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crimeronan · 2 years ago

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i've seen a couple people in the notes of this very good post about fictional polyamory by @thebibliosphere say things along the lines of "oh, i've been doing it wrong :(" or "how do i know if i did this right??" or "i should probably give up and start over, i wrote this badly :(" and. no!!!!

(i AM seeing far MORE people say "oh, this clarified and helped me so much, i think i know how to fix issues i've been having with my own story" which. YES!!!!)

listen. if you're a monogamous person who's writing a polyamorous relationship, and you've been focusing mainly on The Triad and All Three Together All The Time as the endgame, that's literally fine. that's a perfectly acceptable and strong starting point for your plotting, imo. you do not need to give up on a story that you've started like this.

but the things discussed in the post Can and Should improve your execution!

you can keep the same plot beats and overall relationship arc 100%. polyamorous relationships are infinite in their formations, every one is unique. "basically a monogamous romance but with three people" Does exist, as a relationship type. you're not hashtag Misrepresenting (TM) poly people with it

BUT i do think it will help to read up on some poly people talking about how their relationships Differ from monogamous ones.

so i have outlined some basic important concepts about polyamory.

MORE IMPORTANTLY though, i've broken down some questions that you can answer throughout the writing process to strengthen your individual dyad relationships, your individual characterization, & your characters' individual feelings/experiences. this is a writing resource have fun

future kitkat butting in to say i spent over two hours writing this and it definitely needs a readmore. it is also NOT comprehensive. but everything should be pretty simple to follow! feel free to reblog if you find it helpful yourself or just want to reward me for how gotdan long this took KSLDKFJKDL.

i've grabbed quick links for a couple of the important concepts, some have SEO pitches in them but the info largely seems to be good. (if i missed anything Egregiously Gross on these sites i should be able to update the links with better ones later, since they're under the readmore.)

sidenote: this is NOT meant to be overwhelming, despite the length. if you can't read all of this, that's Okay. you do not need to give up on your writing.

here we go:

compersion!

compersion is a BIG thing in a lot of polyamorous relationships. it's joy derived from seeing two (or more) of your partners happy together, or joy derived from seeing your partner happy with someone else.

compersion is really important as a concept because it highlights that every individual relationship within a polycule is different -- and that that's a GOOD thing. it's sort of the inverse of jealousy.

by the "inverse of jealousy," i mean that instead of feeling left out and upset and possessive, you feel happy/joyous/content.

i can use personal experience as an example: it's a Relief for me when my partners receive joy/support/sex/romance/etc that i can't (or prefer not to) give them. and i love seeing my partners make each other laugh and be silly together.

it's 100% okay for a poly triad not to be together 100% of the time, it doesn't mean that the third member is being left out or not treated equally when two people do things alone together.

(i have individual dates with my partners all the time! PLUS larger 3-and-4-person date nights.)

if the third member DOES feel jealous or left out, then the polycule can have a conversation to figure out what needs/wants aren't being met, and solve that. this happens semi-regularly in my polycule, as it will happen in any relationship (including monogamous ones)! it's just part of being an adult, sometimes you have to talk about feelings.

metamours!

a metamour is someone who is dating your partner, but ISN'T dating you. this may not be relevant for people writing closed three-person romantic sexual triads, but it's a super helpful term to know.

the linked article also lists different types of metamour relationships with some fun phrasing i hadn't heard before. the tl;dr is: sometimes you'll be domestic cohabitation friends, sometimes you'll be buddies with your own friendship, sometimes you might not interact much outside of parties, every relationship is different.

there's no one-size-fits-all requirement for metamour relationships. sometimes polyamorous people will end up dating their metamour after a while (has happened to me), sometimes polyamorous people will break up with one partner for normal life reasons, but remain friendly metamours.

the goal of polyamory is NOT for EVERYONE to fall in love. it is 100% okay if this happens in your story, it happens in real life too! but it is also 100% okay for characters to be metamours without ever becoming "more than friends."

(sidenote: try to kill any internalized "more than" that you have when it comes to friendship. friends are just as important and special and vital as partners.)

of course there are a million ways for messiness to occur with metamours within a complex polycule, exactly like with close-knit platonic friend groups. however this post is not about that! there's enough "here's how polyamory can go wrong" stuff out there already, so i'm focusing on the positives here :)

open versus closed polyamorous relationships!

i'm struggling to find an online article that reflects my experience without directly contradicting at least SOME stuff. so i'll give a quick rundown

google has a bunch of conflicting definitions of open relationships and whether open relationships are different from polyamory. the general consensus seems to be that an open relationship prioritizes one partnership (often a marriage), but that each partner can have extraneous flings or long-term commitments (most often sexual in nature).

this is not typically how i use the term wrt polyamory. the poly concept is pretty simple. a closed polyamorous relationship is one with boundaries like a monogamous one. there are multiple partners in the polycule, but they are not interested in having anybody new join said polycule.

an open polyamorous relationship tends to be more flexible -- it just means that IF someone in the polycule develops mutual feelings for a new person, it's fine for them to become part of said polycule if they want to! the relationship/person is open to newcomers.

some groups will need to negotiate this all together, others will just go "haha, you kids have fun." just depends on the individuals!

with open AND closed polyamorous relationships, the most important thing is making sure that there's respectful communication and that everyone is on the same page. but there's no one-size-fits-all way to do that.

i wish i could give you guys a prescriptive "You Must Do It This Way" guide, but that's.... basically the opposite of what polyamory is about, HAHA.

feelings for multiple people!

i was gonna tack this on to the previous section but decided it warranted its own lil bit.

a defining feature (....i'm told?) of monogamous relationships is that a monogamous person only has feelings for One individual at a time. they only want a relationship with one individual at a time. or, if they DO have feelings for multiple people simultaneously, they're still only comfortable dating one person at a time & being exclusive with that one person.

this is perfectly fine!

the poly experience is generally different from this. but once again..... polyamorous people all have different individual perspectives on this.

for me, i have never been able to draw hard boxes around romantic vs sexual vs platonic relationships, & i love many people at once. my personal polycule lacks many strict definitions beyond "these are my chosen people, i want to forge a life with them indefinitely, whatever shape that life takes"

some poly people feel explicit romantic or sexual attraction to multiple people at once, some poly people feel almost no romantic or sexual attraction at all. i'd say that MOST poly people feel different things for different partners, which is not a bad thing!

some poly people are even monogamous-leaning -- they have just chosen one romantic partner who is themselves part of a larger polycule. (so this monogamous-leaning person has at least one metamour!)

or alternatively, they might have one romantic partner AND a qpr, or other ways of defining relationships. (this is a factor in my own polycule!)

i made this its own point because if you're writing a straightforward triad, this is unlikely to come up in the story itself -- but it's worth thinking about how your characters develop/handle feelings outside of their partnerships.

like, is this sort of a soulmateship, 'these are the only ones for me' type deal? in which they won't fall in love with anyone else, and can be fairly certain of that?

that's pretty close to typical monogamous standards but you Can make it work. just be thoughtful with it

alternatively, can you see any of these characters falling in love Again after the happily-ever-after? and how would the triad approach it, if so? what would they all need to talk about beforehand, and what feelings would everybody have about the situation?

it's worth considering these questions even if the hypothetical will never feature in your actual canon, because knowing the answers to these questions will help you understand all of the individuals & their relationship(s) MUCH better.

i've been typing this for nearly two hours and there's a lot more i COULD say because... there's just a lot to say. i'll close out with some quick questions that you can ask yourself when developing the dyad dynamics within your triad

first, take a page and create a separate section for each individual dyad. then answer these questions for every pair:

how does each pair act when alone?

how do they act differently alone compared to when they're with their third partner?

are there any elements of this dyad (romantic, sexual, financial, domestic, etc) that these two people DON'T have with the third partner?

if so, what are they?

are there any boundaries or hard limits within this dyad that aren't shared with the third partner?

if so, what are they?

partner 3 goes out of town alone for a few weeks. what are the remaining two doing in their absence?

(doesn't have to be anything special, it's just to get a sense of how the two interact on a day-by-day basis without the third there)

what is something that each partner in the dyad admires about the other -- that they DON'T necessarily see in the third partner?

what problem do These Two Specifically need to solve in the story before their relationship will work?

how is that problem DIFFERENT from the problems being solved within the other two dyads?

doing this for ALL THREE dyads is VITAL imo. that way, you develop complex and nuanced and different relationships that all have unique dynamics.

those questions should be enough to get you started, i hope

then After you've charted the differences in relationships, you can start to jot down similarities in the overarching triad. what does one person admire in Both of their partners? what are activities that all three like to do together? what are boundaries or discussions that all three share?

but the main goal is to figure out how to Differentiate each relationship!

a polycule is only as strong as the individual relationships within it. if two people are struggling with their own relationship, adding a third person won't fix that.

(UNLESS the third person is the catalyst for those two to, like, Actually Communicate And Work Their Shit Out. i just mean that the old adage of "maybe if we just add a third-" works about as well to fix a miserable non-communicative marriage as, uh, "maybe if we have a baby-")

AND FINALLY.

if you're not sure whether your poly romance reads organically to poly people, you can hire a sensitivity reader with poly experience. if you can't afford that, you can read up on polyamorous resources like a glossary of terms & articles actually written by poly people. (and stories written by poly people!)

you can also just.... ask poly people questions, if they're open to it. i like talking about polyamory and my own relationships so you're welcome to send asks if u want, i just can't guarantee i'll answer bc my energy levels fluctuate a lot and i don't always have time.

polyamorous people are in an uphill battle for positive representation right now & so the LAST thing i want to see is authors giving up on their stories bc they're worried about getting things Wrong. well-meaning and positive stories that treat this kind of love as normal, healthy, & aspirational are So So So Needed. even if you guys end up with some funky-feeling details.

seriously, if you're monogamous then you probably don't have a full idea of Just How Nasty a lot of people can get about polyamory. i wish it DIDN'T mean so much for you guys to want to write nice stories about us, but it does mean a lot. and it means a lot that you want to do it WELL.

in conclusion. this is not a prescriptive guide, it's just a way to raise questions. and also, you all are doing FINE.

#thebibliosphere i apologize for tagging u when we don't know each other at all i just want u to get credit for the initial discussion #given that it is so much more thoughtful and clear than anything i'd think to write.#i did NOT mean to spend multiple hours on this but once i started writing i was like #oh god i actually do have like a lot i can tell monogamous people about writing poly people & the poly perspective #anyway. i mention it in the post but people can send me (respectful. obviously) asks if they have questions #i cant promise to answer all of them bc i am bad at this. but if i'm well enough then i'll try #polyamory #non-monogamy #ethical non-monogamy #writing #my writing #writing advice #relationships

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superfallingstars · 29 days ago

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Ok my actual take on the Greasecourse™ (which I’m sure everyone was hotly anticipating) is something I’ve said over and over again on this blog, which is that nearly anything can work with the right framing. In other words, you can pick basically any reason for Snape’s hair to be greasy as long as you can make it make sense within the story that you're trying to tell. There just has to be a reason (a good reason – that’s the part that gets a little more arbitrary) why you picked one explanation over another. This will probably make more sense if I give some examples

Snape’s hair is greasy because he never developed good hygiene habits due to poverty and neglect -> Emphasizes how his childhood and upbringing still deeply affects him

Snape’s hair is greasy because he has poor hygiene habits due to depression -> I’m not going to go through all the reasons this guy could be depressed, there’s literally so many

Snape’s hair is greasy because of sensory issues -> This is probably one of many ways his sensory issues/neurodivergence/autism manifests, how else does that affect him?

Snape's hair is greasy because of potion fumes -> Imo this one runs the risk of being boring if you make it sound like it’s totally out of his control... the important part would be to consider how Snape feels about and reacts to it. But depending on how you deal with that, I think you can make it work in a few ways. Maybe it shows that Snape is industrious and always working, even to the detriment of his hygiene, or it could show that he cares more about the things that interest him than he does about what others think of him... or a secret third thing

Snape actually tries to make his hair look nice, but it’s just naturally very greasy -> I quite like this one as a follow-up to the first one (the never developed good hygiene habits one). Even when he tries to do the right thing (the correct thing?), he still ends up failing lol. Emphasizes his wet pathetic side

Snape’s hair is greasy because he’s a loser and a bad person -> Well I think it’s very boring to make a character ugly to indicate that they are Morally Bad but it's certainly a strategy... sometimes it's very clear that an author is trying to make the reader dislike a character when they describe them as gross/ugly/whatever. Hell Rowling did this literally all the time (Not that that was a good thing lol)

Alright I'm going to stop myself there because omg I didn't think I would have so much to say about Snape's greasy hair. Good lord

#actually one last one. snape's hair is normal but he puts goop and grease in there on purpose -> this shows that he has bad taste.#i'll declare that one canon in my harry potter / glee crossover universe #my posts #hp #snape #severus snape #pro severus snape #snapedom #snape fandom #one last secret tag for those who look... the way i formatted this post make it look like a chatgpt-generated post on linkedin lmfao

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drusill-a · 4 months ago

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[WWDitS finale spoilers]

Aside from the obvious – the gross shipbaiting and mocking naive viewers who dared to believe an m/m dynamic could be treated as anything other than the butt of the joke – my biggest issue with the WWDitS finale is that it’s an ending that could have made sense… but at most after s2. Back then, we were still watching a story about characters who didn’t share any particular bonds (except for Nadja/Laszlo) and who were entirely static, unaffected by the things they experienced.

The thing is, the creators themselves realized you can’t build a long-running story on that formula – eventually, the characters had to evolve at least a little, and their relationships had to deepen so viewers would have any reason to root for them. And so Guillermo’s position in the group began to change – first, he earned their minimal respect, then a very solid place, until finally, in season 5, all the other characters had reached a point where they didn’t even hide that they genuinely cared about him a lot. The same happened with Colin, who at first was completely left out by the other housemates but gradually earned an equal spot in the group and developed that stupid yet sweet bond with Laszlo (erasing those memories was, imo, one of the writers’ biggest mistakes). Laszlo showed himself capable of empathy, which he proved again in s5 by helping Guillermo, and even Nadja, who used to completely disregard everyone’s feelings, had several moments in later seasons where she openly cared – at least in her own way – about the others.

And of course, that’s how we got the romantic subtext between Guillermo and Nandor. Over all those seasons – from s3 up until s6 – I was certain it was a classic will they, won’t they dynamic that would end with them getting together. I just couldn’t believe the writers would spend the last 4 seasons making their relationship more equal and showing Nandor’s journey to realizing Guillermo genuinely mattered to him, only to do nothing with it – or worse, regress them back by three seasons. But the late s6 Nandor’s “no homo” attitude has very little in common with the Nandor from seasons 4 and 5, who was openly pining and lusting after Guillermo.

From Guillermo’s perspective, this ending is an absolute tragedy – even the end of the previous episode gave him much more hope. Maybe he’d lost his lifelong dream and still hadn’t found a new purpose, but he had found a family and a place in the world, with a potential chance to build something meaningful with Nandor in the future. I don’t understand why this episode had to undo all of that – to show us that none of his friends really listen to him, that the power dynamic with Nandor will always be uneven, and that ultimately he wasted 16 years, and no one would really care that much if he left. Considering how great Guillermo’s development was, especially in gaining confidence from s4 onward, this ending feels so unfair and insulting to his character.

I feel like the writers’ biggest mistakes have been forcing a return to the status quo after every season. After the breakup in s3, the characters should have stayed apart for at least an episode or two. Colin should have remembered that Laszlo raised him, and they should’ve kept their funny, fucked-up father-son relationship until the end of the show. Guillermo should’ve been a real vampire for at least a full season—or, in my opinion, permanently—because, as it turns out, the writers had absolutely no idea what to do with his character once he lost that goal. Relationships that had evolved shouldn’t be randomly reset by a couple of seasons just because the writers couldn’t be bothered to put in the effort to write anything new for them.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too – if the writers were so dead-set on giving us an ending that says “nothing in these characters’ lives matters, and nothing will ever change,” they should have made the show half as long and spared viewers the trouble of getting invested in character and relationship arcs that ultimately went nowhere.

This is a comedy show that was supposed to make people feel better. After this finale, I feel mocked by the creators for believing that the queer ship they sold me for 4 seasons had a chance of being treated equally to an m/f ship. I’m also sad because the characters were regressed and left stuck in eternal limbo, and generally I feel ridiculed because the writers openly made fun of us for getting emotionally invested in the story they wrote for us.

And maybe the biggest crime of these last few episodes was that they weren’t even remotely funny—so you can’t even say they prioritized comedy over character development, because it failed on that front too.

#wwdits #what we do in the shadows #wwdits spoilers #nandermo #guillermo de la cruz #way too serious thoughts about a show that never took itself seriously #but it really pisses me off that a production which got a couple of GLAAD awards and loved marketing itself as super queer #ends up mocking us so hard ☹#this terrible finale has upset me and I’m honestly so mad about it #because up until s6 #this show was in top 5 of my fave comedies ever #I’m afraid such a pointless insulting ending #will forever taint how I see the whole series #(just like HIMYM long time ago)

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moonwqves · 2 months ago

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⋮ 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬.

───〃★ the jackal (the day of the jackal) x reader.

★ — TYPE | fluff ; sfw ★ — SUMMARY | to celebrate your anniversary, your husband takes you on a trip — and a trip down memory lane. ★ — WORD COUNT | 3.3k ★ — WARNINGS | wife!reader ; mostly just married people being gross and in love ; jackal is referred to as alexander duggan ; reader is referred to as my love, darling, etc. ; time skips between past & present ; not really canon compliant ★ — NOTES | i originally wrote this fic 2 years ago on another blog for a different fandom, but i recently watched tdotj (and then read the book: not as good as the show imo but i’d still recommend it) and i decided to rewrite this fic to fit my current interests! it seems like this fandom on tumblr is fairly small so please reblog or leave a comment if you liked this! i have a few more ideas that i'd love to write for him in the future :)

“alex, can you at least tell me where we’re going?”

he shakes his head, a shy grin making its way across his face as he zips a bag of toiletries shut. “it’s a surprise, my darling. can’t spoil the fun yet.”

you pout and cross your arms, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside your open suitcase. “how am i supposed to know what to bring, then, if i don’t know where we’re going?”

alexander pauses to look back at you, considering. “ah. well, you’ve got me there.” in one smooth motion he turns back around, pulling his phone out of his pocket and tapping a few times against the screen. you watch as he studies the device carefully, waiting to give him a chance to speak, but he doesn’t.

for a man with so many secrets, many secrets he’d finally divulged to you and you alone, there could be any number of things going on in his life at any given time. when he’d proposed a week-long holiday for your upcoming anniversary, he’d swore up and down that there would be no other engagements diverting his attention. for the first time in a long time, he was all yours, and at present you were inclined to believe him. he was a liar, yes, and a very skilled one at that, but never without good reason. if something else was to happen over the next few days, then he would let you in on the secret when he saw fit. otherwise… it really was just going to be a vacation getaway, and nothing more.

“what is it?” you ask after a tentative silence, and alex lifts his head again at your voice.

he looks up at you like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “checking the weather,” he says, turning the phone around to show the screen. “it’s going to be warm and clear. usual for this time of year, but it’ll be windy, so pack a coat.” he pauses, glancing down at the screen again, and then back up at you. “perhaps more than one coat.”

you purse your lips, thinking for a moment before you stand and walk into the closet, pulling out two hangers: in your left hand a long brown overcoat, and on the right, a faded black leather jacket. “which one?”

there’s a spark of recognition in his eyes, and he immediately raises his hand to point towards the left. “that one.”

—— 20th FEBRUARY.

“excuse me, miss, do you need some help?”

ice cold droplets of rain pour down around you as you stand underneath the awning in front of the grocery store, cursing yourself for not checking the weather more thoroughly before you’d gone out today. it had been deceptively sunny earlier, but during the rainy spring season you never know when the weather will decide to flip on a dime and the skies open up like they have today. your outfit had been perfect for the sunshine, but now it’s nowhere near enough to protect you from the rain.

at the sound of a voice you turn and see a tall man coming out of the store behind you, a brown paper-wrapped package sticking out from under his arm. “do you live far?” he asks. “you can borrow my umbrella, if you want.”

the words no, i’m fine, thank you form themselves on your lips, but after another moment of studying his face closer, you realize there’s something familiar about him, though you can’t immediately figure out why. “sorry, have we met before?”

his expression mirrors your own of confusion for a moment before he narrows his eyes, as if realizing something. “aren’t you— ah, that little café down on wilshire street, do you work there?”

you nod your head in response, relaxing now that you know he’s friendly. still, it comes as a surprise when he repeats your name, though you brush it off quickly; anyone who comes into the café could notice the neatly lettered chalk swirls that sit against the black background of your apron’s name pin. “that’s me,” you say with a polite laugh. “but… i’m sorry, i don’t remember your name. i don’t pay much attention to customers, unless they come in quite often.”

“don’t worry about it. i’m visiting from out of town.” he offers a dazzling smile, and it’s so enthralling that you barely notice the sound of distant thunder cracking in the air. “it’s alexander, by the way. or just alex, if you’d like.”

you stick out your hand and he shakes it enthusiastically, his grip firm yet warm. “very nice to meet you, alexander,” you smile, and he bows his head at you.

“so— about that umbrella,” he says.

you wave him off. “oh, no, i’m alright. it’s not far. just working up the courage to sprint back home,” you say with a laugh, hugging your groceries tighter to your chest in a futile effort to protect them from the rain.

“let me give you a ride,” he declares suddenly. “it’ll be a bit shorter of a sprint for you, at least? i’m staying at the apartments a couple blocks down, it’s not out of my way.”

“i’ll be fine,” you say, brushing your hair out of your face as a gust of wind threatens to knock you over. “though it’s very kind of you to offer.”

alexander frowns a little, and you try not to read too much into the flirty pout gracing his lips. “well, i can’t in good conscience let you go off running around in a storm like this without an umbrella,” he says. he shifts the paper package to his other arm and quickly starts shrugging off his coat. “here, take this. your pretty outfit will get all ruined in the rain. please, i insist.”

you want to tell him no again, but just then the thunder cracks again, drawing your attention back to the downpour around you. you can already feel the puddle of water you’re standing in beginning to soak into your socks through your shoes, and his coat does look warm…

“alright, fine,” you concede after a second, accepting the clothing from him and slipping your arms into the sleeves as he pulls it around your shoulders. “how should i get it back to you?”

“well… i’m in town for a while longer. i’ll stop by the café another day this week when you’re working?”

“i’ll take good care of it for you until then,” you nod, offering him a friendly smile as you tug his coat tighter around you, and he grins in response.

alex catches your eye for a moment, a spark flickering in his gaze before he lowers his head to check his watch, almost shy to avert his eyes. “i’m really sorry, i’ve actually got a meeting to rush off to,” he says apologetically. “but it was nice meeting you. i hope we’ll see each other again soon.”

he gives you a little wave and then dashes off into the rain, holding his package over his head to protect himself. you pull the collar of his coat up around your neck, watching as he disappears into the twilight of the parking lot and feeling only a little guilty for leaving him without protection from the weather. but then again, he had offered, and you would see him again anyway. and besides, he seemed to be more prepared than you, in other ways.

“now, will you tell me where we’re going?”

the warm morning breeze brushes against your cheeks as you rest your elbow against the car door, the fabric roof of the convertible folded down behind you. you lean your head back against the passenger seat headrest and sigh, glancing over at alexander in the driver’s seat. the wind blows his hair around in his face, a tousled flurry of dirty blond against his freckled cheeks.

you still have no idea where you’re headed for your anniversary trip, and it seems like alex has no intention of letting you know anytime soon. but despite your curiosity, that thought couldn’t be farther from your mind as you watch him drive with one hand on the wheel, dark sunglasses perched casually on the bridge his nose.

“not yet, my love,” he says coolly, his voice raised just enough to be heard over the wind. “you’ll see soon enough, i promise.” at your whine of protest he grins and reaches across the seat, resting his other hand on your thigh.

the rural city gradually fades out, becoming less and less dense until you’re out on a long stretch of back roads, nothing but green fields and tall grass as far as the eye can see. eventually alexander pulls off the road and stops in a tiny dirt parking lot surrounded by trees. a small wooden sign announces the name of the park, along with a note that reminds visitors to pick up their trash.

he pulls the keys out of the ignition and shoves them in his pocket, and you hum curiously. “is this your big surprise?”

he chuckles, leaning over the center console to kiss your cheek before opening his door. “no, of course not. this is just lunch.”

he slides out of the car and comes around to your side to open the door for you before he moves to open the trunk, pulling out a small cooler and a blanket before shutting it again. he holds out his hand to you, motioning for you to follow him. when you take his hand he squeezes a little, turning back over his shoulder to smile at you before leading you over to a shady spot in the grass.

as alex spreads the picnic blanket out, you start to open the cooler to help him set up, but he shoos your hand away with a tsk of his teeth. “darling, let me do it,” he says, throwing you a playful frown. the ever-prepared man that he is, you know he’s meticulously planned out each and every detail of this vacation sparing no expense, so you surrender and let him continue with what he’s doing on his own.

he pulls a bottle of sparkling apple juice out from the cooler and hands you two champagne flutes, then pours your glass out first before pouring his own and setting the bottle down in the grass.

“the real stuff is waiting at the hotel,” he says with a smirk, holding up his glass to clink with yours.

“so we’re staying in a hotel, then?” you hum, raising your eyebrows at him as you take a sip. “i’m one step closer to figuring you out.”

“must’ve been a slip of the tongue,” he grins, and for once you know for sure that he’s lying. alexander duggan simply doesn’t do a slip of the tongue. every move he makes is intentional, and there’s no doubt in your mind that revealing this little piece of information was intentional, too.

you sigh contentedly, leaning back on your hands as he pulls out paper-wrapped sandwiches from the cooler. he glances at both of them before handing yours to you, your name printed in carefully scrawled sharpie lettering.

it’s so cute you almost don’t want to ruin it by opening it, and you look at it fondly for such a long time that by the time you finally start to unwrap it, alexander is already halfway done with his. you call his name, holding back a laugh when he looks up from his sandwich with mustard smeared over one corner of his mouth. “what?” he hums, mouth full.

“nothing,” you giggle, reaching over to wipe the mustard off his face with your thumb before wiping your hand on a napkin. “i just love you.”

—— 3RD MARCH.

“number twenty-four! ham and swiss for alex?”

the barista’s booming voice calls out the order, and alexander slips out of his chair to go grab the food. despite being the middle of the day, there isn’t much of a lunch crowd in the deli this afternoon.

you’d seen him again at the café a few days later, and, recognizing him immediately this time, returned his coat to him safe and sound. after that he’d quickly become one of your regulars at the café, always staying longer than necessary and tipping far more than the cost of his regular black coffee and croissant.

days passed, and after one particularly flirty morning he’d finally, shyly, asked if you’d get lunch with him sometime. it hadn’t taken much to convince you; he’d recommended a sandwich shop down the street owned by an old friend of his, enthusiastically raving on and on about the chocolate chip muffins until you’d agreed with a laugh.

he comes back to the table a second later holding a little wood tray with two sandwiches, carefully handing you yours before sitting down again.

the sandwich ends up being fantastic (he had been right to give rave reviews after all), but the company you’re with ends up being the best part of the lunch. getting to know alexander is more fun than you’ve ever had, and when you look down to check your watch and realize that you’ll be late to work if you stay any longer, you’re honestly disappointed that it has to end here.

“would you wanna go out again sometime?” alex asks sheepishly as you both stand up. despite his calm and collected demeanor, there’s something awkward about the way he acts that you find terribly endearing. “maybe… dinner, or something, next time?”

“yeah.” you give him a bright smile and push your chair in. “i would really like that. dinner sounds wonderful.”

he grins, and you can almost see his cheeks flush a little beneath his freckles as he follows you out of the shop. being around him feels like you’ve known each other for years, and in that moment you realize this lunch is only a first date with alex. he’s already making plans for a second, and it feels like the most natural thing in the world.

he helps you into your car and gives you a wave before walking away towards his own. and long after his car has pulled away and you’re still sitting in the parking lot, you can’t help but smile. the only thing on your mind is how much you’re looking forward to seeing him again.

“we’re here, my love, are you awake?”

the smooth lilt of alex’s voice pulls you out of your nap and you blink slowly, sitting up and massaging the kink in your neck from sleeping against the car seat. you had wanted to stay awake to see where he was taking you, but with the excitement from packing for the trip you hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, and the feeling of warm sunshine on your face and the rolling of the car had put you right to sleep.

rubbing your eyes, you stare out the window to see what he’s talking about, but it only takes you a few seconds to immediately recognize where you are. you gasp, looking over at him, and he grins back.

“surprise,” he smiles, watching your giddy reaction as the car moves along the familiar coastal highway. it’s the same little town you spent your honeymoon with him years ago, the one you’ve always said you’d wanted to visit again, but between both of your busy lives and his jobs getting in the way, you haven’t had the chance to.

you lean forward and stick your head out of the car, inhaling the fresh, salty sea air.

alexander pulls into the hotel parking lot: a small but grand little villa that, by the looks of it, hasn’t changed much since the last time you were here. eagerly you hop out and come around to meet him at the other side of the car. he gives you a kiss on the cheek as he stands up, shutting the car door and taking your hand to lead you towards the arched entrance.

when you pull open the door, the foyer is just like how you remember it. tall glass windows offer stunning views of the cliffs, paintings of ocean scenes hang on the walls, and baskets of driftwood and seashells sit atop every antique wooden table. you walk across the room to pick up a magazine off one of the tables, flipping through it to see advertisements for local restaurants, wine tastings, and local art shows.

you’re so invested reading an article about whale watching boat tours that you don’t notice alex slip upstairs, disappearing for no more than a few minutes before he casually returns to the entryway and calls your name, gesturing for you to see the rest of the place.

muscle memory comes back to you as your feet carry you up the stairs and around the corner to the same bedroom you’d stayed in so long ago. he follows after you, the corner of his lips turned up as he watches your excitement. it’s not often you get to go on vacation together, and he’s determined to make sure this anniversary is one you won’t forget.

standing outside the room you push open the door, but when you see what’s inside you nearly drop everything you’re holding. the entire room is covered in flowers, with pink peonies and pretty white blooms in vases on every table, and rose petals scattered across the bed. by the mini refrigerator there’s a bottle of champagne resting in a bucket of ice, a little note attached with a bow around the neck of the bottle.

you turn around and alexander is right behind you, carefully watching your reacting with a smile.

you throw your arms around him and he chuckles, walking backwards into the room with you in his arms. the luggage in the open car trunk is long forgotten as his lips finally press against yours, his arms wrapped tightly around you.

—— 16TH JUNE.

“are you ready?”

despite your nerves, alexander’s voice is calm as he sits beside you in the driver’s seat of the car. your dress bunches up around you as you push the fabric out of the way, leaning across the cupholders to kiss him, the first of many kisses today and over the years that will come.

it had been a long but happy year since your coincidental meeting at the grocery, which he'd later revealed had been not-so-coincidental after all. but the initial shock of learning who he was and what he did had eventually worn off, and the two of you had come out together stronger than ever.

he smiles against your lips before leaning away to push the keys into the ignition, and you look out your passenger side window one more time. a small group of your closest friends and family stand outside the car, waving bouquets of bright pink peonies.

alex twists around to look over his shoulder at the rear window, where the words “just married” are written in chalk marker, as he reverses out of the parking lot.

once everyone is out of sight, you begin to relax into your seat, kicking off the shoes that have been hurting your feet all night. you’re leaving before any of your guests are, having stayed at the reception just long enough to cut the cake and have your first dance, so it’s still early enough in the evening to have some time to yourselves.

“where are we going?” you ask, reclining the seat a little with a sigh as you gaze out the window. the stars are beginning to come out, little twinkling lights in the dusk sky, and you smile as you think about today, finally a moment to relax and reflect on everything.

your new husband grins and shakes his head, keeping one hand on the wheel as he slides the other across the seat to intertwine his fingers with yours. “can’t say. it’s a surprise.”

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓. — @betsybat @wandalfnation @princess76179 @zooni92802 ^^ (i added everyone on my taglist, but please lmk if you'd only like to be tagged for specific fandoms in the future!)

if you enjoyed this, please reblog or let me know in a comment or an ask! feedback helps so much with motivation and gives me energy to continue writing :) thanks for reading!

#☆ { luna writes. } ☆#the day of the jackal #the jackal #eddie redmayne #alexander duggan #charles calthrop #eddie redmayne x reader #alexander duggan x reader #charles calthrop x reader #jackal x reader #tdotj fanfic #tdotj fanfiction #eddie redmayne fanfic #alexander duggan fanfic #the day of the jackal 2024 #jackal #bro has an infinite amount of names how do i tag them all !!#hope this reaches the right ppl </3

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thissccounthatesfascists · 11 months ago

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TL asleep? cool.

(long post, strap in)

i wanna talk about colin's wet dream. that was the most demisexual shit i have EVER seen. there's not even any sex. its just a romanticized, elevated version of their first kiss. its colin's subconscious wanting to replay the moment he fell in love with his best friend in the Most way possible.

lets break it down:

we got the same location of their first kiss. Complete with mood lighting and a fog machine. It’s giving pride and prejudice 2005

Penelope comes out (looking gorgeous, of course) to their rendezvous spot, which has been previously agreed on.

colin thanks her for meeting him, she doesn't know why he's asked her to come

he confesses his feelings for her

she reciprocates (this is the important part of this to me. ) her wanting him, makes him want her more (do you see where the demisexual colin energy is coming from? do you understand?)

they make out

he kisses her neck as she pants his name over and over (see my point above re: her wanting him makes him want her more)

he wakes up, absolutely shook

this is an idealized reimagining for colin: during their first kiss he was basically in shock, his new personality chokes on the reality and vulnerability of the moment

in the book he talks about how he tries to think of something witty to say but finds that no words are necessary, and there's no combination of witty banter or suave bravado that could help in that moment. the rake persona that he has put on up to this point absolutely fails him. but here, in this dream, words are crucial, the declarations of love are why its sexy! (demi colin is canon idc idc)

and its so important that this wet dream, the idealized version of this scenario happens like this. because we've also seen colin having sex with sex workers (and luke newton has talked about this) but his energy in those scenes is very detached, very focused on him and his pleasure with zero connection to the women he's with. he has two different threesomes (if you can even call the second one that, he's barely even looking at them) with four different women and we know nothing about these girls. they don't even get names. they don't matter, and its simply not. as. good. as the feeling of kissing pen. there is no connection

which is, i think, why he taps out during the threesome in ep4. he tries to go back to the devil-may-care attitude toward sex and intimacy that he had before kissing pen, he tries to return to that mask he put on of "the rake" and it just doesn't work! he feels nothing! in fact he feels disdain for the position he's in and the choices he's made!

the threesome in ep4 mirrors the outburst he has later at the club really well. like he's so frustrated with this position he's put himself in, the men he's surrounded himself with. he literally says "none of you are gentlemen!" "you're actually gross and disrespectful!"

a line that i love is :

"... it is tiring, is it not? The necessity imposed on us to remain cavalier about the one thing in life that holds genuine meaning. Do you not find it lonely?"

and they laugh! in! his! face! because these are men that feel perfectly fine sleeping with strangers and bragging about their "conquests" to their buddies

but that is not who colin is! he's still very young. and his experience with marina (who tried to seduce him and it didn't work, imo bc he just didn't feel that passion, that love that makes his relationship with penelope so different) has left him jaded, but not nearly as jaded as he wants to believe. even if he wants to be casual about romance and sex, he just isn't. this man proposed to marina after knowing her for what? a couple weeks? He is an All or Nothing type of guy. He has that Bridgerton 'when i fall in love i will only ever talk about my spouse' Gene

Now: some costuming details that i love:

Her hair:

(i know this is a stretch but go with me here) her hair is in slightly tighter curls than we've seen this season, which to me seems like a nod to colin liking (or at least not minding) her hair the way it was in previous seasons and maybe not caring as much as we might think about her transformation. but its still down and flowy and in line with her new style

let's talk about this! dress! (it has genuinely been keeping me up at night)

the sleeves seem much more similar to the silhouettes of her costumes in previous seasons, not necessarily in shape but in style

the sleeves are bulkier, compared to this season's costumes, which while they might have been the same size and shape, they are made of much lighter material, giving the silhouette a softer, more mature feeling.

compare it to this dress from s3 ep2: it looks very similar with the sleeve shape and the floral appliqués, but in the dress in the image above, the appliqués are much more obvious, closer to penelope's style under her mother's tastes

the point i'm trying to make here will be made more clear in a sec. what I am NOT trying to say that colin prefers her in her little girl dresses with loud designs, bright colors, and silly hairdos. he just associates those bigger, brighter, louder style choices with penelope.

And he has always liked Penelope. Even when he didn’t take her seriously as a potential partner, he always saw her as an equal. He never made fun of her silly dresses and questionable hair choices.

This has nothing to do with Colin but i feel like i should point it out:

there is something to be said about how her muted pastel color palette along with the more demure style that she has adopted shows that she is trying to Show Up with this social season, but as a wallflower, she is shy. she's always hated those brightly colored dresses her mother put her in, because no matter how close to the wall she clung, she was always visible. she was always vulnerable to ridicule.

but i don't think colin knows or realizes this because why would he think critically about the specific style changes she's made. and he probably doesn't really make the connection of the influence her mother has on her clothing. and around him, pen has never seemed all that shy. she's been confident and witty. if you pair her personality that shines around colin with her louder outfits, it seems more congruous

(take the scene from season 2 where we get the line "My purpose shall set me free") this is a side of penelope that no one, not even eloise!, sees

what his subconscious knows is that he associates pen with vibrant, textured, and often 3-dimensional outfits, and his subconscious creates a dress that fits her new style, with a little more of that featherington flair thrown in.

the fucking tie in front: i feel like this is a very clear reference/ foreshadowing to the mirror scene

for those of you who haven't read the book, the mirror scene doesn't actually happen, but colin tells penelope about a fantasy he has about touching her in front of a mirror

this is a pretty small offhand comment made while they're having sex for the first time but amongst book fans the scene has become pretty fleshed out i think, with fanfics especially

because the idea that it touches on is colin fantasizing about penelope seeing herself the way he does, as sexy and desirable (he seriously cares about her pleasure so much its sickening, I'm actually sick)

and although Book Colin doesn't mention it, the idea of him undressing her in front of a mirror has become a popular story set-up

i think the tie in the front sort of plays on the time period sensibilities of propriety: this is a time where in "good" society an unmarried man and woman would never touch skin to skin, its why all the women wear gloves most of the time. its why the scenes in season 1 between daphne and simon play on the excitement of removing the gloves: its a taboo thing

this is unrelated to this post but i need an explanation as to why pen isn't wearing gloves in a lot of her scenes this season, like the scandal that that would cause??? I'm assuming its representative of her growing into her sexuality; and bridgerton is a fantasy, not a historical nonfiction, but like some consistency would be nice guys bc i was so confused abt all the skin-on-skin contact happening. even with Francesca and Lord Samadani WHEN HE KISSES HER BARE HAND I WAS SO UNCOMFORTABLE FOR HER. especially because of all the glove-related tension in s1. but i digress.

so the tie in front is sort of a dare. even though its clearly an addition, and untying wouldn't actually remove her dress, its her (colin's subconscious version of her anyway) way of saying: "you could untie this, you could undress me if you wanted to" "i love you" "i want you"

and i think that's beautiful. this season is great and i will die on this hill.

If you've made it this far, congrats! you're just as feral as me! come and gnaw on the drywall with me while i post fanfics inspired by this season: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55988977/chapters/142190584

chapters 1+2 of my new fic are up

photos are from : https://www.cap-that.com/bridgerton/302/index.php?image=bridgerton3x02_1502.jpg

#colin bridgerton #bridgerton #bridgerton spoilers #penelope featherington coded #polin #bridgerton season 3 #bridgerton s3 #bridgerton meta #costume design #demisexuality #demisexual representation #demisexual colin bridgerton #bridgerton season 3 analysis #romancing mister bridgerton #romancing mr. bridgerton #adaptation analysis #some historical context analysis as a treat for me specifically

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puckinghischier · 5 months ago

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okay so…not that anyone asked but i have some…thoughts about this discourse surrounding jack’s signing last night

and honestly….i’m sad. i’m so insanely sad that so many people who claim to love this team are so quick to assume jack is a lost cause asshole. i think so much of it is entitlement. and yeah, as people, everyone deserve kindness and overall base level social behaviors. but where is that for jack right now?

where’s the grace and understanding that he’s tired. they likely had a day full of practice and drills and workouts before this signing. i mean, did he even get to go home before he was expected to sit and sign autographs for hours? why was he alone? why didn’t they put him with someone else? i know the answer is likely because he was the most sought after signature there and they didn’t want to make his line even longer, but still. i feel like jack has been very open and intentional with the fact he doesn’t like to do media. he wants to play hockey and go home.

and yeah, he also knew it came with the territory, but it doesn’t matter. if you sign up to be a teacher, you know there’s going to be early mornings, but that doesn’t mean you have to like getting up early. if you agree to work in healthcare, you know there’s going to aspects of the job that are gross and unfortunate, but it doesn’t mean you have to like cleaning up bodily fluids. the same can be said for these guys. they signed up to be professional hockey players, they knew media and signings and events were going to be expected of them, but it doesn’t mean they have to like it.

but back to entitlement thing. i think it has become so normalized to create personas for real people in our heads that people are quite literally unable to separate the fantasy from reality. and i mean, i’ll even say i contribute to the problem. all fanfic writers do. we create these idealized and fictional versions of these men, but the ability to differentiate between the two cannot be lost in the process. but i think it has been. i think there’s this unrealistic expectation thrust upon all of them, but especially jack.

he’s popular, he’s cutie, and he’s good at hockey. of course he’s going to have a mass following. but…he’s just a guy, y’all. he’s a guy that has bad days, good days, who gets tired, who has a social battery. and last night, i think that social battery had just run out. do you know how long he’s been watched and in the media? do you know how long he’s been the most watched hughes, the expectations he’s carried on him for years?

i just think there needs to be some compassion and grace here. going back to the whole “people pay to watch me play” incident is a little excessive, imo. i mean, are we going to hold every single player to everything they’ve ever said in the box? does it define who they are and their character? i have not once seen anyone berate and question quinn’s character when he told someone they were “fucking nothing”. which, if you really want to get down to it, is worse than what jack said.

but no, jack is expected to be this guy with rainbows coming out of his ass all the time, apparently. i think the concept of social cues and situational awareness has been so lost because of the screen culture right now. people do so much communication through screens and phones that they forget, people aren’t always enthusiastic and bright, even if they add an exclamation point to their text. last night was not something jack chose to do of his own accord. he was told to do it, and he did it. he made sure the kids had a good time and felt cared for. he signed everything that came across his table. could he have been a little more chatty? yeah. could he have maybe smiled a bit more? yeah.

but seriously, he knew he was going to have to sign a million different items and see a million different people. the whole point of a signing is just that. if he was even remotely going to get out of there on time, there’s no way he could have had any meaningful conversation with every single person. and i feel like he’s said before he prioritizes/likes kids? i could be wrong, so don’t hold me to that.

but the point is, this whole situation is so sad and such a good example of how gossip blogs only care about getting likes and reblogs and attention. they don’t care about these players, no matter how much they claim to. and people are so quick to take everything they read for fact. personally, i think jack is just…antisocial.

i think he has a persona on the ice because he’s in his element, he’s comfortable, and he’s excited to be there. when he’s with his family and around his friends, he seems to be an overall happy guy. but around strangers? strangers that want to talk about his stats, how he played in this game or that game, that are shoving their items in his face to sign, people that he’ll likely never see again? he doesn’t give too much away.

and before people mention the being snippy and short with the workers, i wasn’t there so i didn’t see what happened. if he was, i’m not defending that behavior, but i don’t think it’s because he thinks he’s above them or thinks he’s “god’s gift to hockey” like i’ve seen thrown around so much today. we have all been snappy with people we shouldn’t have before. it doesn’t mean someone is this terrible person with a high horse attitude. i think it’s a combination of fatigue, stress, and maybe even some anxious energy that had been built up and made its way out.

anyways, i’ve said enough i think, and this will be the first and only time i talk about this, but i had too many thoughts swirling in my brain to just keep them there. be nice. show grace. you’re allowed to be disappointed if you attended last night and felt like he was maybe dry and dismissive, but please step back and put yourself in his shoes. not every person has a social and yappy personality. some people don’t speak unless they have something to say. and that’s okay!!!

and for the love of god, quit giving gossip blogs what they so desperately crave

#alliyaps #i just had to get this off my chest #this is not an invitation to be shitty on anon #the asks will be deleted #hockey #nhl #new jersey devils #jack hughes

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mo-ok · 6 days ago

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so changemans hydra soldiers typically look like this - stationary rubber masks with beautiful blond wigs 😌

the eye sockets are made of a presumably reasonably see-through fabric to throw our stunt team a bone. Outside of the mask the rest of the costume is pretty boring - at the start of the show the tubes spew gas when they're cut open but they stop doing this pretty quickly

however imo the mask is doing a very good job of making these guys stand out amongst the grunt crowd. The moulded, monstrous faces are the first real step away from the typical sock on head goon we had before them, and once you get past the goofiness of the hair they genuinely feel pretty threatening.

BUT THEN ON TOP OF THE UNIQUE LOOK they also get a couple special versions. At the start of the season we get this fella

its mouth and eyebrows move, its got a gross little tongue and is - most importantly - covered in slime. The hole that its tongue moves in and out of is also used to spit out gas (very good)

we (understandably) dont see this guy after the first couple of episodes. thats not a mask you can do stunts in, thats not a mask that can take a punch. However, having this mask be one of our establishing shots of these gross little creatures does a great job of keeping them feeling yucky and awful throughout the rest of the show. This isnt a beastie you want to be grabbed by.

another mask variation they get is a fella i affectionately refer to as "omg i love when they use the big teeth mask"

again this reinforces how much you do NOT want these guys getting ahold of you. Their biological origin and overwhelming numbers make you feel uneasy, and then the big old moving mouth adds another layer to their repulsive vibe.

we dont see this mask a whole lot either but when we do its a real treat and i love it. i love when mouths move. (carranger is a really good show if you love seeing monster suits with mouths that move)

a couple of other additional notes/foot soldiers i wanna mention:

bioman and flashman also give us some fun grunt mask variations

the mechaclones have an outer shell that our team wasnt scared of smashing to show off their robo guts, and the zorrors have these delightful moving teeth. Obviously the regular stunt helmets wouldnt be able to do these things but the differences between versions are less apparent here than they are with the hydra

liveman and ohranger also give us fun lil looks at the inner mechanics of their robo grunts, and boukengers jaryu sometimes get cute lil moving snouts 😌

idk i just really like when we get these nice lil bits of depth and context for the foot soldiers. Seeing their mouths and eyes move, or how their parts work, even if its only once or twice, it just does such a good job of making them feel tangible and threatening.

you get so used to seeing the grunts doing their thing that they can begin to become pretty boring, but then they pull out the ol moving mouth technique and suddenly i'm in love with them all over again.

#sentai #changeman #tw flashing #i just #really like it #when mouths move #or well really when any part of a suits face moves tbh #like fuck man do you ever look at gyodai and just start crying because so much of him moves in such a delightful way #ANYWAY #thoughts

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aldruiel-scribbles · 6 months ago

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Can we talk about how they aged Addam and Alyn Velaryon to the point that it will eventually become very fucked up? (Because it shows the predatory behavior of the show runners imo)

Addam (the dragon rider) was the eldest, not the youngest like in the show, and he was of the same age as Jacaerys Velaryon (114 AC). And his brother Alyn was a year younger than him (115 AC). Which means that at the start of the Dance in 129 AC Addam was 15 and Alyn 14. The problem is that the show runners decided to make them bastards of Corlys so they aged them up, A LOT.

Alyn will marry Baela, can you see where I'm going with this?

Alyn survives the dance, gets legitimazed and becomes the next Lord of Driftmark. Originally because of their age, Addam and Alyn, were believed to be bastards of Laenor and it was basically sort of confirmed (in the eyes of the people and maesters) when Addam claimed a dragon; but still there were rumors that Corlys was the father instead.

Alyn is now a man in his 30s, instead of a boy of 14, who will eventually marry a girl of 13. Like what the fuck? What was the need to make a grown ass man marry a girl? While Baela in this show seems a bit older she will still be a minor by the end of the DoD. That was a conscious choice, why add predatory behavior in a couple where there was none? Alyn and Addam could still be children of Corlys, even if they were younger!

It's not even the first time that they worsened an age gap, pushing this gross behavior towards the viewers. The best example is Viserys and Alicent, who in the book were 28 and 18 respectively (still too much although less horrible), but in the show it was a man in his 40s marrying a minor of 14. And yes, you could say that Westeros doesn't have the same concept of minors as we do so it's normal for them, but do you know who does have it? The fucking show runners! They continuously and willingly make this changes and think it's okay. Why make content about little girls being forced to have sex with old men? For once, none of these weird ass things were in the book and they decided they were going to add it.

Again, what the fuck?

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nekropsii · 6 months ago

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Hello, I really like your analysis, especially of the dancestors but there's one part I don't quite get and would apreciate if you could ellaborate on

It's the part about how it's fucked up for them to be romantically involved with the beta trolls, because in the text, iirc, it does'nt seem like it is. They are treated like normal dumb teenagers, not that different than when they died as such, and I know it is canonically possible to go through character development after death, after all, dead Vriska did, but I can't remember the comic indicating that the dancestors did?

They still feel like teenagers and the comic doesn't seem to ever hint at abuse by virtue of their maturity, or include it as a theme or something. To me, that they spent whatever senseless amount of time dead thinking about stuff and never matured out of being teenagers just seemed like the sort of kind of dumb thing you're supposed to suspend your disbelief on for the juicy tumblr parody jokes and ignore, like the comic (imo) seemed to be doing.

Again, i'd love to read what you have to say on this and I hope to not be misremsmbering anything.

Thank you! I really appreciate it. I'm happy to explain.

1.) They are called the Alpha Trolls. Not the Dancestors. "Dancestor" refers to a relation that every single character group has with one another - it means "Person who is simultaneously your Descendant and Ancestor by way of a Scratch", and was actually originally coined by Porrim to describe the Beta Trolls.

The Beta Trolls are the Alpha Trolls's Dancestors. The Alpha Trolls are the Beta Trolls's Dancestors, also. The Beta Kids are the Alpha Kids's Dancestors as well, and vice versa. "Alpha Troll" is more accurate and more specific. They're even called this directly within the text, by themselves even. Best to just use that label instead.

2.) The Beta Trolls are 13 years old. The Alpha Trolls are 19 years old. That is a middle schooler and a college student. That is the power imbalance. That is what is wrong here. This also meets the DSM-5's definition of Pedophilia. Those children are 6 full years younger than they are, they should be completely off the table. This is not an excusable cultural difference, or something you are supposed to ignore, it is framed within the comic as being fucking gross. Meenah's relationship with (Vriska), who was 13, should have already clued you into that. Hell, the age disparity is called directly into focus as being fucked up by Meenah herself. More than once, actually.

NOTE: Yes, I know that 7.5 Sweeps translates to 16 Years - though, more accurately, she'd be 15 Years, since she hasn't even reached 7.5 Sweeps yet. (Vriska) and the Vriska in this picture are two different characters. (Vriska) is the Pre-Retcon Vriska, who died at 6 Sweeps, or 13 Years. Likewise, most of the characters targeted by the 3 offending Alpha Trolls were also people who died at 13 Years - Aradiabot (Rufioh), Tavros (Cronus), and Eridan (Cronus again - cool Incest bro!).

Child Predation is a running theme in Homestuck. The foul conduct of the Alpha Trolls exhibit towards some of the Beta Trolls - Cronus, Meenah, and Rufioh in particular having preyed on 3, 2, and 1 minor(s) respectively and specifically - is simply another follow up on that. We see it with Bro Strider, who abused and neglected Dave so badly that Dave was constantly exposed to and involved in Fetish Pornography, we see it in Doc Scratch, who is directly called out as having a thing for young girls several times and was literally keeping a young girl as a slave, we see it in the Alpha Trolls. It is everywhere. It isn't meant to be looked away from for the sake of memes. The fact that those college age adults are creeping on literal middle schoolers is thematically relevant, and very in your face.

So, like, yes, the Alpha Trolls are still teenagers, but these are the oldest possible teenagers targeting the youngest possible teenagers. Again, this is College Students creeping on Middle Schoolers, and the text wants you to think this is disgusting. Because it is.

#homestuck #homestuck meta #homestuck analysis #alpha trolls #beta trolls #beta kids #dancestors #meenah peixes #vriska serket #(vriska) serket #cw child harm #cw abuse #meenah.pdf #meenah.prtsc #vriska.prtsc #nekro.pdf #nekro.sms

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katiekatdragon27 · 8 months ago

Text

Sometimes I forget that Flatland is something I can interpret as my own thing so I'ma do that now.

Ik these look very inspired by Flatland 2007, cuz they lowkey are, but I just really like how A. Sphere looks I'm sorry (ik the creator is bad but I can't help the brainworms). I wanted to add quirks tho so it's better imo. My versions of the characters if you will. More fun to draw for me and less ugly (on A. Square's end).

They have actual names and design purposes for each thing. Abel's glove to prevent contamination into himself from Flatland, Anthony's glasses and front hairs being makeshift arms, all that has a reason lol.

More explanations of stuff below cut:

The Flatland parts of Flatland the book stay the same mostly. I'm not changing much there. I do want to flesh out Spaceland tho, so I'ma do that cuz I'm super self-indulgent.

In my version of Flatland, I think it would've been fuunier if out of frustration, Abel Spherious ("A Sphere"), grabbed Anthony Squaur ("A Square") out of Flatland and yoinked him out without thinking about the consequences. He realizes shortly after that he probably shouldn't have done that, and it will probably have horrendous consequences later down the line.

Abel almost kills Anthony on accident, so uh, yikes. But then after bringing him out of Flatland, he decides to work with it, taking him back to his office to do his report on Flatland. He sorta keeps him hidden, but on the last day Anthony gets leaked to the public and the war starts over it rip. However, the span that this is like 3 days, so they get time to chat and develop communication skills n stuff.

Also, since the gravity is so harsh on Anthony's body, he struggles with talking, only emerging little squeaks. Eventually he's able to use a device to get his thoughts across (probably like a telegraph or smth), so the first day or so of being out of Flatland was a terrible time for communication. Especially when you're so entranced with the idea of seeing your "god's" insides.

Also, Abel just kinda finds Anthony gross in general (cuz he looks like a bacteria) and rejects all advances until Anthony learn to properly yap though morse code. When Anthony writes the Flatland novel, Abel translates it for the world of Spaceland to read and not want to obliterate Flatland. However, that is after his misadventures in the fourth dimension (boo a Heightlander's Escape reference tomato tomato).

These are some studies of the two. I really like the hairs on Anthony, it makes him so much more expressive. Also, Abel is a slaying king, I love him sm.

Also, Abel is like the last person who should be in charge of a company. That shit goin down the drain in a week I swear (he came to work high every day his first month of being CEO). I'll probably change the name a lil I just have to cook.

Also, silly joke of how Anthony and Abel met lol.

Have a good one broskies :)))

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gaywineauntsstuff · 18 days ago

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Hey do you know a canon summary of Jason’s plotline/ development? Or if you don’t at least what you think his development is? I saw your Damian and Jason being league bros rant and I really liked it. Idk shit about jack that’s canon I just see family vibes in fanfic and my trauma says awooga

Hi hi

Yes yes

Okay so my big issue with the league bros Jay and Dami brotherisms

Is that yes Jaybin was a sweetie (I wouldn’t say he wasn’t reckless or that he was the kindest or nicest Robin bc I think that’s a gross exaggeration but he was a sweetie)

But he just? Wasn’t that? When he came back? He was rightfully angry and violent. He gave into the violent tendencies he had as Robin (which unpopular opinion I think were COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED BTW)

but like? Jay had a bat habit of murdering all his teachers when they were done with him

He killed his goons and low level players in his race to take over the Gotham underbelly and like? Idk he just wasn’t? The current red hood or the past Robin.

Like since I am a dick Grayson stan account I’ll use them to demonstrate.

But Jay and Dicks relationship is awful when he first comes back

-he steals dicks nightwing suit and kills people in it ruining dicks standing and making him a target for more anti-hero ‘vigilantes should be killed’ stuff that was happening at the time

- he killed like 100 people in black gate bc he was like ‘well i wanna kill criminals and here i am surrounded by criminals whatever shall i do’

- then there’s all the WEIRD ASS STUFF he did to Dick and Damian when they were Batman and Robin (stripping them naked and trying to reveal them that way to the world??)

Anyway Jay was a fucking VILLAIN

And then after all this, the reboot happened, they gave Jason a collection of very fucked up and traumatized folks that he couldn’t just murder his way out of

And he like actually had to have dimension and he was moved from being imo one of the most interesting Batman/ batfam villains to being a pretty cool anti hero more in the line with batwoman or like the new Harley Quinn

But he didn’t start out that way

He was a murderer with sociopathic tendencies who remembered what it meant to give a fuck through a lot of shared trauma and experiences and now. His relationship with the bats (I’m talking specifically about the batlings rn like dick, Tim and Damian) is much better

Dick helps him clear his name when he’s accused of murder

Tim and him work together on cases

He’s trying to be there for Damian

And this whole dynamic gave me the ability to watch my precious baby boy beat the shit out of Bruce Wayne during Gotham war (I just love angry Grayson lemme live)

Right

But if you think for a SECOND THAT OG VILLAIN JAY TODD WOULD HAVE BEEN LET AROUND TALIAS BABY??

Not happening

Now a lot of people are gonna be like “oh you’re picking and choosing” or “oh you’re ignoring Talia’s characterization in morrisons and using jays” and yeah I think that Talia’s characterization in dicks Batman run was awful and while I think certain things Jason does in the comic he wouldn’t have done if written by someone else. It 100% is more fitting than the racist nonsense Talia Stan’s had to deal with.

Anyway I think if you want sweet and fuck brotherisms/siblingisms/ other bat relationships (since you don’t read canon and some of these are lowkey ignored by the fanon i 100% you check out like any fanart/ fanfic of them)

Dick Grayson and any younger Robin is always adorable

Tim and Damian in Gotham war

Jay and Damian in the Robin run

Tim and Duke whenever they’re together

Tim, cass and Steph also have a very fun dynamic (the angst potential here goes crazy tho)

Jay and Dick as red hood and nightwing are very very fun

But also nightwing and Jaybin is fucking adorable (cue dick trying to take Jason Todd from Bruce like YOU FUCK UP IM ADOPTING HIM MYSELF)

Jay and babs (we ignore that one time they tried to make them date we IGNORE IT)

Outside of the Batfam batkid relationships are also so fluffy

Jay and bizzaro have a very cute relationship

Tim and the young justice team are fucking adorable esp him Cassie, Kon and Bart

Supersons can be read as platonic or romantic but they’re fucking adorable and I loved the supersons comic so so so much

Dick and the fab 5 trust me Dick and Donna sibling fluff hurts my teeth.

I personally hated the comic this happened in but if you’re not a big comic fan / you don’t care about pre crisis that Jay and Roy??? Adoptable

Anyway this is mainly based on my opinion I AM mainly a Nightwing reader so some of these things come from my Jay Todd Stan friends (cough cough cough you know who you are cough cough) so I’m sorry if I fucked up any details

#dick grayson #nightwing #jason todd #jaybin #redhood #I feel like splitting Jay between Robin and red hood undermines how DIFFERENT HE WAS AT THE BEGINNING #like bro was a fucking menace #like the type of ass #to laugh at orphans he was Evil #didn’t give a fuck about personal relationships #bro was there to get revenge no matter what and then he grew a conscious

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