his boyfriend

THE EYE CONTACT HELLO??

nigel looks so dead inside omg

“stop it, nigel :((“

OH HE MADE THE BIBLE??? i thought it was a book he had not smth he created that’s actually pretty cool

“our union” 🤨🤨 its giving marriage

“nigel was right about this” hmmm boyfriend behaviour

omg mckenzie SUCKS like he’s just kind of an asshole

“i knew you couldn’t resist a secret rendezvous <3”

“you didn’t know nigel”

DID HE FUCK HER CORPSE

“my dearest jack”

IS HE SLEEPING WITH HIS MOTHER

THE PICTURES WERE OF HIS MOTHER????

his lack of reaction to her getting shot…

SO MUCH JUST HAPPENED IN A SPAN OF 30 SECONDS

he’s so clinical about the cleanup…

he’s so pretty…

HES SO FUCKED IN THE HEAD

omg does he want jack to be his maraclea is that why he got the gun (ik his mom was his maraclea let me be delulu)

he rly thinks this is completely justified

HOLF SHIT HE PULLED THE TRIGGER

i’m so sad he’s dead :(( gimme my babygirl back

holy fuck alex got released

AND HE KEPT THE BOOK

“my beloved susan” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

“nigel got what he wanted…eternity”

OH MY FUCKING GOD J CANT BELEJEV HE DID THAT… continuing nigel’s work… oh my fucking god

“you like history.” BITCH WHAT

Edit: I forgot to give the movie a rating .-. 500/10 i fucking loved it, i’m already making a forbie playlist

[m1d-45]

I'm not sure if reqs are open, buy if you, can you please do something like this, but the reader is a teen? (15/16?) (Just like me irl lmao) (sorry if reqs are closed and for my blindness) ._."<3

still too young

a/n: straight up had no idea what to do for this one, so heres a vague assortment of headcanons about it. thank you for your request, and yes, they’re open!

word count: ~1.5k

-> warnings: spoilers for inazuma and the first sumeru archon quests, spoilers for albedo and razor lore, uhh people are unnecessarily rude to you, they kinda don’t see you as a person due to the nature of this situation—not all of them, but a major chunk. they’re simultaneously very obsessive and very lax. bad format.

-> lowercase intended!

taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3

< masterlist >

right off the bat, things are going to be a lot different even as they’re very similar. when your main—who will be referred to as the favored for simplicity—finds you in the field, they still behave the same. theyre still going to be convinced that you’re the key to their god’s forgiveness, and though they’re surprised at your age, they don’t miss a beat. you’re too old to be so easily convinced, but you’re still too young to be wise enough to say no.

you’re tucked in the corner, a hilichurl’s club held tight in your shaking grip.

for the sake of this, we’ll say that you’ve been intentionally avoiding them, unwilling to taint your opinion of them. now youre cornered, and you doubt that teyvat can knit the bushes behind you tight enough to delay them. you don’t want to fight them, you don’t, but their weapon was still on display, shining in the early morning light as their shoulders heave with exertion.

they follow your eyes and dismiss it, carefully approaching you. the blessing of their god is lesser this time, but still powerful enough that they’re on the right track.

“hello,” they say, and introduce themselves. it’s useless, considering you know them already, but it’s not as if they know that.

when they prod for your name, you don’t answer, not even to give a fake one, and they frown. you do seem scared.. maybe they should try this from a different angle?

“i’m not here to hurt you,” they whisper, taking another step closer. “i promise.”

you’re too tired to think of resisting.

sumeru

• starting with this one first: no way in hell the akademiya is taking you seriously once it registers

• not a chance.

• the sages are welcoming(ish) at first, willing to allow this version of their savior—for who else could save them from their ‘god’s wrath?—to be… like this, but that must be because you want to better influence the young, right? you want to be relatable? this, all this is because you want to better be able to understand and talk to the newest generation, right?

• they’re like a corporation on twitter. that’s the nicest way to put it

• once they realize, through one mean or another, that no, you’re just young, this isn’t an alteration to your form, you’re being dismissed. you’re not their god, they don’t have to pay attention to you. they don’t have to pay attention to your odd sense of humor and whatever ‘based’ means in your eternally complex context. all they have to do is make you happy and keep you safe.

• (you’re not. to either.)

• to the sages of the akademiya, you’re a means to an end.

• if, by chance, you’re a tighnari / collei main, you’re a lot better off! they’re kinder, protective to a fault. you quickly become commonplace in gandharva ville, and integrate a lot easier. they’re probably two of the few to register you as the actual creator, but that’s mostly because theyre the ones who patch you up most often. it might take a while, but stick it out.

liyue

• more people who will laugh at you </3

• ningguang is the leader of liyue in every way that matters, and i just… i can’t see her taking a teenager seriously. you could lay out a 3-page, mla formatted—not that she’d recognize it—essay with cited sources, but she’d dismiss it all under the grounds of a minor grammatical error in line 4 of paragraph 5. oh, and it’s below the required word count for a report submitted to the qixing, so jot that down. you could use the words.

• in her mind, you’re just another task. something else to take care of, one that admittedly takes priority since you’re from their god, but still. she feeds you, makes sure you have clean clothes and aren’t sick, she keeps you safe, but it’s all hollow. keqing doesn’t care for you all that much—her creator’s on thin ice anyway—and though ganyu is kind, she can’t do much outside of bringing you a bundle of qingxin whenever you’re down(always). to the liyue qixing, you’re an assignment. one they can’t fail.

• if you’re a childe main, i’m sorry.

• if you’re a xiangling main, you have a chance at normality. she’s pretty strange but will be unlikely to turn you in or be harsh about it.

• if you’re a hu tao main, you also have a chance, just do your best to convince her not to bring you to zhongli. please.

• if you’re a zhongli main i’m sorry.

• can’t believe i almost forgot xiao, but i don’t feel i need to say much on the topic except for asking what color you want your shackles to be /hj

inazuma

• WOOO BOY

• R.I.P. to you, you had a nice run, good luck ever being able to leave the tenshukaku. the second the shogun sees you, it’s game over. to her, the people and environment are too inconsistent, too changing, too dangerous for somebody of your caliber. she’ll insist with iron eyes and a steel hand that you’re to stay there, where they can keep you safe. to her, the creator was the ultimate symbol of eternity—after all, what else is constant but creation? what else is certain besides the fact that new life will flourish, live, then die again?

• i’ll be one of the first to insist that ei =/= the raiden shogun, but it still stands that ei was still the one to give the shogun her commands. when she said to enforce eternity, her word was law, and when she says to keep you from leaving, she still carries that weight to her voice. what she says goes, and she says that you are to stay there.

• if you’re a kamisato main, rip.

• similarly, sorry to all the thoma mains.

• kazuha’s technically from inazuma so i’ll put him here: you have the best chance with him alone. the crux seem kind, but beidou is.. close with ningguang.

• if you’re a heizou main… play your cards right.

mondstat

• honestly? your best chance at living an okay life.

• they’re a nation of freedom! that isn’t to say they won’t vehemently press against you leaving the city—or springvale, if you’re smart about it—but you will have the most freedoms. they keep you from the kitchen and training grounds, but if you’re really interested then kaeya and jean might set up a very, very child-proof mock training set up for you. lisa also has a giant library, so guess what hobby you have now. sucrose and albedo may or may not let you watch—from a very safe distance with 10ft of protective barriers—and it’s a toss up as to whether diluc would even let you leave the manor, let alone mondstat.

• albedo mains are royally screwed. like you have a negative percent chance of ending up okay in this certain hyper-specific au. either he’ll keep you for evaluation and minor experimentation, or he’ll find out some way to keep you in the city / monitor your location. as a master(?) of khemia, he has a heavy interest in the creator. if you’re his chance to understanding it, them, and himself better, you are not leaving.

• quick fire: lisa mains have no chance, jean + noelle mains have an okay shot, and amber mains have a ~32% chance, diluc and kaeya mains are on the thinnest of ice. if you’re a diona main i have several questions but the only important one is who do you think she’ll turn you in to?

• if you’re a razor main 1) i love you keep up god’s work 2) you have one of the best chances! he’s not really involved with many people, just pray that lisa doesn’t find out about you. same goes for bennett, though he may be suspicious after a while and turn you in(his bad luck fades when you’re around sorry i make the rules)

• if you’re a venti main…. uh.

[maidstew]

the friend group 100% copied off vipsania's essay when they were supposed to be doing it together but they were all drunk(ish?) that they just copied off vip since she was already done. they all have the same essay and professor click is so done with them (because this isn't the first time)

stop oh my god this is so funny

vipsania 100% did not give them permission to do it! (“i said you could look at it for inspiration, festus!)

festus tries to claim that it’s actually arachne’s fault because she stole all their real essays and replaced them with copies of vipsania’s (“seriously, creed? fuck you.”)

persephone is on the verge of a nervous breakdown (“i’m so sorry professor! i swear i’ll never, ever do this again!”)

arachne is trying to pull the felix’s-great-uncle-is-president card (“i’m sure the president wouldn’t like to hear we have all failed the same class!”)

livia and felix are too busy arguing with each other to even pay attention to professor click (“i told you this idea was stupid!” “i was drunk!”)

hilarius is shameless about it (“yeah, did you expect me to write the essay on the night of the biggest party of the year?”)

coriolanus and clemensia actually did write their own essays, but they did it while drunk (“mr. snow- can you explain why your essay just says ‘fuck high-as-a-kite-bottom’?”)

[chdarling]

Btw if you’re searching for a question I don’t have one this is just an essay on how and why I love you ❤️

You are amazing. You have have absolutely ruined Harry Potter fan fiction for me because no other fanfics are as good as this one. Like, seriously, this is better than most novels I’ve read.

Besides the obviously stunning jily storyline, I really like how you have written the Sirius/remus relationship. I honestly don’t mind whether you go the wolfstar route or not, because as much as I love wolfstar, I think a lot of fanfics use it as an excuse not to give a complex relationship to these characters and just ‘they love each other they would die for each other’. Sirius and Remus deserve better than that. In the original series, they are some of the most complex and honestly the most damaged characters.

I was so pleased when I first read the prank chapters almost a year ago (god, has it been a year? It feels like yesterday). I was mentally preparing myself for a big dramatic fight, followed by a big depressing tale of distance, followed by a big dramatic reunion of love and everything being forgotten. And not shitting on those stories at all… but they just feel so unrealistic? Your story feels like something that would actually happen, and I feel like both characters reactions felt so perfect and understandable. I love how the prank completely destroyed their relationship, and now through events in the book, they are building that trust back little by little. Maybe with something more? Lol, no this is canon to me now, honestly whatever you choose I will be 1000% supportive because these characters are your babies and the world is so lucky that you deign to share them with us.

Every time you upload a chapter I create a dozen alternate endings in my head, guessing what the next chapter will be. And yours is 10 times as good every. Single. Time. Probably my fault. I get wrapped up in Sirius and lily friendship stuff and forget other characters exist. When you uploaded schoolboys and their secrets, I felt like I was in a dream lol.

Anyway, I’m so excited for the next chapter, but absolutely no pressure. I just think you’re amazing and was kind of bored so figured I would write to my favourite person on the planet. Sorry if this is kind of long.

Thank you so much for these kind words, truly 🥺❤️❤️❤️

[wannab-urs]

Build Me Up Buttercup | Ch. 2

Just to let me down?

Summary: You get a verdict on your essay and have a little run in at the bar

Word Count: 800ish - sorry it’s so short. I couldn’t resist the cliffhanger and had to cut it off.

Warnings: Still none... but we're getting closer!

P.S. I plan on updating this daily but also if I can't get a chapter finished, I can't get it finished, ya know?

You’re sitting in the library, presumably working on an essay for Modern British Lit, but really you’re thinking about Dr. Miller. Yesterday, you had been closer to him than you ever have before. You sit at the back of his class and never raise your hand to answer questions, afraid he’d dismiss your answer outright. 

He’s hot from a distance sure, but up close? Holy shit. The way his curls fell over his eyes as he worked. The way his tongue poked out between his lips. It’s almost cute. And then the way his biceps bulged beneath his weathered band tee… He’s seriously gorgeous. He has to be, what? In his mid 50s? You were used to men that old looking like your granddad… he was far from looking like a grandpa yesterday. 

The sound of an email notification interrupts your train of thought.

See me in my office 

-Miller 

How formal. God damn, he’s an asshole. He’s an asshole. He’s not fucking cute.

You assume it’s about your essay, so you decide to stop by his office after your Chaucer class. That class is a trip. The professor wears these weird ass outfits all the time with vibrantly colored pants and you’re honestly kind of living for it. But he also keeps giving you Bs on all your essays without any feedback as to why they’re not As. You’d take your solid B in that class over your 57 in Miller’s class any day though.

You resolve to go to his office hours again later today and go back to trying to write your essay.

He’s preoccupied again, taking notes on a book you can’t see the name of, when you get to his office. Today he’s opted for a black Led Zeppelin shirt that’s obviously vintage, small holes revealing tiny peeks of his broad chest. His hair is even more unruly today and the disheveled former punk vibes are a really good look on him. Bastard. 

Before you even open your mouth to speak, he does that hand thing, like he’s shooing you away. You decide to just sit down and wait for him to finish what he’s doing. 

After what feels like half an hour but is probably a minute, he sets his pen down in the book and closes the cover. The book is called “Neoliberalism on the Ground” Seems… actually interesting. Your eyes flick up to his face and he’s looking at you expectantly, as if you asked to see him. 

“Well?” You arch an eyebrow at him.

“I reread your essay.” You stare at him waiting for him to elaborate. He doesn’t.

 “And?” 

“And it was good.” 

It was good? That’s all?  “And?” 

“And I’ll change your grade to a B.” 

A fucking B? Fine. Whatever. Best you’re gonna get. “Why the change of heart?” 

“Didn’t read it the first time.” 

“Are you serious?” No like, is he actually fucking kidding right now?

“Saw the neo-gothic cathedral on the cover, gave you a D, moved on.” 

“What!? I spent hours on that! Days! And you had the audacity to not even fu--- to not even read it? Are you kidding me?” 

“Listen, sweetheart, if you had to read 98 amateur architecture essays, you’d skim too.” 

“Don’t call me that.” 

“Do you want me to change the grade back?” 

“Do you want me to report you?”

“Fair enough.” 

God, you want to strangle him. “Is that all, then, Miller?” 

“Don’t call me that.” Jesus fucking christ. 

You roll your eyes and stomp out of his office.

You’re sitting at a hightop in the bar just off campus with Cooper and your other friend Em, filling them in on the essay drama. 

“So, yeah, he called me ‘sweetheart’ and I left,” you finish. 

“Wait, is Dr. Miller the hot one?”

“Yes, Em, pay attention,” Coop says, rolling their eyes. 

“Yes. He’s attractive. That is SO not the point, though?!” Your friends are ridiculous. 

“So… how did you get him to up the grade? Did you give him head under his desk or something?” Em teases, a conspiratorial glint in her eye.

“Gross! No!” 

“I would have… I’ve seen him on campus. I’d suck the meat off them bones.” 

“You are absolutely disgusting, Emily. No I did not give my professor a fucking blowjob to get a better grade!” 

“I’m just saying! You could do worse…” 

“I just asked him to show me a modicum of respect. Jesus fucking Christ.” 

“Oh my god is that him?” Cooper is staring hard at the back of some dude’s head at the bar. He has curly brown hair streaked with gray and broad shoulders covered in a green flannel. Shit that could be him.

“There’s no way Dr. Miller is here right now. I will literally kill myself.” 

At the sound of his name, Dr. Miller turns and looks over his shoulder, immediately locking eyes with you. 

“Oh shit, that is him,” you say, ducking your head and hoping he won’t see you. Play it cool. There’s no way he actually heard you. 

“Is he still looking?” You ask, peeking up at your friends.

“Um-” Cooper starts.

“Hi there, sweetheart.”

Tag List: @beskarandblasters, @cutesyscreenname, @atinylittlepain, @wednesdayday, @whoiscaroline, @goldenhxurs, @northernwindd, @djarinxore, @worhols, @amanitacowboy, @silkiers, @4ueijos, @livinxdeadxgrl, @chknikkbxss, @thepriceofpepper, @lexic-22, @sunshinebtrfly, @ccelinea, @harriedandharassed

[yannig]

So. I've finished binge-watching Pit Babe.

and I have opinions. (yes I am aware it came out like a year ago. who cares) so, with very little order :

Tony died!! Yeah!! ngl, at one point I hoped Babe's father would come in to kill him, but Kenta doing it is even more satisfying so i'm happy with it. also those knife sounds were great. 10/10 no notes.

Babe's father was very obvious as Babe's father the second we met him. it's not necessarily a problem, i just found it funny that they were trying to create a mystery around him.

i didn't know it was an omegaverse when i began watching the show, but it was a pretty sanitized omegaverse, all things considered. no mentions of heat/rut, knotting, mate, pack, mating bite, bond, nesting. the mpreg was only implied. the word omega was uttered exactly once. beyond Tony wanting only alpha kids (with no explanation of what an alpha is), the plot to get a child from Babe, and Babe's fixation on his partner's smell (and most likely, Babe and Charlie's fixation on each other's neck), i often forgot it was an omegaverse. i understand not wanting to scare newbies, omegaverse can be wild, but i was surprised with how little we got of the common tropes. its not a flaw, i was just surprised.

Sonic needs to tell North he loves him. the guy is clearly ready to die for you. just because he's too stupid to realize he's in love with you doesn't mean he isn't.

also this two idiots were still in the building!! i thought they got the USB and then got out to publish the videos! but no! these two idiots were still in the building! thank fuck Kim was close by!!! (he was probably there on purpose, yes, but still. they should have gotten out!)

Way stays a walking red flag until his very last breath and I hate that for him. don't get me wrong, I saw his death coming. he was unredeemable, and we don't want the audience to hate him, so of course he was gonna die. i really don't like this trope, I'd rather he left Babe and X-Hunter behind and got a new chance with Pete, who was clearly ready to give him one and also who he hadn't betrayed and hurt in the worst way possible. but no, that's not how the trope works. he dies. because we don't know how to redeem characters without killing them. and to make the matter worst, he dies having one of his most fucked up interactions with Babe yet, and that's saying something considering his track record, confessing his love for the nth time which was understandable but already awkward on its own, and then asking if Babe ever loved him back when he has made very clear several times that he saw Way as his closest friend and nothing else, begging for forgiveness for trying to rape Babe, i swear to god!! the correct thing to say at this point was "i'm sorry i ever hurt you, i hope you get to be happy with Charlie, don't blame yourself for my death". instead, he gave him enough therapy material for the next decade! with one conversation! how the fuck is Babe supposed to grieve Way, or make peace with anything he has done to him, after that kind of last breath!

(seriously, i probably have enough to say about Way to write an entire essay. the man was fucked up)

Kim has now been officially adopted in the family, he's even invited to the funerals! (i am aware he was still Tony's prisoner during Charlie's funeral, i just found it funny.) we did not see enough of Kim after Tony imprisoned him btw. he is one of my favorite characters in this show and he deserved more screen time!

Did Charlie stole a power that just- teleport him to Babe when he's in danger? this is a least the second time he just appeared out of nowhere to save Babe with no explanation, and with a perfect timing at that.

Babe deserved to scream at Charlie for faking his death. Or a least have a breakdown the like of the one he had with his father. The reunion scene was great and emotional and shit, and it was adequate for the context, but i needed them to have a real conversation about it later. will look for fanfics on the matter.

my man Babe is gonna have so many trust issues it's not even funny anymore. like mate. both his fathers betrayed him (and sold him, though for different reasons), his best friend of 10 years betrayed him in one of the worst way possible, one of his other teammates betrayed him, and his boyfriend has been lying to him the entire time the have known each other, to the point of faking his death without telling him he was alive. listen, i was berating him every time he pushed Charlie away at the slightest sign of dishonesty because I don't like that trope, but I think in this case he was justified. it's going to be fun to get him to trust anyone ever again!

also that man can cry! and make me cry with him at that! like, i knew Charlie's death was a fake out, and i knew it was coming, but episode 10 still got me in tears because Babe's grief was fucking real. giving him his senses back just for him to hear his lover flat-line on the operation table was incredibly cruel. also "He's still warm. Maybe he's not dead yet". are you trying to kill me? also also : did he say "i love you" for the first time at Charlie's grave? because i think he did.

overall, pretty good execution of the fake death trope, they gave us time to feel the grief before revealing he was alive, it worked. (did the plot around said fake death make sense? not... quite? but the feels were there and that's what matters)

Jeff is my baby and i love him. he got a lover and a support system and that's great, though they could do with better communication and still have shit to learn about respecting boundaries. which is saying something because Jeff tends to be pretty fucking clear about his boundaries. i'm watching you Alan. also i've decided he's autistic. for obvious reasons.

the whole "papa and mama" thing Babe and Charlie have going on is not my thing, but it is particularly weird in a context where the last two men Babe called "Papa" betrayed him and hurt him terribly. i get that what they have going on is different, like it's not a daddy kink (which would have been even weirder), but it still left a weird taste in my mouth. i just - i don't know what to make of it. i don't think they got the implication of it when making the show?

Babe and Charlie both need therapy to a desperate level, and i do not trust any of them to try to get it on their own. let's hope the rest of the family team manages to get them there. i'm mostly counting on Jeff to start the movement on this one. and then the others can nicely bully them into getting professional help.

[bragganhyl]

Can you do kana for the character thing please? And Eder if you want 😘

I sure could, thank you :D

How I feel about this character: Sweet angel boy, too good for the world, I learned so much about different chanter builds just so I can keep him around along with my chanter Watcher lmao but also his arc hits harder with every replay

All the people I ship romantically with this character: As I recall, he only ever shows interest in Maneha and well she's obviously not interested. So... idk at most the Watcher, I bet a romance would have been very cute and very - for the lack of better word - romantic with him.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Hiravias, I'm probably repeating myself but I do very much like how Kana brings out his more scholarly side. Hell, I'm pretty sure Kana is one of the very few people if not the only one (aside from the Watcher potentially I mean) who sees and treats him as an intellectual. So yeah I like their nerd dynamic a lot.

But also Maia, ofc, just... give me all the Rua family interactions, it's fun, it's tense but the love between them is undeniable still.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I feel very ambivalent about his post-Crookspur cameo in Deafire, because on the one hand I'm always very happy about more Kana but why did he have to join the navy 😭😭😭 That's not what I meant when I told him that Rauatai should seek common cultural links with other nations, babyboy nooo 😭😭😭

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: This might be obvious but he should've been in Deadfire more. Tbh I think the faction companions could've worked better if we had 2/faction and we could see their different attitudes and maybe see them play off one another but that may be just me I definitely would have liked if I had both the Rua siblings on board and see their friction more. And ofc see how the last 5 years changed Kana - aside from him joining the navy I mean

I'm putting Edér under the cut bc it's getting long

How I feel about this character: Do you need to ask, Anon? I love himst, I love him so much it's not even funny at this point 😭

All the people I ship romantically with this character: The Watcher, like... a lot. His devotion for them is through the roof, the Watcher is in some ways the light of his life who pulls him out of the dark and apathetic mental space where the Saint's War and its aftermath placed him. Like how am I supposed to be normal about them? Especially if you throw in lines like "I wish [the gods] knew you like I did" or the personal +5 to deflection line seriously who's idea was that and why does it sound like that

also if you've been around this household then you might know that I also like the Team Gilded Vale throuple but like a) i'm not ready to submit that 5 page long essay rn and b) I kinda can't separate the dynamic from my Watcher in specific rn so yeah ask me about that some other time I'm very sorry my brain is a mush

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Tbh he's got good chemistry with like most of the companions in either games, but ngl I do like the idea of him befriending Grieving Mother a lot. They only interact once but even then Edér calls her a "nice, stranger lady" - despite GM's aura of unpleasantness - and GM seems really heartbroken over being unable to help him during his personal quest. And they both end up in Dyrford potentially, I'd like to think they end up bonding between games.

My unpopular opinion about this character: He's not a himbo, he's not dumb enough for that tho deadfire does dumb him down ngl and he can be very mean at times too so... yeah.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Elafa should not have died. It does her dirty because obviously. It does Edér dirty because he ends his story still holding onto a version of Elafa that hasn't existed since the Saint's War. In some ways it even does Bearn dirty because the only way to establish a substantial link between him and Edér is to navigate the boat scenario in a very specific way that most players won't even think to aim for (you need to run out of convo options with Bearn while he's still undecided to push Edér to talk him down himself)

[bluejay-in-flight]

BRING IT ON: ALL OR NOTHING (2006) IS ONE OF THE GAYEST MOVIES EVER!!!!

here's why!

okay so not gonna do a whole essay cause honestly the proof is in the screenshots I took while screaming my ass off cause honestly the chemistry between the main Brittney and her enemy turned ally/girlfriend is just GIVING!!! I recommend all lesbians out there or just fans of women being down bad for each other should check this out!!!

let's start when they first go head to head during cheer tryouts where Britney is trying to show Camille that she has what it takes to be on their squad even tho she doesn't want to be a "cheer whore" and betray her old squad so she ends up refusing to join

sorry for the thing at the bottom in the last one but like THERE'S NO REASON FOR Y'ALL TO BE THAT CLOSE!!! as you can see the chemistry between them is electrifying oh and you can also see poor Kirresha in the background being like not in front of my lollipop!!! 🤣 seriously tho Britney pls give me one straight reason that you're staring at Camilles lips like that 👀👀👀

NEXT is a couple scenes after this one where Camille recognizes that they need Britney on the squad whether she likes the other girl or not so in a completely heterosexual move she decides to lean against the other girls car to wait for her and then this moment happens...

like I'm sorry but if someone looked at me like that while leaning against my car there is no way I could stop myself from kissing them right on the mouth! but alas we must move on and although they have so many good scenes I'm taking y'all to the end of the movie where it all comes to a head!

so we've seen them "fight" we know they don't get along well now they've figured out how to finally work together and are truly now on the same team which gives us one of the best moments ever!!!!!!

THAT'S RIGHT HOW SHE JUST GONNA GRAB HER GIRL BY THE ARM WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING AND TUG BRITNEY AGAINST HER NO PROBLEM!!!! like and the fact that Britney doesn't even fight against her just let's Camille pull her wherever she wants like GUYS!!!! GUYSSSSS!!!

This is one of the most lesbian movies I've ever had the honor of watching and this came out in 2006!! if this came out now they would have a huge following and so many fanfics but alas then it wouldn't be the same movie we know and love 🥺 And although this was one of my favorite scenes in the movie we do have one honorable mention!!!

I don't know if y'all noticed in the last scene but throughout the movie Britney has constantly been wearing studs while Camille has her pretty golden hoops if you can't tell here's this scene to give you a better look!

oh and you also get them standing way too close pressed against each other while Camille looks fondly down at Britney because as if they couldn't be more obvious 🤣 we all love a tall and short lesbian duo don't we ANYWAYS up until this moment at the end of the movie Camille has been wearing her golden hoops while Britney has her silver studs EXCEPT WAIT

THAT'S WEIRD THEY'RE BOTH WEARING GOLDEN HOOPS?!?!? I wonder where Britney could've gotten that other pair of golden hoops 🤔 I wonder who could've given her them cause god knows what completely normal heterosexual reason she must've had to change her earrings to the same ones as her rival girlfriend before their last performance together 👀👀👀 I can't imagine....

But yeah if any of y'all want to squeal about lesbians for an hour and thirty eight minutes you should definitely watch this movie!!! also cause it's just a bomb ass movie in general and mostly holds up even after god fuckin eighteen 😭😭😭 years later can't believe how time flies...

[toomuchracket]

Omg I would LOVE to read about that. I feel like matty would be a little annoyed people loved girly but he’d still be so proud and he can’t be that agitated

i don't think he'd be annoyed per se, but he'd get so cutely grumpy about people repeatedly coming up to you for pics and autographs while you guys are out on dates, very "god, babe, can't they see i'm trying to romance you here?" lol (and then he'd be like "wait a min this is how you must feel with me. i'm sorry :((" lmao). but mostly, i think he's just a proud boyf. and i think he was with you for two really memorable fan interactions, one being the very first time you met someone with a quote from your work tattooed. the two of you were at a train station, and you could see a young woman a bit further down the platform visibly debate whether to come up to you and matty or not; you figured she was a 75 fan, so you just kinda smiled and said hi when she eventually introduced herself, and you were lowkey really shocked when she spoke to you like "i just wanted to say that i'm a huge fan - your last essay collection changed my life". you were like "wait you're a fan of ME?! that's so lovely lol i never really tend to meet people in public like this" (matty was also kinda surprised but so proud he genuinely couldn't stop smiling), and the girl was like "yeah! i have one of your quotes tattooed and everything!" and pulled up her sleeve to show you your words inked on her inner arm - your jaw dropped and you were like "no fucking way. this is so surreal. i'm so touched that you would do that!" and gave her a hug, and matty still just grinned along like "i could take a pic of the two of you if you want?", all proud boyfriend. he did, then the three of you took a selfie (the girl was like "i do actually love your band too, matty, i just stan your girl more lol") before the girl thanked you and left, with an "eagerly awaiting a writing collab between the two of you, btw", which you both laughed at at first and then seriously considered while you were on the train.

the second big interaction was while you were on a weekend break in edinburgh, and you dragged matty to rare birds bookshop (google it btw it's so cool) to do some shopping. even the staff getting excited when you came in and gratefully accepting your offer to sign some copies of your books was a huge deal for you (matty was like "it's adorable how genuinely surprised you still get at these kind of interactions. people love you, babe! taste"), but it got even better - while you and matty were browsing in the other room (well, you were browsing, and he was patiently carrying the stack the two of you had already picked out and smiling at how content you were), you heard a voice from the next room ask the staff if they had a copy of your newest book. you beamed excitedly at matty (smiling just as hard back at you), before you poked your head into the other room and jokingly said "hmm, that one's a bit crap, to be honest. the previous one is a lot better"; the heads of about five sixteen-year-old girls whipped round and all reacted in total shock, gasps, laughs, even tears from one of them as she clocked you. naturally, you ran over like "oh my god, are you alright? please don't cry" and this wee girl was like "i'm sorry i just love you so much omg this is so crazy", which actually made you tear up a bit like "you're so sweet, but really i'm just a girl! like you! not worth crying over, honestly" and give her a big hug (which made her cry harder lol). matty let you bejeweled have your moment, just stayed in the other room watching with a big smile on his face and filming a little bit of the interaction because he found it so endearing (and also so he could make a fancam of you for your bday <3), looking lovingly as you took the time to chat to the girls and personalise the autographs on the title page of each copy they'd picked up, and even showed them some of your favourite books and writers who inspired you, just like the girls all claimed to be inspired by you (which actually made you sob like a baby, bless you). after a good half hour of talking and signing and selfies, you were like "girls this has been so lovely and i've loved meeting you all, but i've left the boyf alone in the next room and i fear he might go rogue and pick too many books for us to actually be able to carry lol, so i'm going to say goodbye now and save him from himself lol" - they're like "oh, matty's here too? that's cool", and matty poked his head round the doorframe and waved like "yeah, i'm here. with a perfectly respectable number of books, actually, darling, thank you very much". the girls laughed and waved back, but that was the extent of their interaction with matty, too preoccupied with buying and reading everything you had signed or spoken about with them; he wasn't bothered in the slightest, though, just overwhelmingly excited for you. like, when you headed back to him, he gave you a huge hug and a kiss on the side of your head like "that was very lovely, sweetheart. m'proud of you, and i love that people love you almost as much as i do. but you're the best writer i know, so it's not really surprising"; you were like "love you too. couldn't do any of this without you in my life, inspiring me every day", and matty was like "ok let's go to the till before i cry lol there have been too many tears in this building today" (and then he bought and carried all your books for you because he's a simp) <3

[billerak]

RWTC

As in rewatch get it because it's like team names and this fandom is obsessed with four letter acronyms and-*gets shot*

...

So… I once fixed hyperfixation by rewatching a show and taking notes about it, so imma try the same with RWBY as it's currently taking over a lot of brainpower just existing in my consciousness. I reckon if the rewatch itself doesn't remind me of how much of a mess this show is, taking notes might. Also I really wanna examine the 'Bumblebee was set up from the beginning' allegations. I'm 99.99% it wasn't but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. Just to make it clear for any bumblebee fan who may be reading this expecting me to be converted into loving the ship: Even if there are hints this early on, their development later would still be a goddamn mess. And just for the record: I will only be taking as 'hints' things that are undeniable. The show is very explicit with its hetshit, I won't take less than that for queerness. (Don't expect this to be an essay I'll just write down whatever I wanna say at any given moment and it will be awful to read, it's basically a diary for myself).

V1: Trailers: Honestly, they're bangers. Music's great. They set up characters. If I had to rank them I'd say R-Y-W-B but I only put Black below the others because I simply like the other fights better. I know why Adam is there with Blake but it kinda feels like he steals a bit of hte spotlight. (And the Dempsey Roll reference in Yellow cannot be beaten, sorry. Well except by Ruby's sheer fucking awesomeness but ykwim). Though tbh ADAM STANDING THERE AWKWARDLY INSTEAD OF JUST JUMPING IS INSANE. YOU CAN CLEAR THAT GAP MY GUY. Also the moon is, well, inconsistent across the trailers. Like you'd think maybe there was something going on with it breaking a bit more each trailer but, no, it jumps from barely broken to even more broken than in the show in Black, then stays the same in Yellow. Which. You know. It's the little inconsistencies that make RWBY, aren't they.

On the Bees: Someone pointed out to me that 'Red like Roses' implies Blake/Yang as the beauty and the beast. I… will grant it the benefit of the doubt in this case. I mean, Monty didn't even fucking know Ruby was standing by her mother's gravestone when he did this I seriously doubt he'd thought that much ahead. But RWBY is inspired by fairy tales, so the use of beast and beauty isn't likely to be coincidental either. This is the only instance where I will grant a 'benefit of the doubt'. I'm more inclined to believe it's actually a coincidence that neatly fit into it later. Blake/Yang have absolutely nothing of the beauty and the beast in their dynamic.

Ep 1: The dust speech at the start feels a bit odd in retrospect. Dust ends up being kind of underwhelming if we look at what it actually does for the plot, it doesn't feel more important than Aura and Semblances. I'd reckon all three could have been mentioned. Is… is that moon transition at the start meant to imply the moon's been breaking off over time? Honestly the creation myth of RWBY is one of the few things I do believe was at least mildly planned from the start so I find it mildly surprising. Maybe they planned for it to break more over time but forgot about it by volume 6 and just had the gods break it all in one go? The rest of the episode is ok. I won't be commenting on the voice acting too much—this was a bit of an indie production, after all. If any particular lines are too awful maybe I'll point them out. That being said, Glenda's semblance is awfully the fucking same as magic. Cinder is using literal magic so that's ok. It really never is quite explained how or even why dust interacts with semblances, is it?

On the Bees: Nothing this ep.

Ep 2: Should I mention the fact that the show never stops to breathe, especially this early on? I guess I'll do it because then when I can be positive about a scene it'll stick out. So… yeah, the whole introduction of Team RWBY is kind of all over the place in terms of pacing. Could ahve used an extra minute or two to make the conversation a bit, well, better paced. Also do Yang's friends ever show up again? I don't think so. And I know it's meant to be comedic but Weiss just swinging about a bottle of dust feels kind of… strange. She should know how stupid that is. That aside, there's a lot of expository dialogue that probably could have been shoved into the classroom scenes. The dust, weapons, etc. Leave room for the characters to actually speak instead of explaining things everyone present should know.

On the Bees: Nothing this ep.

Ep 3: Comedy is VERY hit or miss in general, so I'll just state I… don't really find most RWBY humor funny. I see the intent and I won't criticize it, it's just not for me. On another note: White Rose is my go-to ship in the early volumes. The writers clearly got scared of how much chemistry Ruby and Weiss had so they sort of… barely interact one on one again in the future. Did you know I like Diakko? Because I like Diakko. A lot. Check my AO3. Iykyk. Anyways I don't think the sleepover scene thing is too bad. Could have made Weiss interact with Blake a bit but eh whatever.

On the Bees: So, Yang makes a very pointed comment about being into boys! Very explicit and with no interpretation required! Let's see if we can see similar hints of her bisexuality at any point prior to V6. And on the off chance a bumblebee shipper is reading this: I don't really care how much these minor instances 'don't matter'. If they're such small things, why not have them go both ways? Like, say, the perfect chance that comes up right after with fucking Blake. Which isn't taken. "noo but she says she likes her bow' it's all literal pleasantries to try to get her to talk to Ruby and the second she isn't responsive Yang's like "Nah fuck her." There's more of a romantic interaction here between Ruby and Blake than between bumblebee ffs. Also Yang so far has only shown interest in boys, as evidenced by her trailer. 'nooo she was just pretending' she wasn't pretending here now was she. Anyways if it really was planned this early on what stopped the team from just showing a bit of her bisexuality. Because she also didn't have much of a 'gay awakening' thing moment. Which you'd think they'd give her. Or Blake for that matter.

Ep 4: Nora and Ren are introduced and it's clear Nora's in love with Ren from second 1. Even if it's unclear whether Ren reciprocates or not (And I'm gonna say unclear because dude's kind of very non-emotive in general). I think it's a fine enough introduction to the characters. Weiss is VERY gay towards Pyrrha you cannot convince me otherwise. (just for clarification's sake: I mean it in a shippy way, I know it's not intentionally queer, I'm a yurifag it's what I do). Oh hey look another character getting to be very explicitly heterosexual I'm sure queer folk will get the same treatment in this incredibly inclusive show! Idk if I like Pyrrha's introduction. I guess it's efficient but… well, like everything in this scene, really it coudl use some time to breathe. I could get nitpicky and complain about a lot of things with the 'team selection process' like, uh, the fact that some students have to have died or how there has to have been some terrible teams because of the random nature of it all. And I guess I just did. But I'll also say I'm gonna let it pass because, in the end, it's funny. Also Blake didn't speak a single word this episode. Or get like. Any focus. Like idk a shot of her reacting to other people's shenanigans at least. One of the 4 mcs guys.

On the Bees: Nothing this ep… Like with Blake.

Ep 5: AU where Pyrrha misses her shot because Ruby dodged that bird, and Pyrrha's weapon struck the bird instead of Jaune and Jaune fucking dies. (<- when I say these notes are for me I mean it this is the sort of shit I think about when watching episodes of anything) Like u get what I mean? Ruby and Weiss just have so much chemistry man. I don't get what Pyrrha saw in Jaune acting like a prick back there but idk straight people are weird. And… pretty much that's all I have to say about the episode. There wasn't much of a pacing issue here because it was like, 3 scenes altogether.

Ep 6: So, Yang's supposed to absorb damage to use her semblance. At least in the later volumes. Here she just… Uses it. The trailer version had been fighting and took a few hits so it made sense there but here? And don't tell me it had no effect because she used it to obliterate that bear Grimm. Anyways I think it changes a few times through the volumes I'll be on watch for that. Yang and Blake's meeting is… fucking nothing. More at the end. The, uh, 'fight' with Ruby and Weiss wasn't animated the best. That's all imma say about it. Ok so, Aura is a manifestation of the soul and it can coat yourself and your tools for protection and presumably also enhances attacks and provides healing. Simple enough. But… the thing about understanding light and dark or whatever? Shit never comes up again. Also I seem to remember this is retconned but we'll get there when/if we get there. I don't hate the concept of Aura. Hell, it's almost exactly how I handle at least 2 magic systems I'm currently working on (sans details). I just think it's poorly utilized, being almost always just used as a magical coating and little else. The whole 'manifestation of the soul' thing rings hollow. Also does anyone else ever do the shield-aura thing Ren did here? Leaving aside my problems with Aura in general, Pyrrha's whole thing about helping Jaune manifest Aura: W H A T. T H E. F U C K. Like, did anyone on the team pause to think of the implications of this? Probably not. Definitely not. Just think about it for a second. This implies that it's possible for people with aura to help people without it manifest it. Whether the speech is important or not is irrelevant, let's say it's just something to help someone focus. That's not the freaking point. WHY woudln't they do this to everyone? If Pyrrha could do it with Jaune, who is pretty much a normal ass dude, why not do this for every citizen? It literally takes like a minute. Sure it tires the person who does it but like, what's stopping that person from turning around and doing it to someone else? Let's say it requires training to do it: Why not train people for the explicit job of unlocking other people's auras? And yes, they very explicitly state everyone has an aura, whether it's unlocked or not. Listen to me. LISTEN TO ME. You live in a society where a negative emotion will attract the monsters trying to kill you. Do you know how much safer people would feel if they knew they'd survive at least one or two hits from a Grimm? The panic you could help avoid? Grimm have this thing where they retrofeed themselves, causing panic which attracts more of them which causes more panic etc. By unlocking everyone's Aura you could help avoid or at least severely delay that problem. I don't think this is ever done again. But even if it is, the point would only get stronger, because it's clearly not something only Pyrrha can do. Anwyays back to our regular content, fight scenes with Monty are pretty good most of the time. Ren never uses his bare fists to attack again I don't think.

On the Bees: Every other pairing formed in these episodes had like. A proper exchange when they met. To show what chemistry they had together. Whether it be Weiss ignoring then coming back to Ruby, Pyrrha making a wisecrack at Jaune or Nora's and Ren's whole thing. Yang and Blake? Blake doesn't say anything, she just smirks (I think it's meant to be a smirk anyways). Yang just boasts. I understand Blake's not a very talkative individual but this tells me nothing of what their dynamic's gonna be.

Ep 7: Weiss and Ruby having really fun interactions here and then Yang and Blake have a nothingburger of an interaction. Actually, make that 2 nothingburger interactions. Jaune and Pyrrha get to be comedic here. And that's basically the episode really.

On the Bees: I don't care if bumblebee shippers read a million layers of meaning into Blake not saying shit when they first interact this episde. Fine. But Yang doesn't even have a reaction to it! She doesn't act annoyed or intrigued she literally does fucking nothing about it. Then the pony thing is like… ok. What's their dynamic here? Weiss and Ruby have a really strong dynamic already in place. Jaune and Pyrrha are building one that's at least starting to make sense. Nora and Ren had one from their first seconds together. Seriously. You wanna argue they were planned from the beginning? Well they sure seem like people who ended on the same team and shrugged and said 'whatever' and kept moving without further interaction, unlike fucking EVERYONE else. It pisses me off because you can 100% play Yang's hotheadedness against Blake's more calculating nature, but they don't fucking do that. 'Planned from the beginning' my ass, mfs couldn't even figure out how to squeeze some characterization out of their interactions.

Ep 8: The start of this episode is another case of RWBY humor not really hitting home for me. Another case of Yang just using her semblance for a tantrum. Seriosuly White Rose gets a fucking moment every episode. Yang and Blake barely fucking interact. I'm going insane. The rest of the episode is basically one big action scene, and well, it's RWBY at its best, so no real complains here. Roman is kind of awfully underutilized, isn't he.

On the Bees: I'd love to go on a rant like last episode but honestly shit still applies. The only actual interaction Yang and Blake have here is when Yang is feeling proud of Ruby, and it speaks nothing about their dynamic.

Ep 9: Last episode Blake wasn't saying shit and now she's suddenly a huge part of the redecorating efforts. The problem isn't that I think she should be a loner or aloof, the problem is that it doesnt' feel too consistent. She starts being like "leave me alone I wanna read", she barely exchanges a word with Yang later, and now she joins in on the fun? idk, maybe she could've joined in a less overt way. Other than that it's a fine scene, though it goes too fast for my liking. The classroom scene is amazing because it teaches us basically nothing, other than the mention of the 4 kingdoms. Like it says a lot of shit about 'true huntsmen' which ends up proving mostly untrue through the rest of the show. Which would be fine if it was like, a point made, but it's not really.

On the Bees: N o t h i n g.

Ep 10: More White Rose people really trying to tell me not to ship them because the bees are canon but fuck you THEIR DYNAMIC IS THE BEST PART OF EARLY RWBY. Always with the caveat of 'pacing could be better' ofc. Anyways what the fuck was up with professor moustache flirting with Yang what were they thinking. I think the Weiss/Ruby conflict could have been stretched a bit. Rather than a day, make it a week or something. Still, this is one of the better episodes of the season, iirc.

On the Bees: Nada. Zero. Nanai. But we keep getting fuel for White Rose DO YOU UNDERSTAND MY FRUSTRATION HERE. LIKE SERIOUSLY I WOUDLN'T EVEN MIND THE ABSOLUTE LACK OF ANY EXPLICIT QUEERNESS IN THESE EARLY VOLUMES IF THEY AT LEAST BOTHERED TO MAKE THE SUPPOSED 'PLANNED FROM THE BEGINNING' COUPLE INTERACT PROPERLY. NOBODY WOULD BE CASTING DOBUT TO THE CLAIM IF WHITEROSE HAD ENDED UP BEING CANON.

Ep 11: Ok, here's the thing. Aura is a manifestation of the soul. I can accept it can be measured somehow. The question here is, what exactly happens when it breaks? Like, what happens to your fucking soul? Really, I would just make it vital energy the same way ki or chakra works, because tying it to the soul like that just leads to questions. Anyways this episode is just the setup for the "jaune gets bullied arc". I'll actually not say too much about it because my own thoughts towards bullies are rather… extreme (as in, I would kill them all without hesitation were I given the chance sort of extreme). So instead of commenting on how absolutely terribly I think this arc is handled, I'll… not do that. That being said, none of team JNPR or RWBY standing up for Bunnygirl is kind of bullshit. Also, we know there's cameras everywhere on beacon, so why don't the teachers do shit? Though to be fair, teachers not doing shit about bullying is the most realistic part of this whole thing.

On the Bees: Still nothing.

Ep 12: Ok so the discussion of "making up new races to be racist towards" has been ongoing for as long as the internet has existed, probably earlier than that too. I am white, and I'm not from the US. In my country I'd say we have far more xenophobia than we do racism, and we didn't have a civil war over the the concept of freeing slaves. We just sort of did it. All of this to say: I'm not really in a position to give too pointed an opinion on the whole 'racist towards faunus' thing. With that and my refusal to speak on hte bullying topic, that kind of leaves me with little to say in general about the rest of the volume, huh. That being said, while I don't mind the Jaune/Pyrrha thing, and I do like the idea of Jaune somehow faking his way into beacon… how? How exactly does he do that? Like, think about all the security shit we've seen over the years. How does anyone create fake transcripts? Woudln't Ozpin or Glynda call the schools of their students to make sure their records are correct? idk. Maybe Ozpin just found the idea funny.

On the Bees: Knees.

Ep 13: I like the conversation between Jaune and Ruby, though it feels a bit… random for Ruby to be saying this? I guess the idea is she matured a bit after the conversation with Ozpin but it doesn't really feel like she's at the point where she should be saying stuff like this yet. I think she and Jaune should've played off each other, instead of Ruby acting like she's experienced about this.

On the Knees: Bees. Or, actually, I think it was wasps in that box.

Ep 14: Pyrrha's semblance is later treated as though it were secret (iirc) but she certainly doesn't seem to care too much about it right now. Wouldn't it be a matter of public reacord, anyways? Like, if you go to a fighting school, I'd reckon they want to know what their fighters' semblances are. Wouldn't want to have Gorey McBloodhands walk into the next sparring session and make someone explode from the inside, know what I mean? I suppose the existence of Salem could work to explain the masking of this but… They put up public tournaments where the best fighters are literally shown to the whole world anyways, and most semblances aren't as subtle as Pyrrha's so, you know. Anyways, that moment when Jaune's aura glows… Is… that supposed to be his semblance? I think it was more just that thing Pyrrha said about Jaune having a lot of aura, but if Jaune can use his semblance on himself, well… Fuck, the implications. Jaune could be the most broken character of this cast. Should be, even. Only semblances like Tyrian's should be able to counter him.

On the Bumbles: What happened to the box of wasps anyways.

Ep 15: Ok, so the only thing I will say about the racism arc: It makes sense Weiss would be racist, I just think it comes out of nowhere, when they had at least 2 other chances to show it in the past to build up to all of this. First thing Sun does when he shows up: Flirt! With Blake! More at the bottom Anwyays previous to final episode of the volume and… we introduce 2 random ass characters out of nowhere. And no, this wasn't planned from the beginning, this was done in haste because Monty thought it'd be cool to have them in a fight scene, and it shows. Monty was a genius animator but the guy could have done a little consulting with his team, really. THAT BEING SAID. I kinda think like they did the best they could. For all my complaints, using Sun as the trigger for Wiess's rampant racism (even though it could've been built up to) is effective enough. And… Ok Penny is a bit superfluous and she… doesn't really add anything to the scene other than being a literal obstacle, but, uh, could be worse really. I didn't much care for penny back in the day, but I do love Penny after V7-8, much as her revival bothers me (I remember when they claimed that no, Penny couldn't be brought back to life despite being a machine. You really want me to believe their claims about other stuff when they pull shit like that? You know the whole racism argument could have been a moment for Yang and Ruby to actually partake in the conversation. Especially yang since, you know, they were totally planned as a couple from the beginning.

On the Bees: Nothing! But Sun had a moment with Blake! Two, actually! And Sun's gonna be the one getting the infodump first. Like, dude's really gonna connect more and more deeply with Blake over a cup of fucking coffee than Yang has in literal months- "But no guys you don't understand there was never anything going on there clearly it was nothing it had no narrative impact it was meaningless fr fr" I'll say more about this over the volumes because holy fuck the level of cope is amazing here. I know I'm gonna sound like a goddamn hetfag complaining about this but you seriously need to understand I'm a yuri connoisseur I fucking hate heterosexuality (in media. real heterosexuals are ok sometimes) (this is a joke but only if the previous comment offended you if not it's real)

Ep 16: Well I already said my piece about Blake telling her backstory to Sun rather than her teammates. Way to go Yang, sticking up for Blake in the face of Weiss's continued racism. How effective is it to hold someone at gun/knifepoint, given the existence of Aura? If Blake tried to slit Roman's throat, even with a shot, its unlikely she'd be able to pierce through the aura, right? Cool fights are cool. Ok, racism arc aside, I do think it's kind of a problem that Weiss just… solves her racism because she 'thought about it'. Like, bitch wasn't even confronted about it, you get me? I like the idea of the 'reunion', the problem is… it doesn't feel earned. Pacing issues, like usual, but especially awful here.

On the Bees: N O T H I N G BLAKE WAS MISSING FOR HALF A DAY AND WEISS HAD MORE OF A REUNION WITH HER AND RUBY HAD MORE OF A REACTION.

Anyways, V1 finished. Veredict? It's a mess. It's RWBY. Despite all the criticisms I've thrown its way, I believe I enjoyed it more this second time than the first, to be quite honest.

And no, this volume did absolutely nothing to convince me that Bumblebee was planned from the start. In fact it kind of pushed me in the opposite direction. Like, the VA's really shipped this from the start? Fucking why? They barely interact, when they do it's fucking dry, and Blake has deeper moments of connection with the other two members of RWBY than with Yang. I am genuinely astounded anyone would believe the claims the bee's were always meant as endgame. Fucking hell.

On a completely separate note: Pyrrha doesn't pass the Bechdel Test for volume 1. Yes I kept track of this.

RWTC 2

[ruthlesslistener]

I can't actually delve much into pharloom and Deepnest yet since we don't know much about them, which is why I cut the "essay" in the OG post short.

But if I were to say anything I'd say that Pharloom feels very Christian to me, while Deepnest is very much not, though I can't say which culture they're coded as. Which is fascinating because pharloom clearly accepts immigrants, or pilgrims as we saw in the trailer. It suggests to me that Pharloom is only accepting immigration from nations they deem "civilised", aka bug Christian, or at least willing to assimilate.

However the weavers are not willing to assimilate, and even if they were they look so different to the average bug, which means they cannot. I may be projecting but it's like how if you're a brown middle Eastern guy you can't exactly assimilate into western culture even if you wanted to cause you're not white.

Because of this pharloom keeps the weavers only for their labour and away from the eyes of tourists and pilgrims, to continue this facade of a "civilized" nation, afraid that the "barbaric" (aka not bug Christian) reputation of the Deepnest immigrants would taint that.

It's similar to how if you were to be hired into a factory job here in Europe or any major labor intensive job that is away from the eyes of the public it's filled with immigrants, as if the company knows that they'll accept harsher conditions. No I'm not speaking from personal experience whatever gave you that idea, heh, but seriously it's fucked I hope hornet tears pharloom into shreds.

op i am SO sorry that i didn't answer this in over a month. I did not expect to be as busy as I was when I got back from winter break and this was one of those asks where I really wanted to sit down and just read through it and have time to think of an eloquent reply to add more to the conversation, but then I got smacked with the requirement to read a dry 500-page book on why some biochemist thinks that the mitochondria is the key to everything we do in our lives

But! Now that I (kinda) have the time!! Hard agree with you!!! Pharloom is indeed very Christian-coded, what with the rosaries and all, and even though we know very little about it rn, there does seem to be a strong form of hierarchy going on that wasn't present in Hallownest- at least, not as a whole. While the caverns of Hallownest were formed by separate native tribes that each had their own culture, god, and internal hierarchy, Pharloom was said to be a land that you had to work your way through 'from the ground up' to reach the gilded capital, which is...quite a familiar phrase to anyone who is an immigrant or child of an immigrant family that came to America seeking some form of wealth or freedom that their original country couldn't offer. Similarly, Pharloom seems much more densely-packed and messy compared to Hallownest, where again, each tribe had their own territory that they defended and cultivated to their own liking. Pharloom, on the other hand, feels like a city where there's floods of new immigrants and pilgrims coming in seeking something that it's offering to them, but only the most desirable of the bunch will get what they want. And if you're not, then, well...good luck with that. You can try working your way up the ladder, but you won't get very far. You never will. It's all a sham, and those who notice it will get nothing out of it.

(the fact that they captured Hornet in a cage gives me a very uneasy feeling about the potential of slave labour, but at the same time, that seems hardly out of the ordinary for Pharloom. I'm also kinda creeped out by the implication that the Weavers were originally from Pharloom but fled to Hallownest, then were forced to go back to their homeland come the Infection, because that's not really something we've seen yet so far. Even the Moths seem to have simply assimilated into the City of Tears when the Pale King and White Lady uprooted the Radiance, and by Seer's words, they did so willingly. That the Weavers had no choice is...sinister, to say the least)

Also big agree on hoping that Hornet tears Pharloom a new one. She got to be princess protector over a dying kingdom for so long, now she deserves to tear the guts out of a rotting cesspit on the verge of death.

[starryredpandawrites]

OH👏 MY👏 GOD👏 YOU👏 ARE👏 AMAZING👏

I know I’m kind of late to the party but I’m like halfway through reading your fic and I love it so much-

It’s one of the best things I have EVER read. THANK YOU!!!

I would give you like a giant essay but I kinda wanna finish catching up first so-

ASDJHFHKJLFY8UOALIHIUQRHJKFDUYI

Omigosh THANK YOU!!!!!!!! You are so kind 😭😭😭

And I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to respond to this T_T but this seriously made my day/week/month/year.

🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤