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mermaidsirennikita · 2 months ago

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thanks to the b show there's a lot of bad faith readings of when he was wicked going around and it's infuriating! especially since you don't see the same level of scrutiny being leveled at any of other books. where are the thinkpieces about an offer from a gentleman or to sir phillip with love? hell i don't think i saw this much discourse around the duke and i and that book has a rape scene in it.

I'll repeat, as always, that I TRULY believe that a lot of the people discoursing (lol... probably MOST) have not read the books, or at least not all of the books they're talking about. I think this is usually the case with adaptations, because everyone wants to defend their opinions, ships, whatever, with book references, because the book is "the ultimate canon". (I saw a lot of this when Daisy Jones and The Six was airing, as another example. Deadass saw people trying to argue that the big Daisy/Billy kiss happened in the books as it did in the show, and when book readers gave rebuttals, you go "Well, they just didn't admit it in the book". Like...)

In reality, there isn't one single canon when an adaptation occurs. In this case, there is "book canon" and "show canon". The first season of Bton was relatively close to the book, but the subsequent seasons have diverged quite heavily. It's its own thing. That's fine and that's valid, and you can prefer whatever you want, but it's difficult to defend your preferences with the books when the books are so damn different.

And you ESPECIALLY can't compare the two when you haven't consumed both. It's totally cool for people to not want to read the books, or to stop after reading something in it they dislike. But if you haven't read the thing you're comparing the show to (as in, the specific text) IN CONTEXT, you really can't give a valid argument. Context is important for all of fiction, and I think it's especially important for romance. I can tell you "In 'Devil in Winter', Evie Jenner proposes marriage to the man who kidnapped and threatened to rape her best friend in order to save her own skin" and that is TECHNICALLY true. I'm not lying. But in context, there's so much that makes the story an entirely different thing than what it sounds like out of context.

This is all symptomatic of a huge issue we have right now, which is "That sounds like something that I don't like/will offend me/will trigger me", and therefore I shall pass judgment without trying it. We all do it. I do it. But you've gotta try to keep that among your mains and not try to ARGUE it, because if you're attempting to argue with someone who has consumed the material, WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE A GOOD TAKE, you are coming at the same topic but with much less information, and that takes away a lot of validity.

I do not begrudge anyway for skipping something they think will dislike, or will be offended by, and certainly I think you SHOULD skip something you think will trigger you beyond tolerance. But when that happens, you do close a door on your ability to make that informed argument.

(And this is all about something light and silly like Bton, BUUUUUT it's still a reality, and it's even more of a reality when you try to argue about something serious. You have to know your shit.)

I say this as someone who would recommend two of the Bton books; I don't care for the others (honestly, The Duke and I would be a cute book, but I didn't like the way the rape was handled... obviously). I still read them, and now I can tell you, fully informed, why I dislike this or that, why I would've made TSPWL a sapphic romance (not even necessarily instead of WHWW lol, I just genuinely think that story works better with queer women in the show's context), why I don't like Benedict's book and would essentially rip it apart from the ground up in an adaptation, gender flipped or not.

And I know that there's absolutely nothing in WHWW that, in context, suggests that Michael was trying to force Fran into anything she didn't want. Because, guess what? Those out of context quotes? Don't give you the full extent of either of their mindsets, ESPECIALLY Fran's. I think @triviareads was dead on about it reading like Fran had a bit of a breeding kink, at least by the pretty mild Bton standards. She's real turned on when he threatens~ to get her pregnant.

And Fran being in touch with her sexuality to the extent that she NEEDS IT and knows that she needs it, and is aware that ~ooooh he's getting aggressive and I'm... into it?~ is kind of one of the things that sets her book apart. Because every other Bton heroine is honestly kind of a megavirgin lol. Even the older ones who've heard things are SUUUUPER passive in the bedroom, for the most part. Fran is the one who gets actively carnal because she's had a healthy, enjoyable sex life before. She knows she loves sex. She's just self-flagellating for enjoying sex SO much with Michael specifically, and trying to deny what she knows better than any other heroine in that series, she'll enjoy. And then she gets turned on by the idea of him just ~taking her, so it's a double-edged sword. Because now she's setting herself up for like. Perma-arousal.

And here's something else about why context is so important for romances especially, historical romances perhaps most of all. As much as consent does have hard lines (when someone revokes consent, you stop) there is also a lot of internal shit going on. How many times have we heard someone say "I didn't say no, but I didn't want it". Consent is obviously a huge part of romance (and that isn't to say that you can't write a romance novel wherein consent is violated or dubious; that just doesn't remove its importance to the narrative). And there is a LOT going on internally with regards to consent.

I mean, I'm reading a book right now where the heroine tells the hero "I want you to kiss me, but my body is acting allergic to kisses" (due to her trauma). They have to have a REALLY clear talk about consent, and this is only after he really misinterprets what she said, and she misinterpreted what he was doing, which almost led to disaster. None of this would work if you weren't in both of their heads at different points in the encounter. (I mean, it still won't work for some readers, but it works for me.) If I pulled out of context quotes from that scene, you'd say "Oh my God, he was trying to rape her". If you read it in context, you can say "I don't like how this was written and I dislike this and I don't think this author did that well" for sure.

But you can't argue, with the context, that he thought he was violating her consent. Because the book EXPLICITLY says exactly what he thought was going on, and what she thought was going on, and it was a genuine miscommunication of what they wanted from the scene. Does it mean that he did not violate her consent? Nope! It does mean that it wasn't his intention. Do with that as you will, but KNOW THE CONTEXT.

As for the Daphne of it all... Lol, I'll just never understand where people come from when they try to act like that wasn't what it was. Enjoy it all you want. Even with the issues inherent to it, I still think that was probably the strongest season. But like... she raped him. I can own that I prefer that season to the others, but I'll also own that she did that. Look! It's that simple.

And I also think there's in general a weird thing with the discourse surrounding that scene, because I always see people say, "Yeah, but he compromised her bodily autonomy by lying to her about his fertility and leaving her in the dark about how babies are made". Like... yes? I agree? But that's a separate issue lol. When you present it as like, a counter to "Daphne raped Simon", it feels as if you're implying that he deserved it...? That doesn't sit right with me.

Also, if this was a story wherein a man found out his wife was lying to him about how cum works and was taking the pill the whole time, and retaliated by replacing her pills with sugar pills and coming inside her, we would never have a debate about who was MORE WRONG. Like, y'all both did something shitty, but one of those things... is rape.

So it's just weird to me to compare that to the WHWW scenes, because like. Michael is like "I'm gonna fuck you and fuck you until you get pregnant" but... he never... at all... forces himself on Fran. Nor does he keep her there against her will, or coerce her into sleeping with him by denying her financial support. Both of which are things he could do. He could keep her there, and he could cut her off until she submits to his will. Fran could leave at any time, and she could say no at any time. Not only does she NOT do those things... she initiates the kind of sex she's curious about having with him (cowgirl, ooooh aaaaaaah).

And it's IMPORTANT that Fran is able to take ownership of her sexuality. That's a big part of what her story is about, dude. She has a different relationship with Michael than she did John, and part of that is expressed in the kind of sex they have together. Like. Michael is genuinely a sweet guy with Fran when they're not getting down and dirty. He is genuinely that man. He's honestly, generally speaking for most of that book, less dominating with Fran than a lot of the other heroes are. They're BUDDIES. In a way, the alpha rake role he plays with her when they get heated feels like he's slipping into a persona for her. Almost like... he's being wicked... and giving her a look at what he was like... when he was wicked...

(I mean, all of this is also kinda foreshadowed in that Fran, a fully married woman, used to ask him to tell stories about his various fuckabouts in his rakesona lol. She's intrigued by that version of him before John died, so it makes sense that it's something she likes him to do when they're fucking. It's like. Borderline roleplaying.)

ANYWAY! Point is, just read shit before you start using it to support your arguments. If you haven't read that shit in context and prefer Michaela, all you have to do is say that you like it. Or say that hey, at the end of the day, the show needs queer rep, and you're happy that it's happening and excited. I mean... as someone who considers WHWW the best book in the series, I think that's completely fair. (Any critique I have of that plot has to do entirely with how it's being executed—lol, I truly think I was one of the first people to come up with "Michaela" off the cuff years ago when I was in the trenches saying that it was totally cool for any storyline to be genderflipped. Would I have done Benedict or Eloise's or both? Yup! Because I think they both lend themselves to it more naturally, and... don't work as m/f romances so why not go for it?)

But you seriously don't need to bother acting as if this needs to happen because a book you didn't read was problematic. They're like, 20 years old, dude. They all need updates for a 2024 audience. If you use that logic, you could genderflip any one of these books. Daphne raped Simon, Anthony got super weird about Kate not wanting to have sex on the wedding night, Benedict kept pushing a woman (his family's employee lmao) for sex after she said ' employee lmao) for sex after she said he needed a ring and he didn't wanna give her a ring, Sir Philip raped Marina, and that's just a bit of it, Michael went to India for reasons that Don't Sound Great, Bro, what with him being an English aristo in the 1800s. I don't remember the last two books, but I'm sure you can find shit.

And ultimately...? None of it matters? Just enjoy what you enjoy. The people who aren't open to Michaela aren't going to be won over because you're arguing that the book they enjoyed was bad. And frankly, it's pretty likely that most of the people who don't want Michaela didn't read that book either. It's probably because.... they just.... don't like.... queer people............. or queer women specifically because for some people it's all fun and games when two hot guys are kissing but when women wanna shack up we suddenly have an issue....................

#romance novel blogging #also you can be disappointed that whww isn't being adapted but consider why you're super upset bc at the end of the day lol #s2 and s3 barely resembled books 2 and 3 bye #bridgerton for ts #making my exception for this bc i think it applies more broadly to the discussion of books out of context #which let us be real largely applies to romance novels

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lunarifie · 2 years ago

Text

Rewatching Ninjago

(With no context other than the episode)

Skybound 5-6

Jays showing Cliff Gs home to the ninja?? Isnt he afraid theyll think he made a wish to gain all this unexpected new stuff?

Okay but why is Jay LYING

I mean it’s understandable if hes not ready to tell them he’s adopted yet

But saying you saved up for a place like that while just not getting paid for doing your main job, which is being a ninja, is a bit unbelievable

I guess saying your Cliff Gordon the actor of Fritz donnegans biological son is kinda unbelievable too.

Nya: We need to look at that lantern. Jay, Hit the lights!

Jay: Lights! Right! Yes. Light. Uhhhhh lights lights lights… Where are the lights….

HFBDJSNFNDNR

Cole: You saved up for this place? Baloney. Every time you get money you waste it on junk food and video games.

HE KNOWS JAY SO WELL 😭

They’re best friends your honor

Also they definitely wanted Cole to say Bullshit.

Jay: and it turns out! My dads cliff gordon!

Cole:…

Cole: Who?

NCNDJFNFNSNR

GOD jay and cole are literally acting how me and my best friend act when the other drops some gossip or a secret

Theyre that tiktok sound that goes like:

Jay: I wont tell a soul. 🫡

Jay: COLECOLECOLE COLE I NEED TO TELL YOU A SECRET-

Wait wait

Its CANON that theyre best friends? I thought that was a fanon thing but Jay JUST said Coles his best friend

I love them sm :)

Please tell me Zane still has his falcon in newer seasons

Clancy my beloved

Hes doing his best

THE DESTINYS BOUNTY IS IN PIECES AGAIN

The ninja are going to the island for the venom to defeat nadakhan

Ok but how does Jay explain Cliff Gordons boat.

NO. THEY GOT ZANES FALCON.

Nadakhan: Take it apart.. until it talks.

IT CANT TALK 😭😭😭 YOUR GONNA KILL IT FOR NO REASON 😭😭😭

Zane: why do I need a canteen?

Lloyd: there may be no fresh water on the island.

Zane: but… Im a nindroid… I repeat, why do i need a canteen? 🤨

Shdjksnfjdbebd

Jay. Why are you reading Cliff Gordons wooing woman book OUT LOUD.

Jay, reading: tell woman what they want to hear…

Nya: watcha reading?

Jay: AAAAH. UM! Im reading, uh, discovering the power of your feminine side 😃

Smooth.

Jays acting as their lightning rod on the ship lol

Also its canon he can get electrocuted by storm lightning multiple times and still be fine

Jay really doesnt want anyone else to be taken by djinn :(

NO WAIT IS ZANE GONNA BE TAKEN PLEASE TELL ME HE ISNT

Holy shit Zanes smart.

He quite literally predicted that Nadakhan would come for him from Jays reluctance. AND ONLY FROM THAT DOES HE KNOW JAYS SPOKEN TO NADAKHAN BEFORE AND COMPLETED TWO WISHES

I wish they showed this analytical side of Zane more

ZANE. LISTEN TO PIXAL.

Hes still as self sacrificial as ever.

Zanes trying to outsmart nadakhan and trap the djinn away. But I know he wont be able to no matter how intelligent he is :(

It would have made so much sense for Zane to be the savior of this season. He made some really good wishes. Its also incredibly out of character for him to “wish for it all to go away” after Nadakhan deleted Pixal. Zane could have simply said for Nadakhan to bring Pixal back and he’d have used up his wishes. He wouldnt have captured nadakhan but Zane would at least be alive.

Aaand they crashed the ship.

Cole cmon man at least give Jay a chance to explain himself.

His anger is valid since Zanes capture could have been prevented if Jay said something

BUT STILL

Jay didnt wish for the boat and mansion he wished to not be born in a junkyard and to be able to give Nya anything she wanted

COLE. YOU DIDNT HAVE TO SAY JAY SAW NYA IN HIS FUTURE REFLECTION.

THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR.

Jay: IN MY DEFENSE! I JUST LEARNED MY PARENTS ARENT BY REAL BIRTH PARENTS!!!!

Dude just say your adopted.

Me looking at Nadakhans sky village: I want to go there.

Jay. let go of the lady wooing book. You dont need it. IT GOT YOU INTO THIS MESS.

Please Jay stop complaining 🙃 even though I feel sympathy for you, pleaaase just read the room.

Jays pissing me off rn 💀

Just APOLOGIZE and EXPLAIN Yourself.

JUST STFU AND GET THE TIGER WIDOW VENOM.

theyre all so done with his shit 😭

Jay: HOW DO I GET VENOM WHEN HIS FANGS ONLY COME OUT WHEN HE TRIES TO BITE ME?!?!?!!?

Cole: THEN LET HIM BITE YOU.

Jay: IF I GET OUT OF HERE, IM GONNA BITE YOU.

Cole: 😶

JFNDJDNFJSNTJNR

THATS CANON?!?!?!

I SAW A DRAWING OF THAT EXCHANGE AND THOUGHT IT WAS MADE UP DHFBSJFBSJBF

Nadakhan: Delara was filled with fire too...

Nya: Not fire. I'm a tall glass of water.

HELL YEAH THE WOOING BOOK IS DESTROYED!!!!!!

Lloyd: HURRY UP AND GET THE VENOM.

Jay: IM SORRY! I NEVER HAD TO MILK A GIANT SPIDER BEFORE!!!!!

Cole landed a hit on Nadakhan!!!

Good for him honestly

Love how the ninja just phase through Cole sometimes it's so funny

They didn't even know how big the spider was and then Jay comes running out with a creature bigger than a bear on his trail

Jay: (about to get eaten alive by a spider)

Nadakhan floating with a teacup on his hand: Now would be a perfect moment for that second wiiiish...

Jay: FUCK. OFF.

Honestly with how many times the spiders grabbed Jay with it's fangs, it's hard to believe he hadn't touched the venom

Ohhhh so THIS is when he kidnaps Jay.

When did they get duck-tape 💀

Damsel in distress trope but it's the girl as the knight and the boy as the damsel

Imagine how Jay must feel though. His friends hate him. he (thinks he) lost the venom. And now he’s kidnapped.

Nadakhan: I can see why she once like ld you… You’re stronger than you appear. But I know it’s all an act.

Nadakhan: Deep down, you’re scared… You know your weak. You make jokes to mask that your afraid…

Damn.

Usually stuff like that is hinted at but to outright say it is something

Jay: (hanging off the bottom side of the ship like a spider with a ball chain on his leg)

Nadakhan: your not afraid, are you funny man?

Jay (somehow repositioning himself and cleaning the bottom of the ship) I LOVE IT. 😤

Hes such a little shit I love him

Cole (giggling after learning that they cant get off the island with their energy dragons)

Nya: Whats so funny! 😒

Cole: Oh, I was just thinking about what Jay might say…

Cole (with a perfect Jay impression): YOUR TELLING ME?!?!? THAT WE WENT TO ALL THAT TROUBLE TO GET THE VENOM AND NOW WE HAVE NO WAY TO GET OFF THIS ISLAND?!?!?!?

Cole: haha… Gone one day and I already miss him spazzing out.

Hes literally in love with him

(Platonically, for ppl who dont ship bruise)

Nya, girl, honestly you had every right to be mad at him. Dont feel guilty. Jay didn’t even apologize!!!! He also dialed up his little shittiness to 100 after that!!!! Hes fine 🙄

Its sweet that Lloyd trusts Jay to be strong

Cole and Lloyd: We can build a raft! Whats gonna stop us!

Nya: AN ENDLESS SEA FILLED WITH UNKNOWN CREATURES THAT WANNA EAT US??!?!?

Nya: That was uh, my Jay impression…

Clancy is so nice

Ive never heard Jay ever be this silent on frame

Its surreal.

Jays actually so clever

How is he moving and jumping around like that with a whole ass bowling ball attached to his leg 😭

GO JAY GO!!!!!

Now I remember why he's my favorite character :)

He got the note in the bottle to the ocean!!!!!

Man skybound was actually so cool I hate that it was erased from the timeline

Nadakhan: Eat! Have dinner with me. It's no trick!

Jay: ...

Nadakhan: 😃

Jay:

Jay: (starts devouring every consumable thing in front of him)

Jay: Sorry man, I don't know who this lost love of yours is. But she's not Nya! Nyas too good for the both of us. She makes up her own mind.

Well at least Jays got her character down

Nadakhan: Everything that is mine... I've had to work for. This food, this ship, this crew.

Jay: That accent :)

Okaaay. So if Nadakhan marries someone, he can have infinite wishes?

That makes no sense.

Lloyd: she'll be ready to sail soon.

Nya: Why are all boats she's?

Cole: uhhh idk! Maybe because it's takes a bucket of paint to make then look good?

Coles in his misogynistic arc

Cole (after Lloyd leaves): you know, I think the real reason sailors name ships after women is because we name them after the most important people in our lives. Mother, wives, sisters.

Ok he's forgiven

It's sweet that Coles standing up for Jay to Nya.

He called himself Jays best friend 🥺

Cole (trying to avoid the sand monsters): don't move... I think they're attracted to noise...

Lloyd: HEY GUYS! LOOK AT HOW MANY PALM LEAVES I FOUND- 📢📢📢

Nya used airjitzu for the first time!!!

I genuinely like nadakhans crew

Clancy: I can keep swabbing the deck if I like it! 😤 It relaxes me and I get to choose how it I wanna spend my free time!

Jaaaaay. You were manipulating so well!!! You just HAD to come off strongly.

Is it manipulation if it's the truth though? I mean Nadakhan ISNT telling his crewmembers everything.

Geez. This is kind of depressing to watch. Jay getting pummeled in a fighting ring by Nadakhans crew.

Nadakhan: You could… wish it all away?

Jay (on the floor absolutely totaled): bring it on.

Jays surprisingly stubborn and resilient

Clancy: you should eat food. you-you fought really well out there… held your own like a real pirate. Heres an eyepatch, so you can look like one!

Clancy so sweet :)

I understand that lego ninjago cant show blood or bruises but the way Jays voice actor is slurring his words gives a really good impression that Jay was beat up real bad :(

Flintlocke: you always talk to yourself?

Jay: Only when I think im by myself 😒

Ronin and the Chief got Nya Cole and Lloyd off the island!!!

I still dont forgive them though.

#ninjago #lego ninjago #Rewatching Ninjago

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darrowsrising · 5 years ago

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Hi Astraea, it’s been mentioned that Cassius has still not gotten over Virginia. Do you think pierce would go with a Cassius/Virginia storyline if something happens to Darrow. After all, even though she said that she used Cassius, we never really know what happened in the 2 years between red rising and golden son. I don’t want it to happen, but pierce has always surprised his readers. What do you think will happen with regards to Darrow, Virginia and Cassius ?

Hi, anon!🐺💖 I tried to make the analysis as objective as possible, but you still may not agree with me and that's ok, this is what I think, though. It's not the first time I have seen this circling around, I also saw it in 'Vorginia will divorce Darrow and marry Cassius' and it is...well, not my favourite thing, so beware that.

EDIT: between the Institute and the Academy, Darrow and Virginia were together. When Virginia was Octavia's apprentice, she and Cassius got closer, but between that and Golden Son, they have been together for abount an year or so.

I have nothing against people who ship Cassius and Virginia, but I just think they are and will remain a crack ship. Or whatever you call a relationship that...well, they were together, but she wasn't feeling it. Idk, semi-canon? They were together, but only he had feelings and she not so much?

I think that the only thing perpetuing this triangle is not Cassius's pining, as much as the fandom reaching or wanting to validate Cassius somehow, thinking this is how he should be rewarded.

A love triangle involves three people, out of which one is torn between the other two. Cassius pining for Virginia, while Darrow and Virginia only love each other romantically, is not a triangle. It's just Cassius having an unrequited love. That is actually a subvertion of the love triangle - Virginia was never torn between Darrow and Cassius, like most expected her to be. A true love triangle, but still subverted was between Darrow, Eo and Virginia - he was actually torn between them, yet Eo was dead.

Now, Darrow and Virginia married shortly after the Republic was established, meaning that Cassius probably came to terms with that by now, even though, some regrets still linger. At that time the wounds were fresher and he drank himself into a stupor, that is true, but aside from Lysander mentioning that incident, we don't get other elaborations on how he is now, after almost 10 years. I am sure he isn't completely over it, because he didn't get much closure with it, he just left and people moved on without him. He never actually got to understand how exactly Virginia pretended and how shallow was their relationship exactly.

I think we will see that in the last book, but before someone comes with Darrow's cooment that 'it couldn't have been just a pretense entirely, because Cassius was never a monster', please let me explain this:

It's quite normal to have opinions about your SO's past relationships. I mean, Virginia has some opinions about Eo and her relationship with Darrow, even though they never met. It's valid. The difference is - Darrow thinks that Virginia must have felt something for Cassius, because 'he was never a monster' - while Virginia knew exactly the depth of Darrow's feelings for his first wife. Cassius not being a monster only made Virginia feel guilty for using him, because it truly wasn't fair to him, it broke something in her to act like any 'respectable' Gold, because, let's be honest - her father and twin were truly monsters, but Cassius wasn't, yet she used his honest feelings to protect the monsters, so it made her feel like one too. Just because someone is not a monster doesn't assure romantic love, because someone can be a monster and have someone love them romantically - see Nero and Virginia's mother.

So yes, Darrow can have his opinions and his doubts about Virginia's words concerning her relationship with Cassius, but I don't see it as an answer to the question. Especially when you add the fact that Darrow actually felt really hurt about it, although he knew he had no right to be. Because, let's put ourselves in his shoes for a second - he is a Red infiltrating in the Society as a Gold to topple it down and help his people rise and break the chains. He barely has an idea of how to do that, he has no actual idea for the future either, and, as far as he knows, he has nothing to offer her, not to mention that he is lying to her, hiding from her.

Cassius on the other hand, is exactly what you would expect she would look for, someone who can give her family, love, peace etc. Cassius is a good, loving man. Better than Darrow, because there are lines he wouldn't cross, but Darrow certainly would. Darrow loves her, but love is not enough, especially when the family she loves so much were to be the first victims of the Rising (that much was clear at that time, although Darrow didn't know exactly what will happen when the Rising came).

So of course he would think that they would be better suited, that there couldn't have been all pretense.

I tend to agree with Virginia about Eo and disagree with Darrow about Cassius, because there are things we can interpret about both instances and come to those conclusions.

Virginia describes her feelings about Cassius as she does, not because she owes Darrow an explanation or to make him feel better about it or to try to mend their own relationship. She simply wanted to talk about it. Given her behavior in Morning Star towards Cassius (especially the fact that she had no qualms about torturing him - because she didn't do it to protect Darrow, but because she wanted to make sure of the truth, given that she had no information about what he was saying - underlining the fact that she saw him as a soldier working for the enemy), I don't think she was ever in love with Cassius.

I am not saying she hated him or that she was indifferent to him. She just didn't love him romantically. Hence why her feelings about him are complicated - because she was unfair to him (even after she shot him), yet he was a good man and a good friend and he is honorable and rightous, despite the facf that at some point, he was also an enemy. Cassius toed the line of right and wrong and coupled just like she did.

While with Eo, we can see her being manipulative, we can see her reasonings and we can see Deanna's opinions - a person who is very no-nonsense.

Now, I do get that this ships has fans that love Cassius and Virginia and Darrow, yet they just wish to see how Cassius and Virginia work as a couple. But I just don't think their canonization is in the books. At all. Not with Darrow and Virginia being a thing for so long.

While Darrow tends to idolize Mustang, because, that's how he is, see how he takes her side evwn though he himself doesn't agree with the slowness of demokracy, Mustang is as imperfect as they come. She herself said that she made herself be the person Cassius couldn't live without. She profited off the fact that he was broken at that time and used it to her advantage. And that's how Darrow was with Eo - he couldn't live without her at some point and it was wrong. Virginia says herself and knows that love isn't enough, yet she used Cassius' feelings.

As for 'if something happens to Darrow', why are people so quick to say that if it wasn't for Darrow, Cassius and Virginia would be together? Why is this a thing? Let's say she had some feelings for him back then, they are pretty much gone by Morning Star. She didn't even think of Cassius in years, although she wished him and Lysander well when she did. I don't understand why the 'if Darrow dies, Virginia and Cassius will get closer, marry and Pax will be raised by Cassius'. Because it sounds to me like just a 'let Cassius have everything Darrow has, because I want that'. I think it's valid to want to see how a relationship would work between those two, but I don't get the craving for canon validation at Darrow's expense.

This neglects not only Virginia's actual feelings for Cassius, but her feelings for Darrow - she very much loves Darrow, feels sexual attraction only for Darrow, she misses him so much, she can't bear it and we all know he is still alive, if he were dead, I am damned sure she wouldn't marry Cassius soon. I get it that if he gets out of the picture, it's easier to make this ship work, but...I just don't see it happening on some 'not only pretense'.

Cassius might still have feelings for Virginia, but he deserves someone who will love him as completely as Darrow and Virginia love each other. He deserves more than 'not only pretense', because that alone implies that there still was pretense among some truths and half-truths don't make a stable relationship.

Even if Darrow didn't exist in the first place, Virginia and Cassius aren't romance material, because she wants to challange and change the status quo, while Cassius wants to defend and protect it, she is a Reformist (was, but she would continue to be in this particular AU), while he isn't. They do have things in common too (losing a brother, because if Darrow doesn't kill Julian, someone still will, coming from an important Gold House, working for Octavia), but even she would still use Cassius to protect her family and if she failed to protect them, I truly doubt she would marry him according to Octavia's plans and it will all be a-okay.

Let's be honest here, this is more about Cassius than Virginia (not for everyone who ships them, of course, some actually just like to explore their dynamic and they do not think of Virginia as some prize for Cassius, because he deserved happiness and he wants Virginia). I also think Cassius deserves happiness and love, but Virginia isn't the key to his happiness and she shouldn't be seen as such. He can have another love interest or he can have no love interest at all and build and consolidate friendships instead, because that also involves happiness.

Cassius can be happy and should be happy and that involves many scenarios out of which 'marrying Virginia once Darrow is out of the way' seems the most soap oper-esque and unlikely to happen while also being realistic. In canon, they just won't be together. But that is the beauty of the fandom space - you can make it work.

I do understand that people ship them because they are appealing as a couple, so if people want them to marry and such, I say go for it - write fanfics, make art etc. But to actually claim future canonization...idk, doesn't seem too plausible to me. I mean, I do have crack ships and semi-canon ships (they were together, but one died and/or sacrificed themselves for the other), and I really don't care that they are not canon and will never be (again). I care about the endless possibilities, the writings and the art, the aesthetics, most of all. The fact that the original writers didn't see it like I do, matters not. That doesn't mean I will curse them to hell for not making it happen or that I will curse any writer in the future for not making my ship canon. And I think that is the case too with people who ship Cassius and Virginia too, no matter the reason why.

Some people actually want Cassius to have everything Darrow has because he 'is worthier', but...I just can't see it working that way, because Darrow doesn't own Virginia as a possession that can be lost to him to someone 'worthier'.

So yeah, those are my general thoughts about this theory. I don't like it, but I have nothing against people who ship Cassius with Virginia. I just think that there is no way that it will be canon. Even if Darrow does die...which I know it won't happen (because it just won't happen).

Ok, sorry for the long post!

Howl on!

#red rising trilogy #iron gold trilogy #cassius au bellona #morning knight #virginia au augustus #mustang

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giranswife · 5 years ago

Text

The Confession (pt 2)

Summary: It’s been a little while since Giran confessed his feelings, and Ash finally found the perfect moment that she wanted to tell him. Bringing him to a spot that meant a lot to her when she was on her own, and something that she was finally able to let go of thanks to him. Giving her the confidence to finally let go and fall in love.

W: self insert, self ship, self insert x canon, fluff, slight suggestive mention, mild alcohol mention

Disclaimer: This fic includes my self-insert/oc that is shipped with a canon character. Ash is my self insert/oc.

(( Here’s part two! It kind of wraps up Ash’s development in a cute little bow, without giving too many details since I want to do that properly in fics that I have planned. And I’m very sorry that they are both so freaking cheesy, but I absolutely love it XD ))

Part One

She wasn’t sure what came over her. But the night was going so well, and honestly… she couldn’t stop smiling. After spending most of the time being so vulnerable and open, she was starting to see why this time felt different. She couldn’t see it entirely before because of her past. Everything was new and exciting, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t see any of it coming.

But that didn’t scare her away. In fact, it was the entire reason why she was falling for him in the first place. She was content with the fact that she couldn’t wrap her head around him at first. The mystery is what kept her coming back. Not just of him but also of their relationship entirely. Wanting to know him more and wanting to know where this would lead.

Then, there was the sense of comfortability that came from being with him. She never felt like she had to be something that she wasn’t, even the parts of her that others would run away from. The parts of her that everyone used to make her feel bad for. It never felt like baggage to be herself, and he never once made her question anything.

And tonight when she was sharing vulnerable parts about herself, he was just… there for her. He listened and he didn’t judge her for her past, because how in the hell could he? He understood her in ways that not a lot of people could. There was so much comfort in not only the lives that they lived but just the way that he made her feel.

Ash took him to one of her favorite spots that she’s never really showed anyone. It wasn’t really romantic either, but it held some sentimental value. That and it had some history, which she was planning on opening up about. And it was a little bit of a surprise, which she thought was cute given that he’s always surprising her. But it was the perfect way to open up, in a way that she should have a long time ago.

He knew some parts about her, but he didn’t know everything. She kept some things in the dark, mainly because she was afraid of how he’d see her. But tonight she was changing that, especially after he had opened up to her not that long ago. It just felt like they were at that place that she trusted him with her life.

“Should I be worried about where you’re taking me?”

Ash laughed, turning around to see the smirk on Giran’s face as he tossed his cigarette onto the ground.

“Maybe… don’t you know better than to follow someone to such a quiet and private place in the middle of the night?” She teased, “I mean… this is textbook shit, isn’t it?”

The smile that grew onto her face was breathtaking. Just the perfect amount of sexy and beautiful to make anyone’s head spin. And the way she bit her lip was just as tempting as everything else about her was.

It had been a month since he told her how he felt about her, and ever since then it’s been incredibly hard to keep from coming on too strong. Ash is the kind of woman who’s also hard to pinpoint, but only because she hasn’t been honest with herself. She’s exciting and strong willed, but she can also be easy to scare. He knew that it had something to do with her past, but with little to go on, he's been a little too hesitant.

Which is funny considering how in any other way he hasn’t held back.

But Ash has always been a fucking powerhouse. With any other person that could be intimidating, but it’s one of the reasons that he fell in love with her. Hell the first day they met she was probably the most intense and erupting human he’s ever met. And he’s met quite a lot of characters in his life.

None of them seemed to beat her, though. Because even through all of that personality and impulsiveness, she had a heart like no one else. When she cared about someone she’d do anything in her power to protect them. She holds a lot of herself inside, the hard outer shell a way to keep people away. To keep people at a distance. Those who really wanted to stay would willingly get to know the real Ash.

She tilted her head, noticing that he wasn’t fully paying attention to her words.

“Right? Did I lose you there, Babe?” She asked with a giggle at the end of her sentence.

Her tail swished behind her, and she continued to walk backwards on the edge of the sidewalk like a pro.

“You’re right,” He played along, eyeing the movements of her hips and not even caring that she noticed, “Shouldn’t trust a woman this sexy and not expect any strings.”

“Oh, shut up. I’m not that sexy.”

She was flirting. Knowing that he was going to come back stronger. She knew that she was attractive, and she knew what affect those hips had on him.

“Sexiest fuckin’ woman I’ve ever seen.”

“Now, you’re lying. But I like it.”

Winking playfully, she stopped a little and kissed him softly. It was only one, but it was enough to linger even after she pulled away. This woman was impossible, and she had no idea the true validity of her intoxication. It may not look like it on the outside, but she truly had him wrapped around her finger. Everything that she did just proved that point over and over again.

The way that her laugh sounded like fucking music to his ears, and the look of her smile when she wasn’t forcing it. Her happiness was like a drug, which is why he was constantly trying to make her happy and keep her happy. Everything felt so much better when she was happy and comfortable and safe.

Ash really didn’t know the power that she had over him. At all.

“This have anything to do with where you’re taking me? Find some place interesting to have your way with me.”

She laughed out loud, walking again ahead of him and throwing her head back in a rather dramatic way.

“Fuck I love how bold you are! Course your mind would go straight to that you horny bastard.”

But she bit her lip, obviously thinking about it herself.

“Well, yah bring me to a suspicious location like this and I’m inclined to believe it’s for sex or-”

“Something much more sinister? If I was going to do something to you, then I would have done it already.”

The look in her eyes was seductive and smooth. If it weren’t for her having a surprise for him, Giran would’ve shoved her against the nearest wall and turned this night into something else entirely. But she knew what she was doing. She had to have been with those shorts on this cold late-afternoon and that smile on her face.

“But don’t worry,” She said as she turned a corner and motioned with her head for him to follow, “Have I ever steered you wrong before?”

Her eyebrows wiggled, and she let out a loud laugh.

Using his own words from the past against him. She was a clever woman, he’d always give her that. Clever and sexy. Complete package, and yet she was still surprising him with more every goddamn day. How in the hell did he ever get this lucky to end up with her?

They were definitely going somewhere he wasn’t too familiar with. This part of town was one that he hadn’t been in a while, and the stairs that she took was also one that a person wouldn’t find unless they knew the building. At first he was a little confused, but decided not to ask since she was so excited to surprise him.

This was the first time that she’s ever been this excited. A little nervous from the way her tail swished, but mainly just excited. It was adorable, to be honest. This place clearly was one that she’s been to before, and he was honestly a little intrigued. He knew that she brought wine from the bag that was in her hands, which meant that wherever they were going she planned on staying for a while.

Whenever they reached the roof, she opened the door and held it out for him, the sound of her boots clicking against the floor. She smiled a little, dragging him over to a spot where she’s been several times before. So many times that there were scuff marks from her boots and drawings that she had doodled when she was bored. A lot of memories were made on this rooftop, not a lot of them were the best, but some made her who she was today.

“It’s not much,” She said, outstretching her arms when they reached the small little corner, “But this is my safe place. Or… was… a long time ago.”

“What’d you come here to do?”

“Oh, y’know… Smoke, drink, think, fuck. Just kinda somewhere I can go when shit was too much for me. The city was also pretty to look at, and I can just watch everyone else fuck about their lives.”

She pulled out the bottle of wine and sat down on the ground, crossing her ankles underneath her and motioning for him to follow.

“Sit with me. Or are you worried about messing up that suit I told you not to wear.”

She chuckled softly, her teasing smile growing on her face the more comfortable she became.

It was all coming back to her the moment that she sat down, looking out at the city in front of her and the lights of the nightlife. The sun had just set, and it was a rather beautiful color in the sky with the stars coming out slowly. She wondered if this was a good idea at first, but given that they were closer than ever… she really wanted to show him every part of her. Even the not so good parts.

Plus, this place was special to her. It was the one place that she could be away from everything when the entire world seemed too much. Because the wilderness was nice, but she realized how much she hated the silence. Not to mention it was usually a trip, and she tended to link coming here since it was easy to come up here and get lost in the moment.

Giran rolled his eyes at her comment, but obliged her request.

“Don’t worry, if you need help getting up I’ll gladly leave you here all night.”

She winked, popping open the wine without so much as a hesitation.

“Like to see yah try.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

Ash took a sip from the wine, leaning back on her palms and watched the sun finally disappear on the horizon. It was really nice for the two of them to sit there and be together. There was a lot that she wanted to say, but she also just wanted to enjoy the silence with him some more. This was about more than just him seeing a different side of her. It was also a date.

Breathing a sigh, she offered the bottle to him and shifted a little closer. It didn’t really bother her that she forgot to bring glasses, considering it’s not the first time that she’s just had the bottle. It was pretty much her fucking staple at this point. But it honestly spoke to the moment, given that she would do something similar in the past when coming up here.

“I’ve had this spot for a long time,” She said, “Since before… what happened before I joined the league…”

Her voice trailed off, and she knew that she didn’t want to talk about it again. He already knew that part of her, but tonight she wanted to bring up a lot happier things. Nothing that was going to ruin the mood that was already set in the beginning. After all, she was leading up to things that were important and that she wanted him to hear.

“I have a lot of good memories here, and I wanted to bring you here. Since I haven’t really been here since I joined the league. You’re the only one I’ve brought here that was… important to me.”

She hesitated a little, but once she said it her cheeks turned a little red. Opening up was always hard for her, and for some reason it was just as difficult to admit how she felt. But she was determined to move past that. They’ve grown so much together, and she wanted things to be different with him. She wanted to be open and honest and allow herself to fall for him the right way.

Even if she was scared and worried, there was so much good happening here. She didn’t want to let all the things of the past ruin it.

“Sorry if you were expecting something more,” She said.

“It’s fine, Princess. Nice to see a part of you.”

She smiled warmly, taking back the bottle of wine and having another long sip.

“Also nice to hear I’m important to you.”

Rolling her eyes, she laughed and leaned her body against his. Her cheeks were warm, but there was nowhere to hide. Even her hair that she usually used as a curtain in times like this was blowing from the subtle wind. But it was actually a good thing, because she was even more adorable when her cheeks were getting redder and redder.

“You are important to me, and I think it’s only fair that you get to know this side of me too. I don’t really need to come here anymore, because you kinda… are my safe place now? If that makes any sense.”

Ash was getting a little embarrassed to say this out loud. She didn’t want to seem like she was dependent on him in any way, but she was also hoping her words would speak for itself. She’s never been the best with this kind of thing, and she gets way more nervous than she expected. But she was extremely happy.

“Oh yeah?”

She nodded, pursing her lips and taking a small sip of the wine.

“Since being with you and having like… friends… it’s been… I don’t really rely on this place much anymore. It’s kind of weird, because I didn’t realize that I needed this place as much as I did back then. It seems kind of ridiculous saying this out loud, but… I didn’t really have anybody else to fall back on. So I came here to remind myself that as long as I had myself I was… I was okay.”

Chugging on more of the wine, her face got a little serious and she did what she really didn’t want to do. Change the mood.

“It does sound pretty ridiculous now that I’m thinking about it,” She mumbled.

“It’s not ridiculous, baby girl. I understand completely.”

“You do? Well.. uh.. That’s good.”

She felt Giran’s hand touch her chin, and her smile came back to her face.

“Yah don’t have to feel ridiculous for sharing a part of yourself with me. I told yah I loved you, and I meant that. Every part of you.”

That was the first time that she’s really ever heard anyone tell her that. It meant a lot more than he realized, and she tried hard to hide it. But that was incredibly hard to do when her emotions were already incredibly high. And he knew her better than anyone.

Swallowing hard, she sat down the bottle beside her and leaned her head against his shoulder. It was a way for her to smile to herself, hiding her face in the material of his coat and feeling the pressure of her cheeks from how happy she was. It was a feeling that she honestly never wanted to let go of. And all she knew to do was sit and smile.

“Thank you,” She said, “I’ve kinda… rehearsed this a lot since I planned this whole thing. I didn’t want you to think that I was… I don’t know what I was thinking. It just means a lot to me that you listen, I haven’t really been able to let go because I was scared. I guess. Of being dependent on someone and giving someone the power to hurt me… again…”

She was being honest, maybe a little too honest. But it was the most honest that she’s been in a long time. Giran knew pretty much what was holding her back, but hearing her say it out loud was a big step for her. It’s one of the reasons why he was giving her space, to let her figure it all out on her own.

Saying it all out loud really helped her come to terms with what was making it hard for her to fully trust him. Deep down she knew that she would do anything and everything for this man, and knowing that he loved her made everything feel more real. And she wanted to love him in return, she just needed a little bit more time to figure out what she wanted. What she expected and to finally realize how far she’s come.

To not be afraid to let him see every part of her. Because he’d love her regardless of it all. He’s already proved that enough.

“I know that’s kinda not fair to you, but… it also wasn’t fair to me keeping this all to myself. It’s just you’re the first person that I have felt this way about. And I didn’t want it to be like the last time, even though I knew you wouldn’t do that. I just…”

Her voice trailed off, and she was losing her point very fast.

Giran shifted her hair from her shoulder, caressing her neck in a way he had done plenty of times in the past to calm her down. It was honestly the perfect gesture he could have done in that moment given how she was slowly losing her point. Not wanting to say the wrong thing, but also not knowing how to explain herself either.

“It’s okay. I’d never hurt you, Princess. I can promise yah that.”

“I know that… I feel safer with you than I have with anyone.”

“Good, that’s all I want.”

He cupped her face, rubbing his thumb against her cheekbone.

It warmed her heart to see the smile that he was giving her. So genuine and soft, making her head spin while her heart raced. She was truly falling deeper for him every single day, and this moment was clearing all of her thoughts. But she just couldn’t spit out the words that she wanted to so desperately.

“You’re the best fuckin’ thing to come into my life. I don’t want yah to ever forget how special you are. In fact, if I could get rid of every goddamn fool that’s hurt you, I would.”

She swallowed hard, hearing the seriousness in his tone. Having someone say that and mean it was more than she’d ever be able to wrap her head around. She’s never had someone want to protect her like this, but she trusted Giran with every bone in her body. He was the one man in her life that she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wouldn’t hurt her.

“Giran…”

“I’m glad that you wanted to share this with me.”

Ash giggled a bit, leaning into his touch.

“I know that I haven’t really been the uh… the best person to deal with sometimes, but I promise that I want to be with you. I’m ready to let you have all of me… no more hesitations and no more hiding behind all these walls. ‘Cause I trust you, and I mean that.”

He chuckled, kissing her forehead in such a way that made her cheeks burn.

“I…” Ash opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t seem to get out the words still.

It would be so perfect, but it just wasn’t the right time right now. Her heart just wouldn’t let her say it, and he noticed the small amount of hesitation on her face. Instead of watching her struggle, he pulled her into a soft kiss. One that made her head feel light and her chest flutter, but she was relieved that he wasn’t rushing her still.

Instead of pulling away, she climbed into his lap and continued kissing him. Deepening the kiss and lacing her fingers through his hair, her lips curled into a smile. He grasped her hips, holding her still and close as she could get. But it still wasn’t close enough, and she noticed that with her arms around him.

A soft moan escaped her lips, muffled against his own. When she pulled away, it took a lot of holding back not to shove him down onto the ground. But the night was also still pretty young for that.

Giran rubbed her sides, listening to her soft giggles as she kissed his jawline.

“So… yah wanna make another memory up here?”

She slapped his chest gently in a playful manner, rolling her eyes as she nuzzled underneath his chin. With a laugh, he held her closer against his chest and felt her get comfortable and heavy in his arms. She listened to the sound of his heartbeat against her ear, closing her eyes and feeling the wind against her skin.

This was a much better memory to make, and it almost felt like a completely new chapter. Closing the book on the past and starting something fresh with him. All of these moments with him, talking about her past and letting go of all of her worries seemed to be just what she needed.

And she couldn’t wait for everything that was in store for them now that she was completely letting go on who she used to be.

Whenever they got home, it had already been very late into the night. But they got so lost in conversation that time seemed to pass by without them realizing it. Ash was a little tipsy in the beginning, but by the time they arrived at his apartment she was pretty sober. But it was also obvious that she had a calmer air about her.

She was still her happy self like she was earlier, but there was something different about the way that she carried herself. Her heart was light in her chest, and she felt like telling anyone that she saw what she was feeling. Ash was no longer afraid of the emotions that she felt, and there was no reason to hide it anymore.

So whenever she had walked passed Giran to get dressed for bed, the words slipped from her lips casually. The exact way that would be expected of her, given that she doesn’t like to call too much attention to things. Hoping that he wouldn’t call too much attention to it, but that was just wishful thinking.

“I love you,” She said, passing him by on her way to the bedroom.

She honestly should have known that she couldn't make a comment like that and walk away. Not whenever he’s been waiting patiently for her to finally say it in return. And after tonight it felt like the perfect end to it. There was no way that he was going to let her get away without him getting a proper confession.

“Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

She might have said that with a smile on her face and a wave of her hand, but he knew better than to believe that. This was the same woman who said not to surprise her with things, but loved every god damn special occasion he made up to give her something. This was the kind of thing that she does, not wanting to be “cheesy” when in fact she definitely wants that.

Which is why whenever he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer, she let out a small yelp.

“I said not to make a big deal out of it!”

“Too bad. I want to hear it again-”

Ash let out a loud giggle, biting her bottom lip as her cheeks stained brighter.

She grasped both sides of his face, another giggle escaping as she pressed her body against his. It was cute that he was actually making a big deal out of it, clearly happy to hear her say it. Which she would have probably regretted had he not pulled her back. This was honestly a big deal for her, given that she’s never been in love before.

And it was also proving the point clear by the way that she smiled. Tonight was so amazing, and feeling the pain in her cheeks from smiling was only making her happier. She couldn't believe that she could ever be this happy, but she wouldn’t change it for the world.

“I love you,” She said again, loving it the second time, “So fucking much.”

He pulled her closer, kissing her softly and making her moan happily and contently. Immediately she melted into his arms, not caring that her face was about to explode from the heat alone. It just felt so right, and she had never been more in love in her life. Now that she felt confident to say that, she knew that she would be able to love him like he deserved.

Things may have felt a little different, but they felt that way for the better. She knew that deep within her heart as she deepened the kiss, knowing that she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. She was truly in love with this man in every sense of the word.

#self insert #self ship #ship: you drive me crazy (and I hate it)#my writing #self insert x canon #fluff #alcohol mention #suggestive mention #giran bnha

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choomchoom · 5 years ago

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prompt idea: AU where either Lug is Anode's bodyguard or Lotty is Nautica's. 😍 uh, oh wait, a short story. Um. bickering about risk-taking?

You asked for an AU and after some thinking I realized it was easier to do it in canon

(Anode/Lug, G, 1.8k, warning for non-graphic non-fatal gun violence)

“I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“We don’t send trainees off-planet without one.” Powershell had on a long-suffering look that Anode was, by now, quite used to seeing from her.

“I can take care of my –”

“Oh, just tell her.”

Anode choked off the rest of her protest as a familiar face stepped into her view. Lug was hiding a smile, and it was all Anode could do not to run to her and kiss her in front of her supervisor.

Powershell continued speaking. “It’s unorthodox, obviously, to allow anyone to be guarded by their conjunx, but with your history of traveling together, I saw no reason to object when Lug put in the application.”

Anode grinned. “This is going to be awesome.”

“Nothing’s changed, Anode, you’re still going to this workshop to learn about –”

“Sentio metallico carbon-dating, I know, I know,” she said. She tore her eyes away from Lug for a moment to nod at Powershell. “I can multitask.”

“So how did you become a bodyguard? Is there a tragic backstory?” Anode linked her arm with Lug’s and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Do you have to carry a gun?”

“Yes there’s a tragic backstory, and I’ll tell you all about it right after our first near-death experience together,” Lug said. She lowered her voice in turn. “As for the gun, hopefully you’ll never need to find out.”

Anode used their linked arms to draw her into a kiss. They’d taken a shuttle from Caminus to the nearest active spaceport, and now they were surrounded by a wider variety of people than Anode had seen since she’d started her internship.

“Mmph.” Lug broke away almost immediately. “We’re in public. I’m your bodyguard.”

“I know we were having fun with the bit, there, but what’s the point of spending time together if we can’t do what we want?”

“It’s not a bit, Anode. I’m getting paid to keep you safe.”

“The Camiens are too careful. Remember how we wandered around this segment of space for hundreds of years without anyone playing bodyguard?”

“Yes. We almost died thirty-one times.”

“You can’t have actually kept count.”

“Want to bet on that?”

Anode considered. “No.”

Anode had missed Lug’s vindicated half-smile. She wanted to kiss it. Lug slipped her hand into Anode’s and led Anode toward the passenger shuttle they were taking to the conference. “I’ll relax when we’re alone, okay? But the Camiens are worried that someone’s going to hurt you and” she lowered her voice into the joking persona once again. “I’d be a disgrace to my profession if I let that happen.”

Nobody had tried to kill Anode by the time they found their berths on the passenger shuttle, which was honestly a little disappointing. Anode knew that Lug wouldn’t want to hear, that, though, so instead of saying anything she kissed her, letting Lug push her against the wall and putting her hands everywhere she could, reviving her memories of Lug’s frame.

Lug made sure that both of them were strapped into their seats when the shuttle took off and gravity switched from planetary to artificial. Anode didn’t bother to argue, and was rewarded with most of two days all but plastered to Lug’s side, catching up on everything that hadn’t been important enough to waste vidcall minutes on, watching media that Lug had been saving for a time that Anode had a break from the Lighthouse, and making up their own new rules to some of the bizarre Camien board games that Anode had brought holos of.

Anode was insisting that spilling coolant on the holo, shutting it off mid-game, was a valid move, and Lug was laughing at her, when the lights went out.

Anode saw Lug lurch to her feet and Anode followed suit, looking around the room even though she was certain nothing in here had caused the issue.

There was a distant boom. Never a good sound on a spaceship.

A minute after that, the lights turned back on, as if nothing had ever happened.

“Do you think they’ll still pay you if we all die in a spacecraft explosion?” Anode asked after a few seconds of silence.

Lug elbowed her in the side. “Bad joke,” she grumbled, but her shoulders were already relaxing a bit now the immediate crisis seemed to be over.

A voice came over the speaker system. “We apologize for the disruption,” someone said blandly. “There was a mechanical failure in our engine block. Repair crews will be en route and should reach our location shortly. Our arrival at Seneen will be delayed by approximately eight standard hours.”

Too fucking chipper by half for someone who ought to be apologizing, was Anode’s immediate impression. Being eight hours late to the course didn’t phase Anode – that just meant extra time to spend out here with Lug. But the way the lights had gone off first, and then the explosion…something was strange about this.

“Fancy a trip to the engine block?” Anode asked, already turning to go.

“No,” Lug said with surprising vitriol. It was enough protest to make Anode turn to her.

“You didn’t notice how the lights went off before the explosion? That’s what’d happen if you wanted to disable the alarm system by disrupting the electronics and then blow part of the engine up on purpose.”

“Or it could be any of a dozen other things. Either way, we’re here as passengers. It’s not our problem.”

“It’s our problem if someone on the ship is up to something,” Anode said. “Look, you’re my bodyguard, right? If someone did this on purpose, I could be in danger. All of us could. All I’m asking is that we check. You wouldn’t shirk on your bodyguard responsibilities, right?”

“That is so not how any of this works,” Lug said, but she was leaning forward now, shoulders squared toward the door.

“Glad you understand,” Anode said, and when she opened the door, Lug followed her out into the hallway.

The engine block was hidden behind a locked door, for an unusually pathetic definition of the word locked. It took Anode five minutes to build an override, and soon enough she was easing open the door, no alarms to speak of.

The engine room was larger than the equivalents Anode had spent time in over the years – she’d only ever helped out with the engine when it was just her and Lug traveling together. After a few minutes of scanning around, though, she was confident that she could have identified almost everything she was looking at.

It didn’t take that long to notice the problem. There was still smoke coming out of a hole in the piping where Anode suspected a distributor should have been.

It was the kind of thing that could theoretically just happen, if passenger craft like this didn’t have dozens of redundancies to prevent it. However, the frayed remnants of a fuse that had obviously attached to an explosive, lying on the ground next to the busted distributor, told a different story entirely.

“What are you doing here?” It was the same voice from the announcement, now laced with more fear than it had been when announcing the “mechanical failure.”

“Just seeing if we can help,” Anode said, holding her hands up. Beside her, Lug followed suit. “We’ve done a lot of traveling, fixed our share of engines. I see that this one’s pretty busted, though.”

The alien in front of them was about Lug’s height. Their single eye went to the blackened remnants of the fuse on the ground.

And then their eye was on Anode. They’d followed her gaze to the evidence of their crime on the floor. “I just need eight hours,” the organic said. “I can’t work on this prison for another day. Eight hours to squirrel away valuables, just a thing or two from every piece of luggage, and I’ll be set for life. Won’t even hurt anyone – the company insures it. I’m so close to making it.” The organic raised a gun toward them.

Anode didn’t think, she just reacted. She was bigger than Lug and a shot that hit her instead of her conjunx was less likely to hit something important.

The shot went into her hip plating, with enough force to knock her to the ground. She barely got herself up on an elbow in time to hear the second shot go off.

Cold fear seized her spark before she heard the organic’s cry of anguish. “You shot me!” Their voice was shrill now.

“You shot my charge,” Lug said.

Anode managed to turn over and look up at Lug. She was holding a gun out in front of her like she’d been made for it, arms perfectly positioned and still with intent.

The door opened, then, and more attendants burst in. Lug dropped the gun with a clatter and put her hands in the air.

Anode and the organic were put on stretchers next to each other, giving her the opportunity to whisper, “You could have just cut us in on the goods,” before she was carted off to the ship’s medical bay.

Lug didn’t leave her side as the crew took her to the medical bay. The one doctor who happened to be on the ship took one look at Anode before his face solidified into pure panic, and Anode managed to convince him and the crewmembers fretting over her that she could fix herself. It wasn’t a bad wound, though she did break two pairs of the medical bay’s shitty tweezers trying to get the bullet out.

Lug didn’t leave, but she didn’t say anything. Eventually, once Anode was as patched up as she was going to get out here, she turned to Lug. “Cheer up. We caught a criminal!”

Like we’re not criminals and a smile were the response Anode was hoping for, but Lug gave her neither. “You don’t get to tell me to cheer up,” Lug said. “I had one job.”

That was the sticking point? “Lug. Don’t be stupid,” she said. “I’m fine. All that matters to me is that you weren’t hurt.”

“You don’t get it,” Lug said. “When you get hurt, it hurts me. Not just because I’m being paid to keep you safe. When you seek out danger, on purpose, for no reason…you’re risking yourself, and you’re accepting that. But I don’t have to. I don’t want to. You’re allowed to be chipper about it, and I’m allowed not to be.”

Anode took a moment to work through all that. She squeezed Lug’s hand once in acknowledgement before speaking. “Okay,” she said. “If it helps, I really am just fine.”

“I know,” Lug said. Her glum expression didn’t recede.

“You’re a great shot,” Anode tried. “You might have a future in bodyguarding.”

Finally, Lug cracked a smile, resting her cheek against Anode’s shoulder as she laughed. “Maybe I do.”

#anode #lug #lugnode #this got away from me #made by bex

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littlemisssquiggles · 6 years ago

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Hey squiggle meister. What're your thoughts on the flood of people on YouTube who are constantly ranting about the series. And how it's dead after Monty died, and how it's so much worst than before. Etc etc

Tobe honest with you Key, I really don't want to answer this question.I mean it's alright that you asked and I'm going to answer you however I'mgetting a strange sense of deja vu here. Wasn't it not too long ago that youasked me to give my opinion on a similar condition that was happening pre-V6?

Thiswas the issue back then and yet here we are again. You may wanna grab yourselfa snack and settle in because this is going to be one long response post. Let’s just say,this squiggle meister had a lot to let off her chest regarding this particulartopic in the FNDM:

Ihave actually had a small listen to some of these critiques on YouTube and toput it bluntly, I couldn't bring myself to finish most of them. I am a RWBY fan whoalways advocates respecting each other’s opinions regardless of whether or notwe share the same sentiments about the series. I am also a RWBY fan whounderstands that the series is not a flawless show and has suffered more than its fairshare of shortcomings throughout its last arc trilogy.

Nevertheless, in spiteof this, I’ve also acknowledged some noteworthy improvements in the quality of the show that honestly deserves more praise.As someone who has been with this series since its humble beginnings, I have beenthere for each transformation the show has undergone and in doing so, I haveseen RWBY evolve.

Whilesome of the show’s changes haven’t entirely been welcomed by its fandom (withits main change being something completely out of the showrunners’ control) I’dbe lying if I said these changes didn’t contribute to the show’s success insome shape or form.

Speakingfor myself, initially RWBY earned my attention because, like most RWBY stans, Iwas a fan of Monty Oum before and when I discovered that he had his own seriesproduced by RoosterTeeth, I was interested. I didn’t care what the story wasabout or what it looked like. All that mattered to be me back then was that itwas something from the creative mind of Monty Oum so I expected somethingepically action-packed.

At the start, I joinedthe RWBY fandom becauseof Monty however as the seriesprogressed, my reasoning for sticking with it and staying loyal to the showtranscended my past loyalty to the franchise as a by-product of anartist/animator I admired so much.

Thisbrings me to my main point. You want my honest thoughts onthe YouTube RWBY Rants, Key? To be frank, I’m tired of it. It is exhausting listeningto the tirades of these proclaimed RWBY YouTube reviewers who do nothing butgripe and express their disdain for everything the show does wrong according totheir standards. I am so fed up of seeing this happen time and time again.

Andwhat’s sad is that I don’t think part of this is even due to the show or theCRWBY’s fault. Do you know you are more likely to find a video shitting on RWBYas opposed to one that genuinely outlines its positive elements or at leastpresents a fair and just constructive argument of the good and bad of the show?Do you know how many RWBY hate videos the YouTube algorithm has recommended to mesince V6 concluded? It’s ridiculous.

ButI also know I can’t do anything to stop it. So long as RWBY exists, there willalways be these so-called ---I guess we can call them the ‘hate parade’ type of fans who wait like vultures to a carcass to pick apartthe show whenever a new season comes out.

Anddo you know what the sadder part about watching these videos is?

Thesevideos try to give the allusion thatthey are coming from a practical standpoint---as if the things they’repointing out in their reviews are genuine problems with theshow and that their personal advice to the showrunners are valid enough torectify these problems they indicated about RWBY.

Herein, lies my personal peeve with these types of reviews. The best kind of criticto me is one who can point out a flaw in something, justify why they believesaid thing is a clear flaw and then use their own understanding to outlinetheir concept for a possible solution to that flaw that they respectfully leaveopen to the creators of said property to take their advice or not.

However,this is not the case with these YouTube RWBY Rants; at least from the few I’veviewed. I’ll admit, there are some genuinely good RWBY Reviewers on YouTube. Ofthe top of my head, Thatkaitodan, MurderofBirds are two and believeit or not, I actually like some of EruptionFang’s reviews from time to time. Imay not always agree 100% with everything he says in his breakdowns but in myopinion, I can’t get too mad at the things he says in his reviews/video essaysbecause he’s able to justify it in a manner that I’m able to see where he’scoming from. Even if that justification comes from a place of unbridled rage.Referring to EF, I know he’s been receiving flak from FNDM members regardinghis recent views on Adam’s conclusion and Bumblebee; however if I’m beingcompletely honest here, I feel some of that bashing is unwarranted.

Inall fairness to EF, at least I’m able stomach his opinions a lot better than thatof other RWBY Youtubers. As I said, EF is able to properly defend his pointswell enough for me to grasp the validity of his statements which is the least Ican say for some of the others I’ve listened to.

Oftenat times, on the adverse side of RWBY YouTube, I find myself listening toYoutubers who spend more time outright bashing everypersonal gripe they have with the show as opposed to presenting a good argumentthan gives hindsight to why these problems are such an issue to them.

Theworst kind are the ones where this Youtubers point out flaws in the show andtry to give solutions to what the showrunners can do to fix these problems. Butmost of the time it’s done so rudely that it comes off more obnoxious thanhelpful. As if these Youtubers are proclaiming to know and understand moreabout the animation production process than the actual people running the showwho have the qualifications and past industry experience

I’llgive you two examples. Not naming names but I recently watched two videos fromtwo RWBY Youtubers---one critiquing the shows character designs while anotherwas a Youtuber’s final video explaining why they were quitting the RWBY FNDMfor good.

Inthe characterdesign critique, the individualexpressed their disappointment in the recent designs for the RWBY girls and thevillains as of the Mistral Arc. They then proceeded to offer their own tips for how the show could have helped to spruce up someof these designs. However rather than attempting to make their own alternatedesigns to the character outfits, this Youtuber just slapped some rather poorlylaid out flat base colours on top of screenshots of the characters in question.Which from a digital art perspective is…admittedly…lazy.

Iunderstand that not everyone in the world is a designer, much less is a characterdesigner or at least knows how to draw. However…if that is the case then whyare you, as the individual who clearly doesn’t appear to have the design skills,commenting on the work of a studio with a full production team of artists whodo have those required skills and experience and can probably rationalize theirreasons for going with the final designs presented in the show. You get whatI’m saying?

Ifone is going to critique the show’s overall character design then the least youcan do is make the effort to back up your claims. Illustrate your own designsfor RWBY character outfits. Create a mock-up 2D/3D screenshot illustration withproper lighting and atmosphere to see how your design ideas holds up againstthose elements of a scene and then compare that to the actual show’s productionwork. This reviewer didn’t even bother to attempt to maketheir own original designs or even redraw the current designs in their ownstyle and test out their suggested colourpalettes to see if it would fit with the overall design aesthetic of thecharacter.

Youmight be asking now: But Squiggles are you saying I need to know how to draw tocomment about RWBY?

To which I say: No.Being an artist is not a requirement that you as a fan need to really have inorder to comment about something you love. HOWEVER, if you are the type of individualwho has the massive chops to try and dictate a production studio with a team ofeducated and/or industry seasoned artists on how they should handle designingtheir characters without you yourself having the design knowledge to supportyour critiques then… you wonder why the CRWBY often get upset with these typesof fans and don’t take their comments seriously?

Contraryto what others might say, I am not a believer that RWBY is dictated by thedesires of its fandom community. That’s a comment I’ve been hearing buzzingabout since V6 ironically in the face of the recent hate crowd to gather fromwhat transpired with the Bumblebee pairing in the recent season.

Iunderstand that there are fans making the argument that the showrunners onlymade this pairing canon because its popular with its shipping community. Thesame can be said about Neo’s return to become Cinder’s protégé.

Admittedlywhile I might find the CRWBY’s decisions to be questionable at times, this still doesn’t prove that they are run by theirFNDM. If something happens in the show, it’s because it’s something theshowrunners and has wanted to do for some time and picked that current volumeto do so. The mere fact that that thing just so happened to correlate withsomething the fans wanted to see is just a matter of coincidence.

Thatbeing said, I will admit that I’ve noticed one or two members of the CRWBY castwho are guilty of encouraging certain ideas without the show itself officially confirming it in its narrative as yet.

In light of that, Iwill admit this. Regardless of whether or not you as a member of the CRWBY teamsupport a particular ship with all your heart, if other fandoms have taught meanything is that as a cast member you should NEVER encourage anything within yourown fan community. It never ends well and I’m seeing this repeated in RWBY. Butthis is not what I’m here to talk about right now. Moving on.

Inrespect to the video from the individual who was leaving the FNDM, I actually didn’tfinish watching their video because the instant they mentioned Monty Oum and their disdain for the CRWBY not living up to hislegacy and all that stuff, I couldn’t.

Ahyes, the classic ‘RWBY Animation hasn’t been the best since Monty passed away and the RWBYAnimation team are terrible because they can’t replicate Monty’s animation’ debate.How many times is this dead horse going to be beaten? According to this RWBY Youtuber, ‘replicatingMonty’s style of animation is easy andit is appalling the RWBY Animation Team can’t replicate Monty’s style afterfour seasons’.

Thiscomment not only annoyed me as a fan but also as someone who has studiedanimation before. Again, how many times will this poor dead horse be dug up tobe bludgeoned? Will these fans everallow Monty’s name to rest peacefully without bringing it up to tarnish theefforts made by the CRWBY to finish the story he started with them?

Iget it. MontyOum was a good animator.He wasn’t the best animator. He wasn’t some genius animation prodigy. He was a creative mind who had his own way of thinking and doing things andfrom that, he established a style about hisanimation that shined through his work. If you were to show me an animatedpiece done by Monty and the same piece animated by another person, I caninstantly tell you which one is Monty’s because Monty had his own style.

That’sthe appeal of Monty’s work, on my opinion. That’s what he became known for by hisfans. However, even though Monty was great at animating fight scenes, his way---hisstyle is NOT the only wayto animate a fight.

Recently,I took the time to go back and count the number of fights that happened overthe volumes. I did this because as of V6, I couldn’t help but feel as if theCRWBY might be shying away including moments where the characters areactually engaged in combat. I omitted the character shorts because onemandatory element of the Character Shorts is a fight scene. I just wanted tohighlight the individual seasons alone.

Someof this numbers might be a little iffy depending on what I counted as a fight,but here’s what I gathered.

THE VALE TRILOGY

RWBY V1C1:2C2:0C3:0C4:0C5:0C6:3C7:0C8:2C9:0C10:1C11:1C12:0C13:0C14:1C15:0C16:2

Totalfights = 12 Fights

RWBY V2:C1:1C2:0C3:0C4:1C5:3C6:0C7:1C8:0C9:4C10:0C11:4C12:4

TotalFights= 18 Fights

RWBY V3:C1:1C2:2C3:1C4:1C5:2C6:1C7:1C8:0C9:1C10:2C11:2C12:2

TotalFights = 16 Fights

THE MISTRALTRILOGY

RWBY V4:C1:1C2:0C3:1C4:0C5:0C6:1C7:1C8:0C9:2C10:0C11:0C12:1

TotalFights = 7 Fights

RWBY V5C1:0C2:1C3:0C4:2C5:0C6:0C7:0C8:0C9:1C10:3C11:5C12:1C13:1C14:0

TotalFights = 14 Fights

RWBY V6:C1:3C2:0C3:0C4:0C5:1C6:0C7:1C8:0C9:0C10:1C11:3C12:1C13:0

TotalFights = 10 Fights

Why I bring this upis throughout V4 and V6’s runtime I’ve seen one or two all-stars inthe new CRWBY animation team. While not all the fight scenes from the MistralArc were the best, there were definitely some good ones that I stood out to me.

OneV4 fight that keeps being overly praised is the Tyrian vs. Qrow dual. Many fanstend to vouch that fight as the best fight of V4. The only reason that fight isso popular is because it was one of the more important fights of thatrespective season.

However,I’m being completely honest, the Qrow vs. Tyrian one on one was good but itwasn’t the only good fight of V4.

PersonallyI took enjoyment in the small sparring match between Yang and Tai Yang.Believe it or not, I felt like that moment, though small, was well animated andI’d actually give props to the animator behind that small scene. There was a nicesense of rhythm to that small fight that I quite liked.

Notmany folks will agree with little ole me regarding that scene but this just goesto show, we all have our own personal preferences with what we consider to be agood fight sequence vs a not so good one.

Often at times, Ifeel really sorry for the series animators cherry picked to handle the combatmoments for the current seasons because I feel like those animators suffer the most pressure and scrutiny in the eyes of the FNDM. I feel like some FNDM members are sofocused on nagging atthe current CRWBY to capture Monty’s old style of animating fights that they aren’t really giving these new animatorswith their own styles a fair chance toshine outside of Monty’s shadow.

Again.I get it. RWBY was Monty’s brainchild. He’s the creator andno matter how far the current CRWBY takes the series, he will always becredited as its creator.

HoweverRWBY has come a long way since Monty’s days. The show haschanged.The overall look and visual style of the series has changed.Even the production pipeline and the software used to animate the series has changed.The CRWBY hasgrown allowing a greater mix of artistslending their talents to breathe life into the series.

Butwhat seems to kind of still be stuck in the past are some members of the FNDMcommunity. The ones who only watch the show because they are waiting to see thecurrent RWBY recapture that essence of Monty thatthey claimed the show lost after he died.

RWBY is dead after Monty passed away? In some ways, this isboth true and false. The truth is that RWBY did die. The old style that the show was being produced on was laid to restafter its creator unfortunately passed. The false is that RWBY didn’t end withMonty because it’s being continued in its current new style by the people whohelped bring it to life in the first place alongside Monty. The same people whoare diligently carrying on Monty’s project in his place. RWBY isn’t dead. It’sstill breathing. Still going. Because a story still needs to be told.

Ratherthan being judged for how well they can interpret a good fight sequence, theseanimators are judged for how well they can replicate Monty’s style. And when theseanimators don’t live up to that expectation, that’s when the shit storm begins.I myself have been found guilty of comparing the past animation to the present.However now I realized that I was wrong in doing that.

Ithink it’s high time some of these fans let go of the past and accept that theaction fight scenes of RWBY are never going to reflect Monty’s style anymore.

Montyis unfortunately not around to guide the current team with this. And they are doingtheir best to find their own style. To some extent, they found it in V6 becausethe fights in this last season were a tremendous improvement from V4 and V5.

Ifeel like there are some genuinely talented animators workingnow on RWBY who know how to create and sell a great fight and if left to theirown devices, they could really dazzle the audience with their own way of doingthings. I feel like since V4, the CRWBY have been experimenting with how they craftout their fights especially in the new Maya pipeline but it wasn’t until V6where I feel they finally found their footing again.

I think most fanscould agree that the fights in V6 were much better compared to theirpredecessors. One of the best one on one fights was the Neo vs Cinder clash. Whoever was the animator responsible for thatscene should honestly be given more opportunities like thatwhere their work can shine through because that fight was well done. Thesame can be said for the Maria vs. Tok oneon one fight despite how short it was. But the thing is, none of those fightsfelt like Monty’s style to me. It didn’t feel like someone was trying to copyMonty but rather it was someone who probably took a little inspiration Monty’soriginal work and the rest was them bringing their own unique spin to it.

Ifthe CRWBY have been trying to replicatethat Monty style in their fights for the past arc then I’m starting to thinkthat that is what’s been holding them back ratherthan aiding them to move forward.

Thisis why I find the whole point about replicating Monty’s style being easy to be ludicrous. Replicating someone else’s style,depending on the medium is not something you can just do on a fly. It’s noteven something you can perfect in a matter of years. It’s something that takes adeep understanding of the art form you’re using (in this case being animation),time, strict discipline and most importantly of all, guidance and critique from theperson who’s style your copying or someone else who is a master of said style and/orhas a great understanding of it themselves.

That’swhy sometimes you might hear behind the scenes tales about animation studiostaking sometime during their production pipeline to train theiranimators on the style or quality of animation they are trying to emulate in acurrent project. DidMonty do that with the CRWBY? Did Montyget the chance to pass his knowledge and technique onto otheranimators? Did Monty even get to see his story grow to what it is now?

Sadly,no. Monty was a creator who didn’t evenlive long enough to see his own idea flourish for the six seasons it’s beenrunning; now moving onto its seventh season. As far as I know, Monty passedaway as early as V2. Most people don’t even get the chance to see their ideascome to life but Monty was among those fortunate few who was given the shot tomake his idea a reality.

RoosterTeethgave Monty that chance after he worked with them on some of their otherprojects like RvB. He had made himself a household name within their companyand among that, he had made friends and had formed an in-house family with thecolleagues he worked with both on RvB and RWBY.

Saywhat you will about RoosterTeeth and the CRWBY. The original CRWBY who workedwith Monty between V1 and V2 were the people who knew Montythe most. They were his friends. His family. This is all the more reason why itdoesn’t give us, as fans looking in from the outside, the right to use Monty’sname to disrespect the people who knew him better.

Imay not always like what the CRWBY Writers do with the story but I respect themboth as writers. I respect Miles and Kerry because they are the showrunners. RWBY’s plotstarted with Monty, Miles and Kerry.

TheRWBY hate parade need to stop acting as if RWBY was made by Monty alone.Monty did not make RWBY by himself. Shit, he didn’t even create the plot byhimself.

Montyis credited as its creator because RWBY was his brain child and he will foreverbe remembered as the man who conceptualized this idea. But Monty did not writethe story of RWBY himself. He wrote this story with Miles and Kerry.

Whatfolks seems to be misunderstanding or downrightneglecting is that Miles and Kerryhave been with RWBY since its start. They are the two people who worked withMonty in developing the story of RWBY

Itis depressing that Monty only got to live long enough to see two seasons of hisbrainchild come to life.

Insteadof honouring Monty’s legacy by showing support to the people who worked with himto make RWBY happen, folks instead use Monty’s name to slander the CRWBY.

Tothe people who are guilty of this, how can you call yourself a fan? Howcan you call yourself decent human beings witha legit conscience by using a dead man’s name to disrespect the people who werehis colleagues and friends just because you were displeased with something theychose for the show? How is mouthing off the CRWBY and claiming that Montywouldn’t have consented to the direction they’re taking RWBY in a definition ofyour loyalty to Monty?

Howwould you know what Monty would have consented to? How would you know whatMonty would have wanted in general?

Didyou know him personally? I doubt any of you did. So why claim that in yourhateful comments?

RWBYis not the Monty Oum show. I've mentioned this before and I will say it again. RWBY is acollaborative effort. Monty may have conceived RWBY on his own buthe birthed this series through cooperation with RoosterTeeth and the talentedpeople who formed the creative team that made this show with him.

Andit’s those same people who are busting their asses volume after volume to keepthe show going. The CRWBY could have easily cancelled RWBYafter V2. It’s not the first time RoosterTeeth has cancelled a series undertheir name. They could have hung up the towel after V2 and called it quits. Butthey didn’t because they wanted tocontinue the show. They wanted to keep moving forward and finish the story theymade together with their friend Monty.

RWBY’sproduction takes time,thought, passion and effort. If the RWBY YouTube Critics community wishto be the type of people who want to tell the showrunners how to properlyhandle their IP, then at least back up your points with the same level of time,thought, passion and effort that is put into the show.

Andbefore anyone jumps at me and is all like, Squiggles, do you know how long it takes to makea YouTube video essay on my own time? To which I answer with, do you know howlong it takes to produce a full season of an animated production on a studiobudget and a strict deadline within a studio that is juggling multiple IPs?

Anyone can point out a flaw insomething or rather what they perceive to be a flaw in something. But it takes morework to point out that flaw, justify why it’s a flaw by your standards and thentake the time to suggest how it could be improved while throwing in your own workto help boast your claims. But no RWBY Youtuber Critics, at least from the onesI’ve seen, wants to do that. They just want to run their mouths and what’sunfortunate is that they will gather an audience of individuals who do the samewhen it comes to the series.

It’salright if you give your opinion but where it crosses a line is when a fantries to tell the showrunners how they should run their show. It’s even worsewhen they try to do it WITHOUT backing up their claims. You want to downplaythe effort and thought that someone else made without producing your own toargue against theirs?

You want totell the CRWBY how they should write the show? Where are your own retellingsof the show? Where are your own plot breakdowns? Your own scripts possibly accompaniedby storyboards and/or animatics to give others a taste of how your ideas wouldplay out?

You want totell the CRWBY that their character designs are terrible and need rework? Where your own conceptsheets containing dozens about dozens of drafts of redesigns that could betaken?

You want totell the CRWBY that their animation is terrible, that animating like Monty iseasy and the animation of CRWBY would look 100x better if they did x, y, z and123?

WellSkippy, why don’t you prove it? Where is your rendered animation that youpersonally modelled, rigged, textured and animated in your own spare time to backup your proclaimed assessments.

Youmight be telling yourselves, Squiggles why do all of that? That sounds like a whole lotof extra work just to prove points for a critique where I’m trying to tell theCRWBY what to do?

Towhich my response will be, EXACTLY.

Ifthe RWBY Hate Parade wish to make a mockery of the extra efforts the CRWBYmembers put into RWBY, then where is their extra effort? If they at least dothat then maybe I can respect them a little more as people who know whatthey’re talking about because they have the skills and knowledge to back uptheir arguments.

But how am I as the outsider listening in on some of theseYouTube rants supposed to take any of these people seriously when all they’redoing is making lengthy diatribes slandering the work of others and trying topass off as someone who knows more about animation and how it’s done thansomeone who does.

Dothese fans believe that makes them seem witty?It doesn’t. It makes them seem very disrespectful.

Idon’t understand the fans that are like this and I’m not sure if I want tounderstand. I don’t even wish to discuss them furthermore because at the end ofthe day, I can’t speak for these fans. I can only speak for myself and I knowwhere I stand as a fan of RWBY. If there is one advice I can give to my fellow FNDMfam is that weneed to stop drawing attention to the hate parade. Too often do Ihear more about the negative side of the RWBY community and their opinions ofthe series than the actual good that show and its FNDM has spawned.

Weas the people who still love RWBY and are willing to accept and stand by it andits showrunners, flaws and all, need to become more vocal aboutshedding light on the positives of RWBY

Eitherthat or just ignorethe haters. Seriously, we need to stop giving these guys anaudience. Similar to how the RWBY Hate Parade spend their time mostly pointingout the negative in the show, we the FNDM often at times draw too much attentionto these folks.

Ina sad way, we’re kind of sending traffic over to them. Giving them moreattention that they don’t deserve.

Thesetypes of fans can talk but we don’t need to listen to them. Because for all theflak they give the series and its showrunners, the RWBY train is still moving;strong and unaffected.

Why?Because I’d like to believe the CRWBY don’t pay attention to the hate paradebut more focus on what they wish to do with the series while looking out to thesmiling fans who help spread good word about their show. And really, isn’t thegood still that’s very much there all that really matters?

Soto conclude finally, this answer took me way too long to write. Sorry to haveyou wait so long Key. This answer took me some time to put together. Apologiesif it’s a very long-winded answer. I really don’t like discussing any negativestuff in the FNDM.

I acknowledge that it exists and it’s pretty much alwaysgoing to be there but that doesn’t mean I should give it any attention. But forwhat it’s worth, I hope I said enough to make my full peace with this topic.Cheerios!

~LittleMissSquiggles(2019)

#squiggles answers: rwby #rwby #oscar pine #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #monty oum #crwby #roosterteeth #keyenuta

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knightofbalance-13 · 7 years ago

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The Logical Fallacies of Criticism

https://www.raphkoster.com/2013/10/14/on-getting-criticism/

Everyone who dislikes your work is right.

And the bottom line is, you put the game out there in order to get reactions. If it were not for reactions, you could have just kept the game in your drawer and gotten everything you needed out of it.

Incorrect: Nothing is ever valid if it is correct on that simple basis alone. i can say that the Avengers is literally the worst movie in history with terrible action, horrible dialogue and atrocious music and I would be right by this logic, despite it being a widely accepted fact that the Avengers movie is great in all these areas and having a very positive overall score to it. Just because you believe all criticism you got is correct doesn’t mean that applies to everyone or that even you are right. That is just a gateway to being used and manipulated by people.

You yourself say that reactions are what is needed for media: Would not positive reactions be included in that? And what about negative reactions that goes beyond the logical acceptance, such as what happened in Tokyo Ghoul where the creator was told to go kill himself because he didn’t make a ship canon? Should he retcon a decision of his so he can appease a group that went ballastic over a ship? The answer is yes to the first and no to the second and third.

The criticism that is useful is that which helps you do it better.

That means there are two aspects of your work that you want to hear about the most. What you did right, and what you did wrong.

This is a direct contradiction to what you said before where you basically said that negative criticism is always right but now it’s both sides that are important. And this brings up the question of: What if the reaction only shows one side? What if someone says nothing but praise and the other says nothing but criticism? Accepting either one means denying and avoiding the second side and that is an incredibly dangerous thing to do.

Nothing’s perfect.

The fact is that to do creative work is to know that most of what you do is shit. And we feel that way because we know we can do better. Honestly, if you aren’t pushing the boundaries of what you can do, you’re probably not working hard enough. And working at the edge means a lot of screw-ups.

While being critical of oneself is good, doing so too much and believing that “90% of what you do is shit” is not a valid nor even slightly healthy way as it denies you a style and constant puts you under pressure to change or improve everything when somethings don’t need improving or changing and are perfectly fine the way it is. Acting and thinking this way will only stress you out and leave you open to manipulation.

You often have to choose between your ideals and your message.

It doesn’t mean I have to give up on the philosophical ideal. But it does mean that there are many many ways to compromise, and not all of them leave you compromised. In fact, being uncompromising may be the least successful way to achieve your artistic goal.

Wait, but you said in the second statement:

People make games for different reasons. Some do it just because it is fun. Some do it as a form of personal expression. Some have a message to get across, and some are out to make money to put food on the table.

So what if compromising that message would contradict what they want to do? What if they want to get their message or philosphy across first and foremost? Yeah, in games this can be bad but not in all media: Books are a good media to get this across through a story, entertaining the audience by detailing their philosphy. So this seems contradictory again.

You have to dig to get the gold.

Most feedback you get isn’t going to be from fellow practitioners. Even when it is, they are not going to know as much about the specific ways in which you did things, the tools you used, the practices you follow, to be able to pinpoint exactly what’s wrong without a pretty deep dive.

This means that usually, when someone tells you that something is wrong or broken, it’s going to be wrong. But wrong in the sense that it will be imprecise. You need to find out what the problem is underlying the problem. In other words, the symptoms described will almost always be right, and the diagnosis will often be wrong.

Don’t discard the feedback because of this. Look at it as a door you need to push on. Dig deeper and find out what the real issue is.

Incorrect again. Just because someone says it’s wrong doesn’t make it wrong. In criticism it only becomes problem if a massive amount of people say it’s wrong. Listening to one person who could just be a spiteful troll say something’s wrong due to personal opinion is stupid and fallacious. You have to trust your instincts and take all criticisms into account.

Good feedback is detailed.

Look past what may feel like condescension. This sort of detail is impossible for someone who has not engaged fully with your work. The sign of a critic who does not care is brevity, not detail. It’s dismissal.

Now, all the other caveats about whether or not this feedback is right still apply. It can be detailed and not right. But never dismiss serious thought.

Incorrect: the person can be lying through their teeth or willfully not taking things into account of “missing” certain details and do so with detail. They can talk on and on and on about how much this sucks but if they are lying or not taking things into consideration or are motivated by selfish desires then the detail is irrelevant. Again, trust your instincts.

People who tell you you’re awesome are useless. No, dangerous.

I am not saying that you need to lack confidence in yourself. (Heck, you’ll never put anything out if that’s the case! You need to have the arrogance to assume anyone will care in the first place). I am saying that nobody is ever done learning, and people who tell you you have arrived will give you a sense of complacency. You should never be complacent about your art.

But that is exactly what will happen if you follow these guidelines: You will have no confidence in what you think and what your opinion is, only what the audiences want. And said to say but most vocal parts of the audiences are very small groups who are motivated by selfish and destructive desires so they will take advantage of your insecurities to abuse and beat you into their slave and make you write what they want, not what you want. And a creator’s first and foremost concern when making something for themselves or out of passion or love (which are usually the highest regarded works) should make it for themselves and then show that love to the world. The Nostalgia Critic says it the best: https://youtu.be/F0_W6gomFA8?t=12m41s

Someone asked for feedback will always find something wrong.

This is super simple. When someone is asked to critique something, they will feel like they have failed if they don’t find something wrong. So everyone will always find something, even if there’s nothing major to fix.

That doesn’t mean that the thing they mention is wrong. If the only feedback you get from multiple people is the same minor thing, you should feel pretty good!

This contradictory to the previous statements again which say that only negative criticism is good and that positive people are not.

Good work may not have an audience.

This is a sad truth. There is no correlation between quality and popularity. You may make something that is sophisticated, subtle, expressive, brilliant, and lose out to what is shallow and facile and brash. Oh well. And that really is the right attitude to have about it, too: oh well. Getting bitter about it is pointless.

That said, don’t underestimate the skill required in being simple, polished, and accessible. Dense and rich is easy. Simple is hard. You denigrate “pop” at your peril.

Except they won’t have that attitude due to all of the advice before hand which will leave them in a state of extremely low self esteem and will make them question their abilities as a creator: thus encouraging them to think they are no good and quit. This is why balance is such a necessity.

Any feedback that comes with suggestions for improvement is awesome.

That’s because it means the person offering the criticism actually thought about your goals. So either you get avenues to explore that assist you in your artistic goal, or you get told that your goal is invisible to an audience! Both are highly valuable information.

But what if that person isn’t making suggestion for the improvement to everyone: What if their suggestion is incredibly selfish and self centered and serves only to make it better to them and them alone? What then:? Should you take that advice even though it is obviously destructive?

If you agree with the criticism, say “thank you.” If you disagree, say “fair enough,” and “thank you.”

Complaining about a critique, or about a bad review, is utterly pointless. You can’t deny the subjective experience of the reviewer. You also have to be thankful that they paid enough attention to actually say anything at all. The fact is that indifference is the enemy, not engagement, even if that engagement doesn’t get the results you want.

You’re going to face way more indifference in your career than anything else. There are a lot of people out there working really hard, and they all want the audience attention that you do. Always be grateful for the attention. Someone takes the time to let you know what they thought? That’s already one in a thousand. They cared.

Exactky: Subjective. Meaning biased, opinionated and ultimately no use to you: you need to look for criticisms that are trying to be objective and factual. And that argument of “at least they paid attention” is crap: You can pay attention to something just to hate on it and just to know what lies to say and what facts you can twist.

Once indifference was the enemy: Now it is everyone. You can only trust attempts at being factual and honest and your own instincts.

You are not your work.

Above all, don’t forget this. Oh, be personally invested, of course. Your art will be poorer if you are not. But every little ship we launch is just our imperfect crafting of the moment. And we move on. We create again, and again. Each can only ever express a fragment, a tiny fraction of ourselves. And if you are trying to always improve in your craft and your art, then every old fragment, everything out there in the world already, that’s old news. You are on the next thing. Your next work, that’s who you are. Not the work that exists, but the work that does not yet.

So if someone savages it, who cares? That was yesterday. It’s not who you are now.

Hold on to that, because a lot of people can’t separate the work from the artist. Including a lot of artists.

This statement is contradictory: you are not your work but your work is a part of, therefore, who you are. I feel like this is an attempt to devalue an artist’s personal interest and investment in their work in order to detach them from it to make it more susceptible to control.

And that’s what this whole thing reads as: an attempt to make works susceptible to control from a vocal part of the audience by telling them that all negativity is good while simultaneously saying contradictory words in order to disguise this. If anyone followed this, they would have such a low opinion of themselves that they would listen to anyone who could get through to them first which, considering the power of screaming and mob mentality, would undoubtedly be an abusive group who just wants the media to portray exactly what they want for their own selfish wants. I have seen this in the past and I’ve seen it done today, by no other than the person who showed me this link. They wanted a certain show to go exactly the way they wanted which would alienate everyone except their small group by acting like a bunch of abusive lovers who try to emotionally abuse the creators into doing exactly what they want. This thought scares and pisses the hell out of me because the creator’s drive should be treated as the foremost concern, not the wants of the crowd. The creator does what they want with the show, all we can do is help guide them down the path they want, not choose that path for them. That is the road to successful works, not this abomination.

#criticism #bad criticism #incorrect way of taking criticism

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soviet-lovers · 7 years ago

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Wrote this last night right when I saw this nasty ill written crap, but got too tired to post my response. I'm not usually one to go off like this, especially on such a badly written post that has no logic in it but it's getting ridiculous as predictable with this particular part of the fandom, and I'm ANNOYED, so humor me I guess😂 “Bucky has only shown love to one person in the mcu world and that is his husband steve ( they married in my head okay ?” -First off "married in your head" ok wow you literally have to imagine it in your head.... Ok already off to a bad start on why nothing you said made any sense, yeah I don't think that means st*cky is or will ever be canon😂 “you could at least recognize me.” "i personally think she meant the times the soldier tried to kill her??" -Marvel leaves Easter eggs for each film that will lead to future events. The tiny reveal from Zola in TWS of the winter soldier possibly killing the Starks is a brief scene in that film that most forgot and it turned out to a HUGE turning point in CW. Don't think russos would leave the line "you could at least recognize me" from Nat to Bucky if it meant nothing, when it could easily allude to their comic canon past. The russos have said it numerous times, they are huge geeks when it comes to comics and grew up reading them( I can completely relate😊) so the possibility of comic book references and relationships being valid & made canon (see staron&scarletvision) being in their films is endless! " if she was as memorable to him as you shippers think then how come he didn’t recognize her in the winter soldier and in civil war?" -CW was packed with scenes, and the only scene (shown to us) of him not in winter soldier mode when he's around her is when she helps him and Steve escape. And the scene is brief. Had it shown him look directly at her and nothing then maybe he didn't recognize her. But the camera didn't focus on either of them seeing each other. So it is still open for a moment in the next film for him to see her. "now their relationship in the comics ( only place where it’s canon ) is toxic , he trained her from childhood to adulthood" -We can't stress this enough to you antis at this point y'all are actively choosing to ignore facts or just don't actually do research, NAT MET AND WAS TRAINED BY BUCKY IN COMICS AS AN ADULT!!!!! She was around the age of 29 I believe?... Either way, full grown ADULT this false narrative of her being a child was MADE UP and probably taken from someone's fanfic or fan art, who knows. "seb doesn’t ship it" -we can assume Seb does ship it, or at least wants it to happen. Cause he said so in interviews he would like for it to happen..... So idk why y'all are lying about that. A lot of people say it's only cause of scarjo, and while yes she's gorgeous and that's probably a bonus, Sebastian is a fantastic actor who HAS READ COMICS AS RESEARCH and understands the bond his character Bucky and the character Natasha have, as they come from the same place and have similar experiences. Both forced to kill. Both punished for loving eachother. They're partnership in the modern era is built off of trust and they treat each other equally. What's abusive about that...... "Bucky and her have no chemistry whatsoever ever" -we are waiting for them to have a scene where they actually TALK... So how can you even make that assumption ?? Ever heard of development?? Writers and directors tend give characters development as each film goes along. People praise the chemistry between Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson, but not until TWS film, even though they had some scenes in the avengers prior to that film. Those characters were given development, like all characters do. So if they plan on doing Buckynat, we will obviously be waiting and be excited for SOME development. " nat doesn’t deserve being made to hop on one WHITE male’s cock to another every movie." -Wow y'all know she has only been with Bruce and it didn't really work out. She has had been FRIENDS with other males, independent strong women are aloud to have friends or be in a relationship. Quit acting like you care about her when all you're doing is trying to get her away from half of your ship. The vulgar wording y'all use really seems like you're just slut shaming her. All in all, I'm fine with different opinions, but not from people ( all from a particular fandom most often) who ignore facts and well given clues, and then turn around and tell off people who acknowledge and choose to enjoy what is given and possibly will be given to them. If Buckynat happens, IT HAPPENS, all of the antis coming out to bash this ship this week seems in time with that photo of Scarlett and Sebastian. YOU GUYS are the ones making a bigger deal out of it then the shippers. A lot of us were happy because it goes with a previous rumor that they may begin filming at the same time, so they could have scenes, THATS IT!! The antis are the ones who seem very confident it will happen because of how much time they've spent the last few days trying to debunk the possibility of it happening . If one photo is enough to get you to spew so much hate into the Buckynat tag on tumblr/twitter and even Instagram and tag Sebastian in it (I've seen this), maybe your ship is not as great as you think it is. Ok rant over

#i'm surrounded by idiots #if Buckynat happens #it happens #nothing your lies can do about it #i normally don't do this #it was so stupid I couldn't resist

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thenearsightedmicroraptor · 8 years ago

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Hello I am going to talk more about romance now because I have Thoughts and Love to Yell. This is gong to be about how I experience being in a relationship, and how I write romance or shippy things, because I’ve been thinking a lot about that.

My relationship status is that I have a girlfriend. Some days gf stands for Glarefriend instead. She’s very beautiful and I love her a lot. She’s been my gf for about 1.5 years now. I’m biromantic asexual, she’s aromantic asexual (at least this is how we identify right now).

We’ve never kissed. We live in two different contries and have physically been together in the same area for one week in total. I have close friends whose hand I’ve held more than hers. We might cuddle, but I cuddle with ALL my friends

She’s aro, as said before. I’m not. I get crushes, I know of the butterflies in your stomach, I can go around pining after people. I never had a crush on her. She doesn’t really fall in love with people, and I can, but never did with her. We love each other, but we’re not what I would call in love. We’re still partners

And on the other end of the spectrum, there’s people who kiss and have sex and live together and are still just friends. So how can me and my girlfriend be partners and they’re not?

Because we say so.

Because this is how we decide to describe our relationship. And I, personally, describe it this way because it feels right. There’s a sense of commitment to it, and calling her my girlfriend is a way of making her part of my life even when she can’t be around because of physical distance. It’s a way of associating her with me in an intimate way. And I love all my friends and am proud of being part of their lives, but having Shtiya be the one who has the title of my girlfriend just feels right.

And this is a valid way of defining ‘being in a relationship‘ because romance is a social construct and words have no meaning and time is an illusion and there’s no such thing as objective fact if you dig deep enough and we can define the world around us in whatever way that makes us feel good as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone ISN’T THAT EXCITING!!

This is also why my gender identity is valid. Because being a goblin makes way more sense to me than being a boy, or a girl. We get to tell our own story and shape our own lives.

My definition of romance may be confusing, but LOOK. SOCIETY’S DEFINITION OF ROMANCE IS ALSO CONFUSING. WE’RE JUST USED TO IT. And if it works for you then that’s 100% cool, but if it DOESN’T, then you don’t have to follow it! We made it up! We made everything up! Being alive is all about creating a room where you feel comfortable and everything is wrong until proven false.

ANYTHING CAN BE A ROMANCE. A ROMANCE CAN BE THREE PEOPLE LYING IN A DITCH SCREAMING IN UNISON. If you want people to know that this is what you mean by ‘romance‘, you might have to specify that because of communication and how language works, so if you tell about your romantic partners and people expects that to mean you do the smooch, don’t, be surprised, but. That doesn’t mean it can’t be a romance, if that is a term that makes sense to you. You know?

And my relationship with my girlfriend is not how I define a relationship. It’s not even what a relationship is to me. It is what THIS relationship is. And maybe we’ll move on, and we’ll have other people who we have different relationships with, that will be just as valid as this one, even though they might be completely different. If me and my gf stopped being in a relationship, and I went on to find a girl with whom I would like to do the smooch, and she became my girlfriend, and we did the smooch, that would not mean she is somehow more my girlfriend than my current girlfriend had been. Because this is the relationship that works for us, and that is unique, because any relationship will always be unique!

okay so that was a lot of words. Here comes some more. Because this is how I tie this into writing romance. Which I am gonna put under a readmore because ths post is already unbelievably long.

What I find exciting about writing romance is not necessarily physical contact and pining and smooches. I do write this, and I do like writing this, but what I like the most is to build up the specific thing that could be a romance between these two characters, or, if writing fanfiction and this is already established, then how that shows in specific situations.

Right now, I’m working on a crossover fanfic between two characters who never met in canon, and look, I’m a huge sap, there’s definitely going to be comforting and cuddling and kisses in there, at some point, but that’s not what their romance is, even though I decide to make that a part of it. Their romance is a lot of teasing and a lot of eyerolls and a lot of getting on each other’s nerves and learning to work together regardless, and it’s about realizing that having someone around is actually really nice even though you might not agree on everything, getting to know each other and know when the teasing’s okay and when it’s too much. It is about how these two specific characters get to know each other, and how their lives grow into each other, to the point where both of these quite independent characters would miss each other if the other wasn’t around.

And like, this could also be a friendship. I choose to call it a romance and write this romance in this specific way because this is what I like to write, this is how I want to write it. And that’s what I find so exciting about fanfiction and fanworks in general - everyone has their own idea of how this relationship could work, how this relationship would show in this and that situation. Not just relationships - the entirety of AU’s are based on the idea of ‘What If’. My fic is me asking ‘what if these two characters met‘, and theres a lot of possibilities for what could happen. One of them seems fun to write. I write it.

What I don’t like about a lot of romances in mainstream media is that the writers don’t take the time to find out, okay, what would this specific romance be. What could it be. There tends to be A Romance, The Romance, that they write, often to please an audience or create drama or something? I don’t know. No matter what, the result is that this could have been ANYONE, basically. If you want me to buy into a romance, you have to be able to show what these two specific people do for each other.

I can find a story where two people gaze into each other’s eyes and then kiss, like, anywhere. This is not to say that you shouldn’t write gazing and kissing, but if you want to convince me that your story is something special, that can’t be the selling point. If you manage to have character A give character B a dead bird and have that be romantic, or part of a romance, then you suddenly have something unique, and I’ll be more likely to buy into it.

And when the selling point of a romance is that it is a romance, and you then try to add a love triangle ... that’s not going to work. “Should she pick this romance or that romance?!“ you cry, and I just, sit here. It’s the same romance, friend. They might have different brand names on the boxes, but it’s the same tired romance and I don’t care.

I dislike love triangles for other reasons too, but that’s a thing to add to the mountain of worm-cans in the back.

I am VERY MUCH an advocate of Write Whatever Makes Your Heart Do The Smiley Emote (as long as it isn’t actively hurtful or harmful for other people, but that goes for basically everything) so if you want to write a Standard Romance, go for it. But if you want your story to stand out (to me, at least), if you want to convince me to ship this pair instead of that pair, if you want me to actually CARE about whether or not these characters kiss in the end, you have to go deeper and thing about what this specific character can do for this other specific character, and vice versa.

Honestly a lot of it just boils down to GOOD CHARACTERS, which most of the things I like in stories turn out to boil down to, so, that’s good for me, I guess. Care about your characters. All of them, not just some of the members of a relationship. At least that’s a start you can’t go wrong with, in my opinion.

So. That’s my thoughts on how Romance, and my opinions on how to Fictional Romance. I feel like there should be some sort of conclusion to this MOUNTAIN of words, but I don’t have one, so we’ll just have to do without.

#Long post #like really long post #romance #Bird stands in Internet Field and Yells #writing #A Raptoriginal #Basically A Small Essay Let's Be Real

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