#or anyone tbh I welcome the discussion

[woundedheartwithin]

You know, I’m a little worried that rgg is just planning on writing Yagami out of the next game

Mild spoilers under the cut

Given how popular the series was in Japan (due in no small part to who exactly portrayed Yagami), I don’t see them just hanging the series up in the event that Kimura Takuya’s agency refuses to come to the table. He was the initial draw, of course, but the series earned its own fan base in the west by having arguably the best writing and gameplay out of any Yakuza/RGG game to date. As much as I hate saying this, Kimura is not needed for another installment to be a success, especially given how viciously some folks seem to hate Yagami just in general, and Kimura’s agency is not giving rgg any reasons to believe that he’s not expendable

But from a canon point of view, LJ being set in Ijincho with Sugiura and Tsukumo’s shiny new detective agency is scary, actually, if you think about the implications, and the Kaito Files kinda confirmed it for me too. Sugiura, one of the main characters of both games, is now in Yokohama. Higashi, another main character in both games, opened another branch of Charles in Ijincho, as well (per the Kaito Files). The crew at Genda Law Office and Mafuyu’s roles in LJ were negligible, aside from Saori (who is technically a player character, and so a main character, and who stated in LJ that she felt like she was being underestimated by both her client and her coworkers)

Kaito, yet another main character, has a brand new family, and there is no way Mikiko actually agreed to move into Kaito’s shitty Kamurocho apartment with all her money and whatever money she got from her dirtbag husband’s estate. That leaves an opening for Kaito to just move to Yokohama with his family. And Yokohama 99 only has one field detective and a pretty high profile win under their belt, so honestly I don’t think it’s all that much of a stretch to see Kaito start working there instead because they need the manpower, and Kamurocho is now too far away to reasonably commute. It’s also pretty reasonable to assume that Jun already goes to school in Yokohama (hell he and Mikiko probably live there) because of his father’s connections with the city (that reunion being held at the Blu Marino every year). I don’t think it was ever explicitly stated that Sadamoto was based in Yokohama, but the implication is there

Not to mention, if the series moved to Ijincho full time, Yagami has stated that he likes working and living in Kamurocho, and his only remaining father figure is still there. I don’t see him leaving, even for Kaito

Idk it’s kinda scary honestly, because Yagami is far and away my favorite character (for more than just his looks I promise), and I love the other characters with all my heart, but I do not want to see Yagami just left behind in Kamurocho while the gang up and moves to Ijincho. And with the whole Saori being engaged to Hoshino angle, I could totally see that souring and Saori bailing to Yokohama as well, especially since she’s expressed quite a bit of discontent at being overlooked and underestimated already. If her relationship with Hoshino goes belly up, I could see her stepping back from Genda’s office entirely and moving to get a fresh start

[hawkfuller]

my (first) thoughts on the iwtv season 2 finale

after seeing 2x08 i have to say i am incredibly satisfied with how this season has ended. this finale felt like a culmination of seasons one and two to me. i also adore the characters and the complexities of their actions and feelings and thought they were all very well portrayed. as for the loose ends, it leaves me w the same feeling i had watching 1x07 – excited for the next season to learn more.

(i'm simultaneously very sad it means we'll have to wait a while again before seeing these characters & the cast after the few last interviews get posted... idk how i survived the drought between seasons one and two in the first place.)

[literalite]

ty for your tags cause why is it painted as a bad thing to want your posts to look pretty and nice 😭

i can understand why people would wish that aesthetic sensibility is less of a drawing factor on simblr because of like. limited access in terms of like. renders and g/reshade and high quality graphics and hq mod etc etc etc i won't deny those sorts of things give the people who can access them a massive leg up. and editing can be quite time consuming and hard if you have for example joint issues or wrist issues of some kind

but also to be brutally honest this is a pictures-based microcommunity? the main draw is. surprisingly enough, sharing images of our sims. it'l be harder yeah but people get notes without renders (me?? lol) without re/gshade presets, without the hq mod. hell people have their stuff blow up and they'll be pure vanilla simblrs putting a 3 layer psd over their images. for me personally its about knowing lighting and colours and shot composition, and that kind of stuff is accessible to anyone, its not like i ever went to any classes for that so 😭 idk man

[kingdomoftyto]

October this year has felt kind of vague and adrift for me, no real festive spirit to speak of--or at least nowhere near how last year felt, when it was Year of the Vampire and all.

BUT I am remedying that now with a combined pincer attack of 1) relistening to Night Vale from the beginning on my commute to work and 2) rereading Warm Bodies on my breaks/in my spare time. Things are getting increasingly spooky up in here

[babydollmarauders]

MEDIA MANAGEMENT — JACK HUGHES (23-24 SZN PART 17)

au masterlist

y/ndevils00

liked by jesperbratt, tofff73, and 383,624 others

y/ndevils00 WE ARE SO BACK, BABIES!!

your mighty lil hell raisers won 5-2 tonight against the flightless birds, and SURPRISE!! I WAS THERE!!

what a happy “welcome back to Pitt” to my lovely former-bumblebee-color-wearing bestie, Johnny Rockets!

i’m so proud of all of our goal scorers tonight, one of which is not pictured because he wouldn’t let me order a drink at dinner last night (*cough* Bratter *cough*)!

it was also AMAZING to see my sweet Edward Cullen again, you can see in the fourth photo how much he missed me! doesn’t he look positively overjoyed?!

oh, and: p.s. that one player, number 87 on the penguins? yeah he got a penalty. HA! don’t trip my boys, Sidney. i know where you sleep.

tagged curtislazar95, naterbastian, john.marino97, ryangraves27, dawson1417, holtz_10, tofff73

Load more comments

user19 IS THIS WHAT THE CROSBY HATTY THING LAST RECAP WAS ABOUT?! SHE WAS HINTING THAT SHE WAS COMING TO THIS GAME?!

naterbastian that’s a blurry pic

y/ndevils00 hop off my dick, nathan

naterbastian no

y/ndevils00 NO?!

y/ndevils00 @/dawson1417 how do i solve this?

dawson1417 maybe you could take less blurry pictures? i’m not sure about this one tbh

y/ndevils00 @/dawson1417 USELESS!

dawson1417 oh :(

y/ndevils00 @/dawson1417 WAIT NO! I’M SORRY! I DIDN’T MEAN IT! YOU’RE MY BESTEST FRIEND AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! EVEN MORE THAN JOHN

john.marino97 HELLO?! I’M RIGHT HERE?!

y/ndevils00 @/john.marino97 oh hi John!

user35 DID Y/N JUST THREATEN SIDNEY CROSBY?!

user99 I FEAR THIS IS WHEN SHE GETS FIRED

holtz_10 why is Crosby pictured?

ryangraves27 what i look is terrified because i didn’t even know you were in town

y/ndevils00 it was a surprise!! were you surprised?!

ryangraves27 did he know you were coming?

y/ndevils00 nope! showed up at his house like “BOO!”

user01 who the hell are they talking about?

jackhughes i’m glad the team won and i’m glad you’ve had fun, can you come home now?

y/ndevils00 aww you miss me 🥹

jackhughes yeah, sure, but also, LSH has chewed through my phone charger, has been scratching at the couch, and bit Nico’s hand

y/ndevils00 i put her in charge of keeping the house in order while i’m gone. sounds like she’s doing great!

jackhughes i’m a human and she’s a cat??

y/ndevils00 she’s also smarter than you, my love

jackhughes did you just call me dumb?

y/ndevils00 oh my sweet, sweet himbo, i love you to pluto and back

jackhughes um, yeah, i love you too, dove

holtz_10 hello??? why is Crosby pictured??

y/ndevils00 shhh i ignore stupid questions

jesperbratt i didn’t want you to get drunk, please don’t hold it against me

y/ndevils00 aww okay 🥺 i’m sorry for leaving you out of the post, thank you for looking out for me!

jackhughes how do you do it?!

jesperbratt @/jackhughes i’m cute 🤷🏼‍♂️

jackhughes oh fuck off Bratter, obviously i’m cute too, i’m her boyfriend

curtislazar95 WE WON

y/ndevils00 YOU WON!! I’M SO PROUD OF YOU FOR NOT MAKING US LOSERS ANYMORE

curtislazar95 thank you?? i think??

y/ndevils00 YOU’RE WELCOME!!

y/ndevils00 notice how we win when @/tmeier96 isn’t playing… it’s cause he called me a bitch and the universe has my back

tmeier96 if i could insult you, you would be so sad right now

y/ndevils00 hmm but you CAN’T insult me! because i’m perfect!

tmeier96 actually it’s because after tuesday nights comments, Jack threatened to slap-shot a puck to my face if i insult you again

y/ndevils00 awww @/jackhughes that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever threatened for me 🥹🫶

jackhughes do people often threaten others for you?

y/ndevils00 of course?? i’m lovable and everyone i know wants me to be protected and loved!

tmeier96 well… i highly doubt EVERYONE you know…

y/ndevils00 watch it, Meier!

user56 idk, thats two posts in a row with Sidney Crosby… i’m starting to get suspicious

user13 i wanna know who the mysterious “he” is that they keep discussing!

user07 same! like, is it the same “he” every time?! and if so, if she showed up at his house, does that mean he lives in Pitt?

user22 all i’m saying is it’s suspicious and she better not be cheating on Jack

user91 @/user22 oh please! not only is she obviously head over heels for Jack, but if she were to cheat, i highly doubt everyone on the team, including Jack, would know and openly discuss him on a public platform

liked by @/y/ndevils00

[austinslounge]

Hey! I'm relatively new to the Austin fandom, and first of all, I just wanted to say you really opened my eyes about the Kaia situation, so thanks! Second of all, I wanted to know your opinion on something: judging by his sister's follows on instagram, and his grandmother (I think it's his grandmother)'s posts on Facebook, Austin seems to have been raised in a conservative family. I know it's none of my business and that "stalking" his family like this can come off as disrespectful, but the thing is: as a leftist, I try to be very mindful of the people I dedicate my time and attention to. Austin never discussed his political views publicly, right? Do you think this is maybe because he is afraid of a certain backlash he might receive if he "came out" as a conservative/republican? I really avoid putting famous people on pedestals and idealizing them too much, and I know some people think it's stupid to care about artists' political views, but I'd still be kinda disappointed if I found out his values are so different from mine. Anyways, thanks for reading, and have a nice day!

Hey girlie! 👋

Welcome to my blog! 🥰❤️ Also, welcome to the Austin Butler fandom. 💕 It's good to see some new fans on here.

I'll be honest, I don't usually like getting into political topics or views here on my blog. But since your ask seemed genuine, I'll try to give you my honest opinion.

Take a seat 💺

Honestly? I think you should just take Austin for face value and not worry about what political party he might (or might not) belong to. As far as I'm aware, he's never really mentioned any real political views, and hasn't even identified himself with any specific political party. (Someone can correct me if I'm wrong)

I think one of the reasons why our country is so divided right now is because people have stopped seeing people as individuals, and they just see people as from one party vs from another party. 🥴 Personally? I don't think that's really fair.

I prefer to base my opinions about someone on a case by case individual basis. I have met some wonderful people from all various walks of life and different political views. I think it's also good to keep in mind that even people inside of a political party may not always agree with everything the party believes or represents.

Going back to Austin --

I choose to look at who Austin the man is, and everything that I've seen of him so far over all these years have been nothing but positive. I see how he treats both men and women. I watch how he treats people from various diverse backgrounds. I saw how he boldly spoke out about racism and "White Privilege" during the murder of African-American George Floyd back in 2020. I have also paid close attention to how he talks to others, how respectful he is of everyone, and how he doesn't treat anyone differently (not even his fans) no matter their position in life.

I have seen how he gave a homeless man food in the streets, how gentlemanly he is with women (i.e. opening up car doors, helping older women up on stage, etc.), and how kindly he speaks of everyone (don't think I've heard him speak badly about anyone tbh). I've also seen how gracious and loving he is to his fans. Friends of mine who have met him in person have echoed the same thoughts that he really is a sweetheart to everyone and how wonderful it was to meet him. I've also heard how everyone in Hollywood who meets and works with him describes him as being very "kind".

I've even looked at his old tweets and Tumblr posts! You can even find his old tweets and Tumblr posts online from when he was a teenager to a young adult, and all of them are so wholesome and adorable. 🥰 While some celebrities are out here getting canceled for their old scandalous Tweets from years ago, with Austin, even as a young guy, you never found him saying anything misogynistic, racist, fat-phobic, mean, or just plain rude online. He's usually always been very positive.

All of these things combined go on to paint the picture of a man who really truly is just genuine, kind, down to earth, and good-hearted. 💕 🥹

I know some people might not feel the same way that I do, and I know that Austin isn't perfect, but based on what I've seen of Austin, he really does seem like just a good guy.

I don't really follow closely what celebrity family members post or who they follow, but I think it's very important to realize that just because your family member has a particular view, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have that same exact view also.

Just something to think about! 😊

[notthatalex]

I think the biggest difficulty with having guests on reddit stories compared to cast is that people have ranging parasocial relationships with cast and are ergo more charitable to them. Or even when they disagree, they don't mind as much. While they don't have that with guests and are much more likely to be genuinely mad.

To be fair for some people, it is actually the other way around where their parasocial relationships lead to them getting more hurt because they feel like they got betrayed by a friend or something.

And obviously, when guests are on, they always have the same opinion as Shayne and the other cast member. And fans are therefor also disagreeing with cast, but then the focus of discussion is mostly on the guest. And the focus the cast gets is in form of "disappointment".

So it is more a charitabilty issue for most I think. That people use the term "vibes" so much when talking about how they don't like guests is really emboldening that viewpoint for me. (I have a slight personal gripe with the term and people using it to express opinions tbh)

I really don't think cast has less often bad takes, but I do think people interpret that "going back and forth/ exploring different viewpoints" ping pong play they do on that show a lot way worse when it comes from guests. Or like just straight-up jokes.

This isn't a comment about if smosh should have guests in gen btw. I am kinda neutral about that. It's a comment on how peoples preemptive charitabilty influences their judgment on the takes.

I am kinda neutral/pos on the guest thing, like if it is someone I know or like I am excited and if I don't I really care. This is kinda a tangent but I also think people miss the mark when they talk about how the smosh audience doesn't care/know about tiktokers and should only have youtuber guests. The reddit stories audience definitely does care about tiktokers. It is their wide net show, like I watched the new episode with my sister today, who only watches reddit stories from smosh. She knew the guest, while she didn't know who Trevor was.

Anyway I wrote this because I go out of every reddit stories episodes disagreeing with some takes more or less, but I mostly see people voice disagreements when guests are on and this is my attempt at analyzing it. If anyone wants to chime in and disagree or add on I would welcome it. Still not fully formed opinion it. Malleable and squishy opinion one could say.

[softguarnere]

HEY BABY GIRL!!!!

It's your girl, your sweet cheese, your good time gal (someone please shut me up omfg). Now...you know i am a Joe Toye lover, and if you've seen me recently...he is the only man on my mind. I was wondering if you might indulge me a little with a Joe Toye x reader where they're besties since young and both end up being paratroopers together but then something happens and he thinks he's lost her but she's actually fine and maybe like fluffy reunion...idk tbh i'd take anything you write and eat it up so do whatever. Love youuuuu xx

Seven

Joe Toye x reader

A/N: OMG BELLA I MISSED YOU!!!! 💖 WELCOME BACK BABE! And of course we have a fic with a T Swift reference for you hehehe (This is written for the fictional depictions from the show - no disrespect to the real life veterans!) Thanks so much for the request, and I hope you like this 💕 Warnings: mentions of war, death

You would kill him if you knew where he was right now. And yet, here he is. Trying to reassure and comfort your mother while sipping coffee from her finest set of teacups. The same teacups, he’s now realizing, that you used to serve him water in as children, calling it tea while the two of you played house, discussing the workplace as if you had any idea what went on there, while the adults around you struggled through the lack of those very places during the thirties. It could just be a coincidence, but after spending most of his life around her, Joe Toye would like to think that he knows your mother better than that.

“And you know how hardheaded she is,” your mother is ranting, cutting a fresh slice of poundcake and placing it on Joe’s plate. “She isn’t going to listen to me. Or anyone for that matter, now that her mind is made up.”

Oh, Joe knows exactly how hardheaded you are. In no small part thanks to the times that he accidentally clobbered that very head during neighborhood football games.

“(Y/N) feels good about this, Mrs. (Y/L/N),” Joe says, unsure of what he’s supposed to say during your mother’s hour of need. She’s right, after all – your mind has been made up, and it will not be changed.

“But do you?” Your mother fixes him with a hard gaze, raised brow and all.

You were with Joe when he went to enlist. He had watched your eyes sparkle when they fell onto the sign stating that women should inquire within about an exciting new opportunity that would allow them to serve their country like never before. And he had been by your side when you both left the building, both holding papers and smiling at the thought that you would be becoming paratroopers – together.

“Yes. (Y/N) is strong. She’ll be good in – “

“Joesph,” your mother interrupts. The façade finally falls as she collapses into the chair across the table from him, head in her hands. “She’s my baby! What if something – oh, God forbid! – happens to her? I couldn’t live with myself.”

Joe is by her side in an instant. When he announced that he was joining the Airborne, everyone had clapped him on the back and congratulated him. You have not had the same experience. While everyone keeps assuring Joe that he’ll do great things, the same people have been cautioning you to be careful. Some have even warned you that you should just give up now. And it’s all only served to strengthen your determination, with every underestimation making you more sure that this is what needs to be done.

All that is to say, Joe has no clue what to say to your mother. She needs to be comforted. But he’s out of his depth.

“I’ll watch out for her,” he finally manages.

Beneath the comforting hand that Joe has placed on her shoulder, your mother freezes. Watery eyes gaze up at him. “You – you will?”

“Of course.” The two of you have grown up together. You’ve always been friends. Why would he stop looking out for you now?

Your mother throws her arms around his neck, wrapping him up in a tight hug. “Oh, thank you!”

Joe is struggling to come up with something more to say when the sound of the front door opening and shutting saves him. Your footsteps echo through the front of the house as you call out in greeting.

“Ma! I’m home!” Stepping into the kitchen, you cross your arms, leaning onto the doorframe as you let out a loud sigh. “Wow, you would almost think that Joe is the child that you’re sending off to war instead of me.” You smile, and anyone could see how much you love your mother.

She wipes her teary eyes and pats Joe’s arm as he stands, returning to his seat. “I’m going to miss having someone around who doesn’t get into trouble all the time,” she teases as she cuts a slice of poundcake for you.

Something about the change of topic tells Joe that she would rather not have you find out about their conversation. His watching over you can be their little secret. And a job that he’ll readily accept.

After all, he tells himself as he watches you laugh at something your mother says. You would do the same for him.

--

The adrenaline from taking Brécourt Manor still hasn’t worn off yet. Joe is laughing at something that Guarnere said as they head back down the road. Something about this moment makes him feel invincible. This is why he chose to become a paratrooper, he realizes.

More men and women have congregated in the town since he’s been gone. Finally glancing at his watch reveals that he’s been gone most of the day. Wow, really? It didn’t feel like the assault took that long at all. At least it kept him busy, instead of sitting around here, waiting.

Joe scans the crowd, hoping to catch sight of you. When he doesn’t immediately spot you, he stops one of the other female paratroopers as she passes.

“Hey, Lilian. You seen (Y/N) around?”

Lilian pauses, her pretty green eyes widening slightly. “Oh. No.” She bites her lip, holding back something more.

“What is it?” Joe presses.

Her hesitation is not a good sign. Then she blurts out, “No one has seen her since the jump.”

“You mean – “

“She was supposed to be in my drop zone – but she wasn’t.”

The reality of it all sets in. (Y/N) didn’t reach the drop zone. Did she even make it out of the plane? God, he promised your mother that he would look out for you. Yet, here he is, with no clue where you might be.

He may have only just reached Europe, but he’s already failed his mission.

--

The dust is settling over Carentan when the incongruous cheer and subsequent peel of laughter hits Joe’s ears. Somewhere off in the distance, someone is celebrating. Meanwhile, he’s guarding Doc Roe as the medic moves along the streets, inspecting the bodies strewn over them to see if there’s anybody still alive that he can help.

“Thanks for doing this,” Roe says as he stands once more, moving on to another body.

“Hmm?” Joe snaps his attention back to the moment at hand. “Oh, no problem.”

Except there is a problem. He’s trying to catch a glimpse of every face as Doc Roe checks the bodies. He tries to make out names on dog tags, dreading that one of them might belong to you. He couldn’t stand it if he found you here, like this. What would he tell your mother? How would he ever erase that awful image from his mind? Of the little girl that he once played house with, lying motionless on these cold streets? It’s no better to imagine you going down in a plane doing a fiery corkscrew as it nosedives to the unforgiving soil of a foreign land. But at least he didn’t have to see that.

The terrible job done, he follows Roe back to the rest of the company. Despite everything that just happened, a few smiles can be expected, along with congratulatory words. But this is more than that.

A small group of men mill about, talking, smiling, as they watch a smaller group of the female paratroopers huddled together in a group, all talking loudly and looking excited. From the corner of his eye, he can see Doc Roe glance at him, but before the medic can ask what’s going on, the crowd parts and Joe freezes.

There, in the middle of it all, is you.

“(Y/N)?” It comes out louder than he means for it to, and his feet are already carrying him, double time, in your direction before he realizes what he’s doing.

You look up, your eyes widening. “Joe!” You launch yourself at him, throwing your arms around his neck and pulling him in close.

Something rushes through Joe’s chest like a flash of lightning, too many feelings at once. There’s shock, relief, and something that he can’t quite name. Not caring about getting written up for fraternizing, Joe hugs you back, holding you close, lest you slip away from him again.

“Jesus Christ. I thought I lost you,” he says into your hair.

“I’m fine, as usual. Can’t believe you would doubt me like that.” Your voice is light, teasing, but your grip on him tightens. The usual confident swagger doesn’t leave your voice, but you admit in a quieter voice, “I, uh – I missed my drop zone. Had a hell of a time trying to find the rest of the company. But here I am!”

When the embrace ends, Joe still isn’t ready to let go. He leaves his hands on your shoulders, studying you. And you, for your part, hold onto his webbing. “I was just worried about you, is all.”

You nod. “I was worried about you, too. I – “

“Easy Company!” A booming voice interrupts. “We’re moving out!”

Quickly, while everyone is distracted, you raise yourself up on your tiptoes and press a kiss to his cheek. Heat rushes to Joe’s cheeks. He feels his eyes widen. You just smile at him, casual as can be.

“We’ve been friends since we were seven. You can’t get rid of me that easily, Joseph.” Then, you rejoin your friends, leaving him to replay the scene over and over in his mind.

He turns to watch you go, unable to move his feet from where they suddenly appear to be stuck to the ground. He’s held in place by the weight of his realization – the emotion that he couldn’t name was love, for you.

[y3ahwhat3ver]

Been seeing this over and over and it's sort of been annoying me but. Valentino and Alastor are not even remotely comparable. Like. Look I may be a bit biased bc I like Alastor and don't like Valentino beyond the funny moments he has but like.

Okay. Alastor sucks. Like he's a violent dickhead but part of that is that he's very restrained in his violence. The only times we see him do anything outright violent are when he/the hotel are under attack and then his one moment with Husk. His relationship with Husk gets brought up a lot when people make the comparison but to me like.

Throughout the show you see Husk talk shit to Alastor, literally all of the time. He heavily dislikes him (in my opinion a major part of that is bitterness over losing his own title just to become subservient to Al) but he doesn't ever really seem scared of him, beyond the one moment. He and Alastor have known eachother for years and it's pretty clear to me that Alastor sort of just. Let's him say whatever as long as he doesn't hit A Limit. Alastor's own contract is something he's very clearly sensitive about and Husk bringing that up when he was already in a bad mood. I'm not saying the way he treats Husk in this scene is good, or right but just that it makes sense in context.

I guess what really does it for me is Niffty as well? Like it's so clear she loves Al, quite literally crawling all over him and crowning him. They have a very sweet relationship in the show. She's comfortable enough with him to freely speak about her own feelings ("I really like them Alastor. They let me put on roach puppet shows without booing")

You just get the sense that like. Alastors relationship with his contractee's is. Maybe not the most outright friendly but it's not inherently violent.

And then you compare that to Valentino. Valentino is violent, but worse he's impulsive. And also kind of an idiot. Like the first time we see him it's Velvette calling Vox to come deal with him bc the man is on a rampage and killing her models. He has to be talked down from going to the hotel and killing everyone there. (Already a bad idea image wise but like. With the literal Princess of Hell in that hotel it's like. What was your plan for after that Val. What was your plan for after you attacked the only heir to the throne, the literal daughter of the devil. Christ.)

The difference here is that the only contractee we see him interact with is Angel Dust, and their relationship is fraught with abuse. Physical, sexual, and psychological. Valentino enables his drug addiction because it makes Angel more compliant. Even when he is not being violent towards Angel himself, he's still perpetuating that violence through the work he has Angel do (literally the everything about Poison makes me kind of sick to watch. Tbh, like great song but i cannot watch the mv without getting kind of upset. And look there's a conversation in there about sex work, and specifically SAFE sex work but that's not really what this post is.)

Like. There's literally a line in the show about Angel being WATERBOARDED at work. ("You know, Val, he's into that waterboarding shit now - I don't know, it's a kink." - episode 6 welcome to heaven) And this is JUST Angel's perspective. You don't see Valentino's other contracts but from the way Angel is treated, it's kind of clear that he does shit like this to anyone under his control, and thus anyone who cannot tell him No.

Look. You get the sense that Alastor is a dick, but there's no implication that he takes Niffty and Husk out back and beats them when he's aggravated (with them or otherwise.) We literally watch Valentino assault and threaten Angel because there is someone stronger than him [Valentino] who is trying to get him out of work.

[Edit (June 2nd, 2024): I want to clarify that I do like loser, baby and also Husk as a character and this is more abt my grievances with fandom comparing the two. In series, Angel needed that discussion with Husk and even thought their situations aren't 1:1 or even really that similar, it's still clear that Husks attempt to like. Empathize with him worked for Angel. That is all, thank u and goodnight]

[meatballlady]

Thoughts/Questions about ambiguous wording in GOS2: Looking Where the Furniture Isn't (somewhat unorganized) (also biased towards episodes I rewatch more)

PSA to not tag/ask Neil about any of this!! Metas/speculation are for the fans, not for the writers/production team.

Episode 1

"I worked very closely with upstairs on it" what/who is "upstairs"?

Why does Aziraphale have so much more knowledge than angel Crowley? Aziraphale has seen the plans and knows about the Earth and humans and Crowley doesn't at all (is this future Aziraphale with og Crowley? going back in time)

"Most of it [isn't] visible from earth" this implies there's more that Crowley knows about than we do, but does this mean anything?

Misspelling of urgency - This must mean something, otherwise why dedicate screentime to it?? Is Maggie possessed? I always get caught on this.

"I got your note" is that the same note we read?

Why aren't Maggie's internet orders not coming? What is that?

Why hasn't Maggie brought this up before? It doesn't seem urgent. Is she angling for an invitation? a welcome?

Shostakovich symphony is not 21 minutes, yet Aziraphale calls that out.

Repeated line - "i brought your mail"

"Hell doesn't care how jobs get done" "yeah I remember, they just care that somebody does them" look this whole scene is a book reference, but this line does it mean Crowley has been helping Shax out?

Crowleys "it's all rather pointless" line. It... I mean we know he thinks this already. It sounds very out of place. Is he trying to get a read on Shax's opinion? Is this a future scene? Is there a separate plotline that's hopeless that we're missing?

"Something's going down in the up" - weird wording, never addressed.

"Through your contact in the bookshop" who is the contact? Which bookshop?

Beginning of last movement is when Gabriel knocks - when is 21 minutes before that?

"Where here is and who you are and who I am" is this significant?

"I'm not saying anyone is complicit... if anyone is found helping him..." Then just says "book of life" - maybe those are two separate things?

Also! Michael never specifies Gabriel. "helping HIM" could refer to anyone.

Why tinking sound coming from Aziraphale so much? Pocket watch or something else?

No really, what is the Something Terrible?

"Terrible" and "Awful" used to mean... AWE full. like Great and Terrible. is that something?

What thing does Jimbriel have to give Aziraphale? Aziraphale only assumes it's the box but what is it?

"arms were aching because I had to carry that box for so long" 1. How long? are we missing something? 2. Is this the same box we see, or a different one?

When Aziraphale says "you aren't Gabriel" Jim responds, "then WHAT am I?" not who am I?

later he asks "what box?" and much later Aziraphale asks the same thing. Maybe they mean "which box of the ones we know about" and not "box, what do you mean, box?"

"something CLEVER you did before you pop" vs "it's nice to tell someone about the GOOD things I've done, now that I'm not reporting to Heaven" which one is it - clever or good? Does it matter?

Why isn't Aziraphale forthcoming about needing to discuss things outside of the bookshop when they're having coffee?

Why does Maggie leave her shop open when she goes to get a coffee?

Aziraphale's blinds are not closed during coffeeshop conversation, but it looks like a/c have only just walked in during next scene!!

Why is Crowley so careful to be ambiguous about talking about the execution, and then later just tells Jim? I noticed the bug (Real Gabriel) seems to be in the room with them during the e1 conversation. Maybe he and Jim are alone during the e5 conversation.

Why does Crowley get so publicly angry? Seems a bit ooc to me tbh

Why did Maggie/Nina's phones stop working?

"There is, of course, no question of replacing the surpreme archangel" Does that mean that they're definitely going to replace them or definitely not going to replace them??

"Heaven does not have a supreme archangel" ... "There is ALWAYS a Supreme Archangel" "Yes, and who is that?" oof. Yes who is the supreme archangel? why always?? they aren't in Heaven but they exist

Why didn't they think he'd gone to Earth before seeing the matchbox?

Crowley mentions Beelzebubs new face - he hasn't seen them since before they started dating Gabriel

Crowley does seem very convincing that he thinks extreme sanctions mean nothing

Crowley does do a Miracle on the traffic light

There are writing noises after Crowley comes in to apologize and says "you were right" for the first time. Also at the end of the dance there are shuffling noises.

Does Crowley really do the apology dance for trying to get away from Gabriel? A/C never specify. What was Crowley "wrong" about?

Crowley does say "let's hide him until we sort this all out"... "while we figure out what's *actually* going on"

"and now I have two friends" does Jim actually count Crowley in that or is he referring to other(s)?

We make sure nobody notices he's here while we "sort all this out"? Aziraphale is confused that he says "together"

move the miracle dials? Does this mean anything or just worldbuilding?

"short for James but people call me a lot of different things" ooh like what?

Aziraphale TOTALLY knows about Shax! Crowley's like, "you'll never guess who Shax asked about" They're 100% on the same page

Is the alarm the "awooga" noise????????!!!!?!!?

"There's a FORMER angel in this up to his bookshop owning neck"

So Mx. Anthony J'"compelled to walk on the grass instead of the path" Crowley respected the "This way up" sign for a whole week? 🙃

Episode 2

Gabriel personally witnessed Eve's birth? Does this have significance?

"absolutely I made an ass of myself" Are we missing something here? Is she just nervous? Or is.. like what??

Aziraphale gives a Look when Maggie says they were locked in the coffee shop last night. Was that significant?

"Right now I'm a bit out of miracles" - what?

There's a lack of using "bad" to mean good in hell, etc.

Love that Aziraphale implies that Maggie being his tenant has something with an obligation to be involved with her love life

Crowley also said they need to talk about last night's miracle. Why?

Aziraphale specifies the "Gabriel" miracle. idk is that something?

"we've got a problem and it's in your bookshop right now" is this the problem we know about? Crowley seems to think the love thing isn't the big deal

"amd there is an actual mystery associated with that song and That is the clue" i feel like this isnt exactly the same thing as what it actually is.? Does that mean the song is the clue or does it mean that the mystery itself is a clue? Does it matter?

"three nice people in the shop just now... they were in the shop. just now." like just now just now? like while they were in the pub??

"nah you can do better than that" has a miracle noise after??

Was Gabriel's first memory "when the morningstar sang together and all the angels shouted for joy"? or was their first memory God *saying* that? Also is it Gabriel we're talking to here?

Who are Keziah's "usual" angels?

love the detail that Job says "i loved my children" and immediately starts crying whereas sitis doesn't believe it at first. Job really does have faith.

Episode 3

Is their private discussion we see the same one Muriel is talking about?

"The miracle we seem to have accidentally performed" did they accidentally perform a large miracle, or was the miracle only "seemingly" an accident?

Do devices just bend to Aziraphale's whim like that, or is there another weird thing going on?

Aziraphale says "dr dalrymple" and Crowley corrects to Mr. Is that something?

when Aziraphale calls Crowley he says hes found "clues" plural

is it significant that Crowley hasn't done rain in a while?

"you have the advantage on me" does she? is Aziraphale humoring her?

Episode 4

Heating's knackered... girls won't go onstage because it's so cold... is this significant?

How do the zombies know to look in the bookshop? Do they think Aziraphale will be there or Crowley? Is it just that that's how they contacted him in the first place?

What's with the timeline on 1941? They're all out and about... is it a couple days later?

While demons like me... for hundreds and hundreds of millennia ???

Episode 5

Why is the big transporter out of service?

"If you're not him, then *what* are you?" Jim also says this ep 1. seems like a distinction.

The matchbox is still in Heaven.

When did Muriel meet Jim?

Jim leaves the window open after he stops jumping out the window

Crowley's test doesn't really prove much for me. If Jim was trying to get back to heaven to tell on them, death would be the fastest way

"If you aren't him, then WHAT are you?" again, what are you not who are you in reference to Gabriel.

"check in on Nina and Maggie and make sure *they* are on their way" does they refer to someone(s) else??

During the ball, where is Crowley between the Gabriel face thing and the dancing??

"I don't plan to harm you, only the humans in there with you" Why? Why isn't she threatening Aziraphale? Doesn't she want Gabriel? What is this line for??

After Jim comes back in after declaring himself to Shax, he's off screen for a long time. In a different outfit when we see him again

Aziraphale's box when Crowley starts bringing people outside. this is the same box that he leaves Nina and Maggie to fiddle with in ep6

might be a miracle blocker?? but Muriel brings back the elevator

6)

Nina's questions for posterity:

what is happening? (not simple)

why is everything so weird? (not simple)

This all started last week when the power went out, didn't it?

no, this all started a very long time ago, but also, yes.

"last week when the power went out" that's a different timeline than portrayed in the show. What's that about? It could be a cleverly hidden time skip.

Crowley knows Muriel's a 37th class scrivener?? Do they tell him when they arrest him? Or do they hang out offscreen?

Muriel catches onto the bee metaphor immediately. "you look like a murder hornet, or a snake"

"I have to tell you: You can all leave now, and no one will be hurt" Does he *have to* tell them?

clock ticking in last intro

"Where's the cardboard box?" "What box?" !!!

"Apparently if we do a miracle together it all works a bit too well" Why say this?? Also. Apparently? As in "we discovered that..." or as in "in an apparent way, but not a literal way..."

There's stuff in the cardboard box. Why?

"every day, something IS getting closer" -beez - why??

[snarky-art]

im sorry but where does the whole solarian/lunarian thing come from? i see a lot of people put that in their rewrites but i have no recollection of that in the show? is it from the comics or something?? im admittedly not the biggest fan of it but i straight up dont know where it came from

I actually dunno tbh

I just think a lot of us don’t like empires and see the fact that there’s a separation in how Radius and Luna’s positions are talked about and ran with it

For me personally (this could be how others view it too, I just don’t know because I haven’t asked anyone else really), I also know Stella is a huge daddy’s girl in the show and has a stronger connection to him and by proxy her sun stuff, and given the way the show phased out her moon powers and in the Nick rewrite, completely erased them, I took that and ran with it to mean there’s more shame or discouragement associated with moon based magic on Solaria. Given it’s literally called Solaria,, as in, Sun shit, and there’s no mention of the moon in their royal court stuff or in general, I felt like that only made the idea for the discussion surrounding Lunarian stuff as lesser even juicier given the implied context.

I love a good commentary on how empires and monarchs are evil too and political intrigue is a huge part of my rewrite. It’s super present in my everyday life and it only made sense to me to include it in this stuff because, yeah, politics are everywhere, and it’s going to be EXTRA loud if the girls are doing realm saving stuff that effects literally every planet and group out there as a result and a few of them are literally government figures.

@charmixpower has pretty much everything from the comics memorized so I’ll ask er if there’s anything in particular from those that made it happen for people or you can send er an ask, but I have no idea tbh I’ve only skimmed some of them and they were mainly Bloom centric in plot because I’m basic lol

Anyway tho it’s fair if you don’t like it obviously. To each their own! And you are more than welcome to make your own version if you aren’t already that doesn’t include that! I’m always excited to see more people’s takes on Winx Club I am not normal about this show clearly and I never will be lol

Edit: was just talking to one of my friends about this and they pointed out that their rewrite doesn’t really have this dynamic if you wanna check theirs out! Their blog is @kitrewritestheinx:)

[jemdeserveslove]

Sarah J. Maas is much more comfortable and better at writing multiple pov's books

I wrote this TWO years ago and never posted, but I think it's still valid, so I uptaded a bit. Welcome to my TED talk: if you love or hate Rhys, this is for you!

I was inspired to write this due some discussions I have seen here lately surrounding Rhys and the pregnancy plot in acosf, so I'm gonna throw my two cents here. Honestly, I don't think I have a very formed opinion on this. I don't agree with what Rhys did and I think it was wrong, but I do think it was on his character to do so. When I was reading acosf, I remember thinking how it was such a Rhys thing to try to come up with a solution to the problem before saying it to Feyre, especially considering that it was a life/death situation. NOW, that's not really a good thing, cause Feysand's whole thing is how they treat each other as equals and Rhys's attitude kinda of went agaisnt that.

Of course, there was the whole "let's not stress the pregnant person out, cause that won't do any good to anyone", which, let's be honest, it's true. But, still, I remember thinking how ewww it was that literally EVERYONE knew about that (hell, I think even Helion knew, right?) except for Feyre. And, yk, it's her LIFE, so she should know (obvs).

NOW, here's what I really wanted to talk about. I think one of our biggest issues surrounding this is the lack of reaction from Feyre. I think it's said in the narrative that she and Rhys had a huge argument about it, but that in the end it was cool. And that's really bad. For us, the readers, it was like "some really serious stuff" BOOM "unicorns and rainbows", we didn't get to see any of that

And the thing about this (and correct me if I'm wrong, cause it could be fake news lol) it was stated that they cut out a lot of scenes that sjm wanted to include, I suppose as bonus chapters, and those scenes were especially Feysand scenes. But her editor thought it was better to cut them out, because that would have diverged the attention from Nesta and Cassian (which, sort of did for some people anyway, but whatever).

And I think this is such a big mess and it's some bad writing in a way. I don't think sjm is a bad writer, quite the contrary, I enjoy her writing very much. But the issue with ACOTAR is that we had three books solely with Feyre's pov, so everything we know about all the characters were because of her and we sort of only had her character growth (if you get what I mean). And, now, we're having this trasition with each new book with two new pov's, and it seems that it's not really covering everything that it should cover to tell the story. ACOSF held a attention on Feysand that I understand why they did it, but if they're going to put a lot of weight into them to that specific story, they should've added more scenes with their pov's.

And, for me, everything comes down to sjm being a lot more comfortable in writing stories with multiple pov's. She did that with ToG and CC. To make a personal comparison with her latest books, hosab had a much better structure than acosf and I think the plot flew a lot better. I can't say the same for hofas, but I think the problem there was the unequal weight of the povs (Tharion and Ithan compared to the rest lol). But in ToG is done beautifully! Of course, sometimes we don't care about certain povs, but that's normal.

Anyway, really excited for some acotar 5 news and tbh, looking foward as to how we can slander Rhys again lol (I love him, ok)

[vicsy]

this is such a non-f1 question so feel free to ignore it if you want, but i’m wondering what your experience has been like as a jew in russia. as a jew who grew up in the jewish capital (nyc), russia/ukraine/belarus/eastern europe in general have always been talked about/treated as sort of no-longer existing places in regards to ashkenazi communities—that is, everyone left due to persecution and joined the diaspora. obviously, though, some jews did stay and it’s always fascinated me as to how/why but also what life is like there now. especially given russian politics at the moment with the christian nationalism of it all (i think? not sure i have super accurate insight into russia tbh)

Hey anon! I don't mind answering although I do wish you weren't on anon but I understand the choice. Sorry in advance cause this might be longer than you anticipated.

Let me preface this by saying that my entire family and I, plus most of other jewish people I know in my city, are Sephardic jews. Most of the Ashkenazi jews I've met in my life indeed live in Europe.

An interesting thing I noticed while being in non-russian online spaces is that many people consider this country to be not a great place to be a jew, which tracks well with past history. Now, I live in Moscow, which is the capital and one of the largest cities in Russia, so I truly cannot speak for the entire country. There is a very, very big difference between living in larger cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg etc) and living in smaller regions. So when I speak of my experience, it is mostly limited to me being born and raised in Moscow and knowing some things first hand.

There is a non-joke I've heard most of my life that kinda goes "them jews are everywhere!" and partially that's true. Our people had to leave many places and move all over the world. Wonder why's that.

My parents are both from the country that is called Georgia today and it used to be a part of the USSR. There was a HUGE diaspora of jews in Georgia and many of them still live there to this day. Back in 1992, after the USSR fell apart and so did the lives of thousands of people, my parents and immediate family fled from a war to newly formed Russian Federation, starting their lives from scratch. The USSR was notoriously known for not treating jews with much kindness; many of my other relatives managed to move to the US or Europe in the 80s, building a life there instead of staying in a place that didn't feel very welcoming. My family is pretty big and I have relative scattered all across the world because some were not happy and didn't want to endure the life in the USSR; others stayed for other reasons.

There was this thing about not speaking freely about the fact that you're jewish because you didn't know what kind of reaction would entail or what could happen to you. From what my dad told me (and he's lived most of his life travelling across the USSR, meeting all sorts of different people) being jewish wasn't as bad as it was when Stalin was around but up until 1980s it surely was... an experience of rampant and casual antisemitism. Especially if you got in some kind of trouble, on top of already turbulent post-war life. Being jewish did not help.

When I was a kid my mom told me not to tell anyone that I'm jewish. I though it was supposed to be a secret. I still wore my Star of David, which was gifted to me when I was born, but my mom would always ask me to hide it under my clothes. I still wear it to this day, even if I don't believe in god and I'm not particularly religious. I still didn't really get it back then. My best friend from childhood (who still is my friend 28 years later) is muslim. Some people would ask us, literal kids, how we could be friends. We didn't get the question. Not much changed since then.

Now, bear with me while I get to the point.

Memory from the first grade – a classmate, 7 years old, calls me a "jewish slug" after learning that I am jewish because we were discussing religious customs in class. Now, I was a tiny child but my dad always said "fight back", so I asked that classmate to follow me out of the classroom and then pushed him down the stairs. Haven't heard a peep out of him ever again.

I remember being in 7th grade and my art teacher spewing venom: "the jews killed Christ, those dirty dirty people". Didn't enjoy that class much after that day. My friends, though, were as saddened as I was. None of them were jewish; they just had enough common sense, unlike many adults these days.

There were may other cases I blocked out of my memory but these two feel like they were yesterday.

Surprisingly enough, after I started uni, I did not hear one bad thing about being jewish apart from a couple of jokes about being greedy (that I could deal with). I was very open about being jewish if anyone asked. It was a positive experience. Because my uni was a pretty multicultural place, it was common not to hear insults thrown around casually. At least, in my own personal experience. And you could find small communities within the university that were lead by people of different religions and nationalities. Everyone had a chance to find their "own", so to speak.

Russia is a rather multicultural country, due to the imperial past (and present, some might argue, but that is a different conversation whatsoever). There are many issues that have to do with expansionism and literal war crimes committed over the last couple of centuries but largely people here don't get prohibited from practicing their religions. Not that we don't have our own share of xenophobia and radicalism.

Up until recent couple of years, I had manage to forget that fear of being jewish in diaspora that my parents passed to me like a family heirloom. It is mostly because, on the surface, it was not all bad. We have many synagogues, all of major jewish holidays are widely recognised in the society; people in Moscow are used to having religious diversity. Not everyone is nice about it but there is no pressure to abandon your religion and become christian or muslim or anything else.

Over 50% of Russian population are christian orthodox. Despite that, I can't say that there is much tension that would indicate some kind of MASS radical nationalism (there is some, don't get me wrong but that can happen in any country imaginable). It's pretty different from, let's say, the US. Although, over the last two years, since the war started, there has been more instances where church has been put in the spotlight and not in a good way. Like using religion to justify the war or the church opposing the "rotting western trends" (read: LGBTQ+ rights, free abortions etc). Not going to lie, it is... not good. Not good at all. The "us vs them" mentality is very much present, much like a mirror of the Cold War but somehow a lot worse. In my very humble opinion.

Now, to answer your main question about what it is like being jewish in Russia... you could ask 10 jews and get 10 opinions (ha!) but I would say that it's fine. If we take all major events that are happening simultaneously, could have been worse, could have been better. You see, our people have a tendency to stick together because you never know when someone decides that it's our fault and we should get killed again (this could have been a very sad meme about having two nickels but we have more). However good life is, as a jew, you always think of "what I'm going to do if it all goes to shit and people turn on me". It's weird because you're kinda born into this mentality, even if you're privileged enough to be exclusively surrounded by jews or by a progressive enough society (which is ironic if you look at the state of it all today).

My dad is a very wise man and he taught me from the early childhood that to many people, even now, a good jew is a dead jew, so always be on the lookout, always be prepared to run. I've been lucky enough not to be a victim of terrible acts of antisemitism while living in Moscow but others can't share the same sentiment. So far we don't have laws that could hurt us as jews in Russia. There are some incidents happening but you don't hear about them on the news. Among the jewish society as a whole it goes unspoken but universally understood – always think of the worse case scenario, even if you are living the perfect life right now. I guess that saved us many times over the centuries.

I do miss life before the war. We had everything, you know? Life was good. I love my home, my frends and family here; I love this city and it's a perfect place to live in but every day I hope that the majority of our government and you-know-who would burn in the fiery pits of hell. Us regular people here, we'll always find a way. But the ones that are in charge of the catastrophe that has ruined countless and countless of lives all across the world? They won't get to see heaven or any other version of a happy afterlife.

To bring this horribly long and rambly post to a close, let me tell you this: somewhere in 2008-2009, cannot remember the year correctly (I was rather small), a man entered one of the synagogues in the city and pulled out a knife. He took 9 lives and managed to escape. This synagogue was near the place my dad worked at. He saw a man running out of the synagogue with a bloody knife in hand, put his car in reverse and ran him over. My dad came home very late because the police wanted to question him while they apprehended the injured terrorist but when he did come home, first thing he did was tell me what happened. I was, what, 12-13 years old? But I still asked why this man did what he did. I knew the answer better than any child should but I wanted my dad to make sense of it all.

And I guess the answer to this question is still a work in progress.

[anisethefiaadmin]

THE DRACO/GINNY FIC FEST 4.0 - SUMMER 2024! Now taking prompts!

To get to the prompt submission form, scroll to the end. :)

WHAT: The 2024 Draco/Ginny Summer Fic Fest 4.0 is the Nth annual writing fest devoted solely to the romantic pairing of Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley! Look, TBH, I don’t even know how many there have been. But it’s a big number, Our fandom ship has been sailing for a long time, so let’s keep it afloat and bring on more passengers!

WHO: Anyone can join! Current, former, and brand new writers are welcome as long as you have an AO3 account! Don’t have an AO3 account? Contact mod Anise, idreamofdraco, or Chromeknickers to receive an invitation to join. Don’t want to write but still want to participate? We seriously need prompters and readers/reviewers too!

WHEN: The fest dates are as follows: Submit prompts May 1st—May 16th Prompt claiming and writing May 17th—July 17th Submissions due July 23rd Posting and reading start July 29th Voting starts August 4th and goes through August 11th, maybe later Awards/Reveals: TBD, likely mid to end of August

WHERE: The ⁠2024-draco-ginny-fic-fest channel on the Draco x Ginny discord will serve as the hub for fest rules and announcements. Stories will be posted on AO3.

~ RULES ~

All stories must feature Draco/Ginny as a romantic pairing.

An AO3 account is required to participate in this fest. If you do not have an AO3 account, please let mod Anise know before claiming a prompt.

This fest is anonymous, so do not discuss your prompt or story with anyone other than a mod or a beta, and do not post your story anywhere else except AO3, until the fest is complete and the master list has been posted.

Stories must be at least 1,000 words in length. No maximum word length.

If you need to drop out of the fest or need an extension to the submission deadline, please email the mods at dgevents2@gmail.com as soon as possible.

PROMPTING: Submit prompts through the prompting form. Prompts can be as short as a few words or as long as a paragraph. You can submit as many as you’d like during the prompting period as long as they are submitted one at a time. Submitting a prompt does NOT obligate you to write a story. Anyone can submit prompts whether they plan to participate as a writer or not! Prompts can be submitted using your name, username, or anonymously. You can view last year’s prompts for ideas through a link in the comments.

PROMPT CLAIMING: When prompt claiming begins, a link to the list of final prompts will be posted in the ⁠2024-draco-ginny-fic-fest channel. More than one writer can claim a prompt. A mod will send you a confirmation email with your assigned prompt. Once you receive your confirmation, you can begin writing! Remember that stories will be posted anonymously so only share details of your fic with a beta reader or a fest mod. If you finish writing for your first prompt before the submission deadline, you can submit your story to the AO3 collection early and then claim a second prompt. Prompt claiming will close one week before the submission deadline.

More information about how to claim a prompt will be posted on the official first day of prompt claiming: May 17th.

SUBMITTING: All stories need to be completed and posted to the collection DG_Fic_Fest_2024 on AO3 by the deadline, July 23rd All stories in the collection will be hidden and made anonymous until a mod reveals it, so make sure no identifying information is included in any notes in the story. Submissions must also include the assigned prompt in an author’s note.

POSTING: Stories will be revealed on AO3 anonymously, all on the same day. Links to each story will also be posted in the Draco x Ginny discord.

AWARDS/REVEALS: More information later! And finally, here it is: Click on The official link to the 2024 DG Fic Fest Prompt Submission Form!

[kiestrokes]

Queen of Tears: KieLo Discussion Post

‼️ Potential Spoilers Below ‼️

Anyone who is watching the show is welcome to join in the discussion🫰🏼

1. Why is Kwan always the annoying little brother 😂 I need to see this man play main love interest or second lead that works his butt off to get the girl.

2. Them having all the son in laws prepare the memorial food was wild...but also amusing. His "What a waste of talent." 😅

3. That blue suit of hers is everything.

I am dying over the hunting episode. Her fan girling over her own husband. Him being afraid to go upstairs. Two idiots.

Colorblind Daddy is even more sinister in this 👀 the dog scene had me so nervous.

NOOO IT WAS THEIR BABY 😭

Nvm her brother also died?

I am caught up 🧍🏻‍♀️

Just kidding I forgot to post this so Pt. 2:

Her brother AND her baby died, I think. I really truly do not like her mom. I hate the whole boy mom culture.

Omg. Auntie found out. BOYYY. The auntie isn’t going to make it, she's going to slip up.

I cannot stop thinking about how much I love Haein's makeup, it's so minimal in this way that gives off royalty vibes. All the props to the makeup artist and stylists.

DUDE (gn) every time they show us another person who is in on the plot I gasp. My brain has been so fuzzy from the new meds that I am not figuring things out before like I usually do. and I am kinda enjoying it tbh.

Ok so I do have a theory though, stepmom is bad. Colorblind daddy is her child she gave up for adoption...the apple does not fall from in fiction stories typically.

@still-with-koo

[that-one-i-think]

tbh - i think there is an actual problem with keeping xenophobia as a flaw of garroth's character and the criticism shouldn't have been framed as 'they hate that characters can do bad things/be flawed people and learn and grow from their mistakes!'. they should instead have framed the criticism as 'you are using garroth's canon xenophobia as fuel for an enemies to lovers dynamic'. garroth's a great complex character to explore even in s3 but its frustrating to in passing see that discussion be used in service of an enemies to lovers dynamic where he is paired with the victim of his xenophobia. a character that has been conveniently morphed to fix the power imbalance between them - if liochant is patient and level-headed and powerful enough to beat garroth in a fight, thus its more Amusing rather than disturbing that garroth has to overcome his prejudices because of his attraction to him. liochant is strong and sexy and miraculously gracious enough to tolerate garroth's character flaws and push back on them when needed and encourage his growth [a far cry from his actual canon, who is Not ever in control or 'supervising' garroth's irrational, aggressive behaviour] while garroth himself purely remains xenophobic and then learns not to be. its okay because liochant can beat him in a fight. its okay because liochant being sexy forces garroth to challenge his own prejudices in the name of the enemies to lovers. its okay because liochant ignores/is patient enough to bear that treatment but is established to be strong enough to bite back when needed and his ability to overpower garroth drives his reluctant interest in him. yet that dynamic crumbles when in the relationship, you are more focused on garroth's need for 'growth' rather than liochant - which is strange because you seem to be able to write liochant's suffering otherwise, but when it comes to their relationship you have established that garroth is erratic and irrational and paranoid & liochant is always in control of the situation. you've shown that you're unafraid to stray from canon liochant, who is in comparison timid, reserved, shy but generous, but certainly not as insanely op as you make him out to be (as in, being able to overpower garroth, katelyn & sk laurance), but have made 0 effort to change garroth while liochant becomes the point of control in their dynamic - you have gone out of your way to not only keep his xenophobia arc with liochant, but to turn it into a part of their romance, and by levelling up liochant as a character while keeping garroth pretty much similar to his canon counterpart, your fic is not very respectful at all. despite all of your worldbuilding and liochant lore which could be really interesting points of discussion alone, you've forced him back into a box as the perfect victim of a white man's prejudice, all while writing from that perspective AND insisting that criticisms just hate it when garroth has flaws. while you are so very passionate about garroth's privilege to learn and grow from his xenophobia, you don't seem very passionate about writing liochant with respect as a victim of that xenophobia. apparently garroth's growth is all anyone else wants to critique, and by all means garroth can fuck up and have flaws and learn from them. by all means if you're so attached to the xenophobia then keep it, but i think its in poor taste to keep it and then make liochant his love interest and include said xenophobia as a complicated kicker for their enemies to lovers story. i would personally ponder its involvement in their romance since there are other discussions to be had about garroth and liochant as characters (and garroth's flaws specifically) that don't have to revolve around them as a pairing or fall into racist implications! hopefully that critique is more helpful than others you've received in the past ^w^

Oh I fully understand where that comes from and how that is how it can be perceived and I would 100% welcome those criticism for discussion. I am going to point out a few things as "defense" for myself but again, if the people who I talked to about framed it like that, that is waaay more welcome then what I did discuss.

1. My fic is not an enemies to lovers. I can understand how it can be seen that way but it really isn't. They aren't enemies, they are trying to achieve the same goal but one is behaving like a dick and the other doesn't actually care that much.

2. Garroth does not get other his xenophobia by attraction. I am a firm believer that falling in love does not make all your past behavior make sense or okay. I do not believe in the "They are bullying cause they like you😜" dynamic because it is fucking stupid. He gets over his xenophobia when he realizes that the people he hates are people and not his enemy. His xenophobia is rooted in the fact that his father has been kidnapped and his home has been overrun by foreign soldiers. He is doing it because he views everyone from the country as a potential enemy and is paranoid. It is certainly not an excuse for his actions at all. Period. It can be fixed though. If he was xenophobic just to be xenophobic, then I wouldn't even be writing this. He'd be left to rot, but fear and paranoia is something that can be fixed. Garroth knows that his own actions are unjust and is correcting them himself as he works towards thinking before he instinctively protects. I have Garroth treat Liochant with the same unease and distrust Garroth showed and treated Laurance with early on, only amplified because Laurence was always his ally until Garroth betrayed him. Essentially, Garroth is quick to act on emotion, but also quick to regret it once it is shown that he is acting fucking stupid, like when Lawrence confronted him about Zane.

3. I am fully going into how it affects Liochant, there is no way I am not. At the moment my posts were focusing on Garroth because that is what is being discussed but if you look through my page I do fully go into it. Especially when I write what would have happened if Liochant was a meif'wa, given how they also faced increased discrimination as shown by Katelyn. I am never going to avoid writing it and it is a focus in my fic.

4. Liochant does snap, he will snap again too, but Liochant getting onto Garroth for his character is not going to be what changes Garroth, because that is not Liochant's responsibility. Garroth will change, apologize and apologize again before Liochant will ever slightly view him in a romantic light, even then there has to be actions taken. The reason why Liochant is passive when it comes to the abuse hurled at him by villagers is because he has no other choice in the matter. He is stuck in a situation where the best option is to take it because the moment he defends himself he will be branded a monster. When in a situation where he knows it is safe to do so, he will defend himself. He is a man with no community, in a foreign land, with people who have no understanding of the politics in Tu'la and why he left and no one has asked. If Nana was hurled abuse from a villager due to being a meif'wa, she would have her entire family and all of her friends come to her defense, Liochant has to be lucky enough to be around Katelyn or Aphmau when he is hurled his. It hurts, he hurts, he wants nothing more to just be able to talk in his native language with others like him, but he can't. He is alone, that is why he is passive.

5. The focus of my fic is not Garroths xenophobia, is it part of the plot, yes because it was in the 3rd season of Minecraft Diaries. The focus of my fic is learning to build communities and relationships after facing tragedies and traumas and rejection. Liochant and Lilith are one of the most important relationships in my fic because they are both orphans who were found and raised and lived through tragedy. That is his baby, and he loves her with every fiber of his being and he has/will kill for her. (The first time he snaps in my fic is at the implication that he hurt her) They are family and slowly but surely, Katelyn, Aphmau, Alina, and Travis will become his family.

Thank you for your criticism, it has given me more insight on how I should frame my works and me talking about my fic. I need to expand my posts more other than hyperfixating on the relationship of two characters. Feel free to send more asks or discuss other stuff in my asks! Doesn't even have to be MCD or fic related, I enjoy how you presented your views and argument and if you see that I share any more interests that you do, feel free to discuss. I really do like how you framed your views and opinion. This is the kind of discussion and criticism I enjoy getting.