#i could write a fucking book
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How It Should Have Ended
#revolutionary girl utena#attack on titan#i am currently watching the latter half of the anime after dropping off at season 2#i resumed because i watched FD Signifier's video on just how BAD the ending was#and i got sucked down a wiki hole and came out the other end needing to see this trainwreck for myself#i have THINGS to say about this doomer fable#this nihilistic bait-and-switch#this 94-episode suicide note of an edgy grimdark anime#i could write a fucking book#and one of the chapters would be a comparison between it and utena#oh yeah did you know aot has its own rose bride??#who they handle in a really gross way#anyway i'm saving the rant for my forthcoming PhD dissertation on this fucking series#this is an exaggeration and i am not in a PhD programme#but holy fuck do i have CRITIQUES#also whoops forgot to tag#aot spoilers
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today on "absolutely unhinged things for stover to put on paper and lucas to approve," the depiction of obi-wan's self-aware attachment to anakin here, how ready he'd be to kill yoda for the greater good, and how he'd let yoda kill him too, but anakin is the exception to their entire order and to obi-wan's moral judgment.
all three of them here, arguably the three most important jedi in the galaxy, they all know with wariness that anakin, the chosen one, has failed to grasp the central tenet of their code, and they don't know what to do about it. obi-wan thinks he failed him, failed to teach him; he knows anakin failed to learn, failed to accept it, how he'd would never let a friend go.
obi-wan here offers keen, intimate analysis of anakin's inner workings, shining a light on who darth vader really is in his heart, his loyalty beyond any moral or ethical bounds. obi-wan is painfully aware of how he is complicit in fostering this inappropriate attachment, only encouraging anakin's behavior. we see why he apologized in the kenobi show, how he was already sorry.
tbh this page changed me—my understanding of the characters, and my appreciation of the entire tragedy, like.. look how anakin has compromised obi-wan, and look at how much obi-wan loves him anyway. look at how the heart of this incipient monster is described with tender, ruthless clarity by the one who knows it best... on the next page obi-wan's literally crying about what they've done... i'm astrally projecting into the sun
#obi-wan kenobi#anakin skywalker#darth vader#obikin#rots novelization my beloved#sw books#sw#the way this frames the battle at mustafar like#god i could write pages of analysis about Them#fuck
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some of you moved on from this way too quickly. i, however, DID FUCKING NOT!!!
#the goldfinch#donna tartt#theo decker#boris pavlikovsky#boreo#that’s fucking cinema#this whole scene being so book accurate kills me#and the fact that roger deakins did the cinematography…#LIKE THIS SHIT HAS BEEN OUT FOR FIVE YEARS AND IM STILL CONVINCED IT ISNT REAL#if i could eat a scene i would fucking devour this shit#plate licked fucking clean#could actually write an essay on this i stg
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i just finished the prologue of the mota book and i don't know how i haven't seen a single post talking about how after john and gale's stalag reunion, they were then separated for another four months.
my heart is aching so bad. imagine being reunited (after almost three weeks, oct 8–26th) and having that tiny feeling of 'everything is going to be okay' and then being ripped apart again for four fucking months. 120 more days of not being able to be at each other's sides.
#let out an actual pained noise when i processed the sentence#went back and reread three times to ensure i wasn't reading it wrong#johnslittlespoon mota book#<- gonna be posting stuff from the book there as i read#but yeah what in the fucking sick twisted joke#how did they not mention this in the show#also the way john is called 'johnny egan repeatedly' makes me want to put my fist thru drywall#do you think they could see each other/talk through the fence#i can't do this i rly can't#there's no way i'm not gonna write a oneshot about the second reunion that comes after those four months#johnslittlespoon brainrot#buckbucky#buck x bucky#clegan
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Rhysand really thinks his trauma trumps everyone elses trauma
Ofc i feel bad cause rhysand was obviously abused UtM but that doesn’t excuse the fact he 1- does shit things to other people 2- can act like since he was traumatized he is morally superior.
and i know the rhysand-ites will yap about how “he knows hes not good” or “he doesnt think that at all!” but the narrative certainly thinks so. sjm jumps through HOOPS to convince you rhysand is a great and amazing person no matter what and good god it’s annoying
#acotar#a court of thorns and roses#rhysand#anti rhysand#sjm#sjm critical#most annoying male lead and ive read some bad books#rhysand strikes pure anger in my heart#part of it are the literacy blind people who just believe everything they are told in the book#which i blame poor writing and the fact people didnt pay attention in english class#the curtains could be blue for a fucking reason#im tired of books that try to spoon feed you the point of the story#they try to take away the nuance and good god chill out
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I think it's really annoying that leo has completely falsified memories of jason too and this is barely acknowledged in the books
#it is also barely acknowledged by the fandom but I blame the books for that#call me crazy but I think that's a big deal actually!#he grew up with nothing! no close friends! now his memories of his best friends are fake!#the whole tlh gang obviously become close in the end but I just think leo and jason in particular warranted more thought#rick clearly doesn't dwell on it with leo bc friendships and romance are not given the same weight#one of the first things pov jason says about leo is “if someone like this guy is my friend then my life must be messed up”#(not a callout of jason I think it was hilarious and understandable. he is So Confused)#but idk instead leo's reaction in the books is mostly framed as Ok finally I don't have to be the third wheel anymore#Wait fuck they're dating again anyway!#which is also understandable but I would love to also see him Struggle More with the fact that those memories aren't even real to begin wit#something something friendships are just as valuable and significant and consequential as romances#leo valdez#jason grace#rr crit#<- this is barely a fleshed out criticism of the books themselves but just in case#pjo hoo toa#I could say something about how people hate jiper for this same reason but I won't bc I don't care about jiper really#beyond my general feelings that the way their breakup was written was one of rick's worst writing moments
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could you imagine how good spirit animals would be if it wasn't written as a children's series
#thats the country that is bad and full of bad people that deserve to be mistreated and suffer a horrible disease that is easily curable -#- that the rest of the world has access to because a long time ago they started a war#i feel like bc they were kids books they couldnt really touch on the horrors of war#or how vile The Many were#it could also explore the greencloaks more in the way that they werent good guys. in the slightest#it would have so much more nuance#GOD IMAGINE IMAGINE IMAGINE#IT COULD BE SO SO SO GOOD#i need someone to write the books in a grittier way.#i mean obviously they touched on the fact that these kids were fighting in wars at 11 years old#and that stetriol was justified in rising up#and shane is already a really complex character but we never really got to see the like super gritty side only glimpses in the book of shan#spirit animals books#spirit animals series#and the fucking bile???? thats a terrifying concept that didnt get treated as seriously as it shouldve i think#especially how the fact it can turn regular animals into brutish killing machines was mentioned only once or twice#the amount of proper angst you can explore in the main four as well holy shit
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So (because I cannot go three seconds without noticing new little things that tell the wider story in this show):
Let’s talk about how the music that plays during the S3 Byler fight is the exact same music that plays during the S4 conversation Mike & Dustin have with Lucas as they walk to class after the pep rally—
—and how that parallel gives us insight not only into how Mike (and his devotion to Will) has evolved between seasons 3 and 4….but also how The Duffers are evolving Mike as a character in the wake of the "conflict" of forced conformity they introduced in S3.
To start: here are snippets of both scenes where “Not Kids Anymore” plays, both in Season 3 and Season 4.
Now, even though Mike is present in both scenes, it’s not entirely obvious why these things would be parallels, given the radical difference in tone. That said: when we look at these scenes in their wider contexts, we see that they are both exploring the exact same issue, only with Mike on opposite sides of the convo each time—
—namely, whether or not its worth it for Mike to embrace conformity, given that there are behaviors/roles he is meant to fill when trying to keep up with being normal/growing up...and "society" says that DnD / nerdiness (and a refusal / lack of desire to participate in performative relationships) stands entirely apart from that.
Let me see if I can explain.
First: these things are parallels because they are asking us to compare the Mikes in each situation—to notice how he took Will’s words to heart, and decided on some level that Will was right, not him. How do we know? Because in the time between these two convos (aka the rain fight and then the first few episodes of S4), we learn that Mike has made a point to address and rectify all criticisms Will had of him & his behavior during the rain fight.
As of the very first episode of S4, we are shown that Mike is 1) paying attention to both the party/DnD the way Will criticized him for not doing (to the point of calling out Lucas for not prioritizing it the way he now wants to)—
—2) he is focusing on keeping closeness with Dustin (even to the point of judging Lucas for not doing the same), because Will accused him of ignoring Dustin as readily as he ignored him—
—and 3) he has entirely stopped "swapping spit" with El (to the point of removing her from a hug at the airport, kissing her on the forehead...and then never kissing her again lmao) while letting his relationship fall apart without much of a fight…right before apologizing to Will for letting El get in the way of their time spent together in the first place.
Basically: even though he is still struggling in many ways to defend himself from being bullied/being an outcast by hiding behind his relationship with El (the same way Lucas is with “being popular” and basketball), we can see that Mike has made clear strides towards embracing the sides of him that aren’t conformist, which is reflected in all of his decision-making in Will's absence.
Though Mike is getting older and the party “aren’t kids anymore,” them paralleling these scenes is showing us that Mike, at least on some level, has realized that growing up is not at odds with embracing the things he enjoys & his various identities, whether that be through playing DnD—
—wearing clothes he chose on his own—
—or willingly choosing closeness with Will over the performance of relationships with girls (the same way Will already had in Season 3, and Dustin reflected as well).
Now...this isn't to say that he's entirely succeeded at the task, given how many times we see him fumble through actually implementing these changes/revelations in himself, whether with clothes (hello 'shitty knockoff'), embracing his actual interests, or even letting himself want to admit he wants to be with/around Will and not El—
—on top of the fact that I've already talked (many, many times) about how the journey of "feeling like you lost" the Duffers took us on had Mike ending up in a position where "conformity" temporarily wins, how that plays into his relationship with El versus Will, and why it matters for his character even outside of his queerness.
Still: I think this parallel in particular is important to understanding his character because it rules out any idea that Mike is somehow oblivious rather than intentionally working through to the changes happening in himself, whether they be in regards to him re-choosing DnD, making decisions about his clothing for himself...or wanting to be closer to Will / not participate in "liking girls," which is what he gets projection-mad at Will about during the rain fight.
tl;dr: Mike has realized on some level that he wants to be more like / closer to Will than his S3 "conformity" self—and the war we see on his face throughout the season in conversations with Will has a lot to do with that, among other things.
This musical parallel in particular draws attention to the fact that there have been changes happening within Mike that he sees and recognizes—he just "lost" like every other character this season, aka failed at walking into a more secure sense of self / out of his "conformist" relationship in its entirety...which we'll resolve in S5. :)
#byler#anti mlvn#mike wheeler#will byers#mike wheeler core#this could have gotten SO MUCH LONGER and I know I'm gonna do a companion piece on lucas right after this but lmao I had to START SOMEWHERE#like? one day I'm just gonna have to write a fucking book on mike wheeler because I have SO MUCH TO SAY LMAO#my st commentary#st parallels#stranger things#st music analysis
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Cursed fanfic idea:
Shen Yuan transmigrated into a colleen hoover book. He's never read one but his mother and some of his relatives definitely have and he is NOT excited. Let's say he specifically gets transmigrated into ugly love or smth as the dead wife/step sister of the love interest in that book. People may also know her as the mother of the "we both laugh at our son's big balls" baby.
Shen Yuan only knows the basics of basics from a brief plot synopsis his mom gave him and he is soooooo not amused by the prospect that hes now:
In a woman's body
A woman who's destined to fall in love with her step sibling
A woman who's destined to fall in love with her step sibling and have a child
A woman who destined to fall in love with her step sibling, have a child, and her and the child then die in an accident.
He would like to go home please and thank you!! None of this poorly written melodrama that people read at the beach or at the airport!!! He's not into this shit!!!
#the only thing stopping me from writing this is that this would require me to fucking properly read colleen hoover.#to effectively know what im talking about to properly parody her work.#this post is sponsored by my endless frustration evertime i see someone check out a coho book at the library (happens everyday)#WAIT WAIT WAIT HEAR ME OUT. SHEN JIU IS THE STEP BROTHER/LOVE INTEREST. WHOS SUPPOSED TO GET TOGETHER WITH THE MC BINGHE AFTER SHENYUAN DIES#itd be sooo MESSY. man. i wish i could write😭😭#svsss#throwaway post#scum villains self saving system#shen qingqiu#shen yuan
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this outfit is my roman empire. my superbowl. my tour de france. my presidential election. my olympics. my sun, my moon, and all of my stars.
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jackie & shauna // the book of goose, yiyun li
#yellowjackets#yellowjacketsedit#jackie taylor#shauna shipman#jackieshauna#edit*#why did you love him when you could have loved me :))#this book is bonkers bc like. the '''''boy'''' in question is literally the friend Pretending to be a guy and writing her love letters#insane. 10/10 no notes.#u would Think looking at these edits that this is THE dynamic of the show for me#actually it isnt. i just happened to have read a fucked up girl best friend book .
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just thought of a jegulus they both die at the end au and suddenly I'm thirteen again
#that fucking book was my everything at thirteen im sorry#but also i thought of james climbing into regulus' grave with him#because reg was terrified of dying and doing anything to make it happen faster than it was already happening#and then#AND THEN#it would be sad james too#and he'd spend the whole day being okay with it you know#but then by the end of the night when he knows his death is coming he realizing how badly he wants to live#but it's too late by then#like MAN#i love that shit#like it's absolutely horrible and awful#it's a tragedy but something about james finding a reason to Want to live is everything to me#anyway#i cant have a new wip#but i could write a tbdate au that's so fucking good#i dont even like the book anymore#but damn#anyways#i shouldn't have put this all in the tags#jegulus
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emily carroll has once again permanently changed my brain chemistry
#i got my hands on her newest book recently and god. GOD#i finished that book and just lay down on the floor for an hour because i had to just absorb it all#it felt like coming out of the theater after watching ATSV for the first time#i was so full of adrenaline and the sheer impact of everything i read was hitting all at once#so perfectly paced so intuitively panelled#it feels so reductive to call myself a comic artist when emily caroll does too#shes so. she's just in an entirely different league#it feels like there should be a different word for her#im so far away from creating anything half as lifechanging as that book was#its so motivating and inspiring but its also like#fuck#FUCK#my work feels so damn juvenile in comparison#emily carroll i owe you my life#i need to rip this book apart (not literally)#i have so much to learn about writing and art#everyone read “a guest in the house” by emily carroll#i hope she gets all the accolades she could ever want or need#god#i need a tattoo of this book#expeditiously
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never in my life have i wanted a Daddy more than i do rn 😭
#personal#i'm going to ramble and drop it all in the tags#i'd like to have a pity party for myself thanks#the election?#fucked i've just been scrambling for a week now to prepare for the worst that feels like it's rapidly approaching#vaccines updated birth control bought out stockpile of food started passport appointments made tasers and protective gear purchased#banned books put on a wishlist#the holidays?#trying to make them enjoyable instead of so so so triggering#husband's new job?#barely home he's barely home i feel like a solo parent#i'm absolutely drowing at home mainly alone with two toddlers who have found their spirit and resilience and attitude...#the new house?#we've been fighting we are not vibing it's taking forever for me to feel in love with it#we do not get along rn lol#writing? personal time? self care? nonexistent i have no time alone during the day and then i spend the two hours i have to myself at night#fighting sleep and doing nothing#took a shower today and when i got out my eyelash line started burning and then my eyes were burning and then my nose was running and#then my eyes were watering and i could barely open them and goop started building and then they were SWOLLEN to the point where i could see#the muscles bulging and then i couldn't move them left or right#so i drove I DROVE myself to the urgent care#turns out my water has way too much chlorine in it and now that i've started taking hot as fuck and steamy showers it's just made me#susceptible to severe allergic reactions to chlorine?#it's been horrible my eyes are so sore now and they're just now not sopping in goop#and yeah#just...#i live the same day every day and i'm spiraling and drowning and about to go off the rails while also trying to SUCK THE JOY out of the las#month we have before democracy crumbles so#i just wish i had a Daddy to take care of me and tell me things are going to be okay 😭#preferably a Big Daddy that would let me sleep for days and would bring me food and let me hug and snuggle on him and not talk
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*holds you by shoulders*
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT 1082 I WAS SURE IT WAS SHIPPY THING AND NOW I NEED TO KNOW
*starts sobbing while slowly falling to my knees*
…….please
I SAW THIS YESTERDAY NIGHT WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO FALL ASLEEP AND I JUST WOKE UP EARLY TO REPLY BECAUSE I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR AGES FOR THIS QUESTION I AM GOING TO KISS YOU ANON-
I do love and adore the shippy part of 1082 because I am a very intense Shuggy shipper and I had been waiting to read their break-up for sooo long. But it's not exactly what made the chapter life-changing for me, tbh.
Buggy's speech is... Is incredibly beautiful and encouraging. It explains so much about his character, the dynamic he has with Cross Guild, and why he's so resentful toward Shanks. Throughout the manga, we've seen him in serious moments, yes, but usually, Buggy is pretty much used for comedy relief more than anything. This is one of the first times we've seen Buggy realize the position he has now and say "Fuck it. Already on the verge of dead for these two, might as well do something with this shitty situation because for once, I have the opportunity to be brave and be more than what people think of me". There's literally nothing stopping him right now, and he prefers to risk his life enraging Crocodile and Mihawk than letting this opportunity of showing who he truly is slide.
And tbh, we haven't seen them ever since (I am starving please-) but I am really hopeful his speech somehow makes Crocodile and Mihawk have a little tiny itty bitty of respect for him at least. Because out of the three? Buggy is the one who deserves the title of pirate more.
Mihawk and Crocodile don't have dreams or ambitions and see pirating as a business. Even when Crocodile did have ambitions (remember when the silly rubber guy destroyed all of his dreams that was a funny arc haha) his whole personality has always been more of a mafioso than anything. Mihawk is a simple man and is bored with life being at the top of the top, he clearly wants something interesting to happen but doesn't see any use in looking for it himself. They care about their commodities and wealth. But out of the three, Buggy is the one who had to give up on his dream and now he has the opportunity to fulfill it.
"How can you call yourselves pirates with schemes like that?! You're doing it all backwards!! [...] Way back when... What did you guys want to be?! [...] I wanna be king of the pirates!! Wealth? Power? Why stop there when we can have it all?!"
This is something a real pirate would say. He talks like Roger here, I am going to curl up and cry don't look at me-
What I like about One Piece is the constant use of themes like dreams and freedom etc, etc... That's something we all know. But you wouldn't expect it coming from Buggy, of all people. And I think I'm pretty fond of him being brave and finally acting upon what he truly wants to do. What makes it great is that you have this comedy relief character standing up for his dream in front of clearly two other antagonists that have control over him in, well, strength and everything. But Buggy has something they don't and it's so, so much ambition and a dream that could be considered childish but it's the representation of freedom and doing things because you want to follow your heart. This is kind of why I always say Luffy would be more fond of Buggy if he knew the whole story and would probably support him a lot--
What I like the most about this chapter is both Buggy's character development through a speech + flashback and Mihawk and Crocodile being completely stunned by it because they weren't expecting this to happen from Buggy of all people. I know I sound like a broken record but I really, really, want them to respect Buggy a little bit more after this. Also, Buggy doesn't do this only to announce he's going to follow his dream now that he's on equal footing with Shanks. He does it because the other two mention needing overwhelming power over the rest. Buggy isn't stupid and knows how manipulating people works. The thing that makes pirates work harder isn't money, it's a dream. And there's nothing a pirate desires more than the One Piece, so that's kind of why he announces it publicly. First, to establish power, and second, so that way Mihawk and Crocodile don't get rid of him because seriously, Buggy is a better boss than these two because their followers appreciate him and don't feel forced to follow him.
Not to mention that the whole thing also shows more of Buggy's relationship with Roger and how left out he felt because people thought highly of Shanks instead of him. But Buggy, even if he was jealous, was willing to follow Shanks despite his feelings because he accepted being less worthy of respect than him. Shanks shone brightly and Buggy decided that, even if he wanted to be seen like that too, he'd give up on his dream and support Shanks instead because at least they'd do this together, just the way they did everything back at the time.
But then Shanks hesitates, and I think that's Buggy's last straw because he sees giving up going for the One Piece as something disrespectful to their captain (dad) and thinks it's unfair that Shanks is so respected by everyone even though the one wanting to follow their captain's steps right away is him. It's honestly frustrating. And then you understand better why Buggy is angry at Shanks-- Yeah, he made him eat the devil fruit and lost the map because of him (not really but whatever), but the way I see it that's just a metaphor for the real reason why Buggy is so resentful. Shanks' existence, even if it was not on purpose, made Buggy feel so powerless he gave up on his dream. And eating a devil fruit means the sea hates you and you can't have any independence in the pirate world, and losing the map is kind of like losing the only thing that guides you. He left Buggy with nothing and let him carry the burden of a lost dream.
This is funny because Shanks did absolutely nothing wrong and everything is a product of jealousy and miscommunication, but I understand why Buggy blames Shanks and this chapter makes it clearer and explains it perfectly.
Basically, it's such an amazing chapter for Buggy's character and it's definitely my favorite for him specifically. Although the flashback does wonders for my Shuggy heart.
Also, adding more points for the revolutionary plot in the end and Sabo showing up because I adore him <3
#also for people who have given up on their dreams because their ex bff was better at fucking everything and now they feel worthless#this is their roman empire okay#definitely not projecting haha this has absolutely nothing to do with me relating to buggy here i swear#i love him quite a lot <3#i could talk more about this chapter tbh this is a summary and mix of my thoughts but uhhh yeah i don't want to write a whole book rn#but this is my dearest most favorite and precious chapter#also sabo is really cute with koala at the end and i appreciate that a lot#one piece#buggy the clown#shuggy#op chapter 1082#cross guild
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Hopefully lukewarm take (i haven’t checked)
I recently finished reading the Heroes Of Olympus series (having read pjo immediately prior) and I think it’s pretty shitty that the worth of all of our good guy characters are, to a notable degree, measured by their ability to find and engage in romantic relationships and are then greatly defined by those relationships. (Disclaimer; I don’t think I’m in a justified position to discuss lots of the racial criticisms for HoO but I do agree with a lot of em and that aspect does factor into this topic)
7+ important recurring characters is quite a lot of people to balance, even in a five book series and all of the non-pjo characters suffered immensely for it. But one character arc I anticipated over and over again that never ended up happening was any one character finding fulfillment from the non-romantic relationships around them by de-prioritizing the idea of a perfect someone in favour of accepting the support of their friends/comrades/campers/family/etc. (Second disclaimer: I don’t expect a novel saga from 2010 to have characters declaring their orientations (or lack thereof) aloud but the idea of a character learning to define themself by or through something outside of romance isn’t a new one)
I think Percy and Annabeth are very cute and work well as a couple (are they the only white couple?) and I don’t really see any chemistry between Piper and Jason (I feel like they’re on very different paths from each other and Piper stagnates greatly in favour of supporting jasons development) but I think literally every other Good Guy character had the potential to not need romance in their arcs. Frank could have been raised to praetor by consensus and recognized by his peers and grandma, actively validating his growth rather than him achieving great feats and no one noticing or really caring except for Hazel. Hazel could’ve been shown learning about the modern day with Frank and Nico during downtime and reconciling her identity and trauma with the diversity of today while discovering a new freedom in acceptance (from the Seven) of who she is from back then and who she may yet want to be (and also not dated a 16 y/o at 13).
Leo, Reyna and Nico were the main ones I was thinking would forgo the need for a partner at least as a necessity for their growth/healing as all three have severe familial trauma, are distanced from other demigods socially somehow, and all were explicitly ousted from conventional romance in-writing.
Initially with Leo I had hoped he would confront his struggle being the “seventh wheel” by expressing how he was feeling overlooked as a friend (and as the ONLY shipwright) in favour of everyone’s romantic interests, which would lead into further emotional vulnerability in the party but, that never happened save for a few stoically non-communicative gestures of support to Frank and otherwise weird hang-ups on Hazel before he fucked off to Calypso, letting his friends think him dead for weeks. Leo lacked connection and felt inferior and less important than the rest of the Seven and the narrative validated that by only fulfilling him through an a Rapunzel-like hot babe trapped on an island who is physically dependent on his emotional dependence on her. That’s not a recipe for healthy relationship! I related to Leo initially as an aromantic person with 9 siblings, half of whom are already coupled so it was very disappointing when I realized by the third book that RR just didn’t take what was to me the most obvious arc for a character who is vitally important to a team but least noticed. Also the Hazel-Frank-Leo pseudo-love shape didn’t need to happen, at least in the way it did, and I think the Leo-Hazel-Sammy weird love thing was stupid.
I think Nico and Will are a very cute couple and I’m looking forward to reading their book when I come around to it but I felt unsatisfied that the thing that got Nico to stay at camp after 5 books was a guy who had little significant presence until the last book and not like, any of the other deeply important connections he made during his journeys? Nico’s been talking about never returning to either camp for a while and none of the Seven or Reyna (I think) thought to check in with him? I get that Will is supposed to be like the first person to insistently want Nico around but if Will really is the first then that’s kinda fucked up given the whole like, eight books worth of people he’s met. It’s a bit fucked up that after years of Nico’s presence, seemingly the first connection to anchor him down is an unspoken suggestion of a romance
Reyna’s character journey confuses me because I don’t if I missed or forgot it but I don’t remember her having a conclusion to her internal struggles. Aphrodite telling her she’s doomed to singledom gets brought up again and again and it’s mostly just to make you feel bad for her. She doesn’t tell anyone else. She doesn’t seek fulfillment in the platonic or familial connections she has. They visit her house, trauma dump about her abuse AND fakeout her sisters + the hunters + the amazons deaths just to have Reyna be even more hurt. Reyna and Nico come to understand each other while they’re travelling but by the conclusion of the series she’s just gone back to her isolating and stressful role as the praetor, but now with more work to do! Aphrodite’s words are never explained and their veracity is never tested and all it serves is to give Reyna more misery porn.
I guess what I’m saying is I think the story would have been better if The Seven & Co had a little more connection with each other and not just with their respective partners and if we could have seen some internal growth come from that.
#I neep sleep#I’m reading Trials Of Apollo now and if Leo shows up again he better have a rock solid fucking reason for leaving everyone#in his life on ‘read’ for however longs it’s been and ESPECIALLY for those three weels#It was very boring to me the many pages where The Seven were all on the boat or wandering ruins#feeling internally bitter about whatever whoever was feeling instead of being emotionally involved with each other#wether that mean characters fighting (and going to far) or characters breaking down under the pressure#like with Piper and Annabeth on that hill; that was good#pjo hoo toa#heroes of olympus#I think Calypso would’ve been an excellent example of the gods’s oversight and the frailty of their oaths#if she and Leo hadn’t become immediately codependent#hoo crit#nico di angelo#reyna avila ramirez arellano#frank zhang#hazel levesque#In case anyone is wondering; I am borrowing these books from my local library#I understand if the time constraints of writing limited how much fine-tuning could be done#but I think RR’s romance writing is consistently weird enough to be a pattern#I DO NOT like 4000+ y/o Apollo looking at campers describing them like he has a crush#I hope Will and Nico’s relationship is written to be a mutually caretaking one
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