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avelanlorelay · 13 days

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About Cardan and his mother

I was re-reading the comments on my fic Deniere Danse and most of them are against Lady Asha, which may be proof that she's just as hated by the fandom in the "parents" category as Madoc and Balekin (Or maybe it's bc of the plot I've created, sorry). So one unanimous question is: why does Cardan still allow her to stay in the brugh?

My pov: From Twk to Tpt we can see that Cardan is not as insensitive as he makes himself out to be, on the contrary, he has a lot of love to give (😭) (a side of him that probably only Nicasia had access to🙄). He's admitted to still liking his mother a little and if we look closely, that despite having a strong personality, Cardan is no longer a hateful person. After losing his entire family, he wouldn't throw out his mother, the second only person left of his blood, for bad things in the past. In Tpt we see how he's very happy with Jude and probably, thinks about the future instead of holding grudges about things from the past.

Okay, Cardan isn't the boy with the heart of stone, but why would he still like Lady Asha? Why didn't he lock her back up in the tower of oblivion like he did with Balekin? First of all it's obvious, she never committed any crime. But although the books say very little about their relationship (a shame because I've always been curious about it), I think there are some clues:

In the prologue to Tqn we see the discovery of Cardan's curse. It's said that Lady Asha doesn't seem to know how to hold a baby, but she hugs he when Eldred seems to be considering parting with the child and holds he tighter when she leaves. Perhaps she was just afraid of not having privileges, but it's the only gesture of affection we see from her.

Still in Tqn, Oriana tells Jude about Cardan's childhood:

"It wasn't as though she didn't dress him in velvets or furs; it's that she left them on until they grew ragged. Nor was it that she didn't feed him the most delectable cuts of meat and cake...."

Now, in Htkoelths, when he meets Aslog in the stables, despite being there because of her (bitch) Cardan thinks that if he called his mother she would beat Aslog up and throw her out. I found this passage strange bc Lady Asha is described as delicate and thin, yet Cardan knows that she would protect him from a much bigger and stronger woman. If he's so sure of this, has Lady Asha defended him before?

And finally, just a guess: when he travels to the mortal world in Tcp's time to save Balekin's mortal slave, Cardan travels on a giant moth owned by Lady Asha. It's said that the creature was personally tamed by her and he still remembers how, so he was probably there when it happened. Which means that perhaps Lady didn't leave him completely abandoned, there were moments that the two of them spent together, when she dressed him, fed him and perhaps took him for walks and played with him.

What does my monologue mean? That if we compare, Cardan seems to have more feelings for Lady Asha than for Eldred, because despite so many bad ones, he has good memories with her too. It's not just a blood bond.

It's sad and unfair, but Cardan has a much more forgiving heart than it seems.

There's probably something else too: guilt. If I'm not mistaken, in Twk's deleted scenes, when Lady Asha meets him to talk about Jude, it's said that Cardan didn't free her because he didn't think he had the power to, after all, Jude was the real High King.

Now, if we stop to think about it, Lady Asha had never committed a crime, (if we don't consider her to be the worst mother in the world), yet she probably spent about ten years trapped in the tower of oblivion, starving and cold, completely alone. Not even Balekin or Madoc suffered so much. Can we feel sorry for her for that? Idk, if you're a good person and can even like Madoc, that's fine, but I think it's well deserved. But not from Cardan's point of view, not least bc from his perspective it was his fault. Now, as High King, the best thing he can do to be fair is to reward her for all that time of suffering. So it's understandable that he lets her live in the palace and have everything she ever wanted.

Jude pov: I think that since she would like her mother to be alive and by her side and Cardan has that opportunity (which I would frankly pass up), she would never take it away from him, even for revenge. And like him, she's too happy to worry about the past and people who aren't worth it.

#cardan greenbriar #jurdan #tfota #jude duarte #holly black #the cruel prince #the folk of the air #tqon #twk #jude x cardan #Tcp #the queen of nothing #the wicked king #Jude #judecardan #Lady as #lady asha

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sxffrxn · 7 months

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When love strikes OP81

An Oscar Piastri x reader, enemies to lovers story

Part One Part Two

Summary: Oscar Piastri and Y/N L/N have a long-lasting feud, nobody knows why. Do they themselves know why?

Warnings: swearing, Oscar and Y/N literally act like children, grammar mistakes, messy

Word Count: 1.4k

Arriving back at home was like a blessing from the Gods. As soon as Y/N stepped foot in her apartment, her coat was thrown off as she leaped onto her bed, luggage forgotten. That night, she had the best sleep she had in a very long time, despite still being in her travelling clothes.

When she woke up and checked her phone she found her instagram was blowing up. Panic coursed itself through her body. Was she cancelled online? Has someone made up some bullshit to spread about her?

But, alas, it was her interview. It had gone viral. Some people were speculating about Oscar and Y/N’s relationship, and some had compiled an entire 30 minute video of the pair being downright unpleasant to each other. Although Y/N did in fact watch the whole video - in 3x speed, she wasn’t watching a 30 minute long video - she has to admit some of these were a stretch, I mean there was one scene where they simply walked past each other, opposite sides of the walkway may I add.

Both Lamborghini and Mclaren’s PR teams were going to have a field day with this one.

About an hour later, Y/N got a call from her assistant, Gemma,

“What have you done Y/N, the internet is in shambles!” she started.

“No, Hi how are you? Are you well rested? Why yes I am thank you for asking.” Y/N replied.

“Y/N I don’t think you understand the severity of this. We have had Mclaren on the phone all morning trying to sort this mess out.”

“Gem, I replied the way I was supposed to, I can’t think of another way I could have handled that without it turning into a brawl!” Y/N answered in a less polite tone than she should have used.

“Y/N” she started, “I know you handled it the best way you could. I’m sorry this is just so stressful. I don't know how to say this..”

“Say what? Surely it's not that bad. I mean they’re not kicking me off the team are they? I’ve only done one race an-“ she was cut off by Gemma again.

“They want you to act as though you are civil. Friends even. And I’m not talking, not sending glares at the other. I mean they want you to do all sorts of things with him.” Y/N’s heart dropped, she could not do this. Did this tiny altercation have to resort to this? No. But was Y/N a petty bitch? Abso-fucking-lutely.

“Gem, I’m not pretending to date him or anything like that, I’ve read a lot of books with that in and I hate it.”

“No, Y/N, you do not have to pretend to date Oscar Piastri,” she let out a sigh of relief, “You will, however, have to go to many events with him to show you guys are really just friends off track and rivals on.”

“Ughhhhh. Do I have to? Like what’s the significance of this?” Y/N tried to bargain.

“The significance is,” Gemma started, “not fucking up the internet more than you have - and yes, again, I know it’s not your fault for the interviewer’s question but we need to uphold the reputation of this team. Unfortunately women are always the problem in the media’s eyes.”

Y/N sighed rolling around on her bed and taking a big sip of water,

“Fine, but don’t expect me to apologise to anyone for anything. I hardly did anything wrong!” Maybe the last part was a little fib but Y/N stood her ground.

—

It was media day for the Saudi Arabian grand prix. Y/N sat in her hotel room completing a round of sudoku on her phone - her newest favourite past-time. She was waiting for a knock at her door from Gemma to explain the plan of action for today. Today commenced the ‘sort shit out with Oscar bloody Piastri’ plan, she was given minute details about how they would be miraculously saving each of their reputations. I mean, Y/N could hardly see the problem with rivalry on track, I mean look at Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, they had some issues - Y/N thinks so anyway - and nobody batted an eye, well I guess they weren’t as hostile with each other as Piastri and Y/N are.

A knock resounded through Y/N hotel room.

“Coming!” she went to the door and was met with the smiley face of Gemma,

“Gem you’re,” she checked her watch, “20 minutes early!”

“Yet you are all ready, what happened to ‘Little Miss constantly 10 minutes late’?” Gemma responded.

“Shitting bricks Gem.” Y/N patted Gemma on the back as she stepped out of her room and locked the door, “Let’s get this over and done with, yeah?”

Gemma filled Y/N in on the plan for the start of the day, Y/N would meet Oscar in the foyer of the hotel, have a few laughs and then head to the paddock, they would re-evaluate from there.

Y/N could feel herself gagging as she stepped into the main entrance, yes she was being very dramatic, but this was more stressful than telling her mum she had forgotten to take the chicken out of the freezer to defrost when specifically asked to. Oscar turned and scowled as Y/N walked up to him, this was going to be way harder than he thought. Gemma gave Y/N a firm pat on the back to usher her towards the aussie. They had fake paparazzi stationed just outside the hotel to get the best angles of their positive encounter. When Y/N felt a hand on her back, it was like a switch had been flicked and she grinned at Oscar as though they were best friends, she really channelled the 9 in her drama GCSE for this one moment.

She waved at Oscar as she got closer and he got the memo to sort himself out and act. They began walking out the door and to the shared car they would be taking (Y/N screamed into her hands and nearly punched a hole in the lift door when she found out they'd be car sharing), Oscar opened the door for Y/N to climb into the back seat before he got in. Both Oscar and Y/N had practically begged Gemma to be the peacekeeper and sit between them, but she claimed that she ‘needed to sit in the front because she gets motion sickness’ Y/N called out her shit and said that they had spent millions of car rides together in the back.

It was hard to not grab Oscar by the throat and throttle him into next week but Y/N kept her composure - and kept her hands to herself. It was almost peaceful at first, if you ignore the massive amounts of tension between the two, but that all soon changed as soon as Oscar opened his mouth,

“Do you know how long the car ride is?” he asked, directed to literally anyone in the car who could give him an answer.

“Longer than your F1 debut race” Y/N muttered under her breath, she did mean for him to hear it as she thought it was a pretty good joke. Turns out, it's probably not best to joke about race finishes - in this case, race not finishes - with someone who despises you.

“What the fuck, that’s not funny” he said turning to her.

Y/N stayed staring at her phone but let out a little giggle at his response. Oscar huffed and practically threw himself back into his seat.

“It’s about a 45 minute drive, Oscar” The driver, Kim (also Oscar’s performance coach) answered for him.

‘45 minutes with this bellend’ Y/N said in her mind before rolling her eyes and rotating her phone to watch a show on Netflix.

Oscar was in the same boat ‘No fucking way am I spending 45 minutes with her’ he thought to himself.

A loud ding sound echoed through the back of the car,

“Are you playing sudoku? What are you a fucking child?” Oscar commented. Y/N just scowled at him and stuck her tongue out. Oscar gave her a pointed look, then she realised, huffed, and pushed herself further into her seat.

This was going to be one hell of a car ride.

A/N: Hey guys sorry for the late update, I didn’t drop off the face of the earth. I’ve been so stressed out with schoolwork recently so updates will be scarce 😬 Thank you guys for all the support on the first part I literally love you all!!! Still working out the ropes to tumblr but i promise I will get there in the end.

Taglist: @chiliwhore (comment or lmk to be added i guess!!)

#f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #fanfic #formula one x reader #formula one #oscar piastri #oscar piastri x reader #oscar piastri x self insert #oscar piastri x y/n #oscarpiastri81 #reader x oscar piastri #oscar piastri x you #sxffrxn

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paradoxcase · 5 months

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Chapter 7 of Nona the Ninth

I just noticed we started having Nine Houses skulls at the beginnings of the chapters again. The first two chapters that were just about Nona have what looks like the locked tomb at the front, the third where the kids and the school were introduced as a tree with an apple, maybe that's biblical, I don't know, chapter four has a Seventh skull, which is weird because nothing about the Seventh House or anyone in it was mentioned there (unless one of these characters is secretly a House refugee or something), chapter five is a Ninth skull, which, sure, chapter six is a Sixth skull, which also makes sense, and now this one is a Second skull

So maybe she's like some combination of Gideon and Harrow, or Gideon and Harrow's memories of the pool scene got merged in Harrow's body due to Gideon being in there for a while?

Well that's a new addition to the pool scene, unless this is just Nona being hungry for breakfast and conflating it with the dream

Actually, you know, I have to wonder what Camilla makes of these dreams at all, because I don't think anyone ever actually told Camilla about the pool scene at any point

I know she has like, a child's disdain for immature things, but she also went from being completely helpless to being like a ten year old in six months, so I wonder if she's also going to do more lightning-fast maturation throughout this book, although it looks like the whole book takes place over the span of five days

That's an odd opinion for a human to have

So earlier the book mentioned a "cooling cupboard" which I thought was meant to be the refrigerator, but now we have an actual refrigerator, too. I looked up "cooling cupboard" to see if it meant something in New Zealand English or something, and found something completely unexpected:

There's no mention of it being used widely anywhere outside of the US, and apparently they went out of use after freon started being produced. Searching for "cooling cupboard new zealand" mostly turns up hits for online stores located in New Zealand that are selling computer cooling hardware, so I'm stumped

Apparently sultanas are grapes, like not even a particularly exotic kind of grape, either, but there's considerable variation on how the term is used. Wiktionary thinks it can be a synonym for golden raisin? Only, why would you say "dried raisins", raisins are already dried grapes, that's the whole point of raisins

Prithibi appears to be the name of a Bengali rock band and a consulting firm. The consulting firm's webpage claims it's the Sanskrit word for "world" but I don't trust consulting firms to be subject-matter experts on Indian linguistics so I checked wiktionary and apparently it's actually a Bengali word that's a learned borrowing from a similar-but-not-identical Sanskrit word for "world". I wonder if this here is meant to be a reference to the Sanskrit word, the Bengali rock band, or the consulting firm. Antioch is well-known, of course

I wonder if Honesty was being sarcastic? But he does respect Hot Sauce, so I don't know. Anyway, I am also curious about why her name is Hot Sauce

Why do Camilla and Palamedes need a bigger bowl? Does having two souls in the same body burn more calories, or something?

Does she mean, she reminds We Suffer that Wake could fuck up and get killed, or that Wake could fuck up and start sleeping with someone sent to kill her? The last part makes me think the latter, but I don't know how much We Suffer actually would know known about that relationship

I mean, she's essentially been cut off from G1deon for 10,000 years, since he never knew she was there and never tried to communicate with her at all, and that didn't stop her from getting together with Wake. Honestly, now that I think about it, why didn't Pyrrha ever try to communicate with him? Why didn't she write "yo, it's me, Pyrrha, I aten't dead" on a piece of paper somewhere in his room for him to find when he came back to awareness, not once in 10,000 years? Or did he know? I guess we don't actually know. He told Harrow "I forget" but maybe he was just hiding Pyrrha's existence from her?

And I guess from the last bit Pyrrha didn't have quite the same relationship with G1deon as Camilla and Palamedes do

Malewife Palamedes?

So they are sometimes both active at once? I guess by the trial, Pyrrha is referring to the imaging/response challenge that Gideon and Harrow did. Except, if the body that's dually occupied is the one that needs to have cerebral fluid drained, why was she doing it to G1deon, since he was the necromancer it would have been her body, wouldn't it? Also, why did they create this trial that Pyrrha and G1deon thought required this precaution with absolutely no indication that that was the case and just left it there for the next Lyctor aspirants to find and play with? Also, how is both of them being active at once helping them with whatever is going on with Site B and C?

I wonder how many conversations like this happen in this apartment

Honestly, I appreciate that the next part of the story starts out with "wow, Honesty got busted up!" and then when the actual story comes out, the part where he got hurt actually turns out to be the least interesting and least worrying part

So you swap irises with your cavalier when you achieve Lyctorhood, so irises must be somehow some indicator of your soul, or a part of your soul, so no iris = no soul, maybe? Only, Protesilaus in Gideon the Ninth was essentially a body being animated without a soul, and his eyes were normal, and so were Harrow's parents, etc. So maybe it's just another kind of special eye that means something special about their souls, like John's eyes. John's eyes came from the soul of a planet, but there should only be three more of those left and I don't think they're hanging out in human bodies like Alecto is? What other kinds of strange souls exist in this universe?

And I guess the Convoy is an actual convoy and not a metaphor for something else? A convoy that's very hot and operated by people with white eyes, and the militia are trying to cover it up. I wonder if this is some kind of anti-House initiative that BOE are doing

#the locked tomb #nona the ninth

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xoxothesubwayfugitive · 11 months

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Lucius is often characterized in fic as the ultimate dominant with a ton of sexual experience, but I have trouble writing him that way (even though I love reading it) because I view him as so loyal to Narcissa. Even though we know they are slightly older than many other Marauders era parents, we still have to assume they were married quite young and probably were dating at Hogwarts, so I don't really see him as having had an opportunity to sow his wild oats before their marriage, and I don't see him or Narcissa as wanting to open their relationship or wanting to cheat on one another. There's just not room in my imagining of them for him to have acquired a significant BDSM background beyond run of the mill rough sex and a little bit of a controlling personality, so even when I'm writing him with my OC after Narcissa's death, he's quite hesitant to push her to her limits. Of course he knows what he's doing (😈) but ultimately he's afraid of causing harm and he probably doesn't know how to be fully immersed in a "scene", preferring instead to just be a caring partner who will sometimes branch into something more intense.

Which is why they need Severus, who has had nothing but time to learn about every sexual deviance in the book, to join them and be the "bad guy", something you can read about here and here. Sample below the cut

"I want…" She hesitated, and looked over to where Severus was waiting patiently, almost bored. She would have been afraid to make eye contact with anyone else at that point, but she knew he would be expecting it. That he wouldn't shy away when he had decided he wanted something. "I want Professor Snape to join us. To teach me things." Snape didn't flinch, or smile, but she chanced to break away from his eyes and look to his crotch, where she saw a bulge that made her involuntarily spread her legs.

Lucius lifted her up by her elbow at that. "Go stand in front of us."

Felicity was wearing a fairly modest spring outfit; a blouse with a small V-neck and ruffled collar, and a mid-length satin skirt in deep teal. She felt both prudish and half naked under their scrutiny.

"Lucius tells me you call him Daddy, Felicity," Severus began, adjusting himself to sit more upright as he did so. He observed her over the rim of his glass as she scrambled for a reply.

"It's not…it's just a name. We don't do the other stuff. It's just something I like to say." She was almost pleading.

"Relax. It's sweet," he replied. She couldn't believe she was hearing him call something sweet, and seemingly mean it. "So he can be Daddy, and I'm Professor."

"And what does that make me?" she asked.

"What are you usually?"

Felicity twisted her fingers together behind her back. "My name, usually. "Love". It's really not – it's not like a game or anything."

"Lucius never calls you a slut?"

Her breath hitched, and she chanced her first glance to her husband, who was smirking a bit, although she could tell it wasn't malicious.

"Yes, Professor. Sometimes." Felicity could feel her chest reddening.

"Is there anything else he calls you sometimes?" Snape sneered.

"He calls me a good girl."

"And you like that, don't you?" he taunted.

"Yes, Professor."

Lucius leaned forward in his seat and brushed his fingers along the sensitive skin of her wrist. "Tell him how wet it makes you, love," he urged gently. Felicity swallowed hard and then returned Snape's gaze again.

"I love being his good girl, Professor," she acquiesced. It was easier when Lucius asked it of her.

"You submit to him so nicely," Severus observed. Lucius laughed and Felicity turned to smile with him; it was a joke between them that she was usually bitterly stubborn, only able to fall into the role of docile wife when they were completely alone and they had both switched off their normal thoughts in favor of pure sex. Even then, it was challenging for him to push her when she resisted, and challenging for her not to resist.

#lucius malfoy #lucius malfoy x oc #lucius malfoy smut #narcissa malfoy #lucissa #severus snape #severus snape x lucius malfoy

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coconutcordiale · 1 year

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Alright alright alright y'all I saw Devotion

This is not a glowing review of Glen nor this movie so if you don’t want to read that feel free to scroll.

I haven’t read the book, though the movie made me really want to! So that’s a positive for sure.

Also I know nothing about the Navy. Spoilers below the cut.

Disclaimer: I’m generally very critical of movies / tv, even ones I like, despite having zero real cinematic knowledge lol. My dad’s a producer so he and I love to pick apart movies and that habit has definitely made me hypercritical (as a frame of reference I have issues with TGM and New Girl too, two all time faves) so take my negative Nancy shit with a grain of salt please.

Things I liked in no particular order:

Jesse and Tom running the checklist just before Jesse crashes into the clearing

Every scene Christina Jackson was in - she was amazing

When the junior (I assume) sailors come out to watch Jesse’s carrier qualification - thought the reactions of the squadron were really interesting in this and overall a super emotional scene

The aerial scene in the beginning where Tom & Jesse fly by the lighthouse

Jonathan Majors. JONATHAN MAJORS, holy shit. He wowed me. Some scenes made me SO uncomfortable and I mean that in a good way (like him reciting things in the mirror) because he delivered them so viscerally without overplaying the character. His performance was incredibly balanced and overall outstanding imo. If it weren’t for him I likely would’ve hated this movie (sorry Glen)

The scene where the squadron is taking their flight gear before the funeral flight, thought this was cut beautifully with Daisy getting the news of Jesse's death

Glen’s my babygirl. He looks gorgeous in this movie. His facial expressions were generally great throughout. The first half of the movie I enjoyed him mostly (pretty much everything pre-Cannes). That’s kind of where my compliments end for him 🫣 I do not think this was his best performance by a long shot. Most of his line delivery fell flat for me.

That could’ve been because Jonathan Majors steals nearly every scene he’s in. It also could've been the writing, a lot of the dialogue felt very stilted and awkward, especially in emotionally heavy scenes on the carrier.

As a Glen fan, thought it was cute the girl Tom kissed in France was Gigi but most of the Cannes stuff was completely unnecessary. On the positive side there, the dynamic between Glen/Jonathan I thought was fairly likeable in the outdoor bar scene.

Joe Jonas was alright, my expectations were basically on the floor for him so he exceeded that, yay. There were scenes where I liked the CO and found his character engaging and then there were a couple towards the end where I thought he was awkward. I have nothing to say about the rest of the squadron, didn't dislike them or find them memorable.

My biggest gripe is that the pacing of this movie was ridiculous - it felt WAY longer than 2.3 hours. By the end I was beyond ready for it to be over. I probably would never be able to sit through this movie from beginning to end again which is unfortunate. The real bulk of the story is at the end but by the time it came around I was mentally done with the movie and thought a lot of the performances (especially glen’s) towards the end didn’t land. The timing of everything felt really off and although I thought the actor’s performances were generally stronger in the beginning, things took so long to get going that by the end I somewhat checked out.

Overall, loved Jonathan Majors and Christina Jackson. Adored their performances. Felt mostly neutral about everyone else. Extremely negative about the pacing.

Also I still think the world of Glen!!!! I completely understand how easy it is for me to criticize vs the constraints they actually worked with in making this! Sorry don't hate me for this :(

@wombtotombx & @fuckyeahhangman

#devotion #edited to clarify my thoughts because I reread it and realized what I was saying didn’t make sense

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tobeornottotc · 2 years

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I just came across a video of the kinporsche cast and they were asked scenario questions; one if it was...whom will pete choose bewtween kinn and vegas...there were few things said that i was curious about..vegas/bible said don't forget who you chose...something like that can't remember word for word...meaning pete chose vegas...what i wanted to ask is in the remaining 4 eps do you see a scenario in which this could happen meaning they won't cut it and leave it for the coming season...how do you think they might go about it...will the major family (kinn especially) since he trusts pete see this as betrayal and would want to hurt/kill pete

Hi!

This answer is going to be a heavy spoiler for the ending so skip if you don't want to know Thanks.

Yeah I saw that video but knowing spoilers I always laugh at BibleBuild answers. Same when Build laughed as he chose minor family in one of the videos on Iquiyi while everyone else chose major family and him choosing love over his job. Build gets Pete that's why I like him as an actor. About Pete choosing Vegas...

Yeh I do see a scenario in this, I think they won't remove this because they are still following outlines of the novel and in the final fight it's a big focus in fact Pete's perspective is the loudest in this despite the fact Porsche is also going through a lot emotionally and mentally. They both have equal time during this scene and we see them both struggle to make a choice for the next part of their future, Porsche looking at Kinn struggling with the sacrifice he has to undertake or Pete losing his mind slowly as he watches the downfall of the man he loves. Like the desperation of both couples in this scene is chef' s kiss and I wouldn't want them to tamper with that you know? But they may, they may mute Pete's feeling completely and instead make it more angsty that he still pushes away from Vegas, instead I can't imagine this Pete but I would like to try if I see any warning signs or foreshadowings about it. However the foreshadows and symbolisms I've seen in the show for these 2 still adds up and agrees with the novel so I'm not yet fussed.

I think Vegas would probably end up running away into whatever ending they want with him and I think although major family will want to hunt him down they'll decide not to, or he'll go missing and they won't be able to find him as he goes through whatever they want to make him end up as in the finale. Do I think Pete may be part of that? Yes 100% one of my theories is Vegas may be taking Pete to a secret location unknown to everyone and Pete may take him there and hide him away after the mutiny. But I also feel like Korn doesn't really want to get rid of Vegas?

Like he still sees him as useful and he is the one who brought all these businesses that major family leach off of, so I think Korn would make an excuse why Vegas isn't worth chasing, Korn's endgame for the chessgame is to have weapons, pawns at his service to make his mafia throne great. So as long as Kan (who keeps trying to upend that) is not a threat then yeah Korn has no need to care about whether Vegas is alive or not. I think Pete's betrayal will be interesting if they do add it, I think it won't be the same in the book it'll be in the sea of chaos of the mutiny battle like Porsche will still have Korn's attention and Pete may chase after Vegas once he sees him leaving. But I have no clue haha, the finale is a conflicting one for me I think I know how it ends the chessgame conversation but I don't know what else changes, BibleBuild have said it's not the same as the book the ending and that worries me in regards to VegasPete. But I just can't see a place where Pete is not going to choose Vegas at the end of this. Like him doing the opposite would ruin his characterisation for me and what he's meant to represent in the story so ehh... we'll see is all I can say

I think my theory for now until I see how VP play out is that everyone would be too distracted with Porsche and VP will escape and continue their own story, if Vegas rebels and actually causes a mutiny on his own that again I feel will go against the whole characterisation and arc for him that is still being hinted at in the show. If Vegas does rebel and start his own clan then yeah I can see Pete not running away and choosing him at the end. But I trust Build and so far Build knows his character would always choose Vegas unless they ruin that.

Thanks! Sorry I couldn't give a clear answer yet from my evidence and analysis, Vegas is quite different in the series, I still think Pete is the same but that may change after 11-12 once I see what their romance arc is, once I understand who they want Pete to be I'll come back and review this answer and update it. For now I still see the story structure playing out as the book but the details changed. We'll see what they choose to do

#kinnporsche #kinnporsche the series #asks #reviews #bl series #bl drama #thai bl #vegaspete #spoilers

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thatscarletflycatcher · 2 years

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Thoughts on North and South (2022), episode 1

Overall impression it was... good?

It covered from chapter 1 to around chapter 20 (so up to the Thornton dinner party, but Bessy's death is placed before it). This means that it really hasn't touched any of the scenes that are (at least for me) make-it-or-break-it yet, and I cannot really make a guess how it will go for me on episodes 2 and 3.

In one hand, the adaptation chooses to focus on the conversations between the characters --which I think is an excellent choice to make for a radio drama, because it doesn't have to deal with the visual problems long conversations create for film-- and I think it does a good job with incorporating, adapting and blending the language from the text.

The music and foley were good, and the voice acting I found pleasant, although I felt some of the female characters blended with each other a bit, and Mrs. Thornton sounded too poised and elegant. Mr Thornton's actor, while not having a particularly remarkable voice, I found did a great job with giving the character the subtle changes of tone and cadence (you can tell, for example, that he's nervous and a little shy when he meets Margaret and Mr Hale). One of the things that bothered me the most about the 1997 drama was that Margaret there had a high pitched voice, which thankfully is not the case here.

Characterization wise, most characters do fairly well fit their book personalities, although Mrs Hale comes across as a little too tone deaf (like, she comments on how dirty Milton is instead of Fanny saying it --there's no Fanny so far, and no Mary-- and never asks about Mrs Thornton's lace), and Boulcher has too much of a spine (he might break down as the strike goes on, though, so jury's still out on that one).

The main change is Mr Hale, who is made to be, overall, far more competent and wise than he is in the book; certainly we get his "well, you probably did well because the homeric life inspired you" comment, but he also... tells Margaret about his leaving the Church the very night of Edith's wedding instead of two weeks before they have to leave (Mr Lennox also proposes that night and his character is softened simply by his not waiting in the hopes that she'll miss luxury, adding some more passionate words of love, and his asking for an interview in the morning instead of springing the proposal on her without warning), the bit where Margaret asks why don't they find somewhere cheaper and he insists that he needs to feel useful and work and that's why Milton is omitted, he has at least two instances of "communicating wisdom to my daughter" and, in one of the low moments of the episode, at the end, Margaret tells Thornton that "there's always a choice" as her father proved with his life... and I'm here like... girl, if there's a plate of food at home right now it's because Thornton and the other people with money are paying your dad, if they all fall into poverty there you go too, what are you talking about.

Which leads me to... the plot changes. Some of them are understandable in the frame of the time constraints (omitting the Helstone part at the beginning and putting the plot changing events in London, and then jump to the Hales taking the train for Milton), making Bessy's death happen earlier in the plot, but others are... not so understandable or good. For example, the strike is not about getting a raise, but about mill owners reducing salaries. This changes, I think, significantly, the perspective on the strike. All mill owners and not just Thornton mean to bring Irish hands in before the strike even starts. The long conversation Higgins has with Mr Hale has been either completely cut or moved to later on, and the day of Bessy's death ends with Higgins shouting at Margaret that she's a hypocrite that preaches the poor to go to Church while living off their suffering, and to never step into his house again, which... why? Mrs. Thornton also gets scandalized when she learns Margaret made friends with a mill girl, which is super weird.

There are other changes I'm more ambivalent about. They expanded the role of a character that is mentioned only once in the book, Henderson. He doesn't do much at all on this first episode, but he's credited on the third one, so he might be used as a contrast to show off Thornton's character growth. We shall see.

They make Margaret's grief for Bessy very intense to the point of being overdone. I get the sentiment behind, but when Dixon tells Margaret "you loved that girl" I'm like... what do you know about that, Dixon? and then Margaret goes to talk to Bessy's corpse and she does talk to her for a while, which doesn't seem warranted by what we had been shown of their friendship to that point.

Instead of Margaret just returning Mrs Thornton's visit, they have her come get "a tour of the mill" by Thornton (which is the only wink so far to the 2004 series, down to comparing the cotton fluff to snow, but all in all it isn't as much as I expected to see. Again, jury is still out), in which some explanations are giving about the cotton trade and cotton mills and John's pride in his work is showcased. It does include the line "children are useful" from him which... why would you put that on his lips?

The first meeting of Margaret and Thornton is with Mr Hale present, and that changes the dynamic a bit (Margaret asks for the name of the landlord, so that she can talk to him about the property, and refuses Thornton's help. It's part of the series trying to showcase Margaret as active, but also she doesn't seem to suffer much under the weight of it all, so it's a half prize compared to 2004 Margaret); there's no wallpaper gesture, but anything is an improvement over "Thornton beats up a worker into a pulp" as a first introduction.

This allows me to go into something I mentioned before, but that I think applies specially to this first part: I do think it's a missed opportunity not to have some first person narration as an adaptation choice for North and South. So much of the novel stands on well crafted misunderstanding, that I think it would make any adaptation richer, and would allow for the inclusion of such classic bits as the bracelet scene and Margaret's worries, and it helps with a character like Thornton, whose goodness shows mostly in action rather than in words. It does take away from the immediacy of the action, but I do think it would have been worth it.

Overall, though, again, I liked this episode, and so far the adaptation is showing itself vastly superior to the 1997 one; it would have been better, I think, if it was given more time to breath and some first person narration, but it is competent work.

#Elizabeth Gaskell #North and South #North and south 2022 #BBC radio drama

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lepusrufus · 3 years

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Double edged scalpel ch. 7

Ch.1 ch.2 ch.3 ch.4 ch.5 ch.6

Summary: in which Cassandra gets bullied and other sappy shenanigans

---

"Oh Nicole dear, so happy to see you again!" Duke's voice was cheerful as ever, tone masterfully crafted over years of being a businessman.

Nicole, taking small steps inside the ornate and now full of items room, greeted him with uncharacteristic giddiness.

"Duke! How's business?"

"Same as always, I'll be heading to Beneviento later tonight to deliver some tools for her," he took a long drag of his cigar and, noticing green eyes scanning over multiple items and said, "I also have your order."

With a childish grin on her face, she approached him, hands shuffling inside the small bag attached to her belt that all staff members had. She pulled out the money owed for her package and, in return, the Duke placed a decently sized box in her arms. With an oof she shifted it in a less precarious position, it's heavy contents seeming to plot against her small frame.

"Unfortunately I can't stay, duty calls. But thank you Duke."

"No worries, I do understand that your employers can be quite," he took another drag of his cigar, looking for the right word. "...demanding"

Nicole chuckled. That was one way to put it.

"Well until next time dear. Or if you find yourself in need of something else, I'll be here until six."

---

She was only wearing a long white towel when she heard a knock on the door. Assuming it was another maid, or even Anita inquiring about whether or not she'd be joining the rest of them for dinner, she opened the door just a crack.

It was a surprise to see none other than Cassandra standing there, her elegant frame in odd contrast with the modest corridor. She flung the door open, letting the brunette inside and took a quick glance down the hall, making sure no maid was on the floor after fainting due to fright.

"What are you doing here?"

"Aw, are you not happy to see me?" She was pouting, but her tone was joking.

Nicole rolled her eyes, but the small smile on her lips betrayed that she was indeed happy to see her. Cassandra only laughed instead, a beautiful melodious laugh, so unlike the dark cackles heard by prisoners down in the dungeons.

"Just sit down, I need to get dressed," Nicole pointed to the bed before moving to the small dresser and pulling out a clean uniform.

Cassandra went to sit on the slightly disheveled bed, eyes following the redhead's form as she let the towel drop to her feet and started to put on the various layers of her uniform. Then golden eyes darted to the box sitting on the bed. The tape sealing it had been cut not long after Nicole brought it back to her room to make sure all its contents made it safely. Not that she didn't trust the Duke, but postal service was postal service.

"What's this?" Cassandra inquired, trying to read the label but having no success as it had been scribbled over with a marker.

Nicole stilled for a moment, hands frozen on her white button up. She cleared her throat and shyly admitted:

"Actually that's for you. Do open it if you want."

Cassandra's eyes widened, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. The gesture had really caught her off guard. She gingerly lifted the lid, inspecting it's contents for a moment and then hummed.

"And here I was thinking you like my hair. With how much you love to pull on it and all that."

Nicole, now fully clothed and sporting a deep blush, marched to her and plucked the two boxes of red hair dye from gloved hands. She placed them on her nightstand and, with her voice just slightly more high pitched, she turned to the brunette.

"Those are mine, I meant the rest of it." And, after a chuckle, "I mean have you seen my roots? They're horrible!"

Cassandra only gave her a deadpan look and, after a long moment, said: "I think your hair is beautiful."

She didn't wait for a reply, not that it would be anything more than a stammered mumble of course. Instead she chuckled and returned her attention to the box. She examined the rest of its contents and then gingerly lifted one of the few tomes inside. The cover was glossy and malleable, it's pages shiny and with a distinct typography smell to it. It was so unlike her other books, it's pristine white state making it feel extremely out of place in the castle. She glanced at Nicole inquisitively.

"I do appreciate the gift, don't misunderstand me, but surely you know there's a small bookshop's worth of medical books in this castle."

"With all due respect, from what I've seen most of them are at least somewhat outdated. Interesting, yes, but I thought you'd like to learn something more...modern." Then she pulled out another book. "This is the same one I used while studying forensic pathology. It would make teaching you some things easier. Uh… assuming you want that."

Nicole averted her gaze, suddenly unsure of the usefulness of her gift. Cassandra however grabbed her chin between two fingers and pulled her gaze back on her. She smiled, finding the shy demeanor beyond endearing.

"I'd love that."

A small smile appeared on thin lips and Nicole leaned in to kiss Cassandra. It was soft and short, but no less intimate than the deep kisses they shared so many times in Cassandra's bed.

They had to go anyway.

---

Let's go to the library, Cassandra said. It'll be empty, she said.

When Cassandra swung open the intricate door, only to find the other two sisters lounging on one of the couches, it's not like they could do a one eighty and leave the room. That would've been both impolite and highly suspicious.

Instead, Cassandra grabbed her arm protectively and led them to the reading spot farthest from the other two. They placed one of the textbooks on the small desk and Cassandra took out a notebook. This would've been a lot more fruitful with an actual body on hand, but there were still a couple days until the human flesh supply had to be replenished and Cassandra was beyond eager to start on some things. So, for now, they had to settle for theory alone.

It took all of five minutes for the other two sisters to make their way to their desk. Daniela had a giddy yet curious expression on her face, while Bela seemed as unreadable as ever, if not for a glint in her eyes that betrayed her interest.

"Whatcha dooooing?" Came Daniela's voice, who cocked her head not unlike a curious puppy would while looking at the book's contents.

"Working," Cassandra replied, a slight growl accompanying her words.

"Could've fooled me," Bela spoke from behind the youngest sister, eyeing the hand protectively placed on Nicole's waist.

Cassandra snapped her eyes at the blonde, looking ready to throw her notebook at her head but Bela ignored her sister's ire and addressed Nicole instead.

"What are you studying?"

"I uh- just some basic anatomy concepts. Thought it would be a good idea to start with the things that the older books in the castle don't cover."

Bela only hummed, grabbed an ornate chair nearby, and plopped herself at the desk, opposite from the pair. Daniela mimicked her sister, but instead chose to sit down right by Nicole on the small couch. It took more willpower than she would admit not to glue herself to Cassandra's side when Daniela's face came uncomfortably close so she could look over the book's diagrams. She stood still as a statue though. After a couple seconds of silence and Nicole trying to figure out what she was supposed to do, Daniela drew her head back, looking at her with what was possibly the most serious expression she had seen on the youngest sister.

"You do realize we're not going to hurt you right? How could we lay a finger on our dear sister's lover hmm?"

Nicole's breath caught in her throat. She wasn't sure if it was due to the word used to describe her or how Daniela apparently knew that she was utterly terrified of her. Cassandra sighed beside her and, seeming to at least partially read Nicole's thoughts, clarified:

"Your heartbeat."

Oh. Yeah. Yeah her heart was beating a million miles an hour. And apparently the other three vampiric occupants of the room were able to hear it loud and clear. It did very little to ease her mind.

"Please do calm down, it feels like someone is having drumming lessons. Bad ones," Bela complained, head resting in one of her hands like she was already bored.

"Then shove a sock in your ears," Cassandra snapped.

Bela simply leaned back in her seat and stretched her arms above her head. "And risk not hearing my beloved sisters sing along to some pop song?"

Cassandra shut her mouth, a blush now slowly spreading across her cheeks while Daniela burst out into laughter. Even Nicole couldn't help betraying the brunette and letting out a giggle.

"I didn't know you could sing."

"I can't."

"Au contraire dear Cassie! Should I remind you of the last time Dragostea din tei came on the radio? The pathos!" Daniela reached over Nicole's lap to lightly shake her sister's knee through her giggles.

Cassandra only let out a long groan, face now hidden in her palms. "I hate you both."

"Mhm, we love you too," came Bela's reply, accompanied by a chuckle.

Nicole couldn't keep a small laugh while she snaked her arm behind the brunette to show some form of support against the merciless assailants. Maybe not a complete betrayal.

The scene really had something deep within her heart aching beautifully. It reminded her of the countless times she and Alex would mercilessly tease each other, but still have each other's backs through thick and thin. And for this familiarity to come from people that any sane person would consider bloodthirsty monsters? Hell, maybe they should start considering her a monster too, for the only word she could use to describe them in that moment was endearing.

"So," Bela lightly clapped her gloved hands. "Now that your pulse isn't giving me a headache anymore, what are we doing?"

She had a confident smirk on her face, but her eyes betrayed curiosity. Same for Daniela and, although mixed with a hint of annoyance, Cassandra. She opened the book in front of her, one of general human anatomy, and decided that the digestive system would be a good enough starting point.

---

Their little impromptu lesson didn't last more than two hours. Two hours that proved to Nicole just how oddly human all three sisters can be. Of course she had gotten familiar with Cassandra, intimately so, but the other two still felt like two looming monsters hiding in the shadows. At least up until now.

Bela seemed oddly intrigued by Nicole's explanation, although unlike Cassandra, she seemed to view it more like a story than anything. Daniela seemed slightly more interested, asking questions here and there and even starting to giggle like a middle schooler when they got to the rectum section. That got an eye roll from the other two. Nicole just laughed, finally understanding Mrs Hawkins, her private biology teacher from before she was allowed to step foot in any public school.

After they were done, Bela simply stood up and bid them good night. Danila instead excitedly proposed the skeletal system for next time and picked up the books she abandoned earlier. Then, with a small tower of tomes she went through a door tucked at the very back of the room. Her study, Cassandra had pointed out as they made their way out of the library.

"I didn't know your sisters were interested in medicine too." Nicole kept her voice low, almost as if talking too loudly would disturb the shadowy hallways.

"More or less. Daniela likes it and has a bit of hands-on practice but she has her nose in romance novels more often than not. Bela finds it interesting but botany is what she really loves. That and classic lit." She added the last part with a grimace and Nicole had to wonder which author had offended her personally.

Before she could continue that train of thought though, her gaze moved to the windows, the cloudless sky beyond thick glass panels full of twinkling stars. Her mind kept going back to a few hours earlier and at what Daniela had said. Lover. Did Cassandra truly see her as one or was the youngest sister just being her over the top self. Did she see Cassandra this way? Nicole had not allowed herself to dwell on that up until now, the idea that the brunette saw her as more than an over glorified lab partner with whom she occasionally scratched an itch seemed almost laughable. But the small gestures of affection shown in ways Cassandra seemed to know best were undeniably there. And the familiar flutter in her chest at each of said gestures was also undeniably there.

"What's wrong?"

Cassandra's voice, accompanied by the slight echo through the empty hallway, snapped Nicole out of her thoughts.

"Oh um- nothing." She sounded as convincing as someone trying to sell you a fork while showing you a spoon.

And Cassandra didn't seem to buy it. She moved in front of the redhead, walking backwards with no concern over possible furniture to collide into along the way.

"You always get this… face when something's bothering you."

"I do not-" the indignation in her tone was weak, little more than an attempt to change the subject.

"Mhmm you do. You normally look focused. Kind of like, if someone tried to scare you by throwing an eyeball at you, you'd laugh." She would. "Now? Now you look like a rabbit that has no time to run and is just laying low hoping whatever's hunting it passes by."

Nicole shut up for a moment, only looking at the brunette in front of her incredulously. Maybe she was far more attentive than she gave her credit for.

"Uh. Just thinking." At a raised dark eyebrow, the no shit went unsaid, so Nicole tried to elaborate. "About earlier. When we were with your sisters and Daniela uh- Daniela called me your lover."

Saying that the words felt awkward on her tongue was close to the year's biggest understatement. It felt like pulling out teeth would be an easier task. Nicole had never been good with her words, having learned since childhood to keep her mouth shut. But the fact that Cassandra seemed to share her struggle brought some semblance of comfort.

"And?" As if they were talking about the weather.

"And… was she right in describing me as such?"

She couldn't help a small gulp when the brunette stopped walking, looking at her with a frown. Any sane person would be at the very least somewhat afraid in this situation. Sanity however was scarce these days as Nicole was afraid, though not of the bodily harm that may come from her inquiry, but rather of Cassandra's answer.

"Nicole, your tongue has been in my mouth." Amongst many other places.

The redhead's cheeks turned a slight shade of crimson and she mumbled for an answer. She wasn't sure how to tell her that sleeping together did not automatically make them lovers. But then again, Cassandra's thoughts remained a mystery more than anything.

Thankfully the brunette took the metaphorical reins of the conversation and stepped forward. She wrapped her hands around Nicole's arms, gentler than one would imagine possible from her, and bent down to whisper no more than an inch away from her ear.

"I'll have you know, I'm not particularly fond of letting anyone I don't deem important touch me. Especially not the way you do."

The words made something flutter in Nicole's chest, an unfamiliar and comforting warmth. Said warmth got chipped away at the slightest bit when Cassandra pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"Should I take it that it's not mutual then?" Cassandra's tone was nonchalant, almost as if she didn't truly care about the answer. She could keep doing whatever she wanted either way, afterall who was going to stop her? But to someone who got familiar with all her small quirks and habits, the waver in her voice was more than clear.

"No." The world slipped from her lips with no hesitation.

No hesitation, because the more she thought about it, and she didn't need to think a lot mind you, the more Nicole realized that she couldn't remember a time when she felt the way she did here. Sure the initial threat of death looming over her head was anything but pleasant, but once that melted into affection and nights spent in Cassandra's arms the thought of leaving didn't as much as graze her mind.

"No, no. It is," she repeated, more certainty making its way into her tone.

At that Cassandra smiled. A small, almost shy one would say if they knew her well enough, smile. Her shoulders seemed to lose some of their tension when she leaned down again, her lips stopping not even an inch away. Nicole wasted no time leaning forward, their mouths meeting in a kiss that mixed softness and need beautifully. Their lips slid against each other until, surprisingly, it was Cassandra to pull back and sigh.

"Come sleep, we have some cutting up to do in the morning."

Nicole frowned. "Tomorrow? Wasn't that supposed to be due in a few days?"

A devilish grin appeared on black lips, fangs shimmering ominously in the low light. "Bela caught a foolish man-thing sneaking around the forest on the castle grounds. She's really excited to turn this one into a nice steak."

The redhead only let out an oh in acknowledgement. Foolish indeed. At least they could finally put into practice a few autopsy tricks Nicole had been itching to show her.

She let herself be guided back to Cassandra's chambers and into her bed, that she had grown intimately familiar with. The last thing she felt before falling asleep was the brunette's cool skin, pressed against her own. A welcomed comfort among the myriad of soft pillows that surrounded them. Nicole wondered briefly if being undead meant it was hard to keep yourself warm, but the thought quickly slipped away as she fell into a dreamless sleep.

#cassandra dimitrescu x maiden #unhinged maiden™ my beloved #bela dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu #double edged scalpel #fanfic #the dimitrescu daughters

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lilisouless · 2 years

Text

I really like the scene of Ruin and Rising where the girls are taking a break and talking about the things they miss before the war , even if they seem shallow it´s still little things in their life that were mundane and may never see again. It´s probably my favorite scene from the book.

The only thing that stops me from loving it completely is that, this is a moment of friendship but ,with the exception of Tamar ,...they were all AWFUL to each other in the first book.

FOLLOWING THERE IS A LOT OF SAB RANT. Beware if you love the first book. While not anti Genyalina or Zoyalina , i am definitely not saying good things about either (as relationships and not ships themselves) some Alina critical and NOT book!Nadia friendly. If you are not in the mood for all this maybe you should keep scrolling OR give me your best counterpoint, you know i am flexible.

However, if you like the show version of Zoyalina/Genyalina/Nadia, then you may like/want to see the last points

-Nadia hated Zoya yet pretended to be her friend ,only hung out with Alina because she was the sun sumoner and look down on Genya because she was a servant

-Zoya phisically attaked Alina and insulted her for coming from an orphanage ,out of jelaousy

-Alina , as much as i hate her inner monologue, is probably the least bad since she only complains about how much she despises Nadia and Zoya in her thoughts and not out loud. The thing that irritates me is that she talks back to a guard for yelling at her YET (inconsistency is Sab!Alina´s middle name) she doesn't do shit in order to defend Genya from Nadia and Marie . Honestly, they may be friends in the second and third book but they are definitely not in the first one.

-Genya, look: i don't hold it against her, i get her position and i know she didn't mean to harm Alina. But cutting her comunication with Mal and helping her boss to do what he did to Alina is probably the worst any of the girls have done to each other (again, she undid this by helping Alina at a crucial moment, becoming a real friend and definitely didn't deserved to being desfigured). Also i still don't get why getting into Zoya´s room to mock her, like why was that necesary?

The thing is not that i wished they were nicer to each other (although it would have helped) i wish there was develoment to make the prev scene being more powerfull:

-Alina actually hating Genya for what she did , even if she also wants to save her form the king and the general. So when Genya helps her THEN forgives her and feel guilt for what happened to her because of that. But in canon she just goes , "oh Genya stole the letters? It´s cool i´m sure she had her reasons?" which would work if Alina was forgiving but the next three books she completely despises Zoya for sleeping with Mal, which is honestly way less bad.

-If you want to keep Alina not standing up to Genya to M&N then exploit it, have Genya saying "i hate doing this to her...but she clearly doesn't care about me and just sees me as a servant like everyone else here" then after Alina helps her standing up to the king and confort her about the scars realizing that Alina does care.

-Nadia was completely retconed, none of her hypocritical and haughty personality shown in SaB are reconigzed in the next books , they are just gone like "hey, remember she was a jerk in the first book? well forget it now, i need you to like her now" . Alina barely seems to remember she didn't like her and her fake friendship with Zoya is never adressed again and unlike the other three; she doesn't have an arc nor a disernible personality. With the other three, flawed as their relationship can be, at least you can get the nature of their interactions. What is the nature of all this girl´s interactions with Nadia?: Well, she and Tamar are into each other...and thats it, you can't really tell the bassis of her interactions with either of the three beyond what happens in the first book , which again: were not good. So with Nadia you either have her with no personality (S&S ,R&R) OR an awful one (Sab) and i can't tell which one is worse. In adition, does she ever brings up Marie? I don't remember. They were supposed to be best friends,they were the exact same character with the sole diference that one is gay and the other is dead. The scene would have been good if Nadia recalled a moment she had with her. In short: a sudden change of personality does not equal character develoment. Alina went from self absorved in SaB to actually compasionate and tolerable in R&R and while still had annoying moments ,the change was more gradual and easier to apreciate. Nadia just stopped being mean and no one ever remembers and this actitude ended up being useless , so she was awful for absolutely nothing.

-Zoya/Alina may be the only relationship with some develoment, i wouldn't expect Alina to inmediately being friends with Zoya. The problem here is the extreme opposite: that in the scene ,even after all they´ve been trought : ALINA STILL HATES ZOYA. One would think that after Zoya was the first one to offer her help , when Marie,Sergei and Nadia still doubt her, Alina would at least reconigze she is not as bad as she thought.

So i really like that chapter but hell, it could had been so much better. Maybe i got this wrong, i don't like the first book so it´s possible i have skipped something important.

The good thing is that , the show is 98% likely to do the scene with the power it deserves.

-Alina actually called Genya out about the letters. The audiende and she can see Genya´s face, trying to justify herself yet clearly in remorse and thats why Alina chooses to give her another chance.

- Nadia and Marie are not mean towards Genya here , so there is no need to question why Alina wouldn't defend her

- Not to say Alina actually dragged Genya out of the palace for some fun, have them actually acting like friends.

-Alina offers Genya a chance for forgiveness BUT so does with Zoya. The problem i had with the double standard is completely gone here because Alina´s moral compass has actual consistency.

-Nadia is not a fake friend with Zoya anymore, so there would be no issues to adress. In fact, remember the scene where Zoya attacked Alina: there, talking bad about Zoya is completely justified because she could have hurt Alina badly. Marie actually says "i can't believe she did that": they are surprised Zoya would act like that,meaning they think better of her and clarify she is just jealous (which was completely true) Nadia even takes the time to admire her (calm down Nadia i actually like, your wife is already cast and she is pretty). True, she doesn't have a lot going on with her here either and has less of a presence than in the books but she and Marie are actually pleasant to hang out with, you would understand Alina missing those two. There is absolutely no need for retcon here.

-So when we get the scene we will have Alina with: a friend who she enjoyed to hang out with (Nadia) a friend who protects her like a sister (Tamar) a rival turned friend (Zoya) and her best friend whom she had serious ups and downs with her but stayed together at the end (Genya). It may be a little too much to ask but i would love a little mention of Marie.

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kuronekonerochan · 3 years

Note

Hi...how are you? If you don't mind me asking what are your top 5 favorite danmei novels (until now)? And why? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....

Hi, sorry for being slow at answering!

In no particular order:

Ok, so I liked the 3 from MXTX:

- Grandmaster of Diabolic Cultivation/ Mo Dao Zu Shi

This one I loved but it has a particular style that ppl might not like in that it feels jumpy, confusing and with information gaps while reading, even though eventually everything that matters does end up being explained...in other works this would probably be just lazy writing, but here it is clearly an intentional choice bc 1) she doesn’t do this in her other novels 2) this is in WWX’s pov and dude has heavy ptsd and adhd, plus he tends to pretend to take everything lightly as a coping mechanisms...all this put together and it’s easy to understand why the story has such an unreliable narrator that even the other characters constantly point it out. I ended up loving this extra layer of storytelling.

- Heaven Official’s Blessings/ Tian Guan Ci Fu

If you’re in the mood for a saga type long ass novel with a ton of interesting side stories and side characters with a main character who is a true cinnamon bun in sweet romance with a side dish of sweet sweet aaaangst.

- Scum Villains Self Saving System

The most entertaining out of all of them. It manages to be a parody of two genres, both danmeis and wuia/jianghu harem het novels (fighter of destiny style) with OP leads, while also being its own cute and funny story with a heart to it.

From other authors:

- Meatbun’s 2ha/ Dumb Husky and his White Cat Shizun

What if someone took a look at the parody that is SVSSS and said...”no, you know what? This really deserves to be an epic, long ass, and I mean, topping old classics’ length novel packed with angst, filled with pain and topped with despair...and then we’re sprinkling some funfetti on top to fool y’all”...and you know what? that’s some good cake. (If you’re into cdramas SVSSS is to 2ha what The Romance of Tiger and Rose is to Goodbye My Princess).

- Priest’s Sha Po Lang:

Steampunk China plus creepy voodoo tribal ritual magic, involved in internal and external wars over petrol (with a different name) and with our leads in Iron Man suits, fighting, among other enemies hot young(er) hands on, on the field, western troop General, the Pope, that I can only visualize in my head as Jude Law. I tell you all of this nonsense just to say that instead of the ridiculous fun this should be, it ends up being a very compelling romance with lots of scheming and heavy plot and some heartbreaking scenes.

- The Golden Stage:

This is a court drama type novel with friends-to-rivals-to-lovers that is just the right length and compelling with not too many plot twists but two main characters who are really great both individually and together and this is the one out of all in the list I feel like re reading the most. It really is a solid read and I feel like I’m selling it short, bc it really is good. It is similar to Sha Po Lang and To Rule in a Turbulent World, a simpler version of those but not worse for it.

(Since you said top 5 and I’ve said 6, I regretfully cut down Heaven Official’s Blessing bc even though I love it, unlike MDZS or SVSSS, it didn’t feel like a standalone novel because some of the several storylines of the side characters that I loved were left open ended (although the main characters had a complete story arc), as if this book was supposed to be the first of a series and those characters would have their own spinoff books where I’d know where their story took them...except this really is a standalone, and so the lack of resolution bothers me).

>> Honorable Mentions:

- To Rule in a Turbulent World

This one doesn’t go in the top 5 list yet bc it’s not fully translated, last time I checked (tho it’s very near the end). As an ongoing novel, I adore it. If the ending isn’t terrible it might be in my top 3. It’s similar to the two above in plotlines but it has a quality to it that it takes care to make every character in it multidimensional. There are no good and bad characters, even the ones on the opposite side are given something that makes them relatable and human. Plus, the characters all change throughout the novel, most of all the protagonists and the novel gives itself breathing time between events where you just chill with the characters and learn about random things like agricultural practices.

- The Wife Is First

This one is just that light fluff feel good one that is great to pick up from time to time since it’s on going. Dumb Jock husband did everything wrong in his first life, gets a re-do and from then on it’s adorable respect the spouse juice and awe of said spouse smarts. Cute. Also, there’s a baby pet tiger.

>> Others I did like, just not in the top 5:

-Faraway Wanderers and Lord Seventh/Qi Ye by Priest:

Qi Ye is similar to To Rule in A Turbulent World/The Golden Stage/Sha Po Lang. I really liked it still, just a tiny bit less than these. Since it’s the same author as SPL and I think it was written earlier, I have to say, the writing only got better.

Faraway Wanderers is a short read, but you’re only gonna like it if you’re ok with amoral main characters (I guess that is true for many on this list but it’s more obvious in this one bc the novel and the characters are unapologetic about it).

- YuWu by Meatbun - Still reading it, but is isn’t grabbing me like 2ha did.

>> I assumed you only wanted danmeis as in period fantasy bl novels, but if we go modern, fantasy or not:

- Silent Readings by Priest:

I love crime fiction novels (love Ding Mo’s novels) and this is that type of conspiracy, murder novel with smart criminals and smart investigators. Little romance, but still there.

- Guardian by Priest:

Priest is hilarious and except the last part that gets a bit heavy on the lore this is just a joy to read. Also pretty short.

- Advance Bravely:

I read it a long time ago and it’s okayish, with some cute and some weird, problematic characters.

- Addicted/ Heroin:

Also read it (this is 2 books) ages ago...and this one is NOT cute. It starts out as a pretty normal, but kind of toxic very typical oldschool drama/manga romance right down to the step brothers’ trope....and then it keeps escalating to new levels of WTF am I reading?!! All I have to say for this one is, that while I cannot recommend it per se, nor say it’s good, the title really is fitting, bc it is addictive as f.

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astersofthesky · 3 years

Text

I decided to reread the MHA LN Chapter 4, you know, the canon bkdk angsty slow-burn fanfic 😌😌 Spreading the BKDK LN agenda because WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS MORE !!

Anyway, I FOUND ANOTHER TRANSLATION but sadly OP haven't finished it yet 😢

And since I need an emotional outlet so I can scream at how they're so canon, Im'ma do it here ahwjdhfjsh 👀✨

Warning: Long post; potential manga spoilers

– I forgot that this chapter literally started with the angst 😭 Deku saying that he can't imagine having lunch with Kacchan is like a pain in the gut. He just wanna be friends with his Kacchan again 😢

– One word, ✨SOULMATES ✨ afshshahah PLS, even the universe can't help but ship them together 😩✋ they're fruityness is on whole a new level I CAN'T 💚🧡

– I see what you're doing Bakugou 👀 You really can't leave your sweet broccoli behind huh?? Also, crybaby Macchan and aggressive Takkun?? 🤔 Do I need to say more? 🧐

– If that's not flirting then idk what is 🤷 also, "In front of my soba? Really?" (Todoroki, probably)

– There's no ss but I just wanna give a special mention to jealous!Bakugou. No cos srsly, implying you're not friends with Deku as if you're not dying to hold his hand then getting irritated over Todoroki claiming the "friend" card 😩 Just, Bakugou, don't @ me ☺️💢

– The angst had reached full force it seems ಥ‿ಥ The line was cut but it actually says "Not friends, just childhood friends" 😭😭 and I am telling you Im'ma throw my brand new book when Bakugou explicitly acknowledges Midoriya as his boyfriend. Because before they were rivals, Bakugou and Midoriya were first friends. And I'm not saying that they aren't one now because we as readers, can definitely see they care for each other. But the question is, do they already see the other as a friend and not just a mere rival? They don't cos they're boyfriends your honor

– Tbh, It still haven't sinked in that this is kind of canon 🤧 This is such a cliched romantic scene like wtf?? So what's next? The full moon is illuminating half of Bakugou's face, red eyes glowing and face soft from the natural white luminescence or something sappy like that?? 😩😩 I love it

– Izuku in this LN chapter whenever he talks about Bkg: ✨ THEIR RELATIONSHIP ✨

– I know, I get it. You don't have to shove it my face every single time Deku 😌 and pls, why are you still flirting at the middle of the night?? Or was it pining that I see 🤔 i mean comparing each other to their kid parallels 😕 hmm a severe case of mutual pining indeed

– Yes yes, of course you're only looking for food stalls Mr. Bakugou "Tsundere" Katsuki, I completely don't believe that you're worried about the kids. No! of course not! Who says you want the kids to reconcile so they wouldn't experience the pain that you and a certain green had gone through?? Hahaha I mean It's not like they're your parallel what??hmmm no no, go on, look for takoyaki or smthn ☺️☺️

– Wait, did the last part say '"Bakugou grabbed Izuku's face and pushed it away..." Aksfksjdhdisjs what in the actual gay fanfic is this??!! Or wait, is this what Bkg usually do to Deku in the official art he's like, I love agressively gripping your head as I entangle my fingers on your soft curls but no homo💀

Since OP's translation isn't complete, I'm going to use Lau Ren's translation and yes I'm continuing this shit even though Tumblr mobile only lets me post 10 pics per post

– Bkdk domesticity with children pt. 95736 💚🧡 They love kids so much 😩 Yk I'd donate my kidney just to see this ANIMATED ✨ like this has so much fluff potential 🤧 Or at the very least a drama CD. I'd ascend 😭

– WHAT THE FUDGE ?!! I'M SCREAMING 😭 I SAY IT AGAIN 💞 SOULMATES✨ and pls, it has my favorite fic trope, Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings. Anyway, I need a minute to collect myself cos I can't move past the "With the said person himself nearby, Kacchan thought his fate had gone crazy" ( ≧Д≦) dammit Katsuki, why r u so gay. Izuku loves you, you emotionally constipated gremlin

I have reached my 10 picture limit so I'm just gonna copy paste some of the twts 💀 I hope I don't get in trouble lmao Xd

- Kacchan fixed his gaze to Deku who looked relieved. "He..."

- Somehow, Kacchan remembered the fight they had after All Might's retirement. It was the first time they were able to let out their conflicts sincerely. Although his fear towards Deku had decreased since then, there was still a feeling of disgust about Deku being a hero who save others residing in Kacchan.

- He couldn't understand it. But he knew, there will always a being whom he cannot understand

– Bkg rlly said 👀 on Deku while having angsty thoughts ಥ╭╮ಥ Looking back on this tho, I just can't help but be proud when I remember 285. Bakugou is loud but he is very rational in battles. He thinks of a plan on the spot meaning he's mind is on work 24/7.

– When he had his "My body just moved on its own" moment, Katsuki had understood Deku and his nature to "Save to Win." It'ss that Katsuki must not analyze it with his brain, but instead feel it with his heart 💚🧡 And this is the reason why I badly want to see him on the manga 😭 that was some MAJOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT I'm ahwjdhfjsh

– Takkun and Maachan's pinky swear deserves their own mention. They're so pure 😩✋

- He said he still hasn't done hatsumoude so Kacchan can go first, but Kacchan refused and wouldn't let Deku do hatsumoude before him.

- Kacchan tried to take a head start, but in the end, they ended up visiting and praying together.

– AND WE'RE BACK with the gays 😌 hsjdjajs they compete with every single thing it's honestly cute. Also YES THEY PRAYED TOGETHER and shoujo scenes with the main couple praying on the shrine but make it BKDK flashed before my eyes 😖✨

- After finishing their prayers, Deku looked at Kacchan, "What did you wish for?" "Shut up."

- Even with Kacchan's sulking expression seen from the side, Deku felt that they had wished for the same thing.

– DEKU YOU'RE BEING TOO LOUD!! I just can't with these two 😩✋ Both of them are down so bad for each other and you can't tell me otherwise 💚✨🧡

- With those serious eyes, Deku knew they were aiming for the same thing. Win to save, save to win. To be the best heroes.

- Deku knew well that he and Kacchan are polar opposites. But even so, Deku couldn't imagine a world in which Kacchan doesn't exist.

– Deku just went 😍 on Kacchan and thought "I CAN'T IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT YOU 🧡💚" (insert Imagine by Ben Platt)

– I can't even stress how much I love this line, y'all this is so misleading I-- this is too much 😭 Anyway, I believe this go both ways. Bakugou can't also see a world without Deku in it, and since Deku decided to be the self-sacrificing person he is, I'll just SCREAM IN CH. 304 ( ≧Д≦)

- Seeing the two praying side by side, he commented, "so you've become good friends now, huh."

- Both of them immediately opposed, and Kacchan threatened to explode Shoto's mouth for saying such a disgusting thing.

– Let's go Todoroki, best wingman 🤣 And flustered Bakugou makes a reappearance hdjsja Dammit half n' half I ain't flirting with Deku fvck you

And this is where it ends afshshaha anyway bkdk canon 💚🧡

#bakudeku #dekubaku #bkdk #dkbk #mha light novel #bnha light novel #decchan #bakudeku canon #no edit #typo be damned #austere posts

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magnus-the-maqnificent · 3 years

Text

Let's Analyze - Alec in CoFA

So, I’ve been seeing plenty of discourse on two of my mutual’s blogs about this topic… so I thought I’d sit down and write another analysis post about my beloved Alec Lightwood cause people are still giving him shit for a book that came out ten years ago 🤦‍♀️

This is gonna be in two parts, and I'm putting both under the cut:

PART 1 - ALEC’S INSECURITIES

So, the first part - how Alec’s insecurities drove him to saying stupid things in CoFA

A quick disclaimer - I’m NOT blaming Alec alone for his and Magnus’s break up. What happened was pretty complicated, and the blame cannot be put on one person alone.

That said, let’s start with Magnus and Alec’s early ‘official’ relationship, in trsom.

These scenes are taken from only the first part of the book, but I’m pretty sure they’re more than enough to get a sense of Alec’s insecurities and all the chinks in their relationship. Throughout the entirety of trsom, we see more bits and pieces of Alec’s insecurities about Magnus’s sexuality, and his past and all the people he might have known - and that’s okay! Insecurities happen, cause brains are stupid like that.

But all of Alec’s insecurities could’ve been laid to rest with a simple conversation. But the conversation never happens. Magnus tends to deflect and change the topic every single time his past is brought up. I understand Magnus’s reasons for hiding his past, of course, but it doesn’t help his relationship with Alec. Magnus hiding a good chunk of his past will inevitably lead to Alec questioning himself - why is he so secretive? Why is he not telling me anything? Does he not trust me? ...and so on.

And when Alec is already feeling insecure in this relationship, this happens - (sorry about the terrible cropping btw)

And then later, while Magnus is talking to Camille,

Now… when people are insecure about something, they get irked at the smallest of things. I’m saying this as an insecure person myself. So now, you've got Alec, who's insecure as fuck, and his vacation with the person he loves got cut short by his ex who refuses to talk to anyone but him, and when they get there, his lover and his lover's ex seem to have obvious chemistry, he gets hit with the reality that his lover has dated several, probably even hundreds of people before him; and he has to leave them alone in a room so they can talk, and then he hears the ex basically just list all his shortcomings - i.e, his mortality, his appearance is compared to some random dead guy (sorry, Will) whom your lover had a crush on, which is just weird, and when you've had enough and open the door, it's to see your lover and his ex, standing close as fuck, and he's! touching! her! face! and! looking! into! her! eyes!

*takes a sip of water* yeahhhh... Alec was straight up having a bad day.

And at this point, a) Alec is still in his first relationship. He didn't get to navigate romance when he was younger, and while there's nothing wrong with that, there weren't exactly cutesy presentations titled 'how to keep your relationships healthy' floating around the internet. Heck, he didn’t know the internet. He didn't know that he had to communicate with Magnus, and it doesn't help that boy avoids conversations about feelings like the plague. And b) at this point, Alec would be facing several negative emotions - insecurity, obviously. Hurt. Helplessness, because of his mortality. Fear, that he might not live up to Magnus’s past lovers. Jealousy at seeing Magnus and Camille so close.

Negative emotions like these often tend to show up as anger or sorrow... and in Alec’s case, that would be anger. Which leads us to THIS- (🙈)

*sighs in second-hand embarrassment*

*drinks more water*

*this is gonna be so hard aksjakak*

So. Alec dealt with his insecurities... by being a mean, mean bitch to Magnus :/

Let's break this scene down, slowly, bit by bit.

First, Alec cuts into a conversation between Magnus and Jordan, when Magnus mentions Woolsey Scott, followed the rest of that particular page. To Alec, he's just a figure from Magnus’s past, and a possible lover, though in Alec’s defense Woolsey Scott WAS Magnus’s lover. This is the first instance that we see in which Alec lashes out at Magnus. It seems like he's trying to make a point to Magnus - "I don't know anything about your past, and so I don't know who you've had romances with, but I want to know." Except he makes his point in the worst way possible and ends up slutshaming Magnus.

The "What's true?" line, in response to Jordan saying "so it's true what they say about warlocks, then?" is pretty obvious. Alec is clearly not liking the idea that this random werewolf might know about warlocks, and in particular, his Warlock boyfriend.

Next... ooh boy... Alec basically snaps and in the next few paragraphs accuses Magnus of wanting to flirt with others which... is not a good look on ya honey 😕. These lines are the ones that get him accused of being biphobic... but is he really? I'm gonna talk about that in part 2.

So, in the first paragraph, where Alec makes the comments about Jordan, I find his choice of words pretty... interesting, seeing as 'messy-haired', 'broad-shouldered' and 'chiseled-good-looks' are all used to describe Alec in the series. Not sure if its relevant, but definitely interesting.

And in the next one, where Alec says, "or there are plenty of pretty girls here, since apparently your taste goes both ways. Is there anything you aren't into?" The 'apparently' makes me curious. In rsom, Alec mentions that he's only recently heard of the term bisexual, and there's plenty of time between rsom and cofa, so Alec should be absolutely sure of atleast the basic meaning of bisexuality. But I'm pretty sure it's just inconsistency on cc's part, since if rsom didn't exist, this book would be the first time Alec learns about Magnus’s bisexuality. (Which is obvious when you look at the scene after Magnus reveals that Camille is his girlfriend.) And as for the second sentence, I feel like it's a fallback to earlier in the book when Magnus says (I'm just gonna write the dialogue from memory), "I've dated men, women, warlocks, faeries, vampires, werewolves and even a djinn or two." Here, Alec is angry, and he takes the knowledge that Magnus has dated a variety of people and once again, lashes out.

Looking at all of it together, Alec’s insecurities are definitely a factor in all of this. We know Alec has pretty low self esteem in tmi, and he keeps having irrational thoughts about someone else grabbing Magnus’s attention, like in the trsom scene I've posted above. And he ends up taking out his insecurities on Magnus.

Was it wrong of Alec to say all those things to Magnus? Yes, absolutely. But looking back through all his scenes in cofa, it's easy to see how he could've fallen into the pit trap of emotions.

And before anyone says "but it wasn't addressed in the later books", it was, in CoLS. I’ve hit the image limit, so I'm just gonna type it out -

"[Magnus] said it would be better if he didn’t come. Apparently him and the Seelie Queen have some kind of history."

Isabelle raised her eyebrows.

"Not that kind of history," Alec said irritably. "Some kind of feud. Though," he added, half under his breath, "the way he got around before me, I wouldn't be surprised."

"Alec!" Isabelle dropped back to talk to her brother....

So, there. Alec makes yet another slutshaming comment, Isabelle overhears and is clearly not happy about it, and it's clearly implied that she talks to Alec about it. And Alec doesn't make any more slutshaming comments since then. Boy now knows what he did was wrong, and makes sure not to repeat it again.

Although, I do wish we had more than this. I wish we had more of Magnus and Alec talking about this argument, heck, even about all their arguments and the reasons they broke up, but you can't get everything you want, apparently :(

And now onto the next part...

PART 2 - IS ALEC BIPHOBIC?

The short answer, uh, no, not really.

The long answer.... would be complicated.

So, back in the day, when this discourse was at an all time high, I remember reading a bisexual person's essay about this topic, and they said that this comment from Alec - "or there are plenty of pretty girls here, since apparently your taste goes both ways. Is there anything you aren't into?" - would be a biphobic microagression.

According to Google, a microagression is "a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority".

And in Alec's case, IF his words were biphobic, they were completely unintentional. They were microagressive. Which is... still bad, of course, but it's more complicated than that.

If you look back on Alec's supposedly biphobic statements, they're more about Magnus’s hypersexuality and promiscuity than anything else. Yes, even the line i mentioned like two paragraphs ago. At first glance it may seem like a direct attack on Magnus’s sexuality, but think over the explanation I gave for the line and it will make sense. And a lot of people know that the whole 'bi people fuck around a lot and are cheaters' thing is a stereotype.

Now, it may seem like I'm going off topic here, but bear with me. I couple of days ago, I watched this video by chance. (Tw for the aids crisis and lots of biphobia, not from the narrator, if you wanna watch the video). Basically, back in the 1980s, bisexual men were scapegoated for spreading aids to the straight community and were vilified by popular media as being promiscuous scepters who would cheat on their wives with gay men and then give aids to their wives. (Yikes 😬). And since bisexuality was practically unheard of before all this (several bisexual activists have stated that all this shit, though unfortunate, pulled bisexuality out of the closet), it's safe to assume that this is how those stereotypes came to be - through 1980s propaganda.

But living with this propaganda is... a very limiting experience. The people who leaned and unlearned and fought against this propaganda are mostly US Americans who grew up with it, either the actual propaganda itself or passed down by their parents. But like I said, it's a very limiting experience. US is but one country out of many, and even for those living in the USA there's a chance that they grew up in a very hush-hush environment. People who grew up hearing all these stereotypes will see it as biphobia, while people who didn't - like Alec, and me, and several other people will not. A lot of people grow up with absolutely no knowledge of the queer community, and chances are that they'll be incredibly confused when a stereotype is pointed out to them, and they often get no more explanation than 'this is a harmful stereotype'. Queer experiences aren't the same for everyone, and while I respect the people who see this as biphobia, they should recognize that there are many people who won't see it that way.

I have seen bisexual people say that Alec's words were biphobic, and I've also seen bisexual people say that they weren't. Thus, there is no clear consensus about whether or not Alec was being biphobic. And like I said earlier, Alec grew up far, far away from mundane anti-queer bigotry. He was essentially a clean slate when it came to knowledge of eer microagressions of any kind, because microagressions and stereotypes are often incredibly specific, don't have anything to do with a person's race/sexuality/gender, etc. and will make zero sense unless you know the history behind them. To Magnus, who lived through the anti-bisexual scapegoating, the words would've definitely stung, but Alec didn't even know the implications he would be making with this words! Of course, the impact is greater than intention, and I imagine Magnus would sit Alec down one day and talk about all this history with him.

And idk if I can even blame cc cause the history of bisexual men is RARELY ever talked about, atleast on the internet.

Also, this scene in cofa is the only instance where he can be interpreted to be biphobic. Nowhere else in all of tmi, and even tec, do we see Alec express hatred or disgust or microagression towards bisexual people. If this was seen in a repeating pattern from Alec, one could argue that he's biphobic... but he isn't. Some might point to some of his internal thoughts in trsom to argue otherwise, but I believe that actions are superior than thoughts.

There's also the thing about unlearning prejudices, but in Alec's case there was hardly anything to be unlearned. The only prejudices he did pick up on were against himself, through vague homophobic comments from Robert.

P.S if you've read this far, I am legally entitled to compensation for thinking of cofa Alec for 48 hours. Put your favorite Alec moments in my askbox cause I wanna focus on his good side now. 😎

But yeah, the main thing here is that Alec has grown from his mistakes, apologized, and hasn't repeated this behavior at all.

And lastly, I just wanted to add - I don't think all this was unintentional on the author's part. She's grown up with the us American queer community, and has mentioned that she has bisexual friends, who have no doubt faced prejudices because of these stereotypes. I think she was trying to condemn making such statements, but a lot of people don't read between the lines and end up misinterpreting it and make both the character and her to be biphobic.

So... TLDR; was what Alec said biphobic? Maybe. It depends on who you're talking to. Is Alec, as a person, biphobic? Nope. Not at all. 😌

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book-waas-x · 2 years

Text

Review - Bound By Firelight

Title: Bound By Firelight Author: Dana Swift Date Finished: January 12, 2022 Book Publication Date: January 18, 2022 Goodreads Links: [Book] [Review]

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Thank you Delacorte Press and NetGalley for providing this book to me in exchange for an honest review!]

Review:

3.5 stars!

South Asian fantasy is probably going to be the death of me. Just look at this cover!

Most fantasy novels I’ve read have always had roots in other parts of the world — from spells cast in Latin, to made up languages — but not many that have taken the richness of South Asian culture, and formed a high fantasy universe around it. They are definitely coming up in popularity though, and I’m all the more excited for it! (Have I mentioned the cover, yet?)

As a South Asian reader, I was hesitant to pick these books up because it is not an OwnVoices novel. However, Dana Swift's respect for South Asian culture shines through these novels. Although not wholly accurate (and this may be because Wickery is not South Asia, only inspired by it), none of it felt to me like it was judgement against South Asian culture, which made me feel better about reading this.

(Rest under the cut)

The first book in this series left us in the aftermath of an explosion that makes Adraa Belwar answerable to her whole country for the lives taken. This book follows Adraa, Jatin and their friends as they work to undo the corrupted magic bleeding through Wickery. The wrongly-imprisoned theme in fantasy novels just does something to me, and this book revolved around it. Just like the first book, the political intrigue follows us into the trials where Adraa is sentenced, into Jatin’s fearless maneuvers to rescue her, and into the future of Wickery. I enjoyed seeing the plot twists, and how the author uses every single element at her disposal to twist it into a new farce — it gives a new meaning to being two-faced! Most of the characters felt more relatable in this sequel, because you could see the different motivations tugging at them, and the choices they had to make to follow a single path. By the end, all the paths lead back to the same point at the apex of the book, where it all comes to a head, but that’s not to say that they don’t face the consequences of each choice along the way. Adraa was beyond strong in this. The first book had an off-beat mention of mind-casting, but this book took it and gave her a new level that had nothing to do with her Touch. Combined with the allies she met on the way, and her refusal to serve the throne above the people, her strength is the firelight of this novel. Jatin was as steadfast as always, completely sure in his love for Adraa. Although he is now pushed into power, and that should lead to a certain amount of development, I felt that it fell flat for Jatin. Most of his choices reverberated with only Adraa’s name — which may have been the point, but we don’t get to see him grow confident into his role as Maharaja of Naupure. It just seems to pop up that he can now alter his tone depending on his audience, and he can be Maharaja because he has the strength and willpower, but we don't see him develop much of that. Given that we do get his POV, I had higher hopes for this! Similarly, many of the fight scenes felt very short and cut-off, lacking details that would enhance each element. I found myself struggling to follow all the colors, fortes and magic spells — especially because every other chapter was a new battle. It all blurred into another, and the plot was very fast paced. If the scenes were slowed down with a few more fillers, this speed may have worked to the author's advantage in the sense that time is not on their side and they have to find the root of the problem as soon as possible. Conversely, established relationships tend to slow the romantic pace down. Jatin and Adraa were very, very cute throughout this novel, and their relationship stayed true to what we know of them. However, it did feel rather stagnant, which may be because of the quick ending. Plot-wise, I can't think of many loose strings, but character-wise, there are quite a few. Although appropriate, I do find myself wishing that we’d gotten to see at least an epilogue further. This book was a scintillating read, and it was a good YA fantasy series for the weekend!

#zee reviews #book reviews #arc reviews #book blog #bound by firelight #dana swift #jatin x adraa #four stars #booklover #books #readers of tumblr #books & libraries #high fantasy #ya fantasy

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ladycatofwinterfell · 3 years

Note

I interpreted that Catelyn scene as if Jon didn't exist, her family would not have faced tragedy. Yes, she was blaming herself for not loving Jon but she was also indirectly blaming Jon for even existing. I also hated the part where she said her love with Ned was better than a passionate love affair in the words. As if being married off with a bridal price, passed from father to husband like an object is better than genuinely falling in love. I never liked Catelyn and it's not because she has strong opinions or because she started the war or whatever bs people hate her for I just think she's kinda...in her own head?? She lacks perspective tbh like she can't put herself in other people's shoes. Like when she tells Renly and Stannis: just get over it your brothers, I cringed because they obviously do not care about their relationship and only care about being king. They were raised differently than you Cat! I get that she's a victim of the patriarchy and she is coping so I really try to give her the benefit of the doubt but idk maybe I'm not mature enough for that. When characters like Brienne and Sansa exist, it makes Catelyn look bad (that scene in the books when Cat asks Edmure why are all the peasants here is yikes!). That being said, the fact that she has flaws makes her compelling. Also don't get me wrong, I do not think she is an awful person and I DO NOT blame her for ignoring Jon, that's all on Ned. Sometimes I think I dislike her because I kinda see myself in her. I have tried so hard to like her because her haters suck but I just can't.

It’s completely fine, anon, you don’t have to like Cat. As long as you don’t act like an ass about it you can dislike any character you want, I don’t judge you. Sometimes one simply doesn’t vibe with certain characters for different reasons. I don’t necessarily agree with you but I like that you explain your reasons instead of just going “catelyn sucks because she’s mean” as I have seen a lot people do. Also, I genuinely really like this ask as it made me think a lot, so thank you, anon.

The rest will be under the cut because I got carried away with my answer and it got a lot longer than I had initially planned

And now, before I start explaining my view on this, I want to say that I’m no expert at analyzing media or anything else. I’m a fan of the asoiaf books, and I have watched got, that’s it. These are just my views on Cat and the parts that were mentioned in this ask. If anyone disagrees or would like to come with a different perspective, feel free to do so, seeing different views on a topic is good for everyone.

I’m going to assume you mean the motherless child scene, and from that I didn’t get the feeling that she blamed Jon as she not once mentioned him negatively in that scene. He was just a poor innocent child. She repeatedly said that she herself was a terrible person though, which conveys the message that she blamed no one but herself for how the situation turned out and found herself responsible for it. In other scenes we see her acting cold towards Jon, but in this particular scene she doesn’t seem to be angry at him at all, she’s only angry with herself. This in turn makes it seem like she actually is to blame and that she should have loved him, which is wrong. She had no responsibility to take care of her husband’s illegitimate love child. Though in show canon I thought of it as her trying to find a reason for why everything that did happen happened, because she had a hard time making sense of it. She looked back at things she had done that could have been considered wrongdoings and wondered if maybe she could have prevented the deaths of her husband and (as far as she knew) children.

You also mentioned the stone by stone scene. I rewatched it now, and I can sort of see what you mean as she can be interpreted as a bit judgmental in that scene. However, her intention wasn’t to tell Robb about how her love was a supreme love, it was to try to get him to understand that an arranged marriage could turn out good. He had to marry a Frey because that was arranged for him and bad things could happen to him and his cause if he didn’t, so she tried to make him believe in that a marriage to a Frey girl he didn’t know could be a good marriage. This by explaining that her arranged marriage was good. Fine, she didn’t immediately fall in love with her husband, but she slowly came to love him over the years and that could be the cause in Robb’s marriage as well.

What we also need to remember in regards to that scene is that that’s the way marriage works in Westeros. If you’re highborn you don’t marry for love, you have a marriage arranged for you for the sake of forming an alliance between two families. That’s not better than genuinely falling in love, but that’s the way it works. In this case it’s even more important since Frey is so prickly and might pull the rug from under Robb’s feet if he feels insulted. And Cat wants her son to see that, wants him to understand that it is dangerous to break a that important alliance. She tries to get him on a safer path than the one he’s going down. But she also wants him to know that he can be happy in an arranged marriage. She tells him about her and Ned to explain that it is possible for him to learn to love his bride, so that he might reconsider his choice.

Now to a quick one. I agree, Cat didn’t start the war. She took Tyrion hostage because based on the info she had he had tried to murder her son. Tywin “war criminal” Lannister started the war by sending men to pillage and destroy the Riverlands

On the next one I’m actually inclined to agree. Catelyn is a bit in her own head. On top of that she’s very stubborn, which makes it more apparent. She tends not to see things from other perspectives than her own, that is definitely one of her flaws. It doesn’t make her a bad person, but it is a flaw, and I can see why some people would have a hard time with that particular flaw. Though she’s not always in her own head, several times we are shown that she has a nose for politics and is actually quite good at understanding other people and their wants. She has perspective on several situations, and can change her mind if things changes or doesn’t turn out as planned.

When it comes to the conflict between Renly and Stannis I really get her frustration. Yes, she had trouble understanding their conflict and found it ridiculous as she was raised and lived by the words “Family, Duty, Honor” and the mindset that family always comes first no matter what. But at that point I think most people would share her thoughts, as she was in a situation where she had started to become desperate. She wanted them to stop fighting each other and understand that they needed to fight together against the Lannisters, who were everyone’s common enemy. This with good reason, they killed her husband and as far as she knew still had both her daughters. Of course she wanted them to stop their feud and unite for the cause of defeating the Lannisters.

I’m going to agree on the next one as well. Cat lives in a patriarchal, classist society and buys into that because that’s all she knows, no one can deny that she has a classist and patriarchal mindset. That’s what she was raised by, that was what she was taught. Cat is in many senses the perfect lady by Westerosi standards. But despite believing in the patriarchal society she’s also at times thoroughly frustrated by it, as we see when she starts losing her influence as an advisor after Ned dies. It’s an interesting internal conflict, and as you said, she’s coping. You mentioned Brienne and Sansa as examples of characters that make Cat look bad in this sense. I don’t agree with that, I think these three characters cope with the patriarchal society in different ways although Brienne has a much more sympathetic way to do so in the eyes of modern readers. Cat definitely isn’t innocent of having spread those views, as she tries to make sure her children live by them, but she’s also not the devil here.

But yes, although she doesn’t call them peasants, that scene doesn’t look great. I won’t deny that either, because it’s true. All the highborn characters, yes even your fave no matter who that is, are classist. And that’s not me trying to defend Cat, that’s just the truth.

As for your ending, yes, her flaws makes her a very compelling character. It’s what makes her interesting, perfect characters are painstakingly boring. She’s not an awful person, and she’s not to blame for the situation with Jon. That one’s definitely on Ned.

You’re also right in that her haters very often suck.

Thanks for your ask, this was very interesting and I hope to see you in my inbox again in the future!

#catelyn stark #catelyn tully #this makes me really curious about if you follow me despite that my blog is 95% cat or if you don’t follow me #and just wanted to pop in to send me this #either way id like to thank you for not being rude to me for our differences as I have noticed rudeness is common in this fandom #and for that I got to have very interesting conversations with several of my mutuals about this #I also love the ‘her haters suck’#not even people who dislike cat likes her antis

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lem-20 · 3 years

Text

Crashing down

Summary: A rewrite of Bk 1 Ch 13 on-call room chat with Bryce. Casey discusses what's got her stressing out and also her relationship with Ethan.

Pairing: Ethan x MC (Casey Valentine). Ethan doesn't appear in this fic, but the relationship is discussed with Bryce.

Warning: Mild sexual reference

Word Count: 950

A/N: I am currently rewriting and adding scenes from book one. I thought I would add this one in as I thought it was a nice opportunity to discuss the relationship with Ethan with another character. I have also been exploring what may happen if 2 of the LI's were aware of MC's relationship with the other. In my version of events Casey slept with Bryce after she kissed Ethan in Miami. Things happened to make each aware that something was going on with the other. (Read my previous 2 fics here and here)

Disclaimer: Characters and some dialogue owned by pixelberry.

Casey sat on a cot in one of the on-call rooms. Bryce sat alongside her, his arm draped around her shoulders. She had bumped into him a few moments before, as she walked frantically through the corridor, her thoughts threatening to overwhelm her.

"I can't stop thinking about...about everything. Poor Mrs Martinez and the investigation into her death...wondering if I'll still have a career at the end of the week...wondering if I even deserve one. Dr Banerji's diagnosis. Dr Ramsey quitting the hospital, being sabotaged at every turn...and now this sweet, sick kid I can't diagnose. I feel like everything is crashing down around me." She placed her head in her hands and let out a long sigh.

She had hoped that saying everything out loud would make her feel a little better. But hearing herself list everything just made her wonder how she had held it together for as long as she had.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked, concern etched across his features.

"Because good doctors can handle whatever's thrown at them. And I really want to be a good doctor."

"You're already a good doctor. Hell, you're the best medical intern in the hospital."

"Don't think I didn't notice you qualified that to just the medical interns."

"To be honest, you are better than most of the surgical interns too."

She leaned her head on Bryce's shoulder.

"I don't know if I can keep doing this. It's all too much. If Ethan Ramsey quit, what chance do I have?"

"Hey, you can do this." He squeezed her shoulder, encouraging her to look at him. His eyes were intense and earnest.

"It's wild to me that you don't realise how great you are." He gazed into her eyes and rubbed her cheek. "Casey, how can I make you feel better?"

The way he looked at her told her that she could ask pretty much anything of him in that moment. Yes, he was promiscuous, but he was also a kind and caring guy. He had a way of making her feel completely at ease around him. She knew from their previous encounters that he could leave her feeling physically satisfied at the very least. But, then she though of Ethan. Her feelings for him seemed to be getting stronger by the day. As much as their predicament left her frustrated, she felt that she was now beyond the point where she could engage in anything casual with someone else. Ethan was who she wanted and until she knew for certain there was no future for them, she was prepared to wait. She was sure of that now.

She pulled Bryce in for a tight hug. "I'm sorry, it was a moment of weakness."

He rubbed her back gently. "Hey, your moments of weakness are a hell of a lot tougher than most folks at their best. So keep your chin up okay."

She smiled as she enjoyed their embrace for a few more moments.

"Can I be honest with you? I've known you a while now. And I know you can handle pressure. I don't think that's what's got you so mixed up." He said as he leaned back to look at her.

"Then what has?"

"This isn't something new, its the same thing you've carried with you all along. Your doubt. I know people think I'm an arrogant jerk. But, I just know how to own my talent. You've never done that, you always justify why you're here. I think you don't feel like you're cut out for this. And you're so wrong." He smiled at her warmly.

"Thank you Bryce." She said, smiling back at him.

"Can I ask you something before we get back to work?"

"Sure." She replied

"Is something going on between you and Dr. Ramsey?" He eyed her cautiously, unsure if he was crossing a line.

Although she definitely didn't want whatever was going on between them to be public knowledge, she had always found it hard to lie if someone asked her a question directly.

She decided to tell him the truth.

"Umm...well, not really. I mean, we've kissed a couple of times. But we're not together or anything."

Even though it was he who brought up the subject, he still looked a little shocked by the revelation.

"Wow. I kinda pictured Ramsey as some sort of syborg who was incapable of human emotions and relationships." He chuckled.

She couldn't help but giggle. "Bryce! Honestly, you'd be surprised. He can be really...different sometimes." Her mood soon returned to being more serious.

"You've really got feelings for him haven't you?"

She nodded.

"And does he feel the same way?" He asked with intrigue.

"I think so, I don't really know. It's complicated." She laughed as she realised she had uttered the words she disliked hearing Ethan say.

"I don't know what's so funny, but it's nice to see you laughing." He looked sincerely happy to see her smiling.

"Do you think I'm stupid even thinking of getting involved with an attending?"

"Casey, the heart wants, what the heart wants. I don't think much can stand in the way if two people really want to be together. I just don't want to see you getting hurt though. Honestly, he'd be lucky to have you."

"You always manage to cheer me up Bryce. I hope you know how much a appreciate having a friend like you."

"Yeah, I am pretty great." He smirked.

She laughed at him. Although some people thought he was arrogant, she had nothing but affection for Bryce Lahela.

"You ready to face the world again?" He asked.

"Yeah, thanks to you." She replied, smiling at him. "Let's go."

☆☆

Thank you so much for reading 🥰

☆☆

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Ethan

@aarisa-frost (I tagged you as there is talk of the relationship with Ethan. I hope that's okay)

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#open heart fanfiction #ethan ramsey x mc #choices open heart #ethan ramsey #bryce lahela #choices fic writers creations #fics of the week #ethan x mc

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