#instead of something that could be interchanged with any character from any story

[periprose]

Idk if u write for hp but I really hope so bc I love ur writing style 💕💕

Ahhh anon I actually love Harry Potter, I have a few dumb wips but haven't posted anything bc I'm insecure lol.

Like I tend to write more in the book/movie style rather than a bunch of soft British boys going "ello love" all the time in the tiktok version of events (not to say I don't enjoy that, but sometimes it doesn't feel in character and idk being more in Canon can be good too) and I feel like people on tumblr enjoy that a lot more than whatever I would post lol.

Like for example, one of my WIPs is about reader being one of the marauders' friends, and Sirius is hopelessly in love with her throughout their time at Hogwarts, all the way into Sirius being imprisoned, and then to the Order of the Phoenix, but he always misses his chance to talk to her properly about it- it's very much right person, wrong time. He also doesn't think he has a chance with her- thus the whole playboy Sirius thing we've come to know from him.

This one is a personal favourite because there's a very sweet scene in which Sirius and Reader are babysitting an infant Harry, and it's just very indulgent. But it quickly gets really serious (lol) and there's a lot of stuff about political manipulation, whether or not you can trust people you thought you knew, lots of prominent themes found in the fifth book.

Another one I quite like is a grown up Draco, after the Deathly Hallows- remnants of Death Eaters and Dark wizards are still around- and he hasn't quite let go of his place in that world, as Lucius still pressures him to overtake bits of power, and become the new patriarch of the Malfoy family.

Reader is a witch from another pure-blooded family, connected to the same people, and she starts pursuing Draco because she believes they could both do better eventually, if they just tried, and she doesn't want to leave Draco behind. I know Draco has a redemption arch already, but this fic is slightly more of an AU where it takes a bit more time. Especially because I don't believe after Voldemort's fall that everything was immediately all hunky-dory lol.

I would also include lots of stuff about corruption, dark magic, all the good angsty stuff. Probably some things about Astoria as well.

Idk. Probably in October I'll post something :) if people are into it.

[elbiotipo]

The most annoying thing about generic medieval fantasy slop is that most of it has basically nothing to do with real European history. Tolkien's stuff was based on folklore and myth from anglo-saxon England, so the omission of things like religion and social classes makes sense. But most modern DnD-like fantasy stuff is based on worlds that are much less mythical, and yet they're all exactly the same while having not much to do with real europe. There's no notable distinction between the names and languages of people from one country and another, they're all random european names that come from everywhere from Ireland to portugal to greece to Novgorod, with a few made up european-sounding names with no thought behind them. The exact way social stratification varied, like how some serfs from the HRE would be trained as knights and given valued positions as the emperor's Ministeriales; or the difference between serfs, free peasants who rent, free peasants who have common land, and gentry; or the antipathy between HRE Princes and the Free Cities' elites; or that the centralisation of the governments of the iberian crowns that was made possible by an increase in burghers who studied Roman Law and became Civil Servants; or how feudal lords didn't do much administration and were rarely even literate; is all completely ignored in favour of a worldbuilding-wise nonsensical stylistic mish-mash of anglo-saxon England, Arthurian Britain as imagined by the French, ancient-regime france and the late-medieval Hanse. I wanted to ask you something but I got lost in the rant, sorry

Don't matter, you can keep talking to me like that all night if you wish, in fact, feel free to get more comfortable over there

ahem

I'm very tired of the Middle Ages, even with well researched settings, I believe we reached a point of saturation. I do wonder when this omnipresence of the Middle Ages in fantasy came from, because while there are undertones of it in Tolkien for example, it doesn't scream Middle Ages (more of Arthurian and Anglo-Saxon legend though) I have a feeling there is more to this relatively Middle Ages obsession, because it's even widespread in pop-culture in a way that I feel other time periods aren't.

But what bothers me is the same as you Anon, the fact there is a lot of interesting things to explore about the Middle Ages, and instead it's treated as a shallow aesthetic, as a monolith that can be just used as decoration for your story. Because that's in fact my main complaint with worldbuilding, when cultures are treated as interchangeable monoliths, and then every setting is the same; and if your setting is generic and flat, it means that you could switch your characters to any other setting and that makes them generic and flat. And what is interesting about Middle Ages Europe is that people back then, like any past societies, had very different worldviews and very different ways of organizing their lives. You wouldn't just exchange a knight into a modern soldier or cop and it would be the same. The life of people back then was different, and I would expect a fantasy work inspired by that to reflect it.

Many don't seem to want to engage with that though. They want the aesthetics without any thought about the societies, culture, economics, dynamics that were there. And to be honest, at this point, those aesthetics are not even that compelling anymore.

[voodooveil-writes]

Rudbeckia as Athanasia (WMMAP x HTGMHOMS crossover)

Okay so, here's another crossover AU! Okay first of all, this is an AU concept, not an original concept. It's A-okay to use this AU in your own creative work, just please credit me :) I've read all of the HTGMHOMS manhwa and most of the WMMAP manhwa, and I know what happens, but I have read neither novel. This post will include spoilers!

Okay, so, for starters, Athanasia's first life is the same, and second life is actually Ruby's second life. by that I mean, Ruby's backstory, where she had a lot of siblings, was abused by her family, and was killed by one of her brothers. Instead of her having read (only) the book about Ruby's story (I can't remember what it is called), she also read Lovely Princess. she is reborn for her third life back as Athanasia, and everything is the same up until her mana explosion when she's 14. She has the explosion, and disappears. Claude does NOT lose his memories of her, and no one is hurt. Claude is completely distraught by her disappearance, and doesn't stop looking for her, determined to find her.

Meanwhile, Athanasia was teleported to the Brittannia Kingdom. The Brittannia Kingdom and the Obelia Empire are neighbors for this AU. When she was teleported there, she tried to explain that she was the princess of the Obelia Empire, but the language in Brittannia is different from in Obelia. (think like Norwegian and Swedish, or Spanish and Portuguese; similar but not the same) The people who found Athanasia bring her to an orphanage, where she learns to speak the language of Brittannia. No one believes her when she tries to tell them who she is, because her jewel eyes became something she could show and hide at will because of the mana explosion, (like Jenette's ring) and she had yet to figure out how to show them.

Athy gets adopted by the pope (by the request of Cesare) and is given the name, "Rudbeckia de Borgia." (But she has both Athanasia and Rudbeckia as her names, think like how immigrants to the US will give their kids names from both their home country and English names.) Cesare is kind while teaching her how to read and write in the language of Brittannia, but soon turns violent. Ruby's only comfort is Enzo. Over the next four years, the Pope tries to marry Ruby off four times before finally marrying her to Izek van Omerta. It goes the same as the normal story, until The Festival. (I think it's chapter 80 or so, where Casare comes to the Omerta Residence)

During the days leading up to the Festival, Ruby had gotten a letter from the Obelia Empire, explaining that Claude de Alger Obelia would be attending the Festival. she specifically was informed of this, (as in she got a separate letter to the one sent to the duke) because the Obelia Empire has reason to believe that Rudbeckia van Omerta was in fact the lost princess, Athanasia de Alger Obelia. Ruby sent her reply immediately, disclosing that she was indeed Athanasia, and explaining what happened to her after her mana explosion (along with classified information to prove her identity.)

What will happen when The Obelian Emperor, along with a select few people such as Athanasia's nanny, Lily; Athanasia's guard, Felix; Athanasia's friend, Lord Ijekiel Alpheus; Athanasia's best friend and the magician of the black tower, Lucas; and some select guards and escorts arrive at the Festival party?

A bit more story stuff:

Athy/Athanasia and Ruby/Rudbeckia will be used interchangeably depending on context

This story is Izek x Ruby, not Lucas x Athy; Lucas and Athanasia will just be best friends.

Claude will become more affectionate and protective than in the original story, because he's nervous about losing Athanasia again

character personalities may deviate from original.

Alright! so this was the concept for the Ruby as Athy AU! I know I haven't finished any of the other one's I've started so far, but I hope that I can get around to those ones AND do this one consistently. wishful thinking lol. Anyways, have a great day everyone!

EDIT: Okay, so, I'm not going to edit the text of the OG post, but I want to apologize and correct what it says. Obelia, Brittannia, and Romagna all border each other, and Athy was teleported to Romagna, NOT Brittannia! I'm so sorry for this mistake!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

What are thoughts on combining Nathaniel and Luka into one character? Plus, do you have any criticism on how Nathaniel's being Jewish by the writers?

While I could see an argument for cutting Nathaniel or Luka or even both of them, I can't see an argument for combining them. To explain why, we have to discuss what it means to combined characters.

Combination vs Removal

When you're adapting a work, you often need to trim some fat. The most common place where this seems to happen is when a book is being made into a movie. Books obviously have more space to work with, so they have breathing room that movies don't. That means that the movie needs to find ways to streamline the story. A common way to do this is to combined two or more characters into one character so that the story has less characters to introduce and then juggle. You may also see a character just get cut.

So what's the difference? How do we know which is which?

Generally speaking, characters are combined when their individual roles and storylines still exists in the story, they're now just going to one character instead of multiple characters. This is done when you have two or more characters that fill similar roles and so you cut that down to one character to save on time and give the story better focus. A classic example is when a main character originally had a friend group, but the adaptation just gives them a single friend.

Cutting characters is when a character is removed from the story along with everything that they added to the story. This can also happen in our friend group example from above. If this hypothetical friend group had one friend who got a romance plot, another friend who got a competition plot, and a third friend who got a plot about a dog, but the final story only sees the competition plot and the dog plot, then the friend with the romance plot was cut while the friends with the dog and competition plots were combined.

To give a more concrete example, let's quickly look at Lila and Chloe. Lila and Chloe fill the same role for seasons two to four. They are petty mean girls who only exist to cause drama. That's why Lila often disappears for huge chunks of time. It's hard to use her and Chloe in the same plot because - role wise - they're the same character. If you wanted to end the story with Gabriel's defeat, then you could just cut Lila and call it a day. If you wanted to keep the story going after Gabriel's defeat, but only wanted one mean girl who combined Chloe and Lila, then the story might look something like this:

The story starts with Chloe being openly petty and mean, but once Adrien joins her class he keeps calling her out. Chloe realizes she has to change her ways to stay his friend so she starts acting nicer and making friends with the class, but she's secretly still mean, she's just more subtle about it. We see her doing things like making comments that aren't blatantly rude, but still sow chaos and hurt feelings. Gabriel knows what's going on and still uses Chloe to make akumas. He uses her so often that she learns his identity and ends up stealing the butterfly.

That's obviously rushed, but hopefully you can see how this new Chloe is a combination of Chloe and Lila. She starts as canon Chloe, but moves into Lila's role as a more masterful manipulator who becomes the next hawkmoth. That's what it means to combined characters. You take two or more characters and mash up their stories so that they're all still in the story, just under one name. Note that you can't just randomly combined characters. They have to be compatible which generally means having similar roles. You usually want them to have similar personalities, too. For example, Lila and Chloe aren't interchangeable, but they both have that petty mean girl streak which makes them similar enough.

Nathaniel and Luka

When I look at Nathaniel and Luka, I don't see any way to combined them. They have contradictory roles in the story. Nathaniel is part of the miracuclass, Luka is not. Luka and Marinette date, Nathaniel only ever has a one-sided crush on her. Nathaniel dates Marc, Luka doesn't. Luka knows everything and acts as a mentor, Nathaniel knows nothing and is just one of the gang. Luka has a sibling, Nathaniel doesn't.

You can't even combined their personalities or interests! Luka is calm and laid back, Nathaniel is passionate. Luka is into music, Nathaniel is into comic books.

All of this is why I don't see an argument for combining them. I'm not even sure what that would look like. Almost every defining feature of these two is at odds. The only thing they ever had in common was a crush on Marinette. This is why I gave the Lila and Chloe example above. When we discuss combining characters, you're not looking for characters who are similar on paper. You're looking for characters who serve a similar purpose in the narrative and who would act reasonably similar in a given situation. Nathaniel and Luka don't meet that criteria. You could cut one of them and give minor elements of the cut character to the remaining one, but it wouldn't feel like a real combination.

For example, if I cut Luka and let Nathaniel be the guy who Marinette dates for a minute, then I'm technically giving Luka's role to Nathaniel, but the relationship and breakup would play wildly differently because Nathaniel's personality is so different from Luka's. When Luka and Marinette broke up, Luka was chill about it. Nathaniel would not be chill.

The Jewish Thing

I can't speak to this one with any depth since I'm not Jewish. I will say that I don't think he's good representation in terms of showing a Jewish character to general audiences. As far as I can tell, the only way viewers knew he was Jewish was his last name which is not a foolproof test nor is it good representation as there's more to being Jewish than a last name. I would hazard a guess that most viewers don't even know that he was Jewish!

At the same time, the head writer has confirmed that Nathaniel is Jewish so I think it's fair for those in the know to judge the writing through that lens. If the writers didn't want to deal with Nathaniel and his family being judged as Jewish rep, then they shouldn't have said that he was Jewish. Once you claim rep, you have to own the consequences of that claim even if you only make that claim on Twitter or in interviews.

People care about these things! They are going to get excited when you tell them a character like them is on screen! Don't want to deal with that pressure? Then don't claim rep. No one forced the head writer to publicly state that Nathaniel is Jewish. He made the choice to reply to a tweet about it and choices have consequences.

[muthaz-rapapa]

Mirai Days: MahoPre was better

I always thought that the terms "second season" and "sequel" could be used interchangeably.

But now I see why they shouldn't. In the case of Mirai Days, it's definitely more accurate to call it a second season of MahoPre rather than a full-fledged sequel.

A sequel would come with expectations to do better than its prequel and actually rise up to that challenge.

Season 2 (3, 4, 5, etc), on other hand, just continues from where the previous season stopped.

Of course, that's not to say the next season can't be better because that does happen for a lot of series.

But I dunno. Surprisingly, these 12 episodes got me doing the opposite of what it intended. I appreciated MahoPre a lot more because I found Mirai Days quite dull to sit through.

And it's weird because I wholeheartedly agree with Mirai Days' message to not be so trapped in the happiness of the past that you can't face the future.

The writers had a great idea to work off of with that moral. But the execution of it was poor and it kinda showed in how halfhearted everything felt in between the first and penultimate episodes (I say penultimate because half of ep 12 was just fanservice).

The production quality was all over the place (look at that screencap above, and it was for the finale too), the script was lacking in innovation and the plot basically lifted the format of the first season and condensed its story into one cour.

I can't be the only one who noticed, right?

For the first half of Mirai Days, Mirai and Riko were responsible for looking after Hisui just like they did they with baby Ha-chan.

Ire was the main antagonist for those six episodes, then got booted out by an even bigger villain (Chronosto) just like Dokurokushe and his minions got replaced by Deusmast and its kin.

At this point, Hisui disappears back into Ha-chan so that Ha-chan can finally enter the plot just like how Ha-chan evolved from her baby form to become Cure Felice and join Miracle and Magical in MahoPre.

And then the rest is history. They defeat the evil boss (Deusmast/Chronosto) for good, go through a temporary separation (6 years in MahoPre, maybe 5 minutes in space??) but reunite in the end.

Honestly, doing something similar isn't a bad thing but like I said with the updated transformation sequences, it can come off as uninspired if it's too much the same.

Moreover, Mirai Days didn't have what MahoPre did which was all the heartwarming moments and development that were spread out across 50 episodes, making the overall viewing experience of the first season feel more fulfilling.

I think Mirai Days could've benefited by showing more of the girls' growth into adults but in a different way than OtonaPre where the Yes5 girls were already established in their adulthoods.

For example, instead of having Riko take off from teaching to be full-time magical girl for a few weeks, they could've explored the difficulties of her being a teacher in real time instead of in flashbacks.

Mirai as well. It seems college is almost inconsequential for her. She's shown to be attending as she's expected to for her age but we never get any idea into what her major is or what her dreams are now that she's 20. That was one of the flaws of her character during the first season but could be forgiven since she was only 13 at the time.

Now, well, it's nice the best qualities of her haven't changed but you still gotta show more changes than just getting older, y'know.

(I'm not going to include Ha-chan in this discussion cuz she's a mother friggin' goddess so she can do whatever the hell she wants 😂)

As for Mirai and Riko's relationship which is the main selling point of this show, they could've kicked up some drama there as well. With scheduling conflicts, work/school-life balance, different careers or goals leading to different lifestyles (that cause those scheduling conflicts), etc. I find that much more interesting to delve into than watching the same old formula that we already get in the main tv series (btw, just wanted to say that KimiPre is very good so far 😉).

Admittedly, that might take time away from the magical girl part which I know we must keep because it's still Precure, after all. But you can certainly think of more creative ways to portray that without compromising the newer aspects of a new story.

I mean, one of the reasons I liked OtonaPre so much was how the writers were able to integrate Precure duties back into the Yes5 (and Splash Star) girls' responsibilities without completely disrupting their own lives.

In Mirai Days, the Maho girls pretty much had to drop everything to chase down monsters so the outcome became predictable and therefore, was no longer exciting.

Yea, we did get bits of slice-of-life here and there but I stand by my argument because scraps aren't enough for me.

Then there's the new cast, who were quite underused.

Sometimes the antagonist is what makes a story. Since the girls were probably not going to contribute anything drastic to the plot on their own, you'd have to rely on an outside factor to come in and shake things up a little.

Ire could've been that, a complex villain (way more than Chronosto, that's for sure). He already had a somewhat sympathetic motive to drive him towards malevolent deeds and could've been been set up for redemption but it seems the writers lost interest in him and took the easy route with the more generic villain.

Next is Hisui. Even if she is meant to be Ha-chan's successor in the future, they could've done a bit more with her as well. Fleshed her out into someone more distinct of Ha-chan.

But nope, she was mostly there to be Ha-chan's temp placeholder and to prove that Ha-chan can reincarnate like Mother Rapapa did, that's all.

So I'm not sure why they wanted to promote her so bad at the beginning when her character is just standard at best and barely memorable at worst.

Finally, for all the razzle dazzle explosions in the finale, it was rather narmy.

Even more cringey than "Sapphire Smartish" which on the bright side, wasn't shown but on the down side, wasn't shown so we don't get an upgraded Sapphire attack, aww 🥺

But yea, I dunno. Maybe because I'm watching Precure on a regular basis that I no longer find the magical part of the magical girl genre special anymore.

So it's becoming harder for me to be impressed or pleased with most of what the studios put out these days. Especially if the producers choose guaranteed profit through fanservice and favoritism (yea-huh ⤴️) over potentially better storylines.

At least I'm handling the disappointment better than I would have two years ago but...it's still sad knowing I'm always going to expect disappointment going forward ☹️

Anyways, overall, Mirai Days wasn't terrible. It was just passable.

If you enjoyed it, great!

But if you didn't, that's fine. It's not the end of the world.

Can we expect more adult Precure seasons in the future after this, though?

Well, I certainly hope so. Mirai Days may have been a miss for me but that doesn't mean others won't be a hit so it all depends on how Toei approaches their next projects in this area of the franchise.

Precure is currently the biggest active magical girl series in the world. It would be a waste if they didn't take it as far as it can go.

[ph-cutie]

one thing ABT hellaverse character designs is that a lotta detractors get hung up on the fact theyre not faithful to their stated inspirations but I think more important is we stop and ask ourselves where the fuck thess motifs even came from +If they hold Relevance to the characters. cause a lotta them are so asspulled its actually a good thing methinks that vivienne didn't follow through on them

particular ones I wanna discuss:

(BEE)LZEBUB

Besides the pun, what is the link between bees and beelzebub? Beelzebub has historically been known as the lord of the flies, flies and bees are not exactly interchangeable especially their human connotations. bees (and, not to name names but every single redesign of this thing ive seen) bring forth images of highly enforced hierarchy, militaristic discipline, perfectly cut hexagons, limited diet, aka fucking everything that Contradicts the initial premise of Lord Of Gluttony, Drunkard Girl. IS IT AN UNSALVAGEABLE IDEA? No I'm sure you could do something with it. Lean into the restlessness of a buzzing hive, or into honey's consumption by humans, as a delicacy. She could whose honey lures and traps flies, or something (fact that her song is about cotton candy given her whole thing is ludicrous btw). But like i dont see the point in going "Vivienne said she's a bee so I'm literally drawing her as a bee" and calling it a day.

HUSK AND WINGS

We do not question enough why the fuck husk is a winged cat. That just came out of nowhere The real reason is that he had wings back in zootopia for whatever reason, but this is the current day. WHAT DO HIS WINGS SYMBOLIZE? A large part of his character is being trapped under Alastor, and yet birds are a symbol of freedom. The show itself doesn't give a shit but we could. He could have his wings clipped or damaged to externalize how his freedom was stolen and also explain why he doesn't fly. Or it could be one of the only liberties he was allowed to keep , in which case the story should have him flying a lot more. Or any other number of things. TLDR YOU CAN'T JUST PUT HUGE ASS WINGS ON A CAT FURRY WITHOUT MAKING IT MEAN ANYTHING (tbh though anyone else think he shouldve been a kitty manticore instead... would be kinda funny and less convoluted. but whatever)

I dont know if this post is coherent I dont wanna sleep on it <3

[hall0wedwyrm]

Basically, TLDR i saw a fake screenshot on TikTok showing Amy in the Knuckles series and it got me thinking about how she... doesn't quite fit in the movieverse yet...

So here is my long rant about why it would be bad for her to join in Movie 3 and she should be saved for a future installment.

to preface: I DO NOT HATE AMY OR HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST HER. I think shes wonderful and shes literally a main character so shes very important obviously.

First, the elephant in the room. Shadow the Hedgehog. One of, if not THE most, complex character in the Sonic franchise, let alone in the main expanded cast. Having to introduce, and illude to, aspects of Shadow’s backstory (his relationship with Maria and Gerald, The ARK, how he was made, and the fallout) and his future (returning with amnesia in his next appearance, potentially introducing the Black Arms and some of the Heroes and Shad05 story beats that are important who he becomes) in about an hour and a half to 2 hours. I just don’t see how it would be a good idea to introduce a core member of Sonic’s friends into the movie series when she could be introduced later so that Shadow has more of a time to shine, and Amy can too later on.

Historically, Amy’s talk to Shadow to remind him of his promise to Maria has been filled in by another character when the plot called for it. In Sonic X, during its own adaptation of SA2, Chris spoke to Shadow to try and help him remember his real purpose and talk sense into him. While it didn't exactly work out, it shows that this role could be interchangable in SEGA’s eyes. I propose a similar story, using Tom’s niece Jojo. Being a character who is around Maria’s age and doesn’t have a complete character behind her as of now, this could be a more meaningful way for Shadow to realise his purpose and remember his promise. Hearing the words from someone who is like Maria (a young girl who cares about Earth) would be more impactful to him. I can see any human character taking up this role though, but Jojo would be the best candidate, due to her simiarities to Maria.

However, while not introducing another new character could be good for not overcrowding the movie with new arcs and introductions involving them, I could see this working for one character; Rouge the Bat. She was introduced along with Shadow in SA2, which is immediately a good sign, as their plots intertwine with each other. They both work with Eggman, until they turn the focus on saving the world. Rouge is one of Shadow’s closest companions going forward, and has her own arc too. She is the one who frees Shadow in Heroes, and rekindles their friendship there.

Rouge also could connect back to the previous movie. Being a jewel thief at heart, she goes after the Master Emerald, but in Movieverse its destroyed and the Chaos Emeralds are retrieved from it. She is established as being the Rival to Knuckles, and this could help him fill a new purpose on Earth (cos lets be honest… he didn’t really do that in his show-) of becoming a protector of the Chaos Emeralds instead or something. The main part of SA2 is about the Chaos Emeralds so this makes sense. Refinding the Emeralds or going to the right spot to use them and such but thats besides the point.

Another huge loss of introducing Amy in Sonic 3 is missing out on how she was introduced in the franchise. In Sonic CD, she was introduced along side another key character in the franchise; Metal Sonic. She saw a blue hero coming to help her, believing it to be Sonic, but turned out to be Metal instead. Having Amy navigate the trio around and give them the lore would make a lot of sense, given the way that others were introduced in the second installment.

Its also appropriate for this introduction too, since Metal Sonic is the perfect equal to Sonic, compared to Shadow's unintentional equal. After Eggman's failure of using Shadow, creating Metal is the next best thing. Whatever the story is with Metal, whether its faithful to Sonic CD or is twisted to fit the Movieverse story.

Now... I think introducing Amy could also mess up a lot of aspects of what the movieverse has set up for the stories of the characters. I 100% know that they will try and pull off a romance for Sonic and Amy, since its one of her main character arcs and for the longest time and its kind of (??) the main romance of the franchise. BUT according to the Sonic Dream Team character profiles, and the ending of Frontiers, she's drifted away from that interest in him... so to go back to that would be a really weird choice. I know its a different universe, but if SEGA is trying to steer away from that, then why would they go back on it?

PLUS I think it would be a huge detriment to both of their characters. Movie Sonic is much different to the Sonic's of the past, as he has all of the charms of Modern Sonic (his quick wit and charming personality) but hes younger and less experienced and jumps head first without thinking because he doesn't know what to actually do. He was thrown into the role of the hero in the first movie because the place he grew up was being threatened and he refused to run away. Amy being introduced as solely 'the love interest' also does a disservice to her character. She's strong willed, and unafraid to stand up to Eggman and any other wrong doer. She's also rather hot headed but still kind and cares for those who matter. (this is also part of a larger discussion i wrote about how in canon Sonic and Amy wouldn't work out because they want different things and are very different people but thats for a different day and/or if anyone is interested). Sonic immediately switching to a head-over-heels guy would be a complete ruin of his character built up, while also immediately destroying Amy's.

Another problem is that there isn't a focus on romance of any kind in the story so far, and introducing it could mess up what they have going. The Movie's are clearly about familial love and growing up and filling the boots of a hero. It is not a story of romance in any way. The first movie was friendship, the second was about family bonds and making new friends, and the third is most likely about trust or learning to trust again (Shadow has to trust Sonic to save the world). It'll also be a huge moment for Sonic's character; Meeting someone who is not just against him and Knuckles and Tails, but against the world itself, someone who is so hellbent on revenge for the one he lost, and how hes going to over come that WHILE meeting his new love interest... is a huuuuge task to pull off and the two stories don't really mix imo. Plus even in SA2 the extent of the romance is just 'Amy mistaking Shadow for Sonic and then she thinks its awkward and gets embarrassed and thats how they meet for the first time'.

So yeah this could be done much better if it's something thats going to happen, and it would be better left for a 4th or separate installment. Having a mini romance arc along with the Metal Sonic stuff works better because the introduction of a potential romance was worked more into Sonic CD than anything.

Im still gonna be pissed off if they do a romance, because Sonic the Hedgehog has never been about romance... but its also a multimillion kids film franchise and its bound to happen, especially when its the main male and main female character. Just know i won't enjoy it lol.

IF they do Amy... I want tarot cards AND the Piko Piko Hammer and if you take either of them away i will be causing problems (on purpose). If you give her the original outfit +11 points and if you make up an outfit whatever as long as it works and its cute (I'm partial to Dungarees myself).

anyway yeah id like to see other opinions on this... maybe some other ways it could work out? or how else she could be introduced? or maybe even of she could be in Sonic 3 but idk what they would do for her to make her not get sidelined or overtake the plot...?

[livingthedragonlife]

Language of Flowers Rook Ask Game

back at it again with answering an entire ask game in a single post

[the ask game in question]

[my Rook, real name Valonril, also Val, I use all 3 interchangeably. Important for this game in particular, he romanced Davrin]

Actions and Views

Iris: Is Rook religious? Are there any moments in their past that made them come to this decision?

Valonril was religious in his clan, up to when he joined the Veil Jumpers and discovered All That and then his faith was shaken. He’s not exactly… unreligious, but it feels weird to admit he still finds comfort and value in a pantheon made up of terrible, powerful rulers who pretended to be gods to enslave their own people. The stories he grew up with, the prayers he spent his whole life reciting, comforting himself through transition with the knowledge that one of his own gods “created himself”—all of it was lies, or at the very least misrepresented truths. But it was also his life.

Especially during the events of the game, Val tries to sort of… separate those stories from the people they were about, to comfort himself with their lessons than idolize the characters in them. It’s hit or miss.

Monkshood: Does Rook ever think about their own death?

All the time! He tries not to, but when you are constantly putting yourself in life-threatening situations, it’s kinda hard to not!

He knows he shouldn’t dwell on it, that the anxiety is going to make him fumble something important, but the weight on his shoulders is very present. If Rook dies, that’s it. There’s not going to be a second chance for his team, his people, or the world.

Black-eyed Susan: Does Rook believe justice exists? Would they ever take justice into their own hands?

The game is pretty much all about taking justice into his own hands—he’s ensuring justice exists by taking out the gods, because everything they have done and plan to do is fundamentally unjust.

Rook has to believe justice exists, both his own power to enact it and in general. It’s part of what gives him the drive to keep going, that by doing this, he’s going to be giving all the past elves who died for these stupid fake gods justice for the cruelty they were subjected to.

Snapdragon: What’s the most selfish thing they’ve ever done?

Transition. Like, definitionally, gender transition is something that you do for yourself alone, without considering anyone else’s opinions. By the time Val finally had the HRT potion in his hands, he sure as shit wasn’t going to wait around for anyone’s permission. He didn’t care about what anyone else thought, actively disregarded certain people’s feelings, and did it anyway. He also considers it the best thing he’s ever done for himself, in his whole life.

Marigold: Is Rook capable of cruelty?

I think it would be silly to say he’s not. He left the mayor to die. He punched the First Warden directly in the face, even if it was totally justified and he would absolutely do it again. Overhearing Ghil’s threat against Davrin and Assan made him terrified to the point where he would do something terrible if it ever happened. He definitely wanted to invent some new crimes against humanity after seeing Solas for the first time after getting out of Fade Prison.

I’d say Rook chooses against the instinct to be cruel. There are people he would enjoy seeing die slowly and painfully. There are people he would enjoy watching suffer at his own hand, even. But it’s not what he stands for, it’s not the kind of person he wants to be, so he actively chooses to be a different way.

Lots more under the cut!

Memories

Moss: Does Rook remember their mother?

Yep, though he has mixed feelings about her. When he came out, she was the “supportive” parent, but in name only. Instead of protecting him from his father’s bigotry, his mom wrung her hands and insisted he “just needed time” to accept him, that he’d come around eventually, and they could all be a big happy family again. It never happened.

Val’s mom tried. She used his name when he chose it, which was more than his father ever did, and encouraged him to seek out information from other clans about getting some more advice on how to go about transitioning, but never truly supported him where it counted. She argued with his dad for hours, only to give up and let him keep on abusing him. The most she would do when they argued in front of her would be to tell them to stop—she never defended him, only tried to pacify her husband.

He doesn’t think about his parents much.

Lilac: What is one of Rook’s happiest memories?

Waking up after Magical Top Surgery, looking at himself in the mirror for the first time, barely recognizing himself, and then bursting into tears. Because it worked, and he was that much closer to being at home in his body.

Forget-me-nots: What haunts Rook the most?

Pre-game: Leaving his clan. Even though it was the best thing for him, even though it was necessary for his survival, it still keeps him up at night. He didn’t just leave behind the ones who hated him—he left behind everyone who did support him. His clan was his family, and part of him will always wish he could have worked things out.

During the game: Letting Treviso die. He never fully got over it.

Rosemary: What is Rook’s earliest memory?

Sitting around the clan fire in his mother’s arms, listening to a story he doesn’t remember anymore. The warmth on his toes and cheeks, murmuring adult voices, and the smell of campfire smoke.

Rhododendron: Who was Rooks first kill? How do they feel about it?

A random bandit attempting to steal an artifact in Arlathan forest, shortly after he joined the Veil Jumpers. He had only just learned to use a bow, and it was an extremely lucky shot while the guy was distracted fighting someone else. At the time, he was sick and disgusted with himself.

Now… he still doesn’t love violence, but appreciates it as a last resort solution. If he and his team hadn’t cleared out those bandits, they would have stolen dangerous artifacts that they didn’t understand or intend to understand. At worst, they would have killed whoever they pawned it off to, and at best they probably would have killed themselves handling it. They chose to fight rather than leave quietly, willing to kill for their prize. It was him or them.

Val still tries to avoid killing whenever possible, but sometimes… arrows and daggers speak louder than words.

Hellebore: What are some of their triggers? Would anyone notice if Rook was exposed to one?

Val’s deadname is an obvious trigger, but he ensures that nobody even knows it. The only way he’d ever hear it is if he ran into his clan again, or maybe if he met another Dalish elf with his old name. It would be pretty obvious, he might flinch or tense up hearing it, even if it’s not directed at him. If he’s actively being deadnamed, he would either fly into a rage or completely emotionally shut down depending on various things—who’s saying it, if he feels particularly dysphoric today, if there are other people around etc.

Loud arguing is another one, which against has the possibility to either making him start yelling back or freeze. If he goes Rage Mode, someone may not realize it’s a trigger and assume he’s just argumentative, but he is in the “fight” version of “fight or flight” in that scenario. He feels trapped, threatened, and unsafe, so he’s fighting back the only way that’s ever worked. Like a rabbit scratching out a predator’s eyes, he’s just trying to make you stop by being a worse threat.

A smaller one would be getting called “little” or compared to a child in any way, even if it’s meant as an endearment. He hates that. It’s obvious. He’ll tell you.

Domesticity

Morning Glory: What is something Rook’s partners could do to make them melt romantically?

Davrin already does this, and it’s just… chill and spend time with him. Being able to relax with someone, doing nothing at all, makes him feel very safe and cared about. Sitting in front of that fancy fireplace, or hanging out in Arlathan under the trees… peak romance for him.

Wisteria: Write a scene where Rook dances with their partner.

Rook was a little tipsy and more than a little bloody from his trials in the Hall of Valor. Taash and Harding looked just as much of a mess, talking over battle tactics at the other end of the table—probably, he couldn’t hear them—but after winning ten rounds in a row, they all deserved to celebrate. Everyone else had the same idea after their match, the tavern bustling with patrons and laughing and music. The energy of the crowd was a perfect match to the glowing feeling in his chest, the feeling of victory! Or maybe that was the drink.

“Last round,” Davrin announced as he returned. He set their refilled mugs on the table with a thunk. He would have joined in the fighting if Rook hadn’t insisted he watch instead—mostly to show off. It worked, for the record.

“Says who?” Rook slurred, swiping for his.

“Says me.” He nudged his shoulder lightly. “You’re about to fall over.”

The world tipped slightly to one side. “Nuh-uh.”

Davrin chuckled and moved Rook’s head back into place. “Sure.”

Rook scrunched his nose as he dove into his mug. It was only a little annoying that Davrin could drink him under the table. Easily. Without even trying. Like an asshole.

Okay, maybe more than a little. But Rook could be annoying too.

The bard started an upbeat song with lyrics everyone else clearly knew. Even if Rook knew the song, he wouldn’t have been able to sing along, but that wasn’t important. At every table, people leapt out of their seats to clap, stomp, and dance.

“What are you thinking about now?” Davrin asked, watching him with an amused smile.

Rook slapped his palms on the table and stood. “I want to dance.”

“Dance?” asked Harding, hopping a seat over.

Taash went with her. “You can dance?”

“This I have to see,” Davrin agree, turning in his seat to watch.

With as good of a smirk as he could manage, Rook got up in his face—a little too fast, their foreheads clonked together—and took both his hands. “With you,” he added, and it was almost a threat.

“What?”

Rook did his best to yank him to his feet. It didn’t work, obviously, but Taash and Harding egged him on. Bombarded on all sides, Davrin had no choice but to stand up. Rook cackled—a second victory of the night!

“Fine,” Davrin agreed, taking his hands with purpose. “Let’s see if you can keep up.”

The rest of the night went by in a blur of color and light. All Rook remembered the next morning was laughing.

Mistletoe: Describe a kiss that meant a lot to Rook.

In my mind and heart, Val and Davrin had a Victory Kiss after saving the griffons, and he holds that one very close to his heart. They saved the griffons, which is obviously worth celebrating, but Davrin wanted to celebrate with him. This thing that he cared more about than almost anything else, he wanted to share it with Rook as soon as they got the chance to do so. Hard to beat that!

They definitely also had a “please don’t die” kiss before the final battle,  and a “yay we both lived!” kiss once everything was over.

Holly: How do Rook and their partner(s) split up chores?

Rook has never really been in a domestic household situation where they would… need… to split up chores like that? But since he cleans his own armor and weapons anyway, he’d probably be good at cleaning household surfaces. Doing extremely meticulous loads of laundry. He’d claim those tasks.

I think he would try to MacGyver broken household objects, but they would never work. He is not good with artifacts, or household appliances.

Myrtle: How does Rook’s life (and potentially their partner’s life) change if they have children and/or get married?

Well Davrin already has a kid (Assan), so not much! Marriage probably wouldn’t change much for them, either—they’ve already devoted themselves to each other, so the most it would add is a token of affection. They might do a Dalish wedding to make it official, but their word to each other is the only thing they need.

And since Val is magic infertile from HRT potion and Davrin is magic infertile from the Joining, there’s no chance of them accidentally making another kid (and Val would hate that anyway). If they were to ever adopt a kid, it would definitely change their “exploring the world together and going on adventures” plan. Idk I think they would need to agree to settle down first before they thought about having a non-griffon child, but I am also not sure that would ever happen while they are both young enough to keep up with a second kid lmao

Babies Breath: Would Rook want children? Do they ever have any?

For most of his life, Val was expected to be the one carrying and birthing the child, so he immediately rejected all forms of parenting very, very fast. Especially when transition happened, he severed himself from all thoughts of even considering starting a family of his own. Just put them in a box and never looked at them again.

Getting older, though, learning about all the different ways to have a family… he wouldn’t hate the idea. As long as he wouldn’t be the one expected to have the child, physically, being a parent might be nice. Nurturing, doing his best to help contribute to the future of someone else’s life, sending them off into the world to find themselves.

And if you count Assan, which he does, he has a feathery son to co-parent now!

Dandelion: What type of parent is rook?

Val is doesn’t know what “gentle parenting” is, but he’d love it. He wants to do everything the opposite of his parents, pretty much, or at least do enough of the opposite things that his hypothetical kid wouldn’t be so fucked up. He wants to help a kid flourish into themselves, not force them into a mold of his own design. He’s also definitely the parent you go to when something’s bothering you, but you don’t really want to talk about it, and you just need to be quiet and comforted for a bit.

Vices and Physical Romance

Lily: Is Rook an experienced lover?

So almost immediately following his top surgery, Val entered his Slut Era. He has quite a bit of experience. At the time of the game’s start, he hadn’t been with anybody in about a year and a half following a pretty emotional break-up and then getting whisked off by Varric, but the body remembers.

Narcissus: Are there any physical attributes about themselves that they like?

After top surgery, his confidence in himself immediately spiked, and taking on so many lovers also doesn’t hurt the ego. Val thinks he’s pretty good looking in general, and is proud of finally being able to say that.

Specifically, he thinks his hair is one of his best features, and drawing back the string of a heavy bow over and over again has shaped his upper body into something he can be proud to flaunt on occasion.

Calla Lily: What physical attributes do they like in a partner?

Val likes a man who can toss him around a little (or a lot) so like… enter Davrin to check all of those boxes at the same time.

He’s not that picky about who he sleeps with—so long as they’re fun to be around and not transphobic—and has been with people who are his size or smaller, but he always has the most fun with the ones who make him feel overpowered (or that he can feel triumphant about overpowering himself).

Sweat Pea: What is something Rook’s partner could do to make them come undone sexually?

Biting him, literally anywhere. He wants to be bitten so, so bad.

Mint: Does Rook have any vices? How likely are they to be overcome by them?

Because sweet things were so rare growing up, Val will like hoard them if he can manage it. Even though it’s easier for him to get now (and it was even a bit easier in the Veil Jumpers), he still feels the lingering worry of “when will I ever get the chance to have this again???” He is not immune to the siren song of Little Treat.

Bergamot: Does Rook drink? What sort of drunk are they?

He’ll drink occasionally, pretty much only in group/social settings, and he prefers wine to most other kinds of alcohol. Much like his sober self, Drunk Valonril is extremely silly, and a bit of a rambler. He is saying shit that makes no sense and killing himself laughing. Nobody knows what he’s talking about.

Violet: How comfortable is Rook being naked around others?

Pretty comfortable? He’s not going to strip without cause, but growing up in communal camps with little in the way of privacy for pretty much all his life means he’s desensitized to nudity. Outside of like… worrying about if there are any transphobes in here, he doesn’t care.

[archer-kacey]

Introduction/ The Illusion of Living

Introduction

To clarify, there are two pages of the actual "Introduction", followed by a section labeled "The Illusion of Living," which is ANOTHER introduction. I'm crying.

The FIRST Introduction is all fluff, Joey yaps to his cab driver (just known as "Simmons") and sees a Borzoi, and immediately typecasts it as a villain OC to go up against Bendy. That's it. Next section.

The Illusion of Living [The What]

Joey does a horrible job at giving a simple explanation of the Illusion of Living, but not for the reason you'd think. At first it seems to boil down to "the art of lying" or "joey caps for five years," if you will. He also, unsurprisingly, thinks he's a genius and that his philosophy is a gift to mankind.

"It is a life philosophy, but unlike some of our great past thinkers, I did not come to any conclusion through thought and careful meditation. Instead it was born within me. My whole existence has been shaped around this concept. It just took some time for me to learn how to articulate it to others."

"I've always believed that we can communicate to even the simplest person. Communication is everything."

"We are all dreamers at heart, and I want to make sure that all of your dreams will indeed come true thanks in no small part to my unique insights."

But then Joey says something interesting for once, and it seems to imply that the Illusion of Living is a two-way street. Joey believes that reality is also fiction, but it seems to work in reverse as well.

"So in the briefest of explanations: The Illusion of Living is the art of mimicking real life on the big screen."

Real life ---> Big Screen. So not only is fiction reality, the two are interchangeable.

Illusion of Living [Bendy]

"I am a very self-aware person."

Joey goes on to talk about Bendy, but there's...another aspect I'll be sure to bring up before we close on this section.

"I am not offended that he is first in your heart. He is, after all, first in mine. He was my very first creation- one could even call him my firstborn."

"Bendy is my muse. He is also my messenger. He tells the stories of our lives in absurd, hilarious ways that put all of it into perspective. He reminds us that what we truly need in this world is joy and laughter. Money doesn't matter, power doesn't matter, not when we acknowledge the Illusion of Living."

Nathan adds a footnote here that the Illusion of Living wasn't the only thing important to Joey. He knew the value of a dollar and was a good businessman. So apparently, the money did matter after all. Are we shocked that a Capitalist required money to achieve his goals and aspirations?

"He isnt' real others might argue. Such a ridiculous argument "isn't real." We can see him, we can touch him, kids snuggle with their stuffed Bendys at night. He has more fans than the Marx Brothers! What is real if he isnt'?"

"I tell people that Bendy is the perfect example of my philosophy. He is its manifestation. Or as I like to say, "Dreams come true."

Joey isn't entirely wrong here. We see movie franchises IRL that have a huge influence on pop culture all the time, and we see fandoms and cult followings spring up from said media. The impact is real, if not the characters themselves.

"Your dreams can come true. Because, as I've explained, illusion and reality are the same thing."

Again, the Illusion of Living is an insistence that reality and fiction are one and the same.

I'm going to swap a line from the end of the Bendy section to here, because I want to touch on something I noticed afterwards.

"Now I'm getting ahead of myself. I get excited and tell the story too fast. That's what editors are for I suppose."

Nathan adds a footnote here that IOL went through three different editors, finally landing on the desk of Sandy Pommel (another rando), who opted to put back in a lot of the remarks in order to 'truly capture Drew's charm," as Nathan puts it. (My girl wanted that edit credit so bad lmfao)

ANYWAY, let's take a look at these little slices of IOL I've been saving for last.

"I tell people that Bendy came to me in a dream."

"No, what I had to do was want the dream in the first place. To know that I needed a creation so perfect, so accessible to so many people, that it would help me change the way the world saw itself. That was my dream. I was awake, I knew what I wanted; I made it happen."

He mentions wanting to "change the way the world saw itself" through bendy. Wanting to create a character that was "accessible to so many people." Later in IOL, we see Joey discuss with Abby what he wants Bendy to be like. Not Satan, he specifically clarifies, but an imp-like character, someone mischievous. We know Joey believes reality and fiction can be swapped out for each other, so that could be the world change he was talking about, but I think he also wanted people to recognize their own impish nature- getting into trouble and laughing every once in a while. Or maybe, just maybe, I've been reading the words of Joey Drew for too many hours.

"Only then did Bendy appear to me. Only then did I start working with other artists to make him a reality. But you see, I first made my dream. And then I made my dream come true.

Working with other artists, eh? Like who, Joey?

Also, note the insistence that he created Bendy first, directly after that sentence. As if trying to convince himself that Henry had no part in creating Bendy, and trying to keep his story straight in the way he wants it portrayed to the public.

(This facade later crumbles on page 154, with Joey pretending not to miss or need him at the studio and failing horribly.)

Things get really interesting when Joey describes Bendy's creation. He sees it as his big dream being fully realized. To him, this is also the"birth" of his son, or at the very least, the creation of his muse, messenger, and avenue to tell his stories. "I tell people that Bendy came to me in a dream" is a coverup of course, some smoke and mirrors to convince people that he had an epiphany and came up with Bendy himself, but he also clearly sees it as a wonderful event.

We know Henry created Bendy, of course. We know it wasn't Joey's hand that ultimately struck paper. However, that doesn't make Joey's feelings any less real.

During Bendy's creation, there are two truths happening at the same time to make the full picture. Henry drawing, and hell, maybe Joey bouncing a couple ideas off him. The process takes just minutes, but it feels like hours. Bendy is created, and Joey is there to witness it. And to Joey, it's the most perfect creation in the world. And he's going to share this creation with Henry, this dream with Henry.

I am not being hyperbolic when I say that, to Joey, Henry created his son.

TL;DR The Illusion of Living is Joey's philosophy that reality and fiction are one and the same. Joey wants his OC to be real so bad. Joey views Bendy as his actual son and Henry created him and also Joey was there for his creation so what I'm saying is Henry created a son for his business partner and they were just gonna chill like that until Henry left and broke his heart or something

[ahoyimlosingmymind]

You dislike Sophie? Any particular reason?

This is all my opinion, I'm not even concrete in it ngl, there's just lil things that irk me about her character. I also haven't read the books in a fatty minute, so maybe I'm just delulu. its also 2am so hehe

Similar to how I feel about Keefe, it really comes down to execution of her character for me. I don't have as in depth thoughts on her as I do about Keefe's character, but anyway-

I really really loved her in books 1-5. <- I just think this was the golden age for the books in general but I digress. She was very moral, sweet, and logical. She rushed into danger and questioned things, which landed her in hot crap sometimes. But there was always a REAL motive behind her desire to not listen to the authority figures. She was really relatable in the way she wasn't totally over-powered, still trying to find her footing in this new world etc

But then, at some point, I'm not really sure WHEN it happened, Shannon decided that every single one of her female characters needed to be a girl-boss. No exceptions. And this was when I noticed the shift in Sophie's character. She lost her distinction a bit imo. you could easily interchange any of her 'Girl power'-esque lines with any other girl in the series and I wouldn't blink. That's how little her 'confident character development' sticks out to me. Because it comes off as FORCED.

here's the thing. Sophie already was a girl boss character. It was obvious. From book 1, she was brave and selfless and moral and strong... I love her for that.

The issue is that the narrative became aware of it too. And started TELLING us instead of letting her actions speak for themselves.

This telling was greatly reinforced by characters like Ro who always has to comment on being bad ass. And like- Linh losing some of her original softness for the sake of being 'powerful' and I AM ALL FOR empowering stories and characters- but when they lose the original aspects of their personality for the sake of it?? That's not growth, it's erasure. Confidence and softness aren't mutually exclusive. And when Linh was first introduced, that was one of the shining aspects of her personality. But now, There's so little distinction between a lot of the girl characters now for this reason. They serve as a comment on society, they're vessels to embed a message into. And they lose their individualism within that. BC THE MESSAGE WAS ALREADY THERE. IT DIDN'T NEED TO BE EXPLICITLY STATED EVERY OTHER PAGE. *cough* sorry.

And sadly, Sophie's character got lost in the sauce with it for me. (And it does not help that the side cast of characters is so vast they kinda blend together as well)

What really got me though, was when she started making weird choices that felt like forced edginess. Like burning down the storehouse. She's done some crazy stuff in the past, but I was always on her side. but this time??? no.

THERE WAS VALUABLE STUFF IN THERE. That was pure shock value. Because wdym we've been scrambling for answers for the past several books, and when Sophie stumbles upon a storehouse stock full of Neverseen stuff she just... burns it to the ground?? Like wasn't Gisela's Arche-something in there?

Sophie had no issue letting Alvar go for some info in regards to Keefe, but then she get's his mom's book of plans and BURNS IT???

And I get her thought process behind it was "The Neverseen has taken everything from me, so I'm going to take something from them. I'm tired of always sitting back and just reacting and never being proactive." I GET THAT. But burning the storehouse was SO not the moment lmao. She's also traumatized and the Neverseen is very triggering for her obviously, which means she doesn't always have the clearest thoughts in regards to it. But BOI-

I might just be an asshole. Idek.

I made a previous post talking about how unfair she was to Fitz when they were dating. It's buried in my blog somewhere. But she was not a saint in that situation (neither was he.) but just like Keefe, the narrative doesn't hold her nearly as accountable as it does when it comes to basically everyone else.

I don't hate her at all, but yeah idek. I'm tired lol

[taldigi]

So I was rereading some of your old posts about the miraculous setting, and it made me wonder something. How interesting do you think it would have been if Ladybug Classic took place in a fictional city instead of Paris?

I would have liked them to actually have used Paris to its full potential. It would have been ideal.

The show runners are completely obsessed with cartoons and superhero media but It feels like they forgot that one of the most important characters in those pieces of media tend to be the cities! Gotham is a huge character of its own, so is metropolis and Spider-Man's New York. Hell, look at Miles Morales' New York.. a big part of those characters is their ugly side. Sometimes the setting is what makes the character shine the most. Sure Batman is cool right? But outside of Gotham City he definitely feels odd. (Coming from someone who only watched some cartoons when she was a kid and only experience with Batman is through the Justice League cartoon)

Ladybug's Paris is.. weird. It's like a shiny doll house version of Paris where everything is beautiful and the streets are clean and there's no crime so the police can be incompetent and they send their trash into space... But they still can have their little episodes where they pull in the entire police force to fight a single akuma based on the fact that it's a Chinese person rather than all the other akuma that were not. It's also weirdly futuristic. And I don't think I like that. That is a huge personal point but I think series based around ancient magical fairies trapped in magical artifacts probably shouldn't have a futuristic tint to it. Just make them superheroes with super suits instead of fairies with magic. Just go iron Man on them. That contrast might be interesting to some but it's incredibly frustrating to me as to why when fairies eat ancient potions suddenly again the ability to wear space suits. Even the characters having a weird hex overlay is way sci-fi for the setting. It's frustrating and I hate it. I know they wanted to give the suits a sort of texture but...

It's like solar punk done wrong. Or like eco.. vaugeism... There's a word for it, but it's not solar punk. Solar punk would be interesting. It's trying to be eco forward, but it's not doing well because it's not actually doing anything worth saying. And then again I haven't seen the recent episodes because I refuse to watch it. Though I hear the last episode has some pretty fucking weird decisions in terms of setting like how different characters in different grades can now intermingle and go to the same classes or whatever. I can't be asked to look it up.

They also never explore any other part of France. Which I think is odd. They want this to be a uniquely French story but they only really feel like expanding out into big major cities. Honestly them expanding out to New York and introducing their own Justice League or Shanghai or even dystopia France just kind of shows that they're all playing in baby mode.

Honestly what they should have done and what they probably would have been happier with is if they had just gone ahead and made it their own original city sort of like how Gotham is original and made it this funky futuristic eco city that they seem to have always wanted and they could have just made it really Chinese because that's clearly what they want to do with all of the kung fu and Chinese mysticism they're forcing into the show.

Something something in the daytime my name is Marinette but when the sun goes down I become ladybug and I watch over Miracle City. Something something. They could have even had like big art centers to do their history episodes in or have like a giant statue or a giant tower be sort of their big monument.. anything that makes the show uniquely French is interchangeable. There's nothing so intricately French about the show that It would ruin or severely damage the show if it changed settings.

As for ladybug classic... It's a chance to do Paris right I guess. I wouldn't change the setting. If I wanted to change the setting I would just play with my faewild characters instead..

[galvanizedfriend]

hi, love <3 so, here's a random thought I'd like to share with you.

I always mention how much I would've loved to see The Wolf instead of The original as a TVD spin off, but, even though my though I still stand this statement, I think it would've not been the same.

Let me elaborate:

as I said many times before, your writing is the key of the whole story. Since you always narrates things such as inner thoughts, feelings and point of views, we also get an explanation about why a certain thing is happening ( i.e. the ending smut of chapter 30). However, no matter how talented the actor is, this thing never happens in TV shows, and it sadly leads to misinterpretation (either of the character or their action) and "randomness".

For example: Caroline is my babygirl, but I just know that if people would've *watched* instead of *reading* The Wolf, they would've hated her. Calling her a bad s/o, mother and friend because they would just judge her by her actions without knowing what's going on with the characters, misinterpreting her struggle for bitchness or something along those lines.

In conclusion, even though I would pay MILLIONS to just erase TO and bring TW to live action, I'm also happy to know that my favs are "covered" from the hate they have already received because the shows never portrait them and their issues in the right way.

that's it, just wanted to share this piece of mind that have been floating around my head for a while! lemme know what you think!

Under the cut because I got rambly. 😂

That makes sense. Obviously books/fics/any written content will always be much more dense than TV shows or movies because you get to be inside characters' heads, while on TV content you can only count on actors finding a way to translate these emotions, and some of them don't even have that capacity tbh.

Not to say that The Wolf would've been better than the actual show (I mean, I have my biased opinions, but that's just me 😂), but I think the writing on The Originals obviously contributed a lot to how bad the show was a lot of the time. It simply lacked substance, there were many times when things just straight out didn't make sense. At first glance it might seem like TW and TO are almost interchangeable, but they're really not, and this is a point I have been making over the years. It's not just about the obvious changes (Caroline instead of Hayley, which is a BIG change btw), but it's especially about the more subtle ones. The amount of thought I put into those scenes, characters, dialogues - it might not seem like it, but it's crazy. And so if you read the final product and you think 'wow! this makes sense! it should've been like this!' it's because there were loads of changes done to not only that part, but parts that came before, that suddenly, when put together, paint things under a completely different light.

The problem with TO for me is that it starts off from a place of complete nonsense, so everything that comes after that is building on top of a fragile foundation. I mean, they start off the show by retconning every single character to a certain degree. What can we expect after that? They were more interested in erasing everything that came before on The Vampire Diaries than in doing justice to the characters, so there's no way that could've ever been 100% solid. It had its moments, I can't say that it didn't, but it was mostly scattered scenes here and there, or ideas you could see that were good in theory (like the premise of S3), rather than entire story arcs within the show.

My point is that I don't think the lack of inner monologuing is the main problem with TO. There is a way to have compelling and profound writing even when you don't have narration to compose your scenes, and the fact some screenwriters are incapable of doing that is the reason why so many book to TV adaptations are so crappy. You have to be really inventive to make it work, and the crew on TO simply wasn't. But there were moments!

However, regarding Caroline and the things she does throughout the story, like going back to Mystic Falls in TW2 for instance, or when she leaves the compound in TW1. Honestly, even if that had been written by the best screenwriter in the world (obviously not me), and if Candice King had given an Oscar-worthy performance, people would still call her a bitch. 😂 There's a real edge of misogyny in how people judge female characters a lot more harshly than their male counterparts, especially when the things they do displease the male character, which was the case here. I got so many comments from people who were mad at Caroline because 'she should've just trusted Klaus, Klaus is a hybrid, he's the strongest, he knows better', completely disregarding the fact Klaus is basically a psychopath with trust and anger issues who was by no means a pillar of warmth and sanity a lot of the time. Caroline was, from start to finish, the most reasonable, stable person in that entire story, but there were many times when people were blaming her for things that were just not her fault. She was pregnant, alone, scared, trying to stay alive, to protect her child, and Klaus was at the peak of a downward spiral where he was listening to absolutely no one, but somehow Caroline was the one in the wrong for not trusting that he wouldn't act like a maniac. 😂

I'm not saying that is what you're saying, btw, I'm just saying Caroline would've been judged no matter what. But yes, she probably would've been very harshly criticized if this had been the show. Already she is! There's a lot of people who dislike her for how hard she was on Klaus, like he didn't deserve it. 😂

Having said all that 😂 I do give myself some credit for the fact people were feeling so much for Klaus in spite of everything lol He's very intense and dramatic in how he takes offense. If he thinks he's been wronged (and he thinks he's been wronged whenever someone doesn't take his side in a dispute, whatever that might be), he just goes all out, and he's merciless in how he judges the people around him, alwaus making himself out to be the victmized party. He might regret his actions later (usually because of that darned little thing called consequence), but never initially, and he's also terrible at apologies. So I wanted his POVs to be about how the whole world was against him, and how he knew what he was doing, and he couldn't trust anyone, etc etc, and people bought it. Personally, I was always on Caroline's side, but even though I know people were likely to side with Klaus anyway because that's the way it is, and people are biased towards him, I also think I might have manipulated them a little bit.

But I just reminded myself today that there is a very basic difference between canon and TW that means one could never replace the other which is that Caroline is a witch. 😂 That justifies her getting pregnant, but then it changes her entire backstory.

I hope my response didn't come out as though I'm being harsh or anything. Your pondering just got me thinking, and that's actually something I've thought about a lot throughout the years because I have certainly gotten many comments like what you said. Thanks very much for sharing! I really love reading that kind of thing. ❤️

[fraeuleintaka]

Why Winx Club S1-3 is the only canon to me

(+ whatever I like from the corresponding comics)

I love Winx Club. I loved the series as a child, even though I had to realize recently that I've only ever watched the 1. season. Then I recently watched seasons 2 and 3 for the first time as an adult and yes, I still love Winx Club, or rather, again! However, I've actively decided against watching the later seasons. S1-3 are the only canon to me. I've seen clips from the later seasons and know about several developments/plot points which is how I decided against watching them. My 10 reasons are as follows:

The retcons: S1-3 may have one logic issue or another but the degree of changing or blatantly ignoring previous plot points the later seasons (and movies) do is really not pretty anymore. I hate how several statements (like that Enchantix is the final fairy transformation) and established backgrounds (like from Daphne and Icy) just get ignored or changed to fit to any new plot. I hate how the Winx graduate only to be back in school for the next plot but with knowledge of the previous one so that the timeline doesn't make any sense no matter how you look at it. Soft reboot after soft reboot and nobody has any idea anymore what still "really" happened and what didn't because everything gets changed or ignored at will anyway. In contrast to that S1-3 are wonderfully consistent and function as one complete entity.

Bloom gets back everything she ever lost: Admittedly, this was implied already in S3 and is one of the main reasons why I don't include the first movie in my personal canon, but the later seasons went off the rails with this. Bloom's tragic background is that her biological parents died (or disappeared), her home planet was pretty much destroyed and her big sister sacrificed herself to save her life. She found caring adoptive parents and a new family in her friends and spends a lot of time in the first three seasons searching for where she comes from. Her background is tragic but also meaningful because of it and one of Bloom's arcs is about her dealing with this loss and trauma. If she can just undo all of this now, her parents are there again, her planet is fixed again and her sister is alive again as well, then the entire time Bloom spent coming to terms with her situation feels wasted. Suddenly, the tragedy isn't tragic anymore because you can just undo everything. That doesn't only take the emotions out of the whole thing but also reduces the meaning of all further tragedies because you could just undo them all as well if you wanted to. (In general I hate when stories do something like this which is also one of the reasons I don't like the 3rd Kung Fu Panda movie.) With Winx Club it gets more uncomfortable because Bloom, our great main character, is the only one who this happens to. Musa's mother? Still dead and Musa just has to deal with it that she can't just wish her alive again. Layla's boyfriend? Also still dead. But Bloom? If she wants her family to be alive again, of course that's different! This double standard really annoys me.

The focus on Bloom gets absolutely overwhelming: It was also obvious in S1-3 that Bloom is the main main character even if all of the Winx are the main characters. She's the most important one with the greatest amount of focus. That already annoyed me sometimes but it was tolerable because the other Winx also got their times in the spotlight and their own arcs. With the later seasons this disappeared more and more and instead of "Winx Club" the series became more like "Bloom and her personal cheer squad". I don't dislike Bloom as a character, I just hate this excessive focus on her. The series should be about all the Winx Club girls and the friendship between them and not only about Bloom and her 5 interchangable tagalongs. The other Winx are great characters (Musa, Tecna and Stella being my favourites) with a lot of story potential and they deserve their times to shine. This would also help Bloom's own characterization as the relationships between them could be more in the foreground.

I hate the changed designs: Of course, you can criticize the original design of the series (e.g. the proportions) but personally, I like it a lot and think it gives the series its own identity that makes it easily recognizable among other series. It's beautifully gaudy and colourful with glitter, dynamic action sequences and expressive but not too exaggerated facial expressions of the characters; it can get dark and serious when it wants to and works just as well for adults as it does for children. The designs of the later seasons make all the characters increasingly similar to the point that, optically, they're barely more than palette swaps of the same character. Everything gets cutified and cuddlified so that serious interactions can't be taken serious anymore and the characters look like they're 10 years old even though they should be teenagers or adults. The designs are so overcrowded with ornaments and frills and everything that the facial expressions and animations are extremely undynamic and static at best. It just doesn't look good anymore and you can completely forget having any kind of dynamic action sequence.

The younger target audience: Every later season seems to have a younger target audience than the previous one. Winx Club of the first three seasons was also aimed at a young audience but more in the direction of young teenagers than that of preschoolers like season 8 seems to be. Because of that the focus is much more on cute animals and pretty colours, the storylines are simplistic and unambitious and the moral is made abundantly clear and obvious. Of course, series like this have a right to exist but Winx Club was never one of them. S1-3 tackled some serious topics in a way that even adults could appreciate. Nothing is left of that in the later seasons.

The incessant new transformations: When Enchantix appeared in S3 and all of the Winx earned it one by one in individual emotional scenes and risking their lives, it was an epic event. Then more and more transformations got added in afterwards, even though Enchantix was supposed to be the final and most powerful one, and earning them became more and more trivial. All of the Winx get them simultaneously and done. Everything serves as an excuse for a new transformation. Oh, you need to do magic underwater, something you could easily do already in the first few seasons? Doesn't matter, you need a new transformation for it now! While Magic Winx and Enchantix had beautiful individual designs which were unique for every fairy, the later transformations just have everyone in pretty much the same outfit just in a different colour. That may fit frighteningly well to their later story relevance but it's still sad to see.

Heart Pixies but worse: Even in S2 I wasn't a big fan of the concept of giving every Winx a bonded Heart Pixie. The pixies in general certainly had plot relevance in this season, even though some of their screentime was only used for "cute" shenanigans, but few of the relationships between the Winx and their Heart Pixies are truly fleshed out and could've been left out entirely. Sadly, this concept gets recycled in later seasons and only made worse. The Winx constantly get assigned some random critters that are even more interchangeable and less relevant than the Heart Pixies ever were. Maybe great for selling toys but not all that great for story quality.

Nabu: I don't really mind Nabu's death, as long as it's somewhat logical, I rather have something against Nabu's character as such. His introduction in S3 was catastrophic (hello stalker!) and I can only tolerate him because he gets introduced so late and doesn't play a significant role. As part of the main cast? No, thank you. I'm also not a fan of the idea that every Winx needs to have a boyfriend. At least one of them they should've left single (which would fit well to Layla and her independence) or given a girlfriend instead.

How Musa & Riven's relationship is treated: I'm an ardent defender of Musa & Riven's relationship in the first three seasons. Riven had a lot of problems in S1 that he decided to work on at the end of the season, that doesn't happen overnight. Both him and Musa have difficulty being open with others, especially in emotionally vulnerable situations, which is why they often have trouble communicating with each other. This is something they both can and should work on and something both S2 and S3 (when they had a subplot) had them do. In the later seasons these exact same problems get recycled constantly without showing any kind of progress. It might not happen overnight but just watching while they're constantly going in circles is extremely frustrating especially when genuine progression and development would be so much more interesting. Even worse was the decision to remove Riven for a season only to basically do all his development off-screen and re-insert him as the "new and improved" boyfriend as if you could do that by just pressing a button. That development is the most interesting part! Musa's side, meanwhile, gets ignored completely and she gets to be angry about Riven's return for no reason only so he can "convince" her. Having them separate for good would be even worse because then you just nullify all the relationship and character development up to that point. They should've just properly continued the arc that they started.

The flanderization of the characters: Not only Musa and Riven suffer under the storylines of the later seasons, the other characters don't escape it either. Stella & Brandon get some senseless jealousy drama (because we didn't have enough of those) when these two of all people are so secure in their relationship that they have flirt contests with each other. Stella in particular loses all of her strengths, likeable traits and nuance; in the later seasons she's just irresponsible, childish, a bad designer and so annoying and ignorant towards everybody around her that you wonder why the Winx even like her. Most of the characters get reduced to one or two traits or plot points that they're allowed to repeat ad nauseam (e.g. Musa and her mother, Flora and her sister); Tecna can be happy if she even has any kind of plot relevance. Any kind of nuance the characters had in the first three seasons is pretty much gone and they're barely more than interchangeable stereotypes.

The later seasons certainly have their good moments too (like Riven learning to play the guitar for Musa and them singing together which I'll definitely incorporate into one of my fanfics) but for me the issues are so severe that I can't overlook them. I value S1-3 of Winx Club a lot and don't want to waste my time nor ruin my intact view of the story and characters. What I've seen and heard of the later seasons is already enough for me.

[theredpharaoah]

I don’t think Rhaena should claim any dragon. Black female characters are not interchangeable. Idk seems like laziness

I don’t think it’s lazy. Characters often get compounded in book adaptations. And I don’t think it’s implying black fem characters are interchangeable either. They already have a lot of main characters, a limited amount of screen time for episodes, seasons, just the show in general, and then there’s the actors. People don’t have huge attention spans and I’ve already seen them struggling to keep track of all the characters, their dragons, where everyone is, etc. A show doesn’t have the same freedom a book has in being able to follow and develop a lot of characters. They have to hone in on a couple.I mean ASOIAF has HUNDREDS of characters. You just can’t put that in a show. Compounding Characters is a tried and true tactic in screenwriting and it’s usually a good one.

No 2 characters should be interchangeable, but shows often collapse storylines and combine two characters into one. They kind of combined fAegon and Jon in GOT, they aged up Trystane and Myrcella and cut Quentyn and Arianne. They gave a Frankenstein of Arianne’s storyline to Ellaria. Completely cut Lady Stoneheart, Moqorro, Benerro, etc. And Fire & Blood doesn’t really develop any characters. We get skeletons of characters. Rhaena especially doesn’t have an awful lot of characterization to her, because in the book she doesn’t do anything in the Dance. And even Nettles doesn’t really have any characterization past us assuming she’s clever and loyal.

Then there’s also the actors. You want to give the actors a good experience and a chance to have fun too. That’s probably why they gave Eve Best’s Rhaenys the scene in Season 1. Rhaenys is such a badass in the books but we only get one scene with her really - Rook’s Rest. The season 1 scene is hard to defend - even if you do read the books and know something about medieval norms - but I like it because it helps flesh out Rhaenys’ character and gave her and Meleys more than one cool moment. Phoebe Campbell’s Rhaena is so interesting and I would love for her to be able to do more in the show than she did in the books. And since her and Nettles essentially have the same relationship to Daemon, I think it’s a smart move to combine them into one character. Both Nettles and show Rhaena have always been estranged from Daemon. Both are also his daughters(it’s implied Nettles is Daemon’s bastard). It makes sense to compound those two characters. It gives the actress more stuff to do and it keeps you from having to introduce a new character to the audience and the story. And im starting to think they cast the Velaryons the way they did so they could compound Rhaena and Nettles(if this theory is true) anyway. Because Nettles is great, but she doesn’t do all that much. At least not as much as Hugh, Ulf, and Addam do for the plot. She’s actually a plot hole for the series - so is Rhaena. Until we get F&B 2, which will hopefully explain some things.

And F&B is also very flawed - so many things are obviously for plot. As I’ve said multiple times: it makes no sense to appeal to randoms on the islands to see who can ride a dragon when you have a legitimate Targaryen who isn’t bound to one. It never made sense they called for the Dragonseeds instead of calling Rhaena back to claim one of the larger dragons. If they’d done that they would’ve only needed her, and no others.

Also, Spoiler:

Rhaena’s gonna get a dragon anyway. And the show isn’t going into Aegon III’s reign to my knowledge, so it makes sense to change that and compound her and Nettles roles.

[gifti3]

asmo x reader x priest AU rough outline

I had a nightmare I was being chased by a monster in a church and ended up coming up with this au because of the priest i saw in it! So I just wrote an outline cause I wanted to get it down I'm calling reader mc here (i use these two interchangeably in relation to obey me)

mentioning religion, i also mention sex like once or twice

------

i wanna say it's more of a modern setting cause it's easier to write but that lowkey doesn't make any sense so we are gonna just glaze over setting the time period (so its whatever makes sense in ur head)

asmo is asmo (so kinda unhinged at times especially in this AU)

mc i feel is one of those people who have had a lot of supernatural experiences their whole life

since they were young they would see and sense things other people usually wouldn't and i feel that's part of the reason asmo was attracted to them in the first place

one time mc offhandedly said that asmo isn't the first demon they've talked too but he is one of the nicer ones

this ability is an aspect of themselves they've accepted and even embraced at this point

but because of this, some people might be put off by them since they give off a "unique" vibe

i wanna describe the priest a little: -- he's an oc (i guess lol) cause he appeared in my nightmare for a moment -- he's probably in his 40s and could be considered a dilf to some people -- pale with dark hair and clothes (you know stereotypical broody, reclusive character) -- takes his position very seriously but lacks that warmth and approachability i feel a priest should have -- tldr: priest you would see in a horror game taking place in a church/cathedral

the story starts off with mc needing somewhere to reside for a few weeks until they can find a permanent place to stay -- they probably got kicked out of their home for various reasons related to their "gift"

i don't think the priest himself had the actual idea to bring in mc

instead it was one of the other cathedral hands who suggested it to help them out and whoever is in charge agreed to it (so i'm guessing the bishop??)

the thing about mc though is that they have a special friend no one else can see who likes to pop up time to time to spend time with them

(sometimes this friend can be sensed by people who are more sensitive to the environment which can freak them out)

this friend is Asmodeus, a demon who decided to keep coming back after meeting mc and ended up befriending them over time

they've known each other for 2-3 years at this point and would consider each other good friends

sometimes they toe the line of more than friends though -- they're interested in each other and there was no denying it since asmo could literally feel the moment when mc began feeling attracted to him (and of course he's attracted to them too, that aspect was there from the start for him)

however mc is worried to get intimately involved with asmo cause they think they have actual feelings for him and don't want become more emotionally attached to someone who doesn't like them just as much as they do (they are assuming this)

so sometimes they're kinda flirty but don't do anything past that

when asmo pops up to visit mc he's a bit shocked that they're just hanging out in a cathedral

i feel this demon has a bad rep with priests in general

its our boy asmo, i know he has been up to some nonsense in the past (and recently too)

he's probably been exorcised out of several facilities over the years for stuff that could have easily been avoided

and according to asmo, MAYBE he was trying to corrupt some religious figure's son or something but they didn't need to be so harsh~ -- we aren't gonna get too detailed we just know he has had bad experiences with religious folk

and even if he didn't have bad experiences, demons are usually code red level threats to humans involved in religion

anyways mc tells asmo they literally have nowhere else to go and they get a free room and food staying here as long as they help with chores, so he needs to just hold on tight until they find somewhere else to go

mc and the priest surprisingly kind of get along

I think mc themselves being somewhat (unwillingly) isolated from others and being used to putting people off made them kind of gravitate towards the priest

They aren't put off by his demeanor at all and treats him like any other person

asmo is whatever about it and is actively trying to stay away from the priest UNTIL he releases that the priest is starting to actively gain an interest in MC

And not in the ahah i have a small crush way

Like this is a I WANT you physically, mentally and emotionally type deal

I feel like the priest is so lame too trying to convert the mc behind the guise of him being a priest and that's what he does--save people's souls from possible damnation. when it's actually for very personal feelings

And mc is like nah its not really my thing (their current lifestyle would literally clash with this)

now asmo is a little worried

but he shouldn't be because hes asmo right?

he's beautiful and gets pretty much anyone he wants. mc is already interested in him too!

but part of him fears mc might fall for someone else one day

especially since mc always cuts things off before things get too spicy

also him being a demon and mc a human makes things kinda complicated for multiple reasons that i wont go into -- just know mc preferring a human partner is one of the things he worries about

So now he's like….i'm sabotaging and makes sure to actively monopolize mc's time so they won't seek out the priests company

no way is he losing his precious lamb to a PRIEST of all people

the priest has started expecting mc to show up like they always do to talk to him but they haven't in awhile so he goes looking for them

when he goes to their room mc is talking normally to asmo and the priest can hear them through the door

he knocks and mc is like oh shit and motions for asmo to get gone for a moment but asmo's being a brat and doesn't actually leave

so when MC opens the door, the priest is immediately like something is wrong

there's definitely something not of god in here

and mc is like huh what are you talking about but the priest is insistent and comes in to investigate

but there's not really anything obviously amiss since he can't see asmo and he fortunately leaves after

but after that he's paying more attention and starting notice weird things are happening around mc

sometimes for a split moment he'll see a shadow near them and sometimes even in mirrors (yes asmo is probably just moving casually about the building even though mc told him to be careful)

i'm thinking later on, he's passing by mc's room and thinks they're in there cause he hears humming and sees the shadow of feet passing by the door

but when he knocks and enters no one is there

and i feel that's when he does some shit to like purge evil spirits out of mc's room, cause he there's definitely something wrong and he's worried something has latched onto mc

so when asmo is like Okay time to go visit mc~! Nothing happens

he can't teleport like he usually does to them

and he's bitching and whining about it later after mc undoes whatever the hell the priest did

now i'm jumping to the last few days of mc staying in the cathedral

at some point, asmo and mc have a heart to heart and end up doing the devil's tango (out of all the places they can have sex it happens here SO cool of them lol. the priest may or may have not heard something going down. why is he always near mc's room hmmm 🤔)

the story is coming to a climax once mc is like yay i have found a new place to live and will be leaving soon and the priest is a bit surprised when he hears the news

he's gotten used to mc being in this place with him and he doesn't want them to leave (what will he do oooo~ i think he would suggests to the mc for them to stay and like join the church or something but mc is just like...no thanks)

asmo on the other hand is like I AM READY TO HIT THE BRICKS 🏃‍♂

he literally doesn't even have to be here, like go home dude but nah he wants to be with mc A LOT

he doesn't like the vibes of the place and honestly the priest is starting to annoy him with how he's always lurking around mc

i think this is around the time asmo and the priest have a proper confrontation

i don't exactly know what happened to make it get to this point but for some reason asmo shows himself to the priest

i'm not sure who even initiates it but asmo is just taunting the shit outta him for wanting mc in a worse way than asmo himself

in my head, the priest doesn't exactly see mc as a person with their own agency

they're more of someone he can hopefully mold into a more "god honoring person" (something like that)

someone he could be with long term without feeling like he's going against his own values

So it's ironic in a way having a demon being the better option of the two

and i bet asmo has like so much unresolved anger from past interactions he's had with religion, and then all of his feelings for mc and being in this place too often

just all these emotions mixed together just has him REALLY reckless

and he's projecting everything on to mr priest (regardless if all of it is his fault or not): "God you're so annoying! I wanna splatter your innards across the walls…" (Can demons use the lords name in vain idk lol)

So yea idk how this would end but I think at least one person should die fr AND i've decided i'm gonna talk about asmo dying cause of the angst:

He's already gone by the time they arrive. They quietly call out Asmo’s name, hoping he's just passed out or maybe even messing around. But the way he was laid upon the dirty floor wasn't right at all.

They kneel on the bloody ground. "S-Stop joking around Asmo." They gently shake the demon's rapidly cooling body. Realizing they will receive no response. They wouldn't hear his voice ever again.

A step sounds nearby and they sharply look up into an apathetic pale face. "Why?"

"Demons don't deserve mercy. It doesn't deserve your sorrow or tears."

"But he was my…" They trail off knowing it wouldn't be smart to finish.

"Even though you were…intimate with a demon. God is benevolent with his children." The priest reaches a hand out to them. "Repent and you shall be forgiven."

----

Mc would run away in this ending but i think its so sad they lost someone very important because they got too close to someone they thought was safe…

There can be other endings too tho! My favorite being mc and asmo leaving the church and being all happily ever after (well as happy as u can be after running off with a demon who attacked a priest in a cathedral and now you can never return to this town cause it's suspicious that you disappeared the day the priest was found dead/half-dead in the building)

Okay that's all! Thanks if you read this far. Hopefully some people liked it Heres a shoddy edit of asmo blocking someone's reflection in the mirror:

[mediaevalmusereads]

Cuckoo. By Gretchen Felker-Martin. Nightfire, 2024.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: horror, lgbtqia+

Series: N/A

Summary: In the late 90s, five queer kids, whose parents want them “fixed,” find themselves thrown together at a secretive "tough love" camp deep in the scorching Utah desert.

Tormented and worked to the point of collapse by hardline religious zealots intent on straightening them out, they slowly become aware that something in the mountains north of the camp is speaking to them in their dreams, and that the children who return home to their families have...changed.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: homophobia (including conversion/wilderness camps and family rejection), abuse, violence, blood/gore, body horror, transphobia (including internalized transphobia and deadnaming), fatphobia, moderate sexual content, racism, references to rape, self harm, suicide, allusions to pedophilia/incest/statutory rape

OVERVIEW: I was Googling around for some queer horror to read when I stumbled upon this book. The premise looked interesting, so I grabbed a copy and started reading, knowing nothing about this author beforehand. Overall, I think some things were done really well while others were probably not for me. On the one hand, the unsettling suspense of the prologue was great, as was the overall horror story and cast of characters. On the other hand, the pace of this book felt slow and characters could have been developed more. Thus, this book gets a 2 star rating from me.

Writing: Felker-Martin's prose is generally pretty good. I think it balances showing and telling well, and there are moments when the unsettling nature of the wilderness camp really got under my skin. The prose is also clear and quick, so it feels like it's going by pretty fast.

That being said, I do think there were some things that stood out as needing improvement. For one, the number of perspectives in this book made it difficult to both follow the main plot and keep up with the cast of characters. For two, I noticed some repetitive descriptions, like one character consistently being referred to as the "fat boy" and quite a lot of vomiting/pissing oneself. For three, the pace is fairly slow, so while the sentences themselves feel quick, overall progression feels like a slog.

PLOT: The plot of this book follows a group of queer teenagers in the late 1990s as they try to survive a wilderness camp. They are horribly abused and soon learn that there's something else about the camp - something taking their bodies and wearing their faces, posing as reformed children.

It's hard to actually communicate how the narrative progressed because for me, it was not at all clear. There are way too many POV characters, and they're interchangeable enough where it didn't feel like I was following a bunch of threads that would eventually come together. Instead, I was unsure of how scenes built on one another, and it was difficult to be invested in any one character's arc because there weren't many actual arcs to begin with. The result is a story that feels somewhat disjointed and slow, juxtaposing moments of horrific abuse with scenes where the campers are vaguely plotting something or wandering around.

What also made this story difficult was the lack of connection between characters. Characters don't seem to really bond in any meaningful way; they bully each other or decide to sleep together, so it either felt like everyone was out on their own or was attracted to someone else with no real reason. I think picking just a few POV characters and having them develop a true sense of emotional intimacy and solidarity would have gone a long way.

I did, however, enjoy the prologue immensely and thought it showed the most promise. The unsettling thing about the prologue is that it details the life of a camper after she has returned to her family. Very quickly, the mother realizes there's something... not right. A little too Stepford. As a result, the prologue plays with some nice ideas: homophobic parents sensing their child is "gone" after sending them to conversion camp, the idea of replacing one's kid for a copy that is a little too polished. I thought Felker-Martin was going to dive into these ideas a little more, especially since the idea of "body snatching" would have been an interesting way to explore trans identity. But all the promise seemed to fall through and I didn't get as nuanced a take on queer horror as I would have liked.

CHARACTERS: As noted above, there are a lot of characters and not a lot of development. I'm not going to go through all of them, so I'll just talk generally.

I did appreciate that there was a variety of queer characters. There were trans characters, lesbian characters, East Asian characters, Black characters, fat characters... it felt like they were varied and I enjoyed watching some of them come to realize who they were and why they had certain reactions to things.

But in the end, I didn't feel like I saw anyone grow or evolve, and I wasn't exactly satisfied by the conclusion. While there were some scenes with tender moments, I ultimately didn't feel like there was much human connection throughout the book, either between characters or between characters and the reader. Perhaps this is because I felt like my attention was being pulled in too many directions, but maybe it's also because this book didn't seem to know what it was trying to say or do.

TL;DR: Cuckoo is admirable for the visceral reactions it provokes through its gross imagery, but it was hard to connect with the huge cast of characters.