#I’m. so happy I finally wrote a version of their storyline that I LIKE!!!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

seokjinsonlyone · 5 months

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First of all, I want to say thank you to you because whenever I feel sad and feel like I can't really chat with anyone about BTS stuff, I come to your blog, and it feels like a safe space where I can be a little delulu and won't be thought of as weird. For me, personally, for a delusional storyline, I created a universe where it is my "canon" universe and then I have a lot of alternate universes stemming from my canon universe (you get what I mean?) Like there is one version where my character is a kpop idol or I create my alternate universe where I have other jobs, jobs that interests me currently such as an OB/GYN or a sculptor sounds kind of cool so then I put that job for my character.

Anyway, my main character is labeled "0125" and I write this character with a romantic storyline with Jimin where 0125 just friends with junior relationship but then begins to fall for Jimin but feels like so scared to tell him because 0125 doesn’t think the relationship would work. Like she hides the feelings from him for like 4 years (because 0125 is a sucker and lots of angst ensue). Then finally after 4 years of hiding, avoiding, and denying the feelings, the climax is really 0125 confessing to Jimin of her undying love for him. But also dealing with not idealizing Jimin because a lot of the time people can become in love with the ideal version of their crush or becomes like a person similar to the boy who cried wolf like always saying we are perfect for one another; we’re going to get together but never truly does. I’m still not sure if I want JM to reject 0125 totally but I do hope that eventually JM starts to fall for 0125 but 0125 had begun to date other people so it's like a push and pull. I have thought of putting them in a semi-danger situation and having a whole drama ass scene where 0125 is trying to sacrifice their life to save Jimin (I mean, who wouldn’t) but then he is like no, you can’t die. But 0125 goes why? Why can’t I die if it means saving you? Her goal is never to make him love her but just move on from her crush by finally confessing so she can have closure. But every time she does try to close that chapter, fate or the universe pushes him and her together. I imagine that if Jimin does eventually fall for her, I feel like he would be the type of guy to fight for her and earnestly confess. But my sisters criticize the character is playing hard to get but I think that the point afterward is that 0125 plays hard to get because she is worried, he is just trying to date her because he feels bad for her. But I only wrote some fluff scenes where they go on a trip to the waterfall and officially confirm themselves as boyfriend and girlfriend with kissing. Or they are at Jimin’s house and 0125 comes out of the room, wearing Jimin’s shirt and Jimin is doing their dishes because he woke up early. She hugs him from behind and then proceeds to make out with him but then the members come into the house because of the party that Jimin was supposed to host for their get together. So, 0125 quickly breaks apart and tries to her face from shyness (because she is literally bare ass naked as she only has underwear and Jimin’s oversized shirt on) and then it’s an awkward moment of her going to get dressed and leaving while awkwardly saying goodbye to the other guys so that’s how the guys find out that they are dating. For me, I think it would be so adorable to give a back hug to Jimin because I feel like he would be very flustered but happy. Plus, I think that back hugs are so cute, and I think Jimin will like them. So yes, I write a lot of scenes of back hugs for Jimin whenever I write any scenes with him in it. But Jimin is such a hardworking guy and I think that is something that 0125 really admires about him, how he trains himself for the dance (even though he really overdoes it sometimes). But I love how big his heart is and his kind words are some of the kindest words I have ever heard. Like Jimin’s words always lift my spirit because it’s so kind, it’s almost kind of a blessing. When I hear Jimin talk about his hard times, it just feels like it would be really nice to be a support person for him, you know? Like he talks about not having friends and feeling betrayed by people who claim to be his friends, like that’s really hard to hear because the fact that he is talking about it means that he was very hurt by whatever actions that they did. I just want to write my character as a stable person who is there for him. So, this is my delulu storyline, hope you enjoyed reading it!

The only other character that I begin writing for is a my delulu storyline with Jin as seen below but it’s not fleshed out and I’m not sure what to make out of it.

0803 from my writing is an extrovert, impulsive but has a really big heart who cares a lot about people. I also think she just loves a good time and likes guy with a sense of humor so I think she would be so attracted to Jin because he has such a good sense of humor but has a strong caring nature about it if you were to pay attention (he’s more than just a guy who cracks jokes) and he has a lot of thoughts despite laughing it off. I think he’s really cool, and I admire him, he’s such a good singer too. Anyway, this character isn’t fleshed out yet, but I see that she thinks that he is handsome, but nothing comes out until they are together filming a tv show, you know like being law of the jungle that Jin was on. I think they will bond during their time together there because they are like out in the wilderness there and like they are sitting by the campfire together, having conversations…. And I love campfire scenes in film because the orange of the fire lighting the actors/actresses’ faces makes it a really intimate moment. I know he’s your bias though so wouldn’t a campfire conversation with him be fun? Just you, him, and the stars.

FIRST OF ALL THANK YOOOUUUU for leaving this lovely ask and for seeing my blog as a safe space 🫶 i really try to make it one like okay reality exists and i acknowledge this but it be fun living in your own little fantasy world like i could be out there doing drugs and having babies but instead i'm online talking about boys and putting them in fictional situations it helps me cope let a girl do what she has to LOL (and you're always welcome to bring your delusions to me i'll keep them safe <333)

NOW LETS GET INTO IT

first things first 0125 is better than me bc ain't no way imma like a man for 4 years 😭 the longest i've ever liked anyone was four months like i got a limit for the lack of progress i can take BUT that being said i've never liked anyone that was even remotely close to park jimin so i'll let her have that one and i'm rooting for her like JIMIN she's liked you for FOUR years where are you getting that kind of devotion from??????? i hope his eyes are opened and he sees the light AND I TOTALLY SUPPORT HER PLAYING HARD TO GET like if a guy don't like their partner more it just seems like the relationship doesn't work so make him work honey make him want ittttt i also am an avid supporter of the jimin back hug agenda like him nonchalantly in the kitchen only in his briefs 🥵 he'd be lucky if hugging him the only thing i do bc i know his moon phase tattoo sitting there waiting to have a stripe licked up it and ugh i see where 0125 is coming from completely like jimin is such a sweetheart and he cares so much about people and just wants them to be okay and it is such a shame that he can't always get that reciprocal energy like he deserves like when i first heard face my immediate thought was who hurt you???? lemme take care of em??? like i was ready to show them what this army do fr 😭 all in all i am very much in favor of jimin and 0125 getting the happy ending they deserve

now when it comes to jin... 0803 sounds like an enfp and i can confirm that intps and enfps get along very well so there's that and i'm sooooo into her being able to see past his comic relief character wall he's built like jin has so much depth to him and it be breaking my heart that people don't be seeing through it but also that's my man so it's okay other people don't need to see kslfkdsjf which speaking of i can't believe you turned this around on me!!!!!! you really made me think about being a campfire with jin!!!!!! like the way i would be in love with him after that is so inane bc it would definitely start off as awkward silence and then one of us would break the ice and then we'd start talking about a whole bunch of things that do not matter at all in the real world but they're actually like surface level topics that reveal deeper matters and we'd just be philosophizing and talking nonsense and gaslighting it'd be so magical i would stake serious claims on him after that like would not let anyone near him at ALL so better hope 0803 make a move before i do bc imma go to war for mine

I LOVED THIS SM THANK YOU FOR TRUSTING ME AND SHARING THIS 🫶🫰

#ask

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enhaheeseung · 2 years

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Lemme expose myself real quick I literally used to compare my works to others all the time based off of likes and comments and how they wrote their stories I was upset and even thinking of quitting this account for that very reason now that I think about it it’s literally so dumb to feel like that cause everyone is different you’re not always going to be as good as someone else and you should never compare cause I learned that I have my own style my own lane and my own supporter’s and my own ideas

With all that being said if anyone is thinking about making an account to write then do it cause you want to share your imagination with the world cause no amount of likes will matter at that point even if it’s just one person enjoying your writing then do it cause that’s where the real joy comes in sharing something you love with someone else there’s no better feeling

And even with a thousand followers my numbers and comments still fluctuate cause some posts you make reach different audiences you could get 1k likes and then 2 hundred on your next work it doesn’t mean what you wrote is bad it just means not as many people are seeing it

I’m glad I found this out early on cause if I hadn’t we wouldn’t have got such works from me like “angel” or “train ride home” and many others what I’m really trying to say is if you want to do something do it like really go for it

I started this account cause I used to read so many fanfics but none of them had the plot or storyline I wanted so in the beginning I wrote for myself but now thanks to all the support everyone is showing me I began to write for you all

It makes me happy when I make something that someone else is enjoying and even though I basically only write smut somehow it’s turned into something more than that for me there’s just this overwhelming feeling of when someone is appreciating something you made it’s indescribable really but if I had to put a name to it ultimately it makes me feel happy

Let’s just say I came a long way from the clown behavior and definitely leveled up from that goofy status lmao

I have so many great ideas and plots coming and I can’t wait to release them im finally becoming confident to be myself and open up to everyone tumblr is like my little safe place cause being an introvert is hard 🥲

So just know you’re all getting the raw uncut version of me

This is starting to get really long but I hope you’ll read through it all just remember to always enjoy what you do and never compare yourself cause to someone else you’re their favorite and this applies to life not just in writing but I’m going to let you all go I’m sure you’re all busy but if you took the time to read this thank you and I love you.🤎

I’m gonna go now and let’s continue this journey of simping for heeseung 😭😂

have a great day/night☺️

#needed to get this out #thank you all for sticking with me #I’ll hope you’ll be here till the end #I got so much more to give and this is only the beginning #stay tuned and I love you all once again 🤎#enhypen heeseung #heeseung

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shadowhunterssizzy · 2 years

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HOSAB thoughts

Just finished the book and i have a lot of thoughts so i thought i would post them here:

SPOILERS AHEAD

-I still believe CC is the most complex world Sarah has ever created. I think the worldbuilding, history and storyline is really complex and well crafted, however, something’s missing for me. I don’t know what it is but it’s not hitting as hard as her other stories, even though is good and well written.

-Bryce is a great character and so is hunt. No complaints there

-Sarah is recycling lines from previous books and changing words and even plot twists. If you’ve read the ending you’ll notice it’s similar to EoS and ACOMAF in a sense. Not saying it’s a bad thing but i got to the ending and i was like:

-Daynight stole the show for me. I love their dynamic so much already.

-While i think CC is her best work in terms of writing and world building i do believe it’s just a recycled version of her previous books with a different touch but i don’t think she’s doing anything new or revolutionary

-The famous ‘’maasverse’’ and crossover: i loved the idea many years before but i did’t like the execution. I don’t think the worlds should mingle together to the point where bryce has to spend part of the next book in Prythian for a number of reasons.. First of all i think the crossover should’ve happened in a final battle where the portals would open (like the avengers).There’s so much stuff happening in Lunathion and the ending with Hunt is concerning. Even if she writes a 2000 page book i still believe it’s unnecesary and i don’t see why bryce would spend half of it in another world with characters that have nothing to do with her story/city. I love the IC to death and i’m happy to see them but this is not what i was expecting.

-I don’t know if she did it to create hype for both CC3 and acotar but i think she’s going to be even messier with the whole ship war in this next book than in azriel’s pov ,and god knows how badly i hope i’m wrong.

-While i think aelin and her gang would appear at some point i still believe it’s unnecesary. I would rather them learning about aelin than sarah bringing her back, the girl needs a rest.

-My last point: I know sarah has been teasing the crossover for years. I know in ACOSF and CC1 we saw a lot of parallels/connections.. however, a part of me wonders if this was truly meant to happen in CC2 or if she was leaving it to CC3 but saw the ship war and decided to add the last 2 pages in the last minute. I think maybe bryce was meant to end in Hel, and then she changed her mind and went with the crossover... and then you would say: but why if there’s barely any mention of the possible ships in the next acotar books?. Well.... i disagree. We get to see azriel AGAIN. He got a pov and a big entrance in CC2. We get the famous bread and roses line and then the brycehunt pov has a similar line to the end of azriel’s pov with gwyn.. so idk what to tell you but i don’t think she wrote this randomly and thinking oh, nobody would notice this. I think the last part of HOSAB and that exclusive pov were like the end of azriel’s pov over and over again and you can’t change my mind.

And now i’m scared for CC3 because i have a feeling i won’t get what i want in that book. At all.

#hosab theory #hosab #crescent city #bryce quinlan #acotar #sjmaas #books #maasverse #crossover

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legacy-by-darkryuu · 1 year

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Remaster: Step Toward the Future, Chapter 1

Summary: Set in BTN/MFOMT/DS: Jill ("Claire") is struggling to find a goal in life after high school. After her parents boot her off to her late grandfather's farm, everything around her is never quite the same as she struggles to find herself and her future. Remastered from original 2004 release. Jill/Cliff, minor Jill/Kai, minor Jill/Gray, minor Jill/Doctor. OC/Popuri, OC/Elli.

Also available on Archive of Our Own

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Blanket Disclaimer: I don’t own Story of Seasons, Harvest Moon, or Rune Factory.

Rating: M/Adult

Author’s Note:

2023 Notes: It is DONE. It only took four years because of flipping adulthood. I can’t say it was fruitless. Along with the full rewrite of Step Toward the Future, I completed the prequel stories! Originally, when I was gung-ho writing this in the 00s-10s, I skipped around and did not actually write how some of the characters got here. Especially the kids, my God. They just popped up in Yuki, the Sophomore fanfic following Step Toward the Future. And there’s mentions of the characters but like you never meet them. It’s been weird as hell but I fixed it! All characters are now accounted for.

I will be posting for a while, there is a TON of content. I do not believe I can get into Fanfiction.net for some reason, or at least it’s not loading for me (I promise you, it could have fully closed and I’d have missed it) so it will be on Archive of Our Own and on Tumblr…once I pretty up the site. My motivation for anything lately is crap. But it’ll be on legacy-by-darkryuu at some point. I will host the ‘Classic’ version there unless otherwise specified.

It stays true to form…to a point, then, if somehow you’ve read it between 2004-2016, it goes the FF7 route and goes complete revamp. Still chaotic, still pretty nonsense but I seriously cannot reformulate this whole series by rectifying that, lol.

It’s a trifle darker than the original? Just a wee bit. And while real world chronologically, this is the first story I wrote, in the series, Nomad falls before this and may be a good read for some elements but not required. But that’s all I’ve got. Happy reading.

2019 Rewrite Notes: So, I finally decided to stop being lazy since I am working on the original six’s stories (mostly Shin’s right now) and just edit this bad boy to fit where we are now. I have like 90 different versions sitting in this folder but we’ll call this the “Forever Edit” until I edit something else into the storyline.

It’s only necessary for some unsavory things that were ‘normal’ when I was fourteen. It did kind of strike me as funny that Cliff’s ‘gentlemanliness’ is a little gross to me now. It just didn’t come off naturally. Also, while Jill was a loner and aloof in the original version, while she’s not super friendly ‘everyone is my friend!’, I don’t get the idea she’d purposefully be that way so that’s gonna be played down. Also, since Koji’s our quintessential dark child, she may still dress darkly and have a few of the original stylings but that’s gonna be rolled back a little too. And just some general cohesiveness corrections. ADDITIONALLY, I hope I can truncate this disaster to make it a more reasonable amount of chapters.

I’m going to remove the classic version from FF.Net again but you can still access it on Archive of Our Own. I know a lot of my old time readers are nostalgic and the version over there was how it was ORIGINALLY uploaded.

New time readers, welcome to the series. It’s cray. I have literally been writing this thing for fifteen years. I have slowed down due to being a full-time employed millennial so I get in where I fit in now. This story is set in 2004. It’s an AU take on the game. There will be lore and Easter eggs toward the series but overall, just take the characters and throw them into a real setting. Be forewarned, some of your favorite characters may be portrayed as unsavory but this changes (now). I hope you enjoy! Happy reading~

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Jill was lost in her own world amidst the heavy metal and moshing as she walked through the concert of one of the local bands, shoving past the riled up fans, cursing them silently under her breath. Like clockwork, again, she wasn’t in a good mood. The screaming rhythm that she had come to love wasn’t numbing her dismay at all.

She’d been tasked to take care of her great-grandfather’s farm and she was leaving tomorrow morning.

It wasn’t like her but she whined for nearly three weeks. It wasn’t what she WANTED to do…but, her parents demanded to know her alternatives. She…had none. They assured that this was something for her to do in the meantime then. She had five other brothers, but she was chosen out of all of them. Most likely because, out of all of them, she was the only one not attending college aside from the oldest who already had a career.

Mumbling lightly, she started for the exit, seeing as the concert wasn’t providing her any joy and tomorrow was going to be a long day.

And the sooner she figured out what step she had going toward her future, the sooner she got to leave.

She heard the alarm beeping, but she didn’t want to wake up. She didn’t want to go. Why was she being forced to do this? What did she, someone who’d only known the city for eighteen years, know about farming?

She picked up her alarm clock and threw it across the room, burying her face into her pillow. Whose test was this exactly? “Well, good morning, Sunshine” said a sarcastic voice. She looked to the door of her large room to see her older brother, Yagami Koji, standing there, wearing dark colored jeans and a black button up shirt, an ever loving child of darkness with dark hair and dark eyes to match. Jill sat up and grumbled, “Shut up and kill me.” He smiled gently and came further in to sit on her bed, “Princess, you know I’d go for you if mom and dad weren’t so invested in seeing you do something.” “Can’t I take time to figure that out? I just don’t know! I’m not like you or Shin, I don’t know what I want to do!” she protested, referring to their oldest brother who had a full blown career now. “And you can do that while you’re managing the farm” he said warmly, “Hell, maybe you’ll have an epiphany in like the first year then one of us will come and run it the rest of the way until it’s sold. You have to admit, Jilly, you’ve been sitting around for not days or weeks or even months, but close to a full year, doing absolutely nothing. We have super lenient parents but they do not care for idleness. You already got to see they didn’t let it fly with your twin.” Yea, she guessed she was the spoiled one now, she did think she’d get a pass. She sat up and hugged his waist, whining, “Big brother…” He stroked her long blond hair and rested his chin on top of her head, “Mmm, tell you what: how about I come and help on my next break. Sound okay?” She sighed. “I guess...”

"Psh, you guess? Can you imagine Koji actually farming?” said a snickering voice. They both looked up and Koji glared back at him. “I’d do better farming than you can, punkass.” The other oldest, Yagami Nerimaru, known amongst their family as ‘Nelly’, gave Koji a large grin and placed his left hand on his hip. He shook a spatula at them. “The nerve. And after I got up all early and crap to fix breakfast. I’m hurt.” Koji stood and rolled his eyes at Nelly, his younger less gloomy twin “How sweet of you. Did you hit your head or something?” “Bah. I can’t do anything out of the kindness of my heart?” Koji raised an eyebrow, blinking innocently “Kindness? Is there any?” Koji laughed and ran down the hallway as Nelly threw the spatula at him. He glared in the direction Koji fled, most likely having missed as Koji was master at dodging. Jill groaned. Her brothers…her stomach flopped and she winced, biting her lip as nervousness suddenly overtook her.

“What if no one there likes me?” she whispered.

“What are you talking about? Does it even matter?” Nelly questioned.

“Yea, if I have to stay there for three or more years until we sell it or someone takes it over, it kind of does” she huffed. Nelly suddenly leered, looking back down the hallway, “Oi, Koji!” Somehow, she knew what direction this was going already when Koji reappeared. Nelly glowered, “She’s gonna be in ol’ country town without our supervision and probably meeting all sorts of shmucks.” “It crossed my mind” Koji assured. Jill groaned, burying her face in her hands. Here we go. She had maybe two boyfriends in her life because these two and, to a smaller degree, her other three brothers terrified anything identifying as male away from her. Hell, they might take this from her with that option looming overhead.

“But I’m leaning that Jill’s city sensibilities aren’t gonna be swayed by some country dude” Koji added. What now? Jill gave him a look as Nelly looked dubious. “I dunno, dude, country girls are hot, why are the dudes gonna be any different?” Koji mused over this and she groaned again, “Okay, while you two decide if you’re sending bodyguards with me, leave so I can take a shower.” She went into the large bathroom in her almost suite-like room and turned on the radio to Yellowcard, an American band. Undressing and climbing into her shower, she started to wash her hair and wonder...

Did they have showers? Oh God, she was going to die.

She wandered out after several minutes and pulled on her black shirt and a pair of red pants. Heading downstairs in the Yagami mansion to the kitchen, she found some of her brothers swinging pots and pans at each other, Koji and Nelly milling in the corner, probably still discussing her supervision while all that nonsense went on around them. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Well, one pro: She was leaving some of this insanity behind.

XXX

Shin, her oldest brother, glanced at her as she gulped heavily. He was driving her to the ferry station on Hondo, the main island where she’d lived her whole life, to spirit her to this farming island. Her father, Yagami Yamada, a big-time surgeon, was supposed to but got called in to treat a patient.

Her mother also was called to surgery. Fashion surgery, that is. Apparently, there were two models on opposite spectrums in a show, one gaining weight to wear an outfit and another losing too much. Her mother, the great Yagami Dana, went to fix it so neither of them lost the opportunity.

Nelly and Koji only came to the mansion this morning to see her off from there, they had to get back to college. Somehow, she was glad as Shin was always generally the absolute calmest of all of them. She needed that right now…

Shin smiled. “You okay, sweetie?”

“Of course not” she grumbled.

He gave her a warmer smile, “You’ll be fine, imoto.”

“Yahhh, if you don’t scare the living crap out of your neighbors first” said a drowsy voice.

She glared at her own male twin, Tony. Shin cut his eyes in the rearview mirror at him. “You’re not helping, Tony.”

Tony smiled, “She knows I’m kidding. But seriously, remember, these people probably don’t even know what a CD is so you might not want to be blasting your EMO or any version of alt-rock immediately.”

She gasped at this revelation then sobbed into his shoulder. “I’m gonna die!”

Tony patted her head, “You’ll be fine, Jilly. I’m not a huge fan of this idea either but, y’know, it’s something to do while you figure shit out.”

“And who knows? Maybe you’ll find a boyfriend too” said the final, and youngest, brother in the group, Shaun.

She leered behind her, “Well, if you and Tony weren’t so busy waging war, you’d know that Koji and Nelly expressly forbid it.”

“Yeah, you better not without any of us there. Men are shit” grumbled Tony.

She glowered at him, “Even if I was capable of getting a guy to talk to me, given not one of you loons has ever allowed me to truly get the experience, I wouldn’t want some back-country hick.”

Shaun laughed, “You definitely won’t get a boyfriend with that attitude!”

“She won’t get one at all!” snapped Tony.

Shin scolded them both to silence before he smiled again, “Just try to enjoy yourself, Jill. I…also am not a great fan of you pursuing anyone at this junction but, whatever happens will happen.”

“...If you say so, Shin.”

She didn’t know. Maybe this would be the worst experience of her life.

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It…was beyond rustic. It was…almost like she time traveled. Jill wandered slowly into…a square? The streets were cobblestones. There was no pavement. There were shops, sure, but…

She was alone. All alone. She’d had five brothers and two parents her whole life, the very idea of ‘alone’ was traumatizing. But she wasn’t exactly ‘alone’. She was amongst absolute strangers. Their electric eyes gave her suspicious looks as she slowly wandered through town, down cobblestone streets, to find a grocery store. She just needed food. Everyone needed to eat, right?

She had no idea where anything was. Jill watched them whisper and raise eyebrows at her. Chills ran up and down her spine and her stomach was twirling. So this was it, huh? Going from her comfortable cozy circumstances to Judgmental Town 101? It was…it was stupid high school again and she literally just graduated. She didn’t even feel okay asking these people where the damn grocery store was.

Her lips began to twitch and before she knew it, she had stopped to sit on a bench to cry. Everyone on the street looked positively startled and started to quickly walk away from her, disturbed. Why? Did she look that scary? She cried into her hands, wishing her brothers were there to help. How could she survive when everybody judged her before they even got to know her?

She choked on sobs, rubbing her eyes. What was wrong with her? She was having a nervous breakdown for what reason? This was not the Yagami way. They just struggled and fought until things leveled out. She was not going to be the one Yagami breaking down because she couldn’t get groceries, especially given her brothers survived pretty much actual Hell.

Suddenly, a shadow came over her before someone sat down next to her. She sniveled, very startled, and looked to her side, about to glare and question what they were doing? Everyone was ignoring her or hadn’t they noticed?

But her eyes widened and she had to keep her mouth from falling open. A guy was beside her, a concerned look on his face. But that wasn’t what got her…

She didn’t think hot guys would even be here.

He had golden dirty brown hair that reached a little bit down his back, past his shoulders, pulled back in a ponytail. His eyes were bright blue and full of something warm and captivating...and he had on a black shirt and ripped jeans...

One thing was for sure: this was not the average town person she’d passed.

He tilted his head slightly to the side and finally asked, his voice soft and gentle, “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Now could she really say to this rather extremely handsome young gentleman her reason for crying like a complete idiot in the middle of town? No, she couldn’t.

Then again. “I...I can’t find the grocery store” she sobbed.

He gave her a breathtaking smile and chuckled, “That all? It’s all right. This town isn’t set up very conveniently.”

“It’s just no one would help me...” she blubbered, instantly feeling silly.

He frowned, “You’re new here, right? No one offered to show you around?”

She shook her head. Even the mayor hadn’t asked if she wanted a tour. He just ran away as soon as he showed her to the farm. The guy continued to frown for a moment then gave her another bright smile.

“Well then, allow me the honor. I am Izumi Cliff” he introduced himself, standing and putting his hand out to help her up.

Izumi…? She reached slowly toward his outstretched hand and took it. So warm. “H-hi, Izumi-san. I’m Yagami Jill. I’m going to be running the Obinata Farm. Um, sorry for the random...breakdown. It’s probably not the best way to meet someone. Rather awkward, I’d say.”

He smiled pleasantly, “Why? I have them everyday. This town is about as fun as getting a root canal.”

”Eek” she winced.

“Indeed...” he smirked, watching some snooty woman go by.

“So...you’re going to show me the grocery store?” she asked hopefully.

“I’ll do more than that! I’ll show you where the few things that exist are in this town” he said in an almost haughty manner.

She smiled shyly, “I’m honored.”

“Believe me, the honor’s all mine” he replied, bowing.

He led her back to…“Oki doki, square one.”

She didn’t feel annoyed, in fact, she fought off giggling, “Um...my farm? I kind of got down where this is.”

“Well, I’d hope you’d know your way here, I guess” he grinned.

He led her upwards and stopped in front of an old looking building with smoke looming from it. “This is the blacksmith.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Blacksmith? For what? It’s the 21st century.”

“Here, it’s like the 19th century. Four channels of television and they’re still using books. I mean, who actually reads anymore? We have the internet and fanfiction for that” he mused.

She laughed despite herself, “I mean, I do still read books but what’s the use of the blacksmith then?”

“I think he makes tools and stuff. I think. I dunno, I don’t talk to these people very often. All I know is his grandson is like, quiet Satan.”

“What?”

“Well, maybe not Satan, but quiet Lucifer” he ‘corrected’.

She laughed, surprised at herself, but very amused, “Those are like the same thing!”

“Okay, okay, he’s kind of a nice guy once you get to know him but he’s tsundere to a tee. Don’t be too off put if he says something terrible but doesn’t mean it” Cliff snickered.

She chuckled and nodded. He led her forward a bit to another house.

“This is the house of Duke and Manna. They’re like, upper class to the max but they sell wine and grape juice” he said before breaking off, musing.

“Hmm?” she questioned, sensing he had more to say.

“Well, I suggest avoiding Duke. He doesn’t like youth.”

She smirked at that, “Sounds kind of…old.”

“Yea, he’s kind of weird.” Cliff led her forward to another house. “This is Anna and Basil’s house. They’re the local botanists. They also have a daughter named Mary. She’s smart and ‘I know so much more than you, loser’ and she works in the library. Not that I really go there.”

She groaned, “I probably won’t either. I have to learn to farm. I guess I’ll be reading ‘fanfictions’ if I do have free time.”

He waved his hand, “Damn straight! And that said place is right there. The library…also known as the Legion of Doom.”

She chuckled again and he led her around the bend. “This is the mayor’s house right here...he lives with this photographer named Kano. Kano came from the mainland too. I think he said he’s from Wasaba or something.”

“Oh my God, really?” Her dad came up there, maybe he knew him.

“Yep! The mayor lets him stay here for now until I guess he finds a Ms. Mayor. I mean, the guy needs someone to keep him warm at night. He’s not exactly a looker.”

She giggled as the mayor’s appearance popped into her head. “Yea, I have never met anyone wearing a top hat not as a costume before. I thought those went out of style.”

Cliff laughed, “Yeah, I was pretty blown away when I came here too.”

So, he wasn’t from around here either and Izumi…it could be a coincidence. What made him settle in these parts? Walking up a bit to the next house, Cliff smiled. “Well, this lady is pretty nice. Her name’s Ellen and she has a granddaughter named Elli and her grandson, Stu. She makes a nice apple pie for everyone during the holidays.”

Jill smiled softly, more at the look on his face rather than what he was saying, “At least someone pleasant exists, huh?”

“Oh, they are few and in between.”

The place next door happened to be… “Here it is, as promised: The grocery store.”

She groaned and blushed, “I feel so stupid...”

“Don’t, really. This place looks like all the rest of the houses.”

She smiled at his comfort and then noticed a random girl glaring at them from the benches nearby. She was wearing a white tube top, a pair of jean hot pants and a purple vest. Her hair was blond in the front and brown in the back and she had piercing green eyes.

“Why are you hanging out in front of our store? Get lost, losers!” she snapped.

“And that would be the store owner’s lovely daughter, Karen. Don’t worry. I find her mother Sasha to be rather kind. Wonder what happened with her daughter...” Cliff remarked.

Karen glared furiously at him and he grabbed Jill’s hand, quickly dashing by. She blushed at the little contact, her heart fluttering. He released it once they were a nice distance away from the angry Karen.

“Best not taunt that one” he grinned, shaking his head, “I mean, like Grey, she’s nice, just tends to get a little irritable about her circumstances from time to time.”

Circumstances? He looked around and then pointed at a white building.

“That is the doctor’s office. Note that everyone calls him ‘The Doctor’ but his name is Dr. Ishikawa though. Really nice guy, one of my closest buddies here.”

Jill frowned, that name ringing a bell too. Dr. Ishikawa…

They rounded another corner and he pointed up a walkway. “That’s the church. They have confession and services. Y’know, stuff like that.”

She nodded and they walked up the path a little more. He frowned and blinked a little. “This is the inn slash restaurant where I stay. Here is where Doug and Ann live.”

He looked upwards for a moment, as if thinking, then laughed, “Never mind. Let us continue!”

She stared at him as he passed her then continued to follow. He showed her everywhere that day and she felt so grateful to him. They went back to the store where they got a lot of dirty looks from fellow shoppers. Great. But Cliff smiled as if he didn’t notice them.

And she did the same. She wasn’t alone right now.

They walked back to her house and she smiled at him, “Thanks so much. I’m glad I found someone in town that’s nice.”

He smiled sheepishly, “You bet. And no need to thank me. It was my pleasure.”

He then grinned, “Well, I’ll leave you to unpack and stuff. Hope to see more of you.”

She nodded and watched him walk off. Huh.

She was actually starting to look forward to this a bit more. Maybe…this was a step forward.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

End Notes: Yellowcard?! Who the hell is that?! This takes place in 2004, bruh! This was some nostalgic research here. And I am 200% going to the When We Were Young 2023 music festival! Koji, Nelly, Tony, and Shaun are the farmer from Back to Nature/More Friends of Mineral Town/DS. Just…not really. When we were kids, I played as Koji, my cousin sort of played as Nelly, my younger cousin played as Tony, and, just to be inclusive, we had one other cousin play in spirit as Shaun. Shin is the farmer from Save the Homeland/Hero of Leaf Valley. Jill is the blonde protagonist from Back to Nature: For Girls and DS Cute. I can find no real remaining evidence but, prior to “Jill”, the brunette AnWL character, ‘Claire’ was Jill. Thus, why I named her such…I don’t remember when or why the shift came. Just remember, this was written sort of before Another Wonderful Life came out (Crazy, right?). Mineral Town is way bigger in scope than it is in the game. It’ll be developed over the stories.

#story of seasons fanfiction #harvest moon fanfiction #darkryuu #writing #fanfiction #step toward the future #story of seasons #harvest moon #bokumono

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quillquiver · 3 years

Text

On SPN, Burying Your Gays, and Being Heard

I am shaking, I feel sick, I feel like I’m insane. And did I run a little wild with the theories? You bet. But you know what didn’t help? The botched clusterfuck that was this entire goddamn finale debacle. How was I supposed to believe anything they said in panels when M&G dialogue would leak saying the exact opposite? How was I supposed to grieve and move on when there was nothing from the cast and crew? Nobody said anything! And any info leaked just destabilized what we already knew or directly contradicted what we’d been told. In light of that, how was I supposed to trust anything anyone said? One rogue translator reciprocated the love confession and I was practically sold, because there were so many questions surrounding the English text that this was something good, something that logically fit, and something I wanted to hold onto.

Because they hurt me. This is about so much more than one episode or a ship; for years queer fans have seen ourselves in these characters and been told that we were crazy. That we were reading too much into it. I’m not sure how people get upset and offended when a storyline that doesn’t exist... doesn’t exist! said Guy Bee (2013). And then, after all of that, they turned around and said magnanimously, you have your version, I have mine... and that’s okay. But it’s not okay. It’s not okay, because that doesn’t erase what came before - that doesn’t erase the baiting and the gaslighting, and that invalidates everything we felt in the time leading up to that episode. It gave them an open window for all the subtext that came after. It allowed them to brush us off.

And then we got Cas’s love confession. I watched that scene about 500 times. Added to the rest of the season - to the fandom avatar being presented as successful and intelligent, to arc being the death of the author - I felt seen. Really seen, by a show that made it its mission to erase me. I had been okay with Cas dying at first because I had been sure the romance arc would carry through. I had been convinced that after everything, there was no way they would give that to us and then take it away.

But they did, because this is Supernatural. To anyone saying this is not bury your gays, I implore you to read up on the Hays Code. This link is to an amazing queer history podcast and the episode that covers it. In short, the Hays Code was a legal document that came about in 20th Century Hollywood during the puritanical war on the American entertainment industry, and it stipulated what was not allowed on screen. Not all of it was queer - there’s a whole section about kissing - but what the Code is most remembered for is that queerness was not allowed on screen. But queer people are resilient, and so they started testing the waters... and it turned out that you could in fact code queerness into a narrative, as long as it was subtextual, or as long as the queer character died/was punished, or both. The point is that the character is not allowed to live their truth openly. They are buried, either in the ground or punished in the narrative. The former is normally what we refer to these days, because the latter just doesn’t really happen anymore.

Until Supernatural.

Castiel is immediately punished for speaking his truth - and please don’t tell me he leveraged that punishment and so he had agency. Literally the only thing that could make him happy was confessing his feelings, and so the Empty deal was directly related to this idea of queerness-as-punishment. That being said, Bobo wrote a beautiful scene. Cas’s confession was a love letter to queerness and coming out... but everything that came after buried him. Castiel may have ended the series alive but he was effectively written out of the last two episodes, and that means that he actually never really got to live his truth. He was silenced by the narrative - that is punishment.

Dean is a whole other can of worms. Does one rogue translator confirm canon bi!Dean? Or do we have to read our own version of the text? The fact that we even have to ask these questions firmly places us in the realm of queerbaiting. Were the writers trying to get bi!Dean approved but were unable to? I have no idea, but queerbaiting requires proof that the writers encouraged a reading they had no intent of following through on, and we certainly don’t lack in evidence of that. Not from this writers room, but from those of previous eras. Did these writers try? They might have, but the funny thing about queerbaiting discourse is that there has never been a show to bait this long, and I’m making the call that even if you tried at the end, you baited me with half the ship and all the years that came before.

Of course, the narrative leaves open the possibility of bi!Dean so if you do read the show that way, that means Dean also falls into the bury your gays category; if you read the show this way - which many of us do - the mere suggestion that Dean Winchester was bisexual was enough to punish him. And he was punished. We’ve all written extensively on this, but he was given a random death, on a case his father never finished. All that growth, all that time spent having him accept himself, love himself, that was all taken away. He died the way he always thought he would: as a tool, in service of his father, protecting his brother. He had always believed he’d been a body to throw on the sword and in the end that’s all he was. And when he gets to Heaven? He’s also silenced. He barely speaks in the episode except to monologue during his death, and that is 100% Sam-centric. He is scared.

It was horrific to watch. I sobbed so hard my roommate was seriously concerned.

I had been fully prepared for Supernatural to end disappointingly. I had figured everything would end with a huge heaven reunion because white, straight, cis-male S&F writers love the idea of death as a reward, but instead of being disappointed I felt like I had witnessed a slaughter. Every single one of the queer themes intrinsic to the show: found family, resilience, speaking your truth... were gone. And I know we’ve talked about this too, but it bears repeating, because in doing this, in writing the queerness out of its narrative, Supernatural effectively looked every one of us queer folx in the eye and said: you are not important. You don’t matter. All of that stuff that came before is all good and well, but what really matters at the end of all things is blood family. It’s two brothers in a car. Life sucks but at least we get to die and go to paradise - real paradise, that your angel buddy died for and then made for you and who we never hear from again.

I felt insane. I felt cheated. I felt humiliated. I felt devastated. I still feel all those things, but listen to me. You have been heard. Not by Misha Collins, who is a great guy, but doesn’t get it. Not by Jensen Ackles, who is a similarly great guy, but also just doesn’t understand. And not by anyone else who worked on this show.

You know who heard you? Me. The people who follow me. The people who follow you. We saw each other, and heard each other, and we gave each other a leg up. We made memes. We wrote fic. We drew fanart. We made gifs. All for ourselves and all for each other. We broke Tumblr multiple times. We donated over $60,000 USD to multiple different causes. We got multiple hashtags trending at multiple different points, and today kept it up because we demanded answers and then we got them. There were at least 5 articles written about the show today. We made that happen. We made people listen.

Supernatural didn’t deserve me, and it didn’t deserve you. It didn’t deserve Dean. It didn’t deserve Cas. It didn’t deserve Misha and Jensen. But this show ended with a bleak, awful message and we turned around and showed them that love is loud. So what about all of this is real?

We are.

#alex talks #spngate #archived #this was very therapeutic #and i honestly don't know if i will ever be able to love something like this again #because i have been burned oh man #but this fandom is amazing #and i am proud to be a part of it #and i am not going anywhere #journaling #15x18 #15x19 #15x20 #castiel #dean winchester #destiel

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felassan · 3 years

Text

Some DA trivia and dev commentary from Twitter

There’s a lot of different tweets, so I’m just pasting and linking to the source rather than screencapping them all or making several different posts or something. Post under cut for length.

User: Was dragon age 2 your favourite in the franchise?

David Gaider: DA2 was the project where my writing team was firing on all cylinders, and they wrote like the wind- because they had to! Second draft? Pfft. Plot reviews? Pfft. I was so proud of what we all accomplished in such a brief time. I didn't think it was possible. [source] DA2 is, however, also where the goal posts kept moving. Things kept getting cut, even while we worked. I had to write that dialogue where Orsino turned even if you sided with him, because his boss battle had been cut and there was no time to fix the plot. A real WTF moment. >:( [source]

Mike Rousseau: I remember bugging that! And then being told it wasn't a bug, and being so confused. Doing QA for DA2 was an experience. Trial by fire. [source]

DG: So I think it's safe to say DA2 is my favorite entry in the DA franchise and also the sort of thing I never want to live through ever again. Mixed feelings galore. [source]

User: (I personally blame whoever it was for ruining most romance arcs in other games for me; they don't live up to Fenris's romance storyline)

DG: I wrote Fenris, so uh - me, I guess? Or maybe his cinematic designer, who put in the puppy dog eyes. [source]

User: If DA2 had just been an expansion, do you think it would have been better received? There was a lot of great stuff in there, and I think my initial dislike of it was because of the zone reuse. If it hadn't needed to be a full game, would that issue not have arisen?

DG: Hard to say. It was either going to be an over-scoped expansion or an under-scoped sequel. If it had stayed an expansion, it might never have received the resources/push it DID get. [source]

User: I'd love to visit the universe where you had an extra year or so to work on it. You did a very good job as it stands, but it definitely had rough edges. Not just the writing team either. The whole game had hit and miss moments, that just a little more dev time could have fixed.

DG: On one hand, DA2 existed to fill a hole in the release schedule. More time was never in the cards. DA2 was originally planned as an expansion! On the other, if we had more time, would we have started doing that thing where we second guess/iterate ourselves into mediocrity? [shrug emoji] [source]

Jennifer Hepler: This is what I love about DA2. Personally, I greatly prefer something that's rough and raw and sincere to something that's had all the soul polished out of it. Extra time would have helped for art and levels, but it would have lost something too. [source]

DG: Right? I think we could have used some time for peer reviews (and fewer cuts), but I think the rawness of the writing lent a certain spark that we usually polished out. [source]

JH: Definitely. I think the structure (more character-driven) and the tightness of the timeframe let each individual writer's voice really come through. Polish can be very homogenizing. [source]

DG: I should add I'm not, by any means, against iteration. Some iteration is good and necessary. The problem that BioWare often had is that we never knew when to stop. Like a goldfish, we would fill the space given to us by constantly re-iterating on things that were "good enough". [source]

Patrick Weekes: I appreciate your incredibly diplomatic use of the past tense on "had". :D [source]

User: DA2 was my gateway into the series and I’m so happy it is. I love the game the way that it is. It’s one of my favorites of all time. But I am also aware of everything that was said here. If it were remastered, do you think it would change?

DG: I'd be surprised if it was ever remastered. If it was, do you really think they'd change things? Do remasters do that? No idea. [source]

User: Both sides got undercut as I recall. Didn't that whole sequence also end with the mage leader embracing blood magic? It was very much "a plague on both your houses" moment, at least for me.

DG: Yep. Orsino was supposed to have his own version of Meredith's end battle, which only happened if you sided with the templars. That got cut, but the team still wanted to use the model we'd made for him. So... that happened. [source]

DG: I would personally say that DA2 is a fantastic game hidden under a mountain of compromises, cut corners, and tight deadlines. If you can see past all that, you'll see a fantastic game. I don't doubt, however, that it's very difficult for most to do that. [source]

PW: I love DAI with all my selfish "I worked on this" heart, but DA2's follower arcs and relationships are probably my favorite in the series. [source]

User: As I've expressed many times, I love the game, especially it's writing and characters but, for me, the most impressive aspect of it, in consideration of it's lack of time for drafts and revisions, is the 2nd act with Arishok. What amazingly complex character and fantastic duel

User: Just played it again and I have to agree. Though he is bound by the harsher tenants of the Qun, he makes valid points about free marcher society. Though it is obvious that he and Hawke will come to blows eventually, the tension builds gradually and understandably

DG: Luke did such a fantastic job with the Arishok I found myself sometimes wishing the Qunari plot had just been THE plot. [source]

User: What do you think would have changed, story wise, if you had more time for DA2?

DG: I would have taken out that thing where Meredith gets the idol. It was forced on me because she needed to be "super-powered" with red lyrium for her final battle. Being "crazy", however, robbed her side of the mage/templar argument of any legitimacy. I hated hated hated that. [source]

User: I deeply lament that there wasn't/couldn't be some sort of DA2 equivalent of Throne of Bhaal's Ascension mod.

DG: I'd have done it, if DA2 had allowed for anything but the most rudimentary of modding. ;) [source]

User: I mean, and I think I understand where you were trying, but how much legitimacy did the Templars and her as top Templar have after they're keeping the mages locked up against their will in the old slave quarters? Feel free to not reply.

DG: I think it's the kind of discussion which requires nuance, and which discussions on the Internet are not prone to. [source]

User: Was a compromise that the quest lines don’t branch? It felt like it was supposed to be that way but then you end up in the same place later regardless of what you pick. Like I hoodwinked the templars so good to help the apostates escape but in Act II they were caught anyway.

DG: I remember us having a lot more branching in the initial planning yes. Most of this got trimmed out in the first or second wave of cuts, in an effort to not cut the plots altogether. [source]

DG: "If you could Zack Snyder DA2, what would you change?" Wow. I'm willing to bet Mark or Mike (or anyone else on the team) would give very different answers than me, but it's enough to give a sober man pause, because that was THE Project of Multiple Regrets. [source] I mean, it's the most hypothetical of hypotheticals. It's never gonna happen. I wouldn't be surprised if EA considered DA2 its embarrassing red-headed stepchild. We'd also need to ignore that in many ways DA2 was as good as it was bad BECAUSE of how it was made. But that aside? [source] First, either restore the progressive changes to Kirkwall we'd planned over the passing of in-game years or reduce the time between acts to months instead of years... which, in hindsight, probably should have been done as soon as the progressive stuff was cut. [source] I'm sure you're like "get rid of repeated levels!" ...but I don't care about that. All I wanted was for Kirkwall to feel like a bigger city. Way more crowded. More alive! Fewer blood mages. [source] I'd want to restore the plot where a mage Hawke came THIS close to becoming an abomination. An entire story spent trapped in one's own head while trapped on the edge of possession. Why? Because Hawke is the only mage who apparently never struggles with this. It was a hard cut. [source]

User: I would LOVE to hear more details about this! I don’t suppose there’s any chance of a short story?

DG: I don't even remember the details of the story, sorry. There was a fight, and you caught the bad guy and then realized none of it was real and woke up idk [source]

DG: I'd want to restore all those alternate lines we cut, meaning people forget they'd met you. Or that they knew you were a mage. Or, oh god, that maybe they'd romanced you in DAO. So much carnage. [source] I'd want to restore the Act 3 plots we cut only because they were worked on too late, but which would have made the buildup to the mage/templar clash less sudden. Though I don't remember what they were, now. Some never got beyond being index cards posted on the wall. [grimace emoji] [source] As I mentioned elsewhere, I'd want to restore Orsino's end battle so he wouldn't need to turn on you even if you sided with him. And I'd want an end fight with the templars that didn't require Meredith to have red lyrium and go full Tetsuo. [source] Heck, maybe an end decision where you sided with neither the mages nor the templars. Because it certainly ended up feeling like you could brand both sides as batshit pretty legitimately, no? That was never planned, tho. No idea how to make that feel like an actual path atm. [source] Maybe an option to go "umm, Anders... what are you DOING?" 👀 [source] And, of course, a Varric romance, because Mary took that "slimy car salesman" character we'd planned and did the impossible with him. I can feel Mary glaring at me for even suggesting this, tho. [source] Lastly, the original expanded opening to the game which allowed you to spend time with Bethany and Carver BEFORE the darkspawn attacked. And, um, that's about it off the top of my head. Zack Snyder, WHAT PANDORA'S BOX HAVE YOU OPENED. [source] Shit, I remembered two more things: 1) Restore the "Varric exaggerates the heck out of the story" at the beginning of every Act, until Cassandra calls him on it. Yes, that was a thing. 2) Make DA: Exodus. Yes, I am still bitter. [source] God damn it, I meant "Make DA: Exalted March". The DA2 expansion, NOT Exodus since that was DA2's original name and makes no sense. Because the expansion ended with Varric dying, and that will always be on my "things left undone" list. [source]

User: Whaaaat?

DG: Well, you know that scene in Wrath of Khan where Spock goes into the dilithium chamber because he's a Vulcan? Well, imagine that but with Varric and red lyrium and because he's a dwarf. ;) [source]

John Epler: I distinctly remember referencing the bit from MGS4 where you crawl through the microwave corridor in the split screen, while cinematic battle rages on the other half. [source]

DG: It would have been glorious, John. Glorious. [source]

JE: I don't think I've ever been so certain what a shot should look like as I did Hawke coming in and finding Varric in the broken throne, just like when he was telling Cassandra his story. [source]

DG: It would have come full circle! Auggghh, it still kills me. [source]

User: Lord, you folks are a little too good at this.

JE: The true secret behind videogame narrative is knowing how to make yourself seem a lot more clever than you actually are. [source] 'Oh, we TOTALLY planned that.' [source]

User: Ok, this thread [the DA2 regrets thread, which is the big chunks above] but Inquisition.

DG: My regrets about Inquisition are, more or less, the normal kind. Nothing so dramatic, I'm afraid. [source]

User: You can keep your Varric romance, I want a Flemeth romance goddamnit!

DG: I would allow for one flirt option, and then a recording of Kate Mulgrew laughing for three minutes straight. [source]

User: I had a hypothesis about the repetitive caves in DA2. They're repetitive because it's Varric telling the story and he didn't consider them important. They're like sets in a play. (Okay, I really suspect it was a time/money/resources thing but I like my fake explanation better.)

DG: Hang a lampshade on it, maybe? Cassandra: "But that's the exact cave you were in last time?" Varric: "Whatever. They all look the same, I'm not THAT kind of dwarf. Can we move on?" [source]

User: that makes sense, hypothetically to make Varric romanceable and keep his arc—that had to happen for the main plot—I imagine you would have to make double the content (or more)? which would've been a tall order given the time/budget constraints the game was under

DG: Right. When it comes to "romance arc" vs. "follower story arc", we generally only had time to do one or the other. Never both. Romancing Varric would have meant not getting the story of his that you did. [source]

Mary Kirby: The one exaggeration I really, REALLY wanted, that we never got to do was Varric narrating his own death scene with Hawke weeping over him, then cutting to Cassandra's pissed off glaring at him. [source]

DG: Haha! The one I wanted was Varric's plot where he takes on the baddies single-handedly, sliding across the floor like Jet Lee, action movie-style, until finally Cassandra gets irritated and he has to admit Hawke & the rest of the party showed up to help. [source]

MK: We did that one! (He didn't do any Jet Lee moves, though.) Jepler gave him letterboxing to get The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly showdown vibes while he shot a ton of mooks single-handed. [source]

DG: Wow. Shows how much I remember. [source]

JE: I found it! I remember seeing this sequence as my treat for doing a bunch of much more challenging work. It was fun to see how far I could push our limited library of animations. [link] [source]

DG: Heh awesome. I could have sworn it was cut, honestly. I think I was even in that meeting. [source]

User: no disrespect but that’s surprising and rich of Mary “Hard in Hightown” Kirby to think DA2 shouldn’t have had a Varric romance when she wrote an entire book of Varric’s self-insert character pining over his Hawke insert character… HIH is the reason we had VHawke Summer 2018

DG: I can't *really* speak for Mary, or how she feels about it now compared to back then. I only know how she felt about it back then, and I'm not sure it was as much the concept of the romance but that Varric's entire story would be bent to "romance arc" ...a very different thing. [source]

JH: I remember pushing to have the first DLC start with Hawke having an option to ask Varric, "Did you tell Cassandra about us?" and if you picked it, Varric would answer, "Of course not, baby. I told her you were sleeping with X..." and then proceed as if you had had a full romance. [source]

DG: I still wonder how that would have gone over. x) [source]

JE: Okay, one more DA2 thing. Putting together the cinematics for this scene was a blast. [link] [source]

MK: These lines are my greatest legacy. I want "Make sure the world knows I died... at Chateau Haine!" inscribed on my tombstone. [source]

JE: I was so glad no one said 'no' to the crane shot. [source]

MK: It needs that crane shot. It's the perfect icing on that cake made from solid cheese. [source]

DG: The designers were all "we need more combat" and I think we were all "I think you underestimate just HOW interesting we can make this dinner party". [source]

JE: And finally. I think @SherylChee wrote the one-liner. I think we had a collection of like, 20. [link] [source]

Sheryl Chee: Yeah! Something like that! I remember submitted a whole bunch and Frank said you only needed one. Wish I'd kept the other fifteen. [source]

JE: A random chooser where, each time through the scene, you get a different one-liner. [source]

JE: DA2 is the project I'm the proudest of. I also absolutely get that it didn't land for a lot of people. But I don't think it's inaccurate to say that, in a lot of ways, DA2 defined my career. [source] Everyone spent a year working at their maximum ability. I was a fresh cinematic designer and was given all of Varric's content, as well as the Act 1 Finale mission. It was a lot for someone who had been doing the Cinematics thing for literally 6 months. [source] There's some stuff in there I can't look at without wincing. And there's some stuff I'm genuinely proud of. Not to mention, it was my introduction to most of the writing team. Several of whom I'm still working with today! Albeit in a different capacity [source] Also, weirdly, one of my most enduring memories of Dragon Age 2 is how much Bad Company 2 we'd play at lunch. It was a LOT. [source] Every game I've worked on has a game I played attached to it. ME2 is Borderlands. DA2 is Bad Company 2. DAI is DayZ. I, hmm. There's a progression there. I don't know how I feel about it. [source]

User: Is DA4 going to be tarkov then?

JE: I've kind of churned out of Tarkov for now. Probably Hunt Showdown, at least right now. [source]

User: I think people also don't take nuance into consideration -- like I FULLY acknowledge the flaws in my favorite games and will openly criticize them, but that doesn't mean they're not my favorite games anymore??? You can like and thing and still be critical of it.

JE: A lot of my favourite shit is deeply flawed! I acknowledge it and I think it's interesting to dissect the flaws. [source]

User: I still wish Justice was an actual character in DA2 rather than a plot point.

DG: There was a moment during DAI where we *almost* put in you running into Justice with the Grey Wardens, and he's all "Kirkwall? I never went to Kirkwall" [source]

User: Does that imply that Justice was shoehorned in to DA2?

DG: Nah, it was an in-joke where we thought it'd be fun to suggest that "Justice" was simply some demon that tricked Anders in DA2. Wooo those tricky demons! We didn't do it, though. [source]

User: [about templars] except, I don't think it had very much legitimacy to begin with. keep in mind, we interact with other characters with the same argument. The one that comes to mind is Cullen, a sane templar in power. The templar's side of the argument is inherently flawed.

DG: I don't doubt that many people agree with you, and yet people can and do argue on behalf of the templars as well. My place isn't to pick a side, but to provide evidence that players can interpret for themselves [source]

User: Can you shed some light for us on how DA was able to do multiple same-sex romance options for different genders but the Mass Effect team treated them like the plague? What process existed for your team that just wasn't their for the other tentpole franchise?

DG: Different people making the decisions, almost different cultures. I don't know what it's like now, but for many years the Mass Effect team and the Dragon Age team were almost like two different studios working within the same building. [source]

User: It truly boggles the mind. Kudos for doing demonstrably better on consistent queer representation than the ME teams. Y'all never needed us to make petitions to try to get the studio's attention and ask them to do better by us. That's the fight we're once again embroiled in now.

DG: Honestly, I don't feel like tut-tutting the Mass Effect team. They did their part, and if they were a bit later to the show than the DA team they certainly did more than almost every other game out there -- and willingly. [source]

Updates begin here

User: So what was the reason for naming Dragon age 2 "Dragon age II" and not using a subtitle?

DG: As I recall, that was purely a publisher decision. I think they wanted to avoid the impression it was an expansion. [source]

User: Is there no chance of ever remaking DA2 under better circumstances? -Somehow remove the repetitiveness of gameplay by making changes and updating the tech and adding much more to the storyline. It could almost be a new very exciting game.

DG: I'd say there's zero chance of that. Let's keep our hopes up for the next DA title instead. [source]

User: I am a little confused here, help me out here please! How exactly was the cut boss battle with Orsino supposed to work out? How it would've kept him from turning against the player?

DG: It means that, if you sided with the templars, the entire boss bottle at the end would have been against Orsino and the mages. No fight against Meredith. The end decision would have been more divergent. [source]

User: I do remember that one of the reasons going around for that, was that resources were going to the transition to Frostbite. I'm still not fully sold on that having been a good choice. I felt that more time should have been given for that transition considering it was made for FPSs

DG: We didn't transition to Frostbite until DAI. Given our time frame for DA2, I don't think we *could* have transitioned to a new engine. [source]

User: Since your talking about the what could have been for DA2. Could you say what your script was for Anthem? Cause I remember reading that you wrote the plot on that game.

DG: I created a setting for Anthem and scripted out a plot - but, as I understand it, almost none of that ended up being used. So it's a bit pointless to talk about what I'd planned, as that'd be for some completely different type of game. [source]

User: [in reference to the exchange above where DG said “Being "crazy", however, robbed her side of the mage/templar argument of any legitimacy. I hated hated hated that.” re: Meredith] except, I don't think it had very much legitimacy to begin with. keep in mind, we interact with other characters with the same argument. The one that comes to mind is Cullen, a sane templar in power. The templar's side of the argument is inherently flawed.

If I missed a tweet, got the wrong source link or included a tweet twice, feel free to let me know and I’ll correct.

Edit / Update: Post update 22nd April

#dragon age #bioware #video games #fenris #the Fenaissance #long post #longpost #cassandra pentaghast #my lady paladin #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #mass effect

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tedesquire · 2 years

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Ghostbusters II (1989) Thoughts

Short version: I really enjoyed the movie and I’m so glad they got the original cast back to reprise their roles. I wish the role of Janine had stayed a bit more similar to the character she was written to be in the first movie, but all in all I think it was great!

Ray <3

Winston <3 he looks so good in this movie?!

OH MY GOD not Ray and Winston doing birthday parties (I didn’t know that happened when I wrote “Family Man” but that is SO in character)

They’re too nice to these kids, like, I love kids, but these little shits would have been slapped in a second if they ever disrespect my babies again.

EGON <3

I love that Dana’s first response is to go to Egon, that’s adorable.

Egon’s “Oh, no”

He looks so happy watching that girl with the puppy

But not as happy as when Dana kisses him!! Get it you science whore!!

Dana telling Peter he reminds her of a game show host and then being a television host in the next movie... he was taking notes.

February 14, 2016 being the day the world is supposed to end?? I’ll count that as a win for the singles.

Elaine... sounds like she’s been through some shit. I feel so bad for her.

HAIRLESS CAT, HAIRLESS CAT, HAIRLESS CAT 😘❤️

Want to steal Peter’s outfit. Love a good turtleneck and blazer combo.

Sigourney Weaver is a QUEEN amongst vulgar men. She knows her worth. Girlboss.

Ray’s rolled up sleeves, glasses, the pipe and his sweater?!?! GOT ME ACTING UP.

Egon and Ray have paranormal experience I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me sucking their souls out of their bodies, all in the name of science, of course.

Peter tilting Ray’s chin!!! 👀👀

“Anyways glad to help, and hug.” I love him, I love him, I love him.

As a musician my body literally clenched when Peter picked up her cello.

“Baby Ticklish”

Dana: “He’s very healthy” Peter: “He’s okay” salty bitch if you had just proposed to her??

Ray with the dinosaur.

God Peter makes me so nervous in this film.

Okay, nobody panic. Just Egon and Ray wearing construction uniforms. NOBODY PANIC. Just Ray speaking in a thick accent. EVERYONE STAY CALM.

Z-ziggy?!?

YO.

Vigo’s crazy-ass Rumplestiltskin plot, okay you dramatic bitch.

Ray Panic

Peter smacking Egon like he’s fucking Mario or some shit.

Shout out to Ray’s fat ass in the harness!!! Mad cake on this man!!

Dana’s too polite. I can’t... men are awful (obviously pardoning the gang)

“I got my law degree at night school” “That’s okay Louis, we got arrested at night.”

I so badly wish Louis had one trait that I could stand.

“Kitten” man I may actually put Peter in the “awful” category.

Ray’s “Egie” ♥️ Your honor, they’re in love.

This judge should be thrown in jail, saying he would have burned them at the stake if the law didn’t prevent it?? FREAK behavior.

Musician time!! Peter’s “Do” is a Bb, Ray’s “Re” is an Eb and Egon’s “Egon” is a F! So in the key of Bb Peter’s do is an accurate pitch, while Ray is actually singing fa, and Egon’s actually singing sol!

Hearing Egon’s laugh is so genuinely joyful for me.

“Spengie” and “Egie” they’re so cute.

OMG JANINE!!! FINALLY!!!

Her style is giving me Edna Mode realness.

Louis and Janine being in the commercial and their stupid little poses 😂

These dark uniforms are... delicious.

Slimer??? What happened??? Who did this to you???

Who came up with the free balloon for kids idea?? I just wanna know!!

I can’t even talk about the mood slime, please.

Dana is such a good mother.

Peter siccing Ray’s niceness on Janosz

My expectations are so low in men I saw Peter bringing Dana flowers and almost cried.

Oof not a Louis and Janine storyline...

Egon cursing is so hot

NO RAY AND EGON CAN’T DIE IN A FIRE THEY’RE TOO SEXY.

Janine is too good for Louis. Please Dan, Harold. What was the thought behind this?

“Get your clothes off, quick” Oh Dr. Spengler I absolutely agree.

I... hate to say it. What did they do to Janine in this movie? She’s smart, witty, and loveable. She doesn’t deserve a loser like Louis. She would have more common sense. Additionally, I can’t tell if the “French bread” comment was supposed to be written as a joke or not but it’s my opinion that Janine wouldn’t fool around while babysitting, she would be focused on her job. I still love her, she’s just written a bit different in this movie compared to the last. Would still die for her.

I respect anyone else’s differing opinion though.

THEY PUT MY BABIES IN STRAIGHTJACKETS??!?!???

Egon in a short-sleeved shirt!!! EVERYONE STAY CALM.

Oscar’s little Winnie the Pooh Pj’s are so cute.

Louis is wearing Spengler’s out uniform?? Is this some role play BS?

Egon saying “Hit it, Mama” with that gravelly tone like I’m already mentally fucked up and you’re just going to say that??

Ray is so... demanding... I love it.

Virgo’s about to catch these fists for messing with my man!!!

I fully cackled at seeing the portrait.

Janosz was driving me crazy because I knew the actor but it wasn’t until the end of he movie that I recognized him as Gary Granger the camp counselor in the Addams Family Values movie!

All in all it’s a good movie! I really liked it!

#ghostbusters #ray stantz #egon spengler #winston zeddemore #peter venkman #janine melnitz #dana barrett #louis tully #mod olivia

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fuckyeahprodigalson · 3 years

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(SPOILERS)

TVLINE | Even though this episode ends with a cliffhanger, it felt — to me, at least — like it also worked as a series finale. As you wrote and produced it, were you planning the episode as a potential series ender? FEDAK | No. We were approaching it as, “What’s the most exciting way to end Season 2?” We also feel, like you do, that it is not a series finale that doesn’t work because we’ve been cancelled. It still does work… This isn’t like ALF being captured by the government before they were cancelled. It’s still a good and exciting story. SKLAVER | What COVID taught us is that you’re never sure what tomorrow is going to bring. When we knew Fox had ordered 13 episodes, we needed each one to feel like a finale. If we were only able to produce 11 episodes, then it would end with Martin in Vivian’s car, and that would be cool. If it could only be 12, then it would end with Martin and Bright on a sea boat, and that seemed like a pretty great finale. We kept pushing the bar and putting ourselves in these crazier and crazier situations. The finale really feels like we’ve earned everything that happens in that moment, but it’s pretty crazy to know, in 13 episodes, we were able to tell this story. We found it very satisfying. We have a whole Season 3 story locked and loaded, and we don’t want to stop telling this story. But we’re feeling good about how this ended on Fox. FEDAK | If you’re a network out there looking for a story, we have one. It’s ready to go. Sam and Chris will get on the phone. I feel like a rug salesman. “Come on down to Crazy Chris’s!” SKLAVER | I know. The fans are working so hard to get our show renewed. I feel like I need to do my part, as well.

TVLINE | To that end, what can you say about what was in store for Season 3? SKLAVER | Without sharing too much, it was going to be the best season of television ever produced. FEDAK | That’s true. That’s true. SKLAVER | [Laughs] No, we have a really fun Season 3 pitch. We don’t want to give too much of it away because we’re still hopeful of being able to tell that story. But Bright stabbing Martin at the end wasn’t going to make anyone’s life easier, and I think our show flourishes when all of our characters face adversity. Bright and Dani just kissed, but they’re not going to be able to get past this. Gil and Jessica are in a good place. There’s so many places that we could jump off from the ending of this season, and that’s what’s so exciting for us. FEDAK | And on a technical level, our plan was to include Michael Sheen in Season 3, so that gives you a little bit of insight into where we were going. He was definitely going to be a part of the show.

TVLINE | To what degree are conversations happening about bringing the show somewhere else? FEDAK | It’s not really Sam and I having those discussions. Those conversations are being had. I can’t speak to them, because it’s more of a studio thing. The one thing we’ll say is Warner Bros. has been an incredible advocate for the show. They’ve been great to us, and they’ve been very supportive, and they love the show. And Fox loves the show, too. The executives that bought the show and championed the show were all advocates and all gutted by the situation we’ve found ourselves in. So we’re hopeful, but it’s a studio thing now.

TVLINE | Assuming this episode does stand as the series finale, is there an interpretation of that final scene you want fans to have? Like, should we assume Martin dies in those woods? FEDAK | I like open-ended finales, but then again, I know there’s Chuck fans that still want to kill me. [Laughs] SKLAVER | Chris and I are both pleasers, as a personality trait. I would just like fans to be very happy with this finale. However they want Martin to be at the end — I know how I imagine Martin being in the end, but I don’t want to say something that makes someone less happy, you know what I mean? [Laughs] FEDAK | What a wimp. SKLAVER | No! I just want people to be happy when a son stabs his father in the gut. I hope that sparks joy for someone. [Laughs] I guess it is an open-ended finale, but I’m very happy with it, and I hope people are happy with it, as well.

TVLINE | So much of this finale centers on Martin’s capacity to change. Did either of you believe he truly could? Or did he simply want to believe he could change? SKLAVER | I’ll just say it: Even if Martin can change, he killed 23 people. And he can’t be in this world. That’s not up for debate. While the son in Bright wants to believe his father doesn’t have this darkness in him anymore, the profiler and the FBI agent knows, like Bright says, that Martin isn’t for this world. It’s not up to them to decide if Martin is allowed to be out. FEDAK | I totally disagree with Sam. [Laughs] I’d like to advocate for the serial killer in this version of the story. Can Martin change? I think the answer is kind of yes, maybe. But he is a psychopath. Michael [Sheen] had a very interesting take on this, even from the beginning of the show, which is that he can make the world what he wants it to be. It’s not like he feels tied to those 23 murders. He’s made a decision over time to say, “I’m not this person anymore.” But that doesn’t mean he can actually control it totally.

TVLINE | And a few scenes earlier, we see Martin come out of that cabin, having hurt The Woodsman, and he looks exhilarated by what he’s just done. Is that the moment when Bright realizes, “This is a lost cause”? SKLAVER | The scene before that is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting scenes we’ve ever done on our show, where Bright has to convince his father to hurt someone, when all Martin is telling us is that he doesn’t want to do that. It’s akin to forcing someone in recovery to take a drink. That scene is as consequential as what happens afterward. I’m not sure if Martin walks out of there exhilarated, in my mind, although he is in a place. He’s under a spell. But it’s a spell that, in some ways, Bright pushed him toward. There’s the reading you had, which is very valid, that this man will never change. But there’s also the reading of, “This man is in this space because I pushed him there,” and how that could affect Bright going forward is a very interesting story to me. FEDAK | You could look at that final confrontation, and Martin is so upset with his son, not only for calling the police but for getting him to hurt somebody. And you kind of understand why he’s mad! In a way, he’s been betrayed. SKLAVER | Bright wasn’t the best son. He was the best profiler. He found Jeannie Larkin and saved the girl. And that’s the problem with Bright: He’s always been a son and a profiler. And the need to save a life caused him to be a bad son, for sure.

TVLINE | Looking back on this season, was there anything else — a scene, a storyline — that you’d hoped to explore but didn’t get the chance? FEDAK | At the beginning of the season, we had a JT story that was part of our first episode, which touched upon the Black Lives Matter movement and racism inside the police force. What happened was, COVID affected the show, and whenever something would happen in regards to [production changes], we’d have to change the story, we’d have to make moves. There were parts of that story that we weren’t able to address in Season 2 that we’d hoped to get to. It was something that we had to address in a different way, with the hope that in Season 3, we’d be able to come back and give that more air and time to breathe. SKLAVER | The other thing is, toward the end of this season, we started to really love Martin out in the world — in the finale, but even in that beach house with Vivian. We’ve done a lot of episodes with Michael, and he’s always in Claremont or he’s in flashbacks. He’s always on our stage. Once we could put him out in the world — I think Michael felt it, too — it was just another version of Martin Whitly, and it’s a version that I loved. Take what you will from this, but it was something we were very interested in pushing further in Season 3, just getting Martin out of Claremont more and giving this complex character even more dimensions.

#prodigal son #prodigal son spoilers #prodigal son finale #prodigal son season 3 #chris fedak #sam sklaver #interview

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criminalmutantsins · 3 years

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Top 10 Favorite Young Justice Characters

10. Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle

Starting off the list is Blue Beetle. Young Justice introduced me to him, and I was hooked. He’s probably the most mellow and calming voice. His arc and relationship with Bart (friendship or not) were my favorite aspects of S2. They bounced off each other in every scene. I was very disappointed when Jaime and Bart were sidelined so much, and hope S4 changes this (particularly with Bart).

Jaime in the number 10 spot since he doesn’t really have much of a memorable personality. Still love him to bits though.

9. Will Harper/Red Arrow

Funny enough, I did not like Will. He was an asshole in S1; S2 kind of changed my mind about him but not enough since he didn’t appear as much. What really changed my mind was the episode “Private Security” (S3 Ep.4). I started looking back into Will’s storylines and, I have to admit, his is probably one of the best character development.

The first season had him unwillingly living a lie and betraying the people he cared for. In season 2 he was so consumed into finding the original Roy for five years, not even caring or focusing about his own life. I felt really bad for Will because he was probably going through an identity crisis and thought he couldn’t live his life without finding Arsenal. Probably felt guilty.

Seeing him living his own life and being happy with his daughter was so heartwarming. I smiled every time Will appeared in the latest season (totally ignoring the Will x Artemis fiasco), especially with Lian. I’m very proud of him.

I feel bad for putting him so low, yet I adore the next characters more.

8. Garfield Logan/Beast Boy

I have been a massive Beast Boy fan since Teen Titans so you probably can imagine how excited to see him. His origin story was unique and his brother-sister bond with M’gann was very sweet. It was pretty weird seeing how much younger Gar was than Dick, but I got used to it. I was bummed that Gar wasn’t in S2 as much; however, S3 truly made up for it.

After watching Beast Boy being a great leader in S5 of Teen Titans, I wanted a leader-like and more mature version of him. Young Justice truly delivered with Gar being the leader of the Outsiders. It’s nice to see him treated with respect rather than as a joke because that was my biggest gripe with Teen Titans. Though it was weird seeing him not crack a joke at all.

Gar’s story with his mom was heartbreaking to see. I literally cried seeing his reaction to revisiting his trauma in S2 and S3; I just wanted to hug and tell him how awesome he is. My only complaint with Gar in S3 was that the Outsiders weren’t established until near the end of the season.

His voice actor being Greg Cipes also gives him extra points (He’s a chill guy and radiates BB energy).

7. Dick Grayson/Nightwing/ Robin I

Sorry to all the hardcore Nightwing fans.

I love Dick (don’t get any ideas), but he doesn’t get enough development in the spotlight. One of the things I really wanted to see from him is his growth as a main leader, and his journey to becoming Nightwing. I was really bummed when these happened between the first two seasons.

To be honest, I don’t have as much to say about him other than straightforward qualities I enjoy about him.

1.His Voice (it’s so soothing)

2.His Personality (very charismatic)

3.Very Handsome (Probably in the top 3 my most handsome YJ Men list)

I put him higher than the others since he made a lot of contribution to the story and his new words (gotta love that aster!)

6. Megan Morse/M’gann M’orzz/Miss Martian

If I made this list during S1, M’gann would have probably been in my top 3 (maybe even No. 1), but S2 didn’t give her any brownie points.

I really liked S1 Miss Martian because of her kind heart, awkward girl next door personality. Her trouble fitting in the beginning reminded me of when I was going through a time in high school; seeing her having trouble as well helped me feel not so lonely. M’gann powers were (still are) my favorite since I am a big fan of mind-like powers. I would feel so powerful. Watching her identity crisis(?) arc was great too. I’ve had trouble feeling comfortable in my own skin as well as my social anxiety (I’m a mess) and I could understand how scared Megan was of her friends’ thoughts on her true form.

Oh boy. Season 2 basically ruined her. Learning what she would do to enemies was terrifying to see and left me wondering what happened to Miss Martian that made her step this far. What she almost did to Superboy was almost unforgivable. You do not try to manipulate with your boyfriend’s mind when you guys have an argument! Shame on you M’gann. If Superboy hadn’t forgiven you then I wouldn’t have either.

Good thing S3 somewhat redeemed her. Her kind heart was noticeable again and she refused to do that mind trick again (thank god). Very excited for the Superboy and Miss Martian wedding! Please creators, I beg of you to not skip over it. I want to cry my eyes out in happiness!

5. Kaldur’ahm/Aquaman/Aqualad

Now we’re in the top 5 with Aqualad (*ahem* Aquaman) starting it off.

Creating Kaldur was the best decision the creators ever did. I love him with all my heart!

He added diversity to the original team and was a great leader. S1 was not his breakout season, though the second season definitely was.

Kladur played the villain so well that he deserves an automatic Oscar. I never doubted that he was with the heroes, but he didn’t disappoint. My favorite part about Aqualad’s performance was when he rose from the ocean slowly like a cliché villain (he made it work), and the line he said right after he “killed” Artemis; it sent me chills. Love it!

Pretty disappointed that he didn’t appear as much in S3. Very happy that he is a part of the LGBTQ+ community and is in a happy relationship. I’m a part of the community and loved that there was finally some representation in one of my favorite shows. Even so, I have to criticize how rushed and sidelined it was. I hope Kaldur and Wyynde’s relationship gets development.

4. Kon-El/Conner Kent/Superboy

Like Will, I did not like Superboy at first. Mainly angry and volatile characters were never really my cup of tea. I do understand why he was upset and felt bad for him; I just handle anger the direct opposite as him. My love for Conner started growing around the end of S1. He was very sweet towards Miss Martian (bless him for not caring about her appearance) and his anger was in control.

Season 2 pretty much switched my opinions on him and M’gann. It was awful what M’gann almost did to him. That scene with him being so sad that what she did ruined that special bond they had almost made me cry. I wanted to give him a hug. He grew so much too since I don’t think he would have handled the whole M’gann drama as well in S1. A lot of furniture would’ve been broken.

I gotta admit something. I almost put Conner near the bottom (maybe no. 7). A comment in a poll in Amino changed my mind. I wrote a poll asking other fans who did they prefer SB or MM. At that point I said SB, though I didn’t think much of it. Someone (specifically yjfangirl) responded “Superboy has the best development in the show.” This had me thinking about how far SB has gone. In the beginning, Conner was an angry guy who felt alone and rejected by the person who he was meant to emulate. Now he is happier and living for himself rather than to be the next Superman. He’s getting married people! A little detail I noticed when rewatching S3 was Superboy mentioning to new characters that they weren’t obligated to be a hero because of their abilities. I adored this! The main reason why Superboy was created to be Superman if the original ever died, and another one of Luthor’s puppets. But he strayed from that pressuring path and is doing his own thing. Conner doesn’t want other people to feel like he did. What an absolute pure soul.

Also, yjfangirl, first I want to say Hi (*waves*)! Then say thanks for writing that comment. It made me really think about the bigger picture with SB and my love for him as grown exponentially. You probably didn’t mean to do that, but I still want to thank you. 😊

3.Wally West/Kid Flash

We’re in the elites now.

I don’t know how to explain it, I just love Wally. He makes me laugh, and his character growth was great. At first, Wally was this cocky flirt who didn’t take the hero work as seriously. That changed in “Cold-hearted,” one of my favorite episodes in the series. This was when I really started seeing more of Wally than being this dumb flirt. It was great seeing him actually caring about helping people since I believed for a long time that he wanted to be a superhero to just have powers rather than actually protect others. The regret in his eyes when he thought his impulsive behavior killed Perdita helped me see who he really was- this somewhat arrogant speedster who had a kind heart. Episodes that can make me change my perspective on characters are truly special.

I was very upset that he wasn’t in S2 a lot. I understand why since he gave up the life, but I was still bummed. Seeing him being so loving and protective towards Artemis was amazing. Spitfire is my favorite ship and I will not give up on them. All I want is a happy ending! The penultimate episode of S3 was a hint that it will happen. Watching the S2 finale was heartbreaking, I cried watching him disappear, his love for Artemis being the last things he said. Artemis’ reaction did not(I just wanted to hug her).

I have more to say, though I’m leaving it for another post. 😉

2.Bart Allen/Kid Flash II/Impulse

Picking between Bart and Wally for second place was tough. Took me a while to decide; I’ll talk about it later on.

The moment Bart made his appearance, I absolutely adored him. He is amazing and I live for his hyper, fun attitude. His arc and relationship with Jaime were my favorite aspects of S2. What can I say, their chemistry is great to see.

That scene when he was meeting the Flash family was so adorable. His excitement was infectious and spoiling his dad and aunt’s births was hilarious! I watch it occasionally whenever I need a good laugh or reason to smile.

Unlike most time travelers- at least the ones I’ve seen- Bart was very involved with what was going on and befriended his biggest enemy- evil and weirdly huge future Blue Beetle. He was pretty careful about disclosing very important information and took things very seriously. You never know if disclosing everything was the thing that brought the world to chaos.

What I found interesting was his choice on how to interact with everyone. He seemed pretty gloomy in the future, but decided to portray this cheerful, devil-may-care attitude to be more likable. I understood (still kind of do). I had terrible mental health issues and I pretended to be happy in front of loved ones because I thought they wouldn’t care about me anymore. Bart got some brownie points for that.

I was dissatisfied when his role was greatly reduced. I wanted the creators to go further with Bart by revealing his past and how it affected him. He was pretty much comedy relief. You couldn’t imagine how disappointed I was, especially with it involving my second favorite character. Season 4 better change that.

I know that you shouldn’t assume a character’s sexuality, yet I really hope Bart is gay. There needs to be more clear representation and Bart can be one of them. I’m also a Bluepulse and Bartuado shipper (fine with either one as long as Bart’s bond with each of them stays strong).

Anyway, I mentioned that I would explain why I chose Bart for 2nd place over Wally. It mostly stems from wishful thinking. I really want S4 to have Bart as a main character since I believe the future will be strong plot point in the season. Development could surely happen such as Bart opening up more about what he went through. Let all those feelings go.

I’m going to write an article on my hopes for S4 when a release date is announced. Bart and Wally will most definitely be talked about.

…..

We are finally near the end!

And my No. 1 favorite character is…

Drumroll please!

…

1.Artemis Crock/Tigress/Artemis

That’s right people!

Artemis Crock, original member of the Team and daughter of villains!

She is such an inspiration to anyone who wants to go their own past without their parents’ support.

It’s hard to describe how much I love Artemis. She’s brave, strong-willed, and a kind person. It’s crazy how great of a person she is after all the terrible things that happened to her. I look up to her because I don’t have a healthy relationship with my parents (verbal and mental abuse) and there are times I don’t feel strong enough to stand on my own. I want to carry the amount of strength Artemis has as my own.

After all that happened in S2, it was amazing to see Artemis come back to the team and train the new generation. It must have been hard to walk away from a safe, comfortable life for a chaotic, dangerous life. I admire that in everyone, but I hold more respect for Artemis since “the life” “killed” Wally. I wanted to hug her so bad.

She’s also one of the kindest people in the show, the events in S3 being the best example. When Zatanna was crying about her dad, Artemis was there to comfort her. It was so sweet! Roy and her also took in Halo and Terra like they were a part of the family; the archer treated them like the best big sister. That rainstorm scene was heartwarming to the core.

Wouldn’t Artemis be an amazing mother? Lian and her have a strong bond like a mother and daughter; I loved it, and Lian is in good hands with Roy and Artemis. Though Jade deserves a chance to be a mother. Artemis also seemed to enjoy taking care of those kids in that S1 episode. Wally too. You guys know what I’m guys insinuating. 😉

Get ready for some fanfics on that someday.

My favorite Artemis-centered episode was the second to last episode of S3. I was waiting for this episode centering around Artemis missing Wally and learning to move on. It was great yet heartbreaking. Nothing bad happened. That Will and Artemis kiss never happened. Everyone makes a mistake. No matter how terrible it was.

Anyway, seeing Artemis and Wally living their lives and having a baby gave me life, even if it was fake. It was a vision of the future. I will believe this until there is confirmation that Wally will not come back.

Did anyone else cry when Artemis was so desperate to, but Wally wouldn’t let that happen (the real Wally would do that)? They are a great example of a healthy relationship with all the love and support they have for each other. I want that.

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bluefirewrites · 3 years

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Day 1 of JATP Fanworks Appreciation Week

Hey ladies, gents, and non-binary friends,

I just want to start off by saying a huge thank you to the show and the fandom as a whole. Being a Fantom is truly unlike any other experience I’ve had, in both terms of being a fan and a fic writer.

I have written for different fandoms before and have stopped writing fics for some years, but Julie and the Phantoms grabbed me by the throat and gave me so much inspiration, inspiration I thought I lost/ left behind in high school.

This year had been very isolating and difficult for me. I struggled a lot with staying motivated and even staying hopeful for the future, and I often find myself feeling so utterly alone.

But ever since watching the show and becoming more active on Tumblr, I was able to find such an incredibly warm and supportive community and I felt less alone. I’ve met pretty amazing human beings here through the show, some I even talk to pretty much everyday.

Seeing the overwhelming support for my fics and my art has been something that always fill me with such joy when I log on everyday, and I don’t take any comment, reblog, or tagging for granted.

I’m honestly floored with how much we all talk and root for each other here. And for those who have already tagged me and listed me on their Motivation Monday posts for today, I really thank y’all from the bottom of my heart.

I had a long day of classes, so it’s finally time for me to return the favor and do some shoutouts of my own:

@captainkippen: Oh Captain, my Captain... One of the earliest fics I’ve read in this fandom were written by you. One of the fic writers that I had start to recognize by name. Your AU’s, especially ‘Love Drunk’ and ‘A Familiar Picture’ have been longtime favorites of mine. You had vision for these versions of the characters and committed to them, and we couldn’t help but fall in love them and root for them in your storylines. I bow down to your skills.

@echocharm17618: Just... you are an amazing human being. I need to put that out there first. Your soulmate fic, ‘So That’s How It Happens’,was what first brought you to my attention, as well as your constant support and comments on my fics. I enjoy talking to you about writing and I’m- damn, I really can’t find the words to properly thank you for what you’ve done for me. But I’m gonna try: thank you :)

@vicesvsvirtuesfanfic: Your more mature AU’s have me laughing and fawning over your versions of the characters. You too have been a real one since the early days of the fandom. I remember keeping up with ‘The Busker’ (or as used to be called, ‘The Busker and the Barista’) and just being glad to have something to look forward with every update. I miss ya!

@pink-flame: The pink to my blue. The flame to my fire. We’ve just started talking you and I, but I have been a fan for a while now. I remember my breath catching at the climax of ‘Feels Like I’ve Opened My Eyes Again’ and pretty much with every chapter of ‘We Found Wonderland’. I call you the ‘Master of the Buildup’, for you know how to keep us invested long enough to deliver a satisfying and powerful conclusion. You’re killing the game rn.

@thedeathdeelers: My Casper Soulmate, and the proponent for soulmates in general it seems lol. We did not talk. We did not plan it. But we both posted JATP x Casper fics on the same day, maybe within hours of each other. From then on, I’ve been hooked on your writing and your blog where you keep making such fantastic posts. Like every one is a winner. Thank you for blessing my dash every day, I always know that I’m gonna have a good time.

@pearlcaddy: Alright miss m’am, you already know how much I adore you and your work. One of the more prolific writers of our fandom, producing such hit AU series such as ‘Wizard Love’ and ‘Julie the Vampire Slayer’. Your characterizations are incredible and raw and feel so three-dimensional, really brought these lovable characters into the real world in a way that feels so natural. We reference and quote your fics all the time, that’s how famous you are, again, you know that already. Thank you for sparking this appreciation week.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Now for my Triad-

@blush-and-books: Chloe. You bitch (affectionate). You never cease to amaze me. The talent you wield... And you use it to craft the most amazing, intimate Juke fluff I’ve ever read. ‘Been Dreaming That You Feel It Too’ spoke to me and my ghost boyfriend fantasies and called me ‘single’ in just about every language under the sun. Just giving me all the damn feels. Thank you for roping me into our little Discord chat where we talk and riff everyday. I love talking in all caps with you and for making thirst presentations with you. You’re awesome and I love you.

@lydias--stiles: Ophelia, my princess. You always know how to reach into the crevices of my soul and psyche to give me exactly what would make me both scream happy expletives and cry yearning tears. Your Juke Road Trip AU, the one I never shut up about, inspired me to make my own. You write such beautiful beginnings, leaving us off with a sense of hope- something we all kind of need right now. You’re insanely talented, and for you to make quick riffs while also needing time to translate them, just makes you a legend. (As well as drinking a lot of coffee and writing out a banger in one night.) My Triad, like with Juke, y’all make me a better writer.

Now, I wish I can get in depth with just about everyone I want to thank, but I wanna shout out some other names of people who have elevated my JATP experience:

@moreflowersthanweeds @nottheleastbrave @caffeine-catastrophe @syfygirl1998 @tmp-jatp @thesunwillart @theobligatedklutz @willex-n-waffles @rainfallingfromthesky @fanfics-she-wrote @willexx @kidovna @merry-the-cookie @swanssaviour @lwhoscribbles @thesevenumbrellas @random-nerd-3 @going2xgone @lord-of-the-fried @randomfandomingwrites

If I didn’t mention you, I’m sorry, but if we talked or interacted at one point, you’re still made an impact on my experience here.

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #julie and the himbos #jatp fandom #fanworks appreciation #i love you all!!!!!!!#blue loves you

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jamestrmtx · 3 years

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT for:

The Bebop Blues - [Animal Crossing | Tom Nook x Reader]

Rewrite in Progress. Will Return on Late July 2021! (UPDATE: It's now out, and you can find it here!)

Hello (again)!

As mentioned, I've chosen to rewrite this story now that my writing style has improved and evolved to one I'm much more happy and proud of.

••• If you've read Wish Upon a Night Sky's announcement, you can skip the rest, as both this story and that one are being rewritten for similar reasons! •••

The plotline will remain the same, but the chapters will be made longer and more detailed. The story will also be divided into 3 arcs (we'd be at the 2nd one soon in terms of the current plot progression, since arc 2 would start when Tom confronts Redd -- but, since I'm now rewriting, that tense moment will probably take a bit longer to get here). In other words, this story will turn into a long fic, just like Fairytale Complex and Wish Upon a Night Sky! Updates would be weekly, and the story would flow more smoothly.

With all that being said, here are a few reasons as to why I've chosen to rewrite this story:

1. As mentioned previously, I'm much more happy and proud of my current writing style -- those who've read the old version of Fairytale Complex know what I mean with that!

2. I've been battling with my physical health for the past year and a half, so that brought a huge delay in plenty of aspects -- such as college, personal and family matters, mental health, hobbies, and all that. Now that I'm doing better, I've been slowly but surely getting back on track with everything, writing hobby included. :-)

3. In the midst of writing this story and all the others, I've come out (on the internet, not irl) as trans. Accepting that part of myself came with changes in my perspective as well as in my personal tastes, since I'm much more true to myself now.

••• Last and most silliest of all, I originally wrote this story on a whim after being sleep deprived due to final exams. I was like: "Duuude. What if I made a Tom Nook x Reader for funsies?" But then I actually fell in love with the results, so now I want to extend upon the storyline and improve it! •••

Those are the main reasons as to why this story along with a few others went into a sudden and long break.

With that being said, take care, stay safe, and see you real soon, y'all!

#tom nook x reader #animal crossing x reader #gender neutral reader #male reader #female reader #romcom #tragicomedy #slow burn #short fic #short and sweet

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life-rewritten · 3 years

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Manner of D*eath (MOD); The Little Mermaid and The Warped Prince

This is a fun one, I promise. MOD continues to be a ride with excitement, worries, and more questions to bring. But you know what after major rewatching and analysis, I have come to terms with how I think the story will go—the whole reason one; word Little Mermaid. I've written a past suspect list (here) before about who I thought the culprit is from episode 1. There's been a few changes to that, but I think I can finally guess who the culprit is that took Jane's life. And it's because of this foreshadowing with Little Mermaid. I'll explain even more. Little Mermaid not only helps me bring up my final suspects, but I also think it is a base for the romantic relationships in the show as well. So without further ado, let's dive into this analysis.

When writing my suspect list, I stated that there were many apparent hints to who the suspect is and why they could possibly do it. I didn't want to believe in my simple theory because it seemed too easy to guess and too simple to be. But after thinking about it, I also said that it's not about who's the suspect that matters but how we get to that information. The show has littered many plotlines making sure we don't feel comfortable about our feelings on who we think the suspect is. We've questioned Tan's involvement, That, Pued, The Mayor, Jane her self and others. So even though the suspect may be easy to guess I think with the way the writers and director made us go through loops slowly revealing the information and leaving some clues that can't be fully vouched for, or 100% agreed on, the reveal will still be shocking and fun to see how it unveils and ends, and there might be a forgotten person that surprises me. The issue I had with the show at first since I hate mysteries was if the plot wouldn't leave enough clues or subtext for us to understand what's going on and the reveal will be out of nowhere. But to my surprise, Jane already mentioned who killed her and why because of her mention of one book Little Mermaid. Let me explain more;

The warped Prince and the Little Mermaid

Little Mermaid, not the Disney one, the one (apparently an allegory to a gay unrequited love by the writer who is also important later for the base of the couples) where we have a depressing ending, betrayals and sacrifice. Here is a summary of that one, and the things we should focus on when reading it.

Little Mermaid is about Ariel (that's not her name in the original, but I'm going to call her that), Ariel falls in love with the prince after saving him. She is determined to be with him and lets her self be changed to human to join his world, there's a list of rules, she has to be mute, she can't return back to the human world once she takes the potion, and she must make the prince fall in love with her. She goes through a lot of pain once she takes the potion, reunites with the prince who never saw the girl who saved him but someone else, if she wins the heart of the prince she'll obtain a soul, but if he marries someone else she will die with a broken heart and dissolve into sea foam. Alright great, so you're starting to see the difference with the Disney one right? Let's keep going.

The prince begins to like being with Ariel, who is beautiful; their relationship becomes the best. Still, he does not have feelings for her romantically (I know I was shocked, why haven't I read the full story of this before. Poor Ariel she got friend-zoned) But the sad thing is the prince does love Ariel (the girl who saved him that he can't remember). He believes that the person who saved his life is a girl from the temple, the girl who found him when he woke up (sigh), so when his family tells him to marry the temple girl, the prince agrees. All of Ariel's sacrifice goes in vain. She is broken and is denoted by her sisters to eliminate the prince in vengeance to come back to the sea. However she can't do it, she loves him too much, and so she ends her self instead. Luckily the story doesn't end all too bad for Ariel; she obtains an immortal soul and goes up to heaven for her love and selflessness. The end.

You're probably wondering why on earth I had to read this out to you. But bare with me, listen to the things that you need to see:

The Little Mermaid sacrifices her self to get to the world of the prince. Her love for him makes her willing to be in pain, bleeding on her feet, stay mute, and lose her home because of him.

The prince is not in love with the little Mermaid despite her sacrifice. He loved the temple girl because he thought she was the person who saved him, and he was pressured into marriage with her by his family too. There's a love triangle.

The little Mermaid feels betrayal at the reveal of who the prince loves. She is forced to wait for death because she cannot speak or go home.

The little Mermaid is told to get revenge by her sisters and get rid of the prince. But she wants to do the right thing.

She dies for love and selflessness.

Are you seeing where I'm going with this? Let's look at Jane and how she fits this storyline.

Sacrificing her self for love;

One of the biggest reveals of the show is that Jane was in love and happy with Pued. They had been a couple that was the talk of the town until one day they weren't. Jane went through a miscarriage that got her to fall into depression. No one knew why or understood why she and Pued ended. We discover that Pued coerced Jane into selling her body to the mayor and others so that he could stay prosecutor and have power.

One, Pued is a warped version of the prince. The prince was indebted to Ariel for his life just as Pued was indebted to Jane for her acceptance to help him stay in power. Pued viewed his wealth and power as his life. Second, Jane let her self get assaulted, drugged and abused to make sure her boyfriend stayed on his throne. This is the same as the little Mermaid who lost everything of her, her tails were transformed forcefully (bleeding each time) to legs, and she had to deal with that on her own, she lost her voice, and she also lost her home. She gave up everything for the prince.

It gets worse, Jane got pregnant and was forced to bleed (see the visual?) through her legs by getting a miscarriage. Pued and her broke up then. We can assume, she wasn't okay with what happened and her depression consumed her, I think there's more to it. Just as Ariel lost her voice and right to speak (her tongue was also taken, I know right? this story is wild ), Jane was forced to keep quiet by the higher-ups and the world of Pued.

Now let's pause, Ariel had to lose her world and her home to go into the prince's. Pued's world was the same as Tan and Por; it was the mafia organisation. This probably was funded and supported by the mayor and the corruption of the justice system. The organisation put each of its members in a high position of power and status as long as they did something for them. Tan is Dam; he's a puppet as I wrote about in my past essay. He didn't mean to go into this life, but his mother wasn't alive, and his father was the one who roped him into taking care of his brother Pued. It's important to see why Tan had to hide and help Pued go into hiding. He didn't know the full details; he was told something different by Pued. I will explain what I think he thought was the reason soon. Like the little Mermaid for love, Jane joins Pued's world of corruption without knowing how deep and dangerous it was. She only notices the errors of her ways when another girl is eliminated due to mishap with the miscarriage, and that's Nat. She couldn't as a teacher stay still anymore. But it's more than that as well. Although she's a martyr, I think she also wanted revenge. Why? Let's go into point two.

2 There's a love triangle

You didn't see this one coming, did you? I mean I'm guessing people are starting to jump on the train with this. The first time we saw Jane, she was with Tan, so we assumed the love triangle was between her, Pued and Tan. This was further hinted at when Tan punches Pued because of how he grabs her and spoke to her (we didn't know). Tan protected Jane like a girlfriend, but he didn't show any signs of remorse when she was removed. He went and covered up the truth instead. Still, moments after her demise, he speaks fondly of her she and him were friends, he did care about her and did miss her despite needing to ensure why she left was hidden.

He's just a puppet under Pued's lies and instructions. The other love triangle was foreshadowing what we thought in episode 1; Tan, Bun and Jane. Bun thought Tan was straight, and in a relationship, we saw him go through remorse and sadness when he discovered the guy he wanted was already taken by his best friend. However, this love triangle isn't the reason why Jane took her life (or why she was removed because of love). There's one more we haven't seen, but it's been there. And it's upsetting and frustrating. In my first episode 1 suspect list, I wrote that Rutingwa was not to be trusted, but I was going to trust her for now because I didn't understand how she could be the one to pull Jane up the rope etc. However, I did notice her overreactions and over emotions when she walked in and saw her sisters demise. She was in the same clothes as the day before at the event. I found it odd.

The second thing I called out and remembered is the terrorising of Bun only started to happen when she ominously asked him to keep updating her on her sisters MOD, Bun had gone to her first to say the MOD wasn't sui*cide, but it was actually mu*rder. Lastly, she again showed even more interest and anger once she discovered how the cops were hiding her sisters MOD (it's a red herring she couldn't care less, I'll explain soon) and she vowed to find out what happened. In the current episodes, she showed up again determined to know what Bun knew about the case, and she claimed she didn't know about her sister's reasons for depression.

She didn't know anything about Pued and her sister's relationship just what others know. So here is where you hear it from me first; Rutingwa is the person who is the suspect. I'll explain how she did it and how she is involved. But she's the temple girl, the person who misleads the prince into thinking she saved him. If the prince is warped in the show as Pued, then the temple girl is also warped. And it's the biggest betrayal. See why I think Jane had more reasons for why she was desperate to reveal the truth. She wanted to do it for justice (selflessness of the Mermaid) but because of revenge. The prince chose a girl from his world, and I think Runtingwa is also part of the corruption ring, and she is aware of it.

3 The mermaid victim

Ariel, once she discovers the prince's betrayal at first isn't angry at him. She's just depressed, she cries and cries and waits for her demise. However, that's important to note because Jane also went through her fair share of depression. The reason why Ariel cried was because of loss of her self, and the sacrifices she made for this man, she felt stupid, heartbroken and defeated. She understood he didn't love her, but it felt like she had wasted everything for him. The reason why Jane went into depression in my theory is that she found out about Runtigwa and Pued.

Her depression stemmed from her miscarriage, but she started to want to say the truth, the reason why she stayed with Tan to be protected because she knew of her sister's betrayal. She may have found out during the period of her depression and Pued may have told her it wasn't the case, but I think what drove her the most to want to reveal the truth at first was revenge. What led to her demise was confronting both Rutingwa and Pued that same night after discovering the truth. However, she kept quiet at first because of Pued telling her not to say anything, and the higher-ups threatening her to be quiet. I believe Pued made Tan keep an eye on her (he didn't know the real reason).

4 Vengeance and Selflessness

But it's more than just the anger at the betrayal that probably made her break up with Pued. It was also the other factors. She knew what was happening to Nat and she couldn't say anything. She knew about the world of corruption and how it was taking her students and others, and she had kept quiet not because of love but because of fear, once Nat was hurt by the botched miscarriage, she couldn't stay silent anymore.

I believe she not only uncovered the betrayal of her sister which led her to more anger and determination, to tell the truth, but her sense of responsibility as a teacher made her feel it was no longer acceptable. This is her little Mermaid's choice to be selfless. Instead of choosing to hurt the .prince at first after her sadness (she didn't choose to say something because of the betrayal at the end, but she had the thought and probably started to gather evidence then), she decided to put her self in danger and unveil the truth about the corruption. (hence risking her life).

The only issue is because of love for Pued she told him what she was going to do. He didn't take it lightly and warned her not to. She realised who he really was and he lost his temper and hurt her. Remember that Ariel wants to get rid of the prince because her sisters give her that idea, just like removing the girls she cared about made Jane more determined, to tell the truth. This is why Tan came and punched him; he didn't like what his brother said or did, even if he has to be a puppet Jane was his friend. This again shows you Tan didn't know what was really going on; he had to follow orders underneath Pued begrudgingly. The reason why he thought he had to cover up Jane's MOD was because he was misled.

I won't be surprised if he knew about Runtingwa and Pued's affair and that's what he thought Jane was going to unveil and why Pued told him to keep an eye on her. He knew Pued was involved in Jane's demise, but he thought because her MOD would reveal the organisation he has to hide and protect his family, he had to keep their jobs intact. He was a puppet under orders which only started to realise the gravity of the situation once he fell for Bun.

5 D*ying for love and selflessness

So Jane, like the little Mermaid, decided to sacrifice her self and reputation. She decided to expose the higher-ups. However, on that night, she didn't expect that Pued would follow through with his warnings and come and try and convince her. Remember how I said I didn't know how Rutingwa would do all this to her sister, or where she got the strength to hang her sister? (Not that women can't be strong) it's because I think she and Pued both got rid of Jane. Now despite Pued being warped and cruel to Jane, I still think parts of him cared for her. The prince cared and felt indebted to the Mermaid; he saw her as a close friend. I don't think Pued meant to end her life. I think he went to warn her and scare her to stop like he made Tan do to Bun.

I think Rutingwa, however, is the one who convinced him to make her demise look self-inflicted (trying to avoid words is so hard but I have to use all these synonyms not to get flagged on Tumblr haha). Rutingwa knew about Jane's MOD; she was involved in it; she also came to warn her sister. She even stuck by Bun's side to ensure evidence was taken care of, to keep him quiet by snitching.

Pued went into hiding to avoid being seen as a suspect he faked his kidnap. Rutingwa could get away with hers by feigning ignorance. Now I really tried so hard to prevent a girl from being a villain in another BL, but I think Rutingwa is a brilliant villain. She has shown that she's heartless and determined to get her way if she is the villain. She's a plot twist because she's been hidden under layers and layers of other red herrings as we uncover the plot, and she and Pued hardly interact. When she feigned her ignorance about her sister's condition, it made sense to us seeing her fight for the police to expose her sisters MOD, but that's because she knew he was one of the corrupted people involved. They had planned to get Bun of their case. To make her self seem innocent. It's fantastic.

The most obvious clue is that she is the closest person to the victim, just like Bun said in episode 1; it's always the ones closest to the victims that are the suspect, he just didn't deep how close it was, he was right it was her boyfriend, but it also was her sister who was putting on a show, in clothes she wore the night before and was acting naive about her sister's depression and spiral to her demise. Rutingwa is someone to keep an eye on. She'll go to lengths to be seen as innocent, and I think she's the main head of this, not Pued. Pued is just as Jane said spineless and weak, he's just spoilt and wanted to stay in power, he didn't care about Jane enough because he was in love with Rutingwa and they both sacrificed her to let him stay in his position and she in hers as his lover. It's messed up, but hey it's a brilliant plot.

To Love or Not to Love: Little Mermaid a foreshadowing device for the couples

So that's the first way the little Mermaid is connected to the foreshadowing of the plot. The second is the base of the romantic couples.

Two worlds apart; the little Mermaid and the prince are prevented from being together because of separate worlds until she joins him sacrificing her self and voice and then life for him to be there.

To k*ill or not to k*ill. After discovering his betrayal, the Mermaid has to choose to save herself, go back to her world, or leave for love. She decides to sacrifice her life for love.

Misunderstandings and Regrets: The prince misunderstood the temple girl as his saviour he couldn't move on from that mindset, and so he didn't let himself love Ariel. Until the end, he never knew Ariel was the one he truly loved.

Two worlds apart: Justice vs Corruption

As you can see, one of the themes of the love stories with everyone who is in a romantic relationship on the show (not the subtext ones) is being two worlds apart. Let me explain.

Jane is torn by her ethics as a teacher vs her love for Pued, and she chooses to sacrifice her self to get to his world and be with him.

Bun is torn by his morals as a pathologist and determination for justice ( due to past experiences with the police) vs his love for Tan who is part of an organisation that does crime and is linked to corruption. He sacrifices his suspicions and fears to get to his world and be with him despite being afraid he could be just like the people he hates.

Sorowit is torn by his innocence and also determination for justice to his friends vs his blooming love for Tat who is connected to violence and the corruption ring that hurts him. He sacrifices his worries and resentments (because Tat even injured him when they first interacted for his friend) to get to his world and be with him.

In all these love stories, the characters end up unveiling a betrayal, which makes them feel used with wasted hearts and love because their love was never real. In my theory, Jane discovers that Pued is not just spineless and heartless, but he also didn't love her, he loved her sister, and before she could do what was right she was eliminated.

Bun has to come to terms that Tan may be the suspect and has lied and used him just to hide the evidence and the truth. Their love was never real, and he wasted his trust and heart on him. Sorowit will also come to the same terms when he discovers that Tat may be working for someone who knew about the corruption that is affecting all his close friends and Jane. (Nam, Nat, Jane). He also would force himself to question if Tat has a heart because of how cruel he can be. Bun is the person to warn him about Tat.

Whilst Pued is warped prince, That and Tan are puppets forced to follow orders of an organisation that they can't escape. Without meaning, they both fall in love with Bun and Sorowit despite the danger and the fact that they're meant to stay emotionless and unfeeling since all they can do is be loyal to the organisation to remain taken care of. Tan has had no choice in the matter, and because Tat works for him, he also didn't have a choice and was probably forced into it at a young age.

2 To maim or not to maim.

The issue is that all couples had entered a dangerous situation, in order for one of them to survive in their world; one must be removed. For Jane, to return back to her world of responsibility and justice, Pued has to be exposed, and his reputation had to be ruined. If she told the truth, the whole town would be ruined. It had to be a decision between her and him and the rest. She chose to go to him selflessly, and he decided that she was the one that had to go.

This is why it's a sad foreshadowing at some point Tan will have to make the same choice. Bun's life or His. And Bun will have to do the same after discovering the truth. They are both in a situation where one of them can't survive if the other does. If Tan survives, the organisation survives, the higher-ups win and the town is not ruined. But Bun is silenced. If Bun survives, Tan will be hurt and taken care of by the higher-ups and framed. Tat and Sorowit are the same. Sorowit's curiosity has got him involved in this too, the more he knows and stays with Tat the more his life is also in danger, the more Tat would also have to follow orders to get rid of him. Sorowit has to decide like Bun if he can sacrifice Tat for the truth to be revealed. In Little Mermaid, you know what path she chooses, she chooses love. Bun and Tan will choose love; what that means? I don't know, Tat and Sorowit are the same.

Misunderstandings and Regrets

That's why we're in a sad predicament. Right now, the misunderstanding and lack of recognising Tat and Tan's innocence is going to drive a wedge in the relationship and case. Bun will believe Tan is the suspect, and Tat was the one who threatened Bun. They're both going to get framed. Just like little Mermaid was framed in the opposite as not the person who saved the prince. There's a lack of clarity happening at this time that could lead to fatal consequences; unfortunately, same as what happened with the prince and the Mermaid. For Pued and Jane, I wonder if Rutingwa framed her, could Rutingwa have been the person to make Pued stop loving her or trusting her? I don't know how, but like I said, she seems to be the strongest and scariest villain/suspect. She does what she wants to get what she wants.

Could Pued have loved and cared about Jane the way the Prince cared about Ariel and the girl who saved him but somehow got lack of clarity on who she was in his life? Did Rutingwa seem more like the better person to help save his life and career? If she's involved in the corruption ring then yes. She probably seemed like a better wife or choice. But again Pued is the warped prince, Tan and Tat aren't. Their love is genuine and authentic. Bun and Sorowit will later come to terms with that, and choose to be the ones that sacrifice everything for them I believe just like the Mermaid did. Luckily the little Mermaid may not be a happy ending for Jane in the way she wanted, but it is a happy ending in the tale. She is rewarded for her love and selflessness. Jane's reward is the truth getting uncovered by Bun. Saving more girls from the situation she was in. I also believe Tan and Bun whoever sacrifices would be rewarded, I believe this will have a happy ending, but that's just me. They'll reunite at the end, finally unveiling the real villains and surviving. That's what I believe.

So Manner of Death is about to become my favourite just from seeing the next episodes unfold. I could be wrong about this, but I don't see how yet, there are so many clues hinting to Runtingwa as the badass villain she is, as much as I hate girl hate, I commend her on her villainy, she's stone-cold, if she is, she doesn't mess around, and I like seeing flawed women sometimes. I just want her to be the head of the whole thing, not just doing this because of love for Pued. But because of power and greed and determination to have a good reputation. I want her to be more cunning and stronger than Pued as a villain, even if he's the person who did it, I want her to be the one who suggested it. I don't know sometimes I like seeing women in this role, she's not an ex-girlfriend of the Bl couple who is determined to ruin them, she's not even the villain because of jealousy Pued wants Jane, she's doing it for power and reputation. Like Yes, you show how evil you are, and you own it. She'll be a great villain if she is as cunning as I think she is. Pued in my mind is a wimp, even if he hurt Jane, I don't think he meant to do it. But we'll see how cruel he can be.

I know the mayor, and police detective could be the ones, but with their reveal now, I don't think Jane was tricked or eliminated by them, they are red herrings to the story. Disgusting corrupted people who have power and control, but it's a puppet who did it because of fear. It's Pued. But maybe I'm wrong, and it is them, it wouldn't make sense with the foreshadowing of d*ying for love. They didn't eliminate Nat; she was eliminated because of the botched miscarriage, that's what I believe anyways. Let me know what you think? Any other suspects I'm missing? You can check out my other analysis of the show in my masterpost. Let’s discuss about the show.

#manner of death #thai bl #bl series #bl drama #maxtul #tan x bun #tanbunn #cwg #fvete #january

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verobatto · 3 years

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Destiel Chronicles

Vol. CXXV

It was a love story from the very beginning

Loudly In Love

(14x10/14x11/14x12)

Hello my friends! After Purgatory we have a cute and dummy sweet Dean-bean in love with Castiel. As we'll see int this meta summary.

You can find the links to my metas from these episodes following this links: X, X, X, X, X, X, X, X, X, X, X, X, and X.

There's something in my throat

At the beginning of episode 15x10 we can read a shop's named BERENS' KWICK TRAP.

This takes another symbology now, with the horrible ending of the show. In which we could say Berens settle a trap to the C*W and he gave us 15x18 Castiel's love confession anyway.

Before talking about Dean's mating tap dance, let's talk about Dean vomiting again. Because it's relevant again, due to the shitty ending and how C*W silenced him.

Throughout the whole season 15, we had vomits, gagging situations. And in this episode we had two important scenes related to this symbolism:

One was Dean literally vomiting, and the second was Dean datin: "I HAVE SOMETHING IN MY THROAT"

Gif credit @agusvedder

What had Dean stuck in his throat? Maybe the ILY TOO to Castiel that never happened. But writers gave it it's relevance by writing it like this.

Maybe they were trying to day we will never have it.

They silenced him, for real.

Baby Castiel and Color Symbolism

I wrote this in one of my metas...

Baby Sam was dressed with a yellow ascot. Accurate. And Baby Castiel was dressed in blue. Accurate too.

Bess was dressed, and pay attention to this..., She was in pink (happiness) green (Dean) and light blue (purity)... She said to Dean that Cas was looking at him with love. Right? The happiness and purity in Dean was telling him Castiel looks at him with love in his eyes! Now... Dean said Cas baby kept looking at him weird. And Sam (who knows) said JUST LIKE CAS DOES.

And then Castiel's eyes glowed and Dean said... I think he has something for you to Bess (symbolically representing Dean's happiness and purity) GOSH IT WAS PERFECT!

This is something too cute, because finally, they talked about the Destiel eye-love-making and the fan-service with some SAMMY KNOWS.

Gifset credit @subbydean

Another important reference was Garth. When he went to rescue the boys, Garth was playing Castiel's mirror. And when Garth breaks that lock (Just like Castiel will do in the incoming episode) But mostly because Dean's reaction to it was priceless!

DEAN: You're so strong! He's so strong!

This is, literally, what Dean thinks about Castiel everytime he's in BAMF mode.

Numbers

Just a brief travel through the repeated numbers in the narrative in this episode (you can find the extended version of this in the links I put in the top of this meta)

Basically, we had number 7, 5, 17 and 40 repeating in the dialogues and the visual narrative. Some examples of that are the following scenes...

The Beren' kwick trap had a poster naming "7 days per week", then this one...

Dean eating 7 pieces of cheese.

Biblically talking, number 7 is the perfect number, represents God and knowledge. And it talks about Chuck then, knowing Chuck is writing this. But it also is what it means KNOWLEDGE.

Now, number 5...

Also at Garth's house, the address said 75

In numerology talks about socialize, and self-knowledge in masculinity and sexuality... Hello Dean!

But number 5 also represents in Bible the grace God concedes to David to defeat Goliath, the giant, written on the first book of SAMUEL (yes, Samuel) chapter 17.

Gif credit @agusvedder

17 means HOPES,it's what TFW keeps alive go defeat Chuck.

Now, number 40...

GARTH: Yeah, better than I ever thought I’d get. I mean, hunting – I figured I’d be dead before I’m 40. You know, go out young and pretty. But now I’ve got a great wife, great kids. I guess...sometimes things work out.

Putting to a side these had been also Dean's old thoughts... writers really got me here...

40 years old, but 40 is a common biblical number that talks about self-knowledge and growth. It talks about CHANGES. So so accurate with Dean and that caterpillar/butterfly wall in episode 15x04.

I really thought back then we will have the huge change in Dean through his love confession to Castiel. I mean, we had a change in his own way to see himself, thanks to Castiel. Let's keep that as a consolation prize.

An ABO fic plus Mating Dance

This episode had an ABO fic hudden as it also had the learning lesson about MATING FOR LIFE.

The visual narrative and the dialogues pointed at it.

Garth hugging g Dean as he said: YOU SMELL GOOD, remember Garth is a werewolf, and he was smelling Dean's pheromones because this episode happened after Purgatory, Dean is facing the knowledge about his romantic love for the angel, and it shows.

The swan's statues in one of the rooms in Garth house. Swans are birds that mate for life, and males swans can mate with another males for life. Hello Destiel. (Also, the room where these statues were placed was color BLUE)

The tap dancing and the suggestive lyrics of 'Let's Misbehave' was perfectly settled as a mating dancing I'm which Dean invited Castiel (the lamp) to Misbehave with him. Showing us that there's not just sweet and innocent love in Dean's heart but also a passionate fire and a desire to make love with him. That's what the song says, and that's why Garth mentioned colonoscopy, as a medical tool to health control, because cavities are related to Colon Cancer.

The wolf puppy is back

And following the same topic about ABO, the scene in which Jack is back with his family was similar (if not the same) as a wolf pack behavior documental.

Dean checks on Jack's eyes and immediately after that he checks on his pack mate, Castiel, to see if Jack is Jack. Beautiful

Gifset credit @thelordoftherings

Bi!Dean and Tolstoy

There's more info in my links at the top, but let's see why Dean called himself "Tolstoy" in that bar in front of that greek goddess in episode 14x11.

Okay, we had the singer from 'Let's Misbehave' (Cole Porter) a queer man, and now we have Tolstoy, a bisexual man...

DEAN: I'm Tolstoy

So much love

I will only speak about this scene:

Gif credit @agusvedder

There's more analysis about the dialogue here related to the storyline about Chuck, Jack and TFW. But because these are the Destiel Chronicles, I know I have to talk about this particularly Destiel heart eyes scene.

Because Dean is loud, his eyes and his face, he is yelling how proud he feels about Castiel, but it also, the ways his eyes just lingered to him, full of love, it's perfect, and no one can tell me these are not two men in love.

Look at how Csstiel turns his face to him, with a small smile, trying to hide his joy for being praised by the man he loves and also for share this moment with him. And the feels are of an old married couple that still love each other so much.

I just wanted to finish this meta with this "Good Omens" like scene.

To Conclude:

Dean reaffirmed he is in love with Castiel, and he wants to spend his life with him, as a couple. He loves the angel romantically, and he also desires Castiel with passion.

We also had several confirmations of Bi!Dean and some fan service with Sammy knows.

Hope you like this meta, see you in the next one.

Tagging @magnificent-winged-beast @emblue-sparks @weird-dorky-little-d @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @dea-stiel @poorreputation @bre95611 @thewolfathedoor @charlottemanchmal @neii3n @deathswaywardson @followyourenergy @dean-is-bi-till-i-die @hekatelilith-blog @avidbkwrm @anarchiana @dickpuncher365 @vampyrosa @authorsararayne @mybonsai1976 @love-neve-dies @dustythewind @wayward-winchester67 @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @deeutdutdutdoh @destiel-shipper-11 @larrem88 @charmedbycastiel @ran-savant @little-crazy-misha-minion @samoosetheshipper

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @nerditoutwithbooks @mikennacac73 @justmeand-myinsight @idontwantpeopletoknowmyname @teddybeardoctor @pepevons @helevetica @dizzypinwheel @horsez2002 @qanelyytha

@destielle @spnsmile @shippsblog @robot-feels @superlock-in-the-tardis @superduckbatrebel @belacoded @madronasky @anon-non2 @cea1996 @lisafu02 @asphodelesauvage @deancasgirl777

If you want to be added or removed from this list, just let me know.

If you wanna read the previous metas from this season, here you have the links:

Vol. CXXI, CXXII, CXXIII, CXXIV.

#destiel #destiel chronicles #destiel meta #supernatural meta #season 15 meta

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carynsilver · 3 years

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Favorite Fics: Malex Edition

It’s a new year (quite definitively at this point), and a new set of fic recs. Just my small way of saying thank you to the writers who have made the past year, with all its challenges, a little better for me personally. Without the escape of reading, I don’t think I would’ve gotten through the past eleven months, so thank all of y’all for creating (now and in the past) and for sharing your work. You do it for free, and it’s amazing stuff.

If you’re interested, I previously shared my top 10 Stucky, Drarry, Stony, and Darcy Lewis (Wintershock, Shieldshock, and Tasertricks, mostly) fic lists. Today, I’ve finally decided on my top 10 Maxlex fics. So, in no particular order...

my love is a life taker by @jocarthage

If I were making a top 10 fics of all time list, this story would be on it. The breadth and scope of it is truly amazing, as is the writing. There’s world-fixing time travel and an interesting take on our favorite aliens and what could’ve been. Alex as a time agent is both so tragic and also so strong as he begins his journey of self discovery. He’s such an unreliable narrator, and yet also can clearly see so many things. Watching Michael’s growth through the years is just as fascinating as watching Alex travel through time. And it’s juxtaposed with the present so well. This Alex and Michael learn to communicate as they learn about themselves. And the story also taught me a ton about the Middle East and various historical events. I really love this story, and you should definitely read it right now if you haven’t yet.

To Trust Love by @laughsalot3412

This fic is amazing. It takes hurt/comfort to the nth degree. Michael, Isobel, and Max are the only remaining prisoners/subjects in Project Shepherd, and Alex (with the help of Liz, Kyle, and Maria) goes under cover as a guard to get them out. But to do so, first he has to gain their trust--an almost impossible test. The tweaks to the alien abilities and the handprint are interesting. Jesse Manes, as always, is absolutely horrible. But good wins in the end, and the boys are able to figure things out despite the mistakes they make along the way. I mean, trigger warnings for so much in a prison fic with Jesse Manes in it, but it is an awesome story. This author only wrote one RNM fic, but it’s a great one.

From Iraq, with Love by @adiwriting

Alex leaves for basic no way to contact Michael, so he reaches out to him via a YouTube channel. Alex writes years and years’ worth of love songs, hoping maybe Michael will see them and get in touch. The scene when Michael finally sees them is a gut punch in the best way, and the end is so satisfying. A truly excellent story, and I love how music from the heart eases their way into real communication--because, man, that is what these poor boys need.

unexpected tidings by @bestillmyslashyheart

The Vegas fic! Actually, that is not what this fic is about. There is only one scene set in Vegas, and yet that was the one I remembered when I was trying to find the fic again, lol. In this AU, Michael was never reunited with his siblings in Roswell, but he and Alex meet after Alex enlists. They meet three different times in three different states, and eventually fall in love. Then Alex has to come home to Roswell and take care of this little alien problem so his boyfriend can be safe from the horror that is Jesse Manes. One of the best things about this story is the past/present narrative structure. Only a really good writer can tell a successful story out of chronological order, and @bestillmyslashyheart really succeeds. Check out her other work, as well, such as A Simple Life (but with aliens).

Shadow Work by @myrmidryad

This fic has stellar world building. Alex and Michael are shades--people who work banishing hauntings, curses, etc. The scientific way the supernatural elements are approached is so interesting, as well as the different ways humans and aliens perceive them. Alex is a total unreliable narrator just because of how the haunt is affecting him, but he still gets the job done. This is a world you can just sink into. Totally immersive, and yet it works so well with the alien mythology we already have. And the conclusion to the haunt mystery is so satisfying. Such a great story!

Lovin’ you is a gift tonight (Lovin’ you for all of my life) by @bellakitse

Michael turned his cheek when Alex tried to kiss him, and then Alex and Rosa ran off to NYC before anything else could happen. Michael thinks of Alex as the one who got away, and then he runs into him when he’s stuck at the airport in Denver, trying to get home to Roswell for Christmas. Their reunion in the airport is fluffy and amazing, just a pleasure to read. And then they end up back in Roswell and all the other stuff comes into play in a really satisfying, let’s-deal-with-it-as-adults-instead-of-children kind of way. Ah, so good!

scream in there by thepredatorywasp

I’ll be honest, this one starts a little rough emotionally, but man, Alex and Michael really earn their happily ever after here. It is worth it. And then we get River! I enjoy a good kid!fic, and River the little alien found in a pod who gloms onto Alex and never lets go is amazing! River is my favorite kiddo that I’ve ever read in a Malex story.

truth (to the people we love) by @lambourngb

This is probably the shortest fic on my rec list. I am biased toward the long ones, I know. But man this one packs a punch. Alex recorded a goodbye message when he was overseas, and he has to tell it not to auto send every week. Then he is kidnapped for ten days... I don’t want to spoil too much, but just read it. It also plays with the narrative structure. And if you like this one, definitely check out @lambourngb‘s other stories. collect the bad habits and Vows are also great reads!

I Know Nothing Stays the Same by @aewriting

This is one of those stories that sticks in your head. It is awful (emotion-wise, not writing-wise) and wonderful all wrapped up together in the best way. Alex and Michael run away after the shed incident and go into hiding for five years. This is the past storyline. There’s also a present and a future. The ending of this story was so gorgeous, I don’t want to spoil it, but I remember it all the time when I think of Malex. Lovely and poignant. This is another version of this couple that <i>earn</i> their happiness together. And if you want even more in this ‘verse, the very talented @andrea-lyn (who also has a ton of great Malex stories) wrote a coda called There’s More Room in a Broken Heart.

Send Me Home by @litwitlady

I waffled back and forth about which story would fill the final slot. It’s always so hard to choose when there are so many excellent ones out there, but I had to have one of @litwitlady‘s stories on the list. She has quite a few excellent ones, but Send Me Home is my favorite. Michael the baseball player is both compelling and also heartwarming in his softer life. This is another fic where Alex is a musician, this one an actual country music star. So, it’s a sports fic and a celebrity romance, in addition to being a Malex RNM story. it is a WiP, which I sometimes hesitate to rec, but there’s only one more chapter to go, so I feel pretty safe about it. And she has lots of other stories you should check out. I’m fond of the Reunion series, as well.

So, that’s it for this post. Thanks again to all the amazing fanfic authors and their awesome work. I’ve read so many great Malex fics lately. On this list or not, I appreciate you guys!

#malex #fanfic rec #fanfic #reading #highly recommend #alex x michael #alex manes #michael guerin #quarantine reads #thanks for writing these fics

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shook-snatched-and-sad · 4 years

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so i binged a show called ‘the owl house’...

and to say the least, i am OBSESSED!

(this contains spoilers so don’t read if you haven’t finished the show yet!!)

aside from the fact that i’m a big old lesbian simp for Eda the Owl Lady, i really loved her storyline. it reminds me a lot of my day to day life as someone with a chronic illness. I want to focus on episode 4 ,“The Intruder,” where we learn of Eda’s curse and later episodes where it’s a prevalent point.

in the beginning of the episode eda’s exhausted to the point where king and luz end up carrying her to her bed (nest). she was already tired, but tried to show luz more magic bc she wanted luz to be happy and let her sleep. sometimes when you’re tired and want to lay down you still try to make others happy, and that can be too much for your already sick body. i am guilty of this 10 times over!

she has her elixir, which is almost like pain meds for me and others with chronic pain (or other meds for others in the chronic illness gang). her elixir has a tag reading, “an elixir a day keeps the curse at bay.” if she doesn’t take it, she transforms into something she doesn’t like. and i mean,,,, yeah, it REALLY DO BE LIKE THAT. even tho i’m still trying to find the right medicine for me, i feel like total GARBAGE when i forget to take my meds. i get snappy and irritable and anxious and everything hurts beyond comprehension; that’s all part of my “curse.”

she also took a little while to reveal her curse to luz, and king didn’t even know but has lived with her for a while. some people i’ve known most of my life don’t even know that i sometimes need a cane or that i even have a chronic pain disorder! you don’t want that judgement or others feeling like your condition is too much for them to handle (which is shitty, but people do say this); you can see that eda has had this happen to her time and time again and that it really left a mark on how she feels about trusting others.

she also doesn’t remember who cursed her, and this fleshes out in my mind a few different ways:

1. it adds to her trust issues. she doesn’t consciously know who did it, so it could be anyone she interacts with and that’s scary. to her it’s traumatic, and she lives with the aftermath of the event everyday

2. not remembering? mega brain fog! sometimes you just have bad days where your brain is so cloudy that you low key forget someone’s name or a simple word to something (i once forgot the word “tv” and it’s technically not even a word). it’s almost like a tip of the tongue type thing. also, the figure kinda looks like fog

3. sometimes you don’t know what causes your illness. i have fibromyalgia and it’s just one of those complicated medical conditions where there is no determined cause for it. trauma? yeah, maybe. a few people in the fam with rheumatic stuff? could play a part. god spun the wheel and had to add whatever wacky thing it landed on? hell yeah, baby!

later in the season eda needs some more of her elixir (her meds) and the guy at her usual place doesn’t have it in stock for another 2 weeks. she has to go to the boiling isles’s version of the black market to get it. when she gets to the black market guy, the price is outrageous and he just proves that this show is TOO SELF AWARE FOR ITS OWN GOOD. IDK WHO GAVE HIM THE RIGHT TO SPIT SUCH FACTS ABOUT CAPITALISM BUT GODDAMMIT SOMEONE HAD TO SAY IT!! sometimes you can’t get the name brand version of your meds bc insurance doesn’t cover it (even if that’s usually what you get) and you have to get the generic version but IT’S STILL WILDLY EXPENSIVE. and it’s worse if you don’t have insurance. i know other chronically ill people who just ended up smoking w**d for their symptoms until the insurance company stopped playing games, and honestly that says something about the wack ass healthcare system of america *sips tea* luckily the rude mf that wouldn’t give eda her meds got his stand destroyed and that’s on performing magick without parental supervison

and what i especially like about this show is that they gave this character a curse (illness) and didn’t make it her entire identity for the show. any other time there’s a chronically ill/disabled character, it’s their only personality trait and exhaustively used throughout as a lazy ploy too add diversity. yes, eda has this curse and she lives each day treating it, but she has so much more substance to who she is: she’s a businesswoman, a friend, a mentor, a goofball, a badass, a powerful woman in her craft. eda had said her self at the end of “the intruder,” “no one likes having a curse, but if you take the right steps, it’s manageable.” and that’s exactly what it’s like being a chronically ill person who is able to manage their symptoms with medication and still do certain things that bring them joy. without her elixir eda wouldn’t be able to perform magick and have her business; without my meds and some physical therapy i wouldn’t be able to go to school full time for my photography degree and have a job as a photographer.

could i possibly be projecting this metaphor onto a character that makes my little gay heart go uwu? maybe but that’s none of your business (unless you feel it too. in that case it’s our business <3). but i seriously cannot wait to see what else is in store for our #1 bad girl in the rest of the series!

(my attention deficit ass wrote this while being distracted from one of my final papers thank you for attending my TEDTalk)

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