#(( this is a very important chapter tbh <u< ))

[inkdemonapologist]

are you excited for the big role sammy's going to play in Cage?? im apprehensive... i love him a feral amount and i was real disappointed with his 2 seconds of screentime in BatDR

also just saying ur sammy drawings give me life he looks wonderful in hats

brought to u by ⭐️ anon

Hehehe aw thank you!! :D

There’s a lot of things in Dark Revival I ended up disappointed about, but despite my love of Sammy Lawrence, Sammy barely appearing was not really one of them. At the time, I’d commented to friends that the complete lack of Sammy mentions in the hype leading up to BatDR meant he was either very important or had only a cameo appearance, and I was actually pretty delighted about the Cyclebreaker cameo – it’s a moment that takes him startlingly seriously, that wasn’t just him quoting one of his four catch phrases; it’s... a kind of moment we haven’t seen from Sammy before. The part where he gets shot was like, where my expectations were, so the cyclebreaker thing was a pleasant surprise.

But like, ever since The Cage was announced… we knew Sammy kind of had to be in it. Like, Henry says “how did WE escape” and it’s set in the SPECIFIC place and time that Sammy also is; literally the only reason for Sammy to not be a significant character is if the creators actually didn’t want anything to do with him. So I have to admit the announcement that WE CAN CONFIRM that SAMMY WILL PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN THE CAGE!!!!!!! RESTORED TO HIS CHAPTER 2 CREEPY GLORY! is just…… ugh, it’s hard to articulate why this tweet frustrates me so much.

Like………………….. "he's in it more" is not the only thing people care about, surely! What is he doing? What is his role in all this? What does he even WANT? In a review, "he's back to his chapter 2 creepy glory" would be a powerful recommendation; in a tweet from the creator right after preorders go up, it feels more like, "Hey, remember the thing you wanted? we DEFINITELY did that thing you wanted and we did it SUPER WELL so preorder our game please!!" Give us an intriguing line of dialogue or a hint about what he's doing (opposing you? helping you? uneasy truce? trying to find bendy?) and you wouldn't even need to promise us that he plays a major role; we'd be curious to learn more.

So this reassurance ends up doing the opposite, for me, because I still don't know if the creators even understand what I like about Sammy. The thing is that the circumstances of BatDR (there's a little Bendy running around, the Ink Demon is claimed dead but actually it's not, Wilson is trying to become the Lost Ones' new Big Brother) could've been INCREDIBLY relevant to Sammy -- that's why people wanted him to show up in BatDR, to see what he thinks of these developments and how he would react to them!! So if you're interested in Sammy, the character, then it would not be hard to hint at like, what his deal is – "Sammy knows the Ink Demon is out there somewhere and Henry is the key to finding him" or "after the disappearance of his Lord he's become a desperate man who's as much an obstacle as an ally" or even "Sammy was defiant when he went into the Pit -- what will Henry find when he encounters him now?" or w/e -- simply insisting HES LIKE HE WAS IN CHAPTER TWO, THE ONE YOU GUYS LIKE instead of being able to think of a single character-based hint that we might find compelling is, tbh, rather un-reassuring!!!

My complaint about Twisted Alice’s role in BatDR was that ultimately, it felt like they were just trying to capture the vibes that Twisted Alice had in BatIM instead of really exploring what that character would be doing HERE, in THIS situation. Nothing she’s doing really makes sense, and what IS there seems to have forgotten what her actual deal is, but she’s doing it with the right flair, so it feels like she’s in-character enough for the scene to be fun. Like an episodic cartoon that just forgets what happened in previous episodes depending on who’s writing this one. So… I think that’s a real risk for Sammy. For the people who just want him to show up and whisper cult-ish things so we can hear his voice more and go HEHEHE ITS HIM, this isn’t really a concern lmao, that will probably happen. I don’t have high hopes that he’ll make sense as a character, but tbf I don’t know that he ever has.

And IDK, its still early, its possible the cage will come out and I'll look up spoilers and be like OMG NM I LOVE WHAT THEY DID WITH HIM. A game that's supposed to be psychological horror could, in theory, be a really fun place for Sammy!! Maybe the people actually writing him will give him more care, haha. It's a little silly for me to be so worked up about the marketing for a game that I am not going to buy b/c I’m still not interested in giving JDS, Inc. my money. AND YET DESPITE IT ALL I STILL… CARE ABOUT SAMMY LAWRENCE LMAO….. I think my main emotion about The Cage is just curiosity, though. I do want to know what they do with him. I’m curious if he’ll play a major part in the story, or if he’s like Henry or Porter in BatDR, with one big scene where he gets a bunch of lines and then runs off. A lot of people really want to see Henry and Sammy team up in this, but I’m not writing off the possibility he’s an antagonist of some kind, so I’m curious which way that’ll go. But I don’t feel like I have any strong expectations, so I guess we’ll see!

[aayakashii]

I'm going through the Sinostra chapter right now and I can't stop making theories omg there might be spoilers below so be careful, although I'm just enumerating my questions tbh lol

According to one of Taiga's home screen dialogs, there might be some sort of time loop happening which he's KINDA aware of? Or maybe just aware when triggered somehow.

He said "long time no see! You decide to ditch this future too? Sorry I'm not dead yet" which is INCREDIBLY ooc as to how he behaves during the story which leads me to

His extreme memory loss, which apparently lasts less than 24 hours. Why is that? Did he go through so many time loops that it started affecting his memory? There was one small moment in which he remembered Ritsu because he saw the MC face though...

The Clash. What the fuck was it

What's Taiga relationship to Haru? Haru sounds eerily nonchalant regarding Taiga even though the man keeps on threatening Peekaboo. And aftewards, Rui briefly mentions that Taiga has a "destroying what others hold dear" schtick, which leads me to believe that Taiga is seeking revenge for losing something important maybe???? Is the fanfic brainrot too big rn

WHY DOES HE HATE LIKE DOVES??????? I dont wanna go full romantic mode, but is he just resentful of seeing a bird that is the physical representation of someone else's feelings or something......

The spy. Honestly no idea. There's some theories floating around that Haku is the spy, but I would rather see him during the Hotarubi episode before jumping to conclusions, but it's understandable how people might think that I guess...? He IS very nice and helpful and randomly finding the MC fleeing by train was way too much of a coincidence... he does seem to always tie the MC to Darkwick somehow, firstly by KIDNAPPING her and then by talking her into staying. If the MC is the trigger to a bigger event, then one could see that as suspicious. But I would like a bit more evidence first lol

Back to Taiga, why is he. Like why

Okay no but seriously. If we take the timeloop thing seriously + Haku being a spy, here's the theory:

Taiga knows the MC is the trigger for an awful event and tried killing them back in the Prologue in order to cut the problem on its roots. Haku, if we consider him as the spy, WANTS the event to happen (considering he could also be aware of the loop), which is why he saved us and took us to Darkwick, therefore letting it all play out once again.

If Haku isn't the spy, then we would have to chalk it up as Taiga knowing and trying to kill us, but destiny (???) being a bitch, therefore putting Haku there as a pawn to make things play out again

Maybe the spy can control other ghouls? Who know tbh

Finally, what is going on during the first scene we see in the game? Darkwick on fire and the first character we choose jumping off of the building? I wonder what would happen if we choose Taiga as our first card....... maybe I should create a sub acc

Anyway if anyone has more questions/theories PLEASE SEND THEM MY WAY IM OBSESSED WITH THIS GAME I NEED TO THINK ABT IT

There is also a good theory on reddit made by u/imonlybr16 that states this:

"Before the prologue, when you open the game for the first time, you're greeted with the opening scene involving MC running through the halls of a ruined Darkwick. The question is asked "When the world is collapsing around you, whose hand will you take?"

There you're taken to your character choice screen. The guy you choose is later shown on the railing of a balcony, about to jump off.

Now I think I have a very far fetched and vague idea as to what is going on.

In chapter 2, we learn that the person that Alan killed was Dante or at least he thought he did. But we meet Dante and he's very much alive.

This comes theory number one.

***You can't actually die on campus.***

Note the use of actually here. You can 100% still die, you just end up coming back to life.

If Rui is your home screen he talks about accidentally killing someone else in his dorm and being annoyed with having to lift them back to Obscuary. This struck me as a particularly odd dialogue because Rui's curse causes people to die.

Unless, you can't die on campus.

This would explain Dante pretty much instantly. Yes Alan killed him but yes he's alive.

The campus itself is an anomaly, stopping people from dying doesn't sound too far fetched. I expect this to be revealed with the other two members of Obscuary, as that dorm seems to have a connection to death. One of the things that always pops up is that ghouls aren't immortal, no matter how quickly they heal.

Also explains how Calamari didn't die in chapter 3. Ren ran from the dorm > the caves > the jetty and Calamari was already pretty dehydrated in the beginning.

But OP you might say, aren't all the guys talking like they believe they're going to die.

Luckily, that brings us to vauge and far fetched theory number two.

***The campus is on fire due to a rebellion***

In the very last chapter of the prologue we get to see Kaito's wickhive. There we see three pretty interesting threads.

. There's gonna be an uprising soon

. One of you is a demon

. There's a guy who could see the future

Kaito is surprised at something he sees in this scene but we don't learn what it is. This chapter's 'preview' is one of the scenes we see in the very beginning. Blood and a Lily.

I believe that the first thread is foreshadowing and will . After you meet your chosen guy standing on the railing you get a line of dialogue (or not if you picked Towa) that changes depending on who you picked. Some imply that what they're doing is going to save you(Jiro, Zenji and Sho), some apologize stating that they could protect what they cared about until the very end (Luca,Kaito,Haru and Yuri) but three characters caught my attention

Leo: Life sucks and then you die,right? I just want to make the assholes responsible regret it.

Ren: This is exactly why I didn't to do this! I knew this was how it was going to end.

Subaru: This is all my fault. I don't expect you to forgive me, but this is the least I can do. Please take this as my final act of good faith.

Especially Subaru's and Ren's, that seemingly imply either the MC's (Ren's) or their (Subaru) involvement in the current situation. Now what does this has to do with a potential uprising?

One of the things we learn from the very beginning is the inter-politics of the houses and by extension the ghouls. Especially after the fallout of the clash. Things are pretty tense and an uprising or rebellion seems to be the most likely thing.

As to what happened and why? I have no clue. Though one thing to note is that according to the prophecy, as long as the ghouls are in Darkwick, they prevent a disaster from coming. If Darkwick is destroyed however, the prophecy can't be fulfilled, or can it?"

This is such a good theory too, I really think u/imonlybr16 has probably gotten a lot of things right.

Although it's weird that death is such a big threat to us specifically, but maybe the Academy can't prevent death by curses, much like the Mesmer Matches dont work on someone who's cursed. Hhmm...

[celestie0]

How do u write such long fics......and method and tips u follow ^^...

Luv you recent choso fic chap 💗💗

hiii my dear tysm for the love for my new choso seriess i appreicate it :”) also apologies for the delay on answering this!!

ahh yes i think for me it’s just easier to write longer fics bc im able to get into headspace of characters a bit better (opposed to having a concept n getting into meat of things straight away perhaps like w a oneshot, i’m super bad at conceptualizing things easily unless there’s a more prolonged plot i guess) but also i think i just prefer longer length stories (always been a series over movies kinda gal)

kickoff is my first series n one of the first fanfics ive ever written so im most definitely still figuring things out as i go along 🤣 but sure i can share some of the methods & tips ive used!!

as for methods, i just plan out a general idea and premise at first that can help two characters get closer (kickoff case was just gojo n reader’s lil agreement to help eachother out w their favors) cuz i think thats really important to get a ball rolling. n then i sort of loosely planned the rest of the series but tbh i’ve scrapped soooo many ideas along the way lmfao. but that’s ok! there were chapters n scenes where certain things i had planned out just didn’t make sense or fit in the way i thought they would’ve, and i made a last minute decision (sometimes even mid writing a preplanned scene i would suddenly switch directions lmfao) but i think w longer fics its important to be flexible. it’s ok if plans change, sometimes better answers will find you along the way!! and that’s only a testament to how well you’re getting to know your own story and also your own characters

i think the hardest thing to do w longer fics is finding motivation to continue w it (instead of just starting it n then you lose interest in writing more lmfaoo i did this w a nanami fic unfortunately) but the thing that helped me w kickoff was having a scene later on that i was really looking forward to writing, one that i had planned out in very early stages so that it gave me something to look forward to! and by the time i ended up finishing that scene, i had written enough at that point to want to keep writing it n i found momentum w the story. so that can definitely help w regards to keeping up motivation while you’re in the early stages of writing a longer length fic

yeah i’d say these two are my biggest tips for writing longer works in general :”) i hope this helps in anyway if you’re also a writer!! thank u for the ask bb <3

[omeletcat]

ALRIGHT i think finally have it, a functional palette for my game! this has all the main colors i want to use and u used a bit of hue shifting to make them bend into each other! al the dark lines are specific color lines that are very important btw. i am 100% gonna have to add more colors to this palette as things go on, tbh this might just be the palette for the first game/chapter, because every chapter after the first is gonna have a very distinct theme like pirate or sea temple or steampunk, and i doubt a bunch of purple's are gonna help with that.

[galwithalibrarycard]

Hello, how r u? Soo, I just discovered love little losers (I was a huge fan on nmtd, but didn't know about lolilo). And I love your blog, thanks for keeping the fandon alive. Argh so, Freddie, does she gets better? Cause she's a little bit annoying. Pedro and Balt, I'm jumping out of my sits for them, the backslash? Really. I'm so excited to see more beadick. Anyway, I just wanna vent, thanks for the blog

I’m good thanks, hope you are too. And thank you! I’m definitely not the only one still here keeping the fandom alive, there’s still a few of us out here, but I appreciate the love! 😁 it’s nice to know people are enjoying my posts still!

We’re actually having a small resurgence in the tags with new people watching both series, which is fun. Those people inspire me to keep posting too, it’s all full circle.

I am… not really sure how to prepare you for lolilo tbh. It’s a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labors Lost, and it’s a lot heavier and angstier than NMTD for one thing, so be warned. Pedrazar is a very slow burn, be prepared for a journey! I liked Freddie right away bc I relate to her anxious energy, but you might take some time to warm up to her, that’s fair.

I recommend you head to @beatriceeagle and check out the series of Lolilo meta analysis posts she made with her sister a few years back. It’s a show that trades in subtext and has a lot of important stuff go down offscreen. Reading the metas really helps give a more thorough understanding and insight into the characters and why they behave the ways they do. It might help you understand where Freddie’s coming from, and the others too.

As far as Beadick, I’ll tell you they will break your heart, but it will be put back together again. If you need more of them, the missing offscreen moments and development of their relationship are kind of my specialty in terms of fanfiction. I wrote “the world is too quiet without you nearby”, a 16-chapter fanfic covering the time period between NMTD and Lolilo when Bea and Ben are in a long-distance relationship (plenty of fluff to pad the descent into angst). I also wrote “And We Are Finally Home”, a fic that covers the Beadick relationship arc from the lolilo episode “Confrontation” on through the end of the show- and I WILL be finishing and posting the epilogue to that fic as soon as I can, but you can read the chapters that are already up and still get a pretty complete story there. You don’t have to read them, but i wanted to share because I’m proud of them and I think they’re a good companion to the show if you like Team B! Mind the tags, but there shouldn’t be anything in the fics you can’t handle if you can handle the actual show.

The most important thing you might not get from the videos themselves: it’s canon from the creators that Benedick and Freddie and Balthazar are all dealing with anxiety disorders of some kind, though the creators didn’t actually intend to write that going in- it just happened that they agreed with the fandoms interpretation later on. So everything Ben does is colored by anxiety constantly telling him that he’s too much and that no one likes him and the only thing he’s good for is a laugh- and the (false) worry that Bea is getting sick of him and can’t wait to leave on her travels to get away from him. He’s trying to keep people from leaving him. Freddie is the way she is because she’s desperate for control in life, it’s the only way she feels calm. And Balthazar is petrified of confrontation and retreats into himself when he’s stressed. A lot of this is covered in much better depth in the metas I mentioned, but I wanted to let you know. Not as an excuse for any of their actions, but as an explanation that might make it a less frustrating watch.

I hope that answer wasn’t too overwhelming. I am just incapable of being normal about these webseries and especially about Benedick Hobbes (look, you don’t simply forget the character who got you through your own social anxiety diagnosis, and this is the obsessing-over-fictional-characters website. I talk about other things too, I promise! xD)

Anyway, thank *you* for allowing me to share some thoughts right back! I hope you enjoy Lolilo! 😊💖🦩

[literaphobe]

hopping over here from leaving leviathan-sized comments on ao3, and bearing in mind the recent tumblr discourse about how everyone should be doing Asks and reblogging with reckless abandon like the good ol days really just gotta ask how you GOT SO GOOOOOOD

HELLLO!!!!!!! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR UR EPIC COMMENTS. I had so so so much fun reading them and they SO made my day when I saw that it was u!!!!!!!

u really flatter me but tbh I don’t think there’s any real metric for good it’s just - like if I could give any writer advice it would be to play to ur strengths!! AND play to ur desires!!! if ur great at dialogue make your story dialogue forward, have that be the driving force of most plot points, if you’re very good at symbolism and like making stuff flowery fertilize away!!!! ensure that what ur making is something you would love and want as a reader ifl is an important thing. its like. obviously there’s time constraints for everything and stuff, people have busy lives, it’s hard to maintain energy levels high enough to write let alone review ur own work, but i do genuinely think i spend more time reading over and trying to Experience my writing than i do actually writing it out. also I do a lot of rewriting. not everything needs to be rewritten or improved upon, u could have banger scenes that u wrote in one go and barely changed, or you could have banger scenes that u revised and grappled with multiple times… at the end of the day a banger is a banger…!! even if it takes over a year. which is what happened with me…! JFJSJDJD

plus like. just really love whatever it is ur making. be a storyteller and love ur story!!! stand by it!!! as a person im very anxious and i do get those AHHHHH WHAT IF THIS SUCKS WHAT IF EVERYONE HATES IT I SHOULD JUST—blah blah blah yknow. i realize the further away i get from my work the less i believe in it. aka i get less WHAT IF IT SUCKS feelings when i actually read my work. and if u read ur work and u think it sucks! challenge why you feel that way. figure out if you have a genuine story related problem you need to solve OR if it’s just your brain being mean to you. sometimes i feel like leaning into that voice in your head can help you realize what is it you TRULY want. in a story that is. in real life idk what i want at all

okay this got so long SORRY also tvl chapter 6 is coming out soon!!! if like idk 5 more people comment on ch5 ill post on Sunday if not ill wait till more people have caught up w the fic to post ch6!! maybe Monday or Tuesday in that case!! <- I want as many people caught up as possible before ch6

[six-demon-bag]

Thomas's Inferno

Important Info:

This fic is long, but also doesn't truly have to be read in order if you just want the smut. The setup is that Thomas Lang, Dante fanboy extraordinaire, is going on his own little inferno tour which just involves a whole lot of kinks. What that means in practice, is that the fic itself will be an absolute wall of tags, which is ultimately unhelpful.

So: at the beginning of each chapter, I'm including the specific tags that apply to it. Also because of that, I'm formatting this post differently - links to each individual chapter as I post (below the cut), plus their specific tags.

🫡 thank u for ur sacrifice, thomas readers

●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●

Pairings:

Thomas Lang/Bucky Barnes

Thomas Lang/Helmut Zemo

Bucky Barnes/Helmut Zemo

Bucky Barnes/Thomas Lang/Helmut Zemo

Thomas Lang/Thomas Lang

Summary: Thomas’s undying love of Dante’s Inferno and cocaine leads him on his own, personalized tour of the levels of Hell. Unfortunately for Thomas, his demonic tour guides Zemo and James are both very creative in ways Thomas can’t even begin to imagine.

Rating: Explicit

Archive warnings: Yes

Chapter 1: Limbo

predicament bondage, nipple clamps, anal hook, collar, drug use, hand job, begging

Chapter 2: Lust

cheating, jealousy, humiliation, non-con exhibitionism, anal sex, anal fingering, first time, non-con voyeurism

Chapter 3: Gluttony

drug use, drug addiction, blow job, rough sex, prostitution, ass to ass, anal sex, dildo/sex toy, on display, voyeurism, dub-con exhibitionism, public sex, selfcest

Chapter 4: Greed

orgasm denial, anal fingering, anal sex, double penetration, overstimulation, crying, begging, gangbang, spitroasting, oral sex, deep throating, triple penetration

Chapter 5: Anger

bondage, figging, multiple orgasms, whipping, burning, smoking, crying, feet kink, heels, cock and ball torture, blow job

Chapter 6: Heresy

noncon breathplay, choking, blow job, drowning, sounding, rimming, temporary death

Chapter 7: Violence

abuse, blood play, knife play, the playing is very one sided tbh, temporary death, wound fingering, anal fingering

Chapter 8: Fraud

omegaverse, alpha thomas lang, auction, fraud, fake omega, captivity, knotting, bitching, painful sex, alpha bucky, alpha zemo, omega thomas lang, implied mpreg, oral knotting, spitroasting, heat sex

Chapter 9: Treachery

monsterfucking sorta, extreme insertion, rootacles, bondage via rootacle, sounding via rootacle, a snake does things idk what to tell you

Chapter 10: The Center of Hell

vore, hard vore, soft vore, self-vore, gore, guro, temporary character death, blood, size difference, selfcest

[hexhomos]

do u have any favorite piece of poetry / writing that reminds u of jayvik?

One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a 118 page short novel narrated by a deeply misanthropic time traveler living in a ranch At The End of Time and killing every single other time traveler that comes across his way, because he's outlived the Great Causality War and decided, from then on, any dipshit trying to use a time machine should not be fucking trusted. Himself excluded, as the resident Jayce Giopara POV-holder. (He also just enjoys destruction after growing completely desensitized, tbh) The kicker is that one day a pair of oddly perfect siblingvisitors arrive at his little ranch, tell him that he's like their great-great-grandpa or something, and ask him to come visit their perfectly engineered Utopia -- which he apparently built after dropping his no-interaction vow and marrying this woman they refer to as The Founder, some time in the dark murky future. And it really is a perfectly engineered utopia, and they all look a bit like each other, and also like him, and also like her, and they are all disgustingly *happy* and *nice* and air-headed in a way that irks him to death.

He decides that he loathes the chance of that future ever happening and will immediately kill his bride-to-be if he ever sees her again, in an effort to murder their entire civilization. But then the present-time version of The Founder herself tries to kill him first, because it turns out a metropolis of slime-brained happy utopian drones that will brainwash each other at the first sight of a dissenting thought is sort of a shit place to live in. Specially if they refuse to brainwash you, since your mind is too important in making the grand vision come true. They don't stop trying to murder each other after this point because they both think this is very funny.

The novella is a sci-fi murder-comedy-farce with a lot of high concepts but a mostly irreverent approach to timetravel tropes and timetravel utter bullshit, and tbh it can be perfectly name-replaced into vkjc fanfiction. It's stupidly insane and happy about it.

intro chapter is a lot of table-setting but if you brave through until they finally introduce utopia its just a really fun ride, if you like the tone and characters. I was 100% imagining jayce and viktor the whole time, you could probably name replace the pdf if you've got time to go through the trouble and i think it'd work the same LOL

[bonesandthebees]

HELLOOO i am SO TIRED today was another not great day (emotionally, daddy issues amirite) BUT IT'S OKAY BC THE FAMOUS BONESANDTHEBEES UPDATED GLASS AND IT WAS AMAIZNGGG

It was not what i was expecting at all omg there was so much sandduo... so much i wanted to cry and scream but alas i couldn't so i just aggressively keysmashed at my friend instead

We got a NAME REVEALLL FINALYYDJSSOODJF GOGUOGGUFOGIPSDIDOFODJGKGF EXPLODES SBI MAKE ME SO ILL SO SO ILL OGUGODIFISIEJFJFKSJSKFKD can phil and techno adopt me pls they are sosososofogisjskf<3333 explodes again

That whole scene fucked me up so bad it was so good im shdfkdhsflfkz<33 i love them i love them sooo bad im ejflfjskflfjdj<33

Tbh i am now pre curious about the tntduo scene... mayhaps i Will dm to see it

Ough Tommy's reaction hurt me so bad they are so brothers and they are in it together for better or for worse im gonna cry i am so scared bee ohkvydo

My jaw DROPPED when they revealed the plan i was like "aint no way theyre about to say what i think theyre gonna say" they DID im so scared this is like . Stars level fear i cannot imagine this is going to go well ohkyfuckingofdkajddjffjff

It's so interesting that like the moment Wilbur officially says he doesn't want to be the Pythia anymore, he's gonna have to be thrown back into that position omg it's gonna be so traumatising for him i am so so scared plsss the only thing keeping me sane is that u pre much always write happy endings bc literally . Istg the odds DO NOT look good ohkgudo

Shoutout to rainduo their friendship means so much to me

I gotta bookmark this chapter too to reread it was ssoodosososooo lovely your writing is always sososododoo comforting i love it sm bee youre genuinely sososososo cooll

Sorry this ask wasnt as long (or maybe that's a good thing lmaoo) but i hope ur having a nice day!! I really enjoyed the chapter :D

awww I'm sorry you had a bit of a rough day but I'm glad my update can help cheer you up!!

LOL YEAH when I was writing it i knew you were gonna love the sandduo. it's one of the most important chapters for sandduo in the entire fic

the name reveal was SO stressful to write just bc I wanted to make sure it came across exactly how I wanted it to. but I'm very happy with how it turned out :) it's such a high-strung emotional scene and I had to balance so much with the dialogue but it was worth it in the end

yuppp that's certainly A Plan they're going to do. this can only end well 🙃

yup! as soon as wilbur finally accepts that he doesn't want to be the pythia, he has to get thrown back into it. in a way it's only fitting. he wanted to go back for so long, but he can only go back once he's hit a new kind of self-actualization. now he might be going back into a very bad situation for him, but he's progressed so much he's better equipped to deal with it than he would've been had he gone back earlier. at least that's what you gotta hope.

this means so much to hear I'm very glad my writing is so comforting to you <33

and yes I had a very nice day thank you for asking :)

[aesthetictanuki]

Okay, so I'm replaying some other PB book and Cas came back to clobber me with thoughts on them, sooo ✌️😐 I have some opinions on what people expressed abt ID and Harlow. Not personal, that's why I am not using the reblog button- I just want to give my two cents (also seeing ppl, in my eyes, misinterpreting one of my fixations hurts physically, but that's u n r e l a t e d)

S O:

1. I saw some ppl expressing negative feelings towards the ID book ending- specifically the turning. And I don't know if I am fully on board with disliking it myself.

I do get that it being non con might be a no-go to many. But idk.

I am most likely biased, as someone who has been dreaming about being "anyone, but myself" tbh. But more importantly: the MC was about to greet the Grim Reaper. And then you have two, still very young and impulsive vampires, with someone who literally gave them hope and a reason to live basically, looking at them about to die. So they made the choice they both thought (and which honestly WAS) the only way for MC to see another day. I get why it might bother others, I just think there's more below the surface.

2. Cas killing that girl in the first chapter and their feelings around all of this. I hadn't been sure how to feel about it, but I gave it some thought. Take it as a headcannon or just a theory, since barely anything is relieved about their past, as of now.

So, I gathered what I know:

Cas hated their life before turning. To the point of losing hope for the future, not caring about themselves, not seeing much point in life pretty much (until MC showed up).

They claim that vampires are their genuine family. They highlight how they care for each other "more than most biological families would".

The above is important while mentioning that they felt weak and alone before as well, until turning and MC moving in.

All of that painted me an important picture (but again, it's just my theory) that perhaps, Cas didn't really have actual friends, but even more, I think when you look closely, it seems that their biological family failed them as well...

When the MC expressed their feelings, simply saying "thank you for being a part of my life" and we see Cas crying while stating that no one else told them that before.

When they cling onto the Venandi coven almost no matter what, because Venandi is their family, real family. Yet, unlike Gabe, they never mention their human family. It's never "I was alone, maybe except my parents" or "despite having a home, not having friends sucked". It is "I was alone. I was weak. I had no one."

So I think, considering the above, it adds to Cas' character that their vampire family that gave them security, friends, home and safety means so much that they would do anything for them. They have known them for decades if I remember correctly, but Cas is still impulsive and, imo, drunk off of not being weak. Being able to get rid of anything and anyone that endangers them and those close.

Because maybe, after finally feeling like others want them, like they finally belong somewhere, they are willing to spill the blood. Because they went through so much misery that the only way you can get their family is out of Harlow's cold, dead hands.

Also I think their hatered for humans comes more from hatered for their past self. That whenever they see any human, they only see themselves that they hoped to burrow (from that convo outside the hospital with "how about we don't talk? It makes it hard to forget" deal). That weak and pathetic human Cas Harlow that wasn't able to fight for themselves, wasn't able to get any friends, that felt like such a failure that no one around them could muster this "thank you for existing" type of sentence that made them cry at the school lab.

All of this would add to the fact that being a vampire meant getting out of that pit of despair they seemed to be in. As they stated a time or two, being a vampire means being alive. Being turned is being born again.

It meant killing human Harlow- human disappointed by other humans, by themselves, by the world, with a clear mental baggage to match-and welcoming vampire Harlow.

A vampire that will do anything it takes to, this time, preserve everything that gives them even an ounce of happiness.

[ghosts-of-love]

holy shit i just finished explaining the entirety of adored to my friend and they got so invested at parts it was amazing !!

anyways i just wanted to give u my appreciation of the fic ❤️❤️ it has gotten me through some really tough times tbh and every time i come back to it , its more enjoyable. im american and reading a fic about british people very clearly writen by a british person is so cool!! like i get to learn british slang sorry lol just yeah

assuming youve finished the full ghosts seiries, would you have called the captain james in the fic if you could go back? does pat even know that the captains name is james? i seem to recall a part in one of the fics where pat realizes he doesnt even know the captains real name. im assuming he learns at some point!

(also ive been connecting this fic to like SO MANY mitski songs its insane. like Why didnt you stop me?, First love / Late spring, A Pearl, ect ect)

oh my goodness, what a brilliant compliment, thank you so much!! I can't believe you explained the whole fic to your friend haha that's so great.

and how wonderful to be teaching you british slang! very glad you're enjoying it!

I have indeed finished the full ghosts series (imagine if i hadn't and that was how i found out his name lmao). I deliberately kept adored as a fic where the Captain's name isn't mentioned, unlike with Lost then Found where it's an important thing that he eventually sees himself more as Ted than the Captain. But this fic is less about that and so I left him unnamed - I also didn't want to call him Edward again when I had only just finished LtF at the time and it felt too soon haha.

There is a part in chapter one of Cap's perspective where he assumes that Pat doesn't know his name, and then realises that he's wrong very quickly lol:

i am obsessed with certain Mitski songs definitely being about the Captain - Why didn't you stop me? is in my adored 2 playlist! and A Pearl would be in literally every playlist for my fics so I don't put it in anymore 😅😅

thank you again for such a lovely message!! it made me very happy!!

[biracy]

Tbh I disagree with the idea that fanfiction by default translates badly into quote unquote "real books" "because no worldbuilding." 1) I think it's untrue and disingenuous to portray fanfiction as a medium inherently lacking worldbuilding, plenty of fic authors really enjoy worldbuilding and character development and, especially if they're writing an AU fic, can put so much work into worldbuilding and character development that the fic effectively stands on its own apart from the original work entirely (whether or not the author continuing to consider it fanfiction is a crutch is debatable, not the point), and 2) I think it's untrue and disingenuous to portray "real books" (i.e. a book that has gone through whatever op thinks is an acceptable standard of traditional publishing) as a medium inherently requiring worldbuilding to be worth reading/to be "complete." If I'm being perfectly honest I just don't think a lot of you actually read a lot of "real books" if you think that a book introducing a character or characters with very little preamble before getting to what people call "the good stuff" is inherently a flaw. Common story structures are not a rule every author is bound to following, and many more experimental and/or greatly influential books play with story structure, worldbuilding (which tbh isn't that important if ur not writing fantasy or sci-fi, u guys DO know there are genres besides fantasy and sci-fi, right?), developing characters in like, the Tumblr writing advice sense where "developed" means "has a backstory", etc. Especially if a book is a mainly a character piece, a lot of rules about "story structure" kinda go out the window. I also think a statement like "fics that have had their serial numbers filed off are stories, but not books" means absolutely nothing, it just relies on a reader's preexisting ideas about the inherent virtue of "books" when compared to "stories", ignoring the systems in place that often separate "books" from "just stories" AND the fact that short stories, vignettes, etc. are absolutely acceptable forms in which to write fiction. Of course this isn't to say that books that started off as fanfiction CAN'T have structural problems, a lot of fiction (fan- or otherwise) that was originally published serially online as the author was writing it can have structural and pacing issues where chapters don't really feel connected, threads start but don't lead anywhere, etc., but like always it's not really a problem unique to fanfiction and also the way people are going about it is just so hollow and performatively intellectual. In My Opinion

[princesseevee06]

YTR KAIDORI????? OMG SAY MORE??? (not forcing u im just excited cuz i love kaidori and ytr)

I LOVE KAIDORI TOO!!!! they are the ultimate hurt/comfort pairing to me. and omg you are not forcing me in the least i have so many thoughts about them in this au and it’s always a joy to share <3

my main idea is that they grew up in asunaro together and that because their parents had their own fair share of business meetings, the satous and the hiyoris interacted quite often. kai and sou ended up being an unlikely duo, finding themselves together frequently (or maybe it was just sou going out of his way to bug kai) and for better or for worse they became friends. i imagine them having a chaotic childhood dynamic, with kai being more polite and civil and sou being….well, sou. basically the emotional equivalent of a worried owner having to prevent their puppy from accidentally running into traffic every five seconds.

as they grew up, they only got closer, confiding in each other about nearly everything from the mundane to the gravely important. i feel like they’d very much be able to bond over the burdens placed upon them by the organization, as well as by their mother and father respectively.

and of course things start getting waaay more messy when teenage feelings start getting involved. basically, they both end up developing massive crushes on each other (and while they both think they’re doing a great job of hiding it both of them are miserably failing at hiding it). maybe they ended up dating in their highschool years, i’m still a little hazy on the details for what i’d like to do with them at this point, but tbh my preferred interpretation is actually that it was a very “almost” situation (i.e. they were too scared to act on their feelings and as such nothing really came of it).

what matters the most though is that they care a great deal about each other, and so it hurts them really badly when they eventually grow apart. basically, they both get a lot more involved with their duties in asunaro, kai being tasked to watch over the chidouins and sou being tasked with the recruitment of participants for the death game. they’re also developing a lot more unhealthy behaviors, largely as a result of their parents’ own unhealthy behaviors: kai becomes a lot more closed-off and sou acts more openly cruel and just generally worrying. as such, it’s fairly easy for them to put on the facade of not caring about one another, and whatever interactions do remain between them become terse and formal, until they cease entirely.

…that is, until they meet again in the death game. (what a hell of a way to reunite with your estranged childhood best friend, huh?) at this point, they have much different priorities on their mind (with kai trying to protect sara, and sou trying to protect shin) so the thought of seeing each other again doesn’t even cross their minds until suddenly there they are, with a mountain of unresolved, unwanted emotions between them.

their dynamic would definitely start off tense and shaky, with kai actually being incredibly suspicious of sou because he realizes that sou still has ties to asunaro, and was likely never intended to participate in the game. and yet in that same line of logic, because sou was likely never intended to participate, the fact that he IS participating likely means he went directly against asunaro’s orders. so kai is very very confused as to what sou’s motives are.

sou on the other hand is trying to completely ignore kai’s existence, because he is Not equipped to deal with all the feelings he has been continually pushing down for years on end, so he copes with them the best way he knows how: running away from them.

around when the events of chapter 2 would occur, though, they’re forced to interact a lot more and things start getting a lot more wacky. a lot more tension, a lot more hurt/comfort bonding over “hey, asunaro really screwed us over huh,” a lot more angst and yearning for things to go back to the way they were, a lot more “oh. i’m actually still a little bit in love with him huh.” basically, the answer to the question of “what happens if you put two emotionally repressed men in a room with each other???” i imagine both ryoko and shin can tell there is Something between these two, but whenever they try to ask about it they are just met with dead silence LMAO.

i really just wanted to focus on the aspect of “falling apart to fall back together,” and even though this is a really awful situation for both of them, i think the direness of the situation is what grants them the courage to be more open with each other about how they really feel. it’s an odd dynamic shdjdjskskksc but i adore it

if you’ll allow me to indulge in a bit more cringe…i don’t know if you’re a vocaloid fan, anon, but there are a couple songs where i listen to it and i’m like “THIS IS SO THEM!!!!” so i’ll link them here.

JubyPhonic’s english cover of Reboot by JimmyThumb-P: specifically this cover because I think the translyrics just hit the vibe I’m going for. although i would like to specify just the lyrics and not the video. a girl does get hit by a truck in this video so watch out </3 but uh yeah this song imo very much captures the heartbreak of losing a friend, and yet it also shows that it doesn’t have to be the end and you can reconnect :)

nATALIE by Lemm: this one is sooooo much a kai POV kaidori song. the lyrics very much feel like finding comfort in someone else even throughout the worst situations, and wishing you could just escape with them. it is so. gwah. gah

(god i really hope these links work. lmk if they dont because i have no idea what im doing on this site half the time)

anyways uhh thank you so much for the ask and for letting me rant about the blorbos i love kaidori <3

[kkami-writes]

HI OP HI KAIA I just finished bingeing literally everything that is out rn in the waiting for us series and. I have to start by saying im so sorry for spamming ur notifs

I HOPE U CAN FORGIVE ME I AM SO SORRY BUT IT'S 1AM RN AND I JUST DISCOVERED THIS SERIES AND I LOVE IT TO DEATH

the premise alone had me so so hooked but I absolutely ADORE the social media format?? like the combination of texts/tweets/writing is actually so genius to me like it is such a creative and engaging way to tell the story and I absolutely fucking love u for it <3

MIO MY HEART ACHES FOR MIO I WANT HER BROTHER (AND PARENTS??) TO DIE A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH SO SHE CAN JUST BE HAPPY FOREVER W HER 8 SOULMATES ALREADY :(

the amount of angst in this series I love sm. when seung was texting hyunjin about mio?? broke me. I am so not okay I almost cried real tears at that chapter like how dare u do that to my fragile little heart (/pos !!!) I also noticed u being super considerate with your sh tw for that one chapter, a lot of authors don't rly do that so thank u for that tldr at the end I love u and u deserve a kiss on the forehead

aside from the angst I absolutely adore the crack humor and fluff in this series LMAO <333 I just can't describe it but waiting for us!skz is just. so skz. like it is so them I have no idea how u managed to put their exact entire beings into these texts and tweets but u did and it's incredible and I'm so immersed in the series I love u sm

ANYWAYS I'm so sorry for the entire essay... if u didn't read this and u end up blocking me for spamming ur notifs sm I understand BUT I HOPE U KNOW I LOVE THIS SERIES SOOO MUCH <33 idk how the taglist works bc I think it said 50/50 but? please tag me in future updates if you're still open to adding people!! I can't tell u again how much I adore this series and how invested in it I ammmm thank u for your incredible writing op!!! <333

- heather <3

haha omg. I don’t mind the spam!!! i’m goad you’re loving it. the social media format has definitely been my favorite since I discovered it!! I’ve always enjoyed writing dialogue more than anything so texts are a great way to do that.

I accidentally made seungmin a little too angsty but!! he’s just a lil tsundere who’s kinda afraid of his feelings because he feels them so strongly and so intensely. there’s definitely a little more to his backstory that you guys can look forward to 🤭

of course!! tws are super important to me as someone who is easily triggered by things. I had wrote mio/yn as someone who struggles a lot because as someone who deals with depression and chronic anxiety, writing about it and having someone be comforted by it is really cathartic. I know it’s not for everyone and that’s ok!! I have much more less angst fic ideas too.

AAAAA thank you so much!! as a baby stay I’m really glad people enjoy my characterization of skz! I’ve been binge watching a lot of content and I was worried about writing them in the beginning because I am a baby stay but i’m very happy 🩷

don’t worry!!! I absolutely LOVE your long message and kind words!

right now the taglist is full but i’ll put you on the waitlist! thank you so much for enjoying waiting for us! this fic is my baby tbh.

[femme-malewife]

hai! :)

im new to the fandom as i've only found out about it through the anime. but ive been curious ever since i came across ur blog. are the characters in the novels/mvs very much different from the ones in the anime? i would like to read the novels if that's the case. anime adaptations tend to make their version much more different than canon so... i hope u dont mind me asking...

Good morning anon !! (Or afternoon, evening, etc)

Tbh, I'd say yes, they're pretty different. They have the baselines accurate, but in all honesty the anime felt more like a fanfic rather than an actual re-telling of the events. Not to mention, the anime completely trashes LIPxLIP's trauma which I will honestly never forgive.

The novels are honestly so good.

For Hiyori, there's Nonfantasy, which is basically just her becoming LIPxLIP's manager.

And then there's her next (also last) novel, Heroine Development Plan. This is quite different from the anime as it follows the MV of the same name, where Hiyori falls for a guy named Asuka. He had to be retconned though since Asuka belonged to ASCANA, who were Johnny's Project characters. They collabed with Honeyworks but ended sometime in 2021, so the anime couldn't use them. Though personally, I like to consider Asuka's events happened and then Nagisa's happened, since the MVs are continuing and saying that Nagisa's events happened as well.

As for LIPxLIP, they have 2 (technically 3) novels.

One is Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata, which is also the name of the movie...which tbh, I recommend more than the novel, simply because 1, you can actually see the other characters and their thoughts as well as see the performances, and 2, it's honestly faster. You can find the movie on any 🏴‍☠️ site, but if you want the novel, it's linked above.

After that is the Romeo novel, which is basically them after they become idols but before their debut. This novel was the first for them specifically to come out and it's very important to their character and backgrounds! It goes pretty into detail for both of them (Mostly Aizou since most of the novel is in his point of view, but Yujiro has a couple chapters that pretty much confirms he's canonically depressed. The novel gets pretty heavy, I'm not gonna lie)

And finally! The most recent novel for them that came out only a few months ago, Fantasia LOVE&KISS! This novel is styled a bit different as half of the novel is about the fantasy world basically following the events of the MV. And the other half is also very important to their characters, and even expands on their trauma and how they work to overcome it together. I def recommend reading this one after Romeo, but this one is soooo important and honestly, it gets pretty intense! (/pos). It seriously shows how much the two have grown not only as idols, but as people, and shows just how important the other is to them and..

God I want to cry I literally love this novel so much. They make me mentally ill anon 😭😭 it's such a beautiful novel.

I sincerely hope that you read the novels and find as much joy in them as I, and many others, have!!

[friendofcars]

hi i was reading your mask dream essay and was wondering what you thought of ronan thinking of adam in the mask dream when gansey accepts the molotov cocktail from kavinsky in chap 27 of tdt? i personally can't think of why he decided to connect those moments but perhaps u can. thanks if you choose to answer!

hi! so i will preface my response by saying i went back through some discussions in the trc book club discord server and a direct quote from me about this exact line is "tbh im a little befuddled by this connection" so i'll do my best (and if anyone has additional or opposing insight they'd like to share, please chime in if you'd like). this is a very rambling response so please ask for clarification if you'd like/if you need to!

i originally tried quite hard to glean additional insight into ronan and adam's relationship from that line- and their relationship is certainly relevant, but i think the main purpose of the line is to provide insight into ronan's perception of gansey in a specific context (although to be fair, the context, which is at kavinsky's infamous substance party, circles back to adam for a variety of reasons*). in short, ronan observes a more toothful version of gansey, so he is reminded of the more toothful version of adam from the mask nightmare.

but i do want to think about this a bit more. here are what i see as the purposes of having ronan recall adam in the mask nightmare:

to draw comparisons/contrasts amongst gansey, kavinsky, and adam. the obvious contrast throughout the chapter is between gansey and kavinsky: the beginning of the chapter highlights how rare it is for gansey to exist in kavinsky's henrietta (darker, more electric, what else??), gansey only making an appearance in defense of his own henrietta (monmouth), but they both represent possible paths for ronan, possible leaders, possible approaches to life and magic, etc. it is even rarer for adam and kavinsky to cross paths on page. how does gansey act in an environment when his presidential mask is a hindrance rather than an asset? does he become more similar to ronan? to kavinsky? to adam? to ronan's nightmare adam only??? the important thing is that ronan is thinking about all three of them. is gansey on fire another mask, or it is a truer component of gansey himself? it's gansey's realest and wildest version of himself from ronan's pov, at least. the mention of the mask invites us to think of things like facades, secrets, public vs private personas, mutlifaceted beings, etc.

to remind the reader that ronan is frequently thinking about adam and is easily reminded of him (in both chapters 9 and 27, adam is absent, ronan experiences complicated emotional reactions that obscure his attraction to gansey, kavinsky, and adam [the attraction is obscured to him; it's pretty clear to the reader, especially if you're re-reading], and then he makes some sort of comparison to adam. in ch 9, he's homesick and angry and thinks of adam, about to break, and how ronan has seen himself in the mirror about to break in the same way. in ch 27, he sees a fiercer, more assertive, less reticent gansey and thinks of adam in the dream, when adam was fierce and assertive and wild too. worth noting that ronan is the fiercest and most reckless out of the three of them- what do we learn about ronan as he sees or imagines his friends acting more like him? it seems exhilarating in ch 27 (gansey), but terrifying in ch 17 (adam in the nightmare). what are the consequences of gansey being more ronan like? is ronan into this? (yes lol it's his canonical favorite version of gansey). are these toothful versions of gansey and adam also more kavinsky-like? is ronan aware of this?

*some related thoughts that somewhat restate the above bullet point: reference to adam is somewhat second secret-like as in ronan is confronted w guys he's attracted to and adam isn't there- but of course he's reminded of him. of course (is it at night? is everything worse? is he surrounded by desire- but without the self hatred? i don't think the tone in the substance party chapter is depressive at all- it's exhilarating for ronan, but there's almost a melancholy aftertaste because ronan knows this toothful gansey, this gansey on fire, is ephemeral. he's forced to compare gansey and kavinsky- as the beginning of the chapter implies, he can't have both. of course. the reason i'm saying this setting is adam relevant bc ronan feels like the choice is between gansey and kavinsky- he doesn't see adam as an option- that's a flippant way to put it and i'm thinking not only in terms of idk, romantic prospects, but also in terms of a philosphy/approach to life and relationships and creativity and power and magic and love and... [on a related note: he has yet to realize that the realest choice is choosing himself, life vs death/self-hatred] and now i'm thinking all kind of thoughts about adam's third choice that he makes himself, you know the whole two of swords arc in trb..... another post perhaps.)

he doesn't spare much of a reaction re: adam and the mask in this chapter (it seems to be a fairly fleeting thought), which was pervasively terrifying in the nightmare and mundane at the barns and when thought of at the substance party- no fear, no revulsion, no concern- just a passing thought. it's noise; adam is a constant undercurrent in his thoughts (second secret lyricless melody playing in the background), and in this context is mainly adding to ronan's observations about gansey and kavinsky and how they're alike/how they differ rather than adam as a primary topic.

we could also talk a little about the term toothful, which out of context just means having visible/prominent teeth, but in ronan's narration is correlated with assertiveness, maybe even ferocity. the lynch brothers (mainly ronan and declan) are often described as having excellent teeth- this could be a nod to their affluence, but symbolically, they will 'bite' when necessary to assert themselves in social situations. there's also a line about ronan's 'prison of teeth' in trb which brings me to the topic of secrets, which for ronan is in league w shame, desire, etc. which are relevant to both the nightmare chapter and the substance party chapter. that's a more tenuous connection though (imo). also thinking about desperation, about hunger, how in trk adam and ronan are described as hungry animals. i'm also pretty sure kavinsky gets described as hungry looking at some point, maybe from blue's perspective in ch 6? the mitsubishi's grille is described as voracious, which i think counts anyway. is showing teeth offense or defense? does this vary from character to character? are the toothful actions truthful? lies? shields? confessions?

i also can't ignore the line that tells us this gansey on fire has made fewer appearances since the "introduction of adam's taming presence" which opens too many cans of worms to address right now but i'm fascinated by the fact that ronan sees adam as a taming presence- it's such a contrast to the nightmare adam, so perhaps ronan is afraid a connection with adam will corrupt adam, will make him wild in an ugly way, even though it turns out that ronan's influence on adam (esp. in bllb) is more freeing than anything. adam also seems himself as wild, unrefined, etc. as mentioned in most of his self deprecating narrations, the conceptualization of his family through animal, ecological, etc. metaphors... so in general this plays into the recurring trc theme of self-perception vs how people who love you perceive you and the shape of the space between these two conceptual 'people,' but it also intimates that gansey has molded himself to be more diplomatic and refined and restrained after meeting adam, which could be gansey trying to avoid conflict, or trying to impress adam, or not wanting to put adam in any more danger than he's already in, or a variety of other things that ronan, prone to jealousy, might be worried about. i think the truth is closest to some version of gansey wanting adam to stick around so badly that he's afraid of scaring him off. so much to consider.

another topic to consider- not so much directly related to your question, but while we're at the substance party, fire! the molotov cocktail, autonomy, self immolation, choice (gansey throwing the fire at the volvo instead of the mistubishi....so many choices made as thematic elements of these books...), obedience, kavinsky's death by dragon....ronan's love being described as fire about a billion times in this chapter but also the ocean burning in trk, gansey on fire of course! not only toothful but on fire- gansey being more aligned with ronan-like qualities again. should we mention that the mask is wooden? vulnerable to fire? that seems worth noting. another possible tangent- masks vs sunglasses. gansey's glasses (which are pointedly not masks) vs kavinsky's sunglasses. concealment vs confession. i also have listed in my notes the following: duality, fluctuating personas, masks and facets, beauty vs violence, tools vs weapons, ronan's love and rage and hunger reflected onto his friends... so much to think about

i'm also interested in the fact that after gansey throws the molotov cocktail at the volvo, ronan feels as if he's in a dream (not a nightmare). there's still a confluence of desire and shame for him (he describes his elation at the situation as "polluted pleasure") but i'm chewing on the possible reasons why this situation is less terrifying for him than the non-literal aspects of the mask nightmare scenario-in both situations, gansey and adam have power over ronan- gansey holds a weapon, adam is a nightmare version of himself, an omen of demonic corruption that we see in trk (see: love/connection as vulnerability, avenue of harm, adam's fear of hurting his friends, etc.), but i think they key difference (aside from the obvious difference between being awake at a very real party vs being stuck in a vivid nightmare of psychological chaos) is that ronan does not fear losing gansey- he's afraid for gansey's life, but as long as gansey is alive, ronan has him in his corner. at this point in the series, he doesn't believe the same re: adam, especially in the context of adam's sacrifice to cabeswater/ronan's guilty conscience. he seems relieved? electrified? that gansey could be like him. he seems terrified that adam could be too.

this is starting to go in circles but i'm sharing everything in case a particular detail catches someone's attention and sparks more conversation. :)