#this is my first piece of overtly romantic writing

[chippedshake]

Marcia shouldn't be out on the East Side alone. She's heard more than enough horror stories from her classmates about girls who go too far out alone to know that it's a stupid decision. But every decision she's made since that Friday back in September has been stupid, so what's one more?

She's not entirely sure why she's going over to his house. He's made it clear that he isn't interested and this just makes her seem like a stalker who can't let go of some stupid flirting that happened nearly six months ago.

When she'd first asked Evie for his address, she'd thought she could surprise him a couple days later by showing up and taking him out. She wanted to wait until he called, though, so she could be sure he'd be home when she passed by. Then the son of a bitch hadn’t called her and months had gone by and she'd gotten pissed.

He'd made it abundantly clear he was into her back at the drive-in. If he wasn’t, why didn't he just reject her? Why make her go through the humiliation of months of waiting?

Now, as she draws her jacket closer around herself to feel a bit safer under all the gazes that follow her trail, she just wants an explanation. No one ever liked her before Two-Bit, not even Randy. They dated out of convenience and he hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye when he skipped town.

Marcia's always been everyone’s second choice, just Cherry's best friend, the other one. Until Two-Bit came along. He saw her with Cherry and seemed to really see her. Not a best friend or comic relief or a way to get into someone else's pants. And she let herself get her hopes up like an idiot, thinking that maybe someone who got her would finally like her too.

And then he didn't call her back.

Is there something wrong with her – something so fundamentally wrong that no one could ever really like her?

Oh, God, and now she's knocking on his door and has absolutely no game plan and he's standing in front of her – has he been always that cute? – and his eyes are wide with shock, and she really seems like a stalker, doesn't she?

"I– uh... hi." Marcia looks up at him sheepishly. The anger that’s been boiling in her chest for weeks now seems to have completely disappeared, crumbling into motes of dust that sweep away with the wind.

All she really wants to do now is hug him and bury her face in his chest and tell him all of the remarks she's suppressed during the past few months because once she got a taste of someone clicking with them, it wasn’t the same when they fell flat.

But he doesn't want to have anything to do with her. He couldn’t even bother to call. And this is stupid. This is really, very stupid. Why is she even here?

"Sorry, I– I shouldn’t be here, this is stupid, I'm stupid, I'll go now–" She can't meet his eyes as she turns back around, cheeks burning.

This is why no one likes you. It's not enough that you're weird and awkward and rough and just pretty, not beautiful. You don’t think things through and you're scatterbrained and you're so fucking stupid, it's a wonder Randy even put up with you for so long–

"Wait, Marcia!" Marcia's head jerks up to find Two-Bit jogging towards her. "I don't..." His hand comes up – to run through his hair, to touch her face – but stops midway "I don't think it was stupid. You comin' here. I also don't think you're stupid."

He's close to her. Close enough to see unshed tears she hasn't been able to suppress. Close enough to the see the bags under her eyes from worrying about what to do. Close enough for her to count his freckles, if she wanted to. Close enough for anyone walking by to easily misinterpret the scene they're seeing.

Neither of them step back.

"That’s just 'cause o' the aliens controllin' your mind. You ain't worn your aluminum hat today, right?" Her delivery's off and it doesn't land how she wants it to. It's hard for a joke to sound funny when you're holding back tears.

"I think the one thing me an' the aliens can agree on is that you're better'n most of this town gives you credit for."

It isn't the first time Two-Bit's complimented her, – he used far too many stupid pick-up lines that night they'd met, and about the first thing he'd said to her was that she was sharp – but it is the first time he's said it in earnest, not a hint of wit in his tone. She's almost too surprised to remember why she's there.

"The aliens tell ya not to call me, then?" The dust motes of anger are swept up by a gust of wind and concentrated again, building up to their former glory and crashing down in a final show of power. "Or was that all you?"

Two-Bit raises an eyebrow, trying to seem nonchalant. It's strange that she can read him well enough to notice the subtle surprise as easily as if it were written in bold across his forehead.

"That– that was your real number?"

Marcia makes a sound that's something between a bark of laughter and a scoff. "Of course it was my real number. What, you think I'd give you a phony?"

"Oh, like it was stupid to think you wouldn't give a grease like me your number."

"I wouldn't give my number to a grease like Da– that Shepard boy, but I'd say so to his face," Marcia snaps, and Two-Bit winces at her slip-up. "And I most certainly would give a 'grease like you' my number, because I liked you and I said I would, an' for all the stupid rumours you can hear 'bout me, there ain't a single one 'bout me not keepin' my word."

His smile is crooked and he's raised an eyebrow and Marcia knows she's in trouble in more ways than one before he even opens his mouth.

"Liked me? Not anymore, then. I guess you just came all the way 'round here to tell me how much you don’t care about me."

She cracks a grin of her own because maybe she should still be mad at him but how is she supposed to, when there's that gap between his teeth and that sparkle in his eyes and that tilt to his grin? "Yeah. Can't stand ya, actually."

"I reckon I could change that."

Marcia raises an eyebrow. "You do, do you?"

"How's seven this Saturday?"

"You gonna pick me up or am I gonna hafta walk all the way over here again?"

"You gonna give me your real number or am I gonna hafta go to school just to see you again?"

They're smiling so wide they must look insane to anyone passing by, but neither of them minds as Marcia scribbles her number down onto a piece of paper and gives it over to him.

"Don’t lose it this time."

[thrashkink-coven]

peace! I so enjoy your blog and I'm learning a lot. thank you for that post about mental health and spirituality it helps so much. I lean into prayer when I feel helpless, because at least god/ my deities will listen even when humans can't or won't. sometimes I wish though I could converse with them like an actual conversation. sometimes I can feel my spirits listening to my prayers of thanks or asking for help. other times I'm not sure. my mind is constantly running, readers have a tough time describing/feeling what my mind is like. I'm constantly fighting self criticism and doubt and allowing my faith to ease my worries. my practice doesn't always look consistent but it's consistent in the sense I haven't stopped trying to honor my deities and ancestors. I want to grow my gifts and understand my divine messages better. do you have any guidance or tips on how to ask for divine support with rumination and self esteem? either who to ask or how to ask?

also I saw you refer to Lucifer as your dom... in some ways is it a romantic relationship for you? I learned recently that Krishna accepts all kinds of devotees including as lovers, the idea of honoring spirit with love and desire absolutely fascinates me. to my heart and body it feels right, my mind wonders if it is "allowed". if that's not what you meant would you please describe your relationship a bit more? apologies if it's clear in your posts, the search function does not work for me on mobile.

thanks for your time 🙏

My biggest piece of advice to you would be to remember that everyone starts somewhere. All pagans need to learn how to become confident in their practice, and the stumbles that you take along the way will only make you a better devotee. I challenge you do enjoy this period of self discovery and unsureness. Continue to speak with your deities and allow them to guide you into your worship. Whoever feels the closest to you is who you should be consulting. Sometimes this spirit doesn’t have a name yet, sometimes it’s your own inner voice. Don’t think too hard about what you’re supposed to be doing, and think a lot more about what you want to do. Try something that you’ve never done before, whether this be writing out prayers, making songs, making art, cooking a feast etc.

To answer your other question, I wouldn’t say that Lucifer and I have an overtly sexual/ romantic relationship. We have a magical God/ devotee relationship first before everything else. The main purpose of our relationship is spiritual development and radical education. While our relationship is very romanticized (literally beautified and idealized, roses, chocolates, love notes) it isn’t inherently romantic as one would consider a husband or wife, Lucifer is not my boyfriend or husband. Our connection goes very beyond sex and romance even if those things are often included in our interactions. That’s why a lot of our dialogue can sound kind of strange lmao. I don’t want Lucifer to fuck me, I want him to consume my entire soul until it is a beacon of light. I don’t want to touch him, I want to fully become and embody him in everything I do.

I am constantly offering Lucifer love and admiration as my patron and dom, and I do occasionally offer him my pleasure as a gift as one would offer a piece of art. But when we have these exchanges, it’s not really the same as directly having sex with each other. When we do sex magic and rituals it’s usually for the purpose of self rejuvenation or to show each other appreciation. A lot of the time he’s showing me how precious I am to him, reminding me that I deserve pleasure and that I should seek it often. To love and honour Lucifer is also to love and honour myself.

But Lucifer is not a human. Being touched by his light is like being purified by fire. When he embraces me, I feel like I’m laying on a cloud of bright nourishing energy that empowers me and my craft. When he kisses me, I feel like my aura is being cleansed. It’s so much more than just an erotic or romantic feeling, it truly is divine.

The intimate and sensual parts of our practice act more as a form of communication. Being an autist myself, I am very concerned with sensation. The physical feelings he gives me during our interactions better help me recognize his energy. The excitement amplifies that energy towards a goal. Sometimes that goal is just letting him know how much I love and appreciate his presence in my life. Sometimes it’s far more practical, like getting a new job.

Lucifer is relaxed and very free love, he made it clear to me that he wasn’t overly concerned with labels unless I felt them necessary. I can’t say that other deities will have the same attitude, but I have observed many other devotees of other Gods that have a similar dynamic. I don’t intend to ever be married to Lucifer in any kind of god spousal nun way, I feel my title as a devotee is already as binding and significant as a kind of marriage. It took quite a lot of time for us to get to this point, lots of folks are devoted to deities for years before they establish a relationship outside of their work. It’s definitely allowed as long as all parties involved are happy with it.

[lnkedmyheart]

hi~

Soooo.... fave oficial soukoku arts (at least 3) and why?

If you want to share :D!

🍬🌻

Solely official art that are not just panels from the novels or manga here.

The dead apple promotional sketch duo with Dazai and Chuuya. The way Dazai has his eyes closed and a smile on his face like he trusts Chuuya with the bandages swirling around his neck in a noose and then there is Chuuya, cocky and confident with Dazai's bandages making a heart around him.

Dead apple cover art by Gunzi. Dazai is his damsel in distress era looking so soft and bbg and then there is Chuuya so angry and protective with his arm over Dazai's neck like that.

Harukawa'a skk art. Double black fittinf together so perfectly despite their 4 year seperation. Dazai knows Chuuya's coat will get in the way so he grips it as it falls of Chuuya'w shoulder. Chuuya catching the bullets before they hit Dazai with his arm curled around the back of his head knowing that even even a touch from Dazai's hair to Chuuya's bare forearm could nullify tainted but so confident in their dynamic. Dazai's face, Chuuya's coat disintegrating and mixing with the background.

This official art from the manga. PMzai and Chuuya, possibly seventeen or eighteen back to back and melancholy.

This 15 era panel from the manga. Just the way these two babies are looking back at each other. They look like childhood friends being seperated against their will. I dont care if it got lightly retconned, this singular piece of art gave us some of the best fics out there.

Yes the mother of all skk art is here. Its not my favorite but I can't not talk about what gets me about this art. Its how vulnerable Dazai looks in this. Head tilted up, eyes closed, he seems at peace honestly. And given the way Dazai is, constantly alert, its like he is this at ease because Chuuya is there to watch his back. And again, Chuuya is leaning over him protectively. Sure its very romantic and stuff but idk I find it more comforting than romantic. And like this was the first time anime onlys had seen the guy. Like imagine the impact this art had. People often write this piece off as cheap fanservice and pandering but like idk, it fits their canon dynamic a lot. There is nothing overtly romantic or sexual about it to me despite my dumb jokes.

Every single skk art Hoshikawa has dropped. Dazai's big doe eyes, Chuuya's sleep deprived gremlin aura with his lesbian attracting hips. I just love Hoshikawa.

And if we were talking about actual manga panels. Every single panel from the 15 manga, but the one that has me on my knees consistently is the dead apple manga panels: the dhc lap scene and the post dragon face holding scene. And the way Dazai laughed in their reunion.

[enigmasandepiphanies]

I am so scared of writing, like both my advisors love my research proposal and i got my last term results and they are really good like 9.62 cgpa (sorry for number dropping but not sorry i really struggled last trimester and got my first b and i did 5 courses it was hard) and my research thesis is literally on tumblr and irs something ik and love and i love my courses this term and i am reading so much but i am procrastinating writing and i just it's so scary and secondly, I read about how loneliness has become some international health threat and i just I have been really lonely lately fuck kinda just realizing this while typing and i literally had a great time with my friends today two of my fave people got to hung out together and we gossiped on very comfy chairs but idk I think I have been a bit broken since diwali kalesh and just I think my loneliness stems so much from the fact when people tell me i am too much too intense I expect a lot and i just feel stifled and wanna curl back ans hide myself and never ever be me and the thought that i can't be me because people I love sometimes can't take it just fucking kills me and makes me feel weirdly isolated and i love all the people in my life but it's hurting lately idk how to explain I have started to feel like the world would be easier to deal with if I was not me and my best friend is going to the beach with our other friend, the beach that we both planned to go together to someday like in our bucketlist (well it's just me maintaining that list cause I am just a sap like that while she just says it but ik she means it cause we have done that many times) and i was kinda bummed not cause it's the beach cause she forgot it was like our thing maybe it didn't mean to her that much and i didn't tell her I was bummed cause it would ruin her trip and like what's the point (I got literally into the kalesh for being overtly communicative and i am scared and idk what to communicate and what not and it's not like this makes any difference ik i would move on soon) and also she was so excitedly talking about something else and i realized oh maybe I don't give chance to people to talk to cause it's been a while since she fully ranted (I mean like rationally 3 days but i just do that more than her and it feels like she doesnt get to do that much cause I am so excited and talkative and expressive all the time like IDK CAN I STFU) and yeah I am skincared with my fave candle under yellow fairy lights crying and my roomie is with her very cute old school romantic boyfriend and i feel like idk how to be me in a way that's it's palatable and will i ever find a romantic relationship where a person will accept me for being me like the worst parts of me (but the truth is ik they are not worst parts they make me me and that makes them the best parts and idk the most awful thing would be if people saw my best parts as my worst traits)

how can i be proud of my cgpa and marks when I feel scared of working in the final year and i have advisors to answer to, how can i feel not lonely but also be me in a way that people would love most of the time i just feel very unloved and idk I am losing the sight of me and I am really fuckint lonely

AND OH MY PROFESSOR loved loved my fleabag essay last term, I met her and she said IT'S A GREAT PIECE OF SCHOLARSHIP (not just an assignment, but scholarship something beyond the class and she told me to take credit of my work and write explicitly that this is your idea) AND IT MADE MY DAY but yet I still feel like shit

my roomie came and she didn't even notice me crying rn but I happy for her one of the profs at whose place her boyfriend is staying told her that she's welcome to stay also there are nice accepting people here yet idk if people can accept me for me

[feelingpure]

5 9 11 14 15 :D

Heh, don't hold back. Ok...

5. What is your favourite sex scene from the show?

Ugh, how do I choose a favourite... I think atm it'll have to be the one in episode 4, after the christmas present swap. Tim being surprised by the turn of events. Just his face the whole way through efvbuhskjc, and the way Hawk just yanks him down the bed at the start and the bewildered face that that elicits. The hand action on the mattress, then the kiss afterwards 🫣. He was really spoiled that night. I also really liked the spicy scene with Frankie and Marcus that episode, after he performed in the club. There's just something about christmas, eh.

Trying to write that without sounding like a horned menace is hard. But it's not JUST the bang-bang part that's cool. I find with a lot of such scenes in the show, it's what precedes those moments that makes it extra... interesting.

9. What is your favourite headcanon(s)?

Hmm, I don't think I really have too many headcanons to have a favourite... *thinking* I suppose that Lenny escaped that hospital and lived happily ever after on fire island with Craig. Lmao, I just. I need him to be ok. And maybe some wishful Luis and Tim PG-rated comfort from their interaction in episode 2.

11. What era did you like the most and why (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s)?

I didn't see this coming when I first started watching but I think it's the 70s. Just for seeing how much Tim had evolved, and seeing how overtly broken Hawk was. I felt like my heart was being ripped out, then pieced back together, then ripped out again with each passing scene. Hawk finally cried, FINALLY. Let. It. Out. Also the disco (that song is still stuck in my head), the beach (and the short shorts 👀) were a joy. The last scene with Tim and Hawk in that episode; some things were said. I was punching the air but also sobbing. I wish we had longer with the estranged fire island husbands.

14. Do you have any unpopular opinions about Fellow Travelers?

Umm, this is hard. 😬 I really couldn't stand to see hurt Tim near the beginning of the series, so probably some very 'Hawk is such a dick' opinions that I still harbour from then. But he's supposed to be, and I know his reasons. Some of his dickishness makes me laugh (the non Tim ones at least haha). And I could ramble about this and the nuances for some time, but I'll spare you.

15. What is your favourite relationship from the show (could be romantic or platonic)?

Apart from the obvious main relationship between Tim and Hawk... I'll give you one of each. Romantic - Frankie and Marcus. Platonic - Tim and Jackson. ❤️

FT ask game

[whumpdoyoumean]

3, 13, 26 😊

3. My creative process almost always starts with a specific scene or trope in mind that I really want to see! So I'll start by writing that down, and then build the fic around it. Usually there's some brainstorming and/or bouncing ideas off of friends until I get a more solid idea of what I want the story to be.

At that point, it's pretty rare that I write scenes in order (thought I will do that on occasion for shorter pieces, like Whumptober entries, where I already have a pretty good idea of the exact trajectory for the whole thing). Instead, it tends to be writing the big scenes first--important plot or emotional beats--and then filling in and fleshing out from there! I also tend to edit as I go, which is actually something I'm trying to work on because I think there is a lot of value in getting a whole draft down and then reading through and reworking things as needed rather than getting stuck reworking one scene (or sentence) until it's "perfect". :D

13. A common writing tip I almost always follow, hmmm. Well, my favorite writing tip is to read a lot, which is something I did very well in my childhood/teen years and then fell out of the habit of as an adult (something I'm sure many people can, unfortunately, relate to). But recently, with the acquisition of my library card and the discovery of a love for audiobooks, I've been enjoying a lot more books which has had a really positive impact on my writing!

26. Ooh, I love this question! I'm not sure if it means what fic of mine is the wildest ride to read or the wildest ride to write. I'll go with the second option, though! Which would be The Broken Hearts Tour .

I wrote it for a Big Bang event and it marked a lot of firsts for me! It's my first overtly romantic fic, featured my first truly spicy scenes (still very tame lmao but for someone who grew up religious and somewhat sheltered it is spicy to me!), my first attempt at a new style of fic planning (which involved sooo many index cards), my first genre-bending AU...Probably more as well that I can't remember! I know I felt some stress and burnout during the writing process, but looking back on the experience all I feel for it is fondness. :)

Thanks so much for the ask!!!

[daddymaster21]

So, I’m not a person that writes their own posts a whole lot. Mostly I just reblog what I agree with or find funny.

But today I am angry. Today I am so filled with seething rage that it’s going to take form, crawl out of my throat, trek to Pennsylvania, and slap someone in the fucking face. And I don’t have a great outlet right now, so I’m going to give a little bit of backstory, and then delve into why I’m so angry.

Backstory:

Okay! So I do not know the person I’m mad at personally. She knows my friend, and he refers to her as his best friend. They’ve known each other since they were twelve (they’re both 20 now).

So, she recently came to visit my friend, A. And shortly before she arrived, one of her partners broke up with her. I don’t know the full story but I do know it had to do with her other partner lying about wanting to be poly, when in fact, he wanted to be able to sleep with other women while keeping her, R, to himself.

She’s upset, understandably, and while she’s there, hits on A excessively. Just to be clear, I don’t mean like “oh, well, maybe she could’ve been flirting with me? I can’t quite tell.” I mean, she would ask A about his kinks and his sexual preferences and tease him when he responded, as well as moving his hand to her butt. Girl was not subtle.

Now, it was very clearly not a good time, but because she was really hitting on him and being overtly sexual, he asked R if she liked him in a way that was more than friends, because he really liked her. She basically said that she couldn’t talk about it right then, and that it was bad timing. He said he understood, and he could wait. I agree with this. I do not agree with what comes after this.

Why I’m mad:

Okay, so R returns home. It has now been a couple days and A brings up the conversation they had. I will be the first to admit that it’s too soon to do this, and he should have waited longer, but it in no way excuses her response.

R sends A a list of all the things he would need to do in order for her to date him, including but not limited to

He needs to lose “a bunch of weight” (her words, not mine)

He needs to go to therapy. If not therapy, he needs to talk to either a priest, or her MOTHER.

She is going to change his fashion

He needs to get into skincare, so that she can share her products with him

He needs a different hygiene routine

He needs to be well groomed around his genitals

He needs to shave his scruff

He needs to grow his hair out longer

Now, I have time to unpack all of that, so I’m going to share a few facts about A instead, all of which pertains to this list. A is barely chubby. He has a little bit of baby fat. If he were to lose “a bunch” of weight, he would unhealthily skinny. A is also not smelly or unhygienic. We’re both welders, so sometimes we’re gross and sweaty after work or school, but he showers afterwards, and his hair and clothes are clean.

He is also incredibly anxious and has a hard time expressing his feelings sometimes, so for him to confess to her was a big deal. Like I said, bad timing, but this is not something he did often. A opened up to her, and she systematically tore him down piece by piece about the most shallow things imaginable.

R then followed this list up by saying that other than all of those things, he didn’t need to change anything, and he would be a great romantic partner. The rant was also punctuated by 😂 and 😘 emojis. It was all incredibly insensitive.

The part that I keep coming back to though, is the fact that she did this after practically throwing herself at him. Now, I would like to be clear here, that I do not think she should’ve gotten with him because she flirted with him. I am, however, saying that she shouldn’t have hit on him knowing that she wouldn’t date him unless he changed everything about himself.

This was not a sudden revelation. This was a planned list. She had a mental map of everything she would change about him before she would ever even consider dating him. She did not need to make this list. She could’ve told him that she needed more time, or that A simply wasn’t her type. She didn’t do any of the appropriate things to do in that situation.

I will now remind you that they have been “best friends” since they were twelve. They’ve known each other for 8 years. She is well aware that he is self conscious about his weight, and general appearance physically. She is either too self absorbed to know or too self centered to care. After she fucking crushed his feelings, she went back to normal conversation like it was the most natural thing in the world.

A tells R that he’s incredibly upset. R asks him what he’s upset about. I am fucking astonished that she not only had the audacity to say all of that to him, but also that she lacked enough sense to know that he was going to be hurt by that. I am so horrified at her behavior.

This is not just her being mean or oblivious. This is cruel. This is not how you should treat a human being, much less one that cares about you. I am fucking appalled. I have no idea what to say or how to help him. Please, if someone tells you they like you, be kind about it. Don’t do this shit.

[emberwood-if]

An Emberwood Halloween: 2022 Special

Halloween has rolled into the sleepy town of Emberwood in the shape of a festive carnival. You and the Dufner residents (and E) have decided to take a break from the craziness in Emberwood for some well deserved reprieve. 

Dress up in a costume (or don't) and hang out with the group or your favorite RO. Remember: be sure to have fun and enjoy the lighthearted atmosphere because it does not last :)

Features:

Go ferris-wheeling with Alex

Play a stall or two with Perry

Go on a swing ride with K

Go pumpkin carving with N

Get lost in a corn maze with Dani

Grab a bite to eat with F

Go to a haunted house with E

Or engage in a very mature and adult round of hide-and-seek with the Dufner residents, but be careful: you can lose.

(This is non-canon bonus content and isn't part of the main storyline.)

RELEASE: PLAY THE SPECIAL

Some notes:

Though the individual routes take place in a non-canon point in time in which romantic feelings have been established, I have added options that aren't so...overtly romantic? Of course, it is still romance-coded, but for those who do not enjoy romance, I feel it can still be enjoyable in some way or the other.

The stories are short and sweet (at least for me), as well as the group route. The group route works in a way that you can make one choice and lose, or you can go through more than one scene before you lose. You may or may not interact with the characters depending on what you choose. It's really just a fun side story for those who do not want to play any individual character scenes, but for full transparency: the individual routes have a bit more meat in them, mostly because some of their backstories are sprinkled in the conversations (very briefly, but yk). The group route is pretty brief, mostly because I accidentally deleted a third of it in writing like last minute and wanted to rip my hair out.

ALSO: the mc is…slightly pre-set. I was not thinking of diverse options but more of just how to propel the story forward. In future specials, I think I’ll stick to bold/shy and different types of MCs, but as this is my first, I decided to go with my gut haha

there’s really no trigger warnings except for quite a bit of cursing (and f-bombs) and F’s route has to do with eating. So there will be mentions of food and eating ! Please be wary of that! <3

As always, as I do not have beta testers (yet) if you find errors, typos or formatting problems or any of that sort, please let me know and I'll fix them asap. This is just a fun side piece I did, so please don't take it too seriously!

Hope you enjoy <3

[skoople]

speaking of wasn’t the misogyny in chicken little fucked up. I know you’ve said this exact thing before but goddamn they literally brainwashed her

it was so fucked up and today we'll be discussing the misogyny suffered by chicken little (2005) characters Abby Mallard and Foxy Loxy. dont be fucking mean to them or else.

first of all the level of appearance based misogyny directed towards this little bird was more accurate to middle school in the early 2000s than anything turning red did.

they do this fisheye lens and call her Ugly Duckling* which is like rude and indicative of social status in canon, but just a real fucking dick move by animators making a movie for kids (including girls who get bullied for their appearance and the peers that bully them).

*expanding on the Ugly Duckling thing, connor @turochamp made a really good point on a call about the fact that shes going to grow up to be a swan and therefore beautiful and Deserving Of Respect. if i were writing this and i did a flash forward, i would make her an adopted gosling and she would be on estradiol.

Abby is consistently mocked by the narrative (but rarely if ever mocked by her own friends) for being emotional and trying to help her friends with their emotions. why, as a person making a movie for children, would you tell children this is bad? because you are the kind of person who would write that rotten bastard buck cluck as sympathetic.

if you are ever mean to Abby Mallard ever in your life i will hunt you down and you have to be nice to her she is just a sweet little bird look at how she sits in the theatre seat

moving on to Foxy Loxy. female bully characters often get treated especially poorly because they get little, if any, defense. they are often used as an outlet for misogyny in some truly ugly ways. the most common version you see is making them in some way more "masculine" than the sympathetic female characters.

shes stockier (which im honestly relieved for; the alternative would have lead to bad places), she wears overalls, and shes a proficient athlete in both dodgeball and baseball. if we're talking about female bullies being made to seem more masculine, it's also worth mentioning that Goosey Loosey (left) is voiced by Mark Walton for the few speaking lines she has.

now it's time to get into the part of the movie that anyone older than 14 was very disturbed by:

what the hell and also fuck was this supposed to be if not something truly evil?

jesus christ man i dont even know what to say but if its been a while since youve watched the film, heres a refresher of the sequence of events. spoilers for a 17 year old movie:

aliens rampage through town, vaporizing citizens and teleporting them into an interdimensional holding cell

the vaporization process impacts foxy loxys brainwaves, making her overtly feminine and extremely dumbed down

the aliens, now reconciled with chicken little and his piece of shit father, offer to "unscramble" foxy loxys brain

runt of the litter stops them, claiming that "shes perfect!" and implying that the two of them are now romantically involved

what the fuck. i dont even know what to say. this is so nightmarishly bad that im just gonna skip to some final notes.

there are a couple last points that i wanna bring up, such as the action movie adaptation of their adventures at the end of the film.

yes this is real official disney art that they thought was fine

you may have noticed earlier on in the movie Abby emphasizing the importance of closure using a magazine intended to parody Cosmo, featuring a duck model on the cover. a duck that looks very similar to that model portrays Abby in the action movie version. here's my impression of the writers room. "do you gentlemen see this drawing of a 13 year old bird? well, shes a girl, so we have to make sure that we give her BODY DYSMORPHIA!" . clap.

Foxy Loxy's movie design only appears in the video game adaptation but i felt it was worth mentioning. she, like Abby, is weirdly oversexualized in this (theres only so far you can take the "its a parody" argument), but i want you to take note of her teeth. thats right she has evil metal fangs, intended to evoke her real-life counterparts braces. once again, just a real dick move as a choice for people making an animated movie for kids

the last point of misogyny i want to bring up is that suffered by Chicken Little himself. he did suffer misogyny, especially from the animators pre-transition. what's transition for a little animated chicken?

why, its when they finally decide to make him a boy so that hes more relatable to an audience of boys and boy-alternatives (i heard theyre called girls but im not sure. i dont work for barbie.) so they solidify this decision by going through all his 3d models and deleting the little pink bow he wore. also they fridged his mom (her name is chloe btw) to make buck cluck more sympathetic and explain his awful parenting. it did not work even a little bit.

theres also something to be said about how the mom alien is treated as the softer but deferent emotional voice, but the dad alien is ultimately justified in the mayhem he creates.

TLDR: this is a disney movie about playing baseball for your father's approval and it did not treat women very well. there were too many mean-spirited choices to dismiss, but they were choices, and the structure of the movie can remain intact with a decent rewrite.

[h-worksrambles]

Murdoch for your Character Opinion Bingo 🥺🦊

Murdoch...my beloved...my poor precious boi...

Murdoch is, at least in my opinion, the best character in The Smoke Room. And it's funny because I don't think I expected to like him as much as I did. I did Cliff's route first and he's really charming and likable there, sure. But then I did his route and oh my god. On a surace level his design is on point. Look at this man. LOOK AT HIM. He is absolutely adorable yet also endearingly suave. This man makes the Dreamworks smirk look actually charming. How is this concieavable? Also love his little mop of hair. He's also easily the funniest character. Most of his snarky little quips are hysterical. It's also very hard to write flirtatious characters who are actualy charming rather than creepy. But Murdoch nails it. What I think sticks with me the most though is how genuinely kind and compassionate Murdoch is. For as much as plays up being a witty and sarcastic flirt, he's incredibly empathetic. The genuine care he extends to Cliff, his desire to better understand Sam, the trust he has for Ralph. I've mentioned it before, but the fact that Murdoch knows the truth that there is something supernatural and evil in the heart of Echo but instead of wanting to run, he chooses to do everything he can to uncover the truth so he can make things better for the people still living there really moved me. Yes he's funny, yes he's witty and aloof, but there's such a gentle soul underneath that. I always think back to his theme, this quiet melacholy piano piece, that tells you, right from the start, that there's a sadness beneath that smile. And yet he still has so much baggage. Murdoch is kind, but that kindness is born from years of self loathing from his family who constantly treat him like trash. He's greiving for his brother Seamus, but also lives in fear that his family would rather Seamus lived to grow up instead of him. He's desperate for any scrap of affection, anyone who can make him feel loved, because he doesn't love himself. When I played through his route, saw how his mother and father treat him, it honestly really hurt, but it also made his actions in other routes make a worrying amount of sense. He's self sacrificial to the point of martyrdom. I'll never forget the moment he tells Sam the truth about what's going on between him and Jim, how much he's willing to put himself through for the sake of a family who don't love or appreciate him, how much he wants to believe that their treatment of him is purely down to the town's influence because he can't bring himself to admit that he's being abused, that they don't love him as much as he loves them. Ow, my heart.

"I want to be told I'm doing a good job." Yes, honey, you are.

Plus, while I think he's more than compelling enough to stand on his own, he has great relationships with other characters. Murdoch and Cliff are my favourite ship in the game. Two very likable yet also lonely characters struggling with the weight of familial expectations. One is outgoing and earnest, keen to finally show the real him by reinventing himself far from home. The other is affable and welcoming but also guarded, hiding behind masks and scared to show his real emotions. They have so much to teach each other, so much room to grow together. And it makes their connection across multiple routes even better. His dynamic with Sam is also great. Of all the love interests, his route is so far the least overtly romantic but no less sincere for it. Because it's watching two very guarded, very wounded people slowly learning to be honest with each other and it's fascinating. The implication that William (himself a very reserved, guarded character) might factor into this dynamic too has me very curious.

He's also wonderful in the modern AU. This to me is Murdoch living as his best self. Free from his family, free to be true to himself, surrounded by people who love him. Also, again, he and Cliff continue to be utterly adorable, but his interactions with the entire polycule bring me such joy.

I kind of knew I was going to like Cliff, Will and Nik, but Murdoch was an unexpected delight who rocketed up to being my absolute favourite. I can't wait for more of his route.

Thank you so much for the ask. I really want to talk more about Smoke Room here in the future because I am utterly hooked.

[lunarscribbles]

masterlist

lunarscribble’s masterlist! 

below you should find a collection of my scribbles (fingers crossed!). 

they should all read as gender neutral but if something does not please let me know and i’ll make adjustments :) most things here can be read as platonic or romantic depending on how you want to read them and are largely pg :)

enjoy!  - solar

Obey Me! Shall We Date? 

the brothers in an orpheus/eurydice situation:  they must lead mc back from the dead without looking back at them or else they will disappear without another chance at life. who will succeed and who will fail? (brothers x gn!reader)

the dateables in an orpheus/eurydice situation:  they must lead mc back from the dead without looking back at them or else they will disappear without another chance at life. who will succeed and who will fail? (dateables x gn!reader)

the way their sins influence you: what if the true sinister nature of their sins influenced you? what if they were truly demonic and uncaring? (brothers x gn!reader) (potential tw:body dysmorphia, dysphoria, eating disorder)

asmodeus realises he is loved: asmo’s search for perfection ends when he sees the beauty in imperfections and mc’s gentle touches (asmo x gn!reader)

asmodeus’s pact mark: asmo’s pact mark is not where anyone expects (asmo x gn!reader) 

beelzebub’s pact mark: beel’s pact mark is both what you expect and what you do not expect (beel x gn!reader)

a hug from beelzebub makes everything better: beel is strong, soft, and makes you feel safe (beel x gn!reader) 

a scene from a coming-of-age film with beel: just soft beel post fangbol match (beel x gn!reader, probably tone of the most overtly romantic pieces here)

lucifer being vulnerable: only around mc does his pride falter and occasionally disappear (lucifer x gn!reader) 

mammon’s pact mark: mammon’s pact mark is nothing like expected (mammon x gn!reader)

studying with mammon: out of sight and bathed in golden light you fall in love with him (mammon x gn!reader, probably one of the most overtly romantic pieces here)

mammon realises that new changes might alter his relationship with mc: mammon has always been their first man, but mc’s upcoming wedding sparks uncertainty over his position in their life and mammon isn’t sure how to handle it (platonic!mammon x gn!reader, 1.7k words)

formula one driver!mammon: he loves cars and adrenaline what better au for mammon than a racing driver? yeah, i was projecting but i just think he’s neat (no pairing)

satan is reminded that he is in fact nothing like his brothers: a photograph sends satan reeling and he is confronted by a past he never had and a future that will never exist (no pairing but gn!mc is mentioned)

an angel’s anger: what is it like to witness simeon’s rage? (simeon x gn!reader)

you make solomon uncomfortable in the best way: you remind solomon that being mortal, being human, is a gift (solomon x gn!reader)

if you’re green then what is solomon?  you’re young and eager to live, solomon is ancient and feels jaded. an evergreen and a sunset orange so different yet incredibly similar (solomon x gn!reader)

bonfire night with thirteen: your presence provides more warmth than the bonfire (thirteen x gn!reader) 

thirteen is prickly: you melt some of thirteen’s ice and then everything changes (thirteen x gn!reader)

Jujutsu Kaisen 

attending a gala with mei mei: she looks so beautiful under the sparkling lights and it’s just your luck that she only has eyes for you (mei mei x gn!reader, this is gn but i did write this with f!reader in mind so it might read less neutral than others)

nanami is tired and unshaven: in the quiet of your shared bathroom and your steady hands nanami relaxes (nanami x gn!reader, probably one of the most overtly romantic pieces here) (mildly suggestive, tw: razors in relation to shaving)

a hug from itadori: yuuji is warm and hugs you tightly (itadori x gn!reader)

how they contact you: when they miss you, how do they reach you? romantic gestures or unassuming technology? (choso, nanami, shoko, gojo, mei mei, geto, and toji x gn!reader)

Haikyuu!!

don’t be so gloomy, kiyoomi!: a game of tag ends with a mild concussion and you make a great rhyming revelation at sakusa’s expense (msby!sakusa x gn!reader) 

an evening with sugawara: a january evening towards the end of the school year, full of light laughter and familiar warmth (timeskip!sugwara x gn!reader)

[smarmysnailsbog]

The artist is present, Marina Abromović.

Process is a critical part of any work of art, regardless of medium. Before I watched the documentary I was aware that Marina paved the way for performance art, but I had no idea she was the artist of some of my favorite pieces. So, I started this documentary exited to see how Marina went through the motions of her work. It’s all mental; she puts herself through tremendous psychological and physical pain. It seems that she goes into each performance with the goal to push herself and show the public how strong she can be, while simontaniousley telling a story or showing the vulnerable parts of being a human. I think one fo the reasons why her world is so historical is because she was one of the firsts to do it. “It” being nude performance art or screaming or being still, but she did it flawlessly. Unfortunately it seems that performance art that follows that genre has gotten a snooty bad rep and overtly harsh criticism. Makes me wonder who will be the next artist to re-write the meaning of performance art.

The relationship with her husband is the most artist dynamic I’ve ever seen. What was especially hitting was when someone mentioned.. as their art together got more popular and better, their personal relationship was falling apart. And its so perfect and dramatic that their breakup was a 3 month long walk across the Great Wall. It kind of shows that their life is meant for performance. No matter how personal, they displayed it for people to see and relate to. During Merinas performance at the MOMA, when Arthur sat in front of her and she opened her eyes I instantly started to cry. She took his hand and relived their memories of preforming this together and pulled back. Her body language told him to leave when her hands subtly pushed his away as they let go. This was her moment now, she stronger and she had to complete this with out him. I was a blubbering baby while I simotaniously felt strong along with Marina.

The last thing I will mention will be the most I’ve cringed and related to an artist. Her curator, Klause really rubbed me the wring way. He admits that Marina is an artist who is so deeply in love with the world and with people that it’s intoxicating. But proceeds to say he was shocked that she was not in love with him when it seemed like she was seducing him. Passion bleeds from her skin, she is a dedicated artists who can do nothing else but create. He made this statement with so much ego and pure shock, I found it extremely off putting. Now, I could have missed the point or I might be projecting but there seems to be a curse with artists what Marina is no stranger to. When you are I love with art and your craft you love differently in general and feel things more intensely, so it’s not hard for someone who doesn’t understand that passion to mistake it as selfish,romantic love.

Marina might be one of the most inspirational artists I’ve learned about and I can only hope that my work changes and touches as many people as she has.

[sunsetcarnation264]

Poly Monkeys HCs

-Otto, Antauri, and Nova were the first three to fall in love (which I figured out after a while thanks to me writing about this) and, basically, it was an unspoken disaster lol. Eventually Antauri sat everyone down for The Talk(TM) and everyone negotiated shit out, esp if they decide to include anyone else in the team into their relationship. -Sprx and Nova are def the last ones to fall for each other and one of the longest to get together.

-Sprx would def be all up in everyone’s business just to get some attention, verbal or non-verbal. In public? He craves attention. In private? HE CRAVES ATTENTION, GIVE IT TO HIM- -Gibson and Antauri are more verbal attention giving, however Antauri’s more reserved while Gibson is just like *shrugs* don’t care if anyone’s watching lol -Nova is on both spectrums, but it depends on which teammates she’s giving it to. Antauri and Otto? Physical and non-verbal affection. Sprx and Gibson? Verbal affection. There’ll be times where it’s the other way around, like physically affectionate with Sprx and more verbal with Otto for examples, but that’s basically the general basis. She’s a bit more reserved than being public about it (certain things don’t need to be known by the general public in her opinion), but she’s mostly in the center in terms of her affections being PDA or reserved.

-Sprx and Antauri, and Nova and Gibson didn’t really have a word to describe their relationships at first aside from it wasn’t romantic and it wasn’t purely friendship. When they found out queerplatonic/quasiplatonic existed as a way to describe it, which was sometime after meeting Chiro, Nova and Gibson went with that while Antauri and Sprx were fine not labeling their relationship. They knew how they felt with each other and that was it, that was all they needed.

-Speaking of Chiro, he didn’t know anything at first bc nobody on the team thought it would need to be said. They were open about it, why would they need to say they’re all in a relationship? Chiro only asked about it after seeing Nova kiss Antauri and then being overtly flirty-sounding with Gibson because wait, does. does Antauri know about Nova flirting with Gibson? Was he missing something??? Antauri ended up explaining everything when Chiro came to him about it lol

-Because of how small their beds are, everyone would have to figure out how they’d sleep next to each other instead of three max being in a bed. It usually ends with them being in a pile of tired monkeys

-Everyone makes sure to check up on Gibson and Otto before they recharge for the night. They don’t want either of them to exhaust themselves working on something and they wanna make sure they get some sleep at least, especially Gibson

-Much to pretty much everyone’s surprise, Antauri’s the romantic of the five. Everybody thinks it would be Sprx, but nope, it’s Antauri. Any dates he’s in charge of planning and preparing, whether it’s him and one of the others or all five? They end up being the best ones in their eyes. No matter what they did, it never ends up being as good as Antauri planning them.

-I don't think the monkey team would be ones for marriage (bc why do something like that to be bound to each other forever? Humans can be so silly) but I feel like in replacement of that they'd have like. A multicolored ribbon on their tails with the colors being of the other partners, like Nova having a ribbon that's a reddish pink, silver, green, and blue, Sprx having yellow, silver, green, and blue, and so on Bc it's sweet to have something like that, like they have a piece of each other with them at all times, and if they get lost and miss the others they can look at the ribbon on their tails and think of them 🥺 plus better on the tails instead of arms/hands bc y'know, they use their hands when fighting and their weapons come out that way so-

Might add more if I can think of any lol but all five of them. my babies. why isn’t there more content of them together-

[daddyembo]

A short analysis of the Harry Potter Fandom

One of my favorite things about the Harry Potter fandom is how we react to JK Rowling's biases, be them manifested in subtle in-text exclusion or overt statements on social media.

Rowling created a rich literary universe that preaches inclusion and equality while simultaneously implying the opposite. In her writing, we see moments where she strays from the positive message she attempts to maintain - moments where her unconscious biases peek through, whether she intended to let them in or not. We are all familiar with one example of this: Rowling imagined Dumbledore as a gay man, but she never confirmed this in text - in fact, she might never have imagined this in the first place, but waited to edit her own character until years after the books were published. So, what does this say about Rowling's bigotry? Some might say that bigotry did not play a role in her textual exclusion of Dumbledore's orientation, which is, context aside, an insignificant detail. However, without arguing over semantics, her decision was biased. Dumbledore cannot serve as representation when there is no evidence of what he is supposed to represent. In this way, Rowling implies her belief that LGBTQ+ people are acceptable - as long as the cishet majority is not made to think about them. A similarly biased reader can read the entire Harry Potter series without once being forced to confront how they feel about a major character being gay.

To quickly add a few other examples: Remus Lupin and Sirius Black have a close relationship that can easily be interpreted as romantic; the text does not state so, but it doesn't deny such a relationship exists, either. Rowling did that herself, after the fact. Rita Skeeter, a "manipulative" character we are supposed to despise, is described explicitly as bearing masculine and ungraceful features, implying the gross caricature of a trans woman so often seen in popular media. I recommend Contrapoints's youtube video on JK Rowling for a wonderful, in-depth analysis of Rowling's transphobia and related bigotry - it's thorough and empathetic, so you don't have to worry about your favorite author being unfairly eviscerated. It's all pretty fair.

Anyway, you get the picture. JK Rowling gets so unbearably close to including positive representation of LGBTQ+ communities and other minority groups in her writing, but at the last minute, her biases slip through the cracks and withhold the necessary pieces. However, wherever representation is close to the surface, this fandom is ready and willing to snatch it up.

Since Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was published, fans of the books - mostly LGBTQ+ readers - picked up on the disappointingly subtextual relationship between Remus and Sirius that we are all familiar with. If it had been overtly stated in the book, fans would've written plenty of fanfiction anyway, but it wasn't - and thus, the Marauders fandom was born of spite for what could've been. Readers reimagined a second, equally vivid universe that took place before the events of the Harry Potter series, and what makes this universe so special is that it was created as a direct response. It was a rebellion - an outcry against Rowling's frustrating biases, and a declaration that even a universally loved series like Harry Potter could be improved greatly.

After the events of the last two years - you know, JK Rowling's infuriating essay and everything that went along with that? Yeah. The fandom has used that same rebellious energy to slam Rowling's worldbuilding right back into her face. Marauders content is gayer than ever. Drarry is somehow - despite never really going away - making a resurgence. For every character, LGBTQ+ headcanons have doubled or tripled - and I think what I'm getting at here is that Rowling did this to herself. It was her pseudo-representation that prompted her readers to create their own, solid representation.

In conclusion, I'll say it - we are rewriting the Harry Potter series. What other piece of media is so heavily edited and embellished in the communities of its fans? Media is open to interpretation, no matter what JK Rowling says about authorial intent. We took what was once subtextual and made it canon, in a way no less valid than the original text. I know this is long, but if you've gotten this far into my ramblings... just think about that. Think about the creative power of a community together. Think about how this fandom fights against Rowling's biases not because we hate her work, but because we love it. And please - keep it going.

[imyourplusone]

Wouldn’t it be great if Anne died (not bc of Liz) and, after realizing how upset Red is, Liz remarks to someone (Dembe or the TF) that he must have really loved her and then she’s **finally** told what went down after she “died”? How much worse that was for Red? Bc #sorrynotsorry, there’s no way his feelings for Anne could ever hold a candle to what he’s felt for Liz all these years.

In regards to Anne and I’ll leave shipping out of it here but no I really don’t want her to die. I’m tired Anon. Really exhausted with not being able to enjoy a new character or story because I’m waiting for tptb to kill them, ruin it or make it Red’s fault. WE GET IT. One of the central themes of TBL is loss but good lord haven’t we all suffered enough. Red would say hell yes we have.

So while I’m obviously not a Red and Anne shipper, I wouldn’t mind the writers closing out this arc in a new adult way that doesn’t involve her untimely death. She isn’t KR after all who I’m 1000% glad is gone. Going off the spoilers tho I guess Anne is in big time peril. Shocker!

Anyways about Liz. I just....don’t know where to start. She’s already been told many things about Red, good and bad, some true and maybe not so true. She has witnessed even more, good and bad. He has shown her unparalleled kindness, empathy, forgiveness and has done unspeakable things to protect her life. She has Agnes because of him (for a lot of reasons hehe that’s the shipper I can’t contain). So yeah if someone wants to point out to Liz that her unbelievable cruelty inflicted a lot of harm then great, but I’d like her to reach some of those conclusions on her own after all it’s not that big of a stretch given she’s a profiler. Right? That’s what we’ve been told. The problem we run into is today’s Liz with understanding and clarity is tomorrow’s oblivious Liz that acts like she just met the number four most wanted five seconds ago. They also have a real talent for writing her as an unfeeling narcissist so I’m not at all convinced she’d care about Red’s suffering. I’ve earned this skepticism the hard way Anon and I really don’t care who tells her what why how etc at this point🤷🏻‍♀️ Sorry

And not to blather on like I usually do but yes I agree that there is no comparison between Anne and Liz and how Red feels about them. It is two completely different relationships tho. Liz is surprising, unattainable, challenging, fierce and fiery. She was unexpected as was that fist in his stomach when he saw her walk down those steps toward him that first day. She threw him into a tailspin and he’s never recovered his balance. I do believe he loves her. I definitely believe he is IN love with her but he gets nothing in return and expects nothing. He’d never even overtly act on it. I think he just wears it like that three piece suit. It’s a part of him he can’t shake so he moves thru life carrying it behind all those protective layers, loving her quietly and deeply. Forgiving the unforgivable. It is beautiful and painful and just a bit tragic because he deserves better. Even this hardened criminal with a heart of gold deserves better which is why I understand his diversion to Kansas and desire to escape into a fantasy life that’s emotionally/physically fulfilling with a woman who is safe and steady. And with a woman he can be himself with or at least the self he’d like to be if he wasn’t a criminal spy. He is tho and that is a darkness Anne will never understand. Only Liz could find him there and pull him back. This is the love story of TBL. Red and Liz saving each other from their demons. The wonky writing aside, and I do mean wonky which would require a separate rant, I don’t fault Red for 8.13. I get it but Lizzington owns my soul and I will always believe it would have been unique and beautifully brave to see play out. That’s not The Blacklist these days therefore Liz is Liz and Red’s escape became a bloody mess but god I’d love nothing more than to watch them surrender to what is driving them apart because that collision of feeling would set this show on fire. As you say Anon, nothing would compare.

For now I’ll go on believing in Red’s unrequited romantic unspoken love for Liz and will know he paid a very high price for it. I also think he would do it a thousand times again...as the song once said. Cheers

[bestworstcase]

farran re-reads lost lagoon: chapter 1

- there is a vibe here that i really don’t know how to explain. it might just be a juv fic thing where nuance gets flattened on the assumption that younger readers won’t or can’t understand such subtleties but i am immediately remembering that something about the way rapunzel is portrayed in the novels gets my hackles up. tts was evidently limited in how it could flesh out rapunzel’s character, and some of her flaws are glossed over accordingly - but in tts, rapunzel does have flaws, and toxic positivity is one that is repeatedly, if lightly, examined. in lost lagoon it feels like this trait has been dressed up in a party hat and presented to me as her best trait with a rah rah girl power cake to go with it, and it irks me. we’ll see how this holds out through the rest of the story, because in all fairness i have never met a juvfic first chapter whose character establishment i liked. lmao

- to give an example - in tangled and tts, pascal functions as rapunzel’s voice of reason. he encourages her to get out of the tower, and likewise encourages her to be cautious of eugene and check for ‘red flags’ (such as pointy teeth). in tts he regularly displays emotional awareness and sensitivity well beyond what rapunzel can grasp, and makes his doubts known when he feels rapunzel is behaving poorly. here… he’s afraid of heights, for some reason, so rapunzel can look carefree, spirited, and brave while teasing him for having this fear. she even lampshades the fact that it makes no sense for pascal, who grew up in a seventy-foot-high tower, to be afraid of being in a tree perhaps five or six feet off the ground. 

then this is underscored by means of guards rushing up with a ladder to ‘help’ rapunzel down from the tree, followed by her laughing them off and jumping to land ‘as always, on my strong bare feet.’ while it makes sense for rapunzel to think and feel this way, it has a distinctly different energy from rapunzel cracking under pressure in before ever after. in bea i feel like i’m supposed to sympathize with rapunzel’s distress whilst also recognizing the importance of the shoes she has been asked to fill, and of making her ready to fill them; that is… not the impression being crafted here.

- lost lagoon is one hundred percent structured as a coming out romantic novel wherein rapunzel identifies and comes to terms with her identity as a gay woman by cheating on her perfectly nice but unexciting male love interest with another woman, and this is endlessly hilarious to me regardless of anything else. i mean:

Not to mention true love with Eugene—sweet, funny Eugene! […] And yet something wasn’t right. Something was missing.

leila howland said “get fucked, fitzherbert”

- the treatment of friedborg here is a small step up from tts, where ‘haha weird and ugly’ is literally the punchline of every scene she’s in, but nevertheless it is distinctly uncomfortable to have a mute character portrayed as communicating in grunts and pointing. surely corona has some sort of sign language? surely someone could get this poor woman a slate and a piece of chalk, or if fine motor control is an issue that makes writing or signing prohibitively difficult then at the very least a booklet of cards with common words and phrases she could use to convey her meaning? but…no. instead she becomes a device to illustrate how opaque and confusing rapunzel finds palace etiquette to be.

- rapunzel thinking “manners are overrated” is extremely funny. i am not sure it’s supposed to be funny, but it is.

- lost lagoon eugene is suffering the great indignity of being made to learn something. this is one of the first signs that the book is fanfiction, which now that i think of it is also sort of hilarious.

- also: “I’ll join a dishwashing club or participate in a meatloaf-eating competition if that’s what it takes to make your dad accept me.” eugene what

- re: romance novel: “I watched Eugene walk back toward the castle. Why couldn’t I be as happy as he was? I wondered. We had everything anyone could ever want. Was there something wrong with me? It was almost like I didn’t even know I was lonely when I was in the tower, but everything had changed now. I could feel the places inside me that had been empty for so many years and I wanted to fill them all up.”

- amusing as this is i also can’t help but feel… a little irked, that tts rapunzel’s zeal for the outside world and her discovery of it has been transmuted into mere loneliness. rapunzel is a lonely person, absolutely, but i think far more pressing than that loneliness is her longing for newness after a life spent in the tower. moreover, in tts we see that it takes six months for rapunzel to start really chafing within the confines of her new life—in beginnings, which is the canon lost lagoon equivalent, she is still overwhelmed with wonder and delight in all the new things, cassandra included. i suppose what i’m getting at here is i don’t quite buy that the shine wore off this fast. it’s been less than a week.

(i promised myself i would keep bitter snow talk to a minimum for this but i do feel the need to say - benighted happens in a far more compressed amount of time than canon, and there rapunzel does indeed begin to feel overwhelmed and anxious within a single week. but her response to that anxiety is to think “well, i overestimated how easy this would be just a little!” and it isn’t until several more weeks have passed that she begins to feel dissatisfied and unhappy and uncomfortable as a consequence. whereas here, the vibe i am getting is more “manners are dumb, shoes suck, the guards suck, i’m miserable and i don’t know why” which just… it doesn’t feel like rapunzel.)

- rapunzel asks her security detail to give her some space, and when they refuse, she takes note of their sweaty brows, thinks to herself that they must be roasting under their armor—and uses this observation to deftly manipulate them into leaving her alone by suggesting they go dip their feet in a fountain to cool off. “It would make me really happy to see you happy.” 

i would argue that this sort of conscious manipulation is not at all out of character for rapunzel - she learned it from gothel and certainly there are examples of manipulative behavior from her in tts as well - but for it to happen so clearly in the very first chapter of the story casts everything else that happens in a sort of interesting light. for rapunzel to do this suggests a basic grasp of, at least, how people can be made to do things by appealing to their physical needs or comfort—yet she will also struggle to grasp social nuances and as in canon much of her conflict with cass is grounded in rapunzel’s dismissal of or blindness to what cassandra wants or needs from her. manipulativeness and social ignorance is an interesting combination of traits for her to have and it is nice to see the manipulativeness borne out so overtly in the text. again, we’ll have to see how this holds up later in the story because i do not remember it very well.

re: romance novel: the dissatisfaction and loneliness established in chapter one and explicitly not filled by the male love interest are, of course, answered by a fascinating glimpse of the one (1) gnc woman in all of corona. whom rapunzel only glimpses because she is climbing a tree to paint the view out of hopes that it will “fix” how out-of-place she feels. ms. howland you are not subtle, and also, how did she slip this past the disney censors?