#idk sucks to have a protagonist who is smarter than you

[xsoulxsilencex]

Okay, this post was sitting in my drafts for a while and at first, I wanted to wait til the arc (and season) is over so I could talk about it properly, along with some other things. But I guess now is the perfect timing. Well, what's the topic?

It's the way the (eng) fandom sees Yuhi. Because damn, this guy seems like the most hated character of the show rn when I look around the internet.

I remember during season 1, people would be meh about him because he wasn't as cool/strong/smart as Yuamu and Yudias. He was the "weak one" of the trio, "too childish/silly compared to his twin sister" with a lame looking deck aka uninteresting and people waited for the writers "to do something with him" so he would be up with the other two.

Then season 2 comes and Yuhi gets more focus. He's a bit smarter, his dueling improved too. People who were meh about him at first suddenly started to like him better. But with this change, other people would come to hate him.

The major reason I see people hating on Yuhi now is for him "taking away" screentime/focus/relevance of Yuamu and sometimes Yudias too. And I wonder: Why do you hate the character and not the writers for that? Ngl, I like Yuhi a lot but I totally understand people wishing that Yuamu got the same treatment as him or was at least a bit more involved. I mean it does suck to see how barely she matters when even other girls like Asaka and Yuna do more/get more focused episodes than the freaking main girl. Doesn't help either how Yuamu is just absent on the season 3 poster. Some assume she could be the next big bad but if not.. where is she? Would the writers really just "write her out" for a while? If that was the case, it would just mean that more people would get pissed at Yuhi. Because then, there is just one Ohdo twin so he will get more attention than before.

There's now the arc final duel against Yuga and yeah, it's Yuhi dueling him and not Yudias. I can understand being annoyed or disappointed about this decision but again, instead of just hating Yuhi for this, why not be pissed how the writers don't let Yudias duel Yuga? Like what is stopping them to let Yudias face him? Tbh, I still think there's this little chance of when Monster Reborn gets activated in ep 101, something happens with Yuhi so Yudias has to take over for him. Similar to how Luke took over for Yuga once. It's maybe not much but better than having him not involved at all?

Ngl, while I'm curious how season 2 will end and season 3 will play out with the new antags, I'm not looking forward to see one of my favorite characters keep getting hated for things he's not responsible for because the writers can't manage to give other characters some attention and relevance too. Like I really want to see more people questioning the writers (because they didn't just screw up when it comes to Yuamu just existing or Yudias getting barely proper protagonist time, there are more problems and Idk how some people can't admit that but still say the writing is great) than just go "I hate Yuhi so much" and act like he's the sole source of evil when he's not.

[saltpotion]

why am i incapable of coming up with a fic that isn’t extremely complicated

[katierosefun]

Howdy, here to pitch in my opinion on hyuk because that ask/anon got me thinking big time (and there's a hyuk wip sitting in my documents, so...). The guy annoyed me so much when I first watched the show, but damn he really is one of the smarter characters. I 100% agree that both han ki hwan and hyuk know how to play the game and, in hyuk's case, the game is socioeconomically rigged against him. Like, meritocracy is one of capitalism's greatest myths, and since he wasn't born rich, for him to socially advance he has to hold onto whatever he can, and han ki hwan's support is pretty much a golden ticket to high society, as long as he can make himself useful. Tbh, I think he'd resent joo won in the beginning, seeing him as this rich kid who knows nothing about real life, until he gets to know both him and han ki hwan (and realizes what a mess he got himself into). Plus, he seems really done with ki hwan's bs by the end of the show 😂 idk. This show def has some interesting social implications, and I think the han family trio is particularly interesting to dissect. (But I guess that's third rewatch material, ahaha) tl;dr: capitalism.

right? right? when i first started watching beyond evil, i remember disliking hyuk--but only because i realized that it was because he was so . . . he represented so much of the every man, the one who's not born with the same kind of social and financial capital that joo won has. but he's not like . . . the Plucky Protagonist who somehow miraculously pulls himself up by the bootstraps--in part because hyuk is a side character, but also because beyond evil has always been unapologetic in showing things for how things really are, in part because hyuk does the only thing that someone like him can do: suck up to people who have some power, play dumb where he can, play the cards he's been dealt with.

which explains why when joo won's throwing a hissy fit (ie. the time he drank champagne so early in the morning, moping about how dong sik dumped him), hyuk offers a bit of advice. he explains about how people are going to use him, and then they're going to make joo won look like the foolish one--which, dong sik and joo won's hilarious relationship aside, is genuinely solid advice, and you don't give that kind of advice unless you a) have witnessed it happen to people around you or b) have personally felt that kind of wrong yourself. which, given hyuk's family background, i guarantee he must have had something like that happen to his family or himself before.

but in any case: yes. hyuk is such an interesting character because he's smart, and he's also not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and seems to have to pay for that every step of the way. the fact that he became a prosecutor coming from his humble background says a lot, because a) going to law school is no joke, and b) given that hyuk was able to tutor joo won tells me that he must have gotten into a very good law school/had a very good education, otherwise ki hwan would have never hired him. given that connections are such a big part of the legal field, my heart personally squeezes thinking about how hyuk must have navigated that world on his own. and how it must have been unpleasant the first time, because the first time's always the hardest--forcing oneself to seem dumber than they actually are, pretending to be meeker than they actually are, etc. which goes to show that hyuk isn't just smart, but he's also got hellishly strong personality traits over all, because i think more foolish people would have been too proud to take themselves down a notch for the sake of some better reward in the future.

anyways! i love hyuk. he's such a compelling character, and park ji hoon is a fantastic actor, and i really do hope i see more from him because he somehow sold me on hyuk even with his few scenes. and hyuk. kwon hyuk ! ! ! i hope he is doing well and that he and joo won are still nabbing at each other and that joo won's named him best man at the wedding and etc etc etc

[neverlearnedtoread]

The Kiss Quotient

⭐⭐⭐: ‘oh- oh and they’re fucking now, ok. well, neat. good for them, really’

Oh?? 👌😉😏

#ownvoices neurodivergent rep - main character is on the autism spectrum, as well as a side character who becomes the protagonist of the next book (sort of a spin-off, as far as i can tell from the blurb)

diversity!! vietnamese-swedish love interest, and there are quite a few scenes with his family in it

lots of discussion about consent - it’s up to personal preference whether you think it was absolutely, verbally, 100% crystal clear the whole time, but it was a pretty big deal throughout

the girl is smarter than the guy and richer than the guy, and he’s into it *jake peralta voice* noice, smort

No.. ❌🤢🤮

weird miscommunication stuff where they didn’t talk, even though at other times, they did!! they went from ‘open communication during sex is super important’ to ‘i’ll bottle up all my feelings, and one day, i’ll die’

the male love interest is somewhat...inconsistent. parts of his personality are exaggerated or downplayed as the plot required - instead of how he would react in a given situation because he’s a layered character

the end tied up too neatly a little too fast - they pingponged back from the ‘don’t talk to me you ruined my life’ stage to the ‘im in love with you now and forever’ stage in like, one scene, and didn’t resolve a lot of the underlying issues between them that the author set up

slightly insta-lovey and some jealousy scenes - not many, but enough for me to notice

Summary: Stella Lane, a talented econometrician (big data. much smart), is a firm believer that the only way to get better at something you suck at is to put in the practice, and if you’re really struggling, to consult a professional for pointers. She decides to apply this thinking to the part of her life she feels the least confident with - romantic relationships, and sex. Hiring an escort named Michael is the first step to finally finding someone worth sharing her life with. (Like, idk, the guy she hired as an escort? Seems like the easiest solution overall.)

Concept: 💭💭💭💭

I like romance, but I think it’s one of the most difficult genres for me to rate highly - *Goldilocks voice* everything has to be just right! The characters have to catch my interest immediately, their meet-cute has to be adorable, I’ve gotta love them opening up to each other, I can’t feel like the drama that breaks them apart at the end of act 2 is contrived, and the ending has to wrap up in a nice bow - while still feeling fresh and well-earned! When I find a romance premise I like, it’s more than half the battle won - especially when the sex is promoted as cute and sweet; I like it when characters can laugh during sexy times. Makes it less performative and more heartfelt.

Some spoilers under the cut!

Execution: 💥💥💥

Like I said - romance is a hard target to hit for me. That doesn’t mean it was bad - I loved the beginning of this book, I just felt that the subsequent ‘break-up and make-up’ parts were rushed after the well-simmered set-up. And sex scenes didn’t quite vibe with me, it’s was very abrupt and ‘oh- oh, ok! we’re being horny now, got it’, especially the ‘caught up in the moment’ ones where two characters look!! at each other!! after an emotionally charged moment!!! and then they’re macking on each other like it’s the end of the world. ('ok i mean i guess we’ll wait to pick that plot-relevant thread up again later’, i say, as the characters’ clothes come off and the bedroom comes into view, ‘its cool im patient yall have fun’)

Fave Moment: I liked Stella’s POV a lot, especially when she’s finding out more about Michael - one scene that stood out to me was when she saw him at his mother’s tailor shop. It was clearly super embarrassing for Michael, but Stella was genuinely like !!! new fact!!! boy hot!!! and it was cute. The classic ‘oh. oh.’ part every romance needs.

Personal Enjoyment: ❤❤❤

I had a lot of fun with this - it was a light fluffy read, and super cute, especially at the beginning when they’re going on ‘dates’, but the ending lost me a bit in the sudden gearshift from 0-1000% conflict and misunderstood feelings. The conflict wasn’t all that bad - but the getting back together was surprisingly simple, and kind of a letdown after all the ‘im just not good enough for you, you’ll find someone better’ song-and-dance. I did like the way people accommodated (or didn’t) for Stella. The author made it clear that characters could easily figure out a way not to be an asshole, as long as they were willing to find a solution.

Fave Character: I loved Stella as a protagonist. She got a little inconsistent near the end - the part where she seriously contemplates resigning from the job that’s been a source of stability and genuine interest to her a lot longer than Michael was dicey, but thankfully she talked herself back from that rash decision on her own. Ultimately she was a protagonist you wanted to shower with compliments (not hug, because she doesn’t like that) and root for wholeheartedly. You deserve mindblowing sex and tooth-rotting fluffy dates, Stella. Go get your man.

[swannkings]

lightly connected thoughts on death and grief in fiction, spurred by the magicians 4.13

this post mentions rape and discusses suicide and death - if you feel any of these topics might negatively affect you, please proceed with caution or click away.

i tried writing something coherent, but i’m still pissed off and can’t bring myself to tap into my english comp skills right now.

re: “death in real life” - fiction is a safe way to explore and experience intense emotions. fiction is an escape from reality, when we need it, and so many of us desperately need that one hour escape in the actual hell we’re in. what a privileged world you must live in to believe that constantly viewing or reading trauma and death in fiction is what people who deal with that shit on the daily need to be reminded of?

idk about other shows, but beth greene from the walking dead is a mirror image to quentin coldwater. she survived an attempt to end her life, made it her job to care for others, was held hostage by rapist cops, and when she was given a chance to leave with her family she instead did something illogical that resulted in her death.

“i know you look at me and you just see another dead girl. i’m not michonne. i’m not carol. i’m not maggie. i survived and you don’t get it because i’m not like you or them. but i made it.”

more deaths that make no sense: abbie mills, beverly katz, glenn rhee, leslie shay, kate todd, poussey washington, t-dog, debra parker.

when a writer or showrunner does something to a character with the single intention of breaking their audience, that’s a death for profit. low ratings? kill off a main character in a shocking way. not sure what to do with this character and don’t want to continue paying the actor? kill them off suddenly. actor asks for pay raise after being on the show for multiple seasons? kill off their character so they can’t come back later. want to make every other character depressed for the rest of their lives? kill off anything and everything they love.

you’ve met daryl dixon, right? the sad white man who finds a glimmer of happiness and is just constantly kicked in the dirt because he’s a fan favorite - it’s boring!

in hollywood, audience grief isn’t about telling compelling stories, it’s about a small cluster of people blowing smoke up each other’s asses for so long they forget what actual cleverness is.

if you can’t figure out what to do with a character without killing them, you aren’t creative enough to continue being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars (or millions) for your work.

stop exploiting death.

during 4.13 of the magicians, i literally said “this is awful, but it’s so pretty”

stop romanticizing death.

quentin coldwater wasn’t the garden variety white male protagonist, and the fact sera gamble, john mcnamara, and henry alonso myers (and some fans) can’t see that is a lack of awareness and critical thinking.

also, why are you making eliot waugh, the only canonical gay man on the damn show, struggle with the death of a man he loves FOR THE SECOND TIME? he killed mike to get rid of the beast and spiraled into a deep depression and addiction! he got out of that hole, found love again, got body snatched by a monster, and now has to live through all that pain again? WHY? why is that so compelling to y’all?!

TV is killing off so many characters that death is losing its punch

The Walking Dead & the Dead Lesbian trope

Scott Gimple’s defense of killing Beth Greene

Gamble/McNamara/Myers’ defense of killing Quentin Coldwater

Life’s Not Fair So Suck It Up And Deal With It

I Want Loads Of Realism In My Fantasy

But Only The Horribly Scarring Kind Like:

Rape In Every Season Of Game Of Thrones

A Disproportionate Amount Of LGBTQ Characters, Women Characters, And Characters of Color Murdered On TV - Realism!

And All Fictional Villains Are Either Mentally Ill Or Have Some Form Of Disfigurement - Because Those Are Realistic Markers For Actual Criminals And Despots In The Real World We Live In.

writing an entire season of a show setting up a big bad and big bad 2.0, setting up a coup, setting up a hedge witch revolution, setting up a government take over that killed underprivileged magicians, setting up an actual slow burn romance, and then dumping that all on the floor to reup a toxic relationship and kill off the big bads, any chance of a coup, an entire revolution, and a well deserved love story in .03 seconds, just to be edgy - that’s bad writing my friends!

that’s like doing a group project and assigning different parts of an essay to different people and the first 3/4 are cohesive and well researched and the last 1/4 is just a three sentence paragraph that has nothing to do with the rest of the essay and was written by the one person who refused to come to meet ups and thinks they’re smarter than everyone else.

and keeping your actors in the dark concerning their friend and colleague and the actual story they have signed their names to - bullshit! extremely unprofessional! if any average person did something like that at work they’d be in super trouble! what assholes you are!

[theskyexists]

empress ki

are these koreans gonna go as far as to let this man fall for who he thinks is just some young cool guy?

i mean - they’re not chinese so

this is kinda silly lol. if she really wanted to be let go she could have just punched him. i guess that would have gone too far

this RANDOM assassin almost kills them - he disappears. we good. no worries.

where are her own men????

NOOOOO don’t ruin it

why the fuck would she have developed a feminine slap? i think theyre gonna ruin it. like contact with a male love interest will just forcibly feminise you

ok no she came up with an excuse

god - an openhanded slap from another man lol i can see how that might be quite offensive

she just chills in the crown prince’s bath no prob lol. ok so she locked the door

she just let herself get fuckin shot for this lol

this episode moves super fast but thats fun but i still don’t know how the king and the crown prince are related. the whole hostage thing really messed things up

i just realised that i love the bro/bro mlm stuff if its actually m/f. LOL.and I KNOW it’s going to only last one fuckin episode bc we’re gonna go right back to misgyny and chattel slavery especially for women but yknow

does she remember him?? did she send the bandana? i dont know on which side she really is.

yeah ofc shes the bandana guy. i mean - DUH.

WHY RISK YOUR OWN MEN - WHAT WAS THE PLAN

is this spy gonna get her bandana now???

or are these not her own guys?? THEY ARE

is she playing the king?? like - im still trustworthy though!!!! (or at least my men are) but how could she think to rely on the crown prince???

oh no the cool big sword moustache guy!!! why would he be the spy for the king????????????? what is there to gain??????? HE’S NOT THANK GOD

YES!!!! I LOVE THEM. ‘hit me’ BAM *violently and romantically perches over him to almost stab him*

aww haha the king is attached to seung nyang. too bad you’re an evil bastard she wants to destroy

i can’t quite tell why revealing the salt location drop off point is important or not. i guess it was just and only a test.

was that the guy in blue who volunteered to be shot at? : ‘( ah it’s not.its just some nobody. I guess she couldn’t have known who knew of her blue bandana so she had to hide it. But couldn’t she have told this guy from the very beginning when they were alone?

did the official guard not get told that more people were coming???? LOL. that’s one fuckin mess

HEROIC HORSERIDING YEAAAAAAAA did she not think of a reason for being alive? ‘kill me’ OH MY GOD hahahahaa. smart but so risky (it turns out that the crown prince is the crown prince but the king is the brother of his dad’s)

is there something you want? I THOUGHT YOU WANTED MONEY oh my god this guy is gambling it all lol. oh no, he’s gonna make it too.

it’s always the ‘unrightful’ people that get villainised for wanting power

what the fuck her dad’s gonna kill all her friends and make her into a sex slave? jezus christ how dark (i read a synopsis that she gets sent to yuan after all somehow). on who’s fucking authority? couldn’t they have gotten at the very least a letter from the goddamn ‘auditor’ to protect them

oh my god. just wear your fucking ring on the outside of your goddamn clothes. that was so FUCKING close

wow that was a pretty realistic breakdown

GO SEE HIM HELLO!!!!

she became a fucking COP TO SEE HIM HOLY SHIT LOL

JUST SHOW HIM THE FUCKING RING

did she just leave her band of boys behind???

dude why is this series romance blocking me what the fuck

gotta show that Yuan is backward through furs and beads!!

i do love that this series had the guts to start off with heartbreak. but also to let the female protagonist be a big bi....amorous...?

this show somehow made me feel sympathetic towards a stinkin imperial rich kid. he didn’t ask to be born into a family that would become his death

‘young boy’ *is literally at least 40*

the KING has only 10 men to spare? really?

he’s gonna let his servant get fucking murdered in his stead? yikes. ok so that wasn’t his PLAN no. poor servant guy

so they got her a MATCH - a dirven and smart and powerful king. and a soft and unexperienced and endangered future emperor.

this is so much my fucking THING it’s insane. i don’t even mind that the king is kinda ...average looking.

and she kicks his ASS LOL. and he falls ultimately deeply in love with her. this is incredible.

i wonder if she’s going to hold the death of his servant against him

they didn’t even take his head? stupid. oh i guess that’s for the traitors.

SHE STILL DOESN’T GET ITS REALLY HIM. I THOUGHT SHE WAS SMART

really - she lets the fucking chief get the credit. are you fucking kidding me? fuck this. be smarter! hate having to say that to a character. Be! smarter!

now he gets to be WHY HIDE FROM YOUR BOYFRIEND WHAT THE FUCK. if this is gonna be the whole fuckign show i can’t take it.

im gonna need to know if she keeps fucking hiding. stop hiding! STOP. stop hiding from the important men in your life! what the FUCK. stop hiding from your dad. Stop HIDING FROM YOUR FUCKING BESTO BOYFRIEND

the prince isn’t even upset about his servant’s demise

fucking finally somebody found out seung nyang was the ONE

I love Strong King - I love vulnerable future Emperor

he’s just a stupid indoctrinated kid! somebody should explain to him all the horrors that have been done to people in his name!

we have a sequence in which she’s done great deeds, gets called in, is concerned about how she slapped the important person around lol

we’re gonna get teh exact same for Togon one day

jezus christ that’s a very romantic thing to say to a cool and heroic young guy who saved your skin twice, king. are you - i n l o v e? a lil bromance perhaps?

awww he’s so damn happyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

she’s like - fuck. wish she stayed a little more ruffian though. wheres the fucking swagger!

how am i so into this m/m ship. LOL. im really into this stronk man and rogueish ‘boy’ bonding through hardship crisis crossing all rank

im up for her teaching the prince compassion and horror and the way of the world though

I KNOW this is soon going to devolve into a palace drama though so that fucking sucks

why is the emperor a young guy and the brother an old guy. was the emperor the preferred son? from the preferred wife?

has she never heard a guy pee??? i thought she lived with soldiers and shit

why the fuck is she carrying his excrement to the sea when she’s his BODYGUARD. this went differently than i thought

he literally is alone. there is no shift of the guard with him. hello?

what the fuck is this lax bodyguard shit. you need at LEAST two so one can sleep while the other guards.

everytime she bathes im like - ALARM ALARM

this jimbo traitor is so stupid lol

commander - just approach this stupid idiot. be the dad you want to be.

you could just become his son!!! hello????

so you really care about the peoplle huhg? thats why you keep selling off women?

oh my god. is the prince also falling in love with this ‘boy’? who embodies the masculine ideal? GOD I LOVE THIS SO MUCH im gonna cry when this is over and she ends up a fucking maid

this romantic fucking epic music as they struggle in a petty fucking competition in teh surf jlsjLKFJSDLJ:FLDSF I LOVE THIS

SHE VIOLENTLY PERCHES ABOVE THIS GUY TOO. ROMANTIC MUSIC

the koreans KNOW what is good. THEY KNOW.

oh this poor guy. please let this guy meet poor people. like. idk. the stolen women made into slaves and shit

yeah yeah they bond without him knowing about losing a parent and wanting revenge

the king is like, MY BOY!! that’s MY boy!! hands off!!!! that’s my dearest bromance boy friend!!!!

oh no - shes going to have to choose who to ride with lol

oh nooooooooo Seung Nyang don’t hurt King boyfriend !

‘he will not take Seung Nyang, will he?’  i had to double take there

I FINALLY understand the appeal of all unassailable men in romance. god, my brain is weird.

give seung nyang to me. dsjfpawejfeawjfljsdkljldsjflkdfsa dude. no. i know this is a love triangle but it is just within good if they do THIS moment right

the prince is a horrible shit

nooooo seung nyang please don’t hurt the king!!! he loves you!!!!

‘why am i burning up inside?’ YOU LOVE HIM!! YOU LOVE SEUNG NYANG!!! you love this guy!!! the koreans are daring lil mfs

where is the ruffian guy with the moustache and big sword?? he was the king’s left hand man when he wasn’t king yet.

the actress has really feminised Seung Nyangs mannerisms and way of movement past few eps (oh it’s a dream)

oh my god they’re no-homo-ing this through a dream. he just FEELS like Seung Nyang is a woman!!! that’s why he’s attracted!!! lol

seung nyang loses her dad. prince doesn’t notice. jezus

he impressed some dudewith his self-righteous dragon heaven propaganda. goddddd. the prince truly does not care how many people have already died for him. WHEN will he become likeable instead of hilariously piteous

just absolutely devastating end scene. shitty k-pop outtro.o hgod

will the prince finally - through seung nyang realise that actaully it fucking sucks that people keep being horribly harmed and killed for his sake?

JEZUS CHRIST I AM ON EPISODE 5 wHAT THE FUCK THIS IS LIKE 60 episodes long. oh my god no.

the thing i like about this show is that she looks believably like a very feminine boy for korean standards.

they keep playing him as childish, selfish and incompetent. but like, soooo many people DIED FOR HIM

hwo didn’t they kill bayan for obviously killing their own guard lol

finally she confronts him with the regular people!!!

what is lord jang doing with them

wow the commander’s beard is long. they been going for a while

well he is suffering - but can’t she get to him through words. make him a better person?

he is asking an important question. ANSWER IT GODDAMNIT

thsi ‘warming’ is so ridiculous haahahaha

*has full view of covered breasts* ‘he is definitely a boy!!!!’

i don’t know what sexuality politics this is - probably very bad ones - if you’re a straight man then you’re attracted to some fundamental femaleness in women!! or something

why is a bite mark evidence

god - these powerful people have enormous egos. they must, it is bred in them.i deserve power and when it is taken from me it sucks so much i can’t breathe!!! well uh yeah - everybody feels that way you ain’t special

she looks so sick

feels empathy for the first time ever. what a wonderful fantasy. that somebody could teach a prince empathy

*goes into town completely uncovered in royal robes which haven’t been weathered at all* ok

‘why did you hide you are a woman?’ what COMPLETE AND UTTER MALE NONSENSE

WOMEN ARE GETTING DRAGGED OFF TO BE SEX SLAVES AND YOU ASK THAT??? ‘sure, im sure you had your reasons’

WHAT FUCKING IDIOT

53:50

so she gets him in and then he betrays her? lol. but does it really matter? the king won’t be tried, there’s no reason for goryeo to be annexed. seung nyang won’t die. etc. he might as well go back to his deadly golden cage without endangering himself.

is it for her dad that she asks this of him? he faints, eh that’s a fine way out.

cant she hug a king back when he hugs her????? come ON

he almost killed his fucking son. these people are so CRAAAYYYZY

*leaves the people most likely to turn on him behind with the prince*

why does he have to reveal this?? what are the stakes here??”

goryeo’s soldiers???????????? what the fuck. i thought he was gonna come up with something clever like - pirates or something. not just ‘oh it was a random weirdo band of soldiers’ no -  ‘under the orders of the king’

WHAT. hes throwing teh whole country to the wolves. if seung nyang doesn’t kill him ill be surprised. seung nyang better get him for this for a thousand fucking years.

so he’s even personally betraying seung nyang. for a tiny chance at power. damn. wow. damn wow.

jezus what a fucking way to leave your daughter! making your last exchange putting yourself down as a father. DUDE. could have ended shit in a better way!

anyway literally cried twice about her losing her dad already

anyway so they both die in her arms. great.

yeaaaaaaah swearing to kill him. good. too bad it’s gonna be like 50 eps of palace maid shit and the prince barely got a taste of poverty

really wonder how traumatising this whole - is revealed as a woman and transferred to the empire as a sex slave thing is going to be - for me i mean

‘he’s probably living well in his homeland’  - how could you trust that your orders will be followed???

this is completely unrealistic wow

doesnt she get a fucking horse

who the fuck was park bhu - the undercop?

oh apparently laughing ugly is an indication of evil for a woman. laughing maniacally is an indication of evil for a man

her archnemesis is gonna unmask her as a woman in public? i think i might have to quit this show at this exact moment.

aaand.....guess ill have to quit.

ok that wasn’t so bad

how did they have women’s silks and makeup with them

she’s literally a martial artist warrior and she can’t fight a rapist attacker with her hands free?

oh god. she’s gonna be all feminine now bc she looks like a girl. oh god. i feel kinda sick.

SHE SUDDENLY DOESN’T HAVE ANY BANGS ANYMORE BUT LONG HAIR

THAT COMB WAS MAGICAL

some classic ‘female body weak’ sexism. love getting that from the beau

i know they’re trying to make danashiri seem unsympathetic but she’s saying fuck you to sexism here. then again it’s because she’s a spoiled elite brat

they really are made for each other

holy shit. this series just goes on and on and on and on and on. i can’t do this.

[gingerly-writing]

Questions Tag Games

explanation: I’m super late to these, I suspect not many people will want their dashes spammed with my random answers, and I’m not tagging people, so I’ve amalgamated all of these into one post. 

tagged by @concealeddarkness13! haven’t spoken to you in a while, hope you’re doing great

1. Would you rather write a more classical hero or an anti-hero as a protagonist? I’d rather write a hero for the protagonist, but an anti-hero as a general character

2. Who is your favorite character you have written and why? Ever? That’s cruel. Out of people that y’all would know, Urial does seem to generate the most emotional reactions

3. How many WIPs do you have? 3 proper ones, currently: Iron Flower, Space Royalty and Piracy Pays

4. Who is your least favorite character you have written and why? To write? Klarion from Young Jutsice fanfic. Motherfucker would not follow the assigned plot. Hate-wise? Possibly Coincidence or Accord, neother of whom you guys have met yet. Those two are a pair of nasty criminals/villains, and they are a little too good at punishing anyone who gets in their way

5. What is your favorite aspect of writing? Finishing!

6. If you had only one sentence (per WIP) to get someone to read your books, what would the sentences be? They wouldn’t because I suck at loglinesss...humourously though?

IF: an entire continent is saved from the ravages of war by the ancient art of sexting via treaty negotiations Space Royalty: ‘she stabbed me? god-fucking-dammit I am so in love with her’ Piracy Pay: you get to chug your drink every time I kill a character

7. If your protagonists fought to the death, which one would win? Protags? Depends if morals were removed, and whether it was on-on-one. Koronis, if not -he’s an emperor with black magic and an entire galaxy-wide army.  If it was on-on-one with minimised morals, Ace would stand a damn good chance. Boy is smarter than he gives himself credit for, and very adaptable. Galaxy is also pretty viable. Girl can swing a superpowered punch like she means it, and she hasn’t survived this long on luck alone.

8. Which protagonist(s) would survive the zombie apocalypse? Koronis would. Ace would die trying to save someone else. Solaris would...provided Monarch was dragging him around, and even then they might go down together in a dramatic last stand. Galaxy would be in charge of a small, benevolent queendom. Cleo would, those plant skills would make her handy to any new civilisation. Fact would go down staving off the hoardes so everyone else could run. Rosalie would think she was the weak link of her group, but they would probably keep her alive; L’aura would kick zombie ass.

9. Which is your favorite story you have written or are working on? Space Royalty is damn fun to write -the benefits of extravagant, overdramatic space operas I suppose. Piracy Pays has had a good reception, so I’m pretty proud of that. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going until the end! It is a huge pain o write though

10. Which of your characters is your favorite villain and why? Raph is my evil supervillin crimelord Big Bad and I adore him utterly

11. When do you find is the best time of day for writing? Evening! 8pm-1am

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tagged by the lovely @a-sundeen​! this is so old I bet you don’t even remember tagging me, oopsie

1. When you’re describing a new character, what feature do you usually note first? Build, usually, as in their height/weight ratio, muscles/skinniness or lack of, how they carry themself etc. The reason for this is that I often start with the macro ‘impression’ of the character before zooming in on a few specifics. I try to use an interesting description or comparison here as well.

2. Do any of your characters play an instrument or really enjoy music in general? If so, what instrument (or what genre, if it’s the latter)? I am the least musical person on planet earth, so making my characters musical often doesn’t occur to me. Koronis can sing and play the space-piano (forced childhood lessons), and Jade can play the violin, but neither of them are passionate about it. Kolya/Cynosure (the popstar/supervillain) is very very musical, but I skip around a lot of the specifics because I’m a big cheater. He mostly makes anti-establishment and anti-hero music, but he’s one of those artists who strays all over different genres.

3. Which musical artist usually gets you the most pumped to write? Les Friction does good dramatic music and they’re not so well known, so I like to tell people about them when I can

4. Do you prefer writing fight scenes over other types? (This is a weirdly worded question I’m sorry, rip) It’s worded fine, sunshine! And no, I don’t like writing fight scenes because I don’t like the logistics of them. There are too many limbs to keep track of, and then I feel like I’m neglecting their surroundings and potentially useful items in favour of mentally tracking who’s where and what their arms and legs are doing. I cover up for my fight scene weaknesses with too much dialogue, and I’m fully aware of that fact.

5. Is there a city or country you’d really like to write in or about? Write in is probably just where I’d like to travel, so Russia, India and South America (I know that’s general but it’s the only continent except Antarctica that I haven’t been to) are my top choices. Write about…I’d like to sink myself deep into east coast USA to really nail the feeling of Galaxy’s city and her character, and then be able to confidently write about it. I do have a study year abroad coming up in 2020, so here’s hoping…

6. Do you prefer to be warm or cold while you write? Warm! I love blankets and my big fluffy dressing gown, and on top of that all my friends always complain about how hot my house is

7. Do any of your characters have hobbies you’d like to try out someday? Fiction wise, glo-ball from Space Royalty sounds like a very entertaining game, especially when I’m kept safe behind a pod. sodding netball injuries Jade paints and draws, and I’d love to get better at art. Likewise, Rosalie sews, making and decorating her own clothes, and I’d love to be able to do that. Idk, does being a supervillain count as a hobby? I’d love to rob a bank…not even necessarily for the money, just the #aesthetic

8. What is your favorite type of character to write? Villains! And morally grey people. And characters where the POV character has no idea what they’re really thinking, who they really are, what they actually want etc. And, on the flip side, balls of positive sunshine, because they make me feel better about the world

9. Halloween is here! Which character has a costume made for them by their mom? Ahahahahaha can you tell how late I am to this.

10. Halloween is here (again)! Which character thinks the holiday is childish but dresses up anyway? I AM SO LATE. Rosalie thinks the holiday is childish but dresses up in the most elaborate homemade princess outfit ever and entertains all the kids she can find. What, it is a children’s holiday, surely she should be making them happy on their special day…

******************************************************************************************* tagged by @blackfeatherantics who is now @mbovettwrites I think? I hope?

1.      How long have you been working on your WIP(s) for? Iron Flower is the oldest current one, and I started it on Christmas Day 2016

2.      What song would you assign as your protagonist’s theme tune? I’ll just pick one, and Koronis’ is Young and Menace by FOB. No real lyrical reason, it just reminds me of him

3.      Do you have any favourite spots (gardens, parks, cafes, etc.) where you like to write? The sofa in my living room next to my family

4.      Poetry or Prose? Prose!

5.      Where do you draw inspiration for your writing from? Everywhere! Other people’s writing and prompts and published novels and TV and movies and random stray thoughts and daydreaming and chatting to other writers and-

6.      Is there any popular book that you wish you had written and why? The Lies of Locke Lamora because I’d take out the first 100-ish page of solid worldbuilding and backstory that seemed almost completely irrelevant to the rest of the plot?And the domino-effect of all the plot elements knocking each other into action at the end was so clever, it annoyws me that the beginning means I don’t like reccing it to people

7.      What’s your planning process when you start working on a new WIP? I daydream about it for at least a few weeks to make sure the idea has staying power. Then I come up with character names, quirks, descriptions etc. finally, I lay out the plot chapter-by-chapter from the beginning to the end so I have a guiding rope throughout the whole process and I’m less likely to get stuck. Of course, that’s when I plan on letting a WIP bloom into being. Some, like Space Royalty and Piracy Pays, start off as short drabble ideas and then refuse to leave, which means I have no concrete plan for them...

8.      Do you work best in mornings, afternoons, or at night? Evening!

9.      Would you prefer to self-publish or work with an agent and publishing company and why? Agent and publishing company, because I value the help they can provide more than the ability to retain complete creative control over my book (since I’m crap at titles and designing book covers anyway)

10.  How do your emotions/moods affect your writing? Not a lot tbh. If I’m very very tired I can’t write anything good, but I’m not sure that counts as an emotion.

11.  What’s your favourite line of your WIP/one of your poems? I’ve written both of my current favourite lines for prompts, which were: ‘Time hollows all victories’ and ‘The hero doesn’t die in this one’. I’ve had other favourites in WIPs over time, but I can’t think of them right now

******************************************************************************************* tagged by the ever wonderful @time-to-write-and-suffer

1) How are you so awesome? Genetics.

2) What’s your favorite thing about your writing? The dialogue! Or the romances, which I mostly like because of the fun/cute dialogue.

3) Who’s your favorite character that you’ve written and why are they your fave? This is so mean. At the moment, Raph, because I can’t stop thinking about him and he’s so incredibly dangerous, yet on the low down (like the Mariana Trench level of low down) he has all these cute little quirks that only one or two people know about

4) One of your characters has been placed in the world/plot of a book you love. What happens? Rosalie becomes a Grisha in Leigh Bardugo’s world. She finds a sense of self-worth and gets to enjoy the little luxuries that come with the position.

5) One of your characters has been placed in the world/plot of a book you hate. What happens? X takes the place of Celeana Sardothien. He murders everyone in his path, tells the crown of Terrasen to get fucked because there’s no way he can run a whole government with any level of competance, probably murders Rowan with extreme prejudice, opens the Wyrd gates just to search the universe for Raph and bring him through so he can construct a decent government for Terrasen, would probably sleep with Dorian, would make it his new life goal to highfive Manon.

6) Your characters must fight each other to the death until only one stands victorious. Who wins? Raph. Koronis could conceivably stand a chance against him, but Raph would decimate pretty much anyone else. I think Raph would be able to stay above the fighting for longer, whereas Koronis would jump in just a touch earlier, which would be his downfall.

7) If you could steal a cover and a title from other books to use for your own WIP/s, which ones would you steal? Cover-wise I’d steal the minimalist Red Queen aesthetic, because that sleek shit is the bomb.  Title-wise? That’s harder. The Lies of Locke Lamora has some sick alliteration, but I think I’d rather steal the style of it rather than the exact title

8) If you switched places with one of your characters, what would happen to you and to them? I would die, pretty much everywhere. If Rosalie swapped with me, she would slowly come out of her shell and become a fashion designer -not an A-lister, she wouldn’t like how vicious and ruthlessly businesslike you have to be, but maybe making her own high-end clothes in a small shop in London

9) What makes your style unique compared to other writers? Thanks for the existential crisis, Eff.

10) Describe your antagonist’s song number if they were a Disney villain. No Good Deed from Wicked, for Darklight

******************************************************************************************* tagged by the lovely @itstheenglishkid

1. Have you ever realized how similar an oc is to you and felt the need to change them so they aren’t so similar? I mean, Jade from Iron Flower almost shares a name with me, and she’s ginger, which did concern me for a while, but hopefully she’s nothing like me personality wise (or else I’d have to do some serious self-reflection)

2. Do any of your ocs like candles? I bet Rosalie loves pretty candles, especially patterned or strongly scented ones! Anything luxurious that she can’t afford, really

3. Do you normally write settings that are (or are based on) places you know intimately (ie your home town)? Oh god no. I like sweeping Chinese-inspired castles or creaking pirate ships or far flung space universities and man-made planets. I’m really not a contemporary writer though, so I guess this isn’t much of a surprise?

4. What is a book that feels similar to your own wip? Ahahaha, which WIP? Piracy Pays has similar vibes to @boothewriter‘s pirates and probably also @noodlewrites’ pirates (I’m guessing? I haven’t read any excerpts from you I’m sorry). Space Royalty is just weird. Iron Flower is probably similar to a lot of generic fantasy YA, like Red Queen and whatnot.

5. Do you have a dream cast for your ocs? I don’t really faceclaim? Or know much about a wide array of actors, so no, not really.

6. Are you good at story titles? Do they come easily to you? I am abysmal at story titles, holy shit. I mean, you can see the evidence scattered around this post. Piracy Pays and Space Royalty are just placeholder names, but I’m not convinced I’ll come up with anything good to replace them. Iron Flower is alright in that its relevant to the story and fits into the series title (The Flowers of War) but…idk, its not setting the stars alight or anything.

7. Do you ever change oc names once you’ve started a wip? Not often, though I am considering changing Ace’s name because I don’t think ‘Seb’ suits him. Only question, what to??

8. Which people have you let read your work? I mean, all of y’all have the opportunity to read Piracy Pays. No one has read Iron Flower, and I’m stretching myself by letting @rrrawrf-writes @lux-deorum@haphazardlyparked read Space Royalty in its raw first draft stage.

9. What usually catches your attention about a book first? Style? Characters? Plot? I’m quite an easy reader to catch and hold tbh. What makes me love a book is a clever plot. For me, a very strong plot can carry weak-ish characters, but I can never read super deep characters with no plot.

10. Do you have a favourite author? Probs Rick Riordan, or Julia Golding.

******************************************************************************************* tagged by the wonderful @typeaadventures

1. How many works in progress do you have? Properly, three. Iron Flower, which is written (143k) but needs editing, Piracy Pays which y’all are reading, and Space Royalty which crossed 30k about a week ago

2. Do you/would you write fanfiction I used to! I stopped in Y12/13 because I didn’t have enough time to do fic and original writing, and I haven’t really had the time to pick it back up.

3. Do you prefer paper books or ebooks? Either, I’m not fussed. Though if it has a really pretty cover, I’ll be hankering after a paper copy

4. When did you start writing? 14-ish on Young justice fanfic

5. Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with? Not all of my work, but yeah, I have a lovely server and also some irl friends that get the junk landed on them

6. Where is your favourite place to write? At home chilling with my family while we all do stuff

7. Favourite book as a child? Dragonfly by Julia Golding

8. Writing for fun or publication? Hopefully publication, but I know I need to improve a lot first, honing my skills etc.

9. Have you taken writing classes? Not a lick

10. What inspired you to write? Gotta get those stories out of my head and onto the page, man. Gotta get that sweet sweet representation out there too.

thanks everyone!  xx

[icharchivist]

Ikr. I mean sure it's great to have fighting princesses like Kida, Mulan, Merida and such. But they don't all need to know how to fight to have a good story. I was pretty bummed about how Belle got treated in the live action Beauty&Beast. She's an inventor like her dad and gets bullied by the dumb villagers for teaching young girls to read or something. Belle didn't need those things to be more of an outsider or appear smarter/stronger. In the original she didn't share her dad's interesr for-

2 science. But you know what she's cool with that. She thinks he's a genius and awesome man even w/o being a scientist herself. She stands up FOR her dad and his inventions against the whole village. All because she loves and respects him for him and because he's the best dad who also respects and accepts her for who she is (something no one else does pre Beast). Belle had a whole song being called a funny girl all because she loves reading and not submitting to status quos just to make her -

3 simpler by bowing to peer pressure or marrying someone like Gaston. He could have given anything; except love and understanding (something that was also in a song. She was lonely people. Not desperate). Don't even get me started on that stockholm syndrome thing. Belle ran away from Beast and didn't stick around to suffer his abuse. Even before she didn't put up w/his temper. She only thought better of him when he almost died saving her life and admitted he was wrong to lose his temper at her.-4 From there the power dynamics change a lot. Belle becomes a role model/teacher by teaching him to read and helping him feed the birds. He understands her by gifting her his library and liking making her happy. They could have been together for months (Fall/winter/spring). He lets her go because she's more important then his life. She doesn't realize she loves him until he almost dies again. Belle saves Beast's life more times then he saves hers just w/her bravery and compassion alone.

Ooooh yes definitly agreed with absolutly everything you said!

One thing at a time, yes agreed on the whole “you don’t need to fight to have a good story” too. I hadn’t watched the remake of the Beauty and the Beast bc every decisions i heard of it just... groans. It seems like the most superficial take at the story the original was saying. Bc like especially, say, her being an inventor? Doesn’t seem to go anywhere? it just serves to make her more ~other~ but it’s not like say she brings it up to the Beast later or show interest in it later. 

My personal petpeeve with the movie (I mean i watched a lot about it, so i may have some wrong points but) is that apparently the Beast gives her the library to flex as in “you read books that sucks here you can find better” rather than an actual gift to make her happy like in the animation. That even if he doesn’t get how she loves it he’s going to do his best to give her something she likes without belittling her. 

Anyway I disgress, this remake just bewildered me bc every decision they took to “improve the original” (which they said about Belle all the time, that they’re making her more independant, more feminist™) ultimately went against it and just lessened the story. It’s kinda bewildering. 

I completely agree with you though- in the Original just the fact both her and her dad were “weird” by society’s standarts but they still had fun and loved each other even if they didn’t exactly understand each other is already a strong message of banding together with love. That you don’t need to understand or have something in common with a person to at least be nice and sweet with them. Like in the remake i think Maurice is still a clockmaker while she’s an inventor and yea alright they’re still both outsiders but therefore they are on the same page and have far more in common than their originals. And i think the movie lose in weight with that. 

(And don’t get me started on how they remade Gaston in the remake, i’m still in complete bewilderment that we went from a man constantly bringing down Belle for reading and only valuing her for her beauty to a guy who tries to make small talks about “incredible book you have there. Well huh i didn’t read it but, pictures.”. Especially when you make Beast the asshole belittling her for her taste in books. What the hell happened in that remake for it to be this tonedeaf.)

And ye definitly, Belle just wanted a friend to understand her. Not specifically someone who was completely on the same page. And there’s nothing wrong with that?? She was a bookworm who wanted to share her passion with people but got shunned out of that. Like I mean in the Belle song, you do see her trying to tell the story of her book to the Baker! She even shares the story with the sheeps. You see that she wants to share and talk about it but no one listens, no one gives her this sort of attention, except the Library and her father. While she was on a rocky start with the Beast he improved and he did just that, he gave her that leaning ear to share the stories she liked. That’s amazing and that’s a sweet story.

And boy the Stockholm syndrome. I’m so with you on this one. She ran away when he was violent, she stood her ground when he was being an ass, and he changed, and it’s obvious like you say that the power dynamic changed a lot. It is also bewildering bc in Disney we do have exemple of Stockholm Syndrome, if only with the abuse of say, Frollo to Quasimodo specifically and Gothel to Rapunzel to some points. Both have litteral songs about how they’re the only one the protagonist can trust, complete gaslighting to have them stay at the place and love them because “see me, i love you, unlike how everyone else would” and the protagonists believed that. Beast never ever pulled something like that, he never ever manipulated Belle

 Stockholm Syndrome isn’t just being locked up some place, it also takes a lot of gaslighting and manipulation from the capturer: imo “Stockholm Syndrome” is mostly used to shift the problem to the victim who “let themselves care” rather than to acknowledge that the capturer created a situation for that to happen, in a way it wouldn’t have otherwise. But even if the Beast hoped it might break the curse, this situation didn’t last as the power dynamic shifted, and the Beast didn’t actively force that situation in place. 

Gaah i don’t even know how to express that I just find the way people reacted to this story just kinda annoying and the remake got on my nerves with how much they insited they were “fixing” the story by just completely missing that Belle was a strong protagonist on her own rights and that there isn’t only One Model of how a girl can be. You don’t have to be a super genuis ahead of your time to be taken seriously and for people to acknowledge you were treated like shit. You can be “just” a bookworm and be treated with respect still because you’re worth more than what you bring to this world.

Idk just. *sighs* The way people react to Disney movies in general is kinda annoying.

Anyway if you’re in the mood for that, Lindsey Ellis made a great video about the remake and why it missed the mark (here) and one of the interesting point she brings up is how it feels like the remake saw people point out “flaws and plotholes” from the Disney movies and that they feel like they’re acting like “we heard you, here we fixed it” which is annoying bc it’s generally flaws and plotholes that wouldn’t exist if the viewer had either suspended their disbelief (say, the logc of a mgaic castle) or thought a little further about it (say, Belle’s situation)

Also she made a video about how the story isn’t about Stockholme Syndrome forever ago here,  but i hadn’t watched it in forever so i don’t remember if i agreed with everything, but I don’t see any reasons why not. 

So ye just.. *sighs* what a mess huh