#i mean everything has tropes and tbh i think trope is a word that should be taken away and put on a high shelf for a while

[lfcgirlie866]

The Girl Who Broke A Million Hearts ~ Jude Bellingham x oc

Ok so you guys really surprised me by voting for this fic the most in the poll! I was expecting this to be the least popular option tbh, and I feel like it's really badly written 😭 I apologise in advance if it is!

Summary: 'I know the baby in your belly isn't mine, but if you let me, then I'll love her like she is'

Tropes: Childhood friends, not realising their feelings until it's (maybe) too late, pregnancy, found family

Warnings: fmc mentions death of a parent, there may be smut eventually in the story but idk yet

Prologue

As I sit outside in the mild Spanish night air, looking out across the horizon, I simultaneously wish for the darkness to end and also for the day to never come. The light means I won't be left alone with my thoughts anymore, but it also means that I have to leave Madrid behind and book a flight back to England. It means I have to leave Jude and face up to what a disaster my life has become in the last week.

How could it have all gone so wrong so quickly?

Last week, I was engaged to the man I thought I would be with forever, six months pregnant with his baby, too. I thought I knew where my life was going.

Now I'm just pregnant and alone. I don't have a home to go back to. No family. Nothing. No one.

I'm slowly spiralling, worrying about what the hell I'm supposed to do next and regretting almost every decision I've ever made.

You're a failure, Sapphy. Your mum would be so disappointed in you, I think to myself, trying to hold back a sob. You're a loser. You're too weak to do what she did and raise a baby alone.

Maybe I should just suck it up and go back to my ex, Aiden. Give in and do what he wanted me to; Move halfway across the world with him. At least then I'd have a home again

But you wouldn't be happy, Saph. Not there, and not with him. Not after everything that's happened. After what he said...

'You'd do it for him, though. Wouldn't you?'

And the answer has been plaguing my thoughts ever since.

"Jeeze, Saph. It's almost 4AM. What 'er you doing out here?"

Jude's familiar voice startles me out of my thoughts, almost like I'd summoned him here with them. I turn around and drink him in. Lit only by the lights in the pool beside me, he looks just as beautiful as he always does as he walks over to where I'm sitting, and my stomach twists and turns at the mix of emotions he churns up.

Jude Bellingham. The boy I've known since he was eight, the one I grew up alongside of, the one who I watched become a world-class footballer right before my eyes. He is quite possibly the sweetest human on this planet, and I'll never, ever forget the truly heartfelt words he spoke at my mum's funeral. He means everything to me, but he's always just been a friend. Always. There was never a time when it could have been more. At least, it never crossed my mind at the time anyway.

But since Aiden said those words to me, I can't help looking at Jude differently. I wish I could stop, but now that I've seen the light, I don't think I can ever go back.

When his brother called me and asked if I wanted to fly out and watch Jude's game yesterday, I didn't hesitate. I jumped on that plane and then screamed my heart out watching him play. I forgot all the bad stuff for a while, but being in his home just brought it all back and I started drowning in my thoughts again.

"Jobe said he was worried about you yesterday. Now I am too, Saph." He says quietly, his fingers lightly stroking down my back, making me shiver.

I should tell him what's happened. I know I should, but at the same time, how can I?

He's THE Jude Bellingham. He's on top of the fucking world right now. I can't drag him down from that. I can't burden him with my own issues. These are my problems, I'm the one who has to deal with them. And, if I tell him I left my fiancé then he's going to want to know why. I'd have to tell him that I've become one of those girls, someone I never ever wanted to be; Just one of the millions who've fallen for him.

Some kind of dam shatters inside of me and as hard as I try, I can't hold it all back any longer. The story comes pouring out with a mixture of sobs and tears as he holds me tightly in his arms.

But there's one thing I don't mention: the fact that I might now have feelings for him, and maybe I always have done.

~~~~♡♡♡♡~~~~☆☆☆☆~~~~♡♡♡♡~~~~

A/n: Ahhh I'm so scared to see what you guys think of this 🫣 This is definitely just an introduction and the story will go back and explain how they met/ became friends etc etc.

If you're interested in reading more then please let me know ❤️

[guthraiel]

officially finished kcd 2 so now im gonna complete the younger hans and henry meeting fic and some art wips i have because my brain is overtaken by this game HOLY FUCK

(spoilers under cut but its just my rambling mentioning the ending and some plottwists really)

ive been a hansry truther since the first game in the sense that henry is sooo clearly a bisexual loser and so is hans. imo the two most logical choices for henry's romance are hans and theresa, who, in each of the games they're romancable in are the ones who henry has known and trusted longest. theresa in KCD 1 is his childhood friend, the one person who shares his survivors guilt and the memories of skalitz. while in KCD 2 hans is the one person who has been with henry throughout this whole thing and never really left his side (excluding the arguement at the start and the various kidnappings and being taken hostage)

like either way imo those are the most 'cannon' romances to henry and i really wish kcd 2 adressed the existence of theresa a bit. she's by far the most interesting woman in the franchise since warhorse does lowkey struggle to write women in a way that's logical. i mean the way every female around henry throws herself at him except his main LI's who all follow some version of the girlboss trope is... man come on. i actually do really like both rosa and katherine, but i think there could've been just a teensy bit more done with them

also like what the fuck is up with henry's mother. idk if her name or any personality being excluded is meant to be an artistic choice to show how henry remembers her as just 'mom' and ignores any other part of her character but like wtf. both radzig and martin get names, a backstory and a deep relationship with henry while his mother is just. there. i get that this is the 15th century but in the first game it's clear in the tutorial that hal and his mom are CLOSE like i wish we got to see a bit more of that tbh

i have words to say about samuel as a character but none of them are appropriate for tumblr so i will abstain. tldr i actually like him a lot henry getting a brother-butnotreally is actually really sweet. like despite the fact that he lost his family and everything dear to him there is still someone who cares about him in a familial way. i hope we'll het to see more of him in some of the upcoming dlcs although i doubt it since he can technically die during the game (and i'm pretty sure in a canon run you should leave him behind)

okay last point to the characters is one ive had since kcd 1 but THE NAMESSS WHY ARE THEY NAMED THATTT

henry of skalitz my ass bro THAT'S JINDRA 😭😭 jindříšek even!! like i get that ř may have been an issue but just have him be jindra instead of jindřich then???

hans capon is just a bit silly like jan ptáček could be a pronouncable name, not to mention there is SO many characters named jan already so even Jan Capon i could lowkey get behind more

also i do fully believe non czech speakers miss out on the game a bit, there are parts of bg dialogue that are in czech and add just a bit of humour and immersion to the game (like in taverns, markets or during henry's nightmare in suchdol where the skalitz/maleshov people hiss 'you killed us')

okay ttldr this game is really good i just needed to yap since my friends whove finished it dont share any of my sentiments

if u have thoughts to share please do im curious what impression others got

[amethystina]

Sorry everything has been hard lately! You're going through a lot. Do you feel comfortable sharing about your wife, like how you met and got married? I didn't know you were married.

Yeah, sure! It's not exactly a secret and, tbh, is a bit of a funny (if long) story. We've been married since July 2017, so closing in on ten years soon!

A good thing to know before we start is that it's not a marriage in the more conventional sense. We're both on the ace spectrum, so we're platonic life partners, not a romantic couple. Which I think is important to have in mind in regards to some of the events, because it adds a slightly different perspective.

But, with that said: buckle up, my friends — it's going to be a long one.

Also, feel free to count the fanfic tropes. It's both hilarious and embarrassing.

So. I met my future wife, Sara, during orientation day at university where we were both enrolled to study Library and Information Science (i.e. aiming to become librarians).

And the first thing I did was threaten to kill her.

As you do.

To make a long story short, we were being herded around, being shown the school etc., and I ended up behind her as we were walking through a doorway. But she slowed down unexpectedly just as she'd stepped outside and I wasn't expecting that, so I accidentally stepped on the back of her shoe. Unsurprisingly, that made her stumble but, fortunately, she didn't fall. But there was a case of some dropped belongings etc. etc. And yes, I know — incredibly meet-cute.

Or at least it would have been if not for the fact that when she — jokingly — accused me of being mean for tripping her up, my immediate and very deadpan response was:

"It could have been worse — I could have pushed you out in front of a car."

(I will forever maintain that the fact that she agreed to marry me even after that lovely first impression says more about her than it does about me)

ANYHOW. First words I said to my future wife.

I am such a romantic.

None of this was helped by the fact that I'm fairly tall (176 cm), have a resting bitchface, and am from the wilderness of the north of Sweden. My classmates were convinced I wrestled bears in my free time. I had also been living on my own for four years already at that point (I moved out at 15 to go to school in a different city) so I was confident, independent, and grounded in a way the majority of my classmates weren't.

I was, according to witnesses, incredibly intimidating.

Despite the dramatic beginnings, Sara and I ended up becoming friends pretty quickly because we had shared interests and ended up in a group of geeky, like-minded students. We liked the same books, video games, music, animes etc. etc.

Sidenote: Years later I found out that Sara, the little shit, lied to me about the music. Or bent the truth, I should say. In that we both listened to a lot of metal and when I named my favourite band (Sonata Arctica) Sara lied and said she loved them too, when she only barely knew who they were. She confessed that she did so because she thought I was so goddamn cool and wanted us to have more things in common. Which meant she had to hurry home that very same day and actually start listening to the band in question to not end up in an even worse pickle than she'd already put herself in. A+ for dedication to the bit.

(She was already embracing the fanfic tropes at that point, clearly)

Anyway, back to the story. We were a pretty big friend group but Sara and I clicked in a way that set us apart from the others. We didn't actually spend the majority of our time together there at the start, but it slowly evolved to that, especially once she moved into the same building as me during our second year, on the floor below mine. It was a dorm-ish situation where there were small apartments with a communal kitchen on each floor. With this new proximity, we ended up running back and forth to each other a lot and just spending a lot of time together.

(So, if you're keeping track, we've now moved from a University AU to a sort-of Roommate AU)

We continued to grow closer and had a couple of adventures, like the time the fire alarm went off early one morning and everyone had to evacuate. I think you can picture what it was like: a bunch of university students huddling on the sidewalk in various states of undress and wakefulness, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on and how long we'd have to wait before we could go back to bed.

Unfortunately for me, this was during a time when I still had pretty frequent panic attacks and being woken up by the fire alarm left me shaky and disoriented. So Sara, who didn't like how out of it I looked, took me back to her place and fed me tea and toast. It's a very fond memory of mine, despite the discomfort of the near-panic attack.

Anyhow. We remained good friends and once our three years at university were nearing their end, we figured we'd keep in touch but end up on different ends of the country. I had decided that I wanted to take a year and study art before I started working, just for the heck of it, and Sara thought that sounded fun but she'd go for writing instead (since she can't draw for shit 😆)

And you can imagine our confusion when I let her know the art school I had been accepted to and her response was:

"What? You too?"

So, without even talking to each other, we had somehow managed to apply and get accepted to the same school that just happened to offer courses on both art and writing, amongst other things. It wasn't even close to where we were living at the time. It just... happened?

And so, apparently, we were going to spend another year at the same school.

(At this point, we could probably call this Star-Crossed Lovers, yeah?)

So we get to this new school and it's in the middle of nowhere on the lush Swedish countryside, sharing grounds with a castle from the 1100's (I know, I know — just roll with it). It was incredibly beautiful and I absolutely loved it.

One downside, however, was that while the school supplied food during the week, we had to feed ourselves during the weekends. Fortunately, Sara had a car so she would usually pack it full with students (for a small fee) and drive to one of the nearby grocery stores so those who needed it could buy food.

Now, it was a fairly small school and the majority of us lived there, so you spent a lot of time with students who weren't in your class. And everyone soon realised that Sara and I knew each other from before because of the way we behaved with each other. But even I thought it was a little weird when other students came to me to ask if there was any room left in Sara's car for the coming grocery run. And, eventually, I asked why they did that and the answer I got was:

"You mean it's not your shared car? We figured you owned it together since you're a couple."

Turns out the entire school had decided that Sara and I were dating and just never told us.

Or, well, I guess they wouldn't tell us that, would they? Since they would assume that Sara and I would already be aware of our being a couple 🤣

Except, of course, we weren't.

(Add a tick for "Everyone Knew They Were Dating Before They Did")

We found this pretty hilarious, anyway, and everyone was hella confused when we explained that we were, in fact, not together. But, in hindsight, I guess they were right — just a little early.

Sidenote: Sara and I went to Venice during our year at the art school and, somehow, we accidentally stumbled in at the tail end of the Carnival. Like, we didn't realise it was happening until we were literally walking the streets and saw all the confetti and posters. We picked the date because it was spring break at school and ended up with a wonderful, unexpected surprise. 10/10, do recommend.

So! Anyway! We spent a lovely year at art school, then we both started working as librarians. We ended up relatively close (about two and a half hours away by bus) and so we kept spending weekends together.

Another couple of years passed.

(If you haven't figured it out yet, this is also a Slow Burn)

Unfortunately, Sara ended up in a city with very limited housing opportunities and after two and a half years without getting her own place, she decided to move back south again. That would leave us too far apart to visit each other more than, perhaps, twice a year.

And me, being the brilliant genius that I am, decided that, hey, this is the perfect time to propose!

I did have my reasons, one of them being that my relatives were bugging me about finding a partner (though, to their credit, they didn't specify a gender) and I just wasn't interested? But I could see myself spending a lot of time with Sara. The second was that, even the few times I had met someone I could consider dating, my first thought was: "But how am I going to make them understand Sara's importance in my life? And the fact that she might often come before them?" And so, more often than not, I just chose not to pursue it because I couldn't be bothered to go through that hassle.

Turns out she'd been doing the same for years 😂

(I'm not even sure what this trope is called but you know the one)

So, a couple of days before she was set to leave, we decided to splurge on a hotel weekend as a sort of send-off. And, on the second morning, just after we had woken up (before breakfast — which Sara has never let me live down) I explained my reasoning to her and asked if we should get married.

It took her about fifteen minutes to a) understand what I was suggesting, b) realise I was serious, and c) try to figure out what she thought of the bombshell I'd just dropped on her.

(Again: Early morning, no breakfast)

But, eventually, she got with the program and accepted. It was only afterwards that I realised my mistake which was that, apparently, it was fucking Valentine's Day. I shit you not.

So, whenever I say that our engagement date is Valentine's Day, everyone thinks I'm such a goddamn romantic. When, in actuality, I was presenting a marriage of convenience with the tone of a business proposal. I even had a mental list of arguments.

(In hindsight, I should maybe have made a PowerPoint too — it might have helped Sara get on board faster. But alas)

(Add "Last-Minute Proposal" to the list)

So we got engaged, Sara moved to the other end of the country, and two and a half years later, we got married. But it took another six months after that before we actually ended up working close enough that we could live together.

Which, in hindsight, wasn't the right choice for us. We're used to living close to each other, but not in the same apartment/house. We're just too different, so that's what we're going to correct now by selling the house and moving into separate apartments. Or going back to our roots, one might say?

And, as mentioned, remain married. Considering everything we've gone through, it would feel like such a waste to get a divorce now 😆

So yeah! That's how we met, got engaged, and eventually married. It took many, many years and a lot of hijinks, but we got there in the end! And we're still figuring out the details. But hey, that's what relationships are like, yeah?

Thank you so much for the well-wishes and I hope you enjoyed the storytime! 😄

[29daffodils]

mini review : the heart killers

so, THK is finally over.

I was hoping to not see more fighting in the tags, but it's the usual. this time I can't even blame anyone lol. but all that aside, it was a pretty enjoyable show. I was kinda expecting the end to be botched (at this point I have watched 3 of JoJo's works and all of them have followed a similar pattern). I remember reading somewhere (either here or on bsky) that jojo is not the best storyteller. and tbh, I agree. i love his direction, how the scenes are shot, how the characters are written, all that,, but as i've already said in previous posts, he has a flair for dramatics and loves them. I love him, so I guess I just gotta roll with it now lmao. in not so many words, I was talking to a friend, and said, THK feels like a fanfic with all the fun tropes in there except nobody edited the final draft. I believe that there should be criticism where it's due : this is a full on officially produced body of work that most of us are paying for in some way or the other. so I think some criticism (politely worded, thank you) is justified. so, don't fight now.

I loved the acting and the cinematography, all the shots were very well done. I am still sad there was the fucking greenscreen but I guess you can't have the budget to go to Iceland for a shoot right? haha. but I guess that's okay. i've watched FKT in a couple of their shows now and their acting has definitely improved. moreover, I am very happy with first's singing progress. I was always waiting for him to sing a ballad or something like that, slow and moody. but he really went out and did it. I'm not familiar with JD so this was my first time watching them (I have only just started watching BLs lmao, don't come at me, give me recs if you have any though). I am absolutely in love with joong's acting. he was gorgeous as fadel and did such a great job. dunk was fantastic as style, though I feel he was a little.... stiff?? sometimes. but that's alright. I dunno the guy but like everything else, there's always room for improvement.

I loveeeeed the OSTs but I surprisingly liked khaotung's song the least for once. I don't even know why. I always have his songs on repeat and I was kinda expecting something similarly catchy as let's try and while destroy love is catchy indeed, it just didn't float my boat. my favourite, unsurprisingly, was joong's hurt me please. brother can sing and my god do I love that song. from the lyrics to the music and his voice. everything is perfect. first's song is the one i've been humming the most because... well, that's my guy, ofc I'm a little biased. it's good, it's fun, it's nice on the ears. fast love is great too but I mostly keep just humming the chorus and nothing else because it doesn't resonate with me as much, compared to “my fuel” or “hurt me please”.

overall, this was a pretty fun little show. rom-com aspects were there, it was outrageously funny and gorgeously charming, to the point I found myself grinning like a loon at times. I am not judging it too harshly because of how it was marketed. I think romcoms are wildly theatrical and dramatic and sometimes you have to put your brain on the side for a breather. could the story have been executed better? hell yeah. but that doesn't mean it was entirely horrible. like everything else, I will come back to re-watch parts of it while skipping through (eg : moonlight chicken — and I think that's the most perfect show gmmtv has). i'll miss gossiping with friends and writing meta (hell maybe i'll get to meta writing when I re-watch, who knows, that's how I usually work). but all that aside, good times. this was the first show i followed while it was airing (and i've learned my lesson : i will go back to binge watching again because my short attention span spoiled half the fun for this one anyway).

now then, with all that said, see you next time with cat for cash!

[annabtg]

I thought your answer on jily and whether or not they were in love or if it was abusive super interesting!

Personally I’m not the biggest jily fan but that has more to do with the main tropes being used that I tend to find tiring and outdated. But Ive been trying to get more into it recently and it’s been hard finding fics I enjoy because they are either too snape bash-y or feel anachronistic in how they portray the relationship. When im reading jily I actually prefer the writer to lean into the outdated tropes instead of trying to make it fit the modern readers ideas of appropriate courtship behavior, because otherwise it doesn’t feel authentic to me. Specifically it bugs me when they make James a super feminist that would never ask Lily out more than once (I don’t think he’d recognize that as sexual harassment as a teenager boy in the 70s). I get that this is popular fanon right now but it’s been hard to find a fic that doesn’t have this.

So my question is do you have any jily fic recommendations that fit this description (minimal Snape bashing and time period accurate)?

Hi there!

By your wording, I'm not sure if by "time period accurate" you mean fics where he actually asks her out a lot. The beginning of your post seemed to imply that, even though I would argue that it's not the only time period accurate headcanon. Indeed, there are plenty of reasons someone in the 70s may not have repeatedly asked a girl out - from his ego being bruised by her first rejection, to he actually took no for an answer and that doesn't necessarily mean he's a super feminist icon. Not everyone who takes no for an answer is. :p

You may have more luck with old-time fic, tbh - the "ask her out a million times" trope was much more prevalent then, and people were not as feministically aware :p though Snape bashing was much more common. I actually feel that in most newer Jily canon fics Snape is portrayed as a well-rounded antagonist, rather than bashed.

So I'm going to start with some oldies:

I recently read Commentarius by @bcdaily and, while I wouldn't say I got the perfect 70s vibe from it (more like the 90s - it felt very accurate to the way I grew up), I enjoyed seeing in it a portrayal of James that I think most people wouldn't dare write today for fear, exactly, of him not being feminist/respectful enough to Lily. I won't get into details to avoid spoilers. (Very long and incomplete, but considered a classic.)

I also hear The Life And Times by Jewels5 features an immature James who grows up throughout the fic, but I haven't read it so I couldn't tell you myself. (Also very long and incomplete and considered a classic.)

If you enjoy the idea of James being an outrageous little shit for comedic effect, you might enjoy Procrastinator-starting2moro's fics. I haven't read Obsessive Lily Disorder since 2006 so I can't say I remember it very well but the title should give you an idea of how insistently he asks her out in it :p though there may be some Snape bashing in it.

For more recent works, I will gladly recommend everything by @nought-shall-go-ill, who creates the most atmospheric depictions of 70s/80s UK, and also likes Snape and enjoys nuanced portrayals of Jily.

Other writers whose portrayals of James I thoroughly enjoy and who do a great job of presenting James as the little shit that he is include @annasghosts and @ohmygodshesinsane.

And to finish with some self-recs, anything in my James Potter Is A Little Shit tag should be a good bet. I would give a shout-out to my older fics Birthday and Fascination, and my newer ones Written In History and Drunk With Power as the ones you may enjoy the most. And I'll gladly tout readers' favourites The Great James Potter and Mistletoe Mishaps as examples where James is respectful to Lily in ways that I feel are natural and reasonable for the era, all while he's still a little cocky shit.

Hope this helps! Happy reading!!

[lost-my-sanity1]

I don’t know if it’ll ever happen, but one thing that excites me the most about Sky and Nani is the fact that they’re both pushing 30. You know what I mean—they’re mature enough to act on whatever roles they want. Plus, I wouldn’t feel awkward watching them if they ever did love scenes. 😂 I also think they’d absolutely kill it in a more mature type of plot. (Please, let them out of those uniforms already!)

Sometimes, I can’t help but think about how big Sky’s reach is—he was a Nadao actor, he’s debuted in films, and he’s worked with GDH. Not to mention GDH director even commented on his posts with Nani. Like, seriously, we could actually get that SKYNANI MOVIE! I just wish this could happen.

Honestly, I want to know what you all want to see from them because I have so many ideas for stories and tropes that would suit them perfectly. Like my MIND goes BRRRRRRR for them.

BESTIE WHEN I TELL YOU THAT YOU BOUGHT OUT MY SUBCONSCIOUS IN YOUR WORDS.

cuz I sometimes find myself thinking about their age and everytime I'm delighted at the fact that they're 26 and 27!! (infact I was surprised when I found out that dew was... younger than nani can you imagine my shock that palm tree is younger than this babygirl holyshit but ofc babygirlism doesn't have an age ok I think om going off the tangent)

i fucking agree like enough of uniforms. get them some other uniforms now. like y'know police lawyer firefighter doctor😔🤌

I wasn't familiar with sky before hsf but goddamn that man has some major achievements in his life holyshit!! and the director's comment got me dreaming gawd PLEASEE THE POWER OF IMINA LET THE SKYNANI MOVIE HAPPEN (we have to keep dreamin)

at this point I'll take everything they give me tbh like if the bromance is whatever hsf was who am I to complain and as you said earlier they are at the age where they can firmly choose what's good and comfortable for them and we would also feel comfortable to watch it. amd i fully trust their judgement & feelings ykwim no matter what they do i believe they'll be able to bring out the best out of each other 🥹

and about tropes holyshit (anon I'm walking on thin ice I'll drop soon and start writing like crazy i just need the push) they should really consider bodyguard × actor/mafia (because nani has that annoying idgaf attitude face card in him ok??!!!), would definitely eat up player from rival teams, or maybe something royal forbidden heart wrenching because have you seen them cry holyshit????? they're sooo so pretty whatever it is it should be angsty af

ANON TELL ME WHAT STORIES YOU'RE COOKING

[mechina]

Sending this ask because I feel like you're the one person who won't immediately think I'm splitting up chaggie because I ship charlastor, but with the introduction of Emily I feel like that's who should have been vaggie's partner.

We know vaggie has a white knight complex and doesn't seem to actually view Charlie as someone who can make her own decisions, or can be trusted to handle herself in certain situations. On top of that, I noticed something I thought was odd. Now I don't know the reasons behind it but if you closely watch, vaggie never refers to herself as Charlie's gf, nor does she refer to Charlie as her gf, or partner, or anything. Maybe it's a Pearl/rose quartz dynamic, but if that's the case then vaggie and Charlie shouldn't be together because they amplify each others worst behaviors. And to be fair to vaggie, she'll often give Charlie good advice and Charlie just kinda of ignored it? But then they never really have a conversation about this stuff, so neither can grow as characters.

So if they wanted to have a wlw ship where vaggie could be a protective girl without needing to help her partner grow as a person, Emily is right there. I especially feel like em would take offense at vaggie being punished for showing mercy and want to bring her back to heaven. Idk, I'm just spitballing but seeing welcome to heaven made me mad that this relationship feels so imbalanced but it'll probably be handwaved away when Charlie by all rights should feel super betrayed that this person who she's spent years with never told her a thing about this, leaving her blindsided in front of a court of other heaven dwellers. But I'm just rambling, I would love to hear someone's objective thoughts

As much as I WANT to like chaggie, I haven’t been able to. That’s not to say I think they should split, but the tropes with those two are INSANE. Sunshine x grumpy, overprotective x naive, gullible idiot x savior, etc. It’s just a LACK of story. What should’ve happened (in my own opinion), they legit should NOT have been together from the start. Their relationship should have taken time to develop and maybe even go into girlfriends if that’s what Viv wanted, but it was for a bonus star. Stories change all the time, though I just wish it developed better. Of course they were in a rush (the time constraint is crazy to me) so relationships haven’t had time. The songs literally fix everything??

Your words go back to my trope issue. savior complex with the girl who is naive about the world. It’s been clear that Vaggie is just stupidly protective of Charlie because Charlie doesn’t have it in her heart to be mean. Brings back the gullible idiot trope who needs to constantly be saved. Charlie lives in a box and Vaggie just HAS to be the one to save her from her own dumb decisions. They don’t talk and that’s another issue.

It magically gets fixed lol. In Vaggie’s song, she said ��I’ll spend my life being your partner.” But we didn’t even get any “she’s my gf” until literally episode 5. Then she has this secret, which will again, be magically waved away if the trailer gave any indication. Their duet will be their grace I’m sure.

As far as Emily goes, that’s actually not bad tbh?? Vaggie gets cast out, Emily (the one who is ACTUALLY the embodiment of how an angel in Heaven should act) does not like this. It can resolve the power balance. Charlie does NOT need saving but because of her naivety, Vaggie has to save her.

Vaggie and Emily? They’d save each other.

And while Chaggie is canon and I’m not bothered that my ship never will be (Charlastor), I’ll never judge anyone for their opinions on certain ships until they start harassing people. Just because you like a dynamic doesn’t mean you want the w|w representation to go away.

We want the representation to be better. Sorry for the rambling and I’m not even sure I answered what you asked, but thanks for the ask. I’ve never had these before, lol.

[yanderefairyangel]

*sigh*

Ok so I have two rants about two of my favorite character of all time Alear and Rafal.

I'll start with dragon blorbo first. I get that people are still sad that F!Alear wasn't choosen as the protag of the manga but I cannot help but laugh at people saying that "the manga would have been better/more popular with her" or "that Ivy getting captured would not have happened with F!Alear" because in case you missed it : THEY ARE LITERALY THE SAME CHARACTER WITH DIFFERENT GENDER. Like yeah, I could get it if it was the Robin because those two have been written with kinda distinct personality. But the Alears ?! Their dialogue is word for word identitical, Male Alear even use the same dialect as his female counterpart which none of the male avatar before did. "But the voice acting" The voice acting is the voice acting, Rafal too sounds pretty different from japanese to English even though both are the same character. Heck English Etie and Japanese Eite have more distinct personalities then the Alears.

What happened with Ivy would have happened anyway because it's not tied to Alear's gender, you are the only one reducing Alear to his gender, it would have happened because Alear is literaly Hope incarnated. And now I wonder if people would even mind that change had F!Alear being the one helping Ivy instead of M!Alear cause again, it didn't happened for M!Alear to look heroic, this is the manga where M!Alear constantly gets turned into a silly wet cat falling into cartoony gag and getting beaten up by a 14 year old girl into gothic lolita fashion !! Engage's writers always wanted to make Alear a down on earth protag that is nothing special except for their birth and whose whole journey is about to prove themselves, they even claimmed that they made Alear into such a coward that Nintendo stepped in and told them they overdid it... but apparently Dimitri's rampage are ok.... anyway. I think the manga so far has been respecting this concept as well I see 0 reason for it to try to make Alear suddently a giga chad. I did noticed that in the manga Alear got more heroic moment then in the game such as the fact he doesn't wanna run away unlike in game or the fact he goes to help Lumera instead of leading to her death, go to save Alfred, kill Nelke himself, encourages Alcryst and then defends Ivy. I stress it defends because Alear only helped her gain some time alive, they only delayed the inevitable because I bet you that the Brodian nobility will make it as annoying as can be. Alear didn't saved her since she still is gonna have a trial. And tbh I wonder if the mangaka didn't try to make it end on a cliffhanger to encourage more people into buying the manga since it was right after that that he admitted he needed more people to show their support to the manga.

Male Alear isn't a "male fantasy trope" at all, in fact, his sweet personality that he shares with his female counterpat gets him to be seen as "effiminate" or "weak" or " whim" because "this is a woman's personality to be a coward crybaby, not a man's". I quote. The Alear's strengh as a character comes from their kindness and undying determination that lead them in never giving up and even defying death thirce !! Trying to make something as natural as them defending someone they sensed wasn't evil about "harmul trope to female and male fantasy" just shows you don't get what is considered sexist about said trope and why. Again, it's not "female character gets help from male character in time of her being weak is sexist". It's when the female character gets nothing more then that. When her entire character is reduced to just that, that it's not explored/developped in a meaningful way. Women are humans, saying they should refuse help from anyone or help from someone if that someone is a male is completely insane. It's also reduing strengh as being good at everything, superior to anyone in anything and needing no help which is very ironic considering this mean you suscribe to... Sombron's philosophy. Engage's theme is that it's through connection that you gain true strengh, that strengh rely on compassion for other and in having a strong mentality of always been hopefull for tomorow and overcoming your difficulty and never giving up on dream, this is something that both Alear illustrate perfectly.

So by suggesting that Ivy is weak because in a situation where she herself told Morion to kill her Alear steps in and therefore blame it on M!Alear being male... you are showing you completely missed the entire point the game was trying to make.

Male Alear being the protag is literaly just because the manga is a shounen, he is the same character as his female countepart.

Now unto the other one, manslaughtering blorbo.

Ok, remember what I said about how I was worried that there would be 2 tips of the extreme in reading Rafal's character ? Yeah... it happened... Now, marks my word, I am not saying you have to like Rafal, I can understand why you wouldn't considering the crimes he has committed but... seeing some takes about him rubs me kinda the wrong way....

Some people seems to believe that he is a spoiled brat raised by Sombron as believing he is the superior of his children, having a superiority complex, having completely traumatized Nel, not understanding how Alear and Nel can forgive him, that he is a bloodthirsty monster... well, to put it short that he is pure evil. Which he isn't. That goes completely against the point of his character.

Rafal was never raised by Sombron with the idea that he was the best of his children, that never happened. What happened is that Rafal lost his twin when he was very young and grow up believing that he was a defect. I know I joked about him having superiority complex, I know, but that's what it was. A joke. In reality what Rafal has developped is an inferiority complex that manifest in him pretending to be or feel superior, he is just acting arrogant and cunning but in reality how he feels inside is inferior and incomplete. He always wished to be the person to make someone else happy and complete it. He wished it for Nil and then Nel. Rafal isn't a "spoiled brat", he was just as much as Sombron's victim as Nel was, in fact, I realized how much Rafal and Lyon had in common because it was precisely the fact that Rafal was much more weaker psychologicaly speaking then his sister that made him an easy prey for Xenobron, taking advantages of his own self acceptances issues and other to cast a spell on him and bribe him in promising him the acknowledgement he always sought. As for the fact he is a bloodthirsty monster... ok look. Rafal did kill all the people of this other world that weren't already dead, I am not gonna act as if he didn't do something horrible by doing this. But not only does he actually sincerely regret his action and desesperately tries to make amends for it, but he didn't do it out of bloodlust, it's not Valter. He did it because he was manipulated by Sombron into believing that he could finally end his sufering if he did that. I already showed it in many post I made but Rafal in the Xenologue isn't the real Rafal, Gregory too point that out. The face he is pulling in chapter 5 of the Xenologue is very different from the one he pulls when he fights. Rafal enjoys competition, that doesn't make him a sadistic monster

In fact there is several instance showing that he has a heart. The fact he literaly break into tears and speaks like a child when Nel offered her life to save his, the lines he has in Somniel about how he regret what he did, his line if Gregory dies about him hoping he will get something fluffy, about how Madeline died to young or him missing Zelestia's presence because it's too quiet now. His cold facade is what it is just a facade which he admits to Camilla he put in front of Gregory, Alfred and even a bit with Alear because he feels as though he doesn't deserves forgiveness after what he did and thus doesn't deserves to befriend others.

As for why Alear forgave him... remmeber that Alear offered him to come to Somniel after Rafal declared he would try to bring back Nel. Which means that otherwise Alear would have accepted to let Nel and someone who shown that they regretted their actions all alone in a world full of dead people. What did you wanted Alear to do exactly ? To kill someone for whom Nel gave her life to freed and that showed that he was clearly sorry and ready to change his way ? That is absolutely not how Alear is and you know that. The only reason why Alear cannot forgive the likes of Sombron and Zephia is because they showed they were ready to change. Sombron was gonna repeat the same mistakes over and over again because he is unable to learn from his past and become a better person while Zephia is so stubborn that only when it was too late to repair her mistake did she realized the extent of her sins.

As for Nel, the reason why she forgave him is so obvious... she said it in the DLC herself. It's because without Rafal's presence by her side, she might have gone mad. She knew he wasn't Nil but the fact that he was by her side no matter what and even pretended to be her twin just to not make her sad for 1 000 years was very important for her and she also sensed that Rafal wasn't truly evil nor was he being entirely himself in that moment.

And then there is the other tendency that is to go : "oh my adorable blorbo who did nothing wrong and is pure and innocent what do you mean he is messed up NO HE ISN4T!!" is... yeah, look I love Rafal too but I am not gonna act as if he was the purest angel who did nothing wrong. Rafal is a disaster, he is a mess of a character, his got 1000 of problem and commited several attroticities, after all he lead an entire world to doom and killed his own siblings. Yeah he was manipulated and his traumatized and all that but those are just explanation as to why he did what he did, that doesn't excuse him. I am not gonna lie, of course if you see a traumatized child that lost at least 2 important person to him and is in the middle of an identity crisis and all that and you shouldn't be surprised that he becomes this easy to manipulate. You can't really say that it's not easy to convince a starving kid to use the baseball bat you lend him and try to break the glass of the bakery shop you just pointed at and steal all the bread and pastries it sell. But does it change the fact he did what he did ? Nay. If even the character himself is saying he wants to own what he did and pay for it, you know that this mean he himself is aware of how much he screwed. In fact, I am the one person who insist he already was aware that what he was doing was wrong and would lead him nowhere but he still did it anyway because he was this far gone and hopeless. That's even what made him developp those suicidal tendencies and lead him to feel even worse about himself. People who suffer from deep trauma that goes unhealed or unspoken for years are very complex, and Rafal has been dealing with this for 1 000 years. Unlike Nel who had his support, Rafal always though he was all alone because he though Nel's love was directed at Nil rather then him, acting as if his trauma wasn't a big part of why he did what he did is ignoring a very important aspect of his character.

"But in the Xenologue he told Alear to kill him because else he would committ the same mistakes again !" You know who else said that to Alear ? Ivy. In chapter 9, Ivy who was captured by Alear and Diamant after losing, told them to kill her, to which Alear refused to which Ivy told them that they should else she would go back to her country to attack them again. She said that just so that Alear would kill her. Likewise Rafal said that because he wanted to be killed since he kept alluding to it when he said he wanted the pain in his chest to finally go away. Besides it was literaly inevitable because what other punishement was left for him exactly ? Considering how many people I saw saying he would be better off dead, you and Rafal seem to agree on that, that death was the only punishement he could have. While imo it would have broken Nel to have killed someone she held as dear as Rafal that she would sacrifice her own life to free him from her father's influence.

Rafal is not a demon nor an angel. He isn't a good person, but he isn't evil either. He is in the "grey" zone one would say, I would say he is just a humane character : he is someone who did awful things because he felt awful about himself and decided to atone for his crimes. Like Ivy, like Hortensia, like Mauvier, like Veyle. And even like Alear. Case you forgot Alear had to kill many people and even member of Lumera's family because of Sombron. That's how real life works. No one is perfect, everyone commits mistake but no one is irredeemable. The only people who are irrdeemable or unforgivable are the person who refuses to admitt that they are in the wrong and to learn from it and grow as a person like a certain man with purple skin walking bare chested.

Truly evil people are people who cannot redeem themselves because they don't want to. The sole fact that Rafal wanted to pay for his crime and then vows to atone and better himself shows that there is at least some little tiny good in him. Again, if Rafal was just evil, he wouldn't be here at Somniel honoring his promise to Alear...(I am literaly quoting Alear, oh God)

If you don't like Rafal, I can respect that 1000%. You don't have to agree with me, but the main reason why I love him as a character is because he isn't someone you can sum up as being either pure evil or just a pupper of Sombron that in reality did nothing wrong and is just a tsun-tsun who likes sweets. This is erasing all the complexity he has as a character. What makes him fascinating is that he is not truly evil but not truly innocent either. Reading him only in one side of the spectrum is a great disservice to his character, when he is being much more complexed and nuanced then character evil just because. And woobiying him just because he is hot is even more unfair to his character. I repeat what I like about Rafal is that he committed 1000 of attrocities but that he still tries to atone for his crimes and that he cannot be reduced to any of the tip. In short, because he is a well written character and an interesting one.

The reason why I dislike comically evil character that have as much personality as a carboard is because they have as much personality as a cardboard, not because they did evil things. They are character, not real people. I can hate a character for being evil and like another for also being evil depending of how much appeal he has aka how well written and complex it can be. If Rafal was just " super evil guy who became good just because" he would be boring and also his narrative would make 0 sense... in short he would be Aversa. Likewise Rafal being this very innocent lad who did nothing wrong when he commited 1000 of attrocities is just as boring.

I am not asking you to like him, just to not reduce his character.

[sunnyyflowerrs]

HI SUNNY!

for the fic writers ask:

How about 4, 13, 16, 23, 33, 59, 61, and 77 (from fire extinguishers!)

HI LUCKY!! thank you for the ask!!1 <3

4. Where do you find inspiration for new fics? 

hmm mostly i’m just ill abt itafushi and i see them in different situations, in music, in movies, and it’ll just spark stuff! also im a fanfiction warrior so i just have a lot of tropes in my head from stuff i've read

13. What’s a common writing tip that you always almost follow? 

whenever i write there is a little voice in my head that’s whispering “show don’t tell”. it’s the one piece of writing advice I’d heard before i started writing shhshshs so i try to let word choice, actions, and characters show the themes im trying to convey rather than say them directly. key word TRY. 

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing rn? Share one of them. 

tbh not too much. i think the biggest one rn is the angst fic im working on! i dont wanna reveal too much but it might be a main character death fic ... kinda going through itafushi's life pre and post canon! i like how it's turning out so far, but it still has a long way to go before i post

23. Best writing advice for other writers? 

lol ummm i don’t really have much. don’t write when you’re burnt out! if you start hating everything you write, that means you need a BREAK! i think that’s all i got 

33. Do you want to be published one day? 

hmm i havent thought about it much. i love writing, but i dont have any strong ideas for original work yet, so its not coming anytime soon, nor am i at the level to publish any of my work. maybe after i settle down i'll consider it though!

59. Does anyone in your personal life know you write fic? If not, would you tell anyone? 

not a single soul. and probably not? idk i just feel like they wouldn’t get it and/or would tell me that i should be working on school/work so it’ll stay between me, ao3, discord, and god for now.

61. Why do you continue writing fics? 

i just love itafushi so much ❤️ i love them, i love their characters, and i love seeing them fall in love over and over.

also ive got a bunch of writing friends now who encourage me to be a better writer and push myself so they’ve been a big inspiration too!

77. Do you have a favorite scene from 🧯?

this is like asking me to choose a favorite child. ok so like, stylistically, i think some of the best writing is around the second fire and the prison fire. but i think like the most satisfying moments for me are reveals in the case - one of my favorite chapters chapter 19 because it all comes together! and also the rhododendrons. felt rlly big brain for that one.

thank you soo much for the ask, sorry its so late <//3

[alister312]

You should TOTALLY think about Gregstophe in soulmate aus... do you have any favorites you think would suit them well 👀

I SHOULD, SHOULDN’T I….

tbh I don’t know that many though! @/cheesymorgue has some art that’s like “you can always hear what your soulmate is singing” and Christophe grows to hate les mis from how often Gregory sings it lol, I find that one cute. ofc there’s the classic red string, but I don’t think that’d quite work for gregstophe bc I think Gregory would be extremely determined to find who was at the end of his. It’d be hard for Christophe to hide and deny that it’s him and denial due to weird personal guilt and restraint is very vital to me when it comes to gregstophe. This also rules out any AUs where you realize your soulmate instantly (i.e. seeing color for the first time)

I think an ideal gregstophe soulmates thing would have to be like… a bodily mark of some kind. not a name or word, but tattoo or imprint where your soulmate first touches or something. I imagine Christophe would’ve convinced himself from a young age that this would soulmate system is stupid— very dictating/controlling, kinda playing God w people’s love lives and we all know how he feels about God. He’d probably refuse to buy into the whole thing and maybe do stuff like try to get rid of/hide the tattoo on him or REFUSE to ever touch or be touched. And YES this would also go with his denial that he should get to be loved (i.e. “the system is a stupid bitch which means everything it claims is wrong and therefore I can’t possibly actually have a soulmate out there”).

Gregory, on the other hand, would believe so strongly in the soulmate system and be actively searching for his soulmate. I want to believe he’d remain optimistic for his whole life, but I also feel like he’d develop a bit of anxiety every birthday like “How have I not met them yet?” He’d constantly go to parties to mingle and hope, very social butterfly, but always to no avail. Maybe he’d even come to believe that he’s actually destined to be soulmateless and start helping others find theirs instead with the wide network he originally built for himself (the martyr in him).

The reveal would have to be very dramatic, maybe one of my classic beloved tropes of “Christophe is lowkey dying from wounds and Gregory bandages him up”, which is one of the only scenarios in which I could see Christophe’s inhibitions lowered enough to not remember to fight this soulmate thing. Gregory might get mad afterwards that Christophe’s damn hang ups and hatred of the system are why it took this long, but in the moment he’d just be too happy and relieved to do anything but fall in love. And then ofc they would kiss <3

[the-demi-jedi]

Luke reads The PROX Transmissions

So the main hero is apparently some kind of genius scientist, but also an absolute trainwreck. Off to a good start.

Stephen must look so absolutely ridiculous walking around with, like, a window shaved in his hair with a number tattooed on his skin. Man should have shaved both side of his head to just look less like a madman, but I also understand that at this point, he doesn't give many fucks about what people think.

This makes me think whether Stephen is based on Dustin or if Dustin is, like, a separate entity in the lore.

The amount of profanity is rather... excessive for a book that presents itself as a sophisticated sci-fi novel.

Seriously tho. There's something so funny about the fact that Starset has exactly 0 curse words in their entire discography while this book has at least one F-bomb per page on average.

"Aston Wise was a drunken asshole." Well, I'm not sure if you're in a right position to judge, Mr. "has sex with students" Browning.

Aston Wise is like Elon Musk if he was as cool as he thinks he is (but man he's indeed an asshole)

TBH I never really understood that "pathetic sopping wet dog man" meme, but I think it could apply very well to Stephen

I like how both Aston and Steven are supposed to be some kind of geniuses yet they seem to share a single braincell

This book can be pretty campy sometimes. And I definitely do NOT mean it in a negative way.

Evil CEO, aka. the most realistic villain

Motherfucker pays his people 37K per year and then [shocked Pikachu face] when they betray him

Regretfully, I have to inform you that not even this book is immune to the "breasted boobily" trope.

So Dana's daughter is Sarah? For a second, I thought it might be Sarah the Sarah aka. the BMI influencer from the "Icarus" video, but that's not consistent with the timeline.

It's incredibly in-character for Aston Wise to think like "What would be the best way to introduce people to a message from the future about the collapse of civilization? LET'S CREATE A KICKASS ROCK BAND AND THEY'RE GONNA PLAY IN SPACESUITS"

One of the book's most bonkers qualities is that it regularly and fluently oscillates between "pulpy, campy thriller feat. suited thugs with guns" and "the deepest, most profound, most thought-provoking shit you've ever read with your two eyes"

It's so funny how Dustin describes himself as kinda politically neutral and yet. The villain is a CEO of a megacorporation. The shady villainous organization is called "Collective of Industrialists" and they're like 0,1% away from being those comical cartoon capitalists with top hats and twirling mustaches. The Message, the very thing Starset is about, can be basically boiled down to "unchecked capitalism can and will cause utter, irreversible collapse of the society". While there are phrases used like "healthy capitalism" (which I'm not sure can exist), the book overall is more left than beef on pizza.

"Jay Bezie, the owner of a major internet retailer" LMAOOOO

"Partick Walman" the author just fucking GAVE UP on being subtle

I'm feeling weird about the concept of the Everything Machine being able to print, like, fully functioning humans. What makes it so that it doesn't just print a lifeless body? Then there's this whole debate about soul / some "spark of life" that can't be replicated. I know the Order are all scientists so they don't give a damn about it, but what if they didn't colonize PROX, but only filled it with some lifeless flesh drones?

Okay so overall, the book ended in a very satisfactory way, but also left enough cliffhangers and loose ends to make you HYPED for the sequel. Also... it raises some questions about the lore revealed in the Divisions/Horizons era. How did Aston become "The Architect"? Does it mean he's evil now, or just a persona non grata for the Order? And what about the takeover of the Starset Society by the Order of Teslonia (which signalled the release of "Horizons")? Does it mean they are one entity now? And what role does Stephen Browning play in all of this? So many questions.

Overall 10/10, a must-read for every serious and self-respecting Starset fan.

[leohtttbriar]

7, 12, 16, 18, 20 - that's a lot so take your pick, I just always like seeing your opinions

right back at you! was secretly hoping you would reblog the game :)

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

never really encountered this phenomena before cobra kai except for the vaguest hint of an aversion to samwise gamgee after everyone kept calling him the "real hero," but that aversion never took, and i'm ashamed to admit such weakness even now.

johnny lawrence was one of my favorite characters in cobra kai season one and then i logged onto tumblr and now i just Do Not Get It. a feeling i think from pre-season 3, even, when he was still a good and consistent character in the show. another character was robby. predictably, he was a bit babygirlified and he got soooo much more attention than sam and tory and even miguel and tbh, that made me pout massively. like. i don't care about him :(

i could be intellectual about this (and, okay, clearly the root of this petty hate is that particular sort of frustration that comes over a girl when all the boys in her fourth grade gym class get mad at her for being faster than them and then they refuse to let her play in their recess soccer game even though she's the best player--and it then sticks with her for the rest of her life) but in a vacuum i probably wouldn't feel the way i do. like, my ire is definitely in response to how other people feel about the bully character from 80's sports movie karate kid.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

you can bet that any female character that has ever been called annoying is at the top of this list. feels like girls like that are always popping up and torturing pop-culture consumers. the only one i can name right now is sam larusso, since that's the most recent model.

but also i read pride and prejudice in seventh grade. didn't get a single word of it, but i did understand that mrs. bennett was extremely annoying. then i read it again a few years later and have been her fierce defender ever since. female characters with high-pitched voices and anxiety: i adore. if you don't like those characters, in my head im thinking you're only as intelligent as me at 13.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

any sort of portrayal of spock as someone who is violent and angry and just holding it back constantly bc he hates being half human--i do Not Get It. any sort portrayal of an alien species on star trek in which the aliens learn to embrace their humanity, or something. like, i can't stand it.

i want spock to be super-duper logical and stoic. i want that to be a good thing. i want all alien characteristics to be embraced and explored. i want the weirdness. new trek just isn't doing weirdness enough! and if human morality and social structures are so universally important, stop being cowardly and explain whyyyyy.

this also applies to fanfic which is, in fact, disastrously worse on this subject. especially fanfic based on the 2009 star trek movie.

but okay it's like---the roswell conspiracy is really fun and stuff cause it is really just the government stoking some nonsense so the russians can't figure out all the special-stupid weapons and spy-equipment they're making. and then it means that everything in roswell, nm is alien themed: little green faces everywhere, three-fingered hands waving at you on billboards, "greetings earthlings," 50's era space-art, and so on. I am very into that aesthetic, especially in the middle of nowhere southwest desert with not a mountain or forest for hundred of miles. of course people were looking up and being like "there must be Something out there. look how big."

all good, yes, and silly. but people really believe it and they really believe that the aliens look the way they do! the way the "witnesses" described little looking men with big ol eyes in a big ol head and extra long arms. sweeties! that's a primate! that's an earth-creature! there's no imagination! there's no weirdness! what if the aliens didn't have a face. what if they didn't have eyes! what if they were made of a chalky substance that molted every few minutes to maintain a needed basic pH and their way of observing electromagnetic radiation was not light projected thru a lens but like little pores of mucous all over their body like the one's on sharks (ampullae of lorenzini) that absorb electromagnetic radiation and also give the creature poles which means they can block all visible light with special mind powers and maybe photosynthesize or something.

i realize that fanfiction is largely concerned with two attractive men going at it, but for all that people claim to be "monster fuckers," that really hasn't borne out in star trek fanfic. explore eroticism with the weird, with the actually alien. i want that. that'd be great. i know octavia butler and others already Did That but i want to see a star trek go boldly, you know what i mean. also, i want something more like eroticism for the sake of the erotic--not as metaphor about feminine subjugation or something (no offense ms. butler).

even if that doesn't happen, would love to read a fanfic or watch a tv show in which, for example, spock's journey is not about how oppressive being a vulcan is, or whatever.

[incorrectquotesconaisseur]

SO GUYSSSS I JUST FINISHED READING RULE OF WOLVES AND WHAT THE HELL???? I am a MESS

(so here are my thoughts that I had while reading it)

❗❗RULE OF WOLVES SPOILERS❗❗

• Lol Nikolai has a horse named Punchline, I love him so much

• Sankta Zoya Y E S

• Nina is sooo badass I love her - Brum needs to die btw

• Fjerda is a little shit

• "If not for Nina, their blessed termite eating at the heart of Fjerda’s government" - did I mention I love Nina?????

• Nikolai is a freaking mastermind and I love him

• OMG THEY HAVE AN ANTIDOTE FOR PAREM NOW???? HELL YEAH take THAT Fjerda!!!!

• Nina adopting Kaz's mindset when back at the Ice Court is what I live for

• UGH THE APPARAT

• Nikolai is soooo in love with Zoya I AM GOING CRAZY

• Zoya's "you forget that in Kerch greed is a virtue" gave me MAJOR Kaz vibes... I miss my crow babies

• Maybe it's an unpopular opinion, but I don't really like Ehri

• ZOYALAI NATION, HOW ARE WE??? ARE WE CRYING?

• I just REALLY love the found family trope and seeing everyone gathered in Zoya's rooms and Zoya curled up on the couch next to Genya I just AAAAAAAAA

• I absolutely adore the whole concept of the Darkling's prison and the CONSTANT sunlight he has to face HA - Alina vibes

• OMG "bring me Alina Starkov" WHAT THE FUCK I have literal chills ESPECIALLY after seeing the S&B trailer:)

• Nina being so confident in everything she learned from the Crows gives me so much serotonin I WANT MY BABIESSS

• Oh my god... I like prince Rasmus, he gives me major Nikolai vibes

• I draw immense satisfaction from Kaz and Zoya using "podge" as their preferred curse word :))))

• NIKOLAI CAN SEPARATE HIMSELF FROM HIS DEMON???? King behavior

• HOLY SHIT ALINA AGREED TO THE MEETING here we go again, fam

• I'm seeing Nikolai talking a lot about accepting his death and being undisturbed by the prospect of it and it feeaks me out - if he dies, I die with him

• Random, but: they need to get the thorn stuff from the Order of Sankt Feliks or whatever, right??? Maybe they have to steal it... and they would require expertise... MAYBE SOME CROWS PLS???????? (I am such a clown)

• Okay wait... so the letters that prove Nikolai is a bastard are in the druskelle sector... PLEASE TELL ME NINA HAS TO BREAK IN THE ICE COURT the fact that she is back there ALONE makes my heart clench so hard... I MISS MY CROWS

• FUCK ALINA SHOWED UP (also Oncat apparently and now I want to cry about Harshaw again)... AND MAL I can't take this I AM HYPERVENTILATING

• I AM LEGIT ON THE FLOOR Yuri is still there FINALLY understanding that the Darkling is evil AND NOW MY MAIN MAN GOT HIS POWERS BACK oh, I love the chaos

• NIKOLAI FUCKING CARRIES ZOYA'S RIBBON IN HIS POCKET nobody fucking touch me

• THE WEDDING IS FOR GENYA AND DAVID????? I AM SOOO CONFUSED what the heck

• Nikoali is the most fucking badass amazing cunning freakishly intelligent idiot I have ever seen in my entire life, my love for him is immesurable, I cannot put into words just how awesome his awesomeness is TAKE THAT MAKHI YOU BITCH

• OH HELL NO the demon is trying to escape SMACK THAT BITCH NIKOLAI BABY

• Oh wow, Rasmus is crazyyyy af he isn't anything like Nikolai my perfect boi SORRY

• OMG Nikolai's dad us a good guy??? I feel so sorry for him... SO NIKOLAI WAS RIGHT TO BE A ROMANTIC huh

• FUCKING HELL again with the nichevo’ya???? Darkling bby, what the HECK

• Nononononooo NO NOOOO NOT DAVID WHAT THE FUCK LEIGH

• "This is what love does" one of the most powerful quotes tbh

• Wait... they want to???? STEAL??? titanium from the Kerch??? .... DOES THIS MEAN.... C R O W S?????

• Okay but... the Darkling's POV? POWER MOVE I love it!!! And the fact that he uses Aleksander as his name with zero reticence now is just *chef's kiss*

• I'm sorry but... I don't like Mayu's chapters I AM SO SORRY I DON'T

• Nina is my badass queen STEP ASIDE PEASANTS

• All these SoC Easter Eggs and mentions are driving me insane

• Idk why but imagining the Darkling drinking beer is sooo funny to me

• I AM LOSING MY SHIT they are in Ketterdam KETTERDAM does that mean ....DOES THAT MEAN ....I better see my Crows or I am throwing hands

• The Zoyalai conversations in this book are KILLING me

• OH MY FUCKING GOD so Kaz took the Emerald Palace over and renamed it THE SILVER SIX???? LIKE???? I AM LEGIT CRYING???

• Ummm...Zoya, honey, WHY do you want to VOLUNTARILY stay away from Nikolai, HUH?????

• THE ONLY REASON HE AGREED TO HELP NIKOLAI WAS BECAUSE HE GUARANTEES INEJ'S PROTECTION if that's not L O V E idk what is YAAASSS KANEJ

• FUCKING SHIT JESPER!!!! IT'S JESPER!!!! WYLAN!!!! I AM FAINTING MY BABIESS

• The Crows' banter is WHAT I LIVE FOR

• Kaz is the most cold, badass and calculating motherfucker on the planet, I love him soooo much

• No NO NOO JORAN IS THE ONE WHO KILLED MATTHIAS????? HOLY SHIT I am sooo scared LEIGH WHYYYY

• Kaz's reaction to Nikolai's demon is legit the funniest shit ever

• Kaz and Nikolai are bffs - THIS IS HEADCANON LEAVE ME BE

• Queen Leyti has severely disappointed me

• I am having waayyyyy too much fun reading about the Darkling among blindly faithful monks - this is the stuff of sitcoms

• (I know the Crows only had a cameo and they won't pop up again, but I can't help desperation wanting to see Nina reunite with them and PLEASE GIVE ME INEJ!!!)

• Honestly, it's pretty cool getting to have a look in the Darkling's head - it's SUPER fucked up

• OOOOO the blight vs the Darkling = the only confrontation I want to see

• FATHER AND SON REUNION

• I don't care much for Hanne x Nina, but I have to admit that they make a very cute couple

• FUCK THEY BROKE STURMHOND'S BLOCADE FUUUUCK

• WAIT NO it was their plan all along HOLY SHIT electricity RULEZZZZ who knew physics would prove THIS useful???

• UUUGHH FUCK THE APPARAT I am so sick of this guy - Zoya was right, they should have killed him

• I am really pissed at the Darkling- YOU FUCKING ACKNOWLEDGE HOW MUCH RAVKA NEEDS YOUR HELP, YOU SEE NIKOLAI'S BRAVERY, YOU KNOW YOU CAM HELP, AND YOU DO NOTHING??? BRO WHAT THE FUCK

• HELL YEAH ZOYA IS A DRAGOOON fuck some shit up sweety Y E S

• MY SKIN IS CLEARED AND MY CROPS ARE WATERED BY THE DARKLING RAISING A MOB TO CALL ZOYA "SANKTA"

• Also... the Darkling winking at Nikolai? FLERT

• WHAT THE FUCK???? HANNE DIED??? holy shit, why???? WHY CAN'T NINA BE HAPPY???????

• Nikolai is an absolute SAVAGE in a debate

• Idk what to think abt Rasmus... he was kinda badass for standing up against Brum

• SOLDIER. SUMMONER. SAINT. slap me and call me a hoe I SCREAMED WHEN I READ THAT

• ZOYA AS QUEEN, SIGN ME THE FUCK UP

• Okay I stan the Darkling again

• ZOYALAI IS CANON I REPEAT ZOYALAI IS CANONNNNN

• OKAY WOW HANNE IS A FULL-ON BADASS yep, I stan

• I really???? LOVE??? this ending for the Darkling??? Idk but it is VERY fitting

• ALINA!!!! AT ZOYA'S!!!! CORONATION!!!! my life is complete

• FUCKING SHIT INEJ!!! INEEEEEJJJJ my queen my love AAAAAA

• The conversation at the end between Alina, Zoya and Genya DESTROYED ME

• STEALING THE HEART OF SANKT FELIKS yes please BRING THE CROWS BACK!!!!! I NEED ANOTHER CROWS SEQUEL!!!!

• I fainted, I ascended, I DIED at the last page

• NOW I NEED A SEQUEL!!!

• Leigh, you ARE goig to write what happens next, right? RIGHT? RIGHT????

[bookofmirth]

Idk what to say every time I see headcanons and artworks of Elain being a family with Nuala and Cerridwen. We know BARELY anything about them. They weren't even there in acosf? I think in the whole acotar series there are only like 2-3 small scenes of those 2. Elain knows them for 2-3 years and the only thing we know that they did is just being friendly to each other and bake. They are also getting PAID BY RHYS to do that. We've never see them act like Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie or Feyre, Mor and Amren. Never.

No, I don't want to hear any "that's because we'll see that in Elain's book". I can't see how after 2-3 years of only being nice to each other, they're going to act all sisterly around each other all of a sudden? This "friendship" isn't the type of friendship that Sarah usually goes for, yk? We all know Sarah LOVES the trope found family. Key word: FOUND. Elain, like Feyre and Nesta, should find her own people that she would call "family", not the kind of people that literally bonuses if they go on a walk with her. Not the kind of people she has to wait years to finally call them family. Even Cassian has found Gwyn and Emerie and made the realization that they’re his friends to. But I can't see Azriel doing that with N&C. Especially after centuries of knowing them. It would look like he only befriends with them because of Elain. N&C don't seem like they have personalities.. I mean yeah we barely see them, but Vassa also has just like 3 scenes in the entire series and yet she has a big enough personality.

God- I remember the days where some el/riels were suddenly claiming that gwynriels would want N&C to leave Elain and be with Gwyn and gwynriels were like "🤨?! They’re barely mentioned in the series and Gwyn has Nesta and Emerie"- tbh, I even forgot that they existed 💀

The BoE seems to be the kind of family that Sarah would go for. Like they're everything that Elain could need. Elain would fit so well in the BoE and i just have a thousand headcanons of how she would meet them. Perfect.

I lost track of when this was sent and when the other one was sent, but was this the discourse in July?

I think it's funny that it's gotten to the point where we have arguments about characters who didn't even show up - not even a mention - in the last 800-page book. idk, something about it amuses me. Like the shitstorm that happened last year when someone dared suggest Elain have friends outside the Night Court lmaoooooo Good times.

Side note, are these things that we're going to see in her book, or have they already happened? Because I'm confused on what people think is going on with her.

[heretherebedork]

Episode 2 (and more) of Triage in which Time Loops continue to Not Be My Thing but I place trust in @absolutebl and know that I can definitely cringe my way through a few episodes without any issues.

This one... I'm gonna try to talk more specifically about the show and not just ramble because I'm gonna do at least two or three episodes.

Episode 2

lol of course he's a rich model sporty smart boy who loves cats that's amazing.

You know, I think I have an issue with thinking Tae = Phap and overlaying my dislike of that man onto Tin's characters. Because. Yeah. The more he does slightly goofy things the less I like him.

oh I'm in for a rough time. I already want to skip this episode.

The music that plays when he sees him amuses me on multiple levels. Far more than it likely should.

"Never drive again" yes that's realistic advice and it's totally normal to just tell people they're going to to die. Seriously. Tin. Really? This is such a common time loop trope that I knew it'd happen but I don't have to like it.

I already like Sing.

Jinta is my favorite and I love him so much and I wish Tin would listen to him better because telling him directly is obviously never going to work.

Tin is an idiot. Just... an absolute idiot. Telling people you're in a time loop never works because who would believe that?!

Awww, Gap is new and young. I do like the side character. Gap, Sing and Toy have all gotten my affection without hesitation.

"Butterfly Effect"

bwuahahaha he got punched

Mmmm, side characters. I seriously love Sing and Gap. And that they're getting a chance to grow despite the time loop.

This is an interesting idea of how fate works. Shaking a string at any point does shake the entire string but typically not like this. It's a very different idea of how timelines work.

Awwww. Zebra!

At least he's figuring out how to make the time loop longer, even if he's not totally understanding.

Episode 3

Choking! And random arrivals! Welp! This is already off to a slightly better start. Though why wander around randomly in your scrubs?

I do like Tol already though this is one of those romances where I'm like 'he already has a girlfriend, though?'

But Tol is looking at Tin adorably I cannot deny.

I also love Art. Can I just keep all the side characters in this forever? I love them all.

Aww, Tol being worried for his stray kitty! OH NOES HURT KITTY. And Tol all covered in blood is a baby. And Tin giving him a clean shirt and also proving he's absolutely a stalker by knowing his class schedule? And the chest glance! Bwuahahaa.

The idea that he just... jumps into the ambulance and goes with them is slightly wild to me. But tiny baby Rit is a baby and I just wanna see him saved.

Why yes I am already more dedicated to the side characters than the main characters. No. Shock.

Oh, something is up. Oooo. Very nice. Also... yeah, this all adds up and I look forward to seeing where this goes. I love Sing deeply, tbh. I really do. He's adorable and darling and so, so worried. And, of course, Gap has a crush on Sing. It's great.

The idea that Art can already recognize the scent of the doctor is so amusing to me I can barely put it into words. Like... what?

Also, everyone is connected. Everyone. This might be more about illegal organ donation than the good stuff that Dear Doctor is talking about.

Seudam and Zebra will be besties forever and so will their owners. So be it!

Dude, being friends on facebook means nothing.

Oh, the pain of living in the house your sister designed and then knowing that she died and you couldn't do anything about it and still living there... oh, Tin. Oh, baby.

Boys with kitties and power ranger figurines! I love them so much.

I already love them as a pairing. This episode sealed the deal because Tol is adorable and Tin is hopeless and useless and I'm thrilled to say that.

"For you, everything is okay" is the least comforting phrase ever.

Oooo, Tol and Mai's relationship isn't so simple and straightforward. Dun dun dun

"Fine, fine, I'm hitting on him" fgjhlfkhf well at least no one is judging Tin for being into boys?

Stop trying to just tell him! It's never going to work! You can't just tell him not to drive around. Jinta made that clear, damnit. It won't work!

Oh, Tin. Poor Tol just trying to live his life and Tin having no idea how to handle this whole thing at all seriously. I mean, it is a time loop so it's rather hard to handle but still.

End of episode 3! More in a bit.

[uweiy]

I'm intrigued by Love is Science? but know nothing about it. Can you give me a run down on what kind of thing to expect and who it might appeal to? Thank you!! 😁

Ooooo boi *gremlin smile* I'm glad you asked. You've entered the dragon's den, broken the dam and thus this post turned out to be a monster so I'm gonna link here another post from @accidentallyadramablog which imo gives a nice (and short) overview.

That said let's get into

Love is Science?

Summary :

Yan Fei is a the CEO of the Love is Science marriage agency, that matches people based on scientific data. Hsuan Yu, 8 years younger than her, is a promising young hairstylist who has been in love with her thoughout their entire childhood when she has only ever seen him like a little brother.

Unexpectedly they meet again. Between the way they've each built their lives and how Yong Yan Fei's ex husband still looms over Yan Fei's life, how will their relationship develop this time around ?

Now,

just reading that summary I know what you're thinking.

Indeed, if you have some experience with dramas, you might recognize some TYPICAL TYPICAL tropes – let's get them out of the way :

love triangle (though we all know who she is going to end up with don't we)

childhood friends

'noona romance'

And they are every bit as present and as trope-ey as you would expect.

However, as they say, the devil is in the details.

And particularly, in the side characters. Let me give you a quick rundown of the lot of them :

As such, we follow the stories of multiple relationships that develop parallel to one another.

The relationships

• Yan Fei/ Hsuan Yu : Not much needs to be added I think. Their storyline might be the most predictable but they are pretty sweet and heartwarming. pining for like 12 years though poor Hsuan Yu. Anyway you can enjoy it or find it boring or but you can't hate it.

• Mark/Ouwen : Noooow we're getting to it. Their dynamic is so... Refreshing and unique. Confident gay with a soft heart and dumb disaster bisexual I mean *chef kiss*👌delicious

After the disasters of their first meetings, it's a cat and dog relationship where Ouwen is the hsssssss don't touch me– cat and Mark is the golden retriever trailing after him not really realizing the rampage he's creating in Ouwen's heart. while Ouwen is like "Remind me why the FUCK I caught feelings again ?".

IDK it just has everything 'Enemies' to friends to lovers, (not actually) unrequited love, pining, sweet moments, jealousy, feelings realization, snarky banter... What more could one want.

• Cho Nai Hui / You Fu : they are. So. So sweet. Both are older and have experience, and as such they are not so naive or stupid as the youngsters. Them sharing their life experiences and going on dates like typically teenagers (in movies or TV shows anyway) would is refreshing to see and really really heartwarming.

• Liu Sheng Ying/ ??? Her ex ? : The show hinted at a wlw storyline and this arc seems to have JUST begun. Basically Sheng Ying's ex comes to Love is Science as a client and requests Sheng Ying as an advisor, while Sheng Ying still seems heartbroken over her. I can't WAIT to see how it develops.

The friendships :

Something I greatly appreciate is that both the romantic relationships AND the friendships have a great importance in the drama.

• Joanna and Yan Fei : Jo, queen Jo 👑. She's just here to gossip, get all the gossip and be the voice of reason and we love her for it. You can see how comfortable they are around each other and how they were there for each other during tough times and still are. Kudos to the actresses because I believed the characters were besties in a heartbeat.

• Hsuan Yu and Mark : they are honestly... Such polar opposites you kinda wonder how they became friends but they are and it works perfectly.

Hsuan Yu still hasn't gotten he maybe shouldn't take Mark's advice, and Mark still hasn't gotten that he, definitely should take Hsuan Yu's. It also enables to develop a more playful and mischievous side to Hsuan Yu, giving him more depth?

• Ouwen and Sheng Ying: rivalry to reluctant solidarity to friends-but-i-will-deny-it-if-asked to just friends. IT'S GREAT

I also ejoy the fact that these multiple storylines are allowed to coexist. The romantic ones, the friendships, older, younger, m/f m/m and f/f like take your pick !! And tbh a WLW storyline ?????? These are so scarce I will take anything.

The recurring themes :

The show more or less subtly touches on some topics/issues, to which the dating aspect contributes to.

A non exhaustive list would be

Divorce, and how divorced women can be viewed as failures for some reason

How successful men over 30 are sought after but successful women after 30 are somehow deemed undatable

Preconceived notions and homophobia

And beyond the topics, there's just things like... Joanna not being interested in long term relationships nor wanting to get married, reporting sexual harassment, older people going on dates.... I'm not saying it's a groundbreaking activist drama –which is not really what I was looking for– I just appreciate the fact that it is a pretty mainstream drama and that these things are there.

Mad respect if you've made it up to here ! but we're not quite done yet.

The cast and crew :

The other element that made this drama stand out for me besides the side characters is the cast.

It might be weird that such a meta thing impacts the appreciation of the show but it did, for me at least.

📣📣TMI WARNING 📣📣

For me what happened is I stumbled onto Mark and Ouwen cuts on YouTube, then somehow onto the behind the scenes. They weren't subbed at the time so I could barely understand a word of what they were saying, thus I'm not sure what but something about how the rest of the actors, the director and the crew were interacting just told me it was a show worth watching or at least checking out.

📣📣END OF TMI📣📣

The cast honestly seems to have a blast and to have, how to say it, come together really well. It seems like most of them have become genuinely friends, or despite differences in personality have truly enjoyed working with one another and with the rest of the crew, and it shows.

Where it's lacking

In my opinion the show does have some aspects where it underperforms.

As previously mentioned, the main plot is kinda tropey, furthermore, in a drama typical fashion when something is about to get resolved, immediately something else happens. Nothing unexpected from a drama though.

The pacing : Some moments of the main plot especially dragged on, so I admit I skipped through some parts.

Because I feel so strongly about all the characters though, I don't really mind the previously mentioned points. I just think it's a shame because I feel like if it had been crafted a little bit better it could have made the show go from an 8/10 good drama to an 11/10 friggin amazing drama easy.

Lastly, there is a pretty unequal time distribution so Yan Fei and Hsuan Yu do tend to occupy the most part of an episode. However some episodes are more centered on some pairings (like ep 11 that will probably have an important Mark/Ouwen part).

Overall

it's a drama that warms my heart, as simple as that. It's not that deep, it's pretty funny, the acting ranges from good to excellent and I have taken a liking to a lot of the characters, which is what I think fuels my interest for the drama.

And I feel like it managed to attract a wide range of audiences because the romances and relationships are so diverse. Whether you watch the show for its entirety or for one aspect/storyline/character is entirely up to you and I feel like the creators of the drama are aware of it as well : and you can easily find subbed compilations about each specific pairing on Settv's official YouTube channel.

Take that aspect that you like–if you find one of course–and enjoy it, that is all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What's left to say besides.... 🎉🎊 Congratulations for making it to the end of this lengthy post !