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bookaddict24-7 · 3 months

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REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

EVERY WEEK I WILL POST A VARIOUS REVIEWS I’VE WRITTEN SO FAR IN 2024. YOU CAN CHECK OUT MY GOODREADS FOR MORE UP-TO-DATE REVIEWS HERE.

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8. That Time I Got Drunk & Saved A Demon by Kimberly Lemming--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First five-star read of 2024 🙏🏽

My friends have read this book and LOVED it, so I don't know why I'm lowkey surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I thought it would be a cheesy and slightly boring read (I didn't read the synopsis, okay? Sue me.) But what I got was SO far from that. Full of adventure, heart, sexual tension, and hilarious sass, I found myself laughing and paying rapt attention.

I loved the MC and her responses and commentary. I can see myself re-reading this just to highlight all of her sass. She's one of those contemporary characters set in a fantastical world that helps keep these kinds of stories light and fun. There's a scene where the demon just stares at her like "Okay, so we are definitely getting married" and I don't even blame him. This woman is a BADASS.

I loved their exploration of their world and how quick it was. Some readers might want more setting development, but honestly? I'm happy with how light and straightforward it was. I also really liked the side characters and how the demon just takes out anyone he wants, especially if they threaten the MC.

This was fun and everything I wish that other cozy fantasy book had given me. The new editions of the other two books have already been preordered 😌.

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9. The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH perfectly encompasses the tortures of middle school, the changing of the people we once called friends, and the effects of grief and how a child's mind may twist in ways that might help them comprehend the reality of death.

Ali Benjamin does a fantastic job of drawing out the history of her MC and her friend. The way they both changed and how the MC came to choosing to stay silent verbally for the majority of the book. Watching her trying to find reasons for why her friend has died was heartbreaking. I can't imagine being a parent in that situation, where you know you can't help your child comprehend the change in their reality.

Also, middle school is a cruel place for a lot of kids (hi, I was one of its victims) and the levels of evil some of these kids get up to is truly astounding. It broke me a little watching this friendship fall apart and this poor, young MC having to remember the last moment she saw her friend alive.

Sometimes things just happen and this whole book is, ultimately, a great source for children grieving. Life can be messy, confusing, and sometimes heartbreaking. Benjamin's novel is beautiful and this is another one of those middle grade books that I think adults AND kids should be reading.

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10. The Skull by Jon Klassen--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If no one has read any other Jon Klassen books, then they're in for a surprise. If they have, then they'll recognize the eeriness of his writing.

You can't tell me that the hat books aren't creepy (there's a couple of pages where the big fish CLEARLY eats the little fish in the long grass). This guy is morbid and props to kids' authors who can write a book both for kids and adults.

The artwork was beautiful as always and the story was a very, very quick read. Perfect for those 5-7 year olds who want to try something themselves but don't mind a talking skeleton or skull.

This also got reeeeeeal dark at one point and I was just thinking of how some of the Gen Alpha kids are.

Highly recommend--especially for those littles who love a little spooky with their bedtime stories.

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11. The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Romantic, at times funny, spicy, and full of characters I wanted to punch in the dick, THE FIANCÉE FARCE was entertaining from beginning to end.

Much like many of my reading experiences, I jumped into this without knowing what I was getting myself into and imagine my joy and surprise when the trope of "marriage of convenience" popped up. I loved watching these characters fall in love with each other, and I loved seeing the thwart the horrible people in their lives. I also loved that one of the MCs has a massive love for reading (shown through her family's bookstore).

Was this the best romance I've ever read? Not really--it had some pretty obvious climactic points and some very over the top villains--but it held my attention and I fell for the couple. I loved that one helped the other find her confidence that had been stripped from her at a younger age.

One of the things that keeps me from giving this a five star rating is how...in a bubble this story feels? Like, we meet other characters as they serve their purpose (as is the usual) but if they're not in the scene, it's like they don't exist. There's one scene where one particular character doesn't speak and it's a pretty pivotal moment for the reader to pay extra attention because this is a huge hint about this character, but Bellefleur doesn't even hint at it? It's like that character is deleted from the scene. This is like taking the adage of "when you're with me, I only see you" and using it to the max.

Other than that, this was an entertaining and sexy story of proving assholes wrong and falling in love despite you believing that you're not deserving of love. Highly recommend for enough looking for a cute romance full of family drama and fake relationships!

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12. Ana On the Edge by A.J. Sass--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Such a powerful story!

One of my favourite messages that ANA ON THE EDGE could potentially give young readers that it is OKAY to be in the process of trying to figure out who you are, but also that it's okay to not have all of the answers at once.

We see the MC struggle with their identity and their relationships throughout the whole book, especially because their world has always seemingly had such clear cut gender norms (Ice skating is a huge part of her world). I can't even imagine trying to find who you are when everyone around you is imposing who they think you are on you.

I also enjoyed that we got to see some of the more pivotal relationships in the MCs life and that messy in-between with friendships when big changes happen--like sudden schedule changes, or new friendships blossom. While this book tackled pretty big topics, I liked that its core it was still truly an MGLit book that explored the importance of friendships and keeping the good ones alive (even when life gets a bit hectic.)

Finally, I adored the relationship between the MC and their mom. I loved that they were a team and even though it took a little bit of time, they had some good communication between the two of them. There were some heartwarming moments and I loved seeing them understand each other better as the story progressed.

I think this is another great LGBTQ+ book to have in my back pocket for when I need to recommend great Queer books to readers!

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13. Mindy Kim & the Birthday Puppy by Lyla Lee and Dung Ho Hanh (Illustrations)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's been a while since I picked up the last MINDY KIM book but this was just as cute as I remember the last two books being. There were some moments that made me tear up a little, but I'm just an emotional mess sometimes.

I loved seeing Mindy come into her own with her brand new puppy. A couple of my best friends have a puppy and as I read Mindy's adventures (or misadventures), I thought of how difficult it was for my friends to parent a brand new puppy. This is a kid's book, so I'm not surprised Mindy was able to be so successful so quickly, but in reality, puppies are a lot more work than what was shown here. BUT this didn't take away from the story at all! I love that this could be a really great resource for littles who want a puppy, but need a further understanding of the responsibilities behind it.

And much like the last two books, there were some important topics explored here: how families might look, grief, multicultural traditions, and responsibilities one might take on.

Another great addition to the series and I'll hopefully be reading the next one soon!

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14. Suddenly by Isabelle Autissier--⭐️⭐️.5

I had a lot of expectations for SUDDENLY by Isabelle Autissier, but we all know expectations are sometimes the death knell of a story. The cover enticed me, the synopsis further pulled me in, but the clunky translation full of thesaurus-level words and the random time-jump totally took me out of the story.

Normally, I DNF books that aren't working for me because hi, I have a massive TBR to get through before I die. But I will give Autissier this: she wrote a very intriguing beginning to her book. I wanted to see these characters survive and thrive in their new environment. A morbid sense of intrigue had me continuing the story as they mercilessly killed creatures I never thought someone could kill so coldly, and as they had massive introspection about their super privileged lives (and their first world ignorance about their importance in the grand scheme of things.)

These two characters were severely unlikable, but I couldn't help but get attached. I felt such a mixed bag of emotions towards the FMC and when the time jump happened, I felt further disconnected from not just her, but the story as a whole.

I'll be blunt: the second part of the book (or more like 3/4 way through the book) ruined this for me. I understand the importance of seeing the story of the "after" but I hated it. I think it went from being an interesting exploration of survival and humanity to the superficial experience of society marking you as a hero for surviving. I get that this is also the point: the further examination of how society is in (the character's) reality vs. the truths they realized about the societies they had grown in and how wholly unprepared they were for the battlefield of survival. I get that, but I still disliked it. From there, I felt like the story dragged and my attention wavered even more.

And don't get me started on the ending--the page I thought was going to be the last page was a better last page than the actual last page.

Overall, I liked the first half of the book. Despite the dark aspects, the gut churning choices, and the heartbreaking conclusion, I enjoyed that part. The second part of the book brought the whole story down for me.

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15. Fake Dates & Mooncakes by Sher Lee--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

FAKE DATES AND MOONCAKES was a pretty straightforward and easy read, but listen, it was FUN. This felt like I was experiencing a K-Drama or C-Drama. It was such a good time--the dramatic twists, the threats against the middle class guy dating the rich guy, and the CRAZY RICH ASIANS-like trip and event? Freaking amazing. LOL the love interest literally waits for the MC outside of his school standing by his Ferrari. This is juicy Asian-drama level stuff and I ate. it. up.

The romance was adorable and sweet and I won't lie, I sometimes forgot these were teenagers--not because of anything gross, but because these two were so mature in their actions and how they interacted with each other.

The familial relationships were so sweet and I loved how they clearly had each others' best interests in mind whenever something pivotal happened. They were adorable and I loved them.

Reading this was like experiencing some of my favourite Asian dramas again, with a dash of CRAZY RICH ASIANS. It wasn't an earth-shattering read, but five stars for solely being entertaining and making me smile with giddiness. If you want a cute gay story with some truly cute moments, then you might like this--especially as a read for when the warmer weather finally returns!

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Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them?

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Happy reading!

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popcornforone · 11 months

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You’ve Not Lived, Until You Feel Alive

Chapter 2 of Is That All Mr Gutierrez series

Master List

Chapter 1

Thanks for the love for chapter 1 peoples, I know it was a little different to what I usually write but I need to character builds in this one. When we get to the smut it will be exactly what you all want.

Synopsis: Time has now passed & its 10 years since you had your first kiss with Javi. A lot has changed, & you’ve both grown, but your therapist is asking you to write a secure blog only they can see to get you to believe in yourself once again.

Word count:2500

Warnings: DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 18! THIS IS A VERY TRAUMATIC CHAPTER! I know this will not be for some of you, it gets dark, but I needed it too, I have to break the reader before they get to have fun. Death, murder, suicidal thoughts, violence, terrorists, cancer, shooting, blood, pain & suffering, angst, agony, anger, PTSD, mental health, nightmares. Pining, wanting, unrequited love not being returned, break ups, loss, sorrow. This chapter is done in a blog, journal format.

Again I am sorry if this is triggering or too much, but I needed to do this to character build. If you want to skip to chapter 3 that’s fine, it will be published soon.

Thanks for understanding peoples, it means a lot, & thanks for reading it’s always appreciated. Don’t worry the smut is on its way, I promise.

Secure therapy Blog post 18

I almost didn’t publish this. I really didn’t think anyone would want to hear what I had to say after the events but my therapist said I should just write when the day happened. Writings my therapy, it’s my creative outlet.

But today was the day the unimaginable thing happened….

My dad passed away & im not sure I can go on.

My dads been unwell for a while. We knew it was cancer & it disappeared about 4 years ago but then it came back, & it was incurable.

Nothing the doctors said… there’s nothing we can do… he’s got 6 months… go make memories with him… so that’s what my mum

& I have done.

My mum to have to go through another loss in her life. Another heartbreak, another good bye. I’m not ready to post about the other heart break yet, but I will do one day. It not mine that happened I don’t recall it.

But we have spent the last 18 months with my dad having the best time in the world. The Gutierrez wedding in Cuba for Javis older sister Luna was so much fun, my dads face as I danced with Javi after few too many drinks, thinking of what I could have had with Javi from my time as a teenager crushing on him. It was like time had frozen. My head buried into Javis neck, inhaling his scent for old time sake. The way his hand stroked my back, making me want more. Trying not to think that his fiancé was looking right at us. She knows I’m just his assistant & look after the legitimate side of the business. She has no idea the feelings I have hidden away from her soon to be husband. A pipe dream I had 10 years ago when I wrote my teenage diary.

But then we got home & dad took a downward turn. & he told me to be brave & go after my dreams & to always be true to myself.

When he was still with us after the 6 months the doctor originally told us, we took each day as a blessing. I don’t believe in god, but I know my dad does. Every night I asked my dads god for one more day with him. & obviously I asked for one too many.

Watching him pass was heartbreaking & but also soothing. He was no longer in pain. & what he did medically for the world to help & try & find a cure still astounds me. My dad went through awake brain surgery to see what happened when it was operated on & how it affects the body. He was so brave. If that procedure saves one life, my dads pain & death won’t have been for nothing.

The Gutierrez’ have told me to take as much time as I need. Javi has sent around a vase of black orchids, my favourite, he always says he sees my inner goth whenever he looks at them. He’s said the business can wait & that he can look after himself for a few days, but I am already missing that dimple & cheeky smile. Even now he has a calming influence on me. It’s just him, it’s just J. He will always be there for me. & yes it’s weird that one of my closest friends in the world is a drug lord & part of the mafia, but we run the legitimate side of the family empire. We run it well. & Javi knows a day will come when he has to run all of it. He’s not looking forward to that but he knows it’s his destiny. He & Sofia will raise an amazing family & have a fantastic life & I will watch by the side, maybe with a family of my own, watching them be happy & be glad I have a small part in their life.

My dad told me to be happy. & that’s what I’m going to do… be happy.

He wouldn’t want me to mope around & wait for life to happen.

So that’s what I’m going to do.

We will have the funeral, Javi Senior has said we can have the wake at their mansion, no need for us to have it in our hotel.

But then I think I need to take that gap year I’ve always promised I would do.

I want to see more of the world than just Spain & England. I want to experience life. I want to feel alive. That’s what my dad always said, you’ve not lived until you feel alive.

Dad I miss you.

I miss your smile.

Your kind eyes.

Your bad jokes.

& I miss that you will never walk me down the aisle or watch me grown into a woman. I know I am a woman but I have so many life experiences to come & you won’t be there to watch me grow & fail. Become proud of myself & who I become.

I love you dad…

I’m not sure I can do this without you…

Secure therapy Blog post 26

I’ve put this off

Everyone’s told me to type

Everyone asked me if I’m okay

I say I am

But I’m not

So here goes

4 months ago I nearly died…

even typing that feels like a weight has lifted off my shoulder

It was horrible

I should not be here

I can still feel the heat when I drop off to sleep

The dreams & nightmares are so vivid

Every day awake was already struggle & now my peaceful sleep is full of flashbacks of horrors or my worst nightmares

It’s pain like nothing else

I was in Rome, after seeing the opera, just on my own. I needed from space from mum, work & Javi. His break up was hurting him a lot & he’d been making rash impulsive decisions. It’s most unlike him. So I suggested I went away for a week, have some me time & so he can get over Sophia. The last thing we both needed was to be moody in each others presence.

So I flew to Rome, did all the sights & went shopping, hooked up with some guys & stayed in a nice hotel & went to the opera.

Then at 3am as I slept in bed I felt warm, it was September so the weather is to be expected. & then I heard the noise, & smelt the ash. A car had exploded outside our hotel & the front of the building had caught on fire. I grabbed my phone & keys & headed to the fire escape.

I could feel the heat surround me, my lungs desperately needing air, as this ash fog just coated my throat. I remember seeing some people pass out, lots of screaming & items on the floor that I did not register. I knew I had to make it out, I had to see everyone I cared for one last time

I know that in the last 18 months since my dad passed I’ve felt helpless & suicidal at times but I’ve always found strength & love from others, it’s got me though it. I needed to get out in one piece. I needed to be with everyone even if it is just to say goodbye.

But then I got to the lobby to make my way to the exit. This was not just a car crashing & exploding, this was a massacre. This was an attack on the hotel & its guests. Bodys burnt in front of my eyes, some people bleeding out, bullets & weapons across the floor. Death stood between me & my exit. How I had got to this part of the hotel still alive & not in pain was a miracle already. As I stepped across the lobby heading for the exit, I could just hear my dads voice like he was there going, you’re doing so well sweetheart, you’re almost safe, you can make it. A few more steps & the horrors will be over. You can almost smell the fresh night air, keep going.

Maybe there is an afterlife, maybe he was reaching out to me but I knew I had to make it across & get tho the exit. It took me a while but I stumbled eventually through the exit & gasped as the nights air filled my lungs.

But then the horror continued… but I have no recollection of it. All I remember is the high piecing screech & suddenly feeling warm as something hit me. Blood trickling & seeping through my sleep shorts. I had been shot. I know I blacked out but there was just one thing running through my mind before my face crashed into the hard cold concrete path. That i would was never get to apologise to Javi for telling him to man up after the break up, for not telling him that I knew Sofia was having an affair sooner, & for not telling him that he has been my true love from the moment I met him, aged 13.

27 of us survived the hotel siege. My mum said I had a face Picasso would have been proud to paint when I woke up. She was crying but her humour got me through it. She’s had so so much loss in her life. Losing me would have hurt the most, she’d have no one. We agreed one step at a time, keep things slow, but I keep having these nightmares from the day. I now know it was the police who shot me by accident thinking I was apart if the group storming the hotel & I am being compensated, I mean it is there job to protect everyone & not take any risks. But I was in my jammies how many terrorist siege a hotel in pjs?

Seeing Javi when I got back here on the island was perfect. All our anger & frustration with each other had gone. We hugged & cried & promised to never be mean or hide anything from each other again. & then he broke my heart just before I went to tell him how I really felt about him & that he helped get me through that night & how he was the last thing I thought of before I blacked out. He said I was his best friend & he knew we would always have each others back.

It still hurts much like the wound in my leg. It hurt deep. But if Javi just wants us to be just friends I can cope with that. I just want Javi to be happy that’s all. I want to watch him grow & flourish & live his best life. I want the world for Javi & if that means I’m just a friend, I hope I can deal with it.

I’m so glad I have a secure server to type on.

This has really helped me today, & so has looking back at all my old posts. Therapy has really made me not feel guilty, that I’m here & those people aren’t. Survivors guilt is real & it’s painful. I do still wish at times that I didn’t make it out but my dad was the voice in my head telling me to keep going & that I am strong. My mum will always have my back. & I know I can trust Javi to support me in everything as a friend, even if that’s all it is. But I do wish it was something more…

Secure therapy Blog post 32

It’s been a while… it really has

My therapist told me to write

She told be to be honest

She told me she would read this

She told me to say it

I am worth something

I am not defined by my recent trauma

& I am valid in my pain

Last week was not only the 2 year anniversary of my dads death but also the day I received my compensation for being shot & the findings report from the massacre were released on the same day, it hit me like a train & i seriously considered with all the emotions & conflict inside me, if my life actually mattered

My mums back in London, to complete the renovation of the new dinning room & kitchen of our hotel there, my best friend is on her honeymoon, & no offence to you my therapist, but I knew what you were going to say. I wanted something else or someone else to validate me.

I’ve been staying at Javis on Saturdays recently, he says that’s when he misses company the most & he usually has meetings or church on Sunday mornings. So I was just standing in the kitchen cooking us dinner, when everything just over came me, the knife in my hand looking so sharp & inviting, would anyone really miss me if I killed myself right now…

I didn’t even know Javi had entered the kitchen, but I knew the second I came out of my paused trance that the tingling sensation Within me was from his hand removing the knife from mine, putting it out of my reach. His other hand stroking my back going up & down my spine. I felt like I was actually breathing & being seen for the first time in almost 2 years.

& that’s when one of my favourite songs came on the playlist i was listening too. & I just rocked with Javi in silence, his arms tightly around me waist, squeezing the pain out of me but also filling me with love & purpose… the moment I finally turned my head to see him & his big puppy dog eyes, the lyrics sang “when nobody understands you, well I do” played. We both just softly smiled at each other no words being said.

When the song ended he asked me if I felt better & that I was always welcome & safe in his house or his parents villa if I need some space & didn’t want to go back to the hotel. I told him I knew that, he told me because that’s what best friends do we say nothing & we just understand don’t we…

I should have told him there & then that I was now sure I wanted more but the moment was so pure & perfect & gave me purpose again, that I didn’t want to ruin it with heart break for me if he rejected me. I couldn’t cope with that, not right now. So I’ll continue continuing on

I know my place

& I know Javi will always be there for me…

Chapter Three

#fanfic #my fics #pedro pascal #no minors #javi g #javi gutierrez #javi g fic #javi g fanfiction #the unbearable weight of massive talent #tuwomt #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character fanfiction #pedro pascal cinematic universe #pedro pascal fanfiction

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destinygoldenstar · 1 year

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Which Love Triangle Is Worse? (Ninjago Vs Total Drama)

Hey, this is called a sponsor, right? For advertising something? Why don’t we try it? For a book?

Destiny’s Burden. An original story by yours truly.

The world of Destiny takes place a century into the future, where Earth and all its morally questionable implications were wiped out for the sake of a utopia.

The beloved savior, Mary Sue, rescued everyone from extinction by creating a world system that would change all of humanity.

Destiny, from all the Chosen One stories you’ve heard, is the dominant force of society. Those who’ve praised Mary Sue have been granted a loving world of kingdoms with the clearest right and wrong, and lives of great fortune. Those who’ve rejected her ideals were cursed to become the Dark Lords, the villains and the black of the stories that would come.

When certain children come of age, they are granted a destiny of their own, abilities of a Chosen One, and given clear stories for them to follow and train for. Stories that would bring peace to their wonderful world, against the Dark Lords who dare to try and change it.

A generation of Chosen Ones begins with Charlie Sue, the descendent of Mary Sue herself, being assigned the task of becoming the savior of the entire land after a group of Dark Lords steal power.

With the help of a few Chosen One friends, Charlie must train for the day he claims his place as Destiny’s savior.

And if Destiny really is that pleasing of a utopia.

An original fantasy action story by yours truly. Questions are free to be asked in messaging me, and followers of my blog will, in time, get a chance to beta read parts of the story and give much needed feedback to make this a great passion project. More info coming soon.

Now, onto the post.

You know, this was easier to decide than I thought.

I know, it didn’t sound like it would at first.

Okay, lets think of a better intro...

Both of these cartoons means quite a bit to me.

I already talk about Total Drama on my blog quite a bit, to the point where I think some of my followers think I’m a TD blog. I’m not. There’s other stuff I talk about. In fact, there’s even more I could talk about with TD, and opinions I have yet to share.

However, it is an absolute CRIME in my head that I have not talked about Ninjago as much as I do with TD. I mean, I made a Skybound review awhile back, which holds up on my opinions, but that’s about it.

Why do I say this? Well because, I have the LAMEST childhood over. I did not grow up with Total Drama. I watched it when covid hit and I had nothing better to do. I didn’t even watch Avatar The Last Airbender until last year, which is NUTS.

I was more so into MLP as a kid, but I stopped watching it around Season 6, not through any puberty hit, but because my parents HATE me watching MLP. (For reasons I don’t get.) And I was also bullied heavily for liking MLP, so...

I also was obsessed with Minecraft Story Mode. (And I did make a few posts about it. They’re old, though.) It’s sad to me what happened to that series...

I also binge read the Sailor Moon manga, and I have all the books still. I watched the 90s show too, but... I honestly did not like it.

I would say, ‘what a surprise, the book is better’, but you’d be shocked to hear the Sailor Moon fandom say that the 90s anime is superior. For me... no.

Then I had one brief RWBY phase. And I mean BRIEF. In actuality, I don’t hardcore hate the show, but the one aspect of the show that prevents me from getting into it is it’s awful protagonists. I dunno, maybe I’ll make a post about that topic, because it’s astounding to me how bad their protagonists are.

And if you know me, I more so tend to have more to talk about when it comes to the flawed shows rather than shows with perfect writing. I said it over and over again, YES, I’ve watched ATLA, and Arcane. Those shows are amazing. Do you want me to praise those shows like the 7 billion other people on planet earth have?

Okay, I’m getting off track.

But there’s one show in my childhood that I distinctly remember being a part of my childhood more than any of these: That’s Ninjago.

I remember when I was around eight years old, and my sibling and I would tune in every week to watch an episode on Netflix. And I don’t even like the shows my sibling watch. But we both bonded with this show specifically. I think it has to do with this being the first show I’ve watched that wasn’t just one episode adventures. This was a show with substance, with story arcs that branch for multiple episodes, with characters to follow. Something I was not familiar with at the time.

Also Zane. Best boy. No I’m not taking criticism.

Before I even made my Tumblr account, I would write private essays talking about Ninjago. They’re terrible.

I have huge memories of this show. I WANTED to talk about this show for awhile, but couldn’t figure out what to talk about.

And then in my creative writing class, we were talking about tropes we hated.

My teacher said ‘the love triangle’. (I didn’t have that on my list, surprisingly)

It seemed like everyone, besides myself, hated the love triangle trope. And it seems very valid.

Like, just pick one love interest, darn it!

So that got me to make this post. Why a contest between these two shows?

Well they both have a love triangle that the majority of the fandom hates, they’re both known for destroying a relationship people liked, and they both take place in their Season Three.

And also, everyone hates these plotlines, so I wanted to ask myself, are they really that bad? More importantly, which is worse?

That’s what we’re here for.

Keep in mind, this is my POV on these plotlines. There’s obviously gonna be disagreement and I would love to hear your opinions when reblogging.

Also SPOILER WARNING FROM HERE ON OUT. IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED EITHER OF THESE SHOWS AND DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED, DON’T CLICK ‘KEEP READING’. Watch the shows, and then come back.

But there’s one key factor that I think makes people lean to one argument:

Bias

My first claim is that it has to do with nostalgia of the show that springs our reactions.

When I watched the Ninjago love triangle as a kid, I was confused, cringing, and angry.

When I watched the Total Drama love triangle when I’m older, I was just like ‘okay, so we’re doing this.’

So obviously, there’s a great line of bias. As a kid, your brain hasn’t fully developed, so when bringing up a concept that isn’t black and white, and emotionally damaging, you’re gonna get heavy results.

It was the same for when Zane died in Season Three. I was a kid. I was TICKED.

Looking back now, that was an expertly built up scene and one of the best payoffs to a character arc in the show.

‘Animation is for babies’

And yet you have this:

“Are you working for Silco?”

“Fuck you”

-Arcane. (And that’s the LEAST adult thing in the show)

It’s the same thing with shipping.

Kids media are given the simplistic idea that romance is absolute. That you have one person destined for you and it will all work out.

A love triangle is... complicated, for kids heads.

So when another guy a character is in love with enters the picture, kids are gonna be confused and relatively act negative towards it. Despite the fact that love triangles... do actually exist in the real world?

Anyone remember Hamilton? Of course you do.

This is why we tend to hate Love Tringles in my eyes.

But I want to be as objective as possible with this, and discuss each storyline and their problems. So lets coin toss and decide which show we start with.

*Flips coin*

*Gets Heads*

Ninjago, it’s your lucky day.

I guess it’s fitting since I watched this show first.

Ninjago (Jay, Cole, and Nya Love Triangle)

Ninjago is a show produced by LEGO, which tells the story about a group of ninjas being assigned to face against the evils of the titular world. It’s also LEGOs biggest TV show to date.

This is more of an action superhero show than anything, and I think that’s gonna be the biggest difference here. Both shows I’m talking about have different priorities.

But I’m just focusing on the love triangle.

This plotline springs in its third season, Rebooted. It’s an eight episode long season, and the plotline gets introduced in the premiere briefly, and stays relevant all season between the three characters involved. It gets carried over to season four in that third episode, and it’s mentioned briefly in the premiere of season six. Then it ends.

People tend to hate this love triangle for a certain reason:

Why?

WHY was this love triangle needed?

I tried researching what was going on behind the scenes when the decision was made, but I could not find anything. I may be bad at research though.

My best guess is this:

Ninjago was originally supposed to end after Season Two: Legacy Of The Green Ninja. However, from the success of the show and insane toy sales, they made the decision to continue the story and make a third season. The task of continuing a story you designed to end is... daunting. For any writer.

So my biggest assumption on why they decided to do a love triangle was because they were still struggling to figure out what to do with the story of Ninjago from where they intended to end it.

I don’t hate Rebooted. Rebooted has its moments. But the season also carries a lot of lows, and this is one of them. It’s why I think most of the fandom sees this as a mid tier season overall, and pretty mixed.

So lets give context to the love before the season:

Right from the pilot episodes, one of the missions of the newly formed ninja team was to rescue the fire ninja Kai’s sister, Nya.

And the lightning ninja, Jay, says this:

“We’re saving a girl? Is she hot?”

Right off the bat, and before they even met, the writers implied that Jay was gonna have a thing for Nya, the most major girl character in the entire show.

Jay and Nya properly meet in the second pilot episode after Kai rescues her, and they exchange their favorite colors. It so happens to be blue. Flirting.

Right off the bat, there is no hate each other until they love each other bull, there is no will they or will they won’t, from the moment they met, these two have had a thing for each other.

In fact, we don’t even really do a ‘will they or will they won’t’ with them, because the flirting carries over in the proper first season of the show.

So much so that their big milestone in their relationship is in Episode 8.

Yeah. That’s quick. It’s almost impressive.

Basically, that episode has Jay trying to impress Nya, Kai tricking him into giving his sister an allergy (like the great brother he is), and despite this, Nya accepting his proposal to go on a date. Unfortunately, Jay gets his finger pricked on a snake fang, and it’s worse sounding than it sounds when you know the context of the show. Wacky hijinks ensue when their secrets of their identities clash, with Jay being a nobody from a junkyard, and Nya being a Samurai ally to the ninja and wanting to keep that a secret because of some sexist bull.

But by the end of the episode, they make up, confess their feelings, and become an official couple.

From there, there’s minimal drama between their relationship for the rest of Season One, and all of Season Two. It’s just been them flirting and praising each other, and being supportive.

There was also an episode where an evil clone of Jay kisses Nya, and tells the real Jay about it, which makes Jay so mad that he essentially MURDERS him.

Compared to Total Drama, and due to different show circumstances, this is actually a very tame thing to do.

So, Jay and Nya as a couple, pre-Rebooted, has had next to NO issues.

Now you might be wondering, if that’s the case, WHY IN THE NAME OF HECK did they decide to throw Cole into this? Where did he fit in all of this?

Well, I just rewatched all of Season One and Two for this post, and in terms of Cole and Nya interactions... there was nothing.

I’m not kidding. These two have not had ONE interaction with each other pre-Rebooted. The most is when Nya is talking to all the ninja, not Cole specifically.

So why would Nya suddenly have a thing for a guy she never talks to, when she has a good relationship with Jay?

And whatever you Total Drama people who haven’t watched Ninjago are thinking, it’s even dumber than that.

So in the premiere of Rebooted, they go to this sci-fi tour at the new Ninjago central tower... thing. The ninja are left doing plot stuff with Cyrus, and Nya is left to take care of kids and be a chaperon to a field trip. Little girls find this ‘perfect match’ machine, which is SUCH a real thing in the real world (sarcasm), and they make Nya try the machine.

And her perfect match is said to be Cole.

THAT is how Nya gets feelings for Cole.

Told you it was dumber than you think.

She did not gain feelings for Cole through any interaction with him, or other people pressuring the concept, or even her current boyfriend being any wrong to her.

No.

It’s a freaking. MACHINE.

So right at the next time Nya is focused on, she is flirting with Cole. She mistakes him referring to the students with their kids, she gives him the looks, and she’s also holding hands with him.

Yeah. Nya is essentially CHEATING ON HER BOYFRIEND.

And again, she’s only doing this because a MACHINE SAID SO.

It’s not like she’s even trying to hide it, as Jay catches them.

This makes Nya look horrendously unlikeable in the season, as you’d expect.

Why is this so OOC for her? Because there was ZERO prompting for this to happen. None.

At most, you could say that Jay’s ego made her feel lesser of relevance, but to Ninjago’s credit, they do address that... IN SEASON SIX.

So that’s not an excuse here. We’re talking about BEFORE Skybound.

Until Skybound, and I guess Tournament of Elements, Nya hasn’t had an issue with Jay’s ego. Again, in the episode where they hook up, she tells him that he doesn’t need to impress her. And they both agreed on such.

In the third episode of Rebooted, it’s revealed that PIXAL is the AI of the machine that did all of this. Not only does she not apologize or tell Nya that she should let her heart decide, but she encourages the cheating and to dump Jay.

To be fair, I don’t really hold PIXAL accountable for the love triangle. At this point in the story, she’s just a robot doing her job, and knows little about showing humanity. And she just woke up from a near death experience, so yeah, I think it’s safe to say that she was numb when she told Nya this. PIXAL is really not trying to harm anybody, or say anything personal, she’s just saying what the program of the machine told her to say.

However, Jay hears PIXAL claim that Cole is Nya’s perfect match, explaining that Nya was indeed cheating on her, and it absolutely ENRAGES Jay.

So much so that when an unexpected Cole walks into the room, Jay physically tries to beat him up.

They were friends before, and had some playful teasing in the first two seasons, but now it’s gone.

This is, deemed by many fans, one of the WORST scenes of the entire show.

I don’t blame them. I hate this scene too.

Even if you take the so called build up out, the scene is accompanied by awful dialogue and puns, so... there is NO ironically enjoying this either.

So from then on, Cole and Jay hate each other and spend the rest of the season fighting over Nya. To be fair, past this episode, it just turns into spiteful comments, and doesn’t escalate to any physical fighting until Season Four.

And it’s not like they’re trying to kill each other. Quite the opposite in fact. (Jay does oblige in saving Cole from getting lost in space, no hesitation)

So yeah, this season, because of the love triangle, assassinated all three characters involved. And mind you, I LOVE Ninjago’s protagonists. I LOVE these characters. So when I say they’re OOC here, I mean it.

I already talked about Nya and how this was out of character for her. Because the sexist BS is the biggest pet peeve I have with Nya. Otherwise, she’s very compassionate, assertive, and a girlboss with a very strong character arc throughout the entire show.

Jay does have a right to be angry. After all, he was cheated on. But I think he’s mad at the wrong person. He never blames Nya for this at all, and only pins it on Cole as a heartless monster. That’s odd to me, because Nya cheated, and he SAW THAT. I thought he would yell at her at least once, but no, instead he demands she picks him like an egotist. That’s what someone possessive would do, and Jay has NEVER done this before.

Besides, if you think about it, he’s only mad because PIXAL, an AI, said he was no good for Nya. In that case, he should be mad at PIXAL too. Sure, I said that PIXAL couldn’t help it, but if I were Jay, yelling at her would be warranted.

But nope. It’s all Cole’s fault, even though Cole was kind of a victim of circumstances.

Speaking of, why is Cole even into Nya?

Like I said, they haven’t talked before this. Cole has shown no signs of liking Nya, in fact, he seemed to support Jay and Nya as a couple. This is especially strange because Cole is the kind of character who knows exactly what he wants. If he was into Nya, he would’ve said so right away, especially before Jay even got with her.

The worst part is, the rest of the season only consists of Nya trying to decide who she likes, and the other two trying to fight for her affection. I don’t think they even mention the cheating after this. And again, it goes absolutely nowhere until Season Four, Episode Three.

In that episode, Jay and Cole are forced to fight each other by Clouse rigging the titular tournament. They’re actually not okay with this until Neuro, a guy who can read minds, escalates their rage. Then they’re okay with beating each other up with a ton of rage and grief towards each other.

Before the match, Lloyd tells them to remember who the real enemy is. He is referring to Chen. This is the driving force to the rest of the fight.

In a fight scene that is actually visually pleasing, ngl, Cole and Jay go all out until a random point in the middle where Cole decides, ‘hey, you’re not my enemy, and I never even liked Nya, so yeah, I’ll just sacrifice myself so you can stay in the game, symbolizing how you won this love triangle.’

And they make up.

Despite the little effort and prompting beforehand. Like I said, they only did this because Lloyd said so. So why are they making up now if they hate each other so much?

And then any love life plotline with Cole completely drops, and Cole is left with no love interest until Master of the Mountain. Cole and Nya have some scenes together after this, but it’s clear that they’re just friends and it never goes anywhere. And in Skybound, the love triangle is just treated as the plot device that broke up Jay and Nya, as they get back together.

So did the love triangle really amount to anything besides that?

No.

You can wipe out this plotline entirely, and not much changes. The villains don’t take advantage of that specifically, and they forget about it afterwards, with no build up beforehand.

Yeah you could argue Chen and Clouse took advantage of it, but they were after the ninja because they were spoiled the behind the scenes drama of their little game. They were threats, and an alliance, which their games try to discourage. So they would’ve set Cole and Jay up against each other anyway.

I fully understand why people hate this plotline, as it’s used for unnecessary drama. Unlike Total Drama, which uses titular DRAMA as a part of the plot’s torture, Ninjago has no reason for their drama to be unnecessary. This is not a torturous scenario Ninjago is living in, this is an action show!

I guess I can appreciate that Jay and Nya were able to recover from this and get back together. They even get married. My heart sings.

And at least in Ninjago, this plotline drama doesn’t seem to escalate, and people are able to forget about it.

Total Drama is a completely different story.

So lets talk about that.

Total Drama (Courtney, Gwen, and Duncan Love Triangle)

I talked about Total Drama quite a bit on my blog already, so I’ll be brief.

Total Drama is about a group of teenagers being scammed onto a game show to try and become celebrities. Torture ensues.

It’s far more treated like a reality show in cartoon form, I guess that’s the best way I can explain it.

Despite the fact that the love triangle here is HIGHLY loathed, even more so than Ninjago, and that I did headcanon posts of all three characters, I’ve avoided talking about the love triangle before this.

That fandom is THAT violent when it comes to this topic.

You will NEVER get the same POV about it.

So what I’m gonna say is guaranteed to tick off at least half of the people who read this.

PLEASE, just hear me out.

I don’t really ship either.

I haven’t been a hardcore Jaya fan either, but it’s the same mindset I gave to Duncney and Gwuncan. In the latter two’s case, it’s because they’re trapped under such awful circumstances, that being the show’s setting used to stress them out, screw up their heads, and torture them. And also the executives who forced this on the writers.

In the context of Total Drama’s writing staff, they didn’t want to do this either. They were forced to by the executives, who wanted to teach kids that breakups happen and you could end up with someone else.

That sounds like it has good intentions...

Until you find that the actual moral they delivered with the first breakup was that ‘If you break up with someone, the entire world will hate you. And you deserve it.’

I don’t think I need to tell you that’s a bad message.

To be fair, I’ve never been against either ship involved, so I don’t hate either.

But the canon circumstances?

OOF.

Let’s get this started:

So the first season of Total Drama is kind of a different story than with Ninjago.

Unlike Ninjago, which just had Jay and Nya as a couple and Cole was someone I assumed was ace (welcome to the club), all three people involved in the later love triangle had an established love interest and relationship.

Gwen, the third wheel and the Cole in this case, had a relationship with Trent, your typical guitar playing love interest and as generic of a love interest as you can get. But they get in a few shenanigans with Gwen being a stubborn loner, and Heather being Heather and doing one of my most hated story tropes, so they don’t get together until the end of the season.

And then in season two, Trent gets his character assassinated and becomes possessive over Gwen, OVERLY so, and it causes Gwen to break up with him because as I said in previous posts, Gwen doesn’t know how to deal with relationships.

And then the entire world treats Trent like a victim, that Gwen was the abusive one, and everyone hates Gwen.

And this is just the START of the Gwen social punching bag.

Then in season one, there was another relationship relevant to this topic: Duncan and Courtney.

They’re presented as your typical bad boy/good girl dynamic.

And they actually had fun chemistry. Ngl.

Duncan flirts with her, and Courtney tries to deny her feelings for him and masks it through lectures, claiming she hates his rude and rebellious behavior. Despite this, they keep having sexual tension, and they have a kiss in Episode 12.

You could say Ninjago has an advantage then, but keep in mind that Ninjago has 13 episodes in its season one, and Total Drama has 26 episodes. So I’d say they’re both impressive.

I would say that on an enjoyment standpoint, Duncan and Courtney, and Jay and Nya are very fun couples with fun chemistry. That’s why people liked them.

Jay and Nya however, barely had any drama going on in their relationship before Season Three.

Duncan and Courtney are a different story.

Like I said before, Courtney tried to deny her feelings for Duncan and masked it through lecturing her own love. It’s not until she finds out about Duncan’s more positive traits that she realizes she wants to be around him. Or rather, she can FIX him.

Yeah. Courtney is a fixer upper.

This is a trope in romance, and not a very good one if you ask me. Usually, I use the fixer upper to claim why a relationship would NOT work.

SHUT UP FROZEN.

And I don’t want to take this all out on Courtney and say she’s the problem. Duncan is a jerk as well. He’s a bully, he cares more about his image than being himself, and he also does stuff we’ll talk about in a minute. But in terms of the couple aspect, Courtney is the one raising the red flags in the beginning.

Now, I do think Courtney cares about Duncan and thinks she’s helping, but that is not the point. You can love your partner, and still abuse them.

Instead of these two working through their differences, Courtney just hands Duncan a list of things she wants to change about him, and is VERY strict about him following that. Prior to this, Duncan has annoyed her by trying to flirt with her, and she responds through lethal hits to the nuts, or physical punches, or mentally guilt tripping him. Prior to even that, she DITCHED him in his hour of her need for a million bucks.

Yeah, Total Drama LOVES romanticizing abusive relationships. That is a PROBLEM.

So Duncan, in his stress of the relationship, decides he doesn’t want anything to do with her anymore, and he votes her off the show, breaking them up.

And then he wins a million dollars, and they get back together.

“Now you’re saying that I’m a gold digger, but check my gleam up, hey go figure.” -Six

And then in Celebrity Manhunt, they publicly humiliate each other yet again, sue each other, and break up. So what was the point of them getting back together?

I heard people claim that in this same special, they have a kiss on the bus while bickering, so that means they’re back together.

If you want to see it that way?

Courtney did.

But let me ask you this: Where in this episode was that confirmed? Where did they agree to get back together?

Exactly.

Duncan never made it clear to Courtney that they weren’t back together in his mind. They had what you called a fling. Duncan does this. He is a horndog.

This is Duncan emotionally using Courtney for his own image. See, I told you Duncan wasn’t innocent in this.

Then there’s Gwen.

Unlike Cole and Nya, Duncan and Gwen actually DID have interactions pre-season three.

In season one, their dynamic started around the slasher episode, as they bonded over their shared enthusiasm for blood and gore in movies. They orchestrate the survival plan for the challenge, and betray each other, but I don’t think either of them took it that personally. They also helped each other/bickered in the castaway episode.

Their friendship properly starts in season two, where they have friendly interactions and help each other out in challenges. Gwen even picks Duncan first to be her teammate.

It gets to a point where Trent, Gwen’s girlfriend at the time, gets jealous and thinks Gwen is hitting on Duncan. Gwen denies it and claims they’re friends, but no one believes her. In fact, when Gwen is sent to the Aftermath show and broken up with Trent, everyone accuses Gwen of dumping Trent for Duncan. Another reason why the show wants you to hate Gwen and absolutely no one else.

That is frustrating.

In the Celebrity Manhunt special, it’s revealed that Gwen DOES indeed have a crush on Duncan and just doesn’t want it to surface because he’s with Courtney. When she hears they broke up, she becomes interested again.

This is a year after season two, so we don’t know what happened that made Gwen change her mind.

Did Gwen and Duncan bond off screen?

That’s an even bigger possibility in this show than in Ninjago given the circumstances, but they never establish that they did.

Duncan quits Season Three at the start, but the producers track him down anyway. Before he returns, Courtney talks about how she misses him, and wants him back.

GWEN IS IN THESE SCENES BTW.

There’s also this exchange between Alejandro and Courtney in episode two that I noticed upon rewatch that I find interesting:

“Such witty remarks from such fiercely intelligent women. I’m both humbled and intrigued.”

“Nice try. But I’m with Duncan.”

“And what pity it is that you should give yourself to a quitter, who doesn’t deserve you.”

“That’s not-Duncan is-totally-you’re just- will someone hurry this camel up?!”

Obviously, Alejandro is playing her. He is the season’s bad guy after all. He’s taking advantage of the relationship strain.

But consider how Courtney stutters when trying to defend Duncan? She’s trying to dodge any notion that Duncan would leave her. She thinks she’s doing the right thing, and can’t fathom the idea that she’s done something wrong. She doesn’t WANT to believe they’re broken up.

I’m shocked no one brings up this scene, actually.

During this, Gwen and Courtney, being on the same team, become friends from their shared hatred of Heather. Really, I think they just became friends because they’re the only non-simps, non-insane, non-horrible people on their team.

Friendships come from very unlikely places sometimes.

They didn’t really have any interactions before this. Cole and Jay had two whole seasons being on a team.

And then we get THE SCENE.

Duncan comes back, and immediately, Courtney lectures him for leaving her, then embraces him. He says that every time he ran from the cops, he thought of HER.

He’s staring at GWEN.

GWEN REALIZES THIS.

It brings her in a spiral of question late at night, and she’s clearly not thinking clearly. Are Duncan and Courtney a thing? Are they not? Does Courtney deserve him? Is Courtney a bad influence? Does Duncan like Gwen? Is Duncan interested in her?

Duncan shuts out any questions by coming into the bathroom to kiss her.

Thus, he cheats on Courtney with Gwen.

This can be interpreted in a lot of ways, but I think there’s two we can bring up.

One is the nature of Duncan’s character.

He is a horndog who cares about his image. He wants to be seen as a bad boy and not his true self. He wants is bad boy persona to be his true self. He wants validation from the people around him, so anyone who finds interest in that persona, he will bang.

He’s not sweet good intended Nya. He’s quite the opposite.

But I don’t think it’s clear what his intention was. Was he trying to escape his situation with someone he trusts? Was he trying to spite Courtney? (I mean, All Stars implies that) Was he trying to start over with a new girl? Is he using Gwen? Does he actually love Gwen?

None of these questions get answered. We are given NO clear idea why Duncan did this. That’s why there’s such a division in perspective.

They could’ve at least had a confessional where Duncan explained his intent, whatever it was, but nope.

The other factor is the influence of the show.

This is the machine from Ninjago.

This is the PIXAL, if PIXAL was a sociopath.

The show fans assumed there was something going on with Duncan and Gwen, and they pressure them into trying to admit that being the truth. EVERYONE, throughout the year, pressure this. Geoff, Heather, fans, Chris, even Courtney herself.

I talked about this in other posts, so I’ll be brief. The show screws up the morality of SEVERAL characters, to the point where they will do nasty stuff you wouldn't see them do in season one, where they were pure.

It’s very easy to assume that Gwen would only have feelings for Duncan because the show is pulling her strings.

But they don’t establish that either. That’s just my interpretation of it to try and make sense of this writing.

So take all of this with a grain of salt.

Gwen regrets the kiss afterwards, somewhat, well, only because afterwards Courtney goes on and on about how Duncan’s her boyfriend. I think Courtney’s just rubbing this in because she knew Gwen was crushing, and wanted to keep her away from him.

I guess you could say Courtney is Total Drama’s Tsundre.

That makes a lot more sense in a minute.

Gwen and Duncan discuss the matter of Gwen kissing Courtney’s boyfriend in a song. Duncan sings he has no regrets, and Gwen reminds him of Courtney. They both agree that they should stop with the secrets and come clean. They know what will happen, so it’s better to just tell the truth.

Then Duncan gets mauled by a bear, so they have to wait until after the challenge.

But then Alejandro figured it out and outs it to Courtney, ruining it.

Courtney IMMEDIATELY becomes bloodthirsty on Gwen, and next to EVERYONE joins Courtney in berating Gwen. (Except Cody)

This scene, alongside the Jay and Cole scuffle, hurts to watch.

But I will confess, I prefer to watch the Total Drama fallout scene, because I think the voice acting in the scene is better. You can feel Courtney’s heartbreak as she screams at her nonstop, and the sinister craziness awakening in her. And Gwen CRYING?! REGRETTING what she did?!

Come on, there’s at least SOME value here besides Cody getting a dub.

Even if it is little value besides Cody getting a dub.

From here on out, EVERYONE on the plane (Again, except Cody) HATE Gwen’s guts. They will not let her forget what she did. They will never give her a single iota of grey area besides ‘You suck Gwen, we hate you, the entire world hates you, and you deserve to be hated. Go jump off a plane and die so we can have a party about it.’

Gwen and Duncan even try to apologize, but no one takes it.

This is like Cole and Jay, only it’s not just Jay berating Cole, it’s EVERYONE.

I think I would’ve stopped watching Ninjago for years if that was the case, because that would’ve been PAINFUL to watch.

Courtney is the key factor of this hate club, and rallies everyone up to hate on Gwen and Duncan and try to remove them. Sierra, Heather, Tyler, Alejandro, who the last one WANTED to happen as he’s now in control of her.

And unlike Jay, Courtney actually DOES berate the cheater for what they did. Deserved.

But then again, at least Jay doesn’t sing a song about trying to kill the other point of the triangle.

50/50.

To Courtney, this is all a serious betrayal. Gwen and Duncan were the only people Courtney allowed herself to open up to, and then they betray her. She has a right to be mad, but not a right to her actions driven by the madness.

For Gwen, Duncan is now the only person she can feel safe with. People tend to cling to the kindness in their life that’s the closest to them. This is why Gwen chooses to stay with Duncan and ignore all the hate she’s getting. She needs love in this moment.

And then Duncan tries to play Alejandro by pretending to still be into Courtney. It’s an act, but still.

We never see on screen if Duncan explained himself and apologized to Gwen.

Ninjago had a whole season and three episodes worth of love triangle drama.

Total Drama only has three episodes.

And then it abruptly ends unconcluded.

Courtney wanted to get revenge on Gwen by dumping her off the plane and making Duncan jealous of her.

Technically, she WON.

She gets Gwen out, and she, not intentionally, uses Scott to make Duncan jealous, which causes Gwen to leave him.

Sorry, getting ahead of myself.

Now lets address All Stars.

You could argue this focuses on the love triangle as well, and... kinda? But, All Stars seems to bail on EVERY plotline World Tour had. I have NO IDEA why this is, as unlike Rebooted, World Tour is a FAN FAVORITE SEASON. But they bailed on everything.

And it’s clear that the writers had no objective with giving the love triangle an ending.

The season is more so focused on Courtney finding a new boyfriend in Scott, that she plans to use, Duncan being thrusted into a heroes position and wanting to be a bad guy again, and Gwen, once again, being hated by everybody around her.

Duncan and Gwen have NO romantic scenes together, and Gwen constantly shuts him out in favor of trying to make things right with Courtney. The girl she BETRAYED.

She also claims that Duncan was not Courtney’s boyfriend at the time, thus she didn’t do anything wrong...

I’m ASSUMING Duncan told Gwen that story to get her on his side. THAT would make sense of this phrase. BUT the writers never establish that.

And again, Duncan only gets jealous because Gwen’s ignoring him when he’s trying to help, and Courtney’s finding a new slave to give her the win. My assumption is that he’s trying to strike up a conversation with Gwen, considering Gwen wanted to make things right with Courtney, but again, no establishment that this is Duncan’s motive.

So Gwen gets fed up with that, and dumps Duncan, shutting him out of her life.

This scene is SO QUICK, that it feels like an afterthought. There’s no blowout, there’s no prompting, there’s no remorse for the action later besides one Duncan confessional, it’s just ‘okay, they’re broken up now, Gwuncan haters can chill the F out.’

Is that the motive? What about the people who liked Gwuncan as a concept and wanted to see more of them?

Here’s a writing tip: If your fans don’t like an aspect of your story, DON’T bail out of it. WORK on it. MAKE IT BETTER.

In my series that I’m doing, Destiny’s Burden, a lot of my beta readers didn’t like one of my characters at first. They considered her insufferable, annoying, selfish, and stereotypical. But instead of writing that character out of the plot, I took the time to give that character development, and have them develop less of a spoiled personality. Now that character is a fan favorite among my beta readers.

THIS IS WHERE YOU DO THAT, BUT WITH THE LOVE TRIANGLE.

THIS IS WHERE YOU WRITE IT BETTER.

And then there’s the last part of this. Gwen and Courtney making up.

Unlike Tournament of Elements, which threw in the forgiveness at the last minute, Gwen actually puts in the effort beforehand to be friends with Courtney again. She tries REALLY hard actually.

Gosh, I CANNOT believe I’m saying ALL STARS did something better than THE TOURNMENT OF ELEMENTS. WHAT AM I ON?!

And, looking at the Cole and Jay tournament fight, and the Gwen and Courtney boxing match... this is the same scene.

This is literally the same scene, minus the sacrifice Ninjago had.

They duke it out, they beat each other, and they apologize in the middle, explaining that they never missed the girl/guy, they just missed each other, and they make up and become friends again.

I prefer the Ninjago scene though, because it’s way more visually pleasing, and the dialogue seems more sincere to me. Courtney and Gwen’s ‘apology’ is so corny I can’t-

So what is the ending of Total Drama’s love triangle? Courtney and Gwen become best friends in la la land, they trash over Duncan, and cheer when he’s thrown in jail.

And then Courtney betrays Gwen, making all the love and support Gwen got back meaningless. But hey, that’s not relevant to this topic.

Most people in the fandom claim that this was character assassination on all three characters. Just like I said with Ninjago.

Here’s the thing: Total Drama has more episodes around this time. Ninjago didn’t. I know NOW it’s not a contest on which show had more episodes, but looking at it, Ninjago, in four seasons, had 44 episodes, and Total Drama, in four seasons, had 91.

This is a double edge sword, as on one hand Total Drama has more to work with. On the other, Total Drama has more to work with.

After all, like I said, we are given no clear motive for why Duncan even cheated, or didn’t tell Courtney that they weren’t together anymore. Gwen was cheated on technically in season one, and here she is doing that same emotional betrayal in season three to Courtney. And again, the whole ‘he wasn’t your boyfriend’.

There’s multiple instances where literally ONE MORE SCENE of ANY part of this plotline could’ve helped it make more sense. But no. The writers just really did not want to write this. Again, they were forced to. It shows.

But I will say this, unlike with Ninjago’s love triangle, the Total Drama love triangle is SEVERELY plot relevant. You CAN’T write it out.

Everyone says they should’ve just written it out... how?

Every fanfic I’ve seen that’s written the love triangle out actively made the story less interesting, and gave the three characters involved nothing to do.

The villains, again, take advantage of the situation to give themselves plot armor. This is how Alejandro uses Courtney. She would’ve never helped him otherwise. This is what makes Heather jealous, prompting the last quarter of World Tour. This is what season two’s Gwen bashing has built up to. This is what makes Gwen the biggest social punching bag of the entire show. This is what spawns Gwen to become a villainous vulture. This is the start of Duncan’s downfall, and his mental distress getting him behind bars later.

You NEED the love triangle to be a thing for the story to make any sense.

I’m sorry, but that’s what I see.

Which is Worse?

Now to answer the money question.

Which plotline is worse?

This is REALLY subjective. So take it with a grain of salt.

Both of these plotlines have huge issues. They are both dampers to their season three.

Ninjago had a worse motive, a more pathetic fight, dragged on, and had no plot relevance whatsoever.

Total Drama had a more unlikeable cast participating, poor establishment of motive, ended way too quickly, and suffered from no ending.

I think we can both agree on the quality on both of these plotlines.

It really depends on which plotline I would prefer to watch a compilation of over and over again.

And in that sense...

I think I’d pick Total Drama as the better one.

This is for a few reasons:

One is that Total Drama is a far more morally grey show, so its characters are far more morally grey than with Ninjago. It’s more believable that the TD characters would do stuff so spiteful towards each other, than the Ninjago characters. This makes it so that you can see everyone’s point of view, and the plotline becomes welcome for multiple interpretations.

Two is that there was SOME build up to the cheating. You could say that it was bad build up, but at least it WAS build up. What build up was there in Ninjago? Oh yeah, none.

Three is that Total Drama’s plotline is actually plot relevant. If I have to watch the love triangle to watch World Tour, I’ll watch it. I won’t skip it. If I skip it, I know I’ll miss vital information for the rest of the story.

That said, though I say Ninjago is the worse plotline, it does have an advantage of having a better makeup scene, and an actual ending. And the characters were able to recover because of that.

Because, with all six of these characters, I DO like them all. I want the best for them (even if Duncan arguably doesn’t deserve it)

But let me know your thoughts. Would you agree? Disagree? Is there something I missed? Let me know.

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rudhira · 10 months

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I got tagged by @esotheria-sims - thank you!

1. What’s your favourite sims death?

I don’t think that I really like any of them...? Electrocution, I guess, since it’s the easiest and fastest to do yourself.

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

Maxis Match all the way! Well, most of the way. I guess the hairs I use aren’t really Maxis Match, though they have pretty matte textures.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight?

If anything, I cheat to make them gain weight because it seems to never happen on its own. More often than not I have Sims who need a few Body skill points for promotion and they all get fit instead.

4. Do you use move objects?

Sparingly. I like having it turned off all the time, because I don’t want to accidentally place an item that ends up blocking something or being unusable, and then I just turn it on when I need it.

5. Favourite mod?

Same sex pregnancy.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got?

When I first got the game, I had the Deluxe edition, so Nightlife. I don’t remember what I got after that.

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing?

Like alive.

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

I don’t really make Sims myself, but I guess Naomi, one of my models. She has black hair and tends to wear green, if you wanna look for her in my previews.

9. Have you made a simself?

Yes, but ages ago. Like, a decade and a half ago.

10. What sim traits do you give yourself?

Oh, Sims 3? Right now I would probably give myself vegetarian, neurotic, computer whiz, good sense of humour and clumsy.

11. Which is your favorite EA hair colour?

This is definitely not a Sims 2 question. I like the purple colour that’s available for rpchoppy and shortcute.

12. Favorite EA hair?

longpart for sure, an astounding number of my legacy founders had that.

13. Favorite life stage?

Adults.

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

Gameplay! I avoid building as much as I can, and generally will just download lots or copy floorplans online.

15. Are you a CC creator?

I guess? Not because I really want to create CC, but because there are things I want in my game that nobody else seems to be making.

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad?

Yes!

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4)

Sims 2 easy.

18. Do you have any sims merch?

I have a Sims 3 lanyard that I got from a friend who I think was involved with marketing for the Sims somehow, like a decade ago. I also have a plumbob flash drive that I got for preordering The Sims 3. I used to also have a Sims 3 T-Shirt and some of those rubbery bracelets, but they’re long gone. And some sort of metal container shaped like a house that I think was for storing your games?

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Uh, not really? I have a YouTube channel where I post Sims 2 tutorials, if that counts, but I also post speedrunning content there.

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing?

Like, the style of my Sims or the style of my gameplay? For the former, I’ve gotten more consistent in what I download, but I do kinda miss just downloading whatever and putting it in my game. For the latter, I’ve learned to enjoy just sticking to a neighbourhood and seeing how it plays out.

21. What’s your Origin ID?

No idea! I’m terrified of opening Origin ever again so I don’t really know.

22. Who’s your favourite CC creator?

If I’m picking only one, @serabiet. The quality of their content always exceeds my expectations, and it’s also versatile and usable for many different styles.

23. How long have you had a simblr?

I’ve had this blog itself for like over a decade, but I’ve only used it as a simblr since uh... May 2016?

24. How do you edit your pictures?

I resize and crop them. If I posted more gameplay pictures I might edit them more, but I only really post previews for downloadable content and I really don’t like editing those as I want people to see what the content will look like in game.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next?

Honestly? Something like Sims 3 Aspirations but without the going to work part. I’ve always liked that EP for the tattoos and the laundry, and natively having that in TS2 would be nice.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far?

I honestly don’t know. As a child, I think I was the most excited by Seasons, I still vaguely remembering reading through the booklet while the game was installing and barely being able to wait. I guess probably Nightlife, part of it is because I’ve always had it so I couldn’t imagine playing Sims 2 without it, so it adds a lot of features I take for granted.

#tag meme

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starsarefire824 · 1 year

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rewatching season 1 and its confirming my bi mike truth. for real.

• he goes out of his way for her

•he speaks to her with the same Will Voice™️ in a lot of the scenes.

• he tried to kiss her unprompted in the bathroom. (she has literally no idea what he’s doing)

• when he says she’s pretty especially the second time, he really means it. I read his confused face more as I can’t believe I said that kind of thing and not a ew gross kind of thing

•his speech at the end is definitely him trying and failing to say that he likes her romantically (as romantic as a 12 year old romance can be anyway)

Now, she’s very androgynous and sure that can he explained as he prefers her when she looks like a boy (like Will), but that’s a moot point in my opinion cause bi people have very differing tastes usually when it comes to different genders. (Something he would be totally unaware of at that age and also is something that evolves/changes)

I think watching season one and two combined has really confirmed this for me. Season 1 is El and his feelings for her. Season 2 switches to Will and his feelings for him. Season 3 is when they are all finally thrown together and how he can’t balance them in his life because the feelings for both are romantic. (I don’t think he’s self-aware enough there to realize that though in regards to Will). I think that there is a lot of what actors’ and creators’ have said going on there. Mike is trying to be this picture in his head of what “normal” looks like.

Then season 4 imo is the fallout of that struggle (which i also think continues in a more adult/direct way but it sort of is really putting even more pressure on both of his relationships). He’s a bit older and the two most important people in his life are thousands of miles away. Like he said himself, “his other friends are great, but they aren’t Will). I think that hug scene was the culmination of him realizing how much he’s missed Will isn’t “normal”. I think he’s realizing that those feelings are equal (or imo overpower) what he feels for El. I think maybe, painfully slowly, he’s realizing that he’s attracted/wants to be with Will in a way that isn’t “normal”. I don’t think he’s thinking romance per se (yet), but I think he’s thinking “why the hell am i jealous?” “why is it weird to touch him?” “why am i so upset he never called me?” why do i want that painting so badly?” “why can’t i tell my girlfriend i thought i loved the three words she begged me to say?” To me, that is a very queer experience, but specifically a bi person who hasn’t quite realized that they’re bi yet. The confusion can be astounding at times, and emotions and reactions to things tend to be intense in a way that leaves you reeling. Or floundering in Mike’s case.

Idk these are just a lot of random thoughts, but I firmly believe that season 5 will address whatever is happening in Mike Wheeler’s brain regarding his true feelings for Will and El.

I also think that El already had an inkling of “why” Mike couldn’t say I love you. (And no it’s not because his parents didn’t show him how 🙄) And she’s slowly realizing in season 4 that “why” is her step-brother. I think that was made very obvious with the thought bubble imagery and how she was responding, or lack thereof to Mike in the monologue and back in Hawkins.

Miscellaneous thoughts about season 1: people must be thick in the head about Will if they think him being gay came out of nowhere. There are at least 10 instances of characters referencing that in conversations. And damn, if that Ted Wheeler comment, “you see Michael, you see what happens” wasn’t insinuating something. Mike misses it cause he’s too little, but any adult can see he’s saying, “you see what happens to queer kids?”

Then season 2 they spent the whole season building up how different and strong Mike and Will’s relationship was, and how Mike was there for Will no matter what. He was so unwavering in his love and support for Will. And in season 3, I think is when Will actively realized just how different he was and what his love for Mike actually meant, like he was looking it dead in the face in that season in a real, grown up way. And the person he realizes he loves is pushing him away and just not understanding him and what do you do when the person, that you’ve been told your whole life is unnatural, not “normal” to love, is constantly choosing another person over you. That they aren’t even able to make a friendship work let alone something you might daydream about. I’m probably repeating myself but the writers have made it very plain that Mike cannot for the life of him balance his time, attention or emotional availability between Will and El. And if season 3 didn’t make it painfully obvious that Will was having complicated feelings about Mike. Like yeah, they didn’t spell it out directly, but the fact that some people were like wow this whole Mike love thing for Will came out of nowhere??? Like are we watching the same show? I could see that on a first watch years ago.

#byler #end rant #bi mike wheeler #will byers #el hopper byers #mike x will x el #side note: if i see one more person say it’s not a love triangle im gonna scream #stranger things #stranger things thoughts #the actors and duffers are right…#mike does miss it #but thats because he hasnt even figured himself out yet #boy is confused #el is 👀👀#will is convinced mike loved el and is forcing their hand because he somehow thinks hes helping

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acandrewswriter · 2 years

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Book Recommendations

I read fantasy almost exclusively, and in the last few years I’ve decided to mostly read fantasy with queer characters (I still read a few mainstream fantasy things, but at this point very few). I’m gay, so yes, a lot of the books I like to read feature gay male protagonists, but like my own books, some on this list strive to represent a much bigger audience. Many of these authors are themselves LGBTQ+, including trans and non-binary authors.

These are all books I’ve read and liked, and of course, there are many more books I’ve read that I’m not including here. The books and authors on this list are all also, in their own ways, influences shaping my own writing.

Classics:

Mercedes Lackey’s Last Herald Mage Series (gay fantasy): gay MC, tragic love story, ultimately beautiful storytelling that eventually lets its MC have a happily every after, if in an unexpected way. This is one of the first fantasy books ever written with a gay MC. It’s old, and as such, there are few things readers might find “problematic” from a contemporary perspective- but for those of us who lived in the “before” times, when there was literally almost *no* LGBTQ media, this book series changed everything. I cried my eyes out the first time I read it. It is still deeply meaningful to me. The follow-up series, Mage Winds, has the MC from Last Herald Mage, and his husband, show up (again in unexpected ways), and also has secondary gay characters who play a main role in the plot.

Lynn Flewelling’s Nighrunner Series (gay fantasy): gay MCs, beautiful (and decidedly not tragic) MM relationship at the heart of it, lots of spying, intrigue, and magic. It’s awesome.

Sarah Monette: Melusine. This series is very good- magic system, high fantasy, gay MC, but does also have some potentially triggering scenes (the MC is raped at one point).

Best Gay Fantasy (Fantasy writing first and foremost, but with romance thrown in sometimes):

KD Edwards: The Tarot Sequence series, starting with The Last Sun. Urban fantasy centered around a magical society organized around great houses, each of which one of the major arcana of the Tarot. The MC is gay, the last scion of a fallen house (House Sun), fighting to restore his house and understand what happened the night it fell- the night his father, Lord Sun, was murdered. It’s awesome. The whole series is lit.

Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir. Lesbian necromancers in space. It’s fucking awesome. How could you not want to read that? The sequel, Harrow the Ninth, is very much a mindfuck. It’s mostly all about Harrow dealing with some deep trauma from book 1, and Gideon doesn’t show up until nearly 2/3 through the book (but Gideon does show up- and when she does, it is so, so worth it).

Ginn Hale’s Cadeleonian Series, starting with Lord of the White Hell. I can’t say enough about this series. Hale is one of the best LGBTQ writers in the game. The second series is called Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, followed by Master of Restless Shadows. The first two series retain romance as a key element of the storytelling, but in Master of Restless Shadows (which still follows many of the same group of characters) the plot seems much less about relationships and more about unraveling the huge conspiracy threatening to set loose the destruction of the entire world. . .

Ginn Hale has another series I want to mention- because it is an astounding feat that is not read nearly enough. The Rifter Series. It was written as a serial (so shorter installments, but more books), featuring a gay man transported to a parallel world where he turns out to be the incarnation of their god- a literal messiah. They call this messiah “the Rifter”- and he wields the destructive powers of their god. There is a love story at the heart here- but it unfolds slowly, agonizingly at time, and when it finally comes to fruition it is so achingly tender and beautiful that you will cry for ages. The story itself is so complex, weaving across timelines, that at first you will be confused- then the pieces will start to slot together in your head, and then all of the sudden, the whole image of what has happened and how will come together in your head and it will shatter your entire freaking mind. And you will bow down in awe at the feet of the great Ginn Hale.

Nazri Noor: Nazri has quite a few series out- the first one, Darkling Mage, has a gay MC, although romance/relationship isn’t a big part of the story. It’s got gods, supernaturals, magic, and cosmic threats- as well as massive snark from the MC, Dustin. I love it. The follow-up series, set in the same world, are all very good. My favorite is the Arcane Hearts series, which features a gay couple as the main protagonists of the story (and which Nazri bills as being more romance- but truthfully, all of his books are very magic/action oriented, whether they have romance in them or not).

Michael Taggart: Misfit Mage series. Is this series “good?” Frankly, I think some younger gay readers will think it is cringe (the author is an older gay man, and there are moments where I can really see reflection of an earlier version of gay culture that in many ways, no longer exists). But I really, really enjoy reading it, and will keep reading it as he puts out more books. The MC is a gay guy who nearly dies, and awakens as a supernatural being able to do magic. Lots of the story involves problem-solving with magic, thinking through complex ways to condense energy, and other kinds of procedural magic type things. There is an element of progression fantasy here too, as the character gets increasingly more powerful as he figures things out. There’s a gay incubus who becomes his lover- but it’s not nearly as bad as it sounds. It’s actually sort of sweet, and I end up liking his boyfriend quite a lot. And it’s not a huge part of the book- it’s just there, while lots of magic stuff, and fighting against a bad group mages trying to kill them all, takes center stage. Award winning fiction? No. But a fun way to kill some time.

Meraki P. Lyhne: The Vargr Series. This is an odd one- it’s werewolf shifter fantasy, but set in Denmark (and written by a Danish author). The MC is gay, a young American who finds out his Danish father who he thought was dead, is actually not dead- and is a werewolf in a huge family-like pack of Vargr, or Norse werewolves. The storytelling is distinct in that it is slower- while there is an overarching plot that unfolds through the series, the focus of most chapters is on the MC and his development as a person, as an Alpha werewolf, and as a member of this strange community of werewolves. It’s fun reading, but the “flavor” of this series is very different than most American-written fantasy.

MM/Gay Fantasy/Paranormal Romance (as in, fantasy and romance are balanced evenly in the plot)

Jordan L. Hawk: The Whyborne and Griffin is a historical and paranormal fantasy series is set in the 1800′s, and is a twist on Lovecraftian mythos (done in a way Lovecraft would have hated, but which you will love). It’s got magic, love, horrors from the outside, elder gods, you know, all the good stuff. The SPECTR series is also very good (more urban fantasy).

Sheena Jolie (formerly SJ Himes): The Beacon Hill Sorcerer series, starting with the Necromancer’s Dance. Fantastic series. Urban fantasy, magical battles, and falling in love with a vampire. What’s not to like? Really great series.

Hailey Turner’s Soulbound Series, starting with A Ferry of Bones and Gold. A special forces combat mage with a dark history gets thrown into world-ending plots, gets harassed by gods, and manages to fall in love. Vampires, werewolves, gods, just about everything you could ask for. One of the best Urban Fantasy/Romance series- well, written, and best of all, the series is finished. Block of a couple weeks, and have at it!

Megan Derr: Black Magic. This is another “necromancer falls in love with a knight” story- but it’s a really, really good one. Megan Derr writes LGBTQ romance and fantasy in worlds that are inclusive- including at times protagonists that are non-binary, trans, etc.

M.A. Grant: Prince of Air and Darkness, the Darkest Court series.

Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes: Anything they’ve written together is pure gold. Try Fire and Valor, Book 1: The King’s Dragon.

Kai Butler: San Amaro Investigations (Book One: Wormwood Summer). Urban fantasy involving the Fae, and lots of Fae shenanigans. But also a fun, interesting world, and a developed Fae mythology and history.

MM/Gay Romance (as in, the romance is the driving plot of the book)

CS Pacat: The Captive Prince. This series is. . . well, it’s complicated, and potentially triggering. A prince gets overthrown, and secretly sold into slavery to the neighboring country (who are his enemies), and ends up serving the prince of that country. Of course, it’s not an accident. It’s revenge. And it gets brutal at times- the MC is whipped nearly to death in one scene (by the other MC). And yet, as their relationship unfolds, they become literally the most dramatic and well-done example of enemies to lovers I’ve ever read. This series is beloved by gay romance readers, but we also all get how problematic it is. And yes, we read it anyway.

A.H. Lee: The Knight and the Necromancer. This series is incredible- the plot is actually very deep and well developed, and the story really sustains three books. Plus, the love story that unfolds is pretty great. This is my favorite gay romance fantasy of all time.

Lee Welch: Salt Magic, Skin Magic. Victorian era MM romance with paranormal elements. MC is being held captive by his father by means he can’t explain and doesn’t understand-- all he knows is, he is trapped on their remote estate.

Michelle Notaro: The Ellewood Chronicles, starting with the Enchanter’s Flame. Is this series “good”? This is pretty much the prime example of sometimes cringe is exactly what you want. It’s sappy. The plots are there, but the found family trope, the relationships, and the romance are absolutely the formula for this series. And yet, I read every single one of them. They made me feel good. They made me happy. They let me live in the fantasy of being in a LGBTQ family full of magic, safety, and love-- while the monsters of the world are held at bay by the wards surrounding the Ellewood lands. Sometimes you don’t want heavy, you just want to read and be happy. This series is that.

AJ Sherwood and Jocelyn Drake: Their Scales and Spells series is wonderfully fun to read (dragonshifters falling in love with mages, lots of gay and non-binary characters). Both authors have a lot of gay romance titles out- all with fun elements in them. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read from both of them. Jocelyn Drake has a series coming out now that is her take on Final Fantasy XV-type story telling called the Godstone Saga- it’s an original story, but if you read it, you’ll see the FFXV influence on it. It’s nice.

Kiki Clark: The Kincaid Pack series is fun.

Mainstream Fantasy with big LGBTQ representation or storylines:

Andrew Rowe: The main character of his Arcane Ascension series is gay, although the text seems to imply that he is a homo-romantic ace, or at least demi.

John Bierce: The Mage Errant series has excellent LGBTQ representation, including both gay and lesbian side characters. The MC is not gay, but the world and the series as a whole feels very welcoming and inclusive.

Shami Stovall: The Frith Chronicles. The MC is straight, but lots of major side characters are LGBTQ+. Fantastic series, following an underdog MC who bonds with a supernatural being to get fantastic powers- the way all “arcanists” or magic-wielders are created in this world. He joins the Frith Guild, a group of famous adventurers he’s looked up to his whole life, to learn and advance, and eventually find his way to being a master arcanist- but somebody is trying to remake the world, and not in a good way. Begin with Knightmare Arcanist.

Melissa McPhail: The Pattern of Shadow and Light series, starting with Cephrael’s Hand, is one of the most complex, amazing, well-crafted fantasy series I’ve ever read. In the beginning, first book or two, it will feel like the only LGBTQ rep you see is in the form of a villain (Darshan), who is pretty literally trying to destroy the world and all living things (so, not great, yeah?). But as the story unfolds, McPhail introduces a gay love story that she takes the time to develop, and it’s fucking beautiful and heartbreaking. And then even Darshan seems to find a chance at redemption. It’s a long series... and the LGBTQ rep gets better and better as it goes on. Melissa McPhail died unexpectedly from late-stage cancer that was found too late. She still had the final two books in the series unpublished, but they were *mostly* done. Her family intends to publish what she finished. And this series is so good, so mindblowingly amazing, that it’s worth reading.

Not LGBTQ at all, but still really fucking good books:

Will Wight’s Travelers Gate series, starting with House of Blades.

Will Wight’s Cradle series. Each book gets better and better (progression fantasy). Probably the best progression fantasy ever written.

Michael Manning: Mageborn series, most of the stuff he’s written. Art of the Adept is also a good series. He has one series, Embers of Illeniel, which I do *not* recommend- it’s full of triggering stuff (rape, genocide, casual murder and mayhem... the MC is not a good guy), and is generally really dark (which the author admits to). But I enjoyed everything else he’s written.

Edward W. Robertson: most everything he’s written. I love his books. Start with The White Tree (Cycle of Arawn Book 1).

Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind. What I really want to recommend here is The Slow Regard of Silent Things, which is a transformative book to read- the MC is a person who lives in an underground labyrinth beneath a school, who is neuro-atypical, and who interacts with and sees the world in a wholely unique way. Reading the book is like a meditation, deeply moving and profound. But to make sense of it, you sort of need to understand the bigger world it is set in, which is from the Name of the Wind.

Michael Miller: The Songs of Chaos series. Dragonrider fantasy, sort of like Dragonriders of Pern. A slow start- the first few chapters were very much lowly pot boy in the presence of arrogant dragon riders and nobles who barely notice him. Once you get past that initial stage, however, the story picks up and the storytelling gets much better. The lowly pot-boy steals a dragon egg... and you can guess where it goes from there.

Brandon Sanderson. If you read fantasy, surely you have already read him.

#lgbt books #gay books #lgbtq books #mm romance #mm books #mmbooks #mmromance #lgbtqbooks #lgbtq reads #lgbtq representation

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jadewing-realms · 2 years

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zevwarden week - day 7

final one boys, here we go

Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Inquisition

Title: ZevWarden Week, Day 7 - Seasons

Pairing: Zevran x male!Warden; Zevran Arainai x Salem Surana

Word Count: 1,210

Seasons change quickly, far more so than Zevran ever really thought about. One minute, he’s steeped in the frigid cold of the merciless Ferelden winter - alone, wandering aimless, searching for something he’s no longer sure is there for him to find.

The next, spring dawns with such a sudden ferocity, it’s nearly blinding. And all at once... all is right in the world. And he thinks that maybe, just maybe, he can look forward to the future again.

_______________

It was truly astounding, how quickly the world could change.

So much had happened over the course of just a portion of Zevran’s life, and he wasn’t even halfway through it yet. Still he’d seen enough trouble and tribulation and upheaval and tenuous peace to fill more than one lifetime to the brim. Two Blights, several uprisings, the rise and fall of nations. This life had never given him a dull moment, and it promised to continue on that way, for many more years yet.

He still had complete faith in that fortune he’d received so long ago, after all.

For now, though, he’d reached another season of momentary calm. He was back in Ferelden, back in a camp to which he had begun to think he’d never return. It was bigger, now; more people had retreated to the Wilds in his absence, a community dedicated to protecting one another and their homes. They’d held strong through the Blight, and relished now in relief.

The Inquisition had done its due diligence. And Leliana herself, well... Zevran supposed he should get used to considering her ‘Divine Victoria’.

Yes... how things could change.

He remembered the moment he received that final missive from her, after her agents had helped him deal with Enzo. He hadn’t expected anything after his confirmation report, and yet, on his way out of the country, another hooded figure of mystery had tucked an envelope into his pocket.

He remembered how the words had rattled his world to its foundations.

“We found him.”

Followed by specific instructions for where to go, where to wait, and who to follow where. He’d never crossed the world so fast, returning immediately to Ferelden despite it being embroiled in the heat of war. Dangerous, sure. A mistake? Never.

He’d found himself in Orzammar for the first time in years. There, he’d followed the whims of shadowy figures in circles meant to shake any potential tails, done for the sake of all involved - the only reason he subjected himself to it.

It felt like so long ago. Now here he was, looking out the door of a familiar, cluttered tent at a gentle autumn sunrise, with a clay mug of cider to warm his hands. As if nothing had changed since the defeat of that first Blight. Had he had his own way, nothing would have. They would have stayed this way for the rest of their days.

Maybe now, they could.

Orzammar had been a mess of its own, but Zevran ignored it all, far too focused on his own goal, the one singular goal that had carried him through the last number of years until it wore thin, almost broke under the weight of time, no leads, little hope, but ah. Had he given up, he would have missed this moment. The moment it all became worth it.

The moment he stepped into a hidden chamber and saw him sitting there, wrapped in a cloak, just... waiting.

The hunt, and the simultaneous creep of the Calling, had not been kind to him. His hair had thinned, as had his body, and his face had eroded under the weight of the cares he bore, cheekbones stark and eye sockets hollowed, but those eyes. Stormy silver, sharp, now bloodshot and fogged, but gods, still his. Still intelligent as ever.

Zevran could laugh now at how suddenly determined he’d become in that moment to mask the torrent of colliding grief and disbelief and pure euphoria and sheer relief with a facade of petty exasperation. He’d managed five whole seconds, arms folded, demanding explanation. Then those eyes had lifted, not quite looking at him, and he’d spoke.

“...Zevran?” The voice was weary, surprised but soft. Turning from his view of the sunrise, Zevran looked back into the tent to the bedspread.

There he was. Stretching long, slender limbs without actually making an effort to rise, back arching to display a torso that had finally begun to hide away the bones beneath the skin. Salem Surana let out a long, contented sigh, rubbing his eyes before staring across the tent, in the direction of the morning light. “Are you there?” he asked to the space between them.

He hadn’t returned entirely unscathed.

“I am here, mi amor.” Crossing the room, Zevran set his mug aside on one of the little tables inside - one with just enough room left on it to fit it - and knelt down on the edge of the bed mat, offering a smile. “Good morning, sleeping beauty.”

This close, Salem’s eyes could actually find and focus on him, and a sleepy smile was his reward. “Mm, g’morning... Have you been morning musing again?”

Zevran chuckled at having been so easily caught. “Perhaps. So what if I was?” Bracing himself on an elbow, he leaned down over the other man, slid his hand into those silken locks - they’d already regained so much of their former glory - and claimed a morning kiss.

Or five. Or... too many.

Salem didn’t complain.

Zevran couldn’t help it. Every new morning these days, he found himself awaking to a new sun and hardly able to believe he was here again. With his Warden, in the home they had begun together so long ago.

He’d claimed to have found a way out of the Calling. He never did say how, which infuriated many, including Leliana. Not Zevran. He couldn’t care less how he’d done it, all that mattered was that he had. Which meant he could be here. Alive, well, smiling like this.

Salem chuckled as he was showered in the affection that was the result of such thoughts. “After a little breakfast before breakfast, are we?”

“Mmm, I would not object. You are scrumptious.” Zevran at last withdrew, just enough to look his lover in the eye, as he had him caged to the blankets. “However, do not think you will get out of eating so easily.”

It was Salem’s turn to be caught, to which he sighed a heavy sigh, deflating back into the bed. “Zevran, no-”

“Zevran, yes.” He absolutely took the subject as an excuse to caress his hand down that pale torso, fingers running over the many scars the Warden had collected over the years. “You know it is thanks to me you are not a walking skeleton anymore.”

“It’s too early,” the man moaned, rubbing his eyes again. “Can’t I at least enjoy the morning first?”

Getting back to eating a healthy amount of food had been a challenge of its own. Salem could still hardly eat half a meal at a time without feeling overwhelmed, and certainly not too early after waking. Zevran struggled between wanting him to eat more and not wanting to push him to discomfort.

Ultimately, he gave in, as he usually did. If he’d been wrapped around this man’s finger before, he was doubled-up with an extra knot now.

So he sighed, smirked, and leaned in until their noses brushed against one another. “Hm, perhaps I could be persuaded. Did you have anything in particular in mind?”

A heated kiss was his answer.

It was a very good morning.

Zevran could only pray that it would be one of many, many more. That this season of tranquility could last.

#zevwarden #zevwarden week 2022 #zevran x m!warden #zevran x surana #salem surana #zevran x salem #dragon age #dai #dragon age: inquisition #post canon #post plot events i haven't played through yet pff #fanfic #seasons #i just want our warden commander to succeed #so he can be happy #and live happily ever after with his lovers #and zev doesn't have to mourn #zevran arainai #my writing

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lararutherford · 2 years

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10 DEATHS FOR 10 YEARS [1 of 6]:

This is just the beginning. Don’t ask questions, you won’t get answers, because suspense. Assume what you like, but know that everything will tie together and be explained in the rest of the series as it follows on today and tomorrow. I’ll give a heads up when each part would become common knowledge (or private) to be reacted to, don’t worry. No one will be out of the loop. ♥ Date: May 10th, 2022. Warnings: This is what happens when you don’t plot mob violence. I’ll do it.

“Well, this is an absolute shit hole.”

Lara wasn’t sure whether he was referring to the hotel bar in which they sat, or Launceston in its entirety, but it didn't much matter when both warranted her hum of agreement.

Tonight, her bodyguard’s whining was proving to be a useful distraction rather than an annoyance; both from the uncertainty of what was to come, and the nauseating, salmon wallpaper plastered behind his head. The place was a far cry from the promised elegance of Anderson Island’s revered Montmartre Hotel, and usually, she wouldn't have been caught dead somewhere so bleak.

But needs must.

“Do you really think he’s going to come all this way just to see you?”

Whilst her smirk said yes, for once, her confidence in him was lacking.

It wasn’t even close to the first time they’d organised a rendezvous at some tragic hotel so far off the beaten track that the idea of either of them being there, let alone together, was almost ridiculous. Lara also doubted it would be the last. To think back to how she’d so adamantly despised him the first time they’d met was astounding, but more so was the fact that maybe, in spite of all they’d been through, a part of her still did. Whatever dysfunctional relationship had formed between them over the course of an almost two-year affair had her here waiting for him. For the worst of them. The least deserving of her time.

Of this.

Maybe she should’ve hated herself for it, too.

“Laurent is nothing if not predictable...”

“And he knows you changed the meet from Montmartre to here?”

Though both messages were delivered and read, the Frenchman had responded to neither. The last-minute destination change seemed a wise precaution, though. Her original choice had only been a means to taunt him; an ex-girlfriend's hotel, as she recalled. And if for some reason this did end up biting her in the ass, at least it wouldn’t be because somebody had the time to set up a meaningful ambush.

“He knows.”

Yiannis still didn’t look entirely convinced as he took a sip of his water.

“Have you seen him since he left you in Monaco?”

Amazing, really, that he continued to bring up Valentine’s Day despite the fact she’d made it abundantly clear she didn’t wish to discuss it. Initially, she’d thought Laurent had been just as predictable then, too. Maybe nobody else knew that his rose had always had her name on it, but she sure did. A weekend away with him was a small sacrifice to not be seen at singles party, dejected and embarrassed, so to end up that way regardless was particularly unfortunate. The Rutherford hadn’t known who he was leaving her to be with at the time, but she could tell his mind was on somebody else.

It wasn’t until the awards ceremony that she realised who that person was, though.

Lara knew now.

And Lara also knew somebody else felt the same.

Perhaps it was that bitterness that suddenly had her interested in re-staking her claim. Or at the very least, that was what she kept repeating to herself in an attempt to justify messaging him at all.

‘I’m in Launceston. We need to talk.’

They’d done a surprising amount of that over the years, she’d realised. In the beginning (and to the surprise of none) hardly at all, until gradually he’d split open like they always did. Now, Lara was sure she knew things about him that he’d told no one. Would never. How strange that a token of his trust would be ammunition.

“Just once.”

And perhaps that should’ve been a red flag in itself.

“It’s been an hour, Lara,” the bodyguard remarked. “He’s really pushing it.”

But they were good at this, though. Playing games. Laurent would make her wait because he could.

He was just making her wait...

“Yes, thank you. They did, in fact, require us to be able to tell time at Harvard Law.”

Not his point. "We should leave.”

If she’d been less stubborn, the Rutherford might’ve taken his sensible suggestion on board. But if she left now, she would be admitting defeat. Admitting that once again, she’d fallen into her perpetual role as second choice to somebody who didn’t deserve her as a choice at all. A year ago, Laurent would’ve dropped anything for a few minutes in her company. Moved fucking mountains if she’d asked it of him. Now, she was the one sat in a rundown Brenton bar, waiting with begrudged impatience, and maybe a few nerves, for him to appear in the doorway. Waiting for him to acknowledge a fucking text message.

“Were you going to tell him about the Russians? Is that why you invited him here?”

“No.”

About that, she was adamant. The glare that accompanied the snappy retort said as much.

When Yiannis looked at her, his silence carefully chosen, it felt as if his eyes were boring into her soul. The two had spent enough time around each other over the years, particularly this last, that she was sure he could read her mind; something that regularly didn’t line up with the words that left her mouth. But that expression...it was so close to pity that she was sure she’d never wanted to slap him more in her life, and that was saying something.

Was this what she’d been reduced to? A worthy recipient of a bodyguard’s pity?

“You invited him here instead of meeting him there to get him out of the city...”

Silence.

“You know he's who they want. You’re protecting him.”

“No.”

Yes.

And it honestly might’ve been more convincing if she’d said nothing at all.

Before the man could interject once more, however, she was thankfully distracted by her phone buzzing in her blazer pocket. Saved by the fucking bell. It was like a shot of relief directly into her veins; so sure was she that she’d fish it out to be greeted with a message explaining why he was late. A message telling her that he’d be there in just a minute. Maybe that he already was, and that she had terrible fucking taste in hotels, and that he’d make fun of her for it later. Sure enough, her eyes were immediately greeted with the ambiguous and not-at-all flattering obscenity she had him saved under.

But said relief was gone as quickly as it’d come.

The message wasn’t an explanation about his lateness at all. It was a pitiful, two-word apology.

‘I’m sorry.’

For a moment, all she could do was stare at the screen.

It didn't take long to realise that feeling gnawing in the pit of her stomach wasn’t the defeat she’d been expecting at all. It was hurt.

Was he with Leyla?

“Who is it? Is it him?”

“It’s Diana,” she lied. “Gaius drama.”

But he didn’t believe her, and she could tell, and that was almost as embarrassing as the realisation she’d been stood up by a man she would’ve put money on choosing her.

Until like the others, he hadn’t.

“You’re right, though. It’s getting late. I've endured this place long enough.”

Lara downed what remained of her martini in one, and God, she could’ve done with a hundred more of them before this night was over.

Just as she was about to confirm her intention with Yiannis to depart—and likely be forced to scold him for any follow up commentary about the situation—the sight of one of her other loyalists in the room getting to his feet drew her attention. Lara always travelled with an entourage, and to this hellscape of a city, save for one, she’d brought her best. But whilst one moving of his own accord was of little concern, as Ayaz, her favourite, also stood and directed his attention toward the doorway she’d been watching like a hawk all night, she realised something was wrong.

Had they been anywhere else, she might’ve thought less of it. Men in well-tailored suits were hardly a ground-breaking sight for somebody like her. These, though, very distinctly looked as if they didn’t belong. This place was a rundown mess, not somewhere anybody with taste would’ve frequented, let alone en masse. And when they looked in her direction, one by one, as if with purpose, she felt unwell.

They weren’t followed. Yiannis was the best they had for picking up on that. So who in their right mind would think to look for her here?

‘I’m sorry.’

Briefly, her mind wandered somewhere she wished it hadn’t.

Was Laurent sorry for not showing up, or was he sorry for something else...?

Lara finally looked away from the men as they slowly started toward her table.

Some of her companions looked ready to intervene, but her focus was all at once on Yiannis, slightly fearful, despite her best attempts to hide it.

“Get me out of here, please.”

A Rutherford never had to ask for anything twice. Especially this one.

For a man that could often drive her to the brink of insanity with his complaining, and his attitude, and his absolute disregard for her authority, Yiannis was wonderful at his job. Lara trusted him with every bone in her body, and it was moments like these that reminded her why. He didn’t even hesitate to get to his feet. To put himself between Lara and their line of sight, carefully herding her toward the opposite exit all the while. The others would take care of those who pursued. Or, at the very least, slow them down long enough for Yiannis to get her out of there. Lara managed a quick glance backward, only to see one of her men reach out a hand to physically stop the group of five from moving any further.

And in a split second, everything became very real.

It wasn’t a misunderstanding. It wasn’t paranoia.

The Rutherford loyalist’s arm was snapped with the brute force and precision of someone trained to deal with conflict that would erupt quickly afterward.

She didn’t want to leave them—they were her people, not her father’s—but she couldn’t stay.

Yiannis was physically dragging her by this point, floor plan mapped out in his head, gun drawn.

They were close to the outside, at least. The fire escape was right in front of them, chipped and eerily drowned in crimson by the neon sign hanging overhead.

“Lara!”

The sound of Ayaz’s voice bellowing from the other room, cutting right through the screams and shouting of panicked guests, was enough to get her to look back, despite the fact Yiannis was already reaching out for the door. She wasn’t sure she’d ever heard him sound scared. As if contagious, her blood ran cold and uneasy at the thought of what could’ve provoked it. Did he want them to wait? Was he already down and calling for help?

The sound of a gunshot echoed so loudly a second later, that for a moment, she'd thought Yiannis had been the one to fire.

Until she’d heard the thud.

Felt something warm on her cheek.

Considering how many times she’d brushed shoulders with death over the years, she liked to imagine she’d become a little more accustomed to keeping a level-head in these types of situations. But Lara quickly realised she was wrong. Rational thinking, self-preservation, basic fucking ability to take in her surroundings? All of it drowned in a mixture of fear and adrenaline no matter how hard she tried to hold it together. It was sickness. It was paralysis. It was a reminder that no matter how strong she thought she was, she really wasn’t all that strong at all. Just hopelessly reliant on people who were.

She should’ve run, but she was rooted to the spot.

She should’ve called back to Ayaz, but she couldn’t speak.

When she reached up to touch her face, the fear that the warmth she’d felt was blood was confirmed.

But the thud hadn’t been her, and the blood wasn’t hers either.

“Lara, wait!”

There was a reason Yiannis had stopped pulling at her arm, yet it'd taken her until now to realise he was no longer holding onto her at all. When she finally turned back to look for him instead of the rest of her entourage, however, desperation real, it was regrettably not his eyes that met hers.

Lara didn’t know who the person was besides the stranger who’d put the bullet in her bodyguard’s face.

There would be no time for her to ask.

They greeted her first with a smile that almost seemed charming.

And then, the muzzle flash of their gun.

#self para

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mustlovemustypages · 1 year

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Yuletide 2022 Letter

Dear potential writer,

I hope this letter finds you well, but if not, then I hope this year’s Yuletide gives you an extra dose of happiness to diffuse these chaotic times. A great story can be the simplest way to turn around someone’s day and make life just a little bit brighter.

Thank you so much in advance for even taking the time to read this and consider writing for me. Due to the new requirement this year of opting in with treats, know that I am open and grateful for any that you may choose to write.

Below are my desired fandoms/pairings and story ideas, but please don’t feel stifled by the prompts. I’ve also listed my general likes and dislikes at the very bottom if you decide to go a different route.

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs:

Characters: Leah Cornick and Bran Cornick

The world Patricia Briggs has created with Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega is ever-growing and continues to astound me with its complexity. It feels so real and has such a lush history that every surprise revelation is both shocking and simultaneously feels very organic to the story. I think the urban fantasy/paranormal aspects are handled very well, especially the werewolf dynamics and rules that Briggs has created.

One of the biggest shocks to me from the Alpha and Omega companion series is how much I’ve come to love Leah. I, like most readers, absolutely hated her when she was introduced in the Mercy Thompson books. But as we’ve come to learn more about her backstory and her relationship with Bran, I have a new level of understanding of why she is the way she is. She is so much stronger and more nuanced than I would have ever believed her capable. And while I still like Bran, he’s also a much more flawed person than I'd originally thought. I realize there are a lot of books in this world, so don’t worry about spoiling anything with your potential story. You can include as much or as little of the newer books as you’d like. I’m also going to keep my prompts relatively simple for this pairing. I only ask that Leah and Bran are not broken up. If you’d like to just write them in an adventure story without any romantic elements, that’s totally fine. I would like them to remain together, though.

Story ideas:

What are the dynamics like between Bran and Leah now that he knows more about her past? How has his understanding of her personality and actions changed with these revelations

For a long time, Bran and Leah were together without really being “together” in the emotional sense. I’d love to see them learning more about each other and falling in love all over again.

Leah is constantly full of surprises. What is something that she does that surprises Bran and/or the pack (preferably for the better), and how do they react?

While some of the more recent books have focused more strongly on Leah and Bran than in the beginning, I’d still not consider them the main characters so we don’t always get to see the full fallout of all their storylines. Taking any of the major plots involving them and giving their perspective or showing what happens later would be wonderful.

Becoming Elizabeth (TV 2022):

Characters: Elizabeth I of England and Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester

There is so much that we don’t know about the inner workings of the Tudors. What we do know, though, is absolutely riveting. Who doesn’t love stories of royalty and betrayals and struggles for power? In a world that was dominated by men, Elizabeth I being a queen in her own right is part of what makes her so fascinating. Her refusal to marry just adds to the intrigue of what was going on in her mind during all of these important historical events that we only get glimpses of in books.

Becoming Elizabeth is the first show I’ve seen that dedicates so much story to the early years before Elizabeth even takes the throne. From feeling estranged from her only remaining family to being emotionally manipulated by a man twice her age, she is portrayed as such a flawed yet sympathetic character. The only ocassions where we see her actually act her age and be herself are when she’s with her friend, Robert Dudley, the only one who was truly on her side. We don’t know exactly what happened between the real life Elizabeth and Robert, but with the fictional show versions I wish circumstances were different and they could have found a way to be together. If you prefer them as just very supportive friends, most of the below prompts should still work, I would just ask little or no focus be placed on Robert's two marriages.

Story ideas:

I'm crushed we won't be getting future seasons to see Elizabeth take the throne. I'd love to see a story exploring the progression through her brother's death and sister's ascension to her finally becoming queen. How does Robert support her during any/all of these moments?

Even though I knew she was going to decline him, I still wanted to reach through the screen and shake some sense into our future queen when she turned down Robert's proposal. We know from history that Queen Elizabeth was plenty successful without a man at her side. But it doesn't make someone weak to want to be loved. What could have happened if the proposal was accepted?

I found the scene in episode 8 where Edward Seymour apologizes to Elizabeth for not stopping his brother's inappropriate actions very refreshing as we so rarely see in historical dramas any acknowledgment that these predatory behaviors are wrong. We even got an indirect acknowledgment from John Dudley when he was reading Kat's account of Elizabeth's treatment. It would be interesting to see how Elizabeth's perspective of Thomas Seymour and what he did shifts over time. We can assume that Robert knows some of what happened, but his realization that he may have gotten some of it wrong, reaction to the truth, and support to Elizabeth's emotional recovery would be a nice addition as well.

Political machinations and all of the scheming are part of what make these dramas so fun to watch! Departing from some of my more serious story ideas, I want to throw in a suggestion of just something bantery and tropey. Fake dating for political gain with ultimately friends to lovers! Throw in humorous exasperation from Edward Seymour and John Dudley who don't know how Elizabeth and Robert are so oblivious.

Fate: The Winx Saga (TV):

Characters: Riven and Musa

Despite this show’s flaws, I became instantly enamored with it. Season 2 was an improvement over season 1 in some ways, and a regression in others. One of the main positives that came out of the second season was more interactions between Musa and Riven. I was sold on them from their single (I think?) scene in the first season, and even though they still didn’t have a lot more screen time together, what they did have was *chef’s kiss*.

These two are so natural together and you can see that they genuinely enjoy being in each other’s presence. In season 1, they gave off more enemies-to-lovers vibes and I expected more of the same this season, which we got with their banter and butting heads over Musa’s specialist training. However, I was shocked by how soft Riven could also be with Musa from their discussion of Musa’s lost powers to the image of Riven carrying her prone form after battle. I’m so hopeful for another installment so we can get more relationship development and more of their insane chemistry!

Story ideas:

Episode 5 was a gift sent straight down from heaven. From Riven's pleased expression when we "saves" Musa from Terra's ministrations, to him trying to figure out what's bothering her when they're fighting, to him sitting down with Musa when she's stuck on the track and having a heart-to-heart... I want more soft Riven protecting Musa from her well-intentioned friends and having the serious conversations that need to be had. Whether it's about her not wanting her powers back in season 2 or her learning to cope with them next seadon (or something else entirely!).

It was no mistake the way the ending scenes of the second season were set up, with each fairy being comforted by a loved one. And of course Musa's comforter was in the form of Riven bring her the magic-supressing bracelets and them practicing together. We see you writers... Training sessions are practically their love language at this point. As they start to recognize their feelings for each other, what sorts of conversations do they have and what issues do they work out in the middle of a session?

I like to imagine Riven being the proud boyfriend when he hears of Musa's fighting skills coming in handy when reacuing Flora, while simultaneously being angry that she didn't have any back-up in a dangerous situation. Except, maybe as Sky has to remind him, Riven isn't Musa's boyfriend and perhaps he needs to stop being scared and avoiding the inevitable. This could even be set past season 2 when the gang getting Bloom back. There are a lot of opportunities for Riven to be the doting and overprotective not-quite-a-boyfriend.

Any type of enemies-to-lovers story you want to write would be welcome. There is so much potential here for some wonderfully angst-filled scenes! It could be reluctant allies as they work toward a common cause, fake dating to get information on someone, their friends trying to pair them up despite their protests, etc.

The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (TV 2022):

Characters: Elrond Peredhel and Durin IV

To get this out of the way first, no, the first season was not perfect, nor was it even "good" at some points. There were many missteps with pacing and characterization. Still, I found myself sitting down each week to watch the newest episode, and I did become increasingly invested in the characters. In particular, I loved when the episodes focused on the dwarves. Durin was an immediate favorite of mine as I found him to have one of the most compelling storylines.

One thing I did appreciate with the direction the show took was the focus placed on Durin and Elrond's friendship. The actors were absolutely convincing in their portrayls of best friends that had been apart for years and were seeing each other again with a lot of history behind them. They were simultaneously heartwearming and hilarious together. Almost all of my laughs and cries were during their scenes, and each week my main wish was just to see more of their interactions and to hope they didn't become estranged. Durin and Elrond have so much going against them, but I think their bond of friendship is strong enough to prevail. I personally only see Durin and Elrond as friends so would prefer nothing overtly romantic between them. If you want to include a romance, I like all of the canon relationships (both within the show and in general Tolkien lore). I just ask that the main focus is on Durin and Elrond's friendship.

Story ideas:

All the backstory! How did their first meeting really go? It seems that Elrond was actually the one to save Durin, but the tale of the trolls sounds like a wild and hilarious time.

Durin was a better friend than I with how quickly he forgave Elrond for missing his wedding and the births of his children. I would have required a lot more groveling. Show me a Durin that is a little slower to forgive and makes Elrond do some crazy things to earn that forgiveness. Or if you want to go really off path here, change up history and have Elrond and Durin reconnect much sooner than two decades (late to the wedding perhaps?).

I truly have no predictions of how closely the show is going to follow canon given the contents of season 1. That being said, I think it would be interesting to see Durin's reaction to the rings being created, his conversations with Elrond about the rings (and perhaps Sauron), or just in general a scene(s) of Durin and Elrond conversing about the events that just took place. If you are familiar with the Tolkien canon and where the story may go, feel free to include pieces as you see fit without fear of spoiling.

All the times Durin and Elrond have supported each other over the years and have been more like brothers than just friends. Could be funny, serious, or both!

Things I don’t like:

Non-Con/Rape/BDSM/Sexual Violence/Graphic Sex – I like my characters to be happy and everything within ships to be 100% consensual, no question about it (mentions of non-con if it occurred in canon is fine). I also prefer plot over porn, especially with one-shots.

OT3s – Two people per romantic relationship, please. Any more than that makes me uncomfortable.

Character Bashing - Unless a character is a bad guy in canon, I don’t want to read hundreds of words about how awful they are, especially if they are one of the characters that I requested. Don’t take it out on the characters. If you hate my pairings, just write gen.

Things I love:

Hurt/Comfort – There is nothing I love more than one character comforting another. The hurt can be physical, psychological, or both.

Happy Endings – I’m all for the realistic endings… but if they could be plausible AND at least happy-ish, that would be amazing.

Expanded Scenes/Contorting Canon – Feel free to expand scenes and change up the canon to your heart’s content as long as it makes logical sense.

Humor/Banter/Snark – I thrive on this stuff.

Bonding/Building Relationships – Whether it be a friendship or a romantic relationship, I adore reading about two people growing closer together. When characters know each other so well that they can have conversations with just their eyes or anticipate the person’s next move (especially if it’s to the surprise/confusion of everyone around them), my shipper heart is thrilled.

Dark to Light - Seeing a character come out of a bad mindset or situation and get better is so satisfying.

Happy writing and I hope you get the Yuletide gift of your dreams!

- Maddy @mustlovemustypages (on Tumblr, Ao3, and FF.net)

#yuletide 2022 #yuletide letter #yuletide #lord of the rings #rings of power #durin iv #elrond #fate the winx saga #fate rivusa #becoming elizabeth #elizabeth i #alpha and omega #mercy thompson #bran cornick #robert dudley #winx riven #winx musa

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tutuandscoot · 2 years

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I’ve had several asks come in the last few days all kinda on the same subject and making the same kinda frankly, ignorant assumptions. I am of course accepting of and recognise others opinions but since there were a few I’m just going to address them in one post, and hopefully that will be the end of it, coz frankly it’s not something I like, nor feel like it’s something we have any right to discuss.

I’m not a gossip blog, I’m not a reality/trash blog. I’m not a blog that’s going to comment on the subjects’ of my blog’s personal lives. Every opinion I write is based on everything that has come from them. I do not read into anything based on timing of Instagram posts, how frequently someone visits their cottage, when someone is in a certain city. What anyone is doing with their private lives. I know me saying what I do isn’t going to convince anyone to necessary change their behaviour just coz I think it’s poor form, but I’m saying it anyway coz based on my own morals, it’s the only way I can in good faith participate in a discussion about two real people.

My blog is about love and appreciation of TS as humans, athletes and artists. Humans with flaws, humans that are not perfect and in fact celebrate their imperfections while still becoming the best in the world. Humans that spent their athletic careers under the spotlight and were unnecessarily probed at endlessly and dealt with assault upon assault of their relationship purely because it didn’t fit the story people (who had mostly just discovered them) wanted. There is absolutely no problem with fantasising and imaging ‘what if’ but please just keep it respectful. These are real people with real feelings and to think they hear certain things people were saying about them makes my heart ache for them (not necessarily the things in the asks- much worse things).

It’s really sad that the world has become a place where anyone can make assumptions on people relationship/s based on what happens on social media. The weight the “life” lived through social media has on peoples’ opinions and judgement. I’m not saying I’m immune to this, but for the subjects of my blog it is certainly not a factor in my opinion of them. I’m dancing around a few of the specific things said in some of these asks as to not to call anyone out but some of it is truly astounding and hypocritical. The idea that there are people who think that because a certain amount of time has passed between them seeing each other means they are no longer friends... how would you like it if people were doing that to you and your best friend, or you and your partner who were separated due to work or border closures or inter-personal problems that is nobody else’s business? Not to mention THE FUCKING PANDEMIC that literally shut down the world for a better part of 18 months (some places shorter some longer). My best friend and I live in different countries (she in NZ, I in AUS) I went to see her in NZ 5 weeks before Covid started. I was meant to go back for her 21st birthday in July (2020). I couldn’t. AUS and NZ had some of the strictest travel/covid restrictions in the world. We had a brief travel bubble in March/April 2021 before the delta outbreak where she was going to come visit me but we couldn't get it to work coz it was too risky. We tried unsuccessfully several more times but we finally got to see each other last month when she came to visit me after my surgery. Yet over those 2 1/2 years we got closer and closer just by staying in contact and laughing together even tho we weren't even in the same country. I’m not certain of the specific restrictions in Canada (I know for a fact it was more strict and considerate of the health of the country as opposed to the meth lab downstairs) but I think at this point with most places being back to normal its hard to forget just how unprecedented covid was and how it separated us.

I’m not going to get into the specifics of what TS were doing and where during covid (coz again IT’S NONE OF MY BUSINESS) but i know for fact they were on opposite sides of the country (at a time different countries) for a significant period, then on top of that, they are both insanely busy people who take enormous pride in their work. They are workaholics (especially T) and they love what they do. She has worked so hard her entire life at becoming the best ice dancer in the world despite horrible injuries and is such an incredible person that once they decided to stop, in fact even before they did she was planning the next phase of her life. She didn't want to be remembered as ‘the girl in the red dress’ for the rest of her life, she didn’t want February 20, 2018 to be the peak- the end of her life, at just 28. How easy would it be for any of us, if we were to put ourselves in her shoes, to cash in on endorsements and tour the world as a skating celebrity (with or without Scott) and make a bomb from doing that, with her technique and athletic ability waning, performing increasing slower and laboured versions of MR for the next 30 years. NO. She values herself as a whole human being and wanted to challenge herself in new areas that have always interested her. For anyone who judges her for how many brand endorsements appear in her IG, think about how intelligent this girl is. She put herself through an MBA over zoom. she studied through a psychology degree while being the best Ice dancer in the world. Think about when she said how she was beyond simply posing with a product, and she wanted to really be part of what these brands do and work with people who share her values. We see her posing with the product still because that IS part of it, she is well known- BECAUSE of her career that is so iconic it manages to reach into mainstream culture. But there is so much that goes on behind a still photo. TV has so much integrity and would not be doing these things if she didn’t love it, if she wasn’t contributing to things she believes in. And honestly, the fact that she’s a girl and gets so much slack for that is even more disgusting.

Having said that, it seems the treatment of Scott was and possibly is worse. I’m really not going to get into any of that because it’s really disgusting and considering he is so much less on social media, the way info was found out and assumed is the reason I fear for what humanity has become (ngl with some of this stuff I get Princess Di flashbacks* (not flashbacks, I was 1 mth old. images moreso) After some of the stuff that’s been said about them and the schemes people set up to tear them apart (ie kobe) it’s a miracle we still have the fortune of following along with their new careers. If you love them you should be grateful for that.

I hate to be so harsh about it, but whoever is making their determinations on the status of TS lifelong bond, history, and FRIENDSHIP based on an Instagram posting schedule, frankly i judge you and that’s really dumb. If you have a different definition of ‘friendship’/ ‘best friends’ then I do, that’s fine but I don’t know why you follow me considering literally everything I write and post celebrates this extraordinary friendship.

I’m not fan of confrontation and hate reading opinions- not that differ to mine, but just seem hypocritical and in human. Yes, what I write is my opinion, but if my opinion was based on something completely, realistically unjustifiable I wouldn't post it because that’s not fare to TS.

Some advise: Don’t get caught up in twisted social media realities- it is no one’s whole real life and should not be used as a barometer for judging anyone on stuff we couldn’t possibly know about.

People’s opinions are their opinions and I don’t consider myself to have any effect in changing opinions, but I want to keep this a positive space that CELEBRATES TS and everything about them. They are extraordinary human beings and we all have a lot to learn from them about how we should treat each other. They are not perfect and of course they have made mistakes like we all do, but were they actually perfect I’m sure there would still be those out there making up flaws on the basis of entertainment. It seams this place will never be truly free of harassment to their partnership and friendship, and that’s really sad. So therefore, this is going to always be a space of celebration and admiration where we live in realty (not social media/reality show/soap opera type reality).

I’m going to leave this post with a few things.

Firstly: this lovely message left on one of my YT videos that I thought was really poignant and showed me that there are others out there who see the enlightening effect TS have on humanity:

Second, some truly heart warming sound bites of TS talking about each other, while they weren't able to be with each other in person. Take this as you like, I’m sure there are some who will twist it into some bullshit story but I take it as I hear it and I hear two people who will eternally love and care about each other, and celebrate what their beautiful, unique friendship has blossomed into:

I do not like making these posts because I respect that everyone is entitled to their opinion, yay for free speech, and I want this blog to be what it is but it just kinda puzzles me when my view is I feel so... what my view is, that anyone thinks I’m gonna come along, back flip and say, ‘yeh you know what is weird that, since I know what TS 24/7 schedule of every day of their lives-coz that’s info I need to know, that they wouldn’t stop by to remind each other that “hey, since we haven’t seen each other in person in 6 months we should really reassess the value and definition of our friendship, since you know, we were so good at finding an exact definition for our incredibly unique and loving partnership we’ve shared for 22 + plus years since we were 6 and 8...” coz that’s what two incredibly successful and talented people need to be doing with their lives” and take the time to inform us all coz they care so much about what we think of them... ‘

Me rn:

Finishing it all off with one of their Hugs coz you’re definitely gonna just choose to stop being best friends with the person you did this with for 10 years..🤨

#if i spent 2 hours writting this and it turns out someone is just harrasing my use of the term ‘best friends’ i’ll eat my hat #@TS hire me as your publisist / next biography writer #or at least pay me for defending the crap out of you #lol no i do this shit for free #THEY ARE MY DANCING BBYS DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH THEM #essays #Alexa: play ‘The Logical Song’ by supertramp #maybe my fave take is ‘Tessa is an ‘Influencer’ and is dating ‘Reilly’#🤨🤨🤨#imma go back to ordering business cards on vista print now #bye #peace and love ringo peace and love #the hug™️

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