#sometimes I forget key facts from the plot but whatever

[sheerakk]

Cementary visit gets disrupted by a wild witch

#some of the graves probably belongs to previous golden guards. #Belos tells him that the victims of wild witches are buried there #Hunter is still undertaking his scout training but he gets to hold the staff sometimes as a treat #baby hunter #sometimes I forget key facts from the plot but whatever #composition? i don't know her #painting those graves made me eager to build a cemetary in Minecraft too because I thought it might be cool #sheerak #the owl house #toh fanart #the owl house fanart #hunter toh #toh hunter #emperor belos #god I'll never find a job

[loadednachosao3]

Any tips for someone who wants to get better at creative writing?

hoo boy there are a ton I could give! let's see if I can't think of some that might help!

first, read! read, read, read! read things you like, that engage you and make you feel something, and then read writing advice to figure out how to translate what you felt and what you liked into writing that makes someone else feel just as good (or sad, or angry, or whatever, LOL). Stephen King's book On Writing is a solid place to start -- learn from the people who have made writing their lifeblood! go to the library's 800s section and find all the writing tips books you can get your hands on! I STILL read those 19 years into writing!

don't try to edit while you write (small edits are fine so you don't forget them, but don't overdo it). remember: first draft, worst draft! the important part is getting the backbone of the scene down. once that's there, you can mix and match and scramble it up and change words and delete shit and do all sorts of things! I actually enjoy the editing process, since it makes everything come together. don't think "oh, this is so bad, I have to edit so much, I suck." try to frame it as, "damn, look how much writing I did! this is an awesome base to polish up! it's gonna be so rad once I correct these mistakes!"

on that note: there WILL be mistakes. you'll miss plot holes, forget shit, write stuff that doesn't make sense, whatever. beta readers are great for this, since a fresh set of eyes will be able to catch things you didn't. or do what I do: throw caution to the wind, post it, and if someone catches a mistake, say "oops!" and find a way to fix it, retcon it, or ignore it. either 1: you're writing fanfiction or something similar, so it really doesn't matter that much if you fuck up, or 2: you're aiming to be published, and an editor will help spot and fix those things for you anyway. don't let making mistakes discourage you, we all make them!

if you have tropes/character types/plotlines you like, don't let anyone stop you from writing them again and again. you know how many stories Stephen King writes about a writer from Maine with interpersonal issues who goes through supernatural shit? and look where he is! what you WANT to write will always be better than what you THINK people want to read! readers can sense passion. use that to hook them!

it is 100% okay to use your writing to work through things, on that note. encouraged, as a matter of fact! lots of great writers have underlying themes in most/all of their works. depression. substance abuse. daddy issues. optimism. pessimism. worldviews. whatever! doesn't have to be bad, but if it IS bad, writing is a phenomenal way to channel those feelings! don't let any shitty weirdo ever tell you anything else. projecting your emotions onto fictional characters is a very highly recommended therapeutic technique, so use it! (lbr, even if you don't do it consciously, you WILL do it subconsciously. sorry about that)

mmmmmblock out the haters! that is, don't let people tear you down and make you feel like you shouldn't write anymore! no matter your skill level, if you have something to say, something you want to see play out, make it happen. everyone else can suck a duck

figure out a plotting style that works for you. for some, it's a rigid outline with every conversation accounted for. for others, it's a looser one, some ideas and scribbled notes of general directions with the rest to be filled in as you go. for others still (this is mostly my style), you just start writing and see where it takes you. very chaotic, but very fun! I also like to have vivid daydreams sometimes and then just write them down. whether I do that or learn where the scene is going as my fingers are on the keys depends on the day. no method is better or worse, so do what feels right!

jot down inspiration in a notepad or on your phone or whatever's around as it comes to you. could be as simple as "this exchange I heard caught my attention" or "that gravestone has a badass surname I'd love to use for a character," or as complex as "I want to explore the themes of grief and trauma that that other book did, but with my own twist on it." a word. a color. a feeling. keep a list of everything that makes you want to write, and use it later!

if you really hate your first draft, scrap it! if you hate your second, scrap it! if you hate your third... you can always start fresh!!! don't sit around thinking, "aw beans, I couldn't get it right on the first try, I must not be a real writer." not every idea's gonna be a winner, not every scene is gonna work out! you gotta keep on keeping on, though! don't give up even if you hate it!!!

uhhhh that's all I can think of rn... the rest would be more stylistic/grammatical/nitpicky tips, which I CAN give, but maybe in a different post? let me know if you guys would ever like an insight into how I edit my stories with tips like that in mind, and maybe I'll make a lil guide!

but in general, yeah, those are my big, sweeping tips! hope they helped at least a little!

#ask tag #anonymous

[jonathanrook]

🎬📺share ten different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media in no particular order🎮🃏 Then send this to 10 (anon or not, your choice)

fun fact! much like my eighteen page long fanfic rec list, i have a seven page long list of my favorite characters with extensive annotations. i picked ten of them and just copy pasted their entire description. i know this is just a silly ask game and no one really cares but. unfortunately you came to my house w this so you have to deal with the consequences. also here's the emoji key:

bill cipher (gravity falls)😈👹😳💲 i can and will fuck the triangle what are you gonna fucking do about it. i am not immune to tumblr sexyman or goth girls. look, at least i’m not trying to literally humanize him; take the evil bastard triangle or take nothing at all!!! i blame the scene where he steals the teeth from the deer and then puts them back. i also blame alex for being such a good voice actor. regardless i’m walking out into the nevada desert as we speak.

dorian gray (penny dreadful)🏳‍🌈💕😈👹😳👀💲 yea i watch penny dreadful for the plot *fast forwards through scenes dorian isn’t in* anyway every lesbian is legally allowed one real man to be unapologetically attracted to before the government takes notice and begins to tax them and reeve carney is my freebie. also idk if he counts as a monster but i’m saying close enough bc this is my list and i can do whatever i want.

guillermo (wwdits)🏳‍🌈💕😈👀 this man is too fucking pretty that’s illegal. i can’t believe harvey guillen invented gender good for him.

the handler (the umbrella academy)😈😳 mommy? sorry. like, the milf of all time. yea i watch the umbrella academy for the plot *fast forwards through scenes the handler isn't in*

red x (teen titans)💅😈😳💲 this man is transmasc and there’s nothing you can do about it. the sexiest line delivery in the entire show is in x when robin catches him trying to steal the xenothium and locks him in a cage and he goes, “c’mon kid. you don’t really think this little play pen can hold me?” anyway sir my highest score on the bdsm test is brat tam– *i’m taken out back and you hear a single muffled gunshot*

richie (it)🏳‍🌈🧠💕🧸👀🐺💲 absolute definition of character of all time. and you KNOW he can’t go back to childhood what the fuck!!! i would die for this man but ig eddie beat me to it yikes. the first time i watched ch2 i cried about it for twelve hours straight. i think i have grounds to sue muschietti for this unlicensed use of my image ngl.

scene (mymusic)💅🧠💕🧸💲 MY LITERAL BIOLOGICAL DAUGHTER! sometimes i forget she’s not actually gay in canon bc it makes sense!! indie and jeff are comphet and flowchart is a creep! open your eyes sheeple!! conversely i think she’s the only character on this list who’s neurodivergent canonically by name so that’s dope! we stan a dyslexic queen whose disability doesn’t weigh her down!!

topher (dollhouse)🧠😈😳 every lesbian is legally allowed one real man to be unapologetically attracted to before the government takes notice and begins to tax them and fran kranz is the reason i have to pay. in this house we ignore the season finales. my boy is alive and there’s nothing you can do about it! this man is my poor little meow meow.

vampire willow (btvs)🏳‍🌈😈👹😳💲 yes she’s her own character. probably my actual gay awakening whoops. the wish?? hello?? you want a puppy miss i can bark. also unsure whether to mark her as real gay or fake gay but willow calls her “evil, skanky, and a little gay” which is a) gender and b) canon enough for me.

will (stranger things)🏳‍🌈🧠💕🧸🐺💲 look my mans is relatable for several reasons but the snow ball scene at the end of s2 was designed specifically to kill me in particular. i believe in will the wise supremacy. he just wanted to play dnd! we’ve all been there! oh god have i been there!!! i cried so hard after s3ep3 that my mom asked me if i’m gay whoops. sexy bitches don’t come out they just talk about how much they like richie tozier and will byers until the people around them take notice.

edit:

#also i'm not sending this to anyone if you want to pretend i'd send it to you send it to yourself on anon #i give you permission #long post #anon #question

[skxllz]

rant on stranger things because my brain doesn't shut up

now that I'm thinking more into it, the last season is probably gonna circle all the way back to season one. just.. think about it.

byler stans have pointed out multiple times how the behaviors of will and mike, even some of the others, all have interpreted the same setting from at least one episode in season one. personally, I can't remember that shit cause I haven't watched season one since 2017, but looking over all of the posts it makes so much sense.

everything is paralleled for a reason, obviously. It's to give the audience the initiative of making up their own theories to where they break it down to something totally suspected, which is why the duffers, this season, made everything so obvious. In my view, now that I think about it, it's reverse reverse psychology. a typical writer, for a book or movie or whatever, always follows the same classic yet audience catching trope of regular reverse psychology; “ we'll do this so that they fall for that, but in reality they knew all along that it'd be this - what we're doing now ”. the duffer brothers are doing the complete opposite.

If I'm wrong, oh well, but just hear me out.

they're show has been a huge success thus far. sure, other writers were thrown into the mix along the way, but let's not forget it's the duffers' show at the end of the day, so they're calling the shots regardless; meaning they approved of that writing, yeah? so obviously they're thinking logically.

they gave us a scoop of what was to come beforehand through hints, edited pictures, etc. but, even though a lot of clues that were involved were put in, it didn't actually follow out with the way everyone thought. that is the thought process of an open minded writer that has the imagery of a thousand suns - they throw you off then build it up, to where it's still a surprise, but you eventually find out. with this, they threw us all off, and it made it seem like they're gonna be predictable. they'll still do the same shit over, and over, and over, but in different ways. then, at last minute, they'll flip the switch; pull a fucking nicolas cage and blow the audience away with unexpected foreseeing - the facts that were there all along.

I can't say for sure eddie will be back, not all ideas and hopes always work out, but everything else? I highly doubt all the shit mentioned will just be let go like that. it'll all circle back to the principal, which is what has been slowly happening. there's probably way more hidden things in season one that no one has pointed out because they're so plain or even shadowed, that no one would think “ oh that definitely means something ”.

like don't get me wrong, there's so many brainiacs in this fandom, but sometimes things can go over anyone's head.

for example, shit in the background. a mere blurred out picture can refer to something and you wouldn't even catch it because it's made to look like decoration. but, in reality, it could be the main plot's key to the entire story. like karen wheeler? she was spot-lighted in both season 3 and 4. yeah it was for like, what, five minutes each time? not even? but it has to be for a reason, not just spiced up detail. I guarantee you she plays an even bigger part in the last season, even if it's just to make nancy realize it's okay to be single and yadda yadda yadda.

but these types of stories are always the best, because it'll have you thinking “ oh my god, it was right under my nose the whole time ” and that's literally the entire point of syfy and thriller, which is why it's so beautifully infuriating.

#stranger things #st #⚰️ #devan talks #stranger things theory #the duffer brothers #netflix

[dollycas]

Special Guest - S. K. Golden - Author of The Socialite's Guide to Death and Dating (A Pinnacle Hotel Mystery) #AuthorInterview / #Giveaway - Great Escapes Book Tour @crookedlanebks @skgoldenwrites

The Socialite's Guide to Death and Dating (A Pinnacle Hotel Mystery) by S. K. Golden

  I am happy to welcome S.K. Golden to Escape with Dollycas today!

Hi Sarah,  Please tell us a little bit about yourself. My name is Sarah Golden. I publish under SK Golden. I have been married for sixteen years to a commercial fisherman. We live in the Florida Keys with our five children. We have one son, our oldest, and the rest are girls, including our youngest, identical twin girls. We have two black cats, named Lady and Lion (I was going through a bit of a Game of Thrones thing when we adopted them) and one corgi named Goku (I am still going through a Dragon Ball thing now). What are three things most people don’t know about you? I am a descendant of Eric the Red. At least, according to my great uncle who got really into researching family lineage stuff. I’m a big fan of Bath and Body Works candles. Like, I am a member of the Bath and Body Works reddit. I desperately wish I was a musician. I tried over the years to learn how to play piano and the bass but, it just never took. My little brother got all those musical genes. Good news is that my two oldest kids are in their school band and are both quite good! What books/authors have most inspired you? There’s so many! Agatha Christie, of course. Rhys Bowen. Douglas Adams. Jane Austen. Donald Westlake. And how could I forget: Eloise at the Plaza. I loved that children’s book so much I wrote Evelyn at the Pinnacle, we just call it The Socialite’s Guide to Murder.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? I’m a big fan of Newspapers.com. It costs money, but it’s so worth it. You can really get a feel for whatever specific region you’re researching during whatever specific time period by reading what they were printing in their papers. I do a lot of research online. Etymonline.comis a great resource for making sure modern phrases don’t sneak into historical books, though, sometimes they do get past me. I’ve read memoirs written by people who lived through the 50s and collect books that are all about the 1950s. What’s great about writing about the 50s is there are movies filmed and set in that time period, so, I classify watching How To Marry A Millionaire as research. And people post old videos of New York street corners onto YouTube as well. I tend to start writing pretty quickly once coming up with the murder/murderer and will research as needed and fact check as I go and again once I’m finished. I am on the third book set in 1950s New York, so, I’ve already got a lot of information in my head. Well. Some of it stays in my head. The rest of it is scribbled in notebooks somewhere. Do you ever suffer from Writer’s Block? Oh, yes. Sometimes this is just me being tired and needing a day or two off. Most of the time this means that something is wrong. I’m trying to get a character to behave in a way that is out of character for them to simply move the plot along, and until I fix it, I’ll experience writer’s block.

What advice do you have for someone who would like to become a published writer? Keep writing! Read widely. Don’t give up. Take breaks if needed, and those breaks can last for a few months, but keep writing. All you need is one yes to get the ball rolling. When you are not writing what do you like to do? Well, read. I like to bake. Specifically, cookies. I hang out with my kids. I like to get dressed up and go out on dates with my husband. I visit with friends. I take my dog on walks. I spend a lot of time with my dog. He’s great. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and why? New Zealand! I want to visit Hobbiton! What is next on the horizon for you? I’m working on the third book in the Pinnacle Hotel series right now, which should be published by Crooked Lane in the Spring of 2025 (fingers crossed). I’ve also got a crime caper in the works that should be out next year. I’ll be announcing details soon on my website skgoldenwrites.com! Thank you Sarah for visiting today~! Keep reading for info about Sarah's new book. 

Read the full article

#CrookedLaneBooks #historicalcozymystery #S.K.Golden

[duckprintspress]

How to Edit an Over-Length Story Down to a Specific Word Count

One of the most wonderful things about writing as a hobby is that you never have to worry about the length of your story. You can be as self-indulgent as you want, make your prose the royalist of purples, include every single side story and extra thought that strikes your fancy. It’s your story, with no limits, and you can proceed with it as you wish.

When transitioning from casual writing to a more professional writing milieu, this changes. If you want to publish, odds are, you’ll need to write to a word count. If a flash fiction serial says, “1,000 words or less,” your story can’t be 1,025 and still qualify. If a website says, “we accept novellas ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 words,” your story will need to fall into that window. Even when you consider novel-length works, stories are expected to be a certain word count to fit neatly into specific genres - romance is usually around 80,000 words, young adult usually 50,000 to 80,000, debut novels usually have to be 100,000 words or less regardless of genre, etc. If you self-publish or work with a small press, you may be able to get away with breaking these “rules,” but it’s still worthwhile to learn to read your own writing critically with length in mind and learn to recognize what you do and do not need to make your story work - and then, if length isn’t an issue in your publishing setting, you can always decide after figuring out what’s non-essential to just keep everything anyway.

If you’re writing for fun? You literally never have to worry about your word count (well, except for sometimes in specific challenges that have minimum and/or maximum word counts), and as such, this post is probably not for you.

But, if you’re used to writing in the “throw in everything and the kitchen sink” way that’s common in fandom fanfiction circles, and you’re trying to transition only to be suddenly confronted with the reality that you’ve written 6,000 words for a short story project with a maximum word count of 5,000...well, we at Duck Prints Press have been there, we are in fact there right now, as we finish our stories for our upcoming anthology Add Magic to Taste and many of us wrote first drafts that were well over the maximum word count.

So, based on our experiences, here are our suggestions on approaches to help your story shorter...without losing the story you wanted to tell!

Cut weasel words (we wrote a whole post to help you learn how to do that!) such as unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, the “was ~ing” sentence structure, redundant time words such as “a moment later,” and many others.

When reviewing dialog, keep an eye out for “uh,” “er,” “I mean,” “well,” and other casual extra words. A small amount of that kind of language usage can make dialog more realistic, but a little goes a long way, and often a fair number of words can be removed by cutting these words, without negatively impacting your story at all.

Active voice almost always uses fewer words than passive voice, so try to use active voice more (but don’t forget that passive voice is important for varying up your sentence structures and keeping your story interesting, so don’t only write in active voice!).

Look for places where you can replace phrases with single words that mean the same thing. You can often save a lot of words by switching out phrases like “come back” for “return” and seeking out other places where one word can do the work of many.

Cut sentences that add atmosphere but don't forward the plot or grow your characters. (Obviously, use your judgement. Don't cut ALL the flavor, but start by going - I’ve got two sentences that are mostly flavor text - which adds more? And then delete the other, or combine them into one shorter sentence.)

Remove superfluous dialog tags. If it’s clear who’s talking, especially if it’s a conversation between only two people, you can cut all the he saids, she saids.

Look for places where you've written repetitively - at the most basic level, “ ‘hahaha,’ he laughed,” is an example, but repetition is often more subtle, like instances where you give information in once sentence, and then rephrase part or all of that sentence in the next one - it’s better to poke at the two sentences until you think of an effective, and more concise, way to make them into only one sentence. This also goes for scenes - if you’ve got two scenes that tend towards accomplishing the same plot-related goal, consider combining them into one scene.

Have a reason for every sentence, and even every sentence clause (as in, every comma insertion, every part of the sentence, every em dashed inclusion, that kind of thing). Ask yourself - what function does this serve? Have I met that function somewhere else? If it serves no function, or if it’s duplicative, consider cutting it. Or, the answer may be “none,” and you may choose to save it anyway - because it adds flavor, or is very in character for your PoV person, or any of a number of reasons. But if you’re saving it, make sure you’ve done so intentionally. It's important to be aware of what you're trying to do with your words, or else how can you recognize what to cut, and what not to cut?

Likewise, have a reason for every scene. They should all move the story along - whatever the story is, it doesn’t have to be “the end of the world,” your story can be simple and straightforward and sequential...but if you’re working to a word count, your scenes should still forward the story toward that end point. If the scene doesn’t contribute...you may not need them, or you may be able to fold it in with another scene, as suggested in item 6.

Review the worldbuilding you’ve included, and consider what you’re trying to accomplish with your story. A bit of worldbuilding outside of the bare essentials makes a story feel fleshed out, but again, a little can go a long way. If you’ve got lots of “fun” worldbuilding bits that don’t actually forward your plot and aren’t relevant to your characters, cut them. You can always put them as extras in your blog later, but they’ll just make your story clunky if you have a lot of them.

Beware of info-dumps. Often finding a more natural way to integrate that information - showing instead of telling in bits throughout the story - can help reduce word count.

Alternatively - if you over-show, and never tell, this will vastly increase your word count, so consider if there are any places in your story where you can gloss over the details in favor of a shorter more “tell-y” description. You don’t need to go into a minute description of every smile and laugh - sometimes it’s fine to just say, “she was happy” or “she frowned” without going into a long description of their reaction that makes the reader infer that they were happy. (Anyone who unconditionally says “show, don’t tell,” is giving you bad writing advice. It’s much more important to learn to recognize when showing is more appropriate, and when telling is more appropriate, because no story will function as a cohesive whole if it’s all one or all the other.)

If you’ve got long paragraphs, they’re often prime places to look for entire sentences to cut. Read them critically and consider what’s actually helping your story instead of just adding word count chonk.

Try reading some or all of the dialog out loud; if it gets boring, repetitive, or unnecessary, end your scene wherever you start to lose interest, and cut the dialog that came after. If necessary, add a sentence or two of description at the end to make sure the transition is abrupt, but honestly, you often won’t even need to do so - scenes that end at the final punchy point in a discussion often work very well.

Create a specific goal for a scene or chapter. Maybe it’s revealing a specific piece of information, or having a character discover a specific thing, or having a specific unexpected event occur, but, whatever it is, make sure you can say, “this scene/chapter is supposed to accomplish this.” Once you know what you’re trying to do, check if the scene met that goal, make any necessary changes to ensure it does, and cut things that don’t help the scene meet that goal.

Building on the previous one, you can do the same thing, but for your entire story. Starting from the beginning, re-outline the story scene-by-scene and/or chapter-by-chapter, picking out what the main “beats” and most important themes are, and then re-read your draft and make sure you’re hitting those clearly. Consider cutting out the pieces of your story that don’t contribute to those, and definitely cut the pieces that distract from those key moments (unless, of course, the distraction is the point.)

Re-read a section you think could be cut and see if any sentences snag your attention. Poke at that bit until you figure out why - often, it’s because the sentence is unnecessary, poorly worded, unclear, or otherwise superfluous. You can often rewrite the sentence to be clearer, or cut the sentence completely without negatively impacting your work.

Be prepared to cut your darlings; even if you love a sentence or dialog exchange or paragraph, if you are working to a strict word count and it doesn't add anything, it may have to go, and that's okay...even though yes, it will hurt, always, no matter how experienced a writer you are. (Tip? Save your original draft, and/or make a new word doc where you safely tuck your darlings in for the future. Second tip? If you really, really love it...find a way to save it, but understand that to do so, you’ll have to cut something else. It’s often wise to pick one or two favorites and sacrifice the rest to save the best ones. We are not saying “always cut your darlings.” That is terrible writing advice. Don’t always cut your darlings. Writing, and reading your own writing, should bring you joy, even when you’re doing it professionally.)

If you’re having trouble recognizing what in your own work CAN be cut, try implementing the above strategies in different places - cut things, and then re-read, and see how it works, and if it works at all. Sometimes, you’ll realize...you didn’t need any of what you cut. Other times, you’ll realize...it no longer feels like the story you were trying to tell. Fiddle with it until you figure out what you need for it to still feel like your story, and practice that kind of cutting until you get better at recognizing what can and can’t go without having to do as much tweaking.

Lastly...along the lines of the previous...understand that sometimes, cutting your story down to a certain word count will just be impossible. Some stories simply can’t be made very short, and others simply can’t be told at length. If you’re really struggling, it’s important to consider that your story just...isn’t going to work at that word count. And that’s okay. Go back to the drawing board, and try again - you’ll also get better at learning what stories you can tell, in your style, using your own writing voice, at different word counts. It’s not something you’ll just know how to do - that kind of estimating is a skill, just like all other writing abilities.

As with all our writing advice - there’s no one way to tackle cutting stories for length, and also, which of these strategies is most appropriate will depend on what kind of story you’re writing, how much over-length it is, what your target market is, your characters, and your personal writing style. Try different ones, and see which work for you - the most important aspect is to learn to read your own writing critically enough that you are able to recognize what you can cut, and then from that standpoint, use your expertise to decide what you should cut, which is definitely not always the same thing. Lots of details can be cut - but a story with all of the flavor and individuality removed should never be your goal.

Contributions to this post were made by @unforth, @jhoomwrites, @alecjmarsh, @shealynn88, @foxymoley, @willablythe, and @owlishintergalactic, and their input has been used with their knowledge and explicit permission. Thanks, everyone, for helping us consider different ways to shorten stories!

#writing advice #duck prints press #original content

[linkspooky]

Eren’s Dissocation

This month’s chapter has a lot of people confused on Eren’s actions. Why would Eren choose the worst option possible? Why force himself to do something he clearly doesn’t want to do? Why, when he’s given options to back out, does he instead double down on the bad decision making? Why, when no one is holding a gun to his head does he pick the worst available choice? 

The narrative obviously isn’t sympathizing with Eren so we’re meant to question his choices. So let’s get into Eren’s headspace. A place where clearly even Eren doesn’t want to be.

1. Other People

Eren displays a lot of paradoxes in his reasoning this chapter. His every action is a contradiction. He goes out of his way to save a child, and then crushes them later without lifting a finger to help. He says he wants to do this all for the sake of freedom, and yet he’s espousing ideas like a fixed future, and acting helpless to his eventual fate. Eren begs and cries for the child to forgive him for what he must do... when nobody is actually forcing him to do anything. 

It’s not only that Eren makes bad choices, but he also acts like he’s the victim of his own bad choices. He acts like he’s completely helpless to do these things. Eren says one thing, and then deliberately does another to contradict it when he DOES NOT HAVE TO. It seems like Eren is going out of his way to ruin everything and people are questioning what pushed Eren to this point of deliberate self destruction and acting like he was all out of options when he very, clearly wasn’t. 

Eren’s motivations make no sense.  Yeah.  They make no sense because Eren is trying to reconcile two irreconcilable ideas. The ideas of predestination and freedom are complete and total opposites ideas that cannot coexist in Eren’s mind. Eren can’t reconcile them. So he doesn’t.  Rather than try to justify himself or struggle to find the right answer Eren settles for the wrong one. Rather than try to justify his actions Eren avoids any confrontation of his actions all together. Eren distances himself - from his actions, the consequences of his actions, and his role in everything that happens.

It’s a simple idea, but also a complicated one which I will do my best to explain. How does Eren do this? How does Eren end up in this very contradictory mindset, where he just keeps making things worse, on purpose. And it starts with the way Eren sees other people. 

There’s a reason that Eren is made out to be so childlike and petty in this chapter. It’s because he is. This line is very vague, but if I were to explain it I would say. 

Eren is very bothered by the fact that other people exist. 

What I mean is, other people have thoughts, feelings, and entirely different opinions from Eren and Eren doesn’t really want to deal with that. While yes, it could be a line about how Eren saw the same oppression outside the walls as he did in Paradis, I think it’s a lot pettier than that. Eren got really, really, bothered by the fact that the world he imagined as empty was in fact crowded with other people besides him. 

In child developmental psychology there’s an experiment called the “Three Mountain Problem.” In the experiment a child is shown a model of a mountain from one perspective and asked to draw what it looks like. They’re asked to draw what they see.Then, a doll is placed behind the mountain looking at it from a completely different angle. The experimenter then asks the child to draw what the doll sees. The doll would see something completely different - but the child doesn’t comprehend that. They draw the exact same picture the first time. Children lack the ability to imagine that other people don’t. A child only sees the world from one point of view. 

You know what’s really frustrating? Arguing with other people. Sometimes even if you know you’re right, even if you state your argument perfectly and show the facts that person still won’t agree with you. It’s frustrating to deal with the fact that you can influence, but you can’t really control the opinions of others. 

Eren is fundamentally, unable to see, and deal with other people as people. By that I mean, their perspectives, their feelings, he can’t really see or understand those things outside of his own perspective. Other people ask things of him, require things of him, that he can’t give. Other people disagree with him, fight with him. 

Eren’s not an eco-terrorist.  He’s not bothered by the fact the world isn’t a natural paradise outside the walls. It’s the people themselves, that Eren finds disappointing. 

Eren can’t deal. On a micro-level. Let’s forget about the plot at large and just focus on Eren for a second. Who are the people that Eren has chosen to surround himself post-timeskip.

If Eren’s ultimate ideal is freedom why does he choose to trust Floche of all people? A sycophant, and someone who is practically begging to have all of his choices taken away from him? 

It’s also because Floch is also someone who won’t disagree with him, or question him the way his friends might. Eren just can’t deal. 

Eren claims that everything he does is out of love for his friends. He fights for his friends, sacrifices for his friends. He has to be the one to die so his friends can live. 

But, when Eren hears that Mikasa has the exact same motivation for him. That Mikasa wants to protect him, and fight for him the same way he wants to fight for her. When Eren hears that Mikasa might love him and show that love by always fighting for him, which is the exact same way Eren tends to show his love for his friends he doesn’t... get it. He can’t accept her feelings in any real way. He can’t even really understand them.

Eren wants to love Mikasa, he wants to love his friends, but he either can’t accept their feelings, or he just doesn’t want to. He’s allowed to love Mikasa, Mikasa can’t possibly love him back. Even when Zeke just straight up tells him to his face, Eren dismisses Zeke and says what Mikasa feels for him doesn’t even matter because he’s going to die in four years. Eren avoids her feelings, otherwise. 

That’s the key word here. Eren’s avoidant. In every single person he deals with, he’s avoidant. That’s how his very contradictory views of people are maintained. There’s a lot of examples I could list of this. Eren wants his friends to be free, but he goes out of his way to lock them up. Eren says he’s doing this for the sake of his friend’s happiness, and then antagonizes them as cruelly as possible. The reason he’s able to do these things, is that he avoids truly looking, or confronting his actions, and also the people he’s surrounded with in any real way.

Not only with Mikasa, you can see it in his interaction with Historia. 

Eren and Historia grew close because Eren said he wanted to get to know the real Historia. But, then he specifically asks Historia to do something that is the opposite of everything she stands for. When she disagrees with him, because she wants to live as an individual with her head held high with pride and make her own choices, do what she thinks is right as Ymir told her. When Historia tries to assert herself as an individual who doesn’t completely agree with him, Eren then switches tactics and tries to browbeat her into doing what he wants of her. 

Eren’s view of the world is very isolated, and insulated from others. Whenever somebody challenges his view, he makes the choice to retreat back inside of his own head rather than try to change. 

That’s also a natural consequence of Eren not seeing people as people. Because he avoids the thoughts, feelings, opinions of others it means his own thoughts never really change. He deprives himself of the ability to see things in a different way. Eren is stuck in a rut, but also Eren doesn’t want to leave that rut he wants to bunker down. 

2. Eren Himself. 

Eren’s head what a terrifying place to be inside. 

Dissociation is a mental process that causes a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memory and sense of identity. Dissociation seems to fall on a continuum of severity.

Dissociation is a defense mechanism of the brain. So is avoidance. They are both learned defense mechanisms that the brain uses to protect himself, and they are also behaviors that people fall into to protect themselves. 

This is why Eren is depicted as a child over and over again. This is why Eren is shown constantly flashing back to his mother’s death. It’s because Eren never really got over that initial trauma, Eren has been stunted and never grew or developed from that point. 

Eren’s a big old manchild, and that makes sense just from what he’s been through. It’s easy to forget that Eren is a child soldier who like, never had a stable environment after losing his home. The reason he hyper focuses on his mother, and that initial incident is because that was the start of everything all the insecurity of his life. Eren adopted all these mechanisms to cope in a situation where he was truly helpless, and yet even after the situation changed, Eren’s internal mechanisms never truly did change and he kept on coping in the same broken way. 

Dissociation, and Avoidance. 

Dissociation is when a person divorces themselves, from their actions, from their own body, from their thoughts and feelings. 

Avoidance is when Eren deliberately goes out of his way to avoid any kind of real conflict with other people or having to deal with their feelings because he’s not equipped to handle them. 

Eren is hopelessly stuck inside of his own head right now. I don’t know what’s a better metaphor for that, then Eren literally... just being a head. It almost lapses into solipism. Eren has distanced himself from other people so far that he has... literally become a brain in a jar. 

Eren’s perspective is the only one that exists to him. But he also disagrees with himself. 

Eren wants the freedom to do whatever he wants. But he also, doesn’t really want to be doing what he’s doing right now. So, why does he use his freedom to do these things?

If Eren distances himself, both from the thoughts and feelings of other people, but also his own thoughts and feelings, where is he? 

He’s god.

Eren imagines his ideal world as one where he’s above the clouds, in an completely open sky. These are the symbols associated with the idea of god in most religions. Somewhere distant. Somewhere far away. 

Eren’s key operating word is distance. He is distancing himself from both other people, and his own actions at the same time, because he can’t really bear or even process the guilt of dealing with both. 

Let me explain Eren’s bad decision making with a simple metaphor.

So spiderman, right. Spiderman gets bitten by a radioactive spider. He has kind of a shitty life. He has no parents, he’s bullied in high school. He’s an average every day loser. Suddenly, he gets all of these super powers. It makes spider man feel special. He has super strength now, he doesn’t need to wear his glasses anymore. 

Then a robber runs by him, and Spiderman doesn’t lift a finger to help. Even though he has the special ability to help, he doesn’t take any responsibility for it. 

As a result of this choice, his Uncle Ben dies. 

Spiderman wanted the super powers, but he didn’t want like any of the added responsibilities of having super powers. In essence until Uncle Ben died, what Spider Man was living out was a power fantasy.

That’s what Eren is in the middle of. He’s always been this very weak and helpless child. He’s always felt like the person who just watched, unable to do anything when his mother died right in front of him. The way he’s dealt with that has always been imagining himself as getting stronger, and stronger, and stronger. 

Eren wants power, but he doesn’t want responsibility. 

The Sasha scene is literally the Uncle Ben scene. Eren kills a lot of innocent people, he makes a choice to do that, and as a direct result of his actions, someone else important to him dies. It’s a direct story consequence. Eren steps on Gabi’s friends -> Gabi becomes vengeful -> Gabi goes the extra mile to avenge the deaths of her friends sneaks on board and shoots Sasha. 

Eren’s mechanism however, is avoidance. He doesn’t want to be at fault. So he’s not. Which means when Eren makes bad decisions. When those bad decisions result in things getting wrose. Eren ignores the consequences of his actions, and is therefore unable to deal with those consequences in any real way. 

That’s why we see Eren get worse, and worse, and worse, and worse. Because he’s not learning from any of the choices he is making. Because from Eren’s perspective he doesn’t have a choice. 

To summarize the contradiction:  Eren wants to kill people, but he doesn’t want to feel like a murderer. 

Eren can’t make sense of that, because there is no making sense of that so he looks away. He looks away so he can’t learn, or even really see what he’s doing to people. This causes Eren to spiral. When people have gotten genuinely that bad, when people spiral to the point where it seems like every single thing they’re going to do is going to make things worse what do they start wanting?

Eren’s dream of killing all the titans, is paralleled exactly with Reiner’s urge to just, kill himself so he can be done with everything. That’s the real reason essentially. Yes, it’s extreme, but Eren might be y’know, an extremist? The micro-level informs the macro-level. 

Eren has gotten so bad in his mental spiral he’s reached the point where nothing else matters, where he just wants to give up and committ suicide. He wants to make the world disappear. He can no longer deal with the struggle against the world. He sees the only way to escape his problems is to either just wipe everything away, and wipe himself out. That’s metaphorical suicide. 

It’s just Eren’s always projected outward. 

Rather than deal with his own internal flaws, he tries to change the world around him. Eren has just externalized his own internal conflict to such an extreme extent. 

And yeah, Eren is literally just a head right now. Only his own internal conflict, only his own hurt feelings, matter. That’s what Eren does to the child. 

The reason that Eren draws the comparison to Eren is because that’s what Reiner did exactly to him. 

Eren is the hurt and injured party here. Reiner’s direction actions and choices killed Eren’s mom. However, it’s not about Eren’s feelings, Reiner makes it entirely about his own feelings. His own guilt. His own regret for what he did. How bad he feels about it. Reiner breaks down crying and is so self-involved he forgets that Eren is the one who is hurting here. 

Eren repeats the same action. He breaks down crying in front of a child and apologizes again and again. But it’s really about Eren. Eren makes it about himself, and his own guilt and remorse rather than the person he’s wronging. 

So yeah. It’s the end of the world and Eren’s just making it about himself. That’s the best way to explain it. It’s easy to kill another person if you don’t see, or truly care about their pain. 

Eren is a tool. And by that I mean he wants to take certain actions. Eren is violent, and wants to stir up conflict. He is because he’s a child soldier who has been raised that way all his life. Eren also knows that these things are wrong. Which is why he wants to take these actions, but in no way feel responsible for them. A gun is not responsible for a bullet leaving the barrel and shooting someone. Eren wants to be the gun, rather than the person holding the trigger.

Which is why Eren is now inside of a giant flesh monster that’s bent on destroying everything. He is the mechanism that destroys the world. It’s the extreme result of that line of thinking. But once again Eren’s entire character can be summarized in one line.

“Eren Jaeger is an extremist.” 

#aot 131 #snk 131 #snk 131 spoilers #aot 131 spoilers #attack on titan meta #eren jaeger #eren jaeger meta #eren jaeger theory #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #aot meta

[fickle-tiction]

Birthday Tickles

Brucie Wayne's birthday is considered a big deal within his social circle. Every year he throws a HUGE party the weekend of, and everyone who's anyone shows up. He's never not on the cover of a tabloid the following morning. He's used to it, but he hates it. Sometimes he regrets making up his Brucie Wayne persona, but he knows that it's a necessary evil if he wants to take that extra step to make sure no one ever connects him to the batman.

Bruce is dreading thinking about the party he has to attend this weekend (because, let’s face it, Alfred is the brains of the operation and is the one actually throwing these parties) when he heads into the Hall of Justice. If he didn't spend his nights perched on top of buildings, waiting in silence to hear any sign of crime in Gotham, he wouldn’t have noticed the soft shushing coming from the other side of the meeting room doors. He stops just outside of the doors and strains his ears, noting the suspicious lack of sound coming from the other side of the door. The league is never this quiet. Bruce is bracing himself for a fight, uncomfortably aware of how vulnerable he is without his suit on, when someone let's out a huff on the other side of the door.

"B, you're ruining the surprise. Get in here!" Clark calls out. Under normal circumstances Bruce would scowl and complain about Clark using his x-ray vision on him, but he’s too distracted to care.

Surprise?

‘Oh, please tell me they didn’t.’

Bruce spins on his heel, ready to hightail it out of the manor when Clark speaks up again. “Don’t make me come get you.”

Bruce glares at the door, knowing Clark is watching him and can see it. He waits a few seconds, trying to gather his sanity, before slowly pushing the doors open. He blinks, unmoving, as he’s met with a face-full confetti, courtesy of a smirking Arthur, and shouts of “Surprise!”

Bruce spits out a small mouthful of the brightly colored paper as Diana comes over and wraps him in a hug. “Be thankful, I talked him out of the glitter.” She whispers into his ear, reveling in the amused huff Bruce lets out. It’s almost enough to make up for the fact that he makes no move to hug her back, arms hanging stiffly at his sides.

“Guys, you shouldn’t have.” Bruce says, dead-pan, as Diana releases him. It’s at that moment that he notices the party hats rapidly appearing on everyone’s heads. Bruce glares at the empty air in front of himself just as Barry skids to a stop, party hat clutched in his hands, eyes wide.

“.....Happy birthday?” Barry offers, holding the hat out to Bruce with a hopeful smile on his face. Bruce continues staring at Barry in silence, secretly amused at the way the kid’s eyes start darting around the room, as though he’s plotting his escape. 

Just when Barry starts to stammer and take the hat away Bruce reaches out and takes hold of it, effectively shutting the speedster up. “Thank you.” He says dryly, holding the hat in his hands. Upon closer inspection he realizes it’s a justice league themed party hat, the kind stores recently started carrying for kid’s birthday parties, and it’s almost enough to make him laugh, his mouth quirking up to one side against his will. Barry’s eyes go even wider at his smile and he melts back into their small crowd of friends.

“There is no meeting, is there?” Bruce asks Clark, just before he’s enveloped in yet another superpowered hug. What was it with people and hugging him today? Was he losing his menacing edge in his old age? 

“Nope!” Clark said, giving Bruce’s stiff form an extra squeeze before laughing and letting him go. “Gosh B, don’t enjoy yourself too much.” He teased, clapping his friend on the shoulder despite Bruce’s narrowed eyes at all the touching. Clark and Diana knew better than anyone that Bruce didn’t actually mind all the touching, he was just bad at reciprocating it so he tended to act like he didn’t want or need it. 

Bruce looked at Clark for a few more seconds, as if studying him, before directing his attention back to everyone else. “Thank you.” He said, somehow sounding more sincere this time even though he was still somewhat stiff. “This is...really nice.” And then, as if this wasn’t bizarre enough already, a small smile made it’s way onto Bruce’s face. “But if you come near me with glitter,” He added to Arthur, smile still on his face despite his threatening words. “I will end you.”

~~

The six of them are soon joined by Alfred, who comes in bearing a cake in the shape of the bat symbol. Bruce gives Barry a lopsided smile and a heart attack assuming correctly that it was once again his doing. He scowls his way through a round of off-key “Happy Birthday” and maintains steely eye contact with his amused butler as he blows out the giant question mark candle.

“I feel like we’re forgetting something.” Clark’s smirking as he says it, which is never a good sign. Clark making eye contact with Diana, who is wearing a matching mischievous expression is even worse.

“Birthday punches?” Barry asks, eyebrows furrowed as he licks the last of the icing off his spoon. Judging by their expressions, he’s clearly not in one whatever Clark and Diana have planned.

“A punch from anyone here would end Batsy’s life.” Arthur was smirking at Bruce’s scowl, enjoying teasing the stoic man. “A birthday tickle would probably suit him better.”

“You want to try it and find out?” Bruce asked, voice light but his body stiff as Arthur chuckled and ate another bite of his cake.

"Boys.” Diana called out, and you could practically hear the eyeroll in her voice as she did. Bruce glared at Arthur for a few more seconds, making a mental note to spar with him soon and put him in his place, before looking over at Diana and Clark. 

“Your present!” Clark said, practically vibrating with excitement as he held a neatly wrapped package out to Bruce. 

“Oh.” They actually managed to surprise Bruce; he hadn’t been expecting a party, let alone a gift. “Thank you.” He fought down the sappy smile that tried to make it’s way onto his face, angling his head down so no one could see it as he began carefully unwrapping the box in his lap.

“OhMyGod” Barry groaned, gaining Bruce’s attention. “Just tear it!”

Just for that, Bruce went even slower, peeling each piece of tape off and making sure not to tear the shiny black paper it was wrapped in. He could see Barry literally vibrating out of the corner of his eye, and it was endlessly amusing. Once he carefully unwrapped what turned out to be a plain black box, Bruce balled the paper up and whipped it at Barry’s head. Barry reflexively caught the ball of paper and pouted at the smirk Bruce was sending his way.

Bruce opened the box, took one look at the contents, and slammed the lid back down. “Thanks.” He said flatly, narrowing his eyes at Clark and Diana’s twin looks of evil glee. 

“Master Bruce, show everyone what you’ve got.” Alfred chided, smiling wide at the betrayed look Bruce sent his way.

“Traitor.” Bruce scowled, even as he opened the box back up. He gave Clark and Diana one more dirty look before he pulled six neatly folded t-shirts out of the box. 

The top shirt was designed to look like the top half of Wonder Woman, so when he put it on it’d look like he was wearing a bad costume, exposed skin and all. Beneath that was a shirt that looked like the top half of Superman’s costume, complete with fake abs. There was one for each of their superhero personas; even Victor laughed when he held up the Cyborg shirt.

~

All in all, Bruce is a surprisingly good sport throughout the small party. His hat remains untouched on the edge of the table, but no one mentions it. His shirts found their way back into the box they came in, but unlike the hat they’d be going back to the lake house with him. Not that anyone needed to know that.

Alfred excused himself to another room as the party wound down, and Victor nodded his good bye. Arthur clapped Bruce on the shoulder as he left, harder than was strictly necessary, and oh Bruce was going to wreck him in a sparring match pretty soon. 

Barry approached Bruce next, smiling nervously, his hands twitching at his sides as if he didn’t know what to do with them. “Bye Bruce--uh--happy birthday!” He stammered, making an aborted motion to clap Bruce on the shoulder like Arthur had, his hand darting back down to his side before it made contact. Bruce’s mouth twitched up into another rare smile before he reached out and wrapped Barry in a quick hug.

Bruce simply said “Thanks.” as he pulled back, almost losing his composure at Barry’s gob-smacked expression. The speedster mumbled something unintelligible before streaking out of the room.

“You have to stop messing with him.” Clark laughed. “You’re going to give him a heart attack.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Bruce said innocently, sitting on the edge of the meeting table since it was just the three of them left. “Thanks for this.” He added, a soft smile on his face as Diana came up and leaned a hip on the table next to his knee. “It was nice.”

“There was one part of this party I did not understand.” Bruce was instantly suspicious of Diana’s tone. That was her “I’m going to pretend to misunderstand something so I can mess with Bruce” voice. A voice he’s heard way too many times. “What are ‘Birthday Tickles’?” 

And now Clark was standing on Bruce’s other side, and they were effectively boxing him in. His only escape would be to climb over the large meeting table, which would be ridiculous and undignified. 

“That’s not a real thing.” Bruce said, valiantly resisting the urge to fold his arms over his chest.

“Really?” Diana asked, her hand coming to rest lightly on Bruce’s knee. “Arthur seemed so sure of it.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be ticklish, would you Bruce?” Clark asked, looming over Bruce with a mischievous smile on his face.

“What do you think?” Bruce asked, forcing himself to stay still even as Diana’s fingers gently danced around his kneecap.

“I think...” Clark’s hand had found it’s way to Bruce’s right knee, and Bruce was regretting sticking around for his own birthday party now. “You forget that I can hear your heartbeat.” 

Bruce slowly met Clark’s eyes and knew that he was screwed. His heart was pounding wildly in his chest, the only sign that he was nervous. There were a few seconds of absolute stillness from the three of them, before all hell broke loose.

Bruce tried to throw himself backwards over the table he was sitting on, dignity be damned. As soon as he tried to make a move Clark and Diana simultaneously each grabbed a thigh and dragged him back towards themselves. Before he could really register what was happening, Bruce found himself laying on his back on the table, his legs dangling over the edge, shirt riding up and four hands wiggling all over his torso.

“This-is-so-childish!” Bruce ground out through clenched teeth, trying to catch the fast-moving hands. Because his legs were bent over the edge of the table and couldn’t reach the ground, he had no leverage and thus couldn’t go anywhere. 

“We wouldn’t be forced to do this, if you just smiled more.” Diana said, as though it were a travesty that Bruce forced them to tickle him.

“Yeah B, you brought this one on yourself.” Clark was trying to sound sad, but he had a huge dorky smile on his face and it was ruining the affect. 

“M’not even ticklish.” Bruce protested, squirming away from Clark’s fingers that were being lightly dragged over his bare side. 

“If you weren’t ticklish you wouldn’t be fighting this hard.” Clark pointed out, trying to find the spot that would crack the bat.

“Shut up.” Was Bruce’s oh-so-original comeback. He jolted when Diana pinched the muscle above his left knee, reflexively sitting up slightly to knock her hands away.

“We’ve got him.” Diana grinned triumphantly.

“Don’t--!” Was all Bruce could get out before Diana and Clark both started pinching and squeezing the muscle above his knee. He clamped his mouth shut, trying to keep his laughter in as Clark gently squeezed his way up to the muscles in Bruce’s thigh. That, coupled with Diana switching to tickling under his knee had him breaking in no time.

“Guys!” Bruce laughed as Clark pushed him back onto the table with one hand, as his other hand kept up it’s steady and gentle massage of his thigh muscle. “Guys! G-hahahahahaha-guys!” Bruce babbled, head thrown back as laughter was forced from his throat. “Kn-hahahahaha-knock it ohohohohoh-off!”

“I thought you weren’t ticklish.” Diana smirked. Taking advantage of the fact that Clark was holding Bruce down with one hand, she gently wiggled her fingers up Bruce’s thigh and over his hips. When she got to the delicate skin just above Bruce’s hipbones he squeaked, earing them some extra attention.

“Th-hihihihihi-this is bullsh--hihihihihi--it!” Bruce laughed, trying to fight against Clark’s hand on his chest as Diana teased and tickled the very bottom of his stomach.

“What’s wrong B?” Clark asked, alternating legs as he switched from gentle squeezes to light wiggles of his fingers. “Something bothering you?”

“He’s not ticklish, so it can’t be that.” Diana was now tickling slowly but steadily up Bruce’s sides, making her way under his shirt and tormenting bare skin.

“I ha--hahahahahaha--te you both!” Bruce cackled, cheeks turning pink as Diana used her nails to lightly scratch over every bit of skin she could reach.

“Well that’s not something someone who wants mercy should be saying.” Clark smirked, quickly abandoning Bruce’s legs to latch onto his hipbones. Bruce nearly shot off the table the second Clark’s hand left his chest, but he couldn’t push past the two of them hovering over him.

“Do you think his feet are ticklish?” Diana asked, trying to wiggle her fingers beneath Bruce’s tightly clamped down arms. 

Bruce started shaking his head back and forth, laughter nearly silent as Diana finally managed to poke her fingers into his uppermost ribs. He had no idea if his feet were ticklish, but judging by the rest of his body, he was sure they would be. “Nonononono.” He mumbled, laughing and trying to curl his body inwards to protect himself from their assault.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Clark said happily, dancing his fingers back down to Bruce’s thighs.

“Nooooo! Please!” Bruce laughed, eyes flying open (Hello, when did they even close?) “Ple--hehehehe-ease! Please!”

“Oh my.” Diana laughed, surprise written on her face as she stopped her assault on Bruce’s ribs. “I think we’ve broken him.” She commented, noting Bruce’s pink face and wide smile.

“Did he just say ‘please’?” Clark asked in disbelief, also stopping his torturous squeezes. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say that.”

Bruce’s body might feel like one giant exposed nerve, and he might be completely worn out from all that laughter, but he still managed to flip Clark the bird.

“Oh, so you do want me to try your feet?” Clark, asked, grabbing hold of Bruce’s calf to raise his foot into the air.

“No!” Bruce shouted, shooting into a sitting position as he tried to yank his leg back.

“Oh, they must be bad.” Clark said gleefully, letting Bruce snatch his foot back. He couldn’t help but laugh at the glare the billionaire was sending his way. Bruce was sitting criss-crossed on the table, arms drawn into himself, cheeks still pink, his hair a mess. 

“I don’t know if they are.” Bruce admitted, having caught his breath. “And I don’t want to find out.” He added quickly, as Clark and Diana shared another evil smile.

“Fine.” Diana said, straightening her clothes. “We’ll save it for next time.”

“Next time...?” Bruce asked warily, resisting the urge to scoot himself to the middle of the conference table and out of their reach.

“Next time.” Clark agreed happily.

“There isn’t going to be a next time.” Bruce growled, but the effect was ruined by his messy hair, pink cheeks and rucked up shirt.

Clark and Diana just shared another smile that Bruce was learning to hate. He’d have to start wearing the suit to meetings from now on.

#tickling #fanfiction #tickling fanfction #ticklish!batman #ticklish!brucewayn #ticklish!bruce wayne #superwonderbat #could be friendship or romance #batman #superman #wonder woman #flash #bruce secretly loves barry ok #it's a hill i will die on #platonic love that is

[anasticep]

Why Julie and the Phantoms is a masterpiece of a show. Part 2. Heroes and Villains or Let that foil shine

NOTE: Thanks again for your kind response to Part 1. I never expected that. It being my first tumblr post and a first meta in quite a long time I was blown away. I read all the tags, some were really hilarious. About having more than one brain cell xDDD I laughed so hard. It means a lot.

NOTE2: Please remember that the gifs are made by me, so don't crop, edit or give as yours.

Part 1.

Before diving into meta, I have to mention that the Villain of the story is actually one of the best in the decade. He’s cool, evil from the start, we understand his motives and we certainly are not supposed to love and make excuses for him. The writers made sure of that. So back to the main topic.

A foil is a character who contrasts with another character; typically, a character who contrasts with the protagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist

Foils in literature are not necessarily antagonists. A friend can be a foil or sometimes even a thing, a song. Whatever can make a good and real contrast to the protagonist. But it’s not very simple to use this author’s device and not fall down a deep hole. Because you have to make sure you did just the right amount of work to make it understandable for a reader, the things you want to contrast are definitely there and still you don't waste a character. On TV it can be even harder given limited air time. And, well, I don’t come across this device being used in full very often nowadays. It’s usually good and evil fighting for the plot. That’s why I personally appreciate JaTP so much.

Caleb is clearly a foil to Luke. As much as I’d love to say that Julie also has one, that’s not entirely true, at least not this season. Carrie is not her foil though it may seem so, and I really think that’s cool as Julie’s journey is being presented through her own demons and I'm going to cover that next. That being said, of course Caleb doubles as an antagonist plotwise, but I personally consider him being written more as a contract to Luke so we could see and appreciate his character and journey better.

1. Origins

Caleb and Luke have extremely similar backgrounds. They are both natural performers. They know how to deliver, because c’mon, “Now or Never” is something and so is “The other side of Hollywood”. Stage is their natural habitat, their element, power. Although they channel this power from completely different places.

Let’s start with our little ball of energy. It’s emphasized TWICE that he doesn’t care about the money aka the physical side of art.

All Luke wants is to make music. Connect with people. He is so happy just to be heard despite him loving to perform. Making music is what makes him feel alive and basically that’s enough. I think if there was no “hologram” magic at all, Luke would have still been extremely happy to make music with and for Julie. Because that’s the way he is.

But Caleb doesn’t know that. He knows, and I’m standing by that, right away that Luke is the one to aim at. Because we always feel the similarity in people. If Luke said yes, Reggie and Alex would have followed. So Caleb recognizes the passion and shoots at them what he thinks is appealing. And, oh boy, he delivers.

“The Other Side of Hollywood” is a perfect song to emphasize Luke and Caleb being foils for each other. Follow me here:

But these lines come from very different places. For Caleb the only thing that matters is himself. He owns the show, he IS the show. It’s about being famous, drowning in applause, admiration. Look at how he performs. Confident, yes, but still very much in control. He must keep his perfect face. No flaws, no real emotions, no real connection (Did you miss ME? I did too // This band is back). Whereas Luke is simply living the best time of his life each time he performs. Is it just jamming? Bring it on. Doing fun riffs? He’s all for it. He doesn’t care how he looks (though who could deny gorgeous sweaty Luke), he owns the show just because he is a natural.

So back to the business. Caleb immediately puts the boys in his own shoes:

On the other side we live like kings // Your soulprint on the walk of fame on the boulevard of your wildest dreams // I got your glamour, got your gold, got all you’ll ever need

And, I mean, he is not that wrong. You can see the appeal on the boys’ faces. They are young, passionate, handsome, talented musicians. Of course they wouldn’t deny fame. Of course they would want all that to some extent. And Caleb is very sure he pulled the right strings.

Watch me make a move, I’m your number one choice

Also I have to mention, as we are talking about TOSOH (IKEA name again) and it being a foil for Luke, thy lyrics still don’t forget about what is important for Reggie and Alex (we’ll talk about that just a bit later):

Welcome to the brotherhood -> Reggie

Where you won’t be misunderstood -> Alex

Then again, lots of foreshadowing in the song, if you listen carefully the lyrics are stressing the true colors of the offer:

A tomb with a view

Man, what a metaphor. I would have run out of there the minute I heard this line. But our boys share one brain cell (I can’t get over how funny this is) and it’s currently taken by Julie, so I don’t blame them.

Disappointment is huge. Caleb read it all wrong. So we are moving to the next point in our Heroes and Villains essay.

2. Recruitment

It’s very cool that Caleb offers the boys to join his band right after Luke offers Julie to join Sunset Curve. They both are going out of their ways to get that (although have different budgets apparently. But look, they live in a garage). Luke made a hit with a bunch of Julie’s not very well structured lines (I love Flying Solo with all my heart as a song, but as a poem it just looks weird to me) to impress her, and we all saw the show Caleb had thrown to impress the boys. Plus food. And fancy dancing. But here is where contrast comes again.

Caleb offers to join the band, yes, but only as backup singers. It’s his show, remember? It’s only about him. He doesn’t care if they are even good. He wants their magic under control.

Share the spotlight with ME / How do you like MY new band?!

Luke offering Julie a spot in the band is a completely different story. He saw what she is capable of. He instantly knows she must be the key to a new sound, a new level. And he, a natural performer, frontman, lead guitarist, steps back and gives the spotlight to Julie. To think about it, he could have just got her magic under control by giving her simple lines, incorporating piano in the songs and that’s all. They would be visible, he would still be a center of attention, and Julie herself wouldn't mind that much. But that’s not who Luke is. Yes, there is a funny scene of “Hey, I’m your lead singer” and “you don’t have to be mean”, but it’s just messing around. Because right after that he finishes Flying Solo, writes several other songs with Julie, seeks her approval of Sunset Curve songs and basically follows her around like an adorable excited puppy.

Moving on and back to the rejection. Again the writers are mirroring them. Julie quits the band & the boys decline the offer. What does Luke do? Well, he tries the way he knows: books a gig, makes Reggie and Alex sing in perfect harmonies and does his puppy eyes thing. And it doesn’t work. And Luke goes to reflect and then probably try to come up with a plan. But something tells me he would not have haunted Julie until she joined them.

What does Caleb do after the initial rejection? Puts a cursed stamp that leaves them no choice but to join HGC. You don’t need to say more.

But in fact the more I think about it, the more I suspect Caleb also not possessing enough mental capacity for a human being. Like, if it wasn’t for Willie, how would they even know? Has Caleb planned to simply show up one day and casually explain? Look, foils in everything.

“You’re in a tough spot… So, you wanna join the band?” | “Looked like it hurt… you know where to find me”

But we sidestepped a bit.

3. Pulling the strings

After the song Caleb comes out to consolidate his success. What he does is clever and, btw, that’s the only time he becomes Julie’s foil. They are stating basically the same thing.

Again, Julie is concerned about the band and the boys, while Caleb is only concerned about having them under control. But they both are pulling basically the right strings.

What is interesting, Caleb actually impressed the wrong person (and that person is our sweet Reggie). Luke follows the string Julie pulled. Although the offer is tempting, he insists twice that they are in a band already directly to Caleb and then in Eats&Beats he says "It's like Julie said, we have a new band, a new sound». No matter what Caleb promised, Luke is not affected at all although Caleb’s offer is a very-very safe choice.

Speaking about using friends as foils, Alex and Reggie also serve as contrast characters for Luke at some points. Luke’s indifference to money is first stressed through Alex who is clearly the chief accountant for the band. His lines about not getting tips, living in a garage and «it’s a little bit about the money» are waved aside by Luke. Reggie is clearly the most affected by the whole Bobbie thing. His lines «I don’t care what Julie said, I’m glad we scared Bobbie», «So we’re gonna forget about getting back at Trevor?» are getting a clear contrast by Luke’s «It’s what Julie said, we have a new band, a new sound» and «He has to live with that guilt».

While editing the article I realised a very cool thing I haven't noticed before. How badly Luke wants to go on tour. And again that's another thing Caleb offers as if reading his mind. That's actually brilliant, to think about it.

Caleb is a VERY good reader. He tests the waters with a speech about disappearing from stage and going around the world and all dreams coming true. Still he doesn’t know the boys and especially Luke, so his phrase “no real connection” doesn’t register that much.

But he learns. Remember the lines I’ve marked before?

Reggie is afraid they will not be together after they cross over. He is in desperate need of a family. So wouldn’t it be nice to spend the rest of your afterlife with your brothers? (Reggie's main insecurity is loneliness, feel of a broken family. That's why he is the most concerned about crossing over. Will his family stay intact?)

Alex is insecure, and not being understood by the people closest to him will always hit hard. So welcome to a place where you won’t be misunderstood. And actually we know there is a guy you like and find comfort in. (Alex's insecurity is growing up in times when he could not truly be himself even with his family and for sure not believing he would ever be able to find someone meant just for him)

That mirrors the whole Luke’s beach speech perfectly. Only comparing them we can truly appreciate why Luke is the leader. He shuts down his own demons to make Alex and Reggie remember that they are not alone (“and I believe in you”. sorry. Olicity fan).

Caleb makes them suffer to get what he wants. But this time he is careful with the words aimed at Luke. Yes, he repeats his words about vanishing and applauses BUT he makes sure that his words about CONNECTION are the key words for Luke. Intense look, calming voice, touching - these are all elements of hypnosis. And Luke is in a daze. (Continuing the parents' thing, for Luke the main insecurity is not managing to connect with his mom. Maybe that's such a big thing for him: through all these people he wanted to find that connection with her)

4. The Hero’s journey

That’s the best part actually but I won’t be saying anything new or that you don’t know. Luke is made of lyrics and music. That’s his soul, heart, that’s the feeling running through his veins. He doesn’t need anything other than that in his life. Playing for eternity is “a gift no musician would ever turn down”. But he actually does turn it down. As well as his dream to go see the world with his band (is there covid in jatp universe?). He is the one who resists the hardest to the pull. Luke, who always has a guitar in his hands, doesn't want to play. Because it’s not only about the music now. He has this amazing girl in his afterlife who was willing to accept them for who they were, helped Luke battle his own demons, eased his pain and made him open up. And it doesn’t make sense any longer without her anymore. “And you’re a part of me now till eternity”.

Caleb, being Luke’s foil, completely misses the whole point of connection. It’s not in his nature. His house band are just recruits (Just so happens you’re in luck we’ve got a vacancy). For Luke his band is his family (We are the only family we ever gonna need). The Connection theme is one of the main in the show. And it’s so cool to show it focused through Luke whose best way of interaction is a touch. But not being able to touch Julie Luke has to find other ways, although it’s not that simple for him. And Julie backs that up: We connect in so many other ways. They literally touched each other's souls. Without knowing she put a stamp of her own on Luke, Alex and Reggie. They’ve never felt loved enough, appreciated enough, supported enough. They’ve only had each other. And Julie’s stamp is love. And for Luke (as well as Reggie and Alex) from now on this girl is worth dying for all over again.

_______

So yeah. I hope you enjoyed it, as I for sure enjoyed writing. There is gonna be a part 3 about Julie and a few honorable mentions of parallels of the Pilot and the Finale (I hope at least to do all that). I’ve also figured very very cool connections in the songs and I can’t wait to share.

Also as I was heavily speaking about The Other side of Hollywood, @catty-words has a wonderful meta on rain metaphors here (sorry for tagging, if you don't want to be tagged), check it out if you somehow missed it. It's super clever.

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #julie molina #luke patterson #reggie peters #alex mercer #jatp meta #jatp analysis #my gifs #my edits #don't crop #please be nice #caleb covington #ana's meta #am i smart? i am #having more brain cells then sunset curve

[chucklegigglechortlesnort]

Domestic Headcanons for the Obey Me! Demon Bros

bc these thoughts plague me and i need to get them out somehow-

Mammon sings in the shower

He thinks no one can hear him

however, everyone, in fact, is able to hear him

No one says anything though because his voice is actually amazing???

like duh they were all once angels, of course they’re all amazing singers

You definitely hear every one of them singing or humming a little tune every now and then

Beel has a super deep singing voice

that shit rumbles and it’s honestly hard not to be lulled by his voice

he sings belphie to sleep

they low key (but not really) fight over who gets to sit next to you for movie nights

mammon is always quick to use his “I’m her first man” excuse, but that get’s old really quick

Lucifer and Satan are hella condescending about it and absolutely roast him

“Mammon, I didn’t know MC mattered to you so much”

“N-NO! Why would I care about some dumb human?”

“Well, if you don’t care about MC then you wouldn’t mind if they sit by me tonight?”

“HEY WAIT-”

It’s too late, he’s talked himself into a corner

“Why does it have to be one of you? Let MC pick who they sit next to” - Levi, in a huffy tone

“Levi~ are you sure you not saying that because you want MC to yourself? Can’t say that I blame you, they’re just so nice to hold don’t you think?” - Asmo

Chaos ensues

Eventually Beel just calmly walks over to you, hoists you up from wherever you’re sitting and plops you on top of his lap, Belphie snoozing not too far away

He wakes up only to snuggle into your chest and then he’s out like a light

Beel loves to cook with you, but Satan makes a better cooking partner

Sorry Beel

He just ends up eating too much of the food

Satan is surprisingly lax in the kitchen, as long as you don’t get in his way too much

He’s definitely picky about how certain foods are prepared.

If you’re not chopping something to the right size, he’s quick to reach around you and guide your movements

does this subconsciously and doesn’t seem to understand the romantic implications of it

(he totally does, he just has an excellent poker face from thousands of years of practice)

rolls up the sleeves of his sweater to make sure they don’t get in the way of food prep

the sight itself is something to drool over, let alone the lovely aroma coming from the stove

Lucifer works really late into the night and sometimes forgets to sleep at all

I mean we all know this but more often than not he tries to get at least four hours of sleep a night but sometimes he just... forgets

so the mighty Avatar of Pride isn’t perfect after all hA

ok but bring him tea

He usually prefers to make it himself, but if you bring it to him in the middle of the night his heart melts, just a little

tells you to go tf to sleep but is actually really grateful

but as soon as you shut the door he has the s o f t e s t expression

It’s not often that he’s the one on the receiving end of care so it’s nice, even if your tea is a bit on the watery side

self care nights with Asmo

SELF. CARE. NIGHTS. WITH. ASMO.

Has literally every skincare product known to all three realms

but only the best of the best when it comes to the both of you

there’s a plethora of delicious but health conscious snacks to choose from, and some cheesy drama playing in the back ground that neither of you are paying attention to

Asmo loves giving you makeovers to get a rise out of his brothers

but he also loves the way you can’t stop looking at yourself in the mirror when he’s finished

Wants you to love yourself as much as he loves himself you

Levi swims in his fish tank when he’s upset

and just whenever he wants to in general really, but there’s something about being in water that makes him feel calm

...

Wants you to join him but he’s hella nervous about it

When he finally works up the nerve his face is beet red and he nearly runs away before you can answer

>is super confident when he’s in his element

He moves through the water so gracefully it’s hard not to fall into a trance watching him swim

notices you staring and it’s such a boost to his ego omf

definitely makes like he’s about to get out and when you reach out to help him he yanks your dumb ass in with him

your DDD is ruined and Lucifer is mad but in Levi’s mind it was all worth it, even if he got in trouble and is mildly embarrassed about it

Mammon is super receptive to affection when he’s tired

he fell asleep on you once when the both of you were hanging out in your room and woke up to the feeling of you running your hands through his hair

he’s so groggy he can’t find it in himself to muster up the tsundere act

he just nuzzles deeper into your hand

if Belphie finds you napping he is 10/10 times going to join you

You’re not “safe” napping alone anywhere that isn’t your room

he doesn’t want his brother’s disturbing you and he himself doesn’t want to disturb you

so he just cuddles up next to you

at first this was especially shocking, not only to you but to the brothers as well but it soon became such an often occurrence that everyone stopped questioning it

partly because Belphie would never answer any questions, opting to just nonchalantly shuffle away

honestly it happens so often and you’ve grown so used to it that it’s more of a shock when you wake up and he isn’t there

is oddly protective of you

has a sixth sense whenever you’re in danger and will straight up materialize to scare away the threat by looming over them with his intimidating aura

asmo does everyone’s nails

you think lucifer has the time to do his own nails??

or that beel would be able to concentrate long enough to finish his second hand with out wanting a snack??

or that belphie would waste hours he could spend napping waiting for nail polish to dry??

no

asmo takes it upon himself to do their nails for them

the only other person who does it themselves is Levi, who paints his nails while binging long running shonen anime that only requires a part of his attention

they use gel nail polish so it dries quicker and doesn’t chip as easily

you’ve never had a better nail salon experience than at Asmodeous’s at Home Beauty Parlor

He does the hand massage and everything, but only for you

He’s had millennia to practice his craft so if course you’ll be getting the best of the best with asmo

Satan is a closet weeb

now LISTEN- l i s t e n

he probably stumbled across one of levi‘s TSL collection and decided to investigate and was immediately enthralled by the plot and the amazing artwork they held

now he regularly checks out manga from the library and pre pre-orders new upcoming series that catch his eye

his favorited genre is romance, but he also gravitates to magical girl series

make no mistake tho, if you find out somehow, he will have to kill you

please give them affection, none of them are used to it and once you start being casually affectionate with them they’re hooked almost immediately

Obv some are less receptive at first than others - satan, belphie, luci - but that’s okay just give them time

Asmo and Beel are the most comfy with affection and are willing to initiate majority of the time

Asmo always has an arm linked with yours whenever he’s next to you, at the least. He likes to hug you from behind and rest his chin on your shoulder so he can nuzzle into your neck to tickle you

Beel will casually pick you up for hugs, and hold you in his arms to make you safe. he also likes to hold your hand just ‘cause

Levi and Mammon want in on the action once they see beel an asmo being so touchy with you, but are definitely in denial about it for like, a week before they give in and stop being so wussy about it

mammon likes to throw an arm around your shoulders just so others stay away, bc you’re HIS human ofc. also likes it when you play with his hair as previously stated.

Levi is a little more shy about it, but loves it when you link pinkies or choose to sit next to him at the dining table and link ankles with him. He’s also hella smug when you lean on him but is also a blushing mess.

Satan, Luci, and Belphie (for obvious reasons) take the longest to warm up to affection. Satan is the first of the three to warm up to it - he loves reading with you cuddled up beside him. not necessarily on him, but with your sides pressed together as you each read your own book or whatever it is you’re doing while he reads

belphie is next, before lucifer surprisingly. this is kinda when he starts joining you for naps and you’re kinda too scared to question it. also seeks you out to use your thighs as a pillow bc they’re the softest

Luci’s heart kinda melts when he sees you being so close with his brothers. His affection is typically head pats that are more him gently and barely combing his fingers through your hair and tucking it behind your ear

In short i love them all more than words

#obey me! #obey me! one master to rule them all #obey me satan #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me beel #obey me belphie #obey me asmodeus #obey me x reader #sfw #obey me imagines

[yazthebookish]

Hi! This is coming from a fellow Gwynriel who means well. I'm a bit new to tumblr, and I came across your blog and saw some posts from the last few days, and wanted to share something it seems like you might not know. Acosf was originally supposed to have Nesta deal with the Illyrians, but Sjm cut the plot. The reason being, that people were complaining it would be a "White Savior" story. As a white character, this should not be Gwyn's story either. I do believe Gwynriels book is next though!

Hello anon🤍,

And I agree with you and since this was brought up let me explain what I mean since I've been accused of “Emerie erasure” before which suprised me because being a POC myself I hate the idea of white savior.

When I am talking about Gwyn's involvement with the Illyrians I do not mean her alone. I know some of my posts focus solely on Gwyn and I should've thought about how some people may assume I am pushing this white savior plot that focuses on Gwyn being the one to lead this change, this is absolutely not what I mean whenever I talk about it but it's also my fault that sometimes I do not elaborate more on what I think about her role in this plot in some of my posts (but I do think there are other posts where I talk about this and explain in detail but not everyone would get to read them).

When I think about this.. the Valkyries, Cassian and Azriel are always ALWAYS attached to it. I mean.. come on we know the Illyrians and they barely follow their High Lord's orders, you'd think they'd listen to a female let alone a High Fae female and give her the opportunity to bring them great change? as much as I love Gwyn she doesn't have the power to do this.

Most important players here are Azriel and Emerie but especially Azriel and the reason for that is him maybe getting a full book while Emerie may likely get a novella with Mor so there won't be a significant conflict that will be dealt with there (but I'd love to see after Azriel's book, if the conflict was dealt with and see how the Illyrian females are adjusting in Emorie's novella), but she will be a key player in the Illyrian conflict that may come up in Azriel's book. But due to the fact that each book focuses on a couple and Azriel's book might be shared with Gwyn is the reason why I do not focus on Emerie as much as Gwyn since she is the next potential MC with Azriel.

It's important to remember that Nesta plans to lead a unit of female warriors and they already established themselves as Valkyries with the priestesses. I think in the next book, the Illyrian females will be included and this is important for all the three Illyrians we know (Azriel, Cassian and especially Emerie).

Gwyn's role isn't directly attached to the Illyrians, they will collectively contribute to the change especially when it comes to the Illyrian females because that will be the greatest change they bring upon Illyria, where their females finally have the choice to be warriors and not confined to the expectations of their society.

Gwyn is the one with the Valkyrie knowledge and Nesta did suggest that they should combine Valkyrie and Illyrian techniques and Cassian supports this:

At last, he said thickly, “Today, we learn Illyrian techniques.” He nodded to Gwyn. “Tomorrow, you bring me whatever information you have on the Valkyries’ style.”

Also Azriel's reaction here is interesting:

Nesta smirked. “If we are to be Valkyries born again,” she said, “maybe we should combine the Illyrian and Valkyrie techniques.” She’d meant it in jest, but the words rumbled through the space, as if she’d spoken some great truth, something that made fate sit up. Azriel turned to them fully this time, eyes narrowed. Like those shadows had whispered something to him.

Let's also not forget that Gwyn is not only a Valkyrie, she is the first non-Illyrian female Carynthian and she won the Blood Rite. That alone connects her to them because she gained an Illyrian warrior's title, an ELITE warrior title. At least among the Illyrian females, she and Emerie would be held in high esteem and that would encourage them to follow their lead and join them.

“So we climb Ramiel. We take the Breaking. We win to prove to everyone that something new can be as powerful and unbreakable as the old rules. That something no one has ever seen before, not entirely Valkyrie nor entirely Illyrian, can win the Blood Rite.”

And by the end of the book we are told that the Illyrians will be pissed about two females winning the Blood Rite. I think it's partly in fear that their own females may start challenging their system and join the Blood Rite to declare themselves as warriors and follow the Valkyrie trio.

So the change I am speaking of is not something that is led by Gwyn, it's a group effort by everyone included. I want to add that when I am speaking of Gwyn alone I also take into consideration her role as Azriel's potential love interest and she may able to sway him to try and make him look at his people differently. Not that she knows them better than he does, but the potential of his people changing for the better and how the change they are pushing for would greatly help the females (this also may be an important element to his healing journey especially knowing that his mother was a victim of their system). Again, it's not only her but the others too but she has more influence as his LI.

Thank you for sharing this with me anon, I think it gave me the opportunity to clarify this to everyone else because I do not want others to believe this is the plot I am pushing and I apologize if you found it hurtful.

I hope my explanation makes sense or at least it's clear where I am coming from when I connect Gwyn to the Illyrian plot. Remember that if the next book is Azriel's and Gwyn is his LI/support character then it is Azriel's story with the Illyrians with Gwyn and the Valkyries and Cassian there as a support unit and that in turn would give Emerie her own plotline whether she will be a character in a full book or novella.

Also:

I'm not sure if what you said about SJM not including the Illyrian plot in Nessian's book is because of that because Sarah never mentions it and we don't know the real reason yet.

#gwyneth berdara #gwynriel #asks #illyrian

[codename-adler]

TW: I was wondering in you could do a hc about Aaron sleeping with people while he was high and he talks about it with bee and Andrew and they are like yo that’s r@p3 (mind you Aaron probably started drugs really you g cause of his mom so when he actually does hang out with people he’s like in middle school and alit if the people there are in high school) and he remembers sometimes he would be so high he barely knew what was going on. (With both girls and boys). [[he could have also done things for drugs]]

!TW: SA/r*pe/non-con!

!TW: SA/r*pe/non-con!

!TW: SA/r*pe/non-con!

!TW: SA/r*pe/non-con!

!TW: SA/r*pe/non-con!

Hi anon,

I will try to write this out as respectfully as I can manage.

The short answer is: No.

The long answer is still very much no, but with a little (long) PSA. Here's how it goes:

I will start by saying that I, as a contributor to the AFTG fandom, am very aware of how problematic and triggering the series is. Whenever I write something that isn't comedy, I try my best to put every TW I can think of that is related to my content.

I will follow this statement by saying that as far as headcanons go, to each their own, whatever floats your boat, yaddi-yaddi-yadda. I believe we all know the limits, even if some of us choose to go beyond them or ignore them. I can't make anyone stop loving problematic tropes/ships.

However, I have control over my content. I thought that I had been pretty obvious before, in my fics, posts and headcanons, that I try to follow as much of canon as possible, to stay true to characters, when it comes to key personality traits/life-changing events or trauma/etc. Hence, I don't refuse to acknowledge Andrew's trauma and SA, because I believe Nora Sakavic has written his character very well, very realistically, and very considerably. Andrew's trauma and SA have shaped him, but it isn't what I believe people call "trauma p*rn". I am glad this expression exists, because it sums up really well what many toxic authors and fans do in their works. And, as problematic as some of her stuff is, Nora Sakavic's AFTG is not trauma p*rn, to me. Emphasis on the "to me". I am speaking for myself and I well aware that to other readers, it could qualify as "trauma p*rn".

So, as much as I accept Andrew's trauma and SA as part of his character, it does not mean that I accept all the trauma-inducing stuff that the author has made the characters go through. Nor do I accept/respect some of the extra content. Specifically, Jean Moreau's trauma induced through repetitive SA by the Ravens. To me, this "fun fact" about Jean is as ill-advised and harmful as JKR announcing Dumbledore's homosexuality after the series had ended. These extra contents weaponize trauma/experiences without consideration for the real people out there that have been through it. These authors forget that these are too-real issues that impact the lives of millions. To add as a side note that Jean was basically the Ravens' s*x doll and Riko's plaything has absolutely no purpose. We already knew that Riko was the worse. We already knew that Jean was a survivor. And, most important of all, the series was over. Without a sequel. Again, no point in adding that as a "personality trait" for Jean. To me, this is very wrong, which is why I choose to disregard that extra content when writing about Jean Moreau or Jerejean. I don't feel comfortable writing SA, I don't like writing SA, I don't believe in using SA as a plot twist or device. So I don't write it. I just don't. It does not add "spice" to my writing and it does not fit my stories appropriately enough to be well-written.

What I've said so far is more or less detached from my person, except for my opinions on AFTG. As in, I haven't talked about me, Adler. About my life outside of this, my experiences, my traumas. You don't know me. You know only what I'm willing to share. Same thing goes for my Instagram.

So I find it immensely, incredibly, tremendously disrespectful and insensitive that you, under anonymity, have the nerve to ask for such a triggering idea. This goes beyond being distasteful, beyond being harmful. Have you no empathy? Have you no consideration? Why would you ever, ever ask for such a thing, and from a stranger? What if I had been less strong than I am today? What if I'm a minor? What if, instead of writing this, I had done something else because your suggestion triggered fresh or old wounds? If you had gone ahead and wrote it for yourself, and posted it, I'd have nothing to say to you. You do you, I'll do me, and we can just ignore each other's content. But you come on my blog, drop this in my ask box. It's not enough that you began with "TW". It's not enough that you modified the triggering words. You have no idea the effect of your words on my life. No idea. I don't know where you got the idea that sending me this would be great. I don't know where in my writings you found that I would be an appropriate and grateful writer for this. I don't know who you are, I don't know what you've been through or what you've experienced, and so I won't invalidate any of that, because you might be a survivor too, you might have been the abused too, this might have grown from personal experience. But your actions are still, at the end of this, unacceptable. You were probably coming from a good place, with no intention to provoke such a reaction out of me. To that I say, be more aware. Be more mindful. Be more compassionate.

And to all of you out here. There are as many ideas as there molecules composing our bodies. Not all of them will be accepted. Not all of them will be liked. I cannot control what people are into, even if it disgusts me to my core. But none of you can come here on my grounds and throw these ideas at me. None of us should ever have to receive this sort of ask unsolicited. I debated writing and posting this a lot, because it will most certainly trigger some people and the purpose of this message, to me, is to prevent further harm. To those that have been harmed by this post's contents being triggering for your mental health, I am so terribly sorry.

I will end this by saying that I won't be justifying myself for my opinions. This message is not open for discussion or debate. I will not be sharing my life in order to prove my point. If you want to share or reblog this because you, too, don't want to receive such asks, go ahead. If you want to comment on this, I can't stop you. But I won't respond. This has been hard enough to write, and I've made my point. I have nothing to gain in going further.

Thank you for reading this far.

- Adler

#aftg #nora sakavic #trauma p*rn #trigger warning #all for the game #jean moreau #jerejean #andrew minyard #aaron minyard #kevin day

[hoseokslefteyebrow]

You've Met With A Terrible Fate, Haven't You? || BEN DROWNED

Pairing : Yandere! Ben Drowned X Reader

Genre : Fluff, Angst, Yandere

Summary : Appears as a normal dude, but plot twist he's really not.

Wordcount: 4k lol

WARNINGS : This is fic is labeled as Yandere, for those who don't know what it means: "Somebody who is sweet and kind at first glance. But when it comes to their love (crush)they will act obsessive and violent." - Urban dictionary, poorly (but still disgustingly) described dead people, I know Ben originally doesn't kill but in the story he does, idk? Shit written¿ 

Also disclaimer this is my first time I've tried doing a yandere and it's obviously not my strongest point. Hope you enjoy either way.

You glance at the abandoned game console which your friend had dumped at your place earlier this day.

According to him, something was very, very, wrong with it. The Nintendo 64 was old, of course, but your friend mentioned not being able to pass the boss battle. He mentioned something along the lines of 'it keeps glitching and Link keeps dying'. In other words ' I know you're a hacker and I suck at this game, please hack it for me so I can feel less like a loser'.

You keep writing the email you're supposed to sent to your boss for another thirty minutes, before letting your curiosity lead you. 

Before you know it, you've plugged in the old console with more cables than originally planned because of how old it is, and with how modern your tv is. The first odd thing that strikes you is that there's only one account on it, and it's not labeled with your friend's name. 

Instead of 'Noah', it's labeled with 'BEN DROWNED' in bold passive aggressive letters.

Simply pushing it to the back of your mind, you start playing.

The second odd thing about the game is that the game has a specific date and it mentions how far BEN, or well, Noah is in the game. Yet when you click it, you have to start all over.

You shrug that off too, simply noting it as the game being old.

Before you know it, several hours pass, and you're finally at the boss battle Noah mentioned. Deciding to see if you can beat it first, you do not plug your laptop in at the Nintendo 64, and opt to play instead.

However just like Noah mentioned, you die as soon as you're close to winning and the game starts glitching.

It takes you barely ten minutes before you're fed up with it, and soon enough you plug your laptop in. You start up some programs and open up a few sites, quickly starting to work. Your fingers glide over the keys of your laptop as you type in the codes in order to hack the game, however after a few minutes, the game starts glitching heavily, and suddenly there's a sentence in bold red letters on the screen of your tv.

' YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT'

It says before the glitching becomes way too much, and some weird kind of red circle appears. Your eyes widen before unplugging the tv and game console, forgetting that your laptop is connected to it.

You miss the small glitches on the laptop screen.

- - - ᒪᓍᗩᕲᓰᘉᘜ - - -

He gritts his teeth as the access to his portal is suddenly denied, the power cut early enough to avoid him.

His red eyes wander in the green coded space, looking for an exit, something that'll make sure he can get his hands on whoever this is. Lucky for him, there's a small white space what'll lead to the outside of it.

Once he's trough, he realizes he's still close to his victim. In fact, he's even closer now.

He smirks as he realizes.

Killing her is fair game now.

- - - ᒪᓍᗩᕲᓰᘉᘜ - - - ᖴᓰᒪᘿ ᓍᘉᘿ - - »

You tap your chin as you look as the items on the shelf.

" Should I get the red one or green one?" You mumble to yourself.

" I'd recommend the green one. Green is always better." A voice from behind you startles you.

You whip your head around to look at the stranger who's talking to you.

Behind you is a male you don't recognise from anywhere. And as you start to study him, you realize he's quite handsome. He's got blonde hair, blue eyes and a rosy skin colour. He's wearing black ripped jeans, a dark green shirt, along with a black zip up hoodie, which is left open, he's got a few black ear piercings in his right ear, and has a gold chain around his neck, which disappears beneath his shirt, weighed down by a charm hidden away from your eyes. To top it all of, he's got a matching dark green beanie on top of his messily styled bangs.

" What? Did I say something wrong?" The blonde boy suddenly sweats.

You smile and shake your head.

" No, you didn't. I just tough I was alone here." You smile at him.

ØⱧ ₴₩ɆɆ₮ⱧɆ₳Ɽ₮, ɎØɄ Ⱨ₳VɆ₦'₮ ฿ɆɆ₦ ₳ⱠØ₦Ɇ ₣ØⱤ ₳ VɆⱤɎ ⱠØ₦₲ ₮ł₥Ɇ ₦Ø₩.

" I take that you talk to yourself then?" The male spits at you.

You're not sure if that's meant offensive or not.

" Um, yeah? I tend to do that sometimes yeah." You say, looking down at your hands who're still holding the red silk scarf and green silk scarf.

Đø₦'₮ ฿ɇ ₳₣ɽ₳łđ, ł ₩ø₦'₮ ⱨʉɽ₮ ɏøʉ. Øɽ ₩łⱡⱡ ł?

The unknown male's eyes soften subconsciously, looking at you with an emotion you're not familiar with.

" My name is Ben. What's yours?" 

Ben? Haven't you heard that somewhere before?

You smile at him, oblivious to the fact that you're talking to a killer.

" I'm Y/N. Nice to meet you Ben."

- - - ᒪᓍᗩᕲᓰᘉᘜ - - - ᖴᓰᒪᘿ ᓍᘉᘿ - - - » ᖽᐸᘉᓰᐺᘿS ᓍᖇ ᕼᘿᗩᖇᖶS ? ¿ »

His mind flooded with ideas.

There's so many options on what he can do to her.

Should he mess with her laptop?

Should he just kill her now?

Or should he become closer?

Maybe he should.

He looks at her trough the screen of the laptop, which is almost always open, today not being any different.

He watches her as while she watches something behind the laptop, from the sounds he can hear trough the mic, she's most likely watching tv.

Perhaps he should become closer to her.

Pull her closer only to have her blood staining his hands.

Oh yes, her blood shall soon become his.

- - - ᒪᓍᗩᕲᓰᘉᘜ - - - ᖴᓰᒪᘿ ᓍᘉᘿ - - - » ᖽᐸᘉᓰᐺᘿS ᓍᖇ ᕼᘿᗩᖇᖶS  ? ¿ » - - - ₭₦łvɇ₴

She doesn't realize it when her laptop suddenly starts itself up, nor does she know that there's a figure crawling out of it.

He stared at her with deciphering eyes, silently wondering how she isn't dead yet.

If this was anyone else, he'd had them killed already. Their blood would already be staining his face and she would already be screaming in pain and dispair.

Yet here she was, laying peacefully on her bed. Asleep, obviously not dead. 

He wonders exactly what he should do next. She doesn't know that he's standing right next to her. It almost makes him laugh.

She doesn't even know that he exists.

She doesn't know that he's here.

He glares at her before moving back into the world of codes and technology.

For now, she lives.

- - - ᒪᓍᗩᕲᓰᘉᘜ - - - ᖴᓰᒪᘿ ᓍᘉᘿ - - - » ᖽᐸᘉᓰᐺᘿS ᓍᖇ ᕼᘿᗩᖇᖶS  ? ¿ » - - - ₭₦łvɇ₴ - - - ᖴᗩᓰᒪ

" And then it suddenly started glitching and stuff. Weird isn't it?" You finish off your story as you look at your new friend, Ben.

After meeting in the grocery store, he had suddenly texted you. 

Not knowing how he got your number, you got concerned, and asked him. According to him, you had given it to him yourself. At first you didn't believe him, until he told you to check the time of his first message, which somehow was indeed around the same time you were in the grocery store. After that you just shrugged it off as that you forgot it yourself. After all, you knew yourself to be a person with the memory of a goldfish.

Today the two of you met up again, for the fourth time this week.

" Odd indeed. What did you do after that?" Ben asked, acting as if he's interested, even tough he's really not.

" I unplugged it. I think I'm gonna lay off hacking for a while." You shrugged, taking a sip of your drink.

Before he could even think of a response, there was an unknown woman at your table, also holding a cup of coffee.

" Y/N? Long time no see." The new woman greeted you with a smile, sitting down beside you on the booth.

Ben scowled at the newcomer.

Ⱨø₩ đ₳ɽɇ ₴ⱨɇ ₴ł₮ ฿ɇ₴łđɇ ₩ⱨ₳₮'₴ ₥ł₦ɇ ₩ł₮ⱨøʉ₮ ₥ɏ ₱ɇɽ₥ł₴₴łø₦

" Hey, Sara. It's indeed been too long. How are you?" You started chatting with Sara.

Meanwhile Ben's anger only grew.

" My names Ben." Ben suddenly dryly joined your conversation as he slammed his drink down onto the table aggressively, looking straight into Sara's eyes.

" Sorry. Didn't see you there. I'm Sara nice to mee-"

" Yeah, yeah, whatever. Leave. We didn't invite you to come sit with us." Ben spat at her, looking at her with an intense look in his eyes.

Both you and your friend turned to look at him in confusion.

" Is something wrong with me being here? Did I offend you?" Sara asked, genuinely concerned.

Ben was fuming now, on the inside. Who does this girl think she is? First she comes to sit at their table uninvited, then she's capturing the attention of his new favorite plaything, and now she's questioning him? She has to go.

- - - ᒪᓍᗩᕲᓰᘉᘜ - - - ᖴᓰᒪᘿ ᓍᘉᘿ - - - » ᖽᐸᘉᓰᐺᘿS ᓍᖇ ᕼᘿᗩᖇᖶS  ? ¿ » - - - ₭₦ŁVɆ₴ - - - ᖴᗩᓰᒪ - - - ᖇᘿᗷᓍᓍᖶ SᖻSᖶᘿᘻ

He heard her conversation with a male he certainly doesn't know trough her phone, using the microphone without her knowing.

According to what he knows, they're on a date. And according to her contacts, his name is Jaime. He can't find where they met, nor did he know why they met up.

But now that she's checked her reflexion one too many times, and made a pic of her full outfit to send to him, probably to mock him for not having her, ɏɇ₮, he realizes that she's on a date.

After some research by surfing quite literally trough the internet. It turned out this 'Jaime' person was Mexican, and had a soft persona. On his facebook page were pictures where he's working with animals or doing volunteers' work or overall just something where he's helping others. He found the black haired male pathetic, weak even.

In all honesty, even he himself didn't really find him a threat. Not when he looked like that and was overall just kind and bambi looking.

However, all his expectations are thrown out of the window when he hears them say their goodbyes.

" You know, I had a lot of fun tonight. You're really a nice person. In fact, I'd like to go on another date with you again." This voice was definitely that of a male's, probably Jaime.

" I agree. I had a lot of fun too." She said.

₣Ʉ₦? ⱧØ₩ ₵₳₦ Ł₮ ฿Ɇ ₳₦Ɏ ₣Ʉ₦ ₩Ł₮ⱧØɄ₮ ₥Ɇ?

" Good. Do you have a ride or would you like me to drive you home?-" He blocks out the rest of their conversation.

It appears that the good guy needs to go too.

- - - ᒪᓍᗩᕲᓰᘉᘜ - - - ᖴᓰᒪᘿ ᓍᘉᘿ - - - » ᖽᐸᘉᓰᐺᘿS ᓍᖇ ᕼᘿᗩᖇᖶS  ? ¿ » - - - ₭₦ŁVɆ₴ - - - ᖴᗩᓰᒪ - - - ᖇᘿᗷᓍᓍᖶ SᖻSᖶᘿᘻ - - - ᖇᘿᗷᓍᓍᖶ ᑢᓍᘻᕵᒪᘿᖶᘿ - ᓍᕵᘿᘉ ᖴᓰᒪᘿ ∆

" We should spend more time together." Ben says randomly as the two of you snuggle on the couch.

You giggle, your ears tinting red.

" We're already together all the time tough." You tell him softly.

" I know, but still. By the way, did your stupid date reply yet?" He asked, eyes focused on the tv in front of the two of you.

" No, and don't call him stupid." You pout, softly scolding him.

₲ØØĐ

He grins at you with mysterious eyes.

You shrug it off, knowing it's part of him. The two of you have been hanging out for a while now. Almost three months to be precise. And you two have gotten very close. What used to be keeping distance and keeping the line between acquaintances and friends, had turned into friends or something more. You two almost hung out every day, you were basically attached to each other's hip now.

After a few peacefull moments, you excused yourself to the bathroom.

Right as you left, your phone rang.

He turned to look at the disturbing sound  his eyes widening at the name which is appearing on the screen.

 SARA

He stumbled over the couch to pick it up, an unpleasant feeling of suprise rising whitin him.

" Y/N?! You have to listen to me! Ben is not who you think he is! He's this-"

" I'm this what?" Ben smirked.

Damn you were taking a long time in the bathroom, not that he minded.

The other end of the line was dead silent.

" Don't worry. You don't need to say anything. I'll come home soon. And trust me, once I am, you will never be able to speak a word again." He spoke, an eerie calm in his voice.

" Goodbye, Sara." He said before hanging up.

" Sara called?" Your voice suddenly startled him.

" What? Oh, yeah. But she was in a hurry so she said she'd call you later." He smiled innocently.

You nodded and the two of you resumed watching the movie.

" Isn't there a way, that we could spend more time together?" He suddenly wondered out loud.

You sighed and turned to face him.

" I'm sorry Ben, but I have a job and I like spending time with other people too. So I'm afraid not." You told him softly.

An idea coded itself into his mind.

JɄ₴₮ ₮ⱤɄ₴₮ ₥Ɇ, ɎØɄ'ⱠⱠ ฿Ɇ ₥Ł₦Ɇ ₴ØØ₦

- - - ᒪᓍᗩᕲᓰᘉᘜ - - - ᖴᓰᒪᘿ ᓍᘉᘿ - - - » ᖽᐸᘉᓰᐺᘿS ᓍᖇ ᕼᘿᗩᖇᖶS  ? ¿ » - - - ₭₦ŁVɆ₴ - - - ᖴᗩᓰᒪ - - - ᖇᘿᗷᓍᓍᖶ SᖻSᖶᘿᘻ - - - ᖇᘿᗷᓍᓍᖶ ᑢᓍᘻᕵᒪᘿᖶᘿ - ᓍᕵᘿᘉ ᖴᓰᒪᘿ ∆ - - - ᕲᓍᘺᘉᒪᓍᗩᕲᓰᘉᘜ

You sighed in dispair in the night air as you walked home. Once again, you were rejected in a job interview.

A few days ago you were fired from the job you actually liked. You couldn't understand why either. You didn't do anything wrong, you were quite hardworking and always finished the documents in time.

Your supervisor looked afraid, terrified even when he told you to immediately pack your bags and leave, and ever since you just can't seem to get in anywhere. Not even the gas station wanted you in charge.

" Well hello there. What do we have here." A creepy voice suddenly sounded from behind you.

You turned around only to be greeted by a man with a creepy smile and even creepier, eye lid-less eyes. He was holding a knife, making his intentions obvious.

You didn't need to think twice about his intentions and whipped your phone out of your pocket with the intentions to call the cops and running.

The killer sadly isn't stupid, and has you on the ground under him whitin seconds.

Your phone's screen crack and slides to the other side, the dialed number not pressed on call yet.

" Don't cry sweetheart. It doesn't suit your pretty face. Don't fret, I'll make sure, you'll smile forever. " The killer tells you happily.

Both of you don't realize that your phone screen suddenly lights up in a green colour. Nor does either of you realize the figure crawling out of it.

The both of you don't realize, until the killer is off you and tackled down on the ground beside you.

" I've told you before. She's fucking mine. Go bother someone else." Ben's voice sounds suddenly.

You turn your head to look at him.

This time he does not wear jeans and a sweater. No  this time, he looks like he came straight out of a... Video game? He looks like Link, the main personage of the game which your friend Noah had dropped off at your place around six months ago. 

Ben never told you he was into cosplaying.

Your ears suddenly tinted pink as you realized, he called you his. Suddenly you felt a little giddy, the guy you like so much might actually like you back.

The killer underneath Ben growls out something you can't hear before throwing the shorter off him and leaving.

" Are you okay?" You ask him.

He turns to you with red eyes.

Red. Fucking. Eyes.

And that's not the only thing about his eyes that changed.

Instead of the usual white eyes have, his are now black.

And even there it doesn't end.

There's blood running down his eyes onto his cheeks, as if he's crying blood.

You take a step back.

What the fuck is this?

" Don't be afraid! I know I look a little... Weird, but it's all just part of my..... Cosplay." He explains.

You ponder over it.

He's never gave you a reason to not trust you right? Or did he? 

You ignore the instinct to run away from him, instead choosing to calm down and follow your heart, which is telling you to trust him.

" Come with me. You can stay at my place tonight." Ben tells you, holding his hand out to you.

You take it.

₲ØØĐ ⱠŁ₮₮ⱠɆ ₱Ʉ₱₱Ɏ

- - - ᒪᓍᗩᕲᓰᘉᘜ - - - ᖴᓰᒪᘿ ᓍᘉᘿ - - - » ᖽᐸᘉᓰᐺᘿS ᓍᖇ ᕼᘿᗩᖇᖶS  ? ¿ » - - - ₭₦ŁVɆ₴ - - - ᖴᗩᓰᒪ - - - ᖇᘿᗷᓍᓍᖶ SᖻSᖶᘿᘻ - - - ᖇᘿᗷᓍᓍᖶ ᑢᓍᘻᕵᒪᘿᖶᘿ - ᓍᕵᘿᘉ ᖴᓰᒪᘿ ∆ - - - ᕲᓍᘺᘉᒪᓍᗩᕲᓰᘉᘜ - - - ᕲᓍᘺᘉᒪᓍᗩᕲ ᑢᓍᘻᕵᒪᘿᖶᘿ ›

It took longer than expected to reach his house. The whole road to his house is creepy. Ben appartly lives in this supermodern house in the woods.

Which is off already, the woods are known troughout the whole town as mystery. According to urban legends, there's creatures loving in there who shouldn't exist. Because of that, there's barely any people there. According to Ben, everything is all clear and safe, and you trust him with your heart.

You don't question him after his answer and instead follow him into the,indeed very,modern little house which is situated hidden behind the trees.

You get directly hit in the face with a copper scent as soon as you step foot into his house.

" Would you like something to drink?" He asks you as you enter his house, neither of you bothering to take your shoes off.

" Just water please." You tell him as you study the place.

The inside of the small house is more modern than the outside, with a big living space and an open kitchen. There's also three doors in the hallway.

One to the bathroom, one leading upstairs and one leading into the basement.

" Here you go." Ben returns, handing you a glass of water.

" Thanks, aren't you going to take off your make up and lenses?" You ask him.

His smile fades a bit, and for a moment you think you've accidentally offended him, but he nods with a pout before you can think about it twice.

" Yeah, that's probably a good idea. The livingroom is at the end of this hallway, feel free to make yourself comfortable." He smiles before going upstairs.

You stand still for a moment in the hallway as an eerie feeling suddenly starts crawling up your spine.

You ignore it, and instead start walking towards the livingroom.

Until the sound of something falling reaches your ears.

A sound that is directed from the basement.

Your first idea is to call for Ben, to alert him that you two probably aren't alone.

You don't do that however, because it could just be something falling off a shelf, right?

And so you decide to investigate it yourself.

As soon as you open the door to the basement, you're directly hit in the face with a very prominent copper scent. The same on you already smelled when you entered his house, except it's way too strong and there's something eerily familiar about it which you just can't pinpoint.

You silently push the door open, and turn on the lightswitch to the basement. Behind the door is a stony staircase, the rest of the basement is hidden away behind a wall. Curiosity takes over you, and you make your way downstairs before you can think about it twice.

As soon as you near the bottom, you spot blotches of red. The deep red substance is spread like a trail from he bottom stairs onto the rest of the room.

And then it clicks in your mind. It's blood. That's also the smell in the air. Was the intruder injured?

You step down the stairs while following the blood trail with you eyes.

You stumble back in fear and unpleasant suprise at the sight that greets you.

There's dead people down here. Most of which you don't recognise, but a few you do. 

You gasp as you look into a pair of wide blue eyes.

Sara.

She's sitting there, eyes wide open, with cuts all over. There's big ones in her rib case and near her organs, you can even see Intestines spread over the floor.

She's obviously dead.

But how come she's here?

Ben didn't do this? Did he?

Next to her is Jaime, who's eyes are closed but his chest is rising and falling.

He's alive.

You run over to him and shake him awake, not minding the blood that's now on your hands.

" Jaime! Please! Wake up!" You say desperately, tears now escaping your eyes.

" Y/N? Y/N! You have to get out of here. Ben, he's not who you think he is!" He tells you desperately.

" I'm not leaving you! Can you walk?" You ask him trough your tears.

" I'm chipped Y/N, you have to go. Get help. Ben's insane. He's a de-"

" Demon? Mass murderer? Failure? Dead? Is one of those what you wanted to tell her? How dare you lie to her! I'm none of those!" A voice suddenly booms trough the air.

You turn around while starting to shake. Jaime tries to hold you close to him with the little strength he has left. There Ben stands, still with red pupils and black eyes, dried red streaks still on his cheeks.

" Don't fucking touch her." Ben screams angrily, ripping you all but gently away from the male, causing you to tremble against him.

" Don't be afraid my love, he won't touch you again." Ben sushes you.

Is he really thinking that you're afraid of him?

" N-no. Let me go. Do-don't touch me." You tell him, pushing away from him.

He looks confused by your behavior.

" What's wrong baby? Please don't believe whatever lies he told you.-"

" What lies?! That you've killed my friend?! That you've killed these innocent people?! That you've chipped him?!" You yelled.

" They all deserved it Y/N! They're all in the way of our love!" Ben yells back desperately, stepping towards you.

" I don't even know these people!" You say, stepping back into the wall, knocking into a shelf.

You turn around to see what you knocked into.

Wait, is that the Nintendo 64?

" They all stared at you with sick twisted ideas! They really do deserve it." He tells you.

Suddenly it clicks in your mind.

" You're Ben from the game." You state.

He nods.

" Yes bu-"

" How?.."

" You clicked my game onto your computer remember."

" It was you wasn't it? You're the reason I've lost my job. You're the reason my friends all turned their back to me." You wishper, eyes now gathering in your eyes.

You've been so incredibly fucking stupid.

He's the reason your life has turned down the drain.

" Yes. But it's good right. Now we can finally be together." He says like a crazy man in love.

Which he is.

You start sobbing as you fall onto your knees realizing, all these people here. They've all died because of you.

" Hey, don't worry my live. We can now finally be together."

ɎØɄ'VɆ ₥Ɇ₮ ₩Ł₮Ⱨ ₳ ₮ɆⱤⱤŁ฿ⱠɆ ₣₳₮Ɇ, Ⱨ₳VɆ₦'₮ ɎØɄ?

 ᘜ ᗩ ᘻ ᘿ  ᓍ ᐺ ᘿ ᖇ.

#creepypasta fanfiction #creepypasta #creepypasta x reader #ben drowned x reader #yandere creepypasta #yandere #angst #creepypasta one shot #jeff the killer #jkjk #first time lol #idkeitherman

[bts-ficrecs]

Hi! Can you recommend a few Jungkook marriage fics please! Open to all genres. Thanks! ❤️

(header cr: guwoljk)

y’know this ask made me realize how rare married fics -- that aren’t drabbles -- are lol. outside of arranged marriage aus 😂

but no worries. i did find a good amount for you anon! thanks for this lovely request :”)

If anyone has any other husband!Jk fics that I didn’t include on this list, let me know!! (cause I need it too😂)

Sorry if this clogs your feed. idk why whenever I answer an ask, my “read more” is always stuck in the actual ask where i cannot edit it out at all

KEY: (☆) = arranged marriage / ( F ) = fluff / ( A ) = angst / ( S ) = smut

 

 

The Brat by obiwrites (F)

 » Summary: It was now you and him against the world. There was just one thing…

 

Bunny Bigot by obiwrites (F)

 » Summary: “Hey babe,” you call, startling the boy hunched down in a corner, “is there a reason you’re hiding in our closet?”

 » Sequel: Baby Bun & The Little Gardener

 

Child's Play by obiwrites (F)

 » Summary: Jungkook's always had a ... unique approach to parenting

 

Concealed Weapon by @gimmesumsuga (M)

 » Summary: Jungkook turns out not to be quite who you thought he was, and your reaction takes you both by surprise.

 

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by obiwrites (F)

 » Summary: The plot of cloudy with a chance... but with Jungkook

 » Sequel: Part 2

 

Desiderium by @jeonggukingdom (M)

 » Summary: “We’ve been at it like rabbits, how are you still so horny?”

 

Home is Where You Are by @sweetbunnykook  (F A)

 » Summary: Madness and love grows from the same root in the Jeon family.

 

I Can’t Help Myself, I Don’t Want Anyone Else by obiwrites (F)

 » Summary: A follow up piece to Just The Girl. A glimpse at the wedding, life after marriage and then some!

 » More spinoffs: Life is Good (pregnant!OC) & The Kids Are Alright (1st day of school)

 

It’s Enough by @dark-muse-iris (A)

 » Summary: Preparing dinner reminds you of all the struggles you’ve experienced in your marriage. Your husband Jungkook, ever your anchor, tries to cheer you up with gentle words.

 

Late Night Cravings by erifish14 (F)

 » Summary: Imagine having a child with Jungkook

 

Meet the Jeon-Son’s by obiwrites (F A)

 » Summary: The little girl studies your face for a long time, like she’s trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle that haven’t for a long time.

 

Stress Relief by @hobidreams (S)

 » Summary: “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” “Kissing my wife?”

 

Sweater Weather by @bangtanstanst (F)

 » Summary: When Jungkook comes back from a run and you have the audacity to laugh at his admittedly bad decision to go outside in the rain, he makes sure to take his revenge.

 

The Next by @kpopfanfictrash (F)

 » Summary: No matter the fact that this is your fourth child, nor that every other pregnancy was fine – sitting in this seat, awaiting the news is always incredibly nerve-wracking. This is the moment you determine if your baby is healthy, or not.

 

Things You Said At 1 AM by @foreverpark (F M)

 » Summary: More often than not, you spend around one to two hours in bed, watching the clock tick with the dialogue of a feel-good movie or drama keeping you company, waiting for your husband to come back from his never-ending dance practices.

 

 

After All Night by @btsracket​ (M)

» Summary: “Your mom has the baby so let’s make good use of the time.”

 

All in My Head by @fatrainbowmermaidunicorn (☆ F A)

 » Summary: Jeon Jungkook’s wife. Something you have always wanted to be. Something you have always dream of. But it's something you know won't ever come true. Until today.

 

Always and Forever by @joonglows (F)

 » Summary: From childhood friends to boyfriend and girlfriend, it’s time for an upgrade. Now, you are living a happily ever after with your dear husband, Jungkook, with three loving kids and one on it’s way.

 

Black Card by @minsprings (F A S)

 » Summary: A long night at another one of your obligatory high society functions has you desperate to relieve some stress with your husband Jungkook, who’s been apparently hiding a kink from you for some time.

 » Status: complete two-shot

 

Desperate Housewife by @kimnjss (M)

 » Summary: Bored with your husband gone all the time, you decide to take up a new hobby… Jungkook can only seem to focus on one thing when it comes to your new pastime.

 

Fierce and Delicate by @mintseesaw (F A)

 » Summary: Jungkook and y/n had been brought in two different worlds. Jungkook living an unfortunate life and y/n being controlled by her parents all her life. Despite the imperfect relationship, they completed each other like a puzzle there is. Jungkook has one promise he intends to keep: to always make you happy. In the process of fulfilling your wish he had once declined you of, he kept a secret from you. And unintentionally, he has done more damages than expected…Every action, and every decision… could be blamed by the flawed past.

 » Sequel: Felicity (F A S)

 

From What Stars Have We Fallen to Meet Each Other Here by muhammie (☆ F A)

 » Summary: Yoongi and Jungkook learn how to love in a marriage they never wanted to be in.

 » Note: yes, this is mxm

 

Holiday Blunder by obiwrites (F A)

 » Summary: The one where it’s the worst Thanksgiving in the world but your husband makes it mildly better.

 

Lumière by @taehyung-me-down (series) (☆ F A S)

 » Status: ongoing series

 » Summary: Fate has a way of bringing together two souls meant to be, but to a princess like you, soulmates are out of the question. As the sole heir of the throne, it is your duty to create a strong allegiance, one that will protect your reign. Your marriage with a prince from a neighboring kingdom was sealed from the moment you entered this world, two destinies intertwining. All you yearn for is a love that will ignite your soul. One that will have your head spinning in the clouds and your heart drowning in desire. Soulmates will meet, regardless of time, location, or circumstances, but it’s up to you. There’s one thing you must do. Seek the light, and find the love of a lifetime.

 

Mafia Arranged Marriage by @leahsockhead01 (☆ F A)

 » Summary: You knew your parents had secrets but, you never realized they went as deep as the mafia. Your father was apparently a secret Consigliere. A “close friend” to the leader of Seoul’s mafia crime group. In order to officially blend your family into the mafia, you had been elected to marry the leader’s son. Upon meeting your betrothed, you run. Then something happens… to bring you back.

 

Money, Power, Respect by @minnpd (A S)

 » Summary: You catch his eye the moment you walk through the door, low-cut dress doing its job like you knew it would.

 

Of Caresses And Promises by @ditttiii (F A S)

 » Summary: You love your husband and you know that he loves you just as much, if not more. But sometimes, you can’t help but feel like he could do better—better than you.

 

Put Your Head on My Shoulder by koorara (F A S)

 » Summary: You were worried to bring Jungkook along to your hometown and grandma has never met Jungkook, and yes, she is lovely but what if she suddenly doesn’t approve of him? That would break his heart.

 

Second Chances by @parkhabits (F A S)

 » Summary: Work. One of the most important things to him. It kept him company at night, it was all he thought about, all he put his attention to. His work had become the mistress within your marriage. Years after you left him you’re back with only one goal in mind. Get him to sign the damn divorce papers. Yet you should’ve known that your husband wouldn’t let you go that easily.

 

Smitten by @megahwn (☆ F S)

 » Summary: You live in a world where loving another is criminal. Partners are chosen by your elders to produce the best offspring and to help the economy thrive. Living in this world, you feel broken. You feel broken because you have accidentally fallen for your new husband, Jeon Jungkook.

 

Taking Chances by @neonlights92 (☆ F A S)

 » Status: complete series

 » Summary: “Jeon Jungkook is an asshole.”

 

The Pitter-Patter of the Heart by koorara (F)

 » Status: ongoing series

 » Summary: Pieces of newlywed domestic moments with Jungkook, your husband. The young Film and Literature lecturer and his wife, you, who works as a journalist of a web magazine. Both of you managing the career, the time for each other and the new house. Not to forget the cat that has been with you for years.

 » Drabble: Valentine (S)

 

The Husband She Didn't Want by MyTime2Shine (☆ A S)

 » Status: ongoing series

 » Summary: Kim Mi Cha life was a miserable one since her mother had died at a young age. By 22 she was taking care of her alcoholic father who was often abusive to her. Her only respite would be when he'd leave her to go gamble as his addiction was getting out of control. She dreamed and believed in true love despite her upbringing. Her spoiled brat of a neighbor across the way from her was Jeon Jungkook. // Jeon Jungkook's life was happy and privileged one. He lived the life of a rich and only child to both of his parents who gave him whatever he wanted. Age at 23 Jungkook had become CEO Jeon Jungkook when his parents were killed in a car accident. He thought love was for the weak. His neighbor across the way from him was the shy and timid Kim Mi Cha. // Kim Mi Cha's father ends up at a poker game with CEO Jungkook and Jungkook ends up winning the game but the prize was Kim Mi Cha?

 

The Lie Untold by @54daysormore (☆ F A S)

 » Status: complete series

 » Summary: In a world where everyone has their secrets, Jung-Kook, young and naïve, wants nothing more than his marriage to a stranger to be open and honest.  His new bride, young yet experienced, knows how many lies people tell every day, but hopes her new husband never sees through her own.

 

Untitled by @lamourche (F A)

 » Summary: “I lost our baby”

 

Your First Time by @nitaescence (F S)

 » Summary: Your child performs for the first time in the school's end of year show.

#bts fic recs #jungkook fan fic #jungkook fic recs #jungkook smut #husband jungkook #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #reposted cause tumblr is a binch #anon #g recs #g replies #f:jjk

[kyndaris]

Pray Forgive this Discourtesy of an Impression

Many of my friends - and by extension, I also include you dear readers of this blog - know, I have been a fan of the Ace Attorney series for a very long time. It began in the days of my youth, when I discovered Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney for the Nintendo DS. As someone that was interested in legal proceedings but was unsure of actually taking the step of becoming an actual barrister in court, it helped feed my very unique itch of shouting OBJECTION! and pointing at the counsel opposite me.

That and the fact that the lawyers of the franchise were also amateur sleuths, piecing together the truth of whatever crime had actually been perpetrated and denouncing the witnesses brought in to testify as the actual masterminds.

Honestly, I wish court cases in real life were this exciting.

Even back then, the idea of acting the sleuth and figuring out the intricacies behind a complex plot of murder had me salivating. It did not help that I had read Arthur Conan Doyle’s collection of stories about a world-renowned detective and hoped to emulate his ability to make rapid deductions based on simple observation.

So, when The Great Ace Attorney was first announced, I was justifiable excited. To play as the ancestor of the great Phoenx Wright? Interact with Sherlock Holmes in 19th century London? WHERE DO I SELL MY SOUL TO?

To my great dismay, however, there were no immediate plans to release the games in the West. In fact, I even pondered on whether or not I should indulge in obtaining a fan translated copy (or watch a playthrough).

As the years passed, I lost hope that there would ever be a release of The Great Ace Attorney games in the West. And so, life went on.

UNTIL OF COURSE, THEY ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD BE RELEASED! IN JULY 2021! AND THOUGH MY SPIRIT WAS A LITTLE CRUSHED TO HEAR THAT THERE WOULD BE NO PHYSICAL RELEASE IN AUSTRALIA, I QUICKLY PUT THE GAME ON MY NINTENDO ESTORE WISHLIST, READY FOR PURCHASE!

When release day came, I was pumped to dive into the world of finger-pointing and strange reversals where the defence attorney had to prove their client innocent beyond all reasonable doubt. The game itself begins with Ryunosuke Naruhodo, a student of Yumei University being accused of murdering a visiting professor: John H. Wilson. At his side is his best friend: Kazuma Asogi, a practicing law student.

Wishing not to dash his friend’s dreams of travelling to Britain (should the trial not be won), Ryunosuke steps up to represent himself. Valiantly, he battles against Prosecutor Auchi. And just like his descendant, fumbles his way through to the inevitable truth. That he was setup and that the actual culprit was a person hidden under plain view: an English gentlewoman by the name of Jezaille Brett. She had murdered the esteemed professor through the use of a special poison that could not be identified by the technology at the time before shooting the victim to pin the blame on our hapless student.

It was a tale as old as time for those that have played the Ace Attorney series. What I liked, however, was the fact that this time round, there were multiple witnesses in the stand and how they would play off each other. Their reactions to what someone else said were great ways to enliven up the gameplay and helped move the story along when I seemed stuck on where to present my piece of crucial evidence to highlight an inconsistency.

By the end of the first trial, however, the game sees our protagonists on the way to the United Kingdom. Having stowed away in his friend’s trunk, Ryunosuke is accused once again of murder. This time, of his friend. And by the great Herlock Sholmes, no less! Unfortunately, due to copyright infringements, the translation team was forced to change the name of the character. Still, this adaption of one of the best literary detectives served to be a breath of fresh air. He was an enjoyable and lively companion. 

I also very much liked how they inserted so many references to the actual stories that were penned by Arthur Conan Doyle: the Red-Headed League, Speckled Band, Hound of the Baskervilles, the Man with the Twisted Lip...

The reinterpretations of so many beloved characters also helped to put a spin on what I would have expected. Truth be told, I never thought I would become so protective of diver-turned-inspector-apprentice Gina Lestrade. She is a precious cinnamon roll! How dare anyone think she would actually murder anyone when it’s clear that she’s a misunderstood tsundere with a heart of gold!

After finishing the first game: The Great Ace Attorney Adventures I could not help but feel that the story was incomplete. In many ways, just like with Trails of Sky, it served as a prelude to things that would come. There were plenty of hints of what Ryunosuke, with plenty of dangling and tantalising mysteries. A few characters that were introduced, such as William Shamspeare, never got to see the limelight until the second entry: The Great Ace Attorney Resolve. 

Why have such a uniquely dressed character walk by in passing without putting them into a case? It made no sense. It was as if Chekhov’s gun, placed in clear view, remained unused.

As such, when the credits rolled, I immediately dived into the sequel. The cases that I played through in the second entry seemed much more connected and provided a more cohesive overarching plot. In fact, while I thought the first game was a good addition in its own right - what with its stereoscopic images (which was very difficult to try and make 3D on a huge television), I thought Resolve was much better at tying up all the loose ends that players were left with. 

That and we also got to enjoy the return of multi-day trials, with a mixture of investigation and court appearance, rather than ones that seemed concentrated on a single day (and were quite tiring to endure). I will say that the final episode being a continuation of the fourth was a little suspect, but didn’t mind it because of how much was revealed and discussed in those last few moments.

In saying that, the games are not without their flaws. As always, sometimes it takes a while to make the connection on what evidence needs to be presented to which statement. There were times in the first case of the second game where the hints provided to the the player once they had gone through the testimony, made me focus on a completely different area than I should have. 

I also floundered a little because the clues relied more on memory of what Ryunosuke and Susato had been discussing when they were examining the evidence, but which was not updated in the actual information. As such, it took quite a while to figure out the SS Grouse inconsistency during the fourth case in the second game.

Then, of course, there were the the inconsistencies or unexplained plot points in the games themselves. In the first case of the first game, one of the key evidences that was used to highlight who the real murderer in the John H. Wilson case was blood on a serving of beef steak. The blood was on the left of the platter. The victim however, had a bullet hole on the right hand side of the chest. Given that he had been facing the table at the time he was shot, why would the the blood be on the left side of the serving platter?

Also, how did the reporter Menimemo even get a knife to stab Jezaille Brett in the first case of the second game? Did he already have it on his person? Also, since it had been first established that the victim had been stabbed, why go through all the rigmarole of having to also prove that the reporter had both poisoned and stabbed the victim? Talk about overkill.

And someone please explain how anyone could serve as a prosecutor in a case when they have a CLEAR CONFLICT OF INTEREST! A court of law is not a place where someone can slake their thirst for vengeance. And it was clear from the start that Kazuma Asogi should have been removed because of his misguided vendetta against Barok van Zieks.

The same could also be extended to the jurors. I don’t think anyone who knows the accused or the victim personally is allowed to serve as a jury member because of implicit bias. Then again, this is a game and I should probably just enjoy the game for what it is.

Despite these little quibbles with the narrative and the fact that there seem to be a very limited number of prosecutors and defence attorneys in Britain and Japan (along with jurors), I had a fun time playing through both games. After all, never in my wildest dreams did I think that they would be released out in the West. Even the summation examinations and pitting the jury members against each other was something fresh and different. While the Mood Matrix and Apollo’s ability to perceive have given new ways to solve cases, there’s still little that’s been done to shake up the formula of cross-examining a witness.

The Dance of Deduction between Herlock and Ryunosuke was also a brilliant piece of change that made some of the investigations more fun. While I’ll miss the psyche-locks, perhaps it’s a good thing that The Great Ace Attorney has moved away from mysticism and spirit channelling to focus more on Herlock’s wacky hijinks.

And before I forget, I need to throw out a special mention to Iris Wilson, the ten-year-old child genius that puts us all to shame. Growing up in an Asian household, I’m sure my mother wishes I could have got a doctorate in medicine by that time. 

On a side note, it was fun voicing a few of the characters as I played. I’m sure my family were quite confused as to why these terrible accents were petering down to the kitchen. 

Do I have any regrets?

Some.

But it’s always fun giving voice to these wacky characters and bringing them all to life with a few flamboyant performances.

#video games #the great ace attorney #ace attorney #gina lestrade is a precious cinnamon roll!

[pluviophile-bookworm]

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Rewatch pt. 4

I really need a pick-me-up after 2x11, and I feel like 1x7 might be what I'm looking for, so here I am again with another HSMTMTS rewatch. I'm genuinely so excited for both of these episodes, so without further ado, let's jump right into

1x6: She stands for... lies, pressure and very inappropriate suggestions (coming here after 2x11 might have been a mistake, actually)

I honestly don't get why Nini's reaction to seeing Ricky in full Troy costume was so big — he actually looked pretty ok to me. Sure, the wig is a bit too much, but so what, it's cute.

Ahhh my boy Reddy is so adorable in that talking head... 'click!' Gosh, I love seeing him so cheerful! Guess he's embracing his role as part of the crew. As he should.

'I'm home'. Yes, Sebby, and you look so good, too! Gosh, I love this scene so much. I can't believe I'd forgotten about it.

Gina looks beautiful, though — I mean, she looks beautiful in anything, but I really like the Taylor look on her.

Ok, I fully understand everyone's frustration about this picture — it's genuinely so hard to get a good picture of someone jumping up in the air, and I can only imagine what it would be like with six people. A bunch of my classmates tried to do something like that ages ago and, needless to say, it didn't go very well. No good pictures were taken that day.

Ah, Portwell: the early days. Ok, but wanting something and feeling like you have to get it is far from the same thing, EJ. Honestly, these two in their early days as accomplices... this is not the first time they've been like 'X is the same thing as Y' when it's obviously not. I mean, of course, that time they became accomplices because 'we want the same thing' — which, at that point, they didn't.

Ok, but they were in such unison with that 'Not now!'... couple goals! You know, even before either of them had considered the possibility of them being a couple for real.

That's a lot of pressure that Miss Jenn is putting on dear Carlito over there. I mean, he's one of the youngest at the drama club and he has to essentially do her job for her, all while she's not even sure if she'll be able to return to her job. I just... keep reminding myself that these kids are closer in age to my little brother than they are to me (except for EJ, who is precisely in the middle), and then the pressure they're under takes on completely new proportions in my mind. None of them should have to deal with all of this. And no amount of 'trust the process' is making it better.

'Should I just live vicariously through someone else?' Oh Reddy, you should just live for yourself. I mean, the truth is I don't practice what I preach most of the time, but I really do mean this. Just go out there and live your best life. You're not Ricky's therapy dog or anything (that being said, Ricky's getting a therapy dog when?).

What part of 'a forest of boys' does Nini not get? It's simple enough. Just help Carlos do his job, how about that? I mean, he shouldn't have to do everything himself anyway.

See? He cracked. That's what happens when you put all this responsibility on a teen's shoulders and be like 'deal with it'. He was just trying his best, you guys. He did not deserve all the clapback.

Ricky's forced optimism about Miss Jenn and the show is too much even for me. Sure, I know everything turns out mostly alright at the end, but this just sounds like Ricky's on the verge of a breakdown. You know, every time someone's been too unrealistically positive on this show, it has ended in a breakdown. And that's the last thing I want.

I do agree about the simple acoustic version of the song, though. Sometimes simple is the best option.

Major props to Carlos for going up to Mr. Mazzara like that. If someone had bullied me, and especially if that someone was a teacher, I'd never have dared to call them 'Benjamin Mazarra!' to their face. Even when he's on the verge of despair, this boy is still the boldest. And we love him for that.

Is this where the 'Carlos Surname' joke started, though? I had forgotten. It was funny while it lasted.

Ricky doesn't know it yet, but he's seriously playing with Gina's feelings there. And I don't blame him because, again, he doesn't know yet, but I still feel bad for her.

'Despite the 4.3 GPA, I'm actually an idiot.' — EJ is high intelligence, low wisdom, confirmed. Not that this is news, but I really don't remember much about this season, so I'm pointing this out now.

Now forgive me if I'm not feeling for Miss Jenn after 2x11... she did some really unforgivable things there. Still, as much as I want to say a real qualified teacher would not do any of that, my personal experience suggests otherwise, quite unfortunately. Miss Jenn might not be very emotionally mature, but not having legal teaching credentials is not her biggest issue, really. It is precisely her lack of emotional maturity.

OMG, Big Red accidentally invited the entire drama club over! And that, I guess, is half of how Redlyn established themselves as the hosts of every out-of-school drama club gathering. Thanksgiving is, of course, the other half. Gosh, those two were the parents of the drama club even before they were a couple. Guess they're soulmates in that way, too.

Ok, so I didn't comment on this after 2x8 when Big Red did it to Ricky, but now that I finally notice that Seb did it to Carlos, too (I took my time, thanks), I need to talk about the knee touch thing. See, this is exactly the amount of touch I used to be comfortable with (since I'm very touch-averse) — both on the giving and on the receiving end — and it can mean so much when you feel bad. It's a subtle 'hey, I'm here, it's going to be fine', a sort of hug-without-the-hugging... I feel like this is a gesture we don't see enough of in media and it can feel just as intimate as, say, holding hands or cuddling. I don't want to talk about kissing because I don't know anything about it. But I just love how we've got the knee touch depicted by both a romantic pairing and a platonic pairing in the show. Ok, rant over. But I just really wanted to talk about this because, well, I saw myself in it.

'Her past is a little bit sketchy'... I see, Ash has already started writing Truth, Justice and Songs in Our Key, even if she doesn't know it quite yet.

Miss Jenn finding out Mike is Ricky's dad is just as awkward as it should be. Whatever they had going on should have ended right then and there.

'... people in the dramatic arts are insane' — 'Thank you.' — Umm, Miss Jenn, you are not really helping your case there. Quite frankly, you're lucky you've got the allegiance of the entire drama club. I don't think they'd have your back as much after 2x11, though.

Ok, but... Big Red wearing a longcoat just to take it off for the dramatic flair of it all? An icon if I've ever seen one. Also, mad props to Larry for apparently learning this number in record time after Dara got injured.

Oh, and... mad props to all the kids in-universe for writing, rehearsing, and learning this entire number in one night.

So both Seb and Natalie have solo lines in the song... and Seb was promoted to main in s2. So does this mean Natalie will get the same treatment in s3? I mean, that will probably mean they'll try to stick her in some sort of romantic plot, and I really don't need that, but I really, really want her to be a main character.

Also, let's not forget we had our first Redlyn moment in this number... seeing them dance together makes my heart jump with joy!

I won't lie, though, the entire dance number and everything was just a little bit uncomfortable to watch after 2x11... these kids do so much for Miss Jenn, and what does she do? Put insane amounts of pressure on some of them, shuts others down at every attempt to put in a word, favours yet others despite their abysmal performance at the audition, and then has the audacity to tell that same person to jump off of something high, with all the implications attached? Not that I'm naming any names, of course. Ok, this has taken a sudden and uncalled for turn for the dark, so I guess I'll just move right along to the next episode now.

1x7: A world where 'That was terrible!' and 'I'm so happy!' can both be true at the same time

My girl Ash is doing the recap! And she's a pun queen, too. 'Miss Jenn was in hot water, Carlos was a hot mess...' — not pleasant, but so true. But wbk. Ashlyn is the best.

And... Ricky and Nini's on and off chemistry is back on. Good for them, because after season 2, I really needed to see a good rehearsal. But I'm thinking EJ's joy at the end-of-school bell had little to do with Thanksgiving...

That look Reddy gave Ashlyn as she was walking out... might be me digging for breadcrumbs, but I think I just saw the exact moment my boy fell, and he fell hard. Ok, I realise now after I've said this that 'fall' probably isn't the best choice of words, but you know what I mean. Fell for Ashlyn. Not like... oh, never mind.

'So meek, so mild, sword!' I can't really explain it, but I love this line. And I feel like it describes Ash so perfectly: like, she might be meek and mild, but if you cross her, she's armed. Gosh, I love her!

Not the Caswell parents leaving their children alone over two holiday breaks! No wonder these two are the way they are. But they're about to get a beautiful Thanksgiving celebration. [Fun personal fact: the year I was born, my birthday fell on Thanksgiving day. That doesn't mean much in Bulgaria, but my dad works with a lot of Americans so my parents knew about it and I've known this and that about this holiday I've never celebrated since I was very young. I have no idea why I'm telling you this, but Thanksgiving has always reminded me of my birthday for this reason, so... ok, moving on.]

So I know she kind of suggested it, but... why does Carlos think it's his place to invite people over to Ashlyn's? I mean, this was part 2 of Redlyn establishing themselves as the hosts for any out-of-school gathering, but... oh well, it led to a beautiful party with everyone, so... I'll allow it.

I really liked Nini's talk with her grandma. It was really nice, and a very fitting way to remind everyone what Thanksgiving is originally about. I feel like people often forget that when it comes to... literally every major commercialised holiday.

Wow, EJ really is that person where once the tap is open, it can't stop spilling. And I kind of like that look on him. It's a transitional stage between EJ 1.0 and EJ 2.0, and I appreciate it for what it is.

Ahhhh it's Redlyn's first proper 1-on-1 conversation! I mean, it got kind of really awkward really quickly because of — surprise, surprise — Nini and Ricky (and EJ), but those two are so adorable! No more breadcrumbs — we're about to get an entire five-course meal here! Which goes really well with the Thanksgiving setting, now that I think of it.

Gosh, they've never really talked and my boy whips out the 'the only thing I'd ever throw at your face is a brighter spotlight' line right off the bat? Boy is whipped! But like, he is the master of grand gestures where Ashlyn is concerned. Still, in this first moment they shared, he really was like, go big or go home, and home isn't really an option here. But I should have known, it's in his name after all. Gosh, I love both of those two so much! Especially when they're together.

Ok, so... this is a really bad way to meet your mother's new boyfriend. Poor Ricky. As if ringing his mum wasn't hard enough already.

See, when I rewatch season 1, I get where the Rina stans are coming from, but then again, remember when I used to say I wanted Gina and EJ to just be friends? Yeah, that's changed too. Not that I ever shipped Rina romantically — I rarely ever ship a pairing unless they're explicitly stated to have something going on, just because I can't see that sort of stuff very clearly — but I really, really want them (Ricky and Gina, I mean) to be really good friends. Once they get past the awkwardness of their sort of history, I mean.

I miss the good old days when Nini was a nice person... I mean, we kind of (really) had a glimpse of that in 2x11 (I'm guessing she was making up for Miss Jenn's very inappropriate slip-up), but I miss the days before she was this big internet-famous songwriter and actually had to be convinced by Ashlyn that she should write songs for herself... wait, now that I think of it... Ashlyn might have helped create a monster there. Oh well. Still love her so much!

You know, I love the Choosical, but it's all a bit sad, if you stop to think about it for a sec. Just picture little single-digit-aged Carlito making this whole thing up in an attempt to participate in his favourite thing... only to not have anyone to play with for the next ten years. Great, I just made myself cry. The thing is, I relate to that story a bit too much. I remember in preschool, when the rest of the children would play together, I'd sit in a corner by myself and read the only book that was there... over and over, day after day. I don't even remember a single thing about that little book right now, but back then I clung to it like it was everything. And I couldn't very much share the experience with any of my peers, seeing as I was the only kid there who could actually read (my grandma used to be a preschool teacher and she taught me to read when I was 4). So yeah. I went off on a rather personal tangent there. Thing is, I know how little Carlos felt and I'm so happy that he finally gets to share this thing he made with a loving and supportive group of friends. Everything has its time and place, I guess.

'Look, I'm not following Big Red just because he paid me a compliment' — of course not, dear, you know your own worth and we love that for you — but see, when he said that thing that you're referring to as a compliment, he did not lie! You really are the brightest star and deserve the brightest spotlight. See, the thing I love most about Redlyn's compliments to each other is that they're so sincere and state nothing but the absolute truth. Those two just see each other for what they are, and love each other as they are. And I think that is beautiful.

It's so funny to me every time someone gets something wrong and Carlos just walks past them out of nowhere and corrects them without missing a beat. I kind of relate to that side of him, too. Except it's usually about grammar and language in my case, not HSM trivia.

If I were Nini in this scene, and was suddenly put face to face with Emily on the spot like that, I would not have been able to handle it. So props to Nini for handling it.

Yeah, sorry to break it to you, Emily dear, but whatever you're doing is not a Cockney accent. I don't claim to be an accent expert, but I know first-hand what Cockney sounds like and... that's just not it. Even Dick Van Dyke was closer to a Cockney accent in Mary Poppins, and that's saying something. (See, I feel bad criticising any aspect of Emily because her actress is no longer with us, but... I have no idea who let them get away with passing this off as Cockney).

Is this the beginning of Jennzara there? I am loving this.

Of course Carlos was obsessed with Glee as a kid... but wasn't he a bit too young for it when it aired? I know I was, and I'm older than those kids. I mean, I waited until I was emotionally mature enough to watch Glee, and that wasn't until 3 years ago, when I was 18 going on 19. Ok, I'm thinking too much into this. Moving on.

Ahhhhh, Redlyn! Just... all of their moments. But screaming the lyrics of What I've Been Looking For on top of their lungs while looking right at each other... was so beautiful to watch. Give me more of that!

EJ: 'That was terrible.' Seb: 'I'm so happy!' — Moods, both of them. Those two are real-life emojis, aren't they? And we love them for that.

'... without laughing... or killing each other.' — I feel like that last specification was needed given that it's Ricky and EJ we're talking about, and especially what happened last time they had to do a one-on-one exercise during rehearsal. The ensuing scene, however, is the most hilarious thing!

Root beer, huh? Is that the HSMTMTS code for 'awkward' now? I mean, Nini and Gina had a nice talk there, all things considered. I really want the two of them to put the Ricky thing past them and be friends... but we'll see.

Gina is trying to make the sleepover thing look like 'it's not a big deal' despite how big of a deal it obviously is to her... to which I say, good for you, girl, but I wouldn't know. The only sleepovers I've ever had have been with my little cousin who is 9 years younger than me and also insists on sleeping with a very bright nightlight on, which means I can't sleep at all. So yeah, I wouldn't know. But I'm happy that Gina is feeling included.

So this is the exact moment when it becomes clear that Big Red is not telling us the complete truth when it comes to his HSM knowledge... '14 and 10'? Even I didn't know that. I knew 14, but... for someone who allegedly 'hates musicals', my boy has very detailed knowledge of one certain musical movie... I love how it got him a certain girl's attention, though. Not that she wasn't already paying attention to him, if you catch my drift.

Ok, but this hits even harder now than it did the first time — just when Gina has finally managed to make friends, to feel included in their group, her mum has to move her away again. This is straight-up tragic. I'll say it now, and I'll probably say it again when it comes up in the rewatch — Ashlyn is an absolute queen for taking Gina in for the next semester.

'That's sort of what you always do, huh? Take care of everyone else' — yeah, Ash, and you do the same. You two just need someone to do for you what you do for other people. See, guys, this is what I mean. This is why they're soulmates. Because in a world that has more or less forced both of them to put others first, they put each other first. They each get to be the most important person to each other after they've been stepping back for others all the time. And if that isn't beautiful, I don't know what is. I know I'm repeating myself over and over saying this, but... they own my heart and soul and I'm not for sale.

Ok, but Ashlyn's little run after Big Red left was so cute! Girl is... I don't know why I keep using that word, but... falling.

Unpopular opinion: Out of the Old is the best Nini solo to come out of this series to date. Maybe I feel that way just because I relate to it most, but hey, that is a valid reason to like something.

Oof, EJ's losing followers. Oh well, if they're unfollowing him for being too honest, they didn't like the real him to begin with. So good riddance to them.

Yikes... Jennzara fell asleep with flammable stuff left unattended... we all know how that ended, but just the fact that they felt comfortable enough to fall asleep in each other's presence... speaks volumes. So I guess... well, I don't know what exactly I'm saying regarding the fire they caused, but I loved this big little moment they had.

So this is it. That was 1x6 and 7 and, well, they were beautiful, but there are some parts I can't look at in the same way anymore after 2x11. Guess that's the risk of a rewatch. The Redlyn scenes, though — still the best part of both of these episodes. That and a couple of other things for which I don't need to pretend like I haven't seen season 2.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts: the rewatch #ricky bowen #nini salazar-roberts #gina porter #ej caswell #ashlyn moon caswell #big red redonovich #carlos rodriguez #seb matthew-smith #kourtney greene #hsmtmts miss jenn #hsmtmts mr mazzara #redlyn #jnk