#I feel like I've seen a million and one different name for the ship but it seems like otayuri is the most common

[bettsfic]

Hi Betts,

Thanks for continuously posting helpful advice.

I just wanted to know— how does someone go about getting to the point in their writing where they are not so precious with words in hopes of taking off the pressure when drafting?(in reference to a previous post)

i remember a few years ago, there was this very well known and popular fanartist whose name i won't give because they're no longer on tumblr or even going by their handle anymore. they received an ask much like this one in which they said something to the effect of, they could spend hundreds of hours on a piece of art and be willing to throw it away, because (and this is from memory because i can't find the original post) there will always be more art.

i remember being aghast about that. how could you spend so much time working on something and just...not do anything with it? scrap it and start over? maybe even delete the file?

and more importantly, i remember wondering how an artist could even reach that point.

maybe everyone gets there in a different way, but for me it was the emergence of a bigger picture, that i don't write to be read or seen or understood, but so i can explore things that can't otherwise be explored, and live experiences that can't be lived. for me, the value is in the process, not the product. and, to the artist's point, there will always be more words.

more concretely, it was also spending an entire year working on a novel, only to realize that what i wanted it to be was not what fit in the market, and that to make it marketable i would've had to have made revisions that would've changed the thing i wanted it to be. so i realized publication isn't endgame; it's happenstance. a few things i write may be marketable, but probably only a fraction of them, and only if what i write overlaps with what is being sold. a venn diagram of "stories that will be published" and "stories that i enjoy writing" are often two circles about a mile apart. whether or not a story is marketable doesn't affect my personal opinion of it.

the same is true for fanfic. if i finish a fic, i post it for the sake of archiving it. i don't pay much attention to traffic (but i do read comments), and it's been a long time since i've written consistently in a popular fandom. in fact the last fic i posted only had one other fic in the ship tag. the point of writing fic, for me, is to get it out of my brain and onto a page, and if someone eventually comes upon it and enjoys it, great.

i'm definitely not at the point where i can just straight-up delete work, but i can write something for a very long time and be satisfied even if no one ever looks at it. it does bum me out when i care about something so much and nobody else does or will, but that's the nature of writing, and art in general. nobody cares as much as you do, and even if you write something that's wildly successful, read and loved by millions, award-winning, adapted to screen--still, all those people will have their individual, private relationship with the thing you wrote, will perceive it in their own unique way, and even if it changes their life, the story can never give them what it gave you.

i don't mean for that to be depressing or deterring. what i hope you take from it is that your feelings toward your work are more important than anyone else's feelings toward it, and not everything has to be seen and admired in order to be worthy enough to exist. sometimes you have to take the risk of being unseen to create your best work.

[pragnificent]

Tagged by @tina-mairin-goldstein! Tagging whoever else wants to play.

1.How many fics do you have on AO3?

78.

2. What's your total word count on AO3?

934,933. Wow, maybe I can break a million this year....

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Just HANNIBAL right now (and for like the last seven years or so). Been vaguely thinking about picking up a second but nothing has caught my interest strongly enough.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Attachment - 7,592

The Fisherman and the Beast from the Sea - 4,565

Sashimi - 2,807

Hungry Ghost - 1,585

Identically Different - 1,382 <- This is my best series and yall should give it a shot <3

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to, and I enjoy doing so, but sometimes the brainworms win and I don't get stuff done even when I really want to.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Breathless

I don't love this story, but "Hannibal is effectively braindead after the fall, but Will keeps caring for the body and feels that Hannibal is there with him, up until the body dies and Will turns himself in because there isn't any point anymore" probably counts as the most angsty? If you are in the market for a "Hannibal receives a brain injury and he, along with everyone else around him, has to cope with that" story Tina's For Remembrance (Holes in the Floor of the Mind) is a much better pick. And as I continue to think about it, Means of Influence has a pretty angsty ending.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of my stories have slightly bittersweet but still mostly happy endings. Part of the thing about that is I think it's really hard to envision a situation where Will is like 100% Happy Happy, his own mind hates him too much and every little scrap of happiness needs to be fought for and then vigilantly guarded. But I put both him and Hannibal through so much that I always want them to be as close to content as they each can be.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have gotten two flavors of Fic Hate. 1.) People calling the five year old kid OC in ATTACHMENT slurs like "r*tard" and saying "he belongs in jail" and etc.

Every time Hannibal or Will fuck someone who isn't each other at least one person decides to Yell At Me.

I think I've gotten the old "you didn't tag for bottom Hannibal!!" nonsense once or twice too, but who hasn't?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

A little. I actually started Hannishark bc I was really intimidated by sex scenes and wanted to see if I could pull off a short monsterfucker story. I feel like I've gotten better at writing these but am generally more comfortable leaving them sparce on anatomical details and big on feelings/conversations.

10. Do you write crossovers? If so, what's the craziest one?

I've got a WRONG TURN crossover series that I'm very proud of here: Bear Mountain Road AU. You don't need to have seen any of the movies to read it, or anything, the movies' premise of "a clan of inbred mountain cannibals waylays travelers" is really just an excuse to put Hannibal (and Will and D, as child members of the cannibal family) In Situations. If I counts as a cross over, I've got a universe swap between the novels and NBC HANNIBAL here: Shiloh

I also have a vague idea for a SAW / HANNIBAL crossover but I've been sitting on that for so long, who knows if it'll ever happen?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not so far as I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, several times.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yep, a couple of times.

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

Hannigram and Reba/D (guys we need a fuckin ship name).

15. What are your writing strengths?

Character, emotions, dialogue.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sex scenes, pacing.

17. Thoughts writing dialogue in another language?

Fine by me, tho I only think I've done it one or twice.

18. First fandom you wrote for?

FARSCAPE.

19. Favorite fic you've written?

Identically Different AU !!!! This it the best thing I've ever written and probably the best thing I will ever write.

[mysticalsoot]

Everything you've said on this situation is something I 100% agree and stand with and honestly is such a breath of fresh air to see after spending so much time in the official Lovejoy discord.

People in there were at first being civil with their opinions despite the tense emotions, but it's quickly turning into a "Fuck Wilbur" train since many are straight up convinced he was the one Shelby was talking about, while those trying to stay neutral or are wishing Wilbur luck in changing for the better should it actually be him are being attacked. Mods have been trying to calm the attackers down but it hasn't worked too well from what I've seen. And it's only gotten worse since one of the Sr Sootmods came out and said how they're all leaving their mod positions since they're also convinced he's the abuser. What especially hurts is that one mod went into the chat and even said "Abusers will always be abusers" as if people can't genuinely change for the better.

Also, while we're all here speculating and all that, what happens if it's officially confirmed that it wasn't Wilbur and was instead one of the many other British musicians who had an ant infestation and mold problem (both of which are very common problems in the Uk from what I've heard)? This isn't something you can fix with an "Oops sorry for jumping ship without proper confirmation." It just feels like it's quickly gotten to a point where "Damned if something is said, damned if not."

Sorry for rambling/ranting, but that discord group really got me heated up. Keep your chin up, king. You deserve the crown on your head for sticking to your guns and dealing with the assholes coming to you.

Honestly the more messages I get agreeing with me, the more I'm shocked. When I first started questioning things, I felt if I even uttered them to my sister I'd be crucified. So many people agree and support me and it's insane. It outweighs the hate by millions. (i say that as if my chest wasn't so tight earlier today that I couldn't breathe!)

i checked the lvjy server and wil's server earlier today. lvjy I didn't read much on, and when I found that wil's was closed, I wasn't surprised. i was told by an anon ask that the mods know more, but if they did, I feel as though they all wouldn't have waited until the rest of the internet said it was wilbur.

people can change. hurt people who hurt people can change. abusers are a different level, and oftentimes are unwilling to change or are aware they can. sometimes they do! I've seen it, abusers can change but it's so so so very rare.

but jumping on the bandwagon based on rumor and speculation and then saying that shit is not cool.

something I've been trying to say is that those who've left and abandoned ship will most likely regret it when and if things come out in favor of wil (which my gut leans to yes, but we'll see), theyll have to deal with the consequences of being rash.

i understand not wanting to support a possible abuser, but Shelby didn't say a name. she didn't say one for a reason, whatever that reason is, I don't know. and I have my own feelings on that but I won't voice them yet.

don't apologize for rambling, I understand your frustrations and I see you. thank you for the kind words and the support, it means a lot and it's helping me keep going<3 I will continue to say my piece until I can no longer do so, for whatever reason.

anon asks are off, don't try sending hate to me or the asker

[elainsweetcobalt]

I think the main reason why Elriel was seen as the most toxic side of the fandom is because everytime other ships post something about Elain and Az and the million reasons why they shouldn't be together, Elriels comes out and refute it. I've always seen it on every platform. Elriels will always throw canons and it was seen as form of attack or aggressiveness.

The sad thing is only Elriels actions are seen and condemned but not the people who created baits, or post lies on the internet. The person who lies about sources and having direct contact with BB was never called out. The mole on the fb group was never called out. The blog created to bully Elriels, the elriel artists and commissioner getting bullied out of the fandom, the disrespect toward Elriel arts, the constant bullying and side remarks, and alienation to Elriels was never seen. People overlook at that because they refuse to hear what's truly happening. There are so many noises on different sides but they are the only ones allowed to share their feelings but once an Elriel did it? Once they share what they truly feel because they're also human? They get condemned. There's always a public call out. #shamelriel was the recent disappointing thing I've seen recently, followed by constant naming towards an entire group. And at the end of the day, people are convinced it is Elriels who are still "creating" dramas and toxicity.

I think Elriels should never be condemned for preferring Elain and Azriel together and for replying or reblogging someone post to clear up lies and twisting facts. Most Elriels existed since 2016, there's dramas but never this kind of attack that has been happening since 2021. I truly admire those who are here for long, those who chose to speak up and those who wished to stay silent. I know whatever Elriel does, (either keeping things private or sharing their feelings and thoughts on the internet) will be deemed negatively.

It'll be not for long though, hopefully, because acotar 5 is coming. And I wish all these petty nonsense would eventually stop.

So hold on a little longer Elriels! Most Feysand stans loves Elriels too. We may never engage on the shipwar but we can see. I know some Feysands and Elriels aren't besties but it doesn't mean we hate one because we love both. (Especially that most Elriels are Feysand stan first)

There's nothing wrong if you speak up, nothing wrong if you all wanted to clear everything. Definitely nothing wrong for loving Elain and Az (individual and together) I understand the desperate want to not be labeled as toxic because you're only here to enjoy a ship. All these noises? It'll eventually die down, you'll laugh at it someday, but the important thing is the space and friendship you created (like what your fellow Elriel said here days ago).

I promise, you guys are not the drama 💛

Ps: so many Elriel arts and fanfics lately, I'll go and support it too! And also so many new Elriels! New fanfic writers and artists, new blogs every week showing their love to Elriels. I've seen how Elriels grows on here, tiktok, twitter, and Instagram. It is very exciting 💛

Pss: tumblr may seem as not the safe space anymore unlike pre acosf, but be sure that it still is. It is because most Elriels I see truly love the ship and are very welcoming, true and warm! People will still come and find this space safe because of you guys.

Hi Anon Thanks for that message and sorry for taking so long to reply, the last few days have been a bit overwhelming and I stayed away from my inbox as some questions are not as nice as yours.

I think I agree with much of what you said although I would like to add a few things I don't think this is about ship there are some people who say "what nonsense arguing over ships" but some things go further when people are having behaviors questionable, the most decent thing would be to look at what is happening and if it is a behavior that needs to be addressed it should be done mainly if that behavior is affecting different people, we elriels are also human and many times it is painful to see what happens in this fandom, too I think people talk a lot about "my right" and forget the fact that others, if you make a violent post, don't expect people to respond with love and kindness, we all have the right to react and get angry or sad, but as little as possible. as adults is to keep ourselves as decent people and look for solutions. Thanks again for your question I really appreciate it and I hope that at some point this fandom will be what it was before and what it always should be a place to be a fan and have a good time with your friends and people who enjoy the same things as you ❤️

[jennathearcher]

Me listening to all three Sleep Token albums for the first time:

Take Me Back To Eden

Chokehold - by far the most lore-oriented song I've heard so far?? lyrically this is just the band's mission statement and it's SO good

The Summoning - THE iconic song :P I had this thought while vibing to it again, the title is SO apt because this is the song that essentially summoned LEGIONS of fans 8D

Granite - this song has me ALL kinds of fucked up?? this was the point where specific lyrics started to have me SCREAMING, like, "you gave me nothing whatsoever but a reason to leave" HELLO??? not to mention "we'd rather be six feet under than be lonely" THAT HITS

Aqua Regia - MMMM THE VIBES THEY ARE IMMACULATE I believe the title translates to something along the lines of "ocean queen" but don't quote me on that XD I genuinely cannot cite just one lyric that makes me feral IT'S THE WHOLE SONG

Vore - AS A MONSTERFUCKER I AM FEELING VERY SEEN IN THE CLUB RIGHT NOW. TIS IS A MONSTERFUCKER ANTHEM. VESSEL. VESSEL P L E A S E.

Ascensionism - I was told this song would make me cry I WASN'T PREPARED FOR HOW REAL THAT WOULD BE. "Make it real, cause anything's better than the way I feel right now" HOOOOOOOO. This entire song is POETRY.

Are You Really Okay? - I....have A LOT of feelings about this song. Holy shit. From Vessel's lips straight to the ears of my soul. God DAMN.

The Apparition - and now we have the self-shipping anthem :P VESSEL XD "Why are you never real" !!!!!! "Just let me go or take me with you" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DYWTYLM - lowkey I always love when artists genuinely abbreviate song titles like this it's really cute and stylish :P THIS SONG IS S O CUTE??? OH MY GOD the sheer amount of genres this band covers is AMAZING; plus this is another song where the lyrics are DEEPLY SAD but the beat though :P

Rain - from what I'm aware of this might be an underrated song??? instant fave from me 8D IT'S SO ROMANTIC!!! "the vicious cycle was over the moment you smiled at me" I'M SO!!!!!! SOFT!!!!!!

Take Me Back To Eden - TRUE TO ITS NAME THIS SONG IS A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. but also among a million incredible lyrics "I'll take a pound of your flesh before you take a piece of my paystub" has me CHEWING THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE OH MY G O D

Euclid - I have deduced that ST is the masters of ending an album with the most unexpectedly BEAUTIFUL song OH MY GOD. All the nods of their previous songs?? So much TECHNOLOGICAL imagery all across this album too tbh??? "So if your wings won't find you heaven I'll bring it down like an ancient bygone" SCREAMING!!!! and of course "the night belongs to you" I AM EATING THIS

it is at this point I begin to swiftly realize I am listening to this in reverse order which makes a lot of things hit different but REGARDLESS :P WE PRESS ON

This Place Will Become Your Tomb

Atlantic - not only is this song ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL but the lyrics are just.....w o o f. it hits harder the more you think about it.

Hypnosis - I can't get over how this song is ACTUALLY hypnotizing to listen to :P

Mine - ONCE AGAIN TRACK THREE IS WHERE I START CLIMBING THE WALLS XD both of the other albums have direct lyrical connections to this song, and it's also just HOOOOO INTENSE IN THE BEST KIND OF WAY 8D plus the "wasted years" lyric got me thinking about Phantom of the Opera which y'know feels appropriate :P

Like That - this song reminds me of Granite with just how VISCERAL the feelings are when connected to a toxic relationship??

The Love You Want - biased cause I've had this song on repeat but HOOOOO!!!!!! "TOO MANY SWALLOWED KEYS WILL MAKE YOU BLEED INTERNALLY SOMEDAY"!!!!! "MAYBE YOU BELIEVE THAT IN THE END YOU WILL BE BETTER OFF THAT WAY"!!!!!!

Fall For Me - *incomprehensible shrieking* "WON'T YOU FALL FOR ME, FROM REALITY" *somersaults out of window* "MY INSECURITIES SURROUND ME LIKE LIONS IN THE DEN" *puts head through wall*

Alkaline - I am now intimately familiar with the emotions of the girl absolutely losing her shit in the background of the concert video in which I first heard this song XD Another song with one of those verses where every single line is ABSOLUTE POETRY and also :P HORNY. HORNY HORNY ENERGY. VESSEL YOU MENACE I LOVE YOU.

Distraction - at this point I am all but tearing my hair out over how ROMANTIC this is and how it can perfectly encapsulate such a simple idea and make it absolutely HEART-ACHING?????

Descending - ohhhhhh myyyyYYYYYY GOD!!!!!! "YOU COME CRAWLING BACK TO ME BUT I'M ALREADY UNDERGROUND" !!!!!! "AND WE ALL KNOW THAT TALK IS CHEAP SO COME ON AND SAVE ME NOW" !!!!!!!!!!!!!! "AND YOU WONDER WHAT I BELIEVE BUT YOU DON'T WANNA BE AROUND" "SO WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR ME?" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Telomeres - another song I fell in love with on the first listen :P much like Rain it's just so DEEPLY ROMANTIC AND EMOTIONAL??? "I know as you collapse into me this is the start of something" MMMMMMMMMMMM

High Water - I am OBSESSED with this song lyrically, just "it seems my hell is your high water" that's SO!!!! GOOD!!!! but also just the absolute gutpunches all throughout this song; "you are still a perfect reminder of what all these scars on my arms are for" !!!! "I know you still bear the weight of your own existence and you'll never bear the weight of two" I'M SO?!?!?!?

Missing Limbs - I legit GASPED when the soft guitar started???? and the last verse just absolutely destroyed me HOO. The whole song has Bon Iver vibes but better tbh

Sundowning

The Night Does Not Belong To God - it was here when I started to really lose my shit over all the lyrical parallels across the three albums :P SO GIVE ME THE NIGHT!!!!!

The Offering - "YOU'VE GOT DIAMONDS FOR TEETH MY LOVE, SO TAKE A BITE" OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!

Levitate - THIS IS THE ONE of course I find a song that contains the lyric "your body is mostly blood" to be HELLA ROMANTIC :P also very apt considering how ST's music makes me feel like I'm the one levitating XD Saint Maud up in this bitch ahem

Dark Signs - ANOTHER INSTANT FAVE 8D the fucking bassline!! EVERY SINGLE LYRIC HOOOOOO JUST THE PICTURE IT PAINTS!!! also "tear off my arms" sounds like a direct parallel to Missing Limbs don't mind me!!!

Higher - "I AM GRANTING YOU MORE THAN THE DEBT THAT I OWE" *sound of underwater screaming sounds* also idk if it's been said but Vessel lowkey reminds me of Corpse Husband in a lot of ways; I love my faceless anxious endlessly talented cryptid boys!!!

Take Aim - this one had my Archer sensibilities making the eyes emoji :P personally this one really makes me think of the Greek myth of Artemis and Orion but THAT'S JUST ME XD

Give - AND NOW WE HAVE A DARK ROMANCE ANTHEM MMMMMMM DELICIOUS. THIS IS MY ENTIRE AESTHETIC 8D

Gods - THIS SONG IS SO A N G R Y I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!! but also "you want to watch me beg cause I beg so well" VESSEL PLEASE :P

Sugar - PURE HORNY ENERGY. B O N K, TO HORNY JAIL WITH YOU. NONE OF THESE THOUGHTS ARE IN THE BIBLE.

Say That You Will - GOOD LORD I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE BUT WE HAVE GOTTEN EVEN MORE HORNY literally "is that a knife in your pocket or are you just happy to see me" but way more poetic than that XD

Drag Me Under - Once again, the vibes, they are IMMACULATE 8D have I mentioned how much I love all the religious imagery in ST's music because ohhhhhh my god

Blood Sport - I knew I was gonna love this song after seeing part of the live performance of it from last weekend's show <3 This song is absolutely BEAUTIFUL 8D I know Vessel cried while performing it live but I was NOT expecting the actual song to end with him crying too??? I WANT TO HUG THIS WEIRD LITTLE CREATURE MAN SO MUCH!!!!!

So far this is the extent of my journey but I'm definitely going to check out their earlier singles and EPs soon as well <3 I have also listened to the covers they did as well and I need more Vessel doing acoustic covers in my life PLEASE AND THANK YOU :P

[soupcanspecimen]

I wish I was better at conveying my thoughts more eloquently but here's my very late journal of my thoughts on ep12.

After some technical difficulties I finally watched ep12 and I've go to say:

I LOVED IT SO DAMN MUCH YOU GUYS!!!! THIS SEASON FINALE WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!!!

That opening scene was so tense, you could literally cut the tension with a knife because of how thick it is.

Manaria was being a bitch again, I have a section on that so wait for that. The amulet was shown again but it wasn't used, I'm still crossing my fingers though because they keep focusing on that thing way too much! The scales were used in this episode however and DEAR GOD the that Ceremony had me at the edge of my seat clenchining my ass! I was legit going to die when Rae pulled out that twig!

I went from saying" never let this girl cook again" to laughing with joy when the tree sprouted up! Also can we talk about the tree for a minute? Imagine my fucking shock and hysterical breamdowm as a Lumity fan when I saw that tree for the first time! It was a tree that represented their love! You know what tree also basically does the same thing?

THE FUCKING LUMITREE!!!! THEY HAVE THEIR OWN FUCKING LUMITREE!!?!? WHEN I THOUGHT RAECLAIR DIDNT HAVE ANYMORE SIMILARITIES TO LUMITY IT KEEPS PROVING ME WRONG!!!! THESE TWO SHIPS SHARE SO MUCH DNA WITH EACHOTHER ITS UNREAL!!!! AM I LIKE THE ONLY ONE WHO SEES THIS!?!?

Ahem anyways.

Rae's confession was so raw and emotional to where you can feel the love flowing out of her words and you can see this is different from her other confessions cause she saying what she's wanted to say since the start and without hiding behind a mask this time. And when Clair admitted her feelings by pulling Rae away to protect her it was super sweet and shows that she's truly grown close to Rae. She even starts calling Rae by her name near the end of the episode instead of calling her "Commoner".

Clair was also great this episode, and she actually took my advice from my episode 11 rent post and reflected on her time with Rae. Her Freudian slips and gay panic because she's finally starting to fall for Rae were super cute and gave me a lot of "Ayo pause, run that back" moments!

And also

CLAIRMATO!!!!!

Speaking of Clair starting to fall for Rae

THEY DID IT, Y'ALL THEY'RE FINALLY TOGETHER LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BOTH OF YOU!!!!

God I love these two so much guys! And I would love to bestow this ship with the highest honor I can give. I've recently mace a rule to myself when it comes to ships to not use this quote lightly for it is only reserved for ships that have truly earned my respect. Ahem (*Deep Inhale)

THEYRE ADORABLE AND DESERVE ALL THE HAPPINESS!!!!

I never thought that I would ever find a ship that would ever hit the same way as Lumity did! Even if they were cut from the same cloth!

GIVE ME A SEASON 2

NOW 🌩👄🌩

The Manaria Section:

I still hate Manaria my reasoning has just changed. Like, bruh, there is actually something wrong with you! Was any of what you said real!? Did you actually violate someone or was that story also just part of your plan!? Did you have like a back up or something if either you or Rae failed!? I legit can't read you, you're actually insane! You really are the single worst wingwoman I've ever seen, cause there were a million other ways to go about it, yet you somehow picked the wrong answer. You even ruined the confession, I mean who does that?!? I am for real about to throw hands! To be honest it would make sense if you were lying since you're a technically a politician after all, that's like your guy's whole thing.

Bitch don't come back.

I think most of my recorded reaction was just me cursing at her and wanting her to die, I need to get better at insults after looking back at the recording

[lettheladylead]

How do you feel about Mdickie (mad ducktor x Dickie. IDK WHAT THE SHIP NAME IS CUZ I'VE ONLY SEEN LIKE 3 PPL TALK ABOUT IT LOL)

LMAOOO it is literally just a ship that me and yeah i think one or two other people have ever posted about. but its SO FUNNY how could i not like it?????? theres a million different ways to work with it and they are all very funny

[deafknell]

Echidna (ask character meme)

Now the real question is - which version of Echidna? >:3 Let's go with the Echidna Subaru interacts with.

Sexuality Headcanon: She's somebody who would be curious about all forms of love as part of her thirst for knowledge, so I can see her being interested in anybody that could provide a new experience.

A ship I have with said character: Hmmm, Emidona maybe? I've seen some cute fanart and it is funny seeing Echidna lose her shit over Emilia just being nice to people.

A BROTP I have with said character: Toxic brotp has to go to Subaru, but like... any of the witches works. I really want to see more about them interacting, but I've been slacking lately. Oh, and if we're counting all forms of Echidna, then Omega and Palmyra and Colette is pretty interesting.

A NOTP I have with said character: Subaru. I dont mind it if its portrayed as a very toxic ship, where its very clearly wrong, but it feels weird seeing a witch willing to let him die millions of times for her curiosity just have a happy relationship with him. Sends a bad message to me.

Oh and Echidna/Roswaal. That one's just...yeesh.

A random headcanon: Scarfdona has a lot more going on behind the scenes (Capella trying to hunt her down in Cat's Eye, for example) but I have a strong feeling Echidna intentionally made her in a way to obscure certain knowledge (like how she was made, her purpose, memories) just so that if Echidna-As-Omega were to meet her, it'd be a goldmine of new info.

But I could be very wrong! I just want more info on how exactly the different Echidna's matter to the plot.

General Opinion over said character: Very polarised. Witch Echidna was fascinating, I love her long rant in the WN/LN (which got fully adapted in the manga as a whole page spread!! 2000 words over like two pages) and the sheer psychological horror she poses during arc 4 as Subaru's surrogate parent - super good. Her relationship with Beatrice is so cruel but there's so much you can do with that dynamic. I don't care for Echidna and Roswaal's dynamic beyond how messed up it makes Roswaal, but even there I can admire the writing.

But I'm not really fond of the several different Echidna's running around. I can understand Omega, but Scarfdona doesn't even have a unique name. I have very mixed feelings about Scarfdona, from her shortening Ana's lifespan by spamming Jiwald uselessly to her muted role in the Ana camp (Only Ana knows her, despite meeting Scarfdona when she was 12. I know she's an intelligent character but keeping that under wraps for 10 years??) It just feels like that iteration is very lackluster compared to what we've expected from Dream Echidna and Omega.

Thanks for the ask!!

[samrut]

*cracks knuckles* I’m about to order in bulk (regarding that writing asks you reblogged)

Can you please answer questions….

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please and thank you! ^u^

Order Up!

[Sorry if I missed some.]

Favorite character to write?

Alfred is the easiest for me, but I am unsure if he is my favorite. It depends on the fic. I like writing for Ivan, Arthur, Tolys, and Feliks. 

What character is the most challenging to write?

Of the characters I have written, Kiku, Ludwig, and Romano I'd say, are most difficult for me.

What do you keep in mind when writing a particular character?

The character's core values, beliefs, and personal mission statement.

What is your process when writing?

Lately, I've been making outlines. One for the overall story, and then an outline for each individual chapter—although I don't always follow it.

Strange things you've had to research for Hetalia fanfiction?

How long it takes to go blind without eyelids.

Other things like that . . .

Any fic writers that inspire you or you look up to?

There are so many awesome fic writers. I've been reading through Fhujeth's works recently. Dialogue is so good.

What fic is your favourite? Which one do you want to disown?

My favorites of my works are Tag, Hotel Roommates, Rumor, and Return from the Void. Most of them are RusAme. I enjoyed the process of writing all of them, and they are complete.

Blood Splattered Banner I'd gladly disown. It was my first ever fic. It reeks of old fandom and teenage angst.

Where do you find inspiration?

I do not look for inspiration. It finds me. 

What frustrates you about writing for the fandom?

Nothing really. I do wish some ships were more popular, but it doesn't bug me much. I write mainly for myself and to vent.

Have you written anything you would have never thought you would write in a million years?

I've written some pretty strange things. Nothing surprises me at this point. 😆

Any Hetalia AUs that live rent free in your head?

So many! 

I pretty much only write AUs. Anything with fantasy, the supernatural, or fairytale/folklore is always swimming around in my brain. I am an AU generator, I swear.

What headcanons are essential in your writing?

For my Canon Divergence works I have so many headcanons. I'd say the core essential is that the Nation's are poster children and seen as international celebrities. They don't have much say in government or anything like that.

They kind of just do what they are told to do by their bosses and don't really have a say.

Have you written Nyotalia, Gakuen Hetalia, 2p etc?

Yes. I've written Nyotalia characters a few times, and 2p!Can. Very little, though.

What makes your characterizations different than others?

I don't restrict my characterizations. They vary depending on the fic. 

Do you have playlists or character boards for inspiration?

Not really. I have a small Tolys playlist, but I rarely listen to music when I write.

How do you feel about using accents in fics?

I used to use them in my early writing, but not anymore. I sometimes mention that a character has a specific accent, but I no longer write dialogue that way. I don't feel it is necessary.

How do you feel about using foreign language in fics?

I do not mind it, as long as it isn't overdone. A word here or there is fine, like pet names or a greeting. 

Best writing advice you can give.

Write for yourself, not for others. Don't hyper-focus on your fic statistics. 

How would you define your writing style?

I am not sure how to describe it. Freeform? I don't follow 'proper' writing rules or anything.

My stuff is normally pretty dark and unsavory.

Favourite line in a fic?

These jumped out at me;

[Downpour]

"It's fine. Besides him violently fucking me with his massive horse dong, he really wasn't that bad. He was sort of nice, for a sadist."

[Hotel Roommates- I enjoyed writing the dialogue for this one. Has some funny lines.]

"Please, may I have a wee bit of wa'aa milord?" mocked Jones, "the thurst is causing me frail Bri'ish body chew wilt."

and

"Ivan gave you a love tap, and you nearly exploded," Alfred said.

[the-firebird69]

We're getting a lot of help and he says it always makes a difference and we get a boost and we start advancing so he wants to do it every Friday which is a great idea. In between we start sweltering and is terrible and I'm going to see what he's saying and makes it hotter but it really works pretty good we're getting territory in other businesses and things we really need assistance we're falling behind in many areas one of them is military equipment so he's got an idea to send the old stuff to us and we just put in new gaskets and even on the engines we can do that we have to hire people and he learned it for me he says so I couldn't say no we're getting millions and millions of pieces no at first in billions now it's trillions there's a ton of it I just holding it waiting for someone to ask for it a lot of it's coming in from our areas but no most of it is coming from the Middle East and other places want it so we have to have a big meeting and we're gonna take it all in all of it and ships jets tanks trunks CB stuff and you name it humvees we have a car that would turn into a Hummer 1/2 nicely and I've seen it and you turn into like a Baja buggy we need those too a lot of them and I'll tell you what I'm gonna start making them and so they can roll and he says that we can make light trucks pretty quick if we stamp them and Africa makes weird stuff he says could probably get away with and goo hoya that's us can have shaq do like a similar stuff really they're gonna handful out here and he says it you stamp it you stamp the top and you stick it together and it's another weird vehicle and they usually don't carry on but we have a feel you will we have a feeling it will and we have a repair system we're gonna go ahead and do that it's taken too long to do everything else with the stamping technique we should have like three trillion by the end of next week so I'm gonna try and work with Shaq and get some plants going and see what they say I mean this is a great idea and for now we're getting hardware tons of it and you can actually stamp that stuff it would be more like alloy of steel but we're getting ready for it and we're gonna do a lot of it

We need equipment and we need factory stuff we have some factories we have some pretty quick building techniques tilt up is one we'd like to form them in place is stronger and he's right we can use panels and reinforce the insides we have a wood that works it's not a bad idea because steel is hard to come by and we can make a ton of these plants and we can repair a ton of them for the military use of ours and it would look like everybody else so we're gonna start doing it and we're gonna start doing it now right now

Gu Oya

we need ssetuff so we request what and attch agents to make sure plnets get built and to work on schedules to monitor and from now on. we hve it and explains they lean towards African and good. and we use it to keep the peace and work now. and shall Father Mother good need it. o keep up w it. ask your eldest and good shll. now we roll

Hera

and ut is us

Apocalypse USA and She Apocalypse USA

and ok we are a different branch

the Rock and i was big seven foot real cosplya lol and got yelps yells shreaks nd more good and ok and too much. lol

the rock so good luck

Olympus

[tealeavesandthorns]

Shipping Q's -

what’s the best thing about shipping for you? 6. do you have any ship bias with your muse? 7. what do you think about OC x canon ships? would you play any?15. what’s your OTP when it comes to your muse? 20. is there a ship you wanted to play, but couldn’t yet? 23. have you ever been pushed to ship something? 27. did you ever play a wedding? 33. what’s the first ship you played? 38. how easily does your muse get crushes? 39. does your muse have a celebrity crush?

SHIPPING QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN - SFW EDITION!

what’s the best thing about shipping for you?

It's strange really, you'd think it would be the romance, hell you'd think I'd love romance novels and such but actually adventure is where my heart lies and movies it's always been about fantasy adventure. What I love about shipping though is the journey. I love the different ways people fall in love with each other and I've rped quite a lot of them. I love going into interactions adamant about not shipping and then it just happens naturally. I think all the ships I've loved the most though have been the unexpected ones, ones I never could have seen coming in a million years. I just love writing people falling in love, I don't know why. I suppose it's an adventure of it's own in a way. Also at heart I'm a real big believer in the love conquers all thing.

6. do you have any ship bias with your muse?

TBH, I think with Maria it's absolutely one thing I've learnt not to have. She has certain tastes, and things she generally doesn't find attractive - like she'd never fall in love with anyone younger than her. But some of the ships she's had in the past have honestly just surprised me so much that I gave up any kind of bias pretty quickly I would say. I also feel with shipping it very much comes down to chemistry so there's no character (that fit her criteria) that I could see myself being like ABSOLUTELY NOT about. That being said Maria is definitely a lot more attracted to more dominant/domineering male characters. If they have the energy that they could take charge she'll be doing the 0.0 eyes.

7. what do you think about OC x canon ships? would you play any?

I play an OC so it would be pretty strange of me not to play them! I adore OC x Canon ships though and I've always written/read fanfic of them.

15. what’s your OTP when it comes to your muse?

God I have several. Multiship means they all have their own verses and such so it makes the OTP thing a bit less complicated. That being said here are some of my favourite ships pre 2017, that I wrote for Maria (half of these blogs are deleted/inactive now - with the exception of admiralchristopherpike). Maria x Pike (AOS) - Maria x Spock (AOS) - Maria x Bones (AOS) - Maria x Scotty (AOS) - Maria x Jim Gordon (Nolan) - Maria x Alfred (Gotham) - Maria x Andy Bernard (The Office) - Maria x Sherlock (BBC) - Maria x Bruce Banner (MCU) - There was also a gorgeous OC called Sam and that was an adorable ship but I forget the full name!

20. is there a ship you wanted to play, but couldn’t yet?

I've written a lot of fanfic in my days and generally speaking, I've tended towards pairing Maria with obscure characters or characters who rarely seemed to get RP'd so I often just write the fanfic. There are ships that I ponder on, that seem like they could be fun for Maria but honestly in the end it all comes down to chemistry and portrayal.

23. have you ever been pushed to ship something?

Yes, twice - once on Maria the first time, I was so new to rping too I just sort of pushed past my own discomfort. Then once on Tauriel which I gave a hard pass too and was stalked b/c of it. I may have had it on male muses once or twice but I don't really remember.

27. did you ever play a wedding?

Yes a few times actually! Pike and Maria, pretty sure Bruce and Maria were married, pretty sure Andy and Maria were definitely married. Then Briar and Scotty got married which was adorable, we turned that into like an event for our little rp circle.

33. what’s the first ship you played?

The timelines getting a bit jumbled in my head and I know that before this there were a few because I think I was part of a OUAT rp group but the first real one I think was Maria x Bruce Banner.

38. how easily does your muse get crushes?

Stupidly easily, if something even resembles a meet cute she's probably crushing. If someone just says something that catches her attention the right way and makes her look at them in a certain light, she'll catch a crush.

39. does your muse have a celebrity crush?

Alan Grant from Jurassic Park - the movie - so I suppose Sam Neill. Also though Jim Dale from the Carry On Films, Harrison Ford, Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, Sean Connery (The Rock/Entrapment/LoXG) and of course Colin Firth!

[subjectively-objective]

Power On! Analyzing Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future (Part 1, Intro and overview)

Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future was a science fiction television series that aired its last and only 22 episode season in 1987.

As with all children's television series in the 80s, Captain Power had a toy line. I couldn't find much on it (and don't care to), but they appear to just be a couple of action figures and ships. Though, they do have an interesting gimmick where the episodes of the show (or three different VHS tapes, $14.99 each) can interact with the ships, even causing the toy to 'blow up and eject pilots when all points are lost'. Kinda neat, but I'm not here to play with toys. I'm here to watch the commercial for those toys.

And that commercial is an odd one. It's about, well. . . I'll let the intro do the talking.

Yeah. As you can see, humanity fought in the "Metal Wars" against machines, and "machines won." Now Captain Power and his crew have to use their power suits to fight Lord Dread and his "bio-Dread empire" to save the world.

Besides the (pretty dark) exposition dump, you may also notice a startling amount of, let's call them 'experimental', computer effects.

The late 80s were. . . odd. Computers had permeated throughout society but had yet to singularitize into the Internet (at least, the websitey Internet we know and loathe today). They were powerful enough to create and render digital images, but were far from being able to effectively do so beside real-life footage. Yet this did not deter everyone with a computer, a camera, and a $1 million an episode budget from trying their hardest. Captain Power et al. was one such attempt.

But if you look past the Birdemic-esque CGI, and the Power Rangerian synopsis, does the meat of the series hold up? I've never seen it, so let's dig in.

So, the intro starts and we see our eponymous captain followed by a very 90s explosion. There's some exposition told over backdrops of ruined cities. So far so awesome.

This particular ruined city was odd to me. The other shots were of dense cityscapes, but there are only a few small buildings in this one. Sure they are mostly rubble, but the foundations are still there and none of them could have had more than three floors. The street between them isn't even paved! This brings up a lot of questions. Was this some small town that was destroyed because the machines did a full genocide? Was this a recreation western town that was destroyed because the machines can't tell the difference between a real and fake town? Either way, opening your Saturday Morning children's toy commercial with literal shots of the apocalypse is metal as hell (and probably a bad idea).

Speaking of shots of the war-torn future Earth, the name for that war is the Metal Wars; it's kind of a lame name, but it works.

There's not much else to go on, but I assume it was a war between robots (metal) and humans (fleshal). There's also the issue of "Wars" being plural. Odd that the genocidal machines would sign a peace treaty. Guess they let their Attrition meter get too high. At least Narrator Guy tells us who won in the end; I would never have figured it out otherwise.

After that bit of narration, we get our first non-Power character.

I guess they're a bio-Dread? The toy ad earlier says they are "Sauron, Sky Sentry" (I feel like I recognize that name from somewhere. . .). It looks really cool. Wings, bird head, sassy hip arm pose thing, everything you'd want in your 'monstrous creations that hunt down human survivors and digitize them.'

what

We get a glimpse of what that means in the intro, but it doesn't explain much. Bird-bot shoots a beam, and a lady turns into pixels.

Seems painful, and the scream was a bit frightening for a children's show.

We then get a shot of Volcania which is where our villain lives.

It looks really cool. An industrial wasteland surrounding a giant dome spewing chemical fumes like a volcano. Very robot, much punk.

We also get a shot of Lord Dread.

He looks like a Borg wearing Darth Vader's armor. It's kind of neat but not very original. I know that Lord Dread predates the Borg by about a year, but 'cyborg with one robot eye and one human one' was a concept since Doc Terror in '86 at the earliest. Either way, it wasn't groundbreaking then and it isn't interesting now.

After that we get our first shot of the future soldiers (standing in front of a large explosion of course).

And here they are. The soldiers of the future. The armor looks super toyetic, but it definitely oozes 'f u t u r e'.

It then spins some more exposition on who these people are. Nothing really noteworthy. We have a pilot (Pilot), a spy (Scout), a gun dude (Tank), jetpack guy (Hawk), and 'master of the power suits' (Captain Power).

The flying effect on Hawk is hilariously awful. My man just looks like a toy on a string.

I also have a question about how Scout can do espionage. They are fighting robots. If he disguised himself as one as shown in the intro, they would know because he would have a heartbeat, or not be connected to the system or something, right? Granted, that could be where the 'bio' part of bio-Dread Empire comes in.

Either way, we get one final group shot and title card and the intro is complete.

If I'm being honest, a very strong albeit boring intro. It told me what I need to know about the series, but didn't really make me interested in watching it. There are tons of 80s shows about groups of people using their toys unique powers to fight a bad guy. Though, I am curious to see what the heck digitizing someone means.

Overall, the most noteworthy aspect of the show's concept so far is the fact that the hero's have lost the battle and are on the defensive. Most Saturday morning toy shows at this time had a more equal conflict between two groups (like Transformers, G.I Joe, or Inhumanoids). That and the fact that it is not animated makes it look much darker than its peers. Something that could make it stand out among a sea of mediocrity, or have it form the seabed.

[write-nerdy-to-me]

For someone first getting into the ship, what would you say your favorite captain swan fanfics are? I guess I'm asking you because I've read the tags on some of the captain swan posts you've reblogged, and what seems to draw you to them as a couple hits me too. I lay myself at the mercy of your taste 🙏

oh gosh, i'm honored. captain swan have held a special place in my heart for years, and i'm delighted to hear that you've boarded the ship. but to be honest with you, i only started reading ouat fics semi-recently, so my rec list will be small. even at the mercy of my taste, if you don't vibe with any of these that is totally okay. (i know i am a picky bitch, which may or may not play into why the list is short.)

thank you for the ask, anon! 💜

(fics listed in no particular order below the cut)

something suspiciously like hope | rated G The moment Captain Hook opens himself up to the possibility of love (Season 2, Episode 9)

all love is time travel | rated T Killian has long been a captain, and so he does not show weakness or indecision unless he wishes to. Still, the desire to vouch for their chances of success is difficult to balance with the pressing need to school those uninformed of Neverland’s horrors as to the dangers that lie ahead. All this, under the sneer of Cora’s daughter and the reptile stare of his greatest enemy. All this, before Emma Swan.

wait for the morning (i'll be waiting for you) | rated T When Emma still feels like danger is just around the corner, even after Pan’s curse is averted, she takes to wandering Storybrooke’s streets at night. She’s not the only one. Differences in timing and circumstance can change everything - but some things are inevitable.

keep your heart beating | rated G A short missing/extended scene of Emma returning Killian's heart. A little angst, a little fluff. For anyone who watched that scene and needed it to be a million times longer.

learning how to breathe | rated G Set soon after Dark Hollow at some nebulous point. Emma confronts her parents about Neal, and it leads to a heart-to-heart with a certain pirate.

it would kill me (if you didn't know) | rated M (Blatant disregard of canon to follow--don't make me rewatch the show, please) They saved Henry but all got separated in the process, and when they finally made it back to the ship, Emma realized that they were down a man. She's just gonna have to save him. This features some pretty awesome Emma/David bonding, too. This is a classic 'Killian's been taken while saving them and now he's being tortured and Emma isn't gonna stand for it' fic. I've read them all, and I just needed more. POV switches 3rd person between Killian and the others.

killian, persuaded | rated T AU — Storybrooke — When a stunning betrayal forces Killian Jones to reevaluate his life, he finds himself unexpectedly rescued by his estranged brother. Traveling to Maine to meet the family he didn’t know existed, he immediately comes face-to-face with the woman he pushed away a decade before. This time around he’s determined to be a better man and, if he’s lucky, win back the only woman he ever loved. Basically a Hallmark movie with OUAT characters. (The Romance One)

in the offing | rated M AU - Storybrooke - Emma Swan is drafted to help Liam Jones clear his brother’s name in the disappearance of a former flame. As she digs deeper into the rash of missing person cases, she risks losing more than just her heart as she uncovers the truth. (The Mystery One)

a drowning soul will clutch at any straw | rated T Though this is far from Killian Jones' first encounter with a mermaid, he's never met any quite like this blonde siren. Together, can they break a cruel curse?

sea-foam eyes and a salt-water smile | rated T Killian Jones has seen a lot of things in his job as a private investigator for supernatural beings - but the selkie who walks into his office asking for help is something new and mesmerizing.

[alastorseye]

About Remadora

When I say I really hate the HP fandom, I'm talking about the "fans" that hate everything about the saga, but still having Harry Potter accounts. They change the original story, claim that fanonical facts are canon, and launch hatred and death threats at those who simply like HARRY POTTER JUST THE WAY IT IS. Yes, I'm mostly talking about Marauders fans, which I joined after reading the books because I thought it would be interesting and funny. I suddenly realized how toxic and hateful that fandom was, it's like a cult dedicated to deifying Remus, Sirius, James and Regulus, and it seems that hating Snape, Dumbledore, and Remadora is a requirement to be a part of it.

At the beginning I used to consider Wolfstar as something funny, a bromance, it never bothered me, I mean... every fandom has fanon ships and I respect that, but the way they always hate Remadora and their shippers is something that MUST stop.

"You see!" said a strained voice. Tonks was glaring at Lupin. "She still wants to marry him, even though he's been bitten! She doesn't care!"

"It's different," said Lupin, barely moving his lips and looking suddenly tense. "Bill will not be a full werewolf. The cases are completely -"

"But I don't care either, I don't care!" said Tonks, seizing the front ofLupin's robes and shaking them. "I've told you a million times. . . ." And the meaning of Tonks's Patronus and her mouse-colored hair, and the reason she had come running to find Dumbledore when she had heard a rumor someone had been attacked by Greyback, all suddenly became clear to Harry; it had not been Sirius that Tonks had fallen in love with after all."

"And I've told you a million times," said Lupin, refusing to meet her eyes,staring at the floor, "that I am too old for you, too poor . . . too dangerous. . ."

When I read this part of the HBP I realized that Remadora was my favorite Harry Potter ship. Of course I wasn't aware of the death threats I'd receive later. I've read some "reasons" why some fans hate Remadora.

"Tonks forced him!"

We all know how insecure Remus was. I don't have to explain what's written in Wizarding World (Pottermore). This is the Remus bio:

Well, we can read that Remus was really attracted to Dora.

"Remus, so often melancholy and lonely, was first amused, then impressed, then seriously smitten by the young witch. He had never fallen in love before. If it had happened in peacetime, Remus would have simply taken himself off to a new place and a new job, so that he did not have to endure the pain of watching Tonks fall in love with a handsome, young wizard in the Auror office, which was what he expected to happen. However, this was war; they were both needed in the Order of the Phoenix, and nobody knew what the next day would bring. Remus felt justified in remaining exactly where he was, keeping his feelings to himself but secretly rejoicing every time somebody paired him with Tonks on some overnight mission".

This is so sad and cute, and that's undeniable. I cried when I read it. If someone still thinking that Dora forced Remus to marry her after reading this paragraph... I mean... they're probably talking about another book series.

"The age gap!"

I'm so satisfied to know that some Remadora shippers have explained this. When it's about a kid and an adult... OF COURSE IS HORRENDOUS! Because children are not physically and mentally prepared to have romantic relationships. Wizards are legally adults at 17, REMUS MET TONKS WHEN SHE WAS 21!

I mean, many old people abuses of young people innocence, or something. But we all know that Remus wasn't one of those! He really loved Tonks, and that's canon. I don't know what's doing in the fandom people who denies canon facts.

Remus and Tonks were two physically, mentally, and legally adults loving each other.

"Remus didn't love her!"

He was an introvert, Tonks was an extrovert, she made his life better. And of course, I loved the way he introduced himself when he was trying to prove he wasn't a Death Eater:

"I am Remus John Lupin, werewolf, sometimes known as Moony, one of the four creators of the Marauder's Map, married to Nymphadora, usually known as Tonks, and I taught you how to produce a Patronus, Harry, which takes the form of a stag." (Remus Lupin, DH)

Maybe I'm not the only one who perceive he was proud to be Nymphadora Tonks husband.

"I.. I made a grave mistake in marrying Tonks. I did it against my better judgment and have regretted it very much every since". (Remus Lupin, DH)

This phrase makes more sense after reading Remus bio. He used to think that he was "too poor, too dangerous" for her. He thought he wasn't enough for her. He never imagined that she would love him back. He was a werewolf, and of course he knew he was dangerous, you only need to be emphatic to realize he tried to get away from Tonks because he loved her, he didn't want to hurt his beloved woman!

If you don't believe me, read this again. It's in the chapter 11 of Deathly Hallows:

"Don't you understand what I've done to my wife and my unborn child? I should never have married her, I've made her an outcast!"

So, if Remus was trying to escape it's because he loved them, he thought he spoiled their lives. And of course, no one likes to feel that their influence is bad for someone they love!

"Their relationship came from nowhere! They don't have a development"

Well, the saga's name is HARRY POTTER, not The Love Life of Remus Lupin. The story is about the tragic life of this kid and everything he went through to save the world of a cruel and dark villain. I know many readers are young people in love, and they only want to ship everything, but that's not the main topic here, maybe mother's love would be the topic. Of course Ron and Hermione had a development because they were HARRY'S BEST FRIENDS, and they were always with him, from Philosopher's Stone to Cursed Child. Remus and Tonks are minor characters, and it's funny the fact that this usually comes from Wolfstar shippers, so... is Wolfstar more developed than Remadora?! I mean... they can ship whatever they want, Snape and the Sorting Hat, Dobby and Voldemort, anything, but that does not give them the right to disrespect such a cute, tragic and beautiful canon ship as Remadora.

"They are queercoded! Their relationship is homophobic!"

It's surprising to hear this. It's like... people gets angry just because the author doesn't make queer their favourite characters? I will explain why I don't think Remus and Tonks are "queercoded":

Whether through their dress, their behavior, their language, or other subtle forms of implication, queer characters were written or designed to communicate their unstated queerness to those who were searching for representation.

And this is the definition on the website Pride.com:

"Using LGBTQIA tropes and stereotypes to allude to a character's sexuality without explicitly confirming it in the text."

We all know that Disney used queercoding on characters like Ursula, Scar, Jaffar. And why do we know that? Because DISNEY WANTED TO PORTRAY THEM LIKE THAT, get it? Disney, THE CREATORS MADE THESE CHARACTERS INTENTIONALLY QUEER. How? BASED ON STEREOTYPES.

And going back to Remadora, I was really happy to see by first time a bada*ass woman, with short hair who wasn't portrayed as a lesbian just because the way she looks. This character didn't follow the: "Straight women have long hair and are girly", and "short dyied hair is for lesbians". I'm very very very surprised the fandom follows these stereotypes.

About Remus: I don't know how the phrase "being a werewolf is a metaphor about people with HIV AIDS" means "he's gay". Fenrir Greyback bit him when he was a kid. Many people interpret this as "r4pe". Okay, even thinking that it is the meaning of the "bite", I still cannot understand how being "r4ped" and "infected" makes him queer. Is this (again) a stereotype about people with AIDS and gay?

"JK Rowling created Remadora because she didn't like people shipping Wolfstar!"

It is true that fans love shipping everything, they queerbait and queercode everything. That's great, that's not the problem. The problem is when people starts bashing fans who ship canon straight couples. A very good example is the polemic on Falcon and Bucky relationship, some fans wanted them to be a gay couple, Anthony Mackie said that two men can only be friends, and there is no need to always give them a romantic connotation. People cancelled him, they called him homophobic. Yes, just because a person with authority (on the story they're following") didn't like the fact of queercoding their favourite characters. It's the same about Remadora.

Grindeldore is a very interesting and underrated couple by the way. You can love or hate JK Rowling, but the truth is that Harry Potter story is hers, and even if Remadora was "because she didn't like Wolfstar", she is the author, it was her mind where these characters first appeared, as a big Harry Potter fan I respect and like the original story, that's not a sin. An author has the right to make some changes if some characters were misunderstood by the readers.

(Yes, I wrote this a bit angrily since I've seen too much hate towards Remadora shippers)

[organic-guacamole]

I've got a lot of thoughts on this finale.

starting with the length.

27 minutes? really?

I'm not asking for a 2 hour episode but cmon, at least give us something closer to 40 minutes.

next, the characters

the characters just didn't feel like themselves, especially portwell.

all season long we saw how much potential they had, how well communicated they were, how good they were at being a proper, healthy couple, and now they just can't talk to each other?

it doesn't feel like them.

portwell had arguably the best set up of all the other ships, they showed us how good they had the potential to be only to throw in a cheap plot to wrap it up? I would understand that they want some angst to make the ending all the more satisfying, but this was pathetic.

there I said it.

of all the ways to add drama in a ship, don't use the one that completely contradicts their entire development.

paired with the length of the episode, it seemed even more poorly written.

here I made a lovely, handy dandy homemade graph to represent how I see portwell's storyline:

as i said before, we saw the build up being nearly perfect. they peaked during episodes 9-11 because they just had the chemistry, the communication, and the most potential to be the endgame couple.

they just got eachother.

then we get Jamie popping in for 10 seconds and erasing a lot of that, only for mediator Ashlyn to jump in and solve their problems.

then there's the "kiss".

I know that Sofia is underage and that even if she/her legal guardians consent to the kiss, the writers can still decide not to show it, but still. In my opinion, if you're not going to show the kiss, then don't bother.

there are other ways to establish a relationship that would work better in this situation. Of course if they get together they'll have to kiss sometime, but one way they could postpone it is by having Gina be a bit more reluctant to give away her first kiss like that. it could also show how accomodating EJ is.

I like to think that Gina is very meticulous when making decisions so she'll probably want to be very sure of the relationship before giving him her first kiss. perhaps she'd stick to cheek kisses until she's ready, and then she kisses him and he's surprised.

that would've been, in my opinion, a sufficient way to hold off the kiss while still wrapping up portwell until season 3 when Sofia would be 18 (assuming they get picked up for S3 this summer then start filming fall-winter. Sofia will be 18 in January).

as my friend @rtcosley (idk why it's not letting me tag them, so their page is linked) said,

"They created like 10 plots

And instead of wrapping it up

They added 4 more"

there's just so much more they could've done...it's the season finale for crying out loud.

I get that seblos already had (what I assume is) their storyline for the season, the fight and resolution. Ignoring the fact that that only lasted for 2 episodes and didn't have anything to do with what we were expecting, (i.e.the financial differences between their families, as mentioned in episode 1, the fact that everyone treats seb like he's stupid, this being carlos' first show and the drama that the stress of that caused, etc.), seblos had to purpose this episode than to stand next to eachother and be gay.

I get that they're not part of the core four or anything, but the poster for season 2 has all of them, as opposed to season 1 just being the core four.

They deserved better, just like redlyn and kowie.

redlyn's arc was pretty early in the season compared to the other ships. they had Ashlyn confessing her insecurities in episode 3, antoine stirring the pot of confusion and causing a bit of distance between them briefly, and then big red confessing his goals and plans for the future in episode 8 and for the rest of it, we just see them getting closer and more comfortable with each other and caring about each other more and more.

they had a good arc together.

but that's just it. I wanted to see them have their own arcs. but then again, this show can't seem to balance multiple storylines. I think it is possible, but not when they keep adding new characters that don't contribute anything much to the story(more on that later).

kowie's storyline is... confusing.

I really like their dynamic, how carefree and happy Kourtney gets around him, how she's remaining true to herself and managing a million and one things, plus a relationship in her own without losing herself to it all.

but the main issue I have is that the entire development was never shown.

we went from strangers, to coworkers, to friends that flirt, to lovers that text constantly and went on numerous dates (and Howie met her mother at some point). but all of that, was off screen.

it's like the writers made every episode with them in it kind of thrown in at a new stage of relationship progression and said "here, accept this, no questions asked because we don't have answers"

I just wish we could've seen more of howie trying to get in her good side again after episode 7 because it seems like that's when a lot of it happened.

I appreciate the Rini scene in this episode, seems to be the very end of them, for good this time.

i'm happy about that.

Ricky especially deserves to be free for a while to focus on his development, and Nini has the chance now to really shine through her talents and make a name for herself.

The Rini storyline is the only one I'm fully satisfied with.

now, that being said;

what the heck are they trying to pull with Lily and Ricky rn???

just like that.

after lily being the villain this whole season, they're just gonna not redeem her and then have her confess her feelings to Ricky, a guy she barely knows and only talked to to harass and intimidate, and for him to reject her publicly then call her afterwards?

please I hope it's just to say "you dropped something, here it is and never contact me again, thanks." /hj

speaking of the villains, this season was promoted as the season of rivalry between North and East High right? so why did that plot idea only progress in about 3 out if 12 episodes?

we got Zackey Roy in there for a few episodes then he disappeared, Lily just caused Gina to stay true to her friends in episode 2 and 7 and then basically did nothing else?

this is what I mean by the new characters providing nothing to the show.

the writers can't manage having so many characters and plots at once so they start so many promising arcs, only to kick them aside later on.

we already know that the first half of the season felt like filler episodes, so I think they could've cut those down to leave room for the more important plots to take root, rather than have them pop up and get rushed at the end of the season.

all that, and they just add 4 more plots at the end of the season.

this post sounds very negative looking back...but if I'm being honest with myself, I'm just very very disappointed.

I love this show so much and I really expected better for the season finale, especially if they don't know if it's getting renewed or not.

given the IMDB ratings of this episode so far, I don't have very high expectations for the renewal, but I'm still hopeful because this show is a great thing, one of the best things that happened to me over the course of this quarantine. I've become so attached to this show, the cast and the friends I made through it, that I don't know what I would do if it just ends like this. writing these reviews and posts about this season has been so fun for me to do and thinking that this may be the very last one is a painful thought.

I'm sorry if you were expecting this post to be as light-hearted as my other posts about the episodes, I just had a lot to say about this episode in particular.

all my episode posts are tagged with "#guac's episode text blocks :)" in case you wanna read through and reminisce the simpler times🥲

[alwaysrunningoutoftime]

Part 2 of Shirbert & Rivamika Parallels

Part 1

Once again made in response to @gilly-bj post.

Heartbreaking Moment (very different tones) (AG, RM)

Teamwork (RM: 1, 2, 3)

(okay so I can't include every single moment rivamika were a team but here are a few)

Heart to Heart (AG, RM)

Lastly, I'd like to add Anne&Gilbert and Anne with an E is one piece of media that has thankfully shaped my outlook on love. Anne says these words in Season 2 Episode 8:

“Remember when I wanted to be a bride but not a wife. I think I need to reimagine the whole marriage-wedding thing. Well it isn’t just about one brief shining moment in white or saying I do...

We will be equals and partners, not just husband and wife…

I’ve come up with a new name for both parties together because I believe that they should be named the same. Life-mate. Instead of a marriage I shall call it a love bond and any two people can have one.”

This truly stuck with me. And the ships that have this type of love, seeing each other as EQUALS and PARTNERS. Those are the ships I gravitate towards: when two people are equals, they balance each other out, and they can help each other to grow. They bring out the best in each other. It's a huge part of why I ship rivamika because they have demonstrated this throughout their development and they have the potential to have more.

THE ENDGAME

RIVAMIKA WHEN ???!!! But I guess...

"Tragical romance and all?" "Remains to be seen."

I'm not at all expecting it to happen in canon, but a girl can dream. I'd also like to add what Aunt Josephine says in Season 3 Episode 8:

I've never bought into that you-just-know notion. Love is a tricky thing. Sometimes it feels like an undeniable force that hits between the eyes and doesn’t let up. Other times, it’s malleable, questionable. It’s truth hidden in and amongst external obstacles and internal circumstances that formed who you are, what you expect in the world, and how you can accept love. Oh, to say the least, it’s complicated. And if a mind’s abuzz with pressure and deadlines and “what if this and that,” I imagine love’s truth would be a near-impossible thing to feel. I wonder if, when all's quiet in your mind, you'll find your answer." -- Aunt Jo

And I'll just throw this in for good measure as it was part of my favourite quotes. (wow the hopeless romantic in me truly did pop out right now)

"A marriage makes two fractional lives a whole; it gives two purposeless lives a work and doubles the strength of each to perform it; it gives two questioning natures a reason for living and something to live for; it will give a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, and a new mystery to life.”  — Mark Twain

And that's the potential I see in rivamika. So who's really winning the ship that was questionably declared canon with one dead. (sweetie its not canon) Or the ship that has a million possibilities, who has a strong foundation to build upon. And the beauty of fandom is all of us can create our own endgames a million times over.

So do you agree? And what parallels did I forget? Feel free to add them. And let me know what you think! (I spent far more time then I care to admit on this so I hope you enjoyed it.)