#will is a GREAT character with his own arc and the book ITSELF is good we really need to stop putting unnecessary hate onto it

[coirinthyurilo]

Can we talk about how Will just somehow survived Tartarus despite the odds against him? And how he still loves Nico despite it?

(Also talking about how Will is genuinely such a great boyfriend, Nico is so lucky fr fr.)

Like we just witnessed him actively DYING in Tartarus. Why are we pretending it's not that serious?

Sure, the book itself doesn't feel as dramatic as Percabeth's journey in Tartarus. But it's still actively dangerous.

EXTREMELY dangerous for Will especially. Nico, he's been there. He's been in Tartarus. He's also affected by it too. Clearly both of them are affected because Nico almost DIED in his last one.

And then we have Will actually dying, getting weaker as he travels deeper into the underworld with nothing but a sun lamp to keep him alive.

So why are we only focusing on Nico and Percabeth's journey when Will canonically had the hardest time there? 😭

Sure the entire book is about Nico and Will's character development and their relationship growing stronger by the end.

But can we not invalidate Will's journey THROUGH IT? I've seen many people forget Will is a survivor, sure with Nico's help. But without him he's guaranteed to die.

Still doesn't mean that he's not a strong character, he survived TARTARUS you gotta be HELLA strong as it is? He's also saved Nico's life multiple times in the book.

He may be a healer but it also doesn't mean he's not capable. Only to an extent.

It's sad how some people ignore the book just because it feels like a fanfic when it's not?? It's their journey as a couple, it's FOCUSED ON THEIR RELATIONSHIP.

That's different to Percabeth the book was focused on GETTING THEM OUT mostly.

That's Percabeth was down there unwillingly.

Solangelo traversed to Tartarus WILLINGLY.

That's the difference between two books. If they were down there against their will they might be more at stake because they're fighting for their lives. Trying to get out.

But they're down there to save their friend, so yes it's going to be different— because the main plots is different. 😭😭😭

So with all of the odds clearly AGAINST Will it's remarkable that he somehow survived it all.

Like he had a BAD fall, Tartarus was literally killing him to the point his body is unraveling itself, making bigger wounds. He had a taste of pain of the River Styx. (Even if it's a dream.)

He was CLEVER to use their circumstances and information to send a mania away from them to avoid extra danger. Even if it made Nico unsettled. It was necessary.

He went against a fricking nightmare demon. He went against NYX. And then we have him talking to Persephone for some part of it.

The bravest thing he's done? Was him completely accepting and understanding despite seeing the true nature of Nico's home.

Of where Nico originates. Will stayed with him, despite seeing EVERYTHING BAD about it. All the horrors, and terrors.

And yet there's good in it.

He's still came to the conclusion that this is what Nico is. With all the bad, there is still just a bit of good that makes the entire thing worth it.

I rest my👏 FUCKING 👏CASE.

[caricabubamarica]

Since I’ve discovered Lego Ninjago at the ripe age of seven, the biggest fantasy of mine has always been to be one of the ninja on the team, fighting alongside the core four and dealing with Serpentine and so on. When I was a little girl, the only way I could satisfy the urge was to use my imagination.

So when the Covid 19 hit back in 2020, and I discovered Wattpad for the first time in my life, it was as if I had entered a whole new world based off of the imagination of other people all across the world. I was spending days and nights on it until there was nothing worth reading for me.

Back in 2022, I finally decided to catch up on the show, seeing it pop up on my Netflix account and decided to give it a go. Before so, I had developed a habit of reading dozens of fan fictions about the show I was at the moment hooked onto, so once I finished watching all of the Ninjago seasons, I went through any fan fiction on Wattpad that I could find regarding Ninjago x reader/original character and quickly noticed a pattern that made me grow bored of whatever book I was reading rather quickly.

Every single fan fiction, save for few rare ones, had the main character be an elemental master of darkness/destruction.

Every. Single. One.

Now at first, I thought the issue stemmed from the fact that there was an obvious lack of originality and uniqueness, but it actually originated from the fact that every story had the exact same storyline, and I mean the exact same one.

The main character would be an elemental master of darkness/destruction and because the elemental powers are inherited, the character is obviously the child of Lord Garmadon and a sibling of Lloyd. Of course, let’s not forget that the character has extreme protectiveness over Lloyd and despises their mother with concerning levels of rage. They are always stubborn and a badass character who never does no wrong and is always in the right and somehow knows exactly what is going to happen but still messes up so the plot can continue as it originally does.

They are also, obviously, the fifth ninja who also possesses a golden weapon of their own, which is usually the most useless thing to ever exist. During the Season 2: Legacy of the Green Ninja, they are in most cases turned to the bad side because their power is unbeatable but it is then somehow beatable because the plot obviously has to move on. Not to mention, they are the only ninja who can use their elemental powers without the golden weapons because they are just that good.

I can guarantee that if anyone goes to Wattpad right now and tries to find a longer Ninjago book with the character insert, they would find at least few books who resemble this exact description. Why? Because the idea of a character, other than Garmadon, who is an elemental master of darkness and destruction is a great plot and idea for the character in Ninjago realm, but none of them actually think outside the box when it comes to actually executing it.

For example, when they write the character to be the fifth ninja and the fifth protector of the fifth golden weapon and the prophesied green savior, why don’t they write about the fact that the element of darkness and destruction is the toughest for Lloyd to master because he refuses to become like his father and because the element itself takes a toll on the mind of the one who possesses it?

Or why don’t they write about the fact that the reason the Ninjago realm is not perfect is because the First Spinjitzu Master used the element of destruction to create something, only for it to come back to bite him in the ass?

Why don’t they give the character the arc of trying to master their elemental power after Lloyd gives each of the ninja a piece of his golden power in Season 3: Rebooted, only for them to go down the wrong path?

Why don’t they write about the inner conflict the child of Lord Garmadon who inherited his elemental powers would have when they see that what others call a gift, in their case it is called a curse? Why don’t they expand on the feelings of envy the child would feel towards Lloyd for being praised and cherished for his destiny while they are looked down on for their own?

There is so many different possibilities to that plot device and yet I have yet to see someone do it properly.

I apologize if this offends anyone but it has been bugging me for three years now and I had to write it down somewhere where I could hear different opinions about it. I am not trying to shame anyone on their work or anything, if that is what you want to write, go for it, I am a nobody with no life who is still hung up on a kids show that aired back in 2011.

Enjoy what you want, love what you want, and take this how you want. Luv ya!

[cynthiav06]

Percy is a dude from the category of screaming "what the hell did you do!" and solve all the problems in 5 minutes. Everyone would have been dead a long time ago if it wasn't for him.

I have mixed opinions on this. On one hand, Percy is the type of person to wait about for the problem to disappear by itself just so he doesn't have to deal with it. Cause even before he found out he was a demigod, he was 100% done with everyone's shit.

But I do agree that he would be able to solve all problems because through so many books we have seen that no matter how much prior planning Annabeth or the Seven or anyone else does, Percy always does his own thing at the end. And it works out mostly for the better than whatever initial situation anyone else had in mind because Percy thinks almost too well on his feet. Every time.

But Percy has such low self esteem that he sees the fact that he has to make so many improvisations more so as his plans never working as less so as an exceptional ability to adapt. Especially when at times he can easily sense that some titan/giant is too powerful so he maneuvers around a direct fight and ends up defeating them by pure strategy and still ends up thinking of himself as "Oh shit I seriously had no plans. I am so reckless and stupid".

His whole character arc could have been evolving into a more confident and self assured but still the usual sarcastic laid back version of himself who no longer doubts his own abilities and becomes the great leader he showed many signs of being. But no, Rick had to ruin it all because, for some reason, 10+ books later and almost all the characters are still the same, just decorated with even more trauma. Rick being Rick, and instead of showing characters working out their traumas and insecurities, he just slaps a relationship on them, and lo and behold, all is better again somehow.

I am kind of disappointed that we never got to see Percy or any other members of the Seven do any solo missions(aside from Annabeth in MoA) . She almost had the very quintessential realization about she needs others and how her hubris will ruin everything if she doesn't keep it in check only for whatever she was doing in the later parts House of Hades and all of Chalice of the Gods to take away even that little bit of character development.

And cause solo missions working out perfectly well for Percy while most other demigods struggle a bit to make it work might finally make him realize that his plans don't suck and he is actually a really really good strategist and somehow an even better manipulator. (Though more on that and his observational skills later).

Or make characters like Frank and Leo whose unique abilities and perspectives on combat could have been shown off more, making them all become more self-reliant.

And even so we could finally get proper idea of limits of certain characters like Piper (cause charmspeak isn't going to get her everywhere) or Hazel (we so need more scenes of her surprising demigods and monsters with not only her unique jewel abilities and her magic.) Plus Nico's combat limits, Jason's stamina limits (no I am not considering that part of canon, you can't tell me it's true, I refuse to stand by it), Thalia's character development as well as her honing her powers and combat abilities more.

So yeah, we really should have gotten a few solo missions instead of so many short stories and all. And a bit more cross-over highlighting the power levels between the Norse, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian demigods/magicians/Valhalla residents/Valkyrie and so on.

To sum it up, tons of missed opportunities by Riordan and even more tragic and terrible progression of previously great characters who just needed a well-made character arc or even some favoritism. (I am looking at Grover and Rachel, who both could have done so so much if Rick had only realized the awesome potential they had).

I have said it many times that it's #percy jackson supremacy. So hell yes everyone would be dead without him, and he is arguably the best protagonist out of any other fantasy action book series. All hail Percy Jackson, the master of sass, and the most beloved but somehow still the most misinterpreted character in the fandom. Really liked this ask, would love more of these regarding Percy or any other characters.

[bonefall]

instead of asking what parts of wind you’ll be getting rid of, i’ll instead ask what parts you’re keeping. the list is shorter then haha

FROSTPAW AND WHISTLEPAW.

Best part of Wind is the bond between these two, in fact, the entire plot about WindClan felt like it dropped out of the alternate universe where the books are good. The sudden dream of catastrophe, the way StarClan gave Frostpaw this sign on purpose to make them know she's legitimate, Whistlepaw injuring herself to try and save her little sister... Even the little details, like Nightcloud and Hootwhisker trying to drag the tree by the trunk, were neat to see.

I Dont Rewrite Arcs Until They Are Done BUT I do know that I'm going to elevate and expand what's going on with Frost and Whistle. They're fantastic.

Another small thing I'm actually planning on keeping is this exchange between Squilf and Jayfeather, which you'll probably find surprising since I'm so open about how much I dislike the way they've made Squilfstar less proactive;

In a better book, I think this could have been a GREAT moment.

What I dislike about this exchange is that Squilf is able to rebuke it, because the writers DO feel that Bramblestar was a good leader. They're trying to show that Squilfstar is going to act more "mature" (read: boring) with her role now, probably to make a point about how Bramblestar wasn't being "indecisive" for the 10 years we were stuck with him but "responsible." Basically, she gets the power and finds out it isn't so easy-- I'll even bet at some point in the next arc or two she'll become frustrated by someone acting the way she used to.

I've seen some people praising this, and like, it's not illegal to have bad taste. But I think this is an AWFUL thing to do with a character who could have finally caused interesting things to happen, on top of just feeling like contempt of criticism on behalf of the writers.

"Ohhhh they thought she would be more decisive than our beloved baby boy, WELL, WE'LL SHOW THEM. You will sit through 10 paragraphs of debate no matter WHO is in charge!!!"

But like I said....... in a better book, this could have been great. If this was a wake-up call for her.

Suddenly experiencing the full weight of responsibility upon herself, she stops making bold decisions. The complicated political situation in front of her, individual opinions of her Clan around her, and the wounded glares of the furious Brambleclaw below her are all acting like briar vines, pulling her down.

Even StarClan itself seems to have placed a weight on her, cats who she's followed faithfully and been punished by.

So Jayfeather, with all of the changes he has in BB, brawling with angels, speaking defiance to the stars, and pulling spirits down from the heavens, is the perfect cat to be honest with her.

I'm still trying to find a good way to describe the electricity between them in this moment. BB!Jayfeather once reached up his paw through the veil between life and death to grab her ankle and fetch her from her own trial, knowing that she wanted to keep living. He's part of whatever motion she took to remove Bramblestar from power. Her son, her cleric, her ally. How do I put these emotions into words?

"Did you come this far just to become someone else?"

Just... what a moment it could be. For this to be the second that Squilfstar realizes in spite of everything, Bramblestar's thorns still jab at her. That she has to move forward, DAMN the uncertainty, by being herself.

[silverflameataraxia]

Part of me is worried that SJM will just sweep the Ember bonus chapter under the rug, but since we know Nesta's story isn't over yet, another part of me feels like she might use the bonus chapter as a catalyst for Nesta's story arc in the next book, as well as some character development for members of the IC like Cassian and Azriel.

The bonus chapter focused on three main issues: 1) The IC's treatment of Nesta, 2) Nesta's emotional state, and 3) Nessian post-ACOSF.

1. In regards to the IC's treatment of Nesta, the bonus chapter really made it obvious that the IC only reacted the way they did because it was Nesta who gave Bryce the Mask. If anyone else had done it, the IC wouldn't have reacted the way they did. We've seen various members of the IC make incredibly risky decisions, but yet none of them have been ripped to shreds or threatened with punishment or possible execution by their family. Even when they have disagreements, we can always see the love and admiration that they have for each other. None of that is visible here. Their treatment of Nesta was out of pure hatred, with no love of admiration to be found, not even from Cassian (her mate) or Azriel (her friend and brother).

2. Nesta's emotional state is not usually commented on because her emotions are usually hidden beneath her cold mask, her wall of steel. But Ember notes a lot of Nesta's emotions and none of them are good. Nesta's nearly vacant face; her carefully blank face; her thin, brittle voice; the bruised look in her eyes; the pain and guilt in her face, the wave of raw emotion that she was holding in. The only times Nesta had any positive emotions were when Ember was sticking up for her: Nesta showed surprise, gratitude, and longing. I feel like SJM really honed in on Nesta's emotional state in this bonus chapter because it's going to be used to fuel her story arc next book. All signs seem to point toward her being Starborn, and as much as I don't know what that journey will entail, I do feel like Nesta will go off on her own. Both to protect those she loves (Cassian was almost killed by Lanthys, Azriel could have been killed by the Middengard Wyrm, and Gwyn and Emerie almost died in the Blood Rite), but also because maybe she feels like she failed Cassian and Az, or that maybe she feels like Cass doesn't love her anymore, or that nothing she ever does is good enough and that she's not worthy of him. Even though she just defeated the Asteri, ended the enslavement of Midgard, ended the threat to Prythian and all other worlds, I really feel like Nesta is going to feel like she failed or that she's not worthy of the Dread Trove because of the IC.

3. Nessian clearly didn't get their HEA at the end of ACOSF. Cassian is not looking too great in the bonus chapter, and Nessian is clearly not in a good place. Cassian doing nothing to stick up for his mate or protect her is not a good look. He clearly doesn't have much faith in Nesta and Bryce defeating the Asteri, which means he doesn't have much faith in his mate. When Rhysand threatens to punish Nesta, Cassian doesn't do anything. He doesn't even snarl, "Over my dead fucking body!" When the most powerful High Lord in Prythian history turns his full fury on Nesta, Cassian merely steps an inch closer to her. He doesn't get in between them, he doesn't do anything to protect his mate. SJM chose to have Ember highlight Cassian being conflicted and torn over who to side with, while in the book itself she had Bryce mention that like any good mate, Cassian would rip her to shreds if she made one wrong move with Nesta. To me, this is highlighting once again how Cassian will protect Nesta from anyone and anything except Rhysand, which I think will set the stage for Cassian character development/redemption arc. One of the biggest issues with Cassian is his complete devotion to Rhysand (even to Nesta's detriment). He feels guilty for "failing" Rhysand and wants to spend the rest of his life making it up to him and proving his worth, but as we see perfectly laid out in the bonus chapter, this is causing Cassian to fail his mate in every way that truly matters. Since next book is Az's (although, I'm sure we'll get some Nesta POV's), I can see both of them working through this guilt together. Az may feel like he failed Rhysand, but he doesn't worship the very ground he walks on, nor does he make Rhysand's happiness his main goal in life like Cass does. And since Az wants a mate so badly, I don't think he'll take too kindly to Cassian potentially losing his mate because of his sheer devotion to Rhysand. I think Az will be able to get through to Cass, and spur his redemption arc by helping him come to terms with his guilt over "failing" Rhysand so he can be fully devoted to Nesta before he loses her for good.

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

Sauron's character arc in Tolkien lore and "Rings of Power"

I see many folks not understanding that "character arcs" exist and making the mistake of seeing "Third age" Sauron in "Rings of Power" Sauron.

The show itself is making this distinction, but the audience is so wrapped-up on their own headcanons they refuse to see it. Tolkien did spell out Sauron's character arc on his letters, and "Rings of Power" is giving us just that.

Folks who have never read the books nor are familiar with Tolkien legendarium, it's perfectly fine not to understand this. But I’m seeing Tolkien fans misreading Sauron’s character, and that’s strange to say the least. 

Season 1: Repentant Mairon aka Halbrand

"Sauron in Truth Repented": full meta here

And there is Sauron. In the Silmarillion and Tales of the First Age Sauron was a being of Valinor perverted to the service of the Enemy and becoming his chief captain and servant. He repents in fear when the First Enemy is utterly defeated, but in the end does not do as was commanded, return to the judgement of the gods. He lingers in Middle-earth. Tolkien Letter 131

He [Sauron] was given an opportunity of repentance, when Morgoth was overcome, but could not face the humiliation of recantation, and suing for pardon; [...] temporary turn to good and 'benevolence'. Tolkien Letter 153

When Thangorodrim was broken and Morgoth overthrown, Sauron put on his fair hue again and did obeisance to Eönwë, the herald of Manwë, and abjured all his evil deeds [...] Sauron in truth repented, if only out of fear, being dismayed by the fall of Morgoth and the great wrath of the Lords of the West. But it was not within the power of Eönwë to pardon those of his own order, and he commanded Sauron to return to Aman and there receive the judgment of Manwë. Then Sauron was ashamed, and he was unwilling to return in humiliation and to receive from the Valar a sentence, in might be, of long servitude in proof of his good faith; for under Morgoth his power had been great. Therefore when Eönwë departed he hid himself in Middle-Earth. The Silmarillion

Season 2 and 3: Sauron the Reformer ("Annatar" and "King of Kings")

“The rings of power” masterplan. Season 2 kicked out this plot of Sauron’s character arc, and will continue to Season 3, as he finds the Nine ring-bearers.

He [Sauron] lingers in Middle-earth. Very slowly, beginning with fair motives: the reorganising and rehabilitation of the ruin of Middle-earth, 'neglected by the gods'. Tolkien Letter 131

[...] at the beginning of the Second Age he was still beautiful to look at, or could still assume a beautiful visible shape [...] 'reformers' who want to hurry up with 'reconstruction' and 'reorganization'. Tolkien Letter 153

He [Sauron] had gone the way of all tyrants: beginning well, at least on the level that while desiring to order all things according to his own wisdom he still at first considered the (economic) well-being of other inhabitants of the Earth. Tolkien Letter 183

Season 4 and 5: Morgoth's representative

“Fall of Númenor” and “War of the Last Alliance”, after Sauron loses the ability to take on fair form. He can no longer deceive others on his own (seduction), and resorts to his military power to achieve his goals of domination and tyranny

pride and the lust to exert [his] will eat [him] up. Tolkien Letter 153

When he found how greatly his knowledge was admired by all other rational creatures and how easy it was to influence them, his pride became boundless. By the end of the Second Age he assumed the position of Morgoth's representative. Tolkien Letter 183 (note)

“The Lord of the Rings" trilogy (Third Age)

This is Sauron most of you are familiar with, and this is the evilest Sauron has ever been on his character arc.

By the end of the Third Age (though actually much weaker than before) he claimed to be Morgoth returned. Tolkien Letter 183 (note)

He [Sauron] becomes a reincarnation of Evil, and a thing lusting for Complete Power – and so consumed ever more fiercely with hate (especially of gods and Elves). Tolkien Letter 131

But he [Sauron] went further than human tyrants in pride and the lust for domination, being in origin an immortal (angelic) spirit. In The Lord of the Rings the conflict is not basically about 'freedom', though that is naturally involved. It is about God, and His sole right to divine honour. The Eldar and the Númenóreans believed in The One, the true God, and held worship of any other person an abomination. Sauron desired to be a God-King, and was held to be this by his servants; if he had been victorious he would have demanded divine honour from all rational creatures and absolute temporal power over the whole world.   Tolkien Letter 183

The corrupted, as was Melkor/Morgoth and his followers (of whom Sauron was one of the chief) saw in them the ideal material for subjects and slaves, to whom they could become masters and 'gods', envying the Children, and secretly hating them, in proportion as they became rebels against the One (and Manwë his Lieutenant in Eä). Tolkien Letter 212

[stuckasmain]

Dave’s old life is cast aside and he is reborn (semi-literally) as a star child. It is an ending that has left many baffled, including me, but is ultimately a touching end and beginning.

Dave ends the story an evolved being, yet not so far detached from his human origin. He still has a great deal of emotion and curiosity - he becomes a baby because he simply is one when it comes to understanding the universe. He could go anywhere, do anything and yet he goes to earth. He goes and watches over it like a shiny toy, while his physical ties have been severed he’s still attached to it- almost like a mother, if we stay with the baby metaphor.

Eventually he will move on from it but for now he is a protector of sorts. The guardian of earth. He stops the bomb not for his own sake but because he simply wants humanity to continue on- he stops a potential doomsday!

It’s too bad this is completely uprooted in the following bits of the series. He is “beyond” emotion, he is on Europa. I would be fine if the evolution or planet was focused on even remotely besides the same few paragraphs, he’s transformed and cast aside. All of the prior meaning is rebuked, all of his humanity removed. See it wasn’t the transformation that did it but the story itself— as it decided to pivot and couldn’t just have him watching. He must be a blank slate. He must be elsewhere- he can’t even enjoy watching the other planet or if he does we don’t really hear of it.

Dave becomes more of a plot device than a person, as a star child there’s so many facinating things you could do with him. For one thing a dressing the trauma that came from that and before, and — again either guardian of earth - self chosen- or we actually see his involvement elsewhere. He becomes a just as much of a tool as the monolith.

Not only is his humanity stripped but his agency, in 2010 he describes himself as a dog on a leash a good number of times. While I absolutely adore that metaphor, it’s so tragic and not even acknowledged as such?! (Again so much could be considered cosmic horror and it’s either had waved or blankly accepted) he went from a near omnipotent being to LOSING LARGE CHUNKS OF TIME AND BEING USED AS A PROBE. He’s suddenly beyond humanity when he was so attached before; he becomes apathetic incredibly fast. (Which, as a immortal being is understandable but it’s absolutely unearned and not in character) -> my issue isn’t with him becoming a tool of some higher power it’s that it’s sort of hand waved “it is how it is” and not addressed how messed up and interesting it is.

Now I’ve yet to read 3001 but my point here broadly stands. I fully believe it should’ve ended after 2010, as it comes across as very very clear it was a two book story and 2061 is a whole separate one with some characters tossed into it.

Arcs were over. There was a bit more explanation as to what happened in the first one; we got closure alongside Heywood. Things were set up for the future but it was more in a way for you to view them as fully developed not exactly a sequel. (Like the Hal 10,000 idea). It’s frustrating because Dave as a Starchild can lead to so many interesting things and it was a beautiful idea in 2001 but … after that it mistreats and mischarectetizes Him so fast in a way that frustrates me to no end. Maybe if there was an actual focus or exploration I could understand the direction but making him a cut out god figure is such a sad end.

A child of the stars still clinging to its former life, its humanity…

Oh what could have been. I’d like to imagine Dave would’ve never completely… not been Dave, yes over centuries he may subdue emotions, his interest may waver but what we get is a name and maybe some memory.

—

Clarification:

I fully enjoy 2010, my issues with Dave in that are minimal just that it’s a little sad he swaps guardianship but I can understand. I was excited and interested in Europa… only for that too also get sort of ignored.

There’s also some interesting points to come out of 2061 - how the monolith works, conversing with Hal and he does seem to have a genuine interest in study but it’s also where he’s sort of a name drop and little else

It’s the stripping him of his emotion and character that really gets me - as it’s a route that isn’t earned as Clark absolutely does not write about trauma or if he does it’s a off handed “ok so everyone dying and the monolith was a little scary but now I’m blue and don’t care” it’s even true for human characters idk

I pick and choose what I want to keep from the further books honestly, we’ll see if 3001 fixes this or if this rant grows longer. I’m just sad, Dave’s such a fascinating character and he’s so mistreated?

[bludpudding]

whts ur opinion on sila duriyanga im halfway between “gnc icon” and “it should have been me”

alright. man. fuckin. listen

i have some CHOICE WORDS about the dreaming series but THOSE CHAPTERS ESPECIALLY. WHAT THE FUCK IS AN ALEX CORINTH

Sila himself is all fine and dandy. not enough about them is revealed for me to have a concrete “this person’s great!” or “this person sucks ass!” stance (although with how the dreaming handles trans/gnc characters it probably wouldn’t be good. if you ask me Sila needs to go back in time and book a flight to get the hell out of the sandman universe for his own peace of mind. didn’t deserve any of that shit).

my issue is with the book itself. it’s the fact that they made corinthian human. that whole arc is a fucking disaster and it is very blatant to me that the writers didn’t really understand the characters they were working with. alex corinth is the bane of my existence and I am sending a shitmissile to his location as we speak.

what angers me the most is how the dreaming managed to produce such an intricate and BEAUTIFUL masterpiece like Souvenirs that explores Cori’s trauma and self-loathing and his experience with trying to find his place in the world only for it all to be completely thrown away. they knock him on the head, make him transphobic, put him in some tight pants and send him off to be human. making him human doesn’t help in telling his story. if anything, it just reiterates the fact that he’s this unlovable monster that can only be accepted if he’s completely and fundamentally changed. which is just. SO NOT TRUE MAN CMON IM BANGING MY HEAD ON THE TABLE HE IS A BEAUTIFUL CREATURE THAT REPRESENTS SO MUCH AND IS PERFECTLY CRAFTED AND THEY JUST THREW IT AWAY FOR WHAT? TO GIVE HIM WEEZER BLUE EYES?? EAT MY ASS. BOTH CHEEKS.

i get what they were trying to do but they missed it by a fucking long shot and now this alex corinth guy haunts my every waking thought

sila’s chill though. if that’s what you were asking.

(I’m open to discussion on this because I haven’t seen anyone hate alex corinth as bad as I do LMAO. tell me your thoughts.)

[tamelee]

Hi, do you think they'll make S and N straight in the live action movie? Like making S nicer to Sakura or not even keeping the kiss or enforcing the idea of S and N being "brothers",... Anyway, I expect nothing but still... it stings.

Hi~ Yeah I feel you.

Oh I have many expectations- 's just that not a single one is any good.

It’s highly possible they’re going to push contrasting narratives. Unfortunately. Though I don't see the point in forcing any of these ideas into a movie, because there's simply no time. It will have no meaning either way unless 'romance' is going to play a significant part in it... which also wouldn't make any sense.

It's a lose-lose for all of us no matter what you ship...

However, they’ve always done it with filler (everything aside the source material and... arguably Kishimoto's add-on's) as well as marketing material. Some is still subtle enough so people can argue about it, but argue they will. (Ah! Isn’t that so very clever?) It isn't for nothing they used to force Naruto on Sakura aggressively and love to make him look like an idiot in filler, or introduce random girl characters as part of a new movie-plot so he can not only be the Hero to save the day, no, he can be their personal Hero. Because, oh, isn’t he actually so handsome now that he saved me? It’s a lame way to check off the romantic elements they for some reason always need to add in and give to Naruto, disguising it under the excuse of “character-arc-stuff” because Naruto can't evolve even a single belief unless the girlies’ minds change about him first. Let alone narratively it destroys Naruto’s character, because a huge "problem" is that he’s people-pleasing his way to being liked and pretty much all filler I’ve come across only strengthens this flaw (I saw ‘flaw’ lovingly btw). Name a single thing that faithfully stayed true to the Manga and wasn’t made by Kishimoto:…

… right. 

Imo, best case scenario? They just leave out everything beneath the surface, pick a single Theme, focus on the Shinobi in a way that still allows for a bit of believable growth in these characters. Something that can still show the current while pushing for some realization and round it out somewhat satisfactory in the end. If they’re going to try anything beyond that, it’ll fail.

Kishimoto created art, but the sole decision for an adaptation means art is now ground through a giant meat-mill of great team-effort and commerce. Every medium functions differently and this decision alone comes with many problems. (Length ’s an important one. Structure too.) You can already see it in the interviews that are held about this project. Too many people are involved that have influential say about the outcome of the creative decisions. There’s also the lovely men in suits that have all the control and yet have zero creative-skill although they’d like to believe otherwise. Studio’s by itself have their own politics. This never bides well for adaptations. Very rarely is it acceptable. Very often it’s disappointing. Almost always it’s a high-budget fantasy. And yet they always know that fans are going to be critical and still not care. 

Stubborn as hell. 

(It’s different when it’s not really an adaptation, but more inspired by an existing story. HTTYD for example is very, very loosely based on a book-series— it has little connection, but there’s obviously still a story idea in there… )

[astheworldgoesonitswickedway]

I'm officially here to rant about Fernald. (the hook-handed man) Please don't come for me but I think it's time we stop romanticizing the character and pretending he's something he isn't. Okay, I get it. He's funny. Genuinely funny, not just "they set up a few good jokes funny." I too, love his relationship with Sunny. And yes, like many of our characters he had a traumatic past. Let's get started with Anwhistle Aquatics. Here's the thing. The Medusoid Mycellium getting out could quite literally have started the apocalypse. Sure there was a cure, but who really has horseradish (or a substitute) on hand? Without widespread knowledge of the cure or the cure itself such a fast acting poison could have destroyed a good portion of the world. (I know it sounds dramatic but hey, the poison was created to kill in an hour, so it is that serious) Okay so, I understand why Fernald felt they had to be stopped. But at the very least he killed Gregor Anwhistle. Which killing people was the very thing he was trying to stop? What he did was wrong, but I suppose we can understand why someone would be driven to that if they felt the world was at stake. Again, so not saying it's okay. I am not condoning that. But this shows us he willingly participated in murder, and without Olaf. Which brings me to my greatest point. His actions WITH Olaf. This time around, there was no "do the ends justify the means" to blur the lines. For one, especially in the books but also in the show, Fernald displays not only willingness to participate in Olaf's many schemes, and allow the kids to be abused, he himself is unnecessarily cruel for no reason other than apparently, he enjoys being cruel. I always thought the Miserable Mill was maybe the best example of this but also the Carnivorous Carnival. For two, Fernald was accomplice to who knows how much murder and arson. So Fernald had a rough past, so did Olaf and we don't try to excuse him! So V.F.D. no doubt threw Fernald away after the Anwhistle Aquatics incident, and what that means joining Olaf is okay? No! Who knows what horrible things he did before the Baudelaires arrived on the scene, who knows how many murders Fernald participated in and even committed with his own hands. (or rather hooks you know what I mean) In the Slippery Slope, Olaf ordered Fernald to throw a baby off a cliff and Olaf certainly didn't seem to think he would have any trouble following that order. And hey, to make it personal, how about Monty?! We all love Monty. He was amazing. Unlike many others he cared about the Baudelaires and he would have been a great guardian to them. I think he would have told them everything once they got to Peru. Well you know what? Fernald participated in Monty's murder. Yeah, I get it. Olaf did the deed. Still. And I know what you're thinking, Fernald left Olaf's troupe. Well that was a half baked redemption arc if you ask me. Fernald didn't leave because he suddenly realized he was wrong and developed morals. Fernald left because Olaf would have hurt the one person in the world he actually cared about. And yes, I loved Fiona and Fernald being siblings. It was kind of sweet watching him protect her. But it seems from his point of view, murder and abuse is okay as long as it's someone else's sister. Just not his. Despite his sweet protectiveness, that's also really selfish. And it's the same logic he used for Sunny. His little soft spot for her makes me smile. It's actually adorable. BUT. It is also selfish. Hurting Sunny, a literal infant, was all fun and games until he cared about her. ( okay well in the show he was hesitant from the beginning and in the book I don't think he ever cared about her but still) And let's not forget the way book Fernald harassed Violet. Need any more be said about THAT? Anyway, in conclusion, I understand the fandoms draw to the character and I can appreciate the things about him which make us laugh and smile, and which make us WANT to like him. All I'm saying is we should probably acknowledge those things don't change the fact that like Olaf, he is a murderous villain.

[chase-ingjackson]

A few reasons I like and dislike the the new Percy Jackson show (and why I think the musical is better) - initial reaction

To start, I think this new PJO show is a million times better than that dumpster fire of a movie (though I love logan lerman <3). I like that it is quite faithful to the overall arcs and major plot lines of the book. I love the diversity and high caliber of actors (though I def have some Viria-art inspired character images in my head that are god-tier). I love some of the characterizations/portrayals, especially when it comes to making the character more complex (I really appreciate TV Sally for being a real person with complex emotion, though of course book Sally is my fav). And I love that it's so high budget and hgihly-anticipated (great marketing) that it is bringing this beloved story to a greater audience, especially the younger generation and older generation (as parents/grandparents) than those of us who grew up with the series.

I can boil down all of my dislikes of this show into one overarching but very essential part of the show: I don't like that it is a drama. The characters are way too serious and too every-other-moment-we-need-an-instense-heart-to-heart. What I think this show should have been is a comedy adventure with drama/melodrama sprinkled in. In the books, it's all about the banter. And the TV show does some good one-liners, but it's always so serious. I think the best part of the book is that the characters can stay light-hearted and fun despite the horrors and terrors they face. In the show, the gods spoon feed the trio most of the answers, so when they do have a good realization (SPOILER: e.g. Kronos being the orchestrating force) it kind of comes out of nowhere. TV Annabeth is so serious (I know in the first book she is her most serious, but not to this degree) and a lot of the moments when she has time to use her smarts are gone or approached differently. Percy, too. He's not just self-sacrificing (which they really lean into in the show) but he's also incredibly smart and silly. In the books he's kind of a surface-level himbo with great critical thinking, but in the show he's kind of left in the dark and doesn't get opportunities to make his own plans (also, he doesn't seem to know how to control his power (by the 7th episode); whereas in the book he def did at this point. Then there are just dumb changes to make the show more "serious" like not mentioning that cell phones attract monsters or that monsters just smell demigods and not have a 6th sense for them. I'm finding that by trying to change these small details to make it something more exciting or interesting, it's distancing us existing fans by not letting us relate to the small details that really don't matter. For the cellphones, they still use Iris messages rather than getting a payphone or something, so that's kind of a plot hole in the show that is answered by the book.

Anyways, those are my main takeaways. Now, when I say "the musical" I refer to The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical by Joe Tracz and Rick Rokicki which first premiered in 2014 but got revamped and redebued in 2017 (which is when it came into my life). I got to see it live in Toronto in 2019 with my middle school best friend, but have been an avid listener of the soundtrack since 2017 (the day it came out on streaming platforms).

The musical in my eyes is a nearly-perfect adaptation of the book. It's soo funny - def the action comedy I'm after, but does have the meaningful emotional moments (ballads, which are essential in musicals). The show itself if the full package; however, even just listening to the soundtrack gives you the whole gist. Here's a link to hte soundtrack on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFwX6FWeUFQ&list=PL0hK1fYMaqXbtZ0Fhm48TYcLJl7ikNX7Q&ab_channel=TheLightningThief%3AOriginalCastAlbum

Anyways, I want to hear more thoughts and pls tell me what you think of the show (and the musical!!)

[lej222]

Hello.. I am actually afraid with the recent jisu miae centered episodes also the case with the flyers.. Like you said the fate thing is trying to set her up with jisu. do you think soonkki will actually do something like breaking up the main characters? Normally the webtoons don't have sad endings. On the other hand in soonkki's previous work it feels like she likes to play with various emotions and shows like the mcs gonna break up but they DO NOT. Also making the fl ends up with second ml is totally a huge thing to do. There's certainly more cheolmiae shippers than jisumiae. And isn’t it like cheol has more potential than jisu in every way? He has her pink book there's a photo of theirs which is now in miae's room which miae is still not aware of. But there's also this point how not a single photo in the whole story is with miae. Soo,,, what's your opinion in all of these?

Hi! This is indeed the most difficult question to answer!😃 I'll share my own opinion, and it's totally subjective so please be kind to me��

So, lately I've been thinking this series might not be targeted at teens. As I was writing my meta on supernatural clues in the story, I found so many little details that would be easy to miss. Like the synchronicity theory I wrote about, the things the parents keep saying in the story, or you could just look at Jisu's character and how so many people misunderstand his actions. As an adult, when I saw the scene of him getting hit by a teacher, I felt a sense of dread. I started thinking about why he provokes the teacher, why he seems so disengaged, etc. These things are easier to notice if you're an adult. Which takes me to my next point.

The ending of the webtoon heavily depends on the message the author wants to convey. If she wanted to tell a simple love story there was no need for supernatural clues in the story. Jisu's involvement and the way he was introduced also required a great deal of effort and pre-planning. Ominous signs have been present since the start. Even in the latest chapters, Miae thinking about how they will have time to talk in high school or Cheol imagining their life together - they all feel like promises that might not be fulfilled. Every time I've read about a character imagining their future in a story, it never really came true, like I've been keeping up with Firefly Wedding which is a beautiful manga, and the moment I saw them daydreaming about their future I knew it would never come true.

Reading ASLFUA, I cannot help but agree with a Korean commenter that Miae lives in a dream world. It's not a bad thing, don't get me wrong. She is still a child so it's expected, but she hasn't had her own arc where she matures. Cheol's story in the first half was all about him opening up to new people and experiences. If you compare Miae to how she was at the start vs how she is now, she hasn't really changed much. But we know that she must, even the narrator pointed it out. Living in a fantasy world is not a bad thing, but one day she has to step out of it. Life is not always kind and there are things that might not be under her control. Her parents are a good example. Her mother had to give up on her passion because of the financial crisis. Her father works tirelessly to make ends meet. Soonkki presents this story through a child's eyes, but she doesn't ignore the harsh truths of growing up. Miae's mom is watching the news about how adults should help their children to have a healthy view on sexuality. Miae has no idea what being in a romantic relationship means. These are all messages to the adult readers of the story.

This doesn't mean there's no possibility of Cheol and Miae ending up together. If Soonkki's message is that their love is so strong it can overcome fate itself, that's one possible route. For this ending, I think all the supernatural elements would be a little bit pointless, but it's a likely outcome. Or she can go the bittersweet route, where the emphasis would be on the growth story. For me, the supernatural involvement makes more sense in this scenario, but it's just my personal opinion. As for Cheol's popularity, I would say it would be more of a problem for international readers. Most Korean readers also love Jisu, people on the KR side are more open to multishipping in general. Take Operation True Love for example, most top comments are about how no one would be mad if the ML switched to Dohwa after the timeskip. Whatever happens though, Cheol is the ML of the story, because it's partly his own growth story.

Yes, the book in her dresser is still a plot point that needs to be addressed. Other than that, we only have one countyside memory we haven't seen, but we've already had lots of coming-to-full circle moments, like Miae touching Cheol's scar, them acknowledging their feelings, Cheol's POV, etc. We know almost nothing about Jisu and Miae only remembers two things about him. Why did he single her out? He did not ask to be helped and when he transferred they were wearing winter clothes. Miae became his friend after summer break. That's a big gap we don't know anything about. Why did Jisu not give her the accoustic guitar? Why did he look surprised when she said she wanted to study together? What is his wish? There are still a lot of questions that need answers.

I'm not saying I'm sure Miae and Cheol won't end up together, but I believe it's a possibility. At the end of the day, I'm obviously not the writer and what I wrote here might be all wrong, but I wanted to look at all sides of the argument and you are obviously not wrong to believe in a happy ending🙂

[thehollowprince]

The Acolyte, episode five...

I will admit, right off the bat, that I did enjoy this episode more than the first four, but that in and of itself is part of the problem. Should we have to sit through several mediocre episodes, which equal half of the show, just to get to what they've been promising as "the good stuff"? I mean, would you read a book that was a thousand pages long but told before you even opened it that the first five hundred pages were pretty bad?

But let's get into the good and bad (from my perspective).

The Good

I did enjoy the lightsaber combat, even though I don't think it was anywhere near the level of Duel of the Fates as we were "promised." That being said, it was leagues better than Ahsoka, which treated lightsabers like glowing baseball bats.

The Jedi are gonna Jedi - specifically seeing Sol and Jecki trying to save Mae despite all the horrible things she's done (and I'm sure will do in the future).

Jecki's entire fight with Mae leading into her fight with Qimir. I will admit I wasn't too fond of the character when she was first introduced, but she grew on me.

Yord being incredibly clever by using Qimir's own cortosis helmet to negate his lightsaber. That was clever, even if it ended tragically moments later.

Sol's entire arc this episode, from trying to save Mae to trying to avenge Jecki and Yord (and the others) to him remembering himself at the last moment. Lee Jung-jae has been one of the highlights of this show for me.

Amandla is doing a great job distinguishing both Mae and Osha as separate characters, to the point where I never confuse one for the other.

Manny Jacinto is very hot!

Also loved the secret shoto lightsaber.

The Bad

While I did appreciate most of the fight choreography, the very beginning was a little sloppy. When Osha wakes up and looks toward the battle, we just see a bunch of lightsabers waving back and forth through the air, even though some of them weren't anywhere near Qimir. It took me out of the story, and I didn't like it.

The Jedi all died (except Sol), which I called back when we saw the first trailer because you can't have the Jedi come up against a sith before the Phantom Menace and live to tell about it. It was very predictable.

Speaking of predictable, having Mae take Osha's place was something we all saw coming, right? From having the same actor play both roles to having both characters have the exact same hairstyle despite not having seen each other in sixteen years. Which leads me into my next point...

Mae's sudden about face again. Last week, she was fully ready to surrender to the Jedi and work with them, and now she's back to wanting revenge. She's exhibiting very Vadar/Anakin-like traits, and we'll have to wait until the end to see if they stick the landing on that, but as of right now, it's not looking so good.

Yord and Jecki dying. And not in the "two of my favorite characters died" kind of way, but in the "what was the point in introducing them as named characters" kind of way. We didn't get really any character development with them. We actually got more info on them from cast interviews than the actual three and a half episodes they were in, and now they're gone. It feels more like they were just put in to be killed off for shock value than anything else.

And finally, the fact that we're in the home stretch, with only three episodes remaining, and one of them is going to be another flashback, when we still have a mystery happening in present day.

I know I said this before, but given how they're stretching things out and how short most of these episodes are, this show could literally just have been a long movie.

[wiltking]

finished my ARC of Reclaimed by seth haddon. full official review under the cut if you're curious but tldr; that was a rough one.

enjoyed the intro and setup and concept, and Saba's sopping wet misery for the most part. but most of my experience was considering whether or not I should DNF once the romance got started, side characters were introduced, and the plot spun apart. and even though the trans focus was the most interesting part of the book for me i cant recommend it on that alone, because Saba's self loathing is pretty miserable for 90% of the book, and there were some glaring inconsistencies... with his own inconsistencies.

At first, this had all the makings of a 4 or 5 star book. There was so much going on in the beginning that struck so many of my personal interests. I liked the story setup: both the gravity of the situation and Saba's conflicting emotions regarding it, especially his 'selfish' motivation that lead to the catastrophe at the heart of the book. I will go to bat for messy transgender characters any day of the week, and throughout the book Saba's inner turmoil regarding his body, sense of self, and his drive to change his body at the expense of everyone and anything else -- all tied up with his guilt, anger, grief and ambition -- was my favorite element by far. Even when it was painful and depressing to see him struggle with his body as a trans reader myself. His motivation was a great catalyst for the story and I was very interested in the mystery/investigation vibe the book opened with. And of course the size difference between him and the love interest was an immediate draw as well.

However. Despite Saba and Zek being interesting characters on their own, their romance struggled to captivate me. Which is hard to say, because they had some genuinely good moments throughout the book. But too many scenes came off as the author nudging them together rather than it feeling like an organic connection between the characters themselves. And too much of it felt rather juvenile, given the circumstances and the heavy tone introduced from the beginning, and the stakes at play.

For the remaining 2/3rds I frequently considered DNFing due to this loss of interest in the romance, but also because the plot itself lost its edge, with pacing and plot decisions that felt awkward, and even inconsistencies in the writing itself (one example: where characters were described as climbing out of a gig only to be inexplicably seated in it again a few pages later).

There were also several pet peeves prevalent: from an overabundance of winking, to numerous side characters acting way too invested in Saba and Zek's relationship, even when they were barely witness to it or weren't exactly friends to either of them. As well as the casual and frequent use of the word 'slut' to describe Saba's pretty normal feelings of desire. Which brings me into another issue regarding Saba's past experiences with sex, which is only briefly described towards the end of the book and really threw me for a loop, because of how casual his sex life apparently has been up to this point when so much of his anxiety is rooted around his body and how others gender it under every circumstance. Anxiety around sex and intimacy is a real and complex thing among some trans people, but his past experiences felt wildly overlooked and dissonant compared to where we meet him as a reader. I would have liked more insight into how he overcame these anxieties with previous encounters when his anxiety has such a major grip over him through the course of this book. Especially when it seems (by implication) he might've been having sex early in his transition, or even before it. It was either a missed opportunity to add further depth to Saba's complex feelings on sex, or a very huge contradiction, to write his past in this way. But with how briefly this point was glossed over, there wasn't enough to work with either way, and that makes me very sad.

Overall, I can't say I enjoyed this book outside the first 20% or so. But I appreciate Saba's character -- for his complexities and motivations and messy emotions. I appreciate the attempt made to tell an interesting trans story heavily focused on an unconventional means of transition. I appreciate that Zek had his own (perceived) bodily imperfections. And even though the execution didn't land its mark, and I'm not sure I would really recommend this book, I can at least walk away with these positives.

[a-court-of-moonlight-and-ire]

I made a mistake last time, I said that I read chapters 22-30 when I only read 22-29, but now I have read chapter 30 and also chapters 31-34 so lets talk about those

Its so frustrating how Im more than halfway through this 700 page book thats ostensibly supposed to be about Feyre and Rhysand's complicated relationship developing and theres been no development because the things that should make their relationship complicated have just been completely handwaved. Like, if this book HAS to focus so much on Rhys to the detriment of Feyre, and he also just HAS to be morally good, atleast give him some kind of character arc of bettering himself, right now Im basically just looking at this stagnant statue of a guy through someone elses eyes which doesnt make for a rewarding reading experience

Ive also been noticing more and more weird retcons and idk what to call it, justifications for why Rhys is better even when hes doing the same shit as Tamlin I guess? The two big ones being, when Tamlin blew up that room after Feyre told him that he was suffocating her he did it out of anger, and, Feyre is fine with wearing dresses for the night court because she knows she can go back to wearing Illyrian leathers anytime, which is not how it was at the spring court.

First of all, I keep saying this, I am not a Tamlin girlie, I dont like him that much and hes doing a bad job dealing with Feyre, but you dont need to make shit up to make Feyre's choice to leave feel justified. Like, he was not punching the walls in anger, he felt so bad and guilty about hurting Feyre when all he wants is to keep her safe that his magic went haywire over it. And thats bad enough! I mean Feyre, who has a lot of trouble communicating her feelings, finally managed to tell him everything thats wrong and makes her feel bad and makes healing from her trauma difficult, and he reacts by basically having a panic attack which makes his magic react in a dangerous way. Idk about you, but I would not feel comfortable or even safe expressing my feelings to him, even if he didnt react like that out of anger

Like, Feylin could have just not worked out, it couldve just been disfunctional without being portrayed as abuse but it cant be, I guess because it needs to be abuse in order to justify Feyre leaving him. And thats so strange to me because the idea that women need any kind of ("serious") justification for leaving a relationship is completely anti-thetical to the themes of feminism and choice that this book is trying to go for. Like, why cant a woman just break up with a guy because she stopped feeling it, theres no reason not to break up with a guy who makes you feel bad even if hes not being outright abusive. Although, in this particular story there actually is a reason, which is that if Feyre left Tamlin without a "good" justification then Amarantha would win, she would be proven right about the fickle nature of humans and the pointlessness of their un-eternal love from beyond the grave and that would be a bummer because the first book is about how Love Conquers All, as is the case with pretty much all great romances. So Tamlin's unambigiously abusive now so that that beautiful idea of Love Conquering All doesnt end up being dragged through the dirt. ACOMAF essentially posits that the Love that was supposed to Conquer All isn't real because neither Feyre nor Tamlin were willing or able to truly love each other through their trauma, ergo it didnt actually Conquer All. Thats also why Rhysand isnt meaningfully affected by what should be traumatic events; because while Feyre can love someone through her own trauma, she cant seem love someone whos traumatized themself

I feel like the way I phrased that was pretty harsh, but I do think its kinda true, in a way. Idk man, the thing that makes talking about Feyre's new UTM trauma so difficult is that everyone, including the narrative itself, is expecting her to have worked through it within less than half a year when its like, shes immortal and also living in a world with no therapists, she can take a bit longer than that. I mean hell, everyone in the inner circle is like 500 years and all of their major traumata happened when they were very young and most of them have still not learned how to actually cope with them aside from killing/avoiding the people who caused it (atleast from what Ive seen, especially of Cassian), Feyre might honestly be doing better than all of them but she keeps dogging on herself which, remember, her perspective is objectively correct as of this book, so that sucks

Alright, three paragraphs to talk about that first point, lets move on to talking about the dress thing. I have already observed that it seems like Feyre might stop wearing pants entirely at some point despite how much this particular book keeps going on and on about Tamlin forcing her to wear dresses in conjunction with going on about Tamlin forcing her into a subserviant mother-role, implying that dresses are inherently depowering, and well. I hate that for Feyre but I do love being proved right

And like, okay, I think Feyre hating dresses is another ACOMAF retcon, but its a retcon in a weirdly circular way. Let me explain; in ACOTAR I didnt get the impression that she hated dresses, I thought she just preferred pants because its what she was used to and because for a pretty large chunk of the book she was thinking about fleeing or was in situations where she needed to run away from something and pants were just more practical for that. But when she trusted the fae a bit more and a special occasion came up or she wanted to make Tamlin feel flustered (? that one doesnt make that much sense to me tbh), she did ask for dresses to wear and only felt a little embarrassed about it because she didnt usually wear them. I didnt even get the impression that she hated the impractical rich noblewoman dress they put her in when she was sent back to the human world, just that she found it really silly and unfitting for her. And I do think her being willing to wear dresses was supposed to be a signifier of her healing journey and her learning how to be gentle and let herself be loved in that book

Then ACOMAF comes around and she suddenly hates wearing dresses, which also ties into her suddenly becoming some kind of adrenaline junkie when she previously wanted to live a peaceful and comfortable life. Now, granted, the difference is that in ACOTAR she wore dresses that she explicitly asked to wear, whereas in ACOMAF Tamlin just assumes that she will always wear dresses by virtue of her being a woman without asking Feyre about it at any point (I know Ianthe was actually more involved in the dress-stuff, but the narrative is making Tamlin responsible for it so Im just gonna go along with it for simplicity's sake). Thats reasonable enough

But then a little further into ACOMAF we have Rhysand doing the exact same thing, hes assuming that she will wear dresses for the sake of keeping up appearances and helping him with his politics (and also, he's assuming that she will let herself be sexualized via the apple-breast comment in front of Tarquin (and later the CoN-UTM reeanactment scene)) and hes right, because of course he is. But the reason its fine when Rhysand does it, I guess, is because he keeps reassuring her that she has a choice in these matters when she really doesnt. Like, did he pack some illyrian leathers just in case Feyre didnt want to wear the dresses he got her? If he did, theres been no mention of it. Theres also been no mention of him asking her if she preferred to wear pants or a dress for the Summer Court mission, even though it seems to me that harem pants are considered to be unisex in the Night Court while they seem to be considered distinctly masculine in places like the Spring Court

And then we get to the thing about this dress-stuff that makes me call it a 'weirdly circular retcon'; while Nuala is dressing Feyre up for her date with Tarquin, for lack of a better term, she looks at herself in the mirror and thinks about how maybe, after everything shes been through that forced her to become hard, shes starting to heal and can finally let herself be feminine and soft and pretty. If you'll recall from a few paragraphs ago, that already happened to Feyre in ACOTAR except it was more subtle, I dont remember her just straight-up thinking about it like she does in this scene in ACOMAF. So its the same thing, but instead of her wearing dresses that she excplicitly asked to wear, shes wearing dresses that her new bf picked out for her and all but made her wear

And honestly, thats a really good way of summarizing the differences between Feylin and Feysand and the way Feyre gets treated in these book, which is why I wrote so fucking much about this pretty insignificant detail

Surprisingly enough, Im not done with this monster of a post yet, because I have some stuff to say about the Summer Court

The way Cresseida was introduced and treated made me have what Im just gonna call an angry epiphany. Like, before she came along I just thought the feminism of this series was very shallow and very white, but after her introduction I was just angrily thinking to myself "How the FUCK is this series considered feminist in any way?! The three types of women that exist in this story are literally Protagonist's Sisters (characterized as Haughty Bitch and Infantilized Clueless Cinnamon Roll Who Can Do No Wrong respectively), Protagonist's Slaves Servants Who Are Inexplicably Always Darkskinned Women and Promiscuous Bitches"

Varian seemed fine, but I dont like that he seems to have something going on with Amren. I know I said I didnt particularly like her, but I did still kinda latch onto her as my aroace rep so I find that very disappointing. But I guess thats on me for having expectations like that of the most amatonormative book series Ive ever read

So, from observing this part of the fandom prior to reading the books, it seemed that if sjm critical people dont like Feylin, theyll usually like Feyquin as an alternative to the horrible but canon Feysand. Despite that, I didnt have the highest expectations because honestly, it not much harder for a character to be a better love interest than ACOTAR!Tamlin and Rhysand. Like, the thing about Tamlin is that he was a really boring guy but hes a very good love interest, and the thing about Rhysand is that hes also really boring and hes a very bad love interest, so I thought "okay, I know Tarquin is the youngest and he has that whole thing about actively wanting equality for faeries but no one taking him seriously because everyone thinks hes inexperienced, OBVIOUSLY hes more interesting than the guys who can access their power with no issue, and then he'll just be kinda flirty towards Feyre, as SJM MaLeS usually are and that makes him a decent enough potential love interest I guess" and thats all true but idk, actually reading about him made me like him sooooo much. Like, him and Feyre telling each other theyre easy to love? Mwah, gorgeous. I bet Rhys is really glad he has that mating bond because without it his sorry ass would NOT be able to compete with Tarquin

So now my list of m/f Feyre ships goes Feyquin > Feycien > Feylin and Feyre/Azriel are on about the same level to me I think > Feysand (not including feyssian bc I think its a crime to ship cassian with a woman sry)

I specify m/f Feyre ships because if I included all of the Feyre ships, Feyanthe would be at the very top followed by Feyre/Amren. Idk, I know its obscure, but when she was describing how Amren was wearing a crop top she said something like "a sliver of skin was left exposed, as tempting as a calm lake" and I was like oh? 👀 Those guys have potentialllllllll I mean who needs Mates when youre both Made amiright fellas. Also, Feyre/Mor would go above Feysand

Anyway, thats it from me again, I hope you enjoyed this

[txttletale]

ok, thank you for the answer irt worm! now what about all of the other wildbow webthings?

pact is pretty good it's a horror story about a trans-coded guy called blake who goes through horrible things nonstop for a million words. the pacing's absolutely fucked (blake goes to toronto for basically no reason and ends up stuck there for like a third of the book lol) but the world's very evocative and the story has a fun take on magic that plays with symbolism and narrative in a way that makes it worth reading

twig is also pretty good. it's kind of like a biopunk espionage thriller about plucky teens becoming horrendously traumatized young adults in a world where frankenstein was real and the british empire conquered the world using nasty flesh monsters. it's nonstop body horror and weird social intrigue and the back half is a genuinely grueling to read slog through the protagonist having a total fucking meltdown but it is (like most wildbow works!) just bursting with cool ideas that could have each fueled an entire novel on their own

ward is the sequel to worm and its bad and not good because 1. it was obviously barely planned out compared to his earlier work and so a lot of it makes very little sense and story arcs get dropped like hot potatoes, 2. around this point wildbow started paying a lot of attention to fan reactions and writing in direct response to them which is the mind-killer, 3. at some point it starts feeling like wildbow was just straight up miserable writing it and hated doing so and it shows

pale is set in the same universe as pact but isn't a direct sequel. it was meant to be a short little murder mystery and by all accounts started out really really good with great characters and a fun mystery and cool concepts. however now its 3 million words long and a lot of people think that by Not Ending like two million words ago it's written itself into being a load of unreadable garbage by now. i havent read it and probably wont ever because 3 million words is a lot of words