#literally one person tell me to and I WILL write more of this story XD

[iamvegorott]

Magicians Don't Need Superheros Pt5

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Marvin spent another week traveling around and trying to figure out what to do. He did see Jackie but apparently, it was impossible to not have that man on his mind since he started finding little ‘care packages’ for him around the city. He knew they were from Jackie since all of the little boxes had a piece of paper taped to the top that had JBM written on it. It didn’t take a lot of thinking to connect JBM with Jackieboyman. The boxes were usually filled with food, containers of tea, and bottles of water. 

Right now Marvin sat under a tree in the park, the leaves above him beginning to turn yellow and orange. He was eating one of the ‘care package’ sandwiches while waiting for someone to pick up his call. He thinks he finally managed to find someone that could help him get home. 

“First and last name.” An automated voice asked. Marvin bit back an annoyed sigh at getting a machine and not a person but hoped giving that information would get him closer.

“Marvin…Um…Marvin…” Marvin thickly swallowed.

Why couldn’t he remember his last name?

“Marvin Marvin. Is that correct? Yes or no?”

“No. No. It’s Marvin…fuck.” Marvin hung up the call, suddenly feeling like he wanted to throw up. He stared off at the dying grass and found it hard to breathe, heavily panting as panic started bubbling inside him.

He was Marvin. 

He was Marvin. 

Marvin what? 

The Magnificent. 

Where did that come from? The hell kind of name was that? 

That wasn’t-he isn’t. 

No.

No.

No.

Marvin pressed a hand to his chest, sandwich falling and air suddenly in short supply. 

Breathe, Marvin, breathe. 

“Shit.” Marvin wheezed as he forced himself to his feet, his other hand on the tree as he remained hunched over, slowly working that unwelcomed rush of fear away with deeper and deeper breaths. 

Why couldn’t he remember…why couldn’t he remember anything?

This wasn’t good. He needed to get out of the public. He needed to be alone, he needed some peace. 

x~x~x

Jackie casually jumped from one roof to the other. He had found one of his boxes in the park and the mess that was left behind told him something was wrong. Marvin always cleaned up and put everything back into the box neatly. Jackie had asked around and the few witnesses around said the man had just disappeared and he assumed that meant Marvin was up on a roof again. 

“Tell him he can choke on the entirety of my ass if he has a problem with how I’m doing this.” Jackie scoffed into the phone. “I’m supposed to be the one that brings him to the House so I’m doing it my way.” He jumped onto the next roof, still not seeing Marvin yet. “Remember the last time we went against the prediction? There was a lot of fire. And the time before that took out half a country's power for a whole day. Aren’t we supposed to be like low-key? I’m doing pretty good about that compared to those messes.” Jackie did another jump and this time he saw Marvin, sitting on a raised ledge of this roof, letting his feet hang off the edge. “Found him. I’ll fill you in later.” Jackie hung up the phone and started walking over to Marvin.

But then he paused.

Was that a sniff? 

A sob?

Was Marvin crying?

Oh…it must have kicked in. 

Jackie had hoped it didn’t happen until Marvin was at the House, with more information about everything and with the others around to help. They were a lot better at dealing with this than he was but he couldn’t let Marvin go through his alone. 

It hurt too much to do it alone.

He would know. 

Jackie got confirmation that Marvin was crying when he got closer, hearing it a lot clearer now and as he sat down on the ledge next to Marvin, he could see the wet spots of tears on Marvin’s pants. 

“Did I manage to sneak up on you this time or does this still not count?” Jackie weakly laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew it had to be bad when Marvin didn’t give a comeback, he didn’t even look at him. “Are you okay?” 

“I…I can’t remember them.” Marvin’s voice came out soft and raspy as if he’d been crying for a while. 

“That happens. I was told that it’s how we adjust to this new…form. It’s weird.” Jackie also knew he wasn’t the best at this because he didn’t really pay too much attention to the details of what they were. He just wanted to live and thinking too far into his and the other’s reality got sad. Jackie didn’t do sad. Or at least he tried not to. 

“They’re not here. My friends, my family. They’re not here. I don’t have anything. All I have are my clothes and even then the jacket I’m wearing isn’t even mine.” Marvin’s laugh was forced, strained, and almost sounded painful. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“I can’t remember my mom.” Marvin finally looked at Jackie, eyes red and filled with tears that continued rolling down his cheeks. “I had her face in my head just hours ago and now she’s gone.” 

“Forgetting mom is the hardest.” Jackie wished he knew how to comfort Marvin. He felt so useless. “I mean, I know we don’t actually have parents but…but losing that memory still hurts. It doesn’t matter if it was real or not. It still sucks.” 

“I went from having so many people around me to being alone. Or at least I think I had people. I don’t fucking remember anymore. I think I had a cat or was it a hamster? N-No it was a cat…was it? The fuck did I have?” Marvin looked at Jackie with a pleading look, silently begging him to give him an answer. 

“I’m sorry, Marvin. I don’t know.” Jackie placed a hand on Marvin’s shoulder and he felt an ache in his own heart when Marvin cursed, beginning to cry again. Jackie did what worked for him when he was like this and he moved closer to Marvin, pulling him into a hug. 

Jackie didn’t know how long they stayed like that, how long he held Marvin and let him cry into his chest. He didn’t care how long it took, he’d sit like this all night if Marvin needed it. 

Eventually, Marvin did pull away and Jackie let him go. The two sat in silence for a while before Jackie broke it. 

“Wanna see a magic trick I learned?” Jackie asked, getting a confused look from Marvin.

“Sure?”

“Cool! Let me see your hand.” Jackie held his own out. Marvin still looked confused but he went with it, placing his hand palm-side up on Jackie’s. “Gotta have a little patience with this one.” He took the very tips of his fingers, using his dull nails, and scratched at Marvin’s palm before closing his fingers over it. Marvin blinked and just waited as Jackie did that gesture several times before just barely pinching the center of his palm and then ‘plucking’ at it. “Eh? Did it feel like I just pulled a string out of your hand?” 

“Yeah.” Marvin was lying, but the way Jackie perked up and gave him the brightest smile made him not feel bad about it. “I don’t get you.” 

“You don’t get me?” Jackie tilted his head a bit.

“I just-” Marvin did a scoff-like laugh. “Why are you so nice? I’ve pushed you off a building and had you fall out of a tree and knocked you off a fence, and yet you just keep making sure I’m the one that’s okay.” 

“I mean, if you actually wanted to hurt me, you wouldn’t have made sure my landings were soft. I might not be the smartest guy, but even I caught on to that.” Jackie did an exaggerated tongue pop and smiled when that got Marvin to laugh. “Oh! If you knock me off the roof again could I have like feathers as my padding? I think the puff of them flying in the air would make a funny scene.”

“You don’t have to worry about a padded landing.”

“Why not?” 

“Because I’ll go with you to the House.”

“You will!?” 

“You already have my hand, you can just walk away with me,” Marvin smirked as Jackie looked down, saw that he was, in fact, still holding his hand, and started sputtering.

“I-I just-I was-uh-distracted and-”

“Take me to the House before I change my mind.”

“Okay!” 

[mischiefmaker615]

Chef's Choice

Over the past time of having tumblr, i have collected my personal favorites- stories that i always get drawn back to when i need inspiration, something to read, and/or something to enjoy with whatever mood or situation that needs tending LOL (not in order and there are so many others i love!!)

Thought it be best to introduce you to some of the greats out there :D

“Seems like the prince of Asgard is seduced by a mortal woman”

By: @fictive-sl0th

(OMG i absolutely LOVE the doctor themed stories with Loki XD ya never know what direction it's gonna end up ;) )

A Coveted Bride

By: @magicbystarlight

(i absolutely LOVE jealous Loki, anything in the realm of dark theme and possessiveness XD we don't judge here. it's an enquired taste and darling, you cooked!!)

Duplicitous *Long Snake Moan*

By: @darkficsyouneveraskedfor

(everything you write, i got to read! truth be told, we didnt ask for but we absolutely needed!!)

Pinned Down

By: @lokisgoodgirl

(come on, just by the titles alone you know it's gonna be good! everything you've written, i've fallen in love with each detail, nothing is rushed and personalities are captured beautifully! i've caught myself gasping out loud in public with some of the stuff you bring us and i absolutely love it!)

Overstimulation Welcome Him Home More Between His Thighs

By: @sarahscribbles

(had me drooling in kinktober!!! just the title alone, i hit favorite so i could read it when i got time and darling, you didn't disappoint! so many stories just draw my attention and every aspect of them is truly perfect!!! i need more!!!)

thirty seconds

By: @muddyorbsblr

(what i would give to be in the readers shoes!! omg i loved this!!! hit all the right feelings and i cant help but reread this far more than thirty times LOL)

The Chambermaid

By: @wheredafandomat

(i want Loki to step on me!!!! i wouldn't mind slave life if it meant serving him LOL gods this was perfect!! i always loved maid x Loki themed stories, keep them coming!!)

Kinktober Day 16

By: @suguru-getos

("we listen and we don't judge" *cough* i love me some CNC! seems like a very hidden kink topic so i got positively excited when i saw this mentioned in your writing and just HAD to read it Lol kinky indeed!!! truly my favorite fic of yours so far!)

Overtime Safehouse

By: @cleo-fox

(I'm pretty sure all of tumblr knows who you are Lol i have enjoyed EVERYTHING you've come out with; your plots, details and character embodiment, Loki is on point!! i cant even fathom where to begin on making storylines this deep with all the bells and whistles. you are truly an incredible writer!!)

"I can do….terrible things to you."

By: @oh-look-at-her

(i can't literally do anything but bow down to you and get up only when given permission LOL truly a damn good time reading your work!!)

Firestarter

By: @delaber

(who doesn't love a good enemies to lovers story Lol can't tell you how many people i've shooed while i was in the middle of reading this XD)

Frozen Stiff Happily Never After

By: @simplyholl

(tbh i struggle finding REALLY good Jotun Loki fics and absolutely fell in love with this one!!! thank you for letting me die in peace now Lol had me giddy and blushing!!)

Have Mercy

By: @mochie85

(you captured his hot and pain in the ass personality so well!!! i LOVED this went through all the emotions on this one!! kinda like an enemies to lovers story Lol why cant it be me!!!)

A Tales of Tangled Desires

By: @angelremnants

(i fell in love with the part one, not expecting for my request to be answered but i got a part two and absolutely have become obsessed!! i love your writing so much and thank you for the prayer being answered! Lol)

And The Gods Made Love

By: @thefairywithboots

(thank you for my request being answered!! anything you publish, i cant get enough of and love the pure art like pace you take to form every inch of your story!!)

[tom-whore-dleston]

Denial and Devotion

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x f. reader

Word Count: 880

This fic contains: preludes to smut, implied smut, amnesia, mentions of squirting and fingering, reader was a Soldier Boy fangirl (like me fr xD), toxic celebrity culture?

Summary: You are in denial that you slept with the Supe you used to crush on.

Notes: I'm just a girl that writes Soldier Boy fanfic at 2am knowing damn well I have work at 9am flksdghk this gif replays in my brain every waking moment of the day I literally hate how hot he is >:( This is my weekly contribution to @flashfictionfridayofficial’s prompt no. 241: Hour of Denial

The moment you rose from your slumber, you knew something was wrong. First off, you woke up in a room that you did not recognize. Then, you realized the cotton sheets of the unfamiliar bed clung close to your bare skin as if you had slept in it before. 

You attempted to lift yourself out the bed, but your muscles were weak, soreness more prominent in your hips and thighs. As you winced in discomfort, your eyes widened upon the discolored love bites scattered over your body. Your eyes finally glanced to the opposite side of the bed, only to discover the person occupying it was none other than Soldier Boy.

When you were younger, Soldier Boy was your first crush. At the time, he was presumed dead, but your father would tell you stories about how he was one of the greatest superheroes to ever live. Your childhood room was covered in Soldier Boy posters and you had a doll of him that never left the box. As you got older, you conducted more research on the man you worshiped, but eventually learned that he was a monster in a superhero costume. As a result, you ripped the posters to shreds and finessed some cash off the doll in hopes to erase any trace of your Soldier Boy phase. 

You stared in disbelief at the same man that lay peacefully asleep. Your mind raced with questions. The only logical answer to all of them was that you were dreaming. To test the theory, you pinched your forearm as hard as you could. After cursing from the pain, you tried another method by poking Soldier Boy in his meaty bicep. Without fluttering his eyes open, he grunted in annoyance and rolled over. 

If your head wasn’t already spinning, it definitely was at this very moment. You slithered out of the bed, making sure not to disturb the sleeping man, and frantically searched for your clothes. In a hurried attempt, you shimmied back into your little black dress from the night before. Regardless of whether this was all a dream or not, you silently vowed that you are remaining sober for the rest of the month. 

“Where you going so fast, sweetheart?” You turned toward the groggy voice that belonged to Soldier Boy, who was propped up against the bed frame with his muscular torso in view. It felt as if no time had passed since the beginning stages of your devotion to Soldier Boy. Your eyes scanned over his physique with a hunger that only he could satisfy. Heat radiated your body and you stood paralyzed in your unzipped dress, leaving enough uncovered for his imagination to run wild.

As Soldier Boy hopped out of bed, you swiftly turned away as his thick cock unveiled from the thin sheets. He began walking towards you, but you ignored him by fiddling with the zipper on your back. You grew frustrated with the zipper’s defiance the closer the beefy supe inched towards you. His intense stare begged for your attention until he took matters into his own hands by lifting your chin up to his gaze. Your heart pounded against your chest as his green eyes studied your face. Except there was no studying necessary.

“I’m a little embarrassed by this,” you laughed nervously, “but I don’t remember anything from last night.”

Soldier Boy smirked. “Want me to give you a reminder?”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary.” You paused. You may not have been as infatuated with the supe as much as you once were, but you didn’t want to come off as rude. “I mean…I’m sure last night was great but I shouldn’t impose-“

“Great? Well if you define squirting on my fingers and cock until you begged me to stop as great then maybe I gotta fuck you harder.” 

You were about to let out a moan, but quickly masked it with a sigh. Every part of you wanted to hate him but the ache in between your legs betrayed your voice of reason.

“You can play the ex-fangirl game all you want, but you and I know you never truly get over your first crush.” There wasn’t a more pathetic feeling than regressing back into that naive girl who treated a flawed superhero like a god. 

Suddenly, your back hit the wall and Soldier Boy towered over you, his arm the only thing keeping him from pressing you against the wall to grind into your core. His free hand hooked under the strap of your dress, slowly pulling it off your shoulder. As the dress pooled around your feet, he lightly kissed the crook of your neck, electricity coursing your blood as his beard pricked your skin.

His hot breath fanned over your ear. “There’s no need to deny me anymore, sweetheart. I’m here for you to worship and fulfill all your pretty little fantasies.”

Fuck it.

All your common sense flew out the window as you desperately smashed your lips against his. Gripping your wrists, he pinned you against the wall before grinding his semi hard cock against your wet pussy. 

Soldier Boy may have been the biggest pain in your ass, literally and figuratively, but he was right about you never fully recovering from your first crush.

Navigation | Fanfic Masterlist | Soldier Boy Masterlist

header credit: @saradika | divider credit: @firefly-in-darkness

[celaenaeiln]

can i know your thoughts on the “typical” nightwing ships (him with wally, roy, slade, kory, babs, apollo/midnighter, etc etc)?

ofc! <333

As a multishipper I literally love almost all of these

Wally

The softest ship ever! Reading about them is so cute. All cuddles and snuggles, and full on comfort.

It's the best friends to lovers trope

Haven't read about them in a really long while but they used to be my comfort ship. Like these two are so soft each other that they just make me feel warm inside.

Roy

Roydick is my spicy birdflash ship. Their chemistry was more heated with them constantly getting into arguements but falling together again. Going back to the comics I realize that Roy hero-worships Dick and that's why they get into so many fights. Roy literally thinks Dick is too perfect

There's this post about them which provides comic panels about Roy constantly comparing himself to Dick

But mostly Roy wants all of Dick. He wants Dick's 100% attention of them and he hates-HATES-that Dick gives everything to Batman. It drives him so mad because he thinks Batman doesn't deserve any of Dick's attention.

Literally tells Batman- you ain't shit. I feel bad Dick had to deal with you. He doesn't deserve it for all the greatness he is.

Roy wants all of Dick and that's where I ship them including their complicated issues. What makes their relationship so great is their problems. Neither of them will compromise (Dick won't let go of Bruce and Roy won't let go of that issue), but after all the screaming and fighting they still fall back together.

It's Dick that Roy goes to every time he has to deal with Cheshire.

Additional post:

>:> hehe

Ollie has the biggest grin on his face XD

Slade

My OTP LETS GO

Bruh I am so into them.

My post on why they were made for each other

YEA YEA YEAHHHHHH

Slade literally used the steam of Dick's shower to write a message in his bathroom mirror.

okay.

I am obsessed with Slade's obsession with Dick.

I love how in one comic Dick is literally just listing everything that's wrong with his life and Deathstroke is just standing there actively listening with his arms crossed.

He's never gonna give up that apprentice agenda.

Kory

Kory!! I LOVE DICKKORY SO MUCH!!!

When I think of love, they are the epitome of it. I didn't know it was possible to feel love through paper until I saw them. One look at the chemistry is overwhelming.

"Questions about what's right and what's not, I'll always have them. Questions about my loving you? No! I do. Very much."

Dickkory love is stronger than Dick's moral ethics and Dick's moral ethics?

I've never seen Dick love anyone as much as he did Kory. There are issues that came up ofcourse. I'm pretty sure there was an anti-alien sentiment among the general public (real life?) that affected them and on top of that the Batman office wanting Dick back so they just ripped him away from the titans and rewrote a whole new love story for them while trashing Kory for it but when the public's reaction and Dick's "he's so perfect everyone wants him so let's play around with love interests for him" aside, they were the king and queen of love.

What I love about their relationship is Dick loved Kori for who she was, not how she looked. And Kori loved Dick for who he was and not how he looked. On both sides, sometimes all people see of them are their beauty not their personality or strengths or being.

Barbara

Barbara. The reason I held off on writing this.

My feelings about Barbara are complicated.

She and Dick used to be my OTP. I loved them so much I actually hated Kori for a bit, thinking that Barbara was so much better-when I was solely in the fandom. But oh how the table have turned. Very recently the feather broke the camel's back so my feelings about the two of them have changed.

Long story short, they're better off friends. But my favorite moments come from mostly short haired Barbara comics.

This Barbara was AWESOME. She was so chill and cool and funny. She would be smart but not in a demeaning way to others.

Also Batgirl 2000 comic Dickbabs was so sweet (below)

Apollo/Midnighter

love them!

I think Midnighter would totally seduce Dick into a frenemies with benefits arrangement. I mean he's halfway there.

But aside from the usual flirting, Midnighter really, really, REALLY respects Dick's fight skills. I'm sure you've seen the panels of that already but since posts have a 30 image limit I'mma skip over that to the other reason: his greater-that-meta-human tenacity. Things and circumstances that take out metahumans, Dick surpasses through sheer will power and dedication.

So I mostly ship Dick/Midnighter but Apollo would probably join in too at some point.

Constantine

Never getting over how John-I don't do things I don't have to-Constantine saved someone because their body was hot and and their butt looked good. But later on in the comic he talks about how cool he was and what he describes Dick as is when asked about him is:

Additional exchange:

Tiger

His relationship with Tiger is AWESOME!!

It reminds me of his batman Dick relationship with Damian. Snarky and affectionate.

I ran out of image space :'0

But Dick basically gets Tiger-Spyral's number 1 and most loyal spy-to abandon the agency they work for, turn coat, and hunt them down to burn the oragnization into the ground instead. They're literally so funny. I loved Dick and Damian's cute banter and Tiger is just Damian aged up but meaner lol.

[fatass-adam]

Also I'M INSPIRED so-

Name: Jamesin (pronounced like the whiskey) Dionysus Kult but you can call me Jimmy (usually stylized as J!MMY because I'm an edge lord lol)

Age: 34, about to be 35 in Feb lol

Sex: AFAB

Gender: Male (I don't like specifying trans male because I shouldn't have to...I'm just a guy lol)

Pronouns: He/him/his! Please only use "they/them/theirs" if you get confused and can't remember, but never use "she/her/hers" or anything else! I've worked very hard to "earn" my masculine pronouns and I take them very seriously!

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual! I'm mostly attracted to cis dudes by sight (unfortunately tbh lol...no offense to cis dude followers because you all seem amazing!) but I can fall in love with a personality for the most part (that and I'm kinda scared to date a cis dude because I'm afraid he'll treat me like a girlfriend...but that's another story for a different post XD)

Romantic Orientation: Aro! Though I guess I show "romance" in my own twisted little ways?? I'm kinda demi at this point (and mostly just for @dreamerlucifer and @fel-rush lol) tbh but I like identifying as aro better XD It feels more fitting since traditional romance actually kinda grosses me out-

Mental Disabilities: ADHD, OCD, bipolar II disorder, anxiety, and depression! A few other things have been thrown around like paranoia and I'm 90% sure I have discalculia but those aren't fully diagnosed yet!

Physical Disabilities: Scoliosis, arthritis in several areas, and carpal tunnel syndrome...basically everything hurts lol. I'm somewhere between "too disabled to work" and "not disabled enough for disability checks" so I'm currently kind of a burden (though I make up for it by being a househusband XD) and I feel bad about that but that's a story for another post too I think lmao

Special Interests Include: Theme parks (mainly Disney parks and Universal parks...yes this includes the overseas ones and the cruise ships and such), rides (especially cheesy dark rides), and well...pretty much anything in the touristy type area and in the entertainment industry like animatronics, gaming, technology, and shit like that lol. I have a LOT of YouTube channels about this stuff saved and will gladly share them with you!!

Hyper Fixations: Mostly the band Ghost tbh lol, I can (and I cannot stress this word enough) literally infodump on them for HOURS-

Anything else: My hobbies include drawing, writing, cosplaying, and role playing. My fav things are sex, drinking, cats, and food! I'M SUPER SELF INDULGENT and believe firmly on living life to the fullest and having a good time! I'm actually in the works for starting a religion based on it and will be ordained once my name is legally changed BUT ANYWAY...I'm also a very social person and love going out, especially to our local gay club! I'm an amateur sex worker on the side but don't get to talk about that much due to social medias censoring me. My dream is to finally finish my original comic and get it out there into the world! YES YOU CAN ASK ABOUT IT AND MY OCS BECAUSE I WILL LOSE MY SHIT AND TALK TO YOU ABOUT IT FOR HOURS XD I don't get to just casually talk about my boys much lmao

AND...it's 12:12 AM and officially Munday so feel free to ask about anything else ya wanna know about me XD Adam can take back seat for just a day right?? Wrong tbh but I'll go back and forth between me and him to make it fair lol

Anyways, I think @dreamerlucifer should do this too! >:} Would tell @fel-rush to do it but he's more private lol...though he's obviously welcome to if he wants! ANYONE IS!

EDIT: I dunno where to put this so I'll just note that I'm also polyam! Well...for lack of a better word. XD I'm engaged to @dreamerlucifer and in a polycule with him and @fel-rush! I'm also open and allowed to have casual sex as long as I inform my partners and get the okay so there's that XD Which is cool because sex is my love language and I do it very casually on an almost platonic level lmao...but we'll talk about that some other time!

[amethystina]

Hi!

I’m curious as to why u didn’t like The Glory. It’s not my cup of tea but I’ve watched only the first season and it was intense as hell😖

Hi there!

Well, it's a bit of a long story, really. To be honest, I don't blame people who like it and it's far from the worst drama I've seen. It's just that certain aspects of it make me so goddamn angry I am legit seconds away from throwing a chair across the room when I think about them.

Again, that's not to say that I can't understand the appeal but it is, without a doubt, Not My Cup of Tea. It has too many inconsistencies, plot contrivances, unnecessary plotlines, wonky characterisation, and the aforementioned infuriating aspects for me to like it. And the more I think about the drama, the more I dislike it.

But that's a personal thing. And while I can agree that there was some intense build-up in the first season, it fell apart in the second one.

That said, I think the actors did a good job! Many of them were great, even! My main issue is with the writing choices and stuff like that.

If you want a longer explanation, feel free to look under the cut. But do be warned: it's going to be long, vicious, and perhaps a little nitpicky at times. I'm also a petty bitch, so there's that. Most of you have only really seen me discuss and pick apart things I like, but I'm just as detailed when I criticise things I don't like. But, usually, I save that for conversations with friends or when I rant for literal hours in front of my poor, suffering wife.

Anyhow.

If you like The Glory, please DO NOT read this. This isn't me trying to ruin the drama for anyone or start some beef — I just want to explain why it didn't work for me. This is my personal opinion, nothing else.

And if you still decide to read it and get angry — don't blame me xD

Also, obviously: Major spoilers for both seasons of The Glory.

(And to those of you who haven't seen the drama and might, for some reason, want to read this anyway, warnings for: mentions of bullying, violence, murder, rape, non-consensual filming of sexual acts, alcoholism, suicide ideation, suicide attempt, domestic abuse, and domestic abuse involving a teenaged child)

This is by no means a complete list of grievances, but rather the big ones that I can still remember. Because I haven't really been trying to retain the details given that I didn't enjoy the drama all that much.

First: You Can't Plan For Shit

The drama pretends that Dong Eun has spent years planning her revenge but when she actually shows up to put it in motion, she doesn't actually have a plan. The drama will tell you that she does, but if you look at her actions you soon realise that her only real plan was to start working at the school that Yeon Jin's daughter attends. Everything else — and I do mean almost everything else — is handed to her through convenient coincidences or because people suddenly decide to help her simply because she's the main character. She does almost nothing to actually plot and execute her revenge. She orders Hyun Nam to spy on her bullies, sure, but their meeting is a coincidence. How was Dong Eun planning to handle that if they hadn't met? Do it herself? Not gather the information? Wait for a convenient miracle?

She's also determined to make Yeon Jin's husband leave her so that Yeon Jin becomes as lonely and abandoned as Dong Eun feels, but she has no plan for how to do that, either. Aside from playing Go with him? Ma'am. That's not a plan — that's sharing a hobby. But then, conveniently, she discovers that Yeon Jin's husband isn't the father of their child! Because of infidelity! And lying! How convenient! Yeon Jin's husband definitely won't like that!

And yes, that is, in the end, what makes the most impact on him but, again, no thanks to Dong Eun. She didn't plan that.

Maybe Kang Yo Han from The Devil Judge has spoiled me but if you're going to tell me that a character has been plotting her revenge for 10+ years, you better show me A Plan. And "she studied to become a teacher, learned how to play Go, and stalked her bullies' social media" is NOT a plan. Because that is, in the end, the extent of Dong Eun's preparations. Her master plan.

I'm sorry, what?

And this isn't a case of "I am adjusting my plan as I find new allies and information" but a "I had absolutely no plan to begin with and am flying completely blind, waiting for a new ally to pop up to conveniently give me exactly the information I need at exactly the right time so that I can overcome this very specific obstacle." In the end, Dong Eun's revenge is executed through a series of convenient events that, for the most part, have nothing to do with her. She has some moments when she has the final hand in what happens — like leaving drugs for Sa Ra to find, or giving Hye Jeong the eyedrops that will blind Jae Joon — but they're so minor it's laughable.

The majority of the events are caused, orchestrated, planned, handled, and perpetrated by someone else.

Which leads us to:

Second: Cool motive — but where's the fucking murder?

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't need there to be murder in a revenge story. It doesn't matter if it takes the forgiveness or avenger route — as long as the conclusion is satisfying, I'm happy. But when a drama keeps building up the main character as someone who has nothing left to lose and is willing to do everything for her revenge, I'm going to expect her to do something morally questionable before the story is done.

Like, the drama keeps telling me, over and over, that she's going to forsake her humanity for this revenge. She's going to go as far as she has to — it doesn't matter what it'll cost her or her conscience. Just you wait for it, she's gonna go dark side! We promise! There will be blood! And death! And destruction!

But, in the end, all the murders and violence are committed by someone else. At most, she's the accomplice who hands over the weapon and, sometimes, not even that. There are times when she's literally just a spectactor, watching the events unfold. And not in a clever "I will make them destroy each other without dirtying my hands" sort of way. Which, to be honest, I would have loved to see? There would be something truly poetic if she managed to trick her bullies into destroying each other.

But considering what I mentioned earlier — about Dong Eun having no plans and only having a very small part in executing each revenge — that falls apart. It's not so much "I made them hurt each other" as "they probably would have eventually anyway and I just happened to be standing next to the action when it happened."

Again, too much build-up and no satisfying resolution. This drama promises so much but never delivers.

And I honestly don't know why? It could just be bad writing, or maybe they weren't comfortable actually making her as morally grey as they alluded to? They want her to seem like a badass but murder is bad so while they'll tell the viewer that she might kill someone, she never does. Because then maybe people won't like her.

Though trust me when I say that there are a lot better reasons for not liking Dong Eun — but more about that later.

I think the part about murder that bugs me the most is that Dong Eun never commits any (despite how many times the drama hinted at her maybe doing it) but Yeon Jin's husband — who was noticeably shaken and appalled at the thought of his wife being a murderer — apparently changes his mind on a dime and is one of those to commits a murder Dong Eun should be committing. I get that it was meant to be a "I will do this to stop this maniac from stealing my daughter" kind of decision, but it just felt insulting to his character. He was one of the few people with a sense of morality in that drama and, in the end, they made him forsake it.

To kill someone that Dong Eun should have killed? Why couldn't she? When she's been bragging about how vicious she is the entire drama? Why force that nice man to carry the burden of that murder?

I genuinely don't get it.

Like, there's no satisfaction, whatsoever? Sure, Dong Eun's bullies are punished, but she didn't do anything. She can't actually take credit for most of what happened. It was always someone else's actions and decisions that led to their demise. And that feels like such a letdown after the drama kept hyping her up, preparing us for something spectacular.

She literally just stood there and took credit.

Third: Plot Armour Thicker Than the Earth's Crust

Aside from the abuse Dong Eun suffers at the hands of her mother and bullies at school, she is impervious to damage or harm. She has some of the thickest plot armour I have ever seen, especially in a drama that includes a fair share of violence and murder.

That's not to say that I want her to get hurt, of course, but it's ridiculous how no one even tries to hurt her when she shows up again when they're all adults. Like, these people have done some terrible shit over the years but they never — not once — attempt to stop Dong Eun through violent means. It's downright bizarre that Dong Eun can supposedly trick them into hurting and killing each other (though, again: debatable), but no one stops to go: "hey, should we maybe do this to the woman who's threatening to ruin our lives instead?"

Not. A. Single. One.

And that just becomes comical after a certain point? These people could violently torture and rape young girls when they, themselves, were kids but once they're all grown up they're too scared to even slap one of said girls? Why? What is going on?

Again, I don't want that to happen, but it makes no goddamn sense that they wouldn't at least try. Jae Joon is the only one who was a bit menacing at times, but not even he seemed to consider the option of punching Dong Eun in the face. If only just for the satisfaction of having done so. And sure, maybe some would argue that they're grown up now and have more control over their emotions etc. etc.

Except they're willing to kill EACH OTHER.

So, clearly, not much growth has happened in that regard.

They're just not allowed to kill or hurt Dong Eun. The woman who's supposedly the mastermind behind their lives falling apart is not to be touched. But everyone else is fair game.

Because that makes sense.

The most laughable example of this is when Yeon Jin's mum decides to run a man over with her car — with the clear intention of killing him — to stop him from blackmailing her about the murder her daughter committed as a teenager. An overreaction, I would argue, but at least someone is making good on their threats.

I'm looking at you, Dong Eun.

And I absolutely fucking lost it when Dong Eun then blackmails the mum with the murder she just committed to hide the murder her daughter committed and the woman just... does nothing. She lets herself be blackmailed. Like, if I were her, I would just have taken that car for another spin, if you know what I mean. Or perhaps used my vast fortune to hire a hitman to kill Dong Eun.

Especially since this mum knows who Dong Eun is — and that Dong Eun is currently the one trying to ruin her daughter's life — and also knows that Dong Eun has no relatives who would care if she died. It would be so easy to kill her. And, clearly, this woman is capable of murder. Both committing them and trying to cover them up. And has the means to do it. But as soon as Dong Eun is the one who should be the next victim, the drama and all the characters completely forget that murder is an option.

And no, I am not going to accept the argument that maybe the mum realised that it would just become an endless cycle of more murders to hide the murders because she's gotten this far, why stop now?

Again, it's not like I want Dong Eun to die, but it makes no sense that no one even considers that an option? They can kill each other and several extras, but not Dong Eun. They can't even threaten her with violence. The writing won't let them.

And I honestly get why because, if they did let people want to kill Dong Eun, she would die. Because her enemies are genuinely too powerful for her and the only reason why they don't win is because they're not allowed to because Dong Eun is the main character.

Simple as that.

In the end, the worst thing the bullies did to Dong Eun when they're all adults was to get her fired.

The scoundrels!

Fourth: Character consistency? Don't know her.

A minor gripe in the grand scheme of things but still annoying as fuck. A lot of characters had sudden personality changes depending on the scene and what was expected of them.

Like Yeon Jin's mum who could kill one moment but stopped the next. Or the Yeon Jin's husband who was horrified by murder but then committed one himself. Or Dong Eun being really inconsistent with when her PTSD will show up. And all of the villains suddenly turning into panicked, hysterical messes at the end despite being portrayed as bordering on psychopaths up until that point.

The drama also tried to sell Dong Eun as very cold and unapproachable — which I think makes sense considering all her trauma — but also shoehorn in the obligatory moments when her humanity shines through. Which I usually love but fell flat this time because those moments were rarely because of something she did but rather something others did with, for, or to her. Like, they want to show that she's bonding with Hyun Nam but it's all Hyun Nam's doing. And they want Dong Eun to have a romance with Yeo Jung, but that's also all his doing.

And no, it doesn't come off as "I am traumatised and reluctant to form bonds and am therefore stilted but deep down I'm a good person." She offers the other person nothing in return but they still keep coming back to her, care for her, try to make friends with her, and want to help her. And I genuinely don't know why.

I'm no stranger to an antihero or difficult characters being loved despite their flaws, but she gives literally nothing. She's flippant, uncaring, and curt to the point of impoliteness. And that in itself is fine. Characters don't have to be warm and likeable. But you're at least going to have to explain to me why the people around her are so determined to love her despite all this. And the drama never does.

It's just one of those "because she's the main character" things again.

Or, alternatively: because he's too unhinged to know better.

Which brings us to:

Fifth: Twilight Is a Better Love Story

I fucking said it and I stand by it.

The love story was painful to watch. Now, don't get me wrong — I love me a woman getting herself a younger boyfriend who worships the very ground she walks on. I also love him falling first.

But this aint it, fam.

Partly because the chemistry was lacking between the actors (Dong Eun honestly had more chemistry with Yeon Jin's husband) but also because of the plot in general. I don't see why a romance was even necessary? It doesn't feel like Dong Eun was anywhere near ready for that considering where she is in her recovery. Not just because she's so cold and unapproachable, but just... disinterested? It doesn't seem like she wants a romance with this man? Until she suddenly kisses him at the end?

I honestly had to hold back a wince when they kissed because, to me, it felt so terribly awkward.

I also want to mention the fact that Yeo Jung's attachment to Dong Eun is bordering on an obsession brought on by his trauma and the obvious mental health issues he has. Now, that in itself isn't the problem — I would be a hypocrite if I said that considering some of the dramas I've written for — but I can't help but feel sorry for him? Because, as mentioned, Dong Eun gives almost nothing back. Which she's not obligated to! But, like, it doesn't exactly help the already awkward and unbalanced romance?

A romance which, again, didn't even have to happen? If it's a way to symbolise Dong Eun moving on, then a friendship or platonic partners in crime would have sufficed. And they definitely shouldn't have added the bit about them getting revenge on the dude who killed Yeo Jung's dad if they wanted it to symbolise her moving on. Because, clearly, that's not a step forward so much as an awkward crab shuffle to the left down another rabbit hole of revenge.

I just didn't like it. And even more so because the shitty love story is a key component in the biggest and angriest issue I have with this drama.

Which is:

Sixth: Justice For Kang Hyun Nam

I'm going to attempt to convey my opinions on this as calmly as I can but, let me tell you, I've been kind in my arguments up until this point. This is where the gloves come off because holy fucking shit I am so unbelievably angry.

I love Hyun Nam. I love her so much.

And I will never forgive Dong Eun for the shit she put Hyun Nam and Hyun Nam's teenage daughter through.

NEVER.

Because, sure, the two of them agreed to help each other out — Dong Eun needing help with her revenge and Hyun Nam wanting to get rid of her husband — and there was technically no time limit. But I cannot — and will not — accept the fact that, apparently, that meant that Dong Eun was going to draw out fulfilling her part of the deal. All while the drama tries to portray her as a semi-sympathetic character who somehow manages to build a friendship with Hyun Nam.

Dong Eun literally left this woman and her sixteen-year-old daughter to get abused by their alcoholic husband/father for fucking weeks.

WEEKS.

When she could have stopped it at any time. She literally just stood there and personally watched them get beaten at one point.

And sure, maybe you'd want to argue that she didn't want to kill Hyun Nam's husband too soon since that might mean Hyun Nam would stop helping her. Turning it into a selfish thing to prove how cold and calculating Dong Eun is. But that just brings us back to the problem that then the goddamn drama shouldn't have simultaneously tried to make me like Dong Eun and her relationship with Hyun Nam. You can't expect me to watch this woman and her daughter get brutally beaten — because, yes, they forced us to, more than once — all while knowing that Dong Eun can make it stop but she doesn't, and then also want me to conveniently forget about that cruelty and betrayal so that I can coo over their friendship.

Fuck you, drama. Sincerely, FUCK YOU.

I am fucking livid.

Now, I know that ending situations of domestic abuse aren't easy. That's not what this is about. Because you gotta remember that the drama has hyped Dong Eun up as a mastermind who can plan and execute fantastic revenge plots. So, clearly, it should be a breeze for her. The man is a fucking alcoholic gambler! South Korea has very firm laws concerning gambling so all Dong Eun had to do was tip the police off and he'd be whisked away to prison for the foreseeable future.

But oh no, we can't have that. We have to watch this abuse continue and see bruises on this woman and her daughter for almost the entire drama. Because Dong Eun just... doesn't care? Fucked if I know to be honest. The drama never gives a good reason, to the point where it just feels like torture porn. Especially since the writers are simultaneously trying to sell me a wonderful friendship between these two women.

When one of them is just standing by watching the other get brutally beaten on the regular.

And this alone would have been enough, to be honest, but this drama is the gift that just keeps on giving, let me tell you. And I'm now going to have to focus real hard not to devolve into incoherent cursing because rarely — if ever — have I seen a plotline in a drama that has made me as fucking pissed off as this one. Is it the worst that can happen to a person? No. But the insincerity and stupidity of the writers just add salt to the wounds in a way that turns my anger into blood-boiling rage.

Basically, there was a time when Dong Eun wanted to use Yeo Jung for her revenge too, yeah? Aside from asking him to teach her how to play Go, she wondered if she could maybe turn him into an ally similar to what Hyun Nam became later. But then she explains to him that she changed her mind and decided not to get him involved because it's dangerous and he's suffered enough.

Because he was a victim.

Because he was so terribly sad after having watched his dad get murdered.

And yes, definitely. BUT WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.

The pretty boy toy is too much of a victim for you to use, but the abused mother that you're watching getting bludgeoned on the regular is fair game? She's not a victim at all?

WHAT IN THE EVERLOVING FUCK?!

Please take a moment to let that sink in. Because I need you to understand just how fucking stupid and insulting that is.

Now, I know that probably wasn't the message the drama was trying to send but that's what I mean with insincerity. The writers don't even realise the implications of what they're writing. They'd so focused on "oh, she made an exception for Yeo Jung and that'll prove she loves him" to notice what that means for Hyun Nam. Because Yeo Jung was precious enough to save from any kind of damage, but Hyun Nam and her daughter had to live through weeks of continued beatings because Dong Eun was dragging their feet.

They want to portray Dong Eun as compassionate for sparing Yeo Jung, which only makes what she puts Hyun Nam through all the more horrifying.

And I'm going to have to assume that's because Dong Eun doesn't have a romance with Hyun Nam. That's the only plausible explanation at this point. There's nothing else that sets these characters apart so much that Dong Eun would choose to spare one but not the other. Arguably, she has more reasons to help Hyun Nam, even, since there's a child involved. But oh no.

And no, I am not going to accept the argument that Dong Eun is supposed to be ruthless because then the fucking drama shouldn't also try to build a cutesy friendship between her and Hyun Nam to humanise her again. And they portray it as a good thing. As something that brings Hyun Nam purpose and happiness. Hyun Nam is grateful that she gets to be friends with Dong Eun.

I'm not saying that it's impossible to build a relationship between two people with this dynamic, but it's done so clumsily that it feels like an insult. Not once does Hyun Nam ask why Dong Eun hasn't helped her yet. She just accepts it and continues trying to befriend Dong Eun. There's no doubt or animosity or hints that, maybe, Dong Eun is being a bit cruel when she's letting this continue. The drama doesn't hold her accountable in any way and just brushes it aside.

She is, once again, excused because she's the main character.

And the cherry on top of this goddamn mess is that one of the themes of the drama is — and I shit you not:

"What if someone had helped me when I needed it the most? What could I have become then? Would I have been happier? Think of all the suffering I could have avoided. Some kindness might have saved me :C "

OH.

YOU MEAN LIKE HOW YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HYUN NAM AND HER DAUGHTER BUT CHOOSE NOT TO?

I wish I was joking.

I fucking wish I was joking.

But I'm not. This drama is so fucking stupid that one of its main messages is completely ruined by the main character's actions towards one of the other characters.

And no, Hyun Nam's situation is in no way a part of Dong Eun realising this. She doesn't reflect on the fact that she's also guilty of just standing by and watching people suffer. That's never addressed. It's not some kind of lesson Dong Eun learns and decides to do better. Because Dong Eun is the main character and how she treats Hyun Nam is perfectly fine. Nothing to see here.

I cannot with words express just how angry this whole thing makes me.

I mean, yes, in the end, it's just a drama and no real people were harmed, but it infuriates me when media does this kind of shit with subjects that are as serious as domestic abuse. When they make it so obvious that they don't care. They don't care about Hyun Nam or her daughter. They put both of them through so much unnecessary pain and then belittle that pain by instead saving the pretty love interest because oh noes, imagine if he had to suffer! D:

Again: SINCERELY, FUCK YOU.

And I also hate the fact that, in the end, Dong Eun didn't even kill Hyun Nam's husband. She let Yeon Jin's mother do it. Which, I will point out, wasn't some masterplan of Dong Eun's, either. The fact that Hyun Nam's husband found information to blackmail Yeon Jin's mother with was a coincidence. And there were no guarantees he would choose to blackmail her with it. And Dong Eun couldn't know that Yeon Jin's mother was going to murder him for it.

Honestly, in the end, Hyun Nam herself did more to get her husband killed than Dong Eun did.

So, when you think about it, Dong Eun used Hyun Nam for weeks and didn't even really fulfil her part of the deal. The drama tries to tell me that Dong Eun did because Hyun Nam's husband died, but she had no part in it.

I hate it here.

(And I'm almost done, I promise)

Seventh: Pick n' Mix (a.k.a. a collection of smaller stuff that annoys me)

It made no sense for Yeon Jin's mom to save the nametag because the only ones who might get hurt by her doing so were her daughter and herself. But of course she did it so that Dong Eun could use it for plot-convenient purposes later.

Why, exactly, couldn't Hyun Nam follow her daughter to the US? Her husband died in a car accident and no one suspects she might be involved. Why does everyone act as if it is now impossible for her to ever see her daughter again? Dong Eun has enough money to give her a plane ticket. I am genuinely confused.

How did Dong Eun know that Yeon Jin wasn't the one who dealt Myeong Oh the killing blow? Did she base that assumption on the fact that Gyeong Ran moved out of the storage space the day after? Because, ma'am, that could just as easily have been because Gyeong Ran witnessed the murder and fled. But no, turns out she was the actual murderer and Dong Eun apparently deduced this from some very telling fact I must have missed.

I know that Sa Ra was one of the villains and they were supposed to be punished, but to have a group of people film — possibly livestream — her as she's pleasuring herself while she's high as a kite made me nauseous. But that could be because I have triggers involving sexual abuse/violence and I don't enjoy watching anyone get that kind of "punishment."

The sheer number of unnecessary plotlines, like the whole thing with the teacher at her school. Did not need to be there. At all.

I was confused by the rather random inclusion of the supernatural in this drama. Not saying I'm necessarily against it, but it took me out of the experience to suddenly be told that, apparently, ghosts are real in this world and one of them just possessed and killed a shaman. Who knew?

Hye Jeong suddenly showing her naked boobs was completely unnecessary and added nothing — and I do mean nothing — to the plot, scene, or characterisation. It was a moment of nudity for shock value alone because omg bewbs!

Yeo Jung's mother stopping Dong Eun from committing suicide at the end by essentially emotionally blackmailing her because if Dong Eun dies, Yeo Jung will kill himself, too. Now, I obviously don't mind that Dong Eun was stopped — people with suicidal thoughts deserve all the help and compassion they can possibly get — but the way it was handled felt clumsy and insulting. And, admittedly, I didn't buy Dong Eun's desire to die. Which is a horrible thing to say, I know. I just mean that it felt forced and contrived for the plot — like something she had to do because the writer told her to. It was just a mess in general.

Related to that: Yeo Jung, sweetheart? Get therapy. Please don't decide to kill yourself because someone you know is also having those kinds of thoughts.

In conclusion:

Thanks, I hate it.

[tuulikannel]

I was watching some RE4 playtroughs and ended up writing such a long comment about the og and the remake (as the player asked for the watchers' opinions) that I figured I could as well share it here too.

I came to this game (the remake) completely blind. It was the first Resi game I’ve either seen or played, and I love it to pieces. Now, don’t get me wrong, the original is an amazing game and I do get what you and some others mean when you say the remake doesn’t have its charm or soul. The funny thing is… even though I love the og for that charm, at the same time I prefer the remake just because it’s not like that. Does that even make sense? ^^;;

The original game is so fun. I think I was constantly grinning, watching it. The remake takes things more seriously (while keeping some of the goofiness), and ultimately, I do prefer that. It’s just my opinion, of course, but to me it kinda fits better the rest of the Resident Evil universe… the Leon of the remake is definitely the same person who went through all the shit of RE2. The og Leon feels at times a bit too untraumatized and trusting to me. Like, people complain that the remake Leon is rude to Luis when they meet. I wouldn’t say so… he’s just being extremely cautious. Why would he trust this complete stranger, right away? Just because they seem to have a common enemy doesn’t mean they’re on the same side. (He learned his lesson in RE2 with Ada…)

And the thing is, more often than not when people complain about something in the remake, my reaction is, well, yes… but this makes more sense to me. Like for example Saddler not running all around the place doing stuff in person. Why would he, when he has all his henchmen and literal mind slaves? Maybe he could have appeared a bit more during the game, but those short snippets we get of him in the visions were enough for me when I first time went through the game. The one thing where I do agree the remake could be improved is if they added those boss transformations in the cutscenes (but even that was something I’m thinking of only after other people have mentioned it. Having no expectations, I had no disappointments either, and Mendez was plenty terrifying for me as it was XD)

As for the characters, I prefer possibly all of them in the remake. Definitely Luis. I genuinely do not like him in the og… that ballistic comment dropped him very low in my eyes (that’s how you greet a girl you meet for the first time?) and he didn’t have enough screentime to fix things later. Let me tell you, revenging him would not have been high on my to-do list. As he’s around so much more in the remake he really becomes a character to care about, and the dlc just adds to that. And Ashley too… I would like her way more in the og if she was 5 years younger but for a 20-y-o college student she has some moments that are just kind of ugh. (“I’m fine, leave me alone!” For real, girl?) She also has more development in the remake and can even be useful at times.

But yes, overall, I do love both games, for different reasons. And it might just be my opinion (as I prefer the remake, and maybe those who prefer the og don’t agree) but I think it’d be a bit sad if a remake completely replaced the original. Now we’ve got two games that are both great and have such a different take on the same story, and people can play either they want to, or both. (I’m tempted to play the og too, really, I’m just scared of how bad I’d suck with the controls XD)

[northamericanjaguar]

I like how in obnl that by telling Jay that he's like, 'human enough' or whatever Sensei Wu actually just made things worse because now Jay is going to internalize that shit and decide that he's only a good person as long as he behaves human even if it's small things that most certainly have no baring on morality.

It's like a newly turned vampire feeling bad for sinking their fangs into an apple, that's an apple bro, you did not do anything at all immoral. but there's this strict black and white dichotomy stuck in your head, this sort of logic that on a verrrrry surface level first glance might make some sense but as soon as you think about from an actually logical standpoint it's gonna fall apart. it's just that people stuck with that black and white thinking aren't gonna have that mindset broke so easily

weird comparison but similar vibes as like, conservative queer people, like trying to go 'I'm one of the good ones!' and trying to conform to standards and norms as to make the people around you more comfortable. just not a very healthy approach things.

need someone to talk some fucking logic into him, I feel like the first master saying the thing with Nya was the closest so far. as someone that had to deal with some internalized transphobia I think a thought that tricked me into treating myself kindly was reminding myself 'i wouldnt think that about literally anyone else' or 'i wouldnt say that about a friend'.

I’m glad you’re enjoying the story and that it’s resonating with you!

I don’t think that’s a weird comparison at all—Jay in my fanfic has a lot of internalized prejudice he struggles to unpack, just like some people in real life struggle with internalized transphobia, racism, ableism, or misogyny. Overcoming internalized bias has always been a key theme of OBNL since I started writing this story as a high school kid, even if I wasn’t fully aware of or able to articulate the theme as such at the time. All I knew was that writing such a character was incredibly therapeutic for me (And only years later realized why as I started to acknowledge and confront my own internalized biases XD) Now that I’m older and fully aware of it, I definitely lean heavily into that theme!

I was so excited when you mentioned Wu’s behavior was problematic. Like, “YES! This person get it!” One sub theme I knew I wanted to explore when I came back from my hiatus was how even well-intentioned people and beliefs can cause harm. My intent is to write Wu (and the rest of the team) as someone who generally cares about about Jay, but his own negative biases and beliefs prevent him from actually helping Jay in the way he needs to be helped. Jay’s “I’m not like other Serpentine” mindset (which is inspired by girls who fall prey to the toxic “I’m not like other girls” phenomenon✨💅) is a crutch—it’s a short-term fix that forces him to box away part of who he is, and not actually accept himself.

And hoo boy… You’re right. Eventually, that’s all going to come to an ugly head. Unfortunately, not in this story, most likely. But if you wanna see Jay actually confront some of these mindsets (and get a little closer to self-acceptance and make some Serpentine friends along the way) stay tuned for the sequel!

There will be a grumpy Skales, Fang-kwon-do lessons, and a certain Island Snake Weeb who’s a bit *too* interested in this snake ninja galore!

[magnusbae]

13 books

What’s up readers?! How about a little show and tell? Answer these 13 questions, tag 13 lucky readers and if you’re feeling extra bookish add a shelfie! Let’s Go!

Tagged by @cuubism Thank you!! 💖 Heads up: if you're tagged, you don't need to read it alllll even if you do want to participate 😌

1) The Last book I read:

I'm pretty sure it was Tress of the Emerald Sea, what a delight!

2) A book I recommend:

.... The Way of Kings... (The Stormlight Archive)

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

The second book of The Stormlight Archive, Words of Radiance had me by my throat like nothing else. wow. 👏🏻

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

Listen. I'll list something other than The Stormlight Archive just because this is getting embarrassing. The books I used to regularly reread were: HP, Eragon and Assassin's Apprentice. (full series rereads, crossing the 10 each) 😌

5) A book on my TBR:

I have a hefty amount of books I bought and never read. Ranging from classics to cheap fantasy-- but alas, my brain is fixated on the other author who doesn't disappoint me and so I just stick to his books XD

Some of the books sitting on my ineffective 'shame you into reading' shelf are: Captive Prince, the rest of the Wolfsong series, the.... shadowhunters books... the new trilogy about Fitz which I have in hardcovers yet never read. And some... others...

6) A book I’ve put down:

One of the reasons I am avoidant of taking on new books at all is because I have a very hard time putting down books I started. I'll suffer through entire series just for the few grains of gratification in the end. Or to... spitefullfy and confidently say it sucked balls.

However... three series managed to break me.

First being GoT, I just didn't manage to get through, not even 10 chapters. A true oddedity for me, but I just couldn't.

Second being The Witcher. I managed to power through like 4-5 books? And then I just couldn't do this to myself anymore. It was so, so, so not my vibe. (even while the pc game is about my most favorite game ever.) 🤷🏻‍♀️

And lastly, although I think I did finish the entire series before deciding that if ever a new book came out, I'll never read it, was the-- god what's the name of it... the First Law Trilogy – The Blade Itself etc from joe abercrombie. What a bleak series! Oh my god!

7) A book on my wish list:

My honest wishlist is just to keep on reading Brando Sando in my slow and enjoying-it phase... Although I admit that there's a large amount of those new spicy fantasy books apparently being released that shorts recommend and older folk rant about, so I naturally do want to check it out to see what's up with that but.... in truth... I just want to keep on enjoying Brando Sando XD

8) A favorite book from childhood:

I genuinely really loved Eragon. Oh and Artemis Fowl was all fun. I also really loved Tunnel in the Sky, like really.

9) A book you would give to a friend:

ngl it'll be an unapologetic The Way of Kings with big and passionate begging session of 'please give it a try' like for real.

In case any one of you is actually interested--- (you don't have to read this part) -inhales deeply-

The Way of Kings is a truly misleading book, that might leave you with the impression that the book is all about wars and kings but that is the furthest from the truth a description and a cover and a name can go.

It has fantasy, it has deep and rich world building, elaborate magic system that is deeply embedded into the story, culture and literal every single stone of the world. There's politics, culture, introspection, deep and varied characters, each reading like the main character of the story, having unique and vibrant personality and motivations.

It is not just a book, it is a work of true and deep love for the genre and writing in general. Beautifully done, enriching and enticing.

And what's most important for people who read too many books?

Hard to predict. It managed to pull the rug from underneath my feet in the most surprising and pleasing ways. Brandon writes in a way that is not 'shock just to shock' nor 'drama just for drama'. Every single scene is true, and forward. You always have everything right in front of you, the key is that you do not know how to put it all together just yet.

That can finally give that refreshing 'I don't know where it's heading but I'm enjoying the experience" I feel I had lost over the years, being able to recognize patterns too easily and predict writing intentions.

God, what a book! It does however have a rough learning curve, being such a massive world, it takes time to ease you in. Say about at least 5 chapters in at the minimum. On a personal note, I recommend the audiobooks read by kate reading and michael kramer, literally the best experience I've ever had, listening to those two bring to life every character and accent and scene, wow!

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own:

Come to think of it, I don't actually own any. Ha.

11) A nonfiction book you own:

I don't haha! Looking back, it's a lie, I have a few phycology books gathering dust in various hiding spots.

12) What are you currently reading:

........The Way of Kings....

13) What are you planning on reading next?

.....Words of Radiance.... haha. 😋

Y'all don't need to read all them answers in case you just want to answer it for yourself, or you can skip, too 😊😊😊

@mayhemspreadingguy, @pollyp, @nonbinary-nicolo, @msmongoose, @hardly-an-escape,

@ladymatt, @underacalicosky, @grapenehifics, @your-lordsherlockholmes-posts

@acedragontype, @palfriendpatine66, @heretolurkandnothingmore , @virahaus, @wallsinmyhead

@kittttycakes, @elcaballerodragon, @justsuffilike, @pumpkinkingsalem, @handahbear

@willameena

I am certain this is 13, I am certain. Cheers 💖💖💖

[paintbrushnebula]

How would you have fixed/ wrote tangled the series if you were the executive producer/ creator?

How would you have fixed/ wrote tangled the series if you were the executive producer/ creator?

Hoooboiiii good question!! Haha because like, I’m actually kinda prepared to answer this, because I’ve thought about what I would’ve liked out of a Tangled sequel and, tsk I gotta tell you it’s very VERY different from the series XD 

However even though the series isn’t my idea of a Tangled sequel, if I was at this moment granted a wish that would allow me to magically alter the series as a whole, retroactively, I wouldn’t remove anything that the series introduced, because I like a lot it. I like Varian, I like Lance, I like Adira, I like Bruce Campbell, I like all o’ dem fools. Oh and the bangin’ SONGS YELL HEAH! Good food ^^. I also think the Sundrop and Moonstone stuff, the Demanitus stuff, even the Zhan Tiri stuff all sound cool on paper. Queen for a Day was pretty unforgettable for me so I’m not itching to change that in any major way. I honestly wouldn’t want to change the whole series in any major ways. Just, y’know, fix what’s there. Improve the flaws. Develop the underused characters and backstories. Make Eugene’s story mean something and matter. Make Quirin’s note mean something and matter. Add more moms for crying out loud. Explore Rapunzel’s trauma and actually SHOW us her recovery iIn full detail. 

Oh wait. Actually I WOULD make a dramatic change: Arianna is the focal parent NOT Frederic. That’s literally going hand-in-hand with “write Rapunzel’s recovery better.” She needs to see what a good mother looks like. 

OH KRIFF ONE MORE THING XD yeah Cass being Gothel’s daughter is SOO OUT XD 

Moonsandra can stay but she’s gotta have better motives and an actual set goal or smth Jesus

The Zhan Tiri disciples song a villain song. Heck, Zhan Tiri gets a villain song. OOOF could you imagine Zhan Tiri getting a song in the same vein as “In the Dark of the Night” from Anastasia??? That’d be so cool, oh jeez. 

Also I’d have the broadway stars be casted a little more creatively, like, I love what they did with Eden Espinosa, Jeremy Jordan, and James Monroe Iglehart, but I wish they went even harder with it. Gavin Creel being casted as that disciple (I dont remember his name) is exactly what I mean. Get Andre De Shields as someone! How about Susan Egan? Ooooh please could we get Aaron Tveit in there somewhere? Sigh, in my dreams I guess. 

Oh, and make sure they actually get to sing ^_^

One last major change would be to make Eugene’s mom live alongside Edmund. Literally I dont get the big issue media has with doing the “estranged parent” trope and restricting it to one parent (who is usually the father). Like what is it with Hollywood and writing BOTH parents? What’s wrong with a seasoned older husband and wife reuniting with their son, becoming key supporting characters in the story? 

I like Edmund too much to get rid of him, so. Why not have two cakes? 

Oh btw Eugene’s mom would be Susan Egan. No debate. 

Also I’d have the score be directed a little differently. Have actual leitmotifs that aren’t using music from the songs (as much as I like when that happens). Give Rapunzel and Eugene a “love theme” that also gets used for any time any other character is growing as a person or going through changes, like some type of “dream” theme that represents that character having and pursuing a want or goal. Then when Cass or Varian become evil, you twist that “dream” leitmotif to sound sinister because their “new dream” is something dark and twisted. Then you take that and incorporate it into their themes to make villain themes. Could you imagine if Varian and Cass had leitmotifs used when they were good, then when they betray Rapunzel, those leitmotifs are musically altered to sound sinister??? 

WOof, sorry, this was ramble-y and has poor grammar/sentences. I hope this is all readable XD

[chaotic-orphan]

I’m not the person you asked the question to, but for your question about Ambroise and Kit and gay subtext, I’d say that there’s certainly something there that I see why people would feel it, but personally I see more of a sibling relationship.

I think that it wouldn’t be weird if the story were to be an enemies to lovers, as the building blocks would be there, but it wouldn’t be weird for it to be an enemies to siblings. It depends on where you choose to take it next.

I see it more as siblings mainly because I’ve always read the story with a large age gap between the two. Ambroise feels significantly older than Kit, an so I never saw it as lovers because of that perspective. But, I don’t think that was ever explicitly mentioned, nor I don’t know if that was ever your intention. So it could’ve been a personal interpretation.

I hoped this helped!

P. S. I really love your writing so much. You’re honestly an incredible writer and your style is so beautiful. I always look forward to reading your work :)

YESSSS @mossy-tables SIBLING RELATIONSHIP👏👏👏 HARD AGREEEEEEEE XD

I see the potential for enemies to lovers too, like it is such a valid direction for the story, esp with that chapter where Ambrose is using his tie to strangle Kit, but my dumbass honestly saw that as the *most* sibling-esque kind of fight [now in hindsight after reading over it again, I see the enemies to lovers thing too] — but debasing Kit like a dog, making him crawl and then going frenzied and just looking at Kit fighting back like: “are you actually this clinically stupid?! Like you have objectively no chance of winning” but does that stop siblings fighting? Never. But I am delighted that some kind of sibling energy shined through a little in the story :D

I also think the age gap between Ambrose and Kit is significant, though I don’t think I ever said it — actually I think I made their age gap quite small which doesn’t make sense because Ambrose has his entire career all sorted out and so does his friends which would make him actually, closer to Jude’s age, around his thirties while Kit is in his early twenties and still trying to figure life out.

P.S. thank you so much for sharing your insights and your too-kind words, I think I may just explode into confetti right now 🎊 genuinely thank you🫶 also!! I amended the age gap bc of you to make it make more sense so thank you🫰

P.P.S Personal familial anecdote — not at all important to the discussion — below cut 😏😏😏 just my personal exp of sibling energy

Now, this could also just be my crazy family, but I feel like we’re normal enough, like when I was a kid I was very energetic and my brother(who was older by like 7 years) would literally just put his hand on my head and push me away and let me tire myself out, but then, what happens when I learned how to evade that move? He SAT on me and still I went to claw at him, bite him, punch him, kick him (this was all in the name of play-wrestling and who was the strongest sibling — which, in hindsight, we had a lot of competitions of who was the strongest, fastest, funniest, smartest, wittiest, favourite sibling contests when we were growing up ((out of sheer boredom (but I blame wii sports for the will to win imbedded within us against each other)) and there is a disbelief of “why the fuck are you still being hyper when you’re clearly not moving until I say you can, idiot?”

Long story short, Mam had to tell my older brother and sister to stop playing with me because they were the ones getting hurt😎 humble brag, don’t mind me, hold your applause

[twistedtummies2]

We all know who you think can eat the most at NRC but I'm curious as to who you think can eat the LEAST. (Also love your work. Might actually write some stories based off of some of your headcannons/prompts if you don't mind)

First of all, by all means! I am happy to be an inspiration. It is most flattering. ^///^ Second of all, if you're referring to the main cast...well, if we disregard Ortho and the staff members, and we only stick to canon characters...ooooooh, that's still a REALLY hard one, for a LOT of reasons. 'XD I'm gonna saaaaay...Silver. Now, I know some people - I'm specifically looking at you, @belliesandburps, if you're reading this - will disagree, because Silver makes a very good "lazy eater," being the sleepy, deadpan, socially inept sort he is. And I do agree, that is a good headcanon and point. HOWEVER, there are two reasons I choose Silver. One: because I'm just not into him, really, myself. So, therefore, I have no guilt picking him and denying a lad I AM into, even though I doubt I would do so anyway. LOL But two, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY...I think that Silver is CANONICALLY the smallest eater of the bunch. What makes me say this? Well, here's the thing: to my recollection, Silver has almost never complained about being hungry in any Events, Vignettes, or parts of the Main Story. If he has AT ALL, indeed, then I can't remember them, so it's clearly not been very often. In fact, I looked at his Voice Lines, just for a start, and he never complains about being a hungry goober as far as I can tell: quite the opposite, in fact. He mentions that he's glad OTHERS are eating well, and he does mention he wants to learn to be a better cook, and he does bring up how bad Lilia's sense of haute cuisine is...but he never once complains or even considers getting food himself at any point, as far as I can find. IN-DOUBLE-FACT, there's literally a line for his Birthday Card where he expresses CONFUSION at people bringing him so many sweets and such, and wonders if they think he's "really that hungry." The only instance in the Voice Lines I could find where Silver mentions his own appetite is him offering a protein bar to the MC and saying he likes it, himself. That's literally it. Silver is also one of the few characters with no Cards that reference his appetite in any way at all. I looked at all the available Card Art so far, and aside from Culinary Crucible (which is more about cooking than eating, you'll recall), he is never shown with food ONCE. Now, I should immediately add, he is not alone in that: Malleus, for example, also has no Cards that visibly reference his appetite in any direct fashion. BUT, the difference there is that Malleus' appetite has been quite noticeably focused on a few times, and it's memorable when it happens: it's not just a passing mention of him being hungry that I may or may not have forgotten, it's stuff like him talking about swallowing several people whole, or references to him eating a lot of fast food (which I still find amusing, by the way), or him devouring (or at least trying to devour) a whole cake. So while the occasions may not be FREQUENT, they are NOTEWORTHY. Silver doesn't have any of those, as well as no visible art that I can find. One last thing to note, which I think is important, is that Silver is something of a foil for Sebek. Why is this important? Because while the pair are equally loyal to Malleus and Lilia, how they express that loyalty, and the kinds of personalities and traits they have, are deliberately meant to be opposites of each other. So, just based on that fact alone, in a lore-type of sense, if you will...since Sebek is a NOTORIOUSLY big eater (and possible canon pred), it stands to reason that Silver would not be just because he is the total opposite. In fact, that was one of the things I noticed about his Voice Lines: more than once he comments on Sebek's appetite, but he never brings up his own. Sooooo...yeah. While I get the appeal of Silver as a "lazy eater," I would venture to say that, just based on canon evidence, he is probably the "smallest eater" among the main cast of TW. And since I don't particularly favor him myself, either, I see no reason to disrupt this plausible headcanon.

[my-pjo-stuff]

Opinions on lukercy? *asks deviously*

I mean...idc? Like, Lukercy ain't really my cup of tea- but it's not like I hate it or something. I don't rly do PJO ships besides Thaluke- and even there I'm just as good with them being platonic. So Lukercy, like any PJO ship, is just sort of ...there, at least for me. But I genuinely love the shippers! Like even if I personally don't ship it the guys that do are some of the chillest, most respectful non-toxic fans in this fandom. Which...okay tbf the bar is in literal hell- but I do genuinely mean it! To share a little anecdote here- So when I first read the PJO books I had this series up on my main where I posted my thoughts and reactions to the chapters. This obviously attracted some older fans who talked with me and commented, all really nice and innocent stuff. Thing was, I was always very pro-Luke ever since TLT. I genuinely loved the guy- to the point where he unironically was the main draw to the books for me. In comparison, I didn't really care for Percy and CHB people, as I found them rather bland compared to the TA demigods all things considered.

Which- out of context that is nothing bad! Absolutely not- it turned into one though when someone at some point asked my thoughts on Percy/Percabeth. I replied to them with the things I said above, that I find them rather bland compared to Luke and that I don't rly care too much for them. And MAN when I tell you that reaction was WIIILLDDD. They went on like an 8 messages rant in the notify section of that post about how I "just don't get it" and "Am so unfair" and just "judge characters on the amount of trauma they have" 💀 Genuinly that is a forever PJO fandom core memory now. They even demanded me to talk about and dig into Percy like I did with Luke because they "knew that I could do it since I did it with Luke". That shit was crazy- they sounded like my teacher wanting me to write more in a poem analysis or sum T-T Fr the only reason I didn't block them then and there was bc previously they were pretty active with my posts and nice to me- had that user been a stranger they would have been blocked SO fast. After that they just interacted less and less with my stuff and I haven't spotted them in my notes since lmao. So yeah, that's my fun story of how a Percabeth Shipper/Percy fan basically demanded that I go and analyze their favs just bc I could do it, and they wanted me to. And, well- say what you want but that certainly never happened with any Lukercy shippers XD Some of my oldest PJO mutuals and friends are Lukercy shippers actually, genuinely great ppl! I think all the hate you guys get is just genuinely weird af like??? It's a fictional ship between two fictional characters, calm down man. Yes I can see how some ppl might be uncomfortable with it and would prefer to just block the tag and users who like it entirely- but it ain't that deep. Go outside. Hug your family. Get some hobbies. IDK just stop treating a fictional yaoi ship like the plague itself. At this point it just straight up borders on weird how worked up some ppl get XD I do read some fics and like some art, mostly bc, again, a good amount of nice mutuals of mine ship it and I'm just supporting their work. TL:DR : Not my cup of tea, but I love the guys who ship it and never had one single bad experience with them. As opposed to everyone else. Also ppl should stop hating on it so much and just move on if they don't like it.

[amuseoffyre]

Some thoughts I had while drilling a rock along with some thoughts collated earlier in the day. The writers don't waste dialogue. If it's there, it's there for a reason. This includes stuff from eps 4-5 plus the teaser for 6-7.

These are the bits I want to focus on:

Can't tell what's real and what's the basket anymore

Artsy outsider was always your thing

Can't tell what's real and what's the basket anymore

I suspect Buttons didn't turn into a bird. I think this is entirely down to Ed's head still being vaguely-basket influenced. Especially since he sees the bowl and the bird, but Stede doesn't come back and see either. Plus we heard birds startled and scuttling in the bushes literally seconds before it happens.

Part of the power of the basket is that it lets you see what you want to see and in that moment, nervously accepting Stede's invite back to the ship, what Ed needs a reassurance that people - he - can change. And how better to have your still slightly-untethered imagination do that than let yourself believe a man can turn into a bird? If Buttons can turn into an impossible bird, maybe you can turn back from one?

I'm curious what was in that giant spliff-looking bundle that Buttons had him hold right before his transmogrification act, especially since we already saw him and Mary with smaller versions back at the house. Could've been sage or could've been Buttons getting Ed a wee bitty stoned which certainly would've let him see things a bit more oddly and would definitely explain his giddy, blissed-out look as he watched 'Buttons' fly away XD

Artsy outsider was always your thing

Will fully admit that this one is a bit of a stretch, but bear with me and I will get to my point.

1. Ed mentions that he has a record to break based on mass raids and leaving chaos and carnage in his wake in episode 1. According to Oluwande, he's never seen a wanted poster with writing on both sides before.

2. Ned Lowe appears in the new teaser, apparently very irritated at his record being broken. This feels very personal an offence.

3. Ned Lowe enjoys hurting people but specifically, he enjoys hurting people in incredibly creative and artistically pleasing ways to him: he enjoys the perfect pitch of a scream, he tortures people with musical instruments, I half suspect the horrors he's committing in a lighthouse will end up looking like the batsignal for the Aesthetic.

4. Stede and his crew have already come across a ship where the bodies were left arranged in a tableau which feels like it was done especially to garner attention and horror: a man impaled on candle-sticks, another borderline crucified, another with knives in his eyes, and a giant bloody pentagram.

5. This artsy outsider, a bit of a sadistic weirdo even by pirate standards, has taken it personally that Blackbeard has stolen his thunder and is making a show to steal his thunder back in the most dramatic and over-the-top showy ways, including coming onto his current ship to torture his crew.

6. Bitter ex, anyone? :D

All that aside, I'm also now happily gnawing on the idea that the real Hornigold is going to turn up in the season finale post-credit scene as a hook for season 3. The fact they have post-credit scenes feels a bit of a waste, when so far, they've added nothing to the story. They're bait to make sure we stay watching to the very end.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

i love when the subject of modern au for the arcana comes up cause my only metric of judgement for it is What are you gonna do with Muriel. is he still. you know. practically homeless

cause it can be done well i believe it!! but i mean its interesting to me cause theres so many um. cultural differences i guess i can call it, and ramifications and implications and fucking more thesaurus words we get it to consider in comparing our "everyone has to have a document about *Everything*, whats your assigned number at birth, let me record you with 50 cameras at all times just in case, gimme your PapERS HOW OLD ARE YOU WHATS YOUR GRANDMAS MAIDEN NAME NO IM NOT SELLING YOU THIS CARTON OF EGGS UNTIL YOU TELL ME" society (Admittedly! not every single place in the world today is like this necessarily!!! so you can just put them someplace else and work from there!!! but youd have to know how life there actually looks like And also wait whats the point of this au if everything ends up the same lmao i wanted asra to have tiktok and work at starbucks what are we doing here) vs the old timey fantasy world presented in the game where its just "yeah sure you can go live in a forest theres no fences here lol bye dont get dysentery" which is how the world used to be i guess and thats so fun to ponder for me lol we really were just monkeys fucking about with sticks huh. good times

man this is why i dont actually write fanfics i get too lost in four different trains of thought and dont finish any of them lmao and i guess also cause of the "i Cant POSSIBLY write this story about kissing a dude if i cant describe the sociopolitical climate in this neighbourhood in the netherlands after the Batavian Rebellion and how it influenced the contemporaneous fauvistic arT MOVEMENT with UTMOST ACCURACY cause THATS WHAT HIS FAVOURITE PAINTING WAS THE ONE THAT SHOWS UP IN THIS THREE SECOND BLURRY BACKGROUND CLIP OF THIS SCENE IN HIS APARTMENT AND IS CRUCIAL TO HIS CHARACTER AND I HAVE TO NAIL IT WHAT DONT YOU GET" type personality i got going which i guess writers deal with by just going full "lol whatever i am god here and i make law" mode

i just started thinking about this cause of the new story on dorian in a modern au i got pretty hype about it teehee but yeah muriel hasnt shown up yet so i got into that whole spiral about wHERE ARE THEY GONNA PUT ME BOYE AAAGJHFN i hope he gets a good outfit lmao i love jules' vibe but i looked at asra n went aw Hell naw hed be way better dripped out you done my boy dirty cmon man. pashas hawaiian shirt tho fucking we're so back lets go lesbians hkdyyifulj Anyway they made lucio a wholeass bilionaire which had me shook a lil for some reason but i can see him as a total ~Musk-esque~ archetype lmaooo like that is literally so him, just barges in and makes people have good ideas for him gikgststnv oh god i hope theres not any elon fans reading this cause theyre not gonna appreciate that oh fudge ok lets get back to the point which was uuuuhhhhhhhhhh oh yeah i liked your muriel lives in a van concept i thought its good! yeah thats what i wanted to say. what a tumultuous journey i just had to invent to arrive here.

Oh yeah, I've been seeing a lot more posts and questions about the arcana's modern au, and it's why I was so happy to dig up all those old ask arcana posts! I'm so glad we have all that canon content from way back when, it was so sad that I could only put ten images in one post T~T

And Muriel definitely lives off the grid - I also remember another ask arcana that said in modern times he'd wear a cable knit sweater on top and leather pants and demonias on bottom and that works so well for him XD

Here's the screenshots since the links haven't been working:

[amaiguri]

When you're a Writer and a Vtuber...

If you like storytelling, Vtubing, or both, this one's for you 🥰

You'd think there'd be more overlap of "People who want to be fantasy characters and hide their face" and "Writers" but there really aren't. I know like me and @moonfeatherblue and that's it for the writing/worldbuilding and Vtuber overlap lololol. I think there should be more of us!

So, let me convince you to become a storytelling/worldbuilding/writing Vtuber like me...

In addition to just loving all the cool things you can do with Live2D as a software (if like art and you don't just stare at rigging showcases on YouTube, you should. It's so cool!), I also love storytelling in a social media space. Like, how do you tell a story over time? How much information should you reveal and when? What colors, images, and sounds evoke the feelings you want? And what feelings will keep people coming back for more? Basically, Vtubers have made me fall in love with marketing because the best marketing is just storytelling with some sort of call-to-action at the end.

Am I GOOD at marketing? No, lol, but maybe YOU would be! KEEP READING to find out XD

On the flipside, so so many Vtubers are like "I'm the embodiment of sin and also a gamer and a singer" or "I'm a cottagecore whale who is also the collector of lost souls and I play video games" and it's like... clearly Vtuber audiences LIKE the fantasy aspects of this. Why is the Vtuber default just gaming? Why is there not waaaaay more whimsy and storytelling? (This isn't to say Gaming Bad TM. I'm literally a game dev. I NEED streamers to play my games. I love them.) There's just so much opportunity for cool storytelling with Vtubers!

If you wanna get into being a fictional character/having a kayfabe-like wrestling persona for your writing, you should 100% get into Vtubing. You don't even need to stream to be a Vtuber -- and honestly I'm not even sure you need to post videos necessarily lol -- GIFs and pictures could probably get you pretty far on the right platforms. You could start out using a PNG --there are so many good, free PNGtuber softwares and you could use Picrew images (with the right permissions!) for your PNGtuber to start. Or if you can draw, you can just DO THAT.

Or if you have like $50 USD, Raindrop Atelier has a FULLY rigged Vtuber "Picrew" with chibi models that are so high quality and cute! Or if you have like $300 USD, you could get one of the Picrew-like Vtubers from Charat Genesis. (Yes, that's a lot BUT most Vtuber models — 2D and 3D alike — run you from $2000 to $8000 sooooo $300 is a steal in comparison.)

And then, over time, you could post and reveal facts about yourself and tidbits of your lore! And you could give writing advice or talking about your worldbuilding in-character! I've had this idea to make a fantasy creature mockumentary for actually years now and I'm just trying to find a good scope for it...

On the downside, as with all "storytelling in real time", it can a little discouraging at the start when you don't have a big audience. And this specific niche is especially underdeveloped so it's definitely hard to find a foothold. BUT I find that, because it's all play -- it's all FANTASY -- I have a lot more energy for this kind of marketing than I would if I were promoting myself as "just a writer, trying to sell my writing." Getting people to like me is exhausting. Getting people to like my writing is part of the writing process!

Cuz like, aside from just "inhabiting a fictional character" and "reducing your face presence online while still giving your personal brand a face", being a Vtuber is also a fun way to tie into your work.

Like, my Vtuber model is Arlasaire and she's the protagonist of my (probably) upcoming RPG, Untitled Yssaia Game, (Not the final name, real name pending lol). She talks about cooking and music and geography over on my YouTube channel and it's all infused with cool fantasy music and sound effects. She speaks in and teaches you about conlangs in the world. And she goes on fantasy dates or fantasy vacations! So now, I'm getting people attached to this character and her world BEFORE I even get into her actual story. And all her merchandising and stuff is really just game merchandising and so on and so forth... and that's just good branding! Hopefully some day, this translates into more people playing the game and seeing more of my work!

But obviously, I'm very new to marketing or else this blog post would convince more writers to become Vtubers and more Vtubers to write lol.

Anyway, here's some Arlasaire art (art: LexiKoumori on IG, rig: Kanijam) AS WELL AS some of her earlier model sketches before I asked for her hair to be silkier and less feathery! And lastly, a short unedited video of me being cringe so you KNOW you could do better :DDDD