#rr: in hindsight

[schrijverr]

Hiii i just got done binging every one of your suits fics!

They are stunning omggggg like I could never

But fr, how do you pronounce your name XD

Ahhh thank you so much! Im glad you enjoyed them all <333

Also don't put yourself down! Writing takes time to learn, I've been doing it for the past seven/eight years and it took me ages before i got comfy posting, just keep doing and keep trying and you'll find yourself looking back and seeing how much you've grown. I believe in you :D

I answered how to pronounce my username here. It's writer in dutch with an extra r bc im very creative lmao xp

#rr asks #in hindsight maybe picking a dutch name wasnt the smartest lol #but too little too late lmao #thanks so much for sending this ask #makes my day to hear!!!

[thelostboys87]

it’s funny reblogging posts about being an awful person and tagging it as felix/dorothy now that their whole story has been expanded and includes their growth into slightly well adjusted people because their awfulness is basically contained to one beast of a novel but also that means said novel is dedicated to showing them at their worst. just absolutely insufferable and unlikeable and demoralising to be around so bad that it actually jolts them into trying to be normal. also known as being 22

#if you’re not in hindsight the worst at 22 then were you really 22 #(says the 23 year old but that’s how bad it was) #I say slightly because. the novellas have them spiralling LOL #honestly the RR plot is so dark I keep wondering if I need to tone it down #for it to align better with the others but like…..i Know in my Soul that what i have now is what is meant to happen #also it’s fun to write them in stories set after where they are legitimately embarrassed by how their acted in RR LOL #but also they know their younger selves of that time are so connected to who they are now #they are so haunted lol…..

[foxes-that-run]

Ready for it?

Ready for it? is about a magnetic damaged relationship Taylor won't let go of, wondering if her lover dreams of her, it references a relationship plagued by the media.

The title, "Ready for it?" is referenced in one of the TS Parody Tabloids, referring to this awful real piece of journalism about Haylor. This title is referenced by Harry in To be so lonely:

Ready for it's opening verse:

Knew he was a killer first time that I saw him Wonder how many girls he had loved and left haunted But if he's a ghost, then I can be a phantom Holdin' him for ransom Some, some boys are tryin' too hard He don't try at all, though Younger than my exes but he act like such a man, so I see nothing better, I keep him forever Like a vendetta-ta

The opening verse refers Harry, her youngest BF. HS also loves cars, Ghost and Phantom are RR models, these lyrics responds to

Two Ghosts: (We're just two ghosts standing in the place of you and me / Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat)

and Stockholm Syndrome: (Who's that shadow holding me hostage? / I've been here for days / Who's this whisper telling me that I'm never gonna get away?)

Further in the song there are more Haylor references:

And we'll move to an island, and And he can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor Every lover known in comparison is a failure I forget their names now, I'm so very tame now Never be the same now, now I-I-I see how this is gon' go (go) Touch me and you'll never be alone

The move to an Island to may refer to her Rhode Island home, she purchased in May 2013.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton had a long, magnetic, tumultuous relationship over years with infidelities between two A-listers. Taylor made the same likeness in the Wildest Dreams video.

In Question...? Taylor describes a similar comparison to other loves: (Does it feel like everything's just like second-best after that Meteor strike?)

The impact Taylors fame has on a relationship (touch me and you''ll never be alone) is explored extensively in 1989, most directly in I Know Places and in later work, Anti-Hero. Harry Styles Kiwi and Sign of the Times also refer to this.

In the chorus:

In the middle of the night, in my dreams (my dreams) You should see the things we do (we do), baby (baby, mmm, eh)

Is similar to Wildest Dreams (Even if it's just in your wildest dreams, ah-ah, ha (ha-ah, ha) / Wildest dreams, ah-ah, ha / You'll see me in hindsight / Tangled up with you all night)

Little Freak also references this line with references to blue light (adult film) dreams and wet dreams dangling. Little Freak also references "starry eyes, crystal ball" from the Ready for it video.

So although Joe's birth year appears in the start of the Video, this song is about a relationship that is older than 9 months. It describes a tumultuous magnetic relationship that is plagued by fame... I can think of an example.

Speaking of the video:

the costumes are reminiscent of Taylor's 2014 VS show, which HS and she were friendly then left the afterparty 5 mins apart from.

Keep Driving refers to "Kiss her and don't tells, Wine glass, puff pass, tea with cyborgs, Riot America, ..." is the tea with cyborgs referring to TS in this video?

The unreleased Two Ghosts video also has blue electricity spheres that look like the ones at 1:56:

The lyric video for the all you had to do was Stay is reminiscent of the Ready for it video freeze frame:

#haylor #reputation #ready for it #Youtube

[bramble-scramble]

In hindsight the Rabbids didn’t actually “steal” the Rayman series. As a kid I thought that but the actual answer is pretty mundane.

Every main Rayman game from Rayman 1 all the way to Rayman Legends has always been developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and Michel Ancel. Ubisoft Montpellier only developed 2 of the Rabbids games. Rayman Raving Rabbids and Rabbids Go Home. That’s only 2 entries in the Rabbids series which is nothing really. Keep in mind Rayman RR was originally Rayman 4 before they scrapped it.

Every other Rabbids game was made by Ubisoft Paris or other divisions of Ubisoft mainly by the studios who made the Just Dance series. Which makes sense cause most Rabbids games were mini game collection that were simple to create.

So what held Rayman up? From what I’ve seen nothing really tho the closest answer is likely that both Michel Ancel and Ubisoft Montpellier we’re busy on Beyond Good and Evil it was announced in 2008 and likely the entire team were focused on that. However if you know development trouble happened which held the studio up for quite some time. It was temporarily shelved which gave Ancel time to make Origins and Legends then he went back to BG&E 2 after Legends in 2017 where it was reintroduced but is now in development hell to this day.

Yep. I was young in an era when a major entry in my favorite game franchises could come out every year, or every other year. As I've gotten older, game dev has gotten more and more complex and lengthy due to a variety of factors. My awareness of that fact lagged behind the reality of it happening, but I am quite aware of it now, largely due to watching a lot of videos, reading a lot of articles and even having some friends at major studios.

I'm a Donkey Kong fan. Why has there been no new DK game in a decade? Has Nintendo totally given up on one of their major franchises? No, the rumors are that they leased it out to a third party studio, changed their minds, and started over in-house as they have a new vision for the DK series that they want to oversee. What's going on with Metroid Prime 4? Who knows. The game industry is such a mess I'm amazed we get any truly great passion projects out of major studios at all.

It's not as simple as "People want thing, make more of thing!" If fans want something, there are devs out there who want to make it too. Maybe even people for whom that series inspired them to get into the industry. But that doesn't mean it's going to end up happening. Still, it's why I think Rayman in the Phantom Show is so great, because the devs (at least a lot of the creative team) really did want to make it.

I feel like the idea that the Rabbids stole Rayman's franchise, and that Rayman died so the Rabbids could live, exists in that knowledge gap before understanding how complex everything is. Maybe it made sense for a time, but it really doesn't hold up to scrutiny now. Things aren't really a zero sum game like that, and so much has happened in the intervening years to contradict this idea.

It is funny, in my stream we were talking about how people don't really harp on this narrative so much anymore, with good reason... Only to have the most stereotypical "RABBIDS SUCK AND RAYMAN DESERVES BETTER" gamer show up like thirty minutes later, lol. Well, people will cling to the stories that help them make sense of the world, I suppose... Even if it makes them unhappy.

#mario plus rabbids #mario + rabbids #alter answers #rayman in the phantom show

[eiy-lei]

Royal Rumble 2023: A retrospect.

Overview:-

So recently I rewatched last year's Royal Rumble in preparation for this weekend's RR just to see how far we've come since then, and I must admit, this show has aged so well over this past year.

From establishing narrative threads for the upcoming year to solidifying the main event presence of Sami, Gunther and Cody, as well as (unbeknownst to us at the time) housing the final match of the late great Bray Wyatt, there is a lot to discuss about this event.

Men's Rumble:-

To keep it short and sweet, this match was STELLAR. It may have lacked the surprises that a royal rumble match is typically known for (spoiling Cody's return in advance wasn't a great idea and I stick by that + Booker T has been present in NXT, thus keeping close ties to WWE) however, what it lacked in shock value it delivered with star power and match quality.

Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, Sheamus, Bobby Lashley, the aforementioned Cody Rhodes and, undeniably, the star of this match GUNTHER, really made this match into a showcase of the best the WWE had to offer.

With the storyline of the Banger Brothers (yes I am calling the that) intertwining with Gunther setting the stage for their eventual MOTY candidate at Wrestlemania, Bobby Lashley eliminating Lesnar which helped build their (in hindsight underwhelming) feud, and of course, the comeback of Cody, all leading up to an amazing mini match with Gunther, with such a quality final two not being seen since 2007 between Taker and Michaels.

As a result, this match ranks amongst my favourite rumbles of all time.

4.75/5 ****3/4

LA Knight Vs Bray Wyatt:-

This one is so unfortunate to write about, considering that this was Bray Wyatt's final match, however we must be honest with ourselves in that this just wasn't a good match.

I loved the neon aesthetic, a lot easier on the eyes than the red light the Fiend used to have, however it still made it difficult to watch the action in the match, and on the topic of action, this match was a glorified squash match, with Knight only really getting a single table bump before falling victim to Wyatt's final sister abigail.

The purpose of this match seemed to be that of an introduction into Wyatt's new character, acting more as a plot device than a match (which is further elaborated on in the next match on the card) however was never explored further due to Wyatt's untimely passing.

Thankfully, Wyatt's final match wasn't in vain, as Knight benefitted a lot from the exposure of this match, leading him onto greater things later in the year, and if Wyatt's last match were to be at any instance, at least it was a marquee match on a big 4 PLE. Rest in peace Wyatt, thank you for all that you have done for this business and the world of Pro Wrestling, your memory will live on in the hearts of the entire world wide wrestling community.

Sadly, 2.5/5 **1/2

Alexa Bliss Vs Bianca Belair:-

I'm a huge Alexa Bliss fan, not as big of a Bianca fan in recent years due to her going Super Cena, however her work rate is absolutely phenomenal, so going into this match I was really expecting something special, a lightning fast pace with some spooky shenanigans typical of a 2020s Alexa Bliss match, what we got instead however was...none of that.

The match progressed at a snail's pace with no particularly big spots to speak of. The commentary for this match was also quite awful, from Pat MacAfee not recognising anything Alexa was doing, to the lack of acknowledgement of certain signature moves like Bliss' insult to injury (which she didn't do completely for some reason??) and her Bliss DDT, which, I must emphasise, she has been using as a FINISHER for the past 5 years now alongside Twisted Bliss and her recently acquired Sister Abigail, and overall, her performance looked unfortunately sloppy.

Bianca's performance didn't really help either as admittedly, she was getting her behind handed to her throughout the match with only a few bright spots before she hit the KOD, 1, 2, 3.

What a lackluster much with so MUCH potential, being made worse by the fact that they teased an angle with Bliss after the match relating to the Wyatt 6, however as you may know, nothing came out of it due to unfortunate circumstances and Bliss soon disappeared off of television as she got pregnant (congrats to Mama Bliss though I hope she's doing well) and as a result, this match was completely inconsequential.

1.5/5 *1/2

Women's Rumble:-

RHEA BLOODY RIPLEY! What an emphatic match; unlike the Men's match, this match had a mix of both surprises and match quality, with full time returns from Asuka under a "new" gimmick, Chelsea Green and Nia Jax, alongside a one off appearance from Michelle McCool.

Looking back at the returns, each returning superstar have made a significant impact throughout last year; Asuka, winning the EC, fighting Belair at WM39 and eventually winning the belt and joining Damage CTRL. Chelsea providing a breath of fresh air to the women's midcard and is most likely set for a massive push this year, and Nia Jax filling the role of a top monster heel in the women's division that can finally match up to Rhea. This Rumble was the start point for all of this.

The match itself was action packed from beginning to end, never a pause in the action. Rhea and Liv starting and ending the Rumble was an excellent choice and really helped elevate those 2 into main event caliber stars, especially by having them both gain the record for the longest lasting iron woman.

Damage CTRL's dominance was also a highlight of the match and really put them over as a threat to the division (more than their actual booking on TV has) and the way the whole match shifted once Nia Jax entered the ring was impeccable and really sold Nia as being the most dangerous individual in that ring.

Overall, not only was this match excellent in terms of match quality, the amount of stories and characters that were intertwined and established within the Rumble really make this match (arguably) the greatest Women's Rumble of all time and overall one of the best RRs of all time regardless of male or female.

5/5 *****

Roman Reigns Vs Kevin Owens:-

Ah yes, the yearly KO Royal Rumble title feud. Contrary to popular belief, I really enjoyed this match, not just for it's post-match segment, but for the actual content within the match itself.

Sure it wasn't the best match they've had (their last man standing match in RR 2021 being their best imo) but they delivered considering this match's overall purpose was to act as an angle for what was to come. The match was a back and forth affair until the end post low-blow, where Roman just began to torture KO leading to the finish and setting up beatdown yet to come.

I'd rate the match 3/5 *** but this isn't the end of this part of the post, as of course, this match is better remembered for what happened afterwards, the chair shot heard around the world.

Goodness, where do I start. The fact that a 15 minute mic-less segment could register so many emotions into the hearts of millions is astounding, however I'd expect nothing less from The Bloodline and Sami Zayn with how flawlessly executed the story has been up to this point, and I think it being mic-less added to the discomfort of the whole thing, with the crowd in a state of shocked silence as KO is chained and cut down by Solo and the Usos, with all Sami being able to do is watch.

Then, when that fateful moment arrived, when Sami struck Roman with a chair, a thunderous roar from the crowd echoed throughout the arena, reaching decibel levels unmatched since the Attitude Era.

As Roman slowly crumpled down onto his knees in the same fashion that he did when Seth struck him down the same way 9 years ago, it was set in stone, the bloodline had began to crumble.

The character work in this moment was brilliant, with Jimmy, who was the first person to accept Sami into the Bloodline, show no hesitation to attack him, with Solo following suite, while Jey, who Sami earned the trust of after initial discord between two, was left in state of disbelief, crying his eyes out, saying "Sami what are you doing man..." and soon exiting the ring, unable to attack the man he saw as a brother; to put it bluntly, this whole segment was poetry in motion.

It ends with the image of Sami and KO laying lifeless in the ring, bathed in the segments of the Ula Fala, officially starting the road to Wrestlemania and Sami and KOs quest for justice.

This segment is quite possibly one of the best (or even the greatest) segments of all time, and this really established the 2023 Royal Rumble as one of the greatest Royal Rumble PLEs/PPVs of all time.

Overall show rating: 8.5/10

Thank you for reading, peace out gang and see you on January 27/28 for the Royal Rumble!

#wwe #royal rumble #wwe royal rumble #sami zayn #roman reigns #alexa bliss #bray wyatt #la knight #bianca belair #rhea ripley #cody rhodes #gunther #liv morgan #asuka #kevin owens #wrestling #pro wrestling

[a-baleful-howl]

So I’ve been following George RR Martins updates on his progress on Winds of Winter…because of course I have. His most recent update, going surprisingly more in depth than he has been lately, has caused quite a stir because he’s alluding that his ending and plot direction may have changed. And it has me in all sorts of emotions about it.

First, when the finale of GoT aired and it got a bunch of backlash, I hoped that that gave him “the best motivation I know of - spite.” Some of my best writing juices come from seeing a story done *in my opinion* badly, and I have this innate desire to correct it or make it better. I don’t know if this is what George is doing, or if just the fact that he’s taken such a long break from his story that his mind has changed, or his flow has simply taken him in a different direction. A person can change a lot in 10 years, and ideas that just live in the brain can fade away and be forgotten, sometimes to be found again or be lost forever.

When I wrote the Jonsa compendium, I added at the end that GRRM has every right and ability to change his mind now before the books are done and as he’s writing. So I’m not surprised or upset about it either. I find this to be an issue with “gardeners” or “pantsers”, but even “plotters” or “architects” can run into writers block resulting in changing directions, too.

The day after the finale, GRRM posted on his blog that (paraphrasing) “yes, this is the ending. The journey there will be slightly different, though. Afterall, how many children did Scarlet O’Hara have?” Which some fans took as him saying the ending will be different, but since Gone with the Wind is considered one of the best page to screen adaptations of all time, I took it as him saying that it’s still the same, but books have more details and time to cover small plot lines than TV shows. Details always get lost in the adaptations. (*cough secret tormented incest feelings and political Jon? cough*)

And I have to wonder, after GRRM admitted that this spin-off sequel show about Jon Snow was Kit Harrington’s idea, how much of “huh, I wonder what Jon does after the war. I never thought about that before.” has inspired George to write more, or go further down a certain path.

But this new blog post feels like, *to me*, to be much more deviation than just small details. To me it feels like even he is surprised at how much change has happened. And for all of us who have found and pointed out the subtle hints that could be leading to a Jon and Sansa endgame, what does that mean for us? If that was in fact what he was leading towards, has that changed in his mind as well? Honestly, we just have to wait and see.

Small side tangent: if I could ask GRRM any question, it would be about “curing” writers block. Not for the memes, or to kick him while he’s down, but because as a writer I would love to ask all writers this same question. (And I would hope that by answering it, it might give him that motivation to break through his own.) It appears to me that he’s got his mojo back for the moment, and that mojo after being shelved for a decade has taken ahold of him in a new headspace, in a new world, and with the hindsight of seeing it done on screen without him. There’s still one more book after WoW, so fingers crossed we see where this new plot bunny has taken him off to all the way to the end, but I know from experience that sometimes the idea of starting another massive book immediately after finishing one feels like getting pregnant again immediately after giving birth. Sometimes your brain just needs a break.

[daybrights]

rereading acofas is realizing

1) there's not way plantriel won't be endgame. In hindsight she was hinting at them so strongly there just for drama. She literally did acrobatics to mention azriel in elain's scenes and viceversa. It wasn't for nothing

And 2) feysand did nothing wrong. This rr is making me love them more. Oh and I rest my case Feyre should've left Nesta to d!e fo hunger. There's trauma and there's being a dick. And Nesta was a dick in acofas

#current read: a Court Of Frost and Starlight #Acofas

[afni-fics]

Red Robin: In Hindsight notes

(Continued from here)

Been playing out a scene in my head of Tim discovering his grandma is alive

Happens while in a private meeting with Lucius Fox a few days after he and Tam discover who they are to each other

Lucius just wants to make sure Tim is alright because Tam was a wreck that night he picked her up, and he genuinely cares/worries about Tim, especially now. Tim spent as much time at the Fox house growing up as Tam did at Susan's house.

Once he know Tim is okay-ish, Lucius let's slip that he can't wait to tell his Nana about finding Tim. She'll be so relieved and happy to see him.

And Tim will be confused (and a little hurt) because his grandmother's been dead since he was nine.

Lucius will have an "OH SHIT" moment when he realizes what's going on. "Is that what Jack told you and your mom?!"

Tim, being Tim, will start putting things together and.... Oh lordy if his emotions weren't already raw before...

On the one hand, Jack LIED to him and his mother about his Nana!

On the other hand, his Nana is alive!

He is so angry and hurt and confused about why his father lied to him but because he's DEAD there's no way to confront him now (because he has NO CLUE how abusive Jack was to him or Janet growing up... At least not the full extent)

He's so anxious about being able to see his grandmother because he LOVES her so much, but scared about if she'll even want him in her life again because omg what if she thinks I never wanted to see her again it's been YEARS! His brain (irrationally) defaults to the idea that she would reject him.

Needless to say, Lucius had Tam cancel all Tim's appointments on the grounds of a family emergency and immediately demands Bruce come over and help his son not split apart at the seams.

And of course its only when Bruce arrives and talks to Lucius that he even gets a clue as to what had been going on with his son.

#tim drake #red robin #fanfiction #wip #rr: in hindsight #Lucius fox #jack drake #Janet drake #brainstorming #tam fox

[afewnovelideas]

Mental note - create a Masterlist page for "In Hindsight" later this weekend.

Need to write another flashback chapter before the next "In the present" one.

I hope others are enjoying this story. Because of the rare pair and the premise, though this is an endeavor I am loving, sometimes I wonder...

Then again, I have always felt that easy about things I create. Whenever I cook, even if something tastes good to me, there is always a niggling thought in the back of my head that it's not actually good and my tastebuds are just weird.

It's the same thing with my writing.

Ah well...

#rr: in hindsight #fanfiction #mental note #tim drake #red robin #tam fox #batfam #slice of life #random fandom thoughts

[heartfucksmouth]

Everything is a bit disappointing right now, although the morning was nicer than it has been with both dogs and a toddler being here. Felt a lot calmer than normal and I silently thanked whatever made that happen. But I'm overwhelmed by many things besides that. I'm just gonna sit in my feelings instead of fighting them off or trying to soldier thru them. I'm so absolutely drained I havent moved in like 2 hours since I showered. I lit candles and have just been laying here feeling like nauseous cement. My phone's been on silent since yesterday bc I'm at my limit and have to choose when I even feel like looking at messages or social media at all.

#personal #hindsight: calm before the storm #kj #sj #rr

[rosezemlya]

awwwwww now i'm wishing we got to see more of ruto during your stories!

I am regularly torn between loving the gigantor cast I saddled myself with over time, and thinking it might have been better if I'd cut them back and given some of the roles to other characters to give less people more screen time and development! Ruto's one of those. She suffered a bit in the early days because she wasn't one of my favourites in the game, but she grew on me over time and I kinda wish I'd given her more screen time now!

#loz rr #hindsight and all that #Anonymous

[olderthannetfic]

been ages since I've read Percy Jackson (I stopped reading RR's stuff after the Kane Chronicles so I can't speak on the Magnus Chase series either) and while with adult hindsight some stuff could for sure be called stereotypical or problematic, all the characters were still like... characters? RR clearly cared about them while writing them so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Leo was also a grease monkey who was constantly tinkering with machines and stuff and I can't remember he being particularly flirty in the way the Latino stereotype typically plays out, just maybe more interested in girls in general than other male characters (who usually had specific love interests at that point while Leo's came in late in the series) and was well liked by a few girls in return (which, Percy also got quite a few admirers as well). Piper, while the Cherokee stuff was also sometimes stereotypical according to people who know more than me, stole stuff because her dad was super rich and it was a way to get his attention so the klepto stuff was not related to her being Cherokee.

(also if we're talking rep, RR did great in terms of non-normative family and parents as well. Most characters came from single parent or mixed family households or no parents at all. Lots of characters have complicated relationships with their parents, ranging from neglect to abuse to parents who can't be good parents despite trying to great parents in bad situations to dead parents, there's a lot of variety there and the effects of parenthood is a huge presence in his books)

I'm not saying it was all good. Just that the characters themselves were given a lot more than just a stereotype even though sometimes they did enter that territory. It feels like RR accidentally fell into that stuff while trying to give legitimate representation that actually addressed the heritage of his characters rather than just saying they were X and then never having it effect their characters or the story which would be its own problem. He clearly put in a lot of effort, it's just this is what you risk when you actually try to write diverse characters--you make mistakes. We can still critique it but it's by far better than a lot of children's authors who duck the issue by having none or only background representation. The end result isn't perfect but RR's books have an incredibly diverse cast made up of compelling characters the intended audience can relate to. Also that anon was also weirdly fixated on the characters finding each other attractive which was a thing almost always noted by the POV character as far back as when Percy was the only narrator so idk how that's relevant.

(Also complaining about a fictional book series for children butchering several mythologies--that's the entire point? It's a fun creative "Greek/Egyptian/Norse gods exist in the modern day" romp that draws inspiration from mythology but retells them with a modern twist and in funny ways kids will pay attention to. It's not entirely accurate but the Greek Gods are living above the Empire State Building)

--

Yeah, they seem not only very upset at teen sexuality but convinced that I will agree with them, which... Hahaha.

[thelostboys87]

genuinely when i first joined writeblr at 20 i was embarrassed to say that i had only started writing at 17, I had been creating characters and stories my entire childhood and only fell into fiction writing because i thought it would be fun to turn a roleplay i had with a friend into a book, but i also had experience and an admiration for studying prose so it made sense to me. anyway i legitimately felt like I had started “late”, basically every excerpt i posted on writeblr in 2020-21 was like some of my early early attempts at prose, particularly that flowery style of prose, and the only earlier stuff i have is from 2017/2018 (didn’t write in 2019) and a few fanfic attempts from earlier. i essentially liveblogged my first ever experience in trying to properly structure a novel with those first RR update posts and i felt really insecure about them for ages because once i'd progressed i felt like my "amateur"ness must have been obvious to everyone (now i'm so glad i have that time capsule!!!). for some reason i thought it was bad that i was still a beginner surrounded by people who mostly had started much earlier in childhood. i also stressed that if i had started earlier i could have kickstarted something professional (i felt like i had to think about publishing the short stories i drafted in 2020, literally my first ventured into it!!) when in hindsight i didnt even know what i wanted to do professionally (i dont want to publish novels/collections at all atm). i cant pinpoint to any specific mindset online but i just think there was this underlying sense, especially in social media which connects people so much quicker and at such younger ages whilst pressuring people to monetise their online existence, that i was a latecomer, and how much could i have done if i had started earlier? i just think that’s insane in hindsight. okay im done

[oh-hush-its-perfect]

Alex Fierro's Introduction Full Breakdown

Okokok so. This is going to go full English-professor mode, where I'm drawing conclusions that are gonna seem a little far-fetched. That's what's fun about media analysis! I can say something is a symbol, and even if I don't have enough faith in RR's competency to know if he meant for it to be a symbol, it's still true! That being said, a lot of these choices I'm sure are intentional, either at a literal or subliminal level. Page numbers are going to be used not to assert a kind of authority or whatever— this is a Tumblr post, not an essay— but to help readers find the pages I'm referencing in case they'd like to do some digging of their own. Also, this is going to be really long. Really sorry to anyone with ADHD; I might make an audiofile of this so you can get the information without having to read the whole thing. With all that, let's get into it!

To kick off, let's talk about Alex being in the form of a cheetah when she first meets Magnus. Of course, there's the obvious impact of him seeing her but only so breifly, as well as introducing the conflict between her and the rest of Hall 19. But that could have easily been accomplished by almost any animal. The choice of a cheetah being implicated implies two qualities of Alex that will be recurrent throughout the two books she's in: 1. She has a tendency to run away, as we'll later learn when she describes how she became homeless, and 2. To Magnus, she's elusive. She can't be caught or held down. The event that shows this so transparently is how Alex refuses to define their relationship at the end of the series, despite it clearly surpassing the normal bounds of friendship.

But the cheetah isn't the animal Alex is in the form of when Magnus first gets a good look at her; she's a weasel. Weasel's bring up all kinds of connotations: ferocity, slickness, a lack of charm. When we want to describe someone as an untrustworthy person, we call them a weasel. RR had Alex take this form to play up her comrades' feeling of distrust towards her. She could be a double-crosser. But paradoxically, the up-front and vicious mannerisms of a weasel also have a transperency. She does not try appealing to her Hallmate's sense of goodwill because she doesn't have anything to gain from it. So even though there is the implication that she might be an antagonist, there's also evidence from her actions and mannerisms that she isn't. The weasel's long and skinny frame also allow for a smooth transition into Alex's actual body, which is convenient.

As Alex transforms into her usual human form, Magnus describes her as "a regular human teen, long and lanky, with a swirl of dyed green hair, black at the roots, like a plug of weeds pulled out of a lawn" (pg. 50). That simile at the end is of particular interest. Let's compare it to another time Magnus describes Alex's hair, in Ship of the Dead: "Her hair had started to grow out, the black roots making her look even more imposing, like a lion with a healthy mane" (pg. 136). By contrasting these two different examples, we can see the development of Magnus and Alex's relationship. The first time he sees her, he thinks of her hair as something nasty— note the word choice "weeds." Later on, though, he becomes more affectionate towards her, more complentary. The immedient negative reaction is less his actual impression, though, and more the reaction he expected to have based on everyone else's reaction to Alex.

Her clothes are equally as interesting; as Magnus describes it, Alex wears "battered rose high-tops, skinny lime green corduroy pants, a pink-and-green argyle sweater-vest over a white tee, and another pink cashmere sweather wrapped around the waist like a kilt" (pg. 50). Aside from the obvious fact that this outfit is a) bizzare, b) fire, and c) Alex's signature colors, which add a layer of style to what can otherwise be a somewhat boring series fashion-wise (excuse me, Blitz), the outfit reveals a crucial facet of Alex's backstory in a kind of subtle way. These are expensive clothes, like the Stella McCartney dress in Alex's room. Note the mention of fabrics (corduroy, cashmere) and patterns (argyle). These indicate wealth and status. Even the high-tops; shoes like that don't come cheap. But I'd like to return to the very first word of the section: "battered." Alex's wardrobe show-cases a proximity to wealth, but also shows that that proximity has been strained and lengthened, maybe for an extended period of time. Alex dresses like a rich person, but she isn't one. Least, not anymore.

The last word of that outfit-introduction is also of interest: "kilt." At the current moment, Magnus thinks that Alex is male. No one has indicated otherwise to him. Everyone has been referring to Alex with he/him pronouns. Samirah called Alex her "brother" (pg. 29). His first thought in seeing what he at first perceives as a guy with a jacket wrapped around the waist is That looks like a kilt. This thought tells us about Magnus: despite being open and accepting, he still has some lingering notions of gender conformity from his years in wider American society.

Magnus also indicates that the outfit "reminded me of a jester's motley, or the coloration of a venomous animal warning the whole world" (pg. 50). This is rather self-explanatory, but it's still worth noting that Magnus sees the outfit as something bizzare, strange, and even perhaps comical. This places Alex at odds with the other people Magnus has met. It also reveals that Magnus has zero fashion sense. But we already knew that.

After finishing up staring at the ensemble, Magnus finally gets around to actually looking Alex in the face. First Magnus says that he "forgot how to breathe" (pg. 50), which, yeah, relatable. This is justifed by saying that Alex has the same face as Loki, but the very same sentence that asserts that that's the case also suggests an alternative reason: Alex has "the same unearthly beauty" as her father. Here we can see the beginnings of Magnus's attraction to Alex, though at this point, he still has a lot of internalized homophobia. Though there's certainly some truth in that Magnus was unnerved by Alex's resemblance to Loki, the idea that Magnus pointed out that Alex was pretty without elaborating on that thought until about a chapter later— after he was informed that Alex was presently a girl— can tell us a lot about how Magnus perceives sex and beauty.

Of course, Alex's eyes are given special attention. She has cool eyes; what can I say? But I'd like to focus in on how Magnus here depicts Alex's heterochromia as "completely unnerving" (pg. 50). Again, let's contrast this with how he describes them after getting to know Alex a little better in Ship of the Dead. In Chapter 3, Magnus describes "[Alex's] dark brown eye and his amber eye like mismatched moons cresting the horizon" (pg. 25). Once again, this shows the development of their relationship— but this time, it's in a much more personal way. Eyes are the windows to the soul; they are culturally important and biologically important in inter-personal connections. In you look into someone's eyes, you're giving them your full attention, and you're implying a kind of closeness. The way that Magnus describes Alex's eyes in the second passage is downright intimate. At this point, he is in love with Alex, and it is clear when contrasting the two descriptions.

As my last point, I'd like to discuss Alex's first words on page: "'Point that rifle somewhere else, or I will wrap it around your neck like a bow tie'" (pg. 51). First of all, Alex saying this with a "perfect white smile" (pg. 51) on his face implies that she is used to being threatened. She is not afraid of being shot; she counters the promise of an attack with a promise of her own. This pleads the question: why is Alex accustomed to violence? What events of her past or qualities of her life have brought her to this point? The threat itself reveals Alex's trauma from being genderfluid in a society with rigid gender norms, as well as her antagonistic relationship with her father. Magnus makes a comment that Alex "might actually know how to tie a bow tie, which was kind scary arcane knowledge" (pg. 51). Like Alex's wardrobe, the idea that she may have experience in high-class fashion also implies her former status as a rich kid.

I could go on. I could break apart Alex saying "'Pleased to meet you all, I guess'" (pg. 51). There is a wealth of information in this short page span that tells us things about Alex Fierro in the present moment, quietly demonstrates things about her past, and characterizes the narrator Magnus Chase. This passage is also effective in hindsight in marking the progress of Magnus and Alex's relationship.

But I'd like to take a step back and look at not the pieces, but the whole picture. Alex Fierro gets a full page of pure description— her outfit, her face— and about a chapter of introduction. This comes after several chapters of build-up. Alex Fierro is an important character you need to keep your eyes on. Alex Fierro is emotionally significant to the main character, Magnus Chase. Alex Fierro is one of the most developed and well-rounded characters that Rick Riordan has ever written— heck, she's one of the best characters in middle-grade books period. The extended emphasis on her and her alone tells us exactly what role she's going to play in this story: she's the star.

#she IS the moment #I'm sure I missed a few things too #alex fierro #mcga #magnus chase #magnus chase and the gods of asgard #fierrochase #magnus chase/alex fierro #mcatgoa

[ofprincessesandqueens]

I agree with you that her PR pushed her forward as a fashion icon before we even had the chance to see her style. Things like that has to come organically, but it didn’t help when fashion editors just went with it, I remember one thought the white and blue ODLR she wore with the horrible fascinator was ‘revolutionary’. No, it was ill fitting.

And that whole fab four thing, woo! It was pushed by the place, but I heard some surprisingly self reflecting comments from some royal reporters on pod save the queen once, that they too were at fault. The media wanted that picture, ‘Diana’s boys have found happiness and love, and they will all be best friends!’ (they even mentioned how it was a mistake from them to presume that Kate and Meghan would be best friends immediately because they were just so different, and in different stages of their life). But you know, that was all in hindsight, it didn’t bother them at the time to write about how Meghan would be a fantastic duchess and show Kate how to do the work, like Becky English loved to fantasy about. Or that the friction caused in the household was because Meghan was essentially a new CEO coming in with new ideas and a new way to do things - when the truth was she had no experience whatsoever and Harry didn’t inform or teach her anything about it, or his ‘rank’ both in the larger family but at KP especially.

I also think there was two clashing PRs. The palace pushed for the feminist, humanitarian M PR and M's PR went for the fashionable, hollywood star, instagram influencer as soon as she could, IMO.

Dude, but what the RRs say is "normal" xD. She was a new toy to experiment with, not to mention that M's PR was leaking positive stories at the time. And while, IMO, there wasn't ever a great excitement around M herself, there was a lot of goodwill from the public who pushed for a wholesome story. That's why there was a Duchesses team and a Fab Four team. People did want them to get along and nobody wanted to see Diana's boys fight. In fact, one of the most glaring signals that something was deeply wrong was how short the honeymoon phase of the press with M was.

#anonymous #anon #ask #and that's why it's bollocks a lot of what h&m say regarding the press #nobody wanted to see wills and h reach this point #literally nobody

[bereft-of-frogs]

Oooh could you elaborate on the Patrick rothfuss? I'm only vaugely aware of him as 'guy I keep forgetting was on critical role'

haha referring to the 'author I have one-sided beef with' post that emerged from the queue today.

Honestly, it's kind of just because he's massively overhyped as an author and also in this cohort of 'white dudes who never finish their book series' authors that frustrate me. But I've never read any of A Song of Ice and Fire so me and George RR Martin don't have quite that much beef. I will admit to liking The Name of the Wind when I first read it (I actually have a quite nice memory of it, it was a snow day, very cozy) but god Wise Man's Fear is so bad. The 80 pages of terrible fairy porn...

And I think in hindsight, looking back at Name of the Wind is also not great. It's better than the sequel, but it's still not fantastic. It probably would have been forgettable if other people didn't buy into the 'waiting for the third book' hype. And if it didn't have that decade gap between books and the hype train I probably, in all honesty, would have looked back on it as a flawed by enjoyable fantasy series. But the delay + hype...One time someone asked me if I'd read it and when I said yes responded that it was the best written book they've ever read and tried to argue its merits and that was sort of the final straw and now I have one-sided beef with him and will refuse to read the third book, if it ever comes out. I'm aware it’s petty, but every time I hear his name or see that series recommended I get an angry headache.

ETA: I think after this whole Kickstarter thing I would have added Brando Sando to the one-sided beef list.

#thanks for asking!