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bozo-boy · 2 years ago

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a retrospective of my art of 2022

i love that you can tell what i’m hyperfixating on judging by the art. more detailed explanations below the cut!

january

i started off 2022 with a redraw of a piece from april of 2021. for christmas of last year, i got an ipad and apple pencil, so this was largely me exploring procreate and the feel of a new way of drawing. there’s a lot about this one that i still like, particular chat noirs cute lil face, but there’s so much i would do differently now that i’m more comfortable with the medium.

february

i was still finding my footing with this one. i was really into fnaf, and naturally, monty. the shine on the ass was using one of the in-app stamp brushes, which was quite fun to play with. honestly, going back, i would just add more depth and complexity to this one. i stand by the bones of this one.

march

this one was done so i could have a fancy new pfp. to be completely honest, i’m not a fan of this one. it’s a redraw of a screenshot from the show itself, and even at the time i was unsatisfied with how this turned out. in retrospect, i would’ve started the sketch small and then scaled it up so it would look a bit more,, normal. i find my art comes out much better when i start small.

april

this drawing is for a worldbuilding project i like to work on when i’m not obsessed with anything else at the time. in this world, there’s a city with a whole festival for phoenixes, and a legend involving a raven falling in love with the sun, but i won’t get into that right now. if i’m remembering correctly, one of my references for this one was a swallow. i still like the way the sun shines through the feathers and the more painterly style. i still stand by this one 100%.

may

oh boy may. this was when my apple pencil broke, and lined up with me getting into sonic, after watching the movie. one of my friends sent me a picrew, birthing this little nameless character. i’m still quite happy with this one, i think i got the style really good while still making it a little bit my own. my short lived sonic hyperfixation is still visible in the way i draw eyes while sketching, which i think it pretty neat. i wonder if, had my apple pencil not broken, i would’ve gotten more into the franchise.

june

AHHHHHH. sorry, this is from when i got back into a set of my ocs, affectionately dubbed “the sin boyz”. they’re all based on the seven deadly sins, and this is asmodeus, embodiment of lust. he’s definitely the most fun to draw because of him being quite high energy, and i’d love to come back to these characters once again. i don’t have much to say about the drawing itself, other than still liking how cartoony it is.

july

i’m not entirely sure what sparked this, but i got really back into the arcana, a game which i’ve been into for years now. this little fella is my character for the game, named zephyr! this piece is actually based on a sketch from i think a few months earlier. i still like this one, with his cute little face. i adore how his eyes turned out, and i’d love to try returning to that style, even just to experiment.

august

this is actually a reference photo for zephyr, but i wanted to fully render it to try to demonstrate some of the fabric textures. i still adore just about everything about this, aside from how his face turned out. i’ve always struggled a little with placing eyebrows too close to the hairline, dating back to my art from when i was like,, 12, where the eyebrows would actually float above the head. aside from that, i still love this.

september

when i made this, i was actually rereading lucio’s route (i’m obsessed with it in a train-wreck way) and found the imagery of the player investigating his abandoned room super compelling. the background from this is actually from the game itself, which is something i had never done before. i even slightly edited the background the reflect some of his magical light! this one is much less colourful and saturated than my other stuff, and i have mixed feelings about it. still though, i’m proud of it, and i think this style of lighting is reflected in what i make today, even if the colours are out of my comfort zone.

october

this is probably one of my favourite pieces of ghost fanart i’ve made. the lighting is a little unpolished in relation to the smoke, but i couldn’t care less cause i just think it looks so freaking cool. i was directly inspired by mummy dust, both in the vision in my head when he growls “duuuuustl, but also in the green stage lighting when it’s performed on stage. i love how swirly the smoke looks, and even now, i’m obsessed with drawing characters lit from below. it’s one of my favourite things i’ve ever made.

november

so uh,, i was a very passionate voter in the american music awards, and the news of ghosts win was so wonderful. i, like many others, was and still am obsessed with the outfit tobias forge wore, and found it super inspiring. i was really worried about this one, cause i basically never draw real people and really wanted it to actually look like him while still being my art style, and i think i did pretty good. this was also new for me because it has two light sources! this presented a really fun challenge and i’m still so proud of this, aside from the lighting on the glass part of the award itself. also, three.

december

i got a new apple pencil for christmas! i immediately had to make something with it and the wonderful pressure sensitivity. i was mostly just playing around with this one, and doing back i’d change a few things, even if it’s only from a few days ago. nonetheless, i had a lot of fun here and really like the colours.

summary

oh boy i sure did draw this year! i think i’ve improved a lot, specifically in shading and rendering. i went outside of my comfort zone a lot with lighting, like things with multiple light sources and coloured light. next year, i wanna go outside of my comfort zone in different ways, particularly with things like backgrounds and character interactions. if you’ve read this far, i hope you enjoyed my self-analysis, and i hope 2023 brings you joy!

#bozo dtawings #bozo babbles #my art #digital art #for future reference #cw assless chaps

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13-reasons-ideas · 4 years ago

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Can’t Go Back Part 16

A/N: This chapter is very Justin-centric. I felt like Addy and Justy needed a day where they didn't need to worry about boys or moms. Just a day to be kids. It’s kind of filler but I like it. It’s a light chapter. As always, feedback is always nice and much love. - Em

Things were awkward between us for the next week. We had agreed to table the discussion about his dad and had come to a tentative understanding about Justin. We had never had a fight like that before so, we weren’t really sure where the lines were yet. I learned that his dad was a line you don’t cross unless invited. He learned that Justin was a line that was going to run parallel to our relationship, whether he liked it or not. Monty’s behaviour at school was different too. He was a little nicer for people to be around. Not Tyler Down, but I couldn’t really blame him. The kid was fucking creepy. Monty was even sort of polite to Justin.

By the following Monday, things had gone back to normal. Our texts were longer and less to the point. He was… well he was more Monty at school than he was for a few days. His friends didn’t seem to pick up on the change. But I did. He’s trying. I got dressed in in my comfy light wash jeans, because Justin and I were going to the mall after school and paired it with a light pink tank top with an old red and black flannel. The flannel had been sitting at the back of my closet for quite a while. I found it while I was going through and cleaning it out for donations. “Morning Dad.” I called as I heard him pass my room. He cleared his throat and grunted in response. He must have just woken up.

Downstairs, dad was making a cup of coffee while he read the paper. “Morning Addy.” He nodded when he heard me. Definitely just woke up. Grabbing a granola bar for breakfast, I went through and gathered up my books for school. Once they were neatly arranged in my backpack, I set it by the door. My book from last night was still sitting on the island. I took it and flipped it open to my last page since I had a little time to kill before leaving for school. Deciding I would get too lost in the book, I rethought and took it over to my bag to take to school.

“Justin and I are going to the mall after school. He needs help shoe shopping. And I need to grab a few replacement shirts. I had to throw some out that were too old.”

“Have fun. Don’t forget to grab your mom’s prescription on the way home.”

“I won’t. Do we need anything else while we are out?”

“No, we should be okay. I’ll text you if I think of anything today. Your mom will be late today too. One of her students needed to schedule an afterhours meeting.”

“Okay. See you later dad.”

“Bye.”

Justin was early today, which surprised me. At least until I noticed his duffel bag. He must have spent the night at Bryce’s last night. He was mingling with his friends. I waved as I passed them to my locker, not paying anyone much mind. I watched them a bit from across the hall. They were goofing off as usual. Justin’s smile seemed a little forced. I’ll talk to him after school. My eyes scanned the group. When they landed on Monty, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. And I will admit I may have possibly spent more time than strictly required, simply checking him out. It was during my perusal of his body that I noticed something familiar. A little too familiar. My eyes widened and I looked down. That… that’s… we are wearing the same shirt. Spinning around and opening my locker again, I ripped off the flannel and shoved it in my locker.

Casually making my way over to the group of boys, I made sure to rub my arms like I was cold. “Morning Justin. Morning Boys.” I shivered.

“Morning Addy.” Justin said, as he leaned in to hug me gently.

“Where’s my morning Addy?” Bryce smirked.

“Oh, I’m sorry Bryce. I must have forgotten we say morning to each other. Morning Walker.”

“Morning Addy. Are you cold or are you finally going to tell us all what your secret to doing well in school is?”

“I’m cold. And I’ve shared my secret with you before. It’s called actually opening the books they rent to us and reading them. Hey Justin, do you have an extra sweater? I spilled water on my other shirt like right after I left the house.”

“Yeah, I have one in my locker. Go ahead and grab it.”

“Thanks. Have I told you you’re the best lately?”

“Nope.” He laughed.

“Well, now I have.”

I was in a good mood when lunch rolled around. I nodded to Courtney in the hall on my way to the cafeteria. She was talking to Marcus about one thing or another. Tyler was watching Hannah in a way that had it been anyone else, wouldn’t have been weird. Clay was watching her too. I smiled and waved at him. He nodded back. “Hey Addison.” Tyler called. I turned around and he waved his camera at me. I waved my book in the air like I was busy but stopped for the student life photographer anyway. He snapped his photo and I continued on.

Since I was in a good mood, I didn’t even think twice about sitting with Justin and his friends. “Are we eating at the mall?” Justin asked when I sat down.

“I don’t see why not. I’ll have to stop at Baker Drugs on my way home though. Mum has a refill waiting.”

“Okay.” He nodded and bit into his sandwich. Jeff bounded over to the table.

“Guess who got above a C?” He asked, proudly.

“You?” Anders asked in response.

“Yup. Now I can finally make Clay make a move.”

“He’s going to hate it Jeff.” I said.

“I know. But he needs to put himself out there.”

“Make a move on who?” Monty asked.

“Hannah Baker.” Jeff replied. “Everyone knows he likes her.”

“I don’t really pay attention to the Jensen kid.” He shrugged.

“He hates dances.”

“I know. But a deal is a deal. I get above a C he goes to the dance. Are you going Addy?”

“Wasn’t planning on it, no.”

“Why not?” Bryce asked. I rolled my eyes.

“I hate school dances. The only not crappy part is that Tony is DJing.”

“You have to go. I’m going.” Justin begged with his mouth full.

I shook my head. What is it with boys not chewing their food? “I went to the last one. It’s Bryce’s turn to babysit you.”

“I babysat last time.”

“No, you didn’t. You were sneaking off behind the bleachers with your date. I babysat. Plus, I can’t tie a tie. And neither can Justin. Ergo, your turn.”

“Yes you-.” Justin started. I kicked him under the table.

“I’m not going to the stupid dance. Besides, I have homework.”

“Addison. The dance isn’t for like three weeks.” Jeff complained.

“I know Jeff. But I am not Clay Jensen. I have friends. I have a life.”

“Aren’t you friends with Clay?” Scott asked.

“Yes. So, I know he keeps to himself. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to the dance.”

“You’re not going to the dance yet.” Justin smiled devilishly. I rolled my eyes.

“Did you finish your English paper?”

“Maybe.”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“Did you?” He challenged. Monty choked on a laugh. Smooth. Bryce quirked his brow.

“Did you just ask her if she finished a homework assignment?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged.

“Yes, I did. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. Since you’re on me about my homework.”

“Justin. The last time she handed something in late, was like seventh grade because she was out of school the day it was due.” Monty added.

“I remember. She had a stress rash because of it. How do you remember?”

He shrugged. “It had never happened before.” He noticed that? And thought it was important enough to remember? Thankfully before any more questions could be raised, the bell rang.

“I’ll meet you at my locker after school Justin.” He gave me a thumbs up before walking away, already in conversation with Zach about something.

Justin and I drove to the mall, singing along to whatever was on a Spotify artist radio. “Do we want a pretzel now or later?” I asked as I pulled my purse out of my backpack in the car. I had changed back into the flannel from this morning while I waited for my best friend at my locker.

“Now.” We said in unison.

Pretzels in hand, we wandered around the mall for a while. “I need some new shirts. I had to throw a bunch out because they were really old and not able to be donated.”

“You want opinions?”

“Of course.”

��Shoes first?”

“Sure.”

“DSW?” He shrugged and nodded. At the store, we headed straight for the men’s section. I pointed out a few pairs that seemed like they were his style. He made a face at the first couple of pairs and shook his head. Shrugging, I pointed out a pair of Nikes that were on sale. He gave me his best seriously look and I laughed. “They could be nice.”

“Yeah. If I want to look like my feet are three sizes bigger than they are.”

“You know what they say about guys with big feet though Justin.” He flipped me off. “What about these?” This time, he actually tried them on. They were not the right ones.

After a few more busts, we decided it was time to try a different store. Famous Footwear was having a sale. We stopped in there. Once again, we headed straight for the men’s sneakers. He tried a couple of pairs of Converse. Neither of us were very big fans. “White?” I asked, pointing out a pair of Pumas.

“No.” He shot down. I nodded and we kept looking. He picked up a pair of grey and white Nikes. “These are nice.”

“They are.” We found his size and he tried them on. “How do they feel?”

“Good.” He flexed his foot a few times before trying them out to walk. “Yeah, these feel good.” I smiled and we placed them back in the box to go pay.

Shoes in hand, we made a quick pitstop for coffee. Justin brought up the topic of the Winter Formal again while we walked around trying to find some shirts for me. “Are you really not going to go Addy?”

“No Justin. I don’t want to go. And besides, I have no one to go with.” At least, no one I can go to a school dance with.

“You can go with us.”

“Go with you and Bryce. And Bryce’s boys?” I quirked my brow, sharply.

“Yeah. We don’t bite. We are fun.”

“Fun. Sure.” I muttered.

“You could see Clay try to talk to Hannah.”

“Or I could sit at home and binge watch Pretty Little Liars.”

“I thought you said you had homework Addy.”

“You know that was just so Jeff would let my excuse slide. For now, at least.”

“Come on. It’ll be fun.”

“If I say I’ll think about it, will you drop it?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

“Then I will think about it.” He made a fist pumping motion and I burst out laughing. “You are such a freaking dork.”

We stopped at Target and looked around the clothes-he wasn’t going to let me look at anything else-for a while. But nothing really felt like me when I looked at it or tried it on. American Eagle was a little better. I was able to at least find things I liked on the hanger and on me. “This?” I asked Justin when I came out of the dressing room in a soft purple shirt.

“It’s nice. Makes your boobs look good.”

“That’s always a plus.” I added it to the small yes pile. A blue one was next. He shook his head.

“Not your colour.”

“Didn’t think so.” A couple more noes were added to the pile before we checked out. Aritzia and Zara were close by, but I didn’t like anything on the rack enough to try it on. We made a quick stop at Madewell and I got a couple of plain white t-shirts.

“Can we make a Sephora stop? I need to replace my foundation.”

“We can if you give me your wallet, so you don’t spend all of your money.”

“I won’t spend it all. I literally only need a new bottle of foundation.”

“Alright. You have ten minutes to get in line tops.”

“Yes Dad.” I shook my head. Justin scoffed jovially. He followed close behind me in the store to make sure I stayed true to my word. They were out of my shade in my usual formula. I grabbed a bottle of my backup formula instead. By the time we were done, I didn’t even have the energy to make a stop at the bookstore. We decided to grab a slice of pizza to go instead of sitting in the food court.

Back in town, we stopped at Baker Drugs and got my mom’s prescription. I grabbed a box of gobstoppers for good measure and grinned at Justin. “Are you spending the night? We can do movies before bed as long as you aren’t a pain in my ass in the morning.”

“Sure. I’ll let my mom know.”

At home, I texted Monty while Justin was in the bathroom. Hey, Justin is spending the night for movie night.

Okay. How was shopping?

Good. I got some stuff.

Awesome. Enjoy your movies babe. Justin came back before I could reply. “Who you texting?”

“Just Zach about our Government assignment. Do we want snacks?”

“Of course, we want snacks.” Together, the two of us went downstairs and raided the cabinets.

“Hi Justin. Hi Addison.” Mum greeted as she came in the door.

“Hi Margot.” Justin replied.

“Hi Mum.”

“Make sure you don’t eat too much candy you two.” She chuckled when she saw us trying to stuff a box of Swedish berries in Justin’s sweater.

“We won’t Mum.”

“Yes Mom.”

I put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. Justin and I ran upstairs with our contraband. We both changed into comfy clothes and arranged our candy on my bed. When the microwave beeped, I ran back down to get it. Mum pretended not to notice me grabbing an extra chocolate bar. I heard her laughing with dad about it though.

“They really are quite cute together.”

“I suppose. Thankfully we don’t need to worry about them being another kind of cute.” Dad said. No, you really don’t.

Justin had Netflix pulled up when I got back to my room and shut the door. He was scrolling aimlessly. “I put butter on in the middle and the top.”

“Wonderful.” He grinned. “What mood are we in?”

“Superbad?”

“Addison! That is an R rated movie.” He exclaimed, scandalously.

“But it’s funny.”

“Superbad it is.” We got settled and hit play. After it was done, we scrolled through and picked The Social Network. Finally, just for fun to end the night… er, morning, we decided to watch the 2011 Footloose. Between the three films, we ate so much candy we knew we would wake up with stomach aches on Tuesday.

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she-who-fights-and-writes · 5 years ago

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She-who-fights-and-writes Coronacation Book Rec List

I know that a lot of people are stuck at home right now in dire need of entertainment, so I decided I’d put out a book recommendations list of all the books I’m currently reading and all of my must-reads!

(Just a note that a lot of these are Fantasy because I’m a fantasy nerd haha)

Books/Series I am currently reading

1. The Folk of the Air Trilogy by Holly Black (Currently on #2, The Wicked King)

Genre: High Fantasy

Setting: The land of Faerie which is kind of historical, but in the human world it is modern day

Main cast :

Jude Duarte (white, human, cutthroat, if I saw her in a Denny’s Parking Lot at 3am I would RUN)

Cardan Greenbriar (white, faerie, the true embodiment of Bastard)

Vivienne (Jude’s half-sister, lesbian with canon gf, half-human half-faerie, I would totally try to be her friend)

Taryn Duarte (Jude’s twin sister, queen doormat, still, I would take a bullet for her she’s jUST TRYING TO FIT IN)

Rating: 5/5 Stars

These books have been on my “To Read” list for so long now and for some reason I just never got around to reading them! Hands-down, these are some of the best high fantasy books that I’ve read in a long, long while.

I finished the first book, The Cruel Prince, in just two days and rated it 5/5 stars! Even though these books are high fantasy and focus on the traditions and ways of life of faeries, somehow all of the characters seem like I could meet them in real life!

The main character actually has genuine flaws and not just “””“flaws”””” and is a Bad Bitch down with murder, and the plot had me on the edge of my seat from page one!

The summary makes it sound like it’s going to be about their romance, but it’s really mostly about a power struggle and Jude being a badass.

Goodreads summary for The Cruel Prince:

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

2. The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater (Currently on #1, The Raven Boys)

Genre: Present-Day/Realistic Fantasy (?)

Setting: The fictional town of Henrietta, Virginia

I haven’t gotten around to much of the book, so there’s not much I can tell you about the characters and I can’t properly give it a rating yet.

These books were also on my “To Read” list for a while; I was a huge fan of her book The Scorpio Races and have also been looking for something to quench my thirst for “private school/ghosts/magic” that I’ve been dealing with ever since I read The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

I’ve only JUST started The Raven Cycle yesterday, but so far I am hooked! I’m super worried because I’m TERRIBLE at juggling two series at a time but both of these are just so interesting!

Goodreads Summary for The Raven Boys:

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.” It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

MY MUST-READ BOOK LIST

1. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: 1700s Europe (England, Paris, Barcelona, Marseilles, Venice)

Main cast (I’ll try my best not to spoil anything because you find out a LOT of different stuff about these characters throughout the book):

Henry “Monty” Montague (white, bi/pansexual, attitude problem)

Percy Newton (mixed race, gay, very sweet boy, definitely got “most likely to bring home to mom” in the yearbook)

Felicity Montague (white, Monty’s little sister, headcanoned as asexual, I love her to death)

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Daring adventure, gay representation, historical setting, hilarious characters!

This book literally has it all! I would consider it one of my favorite books of all time, yet for some reason I’ve never gotten around to reading any of the sequel books! The ending is very satisfying and ties everything together, which I feel is part of the reason why I haven’t gotten around to them yet.

Therefore, it can serve as a one-shot read or a full series if you want to dive into something good!

The humor made me laugh out loud at points and all of the characters are very real and very, very relatable, not to mention the vivid settings of 1700s Europe!

Goodreads summary:

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men. But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy. Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

2. The Ninth House By Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Horror, Fantasy

Setting: Yale University and the town of New Haven, Present Day

Main cast:

Galaxy “Alex” Stern (Hispanic, sees dead people, very scary)

Daniel Arlington “Darlington” (white, rich, an angel who can sometimes be a dick)

Pamela Dawes (tbh I honestly don’t remember what she looks like, only that she’s a tired grad student with big nerd energy)

Detective Alan Turner (Black, takes shit from nobody, husband material)

Rating: 4/5 Stars

(NOTE: THIS IS VERY DARK ADULT FICTION AND CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT MAY BE TRIGGERING FOR SOME PEOPLE, WOULD NOT RECOMMEND FOR PEOPLE UNDER 16)

This book is a great read for someone who’s looking for a disturbing, gritty book with layers upon layers of secrets that you have to peel away as the mystery unfolds. I love the secret societies and the intricate magic systems that the book introduces, and it actually made me hungry for more books like it!

Alex is a three-dimensional, very real character who also serves as an unreliable narrator who witholds or warps the information that she’s telling you, making the narrative all the more riveting.

The only issues that I have with it are the fact that Leigh Bardugo kind of just dumps you in the middle of it without explaining stuff first, to the point where it kind of feels like you’re reading the second installment of a series rather than the first one, so things can get a bit confusing at first.

The book also can drag and draw things out for a bit too long, but once the plot fully kicks into gear, you will not be able to put it down!

Goodreads summary:

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

3. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Setting: Earth, Space, The Moon

Main cast :

Linh Cinder (Chinese, based on Cinderella, cyborg, certified badass)

Scarlet Benoit (French, based on Little Red Riding Hood, farmer who is not afraid to shoot you)

Cress Darnel (White, based on Rapunzel, nerd, I will protect her with my life if I have to)

Kaito “Kai” (Chinese, based on Prince Charming, kind of has to run a whole country, a very kind soul, deserves a nap)

Carswell Thorne (White, based off of Rapunzel’s Prince, bastard)

Winter Hayle (Black, based off of Snow White, royalty, has super special powers)

Wolf (Race unspecified, based off of the Big Bad Wolf, charming killing machine, furry????)

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Do you like fairy tales?

Have you ever wanted to know what fairy tales would be like if they took place in the FUTURE instead of the PAST?

Do you like an amazing, hilarious cast paired with a super interesting plot?

These are the books for you!

I haven’t read them in so long, but I remember how much joy I felt while devouring these pages. Definitely something you will not able to put down!

Goodreads Summary for Book #1: Cinder:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

4. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Genre: Fantasy

Setting: Ancient Greece

Main cast:

Patroclus (Greek, Gay, quiet pining)

Achilles (Greek, gay, very strong, student athlete energy)

Brisies (Anatolian, clever, literally the only one in this story who has a brain cell)

Rating: 100000/5 stars

This is basically the Iliad but if historians hadn’t completely erased Patroclus and Achilles’ relationship. “Haha yeah these guys were totally bros” they say, even though I have read the Iliad and their relationship isn’t even subtle.

This book made me cry at least ten times. It’s just so beautifully written and has such a distinct vibe to it that whenever I crack it open for another time, it takes me straight back to the vacation that I read it on. (Needless to say, sobbing your eyes out can be less than helpful when you’re on the beach)

If you can only read one book on this list, it should be this one. I could talk all day about it and write novels on just how much of an incredible writer Madeline Miller is, but I feel like you’d get my drift a bit better if you actually read the book.

Goodreads Summary:

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear. Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

Hope this list helps you through your coronacation, and please don’t be afraid to reblog or message me to tell me if you’ve read/will read any of these!

#books #book recs #book rec #book reccomendation #book reccomendations #coronacation #corona #coronavirus #covid-19 #book rec list

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sometimesrosy · 4 years ago

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Okay but I really wish the whole spacekru&Clarke friendships weren't so overlooked in storyline. Out of nowhere this season suddenly Murphy and emori care about madi. Same with raven season 6. Yet they couldn't understand Clarke's need to care for her season 5. Murphy and Clarke could've bonded over their mistakes and cockroach nature yet he holds everything that happened years ago, before praimfaya over her head like he's innocent either. Part 1

Part 2. Clarke and echo hugging out of nowhere in season 6? Yeah they've all grown and made mistakes but where's the development in some of these? I hate how Clarke is so selfless sometimes because she just puts up with people, her now so called "family" yet they don't talk about their relationships and develop them, making comments all the time or willing to sacrifice her and not care. I love her she rises above that but who wants to put up with that. Who should

+++

I really wish you wouldn’t come to a conclusion and then pretend that the canon that shows spacekru’s relationship to Clarke and Madi didn’t exist.

It may not have the same development that you want it to have, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing. And I hate it when people erase canon to feed their theories.

If there is canon narrative that disproves or disagrees with your theory, then your theory is not working. If you don’t address that contrary canon, you’re just ignoring it. That’s erasure and bad theorizing. At best you have an unproven hypothesis. Just an idea.

Clarke and Spacekru relationships are not overlooked. First off Bellamy is spacekru and both s5 and s6 were about their relationship, even when they were at odds.

We had Clarke and Monty and Harper in season 5, and they didn’t survive, true, but they spoke to HER and asked HER to take care of their son and Jordan has a relationship with her too.

Clarke and Raven was a complex relationship and Raven was MAD at Clarke for MANY reasons going all the way back to Abby and Finn. S5 and s6 was a continuation of her resentment from all of that. You can say they aren’t focusing on their relationship but you’re wrong. The closest definition of that relationship is “sibling rivalry.” And no, it’s not always happy. In s5, Raven met Madi, and they were on the same side trying to get free of Clarke to save Bellamy and co. Raven’s relationship with Madi started THEN and was outside of her relationship with Clarke. In s6 she wasn’t saving Madi because of CLARKE she was doing it for Madi, and because it was the right thing to do. This reminds us of when she didn’t give Luna’s daughter meds and then watcher her die from it. Whether or not the meds would have worked earlier, RAVEN was confronted with the moral reasons to save people instead of being pragmatic. She was ALSO working with Abby to save Madi. She ALSO had a moral awakening and leadership crisis when she decided to help Abby bring back Kane and then help Kane die, taking the serum with him. THIS began her learning to understand Clarke. And when she came back, THAT’S when you saw her start to deal with morality in a more adult manner and make choices about that, not pragmatism or resentment. When she thought Clarke was gone for good, that MATTERED to Raven. Raven’s change in attitude was about HER OWN character development. Not Clarke’s. Clarke was already trying her best to do better. Raven REFUSED to stop working on Madi, when Clarke ASKED HER TO, because she needed to save Madi not open the shield. She didn’t do that for Clarke. She did that because it was the right thing to do, and honestly, you should have noticed that moment as one where Raven and Clarke clicked back together based on their long history and independent intentions to be better. Then there was the whole losing their mother/foster mother and desperation to save madi/their people. And like, if you think the beginning of 7, where they’re working together and Clarke understands her struggle with the near meltdown and deaths is nothing and then that whole scene where it’s just them in the belly of the beast and that doesn’t count as relationship development? I just... why? What do you think that is?

And with Murphy? You don’t understand why he’d care about Madi now? WHY NOT? Murphy was the one who tried to save Luna’s daughter and went sneaky to do it. He faced Raven down to do it. His relationship began with Madi in season 5 also, where he met her in the rover. Why wouldn’t he care about her? She’s his family too. Also like Raven, Abby was like his foster mom. Her death hit him hard. Madi is their way to make it up to her. And yes, Murphy blamed Clarke for things, and was irrational about it during the eclipse psychosis, blaming her for things that weren’t her fault, but he saved her and teamed up with her to save them all, too. And siding with Josephine was after she was dead and he was trying to save their people so her sacrifice was worth something. Even if he did momentarily try to get Clarke erased from Josephine, in the end he chose Clarke and Clarke knew it. They DO understand each other and Clarke never blamed him. She said she was proud of him. And he was happy she was alive. They don’t NEED to talk about their feelings, they understand each other, cockroach to cockroach. Notice she DID need to talk to Raven, because Raven needs logic and understanding while Murphy runs on intuition. Clarke put Murphy in CHARGE of Sanctum. He is taking care of everyone. MADI is his family. What kind of fan of The 100 doesn’t know how much of a hero Murphy is, how much he cares about his family.

We had Clarke and Echo in season 5. They had a huge scene that showed them getting their resentment and sadness out and then they basically got over it. Echo was the first person to consider Clarke part of the team again. When they hugged, it was NOT out of nowhere. They’re allies and have not been antagonists since that Clecho scene. You didn’t pay attention to it and decided that Echo hated Clarke when she simply didn’t. She defended Clarke at the beginning of s6 when Murphy and Raven attacked her. Echo was ready to destroy Sanctum for killing Clarke. Echo follows Clarke, because Bellamy follows Clarke and she knows how to follow her leaders. Echo has been Clarke’s people since s5 and Clarke has been Echo’s people since the same. Tell me again how they hug out of nowhere? Or is your bias against Echo and insistence on a shipwar blinding you? Clarke and Echo get along. Period. They are more alike than they are different. Shoot, Clarke was the one who invited her into the family. No one else wanted her to come. She sacrificed her suit so Echo could stay.

“So called family.”

That’s the key to your ask.

You are continuing the war between Clarke and Spacekru. The war that was never there. They had a falling out like family members have falling outs. Siblings. And you continue to hold that over their heads even though they’re over it and family again.

Drop it. Or if you want to hold onto it, don’t send it to me.

I’m actually kind of annoyed that I had to do all the work of pointing out relationship development that was pretty major for three (or more!) seasons while you’re just whining that it isn’t there.

Y’all. This fandom. I swear. It’s like once Echo got made a main you all lost half your braincells. You erased anything that had anything non-evil to do with her, and that includes her inclusion into spacekru.

STOP WITH THE FAN WARS.

#the 100 #spacekru #clarke griffin #madi #family #siblings

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casper-writes-stuff · 5 years ago

Text

I Think I’m In Love

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21921265

Summary: Virgil falls for Roman, and the realization hits him pretty hard. But... It's not a scary realization, like he thought it would be.

In which I'm five days late for Virgil's birthday, but here's his birthday fic that got way out of hand. I went into this expecting like no plot and Virgil simply thinking about how gay he is for Roman and then Roman refused to be ignored and it just kind of went from there. I've dedicated this to Max ( @max-is-tired) cause honestly? They've helped me get out of my writing funk lately and also they've been super excited for me to finish it since I sprung the idea for the fic on them in the first place lmao.

It wasn’t exactly a soft realization, when Virgil had it. It wasn’t like Patton telling him he loved him so much, and that he wouldn’t know what to do without his friendship. It wasn’t like Logan handing him a book on something Virgil was really interested in, wanting to discuss it with him and Virgil figuring out that was Logan telling him that he loved him like a brother. Nothing with Remus was soft, but realizing Virgil cared about him, too, wasn’t nearly as jarring as this.

Honestly, realizing how much he loved each of his friends never hit Virgil quite as hard as it did when he realized he was in love with one Roman Grimm. It was like a bag of bricks dropped from a few feet straight onto his chest.

Virgil had come up with a particularly creative insult and it had left Roman keeled over, wheezing so hard all that was escaping his mouth was high pitched noises, not a breath of air between them. He’d crossed his arms in triumph, feeling like he’d won that days bickering.

It took him all of ten seconds before he realized his expression wasn’t the smirk he’d been going for, but an overly sappy, love-filled smile at Roman’s laughter. And that’s when the bricks dropped and all air rushed out of his lungs, his eyes widening as he watched Roman gather himself.

He… didn’t run. Didn’t even consider it before Roman had recovered, made a comment that prompted Virgil into a response that sent him cackling again. While the conversation continues, Virgil thinks.

He thinks about his last venture into the dating world, and how it ended in such a massive disaster that he did his best to jade himself to feeling like that again, because what’s the point of butterflies when they’re only going to rip through your heart on their way out?

But… being around Roman doesn’t give him butterflies. Strangely enough, Virgil feels like he’s the one with wings, when he’s with the flamboyant actor. Being with Roman makes Virgil feel like he could do anything he wanted to, so long as he had him by his side. Doesn’t matter that they’d be bickering and insulting each other the entire journey. If anything, that’d make Virgil feel more confident that he can actually pull it off, whatever it was he decided to do that day.

And honestly, now that he’s thinking about it, Virgil gets kind of reckless when he and Roman are in the same vicinity. Dee has even pointed out to him before a venture into an abandoned amusement park to go ghost hunting that Roman had an easier time convincing Virgil to do something stupid and kind of dangerous than Patton did trying to get him to sleep.

Virgil had, naturally, told him to shove that stick in his ass down his own throat. He may be spending a little too much time with Roman’s brother, if he was being honest with himself. Dee had only scoffed, rolling his eyes before letting Virgil leave the house to meet up with an eccentric blond.

That venture into the old, rusty amusement park was one of the best nights of Virgil’s life, if he didn’t count being almost crushed to death under an unsteady beam in one of the haunted houses. He and Roman had so much fun getting scared shitless by every creak and groan of the old rides. The funhouse mirrors had sent Virgil into laughing fits when every single one somehow only showed Roman as his normal self while he himself got the different appearances.

Thinking back on it, there was definitely a ghost fucking with them that entire adventure, but Virgil was having too much fun exchanging witty insults with Roman to really care. He’d had fun, and really wasn’t that something? Cause Virgil… Virgil didn’t have fun. He mildly enjoyed things while anxiety tickled the back of his mind, making him overthink every single action that was a result of him not thinking enough. The anxiety faded, the longer he knew the people he hung out with regularly, but it never really went away long enough for him to forget it was there until something that needed it happened.

Virgil was about to start thinking about how Roman managed to get him out from under the old rotting wood of a support beam before the haunted house got worse when Roman himself interrupted his thinking.

“Virgil. Vee. V-Man. Very Unimportant. Walking Existential Crisis. Vladimir--”

“Roman if you finish equating to me to the president of Russia, your face will no longer be as pretty as you think it is,” Virgil interrupted, his eyes finally focusing back on Roman’s expression. Which was filled with a confused concern.

Oh shit, did he space out?

“Well sorry, you stopped responding to me for a minute there, and your face went from all “Roman is a dumbass” smirk to some kind of mushy, gooey grin.”

Virgil scrunched up his nose in disgust at the comparison.

“Ew. Don’t ever call me mushy or gooey again, and I’ll let you live.”

Roman snorted, rolling his eyes at Virgil’s false disgust of all things soft.

Which, rude. Virgil had a reputation, he couldn’t just let himself be called mushy. What would his pretend fans think!

“I’d like to see you try and kill me, Very Short. You can’t even reach my shoulders without my assistance, you think you can aim for my heart from all the way down there?”

Virgil’s eyes narrowed while Roman’s grin widened, turning into a challenge.

There was exactly two beats of silence before Roman bolted for the door, Virgil chasing after him.

Virgil stops thinking about his feelings after that, stops thinking beyond strategy to capture Roman and somehow give him the biggest noogie of his life for daring to bring up Virgil’s height.

And it just kind of… continues. Virgil feels comfortable around Roman in a way he hadn’t before, despite Virgil never thinking he was ever uncomfortable around him prior to his revelation. Maybe it’s because he’s aware of the feelings now, and he recognizes his actions for what they are; pure, genuine affection and romantic attraction.

Over the next few weeks, Virgil can’t help but test the waters a little bit. He starts flirting back when Roman sends him some stupid pick up line he thinks is funny. Several times they’ve gone for hours, trying out-flirt each other and many times Virgil has won because Roman can’t let go of the overly ridiculous lines that focus on sex and Virgil is actually flirting so Roman eventually gets too flustered to continue.

Along with the flirting he gets… a lot more touchy. It’s not exactly subtle, nor is it obvious the touching is another result of his discovery, considering it’s really just Virgil letting himself rise to a lot of the bait Roman lays out for a playful fight. Patton definitely notices though, and the conversation that leads to is awkward at best, mortifying at worse.

And no, he doesn’t really feel like recounting that event in his memories.

It’s two days before his birthday when his brother and Roman’s brother trap him in Dee’s room with them to confront him.

“You know, you could’ve just asked to talk to me in private instead of hooking your arms around mine to drag me in here,” Virgil comments after flopping on his back on the carpeted floor beneath him. Dee and Remus had both taken advantage of their heights, and Virgil hadn’t really been able to keep his feet under him so when they let him go he’d fallen on his ass and who was he to pass up the opportunity to lay down?

“Yes, but that wasn’t nearly as much fun as dragging you in here like we were going to torture you for information!”

Virgil huffs a breath of air, trying to get his bangs out of his eyes enough so he could give Remus a curious look.

“Okay, and why are you torturing me for information?”

Dee cuts in, then. “Because you’re so open with us, Virgil.”

Virgil narrows his eyes in a glare at his older brother.

“You’re point, Monty the Python?”

Dee rolls his eyes at the nickname, crossing his arms.

“Our point, V-Section, is that you’re acting weird around my brother and he may not have noticed but we have,” Remus butts in with an irritated huff.

Virgil blinks, staring at his brother’s best friend for a solid thirty seconds before he speaks up.

“Was that… Did you just call me a C-Section but with the first letter of my name?” he asks, utterly bewildered. Usually Remus was a lot gorier or NSFW with his nicknames for others, and he didn’t usually relate their name back to it like Roman did.

“Did you really just totally ignore everything Remus said after that?” Dee asked, exasperated with the thing Virgil chose to focus on rather than the important part.

Virgil shrugged, shifting his feet so his knees were in the air and bringing his hands to rest on his stomach.

“I mean, yeah? It’s not like I’m really trying to keep my actions a secret, guys. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t say anything sooner? It’s been, what, two months since I actually started flirting with him?”

Dee blinks in surprise at Virgil’s admission.

“...That’s it? You’re not going to fight us on this?” he asks, skeptical of how easy Virgil was taking this. He was quite literally taking it lying down.

“Yeah? Why would I fight you on this?” Virgil asked, raising his torso up on his elbows to better stare at them in confusion.

Genuine confusion.

Jesus Christ.

“Probably because when you dated Chris and he criticized literally everything you did and liked you broke down after he dumped you and told everyone you wouldn’t let yourself interact with romance again?” Remus said, confused by Virgil’s confusion.

“Ah. That. Well, it’s whatever. In the past, literally years ago at this point. Why should I let it bother me now?”

“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” Was Dee’s immediate response, panic that was almost genuine ringing clear through his words.

Sighing, Virgil flopped back onto the ground, ignoring the slight burning on his elbows from sliding them against the carpet. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, arms spread wide and knees knocking together as he thought (he’d been doing so much thinking lately).

“I know, not exactly something you’d expect me to say, as someone with generalized and social anxiety disorders. But… I don’t like Roman, the way I liked Chris. With Chris, things were fast but they felt kind of forced after a while. I mean yeah, it was fun making fun of people with him, but he didn’t exactly stop at other people, or even me. He criticized himself, and I felt a kinship in that, I guess. I felt like he’d relate to me on my worse nights. I dated him more because I thought he’d understand the feelings because he went through them too.”

Remus and Dee looked at each other as Virgil trailed off, obviously lost in thought. They let the silence go for a minute before Remus got impatient.

“Okay, then how is my brother different than Crucifixion?” he asked, impulsively grabbing one of Dee’s hands to play with his fingers see how long he could squeeze them together before he pulled his hand away.

Virgil still didn’t look at them, instead choosing to smile softly at the ceiling and wow, if that wasn’t a strange look to see on his brother.

“With Roman it’s like… it’s like coming home after a long day of bullshit. It’s a huge relief, I get to unwind from my stress by focusing on something else that I enjoy exponentially more than talking to other people. Instead of overly stressing about how someone reacted to this action, or what to say next to avoid pissing people off, I get to focus on just being in the moment and enjoying myself. It just… feels like home, loving him.”

“Well, slap my ass and call my Lucifer, cause hell must have just frozen over,” Remus says, making Virgil freeze as what he just said sinks in.

“Well. Guess that answers that question, then,” Dee comments, finally pulling his hand away when Remus scrunches his hand in a way that shoots pain through the back of it, making Remus grin at him.

Virgil makes a noise, but Dee can’t really identify what it is, now that Virgil has covered his face with his hands. Granted, that really does nothing to obscure the way his neck and ears have turned red, and if Dee guessed, his face was probably just as bad.

“Remus, I think we should let Virgil stew in his words by himself now.”

Remus perks at that. “Oh! Can we go to the creek? I think I saw a dead squirrel there yesterday and I wanna see how much it’s decomposed.”

Dee sighed, but nodded, turning away from his brother as his best friend bounded out of the room in excitement.

Virgil let out a groan as he listened to Dee and Remus leave, noting the lack of the door clicking shut. Guess it was left open then, probably to urge Virgil out of Dee’s room faster.

Well… he may as well accept that he just admitted Out Loud to his brother and friend that he was in love with Roman. Not like it was information he didn’t already know, he just… hadn’t really anticipated telling them it was something beyond a stupid crush.

With a heavy sigh, Virgil uncovered his face and made quick work of getting himself off the floor so he could actually go chill out in his room like he’d been planning to do before he was ambushed outside of the bathroom.

Honestly, Virgil really shouldn’t have expected Dee and Remus leaving him alone after his admission would mean they would just leave him alone about the topic altogether. Especially now that it was his birthday, and Roman was coming over in five minutes and Remus was giving him a wide unsettling grin.

Usually, that wouldn’t mean anything. Except it was paired with Dee’s self-satisfied smirk as he swung his keys around his finger to entertain himself while he waited.

Virgil glared at the two of them from his spot on the kitchen counter (he’s gay and has anxiety, you couldn’t pay him to sit properly on a chair. Or in a chair regardless).

“What are you two up to? I swear to God, if it’s a surprise party, I will skin you both,” Virgil hisses.

Remus goes to respond, fully prepared to get into a competition with Virgil on who can come up with more creative threats, but Roman bursts in at that exact second, and Virgil slinks off the counter to go meet him at the door, shooting Dee another harsh glare over his shoulder.

“I’m here, Charlotte’s Web!”

Virgil couldn’t help the small smile that formed at the classic nickname, shaking his head as he stopped in the doorway leading in and out of the kitchen.

“Hey, Caesar Salad,” Virgil greeted, shoving his hands in his hoodie pocket and forcing his smile into a more lopsided smirk as Roman looked up at him.

Roman paused for a second, staring at Virgil like he’d just seen something he hadn’t before, making Virgil quirk a brow in question. Instead of an explanation, Roman just cleared his throat and finished maneuvering a large brown paper bag through the gap between his leg and the doorframe.

“Whatcha got there?” he asked, stepping forward to help Roman out by grabbing the thing he wasn’t struggling with--his jacket.

Roman glared at Virgil, who only smirked in response before huffing as he managed to get the bag through without ripping it.

“You’re birthday present if you must know, Gerard Gay.”

Roman was rewarded with a snort as Virgil turned back into the kitchen, gesturing for Roman to follow with a wave of his hand.

Entering the kitchen, Roman let out a long groan.

“Remus, what are you and Rumplesnakeskin doing here?”

“I live here, Roman,” Dee responded before Remus could, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, but you’re never here when I’m here, and if you are, you always make a quick getaway. You’re up to something, Jafaar, and I don’t like it.”

Virgil couldn’t help but agree with Roman, going back to glaring at the two as he hopped back up on the counter to get comfortable.

“Plus, you both have been giving me your evil plotting smiles all morning.”

Roman shuttered. “Oh yeah, something’s definitely up. Spit it out Dr. Gloom and William Snakespere. What foul deeds are you planning today?”

Remus snorts at that, pulling a recorder out of his pocket. One of those old handheld ones you see in movies when the main character needs proof of something that was said. Something he must have gotten from Logan.

Something he probably had two days ago.

Virgil froze, eyes zeroing in on the recorder. The next thing he knew, he was launching himself off the counter in Remus’ direction, reaching for the device in hopes of either grabbing it or making Remus drop it so it’d break on the ground.

Neither of those things happened, considering Remus seemed to anticipate Virgil’s reaction as he gave a gleeful squeal, leaping onto the table and holding the recorder high above his head, out of Virgil’s reach.

Virgil had no qualms getting on the table, but before he could, Dee stopped him.

“Virgil, that table can only handle so much weight, do you really want to incur both of our moms’ wrath by breaking the table when we��re only visiting?”

Roman watched as Virgil was clearly panicking at the fact that Remus had a recorder in his hand, gaze switching between Remus and Dee and Virgil as he tried to figure out what was going on.

“I don’t know what’s going on here, other than the fact you guys have recorded something Virgil clearly doesn’t want me to hear, but I’d honestly really rather you didn’t force him into sharing something he’s not ready to share yet,” Roman said, crossing his arms after dropping the bag on the floor.

Remus let out a loud whine at that. “C’mon, Roman! I thought you’d be curious to know what we’ve found out.”

Roman shrugged at that, looking to Virgil, who was currently staring at him with wide eyes. He met the look with a small smile.

“Yeah, of course I’m curious. You guys know I hate being left out of the loop, but Virgil doesn’t want me to know right now. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll never want me to know. And even if it does, I’ll respect that. My curiosity is not an excuse to betray his trust like that.”

“I love you.”

Roman blinked in shock at the words that suddenly left Virgil’s mouth, and if the surprise on Virgil’s face was anything to go by, Virgil hadn’t expected to say them either.

Silence filled the kitchen for a few minutes before Remus let out a resigned sigh.

“Well that just took all the fun out of this. Dee let’s go to the park so I can scare some kids.”

Dee shook his head at his best friend as he hopped off the table.

“We’re not scaring children again, Rem. The last time we nearly got kicked out of the park for good, and I know that one is your favorite for corpse hunting.”

Dee’s words trailed off until the door closed behind the two friends as Roman and Virgil continued to stare at each other.

“...I love you too.”

Virgil’s face immediately lit on fire, and he let out an embarrassed sound, but didn’t move from his spot leaning against the table, knee halfway on top of it from when Dee had stopped him.

Roman couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head.

“Was that what Remus wanted me to hear?” he asked, shifting to sit on a counter (a habit he gained from Virgil, though he was more prone to sitting in actual chairs, he sat on whatever surface was closest to him).

Virgil finally shifted his leg off the table, clearing his throat as he collapsed onto the floor, legs spread out before him while he leaned back on his hands.

“...Yeah. Yeah it was. Though the recording probably had a lot more embarrassing stuff on it, I doubt they only recorded the last bit of that conversation.”

Roman nodded, tapping his fingers against the hard surface of the counter.

“To be completely honest, I had my suspicions when you started flirting back? But I didn’t really want to say anything in case you stopped, or I was wrong.”

Virgil groaned, letting his head fall back so he could stare at the ceiling.

“Yeah, that started like a week after I figured it out. Remember when you called me mushy and gooey and I threatened your weak life form?”

Roman snorted. “Yeah, I remember. And excuse you, you’re the one with a weak life form Virgil.”

Virgil squinted at Roman then. “Roman. You’re allergic to cats. And chili peppers.”

“You’re lactose intolerant!” Roman protested, earning a smirk.

“Yeah? Do you see me avoiding dairy, Roman? I have chugged an entire gallon of milk, Princey. You really think something as stupid as milk inolerance is going to stop me?”

The bickering continued, them not really acknowledging their feelings beyond the initial declarations of love.

Which was fine with Virgil. They didn’t need to label anything just yet, and it’s not like Virgil was really into physical affection beyond cuddling anyway, so nothing really would change between them, label or not.

And if they held hands more often, or teased each other with pet names they didn’t dare do before, then that was really nobody’s business, was it?

#jo writes #sanders sides #ts virgil #ts roman #ts deceit #ts remus #prinxiety #remus typical creativity #friendly bullying #and by that i mean virgil and roman make fun of each other a whole lot #empty death threats #short jokes #there's definitely a ghost in this #and the ghost is definitely joan #but like it's so brief

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theatresteph · 5 years ago

Text

Came up with some spec about Bellarke, Octavia and the list after this photo was released recently. I’m sure plenty of people thought about this a long time ago, but here I am.

(Octavia stans, you might want to look away, because I’m going to be judging her as fairly as everyone else)

‪Notice how Octavia’s 5th on the list? That’s interesting!

Abby, Jackson, Jaha and Raven are clearly the first 4 because they were all part of the inner circle of leadership AND they have essential skills that would be needed to run and maintain the ship during the time jump. We ‪know that simply being in the inner circle and having these skills wasn’t enough to qualify, cause you also had to be one of the best at what you do, which is why Monty didn’t make the list (he was a good engineer and her friend, but he was only an apprentice 😞), and you also ‪have to be healthy and not appear to be at risk of future health problems, which is why Harper didn’t make the list, even though she was a good guard and a then healthy young woman, and the list was supposed to be weighted towards young women who could have children.

We should also note that Kane isn’t on it, which could be a ‪production oversight because he seems like someone who should be there at first glance, but if we’re assuming within canon that every person was deliberately chosen, then I imagine that he didn’t make the cut because, while he was Abby’s partner, and a father figure to Clarke ‪and Bellamy, AND was the Chancellor and one of the best leaders and diplomats from Skaikru at the time, he was most definitely not a healthy young woman with essential skills like medicine or engineering, and they already had Jaha to fill the leadership role, who was also an ‪engineer, therefore pragmatically the better option even though Kane was definitely closer to and more well-liked by the inner circle, not to mention, at least from my perspective, more liked by fans cause of his character.

So looking at the list in the sad but pragmatic way ‪the show definitely wanted us and the characters to view it, there isn’t a lot of fair logic in Octavia being on the list AT ALL, let alone 5TH! This is purely from a ‪logical standpoint. This was season 4, Octavia wasn’t even living in Arcadia anymore, and she was going through the dark time of being Skairipa, openly having few loyalties, and Skaikru definitely wasn’t one of them. She was Kane’s bodyguard briefly and knew about Praimfaya ‪but, from my perspective, didn’t seem to care about protecting herself or the human race from it, at least in comparison to everyone in Arkadia, who were searching and working high and low for a solution ‬EVERY DAY!!! This was Octavia at one of her loneliest and darkest times, and she definitely wasn’t on good terms with Clarke and Bellamy. Even if she had been, logically, she was a poor choice because she did not have any essential skills that would be necessary inside the bunker, so pragmatically, placing her on the list was wrong and unfair when someone else with essential skills would have been a far better choice based on the criteria we’ve gathered.

So why did she make it on the list and why was she so high up?

We can guess why. It was a no-brainer for Bellamy, and while we don’t know whether Clarke would have debated with him about it, we DO know that she was insisting earlier that HE would be one of the people inside. They clearly decided on whom in their inner circle would be inside first, so I can imagine Clarke trying to be fair and pragmatic by gently telling him all the reasons I pointed out above why it isn’t fair to put her on the list, as I’m sure they had that conversation when they had to decide that Monty didn’t qualify. But I can also imagine her not giving it a second thought, writing Octavia’s name down immediately because she knows that there’s no way in Hell he’ll let her put him on the list if his sister isn’t also. Either way, we can be pretty damn certain that Octavia was only on the list because Clarke loves Bellamy and would do whatever it took to make sure he lives, even though it comes at the price of another, likely more qualified life. She definitely didn’t write her name because she’s her friend, because I don’t think you can exactly call them friends when they haven’t seen each other since they left Polis, and their relationship was more like that of cordial or old allies rather than friends at this point. Clarke was far closer to Monty at this point than everyone else outside of Bellamy, and yet she was able to decide not to write his name, so we know the strength of her resolve. It’s only where Bellamy’s concerned that she falters, her cold yet necessary pragmatism being weak against her love for him.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen it and it definitely isn’t the last. Hell, we see this exact scenario heightened to the max when she can’t pull the trigger in 4x11! It’s basically the same! In a moment where the fate of the human race hangs in the balance, Bellamy is risking it all to make sure Octavia survives, and as much as Clarke believes she must, she can’t bring herself to lose him for the sake of their people. She couldn’t choose to save two more qualified members of Skaikru against making sure Bellamy lives, and can’t save all of Skaikru from potentially being slaughtered - essentially killing the entire human race since none of the Grounders knew how to run the bunker - at the cost of Bellamy’s life, of taking his life herself.

So... WOW!!!!! That’s love, people! And Octavia is damn lucky that Clarke loves her brother more than anyone else, more than the value of the human race, because it seems almost certain that she would not have made it inside if Clarke didn’t love him enough to risk what was believed to be the last of the human race to let him save his sister. It’s the same reason Clarke didn’t kill or attack Octavia when she was a danger to Madi in season 5. Clarke had good reason for thinking it was the only way to stop the war and protect her daughter, and I have no doubt she would have gone through with it. Except that Bellamy said no, and even though she tried to rationally convince him that it was necessary (in the same way I expect she did if she’d have first tried to convince him that she can’t go on the list if that scene had happened), she let go of that plan and didn’t push, later apologising for even suggesting it. He easily accepts, saying that he probably would have done the same thing if she were anyone else, which leads into another sweet moment about the heart and the head and mumma bears 🥰.

And then later, we see the ultimate table-turn of Octavia’s position in Bellarke’s love; while Octavia is definitely still alive at this point in season 5 because Clarke loves Bellamy, she’s then poisoned because Bellamy loves Clarke! This was the most shocking moment of truth for their relationships at the time, both Bellarke’s and the Blake siblings’. While anyone could probably tell long before this moment that Bellamy loves Clarke more than Octavia, it had never been so explicitly clear until this moment, when Bellamy’s not only choosing her over his sister, whom he basically raised and has always loved the most until Clarke came along, but is actually risking her life for her! This decision is monumental! No one, absolutely NO ONE, had ever come before Octavia for Bellamy, and definitely not his girlfriend, because while he did challenge her, he didn’t and clearly wouldn’t have risked her life for Echo. But he did for Clarke! Clarke was and is more important to him than everyone and everything else! It’s so significant that the infamous “traitor who you love” line happened right before this, IN THE SAME SCENE! He couldn’t deny it or confirm it with his words, but his actions said it all! He loves Clarke, he knew it before he came in that room even if he couldn’t admit it to himself, that’s why he was clutching that algae bar. He wouldn’t hurt her or risk her life for anyone or anything before this, but for Clarke, he made a choice and he made it knowingly. It does suck that Clarke may never fully know that loving her is why he did it, but season 6 more than cleared up any doubt about their feelings for each other, and it firmly established where Octavia falls now.

She’s his sister, still someone he loves more than almost anything, but also a separate person from him, someone he won’t prioritise when she isn’t treating him with respect, and undeniably less important to him than his soulmate, which I believe is the way it should be.

I’m so excited for season 7! I can’t wait to see Bellarke finally sort things out and be together like they’ve wanted to be for so fucking long! And I can’t wait to see Octavia okay, reunited with her brother and her sister-in-law (basically), and finally finding happiness. They all deserve it.

#bellarke #clarke griffin #bellamy blake #octavia blake #The 100 #the 100 season 4 #the 100 season 5 #the 100 season 6 #the 100 season 7 #4x03 #4x11 #5x08 #Speculation #analysis #the list

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kob131 · 4 years ago

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https://rwbyconversations.tumblr.com/post/626550438587678720/the-scarlet-letter-lets-talk-about-rwbys-male

Can’t even say I stan RT since I helped in developing your own break in RT’s abusive business practices.

So let’s start with a blunt statement: RWBY’s male LGBT representation has not been good. If the series’ handling of female LGBT rep is good (which… well there’s worse shows) and the general standard for how you write LGBT characters in a show like this, its handling of male rep has been… how not to. And Before the Dawn kinda solidified the idea in my head that the show’s handling of its male LGBT cast just isn’t good enough, either by the standards of when RWBY began in 2013, or today in 2020 when compatively massive steps have been taken over the past decade to show a more diverse list of characters… or at least a more diverse list of female characters.

So how do you make good male LGBT representation? If we’re talking about how something is done badly, you’d think some ground rules would be established. ... Yeah, he never does that.

It’s big romance is (unless the writers are very stupid) going to be between Blake and Yang, their first out character was Ilia, Coco got sent to the Book Dimension where she confirmed “I use my sunglasses to perv on women without their knowledge” which uh… yeah you can definitely tell RWBY is written by men… and Volume 6 had Saph and Terra being a good example of an LGBT couple without any real drama. In the last three years alone, the show has drastically increased its lesbian and bisexual characters, alongside even including its first out trans character in May Marigold (albeit only revealed on Twitter). In general, these depictions of sexuality have been pretty OK. Would have liked it if Ilia wasn’t immediately written out of the show after Volume 5 as it made her feel a bit more disposable than intended but whatever, subject for another day.

A. What examples do we have of Bumbleby being canon? One or two animation things and voice actors? Cool, when’s White Knight becoming canon.

B. I’ve heard Barbara say similar shit. Acting like that’s a male thing is fucking sexist.

C. I’m sorry but by every single standard of LGBT writing I’ve heard-wouldn’t they be considered tokens and flat caricatures? Since they’re so irrelevant and have so little character? They’re barely even characters INCLUDING their kid.

Sorry but considering how there’s no ground rules made for what is good LGBT rep- I can only go off what others have said. And so many, OVERWHLEMINGLY MANY, people have said Saphron and Terra aren’t good.

D. Okay the Illa thing is yet another example of why ground rules need to be set. Saphron and Terra BOTH are written out in Volume 6 so wouldn’t they get chewed out too? What makes Illa getting written out different or more disposable?

RWBY’s male rep though is a bit spottier. There’s the plant bois in Volume 5’s premiere, we nearly had Pilot Boi until some last-minute revisions, and… Scarlet.

Look about the same as the female LGBT audience to me. Why is this so bad?

“Why Scarlet’s a bad launchpad for male LGBT rep”

I don’t like Scarlet or how his sexuality has been handled. Scarlet’s homosexuality wasn’t revealed in the show, or by the writers, or even in anything that’s actually canon. He’s confirmed gay in his sole of dialogue in a non-canon fan anthology, where the manga’s Twitter team had to say that Miles suggested the idea and approved of it.

In short, Scarlet is Dumbledore’d, where his sexuality is revealed in out-of-show material and in a way that doesn’t make it supremely obvious (Miles himself never commented to confirm this so this news was limited in how far it could spread. I’m genuinely curious how many people still don’t know Scarlet’s gay), and Scarlet himself is a nothing character who was written out of the show after Volume 3 and only reappeared in Before The Dawn, half a decade after he vanished. Compared to Ilia, as this came out after Ilia’s entire arc in Volume 5, it’s not a great starting point for mlm rep. But things would have been forgiven if it had gotten better, if the show did have more male LGBT characters introduced, even just on the Saphron/Terra level of just being around for a few episodes before leaving. Then it would have been a misfire but then we could all say “Things got better.”

Why should I care?

See, part of the job of a critic is to make the problems understandable to the audience. I emphasized ground rules because it gives the reader a base level understanding of what constitutes as good in this case. Why should I think Scarlet is bad when Saphron and Terra are on the same level and you said they were at least acceptable?

It… didn’t. Which is why when Before the Dawn released in 2020, a full two years after Scarlet was first confirmed gay, while the franchise had more than doubled its wlw rep, Scarlet remained the one male character in the entire franchise who had a name and liked men. I remember vividly a fake leak for After The Fall which claimed Yatsuhashi would come out to Velvet and admit to having a crush on Fox. And I remember as well how many people were disappointed when it was said to be false, because it would have been nice for Yatsuhashi’s character, especially after the fleshing out he gets in the CFVY books. If Yatsu had come out as gay in the books I’d like his writing enough to say he’s a good case for rep, albeit with the caveat of “This is all in side material.” But in reality, the leak was fake and Coco was confirmed gay instead.

I remember the same leak. Yatsuhashi also disappeared at the same time and even if he was fleshed out-he’s still irrelevant to the show so wouldn’t he be bad? And if it’s about having fleshed out characters, why did Illa whose a fully realized character get shaded while effective background characters praised?

Unfortunately, Before the Dawn proceeded to ruin Scarlet and made me at times feel genuinely uncomfortable as a queer man! Let’s talk about that.

And people said the same about Saphron and Terra and people get backlash for praising them over other lesbian characters.

I hate Before the Dawn. It’s… bad. I read it while on a vacation and the only solace I had about the entire thing was that I’d bought an M&M chocolate bar. The bar was finished before the book. That bummed me out. It’s not a very well written book, the prose is very Early 2010s YA Writer, none of the characters are memorable and there’s various Fun Incidents like “NGDO using children as bait for Grimm,” and “Neptune’s hydrophpobia being used as a threat to torture him and the scene is played for comedy.”

A. NDGO is repeatedly shown to be massive assholes in the book.

And B. I can’t really find anything wrong there. In one of my favorite shows, Justice League Unlimited, criminals get threatened with actual torture and even death and it’s treated as a joke. Yeah the context is different in that the victim are criminals but both the villains and Neptune get over it so quickly I see no real problem here. Especially since Jaune’s own low self worth was a joke up to Volume 5.

Theo was cool. I can’t wait to see him as written by good writers, he should be a highlight of the Vacuo arc.

Don’t go blaming E.C. Myers for this- Miles and Kerry helped. You’d have to call them shit writers too.

I had two hopes for Before the Dawn- “Don’t be bad,” and “Let Scarlet and Sage be well written.” I’d liked how After The Fall had handled some of its characters (barring, y'know, Coco perving on women), especially Fox and Yatsu who were surprising in how much I liked them. I was looking forward to seeing Myers give Sage and Scarlet similar treatment- two relatively nothing characters meant he’d have a blank slate to write them however he wanted, he could give them unique personalties and if nothing else it could be cool to see their Semblances.

You know how frustrating it is to see people blame Miles and Kerry for shit that Monty had a hand in and may have even been responsible for?

Yeah well we finally found the flipped version-

Miles and Kerry worked with Myers on the book. Just as Monty is just as much at fault as Miles and Kerry, they’re just as much at fault as Myers.

And then I read the book. (Sage fans I am so sorry for you, you got baited harder than Johnlock fans)

I thought we were talking about male LGBT rep.

Scarlet’s a giant dickhead in the book. It’s his sole character trait and his inner monologues go on, and on, and on about how much he hates Sun, how he revels in mocking him. Most of his dialogue is sarcastic put-downs about Sun and how lame he is, and Sun is never properly allowed to defend himself or point out how going with Blake meant he was able to help save Haven Academy.

You mean like how character criticized Yang for being so reckless even though she was trying to save Blake?

It shouldn’t matter what the intent or results are- Sun and Yang still did bad things and affected the people around them. They should be criticized, especially Sun here since A. He’s still doing it in the book, B. He hasn’t had any real flaws in the show which means his dynamics and interaction are limited and C. This addresses what people bitched at him about in Volumes 4 and 5 thus robbing them of the excuse to chew him out anymore.

(hey remember when Sun in Volume 6 expressly says to Blake “I was a bad leader for ditching Neptune and the others, and I need to work on that” only for Before the Dawn to have him staunchly refuse to accept that he let the team down? I don’t think Myers did but I do)

Remember how characters in RWBY don’t always learn their lesson, especially when it’s related to mental issues like...say....losing their parents and trying to run from their problems?

Also remember how MILES AND KERRY ALSO HELPED WRITE THAT BOOK?

Scarlet being a ratty bitch would be one thing if, again, the franchise had done more rep. He’d still be a badly written character, but it wouldn’t sting as much. But because Scarlet is still the only expressly confirmed male LGBT character in canon (the book teases that Nolan is gay but there’s never confirmation either way beyond him smiling at Scarlet), it means that he has to represent that entire ideal. So when the one gay man in Remnant is being an asshole and a snide loser, that means that by extension, this is how the franchise sees gay men. And that fucking sucks! I wanted to come out of Before The Dawn singing its praises, I wanted to like the book, but it was a massive letdown, especially coming off of the other big 2020 RWBY controversy involving gay characters.

Fun fact: LGBT people can be assholes.

In fact, Scarlet would be the ONLY LGBT character to be snide in the show. Kind of makes him unique in that regard. ...If he was an asshole in canon. When in canon, he’s portrayed as hurt and bitter over Sun’s repeated irresponsibility and doing what anyone would do in his situation.

So honestly, he’s pretty fucking human which I would praised BEYOND being LGBT.

Yeah. We’re doing this.

Remember, you choose to do all this.

Clover and Fair Game: Technically not queerbaiting. BUT:

But nothing. Once again, without any ground rules for what you constitute as ‘queerbaiting’- I only have myself to rely on. And just about every serious definition says Queerbaiting is baiting LGBT rep or pairings to get people to watch the show.

Issue? Not only was Fair Game not used to promote the show, there are other LGBT characters in RWBY. You can’t be queerbaited anymore than a straight person can be ‘straightbaited’ (We’ll be getting into SO MUCH MORE than this later...).

Let’s pre-empt this: Clover wasn’t queerbaiting, and Fair Game, while cool and I dig it, kudos to them for becoming one of the top 5 RWBY pairings on AO3 in one year that’s fucking impressive (I say with mild malice as an IronQrow main), never had a chance. The writing never seriously boosted it barring one interaction which was flirty (them talking in the lobby of the Schnee Manor), and everything else was out of show boosting through the social media teams and CRWBY hyping it themselves by saying they liked it. If you wanna blame people, blame the animators who went off-script with stuff like Kim Newman adding the wink as a deliberate nod to the Volume 4 waitress, or the social media team deliberately using the same policies for Fair Game as they do for Renora and Bumblebee.

So nothing I should give a shit about since marketing teams often work detached from the actual product and are notoriously CUTTHROAT.

It wasn’t Eddy’s fault that things escalated, and he himself has said that in retrospect, he should have warned people that this never had a shot.

But I can’t blame the Fair Game fanbase. Because Fair Game took off like wildfire. It came right as the fanbase began seriously asking for more male rep, Qrow’s pretty hot, and the Clover wink came right after the Great IronQrow Reawakening of November 9th, 2019. The rocket was primed, and they rode it to the moon. Finally, to these people, after seven years RWBY seemed to be doing something with mlm rep in show. People started getting into RWBY just for Clover and Qrow’s interactions. And if heroes were boring, Watts and Tyrian also had a fantastic dynamic that made Nuts and Volts one of the more popular villain ships overnight. Things seemed to be turning around! RWBY was remembering that gay men existed! You could hear the choir sing!

... You JUST said that show didn’t bolster the ship aside from one interaction (one that pales to the shit I use to say in private to fuck with people). It was obviously NOT meant to be a serious component of the show. If people got into a show for something it was never meant to stick to- it’s their own fault for when that part falls away.

… And for those people, that meant that episode 12 hit like Truck-Kun.

People got pissed. People were horrified. And it didn’t help that some members of CRWBY had said in the build-up that episode 12 would have some shots that made them nauseous (probably the Tyrian thumb thing) Out of context, it looked to these fans like CRWBY were basically laughing at their suffering, like they were saying “Lol, you thought you had a chance, get fucked, I hope your vomit burns on the way up.”

Yeah, Fair Game was never gonna be canon, and I think some people ran too far with it. But in the wider context of how desperate RWBY’s mlm community had gotten for basic crumbs of content? I can see why they’d run with what they had. The writers aren’t at fault for what happened, but CRWBY didn’t help matters. And that desperate mix of what felt like official backing from the crew, jokes about how cute the ship was, and the hope that finally the show would have onscreen rep? I can see why people ran with it.

Ah huh ah huh ah huh-

Now do that for the first three Volumes of the show with a bigger fan favorite, more build up and kill one half of it off at the end of the show’s big dark turn while the creators are even MORE unsympathetic.

Sorry but when compared to Arkos, this looks fucking minscule. And you invoked the Arkos comparison due to the numerous parallels. And just like with the Arkos fans, I’ll disregard this without a second thought.

‘But Mlm are STARVED for content-’

Then go somewhere else. I’ve been saying this to your Wlw AND Straight counterparts for years. You are not entitled to have ‘a meal’. The show didn’t advertise in universe around rep- That is not the point. This is like saying you hate nachoes because it dares to have chips instead of more toppings.

So why is the show more lackluster in depicting mlm characters?

I don’t think you ever answered that the question ‘is the show’s mlm lackluster?’ because you spent a third of this post talking about something you basically admit doesn’t count.

Money. Let’s be honest, most RWBY fans don’t care if the show doesn’t have good male rep. I’m willing to bet some of you reading this won’t care and just dismiss it as not being that big a problem.

I dismiss all the romance related shit as not being that big of a problem, so what?

I don’t think the writers care if the show doesn’t have good mlm rep because they’re not poaching that market. They’re after what they see as a bigger, more lucrative market, which in this case is female LGBT rep. That gets people buying games, watching shows, raising awareness and boosting awareness of your property, which means you make more money. In short: Two women kissing hits more markets and generates more attention than two men.

I’d believe that if not for the fact that there is barely any lesbian merch for RWBY, which would be the key way to cash in on that market and squeeze them for as much money as possible. In fact, there’s barely ANY shipping merch from Rooster Teeth. Rather unusual if they’re trying to cash in on a market.

‘Well what’s YOUR explanation?’

Easy: Misandry and moving goalposts.

Guys notoriously get shat on in the fandom more than women. Jaune is STILL being called a spotlight stealing MAry Sue and numerous people are siding against Ironwood because he’s a man. So making good male LGBT rep would just be inviting more pipe bombs in the mail.

And a large amount of people like to claim RWBY has yet to give GOOD female LGBT rep, constantly raising the bar to get what they want. And considering they make up the original hatedom in the show- they naturally hold more power.

Tl;Dr- You fucked yourselves out of good male rep by having male characters having any focus whatsoever be a death sentence.

Am I saying that Miles, Monty and Kerry deliberately sat down seven years ago and said “We’re not doing gay men because it won’t generate enough ad revenue and traffic to be worth the loss in revenue from homophobes?” No, that’s silly. But I’m saying that it’s less important for them, and it shows in the things that are small and add up. Things like Miles not verifying Scarlet’s sexuality or retweeting the manga account’s confirmation to spread the message (compared to how he enthusiastically confirmed Ilia being a lesbian himself during the Reddit AMA). It shows in how Pilot Boi would have been the first mlm character only to die in his second full episode until M&K were told about the Bury Your Gays trope. It shows in how Shannon believes that Ozma is “megaqueer” and Miles jokingly laughs it off instead of confirming it, leaving it to just be Shannon’s headcanon. It shows in how actor shipping is compared between the mlm and wlw ships, where Arryn and Barbara’s frequent pushes for Bumblebee are seen as “official confirmation that it’s endgame” while Michael and Kerry saying they enjoy Seamonkeys is treated as “well it would be cute if they did it, but they’re never going to.”

The whole point of AMA is answer questions, one of which was ‘is Illa a lesbian’ among SEVERAL others.

Yeah and Illa gets called a psycho lesbian.

Yeah and no other voice actor headcanon has been accepted. In fact, Kara pushes for White Knight and the writers don’t even so much as acknowledge that unlike Shannon. Also I dunno what ‘megaqueer’ means but his only on screen relationship was straight so that’s probably why it wasn’t confirmed.

Not the creators, don’t care.

I’m not gonna say anything like “CRWBY are gonna have Qrow end up with a woman like Robyn out of spite against the bad apples of the Fair Game crowd.” I’m not gonna say that I don’t think CRWBY cares about male representation in the series. It is, however, definitely a low priority for them, and because that leads to gaffes like Scarlet’s writing in Before The Dawn being offensive in his depiction, it only makes the contrast between the sexes all the more painfully apparent.

Again, the female side ain’t much better. Fuck, the straight side isn’t much better. This was never a focus of the show.

I’m kinda tired of waiting for Rooster Teeth to show that they do care about mlm. I’m kinda tired of RWBY’s male rep being written like it came from a 1993 time capsule where I have to enhance the screen to see a guy holding a sign of Sun’s abs or be content with the only onscreen rep still being the plant bois in Volume 5. I’m tired of how often the crew dances around answering basic questions about sexuality (and age, and birthdays, and heights, and so on) by treating it as a spoiler question, as if just wanting to know what way people swing would ever be a spoiler. I’m just… tired of all this. When the best mlm rep in Rooster Teeth’s history remains the two dads in Camp Camp who show up in a few episodes, that should say something really bad about your company and your biases (To say nothing of the recent Red vs Blue seasons and their blatant queerbaiting for Grif and Simmons and the whole can of worms that is Donut).

And their best rep in wlw according to some people is a psycho lesbian.

This is all just personal opinion that is next to useless without the basis needed for clear understanding. I don’t know what you would consider good male LGBT rep aside from a squeaky clean good guy...and many would decry that as condescending and unrealistic.

What can they do except ignore EVERYONE and just do whatever they feel like?

P.S. Someone’s representation is NOT their view on LGBT people. Especially since, as I have said, the reception of said rep can be outright contradictory.

I’d like to not feel like I’m borderline unwelcome because I’d like to see two men in this show kiss, and that the sole thing that represents people like me in this show is some British twat who complains about sand.

Oh fuck off. I’m also apart of a minority group (autists) and yet you don’t see me winging about how unwelcome I feel because there’s no autistic characters. I relate to characters like Ruby not because they have shallow autistic traits but because I constantly struggle with the same ideological dilemma Ruby does: the struggle to keep doing good in an uncaring, cruel world. THAT is what you should find relatable and welcome. Not something like sexuality.

I’d just like to feel like my sexuality isn’t a joke to Rooster Teeth (or at the very least, be like Donut and have it be a funny one). But at this point after the last few years? I feel like a very uncomfortable punchline to them. And it just sucks.

Cool-Welcome to club. You know, since EVERY sexuality has been used a punchline by Rooster Teeth.

Your sexuality should be the LAST thing that you use to find being welcome, especially with a god damn company. And you have no one to blame for your feelings but yourself here.

Your post is damn near useless and I don’t even know how honest that RT stuff is considering Miles and Kerry get away while E.C. Myers gets blamed for stuff you don’t like.

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carryonsimoncarryonbaz · 5 years ago

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Hi, I'm sorry to bother. I just finished the two books: Carry on and Wayward Son. I am totally in love. I would like to thank you for that. You inspired me to read them❤😘 Anyway, my question is if you know any other book, of Rainbow Rowell or another writer, which is just as interesting. I prefer books with main gay characters. Thank you. XO❤

I’m ecstatic that you let me know!! I can’t tell you how happy that makes me! I am THRILLED that my blog inspired you to read those books and that you enjoyed them so. They are brilliant. Life changing. A source of joy and comfort and thought provoking insights.

If you liked Carry On and Wayward Son you may like Fangirl, which is where Baz and Simon make their first, indirect appearance. It is the book that brought me to Rainbow Rowell and ultimately led me to Carry On. I am a fan of all of Rainbow Rowell’s books—you can’t go wrong with any of them in my opinion.

As far as books with LGBQT+ protagonists: I can give you a list!

Alex In Wonderland by Simon James Green. This is a laugh out loud book about a boy’s summer job and the new friends he meets working at a run-down amusement arcade.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Two boys meet by chance at a pool over the summer and forge a friendship that bonds them, gives them a glimpse at greater truths and changes both of their lives.

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQusiton. What happens when the First Son of the United States and the Prince of England are forced into a sham friendship as media damage control? They end up learning more about themselves, each other, falling in love, and what it means to fight for what you truly want.

The Binding by Bridget Collins. A lush study of enchantment, the magic of books, memory and forbidden love.

Simon vs. the Homo sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. Not so openly gay Simon has a letter fall into the wrong hands and starts a clandestine email correspondence with someone who seems to understand him better than the people closest to him.

Leah on the Off-Beat by Becky Albertalli. Set in the same universe as Simon vs. the Homo sapiens Agenda this book follows the story of Leah, Simon’s friend, and her tumultuous senior year of high school.

The Music of What Happens by Ben Koningsberg. Max and Jordan spend a summer working together in a food truck. It’s hot, it’s summer, business is not so good and there is definitely an undeniable attraction between them.

What If It’s Us? by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. A chance run-in brings Arthur and Ben together but is the universe conspiring to help them or hinder them?

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver. Ben comes out as non-binary to their family and their world is turned upside down when their family not only proves unaccepting but kicks them out of their home. Ben’s estranged sister provides a safe haven and Ben adjust to a new school and new friends, including Nathan Allan–who becomes a friend, a confidante and perhaps something more.

The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake. Violet and Sam have a famous relative who was the only survivor of a shipwreck off the Maine shore. FIdelia swam to shore, married and started a family and founded the town of Lyric. Violet and Sam may have shipwrecks in their own lives but so far they haven’t been the best at navigating them. Shipped off to the town of Lyric for the summer Violet makes new friends, new realizations, and new discoveries about famlly, the nature of friendship, siblings, and Fidelia’s true history.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. A Grand Tour of Europe turns out to be far from what Monty expected, when he, his sister Felicity, and his best friend Percy get involved in more than they bargained for on their European adventure. A quest for indolent pleasure leads to a manhunt, subterfuge, injury and generalized mayhem, as Monty learns more about himself and his true feelings for the boy he calls his best friend.

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. Men live and die by the sword in Riverside but Richard St. Vier is no ordinary swordsman. And Alec, the poor student he encounters in a pub in the shady part of town, is anything but what he appears. Richard finds the line between hero and villain can change in the blink of an eye.

Weak Heart by Ban Gilmartin (our very own @basic-banshee). Things aren’t quite as they seem on the Isle of Mab. Thomas Madigan is living in a nightmare–reality and the visions that come to him blurring further and further each day. his best friend/ former friend Kit Macrae is missing and selkie Isla has made her way to land in an effort to find him. Mystery, magic, and the sea with characters who grab onto your hear and linger in your head long after you finish the book.

Ship It by Brita Lundin. Claire is a sixteen year old obsessed with Demon Heart. She gets the chance of lifetime when she meets her idols at a Comic-con but things don’t turn out as well as she expected. An unexpected road-trip, a new friend, insights into the reality of fandom and shipping, and a realization that she may have found something more than planned in her friendship with her new friend Tess.

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. Charlie and Nick go to the same school but had never met until they end up sitting together in class. Charlie is falling hard for Nick and Nick surprises Charlie and himself. A study of friendship, loyalty, mental health, and love.

I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman. A book about the band The Ark and their fandom, in particular die-hard fan Angel Rahimiand, a most avid follower of the band. The Ark fandom has given her so much–friendships, dreams, her place in the world. When Angel finds herself face to face with her idols she learns reality is often far different than the slick images portrayed in the media and her loyalty to the Ark is tested and strengthened by their interactions.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. A unique and utterly heart-wrenching, lyrical retelling of the story of Achilles and Patroclus. The Iliad comes to life–with the action of the Trojan War, an epic love story, and the private moments of two of mythology’s most charismatic and intriguing characters.

#follower asks #book recommendations #lgbqt+ book recommendations #sorry this list got kind of long #I love these books #good books #book list #books recs #carry on #wayward son #rainbow Rowell

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sunshinechay · 5 years ago

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I was tagged by @blodreina-noumou to list the most heart-wrenching moments from The 100.

I’m not going to put them in any particular order, mostly because I couldn’t figure out exactly which order they go into so without further ado and in no particular order

1. Marcus Kane’s death

I know most people aren’t fans of him and in s5 he definitely slips, but he’s always been one of my favourite characters on the show. He was a man who believed that sacrificing people was the answer until he learned that it wasn’t and from then on, he makes it his mission to try and save as much human life as he could. He learned to put a value on everyone’s lives and not just the ones he thought was worth. He became a father figure to so many people and always tried his best and to me, his death is tragic because, despite his wishes, he is brought back in a different body, sacrificing the life that was there even though everyone knew it wasn’t what he wanted. It’s made extra tragic for me because even though he ultimately died to try and prevent more hosts from being sacrificed, it happens anyway.

2. Octavia putting blood on her face

Probably another controversial choice but this scene gave me goosebumps when I watched it, I find it so unsettling to watch and I think for good reason. For much of the season, the viewer is given a ton of information about Octavia v blodreina and this scene to me is heartbreaking as for me it symbolizes Octavia’s belief that she cannot simply back down, even when Bellamy is asking her not too, even when Monty is telling her she doesn’t have to fight. I think this is Octavia’s lowest point, truly, not anything later or s6. This is the moment when she breaks because of everything she has been through. Some of which was under her control but a lot of it wasn’t and it’s tragic for me to watch her crack under the pressure and make a choice that we find out later was probably the wrong one. It’s a scene that is there to show that even the strongest people break under too much stress and it makes me just want to try and reach out to her because it’s clear no one has really done that in a long time.

3. The tragic life and death of Lexa kom Trikru

Lexa’s death is tragic, yes but to me, her entire life was also tragic. She is forced from a young age to be strong, even if she does not feel it. She is forced to kill people, her fellow children so she can become their leader and she does it all knowing she shouldn’t have won at all. She is the symbol of how fucked up grounder culture is in the end. More than child soldiers, it’s children leading children and adults. It’s not the life she deserved to have, but it’s the one she was stuck with. I’ll be the first to admit I am not her biggest fan, but this part of her story really did stick out to me. Lexa was finally at a place where you think she may finally be allowed to be happy, something I bet she was starting to believe as well, and then it all ends in the blink of an eye. Among a cast of characters with so much tragedy in their lives, Lexa stands out among them, especially because in the end her death was so avoidable and unnecessary.

4. Bellamy leaves Clarke behind

Shipping aside, I think this part of the episode is so heartbreaking because Bellamy and Clarke have come to rely on one another so much in such a short time. This set of scenes to me is essentially Bellamy being forced to leave a piece of himself behind because while it breaks his heart to do so, he knows it’s what needs to be done, he knows he has to make this decision because Clarke would have made this decision. Being a bellarke shipper adds a layer of tragedy for me, as it seems like Clarke and Bellamy are finally barrelling towards being able to admit their feelings for each other when they are abruptly separated by the one thing they cannot stop even if they are together, a world-ending disaster.

5. Lincoln’s Death

Watching Octavia’s face during Lincoln’s death scene is something I never wish to do again. She does from a sobbing mess to steely-eyed in under a minute, trying to will herself to not grieve him even though all of her instincts are screaming for her to do just that. Lincoln is dying because he wants her to survive, he wants her to grieve, he wants them all to survive because he knows he won’t. He won’t get to see the peace that he hopes will come. He won’t get to watch Octavia grow old or teach his children how to walk or how to speak Trig. This is often the death I site when I think about what event convinced me this show might just end bloody. Like Lexa and Jasper’s deaths, I am left mourning the tragedy of his life, but also the life that he will no longer have. The life that he deserves, peace and happiness he will no longer have the chance to know.

6. Jasper’s Death

This is yet another death on the show that I think affected everyone who watched it in at least some way. I’ll be the first to admit that some of the choices the show made with Jasper’s mental health were not ones I liked, but in the end, as much as I hate the idea of a character dying by suicide, I knew it was likely coming in Jasper’s case. Jasper is up there with Lexa as one of those characters whose tragedy stands out for me. He starts out as such a happy character, full of potential and you are forced to watch as that happiness slowly and surely is stripped away until there is nothing else and all he has is his pain and grief and sadness.

7. Clarke’s suicide attempt (I can’t find a gif, which is probably a good thing)

In a lot of ways, Clarke and I are very similar, so Clarke’s suicide attempt in 6.02 hit in a strange way. This is a woman who, love her or hate her, has been the cornerstone for so many people, at least in terms of her strength and ability to make the hard decisions. She bears it, so they don’t have to. Finally, after all that weight comes down on her, all of the things she has done, including the messed up stuff she did in s5, she isn’t sure she can take it anymore. The red sun drives people crazy, it uses their emotions against them and for Clarke, that emotion isn’t forced outward and projected onto someone else, it’s forced inward. It takes the form of the one person Clarke thought might still be in her corner, furthering her alienation and driving her to her lowest point, something I can definitely relate to in a lot of ways and watching it happen in realtime broke my heart.

That’s all of the ones that top my list (for now) but I’m gonna do some honourable mentions because why not

8. Maya’s Death

9. The lab scenes in God Complex

10. The Culling

I’m gonna tag: @guznadia @clarkgriffon @lameblake @octaviadblake @talistheintrovert @tonystarkys @joanna-lannister and anyone else who wants to do it :)

#the 100 #ask meme #this was fun #and so much harder than i thought it was going to be #it took me a long time to decide #seriously it's not in any order #i do ask memes now ask memes are cool #sometimes i scream into the void

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whereconfusionisarhyme · 5 years ago

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First Reactions To Logan’s Playlist

K first song let’s do this

White and Nerdy-Weird Al Yankovic

Wtf this song was definitely Joan’s idea I mean who else would think of ‘White and Nerdy’ for Logan

Is this like canon he listens to this stuff or like songs about him???

Not Perfect-Tim Minchin

TIM MINCHIN

Bo Burnham better be on Logan's playlist

#deep

Is this about the mindpalace/inside of Thomas’ head??? Cause like???? Ouch???? I think????

Lol nvm it’s not sad lmao

I take back my take back it is sad

So this could be literally “in his mind” or it could be figurative and it’s really messing with my funky flow

Streaks-ANIMA!

Cool instrumental

Love the voice sounds a little like MARINA and Regina Spektor

Oh no I’m two lines in and I can tell it’s gonna be sad

OH NO CONFORMITY RELATED ANGST AHHHHH

Wow Logan is just out here being relatable isn’t he smh 😔👊

"Cause you're a smart kid, but you're still a kid" LOGAN REALLY BE OUT HERE BEING RELATABLE ON MAIN

The Elements-Tom Lehrer

Sounds like what piano class would sound like if I took piano class

Something you would listen to in science class

Bop

Medicine-STRFCKR

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out vibes

Lmao nvm

Gonna go look up the lyrics rn brb

A sad bop

Philosophy cool

Human-Tank And The Bangas

Logan playing this to comfort himself because this singer is the only person who has ever told him this

WHO HURT LOGAN WITH THEIR WORDS

LOGAN THE HEART SKIPPING COMMENT ARE YOU OKAY IM GIVING YOU A HUG

GUYS LOGAN IS TRYING TO CONVINCE HIMSELF THAT HE MATTERS IM NOT OKAY

Last???? Relationship???

Okay I'm not a shipper BUT my theorist analysis obsessed brain is just SCREAMING about Roman and Patton

Observation: Logan is probably atheistic and this song covers God a lot. I don't have a conclusion or anything just pointing that out

This woman do be calming tho like yes I'm beautiful yes I'm special thank you

Okay so I already knew Logan wasn't okay but he 100% isn't okay

Fittet Happier-Radiohead

K two words in and I can tell this is gonna be sad here we go

Employees? Or maybe…other sides?

Minor key ok

SELF HARM ISNT OKAY

"WILL NOT CRY IN PUBLIC" NONONONO

So I heard of a good therapist just downtown-

The Watchtower-The Dø

I paused it cause I need a second after the last one

Guys as someone who dissosiates a lot I think Logan might be dissosiating

Dissosiating to protect himself from his emotions

Y'all just trust me in this one

Coming for the TØP brand I see

K ready to start again here we go

Fire beat I'm vibing with it

Is he trying to distance himself from his emotions to try and perform his tasks better like watching from a Watchtower???

This is the first character I've seen that might dissosiate which only means one thing

I'm gonna be projecting an unholy amount in my fanfiction

"No one in particular" hon who hurt you

City Lights=Emotions (which he considers distractions)??? Maybe??

I'm a William Finn fan come on this isn't my first rodeo

Art Is Dead-Bo Burnham

BO BURNHAM I WAS RIGHT

We all love some good Imposter Syndrome (tm)! :D

This gives Learning New Things About Ourselves' a whole new meaning

Ngl this is the first time I heard the degrading of the piano at the end and I'm here for it

In My Mind-Amanda Palmer

Oop we LOVE setting up impossible expectations for yourself to the point you have a cripplingly horrid self esteem! :D

Logan I've done this before and trust me it isn't worth it the mental breakdowns are too taxing

I'll do it when I'm older=I'm never gonna get around to it

I don't wanna be the person I wanna be either

Why do I perfectly understand every lyric am I ok

Live!!! While you!!!! Can!!!!

At least there's a happy ending

Okay so I've decided that once I'm done I'm gonna make a list of songs I think would fit in the playlist

Algorythym-Childish Gambino

K its spelled incorrectly get ready for some metaphors my dudes

Intro is cool definitely very very Logan WOAH OKAY CHAIN SMOKER

Gonna go look up lyrics I don't understand shit

The chorus sounds like Thanksgiving at my Aunt's house where like 100+ African American relatives blast house music and dance until their feet falls off

Nvm no it doesn't

GO OFF

ELPHABA BETTER WATCH OUT CHILDISH GAMBINO IS COMING FOR YOUR BELT

Adlibs are everything

Letter C-Zach Sherwin

This gives off the same vibes as that one pickle video by Charlie Puth

Roman vs Logan rap battle but it's this

I don't really see why this is related but sure

Time Adventure-The Marcus Hedgehog

Nostalgiaaaaaa

Okay Logan has too many songs talking about one (1) person who is it

I have a gut feeling that it's about Thomas and how Logan used to be enough "back then" but now he thinks he's not cause like let's be honest when was the last time someone gave Logan a strong sincere thank you for all that he does????Excluding DWIT (which doesn't really count in my opinion cause they said he was cool, not like an integral and arguably the most important and powerful side) nobody really appreciates Logan???? Hugs???

Anyway plz ignore this is just how my brain works

K next song

The Breach-clipping.

OKAY SLOW DOWN IM GONNA LOOK UP LYRICS

Is this Daveed Diggs???? I haven't listened to Hamilton in like forever is this Daveed Diggs???

LITERALLY PERFECY PARRALLEL TO LOGAN AND THE SIDES

Sound effects

Really just gonna fry my eardrums like that huh

What I Do For U-Ra Ra Riot

Okay scrap anything and everything I said about it being the sides Logan is 100% talking about Character!Thomas

Erase Me-Ben Folds Five

Ooh this intro reminds me of this one particular musical songs but I don't remember which one

Wait have I listened to this before????

I've listened to this before!

Okay I need to stop being distracted

NOOOOOO don't Erase Yourself!!!!

Logan really just do be having no Self Esteem don't he

Okay so theory: Logan didn't pop up in person in the last video because his eyes were too red from crying

I have 0 evidence so it's not a very good theory but…

Just throwing it out there

One More Time with Feeling-Regina Spektor

Oh no it's Regina Spektor

Oh no I'm gonna cry

Okay so Logan doesnt wanna block of all emotion, only permit some to show???? But most of the time block everything????

Did I get that???

Nobody!!!! Thanks!!!! Logan!!!!

Awww he just wants love and recognition

Tbh this sounds a lot like Roman they have so much in common despite their constant arguing

Galaxy Song-Monty Python

Ooh Monty Python

I haven't listened to Monty Python so I sadly don't know the context

Really just dissing all of the other sides aren't we

Can't really blame him tho

Very scientific

"Yeau~"

Sweet with dark undertones. Love it.

Equation-Hans Zimmer

Later I'm gonna check the equations if they're correct XD

Sunrise-In The Heights

!!!!!!

WHO???!!!!!

K to this is one of my favorite love songs ever it's just so sweet and as someone who's bilingual the concept is just amazingly wonderful so yeah I may be freaking out

Also because WHO??!!

Okay I said I wasn't a shipper but let's be honest this is probably about Roman not romantically but like

OR MAYBE JANUS???

IM SO CONFUSED

But Logan is definitely Nina in this situation it just fits so well with her character for the same reasons I really wanna play her (but never will cause I'm exactly 0% Latin American smh) yeah the pressures to be the smartest and then it backfiring horribly and oh God what if Inùtil is also in the playlist ahhhh

Okay moving on

Lifeboat-Heathers

WHAT

CONFORMITY RELATED ANGST LOGAN STOP BEING RELATABLE AHHHH

IS THIS CAPTAIN THOMAS??? THE OTHER SIDES AS A WHOLE??? AN ABSTRACT CONCEPT???

IM NOT OKAY

Bohemian Groove-Will Connolly

Okay I'm still not recovered from the last song but I need to continue or else I'm never gonna finish this playlist

Eeecccchhhhhoooo

Your friends haven't surpassed you Logan you belong with them okay????

Emptiness despite success??? Millennial who???

Vibing with it but also are you okay

Nvm I know the answer already

Hug All Ur Friends-Cavetown

Okay so Logan is a Cavetown gay noted

Self validation??? Who's she???

Lies. You care so much about what other people *sides* think about you

Maybe Logan listens to this song to remind himself to not care too much

But it doesn't work and it's getting to him more and more

That took a turn

Breathin'-Thomas Sanders

Good move

Don't really have much to say on this

The Bidding

Spoopy

Alchoholic!Logan

New idea for us fan writers

The pronunciation of beurgoise

Okay I'm like pretty certain at this point that all of the songs that mention a someone else is about Character!Thomas

A Better Version

OHMYGOD I LOVE THIS MUSICAL ITS SO UNDERRATED I HAVE LISTENED TO THE SOUNDTRACK AND UNGODLY AMOUNT OF TIMES YESSSSS

But also since I know the song in terrified cause the feels are gonna come in I just know it

Wait so is Jayce supposed to be Thomas???

I am suddenly feeling much more uncertain about my certainty

Okay let me unpause and just listen to it (even though I already know all of the lyrics)

Okay so I'm a dumbass and apparently this song isn't even part of the playlist

Okay so I'm an idiot and the last few songs have all been "related to playlist" and not in the actual playlist I'm big dumb.

Anyway here's my list of songs I think would fit. (BTW, I only went off of lyrics for these ones. I realize that there’s a general sound and vibe for the playlist, but I decided not to follow it.)

Oh No! ~ MARINA

Hug All Ur Friends ~ Cavetown

Bohemian Groove ~ Will Connolly

Guiltless ~ Dodie Clark

Lifeboat ~ Laurens O’Keefe

The Bidding ~ *idk who*

I Am Not A Robot ~ MARINA

Inútil - Lin Manuel Miranda

Through The Eyes Of A Child ~ AURORA

Community Gardens ~ The Scary Jokes

Let me know if I should do this with the other playlists as well! :)

#sander sides #ts sanders sides #sanders sides #thomas sanders #tss #logan sander angst #logan sanders #ts logan #logan’s playlist #first reaction #self harm mention #tw self harm

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matrixaffiliate · 5 years ago

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Seasonal

New Story! FFN and AO3

Christmas always comes early to the Potter home, but will Lily be able to love it as much as James does? ~~~Marauders One-shot. Christmas Jily Fluff.~~~

More stories from my life. ;) My mom puts up six trees, not ten, and I have two. Yes, I'm in the process of setting up right now, I should be done by Sunday. Then my kids and husband and I, along with the rest of the family, are helping my parents set up all next week. You don't have to like it, but there is something so very magical about turning a home into a Christmas wonderland and I love it!

Seasonal

James had never thought much about it. As a child, he figured it was just a part of what his family did. As a teenager, he never thought of it until Sirius moved in, but when Sirius came home with him for Christmas he loved it and James didn't think on it again.

Until today.

You see, Mia Potter loved Christmas. She loved Christmas more than any other holiday in the calendar year. And she loved Christmas decorations, Christmas trees most of all.

Mia Potter put up ten Christmas trees - every year.

And as she explained to the neighbors, when you put up and decorate ten trees along with dozens of individual decor pieces around the big house, you start early, November 1st early.

Every year prior to this, James didn't worry about it. As a kid, he loved helping clean up the few items of cutesy Halloween decor and then his mum always had some amazing story to tell him as they cleaned together or a fun reward for helping her deep clean the house over the first few days of November. Once the house was clean, all the boxes of Christmas decorations could be brought down from the attic and the trees could be purchased. James used to live for picking their trees with his parents, finding all the right sizes for each area, and he knew the spells to keep the trees fresh for more than two months at the ripe age of seven.

The excitement of preparing for Christmas was one of the biggest things he missed while at Hogwarts.

But this year, James was done with Hogwarts, and this year, Lily was practically living with them. And well, Lily had opinions.

As James understood it, Muggle stores put up Christmas decor to sell "far too soon," and Lily was not a fan of the Christmas decorations being ready for purchase before the Halloween decorations had even been marked down.

So this year, rather than the excitement he normally felt on November 1st, James found himself incredibly nervous.

"Good morning dear," his mum came swooping into the kitchen, her working clothes on and her long hair tied back in a kerchief. "Are you ready? I've missed having you around to help."

James felt that childhood excitement fighting with his anxiety over what Lily may think of the transformation that was about to take place in the Potter home.

"I am," he finally smiled, "It'll go faster this year since I can use magic."

"Is Lily coming over today?"

James swallowed and nodded, "She should be here in about thirty minutes."

"I'm so excited to bring her into our traditions!" His mum pulled him into a hug.

"Mum," James felt his face grow hot, and he moved to the bread box, cutting a thick slice, "We haven't made any decisions like that."

His mum raised her eyebrows at him, "Your father told me how you lingered at the jewelry store windows while the two of you were out last week."

"Er, well, I, we haven't, I mean…"

"Don't worry dear," his mum laughed at him, "I won't say a word."

James didn't believe that for one second but chose to eat his breakfast rather than comment on it.

Mia put him to work in the sitting room, mostly so he could be at the front door when Lily arrived, and James was quite pleased with how quickly cleaning went with magic. He had completely finished the sitting room and the kitchen when Lily arrived.

"Did you do something to be punished for?" Lily giggled as James sent the cleaning cloths back into their bucket.

James chuckled, "No, just helping Mum with some late Autumn cleaning. Would you be inclined to lend your wand?"

Lily grinned and James tried to make himself feel better by telling himself again and again that every word he said had been completely true.

With Sirius and Marlene on assignment, it left just Mia, Monty, Lily, and James to clean the whole house, but with four wands to help, they had the big house sparkling by lunchtime.

"Do you always clean in late Autumn?" Lily asked as the four sat down to lunch.

"Of course dear, it makes no sense to put everything out for Christmas if I'm not putting it up in a clean house."

Lily paused, "For Christmas?"

James held his breath.

"Oh yes," Mia pulled her drink to her lips, "Ten trees and the rest of this house take a couple of weeks to decorate."

"So," Lily spoke slowly, still looking at James, "you'll have all of your decorations up by the second week of November?"

"Probably sooner this year," Monty smiled. "You two made the cleaning go much faster than it normally does. I don't think we've ever been able to go pick up the trees on the first day of November before."

"We're buying ten trees today?" Lily's wide eyes were still looking right at James and he swallowed before straining for a smile.

"I meant it to be a surprise."

"James loves all this," Mia grinned, "He wrote me every week his first year of Hogwarts asking for updates about what we'd managed to get done."

James almost groaned but he caught Lily's eye and saw her fight a smile.

That smile gave him a bit of hope.

"Hal's tree farm only opens early for Mum," he gave Lily a grin, "Everyone else has to wait till mid-November to get their trees."

"Hal badgers me about it every year too," Mia laughed as she began clearing the table, "Tells me he's going to add twenty percent to the price. Hasn't yet, but I think he's just doing it for show, make it look like I'm forcing his hand."

Mia winked at Lily before speaking in a faux whisper, "I really am, but I'm too short and too sweet looking for him to realize it."

Lily laughed and James felt the anxiety easing away. He'd probably just caught Lily on a bad day when she went on a tirade about Christmas decorations before December.

"Alright kids," Monty stood and summoned his coat, "let's head up to Hal's farm and get these trees here. I'd like to at least get lights on them all before bed tonight."

James had the momentary thought of tracking down a horse-drawn sleigh and a horse and a warm blanket and taking Lily up to Hal's in wintery splendor, but then he remembered that it was November 1st and to simply be grateful it wasn't raining.

James side-long Apparated Lily to the tree farm and smiled as she took a deep breath in before sighing happily.

"This is lovely!"

"Yes," James kissed the back of her hand, "you are."

Lily blushed but his mum laughed.

"Monty he's your spitting image."

His dad chuckled before grabbing Mia's hand and pulling her into him. "It's a requirement to teach our posterity how to surround themselves with the best people."

Mia beamed.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

James looked up to see old Hal walking down from his porch.

"There's no way, Euphemia! There's absolutely no way you're ready for your trees today!"

"Oh, Hal," Mia laughed and gestured to James and Lily, "Of course there is. I had extra help this year. James and his girlfriend, Lily, have been at it with Monty and I all morning and I'm here for my trees."

Hal groaned, "I'm not open yet."

"Don't be like that Hal," Mia patted Hal's arm and James bit his cheek to keep from reciting this exchange from memory.

"I'm going to add twenty percent to the price," Hal objected again.

Mia smiled and nodded, "You always say that Hal, but even if you do, I'll still bring you your box of my homemade caramels." Her smile went sly, "But I can't start on those until the house is done."

"Fine," Hal grumbled, "pick your ten hundred trees."

Mia patted his cheek, "See, this is why you get a big box."

Lily stifled her laugh behind her coat collar and grinned up at James.

It took the better part of two hours for Mia to find exactly what she wanted and as James helped his dad translocate them all home, he couldn't help but feel excited.

"The one thing I wish I could figure out is how to get the lights on the trees without so much fuss." Monty chuckled.

"It's easier with magic," James furrowed his brow, "right?"

"Oh heavens yes," Monty nodded, "but it's still a hassle. I'll teach you how to do it this year."

Once home, James was feeling confident that everything was fine. Lily was laughing with his mum as they levitated boxes from the attic and Mia told stories while Christmas carols played on the phonograph.

"Always make the men work on the lights," Mia directed the boxes of decorations to their different locations around the house.

"I do the lights because you don't have the patience for it," Monty called back from behind the tree he was stringing lights around.

"That tree spontaneously combusted!" Mia glared, "I did not set it on fire!"

James smirked. His mum definitely set it on fire.

"James, why don't you take the big tree to the sitting room and start stringing it." Monty winked at James. "Take Lily with you and get her started on the Christmas village."

James nodded, his emotions swinging between being grossed out by the way his dad was looking at his mum, and being very glad to have an excuse to be alone with Lily. Especially now that she seemed quite pleased to be in the swing of Christmas decorating.

"I'm so glad you're having fun," James kissed Lily's cheek as they got settled into their decorating assignments.

"It's definitely something," Lily chuckled as she pulled another building out of the box.

"I think I'll only do two trees for the first bit when I move out." James commented absently as he worked to get the lights perfectly arranged on the twelve-foot tall tree, "A regular size one and then a small one.

"You want to do this sort of thing?" Lily's voice was cautious, and James looked up to see her very carefully turning the little Santa's Workshop around and around in her hands.

"Is everything alright?" James frowned.

"I, I guess, I thought, James it's November 1st…" She sighed and went back to setting up the Christmas village.

"I thought you were enjoying this," he fisted a hand in his hair as he berated himself for misreading the situation.

"I am, it's just, do you really want to do this?" She gestured around them at the boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations.

James moved to her, gently pulling the Christmas village piece from her hands and setting it down.

"Tell me you don't feel the magic," he moved his hands to her waist. "Set aside your cynicism and your misgivings about what the date is and tell me truly you don't feel it, and if you don't feel it I'll drop it and we don't have to do anything like this."

Lily stared up at him and her eyes went wide.

"We?"

James felt his heart drop to his shoes, "Er…"

"Honey, I'm home!" Sirius called out as he and Marlene walked in the front door. "Has Dad started on the outside lights, James?"

James blinked before shaking his head at his brother. "He's still stringing trees."

"Good," Marlene grinned, "because we want to set up the house lights. Sirius and I came up with something we think your mum is going to love."

"How was the assignment?" Lily asked as she stepped back from James.

"Boring," Sirius grinned, "good and boring."

"Those are the best," Lily smiled and picked up another piece of the ceramic village.

Sirius and Marlene went to retrieve the exterior lights and James was left to stare dumbly at Lily's back.

He'd meant it, what he said. He meant "we" even if it scared him to say it out loud. But it occurred to James that if he didn't clarify that now, it would most definitely come back to haunt him.

"We."

That was what he managed to blurt out, but his voice was sure, calm even.

Lily stopped setting up the Christmas village but didn't turn towards him. So James pushed his hand into his hair and pressed on.

"When we have our own place, I think I'd like two trees. I don't really care for the Christmas village. I love the exterior lights, though, so I'd like to have some sort of display."

He moved closer, placing a tentative hand on the small of her back. "What do you want, Lil's, when it's our place?"

"When, when we have our own place?" Her voice shook with the question.

"We," James said again.

"I want mistletoe in our home," she was quiet, "Petunia always complained about having mistletoe up so my parents have stopped using it."

James felt relief wash over him like floodwaters. He slipped his wand from his pocket and transfigured one of the pieces of crumpled newspaper from the Christmas village packing into a ball of mistletoe with a red ribbon. Then he levitated it above their heads.

"How's that?"

Finally, Lily turned towards him, her smile bright and there were unshed tears standing in her eyes.

"It's perfect."

And she kissed him.

James pulled her close, pressing her against him, deepening the kiss and grinning when he heard Lily's breath catch.

"You have work to do!" Sirius yelled as Marlene laughed and they moved to the front door, boxes of exterior lights trailing along behind them.

James shook his head as Lily pulled back to laugh.

"I hate you, Sirius," he flipped off his brother.

"You love me and you know it!" Sirius' shout drifted back in mixed with Marlene's laughter.

Lily let her fingers start to play with the hair at the nape of his neck as she looked up at him.

"James, how attached are you to decorating on the day after Halloween?"

"I rather like the idea of having everything ready mid-November." James smiled down at her. "We don't need to start on November 1st to make that happen. I don't want ten trees."

"I can live with that," Lily smiled, "I rather like the idea of being able to pull you under the mistletoe for half of November and all of December."

"Let's not waste time then," James chuckled before bringing this lips back to hers.

It was at the end of the day when James walked Lily outside to Apparate home and Lily paused to look at the exterior lights Sirius and Marlene spent the better part of the day and evening putting up.

"You're right," she smiled up at him, "there is something magical about all this."

James pulled her close as he looked at the home he'd grown up in. The lights seemed to pull every good memory forward, not just the Christmas ones, but all the good memories, including the ones with Lily.

"A lot of that magic comes from surrounding yourself with the best people." He brushed her hair behind her ear.

Lily pushed up and kissed him.

"I am the best," she whispered against him with a smirk.

"Cocky much?" James chuckled as he moved to kiss her neck.

"I learned for the best."

Lily's voice was full of teasing and James responded by moving his lips to kiss just behind her ear, smirking at the moan he pulled from her lips.

She did call him the best, after all, he might as well live up to the title.

#Seasonal #jily #jily fanfiction #james x lily #james potter x lily evans #Christmas fic #Christmas jily fic #Christmas jily #romance #fluff #marauders era #marauders fic #marauders #harry potter fanfiction #sirius x marlene #euphemia potter x fleamont potter

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probably-writing-x · 5 years ago

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Further.

~Kind of like the idea of this becoming a series?? Thoughts??~

~~~~~~

"Alright I'll be there in five minutes," You comment hurriedly down the phone to your brother as you step quickly onto the awaiting tube.

"Did you remember everything?" Tom asks as he instantly makes the assumption that your forgetfulness had got the better of you.

"Yes I remembered it all. Your list was, and I quote, get shit for a barbeque and some ice creams," You shake your head, sitting down onto one of the free seats on the vehicle, "And yes I remembered Fab lollies for Haz,"

"Alright alright," Tom laughs, "See you in a minute then,"

You hang up and welcome your music returning into your headphones, settling your head back and blocking out the rest of the public as you await your stop.

~~~

When you get off the tube, the station is in a state of hustle and bustle as the heat begins to overwhelm London once again.

"(Y/n) Holland?" An unknown voice calls and you pull out your earphone to turn around and acknowledge the voice, "Oh my god hi! I'm such a huge fan of Tom and your family!"

"Aw thank you," You smile politely, giving the young girl a hug, "It's lovely to meet you,"

She takes a photo of the two of you and as her phone locks, you notice her lockscreen is full of photos of you and Harrison. It wasn't particularly surprising. Plenty of Tom's fans felt as though the two of you should be together and they already practically treated you like a couple. But still, it sent a little pain through your heart.

Nevertheless, you bid her farewell and dismiss yourself, ascending the escalator before beginning your walk back to the house.

~~~

"That was definitely longer than five minutes," Harry states simply as he opens the door, appearing alongside your other younger brother, Paddy.

"Well then you can go shopping next time you lazy ass," You roll your eyes, handing him one of the shopping bags.

"Public transport makes you cranky," Harry jokes, carrying the bag into the kitchen where the rest of the boys - Tom, Sam and Harrison - all wait.

"Finally!! Harrison's been in a foul mood, like full on hanger," Sam shakes his head, nudging Haz's shoulder.

"Somebody grumpy?" You pout as you reach behind him to put something in the cupboard, "Is it your time of the month?"

Harrison rolls his eyes and leans down so his face is inches from yours, "Must be, I guess we're synced!"

You hit his chest and push him away, busying yourself by starting to unpack the other bags.

"Alright how do we actually make a barbeque?" Tom clasps his hands together, lugging in a big bag of charcoal.

"I've been gone all afternoon and you guys still didn't figure out how to make a fucking barbeque?" You laugh, "I have to do everything in this family!"

"We were busy," Paddy retorts, "Harrison wanting to fill up the pool,"

"That pool we had when we were about five?!" You exclaim, running your hands through your hair to pull it out of your face.

"Well we couldn't find the pump so we had to take turns blowing it up," Sam admits and it makes you laugh even more.

"Something funny?" Harrison raises his brows, tickling your sides as you double over to avoid him.

"Come on! I'm fucking starving!" Harry encourages, all of them oblivious to Harrison's actions being anything more than brotherly.

And before you know it, all of your brothers have left to go into the garden and somehow work out how to make up tthis barbeque.

You and Harrison settle into a silence and it is only then that you can notice the lack of brightness in his eyes.

"Everything okay over there?" You frown, folding your arms as you stand opposite him in the kitchen.

"Um, yeah, yeah," He nods reassuringly, "Can we maybe just find some time to talk later?"

Your face doesn't falter from it's frown, "Yeah, of course. But for now can you somehow help me keep these boys under control?"

He laughs and it seems like he lets his worries slip away temporarily as he follows you outside, hand somehow subconsciously settling on your back as the two of you join the boys in huddling around their project.

~~~

In a while, after the barbeque took far too long to set up, you're all relaxing on the grass as Tom gets up occasionally to check on the cooking.

"Here you go boys," You call, carrying out four beers and a lemonade for Paddy and handing them out to each of them.

You hand Harrison's to him last as you sit down beside him.

"You even got my favourite," He comments, nudging your shoulder, "Thanks love,"

"What can I say?" You joke, "I'm just an all round ten out of ten,"

"You really are," He mumbles but its completely inaudible to you.

And its completely hidden to you how much his eyes focus on you.

~~~

"Ooh call me Gordon Ramsey boys, I am the Antoni Porowski of this group and you cannot tell me otherwise," Tom grins as he starts to plate up burgers and hot dogs for everyone.

They were slightly burnt and some of the burgers were strange shapes from his failed attempts to flip them but nonetheless, they were worth the wait.

"Did you seriously forget to buy ketchup?" Harrison sighs, his hand settling low on your back as he pokes his head over your shoulder to look at all of the food.

"On top of everything else, yes I may have forgotten ketchup," You admit, turning to face him and finding yourself a little too close to him. It provokes a blush to appear on your face and the words to fall away from your lips, no longer being important enough to break this moment.

Harrison swallows the lump in his throat and lets his eyes fall to solely focus on you, dancing across your face like they were terrified to be so close. He envied everything that had ever been closer than this. Every drop of rain, every kiss on the cheek from your brothers, every ex - he envied them all for being closer than it was possible for him to ever be.

"Harry fuck off!" Sam hits his twin over the head as Harry tries to flip the paper plate out of his hands.

It snaps you and Haz away from each other as you reside to your seats on the grass, still gravitating to sit beside each other.

~~~

When the evening begins to draw to a quiet close, your brothers have resided to sitting indoors to watch a match on the TV - leaving only you and Harrison outside after both of you offered to tidy away.

"Are you okay to talk now?" You ask into the quiet air as Harrison stops in his tracks.

"Oh no you don't have to-" He begins nervously but stops as soon as you take his hand.

"Come here," Fingers locking with his, you lead him over to the sofa chair that furnished the patio.

You both sit down and, instinctively, your legs lift up to go over his, one of his hands settling on your thigh whilst the other still plays with your hand.

"So, what's been on your mind?" You ask quietly, looking up to try and focus on his crisp blue eyes as much as possible.

"(Y/n) I don't know how I say this in the right way or how I say it without it seeming like I'm making things worse or I-" He sighs, running a hand through his hair, "But I'm just going to say it because you overthink just as much as I do anyway,"

You can't help but smile a little.

"I think you know how I feel about you,"

"And I think you know the same for me," You mention, watching as he focuses solely on the dance between yours and his hands.

"But I also know that you know where we stand," He admits, "You see, a number of years ago I knocked on the door to your house and it was the first time I'd ever been invited for dinner. And I remember your Mum ordered us pizzas and we played on Tom's old-ass PlayStation. And from that point on, I started treating that household like it was my second family. I confided in your parents like they were my own, I relied on your brothers like we were related and I started to love Tessa just as much as Monty," Harrison chuckles, "And Tom became my best friend. But bit by bit I found myself falling in love with his sister,"

You're silent because the lump in your throat is too prominent to overpower.

"She was this know-it-all that intimidated me and she was so sure of herself and she'd more than likely debate her opinions with me for hours. Sometimes, I'd just pretend to disagree with her just to let her talk," He chuckles deeply, "And I found myself wanting to see her every time I went round. She'd come back from a date with a guy and we'd critique what he'd ordered at the restaurant or which sweets he chose at the cinema. We'd stay up to finish the movie when everyone had gone to bed and we'd eventually watch the next one because we couldn't resist. In all ways she's way way too good for me but I fell for her,"

You finally manage to speaks as he falls into a silence, "And she fell for you,"

"But there are four boys behind that wall that I care very much about and so do you," Harrison gestures towards the house, "And thats the only reason that I can't act upon those feelings,"

"Haz, if we even tried to start anything between us, we both know the repercussions. We know Tom wouldn't handle things well and who knows about the others. If it goes well between us, we could risk losing what we have with the boys," You explain, "And if it doesn't go well between us, we lose us. And we definitely don't want that,"

"I really do like you (Y/n) but we can't do that to your brothers,"

You shake your head quickly, "So, I say we just keep things as they are. I'm sure we can handle that. Over time it will grow to be normal anyway, right?"

Harrison pauses, lifting up one hand and tucking your hair behind your ear, letting his fingers ghost across your jaw and brush past your neck, "Right,"

You're both interrupted by the boys yelling angrily at the game on TV and you take it as opportunity to snap out of the labyrinth that you'd got lost in in Harrison's eyes.

"We should probably head back in," You comment quickly, hopping up and outstretching your hands to him.

He stays silent and follows you back into the house, welcoming the typical sight of all of the boys crowding around the TV screen.

"What took you two so long?" Paddy asks, eyes not once leaving their focus from the blue lit screen.

"We uh-" You turn and glance once more at Haz, "Just had a bit of a debate,"

"Oh god," Tom laughs, "Just like the old days. Did you lose again, buddy?" He turns to glance at his best friend as Harrison takes the empty seat beside him.

"Always," He mutters, eyes watching only you as you take the other empty seat beside Sam, on the complete opposite side to the boy of focus.

~~~~~~

Tags: @imarypayne @sunshine112 @bringmethehorizonandpizza @supernatural-girl97 @vibhati123 @butithasntkilledyouyet @faefictions @carisi-sonny @trap-house-homiecide @spiderrpcrker @tommydaspidey @oneblckcoffee @darlingtholland @fanficparker @xxtomxo @httpfandxms @jackiehollanderr

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ramblingsrantsreviews · 5 years ago

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Season Review: 13 Reasons Why - Season 4 (Netflix, 2020)

Netflix’s dropped the final season of their controversial teen drama 13 Reasons Why last week and, as expected, it quickly climbed to the number one spot and was trending. Albeit the trending topic was full of just as many people saying “don’t watch the show” as there were fans talking about the show but that’s too be expected.

Inspired by the teen best selling novel by Jay Asher, 13 Reasons Why was adapted into a television series by Brian Yorkey in 2017 and has since spanned four seasons despite controversy from critics, parents, and teenagers. The fourth and final season of the series follow the same group of Liberty High teenagers, now seniors, as they grabble with the aftermath of their decision to frame a murder on a fellow Liberty High student who was sent to prison for sexual assault and ultimately died in prison. Each of the core cast is dealing with the aftermath in different ways with Clay (Dylan Minnette) experiencing the most negative reaction due in part to his deteriorating mental health.

In true 13 Reasons Why fashion, the season deals with a variety of topics ranging from the ongoing drug use of students, their safety in school, mental health, and it even touches upon the very timely topic of police brutality and racial profiling. And of course, it had to pull one last controversial publicity stunt which left one of our beloved characters dead before graduation day.

I’ve already written about my overall thoughts on the characters outcomes but I felt the final season also warranted its own review. In addition to the usual categories, I’ve also includes a spot for my favorite character and favorite couple of the entire season since this is the final season. Least favorite character of the series will not be featured because I don’t feel the need to write anything more about Bryce. I’m also going to try to keep the character portions short so that I don’t repeat myself.

As always, spoilers are ahead.

Favorite Episode: 4×09 — “Prom”

All I’ve ever wanted is for this group of teenagers to be happy and actually enjoy their youth instead of dealing with whatever shit was complicating their lives. Episode 9 finally gave that to us, if you ignore the last 3 minutes of the episode like I’m choosing to do.

This episode had some of my favorite scenes that left me crying tears of joy and had my heart swelling with pride. It was also the first time, in a long time, that we saw the entire group back together in Clay and Justin’s bedroom. I’ve always said this show is best when it’s characters are all united and share the screen together and that scene proved I was right. If only they would have supported each other from the beginning of this season instead of just at the end.

Episode 9 is also home to both Charlie and Alex’s coming out moments and they could not have been more perfect. I absolutely love that both of their families were accepting and didn’t even question their sons. Charlie’s scene with his dad literally had me laughing out loud when they were talking about Charlie’s obsession with Eli Manning. It’s such an innocent thing and yet it showcases that LGBT kids and teens are just like their heterosexual counterparts who have innocent crushes on celebrities and athletes. I also love that his dad basically said he knew but wanted Charlie to come to him when he was ready.

Alex’s coming out moment was equally as cute. I really loved the fact that his wasn’t a coming-out moment in the traditional sense because he didn’t sit his parents down and talk to them about his sexuality. Instead, he just shows up with Charlie who he introduces as his boyfriend. It was perfect and honestly, I think more shows and films should deal with coming-out stories that happen like this. I was once again laughing when Alex’s brother got all excited because he was dating the quarterback of the Liberty High football team. Plus, the heartfelt moment with both of his parents warmed my heart. All they’ve ever wanted for their son is to see him happy and healthy and they finally got that.

I loved Charlie’s promposals and how he kept trying to one-up them to get Alex to say yes. I’m wondering though if maybe he should have tried something more low-key and intimate since that seems to be more of Alex’s style. Either way, they were all cute and I’m glad Alex finally said yes. Also, I love that they finally realized that Jess didn’t need a boy on her arm to have a good time. Having her go with Ani was cute and felt a bit full circle since the only ever girlfriend she had was Hannah who she had a falling out with before her death. And I also love that Clay tagged along with Alex and Charlie to make sure Alex was comfortable. He’s always looking out. Honorable cute mentions also go to Caleb for finally getting Tony to participate in high school activities and Tyler for going with Estella and having the best time ever.

Of course, the prom scene as a whole was amazing (again, until the last 3 minutes which I will not be mentioning again…hopefully). Seeing these kids get to be teenagers warmed my heart and it was everything I ever wanted. I loved that the football team was behind Charlie and Alex winning Prom Kings. It really showed a growth in the team since they’d been homophobic and rapists in prior seasons but have finally started to mature and “be better” as Zach and later Charlie helped instill in them. I also love that Ani and Clay finally hashed out their weird relationship and that they were able to move on as friends.

I was so glad when Justin showed up at the prom. He deserved to have a great time and enjoy his dwindling senior year just like the rest of his friends. I love how they show the scene when Jess spots him in this cinematic and romantic way. Was it cheesy? Yes, but dammit these two deserve all the cheesiness after everything they’ve been through. I also love Jess’s line telling him to never love anything more than life. It was perfect and everything I wanted.

Oh, and Clay asking his mom to dance was equally as adorable.

The only thing I felt this episode needed (other than a different ending) was the inclusion of “The Night We Met.” That song is a staple of this series and it would have been nice to have it played at their final dance. Perhaps, they could have all come together on the dance floor like they did in season 2 for Clay.

Least Favorite Episode: 4×03 — “Valentine’s Day”

To be honest, the whole first half of the season was a hot mess but I think my least favorite episode had to be the third episode. I literally almost stopped watching after it because it no longer felt like I was watching 13 Reasons Why.

I found it to be an interesting choice by the writers to write another episode centered around a dance when we were going to get a prom episode and have had multiple dance centric episodes in prior seasons. I think it would have been more interesting if they set the drama somewhere else. Then again, dances seem to be the only way to get all these characters in one place at the same time so I digress.

My biggest issue with this episode was the whole plot surrounding Clay and the mysterious phone calls. I felt like I was watching a cheap knock off of Scream every time Clay answered the phone and was tormented by the caller. Of all the dumb things this show has done, this was the dumbest and completely unnecessary. After all, Clay had been cleared from being a person-of-interest in Bryce’s murder before Ani’s confession that Monty was the one who did it. Therefor, the football teams motive for taking their anger and emotions for Monty out on Clay made zero sense. Not to mention, they did it in the most unoriginal way ever.

This episode also featured Winston and Alex getting closer and dating. Look, I believe most characters can change and be good people but Winston doesn’t seem to be one of those people. Granted, Alex didn’t know who he was or his involvement with Monty at the time but we did which made it hard for me to root for these two. Winston may have actually had feelings for Alex, but to me he was just using him to get information and that is totally not cool.

I also greatly disliked Clay and Ani in this episode. It’s clear that their relationship has run its course and Ani’s constant need to keep pushing Clay to be with her was dumb. Ani is such a smart character and yet she does the stupidest things. She definitely needed one of Jess’s woman empowerment speeches.

Also I absolutely hated Zach yelling at Justin and then Jess yelling at Justin — even if she was right to do so.

By far the worst thing about this episode had to be the ending sequence with Clay in the shower and then on the football field. Of course, the episode then ended with him walking into the gym with a red stained shirt holding a knife. Definitely not a good image for Clay but what really killed me is that everyone blamed him for brining a knife to the dance when Diego and his boys literally planted it for him to take! Once again 13 Reasons Why forgets its own plot for more drama.

Favorite Character This Season: Charlie St. George

While Charlie might not be my all-time favorite character, he definitely earned the prize of being my favorite character this season.

Charlie was the one character this season who was actually there for everyone around him and wasn’t consumed with his own issues. In fact, Charlie is so selfless that he chose to get involved with all their drama last season when he didn’t need to but did anyway because he knew it was the right thing to do.

As for this season, well Charlie continued to out do himself. He helped Justin hold the football team accountable when they were being dicks. He made sure Jess was getting the team’s undivided attention during her speech. He tried to help Tony decide on what to do about Tyler’s gun pictures during the lockdown and he even calmed Alex down during one of his anxiety attacks. Not to mention, he researched Alex’s TBI so that he’d know what to expect and how to handle any issues that may arise from it. His helpfulness didn’t stop there. He also tried to be there for Clay and for Justin during the season. And he even went as far as tracking down Zach and forcing him to go see Justin in the hospital when he was dying.

If all that doesn’t prove that he’s the best character than I don’t know what will.

He also had the best coming-out moment and literally ruled the prom with Alex as his date.

So yeah, Charlie was the best.

Favorite Character Of The Series: Justin Foley

Since this is the final season, I also wanted to speak about my favorite character of the entire show: Justin Foley. If you read my other post this should come as no surprise that Justin is my ride-or-die character.

Justin is my favorite character because he has one of the best character arcs of the entire series (if you ignore the final episode and is horrible fate). In the first season he was this angry and broken kid who was so distraught with guilt that he turned to the streets for some kind of relief and eventual revenge. Thankfully, Clay and Tony were there to save him and the Jenson’s were kind enough to offer him a home when he had no where else to turn.

Sure, Justin still struggled with his addiction but he tried and fought so damn hard to get better. Relapse is part of the recovery process and if you recall, most of the times Justin relapsed were do in part to major things happening in his life, like his biological mother’s overdose which lead to her death.

Despite all the things against him, Justin finally got help this season and was on the path to recovery. He was thriving in school, had a college acceptance letter in his hands, and was finally happy. All Justin ever wanted to do was live and he constantly tried to do that.

As you know from my character thoughts post, I was completely devastated when he died. It’s been a week and I’m still not over it. I honestly feel like I lost someone I knew in real life.

Despite his ill fitted and unnecessary ending, Justin Foley had the best character development of this group. He was the one character who deserved to live more than anything. In my head, he’s alive and thriving in college while having regular FaceTime dates with Jess.

Least Favorite Character This Season: Winston

Avoiding the obvious answers like Bryce and Monty, who I hate with my entire being, I’ve decided that Winston is my least favorite character of season 4.

I mentioned this in my other post but I’m going to say it again, Winston is nothing more than a knock-off Clay who doesn’t have half the heart that Clay Jenson has.

I can’t get behind Winston because his entire character is rooted in being a rapist apologist because he “loved” Monty. Obviously, I don’t think Winston is a terrible person but I do think something is wrong with him since he is able to have feelings for Monty despite knowing all the terrible and hurtful things he did to people. I mean Mrs. Walker couldn’t look her own son in the eyes after learning everything he did and you’re telling me that Monty can turn a blind eye to it because he’s in love. I call bullshit.

I didn’t feel like Winston’s actions this season were rooted in good like Clay’s were. I think every relationship he formed with the core group was made because he wanted to get information out of them.

The only good thing Winston did was not turn Alex in for killing Bryce. In my opinion, though, that doesn’t redeem him for spending the entire season trying to seek revenge for Monty.

Favorite Couple This Season: Alex and Charlie

Let’s be honest, 13 Reasons Why doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to relationships. Even the most iconic and shippable couples on the show are problematic. Which is why I was so shocked and proud when the writers finally decided to show a happy and healthy relationship, between two boys to top it all off!

While I’ll admit, I had been hoping that Alex would end up with Zach this season I am 110% sold that he was destined to be with Charlie. As I’ve said before and in this very post, Charlie is so caring and attentive to Alex that you can tell his feelings are completely authentic and he has no ulterior motive for wanting/choosing to be with Alex.

In fact, if you watch the third season carefully, you’ll notice that Charlie had taken an interest in Alex during that season. It just wasn’t as prominent on the screen. Perhaps, that’s part of the reason Charlie decided to get involved with this group. And once he found out Alex was the one who needed saving he jumped into action to plant Bryce’s tape on Monty. But that might be my brain stretching.

Regardless, Charlie and Alex are the perfect teenage couple and the by far the healthiest couple of this entire show. They’re there for each other, they celebrate each other’s victories (even if Alex doesn’t always understand them) and their love is unconditional.

These two may be Prom Kings but they’re also Kings of healthy relationships.

Favorite Couple Of The Series: Justin and Jess

Even though Alex and Charlie are the healthiest couple and by far my favorite this season, I can’t help but continue to ship Jess and Justin.

Now listen, these two are not a couple that should be idolized. They’re extremely toxic at times and they are way too dependent on each other. Not to mention, the origins of their relationship are complex and for some, immensely problematic. And yet, here I am stanning this couple because they’re so made for each other.

Part of what makes Justin and Jess work is that they understand each other, even when they don’t always want to. They both have been in each others shows. They both know what it’s like to be at rock bottom and to climb out on top. Beyond that, they’re (usually) always there for each other or at least are cheering each other on in some way.

Was Jess wrong this season to lash out as Justin when he told her he needed to focus on herself? Absolutely. But Justin was also in the wrong a few seasons ago when he didn’t fight to help Jess enough. Regardless of their issues and arguments, these two are always finding their way back to each other.

I loved that Justin went to Jess’s aide during the lockdown. Sure, it took Diego being an ass to get him there but I’m pretty sure he would have went regardless. Frankly I’m convinced that Justin was texting Jess during the lockdown before he even went down to see her. And, despite everything going on, in that moment they felt safe, because they were together.

I love that Justin, even though he was jealous of Diego, never really made it an issue — or at least, a major issue. When Zach is trying to rile him up at the Valentine’s Day dance Justin reminds him that Jess doesn’t belong to him. It’s the smallest thing but it a sign that he loves and respects Jess enough to let her be on her own. In fact, I’d argue that the real issue he has with Jess seeing Diego is that Diego is a complete dick to Clay and is obsessed with finding out the truth about Monty.

I love that Jess is (almost) always there for Justin. Should she have pulled him out of the alleyway when she finds him doing drugs again? Absolutely, but I think her choosing to walk away was an extremely hard decision for her to make. And I’m glad their story didn’t end there. I absolutely loved Jess’s speech to Justin at the prom. And the scene of them in the hospital completely wrecked me. Hearing Jess say that Justin taught her to love when he was still convinced he ruined her life was seriously the most heartbreaking thing ever.

As I said, I’m pretending these two are living a happy and healthy life because that’s what they deserve.

Complaints:

13 Reasons Why is strongest when the cast is together and supporting each other. Unfortunately this season everything felt disjointed, especially these characters relationships with each other. Alex and Jess had barely any scenes together despite committing a murder together. Zach was messy the entire season and acting very out of character. And no one cared enough to help him. Alex did try but it didn’t feel like enough, or maybe Zach was just too stubborn to accept it. The golden trio (Clay, Justin, and Jess) had little to no scenes until the end which hurt me to my core. I felt like Justin was missing from the first half of the season and then when he did get more time on screen he was literally dying. Clay and Tony barely had any scenes together and seemed annoyed with each other. Tyler was basically on his own this season – at least he had Estella. I guess I had higher hopes that our core group would be stronger than ever but that simply wasn’t the case and I’m upset about it.

My other major problem this season was the show’s need to try to be a psychological thriller. I fully support them wanting to show Clay’s deteriorating mental state and I found it interesting that they chose to go the disassociating route but I am not a fan of how they did it. I felt like the writers forgot the genre of their show. As I mentioned above, I also hated the football team using their phones to torment Clay. It was stupid and unoriginal.

Another issue I had this season was the fact that both Ani and Zach out Alex to different people. In Ani’s case she outed Alex to Clay by confessing that she caught him making out with Winston in the hallway during the dance. As for Zach, he outed Alex to almost all of their friends during the senior camping trip after learning that Alex broke up with Winston. While neither of them outed Alex with malicious intent, it was still wrong. I would have liked to see Alex confront them about it, at some point.

I absolutely hated and was disgusted at the fact the show tried to portray both Clay and Zach as people who would rape unconscious women who were unable to consent. I will never forgive the writers for that. It literally served no purpose and completely went again both of their characters.

I also found it extremely random and unneccesary that Clay hooks up with Valerie, Sheriff Diaz’s daughter, at that party. I don’t care that he hooked up with someone but because it was the daughter of the Sheriff I wanted that to be a bigger moment. I was waiting and expecting Sheriff Diaz to find out and flip out on Clay but that never happened. As it stands now, the only purpose that scene had was to inform us that Sheriff Diaz did have a family which would make his speech to Alex’s dad at the end of the season make sense.

I also wasn’t a fan of Monty and Bryce’s presence this season. Both of them already got their moments in the spotlight we didn’t need to see them again. They were monsters who don’t deserve any sort of redemption or yet another attempt of a redemption arc. I also found it extremely peculiar that Clay was the one that was seeing them. As I’ve said before, Clay wasn’t the one who came up with the idea to frame Monty so I wasn’t totally sure why he felt so guilty. I also hated that they gave Jess another scene with ghost Bryce at the end instead of having her see ghost Justin. If anyone deserved to be in that final scene where they’re burying Hannah’s tapes it was Justin. After all, he’s where the story began.

Speaking of the final scene, I felt it odd that they decided to bring Courtney and Ryan back. If they were going to reunite the entire tape crew where were Marcus and Sheri? Even though they weren’t prominent in the episode I felt their screen time could have been given to one of the other core characters instead.

Another minor thing, I missed the smooth transitions in and out of scenes that 13 Reasons Why always seemed to nail. I know they were mainly used when the story was switching from past and present but I truly missed them this season. Everything felt harsh and jagged and I wasn’t a fan.

Lastly, and this one is going to be obvious. I hated that they killed Justin. There was no reason for his death. There was no hint that he was the one who was going to die. It was unnecessary and a last ditch attempt to be controversial and shocking. I’m not over it and I’ll never be over it.

Praise:

Most of the things I’m going to write here I’ve said elsewhere so I apologize for any repetition.

As I said above, one of my favorite things about this season was Alex and Charlie’s coming out scenes. Something I have yet to mention though, is that I love how Alex turned to Tony when he was still in the midst of questioning his sexuality. It was a really sweet moment and it showcased Tony and Alex’s friendship. I also love that Tony answered the question without questing Alex on why he was asking. Tony could have asked Alex if he was questioning his sexual identity or something else but he chose not to because it’s not his place.

Speaking of Tony, I adored the scene with his father when Caleb told him about Tony’s college opportunity. Tony was so adamant on turning it down because he wanted to keep the auto shop going and to hear his father tell him that Tony is his dream was heartwarming. I think we all knew that his father just wants what is best for Tony but to hear him say it was important.

I did like the scene where the tape crew was reunited. It felt very full circle but I think they should have burned the tapes instead of burying them. I swear to god, if in 10 years this show gets a reboot because someone finds the tapes I’m going to die. I was a bit confused though since it didn’t appear that all the tapes were in the box. And I still think Justin should have been a part of it in some way. After all, he was the start of the tapes. Bryce may have brought them all together in a twisted way, but without Justin they wouldn’t have existed either.

Everything considered, I’m glad we did get to see Jess and Justin together in the end. To me they are endgame — even though Diego tries to get Jess to date him right after Justin’s death. I’ll cherish the prom scene and even the scenes in the hospital forever.

Also regarding Justin’s fate, I loved his final scene with Clay. The series spends so much time trying to get us to believe that Justin found a brother in Bryce, but I never bought it. Justin’s only brother was Clay and that essay proved that. It was so heartfelt and sad and I loved it. I also love that Clay admits to Justin that he doesn’t know how to go on without him but Justin assures him that he does.

I also did like the ending scene with Clay and Tony, even though in my perfect world it was Clay and Justin driving off to college together. It was a nice full circle moment. Although, I will admit my anxiety was through the roof because I seriously thought they were going to get into an accident. After all, it is 13 Reasons Why.

Lastly, I want to discuss the final scene at the police station between Alex’s dad and Sheriff Diaz. I spent a lot of this season and last season hating Sheriff Diaz but he certainly redeemed himself in that moment. There’s no doubt in my mind that he realized that Alex was the one who killed Bryce. And yet, he understood that Alex is a good kid who doesn’t deserve to be in jail. He understood that Bryce and Monty were both monsters. He knew that if the truth got out Alex’s dad would fall apart. His speech about putting family before his job was important and impactful.

As I’ve said, of all the shitty things this show has done the one thing they actually got right was letting Alex walk free. I never would have forgiven them if they had sent Alex to jail. After all, he’s not a monster he’s the hero of the story.

* * *

I still have mixed feelings about the final season and I think I will for the rest of time. Had they not have killed Justin I feel like I would have felt a lot better about the conclusion of the show. But if 13 Reasons Why has taught me anything its that life is not fair and that we cannot let tragedy dictate our entire lives. We must live (and continue watching questionable television shows).

You can stream the final season of 13 Reasons Why on Netflix.

What did you think of the final season of 13 Reasons Why? What was your favorite and least favorite episode? Who do you ship? Are you happy with the ending? Let me know in the comments or by tweeting me @3RsBlog.

Featured Image Source: Netflix

#13 reasons why #13rw #clay jenson #Justin Foley #jessica davis #Alex Standall #charlie st. george #reviews #review

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psyga315 · 5 years ago

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Fixing RWBY Volume 3

Volume 3 is most likely not going to receive a lot of changes due to how this is the lynchpin for which all other RWBY volumes make or break. It is because of Volume 3 that people were either turned off or were re-engaged by the tonal shift and it is because of Volume 3 for which people compare all other finales to, as well as scenes that were clearly made to recapture that feeling from Volume 3.

So, instead of going episode by episode in trying to change plot elements, I’m going to go in broad strokes with this.

Like before, I’d recommend Celtic Phoenix’s Fixing Volume 3 video, though only for the Vytal Festival Tournament and Cinder’s overall plan. After that, all bets are off.

Though, we need to address the Goliath in the room. Midway through Volume 3’s production, Monty Oum passed away and, if Shane Newville is to be believed (which, given how they used Adam’s V3 fight footage for V6, might be more likely), a lot of stuff was changed last minute, much to Shane’s chagrin. Now, some rewrites would simply go for “let’s go with the original plans” route, but I find that would be not only too easy, but would go into the route of “this is what Monty wanted”, which is not only a stupid complaint in more ways than one, but a real slap in the face to his friends.

Instead, I want to go with a somewhat more… meta route. I understand that this is a little more controversial, so if you wish, you may skip this. The long story short is that we’d be getting a 2.5 where we see the Vytal Festival Tournament and its ulterior motive is to get animators that hopefully would not lead to the fight scene drought of Volumes 4 through 5. Also, Jason Liebrecht is Qrow instead of Vic because Vic was busy in another role by the time RWBY finishes up with 2.5.

Those Who Treasure Monty

We begin in our world, on February 2, 2015, news of Monty Oum’s passing breaks out onto the web and a long, lingering shadow is cast over RWBY’s future. Even with multiple confirmations that RWBY will continue, it’s clear that without Monty Oum’s animation, RWBY would eventually slow to a crawl in fight choreography.

So, RT is forced to make a decision. They need to put RWBY off for a year while they figure out how to proceed. To ensure the RWBY fans stay sated and to search for talent that could either replicate or even succeed Oum’s, they create short, five-minute fights set during the Vytal Festival tournament that anyone with an animating talent can use. While some used Poser like RWBY, the fact that Maya is used more gets RT to thinking… Perhaps they should make the switch to Maya.

It’s been stated that Monty insisted on Poser when Maya was a superior option, and I wanted to reflect that in this meta-arc. This would also pave the way for animators to get RT’s spotlight.

In the middle of this hiatus, we’d also get Grimm Eclipse, which, given how not a lot of attention is given to RWBY proper, means that RT would funnel more support into the game’s first year than they did originally. This might also get Gray to try and put his name out by doing Gen:Lock, or at least releasing teasers for it, much like how Monty hyped RWBY through the four trailers.

The fights are in a purgatory of “semi-canon”, where it technically happened, but don’t expect RT to actually call back to it. Much like the DC Comics. HEY-O!

By the end of this hiatus, RT will most likely get their new talent and will definitely cut ties with Sheena and Shane, much like they did originally, but hopefully with less resentment given the cooldown. RWBY would get an October 2016 premiere which would be predated by RWBY vs. ABRN, JNPR vs. BRNZ, and SSSN vs. NDGO being the final three fights for Volume 2.5, done by people who would end up being lead animators for RWBY going forward. The last of the fights will end on a familiar scene.

“Wow, now that was a match!”

“Pheh, that was a mess…”

The latter of which being delivered by Jason Liebrecht. I reason that, in the time RWBY took to process the passing of their brainfather, Vic would most likely have been in another role and be too busy to do Qrow. This would also avoid the… unfortunate circumstance of which we shall not name.

With that, we shall properly proceed to…

RWBY, Volume 3, The Vytal Festival Arc

By the time 3 kicks off, we’re already done with the first round, having already seen most of it from 2.5. We instead open up with Ruby talking to her mom, the final moments of RWBY vs ABRN, and Ruby and her friends celebrating their victory, much like V3. What changes is that JNPR is also celebrating their victory over BRNZ.

However, it’s clear that not everything is bright. Ruby’s still scarred over the Breach, Blake is frustrated with the lack of closure they got and believes that the case is still not over, and Yang is thinking back to what Raven said, to which we get an extended flashback of Raven explaining that she saved her once and that Yang should not expect her to save Yang again and also how Summer was a pawn in a larger game. She doesn’t say much, but she leaves enough information for Yang to know who Summer was a pawn for: Ozpin.

We end Episode with a ship entering Vytal and Qrow deliberately going over to face it as Weiss looks on in a bright smile. Episode 2 kicks off with Qrow vs. Winter, now being a lot more vicious as Qrow believes Ironwood to be putting his jackboot over Vale and strangling what free will the people had remaining. We get to see his bad luck be put into motion as bystanders get attacked by debris and getting injured in the process. His Semblance is literally uncontrollable. However, the trick is to not show that this is his Semblance until Volume 4.

Glynda and Ironwood arrive and chew out both Winter and Qrow for their fighting. Even though they have differing opinions on Ironwood, Qrow is explicitly told that his drunken fits only help to cause fear, something Ozpin does not want in the Vytal Festival. Qrow brings up that Ironwood’s army is bringing fear and while Ozpin agrees, also agrees with Ironwood that it also brings some form of safety. Bottom line with how the scene plays out is that Qrow, while a valuable asset on the battlefield in more ways than one is outright a liability in social situations, made apparent when he hangs out with his niece(s) and only makes a bad situation worse by making his “cut one Taijitu head and now the other one calls the shots” speech sound way worse than it sounds.

However, there’s also subtle nods that imply that the only reason he’s such a drunken wreck with social skills so bad that he’s actively making things worse is because of the trauma he received from his days of being in STRQ and serving Oz. Basically, downplay the comedy of Qrow being drunk and show off that Qrow being drunk is a bad thing like in Volume 6.

Winter also has her hangups. Because of being raised by her abusive father, Winter inherited a bit of that. Think the DC Comics version of Willow. Weiss notably sees just how much like her father Winter’s become and Winter tells her that her ambition of being a Huntress has done more harm than good, bringing up her scar. Winter then tells her why she came. Not just to oversee the deployment of new robots, but also to warn Weiss. Jacques cutting Weiss off and constantly calling her is his way of saying “Okay, this is getting out of hand, come home or I will take you myself.” This kinda worries Weiss quite a bit.

The doubles match are the ones that are a major focus for episodes 3 & 4, showcasing Yang and Weiss vs. Neon and Flynt, Nora and Pyrrha vs. Sun and Neptune, Mercury and Emerald vs. Coco and Yatsuhashi, and Penny and Ciel vs. some random members of CRDL. Not a lot of changes here. With a whole episode to ourselves, we can spend that to see our cast one final time before the plot throws them into hell. Weiss talks to Ruby about her father, she assures her that RWBY will not leave her side. Blake tells Yang about her worries for the White Fang, especially since her name had been publicized by the tournament, even knowing that Yang is hiding something.

We end the episode with Glynda asking Ozpin if he’s sure about something and he reassures her that time is of the essence and that they have no other option. “The only one with a choice will be her.” Before we cut to Pyrrha.

Episode 6 is unaltered, except there’s a heavier emphasis of Ozpin pushing the issue onto Pyrrha and making it clear that it’s making her mentally unstable.

RWBY, Volume 3, The Fall of Beacon

Okay, the only thing that changes for Episode 7? NO BLACK SCREENS! It works for some mystery with the Grimm and Salem, but for meeting Roman?! So, no black screen. If you need to add mystery, just add dark shadows and for the Grimm, glowing eyes. The biggest change would be how Cinder interacts with Adam. Obviously, we keep how he acts in the flashback… But we get a bonus scene of Cinder talking to Adam and manipulating him into resenting Blake for leaving him. Boom. We got our transition covered.

The only change for Episode 8 is that Blake doesn’t go “lol, okay” when she gets Yang to say she’s sorry for kneecapping Mercury. In fact, she expresses doubt on Yang and does not change her mind about it, believing that the thing she was hiding had something to do with injuring Mercury. We end Episode 8 not with Ruby encountering Mercury, but Hazel.

Episode 9 remains relatively unchanged, as it’s the necessary lynchpin to cause the Fall of Beacon. Really, most of the final act can remain unchanged for the most part, save for some quality of life changes like “how come no one called out Emerald when she was in the middle of the crowd even though they were told that her team went home?” or all those tiny nitpicks that really makes Cinder’s plan fall apart if you think too hard about it.

The most that changes is that Hazel fights Ruby reluctantly. Obviously, he doesn’t want to fight Gretchen’s partner. Cinder would have no idea Ruby’s incompetence led to Gretchen’s death, so Hazel wouldn’t use that to guilt trip Ruby. He does, however, rant about the flawed system that Ozpin has made and it’s clear that this is him talking about how flawed the system is, not Cinder whispering sweet nothings in his ear. He lets Ruby go just as the fight between Pyrrha and Penny ends.

Yeah, this still takes place despite Cinder not knowing, since she lacks her virus for now. Cinder is smart and is able to put two and two together when she sees that Penny is doing a lot of the heavy lifting during her fights. I mean, it was obvious to us that she was a robot from Volume 1, Cinder didn’t need no fancy scroll to tell her “hey, Penny’s a robot.”

I should add that, throughout the tournament, Cinder had been rigging the tournament so that it’d come down to Vale vs. Atlas, using the narrative of the Breach to set the stage. She’s also making sure the losses for Mistral and Vacuo sting so the Grimm get attracted sooner. How is she doing this? Via the backdoor program she had. As I said previously, the virus feigns being dead and can only be reactivated by a backdoor program. However, this isn’t the full extent. Cinder is basically using the program to activate a few nodes in the CCT to rig the randomizer enough so that no one stops and goes “wait, this is fishy”. It doesn’t help that the way the tournament is held, each Kingdom representative is guaranteed to face an opposing Kingdom once per round, so if one Kingdom was really good, they’ll overcrowd the subsequent doubles and finals. Two Kingdoms? Then you essentially guarantee that the rest of the fights can be nothing but Kingdom A vs. Kingdom B.

Penny is killed and this becomes the straw that broke the camel’s back. I also would make it so that her big speech, while imposing and setting the tone for the fall, doesn’t sound like “I’m the big bad evil guy and I’m going to announce my terrorist attack!” Also, Adam can get involved too, saying how humans are so sad over a dead robot, but when it’s a Faunus, no one gives a crap, white guilting the crowd. When the Beacon staff cut the feed, Cinder goes “OMG! CENSORSHIP!” and riles up the crowd that way. Basically, her speech causes fear and panic. The Grimm and White Fang attack, we kick off the Fall of Beacon Arc.

One major change to kick off the finale: Port and Oobleck are killed. It doesn’t have to be shown, but it would be implied as Ozpin notices that he lost contact of the two. Really, this is your chance to get rid of all the characters that won’t make an appearance in later Volumes or wouldn’t really matter. After all, there will be no rest or love. Hell, kill off CFVY while you’re at it. Hammer home that the dark tone is here to stay. Also, the backdoor is the thing Roman puts on that ship and thus reactivates the virus.

Of course, the major change is Adam’s fight with Blake, since they fought before. Blake tries desperately to ask why he’s hurting people, but Adam gives her his response: “Because this world doesn’t reward the kind-hearted people. You should know that after what happened to your father!” This puts Blake in a lot of fear and anxiety, requiring Yang to interfere. The one thing I’ll change from this is that Adam does not one-shot Yang, because that horribly unbalances him in the grand scheme of things. Instead, he relies more on manipulation to put Yang in the absolute worst spot throughout the fight, absorbing the increased blows he got from Yang before letting it all out in his Moonslice, taking off her arm.

The other major thing I’d change is the handling of Pyrrha. The bit where they’re underground changes immensely as Ozpin explicitly instructs Jaune to wait by the door, thus separating him from Pyrrha. Ozpin and Pyrrha go to the pods, but as Pyrrha begins to have second thoughts, Ozpin activates the switch as Pyrrha screams in pain.

Meanwhile, Jaune finds Cinder entering the chamber via a superhero landing (No one’s gonna acknowledge that she managed to follow the group down a longass shaft?) and as Jaune tries to fight Cinder, realizing she’s the one who organized all of this, she tells him “I didn’t cause this… I merely exposed Ozpin for what he truly is… Arrogant and willing do to anything to win.” Jaune pieces together what Cinder could possibly mean and enters the chamber, seeing Pyrrha in pain. Just then, Cinder kills Amber and takes her power.

Ozpin decides to hold Cinder off while Jaune and Pyrrha go to get help. While this will be revealed in Volume 5, it’ll be revealed that Ozpin threw his battle with Cinder so that, not only would he reincarnate quicker, but also to avoid the Council chewing his ass out. This leads to the consequence of Cinder forcing Pyrrha’s hand, however…

Like with the show, Pyrrha fights Cinder by herself since Jaune did enough. We’ll have him try to contact Glynda and the others, but they’re unfortunately busy and it’s this poor communication that causes Jaune to panic call Weiss. The fight proceeds like normal and Pyrrha is killed by Cinder, making her sacrifice seemingly in vain before Ruby, having enough with all this bullshit, Silver Eyes the fuck out of Cinder and the Dragon, turning the latter to stone and Cinder into a cripple.

Ending remains the same, but give a lot more emphasis on Ruby and Yang coping with the new change and the losses of their friends. One day, Jaune comes by and asks Ruby if she and Yang would like to accompany them to Mistral, figuring that Cinder came from there and that they’d be able to find some answers. Ruby, having had enough of moping around, leaves much to her father’s chagrin. Salem’s speech remains the same and we get two stingers, split by Divide and Cold. Divide’s credits would be for the Volume and Cold would be for all the animators who helped out during Volume 2.5 and a tribute to Monty. The first stinger is Qrow following RNJR in bird form, the second is Cinder, literally on the edge of death before the parasite Grimm begins to heal and nurture her. She’s furious that Ruby managed to hurt her and this negative emotion causes a Grimm to stalk her. She tries to sing to it, but her voice gives out a rasp.

Just as the Grimm is about to kill her, it gets killed by an unknown assailant, who just scoffs to Cinder. We don’t know who it is, but the shadow of a scorpion’s tail and the creepy voice pretty much gives those with foresight a good idea who he is: “Poor, poor little girl… Bit off more than you can chew, hmmm?” before cutting to black with him giggling.

DVD Extra

This would basically be an encore of Volume 2.5, where animators that nearly made the cut were invited to animate doubles and finals battles and even have a speculative RWBY vs. JNPR battle for ol’ time’s sake.

And that’s RWBY Volume 3 tweaked. Only two more left to go and they’re the most… interesting ones to tweak. Well, with this isolation, I might as well give a little bit of time to this…

#RWDE #RWBY #Rewrite #RWBY Rewrite

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lost-n-stereo · 6 years ago

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Summary: All Bellamy Blake’s little sister wants is to attend summer camp. When his best friend tells him of a job opening as a camp counselor, Bellamy jumps at the opportunity to make his sister’s dream come true, plus earn a little cash for college. What he doesn’t expect is the breath of fresh air that is Clarke Griffin, a camp counselor from another school that turns his summer upside down. Multi-chaper Modern AU

in the sweet heart of summer

Chapter 1 - [AO3]

He’s never been a fan of summer vacation.

Call him weird but he was always the kind of kid that genuinely liked school. Learning to him was fun but it was also nice to have structure. His home life wasn’t the greatest, and being the oldest child and having a single mom that worked two jobs meant that his summer vacation was usually spent babysitting and working odd jobs to bring in extra money. Octavia slept in almost every day and they would bum around their small town, stopping for ice cream or swimming at the public pool. On the nights Octavia would have sleepovers at her friend’s house Bellamy would join his group of friends as they drank beer by the railroad tracks that ran the length around the entire town.

That’s what he was imagining this summer would be, just a repeat of every summer he’s had for the last eighteen years. His sister just turned thirteen though and the only thing on her mind has been summer camp.

“It’s expensive,” his mom tells him one night in May. School lets out in just under two weeks and he knows his mom can’t afford a camp that lasts almost two months long. “She’s going to be devastated.”

“Let me talk to Jasper. Maybe he knows a way to get her into the camp he works at every summer.”

His mom’s eyes light up. “Really?”

Bellamy shrugs. “It doesn’t hurt to ask.”

“Thank you, Bell. Even if he could just get us a discount, maybe between the two of us we could pull it off.”

As soon as she walks out of the kitchen, dropping a kiss on his head as she leaves, he pulls out his cell and thumbs in a text to his best friend.

Any chance you know how to get a spot for O in your summer camp that won’t cost us an arm and a leg?

His phone rings, just like he knew that it would because Jasper hates talking on the phone.

“Dude,” is all his best friend says and Bellamy laughs. “If you want to get Octavia into this camp all you need to do is apply to be a camp counselor. Younger siblings of counselors stay for free and you get paid.”

“No shit?” He’s not the most outdoorsy person in the world but he knows enough to probably teach some little kids how to do basic wilderness things.

“None to be given, my friend. I’ll email you the link to apply.”

Then Jasper hangs up without another word and Bellamy chuckles, waits for the email to come through and applies for the job that might make his sister’s summer wish come true.

***

“Oh. My. God.”

Bellamy shushes Octavia. “O, you need to chill.”

His sister is practically jumping up and down in her seat as the school bus they are on drives under the Forest Acres Summer Camp sign. Jasper is sitting in the seat in front of him, with their mutual friend Harper, and he knows at least fix or six other counselors from their high school.

Jasper turns around and rests his arms on the back of his bench seat. “Leave her alone, Blake. She’s just excited for all the fresh air and activities.”

Bellamy rolls his eyes, mostly because he knows full well that Jasper only comes to work at this camp so he can see his summer girlfriend Raven. Plus he knows that the money isn’t bad. He’ll make almost two grand this summer and it’s going to help a lot with his moving expenses for college.

The drive to the center of camp takes a little less than ten minutes. There are trees lining both sides of the long road, and he’s assuming that’s where the camp gets its name. The camp is almost four hours from home and it’s the first time that Octavia has ever stayed anywhere without their mom for longer than a night or two. He’s glad he’ll be around if she starts to get homesick.

“What kind of stuff are we going to be doing?” Octavia asks and Jasper starts ticking off items like he has the entire summer activity catalog memorized. And hell, maybe he does. Jasper’s been coming to this summer camp since he was seven so he has a solid ten years of Forest Acres experience.

“And they will group you into cabins,” Jasper is telling her. “Each counselor is assigned a cabin and every counselor will have different things for you to do too.”

“Can Bellamy be my counselor?”

Jasper shakes his head. “Sorry, kid. Girls get girls, boys get boys. But you’ll see him a lot. We do movie nights and camp outs and we all eat together for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

“Cool,” Octavia says, looking out the window as giant green pine trees pass by her. “This summer is going to be so awesome.”

Bellamy smiles and ruffles her hair, sits back in his seat until the bus pulls to a stop in front of a long red building not dissimilar to a barn.

“That’s the main office,” Jasper tells them, gathering his stuff before standing up and turning to Bellamy. “That’s where we’ll get our cabin assignments and meet all the other counselors.”

Bellamy punches him lightly on the arm. “Bet you’re excited to see your girlfriend,” he teases and Jasper flips him off.

“Don’t knock summer love, bro. It can be pretty fun.” Jasper raises his eyebrows suggestively and Bellamy rolls his eyes.

“Dude, there are kids here. Keep it in your pants.”

Bellamy grabs their backpacks and follows Jasper and Harper, who’s bouncing on her heels to get out of the bus.

“Speaking of summer love,” Jasper whispers and Bellamy watches as she practically jumps off the bus and into the arms of a guy that looks around their age. “That’s Monty Green. He goes to the same school as Raven.”

Bellamy nods and looks around. “And where is Raven? I’m honestly starting to wonder if you made her up.” Octavia snickers from beside him and Jasper shoots them both dirty looks.

“She’s over there,” Jasper says, trying to point discreetly to where two girls are standing side by side holding clipboards. “The blonde next to her is new, though. I don’t know her.”

Bellamy looks at the girl, who’s got her long blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail with loose curls falling out naturally. He’s seen girls at his school try for the same look but it always comes across like they are trying too hard. This girl is cute as hell with legs for days despite not being very tall at all, lean and tan in her short red athletic shorts.

“Let’s go,” Jasper says to Bellamy before turning to his sister. “O, see that group of girls your age over there? That’s where you should be.”

Octavia looks up at Bellamy and for the first time he can see panic rising up in her eyes. He bends down so he’s eye level with her. “I’m going to be right here, okay? Don’t forget, we came here so you can have fun.”

She bites down on her lip before standing up straight and he can see his badass little sister coming back. “You’re right, Bell. I totally got this. Later, losers.”

Jasper snorts. “She’s one of a kind.” Raven waves over to them and Jasper elbows him. “Move your ass, Blake.”

Raven is pretty, definitely pretty enough to make Jasper an idiot ten months out of every year. But the girl standing next to her is a stunner, even more so up close.

Jasper and Raven hug, leaving Bellamy and the unnamed girl standing awkwardly while the couple giggles and speak quietly beside them.

“I’m Bellamy Blake,” he says, deciding to break the silence and she looks relieved.

“Clarke Griffin.” She holds up her clipboard. “I can help you sign in if you’re a first-timer like me.”

“Yeah, that’d be great.” Bellamy turns to let his friend know that he’s taking off but Jasper just waves him off without even looking at him. Clarke laughs when Bellamy leans over and whispers, “I’d be mad but he hasn’t shut up about her since September.”

“That’s actually kind of sweet,” she says as they weave their way through groups of kids. Bellamy looks for Octavia and sees her laughing with a group of girls. Clarke follows his line of sight. “Little sister?”

He smiles. “Yeah. She’s the reason I’m here actually. I only applied for the job so she could get in.”

“That’s also kind of sweet.” When he looks down she’s blushing, pretty pink hitting her cheeks like she’s embarrassed that she said what she did. “So this is the main office…”

Bellamy follows her into the building and is hit with a sudden blast of air conditioning. “Jesus, it’s freezing in here.”

Clarke laughs. “Yeah, the camp director hates the heat. You’d think that someone that hates the heat wouldn’t work at a summer camp, right?”

She walks him to the front desk, which looks a lot like the front office of a school. There’s an older redheaded woman behind the desk that introduces herself as Kathy, and she helps him sign in and lets him know he’ll be the counselor for Cabin B4.

Clarke waits for him, even though she doesn’t have to, and when he heads back to her with his own clipboard in hand she asks him what cabin he got.

“How funny! I have Cabin G4. And look,” she says tilting her clipboard so he can read it. “Octavia Blake. Is that your sister?”

“Yeah, it is.” He’s happy that Octavia is with Clarke, not just because he happens to think she’s pretty fucking cute but also because he can tell that she’s a good person. “I’m glad she’ll have you looking after her.”

Bellamy bites back a smile when her cheeks flush pink. “I’ll make sure she has a good summer.”

He can’t help but think this summer is going to be good for him too.

*** The first few days of camp are hectic.

He’s in charge of five campers, all between the ages of ten to thirteen. There are three cabins of boys in this age group so he gets together with the other two counselors to come up with activities for the campers to do on their downtime.

“What about a fishing trip? There’s a bigger lake not far, I’m sure we could secure two of the vans for the day.”

Bellamy nods at Monty, who he’s gotten to know pretty well over the last week. “Yeah, I think they’d like that. Murphy, any ideas?”

John Murphy, who seems like he’s here for the money and probably not much else, shrugs. “Shooting practice?”

Bellamy snorts. “I don’t know if teaching a bunch of preteens how to shoot guns is a good idea.”

“I mean, like…bows and arrows or whatever.”

“Archery?” Bellamy looks over to Monty, who nods like it’s not a bad idea. “Okay, yeah. They’d probably like that.”

“We should be teaching these kids useful life skills,” Murphy says. “Like how to throw knives and pick up chicks.”

Monty rolls his eyes. “We’re not here to help them hook up, Murphy. They’re kids.”

“They’re almost teens,” Murphy says. “Why not have like…fuck I don’t know. A dance or something?”

Bellamy and Monty look at each other, both visibly shocked at the idea. “That’s…actually a really great idea, Murphy.”

“Yeah,” Monty agrees. “We could ask for the rec hall for the night. Maybe we could ask one of the older campers to DJ?”

Bellamy starts jotting down notes. “I’ll talk to Clarke about it and have her talk to the other counselors.” He nods to the guys as he stands up to leave their cabin. “Good ideas, Murphy.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

It’s nearing nine o’clock, thirty minutes past lights out, so he makes his way to the cabin Clarke shares with three other counselors and knocks on the door.

Raven answers, her smile warm but tired, and he can only imagine how demanding taking care of a bunch of preteen girls must be. “Looking for Clarke?”

“Um…yeah.”

He doesn’t blush, exactly, but he does feel like his skin is a little hotter. It’s not even that he and Clarke have spent a lot of time together since coming here. It’s been a few smiles across the mess hall and brief hellos here and there.

Raven gives him this knowing smile and turns her head over her shoulder. “Griff, there’s someone here to see you.”

Clarke appears a minute later in a red and white striped shirt and a pair of cut off jean shorts. Her hair is up in a messy bun and her cheeks are tinted pink from too much sun.

“Hi,” she says brightly. “What’s up?”

Raven is still standing there, an eyebrow raised and her hip popped out, and Bellamy chuckles. “Do you wanna go for a walk?”

“Yeah, for sure. Let me just grab my shoes.”

She emerges from the cabin with a small bottle in her hand. “Close your eyes,” she says and he does without asking why. He feels a mist on his face and arms and when he opens his eyes she’s spraying it on herself. “The bugs out here are awful. This bug spray is the best on the market.”

It smells expensive, not like the cheap three dollar bottles his mom buys at the grocery store. It occurs to him then that Clarke probably doesn’t need the money she’ll be making this summer, which means she’s here because she genuinely wants to be.

“Thanks,” he says and nods towards the lake that sits in the center of the camp. “Want to head that way?”

She agrees and they set off towards the trail that leads around the lake. The camp is still alive with activity, counselors laughing around the campfire and couples sneaking off into the woods to fool around.

“Murphy came up with a good idea,” Bellamy starts and Clarke snickers.

“I find that hard to believe.”

He laughs out loud. “That’s fair. But he thinks our cabins should have a dance. We were thinking just our cabins and the girls that are the same age.”

“Wow, that actually is a good idea.”

“Trust me, we were as shocked as you are.”

They make their way towards the lake and sit on a bench that looks out over the still water. It’s quieter here, just the sounds of crickets and rustling leaves from the light breeze blowing around them.

“This place is so beautiful,” she says quietly. “Living in the city you don’t get this kind of silence.”

“Where are you from?”

“Boston, originally. We moved to North Carolina last year and when I met Raven at school she told me about this place. She made it sound magical.”

An idea occurs to him and he grins to himself before standing up. “I want to show you something.”

He holds out his hand and she takes it. “Where are we going?”

“Be patient.”

There’s a small trail that leads through the trees, he found it on a nature walk he took his campers on a couple of days ago, and it leads to a clearing that’s only twenty feet or so wide.

“Close your eyes,” he tells her right before they hit it and he’s pleased when she does.

“You’re not going to kill me are you?” she jokes and he snickers. “I’ve seen enough summer camp horror movies to know that’s a real possibility.”

“Would I tell you if that was my plan?”

“Good point.”

When they make it to the clearing he stops and moves her so she’s in front of him. “Open your eyes.”

Her sharp intake of breath makes him smile. “Oh my gosh, Bellamy.”

The clearing is full of fireflies, just as he expected it to be. It’s the perfect temperature for them here and they are easy to see without a ton of trees in the way.

“How’s this for magical?”

Clarke’s hand is still in his as her eyes roam over every inch of the clearing. “This is everything.” She turns around suddenly and throws her arms around his neck. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

There are few moments in your life that you know it’s a perfect moment in time when you’re in it. Sometimes these moments pass you by and years later you look back at them and think, damn if only I would have known then what I know now. He’ll be damned if he lets one of those moments pass him by.

When she pulls away she’s still close, her lips a hairbreadth away from his, and when he bends down to kiss her everything else falls away. Her lips are pillow soft against his and he doesn’t try anything more, just kisses her softly surrounded by the fireflies dancing around them.

“This is a perfect moment,” she whispers against his lips, saying out loud the words he was just thinking in his head, and he grins.

“It won’t be the last,” he promises her. “It’s going to be a long summer.”

#bellarke #bffnet #bellarke fanfiction #bellamy and clarke #in the sweet heart of summer #fanfic

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