#not really but for tagging purposes i suppose i am critical in some ways of her

[waldensblog]

Alright, I’m doing it. I am reading Shadow and Bone.

For context, I watched the show, but have never read the series before. Now, without further ado...

Alina:  I found Alina a bit irritating at the beginning, because she just seemed to be absolutely obsessed with Mal. Ana in the first few pages says the two are “too attached” to each other, and I felt that way watching the show, with these feelings amplified here. He seemed to have a life, identity, friends, outside of her, but she just kind of waited for him to come back. I loved seeing her grow at the Little Palace when she finally let go of Mal, and embraced who she is as a Grisha, started to have genuine friendships with Genya, Marie, Nadia, and hang around other Grisha. I loved her friendship with Genya so much. It was excellent growth in her, and I loved seeing it. I was a bit frustrated at the end, the way she kind of abandons everyone and runs off with Mal - on the one hand I get it - she doesn’t have the power to stop anything, and she’s saving Mal, but on the other hand, she abandoned a bunch of people to the Volcra, it’s not that heroic, but in a way, that makes it more interesting. I definitely think Alina’s major character flaw is her obsession with Mal, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she kind of regresses in the second book while with him. I generally like Alina, but at times she frustrates me. 

Mal / Malina:  Mal’s character is... not my favourite, but I don’t hate him at this point. At the start he’s a friend who has a life outside his friendship with Alina - he has other friends, an identity of his own, hobbies, etc. He gets pissed at Alina at the Little Palace for getting a boyfriend, basically, and makes his jealousy her problem. It’s fine that he didn’t initially have feelings for her - which probably has a lot to do with the fact that she was a sickly girl with no sense of self - but he made it her problem and was rude. He does at least apologize later and own up to it, but it’s obvious that her past with the Darkling is not a subject to discuss, which is really a shame, because... she should be able to discuss her feelings with her friend, but apparently, cannot. 

I know she’s supposed to have a crush on Mal, but I just don’t ship it. Normally a friends-to-lovers trope is one I can vibe with, in this case, I don’t. They grew up in an orphanage together, in the same household, so it really gives me brother/sister vibes. In fact, the first time I watched the show, I assumed that was how I was supposed to view them. I also can’t help but feel like... her crush on Mal is almost more told than shown. When Mal is introduced, I am told he has blue eyes. This was the extent of the description I had for a while, but as soon as the Darkling showed up... that was another description altogether. I don’t hate Mal at this point, and I don’t ship Malina.

The Darkling / Darklina: 

The Darkling has survived centuries and seen Grisha persecution, endless wars fought on behalf of the monarchy, and he wants to liberate Ravka. His methods? I don’t agree with, but his mission isn’t a bad one, so I understand why some Grisha and soldiers were cheering at the end for him. As I was reading, I was thinking “damn I wish these soldiers would get class consciousness and stop hating Grisha, realizing the King is really the enemy, as he makes them all fight for him!”. The Darkling tries to do just that here. He’s a villain from Alina’s POV (”Fine, make me your villain”), which I think is mostly an effect of 1st person POV - imagine reading these events from his POV. He isn’t a hero, he isn’t a good guy - I’d say antagonist yes, and morally grey.

As soon as Alina meets the Darkling, we get quite the description. His silky black hair, grey quartz eyes, sharp jaw. His strong arm catches her after the initial touch which she feels an immediate connection with (I know, I know, it’s because he’s a living amplifier - but still, all the “literally turns you on” jokes are too easy here!) Later we hear he has a soft voice, a laugh she loves, and she’s eager to impress him. She’s very actively thirsting for him in a way she didn’t really seem to do for Mal. When they kiss for the first time after months of dancing around it all, she noted that she’s been kissed before, but this was something else. There’s a major spark here. I think the feelings are mutual too. When Ivan turns a corner, he has a knowing smile. As a heartrender, Ivan would know if the Darkling seriously had 0 feelings, and in that moment with Ivan, it reads to me like Ivan knew. Later, of course, he gifts her the black Kefta, with his symbol necklace, which is like the Grishaverse equivalent of wearing your boyfriend’s sweater. He wants everyone to know they’re a thing. I think he was really sincerely hurt (and probably surprised by the hurt) when she ran off. She was growing, becoming comfortable as a Grisha, everything going well, and then she just left, no explanation, because his mother said some stuff. Yeah I’d be in pain too. I don’t condone his behaviour when he finds her again, not at all. I think his feelings are still there, as evidenced by the tent kiss, and they are mutual. Despite everything, there is still feelings, still a connection. Things aren’t over. I find myself still ultimately shipping it - even if there’s obviously problematic elements, because of what they initially had, what things can be - basically I just want Aleks to get some therapy, but I know that ain’t gonna happen lol.

Also, when the Darkling said “Can I come to you tonight”, Alina hesitated but my thirsty ass would have been like “Fuck yeah” in a heartbeat. Ben’s performance gave me a crush on his character (and actor) and is isn’t dissuaded here (though I dig show Darkling more as he’s more obviously grounded in humanity - again, probably a consequence of the show being 3rd person POV vs the book being 1st person POV). I am definitely pro Darkling and Darklina. 

Baghra:

Baghra is also morally grey to me. I neither hate nor love her. On the bad, she is an abusive instructor, hitting her students when they fail to perform, and she definitely chooses what information to give in a manipulative way. She does, however, ultimately help Alina, or in her mind she does, and Alina’s perspective too. She warns Alina about the Darkling, and helps her escape, saying she loves her son and doesn’t think he’s past redemption yet. On the other hand, by imparting this information here, now, Alina doesn’t get the chance to confront the Darkling and ask his side (which I find weird - she didn’t like Baghra, but immediately trusts her over her new boyfriend who has been by this point in the story only been shown to help her). It’s also rather frustrating when she calls Alina a “foolish girl” for being involved with the Darkling... like what the hell, it’s not like YOU SAID ANYTHING, FOR WEEKS/MONTHS!!!!! So yes, my feelings are neither pro or anti, just... she’s grey to me. I’ll need to see how she develops in future books to know where I stand.

Next Up: I will wait for season 2 to read the next one, so that I am thoroughly surprised by the show!

#shadow and bone #captain's log #alina starkov #pro alina #anti mal oretsev #sort of #anti malina #technically #darklina #for sure #anti baghra #not really but for tagging purposes i suppose i am critical in some ways of her

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

feel weird about this post, maybe because i think three films (one of which i liked a lot, one of which i thought was a surprisingly fun toy commercial with script problems, one of which i cannot make myself watch because it’s little fucking women) is kind of not a lot to hang this kind of “always” characterization on especially given that one of them is a toy commercial and the other one is about an eighteen year old and actually has nothing whatsoever to say about marriage, maybe because i cannot take seriously someone being like “this filmmaker conspicuously avoids queer desire and female sexuality entirely” based on a sample set of movies that are (1) about a high school student who brw fucks (2) an adaptation of a 19th century children’s novel which is, i promise you, so much more directly about protestantism than you remember, and (3) a toy commercial. like “over and over and over and over again” feels…. it just feels really strong. and it feels, idk, really weird to me to say that 2-3 movies about being a single woman necessarily have some kind of intentional absence rather than simply making a deliberate choice, like we are, like, just drowning culturally in positive depictions of women whose lives are about something else, lmao. like i don’t, um…. i just don’t think i am ever going to find it particularly feminist to criticize a particular depiction or even a particular body of work for omitting sex 🤷🏻‍♀️ i am saying all of this btw as a person who like, the number one genre of film i am instantly down to watch is “movies by lesbian filmmakers” and that was true when i identified as straight. but also i guess i am saying this as a person who more or less thinks of portrait as a lady on fire as having a happy ending because i see it as a story about a woman artist, which i actually think is the real consistency among gerwig’s three (3) movies even if i think barbie does not actually execute that theme with any success (and even if to be clear i don’t think she is anywhere near sciamma). anyway. maybe i also just think the snide “often, they don’t have sex at all” as “feminist” (lol) “critique” (lol) is, like, extremely 2012.

there was also a reblog OP did of some tags where someone was like “i read it as an aroace narrative” and they were like “that’s great but she wasn’t doing that on purpose!” and OP added this tag:

which like. i mean i did not feel reflected by barbie because i am not 14. but like as a bisexual woman who has been in a relationship for basically my entire adult life, there is a way in which i actually do tend to feel reflected by stories about women who walk away entirely from the domain of romance and sex. who - horrors! - “don’t fuck at all.” i find that narrative, when done well, compelling and personally salient. if gerwig made a movie that wasn’t little women or barbie about it, i would probably find some real value in it! and i find…. off-putting… the idea that one is supposed to prefer reflections in the form of “identity” rather than uh [checks notes] a human person behaving in ways that are resonant to me. that one in fact should desire movies that “purposefully” make narratives to “reflect me.” i think that assumption reveals some weird assumptions about how art gets made and a weird depressing narrow view of how to relate to art.

in conclusion i believe in equality and i think that if christopher nolan can make 11 movies in a row with zero sexual content at all before finally having his streak broken only by the immovable historical object of j robert oppenheimer’s sexual magnetism (i’m not being weird he literally said this) i think greta gerwig who with her toy commercial follow up slated to be a pair of narnia movies i think is pretty clearly angling to be girl christopher nolan should be allowed to keep making movies i think are Fine about ambitious unhorny women for years to come. or whatever the fuck she’s gonna make narnia about, i certainly will not be watching.

#idk man i am not like a major gerwig fan or anything but #this post rly bugged me!

[rongzhi]

Are street interviews more like… respectful in China? Because I know in America street interviews are usually just like a guy harassing random people on the street without permission but is it different on douyin? Because you’ve posted a couple street interviews and people seem way less awkward and uncomfortable in them

Idk I don't really watch American street interviews. The purpose of douyin street interviews is generally to be funny or ask pop culture questions, not to create gotcha moments or offend people, plus Chinese netizens would tear someone to pieces if they made those awkward off-putting interviews (the ones I think you're talking about? Like from tiktok? With the fuckboy or reddit types doing the interviewing?).

Funny street interviews have been a trend this year (or last year, 2022) although some people still find them rude to be honest.

Since the douyins are supposed to be funny and are probably clipped to just include the best moments and the people who provide the most accommodating reactions anyway. Some of the interviews are slightly scripted as well—usually the interviewer + interviewee agreeing on a question & responses ahead of time, or the interviewer interviewing someone they actually know. Some viewers still find the interviews offensive, but I've yet to see any interviews that are actually mean-spirited (imo)

🍵 relevant douyin drama time (no, i am not above this 🍉👀) (finally, an outlet for my gossip)

This guy I've posted a couple times got in trouble in November (iirc) because he interviewed some girl and she got offended and it turned out she was also a douyin user with a moderate following (i don't remember her username but it was Princess soemthing or other) and she sent all her followers to his channel to attack him 😵‍💫. He had asked her if she was a Calabash baby because she was wearing a tiara crown headband thing that sort of looked triangular like what they wear:

she was evidentally insulted and made a whole video bashing his conduct . Mostly I'd say he got some rightful criticism because it turned out he hadn't had her sign a release or didn't get a verbal agreement filmed although he apologised under her video and then posted an apology on his channel as well, also promising he would always get a release agreement in the future and basically saying he didn't realise in the moment she was so deeply insulted the way she described in her video because her friends that were with her were laughing (💀) so he thought it was fine to post. (she shit talked him in the comment of his video which was a notes app slideshow LOL and accused him of continued bad behavior (basically didn't read his apology ); sort of a childish follow up but maybe being asked if she was a calabash baby was really that violating. I try not to make light of such things but she was a grown woman so I have to 🙄 a little. i mean the calabash brothers kick ass, first of all?? also I did see that video before it got deleted and her clip just seemed like whatever. i remember that originally the interviewer went up to her friend to ask a question and then she said something so he turned the mic to her and asked the infamous calabash question. and then she sort of gave him the stink eye over her shoulder while her two friends laughed and pulled her along.

side note tea was that in the douyin lady's follow up video about the drama some of her followers tagged this guy i have also posted before and said his were the only non-offensive street interviews because his were scripted (for the record I seriously doubt all of his interviews are scripted) and that all street interviews should be scripted otherwise they were taking advantage of people. and enough people tagged him that he showed up in the comment section and said something (sort of greasy imo) about how what the first guy did was wrong and he would never offend mei-nvs like that which was really rich coming from him imo LOL.

anyway all of this stuff has been deleted. the first guy privated a lot of videos for a while bc the comment sections were just that lady's followers attacking him for being a horrible person and finding issue with other interview clips where he asked women questions (even ones where the interviewee was laughing and not giving him an instant stink eye like the one girl). he went back to posting stuff after a week and hasn't had any other issues.

#text #answered ask

[ghostcat3000]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by the super talented @theawkwardterrier

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

54

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

985,499 😅

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently SKAM. In the past I've written for: Call Me By Your Name, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, You're the Worst, Veronica Mars, and New Girl. I've also written a bunch of one-shots for Yuletide, mostly for films.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?*

Rest Easy (SKAM, Isak/Even, Nordic Noir AU, 18 chapters, Rated E, 168K, complete)

The Boyfriend Experience (SKAM, co-written with @irazor, Isak/Even, Gentle Sci-fi Love Story AU**, 21 chapters, Rated E, 177K, complete)

III. Rondo: Allegretto Moderato (Call Me By Your Name, Elio/Oliver, Post-Canon AU, 6 chapters, Rated M, 33K, complete)

A Lord's Sauce (SKAM, Isak/Even, Food Critics AU, 6 chapters, Rated T, 20K, complete)

1 Thing (SKAM, Isak/Even, Friends With Benefits AU, 6 chapters, Rated M, 31K, complete)

*I feel like this is crazily inaccurate. In terms of hits, The Boyfriend Experience is far and away the leader of the pack.

Lately, I've been getting so many guest kudos and I hate that I don't know if they're legit or bots run amok. I've gotten some fantastic comments from guests without AO3 accounts, so I'm reluctant to shut them out, but that might be what the future holds.

**This is a gross oversimplification of what kind of AU The Boyfriend Experience really is. All I can say is: trust us.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes. Sometimes I'm a little late in replying but I will reply. If someone took the time to read my story and tell me how they felt about it, then I want to respond to them. Say thank you.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm not a sad ending fic writer. Early on in my fic writing days, I worked on a non-chronological Veronica Mars fic series and a one-shot in that series, The Teeth by the Shoulder, had an angsty final chapter. That story was meant to connect with the one following, and what came next wasn't angsty at all. BUT, unfortunately, it didn't read that way and readers were like wtf, GC??? That was a structural experiment that didn't quite work. It happens. I still like the story though and how it sets up the one after. A noble failure.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oh gosh, most of them are pretty happy, weirdly enough. Probably Rest Easy, because the happy ending was a departure from the Scandinavian Noir genre and I felt it was pretty earned.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've gotten some weird things.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do. What kind? I don't know. The kind with feelings, I suppose. I think sex writing is a great tool for revealing character. That's usually the best kind.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I wrote one tiny crossover for Veronica Mars and New Girl (who famously share an actor, a fact that in typical-me fashion, I did NOT take advantage of) called Legs Up To Her Waist (The French Have a Phrase for It Remix) for a remix challenge. I think it's a lot of fun, I got to delve a little into my Raymond Chandler fixation.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Probably lines here and there, fanon, but not whole stories. I think they're considered too weird by the general population.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! My Handmaid's Tale fic, We Must Refuse to Disappear has been translated into Russian.

I also have a SKAM story, A Lord's Sauce, that was translated into Italian as part of Fandom Trumps Hate. I hope to post that before the end of the year.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, quite happily, The Boyfriend Experience with the wonderful @irazor.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I don't play favorites. I am enjoying writing Isak/Even now. Probably because they have such a good foundational story to work from for AU purposes.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The last two chapters of my CMBYN series, Piano Sonata in G Major, "Pense-bête", are so removed from fic expectations (one half of the ship is barely present/there's another, albeit temporary, love interest in one chapter, other nuanced themes are explored in the other) and are so labor-intensive. Every time I look at what I have drafted, I feel exhausted. I am not currently in a place where I can work on it, but I would like to finish it someday. So I can't say for sure that I won't do it, just not anytime soon.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Some nice language, in-character dialogue. Interest in improving.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Simplifying. Proofreading grammar.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It's a LOT of work. However, I was very lucky when I was writing my CMBYN stories, which feature French and Italian dialogue. I got a tremendous amount of help from some lovely people.

That's partly the reason I haven't continued writing them. I don't like bugging people about translations. It's one thing to spend time writing stories, it's quite another to drag people into the vortex. Free labor is still labor.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

New Girl. Great readers, awesome betas. Really great place to start.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I have a lot of love for my co-written fic with @irazor, The Boyfriend Experience and my Nordic Noir story, Rest Easy.

- O -

Tagging @irazor, @imminentinertia, @cheesybadgers, @htbthomas, @khaotunqs, @codswalloping

#meme time #Ghostcat fics #fanfic notes #long post

[mha-grievances]

A fan/lurker submitted post. Thank you so much 😊

Them:

I have not read the Manga and am not up to date in the Anime, mostly because reading criticism of BnHA does more for me than does the series itself. So... I take full responsibility for anything here that is wrong due to my ignorance, but... Regarding the death of Bakugou, I thought the death of a UA student was meant to be the final event that would crater that school's reputation for good and possibly throw Japanese society into the sort of chaos that defined the early era of Quirks when it was lawless and structureless. The most prestigious Hero school has evidenced its incapacity multiple times and smoothed it over with platitudes, but now a student who is famous - the Sludge incident, winning the tournament, being kidnapped by the LoV, &c - has died. The Symbol of Peace is gone, the "hero" who took his place is terrifying, and UA has a dead child soldier. In this circumstance, the villains almost look like a separate authority, as the state and the academic establishment are unable to stop setting themselves on fire. The 'order' of things is broken. More than ever, this is a moment that needs genuine, selfless heroes- enter Midoriya, at last himself the spotlight after constantly being dimmed and overrode- But Bakugou is alive! You could say he never even died, because what utility did this have other than to yank the chain of his fans? I love the tag 'Bakugou x Consequences' but I want to go further to say the entire world mostly lacks consequences, too. Things happen, but nothing happens. Endless setup. A valley where there should be payoff. It does not come consistently. A mass of intersecting plotlines that fall down or fall apart, unannounced. Chains of events exist only in the most abstract sense. I really thought his death was going somewhere. I do not want to say that to this point I thought of his existence as totally useless, but when I saw he died, I thought, 'Oh, he was a slow burn, and all of these built-up events were meant to fundamentally shatter society with his death!' Not so... And I went back to wondering what he is supposed to... do, on a narrative level. Everything which begins to exist has a cause. For him, I am thoroughly unsure of what Horikoshi means to say with his existence. (That is a problem a lot, where there are few characters in BnHA who are truly irreplaceable, but I digress...) Horikoshi is an unskilled writer who lacks experience, and the scale of BnHA is beyond his capability, in my opinion. I don't mean to insult him - but he's written himself into an awful quandary, the type that is so complex, it can only be a result of a writer without experience. There is no reasonable way to fix this situation, so he did a triple-backflip and breathed life back into Bakugou because - ideally - that will quickly undo the mounting pressure within the universe (AND calm down Bakugou's fans; evidently this is their story not his). There are hundreds of incoming dead-ends staring at Horikoshi and each time he ignores them for the sake of immediate fixes, BnHA is one ton heavier and one step closer to collapsing under its own weight. This is not writing anymore - this is damage control.

This is putting a lid on an overflowing pot instead of turning down the heat, and in doing so, acknowledging the structural issues which lead to the problems on the surface. If the rumors that it is ending soon are true, it is for the best. These are just some thoughts I had while I read this blog last night. Avid reader!! Please keep writing essays. It's really important to give genuine critique to Anime.

Me:

Thank you so much for the kind words.

I 100% agree that Katsuki’s “death” was supposed to be a big thing, showing that the villains have the upper hand. However, like you said, his revival undermines the whole thing.

And I agree about Katsuki having no purpose in the narrative. His redemption serves no purpose in the story compared to say Endeavor’s which is about a man who, after be gave up most of his life and hurt the people he was supposed to be close to just to chase a silly dream, swore to make sure that he can at least stand strong until newer and better heroes take the stage.

I also agree that Hori is a flawed writer. He has great ideas and he does know how to create characters and a world, but the problem is that he fails at fleshing out his ideas, adds needlessly useless things to the plot, and focuses on the worst parts of the story rather than the better parts. The Stain Arc was great cause Hori was able to convey a message while developing the central characters pertaining to that arc. The Overhaul Arc, though criticism can be had regarding certain things, makes sure to focus on the important stuff and has a clear goal. Things like this current arc simply rely on asspulls to make things interesting. If you need to rely on asspulls, you’ve failed as a writer.

[onewomancitadel]

I see. I'm going through the knightfall stuff now and maybe I'll try the fic as well if I'm looking for something to read. One more question though. If Ruby is purifying Cinder and Jaune is healing her then who is helping Oscar? From what I've seen you say in here Oscar and Cinder are supposed to be reflections of Jaune and Ruby right? and he's sort of got a curse as well. How does he fit into all this? How does he get fixed?

Haha, now you're getting more out of my wheelhouse because the Ozma curse solution is more imprecise, since it involves (likely) direct involvement of the brother gods. It's very likely that helping Cinder sets up Oscar, Salem and Ozma; this is all endgame stuff, by the way. It might be that both Oscar and Cinder seem doomed to their Dark Curses until it's averted.

Under my Reverse Ozlem tag I did establish that Penny's overall character arc reflects Ozma's, and Penny projecting her Aura to create a material form might give us some of the basis for what will happen with Ozma. I think it's very likely that the curse will be broken for Oscar. There's no way it isn't just because it's been made to seem so inevitable. If we go by his Little Prince influence (Oscar's V6-current outfit is The Little Prince's and there are a few other clear influences of it in his story--- in this example you can even see they've posed him the same way lol)

the prince may or may not be dead at the end, and that ambiguity is up to the reader depending what they want to believe in. Given that Oscar-Ozma can both be 'alive' and 'dead' - Oscar can be alive and Ozma dead - that might just fulfill the criteria. (Then again I'm not so certain that Ozma isn't the pilot, but I imagine Ruby/Oscar fans have more developed opinions than me on this front - and allusions are never exact and more tonally made to fit to the story, so maybe the prince survives and the pilot may or may not survive).

But the Ozlem resolution is really more than just Ozma and Salem because it involves the brother gods whom I don't believe to be in the right (really I think the fact we're supposed to empathise with Salem on some level is overlooked lol) and I might go so far as to speculate there's something off about the genie-gods of the Relics. But I would prefer to save that speculation for my own fanfic as opposed to here - not trying to make you read it, I just don't speculate on certain things because of what I'm writing lol, especially the exact Ozlem resolution.

But since we've been given what is effectively lore-building with the Aura with Penny (and essentially Ozma's entire arc including rebelling against the Brother of Light analogue) I do feel a bit more optimistic on predicting that front.

From what I've seen you say in here Oscar and Cinder are supposed to be reflections of Jaune and Ruby right?

Technically speaking Jaune is Oscar's Shadow and Cinder is Ruby's Shadow, so yes, effectively reflections for the sake of this discussion, though not quite in the order you put it. Part of why on this front I feel Jaune/Cinder is critical is because that is part of the major Ozma dilemma, and for solving Oscar's curse you've got to solve Ozma's ultimate task of stopping Salem. If Jaune/Cinder is the most literal realisation of their enmity that haunts the story, fixing that to more specifically help Oscar is pretty organic as well. This is sort of what I mean about the romance realising thematic ideas and serving character purpose which even ends up transcending Jaune/Cinder.

For what it's worth I also think Oscar as a role in getting Ruby to help Cinder, because as inevitable it may seem to me it's not so inevitable to the characters and is actually a major development.

My opinion on this topic is less passionate and more academic, so I am looking at it from a structural perspective. I do like that Oscar's figuring out how to handle the bad wizard in his head and beginning to empathise with him though, and I think that's good portents for the direction with Salem.

If you have any more questions I am happy to answer them, especially if you want me to explore Jungian storytelling in more detail or summarise it succinctly. I don't think it's totally crucial though, it's just a way of discussing the mechanical ideas in the story that are realising the thematic ones. (If it seems mildly esoteric, it really isn't, and it's very helpful for writing an ensemble cast).

I hope that answers your questions.

Regarding my fic, you are welcome to read it (just spare me if you don't like it (:) though I should add the caveat I have been told by my readers it's somewhat polarising if you are expecting it to be like other predominant R/WBY fic. Which can be a good thing or a bad thing. I mostly just mention that my fanfic is more my space for exploring ideas because I think that's where some of the best emotional stuff can happen as opposed to only in analysis posts.

Hope you have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

#seraphina's asks #user: anonymouse #r/wby ensemble cast tag

[thessalian]

People you want to get to know better

I got tagged for this by @sketchyfletch and I’m gonna tag ... erm ... @maybethings, @raceofhearts and @mayaminamoto

1. Three Ships: I’m not really all that much of a shipper, in all honesty. I suppose Percy / Vex’halia from Critical Role (largely because it wasn’t an “I can fix him / her” or an “I can make him / her worse” but an “I can be the person they deserve and oh, shit, I’m actually happier in a lot of ways because of the changes in me, not just because them”. Also because “I open the door ... completely naked”.) Erm ... I’m a big fan of the Sera / Inquisitor romance, despite wishing there were more dialogue options that translate more to “I see where you’re coming from” than to “You’re incredibly weird but I can live with that”. But honestly, I think my absolute favourite ship isn’t a strictly speaking fandom one but one that kind of sprang up in my old Star Wars: The Old Republic RP guild between one of my characters and a character a friend of mine introduced. So here’s to Jallira, the meepiest Jedi medic, and Corporal Rilus Harridin, Mantellian military surgeon. There was so much character development and and so many funtimes because of that particular in-game relationship (which was apparently adorable to the point where even one of the players who steadfastly refused to ship a hetero couple ever actually shipped it).

2. First Ever Ship: Keep in mind that I am old, okay? My first ships are, like, historic. Translation: I shipped Leia and Han Solo from the first.

3. Last Song: The Rachel Hardy cover of Guns for Hire. I actually have an entire Spotify playlist devoted entirely to weird and interesting covers of songs.

4. Last Movie: Erm. Honestly? I don’t watch much stuff, and especially not movies, so the last movie I saw almost in its entirety was Back to the Future, and that only because it was playing on Christmas day and it was something to watch between dinner and dessert.

5. Currently Reading: The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray, by Chris Wooding. Mostly because it’s the last of the books I got with birthday Amazon gift voucher that I have yet to devour. Oh, and flipping through By The Sword by Mercedes Lackey when I want something that’s not on my Kindle.

6. Currently Watching: I’m between watches right now, so it’s a toss-up between watching vids of my fortnightly D&D game (mostly for research and reminder purposes) and some of my favourite moments from Legend of Vox Machina S2

7. Currently Consuming: A bottle of cola. Might have a sandwich later.

8. Currently Craving: Something sweet. Which I actually have - I picked up some toffee ice cream cones (with gluten-free waffle cones) from Tesco’s yesterday and I might have one of those.

#Thess vs Memes

[buttercupjosh]

Rant: I gotta say being blocked on here because I don’t tag my posts according someone else’s preferences is so silly to me. I do tag my personal writing fics but not for my fic recs list to their standards. That makes me feel so deeply hurt because I don’t like the feeling of knowing that I’m blocked by someone (which I take being blocked very personally), especially by someone who’s content I’ve supported through some of my own reblogs in the past.

I don’t get why myself and probably other lots of people are caught in their crossfire when there’s a beautiful thing on this site called tag filtering AND YOU CAN FILTER OUT THE TAGS YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE ON HERE WITHOUT HAVING TO BE A PRICK (YES YOU) AND BLOCK PEOPLE OR EVEN BETTER, JUST SCROLL PAST THE STUFF YOU’RE NOT INTERESTED IN. HOW ON EARTH AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW YOUR TAG PREFERENCES? I FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CAN CURATE YOUR EXPERIENCE HOWEVER YOU WANT ON HERE BUT SOME OF Y’ALL ARE ACTING LIKE CLOWNS AND NEED TO BE FOR FREAKING REAL INSTEAD OF BLOCKING PEOPLE OVER THE SILLIEST AND DUMBEST THINGS. I CAN SEE BLOCKING SOMEONE BECAUSE THEY SAID SOMETHING YOU DIDN’T LIKE OR SUPPORT SOMETHING YOU DEEPLY DISLIKE OR IF THEY DIRECTLY HARASS YOU BUT OVER SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS TAGS (TAGS THAT ARE NOT EVEN CONNECTED TO SMUT OR CERTAIN SENSITIVE TOPICS) IS SO, SO STUPID TO ME.

(The person I’m talking about isn’t going to unblock me anyways because I don’t fit into their strict definition of parameters/boundaries on this site so if they see this somehow, I apologize in advance for everything that I’m saying throughout this chaos post.

Just know that you really hurt my feelings very badly over something so, so small according to such an extremely petty definition of curating your feed to your expectations and it made me extremely upset and pushed me over the edge/off the rails a bit because I was worried that I did something wrong to you or posted something bad to warrant being blocked so that’s why I’m ranting so intensely about it (I also have anxiety and can get overwhelmed easily but I don’t take it out by blocking people either, I just step away from what’s making me feel that way). I also think that the way how you’re curating feed is a bit extreme and a bit unnecessary in a sense for Tumblr or any social media site (yeah, tons of people post content about stuff or players I don’t like or want to interact with on here but I’m not blocking them for just existing. I just ignore it and move on). Also, because you blocked me, too bad you can’t see that I’ve supported you through some of my reblogs and I never used any of your gifs on any of my fics or other posts before so you cannot claim that I’m a content stealer by any means to justify blocking me either. I obviously can’t block you back since you already did it to me first but you don’t understand how much it pains me to see your content that I like come up and I can’t interact with it. It’s also funny to me, that on Tumblr, content sharing is greatly encouraged and you’re purposely gatekeeping people from that (you know that you make content for a player who is a bit underrated on here now) by blocking them because they don’t fit your tag standards.

Another thing, just because you tell people not to take it personally because being blocked doesn’t bother you, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to take it personally. You obviously don’t truly care about how other people would feel about your actions that you say you do for your sanity (Tumblr is known for being chaotic and this is coming from someone who follows thousands of blogs on here). Remember, you hurt my feelings and possibly others first so I suggest not crying to your followers that hurt feelings are coming back to you in a way. This rant and criticism isn’t bullying either because if it was, I would be saying way worse things or encouraging others to be mean to you. If this post hurts you, it hurts you and I’m sorry for being this petty, I get it, I’m clearly emotional about it and I have rejection sensitivity issues but just remember that you’re actively hurting other people much more with your actions than a post that’s subtweeting/throwing shade at your gatekeeping behavior in the name of blog management.

#rants and rambles #screaming into the void

[sob-sister]

I am not a hater of your blog nor do I think you’re a hater of Jack, I like your blog since there aren’t too many discursive accounts dedicated towards Jack. I’ve read your posts because they come up in the #jackharlow tag. I’m just wondering as there are a lot of (valid) criticisms from you and your followers/asks, and I’m confused as to why you stay. I know it’s none of my business and I suppose if you like him, that’s all that matters. I do partly think he deserves a tad bit of slack because, and like you said, his team are probably lacking or fans don’t know what goes on behind closed doors with his management.

I agree with what you said about his privacy: celebrities are of course, allowed to be as private as they want, but when it’s the same stories over & over from him - it doesn’t come across as him being private, it’s just recycled anecdotes masked as enigma. I don’t think the repetitiveness of Jack’s interviews are always actively INTENDED by him to look “mysterious”, I don’t think he does it on purpose, I think it just happens naturally and it’s how he is on screen - perhaps due to media training or he’s holding himself back, or maybe he thinks his fans aren’t going to watch every single interview (newflash, Jack - we do!). It does feel like Jack has so many sides to him that we don’t see. The flirty white rapper with repetitive stories, or a private writer who is tired of the industry (as we saw in Jackman). Perhaps that is what makes him interesting.

if my post somehow implied that i think you're a hater, that was not my intention at all. i just didn't know where you really stood. as i said before, i am a fan, and i can like a person and also not be satisfied with how some things go.

i am not sure what answer you want from me, but matter of fact is i have a blog dedicated to him. simple as that.

i wanted to be part of jack harlow tumblr and since i am not a writer i had to come up with something different. i also saw other people who wanted to get invloved, but didn't feel comfortable doing so, since cliques were established, and i thought i would give people the space to make conversation with others and talk.

as for me, talking + talking about things people really want to talk about = this blog, and it works. jack harlow tumblr has a very strong denial mentality against all things "bad" and honestly that shit should be studied! i have never seen this anywhere else. the whole eco system of the fandom is … fascinating! i saw what was lacking and gave people what they wanted and now they have a safe place to share their opinions and discuss their thoughts instead of being seen as haters or as someone who is trying to start drama for having a different opinion to others and not thinking that everything he does is the best thing since sliced bread. is that really such a bad thing to offer to people? second of all, i don't tag the "controversial" stuff, so others never see it unless they make the effort to find it, and that's on them!

things you mentioned in your second paragraph are valid and i agree, i just don't want to address things over again and repeat myself. but yes, valid points.

i think i am going to end this convo here. i don't want you to feel bad for asking this question or think that i am coming at you in any way, i just don't know what you want me to say on this topic or what answer is going to satisfy you. stranger things have happened in this fandom. little old me is not that important.

[myreygn]

n over k equals you going down!

summary: Kuroo and Yaku are studying math and, to put it nicely, it doesn't work all too well. Luckily there are ways and methods to clear your head and Kuroo has just the right idea - whether or not it works out for him is a different story.

an: i'm sorry @heyoitsgenderconfusion your ask disappeared. idk where it went so i just have to tag you and really hope you see this!

¸¸♬·¯·♩¸¸♪·¯·♫¸¸¸¸♫·¯·♪¸¸♩·¯·♬¸¸

“Okay, let's try this again.” Kuroo rubs his temples and sighs, then he points at the book right in front of him. “We have these numbers, four and thirteen, and we have this formula. Now we put the numbers in and then we have...?”

“Gosh, Kuroo, I don't know! Repeating the question doesn't change anything!”

“Just look at the example, there's an example right there-”

Yaku groans and bangs his head on the book, effectively crushing Kuroo's hand with his forehead and making him whine in pain. “I. Don't. Know. And I'll never know if you keep going like this!”

“It's not that hard!” Kuroo pushes him away and shakes his maltreated hand while furiously nodding at the exercise. “It's n over k, so it's thirteen over four and that means thirteen faculty divided by four faculty multiplied by thirteen minus four faculty! You just have to put the numbers in the formula!”

“But how am I supposed to know which number belongs to which letter?”

“I told you a million times!”

“Fine,” Yaku cries out, “fine, shut up, we've been doing this for, what, three hours?! I'm taking a break, I'm getting water!” He gets up and stretches out, nudging Kuroo's side with his foot. “Breathe through and hydrate yourself, you're so tense dude!” Kuroo flinches away almost hard enough to faceplant, making Yaku chuckle. “Come on now.”

He hears Kuroo shuffle around behind him as he gets himself something to drink, turning around when his friend enters the kitchen, and sighs. “Thank God, I needed this.”

“You needed this?!” Kuroo splashes water into his own face before he empties his half finished cup of coffee, regardless of the fact that it must be cold by now. “I've been explaining the same problem for thirty minutes and you still don't get it!”

“Well, maybe you're just bad at explaining.”

“Or maybe you're just bad at math!”

“Oh, that's not a good combination.”

“Then maybe you should get someone else to tutor you!”

Yaku smirks. Bantering means that Kuroo is recharging his battery, that's good – seeing him fired up  helps himself to regain control as well. He turns around again to put his glass in the sink. “Probably. I'm sure Kai would also actually tutor and not torture me like you do!”

“Oh, you want torture?” Yaku busts into surprised giggles when he feels long, swift fingers scribbling up and down his sides and he leans away from the maddening sensation, over the counter. Unfortunately this attempt to escape just makes everything worse for now he can't even properly protect himself – not that that was an option before. “I'll give you torture!”

“H-hey! Dohon't doho thahahat! Kuroo!”

“I mean, you started it.”

“Whahat? Did not!”

“Yes, you did!” Kuroo shoves his hands further up Yaku's torso to massage the spaces in between his ribs, drawing some of the ugliest cackles the Libero has ever heard from himself. “You attacked me earlier when you nudged my side, you did that on purpose!”

“I-it's not my fahault thahahat you're a wahalking tickle spoAAHT, STOP IT!”

“Why?” Yaku manifests all of his willpower to turn around and immediately regrets it when he's met with Kuroo's obnoxious signature smirk, those awful fingers relentlessly squeezing and jabbing his hips. “Aren't you having fun?”

“FAHAHACK YOUAHAHA!”

“Tsk, language.”

Yaku feels himself getting weaker and weaker the longer the tickling lasts – no wonder, this bastard is attacking his worst spot exactly the way he knows it drives Yaku up the wall. A little voice in his head regrets to ever have agreed to this study session, another one criticizes the very idea of being friends with Kuroo and Yaku hates how he hesitantly agrees. They just know each other too well and... hey, wait, that might be it!

“NAHAHAHA KUHUROHOO! PLEAHEHEHESE!”

The captain slows his touches down and moves his hands up a little. “Please what, Yakkun?”

God, he's going to kill this jerk! Yaku feels his face burn. Please, that's a word he almost never has to resort to and only uses when it's really bad. More often than not he's too proud – but that also means, that Kuroo knows it's bad when he actually pleads and that's a huge opportunity to fool him. The tickling on his sides is bearable. He can function now. Yaku throws him a wicked smirk through his giggling and it turns victorious when he sees the horror dawn on his friend's face.

“Please don't be less ticklish than last week.”

“WhAHAHAHAAA YAHAKU!”

“You know, Tetsurou,” the Libero smirks and wrestles Kuroo down, straddling him and wriggling his fingers in his armpits, “you're really funny. We've known each other for, what, two and a half years? You should really know by now that you don't stand a chance. I don't know if you noticed, but my worst spot isn't half as bad as yours. See?” He coos at his friend. “You're already crying, naw, Tetsu! It's not even been ten seconds!”

It's almost funny how Kuroo is a mess already, yet the teasing still seems to make everything so much worse. Yaku grins. He can't deny it, he's always having a blast wrecking Kuroo, especially when- ah, there it is.

“NYAHAHA! PLEHEHEHEASE STAHAHAP!”

“I don't know, should I? We barely get to hear this beautiful, beautiful hyena laugh from you, we should enjoy it while it lasts!”

Honestly, it's impressive how long Kuroo takes it. They're almost at four minutes before his laughter goes silent and Yaku decides to move away from his underarms, resorting to softly scribbling all over his stomach. “So, will you teach me this math problem?”

“I- Ihi trihied!”

“Yeah, well, as you said, I'm bad at math. Will you try some more?”

Kuroo can only nod, his face flushed bright red and his cheeks wet from laughing tears.

“Good.” Yaku finally stops his tickling and stands up, offering his friend a hand to get up. “Let's get back to work. And remember, when you think about starting a tickle fight the next time, don't. You'll lose. Got it?”

“Shut up...”

“You shut up.”

#haikyuu!! #kuroo tetsurou #yaku morisuke #tword fic #ticklish!yaku #ticklish!kuroo #lee!yaku #lee!kuroo #ler!kuroo #ler!yaku #tword fight #rey writes

[blinday]

I'm done with it. I shall criticize my favourite silly little comic because this is my life now, I suppose. No good criticism? I shall do it. And build another tag because the an.ti.l.o are so fucking annoying and childish (yeah let's call someone a bitch because she was 'agressive' in their response to a post). So, this must be a safe space for anyone who wants to actually criticize, comment or analyse this cute comic we love.

I'll start telling my experience and then applying what I know it was not done in an ideal way. In the beginning, i thought it would be very silly and boring, but boy, was I wrong. I mean, it is silly, but SO cute and entertaining! The art style is so charming. I am a very scrupulous artist, following the anatomical rules as much as possible even in stick doodles, so how freeing it was to meet an art style that literally threw that out of the window. It shows what's happening in a non realism way and passes the emotions of both characters and author. (The horniness of some moments lmaooooo). It made me connect in such a wonderful way, and I felt so intensely for each character! It's kind of a new feeling for me.

It's not perfect, of course, as I will explain.

The narrative structure doesn't exactly follow a line of thought, wich gives off some pacing inconsistensies. I for one can never really tell how much time has passed from event to event. Some people say Hades and Perse didn't know each other for more than 2 months, others claim it was close to a year, so the fandom is also very divided in this aspect.

Some characters are stabilished in a way and then act incoherent. Yeah, it deepens the character, but what I'm trying to say is, if your character has shown to have [this] behaviour, and react in a way to some situations, it will be weird if they betray this patters without explanation. Like Eros, who is shown multiple times having a great emotional maturity, and then leaves with no questions asked because he was spooked by Psyche, and then went on a rampage because of that. Wtf was that Eros, how am I supposed to poor meow meow you if you HISS AT PEOPLE!!!

Jokes aside, it was pretty weird, and I don't blame Aphrodite for hiding Psyche from him after that tantrum.

Apollo is another one. When he was first introduced he was your typical jock who isn't used to girls not wanting him and finding a quest on Perse. But suddently he is not only a psycho, but also an emotional abuser and rapist. I think it would've been way less uncanny if the change was slow and gradual, because in the same chapter he assaults Persephone he had previously stabilished good terms and accepted how she felt about him. Yeah, a person can hide their true nature, but that's not how it's done. Anyways he is a bastard and I hate him. Terribly written, yes, but a bastard nonetheless.

It also bugs me how some things are completely brushed aside and then treated as a mere trivialty when the writers remember it was there in the first place. Like the photographer incident with Hades pulling his eye off. He took SO LONG to do that, and it served no narrative purpose other than make him look badass. And then, back into character inconsistensies, Hades basically changes and this aspect of his personality is forever forgotten. It was probably because Rachel wanted to make him look cool and badass but then realized that it wouldn't be coherent to have him be both cruel and a blue cinnamon roll.

Another inconsistency is Persephone's relationship with her classmates and her grades. The writing goes back and forth with Persephone's priority list because sometimes grades are everything, and others she isn't even enjoying the college. After the rumor about Hades' violence on Perse's classmates EVERYONE stops talking to her? You telling me this pink sugar cube couldn't make better ties with ANYONE in that damn campus? I no believe no.

Artemis is constantly changing from badass huntress who can read others and deduction genius to dumbass who can't read the room, and it's frustrating because she is my favourite character. She's kinda dumber in latter chapters. Still my favourite tho.

I have more, but I think it's enough for a tag-building post. I hope you like it, and please, remember: just because I criticize, it doesn't mean I hate the comic. We can recognize both flaws and strongs in a piece and still love it.

Keep respectful and healthy, okay? It's safe, and every opinion is just that: an opinion, can't hurt anyone. I'll try to analyse characters next time. Any ideas on who?

#lore olympus actual criticism #lo conscrit #constructive + criticism #lore olympus conscrit #long post #lore olympus analysis #lore olympus fandom #lo fans safe space #shoo antis shoo we are just chillin in here #blinday talks

[scandalsavagefanfic]

Hello! I am a huge fan of ur writing. I've loved everything I've read of yours. I've read alot of what you've posted, except for a couple of the tags that are squicky for me (so I'm very thankful you tag very thoroughly). No judgement for the squick, it's just not for me. & when I'm having a bad day, I usually just go thru ur ao3 and find something to reread. I think about Therapy's Bruce & Jason every damn day. While I obvs appreciate ur darker more "problematic" content (I really vibe with some of the themes you write about bc of my own trauma, & so it's very cathartic to read about in a fictional setting), I am truly a sucker for ur more happy content. The Happily Ever After verse also lives in my head rent free. Idk more wholesome stuff just seems more special when you write it. Anyways. I would die for you. But the point of this ask is cause I'm curious as to why you don't like Urban Legends? I'm sorry if you already talked about it here or on twitter and I missed it. I was just wondering because I really enjoy your take on things and would love to hear why you dislike it. I've been enjoying it so far personally, but I am always open to DC comics criticism.

Aw thank you so much! I'm so flattered by everything you just said. You're so sweet ❤❤❤❤❤

I haven't talked about Urban Legends here or twitter (I haven't been very active in either place lately. Just a lot going on and no energy 😔) but I'm happy to do it here.

Before I start though, I just want to add a standard disclaimer and make it clear that if you like it, there's nothing wrong with that and you don't have to let me ruin it for you lol. Like what you like.

That said, since you asked...

I said this when I was talking about it on discord, that there is a difference between hope and expectation. I always hope that a new story centered on Jason (or anyone really, but things have been especially egregious for Jay for 15 years) will be good or at least treat the character with a minimal level of respect (to be honest, the bar is super fucking low). But my expectations always temper my hope, to keep it from getting unrealistic. Because my expectations are based on experience.

The long history of Jason Todd, since even before his resurrection, has been one of retroactively trying to make him "a bad seed" in order to absolve Bruce of any responsibility in his death.

I don't even expect DC or their writers to start honoring the fact that Jason was not an angry, reckless Robin (and less of the later than Dick or Tim and definitely Damian). There plenty of ways that retcon can be folded into his history and be compelling and sympathetic. And if they're going to stick with that retcon, I'm only asking that they do it in one of those compelling and sympathetic ways because Jason was 15 when he died, heroically, in one of the most selfless acts in comics, to save a woman who literally handed him over to be brutally murdered. He was 12 when Bruce plucked him off the streets, he'd been homeless and fending for himself for at least two years. I personally think that Jason's story hits harder for him and Bruce if their original, canon relationship, of Jason as starry-eyed and eager to learn and absolutely devoted to Bruce and Bruce to Jason, is preserved. But Jason's origins does leave room for a meaningful interpretation of him as angry and frustrated at the lack of meaningful results of Bruce's methods.

And that's really where my irritation at stories like Batman: Urban Legends, Cheer and Batman The Adventure Continues has it's roots.

Every time one of these stories comes out, I think (or hope, rather) that this will be the one that remembers and respects the origins of the Jason and the Red Hood, that takes into account the changed sensibilities of comics readers in the 30 years since Jason's death and the subtle, 20 year, retroactive campaign to make him the "bad Robin". The "born bad" trope is played out and literally no one likes the message it implies. That some kids are just bad eggs and there's nothing parents or the adults around them can do. Especially when it's played as the kid's fault. If Jason's time as Robin is going to be characterized by anger, then it should be rooted in anger at the social injustices he witnessed as he grew up in an impoverished, crime-ridden, area and the horrors he faced raising himself when every day was a battle for survival. There are topical, meaningful, stories to tell with that backdrop.

But those are never the stories we get.

⚠⚠ Spoilers for Batman: Urban Legends, Cheer ⚠⚠

I'm particularly disappointed in Urban Legends because for the first issue, it looked like that was the kind of story we were going to get. I was put off by the first flashback of Jason being mesmerized by Bruce's guns, and I got that feeling in my gut that it was a bad sign. Jason depicted as impatient and overconfident and the scene with the guns is heavy-handed foreshadowing that got my spidey-sense tingling. I had a inkling then (in the first three pages) of how this story was going to play out, but it was early and I could still see many narrative paths that could lead to a satisfying story. My concerns were soothed somewhat and the little flame of my hope fanned, with the flashback of Alfred scolding Bruce, with Barbara's concern for Jason. A bit of worry returned with the way Jason ruthlessly pursued an addict who didn't appear to be a dealer and with the ending of the issue. The stuff with the addict sat wrong with me but the ending was tempered some by how despicable Tyler's dad was written. The scene was clearly set so that the reader could sympathize with Jason's decision and the scene with the addict could be brushed aside as a side-effect of comics over-the-top need for constant action, so I still held hope.

Issue 2 made me uncomfortable and it's where my hope starts to take a backseat to my expectations. I can dismiss Jason's self-deprecating internal monologue as unreliable narration, except that the flashback reinforces his thought process to explicitly show that it's not unreliable narration, and should be taken at face value. Jason faces physical abuse at the hands of his mother's drug dealer and when the flashback continues later, Jason kills the drug dealer. To be clear, this is a pre-Bruce Jason. His mom is still alive. He's like... 10. He kills this guy for shoving his head into a wall and implying Jason's mother paid for her drugs with sex. This is a scene that serves a single purpose. To show that Jason has always been prone to violence.

In the spirit of full disclosure, there is the small chance the drug dealer might not be dead. But the story obviously wants the reader to think he is, and it hasn't done anything to change that yet.

Starlin already did this story with The Diplomat’s Son in 1988 and he did it infinitely better. AND that’s still technically canon. So now I’m supposed to believe that Jason lost his cool bad enough to kill two douche bags before his sweet 16? Like it’s totally normal for abused kids raised in poverty, who’ve led hard and heartbreaking lives to just... haul off and kill people? That’s bullshit, and when taken with the Jason in the third issue, who is little more than an idiot thug, this story is really doubling down on some fucked up stereotypes.

Which brings us to the most recent issue. I went into this installment with very low expectations. I thought this story was going to be about Jason, through this experience with Tyler, a young boy with a similar background to Jason's, coming to the realization that Bruce's way is the best way and that Bruce did his best by Jason.

That would be annoying (in no small part because it takes increasingly absurd levels of plot armor to keep Bruce's no kill rule relevant, let alone irrefutably right). But I can probably live with that, if only because maybe if Jason officially falls back into line with the Bats crusade, maybe I'll get stories that treat him with respect, stories that don't relegate him to comic relief, dumb brute, or a background body with no lines in a story about the Joker burning Gotham (like Jason would just fucking stand there quietly for that).

And that may still be where the story is going, Jason realizing Bruce is right.

But holy shit do I not have the right words to describe how fucking insulting and gross issue three is.

From start to finish--including the flashback--Jason is written as cruel and fucking stupid. Like straight up dumb.

The entire issue is Bruce explaining the fucking basics to Jason like it's his first day. And Jason flies off the fucking handle and terrorizes a doctor he knows isn't a part of making the Cheerdrops, beats the shit out of some random addicts, and finally, when he can't accomplish anything on his own because he's a dumb brute he calls Barbara for help and rushes in with no information where he's promptly incapacitated and must now wait to be rescued by Batman.

This panel is the least of the issues sins but I can’t screenshot the entire story but it’s representative of the tone for the whole issue (and retroactively tainted the prior two issues).

This is beyond insulting. The only conclusions Jason comes to in this issue are the ones Bruce leads him to by talking to him like he can’t make the simplest connections. And like... in this story Jason can’t make the simplest connections.

This (and the Jason throughout the entirety of this issue) is a far cry from the Jason we fell in love with in Under the Red Hood, who was competent and strategic and intelligent enough to seize control of Gotham’s underworld from Black Mask (who’s no fucking slouch, he’s the first and only person to unify organized crime in Gotham) AND elude and manipulate Bruce until the time and place of his choosing.

This is a far cry from even the Red Hood and the Outlaws Jason who is competent enough to fight the League of Shadows and Ra’s al Ghul (among very dangerous and skilled others) and smart enough to create antidotes for mind control nanotech viruses.

As he should be, by the way. Jason Todd is one of the best, most comprehensively trained fighters in DC’s stable of non powered vigilantes. He’s not irrational or hot headed. He’s pragmatic, tactically minded, and patient. He’s a detective. Right now. Has been since he was 12. Bruce doesn’t have to make him one because he already is. 

Jason is not a stupid thug who uses his fists because his brain doesn’t work. And I can’t tell you how so very exhausted I am by this narrative. 

This is actually the most egregious example of Jason’s skills and intelligence being not just undermined but dismissed entirely. Even Morrison’s Jason had some degree of competency. 

The one, single redeeming factor of this story is the art. It’s beautiful. And Marcus To is a godsend he seems to be one of only a couple of artists who remember that Jason was a child when he was Robin and I’m literally only buying this book because of him. 

Anyway, I’m sorry. I didn’t want that to come out so... um... passionately lol. I’m just very very tired. My intention with this isn’t to ruin it for you, if you like it, that’s fine. 

But this issue shot this story to the top of my "Vehemently Despise” list. 1) Batman: Urban Legends (Cheer), 2) Battle for the Cowl/Morrison’s Batman and Robin, 3) Batman The Adventure Continues.

I hope the next issues somehow salvage this dumpster fire. But I’m not expecting it.

(Damnit. That sounded harsh again. To reiterate, I’m not trying to judge anyone who enjoys it, I just personally hate it and you asked me why lol 😅)

#Batman #red hood #batman: urban legends #nice art #shit story #or at least shit characterization #jason todd deserves better #this response got long and I didn't edit it #please forgive any errors #and/or unclear spots #spoilers

[hologramcowboy]

I'm sorry for lashing out at you, is true that i got triggered, and i understand and agree that talking about certain issues and accepting it is the best way to start the process of healing. But i still think what you do here is plain wrong and inmoral. Every one has a right to talk or not about their own issues, but we don't have a right to talk about other people's. You should respect Jensen and know that if he doesn't talk about it, you shouldn't do it either. You need to accept that you are not part of Jensen's life, you are not his friend, you can't help him, if he really had those problems. All you can do as a fan is support his projects. But you won't do that, because you don't really care about him, you only do this because is entertaining and probably also as a way to cope with your own trauma.

No worries, like I said, I understood you were feelings intense emotions. I disagree with you, I find nothing immoral about people expressing views. Besides everything is relative, it's really important to understand where people are coming from before making assumptions. Nobody here is attacking anyone or anything even remotely close to that, as you can see, besides the occasional cray AA or Danneel stan, the anons are truly wonderful and respectful and everyone does their best to use critical thinking and share their feelings in ways that makes it easy to understand where they are coming from. Who ever said I am a part of Jensen's life? If I wanted to be I could be, by the way, but that shouldn't grant me any special status. Do you wish you were his friend and that you could help him if he had issues? Is that what you are projecting? If so That's beautiful! I'm not a fan either, I'm a simple admirer, I feel like to be a fan I'd have to be superinvested in some things and I can't be because I know how the acting industry works so most things don't affect me, I know the behind the scenes so I don't view Jensen as a God or someone above me, I view him as a human and I see right through a lot of things because I know how an actor thinks and what his options are, how his world works. I think the real fans are those people that are superconnected emotionally and they usually create a lot of beautiful things as a result. You got one thing right, this is meant to be entertaining, so why do you people keep trying to turn everything into epic drama? It serves who and what exactly? As for my traumas, don't get why there's a need to shame me for them also most are in common with Jensen so sorry but again, I disagree with your view, there's nothing wrong with creating space to talk about certain things especially since others may see themselves in those things and recognize themselves. Jared for example often bravely shares his traumas because he knows it helps others connected and recognize they can fight through their challenges as well. This is an anti Danneel blog so just stop reading, I tag things on purpose to only have the people my content is meant for see it so if you go looking to start drama through anti tags that is solely on you.

People are free to have differing views and dislike what you may even love and that's perfectly okay, it's diversity at play. Besides, this blog has a very clear disclaimer, it has two in fact, one in the footer and one in the main pinned post.

So no one is ever confused about the content but you Danneel stans and hateful AAs.

Taking things personally and attempting to create traumas for others because you resent their views and cannot accept different perspectives is a toxic way to live life. Fandom is mean to be fun not traumatic, it's supposed to be an escape not a trap so I invite you to approach things from a healthier, light-hearted perspective.

As an alternative, you could just stop reading my blog, after all I don't advertise it, it's just my little corner and if people want to play with me within it I am happy and honored and if they don't I am still happy. I wish you well.

Also me not caring about Jensen is a very hurtful comment that you keep repeating with every post you send in obsessively so if your aim was to bully and hurt me with it then congratulations, you achieved it. I hope you won something important because I am feeling pretty heartbroken and misunderstood right now. I hope you win something important for achieving this.

[amphibious-entity]

TMBS Book 1 Brain Dump

~An Embarrassingly Long Post~

I don’t know why I’m writing this or why I’m so determined to do it. Maybe to finally assume my true form and become a mega dork on main, or maybe just for fun!

This is basically a compilation of all the main points running through my head after reading The Mysterious Benedict Society (2007) for the first time. Rather than posting a ton and spamming the tag, everything’s here in one neat package! (hopefully this gets it all out of my system rip)

Contents:

The Book Itself

The Book Itself, for real this time

The Characters

A Funny Parallel

The S.Q. Section

Lines & Scenes I Liked

Spoilers abound!

The Book Itself

Upon acquiring the first three books (don’t judge me pls), I was surprised at just how long they are. Like, they’re still pretty light being paperbacks and all, but these books are hefty lads.

The first book has this Disney+ Original Series circle thing printed on it, which is kind of unfortunate. Regardless, I love the cover illustration and yellow is actually my favorite color :D It made me weirdly quite happy whenever I saw the book lying around in my room

Also, it’s really cute how there’s a letter from Mr. Benedict at the end! (It only reveals that you can find out his first name if you “know the code”, meaning the bit of Morse printed below the summary on the back.) Shock and horror, though, as I realized I’m starting to recognize some of the letters

The Book Itself, for real this time

It’s wonderful how the tone of the book really shone through to the show adaptation. Something about the deliberateness of the aesthetic, from the set designs to the fashion to scene compositions, that really sells that particular style— like it’s very clear that this story is being told to us, rather than one we’re seeing unfold, if that makes sense.

Where that narration style stood out to me the most was the first chapter. We are told (rather than shown) how Reynie gets himself to the point of the second test, and there’s this whole twisty time maneuver for that whole sequence of events that’s really interesting

A super secret fun fact about me is that I wanted to be a writer when I was younger! So this particular balance of show vs. tell is really neat, since it runs counter to my own tendencies. The sheer amount of commas in every sentence is also kind of comforting, since Ahah, I Do That in those few serious-ish attempts at writing lol

Overall this book’s style reminds me a lot of Roald Dahl’s books, which are very nostalgic for me :D The whole “kids are more competent than adults” angle helps a lot too haha

The Characters

Oh boy here’s where I get a little bit critical! Overall I did really like this book!! it’s just that that expresses itself in all this weird “”analysis”” lol

Reynie - much better in the books than in the show

It’s sort of a lukewarm take but I feel like show!Reynie is kind of boring? He doesn’t have a lot going on flaw-wise, and obviously since he’s the protagonist he can’t have too many weird traits or else the kids watching can’t project themselves onto him as easily

(I call it the difference between an aspirational protagonist and a vessel protagonist. Going off of the Roald Dahl vibes, think Matilda vs Charlie. show!Reynie is more of a Charlie)

Thus when we get to see him really struggle with the Whisperer and doubt himself it gives him a lot more dimension, at least in my opinion

It is a federal crime that the white knight scenes were not adapted into the show

Sticky - my son

I’ve long held to no one besides myself and my long suffering sister that Sticky is The Best Member of the Society

He happened to hit a lot of the Bingo squares of Stuff I Like In Characters: glasses, anxious, nice :), kind of a coward but ultimately is there for his friends, etc

For some reason I don’t talk about him nearly as much as you-know-who, but I love him just as dearly

Kate & Constance - I don’t have much to say

Kate is really interesting in this book! I like how we get to see more of her depths, in particular that one passage about her belief that she is invincible being the only thing that keeps her from falling apart? :c

Also her constant fidgeting is relatable lol

Constance is somehow a lot more tolerable in the book. I think I’m just one of those people with no patience for small children, unfortunately lol

(Some of) The Adults

It’s interesting that they had such an offscreen presence for most of the book. Giving them more time was probably one of the stronger changes of the show

However if that decision was made at the expense of the white knight scenes I think the choice should have been clear

I like the way Rhonda and Number Two are written

Milligan always on sad boy hours 😔✊

The “mill again” passage is touching but kind of messes up the pacing of the getaway, at least for me. Maybe I should read it again to make sure I didn’t miss something

Miss Perumal is much better in the show. We see so little of her in the book she doesn’t function well as an emotional anchor for Reynie, imo

The Institute Gang

Jackson and Jillson serve their purpose well, and Martina was surprising to say the least. I like the direction they took her in the show! I can’t imagine how funny it must have been to watch the tetherball subplot come out of nowhere lolol

These sections were written out of sequence, so random tidbit I couldn’t fit in The S.Q. Section: I like how he stumbles over his words. relatable

Mr. Curtain

While I think I know why they decided to not give Curtain the wheelchair in the show, we were totally robbed of Actor Tony Hale’s performance for the reveal during the final confrontation

Speaking of the wheelchair, it’s such a powerful symbol of his need for control or rather, his fear of losing it

The Contrast between him and Mr. Benedict. This point is expanded on in A Funny Parallel

Mr. Benedict

Oh boy, Mr. Benedict… How do I say this

I find it hard to trust Mr. Benedict, unfortunately

I mean to say, I do in the sense that I know he would never hurt the kids, thanks to knowing that a) this is a children’s book series and b) the meta (tumblr) states that he is really nice and lovable and stuff, but seriously. Why do the kids trust him at first?? I probably missed something somewhere

I like to think I’m an optimistic person, but unfortunately I’m also super paranoid. The premise of “a bunch of vulnerable orphans team up with a strange old man” is just so odd to me I don’t know how to explain it

I don’t know!!! I really want to trust Mr. Benedict

One of the strengths of the show is that we get to see him more often, and thus he gets to acknowledge more often that the plan is weird and that he feels really badly for putting the kids in danger and that he’s trustworthy and genuine

But his lack of presence for most of the book just makes him into something of a specter, invisible and unknowable, speaking only in riddles from across the bay

Which is why the white knight scene is so important!! I loved that scene ;-;

Because here’s an actual emotional connection! We can actually see it happening, rather than only being told that it exists

Reynie asking for advice and receiving encouragement, in words that demonstrate that Mr. Benedict actually cares about him and worries about him and agghh

It is a federal crime that the white knight scenes were not adapted into the show

But overall this whole issue didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book at all! It’s just ->

A Funny Parallel

Okay, ready for my biggest brain, hottest take ever??

Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain…. are… the same

I mean obviously not entirely, given that one is benevolent and kind and the other is… Mr. Curtain

But seriously. Genius old man seeks out children (mainly orphans) to enact a plan. Said children often end up incredibly devoted to his cause and deeply admire him this is a little flimsy

Undoubtedly that’s intentional and is supposed to show the difference between them, like some kind of cautionary tale? “Let yourself be vulnerable and let others help you, lest you turn eeeeviiillll”

I guess that’s where the aforementioned epic contrast comes in. You get Mr. Curtain, strapped into his wheelchair and hiding behind those mirrored sunglasses, terrified (but unwilling to admit it) of ever showing the tiniest hint of vulnerability, vs. Mr. Benedict, who can let himself fall knowing that someone will catch him :’)

Anyhow I have nothing against the parallels, I just think it’s funny

The S.Q. Section

The S.Q. Quarantine Thread so it doesn’t leak out everywhere else <3

I’d like to meet the emo angstlord genius who read this book and decided to make SQ into Dr. Curtain’s son. What in the world

Okay I should probably preface this by saying that I absolutely adore both book!S.Q. and show!SQ with all my heart. Somehow, despite being a completely different character in both mediums, he has managed to be one of the best characters in either and certainly one of my favorites (besides Sticky of course) in the entire franchise, despite the fact that I’ve only read the first book/watched the show so far. I am confident in this statement.

But seriously! How?? Why?? I could probably write a whole other essay about why show!SQ is such an interesting character, and the change works so incredibly well. I’m just. Baffled

Okay, focus. book!S.Q. is such a sweetheart, oh my goodness. Like, 100% one of the most endearing characters in the book. Poor guy. I don’t even know where to start!!

He just seems to be a genuinely good guy at heart, despite being technically one of the bad guys. He’s genuinely happy for Reynie and Sticky when they became Messengers and helped Kate when she “fell” and was concerned about Constance when she looked sick and how he was in that meeting with Mr. Curtain and Martina?!!? aaahhhhghgh ;-; he just wants people to be happy TT-TT

Comparing him against literally every character at the Institute is probably what makes him so endearing tbh. When everyone else is so awful to the kids, it really makes him stand out. Like a cheerful little nightlight in the worst, most humid and rank bathroom you’ve ever been in

It’s kind of pointless to theorize about a book series that’s already concluded (I think?) but. Is the implication of S.Q.’s forgetfulness supposed to be that Mr. Curtain used him in brainsweeping experiments somehow? The timeline probably definitely absolutely doesn’t line up but like. How did he get to being a Messenger being the way he is now, given how cutthroat the process is? And then of course Mr. Curtain keeps him around as an Executive because he’s fun to mess with and presumably his loyalty. I’m very curious as to how their relationship develops in the other books, if at all. Those are probably where the seeds of the “let’s make them family” logic were planted

But wouldn’t it be hilarious if the reason we don’t know what “S.Q.” stands for in the books is that he just. Forgot

Another thing that occurred to me. Given that he and the other Executives were Messengers at some point, what were their worst fears? What is S.Q.’s worst fear?? Inquiring minds need to know

One last horrible little anecdote: I was thinking about book!S.Q. while eating breakfast, as one does, and suddenly it hit me.

I want to believe The Author Trenton Lee Stewart had the name for a character, S.Q. Pedalian, and was like, “Hm! What sort of quirky trait should this young fellow have?” Because, of course, in this style of fiction every character has to have at least one cartoonish or otherwise distinguishing trait to stand out in the minds of children. (For instance, Kate has her bucket, Sticky has his glasses, Constance is angry, and Reynie is Emmett from the Lego Movie)

Anyhow, he looks around the room, searching for inspiration. Suddenly he comes across a jumbo box of plastic wrap. Completely innocuous in design, save for one line of text. 300 SQ FT.

“…large… S.Q. …feet? THAT’S IT!” i’m sorry

Lines & Scenes I Liked

In no particular order!

Sticky quotes Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Evil combination aerobics/square dancing in the gym with the Executives

Everyone being happy at the end :’)

Everyone partying after Sticky reunites with his parents, and later finding Mr. Benedict asleep at his desk from the moment they shook hands :’’)

Literally any scene with Sticky in it

Any time Kate says “you boys” or “gosh”

[“Um, sir?” S.Q. said timidly, raising his hand. “A thought just occurred to me.” / Mr. Curtain raised his eyebrows. “That’s remarkable, S.Q. What is it?”] clown prince of my heart </3

S.Q.’s determined monologue about searching for clues after he bungled up the first time

Literally any scene with S.Q. in it (please refer to The S.Q. Section)

Reynie trying to resist the Whisperer.

[Let us begin. / First let me polish my spectacles, Reynie thought. / Let us begin. / Not without my bucket, Reynie insisted. He heard Mr. Curtain muttering behind him. / Let us begin, let us begin, let us begin. / Rules and schools are tools for fools, Reynie thought.]

NO MORE HURTIN’ WITH CURTAIN

Milligan showing up on the island!!

Remember the white knight hhhhhh

“controle”

A Super Secret Bonus Section

I would be extremely surprised if anyone read through all the way down here lol. Regardless, here’s a little acknowledgements section :D not tagging anyone since I don’t want to bother all of these people

Special shoutout to tumblr blog stonetowns for unknowingly yet singlehandedly demolishing my reluctance to read the books by posting a ton of cute quotes. Thank you for your service o7

Thanks to the two OGs that liked the post I made right before this one, for being my unwitting enablers and for sticking around despite being a) technically an internet stranger (hello!) and b) someone I haven’t spoken to irl in literal years (hey!!)

Last but not least thankz 2 my sister for putting up with me ranting about the book when I first got it and for asking about “CQ” sometimes lol. (i desperately hope you’re not reading this orz)

#the mysterious benedict society #this took me like three days to finish rip #it’s worked though! i feel less of a Mighty Need to think about this stuff constantly now #however!!! today through some conniving i have gotten the Second Book #now I’m at 3 out of 4 infinity stones. muahahaha #was going to include my villain origin story about why i like show!SQ so much but cut it for being too long and irrelevant. however #if the words jeff naomi and Sweet Dreams are Made of These mean anything to you please hit me up. it’s kind of a funny story

[zephfair]

First line game

Rules: List the first lines of the last ten (10) stories you published. Look to see any patterns you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any. Then tag some friends.

I was tagged by @thornescratch and I’m sorry it took me so long to do this! Thank you for letting me play!

How lovely are thy branches : Adam knew it happened again before he even opened his eyes. He could feel the sting of sharp needles in his palm and smell the fresh, pungent odor.

Kiss of Mistaken Identity : “All my holiday shopping is done except for you-know-who,” Gansey said, checking his tablet again with a worried sigh.

Special Delivery : Ronan was hosing himself off behind the back porch when he heard the knocking on the front door. He sputtered through a faceful of tepid water to shout “I’m out back” but he didn’t stop the water, thankful that Virginia was hot and humid even in early June.

Holiday Deals and Steals : Adam regretted every single one of his life choices that had led him here, at this very moment, to this very Target.

Will You Accept This Rose? : “I’m just really excited to be done with quarantine tomorrow and meet all the men. It’s been a long two weeks alone, but I’m sure it’s going to be worth it. Let’s do this,” Blue said into the camera and Ronan dropped a finger toward Noah to indicate to cut the sound recording as Blue finished, “and get it over with.”

An Affair to Remember : “Blue, the snake is going to pound on the door,” Calla shouted up the stairs. Blue ignored it to work on getting her overstuffed suitcase to zip closed. Although she, Gansey and Henry weren’t leaving for their road trip for a week, she was trying to figure out exactly how many clothes she could get away with taking.

Dirty, dirty dancing : Kabu came awake slowly, feeling the bed dip behind him and a familiar body slide close to his back.

Bleach AU Collection : In the beginning, there is only one deity. For when that very first life evolves, briefly lives, and ends, there is only the need for one god. There is only one belief and it is that the life will end. So he is born out of the first loss and so he is named—Death. (I kinda cheated and used the opening line of the very last fic I wrote in this collection.)

Familiarity breeds contempt (and affection) : Ichigo joined the crowd in the school’s courtyard clustered around Keigo. It was always the same whenever one of their class finally succeeded in summoning their familiar—everyone was curious and wanted to see exactly what it could do.

Happy (undead) ever afters : “I just wish you would get out more,” Tifa told him again, standing over Cloud with her hands on her hips. It was the same posture and the same lecture she'd given him so many times that he knew it by heart. Cloud sighed and put his arm over his eyes to block her out.

I, too, am a big fan of beginning in medias res but I try it on purpose to lure readers in like they’re timid tiny squirrels who don’t know if they want to read my work but I have a bagful of peanuts I will show them right up front then share slowly, one at a time, until they’re engrossed in the story. However, I’m definitely not known for my way with similes, obviously. 😂

I also love to start crack fics that feature stoic characters with a line of very overly dramatic introspection like Adam in Target on Black Friday and Cloud in my bizarre Old West AU because, honestly, it makes me laugh. And I hope it sets up the reader with the realization that this is supposed to be a humorous fic (whether or not it lives up to the threat promise) so they get an inner dialogue about how put upon the character is already and it’s only going to get worse from there.

I would LOVE for any or all of my writer mutuals to do this, so please tag me if you play! And if you have any comments/criticisms/helpful hints for me about my first lines, please tell me! I’m always happy to learn and analyze!

#my fic #ask me?

[moony-artnstuff]

Holding on where I am able

Erestor/Glorfindel x daughter!reader

Note: First official chapter is here! Thank you so much for your kind comments on the first part, it really means a lot! Like I said before, this is still a work in progress and I’m figuring things out as I go, but I’m really excited to share this. Questions, feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome, as long as it’s respectful of course!

Story: Mitzuki wakes up in a forest with no recollection of how she’d gotten there. As she’s trying to figure out where exactly she is she remembers a terrible fact:

She died.

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

She awoke to the feeling of raindrops gently falling on her face. A bone-deep chill followed, and then the pain settled in. Opening her eyes she was met with a grey sky and the thick foliage of trees. The soft drizzle created a pattering sound on the leaves, and the earth smelled of musk and petrichor. Grunting slightly, Mitzuki pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked around. She was lying on the shores of a river, the pleasant sound of flowing water blending in with the rustling of the forest. That’s strange. She didn’t remember there being a forest near when she--

When she--

Oh no...

What the hell happened to me?

Panic started to rise in her chest as Mitzuki looked down at her body. She wore a simple white dress and no shoes. There was mud caked to her hands and feet - which was not a pleasant feeling - and everything felt bruised, but there were no wounds. No indication of her bones breaking as she hit the ocean’s surface, of her body being thrown against unwavering rocks. No signs of her skin being torn open, of saltwater mixing with blood, of her lungs being crushed by the weight of merciless waves--

Nothing. This was her body, but it held no memory of it’s death. And yet--

She remembered.

‘Just breathe’, she told herself, and she let the air fill up her lungs and clear out her mind. The luxury of being able to do so again filled her with so much relief it almost made her cry. A few more breaths of the pleasant forest-smell, and she could feel her heartbeat slowing and the ringing in her ears quiet down. ‘Just breathe… what can I see?’ Once again she looked around. Aside from the occasional bush, a few flowers and many, many trees, she didn’t see anything that could help her situation, until she looked up. Big black clouds of smoke rose up from somewhere in the forest, indicating that something was burning, and where there is fire, there are people. Pulling herself up she immediately fell down again, letting out a strangled yelp.

“Damn legs...” Carefully she stood up again, and with wobbly steps made her way into the forest, following the rise of smoke.

--------------------------------------~ ( . ) ~--------------------------------------

It was a village. Or at least the remains of it. From the bush where she was hidden she saw half-burned down houses and shattered glass on the ground. Several items - was that a sword? - littered the streets and all was deathly silent. ‘How strange’, Mitzuki thought, ‘everything looks so medieval’. As quiet as she could she crept out from behind the bush and made her way down to the streets, careful not to step in any shards of broken glass and checking every corner to see if she could find people. She had to stifle a yelp when she stepped on a sharp rock, cursing under her breath as she grumbled to herself that - although she wasn’t certain whether or not she had been wearing a dress when she had drowned, she most definitely had been wearing shoes, so where had they gone off to?

Then she heard voices. A soft murmuring from a few streets further down, and as she rounded the last corner and peaked from behind the safety of a half-burned down wall, the sight she was met with made her stomach turn. There, in the middle of a square was a pile of disgusting looking creatures, with deformed limbs and black-greyish skin. The part of their eyes that should’ve been white was yellow, and the unseeing look on their horrifying faces made her skin crawl. Smoke rose from the pile, and as the stench of burned, rotten flesh hit her nostrils Mitzuki had to fight the urge to vomit. Surrounding the pile of… creatures, a small group of people were discussing something. They wore strange clothes and carried swords, and all of them had long hair braided tightly onto their heads.

‘Did I stumble across some renaissance fair?’ That would have been pretty cool though, she had always wanted to go to one. Then all of the sudden one of the men turned his head and looked her straight in the eye, making her freeze in her spot.

Shit.

The man said something to his companions, and then they all started making their way towards her with very real, very sharp looking swords in hand.

Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit--

Stumbling back and tripping over her feet in her haste, Mitzuki quickly tried to get away, but froze again when she felt her back hit something solid and alive, something that most definitely wasn’t there a minute ago. Spinning around and looking up, her gaze was met with sapphire eyes and a stern face. Before her stood an incredibly tall man, dressed in leather armor made for riding, a hand resting firmly on the pommel of his sword and a head of long braided curls that looked like they were spun of gold. He was gorgeous… but also way too close for her liking. Behind him stood a group of people who were dressed in a similar fashion, and she could hear the footsteps of the other soldiers coming closer. Before she knew it she was surrounded, pressed up against the wall and fists up in the air, ready to fight whoever decided to come closer--

-- but no one moved. Mitzuki looked back at the man she had bumped into, and saw that his previously stern face had turned into a smile (which made him look unfairly beautiful, but okay). He pressed his hand to his chest and then extended it to her, saying something that sounded like a greeting, though she could not know for sure as she didn’t understand a word of it. At her lack of response, the man raised an eyebrow though the smile never left his face, and he spoke again, slower this time. 

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Mitzuki responded, and the man looked at her confused. A soft murmur started between the soldiers surrounding them, people glancing at each other as if to ask what was going on, before they were quickly silenced by the blond man raising his hand (Mitzuki guessed he was their leader, then). Once again the man said something to her, though the words he used seemed to be of a different language, a more flowing one than the one he used before. She still couldn’t understand him, which did not improve her mood, but perhaps he could understand her if she--

“Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” At her attempt to speak German the man looked even more confused. Surely her pronunciation wasn’t that bad?

“Est-ce que tu parles français?” Once again she was only met with confusion, and people started murmuring again. In one last hopeful attempt she tried;

“Anata wa nihongo o hanasemasu ka?” Nothing. Someone stepped forward - a woman, now that she looked closer - and started conversing with the blond man, again in that flowing language she couldn’t understand. Now Mitzuki really started to panic. She woke up in a strange place with no idea how she had gotten there, then found a burned down village that looked way too medieval for the 21st century and now she was surrounded by a group of strange people playing a dress-up game, speaking in a language she couldn’t understand! They had not yet made a move to harm her but that could change any minute, so she kept her guard up, purposely ignoring the voice in her head that said that fighting a group of people who were all at least two head taller than her and carrying swords with just her bare fists was probably not going to do her any favors, but that didn’t matter.

The blond man had turned his attention back to her, and with his hands raised, palms facing her he slowly made his way over. She scowled at him, but that just made him smile. He kneeled down in front of her, patted his chest and said;

“Glorfindel.”

What??

He patted his chest again, “Im Glorfindel.” ‘Yeah buddy, I understood you the first time. It’s just your name that surprises me’, she thought, because seriously? Glorfindel? Named after one of Tolkien’s heroes? Oh wait, now he was pointing at her. Did he want to know her name?

Oh. He did.

“I-- uhm… I’m-...” Mitzuki hated how pathetic she sounded in the face of such a simple question. What is my name? She knew her name, of course, but for some reason she couldn’t get the word past her lips. Mitzuki. It felt so… distant. Like it wasn’t really hers anymore. And then the realization hit her again;

I died.

I’m not supposed to be here.

“I… I don’t know.” She did not see the look of concern that passed through the man’s eyes at the slight waver in her voice, and she barely noticed when he wrapped a cloak around her shoulders and then oh so gently pulled her along. As they joined the group the blond started to give out orders, and within a minute they were on the move, making their way out of the burned-down village and into the forest. It didn’t matter where they were going, not really.

This isn’t real. Mitzuki could feel a lump form in her throat.

 I died.

--------------------------------------~ ( . ) ~--------------------------------------

@luna-xial @tolkien-fantasy @guardianofrivendell @awkwardkindatries @aduialel @kumqu4t @trxblemaker @asraime @aduialel @legolasoftherings @miriel-estelwen​ I hope I’m not bothering any with you with tagging you again, it’s just for this chapter, but I you don’t mind reading this - you’re not obliged of course - I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback! Constructive criticism is welcome.

#Holding on where I am able #Erestor/Glorfindel #erestor/platonic!reader #glorfindel/platonic!reader #found family #lord of the rings #the hobbit #oc story #tolkien oc #moony's oc #mitzuki