#-if we also practically grew up tgt

[woozi]

I hope u don’t mind me chiming in on the svt dynamics <3 bcoz I looove talking about that and their dynamic as a group together is the most fascinating to me ~

like sure, we don’t know them and every kpop group advertises their friendship since it’s what fans want to see. I’m actually a little cynical when it comes to this and don’t trust the “we’re like a family :)” talk easily since it’s often just for show. and that’s fine - idols’ jobs is to sing and dance, not to be bffs. but I think with svt it’s extremely obvious that in addition to being coworkers, they’re genuinely close friends, care about each other on a personal level, and like each other’s company beyond just working together. not to overanalyze but it’s the little things. how they hang out together constantly in their free time, them being close with each other’s parents/siblings, how when they were in single rooms in a hotel like 75% of the group gathered in one room bc they missed each other even tho they had spent the whole day together, and things like all their inside jokes and how their humor code matches so well (this doesn’t happen if you don’t interact a lot), how even tho some members are closer than others you can mix them up however you want and it won’t be awkward, how when dk mentioned the member he’s most awkward with is wonwoo so wonwoo made sure to spend more time with dk, or how jeonghan and mingyu often say they don’t match but then still spend time together regularly, how when even 1-2 members are absent the entire dynamic feels “off”, I could go on and on haha 😅

and I often think about how maintaining a healthy group dynamic as 13 (thirteen!!!) people on both a professional and personal level isn’t easy at all. it’s constantly compromising with and adjusting to 12 other individuals, making sure everyone’s seen and heard, being considerate of each other’s boundaries/preferences, basically keeping a vast mental encyclopedia of 12 other people’s little things. they grew up together so maybe it’s completely normal for them to do all that (and being bound by contract helps bc you can’t just quit when there’s conflict) but still, you need to be a very specific type of person to be able to do that i think… and even tho i’m certain their relationship is not always harmonious (it’s just how relationships are), it’s still incredible and very special <3

anyways “not to overanalyze” - *overanalyzes* lololol this got long I’m sorry but. I had to get this off my chest 💝 thanks for being such a warm presence here on caratblr yza what would we be without u 🥰

the way i can see how much u love the svteenies with this alone <3

[nonbinary-androids]

Tamara, The Betrayer

So, I was writing a response to a post by @teartra and @fxthieves (link will be in first rb) that was talking about the characters, and me being me, I wanted to hone in on one really niche aspect of Tamara’s character and then it hit 1k words and I decided it needed to be its own post lmao

I’m going to put this out there: I like that she does this! It adds a really interesting layer to her character, and especially in regards to how the reader will interpret her relationships with Call and authority! However, the way that these fairly serious breaches of trust are handled (or rather, not handled) is.... really bad.

Also, as an additional preface: I am not arguing whether or not Tamara was right to betray Call in these situations, nor does any of this make Tamara a bad person or a bad character- they make CC and HB bad writers, and Tamara seriously underdeveloped. Don’t let this make you hate her!!! Let this be the motivation that you need to write her the narrative that she deserves!

There are two main betrayals that I’m going to bring up here: when Tamara tells Rufus about Alastair in TCG, and when she abandons Call with Joseph in TSM.

Both of these happen because Tamara thinks that she knows better than Call, and so she goes over his head and reports him to authority figures; namely, the Assembly. In both cases, there is danger in going to the Assembly. In TCG, the Assembly know knows to target Call’s father, and Call has serious (and reasonable) worries that Alastair will be hurt. In TSM… well, even before the whole continuation of the war thing, she knows that the Assembly has imprisoned Call in the past. Now that’s he successfully raised the dead, what does she think they’re going to do??? Throw him a party?

Now, I’d like to note that this is narratively appropriate- someone has to raise the stakes (although how high the stakes rose in TSM is.... borderline laughable), and Tamara does this in a way that tells us about her and creates drama within the group to be brought up later. The problem here is that it never really comes up again, as so often happens with these books. Call just forgives her after a little while (or after no time at all in the case of TSM), which makes their relationship feel really awkward, makes Tamara look like an asshole, and makes the whole Aaron-in-Call’s-head thing so much weirder- like, fam, this girl was ready to start a war bc you didn’t want to kill him, but now that he’s living in your body (and feeding you lines?), it’s all cool?? No hard feelings from anyone involved????????? Hello????????????????

If they had actually fought over this and come to a compromise- I’m not saying it would have sold me on Calmara, but jesus christ, it would have made me a lot more comfortable throughout TGT. It definitely would have made their relationship more secure!

Going a little deeper into the implications that these betrayals have for the Calmara relationship, I think that this says something about the way that she sees Call.

As a disabled person, the way that she circumvents Call’s judgement kiiiiiiind of feels like ableism. One of the biiiiig issues in the realm of ableism is something called “infantiliziation”. On Tumblr, this is usually discussed in regards to turning people into soft uwu (usually very femme, for extra sexism) babies who can’t make their own decisions and calling them idiots, etc. This is also more commonly discussed in regards to afab trans people, east Asians, and neurodivergent folks, but it’s still a big problem in physically disabled people- however, this is usually seen in the later stages, where disability/presentation is seen as a reason to take away autonomy. That sounds drastic, but it often happens in small ways, often ones that are intended to be helpful, like steering a wheelchair user without asking, or trying to lead a blind person by grabbing them. It often happens subconsciously!

Whether or not you think it’s ableism, I think it does show that she thinks of herself as above Call, at least unconsciously. She decides unilaterally that her own judgement is best in both of these cases, even though Call is more informed on the issue at hand. Now, you could argue that Tamara was coming at it from a less emotional, more objective angle, but she also steamrolls Call’s attempts to justify/explain his rationale, which makes this questionable to me. (Again, not arguing whether or not she was right to do this, just going over how this affects her character!) This makes sense for her character- she comes from a place of really high privilege within the mage community, and we see her benefiting from it.

This is likely also a reason for the way that Tamara betrays Call; she does it by going to the Assembly. Tamara grew up with the Assembly, and as a rich legacy with parents on the board, she’s never really seen them as anything but good. In other words, she grew up with a massive amount of privilege, and it’s this privilege that makes her turn to these authority again and again. She believes that they are fair and rational, most likely because they are fair and rational to her, even with evidence to the contrary.

(Sidebar: that privilege also ties in to something I’ve mentioned in the past: Tamara is the book smart one of the group, and she understands how to move through mage society, but she is not the one with real knowledge of the world. The person with actual practical knowledge of this system, the world, and how it treats people? That’s Aaron!)

Now, I'm going to reiterate what I said at the start because I know that this seems to be a very negative piece: DO NOT HATE ON TAMARA BECAUSE OF THIS!!!!!!!!! Yes, I’m talking about a lot of flaws that she has, but those flaws are good! Flaws tells us about who Tamara could be, should be, and how she should have grown over the course of the narrative. This is also a very narrow analysis, focusing entirely on two interactions, one of which happened when the books had gotten so bad that they’ve largely been ignored. Tamara Rajavi has the potential to be an incredible character, and her flaws are just one facet to be explored.

[kaisooficrec]

Any secret relationshop au because one of the Is scared to be out of the closet (dont want to be known as gay) or is famous/popular?

Hi dear, we have something for sure! Check these out:

Blood Feud- vampire au, both are vampires from clans that are enemies

Talk Nice - wanderingheart’s latest fic, idol Jongin and manager Kyungsoo. -cj

Blasphemy - Kyungsoo is really scared to tell everyone (except his very close friends) that he is gay because he is afraid that he’ll be judged. They have a period when they hook up and no one knows - moon

Baby, don’t cry by - They hide their relationship because Jongin is a very popular playboy and Kyungsoo is an orphan - moon

Bite Me - Kind of, where Kyungsoo is a human who is scared to be judged by superior hybrids and avoids being in public with his friend and crush. -cj

Daddies For Life - Mostly Crack. Baby Rock or Do Kyungsoo is the arch nemesis of the three oldest Kim brothers. Meanwhile, the youngest Kim, - Jongin - gets to be spoiled and babied by him. The first chapter had me rolling.

What’s meant to be, will be - based on reply 1988, kd grew up together in the same neighbourhood as friends and they’re dating in secret in fear of the homophobic society

break rules, not hearts - age switch. jongin and chanyeol are besties and there’s an unwritten rule that jongin shouldn’t break the ‘bro code’ and date chanyeol’s younger brother kyungsoo. or at least that’s what chanyeol thinks :))))

hands on you -  kyungsoo isn’t just jongin’s hairstylist. they’re boyfriends but in secret. smut

stay -  age switch. jongin is a uni teacher with his marriage in shambles and then has an affair with one of his students ksoo

Tinkerbell - a little bit of peter pan inspo. they’re basically dating in secret and kyungsoo thinks he doesn’t deserve jongin while jongin can never introduce kyungsoo to his family

You like my hair? Gee thanks, just bought it - jongin dressing up prettily so AG is quaking in her boots! and ksoo popping a vein but can’t tell they’re dating hhh

hand over hand - two weeks after The Practice Room Incident; aka two boys who kissed are trying to sort out their feelings that they shouldn't be feeling

Watching Me (Watching You) - Jongin and Kyungsoo are forced enemies by their packs, even though Kyungsoo doesn't think he would like Jongin either way. That is, until he and Jongin make a connection that there is no way out of. Now he has much bigger problems.

i’ll be there for you, ‘cause you’re there for me too - their friends basically rat them out to kyungsoo’s brother

I Hate You a Latte - coffee shop au. they’re constantly bickering and known among their coworkers as sworn enemies but they’re also sleeping tgt and in denial of their feelings :))

A loveseat was made for two, baby - Kyungsoo has a crush on his new housemate, Jongin, but does not know how to deal with his unrequited love and growing unhealthy obsession.

It’s Okay - shy cutie jongin is head over heels for popular upper student kyungsoo who also likes him but wants to hide that they’re together

so i closed the curtains. - trainee kaisoo / secret relationship. it is a drabble about their excitement seeing each other and being in love.

secret relationship because they’re famous/popular:

We Could Have Lived - Kyungsoo and Jongin grew up together, but when Jongin becomes famous, their relationship suffers.

lights on, minds off (fall into me) - actor au where both are in a secret rls but also have some problems so they break up at first

you’re my fifth season - both are famous but have to date in secret and then jongin appears in the news that he’s in rls with an actress

Afloat - slice of life and non au, kind of, they are in the group but also dating and they decide to keep their relationship in secret. smut and chaptered!

Your number 1 fan - a secret relationship between idol kai and his assistant kyungsoo, also slight angst :)))

Terms and Conditions - non au with secret relationship. (insp. by jongin’s dating news) shower smut, frotting, handjob, their relationship is gentle and loving, also pet names uwu

Come Home (To My Heart) - celebrity au. actor kyungsoo is in a secret relationship with model jongin, not just sleeping together. they have to be careful but wish they dint have to hide it. then kyungsoo enlists. inspired by our soldier!soo TT

where the lights are taking us - kyungsoo is a well-known celelbrity but jongin stays hidden and they also hid their relationship

the truth you tell casual strangers and people you meet + the truth you tell your friends and family - non au based on some of their activities

Baby, Don't Cry - literally a gem. around 22k, cliche kinda; jongin is a playboy and kyungsoo a nerdy orphan and they have secret relationship

love in slow motion - also non au. they’re couple also f-cking a lot jjgfj but keep in secret from everyone. smut

Also latest secret relationship fics are here :)

Happy reading! - KFR Admins