#the writers probably gave this scene ZERO THOUGHT

[dreamchasernina]

The live action writers hate Aang

I have given myself a lot of time to think about the live action, and reached the conclusion that the writers hate Aang. I dare you to read read this and tell me I'm wrong.

Let me start this by asking you a question? What's the most badass scene Aang has in the first season of the OG show? No matter what you answer is, I know for sure, that scene doesn't exist in the live action. Aang does absolutely nothing to prove the audience he is the right person to be the Avatar, he learns absolutely nothing throughout the show, he doesn't need to look into himself and change his way of thinking. Nothing. Most of the fundamental lessons Aang learns throughout the first season are gone.

The first mistake Aang does in the OG is staying at Kyoshi island too long, letting the attention go to his head, getting too comfortable. He realises he brought destruction to the island and tries to fix his mistakes by jumping onto the Unagi to help the village. That's how he learned the responsibly he holds as the Avatar and finds a unique way to help the village. Well that doesn't exist in the LA. Instead, Kyoshi takes over Aang's body to fight the whole fire nation for him. Aang, himself, does literally nothing.

The spirit world. In the OG show Aang is forced to face his Avatar duty for the first time by trying to save the village that's beeing attacked by Hei Bai. This is his first test as the Avatar and he fails. Not only that, he loses his friend. So Aang has to figure out himself how to get Sokka back from Hei Bai. He figures out who her bai is, himself, understands why Hei Bai is angry and gives him hope, the way Katara gave him hope. So we see that even though Aang failed at first, he kept trying and was smart and compassionate enough to realise what the problem is and solve it. This does not exist in the LA. Aang sees Hei bai in the spirit world, within a second realises who he is and just gives him the Acorn, without having to face him at all!

Another reason I'm convinced the writers hate Aang is the way all the avatars + Bumi treat Aang. Everyone is mad at him for disappearing for 100 years. And look, I get that, you can be mad at him if he ran away from his duties...but he never did! He went to clear his head on Appa and got caught in the storm. And if he hadn't run away he'd be dead, so why are you all so mad at him?! Bumi being mad at Aang could make sense, because in the OG show Aang did spend a significant amount on time of goofing around before he finds out about the comet. But here, it makes no sense! Bumi is mad for no reason. As soon as Aang got out go the ice he took his duty seriously, so please, make it make sense! And the show just glosses over the fact that if Aang hadn't run away he would be dead with the rest of the air benders. Instead of letting Aang feel guilty himself, which he does in the OG show, they just get these characters to hate on him, because they're incapable of making their characters have any emotional depth.

Aang doesn't learn water bending. At all. And there is no logical reason for that. I guess they thought it wasn't that important but please explain to me how you want to make Aang more serious and focused on the Avatar duties but not make him learn water bending? The literal next step Aang has to take to becoming the Avatar?? That is the only clear goal Aang has from the second episode of the show - to find a master and learn waterbending! Make it make sense!

Taking away Aang's talk with Koh. So I assume if most people didn't answer my question above with the Koi fish, they probably said Aang's journey into the spirit world and his meeting with Koh. In the OG show, Aang has to find a way to figure out how to save the water tribe. He does so by going into the spirit world and talking to Koh the face stealer. So Aang had to talk to Koh showing zero emotions so he doesn't have his face stolen. That scene is so creepy and so badass and shows that Aang is really capable, even though he is a kid, he is facing the creepy ass spirit and is doing an excellent job. So when Aang finds out who the moon and the ocean spirits are, it feels deserved, it feels like an accomplishment. In the live action he doesn't have to show zero emotions because Koh is not stealing faces, he's just stealing random people for whatever reason. Koh tells him exactly what to do, bring me a MacGuffin so I can release your friends, Aang just goes to see Roku, no problem, no obstacles to overcome, brings the Macguffin to Koh and he just releases his friends. Wow, really shows us how resourceful Aang is by making him...get an object and give it back to Koh...

And the very last point that I absolutely hated in the show. When Aang goes into the Avatar state and becomes the giant koi fish and wipes everyone out, the live action show goes out of its way to emphasise that that is not Aang in there. Aang is gone. The Koi fish is just rage. and that's that. Taking away ANY agency Aang ever had. Look, I know in the OG show Aang is not in control of the Avatar state either, but we know that's still Aang in there, that's his power he's showcasing. He might not be in control but that's him doing it all, being all powerful. But in the live action, they tell us Aang is gone, that's just his body the spirit is using. Plus Aang does no watebending himself, no gestures like the original where you can see aang in the sphere water bending, controlling the giant Koi fish, showing us how far he's come as a water bender. But in the LA he's just in the sphere...doing nothing because he never learned water bending so of course that's not him doing all this cool shit.

I am so angry over all of this. This is you MAIN PROTAGONIST. and you made him nothing but a vessel to progress the plot. You gave him no character, no growth, no struggles, no power! So no, you cannot convince me, at this point, that the writers of the live action don't hate Aang. Probably as much as they hate Katara.

[coffee-with-mint-syrup]

The case of live-action atla zutara.

First of all, the scarf scene. I won't be repeating myself, here are some main points - there was absolutely no reason for Zuko to act the way he did and for the scene to be shot this dramatically. Even if they did the shipbaiting in this scene - it means there's a ship which is much more than live-action kataang has at this point. Also I don't really think these guys are shipbaiting type but that's just the impression I got.

Then - the second obvious one - Oma and Shu's visuals. We have star-crossed lovers from two towns at war, basically the local equivalent of Romeo and Juliet (as in legendary lovers who are known above all for their love) wearing coincidentally colors that are primarily associated with two of our characters (who shared this dramatically shot scene in the previous episode).

And I know, it may seem so insignificant - but but but but! - you have to think about this. Of course there are creators, writers and showrunners that are unaware of some non-canon ships or don't care about them. But it's not the case for atla. No, creators of atla were so aware of zutara - they wrote a parody scene in a in-world trashy play to mock this fan pairing and it still proved absolutely nothing and just gave zutara more content. The creators and writers of this adaptation clearly had the discussion "what we should do with kataang" - because there is no trace of kataang in the 1st season. So it was a conscious decision to omit that - but where would the romantic subplot go? Well, I don't know, but they are showrunners, they most certainly discussed options. They are clearly very, very, very much aware of zutara. And they still do this? They still show us Oma and Shu wearing red and blue? All they had to do is to give at least one of them any different color. Any. But they didn't. (for fuck sake, it is the Earth Kingdom - yellow and green would do it)

There were zero, no, nada Kataang interactions, implications or those scenes that are filmed just a little bit too dramatically like the scarf one. I don't know, there's still a chance that they will wait for season 3 to make Aang's crush on Katara happen. I'm also not so sure what will happen to Aang failing to open seventh chakra, I mean - his love for Katara has a huge purpose in series, so it still doesn't look very good. But you can't even imagine how glad I am that they didn't do this secret tunnel thing. It was very uncomfortable.

So it was the more fact-based part of my case, let's get to the irrational, almost delusional part, tin foil hat probably needed.

Almost all the scenes Zuko and Katara shared in the first season kept reminding me of another famous enemies-to-lovers ship that actually became canon in the infamous final episode - Reylo, the way it was filmed in The Force Awakens. I mean - the first fight in the woods where she looses, the intensity of him staring at her, the final fight in snowy location where she kicks his ass and shows her mastering this superpower, him trying to talk to her during this fight and mentioning her learning/having to learn...Zuko calling Katara a peasant reminded me of this "Rey is no one" discourse. I don't know man, I haven't thought about The Force Awakens reylo for a very long time and it just kept popping in my head.

All of this - it's like a blueprint for enemies to lovers.

Also I actually think that the look they shared in the 2nd episode was also shot kinda weirdly and dramatically. It's not to the extent of the scarf scene but I do remember thinking that "why did they film it they way? it's too intense".

In the conclusion I'd like to say that as much as I like all the season 1 zutara stuff they left out in the adaptation - necklace subplot and implications, pirates and the famous "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun" - I think I actually prefer the scarf scene. Yes, it would be so great to see those things in adaptation but in the end of the day they would still be just the things they kept from the original and probably noting more. Like the cabbages or the secret tunnel song or anything else, just things from the source material that implicate nothing. While the scarf scene, the Oma and Shu's clothes - it means they made a conscious decision to make it that way. It means they put some thought into that and some meaning. And this gives me hope there's a chance for Zutara in this adaptation.

P.S. I told about this my sister who hasn't watch the series yet and she said "I think people who made this show are just shipping zutara in secret". I do not necessarily imply she might be right - but creators of animated series (the very same people that made kataang canon, not zutara) DID leave because of some creative differences and because they couldn't control creative decision. Might as well be THAT kind of decision.

[penforthewin]

Bi-Han's betrayal and character could have been set up better. Imagine if NRS threw in a short scene of Bi-Han asking/demanded for a Lin Kuei warrior (although he's clearly referring to himself), be chosen as a champion for Earthrealm. But Liu Kang just gives him a sympathetic smile and places his hand on Bi-Han's shoulder.

"The Lin Kuei best serves Earthrealm by protecting it. Although I do not doubt the capabilities of you and your clan, it is not your destiny to partake in the tournament."

Bi-Han scowls. The Lin Kuei are above servitude, and their Grandmaster will see that he they will gain the power and influence they deserve.

A moment like this earlier in the game would have set up Bi-Han's ambition and upcoming betrayal better than just having a bad attitude. It could have explained his hostility towards Kung Lao, Raiden, and Johnny Cage (he didn't really talk to Kenshi). Why were these nobodies getting a chance at glory? He's Sub-Zero for the Elder Gods' sake. If anyone could represent Earthrealm's might, it would be him and him alone.

I also have many thoughts about the scene with Bi-Han and Tomas. The look on Tomas' face was hurt, but also surprised. Bi-Han's frustrations were likely reaching a boiling point at that time, causing him to lash out. If I'm right, and Bi-Han's outright hostility towards Tomas in this scene was uncharacteristic, then that could have been better portrayed by showing that Kuai Liang was surprised too.

If this was a normal thing, the Kuai Liang we know and love would have called Bi-Han out.

Fandom jokes aside, I don't think Bi-Han hated Tomas. At most he probably saw him as an outsider and possibly an intruder on him and Kuai Liang's relationship. If he hated Tomas, his position as Grandmaster gave him plenty of chances to keep Tomas as far away as possible, maybe even exiling him altogether. Also, this scene. He made sure they were both okay before continuing with the mission.

When he spoke of his plans for the Lin Kuei, he addressed both of them, not just Kuai Liang.

Idk MK1 could have been so much better man.

Tldr: Netherrealm Studios need better writers.

[creampuffqueen]

I saw that post you reblogged about being open to followers asking about your fanfics, so I'm going to take you up on that. I wanted to ask if you have a favorite among the works you did for the Yangvik Week, but maybe that would be too unfair. So my question is: can you tell us what you, the author, like about each of those works specifically, or if you have a favorite line from them? (Bonus: was there a challenging part?) It's always so interesting to hear a writer be meta about their process! Thank you 🩵

Ahhh thank you so much for asking!!! You’re right, choosing a favorite would be very difficult and would probably end in like. A 3 or 4 way tie lol. But i would absolutely love to share my thoughts on my fics and some of the behind-the-scenes things about writing them!!

Gonna go ahead and put this under a cut because i have zero doubt it will get very long haha. Read on for even more yangvik ramblings :) 

Cover Story: 

The part about this fic that was the most fun to write and the part that was the most difficult to write happened to be the same thing - figuring out their secret mission. I truly have to give my props to f.c yee here; writing spy missions is not as easy at it seems! I had to figure out a realistic way to get Yangchen and Kavik alone in a room together, AND in a situation where their only way out was to kiss, without it feeling too contrived. Which meant I was having to think of backups for my backups. A lot of “okay, here’s a way they could get out - how can I make that way impossible?” I truly am quite proud of how it all turned out in the end!

Another favorite part was undoubtedly writing Kavik being absolutely head over heels the entire time. It was the first time I’d written from his perspective, and his head is quite fun to be in. His pining definitely created a few of my favorite lines from this one, such as “In this room full of beautiful things, she’s still the most captivating.” Or “The glow from the fire makes her gray eyes look like molten pools of silver. For a moment, Kavik nearly forgets where he is.”

Also, this entire interaction: ““I think we’re a bit past caring about how I feel about a plan; tell me what it is.”

“You need to kiss me.”

“What?!””

I made myself absolutely cackle with delight when I wrote it. It was so fun.

And then I’ve already shared in another post how I ended up entirely rewriting the entire kiss scene. It just wasn’t hitting in the way I wanted, and I’m much, much happier with how it turned out when I wrote it the second time.

I’ve also particularly enjoyed seeing peoples’ interpretations of this one! Some people think that Yangchen is totally oblivious to how hard Kavik is crushing, while others think she totally knows but is pretending not to. I won’t give an answer as to which is correct, because I think it adds a lot more to be ambiguous enough that it could go either way!

i can’t read your mind (though i’m trying all the time):

Little warning here because this fic is nsfw, so if you’re not comfortable with that topic of discussion feel free to hop ahead to the next section!

I think of all the fics i wrote for yangvik week, this one was the most challenging. I came up with the premise for this fic (yangvik bathtub sex) well before yangvik week, but planning out my fics for the event gave me the motivation to actually Write It. But even after decided I wanted to write it, I spent a lot of time waffling around with it, not totally sure how I wanted to take it. Add in at the time I was really struggling with my self confidence as a writer, and that led to me just being generally unhappy with the whole thing. 

What ended up happening was that I put it on the back burner for a bit, wrote some of my other fics for the event, and then came back to it. Having finished some other fics gave me the little boost I needed to push past the corner I’d stuck myself in (what felt like at the time endless dialogue) and finally write the whole thing. 

Random side tangent: i did not write my yangvik week fics in order lol. It ended up being Day 1-4-2-3-5-6

Anyway. Favorite bits? Quite a few haha

“Yangchen’s eyes don’t leave his, stormy gray meeting ocean blue. Kavik would drown in them if she’d let him.” <- I posted this one as a snippet but I still just love it so much. They’re so utterly whipped for each other it’s crazy.

““Kavik, I’m tired,” Yangchen breathes.

His lips still. “Do you want me to stop?”

A pause. Then, slowly, she drags their joined hands upwards until one of his palms is cupping her breast, showing him where she wants to be touched.

“No. Don’t stop.””

^ I had been planning out this specific bit pretty much since I got the idea for this fic. So I’d been hanging onto this for a few months. Finally getting to write it down was so incredibly satisfying. I HAVE to write my scenes in chronological order. Sometimes if I have ideas for single lines or specific words I want to use I’ll write them down just so I remember, but if it’s an entire exchange like this I force myself to wait for it.

I originally intended to write this fic going at an even slower pace, which looking back now is kinda crazy haha. It’s already got quite a slow buildup. But when I was writing I came to the conclusion that things needed to heat up at least a little bit, hence all the heavy making out that happens. 

“Seated above him, Yangchen has to look downwards in order to connect their gazes. A queen sitting on her throne.” <- I was very proud of this line and the imagery it evokes, and I was very glad to hear that others felt the same! I had several people point out just how much they liked this part, and it’s always very gratifying as a writer to hear that a scene created the feelings you were going for.

The premise of this fic is basically Yangchen going “I want that man on his knees and whimpering” and Kavik going “yes ma’am”

Another random fun fact: it’s a blink and you’ll miss it kinda mention, but the thing that brings them both over the edge during this is making eye contact with each other ;) 

And last but not least, I find it very funny that this fic is the most popular of my yangvik week fics, at least according to the stats on ao3. It has by far the most comments, kudos, and hits. By a long shot. 

Oh my god, you guys are so horny!!! (says the horny bitch who wrote the fic)

Anywayyyyyyy

i’m glad i get forever to see where you went:

So, although this fic was certainly the one with the darkest topic, I think I enjoyed writing it the most. It was an extremely cathartic write, and while I was writing it the words just seemed to flow nonstop. The whole fic came so easily to me, and with very little prior planning. Part of it might be that it was a very different writing style than what I usually use, with it being a more broad overview of an ongoing situation rather than one specific point in time. I really enjoy fics written in that style, and I was very excited to finally create one of my own!

Now for some random notes about the content of the fic itself. I don’t think I mentioned this in the end notes of the fic itself, but there is a reason that Yangchen and Kavik are living near the Eastern temple rather than the Western. In some random, older A:TLA media, it was said that Yangchen retired to the Eastern Air Temple, and she spent her last few years living in a hermitage near the temple. I suppose that narratively it makes more sense for her to live in the west, but I decided to go with it to sort of keep it ‘canon compliant’. I wonder if that will ever get retconned now that we have more content about Yangchen.

But I digress. A part I really enjoyed about this fic was being able to intersperse all the heavy moments with little tidbits that show just how much these two love each other. Even aside from the big, grand, devotion that they show, I also liked showing that they still flirt, they still banter, they still cuddle and watch the sunset together. Just casual moments of a long-time love. 

“Life continues on, though. The endless wheel of time won’t stop turning, even for the most powerful being in the world.” <- Very proud of this line. It just came to me right in the moment and it felt so perfect. 

“Perhaps a part of him is just hoping they’ll adjust. She’s still Yangchen, whip-smart and compassionate and always ready with a quick remark. She’s still every bit the woman he fell in love with, just a bit more forgetful these days. They’ll get through it, surely.” <- Again, very proud of this part. It accomplished several things I wanted to convey: showing the passage of time, as this isn’t something that just happens overnight. It’s a slow, progressive thing. Also adding in some more slightly positive views of Yangchen, as I’d just put her through a whole lot in the previous scenes and felt I needed to add a reminder that despite it all, she’s still Yangchen. And lastly, also adding in Kavik’s sense of desperation that things get better. Or, at least, that things don’t get any worse.

“He loves her, though. The world is always changing, and nothing is ever constant. The deepest truth that he knows in his life is this: He loves Yangchen with everything he has, for everything she is.

He loves her. He squeezes her hand while she sleeps, finally at peace for a change, and hopes that it’s enough.”

^ Yet another part I love. I just really loved my writing in this whole fic. I don’t really have much to add but I just had to put it here because I love it so so much.

Now, for the final scene. I was considering having this not be the last scene. I was going to make it worse. I had a few ideas, all incredibly angsty. Something like Yangchen getting hurt (working ideas were her leaving the fire on and forgetting about it or getting into a situation where she needed to bend a certain element but forgetting she could bend it) or her actually forgetting Kavik’s name for little bit. But in the end it didn’t feel right for the direction I wanted to take this. I wasn’t writing angst for angst’s sake. I didn’t want to end the fic on such a bitter note, on a feeling that all was lost for good. There needed to be some hope still left. Which is why I ended up going the direction I did with it. 

I was veryyyyyy proud of myself for the total genius moment I had in the final scene. Namely, Yangchen starting to return to herself when Kavik hands her the glider. It’s very subtle because in these kind of situations, it’s not like the person comes back to the present all at once. It’s very gradual. But, if you read closely, Yangchen begins to calm down when she gets the glider. Both because it’s something familiar and personal, and because it’s meant to mirror the scene in Legacy where Kavik originally hands her back her glider. Now, in order for this to happen, I had to backtrack very far to get this moment. Like; okay, Kavik hands Yangchen the staff and it helps. Why does he bring the staff with him? Oh, what if he’s using it as a cane! But wait, I never wrote him as needing a cane in previous scenes. Ah, he gets out of bed too fast and pinches a nerve in his back! (sorry Kavik).

And last but not least, the final scene, where Yangchen finally admits out loud how scared she is and she and Kavik both cry, probably has to be my favorite scene of this entire fic. Possibly one of my favorite scenes that I’ve ever written. It was so incredibly cathartic to write. I’m being completely truthful when I say I teared up while writing it. Yes, it was incredibly devastating, but very beautiful in its own way. It was just the culmination and release of all the heartbreak earlier in the fic, and gave way to the wonderful moment of Kavik promising to always be there for her, whether she remembers him or not, which is everything she needs to hear in that moment. I just really love it.

Breakfast and a Braid:

This one was pretty short and sweet so there isn’t a whole lot to say about it writing wise haha. I think the biggest challenge was getting them to the point where Kavik could talk about what he was doing while braiding her hair without the situation feeling too forced or awkward. I think I ended up doing okay, though!

Also while writing this and looking through the fic I realized that I mentioned the gong of Jonduri… the gong is in Taku. *facepalm* I’m gonna have to go fix that at some point. Whoops. 

When Yangchen says that she doesn’t remember breakfast being delivered, it’s meant to imply that she was sleeptalking again, the way she did to Boma at the beginning of Legacy. And I’m not sure why but I enjoy the way I wrote her waking up at the start of the fic. I think it’s just some funny imagery, of her startling awake and throwing her papers everywhere.

Another thing about the writing process of this one is that the part that goes “Tangles removed, Kavik draws his hands smoothly through her thick tresses. Yangchen nearly arches into his hand, like a cat-goose getting its back scratched. If she could purr she’d probably be doing it.” actually had a duplicate paragraph written a few paragraphs before it. I’m very glad I read through this one again, because that would have been awkward lol. I ended up liking the second use of it more, so I rewrote the paragraph earlier in the fic so I could keep it in this spot. Still not totally sure how I basically managed to copy an entire paragraph without realizing it!

“Still, she can’t resist reaching behind her to grab at his collar, dragging Kavik towards her for a proper kiss. He puts up no resistance, grinning softly as Yangchen presses their lips together.” <- and of course, writing kisses is one of my favorite things, so it’s no surprise that it’s one of my favorite lines in this fic :) 

Something Nice:

Not entirely sure why, but of the 6 fics that i posted for yangvik week, this is probably my least favorite 😭😭. Again, no idea why. Like i can’t even pinpoint what i don’t like about it, but whenever i compare it to the others i wrote i just feel. Kinda ‘eh’ about it.

I am however still patting myself on the back for the bit about the wool on the kuspuk being from Nujian’s older sister. I very clearly remember having this complete enigma while planning it out and being like ‘YES ITS PERFECT IM A GENIUS!!!’. So that’s definitely a positive.

Other positives include writing some team Yangchen shenanigans. I really love Yangchen’s team avatar in the books, and so whenever i can i try and include them in my writing, even if it’s just a little mention. But being able to include full on conversations in this fic was very fun.

Although I don’t feel completely satisfied with how this fic turned out (again, for reasons I’m honestly not quite sure of) I do still have a favorite line. That being “Even after she calms, a small part of her wants to stay there forever, held in the little bubble of Kavik’s embrace, safe from the needs of the world.”. I just loved showing how safe Yangchen feels when she’s with Kavik, and how she can just be herself around him. 

The other part i really enjoyed writing with this one was the PINING. Oh the pining. It’s always so delicious. And then the moment at the end where Jujinta interrupts them hehe. I’m definitely a sucker for the ‘moment interrupted’ trope… which i’m now realizing might be a bit obvious considering my other works… oh… oh dear…

darlin’, oh, you see i’ve never felt this way before:

Almost all of my writing is very ‘flying by the seat of my pants’ style as I very rarely go into anything with a concrete plan, but this one was EXTRA off the top of my head. I had a vague idea and a vibe to go off of when I started writing, and I’m pretty pleased with the results!

A few highlights of writing this include: contriving ways to get Kavik shirtless, letting the air nomads be the thirsty mouthpiece of the fandom, and pretending I’m back in middle school and turning absolutely everything into a ‘that’s what she said’ joke

I included this fun fact in the notes on the ao3 version but if you only read it on tumblr you might have missed it! When Kavik is playing the string game with the kids and he makes a shape called ‘the polecat-wolverine’ it is for multiple reasons. 1. ‘The wolverine’ is an actual shape that can be made during the real life string game that Inuit and other Indigenous groups play, and 2. The name ‘Kavik’ means wolverine! He was showing the kiddos how to make his name :) 

I also loved getting to include some more air nomad culture in my writing. The ‘holy day’ they are celebrating is completely made up, but loosely inspired by the Thai Buddhist festival of Songkran. As well, the nature of many of the conversations in this fic led me to basically do a deep dive into how i think the 4 nations view sex, desire, sexuality, etc. Which then led me to retroactively go in to throw in some demisexual Yangchen vibes, which is my personal headcanon of her sexuality.

I think the biggest challenges in writing this fic were, first of all, having little more than a vibe as my concept, and then also figuring out how to spin the ‘jealousy’ prompt into a way that I liked. I very much wanted to stay away from the usual interpretation of jealousy, as I simply don’t think it fits Yangchen and Kavik’s relationship with each other. So I did my best to show that Yangchen isn’t jealous of the other nuns because they’re ‘trying to steal her man’ or that she’s jealous and thinks Kavik will like another girl more than her or anything like that. She’s jealous because she already has to share so much of herself with the world, and doesn’t want to share what she has with Kavik as well. She isn’t at all threatened by other women appreciating his good looks, but she gets very bothered when the conversation starts veering towards more personal things about him. Hence why she stops the teenagers’ conversation when one of them mentions his ‘dreamy eyes’ when the other two had previously been saying far more suggestive things.   

Yet another challenging part of this write was when I decided I wanted to go down the love confession route. I wanted to make it clear that it WAS a love declaration, but without an ‘I love you’. Again, I feel very strongly that Yangchen and Kavik never fully define their relationship. It just… is. So it was a fun challenge to try and write something akin to a confession/declaration without going the typical route. I did consider having them say the Big L Word, but I couldn’t manage to fit it in where I mentioned it was the first time they said it, but at the same time didn’t make it this super huge deal. Of course they already know they love each other; they don’t need to be waxing poetic about it to make it clear, though. I’m pretty happy with what I managed instead!

There are so many standout lines in this one that i adore, but I think most of them come from the final part. I love a good ‘sleepy pillow talk in the morning after’ kind of vibe (in fact, I’ve been considering adding a part 2 to ‘the push' set the morning after) so it was lovely to get to include one here.

I’m very especially proud of the imagery right here: “Yangchen wakes up in shades, consciousness seeping into her bones with each exhale of breath. The pre-dawn light creeps through her window, casting the room in a soft, dreamlike haze.”

And again with this one: “He stretches, long and languid, yawning so widely that Yangchen can hear his jaw pop. His fingers tangle with those already on his cheek, bringing her hand to his mouth so he can begin to kiss his way up her arm, tracing the pattern of her tattoos.” (non-lip kisses my ABSOLUTE BELOVED).

“Rather than fall further into her trap, Kavik shuts her up by tackling her into the bed, making her shriek with laughter when his hands dig into her sides to tickle her mercilessly.” <- I really loved how I portrayed Yangchen in this whole part. She deserves to just let loose and be silly!!!!

“Avatar Yangchen belongs to the world before anything else. Yangchen will always be the Avatar; even in death her spirit will remain to continue the cycle. She holds the world’s biggest blessing and its heaviest burden. It will always have a claim over her.

But right here, her world is just this: the blue of Kavik’s eyes, the safety of his arms, and the love that she can feel pouring out of his very being.”

^ Made myself almost cry with the duality of it all. He’s literally her safe space. I’m never gonna feel normal about them.

This ended up getting… so long lol. If you stayed til the end, thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed getting some insight into my writing thoughts and parts I enjoyed about creating my fics! And again, thank you so much for the ask!!!

[literaticat]

Hi. I received a revise and resubmit asking me to tone down violence and romance elements to make a YA novel more suitable for MG. And also to deafened characters. I was initially enthusiastic and am able to tone down the violent and romantic elements - quite a lot. But the deeper I look into the revision, the more impractical deaging the characters becomes as they drive cars or some of them do and these sequences are vital to the plot near the end. So while I can certainly revise and tone it down, I still think it’s only going to work as YA, not MG. The person who gave me the request was on the fence between YA and MG but leaned MG. Is there any way I can put a positive spin on this and tell them I could give it down but it would up of still only be YA and see if they’re still interested? Could you suggest how I could approach this with them please? Thank you.

Q: "I've got another R&R ask. Can a writer ever decline one after it's made on a call later on via email? Or is it better to just let it fade away and not follow back up? Or let's say the author did want to do an R&R but a smaller one? Like, let's say, they want you to remove bad language, sex scenes, and make every second character a suspect but you only want to do A and B but not C. Will it look like you just don't want to do the work? (But really you just don't want to make them all suspects!) TX"

I'm taking a stab at answering these two R&R asks in one - I don't know if they are from the same person, but either way, there's some of the same answer in them both!

First, for Q1: I don't know what some of this means. "And also to deafened characters." "I could give it down but it would up of still only be YA" -- zero clue on the first part, the second part is probably "I could tone [or age?] it down but it would still be YA"? -- these things don't affect my answers I DON'T THINK, but just in case!

For both: I'm taking this out of the realm of the specific and into the realm of the general.

You never HAVE to do an R&R. You don't have to do it exactly the way they told you. You don't have to fix problems you don't think are problems, or change the protagonists or the plot or the age category or anything else if that affects the way you are telling your story. Literally nobody is making you do that!

Of course -- the agent also doesn't have to rep the book, if they don't think they can sell it.

The first order of business, IMO, when you get an R&R, is to *think about it* -- don't hastily say "YES I WILL DO ALL OF THIS!" or "NO WAY, JOSÉ!" -- just thank them for their time and kind words, and say you will definitely consider their points as you approach a revision.

Then, do that. Take your time. Play around with it. Noodle! See what is doable, and what feels like too much of a departure. Do thought experiments. How COULD you make this change work, if you wanted to? What would that change about the story? Would it change the fundamental meaning of the story? Is there a way you could make whatever change and retain your intention? What would have to happen? Etc.

Sometimes agents (and editors!) ask for [whatever change] -- but they are just making a suggestion of a possible fix because something is wrong. Their suggested fix may not work for you -- but that doesn't mean that nothing is wrong. That something may very well be a problem -- but maybe you can think of a better way to fix it! Maybe fixing OTHER things in the ms will actually serve to straighten out whatever the problem is.

(Random for example: maybe the agent says something like "It feels like there are too many characters in this Ballroom scene, it's kinda confusing, can you combine some of them?" -- well, maybe! OR, maybe the solution is to cut the scene altogether, or to change them to be more differentiated and serve different purposes to the story so it's less confusing, or to tighten the ballroom scene so we are only following TWO people, or expand the ballroom scene into another chapter so the other characters have more time to shine! I don't know - I'm saying, as you play around with the revision, consider what the PROBLEM is, and different solutions that might exist.)

ANYWAY. If at the end of all this you realize, yeah no, I like it the way it was, I'm really not interested in doing these revisions -- you don't have to. You don't even have to ever tell them you aren't -- just don't. And if they approach you again, you tell the truth, which is you gave it a good college try, but ultimately, you realized that the version you had is the story you were trying to tell and you decided not to pursue a revision at this time; you'll be happy to revisit this should you get a brainwave about how to do this revision, or hope you can connect on the next project.

OR -- you take your time and DO the extensive revision, and maybe you followed all their advice, OR, more likely, you wound up changing some of the things they wanted you to change, but not others. (Maybe you change some of the things they wanted you to change, and some other things they didn't talk to you about!) -- in any case, you think the work is stronger and definitely more in line with what they asked for than it previously was.

In THAT case, you write them back, thank them again for their great notes which helped you so much with the revision, and tell them in that letter, "I took your advice for A and B to heart, and I do think the ms is stronger for it. Regarding C, I realized while revising that changing [XYZ] would end up being a problem [for plot reasons, or whatever] -- but I did end up switching some scenes up which I hope address [the problem]. I also [tightened up the middle of the ms, or whatever else you did.] (OR SOMETHING - -the point is, just respond, tell them what you changed, if there's something major they asked for that you DIDN'T change, explain what you did instead) -- I'm attaching the revision, happy reading!"

Hopefully the ms is stronger and enough of their problems are resolved that they decide, hey, those other things don't even matter, I love this now!

OR, maybe they will say, actually, I still really want this to be [a different story than the one you wrote] -- in which case, well, it wasn't meant to be, but at least you have a stronger book out of it, so the effort was worthwhile, and now you can go pitch it to somebody else.

[matoitech]

ok uhh okay. spiderverse 2 thoughts. in bullet points for the sake of my churning brain cuz im just not rly sure how i feel abt it rn. like it was a good movie? i enjoyed it it was fast paced i didnt realize 2+ hours went by which also segues into  my first thought but like. yeah i have thoughts.

first of all that was like a super weird ending decision to make it a part 1 of 2. zero warning for that. and i sat in that theater till credits bcuz i genuinely thought i was being punked and the movie was going to finish, bcuz it did not at all feel like a place to stop for the movie. it ends like right before the climax?? yes they really. extended themselves damn far for this one and it would be a lot to tie up in like another 45 minutes of movie but also like you couldve done it.. i really dont. understand. like ppl just sat in the movie theater like wait is it done. theyre ending it here? for real? like it wasnt the kind of ending you expect from this movie 

animation was obviously gorgeous and insane i dont even need to talk about what eye candy it was. the different styles all together the fight scenes ugh so good yeah yeah everyone knew it would be a trip

rly cannot stress enough what a Direction this sure was. i dont like say it as crit necessarily just like. did they over extend. maybe. they sure Extended. i would expect this maybe for a third movie not a second but they were clearly trying to blow the first one out of the water. it was just.. a lot looser. it needed to be tighter. i dont know what theyre planning for the 3rd movie but i really did not like. vibe with that ending decision

they changed peni’s design slightly and gave her a cooler mech so thats nice. maybe they listened 2 criticisms abt that

i cant decide how i feel abt a lot of the dialogue tbh it rly wasnt my thing a lot of the time like. the changing writers were kind of.. obvious. and there was a LOT of dialogue bcuz this movies purpose seems to be a very Character Driven story to prepare for the next? like theyre TRYING to say stuff thats for sure. also it was rly quippy in a way that i feel has gotten kind of tired with dialogue writing like SOME dialogue was genuinely funny and good to me like i wouldnt say it was BAD or something (some of it was bad.) it was just.. noticeably different? the tone for this movie was changed from the first which again isnt bad youre telling a different story it was just Different yeah. some things i rly thought couldve been handled like with more subtlety. 

i guess we only had one movie with the original cast but some stuff just like i personally was sitting there trying to figure out if it felt in character or not. its rly hard to explain if u havent watched it i think and maybe im just crazy i dunno. im absolutely not opposed to making ur characters fuck up and make mistakes but like. huh. i guess. i would not expect otherwise from gwen bcuz shes a teenager but i was.. surprised that peter was going along with it like ? hes a middle aged man lol he wasnt like taken advantage of or manipulated in any way. not like they were trying to say that w the like spider group anyway, like i dont think they were tryingto say gwen was necessariyl taken advantage of or anything, like they werent trying to make them read as ‘evil’ if anything just like wow these ppl sure have Problems they are going thruogh. but like still? im not invested in peters character even it just felt kind of weird. miles went fucking through it too like jesus christ im still trying to wrap my brain around all this it sure does feel like theyre putting these ppl thru comic book trauma

what i went through emotionally wheni realized they were going to do Dark Miles i dont even mean that as criticism or anything its just a bold move man. buti was sitting there like yeah of course they would. hope they make it work

i dunno i probably have more thoughts im just kind of like sitting here lol like what a weird decision. if they hadnt ended it like that i probably would have my thoughts more tied together bcuz the movie itself wasnt tied up?? so its kind of hard to even like think through everything on one watch

[sassyandclassy94]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @fictional-at-heart (can always count on sisters to tag you in fun things!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Sixteen

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

109,759

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Once Upon a Time (SwanFire specifically), Masters of the Air, and The Boys in the Boat (I’d love to write for How to Train Your Dragon and Little House on the Prairie but alas! The Plot Idea Farm has been dry for years)

4. Top five fics by kudos?

Secrets, Lies, and Blessings - 42

Tell Me You Didn’t… - 28

What’s In a Name? - 25

Words of Comfort - 25 (Oo, we’ve got a dead heat!)

I’m Not Much of a Talker - 23

Princess Kidnapped! - 20 (this one I still plan to finish but it’s DARK.)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! It takes me a long while sometimes but I do! I want my readers to feel comfortable giving feedback

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angriest ending?

Oh, “A Hero’s Sacrifice” for sure!!! I wrote Graham’s death to fit my medieval AU and… it’s one I’m really proud of and really politely urge you to read👉🏻👈🏻🥹 I cried writing it (I also researched a lot for it… like what happens when you bleed out from the stomach👀 Someone said writing a battle scene is like writing a sex scene and… she was right. Or he, whatever.)

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably “Secrets, Lies, and Blessings”. I mean, Bae and Emma get married at the end and what gets happier than that?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yes. I wrote (am writing) a Don x OFC fic and someone invaded my ask box a couple months ago calling it a ‘boring het fic’ with a ‘dime a dozen OFC’. Behind the gray face too of course. Screw you, Nonny. I’m still writing it, and my all time favorite Don x OFC author commented lovely words on it too so😁

I feel like I also had someone come after me once for Princess Kidnapped because it’s anti Hook. Yeah well I gave you plenty of warning in the tags; it’s your own darn fault you didn’t read them, chickie.

9. Do you write smut?

Some. But as a rule of thumb I try to keep it extremely tasteful with zero uses of gross/rude words. I posted two SwanFire ones (one’s restricted) and I’m working on one about Don and Kate (my OFC)

10. Craziest crossover?

I haven’t written a crossover. But if I did? Hmmm… maybe SwanFire and hiccup/astrid?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope! Thank goodness.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Actually, yes; there was a German girl who liked my fic so much she asked to translate it on Wattpad. Don’t know if it’s still there though.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I almost did, but we lost touch and I didn’t agree with writing fanfics about ice dancers…🥴

14. All time favorite ship

I think you all know that👀 Emma Swan and Neal ‘Baelfire’ Cassidy from Once Upon a Time

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Well I thought that was going to be Secrets Lies and Blessings but last week I had a crazy random spurt of inspiration… lately I feel like it’s gonna be Princess Kidnapped… it just has to get so… dark before it gets better and I don’t don’t know if I want to put my mind in a place like that (I mean, Hook is told he can do whatever he wants to Emma as long as he keeps her alive🥺 and then the eventual execution I have planned for the end is gonna be… graphic. So yeah. We’ll see if I ever finish that one.)

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and emotional angst. I really enjoy writing heated arguments. CC Emma and Charming

17. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

No. Just, no.

18. First fandom you wrote in?

Once Upon a Time. I read an awesome SwanFire fic after a rewatch in 2018 and she inspired me to give it a try and I never stopped.

19. Favorite fic you’ve written?

A Hero’s Sacrifice

About to Throw Hands - This one was my first ever request and only fic written with a deadline in mind. My friend Rachael mentioned she was craving a reader fic where Bobby defends the female reader. Lo and behold I have it a try and voila! It turned out better than I expected and she loved it!! A double win!!

There is no 20 - it should be called 19 questions😆

Tags: (let’s see if I can think of all the writers in my notes…) @eviebelieve-y @selkiesstories @strangethings-everywhere @swanfireprincessmydear @okieedokes DARN YOU, MICHAIAH!!!! I CANT TAG YOU AND I CANT THINK OF ANYONE ELSE😡 there are two SwanFire writers who I remember buy can’t remember the correct usernames😕 HELP. Any other writer who sees this (especially my SwanFire writers, please consider yourself tagged by me if you want to do it! You can even say I tagged you!!)

[sidneycarter]

literally everything he’s trying to run from (and even the fact that he’s trying to run from something in the first place) is over WITHIN A SECOND... I also think it’s interesting that Welkin doesn’t bring up the ‘perhaps it was a declaration of love’ until after Sergeant Goodfellow has left the room. 

He says about the ex girlfriend, and Goodfellow gives Inspector Sullivan a side-eye, but its only when its just the two of them that Welkin really stops implying things and actually starts saying them. 

The more I think about it the more I hc that Welkin was on the LGBTQ+ spectrum somehow. Not to be annoying about the gaydar, but particularly in this era it was well known that non-straight people somehow managed to find each other and create flourishing communities. I think recognising similar actions/traits/experiences was probably one way of doing this (not trying to suggest that every member of the LGBTQ+ community has the same personality but you know what i mean). Welkin also seems to almost feel empathetic and pity for Sullivan, and his letter at the end is written in an almost fond way i think, with the “for the city boy” . I wonder if this was all a ploy to test out if sullivan was ‘one of us’ as well as try and gain an upper hand and a bargaining chip. the letter was probably Welkin trying to apologise and reassure sullivan that he wouldn’t speak on it. 

thinking about wellkins little chat with Sullivan...

Very hmmmm

[ladymorghul]

For a show that gave the viewers several scenes of painful childbirth, I find it fascinating that we never see Alicent giving birth to her kids. I wonder if that was just not on the creators’ mind or whether it was a conscious decision on their part, to show Alicent being a mother without the ugliness of childbirth. If so, the reasoning behind this decision is so interesting to explore, I think.

god, this bothers me so much. i didn't even notice at first until someone else pointed it out but it is SO important

rhaenyra has had two birth scenes and they were obviously emotional. alicent had zero birth scenes, even if she has four children and she's probably had her first child when she was around 16-17.

helaena also does not get a birth scene.

i know some said it's women in pain p*rn but the thing is.... it humanizes rhaenyra to the audience in a way that alicent and helaena are denied.

we see rhaenyra struggle through the pain but we also see her strength, we see her have joy as she handles her newborn and then we also see her grieve her stillborn.

it buys rhaenyra sympathy (as it should) that the audience does not have for either alicent or helaena. they are not granted the right to show the audience their own pain or joy or anything.

i mean, hell, there are people still denying that alicent was maritally r*ped because "not enjoying sex with your husband isn't r*pe" and "she seduced viserys" and "that's what she wanted".

some people totally misinterpreted her dissociation in the r*pe scene AND when she's holding her children because a lot of people don't give serious thought to what teenage pregnancy does to a girl, let alone a teenage pregnancy that's the result of marital r*pe.

and how that complicates not just her feelings towards herself and her children, but also how she handles them and how she copes.

there are so many nuances here that it's crazy. and the audience is already putting alicent in all these negative boxes (bad mother, evil woman, oppressor, etc.), something the writers knew was gonna happen, and refused to take one more opportunity to really hammer in the point that she is a victim, that what happened to her was wrong, that viserys had a choice, and that the choice is to witness a 16 year old girl being forced into this horrible situation, regardless of "the times" when it happens.

to me this denied the actresses' both an acting opportunity and the opportunity to be presented as human as rhaenyra.

[flying-elliska]

tidbits from the webinar with Leigh Bardugo :

- With her writing, she wants to show there isn’t one kind of strong female character, that there are lots of different ways to be badass, among men as well. You don’t have to be super tough or a brooding dickhead. She wants to show fantasy doesn’t have to belong to one type of hero (white able bodied straight guy). She mentioned jk*r and seeing the heartbreak among her readers and thought she never wanted to be a part of causing that. Ppl talk about diversity as an artificial construct but it’s just...how the world is, and it’s how you tell a better story. When they announced they were casting a half-Asian Alina ppl were like  ‘why don’t you want her to look Russian’ and she was like ??? “have you ever looked at Russia on a map ?”. And borders are porous, there isn’t a firm line/wall in reality, and in the world of the series, in the border town near Shu Han Alina comes from, people are doing business with each other, falling in love across the border...it’s just what naturally happens.

- The Crows in this first season of Shadow and Bone are not the same as when we meet them in Six of Crows, they’re not quite as badass yet. We are getting some of the backstory that is in the books but not all of it, they wanted to keep some for next season (hopefully)

- You cannot write about thugs and thieves without being aware of the social/economic/political dynamics that created them

- When writing a book, she often starts in one place and ends in another, with Six of Crows she started wanting to do a fun blockbuster-y fantasy heist romp and then Kaz Brekker was ‘riding his brother’s corpse to freedom’ lmao

- Advice for writers : research can be dangerous, it’s easy to get lost and stay away from the draft. for shadow and bone she gave herself two months to really get lost in research, look into folklore, old cookbooks, to really get into the vivid details.

- Writing short stories is a really good way to better your writing

- To get somewhere you have to be bad at things. The bad days when you’re in a process are a good sign, because you are trying to do something bigger than you’ve ever done before. She had to learn to sit with the discomfort of not being good when she started writing.

- Writing process : beat sheet with main elements > zero draft, in which there is still discovery left about the characters. Everybody’s process is different, the key is to finding yr own. The process of writing a novel is so long, you have to be in love and stay in love with that idea, remind yourself what made you excited about it in the first place, and wait for the moment where you fall back in love with it. If you get haunted by another idea that won’t go away you can wonder what appeals to you about it and you can put it in your current project.

- The greatest gift you can give yourself is to finish a draft. When you’re stuck, go for a walk and talk to yourself (you can put in earphones to not look crazy lmao). Or shift POV. As a writer a critical voice is often what blocks you. You need to remind yourself that the first draft is going to be bad and you have to let it be, you’re telling the story to yourself, it’s fine to have placeholders and go back.

- When you’re a young writer the important thing is that you keep being in love with writing, there is no expiration date on your talent. When you’re in prep school mode, you’re told your value is in being young and brilliant, at some point you’re not the youngest one in the room anymore, you’re no longer the wunderkind, but that’s not where your value is. You still have a story to tell.

- She says she is a mix of Kaz (because she uses a cane, she’s a planner and she keeps a grudge for a long time) and Nina, or at least Nina is who she would like to be, the best part of her.

- She likes writing about women who get their revenge.

- Ketterdam treats people as commodities and expendable, it’s the protestant work ethic taken to extremes, and so ppl like Kaz and Inej are going to have the experiences they had. She didn’t want to do misery tourism, it was very important to approach these with caution and do a lot of research. She found it important to donate to organizations linked to things she has written about, so like against trafficking when she was writing Inej’s backstory. Writing those backstories were some of the most harrowing stuff she ever wrote as a writer. The scene with Kaz and Inej and the bandages was probably the hardest scene she’s ever written, she wanted to be respectful of what those two characters had been through, she’s written a lot of versions of that scene. It’s fun to talk about ships but she doesn’t want trauma to be ‘healed by love’, it wouldn’t feel respectful, the journey towards healing is a slow one, you backslide, etc.

- She struggled a lot writing Crooked Kingdom, she was kind of in a burnout, and wondered afterwards if it even was good. Importance of the drive to get better so you don’t stay static.

- She loooves a slow burn and had to put the brakes on the show writers several times lol when it came to kissing and such.

- Her fave episode of the show is episode 7

- She likes giving the names of her friends to characters bc they supported her so much during the writing process

- The first books are generally the easiest to write because you can throw your ideas at the wall and see what sticks, you can kind of do what you want, and after that in following books you have a lot more threads to pick up.

- Pet peeve : people talking about how this character didn’t “deserve” this : in her experience the people who deserve to go don’t and often the loving kind ones are those who lose, she’s experienced a lot of loss in her life, and she’s not going to write a book about war and danger without being honest about how these things go, it would feel disingenuous. She’s not going to stop killing people (lol).

- One fan talked about how she felt really helped by Nina being a curvy girl who is presented as charming and confident and very lovable. Leigh talks about how she’s been a lot of different sizes, she heard there was a famous author saying disparaging things about her weight and disability behind her back, she was like that’s not even original, and actually fuck being ashamed of that, she wants the culture to change and wants to participate in that. She wants it to be known that she is a very successful, adored fat woman with a partner who helps her up stairs, she also wants fans to know that they’re so much more than their appearance. (that moment was so badass, it reminded me of Kaz giving advice to Wylan about his disability)

- Our culture is garbage and you’re at war everyday with the people who want to make you feel bad about yourself so you buy things. Find people who make you feel strong and amazing, who don’t just tolerate you but who think you’re the best.

Anyway this was a really cool moment honestly, it made me even more of a fan.

[elfsone]

So finally have some coherent thoughts about *that* vp scene. First off, this scene was a logical way forward into the story. You go undercover in a mafia household and steal information; you are certainly going to be tortured and/or killed. Doesn’t make it right or palatable, but this is how the underworld functions. You might hate it, but this is what had to happen- even pete and kinn knew it.

Now normally the punishment would be doled out in the way kan dealt with ken or big was trying to deal the mole in ep 7. The person would be hit hard, they would whine and beg for forgiveness and then probably be killed. Nothing personal, just doing what needs to be done and move on.

But the catch here is that vegas is not normal and apparently neither is pete. we have our resident mafia menace who loves to torture people. It is not just work for him as he gains personal satisfaction out of toying with people. Normally khun vegas is used to people cowering in fear when they see him and then groveling at his feet. Vegas started with his “I am the crazy bad guy” spiel with his soft voice and toying with the hammer and stuff to scare the victim. But here comes mr. pete who stared straight into his eyes and started laughing, actually goddamn laughing in his face with absolute zero fear in his eyes! This made an already angry vegas, even more furious and that is why he brought out his jumper cables instead of the usual torture briefcase. (like the audacity of this bitch to break into my home and laugh at me)! He gave the initial jolts expecting pete to fall and cry and beg but that didn’t happen. Instead pete is still smiling (oh you’re still smiling) and we can see vegas being shocked so when he asked “one more time” there is a layer of intrigue alongside the usual hatred. So I believe that there was definitely nothing sexual here, no s&m etc etc yet. There was just fascination- seeing each other for the first time in a completely raw state, all pretenses off (Bible and build’s microexpressions damn!! Get them an oscar already!!). Their chemistry in this scene though! Absolutely sizzling pun intended! Add to it some beautiful cinematography! This has made me really invested in the vp story now.

I think Pete here was playing the part of an action hero/ superhero- the i don’t fear death guy, do what you want i won’t speak guy, laughing in villain’s face guy; we all know the trope (bond/ die hard etc). Pete was laughing in a fuck you kind of way. I entered the home of this psychopath and successfully one upped him. He enjoyed seeing how fazed vegas was and how angry he was because of losing everything! (Are these masochistic tendencies? Not sure). 

Another important point about this scene, I was initially really surprised to see that the writers made pete’s capture very uneventful. Ken idly snuck up on him (pete for the nth time my god!), pete’s not surprised at all and the in the next scene he is tied up in front of vegas. It initially felt very choppy to me but i think the writers wanted to tell the audience that this was supposed to happen. In the novel (v mild spoilers), pete fought back really hard. I think they didn’t show that to emphasize that pete knew this was a suicide mission and he probably had no plans of coming back. There is no suspense, no ominous music because there is no cat and mouse chase and grand fights. He is caught and that’s that. What did y’all think about this choice? Liked it?

I was initially a vegas fan (bible being hot helped :P). Didn't really care about the couple. I always love the crazy menaces in any show more than the main hero, suave and flashy villains with lots of layers ala loki (what does that say about me, i don't wanna know😶). But after the temple scene their dynamic has become so interesting for me... safe to say I am now obsessed!!

My god this is so fking long! If you have read till here, we are best friends now 🤭 

[thetaoofbetty]

anon, i'm putting your ask after the cut since it was pretty long:

BAs being mad about last episode is really funny because i genuinely don’t know what they expected from the show. they are mad because "they don’t have romantic scenes" but they never did. BA has never been platonically or romantically developed, they were used as a plot to get drama when they ran out of conflicts for the show or reasons to keep the ship wars invested.

—agree. i think they built up what they thought b/a would be in their heads over 4+ seasons of waiting for it. even over the years, talking down to bugheads and varchies about how their ship would be superior when it finally happened since it's "meant to be." that the show used them for drama was perceived as a slowburn instead of the every so often plot device it really was.

i'm not even calling it a plot device as an insult, it's just the nature of what the show has used it as? i'm sitting through gilmore girls again and how often did christopher show up to cause havoc in lorelai's relationships before it finally turned into something more for real? and then it ended for good when they realized they really don't work together. we've seen the trope and plot over and over again in plenty of media for a reason, right? it causes drama.

they never had a stable, constant relationship. S5 gave them dust, a relationship full of sex and zero depth or emotional connection. jug was the person betty went for support with polly – archie was ready to leave her and come back to veronica and took her again the moment she wasn’t available again.

—remember when they harassed us for talking about how there might have been contact between bughead over the 7 years when it was obvious that b/a would have gotten together over the time jump and have been dating for years and we were dumb? because i do.

vale didn’t give them the happy content they were promised which is why they have been trying to downplay the BH scenes on 605 and their significance as platonic.

—who promised them that tho? evan might have raised their expectations but they decided that the whole thing was going to be exactly what they wanted it to be on their own. the nature of the event was clear from the trailer. roberto inadvertently admitted they changed things to accommodate the event. if anything they should be happy the vale happened since without it, they probably wouldn't be getting what they're getting now. we told them it wasn't going to be what they thought it would be but "ras said it wasn't an au!!!"

they've always downplayed everything about bughead or varchie. it's like when the j/eronicas used to say the scene in 1x02 where the camera pans from betty to jughead and it all comes into focus was jughead looking at veronica. there's not quite getting or liking the subtext and then there's sticking your fingers in your ears and holding your breath until what you don't like goes away.

they are now scared and lashing out because the characters having deja vu of vale can meant the inevitable. they are seeing the things we are seeing – jug saving betty, knowing what will happen etc is going to come eventually, the writers not giving BA any substance except scenes for plot exposition and is killing them, but what kills them the most is that the scenes are being shared with jug and veronica of all people. archie not caring if betty leaves to find a serial killer. deep down i think they were hoping for bh level scenes but they aren’t getting them and are mad about it.

—i'll be honest and say i was expecting some sort of relationship development for the newer couples and am a little surprised we got nothing before the plot divergences. sure, there have been episodes where neither betty and jughead or veronica and archie have spoken, even while dating, but when they first started, there was a good bit of focus on them establishing their relationships. none of these ships got that. i totally get why they'd be mad. and yeah, going by the asks i get sometimes, they want b/a to be bughead so badly but that's not who they are. you wanted b/a? you got it. this is what the show decided they are. harassing other shippers when you're mad at the writing choices is still a dick move tho.

those ships aren’t getting any type of romantic development, they are being paid dust in the most clear way: they won’t last. they are insecure about lili/kj speaking on them on past sense and deep down they know ras is not that insane to throw a baby and a wedding for season 6, is not happening, they are being deceived. this is why they were so insecure about the renewal because they thought they had it in the bag for a S6 series finale.

—that and i think they're very annoyed bughead/varchie theories have been more on point than their own for the last season and a half. they spend more time taking screenshots of people just having fun theorizing than they do talking about their own ship. that is together. that they waited years for. why are they worried about what we're doing? our ships aren't even together and i think we're having more fun than they are watching it. it's not our fault they made a timelined checklist for the season and it's not happening. no one ever promised them that any of their theories were what was going to happen.

we've always said they should actually watch the show. i still think that's solid advice for a lot of them, tbh.

[loving-villanelle]

Hmm yeah, I’m wondering why Damon Thomas didn’t come back to direct anymore? I remember at least Jodie speaking very highly of him and I think he directed all the previous finales.

I think this mess of a season and the ruined ending really shows that this system where you change showrunners and writers and directors all the time just doesn’t work. I mean I’m very happy that Sandra and Jodie got to improvise their scenes ‘cos that really saved the whole thing but it really shouldn’t go like that. Actors are there to act and they should be able to trust the writers and directors to do their job properly so that they don’t have to carry the whole show on their shoulders.

Also LN saying she didn’t write anything but the outline for the Villaneve scenes and just let Sandie do their thing is really telling in a way, because hello?? You have Sandra fcking Oh and Jodie fcking Comer with chemistry out of this world, you have characters like Eve and Villanelle… I mean that would be every writer’s wet dream right?? But she didn’t have any idea how to write Villaneve, she didn’t have any interest in that or any understanding of their characters. Why did this kind of person get the responsibility to bring this show to an end is a mystery.

From my understanding, their shooting schedule was different than normal (obviously because we normally didn't get seasons until April and this year it premiered in February) and Damon was on location in the States (?) I believe doing a movie, so was simply unavailable. I think it's kind of crazy that they couldn't have adjusted the filming schedule for something that important, but obviously Jodie and Sandra's availability probably takes precedence and maybe shifting it to work with his schedule just wasn't feasible. Jodie loved Damon and said that he was always pushing her and encouraging her to be fearless and just really push the envelope, so I'm sure she was probably sad that they didn't have the opportunity to work together one last time.

You absolutely cannot change show runners like this. You can't. Because every single one is going to have a different vision for the show and it's hard enough changing visions like that on a seasonal basis, but then when the season is only 8 episodes on top of that? It's an impossible situation. I truly don't understand how anyone thought that was a good idea. I think SWG didn't like where Emerald Fennell took Villaneve, because she went much deeper into the relationship and the characters than we had seen even in s1. s2 was VERY Villaneve centric. So I think SWG needed an excuse as to why she wasn't bringing Emerald back (especially after the critical acclaim and awards that season) and her bullshit excuse of "oh we want to give a bunch of different female writers a chance to run the show" was born. The proof is in the pudding, that shit DOES NOT WORK and frankly never should have happened. It was incredibly unprofessional to do that to your actresses, who have openly spoken about how difficult it was to adjust to new show runners every season and that they had to fight not to lose the essence of their characters.

It's glaringly clear that Laura Neal didn't have a fucking clue how to write Villaneve this season. There is literally no other reason for keeping them apart instead of just letting them start off the season tracking down the Twelve together. She introduced forced, unexplained conflict, gave us a handful of scenes where the dialogue and communication were essentially ZERO. And then we got 4x08, which bless Jodie and Sandra for what they gave us through their improv, but we once again got no meaningful dialogue between them. If I sit back and look at s4, did they have one meaningful conversation?? Maybe the "there's no such thing as fate, then what is this?" exchange. But that was ONE LINE, not conversation. How did they go the entire last SEASON without their central characters having ONE MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION?! I seriously just want to punch a wall because so much was left unsaid and we are just left with that reality

[elise-jupiterstyle]

god i just… i need a minute

tw: my opinions

it’s like they gave us the brio endgame* and death separation like we wanted but like, i feel absolutely zero satisfaction from it. this whole episode felt like it needed three more episodes to make sense with how quickly everything culminated.

like they took nick down, check. brio isnt dead, check. dean isnt staying, check. but none of it makes me feel anything because none of it feels earned. beth legit was still trying to have rio assassinated at the beginning of the season, but now because his relative kinda sorta made moves on her he’s declaring his devotion and calling her his and all is forgiven???

i think i’m more unhappy with the ending because of how obvious the writers were in trying to appease us. they tried cramming in knots to loose ends that should’ve been tied up eons ago and the result feels very jarring, sloppy, and wholly unsatisfying.

like, the giant realization is that beth can’t give up crime? that’s been the theme of the entire fucking show. it was stated outright when beth went to addiction therapy and subsequently left after one session! when she went back to rio after every single disastrous fall out with him! we’ve known this, so the buildup with the fantasy world and the harsh reality check just feels so lazy.

and yes, when i rewatch this episode and can finally take in each scene without holding my breath and trying to split my attention between live blogging, i’ll probably find more to appreciate in it. but i am just so confused, which is what i know a lot of people felt when rio was shot in the season two finale. the writers were wanting a big reaction, to go out with a bang, and it feels like they once again sacrificed the pacing and logic of the storyline and the characters for the sake of it.

i will say that putting annie in jail was an interesting choice, and one that i wont knock the writers for like i have the rest of the episode. obviously im upset about it and i dont totally understand why the consequences of the entire fucking season wouldnt fall on beth like literally everyone around her has been insisting it should, but i like that it was some semblance of a decision actually being held to fruition. i completely forgot about annie’s request to mick and i never really thought about it much afterwards because they didnt show them coming to an agreement about it on screen.

but you know what we could’ve had with all the runtime that that drawn out piece of shit fantasy world took up? beth reacting to her sister being framed for multiple murders after her lighthearted, wrapped-in-a-bow meeting with rio in the park. but we did want brio, so beggers cant be choosers, i suppose.

i’m sure i’ll be back with more thoughts after i let this episode marinate in my brain, but really i feel like i just read like four different fanfics and the storylines are all mashing together in my head. very disorienting.

[heloflor]

Wanted to share my thoughts on the Mario movie trailer because it gives me an excuse to procrastinate writing fics since everyone's doing it : So far this movie is 50/50 for me in terms of whether or not I'll want to watch it.

To keep it short (putting it under the cut for spoilers)

PROS :

The animation looks amazing, but then again this is pretty much the standard for movies nowadays. Still, huge props to the artists and animators working on this movie !

Bowser was badass as hell and him being expressive in such a """cartoony""" way works surprisingly well.

Kamek and especially Bowser sound really good. Props to the voice actors for those two !

Toad's voice works. Like he's not 100% raspy but such a voice would probably been very annoying to listen to for an hour and a half. Plus it'd be hard to understand everything he'll say and would possibly be detrimental to the voice actor's throat. So his "slightly raspy" voice works

I was NOT expecting the Mario 64 baby penguins to show up ! I can't believe that out of all the Mario characters out there, those annoying fuckers made it in. Just WOW !

CONS :

The Bowser scene let us know enough of what kind of humor this movie's going to have, and it's not going to be fun 😒

Sorta related to that first point but this movie was made by Illuminations, the studio known for making movies with cheap stories and the dumbest humor because "why bother making good products when people will come see our stuff anyways ?" (note that I haven't watched a single movie from this studio so take this point with a huge grain of salt). So despite the quality shown, the fact that this studio was chosen for this movie is still worrying me (in general Illuminations is a studio that makes me sad. Like, from what I've heard "Despicable me 1" actually had some heart to it and a cute story, meaning they can do good movies ! They just don't want to because it costs less money to hire less writers)

Mario's voice. Just Mario's voice. I have no idea who the fuck Chris Pratt is since I don't know shit about celebrities, but he is not even trying with this voice ! And the fact that he's playing the main character makes it so much more aggravating...

Not a big fan of this idea of "Mario is new to the Mushroom Kingdom", or at least that's the vibe his part of the trailer gave.

I'd also like to point out that my first thoughts after watching the trailer were "I won't go watch this crap". But after watching the french trailer, since this is the version I'll get in theaters, I'm actually considering it. At least this version has a voice actor for Mario who tries to sound like him, and the other voice actors are really good as well (except for Toad who doesn't sound at all like Toad. Though at the same time the voice does fit the character. Like if you take someone who doesn't know shit about Mario and show them this Toad with this voice, they'll find it fitting)

So overall, I'll wait until more info comes out to decide whether or not to watch it in theaters. One thing for sure, I'd much rather see it in french than english. And if I do go see it, it'll likely be with zero expectations so that at least I won't be disappointed.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Tell me about that time the Yiling Patriarch accidentally acquired a harem?

Untamed verse

It was Nie Huaisang’s fault.

He would argue it was the fault of the extremely stupid fierce corpse that violently lunged right at him when he was trailing behind his older brother and the others on a night hunt he didn’t want to go on, causing him to hide behind his saber and therefore accidentally taking the first kill of the night; his brother had been so pleased (and trying very hard not to laugh at him) that he’d agreed to Nie Huaisang’s request for a vacation.

He’d even allowed him to go visit Yiling, with one of their cousins saying in passing that Nie Huaisang should probably not let anyone know who he was or why he was there given the political scandal it would cause. Nie Huaisang had left while his brother was still arguing with their cousin about whether or not the Nie sect gave a single fuck about political scandal; he was pretty sure the actual argument they were having by proxy was his brother yet again defending Nie Huaisang’s right to be the heir, and those arguments went better if he wasn’t around.

So he went to Yiling to visit Wei Wuxian. He liked Wei Wuxian, they’d been good friends at the Cloud Recesses no matter how short a time, and he’d liked him every time they’d met afterwards, and really it seemed rude not to come with house-warming presents even if he hadn’t been invited the house-warming party itself.

“I fled here in the middle of the night, in the rain, illegally,” Wei Wuxian said. “There was no party.”

Nie Huaisang patted him on the shoulder. “It’s fine, really. I promise I’m not insulted. I’m very forgettable; you wouldn’t have considered involving me at all.”

“I’m tell you, I didn’t have a party.” Wei Wuxian frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe I should have a party?”

“We are not having a party,” Wen Qing said, sounding a little testy, but Wei Wuxian handed her a plate of meat – it was a traditional house-warming gift, and it wasn’t as if the Unclean Realm wasn’t chock full of people who would be more than happy to go practice their sabers against wild boars so that Nie Huaisang could drag along a preservation chest full of pork – and she stopped complaining.

“We could invite Jiang Cheng,” Nie Huaisang said. “You know he can’t resist an invitation to a party.”

“Did you not hear about the fight -”

“Party invitation.”

“…it might make him less angry, actually.”

“I’ll go get decorations!”

That was how Nie Huaisang found himself in the town at the bottom of the Burial Mounds, shopping; that part was probably still fine, but then he’d made some sort of slip-up in casual chitchat and everyone in the town figured out that he was visiting the Yiling Patriarch.

“Are you one of his disciples?” someone asks.

“No, of course not,” Nie Huaisang said at once, because forget his brother, he had some very scary great-uncles that would find him and rip him to pieces if he ever denied being a Nie.

“Then why are you here? I thought he’d been rejected by the whole cultivation world.”

“Uh,” Nie Huaisang said.

“Is there going to be trouble?”

“I don’t –”

“They’re celebrating something,” another person chimed in, looking at the bags Nie Huaisang was carrying. “What could they possibly be celebrating? A marriage?”

“Definitely not,” Nie Huaisang said.

“You couldn’t possibly be here willingly, could you?”

“No,” Nie Huaisang said, finally annoyed. “I was sent as a sacrifice by the cultivation world to join the dreadful Yiling Patriarch’s harem as a panacea against his threats to conquer the entire world through a little bit of unorthodox cultivation that involves a great deal of complicated flute playing and exactly zero practice because he’s obnoxiously talentedly like that. It’s all very tragic at first, but eventually we will overcome all obstacles and he’ll make me his empress of an empire composed of ghost puppets. Happy now?”

Maybe he should become a writer or something, because apparently they were very happy about it, and the story spread like lightning.

“I cannot believe you,” Wen Qing said, since Wei Wuxian hadn’t yet caught his breath once from all the howling laughter he was doing. “Of all the irresponsible, ridiculous –”

Nie Huaisang wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do about it, and it only got worse when Lan Wangji showed up to visit and just – refused to leave.

That surely wasn’t related to the harem rumors, though of course the presence of an unbearably pretty man like Lan Wangji just made the rumors worse, especially since he was very obviously from a different sect than Nie Huaisang.

According to the rumors, there was intrigue now: a more beautiful concubine had appeared, challenging Nie Huaisang’s efforts to get the redeem the vile Yiling Patriarch through the power of love and a great deal of sex, and of course there would be all sorts of jockeying for position happening.

Jiang Cheng’s furious arrival to yell at Wei Wuxian (and to attend the party, because he really couldn’t resist a party invitation – he hated being left out) only convinced them all that there were at least three separate sects fighting for attention, as if Wei Wuxian were an emperor.

“I can’t – I’m dying –” Wei Wuxian sobbed with laughter, burying his face into Lan Wangji’s shoulder. “Lan Zhan, help. It’s too funny. I’m an emperor now. And I can’t even grow potatoes!”

“Radishes are more efficient,” Wen Qing hissed.

“The common people are really very strange,” Nie Huaisang opined from where he was drawing over in his corner. Wen Qing believed everything to be his fault, so he’d promised that he’d do something nice and calming and not disruptive like drawing; he’d bought himself some ink and a great deal of paper as proof of his good intentions. “They’ll believe anything.”

“Don’t you start,” she snapped. “You’re drawing porn. Of this!”

Wei Wuxian’s head snapped up. “You are? Is it any good? Wait – who is it of?”

“It’d better not be of me with him,” Jiang Cheng grumbled, serving himself some of the pork with radishes. “I’ll kill you.”

“Mostly Second Master Lan,” Nie Huaisang admitted. “He’s the only one staying still long enough for me to get a good view.”

That made Lan Wangji frown and come over – which, joke’s on him, Nie Huaisang has no shame about his excellent artistic skills.  

“Oh, well done,” Wei Wuxian said, peeping over Lan Wangji’s shoulder at the artwork. “Is that me with the legs in the air?”

“Yes. Can you pose later so I can get the face right?”

“Obviously yes!”

Lan Wangji’s ears were very red for some reason.

“Shouldn’t Wei Wuxian be the attacker?” Jiang Cheng asked, coming over as well. “Not that I care about any of this. But if the story is that he’s the emperor –”

“I can’t disappoint my readers by breaking up my romance with him,” Nie Huaisang explained. “And between me and Wei-xiong, I’m obviously more fit for the role of the pure maiden in distress – there’s a great deal of convention in erotic art circles, you wouldn’t expect it – and so I’m having Second Master Lan be the seducer instead, see? That way there is even more conflict.”

“I’m still going to kill you for including my brother,” Wen Qing said.

“I didn’t give him any sex scenes! He’s a wallflower! And you’re the Yiling Patriarch’s right hand man; what more do you want?”

“For my brother not to have fans that want to see him naked!”

“How do you even know about that?” Wei Wuxian asked.

“I read the mail,” Wen Qing said. “We’ve gotten an awful lot of it in the last week.”

“…is there any about me?” Jiang Cheng, who’d never met a competition he didn’t have to win, asked.

“Oh, yes, you’re very popular, Jiang-xiong,” Nie Huaisang assured him. “I included some falsified backstory about the two of you being childhood friends torn apart by Wei-xiong’s turn to evil and unorthodoxy –”

Both of them looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“– and now everyone wants to see you have a sandwich with the Wen sibilings.”

“Have a sandwich?” Jiang Cheng asked, distracted. “Are they hungry or something?”

“They certainly want to lick –”

“A sandwich means what,” Jiang Cheng yelled after Wei Wuxian finished whispering in his ear.