#SOME PEOPLE SAY SHE WAS THE WRITERS FAVORITE AND I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THEM

[themayomambo]

THIS ALL OF THIS

BUT ALSO

She knew she'd outlive Shepard, of course, but I think what drove her over the edge was the amount of time she was able to be with them. It's safe for Liara to assume Shepard is the best of humanity, the council literally chose them as the first human spectre, they are at the top of Alliance military skill level, and they seemed untouchable to her. Time and time again, Liara had the opportunity to witness Shepard survive and surpass things no other being in the galaxy could endure. I think Liara fell into a false sense of security that their time together would last many years later.

And then Liara watches her die, not at the end of another hundred years, not after decades, not even after years, but months.

The Normandy had become her new home, romance or not. She stays after the events of ME1 and just as much a part of the crew as when they were after Saren. Then she watches her home get blasted to bits and the one person that made it all happened was destroyed alongside it.

Liara knows what it's like to be alone, even said she prefers it. But I don't think they were ready to be alone again. Not after just months of a new home and friends. People who treated her well, maybe more people than ever before to treat her seriously for once.

If I was freshly 18/19 years old and I had mere months of a fresh start and time spent with dear friends, or even the very first person I allowed to be vulnerable with in such an intimate level? I'd break, and break everything around me in turn to latch onto what was left.

For a romanced Liara, I wonder what the part Shepard they kept within themselves was like. Was it a voice? A feeling? Did it tell/inspire her to keep going, keep fighting? Could it be a part of why she turned so cold and unshakable in her mission to retrieve Shepards body and hunt the Shadow Broker?

Either way, I will never stop thinking about her.

the fact that LIARA was the one who worked to bring you back to life is such good characterisation for her and for Assari in general. Like. Everyone else grieved, but they moved on with their lives, they focused on their own goals, they honoured your memory in their own ways, but they kept going. But Liara couldn't. And of course she couldn't. Liara was older than most of the people ont he normandy, but culturally she was the younget. At just over a century old, Liara is only just an adult. She hasn't experienced grief in this way before - where someone is torn away from you way too young. Her mother died, and she's still reeling from that in ME1 but hey, she was a matriach and she died to try and do the right thing and she was older, but Shepard? Liara can't handle it.

And that's so facinating because...Liara was always going to outlive Shepard and the crew anyway. That's what being an Asari in this multi-species galaxy means, it means that you're going to outlive so many of your potential friends.

IDK man i think its facinating i love her

[nikethestatue]

Unpopular opinion that many of you won't agree with and I am okay with that.

I know that people are kind of upset that SJM didn't post anything today on ACOTAR's 10th anniversary.

And while I understand the disappointment, I feel like we are the ones to blame for it, and for her complete disengagement from the fandom.

Her fanbase hates every character she created, constantly craps on the IC, which are obviously her favorites, hates Rhys, Feyre, Cassian, Elain, Mor, etc. Only likes Azriel in conjunction with Gwyn, which isn't her intention. Her fandom is obsessed with Tamlin and Lucien, characters she clearly dislikes or has no interest in. Her fanbase writes huge metas about how every single thing she ever wrote sucks. How she is sexist, racist, homophobic, how she is a tradwife, how awful her characters are, how everyone is toxic and abusive. How she promotes SA. How she promotes horrible relationships. Some fuckers went after her Holocaust-survivor grandma! People threatened SJM. Threatened her kids. Vowed to destroy her and her career.

She was a teen when she set out to write stories. She was happy writing them. But the fandom destroyed any goodwill that she had for it and I don't blame her for wanting to pull back as far from it as possible.

Personally, I've experienced a lot of hate in this fandom, and even though I have thick skin, sometimes it gets very difficult to deal with it day in and day out. Even when I actively avoid things that have been posted about me--and I know SJM does the same and avoids social media--it's often impossible to shield yourself completely.

It hurts especially hard when it pertains to something you spend so much time doing. Writing is a tedious, boring and solitary activity. But you live with the characters. You have extremely close relationships with them. They are almost like children to you. You conceived them, carried them, bore them, nurtured them. And when someone starts accusing you of awful things, and bashing these characters, there is no way not to take it seriously.

No amount of 'training' or 'preparedness' actually prepares you for how hurtful it could be. How vicious people get, because social media offers them anonymity and they feel that they can just word-vomit freely and without recourse.

SJM is a writer. She wanted to write stories that lived in her head. Her life and her writing don't revolve around some bullshit issues that people want to actively get upset about, because it will get them views on TikTok and because it's trendy to do so and to shit on everything and everyone.

No, she isn't active and doesn't engage not because she has kids, or is busy, or whatever. That's just cop out excuses. No. She just doesn't want to. And I GET HER. That's why I am not mad.

She feels like she fulfilled the contract with us, as in --she writes the books and we read them. And she doesn't owe us anything beyond that. She treats us like crap because we treat her like crap.

As the old saying goes: don't shit where you eat.

If you wanted engagement, if you wanted your questions answered, if you wanted Lives, then people shouldn't have acted like complete twats for the past 10 years towards her.

Unfortunately, a few bad apples spoiled the whole damn bunch and now we are all paying the price.

I wish she was more active and I wish she engaged with the fandom. But I get her. I wouldn't either.

That's just my 2 cents. I know most will disagree with my stance, but I applaud her for aloofness. Because maybe people will realize that you can't just treat authors and creators in general like crap, and then complain and demand interactions.

[obsidianpen]

What's so great about Harrymort, anyway? This ship basically consists of Stockholm syndrome, power inequality, and abuse. The same can be applied to Tomione but I understand that last one and I even started to appreciate this ship a lot. Hermione is the character most similar to Tom, if she had the ambition that Tom had, she could have become something similar to Voldemort in canon. But beyond that, Hermione is someone Tom/V could respect and have as an ally. She is someone who would be able to rule alongside him, and everyone would benefit from that, since she is fair and good. Also if Tom/V had her by his side, he would be a more stable version than the one in canon. So.. I understand why you like this ship so much but.. the more I think about Harrymort the more I feel disgusted. Harry is not a character that people respect and fear, he is just Harry. Just that. Some random boy. There's nothing special about him, and if it weren't for the horcrux he would already be dead since chapter 1 of the books. Tom/V is a prodigy, one of the most powerful wizards in the books, he wouldn't be interested in someone so ordinary. But let's say yes, that Tom/V is interested in Harry precisely because he is common and average, since they have a similar background - This is difficult to happen, V is not an empathetic character but let's pretend so - and because of the horcrux, of course it's because of the horcrux, that's the only reason, the only thing that makes Harry stand out among the others -not even that came from him lol so sad- If our hypothetical scenario happened, Harry would be a toy for Tom /V -he already is- "ah, but the fun is in how much Harry fights, he was going to fight, that's what he is" oh yes, this argument is the favorite of the Tomarymort fans, huh? He wouldn't be able to fight forever, this character has been in fight or flight mode since the beginning, he'll get tired eventually, V would be able to break him, and do you think V is the type to keep things broken? I don't think so. My point is Tomarymort is a ship that explores abuse, toxic and destructive relationships, physical and psychological torture, Stockholm syndrome etc. And that's fine if you like it but I think we can all agree that this ship and love should NEVER be put in the same sentence . Because love and respect would never exist between these two characters. No matter how good the writer is, some things just don't work. Just become them ooc, that's what happens most lol

Preface: I’m breaking this one down point by point, and then I am never responding to anything similar ever again. I will also not be posting anonymous responses to this. I hate being the middle man for a tumblr shipping war, so I’m not going to participate in that. If you want to respond, you can leave a comment or reblog it into your own page. 💖

What's so great about Harrymort, anyway? 

The drama, the intensity, the wrongness, the clashing of opposites, the most extreme version of enemies to lovers…

This ship basically consists of Stockholm syndrome, power inequality, and abuse. 

In some fics sure, yeah. But these are all really interesting - terrible, yes, but super interesting to dive into. There is a reason people like to read/watch psychological thrillers, horror, etc. I don’t feel like I should have to explain this very massive, common human drive, so I won’t. Go google it!

The same can be applied to Tomione but I understand that last one and I even started to appreciate this ship a lot. 

Cool, you like these things too! And you’re completely allowed to prefer Hermione to Harry. Whatever you want to read.

Hermione is the character most similar to Tom, if she had the ambition that Tom had, she could have become something similar to Voldemort in canon. 

Strong disagree here - she did have that ambition imo, she just… wasn’t evil, and she became Minister of Magic in canon, so. Pretty ambitious and somewhat similar, just in the legal, ‘good’ way.

But beyond that, Hermione is someone Tom/V could respect and have as an ally. 

Mm, no, she was a muggleborn, so in canon, a LOT of major shifts would have needed to happen for her to simply not be killed, or maybe tortured a hunch for fun, first, before eventually… being killed.

She is someone who would be able to rule alongside him, and everyone would benefit from that, since she is fair and good. 

Again, LOTS of things would have had to happen in canon for this to be even remotely possible. Unless you’re imagining some kind of AU where Tom Riddle is the same age as the trio, and they grow up together and can therefore influence each other on more equal footing…? But that’s Tom, not canon Voldemort, and you started this referencing Voldemort.

Also if Tom/V had her by his side, he would be a more stable version than the one in canon. 

Uh, would he? Assuming we’ve jumped over the impossible canon hurdles to get Hermione by Lord Voldemort’s side, by the time Hermione is even in the magical world, he’s been a bodiless spirit with a shredded soul for years. It would be a tall order for Hermione - or anyone - to make him more stable. I like arguing that Harry could sort of manage this in canon because of the horcrux connection, but that’s me making things up that are FAR from canon, and Hermione doesn’t have this. 

So.. I understand why you like this ship so much but.. the more I think about Harrymort the more I feel disgusted. 

Cool, your feelings are valid! You should probably stop thinking about Harrymort for your mental health. You can block tags/keywords/etc on tumblr so that you see less of it.

Harry is not a character that people respect and fear, he is just Harry. Just that. Some random boy. There's nothing special about him, and if it weren't for the horcrux he would already be dead since chapter 1 of the books. 

Well, that’s not true, imo. Harry was the best at Defensive Magic, he was an amazing flier, he is brave and bold and puts his life on the line for others without question - even people who don’t deserve it and who tried to harm him, like Draco. Those are all extraordinary traits that maybe some people make the mistake of ignoring and underestimating. 

Tom/V is a prodigy, one of the most powerful wizards in the books, he wouldn't be interested in someone so ordinary. 

If not for the horcrux, maybe not. But also, maybe. We don’t know what Harry would have been like if he grew up with a normal happy healthy family. Maybe he would have thrived in many ways, and he would have gleaned some interest. But even without that, see above comment to take note of some of Harry’s traits that he has despite growing up in an abusive home. Voldemort said himself that he values bravery. 

But let's say yes, that Tom/V is interested in Harry precisely because he is common and average, since they have a similar background - This is difficult to happen, V is not an empathetic character but let's pretend so - and because of the horcrux, of course it's because of the horcrux, that's the only reason, the only thing that makes Harry stand out among the others -not even that came from him lol so sad- If our hypothetical scenario happened, Harry would be a toy for Tom /V -he already is- "ah, but the fun is in how much Harry fights, he was going to fight, that's what he is" oh yes, this argument is the favorite of the Tomarymort fans, huh? He wouldn't be able to fight forever, this character has been in fight or flight mode since the beginning, he'll get tired eventually, V would be able to break him, and do you think V is the type to keep things broken? I don't think so. 

None of this logic adds up to me. How can you say all this about Harry and not apply it to pretty much everyone else, including Hermione? Voldemort WAS far from empathetic. Canonically. And yeah, sure, no one would be able to fight forever. But if anyone has a fire that would last an infuriatingly long time, I’d argue that it would be Harry. 

My point is Tomarymort is a ship that explores abuse, toxic and destructive relationships, physical and psychological torture, Stockholm syndrome etc. And that's fine if you like it but I think we can all agree that this ship and love should NEVER be put in the same sentence . 

Obviously this depends on what the story is. If it’s a story that explores all those former themes, then it’s probably not a lovey dovey romance anyway. But there are definitely stories that don’t have all those dark subjects, and if someone wants to write a platonic romance where the word love shows up between these two, more power to them! But you don’t get to say everyone in the world can never do a single thing in their fiction. People can write whatever they want! And you get to decide not to read it! Everyone wins.

Because love and respect would never exist between these two characters. No matter how good the writer is, some things just don't work. Just become them ooc, that's what happens most lol

I feel sorry for you. Where is your sense of curiosity, open-mindedness? Maybe you could never write these things convincingly, but some people are more talented than you (don’t take this too personally; no matter how good we are, there are always people more talented than us). It’s okay to not like things and to avoid them based on your comfort level/interest/etc etc, but just because you’re not looking doesn’t mean that such amazing jaw-dropping works that make you believe in the unbelievable aren’t out there.

💖

[mostowa]

7x07 Corner of Random Thoughts

This is my favorite ep of the whole season so far. We finally got emotional episode, which, I think some people forgot (writers especially), Rookie is good at. I love the weight to the storylines they bring and I missed that in the beginning of S7. This is why Corner of Random Thoughts will be long and sectioned (not so random) for some clarity.

TIM IN THERAPY/FLASHBACKS

When we got sneak peek with Lucy's flashbacks @theflyindutchwoman wondered if we get Tim's perspective, cause in 5x01 we didn't. And I'm so really glad we did. It feels so much more mutual than 5x01, it feels so much more vulnerable. And I'm here for it.

I don't necessarily agree with the fact that thing's been "solid" between them recently. But this supports my idea (which I don't really like) that "small doses" was at least some part of The Talk we've been waiting for and that with it they checked boxes of kindness and appreciation without showing them to us afterwards. This is also what I think is happening with an ensemble cast shows and writing whole arcs weirdly, when you have to divide screentime.

I love how you can see Tim's gears changin when the terapist calls him on I language. I love how therapist says "IF it was a mistake" and then makes a small head shake after. Those small things give me much more hope than I'm willing to admit.

I really think Tim might've been… hopeful (???) morning after, but Lucy's bolting scared him so much he is now convinced he made a mistake. He is doubting his judgment because of how she reacts. I think this dynamics is really perfectly depicted in @cfr749's "Beneath Your Beautiful" and they are both in this dance now.

Lucy's Flashbacks are a direct parallel to 5x01 but they also show how she is determined to compartmentalise this. There is no emotional comentary here other than her denying this. We're back to "ex-sex" thinking. AT THE SAFE HOUSE

Tim/Nolan might be my favorite new dynamics in this series. Like, seriously, they are both clueless about emotions and letting go of control but in a completely different ways. Tim closes up and toughens up and Nolan treats everyone as they are little kids. Seeing this mushed together is joy.

"Hard to sleep when she's not there" and shot to Tim is pure emotional gold mine. Makes me want to write a fanfic about those sleepless nights…

I love how reluctant Tim is towards being "emotionally unavailable" like it's still some crap he'll distance himself from. :D It's giving me a heavy reformed!Tim vibes and I'm here for that.

I also love how the talk starts with Nolan asking Tim about Isabel and ends with Tim reflecting on Lucy. This means that he thinks about her all the time and that she is more important to him than Isabel. I mean, this is obvious, but it's also nice to note that in a full-circle moment like that.

Eric kills the talk. The pain is there. The vulnerability is there. The "small doses" are there. It's the same pain that was in 6x10 and I'm here for him and Lucy to cure this pain BY GETTING BACK TOGETHER ALREADY. Lol.

IT'S ALSO THE FIRST TIME THAT WE SEE PROGRESS TIM'S MADE. He reflects on how he gave up, how he didn't fight. He's obviously not there yet with reasoning behind it. But he'll get there.

In the meantime Lucy's still in denial and we haven't gotten any one scene this episode on her doing any reflection about her situation with Tim at all. xd

The simple fact that Lucy called for Tim with Seth situation is huge for me. I mean, we all know that they trust each other professionally 100%. I just think in any universe it would be normal for them to have any kind of doubt whether they should bother another one in such situation. The way they showed there wasn't any doubt at all is huge for me. It's like I love it. Even though it's nonevent.

I think it's also the fact of how close they remain despite everything they have been through in their relationship. It's absolutely amazing and I feel this strongly this season (for some reason). Maybe it's written that way to divide their personal and professional spheres, but maybe it's just my perception of this. OTHER STUFF

James and Nyla are the most adult relationship in The Rookie. Change my mind after watching this scene in interrogation room, because James is the wise man proposing for them to face the truth and to deal with consequences regardless of the outcome.

I love Celina this season so much. I'm waiting for more storylines and more depth in her.

I love how much depth Bailey got this episode. It's amazing how well they shifted perspective from badass-almighty Bailey to badass-broken-protective Bailey. I love it so much more.

Like, Miles has a really big, texan heart. And I missed this kind of heart in The Rookie. PROMO I am pretty confident that we are getting Tim and Lucy in trouble because of Seth. There is no other reason they would veil this with "putting a two of their own at risk" in the synopsis.

[ike-garden2024]

Mirror Mirror 🪞

So I read this man’s route. The translated version provided by @aishangotome it was so good! There’s quite a few translations on their page. Go check it out!! 😄 It took me a couple days to process what I read because I binged the entire thing, including both endings 🤣 this is a mess of a post 🙈 the rest of this post will contain spoilers, if that’s not something you want to see please scroll away 😂 anyway thank you @aishangotome for your translation work! Now let’s talk about the man in question, Alfons

Warning ‼️ contains topics that may be uncomfortable to some including but not limited to: death, addictions, trauma, etc.

The tragic fate attached to his curse is exactly what I thought it would be, to be forgotten by everyone who knew him after he dies. I can only imagine how painful that is. Lots of people nearing death tend to talk about their memories a lot and often I’ve heard them say “I’ll be remembered for x,y,z”, Alfons can’t have that… well, not completely… I like that the writers added the part of Roger and Kate doing some research of people who were involved with someone who has the mirror curse. It opened up another avenue, the name and face may be forgotten but the impact the cursed one had on the other person is not. In fact it leaves the person with a sense of emptiness, like they’ve forgotten something important. While that can be painful, it also means that the life of the cursed one matters, they’re important. I can imagine that no one wants to leave their loved ones with that kind of pain, a pain that will never really heal over time because they’ll always be wondering what/who their forgetting and that could potentially lead to always trying to find answers. It can potentially drive a person crazy. Despite all that, I think I agree with Kate. All of that pain and suffering is worth it. Sure you end up making memories that you’ll eventually forget and you’ll forget the important person but, your body and emotions don’t forget, it’s still actively being felt. That’s why Alfons loving Kate means tearing her life to shreds, leaving unforgettable marks on her entire being. It’s also why he’d prefer to die after her, he genuinely doesn’t want to be forgotten by her. I think in the fake wedding event epilogue she says something about dying together 🤔 I can’t quite remember.

Moving on! The way he goes about using his abilities doesn’t strike me as “evil” necessarily. On his personal time I mean!! He’s certainly making criminals go mad as part of his judgement on them 😂 although it’s a bit twisted, the way he makes himself available for random people to use his power is a form of care. It’s not good to run away from the reality of a situation but many times people wish they could. That’s kind of where addictions and bad habits come from. But even if it’s not that extreme, reading a favorite book, watching a favorite show, playing a game, etc. are also ways to escape reality for a while. I like the way the character Alfons basically encompasses the idea of escapism. It’s an extreme version of something everyone does in their own way. I’ve always loved how writers have the ability to create a whole new world where you can just get lost in. It’s what inspires my career choice and seeing people’s reactions to anime, games, stories, etc. continues to motivate me. I’d love to help create a world one day for people to enjoy. Reading Alfons’s route weirdly motivated me more 😂 without moderation, anything can become an addiction, but it’s sometimes hard to create these moderations. Alfons always makes himself available, his free time is literally dedicated to sex addicts behind a bar and people in the east side(?) of London. Moderation is not in that man’s vocabulary 🤣 He can say it’s for entertainment all he wants but I think he’s somewhat genuinely concerned 😂 he’s like a drug though, have a small taste and you end up wanting more and more.

I don’t particularly like the man’s personality but I understand it a lot better now. I can somewhat respect it but thats it 🤣 His lifestyle choice truly is understandable after reading his story and the “why” behind it all pulls at my heart a bit. Honestly the way he found out about his curse and fate did not help at all 😂 like young Roger had absolutely no consideration when he dropped the info on him. To young Roger it was like “a new subject!” Damn, what if he would’ve turned out a little different had young Roger just gone about it a different way. I believe this is the reason they don’t get along(?) it’s my understanding at least. When the route comes out in English I’m looking forward to reading his side stories to get to know him even more. I definitely find him interesting from a writing perspective. Great character concept and execution!

AH! I forgot to touch on the Elbert/Alfons dynamic. They’re so cute 🥰 you can really tell they care for each other. With their silly bets, Alfons leaving Elbert a handwritten note, and just other things 🤭 it’s great

This is such a bad pile of notes, I apologize for any mistakes but I needed to get my thoughts down and out 😂 Thank you

[tangerinelabyrinth]

Doctor Who Is Dead

Everything I'm about to say is just my opinion! *Spoilers*

I believe Doctor Who is over unless we get a writer (preferably me) other than RTD to come in and fix the mess he has created in the show; if not, I believe it is effectively done in terms of well-written stories with interesting companions. Though i'm sure the ratings will be about the same or even higher.

I've seen many people talk about how Doctor Who doesn't feel like Doctor Who anymore and I agree, and it's not because it's "woke," it's because of RTD. Instead of writing entertaining, intelligent, well-written episodes, characters, villains, companions and The Doctor themself, RTD decided to shove as many references to 2005-2006 into the show to relive "the glory days," taking it so far as to have Billie Piper be the new Doctor. This is horrible.

I've said before I think it would be an amazing idea for the Doctor or Master to take on a companion's face, but out of everyone, Rose was not it. Her ending was not devastating; her ending was complete from start to finish and she got the best ending, in my opinion, of any companion, but especially in New Who. No, taking on a companion's face does not mean it has to be devastating, but for the sake of the show I believe Amy, Bill, River or even Clara would have been 1000 times better if they were going to go this route, especially in Amy's case because she could be the first red-haired Doctor, and it would have been devastating in a way that would bring many episodes that could be off the charts amazing.

RTD is clear that he doesn't care about writing the companions or the Doctor well. Look at Belinda; she sadly didn't do much in her series. Ncuti Gatwa had so much potential but suffered from spotty writing and bad decision-making regarding his era, being overshadowed and written in the oddest way possible.

RTD only cares about the 2005-2006 era. Which I get is a fan favorite but when you decide you want to start a show from scratch for new audiences only to continue to draw back from 20 years ago, it defeats the purpose. I personally have no problem with Susan or the Rani being back; at least in Susan's case, it makes sense and is a storyline I want to see, though I believe it would have worked better in twelves or even thirteen's series.

All of this is devastating to me. Ncuti Gatwa and the fifteenth Doctor, I feel, never reached their full potential as the Doctor and there was so much more to see, but I'm not surprised; they seem to do this with all the characters of color.

Until we can get back to the Doctor just being some alien who travels through space and time saving the day with their awesome companions, it's over.

I truly feel more strongly about this than what I have written but this is the worst decision. It shouldn't be about ratings and money and bringing back 20-year-old characters we've moved past. It's one thing to mention them, or even bringing them back for IDK a TORCHWOOD REBOOT, but to make them now so ingrained in the show 14th doctor and the 16th doctor, now I guess, is sad. You can't write an interesting and creative companion journey/ backstory but you think this is the way to go.

I wish the show luck and I hope it does well and gets back to the way it was but I think I'm done. I'll continue to enjoy up to the fifteen's series and a few episodes where he really gets to shine but to move forward in the frankly terribly executed idea for this new era, I just can't get behind it unless some BIG changes are made.

I'm glad for those who are happy but I'm not.

[tamelee]

i just saw a posts about novels that went like

sarada told sasuke he has lipstick stain, sasuke tries to wipes it off and she says he doesn't have one and sakura doesn't wear lipstick.

how do they defend this novels with their lives? it confirms sasuke never kisses sakura and doesn't know if she wears lipstick or not and kisses someone else who wears lipstick. it also confirms naruto likes to wear lipstick XD.

Please. These novels are ridiculous. Kishimoto already confirmed they’ve never kissed in Gaiden. Twice. 

(* something nicer = meant the forehead poke)

Though I wouldn't believe anyone if they said they actually like these novels, because the story (or lack thereof) is complete shit, but it’s fine if they do. A good story isn't the intention unfortunately. I genuinely wish that people understood what exactly it is they are defending. I’m writing a post for someone who asked something regarding canon, but I need to take brakes from it because it pisses me off that this happens constantly to franchises— not just Naruto. 

And in this case it’s even worse, or perhaps it’s just a prime example, because Jun Esaka (writer for some of these novels) made such a fool of herself on twt by making it all too obvious what her intentions were by writing them. (If it wasn’t already obvious.) First, when people pointed out the many flaws, she admitted that it’s “just her story” and “just her interpretation” (she had only read 'Naruto' for the first time a few months before that), but when other ss-shippers started to defend her and said she was a better writer than Kishimoto (as there’s 0 love between SS when he writes), she basked in that glory and went along with it. Even to the point that she completely disrespected Kishimoto, the story, the craft, openly made fun of other characters (mostly Hinata) and ships like NH and demanded her other novels to be animated as well. It’s unprofessional af. And then when fans asked her for a nsfw novel for SS she agreed and told them to harass the company about it. (She didn’t say ‘harass’ exactly, but come on you can’t be that dense given their reputation with staff.)

What are they defending? 

How can you defend anything when the motive is so obviously just personal bias/gain and/or financial profit to a company where both in this case don’t give a shit about the original story. It's not about shipping though, it happens all the damn time to all my favorite franchises and I'm genuinely sick of it. And it's not even about a writer writing about what they want either because I already expected that, but Esaka did her absolute best to try and disprove the bond between Naruto and Sasuke and change narratives completely even for individual cases for the sake of telling her "story". SNS-moments weren’t romantic to her and she quite literally made fun of it by copying them in her story to point out its "irrelevance", but give them to her het-ship and now all of a sudden it is romantic???? She basically calls Kishimoto a liar because ‘Sasuke Retsuden’ in particular is a direct response to ‘Gaiden’ (made by Kishimoto). She blatantly tried to disprove anything he said and indicated about her ship. She wrote about characters that, yes, have the same name as those in ‘Naruto’, but are so out of character it hurts. It took me months to recover my lost braincells. 

I don't think my post about it is still up, but to name a few things in that novel if you're interested: Sasuke resents Naruto and his test-tube daughter because he’d rather travel with Sakura, his wife whom he loves so much. But he has to do stuff just because Hokage Naruto said so and his daughter wants to stay in Konoha so he has no choice but to comply. Being apart from his wife-(did we mention he loves her so much? because he does. so much.)- makes him feel so very lonely and he misses her body so much because he knows it so well. He fails to do anything other than being jealous about the women-deprived prisoners going after the new hot doctor, Sakura, who is his wife btw. that he loves a lot in case you missed it. and he rather stares at trees that remind him of her than helping his friend Naruto who’s apparently dying from his own chakra or whatever kind of bs. Sasuke lets himself be bullied by prison-guards that aren’t even Shinobi, for having long hair and looking like a girl, though Esaka makes sure to mention how so very handsome he is and he looks like a cat. Sasuke loses a battle against an overgrown lizard and tries the same damn jutsu 4 times(!!!!) before realizing it may actually not work, I think because he forgot how to fight, but he can however create anything from ice like Elsa (Frozen), or from dirt like some Gaara-hybrid to make Sakura a ring because he loves her so much ofc… oh and he’s now a healer too. Sasuke sacrifices people’s lives even when it’s not necessary at all bc ig Esaka thinks he's a killer, and also he wouldn’t mind being brought back with Edo Tensei if it means he can stay with Sakura, because fuck everything they’ve been through in the original story, yeah? They also immediately forgive the bad guy cuz he's so relatable even though he just murdered I dunno how many people. SS kiss while an injured Naruto is squished in between them because SS-shippers have some sort of “Naruto has to watch our ship being in love to really make it legit because that’ll learn him for getting in between!”-kink (that's real actually) and according to Esaka, Sasuke is so worried about his daughter and in fact did meet up with them during those 10+ years because he loves them oh-so-much and fuck you Kishimoto that’s why. 

Be so fr right now. It’s such a joke. And these are just the few things on the top of my head that I remembered ;-; ...

Again, what are they defending exactly? It would be nice to just have a genuine fan of the story write an actual story. No other motive other than "I really like the story and would love to explore some options while respecting Kishimoto's work because it'd be fun!" Except, that's unfortunately not very marketable and ffs it's just sad. (I know there's a Kakashi version and I personally really want to know more about his role as Hokage and what he's done etc, but alas.)

[darklinaforever]

Just because Emma D'Arcy says Daemyra is grooming doesn't mean that's the case. The actor, in the same interview, was literally wrong about Rhaenyra's age in episode 4.

Emma D'Arcy is an imperfect human being who can say stupid things. Especially today, many people use big words without knowing their real definitions.

I will add that even if Emma was talking about grooming, they did not agree and still did not find the scene where Daemon strangled Rhaenyra coherent, and rightly this time. Emma also said that they reads Daemyra fanfiction. So that basically means that they ship despite the problematic aspect. I wouldn't call it a victory for the antis.

Essentially, Emma D'Arcy seems neutral on Daemyra.

Also, Emma D'Arcy is an actor, paying to say certain things in interviews. Who's to say they's not just following the writers' stupid agenda ?

Then, I have already explained countless times that no, Daemon is not a groomer, notably in these posts, where I have also for some addressed the case of Emma D'Arcy and they grooming statements :

Moreover, even if the writers seem obsessed with a non-existent story of grooming between Daemyra, they do not seem to deny that it is a romance either. These people, and even HBO, obviously still have their ass between two chairs :

I will add that no, Daemon is not a pedophile either. Go to @nrilliree to get the definition because I'm clearly too lazy to explain again :

Especially since if you give me the example of the young prostitutes (which the antis also love to pass off as younger than they probably realistically are, like under 13 years old, just to make it really disgusting) when Daemon was in his 20s, know that they were all maidens.

“Maidens” is a term they use to refer to young unmarried women. In brothels these maidens were most likely between 15 and 17 or higher do to the lack of nutrition of the peasants. A bad nutrition causes someone's period to come later.

So no, they weren't little girls. This was for the time of young women literally according to society's of Westeros marriageable age.

The worst you can say about this case of prostitutes is that Daemon had a fetish for virgin maiden for a period in his younger years. (And even if it's obviously not great, I'm not sure #irony that we can put it on the same level as a groomer, a pedophile and a rapist... Yes I'm making an insituation in Aegon II for the last 2 points. We're getting there...)

Aside from that, Daemon was in a relationship with his then favorite, Mysaria, an adult, he also married Laena later, also an adult, and also married Rhaenyra when she was an adult (all according to our modern standards), although yes, he courted her when she was 14. But I remember that Rhaenyra had reached the age where she could marry and had already been courted by men. It's not surprising in the context that Daemon courted her. Especially since there is no evidence that anything sexual happened between them at that time. (One talking about sex is Mushroom, and we know to what extent he is obsessed with it and therefore that his testimony is almost worthless, and the second is Eustace, pro greens. And I remind you that the greens were already making up bullshit on Rhaenyra's sexuality before Daemon's return)

Basically, Daemon has always slept with maiden, and always of varying ages. (which is completely wrong with the definition of pedophile)

Limit, you can talk about ephebophile, but as @nrilliree already said, there is no evidence on this subject, especially since Daemon has also been with adult women several times (Mysaria for a little more than 1 year, Laena for 5 years, and Rhaenyra for 10 years), and this by our own standards modern.

Also, what makes me laugh is that these same people who will claim that Daemon only likes young girls who are essentially minors according to our time (because obviously they will look at age only according to our time, which is an error given that the historical context of this universe is completely different from ours, but in short), claiming that Daemon only married Rhaenyra for power and striving to say that Laena was 15 / 16 years old like in the HOTD show when he married her, while no, she was 22 in Fire and Blood. Well these same people will come and tell you and claim that Daemon did cheat on Rhaenyra with Mysaria, in addition to Nettles, during the dance.

An event whose veracity we also cannot prove and which seems somewhat strange when we take a closer look (so you will guess that I don't particularly believe in it either). See @horizon-verizon posts for that.

Why do I say it's funny ?

Well because Mysaria is an adult woman, much older than Rhaenyra and Laena.

But tell me... if Daemon is so obsessed with underage girls... why would he have slept with a former lover of his, who was already an adult at the time, and even older at this point there ?

We see that what really interests them is more to say bad things about Daemon whoever he is, rather than having any real consistency in their comments and accusations. (And if anyone dares to say that Daemon was sleeping with Mysaria to ensure he got her on his side... wtf ? Rhaenyra is the queen. She pays Mysaria and assures her safety. Why would sex with Daemon be the only way for Mysaria to ensure her loyalty to the team Blacks ? She literally hasn't seen Daemon in over 20 years I think. What would she care about him sexually or otherwise at this point, except perhaps for personal revenge ? And then, if Daemon really was with Mysaria to ensure her loyalty to his side... Well he's a bit much of an idiot if he really slept with Nettles after that. These people love to say that Daemon is a great master manipulator who places his pawns well in advance, especially when it comes to women, except that... Daemon does not seem to have been very intelligent if we follow this belief that I have already seen among antis, which is once again inconsistent with the speech Daemon was a master manipulator of women... I mean, according to their point of view, Daemon knew how to pretend for 10 years with Rhaenyra. Why couldn't he have lasted longer to play the charade with Mysaria ? Once again, the consistency of their words does not interest the antis. They only care about saying bad things about Daemon !)

And don't come for talk to me about Nettles, because I've already made some rather long posts on the subject, go see them if you want :

As well as I highly recommend the extremely in-depth analyzes of @horizon-verizon.

Basically, the story with Nettles could never be proven, and I personally don't believe it.

On the other hand, Aegon II is a character who could be described as a pedophile (by Westeros standards and ours) in Fire and Blood, having been with a girl (= child for Westeros. There is no adolescence in this society. Only childhood and adulthood. As a girl and not a maiden, a woman having her period and therefore marriageable, the individual with whom Aegon II was therefore indeed a child), and not a maiden, from precisely 11 / 12... And he's being also reported as having several inappropriate behaviors / touching towards women, strongly insinuating that he is a rapist (by the own maesters being on his side). And no, Eustace never denied the girl's age, and continued even though he referred to her as girl and tried to downplay the scandalous event.

And why am I talking about Aegon II fans ?

Because it's systematically them who come to me to tell me the bullshit about Daemon being a groomer and a pedophile while sometimes maintaining that their little favorite is not a rapist, and a potential pedophile.

Which is still pretty damn cheeky...

[zuumiitm]

Favorite ships for the sonic fandom? I have tons. I love shipping multiple different ships becuase the dynamics are different and equally fun to explore to me. The enemies to rivals to friends to lovers thing that can be explored with Sonadow is interesting and fun! I love how they act as foils to each other!

Similarly I love the cutesy and oblivious dynamic often seen Sonamy! I wish more people would explore her strength in fanfics though, she's strong and shouldn't always be shoved into the damsel in need of saving role.

I'm a huge sucker for outgoing x loner, so Shadamy is super fun to think about and read about. I really enjoy the idea of Shadow finding comfort in Amy's genuine kindness, while Amy learns to embrace her strength more and more. Although again, I wish so many writers wouldn't shove her into the damsel category :(

And there's so many more not including these three, but that'd be too long of an ask lol

AH, sorry! I have been gone for a bit, so I completely missed this!

I have always been a sucker for [Beauty/Beast], [Rough/Soft], or [Moody/Bubbly] pairs or [Punk/Princess] pairings. (Mmmm yes, opposites attract and such🙂‍↕️

I also very much agree with the sentiment of making Amy more than a damsel. I always saw her as capable but also do acknowledge that at times, she isn't on part with some of the more conniving schemes Eggman pulls. If it were a matter of strength, wits, and love, Amy is your girl from infinity to infinity. I also loved how bratty or whiny she can be because It was always a fun and dynamic part of her character that, if done right, can really make her stand out in a great way. Never was a fan of her more modern characterization cause I felt it git more with Sally than Amy [not to say she can never be serious, just that it felt like a different character most times]

There are many other ships I'd also like to talk about, but I'd rather focus on that more when I implement them soundly in my fanfic. I have been rather silent on that end regarding it, but that's mainly cause motivation to write, and my opinion of my writing ability has really made me feel I have done the characters an injustice, but I will still write this story out as best as I can cause I gen enjoy doing so!

[quetzalpapalotl]

Genuinely makes me angry to remember how people used to bash Mairghread Scott because of the blatant misogyny (I dont' think that's still a thing, I sure hope that's the case).

Like, Scott is my least favorite writer out of her, Barber, JRo and Roche. Her comics are far from perfect, but even at her weakest she was still far better than anything from phase 1. I mean, we had a writer who straight up admitted he couldn't figure what could motivate the robots, and then there's all the stuff like racism and insensitive use of modern-day issues. None of Scotts writing choices deserved that amount of vitriol.

To be fair, Barber's stories also got a lot of hate for the crime of not being Mtmte 2, but even then, that wasn't as focused on Barber as a person as was the case with Scott.

But people loved to chew her out for what she said on twitter which was that she liked reylo and compared them to windscream. Which mmmm, okay. I know some of those shippers have misbehaved in awful ways, but did anyone had proof Scott participated on that?? No. But she's a woman who likes I ship I don't like, so she's awful. By that logic, I should start hating all Star Wars fans myself.

And like, even though she shipped windscream is not like she ever made it canon, so really what's even the issue? I'll admit most of what I dislike about her writing revolves around Starscream and that a lot of stuff with him didn't have a proper set up and felt incongruent or unearned. But her Windblade is so good! I love her, I love her arc.

She also said that because Mtmte had healthy couples, she felt like writing messier ones... so what?? All she did was have that plotline where Starscream uses Blast Off's feelings for Onslaught to get him to agree to brainwash the Combaticons. I personally think that plotlined was great and I'm so sad we couldn't get the full resolution due to the early cancelation. I also don't think the murder squad with no morals of the kill all organics faction is the place to be looking for healthy gay representation.

She also said something about how Breakdown would be considered disabled by Velocitron's obsessively thin standards, and like, I'm not going to defend the wording of that whole thing. It's just saying something that she got so much heat from that tweet when Mtmt had so much ableism in it. Like Red Alert's paranoia resulting in a suicide attempt that's completely brushed aside, Grimlock being discussed by other people to ask if it's okay to sacrifice him to get funds to do more good or like everything regarding Ten, which was frankly disgusting and I've seen like maybe 2 people comment on.

I'm not saying everyone should have been sending hate mail to JRo, but the reality is that the first woman to ever write for the Transformers comics was made public enemy no 1 by the fandom on tumblr, when her male coworkers (particulary JRo) barely got criticized for even more questionable choices. This is on top of Scott having to deal with the brunt of Simon Furman throwing a tantrum because they put girl transformers against his precious worldbuilding (which wasn't even Scott's own input, but the result of Windblade's poll), a matter that she handled with nothing but professionalism.

I just think we all need to look at ourselves and admit that this was pure misogyny.

[foolishlyzephyrus]

The big difference between Clara and Ruby at least so far is that a lot of people don't seem to get it but Clara was a subversion of a mystery girl because the whole point was the Doctor was wrong to treat her that way and his grief for the Ponds made him see a mystery that wasn't there, they'd have gotten along better sooner if he had treated her like her own person and she was normal, just doing what she did because she was a normal companion defending her friend the Doctor she jumped into his time stream just as Clara Oswald the person who cares for the Doctor it wasn't some big mystery. She was this manic pixie dream girl in the Doctor's eyes (because he needed her to be, to distract from the pain of losing Amy and Rory) but that was never actually who she was. Ruby seems, at least for now, to have this big mystery gimmick but played completely straight. She has a mysterious backstory and snow powers and a song in her DNA. Clara was like a normal person who just happened to be split into different parts of the Doctor's timeline. For all people say Clara was this special mystery girl, she isn't that remarkable in Season 7 when you REALLY think about it.

hello anonymous ask. i appreciate your insight into clara. i will admit i was making a tongue and cheek comparison, drawing on the surface level similarities. i enjoy both characters so it wasn’t meant to be any sort of diss on them, just a passing observation.

while i agree that clara can absolutely be read as a subversion of the manic pixie dream girl trope, i feel like it gets muddled in the weird misogyny of eleven’s era. moffat is a solid writer but series five through seven really suffered with the characterization of certain female characters. characters i adore like amy pond and river song ended up overly sexualized and at times reduced to vessels for the doctor’s growth rather than their own. their stories both relied on something needing to be solved about them from our titular male character, with amy’s crack in her wall and river’s true identity. eleven ends up at the crux of their storylines, actively entrenched in their personal histories and driving their stories rather than being a facet of them. i believe that clara was somewhat affected similarly if not to the same extent. i think the subversion would have played a lot better had there not been the earnestness in the “inherently mysterious sexy characters” reinforced by previous seasons.

eleven was riding the coattails of ten’s “he’s so young and hot and how could women not be interested in him” deal so i won’t place the blame solely on moffat but i also think the fact that romance as a potential aspect of their relationship (one-sided or not) being so strongly implied may have also inhibited the understanding that clara wasn’t playing into the archetype. that particular era of the show was dominated by male writers, so i would not be surprised if that anything to do about the lack of clarity regarding clara’s character.

i think you are absolutely correct, there is nothing special about clara from an objective perspective. however through the narrative framework (i.e. oswin/victorian clara, leaf falling at the right time and place to bring her into existence from the rings of akhaten, etc.) it implies a certain sense of destiny, where one could draw up the mythologizing of her character. since we ultimately are viewing the show part ways through the doctor’s perspective (and subsequently through the lens of his grief as you pointed out), this is kind of where we get the weird overlap. it’s paradoxical in a way where a mystery does in fact exist, yet by the doctor acting on investigating it he is also bringing it to fruition in the first place. like you stated, clara acts reasonably according to her circumstances rather than intentionally generating intrigue.

as mentioned, when clara is treated as a normal person is when she truly thrives with the doctor. my favorite of her moments are when she’s at her most mundane. her run with twelve is super compelling for that exact reason, she is intriguing not because she is some cosmic mystery but because of her similarities to the doctor.

with ruby currently, we don’t know all that much about her. it’s unfortunate how close we are to the end of the season and there still seems to be a gap in the information we know about her whether intentionally or not. because of the lack of exploration of her character, she becomes inherently reduced to the mystery surrounding her. however, in this case, the doctor is less actively involved in solving that mystery, it’s more latent curiosity. as opposed to series 7, i don’t think it’s meant to be the main overarching plot of the season or it is at least is tied into the susan twist plot line rather than just standing alone. she appears on a lot more of an equal footing to the doctor too. ultimately, while the whole mystery surrounding her is more genuine, hers is still unresolved.

my comparison between ruby and clara wasn’t meant to be too serious, just noting on the shared tropes that surround them. because in the end, while they both appear to be seemingly normal people affected by some much deeper mystery, that’s where a lot of the similarities stop. clara’s happenstance as you said vs. ruby’s bordering on supernatural traits. eleven thinks clara is deliberately hiding something while fifteen understands ruby to be just as clueless as he is. more can be said. different stories are being told and equating them was perhaps a little reductive.

i hope this make some sort of sense and isn’t too incoherent. all this to say, i agree with you for the most part and i think regarding clara especially certain outside forces ended up in her characterization rather than just narrative purpose. i hope you don’t think i am attacking you for this or anything, i really enjoyed your thoughts.

[nataliescatorccioapologist]

idk if it's still controversial or not, but hearing from the writers how they always planned for Nat to die by Misty's hand (with the foreshadowing in the pilot), makes me mad at the way ppl were treating Juliette after Nat died. Blaming her for ruining the character, saying it felt rushed, etc etc, when I feel it was a poetic end to Nats journey 🤷🏻‍♀️

Nat spent her whole life feeling like she doesn't belong. We know that the wilderness gave her purpose, but we also know it further destroyed her psyche. Then, coming back from the wilderness, she carried all this guilt with her. Specifically drawing the queen card and Javi dying in her place.

Then, when she finally is starting to get her life back together, she dies protecting someone else, a selfless sacrifice that completed the full circle of the drawing of the queen to the death of the person that drew it.

Furthermore, it being Misty that killed her only made it more tragic and poetic. Misty, who killed someone that she believed was her only true friend, and Natalie, who had spent her whole life searching for retribution.

idk this could all be barely coherent (running on 2 hours sleep lol) but but tldr is that Nats death will be a catalyst for the events of S3 and I think her death was played out in a way that her character would have wanted it to be played out.

I totally agree that the way people have treated Juliette Lewis due to Nat’s death is not okay. Even if she did decide to exit the show, that doesn’t justify the way people treated her. And it is clear that her death was planned and foreshadowed from the beginning.

I have had my own issues with Nat’s death (none of them related to JL). Of course I am biased because Nat is my favorite character, but her death did feel a bit rushed narratively to me. I like the completion of her arc (not letting Lisa die in her place the same way she let Javi die in her place) and the resolution of her survivor’s guilt through her death. And it will be so interesting to see how Misty handles her death (and the guilt of killing her) next season.

I just feel like not enough time was allotted for Nat’s character development in Season 2. She went from hopeless, ready to commit suicide, and extremely cold/guarded to a Birkenstocks-and-socks-wearing cult member encouraging everyone to practice self-care, forgiveness, and vulnerability in the span of like 2 episodes (and a week or two in the show’s timeline). And this was after being sidelined for most of the season in the adult timeline. I wanted to see her make real, genuine, believable change before her death, and, personally, I didn’t see that in Season 2.

And I do worry about the effect Nat’s death will have on her storyline in the wilderness going forward. I would have loved to see Nat’s arc as the new leader in the wilderness paralleled with her storyline in the adult timeline, but we unfortunately will never get to see that. And with the audience knowing exactly how Nat’s story ends, I worry that some tension will be removed from her storyline in the teen timeline. I also worry that the writers will not give her as big of a role as a result. I will definitely feel the absence of Nat’s character in the adult timeline, I think she was, in a lot of ways, the heart of that group, and I just can’t shake the feeling that they shouldn’t have killed her off so soon. But that’s just me! Hopefully they will make her death worth it in the next season.

[nickel156]

https://www.tumblr.com/nickel156/756112127707774976/plus-her-books-have-been-steadily-declining-in

Just because she sold so many books doesn’t mean she will in the future and I’m one of the people who are considering not buying her books anymore.

She is an way to unsteady writer in my eyes. She even said its all in her head and she never writes her ideas down and yes sjm we can see that. There are so many plots she hasn’t touched anymore who would make so much more sense. Her obsession with rhys and feyre is ruining this series because they are never hold accountable for their crimes. If feyre would be a real high lady and it wasn’t just a title rhys gave away, she would be punished for what she did to the spring court. Imagine helion just going around destroying courts and never facing consequences. She isn’t a high lady in the means like the others a high lords. She didn’t get any powers with the title. And making elain another high lady is a joke. The whole high king andd queen part is a joke. Just say you only like feysand writer another 5 books for them and sell the other characters to writes who can write a story and who will make something out of them and not feysand little doormats.

Thank you, Anon!

On top of never writing anything down, she says she has a terrible memory! 🫠

You could not pay me to read the next Crescent City..

I completely agree that Feyre isn't a real High Lady! The magic didn't choose her. Even though she's not one, she should still have ramifications for espionage and destroying an entire court. Which lead to the war speeding up and the deaths of Spring and Summer Fae.

But she loves her too much for anything bad to come of it. Hell she'd have to actually create politics then!

Elain being a High Lady could make sense if written well. Like the Magic chooses her. Gives her powers etc.. definitely not just a title. Because Vivian would be a High Lady if it were that simple.

There's some amazing fic writers who I would kill, if they got Elucien story! Because I fear she'll continue to destroy my favorite characters. I'm still in shock that few other people see how shitty Cassian is to Nesta..

[lythea-creation]

Caught on Camera - Shams x fem reader (Chapter 1)

summary: In a world full of wannabe influencers, (f/n) prefers to be a private person. But as Shams doesn't seem to care much about ones privacy, the two of them have quite a lot to discuss.

warnings: same theme as the series

word count: 975

Author's note: Feel free to check out my Masterlists and make requests. No reposting please! Reblogging, comments and requests are always appreciated <3 If you like the story/my writing, please don't be shy to say it via comments or asks! It takes you a few seconds and might make my day. It's the best appreciation you can show to a writer you like.

requested? Yes

----------------------------

In a time where social media were basically ruling the world, people thought of me as weird for avoiding them most of the time. It was not like I was completely against them. I just did not feel the need to post my life. Actually I thought that people who were posting their life were not content enough with it to just enjoy it. Instead they had to waste it on making everyone believe they were being as perfect as possible.

Nevertheless I came along with my classmates, even the most popular ones like Tasneem and Hiba. I was simply a private person. Therefore I was alone a lot of the time as well, sometimes hanging out with Nadeen.

I liked her attitude, standing up for herself and others, staying true to herself.

Although that was also what got me caught up in this mess of sitting outside in the burning sun to make a stand. The irony of it all was that Nadeen, Shams and I were the only ones outside at the end, though we did not care that much about our phones.

To be honest I did not really know what to think about Shams. On the one hand she seemed to be nice, offering us food and talking to us, and I was curious because I barely knew anything about her. On the other hand I did not like the fact that she was carrying around a camera all the time. It kinda made me feel watched. Like I had to be on guard to make sure she was not filming me.

“What are you up to today? Wanna hang out?”, Nadeen asked me when the school bell rang for the last time.

“Sure”, I agreed. “But please no more horror movies.”

“Why not? Your reactions are too good to miss out on”, she proclaimed with a chuckle.

“It's not my fault that I take movies too seriously. Of course the scary ones freak me out”, I justified myself.

“Though they're not even scary”, Nadeen shot back.

“How about you tell my dreams exactly that?”, I suggested, now laughing myself.

In the end she persuaded me to watch another one. I just could not say no to her when she offered to let me sleep over because that was always my condition for watching horror movies with her. It was hard to fall asleep if I was alone afterwards.

“What are you watching?”, I wondered when Nadeen was laughing about something on her phone.

“It's one of Sarah's videos. But this one is actually funny”, she enlightened me and rewound it to let me see the beginning as well.

It was about different types of girls at our school. She depicted me as the artsy fangirl which I could not deny. After all I was always scribbling away at some quick sketches or short stories about my favorite book and movie characters.

But when the video showed The Critic, which was obviously supposed to be Nadeen. Honestly I could not understand how Sarah could post something like that about Nadeen, considering they were friends.

The hurt was written all over Nadeen's face before she quickly hid it behind a nonchalant mask.

“It's blowing up”, I noticed.

Her views, likes and comments were basically exploding the more time passed. It was insane.

And on the next day Sarah moved on from invisible to absolute spotlight.

I tried to stay close to Nadeen as Sarah did not seem to take any interest in talking to her friend, now that she had other options. That was one of many reasons to hate social media. But never mind.

My eyes moved away from Sarah as I observed my environment. It was nothing unusual for me to do. From time to time it could be useful. That way I could stay out of the trouble and drama.

But this time I did not like what I saw.

Quickly I made my way over to Shams. “Were you just filming us?”, I accused her.

The others were too busy crowding Sarah to notice our discussion.

“Why does it matter?”, Shams remarked.

“I didn't allow you to film me”, I pointed out.

“So what? Everybody is running around filming nowadays. Why is it different when I do it with a real camera instead of a phone?”, she considered.

“I don't care about the kind of camera. Just delete it”, I requested.

“I'll cut you out of it if you stop bugging me. And don't chat it around. People behave differently when they're aware of being filmed.”

“Why should I do that? I don't owe you anything”, I declared.

“Look. Maybe you don't like what I'm doing, but I'm just expressing myself through art like you do”, she claimed.

“What are you talking about?”, I inquired.

“Your sketches and stories. I haven't read any of them, but it's obvious that you're passionate about them. So you should be able to see my point”, she resonated.

“You truly are a stalker”, I noted, taking a step closer to her.

Somehow this discussion had quickly become heated and despite my anger I had to admit that I was feeling a pull toward her.

“I'm a film maker. That's the point. By the way, you're the only one that cares. Everybody else is way too busy with their petty online lives and little drama. So can you just let it go? I promise to cut you out. It's for the sake of art”, she stated.

For a moment we were staring each other down, contemplating what to do next. And for some reason it became harder and harder to stay close. So I gave in.

“Fine”, I grumbled and stormed off.

------------------------------

Next Chapter

i decided to make this one a fanfiction with rather short chapters, so you guys won't have to wait as long to read another one as I don't know how much time I'll have to write. Thanks to sunwoniie for requesting. I hope you all like the first chapter. Feel free to make suggestions about the next chapters. Maybe I'll integrate some aspects you want.

Tag List: @sunwoniie

[etherealising]

well…🤭 honestly i’m pretty much dropping them as a whole i fear. i did a rewatch like a month or so ago and it hit me then (especially rewatching s2) but after watching that trailer for the third time it’s official. I think in the beginning i wanted sydcarmy sooo badly i was willing to overlook the red flags (and we all know how many there are 💀) but i just can’t do it anymore. while i still acknowledge the intimate moments they shared together i just view them as *pause for dramatic effect* platonic. they share a platonic intimacy that YES is stronger than whatever that was b/w camry and claire s2. but it still feels just that, platonic. i think we don’t see those kinds of dynamics enough. carol and daryl from twd are a great example i think (i’ll add a text i sent to a friend a while ago where i explain further). while i believe that syd and camry understand each other in a way that no one else can, i still think sydney deserves so much better than carmen. i think he uses and abuses her and that if people loved her like they say they do, they would want more for her. she can’t fix him y’all and neither can claire but honestly she can go ahead and take him off our hands if she wants to try so bad. she has dreams and ambitions that are greater than a romantic relationship with camry. we saw how her and richie stepped up and ran shit in the season 2 finale. he needs her and not the other way around. say they do get together. do we think those anger issues and erratic and abusive behaviors are just gonna cease to exist? that man needs therapy and years of it before he’d ever be good enough for her as a romantic partner. hell, he’s a shitty business partner! (and i’m not saying he needs to be a completely healed person to be worthy of love let’s be clear, syd need therapy too.) i say, introduce someone new for sydney! or just let her be, that’s also an option. but yeah i think i’m done. also i’m hoping the writers let her and marcus stay friends cause it’s giving little bro 😬. (just another example of a man mistaking a woman’s kindness for flirting let’s be real) she needs friends anyway and because what other ones does she have? (please don’t say camry, that man is not her friend 😭. they’re kinda like family atp. 🫣🤷🏾‍♀️ ) and marcus may need someone like sydney to talk to anyways if what i fear may happen, happens this season for him.

i tried so hard to respond to all of your points and then i started ranting but i hope this makes sense and in short i do find myself heavily agreeing with you.

bestie as soon as i saw the thesis you provided me with i knew i had to take some time to digest it and as much as it hurts dare i say…. i think i have to agree with you : (

i too was blinded by how badly i wanted sydcarmy to thrive and i think i was also fighting so hard against the way people in the fandom were trying to discount their “romance” because ayo is a black woman and they couldn’t fathom their favorite fictional white boy of the week lovin on someone who isn’t the “beauty standard” that i definitely overlooked just how toxic their whole situation is.

and you are so right it was so easy to get caught up with how badly i wanted them together and a series rewatch will definitely slap you in the face and let you know how blinded you were. now please don’t fight me but i think its def giving platonic/little bro from syd like homegirl is just trying to live out her dreams, but i def think carmy may look at her with a bit of a romantic undertone because of how you mentioned they understand each other and i think bc he feels like no one has really ever understood him including his own family that he finds himself drawn to syd, she pretty much validates his whole existence and challenges him instead of settling for the mediocrity that man constantly gives that in a way he has taken her platonic care and worry for him as something more. like he literally admitted he was a loner man doesn’t understand HOW to be friends especially not with women.

let me get on my soapbox real quick. you are absolutely 100% right syd deserves someone a thousand times better than carmy and i definitely want more for her, if i’m being honest i want her to leave the bear whenever she gets that chance but that’s a whole other convo. i can rant about claire and carmy for hours but i’m genuinely just so tired of them and i’m not looking forward to seeing their relationship this season whoops. to me it felt like carmy only began respecting syd after she came back and now he has this mindset that no matter how much vitriol he spews her way she’ll always be there for him and its like a crutch for him. what really sealed the deal for me is the whole take out episode from season one, did syd fuck up 100% yes and was carmy’s anger justified also yes but not to the extent that he went, every time i rewatch that scene of him throwing the sharpie in syd’s direction as she walks away i feel genuine disgust like yes i know the sharpie wasn’t working and that got him even more irritated but he could’ve thrown it in so many different directions and i’m not saying he purposely aimed to hit syd but rewatching that really just showed me how immature he is and how much growing he really does need. like if your next response to your own anger is to get violent and start throwing shit around you definitely need to work on yourself before trying to mess with someone else’s peace of mind.

if they were to get together it would not change carmy at all, getting involved romantically with someone does not change you as a person unless YOU WANT THAT CHANGE FOR YOURSELF! and what we’ve seen from carmy is that as much as he pushes everyone else to change and evolve it doesn’t seem to be something he can do for himself or thinks he’s capable of. and yes please keep syd and marcus as friends there is literally zero chemistry between those two regarding romance, like can we just let syd be the successful woman she wants to be and maybe offer her romance if she wants it.

also let me go back to the topic of change real quick just look how quick he was to attack richie while he was stuck in the walk-in, he was literally projecting his deep seeded insecurities onto richie while richie took the change carmy pushed on him like a fucking champ and got shit done with his bestie syd (these fics i’m writing for this man really got me defending richie)

i will end my nonsensical rant by saying this: no self-respecting person in this fandom would actually ever date carmy and i stand by that ten toes down. its very clear that he has his own behaviors he needs to work out and there is nothing wrong with that and that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve love but that also doesn’t mean his partners should be subjected to the mental and emotional weight that would come with loving him, it would definitely get tiring fast. and to take it a step further if carmy wasn’t played by a white man the masses find attractive most everyone would definitely be singing a different tune in regards to him. (like please imagine the microagressive think pieces we would get every season if carmen berzatto was poc)

the carmen berzatto we know and see right now will always love self-sabotaging more than he could ever love anyone else.

[violettathepiratequeen]

March 28th, 2025

Hello there, gentle viewers! Welcome back to Buffy Slays, where I’ll be going through all 144 episodes of BtVS over the course of a year, highlighting as many of the GOOD moments, lines, character choices, worldbuilding moments, etc. etc. as I think people will have the patience to read. 

So, here we go! 

Season 1, Episode 11, “Out of Mind, Out of Sight.”

Buffy and Cordelia become unlikely allies to combat an invisible spirit that has targeted Cordelia and everyone around her. Meanwhile, Angel goes to Giles to warn him that Buffy could be in grave danger. (Pulled from the BTVS Wiki.)

If you're reading along and haven't finished the show, consider this your Spoiler Warning for discussion of future episodes and major plot points in any and all of these posts.

Episode Number: #11 Episode Ranking: #128 out of 144. Writer: Ashley Gable & Thomas A. Swyden & Joss Whedon

Top 5 Quotes:

“A vampire in love with a Slayer. It���s rather poetic, in a maudlin sort of way.” —Giles

“You think I'm never lonely because I'm so cute and popular? I can be surrounded by people and be completely alone.” —Cordelia

“There are no dead students here. This week.” —Principal Snyder

“I think I speak for everyone here when I say ‘huh?’” —Buffy

“Once again I teeter at the precipice of the generation gap.” —Giles

How “Out of Mind, Out of Sight” Slays:

Cordelia has been nothing more than a token mean girl in the background at this point in the show, but just before the first season ends here, she gets a chance to show off some of her other traits. One of them being that she, like Buffy, is actually good at school. And interested in studying the material, working with her teachers, and participating in the discussion. Her comments have that self-absorbed, insensitive Cordelia flair, but she clearly understood the material she’s reading, and her teacher commends her on it. She stays after class and asks her teacher to help her sort through all her thoughts for her essay, as she’s worried they don’t make sense, and is grateful when her teacher agrees to help. Cordy then walks out of class and immediately starts talking with Harmony about her May Queen dress, showing that it’s not that she’s turned over a new leaf in this episode. She still cares about all that popular girl stuff in her free time. But she gives her full attention and energy to her schoolwork as well. It’s just that we haven't really seen that before, and it’s great to see now. Cordy also comes to Buffy for help in this episode when she needs it. She admits to feeling lonely, and that’s why she works so hard at being popular. But probably my favorite part of that exchange is when she asks if Marcie disappeared because she was so unpopular, and when Buffy confirms it, Cordy’s genuinely sympathetic response is, “Bummer for her. It’s awful to feel that lonely.” And she thanks the group later for helping her and saving her.

Synder being so terrified about being sued. We see a few things rattle him throughout this show, and those are always fun moments, but this is the first one. Willow plants the idea in his head, spinning a story about Mitch, Cordy’s beaten-up boyfriend, suing the school for his injuries to distract Snyder from Buffy. Xander joins in on the story, saying that Mitch’s father is a lawyer. When Harmony falls and complains about her ankle being broken, Snyder’s comforting words to her are “Don’t sue!” 

This episode is another example of Xander and Willow’s friendship being so great. They have the inside joke about something Cordelia did in sixth grade, which is so funny to Willow that she can only squeak out the words “be my deputy” before pretty much going into hysterics, and it’s a memory Xander enjoys with her. They break away from Giles and Buffy, and Xander invites Willow over for dinner, since his mom is making her “famous phone call to the Chinese place.” It’s such a casual thing, implying that it’s happened many times before, and it’s not an invitation that either of them feel needs to be extended to Buffy. 

When the gang is discussing how a baseball bat could have hit Mitch all by itself, Xander suggests that maybe it’s a vampire bat. No one laughs at his joke, and he nods in resignation, but just the quick and deadpan way he says it makes me VERY much enjoy this joke!

Buffy was the May Queen at her old school. It’s pretty much been implied up to this point that she used to be a popular girl, but this episode confirms it. She really was Cordelia in Los Angeles, and then became the Slayer, and everything changed, and she was shunted down to the lower class of the student body, without a word of complaint or entitlement. She talks wistfully of it here, and there’s a few other episodes where she will long for the days she was a normal student and try to recapture that, but for the most part, she accepts her new place with grace and cheerfulness. I like it too because Buffy is, of course, one of the most attractive people in that school, so it makes no sense people would think she was a loser unless she was already known for being weird, and there already was a Queen Bee asserting her dominance. But Buffy truly would have been her rival if she really had been a normal girl.

Xander balks at the idea of doing research, and asks what else he can do to help the investigation. When the alternative is talking to Cordelia, he readily accepts the research, and later pulls out a tidbit of info to show that he did actually do said research. He wants to help, and in every episode after this he’s ready to jump on board the research train, but this moment shows that it’s not something he’d prefer, for all the times he does it later on. 

Giles and Angel. I really love their scene together because it’s the first time they’ve interacted, and they’re so careful around each other. But they bond over trying to figure out what the Master is doing, they bond over trying to protect Buffy, they bond over a shared knowledge of ancient prophecies and such, and I think Giles is just so happy to have found a friend like that. The way he talks to him, a little shy and giddy and unsure, seems to indicate that while he knows he shouldn’t trust a vampire, he does trust the soul, and what Buffy has said about him. But as he’s probably never had a conversation with a vampire before, it leaves him a little flustered and in awe of such an ancient, supernatural, undead creature. Giles mentions a book that he wishes he had, and Angel immediately says he can get it for him. It’s a sweet scene, these two lonely old people surrounded by groups they don’t quite fit into, and becoming tentative friends. Giles is also warily enamored by the vampire in love with a Slayer story, because… they’re all still young, and everything is so new, and romance is still alive. The next time a vampire comes around wanting to be friends with the group and be in love with Buffy, Giles will be much more leery of it. This scene also sets up the idea of something coming to a head, between the Master and Buffy, which this long-lost book Angel has will shed some light on. It’s nice to have it here instead of just dropping it in the finale episode!

Angel saving Willow, Giles, and Xander. It’s helpful to have a vampire on the team who can switch off the gas valve because he doesn’t need the oxygen! Buffy is busy and tied up at the moment, so I’m very happy with him for bringing Giles the book he needed, and being there at the right moment to save the Scoobies.

Buffy’s empathy. For Marcie and Cordelia both. She tries to open up to Cordelia, and even when she’s kind of rebuffed, helps her anyway, fights to save her, puts herself in harm’s way for her, and even smiles reassuringly at her when she’s finally untying Cordy’s ropes. And for Marcie, Buffy discovers her nest, and touches her things so reverently. She touches the flute, and her teddy bear, before taking her yearbook. Buffy doesn’t care about things like food and a bed and clues that would have pointed to the girl staying up there for a while. No, Buffy touched the things that mattered to Marcie, the things that made her just a normal, lonely girl. When they discover that Marcie feeling unseen is what turned her invisible, Buffy says “We did this to her,” AS IF she was even going to that school six months ago when this happened. And when fighting Marcie, Buffy says she felt sorry for her… until finding out she was a thundering looney. 

And just some things I love about Giles interacting with his kids: he sits with them at lunch in the cafeteria, which is probably a huge no-no for teachers. And he knocks Xander’s shoes off the library table like a disapproving parent. He didn’t mean to become a single dad, but here he is.

Scooby Initiation:

There comes a time when everyone who is a leading character on this show becomes a Scooby, someone in Buffy’s little circle. With many of the characters, including the main four, it’s the moment they have to come together to fight something supernatural for the first time. 

With characters like Cordelia, it’s a little harder to pin down when exactly she joins the club. Because until she starts dating Xander midway through the second season, she’s always reluctantly on the fringes, but still wants to be kept in the loop, and is sometimes there for the major stuff. No more denying supernatural happenings for her.

And for that reason, I think this is the episode where she becomes one of them. She can see the weirdness going on around her; an unexplained, invisible enemy coming after the people closest to her, and she seeks out Buffy for help. She’s given a seat in the library, and a listening ear by the main four, and Giles remarks that it’s the first time he’s ever seen her in here.

She confides in Buffy that she feels lonely in her popularity sometimes, but that she’d rather be lonely surrounded by adoring fans than be alone by herself. She comes to thank the group the day after Marcie is taken away, and Willow extends an invitation to have lunch with them. Something I actually think she might have considered, if her popular jock boyfriend didn’t walk up and immediately shame Cordelia for talking to them. 

In the following episode, she will be there when the Hellmouth opens, learning exactly what Buffy is, and what’s going on in this town. And, as I said before, while her willingness to help is iffy over the next several seasons, and her bitchy streak has in no way abated, I do think this episode is Cordelia’s initiation into the Scooby gang.

“Ours is a Forbidden Love":

A trope I adore is when someone is knocked out, and they have to be carried away to safety. That happens fewer times than you’d imagine in this show, to my great disappointment, but one of those rare occurrences is in this episode.

Marcie locks Giles, Willow, Xander in the boiler room with the gas running, and they’ve pretty much all passed out by the time Angel breaks in the door to get to them. He rouses Giles and Xander, but Willow… with Willow, he lays the back of his hand on her cheek, checking for life I guess, and then lifts her in his arms and carries her out, all knight-in-shining armor.

Yes, it’s a two-second scene, and he was just being heroic, but this is my fantasy ship, damn it, and I’ll see what I want to see. And what I see is a moment between them that I like a whole lot.

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And that’s a wrap on Episode 11! Thank you so much for reading this far!

Previous: “Nightmares.”

Next up: “Prophecy Girl.” 

(Credit for GIFs in this post: @detectivedawnsummers)