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[dcgal814]

I'm reading Perfectly Unsad right now and I love it!!! You have a great grasp on these characters and their voices

Aw thank you! ❤️ It’s been 2 years and I still miss them sm 😭😭

[dcgal814]

This is a weird post, but I really want to make it. And, no, I don't know why I'm posting it since I'm not even into NHIE anymore. I just feel like I have to for some reason. Maybe as a study of my own growth.

When I watched Never Have I Ever for the first time, I was all about Ben. I liked Ben over everything else; I ADORED Ben. Those were some of the worst years of my life, and I think my attachment to him was part of a really weird breakdown. And I think that was reflective of my mental state.

Because, this is my point:

Paxton is objectively both a better character and a better love interest. As I matured, this became obvious to me.

This is because I've realized that kindness and compassion trump intelligence every time.

Gif by @miithridatism

That's not to say Paxton isn't smart - I think he has a ton of emotional intelligence and just needed a push to get in gear. But my view when the show was airing was very much "the nice one" vs "the smart one who pushes Devi." But Paxton pushed Devi, too. He pushes her to make the right choices, do the kind thing, make amends with those she (albeit unintentionally) wrongs. He boosts her confidence by telling her she looks pretty in a sari and calling her his smokeshow girlfriend.

Gif by @neverhaveievergiffed

Meanwhile the endgame love interest is telling her she looks like a shot-putter.

Lots of people online seem to act like Benvi is the more mature ship. I have come to realize that it's the exact opposite.

Devi and Paxton communicate. They grew together when they were in a relationship. They had the potential to grow together for a lifetime.

Gifs by @emmanelson

Devi and Paxton are kindness and emotional maturity.

Sure, they're opposites in a lot of ways. But they're complements. And that's what matters.

[dcgal814]

Allow yourself to be bad. Being bad at something isn't the worst case scenario. I know society teaches us if we're jot good, it isn't worth our time but if it makes you happy and is fun, it's 100% worth your time.

[dcgal814]

There is nothing more precious to me as a writer than the comments left on AO3. Whenever I get that email notification, I wonder what kind of comment was left. To have a little fun, I'm going to sort the typical comments into a few different categories and share my reactions to them as a writer.

If you feel I missed a comment type, please let me know. I'm curious to learn what other classifications you think exist (positive comment types only please - let's not make this negative). Also, if you wanted to tag yourself, I'd love you know what type of commenter you think you are.

The Polite Conversationalist - Your comment confirms that you read and enjoyed the fic or chapter. You offer praise for the author's efforts and encouragement for them to continue. - If this is you, please know that I'm imagining us holding a book club together. I brought us snacks.

The All Caps Reaction - You left the most unhinged comment. - You were screaming as you read it? I was screaming as I wrote it. Let's be friends.

The How Dare You - The angst is real. And painful. And I'm sorry but the story needed it. - This is a compliment of the highest order and I'm so glad you left it.

The Conspiracy Theorist - You are so invested that you are trying to figure out what comes next. - I'm so excited to read your ideas. They let me know the story tracks for you. And I'm either smiling because you guessed right and I'm excited for you to read what comes next, or I'm grinning because I know the plot twist is going to blow your mind.

The Catch-Up - You haven't commented in a while and are letting me know you are catching up. - I'm so glad you are back! I missed you. I know life gets busy and it means a lot to me that you took the time to read my story.

The Giggle - You laughed at my jokes and let me know. - Did we just become best friends? I'm already making you a bracelet.

The Callout - You found my favorite line in the chapter or fic. - I love you so much. You just made my day, my week, my month. Seriously, all the love for the reader. xoxo

[dcgal814]

“I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shovelling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.”

— Shannon Hale

[dcgal814]

i dont know how else to put this but to approach books (or any media, really) solely for the sake of relatability is genuinely incredibly heartbreaking……to have such little (or such unwilling) imaginative scope that you cannot stretch yourself, even marginally, in a different direction to what you’ve known or are used to knowing when the very POINT of stories is to transport you somewhere else, into someone else, so you can do just that……..when fran lebowiz said a book “is supposed to be a door!” and george saunders said good prose “is like empathy training wheels” they were right!!! they were so so so SO absolutely entirely right!!!!!

[dcgal814]

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.

—Ira Glass

[dcgal814]

“I like you. I. Like. You. I’ll admit you’re annoying. Sometimes you agitate me to the brink of insanity, but you can throw it back at me like no one else. When you laugh, I want to laugh. When you smile, I want to smile. Hell, I want to be the one to make you smile.”

― Katie McGarry, Dare You To (insp.)

[dcgal814]

The Bear (2022 -) 2.07 - Forks

[dcgal814]

*aggressive sighing*

[dcgal814]

“You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you, and we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.”

— Arthur Plotnik

[dcgal814]

Darren Barnet, here you go 🥹🥹❤️❤️

Perfectly Unsad 

Chapters: 11/11 Fandom: Never Have I Ever (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Paxton Hall-Yoshida/Devi Vishwakumar, Devi Vishwakumar & Nalini Vishwakumar, Paxton Hall-Yoshida & Rebecca Hall-Yoshida Characters: Devi Vishwakumar, Paxton Hall-Yoshida, Nalini Vishwakumar, Nirmala Vishwakumar, Rebecca Hall-Yoshida Additional Tags: Fix-it fic, Slow Burn, Second Chances, Love Confessions, the ending they deserved, Future Fic, Eventual Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Endgame, Fluff and Angst Summary:

"As he drove away, she wondered how it was possible that being with Paxton always felt like such a surprise and an inevitability at the same time..."

Devi and Paxton reunite in Sherman Oaks, over 10 years since she left for Princeton. I just had to give them the ending they deserved <3

Added an epilogue: THE WEDDING XD

Darren Barnet calling for Devi and Paxton fan fiction (Never Have I Ever)

Full video

[dcgal814]

my hand slipped and now there’s more of these 

[dcgal814]

It’s time to stop treating first dates, first kisses, and losing virginity as milestones or rites of passage that must be completed. It’s time to stop expecting these things to happen in everyone’s teen years or even in their twenties. It’s time to stop letting people call themselves “late bloomers” for getting their first kiss at 16. It’s stupid. It’s unnecessary. It’s damaging to people who for whatever reason it may be don’t have romantic prospects or don’t even want to do those things.

[dcgal814]

she is thriving | THE BEAR SEASON TWO

[dcgal814]

ABIGAIL BRESLIN & ALAN ARKIN as Olive & Grandpa LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006, dir. Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton) ALAN ARKIN (1934-2023)  🌹

[dcgal814]

The nhie poll you made was interesting because I have been most people over the age of 20 go towards Benvi while most people under 18 are more Daxton. I personally have been in a relationship (still am) so I would go towards the type of guy I can have common goals with and maybe because of my experience I always saw Paxton as the high school guy but never the long term gal. there’s a point in ur life where u care less about physical attributes and more about contributions long term.

thats so interesting because i have the exact opposite experience for both myself and from other people. my friends and i are over 20, have been in relationships, and we all rooted for daxton.

while i think having common goals is great to have in a partner, i dont think thats the only consideration for what will make a relationship work with someone better over another -- there also has to be respect, kindness, and trust there as bare minimums, which were qualities that devi got from her relationship with paxton (even if devi couldn't see that at the time), but not from ben, until MAYBE the finale, and even then im not sure if i would say really that, or say their getting together even felt earned from a writing perspective. i mean, ben and devi struggled to just properly communicate and become a real endgame until the very last episode of the show. to your point about long term contributions from a partner, i also think paxton and devi are different enough to contribute something to each other so they can each learn and grow as individuals (more on this later). for that reason, i actually saw ben as the high school guy but never the long term guy and paxton as vice versa, because having common goals isn't always enough long term if the foundation for a healthy romantic relationship isn't even there.

i also think its a big misconception i see, particularly on tumblr for some reason, where people assume that daxton shippers only ship them because of paxton/darren's looks, which isn't always the case - at least of me and my friends, it isn't, and i'd argue that's the case for a lot of daxton shippers on here too more often than benvi shippers might want to admit: devi and paxton push each other just enough in a way that enables them both to grow as people and thus better partners, whereas ben and devi bicker to the point where its more toxic than it is endearing, particularly ben's racially insensitive and body-shaming comments towards her that he's made throughout the whole show. paxton has always gone out of his way to show his support for her, even if that meant putting his reputation on the line, while ben always stayed on the sidelines -- too scared to stand up for devi -- until, again, the finale. and devi and paxton share more common ground just from the standpoint of both coming from Asian backgrounds, so they already have that understanding and acceptance of each other/each other's cultures in a way that's instantly recognized compared to someone not from the same ethnic background (see: paxton complimenting devi's sari in season 1, vs. ben pointing out devi's mustache in season 1). so i've always found ben and devi's romantic dynamic and the hints of it thereof very off-putting (but as friends, sure, they work).

in a similar line of thinking, i actually thought people in the 18-25+ ages would prefer daxton, since that age group might have more relationship experience just by virtue of growing up and meeting more people outside of high school, whereas those younger and who haven't experienced something like that might not yet see benvi's dynamic as something unhealthy/not worth rooting for yet. but because the leading age group demographics for both ships were split even in the poll, i guess we can all just agree to disagree.