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theshippirate22 · 9 months

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careful what you wish for @grimmfitzz because i have been vibrating wanting to rant all day and now i’ve been given permission so it’s comin’! here we go yall

THE RANT

listen. i am an Alice in Wonderland person. that is my thing. i love everything from the novel. i love the merch. i was Alice at least four halloweens when I was little. picture the thing you love the most of all the things and multiply it by ten and that is how I feel about Alice in Wonderland.

SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THE GRAVITY WHEN I TELL YOU I HATE DISNEY ALICE IN WONDERLAND

let me tell you why.

starting off with the animated 1951 version, i personally don’t like that they focused so much on like. giving it a plot. like in the original nothing bad happens, she just is trying to get home and keeps getting stopped by these eccentric little people (she does get chased by the jabberwocky in Through the Looking Glass but that’s like the not even part of this movie so it doesn’t count.) like part of the whimsy of the original novel is that it’s just like her meeting all these silly little people on her way home and there’s a whole bunch in the 1951 that’s like put there specifically to move the plot along. which i get, for what they’re trying to do like i do understand it’s an animated movie for children but like. come on guys you defeated the whole purpose.

Now, as for the 2010 Tim Burton version, I love the aesthetic and the vibe, and even the story and I wholeheartedly believe that that version of Alice did more for feminism than all of the you-can-tell-i’m-a-strong-female-character-because-i-don’t-have-a-love-interest bullshit disney’s been doing the past five ish years combined. however, it’s like. not Alice in Wonderland. like it fits in the same category in my head as a really well done fanfiction because yes, its Alice in Wonderland characters but no it’s not Alice in Wonderland.

But of course, my biggest, nastiest critique of both versions is (*deep breath*) the goddamn Queen of Hearts.

If you know like anything about like Alice in Wonderland *lore* you know that the story is like… not an allegory per se but basically it’s supposed to exaggerate how children are sometimes treated by adults.

Like asking stupid questions (the caterpillar) or talking in circles about nonsensical things (the hatter) or giving conflicting or unhelpful directions (the cheshire cat) or telling dark/pointless stories (tweedledee abd tweedledum)

Which brings me to the Queen of Hearts.

Both Disney versions depict my beloved Queen as the main antagonist- the Bad Guy™️ if you will- but the problem is that in Lewis Carroll’s novel, she actually isn’t. The antagonist is the jabberwocky, which is a personification of Fear. The Queen of Hearts is just another crazy adult who says things that Alice doesn’t like. If we want to interpret the character into Alice’s real life, she might be a strict teacher who hands out punishments too generously (off with their heads!) or a governess who is set on dictating every single instant of her life. It’s an exaggeration! The Queen of Hearts is NOT the Bad Guy™️!!!!

ahem anyway that drives me actually bonkers if you can’t tell and i know it’s not that important but i wanted to say something anyway lmao so there you go

(if you are looking for a good Alice in Wonderland adaptation try the 1985 made-for-tv one! It’s like three hours long and it’s so fun and cute and there’s a bunch of old celebrity cameos! Details here)

#alice in wonderland #tw anti disney #that’s my beef yall thanks for reading #so sorry mickey thanks for letting me get that out though #shut up jay

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koskela-knights · 4 months

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I’m trying to make my own AW2 playlist of chapter ending songs—do you have any recommendations? Feel like we’re similarly obsessed with the spiral…

Thnx for your question! And well yeah I might be a bit obsessed with the spiral/loops and its endless possibilities & scenarios that could've been 👀

Besides the official ending songs the game already provides, there are some other songs that give me general AW/AW2 vibes or specific feels for certain characters! I've been pondering about songs to share for a while, so this is a great opportunity! Thnx again for the ask!

Also feel free to share your own songs in my inbox if you feel like it :D

It's gonna be a long post so buckle up 😅

This is the moment to share my love for Lord Huron, specifically their Strange Trails album but also Vide Noir one.

Strange Trails is, to me, an album about being lost and cursed and it's about love. Honestly, I don't think The Night We Met is a good representative about the entire album.

Meet Me In The Woods

This entire song just screams Alan Wake to me.

I took a little journey to the unknown, And I come back changed. I can feel it in my bones. I fucked with forces that our eyes can't see. Now the darkness got a hold on me.

(...)

How long, baby, have I been away? Oh, it feels like ages though you say it's only days. There ain't language for the things I've seen. And the truth is stranger than my own worst dreams.

(...)

I have seen what the darkness does. Said goodbye to who I was. I ain't never been away so long. Don't look back them days are gone. Follow me into the endless night. I can bring your fears to life. Show me yours and I'll show you mine. Meet me in the woods tonight.

Like, how can you read those lyrics and not think about our boy Alan.

2. Way Out There

Drifting in a land time forgot If you think that I've changed, you know me not I belong bodily to the earth I'm just wearing old bones from those that came first I been unraveling since my birth

Those lyrics and partially the song in general remind me of Alan in the Dark Place trying to escape. How many loops has he been through? (Thus in this context, kind of wearing 'old bones from those who came first, aka older iterations of Alan himself) Also, the theremin they use is so fitting and it's an instrument often used in horror movies so <3

3. Vide Noir (both album itself & song)

Where can you go when it’s all in your head? These are the last words that I ever said Where can you go when it’s all in your head? These are the last words that I ever said

Tbh, this album also gives off major Control vibes with its themes and songs about the Astral plane & the black void. Many other songs on the album talk about the main character getting lost and drifting in-between time/space and living/dying

4. War by Poets of the Fall

You might be familiar with the song already and its music video 👀

I like how all the Poets were involved in the video as Taken (have you seen BTS shots of Olli with a fake beard?!!) Anyways, the song makes me think of how Alan has to remember that there are people out there who want to help him. That there are people out there fighting against the Darkness, even if he is mainly unaware and might even feel he doesn't deserve external help. It also reflects Alice being Alan's bright light in the darkness, and the reason he wants to keep fighting to get back to her.

In a similar vein, Lust For Life (also PoTF haha) this song could also be seen through an Alan/Alice lens, the shared shoebox mechanic and Alice trying to help/guide Alan back to the real world.

What is lost may be found Safe and sound

5. Hello Cabaret by PoTF

Now this song is maybe one of my faves of the Ghostlight album. Relistening to my fave lyrics of the song, it reminds me of the Koskelas and Ilmo specifically.

For when you come calling Dancing on my grave For all my choices made Judging me for how I played The hand you dealt me Stains the blood that flows

(...)

Of all I once did love but lost Nothing comes without a cost The wise fool said that's just the way it goes

(...)

Most will never comprehend Till' they're in the very predicament

To me, Ilmo at the end of the game is heartbroken and dead inside now that his other/better half is gone. The 'you' in question here might as well be the player or Scratch/Alan and he feels judged by the narrative of his previous actions. He's made decisions and sacrifices and used the Cult as a palpable 'villain' for the greater good. Something many probably didn't/wouldn't understand unless they were in his shoes.

6. Chasing Echoes by PoTF

It's a fun coincidence that in AW2 you have literal Echoes to chase huh.

Is this a role or disguise seeking mercy in creation? Just another device or truly a time when we will rise? Oh one and all, to the occasion And bridge the gap to see the other side?

The more on-the-nose/literal meaning aside, I think this song can be read as another one about Alan trying to escape the DP/spiral upwards toward ascension. Again, there's a 'you' in this song that could be interpreted as Alice who is a light inside Alan's darkness.

7. Brother by Lord Huron

How long have I known you, brother? Hundreds of lives, thousands of years How many miles have we wandered Under the sky, chasing our fear? Considering the spiral and the historical background of the Koskelas and their (indirect) ties to the Huotaris, they might as well known each other/been brothers for longer than what we see in-game. Some kind of trouble is coming Don't know when, don't know what I will stand by you, brother 'Til the daylight comes or I'm dead and gone

(...)

I know we can't stop what's coming But I will try, oh how I'll try Will you fight with me, brother One last time, one last fight

We know Ilmo got visited by the Dark Presence and has had nightmares about killing Jaakko. Luckily, he rose above that (as far as we know) but I think the dread and fear of losing Jaakko keeps lingering just underneath the surface. Personally, I enjoy the thought of people sometimes remembering the previous loop/spiral and that those affected/remembering would try anything to keep the loop from repeating.

8. You Belong To Me by Cat Pierce

If you're a fan of Alan/Scratch, this song has that obsessive/possessive vibe to it that seems to be a dialogue/mix between them.

I've heard allegations 'bout your reputation I'll show you my shadows if you show yours Let's get it right dear, give a good fight dear We'll keep it all up behind closed doors

(...)

I must confess to you, I want to possess you Feels like we're dreaming, we're tripping and reeling Just say that you belong to me I could get lost in the feelings we're feeling Just say that you belong to me

#anon ask #alan wake 2 spoilers #alan wake 2 #alan wake #alice wake #TLDR: Lord Huron Strange Trails/Vide Noire albums and PoTF's Ghostlight album <333 #koskela brothers #ilmo koskela #jaakko koskela #my posts #my ramblings #songs I listen to for years now and always like to reassign to the fandom at hand

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madamescarlette · 2 years

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Webcomics For Your Consideration

This started out as a recommendation list for @magpie-trove, but as it started getting longer and longer I decided to make it its own post! I hear there's a general migratory shift to Webtoon since Wayne Family Adventures started, so I thought I would recommend some of my favorites here.

Gourmet Hound (Completed, 166 chapters): This will probably head the list of any recommendations I make because it is quite simply my forever favorite. This is a slice-of-life story about a girl with a heightened sense of smell (and thus taste) who is reeling after the death of her grandmother who raised her, and her friendship with a former chef who is struggling after leaving his former job. This is one of the very few pieces of media that is able to describe food in the same way that I love it, with all the wonder and joy of being near it, and while it is combined with the characters' trying to find their way towards healing after their respective losses, somehow it manages to make me instantly happy every time I read it. Light, fluffy, and deeply, deeply emotional in the best way!

Your Letter (Completed, 10 chapters): A quite short comic about an elementary schoolgirl who transfers to a new school and her adventures in finding letters from the boy who used to sit at her desk. It is incredibly solid, perhaps due to its being so short, and it brushes up against the joy of being alive in a very gracious, sweet manner.

Nothing Special (Ongoing, 150 chapters): This was created by an artist who is involved in traditional comics, and it shows to very good effect! A fun, delightful romp about a high school girl who lives on the border between the magical and modern worlds, and a boy she befriends who finds out he is magical for the first time. A good 25% of my enjoyment from reading this is just reading all the extra little messages scrawled in the margins or to the side of the main conversation, and overall the tone has a happy kookiness that makes it a delight to return to.

Marry Me! (Completed, 134 chapters): Another slice-of-life manga about a civil servant who through his work ends up marrying an unemployed women, and their whole story about what it means to be a family and to actively learn to care for other people. This is a comic where very little goes on except the everyday lives of the main characters, but the sweetness of watching these two form a little family and make deeper and better friendships and gradually care for each other is SO good and calming to my heart.

Seasons of Blossom (Ongoing, 95 chapters): This story is like a coming-of-age story distilled to its very essences. It follows a revolving set of characters and focuses on a different one for every arc, each of the cast being a high school or college student in modern-day Korea. This is another one of my favorites, though the second and third arcs deal closely with heavy themes (i.e. suicide, self-harm) but in all honesty it is done in such a gentle, kind way that is deeply comforting to me. But, if those are too heavy at present, the first arc (Spring) is pretty much entirely happy, joyful fluff about a girl who tries to avoid liking the same guy as her best friend and the hijinks that ensue that can be read like a self-encapsulated story.

House of Stars (Completed, 26 chapters): If any story on this list can be knitting-circle-coded, this one would be! Though I never watched enough to be able to say this, it has vague Alice Syfy vibes. It is the story of a girl who ends up in the land of stories who takes on a quest to save them from the reign of an evil queen who watches over them all. Primo fairytale vibes, that's all I'm saying.

Knights of Asherah (Ongoing, 86 chapters): This is probably the only story I've read since Percy Jackson that gives me the same feeling as the original series did, so bear that in mind! A story about a world where people have different elemental powers, an orphan girl who finds out about her own powers for the first time, and the training/adventures that she goes on.

The Last Human (in a Crowded Galaxy) (Ongoing, 39 chapters): The story of an alien spider who decides to raise and mother a human child, and their various difficulties with concealing the child's identity as a human. This is less comforting than most of the rest of these comics, but the core relationship is so strong and lovely that it is definitely worth the stress.

Stray Souls (Ongoing, 105 chapters): Another of my favorites! It's hard to specifically describe what this is (since half the fun is figuring it out as you go along) but essentially, the story of a girl who has lost her memories and her quest to regain them and come to understand her own powers. It has my specific kryptonite in that the core relationship mirrors the princess-and-her-bodyguard dynamic that I love (if any of you read Yona of the Dawn, you'll know what I'm talking about) and the second main character is my favorite pathetic little dude that I've seen in a long while. Yet another story that I need SOMEBODY to scream over with, if anyone is out there!

Purple Hyacinth (Ongoing, 136 chapters): A crime/mystery steampunk thriller about a women who works as a detective in a city due to her obsession with an event that killed both her parents and her best friend, and how she comes to partner up with an assassin to take down the organization responsible from the inside out. This is by far the most violent option on this list, as it involves a murderous criminal organization, but the dynamic of the two main characters is again what sets it apart and helps it rise above. However, I would highly recommend building up a big backlog on this if you can, because they LOOOVE cliffhangers and the stress is. A Lot sometimes.

Like Wind on a Dry Branch (Ongoing, 91 chapters): A high fantasy story about a woman who is saved from the brink of death to be adopted into the duchy of an exiled prince who is at odds with his family. What I think is so special about this comic is that it is first and foremost the story of somebody who is coming back to life after being pushed to her limit in every other respect, and it is incredibly cathartic to watch the main character begin to want to learn and to live again. The angst is real with this one, though, but it encapsulates a good amount of restraint that I miss sorely in a lot of romance.

Swimming Lessons for a Mermaid (Completed, 101 chapters): A recent read of mine, that is all about a girl who was born a mermaid who never learned to swim, and who now resides on land with her father apart from the rest of her siblings, and a swimmer who offers to teach her to swim. This is purely sweet, happy fluff, all about kids in high school who care deeply for each other and are toddling around trying to learn how to navigate relationships with each other, but something about the simple sincerity of it touched my heart. A good read for when you just want something happy!

Extras not on Webtoon:

Plume: I read this on its original run, and though it's been a good five years since I read it last it sits well in my memory! This is the story of a girl whose father is a treasure hunter, and the magical guardian that he leaves to watch over her and their various adventures. This is a story with all the vibes of adventure films like The Mummy and Indiana Jones, combined with the very sweet friendships between the main characters that I remember fondly, and is now easily binged as its own pdf.

Megan Kearney's Beauty and the Beast: This is actually a rec I picked up from @ihaveonlymydreams (waves hi to Dr. Maria thank you darling!!!) that is just a simple, perfect adaption of BatB in comic form. It is just straight up sweet light happy fairytale, exactly what it says on the tin, and it's lovely.

#i recommend gourmet hound and marry me the most i think #i also keep up with others like odd girl out / cursed princess club / lore olympus and others but i trust their hearts less than these #i should also say that raven saga & suitor armor also have good fairytale vibes but i haven't read them extensively yet #so i don't know their hearts that well!! but just so you know!#reading tag

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4noki-vns · 7 months

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The Final Prize is Soup: Character Design (1)

This devlog was originally sent out in my newsletter on September 14, 2023. Subscribe for free to get these posts straight to your inbox!

With Spooktober around halfway over (that means only around 2 weeks till the release of our survival horror yuri visual novel, The Final Prize is Soup), let’s talk a little bit about character designs!

You who are unqualified to drink Meng Po's soup, you have been chosen for the game of life. Three worlds, three rounds. Win all three and you may avert your fated death. Lose any and your bones are forfeit for tomorrow's lunch broth. Good luck. Our ghosts have prepared their takeout containers, all plastic, non-microwaveable.

First, let me introduce our protagonist: Qian Hailu (千海露)

A young woman in her mid-20s. A slightly abrasive extrovert and our protagonist whose journey through a series of death games in the afterlife we follow.

character setting

A working adult, mid-20s, someone who has already been in a relationship before. Just like for Lachesis or Atropos, I decided to go with a cast that’s already out of school.

This is a game about dead people trying not to die. Hailu is still young; she’s only lived the start of a fulfilling life, but she’s also not so young that she hasn’t lived at all.

As an introvert, it’s actually a little hard for me to relate to Hailu, but I think that also makes this game interesting to write. The story is being cowritten by a familiar face, Pumpkin Spike, so you’ll get to see some different sides of Hailu depending on which route you go on!

visual design

As Hailu is the POV character, she won’t have a sprite on screen (like Alice and Mana from the last two years), but you’ll certainly be able to see her in our various CGs.

Throughout the game, she’s wearing her casual clothes: jeans, t-shirt, a comfortable autumn jacket.

Although her name has to do with water, the blue-green eyes came along as I fiddled with various eye colors, and they just happened to stick.

I wanted to go with relatively realistic hair colors for the human cast of The Final Prize is Soup, so I played around with hair colors as well and ended up sticking with good old black hair.

(The second choice was a light dyed brown color!)

The key points about Hailu’s design:

bangs & ponytail! (a little bit of a rogue-ish vibe…)

white sneakers! (a modern person who doesn’t really get messy)

wristband! (since she’s not an ojou, she doesn’t get the smartwatch)

The point about the bangs and ponytail is probably the biggest one.

You can see, above, some older sketches of her design before I cleaned it up for the character reference sheet. Although the initial design went with bangs swept the other way and a low ponytail, the general gist of her hairstyle managed to stay the same from start to now.

Low ponytail => high ponytail => make her look a little softer?

Is it perhaps the yuri ponytail protagonist era? (ft. Suzukaze from Consummation as well)

That’s a secret!

What sort of person is Qian Hailu? Will she survive through these death games?

Please look forward to the release of The Final Prize is Soup at the end of the month to find out! (o´▽`o)

shino

#newsletter #devlog #vndev #visual novel #yuri #wlw #gxg #lesbian #character design #character sheet #art #the final prize is soup #visual novel development #vn #yuri vn #yuri game #lgbtq

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fencecollapsed · 2 years

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Out of curiosity, if you had to rank the Nightmare Time stories on a scale of 1-12 (because that's how many there are), how would you rank them?

mmm okay I did do this before, right after Yellow Jacket first premiered in November, buuuuut I am a fickle pickle and my opinions very much change with time SO. this'll be my new one! I'll give some commentary too cuz why not (the commentary got long woops)

Honey Queen. GOD this story is great. Something about it not getting supernatural until the very end but still being wild and intense throughout, it carries itself through the character conflict really well. The sacrifice reveal is foreshadowed excellently. I like the depth added to Linda and I fuckin love. That this is another one of those "gleefully fucked up" type stories there's just something really great to me about watching these two terrible people - who are terrible for different reasons but they are Both Awful - fuck each other up for an hour and they both die terribly. Fantastic, I love it. The class commentary is great. The pageant commentary is great. The ending is my second favorite ending in all of Hatchetfield, behind TGWDLM, it has that effective dread and inevitability that hooked me into the series in the first place. It's really good. Honey Queen is really fucking good.

Watcher World. Bill Woodward my BELOVED this story is excellent. I know people say Yellow Jacket would make a great movie and I agree but god, Watcher World with the right budget? I'd kill to see it. The setting has a really great atmosphere I would LOVE to see visually depicted, it would add so much to the tone. I love the deeper look into Bill and Alice's relationship. I love how nuanced it really is, how - again - character driven this story is and how that's what carries the fucked up horror aspect. I love every moment you can feel Bill really trying, and his frustration not being able to reach Alice, and Alice's stress and bitterness and frustration at not being understood. Not feeling in control of her life because she had to be wrapped up in their divorce. I think they could've given her a better moment of showing that she really does love her dad, just so it didn't feel quite as one sided, but it still works. Alice is an angry teenager and her feelings are complex and misdirected. The way they butt heads feels realistic, it feels like a real, difficult father/daughter relationship. I love that the story doesn’t paint either as “in the wrong” because they’re both just. Flawed individuals stuck in a tough situation. They don’t know how to navigate it. They picked the Worst Possible Place to try and navigate it in. The way the building tension between Bill and Alice coincides with the building feeling of danger in the setting as the story goes on is just. Excellent. I Iove it.

Forever and Always. I'm accounting for my biases here, when I really think about it I do have mixed feelings on this story writing-wise but I'll admit I'm a weak man, my love for Paul Matthews in any capacity overpowers me. I genuinely like the clone/android concept - I've said before that I think Paul and Emma are the only characters you could do that with, it Makes Sense to me. I like the bits of Real Emma we get (she’s great) and I like how they show that Emdroid and Emma aren't the same person but they definitely think alike. I like the way it connects to Time Bastard, I like the murder couple. Buuuuut I get that the addition of clones and androids kinda muddies the overall lore - s1 ep2 in general is a lot more tech/sci-fi vibes than anything else in the Hatchetfield canon I think. It's a complicated concept we're not likely to see again, and if we did it'd take away from chances to explore the real Paul and Emma, and nobody wants that. Also the clone Pauls REALLY feel tacked on last minute. It's not built up to at all there's no foreshadowing for a reveal like that, it feels like they added it so the ending would make a little more sense. They really could've executed that part better. I still think it's fun though! I know my biases.

Jane's A Car. Tomothy Carfucker Houston I'm not sorry for making fun of you actually cuz it's still funny* BUT this story is genuinely Really Good. Like. It's a really solid character study, it explores Tom and his grief and his relationships really really well. I liked getting a glimpse at Jane, I'm really curious about her and how she was when she Wasn't stuck in a car for a year, because that absolutely affected her psyche. Becky and Tim's interactions are really sweet, I like their budding little family and I'd love to see it grow more. The sweet, soft moments in this story really really work. I like the running theme of happiness and how Tom is almost afraid of it, but right on the verge of allowing himself to be happy. It makes the uncontrollable downward spiral once Jane comes back really work. My only real critique is I think this story would've benefited from Emma's presence. At least a scene or two. It would have to be longer to fit her in but I think adding her would've given the story more compelling (and kinda necessary imo) layers. Still, I like it! JAC is great. (**I'm allowed to make fun of the car sex okay I played Tom in a liveread of JAC once I've Performed the car sex I have the right-)

Abstinence Camp. God this story is fucking ridiculous, it's so fun. The Jerries are an unhinged riot, Jon and Kim as a repressed horny duo is a gift we did not deserve and I like their characters in this more than I should. They're so wild. Steph and Pete are pretty cute. I'm a big fan of the subversion of views on sex in slashers, it's fun and it's clever. I have a Few qualms with the Axe-Man himself, I think if his portrayal was just a little different it'd be better, but that might just be me.

Yellow Jacket. Good story! Very cinematic! I love more of a look at the California Trio's dynamic. Hannah and Ethan are great, loved seeing more of them. I completely understand why Lex was separated for most of the story, there's a good reason for that definitely but. God. I wish we could get more of her. Every bit of her is so good every glimpse at her relationships is So Good and there's never enough. It's almost a detriment, that every story with Lex in it never feels like it has enough of her and just leaves me a little disappointed. I want more of her. I want more of her and Hannah actually together. The lore is interesting, Otho's a little bitch he's so creepy it's great, and I am so interested in Webby and why she operates the way she does. Good story.

Killer Track. I love this concept and I love the execution, this story really sold me on Holloway and Duke, they're both great characters, I love their relationship, I cannot wait to see more of them. They could’ve done a little more with Rose, she’s a bit flat and I wish she wasn’t, I love her vibes. Bryce sells it regardless, she’s great. Otherwise I don’t have much else to say on this one, I enjoyed it, it’s good.

The Witch In the Web. A solid lore story! Great expansion of Hannah's powers and what she knows and sees, but I wish it explored her as a person a little more. The introduction of Miss Holloway is great, she was so compelling right off the bat and she's only gotten moreso. This one would make a great movie, too. It works super well in expanding the world building and town backstory and setting up what more is on the way. I do have... slightly complex feelings on how complicated the lore of Hatchetfield has gotten, and they started here. Not negative feelings, exactly. Just complicated. Also on first watch I was disappointed that Lex was written out, and as much as I understand why she was, that never really went away djskfnd that's another bias thing, I miss her.

Time Bastard. Another good "gleefully fucked up" story <3 I like Ted as a punching bag I like when he suffers djskjfd sorry to the Ted fans out there, yall are valid and I love ya but. I think it's funny. The ending is the strongest part of it to me, though, and sitting through the whole thing as a singular story is less appealing imo. I can't put it into words really, it's just not one I'm really interested in. Again, I like how it ties together with F&A, they do that very well, those two are most fun to watch as a unit.

The Hatchetfield Ape-Man. It being this low might give the impression I don't like this story but I DO it's definitely the funniest of them. Hidgens is a fucking riot, I was personally much more entertained by him in this than in TGWDLM. His and Ted's dynamic is fucking hysterical. Conceptually it's just. Ridiculous. They just did Tarzan but made it more murdery it's so funny. It's strongest comedy wise for sure, it's just another I don't think about much.

Daddy. Honestly I don't dislike this story, again, conceptually it's ridiculous, but it the execution worked fairly well and I like how it genuinely expanded Frank as a character, he's way more compelling than he was in BF and I Liked him in BF. He's good here, I like him, I'm invested. I simply. Do Not like Sherman. At all. He's fucking annoying and he makes me uncomfortable and he sure is a big presence in this story. My biases are negative too.

Perky's Buds. I wrote an essay on this one yall know how I feel.

#hatchetfield #nightmare time #nightmare time 2 #nightmare time spoilers #into the mailbox #anonymous

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troquantary · 3 years

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Edward Cullen: That Boy Ain’t Right

So I was doing a reread of @therealvinelle 's collection of Twilight metas, as one does, and in "Edward, Denial, and a Human Girlfriend" she mentions that she doesn't believe Edward is sane. I thought, "ha, yeah, he's definitely not," and also, "but wait, what does that mean exactly, please say more about that." But since she's already inundated with asks, I've decided to use my own head-muscle and explore this idea. (TL;DR: I start out more or less organized, synthesize some points Vinelle has made across several posts (and have hopefully linked to them all where relevant but please tell me if not), touch a little on narcissism, then take a hard left into the negative effects of being a telepath.)

Just a couple things to note at the outset, though. Theses have been written already (probably) about Edward as an abuser. Edward being insane doesn't negate that at all; he's definitely an asshole and just...a disaster of a human being. (I find it more funny than anything, but YMMV.) I'm also going to try to avoid talking specifically about mental illness and how it relates (or doesn't relate) to abusive behavior -- that's territory I'm not really equipped to discuss, like at all. My starting point is "Edward has a deeply warped perception of reality," not "Edward has X disorder."

So: deeply warped perception of reality. The evidence? Goes behind a cut, because my one character trait is Verbose.

Vinelle provides a great example of it in the post linked above, which I'll just quote because she does words good: "[Edward] keeps acting like his romance with Bella is a romantic tragedy, and all the cast of Twilight are actors on a stage making it as sublime as possible." Edward's the one to pursue Bella, but he does so with the full belief, from the very beginning, that it will never last; Bella will "outgrow" him, go on her human way, and he can spend the rest of eternity brooding magnificently over his too-short romantic bliss. [Insert premature ejaculation joke.] Turning her is never an option, even though Alice, Noted Psychic, says that romancing Bella will either end with her dead (exsanguinated) or dead (vampire).

This framing, where he's a dark anti-hero in love with -- but never tainting! -- the pure maiden and eventually leaving her in a grand, tragic sacrifice to preserve her soul? It's fucking bonkers. Bella isn't a person to him in this scenario. As Vinelle points out, Bella's never really a person to him at all; he falls in love with his own mental construct, cherry-picking from what he observes of her behavior and her responses to his 20 (thousand) Questions to convince himself that she is the ideal woman.

Bella's not the only one who gets the projection/cardboard-cutout treatment. Edward sees everything and everyone through a highly particular, personalized lens. He filters his entire reality, which we all do to an extent, but the thing with Edward is that he starts with his conclusions and then only pays attention to the evidence that supports those conclusions. Often that evidence consists of what he admits in New Moon are only "surface" thoughts -- but recognizing that limitation doesn't keep him from taking those thoughts as representative of what people are. Edward then becomes absolutely convinced by his own "reasoning" and won't be swayed from what he has decided is Objectively True. It's obvious with Bella; it's also painfully obvious with Rosalie. (Vinelle explains this and brings up Edward's raging Madonna/Whore complex in the same post, so refer to that again -- she's right.)

He also catastrophizes. Everything. Bella's just vibing in her room, rereading Wuthering Heights for the 87th time? She's gonna be hit by a meteor, better sneak into her room while she sleeps. Bella's going to the beach with the filthy mundanes their human classmates? She's gonna fall in the ocean. Jasper's cannibal pals are stopping by for a visit, but know not to hunt in the area? DISASTER, DEFCON 1, ALSO FUCK YOU JASPER FOR EVEN EXISTING IN MY AND BELLA'S SPHERE YOU UNSPEAKABLE BURDEN. Edward must believe that Bella is vulnerable and in near-constant peril, to support the reality he has created in which he is the villain turned protector and maybe?? hero??? (!!!) for his beloved. So when the actual, James-shaped danger arrives, he goes berserk, snarling and flipping his shit and generally not helping the situation. His fantasy demands that Bella remain human, so instead of doing the very thing Alice, Noted Psychic, assures him will neutralize the threat (and not just a threat to Bella, either, but to Bella's family and any other human James might decide to include in the "game"), he vetoes it immediately, no discussion. Bella Must Not Turn, and he sticks to those guns despite James nearly reducing her to ground beef, despite leaving Bella catatonic with depression (but human! success!) in New Moon, despite Aro's order and his family's vote and, let's not forget, Bella's clearly and repeatedly stated desire to be a vampire. It's going to happen. But he doesn't accept it until Renesmee busts out of Bella like the Kool-Aid man and the poor girl's heart finally, unequivocally stops.

Sane people don't behave this way. I don't want to slap labels on Edward, but I can't help but note that he comes across as highly narcissistic. He's the only real person in his universe, the lone player among us NPCs. That probably has a lot to do with him being frozen in the mindset and maturity of a seventeen-year-old boy, but I think it's also just...him, on some fundamental level. His failure to connect with others and recognize them as full, independent beings with their own wants and priorities isn't like Bella's failure -- she's badly depressed. Edward is...something else, and I get the sense that his sanity has been steadily deteriorating over time. And a cursory google of narcissistic traits turns up some familiar-looking stuff. He's self-loathing, yes, but also grandiose; he hates himself for the monster he is (and hates most vampires besides Esme and Carlisle for their monstrosity, too) but still feels superior to humans, to the extent that he felt entitled to human blood and resented Carlisle for depriving him of his "proper" diet. He eventually returns to Carlisle, but he's far from content -- the beginning of Midnight Sun finds him in a state of ennui, bored and dismissive of (if not outright disgusted by) everyone around him, that has apparently persisted for years and years. He doesn't play the piano, he doesn't compose, he doesn't enjoy anything...at least until Bella comes along and then he becomes obsessed to a disturbing degree with her and his new, romantic tragedy spin on reality.

[Next-day edit: I’m not sure where else to fit this in, but the way Edward casually contemplates violence against people who have, at best, mildly annoyed him is...chilling. I have a hard time writing off his strategizing how to murder the entire Biology class as a result of bloodlust -- it’s so calculated, nothing like the blackout state of thirst Emmett describes when he encountered his own “singer,” and that is probably the default for when a vampire is extremely thirsty. But even ignoring the Biology class incident, Edward still does things like consider, with disturbing frequency, how he might grievously injure or kill Mike Newton, all because...Edward considers him his romantic rival (despite Bella barely giving the kid the time of day). He thinks about slapping Mike through a wall, which might be an amusing slapstick image, except as a vampire Edward’s actually capable of turning this boy’s skeleton to a fine powder. So it’s, y’know, kind of sick when you think about it.

But even worse than that, when Bella tells Edward about how she flirted with Jacob to get at that sweet, sweet vampire lore, Edward chuckles and then, after dropping Bella home, flippantly observes that now that the treaty’s broken, why not genocide? I’m not even kidding, it’s right there in Midnight Sun; he seriously thinks about the fact that he’d be technically justified now in wiping out the entire tribe because a teenager tried to impress a girl with a spooky story. That is fucked. Remember, Edward was there with Carlisle when the treaty was first established. He knows how remarkable it is that they even came to a truce in the first place, that it was only ever possible because Carlisle is...well, Carlisle, and that it marks a pretty significant moment in supernatural history. He doesn’t care; he doesn’t respect it, or he’d never think something like “Ha ha, if I went and killed them all, I wouldn’t even be wrong. I mean, I won’t do it, but I’m just saying, I wouldn’t be wrong.”

Again: not the thought process or behavior of a sane person. (Or a person that respects life in general -- sorry Carlisle, big L.)]

Finally, whether he's a narcissist or not, I think the fact that Edward has constant, unavoidable access to everyone's thoughts is a powerful contributing factor to his instability. He can tune out the mental noise to an extent, but he can't stop it -- so he comes to rely on it like another sense. This causes issues with disconnect and lack of empathy, of course, but there's another facet to this shit diamond: he's basically experiencing a ceaseless flow of intrusive thoughts. His narration in Midnight Sun suggests that he "hears" the words people think, can "see" what they visualize in their mind's eye, and can sense the emotional "tone" and intensity of their thoughts. Therefore, perceiving Jasper's thirst through his thoughts makes Edward more aware of his own, "doubling" the discomfort. This would be a lot to deal with even from just his immediate coven members, but Edward gets all of this pouring into his head like a firehose on a day-to-day basis because the Cullens live right alongside humans. I know Meyerpires have galaxy brains or whatever, but that's a ton to process.

Besides the compounding effect on his own thirst when he "feels" the thirst of others, Meyer never suggests that Edward has difficulty separating his own thoughts from other people's; even when he was newly turned, he recognized Carlisle's "voice" in his head as Carlisle's. That would create a whole different host of issues around identity, but it looks like Edward's escaped that particular torment. However, I can easily imagine that what he does experience is just shy of unbearable nonetheless, with an eroding effect on his sanity over decades. He can't sleep to escape it; he's on a dishwater diet and probably (like the rest of his family) experiencing a perpetual, low-grade physical discomfort due to his thirst never being fully satisfied; and he's around far more people than is the norm for vampires -- even discounting all the humans, his own coven is unusually large -- meaning more noise.

Honestly, it would be weirder if he were all there, considering.

And even though I feel like I lost a sense of structure around where I started ranting about telepathy, I've written like 1.5k words about Edward fucking Cullen and I think that's enough for one post.

#twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight meta #edward cullen #i stared too long and the twilight abyss gazed back #long post #major credit due to therealvinelle for having basically all the ideas already #theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin too since they agree and build off each other's metas a lot #idk how people who write meta can just crank these posts out i've been here for two hours #edited to add stuff i forgot to mention about edward's disproportionately violent fantasies

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quarthly · 3 years

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Twilight characters as random animals that I think are oddly fitting

(Also yes, I am roasting the animals as well)

Edward: He would be a Cheetah. Now I know, seems like a cop out just because of his speed but hear me out. Cheetahs are, at face value, pretty cool. They used to be my favorite animal as a child, but then I grew up.

Cheetahs, through no fault of their own, are severely inbred. Now thats mainly because of poaching, but the cheetas anxiety also comes into play. In captivity, cheetahs are usually given emotional support dogs. I will admit it is cute but it negatively affects the population. Excluding one in the wild, cheetas can be to anxious to breed and thats not good for conservation efforts.

Cheetahs can hit up to 80 miles per hour in a couple of seconds. They are designed for fast running and agility. Their claws are similar to that of a dogs for better traction and they have elongated spines for longer strides. They have a thin build, long legs and a long tail for balance.

This has downsides though. Many times after making a kill, it will get stolen for them by larger predators. Thats right, they get absolutely bodied by the other animals. I should probably make these shorter but I'm on a rant now, so I guess this will be semi educational.

Throughout the series, we see Edward over estimated his abilities and value, constantly getting bodied by others. He's essentially a perfect mormon, though thats on S'meyers. He constantly judges others, dehumanizing them to their baser flaws, without doing any self reflecting. Him viewing himself as a monster doesn't really count to me. While he definitely hates himself, the only thing he is truly demonizing is being a vampire.

Bella: Picking up from Edwards, Bella is a Chocolate Labrador. Yes, she is his therapy dog. I feel like this is really fitting for her. I know Golden retriever would make more sense, as thats the most common breed for service animals. However, I kind of focused on her appearance. Only at first though! I just know that Edward raved about her human qualities and that would pass over as animals as well. Her chocolate eyes and brown fur, very average and boring. Thats essentially Bella. Even Edward wasn't into her until he got a wiff. Labradors a very loyal dogs and while they have more personality than Bella, I just couldn't shake it. Their also very stupid. Ok that's kind of mean, they're not stupid but when it comes to love, then yeah they are stupid.

I used to have a lab, loved him to death, but god he was something else. Very much danger prone, from their own stupidity or their lack of survival instincts. I know that labs are almost aquatic. They love water, swimming, all that jazz. We can just say that bella has a few screws loose in her dna and is just "not like other labs."

Rosalie: Now she was hard. There are quite a few animals that I think would fit for her. I'll list the other ones, but that one I went with is the Swan. Like Edward, seems a little on the nose, but I have my reasoning.

I was going to pick a predator for her, as she is shown to be very vengeful and viscous. I would have pick some type of cat, most likely a purebred, from a rich family. It could still work, but the swan just speaks to me on this one.

Swan's are known for being beautiful, graceful, and are pictured as the symbol of love. They are also very vain. Edward constantly brings up Rosalies vanity. She was constantly valued for her beauty as a human, so of course that crossed over in the transformation. She was raised to be married into wealth, she was used as a bargaining chip to increase the family's standing.

Rose has a very strong character and makes her opinions known. She's assertive and aggressive at times. She's not afraid to get dirty.

Swans mate for life and like geese, are known for being great parents. I was also going to choose geese as an option for the maternal instincts. I was wary at first because swans can be really aggressive. Like actually, you think geece are bad? Yikes bestie...

I was conflicted because swans are known for drowning dogs and sometimes people. However, I can actually see Rose drowning Bella. It's not that unbelievable lmao.

Emmett: Now this one is just ironic. I only associate him with bears. Its inevitable, but picking a Grizzly or Black bear is too obvious. So I went a slightly different route...

So I was going to pick the Sun bear just because of looks alone. Like, I'm not exaggerating, it looks like someone wearing a bear costume. I don't think it fits him but I know for a fact that he would dress up as a sun bear and sneak into a zoo to see if anyone would notice. I'll put a pic of it here

Like look at this thing. I have no words...

Anyway, what I picked was a Sloth Bear. Now Sloth bears are mostly nocturnal, which either way works consider vamps don't sleep. Their diet is also odd but honestly so is the cullens. They're native to the Indian subcontinent, and are known for being aggressive towards humans. Its said that for the most part they're pretty calm, so I think its just fear of humans that make them act aggressively. Honestly, that's a good thing because they are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red list.

They have some similarities with sloths, which is where they get the name. They have long claws and unusual teeth. They are known to hang upside down from tree branches, and is described as having a messy appearance. Honestly, Emmitt has a messy personality. Sorry bestie but you're a lot of work.

Now heres the biggest reason for choosing this bear. Aside from Baloo from the jungle book being a sloth bear, they are known to run fades with Tigers. Honestly, how fucking badass is that!? Now I don't think there are recorded instances of a Sloth bear killing a Tiger, but when push comes to shove, they can hold their own and I find that incredibly impressive.

Carlisle: This one was somehow the easiest as well as the toughest. I know Owl seems like the obvious choice, and I can see it. However, I believe Carlisle values emotional intelligence as much or if not more than academic intelligence. He is so charismatic and values other's above himself. He might not be as Saint like as Edward thinks, but he does try and I think he genuinely cares about others. For that reason alone, I choose a Elephant.

Elephant's are very social animals and are extremely intelligent. I could rave about them for ages, I love them so much.

Now elephants live in a familial unit and are usually matriarchal. Bulls usually are on the outer edges of the herd or form little groups with other males. Honestly, they're not that bad aside from when their in musk.

In the group of males, the elder ones will teach the younger where to get the best food, water, how to use things as tools, and every other thing that will increase their odds of survival. This is really cute to me tbh, they do this because the females usually choose the older males because they've proved that they are intelligent and strong, that they have survived and will continue to for awhile. Teaching the younger males these things are to make the odds of them getting chosen to mate more likely. The whole unit just reminds me of a father that has to deal with rowdy teens.

Carlisle likes to take in strays, he might not have a herd but he will make one and teach them to thrive. That's how he envisions it anyway. He just has a found family and is trying his best.

Esme: Now this might seem like an insult, but I promise it's not! This is in no way misogynistic. I love cattle and ever since I took animal science in highschool, I have appreciated these grass puppies like they deserve. Call me Castro because I love cows.

Yup! I chose a Cow for her. Specifically a beef cow. That might sound weird but its because beef cows have higher maternal instinct than dairy cows. I'm thinking Scottish Highland based on vibes alone.

They are nicknamed the Gentle Giants of Scotland. Super maternal and sweet and ugh look how cute they are!

Esme came from a abusive marriage and had just lost her child, she was depressed and desperate. Her changing was, in a way, salvation. She just fits in. She adopts all these strays along with him and will protect them to the death. She might be gentle by nature, but don't fuck with her family. She lost her first one and she isn't going to lose this one.

Alice: She's an odd one. There are so many possibilities and maybe I'm biased, but I feel like she would be a Crow.

Ok listen, I'm definitely biased but it just feels right. Crows get a bad rap, they are so cool! They are so intelligent and have the ability to actually sit and think about the past, prest, and future. I forget what its called, but this was only seem in humans! Maybe other apes, I can't remember exactly, but either way its awesome. They do live in groups, or murders, and remember people and faces. They remember locations and are able to pass down information through generations. They essentially have their own language! They are able to use tools too!

Alice's story is really sad. When we first meets her, it revolves around the death of her mother and her institutionalized. She was essentially tortured and forgot everything from her past. All she had was the future and even that wasn't constant. Crows a often viewed as omens, they are associated with death. I personally believe that instead of being the cause, they just know something is going to happen. They are very inquisitive and can be creative.

If you befriend a murder of crows, sometimes, depends or the group, they will bring gifts. Its can range from food to shiny metals and colorful plastic. Hell, I think I've seen a post of one stealing things from people just to gift it to their human.

Alice's love language is gifts. Even if they are focused around fashion, she still goes out of her way to get something that will look good and at least be a little comfortable. By that I mean she tends to forget peoples comfort zones, but she means well.

Jasper: Honestly not to sure what to put for him. I know a predator would be more fitting, but for some reason I can see a donkey working. I know, seems like I'm clowning on the confederate. Fair, but I'm serious about the donkey thing. Honestly, it would be perfect if it wasn't a herbivore. Porcupine would also work.

Being a predator would make more sense. Given his backstory and his characterization, it wouldn't make sense for him to be a prey animal. Usually I wouldn't count this, but given his gore filled past and trouble with the diet, it seemed fitting.

I see him as a Big Cat. Honestly, vamps in general just give cat vibes. Jasper though especially have some cat like qualities, which originates from hunting and being a soldier.

I specifically see him as a Mountain Lion. Aside from him being blonde, he just has the predatory stealth to him. In midnight sun, we see him use his gift to make the nomads overlook him. He's honestly really powerful.

Mountain lions are known for being stealthy with an air of grace and power to them. They are stong animals. And I mean strong. They can jump 40-45 feet.

They're very elusive and quite. They stalk their prey and tend to attack from behind but don't think they won't hold their ground if need be.

Jasper was changed during the Civil War and forced to fight in the Newborn wars. He was a soldier as a human and as a vampire. He's able to feel and manipulate others emotions. He's covered in scars and is very intimidating.

He still struggles with the diet and honestly I hate how the others handle it. Like they have no room to talk. I don't want to defend the confederate but it just pisses me off. He has to deal with his hunger on top of everyone else's. Like damn, besties always on edge! Everyone doubts him which I don't think helps any.

Also, Mountain lions and Cheetahs can purr!

@aquanova99 I'll do a Volturi one too. That one will be fun lmao

#twilight saga #the twilight saga #twilight au #bella swan #edward cullen #carlisle cullen #esme cullen #jasper hale #jasper cullen #alice cullen #rosalie hale #rosalie cullen #emmett cullen #the cullens #the volturi #honestly look at the muscle definition on that thing #jesus chriiiist

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starry-sky-stuff · 3 years

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Historical Sortings

I've done a lot of reading about royalty in the 19th century and I decided to have some fun and try my hand at sorting historical figures.

I wonder if you can tell who my favs and unfavs are from my sortings.

Cut for length.

British Royals:

Queen Victoria: Snake/Lion. An unhealthy Snake Primary who expected that level of unhealthy devotion from everyone around her. Probably burned a bit after Albert died. Also an unhealthy Lion Secondary who strong-armed, controlled, and domineered others, particularly her children.

I don't know too much about her husband, but I think Albert might've been an Idealist.

Edward VII, aka Bertie: Lion/Badger. His charm strikes me as more of a Badger than a Snake. He seems to me to be the ‘I know a person’ guy. Just the vibes I get. He also really liked routine and wasn’t a particularly good conversationalist, just genuinely interested in others. Not too sure about his primary, but I didn't get Loyalist vibes so I went with Lion.

Alexandra of Denmark {wife of Bertie}: Snake/Badger. She usually gets characterised as the long-suffering wife so it’s not surprising she’s the love interest sorting. She was loyal to her husband despite all his infidelities, and her interests were confined to her children and pets

Princess Alice {daughter of Queen Victoria}: Bird/Badger. Experienced a crisis of faith in middle age which I interpret as a Fallen Bird trying to reconfigure their system. Her dedication to helping others makes me think Badger Secondary. Also, she died after contracting diphtheria from giving her sick son comfort which seems like a very tragic Badger.

Prince Alfred {son of Queen Victoria}: Lion/Lion. He was wilful and abrasive, and had a no-nonsense attitude, so probably Lion Secondary. I can’t really get a read on his primary but maybe also a Lion. That would mean he and his wife houseshare, which might’ve contributed to the breakdown of the marriage.

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna {wife of Alfred}: Lion/Lion. Very caustic and abrasive, I definitely wouldn’t want to be around her in real life but I admire her no-nonsense attitude and no tolerance for BS. Her marrying off her daughters young because she thought it was right makes me think Lion Primary.

Princess Beatrice {daughter of Queen Victoria}: Snake/Badger. She subjugated her entire life to fulfilling her mother’s needs and the only major conflict they had was over her wanting to get married (Snake on Snake loyalty conflict maybe). Very much a background character who worked behind the scenes, so Badger Secondary.

I don't know enough about Queen Victoria's other children to sort them.

George V: Badger/Badger. Dull, dutiful and dependable is how he tends to be described, which always makes my mind go to Badger (I swear, I love Badgers, they’re great but they’re not very flashy). Considering he refused to give sanctuary to his cousin Nicholas II because he was afraid he might threaten his own country and throne, I’m going with Badger Primary who put the good of his group over individual loyalty.

Mary of Teck {wife of George}: Badger/Badger. Duty and dignity defined her, so I think she was a Double Badger who was loyal to the institution of the British Monarchy and her family (above any individual member). Her and her husband houseshare, which might explain some of their parenting issues since neither could compensate for the other’s shortcomings.

Marie of Edinburgh, aka Missy {daughter of Alfred}: Snake/Snake. Charismatic and flamboyant, she started out as a young bride in a foreign country with no support and she ended her life as a beloved figure and the most popular member of the royal family. Part of this was her finding meaning in her life by working for the benefit of Romania, which makes me think she was a Snake whose loyalty came to include all of Romania. Also, she was disgusted with her son’s selfishness and his (initial) abdication of his rights.

Victoria Melita of Edinburgh, aka Ducky {daughter of Alfred}: Lion/Lion. Strong-willed, temperamental, and uncompromisingly honest, Ducky unabashedly followed her own course in life. She divorced her first husband despite family and social pressure, married her second husband despite protests from his family, and was no-one’s fool.

German Royals:

Victoria, Princess Royal, aka Vicky {daughter of Queen Victoria}: Lion/Lion. I read in her biography that someone was quoted as saying she was “always clever, never wise”, which I think just fits this sorting. You’ve really got to admire her steadfast belief in liberalism in the face of Prussian conservatism, but sometimes reading about her aggravates me because I’m like, can’t you chill for just a second. Like, stop doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome.

Frederick III, aka Fritz {husband of Vicky}: Lion/Badger. He and Vicky were really united in their shared Lion Primary and belief in liberalism, from which they never wavered. His indecision and constantly subjugating his beliefs to family loyalty make me think he of an unhappy Badger Secondary loyal to a group that doesn’t value him.

Wilhelm II {son of Vicky & Fritz}: Lion/Lion. Considering his fraught relationship with his mother I find him and Vicky having the same sorting to be kinda funny. But he was such a Glory Hound Lion, a total egomaniac, bombastic, and a bully. A deeply unhealthy Double Lion.

Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein {wife of Wilhelm}: Badger/Badger. Definitely an unhealthy Badger Primary, she exalted anything that was German and was prejudiced against anything that wasn’t. Probably a Badger Secondary too, who dedicated herself to her husband, children, and throne.

Otto von Bismarck: Lion/Snake. Also a Glory Hound Lion judging by his visceral reaction to the implication anyone but him was responsible for German unification. The ultimate politician and opportunist, his Snake Secondary allowed him to stay in power for decades and outmanoeuvre pretty much everyone until the system he created failed him. The irony of that is hilarious to me (Bismarck’s a figure I find interesting but utterly despicable)

Russian Royals:

Nicholas I: Badger/Lion. I’m going with Badger just on his dehumanisation of ethnic minorities, liberals, and anyone who opposed him. And he was known as the Iron Tsar, so definitely a Lion Secondary who crushed any dissent both large and small. Very ironic that he’s the Protagonist sorting, since he was someone who really wanted to do what was right for his country, but what he believed was right was the worst and he's generally considered one of the worst tsars.

Alexandra Feodorovna {wife of Nicholas I}: Snake/Badger. Similar to Alexandra of Denmark, she was defined as being the perfect wife, loyal to her husband and overlooking his infidelities, with few interests outside of her family.

Alexander II {son of Nicholas I}: Lion/Snake. Definitely not a Loyalist based on the way he treated his wife. Loyalists can commit adultery too, but if he’s a loyalist than he’s not one who valued his wife or their children. And he definitely gives me immature Lion Primary vibes, doing what makes him happy to the detriment of others, his family, and his country. He was known for his charm and congeniality, but his way of dealing with his ministers was to play each of them off each other which makes me think Snake.

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich {son of Nicholas I}: Lion/Lion. A total firebrand and idealist, he pursued his goals relentlessly and often tactlessly. Burned later in his life after his brother took a conservative bent and then Konstantin was basically removed from power after his brother’s death, so he retreated to life with his mistress and second family.

Alexander III {son of Alexander II}: Badger/Lion. Very similar to his grandfather, Nicholas I. Dutiful and hardworking, but also a lot of dehumanisation and running roughshod over others. Treated his family better than his father, and family was very important to him which could also be Snake.

Maria Feodorovna {wife of Alexander III}: Lion/Badger. She was vivacious and friendly and flourished in court life, which makes me think either Courtier Badger or Snake. I think Badger because she really understood the institutional power of the role of empress and was also really suspicious of anyone outside of the family. Nothing about her suggests Loyalist to me, but she was very firm in believing in the correctness of her own opinions. Her conflict with her daughter-in-law definitely makes sense when viewed through the lens of a Lion/Badger vs Lion/Lion

Nicholas II {son of Alexander III}: Badger/Badger. He garnered a reputation for duplicity because, since he hated conflict, he would agree with a minister during a meeting and then fire them via note the next day, so definitely not a Lion. Probably a Badger since he was obsessive over doing every single aspect of his job, including even sending letters and he refused a secretary. His attachment to autocracy derived at least partly from duty and he was very attached to his family, so maybe Badger Primary. He was also very close to his cousin George V and they houseshare.

Alexandra Feodorovna {wife of Nicholas II}: Lion/Lion. A deeply unhealthy Lion, she was obstinate, imperious, and completely inflexible. Wholeheartedly believed that she was entirely correct in her opinions, often based on little evidence, and objectivity was completely beyond her.

#sortinghatchats #it's certainly interesting to view this through the lens of family dynamics #and how your family's sorting affects your own #so many female snake/badgers #I wonder if that's their real sorting or just gender roles

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j-mysticalien · 3 years

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🔫 the oc content, hand it over /lh

you don’t have to if u don’t want to lol I just saw you said something about ocs and 👀 I am interested

FIRST OF ALL 🥺🥺🥺

SECOND OF ALL OKAY OKAY HERE TAKE IT

(I ended up dumping a lot ... I saw the opportunity and ran with it I didn’t mean to oops)

These guys have been in my head for y e a r s and even though I'll abandon them for months at a time, there are plot points I've forgotten, it’s very very unfinished, and clearly influenced by my freshman year interests, they're some of my favorites to imagine and write like every time I do a picrew chain or something I make them too for myself okay okay-

So. Exposition. For ages the demons and dark things have slipped between the veil and into the world. As evil rises, so do those who stand against it. In some parts of the world The Order was established not to eradicate or wage war against the demons, just to keep everything in their proper dimensions and destroy those who refuse. Members of the Order work in groups with assigned roles, often passed down generations. 1: trained in the physical aspects of fighting creatures, they have the unique and mysterious ability to survive in the other dimension-at least better than the average mortal. 2, “Alchemist”: Usually a witch, human descendant of a magical being, or a particularly skilled mortal even. they provide the magical aid since the other cannot perform magic themselves. (Though Witches tend to form their own communities or work with the demon realm which historically has caused tensions) While fewer and well hidden, this secret society guards the mortal realm to this day...

There’s a small, quiet town in the northeast. Nothing much happens- the power may go out or the weather may turn within seconds and figures may appear and shift into the shadows but it all turns out fine eventually. Nothing to worry about. But those who know a little too much know where to go when things need to be taken care off. Bloom’s Florist and Garden Shop, a sweet little store in the middle of town staffed by the owner’s two teenaged kids. They’ve got a lovely selection of flowers and herbs. If you hear noises from their basement, best to ignore it. If you see the kids sprinting down the street, best to stay out of their way. If they tell you to avoid the woods one night, you listen...

OCS MY BELOVED HERE THEY ARE

Dante Achilles Sindweller. He is type 1. He’s tall, thin but muscular, almost dangerously pale. His hair is blue, eyes blue though they sometimes look red. Riddles with piercings and pale scars. Cocky bastard but well deserved. Friendly and deadly all at once. He’s good at what he does and is always up for a challenge. Low key high key losing his sense of humanity. You see actually being in the demon dimension is draining because of the pure chaos of it but returning to reality is rough too. Because of the hunter’s ability (I’m pretty sure they have this ability bc the og demon hunters secretly fucked a bunch of demons so Hunters have demon blood and cannot “die” in the hell dimension but idfk at this point) they can adapt to the word with a combination of demonic attributes and idealized forms that disappear when he gets back. So um the mental toll is very much a thing that he hides very well...at least at first. He doesn’t actually have to travel too often thought, just during emergencies and later he genuinely visits some chill demon friends there.

Cordelia Emerys Bloom, “Cordie”. 5′2″, dark brown skin, black hair she keeps in two short braids, round rimmed glasses. She’s the alchemist. a few of her far off ancestors were fae. Her own magical battery is low so she’s become skilled in working with. potions and magical plants. She’s the most serious member. of the trio. She knows the job, she has a rhythm, she doesn’t like change. This group had three braincells and 90% of the time she has all of them. She likes her plants, her books, and Dante. She’s a little high strung and stubborn but she’s clever, intelligent, and really warm person once you get past her shields. She grew up way too fast and with all her adult figures gone, Dante slowly slipping (though she denies it to the point where Alice bright it up and they didn’t talk for a week), and this irritation turned fear that Alice’s presence is temporary leaves her with some issues but it’s okay im determined to let her be happy, she just has to let herself accept happiness.

Alice Barnet. A witch. Thick, bright red hair, hazel/ blue eyes. Absolutely stunning. and a fashion icon. She moved to attend to uppity private school right outside of town. She stumbled upon the shop and immediately sensed the great power hidden in there. So she just walked in- because of the dimensional portal not because the girl at the register she saw through the window was so pretty what are you talking about it was witch instinct only- and announced herself and offered her services. She’s a flirt, though a sincere one. She projects a confident, fun vibes even if she doesn't actually feel it. Fake it until you make it I guess. Coffee addict will memorize your birth chart, Starbucks order, and all the little behavioral things. Most of my early drabbles with her involve her sitting on Cordie’s desk sipping her iced coffee while Cordie is like “how tf did you get in here” “good question. Better one: they didn’t have the black tea you like is green okay?” She actually is part of an informal coven but that’s a whole side story with its own cast of characters I haven’t touched in ages

Dynamics dynamics so Cordie and Dante are siblings in all but blood, they’ve been together for almost their entire lives. (Cordie’s parents are almost always away-either on Order business or just vibing idk they’re cool though. Dante’s parents are dead but only Dante himself seems to know that-Something about demon blood and dimension hopping doesn’t let their kind live long) They’re really close. If they met at this point in life they probably would never have been friends and Cordie probably would despise him but as they are they love each other and *know* each other. Technically Dante is older but Cordie is the eldest sister of the relationship.

The two of them have opposite reactions when Alice enters their life. (This entrance is one of the few *full* scenes I actually wrote down) Dante is allured-not by her but by the potential adventure she represents. She states her case and he’s like oh this’ll be interesting. They become best friends almost instantly. Their sass, confidence, and more adventurous sides click harmoniously- much of the time to Cordie’s dismay. To Cordelia, Alice is something unknown, something potentially dangerous. She makes her assumptions (prissy, incompetent, entitled, inexperienced) and tolerated her. Alice has had a crush on her since day 1. She was determined to prove herself to the group and really she’d just like to get her trust and friendship at some point, gushy feelings be damned. They fall in love slowly, they learn to trust and be weak and learn to know each other and be themselves Alice is genuinely interested in all the stuff Cordie knows about the magical world and Cordie gets to try to be a person outside of that world. The recent stuff I’ve actually written down involves a lot of sleepy conversations and whispered confessions and soft touched and hhh

Some of the non-human characters

“Lady”: the ghost that haunts the basement/ Order base. She can’t really speak and isn't always visible, never fully. They don’t know who she was or why she’s there. She helps out when she can though. Might help Dante in the very end.

All of the actual demons are off ideas. Like each deadly sin has it’s own demon (they didn’t realize some humans had grouped them together for some time but they think it’s funny, sometimes they hang out just because of that) The gang doesn't directly meet a lot of them but

Curiosity aka “Apple” aka “Heather” aka “Bee”aka...:The spark that fuels innovation ne the spiral of a downfall. frequently visits human world, team switches between stopping them from blowing up a building to playing Mario kart together. Like he definitely causes trouble and should not keep escaping through the portal but like...he’s fun to got to the mall with. Funky Lil dude who’s there for a good time and some chaos. Changes aliases all the time.

Nostalgia aka “Honey-Lavender”: the kind that leaves the ghost of a smile on your face, the kind that drowns you in the past, the kind that makes you want to go back, or forget. mostly stays in hell. One of the demons Dante visits and is acquainted with. They lay and talk. She can be a downer but he doesn’t mind, he appreciates the company and some days she keeps him tethered to his life and sanity (on the bad says she has the opposite effect, she can’t help it)

OKAY AHAHA THATS ENOUGH OUT OF ME THERE THEY ARE THANKS

#OH BOY UM OKAY #j mysticalien ocs #I’m cringing putting some of this on here but #j mysticalien speaks #Dante Cordie Alice

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albatris · 4 years

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is there romance in atdao or is it all just found famiy vibes? if there is romance im real curious about how peeps would express those kinda feelings

hello hi hello this took me AGES I’m very sorry I kept getting distracted by things such as being asleep

anyway yes thank you for the question! romance? yes, we’ve got some of this going on, sure, though I would count the romance as within the found family c:

I don’t know if you wanted a Ramble™ but this is a topic I can ramble about and I’m in a bit of a rambling mood so you can have a ramble, free of charge, just take it up to the register and have them enter the code “logan this is not what I ordered”

but yeah, your question? about eight vaguely relevant tangents immediately spring to mind! also spoilers?? spoilers after the cut

I really should have formatted this response in a way that puts the super spoiler heavy part at the end but since when have I ever ever in my life made things easy for my dear sweet followers

y’all know what I’m like with spoilers by now

but yeah, to set the scene, there’s two main romantic......................... situations going on in the story, the first being between Noa and Alice, and the second being between Kai, Tris and Shara. so, the former I would describe as “a legitimate romantic subplot” and the latter I would describe as a character tripping and falling into it by sheer chance and just being like “oh whoops well I guess this is what I’m doing now” which is also extremely valid

Noa and Alice end up not being, like, Confirmed Endgame by the end of the story even though much of the plot looks like it’s heading in that direction, and like...... yeah, in my head, they do end up in a romantic relationship at some point post-story, but I’m not sure on what sort of timeline

during the story itself, it’s established that they do share mutual feelings for each other and this is likely heading towards a romantic relationship, but I think since much of the story sees Noa still trying to find her feet in just, like....... having friends at all, and trusting those friends, and knowing who she is in relation to others on any sort of level, I think near the end of the story she decides that she’s not at a place where she wants to try and figure out a romantic relationship just yet

it’s not a hard no, it’s just a “hey not right now” and a “let’s see what happens later down the track, for now it’s just nice to be around friends” ‘cause even that is just super new territory for her

which I worry will make people feel cheated, but also, I think it’s the ending for this subplot that would make the most sense for where the characters are at and would be the most fitting c:

and secondly there’s like

hm. ok

well, there WAS a vaguely jokey post I made yonks back where I pitched the idea of an ATDAO polyamory ending being just like. Alice who’s dating Noa who’s dating Shara who’s dating Kai who’s dating Tris. and I stand by this being solid as hell. but also, given the ending to Noa’s subplot with Alice, it doesn’t really work in the story canon, n though I think Noa and Shara is a dynamic I really enjoy, it would likely not actually play out in reality :P

which leaves the trio of Shara, Kai and Tris, a trio I’ve always vibed with and had vaguely on my radar as a valid poly ending but for some reason didn’t twig that I could just, like, make it canon and no one can stop me LMAO

but yeah, this one, like I said, it’s not so much aHD whole big subplot, it’s just something that falls into place super casually and is never really brought up beyond “oh is this a thing that’s happening?” “yeah” “cool ok”

I think there’s a brief window as a reader where you might be like “ugh this is gonna be a stupid love triangle or some weird jealousy thing” but then it just ends up being a complete non-issue. there’s basically zero romantic drama for this plotline, Tris and Shara are bros and Kai is dating both of them

n as for your question itself, it depends on whether you mean, like.......... how they would go about expressing to someone else that they have romantic feelings or, like, how they express their affections in a romantic scenario

‘cause for the former, the answer for both Tris and Noa is just.... they don’t

Noa because at the start of the story she views her crush on Alice as a huge fucking inconvenience that’s going to make things messy and complicated, so she just tries to ignore her romantic feelings as hard as she can (obviously this doesn’t last hahaha). but yeah, she’s just very pissed off that she has a crush and doesn’t want to acknowledge it :P she also has no idea how to respond when Alice expresses romantic interest in her, this is all extremely new territory

and Tris because he doesn’t realise he’s even experiencing romantic feelings in the first place?? like. the boy has so much baseline anxiety jitteriness that stuff like, idk, feeling your heart pick up pace, butterflies in the stomach, any kinda social nerves you get around the people you like, etc, he experiences this with Kai and is automatically just like “great now you’re here and I’m having a panic attack can you please leave”

just slaps a label of Bad Vibes onto it then later is like Wait A Minute

but yeah, I think neither of them would be super comfy actually expressing their feelings out loud or making that first move, Noa because she’s super fuckin petty and stubborn and Tris because he’s waaaaaaaay too fuckin socially anxious for that shit are you kidding

in terms of how they express their affections though??

so like. I have to reiterate that I’m aro and ace and I have a lot of difficulty in articulating what makes a romance A Romance, like??? I have relationships that are friendships and relationships that are romantic, but I myself don’t really experience romantic attraction in the way other people do

as such, the way I write characters in their romantic expressions tends to be just an extension of how they act in their friendships? which I think is a pretty ok thing to base a romance off anyway, but like, yeah, romance, this is a mystery to me for the most part, do I look like I know what a romance is

anyway I think once Alice and Noa get a little closer there’s a lot of good-natured ribbing and friendly insults, n since they already had a bit of a rivalry going on beforehand I would imagine this competitive streak doesn’t disappear :P Noa is generally uncomfy with being Openly affectionate and soft with others, so I think there would be a lot of more “indirect” ways she shows this care. I think they have the kind of relationship where from an outside perspective you don’t really get how it’s warm and affectionate, but it’s just ‘cause you don’t know the lingo, right

Tris is just the cheerleader type in all friendly relationships I think, lots of encouragement and hype and compliments and enthusiasm, he’s very excitable and very easily impressed hahahaha. though I think it takes people a while to click that he’s legitimately being 100% earnest and genuine, the constant deadpan does not work super well in his favour

anyway I’m gonna hop back up for a sec so I can cover Shara and Kai real quick

these two are............ a bit more direct with actually verbalising their feelings to people? Shara is a socially anxious type, but also not someone who enjoys beating around the bush, n she generally likes to just speak what’s on her mind and be direct with others whenever she can. Kai just kinda........ I mean, I don’t think they consider romantic affections to be a super big deal? at least in theory? I say in theory ‘cause, like, I think they give the impression that this kind of conversation is just super smooth and easy for them, and on the inside they’re like “it’s really not a big deal it’s just feelings it’s whatever” but they’re still anxious about it and had to hype themself up for like a week before going through with it lmao

but ye, in terms of how they express their affections, they’re both fairly similar. you suddenly will just Not Be Able To Get Rid Of Them, they’ll constantly be hanging around in the same space or dragging you into whatever shenanigans they’ve got going on, I think for both of them their favourite expression of love is just sharing in experiences or sharing the same space, just Being Involved And Around

a “hey come help me run errands” type or a “I’m gonna hang off the back of your sofa while you’re studying and sometimes slingshot balls of paper at you with a rubber band” type :P

and now I have to go on Another Tangent just ‘cause the subject matter is vaguely relevant and idk where else I’m gonna go on this tangent

there is definitely some part of me that’s still super super fond of the idea of Kai being aro??? and I initially did write them as such, but for the moment this is not something that’s remained canon in text ‘cause I’m a little bitch ‘cause like

Kai would be aro in very much the same way I am, which is to say, they’re a person who is extremely full of love and who has difficulty in differentiating what the step is supposed to be between friendship feelings and romantic feelings, so, someone who may not necessarily “get” what makes a romance a romance or experience any feelings different from a strong friendship, but who is still open to being in a romantic relationship

(the difference between us being that Kai Really Really Likes People and enjoys being close with others as much as possible, where I’m more the awkward standoffish hermit type lmao)

but yeah, I was kinda like. well. despite being a perfectly valid aro person in a romantic relationship myself, if I were a fictional character people would probably call me bad rep HAHAHA. like “yeah they’re apparently aro but they don’t really ACT aro and the author put them in a romantic relationship ://”

and while I think there’s value to be had in fiction in exploring the different ways a person can be aro, I just, like................... thought about the hypothetical future discourse and was just like UGH. I cannot be fucking BOTHERED

I get enough people in real life being like “ok but you’re not REALLY aro like why do you even bother having that label it’s not like it matters in your context” even though I’m the goddamn expert on my own experiences you bastards

lmao

but yeah I think aro Kai is canon in my heart hahahaha. and they may end up articulating some of the same feelings, maybe just not with the label applied, who knows

anyway that’s my rambles done I think! thanks for reading n have a nice night c:

#Anonymous #i started to ramble then i was like #oh man i better keep this short actually and try and get through this quick and then by the end of it i was #back to rambling #it's fine #i would go into more detail abt the relationships themselves but i think. this reply is super lengthy as is :')#i think i have been on some rambles abt shara and kai in the past?? but idk if i could find those to link them lmao #atdao #there's an only tangentially relevant ramble about being aro right at the end #cuz its like. im aro and i feel this in my heart but also #*gestures vaguely*#anyway g'night team

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astrarche-x · 3 years

Text

I read “Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell after I finished 2 books I got for Christmas. It was staring at me from my sister’s shelf and I’ve heard something good about this book, Rowell is also quite famous YA author, so I decided to give it a try.

It certainly didn’t match my expectations; in fact, my disappointment grew with every page and I grew tired of the heroine, Cath - an introverted first year college student and fanfic writer- and other characters.

Why so?

- At first, I thought that snippets of Cath’s fanfics are a cool addition to the book, because it’s such a crucial part of this character, and I also thought that they will be somehow related to the events happening in-universe. But they weren’t! They didn’t help me as a reader to understand Cath, didn’t expand my understanding of the events of the plot, didn’t really give me any “story within a story” because they were so fragmented (I know there is a whole book about Simon Snow, but that’s not relevant now, is it?) and I already felt like I knew Cath’s writing style after like 3 examples, so idk why there were so many.

- I felt like the characters don’t develop at all. And what’s the point of the story if it’s not character development? In the end of the book, the only thing different from the starting point is the fact that the heroine has a boyfriend. She isn’t more open, she’s still talking to like 2-3 people (and writing is not like a movie, adding a character doesn’t cost you money, right?) and it’s not like those relationships change a lot. Cath and her roommate Reagan? They form a bond in the middle part of the book and it stays the same. Wren, Cath’s twin sister? They lose contact during the plot and Wren has a new friend to prove she’s a separate person, but eventually they make amends and sisters are together again. The other friend disappears. No big talk about being separate people but still needing each other, no reflecting on that in any way; they make amends and then Wren is just there, spending a lot of time with Cath like her own life never happened. Relationship with dad and mum? Stays the same, even though they were written in a way that suggests big plot points.

- Levi, Cath’s boyfriend. He doesn’t have an inner life. He’s just a smiling, nice guy with learning difficulties. But Cath can always feel safe with him and count on him; honestly, how is he different from her ex? Also some can say that Cath and Levi were cute tohether and they kind of were, but for me it was too much sugar and when their relationship became the focal point of the plot I couldn’t take it anymore. How many times a writer can describe the same physical features with exactly the same words? Like yeah, we get it, the character is in love, change the subject.

(Also his attempts at unneccessary chivalry... ugh. Not cute).

- Nick from the library. He was actually the guy I was shipping Cath with (and myself as well, if I had the chance). They had so much chemistry! But it was also strongly hinted at that he won’t be the endgame; in fact, I don’t really see the point of his existence as a character. He’s Cath’s crush, but after he stops playing this role, he’s mentioned only twice and then dropped completely. But the point of him being the crush and the writing buddy/rival is not even relevant! It’s not reflected in Cath in any way except that she’s a bit sad.

- Cath doesn’t develop as a writer. Actually, after reading a few sentences about how writing is so important for Cath etc, I thought that I would see more of her as a writer, but mostly it looks like “...and she wrote 5000 words that night”. No description of creative process. Talk about how her life influences her writing: 2 times (at the end of the book). Pressure from readers who? I don’t know her. Also I was really surprised that she said “I only ever want to write fanfiction, I want nothing of my own!” - like... who would say that? Sure, they are people who just write fanfiction as a hobby, but there are others who start with fanfic and then create their own stories, so if Cath is an established fanfic writer and went on to study English lit and take creative writing class, then having her say something like this sounds super fake.

- Cath herself was a boring protagonist. And I’m not saying this because she was an introvert. Lots of introverts make interesting protagonists; take, for example, Offred from The Handmaid’s tale. Cath is boring not only because she literally sits in her room and cries for like half of the book (giving me Rodion Raskolnikov vibes and he annoyed me like hell), but also because so little of her inner life is described in detail. Like, c’mon, I’ve opened this book, I want to know what’s going on in her head. But instead of paragraphs of her thoughts, we are only given a sentence, maybe two or three. And one of them sounds often like “she thought about all the reasons she had to dislike their mother” but then none of said reasons is listed, making this sentence effectively worthless. Very often Cath’s remarks about other people are repeated; I don’t even want to count how many times she noticed that Levi smiled a lot. And then she noticed noticing it; and then she noticed him smiling even more times. Seriously that’s his only feature? (That and his hair). Because this makes the heroine very unobservant; I don’t want to look at the world through her eyes, because it’s nothing there to see.

- Cath as a (titular) fangirl: she doesn’t really interact with the fandom during the course of the actions in other way than writing and that’s... unusual? Who limits themselves to only one form of fan content? I know she had merch and fanart, but she doesn’t interact with other fans (except for her sister and a random stranger). She also mentions having internet friends at the very beginning, which I assume would be very likely for a fanfic author of her status. Then her roommate says “internet friends are not real” (yes. literally.) and Cath’s internet friends are not mentioned again, because, you know, internet friends are irrelevant to your real life. Generally this book makes it look like belonging to a fandom was about the merch you own and maybe writing your fanfic, if that’s what you use as a coping mechanism for real life. No talk of reading other fanfics, visiting sites like Tumblr or other blogs, no interaction with other fans, no conventions, stuff like this. It made fandom look like something for sad and lonely people, and while it kind of is, it’s also a source of joy and satisfacton for many; in Cath’s case, I only saw it as a straw to which a drowning man clutches.

(Also I found it kinda weird that sex in this book is like Schrodinger’s cat: existent and nonexistent at the same time. Does Cath write erotic scenes? I guess. Is it adressed? Yes. And then immediately dismissed in order not to talk about it. She also wants it and doesn’t want it at the same time, which is fine irl, but confusing in a book, especially when she doesn’t reflect at that confusion much).

I thought I will see in Cath a glimpse of myself - first year of uni was also stressful for me (even though I’m certainly not an internet-famous writer). But she was almost extremely unrelatable. And then I started comparing “Fangirl” with “Loveless” by Alice Oseman, which has very similar setting - first year, loneliness, outgoing roommate, introverted protagonist having trouble opening up, breaking of a sisterly bond, fanfiction (even though Georgia, the protagonist, only reads it). I’d recommend “Loveless” a lot more. You won’t get much talk of the writing process, but hey, you weren’t getting it anyway. You will be given queer characters instead.

My final thought was that I’m probably just too old for “Fangirl”. That it was written for 17-year-olds who are anxious about going to college. But my sister is 17-year-old who is anxious about going to university and she didn’t like this book either (this post is brought to you by our displeased brainstorming last night), so it’s probably just bad, shallow writing.

#fangirl rainbow rowell #rainbow rowell #fangirl book review #well... sort of #loveless #book ramblings #follow up to that angry post from earlier

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merakiaes · 3 years

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So ships are open? I hope so, feel free to delete this if you want :)! So I'm an italian girl and I'm 1,70 m tall, I'm slim (andflatcofcof) and my hair is half dark blond and half pink. I like to think I'm a really outgoing person (even if I have anxiety lol) and I really like to make people happy and laugh. I'm kind (I hope) and I try to avoid stupid conflicts, but if it's about something that's dear to me I'll go off. I'm definitely a chaotic neutral, like the goose from that game. I love joking around. I love animals and nature and I'm studying to become a marine vet/biologist. I love both cats and dogs but I'm more of a cat person because I'm kinnnnda lazy lol. At the same time I love going into the nature and into adventures! I love everything that gives me adrenaline! I use sarcasm a lot, but not in a mean way, I hate to offend people. I love hugs so much. I'm a Gemini and a hufflepuff! I also love skating! I show my affection with physical touch, so I'm a cuddler! And that's it I believe! If it's okay I would ask for a pairing with a male character from Marvel and/or Teen wolf! Whatever you feel more like!!!

It’s my first time doing this so I might not be very good at it😅 But anyhow, here you go! I hope this is what you were looking for and that you’re satisfied with my choices. You sound like an amazing person!💕

TEEN WOLF

I ship you with Scott McCall!

I don’t know why, but you kind of remind me of Alice Cullen from Twilight - bubbly, warm, sociable, optimistic, and caring with the kind of happiness that just rubs off on everyone around you when you’re with them. (I got happy just by reading your ask because your energetic vibe is just ✨immaculate✨)

Kindness is an absolute MUST for Scott and that’s definitely the first thing he’ll notice and fall for, so your entire personality would just be one giant Scott-magnet.

The way you describe yourself as an animal-lover leads me to believe that you’d get on really well with him, especially seeing as both of you want to work with animals.

And the fact that you’re also a person who likes physical touch and show love through this method shows that you’d be great with Scott because he’s like a clingy pup, let’s be honest. Cuddling and physical touch in general, whether it be in private or out in the open, is something he LOVES and it just comes naturally for both of you.

The two of you together would put any other couple to shame!

MARVEL

I ship 110% ship you with Bucky Barnes.

Bucky has, as everyone knows, been through some intense shit in his life and as a result, he’s left very guarded, as well as suspicious and wary of the world and of the people who live in it.

You don’t seem like the kind of girl who would try to fix a broken person which, from me, is a compliment. I’ve always found it very unhealthy both for a person to be so attached to another that his or her mental health and will to live completely relies on this other person, and for the support-person to have that kind of savior-complex. So rather than having him and his will to live become dependent on you, I think you would really just give him a better chance of being able to heal and fix himself, if that makes sense.

Your bubbly, optimistic and compassionate personality like that of Alice Cullen is the complete opposite of his at this moment and that would really just help him break out of his shell again.

Said shell has not only been created by his trauma but also because of the way he doesn’t recognize anything anymore. Even during his time as the Winter Soldier, he didn’t get the chance to stop and look at the world and how much it changed, so he’s kind of isolated and alienated from the rest of the world which probably makes him really anxious at times.

I can totally see you dragging him outside and making him tag along for all kinds of adventures. You’d help him try new things and get familiar with the modern world which, in itself, would make him so much more comfortable in general and that, in turn, would only help him heal more.

Not to mention he used to be a huge adrenaline junkie in his days, back when everything was normal, and I think he still is. It’s just buried so deep underneath all that trauma and wariness that he can’t seem to bring that side of himself out on his own anymore, because he never feels completely safe on his own - not to himself nor to his surroundings.

Not only do I think you’d be great for him in the way you would help him reconnect with his old adventurous self, but I also think that he’d be so thankful in general to have someone as free-spirited and bubbly as you in his life which otherwise always feels so dark.

So your adventurous spirit would definitely be something that Bucky would treasure above most things, as well as benefit from. I can just see him trusting you much faster than he’d normally trust someone because he wouldn’t feel judged by you.

Sure, it might take some time for him to warm up to the idea of physical touch but once he does, he’d get warm and tingly just by holding your hand and he’d eventually want to touch you in some way all the time as a result of being touch starved for so long.

And hey, Bucky has always liked his women with a little bit of spark. He’d absolutely LOVE watching you bite back to Sam’s sarcastic banter with your own, playfully sarcastic side.

You’d be like his very own sunshine when the days look dark and glum and his safe place when he can’t really feel safe by and with himself!

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my-arlington-academia · 4 years

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Chapter 9 thoughts! 🎃👻 (Not a review in any way, I'm just gonna scream about the chapter)

First of all, you CANNOT believe how many screenshots I took. It's like 1 line out of 4 was comedic gold. I counted and I have exactly a HUNDRED screenshots.

Ariel? The backgrounds? The costumes? THEY BLEW ME AWAY! Anytime a new character appeared on screen with their outfit I was screeching 😂 Especially Karolina. She was killing it. It made me consider making another side account. Love the Alice madness returns trio: Ellie as Alice, Tyler as the mad hatter and Tegan as Cheshire cat. You really did God's work 😔✊🙏🙏

Now to the chapter in general and the writing: at the moment I only played on my Claire account! I'll do Alistair later👌

Love how we start the chapter with Tadashi ALREADY being annoyed. Dick-shaped balloons? Tadashi saying "spooky vibes"? The "WhEn WiLL yOu LeArN tHaT yOuR aCtIoNs HaVe CoNsEqUeNcEs?!?" meme but Tadashi style? Perfect.

The interactions with Claire were absolutely adorable. I thought I would panic when the first dialogue option showed up but it's Claire, so it wasn't hard to figure out! She's so sweet and I love her. The part where Scholar is praising her cooking and she's like "that's the perks of being French!" After that, how she gave Scholar a box full of cookies because she's worried about her skipping meals? CUTE. And the study group where Raquel and Axel are calling out Claire on her obvious crush? Bruh. That's some backstabbing, poor bby Claire 😖😖

Then, the next arc tease! I think it's the "FAXION" thing! So it's either Karol's arc or Neha's? Or both at the same time maybe? I'm interested: how is it gonna play out? A fashion competition where all the main 10 will somehow get involved sounds unlikely, so I guess it's like Tadashi's arc where everyone helps? Or something like that? But I have no idea what kind of problem can arise in a fashion competition 🤔

After that, we have the first illustration! Scholar is a cutie!!! Looking at herself all proud 😎 wish I had that level of self-confidence, when I pass in front of a mirror I don't even want to look at myself 😂

Then the party... Tadashi looking like he was DEAD while all the others look fabulous in their Halloween costumes... Poor Dashi. But love how he was terrified of the Arlingtonator, it's so precious that even though he's always so composed and serious he still believes in stuff like that 😆 Raquel was about to call him a p u s s y. Bruh.

I love the whole team messing with Tadashi but poor guy. He was really trying to protect his friends first before himself, he's so sweet I love him 😭

Later on, when Scholar was looking at Claire and she's like "oh yeah I was just checking you out UH- I mean the outfit! I was checking out the outfit!" I felt that cringe Scholar must've gone through 😂

Now. The next scene. The next scene took the crown for me. I LAUGHED. You guys cannot imagine how rare it is for me to audibly laugh when I'm reading something. I really stopped for a few seconds and kept staring at the screen while laughing. Andy "I CaN't WrItE cOmeDy" bruh no. The AMOUNT of happiness this gave me 😂 please, next time instead of 250 pages write 300 thank you 😌 (I'm only kidding! Serena will lose her mind)

I think I might or might not have this whole scene screenshoted. All the dialogue kills me.

"Al, consider our friendship cancelled."

"PIKI PIKI."

"Tomorrow? You're all dead to me."

This scene will stay in my mind and in my heart. Andy thank you for the amazing food 👏👏 I believe this will stay "iconic" in the fandom 😂

Then we had the party wrap up, of course I chose to play boardgames with Karol, Neha and Claire since this is Claire's account. And I gotta say, I LOVE IT. Karolina looks so happy for once, I couldn't believe it. I also love how Claire is clearly a bit chubby, I want to hug her 💖💗 (or how the internet says: "Thicc" I guess) I got the achievement "in front of MY boardgame?" or something along those lines because Karolina was complaining that Scholar and Claire are flirting 😎

Then we got the spooky stories and a terrified Tadashi begging for his life... god this better not awaken anything in me 😂

And finally the last scene with Claire... God it was so ufozkfhzuhdkdpzjrudozrydo 💗💖💕💝💘💖💗💕💝💘

Words cannot express the diabetes I got from that fricking scene...

Anyways!!! As you can see this really wasn't a review at all, just me gushing about sweet elite like always. Is anyone surprised? The only bad thing about this chapter was that it was so sweet that I wanted even more wholesomeness after it was already over 😭 and I know that next arc is going to be even harsher than Tadashi's from what the SE team told us... goodbye happy times, I'll wait for the christmas/new year chapter for more heartwarming stuff. Hopefully it's chapter 12 or 13 🤞🤞 (Well, okay, I admit I'm also looking forward to the angst. I can go through any pain if there's happiness at the end 😔✊)

#sweet elite #se #main 10 #random thoughts #chapter 9 #I know you guys said that I should criticize SE more or whatever #but I would be able to only if I get really picky about every single detail #and that's really not my style 😂#I just like being positive and talk about the things I love #also #is it weird that I'm using so many emojis?#is it distracting?

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onestowatch · 3 years

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spill tab and the Friends Making Her Dreamlike Music a Reality [Q&A]

Photo: Jade Sadler

From working as a merch manager to becoming a full time artist, spill tab, the moniker of Claire Chicha, has a unique perspective that clearly shines through her music. With the release of seven tracks during quarantine, it’s been an interesting ride for the singer, songwriter, and producer.

Nevertheless, spill tab and her main collaborator David Marinelli have been channeling uncertainty into music, from releasing her debut EP Oatmilk to experimenting sonically on her 2021 release, “PISTOLWHIP.” We got to chat with Claire about songwriting in multiple languages, navigating being an artist during a pandemic, and her newest dreamy release, “Anybody Else.”

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Let’s start off by chatting about your new song “Anybody Else,” which is definitely a sonic departure from your previous release. How did the process of making “Anybody Else” differ from “PISTOLWHIP?”

spill tab: I think, in general, it's always a little bit different. I work mainly with my collaborator, David, and he is just so flexible and talented. We always try to have as much fun as possible making songs. With “Anybody Else,” we were just fucking around with the idea of this ‘70s or ‘80s kind of vibe. I was going through this phase where I was singing like an ‘80s frontman on everything. I just started singing the melody to the chorus and he was like, “Oh, wait, that’s kinda sick, let’s expand on that.” So we kept building it out and then it naturally had the form of feeling like a retro vibe. We didn't want to force it out of that, so we left it that way.

One of the standout elements of your music is the unique production; how do you feel the added production elevates your songwriting?

I think the reason why it works and is additive instead of just present is because I'm working with a really good friend. David is one of my best friends and there’s a lot of trust and time that's been spent together. We just understand each other's tastes and preferences. It makes it so much easier to have a successful session. It translates that the production is a huge part of the song that ebbs and flows with the lyrics and the metering of the words, where it doesn't feel like it's just an instrumental that I top lined.

Tell us a little bit about the creative process between you and your main collaborator, David Marinelli.

We started making music one summer while I was still living in New York but I was in LA visiting. When I left, the only way we could successfully continue working together was sending each other stems. For a long while we would just send ideas back and forth. Like for example, I think “Santé” was just a baseline that I sent to him and “Cotton Candy” was a song that I'd written on the uke and then brought to him. Now that we live in the same city, it's still back and forth but we're just in the same room. It definitely, as a result, made me a better producer. I still track and comp all my own vocals, and I'm getting into the production side of vocals. I think it all came out of the fact that I just had to in the beginning. It's been super rewarding and David has been so supportive and helpful.

Something that stands out about your discography is the cover art, which is so different for each track. Could you tell us about the inspiration behind the single art for “Anybody Else?”

As of recently, because it gets busy, the cover art has come from a moment of, “Oh, shit, we need cover art.” I'm sure a lot of artists can relate. The “Anybody Else” cover art came about when we were editing the video and I got an email from my manager. He was like, “Sick, let's submit the song and the cover art next week.” We were watching that orange scene in the video during the second chorus where the lighting looks so sexy. Jade, my friend who’s a visual artist, said “Why don't we just pull this still for the cover art?” My other friend Gabby is a sick graphic designer, so we sent her a couple of stills to choose from. I love leaning on the women in my life, they’re all so talented. It's such a nice way to get back in touch and catch up with the people that I used to be really close to in New York. Everyone's so busy, but when it's about work it gives you an excuse to spend an hour or two talking.

Since you were the merch manager for Gus Dapperton’s 2019 tour, has that given you a different perspective as a musician?

Definitely yes, but I wish it came from a place of you know, “I'm an artist but I want to be humbled by the work of a day to day industry person.” I was so broke, just out of college, and was blessed enough to get this job offer from Gus and his tour manager Mac. I did not know what I was getting into and it happened to be one of the sickest experiences of my entire life. I was downright shook by how kind, down to earth, and smart everyone on that tour was. It definitely gives you appreciation for every job, no matter how small or large. I feel like artists always get so much appreciation and there are so many harder jobs that get a little bit overlooked. It was nice to get that perspective.

We have to talk about the fact that you write in multiple languages. How is your writing process different when writing in English versus writing in French? Is it different at all?

Since it's my first language, I try to carry my emotions and experiences through the vehicle of the English language. But with French, it's a different tool or paintbrush that I get to paint with. I love the way the words sound, I love the stories I can tell. It’s definitely more abstract, the stuff in French, because it just sounds cooler. French is so sexy and badass and it's so much fun to step into the shoes of a different character.

It's such a flex, being able to write music in two different languages.

Honestly, sometimes I forget that I write in another language. I've not been doing it as much and should definitely, like, get back on my French bullshit.

How has the pandemic impacted your songwriting process and the overall experience of making music?

I mean the pandemic gave me my career in music because, a little over a year ago, I wasn't doing music full time. It was a hobby and something I was aspiring for, but I wanted to tour manage. That's what I wanted to do with the next couple years of my life. And obviously the world stopped, which gave me the chance to just write. It gave me the chance to work a lot with David and hone in on my songwriting and production skills.

Now that shows are slowly starting to come back, are there any venues that you’re most looking forward to playing in the future?

I really love this venue Baby’s All Right in New York. I’ve been to some of my favorite shows at that venue, like Still Woozy. I'm trying to push out that venue at some point.

At this moment, which artist would you want to collaborate with the most?

Alice Phoebe Lou is super tight. I love her songwriting, it’s so haunting and beautiful. She has a song called “Only When I,” which I love. Also, there's this French band called L'Impératrice, they make the sickest music ever.

What's next for 2021? Can we expect a full project or are you just taking things day by day?

Absolutely taking things day by day. I might just move to the Dominican Republic and start a coffee farm or something. I look back to two, three months ago and I’m like, “What the fuck? That felt like a year ago!” It feels like so much is happening at a very fast rate with everything opening up in the world. I have no idea, but I'm excited to see what happens.

#spill tab #interview #marinelli #anti pop #indie #pop #anybody else

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prettyboysdontlookatexplosions · 4 years

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so i am finally forcing myself to conclude my magicians rewatch with the last two episodes of s4, out of some combination of completionism/masochism/truly could not even process where everything was leaving off plot-wise the first time through, and i KNOW that i am UNFASHIONABLY LATE to the party of being mad about the magicians s4, but this is as it has always been a blog for whatever it is i cannot stop screaming about, so, some screaming re: not necessarily objectively the worst but the things that make me, personally, most enraged about the worst hour and a half of television i have watched in my life:

-before we even get in here, there’s just so much about… the entire show and especially this season… that makes no sense if the way it ends is Quentin Dies, so above all i am mad because this show tricked me into thinking that it was complex rather than incoherent. even setting aside the queliot of it all (which LOL), why have the entire conflict about quentin going to blackspire if you’re then going to double down on his sacrificial impulse a season later? why have him say he hopes to be a dad someday - a very tender and meaningful thing to come from a character who started the series unable to imagine even wanting a future for himself, whose deepest fears as surfaced by the mind prison back in S1 involve being unable to live independently and hurting his family, which shows such an evolution in how he sees himself and what he believes himself capable of - only to kill him 5 episodes later? is it literally just to make it hurt worse?

-so much is infuriating because it is ALMOST good! there’s ALMOST a very interesting and evocative metaphor about how the magic martin chatwin used to torture plover relentlessly keeps him alive in the poison room, something that hearkens back to eliot’s observation way back that he had all that power and still couldn’t stop thinking about the room where it happened. but then it’s all thrown in with plover of all people delivering all this shit about how people can change but no one will let you which is just, why? why would you put that idea in his mouth? what are you trying to say here?

-quentin looks EXTREMELY hot in an unzipped black sadness hoodie, very tony stark in iron man 3 vibes. this is oppressive to me. quentin should not look this hot while having to engage with such nonsense!

-the fish… the fucking fish… why would you specifically write that joshfish needs eye contact from a character who can pop out her own eye… and then use that to sideline margo from saving the most important person in her life… WHY

-alice giving margo relationship advice COULD be amazing but IS stupid because it’s the second time this season that a female character is like, “maybe i AM too much of an idiot to identify my own feelings until someone else points them out to me,” also because of the fish thing

-the alice/quentin romantic reunion… i don’t know. i don’t know what to fucking do with this. i think it is the second most infuriating thing to me, after quentin’s death, because it feels so regressive for both characters? why is alice getting back with her boyfriend of 3 years ago when her arc this season seemed to be about learning to live with her past without being trapped by it? what of eating gummy bears in modesto? it could have been a very beautiful moment for BOTH these characters who are so pathologically haunted by regret to reach a level of maturity and care that allowed them to say, we both love each other deeply and want to be a part of each other’s lives, but not the way we meant that three years ago, in a new way as careful deliberate friends which we’ve never really had a chance to be. and instead it is… the least romantic romantic scene in the history of television?

-there is so much i cannot make heads or tails of in the decisions around quentin in these two episodes and this is like top of the list, honestly. how the fuck are we supposed to read quentin’s decision to get back together with alice? because the explanation that makes sense is that he is traumatized out of his mind and extremely depressed and 2 out of the 3 most important people in her life are possessed by omnipotent god creatures maybe forever and ultimately yes he DOES love alice and he DOES trust her and no part of him is capable of engaging with anything like romantic feelings right now but he’s kind of like, well, you know what, why not. why not, if i feel like complete garbage and my best friend/unresolved former life partner love interest situation are probably going to die (especially since julia going goddess was like one of the closest things they still had to hope for beating the monster, as stated by julia herself in the previous episode!), just get back with my ex i don’t hate anymore. she’s into it, she’s here, maybe that will make me feel better. and what makes me feel like i have swallowed horse tranquilizers is that THAT IS FULLY HOW JASON RALPH PLAYS THIS SCENE???? we have seen quentin in the throes of actual love and desire, with both alice and eliot! IT DOESN’T LOOK AT ALL LIKE THIS! but that interpretation only makes sense if at some point later you are going to unpack it and undo it, which you can’t do… if he’s… dead. so: ??????????

-when alice floats the possibility that quentin has maybe managed to forgive himself, which is a bonkers thing to even be in the script at this point like that is always on some level relevant for quentin but so not in the top hundred concerns relating to the actual situation at hand broadly or on the alice/quentin level, nothing about quentin’s response says the answer is yes??? he takes this heartbreaking shuddering breath and dodges the question??? again, congruent with a reading where he is getting back with his ex out of intense depressed person logic but not remotely squarable with “and then he dies emotionally resolved”??? what are you trying to communicate to us insane writers/brilliant actor jason ralph i DON’T UNDERSTAND

-everyone else TELLING quentin he still loves fillory… let my son whomst is about to die have agency to define his own fucking feelings!!!!! also, bonus bananas reason to sideline margo with babysitting fish josh: of all the characters on this dumb show i think she is like fully the only one we could argue still loves fillory!!!

-there is so much wasted potential in the monster… honestly i can’t even go there in delineating all of it. so much evocative shit is thrown out (and hale appleman gives such a weird fun sad gross strange complicated performance) and then nothing ever means anything.

-again: there’s ALMOST something great in the idea alice and quentin toss back and forth that growing up doesn’t have to mean discarding everything about who you were before. there’s ALMOST an idea there which circles all the way back to the very first episode of the show, where quentin decides that his problem is not that he is depressed and sad and scared but that he needs to grow up and grow out of the person that he is. but what is the show trying to say in having his girlfriend from 3 years ago tell him this? why, again, if their rekindled relationship is supposed to be legible as real, does he spend the entire interaction looking like he wants to, uh, die? WHY does the show have alice echo back to quentin a sentiment about himself (that it’s beautiful that he really believes in things) that was last heard FROM MARGO, RIGHT BEFORE QUENTIN BLEW UP HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ALICE BY HOOKING UP WITH HER?

-why… would you have… your beautiful sad depresso bean… express out loud the sentence, “if this couldn’t make me happy, then what would?”... and then kill him 40 minutes later and try to swear up and down these two things are unconnected. why. why would you have this moment of the despair of confronting the fundamental randomness of the universe, of being forced to abandon the quest to find meaning outside yourself, and follow that up with, um, literally anything other than the realization that meaning comes from within, can only be determined by the self, etc. why is that not the particular strain of wisdom quentin has spent four years building towards? especially given the occasional glimpses of it he’s previously had? (sometimes it is good merely to eat bacon and touch hands; the fuckin mosaic timeline) why don’t we go from the idea of fillory saved my life to my own capacity for belief saved my life, i saved my own fucking life, that’s a goddamn power i can take with me anywhere? or like, EVEN the fact that the fillory-flower decides that loving the idea of fillory IS enough, there’s… places to go with that, with the idea that things are what we make of them, we are the ones who make things matter or not… but no. now we can drink magic kool-aid and die stupidly. that’s the payoff.

-jason ralph of course acts the absolute shit out of this scene which makes it even more insulting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how dare you use his beautiful face, the most expressive face in the history of faces, to go there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-i cannot believe there is so much bad television still to go after this

-do they have penny23 state out loud “it should be her choice” to make it feel like it’s okay for him to then go and make that choice?

-kady stating out loud that all she wanted to be penny’s girlfriend is… one of the most hateful things i have ever seen on television

-the fact that margo is in the mood for making out while things are at a critical point in Operation Save Eliot… hateful!

-julia immediately backing down from “fuck you for ending the 5 minutes of bodily autonomy i get every season” to “let me make moon-eyes at you”... H A T E F U L

-IN GENERAL, the hideousness with which every single fucking female main is treated in these two episodes is loathsome because it has forced me to finally understand the goddamn g*me of thr*nes people… for years i watched them be like, “yes, very much rape all the time, but sansa is so hardcore!” and just shook my head pityingly… but i too was fooled. i too was fucking bamboozled into genuinely loving 4 imaginary women that the show refuses to grant bodily autonomy or basic dignity or full personhood. sorry sansa people. i judged you too harshly this whole time.

-i mostly don’t hate josh or margo/josh but josh explaining to quentin why margo is mad makes me want to commit an act of physical violence

-there is SOME OTHER UNIVERSE with SOME OTHER SEASON 4 where the finale culminating in a celebration of the power of collaborative magic is very interesting and moving and thematically relevant. i would have LOVED to watch that season.

-why do we get to see the monster appreciating the beauty of the world 30 seconds before he dies? what is the point of this, other than to taunt us about what the monster could have been?

-everyone has said this 500 times but i will say it a 501st: it is literally unbelievable that quentin betrays no reaction whatsoever to eliot being monster-free.

-why the fuck is the scene in the seam staged the way it is!!! why does quentin take 800 years to throw the fucking bottles in!!!! why does his death look like a music video from 2004.

-to identify quentin as having the most beautiful and thematically lovely discipline possible and then two episodes later turn it into a snappy one-liner to usher in the worst thing i’ve ever seen on a television program…. haaaaaaaaate

-i can’t even be coherent about this scene between quentin and pod person penny except to REITERATE that it should be ILLEGAL for someone to give a performance THIS GOOD for writing THIS BAD

-wait i do have one thing to say which is re: “then i found brakebills, and all that went away” - enraging to me personally BECAUSE: the exact moment i fell in love with this dumb show was the closing of season 1, episode 6, the secrets magic in the trials, the moment the show careened away from the narrative it had been selling apparently straightforwardly for its first half-season - that quentin was only sad and sick because he didn’t know who he was, that after all his pain came from in fact being from secretly more special than everyone else - by laying out bare what was very, very evident in quentin’s actual behavior and temperament, which was that in fact brakebills hadn’t fixed him, in fact he had come to brakebills and remained exactly who he was, “this person that i fucking hate.” that was so true, and wise, and real, and felt like something really special that i hadn’t ever seen articulated quite so clearly and poignantly. so… to directly contradict that amazing moment of self-awareness and honesty and vulnerability… HATE

-not even gonna talk about this dumb fire scene except that scoring it to a song that includes the line “slowly learning that life is okay” is very very evil

-and, once again, julia echoing quentin’s card trick from the pilot could be really beautiful… in literally any other fucking context!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-in conclusion: HATE

#the magicians #the magicians negative #? is that the fandom etiquette... it's been a while

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