#or idk it's the most complex plot *i* have ever written

[redpanda-redpanda]

Share Your Last Seven Lines/Heads Up, Seven Up

Thanks for tagging me @leng-m! Glad to see you're writing, especially after the 10k disaster. ❤️ I've actually been poking at a new story, one about a girl who hunts monsters, so this was really fun.

I had been walking for only a short time when the scream pierced the dawn.

I froze on the path, and then, low under my breath, I cursed.

It was not a human scream – it was too high-pitched for that, more like a jungle cat with a clattering, creaking, clacking hiss twisting round it. I had been told that the village of Lesa was experiencing monster troubles, but I had not expected to run into it just yet.

My hand tightened atop my cane. Even now, after nearly three years of forcing myself to go toward trouble instead of away, it wasn’t easy. I put one foot in front of the other, as quickly as I was able, but before I could get very far, a shape parted the mist and hurried toward me.

I'm gonna tag anyone else who wants to do it because I always need more writer friends. :)

#I'm not at all sure how I feel about first person #It's been ages since I've tried to write in first person but this character is DEMANDING #might have to try her in third though because I keep getting stuck and sometimes things jiggle loose that way #Her name's Jo by the way and I love her to death #But she is also one of the most absolutely frustrating characters #Because she keeps giving me her story in bits and pieces #“Here's something from when I was 3” “Here's from when I was 15” “Here's this random bit idk what to do with so have fun :)” #And the plot of this story has gone SO MANY DIRECTIONS #I've finally settled on it though (maybe probably I think) #...and now I get to have the same fun with the rest of the cast of characters because they keep changing too! XD #Seriously though I LOVE Jo and her story SO MUCH #I really do #It's one of the most challenging and most rewarding things I've ever written and she's such a complex character #And it feels like - idk how to exactly describe it - but like it's part of something much *bigger* than me #Which is amazing and awesome and I just hope I'm up to the challenge :) #books #writing #write #redpanda writes #Jo and company

[butchhamlet]

are there any shakespeare retellings you recommend? i really enjoy retellings but it's also difficult to find ones that like. actually understand the source material... i've read your novella duodecimal and really liked it btw! excellent take on twelfth night :-)

THANK YOU SO MUCH WAH... yes, i can recommend some retellings! i keep intending to make a big post with my recs, actually, but there are so many out there that i haven't read yet... so for now here's an incomplete list:

a thousand acres by jane smiley: the first one that came to my mind seeing this ask. it's a retelling of lear set on an american farmstead, and the adaptation is done beautifully and smoothly--it's just distinct enough from OG Lear that you can judge it as a book on its own but also as a lear retelling. and it's sooooo good. it starts a little slow, but the character work is so excellent and it almost made me cry (i will note that there's a pretty hefty cw on this one but... saying what it is is technically spoilers? but feel free to send another ask or message if you want to know up-front)

the last true poets of the sea by julia drake: books that made me have to turn my camera off in zoom class so i could bawl properly. books written for me specifically. this is a loose YA retelling of twelfth night (looser than some of the other retellings on this list) and it's like. perfect. the teenage dialogue actually sounds like teenagers. every emotional beat clubbed me over the head. the love triangle is present--and done really well; it's not present for drama but because sometimes being a teenager is confusing--but more than that this is a book about the relationship between violet and her sibling, and about mental health, and god it makes me CRAZY. also girls kiss in this one

rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead by tom stoppard: i mean. i think most people into shakespeare know r&gad. but in case you haven't read it yet, it's an absurdist play from the point of view of rosencrantz and guildenstern and it's absolutely fucking brilliant. not sure what else to say about this; you've really just gotta read it

teenage dick by mike lew: another play, this one on the modern side--a retelling of richard iii set in a high school, focusing explicitly on disability issues. kind of more a reimagining than a retelling, honestly, but i really like the exploration of r3's themes and also it's fucking hysterical. although i will say there's a kind of jarring tonal shift in this one near the end, so don't go to it for something 100% comedic

american moor by keith hamilton cobb: okay this isn't exactly a retelling but if you've ever read othello you have to read it. you just have to. please god if you've ever read a shakespeare PLEASE. it's a monologue from the perspective of a black man trying out for the role of othello, half-resigned to being pigeonholed into playing that specific role in a very specific way as directed by a white director, but also half-chafing against that resignation, and also exploring the complexities of loving shakespeare as a black man, and it's soooooo so good

exit, pursued by a bear by e.k. johnston: this one is kind of cheating because it's not really a retelling, in that it has next to nothing to do with the winter's tale except that there is a hermione character and a leontes character and a paulina character. i still think it's a very very well-done YA book, though, and one of the only ones i've read that deals head-on with abortion

foul is fair by hannah capin: okay, i will admit i read this one some years ago when i was more into YA, so i'm not sure i would still go crazy over it now, but the plot of this book is that the modern lady macbeth character gets assaulted by a guy at a party and decides to kill everyone who let that happen. and then she does. and idk i read it in two days it felt like being on crack

the wednesday wars by gary schmidt: this one is DEFINITELY cheating, because this isn't a retelling of anything. but if you like shakespeare and you're open to reading historical fiction about a kid in the 60s using shakespeare as a lens through which to understand the chaos of his life (from the vietnam war to his school crush)... it's so good. it made me nearly sob. beautiful book

i'm also a fan of ryan north's shakespeare choose-your-own-adventure books, but those aren't exactly retellings and also the humor will probably not work for everyone. but i like em <3

and finally, i would be remiss not to shout out the fact that @suits-of-woe wrote an INCREDIBLE retelling of the two gentlemen of verona that, like, redeemed the fact that that play exists. if you've read that play and you thought, "wow, i wish this were explicitly homoerotic, or not a rape apologia, or good in any way," you will LOVE macy's book. unfortunately it isn't fucking published yet but WITH YOUR HELP--

#max.txt #feel free to send me recs for shakespeare retellings at any time btw! #i've been collecting a list #i just haven't gotten around to most of the books on it yet #asks

[totheblood]

I honestly think a big reason we don’t see as many fics that are focused on plot is because a lot of people currently in the fandom haven’t even played/watched a full play through of the game and are literally only here to read smut about a hot masc lesbian they don’t really even know much about.

I feel like the stories posted in this fandom used to be so rich and the writers used to write Ellie so well because they joined this fandom because they loved her as a character. So many of them were based in tlou universe (which we hardly see anymore I feel like) and had plot beyond smut. And the AUs that used to be put out were about life and falling in love and not just being railed by hot masc (true blue always comes to mind <3),

I feel like I may be wording all of this weird but basically, I think initially everyone’s love for the video game itself and their love for Ellie as a character made the fics more complex, interesting, and passionate by default. But now, with so many ppl who write for Ellie for the pure purpose of smut, it seems like a lot of the magic has been lost.

Also, as much as all of the responsible adults in this fandom try to avoid it, there are minors at every corner. It’s extremely evident by their writing and the way they post.

Idk. I love smut. I don’t want to sound like a hater because I feel like it’s really hard to say anything without being labeled as one. And at the end of the day, people can write what they want. But there is a clear different in the quality of this fandom in Jan-March vs how it is now!

this is beautifully written, and with the last part i agree. i hope i don’t come off as a hater or anything as someone who really enjoys smut as well and i dont ever want to dictate what someone writes and doesn’t write. in these posts im mostly speaking for myself and not really saying a lot about other people. we have insanely talented people who primarily write smut with interesting plot lines, etc etc etc. i know tumblr is mostly smut in any fandom though, i just really love fleshed out fanfiction stories which is why i try to write those.

but the first part is true and i fell victim to it. as someone who has played the game and watched run throughs multiple times, i’ve strayed soooo far from the plot and most of my fics are au’s with ellie’s character still semi intact. this is also a main reason i wrote cutty love because i saw myself primarily writing modern day au’s and wanted to delve back into canon tlou. the fortunate part is the world tlou is set in gives a lot of opportunities for plot, storylines, and angst and i wish more people, including me, took advantage of that.

there is a deep magic to loving a character dearly that i know a lot of people have here. so i hope we get more of that!

#asked & answered #anonymous #ellie williams x reader

[crossedwithblue]

You're a Mansfield Park fan?

Yes!

IDK if you intended it as such but I am going to take this as a license to ramble about MP on main.

I think the thing about MP is that people (especially people who aren't as quite intense about JA than I am lmao, or who have only read P&P before) often come to it expecting a light-bright-and-sparkling romance like P&P, and are surprised when that isn't the case. Hell, I felt like that too on the first read, because the pop-culture perception of JA is that she was a romance writer first and foremost - but the romantic happy-ever-after is shoehorned into a few paragraphs on the last page or two, and not even shown on the page. MP isn't a romance novel at all - I have minimal English lit knowledge outside of JA, but I'd class it as more of a bildungsroman, maybe? Or a predecessor to those modern Literary Novels all about objectively nasty people being nasty to each other? (More on this in a min) I would very much welcome corrections from people who do know what they're talking about, though!

To me, JA isn't actually a romance writer most of the time. She wrote really good romances because she was really good at characterisation and at understanding and describing how personalities interact to form relationships, and romance is just one type of relationship. It's just the one that pop culture tends to focus on when it comes to JA (I mostly blame Georgette Heyer but of course there's an essay to be written on that too). The only JA novels I'd describe as true romances are P&P, of course, and Persuasion - the rest have romance as just one among many other dynamics as a supporting or side plot, or a tool to reveal characterisation, rather than being the main focus.

Fanny is also a very passive narrator who tends to be acted upon rather than acting herself, which tends to irritate people, but MUCH more on that in a minute.

I think MP is in some ways sort of... cruel. It's certainly the most openly incisive and potentially upsetting, with depictions of complex abusive/toxic family dynamics that could probably come straight out of a domestic/familial abuse/neglect resource. The point where I started to enjoy MP was when someone told me to embrace the schadenfreude - everyone besides Fanny and Edmund (possibly - both points very much up for debate, but they are at least trying their best in the middle of a family that doesn't give a fuck, really) is either an actively terrible person or at least a pretty bad enabler. That did help me find the humour in it, but personally I certainly find it a bit hard to read at times, especially the Mrs Norris scenes. It's not usually my first choice when I want to be cheered up.

This also tends to surprise people, I think, because the pop-culture image of JA, (probably in large part due to her Victorian relatives wanting to protect her posthumous image) is of a twinkly, proper, sweet-natured spinster lady.

Which she was not. Anyone who's seen extracts of her surviving letters knows that she had a biting, frequently uncharitable sense of humour (miscarriage jokes aren't a great look, Jane!) - and we know Cassandra destroyed the really juicy stuff, so that's got to be the tip of the iceberg. This is certainly apparent in all of her books, but can be ignored much of the time - but not in MP, where uncharitable descriptions of awful people are pretty much the core of the book.

Finally, we come to Fanny, the extremely divisive heroine (not least because of that name lol). Personally I tend to imprint on pathetic small girls who need looking after, but Fanny is a massive turnoff (lolol) for many people. I think that's just a personal thing but I enjoy the effect of her frequently becoming another layer through which the narrative filters - JA was a master of free indirect speech, of course, often with deliberate ambiguity about whose POV is being reported - omniscient narrator or character or both in agreement - and if it's a character, then which one? Fanny usually says and does little, but observes very keenly and astutely, which interacts in a really interesting way with the narration.

Also, I'd just like to point out that Fanny is Like That because she is an abuse victim. She may not be the most compelling heroine for everyone, but she isn't going to "just stand up for herself". The one time she does, the Bertrams punish her for it pretty harshly by sending her back to an environment that they know will be bad for her physical health (!)

Bit of a tangent but I am also a huge fan of Jane Eyre and I think there are interesting parallels to be drawn between Fanny and Jane. Jane Eyre is a fiery, independent character who manages to get out of bad situations one way or another, mostly through sheer dumb luck (don't get me wrong I love my girl Jane but How did she leave that parcel on the coach...). If she'd stayed at Gateshead, I could see her gradually getting beaten down until she became a lot more like Fanny - because other than Jane's innate temper, they have quite a bit in common - they both do, when it comes down it, have a very strong sense of self (yes, even Fanny) and the ability to reject things that they know are morally wrong, no matter the potential cost.

That turned into a bit of a defense of MP because I usually hear people dissing it and so that's what I end up thinking about. Lots more to be said on the Crawfords and the Bertrams, of course.

#i havent posted about MP recently so am somewhat curious about how you got here #especially given that there are other more popular bloggers who talk about MP more #but i am never goin g to turn down a ready made excuse to write a mini essay about my Jane Austen Opinions #via shitposts #mansfield park #fanny price defense squad #jane austen #idc if i typed this whole thing out for 0 notes #i will take any excuse to word vomit about JA

[makedonsgriva]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Omg hi! First of all thanks for asking! I haven’t answered this question before and I absolutely do not mind answering this. This is a tough one though because I’ve consumed so much media and love so many characters it’s so difficult to choose but I will give it a shot nonetheless. Also these ten characters are not in any particular order.

Laurent Of Vere: Laurent is introduced as the frigid and dangerous prince of Vere in the book 1 of the captive prince trilogy. I HATED this man on my first reading but as the trilogy progressed, I just fell in love with him. He had an astounding amount of growth and character development. Not to mention his qualities and traits make him an all around admirable character. I may not be putting the characters in this list in order but Laurent is definitely my favourite character of all time.

Fleabag: Fleabag from Fleabag is another character I deeply love. She is funny, she is selfish, she is a tragedy of her own doing. It’s the way she is so deeply flawed yet so damn loveable at the same time that gets me. We are all fleabag at the end of the day aren’t we?

Baz: Baz from Carry On trilogy had to be here like the list won’t be complete without my poor little meow meow. He is one of those few characters who is very very close to my heart and it so hard to not love this dramatic gay vampire. Just love his snark and he is so funny??? I love it so much. Not to mention he truly is one of the kindest characters I’ve read.

Penelope Bunce: Another character from the Carry On trilogy. Penelope means the world to me because as a brown person, I don’t get to read a lot of books which feature brown characters. So seeing a character who is the best friend of the protagonist and has a major role in the series, it’s very refreshing and reassuring to me. Penelope is smart, stubborn, never admits she might be wrong but her growth over the three books is amazing. I will always love her.

Eren Yeager: literally one of the most tragic characters I’ve seen till date. As the protagonist (antagonist? anti hero? Idk anymore) of attack on titan, Eren is one of the most iconic characters I’ve come across till date. His unconditional devotion for his friends and his character arc from being the righteous hero to someone who becomes completely disillusioned by the end, it’s fucking amazing.

Geto Suguru: I have a beef with Jujutsu Kaisen and the reason is that Gege Akutami came up with absolutely amazing characters only to under-utilise and shit on their character arcs with his half assed plot. Surprisingly though, Geto’s character arc is amazing. I love it when heroes lose the sight of their goals and become the villains instead and Geto does that. His character development is really good and I love him for that. Incredibly realistic and refreshing to see.

Jiang Cheng: Jiang Cheng from MDZS remains one of the most relatable characters I’ve come across ever. Like I feel him on a spiritual level. The complexity and depth of his emotions, his actions, being so fucking good but never being good enough… good lord my heart straight up bleeds for him. I will always love Jiang Cheng.

Xue Yang: Hear me out okay. I know Xue Yang from MDZS is a psychopath. I’m not a Xue Yang apologist either. What he did to Xingchen was appalling to say the least. But Xue Yang is undoubtedly an incredibly well written character. He loved or should I say obsessed over XXC in such a sick and twisted way, it made for a very interesting read. The way he deluded even himself into believing that his extreme actions were all to torment XXC and not because he enjoyed his company and liked him… like girl be ffr right now who tf are you kidding. But yeah love me an insane psychotic gremlin.

Violet Evergarden: Violet from Violet Evergarden is one of the most heartbreaking characters I’ve come across and also one of the most unique. I’m a sucker for stories that tell the most human stories and Violet as a child soldier discovering these emotions, thoughts and vivid lives of people while coming to terms with her own trauma really gives her a special place in my heart.

Howl: Howl from Howls Moving Castle is one of my favorites because he is a hot babygirl. As simple as that.

Thanks so much for asking! Sorry it took me a while to get back to you but I hope you liked this list 💗💗💗

#carry on #baz pitch #captive prince #mdzs #laurent of vere #jiang cheng #xue yang #penelope bunce #fleabag #howls moving castle #violet evergarden #geto suguru #jujutsu kaisen #eren yeager #attack on titan #asks

[josephtrohman]

Do you have any Joetrick recs?

kicking my feet twirling my hair blinking my big wet eyes at you holding u gently in my arms so on and so forth...i Am still working on a real full fics recs page but it's like a bigger job than i expected so idk when i'll be done it ...anyways maybe one day but for now here are my favest faves :^) sorry it's a lot and i kind of said too much BGDJKGBDHJGB, CLEARLY im very passionate (also no matter what i do the formatting keeps getting messed up lmfao sorry.)

combinatorics by heyginger. patrick is in luvvv with joe when joe starts online dating during tour, and basically tension and feelings and etc etc ensue. the first time i read it i was like running around my house and squealing out loud and everything bc it's just that perfect, and it really only gets better upon re-reading bc you pick up on little things you didn't notice the first time! the tension and the misunderstandings are, at times, painful and you really feel everything patrick is going through, but it really keeps you on your toes! i feel like the characterization is perfect in this and i just can't get enough. also this is the fic i read to my partner (if you are a true josephtrohman fan and saw the post HAHAHAH), he really enjoyed it and is interested in me reading more of my favs to him bc of it, so it even has the normie stamp of approval ;)

hedonism by rosiedoesfic. patrick is in a toxic relationship with pete, but patrick and joe begin an affair and it leads to a mess of feelings and fighting and etc etc. it's angsty and it hurts and everything like that but god it's also sooo brilliantly written. rosie has this amazing gift of writing the voices so realistically, including and especially the complexities of joe's inner monologue! i mean not that i know joe’s inner monologue irl obviously but it feels so realistic…this fic a punch in the gut to read, and obviously i prefer when fob are like Friends rather than fighting but this fic is insanely beautiful that i can look past that preference of mine lol. one of the fics i've re-read the most because it's been a fave for a long time. so so so heart-achingly GOOD.

thnks fr th knckers by rosiedoesfic. a pair of panties gets thrown on stage at a show, and the floodgates open essentially, with patrick at the centre of it, grappling with finding it hot and also thinking it's weird basically. because of this internal dilemma, the tension (sorry i don't have a better word it's always tension lol) is like soooo perfect, like patrick fighting it but he can't UGHGHBG. it's a little naughty obviously but with some real plot and this is probably the singular fic i've reread the most throughout my life!!! i'm not even normally into panty kink stuff (not a problem with it, it's just something that's never been like a big turn on for me or anything) but this fic is AMAZING.

above are my three favest faves EVER and i go absolutely nutso for them, as you can tell!! i kind of cycle through the three of those for which one i call my all time favourite depending on my mood <3 if you only are interested in reading some of these, PLEASE PLEASE read the above three!!! i could go on forever and ever about them and just really leave this reclist there at those three, but just cuz i loveeee to talk about fic i'll touch on some others

in general, you really can't go wrong with any of rosie's fics!! i've read literally every single joetrick fic she's ever written and all of them are amazing, seriously very much our joetrick queen (hi rosie if you're reading this <3). some specific highlights for me in her catalogue include fairytale of new york (a really neat holidays fic with a hint of magic, i just re-read it the other day even tho it's july and it's so so so good) and technology (another fic written for the same prompt as combinatorics, all about online dating and catching feelings!! ughhhh amazing). i also would be remiss to NOT mention the world's not waiting which has an almost legendary status in joetrick/fob world, and rightfully so bc it's SOOO good and sweeps you away and then you blink and your whole day was spent just reading this fanfic lol...and it's been on a bit of pause BUT rosie has promised she's planning on resuming when she has time so better get to reading it so you're ready whenever there's the next update anon ;)

heyginger's got some other great ones too but there are only i think like 2 other joetrick fics on heyginger's page (both are shorter but SOOOO GOOD - bdsm and good fortune. since they're shorter i'll let the fics speak for themself!)

ok ok now for a couple outside of just gushing about rosie and heyginger BGDHBGHJDB. im going to keep the descriptions etc to a more minimum cuz im losing steam but. yeah ;)

my heart goes with you by likeasugarcube. prom fic with amazing smut, this is one of the first joetrick fics i remember reading as a teen and i always keep coming back to it!

intensity by likethepaint. perfect lil fic about patrick's temper, or rather, patrick's intensity, and stuff basically, and no further spoilers :) but really good!

there is no natural religion by carleton97. short and a lil smutty, and i'll leave it at that :)

brace yourself and find a safe place by distortedmya. amazing fic about joe coming out as an adult, and it's soooo sweet <3

summer of like by heartofthesunrise. yes it may be the petekey title but it more focusses on j+p with some petekey drama off to the side that ends early on actually if i remember correctly. so dang sweet and the way the writing places you in the ambiance is kind of magical (i first read it in the winter and reading it truly felt like it was summer!)

sorry if this is a lot. i didn't expect to pop off but hi. the way this is me holding back a bit too, im crazy and you all know it GDBHBDHJBGDJBJ. clearly im passionate about this topic and i hope you enjoy my recs!!!!! and dont find me too annoying dear anon hahahahah

#i love u anon u are my fav forever #anonymous #asks #sorry again this is so long. can u tell im stupid and like fic BHVDBHFJBDHJFBHJD #fic recs #the formatting keeps getting messed up lmfao

[keybladespirit]

3x3 of Characters I Headcanon as Cis Men

(And a few quick justifications as to why.) (An exercise in reframing transness as a default identity.)

Joker: I should be clear, Joker is a teenager so I'm not pushing this identity onto such a young person. However, his being an outsider and trying his best to keep his head down to avoid ruffling feathers feels a lot like when I was experimenting with cisgenderism around his age, except he seems to gain a lot of confidence . Maybe he's also just experimenting, but I feel like for now we should respect the identity that he's trying to present.

Light Yagami: Some might say that only a trans woman would be smart enough to get as far as Light did, but only a cis man would want to do something as insane as murdering every criminal, and have such a god complex to think he deserves that power.

Fortnight Zavala: This might be my most controversial pick. Yes we all know the actual Commander Zavala is a normal man, but Fortnight is such a wacky and wild crossover universe that it only makes sense they'd make a weird change like making him cisgendered for no reason.

Kiryu Kazuma: Most boys have at least a few woman role models growing up, but Kiryu seems to have only ever had Kazama, a man, as his lifelong role model. 'm only on Yakuza 3 so I guess this is more like a prediction than a headcanon for now, but given the story of the series I doubt there's gonna be a "Kazuma Kiryu comes out as cis" moment. It would be very weird if they made a reveal like that instead of just leaving it as subtext.

Hatsune Miku: Self explanatory.

Emperor Palpatine: Only a cisgendered man could be that evil. Come on.

Mumen Rider: Idk he just kinda has cboy swag.

Joker: This one is practically text, but it's not actually revealed so we're left to speculate anyway. The plot of Joker, if you read into it just a little, really feels like a cisgender coming out story and it's a powerful look into what that experience of questioning your whole reality might be like.

Roxas: This is actually less about Roxas and more about Sora. Sora is very well written as a hero's journey protagonist and part of that entails walking the line of being an everyman and being a defined character. Roxas, on the other hand, is very distinctly not that. He is both an outsider and someone who at first is defined solely in relation to someone else. I can't speak to the experiences of cisgenders, but I feel like there's really something that Roxas has in common with them, based on the experiences my cis friends have described to me about how they figured themselves out.

#cisgenderism #headcanon #persona 5 #death note #destiny 2 #yakuza #hatsune miku #star wars #one punch man #the joker #kingdom hearts

[now-that-i-saw-you]

2023 recap

I've lived a thousand lives this year. I also read around 40 books, watched 17 shows, 34 movies and listened to 40,214 minutes of music and I'm gonna narrow them all down to top 3 favorites of each category.

Music

1. Midnights

I'm a swiftie forever and ever so best believe whatever album Taylor released it's gonna be my favorite album ever, but Midnights is exceptionally good. It's no surprise that most songs on my top 5 most-played are from Midnights (and the only one that isn't is seven). This is my AOTY and I want to personally thank Taylor for writing You're On Your Own, Kid.

2. Stick Season

My sixth most-played song was Dial Drunk and I think it was just a couple of streams away from entering the top. The rest of the album is just as good and as poignant. It's so folklore-esque and I adore a good story that makes me forget about my problems.

3. Good Ridddance

Did you guys know Gracie Abrams is fucking excellent? I listened to Good Riddance and it was amazing and then I listened to her earlier work and they were also amazing. Good Riddance is for girls in their 20s who feel like they mess everything up (it's so evermore-coded).

Books

1. All For The Game

I read a lot of great books this year but this is probably the only one I've been properly obsessed with. Every single word in these books made me cry, it just made me feel so much; angry, sad, happy, but mainly hopeful.

2. She Who Became The Sun

This is objectively the best book I read this year. It's eloquent and complex and interesting and deals with subjects like gender and sexuality in such a fine, delicate way. I wanted to savour every moment with this book, read every word slowly so I could properly understand it. Ouyang is up there with Adam Parrish and Lyra Silvertongue in my Favorite Characters List.

3. Conversations With Friends

This book made me feel seen, while deeply hurting me. Turns out I kinda like the Miscommunication trope and I think it's mostly because I love it when characters feel like real people and nothing is more real than not saying what you should or saying the wrong thing.

TV Shows

1. Succession

I came to realize that what makes me love a show/book is mostly the characters. I love complicated characters that feel like real people. I love it when I can't decide whether I hate or love a character. Even my least favourite characters (Logan and Tom) were well-written and had a very satisfying storyline. I did not understand a single thing they said when talking about finance (at least I learned what a Bear Hug is...sorta) and that didn't stop me from enjoying the show and following the plot and to me that shows how entertaining it was.

2. Better Call Saul

Everyone should watch this show. This is one of the greatest corruption arcs I've ever seen on TV and Jimmy is an excellent protagonist, I love the way the writers build his character's arc and his relationship with people around him, mainly his brother but also Kim because their relationship was amazing. They were so cute and doomed by the narrative. Personally, I enjoyed every season and wasn't bored at any point. This show was done with so much love and you can feel it.

3. Totally Completely Fine

I love it when I stumble on a show because I have nothing else to watch and it turns out to be a favourite. Totally Completely Fine has everything: Humour and wit, discussing important, sensitive topics in a very appropriate manner, and an incredibly real sibling relationship. The show gives a voice and empathy to the eldest siblings, the youngest and the middle child and I'm never getting over "you took all the air."

Please watch it because I want a second season.

Films

1. The Whale

Idk if this a controversial opinion or not but I found this film very moving. To me it's a story about healing and forgiveness being a possibilty for everyone. I really felt and cared for the main character.

2. El Camino

The Breaking Bad writers are just very good at their job. I love Jesse and I love this additional story to the universe.

3. Loving Vincent

The entire film was made by oil painting. How can I not include this? It's a beautiful film telling the story of Vincent Van Gogh's death. I encourage everyone to watch it.

#new year #2023 #2024 #new year recap #booklr #films #tv shows #taylor swift #midnights #stick season #noah kahan #gracie abrams #good riddance #all for the game #she who became the sun #conversations with friends #succession #better call saul #totally completely fine #the whale #el camino #loving vincent #filmblr

[johaerys-writes]

[20 Question Fic Writer Tag]

tagged by @baejax-the-great thank you!

How many works do you have on AO3? As of now, 47.

What is your AO3 word count? 1,084,458

What fandoms do you write for? Currently neck-deep in my Patrochilles (Iliad/TSOA/Hades) obsession. But I've also written for Dragon Age (Pavelyan), Voltron (Sheith) and Castlevania (Trephacard, Lenector).

What are your top five fics by kudos? High-Flying Birds, Like Friends Do, Winter's Fruit, Jasmine and Yarrow, Where Blood Roses Bloom.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I love responding to comments!! Even if it's just to say Thank you. I absolutely love rambling in my replies and getting into discussions about lore or characters' motivations and such. This is the fanfic experience at its best for me.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Honestly I'm not great with angsty endings haha. Even if the fic as a whole is very angsty, the ending tends to be happy. I think the fics with the saddest ending are Loyal To The End and The Wound That Never Heals, both Hector/Carmilla (Castlevania). Some people have told me they found the ending of At The Water's Edge quite bittersweet.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Now we're talking haha. Of my most recent ones, Twin Flames has a very sweet ending. Fall Into Your Tide also has a super hopeful ending, and another favourite is A Place To Be. I'm all about that comfort after the hurt babey.

Do you get hate on fics? I think I've only ever got hate once or twice? As far as I remember. I honestly couldn't care less about it, I forget it as soon as it happens lol.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yessir. Not exactly sure what kind? Are there different kinds? I would say that my favourite to write is angsty smut with lots of complicated feelings. And also I do like sprinkling some kink here and there whenever I feel like it.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I've only ever written one crossover and I still love the fuck out of it, it's a Witcher/Dragon Age one with my OC Tristan Trevelyan and Dorian Pavus and it was sooooo fun to write oh my god. I would love to revisit that universe ngl!!

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of? Depends on what we mean by stealing. I have had parts of fics of mine lifted and used in other fanworks without credit, it wasn't great but it's been a little while since then and I haven't noticed anything else (not that I've gone looking though).

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! A super lovely person has been translating High-Flying Birds into Vietnamese.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? Yes! I've cowritten several fics with friends and it's always so nice, I love working with other people.

What's your all-time favourite ship? Oof that's a tough question. If we go by number of fics written, it would have to be Patrochilles. If we go by number of words written, it would have to be Pavelyan (almost 450k 💀). If we go by number of fics I've read and bookmarked, it would have to be Sheith. So idk if I can give a straight and clear answer lol.

What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will? God I really do want to finish A World With You and I do think I will do it eventually, it's just that I know there's a LOT of it left and it's often really daunting. I also want to finish Where Blood Roses Bloom but, again, the plan I have in mind is kind of ambitious and it will take me a while to get there. Also, Blood Roses In The Snow is one I want to get back to, and that one would be easier to finish since there's only like a couple chapters left.

What are your writing strengths? Probably imagery, introspection, and I've also been told I write good action scenes!

What are your writing weaknesses? Dialogue, probably. It stresses me out the most haha. I also used to be able to write complex plots but it's gotten quite hard lately, idk why :(

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I don't love it. I'm fine with a word here and there or even a phrase, as long as it's been sort of explained before or it's one that's widely recognised. I just feel like having a big chunk of untranslated dialogue in the middle of a story breaks immersion and I try to avoid it whenever I can.

First fandom you wrote for? Dragon Age, specifically Inquisition.

Favourite fic you've ever written? Noooo you can't make me choose, don't make me choose 😭 Damn that's tough. Twin Flames is still a huge favourite. A Place To Be is one I often come back to and I'm super proud of how it turned out. A World With You is the first fic I ever posted and the longest, I have spent so much time with it and it has a special place in my heart. And this might be cheating because it's my current fixation, but I feel like you're a walking disaster, and yet— is some of my best writing yet, I'm very fond of it.

Tagging forth to: @elveny @pikapeppa @mary-aries @darlingpoppet @pinkfadespirit @sketchass @starlightvld @petrowriting @in-arlathan @figsandphiltatos @heypax and anyone else who'd like to do this! (Also, if you don't want to be tagged for these memes let me know!)

#tag meme #fanfic writing

[lesbianrobin]

I love young strangers but I'm caught up and I've read all your other stuff, do you have any fic recs? I love your fics so much :)

thank you!! if you haven't already read all of her stuff, i recommend everything written by my friend sarah @steveharrington!! her ao3 is birthdaycandles and literally everything she's ever written is an absolute banger. if you like my stuff you will Love her and if you've read all of my fics but not hers i think that is a travesty and you better get on that immediately.

some great under-appreciated fics of hers: run for your children, for your sisters and brothers (steve lucas and robin. that is literally all i have to say it's about STEVE LUCAS AND ROBIN why haven't you clicked yet), strung through the tether (THEE stobin platonic soulmate fic), & seriously slipping out of control (steve and robin beg eddie to give them impulsive trauma tattoos immediately after starcourt).

idk what ships/characters ur most into so i'm just gonna focus on recs that are gen/ship-lite and oneshots bc i feel like that's what most of my fics are? so if you like my fics hopefully you'll like these bc i think they are all wayyy better than my fics but with similar vibes dkvjfjcn.

windowsill is a story focusing on max's recovery after s4. steddie is there, but the story itself is really about max and her healing and finding herself in the wake of trauma, and i think everybody should read it because it's gorgeous.

similarly, no, i'm not afraid to disappear explores erica's trauma in the wake of s4, how it sets her apart from her friends, and how she uses D&D to work through some of that trauma. there is NOT enough erica-centric fic out there and this one really gives her all of the love and complexity and attention she deserves.

you can put it all on me, you can laugh and you can bleed is a classic Steve Harrington Gets The Care And Love He Needs After Getting The Living Shit Kicked Out Of Him fic, and it has multiple perspectives (including officer callahan who is a hoot) that create a rich picture and make it all feel real. it isn't just about steve, it's also about all of the kids, their fears and trauma in the immediate aftermath of s2, and it's so fucking precious. literally the cutest shit ever.

strange (but not a stranger) is a mike-centric fic set after s4 that like. single-handedly saved mike's character for me. like s1-2 mike was my BABY and s3 i was kinda eh about him and in s4 i felt like i barely recognized him but this fic reached right into my heart and said You Will Love Mike Wheeler Again He Is Still Your Baby. mike is so messy and angry and lost in this fic and he feels like a flesh and blood teenager who's been through a lot and i think this fic deserves So much more attention.

don't imagine you're too familiar is a s4 aftermath fic focused on robin, steve, dustin, and eddie. this fic Gets steve and robin they are soooo platonic soulmates coded in this (as they should be) and i love it. also some steddie. as a treat.

unlike the others on here, adventures in babysitting a psionic isn't a oneshot, it's 59k words and SO WORTH READING. it's about steve babysitting el in the space between s2 and s3. it's definitely canon divergent but it's not a huge Plot Deal it's mostly about el and steve building an incredibly sweet friendship, and they both get a lot of complexity, care, and emotional development that i love. their relationships with the other characters are also given attention and it's just like... so cozy and sweet. it's simply precious.

so that's it for now! sorry if the formatting of this was weird i'm on mobile dkcjdjc i hope you haven't already read all of these and thank you again for being so kind ab my fics!!

#asks #stranger things #fic recs #em talks

[ghostly-penumbra]

20 Qs for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag, @summerssixecho!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

Thirty-six as of now! Most of them are still from events (I put all the filled prompts in one work per event, don’t @ me), but when I really like one of these I post it as a stand-alone :) and I have a few fics outside events too! Woo!

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

132,746 as of right now, but I’ll still finish Ectober so that’ll change quickly. (and as I said before, some fics I post "twice", in the event's work, and as a stand-alone)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Danny Phantom almost exclusively, the exception are the CrossOvers :p

I love The Sandman and Supernatural ones. I’m into DPxDC as well.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Seven Ways to Summon the Ghost King (1,187 kudos): Seven different ways in which a tired, stressed and sleep-deprived King of Ghosts can be summoned!

Results may vary.

Holiday Gift 2022 (439 kudos): ALL ghosts need to honour the truce. Including those who don't know they're considered part ghost.

Poison Blood and Weighted Crowns (408 kudos): The Justice League asked for help to the Ghost King.

The King demanded Jason Todd in exchange.

Jokingly, Robin accepted.

King Plasmius had the deal be honoured.

Ectober Week 2021 (365 kudos)

DannyMay 2021 (243 kudos)

5. Do you respond to comments?

YUP. Sometimes I forget and only see it years later tho. But I do like answering comments so I try my best! If I don’t answer is ‘cause I can’t think of anything else to say but I still try! (I don’t really answer in FFN anymore tho, because I forget if I’ve already answered and I don’t remember how to check that, and I don’t want to accidentally answer twice lmao)

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

Uhh… not a big fan of angst, and even though I tried my hand at it in the past don’t remember where I put it anymore

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

Dragon :') Danny gets dental! (lol ok, I can’t really tell, idk)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

My fics ain’t popular enough to get hate I believe lol.

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

LOL. I WROTE LEMON ONCE. YEARS AND YEARS AGO (almost ten year now. I was fourteen). After that, I haven’t, but I have an idea for a fic and if I actually get to write it I know it would be explicit.

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

asdfghjjklñ I fucking love CrossOvers so much. I’ve written some "niche" ones but I believe the craziest/crackiest was Doors :))

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

None that I know of. (Again, not popular enough lol)

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

Other than ramble with the discord buddies, nope I haven’t.

13. What's your all-time favourite ship?

None tbh, I do like some ships but I’m aro and I don’t really have an OTP.

14. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Not much in the way of WIPs but I do have several plot bunnies I entertain before discarding.

On DPxDC I had a demon twin AU where Damian killed Danny as a kid with pressure from Ra’s al Ghul, and they met again after many years, with Damian as Robin and Danny as the Ghost King… and Danny didn’t forgive Damian. I had a lot planned and wanted to include a lot of worldbuilding, but ultimately I decided I couldn’t give Damian’s character justice as I was projecting heavily on my broken relationship with my abusive brother, and Damian deserved better than to be compared to my brother.

Also DPxDC, the aforementioned explicit work, which would be Danny/Valerie/Jason, with them dealing with being ecto-entities with the ecto-acts in place, Danny dealing with being King and trying to be an astronaut, Valerie coping with her feelings on her nature and her Wayne scholarship, and Jason being a crime lord with a family of vigilantes, and their broken yet existing relationships. As they navigated the complex ensuing dynamics, they dismantled the GIW and took down the Ecto-Acts.

I would also like to do more for Dragon, but I really don’t feel like it rn

16. What are your writing strengths?

Instrospection and mindscapes, if I can say so.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Anything that isn’t introspection and mindscapes.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Naruto :)

20. Favourite fic you've written?

aughdabdsufsda, I don’t really know, I love several of them for different reasons, but maybe Father and Sons? I love Clockwork and I love my Sandman crossovers, so I liked mixing both.

I’m not tagging anyone, but I encourage anyone to try! It was really fun!

#alex talks #summerssixecho #Danny Phantom #DPxDC #get to know me #i guess #how do i tag this #long post

[variousqueerthings]

Coming back to this laaaate, but @brilliantfantasticgeronimo hope it's okay I pull this onto a post, because it's easier for me to focus on than in replies!

this idea that the Doctor lands someplace and ruins everyone's day by being so Badass and Awestriking isn't really a Thing in Nu!Who "is also contrasted with the theme of the doctor inspiring *others* to do things (v Explicit theme in s1 but it's present in all those other CoDs you mention)... re:2, i think the one exception would be 7 but i think with 7 the chess-god-manipulator thing works bc we see the consequences of it thru ace. we also see it w/ amy and river but (cont) but i feel we never quite grapple w/ it emotionally (they adore the doctor anyway in the end) (except for a handful legit, hard-hitting eps like the girl who waited or town called mercy). .. and altho in both classic who and rtd who the companions function as a very important role *in the text*, u can still find fandom completely ignoring that and treating doc's 1-10 as power fantasies as well. so it's smth always there but that moffat rlly made literal also i've really liked your posts on asexuality on dw and idk if you've written this but just in case, i think it's also relevant to the very specific way some het guys are so protective of the doc's asexuality/aromancy(+the show's): "asexuality" as it functions in dw is celebrated by those guys ( i suspect) bc it gives the fantasy power over the "womanly wiles" - it's a proof of how the doc is so "enlightened" and "above" the temptress or seduction trope. (cont) (csdkjf sorry for going ott on replies rip) and it's also why i think in moffat's who the doc's sexuality is kind of tied to the idea of it like... """humbling"" or ""humanizing"" the character (as problematic as those ideas are,,, i think there's a basis to deduct that they come from before in canon)

OKAY SOOOO HI!

I just watched The God Complex right after The Girl Woman Who Waited so I'm riding that high of Consequences! Emotional Follow-through! Mmmm good plots!

I have not actually seen 7 yet outside of cute clips with Ace and ofc when he died due to the American healthcare system + gang warfare if I'm remembering correctly? and became our beautiful bouncing boy Eight, so iiiinteresting that this is a Thing, I didn't know that 👀👀👀👀👀

again, God Complex + Girl Who Waited feel like the most this era has explored Eleven's kinda... vibes around in terms of being some big Machinator who ruins peoples lives by dragging them into his shit, because he cannot Not: "I stole your childhood and now I’ve led you by your hand to your death. But the worst thing is I knew. I knew this would happen, this is what always happens. Forget your faith in me. I took you with me because I was vain. Because I wanted to be adored. Look at you. You’re glorious, Pond, the girl who waited for me. I’m not a hero. I really am just a mad man in a box. And it’s time we saw each other as we really are." Mmmm good stuff

we'll see how the next episodes do/season 7, but I've heard good things about Town Called Mercy which is an episode that I was not taking in at allll last time, because I was kind of... annoyed... by then.... and not really taking in good stuff (unlike this time)

ASEXUALITY ON DW IS LIKE! LOOK I'M WRITING OUT A SCRIPT FOR A YOUTUBE VIDEO BECAUSE IT'S SO FASCINATING RIGHT??? BOTH IN TERMS OF HOW THE CHARACTER EMBODIES AN AROACE IDENTITY AS ALIEN AND AS OTHERED WITHIN THEIR OWN SOCIETY AND AS A PERSON WHO JUST HAPPENS TO BE THESE THINGS --- AND IN HOW FANDOM THINKS ABOUT THE WORD "ASEXUALITY"

(will I ever actually put together a youtube video, who knows, but I could, I edit professionally for parts of my job, and I have the Receipts!) (but the energy of it all youknow)

I am so pleased you spelled out the "womanly wiles" trope, because yes, I hadn't quite seen that, but had been circling around like... the Enlightened Asexual (or the Celibate Monk as I believe M*ffat once called it with reference to Sherlock) (and then someone like Irene Adler is the epitome of that Temptress in his version of the story...)

and what you're saying about "humbling" and "humanising" is so fascinating, because ofc to a bunch of us aces and aros and aroaces the part where the Doctor struggles to form normative relationships is one of the the most humanising factors, and ofc M*ffat especially likes the "Godlike" Doctor quite a bit but it comes back to these ideas of allosexuality and alloromanticism

but then also rejects a lot of those ideas, from memory, for being too simplistic after all, because people struggle to write the Doctor as simply alloromantic and allosexual (I've heard because the Doctor is alien, because the Doctor is more compelling when lonely, because the narrative couldn't sustain it, etcetcetc, but in the end it all comes back to "the Doctor as Character cannot get into these relationships for... reasons...." and that becomes compelling character)

(also Gomez!Master is like "we're so beyond this, we're the best thing ever, we're nemeses, we're besties, my homeboy, my rotten soldier, my silly rabbit," etcetcetc... paraphrased. but that's in M*ffat era)

(the more the show flirts with allosexuality and alloromanticism the more nuanced the Doctor becomes to me as an aroace character! because no longer is it an Enlightened Mightier Than Thou Cannot Be Touched Celibacy type Concept, it's someone who's being affected by deep relationships and very often unable to equate them using simple terms!!!! arghhh it's sooooo!!!! SOOOOOO!!!!!!!)

#doctor who #dw #the doctor #and now i go to beeed #doctor who meta #aroace doctor #acespec doctor #need to change my aroace doctor tags to acespec doctor tags #to be more precise... I hate being imprecise

[poor-boy-orpheus]

I think a frustration I have with a lot of media review online in LGBT+ spaces is that so many of us grew up starved for genuinely queer content that we have a habit of fixating on those elements of a story when they are presented. For a relatively older generation of millennial queers, there was virtually nothing in media that was explicitly queer, so they would just fanfic all stories into being more gay. But then when we do have stories that feature queer characters or relationships, that element of the story overshadows the rest of the actual story.

The most egregious example of this for me personally was The Song of Achilles. In that, we take a story (the Iliad) wherein a homosexual relationship is implied if not taken as a scholarly consensus, and then a new book is written exclusively talking about the story through the lens of that relationship. Gone are Achilles' feelings for his mother, gone are the complex interweavings of a very large cast of characters, gone are the greater conversations between patronic deities struggling against one another. Instead all we get is a gay love story. And this isn't even going into the fact that it was written by a straight woman.

This is true in other stories as well. No one ever talks about Our Flag Means Death outside of the gay stuff. Les Miserables has largely been watered down to discussions of the relations among the barricade boys. The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was just a woman being reduced down to her sexuality by a cishet woman for 300 pages.

I just, I wish that we could have queer characters in stories that weren't about them being queer without the fan community making it exclusively about that. And not because I don't enjoy queer stories (The Birdcage, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Carol, Cloudpiercer, and more are just a few of my favorite movies), but rather because queer folks have a bad habit of relegating themselves to the sidelines of complex plots. It's very other-izing in the real world when your sexuality or gender becomes more of a talking point than your qualifications for a position or opportunity.

Idk, I just wish we didn't do that so much.

[fandomshatewomen]

I'm sorry if this is kind of a stupid question, but what are the common ways that fandoms hate on women? Are anime fandoms also prone to such hatred towards women?

ok so one of the ways that fandoms hated women when I first started this blog is that frequently there was misogyny in the tags of canon female love interests.

here's an example: Skylar white from breaking bad was often hated in the fandom for opposing her criminal and abusive husband walter white even though he straight up rapes her in the first season when shes pregnant.

here's an article that has links to other articles https://www.looper.com/190240/the-reason-skyler-white-was-the-most-hated-character-on-breaking-bad/

so ok you might say well that's from a much older show but she was on our profile pic for years.

then there's misogynoir with a franchise that started much earlier (the sixties) but really came to a head in 2008-9

that's Uhura and her AOS romance with Spock. many sp1rk shippers were angry that their ship wasn't canonized in the reboot and took it out on Zoe and JJ Abrams for writing her as a love interest.

The problem is that Uhura's role in the original series was hardly ever what you'd call important to the plot. by elevating her to a love interest many started to hate her for existing as an obstacle between sp1rk.

Then there's Iris West-Allen in the show the flash played by Candice patton. in the tv show Iris was racebent from a redheaded white woman to a Black woman. this garnered her more misogynoir than even Uhura because at the very least Uhura had existed as a black woman since the sixties in the franchise.

So if you're not familiar with comics Iris west is the one true love of Barry Allen. White comic fans weren't ready to see a black woman loved dearly like Iris would be.

a more recent example is Yennefer from the witcher https://www.thegamer.com/the-witcher-yennefer-worst-things-done/

Now I haven't read the whole article but I would like to point out that in the beginning of this article they call Yen an antiheroine. which if you're familiar with antiheroes they're often complex morally and this is even more true with someone like Yen who was again racebent in the show being played by a biracial actress in the tv adaptation.

Idk about you but I've often seen that people want complicated women, women that are as well written as male leads. the thing is that with yen we get a woman of color who yields immense power but that is actually just in search of a family.

some people in the fandom (particularly white people) were insulted by a woman who just wanted a family. the thing is tho that for woc who throughout the last five hundred years of genocide on various peoples by white imperialists the matter of fertility and motherhood is fraught with the fact that many woc have been sterilized, had their children taken away and killed or just never seen again. I even saw lots of so called intersectional feminist white people say they hated her storyline and her quest to have a baby.

I hope that clarifies it for you. there's many different types of misogyny (misogynoir, racialized misogyny) and the hate against them is often hard to parse without looking at the shipping trends of fandom. here's another example: in order to understand why a woman is despised in fandom you first have to see if she stands in the way of a white dudeslash ship (Uhura in AOS, maria deluca in RNM, Yennefer in the witcher).

There's lots of ways that fandom displays their sexism.

mod laina

#fandomshatewomen #sexism #misogynoir #racialized misogyny #maria deluca #nyota uhura #yennefer of vengerberg

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

(Note: All of these asks are before episode 206 (Season 2 finale) so some may be dated.) 1. tbh rachel wouldnt need to add in random lines about how capitalism is bad and having internalized misogyny at age seven if she didnt claim to the high heavens that shes actually a feminist goddess telling the most progressive story ever. talk about creating your own problems.

2. Never thought I'd say it but Zues spitting facts fr 

3. No but why is Zeus framed as in the wrong😭 Like I understand in myths he’s supposed to be an asshole and at first in LO I could understand why he was an asshole, but Zeus is literally in the right in punishing Persephone. Like I’m rooting for him over HxP at this point man

4. this isn't even just the fact hades is a manipulative slave owner with an oedipus complex but zeus also just looks more aesthetically pleasing?? like his colors are much nicer and he has drip and pretty hair?? also like he doesnt lie about who he is, he will happily admit hes a dick, but hes fair when he needs to be and can stand by for those he cares about (yes hera i mean you after your kronos nightmare!), meanwhile with hades its like rachel dont lie to me hes elon musk at BEST

5. Alright I got some concerns over the new chapter (not fp) -

The idea that Persephone is SO important and that her unfair punishment is basically f*cking over everybody because Zeus is being too stubborn to realize what a hard working angel she is... Doesn't sit right with me.

Idk how to phrase this to make it make sense but everyone is being passive aggressive (sort of understandably) towards Zeus because his decision to punish Persephone. Like that satyr is basicslly saying "if only Zeus would lighten up and let hades and persephone be married and cater to their every whim then people / the world would be happy"  - like the way the trial / punishment is written is that Persephone is the single most important character Ever whos life and choices affect everyone all the time and everyone is invested in hades and persephone being together because their lives basically depend on it - like hades is now supposedly messing up his own economy / citizens over not being able to see Persephone.

Also - I like that persephone seems to be standing up for herself finally, but it took 10 yrs to do it?? 

6. NGL I'm obsessed with that panel revealing Persephone's underworld citizenship went through bc 1) are we just supposed to ignore her immense privilege of getting a sped through process in a few DAYS, bc I won't! but 2) it feels like such an unintentional mockery of the actual immigration progress, where so many of us were/are trying to flee war, violence, and trying to find a better life, meanwhile SHE gets a sped through process so she can avoid the law/hook up with her boss. Love that, Rachel!

7. Also now that Cerberus is here I guess plot wise Persephone HAS to go see Hades despite the rules in place, she now has an excuse to go to the underworld and idk I read somewhere that some of the gods are in a sleep coma?

So heres a prediction - maybe kronos is up to something and zeus hasn't been affected yet because... Reasons? I bet its so that everyone is gone so oh no, whos going to save the Olympians from the dreaded kronos? Persephone of course! And zeus will finally have to admit how awesome she is and how great at everything she is and how wrong he was to punish her because only she, a fertility goddess, can save them and at the end everyone will be so mad if he doesn't forgive her because she saved the world to prove her worth that he'll have no choice but to lift the punishment and she and Hades can finally bang, I mean get together, and be married and everything goes back to normal and our protags get a happy ending and idk about everyone else - maybe Apollo is thrown into jail for rape and zeus is kept as king of the Olympians for a good show of faith but Hades and Persephone keep a close eye on him and basically control the strings so hes more like a puppet, and maybe hera and echo get together idk. Everyone else is secondary to the hades and persephone story so I don't know about them, cause despite it being called Lore Olympus only occasionally do we see storoes that pertain to outside of persephone and hades pov.

8. does that one anon think we critique  rachel/LO because she's a woman 😭 the majority of lo critics are women?? yeah her being a cis white woman does effect how we look at her work, the ideas she puts into it, and how others treat her (especially compared to actual marginalized female webtoon creators), because that does play a huge role in why LO is full of problematic things and rachel's coddling by her fans. if we were calling her a bunch of gendered terms that'd be one thing, but we're not.

9. sorry but anon going "youre being WOKE" is such a giveaway theyre assholes w conservative opinions but dont want to admit it. like these are LO fans?? people who bemoan "woke" critics, who tend to be in the oppressed groups rachel is speaking over while claiming she's the actual progressive feminist?? like you guys cant have it both ways, if you want to claim LO is some feminist masterpiece then you cant shut down ppl who point out it consistently fails to meet up to even 1 progressive ideal 🤧

-----SA Discussion Below-----

10. FP SPOILERS///Sooo um Rachel made an episode with literal sex assault and wrote it off as a joke? Wow that's some big pro-feminism shit for you. It's not just stupid, it's disgusting and dangerous, bc what the hell are you implying as a writer when you write a scene where one character sexually assaults another for LAUGHS???? ARE YOU SERIOUS RACHEL???? I-I can't I really can't, somehow she makes literally everything 10x times worse with each new episode

#anti lore olympus #anti lo #lo critical #lore olympus critical

[chdarling]

Ok, this isn't TLE related, but who r ur most and least favourite characters from Harry's generation and the marauders generation from the original 7 books?

Also can I just say tht TLE is literally one of the best things I've ever read? Lyk seriously, every character is soo beautifully written and the plot is just soo compelling, with the perfect balance btw humor and heavy topics. While I enjoy every pov, I positively look forward to the Sirius chapters, you just capture his complex and flawed character soo well, he's exactly how I interpreted him to be in cannon! Also the politics in this story feels soo real. Especially that small TLE3 snippet/response where u spoke about how people don't really understand the historical weightage certain words carry and think they're being daring and cool when they use them, people in my grade are literally just like that and its absolutely shitty to see it every other day. Last thing, I'm really sorry that people post shit abt tle on other social media platforms. If people can't appreciate and be grateful for the fact that you literally take time out of your personal life to share this detailed and beautiful piece of art with us, they can go fuck themselves. Take all the time you need, I hope you get all the rest you need despite your schedule!!

PS= I'm soo sorry for this overlong rant, I'm rather new to tumblr and its just awkward to talk more with someone online from a whole different country than ppl irl, but you said you were down, so I really just wanted to let u know how much i love and appreciate your work!! Take care.

Thanks so much for this kind message! 🥰 And welcome to tumblr! ❤️❤️❤️

I just ignore other social media platforms at this point so if people are saying stuff, it’s all good, I’m gonna hang out over here 😂

Regarding your initial question! I’m not going to lie, I have a hard time making myself care too much about Harry’s generation anymore. I kind of exist exclusively in the marauders era! But I was always very fond of Luna. Least would be…idk I never really came around to Draco?

#ch answers #tle