#connection. sophie.

[huntedvideo]

incoming case . . . it's worth celebrating your adventure. i envy you.

envy? that was new. unexpected. most would rather talk of anything else than his novels, what he's been writing, what he's been doing as an author. as a man in high society, it didn't seem so luxurious, being a writer. others didn't understand why he did it, if not for the money or making a name for himself. finding someone who might celebrate his achievements rather than brushing past them surprised finley a bit. 'i wouldn't recommend envying me. my career is all well and good, but besides those like you who understand my works, most would call me strange and usual. i'm mostly outside of society, despite being politely invited to its parties,' close lipped grin is given to the woman as he holds his newest book in his hands. after a quiet moment, he offers it to her. 'just published. consider it a gift,' @fav0la.

[notbecauseofvictories]

I'm rewatching leverage out of nostalgia and some other emotion I haven't figured out yet, and I do think there's a story in "Maggie Ford Collins deals with having the most unhinged ex in her suburban book group, learns to hotwire a car, and gets her groove back, not in that particular order."

[sophiebaek]

Portraying Sophie Baek:

A guide to cultural sensitivity and respect

Things to keep in mind

———

Yay! Sophie Baek is finally here and with all of excitement of this casting, I think it’s also important to bring attention to the new intersectionality that comes with the character of Sophie (specifically show Sophie).

Why should you take my words into account? Well, as an Asian woman in society today, I feel that I am qualified to speak on this topic since I’ve experienced all of this.

All of my words come from kind intentions, and I purely just want to communicate to the fandom how to approach Sophie being Asian in a respectful way.

Asia is a gigantic continent filled with various countries that have a multitude of cultures and ethnicities. While on the surface they all seem similar, they each have their own customs and traditions that have meaning within our culture. Do not combine them.

It’s important to remember that not every Asian person is Chinese, Japanese or Korean (East asian).

With Sophie being Korean, please do not generalize when writing about what you think you know about Korean culture.

You like Kpop and Kdrama? Great! BUT that does not define what Korean culture is and you shouldn't use that content as a reference.

When writing, be aware of explicit and unconscious biases you have about Asian people.

Asian stereotypes (Model Minority, Dragon Lady, Lotus blossom, etc) are very harmful and spread false narratives about us. Stereotypes eliminate the dimensions of who we are as Asians (South, South East, East, North, West).

Please, please, please do not fetishize. Especially since Bridgerton is a romance series it's extremely important to be mindful of the scenarios you put in your fics.

This also includes the White Savior Complex we see a lot in media!

If you’re writing about something specific, research it and fully understand the content you are putting into your work. Feel a little iffy about if you should put it in your fic? Probably don’t then. It’s that easy!

It's always great to ask someone who is a part of the community as well to see if what you're writing about is appropriate or potentially offensive in any way.

Describing Sophie is something new as well. Be mindful on how you describe her and other Asian characters.

Let me be clear: descriptions like 'slanted eyes' or 'yellow skin' are harmful

Here are some great resources that go into further detail about specific things! Rather than me paraphrasing their words it's best to link the direct source. Even as a part of this community, these articles were a reminder of how I must keep myself in check as well!

Describing Asian Eyes

Some important tips on making/writing Asian OCs

writing east asian characters

The Depiction of Asian Characters - Book Edition

The Dragon Lady, the Lotus Blossom, and the Robot: Archetypes of Asian Women in Western Media

To wrap this up, I want to be clear that I’m not a professional on this topic, but as someone who has been affected by harmful portrayals in media, I feel compelled to share my perspective. My hope is to spread awareness and encourage others to be mindful of how they approach these subjects, especially if they may not be fully informed. It’s about showing respect, doing the necessary research, and recognizing the impact our words and content can have on real people and cultures. By staying educated and considerate, we can be more aware and thoughtful in our actions.

[weprovidehyperfixation]

Can we talk about how Hardison was just straight up eating a bell pepper like it was an apple in “The French Connection Job”?

I mean:

Pure chaos gremlin right here.

[nadiajustbe]

I think the most beautiful thing about writing of Howl and Sophie's pair is that they are written as people before being written as a pair. Let me explain this very quick.

The thing about book Sophie and Howl is that they are not really fully fitting into any "classic" romantic trope. They are not exactly enemies to lovers, as their angry chats are definitely cannot be considered a life or death battle, they are not rivals to lovers because the only aspect of rivalry between them is the cleaningness of Howl's room. They are not friends to lovers, as their relationship just doesn't fit into "friendship" structure at the very start, nor they are roomates (yes, they live in the same house but that's not the core aspect of their relationships). Of course, you can go on and fit the name of the trope you found specifically for them, but that's the thing.

They simply cannot be processed through a pairings lenses only, in order to understand how they act in relationship you need to analyse them separately, as a characters first of all. Cause that's what the book itself does!

Sure, it doesn't have a whole lot of romance instead, but it gives us time to learn and observe the life of incredibly written, alive characters, understand them as personalities first of all, while slowly immersing the dynamic between two characters (in this case, Howl and Sophie) into work. They are written as personalities, both being fully separated and interviewing, changing eachother's point of view.

It's difficult to find a trope for them. They're are not a trope. They are Howl and Sophie, and that's probably the only way their dynamic can be properly described. Just as real people, they are not really fitting into the boxes of linial character progression, but go way deeper into being complex, filled with little differences and moments only people with their personality can have in romantic (or any different) kind of interaction. They're imperfect, and silly, and multidimensional and the reader knows them well enough to imagine them interacting way beyond of what the book says to them.

They are being people before being a ship, a pair of a trope — and that's why they work so perfectly charming in the end.

Howl and Sophie are unique in being themselves.

[scribz-ag24]

i saw some posts about grovyle and dusknoir and possession and it got out of hand.

[geeky-nightphilosopher]

I still can't get over how Eliot and Hardison do their "secret" handshake- even though Eliot is miffed that Hardison ate his sandwhich.

I still can't get over how Parker calls Eliot "Sparky," and he's scared enough to rip open his apple- because he actually thinks Parker somehow got a razor blade in it.

I still can't get over how Eliot tells Hardison that he won't help him if he goes to far with "Ice Man," and when Hardison calls him out on it- Eliot blames Parker.

I still can't get over how Hardison comes to Eliot when he needs help brushing up on wine.

I still can't get over how Parker goes to Eliot when she's looking for something to love and he teaches her to love food.

I still can't get over how Parker is allowed to poke and push Eliot.

I still can't get over how Hardison riles Eliot up and it's just reflex for Eliot to say; "DAMNIT Hardison."

I can't get over how they became a little family all on their own.

[thelasttaleofthepari]

Yk I wonder if in Book 10 (which might be the last book) we'll see one of the kids call out their "swan song"

[resurrectionist3]

Watched Heretic (2024) again.

Took a couple notes.

Took 9 pages of notes.

Notes include bangers such as:

Damn this guy’s handwriting is ass

HE IS AN ALLY! HE LOVES THE GAYS!! Also hehe he said hornyyyy

I think he really likes The Hollies, guys…

I think he really likes Radiohead, guys…

I think he really likes Lana del Rey, guys…

I think he has a humiliation kink, guys…

Sister Barnes was right all along. W thought process

He is so full of pee.

THAT PIE IS SO FUCKING DIABOLICAL THATS SO FUCKING DISGUSTING CHAT

He called her an NPC. L take.

AY YO!! BRO, THE SPRINKLER WENT OFF RIGHT AS SHE SAID CONTROL AND HE FUCKING CAME I SWEAR HE DID!

Bro is such a FREAK

Mhm. Stinky mr. breed from erotic.

Reed for sure has a landline. He is such a smelly liar, but i do need him biblically.

Yo, he needs to fuck or something. Fuck and Relax.

Let me know if i should share more. Also tell me your favourite note.

[the-way-astray]

shannon, i hate to break it to you, but that's plot convenience, not gisela being smart. there's quite literally no way she could've predicted sophie would've disobeyed her instructions and set up at the grand hall, especially since sophie has *checks notes* never disobeyed the neverseen's direct orders before

[pynkhues]

Something-something Daniel and Louis both wanting to distance themselves from portraiture - Louis because he's not good at it (yet) as a photographer, Daniel because he views it as a lesser form of journalism - yet both being drawn to it as an artform. An embedded need to pin someone like a butterfly to a board, to capture them, to understand them, to find and show the story of them, to know as an artist without being known, and what does it mean for Louis to let himself be in this way? To let himself be the subject of a portrait, instead of the observer of one? To invite Daniel to his own capture? To want to be seen for once instead of the one who sees?

[book-lover85]

Sophie is so much more socially perceptive than she lets on (even to the reader) and it's really interesting how her hiding this (intentionally or not) makes people underestimate her a lot

[shadowglens]

i do still think datv feels very … disconnected from the previous trilogy, and that parts of it don’t really Feel like dragon age to me. that being said, i’m still having a fun time

[camelspit]

(spoilers for the marella short story)

i think we need to actually consider the importance of canon marellinh, if that truly is what shannon meant to do (this does have to be taken with a grain of salt, since shannon is known for accidental queercoding.) after all these years of joking about the seemingly implied queer shit between the characters, to actually get something canonical? especially when a lot of us on tumblr are lgbtq+ in some way? it means so much and I genuinley cannot describe my feelings on it. to be in this fandom for years and all of a sudden have this? holy shit. even more insane when you consider a large part of the fandom is christian, many of whom are or have parents who are homophobic. this is a big move from shannon, and I genuinley cannot wait to see if it was intentional.

[justafriendofxanders]

was thinking about leverage dnd classes and i think the obvious choice for sophie is bard, but i don't think that's quite right, because her whole thing is that she's NOT a very good actor. she's not an Artist, she's a grifter. i think one of the reasons why sophie struggles with acting is because then the goal is art/self-expression/a desire to communicate with and be seen by the world (something she has a whole crisis about) while the goal of grifting more readily aligns with her own (facilitating a con). like bards are ultimately a class that's about supporting/"inspiring" others through creative endeavors (getting stronger by improving your craft), while other charisma casters like warlocks are about power and ambition (getting stronger by selling your soul); but i think sophie's talents are closest to those of sorcerers, whose powers are more innate and something to be learned to be controlled. sophie's struggle isn't that she's not good enough at her job, but that maybe she's TOO good at it to the point she doesn't know who she is, and that her powers may in fact hurt others. if anything, she's a sorcerer carrying around a lute and charming her audience into clapping for her when her performance flops

[nadiajustbe]

There's something incredibly strange and funny about the FIRE DEMON from Ingary who somehow managed to work at some random Welsh school for at least a couple of weeks, maybe even longer and not get caught.

Like, did WoTW just lecture ms. Angorian about stuff like printers, photocopies or, well, the whole English Literature program she was supposed to teach for a good amount of time? Or was it just a kind of scripted info for the new form the demon was taking?

And — most importantly — how did WoTW (who, again, lives in Ingary with little to no connection to our world at all) get all this info about Welsh education in a matter of days?

Wikipedia page informs me that she kidnapped Suliman to ask him about it and she did, in fact, asked Sophie about Wales as well. But I cannot believe any of this guys can tell her enough to make a whole fire demon an English teacher, unless Ben was one himself and did willingly tell her the school curriculum — wich is no less hilarious of a concept.

And If she didn't, how couldn't anyone, kids or other schools staff, notice she has no clue about any English literature besides John Dohn and one (1) poem.

I have so many questions.