#sorry this is a very self serving rant

[sophsicle]

not to be obnoxious. but i really like the jily in choices. and now you're thinking, bitch i should hope so, you wrote it. WHICH, yeah, fair point. but, it's super overwhelming to receive a lot of negative feedback on something, especially when that negative feedback is like "you're a morally corrupt person writing horribly morally corrupt characters blah blah blah die" y'know? so like, there are a lot of parts of that story that, in my head, have been a bit warped, by having people repeatedly tell me how awful they are. but sometimes i'll read bits of it and im like "wait. no. this is actually good (grammar mistakes aside - im sorry, i know it's bad, i had school and work and my brain was clearly mush or something idk)." like. chapter 55 jily. i just love it. i love when lily tells james he's putting on an act in therapy. i love when she tells him that now, when she looks back, all these memories she thought were about them, have regulus's fingerprints all over them. and he tells her he thinks regulus felt the same way and that he's sorry. because he never wanted either of them to feel like they meant less than everything to him. because they never meant less than everything. i like when she tells james that regulus wasn't a good person. and when james says "i know. but he wanted to be, and doesn't that matter?" and lily thinks it probably doesn't but regulus is dead and so she lets him have that. LIKE i just. yeah it's fucking messy. and it will never not be messy. nothing about their relationship will ever be simple. but i love that. like i love that so much. and i've had people tell me they think it was a copout, having james love them both. but i just, i disagree. james being torn apart by how much he loves people. like that's it. that's the story i want to tell. that's the character i want to write. ANYWAY. there's not really a point to this other than like, sometimes i forget that i really like choices a lot. that i wrote it for myself and i wrote the characters and the relationships that i wanted. and that it isn't some horrible ugly terrible thing that should be hidden from innocent eyes and like, stuffed in a cannon and fired into the sun, y'knowwwww?????

[vaguehotels]

had the most braindead repetitive conversation/argument with my parents. buzz cuts are too masculine but if you dye a design on it it become effeminate which is bad because then you look weak and if youre weak then society falls apart (all societies ever that have fallen apart for any reason are actually because of feminine men) and we start sacrificing babies. and also all mental illness is invented because only 4 people had anxiety in the 90s and covid was made up so that we would all become gay and trans and then the government can control us better and be joe biden's little sex slaves. and also i need to keep my hair long because my father finds it attractive. what

[voxslays]

Pspspsps; not sure if you take requests... But if you do, can you write like. Vox pining and having a mega crush on the reader? However, the reader is taken. so Vox keeps seeing all the sweet, adorable things they do for their partner and is like 'why can't that be me? why am I stuck with Valentino goddamn it"

JEALOUSY, JEALOUSY

It started as a regular day for Vox—dealing with the Vees PR and HR departments, watching his cameras, and making sure the company sailed smoothly. That was until he saw a pretty doll hanging off the Radio Demon’s arm. Who was she? Since when had Alastor ever let anyone get that close to him?

It didn’t matter. Vox had now made it his personal mission to find out more information about you. He spends the day in his monitor room voogling (googling) your name and stalking your social media accounts. He can’t help the rage he feels when he finds out you’re dating Alastor—yet he doesn’t know why he feels that way.

Over the next week, he goes out of his way to bump into you in the street when Alastor is busy with other ‘things.’ At first, Vox was angry that Alastor had chosen you over him—but as he gets to know the kind, funny, and interesting person you are, he can’t find it in his software to hate you. How could he?

He watches the cute and small things you do for Alastor every day. Fetching his morning coffee, helping him cook, placing the daily newspaper on his ‘designated’ chair in the lobby, and slowly falls in love with you for that. Vox can’t help but imagine what it would be like to have such a domestic relationship with you…a relationship that is nothing like the one he has with Valentino���

Vox and Valentino are very off and on—really only being on when Angel won’t talk to Val. Vox has grown tired of being someone’s second choice and feels even worse when he sees you with Alastor. He can’t help but think to himself. ‘Why am I stuck with Val? Why can’t you just love me back?’

HAPPY ENDING ~

Alastor is a very busy (and also self-serving) man. While he does love you, I do think canon!Alastor would chose himself first in most situations. And that’s not even talking about sex. As we all know; Alastor is ace, meaning his sex drive is practically non-existent. Most of the time Alastor doesn’t even care to talk about the subject with you—and the only time you get any action is during his seasonal ruts, and he hates physical touch.

So after a fight with Alastor about how he refuses to show love through physical touch, you conveniently find Vox out on the street and the two of you talk at a local café. Vox lets you rant to him about Alastor and advises you break up with him—which you go back to the hotel and do.

Vox then offers you a job as his assistant, which you eagerly accept. Over the next few months, Vox will do everything in his power to woo you over—not to show off to Alastor (although that is a nice benefit to having you as a partner)—but because he is genuinely in love with you.

In the end, if he is able to pull it off, I think you would both be in a way happier relationship.

A/N: sorry if this is kinda bad…I haven’t posted in a bit because I was redoing all of my masterlists lol. I might one day turn this into a full fic, but for now I hope headcannons are okay. Thank you! <3

[letterex-fyofm]

tskym thought because finals are over wii

Most people talk about how Tadashi puts Tsukki on a pedestal. I actually thought that the first time I watched Haikyuu. I thought that Tadashi's moment consisted of him standing up to Tsukki and pushing him off the pedestal and finally having both of them stand on the same level

Now I rewatched Haikyuu, and rewatched it again and again. Read bits of the manga, watched stage plays, read Furudate's statements, you get the gist.

I don't think Tadashi ever put Tsukki on a pedestal. I think we can all agree that Kei is pretty cool. If anything, his moment at the Shiratorizawa match served to confirm it to us. Tadashi always saw his friend for who he was, someone cool. Yeah, Kei may not view it that way. We know very well how low his self-esteem used to be. Which is funny, since his best friend looks at him as if he is the one who hung up the stars in the sky. Kei doesn't think he is worthy of that look, and he tells Yamaguchi to be quiet. Because he knows how it feels to admire someone so much and then be disappointed when they fail to reach your expectations. Akiteru lied to protect the image his little brother had of him. Kei tells Yamaguchi to be quiet to prevent other people get that image of him which he thinks it's false.

But Tadashi laughs and says a sorry he doesn't really mean, because Tadashi knows it is true. And thus, Tsukki gives up and rolls with what Yamaguchi says.

That's what gets Tadashi so mad. Because he knows his friend is so cool, so why is he acting so lame? Tadashi never says "you're lame", but "you're being lame". He never chews down Tsukki in his rant but instead reminds him of the attributes he has. Tsukki is tall, he is smart. He could be the best if he wanted. Why can't he see that?

Tadashi didn't kick Tsukki from the pedestal he had built, because there was never a pedestal in the first place. There is a popular phrase that goes around everywhere: what I would give to make you see yourself in the way I see you. For me, their fight in the training camp was Tadashi shoving a mirror in front of Kei's face, both to make him realise how lame he is acting and how much it didn't suit someone as cool as him.

But Kei doesn't see that, because he is too busy seeing Tadashi.

I think Kei too had the image of Tadashi that I used to have: that Tadashi had him on a pedestal. And of course, that is not really cool. Kei resents his younger self for putting so much pressure on his brother. Maybe he thinks that, even if Tadashi was sincere, their friendship was not. For him, Tadashi loved someone who Kei was not. Just like little Kei admired someone Akiteru was not. Was that maybe why he appeared so closed off to Yamaguchi during the first chapters?

But Tadashi had the guts to grab him from his collar, jank him front and back, and yell at his face: What more do you need than pride.

So, Tadashi sees Kei as who he is. A flawed person, who is still cool. And the Tadashi who was a reflection of Kei's younger self, a lost boy who didn't know better, that image shatters in front of Kei's eyes. Because Tadashi was never looking up to an illusion but looking at Kei straight in the eyes.

And the Tadashi Kei sees is someone really cool. And that really cool guy thinks he is cool.

So, even if he is not convinced, he goes to ask for help to gym 3. And we know the rest of the story.

[md-reblogs-and-textposts]

Ranting about the mischaracterization of N

Tw for: Self-harm, violence+death, and much more.

So, N is supposed to have a more "Golden Retriever" type of character, it's made pretty obvious throughout the episodes. With this type of character, however, comes the mischaracterization and babying from the fandom that kinda bugs me.

Yes, N is very happy and light-hearted a lot of the time, and does have Golden Retriever characteristics. That's what a lot of the fandom (including me) loves about him, but that's not what I plan to rant about today. I'll go more in-depth at a later time about that part.

This will go into a part that a lot (not all) of the fandom doesn't exactly mention, and it adds a lot more depth into his character. Each claim will have evidence from the episodes, as well as some stuff I guessed just from context.

N is very serious and protective when it comes to V in the pilot episode, even going so far as to genuinely try to kill Uzi to protect V. Despite having his memory reformatted, he clearly still cares very deeply for V, showing he'd very clearly kill someone for those he cares about, but only if he knows they pose a genuine threat. He has displayed this behavior when protecting Uzi, too.

Quote: "I'm sorry. I really enjoyed our time together, but I can't have you shooting V with that thing." (Pilot episode, shortly after N breaks into the bunker.)

Evidence: N cutting Cyn/Tessa's head off when Cyn was pretending to be Tessa, literally all of episode 8, etc.

N has shown to have awareness of horrible things he may have caused, and while a lot of the fandom knows this is a given, I've seen some posts saying the opposite.

Quote: "I was the PILOT?! That's awesome-! (I crashed and ruined everything...)" (Episode 2, when Uzi shows the pilot hat to N, while in the pod.)

N shows very avoidant tendencies towards anything he may not know about, but on the other hand, he'll look into things if it may be a danger to others, or himself.

Avoidant:

Quote: "I actively avoid unpacking how that works." (Episode 2, when Uzi, Thad, and N go to investigate the disappearances in the bunker.)

Investigative: N shooting up at the ceiling in episode 2, revealing Cyn's weird Eldrich form and/or J's spooky lookin horror broken form that Cyn speaks through temporarily while repairing J.

No evidence/Context clues+my thoughts:

N was literally rebuilt and reprogrammed to kill others, and this is still a large part of him. Back in the mansion, he would definitely have been disturbed by the thought, though. He was made to serve, not kill.

TW: Self harm+harmful thoughts

N displays behavior that is common in people with mental illness (specifically depression) in episode 7. Everything has clearly affected him, and he hasn't been able to cope well with it.

Evidence: N starts to cut his arm off (yes, I know it was to get out of the rubble, but there were other intentions added onto it), specifically while saying "I deserve this". Not "I have to do this" "I need to get out" No. He specifically said "I deserve this".

There's more but I'm tired. Feel free to comment, I'll add it to this post later on!

[davekat-sucks]

look, i’m sorry, but I just can’t get over this, in that screenshot you posted the hicu even called him the most self-adjusted in the cast, what the actual fuck. Faggot Vantas? Self-adjusted? How. If they are not making the same tired, rancid jokes about how ~HOT~ his mantits are now, they’re sucking on their own OOC shitty version of Karkat’s dick until it’s dry.

i’m beyond tired of this shitshow hyper-focusing every single update (whenever they actually happen once in a fucking blue moon because the pacing is that fucking horrible and slow) on dragging Jade and Rose, who used to be my favorite characters, through the mud and humiliating them just to prop up Karkat as their moral paragon mouthpiece on a soapbox screaming down at everyone else and calling them desperate whiny whores and wombs.

So, I’m going to do exactly what he does and go on a way too long rant against the nu-fandom and hicu’s golden boy, whom they love to project onto so much that they don’t even realize he’s the worst-written asshole in the entire comic. Or maybe they do, and that’s why Karkat is such a fucking imbecile now, because they relate to him and genuinely think he’s in the right.

Karkat ranting and telling Rose about how she supposedly wasted years doing nothing or that she was never good enough for Cucknaya, all while unironically shouting some cringy-ass “Troll Lives Matter” bullshit is RICH, considering he spent his entire life begging on his knees to be a Threshecutioner so he could personally execute the very trolls that eugenicist tyrant fish-fucking-Hitler deemed as “not good enough”. He literally said on text that he admired her leadership so much that he wanted to serve her, even knowing damn well that she would have culled him and everyone he cared about without a second thought if given the chance, and he was fine with that, just as long as he was an exception.

And look at him now, Meenah’s little glorified dildo, helping her commit genocide, pretending as if he cares about “his people”. As if he’s not just using the war as an excuse to kill people for a scrap of highblood validation (the Signless doing backflips in his grave) all while doing absolutely nothing of substance in the story except for whining about missing Dave.

The EXACT same fucking pattern as what happened to him in the retconned timeline after Game Over, where he was totally fine with letting Meenah lead the ghosts of all his dead friends to their death by Lord English, as long as he got to give a cringy speech (about Dave) and be "second in command", all so he could feel special. Because god forbid he be reminded that he’s just another one of those “unworthy, disgusting mutants” or that he’s a worthless leader who never had what it takes, or else he’ll just cry about it like a little bitch like he always does. His self-esteem and moral are that fucking nonexistent.

So NO, sit the fuck down Karkat, you traitorous Judas bitch with negative self awareness, who do you think you are to tell ANYONE that they were never good enough. You’re so fucking worthless that Terezi literally had John go back in time to tell her past self you weren’t shit *instead* of reviving the trolls that died because she didn’t want to date your sorry ass and regretted wasting so much time on you. And she chose to revive fucking Vriska of all people (the one bitch that ruined her life more than you did) just so she could forget about you and find someone else to take her for granted and treat her like shit.

But no, according to Karkat, Jade is the desperate bitchy one. And I’m quoting him in the new upd8 here, because this shit pissed me off with how hypocritical it is:

KARKAT: MAYBE THE REST OF YOU HAVE A LOT TO CATCH UP ON VIS A VIS JADE HARLEY'S DESPERATION SITUATION, BUT I LIVED IT. KARKAT: FOR YEARS! KARKAT: "OH POOR ME, EVERYTHING GETS TAKEN AWAY FROM ME, NOBODY EVER CONSIDERS MY FEELINGS." KARKAT: "NONE OF THE FRIENDS IN MY LIFE GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ME DESPITE ALWAYS BEING THERE FOR ME WHENEVER I NEED TO BITCH AND MOAN."

They really wrote this about JADE, who was the one person that was genuinely ignored and lonely for YEARS and still was willing to always helping everyone she cared for with a smile and pushing down her feelings to do so ever since the comic started, and sacrificed her life to save John's dreamself. While Karkat was the desperate horny simp that got canonically horny over the idea of Jade making out with Jadesprite, who was crying after realizing she died, and only helped her because he wanted to make Terezi jealous and later on wanted Jade to like him so fucking badly because he had such a big fucking crush on her that he made something she said the password to his room. Fucking Cascade happened thanks to her going God tier, nobody would be alive without her.

I think the fact that the writers retconned and swapped Jade and Karkat’s characters and relationship so they could frame HER as the desperate horny mess that was thirsty for everyone, all so they can paint Dave and Karkat as victims and her a homewrecking sex pest forcing herself onto Karkat because they genuinely think that is treating her character as “good” or making her “complex and layered” really says a lot about them. Underage yaoi fangirls that write fanfics killing the female character that gets in between their ship wish they could get paid for doing the same shit.

So now Jade is the desperate whiny bitch for daring to imply that nobody gave a single iota of a fuck about her, as though this is incorrect, or she wasn’t completely abandoned, left to rot alone in that ship thinking John was dead for good, and Davesprite left her without telling her why. And that’s the thing, despite what Hussie and HICU try to do retconning Jade and calling her a whiny ungrateful bitch to make Dave & Karkat look good, she never once complained about growing up alone in the original comic. Never whined, never threw a fit, never made her loneliness growing up anyone else’s problem. Never once said anything about doing taxidermy with her grandfather's corpse at 5 years old, since we are turning gags into grounded narratives now.

Contrast that with fucking Act 6 DAVE, who made his daddy issues everyone else’s problem by being the excuse he gave to not want to kill Lord English, essentially choosing to let his friends die. Or fucking Act 6 and beyond Karkat, who, when not BITCHING AND MOANING about how Terezi chose Dave over him or how Dave “took” Terezi away from him (and rejected his stupid chart to share her), spent every single second of his screentime wallowing in self-pity over how everyone supposedly hated him for his blood color or that he was a bad leader, even though they weren’t in Alternia anymore and not a single person ever actually giving a fuck about that, not even ONCE. During his session he was ALWAYS supported even though he didn’t deserve it since he NEVER FUCKING THANKED ANYONE FOR *THEIR* SACRIFICES TO HIM.

And I point this out because they also had the gall to have Candy!Karkat call SOLLUX a lazy, uncaring asshole. One of the FEW people who actually DID SHIT for his team, programming the actual fucking game Karkat needed to even get in, managing the trolls’ computers and viewports so Karkat could chat with the humans and be able to confess his hatedom for John, and literally DYING TWICE to save Karkat’s pathetic ass.

Because, just like his nonexistant brain, this pedantic manlet’s backbone is so pathetically underdeveloped that the only thing it ever allowed him to do when it MATTERED was piss his diapers in fear of Gamzee, Vriska and Eridan (who, by the way, all got taken down in five seconds by fucking Cucknaya, the only person as much of a spineless enabling pansy as he is) while throwing the burden of confrontation onto his personal meatshield Equius getting both Nepeta and Tavros killed in the process, after crying like a little bitch that his other meatshield Sollux was knocked out by Eridan, because all Karkat did when Eridan knocked Sollux out and killed Feferi&Kanaya was stand there like a drooling retard with his mouth open in shock instead of cutting this shit out like the leader he claimed he was and later gave up being, so fucking VRISKA could take the mantle and order everyone around. The bitch that was the entire reason they got stuck in murderstuck, because she was the one that CREATED BEC NOIR and gave Jade narcolepsy, all so she could play hero.

Such a half-assed pathetic coward, so allergic to accountability and confrontation, that he couldn’t even own up to his feelings for Terezi without resorting to manipulative games. Couldn’t have the basic decency to give Nepeta a clear rejection despite hypocritically telling Eridan to treat her like a person. Couldn’t handle the humbling of John rejecting HIM and so instead went back in time to troll him backwards. Couldn’t confess to Jade either after only liking her when she insulted him back because he’s a raving masochist.

Terezi was getting isolated by Gamzee, Kanaya had to deal with Rose being an alcoholic, and Jade was isolated alone in the ship after thinking John had died. And did Karkat give any of a shit about that, or even try to go God Tier or try to find a way to revive his dead friends? Fuck no, for he was too busy spending the rest of his screentime fellating himself for years over his thousandth rewatch of The Notebook while his pookiebear deadbeat Dave passed out on that crusty-ass couch from sheer boredom in that stupid meteor after he dumped Terezi for daring to get trapped in an abusive relationship with Gamzee, because Karkat also COULDN’T do his *ONE* fucking duty of PACIFYING HIS OWN FUCKING MOIRAIL or at least LETTING KANAYA KILL HIM.

And somehow, ridiculously, out of nowhere, Hussie decided that the best way to "develop" this character was to have him latch onto Terezi’s sloppy seconds, since Dave looked and acted just enough like Sollux to make him horny. And with that, Hussie found a new target to paint Karkat as the victim and satisfy his disgusting fantasy of asinine romcom love triangles: Jade. A character Hussie clearly hated, stripping her of any dignity by giving her a dog dick, making her a terrible mother, complicit in cheating and naming her daughter fucking Yiffy, all just to further humiliate her.

And now the writers decide Karkat grows a spine? Now he suddenly has the nerve to hypocritically claim that Rose did nothing for years? Just to defend his pookie Dave, after he broke down sobbing at the sight of his dead carcass like a little bitch, right in front of his girlfriend? He insults those two, but not Meenah, Vriska's groomer, whose only personality trait now is thirsting after his tiny dick, consoling him every time he whines about Dave, get cheated on by Karkat with Davebot later, and apparently now having a plan to keep her boytoy alive longer since he's mortal? Exactly like HIC did with the fucking Psiioniic?

And on top of all that, they have Karkat have the audacity to insult Jade and call HER desperate and make Rose cry? AND MAKE JOHN CLAP AT HIM RIGHT AFTERWARDS FOR INSULTING HIS OLDEST FRIENDS AND SAY THAT NOW THINGS ARE BETTER THANKS TO KARKAT PUTTING THEM IN THEIR PLACE?

They always have to character assassinate SOMEONE to make Karkat look better. John so Karkat can be the leader figure, Jane so Karkat can become an ~oppressed minority~ again by making her become a trump allegory because the writers are THAT fucking crazy obsessed with politics, Roxy so she can be mocked as a "centrist" as if it's a derogatory slur for not wanting Karkat to murder Jane after she was already beheaded, Jake so they can go "see! karkat is not the ONLY one sexualized! we're not perverts, it's a PLOT thing uwu", Jade so someone gets in between Karkat and his true love Dave, Dirk so he can force davekat to happen because it really is THAT nonsensical and unplausible to happen naturally, Sollux so Karkat can whine and criticize him for not doing anything and mock for not getting laid, Meenah so she can constantly say how hot he is and how stupid Jade is for not wanting him, Rose so they can point out how Karkat is not the most morally reprehensible lazy piece of shit around, Kanaya so Karkat can be shown to care about ONE of his troll friends, and Dave who can validate everything Karkat is saying about how Jade is a fucking crazy whore because he also canonically has said that she was a whiny bitch that didn't have a life as hard as his, and that's why he and Karkat belong together. Because they both are lazy deadbeats that hate Jade and think she's a whiny bitch that didn't have as hard of a life as neither of them.

Because at the end of the day, no matter how HARD they try to hamfistedly shove in every sentence that Karkat is ~SOOOOO~ caring and thoughtful, how he is the glue that keeps them together or some shit, what was actually SHOWN of Karkat’s entire incomprehensible mess of a character has been about how he only cares about HIS wants and needs. HIS problems. HIS motivation. HIS pain. HIS insecurities. HIS Strider. Everyone else? Completely irrelevant, unless they align with his wants or make him feel good about himself.

Nothing Karkat did was selfless, it was always because he wanted to get something out of it. Otherwise why not revive his dead friends if he allegedly cared so much about them? Why not help Rose with her alcoholism in the meteor? Or visit John since he was lonely? Nothing to gain out of it, except being a good friend to him. But I guess since John didn’t want his dick, Karkat thought he could choke.

So here he is once again, Karkat horrendous ooc shitshow manipulating the narrative to make hismself the victim and Jade the horrendous villain, because the writers related a little bit too fucking much to him and Dave, as per usual.

And so, to me, this whole rant about Jade’s supposed "desperation" is really just Karkat (and the writers) projecting.

The ONE thing that was prevalent and has remained from Karkat’s shitty inconsistent mess of a character is that he was always a fucking disaster reeking of desperation: desperate for approval, for validation, for a relationship he can cling to.

Desperate enough to spend his entire existence crying about how he was the victim while completely ignoring the suffering of literally everyone else around him. Desperate enough to always play second fiddle to Vriska or Meenah leadership and doing shit in the story, when he was supposed to be a main character. And now, to top it all off, turns out this spineless loser faked having a yeast infection just to avoid fucking Jade, whom he previously LIKED, because he was too much of a coward to confront the nicest girl he ever knew, a character who was absolutely butchered in this dogshit sequel, all because he was THAT desperate for Dave’s cock to accept being in a throuple for an opportunity to get Jade’s sloppy seconds.

Instead of showing even one sliver of maturity or growth for what happened to his friends, he chose to use this as fuel for his never ending self-pity parties and forever stayed a whiny little bitch with zero dignity, with his character reduced to retarded teenage lovedrama until the very end and to this day. And even if Karkat DOES revive his friends later? Fuck you, too little too late.

And what is Meat!Karkat doing?

Sucking Dave's disck with gusto, not caring that Jade was possessed or that Kanaya was cucked or that John was killed.

So fucking nothing. The same shit he always has done.

Pathetic.

And this is why Clover <3 Candy!Karkat at Super weenie hut jr is better than davekat,

Because reminder that this hypocritical selfish, self-absorbed, resentful manchild's last and ONLY feat in the original comic right after the timeline got retconned thanks to him being so unlikable and incompetent, was him celebrating beating CLOVER.

Clover <3 Candy!Karkat at Super Weenie Hut Jr is better than Davekat. And everything you just typed. About Karkat, about this update, all of it...is just PERFECT!!!

[twstfanblog]

Honestly, I just love to hear you rant!!! My request is any au you choose, with Crewel, Rook, and Vil, together or separate, your choice!!! I think your rants are super sweet and sound so much like my own to my friends!!! It kinda makes me think of when I spent 30 minutes trying to find out how much a pint of ale cost in 1843 England for one sentence in something I was writing! 😅 Too bad I'm already following you, because I would totally follow you again! Can't send the Tumblr gift thingies though, because screw American capitalism.

(That price of ale thing is literally how deep I get into world building if Im not careful XD Most days I just go, IT'S FINE YOU DON'T KNOW JUST KEEP WRITING)

Hmmmm... I've written about them all a lot in most of my AU's, honestly. I dont have anything really rant worthy left to say about...I literally had a whole hour to think about it, so instead, I'm just gonna drop another AU so I can get you something new about them. My Manhwa AU is pretty self-serving, but it's got plenty of Vil, Rook, and Crewel sprinkled in.

Basic idea of the AU is that 'Villainess' type story. Yuu was seen as a villain in the original timeline, only to die and come back in time to when she was a child with her full memories. She vows to change her ways and not die in such a way again.

Crewel and Crowley are Yuu's birth parents (Because my AU's are just the same universes in different settings-oop) Crewel married Crowley 100% for the money and power since Crowley was an arch duke. You couldn't call it a marriage of convenience hard enough. But of course, Crewel had to have a puppy to fufill his duty. Crewel will openingly treat Crowley like the bumbling man he pretends to be, but he is an adoring yet stern father to his precious puppy. So you can imagine when she wakes up one day and doesn't act like herself at all. He's so concerned about her...

Vil isn't nobility, but he and his father are both rich and popular enough to buy a title. Both actors, Vil leaves for the performance to the point he was called a succubus by one of his cast stars (teenagers acting so good one falls in love but the other is like 'dude we were acting, calm down'). Vil holds onto his issues with always being casted as a villain but he holds it in much better because hes just happy that he's well liked enough to always perform. As he gets older in this AU he starts to really show his support for the arts and all who create it. He's even started looking for investors to help him fund an acting school.

Rook is a noble man, lover of the odd and offbeat art, no one but his family really accepted his art. But he tried and he shared it with everyone he could. Vil saw it during an artshow and kinda tore it apart publicly by going on and on about how disturbed it made him feel. The current brownnoser tried to 'agree' saying it was bad art.

Vil:

Vil: There's no such thing as "bad art", you toad. I said it disturbed me, I find it grotesque is a very...eyecatching way. It's not bad because it made me feel something.

So Rook falls in love instantly and basically hunts this mean beauty.

They end up working well together because Vil has FINALLY found someone willing to write him in a hero role and PROPERLY CRITIQUE THINGS WITH. They discus art and what makes something 'moving' vs 'shock value'. They fall in love hard for each other to the point Vil accepted Rook's proposal and is already 60% planned through their wedding. Only to realize he never told anyone when his dad asked if he was open to seeing anyone because he's been told many a young man and lady would like to court him.

(SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO DO!!!)

[kvetchlandia]

I Keep...

thinking I'm becoming adjusted to the new abnormal, the hell that the United States has inflicted upon itself and on the rest of an innocent (sort of) planet under our new "leader," His Imperial Highness, Generalissimo, Field Marshall, Dear Leader and Defender of the Cult, Trump I and his Imperial Sidekick, the equally reactionary, repulsive and repugnant Elon Musk. Because of the horrors being wreaked by them of late, I've been posting nothing but the occasional rant and lots of images of fighting fascism, not to mention the occasional image of Jews defending themselves from the once again threatening onslaught of antisemitism. I imagine that as the ugliness becomes more commonplace, I'll settle down and get back to posting my usual silliness: lovely photographs by fine photographers; cool music; interesting quotes; lovely poetry and art pieces that I find beautiful or important in some way. Then, something happens that sends me back into feeling the only thing that's appropriate to post in this rapidly sinking world is more anti-fascist stuff. I can't say how long this s going to go on, but at the moment it shows no sign of subsiding. This is what set me off yet again.

It was revealed today that the new United States Department of State budget has a budget line item for the purchase of $400 million dollars worth of Tesla trucks. Not just any trucks, or any electric trucks, but a specifically designated budget line for those hideously ugly and not particularly efficient Tesla trucks. No conflict of interest there and the already ungodly rich Elon Musk certainly isn’t going to be further enriched by the very government he’s claiming to be rooting corruption out of (while in reality not touching corruption at all and mercilessly gutting the very few programs that constitute this country’s minimal social safety net, dismantling what little remains of the old New Deal quasi-social democracy and firing millions of unionized federal employees). I guess it’s a good thing this country has those Inspectors General whose job it is to prevent such corrupt and self-serving contracts from going into effect. Oh, wait a second…

For those of you not in the United States, the Inspectors General were, at least in theory, independent of political interference, and had the job of, among other things, examining proposed federal contracts for waste, fraud and corruption. To keep them supposedly independent, it was written into the laws establishing their positions that they couldn't simply be fired by presidents, that the presidents had to demonstrate incompetence, corruption on their part or inability to do their job, and then the Congress had to vote to approve those firings. Trump, very quickly after he assumed his imperial throne, simply ignored the law, didn't seek Congressional approval and didn't demonstrate malfeasance or inability by the Inspectors General. He simply fired most of the them. It was obvious to anyone who cared to think about it that the notoriously corrupt Trump was aiming to further enrich himself and his billionaire buddies with corrupt federal contracts, further fattening their already bloated selves on the ever-shrinking supply taxpayer dollars. This instance, of Musk, the man in charge of gutting the federal workforce, firing millions of unionized workers and making it impossible for the government to do much of anything other than persecute trans people and deport those who are undocumented, somehow "accidentally" failing to notice that he was going to make a tidy sum in this contract, was just too much. So, my anti-fascist posts will continue for a while longer.

Sorry.

[bra1nw0rmz]

Hello!! A question for you, not in a offensive light at all but I wanna ask why you like pavlevi so much and how come it doesn't make you uncomfortable with the age gap? We don't know pavs age which is fair enough but.. You get my point! I still love em tho. Maybe I'm a bit conflicted

I’m so sorry but you made a fatal mistake of giving me an opportunity to yap about them ( but thank you for being very nice abt the question, it means a lot :3 )

Slight rant under more… tried my hardest to keep it short but I have so much to say abt these fuckass losers 😔

For the reasons why I like Pavlevi so much. It’s because they are my two favourite characters, I need to psychoanalyse them and make them trauma bond or I’ll DIE.

Levi has the solitary soul, he’s been alone for most of his life. What he seriously needs is connection. And I think most of the cast just can’t fundamentally understand him. (I’m not sure if I’m being biased and self projecting here because of my experiences being autistic but yeah 😭) And I genuinely think most of that cast would look at Levi with pity. Almost as if he can’t think for himself. And I think Levi hates it. It’s really a hard feeling to pin down, but it feels weirdly dehumanising?? Like say Karin or smth would mean well but it still feels like you’re being hang up to dry? And I think Levi fucking hates it when everyone is looking at him like that. And the pity ppl have for him comes from a place of being so disconnected from him. Most of them can’t really understand him or what he’s gone through I suppose?? It’s not their faults, it’s just how it is. Society has literally thrown him to wolves. His government striped him of his autonomy, has used him for it’s benefit and now it’s people look at him like this couldn’t have been avoided, that it’s something so sad, to be pitied. Which is also why I love pavlevi bc Pav is the only person that Levi can truely connect with. Someone else who’s gone through the same bullshit, torn apart by the same world. They are both cut from the same stone, just at different stages and coping in different ways which I think is interesting. And it’s so sad because why the hell does it have to be some Bremen fuck that actually treats him like a person and not just something to pity.

As for Pav’s side of the coin. I just really like to torture him. Due to what he’s gone through and seen, being in the army around the same age as Levi, if not younger. I feel like he’d see Levi as being fit to make his own damn decisions. It’s none of Pav’s business, Levi can do whatever and he honestly does not give a shit. But as they get closer I feel like I think Levi brings out all the guilt and shame Pav bottled up and pushed far down in his psyche. Like… he’s had to kill so many just like Levi, all to even get a chance at killing Kaiser. All of it being a glorified elaborate destructive suicide mission. And he’s very fucked up about it. Dread sets in for Pav because??? He’s a terrible person??? He’s had to wear this mask for so long, he doesn’t even know who he really is. Levi is just troubled and has been put in one unfair situation after another. Pav couldn’t move forward and purposely put himself in those situations and did those fucked up things. I also think it’s interesting to think of them as like an intimacy of convenience. Bc they both know they have no future and might die at any second, but it’s better to hold someone’s hand than be alone when you die.

Other tidbits!!

They are fucking funny, like c’mon getting bossed around by the enemy, and a LIEUTENANT on top of that, is fucking hilarious

I feel like you got this from the rant b4 but the Angst potential is crazyyyyy

Pav teasing Levi and making him all flustered, HELLOO??? I love blushy levi

Pav traversing caring for someone else that isn’t himself bc he’s fundamentally a self serving person gggghhh

IFUCKING LOVE DOOMED RELATIONSHIPS RAHHHHHHHHHHH

The way their heavily different personalities clash would be fun

Having someone there who's gone through what you've suffered through is so comforting. you're not alone anymore….. IM SICK IN THE HEAD

I think Levi should be allowed to kiss boys as a treat

I also think he should be allowed to shoot Pav in the head as a treat

As for the age gap.. I don’t like it at all ofc. 😭😭 It’s definitely not ideal. And I can 100% understand how that can be a deal breaker….. but I also feel like people baby Levi too much? He has 1 breakdown because he just got back from war, is going through heroin withdrawals, everyone in his home town has been turned into violent monsters, he’s hearing voices and someone just tried to kill him and he gets labeled a wimp. You put a guy in the worst situation ever and he cries ONCE and ppl call him a crybaby and infantilise him 💀 He’s stronger than people give him credit for… but that’s more of a problem with fandom than anything.

Also like… I tried….. I really tried to not like pavlevi….. But I’m way too fucking autistic abt them. It’s so bad that when I see them I get an adrenaline rush and do laps around my kitchen. I’m so serious. These guys are like pseudo drugs to me, I need to chop my head off.

And ofc I wouldn’t support 18 and 30 smth irl, that’s fucking gross……… And I would say the same for a stalker and her victim.. because look, I love S4marina, but it’s basically in the same boat as Pavlevi to me..

This being a fandom that should primarily be adults, I feel like ppl should understand that. Yk, having better common sense and media literacy to understand this stuff ain’t okay irl. I still realise it’s not everyone’s thing and I’m not trying to convince ppl to like it, just explain why I like it (NO ONE UNDERSTANDS THEM LIKE I DO, I NEED TO DIE)…. Anyway uuhm I understand it makes some ppl uncomfy, which is valid! Just don’t go into spaces where you’ll be exposed to it ig??? If you seriously don’t like it, the block button/blocking tags is right there. I do that too !!

[novankenn]

Saints of the Sword (v1-9)

(I am going to very BLUNT with this statement, even though it seems like it... THIS IS NOT an everyone betrays Jaune fic. There is much more going on including Jaune's own low sense of self-worth.)

It was well into the early afternoon before Jaune was rested enough for the entire company to head for the cafeteria. All wearing their gambeson, with sheathed baselard daggers, either hanging from their hip, or horizontally held in the small of their back. The expansive room grew silent upon their entrance. As a third of the group moved towards the serving line, the remainder took possession of an empty table.

A short distance away, Pyrrha frowned. Something sparked in her memory. A small, nearly imperceptible notion that she knew the young man the group was keeping surrounded. He was obviously important, considering how the group moved like an entourage protecting a VIP.

"P-Money?" Yang asked, noticing the targeted stare of the four-time champion. "Something wrong?"

"I feel like I know him." was her response.

"Who?" Nora asked, also now looking at the group who had just taken their seats a couple of tables away from the trio of young women.

"The one... they're protecting?"

"The lanky one?" Yang asked, now also taking a closer look at the indicated individual. "Now that you mention it..."

“You’re right.” Nora added.

“I think we should introduce ourselves.” Pyrrha commented, as she rose from her seat. The trio had been meeting to discuss peculiarities they had been noticing with JNPR’s team leader, Jade Hedera.

“Yeah, sounds like a good idea.” Yang agreed. “Maybe we can get some advice, they are, if you believe the stories, an accomplished group.”

“I’m coming too.” Nora added.

 /==/

Glynda Goodwitch was more than a little annoyed at this recent events. Currently standing before her, or more accurately bracing himself against her desk with both his hands as he leaned forward, was Jade Hedera, leader of JNPR. Just behind him was Pyrrha Nikos, the so-called injured party. To their right stood Cardin Winchester and Jaune Arc.

“They threatened my partner with knives!” Jade ranted. “That is unacceptable! How are they allowed to carry weapons about the school? They could have hurt her!”

“Jade it’s okay…”

“No it’s not!” Jade snapped, looking over at Pyrrha with a look that made her recoil inwardly with disgust. It was angry, yes, but there was an unpleasant undertone of possessiveness.

“We are sorry for the altercation.” Cardin offered with a genuine tone.

“You drew knives, pressed them against her neck and shoved them in her face! It’s not acceptable!” Jade raged.

“Mr Hedera, what do you expect me to do? Mr. Winchester has expressed his regrets.” Glynda asked, her voice tinted with frustration.

“Punish them!”

“As they are not students, I have no authority to do any such thing.”

“Kick them out!” Jade snapped in rebuttal.

“They are guests of the Headmaster, and here at Beacon at his request.” Glynda informed the agitated young man. “You will have to take this up with the Headmaster if you wish to pursue such actions.”

“Then… then…” Jade’s eyes narrowed as he glared at the forms of Cardin and Jaune. “I want to challenge them to a spar.”

“I have no author…”

“We accept.” Jaune spoke up for the first time. The sound of his voice causing Pyrrha to stiffen at the familiarity of it.

“Jaune?” Cardin asked. “Are you sure? I don’t think a one on one…”

“No, not a traditional spar.” Jaune cut off his companion.

“Well, it is with your rights to accept, but what are you suggesting.”

“A group exercise. Three teams versus our company.”

“A war game?” Cardin asked.

“Yes.” Jaune replied.

“I accept!” Jade snapped.

“While I can see the benefit for teams to take part in such an exercise, I must ask if you are certain about this course of action.” Glynda commented.

“We are.” Cardin spoke up on behalf of himself and Jaune.

/== Table of Contents ==/

[almighty-letu]

How do you practice writing multi-chapter or any fanfic in general? (Like MLTS and Wym) I find it hard for me to insert my personal head-canons/AU world building into my work at times, especially when the ideas I have seem very canon-divergent to readers at first glance.

Also what is your process of characterization? Do you just go with whatever your heart tells you or is there an entire system/technique you do that helps with that? I always find the way you write (especially characters) very fascinating to read, so I hope to reach a level comparable to yours someday.

I love your work!! <3

I usually do what I think it's most fun for me! Think, what do you want to write and why? Is it to give life to an idea that's in your head and never seen anyone else replicate in a style only you can convey? Because that's usually the case with me. I get hyperfixated on a character/show/idea and i have my personal headcanons about the topic that nobody mentions it, so I decide to bring it to the table by writing very self-indulgent works based off my tastes. So what if it's bad? So what if you only get three likes? Did you have fun? Then the right audience will find you eventually. FREE YOURSELF OF CRINGE MY BOI - BE UNASHAMED AND PROUD

For MLTS, which I would argue was my first ever major project of such scale, I was relatively new to the fandom (joined in 2016 a little after The End came out - I was moving back to Norway and my friend showed it to me and I got hooked) and didn't know much about writing back then, so I stayed faithful to the characters personality and designs for the majority of it. Nowadays I am comfortable enough with the characters to the point of doing anything to them. Like if I wanted to write a fic where Eduardo and Tord go grocery shopping and hilarity ensues for example, I wouldn't necessarily say it's faithful to the source material, but I just think it's a fun concept and I personally wanna see it happen. Think of your headcanons as spices and seasoning, and the characters are ingredients in a meal you intend to serve others at a dinner party. Your personal takes on the characters is what drives people to seek out more content about them. That's why there is not just one fic about tomtord out there - there are several, because people want different flavors. Don't be afraid to explore and experiment with the characters. Write whatever you want! And in my case, I can't draw to save my life. I have no other creative talent other than writing. So really, the only way for me to interact with fandom at all is through writing. I can't even edit on photoshop! But that's more of a me problem.

Sorry! I just went on a tangent rant, I hope any of my rambling helps!

[iris-draws]

Aftermath of Full Moon🌑

Sorry for the emotional whiplash but whoo double post! (Pls don't hate me guys)

Also more rants about full moon (sorry yall im a yapper at heart):

Everyone is bashing blitz rn but honestly I'm kinda on his side? Not completely I think they had both good points and obviously it got emotional and blitz was being defensive and self destructive and didn't exactly mean what he was saying but honestly I think he had a point. The way stolas handled it was weird to me. He told blitz to come on the full moon- basically leading him to belive it was their transactional thing when really he wants to have a very serious talk about their relationship. I feel like he could have specified that he wanted him to come over to talk? (Although I will have a counter argument saying knowing blitz that might scare him away into not showing cause feelings are scary to him) I understand an emotional talk can scare people into not thinking logically- I just think it would have been smarter to full on say what he wanted so it wasn't so abrupt and sudden to blitz, causing him to react the way he did. He would have been better prepared and handled it better.

Now about Blitz. I know he has very crazy emotional trauma and refuses to believe anyone loves him and pushes people away bc of that. But he's getting better as we've seen the past few episodes. He wants to atone- he made up with fizz, he wants to make up with Barbie, and I'm pretty sure him and Verosika will make up in Apology Tour. But he definetly had a point. Up until about Ozzies was Stolas actually more upfront about his feelings. Because most of Season 1 was haha horny bird. Remember in S1 episode 6 when Blitz had that bad trip and he had to crawl up to stolas in chains showing how he feels like just an imp serving his master? Yeah. Stolas has referred to him as an "impish little plaything" Really only solidifying his belives. Then at ozzies he doesn't deny any of the allegations that him and Blitz are anything but sleeping with each other.

We as the audience know stolas wants a relationship with Blitz, but Blitz doesn't see those heartbreaking moments of him pouring his heart out when he's alone. No one does. Stolas has been very upfront but he's never had an actual for real talk with Blitz about his feelings. Then when he randomly spills all that out on him he sees him confused and is (understandably, with how Blitz mocked his feelings as a roleplay) hurt. He moves on and just dismisses Blitz thinking that's his answer. Blitz argues back and gets angry and I really think he was right in this argument, Stolas should have talked about this sooner, or handled it differently. Then right as things get heated in the discussion he just sends him away. They didn't get the chance to really talk, one said their feelings, the other got defensive, and then that's it.

I'm not really blaming Stolas or Blitz for this argument. Stolas is my favorite character so trust me this is in no way stolas hate. But I wanted to shed light on this and sees if anyone agrees with me Blitz is not only in the wrong.

Omg I'm sorry for the long yap session if yall read to the end you're a real one fr.

[achaotichuman]

Acotar Rant

Okay so I was gonna go to sleep then this thought hit me like a train, so here we go.

A common theme that I have seen in regard to Lucien and Tamlin and repairing their relationship, is that instead of removing the power imbalance between them, we swap it out.

Hear me out, I am going somewhere with this.

So, the most common thing I see, is Tamlin groveling before Lucien (great, we love a man on his knees, let me tell you why this is a not the best idea)

This does not remove the power imbalance in their relationship, it merely swaps it. It gives Lucien the same imbalance that caused him to be harmed by Tamlin.

That in of itself should be a trigger for Lucien, but I digress. That's an entirely other conversation.

But something else that is very common and that often goes hand in hand with said groveling, is that it's supposed to degrade Tamlin before Lucien, and often leads to an idea of sexual favors.

Would like to state before the court, I am not pointing out anyone or anything in particular, this is just a reoccurring theme I see in fanfiction, across all websites that I peruse. A lot of which I have read and enjoyed, but in regard to canon, this would not work out well for Lucien or Tamlin.

Because putting Tamlin in a position of degradation or being put in a prolonged (NOTE PROLONGED THATS IMPORTANT LATER) position of submission to Lucien, is simply a reversal of their roles, and it fixes nothing.

I highly doubt it would even give Lucien any satisfaction because 1- He isn't sadistic, and 2- Tamlin becomes his worst self when he is a state of self-loathing; let me expand on that.

Throughout ACOMAF when Tamlin hurt Lucien the most, he was in a state of self-loathing. He was battling trauma, and desperately trying to make it up to Feyre for what she did for him. In ACOSAF we see an even darker form of this, where Tamlin's trauma and hatred of himself has taken its toll.

By swapping out the roles and endorsing Tamlin's hatred of himself by keeping the power imbalance that harmed Lucien in the first place, we keep Tamlin in that same state. Thus, it would serve nothing other than to be a reminder of the horrible times and put them back in that state. It would fix nothing in their relationship. It would probably make it worse, as there would be no basis for them to build off of.

Now, going off of my earlier statement of 'prolonged position'. What I mean by that is all of my above statements apply for an arc where Lucien and Tamlin are kept locked in that submissive vs dominant relationship. Where Lucien constantly has the upper hand. It's just a mirror reflection of everything that went wrong in their relationship.

Now moving on to another point. The idea of Tamlin begging on his hands and knees for forgiveness.

In this specific case, I will assume this is their first meeting after last seeing each other.

Lucien does and SHOULD have all the power in this situation, but there are other, far more effective, ways of showing Lucien Tamlin genuinely wants his forgiveness, than making an (often) public display of his sorriness.

Lucien having the choice of when and where they meet, doing it on his grounds.

Lucien having the choice of seating arrangement, in the Spring Court there is a clear showcase in power when someone sits at the head of the table.

Lucien leading the conversation and laying out all his rules and boundaries, Tamlin never interrupting. This comes back to that act of submission, but in this case, it is more removing the power imbalance that is naturally in their relationship, rather than permanently swapping it.

Providing ways to meet all rules, and making a plan on how Tamlin will go about trying to fix their relationship. Genuinely listening, and actively participating in the conversation on how they will fix their friendship.

Basically, I am saying they need to talk, but they need to genuinely talk, and then Tamlin has to give Lucien his space. Has to genuinely try and make his efforts. And heal in his own space, while Lucien heals in his.

The idea of begging, crawling, crying, has never sat right with me. It sounds too much like when Rhysand made Tamlin and Lucien bow and beg for Feyre's life.

Rather than a public display that doesn't actually prove he means any of it, they need to have a genuine talk where that imbalance is completely removed. Where Lucien has control of the situation and the ability to entirely reject Tamlin's sorry and leave.

The begging also guilt trips Lucien.

Lucien is an incredibly emotional person and has been the victim of guilt-tripping as a manipulation tactic. Either the begging would make him feel like he has to accept the apology, or best-case scenario, he views it as another empty promise.

Anyway, that's just my two cents on this idea.

[totally-italy]

Honestly, I'm hyped to find another Just Add Magic fan on here, it's one of my face obscure shows, and if you don't really mind, I'd like to rant about the parallels between the original protectors and the main three.

At first glance, the parallels seem obvious. Kelly parallels her grandmother, Hannah Miss Silvers and , although it doesn't match up with the other two, Mama P with Darbie.

However, looking at the shows events more deeply showcases a more subversive take.

First off, I think that Miss Silvers parallels Darbie.

Despite how different the two seem, they are both very passionate about an art, Darbie with theatre and Miss Silvers with piano. They both share the magic with a non protector friend, although in Miss Silvers case, it backfired. They both have a high amount of empathy, and both of them scream neurodivergent to me Darbie with ADHD and Miss Silvers with autism. They also seem more likely to use the magic for 'frivolous' things, it's a novelty to them.

Next up, Hannah and Becky, Kelly's grandmother. They both care strongly about their friendships, and are cautious with the magic as opposed to the others, who use it as a means to an end, or as a fun way to make life simpler. They both are used by Chuck to bring back his sister Rose, even though he was successful with Becky and not Hannah. They both care deeply about thier friends and family, to the point where they sacrifice their own well being.

And my personal favourite: Mama P and Kelly.

At first, Kelly seems like the typical leader character stereotype, but it's later shown that she is the most morally grey of the group. She will do anything, literally anything, to achieve her goals. She's marginally obsessed with magic, and although she cares about only a few people, she would kill for them. Sound familiar? Mama P matches that description, although her and Kelly have different goals, they show ambition throughout the show. Also, when chuck arrived first, during the OCs protectership, he targeted Mama Ps father. When he returned, he targets Kelly's father.

They have one track minds, and can't quite seem to grasp the consequences of their actions entirely.

Okay lol sorry about how long this was, I've been rotating it in my head for a while

Hank you for reading if you did!

Oh my gods, I actually had to start writing this comment before reading the entire ask, but I absolutely agree with your point about neurodivergence, particularly with Darbie, because she gives me such ADHD vibes and, as I was re-watching it this time, I honestly really felt that she mirrors some of my own experiences as a self-diagnosed ADHDer. Also, though I don't know if I actually thought about it as deeply, I really do think that Miss Silvers is autistic and I thank you for bringing it to my attention!

Also, I really agree with what you were saying about Kelly and Mama P because, though I think Kelly she be cut some slack due to her youth and her being literally poisoned by the magic, she is very similar to Mama P and I don't think it is a coincidence that Mama P particularly wanted to teach Kelly. Also, considering how close Kelly is with her grandmother, I think it also makes sense that Mama P would try to manipulate her (and actually succeeded) with regards to the Pluot Festival.

I feel like the connection between Hannah and Becky is a little bit more obscure, but it is definitely accurate, particularly if you consider the fact that, in Season 1, Hannah covered for Kelly but then snitched on her, and Becky did the same thing in the last season, after finding Kelly's earrings. Also, though I don't agree with Becky trying to get rid of the book and I don't feel like Hannah would have done the same, she clearly does demonstrates the same unwillingness for her own friendships to deteriorate and tries to serve as the mediator a lot.

On the other hand, if you remember the first episode in which they created the bitter truth truffles, wherein Darbie and Hannah admitted that they probably wouldn't be friends if it weren't for Kelly, I think that in itself does create a link between Kelly and her own grandmother, since both originally serve as links between their friends.

I honestly really agree with pretty much everything that you said, though I don't think I had actually ever thought about it that deeply, so thank you for allowing me to analyse it further and for sharing your own perspective on it!

For the record, you absolutely do not have to apologise and I have actually made way longer posts than that before (namely my 1347 word rant about Greek Mythology).

If I might ask, have you seen Mystery City and, if so, what do you think about it? Also, have you ever seen Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra?

[rapunziedameron]

Wait what's the deal with resistance reborn

If you meant why it's not canon, the gist is that the book exists to serve as an explanation for why no one answered the Resistance's call at Crait, which The Rise of Skywalker ignores in favor of going for a different explanation. If you meant why I don't like it, I'm so sorry you unlocked a patented Nym rant.

I made a post about this in the past, but I genuinely can't remember if it was on this account or my old one, so! Also if I sound more and more short, Nonster, I promise the attitude isn't toward you, but this godforsaken novel. Anyway, a good starting point would be anything that comes out of Rebecca Roanhorse's mouth when she's given an opportunity to talk about Poe:

There's also a tweet I saw of hers back in 2021 after The Rise of Skywalker came out wherein she claimed Poe was "ooc" because he was a 'stoic no homo shooty guy' in TROS rather than looking like on the cusp of crying every second - as if Poe isn't more vulnerable and cries the most in TROS than any other film? But you don't have to take my word for that it almost feels like a fever dream! But pretty much any interview I've read of hers leading up to Resistance Reborn, she makes it abundantly clear that she hates Poe Dameron with the passion of a thousand suns! But she thinks he's pretty!

As for the book itself, I find it...as tonally removed from the sequel era as it possibly could be. It is a slog to get through, if only because the author so eminently hates the main character she decided to center the book around: she gives Poe an uncharacteristic amount of self-loathing so that she can criticize him on every page. She has him admit to the entire Resistance he would commit suicide in a heartbeat to defeat the First Order in a heartbeat, and no one is concerned with this (it's also missing, entirely, the point of his arc in The Last Jedi. Not that I think she watched it!).

There's the fact that prior to this, she has veterans of the Rebellion tell Poe to his face that he should be killed for his mutiny against Holdo, proudly citing that they should throw him out of an airlock (in front of Leia, who NOTABLY just survived this experience! And notably, when all of command died this way), and has a number of the Resistance agree with this sentiment.

There's the fact that she calls Poe arrogant so many times in this book, it legitimately appears on the same page about six times. She also has Maz physically assault him for not wanting to talk about his feelings after turning him and the Resistance down for her aid, and then compares him to the Neo-Nazis that just a week ago captured and tortured him for an undetermined length of time (possibly three days, going off the TFA script, but it could be less).

And Maz, and the man who promoted the idea of murdering Poe, later get to flirt with him so obnoxiously that Leia has to change the subject because Poe's becoming uncomfortable: it's far from the first time he's needlessly sexualized in the novel. There's the running gag about his hair, even if he's not present during the scene, and then there's the joke about the size of his (and Finn's!) penis. And then the laughable way that she manufactures a reason to have him jump into a pool fully dressed in a tux - you can almost hear the plot screeching on the rails from the elaborate sequence of events she sets up just for that image.

Aside from that, nearly every woman in the novel is reduced to - I feel - a very misogynistic stereotype. Leia is a hardass bitch, any of Holdo's flaws are posthumously removed to make her a perfect angel, Rose is condescending and rude, Rey is shy as a mouse (!!!), Kare is the sensible wife to her hothead husband, Norra is the paranoid rude PTSD riddled mother, Suralinda is the Party Girl (and her backstory as an investigative journalist is scrubbed clean, as Roanhorse makes it seem as though Suralinda got lucky on the gift she gives Poe to give to the woman in charge of the syndicate ends up being perfectly in line with the woman's interests. The investigative journalist. Who figured Poe was in the Resistance based off, like, two details. Got lucky, okay) and then Jessika is a hothead who loves fighting and nothing else.

Kaydel is the worst offender here, with her being reduced to "sensible girl led astray by the convincing bad boy" with her and Poe acting against Holdo in TLJ, and then Zay from Battlefront II has her personality from the game completely removed to make her into an overeager, bratty teenager who wants to prove herself, rather than an extremely competent proven fighter that we see in the game. The novel also forgets that her father just died, not just her mother.

Then there's the queerbaiting. The novel ignores every other piece of canon material released around the time, and breaks Finn and Rose up, and equally emphasizes there's nothing there between him and Rey. It goes on to have him and Poe essentially go on a date, and overall, Roanhorse does her damndest to imply in the novel that the two of them are almost undoubtedly going to get together. Which she had no control over, and likely would have had some idea from the Story Group was not going to happen ever, so this is not a case of "subtext" in my opinion, but just plain old queerbaiting. And I feel like that level of queerbaiting is probably why the problematic elements of the novel get overlooked, especially with the misogyny and fetishization.

Poe is, as already noted, ridiculously sexualized and consistently harrassed throughout the novel, and put through the meat grinder for the sheer crime of being a man of color who didn't listen to two white women. That's what that boils down to. And you'd think that Finn must have a huge role in this novel, right? That he's especially memorable? If they push Finnpoe so hard?

Yeah uh. He likes making jokes with Suralinda about risky missions. He eats at the buffet. He can't tie a tie. And he watches saturday morning cartoons. And he's DEFINITELY not interested in girls!!!!!!! ewwww!!!! Yeah that's literally all he's given to do, basically.

And there was definitely some ableist moments in the novel too, but it's been a while since I last read the book/bitched about it that I can't really remember what specifically it was about. Probably Norra? Almost certainly Poe.

That's not to say that there aren't some redeeming qualities to Resistance Reborn; it has some of the most well-written Poe and Leia interactions we've gotten outside of Before the Awakening and The Last Jedi; and Roanhorse is shockingly competent at nailing the character's voices, even if things fall apart when she tries to do their internal narration. There's decent worldbuilding in the book, and there's some character traits of Poe's that I like and have taken on as my own for writing him. I love how she writes Wedge, and that we got a hug between him and Poe. But that's about the extent of it.

Also I'm pretty sure deadass halfway through the book she just...forgets Artoo, Threepio and BB-8 exist? And Poe's arc in the book is a retread of his arc in TLJ with the same emotional climax (big speech showcasing His Development, of which there is none in this mediocre fanfic masquerading book).

[ceruleansonata]

Arioso

part 1

He watches that head go flying. The spray of blood.

No.

Not again.

"Vanessa!!!!!!" he screams, fighting back against the frenzied crowd as he searches for his sister, his heart pounding. Not again. He can't lose anyone else. "Vanessa Nightray!!!!!!!"

"Elliot!!!!!" He hears his name and turns, but the orange glow of flames licking up the billowing curtains catches his eye instead. He feels his stomach turn.

A hand grabs his arm roughly and Elliot jumps, turning quickly to see his panicked sister, her valet right behind her. "Elliot!! Why are you just standing there, we need to go!!!"

"I was looking for you!!!"

"Well you found me, let's go!!!!" she grabs him by the wrist, dragging him toward the door leading straight out to the courtyard. But Elliot glimpses the sight of a bubbling, bulbous form opening its gruesome mouth in the corner of his eye.

He pulls his arm away.

"I can't just run away and leave everyone else to die!!!!"

"What?!" Vanessa snaps as she turns. Behind her, that awful Chain launches its tongue, severing the head of another panicked partygoer.

Elliot feels sick.

"You and Hans get to safety!!!! I'm going to help Gilbert stop this thing!!"

Vanessa grabs her little brother by the shirtfront, yanking him inches from her enraged face. "You've got to be kidding me!!! Now is NOT the time to play the hero!!! Aren't you always ranting and raving about how much you HATE self-serving sacrifice?!"

Elliot is caught off guard by his sisters assault. But he swallows down his surprise with a gulp.

"If we run away, we're just confirming the rumors about our family. That we're cowards and traitors!! I don't want to live in the shadows anymore, Vanessa. And I can't just run away and wonder if I could have saved even one more life!!!"

"What good is a family name if you're dead, Elliot?!" she screams, tears in her blue eyes. "Don't you realize you're the only one I have left?!"

Suddenly, Elliot goes quiet.

Oh.

"Fred, Claude, Ernest. Our father... Our mother's lost her mind and fallen prey to the lies of that creep... And you want to risk your life over that Vessalius brat?!"

Elliot hasn't seen his sister cry like this since Claude and Ernest died.

He takes her into his arms, hugging her despite the chaos behind them. "I know. I'm sorry, Vanessa."

His stomach sinks.

"But I still don't want to run away. I came here to investigate the Headhunter. And this obviously has something to do with it. I owe it to everyone we've lost to at least find out why," he explains, calmer now. "And I'm not the only one left. Gilbert is still here, too. And he has Raven. He knows how to fight."

Sure enough, he spots his adoptive brother running in their direction.

Vanessa frowns. "We can't trust that guy, Elliot--"

"For now, we have to. Look. I'm not going to die that easily," he promises his sister. "Got it?"

She takes a deep, deep breath. "Then I'm not running away either."

"Hold on--!!" Elliot raises his tone again in surprise. "Yes you are!!!"

"No!!! Hans and I both have guns, and martial training too. And that HAS to be more useful than your old sword!!!"

Elliot starts to argue, but he's cut off by Gilbert calling his name.

Suddenly, everything happens very quickly.

Gilbert jumps over a table, tackling both Elliot and Vanessa to the ground.

Humpty Dumpty's razor sharp tongue whizzes over their heads as Gilbert pulls the table onto its side as a shield.

Which is why Elliot doesn't realize at first that Hans is not so lucky.