#only when the story stops giving compelling whys that don't fit into anything else going on does it start Declining tbh

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Had a good chat with my partner about it today that maybe let me put a finger on what's always bugged me about "we're here to fix canon" attitudes being so prevalent in fandom (especially in the past 10ish years) throughout my life. This is not to say there's never a time or place for that (I've written fix its myself, or the occasional meta on how something could be fixed/improved) or that people are wrong to (we're anti fandom policing). It's also not an issue to me on the basis of "I love my blorbo in canon and fandom mischaracterizes them in the name of 'fixing' them" etc as it is just... coming from a fundamentally different perspective for story analysis / interaction than most (not all) people in fandom, I think.

One of the reasons I enjoyed getting my English degree was because I was finally being encouraged to and taught in alignment with what my brain had always be inclined to do: you always assume that there's a reason, and a good reason, for the story to do whatever it's doing. It assumes that the story is already exactly what it is supposed to be as it is supposed to be, and it's up to you to find the reasons Why.

The story was boring, or made you feel uncomfortable/bad, or you couldn't root for a character or relationship? All of that, at least at the beginning, doesn't really Matter. You assume that the story is paced fine, you assume the discomfort was intentional or part of something broader (historical shit that hasn't aged well) or that the dichotomy of "I feel invested or not invested" isn't useful. And in doing so, you replace all that with asking why.

An example I'll use is 1984 by George Orwell. I read that book in high school and I fucking hated it. Normally, I like the protagonist the most in anything I watch/read, but in that book, I loathed both the two leads and were actively rooting for them to be captured and tortured so the book could end faster; it was an actively miserable affair. I don't think that was necessarily the author's intention (certain amount of death of the author is baked in, but for a lot of the texts I was reading, we didn't even know the author or anything substantial about them, i.e. Beowulf) but, more importantly, I don't think any of those things are Flaws or downsides in the text.

Part of this is because 1984 is a dystopian novel (if a romcom book breaks genre convention that badly where you're miserable reading it, yeah, maybe something went wrong, but more on that in a minute) but even then it doesn't really matter on the basis of genre; I'm sure some people read 1984 and felt fascinated/excited while reading.

Rather, the focus becomes: what do I find so unlikeable about the protagonists? Why would they be written that way (on purpose)? What does it say about the society they live in? What does it say about their characterization, social stratification, etc etc? If a character does something that I think is non-sensical, why? Have I missed something? Should I watch retrospectively for clues? Is there another way to engage and to understand? Is what I label as confusion potentially a, or the, Point?

It is only after finding the reasons, and/or finding them unsuitable, that I let my subjective feelings into play. While a story can have great merit on the basis of relatability, relatability or "this aligns with my worldview / expectations / desires / etc." is not the be-all end-all of discerning quality

For example, I'm never going to be a fan of Jane and Rochester (she's 18, he's her 40 year old employer who routinely lies to her) but there are reasons, Good reasons, they get together in Jane Eyre (a book so subjectively boring I struggled through it twice) in response to both when the book was written and with the book's themes / symbols / their characterization. If they didn't end up together, it would be a fundamentally different story; it would not be Jane Eyre. So objectively, it's fine and an understandably massive influence on the western literary canon; subjectively, it's so fucking bad and I'm so glad I never have to read it again. But if I stopped there with my lack of interest or dislike of the main romance, I'd be missing out on what the text has to offer as well, the text.

This applies to more modern day stuff as well. I don't like Double Trouble from SheRa as nonbinary representation, and I'm nonbinary myself; however, I can acknowledge that the things I don't like about them were probably simultaneously empowering and exactly what the author (who is also nonbinary) wanted to be per his own experience of gender. Having a "I assume the text is right" mindset means that I can hold space for my own feelings/analysis (i.e. I also did not like Catra's arc, as I think she needed to learn other things / be written under a different lens) while holding space for the text as is (under the canonical lens of Catra learning it's never too late to be saved, I think her arc is conclusive and well done). And these two viewpoints aren't fundamentally opposed, but can coexist as analytical soup, being equally true / having equal value under the subjective (my view) and more 'objective' (the canon text's construction, or what I / the scholarly consensus, if it exists, believes it to be, anyway) at the same time.

Again, none of this is to say that you can't take issue with a canon text, or want to change something. I remember one time I was watching a show where their refusal to explore a romantic relationship between the female lead and her guy best friend was actively making the show worse; I understood their reasonings of wanting to put them with other people to explore their relationships, and wanting to emphasize a male-female friendship at the core of the story, and I still wanted them to put the two together as a Ship instead for various reasons. But that doesn't mean my line of thinking would've been Objectively Better—assuming if they had been paired together would've been executed in the manner I'd enjoy, or that them being paired with other people couldn't have been executed in ways I would've enjoyed more—merely that I likely would've enjoyed the series more per my own subjective preferences.

What I see in fandom sometimes is that people, understandably, aren't approaching at the start from a "the story always has a good reason" as much as they are speed-running from a "this didn't make sense to me or felt bad/off" and maybe examining why (which is supremely useful!) but not going back to examine the other side of the coin as to why the story would do it anyway.

Because sometimes the story—or a part of a story—is still 'bad' to us. It's just worthwhile to look at why it's 'good,' too.

[fraseris]

gayreg manifesto when……

i first posted gayreg because it was just a pun that came to me. november 1st. maybe i read it in a youtube comment or something. it doesn't matter where it came from, just that i was compelled to pass it on. and people loved it. we had fun posting gayreg. it was a good time. it's a great concept too because there's some real substance beyond the initial pun. heterosexual homoromantic i'm sure you know about this, anon. he wants to intertwine his life with the lives of his male friends. i don't know if i'd picked up on this stuff when i first posted gayreg, but knowing it now everything fits nicely into the concept, so i incorporate it and it isn't a big deal. in actuality real life greg's feelings are not really any of my business. but he jokes about it and his friends joke about it so i feel alright joking about it too. in fact i joke about it a lot. i've probably posted more gayreg than anyone else online. and it's all jokes. but jokes are kind of a serious thing. you really can convince yourself to believe anything if you say it enough times, and when a joke goes on long enough it almost inevitably stops being a joke. i have repeatedly projected the idea of gayreg out into the world. i've made this real. you're watching jreg, and at first you're thinking "haha he has effeminate mannerisms!" but after some gayreg posting, your thoughts turn into "oh this guy is really gay." i never used to think like this, anon. we create our own realities and i've created a reality where gayreg is important. gayreg informs my jreg viewing experience. gayreg informs my tumblr posting. gayreg factors into how i talk to my mutuals. and gayreg really isn't funny enough to warrant the number of posts i've made about it. but i've made the posts anyways and gayreg has grown to fill that space i give it. he smiles so sweetly at artchad. he loves women who are men. these things shouldn't matter to me, but they do. by talking about them i make them matter. i'm giving gayreg life. i posted so much gayreg that gayreg became real. i convinced myself to believe in gayreg. the words you say and ideas you share really do have a lot of significance even if they're just jokes. you can convince yourself of anything. you can convince yourself of your life's purpose or your political opinions or your romantic orientation. maybe this is frightening to you, but if you post enough about how the elasticity of the human brain is awesome, you can probably convince yourself to stop being scared. even now i'm writing this post and some of it isn't true. some if it is lies, because they're funny and they make this a compelling narrative; posting gayreg has definitely opened up my mind to the concept of a homosexual jreg, but i don't think about it regularly. so why am i compelled to say that i do? why am i exaggerating the truth? nothing can really just be for the bit. something about the exaggerations appeal to me. probably i'm compelled to lie because the lies are actually true and the only person i'm lying to here is myself. refusing to accept that i accidentally turned myself into a gayreg truther. refusing to accept that the funny story i'm telling is my real life. maybe this is happening to me because i'm fundamentally susceptible to gayreg. maybe i should just give in. but even all of this is just another layer i'm adding to the confusion, and by writing it out for you i create the possibility of it being/becoming true. i've looked into the future of this blog. i've seen a world where gayreg spirals forever and i become the first cccru rpf warrior. to be honest i don't really want that for myself. the way i jregpost has already been described as mentally well and i only know a handful of loyal people who wouldn't unfollow me for the crime of shipping canadian youtubers. it's really an existential question. how far could i go? how far should i go? what are the limits of my mind? you ask me to write a gayreg manifesto. do you really think i'm serious enough about gayreg to do that?

[handonhaven]

I got to thinking things and now I have questions. I know none of these questions are at all important to the story at all. But this is just how my mind works at times lol.

So Landon and Cleo have been gone for about two weeks maybe. What I want to know is where did they get all these clothes from? I mean when Landon left he only brought a bookbag with him. That can only hold like what one, maybe two changes of clothes. And it didn't look like Cleo brought anything with her other than what she was wearing. Also where have they been staying? Or how have they been eating? It's not like they have any or very much money at all. And that can add up if you have to buy food everyday and renting a hotel/motel rooms. I know the obvious answer to this is magic or something like that. But at the same time I would like mention of it or something. Just like when Landon went into malivore at the end of 3x04 naked by the next time we saw him he's fully clothed.

Also after 3x15 how can people still say that Josie is a sweetheart? I'm sorry but I think she's far from it. I mean when she was 11 she read Lizzies diary claiming she wanted to understand what she was feeling as an excuse. But then went and showed it to other witches at the school. Causing Hope to overhear it and lose control of her magic and most likely caused the other witches to make fun of Lizzie behind her back. We already know about the fire she set to Hopes room. As well as everything else she's done since season 1. Who knows what else she might have done before the start of season 1. Look I'm glad the show is showing some more of the girls past trauma and acknowledging it. But when are they going acknowledge all the trauma Josie caused Hope and Lizzie? Because I'm getting a little tired of her always getting a free pass with that. I know that Josie does(or says) feels bad about it. But when will she make up for it or even I don't know say sorry for all the things she's done. I wish people would stop making excuses for her. Saying well she was just a kid. Or she was manipulated to do those things and under the control of black magic. She was 11 and 13 when she did those things in the past that's old enough to know better. Everything else she did that we know of she did when she was 16-17. That's definitely old enough to know better. And you can't blame it all on the black magic either. Because she wasn't under the control of black when she set Penelope on fire. Or when she made that girls nose bleed or when broke Ethan arms. I could go on but I think I made my point. I'm just tired of seeing her get a free pass all the time. It's just like when they give Lizzie a free pass all the time for all the terrible and horribly mean things she says to people. Because let's be honest at times she can be a real bully to people. I know she must have hurt people with the things she says.

I'm not bashing Lizzie and Josie or anything. I feel like they could really have the potential to be really great people when the grow up. But as of right now not so much. If I'm being honest Josie start it to go downhill in season 2 and Lizzie this season. I'm hoping next season will be better for the two.

That’s the kind of stuff I think about all the time haha. Have Landon and Cleo been gone for two weeks though? They’re never really clear on the time in this show, so I wasn’t sure. We know that 3x14 and 3x15 took place in one day and night, but who knows how much time was between 3x13 and 3x14, or between 3x15 and 3x16. But it seems they have been gone a good amount of time, so yeah, who knows where they got their clothes. Right? I don’t think Landon could’ve fit much in his backpack, and he left so suddenly too. Same with Cleo, it looked like she just had a backpack as well. Neither of them seemed very prepared to just go on the road for an indefinite amount of time. And also, Cleo had been in the artifact for how many hundreds of years? How is she even used to the modern world? She didn’t seem affected by anything at all when we first saw her, which would’ve been soon after she escaped. But she seemed pretty accustomed to everything, like surely she would never have been on a bus or know how all that works? Yet she was waiting at the bus stop, no big deal haha. And I’d guess they’ve been staying at motels? If that’s where they’re gonna be next episode, idk. But true, when it comes to eating, Cleo wouldn’t have money, but I think it’s possible that Landon might have some saved from when he worked at the grill, if anything? But still, that’s probably pretty limited. It’s all a bit ridiculous though, like Landon is nearly 20 years old, he might even be 20 already. Yet he doesn’t have a cell phone, a car, or anything. Neither does Hope. You’d think with all the money she must have from her family, that would provide all those things for both of them? So it’s strange. And maybe Cleo could be doing stuff with magic, though I’m not sure how, since it’s not like she can compel people. I feel like when it comes to details like these, the writers just don’t care. And I’m weird because I like knowing all the small details like that haha, but they’re so often ignored in so many shows, especially this one. And exactly! How on earth did Landon have clothes again after ending up in Malivore when he’d been naked? Malivore had made an ice cream shop for the Necromancer, did he make a clothing store too? It’s silly and makes no sense. And every time Landon would’ve died before, he should’ve come back naked because his clothes would’ve burned each time. Same thing with how in 3x10, when Hope was a werewolf and went back to her human form, she suddenly had clothes on. When in the past she’s been naked, and all throughout TVD and TO, Tyler, Hayley, etc. were all naked too. And Rayna Cruz as well, every time she was reborn. 😂 It’s like they don’t wanna bother with stuff like this anymore, because it’s inconvenient I guess?

And the whole thing with Josie is really frustrating. I agree with you. It’s annoying how they’ve written her this way, have revealed these things that she’s done, and it all continues to be excused. In the show, and with a lot of the fans. Yeah, once again we find out she hurt both Lizzie and Hope by doing something that was obviously wrong. Even if she really did only want to understand how Lizzie was feeling, what was her excuse for telling the other witches? As far as her starting the fire to Hope’s room, I can understand that more, when she panicked and it was an accident. But the way she handled it after is my main issue with that. She hurt both Lizzie and Hope again, and they both suffered for years because of it. And good point, who knows what else she may have done.

Yes, true, I’m glad they’re acknowledging their trauma as well, but exactly, they never acknowledge the fact that Josie caused so much of it, at least when it comes to their life at the school and being bullied and all that. I’m getting tired of her getting a free pass as well. It feels like the writers are so devoted to this perception of her they’ve created where she’s supposed to be so selfless and caring, that even when her actions contradict that, it’s ignored. She definitely needs to apologize or do something to make up for it. I mean, even in 1x12 when Hope and Lizzie found out what she did, she didn’t apologize I don’t think, she just seemed upset that they found out. And exactly, being younger doesn’t excuse what she did because she was old enough to know that what she did was wrong. So true, she was affected by black magic mostly at the end of season 2. She had been manipulated by Clarke in early season 2, which led to her breaking Ethan’s arm, but then afterward she said she had wanted to hurt him so... 😬 But yeah, I think besides what she did when she was dark Josie, she hasn’t really had to deal with the consequences of those other things she did.

And I totally agree with you about Lizzie as well. She’s definitely said horrible things to people, no one says anything about it. I guess because it’s “part of her personality” it’s okay? And also because a lot of what she says is written in a way that’s supposed to be comedic, so the fact that she is insulting people is dismissed because it’s “funny.” Idk, I know many people do think it’s funny, personally, I just don’t. Not my kind of humor, I guess. But yeah, very true, I think she has hurt people for sure. I think that was shown with the other students’ reactions at her “funeral.” Which I did not think was okay at all btw, that was messed up, but it did show that what she says has affected people. I mean, even with how she treats Landon, you can tell by his expressions that he does not like it. He just doesn’t say anything. So that’s an issue too that I doubt will ever be addressed since it’s so often used for humor, unfortunately.

But I get that. I know I’ve been negative about Lizzie and Josie and don’t mean to bash them either, I’ve just been bothered by a lot of what they’ve done. I also think they have potential too, and I think that’s why I get so disappointed by how they’ve acted at times. I loved them in TVD, so I was excited to see them older in this show. And it seemed like things were going in a fairly good direction with them in season 1, besides a couple things Josie had done that bothered me, but I still really liked both her and Lizzie. But yes, things did go downhill starting in season 2, for Josie in particular. And yep, Lizzie in this season too has definitely made my opinion of her change, sadly. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next with them. I do think it’s odd that it took 3 whole seasons just to get to the point they’re at now... but I do hope things will improve next season. I’m also curious to see if what they said to Hope last episode will be something they actually follow through on rather than just words, like has happened in the past. So I guess we’ll see! And wow, sorry that got long.

[sokkathebluewolf]

A review Why you do that? Making Sokka mention 28 in his vows now everyone think he slept around after the best time of his life? They both dont deserve this June slaves Hina Tylee now this Please don't make more girls fall for him involve with him feels like the whole fic turned around this Haru deserves better Tylee is flirting around

Don't get me wrong This is your fic and you can do anything you feel fit I'm merely giving an opinion ''cause Gladiator has things which you handled the best There is a Reason for this success I just hope this plus 1 girl thing in Sokkla relationship Stops But I always respect you with your great work(:

You do realize how utterly laughable it is to tell me “DON’T MAKE MORE GIRLS FALL FOR HIM IT FEELS LIKE THE WHOLE FIC IS TURNING AROUND” and then say “you can do anything you feel fit, I respect your work (:”, right?

This is not respect. This is not “constructive criticism”. This is not an opinion so important and valuable that it warrants being repeated about a million times across A YEAR. Most people? They give out their opinions, negative or positive, ONE TIME, and leave it be, because what matters to them is CONVEYING how they feel, not forcing a writer to constantly explain themselves or write whatever they would be comfortable with. Actually? Most people who have given me negative opinions so far have been like that, except one guy who was outright flaming my story because he wanted to wank to it, and he couldn’t believe he had to read 97 chapters to finally reach the smut. That I’m comparing you to this reader and reviewer is PROBABLY a bad sign, don’t you think?

Sokka didn’t MENTION 28: Sokka acknowledged his past mistakes because he’s a grown man who knows to feel remorse when he hurts people he loves. That he brings up having hurt her, to this day, isn’t in the purpose of going “HEY HEY AZULA REMEMBER WHEN I BROKE YOUR HEART LOL”, it’s in the purpose of saying: “I’ve learned from my mistakes and, as it has been for YEARS, I will devote myself to NEVER hurting you again”. That, anon, is a PERFECTLY VALID SENTIMENT for a wedding vow, and one that requires far more character growth and complexity than “Lol I’m so happy we were both virgins because that is the only kind of pure love that has ever been valid in the universe, anything else doesn’t count”.

Hell, you’ve literally made me go right back to the chapter to look at what he says, exactly: “I messed things up between us over my damn stupidity”, he... is literally beating himself up about this. To this day. He’s not talking about it proudly. And yet you’re here complaining as though he were?

SPOILER: More people will have feelings for Sokka in future chapters. In fact, I want to make it even MORE people than I’d originally planned after receiving all these asks. I’d rather derail my story into something you can’t stomach reading than cater to you. Azula will outright JOKE about being “jealous” in a future chapter, and Sokka will know it’s a joke! :D And I’m NOT lying about this to mess with you, it IS going to happen and your persistent asks absolutely WON’T make me alter my content. And why is it going to happen, you’ll ask? Why, because nice, charming, charismatic guys like Sokka attract people whether they want to or not. It’s what they DO about attracting others what matters to me! :’) And that Sokka rejects other people who attempt to be with him should be, I think, a much more important message about loyalty to someone you love than “I ONLY EVER ATTRACTED ONE PERSON IN MY LIFE AND MARRIED THEM”. Because I know that’s virtually the only thing you appear willing to accept, going by the first ask.

And holy crap, Ty Lee is... flirting around? Flirting around... with Haru. The guy she’s in a committed relationship with, whom she’s going to marry. The whole situation is meant to be insanely ironic considering Ty Lee is with the guy she SHOULD be with but it looks like it’s something else? (Hell, nobody even KNOWS it was Ty Lee, Mei Xun didn’t stick around long enough to discover the woman’s identity, so her reputation’s actually safe?) But you’re just so emotionally compromised by anything regarding Sokka being with anyone else, even if it’s 1. not true because he’s MILES away, with Azula 2. a joke 3. a plot device for a FUTURE EVENT, that you just can’t grasp this irony at all?

Ty Lee, by design in this story, has ALWAYS been pretty damn liberal about flirting and relationships. Despite we’ve mainly just heard such relationships mentioned on the side, rather than witnessing them directly, she is objectively the cast member who’s had the most relationships, whether serious or casual or just occasional, with other people. And even then, she’s getting married. Even when she’s had so many people in her past, she’s settling down with Haru for good. And Haru? Haru is THRILLED. Because he loves her. Because she loves him. Because HER past does NOT have a single thing to do with THEIR future. And yet you seriously read these chapters, where Ty Lee is having a lot of fun with her fiancé, and your brain just translated this as “OMG TY LEE IS A SLUT HARU DESERVES BETTER!”? Seriously?

I feel like I’m getting asks from a childish version of Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy. Everything that isn’t straightforward needs to be explained point by point, apparently, and even then, you don’t get it. I literally went to literature school and was told to write intelligent fiction so readers would feel compelled to unravel its complexities themselves... apparently that was a big fat lie? :’) Your persistence actually has convinced me that it is.

Oh and, for future reference (because I KNOW you’ll come back, that’s all you ever do): not because you throw compliments at me later to “cushion” your complaint does it mean you’re respecting me and my story. You can’t slap someone in the face and then go “Oh your cheeks are so plump that I bet it doesn’t hurt”. You can’t just disregard my request that you keep these sorts of questions to my PERSONAL blog rather than the fic’s blog, and pretend you respect me. You can’t come to me time after time with the same complaints and attitude, watch how I’ve basically gone from initially responding with discomfort (because, in my personal blog, there are MANY asks that predate yours, where I’d already explained my reasoning to someone else who apparently didn’t get it, which means the subject wears me out, A LOT), then seeing that I started ignoring your asks, then seeing I closed the inbox so I could regain some sense of normalcy in my life that you refused to let me reclaim, and then seeing that I’m answering with outright hostility, and pretend that it’s ME who has a problem. 

If someone I respected responded in any similar manner to ANYTHING I said to them, I’d basically feel like shit and never talk to them again because I don’t want to be a burden or a problem for someone whom I value in any way. You, apparently, would rather be a problem, and to no avail, because all you’re achieving so far is convincing me to continue writing things that will make you riot until you stop reading my story. If you CAN’T stop reading regardless of the horrifying, amoral, dreadful decisions I’ve made? Congratulations: you still don’t have the right to tell me what to do with my story. And until you GENUINELY understand that, your compliments don’t mean anything to me. I have readers I value who have conveyed complaints, MANY TIMES, in an actual respectful manner. Readers who are even bothered by the same thing you are. And yet I’m even FRIENDS with them. Imagine that :’) It’s almost like the problem isn’t having whatever opinion you do... but rather, the intent of IMPOSING your opinion constantly and persistently until you’ve driven me to lash out as bluntly and cruelly as I may! To the point I’m outright saying I’m going to rewrite my story into becoming EVERYTHING you don’t want it to be so you leave me alone!

And if you’re not the one who’s been here for a year, and this is not really an echo chamber (despite all of these messages have the same complaints, wording, tone, format, style, punctuation and grammar mistakes), yet you SAW that other people have been doing this for a long time, and thought it was PERFECTLY FINE to join the party? You’re no less of an asshole than the rest of them. No matter if it’s your first time voicing your “opinion”. Because it’s NOT about what you’re saying: it’s about HOW you’re saying it. It’s about trying to guilt trip me into writing whatever you want and claiming the story is going off the rails because something makes you personally uncomfortable. This is NOT objective criticism. This is SUBJECTIVE, ENTIRELY. This isn’t a real problem in storytelling, it’s a personal problem for you because it clashes with your moral values. And NO ONE is forcing you to continue consuming content that goes against your moral values, you’re choosing to do that yourself.

If you’re to live by any of the words you said in these two asks, make it “This is your fic and you can do anything you feel fit”. Because that’s literally what I’m going to do. It’s what I’ve done over EVERY complaint in poor faith I’ve gotten, ranging from “quit writing so much happiness it’s boring” to “where’s the sex you prude”. And it’s what I intend to continue doing. What kind of criticism do I value? “This particular scene features a factually contradictory line with a previous event”, such as Zuko claiming he never went to Sokka’s house when he in fact did, and I plain and simple FORGOT about it. What more kinds of criticism do I value? “You need to work out the Gladiator League’s system better because it’s not a solid business venture”, and this one was right? And yet it was too late to fix it, despite it’s 100% spot-on and I should’ve worked it out way better than I did. Another? “Sokka may have gotten over the fact that Azula captured him and tossed him in a slave market too easily”, because? It’s a perfectly valid sentiment? I disagree because Sokka is canonically shown to get over grudges relatively quickly, and yet I CAN see why it seems too fast for some people. What else do I value? Maybe suggestions on wording problems! I’ve made a lot of stupid wording mistakes, in virtue of being a non-native speaker. I’ve done my best to amend those, but it’s a work in progress even now.

Point and case being: in literature, and thus, in fanfiction? Constructive criticism isn’t “WRITE WHAT I WANT TO READ BECAUSE I WANT TO BE PERFECTLY COMFORTABLE WITH ALL I CONSUME”. Constructive criticism is given by people who KNOW storytelling. So I’d only consider it constructive criticism if it’s given by people who can read those chapters and see that the ENTIRE purpose of that conflict is to trigger growth and development as both Sokka and Azula realize their own mistakes and shortcomings with each other. So, someone who’s giving actual constructive criticism wouldn’t come to my inbox a million times with the same complaint... someone who’s giving constructive criticism would come to my inbox, ONE TIME, and say “Hey, maybe this alternative to conveying Azula is instinctively jealous over her canonical insecurities about being a monster and earning people’s love and loyalties COULD have been preferable, despite I know you can’t change that anymore as it’s fundamental for your story”, or “Hey, I thought of another way for Sokka to convey that he realized their interest in each other could result in something TERRIBLE if they ever acted on their feelings, a way for him to not act on that specific impulse to flirt with Suki to push away Azula, but to act on ANOTHER, believable, IC Sokka-compliant impulse that might still convey exactly what you needed to”. But again, even if it were complaints like THESE? I can’t change anything anymore. It’s TOO LATE. If I think it’s too late to fix Zuko saying “lol I never went to Sokka’s house” when it’s not true? It’s WAY TOO LATE to rewrite chapters that are over SEVEN years old, and I don’t even want to do it to begin with. But I WOULD concede these criticisms. I would accept them. I wouldn’t consider them offensive to me, or my work, or disrespectful in any way.

Constructive criticism is NOT about forcing an author to agree with you, or to do whatever you ask them to. Constructive criticism is about helping an author convey what they were conveying in a better, smoother way. If you CAN’T understand what the author was conveying? You don’t qualify for offering constructive criticism. If you need explanations as to why the author did anything they did? You’re, again, not qualified to offer constructive criticism. Your criticism, in any such cases, is NOT constructive, no matter what you’re telling yourself. This is a VERY important distinction, and one you can’t pretend isn’t valid just by throwing a bunch of compliments at me after telling me I’m ruining my story.

Until the day you DO understand the difference between constructive criticism, and subjective complaints? Your opinions will not be considered valuable enough to affect my story in a positive way. And the more disrespectful you show yourself, by continuing to disregard my DIRECT request for you to stop coming back with these complaints, as well as the direct request to stop sending these questions to this blog? The less your opinions will count for me. I don’t bend over backwards for anyone. And I’m definitely not going to do it for you.

[minghaoss-archive]

elysian ♡nakamoto yuta(m)

teaser

summary: crisp summer days in a foreign country and a terrible heartbreak.

or in which nakamoto yuta is your first everything.

pairing : nct yuta x female reader

warnings : exhibitionism kink, fingering.

banner made by the kindest @lovingyong

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The airplane's icy cold conditioning compels you to snuggle into the cheap purple blanket. Flights are not your best companion. Especially when it's past midnight. Given your aviophobia, you always grow nauseous or fidgety and the mundane sight of the night sky does nothing to distract you too.

But today your fears take a back seat because the sky is a brilliant gray, stitched generously with numberless diamonds and your trembling hand is clasped tightly by long, warm fingers.

Which belong to man who has your toes curling.

Yuta.

You try not to think too hard about how close Yuta is to you. His cologne wafts into your nostrils, hypnotizing you, luring you into his touch.

You hope he doesn't take notice of just how much he affects you because it's daunting, how your heart hammers in your chest when he's around you, how your head feels light, how your skin burns under his - and he's not even trying.

Had your love for your best friend, Mark been so shallow that you'd begun to forget what he'd done just in a matter of a week? What if Yuta betrays you just like he had? How do you trust him? It's too soon for you to move on. It's too soon and all too petrifying.

Yuta will hurt you and you can't let him affect you this much yet. Because who could love you? You don't even fit into the world of romantics with your empty list of experiences. He had been with girls before, like everyone else and you hadn't. How do you know he wasn't going to take advantage of you like Mark had?

Contradicted, suspicious and insecure, just as you had been since the day you've known him, you unlace your hand from his.

You need time.

He makes you want to fall in love again and it's too soon, you ponder whilst watching cottony clouds disappear into the indigo streaks of a departing night.

Peaceful it is, nature. It takes your mind off things. Serene. The sapphire strokes of midnight has you love struck. So tranquil that it almost blurs out the vivid memory of your shared kiss. Almost.

You hiss when a frosty set of digits graze your bare thighs. "What are you looking at?" He chuckles into your ear, voice low as his fingers dance around the supple skin. "Are you ignoring me again, baby?"

You're convinced words are an alien language when the digits ride up your skirt and rest at the lining of your underwear. There's a shift in the purply blanket, a prominent bulge of his fingers.

You freeze when attendance carries a snack trolley past the pair of you, afraid the lining of his hand under the blanket would make the dirty little act look less like innocent hand holding, even though the entire lounge is lit only by a faint yellow light overhead.

"Yuta, what-t are you doing?" He calmly plugs in your headphones with his idle hand, routing your tele to the entertainment channel. "I told you I hate being ignored." Yuta hums nonchalantly, as if he isn't running his fingers along your folds.

A cool puff of his breath, his fingers tucking a strand behind your ear. The way his adam's apple bobs when your wetness dampens his fingers- it's all you can think about. It's all you know.

"Why don't you just let me have you?" His teeth nibble down on your earlobe, eliciting a low mewl from you. Your eyes are glossed over whilst you whisper his name, and only his name. He's all you can think about. "Do you think about Mark this way?" You shake your head a no as he quickens the pace of his rubs.

He simpers against the reddened flesh, continuing to push your underwear aside."You're going to be quiet for me, yeah? Don't want everyone to hear you, do you?"

"Yuta." You lightly grasp onto his wrist, eyes glued the side of his jaw. His pupils are splendidly shiny, pitch black as he looks to you with an inscrutable expression on his face. "Or you want them to know what happens when you ignore me? Do you want him to know what he's missing?" Your body jolts forward into his hand while he rubs your clit in slow circles. His head is tilted towards the younger boy who watches Cinderella with widened, child-like eyes.

You can barely formulate words, your vision blurs, as he rolls his thumb on your sensitive little nub. You can't think about anything other than Yuta and he knows this all too well. "You're so pretty, angel. Such a pretty cunt." He grins proudly, shifting the blanket to get a good look at you, his arm flexes with a particularly rough press of his fingers when you mutter a low profanity under your breath.

"Do you want me to stop, princess?" You'd be lying if you said it didn't excite you. Mostly because you've never done something like this before. Mostly because it was Yuta who is doing it to you.

It feels surreal when he touches you. Be it a gesture as simple as holding your hand or something as intimate as fucking you with his fingers.

His lips ghost over the corner of your mouth, raven hair falling over his eyes as he watches the way your lips twist into a tight 'O' with each flick of his thumb, "Kiss me. Please." His sharp gaze softens at your desperate ask. As if he wanted to spoil you..as if he'd give you everything you wanted had you just asked.

He briefly pulls his fingers away, to press a nimble kiss to your lips. Like he needs it, like he needs your touch, your mouth, the familiar taste of coffee and yoghurt. The taste he's been looking to have on his tongue from the first day he's kissed you. He holds you like he doesn't know how to go on without you. As if he needs you and only you. Like he can't get enough of you, your kisses, your moans, your cunt.

You're so innocent and all he wants is to ruin you. Spoil you with everything he has.

He hums against your lips, tugging you back by a light pull of your hair.

His slick fingers push into his mouth once he's pulled away, eyes never leaving yours. The lewd sight of Yuta's spit collecting around the sopping fingers has you pressing your thighs together.

You can't believe Nakamoto Yuta, your senior at college, is wrapped around your finger. With his mouth swollen and the way he smiles with your wetness smeared on his pretty little mouth - like there's not a force in this world that could make him wipe it off. "Please." You whine, coaxing him to resume. You want him. You want all of him.

"Keep your eyes on the tele." You bite into your bottom lip as the blue screen lights your face up.

The sight is something Yuta wishes to have captured and taken with him for the rest of his life. Your brows are bunched up as you whimper lowly under your breath, there's an unmistakable imperial red color dusting along the apples of your cheeks.

His fingers are dragged back continuously and pushed right into your core. You gyrate your hips into his hand but he presses you right back down. "Stop moving so much, baby, they'll know."

Warmth coils inside your stomach and build and builds till he curls his fingers along that sweet spot of yours that makes you see stars.

Yuta presses a kiss to your heated cheek when you loll your head back into the seat. "Good girl." You sigh, chest rising and falling at the after effect of your high.

"You okay?" comes Mark's voice, a voice you can barely hear. "Mhm." You whimper in oversensitivity.

You've been ignoring him for an entire week and now is no different, he thinks initially as you barely answer. Still, looks to you in confusion, curious he is, knowing your fear of flying.

Sure, he had broken your heart but he still wouldn't want you to be afraid. But little did he know.

A heavy feeling of hurt forms in his chest for a reason he can't quite explain. Didn't he kiss another girl when he knew you were in love with him? Had he loved you back? Had he been to scared then?

Mark identifies this feeling as defeat, as jealousy when he looks to the charming male sat beside you. Had he lost you for good? Are you really okay? He looks to you with concern written all over his face, disregarding his ill musings with a shake of his head. He had you for all himself. Even though he didn't love you back.

Though it's only when your seating mate looks to him, does he realize just how wrong he is. There's a rubicund tint across his nape whilst his brows rise and fall in realization. Yuta licks off his index with a pop and winks at Mark. "Sweet." He says to him before turning to kiss the crown of your head. "My angel's so sweet."

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a/n let me know what you think, I'll post the entire story if you guys like it only. D: otherwise.... this is it afdjgkjl sorry :c

[jinxofthedesert]

Hi there!!! It is the same anon that requested some fic recs ☺ Thank you so much! I may give them a read! They look very interesting! But tbh I'm looking for fics that deal with some more in-depth approach to the twins' psychology and character (I don't mind the romance. In fact, I think it's a really interesting plus to the story when handled well).

(Below this is the rest of the messages, put together. Farther down, below the line, are my responses)  

 I’ve usually seen that the twins are portrayed as soft, loving and caring guys with their partners without real motives for such drastic change of dynamics in their twisted personalities. I mean, the usual Valeska centered fic goes like this: they meet the OC in Arkham or during their childhood in the circus and for some reason they reunite in the present, and then it is just the twins somehow falling for them, changing their whole way of being and only wanting to bang the OC the whole time (without taking into account the lack of the OC's inner conflict about loving such twisted men, because these OCs usually are "sane" and good people that somehow are dragged into the twins' world and for some reason they just fall in love with them without questioning it). But for me the least realistic thing about these fics is that the twins become super nice guys all of a sudden. I mean of course there can be character develoment and growth (up to a certain point), but I haven't really found a story that contains such deep explanation. Let's face it, they're still psychos no matter what, even if they have a partner.  In the last season we get a glimpse of how Jeremiah treats Ecco, someone that he used to appreciate and care for deeply, and she still meant little to him. So it doesn't add up to me when the twins are magically turned into these super sweet caring guys while their twisted, evil and manipulative side is completely ignored. I am not saying they can't love, I am just saying that they surely have their own twisted perception of what love is 🤔 Sorry for my rambling, damn, it took soooooo many comments hahaha!!! OMG, Sorry!😂😂 I had a LOT to say 😂😂😂 But I just find these characters very interesting and I would love to read a story with a more realistic approach to the construction of their personalities (and their twisted way of loving too!). Let me know, please, if you happen to know about some fics/authors 😘 thanks again! 

- - - - - - - - -  Hi again, anon! I’m sorry my list of content in the previous ask wasn’t exactly what you were looking/hoping for. As of right now, besides the ones I sent you that may delve a little bit below the surface, I can’t think of a true ‘character study’ type story that I have read so far. But, again, I usually stay in the area of romance so I wouldn’t be surprised if there are such fics out there under a different genre.

I’ll be quite honest, it’s been a very long time since I’ve read any oc/(input character here), including ones with the twins. Normally, I forget they exist until someone brings it up or I stumble across one on Tumblr accidentally. I do agree, the twins suddenly changing for an OC (or anyone) can be a bit unrealistic but from my years of reading and writing, creating stories with such things is a bit of ‘wish fulfillment’ which, to be honest, isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes a reader just needs content that is kind of good-feeling type fic (though not in a sense of how murderous the twins can be but in them getting some kind of positivity in their lives, whether it be through an OC or another character in the universe). When I wrote Oc’s at the beginning, it was either wish fulfillment for me or simply just wanting these characters I adored to finally have some kind of happy ending which they probably did not deserve, at all. 

A reason you might not find such content is also because, character studies are hard. Especially if you don’t have a complete picture of the character. With the twins, a lot is just coming up with stuff, imaging their past and how it still affects them, even if, on the upper layer we’re shown, doesn’t portray those scars left behind. 

With Oc’s, they can usually be pretty hit or miss. It’s not like you’re taking an already known character with known flaws and putting them in your story. Those characters have a foundation already built. For an Oc, the writer has to literally make someone from the ground up, which is equally as hard without making them seem too whiny, too mary-sue like, or just too problematic. This can leave a lot to be desired which can create something unrealistic as well. That’s why I usually only look for content centered around characters from the show, instead of Oc’s; like with Bruce and the twins because canon-wise there is already something there (depending on how you look at it and write it). 

In regard to Ecco: firstly, I think it’s arguable what type of relationship she even has with Jeremiah when we first are introduced to them. We’re shown some concern on his end when she’s clearly been hypnotized but this can be seen as a boss concerned for an employee, an employee who he’s probably had for awhile now and is one of the very rare few who he trusts to an extent. However, we just don’t know much of anything about their relationship or past together. She might have hardly seen him, only contacting him through phone calls and text messages; she may have only brought him supplies through the maze and never was in his inner personal areas. This treatment is all possible given how Jeremiah is quite literally a paranoid mess before the spray, no matter how well put-together he appears. And, if we’re to compare this to his eventual obsession with Bruce Wayne, we can take a guess that Jeremiah and Ecco probably didn’t get very deep with this connection they had. Mainly because with just a few compliments, Jeremiah is invested in Bruce, something we don’t see with Ecco before or after the spray. So we have Bruce enter the picture (someone who has run into his twin on multiple occasions, a fact Jeremiah must know to some extent with his paranoia probably leading him to constantly check newspapers and the news for info on Jerome) and, if you look at things from Jeremiah’s perspective, besides complimenting him, Bruce looks at him and only sees Jeremiah. And this would be baffling to Jeremiah if he knows the affect Jerome has had on Bruce, for him to look at Jeremiah and not see his twin after everything would be just as big a compliment as anything because it’s differentiating him from his twin. Someone who has probably feared being compared to his brother, for people to look at him and only see Jerome (such as what occurs with Jim and Harvey only hours prior). Because of this, when compared to Ecco, we can deduce that either their conversations never went in such a direction, or she hardly had the extended physical contact to ever bring up Jerome or compare or compliment. If so, it’s possible with how Jeremiah is that something similar could have happened with Ecco. And this eventually leads into the spray where his only true attachment is not Ecco but with Bruce, especially, after his initial spray, Jeremiah’s hatred for Jerome is far worse than it had been before, making Bruce’s assessment of Jeremiah simply being himself and not his brother, far more endearing as well. So, in comparison to Bruce, Ecco means absolutely nothing to him, a means to an end. 

I’ll admit, reading content where the twins are somehow in a relationship (with an oc or canon character) while still being rather insane, are quite interesting. However, for stuff like that to work in a compelling and ‘actual’ way, characters like that have to be bent because these characters logistically working in that kind of environment may never be realistic anyways. This can be worked around of course, but it takes so much time and effort; even now, as I write my stories for Gotham, I’m still trying to work around how to make these ships work for the twins because they’re stubborn and although they have obsessions they, at their cores are not good people and while they may try, seriously try to better themselves, there will always be slip-ups.

I do agree, they can love but it would always be twisted in some way or another (look no further than Jeremiah with Bruce). They’re also a lot of fun to take apart and analyze or try and come up with a type of background that works with all the hints we’ve been given. Background-wise, the twins are really something a writer can make their own which is an interesting concept.

This turned more so into a long ramble of writing and Ocs and lots of Gotham lol but anyways, I wish I could give you a story to fit your needs. I quite hate when I have an itch for certain fics and I either can’t find them or the number of fics is so daunting that I don’t dare even try. I would recommend just going through them, possibly looking for complete content first, or ones with high hits or kudos (depending on the site you’re searching on) because I don’t have any at the moment I can suggest. 

(Honestly the ideas for the twins never stop coming lol, perks of their backgrounds and everything else being so hazy.)

I hope some of this message was at least interesting lol and I do wish you luck in finding good twin content that delves into their character or, maybe you’ll get lucky and someone will publish something like that soon! Either way, I hope you find something 😘

[rixxy8173571m3w1p3]

The Little Big Things (2/4)

(@ricksanchezdwc) So like we had done not too long ago, me, @hoodoo12 @porkchop-ao3 @rickstexaschick are doing the same prompt cause we all loved the idea. Thanks to @dorklyevil for allowing me to use a line from one of her comics. And I didn't mention it before, but this story references Labyrinth, and it follows the events of this fic As The World Falls Down.

This is part 2. If you haven't read part one then read it here. (Read Part1 Here)

________________

Chapter 2: The Scientist Who Became A King

Here, it was evergreen, and it never rained.

You had never known a time without the tears of God; the rain, which washed the earth clean of its trials, and its yesterdays, welcoming the oncoming morrows ever to come. Though, there was a time, you did without it, and you longed for it, and the places it touched upon; once upon a dream.

“Rick,” you wondered, as you did about many things. “does it rain here?”

“Only during certain seasons. I-I know there is a lake on the west side of this planet, but it's - it's a-a bit far from here. Why d-do you ask?”

“Hmm, I was just wondering.”

“Hohoho,” he chuckled. “as y-you should. Curiosity means a-a desire t-to learn or know about anything, and it isn't - I-I-I don't dislike it. ” He admitted with a wink. “Just in case y-you were wondering.”

You pouted, which made him laugh, a full on belly laugh. The little tease, perhaps the Rick in him couldn't resist.

______________

Side glances, soft smiles, random stories from Citadel, he was in another one of his talkative, happy go lucky moods. Blame it on the scenery, or you telling him an hour or so ago how cute he was, but he was running on happiness. “And th-thats how I-I got this lucky penny.”

Holding your hand out, you giggled. “Can I hold it? Maybe something good will happen.”

Glancing between you and the penny, he placed a quick peck on your cheek and dropped the coin on your palm. With a blush, he replied softly. “F-for extra luck.”

You gave it back, and continued walking, allowing him to wait anxiously, before blowing back a kiss that made him tear up a little. Damn it he was cute. Perhaps, you felt uninhibited, though Zeta-7 had that effect on you a great deal of the time; that or you two really were being affected by the environment. You two walked among enormous flowers for what seemed like hours.

The blood red blossoms drooped heavily from above, their faces turned down towards your tiny forms; their blessings hidden in the wind and its whispers. For a while you couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity. It was as though the world around you was calling for you to return. You wanted to roll around, and tumble down hill, and the flowers gave you the strongest sense to climb them; their perfume thick and sweet, emitting a soft, amber glow. Petals drifted down like leaves falling in autumn. Each time one touched the ground, a soft sound could be heard; like a chord being struck on a harp. A great symphony was all around you two, with no beginning or end. Feelings of deep peace and satisfaction were within you; as well as nostalgia from false memories.

The thing about memories, they were like homemade movies; messy and out of focus, with the select few which were hidden gems, located in the corners of the basement in a random cardboard box; only remembered when stumbled upon. Though, if you closed your eyes, you would be back there, in that place where you had lived a second lifetime. And you'd remember that as charming as it had been, it truly was melancholic; like the rain. You'd remember the days you were almost a princess, and the loneliness of the mountain.

At the very top of the white capped mountains, it would sometimes rain for days, especially on the ones when you were the saddest; perhaps the mountain king had his own sadness too.

It made you wonder, if it was because Zeta-7 had been longing for you, or if he knew you were longing for him. For now, observing him, and seeing him happy, made you hope it really wasn't all that bad for him. If it had been, you would do all you could to make it better.

________________________

The ground was soft, and with every step you took, you'd sink a little into the moss pillows before bouncing back up; a lilting tune encouraging your playfulness. This place had a charm akin to the forest in the middle of spring, whose flowers and trees had spread themselves to enjoy the filtered beams of light. Of course, if you replaced the trees with flowers, and the light with that of bioluminescent pollen, then there wouldn't be much difference. Oh, that opened up a whole other line of questions which you could ask later, but for now you were giddy, and every time you bounced back up, you'd erupt into a fit of giggles. A few times, Zeta-7 had to stop and make sure you didn't hurt yourself, but for the most part, he'd stand back and watch, or take pictures of your amusement. A few times, you caught him wiping at his eyes, but he'd say it was nothing; you knew better of course, but let him be.

Later, there was laughter in his voice when he said, “Y-y-y-y-you enjoying yourself?”

You nodded in between giggles, and when you had enough, you stepped off the moss, and leaned against one of the flowers stems, breathless and tired. My, how the light filtered through the canopy of leaves, the low humidity, the intoxicating scent, and the view made you wistful. “The garden fairies had told me about a place like this once, as well as...” you faltered, suddenly afraid of triggering bad memories.

Though, he picked up where you left off. “A-a place you saw once upon a dream?”

“Yeah. Um, is it okay to talk about it?”

With his back towards you, Rick nodded as he unpacked the contents of his backpack in search for a snack. “If y-you want to.”

Sometimes, his passive responses stopped you from talking any further. You assumed it was a trait he had picked up or learned in order to avoid drawing attention to himself or to stay out of trouble, but it also made you uncomfortable at times. If he wasn't interested, then usually you would avoid the subject, but this time you carried on; even if with reluctance. “We haven't talked much about it since it happened.”

“I-I know.” His voice picking up that endless guilt.

“It's not one of those things that's going to go away,” You sighed. “and to be honest, I haven't gotten over it.”

Everything that had happened, at least the parts you remembered, you didn't want to forget. Well, except for the loneliness; you didn't like that part. In a dream, you had a family, friends, and almost became a queen, but what did you almost lose in order gain all that? Forgetting Rick? Almost losing your life? The lesser of two evils was your current life, but it didn't always feel that way.

You rubbed your arm, suddenly finding your shoes a bit interesting. “Am I supposed to bring it up casually, or what?”

“Do what y-y-you think is right I ugh - I suppose.”

“That's sort of the problem. I don't know what's right anymore” This caught his attention, as he had stopped moving, and soon after began to wring his hands. Damn, you needed to remember to control your tone. You continued, in a gentler tone. “You take me to these dazzling, wonderful places, and we usually go home happy and tired, with a handful of stories to add to our memory jars, and I enjoy that, and what we do. However,” You paused, nibbling your bottom lip in hopes of finding something better to say, but continued on. “there's something we haven't addressed, and that's me, and how what I do affects you. When we flirt with death, and get injured, because I wanted a good photo or something, how come you don't get mad? I mean, you deserve to after you went on a journey that could have been avoided in the first place if I would've listened. And forgive me if I sound shrill, but I almost forgot you. Doesn't that bother you?”

Placing the items back in his pack, and slipping it over his shoulders, he stood there so frighteningly still, you wondered if you had finally crossed the line. Then, he took out the penny he talked about a few hours ago, and gave it a squeeze. “It - it does, but y-you didn't forget me. At least not completely, and I-I-I guess I left a deeper impression then I had pr-previously believed..”

“But if I would have? Don't you see, I'm not prepared for this. We've gone over the other hypothetical, important what not, but not about the incident, at least not in detail. And I think it's about time we do, that way we're both aware of what not to do next time, and how I can avoid making an ass of myself. Don't you agree?”

Turning around, the lines around Zeta-7s eyes deepened, as well as the creases of his forehead, and there was a pensive cloudiness of his usually electric blues. The sweet songs around you had transitioned almost without your notice. Adagio, the melody now reminded you Clair De Lune, and Gymnopédie. “Well, I-I-I-I thought you - I assumed it made you uncomfortable, and that's the last thing that I'd ever want you t-t-to feel. W-w-we can talk if you're - you're ready.”

“If I'm ready? Are you?”

“P-p-possibly.”

“Honestly, I am uncomfortable talking about this,” you admitted, which compelled him to pull you close, rubbing your back in soothing circles. Enveloped in the warmth of the man you loved, and a distance away from everything else which could possibly hurt you, you second guessed on whether it really was a good time to think of it again, but how else would you two get past this? You continued, in that small, girlish voice that pained him. “but it's not because of what happened to me. I couldn't care less if I had gotten hurt, but if it meant hurting you, and if what I've put you through has, then I wish I hadn't been so careless. I thought I had it all together, and knew what I was doing, but all I seem to do is give you trouble. God, I'm such idiot.”

“Shh,” he cooed, brushing away a lock of hair. “th-thats not true. Y-you're thoughtful, and - and perceptive, and s-s-so clever.”

“What have I ever done that's so clever?”

Leaning forward until your foreheads touched, he confessed. “Y-y-y-y-you got me to - to loosen up and try new things, and showed me its okay to get e-emotional. Why, y-you even brought me t-t-to the moon without ever leaving the ground.”

“What do you mean?”

“I-I-I have wanted many things during my life,” he admitted, pulling back enough to study you. “but none of them have been as - as wonderful as you. And I've - you know that I've traveled across the universe, but it's usually been alone

I'm - I-I-I don't want to be alone anymore. Having you around has inspired me t-t-to get back in touch with my surroundings a-and the world, but I - you're m-my world. Gosh,” he blushed as he caressed your cheek, his thumb brushing away fresh tears. “you're - you really are more beautiful than the night and stars combined, and y-y-you don't even know it. Y-you're my satellite, m-m-mi Luna, and it takes a strong women to put up with me. You're my treasure, and I'd - I'd do anything t-t-to protect you. That's why I-I-I-I chose t-to do it, to go and find you. We're all w-we got, and despite what I thought might of - of happened, I'm s-s-so happy I found you, and that you're safe. W-w-with me.”

“What did you think would happen?”

With serious, but tender eyes, Zeta-7 answered. “Th-that you would have forgotten me completely, and never woken up.”

“And?”

He cleared his throat in the manner he did from time to time, trying to piece together the right words that wouldn't upset you. In a voice above a whisper, he finished. “And p-p-p-passed away.”

“Oh.”

“Th-that blue moss did a-a number on you, but there doesn't seem to be any residual side effects. I'm glad a-about that.”

“What if I would've had brain damage? What then?”

Jokingly, he answered. “Hmm, then I guess I-I would've gone back and used Mr. Needfuls gift.”

“You…..you would've done that for me? No, that's outrageous. If you did that, then you wouldn't have been able to do your science stuff.”

With a shrug, he softened. “Th-that's true, but we would have had other stuff w-we could do, and I-I-I still would love you. Diminished intelligence d-doesn't affect happiness. On the contrary, we'd only focus on - on what truly matters. That, and I'd have the joy t-to learn it all over again.”

“Rick, I love it when you get cheesy, but you couldn't mean all that.”

“I-I-I do, but it's okay if you don't believe it. I'll - I'll prove it, but for now let's not - not think about it too hard. Everything bad th-that happened, we'll - we'll talk about it and g-get through it. T-t-together.”

“So, I can ask whatever I want?”

“Y-y-yes, wherever, whenever.”

You knew he meant it to sound sweet, but it took a moment for it to sink in what he actually said, and you couldn't help it when you giggled. “Rick, I'm pretty sure that's the title of a Shakira song.”

“Hohoho, r-really? Was she on - on American idol?”

His obliviousness only made it worse. How cute. You really were lucky to have him, this patient dork of a man. “No, but nevermind that. I'm glad I still have you too.”

“I'm glad y-you're still as adorable and lovely as - as ever.”

Giving him a playful shove, despite the heat in your cheeks, you hid your face in the scratchy fabric of his linen shirt,. “Rick, how can you say stuff like that with a straight face?”

In his matter of fact way, he answered. “B-because I mean it.”

This man really would one day kill you with kindness, and this time it was your vines which stretched out, wrapping themselves on his arm, and it's flowers kissing wherever they could touch; his neck, cheeks, eyes, forehead, and mouth. It was amusing to watch him laugh and squirm, which encouraged his vines to do the same to you, but you two pulled back a little, and they returned to place, and behaved; at least for the moment.

________________

Rick decided to call the silly, cheeky, little vines from your matching bracelets Ioculus vines, which meant funny if you heard him correctly. Anyway, they were mischievous, and had minds of their own; or so you said, because you didn't want to admit how fun it was to tease Rick. Why, he might have been in the middle of an explanation, and they'd by climbing up his arm, and across his back, but he'd only squirm and continue. Though, the one time your Ioculus managed to kiss the back of his neck, he jumped back so violently, you'd swear he had seen a ghost. And watching him lightly scold the Ioculus as though they were children, then apologize for getting annoyed at them, not only made you laugh wholeheartedly, but it made you imagine him as a father, and what it would be like if he had to be a disciplinarian.

Perhaps it was but your girlish dream at work, but you could see him playing with two or three kids, telling them stories, showing them the magic of science. If they misbehaved, he'd take them aside, and explain why they might be getting disciplined, but never out of anger, and always reassure them that it was all out of love, and that he'd always care for them. And if you were honest with yourself, you pictured yourself sitting on his lap, after they had gone to bed, listening to how his day was, and how much he missed you. And you'd tell him….. Oh, but those were just thoughts; and you imagined a lot of things.

You wondered if the ioculus worked like mood rings and acted upon your feelings for each other. Did they know what the heart truly wanted? Because, as long as the two of you were close, the vines along your wrists seemed to interact with one another, but when Zeta-7 distanced himself, the blooms growth was stunted, and withered a little. And after a while, whether it had to do with the sensory overload, or your bending the forces according to your will, you were drained. “Rick, is it okay to rest for a while?”

“Of - of course.”

Leading you by the hand, he took a moment to spread out a blanket and you proceeded by laying beside him, feeling more worn out then you had anticipated. “Ughhh, I'm so tired. Honestly, when we get home, I might just go straight to bed.”

“Do y-y-you want to go home now?”

“No, I’ll be fine if I rest for a while.”

“Are you hungry? D-do you want a snack? I-I have fruit, sandwiches, and I-I even brought granola.”

“Maybe later.” you yawned. “Come here, I want to use your chest as a pillow.”

Carefully, he laid back, making a little old man sound as he settled himself. With your head resting above his heart, you kept quiet for a little while, listening to his heartbeat, the plants around you, and the Ioculus interact. When they did this, there was a sense of completeness, and you'd look at Zeta-7 and wonder how you could adore him so much. The way he wrinkled his nose, his ever changing expressions, soft skin, his sweetness, his everything; you adored it all. Aware of how vulnerable you've become with him, you just want to melt into him, and give him everything; anything that would make him happy. “Rick?”

“Yeah?”

Tentatively, you combed his hair with your fingers, gauging his response as you traced shapes lazily along his scalp. “Are you happy?”

He chuckled, draping an arm over you, answering softly. “When I-I'm with you I am.”

“Flirt. What about your hair, who cuts it?”

“I-I do. Why,” he tensed. “sh-should I change it?”

Brushing his bangs away from his forehead, you pressed a kiss on his brow. “No, I like it this way. It's part of your charm. I guess I was just curious, because it's not even in the back.”

“Oh that, well it's - it's not always easy t-to reach it.”

“Do you mind if I help you next time? I wouldn't want you to go out, not looking your sharpest.”

“I - I don't mind.”

“You'd probably mind if I kissed whatever I could reach. Especially right here.” you softened, pressing a light kiss on his neck which made his heart beat faster.

“I - I do mind that, but it's - I-I-I'm sure you'll probably just tease a-a-a little.”

“You're right, but I might surprise you. Maybe, I won't try anything and I'll just cut your hair. You'll just have to wait and see. Though, this isn't what I meant to talk about.”

“I ugh - I-I didn't think so. What's on y-your mind? You can tell me, if y-you want.”

Snuggling yourself closer, you wondered.“When you were in my dream, you knew about me, but I knew little to nothing about you. How did you become the mountain king? I mean, you don't seem like the type to rule or lord over anyone. So, how did that happen?”

“Oh, it's - are y-y-you sure you want to hear it?”

“I do.”

Caressing your hair, he sighed. “I-I will admit, that it - it wasn't as exciting as y-you think it was, but if y-y-you are sure, then I'll tell it.”

“I am, but tell me just the good parts. Oh, and the parts with me in it. ”

His blue eyes shone with amusement, as he kissed your temple. “O-o-okay just th-the good parts then."

TBC

[antoine-roquentin]

Since the 2016 election, national media outlets have been on a constant expedition in pursuit of that most elusive of specimens: Any of the nearly 63 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump. Braving such far-flung locales as Staten Island, reporters have sought evidence that Republican voters indeed voted for a Republican president. So far, the consensus appears to be that electing Donald Trump required someone to like his politics enough to vote for him.

Many of the pieces searching for the reasons for Trump’s rise and stubborn popularity among GOP voters defy satire. These are boom times for maudlin amateur sociology. Anywhere that codes as “white” and/or “rural” must now be rediscovered as if it were a lost civilization once swallowed by the sands of Obergefell v. Hodges. Half the time, the takes are just wrong. As Alex Nichols writes, pickup trucks, a cherished symbol of country life to urban media commentators, are in fact expensive and a staple of the white upper-middle-class: “Anyone with roots in the suburbs can testify that many a cul-de-sac is now lined with beefed-up Rams and Silverados used solely to commute to air-conditioned office jobs. What out-of-touch columnists consider bona-fide symbols of working-class authenticity are often just the hallmarks of well-off white suburbanites.”

Well-off white suburbanites are Trump’s true base, as they’ve been the base of every Republican president since at least Nixon. That the Republican Party has loyal voters and can rally them for even a controversial candidate appears to be a truth that eludes New York Times columnists. Still, talking to some Trump voters might indeed yield insights. The broad left-of-center may or may not be taking the right lessons from voters who went from Obama to Trump, for example, but it’s worth asking why they did.

Yet the most compelling anecdotes about the election have come from reporting about those who didn’t turn out at all. More than eight months after its publication, a New York Times story titled “Many in a Milwaukee Neighborhood Didn’t Vote—and Don’t Regret It” might still be the best source of searing quotes about the Hillary Clinton campaign’s failures in key Rust Belt states. It’s hard to argue when a barber who twice voted for Obama and has struggled to find workable health insurance pairs his declaration that he didn’t vote with the line, “Ain’t none of this been working.”  Maybe someone should ask him what he thinks would work.

Or we could ask why a dude in rural California is looking soulfully out his window.

“California’s Far North Deplores ‘Tyranny’ of the Urban Majority” leads with a baleful photo of a megachurch pastor in the shadow of three stuffed deer heads, helpfully captioned, “Eric Johnson at Bethel Church in Redding, Calif., not the California of ���Baywatch’ fame.” The piece goes on to cite a movement to establish a breakaway state called Jefferson and the vague grievances of a retired pilot who can afford what appears to be a hobby ranch full of horses and bison. Halfway through, we get this stunning line: “But perhaps nowhere else in California is the alienation felt more keenly than in the far north, an arresting panorama of fields filled with wildflowers and depopulated one-street towns that have never recovered from the gold rush.” The biggest California gold rush ended in 1855. If Trump wins a second term, maybe reporters will get around to asking Atlanta residents whether anything has changed since their city was burned down by General Sherman.

In a recent issue of The New Yorker, red voters in a blue state get the longform treatment. Peter Hessler reports from Grand Junction, Colorado, a boom-and-bust energy industry city on the far side of the mountains from the thriving Denver area. The headline reads, “How Trump is Transforming Rural America.” Even though Hessler is as circumspect and shy of caricature as you’d expect from a writer who’s done incisive dispatches about places as different as China, Egypt, and the United Kingdom, we know from the get-go that this will be a voyage of discovery. It’s not enough for Trump to make sense within existing partisan logic; he must be the harbinger of something new and angry.

Hessler paints a picture of an energized local GOP base that embraced Trump’s irreverence and sense of grievance. Western Slope Trump supporters even replicated the candidate’s sparring with the media in a battle with the local paper that got national attention. The piece opens with a portrait of Karen Kulp, a nurse who grew up as a doomsday Bircher, then became culturally more liberal, and finally became a political activist in the 2016 election. The punch line is that she helped found a local group of Trump supporters, despite a narrative arc that bore all the hallmarks of a Boomer Clintonista. Hessler’s opening gambit is to defy expectation while still landing us back in the headspace of the Trump Voter.

Grand Junction perfectly fits the established Trumpville profile. Legacy reliance on a declining industry (oil and natural gas extraction), a predominantly white population, cultural conservatism, blue-collar self-image, an apparent sense of grievance and betrayal at the prosperity, snobbery, and statewide political power of a wealthier urban populace not very far away in Denver and Boulder. Crime is up and schools are in trouble. Hessler sets out to chart the ways in which the political currents of Grand Junction dovetail with the real and imagined landscape of diehard Trump supporters throughout the country. It makes sense that he’d focus mostly on activists and local party operatives. If the thesis is that Trumpism represents a distinctive, transformative movement, the people driving it on the ground in a place like Grand Junction are the ones creating change.

Matt Patterson gets more ink in Hessler’s piece than anyone. A working-class Grand Junction boy by birth, Patterson dropped out of high school, became a successful magician, and then studied classics at Columbia after a car accident destroyed his magic career. He has since worked for conservative nonprofits, with a special focus on anti-union activism. Though he now lives in D.C., he spent the election in Grand Junction organizing for Trump. Patterson comes across as a charismatic shape-shifter: “[At] times he dresses with the flair of a goth: black T-shirt, leather bracelet studded with skulls, silver ring decorated with a flying bat. Sometimes he paints his fingernails black. These accessories vanish when it’s time to interact with factory workers, voters, or Republicans in Middle America.” Hessler’s descriptions of Patterson fit with the essay’s basic strategies to avoid falling into the bald clichés of most Trump Voter pieces: Elaborate apparent contradictions, emphasize that “I learned to suspend any customary assumptions regarding political identity,” and then note that you met a “hippieish” guy with a ponytail who voted for Trump.

Patterson’s importance to the piece is that he was an early Trump supporter who happens to be from Grand Junction and worked there during the campaign. It doesn’t at all follow that his existence demonstrates that Trump is “transforming” much of anything. Patterson is a slick Ivy League alumnus who has worked with Grover Norquist. We have a term for people like Matt Patterson: party hacks. And everywhere party hacks go, they cultivate eager local volunteers like Karen Kulp. If Trump innovated anything in Grand Junction, it was getting his volunteers to pay him for the privilege of helping out. As Kulp memorably says of the Inauguration Day “DeploraBall” she helped organize, “Every shirt you see here tonight, I bought.” This is the only genuinely impressive feat of political salesmanship recorded in Hessler’s piece.

A necessary conceit of the Trump Voter piece is that it must be interesting that someone voted for Trump. Was it interesting when people voted for Mitt Romney or Gerald Ford? Was it a metaphor for the tragedies of hardscrabble white America? No, presumably because those guys are a lot duller than Trump. No argument there. But the boring fact underlying Trump’s victory and now his presidency is that he’s a servant of very familiar forces.

The GOP agenda under Trump is basically what it would have been under Marco Rubio or Jeb Bush, only with more chaotic news cycles and instantly lower approval ratings. The Matt Pattersons of the world didn’t create this reality—that would be the Charles Kochs and Sheldon Adelsons—but they do know how to keep it going. One way to keep the oligarchic agenda humming along is to give it an aesthetic of rugged authenticity. Trump does that very well, and he gets a lot of media help. It may be impossible to write a Trump Voter piece, however careful, that doesn’t end up doing the work of making age-old robber baron politics look like an Andrew Wyeth painting come to life. We should probably stop trying.

There are lots of worthwhile things we could learn about life in Redding, California or rural Colorado or anywhere else with especially reactionary politics. Everyone quoted in Hessler’s piece had something to say about their home. The frustrating thing about Trump Voter pieces is not that they reduce whole regions to politics; it’s that they reduce those politics to Trump. If voting for Trump was such a convulsive act in Grand Junction, then is it also true that if Hillary Clinton were president, life there would be noticeably different? Trump Voter pieces mostly don’t seem interested in that kind of question. There might be hand-waves at NAFTA and industrial decay and opiates and wealth being sucked into big cities. Why is any of that happening? Who benefits? Can we do anything about it? I guess we could look ruefully out our windows at the world we share with Trump Voters.