#agh vampire trauma... i love it...

[stabbyfoxandrew]

also hi. me and jess ended up binge watching iwtv s2 yesterday.

[festivating]

what's your favorite gelphie fic?

OOF just one is so hard. here's a few of my favs. though more than being my favorite fics these are my favorite gelphie authors so assume i love everything they've posted!

The Love Club by OrkButch. just delightful. extremely queer and extremely heartfelt. and it has my favorite things ever like grief, healing, learning to be in a relationship, and nuanced portrayals of elphaba & nessa's dynamic. very formative to my perception of book!elphie, i learned a lot about her with this fic even if it's a modern AU!

Wiretapped Life by tinyace. another fic that has aaaaaaall of my favorite things like grief, healing, learning to be in a rel--- you get the gist. also it has nor! more fics should have nor! no but seriously this fic is incredible and has some of the best explorations i've seen on asexuality, aromanticism, gender, queer platonic relationships, and how to navigate a shitload of trauma in a cruel world when you have so much love to give. the gelphie dynamic is so nuanced and the worldbuilding is so intriguing and well done and glinda is a poor little meow meow and agh. could talk about this one forever. also if you've read attrition you will like this one, it has so many similar themes sam and i are always joking our brains are the same lol

The Last True Eminent Thropp by Ridiculous Mavis. ask any gelphie fan who was here before november 2024 for their favorite gelphie fics and they will probably mention ridiculous mavis. read everything on her page, seriously. yes even if it's ff dot net. do it. do it right now. this one is my favorite of hers!

Per Aspera Ad Astra (Through Hardships Towards the Stars) by show_me_the_universe. this one is still unfinished but i have enjoyed it so much! gelphie are so cute and so teenagers and they go through so much and their dynamic with each other is the sweetest thing. also has great dynamics between the charmed circle which it's also one of my favorite things :)

Aftermath by narta_shall_survive. another one where glinda is a poor little meow meow. i read this fic like a year ago and brother it has stuck with me. i love the way glinda is written and it has my FAVORITEEE glinda & crope dynamic. also it blends musical and book in such a smooth way and the prose is so crunchy.

and my saint, she is dancing by Mayverix. this one is extremely clever and soo well written. i adore this author's prose so much. made me ache in the best way possible. the way book!gelphie is captured here is just superb.

oh and of course i love the classics aka gretchenmaurice's works. all of them from the long ones to the most recent ones :)

now!!! i haven't read too many movie fics (yet) but here are two that stuck with me and that i love and have very much informed the way i see and write the movieverse gelphie dynamic.

the faint of heart by Verannode. vampire!galinda. and if that wasn't enough she totally thinks she's in some sort of romcom while elphaba is in a supernatural mystery or something. it's just the best thing ever. the dialogue is so whimsical and hilarious and galinda is incredibly delusional and dramatic and i love her. i've reread this a bunch of times it always makes me laugh.

PERENNIAL by anaphoruh. no joke this fic is one of my favorite ones ever. it's just so. i can't even explain it the way its written scratches my brain in the BEST way imaginable. the prose is so elegant and smooth i want to study it. it's the perfect blend of book and MOVIE which i didn't think was possible. the descriptions are so fun and engaging. the gelphie dynamic is delicious. galinda is insanely rich and elphie is her sugar baby in the most lowkey way possible. i adore it.

now not related to the movie at all. last but not least. there is Emerald City Lies by Beta Nova. listen to me. i would never recommend a fic on ff dot net that was last updated in 2016 if it wasn't worth it. i started reading this fic on a plane and it was so good i literally had to stop reading it so i could savor it. made myself read only one chapter a day and yes it's unfinished and yet i reread it once a year. it's so good.

anyway! thanks for asking <3

[anarcholive]

olive, you asked about my ttrpg character in the rb's of one (1) post so i'm here to yap at you i fear

but i WILL give you the run down version i promise <3

so his name is Maciej Poleski (pronounced mah-shay pol-eh-skee, he's a paladin of a homebrew oath i never really named i don't think lol

i was playing him in a Curse of Strahd dnd campaign with sage actually hah. but now they're GONE so it's on hold DX but basically, his parents were the leaders of this SUPER intense religious group and relatively not long ago prior to the start of the campaign he had finally had enough and left his family. HOWEVER he's still kinda religiously brainwashed from all the stuff so he's kinda in a crisis rn trying to find out how to balance his faith with the lies he was told growing up.

he's a VERY neat guy tho dw. he speaks mostly the dnd language equivalent of polish, so his common is jack SHIT and it's very funny. he's my sad clown.jpeg and a little bit emotionally unavailable but he does his best, poor lad. his horse, clara, is his best friend and he weeps at least twice a week over it, and he's also a CRIPPLING people pleaser. he's just a loser and i love him

anyway, IN game where we left off, he was in this dark evil vampire kingdom called barovia (i'm sorry i'm mansplaining cos idk how much you know abt curse of strahd specifically) and tasked with stopping the tyrant vampire lord, Strahd. he's teamed up with sage's character, Matvey, who is actually one of Strahd's vampire spawn and teeeechnically under orders to bring maciej to strahd so he can kill him buuuuuuuut it's gonna get gay instead soooo :3

anyway so that's the lowdown on him. i love my religiously traumatised himbo paladin very much he's so special to me <3 sage and i have like a whole google doc together of just fanfiction for this campaign lmao

OH MY GOD NICO MY HEART IS YOURS/P

Here's to hoping you and Sage have the coolest comeback to the campaign once they're back <3 (i miss them so much agh) I'm such a sucker for religious motifs and religious trauma in characters it has such a GRIP on me you're such a geniuuuuuuuus. Also the "his common is jackshit" hellooooooooo? i love that so much it's what I do with Circe, the heavy accent and misspoken words

youre fine mansplaining btw i love it when people explain stuff to me cuz i dont play dnd i just play a very similar brazilian system.

HE'S SO PRECIOUS THANK YOU SO MUCH. IM HOLDING HIM OH SO GENTLY IN MY HANDS. also the writing fanfiction together part is so true<3 i miss doing that w friends agh

[kanazero-vampireknight2]

Me: Could you give me some Kaname x Zero headcanons?

Chat gpt: Certainly! Here are some headcanons for Kaname x Zero from the "Vampire Knight" series:

Unspoken Understanding: Kaname and Zero share a deep and unspoken understanding between them. They have gone through numerous trials and tribulations together, and their bond has strengthened over time.

Mutual Protection: Despite their differences and occasional conflicts, Kaname and Zero are fiercely protective of each other. They prioritize each other's safety and well-being above all else, willing to go to great lengths to ensure the other's happiness.

Trust and Dependence: Kaname and Zero have developed a profound trust in one another. They rely on each other emotionally and rely on their partnership to navigate the complex world of vampires and humans. They are each other's pillars of support.

Balancing Yin and Yang: Kaname embodies the calm and composed demeanor, while Zero represents the passionate and fiery nature. Together, they create a harmonious balance, drawing strength from each other's contrasting personalities.

Healing Presence: Kaname's presence has a calming effect on Zero, soothing his inner turmoil and helping him find solace. Zero, in turn, provides Kaname with a sense of purpose and unconditional love, helping him overcome his own past traumas.

Sacrifices for Love: Both Kaname and Zero are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of their love and the greater good. They understand the weight of their responsibilities and are prepared to make difficult choices to protect each other and the world they inhabit.

Shared Dreams of Peace: Kaname and Zero share a common dream of creating a world where vampires and humans can coexist in harmony. They work together to achieve this vision, using their unique strengths and abilities to bridge the gap between the two species.

Agh I love this

[lateral-org]

1 13 and 18!

1) Is John misunderstood or a villain?

False dichotomy here. I think John is well understood by many fans in that he was a traumatized man and absent father who indoctrinated his sons into a brutal and violent lifestyle (raised them to be soldiers). Like Henrikksen was pretty spot on when he called him a cult leader. The demons just happened to be real.

It's disgusting to me how much John actively avoided his sons during season 1. They didn't even know vampires were still around! (???) John would just drop a pin at a location and send them on goose chases and maybe grace them with his presence if he needed them or they literally tracked him down. Despicable parent behavior.

I don't think this makes him a "villain" though. He's not actively antagonizing the boys (other than giving them soooooo much trauma that they aren't gonna work through). Arguably the most villainous he is is when he tells Dean he's gonna have to kill Sam, and then he dies.

So I don't know. I think he's a shitty dad who fucked them over at every opportunity, but in my head there's nuance between that and villain.

13) Leather jacket or Mary’s ring?

I'm definitely forgetting or missed the lore about Mary's ring, I'm assuming its one of the rings Dean used to wear before Jensen decided no he wouldn't. Or maybe it's from s12? Either way it didn't leave an impact on me (feel free to send me meta to change my mind 👀)

If I have to choose based on symbolism, leather jacket. The leather jacket is such a strong visual signifier of John's impact on Dean's life (your car is his your clothes are his even your music is his etc) AND the fact that he sheds it after a while demonstrates his growth away from being John's shadow. (I know they lost it but still it works for me in canon)

A ring just doesn't have that same (hah) ring to it, especially in a live action show where we don't get that many lingering shots of hands, or insight into how Mary affected Dean.

However. If Sam was wearing Mary's ring... That's something I could get into. Something about Sam latching onto a piece of the mother he never knew, wearing it every day (maybe on a chain so he could hide it under his shirt). Sam wearing the ring when he meets Ruby, wearing it on his hand after Dean goes to hell and staring at it when he exorcises demons (he's doing it for Her but really he's doing it for himself, just like John)

Agh I'm driving myself crazy with this idea actually, maybe the ring if Sam gets to wear it

18) When did Supernatural start declining in quality? (If it did?)

Hahaha well

I'm currently rewatching it so it's fresh in my mind. I've always said 4 and 5 are my favorite seasons but rewatching really cemented that for me. Supernatural is a show that varies in quality season by season, and after a certain point it varies drastically episode by episode. Seasons 1 and 2 are really fucking solid, but season 3 sucks a lot in a lot of ways due to the writer's strike. Then 4 and 5 come in and pick up the pieces pretty effectively.

I think if you're looking for a cohesive show with an ending that makes sense and narrative themes that work, you stop at the end of season 5. Season 6 is a huge dip in quality for me. The first half of the season is so fucking boring and confusing, and by the time it gets it's act together it's time for the finale. But that also makes it similar to season 3, just if season 3 had time to redeem itself.

But I love season 7. I love the new characters and the leviathan and the weird 2011 liberal sensibilities. Season 8 is straight up a vampire diaries soap opera.

Visually the quality declines drastically after season 5. Seasons 4 and 5 use a lot of interesting framing and visual symbolism which stood out compared to the rest of the show, and a lot of that is absent post season 5. A few episodes try to recapture it but the direction becomes pretty generic. The color grading too suffers a lot. There have been so many meta posts about it but truly why does the show get so bright and colorful. I'm not supposed to be able to distinguish dark green from black.

Character writing also suffers post s5. They put the boys through the same wringer over and over and Dean gets angrier and Sam gets quieter and that's it. Not that there aren't good lines or arcs, it's just that compared to the content of the first 5 seasons it's worse.

Notable exceptions, like I said I like season 7. I also think 11 and 12 are good. Season 15 is fucking crazy and evil but it also has like. A plot. Like it's doing season 5 again but at least it knows where it's going.

But yeah. Decline after season 5

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