#so I thought I’d show a little sneak peak of one of the scenes lol

[spittyfishy]

Same (ish) scene four years later lol

[stray-tori]

TPN S02E04 - Initial Thoughts (anime-only)

viewing + post-ep talk with my friends: Google Drive (sorry, youtube denied me again)

(i) Translations are in the English (USA) CC (including the english bits as well for those who struggle with the audio/language, etc.)

pls validate my efforts and watch it.

there’s some anime-only talk about the adaptation towards the end, I wasn’t trying to be arrogant, just mention it to my friends based on some things I’d heard and without spoiling them about what is different that I do know of specifically. But if you want to avoid that, feel free to!

I definitely said it a bit too in favor of the anime, and obviously my friends’ just got my simplified thoughts on it? Like when they said it makes sense for the anime to move on quicker, but that’s not really what’s different. 

So yeah, please forgive the dubious things in that segment, I really just didn’t think about my words a lot.

.

. Random thoughts

The fish bug scenes were delightful TvT Also the animation during them trying to grab them???

The OST during Isabella’s scenes???? take me

I think we also heard the OST sneak peak from a while ago during the cave confrontation with the army force human

Don is a useless nightwatch, goddamn it Don

Don is an epic chairman.

Loved the shot of Ray shooting at the big demon (why didn’t Emma get a cool shot? :THONK:), very dynamic, very epic.

Also them running together to push the man off the cliff was... something haha.

I’m losing my mind that we’re actually just ending on the way ep1 started. Same animation loops too, eh. to be expected, and obviously adjusted for different clothing and items but. still as someone who wants to praise for not re-using animation, rip.

EMMA HAVING SLEEPING CHILDREN AROUND HER AWWWW

Eyy Ray took a bath with the others too, yay

.

. The bunker

So, the twist was that there was really.... no twist at all. Minerva was a good guy, he tried his best, he got discovered and chased.

And yet, I don’t think the bunker was previously discovered by the farms, which would at least warrant a “scare” like that, effectively making it a trap. They may have been aware of a shelter’s existence, but I don’t think they’ve been there before.

You could probably assume that the Troup that attacked our characters may have also removed the previous escapees from the scene --- but if that was the case, why leave all of the letters and other things in place. Not getting there immediately is understandable, they seem to arrived by foot (what? do you plan to keep an eye on the children the whole like 5 day march back or however long it took?? dang). So that’s not it.

So: what caused the HELPs? the person writing in the book seems to have been abandoned or more likely, are the only survivor of their group (maybe the only person in the group at all). Now it’d be an option for them to have found this safe haven and decided to just spend their days there, slowly losing their minds and doing the things on the wall. But then the message in the book, on the other hand, seems traumatized and sad, but not as lost as the carvings on the wall.

So either, they calmed down after going crazy and then once they did, they decided to leave.

Or it’s from two different people (or multiple), the one after the “HELP” one probably leaving the uplifting message in the book nearby of the scribbles.

I’m not sure which I’d find more likely, but all in all, I’m not sure why they didn’t just have the demons already know of the place and just have the letter (they probably wouldn’t have searched everything in the place) not be as obviously placed and then boom, they could still have made all discoveries they needed and when they found the help wall, it would have been from children trapped in the room while the men searched the bunker, wanting help.

* Clearly that’s not what they were going for, since there’s also day-counting things, but even that you could have explained by saying, they missed a child and the other escapees convinced them that they died, somehow and so they were left behind, traumatized by their friends being taken back and giving up for a while. It still runs into the same “but how can it be the same person?” doubt that my friend brought up, but I think that it’d justify the shock value of the wall more. Still not really making the whole “HELP” thing add up though, since that just sounds like there’s an immediate threat, when there isn’t. The only other thing I can think of is that the entire wall wasn’t one instance, so the counting could be solitude, the HELPs acute danger and the names probably also solitude. The drawing on the right also makes me think it was probably a child as well, fairly young. Poor kid.

Unless there’s something more to it I feel like it makes a little more sense, but still not a lot (WHY’D YOU LEAVE YOUR SNACKS, BRO) but seeing as we’ve left, I don’t think we’ll get to know.

.

I’m assuming the way the farm knew now is either a) they were aware but didn’t see any reason to go there unless there were children there, b) they saw the coordinate carvings (thanks Ray) or c) the pursuers contacted the farms (which would make sense, and again, thanks Ray).

.

.. the farm has a military force???

I also find it kind of funny that the farms have a military force??? Because so far, we’ve never seen them use guns to do anything. Which makes me think they might not be farm-intern but from an outside force, maybe the humans who are more “on-level” with them?

Like, what do they do all day. They’re probably not part of the buff demon guards and.... idk man haha-

.

. Isabella

Ahh I was happy to see her! I was even happier to be like “hah, prison. Knew it.” and then later reacting to the offer, even though that wasn’t exactly what I called, but damn. the pride. my fucking expression too lol, i couldn’t hide it at all pff.

Her jump in motivation is a little weird, but I do see it as, someone who has basically accepted their fate, and when that gets challenged, the will to live takes over. 

I’m also not quite sure how she’s supposed to capture them if she can’t leave?

And then of course there’s whatever they promised her aside from “freedom” (which, if that just means being let outside, good luck ma’am there’s demons everywhere) - or is the transportation to the human world included? :D

Based on her clothing in the OP, I might have guessed it’d be “become a grandma” but that doesn’t really go well with the promise of freedom so.... I don’t know where that entire thing is going pff-

We don’t know a lot about what drives Isabella but one of the few things we do know is a) will to live and b) Leslie (????), hence the lullaby in “stressful” situations.

She already got the will to live with the baseline deal, so the only thing I can think of that would make her react more than freedom would be that Leslie’s alive and she can see him if she helps.

I’m not sure if she’s interested in anything else, like how the world works or what she can do for anyone, like.... hm. Of course it could totally be something that we just don’t know yet but yeah I guess that’s my guess.

They probably won’t give up Ray and seeing as she’s more concerned about his brain than anything, I don’t think even if they did allow her to take him with her, it probably wouldn’t mean a lot to her. Plus, why lose another high quality cattle.

I guess it could be, she did seem she wanted to be a proper mother figure, but idk something tells me it’s probably not something like that.

It would also be more “???” than “OHHH” of an reveal. Then again, Leslie is also an obvious choice so.

Maybe it’s something entirely new, we’ll see :D

.

. The possibily wrong date

So when Anna writes a journal thingy, we see this

And, well, their escape happened in January 2046, so... for that to be true, somewhere along the line, an entire year would have had to pass.

I’m assume this is a production error because

they didn’t get to harvest once

they wouldn’t wait a year to talk about the plan to go back

Ray wouldn’t need an ear patch for so long, he only has a cut

the montage only showed 22nd and 23rd, if an entire year had passed, we’d have been shown more varied dates, etc.

then it makes even less sense for why the army shows up one year later out of nowhere :D

...

Smh, CloverWorks, what can you even do right.

.

Yee, thanks for reading!

[sagemoderocklee]

Writer ask meme - everything divisible by 3

Sorry this took so long to reply to! I was writing out my responses today, but while watching Rosewell New Mexico with my roommate and that show is SO good. anyways this is really, really long so I will put part of it under a read more however if you are reading TAoL and want a sneak peak at an upcoming chapter, my answer to 36 is the entire first scene for that chapter

3. What is your favorite/least favorite part about writing? Other than the obvious writer's block, I think that my least favorite part is feeling insecure/wanting validation via comments and such. Writing is something I really enjoy doing and take great pride in trying to grow as a writer, but it's impossible to completely shake off that feeling of insecurity and sadness over something that doesn't get comments. There's this common thing in fandom where like you can pour a lot of heart and energy into something, be really skilled, only for it to get overlooked. There's obviously a lot of reasons for that, but some of those reasons are kind of annoying—like god forbid something not have sex in it, ya know?

6. Favorite character you’ve written?

So, that's hard.... If we're talking the canon Naruto characters, it can really vary from story to story. I obviously enjoy writing Gaara and Lee, but I was surprised to find that I really enjoy writing Shikamaru, Kankurou, Temari, Neji, and Tenten as well. I think all of them are really interested, have a lot of potential, and are fun in very different ways. Kankurou is definitely just flat out fun to write, and I think Tenten is very similar in the way she's fun to write. I think this like handful of characters are all faves for very different reasons so it's hard to say who my absolute fave is, but I really enjoy writing all of them. Definitely my fave thing is being able to write all of them interacting together, however.

9. Favorite/least favorite tropes?

Least: Soulmates. I hate that shit with a passion—it's boring, it's artificial, it's easy. There was a post I just saw recently that said “soulmates are stupid. I love you on purpose” and that just sums up so much of my issue with soulmates. If something is predetermined by some fucking cosmic power, do you really ever love that person? Do you really ever know that person? Soulmate AUs will always be something that bore me and also insight anger. It's just not for me, and I wish that fandom spaces would just get over it, in all honesty. Fave: uh. I don’t really know about like trope-wise. I just really like anything with good world building and politics.

12. Which story of yours do you like best? Why? Oh gosh.... um. That's really hard to answer because every story I write has a special place in my heart for different reasons. Alliance is my baby; TAoL is a huge emotional investment and has allowed me to grow even more as a writer; Absolution is something I've always wanted to explore; Flyweight Love is super fun and cute; IEYH is a new experiment in writing for me; GoD was also an experiment... and on and on. It's hard to pick like a favorite story because like they're all my faves in different ways. There are certainly things I like more or prefer, like I'm not that into modern Aus as much so it's easier for me to say that like Find Me isn't a one of my best—it isn't, there's a lot of things I want to fix on it, and while it is a decent fic, it's not like groundbreaking imo. But like for all of the things that need fixing with Alliance, that fic is my baby and really grounded me as a writer in a way no other writing project had before it. So like I could never not love it. Anyways, I'm babbling at this point, but basically I love all my fics so I can't choose.

15. How do you deal with self-doubt when writing? Rereading my writing tends to help and hoarding some of my favorite comments I've been left by readers. I know I'm a good writer, self-doubt and insecurities aside, so re-reading stuff is really a good confidence booster—but when that's not enough, it is really helpful to look back at old comments.

18. Tell us about that one book you’ll never let anyone read

Of mine??? Well, obviously by 'book' we're going with fanfiction because none of my original content is at a point where I'd really even consider it for this question. Um. Honestly, I don't think there's much if anything. Maybe some HP fics but not because I'm not like... proud of the writing or premise. Like I'd say my ideas are really good, it's just a matter of like my own time management and shit.

21. What aspect of your writing are you most proud of?

My world building. I'm also generally proud of the premises I come up with, and the themes I explore with my writing. Like I think I'm a good writer in terms of the like technical writing aspect—pros and such—and also characters, but I think I excel at world building and overall plot.

24. Do you remember the moment you decided to become a writer/author? The first time I ever wrote anything I was seven years old. I was at a party for my mom's boss? I think it was a birthday party? Anyway, I was the only kid there—which was fine because I was used to being the only kid in gatherings—but I was sitting alone by like a window and I just like started writing a poem about the night. That was like the first time that writing really became a part of me. When I was thirteen, when my mom got sick, I started writing poetry more. And when I was fourteen, I started writing fanficiton and that's kinda just... never stopped. I've been writing stories ever since.

27. Every writer’s least favorite question - where does your inspiration come from? Do you do certain things to make yourself more inspired? Is it easy for you to come up with story ideas?

My inspiration comes from everywhere, not to like be cliched. But inspiration really is in everything and everyone. I tend to find inspiration really easily in music, but it's also in just like the day-to-day; it's in other writers; it's in washing dishes; it's in a day trip to the ocean; it's in a quote or a touch or a word. Like genuinely, it's in big things and little things and things that shouldn't even be things. I don't feel like I really struggle with inspiration so much as motivation, really. And that is... a much harder thing to find sometimes (especially when you're mentally ill)

30. Do you like to read books similar to your project while you’re drafting or do you stick to non-fiction/un-similar works?

Um. I like to read fantasy mostly, but I don't look for something similar or different from my projects intentionally. I just.... look for things that I like? But I don't really know how to explain that lol

33. What’s your revision/rewriting process like? Since I'm writing mostly fanfiction and the culture of having a beta reader has dwindled significantly, making it hard to find one, I do a lot of self-editing. I'm usually re-reading a lot as I'm writing. So until a chapter is done, I'm always going back and reading/editing before moving on to the next scene. And then once I'm done writing a chapter I'll usually edit it about two or three times in full in the document, then I put it in draft on Ao3 for another edit before posting.

36. Post a snippet All right a snippet..... Let's go with something from: The Art of Love, Chapter 13 (not the next chapter, but the one after). Since I left everyone hanging for so long with that last scene of Gaara and Lee, this is the entire first scene to ch13: It was all his fault. If he hadn't let himself get so carried away in the dream of Gyokukakushin, in the dream of Gaara, in the dream of safety they didn't have this wouldn't be happening. Their belongings had been stuffed haphazardly into their various bags. Despite how many times he'd checked and double checked, Lee felt sure that he'd overlooked something—some wayward item that had rolled beneath the bed or fallen behind the desk that would give them away. Gaara had watched him silently, his thoughts kept to himself as Lee dashed about their room like a mad man.

“I think that is everything,” Lee managed over the mantra of 'My fault, my fault' cycling through his mind. His voice trembled as he spoke. Every inch of him trembled. Every breath he took rattled in his chest. Every beat of his heart was a stutter against his rib cage. Every ounce of blood pumping through his veins burned with the need to run.

“This is useless,” Gaara said, the first words he'd spoken since the beach.

Lee snapped his head up, meeting Gaara's enigmatic gaze. “But—”

“They don't set sail until the end of the month,” he reminded Lee. “What use is being packed? Besides, it will look suspicious if we leave now.”

Tears burned at the corners of Lee's eyes. “But if they are coming—”

“They're coming,” Gaara murmured. “But even if they arrive before we've departed, we have our disguises. You have to trust that we'll be fine.”

Lee's head spun. How could Gaara be so calm? How could he sit there, quiet and unshakable, when Lee felt as though the world were falling apart around them? How could he be so sure that eleven days from now, they'd set sail, free and undiscovered? How was he not furious with Lee for his complacency?

Gaara was at Lee's side before Lee could shake the spinning in his head, a gentle hand at Lee's elbow and a surety in his eyes.

“I know you won't let anything happen to me,” he told Lee, as soft and insistent as the thumb he'd once pressed against the corner of Lee's mouth.

“No. Never.” Lee's stomach twisted, guilt rising like the tide. He'd let his feelings jeopardize everything.

“Then what do you have to fear?”

A trembling laugh escaped Lee, soft and unsteady. He had everything to fear, yet Gaara's gaze implored him to forget those fears. He managed to speak, his tongue heavy with the lie, “I do not know.”

“Then do not know fear. It will make this harder for us, especially if the Daimyo's soldiers arrive before we've left.”

“If they do—”

“If they do, we will be as unknown to them as any other traveler. And if not, I trust your speed to carry us to safety.”

“We would miss our ship.”

“If it comes to that, so be it. We can find other ways of traveling to Tea Country.”

Lee allowed himself to believe all would be well because he couldn't believe anything else when looking into the depths of Gaara's eyes, but there was no escaping his gnawing guilt or the knowledge that his heart had led them to ruin.

39. Do you spend a lot of time analyzing and studying the work of authors you admire? I wouldn't say a lot of time per say, certainly not as much as I should, but I definitely do like to analyze other works and learn new skills, etc.

42. How many drafts do you usually write before you feel satisfied? I don't really write “drafts” per say. Since I'm just writing fanfiction, I'm usually just writing and then heavily editing. Sometimes editing does mean taking out and entirely rewriting entire scenes. And sometimes in writing fics, I do jump ahead—though very rarely—and write a rough draft of a future scene so I don't lose the idea/beats/etc, and then that will be re-written fully when I do get to it. But on average, I'm just doing a lot of editing.

45. First or third person? Third, definitely. I'll never be able to write first person cause it just doesn't really suit me and, overall, I think that it's a very hard point of view to write from. For me, it takes a special

48. Do you prefer to write skimpy drafts and flesh them out later, or write too much and cut it back? So before I write something, depending on what it is I will write an outline that can vary from a few sentences to like pages.

51. Are you a secretive writer or do you talk with your friends about your books? A bit of both really. I love talking about the things I'm working on, but I also love to keep things a surprise so I can see what people's genuine reactions are to like plot twists or whatever. Of course, my problem is that I have to like—talk about my projects to stay motivated. It's a hard balance. I usually end up talking with my roommate since they also write fanfic for Naruto but not GaaLee. We can bounce ideas off each other, when we're stuck, etc.

54. Favorite first line/opening you’ve written? Ugh this is another hard one...  I think im gonna go with the opening from IEYH right now as one of my fave becuase I think I did a decent job of setting the tone of my very first horror project: Too often, ghost stories begin with dark nights or horrible, gruesome death. Real ghosts don't follow the patterns of a novel; there are no beginnings, middles, and ends; no rising action and falling action; no denouement. Ghosts do not achieve resolution; ghost do not experience the climax of their own tale. There are no happy—or even sad—endings. There are no endings at all.

Ghost stories go on and on and on, rambling endlessly towards nothing and no where, only stopping for the finite amount of words one can speak or write in one's lifetime.

That is the true horror of death: ceaseless, unending nothingness.

[kirishwima]

Hi! I adore your writings! Are you still taking requests? May I ask you to write some headcannons for RFA (including V and Saeran) reacting to MC looking like a sweet cinnamon roll but in fact being a lead of rock band that perfectly practices extreme vocal techniques. Sorry if I made some mistakes (I am not a native speaker and, unfortunately, was out of English practice for a long period of time) and huge thank you!

heyo! Don’t worry, your english is fine ^^

I hope you like this, I wrote for MC using she/her pronouns, but I can absoloutely change that if you’d like!

I unfortunately don’t have the time to write for V and Saeran too right now, but I promise I’ll come back to this headcanon and write their parts too once I have the time to! Sorry ;;

YOOSUNG:

He felt like the luckiest man in the world, having such a cute loving girlfriend!! The two make the cutest freaking couple, people cooing at them when they walk down the street

So when MC told him she's in a band, he found it really cool, but didn't question it further-he assumer she may sing some cute acoustic songs or pop bops.

When MC invited him to a show at a bar he was a little curious about the location choice but hey, of course he'll be there to support his girl!

When they arrived MC kissed him, promising she'll see him after the show; he invited a few of his classmates along to see his MC's talent uplose

He already started wondering what kind of band MC's was when the opening act started with punk rock covers of pop songs, one particularly sticking in Yoosung's mind as it was a rendition of Taylor Swift's 'Love story', taking note of their extreme fashion, all spikes and dyed bright hair...

And them MC's band came on stage and hoo boy she was unrecognisable! Thick smudged eyeliner, a bold black lipstick, her leather jacket adorned with patches and spikes all over, her jeans so ripped you could see her thighs, and thos massive combat boots...

Yoosung didn't have the time to pass out as MC greeted the crowd with a cheer and the drummer started up the beat, the guitsrist following suit, and MC's voice...

Sure he heard her hum at home but this was NUTS. Her voice was so thick, deep, yet she managed to pull out some screams from her little frame that Yoosung couldn't believe

After the show he would NEVER shut up about how much of a cool badass his girl is. And if someone said sure, she's cute but not a badass...Yoosung would simply invite them to MC's next preformance

ZEN:

When MC had casually mentioned she's a singer in the RFA chatroom, Zen was thrilled!!! How did he end up flirting-dating a fellow colleague??

When he kept asking what kind of singing she did, MC cryptically replied 'oh, it might not be the type of gig you're used to' and left it at that, much to Zen's dismay.

After the two started dating, MC invited him along to a show, which Zen excitedly prepared for, tagging along as MC drove him to the location.

He took note of the underground bar-turned-coner-hall, the exposed cement walls and dingy barstand in the further corner, how there were posters and graffiti covering parts of the walls, the floor...

He raised a brow; Zen was no stranger to the punk rock scene, and definitely not to these underground bars; let's not forget he was in a motorcycle gang thank u very much

MC took him along backstage to meet her bandmates, whose styles ranged from completely average everyday style to punk spikey badass. He didn't question that either, but started to understand what MC's gig was, smirking as he realized; MC was testing him, pushing to see just how comfortable he'd be with her scene.

As the opening act started up on the stage, MC had been putting the finishing touches to her makeup, Zen sitting besides her smirking up at her reflection in the mirror.

"What?" she asked with a laugh, adjusting her spikey necklace.

"Not my kind of gig, you'd called it? Baby, I've been in this scenes long long ago. And knowing you're about to go out there and sing your lungs off..." he bit his lip, having the nerve to look bashful for a moment.

She rolled her eyes as he stood up, tugging her into an embrace.

"Give them hell out there" he whispered in her ear.

And she did. Hoo boy she did.

What she also did was bring out Zen to the stage...and boy, this man was born for the punk rock scene!!

JAEHEE:

To be fair...Jehee respected MC's profession, but she didn't really understand at first.

"So...it's not like Zen's musicals?" "No Jaehee, it's not." "But...you sing and have a distinctive style when on stage?" "Yes!" "I see...just like Zen! :D" "Jaehee...no baby"

Instead of trying to explain, MC sat Jaehee on the couch, connecting her phone to the TV to find one of her band's videoclips to play.

She settled on one of her favorite songs of theirs, and with a glance Jaehee's way, she hit play.

Jaehee was mesmerised; she stared at the screen, barely blinking as she took in this brand new side of MC she was witnessing, blushing as MC sang and winked at the camera, her lipstick smudged on purpose, her black ripped shirt falling off of one shoulder as if she'd been in a scuffle, her voice-how could a girl as sweet as her MC let out such a grovely voice?!

As the video ended, Jaehee remained quiet, her eyes still focused on the screen.

"So.." MC started, "What did you think?"

With an unfathomable intensity, Jaehee turned her head towards MC, pushing her glasses that'd fallen low.

"MC, I need you to show me every videoclip and concert you've got videotaped. NOW!"

She's from now on MC's number 1 fan UwU

JUMIN:

MC actually didn't tell him much about her occupation, worried how someone serious like Jumin would take it.

He knew she sings, and that she has a band, but that's pretty much it.

Not wanting to push her, Jumin simply left it at that, allowing MC to share what she felt comfortable sharing at her own pace.

He did hear her hum songs to herself sometimes, sometimes finding her on the couch surrounded by pages and music chords as she figured out new songs and lyrics.

He did sneak a peak at one of her music sheets once, reading through the lyrics with a confused frown.

"Lips like blades cut words through blood...?" he read the words aloud, looking to the paper with furrowed brows. "I see..what a wonderful metaphor MC has thought of" he smiled, setting the paper back down. He was so proud of his beloved's  talent!

Once at a buisness party, he saw an associate of his approach him and MC with his daughter in tow, a girl seemingly no older than 16.

"Mr. Han, greetings" the man started, "I'm sorry to interrupt your discussion this suddenly, but you see, my daughter saw your fiancee from across the room and insisted we come over and say hi."

The girl looked up to MC with a wide grin. "I'm sorry I-I'm a big fan! I love your music and your latest song-'Bloody Sins', I loved it so much!"

Jumin watched the situation unfold as MC chatted with the girl, even taking a 'selfie' with her that the girl squealed with joy at, and in a flurry she was gone, leaving Jumin alone with MC again.

Jumin glanced at MC, a small smile on his lips. "Bloody Sins, was it?"

MC blushed, looking away with a flustered grin. "Ah yeah um-I never told you the genre of my music, I don't think it'd be something you'll be into-"

"Metal, I assume? Or rather, judging by the glance I've happened to take at your music sheets, the chords seem more befitting of some modern form of rock. Punk rock, prehaps?"

MC stared at Jumin flabbergasted. "You...how do you even know what punk rock is?!" she couldn't help her voice raising with shock.

Jumin smiled, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "You'll find I'm not as dull of a buisnessman as you might've thought me to be my love. If you'd do me the honor of inviting me to your next show, I'd be happy to listen to your wonderful voice live."

Jumin wearing ripped skinny jeans and leather jackets? Sign me tf UP

LUCIEL/SEVEN/SAEYOUNG:

Not only did he know who MC was from his background search on her, he was actually a fun!

He loves punk rock, its the type of music he listens to whenever he works lol, and there was something about MC's voice that he just loved

He knew MC only as she was in her videoclips and as an online persona; a strong voice, tiny and soft-spoken in a couple interviews he stumbled upon online but with heavy makeup and rocking outfits.

The MC he met in the RFA though was much different; she was soft and cute, funny but so insufferably sweet, how could an innocent girl like her belch out such badass lyrics about death and destruction?!

Not that Saeran minded it-on the contrary lol, he loved to point out the difference in online punk rock MC and his now-girlfriend MC, throwing some of her more intense lyrics her way whenever she’d try teasing him over something herself.

Still, he was her biggest supporter, talking about her online to the point of getting a hector of traction towards her band; he rarely attended her shows given his job, but when he did he’d watch her from backstage with the proudest of smiles, and sometimes…well, he’d be a bit of a prick and mess with the lighting and audios backstage lmao

Im sorry MC you’re the one that decided to date a prankster OwO

[minetteenfers]

Gonna sneak peak you all the first chapter of this novel I’m working on because I’m having too much fun with it. lol

Until I Found You Excerpt:(I don’t think I need to preface this, but it’s an adult romance novel. You’ve been warned. LOL)

Tags: ABO, primalkink, werewolves, werewolf/human romance, contemporary romance, cursing, drinking

Chapter 1: Thaniel

 I sat in my oxblood leather armchair in front of my stone fireplace, swirling my glass of whiskey in my hand.  I always liked to look presentable. I was the Alpha, the top man in my pack and I couldn’t look to be anything but. Not that I really took my title seriously. I didn’t ask to be cursed by a damn vexing woman. She had played me, dragged me in and made me fall until she could put something in my drink. Most of us are here because of some sort of magic. Some corrupted witches that decided to not play fair. Some might call them selkies or sirens, we just call them vexing women. And mine played me hard. 

I knew what my best attributes were and what my worst ones were, but it varied depending on the woman in my bed. One thing I knew for sure, I had a massive primal kink that could strangle a city. Most women found me to be terrifying, but a few were into it. It wasn’t my fault that I couldn’t control my urge to growl and pin a bitch to a bed. My urges to run my nose along their neck and take in their scent points behind their earlobes like a starved man that hadn’t partaken in his darkest vice. I craved it, needed it, but I wasn’t down for finding a mate. I enjoyed being alone. I enjoyed not having to worry about someone else. I just wanted to break my damn curse and not have to live this life. But everyone in this lifestyle knew one thing, there was no breaking it. Once a wolf? Always a wolf. You were a part of the pack until the day you were put in the damn ground like some forgotten sad soul. I was trapped. Trapped to become a wolf until the day I died and who knew how fucking long that would take.

 I cleared my throat and focused on the crackling fire. I had been told that I had to find an Omega soon, but I hadn’t come across one that I liked. I had been to many parties, all fancy, but I had never found her. I had never found the right mate, not that I wanted to. Like I said, I lived for being alone and fucking whatever and whoever my heart desired. Fuck the other shit.  

 Daniel Thate, my Beta best friend and right-hand man, had been giving me shit for years about it. It wasn’t like it was my fault that women were scared of me. Most of them that is.

I sighed and a corner of my lips curled up to showcase a fang as I brought my glass of whiskey to my lips, taking a long sip. My fangs ached to sink into a woman’s neck, but I wasn’t in the mood to hunt.

I honestly don’t know what it is about me that is so intimidating. I mean I am a tall man and I have broad shoulders, and maybe I am a bit overly muscular, but I am a good man. A damn fine man if you ask me. But sometimes the outside outweighed the inside. If I’m honest, I’m lonely. I want to settle down and have a few kids. I’m thirty and by now most of my friends have settled down with a couple kids under their belt. And all I have to say for thirty is a lavish home and this damn glass of whiskey that is currently in my hand. God damnit.

“Hey, are you heading to this party with me over at Evie’s?” Daniel barged into the room and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

He was slightly less muscular and shorter than I. His medium toned brown hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and his shirt was a crimson red. His black leather pants had crisscrossing leather along the sides of them and his black ankle boots were loose.

“I’m serious, man. You need to come out sometime. Evie has some hot friends. I’m sure you’ll find your Omega there.” Daniel smiled at me with this shit-eating grin that only showcased how hard he was trying to get my ass out there in the playing field with him, even though the damn bastard was taken.  I set my jaw and quietly growled as I brought my whiskey up to finish it. “C’mon man, don’t leave me hanging like last time…”

I sighed and threw my glass into the fire, causing it to flare up and shatter. I lacked all fucks at the moment. If he wanted me to go, fuck it, I’d go. I’d prove him wrong. No woman would really want to settle down with me. Fuck me? Sure. Settle down? Hell no. I was the type you took home to fuck, not bring home to your mother. I brought the black military styled boot that was resting on my thigh to the ground, as I grabbed onto the arms of the chair and pushed myself up to stand.

“Fuck it. You want me to go, I’ll go.” I walked out of the room and heard Daniel follow me out of the room.

“Thaniel. You’re gonna meet the right Omega. I’m telling you. Just give it time.” Daniel continued to follow me and while I loved the little shit, he annoyed me to death.

“I’m just going to humor you.” I sighed and got to my car, unlocking it with the key fob. “What club is it at?”

“Barbed Rose on Eve’s Street.” Daniel climbed into the passenger side and I slammed the car into gear. “You really think that no woman is gonna want that amazing body of yours? How many women you take home on the daily?”

I growled at him. It didn’t matter how many were in my damn bed. Not one single one wanted to fucking stay with my ass. It always ended in the girl leaving because I meant so little other than a quick railing.

“Who’s all going to be there?” I tried to focus on the road and not on my best friend, who was too excited for me to go to some party. I partially wondered if he had planned something for me there to surprise my ass. I hated surprises.

“Oh, ya know… the usual. Evie, Diane, Vix, Jason, Mike, Christian, more. The whole pack and their Chosens.” Daniel shrugged and I nearly slammed his face into the dash when I hit the break.

“Christian?” I hated him, absolutely despised the man. He was the biggest asshole of them all. One of those men that used women and felt they were his property.

“Chill. He won’t be trouble. He gave up on that years ago.” Daniel tried to calm me down, not that he could.

“To hell he won’t be. The man wreaks fucking trouble. Prove me wrong!” I shouted and pulled up to the valet parking at the club. “His ass so much as causes a scene among the human public so help me god.”

“Don’t worry, big shot. Jesus. Evie bought out the damn club. No humans will be within a twenty-mile radius tonight.” Daniel rolled his eyes at me and touched my forearm that wouldn’t stop flexing. The veins pressing against my skin about to bust.

“You better not be lying to me.” I growled through my clenched teeth, showing off my fangs and wolf-like golden eyes.

“Shit you not, man.” Daniel raised his hands in the air and my eyes shifted back to their normal warm brown color.

“I’m trusting you. One fuck up by Christian and I’m out.” I shoved my thumb over my shoulder with a jabbing motion.

That man was the worst Alpha to exist in our pack and I hated him with a fucking passion. The man could roast in fucking flames in the underworld with Hades for all I cared. He was sadistic and cruel. No bone in my body can appreciate a man that doesn’t appreciate a woman. Human or not.

I tossed my key to the valet and walked up to the club, adjusting my black silk button-down shirt’s rolled sleeves. I didn’t know why I had fucking decided to go here. Why did I want to be subjected to this? The bouncer at the front door was a friend of ours and Daniel fist bumped him before entering the joint. I gave the man a quick nod before getting engulfed by loud club music that bumped and vibrated off the walls.

“Sugar, you made it!” Evie ran up to her husband in six-inch heels that had my mind wandering how many surfaces they fucked on with them.

I shook my head and sighed, ignoring how my best friend gathered her up into his arms and made out with her like there was nothing better to do. Like I wasn’t in the damn room. I took my leave and made my way over to the bar, a place that I’d rather be. Drinking always made me feel better and made these parties more bearable.

I had barely gotten my beer in my hand before a hand clapped onto my back. I nearly spilled my drink as I jumped from the interaction with an unknown presence.

“Hey, how ya been, mate?” I recognized Jason’s voice with ease. He was from Australia and had been a resident for a few years now.

“Fine. Don’t you have something better to do than give me small talk?” I lifted my beer to my lips and took a swallow of it.

“Look, mate, I haven’t seen ya in ages. You don’t come out much.” He tapped the bar and ordered a dark lager.

“Not really my thing.” I shrugged and took another sip from my beer. It wasn’t as good as it could have been. I should have ordered something stronger.

“Yeah well, we missed ya.” Jason knocked his beer against mine before walking away.

It wasn’t until I heard a commotion behind me that I really cared about what was going on around me. I had barely even listened to Evie’s speech or to any of the other Omegas that had walked up to me. I was lost in my own thoughts about what I was even doing there. Why I was there. I could be sitting at home playing a game or watching TV.  But one thing I could not ignore was the sounds of a woman struggling behind me. It was then that I knew I was going to get my ass in trouble.

“Let go of me! I’m not some plaything to be had!” A female voice echoed past the crowd of people talking and drinking, filling my ears with her voice alone.

It wasn’t a tone that I wanted to hear tonight. It wasn’t even something I wanted to ever hear. It was a woman in distress and the voice that accompanied it was one that I really, really, hoped wouldn’t be connected to it.

“C’mon, baby girl, let me show you what a real Alpha can do. You don’t know what it’s really like until you been in bed with an Alpha male.”

Changed his old ways my ass. Christian Alpine, the one and only asshole. A man that closely resembled a damn monster rather than a man. He was no Alpha male; he was an abomination. A mistake that deserved to be cursed. He had practically begged for the damn bitch to curse him. No normal, decent human would beg for a vexed woman to curse them.

“I don’t want you. I didn’t even want to come to this damn thing. You dragged me here against my will like you- like you owned me!” The woman struggled and tugged on the chain that was connected to a metal collar around her neck.

I wasn’t having this shit. I could just walk out right now like I had planned. I told my fucking best friend I’d walk if Christian pulled this bullshit again, but he had told me he had changed. Lies! The man was right there, tugging a woman around by a fucking collar and leash against her will. He had defiled a beautiful thing. A collar was meant to be something special. Something that meant commitment in some cases. A sentiment of love and respect. A symbol of something more. Not what he was using it for.

I sniffed the air and one word fell into my mind. Human.

 Two of the songs on the playlist:

[booklust]

Futurelit Vol 5: Grace Byron

This time around, I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Grace Byron, the Brooklyn-based columnist, writer and filmmaker and all-around brilliant, benevolent creative spirit whose recent book release party for NB Carrie Bradshaw (read it here via Epigraph Mag!) at Babycastles solidified my love for her and her work. 

This interview was the first time I had the opportunity to conduct a classic interview over the phone instead of over text chat, or as I like to call it for reasons I’d gladly explain to you over a glass of wine, “The Tony Hawk Method.”

This resulted in a truly gorgeous conversation that flows synaptically and always takes surprising directions (Twin Peaks, the afterlife, and a tender moment involving Coldplay that occurs towards the end---when you see it then you’ll understand!). It also brought me right back to the days at my editorial internship where I would transcribe hours of interviews, but in a good way this time. I took great pains to not only get the content and diction right, but to convey the undertones of our exchange that made it so vibrant. Which, interestingly enough, makes it take on the visual form of a text chat.

Check out our conversation at the jump, with gorgeous illustrations by Becky Ebben:

You do a column called “Trans Monogamist” for the Bushwick Daily (I binged that…it’s really dope) and your latest project is NB Carrie Bradshaw (which is out now!). So I’m curious, what sort of came first: your interest in the format of an advice columnist/relationship columnist,  or your love of Carrie Bradshaw?

Actually--I didn’t start watching Sex and the City until January 2017, which everyone is sort of super surprised by, and honestly? Me fucking too. Not that it’s a perfect show, but the aesthetic signals that it’s something that I should have seen a long time ago. It took me a long time to get to it. I had heard a lot of the negative stuff, which there is a lot of, and rightfully so. There’s this one terrible bisexual episode where Carrie’s just like, “I just don’t know….he’s bi .” And I’m just like… “Girl, so what.” The point is, the column writing came sort of naturally. I had a column a few years ago at my paper called Queer Art Vibes before I had even seen Sex and the City. And I was mostly writing about art, and capitalism, artists, and things I was finding interesting aesthetically. The last column that I wrote was after I had a break-up, and it was called “How To Date an Anarchist.”

Oh my God

And it got like, no comments. Because most of the columns that I was writing were about trans identity and stuff. I got all these comments like, “Why can’t people just make up their minds about gender?” And I’m just like, that’s completely irrelevant to what I’m talking about. So this column got no comments at all. There’s this huge anarchist population at Indiana University. It just closed down this month, but we had this huge anarchist bookstore that was this huge draw for the punk scene.

It was a column that didn’t make sense for where I was writing. But then as I was watching Sex and the City, and as I was doing a lot more dating my last year in college, I was thinking “yeah, this is really important to talk about.” And I started thinking of dating as a political and aesthetic and emotional practice. It’s more using this pop culture phenomenon to let people understand something about what it’s like to be trans and dating. It’s not like it’s me and my three friends that are all going through the same things. Or it’s not like me and my straight girlfriends talking about how our experiences are different. Or me and someone who is nonbinary even talking about how it’s different for both of us. But I do like that element of friendship in it, that element of comradery.  But I think it’s interesting now that shows act like there’s this group of 4 friends and they’re all the same. And that was never my experience? You know, there’s always a nonbinary person, a lesbian person, and...maybe a straight man.

LOL the token straight

Right. At least that’s my college experience, where I’ve never had a group of friends that were all the same. There were always at least one other gay or queer person. It’s a helpful lens to think about dating, and think about dating how much it’s changed since the early 2000s. A column is a dispatch from the front lines, like “this is what happened this month! How’s it going with you?” The book [NB Carrie Bradshaw] has a little bit of a more narrative arc to it. But in the columns, there’s no resolution. -----keep reading below------

Right, and that’s what I like about it. There’s endless thinkpieces about dating apps, queer dating, etc, and it’s so frustratingly depersonalized. It’s very strange how the discourse tries to force dystopia instead of actually having a comprehensive view of how people feel. There’s a lot more truth in the way that you present dating than how someone tries to dissect it in a thinkpiece.

Yeah, thinkpieces are weird. I love to read them, but I also don’t know how helpful they are a lot of the time. Especially when they try to draw a definitive statement. In some things, sure, that makes sense.

Like in a college thesis, where you’re forced to come to a resolution for your life, pretty much.

What was your experience working at a college newspaper?

Basically, I came to college, and I was on the media floor--and basically what I thought that meant was cross-genre. But in reality, what it meant was journalism. And then I thought, you know, okay, it’s fine. I thought it was interesting. And so I almost went to join the newspaper as a writer and interviewer, I did a few articles. But a rule was that if you were a writer for them, you couldn’t be interviewed. And that was my biggest problem with it--I knew I wanted to do art. I knew that I wanted to get press. I didn’t want to prevent that from happening.

Right after I came out my freshman year, this guy on my floor was like, “do you want to talk about being gay at IU?” And I was like uh….sure! It was weird because it was my first time being interviewed for something real, and I was talking about being gay. But I was also trying to sneak a pitch for my website while doing it, I was like...go watch it! They promptly cut that out of the interview, though.

Good effort, tho.

I didn’t love that environment. I wasn’t taken with it. I started volunteering at a local radio station where I did stories about lots of things. That was much more interesting and fulfilling than the college newspaper. And my friend was like, “do you want to be columnist--we need one.” Not because I was special or anything, because they really needed one. And I was like, “sure.” So I started writing these extremely leftist columns, like “capitalism is the devil, and here’s why : )”

And I wrote one that was like, “nudity in art isn’t porn,” which isn’t even an extreme opinion. But I started getting all of these comments like, “Counterpoint: nudity in art isn’t not porn.” I was just like wow, I can tell that you really read this column….

People just read titles a lot of times.

Yeah for sure. Our campus was filled with a lot of views of all extremes, and not just anarchists. We also had a militant white supremacist population on campus. There were a bunch of protests from that group over the course of years--it wasn’t just one year, or just this year, which was definitely the worse than the years before. I also got tons of hateful comments from white supremacist groups on my articles. So I was just one of the people on the receiving end of those comments.

But as far as my involvement in the newspaper group itself, I think I only attended one meeting. I didn’t really feel a sense of community at IU that a lot of people there felt. I think a lot of people looked down on what I did because it was so personal. It wasn’t like I was talking about music, or like I was talking about hard-hitting stories. So I wasn’t really a part of the “IU JOURNALISM COMMUNITY.” But it wasn’t like I really wanted to be. I would still sometimes get people who appreciated my work, that came up to me and said “I love this, I love what you’re doing,” but they were usually queer people.

Which is definitely the desired reaction, which is awesome. Talking about your webseries “Idle Cosmopolitan” -- what was your favorite audience, or your favorite venue that you showed it to? And what was that sort of reaction and vibe like?

I wasn’t at all of the screenings. It showed at Bloomington at Planet Nine--which is this small VHS rental/DVD rental video place that kind of reminds me of Ghost World or something. I wasn’t there, but a lot of my friends were there, since it was my home for so many years. I assume it went well. From the pictures, I saw that it went well, at least.

It showed at Sarah Lawrence, which I know very little about how that went. I wanted to be there, but I was scheduled at work. Which is a whole thing about how I’m not a full-time artist. I say that I’m a freelance artist, which means that I make MAYBE 50 bucks a month off of my art. If it’s a good month! So I can’t always go to everything that’s happening. It’s an interesting part about being an artist in this landscape. People expect you to be global, and there’s only so global you can be if you’re working class. Which I think is important to be transparent about. It’s not always fun to be transparent about that, but it’s important.

Exactly, you want to be honest about it, but you want to portray yourself as larger-than-life-to get attention, and at least the semblance of clout (whatever that fcking means). But being an artist, you’re a part of a community, and you want to treat that community well. You don’t want to stunt and act like you’re making a living off of your art when you’re not.

It’s not cool to lie one way or the other. It’s not cool to portray yourself as a poor person if you’re not, and I’m not super poor or anything, but I’m not living off of my artwork, and I make a decent living off of my work as a childcare worker. But yeah, you shouldn’t lie because you’re fooling yourself and making art seem elitist.

There’s the lie by omission, in a way. A lot of people are internet famous, or have a certain persona that makes people say “Oh, I want to be like this person, who so clearly lives off of their artwork.” When in reality, it’s probably a side hustle at best.

Or they live with their parents. Or they have rich parents.

It distorts people’s dreams and plans--it’s important to be responsible about that.

Totally. One show I was at physically was at Secret Project Robot, at this festival of poets, and my videos were showing between poets that were reading their work. So that was interesting---I was the only video artist at the show. And as many things as I have tried--I have written poems, but I’ve never called myself a “poet.” So I thought that was kind of cool to have that multimedia experience, to see my videos projected really large in front of a big crowd of 20 or 30 people. Which doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s actually a lot. I remember thinking wow, the crowds are gonna be so big in New York. And they are! But 20 or 30 people is a lot for DIY art. Even if you’re successful, or internet famous--it’s hard to gather a crowd wherever you are.

And it was really cool because people who were actually in the video got to see it, which was cool! Chariot is in it, and he was there, so that’s cool.

There was one livestream and q&a in the UK, which was really cool. And that was my favorite, because the moderator was super smart and always asked good question about the fantasy genre, and its intersections with queerness. It was refreshing instead of questions like-- “Why are you gay? Why is this here?” It was a good convo to have beyond the surface level.

It’s awesome that I saw so many showings of your series was in Indianapolis, in Indiana. You may not see a big crowd--DIY art isn’t an Ariana Grande concert--but What you do see is how it sort of transforms the room, and creates a living space, a community. 20 people is a community. Especially in Indiana.

Right, there’s very established artists and documentarians where the only place they have more than 20 people show up is in their hometowns. Even world-renowned documentarians may struggle to get an audience. Which is awful. But I think that one thing that is happening in the real world is that there are plenty of people I look up to, who are famous, whose twitter gets pretty very few likes! And they may have a huge amount of followers! And I’m like--why am I getting more likes than world-renowned feminist scholars? I think that’s happening in real life too. These people are having talks and showings of their work and sometimes DIY work is a different experience and maybe draws more people than these professional pieces, and there’s a community of people who can see themselves in that as artists.

I agree, it definitely changes the dynamic for people are used to when it comes to art, you think there’s the artist and this huge invisible wall and then there’s the observer, and it breaks down that dynamic.

Right, it changes the power dynamic. The artist isn’t a preacher.  What we’ve seen in DIY venues is, everybody is sitting in chairs. The artist is in the front, but everyone is on the same level. There isn’t a stage to walk down from.

I think people are only starting to observe this change, and aren’t sure what to call it yet. Some people see changes like this as the death of something, like the death of some kind of empire of how art works. But especially with this project, I think I’ve not only been an optimist, but a realist in the sense that it’s for the better. So many people are screaming “death to media! Death to print!” and I’m just over here like, “You’re a Baby Boomer, please don’t talk to me.”

Ha! Right. These media aren’t dead, but they’re definitely dying. But I think they’re going to be dying for a while to come. People broadcasting the death of all of these things---like, they’re not dead yet. The Met is gonna be in trouble, but the Met is gonna be around for the next 100 years. The Met’s not just gonna crumble.

Going back to “Idle Cosmopolitan”--I love how it’s a series of very short films. And by short, I mean like, slightly longer than a Vine length. And some people may come across that and immediately compare the series to Vine culture, but my immediate thought was comparing it to poetry, with a lot of tightly-wound content being fit into a small space. So I was wondering how poetry influences your visual work, or how visual work influences your poetry, etc.

That’s interesting. I actually originally applied to go to college for poetry. I never called myself a poet, but I did think about it for a while. When I do write poetry, it’s usually about nature, and viewing nature through the lens of divinity and power dynamics. Which I think is definitely a big part of my video work. The “Queer World” in my piece is a forest. Somebody was talking to me recently, and said that “I think it’s interesting that the queer world is a forest. Do you think of urban spaces as, like, not-as-queer spaces?” I hadn’t really thought about that. But whenever I think of that sort of the afterlife, I don’t think of cities. And what’s our other option, really? Nature. An ocean would be a terrifying destination for the afterlife. I think that poetry is super important, I think when I’m writing anything, I tend towards a lyrical, poetic style. I love hard facts, but I was never super into Hemingway. I always loved the Great Gatsby. Not that I like showy, hyper-stylized stuff; I hated the Great Gatsby movie. But the suggestion of artifice, the suggestion of things like that, I think is really interesting.

There’s ton of talk about heaven and nature and sin in “Idle Cosmopolitan.” I’m sure it comes from a long line of being raised in Christianity, and having read all of the Christian classics. And as a kid, I was obsessed with the apocalypse. Once, I was between 6-9 I remember looking at clocks in restaurants and thinking, “Could this be the hour of the end?” I remember being super into Revelations, and the ghost stories that my friends and I would tell each other, and often confusing them as the same thing.

I think that’s a form of poetry true, a strange, mental form of poetry. I think the afterlife is poetic, because there’s no concrete that you can provide.

I think in terms of modality, I think I’m always writing in the form of the poetic, even if I’m not writing a poem. Even my column--it’s not a how-to column, it’s not a safari.

It’s not MTV Cribs!

Right! Definitely more reflections.

I always thought of videos sort of in musician terms, like “this is my new album---Idle Cosmopolitan.” This is the tracklist, and each has a poetic name, etc. And each year, there’s a self-image overhaul….well, there’s no image overhaul for me this year, but especially in college I was into that idea, where I wanted to amp myself up every year.

But this iteration, for me, was trying to marry these poetic ideals with my own lived experiences, to make it sort of autobiographical, but still have a flourish. I mean, I was watching Twin Peaks when I was working on it.

Yeah, I can definitely see that influence in there. Where there’s that magic-realism, but it’s so mundane. The suspension of disbelief is so well-dissolved into it.

Right as I was starting to write this, I just finished the season of Veronica Mars---I’m not sure if it directly influenced it…

But it was there

Yeah, and watching Twin Peaks: the Return. What I thought was interesting about it was its formal elements. There was this sort of suspension of disbelief present for both the characters and the audience. So then you’re just like, “Yeah, queer spirits! That makes sense!” So, it’s that magic realism that is super appealing. And also the fact that it’s episodic. One of the things about David Lynch that I’m really into is the episodic nature of his work. There’s this loose play with time and narrative, and it’s an experience.

I think what Lynch talks a lot about, especially in later seasons, is agency. But in Sex and the City, for example--Carrie isn’t a bad person, but she’s not necessarily a good person either. She has affairs, runs around doing whatever she wants, she tries to take a break from dating and has a guilt complex where she feels bad about her actions, and also places guilt on other people--it’s complex, which I think is interesting.

Like chaotic neutral, but a little more complex than that?

Yeah, definitely. I’m obsessed with people who are chaotic neutral. I don’t think I’m chaotic neutral, but I’m fascinated by that those people exists.

I’m a super-intense Virgo, Type A, Blair Waldorf type. I definitely pride myself on hard work--which could be problematic--but I have that crawl-my-way-to-the-top sort of vibe.

This character in the webseries, they’re sort of neutral. They’re a relationship writer, but it doesn’t seem like a main part of their personhood. The only thing that they seem mad about is when their boyfriend breaks up with them, which is fair. But they don’t seem to be making many choices, and there’s something very sidekick about that.

I was in this space in my life where I was having to make all these intense decisions--deciding to move to New York, having to make all of these choices about who I wanted to be as a person. The character is the exact opposite, where there’s no movement. There’s a movement in narrative, a movement in place, but it kind of happens to them.

They get a letter, a pep talk from Fate--and they’re just like, “Sure, whatever, I don’t care.” Then they enter the queer world, and they’re like “Alright.” And then the Blue Spirit is the one who was like, “No, this wasn’t actually a good choice.” And they’re like, “Okay, sure.” They never really doubt people’s motives.

There’s a sort of guilt about making choices that Type A people have. Inevitably, if you’re a type A perosn, you’re going to hurt people. Even if you’re not actually hurting them, you’re going to make choices, and choices affect people. There’s winners and losers. So what does it mean for the sort of stoner archetype, this chaotic neutral archetype, when they don’t make choices?

I’ve never been a chill person, so I gravitate towards writing characters that are like that. Because I’m always wondering….what does that feel like?

Right! I feel like it takes a lot of effort to be chill, which isn’t chill. It’s kind of a self-consuming concept. I’m not gonna say it’s the only real binary, but…

Haha, right! Ok back to influences. Actually, as far as the soundtrack goes, I’ve gotten a lot of feedback where people say it reminds them of Sex and the City, and that it’s derivative. Actually, one person said that the soundtrack reminds them of Rugrats….

Stop!!!

Right!? Well, it’s jazz, but it’s sort of this chaotic jazz.

It’s a typical theme song in a lot of ways, but it’s disarming. Which I like.

Some people said it makes them anxious.

It offsets the perceived chill in the series, which signals you to look harder.

Watching it back, I was like...something is wrong. Narratively, there’s something up. But I’m not sure if that thing ever gets hashed out or resolved, it just sort of hangs like a dark cloud.

Which is what’s so great about poetry. There’s always that lack of resolution. People always get angry at that, where they want to feel satisfied...where’s the sequel at??

Do they get the girl or not??

Yeah! It’s how we’re taught to view life. But especially with creative people, it’s paradoxical--they only thing that makes them (us) feel satisfied is poetry, that sort of form that leaves things unresolved.

Totally.

How has the internet shaped your writing?

The internet is definitely fucked up. It was created by the military, and is now owned by billionaires. That’s already strike one. But let’s assume that the internet is also provides a space that provides more access for more people. But it doesn’t provide equal access for everybody. It provides equal access for a relatively small amount of people. You have to afford a computer, internet access--and even if you go to the library, you have to afford to be there.

But let’s say it does level the playing field in that way---even still, people don’t have more of a chance of getting their art noticed because of it. It does mean more people can put their stuff out there, but it doesn’t guarantee more viewers, or more fans, or some utopia.

The internet has become this neoliberal promise of equality. This reveals itself in every aspect---who dominates media, who dominates internet celebrity, etc. This doesn’t discount the fact that there’s fantastic DIY spaces based on the internet, but there’s a lot being overlooked.

The internet as a structure is racist, sexist, homophobic, and transphobic. Even if we go back to technology like photography, for example, it was a technology developed to best depict white faces. It’s so great that the internet creates a platform for people, but that includes creating platforms for neo-nazis on 4chan, for alt-righters to doxx people. The web is pretty fucked up, and it amplifies our greatest strengths, like community. Especially the trans community, which is so important. But it also amplifies our problems, and reveals where we need to grow.

I don’t think the internet is the devil, but I think it makes it harder for people to feel like human beings. It mirrors capitalism, and degrades human beings in so many ways where we’re expected to become a brand, which is always tied to capitalism. We’re forced to reduce ourselves to something bite-sized, which is troubling me as a person and as an artist.

When did u start writing and being creative?

I was always drawing. I was super into Pokemon and all the Nintendo games. I was into anything cute and well-designed, like Zelda, and anything involving world-building. I was super into maps, and at a young age, I thought, “I wanted to do that.”

At a young age, I wanted to be a pop star. And I made the boys in the neighborhood be my band. Now I’m thinking that was sort of a strong signal of me being gay, haha. Boys---you’re gonna be in this band, and I’m gonna sing Breakout by Miley Cyrus.

I started getting really into bands. I was really into Coldplay, and I wanted to be Chris Martin.

STOP, ME TOO

I really liked “Clocks.”

ME TOO, when I first heard that, I was like, Now….that’s what I call music.

I also really liked “Lovesong” by Sara Bareilles, which is entirely different, but I was also like...that’s what I call music. Also Paramore and Deathcab, and I was like…..this is also Music. I still love all this stuff

I still listen to all this stuff pretty much on the regular, even though I laugh about it Yeah! And at the time, all of these things were coded as feminine. Even Coldplay, which was, not a boyband, but kind of more healing.

Right, like ~emotional boys~, ~soft boys~, this sort of soft masculinity before it was talked about and memed.

I went from wanting to be a popstar, to wanting to be in bands, to wanting to do comics, and then I was like...I want to be painter! I did a lot of paintings, and then I wanted to be an actor. I was fixated on stardom, on theater. I was in all the plays of my freshman year.

Then I moved schools, and this guy who didn’t even like me and stopped talking to me, but I liked him---I wrote this psycho-opera about him. It was all songs about him, and it was super awkward. I recorded an album about him. He started being nice to me, and then I was just like…...here’s an album…

I was like, that was fun, but then I started to getting into Wes Anderson. And Woody Allen, but #WORST. And then Godard, which was better. Then I started making movies. And I saw 30 Rock, and it confirmed what I wanted to do.

I love how you go from Godard to 30 Rock

I know!! I was very all over the map. Then I started watching more experimental films and wild stuff, so it’s been a journey to where I’m at now.

The wrapping up portion, something I ask at the end of every interview...this is actually the first interview I’ve done that’s over the phone, an actual physical conversation. And the form of how I’ve conducted each interview has really affected it.

How would you describe the future of literature in a tweet-length? Or a sort of verbal tweet length, also tweets are longer now so….yeah….

Smaller.

[bridges-you-cross]

Shi Yi Lu - 1st Story: Wánkù (纨绔; Rich Spoiled Kid) - Qiao Shiqi

Ever since I heard that Xia Da was going to write Shi Yi Lu, I’d planned on doing the summary translation and discussion for it like I did for CGX. That said, I can’t promise I’ll be doing this for all of them, but I’ll certainly try my best.

On another note, does anyone know of a way to download from kuaikanmanhua? The comic strips that Xia Da uploaded on her blog are not the best quality, and I want to keep these beautiful color pages around.

Alright, I’m done talking for now. Here goes.

Shi Yi Lu - 1st Story: Wánkù (纨绔; Rich Spoiled Kid) - Qiao Shiqi

The story begins with an introduction page.

At the end of the Sui dynasty, Emperor Gaozu of Tang Li Yuan rebelled from Taiyuan, naming the era Wude.

Eighth year of Wude, the country began to settle.

The emperor’s eldest son Li Jiancheng was calm and prudent, had long been established as the Crown Prince; second son Prince of Qin Li Shimin was brave and skilled, his prestige in the army was quite high.

The emperor was very close to the Crown Prince, more than half of the political affairs were given to him to handle; the emperor also relied heavily upon Prince of Qin, there were legends of the emperor privately promising Prince of Qin the title of Crown Prince several times before he set off on his military expeditions.

His Majesty’s thoughts were difficult to predict, the court officials’ and aristocrats’ attitudes were also becoming subtle.

In September of the Eighth year of Wude, beneath the clear and cloudless sky of Chang’an City, the undercurrent began to surge and the storm started arriving.

On the next page, we have an unseen person speaking.

Unseen person: You do not have to come every day to take care of me. The current situation has been like this……you should still try to avoid somewhat.

The unseen person was talking to Little Qiao. We now see that the unseen person was Du Ruhui. In response to what Du Ruhui said, Little Qiao pointed out that, since the day he entered under Du Ruhui’s mentorship, his entire family had been regarded as Prince of Qin’s (Li Shimin’s) faction, and that whether he avoids visiting Du Ruhui or not would make no difference.

Little Qiao: If the Crown Prince ascends to the throne, will the current situation be better? His Majesty is still in the peak of health, yet the Crown Prince’s henchmen dares to assault the Prince of Qin residence’s Grand Scholar on the street.

Du Ruhui: ……Even you can think of this, how can Prince of Qin not think of?

Little Qiao: Teacher, just what is the plan of His Highness Prince of Qin?

Du Ruhui: You should not ask me this. How did you see Prince of Qin? Little Qiao: His Highness was as usual, today he even brought the Crown Prince residence’s Princess Yongning out to go hunting. Teacher was injured like this……normally he would have soon visited to comfort.

Du Ruhui: ……Finally determined? These two fingers were not lost in vain.

Then the scene changes, and we see Little Qiao in this place that looks like ancient China’s version of a bar/club.

While sitting here, Little Qiao was deep in thought.

Little Qiao: That’s right……I really am silly. Even though he is usually so protective of his own people that the whole court knows of it, yet regarding such an incident, Prince of Qin……this uncharacteristically calmness, he is determined then? The Crown Prince kept putting on pressure like this in order to anger Prince of Qin, to make it easy to catch his weakness? That Princess Yongning was so favored and pampered……but her second uncle was only using her as a prop to show his weakness.

Then Blue Eyes broke into his chain of thought.

Blue Eyes: Er-lang, Er-lang? You don’t really have long yang zhi hao, do you? You spent all day here with us, but only drink and chat with Hu ji. (TN: More on these three sentences in the discussion below.)

Little Qiao: ……

Blue Eyes: Could it be that you are interested in me? I can actually think about it.

Little Qiao: Scram!

Then he went down outside, sighing that he should worry about himself first (so does this mean you were worried about Princess Yongning then?), and we have this:

From now on, whenever I think of Qiao Shiqi, I shall think of this scene and his expression here.

Little Qiao then ran back up to Blue Eyes, startling him into choking on his drink.

Little Qiao: The……little lang jun who come to see Sese, what did he come here to do? (TN: Lang jun is a semi-formal term used to refer to men back then, and I guess Sese is the name of the lady that was leading Chang-ge to her room.)

Blue Eyes: Who? Ah, that one…… Hair is not even fully grown (TN: He’s saying that Chang’ge was still just a brat), what else can he do? Isn’t he just like you, relying on that pretty face, getting the sisters’ favors. But I heard them secretly talk……this little lang jun has special hobbies, not only learning their words, but also stealing Hu ji’s clothes and learning to dance with them.

Chang-ge, your behaviors made it really easy to misunderstand, you know. “Special hobbies,” he said……

Little Qiao wondered why she came here to learn to dance from Hu ji, especially since isn’t her mother Hu ji also? Blue Eyes said that Little Qiao was asking so detailedly, could it be……

Then Little Qiao freaked out and told Blue Eyes to shut up and to make sure that everyone in this place pretend that they know nothing about “little lang jun.” I guess the Crown Prince’s daughter sneaking out to a bar/club to learn dancing and stuff from Hu ji wasn’t exactly acceptable behaviors.

Blue Eyes finally realized the seriousness of the situation and asked which family’s wánkù (rich spoiled kid, ahh, the title of our story) is this.

Little Qiao: That is the ancestor of the wánkù!

Lol. Here, you can probably guess this, but Little Qiao meant that she was the head honcho. Then the pretty lady we saw in one of the previews showed up looking for Little Qiao. She told him to go home quickly and dragged him out. On the way, Blue Eyes asked her where she is taking them (we now learn that her name is Xiang-po, which means incense, probably not her real name), and she said that she’s taking Little Qiao to the back door. Blue Eyes then asked if Little Qiao had done something to offend her. He said this because back doors were usually not used for guests.

Xiang-po: Does Young Master still remember Captain Wang?

Blue Eyes: Captain Wang?

Xiang-po: It’s the one who relied on the fact that his father is the Crown Prince residence’s Supervisor of the Household that he even dared to assault an assistant minister, that Captain of the Guard. I do not understand these matters of the Han, but I just heard him mentioned Qiao Er-lang, he said…… “The old one cannot be touched, but the young one we still can, right?” “Catch him and give him a good beating, so that these aristocrats can see what siding with the wrong master will result in!

Okay, here, we have the Crown Prince residence, and at the beginning of the story, Little Qiao mentioned Prince of Qin residence. I’m translating this literally, but “residence” actually refers to “administration.” Basically, each of these princes had their own administration, or their own mini-court, with advisors and strategists and scholars and military generals, so on and so on.

The Supervisor of the Household (詹事; Zhān Shì) was a government post unique to the Crown Prince’s administration. I’m not sure what this position did exactly since I didn’t do any research on it. Honestly, it just sounds like a butler to me.

Back to the story, Blue Eyes told Little Qiao to walk quickly and to take his horse, which is tied at the back door, instead. He also told Little Qiao that he did not need to return the horse, since Little Qiao’s horse was still in their stable. Little Qiao thanked him, a sound was heard, and then we saw four hoodlum-looking men blocking the back door. Apparently, the leader of the group just hit Xiang-po, hard enough to bleed, and called her a cheap servant. What an a**hole.

Little Qiao stepped in front of Xiang-po and told ugly-face that they should come directly at him and not cause trouble here. Wang the ugly-face said that, of course, they were going after him. He then told his underlings to go out on the street and create a commotion, the louder the better. He told them to say that Little Qiao and him were fighting over a dancer and that, in the heat of the moment, they were not being careful, and this might even resulted in a fatal incident.

They began to beat up poor Little Qiao. Blue Eyes wanted to come forward to help, but Xiang-po pulled him back to keep him away from the fight. And just when Wang ugly-face was about to deliver the final blow (cuz I don’t think Little Qiao was gonna survive being hit by a thick wooden stick like that), “someone” stopped him.

Wang ugly-face: To not respect Captain Wang is to not respect the Crown Prince.

Chang-ge: Such big words. Since when did the Crown Prince’s face stick onto your face?

Wang ugly-face: Yong…Yong……

Chang-ge: Well?

Wang ugly-face immediately fell to his knees begging for his life.

Wang ugly-face: Lang Jun please forgive! Lang Jun please forgive!! I did not know that you were…… No, no! I did not see Lang Jun……

His underlings were still clueless. One of them asked who this “brat” was, and Wang ugly-face told him to shut up and to go out and tell the guy who was still shouting to shut up. Chang-ge was fed up with all this.

Chang-ge: Scram, all of you.

Wang ugly-face and his underlings quickly disappeared, and Chang-ge turned around to go back inside. Little Qiao called her back.

Little Qiao: I am Qiao Shiqi, I give thanks to Your Honor for saving my life.

Chang-ge: I said all of you, scram, did you not hear me?

Little Qiao paused for a moment before continuing on.

Little Qiao: Your Honor! The heaven’s wind and cloud cannot be fathom (TN: meaning, each day could have unexpected circumstances), human have good and bad fortunes. Your Honor right now is free of any worry, but if one day……if one day Qiao can help Your Honor with something……I will give my all, never back down.

And then we have this beautiful shot of Chang-ge:

Chang-ge: Pfft. Just by you?

Little Qiao was stunned into silence. Then Blue Eyes told Little Qiao that they should go, and we have a third-person voiceover explaining Little Qiao’s thought.

Looking at that insufferably arrogant back, thinking of the elders’ unspoken yet was about to happen matter, the second son of the Qiao family was momentarily annoyed, yet was also momentarily sad.

Under Chang’an City’s bright September sun, the youth’s heart was just like his bloodied sleeves, full of wrinkles and crumpled into a knot, not knowing what to do.

Finally, at the end, we have an epilogue of sort.

A year later, Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Prince of Qin led soldiers into the Xuanwu Gate, killing Crown Prince Jiancheng and Prince of Qi Yuanji. The Emperor was shocked, thus making Prince of Qin the Crown Prince.

Crown Prince Li Jiancheng was given the posthumous title “Yin”, his children were all put to dead. Eldest daughter Princess Yongning fled from the residence, riding her horse and falling down a mountain stream, her body was not recovered.

Qiao Shiqi covered up the report, silent for a long while.

His promise, really was useless after all.

Alright, discussion time.

Let me begin this part by answering a question that many of you probably have upon reading this story, and that is: Did Qiao Shiqi has a crush on Chang-ge? Personally, I believe the answer is no. I’m making this claim based on the fact that Xia Da did say that she does not like love triangles and also on canon facts from this story.

I think we are so used to all the love triangles/rectangles abound in Japanese manga that whenever we see a character noticing/paying attention/helping another character of the opposite sex (or same sex if the genre is shōnen-ai or shōujo-ai), we automatically think that he or she must romantically interested in that character. But that’s not realistic, and Xia Da’s works are usually known follow reality, at least in terms of the characters’ behaviors.

That’s why I don’t think that Qiao Shiqi was interested in Chang-ge romantically. I think he was just being a good person. He knew that she was arrogant and proud and didn’t care about anyone unrelated to her. But she was also a 13-year-old girl who (he thought) was being used by her uncle to deflect suspicions off of him, who was about to be caught in something that she had no part of, and who had just freaking saved his life, unintentionally as it seemed.

What Qiao Shiqi felt for her was most likely a mix of guilt and pity. It was never explicitly mentioned, but that’s the feeling I got from his thoughts. Sure, it wasn’t his fault any of this happened to her, there was nothing he could have done, and her father the Crown Prince was kind of a jerk anyway.

But the fact remained that she lost her family, her life, even her existence. Princess Yongning escaped on a horse and fell down a mountain stream with no body recovered. She lost everything that day, and he knew that she was gonna lose everything, and he did nothing about it. Again, there was nothing he could have done, but I think it’s perfectly understandable for him have mixed feelings about it. It’s like seeing a drowning person, but you don’t know how to swim, and there was no one else around to help, and you just stand there and watch that person drown. It’s a bad example and full of holes, I know, but that’s how it is in general. You know it’s not your fault, but it still affects you.

Looking at that insufferably arrogant back, thinking of the elders’ unspoken yet was about to happen matter, the second son of the Qiao family was momentarily annoyed, yet was also momentarily sad.

Under Chang’an City’s bright September sun, the youth’s heart was just like his bloodied sleeves, full of wrinkles and crumpled into a knot, not knowing what to do.

This part here pretty much said everything.

Which is why I believe that, in future chapters of CGX, Qiao Shiqi will help Chang-ge, if given the chance.

Alright, let’s move on.

There was a part earlier that I said I would discuss further.

Blue Eyes: Er-lang, Er-lang? You don’t really have long yang zhi hao, do you? You spent all day here with us, but only drink and chat with Hu ji.

Here, Blue Eyes is calling Little Qiao Er-lang, which means second lad. Recall how in CGX ch 36 Chang-ge and Sun were pretending to be cousins of the Qin family. She was the lu-niangzi or the sixth miss, and Sun was si-lang or the fourth lad. It’s the same situation here. It basically means that Little Qiao was the second son or second child of the Qiao family. I don’t know if they kept the numbering separate for male and female or if they counted them together. I’ve seen it done both ways in literary works, but I haven’t really done any research on it.

This practice was done because, in ancient China, your given name was considered to be something important and could not be used carelessly. In fact, that’s still how it is today. So people usually refer to each other by their family name and, traditionally, their birth order in the family. So Little Qiao was Qiao Er-lang, Chang-ge was Qin Lu-niang, and Sun was Qin Si-lang. As a matter of fact, if you’re familiar with manga, you might have noticed how the characters mostly address each other by their last names. Only close friends and families use the given name. It’s the same thing here, and it was particularly important for women in ancient China to not give out their given names so easily.

And if you think about it, up until this point, Sun has never once called Chang-ge by her given name. He called her Li Chang-ge, but not Chang-ge. While calling someone by their full name isn’t the most formal or respectful way to address them, it certainly add a bit of distance to the relationship. You usually address classmates who you’re not close to this way. Chang-ge did the same thing, calling Sun Ashina Sun up until the most recent chapter, when she changed to Ah-Sun. Sun told her to call him this way because he could no longer go by Ashina Sun, but note how awkward he looked while telling her that.

Next, long yang zhi hao. Here, Blue Eyes is asking Little Qiao if he’s gay lol. I gotta say, this sentence says something about this time period. If you’re at a bar/club and you don’t do anything beside drinking and chatting with the women who works there, then you’re probably gay. Okayyyy, then.

As for Hu ji, it just means Hu women. Nothing special here.

Overall, I really like this story. We get to see another side of Chang-ge that we did not see before. Sure, we’ve seen how she can be proud, but this level of arrogance? That, we have not seen. Plus, we also get a glimpse of her privileged life in the past. Nobody messed with her. Nobody dared to mess with her. Chang-ge was such a boss back then, and it’s honestly amazing to see how much she had grown from the person she was here to who she was in CGX. Qiao Shiqi said so himself in CGX ch 61.2, and seemed genuinely relieved to see that Chang-ge was alive and well. Ah, it’s nice to be able to make these connections between SYL and CGX.

Well, you might have known this by now, but the 2nd story will be about Situ Langlang. Actually, it will be about Situ Langlang’s master and grandmaster (his master’s master) and is aptly titled “Master”. I guess this means that Situ Langlang is considered an important character by Xia Da. Hmm, I’ll have to reconsider who meet the qualification for having a story written and appearing in SYL. That said, I wonder if we’ll see anyone else from CGX here aside from Situ Langlang. At least we know for sure that Chang-ge and Sun won’t be showing up as they’re not even born yet. Heck, Li Shimin’s probably not even born yet, since he ascended the throne in his twenties and Situ Langlang was said to be well into his thirties……

Well, no matter what, I’m looking forward to it.

[lizacstuff]

Liza, poke, poke, what are you thinking about all things ouat?

Hi there. I’m guessing from the poke you must have sent me a question I haven’t answered? I do have a lot of anons, how about I pick a few to answer under the cut?

First, to answer your question I still find myself feeling ambivalent towards all things OUAT.  Same as I have all hiatus.  

Anonymous said:Colin’s way of talking about the surprise coming. Makes me 100 percent believe its a CS kid. Thoughts?

I’m not sure which quote/spoiler you’re referring to.  Recently, when I’ve heard Colin talking about the big spoiler in ep 2 I feel like he’s referring to the two Hooks thing and the way that the show is planning to preserve the CS happy ending.

However, I still think there is a CS baby, too much foreshadowing about them trying to get pregnant. Why even bring that up in Emma’s last episode unless that is the point?

My guess is that in some quotes he’s referring to the first spoiler, and in others the second, or perhaps both.

Anonymous said:i think a lot of people have already gotten their hopes up but do you really truly think a cs baby is a possibility in next week’s episode? i want it so badly that i think my hopes are already beyond up. i know we’ll find out next week anyway but i just can’t come up with any other reason for emma to be talking the way about second chances and what not. i don’t know. what do you think?

I think we will know in a week.  I would advise tempering your expectations, because you never know with this show, but at the same time I fully expect there to be something about a CS child. 

Anonymous said:Oh my shit, Liza! Two Killian’s! There really is two of them! Us clone Hook theorizers aren’t crazy! There’s only one problem: it would be just like Adam and Eddy to send Hook #2 home with Emma, and real Killian cursed to Seattle. Even though that would be beyond cheap and meaningless. I really hope they don’t do that. What tgey made Outlaw Queen settle for was bad enough. Do you think there’s much chance theyll pluss that here, with CS?

Yes, those of us who have read the breadcrumbs and have speculated that there may be two Hooks have been on the receiving end of a lot of shade from people who were pretty haughty at times. I’ve been leaning toward the forking!Hook theory myself, I guess we’ll see next week what nonsense they have cooked up. Interesting that they guarded this secret so carefully all hiatus, and then teased it in the promo.

As for giving Emma some second copy or wish version? Gross. I’m not even going to have that discussion.  If they do something that disturbing, I’ll be out. 

Anonymous said:So I just read some facebook comments and it looks like the GA audiences are not impressed with ouat. I haven’t watched the ep but they say the acting is really bad. What did you think?

I think that is going to be a lot of people’s opinions.  You can read my thoughts on the episode here. 

Anonymous said:not surprise, when colin said that those were the best scripts he read I rolled my eyes.

I know. It’s obviously the way he’s chosen to try to sell this season. I’m not saying he’s lying… just being overly positive and thinking that him saying that will get viewers to turn back in. It’s his job to try and convince people to watch and unfortunately he’s not been given a lot of other things to work with.

Anonymous said:If clone regina ended with wish robin, then clone hook has to find the other version of emma, not a randon LI

Well I have no idea what that second Hook is (I still think a past timetravel-type forking version is more likely.) 

But PREACH.  I will accept NO alternate love interests for any version of Hook. Either he doesn’t have one, or it’s Emma.  I accept (and will watch) nothing else. 

It’s a deal breaker.

Anonymous said:Shouldnt clone or double or any version of Hook feel and be incomplete without Emma. I mean the last scene with Rogers looking at Emma’s page in the book means something = Rogers feels for Emma, that connection. What is the point of true love & soulmates if its not maintained in any version & time. Clone or not i think this shUd overall stay true (hence i do not ever see a love interest for Rogers (never did) coz to me seeing Emma in the book again highlights that connection & true love of CS)

Okay, sounds good to me! However, I have no idea what they’re doing yet with the two Hooks so I can’t even speculate on something like this. To me, we need to know how and why there are two Hooks before we can begin to have this conversation. 

Anonymous said:Can I ask what you thought of Lana this episode? I’ve seen a lot say that they enjoyed her. I thought the scene where she stands up to Tremaine to be a little cringy.

We all know I’m not her biggest fan.  I thought she had very little impact, a non-entity.  If we didn’t know who she was, I’d think she was a guest actor we will never see again.  I didn’t cringe, but I also wasn’t impressed. Nothing special there at all. 

Anonymous said:I think people are just shipping Shoe Believer because the show has just instantly made up the couple and story so there is no room for intrigue (not that its wrong but i dont think they will ever achieve the status CS were in popularity & fan faves & actors, & snowing) I feel like A&E think all fans of rumple, regina, hook will like henry/jacinda just like that, why would they fight. I am surprised no one is shipping Roni off with Jacinda… her DIL, they did it with her step grandaughter lol

Well, “people” can like anything they want and ship anything they want. I can see why someone would be drawn in by the Shoe Believer storyline in that ep.  There were some good scenes of them at the ball and it’s cute how Henry found the slipper and that’s why he decided not to go back and like I said earlier, they had a moment in the bar that Andrew sold pretty well.  

That said, some of us recoil about being force fed.  For me, shipping is about discovering the chemistry and feeling it, so being told that something is going to be an epic love story and having the writers force it, instead of letting it happen slowly is not a good recipe for me. But that’s me. Everyone is different. 

I don’t think there is any question that anything on this new iteration will ever reach the heights of Captain Swan. Captain Swan was lightening in a bottle, one in a million. You can’t just decide you want it and make it happen. It’s the convergence of a lot of things going right and it’s rare. 

As for shipping Roni and Jacinda, I’m sure there are people who will, that’s the nature of fandom. 

Anonymous said:WOuld you say that Henry and the new Cinderella are like snowing in a shipping sense? Or CS? Like adam said lol.

I think they are nothing like CS (but what is?) IMO, the way they’ve been set up they are a cross between Snowing and Outlaw Queen.  Their origin story and meeting feels similar in style to Snowing, but the way it’s been forced and predestined reminds me of Outlaw Queen. Time will tell which path they end up taking. 

Anonymous said:Not that I’m being cynical or anything- but I have to believe that they purposely released the CS sneak peak hoping people wouldn’t realize it is for the following episode and tune in tonight. ABC has to have seen that CS is the big seller and they are using it while they can…

It’s proof they know that CS sells and that many CS fans have already left. They are desperate and scrambling.