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sweatymakernight · 1 year ago

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The Unbearable Darkness—ep 1

*First of all, Make sure to read the introduction... its posted alreday and then you will be able to read this. Its your choice, because if you read that first youll get to know about the characters... so read that first. Read it on your own risk... This whole fan fiction contains: violence, 18+ stuff, mature contents and more. So I am already warning you. Just read my FF at your own risk, kindly. This FF is about you and Jungkook.*

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

The FF starts with you who was on the way to high school. You are in 3rd grade, its your last year in the high school and after that you'll go to the university. You are now walking on the side paths of the streets. Suddenly, something grabs a cup of your attention— its was Hwayoung. Your best friend, your life, your everything was in front of you. Standing at the bus stop waiting for you. You immediately ran to her while calling her name which made her look at you and she also ran to you. She hugged you making you happy. She is the only one that can make you happy, yes because your siblings were always cold to you, but it was true that they care for you too.

Now, both of you were standing at the bus stop waiting for the bus to arrive, moments later the bus came and you both went inside, sitting on a pair of seats that were close. There were more students. Soon , you reached your high school and got out of the bus with other students.

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

You was sitting in your class with Hwayoung. 3 classes passed and now it was break. You both went cafeteria and sat on one of the chairs which were next to a table. As you was eating your food, you hear one of the groups talking about someone.... Someone that you knew very well, and even had seen that person.it was non other then the most dangerous mafia king... Jeon Jungkook! Why were they talking about him— you thought.

Yn: Hwayoung, I guess someone is talking about my loved one.

Hwayoung: oh hell noooo, not again! Stop liking him! He is dangerous! believe if you ever met him, he'll scare you so badly and then that's how you'll stop loving him! (Says in annoyed tone)

yn: he is moin (you said in a sweet tone)

Hwayoung: I hope never! Cuz I know he has his cousin, who loves him very much!

Yn: what the- who the hell is she huh?! Jungkook is mine and not trash can's. (Says proudly)

Hwayoung: your personality literally changes when you're with me.

Yn: cuz, you my life, the part of my heart and my everything!

Hwayoung: your siblings are lucky to have you!

Yn: yeah, but I am not lucky to have them (says in a sad tone) BTW why are they talking about him! Do they love him! Huh? No they can't steal him from me! (Stands up, but hwayoung grabs her arm making her sit back)

Hwayoung: he doesn't even know you and if he would someday, he won't even would like to be yours (she laughs) and I am sure, you'll get married to someone else( she said making you pout as you were a little angry )

Hwayoung: aww, my Yn is angry? I am sorry (she says say making her smile back) your such a drama queen.

Yn: at least, I am a human.

Hwayoung: ya, because I am an angel, right?

Yn: not again!

Hwayoung: your the one to start.

(The bell rings)

Hwayoung: time for science period!

*Time skips*

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

(Yn reached the mansion and opens the door to find the same silent place. She enters it and walks to the stairs, but a cold voice stopped her )

???: Yn, we need to talk...

( she turns around to see who it was and it was Misoo, her elder sister who was looking a bit different from the other days... She walked towards her with forrowed eyebrows. )

Yn: what happened Misoo unnie??

Misoo: actually... (Sighs) Minjoon can you tell it to her?

(Minjoon comes from behind and looks at her with a same sad look Misoo had)

Yn: May I ask what's going on, Minjoon oppa?

Minjoon: come first sit down on the couch, you might be tired. ( he sits on the couch and she sits on the opposite couch. )

Minjoon: Yn... From now on... You'll be loved very much. You'll finally get loved by someone... You will have a happy life now. So do as I say...

Yn: I didn't got it oppa.

Minjoon: Tomorrow is your marriage with a rich guy.

Yn: what! And why! Who needs this to happen! Just stop it already! ( she says a lot questions in one breathe)

Minjoon: I know yn, you aren't ready for marriage because you are not old enough I guess, but trust me, he'll treat you like a princess and always make you happy.... So just listen to me... Marry him.

(Yn was looking down, having cup of tears in her eyes)

yn: oppa... I don't really want to marry him, please.

Misoo: I knew you would say that but it doesn't matters by your answer now, because tomorrow is your marriage, you cant deny it, yn... We are so sorry for being this worst siblings...

(Yn let her tears fall, seeing her tears, Minjoon walks to her, he caresses her head)

Yn: nothing will change by this now, oppa...( she stands up, slighty jerking his hand from her head and walking to her room silently.

Minjoon: i am sorry (thats all she heard before entering her room and and closing the door silently... she went near her bed and sat beside it)

Yn: i beared everything you both did, but this was really too far...( she whispered ) i always wanted to marry the love of my life and not even too fast ( tears betrayed her and fell from her eyes) why i feel like, i am only one to suffer these... am i not a human and why do i have to suffer. was it a big crime to be born as me? i guess i have done a big mistake when i was young... i dont even remember my mistakes (sobs) mom, dad, why did you both left me? your son and daughter arent treating me like a human. ( she kept mumbling until she slept without knowing)

*At night*

(someone opens Yn's room's door and enters the room. He kneels down to her level and caresses her head)

???: Yn, you dont know about me and Misoo... you dont know that we are criminals, we secretly have done a big mistake which could take you to hell... so thats why i want you to stay away from us and you could live a happy life, i am really sorry, yn. i am sorry for making you feel so sad and lonely. But, believe me, he will surely treat you like a princess and a queen that every girl wants to be... we are just doing this for your happiness.

(he cant even wake her up as he dont want to break her sweet dream. so he left silently... yn has skipped dinner many times, it aint her first time. But still, she is strong enough.)

*next day at morning*

(yn got up, finding herself on the floor... she rememered that today is her marriage. so she went to take a bath. after a while, she comes out wearing a bathrobe and stood in front of the large mirror which showed her whole figure. the curves, the bruises and her beauty was visible in it... specially, her sadness. then why this sadness is not visible to her siblings. Mirror always shows the truth... Mirror sees better than those stupid humans... suddely, she hears someone knocking on her room's door)

yn: who is there?

???: yn, its me, Misoo.

yn: come in. (has Misoo enters the room, yn sees a beautiful white gown in her arms.)

Misoo: this is your gown, where it and come outside ( with that she puts the gown on the bed and leaves wihout letting her say anything. She picked up the gown and saw the full view of it)

her gown:

Yn: its so big...( she silently wore it and stood in front of her large mirror back. )

Yn: didnt know this day had to come this fast and the worst part... i dont even got to marry the love of my life... now what would be my life... discusting? worse? miserable or what?! (she became so angry at herself that she cant even do anything... suddenly, once again someone knocks on the door)

yn: who is it again?

Misoo: its me.

Yn: okay, come in. (Misoo comes in )

Misoo: you look beautiful, yn... ( but yn stays silent looking at the floor ) I am sorry yn, if you are still angry with me... you should be happy that you are gonna get a peaceful life finally.

yn: happy my foot ( she mumbles but still it reaches Misoo's ears )

Misoo: yn... i can hear you... remember, the punishment i gave you when you disrespected me... so mind your language (Yn closed her eyes tightly remembering the punishment )

Yn: i.. am s-sorry... unnie... ( Misoo grabs her arm )

Misoo: good luck, yn... (smiles)

( they both left the room and reached the wedding venue)

•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•

the wedding venue:

(many people had come, but she felt more sad when she didnt saw her best friend, Hwayoung... she sighed and walked with her brother, Minjoon... through the wedding aisle. Everyone was amazed by her beauty... suddenly, she felt someone grabbing her waist, it was the groom... she didnt saw his face as she was looking down.)

(soon, the priest read the vows and asks the groom)

Priest: Do you take Lee Yn as your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?

Groom: yes, i do.

Priest: Do you take Choi Yonjun as your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?

(yn was quiet, not saying anything)

(she grabbed some courage and said)

Yn: ye-aaah!!! ( she covered her ears and shouted when she heard a gunshot, as she looked at the direction from where she heard the gushot but became shocked when she saw a very known guy. Shivers ran down her spine... It was none other than the scary, dangerous and heartless mafia king, who is here to take revenge by marrying her)

#mi-rae #aesthetic #bts #fanart #digital art #jungkook #my art #fanfic #anime and manga

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f-117-nighthawk · 2 years ago

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How about we trade? You receive: playlist update. I receive: plot

What is UP buttercups it’s pride month and along with a fic that’s been in my drafts for LITERAL YEARS I bring you….

Playlist update.

Under the cut, because as usual this be Long

Two side notes: since, for complicated and somewhat stupid but out of my control reasons, I cannot access Apple Music at work, some of you have been treated on Spotify to the in progress versions of the playlists that usually only I see, not just the versioned ones I keep active. Surprise?

Second, keep in mind if you see a repeated (or remixed) song, that means something. Sometimes it’s different than a simple “these take place at the same time” ;) you should also pay attention to similar lyrics, things about the same concept… there is a lot of thought put into these.

An organizational note: there’s seven playlists now! They’re sort of ordered here to what they’re most closely linked to: the main one and Dystopian Fiction, Through Apocalypse Skies and Endless War, Filaments and For Who I Could Have Been, and Design Your Universe is… mostly by itself, except the times it’s not.

Dark Matter

I am Dark Matter, your road to ruin…

Your World Will Fail and Dark Matter are what they’ve always been: the beginning. the end. Everything. Nothing.

(Your world will fail my love/It’s far beyond repair/Your world will fail my love/It is already there)

(Bring me your soul/Bring me your hate/In my name you will create/Bring me your fear/Bring me your pain/You will destroy in my name)

Things got shifted around a bit here to accommodate some things that fit better in another playlist, but No Remorse No Regrets is still the key one here. It is Haggar, and sort of Zarkon, but also not.

(It won’t remember so it won’t forget/It knows no justice or regrets for the blood it lets/Believing nothing, it knows no pain/And it feels no remorse when it enters your brain)

The End of the World and Apocalypse 1992 are the two halves of the Fall. More in that playlist :)

(Sold on a dream of a future serene/then why does it feel like the end of the world)

(Fly high through apocalypse skies/Fight for the world we must save/Like tears of a unicorn lost in the rain/Chaos will triumph this day)

Apex is the final moments of the Fall from the Blue Lion’s perspective (yeah, I said Red Lion last time, but this makes more sense. Trust me)

(Now we sleep/for a thousand years/something is coming/coming for me)

You Keep What You Kill covers the slow degeneration of the Empire between the Fall and present day. The knowledge harshly taught by the Thuranial War has been long lost, and the Devourer reigns once again, searching after Its missing part and the Burning Star. Zarkon and Haggar, under the Devourer’s… guidance…, scour the universe, adding to Its power. Marzin and Galraasa rise the ranks as the left and right hands of the Empire, omens of destruction before the might of the Empire. The ‘holy half dead’ that shape the devouring of the universe.

(Defying dimensions/These ruthless creatures will steal your soul/Breaking away from the chains of mortality/They won’t be taken down/Bow now to the holy half dead/The master to death mongers calls)

Ensheath is about Kolivan, placed here due to its relevance as he is forced into the role of Fourth General under the worst circumstances, and everything that almost causes him to follow Raelos in losing faith, were it not for the first of his ‘radiant knight’s. (Side note, if you play Arknights, guess who Margaret Nearl is here?)

(I once had the fight of a radiant knight/before I learned that justice may never exist)

Immutable is about Krolia. It’s her thoughts as she joins the Blade, as she leaves Earth and Keith behind, as she makes her way through a universe changed in the ten thousand decaphoebs she was asleep. It’s about the universe passing one by, and what she’ll do to keep her hope safe.

(She’ll risk it for the lives/She’s left behind/Hope’s on the rise/But she’s flying blind)

The Glory and the Scum is the reason Krolia isn’t around until MGHM. Suffice to say, she isn’t happy with some of the fallout of the events that lead into Ensheath, and decides that if Kolivan isn’t going to listen to her, she’ll go save the universe somewhere else. She is, after all, a Paladin.

(Look at what we’ve done/Take a step back/Shake your head at what we have become/We’re the glory and the scum)

The Seven Sisters is about Keith, and is the first of four fics connected to Closure by its influence on Child From the Stars (Lost in the Dark), as well as its relation to MGHM. It’s half the source for the Pleiades symbolism that crops up throughout Dark Matter.

(I cast my hope upon The Pleiades/The Seven Sisters who would come for me/They’d fall to Earth to grant a child’s dream/But I’m still waiting)

Starlight is the Adashi song. Here is the sad part, where they’ve separated by the launch of the SFSS Genesis and the things that were said. It’s also Shiro’s thoughts from the war as he watches Earth from ‘distant skies’.

(At night the earth will rise/And I’ll think of you each time I watch from distant skies/Whenever stars go down and galaxies ignite/I’ll think of you each time they wash me in their light/And I’ll fall in love with you again)

Waking Dream and Abyss are Awakenings. Mostly the Red Lion, but also extendable to the others.

(Centuries like flowing streams as years go rushing by/Waiting in the dark for afterlife)

(Open my eyes in a daze/How long has it been? Am I so out of place?/Warmth I can no longer feel/My mountain is gone, I’m surrounded by steel/The strangest of structures arises ahead/Seems to be held up by nothing/Where have I gone, do I dream?/How can the stars be all I can see?)

Who Will Save You Now is about the Paladins in First Contact. It’s the video messages they send to their families, the warning that Something Is Out Here. It’s a declaration of protection for the Earth, but also a recognition that they may not be able to do it themselves. That is, of course, if they even get the message.

(I will not take from you and you will not owe/I will protect you from the fire below/It’s not in my mind/It’s here at my side/Go tell the world that I’m still alive)

It Has Begun is the Battle of the Sarnan Nebula (aka: Blackout)

(Even a well lit place, can hide salvation/A map to a one-man maze that never sees the sun/Where the lost are the heroes/And the thieves are left to drown…We will face the odds against us/And run into the fear we run from/It has begun)

And then it’s, of course, The End of the Beginning, it’s eponymous fic. And one of many, many connections to String Theory.

(Every night I die just a little/All this time, I’m caught in the middle/All your life, you fought with no winning/This is just the end of the beginning)

A Simple Plan is, well, not so simple. Several ‘simple plan’s come together, from Lotor’s scheming, Haggar’s suspicions and own needs, Galraasa’s orders to go beyond, and Team Voltron struggling to fit into their new roles while also building the Coalition. And to top it all off, everyone needs one thing to make all this happen: marthuzitok.

(How long can we hold off ending?/How long can we pretend we’re ok?/No one goes on fighting it forever/I know I’m better this way)

Crown of Mine is at the very end of A Simple Plan, but also woven together. It’s about a Black Paladin who doesn’t think he deserves the title, and his eventual desire to ‘burn this crown’ he never wanted. This also makes ASP the second of the Closure fics.

(I wish I could be the me that you see/But I’m too drawn to black and white/Don’t be confused, spare me the excuses/It’s not even worth the fight)

Outnumbered, Bringing it Down, and Wildfire are the Siege of Naxzela/Breaking of the Naxzela Line, the one major victory the Coalition manages to get before the Raid on Hell due to the success of Project Kuron. Oh, and remember that episode where Shiro tries to talk to Lance in the meld? Yeah that. Wildfire is specifically related to that one scene in String Theory where the real Shiro tries to help Voltron.

Why is it that songs from two different gachas ended up here with the same motif about breaking the clouds? I dunno, but it’s useful

(Outnumbered but we can’t back down/It’s us against the world, us against the world/Outnumbered but we can’t back down/Ten to one, on the run/We will still overcome)

(Devouring me/Devouring me alive/There’s something inside you that isn’t right/Something that haunts your dreams/There’s something that you have lost/And you’re bringing it down/You’re bringing it down, on top of us)

(Unsheath a sword to rend those clouds above the ground/wake up it’s time to gather now)

Shortly after is Memories of a Girl I Haven’t Met, which Every Time Our Earth Shakes is the end of. Krolia content!

(In this lonely place, bathed in silence and thoughts of you/I can’t see your face but I’m trying to envision you/So are you really out there? Are you awake with memories/Of a boy you haven’t met yet who’s wished upon the Pleiades?)

(Surrounded by lonely, bruised, and broken love/I’ve seen it and I won’t be like everybody else/Wave after wave, no change in my faith/I’m here for you through high or low/And every time our Earth shakes, I’ll fight through the pain/I’ll die before I ever let you go)

Remember that line about dinosaurs in MGHM? Laser-shooting Dinosaur. I’ll leave it there.

(Here I come/drop your jaws to the floor/I’m riding on my mighty shooting dinosaur)

Then, the aftermath of MGHM and Laser Shooting Dinosaur is Brothers of Crail, where Allura finally makes contact with Oriand.

(A secret ancient brotherhood, with laser sword in hand/guardians of ancient technology from centuries gone by)

Legion features the Whispers, Voltron, a few mullets, the Druids making a dangerous mistake, and… does this thing count as a robeast?

(Fallen angels ripping through/The circuitry inside this suit/Of flesh and bone that’s overthrown/No matter how hard you try/They keep waring deep inside/Where there’s a star collapsing in your heart/There’s something in your eyes/That’s coming back to life)

And then, which you can finally read, TRIALS (reimagine), Wrathful Cerulean Flame, Fools of Damnation, String Theory, I Am the One, and Final Mission ~ Quantum Burst. Yes the last one is mostly here for the whole big fun mess in The Architect to Rule Your Fate :3

(Hear me from the bottom/Forged in regret, I’m the silversmith/Doomsday, you we had it coming/Marching the streets with an iron fist/Obey no more in silence/The steel in our hearts will be monuments/Today, they’ll hear the violence/We’ll rise from the dark like Lazarus)

(So follow me/And we’ll burn the clouds away/And we’ll burn the clouds away/Keep our demons all at bay/There will be an end someday/And I must lead the way)

(Fool, dance for me again/I am your destiny, mark my words/Don’t you ever disagree/Fool, kneel for me again/I am your agony, walk my way/I will never set you free)

(You don’t believe in space/You don’t believe in light/You don’t believe that anything is well beyond your might/We walk across the sky and beneath the ocean floor/We’re never going anywhere we’ve never been before)

(I am the one/I am the architect to rule your fate)

House on Fire is the follow up to String Theory, dealing with the political fallout of having a spy in Voltron itself for decaphoebs, as well as the more personal struggles the Paladins go through in that fact’s wake.

(So I’ll just hold you like a hand grenade/You touch me like a razor blade/I wish there was some other way right now/Like a house on fire we’re up in flames/I’d burn here if that’s what it takes/To let you know I won’t let go of you)

Belgrade, which I'M POSTING RIGHT NOW! Is the klance shenanigans in the aftermath of House on Fire and finally resolving that little plot point about Lance’s reoccurring crush.

(We pretend in the darkness/We pretend the night won’t steal our youth/Singing me the sweet songs of seduction/Let me be the fool, fool, fool/Who will live and die for you)

Here to Save You is about Sam. And Pidge. And Matt. And Zaivorg cannons.

(A slave for humankind/I made sure I would survive/To stay alive/Now it’s time to move on/When there’s nothing left to prove/I’m coming to get you)

Iron is the third Closure inspired fic, and I cannot believe I have managed to give away so little of the plot so far so we’re gonna keep it that way. But it is, as all Closure fics, about Keith and his struggles with identity.

(You can’t live without the fire/It’s the heat that makes you strong/‘Cause you’re born to live/And fight it all the way/You can’t hide what lies inside you/It’s the only thing you know/You’re embracing that, never walk away)

Storm the Castle is very related to the next few, but wouldn’t have happened without Iron. It’s our Last Marmorait making a point. One that Zarkon isn’t happy with.

(We will not be prisoners/In a kingdom taken hostage by her crown/But we will not abandon her/…Rise now, stand and fight/Take your freedom, claim your right/Rise now, stand and sing/Storm the castle, kill the king)

The second major turning point in the war is Monarch, Birthright, and Firewall. The first two are about Lotor more than anything else, and the very high level target the Coalition is after. Firewall is the same event, but focused on a very… specific thing. The Devourer is not happy, and things learned in the framing story of Through Apocalypse Skies and String Theory swing back with a vengeance.

(I am not the person you remember from before/The one you patronized and stepped on, the one you hurt/And I have pulled the arrows, now my skin has become stone/No longer am I prisoner to your empty fucking words)

(The voices in my head have all begun to sing/(The voices in your head have all begun to sing)/And they sure as hell hope I am listening/(I sure as hell hope you are listening!))

(They come to your dreams with illusion/They come to bring shape to your mind/You know how to stop the intrusion/We all have to fight for our lives)

And then… The Day the Earth Collapsed

(How much time has been elapsed/Since the day the earth collapsed?)

Here Comes the Reign doesn’t fully come into effect until several months after Firewall, but starts with The Day the Earth Collapsed. The Burning Star rampages through the universe, taking back what is rightfully Its, but the Devourer Star won’t take that lying down.

(You made something they can’t take away/Now bring the fire of the burning sun on everyone)

Supersonic is here as a microcosm of everything that happens between Firewall and Soulbound as the Colation go after the warlords, culminating in Holding Out for a Hero as the Paladins, exhausted of war and going a little crazy from their string of victories, decide to have a little fun

(Supersonic, polyphonic, this is our war/Mustering the armies, marching faster than before)

(I need a hero/I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night/He’s gotta be strong, and he’s gotta be fast/And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight)

Earthrise and But Tonight We Dance are the last Closure fic. They’re both very much klance songs, although BTWD is a little more than that. Earthrise is Lance mooning (hah), while BTWD is here to remind everyone that Keith is Very Aro. Also, Keith loses a fight with a rock.

Have I mentioned they need to stop having relationship milestones in a war zone?

(I still fall for you like suns do for skies/Cerulean pouring in from your eyes/Just a hollow moon that you colorize/So powerful, I feel so small but so alive/Like watching the Earthrise)

(Tomorrow we might wake in servitude and silence/I will give you everything if only you would have me/Tomorrow we will sweat and toil/Our hands will quiver, caked with soil/Tomorrow we’ll give it one last chance/But tonight we dance/But tonight we dance!)

Closure is placed here with the last of its fics. Closure in general is a lot of Keith’s character development, coming to terms with his identity in many ways and accepting his place in the universe and amongst his family. So this last one is then bright light at the end of the chorus, with a ‘last goodbye’ meaning never having to say goodbye.

(I am the child from the stars/That got lost in the dark/Between heaven and hell/I am forced to live on/I am the cause when you sin/I am the demon you skin/But there is no more tears to beautify/This is my last goodbye)

Alchemy and Soulbound swing us back to universe level action. Revelations from String Theory and Firewall slam themselves into a Whispers-Voltron mission, leaving them reeling and Krolia questioning her very identity in Disappear.

(Synthesized and transformed/pathetic life form)

(Soulbound, endlessly forever/Locked between the darkness and the light/Don’t drown in the swarming, blackened rising/Hold on to humanity and fight)

(Stone heart, paired with empty eyes/That stared right through mine)

Something Wicked is. Well. Too bad this song isn’t on the album Vessels.

(When all of the forces/Have been overrun/You’ll whisper, serpent tongue/What you fear you have become/Something wicked this way comes…)

Shortly after that is My Darkest Hour and Faster than Light. Haggar decides enough is enough and goes after the final piece of her puzzle with [something wicked], sending the Blade into chaos and the Coalition scrambling. And this leads directly, and I mean directly, into…

(When the sun comes crashing down/When the world is spinning round and round/I will face what must be my darkest hour)

(Once more we’re flying fast as light/Dark matter passing in the night/Pursued by a force we can’t outrun/As we hurtle towards a dying sun/We maneuver through the remnants of a moon/On the solar winds of supernovas/There is not a place to hide, the Matriarch is close behind/It’s plain to see she’s coming for us all)

Cosmic Vertigo and Other Worlds than These. Together they are the second of two revelations into the truth behind the Devoured Star and Burned Star.

(Banish me like burned down planets/Write my fate with sparkling lies/I am the universe; you’re just one sky)

(Pull the wool out from your eyes/It won’t shade your frail belief/In the end we cannot hide/There are other worlds than these)

Godhunter is Team Voltron, well, hunting pieces of the gods.

(She’s been watching for a century/With hatred, and with scorn/If you know the hunter’s coming/Then you hide or keep on running/'Cause she’s slain the gods before)

Trophy Hunter, Coldharbour, Ember, and Redemption are the culmination of Godhunter. They also link directly to Soulbound, and are one hellish battle, which is a problem because they lead directly to…

(You, you won’t escape me, I’ll rise from the deep/In this final moment, no words left to say/I can’t let you be when a life fades away/You, you won’t escape me ‘cause I’ll set you free)

(If you kill my flesh tomorrow/then I’ll take my final breath/it’ll turn into a last laugh/and I’ll lay in a silent death)

(Dark matter falling from the sky/Dancing flames reflecting in your eyes as you watch them burn/Watching all your riches witches burn)

(Remember me not for the mess I’ve made/But who I could have been/Finally I’m going home)

World on Fire, This is a Call, The Reckoning, Game Ender, The Wind that Shapes the Land, and Louder than Words. :3

(World on fire with a smoking sun/Stops everything and everyone/Brace yourself for all will pay/Help is on the way)

(This is a call to action/This is a call to arms/All lives for one, together/There are no false alarms)

(I see your face, find peace of mind/Between the madness and the sadness and the fire burning/The end of war, the great divine/We’ll see the day of reckoning)

(We will rise as one/Stop what has begun/Bringing down the main offender/If you hear me now/Scream the words out loud/We will be our own defender)

(Search within/Uncover the will to win/Turn against the tide that washes o'er/Find the strength to fall and rise again/Open up the gates, unleash the force/I am the wind that shapes the land/Old as time and twice as strong/Oceans arise at my command/I alone can carry on)

(We have the force to fight/We have the blinding light/A war is more than heard/Coming in louder than words)

Of course, we can’t leave without the denouement. World with no Sun is Haggar’s final thoughts at the end of Louder Than Words, while Diving Bell is the Paladins’.

And a sequel hook. ;D

(I wish I could give it all back/But it’s tied to the moment that I took/I followed a most selfish path/Waiting on a world that can’t see me/Waiting on a world that can’t see me/Waiting on a world that wants no one/Waiting on a world with no sun)

(Wake me when the new day comes/Together we will ride the sun/The future is an empty gun/We fire onto them one-by-one)

Dystopian Fiction

The pages of our lives aren’t bulletproof…

Dark Matter is here as it always is, but it’s also about… something super spoilery.

(Don’t stop, don’t think/Move up, don’t blink now/On your knees pray for rain/Don’t breathe when you take your aim)

Waiting on the Sky to Change is Akane’s song. It’s about ‘The Necromancer’ and her drive to fix Earth, how she’s tired of sitting around waiting. It’s time to do something.

(I’m done running towards the eyes of tornadoes/pretending this is hope)

The Human Condition is the advent of the Éshkayklos and Cascade, who oppose Project Necromancer and everything it and its champion stand for. Infected then is the slow, uhm, infection of the Sol Federation with their ideas and some of the results of that.

(We have the cure for the disease/Locked down inside us/When all is dead, then we will see/We are the virus)

(Here’s a challenge for all mankind/The preacher man is warning of the end times/The weatherman agrees but she don’t know/So she’s got to go now)

A Place I Thought I Knew is Earth, but especially Adam, in that tumultuous time after the Genesis disappears.

(And here I remain/still crying out his name/I stand alone at the dawn of a new horizon)

Who Will Save You Now is Sam’s abrupt arrival back on Earth, and several things that follow from that.

(Alone with this vision/Alone and blind/Go tell the world I’m still alive)

Tunnelvision is Team Earth going “no, fuck you Sanda and Torrent, we need to tell people about the impending alien invasion”. It helps, but…

(You took me for a fly/And fancied yourself a spider in a web of little lies/What a nice surprise/When the curtain’s pulled back, you can see the whole trap inside/And now the emperor has got no clothes/What a lovely show/When your cover’s blown, you’ll never know/'Cause you can’t see past your nose)

Codebreaker and Cross the Line are the Éshk’s final offensive before things really hit the fan in:

(Codebreaker can’t you find/Can you read between the lines of code?/Tell me all that you know/How far down the hole does it all go)

(Cross the line, redefine, break away unbent, unafraid/Together we stand in the dark/Seeking the light and what is right, together we cross the line/Our journey will come to an end and then our human cause will be/Justified)

The Day the Earth Collapsed

(How much time has been elapsed/Since the day the earth collapsed?)

Leaving Earth and Help is on the Way are the common populace dealing with the effects of the previous song. More specifically, they’re Adam’s parents, and all the horrors they never wanted to see. Dystopian Fiction, in contrast and as the title track, is the Garrison, specifically everyone left at Levitt Base, struggling against the same effects.

(We were told just to sit tight/cause somebody will soon arrive/help is on the way/but it never came)

(I’m a dead man/In the wasteland/I’m a soldier fighting for superstition/Under searchlights/In the long nights/We’ve been written like dystopian fiction)

World on Fire and The Reckoning are the two songs of that big finale that make it over here, as they’re the ones that have bits that happen before This is a Call comes into full effect.

(Sent by forces beyond salvation/There can be not one sensation)

(We’re all alone, walking in twilight/The night has been long and so many have fallen/Feel no remorse, light will be breaking/Our freedom is worth it all)

Through Apocalypse Skies

Chaos will triumph this day!

TAS starts off setting the stage for everything. Not all of the five main members of the Daibaaltea-Taibderion Alliance have songs yet, but they will eventually. Holy Flaming Hammer of Unholy Cosmic Frost more sets the stage for everything broadly, about how the five of them fit together, and the trouble brewing under the surface. Hail to Crail is Altea, more specifically the Knights of Zhael. Questlords of Inverness, Ride to Galactic Fortress is the Dalteri, with focus on the flagship Invernes itself. Fellows of the Hammer is the Aberdéts, because, well, dwarves. And guess what’s back for the Galra: Remnants of Stars

The Taibdee will get one. Eventually.

(Behold the knights of Crail/atop the city walls/they swore a mighty oath to say/Dundee will never fall!)

(Here every day the warriors train/in the art of epic fights/riding on eagles, questing so true/a legion of powerful knights emblazoned cross the sky/hear the kingdom cry/hail to Crail!)

(Ride on the wind and hail to the king/when the questlords of Inverness ride)

(The new blood of the realm now/flows from the seven stars/and spoken by all of us/to be strong when the time comes/is the oath made by everyone)

(As children of space/with stardust in our veins/we will give in to know the truth/we are the remnants of stars)

Rigor Mortis is the Voltron Comet slamming into Daibazaal. The beginning of the end. Dark Matter rises from its open, frozen maw.

(Hydrate in violence/the darkness that you see/awaken the virus/to spread your disease)

(Bring me your soul, bring me your hate/in my name you will create/bring me your fear, bring me your pain/you will destroy in my name)

The Promise is exactly what it sounds like: the first of the Harbingers making a deal with the devil. Alchemy and No Remorse, No Regrets are her experiments in this context, echoed throughout the other playlists.

(It won’t cost you much, just a single drop of blood and I’ll hand you the things you have long been wishing for/ it’s an easy way to choose, what do you have to lose?)

(Drink me/you know I can guide you through oblivion/trust me/I know what’s inside you makes you bleed)

(Strange persuasion/clearing the way to the clearest path/dreams illuminating/parting the seas to take it back)

Summon the Choir is a success, from a certain point of view.

(First blood from cosmic wonders/a dark flood of power from under)

Can You Hear It? is… well. Remember the Sinkline Comet?

(Can you hear it?/the tolls of madness ringing/do you fear it?/an ancient choir is singing/all consuming/calling to me/in a dream, it’s a thorn I can’t dig out/can’t you hear it too?/if you listen close now)

Unfortunately, all that leads right into The End of the World, the end of Daibazaal. All is quiet for a moment, like the happy little whistle at the beginning of the next song.

(Sold on a dream, of a future serene/then why does it feel like the end of the world?)

Then we record scratch into The Fall. She Will Weep is a dialogue between two siblings, unwilling to compromise on their ideals, even if they ultimately want the same thing: peace and stability for their recently displaced people. But the one who’s side god is on, who is crucified but still alive, escapes to Altea, bringing the horrors with her to the Battle of the Five Armies. (Yes, this is a LotR song, but also, guess what serves a very similar purpose to the arkenstone. I’ve been looking for a song explicitly about the arkenstone to stick in here, but haven’t found one. I’m surprised Wind Rose doesn’t have one tbh). Crack the Sky is… it’s not quite a literal crack in the sky, but it might as well be. All of this is Apocalypse 1992

(What used to be two loving hearts/what we felt at the start/somewhere down the barrel of a gun/it was all torn apart)

(Confounded, distracted/trapped by a stone of power/Ensorcelled, corrupted/await the final hour)

(I know that you hate me but I think that I can live with that/last man standing, last resort/I’d rather walk alone than save myself)

(Fly high through apocalypse skies/fight for the world we must save/like tears of a unicorn lost in the rain/chaos will triumph this day)

But again, we can’t leave it without the denouement. Silent Tears of Frozen Princess, Ashes, and Apex are all the perspectives of survivors of the Fall, waiting, watching. Voltron will rise again.

(Frozen princess in this land of fears/your mighty kingdom has fallen/I see the glitter of your silent tears/afar in the wuthering dark)

(What will we do when the world it is ending/and time it is halted for friend and for foe/try to hold on to the time as it passes/I’ll tend to the flame, you can worship the ashes)

(Brother mountain, now we sleep/for a thousand years/I will see you again/something is coming/coming for me)

Endless War

‘Cause you’re fighting an endless war, hunting a miracle…

The beginning of Endless War is from one of the perspectives of She Will Weep, the other sibling than we follow during most of TAS. Dark Matter here intwines with I Am the One far, far earlier than the Paladins of the present time figure it out. That’s what happens when one stands directly next to two Harbingers throughout most of Apocalypse 1992.

(Don’t stop, don’t think, don’t look back/You’re a bolt of lightning in the sky now/Don’t stop, don’t think, don’t look back/I’ve pulled you in, nowhere to hide now)

(I am the one/I hold the dreams from fallen heroes)

(From the caves beneath Dundee/Ancient hermit arrives/A messenger to the war in the stars/Korviliath is nigh!)

Ashes is a needed perspective of one sibling on another, the beginning of the Fifth General questioning her orders. Meanwhile, remember how I said Alchemy was an experiment of the Witch’s?

(What will we do when the world it is ending/And time it is halted for friend and for foe?/Try to hold on to the time as it passes/I’ll tend to the flame, you can worship the ashes)

(Take the poisoned cup/you cannot hide behind golden shrines/you can be the one in crisis, give into your greed)

The Truth Beneath the Rose is the birth of the Fifth General of the Blade of Marmora, although no one calls her that yet. Raise Your Banner is her newfound resolve and her first steps to creating what will become the Blade.

(Blinded to see the cruelty of the beast/It is the darker side of me/The veil of my dreams deceived that I have seen/Forgive me for what I have been, forgive me my sins!)

(Wake up/I’m defying you, seeing right through you, once I believed in you/Wake up/Feel what’s coming deep within we all know)

Silver Moonlight is her ultimate goal, but not everyone agrees with it. Not everyone thinks it’s even possible, or that it still exists, or that this will be anything but an Endless War.

(I’m impatient, but it’s colors that I need/Too many shades of grey, I cannot breathe/The dreams I have ain’t tainted, I need you to believe/The only way to make them real, oh)

('Cause you’re fighting an endless war/Hunting a miracle/And when you reach out for the stars/They just cut you down/…/Is it worth dying for?/Or are you blinded by, blinded by it all?)

Of course, the fact is that the Endless War does end. Alchemy’s effects are still strong, even as they fight Against the Tide. The Fifth General is betrayed on Holy Ground, with her final stand in I’d Rather Burn.

(I finally get what you’ve been saying/now that we’re knee deep side by side/the storm clouds are circling above us/as we struggle against the tide)

(You got inside my head, I want you out/'Cause I’ve been betrayed on holy ground)

(Won’t let you take my soul away/I’d rather go to the stake/I’d rather burn)

But even that isn’t enough. Empty Eyes and The Departure are [beeeeeeeeeeep]

(I don’t know where I’m going/In search for answers/I don’t know who I’m fighting/I stand with empty eyes/You’re like a ghost within me/Who’s draining my life/It’s like my soul is see through/Right through my empty eyes)

Filaments

Filaments is intimately connected to both the main playlist and the following one, and I’m doing my best to explain some things, but some you’ll have to wait and see.

How long is the body beholden? How long ‘til we run out of road?

First Light is the dawn of something… a little different. Filaments is the title track, and I’m not going to say more than it’s connected to the same exact things First Light is.

(We can change our fate. We can change the future. We can change… the past)

(These glowing filaments/Conducting this enchanting/Sarcophagus that’s holding us)

Starlight and Carry Me Home are primarily adashi songs, but also follow the transition between the two playlists’ proper stories, as well as Shiro’s retirement from Voltron.

(Don’t leave me lost here forever/I need your starlight and pull me through/Bring me back to you)

(Carry me home to the morning light/carry me home before you wave me goodbye/Oh, carry me home…)

Prognosis is about record skips that only certain people can remember, and the decision that it’s time to back into The Breach.

(How long is the body beholden?/How long 'til we run out of road?/Deep down in the black of the ocean/Fading from the glow)

(Follow me/Follow me now once more into the breach/Can you see?/Can you see how this is the way to destiny?)

This next part is supposed to act similarly to the beginning of TAS. there is an overarching story, but there’s more specific songs for specific… well, Other Worlds Than These. Right now the only song here is Masters of Destiny though, which is also sort of an overarching thing and also sort of a single world. We’ll get there. Of course, as these things sort themselves out, Something Wicked this way comes.

(In the end we cannot hide/there are other worlds than these)

(I used to be sure it’s me who sleeps/but can it be/somewhere there’s a life/that dreams of me?)

(And it clawed/Back in the world again/Here for a new revenge/An enemy I can’t condemn)

The Art of War is the beginning of the end, with Cascade finally showing his true colors, the Sol Federation not having a good time, and Voltron getting dragged into it. But the consequences…

(I can remember all the days of violence/I can remember all the days they fought for rights/When men united all by fear and interest/I mustered them with hopeful promises I’ve broken)

The Future is Now and Tresspasser sort of take place during The Art of War, sort of not. Team Voltron is trying to figure out where their Black Paladin is, why exactly all their sensors are so incredibly broken, and what’s up with Krolia. Meanwhile, Keith is in the middle of an argument with himself.

(They said there was no way/But they forgot the black hole in the sky/Yesterday is nothing/I have half a life to rewrite)

(Where’s my heart?/I want to feel whole again or nothing at all/Where’s my soul?/Because I’m not myself)

Centigrade is Keith exposing a fraud, and Team Voltron [BEEEP], and Miserable Me is very related

(What did you hope to find adrift and lost in time?/Is this the end ready to begin?/It’s time to escape the fate of destruction, excavating within until salvation/No longer pretend the future’s a lie from a past you cannot hide)

(history misunderstood this deity/miserable me!/oh why is the deep dark shored sea the only friend to me?)

This all leads into Unveiling the Architecture, Altas Obscura, Dark Matter, and A Theater of Dimensions. No I will not be explaining.

(All human history a sigh from their endless lungs)

(I am the keeper/I am the secret/I am the answer/I am the end)

(I’ve seen our freedom in the mist of time/The old signs I’ll follow and the day of relief will be yours and mine)

Afterlife and For They Shall Inherit the Earth are a fitting denouement to everything. The Immortal has frequently been used in place of Voltron within the playlists, which given the parallels means it make sense to end on this note.

(But with such power, think how you could rule/Hold to your promise to watch over those in despair/Why would you choose to serve when you could be master of all?/Be true to your honor and fight for a world that is fair!/Out of shadow, out of darkness, welcome to the light/As the day shines boldly over night/Follow me to finally be who you are inside/Open wide, embrace the afterlife)

For Who I Could Have Been

Your world will fail my love, it’s far beyond repair…

Conflict is also connected to Filaments in ways I will not explain here. Something Wicked is almost the same thing it was in Filaments proper.

(Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster…)

(A prisoner of time and space/Construct we can’t escape/A fleeting moment alive)

(When all of the forces have been overrun/you’ll whisper, serpent tongue/what you fear you have become)

Rise and Fall serves a very similar purpose to the Art of War. It ends with The Art of Bargaining.

(You push my back against the wall/when I attack I’m taking all)

(I might be guilty but can a person change/I’ll say it like I mean it but believe it, that’s insane/You’re only making this harder/I’ll make you an offer/An offer you can’t refuse)

Widowmaker, Eon, and Reset Rewind are all about a single decision that changes the fate of the universe.

(Rise above the shadows putting forth your hands/God will shield his eyes in spite of all your prayers and he will not hear/Your hands, stained of blood/What have we become from a smoking gun?/What have we become)

(If time’s a song I won’t wait for it’s reprise/I am done wishing farewells and goodbyes)

(Erase bad times/create a timeline/with the pleasure/heavier than all the pain)

Frequency, Your World Will Fail, The Future is Now, and The End of the World are the fallout of that decision.

(And now the silence screams that you are gone/you’ve tuned me out, I’ve lost your frequency)

(Your world will fail my love/It’s far beyond repair/Your world will fail/If you are alive you must run for your life)

(They said there was no way/But they forgot the black hole in the sky/Yesterday is nothing/I have half a life to rewrite)

(Is everyone everywhere forsaking?/ or is there anybody else out there?)

So, in a way, is Dark Matter and A Theater of Dimensions.

(Tear down hollows/Take back eternity)

(I’ve seen our freedom in the mist of time/The old signs I’ll follow and the day of relief will be yours and mine)

It’s such a quiet thing, to fall. Far more terrible is to admit it, and to fix it. But that’s what the catalyst does in Redemption, Endlessness, and For They Shall Inherit the Earth.

(To know that your days are numbered/To know that your time is short/Death is what gives life meaning/So who will you be at the end of the road?)

(Soon, beyond the fields you’ve come to know/You will join the silent flow/Follow me, I am the spark/At the end of everything/Tip the reaper to ensure/The blade is sharp/As soon we’ll go/Follow me into the dark/To the birth of everything)

Design Your Universe

(this playlist is DM canon. But it’s not the DM canon we know and love. We will get to see at least part of it. Eventually.)

Who decides about what’s true or false?

Dark Matter, because it’s not DM without it

(So climb up and come clean/Move back the smoke screen/It’s all here, it’s all you/Get clear on the darker view)

Divide and Conquer explains where things changed from the DM canon we know and love. It’s about how a dictator, no matter their intentions, is never the correct choice.

(Seek the mastermind/The one who’s always right/We’re searching now and endlessly to set us free/Seek the mastermind (Seek the mastermind)/There’s no one you will find)

Martyr of the Free World is a very specific piece of that change from main canon, while Black Smoke Assimilation is what she leaves behind

(If you gun down the messenger/You guarantee that she will be made/Into a saint/A martyr of the free word)

(Out of reach/I planted you, the seed/You’re learning to believe/That you’re the one that changes everything, everything)

Cosmic Vertigo is here for the same reason as in the main playlist

(Just enjoy it while it lasts/Cling not to the broken past)

The Land of Unicorns is Gloryhammer finally making a comeback, and Team Voltron meeting up with, well, Team Voltron.

(Ride far away, cross the mighty River Tay/Over mountains into the unknown/Follow your heart, let it guide you through the dark/To the Land of Unicorns)

Legendary Enchanted Jetpack is a journey into the depths of the Altean Empire. Return to Me is another fight over the Black Lion, but the players aren’t who you think, which is the final goal of Storm the Castle

(Quest for Fife to end pain and strife/in search of the enchanted engine)

(Return what you have taken from me/Rightfully mine, I will not allow this, thief/Think you know this weapon in your hands?/You are a fool, I am his only command)

(We will not be prisoners/In a kingdom taken hostage by her crown)

Unleashed is from the perspective of The Matriarch, for once, showing a little about how this version of her was not particularly willing

(Where was I meant to be?/I feel I’m lost in a dream/Long for the day I can be myself/Free)

Hootsforce and The Epic Rage of Furious Thunder are a final battle.

(Fight for the king, for the hammer and the ring/Fight for the ancient story)

(In the epic rage of furious thunder, legends create their tales/when the twilight calls and the dark lord falls our glory will prevail!)

Design Your Universe, as the title track of this one, is all about how a simple change can change the world. It’s also uh…. pretty literal

(We can’t undo what we have done/So show us now what we’ve become/Confront us with our viciousness/And our weakness/We can’t evade our destiny/So show responsibility/For we all surely have a sense/Of our consciousness)

#i am dark matter; your road to ruin #Dm playlists

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victoriousscarf · 1 year ago

Note

I will come pester, then.

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas? 27. What is your most and least favorite part of writing? 35. What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain? {If relevant}

I mean, the joke is I breath and I have too many ideas. Medda will back me up on this because we will sit down with one idea and about 5 hours later I'm sliding up like but have you considered--

But perhaps more seriously, I just try to be really open. I read a lot, both fiction and history, and go to museums and travel and yes these are all nerdy activities but there's nothing like a good Civil War Battlefield roadtrip to suddenly end up with a questionable Civil War au. Music too will often trigger little glimmers of an idea and then I'm off to the races.

But I think just, keeping an open mind, looking around the world you're in, letting things marinate at the back of your mind, are good ways to get ideas.

27.

I mean... the actual activity of writing is my favorite and least favorite part, lol? In that, daydreaming is fun, but there is joy in solidifying it, in being able to share it with others in a form that's not just excited yelling, in finding the right words, in finding the sentences that take your breath away in the middle of writing them down.

(Like the line "We're both just liars risking it all on trusting each other" made me have to pause and literally scream after writing it down. It did not exist in my head or anyone where until I was halfway through it, and it was the perfect line for the scene, for the relationship, for everything they mean for each other. Similarly "I would hate to be the worst thing to happen to you" came out of nowhere in the middle of the scene and made me go oooooooooo. So yeah, writing is fun! And a constant surprise even to myself!)

But also that's the must frustrating part because then the scene is done, its finalized, it's no longer being turned around endlessly in your head, and sometimes it feels like you can never get it quite right, the epic tension and drama of the moment being caught in these weird little shapes that mean something to the people reading them. And then you just have to remember your readers have no idea how much better the scene felt in your head, and will probably love it anyway, but you'll always know it seemed so much cooler before you forced it down onto the page...

35.

I think it would be a mix of "please let your villains be monstrous again" (I am SO tired of "I may be committing genocide but it's okay because I was sad once") but also remember "everyone is human and probably thinks they are the protag of their own story."

Like let villains tell their own stories to themselves, of how maybe they are not evil, but also do not always let them get away with it (and when they have gotten away with it be wiling to downgrade them to morally grey antagonist instead of full villain).

And also stop making villains the only ones trying to change broken systems. Our heroes might need to start a few revolutions too.

#vs does a meme

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familyagrestefanblog · 3 years ago

Text

Oh screw it, I’ll risk it: About the fan reactions to Gabriel not having known that wearing several Miraculous’ is fatally dangerous

I honestly don't vibe at all with the current attitude going around that in "Evolution" Ladybug did a 'not required act of mercy' when she informed Monarque about the dangers of wearing 15 miraculous at the same time (clarification tho: Marinette saying it IS worthy of due credit, she is upholding a moral responsibility of her hero job and its something noone else has done. It's the Fandom reaction I see over and over again I absolutely don't fuck with).

It just really doesn't sit right with me that seemingly so many people legitimately think that any of our HEROS are entitled to withhold such a crucial information from the villain when it literally regards a human beings sanity, humanity and LIFE. No matter how god damn awful he is and that he was the one starting this war. He’s the villain, HIM acting like one isnt the moral standart, that should be the HEROS.

But just to clarify first: Its not the takes of people who just enjoy to see Gabe (the fictional character) get fucked up for an episode, but still treat the situation with at least SOME of the appropriate gravity, that I’m criticizing here. Its the ones who legitimately think this is rightful and moral justice our heros are entitled to, and that even so much as having mentioned it towards him was a saint-like deed that didnt needed to be done- THATS where all my alarm bells go off (AGAIN).

Because that's just morally despicable to me and in my opinion it's not only VERY MUCH an automatically obligated responsibility of a hero (so not just Ladybug, this regards ALL the heros. Chat Noir, Rena Rouge and everyone else) but truth be told.. in my eyes, this information being mentioned to Hawkmoth from our heros side is already loooooooooooong overdue since the beginning of s4.

In my opinion, the moment our heros found out at the beginning of season 4 that Hawkmoth has been starting to wear the Peacock miraculous himself it automatically became a moral obligation for any of them to make sure that ShadowMoth to 100% KNOWS that even wearing TWO miraculous fucks badly with your mind. For me this is not up for debate. Villains being fuck awful doesn't give heros a free pass for acting amoral themselves. This is also not a situation where “but they assumed” is excusing anything since the consequences are too fatal for that and too many people (besides Gabriel himself) end up in the crossfire.

Look, I'm not going to hold a speech now on ✨seeing the best 🤩 in everyone! ✨giving second chances 🤗 ✨out of the purness of our hearts 💖✨ because that's the right ✔️ and good💁🏼‍♀️✨ thing to do! 💪✨

And I'm also not going to tell you that I think that our teenage heros are obligated to ✨save✨ this toxic garbage can of a grown ass man. No of course fucking not.

Our teenage heros are NOT horrible people because of this - in fact, in my eyes the context of s1-s3 may have had our heros unfortunately assume too much that Hawkmoth KNOWS about the danger. Because of Mayuras involvement, and the heros not knowing that there was a DIFFERENT reason for why Hawkmoth hasn't worn the Peacock for so long himself - but this simply highlights one factor in the narrative that “Multiplication” interestingly enough even brought up:

The question of why tf children are fighting this war against the grown ass man. Because of course are children more likely to look at the way the evil side used their miraculouses and think “Well, apparently Hawkmoth knows about the danger and is now just risking it”, whereas an adult would perhaps have approached this like: “ ...IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII am just gonna mention it just to be sure or just throw it in his face that he isnt as invincible as he thinks he is when he continues like that. I’m gonna clarify this at least for the record so whatever happens afterwards is that asshats own fault, my responsibility is done”

So when Marinette asks Monarque in “Evolution”: Didn’t you know that it was dangerous to use a bunch of Miraculous at once?” (and I hope this line also is a question in the french original) this is not one of our heros “being boundlessly merciful, doing a good deed she didnt HAD to do”, this question hightlights one seriously neglected moral aspect that just wasnt taken care of because children are made to fight this war against an adult, so its no wonder they’d never concidered needing to tell Hawkmoth. Doesnt mean its something positive now that he never knew! That’s not comeuppance, thats just sadistic in the way people celebrate and glorify this (as per usual).

The villain was stripped off his choice and agency regarding if he really wants to risk turning himself into a full blown monster with no way to return. Gabriel was stripped of his agency and choice to do the right thing, something “Evolution” ALSO brought up again from the Heros Day:

Thats NOT good! He and Nathalie were at another crossroad of destiny but couldnt make the choice if risking him possibly ending up becoming so unhinged by the miraculouses influence, his plans crossing lines he previously hesitated or refused to cross, or him ending up taking it out in his civilian life which doesnt have a miraculous ladybug cure, is actually still worth their mission (all things that btw happened with s4). Because I would definitely make the argument that, if they had known, NATHALIE at least would have had insisted on him not wearing it all the time to take care of himself.

There were absolutely a couple of choices here these two could have made in this regard and while it isn't our teenage heros fault per se that this agency was taken away from the villains, it still doesn't change the fact that the villains HAVING this information could have very much have been a game changer. Gabriel and Nathalie are humans, that can't just be disregarded from the moral question. Especially not when disregarding that puts other INNOCENT people in even MORE danger!

No, villains aren't owed jackshit, but if the danger situation they create can be solved more peacefully and civil then in my opinion it is anything but "rightfully justified" for the good guys to instead rather insist on sending them to hell consumed by madness.

At the Heros day Ladybug gave illusion Hawkmoth the choice to redeem himself but it wasn't actually Gabriel it's was an akumatized LILA (once again, a CHILD) and now the villains never had the needed information to make the proper choice if they wanna continue their path, under these VERY DIFFERENT circumstances. Yes, they're fuck awful people but this ain't right either.Not even in the slightest. Nathalie at least made the choice of wearing the Peacock while KNOWING that it would harm her, and the show properly acknowledges that accountability:

And yes, Gabriel decided against his mission in “Evolution” and AFTER Ladybug told him of the dangers. And by all means, for that he can be dunked on however this fandom likes since then he DID have the information and could at least still somewhat properly put that in perspective. That's fine by me, roast away.

But there’s also a hook in the situation now isn't there? Cause Gabriel has already worn TWO Miraculous for an entire season without knowing thats harmful AND he is already wearing 15 (!) Miraculous for a bit when he is finally told.

So for all it is (and tbh, thats ALOT), this information is simply, already too late to not have affected Gabriels decision in "Evolution".

One entire season too late that sealed this man’s and his FAMILY’S fate.

Yes, he did it himself and noone put a gun on his head, but that isnt the moral aspect in this im talking about. If Gabriel hadnt crossed that line without this excessive Miraculous mind influence he wasnt aware of, then I’m sorry, I can hate this man however the fuck I want, in my book this influence nooone warned him about in an entire season is to be taken into concideration. Yes, I would also be saying this about any other villain because I’m not demanding for them to be saved, I merely want the unfortunate morality factors in their fates to be acknowledge (Like, if you think Azula from Avatar the last Airbender is merely a one-note evil and NOT a tragic villain, or Catra and Hordak from She-Ra deserve no ending towards redemption, I can give you a solid piece of my mind)

Immense harm upon a human being out of control has already been done through this assumtion of him having known. This has made him even worse and now he’s walking right into his damnattion, lost in his madness and willing to drag the world with him. I see nothing good or morally RIGHT in this:

Gabriel is done for in the most dehumanizing, painful and awful way; and no matter how much I agree that this man is a toxic, abusive scumbag and deserves to be locked up in a prison cell for the rest of his life, the punishments people are talking about are STILL no fate to be celebrated with such... genuine entitlement for self-proclaimed “rightful” vengeance/ comeuppance in the form of just letting him spiral down even further, ending up a broken and deranged shadow of a person and all alone with nothing and noone left.

So yeah, I don't fuck at all with the continously returning take that Ladybug, Chat Noir (aka any hero) apparently held the RIGHT to act as moralities harsh fist of justice/vengeance and let it happen that this other human being maybe even unknowningly screws his own mind up, turning himself into a monster to a degree not even HE might ever wanted to become. This is NOT a suitable punishment and its very clearly reveange porn on an extreme level that is just more tolerated fandom-wise after s4 because its the white, male, adult villain, even though the initial GOAL in the show is to defeat Hawkmoth so Paris is safe once more.

Taking the man who has become a monster and taking joy in letting this human being fall into the darkest pits of his madness while undoing his personhood as “deserved punishment thats supposed to LAST” is disgusting. Just put a bullet between his eyes, empty 10 more rounds of ammo in his corpse and let his fashion empire vanish into the lost pages of history, that would be more merciful and heroric then the former.

Its beyond unethical. Heros are not supposed to be executioners or torturers and the way some people are genuinely straight-up serious about that is just.. something to behold (And I purposfully didnt even touch upon the morality behind what people are making ADRIEN do. Of course, once AGAIN without Adrien even being allowed to know that Monarque is his FATHER). Heros aren't justified or entitled to let their villain destroy themselves in such a long-term, painful and dehumanizing process of undoing their sanity. Heros are supposed to be good people and BETTER than the villain they have defeated.

#ml spoilers #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #Ml Fandom salt #ml fandom critical #Ml season 5 #Gabriel Agreste and his jewelry collection of madness #It's fine that he wants to have it so we can insult him for being a damn fucknugget #But neither him nor Nathalie having had the knowledge to know what they are doing to his mind isn't SOMETHING GOOD #This fandoms morality has always been fucked and s4 absolutely didnt help in that ONE bit but stil #PEOPLE

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theartoflovingthomashunt · 2 years ago

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My Top Posts in 2022:

Happily Ever After

This family has my entire heart. Thomas and Alex have been such a source of comfort and joy for me over the past few years. Writing them means the world to me. I adore them more than I can say. Then came Bogart, who is the cutest, most fun pup to write for. And finally, my precious twins, Felicity and Vincent, whom I share my birthday with. I love them so much!!! 🥺😭😍💛

I can't thank the beautiful and amazing @/artbyainna on Instagram enough for this stunning family portrait.

Birthday Art #6 of 6 for my self-care birthday week + "birthday" for @choicesmonthlychallenge

[All Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer Masterlists] [Baby Hunt]

49 notes - Posted March 6, 2022

Three years ago today, I decided to join this fandom and I am so glad I did!

I had reblogged things randomly from a non-choices blog and liked things on my personal account but I had never really interacted with anyone or participated in the fandom. When I was in elementary school, I definitely was writing fan fiction, but then as I got older people made me feel less because of it and I stopped writing. Then I found this fandom community and decided to take a risk and pick it back up again. I never expected anyone to read it!

I'm truly grateful to everyone who has ever read or supported my writing here or on any of my blogs. You will never know how much it means to me! Thank you!

So how does one celebrate? With more fan art, obviously! 😍😍😍

One thing I've loved to do is see how different artist bring Thomas and Alex to life and I couldn't be more excited with how this latest art came out!

This adorable chibi portrait is by arssel_land on Instagram 💛

Thank you again for all your love and support. You (and HAlex) have helped me survive the last 3 years on this crazy planet and for that I am eternally grateful! 💖💖💖

50 notes - Posted July 8, 2022

The Best Kind of Distraction 💋

This gorgeous portrait of my forever OTP Thomas and Alex is by the always wonderful and talented @rosefuckinggenius!

I had a short drabble planned to go with it, but seeing as @choicesrcd2022 ends now-ish, I decided I should at least share the art. I'm hoping I can get time to write out the drabble tomorrow. 🤞

Prompts: @choicesdecember2022 kiss, @choicesrcd2022 distraction, @choicesholidays I’m so glad we found each other (always & forever)

[All Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer Masterlists] [Red Carpet Diaries]

50 notes - Posted December 10, 2022

Thomas and Alex Hunt 💖💙

by @/hrhschreave on Instagram

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a commission from Amara in @/austie_romance 's 1,000 Follower giveaway. I am absolutely blown away by the talent and generosity of both of these lovely ladies. I can't thank them enough for making this portrait possible!

Prompts: one more (kiss) @choicesmonthlychallenge

[Masterlists: Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer]

52 notes - Posted May 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

"Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches...I have stayed these years in my hovel because of you. I have taught myself languages because of you. I have made my body strong because I thought you might be pleased by a strong body. I have lived my life with only the prayer that some sudden dawn you might glance in my direction. I have not known a moment in years when the sight of you did not send my heart careening against my rib cage. I have not known a night when your visage did not accompany me to sleep. There has not been a morning when you did not flutter behind my waking eyelids." ~The Princess Bride, William Goldman

Thomas and Alex enjoying a quiet afternoon rereading one of their favorite stories.

I can't even explain how much I am in love with them and this art. Ainna (@/artbyainna IG) is literally the most beautiful genius and never fails to impress . I will be here crying over this for a while. It is everything I hoped and more. Thomas and Alex's love is infinite, they spend everyday choosing each other no matter how good or bad things are and I will always chose them. They are my comfort pairing and my happy place. I will never get enough of them or their love.

[All Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer Masterlists] [Halex Commission tag]

62 notes - Posted October 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

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jdrizzle15 · 4 years ago

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Her Second Return

Just like all of you, and especially my fellow Penny fans, I am absolutely devastated by the Volume 8 finale. I had been in quite a state these last few days, utterly heartbroken, and actually nauseous at times. It feels strange to me to be legitimately grieving a fictional character, but it’s not a bad thing to feel this way. To me, this just shows that CRWBY loves her just as much as us to have written her so well that we connect so completely with her, that it feels like we lost an actual piece of ourselves when she’s gone.

But as you can probably tell by the title, this mega post isn’t gonna be about accepting this end, not in the slightest! Today I want to share canon evidence that can point towards another return of our beloved quirky red headed cinnamon bun! I’m here to spread this hope that I and others in the Nuts & Dolts dolts Discord server have!

I have this separated into many different sections to keep these thoughts organized. With that said, here goes…

A Father’s Words:

In Episode 7 of Volume 7, ‘Worst Case Scenario’ we learn the origins of Penny’s aura, and thus her soul. We also learn that it takes more aura each time she’s brought back. This leaves open an option that could be used at a later point.

Many people theorized that Pietro could indeed revive Penny one more time, which he would absolutely do. But there also lies the possibility that someone else could donate some of theirs, I’m not sure about this as I feel like it’s akin to blood donation where compatibility matters or there's a high risk of altering her, but the possibility is definitely there.

Now, the conversation in Chapter 5 of Volume 8, ‘Amity’ that Pietro and Penny have is an important moment for both Father and Daughter. It was there to show how her death in PvP all that time ago really did have a heavy impact on him and is still affecting him to this day.

Instead of continuing to pretend that everything is A-okay, like he had done for most of Volume 7, he finally lets his true feelings about how it come out to Penny for what is quite likely the first time. Even going so far as to say "Are you asking me to go through that again?" when she offers to take the risk of trying to lift Amity with her power. He wants Penny to be able to live her life.

This entire scene with Pietro established “this is what will likely happen” even if circumstances are much different now, it doesn’t negate the fact that this is a key part of Penny’s story. Scenes like these have a purpose beyond simply making an eventual death all the more heart wrenching. Her never actually getting to live her life makes those scenes basically moot. It makes them effectively pointless from narrative point of view. Unless there's more to it.

Building Relationship:

The build up between Ruby and Penny the last two volumes has been absolutely phenomenal with a definite destination in mind, and this doesn’t feel like that destination. So much of the arc of this season was to help Penny. This girl that our main protagonist absolutely adores and treasures, it would just be awful to throw all of that out for what amounts to an avoidable end. Why use so much of their precious and very limited runtime on deliberately building up this relationship only to end it abruptly, and permanently, when they’re separated?

In my opinion, RT is definitely smarter now than to intentionally set up what was really looking like a budding gay relationship only to kill one of them for good. If N&D wasn't actually going in a romantic direction, why would they leave in all of the romance-adjacent stuff that they got, that's not how ‘just friends’ act. And that is not something you use such valuable time building up for absolutely no pay off whatsoever...

Representation of Hope:

At its core, RWBY has always been about hope. It’s not at the forefront the whole time, but there's been an underlying theme of hopefulness that has persisted since it began. Some describe the show as a Hopepunk, I personally find this to describe RWBY really well. This genre of storytelling is about caring for things deeply and the courage and strength it takes to do so. It’s about never submitting or accepting the way things are. Fighting for what you believe in and standing up for others. RWBY fits all of this extremely well. How does this relate to Penny? She has been shown to be a sign of hope for everyone, but especially for Ruby, the main main protagonist. A prerequisite for a Hopepunk story is the hope.

Her first death in V3 was something that fundamentally changed Ruby. For the first time in the series, we see our main character all but broken by this event. With the loss of Penny, immediately afterwards, Ruby’s hope followed. She made up for it through determination and force of will. We see it affect her multiple times throughout the journey to Volume 7. But upon her return in V7, Hope reached a high point for everyone, the sheer relief on Ruby’s face is plain to see!

In V8 chapter 5 ‘Amity’, Penny literally raises hope by lifting the arena into the sky so Ruby could spread her message. And when she falls, and Amity with her, the connection is lost and hope plummets again. From there things take a very negative turn with the hack begins to take Penny’s agency.

In chapter 11 ’Risk’ is the point in the arc where everyone is reunited for the moment, so two separate hero stories are no longer a thing at that point in time. For the time being focus seemed to be shifted to care about the characters and how they’re going to solve the current problems. This is also where Ruby reaches her lowest emotional point in the season.

It’s not huge, but it’s interesting how connected this is. Before Ruby and Yang share a good cry over learning the possible fate of Summer, Yang brings up restoring optimism and hope to Ruby after the younger sister storms out of the room in frustration. This is where Penny’s scenes take up the rest of the episode. Getting Penny back in control of her own body and safe again is what makes the ending of the episode much brighter, when just 5 minutes before Ruby had been distraught and scared. This then spills over into the group coming up with the plan to use the staff, putting the main group in a much better mood. Of all the things to go right, it’s interesting that it’s Penny.

Things go wrong with the plan in the end and Penny dies. I find it interesting that once again, Penny got them hopeful in their chances of doing something right. Given said plan succeeded but at the cost of Penny of all people, Penny is shown to be the beginning and end of hope for them

The highest and lowest points for hope seem to directly correlate to when Penny’s around. When she comes back again, hope will return too, just like it had before. And because she’ll likely be back for good this time, the second return will probably be close to when Ruby is nearing the complete abandonment of hope. This would be pretty par for the course of the show honestly.

A little aside, but in a sense, Penny also represents Unity. The CCT in Vale fell after her first death, knocking out global communications and the unifying connection it gave. When it was restored for the briefest moment, she was there. Her body connected so she could allow for its launch, her soul lighting the night to hold up Amity with every ounce of her strength. So of course when the Hack succeeds and she falls, she takes global comms down again with her. At a smaller scale - even at the Hack's second last attempt to control her, she draws everyone in the Schnee Manor together. At the start of the volume, Yang states the one thing that they all agree on is not surrendering Penny.

Unity seems appropriate for one whose first song and wish was for but one friend, who would go on to find so many more in the process, and permit for a moment the possibility of all Remnant becoming friends once more. Where she first died, the name of the episode devoted to her story - Amity, "friendship", from the Latin root amicus, "friend" - she almost lives and dies with the very possibility of a united Remnant. It's no wonder she's a priority target for Salem, the great divider, and it seems natural that her next restoration may very well allow the next bid to bring the world together.

The Void Screams:

Moments after Penny's death, we hear a weird scream in the void space. It was a guttural, pained, angry scream, almost like the void space itself was crying out. All the portals shuddered and flickered when it happened.

Some think that this scream was Salem returning, but that happens earlier than Penny’s death, her return is signaled with cinder's arm acting up. We know this because after the arm finished flailing uncontrollably, Cinder said triumphantly "she's back." If it were Salem screaming, it would have happened after she fixed herself, but it didn't.

And I doubt Cinder would have been surprised or unsettled by it considering she was happy Salem returned not long before it. And why would a Salem scream affect the portals anyway, she has no connection to the staff or it's magic.

Another thing to consider is the fact sound is not transmitted through the portals. Otherwise, they would've heard Oscar and the rest calling for them, or the screams of the citizens of Mantle and Atlas. This lowers the possibility of that scream being from Salem even further.

The sound really seems to be coming from something else entirely within the void, and that something is not at all happy. There’s also the fact that Penny was the only person who died in the void space, everyone else was just thrown out of it like Ruby and Co. The only logical cause to me is Penny. Her body was a product (or byproduct) of the same creation magic that made the void space, her blood seems to have been a trigger.

Now I can't be sure about it, but this makes me feel like Penny is almost a part of creation itself? For whatever this thing is to be so angry, that is the only explanation I can think of currently. But all of this could possibly relate to the Narnia allusion of 'the willing victim killed in a traitor's stead' that others have brought up, which will be covered next.

Narnia Parallels:

Atlas has several parallels and references to fictional places (putting aside real world ones like the United States). One of those is that of Narnia, both on the surface and on a deeper level. It is a land of winter year round, where people struggle to survive and there is a present divide between those loyal to the current Monarch and those who are not. James is a parallel to Jadis, the White Witch, a ruler whose thoughts and cares aren’t exactly centered around the actual well being of the people. The hologram table in Ironwood’s office is designed to look like stone, like the Stone Table which features prominently in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. He has a handpicked cadre of special agents/secret police, like how Maugrim and his wolves served Jadis. Another key parallel is how Jadis’s winter sets in to oppress and kill everyone in Narnia, but the Witch provides aid and protection to her loyal followers. She has all the power to spare harm to others, and uses it only for the loyal. As soon as Mantle splits from James and Atlas, no care is taken to protect them from the cold of Solitas even though he has every ability to turn the heating grid back on. His protection is only for the loyal.

Now that the parallel is established, let's look into the details. Starting with how James plays the role of Jadis.

"I had forgotten that you are only a common boy. How should you understand reasons of State? You must learn, child, that what would be wrong for you or for any of the common people is not wrong in a great Queen such as I. The weight of the world is on our shoulders. We must be freed from all rules. Ours is a high and lonely destiny." These are the words Jadis says in the Magician’s Nephew to justify the blood civil war she and her sister had waged for rulership of Charn, before she came to Narnia. She won that war, technically, but only after the last battle had been lost and her sister had marched right up to her so that they were face to face. Jadis’s troops were dead, her followers had surrendered, and the capital was under full control of her sister. But, she still had one card, one ultimate play to win and prove the throne of Charn was rightfully her. The Deplorable Word, a piece of old magic that killed everyone and everything except for her on Charn. It was monstrous, senseless, cruel beyond measure. But it got her that hollow victory. This mindset, the disregard for the people except as tools for her own will, the ultimate ‘aoe’ destructive move that no one had even considered her using, the unwillingness to stop even when by all practical measures the war is over, is a shocking parallel to James. In many ways, he is Jadis in mindset and deed.

Then there is the shared desire for A Thing that both James and Jadis have. For James it’s the Winter Maiden and control over her. For Jadis it’s the Silver Apples from the Tree of Youth. And funnily enough, the Maiden Powers parallel the Apples quiet well. These apples grant power and a life of eternal beauty, but should not be taken or eaten on one’s own initiative. They must be given, a gift granted by another, or only suffering will come from obtaining them. "For the fruit always works — it must work — but it does not work happily for any who pluck it at their own will. If any Narnian, unbidden, had stolen an apple and planted it here to protect Narnia, it would have protected Narnia. But it would have done so by making Narnia into another strong and cruel empire like Charn, not the kindly land I mean it to be.” Jadis’s immortality, and some of her power, come from the fact that she ate an Apple of her own will after stealing her way into the garden where the Tree of Youth had been planted. She gained the eternal life she had wanted and the power along with it, but she did so by taking it and was cursed because of it. Her skin turned pale and her lips blackened as if she were a frozen corpse given life. She will be trapped in a life of misery and hate according to Aslan- oh hey Cinder, how’s having stolen the Power you always wanted working out for you? Cinder had the power she wanted, but she only got hungrier, eager to claim more and increase her might. But in her pursuit she was defeated and humiliated by Raven, had to steal her way out of Mistral, and then suffered defeat after defeat while in Atlas. Only in the end, when she didn’t keep pursuing the Maiden Power, did she get any kind of victory.

The reason these parallels to Narnia are so important is one of the most famous events of the series. The cracking of the Stone Table and the rebirth of Aslan after his death. ‘When a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.’ Well, the ‘Stone Table’ in James’s office has cracked, and Penny strikes me as a pretty willing victim. She has never actually committed any actual treachery or harm, as she was the Protector of Mantle, and fought for its and Atlas’s people until the very end. And because of her death, the actual traitor, Winter, who loyally served James until he had gone too far, was saved. Through Penny’s self sacrifice, Winter was saved. So now Death itself will start working backward.

(Major props to my friend @catontheweb for writing this section, I was getting nowhere with it, if they weren't there this part wouldn't exist!)

Norse Mythology:

The tree we see in the post credit scene gives off some serious Yggdrasil vibes. Also called the World Tree, it is essentially all of creation in Norse Mythology. It connects all nine realms, including the God realms of Asgard, the human realm of Midgard, and the underworld of Hel.

Humans are born from the branches of Yggdrasil. The web of Wyrd is woven for every person once they're born, and their path is set from there regardless of how many times the souls cycle over. But at the end, they're destined to end up in one of the worlds, for a myriad of reasons.

I believe Penny landed closest to this giant tree. She was on the center platform in the void space, so if that space is directly above the island(?) the tree is on, it makes sense for her to fall by the center nearest to the tree. This would not only open up all kinds of possibilities for the volume in general, but it would also create options for Penny.

The whole of Yggdrasil’s representations fit well into Penny’s story. Birth, growth, death and rebirth. We can count Penny’s appearance in V7 as birth for now, her growth is all her development in leaving =the military and becoming a Maiden, her death just happened, and her rebirth would be her revival. And this is a cycle she’s gone through before.

The Norse god Odin and Yggdrasil have quite a connection. In one story, Odin cut out one of his own eyes to gain knowledge from a pool underneath Yggdrasil. The only one that fell whose eyes alone are incredibly significant to the story was Ruby. So, they could choose to have her allude to Odin by having Ruby make some kind of deal with whatever entity likely rules over this magical place. An eye for Penny’s life.

There’s another story about Odin, Yggdrasil and the pursuit of knowledge. Odin so loved knowledge, that he sacrificed himself in a quest to learn the deeper magic of runes. It was believed one could only learn the magic spells from runes in death. So, Odin hung himself on Yggdrasil for nine days as an offering, and teetered between life and death. After he mastered the last spell on the ninth night, he ritually died and all light was extinguished from the world. Odin’s death lasted until midnight, when he was reborn and light returned to the world.

This story doesn’t fit Penny perfectly, but allusions often don’t. So If she really did land near the tree, she could be another loose representation of Odin’s story here. What she did wasn’t for knowledge, but to save her friends and keep Cinder from getting the Winter Maiden power. She believed it necessary that she sacrifice herself to achieve this end. As we established, Penny represents Hope, so her death means the loss of hope. This parallels Odin’s story of his death meaning the loss of light itself. So if this theory holds up, it would make this death temporary, until her rebirth and the return of Hope with her once again.

Alternatively, Ruby has the potential of loosely representing Odin in this story as well. Odin later uses the knowledge of the runes to do many things, but the most relevant one right now is awakening the dead. Both of these stories are about making a personal sacrifice to gain something that is desired. Ruby would absolutely make such sacrifices if it meant saving Penny.

It is said that Odin lived “according to his highest will unconditionally, accepting whatever hardships arise from that pursuit, and allowing nothing, not even death, to stand between him and the attainment of his goals." This sounds like Penny's arc of accepting the WM powers. This is more just a general connection between Penny and Odin, but I found it interesting.

Side Note: I encourage anyone who’s interested to look into RWBY connections to Norse Myth, there’s a surprising amount of things that feel eerily similar to the show. Likely just coincidental, but it’s fun to think about!

(If I got any of this wrong, I sincerely apologize by the way. I researched as best I could, but I admit it could have been lacking.)

Ambrosius and the Staff:

Ruby told Ambrosius "we kinda wanna keep her around longer than that" as part of her very specific instructions. Then Penny died about ten to fifteen minutes, at the absolute most thirty minutes later in-universe. I don’t know about you, but to me that seems very short to be considered ‘longer than that’. Technically it is, but when writing a story and a character says something like that, you typically don’t just kill the character they were referring to basically right away. It makes sense for a week-by-week watch, but in a volume binge, which many viewers do, it becomes ironic how fast Penny dies after being removed from her robotic body.

The first time we see the staff of creation being used, it's to save Penny. Using the staff of creation to help Penny is a sign of how incredibly important she is.

They’ve even got this entire transformation sequence for her, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to throw all that away two episodes later. In a meta context, it’s a massive waste of time and budget considering the asset creation for Penny.

Penny is a character who has already hopped bodies two times. And now we're supposed to just believe that this time it really is a final death? Just two episodes after we were explicitly told her body isn't what matters, that "Her soul is who she is" and that "the mechanical parts are just extra"? From a writing perspective, it feels strange, like your breaking a promise right after making it. And frankly, CRWBY is better than that, which makes me think this is not the actual end for her.

A possible connection between Penny, Ruby, and the Staff (thus Creation) can be seen in the intro. As Ruby is falling and being dragged down into the darkness, she is shown reaching for the staff. In the void space, Penny is the one with the relic. So with Penny having this strong connection to Creation, and the lyrics “fight for every life” playing as Ruby reaches for the staff, it’s a safe assumption to make, with the knowledge we now have, that the Staff of Creation represents Penny in this particular moment. Which could mean that V9 will be about, at least partially, fighting for Penny’s life.

Musical Hints:

In terms of music, Friend, as a song for Penny, is very dissonant from the episode itself. The song is oddly cheerful for Penny’s recent untimely death, and it overall highlights the wrong parts of death. It’s simply too happy to be a song about losing one of the most, if not the most joyous characters in the entire show. The song also abruptly ends. There’s no outro, and while this could symbolize the fact that Penny died young, it could be that the song itself is unfinished in a story sense.

What do we hear just before the song finishes, though? A progression of notes that sounds eerily similar to the last line of the opening of Volume 8. The notes for “Fight for ev’ry life” and “Who fin’lly felt alive'' share a similar melodic structure, they aren’t perfect clones of each other, but they are incredibly similar, to the point where it seems intentional. Penny may very well be the life that the opening song is fighting for. It is also worth noting that the line “Fight for every life” comes just after “Sometimes it’s worth it all to risk the fall,” which is the exact wording used for the description in the Volume 8 finale. Team RWBY risked the fall, yet, strangely the opposite of fighting for every life happened with Penny’s sacrifice. Perhaps the time to fight for every life has yet to happen, and we will see it come Volume 9.

For another thing, the lyrics for Friend are entirely centered on Penny’s feelings for Ruby, to the point where they read very much like a bittersweet love song. The music itself is incredibly cheerful, as mentioned previously, creating a mood whiplash with the end of the volume. Why would we hear a song about Penny’s feelings for Ruby, sounding like a love song, if her death is supposed to be a tragic sacrifice akin to Pyrrha’s? The song may very well be giving a clue into its future use in the show proper.

If this was meant to be a good bye song, why make it so cheerful and romantic sounding? There's only one part about her dying and even then, it's just too accepting and goes right back into cheerfulness. The song is also pretty hopeful, telling Penny's story in a fairly chronological order. And the part where she talks about sacrifice is quite pointedly followed up by one about feeling alive. It also ends with the super cheerful chorus, the word "alive" being the last... (Remember the episode title: The Final Word)

(I want to thank my friend @shadow-0f-x for writing the majority of this section! I was struggling to choose how to tackle it as I am not well versed in music theory.)

What We Didn’t See:

It is likely that Penny understood Jaune's semblance better than him and figured something out about it’s abilities in the same way that she understood Ruby's semblance better than her. She had plenty of time to observe his semblance up close as he boosted her aura to stave off the virus. Because of that intentionally timed cutaway in the finale, we don’t get to hear her explain herself after her strained “Trust me.” All of that seems really suspicious to me.

Pyrrha Parallel:

Pyrrha and Penny both sacrificed themselves to stop or stall Cinder. Jaune tried to convince the both of them to stop. With Pyrrha, he failed, while with Penny he actively helped her sacrifice herself. Doesn’t make sense for the guy who was determined not to let anyone else do what Pyrrha did, unless of course Penny assured him she’d be alright.

The Moment:

RT including the suicide hotline in the description shows that they're aware that Penny basically committed assisted suicide, seeing it as a noble sacrifice worth doing to save her friends. They're aware, and I believe they're smart enough to condemn that decision to hell and back.

The best way to do that in my opinion is to pull her back into the land of the living and let her witness first hand the consequences of throwing her life away so freely. This would show Penny how her actions affected others so maybe she could learn to truly value herself. To not think herself expendable. It would be bold and unwise to portray this choice as something good, unless it was going to be called upon later and be pointed out for how horrible it really is.

On top of this, Penny was way too content with her death, happy even. There's no way team RWBY is letting her stay content with it. It’s almost as though we're supposed to join Ruby and Co. in calling bullshit on what Penny is saying and doing because no, Penny, this is not how things are meant to work. It's as if Penny was basically saying "I want to die for my friends" because most of the volume had been about everyone else making sure she didn't die. She knows it will hurt them. She knows.

At the peak of it all, a choice like this will totally destroy Ruby. It may very well be her breaking point for Volume 9. Curiously, the moment itself is written like it’s the first choice Penny’s ever made, yet the entire Volume shows this isn’t the case. However, this is the first choice that Penny’s made solely independently and it’s rather pertinent that the choice she makes is a mistake. Outside of giving Winter the Maiden gift and saving the day temporarily, this sacrifice will not have any lasting positive effects. Jaune will be saddled with the grief of killing Penny. Ruby will have to live with losing her best friend and not being able to protect her a second time, and Winter now has the burden of the Winter Maiden abilities, making her a target of Cinder. This is a bad thing, and Penny needs to see the long term consequences.

Transfer of Power:

As we all know, colors in RWBY are really important and get a lot of focus in the show. That means the yellow we see as Penny gives Winter the Maiden Powers was intentional and likely important, no matter how insignificant it may seem. It’s possible that the transfer effect being yellow could have something to do with Jaune’s semblance. When Fria gave the power to Penny, the effect was very much blue, so this transfer should have been green since she was the one giving it this time. The weirdness of this transfer and the focus on color in RWBY really makes it look like something’s up with how that went down.

A little off topic, but Penny saying "I won't be gone, I'll be part of you." makes me think... Winter is smart, so when she gets time to think about what Penny said, maybe she'll arrive at the same question many in the audience came to; if she's literally part of Winter, can they be separated again? If Winter starts questioning that, the possibility of Penny coming back just skyrockets.

Fria actually tells Penny "I'll be gone" before giving her powers up, which is an interesting contrast to Penny telling Winter "I won't be gone". She may have gotten that line from Winter be all philosophical in V7, saying Fria was now a part of Penny, but it hits differently coming from an actual Maiden. S5o it’s possible that Maidens usually actually will be gone, but Jaune's semblance did something to change that.

This could go well with the theory that they won't need to find an aura transfer machine, or build another one, because Jaune will have a semblance evolution allowing him to do the transfer instead. It might actually be that this evolution already happened and the golden light we saw was Jaune transferring penny's aura to Winter in some way?

An observation that I find interesting is when Penny gives winter the powers, not only is the aura yellow but penny completely glows yellow too, and she obviously starts to disappear, but she doesn’t seem to fully disappear, she just glows.

It's possibly a fading out effect and she does fully fade but animation makes bright light easier, and so we don't actually see her disappear because she's dead and not gone. But it does once again emphasize the color yellow here!

And the color is coming from Penny, it does go up Winter's arm a bit, but Penny is clearly the source. This transfer is so weird and I’m not really sure how to interpret it. There's just actually no reason that we are aware of to make the effect yellow here is the thing. Unless it has something to do with either Jaune or Ambrosius, or potentially a combination of both...

Jaune’s Aura:

The way we see Jaune's aura break in the finale is strange. His aura shouldn't be breaking here. It had been long enough since he was boosting Penny, he's had time to recharge, and it didn't look like it was a strain on him at all. Plus, we know he has a lot of aura, so there probably wasn't too much to recharge in the first place.

He has a massive amount of aura, it has never broken before as far as I remember. Even if it has though, that doesn’t make this occurrence any less odd. It should absolutely never be a one-hit KO. We didn't see anything that would've drained it, that should not have been enough to break his aura. Unless he did something - something that would require a huge amount of aura - that we just didn't see. That amount of aura drain is far more than just an attempt at healing would do, Jaune absolutely did something with his semblance that took up almost all of his aura.

Pinocchio Allusion:

As any Penny fan knows, her character allusion is Pinocchio, the puppet who became a real boy. Penny deviates from the allusion by having always been a real girl, as Ruby is quick to point out, but she shares many story beats with her original story including multiple deaths. In the original story, Pinocchio dies from being hung by his own strings due to his poor decision making and he dies. Sounds a little familiar, does it not? This is where his tale originally ended. Readers were unsatisfied with this ending however, so the author decided to change the story by reviving Pinocchio and teaching him to be more careful.

Unlike Pinocchio making all the wrong decisions, Penny often makes the right ones, or ones she thinks is right, when concerning others. While usually a good thing, this has meant Penny almost giving herself up multiple times during V8, her last attempt being successful. This is where Penny and Pinocchio begin to share similarities again. They are both very reckless when it concerns themselves. This carelessness comes from different places, but it ends with the same result of them endangering their lives and even sometimes losing them.

In the Disney movie, Pinocchio dies by drowning after going to rescue Geppetto and washes up on the shore (like the beach in V8’s post credit scene). His father is devastated and takes him home to grieve, but as a reward for his selflessness in rescuing his father, the Blue Fairy returns and brings him back to life, as well as granting him humanity. Penny sacrificed her life as well, and it stands to reason that she should be rewarded for it, much like her allusion was.

Penny got her maiden powers from someone with blue aura and then gave her powers to someone with blue aura. So it could be that not only Ambrosius, but Fria and Winter as well represent the Blue Fairy. It could be set up for Winter helping to bring Penny back to life once more. It’s an out there theory I admit, but it’s not outright impossible either. The Blue Fairy in Pinocchio saved him three times that I know of, so RWBY having three representations does make sense.

Geppetto wished for him to live as a real boy, but it depended on what path Pinocchio took. This is very reminiscent of Penny and Pietro. Pietro wants to see her live her life, and surely with him absent in V8C14 that didn't work, despite Penny choosing. Her father did not see her happy enough to live her life, and will only be able to learn her death through others. But Pinocchio's themes were life and being alive. So the likelihood that this is not her end yet is quite high!

A Girl That Fell Through the World:

Penny could be the girl who fell through the world. The girl in the story fled the consequences of a choice. The only person who chose her ultimate fate was Penny. The others were pushed into the void, but she chose to die. The consequence of her choice is Ruby’s grief first and foremost, which Penny won’t see. The girl who fell through the world does come back though, and the world will be changed severely with Penny’s absence. Alternatively, it could also be Penny coming back to Wonderland or wherever they currently are, as long as it’s unrecognizable to her.

What Returning Brings:

Others might say another return would have no story relevant purpose, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Penny gives a profoundly youthful, joyous, and wondrous outlook on the world and story that we hadn't seen since Ruby in Volumes 1-3(not the end), Penny returning would bring a much needed levity back in after the despair they will undoubtedly be going through. While not necessarily a huge thing in most other shows, for RWBY, a show largely about keeping up hope, an ounce of such relief is a necessity.

As much as I hate saying it, Penny’s death does actually make some narrative sense because she had to pass on the Maiden powers. (They could have done this in a number of ways, and I personally think they chose rather poorly, but I digress.) Throughout this whole volume, we can see Penny seemingly being set up to join the main cast, but would have been too strong with the powers. This also accomplishes ridding her of the burden of responsibility that comes with being a Maiden and lets her obtain the freedom that’s so important to her character.

Once she returns, seeing this grief that her actions caused, particularly to Ruby, will get her to realize more that her actions can have serious repercussions. She made a choice, but that choice hurt the people she loves. She must have known that it would but I’m not sure she ever realized just how much.

I didn’t want this post to be heavy in the shipping department, so I largely left it out, but I am going to say this one thing that could have an impact. If Nuts & Dolts is on its way to being canon, which this volume makes it feel highly likely, this could be a catalyst.

It could prompt an arc for the both of them in which Penny learns to live her life fighting for her loved ones, rather than sacrificing it for them. A relationship could potentially start from there. And Ruby seeing Penny learn these things may also help her to stop doing the occasional but very dangerous and reckless things she does. Ruby witnessing Penny coming to terms with what she did to the people that care about her would actually make her stop to think “wait, is this how everyone else would feel if I got myself killed?” That would be a very important moment of character growth for her.

I’m certain there are other significant things that Penny returning can bring to the show. And there are definitely more sections I could add to this. At this point though, assuming anyone even made it this far, I think I’ve been going long enough already. So let’s just roll into the outro!

As painful and hopeless as it seems, I'm choosing to trust them with this because there is absolutely no way they didn't see backlash coming. The way this finale went makes me think that they calculated for backlash and aren’t jumping into something they don’t have a plan to recover from. Whether this trust is unfounded or not remains to be seen, but I don’t think it is currently. I do think, however, that the cause of this backlash was a major misstep. Now that it has happened though, they have a chance to do something good with it.

I know for a lot of you, trust in CRWBY has been damaged, some even irreparably so. And for those that feel this way, I don’t blame you. My trust in them took a hit too, but isn’t broken completely yet. There are many ways that they can bring her back that would make sense with the narrative, they have the ability to make it right, and after going over all of the hints and general weirdness of things many times, I think they will.

I'm feeling pretty confident now and I really didn't expect that to happen at all to be honest. But discussing and theorizing with the discord server seriously helped get my hopes back up surprisingly fast! It’s actually thanks to all of them that this gigantic post even happened! So thanks a ton my fellow Dolts! And a special thanks to!!

@arcana-amicus

@catontheweb

@cosmokyrin

@gaydontmesswithme224

@jammatown919

@shadow-0f-x

They really helped get this thing across the finish line!

And thank YOU for reading all~ of this! I sincerely wish it gave you some of the hope and confidence that I now have!

#RWBY #rwby vol8 #rwby v8 #rwby spoilers #Penny Polendina #nuts and dolts #mechanical rose #a little #Essay #more like dissertation #I haven't written this much in #probably ever actually #Have HOPE people!

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catgrassplantdad · 4 years ago

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There are few fictional relationships that make me feel more unhinged than Mickey & Terry. And I’m sure it’s been dissected to death, but I think about their confrontation at the beginning of 10x11 a lot and it makes me feel extremely. So here I am to talk about why. CW: abuse and homophobia below the cut (I mean, it’s Terry).

I don’t think I need to give a history lesson here, but the abuse and violence Mickey endured by Terry’s hand unfortunately shaped a lot of Mickey’s life. Mickey didn’t take forever to be comfortable and open with Ian because he wanted to, he didn’t marry a woman because he wanted to, he didn’t live a lie for so long because he wanted to. This all happened because he actually, literally feared for his life. Additionally, there was the complicated fact of him starving and striving for his abuser’s approval. He wanted more than just bodily safety; he wanted to be in good standing with Terry. This is despite enduring what he described as torture. Terry “tortured [him] every day for years,” and yet he still desired a relationship with him. This happens sometimes in abusive relationships, it’s definitely not unusual that he felt that way. But it’s still hard to watch, knowing about their background and knowing that Mickey was aware of what Terry was capable of.

Mickey knowing what Terry was capable of is precisely why their interaction at the beginning of 10x11 made me go “yooooo” out loud at my TV at the end of the scene. I had to pause it, my eyes were bugging out of my head, I had to let it sink in, etc. etc. It really struck me hard. Mickey heard Terry shouting slurs at him from outside on the damn sidewalk where anyone could hear, and he put on an unamused look and stepped outside and walked right up to him. Terry pulled out a gun, and Mickey did not even flinch and instead pulled out one of his own. He listened to his father berate and then threaten him, and instead of backing down he proceeded to do the opposite of what he had done his whole life and deliberately said shit that would piss Terry off. And on top of it, he then went back into the house and started planning his big gay wedding with specific details designed to make Terry mad. He wanted to rub his happiness, his gay love, in that prick’s face. And he begins this endeavor with that line “I definitely love one.”

There’s an important detail in that exchange (“You must really love cock.” “I definitely love one.”) that is what ultimately elevates this scene from merely insanity-inducing to "Jessie will never be normal about this ever in their entire life," and that’s Mickey’s wording. It’s such a good comeback and it hits so hard, but it’s important that it also hits Terry hard. And it does, because he used language that Terry understood. I think if he had phrased it differently by saying something like “I just love Ian” or “I’m just in love” or something similar, it wouldn’t have landed the same with Terry. Terry had taken Mickey’s gayness and reduced it to something so base and vulgar because he hates gay people and doesn’t care to know shit about the gay experience. And instead of throwing his gay love in Terry’s face by using language that’s less horrendously offensive, Mickey fucking embraces it. Mickey takes Terry’s words and twists them to suit himself and throws them back at him. Mickey’s gay and he loves cock, and he definitely loves his partner’s cock. You know, his partner? Who he’s in love with? And gonna marry? Because the gay experience isn’t just about sex? Mickey’s not getting married because he wants to get fucked, he’s getting married because he’s in love. Terry doesn’t give a shit about all that and Mickey knows this, so his comeback utilizes language that Terry can wrap his head around, but he still manages to convey the fact that he’s in fucking love with one person. It’s affirmation and ownership and it is so badass. Terry was actively trying to be cruel and Mickey threw back at him in one of the most elegant comebacks I have ever seen. And yeah, we know Mickey is capable of being vulgar as hell, so it’s not like saying something like this is particularly out of character for him anyway. It just worked so damn well in accomplishing the goal of getting Terry to shut the fuck up while conveying to Terry and the audience that he’s in love and willing to engage in risky behavior to defend it.

I mean, he was doing all this with a gun in his face. Terry wanted him to feel fear, he wanted him to feel threatened because he genuinely thought that Mickey deserved to experience violence, and he wanted him to feel ashamed. But Mickey decided years ago that he was done feeling fucking ashamed, and he was so accustomed to Terry’s violent behavior. So whether he stood up to him with a gun in his face because he was desensitized to Terry’s violence or because he just decided to be brave and ignore whatever fear he may have been feeling in that moment, either reason speaks volumes. If he did it because he was desensitized to Terry’s violence then that really speaks to the tragedy of his upbringing. If he did it because he just decided to be brave in that moment then that speaks to just how much he was willing to risk for his principles. Either way, he could’ve ended up dead. We know this because Terry does end up trying to shoot him in the end. And yes, Mickey had his gun aimed at Terry, but I don’t know if I think he’d actually shoot him and I think his actions towards Terry in season 11 may speak to that. But Terry would shoot. And he does shoot later on. Again, he knew what Terry is capable of. And he stood up to him anyway and it was amazing to watch. Mickey used to be so afraid of Terry that he feared for his life while vying for approval. He used to live in a way that was the very antithesis of what he actually wanted for himself, just for his piece of shit father. And in this scene he shows us just how far removed he is from that fearful kid now, openly in love with his partner and standing up to his father in a way that will expressly make him angry about his gayness specifically, the thing that he was so tortured over in his youth. Tortured because he was hiding out of fear and the internal conflict that he experienced because of that, and then physically and emotionally tortured by his father once he’s found out. That abuse may have shaped his past, but he was ready to move the fuck on and not let it define his future. So this scene is just unreal. A neat little package of character and relationship/dynamic development in a little 70-second scene that packs an enormous punch.

#just feeling unhinged about mickey milkovich again nothing new here #alright i made the post where's howl and kee #howl this is probably a lot more rambly than you were expecting but i had to get it out there #mickey #mickey & terry #gallavich adjacent #shameless #shameless meta #gallavich

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nanowrimo · 4 years ago

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5 Tips for Fast Drafting from a New York Times Bestselling Author

NaNoWriMo is basically an exercise in fast drafting: getting as much of the first draft of the story as you can on the page as quickly as possible. Today, bestselling author J. Elle is here to share some pro tips for fast drafting: My first middle grade novel took me nine days to write.

The first draft was about 40,000 words or so. And yes, it needed to be revised before it sold to a publisher. But the meat of the story was on the page in just over a week’s time. I’d never drafted anything quite that fast before. Within a single month I’d written an entire novel, revised it a couple times and readied it for sale. A few months later that novel sold at auction and will be on shelves May 2022.

I still look back on this feat with a bit of shock and awe. To date I’ve sold five novels to major publishers, two young adult, two middle grade and one non fiction and my experience fast drafting has forever altered the way I approach writing. I should mention, fast drafting isn’t for everyone. Writing is such a personal thing and each storyteller has their own process, but in the event getting the first draft out is the biggest hurdle for you, like it is for me, I’m going to share five tips for knocking out that first draft in record time.

1. Start with a SHORT story pitch.

Pitching a story in a few words is tough. But it’s a worthy effort and the best use of your time before you get any words on the page. Why? Because it helps you hone in on the core of your story and its hook. A good short pitch involves the character, their dilemma, and a hint of the stakes. In October of 2018 I pitched my YA debut novel in a tweet which then blew up. Not many words can fit in a tweet, but by choosing the right set of words, I was able to convey the heart of my story and it really resonated. (From that tweet, I signed with a literary agent and sold my debut novel to a Big 5 publisher in a six-figure-deal.) The biggest favor you can do for yourself is understand the story—its essence, its core—you’re trying to tell before you start drafting. And that’s hard. But the more you play around with creating a short pitch, you’ll begin to see a clear snapshot of what your book is going to be about. That’s your jumping off point.

2. Expand your pitch into tent pole beats.

From your short pitch, spend some time deciding on what your major beats are. Now, yes this is a bit like outlining. And for you pantsers out there, I empathize with you. I was a pantser and still am in many ways. But I still do this step because this step ultimately saves me time. The beauty of fast drafting is that you know what you need to do when you sit down to type. So a lot of these steps are about doing pre-work so that when you sit down to type you’re not spinning your wheels to figure out what to type. Instead you’ll have a clear goal and you’ll be ready to execute it. Also, note that the goal isn’t to perfect each of these steps, but instead to try to do each step, to the best of your ability, and in a way that makes sense.

I could write an entire piece on beat sheeting novels (which I love and do for all my books), but for the purposes here, I’ve organized the main things you want to know below in a series of questions. Simply answer each, make a chart if you like that sort of thing, and once you have each question filled out in a way that logically makes sense, move on to the next step. (NOTE: It’s a good idea to get feedback on this step if you have critique partners and fellow writers you trust.)

Opening Scene - Who is the character before the world changes?

Inciting Incident - What happens that forces them to make a choice, changing their lives forever? What are they choosing between?

“A” Plot - What is that choice they make? What are they pursuing or working toward? Finding information? Going on a quest? Uncovering the truth behind a murder?

Stakes - What are the stakes of the “A” plot? What’s at risk if they fail to accomplish whatever they’re pursuing? It should be something that personally affects them or someone / something they care about.

“B” Plot / Character - Who or what is the theme of the story? What character in your story is going to embody that theme and play a key role in helping the main character change?

Midpoint - what happens in the middle of the book to change the character’s direction. Usually it’s some bit of new information or they realize things are not as they seem.

Stakes Raise - How do the stakes (what’s at risk if they fail) raise after the middle of the book?

Character Arc - what does your character believe about the world in the beginning of the book that by the book’s end they will no longer believe? (An extension of this question is: what things can happen in this character’s life to facilitate them incrementally learning this big truth? If you don’t know this question right off, that’s okay. But this is a question you want to go back to every now and again, even after you finish the first draft, to ensure your character is actively involved in a plot that is resulting in their change.)

Failure - How will your character fail big? This happens at about the 75% point of the book and it's the final moment of failure, usually, before they pick themselves up off the ground (figuratively or literally) and learn the lesson they’ve needed to learn. There forward they act on their new belief to the end of the book, demonstrating how they’re changed.

If you’d like a more in depth look at how to beat sheet a novel, I strongly suggest reading Jessica Brody’s Save The Cat Writes A Novel.

3. Flesh out your beats into a detailed synopsis.

Now the fun part! This step is the most helpful thing you can do to enable yourself to fast draft.

Write a mini version of your story, also known as a detailed synopsis. The key to writing synopses is not to worry about the voice, but instead what happens. Try to convey what happens and its impact on the character to show how the story moves from tent pole moment to tent pole moment (per the step above). This takes some trial and error and you may get annoyed with yourself because it’s not as easy as it seems. But, I’ve seen that if you can write a compelling and cohesive synopsis, the draft that you execute will be far stronger and more efficiently executed.

Definitely get beta feedback on your synopsis from writing friends you trust. It’s worth going over this a few times to get it right. In terms of length, aim for 3-4 pages for a middle grade novel and 5-10 pages for a young adult or adult novel. These are just general guidelines. My latest YA novel required a fifteen page synopsis and I am very glad I did it because it conveys the tone, arc, and plot of the novel and the main plot threads quite well, which allowed me to draft the first 23,000 words of the story in five days.

4. Summarize each scene.

(Note: a chapter can have more than one scene.)

Okay, we’re getting really close to writing! Now that you have a mini version of your story, consider how you will break it up into scenes. This doesn't need to be perfect, but spend some time figuring how to stretch your synopsis into a full novel. Give each scene a short summary. Aim for a few sentences, no more than a paragraph, just so you know what needs to happen in that scene (or scenes). Do not skip this step. I repeat, do not skip this step. This step allows you to sit down and execute the scene without figuring out what to write. The “figuring out” part is where a lot of writers slow down. Do that in the summaries so when it’s time to draft you are ready to execute, not sort out details.

5. Write with a goal in mind.

Plan your writing days. I’m not talking anything extensive here. Just grab your phone calendar or a post-it note and write down which days you want to do which scenes. Then on writing day re-read that summary and execute it. If you’ve done all the pre-work the words will fly from your fingers. Don’t worry about grammar, typos, reading back what you did. Insert fillers such as, “TITLE” or “NAME” for details you haven’t worked out yet. Just get the scene that you’ve summarized out. The goal is to finish the draft. After that is when you make sure it all works together through revisions and fill in the details. Right now the goal is finishing the draft. It literally just needs to exist!

If you’ve done all five steps, pat yourself on the back because congrats, you’re ready to fast draft! Don’t hesitate to tag me on socials if you try this method out and it works for you. I’d love to hear how it goes!

J.Elle is the New York Times bestselling author of Wings of Ebony. Elle has a Bachelor’s of journalism and an MA in educational administration and human development. She grew up in Texas, but has lived all over, from coast to coast which she credits as inspiration for her writing. These days the former educator can be found mentoring aspiring authors, binging reality TV, loving on her three littles, or cooking up something true to her Louisiana roots.

Website: WingsOfEbony.com

Twitter: @AuthorJ_Elle

Instagram: @AuthorJ.Elle

TikTok: @authorjelle

#nanowrimo #writing #amwriting #writing advice #first draft #nano prep #camp nanowrimo #by nano guest #j. elle

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yurimother · 4 years ago

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LGBTQ Manga Review — I'm in Love with the Villainess Vol. 1 (Manga)

A New Look on a Compelling and Innovative Series

A manga adaptation of one of the best and queerest Yuri light novels I have ever seen, what is not to love! As a massive proponent of the light novels, I eagerly followed I'm in Love with the Villainess began serialization in Comic Yuri Hime last year. I am thrilled to get my hands on the first English volume, and now that it is finally out (digitally at the time of writing), I am equally delighted to read over the start of Rae and Claire's journey once again. Getting to see my favorite isekai protagonist and her bratty noble crush in full illustrations is terrific. However, it does not make for a completely flawless work.

I'm in Love with the Villainess follows Rei Ohashi, an avid otome gamer who dies and is reincarnated as Rae Taylor in her favorite game, "Revolution." Rather than chase any of the game's handsome bachelors, all students at the Royal Academy in the European-inspired fantasy world, Rae heads straight for her favorite character, the game's villainess! Rae begins to relentlessly tease the bratty and elitist Claire, much to the latter's frustration. Soon a rivalry forms between the two girls, but despite Claire's taunts and coldness, Rae is determined to stay by her side and protect her.

The increased focus provided to Claire and Rae's early relationship will be noticeable to light novel readers. While Inori's writing focuses mainly on world-building in the first several chapters, the manga makes the wise choice to condense much of this information for the sake of reading. Blocks of exposition work poorly in the manga compared to prose. However, establishing a setting is not completely thrown out the window. There are several small conversations and explanations of key aspects of the world. After quickly setting the story, the characters are left with room to explore.

Claire and Rae are the most enjoyable part of this manga. Rae is eager and doting, with a touch of masochistic. On the other hand, Claire is more arrogant, often looking down on peasants like Rae, and is continuously infuriated by her affection. A hilarious rivalry starts to spring up between the two, with Claire pranking or mocking Rae and then getting outraged when she revels in the attention and teases Claire by expressing her undying affection.

These interactions also further the story. They establish the dynamic between our two heroines and add more detail to the political situation and tensions between the commoners and nobility, the series’ main plotline. Interestingly, while Claire may believe commoners inferior, she also sees it as her responsibility to protect and instruct them in her very elitist way. Noticeably none of the torments she subjects Rea could ever cause permanent harm or damage. It is a fascinating insight into this character's mental state, and even in the first volume seeing her start to change and become more aware slowly is fascinating.

Much of the rivalry is comedy and often plays out as such. However, some readers may find it slightly off-putting and understandably see the dynamic as Rae sexually harassing Claire. I strongly encourage you to give this series a chance. This book will undoubtedly be the worst volume of an incredible series. Once I'm in Love with the Villainess breaks into its stride of exploring queer and socioeconomic issues, some point in the next volume based on reading the serialized chapters, I promise it will become a quick favorite. If you know you may not be able to overlook its immediate faults during the wait, consider holding off on the mage until after the second book is out and get them together.

Much of the previously mentioned content is the same or strongly similar to the light novels, perhaps a touch more emphasis on Claire's early hostilities; however, there are some significant points unique to the manga to consider. For one, Aonoshimo's artwork is fantastic! The characters and backgrounds are distinct, with only slight adjustments for the more comedic or dramatic stylistic choices. No matter the panel's tone, though, it is always easy to read without oversimplification. Aonoshimo also relies on very standard square or rectangle panels during most of the manga, but occasionally produces more dynamic boundaries and layouts for action and service scenes. Lastly, all the characters are on full display. It suddenly becomes a lot easier for light novel readers to picture their favorite moments. It is a lovely treat for returning readers as the visuals aid the characters, allowing us to clearly see Rod as the strong-willed if slightly aloof prince and understand how Maximillion Pegasus-cosplayer Thane is the most unpopular character in the fictional otome game when they are displayed visually.

There are some other vital factors to consider when reading the manga. For one, every character's personality was dialed up a few points, with Rae being a touch more physically affectionate and masochistic and Claire more easily exacerbated. However, the manga and the English translation takes many quirks and exaggerates them further, reducing the series’ performance. For example, while Claire's actions show the complicated relationship to commoners described above, her dialogue contains a surprising amount of vitriol and vulgarity that stands out notably.

Additionally, while Rod is usually the perfect if slightly detached prince acting as the occasional voice of reason in early chapters, his dialogue here appears laughable indifferent and meanspirited. As I'm in Love with the Villainess is one of a very few series that I follow the monthly serializations of in magazines, I was surprised to see this dialogue, as it did not stand out to me in the Japanese version (admittedly, the manga did overblow everyone's personality to some extent for comedic effect). I feel it changes the characters for the worse — do not get me wrong here, calls for "literal translation" are as unfavorable as they are uninformed. Still, the work feels careless at times.

Finally, there is the service. While the first volume contains virtually no romantic caresses or sweeping panels of scenery we associate with Yuri, there is a fair amount of salacious content. Of course, there are Rae's desperate and overblown expressions of admiration for Claire and her slight case of masochism. However, towards the end of the volume, Aonoshimo shows some skin. In one scene, Rae helps Claire get dressed and very openly admires her body, accompanied by some close-up panels of her back, stomach, and butt. There is also a very exposed bathing scene, although light covers the most explicate bits. It is obviously garish, though it tonally fits with Inori and Aonoshimo's more comedic manga interpritation and even includes some wholesome interactions with Claire and Rae alongside the sexualized comedy. Reader's millage will vary here, but I enjoyed it.

This first outing of Aonoshimo's I'm in Love with the Villainess manga adaptation is very likely to be the weakest entry in a phenomenal series to follow. The manga does a fantastic job of bringing the original light novels to life in a new visual format. The artwork is excellent, and the story condensed with a slightly different focus that maintains the feel of the original while providing manga audiences with entertainment that does not feel constrained or lacking. However, the gradual pacing of the plot and the main characters' relationship means that the volume leaves off before showcasing the meat of the series and most of its best features. There is a little bit of the stumble out of the gate, and both the publisher and the manga will likely have to course correct in future volumes or else risk destroying the development and voice of the series remarkable characters. I still recommend the series, but unless you are a diehard fan of the original like you, you might wait a year or so until we have the second volume and can enjoy a more complete vision of Inori's intricate and groundbreaking story.

Ratings: Story – 8 Characters – 7 Art – 9 LGBTQ – 9 Sexual Content – 6 Final – 8

Check out I'm in Love with the Villainess (Manga) Vol. 1 today: https://amzn.to/3wTSJ9R

Thanks to Joshua Hardy, Courtney Williams, Peter Adrian Behravesh, and the rest of the team at Seven Seas for their hard work.

Help support future Yuri news and reviews, and get access to exclusive content by subscribing to the YuriMother Patreon

#yuri #lgbt #reviews #lgbtq #lgbtq+#queer #gay #romance #art #manga #anime #i favor the villainess #i'm in love with the villainess #wlw #girls love #gl

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twst-campos13 · 4 years ago

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ah hello!! i'm literally so excited to see a blog for enby and male readers sodjfoijf,,could i maybe request a scenario where male reader is a staff member (idk?? like a librarian?? a nurse??? do they need nurses over there???) and is crushing on crewel but is too scared to confess because he's both Too Dense to pick up any signs of potential reciprocation and also just isn't sure if crewel likes men??? maybe. maybe with a happy ending though because i am a fool,, thank you very much!!

One hopelessly cheesy scenario coming up!! Thank you for requesting! I hope you don’t mind I made reader a librarian who may or may not be a bit of a romantic because i listened to a particular playlist while writing this- (commentary in notes!)

Warnings: none! Tags: male!reader, fluff!

A simple man such as you live a simple life. As simple as life can be in Night Raven College, that is. A prestigious school that holds a student body that can barely tolerate each other. It would be typical for a librarian to be the observer than the observed, but hey, if it means getting out of trivial matters of the school and enjoying the show in your personal bubble, then you have no complaints.

This attitude of yours did come to have its own consequences. You were seen as timid by most students as you were quite closed-off, taking it as a reason to poke fun at you sometimes. You proved them wrong when they step out of line with their fun. Most of the time you choose to ignore them. However, you lived up to your introverted nature, especially when it comes to him.

Tall, dark, and handsome. Approachable but also not at the same time. Sharply dressed and sharp attitude. This man that visits the library ever so often had become your daily motivation to keep on working at this school despite the wage that Crowley gives you.

Divus Crewel, feared and admired by staff and students—also known as the man who stole your heart.

You feel so small compared to him. That would not be so farfetched. He is a remarkable man, and what about you? You are just a librarian at this school. You are like mere dust to him.

Yet, despite this, you continued yearning for him no matter how ridiculous it seems. Perhaps you have fallen too deep in romantic fiction that you make hopeless wishes. You are known to be excellent in reading people but for some reason, you find it hard to read Divus. His perfect posture whenever he would scan the Applied Sciences aisle showed that he is focused on his reading. However, it is his expression you find hard to decipher. He looks dashing as ever, of course, but his thin lips and neutral gaze makes it hard for you to know what he is thinking.

If your life is a novel it would be so easy to know what runs in his mind. What he feels for you. Maybe he could even know what you feel for him. In a story, what makes characters likable is knowing what their emotions, their feelings, their ambitions, and their dreams are, for they are already laid out in ink on pages. Implicit or explicit information, simple or complex structure of personality, it does not matter. You would easily know about them for they are just sentences away from understanding.

And in romance novels…oh, how dreamy they are. How easy they make it seem to fall in love, to confess, and to achieve a happy ending. However, as a librarian, you know the reality of your situation. Your relationship with Crewel is a professional. Strictly, if you were to add an adjective. Is it really strictly professional? Your right brain points out the moments in your life where you interacted with him. At faculty meetings, reunions, at the library…moments like those just feel surreal you almost believed that you made those up on your own. Probably because you initiated each of those interactions yourself.

The only time, where Crewel would come to you himself, are rare. One time he came to the library and checked out a book to read in his spare time. His voice distracted you. It was like cherry wine. Sweet, smooth, enough to make your throat dry and your cheeks flushed. Oh, you could listen to him talk for hours in that tone of his, and he could even make you do anything he pleases.

You greet each other good morning or good afternoon when you pass by each other, and he would smile a teasing one at you as if you two shared a secret with each other. Well, technically you did, for one time you bought him coffee under the pouring rain, and he repaid you for your kindness. Soon enough your coffee exchange became a routine for both of you. It was sweeter than the cream in his coffee. It was more refreshing than the rainy day you shared with each other.

His gaze. His posture. His voice. His smile. Despite those small interactions with each other you are still troubled by what he thinks of you. A friend? A colleague? A special someone? Why is this so hard? Why was it so easy to fall in love? And when things could not get worse for you, your left brain argued that he might not be interested to mingle with a man.

Well, you could find out for yourself, but that would be creepy. Your workspace is in the library! You could not just leave when you please just so you can observe him. You could not use the staff files to your advantage—that is being a borderline stalker. Whatever Crewel’s orientation is, is his to keep and his to disclose to you. Oh, but still. If this were a novel, you could easily analyze the situations that give off evidence of him liking men. Or liking someone like you.

If that were the case you would not have a hard time trying to decipher his words, his gaze, his tone, and his actions towards you. If that were the case…if that were the case…then…well, there’s no then. Divus Crewel is not a fictional character to analyze. He is your coworker, your colleague.

It is hard to know what he thinks of you, at all. You really wished that you could…but the thought of knowing what he thinks to scare you, as well.

Rejection is not that far from reality. Who are you compared to him again? A nobody. A simple, ‘timid’, librarian that enjoys reading romantic and fiction novels and inserts himself in scenarios he makes up for himself just so he can…find the happiness he wishes to have.

But Divus is your happiness. Became your source of happiness. Ironic how he colors the muted floor of the library with his monochromatic appearance. Maybe it is better that you keep your feelings to yourself. You avoid the risk of rejection and humiliation as well as ruining whatever it is your current relationship with Crewel is.

You barely registered the visitor in front of your desk until a familiar red leathery gloved hand rested atop of yours. The contact of the leather sent a spark of electricity through you that you snapped your head up to meet alluring silvery blue eyes. There is only one person in this college that owns those distinct, beautiful, silvery blue eyes.

Divus.

“Have I interrupted your moment of peace, sir?” He asked in that cherry wine voice of his. It made your throat dry up and your face warm. “N-No—no!” You squeaked, shaking your head to brush off the embarrassment. Quickly, you fixed your composure and appeared presentable. As presentable as you could be under his stare that is. You just hope that he found some amusement in your haste. “D-Div—Mr. Crewel, what can I do for you?” You smiled as you speak in a professional tone. The edge of his lips curled into a familiar smirk and still you could not determine what was running through his mind at the moment.

“I came to return the book I borrowed last week,” he said, placing down the novel on your desk. Sense and Sensibility. Jane Austen. Right, he borrowed that last week. It is not your place to judge whatever it is he desires to read. “Of course,” you nodded, “did you enjoy reading it?” You started on a small talk as you take out your logbook for the check-ins and outs of books. “Somewhat,” Crewel shrugged, “I had my eyes set on another book I would like to borrow.”

“Oh? What is it? I’ll go get it for you.” You stood up after sliding the logbook back to its drawer. Crewel did not leave from where he was standing. His eyes were simply on you. You had to hide your nervousness under his gaze. “I had my eyes on it ever since that rainy day, when you offered me shelter in the library until the rain passes,” he mused. “General fiction, I believe, was the genre.”

“If that’s the case then you better tell me the title,” you joked, taking a stool to the genre’s aisle. “Are you certain you can find it?” Crewel coolly challenged. You almost laughed but did not fight the smile on your lips. “Mr. Crewel, I spend most of my time in this library. I know every book and I still have the Dewey Decimal system memorized…” You kept your eyes distracted by scanning the spines of the books on the shelves. You are aware that he is still looking at you that is why you refused to look back at him. You are not sure what will happen if you look back at him while conversing.

“If that is the case—” why does he suddenly sound a bit close? “—may you find ‘How to Ask your Dense Colleague Out to Dinner?’”

What a lengthy title. It sounds very basic and almost like a rule book than a novel. Well, that is General Fiction for you. Though you are quite unsure if such a book exists in the library. “Hm…” you hummed, a finger on your chin, as your eyes scanned the shelves. “I don’t think I have that here…Crowley pays me enough to support my rent and meals, but not enough to buy new books. Plus, the students…”

You heard him chuckle beside you and fought the urge to turn to him. “I believe I was not frank enough. Ah, well, I will put all subtleties aside, then…”

His warm breath tickling your skin was what made you finally turn to him. The proximity of your noses startled you that you nearly stumbled out of your stool if it were not for Divus’ hand grabbing yours to pull you to him. You gasped, shocked, as you landed close to his chest. His other hand supported your waist, and your eyes widened his silvery blues. You can feel your heart hammering against his. Your legs feel like putty when he gave you that teasing smirk. Your name—your first name—sounds surreal from his lips. Your entire world was a confusing mix of vertigo and bright lights.

“Will you go to dinner with me?”

You stared. You stammered. You are flabbergasted and flustered. You were unsure how to react to such a forward question that your brain completely shut down. But you cannot embarrass yourself—you must not. Not when…not when…not when…!

Oh, he will he stop saying your name with such sentiment?

“Is your silence a rejection or a consideration?” He rose a brow and your face flushed even more. “No! I mean yes—I mean—no, it isn’t a rejection—”

“Then you have been anticipating this?”

“Divus!”

He laughed. He laughed at your state. He laughed at your awkwardness. But most importantly his laugh sounds so pleasant. Like he was teasing you and you liked him teasing. You grew shy, averting your gaze from his and fidgeting with your fingers. “I mean…I mean…why?”

Crewel stopped laughing and looked at you. “Why what?”

“Why…me? Out of all people?” You asked as fear and denial keep you from grasping the fact that this is all real and not another scenario you made up during rainy days. Crewel’s face remained passive. Neutral. It was eating at your heart and you just wish what is going through his mind.

“Is it not obvious, puppy?” He raised a brow at you. The hand holding your wrist now tilted your chin in his direction. “It is not by fate or destiny, but a mere law that dictates the gravitational pull of similar atoms that is programmed by the need to chemically bind together.”

You suddenly felt stumped. “W—What?”

“I like you, puppy,” Crewel clarified, adoring the way your confusion turned to pure surprise, “and I would like to have dinner with you. Perhaps another, if the first went well.”

You need some time to process this. Your head felt so light you might pass out in his arms. Actually, you would not mind that in the slightest. His coat is just so soft it feels like heaven. A proper response of agreement failed to come to your mind so instead, you asked him again, “And what if the first does not end well?”

Crewel smiled at you. “Then we shall try again with the next dinner. Mind you, puppy, as a man of science, I am not afraid of failure if trying means more chances of perfecting my goal.”

“And what’s that goal?” You asked and physically stopped yourself from combusting when he leaned closer to you that your noses touch and you smell his cologne, and his bold scent.

“The goal to become yours.”

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charcubed · 4 years ago

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Celebrities’ sexualities/relationships, and what not to post where

I’m going to make an all-purpose, general post about this topic, because it seems like there’s value in making one. Anyone who’s been following me here or on Twitter long enough has seen me address this before but often in specific scenarios, but y’know what... let me just make a general all-purpose post too just to lay this out for the sake of my own sanity.

We all know this is a thing: people like to speculate on celebrities’ sexualities and/or participate in “real person fiction” (RPF), and that’s been happening since the dawn of fandom. On some level, I understand why; it's exciting to think a celebrity might be queer especially if YOU are. We all want role models & we all want that to be normalized, etc... and sometimes it’s a case of “like recognizes like”; queer people can spot other queer people. But whether or not one is “correct” doesn’t matter, and either way, celebrities' lives are not for our consumption. They do not exist for our entertainment or speculation. This kind of talk can get out of hand very quickly in a way that ruins the lives of real people.

So I am here to remind people to be mindful of what you say about celebrities, where you say it, and HOW you say it too.

For example: under no circumstances should you openly post things about celebrities’ sexuality or relationships on Twitter.

If you know this already, cool! Great! Good! Keep scrolling! But not everyone does know this, and either way, it’s always a good reminder–especially because people can get excited in the heat of a moment and these principles can easily accidentally fly out of the window.

Not all social media is “equal” or carries the same weight of potential real world consequence. Tumblr, for example, tends to influence little outside of here as long as the topic in question stays on Tumblr; AO3 fic stays on AO3, or at least it should. But Instagram comments or tweets do not exist in a vacuum or echo chamber the way people often seem to think, and often route back to the celebrities in question in harmful ways. Those platforms are open to the wider world in a way that can translate to very real consequence for the people being discussed.

What do I mean by that? A good example of how things can get unintended attention is what happened recently when memes about Misha Collins and Bill Clinton got out of hand, made their way to Twitter, and resulted in journalists writing articles that Misha felt he needed to address. On a more related note, recently Brie Larson made one offhand gay joke/reference in a personal Youtube video; it then trended worldwide and resulted in many articles too. There is now, unfortunately, high potential that she could be asked about and pressured about her sexuality in interviews in future. Did any of the people tweeting about those topics expect that to happen? Probably not, and yet it did. But these are good examples of how Twitter algorithms have vastly shifted, and keyword use is enough for things to easily and quickly trend outside of fandom’s intentions or control in ways that cause harm.

Putting any celebrities’ personal lives under a microscope, whether unintentionally or otherwise, is never a good idea. But it’s especially not a good idea when it comes to sexualities or personal relationships.

People will say “Shipping is just in the fandom! We know how to behave! What’s the problem? It’s never gone wrong before.” The problem is multilayered, but here are the main issues: the fact that nothing “bad” has happened before does not mean it never will. You can control your behavior, but you cannot control how other people–especially people who are new to your fandom–may or may not behave on the wider internet surrounding the topic of people's personal lives. Posting about it on main on somewhere like Twitter also inherently runs the risk of other outside parties seeing it, being like “what’s all this then?” and then picking it up and running with it further–whether that be ~haters~ or journalists.

People will also say “These celebrities know about this kind of fandom talk and they don’t care!” or “If the celebrities wanted us to stop this, they’d have said something by now!” To that I say: those are a lot of assumptions, when the only “assumption” one should realistically make is that we don’t know celebrities personally, we don’t know if they may or may not be actually closeted/unlabeled (which is their right!), and we don’t know what may make them uncomfortable while other things may not. The absence of "no" or "stop" isn't equivalent to "yes," nor is it citable as defense for questionable or potentially harmful behavior. Silence isn't blanket approval or consent, nor should it be assumed to be in any situation. Just because celebrities haven’t said in so many words “Please stop doing [this specific thing]” doesn’t mean they are automatically cool with whatever a fandom is doing, such as speculating about them or openly pointing out what they think they know about their sexualities or relationships. This includes posts on the wider timeline, or tweets and Instagram comments @ celebrities themselves filled with references or assumptions about their lives that are very not okay.

Even with something like Brie Larson’s situation... A celebrity making a joke or acting a certain way in one environment where they may feel comfortable or more relaxed–like a Youtube video, or a convention with fans, or anything else–does not mean that that celebrity expects or wants worldwide eyes on their behavior. And worldwide attention is what is always at risk on platforms like Twitter or Instagram.

Ultimately, overanalyzing and calling attention to people’s actions is how people who are allies can be made to feel awkward, or how people who are queer get outed or forced into labels. I literally live in fear of the day when some random journalist starts poking around specific fandoms/celebrities, connects the dots that are out there and are seemingly easy to connect, and then somehow makes their sexuality a topic of interviews. Once it becomes a Topic, it becomes nearly unavoidable for them. That’s what happened to Lee Pace; it’s how many people are forced to come out. At all times, queer celebrities are a stone’s throw away from having to deal with all of that in ways no one should, especially as they get more famous. If you care about any celebrity you like to talk about, or if you care about the privacy of real people at all in the ways you should (especially potentially queer people), this should be a point of concern for you.

So, in conclusion: be mindful. If you must talk about celebrities’ lives on something like Twitter, do it without using their actual names to avoid keywords, because they trend at the drop of a hat out of nowhere and that can ruin lives. Avoid deliberate repetition in your phrases because that’s how accidental trends are made. And, better yet, honestly? Consider just keeping that kind of talk to Tumblr/AO3, and preferably to personal private messages.

Your ability to fangirl/squee/celebrate a real person’s life is not more important than their right to privacy. Ever. This is not a petty topic and it is not “fandom policing” to say things like this out of concern. Acting from an abundance of caution is always the better way to go, because you lose nothing by being extra vigilant; the alternative of not being cautious enough comes with a high risk of negative consequence.

If we all just operate under the knowledge that talking about real people can translate to real consequences for real lives, and act with an abundance of respect/caution accordingly, then there will be nothing to worry about. And celebrities will get to live their private lives and (if this is applicable) be the authors of their own coming out journeys as they see fit, which is a right everyone should have.

From the bottom of my heart: just use both your empathy and your brain cells, please.

#celebrities #RPF #I logged on and I see people vagueposting about one specific actors' sexuality and my hairs stood on end #I know this post is long but I'd appreciate it if you'd reblog it #because this keeps coming up and it keeps BEING A PROBLEM and I am AFRAID FOR MANY CELEBRITIES #BUT ESPECIALLY A FEW WE SHALL NOT BE NAMING AT THIS TIME #please it costs $0 to be smart about this #I am once again begging people to be normal about this!!!!!!#char writes things

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bistortion-29 · 4 years ago

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The reason why I enjoy hearing or reading about queer characters is that, it truly fascinates me. Not the whole 'how can they be gay thing' but the whole 'they are gay and they have a significant other.' Like these people didn't care. They loved another person truly and wholly without giving a single fuck. And despite the rules and norms of the society, they choose to love. I can never do that. I can never be that brave to risk everything else I have for just one person. They wrote letters, they allowed the world to know. And they didn't care.

Like the sonnets Shakespeare wrote for a mysterious young man. Like Oscar Wilde and Alfred Douglas. The letters between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. The letters between John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton. The letters between Emily Dickinson and Susan Gilbert.

I love the fictional characters as well. Who literally risk everything and overcome fears of their own to love. Alec was a shadow hunter and he fell in love with Magnus WHO WAS A WARLOCK and married him. Nico di Angelo who was born in the 1940s where being gay meant living on the streets fell in love with Will Solace. Henry was a freaking Prince, yet he wrote such pure, raw, unadulterated words for Alex. Jude went through so much in his life and yet he allowed Willem to love him. Ari and Dante lived during a time where being gay was fatal; Dante was attacked in the book and Ari's brother killed a prostitute after finding out that they were trans. Oliver came from a conservative family and still loved Elio. These couples would have had doubts and apprehensions but they still loved each other and didn't care.

Here are some iconic quotes;

"I must see you soon — you are the divine thing I want." And. "...it is a marvel that those red rose-leaf lips of yours should be made no less for the madness of music and song than for the madness of kissing. Your slim gilt soul walks between passion and poetry. I know Hyacinthus, whom Apollo loved so madly, was you in Greek days." Oscar Wilde to Alfred Douglas.

"You should not have taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent." Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens.

"I am reduced to a thing that wants Virginia...you have broken down my defences. And I don’t really resent it." Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf.

"Do I repine, is it all murmuring, or am I sad and lone, and cannot, cannot help it? Sometimes when I do feel so, I think it may be wrong, and that God will punish me by taking you away; for he is very kind to let me write to you, and to give me your sweet letters, but my heart wants more." Emily Dickinson to Susan Gilbert.

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" Shakespeare.

"You could give me the past," he said a little sadly. "But Alec is my future." Magnus Bane, City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare.

"Nico, I've seen a lot of brave things. But what you just did? That was maybe the bravest." Jason Grace to Nico di Angelo, House of Hades by Rick Riordan.

"Should I tell you that when we're apart, your body comes back to me in dreams? That when I sleep, I see you, the dip of your waist, the freckle above your hip, and when I wake up in the morning, it feels like I've just been with you, the phantom touch of your hand on the back of my neck fresh and not imagined? That I can feel your skin against mine, and it makes every bone in my body ache? That, for a few moments, I can hold my breath and be back there with you, in a dream, in a thousand rooms, nowhere at all?" Prince Henry of Wales to Alex Claremont-Diaz the First son, Red White & Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston.

"You were treated horribly. You came out on the other end. You were always you.”

"And who are you?"

"I'm Willem Ragnarsson. And I will never let you go." Willem Ragnarsson to Jude St. Francis, A Little Life by Hanya Yanahigara.

"How could I have ever been ashamed of loving Dante Quintana?" Aristotle Mendoza in Aristotle and Dante discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sàenz.

"I could spend the rest of my life like this: with him, at night, in Rome, my eyes totally shut, one leg coiled around his. I thought of coming back here in the weeks or months to come—for this was our spot." Elio from Call me by your name by Andrè Aciman.

Of course there are many more real and fictional couples, feel free to comment some.

As I said, I know not whether it is the place that I live or my own upbringing. But I will maybe allow myself to silently feel but I would never have the courage to love like these people. Those who receive love are both weak and strong but those who love are stronger than anyone else.

- midnight rants.

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maldito-arbol · 4 years ago

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Let’s talk about zodiacs and TPN Part 1

This is largely inspired by the fact that I talk about the characters’ zodiacs nonstop in the fanfic I’m working on for my tpn witch au, and I’ve been chortling to myself the entire time about how well some of them fit their sign and how some of them just... don’t. I’m going to simply infodump about each character, their sign, element, and some attributes they fit to a t while others don’t make sense. I will also touch on compatibility for all you shippers out there, don’t worryyy. Now this isn’t at all a critique or review of the characters themselves— I know astrology is not the first thing authors consider when choosing character birthdays, if they even do at all, this is simply me rambling about my hyperfixation and projecting onto fictional characters like we all do.

A couple last notes— one character in particular (cough cough Ray) has a different “canon” birthdate from “actual” so I’ll discuss both. Also, while I will be doing surface level research to make sure I’m not talking out of my ass, im not a professional astrologist, I’m simply a witch with an enthusiasm for zodiacs. Well then, without further ado, let’s talk about the kiddos.

Emma

Birthdate: August 22nd

Sign: Leo

Element: Fire

An overview: The funniest thing to me about Emma is that she’s literally the epitome of a Leo. Fire signs are generally very outgoing and energetic—they talk a lot and tend to be the leaders of the packs. Leos in particular are incredibly admirable and truly know their way around a conversation. If I ever wanted to get stuck in an elevator for 48 hours with no wifi or connection to the outside world and only one random stranger to talk to for the entire duration, I would pick a Leo in a heartbeat. Emma is very much the leader-type, she’s someone everyone pauses and listens to when she calls for their attention, and she always prefers to talk her way out of conflict rather than fight—but not in an underhanded manipulative way, no, Leos are very genuine with their feelings and will be upfront about their reasons for their actions.

Take this scene between Emma and Leuvis for example— this to me is about the closest to perfect of a summary of what Leos are like, and how Emma fits her sign beautifully.

She doesn’t want to fight, but she will if she has to—for the good of her friends and the good of humanity. She can stick to her ideals and yet extend a hand to the enemy anyway. This is what makes Leos such a force to be reckoned with in leadership roles.

Compatibility and ships: I know I know, this is the part you’re most excited about. I’m going to attempt to refrain from sharing my opinion on each ship itself, I will simply point out which have the highest compatibility levels. First of all, essentially all signs are most compatible with 1. Other signs of the same element and 2. Their compliment sign, their elemental opposite.

Since Emma is a fire sign, she’s generally compatible with other fire signs (Sagittarius, Aries, and of course Leo) as well as Air signs (Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra). So speaking broadly, she’s compatible of course with Norman as an Aries, as well as Ray IF he truly is an Aquarius. But if we narrow it down a little bit, I should mention that fire signs being fire signs can often clash with each other because both their energies are so high (personal experience lmao), and therefore their elemental opposite, air, are generally the way to go. Usually you’ll find on astrological charts and sites that Leos are most compatible with Geminis and Aquariuses, so Ray again if he is an Aquarius, and then we bring Violet into the picture because she’s a Gemini. (Uh, speaking as a Gemini, Leos are my favorite people to date, and I always seem to crush on them as well. I have a problem. A Leo problem.) I’m so sorry Gilemma shippers but fire and earth signs are like the worst combo, I don’t know how this happened because I love Gilemma with all my heart. The stars simply did not align for us this time

Norman

Birthdate: March 21st

Sign: Aries

Element: Fire

Overview: okay listen. I didn’t believe Norman was an Aries at first because he’s not as high energy as most fire signs, but then the more I thought about it, the more it just makes sense. The most key trait to an Aries is loyalty. They are so incredibly loyal and caring to the people they love that they often neglect themselves in the process. They can be very quick to anger if someone hurts or insults their friend, and are unafraid to start a fight or commit morally gray or even black actions in service of their loved ones. Point is you don’t mess with an Aries’ family or friends. You will get burned.

All the loyalty applies to Norman so incredibly well—the way that his plans and actions revolve entirely around Emma and Ray, and the way that he sacrifices himself for their escape even though he’s terrified of dying. But even more so this loyalty strikes you in the face when he returns as William Minerva, willing and committed to full on genocide all to keep his friends alive and safe. As I’ve said Aries are quick to anger, which seemingly isn’t very present in cool-headed, thoughtful Norman, but then you remember this:

Look at his expression. Even if he doesn’t easily lose his cool, when he does it’s terrifying. So essentially Norman is a much more subtle Aries— he’s not in your face aggressive or full of energy, but he has all the hidden signs. So yeah, I honestly can’t think of any other sign that describes him better. Norman is an Aries.

Compatibility and ships: being a fire sign and all, Norman’s compatibility is actually very similar to Emma’s. He’s compatible with other Fire signs (Sagittarius, Leo, and Aries) as well as Air signs (Libra, Aquarius, and Gemini). Speaking broadly that makes him compatible with Emma and Ray again, but narrowing it down Aries are much better in general with Libras and Leos so congrats Noremma shippers you won.

Ray

“Canon” Birthdate: January 15th

“Actual” Birthdate: February 5th

“Canon” sign: Capricorn

“Actual” sign: Aquarius

“Canon” Element: Earth

“Actual” Element: Air

Overview: alright Ray is a bit of a mixed bag to unpack. Because it’s been stated that Ray’s January 15th birthday is not his actual birthday outside of the source material, then it’s reasonable for me to count both birthdays because people have different ideas of what’s canon and what’s not. Interestingly enough though, Ray does indeed fit well enough into both the Capricorn and Aquarius signs, however I personally believe one shows through him better than the other.

We’ve been talking about fire signs for Emma and Norman so it’s finally time to dive into two other elements! We’ll start with Capricorn then, the Earth sign. The most important thing to remember is that the Earth signs are the most grounded and practical. If you want someone who can give you logical and rational advice, your best bet would be the Earth signs (Air signs are also good at this but this ain’t about them. Although you will notice some overlap in traits between these two, particularly in Capricorns and Aquariuses).

We can already see the ‘practical’ side show through in Ray by the way he hyperfocuses on taking Norman and Emma to escape but insists on leaving the other kids behind. This isn’t to say he doesn’t feel for them, on the contrary, Earth signs are indeed very in tune with their emotions and empathy, but Capricorns really know how to set that part of them aside in favor of the calm and certain route. They like tangible solutions, things they can grasp with the least amount of risk, and they’re very resistant to changes—like giant rocks. This is also noticeable in how Ray gets so very flustered by Norman and Emma’s impulsivity. He clashes with both of them because Earth signs prefer to take things slow while Fire signs just like to make a leap and hope for the best.

Note how Emma says “not that I mind...” meanwhile Ray is out here going “I MIND!!” Which we learn is because of his identity as the spy. He’s got his own plan and a tangible solution to shoot for, and Norman and his impulsivity and Emma going along with it is messing everything up. Thus, he forcibly retakes control of the situation via making a deal with Norman after the traitor is revealed. Very Capricorn stuff.

And if you want an image that just completely sums up the Capricorn in Ray, here you go:

On the OTHER hand, if we’re to go off Ray’s “actual” birthdate, which was so lovingly calculated by Tempo, then we get Aquarius Ray, the Air sign. The most important things to note about the air signs is that they’re the thinkers—the farthest from impulsive, they’re the least in tune with their emotions, and they are oh so horribly indecisive. Where Earth signs will be able to give advice that adheres to both logic and emotion, Air signs stick purely to logic. Where Earth signs are able to make calm and rational decisions, Air signs will agonize over options and often find themselves lost, searching perpetually for a solution with no cracks in it. Hello. I’m an Air sign. :’))

I’m gonna come right out and say it. I hate Aquarius men. Aquarius women and enby folks, they’re great. But Aquarius men? I may, as a Gemini, get along with them in surface level casual conversation, but behind every Aquarius man’s back is a Mal waiting to strangle him the moment I am given the opportunity. I’m so sorry Ray my son but you are not an Aquarius okay. Alright. Well, let’s just talk about the parts of him that do fit Aquarius.

So from the very start Ray is obviously a thinker, someone who considers his options very carefully before he makes a decision, and someone who hates making choices based solely on emotion. In fact, he hates expressing emotions at all. Aquariuses are very good at repressing or hiding their emotions behind other emotions (most air signs are). The most common way to do this is to put up a wall of either numbness or full-on rage. We can see both in Ray.

Instead of showing vulnerability in a healthy way, he would rather do that. Ok cool Ray.

Aquariuses can also be very quiet people, and Ray’s pretty dang quiet for most of the series too. They’re the intellectuals you know are intellectuals even though they aren’t up in your face about it. Their reserved nature makes them 10x scarier when they’re genuinely angry, because boy can an Aquarius rage.

The thing about Aquarius Ray for me here is that while Ray does indeed have Aquarius energy, it’s not the Core of Ray. To me he’s so much more of an Earth sign, so therefore I diagnose Ray with Capricorn.

Compatibility and ships: ok this is a mixed bag again. Now if you got Aquarius Ray then of course he’s compatible with other Air signs (Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius) and Fire signs (Leo, Aries, and Sagittarius), which would make him compatible with Norman and Emma for sure, as well as probably Ayshe for you Rayshe shippers because my personal HC is Aquarius Ayshe.

If you’ve got Capricorn Ray, then Capricorns are compatible with other earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) and their compliment water signs (Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio), though they’re best with Cancers and Tauruses. So yes, Anna is a Taurus, which makes Rayanna a compatible pair. But guess who’s a Cancer. Don. ALL MY RAYDON SHIPPERS GET OUT HERE YOU COWARDS IM CALLING YOUR NAME. YOU WIN THE SHIP GAME.

Gilda

Birthdate: May 13th

Sign: Taurus

Element: Earth

Overview: So again with the practical and grounded Earth signs. Tauruses now, are the most stubborn of them, which can be a little irritating at times, but it’s also a great asset when you consider how reliable they truly are. They’re bulls, which makes them solid and difficult to move, and you can always fall back on them when you’ve leapt too far ahead. Gilda is of course the epitome of reliable, and her stubbornness does show through at times—like when she’s the one person against Emma going out into danger all the time, constantly trying to talk her down into a more practical and certain solution. She’s also the first to attempt to bring Emma to see Ray’s side of the escape plan, which is very earth sign of both of them good job guys.

Compatibility and ships: I know I know I’m still upset Gilemma isn’t compatible astrologically but we can talk about other Gilda ships! Tauruses are most compatible with other earth signs (Capricorn, Virgo, and Taurus) and water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces) which makes her compatible with our other lovely Taurus, Anna! Gilanna shippers unite. But they’re best with Cancers and Scorpios, which means Gildon is is at highest compatibility.

Don

Birthdate: July 4th

Sign: Cancer

Element: Water

Overview: HEY YALL ITS TIME TO TALK ABOUT MY LEAST FAVORITE SIGNS: W A T E R. (I’m sorry my water friends, I’m sure you’re lovely, but as an air sign I am always extremely suspicious of water signs at first meeting because our compatibility is so low it might as well not exist) So the water signs are at the absolute highest emotional level. This can make them extraordinarily kind and nurturing, but it can also make them absolutely unreasonable and destructive. None is this more present than in Cancers, one of the most sensitive signs, but also one of the most empathetic. We can tell very clearly in Don that he wears his emotions on his sleeve—he’s unafraid to cry or show his anger, but he also takes very good care of his younger siblings and shows such an intense concern for them that it can become frightening.

He’s such a good boy 🥺

Compatibility and ships: okay so same drill, Cancers are generally compatible with other Water signs (Scorpio, Pisces, and Cancer) as well as Earth signs (Taurus, Capricorn, and Virgo) though their highest compatibility is with Tauruses and Capricorns. So again. GILDON AND RAYDON SHIPPERS R I S E.

God I’m so sorry if I cause a ship war. I rambled for too long and I’m very tired, so you only get these five characters for now. BUT! That’s why it’s a part 1. If you want more please feel free to harass me in my ask inbox about the characters you want me to overanalyze the signs of. Gemini out!

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