#because i need a plot device. ok. work with me here

[blueskittlesart]

POST MORE SWORD OF FATE PLS IM BEGGING

i have very little in terms of actual art LMAO but i CAN explain the sword thing because i checked and i did in fact never make this plot point public. i struggled for a while with creating a villain for this story until i realized that. i put "sword" in the title of the game. of course it has to be about the fucking sword. DUH.

so i want SOF to deal very heavily with religion, specifically the way in which hyrule's religion forms post-sksw but pre-reincarnation. i've placed it on the timeline directly after sksw, making it the first actual reincarnation in hyrule. what this means is that there's no actual proof yet that the reincarnation thing is real and not just an insane bluff on demise's part, and so several key characters including link and zelda barely believe in hylia or demise at all when the story starts. my thought with this setting's version of ganon is that he's the polar opposite of the nonbelievers. The gerudo don't really exist as of now, but he DOES come from the desert region of hyrule--specifically, he was raised in a cultlike offshoot of the sheikah religion which interpreted the hylia/demise myth completely literally and believes that a doomsday is coming, heralded by the foretold return of demise. Because of this, he knows more about the cycle and how to set it in motion than basically any other character. Crucially, he and his people are some of the only ones at this point aware of the existence of the master sword.

ganon finds. a sword. a sword which he THINKS is the master sword. and this theory is only reinforced when the sword begins to speak to him about his destiny and the salvation of hyrule. unfortunately it is not the master sword and he ends up basically a pawn in the greater plans of what's left of demise & ghirahim within that sword, manipulated into attempting to revive demise and destroy the reincarnated hero and princess. he remains in denial until basically the very end of the final battle, completely convinced that he is the true savior of hyrule and LINK is the one being misled. ghirahim is a very good manipulator lol

#i know that the sword like dies with demise in sksw or whatever but this is my game and i can do whatever i want so ive decided it survives #because i need a plot device. ok. work with me here #asks #loz: sword of fate #anyway the religion thing is something that i really wanted to explore bc it fascinates me. bc obv in later cycles everyone believes #because they KNOW its true and have like. historical evidence of it. but what about the first few times it happened? post-sksw they had no #way of knowing if demise would make good on his promise or not. i can see belief vs nonbelief being a very strong dividing factor among #early hylians. its fascinating to me. lol #anyways zelda specifically fully believes that the hylia shit was made up by her great great grandparents or whatever as a power grab lmao #link is kinda like whatever. sure the goddess exists i guess ill pray to her sometimes but like did she actually found hyrule? probably not #and ganon and his people are HARDCORE believers. like to-the-letter. because of this they have one of the most historically accurate #accounts of hyrule's founding (which no one BELIEVES is accurate at this point. but it is) and have managed to hold onto records of both #the master sword and demise when society at large has basically either forgotten or decided to ignore them #wow. i forgot how fun sof is to write about. holy shit

[chosaya]

BEGINNERS GUIDE FOR NEW WRITERS !

A/n: this for my beginner writers who actually want to write a piece or work for the first time!

✰you finally want to start writing for fandoms popular or not it’s okay! write whatever YOU want to. (we don’t judge whatever work you decide to post).

✰no inspiration or fic ideas I got you babes! here here here. here. here here here you can also combine these Au’s together if you’d like to!

✰you don’t have any motivation to write or writers block for short.

Take this time to relax and think about what you want to write deeply and take your time when you do!

Light a candle, get cozy and write little reminders you’d like to add into your fic’s later on.

take a self care take for yourself, away from any devices and clear you mind.

✰FINDING YOUR WRITING STYLE !

everyone has different writing styles ! Your writing can be different from others (ex: adding details, dialogue etc, be creative!)

✰PLAGIARISM IS A BIG NO !

plagiarism isn’t cute never was, with that being said taking people’s fic and passing it off as your own then playing the victim again isn’t cute it’s wrong. Here’s my suggestion save yourself the of the anon hate and write your own ok?. Don’t do this shit.

We do this for free as a writer myself, author can spend hours writing with or without sleep (sometimes) so don’t rush them! Be patient, authors have life outside this app.

✰COMMENTS/SUPPORTING YOUR WRITER !

your probably thinking maya was is this important? because your author needs all the lover and support they can get. it’s also because they’re a lack of “reblog’s” and “comments” these days even the small things can make your author happy!

✰MORE RECOURSES (these are some of the authors if you’re looking to write smut for you can ask them!)

@kazushawty @omgeto @hoshigray @luxesiren plus more those are the ones I can remember on the top of my head right now!💕

✰DETAILS !

You can add the smallest details in your story! that your readers with comments on, like adding descriptive, it could be body language or how the readers feels it matters! (It helps make your fic’s longer)

Adding plot twists in your story can make your reader more interested in your story and makes them want to follow and read more.

✰ thesaurus!

you can use this if your constantly using the same words over and over and want to switch up your word game!

if you have anymore questions let me knowww!

#writer help #writing recourses/first time writers! #recourses #fic inspo

[sapphic-agent]

Really not sure what could be added here. But ok will try.

I kind hate when people say "Shig is the protagonist" bc...he really isnt. I would argue he is not really a character anymore. But a plot device.

Bk is the real mc in Hori's eyes.

But I want to talk about smth: ofa transfering vs afo tranfering.

(It may be dumb but is not dumber than canon)

Not sure if is true thanks to the pacing of the story, but assuming Shig was in the tank for 10 months to get a quirk he...frankly never needed. (What was the selling point here? "Shig going get more power" as if decay wasnt enough) while Izu trained for 10 months.

Shig was in a tube like a dead fish for 10 months.

Izu exercise himself for 10 months to be able to use the quirk.

How afo was transfer to Shig? Via soul?

Afo was shared by 8 people (before Izu enters) and had no real "parasite" effect. But afo does bc...????

We know nothing about afo the quirk or the person.

We know nothing about ofa the quirk and the person.

When afo wanted to steal Shig's body? Bc look I may be wrong but ...since the movies are canon, many others villains, had a small afo quirk and didnt endure "will steal your body" why Shig?

(Bc otherwise how Izu would saved him)

Not sure if I'm making sense. Its just those 2 quirks are so different and so similar...but at the same time we know nothing about it.

Also the inage I shared has the "completation in 70%" so...is afo being injected into his body? In his veins? FOR 10 MONTHS?

Again what was the selling point here? Yes, it does feel like Shig cheat (well he got his comeuppance here) but sorry nothing of this makes sense.

I guess I just want to vent a little bc those quirks are so central to the plot but at the same time we know nothing about. We know shit about yoichi and afo. It's all made up on the spot.

Thanks for the patience (I do like the contrast, in theory. Izu worked hard to gain his quirk as a good hero. Shig as a villain cheated but its Hori so...is all about bk)

Indeed, this whole thing was all over the place.

My assumption was that Garaki wasn't merely transferring AFO into Shigaraki's body, he was also physically and genetically modifying his body to be able to handle not only AFO (the quirk), but also host AFO (the potato). You're right to question how he's transferring the potato, however, because that really isn't explained. I assume that it's the ability of one of the potato's quirks, maybe a combination of a few, that allow them to do this. Or maybe it's because AFO is so connected and attached to his quirk (he's had it for like 200 years) that him and his quirk are one in the same at this point.

(The dreamscape thing is odd. Izuku only has access to it because it's part of his quirk. The potato having access to it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Unless he counts as a pass holder since it was his stockpiling quirk that was given to Yoichi and helped form OFA, but then whoever he stole it from would have been there too. Maybe this is the only way he can access the quirk since it's so unique? But that shouldn't be possible since OFA can't be stolen. And why was he only able to access it when he was inhabiting Shigaraki?)

I do think that the difference between OFA and AFO is that OFA at its course is the ability to be bestowed and inherited. Both the predecessor and successor are given a choice (presumably, if the user's DNA can't pass it down without their intention, then I reckon it can't be inherited unless the inheritor wants to inherit it). The potato can take any quirk form anyone and force it onto someone else. I think that's why it's more parasitic, a lack of consent.

I completely agree that Shigaraki didn't need AFO. He had just come into his own power and took control of an extremist organization with a ton of powerful quirk users at his disposal. Him wanting AFO when he had just done all that was counterintuitive.

I loved what him (and the entire LOV) were doing in Deika. They made season 5 for me (because the Endeavor Agency arc was shit), but you're right that he's just a plot device now. AFO taking him in and raising him to be independent as his own villain with his own allies was completely undermined by him trying to hijack Shigaraki's body

#mha critical #bnha critical #shigaraki deserves better #shigaraki critical #ask

[minty-playhouse]

A Brief Primer on the Yotalien Games

((aka A post about their general plot/concept, content warnings, where to play and so on, before I make my huge post analyzing them lol))

So, the past two days I've been digging into the rabbit hole that's the four (five?) games in the Yabatanien saga created by Yotalien, and the plot is way more intricate than I first imagined! So, I wanna make a post detailing my finds and whatnot.

But what IS Yabatanien?

Well, simply put, it's a series of games where you find yourself inside a building, and need to save the girls trapped inside which are involved in all manner dangerous situations (often with gory results if you fail to help them). The games work "in turns" aka time only passes when you move from room to room/when you do certain actions, and sometimes certain traps are timed and you need to plan your movements proper.

On the surface, it feels very "RPG Maker gory game". If you're familiar with things like Witch's House, End Roll, Mad Father and so on, it has that vibe to it. But there's a bit more to these games than what you may think!

At a glance, the first three games in the series don't seem connected, but once you start paying attention to the names of certain girls you save, you will notice some of them show up in all three of them. The fourth game makes it very explicit that all three happen in the same timeline though.

OK, but what's the plot of these games?

Now that's a little trickier, because the story has a lot of layers and turns, but in general, without giving away spoilers (the "main" objective is to try and save all girls):

Yabatanien (aka Trapped Girls): You're in a mansion and need to save a group of girls that are trapped there, under the threat of many traps and perils. Your main goal is to find a way to call for a rescue helicopter to take all the girls away. There's a zombie type monster that threatens the girls as well.

De:Yabatani: You're in a far more complex building, where clearly experiments and such take place. The main goal is to grab the girls and escape with them via the zipline you find at the rooftop. There's also a strange monster in the basement.

Acid Girls' Escape: You find yourself in a building with many mechanical/moving parts, and the goal is to escape via the train that runs through the basement. Lot's of teleportation/weird medical devices are all over the place.

Trapped Girl X: You're back at the mansion from the first game, and the teleportation machines connect it to the building from the second game. Pretty much all the girls you rescue are plot relevant this time around (in the previous games a lot of the girls are mostly "body count").

All games have multiple endings, depending on what you do/who you save!

Wait, you mentioned a fifth game!

Yes, the games have some really heavy topics once you start digging more into the plot, besides the pixelated gore. Here's a list of the contents I've spotted (there could be more, but from my research of the game this is what I've seen/experienced so far):

Well, yes. But that one is more of a sidestory of the third game focused on an specific character, and if you don't know the plot it's not really worth talking about (and even if you know the plot, that one still left me a bit confused). So i'm not gonna get into details about it.

Alright, but about those content warnings...

Child abuse (physical/psychological)

Cannibalism

Demon possession

Unethical/immoral genetic experimentation

Inbreeding/Incest

Murder (outside of the game's bloody traps)

If you need a list of the warnings for the gore, some of the things that happen in game are: exploding bodies, being melted by acid, being eaten alive, various forms of dismemberment, teeth/eye pulling, drowning, electrocution, falling to death from high places...

Kidnapping

Religious blasphemy (not too overt but it's there)

Yes, the game is very Dead Dove and it's not the easiest sit if you're squimish.

I'm not squeamish though!! Tell me where to play these!

Ok, ok!!

The first three games, you can play both on mobile and on Switch (where I played most of them).

If you search Yotalien games on the app store/apple store, you can find them pretty easily. The first and fourth games are free to play, while the second and third (+ the sidestory) are around 4$ each.

On the switch, the first two games were released as a single pack for around 7-8$, while the third, Acid Girls Escape (along with the extra sidestory) is sadly a Japan only release (but you can, you know, acquire it through other means cough cough).

I highly recommend playing the first three (+ the sidestory) on the switch for the higher resolution and slightly better UI. But the games are virtually identical. They're all also in full English, both on the swith and mobile (there are some grammar mistakes here and there in the fourth, but nothing too egregious).

So yeah, I hope I picked your interest with this post and that you find yourself pulling your hair at the puzzles and trying to figure out how to get all endings lol Happy gaming!

#yabatanien #yotalien games #rpg maker horror #(although the games were made in unity shhh) #japanese horror game #cw gore #dead dove content

[t00thpasteface]

What's your (spoiler light) read on the personalities of Martin and Lucien?

I need it for fic reasons

-Mellowscrolls

ok FIRST OFF let me say that by "spoiler light" i assume you mean you're still in the process of playing their respective quests, to which i insist that you should take everything i (some internet jester) say with a grain of void salts and prioritize finishing the quests and coming to your own conclusions. THAT BEING SAID, i know most RPGs suffer from the fact that they can never truly be as explicit in their worldbuilding and characterization as a less interactive medium like, say, a novel, given the constraints that player interaction and choice will place on the direction and depth of a story, so sometimes a little brainstorming is necessary to fill in the gaps. here's my takes:

i've said before that Martin seems like he's being weighed down and pushed forward by a LOT of guilt and regret. even his sense of obligation to the empire has an edge of self-flagellation to it. he is a hilariously catholic character while also being the closest thing to an agnostic in the tes universe after Else God-Hater-- there's a lot to unpack there. his past is defined by (1) running away, (2) making huge mistakes that ruin lives, and (3) denying himself and his own needs and wants. whether it's as a mage, cultist, priest, or emperor, his life is defined by being pushed into/out of certain identities by outside forces and losing parts of himself in each stage. he does a lot of running away and hiding in his life, literal and metaphorical.

and what's worse is he's overwhelmingly referred to by other characters AS his titles in the game: priest and emperor. he's never Martin; he's either Brother Martin, denying himself a personal identity and considering himself to be just another expendable priest, or Emperor Martin Septim, denied a personal identity by others and treated mostly as a living plot-device and sacrificial lamb who gets picked up and moved around like the Amulet of Kings. i think more than anything, as cliche as this may sound, he probably just wants to Be Himself. but it's easier to just bury all that down and throw yourself into the monotony and routine of the Akatosh Chantry than it is to do any real introspection, so... you know the rest.

by contrast i see Lucien as a total control freak who puts on a big grand suave personality as a deliberate act, and underneath, it he's extremely petty and vindictive. he's always in charge. he always strikes first and he can always make an escape. he sets the terms for every interaction and expects complete unwavering loyalty and obedience in return. he lets you see only what he thinks you need to see-- of the brotherhood, of his methods, even of his body. even his dedication to Sithis is self-righteous and authoritative: Sithis works through HIM. the black hand must be preserved insofar as his authority and power must be preserved; he requires the veneer of credibility that the black hand provides. the black hand must be preserved because it is valuable to his needs and goals. and you will do exactly as he says, when and how he says to do it, in order to make that happen. and you will not ask questions.

this ends up being kind of a blind spot because he's so used to being in control, and absolutely NEEDS to be, that he underestimates his enemies/weaknesses bc he sees himself as a chessmaster. he doesn't want to think about someone outsmarting him, so he doesn't think about it, and therefore it's not even on his radar. the possibility does not exist in his mind so he can't pick up on the signs. and he ESPECIALLY can't ask you to watch his back-- only follow his orders, because to do otherwise would be to insinuate weakness. he's been in it so long that started believing his own persona. if Martin needs to find himself so he can make his own choices, Lucien needs to find himself so he can let someone else make some choices for once.

as for how those personalities would interact, congeal, or clash: it's entirely UP TO YOU!! and i'm eager to see what you (or anyone else) can come up with...

#shebbz shoutz #anon hour #tes #oblivion #lucien lachance #martin septim #ask

[nexstage]

So, I've read Aaron Ehasz’s ideas for Azula’s redemption arc if there was a possibility for one but sadly there wasn't, and I like it, partially though. Why? Because there is only one tiny, backfiring and nagging problem with it: Zuko as Iroh 2.0 for Azula.

Like, ok, if there were another season of Avatar for Azula to be redeemed, I would love to see her trying to fix her relationship with Zuko and understand his POV while he does the same for her even with all the angsty fights, and a lot of trauma to recover from.

What I don't think it's a good idea is to have Zuko in the position of a second Iroh to help Azula recover and make amends with the people she has hurt. And I have a good explanation for this.

Number 1: Zuko is not emotionally ready

Look, he might have redeemed himself but the job of helping his sister whom he has a deeply complex and chaotic relationship is beyond his league. Heck, it was bad and irresponsible enough from the writers to free Iroh from any responsibility and put Zuko on the throne even though he has spent the majority of his time chasing Aang and then surviving in the Earth Kingdom which neglected his studies about politics and militia of the Fire Nation.

And don't make me start with the emotional baggage and other stuff he really needs to work on. There is a lot he still must take care of himself before having such a responsibility as the “redemption path” for Azula.

Besides, for him to be ready what Zuko needs is some time for himself to figure out who he is and what he wants. What's his purpose or the choices he has? The same goes for Azula. They need time and space for each other to find themselves after being abused and pitted against one another by Ozai for years. Because having your identity based on being superior to your sibling to not be punished or reach an unrealistic expectation is not healthy at all.

Number 2: Redemption arc or Plot Device arc?

In one of the ATLA posts I've made on Tumblr, I talked about how Azula’s framing in the show didn't let her be a relatable character or be genuinely complex because the ATLA crew wanted her to be just a standard cool villain; therefore, her tragic backstory and complexities were just accessories that could enhance others’ arca but not hers. Well, I think that post can be applied here because what would Azula’s redemption be if given the chance to be made for a new season? A proper way to deepen Azula’s character or just a way to put Zuko on a higher pedestal than the one he has?

I think the second option is the most plausible. Of course, it is speculation but with the show's framing of her character, her treatment by the hands of the comics, and how people have described her as irredeemable, evil, and sadistic while ignoring the environment, factors, and people that have made her this way, I doubt this redemption arc had been made for her character only and not to enlighten someone else.

And with how Ehasz has described it, my doubts have increased too: “At the deepest moment in her own abyss, she would have found: Zuko”, “Zuko -patient, forgiving, and unconditionally loving”. Yep, this seems more like an attempt to turn Zuko into Iroh 2.0 and Azula into Zuko 2.0, and her redemption arc into Zuko’s redemption arc 2.0.

Number 3: Showing off Zuko’s questionable traits

“Zuko -patient, forgiving, and unconditionally loving”, honestly, I don't know if Ehasz knows Zuko’s character at all and his dynamic with Azula from A to Z.

First, patient? Sure, Zuko has matured and it's normal to relapse in moments of stress but since when he is patient? He wanted to enter a storm in The Storm episode despite how dangerous it was and even fought one of his crew members when he scolded him for his recklessness. He attacked Aang for not training hard enough and not taking Ozai seriously even when Zuko didn't tell the Gaang about his father’s plans to burn the whole Earth Kingdom sooner. And let's not talk about how his character was handled in the comics.

Forgiving? This one is a bit difficult. I could just put that Zuko criticized Aang’s air nomads' beliefs about forgiveness and how forgiving the man that killed Katara’s mother was the same as doing nothing but I also take into account that Zuko said to Aang that he was right about violence not being the answer Katara needed to heal.

Forgiveness and Zuko are very complicated. Zuko has all the right to not forgive Ozai for all the pain he put him through or Azula for the animosity between them, but it would be interesting if he forgave her to have a new chance at siblinghood or just to have his own chance at healing.

However, it's a hard question to answer if he is forgiving. Let's not forget that Zuko, as the Blue Spirit, attacked the man that humiliated Iroh when they became EK refugees. But there is also the fact that even after Azula attacked Iroh in The Chase, Zuko didn't tell him “Uncle, we have to find Azula so we can avenge you”, instead he said, “I know what you're going to say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her”. Now, according to this phrase, Zuko thinks Iroh has a better way to deal with Azula that doesn't involve violence even if he knows that if he doesn't improve his firebending, his chances against her will be slim. And because Iroh is the most amicable of the older fire brothers, Zuko trusts his judgment and experience about siblinghood.

Last but not least, unconditionally loving. That is very complicated to answer too because the only source of supposedly unconditional love was Ursa before she disappeared and then Iroh took her place but both favored Zuko over Azula for different reasons which isn't the best example for an impressionable child about how unconditional love is or should be.

Look, I’m not saying that Zuko cannot be any of those things but it takes time and effort, and perhaps that’s why Azula’s redemption is important for Ehasz because it would give Zuko the chance to show forgiveness, patience, and unconditional love when it should be about Azula and how she becomes a healthier and better person instead of being the plot device to show off Zuko’s traits.

Number 4: If not Zuko, then who?

Azula has been failed by the adults of her family in so many ways. Ozai abused her by turning her into a soldier and weapon; Ursa favored Zuko over her because he was easier to deal with and Ursa couldn’t find a common ground between them to understand her daughter; Iroh barely cared about her and then told Zuko to fight her two times even when the second one he had said earlier than if he fought Ozai it would feed the cycle of violence. Hypocrisy at its best, uh?

While Ursa is still hiding, I think the best option is Iroh as crazy as it is. Despite the bad blood between them, Azula and Iroh have a lot in common: they are the cunning, successful, and powerful prodigies of their fathers. Both were favored by Ozai and Azulon respectively. Both were affected negatively by the war: Azula’s whole childhood was robbed by Ozai when he started to mold her into a weapon, and Iroh lost Lu Ten which broke his will to fight in the Ba Sing Se Siege. Both create their own firebending moves and are excellent fighters.

It would be great to see how Iroh’s opinion of Azula gradually changes from negative to sorrowful and positive after understanding that she was also a victim of Ozai’s machinations and that her talents were twisted and abused for his gain and not the crazy girl that needed to be taken down like some kind of final boss from a video game or rabid animal.

It would also be fun a comradeship and respect between two jaded prodigies of the FN royal family. He could tell Azula about his adventures in the Spirit World and what he learned from the other nations, his adventures in the Earth Kingdom with Zuko as refugees which could be emphasized by Zuko explaining how terrible the war had affected the people.

About Ursa, if the comics didn't exist and the discovery of where she was and what she has been doing since her disappearance had been handled much better, I bet she would be distraught that one of her children had ended up in an asylum and her mental state is in such disarray. It would be the start for Ursa to reach out to Azula to make up for her shortcomings as a mother and have a common ground between them, to form a solid and healthy mother-daughter relationship.

And while Iroh and Ursa would be responsible to take care of her emotionally, she could meet other people in the Fire Nation to help her see the error of her ways and the wrongness of the war.

Her friends Mai and Tai Lee could be part of the team if they meet again and reconcile so Azula doesn't have to travel only with Iroh and Ursa but also with people her age. And the Gaang can be of help for her redemption too, though it will be much more difficult after what happened in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se.

All in all, those are the reason why Zuko as Iroh 2.0 for Azula’s redemption arc is a bad idea. I mean, he can be a part of her redemption arc, but if he is put on such a pedestal it would backfire for both of them. Better if she has a net of support and builds her own path post-war instead of being the copy-and-paste of Zuko’s redemption arc just to make him look better.

#ATLA meta #Zuko redemption arc #Azula redemption arc #zuko #azula #Aaron Ehasz critical

[mapsofnonexistentplaces]

ok trying to go over the year’s reads in chronological order i am just spitballing and none of this is good reviewwork

house of leaves — it’s house of leaves what do you want me to say. there was a house of leaves. genuinely really love it but i’ve started to form this semihearted grudge against it because it’s like The One Weird Book everyone recommends and it kind of clouds discussion of other ergodic lit LOL it’s for good reason though there’s nothing else quite like it

kafka on the shore — book that i need to finish actually i’ve still got a chunk of it undone…. honestly might just restart it altogether i don’t remember much of the plot since i started it in like february. but augh. i remember it feeling very smooth to read. pacing of it was extremely stilted in a way that like. i thought was quite cool actually. loved the way it split its perspectives

ulysses — read through a few chapters before i kind of just dropped it unintentionally. really want to get back to it it’s just. impenetrable if i’m not giving it my full and utmost attention lol

a streetcar named desire — reiterating something i said ages ago which is “i could not fucking care less about what tennessee williams’ plays are about but goddamn if they’re not extremely inspiring in the way they’re composed and conveyed” or something like that

the like first 2 books of the new wc arc go inbetween here chronologically…. they’re not as fun as the last arc enough so that i’ve decided i don’t care about those cats anymore lol. complete slog that makes me wish for the days of cat hell possession conflicts instead of weird love triangles or whatever

wonderbook — really good…. i mean it’s literally a “guide” but it feels much more like just a ‘manifesto’ of how a story can be good. it was a really fun read as someone who’s never really been too impressed by common writing advice and who has also never really gotten engrossed in writing circles with other people…. kind of book that feels valuable to both people who are freshly getting into writing and more experienced writers. definitely helped me name and put pressure on elements of my own writing and composition that was just fully instinct-driven prior. it’s good.

tainaron — aughhhh i’ve reread this one like thrice this year…. i’ve fucking yelled about it before on my blog so many times and i’m just restating what i’ve said before which is go look up tainaron and read it it’s like 70 pages it’s just posted online by the original author and it’s a wonderful time. bugs can be both scary and beautiful. you will realise this. ❤️

sphinx or robot — from the same author! this one’s also fun but just not as satisfactory or unified as tainaron imo. nother good short bout though

a midsummer night’s dream — i don’t like shakespeate. dint care.

if on a winter’s night a traveller — hol-like in that it kind of clouds discussion of ergodic lit but once again i kind of get it. honestly this feels like a really good digestible intro to such styles id definitely recommend it with the caveat of like. “be ready for useless background misogyny throughout”. the whole premise grants it a really slick pace love the idea of uniting unfinished ‘chapters’ of stories together…. will forever be thinking about leaning from the steep slope and wishing it was a fully fledged novel though

the castle of crossed destinies — another calvino work. once again love this guy’s prose although i wish he wrote women better LOL uhhh honestly just a really good bite sized bit of weird allegorical literature it’s so much more obtuse and “dry” than ioawnat but i feel like the framing device and style make up for the kind of nothing plot. i suppose that’s kind of the point of it as well….

strassburg’s tristan — currently reading through it and halfway across! specifically the hatto translation which i’m like most definitively marking as some of the most beautiful prose i’ve ever read LOL style of it feels like wading through water

shit that’s on my reading list and that i want to go through soon also….

already started vandermeer’s ambergris trilogy i think i just started and forgot to ever finish city of saints and madmen. fun style though

the complete cosmicomics — again sifted through a bit of the beginning it feels like an even more sludgy set of calvino works than castle of crossed destinies was. but it’s enchanting regardless and i’ll probably read it and like it. i’m lame!

this is how you lose the time war — been on my list for ages i’ve seen excerpts i’ve liked….

piranesi — when rocks have a shape they can be anything in the world or whatever i’m sure this book will say it in a cool way

the seagull — i’m really struggling to find interesting plays that are not about divorce or uninteresting melodrama and this one still applies im sure but from what i’ve read it does so in an interesting way LOL

pale fire — to complete the set of “weird books nobody will shut up about being weird” i need to get to this one. 👍

#.mid #ok that took a while. goddamn

[catchingpapermoons]

top 10 fics by kudos

hi it’s me @drysdaales :) so my top ten kudos’d fics and whether i agree with where they’ve landed? i’m going to play a little differently and bc i have apparently been writing for a long while (am i old?) i’m going to take my top 3 kudos’d fics from from my most recent fandoms and just put those in order of kudos (plus a bonus fic to make ten) so here we go! ty @hard4softthings for the tag i appreciate u ❣️ under a cut (hopefully pls mobile)

10. you’re alive (so alive) (jatp | gen fic)

agree/disagree: i’m choosing disagree only bc this is one of the best things i’ve ever written and it wasn’t appreciated enough. sometimes we all need to explore grief through a children’s show right??

9. too soft for all of it (hrpf | jdtz, slice of life + h/c)

agree/disagree: i have zero complaints about this fic and i’m proud of myself for this being my second foray into hrpf fandom. to all who read and enjoyed, i see u and thank u kindly for giving her love!

8. you’re the only one my heart keeps coming back to (jatp | reggiealex, non-ghost college au)

agree/disagree: i’m gonna disagree on this one but that’s only bc it reads a little too much like a soap opera to me. but i’m glad it found a home where people enjoyed :)

7. wherever you stray, i follow (jatp | phantoms poly, canon compliant)

agree/disagree: yeah i love this one it feels right to be here

6. wanna feel your heart (hrpf | mat/tito, multiple universes)

agree/disagree: i know why it landed and i see the appeal in it and i went back and read comments on it the other day and was just pleased as punch to see how people interpreted it! i wrote this fic in 2018 (!!!) at a time where i was going through something heinous and i was so young and just wanted to be in control of something. i’ve done better work since, but i love her for what she is.

5. so quiet in the world tonight (hrpf | jdtz, idiots taking care of a baby)

agree/disagree: yes. wholeheartedly. tbh i reread this fic sometimes bc i love it. i wrote this shit for me and she unironically slaps

4. here everyone knows you’re the way to my heart (rnm | malex, spec fic, bonus fic bc i love her dearly)

agree/disagree: i do agree with this one though it’s placement as to how many kudos it received is wild to me! i’m immensely proud of this fic and i loved what i wrote here.

3. you remind me of home (oh, baby, merry christmas) (911 | buddie)

agree/disagree: i have no idea what y’all saw in this but good for you! it’s a silly little christmas fic TO ME but for some reason i get kudos and comments at all times of the year. thanks cuties

2. across our great divide (a glorious sunrise) (911 | buddie, therapy as a plot device)

agree/disagree: i love this fic so much. the reaction to it was so cool. i loved the insane amount of comments i got telling me how masterfully i’d written bc i love hearing i did a good job but i also loved people telling me how it made them feel.

1. when i was shipwrecked (i thought of you) (911 | buddie, canon-adjacent)

agree/disagree: i have no idea what made this one hit for you. i am SO happy it did, but it’s insane to me. i love that you love it because its made ME love it more. this is my most kudos’d fic and it’s bonkers bananas to me !!!

extra bonus! a fic that deserves more love is dance for all that we’ve been through because i wrote 61k of an entire ballet au and relived all my old ballet trauma and this girl did NOT get her flowers :/ to date it’s probably my best work and it’s ok that it didn’t get received as well but also… it’s good ok!!!

tagging my bbs @smileymikey @inthekitchenmp3 and uhhhh whoever else wants to lmao

#as soon as i. tagged people i immediately forgot everyone i knew. i’m so sorry. #my writing #am i bragging? perhaps! however i’m a good writer so it’s deserved #if only i could finish my fucking papers…

[lurkingteapot]

Step by Step ค่อย ๆ รัก Ep 4

we know the drill …

- team building activities? say it ain't so

- RICH PEOPLE I swear to dogs

- OH this is how I know Ying's actress, she's Annie's mother in Mama Gogo!! the sporty outfit did it

- OH and is this Bruce??? Aoey from Lovely Writer??

- man, the gossip in this office. maybe I'm too neurodivergently inattentive to social stuff to get pulled into that sort of stuff normally but like. the most we got at the office was like "I hear the new transfer yells at clients" or "coworker X is getting married, please sign this card and if you like, we're collecting money for a gift." how do these people get ANY work done.

- oh this is NOT going well, yike

- NAN'S FACE JUST NOW she know's what's up (or suspects)

- oh wow Jeng's stare just now, I would've WITHERED if I were that kid

- okay, so he DOES have a condo as well as the house, okay. confusion from last ep somewhat lifted. rich people.

- Pat, when he said "make yourself at home" I'm pretty sure he meant "don't worry about using too much hot water," NOT "snoop around all the cabinets when you're meant to be getting cleaned up so you can go to your work thing"

- OH WOW wow he's cleaned up nicely. and WHAT A GROOM SEEING THE GROOM SHOT THAT JUST WAS, complete with the stairs, I am LOSING it.

- AND THEY MATCH oh my god I'm grinning so wide, incredible. I was not expecting this show to be cute? but it is SO CUTE.

- IT IS BRUCE I love him. Please let his character in this be well-rounded.

- uuurgh executive meddling, HATE IT. and also all of this is so tense. I'm on leave, I shouldn't be getting stressed about OTHER PEOPLE'S FICTIONAL WORK ISSUES

- first oishi and now tao kae noi, I'm getting homesick for BBS here

- how brainwashed by capitalism have I been to be like "9 to 5 doesn't seem that bad" -- WHAT THE FUCK, JENG.

- oh, okay, that's how he meant it. yeah, Pat needs to learn to stand up to P'Ying and P'Prem, but … ????

- unfortunately that's not what Pat heard, huh

- WHY ARE YOU INKING WITH A BRUSH, and one that thick at that??? I mean not to judge but-- okay no, I'm judging

- uh-oh

- Bad Buddy conditioned me to expect a Nivea Micellar Acne Free Cleanser ad here, gj on defying expectations, show

- so Put IS the ex. ok ok ok.

- oh wow oh wow oh yikes

- youtube subtitles created using mtl? urgh. mtl that was not sufficiently cleaned up?? BURN IT.

- URGH why is Ying there

- oh NO another misunderstanding (and WHY did he right to suspecting this was Pat tho)

- once again everything would be so much easier if these folks just talked to one another, but I guess the power dynamics at play here do give a real reason NOT to be frank, huh

- A CHILD. Of course it's a child.

- subtitle game deteriorating steadily, that was "DO call him 'brother' (as opposed to 'uncle')"

- oh no, poor Pat, being subjected to a double set of puppy dog eyes

- appreciation board! translation notes for stuff not in the subs over here

- YES Chot has a bf and they're cute together, THANK.

- I'm DYING oh fuck this is why personal and work phones need to separate devices

- Jeng is WAY more patient with Pat than I would've been with ANYONE in this situation. Man's got it bad.

- THAT BGM WAS IN BBS AS WELL

- oh, Ms Nadia is intrigued

- the enemy really IS seniority, yikes

- he's bad at karaoke and picks old-fashioned songs!!! I love that

- because he's WHIPPED is why (okay and also he thinks Pat genuinely has potential)

- oh RIGHT we still have the potential pregnancy plot here. right.

- oh my GOD we're talking about this now???????

- Pat, you say these things and don't think about what they sound about at all, huh

- all ominous but I bet it's just, like … Put

- annnnnnd here we are. Godddd Up looks so !!!!!!!! here

---

Okay but I feel ROBBED that we didn't get to see more of Pat and Jeng at the auction. Those suits!

#step by step ep 4 #bl watch liveblog #ค่อย ๆ รัก #step by step #step by step the series #bl watch live

[nobodysdaydreams]

Ok for everyone upset about the Mysterious Benedict Society Season 2 Finale "Nathaniel/Nicholas' sister twist", I’ve thought about it, and I actually think it might... have potential? Please allow me to rant.

I see posts comparing it to the twist on BBC's Sherlock. Full disclosure, when I saw the “sister” twist on Sherlock, I didn’t like it. It felt like they wanted a "big shocking twist" and then they had to explain why she'd never been mentioned, etc. and it's been a while since I watched it, but I remember thinking that a 3 episode season was not a lot of time to explain/develop a twist that big or fully let us digest why she's been MIA despite us meeting Sherlock's parents and brother. Family reveal twists are nice, but they work because of how they affect the characters, plot, and relationships, anyone can just write them in at random for dramatic effect, but if the emotions aren't there or it's not given enough time to be explored and developed, then it's just a plot device. (No disrespect to the people who liked that twist in Sherlock, it just wasn't for me).

However, I'm way more into the twist being used here for several reasons.

First of all, it makes complete sense that the Benedict brothers would have family they have never heard of. In fact, it would be totally reasonable for Constance, the twins, Reynie, SQ, and Kate/Milligan (due to memory loss) to have multiple living relatives that they were separated from or can't remember. None of them know anything about their birth families as far as we know. Heck, a family reveal is what happened to Kate/Milligan and the twins in the books. We are in a universe with a device that wipes memories (and who knows how many people besides Milligan are missing information) and where most of the characters are orphans, which is a goldmine of opportunity for using family reveal twists in a way that isn't forced. Normally I think that writers are lazy when they repeat the same twists, especially this one, but this is a very rare instance where the circumstances that have been set up make multiple characters having unknown relatives not only probable but practically unavoidable.

Secondly, not only do the circumstances make sense for the twist, but the emotional implications also have potential. If they want to go the super basic route, they could have Garrison and Curtain be the "sad complex villains" that turn good to help take down this sister character who is the "real villain", but I hope they do more with it than that. The show already had Garrison and Curtain as villains, they didn't need to add any more, they chose to do that, and I hope they make the most of that choice. It's unknown whether Nathaniel has a history with his sister, what happened in 5 weeks, or if he is truly "100% changed" (e.g., how did Nathaniel find out about their sister off-screen and how long has he really known about her, did he flip sides just to get allies to fight her, if his redemption is real why didn't he fall asleep, what is he hiding, is he really redeemed, is the sister blackmailing or controlling him, etc.). Regardless, there is a potential for history there. And not just between the Benedict siblings, but everyone. How does this reveal tie into Constance's parents? Were they the bad guys or killed by the bad guys? Are Constance's powers natural or the results of experimentation? What does this sister character want, what were the three Benedict sibling's childhood's like? Why was Milligan working for Curtain and what happened to his wife? Why was Garrison working for Curtain? What happened to SQ's bio parents? Was my theory about Milligan/Curtain/Garrison/SQ's bio parents being kind of friends actually correct? You have a lot of characters with missing pieces, and there are some really cool ways you can tie them all together. I could speculate all day long, but I think you get the idea: there are a lot of really cool places to go from here. And I like the idea that all these characters (or their parents) had relationships with each other in the past, that they were once friends or colleagues that fell apart and destroyed themselves and then years later they or their descendants slowly come back together to reform this found family that's slowly healing itself but (from the children and Nicholas' perspective at this point) didn't exist until now.

However, on the second point, I will agree that there are ways that the writers could seriously mess this up. Not just by running the basic "Curtain/Garrison = sad redeemable villains (aw 🥺)" and "New sister character = big bad scary villain (boo)" formulas, but also because they are starting to develop something that has been the death sentence for many hyper-fixations of mine: the unbalanced plot, where the audience becomes way more invested in some storylines than others due to the emotional stakes/mystery being way more intriguing for some characters (the writers messing up the twin's ages when it's what they used to establish the timeline is an unfortunate red flag, I hope that doesn't mean they are gonna start making errors like this). The show's story develops the adult characters and adds new depth to side characters, but the main focus of the book/show/premise was always on the twins and the four children. In the above discussion of potential reveals of character histories and connections we see a ton with the twins (of course), they said they'll do Constance too, Kate/Milligan still need to get those memories back (and please give us SQ answers, dead horse I know). But I hope they are not so overfocused on those plotlines, that they default to giving Reynie and Sticky filler. The boys don't necessarily need big reveal plot lines (although you could give it to them. Reynie finding out that the same person who destroyed his bio family is now threatening Ms. Perumal and his new family would be good conflict. Sticky discovering his parents were somehow involved in all this or maybe even still alive (like they are in the books) would also be a good twist). I just felt like the season 1 stuff of Reynie fearing for Sticky as he watched his best friend succumb to the temptation of the Whisperer and slowly turn into Curtain's tool to bring about world domination was a lot stronger than him being sad he didn't get enough letters. Obviously, the letter thing is a more relatable problem, and I think it worked fine for what was intended, I just see a potential pathway opening up for giving some characters huge emotionally gut-wrenching plots and then just recycling Reynie/Sticky's insecure leader/anxiety script with no elaboration or development and I hope they don't go down that road because the boys deserve better.

Third, and the main selling point for me if I'm being honest, the sibling banter and interactions between the three of them would be hilarious. We don't know if this is their triplet, older, or younger sister or literally anything about her which means my brain has just been running every scenario possible and boy oh boy will I be posting the next few days, because I think my brain is actually making me... excited about this twist???

Anyway, that is just my rant on where I think the twist could go from here. Let me know what you think.

Actually no not done yet. I just realized. Number 2’s family house with all those bedrooms. There’s enough room for all the characters. They could all come back together as one big family <3. Okay, that’s it.

#the mysterious benedict society #mysterious benedict society #tmbs season 3 #tmbs #tmbs disney #mbs spoilers #tmbs spoilers #Mbs #mbs #nicholas benedict #nathaniel benedict #tmbs 2 #mbs season 2 #mbs disney #reynie muldoon #kate wetherall #sticky washington #constance contraire #milligan wetherall #mr curtain #mr benedict #ld curtain #ledroptha #ledroptha curtain

[loveisalwaystheanswer]

Hi so I was thinking about PB I wanted to vent with you - specifically about how SK reportedly killed Grace because he ‘didn’t know how to write a happy Tommy,’ which is just??? So spectacularly lazy??? Just because they were married didn’t mean they had to be happy - there were so many interesting avenues for conflict, like Grace coming into her own power as a mob wife, conflict with Polly, etc. but nope! Instead we get the fridged wife trope. Will never not make me angry. And then that’s she’s only used as a plot device/hallucination, and never brought up again after s5.

Hello, gorgeous! I'm so glad to see the question from you!))) I couldn't agree with you more. SO MANY ideas!!!

I had the same conversation about it a few months ago with @explosionsintheskyy. And I must admit I changed my mind.

Back then I was too naïve stupid to believe that SK values love above all else and actually believes in the great power of love, that it can save Tommy and drag him out of his pit. Grace's death and SK's explanation "it would make him happy and Tommy wasn't meant to be happy" lulled me for some more time. Yes, she is that much important that's why he had to kill her off. It speaks for itself, doesn't it? And maybe it would've worked if I hadn't seen the 6th season. Maybe if the show had ended with the scene of Tommy's suicide attempt and had an open ending, maybe then I would've been more satisfied and less disgruntled. Maybe. But I've seen s6 and I didn't like it at all. Fiddly little details such as Grace, such as Michael got in the way of the plot. OF COURSE Tommy survives because he has to save the world from the fascists and another war (BIG SPOILER ALERT STEVEN HE WON'T SUCCEED DID YOU THINK WE DON'T KNOW?!!). So the plot is getting more and more boring with every minute. Maybe it would've been better with Hellen in it, but alas :( We have what we have. Anyway, Tommy's suicidal attempts because of his late wife are long forgotten. "Still. This never happened. They were never here. Who cares? " (you're damn right, Moss).

After THAT I could no longer turn a blind eye to the problem. Why in the hell I was thinking that Tommy is supposed to save Grace from that first IRA guy from the Black Swan? My view was awfully fucking distorted! This is the point in my story where I started questioning the plot. Because the meaning of their love has been dragged through the mud. *takes her pink heart-shaped glasses off*

This is only a preamble, sorry! 😅

I have only few super tiny complaints about s1, so let's start with the second. I remember that I just couldn't shake the feeling that Grace is on the back burner now. It was so ooc that she got married some rich guy and left all her ambitions behind and what's more important, she had to get pregnant to stay in the show, because what else is she needed for? To be his partner in fucking everything? Nah, it's boring. One of the most important characters now has only two episodes. Ok, move on. She's gonna marry Tommy. This is amazing! Grace and the Shelbys! Will Ada find out about Freddie? Will Grace talk to Polly about Campbell? Did Tommy tell her about the business with Churchill? What about Clive? I'm so excited! Wait a minute... Clive killed himself and we will never know why? Ada isn't angry with Grace at all? It was necessary to ruin their wedding day? How did Arthur and Linda met? DID GRACE JUST CLOSE HER EYES ON TOMMY'S BUSINESS (literally!) AND SHE'S NOT CURIOUS? LIKE, AT ALL??!! She's not gonna sing to Charlie? Maybe just hold him in her arms, no? Do you mean she's just someone's humble trophy wife now? Ok, THAT woman is not Grace. It all looks like she's was killed on the platform in 1.06, metaphorically, ofc.

I demand an explanation from Mr. Knight. Why the fuck did you bother to establish every detail about her and her relationship with Tommy so carefully to throw it into the dustbin later? Why did you bother to write her at all? I sound like a broken record, I know, but s1 is so perfect (this post is about the initial idea), that's why I can't understand what happened. Why did she stop being interesting to you Steven? She's a retired operative, a bloody spy for fuck's sake! She killed two men. What about "I'm from tough family too"? Doesn't it seem interesting to explore? Useless in espionage! So let's make this carefree luxury wife dead because one man needs more pain and meaning for his DEVELOPMENT. Isn't it a trope, SK? The one from the Godfather, you know? THAT boring one.

So yes, now I think this is just his shitty lazy writing. He got it from someone's ass, like he made Tommy give the love of his life a sapphire from someone's vagina. The only thing I'm thankful for is Cillian's acting skills, because without them we wouldn't be so sure that he still treats her like she's his everything.

P.S. I read the theory that in the past SK has been dumped by a very beautiful blonde, so that's why he killed Grace off. Or maybe it's the fame and the confidence in his own genius that went to his head. I dunno. In that case he should've had co-writers to have other opinions and should've listened to the fans too. The problem is he's too in love with Cillian and not enough with the other actors. One positive thing that I can see in pb is that love is still the most powerful thing in the world. And the absence of it is ruinous.

thank you!

xx

#asks #eledhwens #liata notes #grace's death #fuck you sk on a daily basis #i wouldn't complain about pb so much if sk didn't get paid for it

[wackybuddiemewbs]

OK, watched 6.02 at long last. A lot of interesting things to see, most of which has already been analyzed in much greater detail and depth than I would even aspire to.

That being said, some random observations:

Someone's already pointed out the magic of three and the prevalence of twos in that episode. And yeah, it's been really very much at the front imo (“you learned two things today”, Hen being in her second year with the intention to move on to the third, only to be told she might have to repeat the second year, two major calls, two victims needing the hydraulic device, three dorks with three popcorn bowls, three retired friends caught up in the accident at the happiness convention - out of which only two come out alive, love triangle, etc.). Not entirely sure what that may signify. First episode also had a lot of ones and twos (particularly striking and relevant to the plot was Buck's single armchair for a single person, etc.). If we get fours next episode, I'd laugh very hard. Either way. SOMETHING is up with that.

The colors of red and blue were yet again very prevalent (aside from the obvious ones with the stuff you see at the fire department etc.): red bubble level, literal red flags, the cheating wife in a purple pajama opposed to her husband in a lightly blue shirt (also notice the power of three: that guy's blue shirt, Lev's blue shirt, and Buck's blue shirt), the blue AA book Buck is reading stands in stark contrast to Hen's red laptop cover (while both are sitting on opposite sides, red scissors stuck in a guy, Hen's hoodie when she comes crashing down and Karen in her red dress). Like, obviously, it's great visually to work out contrasts and is very pleasing on the eye. But they really struck me in that episode in particular.

It felt like a callback that Hen's notes repeatedly showed an anatomic heart illustration as well as one of the brain (as she was taking the neurology exam and sadly failed it). Because it instantly got me thinking about Buck misunderstanding the assignment and drawing his lil smiley heart (and Eddie holding both his and Christopher's heart). Hen also repeatedly “misunderstood” the assignment in that she no longer had the focus and couldn't prioritize. So that paralleling might be further extended if we do indeed see Buck crashing down.

On that same note, there might be something to this brain vs. heart theme. Hen's confronted with the brain vs. heart choice right now (which will she choose, being a paramedic or becoming a doctor as she can't be both). If they continue paralleling her and Buck on that, this may also factor in for him in that he is due a decision of the heart vs. one of the head, whichever it may be.

I found it interesting to hear Buck ask Hen about being at ease. And how all fears leave you if you are. Because the implication is that he fears something (many things at once), and he seems more conscious of that now. Which may make things worse for him, even. Because if he can't find answers, he is “alone” with his fears and can't be at ease/happy. Or so it would seem.

Buck questioning what the point was of Lev dying at the happiness convention was an interesting callback to Eddie and him talking about what the sense of their job is, of what the point was for Eddie to have saved his comrades in combat, only for them to die.

“Don't worry, be happy” is indeed a wonderful music choice here, considering that this is exactly what Buck's struggling with as he seems to worry more about the fact that he won't truly achieve happiness and may miss his shot at it.

The fact that they lost Lev to a “design flaw”. Someone else pointed out that it felt like a deliberate callback to Buck's “defective parts” line. And I find myself in agreement, something's up with that.

Hen pointing out that it was about to come crashing down may indeed be foreshadowing not just to her own crash after getting home, but also Buck's later on.

Visually, I found it interesting that the calls were so similar in terms of set-up. Both times things came crushing down and people were buried underneath. Both times it involved flaws in the design. Both times it primarily focused on three people who were involved in the call (husband-wife-lover, Lev and his friends).

Frankie getting hurt after moving chairs. Maybe Buck about to get hurt after moving his armchair... yeah, I know, stretchy stretch.

Where does that leave us regarding Buck in particular?

I will out myself as a Buck breakdown truther right off the bat. Especially this episode struck me in all sorts of ways. And that has me all the more sold that a breakdown is imminent, and that yes, Eddie might be the one person to get him out of it. Or rather, Buck's realization may very well be that this is indeed his happiness right there and that the "blur" Lev talked about was actually not having seen that until that moment. Or something to that effect.

But yeah, breakdown. Let's talk more breakdown.

Buck is searching for answers. By default, he turns to his friends and mentor figures (Bobby, Hen). And while they offer advice, none of the answers leave him much wiser, I think. Like, Buck wants to be content with his lil armchair, but in the next episode, his quest for happiness continues (and will continue to, as far as the plot summaries go that we got to see by now).

Buck finds himself confronted with having to find his own answers. That, in itself, is a good thing. In that he takes a good look at what he wants out of his life and what truly constitutes his happiness. Much of Buck's journey was coming into his own and becoming his own person. One big arc was having his “sense-making” ripped away by the ladder truck bombing and the subsequent loss of his profession. Buck couldn't cope with that because he considered that his purpose.

Things shifted a lot since, even more so since he invested himself more in the Diaz household (read future couch hold). Buck's purpose is also about being there for Eddie and for Christopher (including the will). We have confirmation that he spends a greater deal of time with them (cooks with them, has dinner with them, goes to the zoo with Christopher, etc.).

So we might see some interesting shifts there, considering that Christopher is aiming towards more independence, which will heavily affect Eddie - but may also come to affect Buck, who has focused much of his sense-making on being part of that unit.

So Buck has a lot to negotiate. I have my conclusion for him (which, yes, involves realizing his feelings for his husband at work), but it'll be interesting what will really bring Buck there. Will it really be another close encounter with death? Will it be him retreating to old coping mechanisms as a way of sense-making? Might we see some kind of hero's death idealization, in the hope to “see” what Lev saw before he died, to find the answer? All possible.

What remains for me is that I think Hen's been right with how it was about to come crashing down with regard to Buck as well. Because he will likely keep failing to find happiness because he is looking in the wrong places (misunderstanding the assignment much). Which may prompt him to do things to break out of that cycle, even with great force if he has to.

He told Maddie after she found out he was seeing a therapist what's come back to the forefront now: He doesn't just want to be OK or good, he wants to be better, he wants to be happier. He wants more. Now he finds himself confronted with the question of what constitutes that more. If it isn't firefighting, and it isn't stepping up his game as someone who is there for Christopher and Eddie as a support system (coming to the rescue, stepping in when needed, the will, but nothing beyond that, as far as he can realize)... what is it?

What stood out for me also was that Buck looking at himself and trying to figure out what he wants out of life comes with him turning in on himself. We don't have him (yet) separating himself from the others (he goofs around with Eddie and Chim alright), but it may be a sign that he's heading back there. That he goes back into his own head. And that normally means something bad is about to go down for our Buckaroo.

I just felt very reminded in his last scene with Hen of how he looked at Eddie during that kitchen scene in 5B, when Eddie pretended to be fine with not working as a firefighter right now. That Buck should move on. Like, the facial expression was very similar to me, when he asked Hen what she thought it was, and her not giving an answer and having to take the call and moving on also.

So yeah, I still have a feeling shit's about to go down for our Buckaroo. EDDIE TO THE RESCUE!

... Okay, that was enough rambling for now. There will probably be more. But for now... I'm rambled out.

Thanks for sticking around!

Cheers!

#buddie #evan buckley #evan buck buckley #911 spoilers #911 season 6 #911 season 6 spoilers

[xeter-group]

Just some thoughts about my experience with arts and humanities

Something I realised recently is that like...my high school self had no sense of anything outside stem. Like I could not comprehend any kind of art.

Like I would look at a painting and just be like...ok thats a depiction of something. So what. If it was abstract I'd just sort of look at it and be like ????

I would look at dancing and be like...huh I guess they really are moving around. I remember being so confused why people danced.

I would hear music and just not really pay attention, or when I did it was at most because I found the lyrics funny or catchy. I didn't really listen to music in high school, or dance. I knew a load of epic rap battles of history though. I certainly didn't appreciate music at all.

When I read fiction as a young child it was mainly plot related. Which sure, is a valid and normal kind of thing to enjoy, but I don't know if I'd call it "art" as much as generally "culture". I didn't love any storytelling techniques or anything or read into meanings. I didn't love certain characters or anything.

When I was forced to read and analyse books and plays for a while I literally thought counting your analytical devices was the purpose. And at another point I thought that nobody could REALLY believe what we had to write. It was just made up stuff, or at best just using language devices for fun while explicitly saying something. Why people used language devices was kind of foreign to me, but I knew I got points for identifying them.

I didn't really watch movies or anything either.

I understood geography and history somewhat well as a type of science, or at least an inquiry into how reality works if you think its not science. And I understood things like economic politics from a similar lens. But I think there is a significant difference here between what I mentioned before.

And yes, you don't need to be able to analyse and write essays about a thing for it to be art but I wasn't feeling anything at all. Which is just...confusing to me? How did this happen? Because now I listen to music because I enjoy it. I watch TV shows when I have time. I'm super into reading about philosophy, politics, and economics. I dance to my music when I'm at home and can feel some sense of satisfaction watching dancing. I still don't really get visual art but whatever. How did I go my entire childhood not understanding art? Was someone meant to tell me or do you guys just figure it out on your own? I feel behind now when I listen to people gush about certain lines or characterisations of people and I'm just like ???? oh I guess now you point it out I see it. Huh.

This vaguely reminds me of how I basically didn't care about people as friends for all of primary school. I had 'friends' but it was more of 'oh lets do stuff with these people' and not like 'i care about this person as a person'. At the end I remember just being like "yep ok don't need to see them again, bye..". Only in high school did I start to care about people as humans and want to spend time with them and know them and care about them.

I don't know if this is some kind of developmental delay or something. At least it did wonders for the stem part of my brain because I basically never had to try hard to understand any stem subject. I instead focused all of my trying into improve test performance, which i fucking DESPISE. what a waste of my life. At least at the end I started teaching myself chemistry at a pace I enjoyed.

[monstersandmaw]

Hi Ghosti-

what’s your fave story/series you’ve written? Xx

*ugly happy weeping* thanks for asking this? It's such a treat to be spontaneously asked about my work :)

My 'favourite' is complicated, because the things I write have different meanings and significance for me at the time of writing.

1. Lein and Argis - 'Footsteps in the Snow' unfinished/ongoing m/m Skyrim romance

(sorry, I know only about 2 people care about this series and one of them is me)

Lein came to me when I was at a pretty low point in life, and I lost myself in hours of Skyrim, which probably saved me... I know his hyperbolically-angsty story reflects that (in different ways, obvs: I wasn't battling necromancers and the possible end of the world, no matter how much if felt like it!). And my rendition of Argis also reflects my own journey in a way to learning about being queer and learning that it's ok to be who and what you are when there's finally someone accepting of that in your life. Yes, it's set in Skyrim and yes there are unrealistic plot turns and devices, but it was self-indulgent and I needed it. I hope to be able to give it a full re-edit and finish it off one day.

2. Gabe & Odessa - m/f werewolf romance, ongoing series

This is a much more recent one, and is also absolutely self-indulgent, escapist fantasy fluff, but in a different way. It needs no more justification for its existence than enjoyment in the setting and the characters and the fantasy of it. I love Gabe and his wolfdogs dearly, and Odessa has become a fun mix of 'character in her own right' and 'blank slate for audience-projection'. I want to re-edit this, finish it, then get it professionally edited and self-pub it.

3. Winter Solstice (honourable mention category?) - m/f fae romance, unfinished

This was something I started working on and sharing over on Patreon, and people seemed to enjoy it there, and it has been shared in a very rough version here on Tumblr too. I have about 60,000 words written in total though - 7 sequential chapters and a bunch of 'later in the story' stuff. I was heavily inspired by reading the Silmarillion (I mean, the lead male character is named after my favourite elf in all of Tolkien's legendarium, Cirdan [he gets renamed to Ciridan though and he's not much like Cirdan; he's far too selfish to start with, but he learns]), and the whole idea of the different Valar responsible for different aspects of nature and life inspired the various royal courts, so I really enjoyed the world building for it, but I was never entirely happy with the story premise and wanted to change it. Hopefully, again, I can come back to it and fix that.

(4. a bunch of various fanfics that were really fun to write and I had a blast exploring)

Anyway, as always, I've taken this question way too far and probably bored you all by now with my ramblings. Thank you for indulging me, and thank you for your support and engagement with my writing.

#anon ask #footsteps in the snow #gabe & odessa #winter solstice #fae realm

[lerry-hazel]

HERE BE SPOILERS !!! (e6)

I’m making a list of all those fishy things in GO2 I’m no longer willing to dismiss, because it makes me feel vindicated

So, we continue from where we’ve left: Crowley leaves Aziraphale to face 70 demons presumably alone and goes to Heaven in search of a Convenient Plot Device: even though he already knows both where Gabriel is and why he can’t be found.  

Meanwhile, in accordance with annoying “latest trends”, Aziraphale stand around gaping like a fish letting girls do all the work. Ok, I’ve seen the bullshit explanation about holy water, but why doesn’t he pick up a sword, or the gun he is supposed to have according to this very season, and at least try to finish some demons off before “taking desperate measures”?

Also, the war on Hell can be declared either if all 4 highest-ranking angels come to an agreement, or if some random Principality starts throwing his halo around.

And then, of course, there is the great sham of “going to the stars together”.

Gabriel and Beelzebub were fun as supporting characters, and I know some people were looking forward to seeing them getting together. But I sincerely doubt anyone would agree to watch their story instead of A&C. Especially if that’s a story of a completely different Gabriel and completely different Beelzebub, and it takes all of 6 minutes and 39 seconds (yes, I timed) to unfold.

It’s just plain awkward and painful when B&G start spewing sentiments that were obviously poached from another relationship. And when it’s suddenly “if Beelzebub and Gabriel can…”, as if a relationship that lasted 6000 years against all odds needs to be measured against a story told through convenient amnesia and three flashbacks. And then, to add insult to injury, we also have Nina and Maggy as supreme authority, and –

If the goal was to “compare and contrast” A&C to a new couple who have little in common outside of an intense encounter in a dangerous situation on one side, – and a couple who’d been working together for years without understanding they’d been dating on the other –

WHY THE HELL IS IT NOT, respectively, ANATHEMA/NEWT and MADAME TRACY/SHADWELL???  :-E

And then – well, we all know what happened then.

#good omens #season 2 #good omens 2 #good omens season two #cruel and unusual punishment #shouting into the void #gabriel/beelzebub #anathema device #newton pulsifer #anathema/newt #madame tracy #sergeant shadwell #madame tracy/sgt shadwell

[scorchieart]

Hey, Scorchie! ☺️ For the ask a reader meme: A9, A10, B3, B10, C4, C9

Take care! (⁠´⁠∩⁠｡⁠•⁠ ⁠ᵕ⁠ ⁠•⁠｡⁠∩⁠`⁠) 💖

Hello Syn! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you're taking care, too 💖

A9: Who was your first ship?

Haha, I honestly rarely get bit by the shipping bug. And if I do, it's always for canon relationships. The earliest I can think of is Aang and Katara.

A10: Who did you have your first fanfic-related conversation with? What was it about?

Ooooh, here's a short story-time.

I answered in another ask that the first fanfic I read was a Harry Potter fic. Well, that fic was introduced to me by my two best friends. We called ourselves Chocolate, Chip, and Cookie back then (I was Cookie 😋)

We talked about what we liked/disliked about the story and how certain scenes fit/didn't fit with the main canon. It was so fun that the three of us decided to try our hands at writing a fic. Chocolate had the best handwriting, so she was the scribe. Chip was the biggest Potterhead, so she was our fact-checker. And I... I was the fanfic noob, so I was just along for the ride. We came up with a story about the Marauders at Hogwarts and we shared it with the other fans in our class to humble success. That was years ago, and we never posted the story online, so the only copy is still over at Chocolate's house somewhere.

And that's the story of the first fanfic I ever worked on.

B3: What’s the best device to read on (phone, laptop, tablet…)? Why?

If you asked me in high school, I would say phone because it's the easiest to hide under the blankets when you're pretending to be asleep. Today I say laptop because it's more convenient to open tabs in case you want to save a story for later and it's easier to type comments on.

B10: What is the best plot twist you’ve ever seen?

In the realm of fanfiction, the best twist I've read was in a Hunter x Hunter story where an OC character was introduced so seamlessly into an existing arc from the series and then was revealed to be the target of a canon character... it made sense in the context of the story and it was so emotional it blew my mind (and my heart).

I tried looking for the story again to link it here, but it seems to have been removed T.T I don't think a story necessarily has to be super long to have a satisfying plot twist, but this beast was 70k+ words. And it was incomplete the last time I read it.

C4: What thing that fandom loves do you actually kind of hate? Why?

Ok, so the main reason I don't participate in shipping culture is because I've seen the ugly side of it on the internet and irl. Such wonderful art and stories and creativity have come out of ships, but the reality is that's not always the case. You can do your best to ignore it, but if a shipping war breaks out sometimes it's best to dip entirely. It's exhausting just to watch, I can only imagine what it must feel like to be a part of it.

To my knowledge this doesn't exist in the ikemen fandom, and I appreciate that.

C9: What show did you really try to watch, but you just couldn’t?

I am notoriously bad at completing recommendations people give me in a timely manner. I need the person who recommended the thing to sit with me and watch it so I can get the best experience, I think.

But one show I tried watching with a friend but I couldn't complete is Akame ga Kill. I never read the manga, but the impression the first 5 episodes gave me was that it was a generic dark world that kept trying to flood you with gore and edginess to distract from its very bland plot and characters.

Reader to reader, let's share some questions.

#fic reader meme #ask game