#i am really loving this arc so far (I'm probably about two thirds of the way through shadow)

[pigeonclaw]

To me, so far, the relationship between Sunbeam and Nightheart is the story of two people who isolated themselves from their own friends/family and sought solace in the first person outside their community who sympathized with them. They were both being petty and were in a vulnerable place emotionally, so it does make some sense.

Nightheart is immature, and naturally Sunbeam's decision to settle for him because he joined her Clan to be with her (without discussing this with her first) is kind of horrifying to me, but also I kind of get it. Sunbeam feels sorry for him and wants something to work out for the both of them — plus, she feels the need to defend cats switching Clans and prove her mother wrong about them. So naturally she gets more attached to Nightheart and wants him to succeed.

I don't have any proper thesis here, but these are my observations.

[sleepymccoy]

I expect people don't really need to hear this, but I'm feeling it right this minute so imma talk about the chronology of how i write

I used to think to create a cohesive story you had to either write everything down in order, or fully plan out the story before starting so you didn't get lost. I am so glad I stopped doing either of these a long time ago

Now I just write what suits me, and if I go against an earlier scene I either rewrite that or scrap it. There's a lot of scrapping tbh

With fanfic I can kinda get away with it cos I know the characters well enough to be familiar with their emotional arc and jump around the beats pretty nimbly. It's different w original stories cos I don't know the characters so well yet. My first run at it I tried to plan AND write in order, which is the opposite of what I naturally do

Now I'm doing what I want. And I'm rediscovering how easy it is to write like this! And I'm meeting and learning who these guys are as I go, which informs everything else

My early scenes are pretty rough and dialogue/setting heavy. Not a lot of internal thoughts or opinionated observations. After I write a scene (not before!) I summarise what that scene has in it. Some are just "show what meal times are like" and I kinda know the characters are also meeting for the first time. But their dialogue is gonna change, I'm gonna write some throw away line in two months time that reshapes the whole first meeting and then I'll go back and rewrite the interactions to fit. Or put it in another scene. But I'll always have something based on this that shows what meal times are like. And that's great. Cos rn the scene is done, I've given it it's little green colour label on Scrivener, and I can move tf on. Later, I'll know these guys better and it'll be a better scene.

I know this is what a first draft is, but I always had in mind that the first draft is done when you finish the ending. But I'm on the third draft of some scenes and I'm not even at the second act. And those third drafts are my guiding rods for characterisation cos by this point they're supporting each other in this complex foreshadowing, emotional beat, cross referential ways that make the whole thing cohesive. The other scenes, well, they're place holders to keep me moving forwards. Even some of the really hot ones.

Like, the scene where they fuck in the sapling room is sexy, but ultimately is probably gonna change cos it's such a pivotal moment and I don't know how it'll reverberate yet. Whereas the scene where they spontaneously decide to try edging? That's had a few rewrites and has some cool complex emotions and foreshadowing going on, as well as toe dipping into mutual dependency, and I like it very much now. It's doing what I want and any changes from here on should be pretty small.

I can particularly remember laying in bed two weeks after writing the edging scene and going 😶 he's being too open about being upset about the day, there's no way he'd discuss that yet. And disappointedly decided to remove all of the motivating force and put that sex somewhere else and face rewriting the whole emotional beat. But I reread it and was like... Hang on... The motivation can stay as long as he lies... And then the pov character can establish some of his thick headedness in not noticing... And it's not exactly heathy... Yum

But that needed two weeks of noodling for me to realise. And now it's foreshadowing the act three plot twist! That I haven't written yet cos I have too many ideas for how to do the reveal and they're all juicy

Anyway, I'm loving being free to rewrite and change stuff constantly. And like, also gives me the freedom to drag and drop things into different points in the chronology if I wanna try it out with relatively little editing cos so far the scenes are mostly surface level.

It's good. I'm good. It's been like seven weeks of free form writing when I feel like it and it's at like 25k without breaking a sweat so. I'm happy ❤️❤️

[willowmosby]

Listen I told my self that I wasn't going to get invested enough in Person of Interest to talk about here but here I am anyway. It was chugging along being a good background show with Some really fun, if a little trope-y, cop characters and watching Harold Finch and John Reese act kinda gay and stop crime. I'm a big Amy Acker fan ( that's actually why I even started the show) so I wasn't upset about the shift in focus towards Root and Shaw a little bit as I entered season 3.

The problem I have actually run into is fucking season 3 episode 9: The Crossing. It just made me angry at a show's choices in a way I haven't felt in a while - please note I haven't watched past that episode as of writing this but I will eventually do so.

An the assumption that she really is dead( that looked pretty fucking fatal) I will miss Joss Carter a lot but that's not necessarily what made me angry. It seemed to me that the writers knew that the actor wanted out of the show from the start of the season as the whole season 3 arc was a seemingly slow moving suicide. It wasn't poorly written but it was obvious that this was a different type of Joss Carter than season 1 & 2.

No my problem wasn't necessarily her death. It's the "romantic" declarations of the episode. Now before you look back at the start of this and post and think I'm just mad because it wasn't my very unlikely to ever be a cannon ship that got confirmed, well you're only partially right.

Yes I'm a Rinch shipper( if follow my blog at all you've probably put together that I often root if the queer ships) but I genuinely would have been fine resigning myself to fanfiction while they get hopelessly paired up with some unsuspecting women. I understand that's how crime drama TV operates. And you know I actually like John and Zoe as a ship, if they were developed a bit more I think they could've been a lot of fun.

My problem is not that the whole you "saved me from commiting suicide" speech John gives Carter is equally, if not more, applicable to his relationship with Finch. Well, okay my problem is not only that. My problem is where was any of the romantic build up between Carter and John, like literally anything? They work great as narrative foils when Carter was still on the "the law is the only law" train. And they work great as friends as Carter steps more into the "some minor crime for the greater good is okay" camp. But not once did I think " oh these two are about to fall in love". Not even when Shaw asked about it earlier in season 3 did I think the show was going to actually pair them up like this. Now I hear you when you say that there are examples of characters with less chemistry have become couples. It's just, I'm not sure what the narrative gain is here. They had to know they were killing off Carter that same episode and this "revelation" doesn't add anything to the character. If anything it doesn't make sense with the revenge for Cal Becher (Beacher? Beecher?- You know who I'm talking about) angle that the writers have been using all season. And if it's about furthering John's character that's just dumb. I wouldn't consider it fridgeing as I'm pretty sure this is an actor who wants an out of contract situation(feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), but that doesn't excuse it as a narrative choice. John unequivocally cares about Carter and would be upset about her death regardless or romantic inclinations, as would Lionel and Finch. They already have an in on the revenge story line (which is where I assume they are going with this). Why bother with the romance especially when John already has the lost love story in his background. Like what Jessica isn't enough of a dead romance they needed to shoe in Joss as well.

Anyway I also wish this was like a mid season finale not episode like 9. Like bro why are you putting away one of your biggest villains so far and this is only a third of the way in the season.

And I wish that Lionel wasn't just suddenly back in the plot, like I know you have a bigger cast now and I m glad he's here but build the guy up a little bit better please.

I also think the Root in a cage thing is a little weird like I know all of these people are chugging the " the ends justify the means" juice but it still seems like there are other options Finch would choose. ( that being said Root and Finch's conversation about the machine somehow come off like " I had sex with your daughter, and I don't care if you know” which was hilarious to me)

Anyway sorry for the rant thanks for listening and I do hope the show gets back into a groove.

[rainbowstargazerlilies]

Time for a new pinned post!

Hi, everyone, this is Becca or Ori! Those in the Mechs fandom might know me for the recent Mechs Ships Tournament (all tagged as "#mechs ships tournament" on here), my Mechs and TMA themed knit dolls (all tagged "#stargazer's four inch friends"), or the TMA and Mechs fics I write (see below). I'm in my early twenties, am currently a graduate student in psych-related fields, and live in the eastern time zone.

If you're interested in my fics, promo for that under the cut. Otherwise, enjoy the chaos!

Why should you read what I mentally call the booty shorts saga, actually known as "The Semi-Annual Non-Denominational Winter Holiday Gift Swap"?

Have you ever wondered what gift swaps might look like in the Magnus Institute?

Do you need to imagine Certain Characters (Jon) receiving so many pairs of booty shorts?

This sticks close to canon, so. . . do you want a story about booty shorts and nonsense to suddenly give you So Many Feels?

This is a collaboration between the amazing @ladydragonkiller and myself, and it was our first foray into writing and posting fanfic. I love it. Go read LadyDragonKiller's other stuff if you're a Mechs fan.

Why should you read The Stars Claim Them?

I started this series with imagining Lyfrassir Edda surviving the Bifrost Incident, and then ending up at the Magnus Institute, so it is a TMA/Mechs crossover.

I've been consistently posting for over a year. Two years as of this March, and I am so excited for that :) Currently, we're nearly 100,000 words in and going, posting right now is concurrent with TMA season 2, and I've had so much fun.

This is the fic where I stare canon in the eye, say "coward", and save every single character I can manage.

Be prepared for a very slow burn indeed, but the Violinspector element is certainly Very Much There.

We've had road trips, heists, blood snakes, rubber ducks, far too many Michaels, and more. I did a whole Peter Pan arc. It's nonsensical and amazing and I love it.

We've got a discord, where we have Very Normal Conversations about the fic, the Mechs, the Magnus Archives, and more. If you like the fic series, you're more than welcome to join!

If you enjoyed LadyDragonKiller's Raphaella backstory, I have some Easter egg references to it scattered throughout, because we brainstorm together. I consider it canon to this series, as far as that goes, and I have fun planting those :)

Why should you read anything from Corner of Dreams?

Those were oneshots I wrote last year as a part of a challenge to myself!

The first one is the angstiest Toy Soldier thing I could manage without crying. Have fun! Bring tissues!

The second is a fun little Violinspector thing that I really enjoyed writing. It just amused me so much to think about. And that ending. . . I like to think it ended happily, but there's no guarantee, is there?

The third is a Brian/Galahad oneshot. It could go so many different directions after the ending, most of which would absolutely change up canon. I like to think it wouldn't end sadly. Probably.

If there's enough enjoyment of these, there's two more I might add one day, based on Alice and on Gunpowder Tim vs the Moon Kaiser.

Also, if you're trying to get a taste of what I've written, one of these is probably a lot easier to start with than TSCT. These are each under 5,000 words.

Why should you read I Got You, Babe?

It's now several chapters in and we already have the start of some fun stuff going on. We've got Violinspector angst, Nastya doing interesting stuff post-Out. . . Why wouldn't you?

Also, I'm having far too much fun whenever I get the time to write on it. It's going to be interesting. I can't wait to share more.

[cosmicalls]

oh my goodness thank you so much everyone for all the continued support on the og post 😭😭 i'm going very slowly but i honestly am thinking about this project all the time so i'm glad so many people also like the idea!!

as promised, here's some questions i have regarding the transition from screen to text. feel free to reblog or reply under this post, or even message me directly! i don't mind anything!

★ How do you all feel about deleted scenes?

(referring to these ones specifically, in case there's others i don't know of)

should they be added/kept or excluded? should some be kept and others not? and optionally: why do you think so?

★ How objective to the film should it be?

this one sounds crazy because obviously it should be the same. but i mean more about the depiction/treatment of women and borderline cultural appropriation - should loyalty to the film take priority? or could the rewrite benefit from something else in place of these things? or some secret third option?

it's a good film, but not without faults. i don't necessarily want to keep the less desirable aspects of it, but i also don't want to sacrifice elements that tie into important character arcs and such.

(just to be clear: i AM taking from the film! the only thing i plan to take from the book is a loose idea of how to break up the chapters. and i'm not even looking at the script)

★ How should this be released to the public?

this is REALLY far in the future so i'm not too worried about it yet haha

my only ideas are either posting to ao3 or sharing a google doc/drive link. if anyone knows of something else, please let me know and i'll definitely consider it 🙏 above all, i want to make this free for anyone to read and share!

★ "How can I help?"

i'm not intending to do this entirely solo; i'd love to eventually have some extra eyes and minds on deck to make this the best it can be! but knowing me, i'll wait as long as i can handle until i begin asking for assistance :,)

when the time comes, i'll reach out individually to people who express(ed) interest in helping out! but again, this will probably happen pretty far in the future.

in the meantime, i'm always open to input about absolutely anything, whether it was mentioned in this post or not! reply, message, send an ask, etc and i'll respond as quickly as i can! this goes for any questions you may have as well!

during this process i will give updates on general progress! at the time of writing this, i'm about halfway through typing down the events of the film and breaking it down into chapters (which is probably unnecessary, but it helps a lot with getting my bearings) - this is what im calling my outline. i might continue with the outline or i might begin properly writing a scene or two next, who knows.

i'm kind of completely winging it. i've never done anything like this before. i am being propelled by pure vibes. but i will commit to this and figure it out. "carpe diem, even if it kills me," if you will

if you made it here, thank you for reading this much too long wall of text! as always, i love the community's input and i'd also love to work up the courage to actually interact with some of you haha

[biblioflyer]

Discovery S5E1 first reactions (spoilers)

Every season, Star Trek's ugly duckling starts finding its footing a little better. I'm actually sad now its at its end.

I was prepared to be grumpy. For the first half hour or so, I was a little bit of a sourpuss. All the classic Discovery sins were on display in full force.

The main character syndrome. Burnham is leading from the front. Again. Didn't we have a whole season character arc about how captaining means sometimes you have to delegate?

Okay, okay, don't at me. The reasons for her to Kirk it up in the thick of things were reasonably well thought out.

I'm really torn between appreciating the whole "Iron Man" sequence in space as a smart, logical extrapolation of the technological development of the series and just being somewhat numb and feeling like the whole thing was rule of cool from start to finish.

They better not skimp out on Raynor's backstory and motives, because thus far every call he's made has been even more devoid of compassion as Captain Shaw, but critically none of his hard man making hard choices directives make sense. He's being set up as an Ahab type character.

Now this isn't the first time we've have a Starfleet Ahab. Ben Maxwell was just such a character. Critically though, he was a renegade that our hero characters were called in to hunt down like a mad dog precisely because, understandable motives or not, he was so far outside the bell curve for acceptable Starfleet standards for rules of engagement, compassion etc. that he was on the verge of provoking a war with the Cardassians.

A war that a lot of revisionist fans, mapping Cardassia and its ultimate alliance with the Dominion to Russia and the invasion of Ukraine, have come around to thinking a preventative war was good and cool, rather than risking an apocalypse. I've talked about this a few times, but the fact that the protomatter, temporal, isolytic, trilithium, biological etc. weapons haven't been deployed in quantity in the wars that have been depicted in Trek means everyone got damn lucky. Strange New Worlds has even seen fit to remind us that even with just conventional weapons, its not hard for casualties to run up into the millions given the scale of the civilizations butting heads.

But that's a rant for another time.

So Raynor being within spitting distance, if not wholly inside of the Section 31 anything for the mission mentality, is irksome. I'm probably not doing my due diligence by complaining without watching episode two yet, but still its a bad look. Its a nasty callback to depictions of casual jerkiness and military caricature from Picard's third season and Discovery's first.

Also I don't care about Burnham and Book’s relationship. I just don't. Nor am I particularly interested in Tilly finding love. They’re all fine and interesting characters without needing to inject relationship drama into the mix. This show has really started to feel like it doesn’t need to rely on cheap sources of melodrama. Finding love isn't the only pathway to character development. I don't watch this franchise for NCC-90210 storylines.

And I'm also a raging hypocrite because if anything happens to Saru and T'Rina, I will be even grumpier! Same with Culber and Stamets.

I may have a soft spot for warm, lived in, tender relationships and minimal patience for stories about relationship drama among the stars.

Also, I do appreciate that at least in the first episode, the Burnham - Book "ship" feels less overwrought. The awkwardness between them reads as a more mature, more nuanced incarnation of the relationship. Even when they inevitably patch things up, I really hope its less showy and melodramatic, and more cozy.

Grumpiness aside, I have to compliment the cast, writers, and crew enormously. This show has matured so impressively in the sense that the cast are able to find the characters in a natural and seamless way. The writers are putting better dialogue in their mouths even if I don't always necessarily want to see the specific storylines playing out.

Its a testament to the idea that art is a thing you practice and the human beings involved in producing this stuff need time and space to get it right. By legacy TV standards, Discovery is only just starting the equivalent of its third season. We used to talk about the two season rule for legacy Trek. The idea that it really only got good, not merely watchable if you have a good tolerance for cheese, but actually good in the third season.

The action sequences, mostly, were really good too. Well composed, clear and easy to follow while having a decent amount of drama and uncertainty to them.

The chase sequence really managed to capture the power and physics of having starships operating inside the atmosphere of a planet and what they can do. Although I'm sure the tech fans will froth at a number of obvious inconsistencies in scaling, at least we actually see some interesting consequences of ships interacting with planets.

Additionally it also accidentally portrays one of the world building problems with the version of the Star Wars universe depicted by the Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross Sections books. Yes, I'm one of those kinds of fans who has argued both sides of that particular controversy. I've always found Dr. Saxton's attempts to quantify just what is going on and then contrive explanations for how its possible fascinating, but ultimately it presents serious world building problems. Like the idea that one scoundrel with one relatively diminutive ship, like the Falcon or Slave I, could utterly wreck a populated area in seconds causing thousands, if not tens of thousands of casualties if they're having a bad day. Such are the elemental forces and energy levels at the disposal of even common riff raff in Dr. Saxton's depiction of Star Wars.

In Discovery, we see what happens when a couple of scoundrels have their back up against a wall, and it comes within a hair's breadth of tragedy.

BIG SPOILERS

The callback to the Progenitors is also really interesting. I'm curious as to what the MacGuffin will ultimately be, because if you scrutinize the various technologies of the week in Trek, most of the mature space faring peoples already seemed to have the capacity to do what the Progenitors could do: seed a planet with life and then guide that life across billions of years of evolution to a desirable endpoint. The main thing that is missing is the ability to ensure, in the style of Expanse's Protomolecule Builders, that your project can babysit itself without direct intervention for all that time.

Also kudos to Discovery for its cutesy storytelling device of grabbing a background character and turning them into someone of great significance. This is something that can be overdone, see also: Star Wars, especially the Legends continuity; but I have a soft spot for lore nerds.

Also speaking of Lore, I'm a little curious as to whether this is the last we'll hear of Fred. Synth "death" is kind of an ambiguous thing. They were able to harvest usable data from him, but perhaps there's a meaningful difference between the systems responsible for consciousness and memory storage? Perhaps the ocular memory is a sort of buffer in which information is triaged, analyzed, and then either committed to long term memory or deleted.

[unsettlingcreature]

5, 7, 9, 13, 25 for the oc ask for Perseus 🫡 💖

5) how far is your oc willing to go yo get what they want?

So Perseus tends to make impulsive decisions that have large consequences. Typically his first reaction is self-sacrifice (like his life or his soul That One Time) but it's always something that only he's giving up. While he would rather find options other than violence, killing or the sacrifice of someone other than himself, that's probably where he draws the line - at least in pursuit of a bigger cause or to help someone else. For his own ambitions, he won't go very far at all partially because he is a very unambitious character overall.

7) what's one way your oc has changed since you first came up with them?

Honestly so much addjdhsksjddd. When I first made him, he was actually pretty bare bones because I was nervous about the (new) group I'd be playing with and wasn't sure how much backstory to give. A lot of the stuff that's now core to his character were things that were discovered through playing him.

If I had to pick one thing, it'd probably be his love life/sex life LMAO. Originally, I had him envisioned as a disaster bisexual and yeah, he definitely was in the end LMAO but I kind of viewed him as the kind of person to just end up stalling when it came to romance or sex. He was definitely awkward when flirted with and he was going to just pine uselessly when he realised Oh No I Have Feelings For An Idiot. And yet? The PPZG threesome happened so easily?? Good for him. Was a ménage-à-trois a sexual awakening for Persy? Yeagh. Good for him.

9) do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your oc?

Lyrics are hard because I have a full playlist of songs that I think are Perseus coded and ordered according to his character arc/the campaign plot. Am I allowed to use a quote from my own writing?? Because I'm gonna. Also it's kind of long 😳

Once, he would have questioned where he fit in and what his value was. The templars would have made him a bishop. Caedis, a pawn. But Perseus knew who he was now, with his family - because that's what the Last Flame were - fighting alongside him. He was a Rook, one of the strongest pieces on the board and he’d stand between them and Unity for as long as he could.

13) if you met your oc, would the two of you get along?

I like to think so! Perseus is definitely one of my least abrasive characters despite his low Charisma and I think we could at least be on friendly terms if not become actual friends.

25) what is your favourite thing about your oc?

I think maybe his growth or just how through him, I've made some wonderful friends and created wonderful things with them. With Perseus, I got to meet all the players in the Last Flame and I think it helped me become good friends with Jojo (who played Aegis, Persy's brother, and is overall a really cool dude) and Rachel (who played Yesriel, aka the third honorary Rook sibling, and is really fun to play with at Empire) in particular. All of the players were awesome for that game tbh! Last Flame i miss u. Reunion tour when.

Not just that, but he really became a creative outlet for me - I drew and wrote so many things that I'm really proud of. I'll always throw Rook, Bishop, Pawn at people wanting to understand more about Perseus as a character because I think it's really well written (to toot my own horn) but having that fic be referenced in-game before the final fight was... it legit brought my to tears, I love my DM/brother so much sometimes.

It didn't even end once the campaign came to a close. Me and Lotus endlessly spawned AUs for that campaign, including the Velseus AU which we both loved so much (and that one day will definitely become more than scattered notes). There was the Modern/High School/Coffee Shop AU that became such a big point of collaboration between everyone and that is now the setting for my current big fic I'm working on!

I just ooouuurrgghhhhhhhhhh I love Perseus so much. He might be my roman empire.

[wafflesetc]

I’m extremely worried about what Gwen will do to Upstead later this season. I lost so much of my trust in her these last episodes. I want Jay to come back even if it’s only offscreen and them together, but she seems to go for dramatics now instead of in character. I don’t know what to think. Anything you can say to help ease my thoughts?

I apologize if this is a little longer than you thought you were going to get. I've also been sitting on this for a few days because I wanted the initial high/anger/confusion/just general wave of intake to be over.

This is slightly multi-layered and I think that it's important to take that into account when answering something like this. I can totally understand why you say you lost your trust in Gwen over these last few episodes. I'm inclined to agree to a portion of losing some distrust in Gwen. I particularly didn't love the airport goodbye scene with Voight. Of all the three of is final episodes, him saying he wanted to be like Voight to me was one of the most out of character things we've ever heard from Jay. @spiridakosstyle had a really great post about there here.

Now, I don't know what happened and I don't know how three episodes was decided, but they had 10 years worth of a character and 5 years of a partnership/relationship to wrap up. Gwen had to do that all while still maintaining the regular timeline for a regular season for the show. I'm not defending her, I'm just saying that there are a lot of factors into timing and pacing. Do I think they did it right? No, I don't think that it was paced right. The first two episodes were strangely paced to me with how the third episode went down. I still enjoyed the episodes, but I question some of the timeline choices that were made and why they were made.

I think the biggest factor in all of this to be honest is the fact that he's not dead- he is just, temporarily relocating. I made a long post on my mostly coherent thoughts on the episode. I am not going to rehash it in this answer, but I do suggest reading it. In short, aside from the fact I didn't love the pacing, I think Jay is on a journey of self-healing.

I put this in a tweet a few days ago, "Growth is hard, it always is—and in order for a relationship to grow, each person has to grow. Sometimes healing is a solo journey, having your person support you. It doesn’t mean they love each other any less. In the end, he’ll be stronger & they’ll be stronger."

I'm believing that's where they were going with the exit choice they made for him. I don't love the military exit... I would have preferred some sort of promotion or transfer. (I'm also still wondering why we didn't get the dress blues scene that were in the promo pics?) But... at the end of the day, Jay Halstead was a beloved and valuable asset for a decade. They spent half of his character arc involving Hailey into his work life and personal life on the show. I firmly don't believe they are going to do anything too drastic to the relationship.

With the show up for renewal next year and contracts of the cast in question, there are no doubt a lot of avenues that they can go down. While I am leaning towards the side Tracy is probably not going to renew, just given the scenario we've seen played out before our eyes and nothing actually factual from her or NBC/Wolf, she could chose to stay. Maintaining the marriage isn't necessarily that hard- a mention of a text here, ending her on a Skype/FaceTime with him, a mention of him to Kev or Ruz, etc. There are ways to keep him and them alive, without him being there. It's just a matter of continuance, and I'm ehh on that because the show doesn't have the greatest track record. But I will say, we've sing the ring on her hand in BTS. We've got no real reason to panic.

10 years of a character, 5 years of a partnership/relationship that was undoubtedly a HUGE draw for the audience- I don't see them being too dumb with something like that, that draws in the $$$$.

So as far as their relationship I hold on to this:

“Besides, I’m going where you go.”

“We’re good and we’re always gonna be good.”

“I’m not going anywhere Hailey, really I’m not.”

“Where you go, I go.”

These statements they have said to each other over the years are so powerful- Jay Halstead is a man of his word, he promised to love her in sorry & in joy... They are just more in an 'in sorrow' type of moment. I firmly believe they are going to be okay.

And as far as Gwen, I'm not gong to comment too much because all I know is I wouldn't want to be in her shoes. One character's integrity was more important than another one's on his exit and still having to please fans every week... It's got to be hard. So, time will tell.

[intrepidradish]

Media: Dr. Who

Year/my age: 2019/29

What drew me to the media:

In the vacuum of completing Good Omens, I was going through both David Tennant's and Michael Sheen's filmography. David Tennant's was much more fun (the only thing I remember of Michael Sheen was his weird stint in Twilight and Far From the Maddening Crowd.) I watched Broadchurch, and then I...hesitated. I had never seen Dr. Who. It felt like a big undertaking but also years and years ago (back in college) I pledged to *never* watch Dr. Who *ever*.

Why?

When I was a freshman and David Tennant was Dr. Who, a kid in my year pretended to be him full time...with the screwdriver, the hair... everything. Naturally, I hated this kid. He ran everywhere. Interrupted people. He was also that kind of 18 year old abusive twerp that really gets under the skin of a repressed and angry queer kid.

Fast forward, I'm 29 looking at watching Dr. Who.

I knew it was supposed to be good, because people loved the tenth doctor. I bitched and moaned about it for a bit. I wanted to stand behind my stubborn statement from ten years prior. Never a WHO.

But I swallowed my pride. You know. Because I am a big nerd, and the least I could do was understand why I'm hating something.

So I watched David Tennant's run as the tenth doctor... And then I watched all the doctors post 2005.

What made me a fan:

'Silence in the Library' made me a fan. It also changed my life. If you're unfamiliar, it's in David's third and last season as the Doctor. His companion is Donna. They travel to the universe's library, which is a huge monster of a space building that contains records of all space time. When they arrive it is horrifyingly empty. It has been invested with invisible creatures that live in the shadows and devour flesh.

On top of that, the Doctor runs into a woman (River Song) who claims they are madly in love and have been for centuries, but this is the last time she'll see him in her lifetime and it's the first time the Doctor meets her. It's devastating for her, and the familiarity creeps out the Doctor.

To me, its a fucking gorgeous two part episode. It's scary. It's delightful. It's heart-achingly sad. It's so campy too. It makes me laugh. It's also very referential to old science fiction tropes. Finally, it shocked me, because I'd never experienced an episode like this one. It is the pinnacle of everything I could want in a single hour of watching television.

After I watched this episode, I realized I wanted to write science fiction.

Sometimes Dr. Who really fucking did that too me.

It's also a great show because since they change the main character's actor regularly, you always get a different taste with the same premise. I have SO MANY OPINIONS about the Doctors and their companions. Like FUCK.

Donna and the 10th is the CREME for me. They are BEST FRIENDS OKAY. The arc of who the Doctor is at this point in time and the crushing feeling at the end of their cycle is so potent. Like

^^^^ THIS IS REAL.

But! My favorite Doctor is actually Peter Capaldi's run, because he's a Doctor finally embracing his age and trauma. He trusts Clara after three seasons, the longest run of a companion, enough to show her how he thinks of himself, which is devastating for him, but like...trauma is man. We also get Missy in this run and I love Bob (although the show did her so rawly dirty, I'll never recover from that).

Ugh. Shit. I could go on. I probably will.

Have I written fanfiction for it? Why or why not?

Because no! I haven't written fanfiction for it!

I don't ship anyone! The Doctor isn't hot, and the relationship he has with his companions is like...intimate in ways that aren't physical. I know! I'm such a PRUDE. SOBS.

"Well, you don't have to ship someone to write fanfiction about them."

FAIR. But when I was watching Dr. Who, I was still a rooky writer. When I write fanfiction I try to emulate the tone, and Dr. Who is... a very difficult tone to capture. To me, it's quintessentially British, but in a way that goes beyond like...calling pants trousers. It's the approach to history and how the Crown engages with shaping it as a colonizing force. (mkay, sorry I went there but yeah)

I'm an American, and we have her own GLUT of problems, but it's different, ya know? It's why there isn't an Americanized Dr Who. America doesn't have a space wizard because history is bullshit for us. Do I agree with that? No.

One of the strongest parts of Dr Who as a series is that there have only been a few writers for that show and some assorted guest writers. It makes the show consistent despite the casting changes. It keeps it strong. I just can't see an inroad for me to write it.

However, I do have one WIP on the house sparrows trapped inside the TARDIS that have been warped by the space magic into an sentient warrior race. They have to prevent a great evil from escaping. Yes that's something I just wrote. No, you didn't hear me incorrectly.

This, at the time, was too difficult for me to complete. I still love the idea though. I might try to file off the serial numbers and finish it someday.

I also have an Americanized Dr Who idea. She's a weird immortal alien too, and a traveling salesman. She accidentally bombs the world with music.

It's complicated.

Opinion on the fandom:

No idea! I never read fanfiction for it. I never wrote fanfiction for it. I don't seek out fanart of it. I think most Dr Who fans are super annoying. What with the tardis dresses and the bumper stickers. The daleks everywhere. I don't really want to interact with them.

"Why are you putting it in this lineup then?"

You know, I have no idea. A real head scratcher. I think it's because 2019 was a super duper important year for me and finding media that got me in this headspace to see writing as viable.

A month after watching Good Omens I read The Left Hand of Darkness too, and got absolutely shot in the face when a queer character dies. That also changed my life. I didn't write a big thing about it in this journaling experiment because fandom for a book written in the 1960s is...different.

So Dr. Who was this big eye opener for me on storytelling. The Left Hand of Darkness was a big eye opener for me on storytelling. Good Omens started it again, making me GAY.

GAY AGAIN. I'm a infernal gay engine.

Would I read again?

Naw. Don't care. Maybe when I finally get to watch the Jodie Whittaker run. I'm pretty excited about the new doctor too.

Other things you didn't ask for

My opinion on all the doctors and shit.

9th Doctor (Christopher Eccelston) - the doctor stumbling out of killing his entire race with a time bomb. severely messed up and unhinged. A raw nerve. Doesn't know how to laugh anymore but tries anyway. All his smiles are false.

Rose - 19 year old darling teaches a fucked up old man to love life again (seriously, I will be shot by some shippers in this fandom)

10th Doctor (David Tennant)- sensing Rose's romantic attraction, the doctor regenerates as a young, energetic Ferrari of a man (in red converse and enough hair gel to raise a flag. what a nerd) If you look really close you get a sense of his overwhelming sadness, but it's all paved over with goofy jokes and lingering gazes.

Rose - totally fucking in love with him, because he's a space wizard and she's 20 and a cashier from the slums, like okay. Of course this falls apart, but she gets her cake in the end too. She deserves it.

Martha Jones - They have some distance between each other. Martha is a huge realist, and it helps the doctor recover from losing Rose.

Donna - She just wants some magic in her life again. They find each other at that perfect time when they both needed a best friend. Someone to riff on, to be a tourist.

11th Doctor (Matt Smith) - He's a bit more mature than the 10th, but he's still running away, so much so characters vocally point it out to him. He's straddling the line between staying lighthearted, a good friend, and disappearing completely. His inability to face his personal hardships means that he can't be there for people when they need him to. He fails a lot in these seasons.

Amy Pond - She has her own life, and the Doctor dips in when he's needed or when he's not and sometimes disappears entirely when she needs him to be by her side. She's strong though. She has Rory, who is the biggest godsend for her even as she looks emotionally elsewhere as an escapist.

Clara Oswald - the doctor thinks he can do without a companion for awhile and uuuuh, he can't. Clara course corrects him as a morality check.

12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) - after the visit with his old self, the War Doctor, we finally get to see how the doctor really sees himself, a broken and tired man. He's no longer dithering around or running away. But he's also wounded. He's dabbling in nihilism. He's got a lot of friends to help him out.

Clara Oswald - She's steady. She's there, and she's got her own weird magic to her that the doctor can't explain but no longer questions.

Bob - She's fun! She's not really his student in this gig the doctor's trying to falsely fill, but he does take on this professor-like position. Ultimately that dynamic falls apart. He's too caught up with his duties to keep her safe. He's also caught up in the prospect of finally dying and being thankful about it. (too bad that doesn't happen...)

[incoherentbabblings]

Hi!

I love your content, your love for TimSteph, and I was actually going to ask what you love so much about them. I, for extra credit for English, decided to write an analysis of Stephanie (and why I love her so much), but I just got into comics, and cannot really put my feelings for her in words ... which is odd, considering how much I love her and writing. Also, I was going to do a section on why TimSteph is narrative genius, and I needed help elaborating on that too.

Could you help me out, please? Thanks!

(I feel the need to mention that I have read quite a lot of comics with Stephanie in them, though not all. I'm not much of a comic book fan, but I'm really interested in the Batfamily!)

I'll be very happy to write out bullet points that you could talk about, and feel free to go through my ask and I'll babble/TimSteph meta tags for anything that you think may be worth discussing in your own words - there's like four or so years of stuff there to spark your brain.

HOWEVER!!!! Keep in mind though that much of what I have written is half based on textual evidence and half me just writing what I like/wish would crop up in canon.

For example, yes I like to draw comparisons between Tim being cold and Steph being warm, moon and sun and so on, but there's genuinely nothing in text to hint as this being an actual character trait or symbolism. If anything Tim's stated to be warm several times, more than Steph.

So, and I am sorry to be so blunt, but if I take your request in bad faith for a moment, don't use either directly or indirectly what I've written for your work. Especially without actually going and reading the arcs I talk about. A lot of the time it doesn't hold up under genuine textual scrutiny, and we want to be good academics here! There's Death of the Author and then there's me making crap up because I want to include it in a fanfic. Not the same thing! My blog is called IncoherentBabblings for a reason after all!

I will therefore say this: If you want to write about Steph as a character, I would use the below video as a point of reference. Using the below, you can then go into why she resonates with you the way she does, or why her relationship with Tim is so interesting to you.

If I were you: focus on her dynamic character development: cynical to idealistic. And use three points in her publication history to do this: her introduction in Detective Comics, War Games, and Batgirl. I am sorry to recommend War Games as something to read but it is important to her character. Use the Stephanie Brown Wiki to help!

That lends itself to a biography of her character, a look at her motivations and values, her role within the batfam, and so on. You can also use this to make comparisons with her peers, specifically Tim moving in the exact opposite direction development wise; Babs and Cass in their approaches to Batgirl; and the other Robins through her similar character progression as Dick, which in turn allows her to be a good mentor to Damian, and finally how her character arc runs perpendicular to Jason's. Does that make sense?

Anyway, let's get going! If I were to write an academic piece on Stephanie, these are the main points I would work through. In other words, this is what I would do. You probably will not need nor want to go into this level of depth, and you will want to make it much more personal about why she resonates with you, which may be different to why I love her. So don't worry about touching base with all of them. This is like... 10,000 word essay level stuff. And don't get overwhelmed. I've taken your request far too seriously is all.

Again, I can't write it for you! You gotta do the reading and writing I'm afraid.

...But I still wrote 1,500 words anyway. Gosh darnnit.

Steph’s Character Development

Always keep three points in her character history in mind – her aged 14/15 in her introductory arc in Detective Comics, her aged 16 in War Games, and her aged 18/19 in her Batgirl run.

How does she change? How does she grow as a character? What events caused these changes? Compare that angry 14-year-old trying to choke her father, to the 19-year-old crying happily on the roof. A lot happened between those two points! Outline the main plot beats.

Steph's Role as a Batfam Character:

Protagonist or Antagonist: Supporting Protagonist

Static or Dynamic: Dynamic (think of her character development - angry to alturistic; she softens in her life outlook and in the way she treats others as the years go by)

Minor or Major: Minor and we all mourn that fact :(

Foil or Symbolic: A foil to Tim Drake (and to a lesser extent the other Robins, specifically Jason Todd)

Importance of the character/Position in Society: Fourth Robin, third Batgirl, own superhero. Tim's girlfriend, Cassandra's best friend, one of many of Bruce's 'children'. Initially introduced just as a one-off character for a small arc in Detective Comics, brought back with the intention of being a supporting character to Tim Drake, and eventual love interest. Eventually gained enough popularity on her own terms to support her own solo comic, but has since returned to a supporting role. The character she supports, at the end of the day, is Bruce Wayne.

Motivation

What influences their decisions?: Stephanie's dynamic characterisation comes in here. Compare her motivations during her introductory arc, versus why she does what she does in War Games, versus why she dresses up at Batgirl - Stopping her father, getting Batman's approval, need for redemption.

What do they value?: Values emotional openness, vulnerability, second/third/fourth chances.

Goals/Hopes/Dreams: No long term goals/hopes/dreams in the domestic sense... Continue to be vigilante. Be respected by her peers. Continue to improve self worth through deeds. Graduate college?

What are their views: Views the justice system and police as corrupt, but still trusts in the inherent goodness of people. Focus is usually on the individual, rather than societal or structural.

Actions

Behaviour, Attitudes, Impact on Story and other Characters, Internal Struggle (Wants versus Needs): This is why I think you are best to look at three points in her story - Intro Arc, War Games, Batgirl. Focus on her Wants versus Needs - Steph's take a very long time to align, but they finally do in Batgirl.

Character development is usually driven by the conflict between what a character wants. The plot forces them normally to confront the fact that what they want is not gonna work out, and what they needed instead takes priority.

Everything usually goes tits up for Steph when she is in the driver's seat of the narrative because what she wants from a situation is rarely what she actually needs to happen. See every time she seeks Bruce's approval. She wants it. She absolutely does not need it. And only as Batgirl do we get that acknowledgement, which coincides with her being at the healthiest point in her life emotionally. Look at what she wants as Spoiler during her introductory arc, as Robin/Spoiler during War Games, and then as Batgirl. Why is she so unhappy in the former two? Why have her wants finally aligned with her needs with her time as Batgirl?

Character Traits

Personality: Cynical but perky. Sardonic but sincere. Think about how she changes over the time. This can be attributed to her different writers, but - for example - is there a universe reason for why Batgirl Stephanie is so much more socially awkward than Spoiler Stephanie?

Strengths & Weaknesses: Link these two together because Steph is a very good example where her strengths as a character can simultaneously be a weakness. Her determination can lead to her making ill conceived decisions. Her empathy can lead to her putting her trust in the wrong people. Her forgiving nature can lead to her being taken advantage of. Her temper, whilst landing her in hot water, can also just as often get her out of it.

Relationships

How do they interact with others: Focus on which characters pop up in all three arcs – Steph and her parents; Steph and Bruce; Steph and Tim. I am chucking Cass out the window here, sorry Cass, but if you’re focusing on these three arcs, Cass doesn’t really fit in.

How others view them: Conditional love/affection from her father and Bruce. Unconditional love/affection from Tim and her mother (though both are not without serious pitfalls).

How they view others: Stephanie has explicitly never loved her father. She has also never explicitly hated him either. What does that say about her? Look at her changing closeness with her mother. What changed between them, and again, what does that say about Stephanie? Crystal got sober, supported Stephanie through her pregnancy, Arthur was removed from their lives, Stephanie makes a conscious effort to be closer to her after returning ‘from the dead’, though continues to lie consistently to her. Stephanie admires Bruce, whilst also right from the get go insisting she does not answer to him. She never quite lets go of wanting that approval.

How does society view them: Her outsider role within the Batfam. She never quite belongs, and at points her closest relationships are actively discouraged from seeing her. Which Tim specifically never entertains. This outsider nature bites literally everyone in the butt during War Games. Her outsider status is still in place by the time Batgirl concludes, due to its largely self-contained nature as a book, but this is less being an outsider more having earned to right to operate independently. Trust has been given and earned.

Dialogue

What does she say and how: A teenage girl in New Jersey from a working class background has a very distinct voice. She does not mince words, nor does she hide what she is feeling. If she is happy, she will say so. If she is annoyed, she will say so. What she won’t do is ask for help when she needs it, due to her background formulating a need for her ‘to do things on her own’.

Think of famous/important Steph quotes from the three arcs I keep talking about – the excuse me if I don’t jump when you bark, the I really was part of the legend, the only variable you can control is yourself. These show how Steph views others and herself.

When I was writing I Would Have Loved You, I literally made a spreadsheet where I have picked out what I think are pertinent quotes from every New 52 issue featuring Tim or Steph along with a synopsis that explained what they were up to/what the main theme of the issue was. Not saying you should do the same because I’m just that goddamn anal when it comes to this sort of stuff, but the point is – look for quotes by/about Steph which highlight the above things we’ve talked about. You have thirty years to go through!

Author Intention

What purpose does this character serve?: A character that young female readers could get attached to – the every girl/girl next door archetype or a character that young boys could have a crush on – the kind of girl who’s into the same sort of stuff as you, I think Chuck Dixon once said of her, from her initial appearance. Fodder for Bruce and Tim’s man pain in War Games. Batgirl it’s a combination of filling the void for a female lead solo character in the batbooks, but also tonally taking on a much lighter and self-contained book that new readers could jump into very easily, directly compared to the more lore heavy Batman, Detective Comics, and Red Robin books.

What is the author trying to communicate: Steph’s character shows that determination can only get a person so far, a support system and doing things for the right reasons (again remember that want versus need argument) is the only way a person will genuinely succeed.

What is her main theme?: Balancing cynicism and idealism – doing acts for the right reasons, and discovering what these reasons actually are.

...

Is this even usable for anyone but myself? Possibly not!

Still... Go write! And good luck!

[spockandawe]

Hi, spockandawe... if you don't mind me asking, who are your top 5 favorite characters in 2ha? And why? I'm sorry if you've answered this question before.

Hm! I think I’ll have an easier time with this than with the mxtx characters, mainly because meatbun’s side characters mostly don’t resonate with me as strongly as the mains (and also because I haven’t read the mtl for this one, so I know that there are important characters who I’ve only heard about in passing so far). But with what I know now:

Fifth favorite: Mei Hanxue :X I just... love an asshole, and I love an agent of chaos, and even though my only exposure has been through the blind date extras and fanworks, I am HERE for this. I don’t really have any deep thoughts, just that I see these decisions he makes and I’m like ‘oh wow, that’s out of line, but also? hard same.’ On my end my attachment to the character is VERY much ‘no thoughts head empty’ but I really, really, really like him XD

Fourth favorite: Okay. So. This is coming more from a perspective of ‘I’m pretty sure this character is going to get fascinating’ rather than ‘this character has done something super fascinating already, but... Shi Mei. I’ve avoided any detailed spoilers that don’t come up explicitly in the blind date extras, and I’m not looking for spoilers, but.... I want to know more about what’s going on in his head. He REALLY has my attention.

Third favorite: Mo-zongshi, where I am definitely splitting Mo Ran into two pieces, because this story is so much about the nature of personal development and change over time. And like........ I entered this story looking for another Luo Binghe. I did not get that thing, but I also love this particular character a LOT. I was invested in him when he was still just a sulky asshole, but then the development was fascinating, and then the orpheus arc just CAME for me, good lord. And where he is after the time skip is probably my favorite version of him, which totally makes sense, but I am always here for a character who is trying to work on self-improvement while also being suffocated under the weight of past wrongs they can never completely atone for. This story REALLY does it for me on that emotional front.

Second favorite: Okay. Don’t judge. But...... Taxian-jun. I just love him. He’s such an asshole, but I love him. I was kind of like ‘uhh okay’ at ‘deep-fried empress song’ in the beginning of the book, but when we got actual context for what that meant, I was DYING. And I felt bad for laughing so hard, but like. Oh my god, I love it and I love him. And I am also a sucker for a character who’s kind of a dick, where part of that is a bad attitude, but part of it is like... that he’s also very bad at doing a social. That also applies to my next entry, except that I do very much enjoy it when a character doesn’t have much INTEREST in making other people think he’s good or nice or whatever. And also, the blind date extra with taxian-jun is one of the most hilarious things i’ve read in my whole fucking life

First favorite: CHU WANNING, oh my god. This character came STRAIGHT for me and ripped out my heart and stomped all over it. This character fucks me up more than maybe any other cnovel character I’ve encountered yet. He deserves the world. SOMEBODY GIVE HIM THE WORLD. HE IS MY BEST BOY AND DESERVES ALL THE NICE THINGS EVER INVENTED. I will not take questions or criticism, only nice things, earmarked specifically for chu wanning

[ziracona]

Pretty sure your sudden spike in Fate content is gonna be like the third time I check something out bc you started posting it (I know next to nothing about Fate. In fact, I think I now know less than before you started). I'm rly not sure what the best starting point to get into it is, though. Any recommendation? (also I got Moriarty on your quiz and now I want to know why he's so beloved)

Oh sick! Awesome! I hope you enjoy it! 

Uhm, so, Fate notoriously swaps out like their whole creative team from work to work, so some of it is really good, and some is really bad, and some in the middle, because it’s made by very different people. The things I am most into are UBW, and Fate Go. Fate Go is a little gatcha phone game, that suffers from the fate of the whole fate franchise but as a single unit. They swap out writers from arc and event to arc and event, so sometimes you’re living and thriving, and sometimes you’re like *thousand yard glazed, pained stare* ‘why the fuck did I download this game?’ Very mixed bag. I enjoy it because I just kinda blow through any arc I don’t like and skim, and then go hella into the good ones, but it’s very much an individual matter of taste one. It’s very fun to collect spirits and get to know them though, and some of the arcs are fantastic. Also, they have made/are making some of the Fate Go arcs into shows, and I expect the ones that are of good game arcs are good? But I haven’t actually checked any out myself yet--I really need to watch E Pluribus Unum, because it was an easy top 3 arc for me in the game.

I’m big into Fate, but I actually have approximate knowledge of many things? And have not consumed as much media as you’d think. I tend to hear people really like Fate Zero, and very mixed reviews of Apocrypha, but I would wholeheartedly recommend the Fandom Classic(tm) and my personal fave as where to start, which is Unlimited Blade Works.

Sorry this is so long. Okay, so. Originally, Fate Stay/Night was a visual novel with three paths/routes: Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven’s Feel. All of these are shows now. Unlimited Blade Works was made twice. Do not watch the early one; it’s bad. Watch the 2014 TV series--it’s on Netflix right now. Don’t watch the English dub--the VAs are...not great. 110% recommend watching it in Japanese/original dub, with subtitles. (This one)

My usual pitch is that if you’re a normal person, you’ll probably go “This was a little confusing, but I really got into it: 8.3/10″, and if you’re like me and you never really gave up on wanting to become a superhero and save the world some day, you’ll go: “It was fantastic, 18/10, but it also ripped out my soul and left me wounded but somehow in an okay way.” Either way very worth watching. Since it’s not the first route, there are some things they don’t explain about the world because they kind of assume the viewer will know, but that’s pretty minimal--it’s def coherent enough that the more confusing bits are more of a “Uh, okay. I think.” than a “W-What the fuck is going on?”

It’s really good. Two seasons, the most beautiful fighting in almost anything I’ve ever seen, phenomenal soundtrack, and one of the best show opens (Season 2′s) of any show I ever saw. All around a just big blanket rec from me. It’s a long-time fan favorite for a reason. It’s one of my fave shows ever :’-] It was. Very personal to me.

Uhhhh what else--okay so, on Netflix if you watch it there, and a lot of streaming sites, they list “Episode 0″ or “Prologue” as the first episode? This was originally bonus content, not the first episode. It’s basically the first episode from not the MC’s point of view, but a different major character. It’s got some really great character moments and insight into Rin and Archer, and it’s fun, but since it was originally bonus, the pacing is super weird? So I would recommend you start with actual episode 1/Winter Days, A Fateful Night instead? Unless you just want to. Like it won’t mess up the show, but it might give you a weird idea of what the pacing is. So you can watch it first if you want, or later whenever you’re curious about those two, just like, if you start on it, don’t get overwhelmed by the stuff they’re not explaining, or the weird pacing. It’s supposed to be bonus content haha.

Very happy you’re interested! I really love UBW so I hope you enjoy it! If there’s anything else you want to ask feel totally free! I just don’t want to ramble for eight years about my special interest and fall into a black hole unprompted haha. : D Very happy you’ve been intrigued by my weird spike of fate content WAIT YOU ASKED ABOUT CRIME GRANDPA HOW COULD I FORGET.

Woof this is gonna be a long ask answer. Uhhhh, so Moriarty is from Fate Grand Order/Fate Go, the phone game. The game has three major arc sets so far: Grand Order, Epic of Remnant, and Cosmos in the Lostbelts. He’s from Epic of Remnant, and he’s universally beloved because he’s amazing. The MC in Fate Go is like 16, but he or she (you get to pick) is constantly having to risk their life and be hurt and traumatized and watch people die to save the world because there’s no one else to do it, and usually people are...not super nice to them. Moriarty shows up in the first of the second set of arcs and is like ‘Haha that’s a wholeass human child tho. Guys. Guys, a-are you sure about this?’ and he’s really there to pull of a massive evil culmination-of-my-life’s-entire-work-and-value scheme, but this kid is nice to him, and has nobody who looks out for them, and Evil Has Standards, so (Arc End Spoilers for that one ahead) he ends up giving up basically at the last minute. He had a plan that was totally working and could have won, but can’t really pull the trigger, because winning would mean this kid who has been nice to him and is already a massive pile of trauma and pressure and mental illness would die, and he cares more about them than his life’s goal. In Go usually boss fights are progressively harder, but his is super easy because he throws it, and chooses to lose, and basically throws away his life’s work for this one kid because nobody else is taking care of them, and lets himself get killed. This is a pattern with him. Other high points include later being 5 seconds into a scheme when Frankenstein (the girl one, who in fgo is like 14) stops him to call him Papa and asks for help, so he adopts her on the spot and just is her dad forever after that. He’s very goofy and I love him; he’s evil, but I’d trust him with my life, because he’s more good than he is evil, even though he’s both. Basically he’s just a very interesting and well written villain, but he’s also like, the /best/ dad in the game at the same time, and his dialogue is amazing. Evil Has Standards team dad poster man. He’s like the only adult in Fate Go who actually is responsible, which is fuckin wild. I’ll try to find some good screenshots of his dialogue. Anyway he’s incredible and I’m so happy you got him; Crime Papa is life.

Here have some Moriarty junk: (Shinjuku arc you have 3 partners, and the other two are adults but harass the MC constantly, and this was the dynamic. Bless Moriarty) 

And here’s some him roasting Sherlock memes and being good dad to the MC

[sienna-writes]

Butterfly Blood || novel update

chapter three

I initially had a lot of trouble with this chapter. It’s been through about three drafts and it’s still nowhere near perfect, but I’m working on just moving forward with the novel now and am trying to quit obsessing over revising because... it’s unrealistic to expect a first draft to be perfect. 

The first draft of this particular chapter, though, was basically all dialogue, and all very poorly executed dialogue. (Dialogue is absolutely the weakest aspect of my writing but I’m working on it.) On my second attempt at the chapter I initially attempted to create an outline, thinking this would help me find a direction. However, in my next writing session I ended up totally ignoring the outline and just winging it, and the second draft was formed. I really liked the events in the chapter now but still wasn’t happy with some of the individual scenes so I reworked it yesterday morning. The argument between Rowan and Karmen still needed revision  because Karmen’s character within it was totally inconsistent to his usual disposition. So! The final (for now..) draft is a more stripped back, since Karmen is too disassociated to get as angry as he did as quickly as he did, and I think the tension and the build up is a lot better timed and more... muted? It’s less overt, more subtext heavy, and I'm relieved because that is what I had been trying to achieve all along.

Again, it’s not perfect, but it has evolved and it is definitely better than before. 

The chapter is just over 3000 words now, but I am only going to be sharing the main, gritty extract. The other scenes are less exciting, but I also suspect they need the same amount of work till they're even remotely sharable. (I was going through a bad writing slump in this chapter lol.) I really hope you enjoy it? I'm ultimately quite proud of how it turned out in the end :)

excerpt:

[Rowan has missed her GP appointment + her dad uses it as an oppurtunity to also be angry about her slacking in school]

    “I’ve booked another for tomorrow morning. You’ll miss some school, but I figured that’d be an incentive since you don’t seem to care about that anymore.” There is now an edge to his voice that hadn't been there before.

    Rowan visibly flinches, digging her fingernails into the supple skin of her palms. The dents purple then fill with blood. She locks eyes with her father, searching for the reason for his sudden anger. He has struck a nerve and he knows it.

    “Miss Phelps called.”

    She pushes her toes into the dirt, white sneakers now blotted with dust. “Oh.”

    He doesn’t ask for an explanation, simply straightens his back like an ancient scroll unravelling itself and meets her gaze finally. Karmen stands with his chest puffed out and his chin pointed forward. It is apparent that he won't ask her side of things. He’s heard enough, and has his made up his mind about her already.

    Rowan pushes past him to get inside. Karmen doesn’t shift as she squeezes by his statuesque stance. His face twitches like a camera shutter, so fast she can barely believe the change in his expression. She convinces herself it didn’t happen and throws her bag onto the couch, almost tempting another lecture. A tamer one. Something he could murmur through his daydream fog before slipping back into his silence and letting everything remain undiscussed. Like it normally is. Her slipping grades. Her laziness in class. Not writing a single word in an entire school day. Talking back for little to no reason.

    He turns as her rucksack lands, his footsteps looming behind her. Something sharpens the air between them, but she can’t tell what. The elephant is in the room and it is wrecking the place. They watch the destruction mutely, each waiting for the other to intervene and consequently letting the walls crumble into ruin. The old house audibly creaks, it is so quiet. Finally, Karmen speaks. “What’s the matter with you?”

    Rowan runs through all the excuses she can think of. I was dropped as a child. I was a premature baby, so my brain must be under-developed. The content is so easy it feels obsolete. I’m being bullied. I’m just not as smart as you thought, dad, sorry. Teachers are liars and we both should have known this.  “There’s just too much.” She says instead, through gritted teeth, moving into the kitchen. “I can’t focus on school and have to be there for everyone.” It is limp and she knows it. It flops between them weakly like a helpless fish. She takes a glass from the cabinet and closes it softly.

   He consumes the lie like a starved ghost, though. Proving he doesn’t know her. Doesn’t know how absent a friend she has been of late. How she has become her father at school, numb and quiet. How, secretly, she enjoys the façade because people avoid her, don’t ask difficult questions, don’t tackle her with unnecessary comments about her long-lost mother. “Then stop being there.” He says simply.

Rowan scoffs. “I do enough of that at home.” She studies her dad’s face—clenched jaw and squinting eyes—as if it hurts to look at her. “Everyone’s always telling everything how things must be. I must participate, I must be smart not emotional, I must not slack for exams I know I will pass without a glance at my books”—suddenly an urge to twist the knife into his gut overwhelms her, she draws out the moment as she fills the glass with a thread of water from the tap—"I must deal with a stranger for a Dad and a god knows what for a mother. A shrieking banshee? An abusive fugitive? She’s probably become a social worker just to scorn us.”

    He rolls his lips, lowers his gaze and chews on the inside of his cheek, sucking it in. Rowan’s breath catches in her throat. In this moment he looks shockingly hollow. Did she empty him? Wind him with her blows? Spoon out his entrails with an ice cream scoop? Carve him like the roasted corpse of some great beast? Karmen puts two hands on the back of the chair opposite her, clutching it as if he might just fall over. His stare is cold and unsympathetic when he raises it toward her. “Don’t you want to make something of yourself?”

Yes. “What?” She laughs bitterly, placing the tumbler on the counter with a satisfying thud. “Like how you made something of yourself?” There is a terrible moment where he sits in the midst of the cruelty, shrinks into himself as if absorbing it, before his mouth creaks open and he lets out a broken shriek.

“GOD DAMMIT ROWAN!” Rowan flies back, arms sheltering her head instinctively as he reaches for the glass she placed on the counter, spins, and throws it at the wall. One big horrific movement. A cutting arc of his arm through the air and then the shattering. “Are you ever even listening?”

    Millions of glittering fragments of her life laid out before her, encircling her bare feet. She thinks of the sneakers she slipped off at the door, wishing she had them now.  Something about naked feet look so naïve, so vulnerable. Her toes shrink, curling inward. Her breath quickens and her hands begin to tremble. All this broken glass. All these fragments like a lifeline stretched between them. Her eyes blink away tears in different shards, her reflection is fragmented, her features lost and bobbing about as if at sea.

    “Are you, dad?” Rowan asks in an empty voice, staring at him till he flinches. He stares at the glass on the floor in shock.

    “I...” He crouches, sifting through it with his bare, shuddering, and unsure hands. “I don’t know why I did that...”

    Rowan gets a sudden urge to have the last word. Except she doesn’t speak. Her eyes settle on the glass and the idea flourishes like a flame in her mind, burning everything rational, everything he might think. To hell with appropriate. To hell with acceptable. One unsteady step. She expects a crunch or a crackle, but instead there is a damp muffle and squelch. Her spine rattles and her teeth prickle in response. A sunrise in her chest warms her throat but she presses against it with her palms, forcing it down. It is a scorching, molten pain. Third degree burns and all she swallows rays of light till she is drowning, gorging. Slipping through furnace tongue flames. Rowan gags. Bile and acid boils her tongue and the bright, burnt out orb slips into her stomach. She gulp, gulp, gulps every atom of the blaze that consumes her. Till she is heavy. She walks across the broken glass as he yells out. Let there be outrage. Let the sky fall. Its clouds embrace her limbs, draining everything fluid from her, letting her grow limp. Letting her rain. Heavy. As she moves away from the kitchen, she feels her footsteps peeling from the floor, warm and wet. And she is so, so heavy. Then she stumbles, splintered feet unable to keep her up—her legs can no longer hold her and her lava—as the pain erupts within her fierce and sharp and sudden. Flashing its ugly teeth. Catching one last glimpse before her vision goes dark, she sees a red ocean seeping into the living room. How could one body hold so much? Fast and gushing the rapids wash her dregs of consciousness away. It was just a few steps...

soo... yeah. Rowan walks on glass because, oh lord that girl has no impulse controls. 

I'm not going to lie, although it was a pain to get this scene to the stage I have just shared, I think it's one of my favourites in the book so far. I'm proud of how much it's grown. Also, I love me some dramatic descriptions of pain and characters being nasty... :”)

I hope you enjoyed this update! (if you did, reblogs really help me out, but absolutely no pressure <3) I’m also still looking for people to add to the tag list, so if any of this interested you, feel free to send me an ask, message or comment. :)

Tag list under cut (ask to be added or removed):

@alicewestwater @elaz-ivero @coffeeandcalligraphy @hanwatchingmovies @sirfitzroys @chloeswords @nev-953

[hollygoeslightly]

I love to read your posts on Sanditon, you add a certain depth to the story that I'm addicted to. I don't know if it ever came up before but do you think Sidney felt loved/chosen by Charlotte, If he did, in which scenes? I could only identify Young Stringer's comment, as a moment that he felt chosen by her. On the other hand, it's easy to see how much interest and love he felt for her, even when they fought. Theo's eyes show how hard he fell in love since their first encouter.

Hey!

Thank you so much, that’s really lovely of you to say.

Before I address the instances where Sidney felt “chosen” by Charlotte, I think it’s necessary to look at their individual character arcs (Charlotte in particular) and how that influences how they express their feelings for each other (I have a feeling this is probably going to get a little wordy, so apologies in advance).

First of all, let’s go back to the beginning and the Charlotte the audience was first introduced to in 1x01. At the beginning, Charlotte very much lands on the sensibility end of the sense and sensibility scale (the goal being to reach a happy medium between the two) – she is a charming, kind, outspoken romantic who wears her heart on her sleeve. Charlotte is also immediately attracted to and intrigued by Sidney when she first sees his portrait in the foyer of Trafalgar House. However, as we know, Sidney doesn’t exactly make the best first impression (or second or third) and Sidney and Charlotte end up in a push/pull relationship full of misunderstandings. However, by the time of the masquerade ball in London in 1x06, Charlotte and Sidney have reached a tentative peace and Charlotte has realised that she is madly in love with the tall, dark and brooding idiot who has been instrumental in her coming of age.

“I hardly know what to think anymore… about anything. I’ve always felt so certain of my judgement and now I see I’ve been blinded by sentiment and naivety. I’ve got it all so wrong. No wonder your brother has such a poor opinion of me.”

In 1x06, Charlotte’s world view undergoes a seismic shift and she discovers that people who are willing to be open about their thoughts and feelings are not always trustworthy (like Otis) and those that play their cards close to their chest are not always driven by ulterior motives (like Sidney). This discovery not only causes Charlotte to question her own judgement, but to struggle to find her footing. It is this Charlotte that must come to terms with her love for Sidney (landing her firmly on the sense end of the sense and sensibility scale) and this Charlotte is forever waiting for the other shoe to drop – for her happiness to be snatched out from beneath her, because she is after all, only a farmer’s daughter.

On the other hand, Sidney’s begins his journey as a man who very much believes in sense over sensibility. As a way to cope with his broken engagement to Eliza, Sidney has become emotionally disconnected from his own life – he is an outlier, someone who engages with the world around him with as little cost to his own feelings as possible. However, just as Sidney was instrumental in Charlotte’s coming of age (which is still ongoing), Charlotte is instrumental in helping Sidney become his best and truest self – a person who actively engages in life. In comparison to Charlotte, Sidney is much closer to finding the happy medium between sense and sensibility, while Charlotte still feels too gun shy following Eliza’s reappearance to completely trust that her possible future with Sidney will not be taken away. When you take Charlotte and Sidney’s individual character arcs are into consideration, it’s easy to see why Sidney has been far more verbal in expressing his feelings to Charlotte, and to therefore, pinpoint the moments where Sidney has “chosen” her.

It’s also important to note that choice doesn’t present as a theme in Charlotte’s narrative in the way it does with Sidney. Quite simply, Charlotte in unable to “choose” Sidney, because for her there was never any other choice. Charlotte was attracted to Sidney from the beginning, and while she enjoyed Young Stringer’s company as a friend, he was never a real contender for her affections. Despite all their misunderstandings, for Charlotte it was always Sidney. For Sidney, his feelings for Charlotte are complicated by his past with Eliza. That’s not to say that Sidney makes a choice between Charlotte and Eliza, rather he made the choice to say goodbye to his idea of Eliza and a future with her that he had spent 10 years waiting for. Sidney’s choice was between a dream he had held onto tightly for so long or finally embracing becoming his best and truest self as a result of his love for Charlotte (side note – Sidney is again faced with the theme of choice when he is forced to decide between his own happiness or his brother’s ruin). So while Charlotte doesn’t “choose” or verbalise her love for Sidney like Sidney does with her because of the differences in their character arcs, that doesn’t mean Charlotte’s behaviour doesn’t indicate how much she loves Sidney or that Sidney is not aware of her feelings for him.

Okay, now that’s out of the way, let’s look at the ways Charlotte expresses her love for Sidney. To do this, we need to go back to episode 1x02 and Lady Denham’s luncheon and Charlotte’s response when questioned about her marriage prospects.

Lady Denham – “And you miss, are you still keeping up the pretence that you are not in Sanditon in search of a wealthy man to marry and to keep you?”

Charlotte – “Indeed I am not ma’am. I have no thoughts of marriage at all and if I were to choose a husband wealth would not come into it.”

Lady Denham – “Poppycock!”

Charlotte – “Should not a good marriage be based on mutual love and affection? Without equality of affection, marriage can become a kind of slavery.”

Not only is Sidney sitting next to Charlotte during this exchange, but he hangs on her every word. It’s worth going back and rewatching the scene again if you have the chance, because Theo James does a fantastic job of conveying just how much it matters to Sidney that Charlotte wishes to marry for love and not money.

The first time Charlotte demonstrates just how much she cares for Sidney is in 1x05 during the cricket match between the gentlemen and the workers. During the first half of the episode, Charlotte and Sidney’s relationship is noticeably strained after Sidney sent Otis back to London and Charlotte accused Sidney of keeping Otis and Georgiana apart due to racism in 1x04. Following Tom’s tantrum (dude, you were clearly out), Sidney is left on his own to forfeit the match due to a lack of players. Now it would be easy to assume that Charlotte offers to play to help Tom save face or to help cover Mary’s embarrassment regarding her husband’s childish behaviour (Tom is The Worst), however they have already both left the match. The reason Charlotte offers to play has nothing to do with Tom or Mary, and everything to do with Sidney and ensuring he is not hung out to dry by his brother. Charlotte is not concerned with the possible damage she may do to her reputation playing a man’s sport or the fact that she is still angry over Sidney’s treatment of Otis, she doesn’t even demand anything in return for her assistance – Charlotte offers to play for one reason only and it is because she cares for Sidney.

Keeping in mind the conversation between Charlotte and Lady Denham in 1x02, the final two examples occur in 1x08. The first example is quite subtle and as a result is often overlooked, however it’s my favourite for a whole bunch of reasons, the top being that Sidney gives Charlotte complete autonomy in determining how their relationship will develop, or if it will develop at all. When Sidney arrives at Trafalgar House with contracts for Tom to sign, he asks Charlotte if she needs anything while he’s in town and Charlotte in turn asks whether she can walk with him as she needs a dress fitting for the midsummer ball. Sounds rather banal, I know. However, what Sidney is actually doing is confirming his declaration of feelings from the night before – he is telling Charlotte that not only do his feelings remain unchanged, but that he is still thinking of her and that he wants to be with her. And he is doing all of this while also allowing Charlotte complete control over what happens next. This scene is one of the many reasons I rail against the argument that Charlotte was passive during the final two episodes, because this moment here, Charlotte’s decision to walk into town with Sidney, is far from passive. Charlotte could have responded that she didn’t need anything, letting Sidney down gently or named something inconsequential to pick up, indicating that she returns his feelings, but needs a little more time. Instead, she asks if she can join him, telling Sidney without words that she loves him and wants to be with him as well. Sidney knows that Charlotte wishes to marry for love, that she is unwilling to trade money and security for a loveless marriage, therefore he also knows that Charlotte indicating that she returns his feelings is far from inconsequential. This moment repeats itself during their walk along the clifftops when Charlotte notes they are not walking into town and Sidney calls himself a fool and offers to head back. Even here he is giving Charlotte a way out. But Charlotte loves him and she tells him she would much rather a walk along the clifftops (“with you” is left unsaid).

The second example is an obvious one, but in the end, it’s really the only moment that counts – Charlotte was going to say yes. Charlotte, who believes marriage without love is its own form of slavery, was about to say yes to Sidney’s marriage proposal before Edward crashed the ball and the whole world went to shit. If that’s not choosing someone, I don’t know what is.

I’ve said this a million times before, but I’ll say it again – we are still in the middle of the story. This isn’t just an opinion, but a fact – comments from Andrew Davies, Kris Marshall and the fact that S2 was even on the table, tells us so. Therefore, I think all those moments you want anon, of Charlotte telling Sidney she is in love with him and vice versa, would have occurred in S2. It would have been a fitting end to both their arcs and I have no doubt that series would have ended with Sidney and Charlotte finally reunited in wedded bliss.

Thanks for the question!

[aspoonofsugar]

Hi! :) What are your thoughts about the latest chapter of SNK and Eren specifically? Do you think he's out for more bloodshed and the full power rumbling? I'm still really shocked!

Hello anon!

I have talked about Eren here and in the post tagged in the one I linked. The last chapter has not changed my impression of him, but simply strengthened it.

In short, I still think what I wrote here:

However, Eren might be willing to use the power of the Coordinate in an offensive manner instead of in a defensive one like Armin suggests.

Or he might be willing to use it more than what Armin thinks (he states he thinks it would be sufficient to free the Titans in Shiganshina and Eren might be willing to free more). Given the power of the Rumbling it is possible that Eren choosing to do one of these two things might leave a huge impression on the characters and on Armin especially.

I will now admit that I am partial to this theory simply because I really think that a major conflict between Armin and Eren should happen.

I think so for different reasons and I will say that some of them are rooted in me reading some interviews made by Isayama (which I usually don’t use as evidence) which coupled with what happened at the beginning of the arc made me develop specific expectations. Now, I don’t really wanna use the interviews as evidence, but simply to convey the fact that I may be biased also because of things not related to the text, so I might be completely misdirected here, but I can’t really force myself to let go of these expectations I developed.

The reason why I can’t is that I really think that by this point a major conflict among EMA is really one of the best writing choices possible for several reasons.

First of all, as I stated in the metas I linked Armin and Eren taking different paths is something which seems to have been foreshadowed in the story itself:

These panels suggest that Armin is starting not to understand Eren anymore, but so far this difference in perspectives has neither been explored nor has it been resolved. It is simply something which is mentioned and stays in the background. On one hand Eren doesn’t care about others’ pov. On the other hand Armin has not done anything constructive to make his ideals concrete and has tried to compromise with Eren’s actions. In other words nothing interesting has been done so far with these two points of view and I think it should be done instead.

Finally, I think that for the ending of the story both Mikasa and Armin should have more of a role than the one they have had so far in this arc. They have been framed since the beginning as important characters, so they should play a role in the resolution of the story. The problem is that in order to do so they need a conflict which lets them shine. I think that the one between Marley and Paradis is not really the one since if Eren manages to use the Coordinate Paradis has basically won. As far as the conflict with Zeke goes, I think that the conflict between the two brothers will be almost completely settled in the current chapters. After all they are fighting over the control of the coordinate and whoever wins manages to do what he wants. It is true that Zeke might temporally win and Eren might ask the others for help, but this is not the feeling I am receiving from current Eren and we have already been told that Eren’s wish is the one which will come true:

In other words, even if potentially other conflicts could give Armin and Mikasa the room they deserve, I think that a conflict among EMA is by far the most interesting option.

This is true also considering the current conflict between Eren and his friends. Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of characters growing distant because of miscommunication and then overcoming the misunderstanding and growing in this way. However, I don’t really see the 104th’s current situation being built to be settled in this way. After all:

We have already seen Eren’s friends accepting to trust Eren despite everything, but we have yet to properly understand Eren’s goals and reasons. As you can see, the “reconciliation” of chapter 118 is not really the result of a climax where all the characters involved grow and manage to understand each other, but it is a one-sided effort where one side is doing its best to understand and justify the behaviour of the other without being given any explanation and after having been treated poorly for no apparent reason. In short, Armin, Mikasa and the 104th’s growth can’t lie in them understanding and trusting Eren simply because they have clearly shown to be able to do it already and they have done so without being given any guarantee in return. If chapter 118 is the apex of the 104th’s growth as a group, then I think it is underwhelming and not really meaningful considering that all they did was to do what they have been doing since early on aka trusting in their bonds as comrades. At the same time, so far Eren has more or less managed to obtain what he wants without much psychological struggle that we can see. What I mean is that we have been shown him struggling physically, but we have not been given any access to his head, so we know he is struggling and suffering, but for some reason we are not experiencing it with him. However, we need to see this struggle and not just to know that it is probably there. In short, Eren is in the middle of a series of conflicts among which the one with his friends is one and before he can solve all of these conflicts we should be shown more of his internal world. This is why I think the conflict between him and the others is still not solved and that it would be more interesting for it to escalate before it can be solved.

I tried to explain why I like this hypothesis, but all in all there could be different ways to approach the whole matter I am not considering, so I am open to be happily surprised. However, as it stands, I favour this idea and so I will theoryze that something among the lines of a major EMA conflict is going to happen. This is my starting point.

Now, it is obvious that if such a conflict must happen Eren can’t be thinking of simply using the Rumbling like Armin suggests here:

This is simply because this action won’t make the conflict escalate, but will simply settle it and prove that Armin was right. At the same time, it is really not enough to explain why Eren was so cold with Mikasa and Armin.

In short, Eren’s actions will most likely create a major conflict and different reactions in different characters and I can see each character taking a different choice in reaction to Eren’s.

We have already been told that what Eren wants to do is terrible:

What is more, Grisha asks him if in this way Eldia will be saved:

So, from this chapter we know that Eren’s objective is to save Eldia and probably to protect his loved ones, but that in order to do so he will do something terrible.

Now, we must discover what this something terrible is and how the others will react to this.

I can see two main options that can be declined in different ways.

1) Eren will do something terrible knowing what he is doing and choosing to do it anyway. In this case he might have pushed his friends away because of some complicated inner feelings he has towards both them and himself and so the reason of his behaviour towards them is mostly psychological.

2) Eren will do something horrible knowing that he will be stopped and this might explain why he acted the way he did towards Armin and Mikasa in order to push them away.

Let’s highlight that these two options are generic and can be combined in different ways.

For example, Eren might be missing some major pieces of the future:

After all, it has been said that the Attack Titan’s power has its limits and stories of a person who misread or misinterpreted the future are very common.

This leads us to what is the real new revelation of the chapter aka Eren’s power to see the future and how it is clearly linked to some time-paradoxes the fandom has been wondering about since forever. One of the most interesting things about this chapter is that it did not solve the most famous ones:

So, they might become important later on.

That said, I really like the Titan’s power for different reasons.

First of all it is interesting to me because it is used to create time paradoxes of the kind I talked about here:

I would like to propose an alternative (definately crack) theory: the time paradox may actually be a “virtuous” loop i.e. the events we assisted, despite their violence and sadness, are actually necessary to arrive to a positive ending and Eren’s final decision will be to actually accept everything that happened to him and to “send his will back in time” to influence the past events and to be sure that everything goes as it is supposed to go (i.e. as we have seen in the series). Basically I am proposing a time paradox like the one we get in the third book of Harry Potter where the characters going back in time and interfering with the past don’t actually change it, but are used to explain details the protagonists saw the first time and couldn’t understand (like the person saving Harry from the Dementors who turned out to be Harry himself).

Now, by using this quote as reference I don’t mean to say that what Eren did in this chapter is a part of a virtuous loop, but simply that the kind of time-paradoxes which are happening are similar to the ones I talked about above. What I like is that this mechanism has been used in a completely different way than the one I proposed. I was imagining it used to highlight Eren’s free will to choose his own destiny and to accept every single horrible thing which happened to him as necessary to reach a positive ending. It would have been very powerful to show the boy whose Titan was imposed on him by his own father choose to make sure that this actually happens for everyone’s sake. This is something which can still very well happen and I think Eren might see his actions in this light. However, the chapter frames what Eren is doing in a different way. It is not about choosing one’s own fate, but about imposing one’s will on others:

This is paradoxical especially because of how Grisha describes the power:

Grisha links the ability to foresee the future to the ability of being free and of not being controlled. The ironic thing of course is that Grisha and the other shifters before him have actually been manipulated through Eren’s future memories:

This is not the future Grisha has chosen, but the one he has been shown by Eren and so the one he has come to accept.

All in all, the person who is supposed to embody freedom is also presented as an individual who manipulates others. One could also say that Eren is doing something very similar to the first King just on a smaller scale. The first King wanted peace, but his manipulation and brainwashing led to Marley becoming a nation built on war. Eren wants freedom, but he is imposing his own point of view on others. The first king wanted a peaceful heaven and to create it he imprisoned people and left the rest of the world to fight each other. Eren wants to be free and is ready to take others’ freedom to do so and also to move war to the world. The manga has kept presenting concepts like peace and freedom and has shown us that they can both be extreme. It is probable that they’ll need to balance each other out in the end.

Let’s now briefly consider the conflict between Frieda and Grisha. All in all the two of them are both being manipulated by family members and both are conveying an ideology which is not really theirs, but which they came to accept because of the influence of another shifter. For Frieda it is a previous one, while for Grisha it is a future one.

Let’s also highlight that both Frieda and Grisha eshitate. They are two people who are able to emphatize and would probably prefer not to kill each other, but they are both told to do so by their families (Frieda is told so by her father, while Grisha by his son).

All in all it is very interesting on multiple levels.

On one hand the father-children relationship is a very important one for the series and we have seen that so far children have kept paying for their parents’ mistakes. Eren is a character who is clearly trying to change the system and him embodying the future against the first King (and Rod Reiss) embodying the past is clearly symbolic of this.

However, at the same time, his idea of freedom is one which does not consider others:

If everyone were to apply this concept nobody could be really free because everyone would be too much busy fighting each other to actually be free to live as they want.

In other words there is no doubt that what Eren is doing will be fundamental to change the current corrupted system, but at the same time I think his pov needs to be integrated. I think Eren is missing a piece of the puzzle and that someone else should give it to him.

Let’s now consider this:

The ideas of “moving forward” and of “looking forward” which have been present since the beginning are now acquiring a different meaning when one considers the Attack Titan’s power.

These ideas have always been connected with freedom. The SC kept considering the future of their people and realized that if they did not act they would have been doomed someday.

So, a titan who sees the future given to a character who represents freedom is a pretty coherent choice.

However, the ability to foresee the future might very well become a binding ability under certain conditions.

1) For example, knowing the future will definately influence you and this will lead to your possibilities being reduced. We have seen so in the chapter itself where Grisha can’t oppose Eren’s plans because of the memories he has been seeing. He talks of future events as if they are the past and asks Zeke to stop Eren (and in this way the cycle of a father leaving his own burden on a child is repeated). This behaviour is ironic because if Grisha really thought of Eren’s scenery as terrible he would have been in a much better position to change it compared to his other son. However, he didn’t.

Now, we don’t know if Eren is being influenced by some future shifter and I honestly think he is not and that he will be the last Shifter of the Attack Titan. However, he too has seen the future and it is probable that he has been acting in a certain way because of what he saw. If Eren had not seen that scenery would he still be acting the way he is? Would he have attacked Liberio? In short, it is obvious that Eren himself has been changed by the future.

2) The ability to see far away is precious, but it can be dangerous if it is coupled with the inability to perceive what is close to you. What is more, it can lead to a disaster if it is coupled with narrowness. You might be able to see the future, but if your vision is narrow you might misread and misinterpret what is going on.

Eren has developed the ability to see what is coming, but he might need a broader vision if he really wants to succeed.

To summarize, I think that what Armin says here might become important:

1) Is freedom connected to hurting others?

2) Is Eren sure that he is not a slave?

I think the story needs to answet these two questions.

These are my major thoughts on the chapter so far. Thank you for the ask!

[pozolegirl]

I'm sure you've probably gotten this before, but do you have any webcomic recs?

Sorry it took so long to reply!!! I’ll make a list for you!

Disclaimer now though, this blog is totally SFW but some of the webcomics I read have language or slightly more nsfw elements to them. 

1. I Love Yoo

So fantastic, a good drama with a hilarious and amazing main character. I really love this one. It’s got angst and drama and romance, all really well made!

2. Boyfriend of the Dead

HILARIOUS, I love the idea for it, and I’m excited to see where it goes. I really enjoy this zombie story. (I usually can’t handle them haha) (Also, the art style is simple enough that any ‘gore’ in it, isn’t hard core and pretty safe for anyone)

3. Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell

Another comedy that is really funny. Not a ton of episodes so far, but really great.

4. Hooky 

I’m not done reading through this one yet! I was originally drawn by the cute and beautiful art, and I thought it was just going to be a cute happy go lucky comic, but DANG it’s getting more and more intense and it’s a cool mix of fairy tales and witchy folk lore. I really enjoy it.

5. True Beauty

This one is hilarious. I know it’ll get more serious as it goes on, but honestly, the use of memes and expressions are amazing. It’s about a girl who is a slave to makeup basically, and I have a feeling she’s going to become more comfortable with herself as it goes on. :)

6. The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn

Absolutely incredible, very spooky but still heart warming and interesting. The art work is phenomenal, and the stories are amazing. I highly recommend this one.

7. Cat Loaf Adventures

To be perfectly honest, I can only handle this one in small doses because I... am not a fan of pun humor. But the art is super super cute and it’s a very sweet comic that is fun.

8. Lore Olympus

Absolutely gorgeous art, a very interesting retelling of Hades and Persephone, that is semi modern based and IDK just very very artsy. I adore it with all my heart. It does deal with sensitive subjects though, beware.

9. Tales of the Unusual

Alright, I actually read so many horror comics, I love them so much. This one is probably my favorite that I’ve found besides Junji Ito’s work. The short horror stories in this comic are more psychological based, and it really comes across as Twilight Zone-y to me. I really enjoy it, and I’m not finished reading it all the way through. (The story with the old man seeing his dead wife’s memories made me straight up sob for like an hour while reading it, LOL) (Most of the stories are creepy though)

10. Siren’s Lament

I’ve been following this one for years, it’s always been beautiful and exciting. If you like mermaid stories, COME READ THIS.

11. Miss Abbott and the Doctor

THIS COMIC IS LIKE CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL, IT IS THE SWEETEST MOST LOVELIEST LITTLE ROMANCE YOU’LL EVER READ, EVERYONE IS SO CHARMING AND THE MAIN CHARACTERS MAKE ME SO HAPPY, AND THE ART STYLE IS SO CUTE, PLEASE READ THIS COMIC.

12. My Boo

Despite the less encouraging title, (it’s a pun) this comic is such a beautiful, thoughtful, and sweet story about a girl who falls in love with a ghost. It is completed, and it’s so wonderful.

13. Bastard

An absolute masterpiece, one of my all time favorite comics, and AUUUGH IT’S JUST REALLY GOOD. Super sketchy though, please be wary. This comic is about a boy who’s father is a serial killer. He has to protect the girl he has a crush on from becoming the next victim. Lots of gore, a very intense thriller, I’ve read it twice now it’s amazing. (And completed!!!)

14. Third Shift Society

I found this one awhile ago, and it’s really cute! I mean, it’s kind of horror, it’s about ghost hunters and stuff, but I love the main two characters. One of them has a jackolantern for a head. :)

15. STAGTOWN

Another fantastic horror comic. It’s only gone through one arc of story and the new one is starting (and looks even more horrifying than the last one) and I’m SO READY. It’s very creepy and very good.

16. Edith

This one is currently being edited and will be posted as a featured comic sometime soon, so it’s kind of on hiatus? But I’m really excited for it, I love it so much. It looks like an exciting romance, and I relate to the main character on an almost uncomfortable level sometimes. >_>” It does deal with more adult themes, FYI. I love the art style so much, it’s so cute.

17. Unlucky as Lucky Does

This one is hilarious. It’s a comedy and the art is done by such a talented artist, who mixes simple random styles with gorgeous detailed work, it always makes me laugh. I love the main group of characters and I hope I get to read their adventures for a long time.

18. Dazer and Eleanor

I found this beautiful (SO BEAUTIFUL AND DETAILED) comic awhile ago, it’s a sweet little slow burn romance, and since then I’ve become friends with the author! She inks everything traditionally, and it’s mesmerizing to see how detailed all of her panels are. She works really hard, and it pays off, definitely check it out!

Alright now time for some webcomics that are not on webtoons.

1. Mias and Elle

I’ve followed this artist for A VERY long time, and her art is just gorgeous. I love this little comic so much, and I hope I get to read it for a long time! Definitely has some adult themes in it, nothing too crazy yet, but eeehhhhh I feel like it might get there, haha.

2. Countdown to Countdown

WOW this art is absolutely incredible and I the story is engaging and exciting so far. I’m really excited to see where it goes. Please check it out, just LOOK AT THE ART, IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL. It inspires me so much. The artist is on tumblr too, @velinxi , you may have seen some of their beautiful fanart before.

3. Anacrine Complex

A gorgeous comic by @lightlybow, I’ve followed it for years now. (You’re amazing Sae) The panels are always so beautifully built, the art is exciting and beautiful to look at, and the story is very interesting! I love it!

So I know there are some I missed, and there are a ton of comics I didn’t add to this list, but here’s a little compilation for now! :)