owlways-and-forever

[owlways-and-forever]

Yes yes yes this! I love cal and while I love the lovesick himbo version of him too, let’s not forget this man is smart! We know he studies history and war strategies like a good lil prince but also he does mechanics/engineering as a little hobby! And his struggle with his devotion to honor and duty and trying to figure out what that means? *chefs kiss* tbh I think there’s a lot of depth to cal if you’re willing to see it!

(Also I will die on the hill that at *multiple* points it is in the best interest of Norta, the Scarlet Guard, and Cal himself for Cal to accept the crown)

Reading analysis about Cal while screaming into the void known as an empty room and here to publish my unneeded thoughts about my blorbo.

Cal deserved more screen time, he deserved more chapters of his POV and honestly VA did him so dirty 😔

Because our dear RQ characters are definitely unreliable narrators, the reader’s perception of characters is based on their own POVs and how other characters perceive them. Unfortunately, every character describes Cal as a lovesick puppy, a mopey matchstick, a dense moron and everything in between. It's not that these are wrong, they're part of his character, but these are incredibly surface level traits which leads to the general perception of Cal’s character being superficial, bland and boring. It seems like his only purpose in the story is to be Mare’s love interest because Maven betrayed her.

However, he has a whole lot of untapped potential. My man did not get betrayed by Mare, betrayed by his brother, find out his mother was murdered buy Elara, get forced to kill his own father, lose everything he had and got sentenced to execution all in 1 day for people to call him boring. Honestly, when I listed it out like that, I truly realised how crazy the whole situation was. Within the span of a day he lost any form of stability he had even known in his life, and found out that one if not the closest person to him (maven) was a lie. If that isn't traumatic, I really wouldn't like to hear whatever other definition of trauma there is out there. I think the only reason we very much overlook Cal's trauma is because 1. It happened in real time, 2. He's no longer a child, 3. We didn't see it from his POV and 4. In this scene he and his father are technically the "bad guys".

Here's the thing though, he has never talked about it. Not once. Never. The closest we ever saw this man to losing his mind was when he was planning the Corros prison break. He'd never mentioned this trauma from any POV, not even his own. Maven told Mare about how Elara messed up everything in his brain, and how he never recovered from it. For Cal, we never found out how he dealt with it and how close to the brink of insanity he was. If he ever just felt like exploding and destroying everything. Nobody except Mare ever asked him if he was ok. He had every right to go mad. But he didn't. Some miraculous way, Cal managed to maintain some semblance of sanity and that is unimaginable mental strength like holy shit.

Another way too glossed over plot point was why he chose the crown over mare in the epilogue of KC. This one I get genuinely frustrated over sometimes because there were so many reasons for him to make that decision. I know many people have talked about this before but I'm just going to repeat it 1. It's the best political move in the situation. Cal isn't stupid, no matter how many people seem to think he is. He knows better than to let the place of King open for anyone to snatch up and that it was the only way the Silvers and the Scarlet Guard would ever work together. 2. To him it's his moral obligation. Cal's loyalty and sense of duty is a huge part of his character. All his life he's been told it's his responsibility, his destiny to become king and serve the people. Not only that, the crown is his family's legacy and considering the fact that he was the one to behead his own father Cal likely feels even more morally obligated to become king. The words he said to Mare, "I love you and I want you more than anything else in this world". He uses the word "want", but how can a want, a desire ever compare to what he believes is a need, an obligation? It's not that he didn't love mare enough like Evangeline suggested, or that he fell prey to the power's lure like Mare insinuated in the epilogue. He did what he full heartedly believed was right, and unfortunately this was barely touched upon in war storm which made me want to tear my hair out.

This yap session is nearly done, just hold on a bit longer. The last thing that DEFINITELY should have gotten more words was his ultimate decision to abdicate. All we got was him reading Coriane's diary, Evangeline telling him "if it's not too late for me, it's not too late for you" and then the decision. WHERE'S THE IN-BETWEEN THOUGHT PROCESS? He read through Coriane's diary and realised that she wanted her son to have a different life, and of course he probably had some thoughts about it. Considering how he knew the Scarlet Guard and Montfort weren't with him, how he still loved Mare, perhaps realizing what his life could have been with an alive mother was what tipped him over the edge. Perhaps it was loyalty to his mother he never had the chance to know, loyalty to the little of her forever bound in a gold-covered book, buried in the graveyard known as time. Maybe he asked Julian who seemed to want him to reconsider his decision as king, but we'll never know because it wasn't written 😭😭😭

Cal is incredibly kind, loyal, warm, passionate, motivated, and indecisive, and I love that about him. His story could have been a tragedy, a prodigy put on a pedestal that had everything and was forced to be everything, reduced to nothing in an instant. But it wasn't. He found love in a girl that took everything from him, and rebuilt himself a far better life from the ashes of nothing. Normally the circle between characters I like and characters I respect rarely overlap, but somehow this 6'3 adorable ass dork stuck himself straight in both and this is why I will defend what his character is and could have been. Thank you for attending my Tedtalk, it's literally all my thoughts about this man exploding into text and falling onto a Tumblr post.

This is me getting distracted from writing Fated god send help I just can't stay on track

Funny story I wanted to copy this essay into a document for fun just to see how many words and guess who highlighted a portion of it and clicked space by accident. Hahaha (that whole thing was 1000 words btw I need to learn to shut up)

[owlways-and-forever]

Go read all of these rn because Ari is the absolute best writer!

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

Okay what how did I not see this? Thank you so much 💛💛 1. It gets so hard to breathe (when you're looking at me) - I will always be utterly proud of this Wolfstar fic, mostly because I got to cowrite it with the lovely, legendary @neondomino.

2. you're all i see - This is also always going to be one of my favorite Red Queen fics because of the conversation I had with @owlways-and-forever (who is a brilliant Marecal writer, btw, if you're not reading her writing, what are you still doing here?), and I'm never not going to laugh about it.

3. darkness before dawn - Combine harvester murder. Need I say more? [Harry/Kingsley, Harry Potter]

4. you (that's what i've been missing) - Written for the perpetual pain in my ass 😂 [James/Lily, Harry Potter]

5. I Know I'd Die Without You - This one was a heart-ripper. Read the warnings for this one, please.

[owlways-and-forever]

so sorry if this is annoying, but where did you send out the matches[for the rq gift thingy]? I didn't see them anywhere [sorry if I just didn't look in the right place and you did post them. I hope you have a great day/night!] :]

We’re in the process of sending them out now! You should get a message either on tumblr or discord soon if you haven’t already!

[owlways-and-forever]

Two more days to sign up!!

(Btw, what would be a fun thing to do with your top songs on Spotify Wrapped?? Use them as prompts!!)

The Notch Holiday Exchange

Rules

- This is a simple Red Queen gift exchange -- give a gift, get a gift. We will do the best we can to match up people's interests so that nobody has to do something they're uncomfortable with. If you do have any problems, let us know!

- You may write fic, create art, moodboards, manips, etc. For fics, the minimum word count is 500, there is no maximum.

- NO: incest, beastiality, paedophilia, non-con. Please use appropriate warnings for any other potentially sensitive material.

- Please refrain from creating explicit gifts unless your recipient has indicated that they are okay with it.

- Please respect any squicks mentioned by your recipient (as well as their requests)!

Timeline

- Sign-ups open: Monday, Nov 27th

- Matches sent: Monday, Dec 4th

- Check-ins: Each Sunday

- Exchange (content due): Sunday, Dec 31st

Sign-Ups

- https://forms.gle/2LQia7xPSefVfkqW6

We strongly encourage you to join our Discord server for this and other fun events! Link: https://discord.gg/7wUYpnEgbz

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to myself ( @owlways-and-forever ) or @steelprisms

[owlways-and-forever]

The Notch Holiday Exchange

Rules

- This is a simple Red Queen gift exchange -- give a gift, get a gift. We will do the best we can to match up people's interests so that nobody has to do something they're uncomfortable with. If you do have any problems, let us know!

- You may write fic, create art, moodboards, manips, etc. For fics, the minimum word count is 500, there is no maximum.

- NO: incest, beastiality, paedophilia, non-con. Please use appropriate warnings for any other potentially sensitive material.

- Please refrain from creating explicit gifts unless your recipient has indicated that they are okay with it.

- Please respect any squicks mentioned by your recipient (as well as their requests)!

Timeline

- Sign-ups open: Monday, Nov 27th

- Matches sent: Monday, Dec 4th

- Check-ins: Each Sunday

- Exchange (content due): Sunday, Dec 31st

Sign-Ups

- https://forms.gle/2LQia7xPSefVfkqW6

We strongly encourage you to join our Discord server for this and other fun events! Link: https://discord.gg/7wUYpnEgbz

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to myself ( @owlways-and-forever ) or @steelprisms

[owlways-and-forever]

The Notch Holiday Exchange

Rules

- This is a simple Red Queen gift exchange -- give a gift, get a gift. We will do the best we can to match up people's interests so that nobody has to do something they're uncomfortable with. If you do have any problems, let us know!

- You may write fic, create art, moodboards, manips, etc. For fics, the minimum word count is 500, there is no maximum.

- NO: incest, beastiality, paedophilia, non-con. Please use appropriate warnings for any other potentially sensitive material.

- Please refrain from creating explicit gifts unless your recipient has indicated that they are okay with it.

- Please respect any squicks mentioned by your recipient (as well as their requests)!

Timeline

- Sign-ups open: Monday, Nov 27th

- Matches sent: Monday, Dec 4th

- Check-ins: Each Sunday

- Exchange (content due): Sunday, Dec 31st

Sign-Ups

- https://forms.gle/2LQia7xPSefVfkqW6

We strongly encourage you to join our Discord server for this and other fun events! Link: https://discord.gg/7wUYpnEgbz

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to myself ( @owlways-and-forever ) or @steelprisms

[owlways-and-forever]

WELCOME TO THE NOTCH! Hi, Tumblr! Looking for a fun community to discuss the Red Queen series by @vaveyard and possibly join in on some events? The lovely @owlways-and-forever and I are running a Discord server where you can chat about your favorite Red Queen characters and ships, fangirl about the books (and upcoming TV show?), share your works, and inspire each other! Please come check it out, all are welcome!: https://discord.gg/CQPSCqrxTV

[owlways-and-forever]

i feel insane over MareCal what a perfect relationship what a perfect ship i love them so much i DO NAWT understand how there are ppl who don’t love them together. THEY are romantic soulmates 100% my parents my little blorbos AHHHHHH

[owlways-and-forever]

Ohmygodnowhyyyyyyyyyy

Why would you hurt me like this?!?

Thinking about when Cal was controlled by Samson; did he get flashbacks to when he was controlled by Elara and was forced to kill his father? Did he imagine a head rolling but instead of Tiberias’ it was Mares’? I would assume he felt extremely intense feelings of fear and weakness because once again, he’s been caught by something he can’t exactly burn himself out of, something he doesn’t know how to beat, with his opponent being in a place he can’t exactly reach either (that being his own mind). The terror he would’ve felt over the idea and real possibility of killing someone he loves so dearly again with hands that are both his but also not. ohhhhhhh the tragedy of it all

[owlways-and-forever]

Tried making my own design of Mare's purple dress as Mareena Titanos. I gave up on trying to render it tho dkhsdfb

[owlways-and-forever]

Come join us for some RQ fun!!

WELCOME TO THE NOTCH! Hi, Tumblr! Looking for a fun community to discuss the Red Queen series by @vaveyard and possibly join in on some events? The lovely @owlways-and-forever and I are running a Discord server where you can chat about your favorite Red Queen characters and ships, fangirl about the books (and upcoming TV show?), share your works, and inspire each other! Please come check it out, all are welcome!: https://discord.gg/CQPSCqrxTV

[owlways-and-forever]

Thank you so much for this, this was such a lovely surprise today!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Best Fluff

Fever Dream High by neverthecanonotp @king-maven-calore

24,230 Words | Teen & Up

People called love a magical feeling. Mare called it the summer disease and in her mental dictionary, the picture next to the definition was the face of her best friend’s brother

come and rest your bones with me by owlways_and_forever @owlways-and-forever

436 Words | General Audiences

Just some tooth-rotting domestic fluff.

[owlways-and-forever]

Thank you!! ❤️ I think @screamingfae tagged me in one of these as well but I am almost never on tumblr anymore

Favourite Colour(s): any shade of blue/turquoise but especially sapphire and like, the bright teal of shallow water in the Mediterranean. And burgundy.

Currently Reading: Nothing atm except occasionally fanfic. Don’t have the desire to start anything new since finishing RQ and don’t have the time anyway

Last Song: I’ve no idea, but the last one I probably sought out was Before I Lose My Mind by Etham

Last Series: Idk what type of series this means, but last book series was Red Queen (highly recommend) and last (new) tv series was… Secret City.

Sweet/Savoury/Spicy: all of them. Literally all. And salty.

Currently working on: I mean. I have like 50 WIPs at any given time so who tf even knows. One protracted project I’ve been trying and failing to finish is a pre-epilogue RQ fic

Get to Know Me

Thanks to @dear-evanrosier, @siriuslythatbitch, @screamingfae, @steelprisms, and @neondomino for the tag!

Favorite Color(s): dark green (almost black), black, teal, that plum-maroon color inside a peach between the seed and the flesh of the fruit

Currently reading: Does fanfiction count? If not, The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco has been waiting on my desk and I read the first page yesterday so hopefully that works. 

Last song: Message in a Bottle by Taylor Swift

Last Series: Shadow and Bone

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: All three! But not too much sweet.

Currently working on: You’re really gonna make me sort through my wips? fine then.

🌊 Jegulus, Jegulus, Jegulus. I have like a hundred WIPs for these lovely bbs with pirates, macarons, mermaids, Tinder, single parents, tattoos, flowers and a touch of Denial™ for flavor. 

🌊 Wolfstar fake dating meets coffeshop!AU based on irl events. 

🌊 Wolfstar angst and hurt and zero comfort, set during the first war. Canon-compliant. 

🌊 Prongsfoot raising Harry. And Slytherin!Sirius AU. And fae!AU. And―crap, there’s a whole folder in my GDrive with Prongsfoot WIPs that I totally forgot about. Yikes.

🌊 Barty/Regulus canon-compliant two-shot. It’s nearly done but I’m putting it off because it hurts.So much.

🌊 Plus a whole bunch of prompt claims because stopping? Not a word in my dictionary, unfortunately.

Tagging: @that-blue-niffler, @elder-millennial-trash, @owlways-and-forever,  @thealmostrhetoricalquestion, @theresthesnitch, anyone else who wants to pop in!

[owlways-and-forever]

literally every sleep advice pamphlet and website: don’t do things before bedtime! no reading! no video games! don’t watch tv! nothing stimulating at all within two hours of going to bed! :)

me, an adhd: you fools. you buffoons. i can’t even manage one minute without stimulation. i will die before following this advice and that is a threat

[owlways-and-forever]

Hey, if you were in the UK in 1994 around Christmas, and you grabbed a ride towards Scotland in a black van, and in the back of the van there was a body in a coffin, a lady with a fiddle, and another lady with a newborn, and everyone was in weirdly high spirits, and you eventually had to bail just kinda in the middle of nowhere and you hopped off and disappeared into the night, can you let me know if you’re alright? 

I was the newborn and I’m really worried about you.

(Can folks share this post? I legitimately want to find this stranger, I have so many questions, and I think they do as well.)

[owlways-and-forever]

i don’t expect this to be very widely known but here in vancouver we’ve had a barge stuck on shore since mid november

we’re going on day 25 of barge simpson not moving a damn inch and i for one hope it never moves

[owlways-and-forever]

someone, reading my writing: wow great story!

me, sticking my hands in the plotholes: thanks it has pockets :)