#also this is very the raven cycle coded

[sarahreesbrennan]

sorry if you have already answered this, but are we getting any queer rep in Long Live Evil? 💕 i am super excited to see what you've cooked up for us either way!

I came back after I'd gone off on one, seeing the post had struck a chord and being thankful but fearful of my inbox. Let me say with delighted surprise that all the asks are very kind.

Thank you for this one, sweet anon. I am so excited and so nervous about my best beloved, Long Live Evil, and about coming back with a new book of my own after so long, when I believed for a long time it was hopeless.

I'm really grateful to find readers waiting for me. But I know readers are naturally more invested in characters they know: I extremely appreciate you taking an interest in the future.

So, short answer: YEAH you are!

Long answer: Long Live Evil wouldn't exist without its queer narratives.

C.S. Pacat and I were talking in our virtual Brookline Booksmith event recently about our favourite Disney villains. C.S. Pacat picked Maleficent, a fine choice. I picked Snow White's Evil Queen. We agreed we loved most of them.

Here's the relevant excerpt I was quoting in my last post from Carmen Maria Machado's In The Dream House, saying 'I think a lot about queer villains, the problem and pleasure and audacity of them.' Well... me too.

I think many of us have experienced feeling made wrong in some way - for not wanting what society said we should or being what we were expected to be - and that one step along that journey of discovery is going 'Okay, if it's wicked, I'll just BE wicked.' And that's part of why those characters appeal - because they seem free, and free of pain.

But modern storytelling isn't confined to coding, and audiences can now feel free to expect, not the certainty, but the possibility characters who aren't introduced as such still might actually turn out to be LGBT+. The essays I've read about Supernatural, Teen Wolf, Sherlock, Ted Lasso, Fox 9-1-1... I think the latest argued Jaime Lannister was bisexual. (Pretty persuasive.)

I remember reading the Raven Cycle going 'oh? OH.' I remember being at a writing retreat in 2013 and running through the halls screaming about Nico diAngelo. Ten years later we got a Nico diAngelo book co-written by Rick Riordan and the amazing Mark Oshiro. I watched Red, White and Royal Blue with a friend and she said 'honestly I hope the guys get together, but...' and I (having read the book) silenced myself with a herculean effort and watched her hopes come true. I didn't know about The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and almost dropped the book in a swimming pool. But I've also read and watched many things thinking, just maybe... oh, no. Still that hope existing is meaningful, the thought that if the story had gone differently, if this revelation had happened, if this realisation had happened, if, if, if...

Long Live Evil is a story about the story going differently and asking yourself questions about your own nature, and the escape to fiction of those who really need escape. The book is based on that 'if,' and the 'if' itself is joyous, and brings me back to the idea of gleefully transgressing the narrative that much villain love is based on.

It's also an ensemble story with a rogue's gallery of characters and multiple PoVs. (I was much inspired by the Six of Crows ensemble.) So it isn't about any one character's romance, and by the book's nature there exist many possibilities. A critique partner read and said 'I didn't know you were going THERE' and I responded 'Should I?'

I've never been one to confirm where stories are going, and I won't do so now. I'm not talking about any one character or telling you a direction.

I'm just saying yes to rep. It's baked in.

[a-crowcats-nonsense]

PRSK furry!AU details

not everything is decided yet, but I figured why not type out what I do know?

VOCALOIDS - have to be protogen designs. Fits the synthetic vibe! Their correlated numbers appear on their shoulder displays, and their chest displays have “subtitles” for song lyrics they’re singing! (These don’t need to be added when drawing them!! This is just a funky detail!)

the particulars, so far:

MIKU- Bunny protogen! Big fluffy teal ears take the place of her twintails :3 (don’t quite know how I’ll make WxS Miku work with this, because of her being a cat hybrid…)

LEN- Dog protogen! Spiky fur, bat-type ears (you know what I mean, the triangle sticking up ones). Eyes are plus signs typically!

RIN- Dog protogen! Rounded fur, retriever-style ears. Eyes are minus signs typically!

(Len and Rin’s eyes can cycle through mathematics signs, but they typically stay with their assigned ones. This is inspired by a certain lyric in Bring It On, and I want to animate out the specific cycle at some point!)

EVERYONE ELSE- I do fear I don’t have details for them yet! Drop suggestions (if you have them) in the replies, tags, reblogs, whatever!

VBS:

AN- She’s a wolf/husky!

Kohane- She’s some sort of rodent! I don’t want to just assign her hamster, that’s too generic… I’VE GOT IT, JERBOA!

AKITO- He’s a fox. 100% fox vibes from that man.

TOYA- Raven, but I’m thinking maybe a griffin-type design with him? At least giving him feather-ear-tufts (throwing out the realism in favor of expressiveness)

WXS:

EMU- Otter! She is so very otter coded

RUI- While a part of me wants to make him a stingray, I’m leaning more towards a hybrid of macaw and calico cat! I’m going to draw out this design idea sometime

TSUKASA- He’s a tiger shark!

NENE- Bnnuy. Absolute rabbit.

MMJ:

MINORI- Doggirl of all time, we’re assigning her Xoloitzcuintli as the breed she’s based off of! Due to her being hairless it’s factored into why she’s ignored at idol auditions

AIRI- Serval!

SHIZUKU- Jellyfish. Trust me on this one

HARUKA- Leopard seal. This is a bit of a cruel joke with her canon enjoyment of penguins, but it’s all that comes to mind at the moment!

L/N:

SAKI: Golden retriever/daschund type doggo. “But she’s related to Tsukasa who’s a shark” sharks are called dogfish sometimes. Checkmate.

SHIHO- grey fox!

HONAMI- Little Brown bat! I love bats :)

ICHIKA- I don’t know, honestly… I think she’d work well as a lion!

N25:

MAFUYU- I don’t. I don’t know. I know she has a rabbit motif but I don’t think that’s fitting for her to be, yknow?

MIZUKI- absolute cat. Domestic cat, speckled coat :)

ENA- Absolute cat part 2, except I think she’d be a fisher cat or some other wildcat species

KANADE- She’s a dove, I think! Might change this later.

ALL OF THESE ARE NOT SET IN STONE UNTIL I GET GOOD DESIGNS DOWN!!! I’M JSUT SPITBALLING IDEAS HERE

Anyways yeah! Feel free to draw your ideas for designs/draw some of the designs I’ve already canonized, just tag me when ya post them :3

Also! You can suggest, critique, comment, whatever, I’d love input on this!!

If you read all this you get Rui image from my camera roll.

[adracat]

Esoteric and Divine Composite: Miorine

You all knew this was coming eventually. It's no secret she's my favorite among the cast, though Suletta is quite close. There's good reason for it too! She's a wonderful twist on an old gundam fav, the original peace princess, Relena Peacecraft. But as with her wife, there are multiple homages and inspirations added to her character—Norse gods Odin & Dagr-personification of Day, the goddess Persephone/Kore, and the White Queen

Odin

I'll admit, I was thinking perhaps I was off-base with my original analysis since she never lost an eye as we were anticipating. But she does make a horrific sacrifice and is hung by the swords of hatred as Prospera's Rose Bride. She is indeed the Hanged God who willfully pierces herself in the name of enlightenment/knowledge; for her, 'saving' Suletta.

All at the behest of the show's Mimir, Prospera, who directed her to Quin(Wisdom)harbor in the first place. It's subtle, but it works so well once you notice the pieces fall into place

(I'll expand more on Prospera and Mimir in another analysis)

But why Odin of all the gods? A patriarchal figure, no less. The answer lies in yet another Roman syncretism for Mercury. They share many similarities/domains and became entwined due to the spread of commerce; even sharing the same holy day, Wednesday. They are both psychopomps, able to traverse the realms freely, seekers/scholars of knowledge, and formed their respective alphabets. Odin is another face of Mercury.

And of all the characters, Mio has been at the forefront of gaining knowledge and unraveling hidden secrets, such as the tomato code and GUND. It's rather easy to link her vigilant serviellance over the school/Benerit to Odin's ravens. Her emblem is a bird after all...

Dagr/Persephone

In all honesty, I can't explain why this parallel is so clever without discussing these in tandem. Dagr, as I've mentioned previously, is the personification of Day. Counterpart to his mother, Night/Nott, and father, Dellingr. But why was Mio given this distinction as the bringer of Day? Because she's also coded as Persephone, goddess of Spring. GWitch is intertwining the Norse cycle of Day and Night with the greek seasonal cycle of agriculture. When Persephone descends below into Hades, the winter sets in as Demeter falls into despair. She is echoing Nott, bringer of night. Then when Persephone rises above, life blooms anew and spring begins, mirroring when Dagr has drawn the sun over the Earth. Both bring renewal in a ceaseless cycle.

In the finale, Mio is the harbinger of a new world. She has dismantled Benerit and is working tirelessly with the people of Earth to sow life after the many years of 'winter'.

If I haven't convinced you yet, let's take it back a few episodes. When Prospera vowed to show Mio the voices of the dead and proceeds to drag her below to the dark abyss that is Earth.

Hades Prospera has stolen Mio away and 'defiled' her sense of self. It's not a literal violation, thankfully, but considering the over-hanging Akio parallel it's intentional. Cleverly, the Rose Bride of GWitch is entwined with both Odin and Persephone to create a very layered sequence of events

But this Persephone doesn't wed her defiler. Instead, she's wed to her saviour who leads her into the light; Hermes/Mercury. In the original myth, Hades tricks Persephone into remaining his bride by eating Pomegranate seeds. This Persephone willingly eats a tomato given by her chosen groom. And before that, she decides to visit GWitch's Hades so long as Suletta joins. The Persephone-Hades tale has been indelibly altered to grant her agency and a new suitor along with completing the Dagr/Persephone cycles

The White Queen

Obligatory, please read my previous analyses on As Above, So Below and Red King and White Queen for context.

Miorine is a mercurial girl in multiple ways, from her appearance to her flunctuating temperament. She's the embodiment of Quicksilver/Mercury. Her name is derived from Mercury. Mio- a name imparted by the japanese people for a Mercury Orbital probe. Rembrandt- the name of a Mercury crater with high volcanic activity. The last bit of her name 'rine' can also be interpreted as water/watersilver; she’s elemental Mercury from top to bottom.

Mio is also a metaphorical Queen as the president of Benerit. And her union with the Red King resulted in the miraculous, mediated by the alchemical dove; Earth House.

But the parallel goes further when you look at the White Queen's symbol. The moon. As established above, she is Persephone or the Maiden. Her mother is Demeter, The Mother. And there's evidence Prospera is coded partly as the Crone, Hecate. All three are linked to the phases of womanhood and the moon

She might be the most subtly layered character I've had the privilege of dissecting. Her marriage to Suletta has unprecedented amounts of significance and canonicity. Mio, the Odin/Persephone/Rose Bride/White Queen amalgamate who overcame the tragedies of mythology and established her place in all our hearts.

If you enjoyed this read, plz view my Suletta Analysis here

[noodyl-blasstal]

Review-tribution - Best Served Cold Chapter 6

Day 6 of @tazsapphicweek so it's time for chapter 6 of Best Served Cold!

Read below or on Ao3. Missed the start? Here's ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, and ch 5.

-

Sloane leaves Davenport a message, she’s very concerned about a company trading under the name she has trademarked. Hopefully he can help her sort out the confusion when he’s back from his voyage.

–

Raven doesn’t check her phone until the morning after their date. She’s alternately furious and delighted to see what they found. Thank goodness for friends, she could never have proved this on her own. It’s too early to tell Istus yet, they need some more evidence behind them, but they’ll get them. They can’t be allowed to get away with this. They won’t be allowed to get away with this.

–

It doesn’t take long to swap out the QR codes. Hurley and Sloane easily dupe and switch out the posters.

It turns out that one of the benefits of owning your own website is being able to delete the negative reviews.

It turns out that when ‘you’ direct everyone to a different website which you’re not in control of, your 5 stars perfect rating (from names which, on a quick cross examination by Hurley, largely match the ones on the complaint emails) drops quite dramatically.

Worst customer service I have ever experienced If I could give this place 0 stars I would. The owners were so rude and the portions are tiny.

Weird texture Everything is just so powdery? For the price they charged me I expected more. I won’t be going back.

Do they even want customers there? I have never been so aggressively negged by staff members before. I called my therapist when Ieft.

They wouldn’t let me take anything branded The staff said that they didn’t want their brand to be associated with me and wouldn’t let me have any of the cups with the logo on. It wasn’t even that nice! If they don’t want to be associated with me then I certainly won’t be back.

Hurley approves all of the new reviews. There’s a carousel of terrible feedback on the main page now, she set it to cycle through the comments. She’s sure that there’ll be an influx of good ones once they realise, but they don’t seem to have yet.

–

“Hey, Raven! Look.” Hurley turns her phone round, delighted smile on her face.

“Hang on, let me get my glasses.” Raven is so glad she finally caved and got a chain for them, no more forgetting where she last put them down... Well, she’s so glad Istus found one that was tiny bones and ravens and therefore was too good not to use. “What am I looking at?”

“Facebook.” Hurley says, like that will mean something to her.

Raven looks blankly back at her in the hope she’ll explain.

Hurley doesn’t even roll her eyes, which Raven appreciates. “It’s The Good Lick Store’s Facebook page. They made one when they realised… somebody…” Hurley looks side to side shiftily… “had made another website and they must have figured that whoever it was would also nab their Facebook page if they didn’t set it up. People are leaving reviews. Lots of them. They can’t delete them on there either!”

“These are bad.” Raven says, scrolling slowly through the list of complaints about quality and customer service. She’s smug to see how many people recommend going to Happy Scoops instead.

“They’re really bad.” Hurley confirms.

Raven loves to hear the joy in her voice. The last few weeks have been a stew of tension and worry, it’s nice to feel like the tide is turning. Hurley’s joy bubbles over into a laugh and soon Raven joins her, it’s irresistible.

–

Sloane snuggles into her side as Hurley presses send on the email.

“And you’re sure that’ll be anonymous?” She asks.

“Absolutely.” Hurley says. “All of the evidence, but no way of knowing where it came from.” She doesn’t bother trying to keep the smug tone out of her voice. They all deserve a win, and the management company deserves to know the truth about who has been ‘complaining’ about Happy Scoops.

It doesn’t hurt to add screenshots of the reviews, but that’s just for her own gratification.

Sloane plants a kiss on her shoulder. “You’re a brain genius and I love you.”

Hurley closes the laptop and pulls Sloane into her lap. “I love you too.”

–

“Istus! I’m so sorry, I heard what happened.” Cherity looks genuinely bereft.

“Thank you so much for your kind thoughts, Charity, but I’m afraid I don’t quite follow?” Istus hands over Cherity’s usual cone.

“You know, dear, the…” Cherity looks to the side furtively and whispers “... the fro yo people.”

“Oh, well, you know, there’s plenty of space for two businesses.” Istus tries to smile as brightly as she usually would. There’s no need to trouble customers with this, no matter how friendly they are.

“No no, what they did. We know it was them who cancelled the events. Ziad told us in the group thread.”

“The what, sorry?” Istus stares blankly.

“They posted something on the wrong Facebook account, and Ziad took a picture and sent it, and then Mustafa told us about how confused you were about the cancellations and we put it together. May the gods have mercy on their souls, but we certainly haven’t in the comments. Anyway, goodbye dear, I’ve got to pick up Mercy from play group, but we’re with you!” Cherity drops her bombshell and leaves.

–

“Raven?” Istus asks. “Do you know how to make Facebook happen?” She shuffles the sparkly, cloud shaped mouse of their elderly computer again to see if that can speed up the ever spinning wheel on the screen.

Raven creases her brow as she looks up from the book she’s reading. “Is this a test, beloved? Do you think I’m some kind of replicant?”

Istus takes a deep breath so she doesn’t accidentally sound terse. It is definitely an out of character request, but she needs to work out what’s going on. “No. I just need to get on. Cherity said something odd today and I just want to check what she meant.”

“It’s definitely a website. You have to type in the bar at the top for those.” Raven says, letting her glasses fall on the chain and pushing herself out of the seat. Istus has long since stopped teasing her about the grumbling noises when she does it (since she started doing them too, in fact).

The computer finally chugs to life and lets Istus click on the kind swooshy fox that takes her to the internet (Kravitz let her pick her favourite one, and the fox was much more fun than the coloured ball). “This one?”

“I think that’s the google bar which is different. But try putting facebook in there anyway?” Raven leans down, uncertain, one hand on the back of Istus’ chair, and squints at the screen.

Istus types ‘Facebook’ into the bar and waits.

“Do you think we should get a faster one?” Raven asks as they both watch the spinny wheel on the screen.

“Maybe we can ask the boys?” Istus muses, leaning back to rest against Raven as the computer screen goes black and then starts to load the next page.

Raven rubs her chin against the top of Istus’ head, and Istus smiles up at her despite the fact that Raven can’t see. It’s easy to send up a thought of gratitude for this moment. Istus spends a lot of time thinking about the future, it’s a good thing, it’s why her business has lasted so long, it’s why they have the house, it’s how they can afford to retire if they ever get round to it. But sometimes, sometimes it’s important to stay in the here and now, and being here with her wife is a wonderful now to stay in.

“There we go.” Raven points at the screen. “You need to log in.”

“Huh… where’s the little book got to?” Istus cracks the desk drawer.

“I’ll tell Kravitz on you.” Raven’s smile is evident in her voice.

“You wouldn’t!” Istus plays along as she shuffles papers aside. “My love, how could you betray me like this?”

“But if you write your passwords down then everyone can steal them.”

“I don’t have anything to steal in the computer.” Istus finds the little book rammed right at the book. “Anyway, Taako gave me the book because he was sick of us calling to get them to do the reset thing.”

“A wise man.” Raven nods.

“Shall we use yours?” Istus is fairly sure hers doesn’t work anymore after the time she kept mixing up the order of the numbers and exclamation marks Kraitz said she needed.

“Go on then.” Raven reads her the details and Istus types. It’s a well practised routine.

“I’m in!”

“What are you looking for now?” Raven leans back down to peer with her.

“Well, Cherity said that The Good Lick Store posted something strange in the wrong place.” Istus types the shop’s name into the search bar, proud not to have to ask this time.

Their name pops up next to their logo - Istus has begun to think it more garish than fun as time goes on… though that may be more to do with the shop’s owners than anything else.

“I don’t see anything.” Istus says.

“Try scrolling down?” Raven suggests.

Istus moves the mouse down, nothing happens.

“I think you use the wheely bit.” Raven points.

Istus tries again and the page shoots by until there’s a blank spot and the loading wheel comes up again.

“Maybe try a tad slower?”

Istus moves the wheel gingerly the opposite way and Raven fully drapes herself over Istus’ shoulders.

“Hmmm, maybe they deleted it.” Istus shrugs. “Nevermind.”

–

“How many fish?” Carey asks Killian

“Not that many.” Killian smiles the smile of someone who has hidden an amount of fish very north of not that many in a frozen yoghurt shop.

Carey smirks and nods. “...and I assume you’ll need a shower, you know, because of the not very many fish juice.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

“You can’t talk about fish juice and seduce me!” Killian groans and pretends to push her away, pulling her closer instead.

“Can’t I?” Carey grins happily as Killian groans.

“It’s you, not the fish juice.” Killian scoops Carey into her arms.

“To the bathroom!” Carey points the way.

–

Sloane smiles, grimly satisfied with her work. She slips away into the shadows.

–

“It’s just terrible, what happened to the sign.” Carey says.

“So awful.” Killian nods.

“Sadly there’s no leads on who was responsible.” Hurley shakes her head. “I’ve been trying to figure it out all morning, but there’s simply no evidence.”

“Such a shame to see mindless vandalism like that.” Sloane shakes her head. “What is the world coming to?”

Raven barks a laugh and tries to quickly cover it with a cough. “Mmhmm, terrible.”

“It is a little bit funny.” Istus says, primly. “Such a shame those letters were in the sign in that order.”

Raven looks up surprised.

“Of course, no one here would have stooped so low.” Istus narrows her eyes at them all in turn. “But hopefully they can repair it easily enough…” There’s a long pause and Istus adds in a stage whisper. “Did any of you get a photograph?”

–

It takes three days before the sign is repaired. Raven makes sure to pass by at least once on each and every one of them. Partly to glare at the twins through the window and partly to enjoy the sight of the queues dwindling. The sourness on the faces of the hosts increases with each visit.

–

Raven’s busy scarfing down a sandwich between appointments when her phone ba-bings, then pings again, and again.

Istus’ Army Hurley: Quick! Everyone! It’s happening Hurley: Check this out!

The link she sends next takes Raven to a statement.

We are a group of concerned locals and we’re calling for a boycott of The Good Lick Store. They have been sabotaging other businesses (see screenshots attached). They created a fake profile to reduce other business’ revenue and, in the process, took away a community lifeline. They selfishly put profit in front of people. We’re not going to stand for it, and you shouldn’t either. Don’t let yourselves be used to harm the businesses who are there for our community!

Underneath sit three screenshots of posts from The Good Lick Store’s new Facebook page, clearly written as if they were Happy Scoops (cancelling yet more events).

“Incredible.” Raven laughs to herself as other messages begin to pop up.

Sloane: YES! Killian: Take that, dick store! Killian: Carey says “wahoo with three exclamation marks at least” Raven: Good job Hurley Hurley: Not guilty! It wasn’t me. Raven: Then… who? Carey: Yeah, who’s our saviour? Hurley: Customers Hurley: I messaged the page after I saw the post, it turns out it’s people who come to the events, they’re furious. Raven: OH. Istus did say that Cherity mentioned something about Facebook. We couldn’t find anything though. Hurley: They’re obviously angry about being lied to, but coming after Istus? It’s never going to be good PR Hurley: Wait, Raven, you went on Facebook????? Killian: Are you reading the comments? Please read the comments Hurley: Incredible Killian: I think it has broken Carey, she just keeps snort laughing. Raven: How do I get there? Hurley: Hang on.

A screenshot pops up in the chat.

Francisco ‘A boycott won’t be hard, the ice cream’s shit anyway.’ The Good Lick Store ‘It’s not ice cream, it’s frozen yoghurt.’ Francisco ‘Sorry, my bad. It won’t be hard, the frozen yoghurt is shit anyway.’

Raven: You’re not supposed to argue with people on the internet, Kravitz said. Hurley: Kravitz is very very right. Sloane: I’ve gone on a deep dive. Did you see their statement? Hurley: Share with the class?

A screenshot quickly follows. The Good Lick Store believes in quality, belives in luxury, believes in pursuing your dream. Our dream is to bring you sophisticated flavours, challenging topping combinations, and real-world business practices. We believe in our product and we believe in challenging our competition. In business there’s always a winner.

Sloane: But wait for this

Another screenshot of the first comment. Aoife: ‘Well the winner’s not you, is it?”

Sloane: Do you think they’re feeling good about their life choices? Hurley: Snrk Carey: Get’em! Raven: Has anyone showed Istus yet? Killian: No! Don’t! She’ll feel bad for them. Hurley: They don’t deserve cheer-up cake Sloane: Or restorative cookies Raven: You make a good point

-

Enjoying the story? Find the final chapter here.

[karouvas]

top 5 diviners characters!

Sorry I took a while with this anon I just wanted to write out my thoughts properly since I don’t get to talk about my Diviners bbs often :). #1-2 and #4-5 are basically tied in terms of my feelings for them so I just differentiated rank based on how satisfied I was with their arcs/overall stories especially based on my reread last winter break because reading them back to back rather than as they were being published threw some of that into relief for me.

Theta Knight — I Adore this girl, have since day one and on reread especially she has my favorite arc of any of these characters, I love how her learning to accept her powers works in tandem to her de-learning the feelings of guilt she has from her abusive childhood and marriage. She also has such cool powers not just the fire but I also love that she’s the diviner who is given the title of Witch specifically in BTDBY in a way the others don’t, and how she ends up kind of claiming it. She’s also so deeply loving as a person yet at the same time unwilling to put up with bs, very stubborn frank and down to earth about the things that matter which makes her dynamics with others great to read about especially this makes her friendship with Evie Really fun because I love Evie but she does need that type of tough-love-mixed-with-support from someone. I of course love her friendship with Henry they’re very Margo-and-Eliot coded bi girl (I mean I know that’s not technically canon for Theta but I’m convinced) gay man found family friendship <3 and her relationship with Memphis is lovely very few of those love-at-first-sight-instant-connection ships work for me but they’re one of the exceptions and the way the maturity and growth of their relationship develops over the course of the books is really something. 

Ling Chan — girl who is me. Excellent INTP representation for once and she’s brown and wlw too I stay winning :). Ling is such an important character to me personally I really relate to the way she thinks, her being very logical and skeptical by nature but also finding beauty in tradition and the theme of being caught between worlds in different senses. I also love her powers I find dream powers fascinating and imo this verse handles them the best in terms of explaining them and keeping them interesting  (and I say this as someone who’s favorite series is the raven cycle lol). She has such great dynamics with other chars I loved her toxic romantic friendship in the dream world with Wei-Mei and her friendship with Henry and Memphis and Theta I have mixed at best feelings about Jericho but he’s by far the most entertaining to me in his dynamic with her in the last book, and her clashing with Evie was handled pretty well and I liked her arc around internalized misogyny but I do think she got very little to do in the last book and she peaked in the middle books, which is why she’s slightly bellow Theta. She’s so special to me though. 

Evie O’Neill — she’s just an excellent protagonist so three dimensional and interesting while also being very charming and fun, and the right amount of frustrating at times but you still love her. She’s ‘swell :).I also was pleasantly surprised by some of the notes on mental health and grief that got touched on in her storyline. 

Memphis Campbell — the Diviners men rank pretty close for me but like with Theta the fact I was most satisfied with his arc overall solidifies his ranking. King of Crows is my least favorite of the four books (I’m a huge believer that middle book syndrome is fake and those are often the best/most interesting books in especially characters driven series and that’s true here) although I still have love for it but the full circle of his poems as the voice of tomorrow was top tier and I loved the growth in his confidence and his relationship with Isaiah. 

Henry Dubois — he’s only last because he got precious little to do in books that weren’t Lair of Dreams which is where he shone, but I love him his friendships with Theta and Ling are honestly my favorite dynamics in the group And I just, have a real soft spot for the guy similar to how I feel about Eliot from the magicians. 

honorable mention to Sam Lloyd who I also am v affectionate towards! Funnily enough I did not like him much my first time reading book 1 but I had a quick turn around on him and Samevie in lair of dreams (I. Love their fake dating plot in that book it’s the best ever). So yeah, he’s a good. 

[morrisxn02]

{HARRIS DICKINSON, 21, MALE, HE/HIM} Is that EDWARD MORRISON? A JUNIOR originally from MANHATTAN. They’re THE PROUD ELITE on campus, but even they could get blamed for Greer’s disappearance. 

tl;dr: eddie responsible, pragmatic, methodic but he is also frustrated that he still hasn’t found his path in life and is too scared to live life the way he wants to without disappointing his family. i feel like, right now, he’s at this crossroads where he wants to be young and find his path and have fun, but he is too scared this will put all the great things he has in jeopardy.

-– the basics:

full name: edward rufus morrison nicknames: ed, eddie, rufus (if you want to annoy him) + whatever your muse desires age: 21 birthday: march 13th, 2002 birthplace: new york city, new york major: computer science + literature gender: cisgender male sexuality: bisexual

stats - pinterest board - playlist - wanted connections

multimedia character inspirations:

henry winter (the secret history), dickie greenleaf (ripley - 2024), julian fromme (these violent delights), art donaldson (challengers), declan lynch and richard gansey iii (the raven cycle/the dreamer trilogy), kendall and shiv roy (succession), logan dellos (westworld), nate archibald (gossip girl), mahdi (blocco 181)

background:

middle child of the morrison family;

grew up as the family's perfect little golden boy;

his parents always deposited in him the expectations of one day taking on the family business;

was always sort of a conflict mediator at home, which is one of the reasons why his parents love him so much;

always enjoyed reading and studying;

didn't have any big issues growing up aside from sporadic ideological conflicts with his parents;

spent a year in france as a part of an exchange program in high school;

personality:

kind of nihilistic;

matured way too early so he kind of just wants to be young and dumb for a while but will not allow himself to be happy bc he feels like being his dad's ideal of a man is more important;

very creative and artistic;

on the outside he's a conformist, on the inside he's super liberal. he refrains from dabbling in politics, though bc as aware as he can be abt his privilege, he would never give up the nice things he has;

roy-siblings coded: he will do anything to impress an unloving parent because there's no drug more powerful than parental validation

can be very practical when he needs to be, but is usually very much the opposite

he is very VERY lost in life, very frustrated, very unhappy, thinks he's trowing his life away and regrets like 75% of his life choices;

he can be a bit selfish and narcissistic;

thinks he's smarter than everyone;

cannot muster up the courage to confront his family about anything so he can often be found looking forlornly at the horizon wondering abt everything his life could have been;

headcanons

fatally allergic to hornets. he WILL die if he gets stung

loves videogames;

kind of an art/history nerd;

annoying film-bro that carries a mubi tote around and has a criterion channel subscription (also hit him up if you want to borrow any criterion collective exclusive releases);

would have been an actor in another life. LOVES shakespeare;

eddie is kind of closeted with his bisexuality, mostly bc he feels like his parents might start looking at him differently (a few ppl know and he doesn't make a point of hiding it but he won't openly label himself as queer, it's a weird thing but you know where i'm going with this right)

also LOVES winter sports like and is an amazing tennis player but doesn't care much about other sports;

mildly near-sighed

slightly allergic to polyester (as per a collective gc decision lmao)

other tropes: princely young man, gentleman snarker, byronic hero.

RELATIONSHIP TO GREER: Most of his life, Greer was like a best friend inside of their home. Someone with whom he shared most of his fondest memories, like summers in the Hamptons, Christmases in the Alps, and Halloweens at Disney World. Yet, when you grow up in a Succession-esque household, there are certain unspoken rules about loyalty and comradery. Siblinghood was always a game – fun, for the most part, but competitive and always marred by the inevitable awareness that there was always a great deal at stake and that one could end up finding himself on the losing side. Luckily, for most of their lives, the Unfavorite gracefully assumed that position – which neither he, nor Greer ever questioned. But Edward knew that there were always boundaries to his relationship with the golden girl, there were secrets to be kept from her, lies to be told to appease her, because he knew – as his twin did – that Greer would gladly throw any of them under a bus coming in at full speed if she knew that would expand her advantage in their parents’ rankings.

HOW THEY EMBODY THEIR SKELETON TROPE: The linen shirts, the tailored suits and the cashmere sweaters attest to his love of all things fine and luxurious. Edward is the stereotypical Barbie of northeastern rich men: his favorite sport is skiing; he loves a good glass of premium aged scotch; and his go-to Holiday getaway is quick trip to Europe. All this privilege makes him a little out of touch with reality. Sometimes he just doesn’t get the so-called “small pleasures of life”. And all this luxury at his full disposal might make him appear a little too self-assured. He doesn’t do it out of malice or hatred of the less privileged, though, he just loves his life too much not to be all-in in it… 

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: tennis, sailing, writing club, fencing club

[skylineheights-if]

What are the ROs favourite books? 👀👀

This is an incredibly fun question that I am DEFINITELY not gonna use to advertise any of my own favorite books and series.

Harlowe

I think he's mostly into dark romance/adult fantasy. Pretty much anything that can fit into the "dark" category. His favorite books/series would be Game of Thrones, The Ninth House, Six of Crows, Haunting Adeline, anything by Anne Rice, and The Night Circus.

Florence

Florence is THEE contemporary romance lover. She'd also like YA books/series a lot, especially fantasy. Her favorites include: Red, White, & Royal Blue, ACOTAR, Percy Jackson, Everything Everything, The Love Hypothesis, Icebreaker, and the Shatter Me series.

Eden

Eden is a big fan of the classics and books/series with dark/light academia vibes. Zodiac Academy would be a series he'd love but probably wouldn't talk about much. He'd also love The Atlas Six, Pride & Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Call of the Wild, Harry Potter, the Raven Cycle, Infernal Devices, and Rainbow Rowell's entire discography.

Aena

Aena doesn't have any specific favorite genres, but she does gravitate towards fantasy books/series with strong female leads. Her favorites would include the Red Queen series, The Folk of the Air, Crescent City, Throne of Glass, and The Hunger Games.

Alistaire

Alistaire also doesn't have a specific favorite genre, he just reads what he wants to read. Most classics would be on his "favored books" list, of course, since he is an English professor. He'd really enjoy the Twilight series, Da Vinci's Code, The Song of Achilles, Outlander, the Inheritance Cycle, and Circe. He very much shares Aena's love for The Hunger Games and Red Queen.

[ganseysglasses]

I’ve had boygenius brain rot since The Record was released so let me tell you what song goes to which of the raven cycle characters.

Starting with the obvious, Ronan is SO revolution 0 are you kidding?? “i don’t wanna die / that’s a lie / but i’m afraid to get sick / i don’t know what that is” so so so Ronan. ALSO “i used to think if i just closed my eyes / i would disappear” ?? enough said. revolution 0 is questioning the world you’re in and your purpose in it and if that isn’t the epitome of Ronan Lynch idk what it.

Adam is definitely Letter To An Old Poet to me. This was a really hard choice because Adam Parrish is incredibly boygenius coded but i have evidence. “you’re not special, you’re evil / you don’t get to tell me to calm down / you made me feel like an equal / but i’m better than you / and you should know that by now” it’s Adam Parrish learning who he is and that he’s more than his background, more than what he’s been told he is by his father, the other students at aglionby, and even himself. Letter To An Old Poet makes me feel like reflecting on what used to be and realizing how much time has changed everything around me. That’s just so Adam!!

I’m not SUPER confident on this one, but Noah is Anti-Curse. First of all, Noah Czerny just seems like a Julien Baker fan idk. Also kind of obvious text evidence “making peace with my inevitable death.” now i KNOW that could also be Gansey, but hear me out. Noah knew from the beginning that he was going to be gone and leave his friends over and over again (poor guy :( ) and he still MOURNED and resisted his inevitable undoing. I feel like Gansey didn’t even actually come to terms with his death. All of the Raven King was spent searching for a solution, and even though Gansey had proof he would die, he didn’t quit searching for a solution. Noah on the other hand embodies Anti-Curse and the theme of making peace with where you are. It’s really heartbreaking honesty.

Gansey boy himself is OBVIOUSLY True Blue. I have authority on this because i AM Gansey. He’s me. Anyways, i realized Gansey was true blue when i heard the line “but it feels good to be known so well / i can’t hide from you like i hide from myself” which is also when i had the idea for this post (before taking many weeks to write it out). Additionally just think about Gansey’s relationship with his friends with this verse “you’ve never done me wrong except for that one time / that we don’t talk about / because it doesn’t matter anymore / who won the fight? / I don’t know” Gansey being so willing to do anything for his friends, and ignore any fights or disagreements just to get them to stay. True Blue embodies the longing to be seen. to be known and understood and loved in despite of people seeing. And that’s a very clear character trait of Gansey’s throughout the books.

Finally, Blue Sargent herself. She’s Satanist, which i feel might be a bit of an obvious choice but it fits. Blue makes it known where she stands on everything, is very independent, and has a lot to prove, which really suits this song. The verse “will you be an anarchist with me? / sleep in cars and kill the bourgeoisie / at least until you find out what a fake i am” says it best. Blue is so desperate to be sure of herself and achieve what she wants, but there’s so much she’s not sure of. (her principles after finding her raven boys, college, careers, their quest, etc) Satanist is a song that takes a stand so confidently while having no real intention of acting upon the decisions made. Not because it doesn’t believe in the decisions or the principles behind it, but because it doesn’t believe in itself.

Anyways that’s my interpretation of the raven cycle with special guests Boygenius!

[dxppercxdxver]

stopsign junction 🥀

time to synopsize this Wack Ass Dream i had and am now trying to turn into a story

picture mid 70s small town americana. well, small-ish, all the main characters attend this weird private school and shit. ANYWAY. late autumn air, golden glows, lots of brick and sweater vests, you get the drill

our protagonist is a boy named theo. he's super smart, got into this private school based on test scores rather than money, and has a sort of. bootleg eddie munson vibe going on. i know in my heart he would be a he/they in modern times. long hair, bassist, nail polish when he can get away with it, bit of the town freak (affectionate)

his best friend and other primary protagonist is a boy named ben. super rich family, has a bit of a reputation for being an asshole, but mostly he's just. very smart and bad at social cues. he may also be a bit hoh but honestly i can't decide with him yet. he's got a very. detached and ethereal thing going on? he always looks like he's thinking about something more important than you (he's not, he just looks like it). you read the raven cycle? gansey vibes

and they're best friends!! they live next door and have little secret codes they share with each other and know all the hidey holes and passages in each other's houses and can sneak between their yards and into their bedrooms easier than breathing. also, theo is Catastrophically in love with ben. oops

crux of the plot is that ben discovers something about their little town. any four way stopsign junction can be used to make minor wishes. they use it mostly for goofs at first? changing all the text in the neighborhood to french, fudging their class attendance records, etc. but then they realize something Weird is going on. someone else is using this stopsign trick for Nefarious Purposes

and now they have a mystery to solve that ties into the school and their families and really the town's history as a whole

i literally cannot synopsize all of it without taking Eight Years but the primary crux of the story is that ben Does realize his feelings for theo. and it's great. but then the antagonist makes a wish and erases their entire history together. and so theo must partner up with ben's girlfriend and the other local weirdo to undo it and solve the mystery before the town's temporal fabric unwinds for good

it was so vivid. i miss ben sometimes

[oevidius]

tbh your addition to the post about the they were all in love with each other line made me laugh a little. like people don't ship non-canon things necessarily because they think it's canonically coded that way like it's just a thing they do because they like the idea. but also, and this is not meaning to be rude at all, i am giggling about blue's relationship with them all being very platonic just because there is canon mutual attraction between her and three of them :sob emoji:

i totally understand where you're coming from and i also understand the concept of shipping. and yeah of course blue had a romantic relationship with two of the boys... i was just explaining how not only in the raven cycle do i see this, but in other media that i've consumed where the fandom turns the friendship between characters into something inherently romantic and how that makes me upset because friendship is overlooked oftentimes...

also... who am i to tell people to stop shipping all of them together.? i never told people to stop shipping them because my point of view on their relationship as a whole group is found family and a deep-rooted platonic soulmate esque kind of relationship. you guys can ship all you want, all i was doing was giving my point of view..

[barbaricpoetic]

In honor of Trans Day of Visibility, have my Adam Parrish Is Trans Actually rant

To be clear, I don’t think Adam was written as trans, or with any great intention for him to be read and coded as trans. I just think the idea of magic being related to sexuality and gender is something that plays an interesting role in The Raven Cycle as a whole, and as someone who relates a lot to Adam, I can see a lot of my own journey as a ftm demiboy in his character arc.

For this post, I'm speaking as if he is clearly, unequivocally, ftm transmasc.

Spoilers ahead for the entire Raven Cycle series

Adam starts the books off really trying to appeal to this height of masculinity. He goes to an all boys school, the jobs he works are typically male-dominated fields (factory and mechanic work), and he dresses not only economically for his station, but like a trans guy trying to pass as cis, despite that not being the way he’d like to present himself. He’s also described over and over as pretty, elegant, delicate, like a girl, but in a masculine way.

“And the third was — elegant. It was not the right word for him, but it was close. He was fine boned and a little fragile looking, with blue eyes pretty enough for a girl.” - TRB

Adam also puts a lot of effort into changing his voice to remove his accent, so it’s not unrealistic to imagine that that also comes with him trying to deepen his tones and drop his voicebox in order to pass better.

“The voice was careful, masculine, and local; the vowels had all the edges sanded off.” - TRB

“He even sounded different. There was no trace at all of his subtle Virginia accent. He’d endlessly practiced erasing it in high school but never pulled it off. Now it was completely hidden. A stranger’s voice.” - CDTH

Throughout The Raven Boys, Adam is questioning everything, but is being propelled by his desire to be like Gansey and the other Aglionby boys, because they feel closer to everything that he’s always known and hated, but at the same time feel unattainable.

“Adam felt the familiar pang. Not jealousy, just wanting. One day, he’d have enough money to have a place like this. A place that looked on the outside like Adam looked on the inside.

“A small voice within Adam asked whether he would ever look this grand on the inside, or if it was something you had to be born into. Gansey was the way he was because he had lived with money when he was small, like a virtuoso placed at a piano bench as soon as he could sit. Adam, a latecomer, a usurper, still stumbled over his clumsy Henrietta accent and kept his change in a cereal box under his bed.” - TRB

This battle with his masculinity comes to a head when his father (the most significant male force in his life) beats the living shit out of him and deafens him in one ear.

Driven by this stress and this feeling that he can’t belong anywhere, he goes to wake the ley line to find Glendower because he wants everything Gansey has, seeing Gansey as the perfect ideal man. Gansey has not just wealth, privilege, security, respect, but safety and comfort in his own gender (at least how Adam perceives Gansey, who, on the other hand, has some envy for Adam), which something Adam desperately wants and feels broken because he doesn't have.

“Gansey thought of one hundred things that he could say to Adam about how it would be all right, how it was for the best, how Adam Parrish had been his own man before he’d met Gansey and there was no way he’d stop being his own man just by changing the roof over his head, how some days Gansey wished that he could be him, because Adam was so very real and true in a way that Gansey couldn’t ever seem to be.” - TRB

Adam's waking of the ley line is almost metaphorical, or an analogy for what happens when you realize you're trans. You can either know it and go forward, walk that long difficult path, or you can hide it away, but either way, you're never going to be the same.

“Adam was different since making the bargain with Cabeswater. Stronger, stranger, farther away. It was hard not to stare at the odd and elegant lines of his face.” -TDT

The world around Adam is also experiencing a huge shift, as everything around Adam feels more strange and surreal and strangely right, which is a fairly common experience many trans people have upon realizing that they’re trans. 

“He swallowed his ginger ale. He wasn’t sure it hadn’t actually been champagne, now, all along. The party had become a devil’s feast: will-o’-the-wisps caught in brass hunting lamps, impossibly bright meats presented on ivy-filagreed platters, men in black, women jeweled in green and red. The painted trees of the ceiling bent low overhead. Adam was wired and exhausted, here and somewhere else. Nothing was real but him and Gansey.” - TDT

Adam views this change, this magic from Cabeswater as something from outside of him, kind of in a 'this is being done to me' sense.

“It had been a little over a month since he’d offered his sacrifice to Cabeswater in order to wake Gansey’s ley line. The entire ritual felt swimmy and surreal in his mind, like he’d been watching himself perform it on a television screen. Adam had gone fully prepared to make a sacrifice. But he wasn’t quite sure how the specific one he’d eventually made had come to him: I will be your hands. I will be your eyes.” - TDT

So far, nothing had happened, not really. Which was almost worse. He was a patient with a diagnosis that he couldn’t understand.” - TDT

He spends the next book in a kind of conflicted agony as he wrestles with what Cabeswater asks him to do vs what he thinks he should do, and this chaotic agony of deep seated repression coming to the surface, he goes towards what feels safe, more specifically, the hyper-masculine.

He’s dating Blue and really wants to kiss her despite her growing away from him, he experiences a lot more uncontrollable rage and frustration (like his father, who he fears he's becoming as he leans more towards the masculine).

“He calmed enough to remember that if he waited long enough, carefully analyzing how it felt, the emotion would lose its inertia. It was the same as physical pain. The more he tried to mentally decide what made pain hurt, the less his brain seemed able to remember the pain at all.” TDT

This comes to a head at Gansey’s mom's party, when he's acting out the part of a perfect young man with the world before him. The party puts him into a near-drunk stupor, as he realizes that even though he's closer to the gender he wants to be it's still an act that he's putting on for cis people around him. 

“With a jolt, he realized that he intimidated her. Standing there in his impervious suit with its red-knotted tie, young and straight-shouldered and clean, he had pulled off whatever strange alchemy Gansey performed. For perhaps the first time in his life, someone was looking at him and seeing power.” - TDT

His gender in this scene isn’t his, it’s a performance of what a man his age should be and it breaks him so much that he rages.

“’Oh, what?” Adam demanded. “You’re afraid someone will hear? They’ll know everything isn’t perfect in the land of Dick Gansey? A dose of reality could only help those people!’ With a sudden twist, he swept all of the figurines from the Queen Anne table. Foxes in breeches and terriers seized in midflight. They all plunged to the floor with a satisfying and diseased smash. He raised his voice. ‘World’s ending, folks!’” - TDT

So he finally goes to Persephone (a (transfemme queen no I will not be taking suggestions) and through her guidance into exploring this bond with Cabeswater, he realizes that his call to gender is not outside him, not defined by society's expectation of what it is to be male, what it is to be Adam, but that it comes from within him and it always has.

“Adam was once again retreating inside himself, most interested, as always, in the thing that remained unknowable to him: his own mind.” - BLLB

“He was a magician, Persephone had said, and his magic was making connections between disparate things.” - TRK

Adam’s gender is closer to male, but it isn’t quite all the way there.

“Adam narrowed his eyes. There was something different about him. Or maybe there was just something different between him and Henry. Henry was a boy. Adam was a —

Gansey didn’t know.”

But Adam learns that, and he accepts it. And as he eases into his role as a magician, he becomes safer and more comfortable in himself, in his own body, separate from the paralizing stasis that came with his character in The Raven Boys and the agonizing turmoil that came in The Dream Thieves. He learns how to grow and restructure his priorities and to walk away from the hyper-masculine in order to be himself. He still desires things, but he wants them for him as he is now, not who he has always wanted to be

And in the end, the unknowable boy gets to be known and loved, not just by his friends and his crush, but by himself.

(and then it all goes tits up in The Dreamer Trilogy, but I have a feeling we haven’t seen all of Adam there yet)

I feel very passionate about this, as you can see.

[toast-the-unknowing]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

I feel like I have a standard answer to this question, so I wanted to try to name some favorite fics I maybe don't mention as much:

it all will fall, fall right into place: (Raven Cycle, Adam/Ronan, E rated, aka LA verse part 9) Oh Lord, the work that went into this one. I challenged myself to do about six different things that were new or tough or scary to me but damn if I'm not proud of how it turned out and proud to have a fic with a pretentious arty title and a ton of angst and also has the tag "Fisting".

Careful the Tale You Tell: (Raven Cycle, Adam/Ronan, T rated, aka the witch kid fic) I tend to say that a fic will either take me less than a week to write or it will take me months/years; this one was a weird little exception to that rule, written in something like two to three weeks during just MASSIVELY heavy snowfall (there were like two-three days I got to do nothing but work on this because work was cancelled due to snow which delighted my SoCal, never-had-a-snow-day-in-my-life heart). It was just a cozy dreamlike writing experience that created a cozy dreamlike fic that I'm incredibly happy with.

darling, don't make such a drama: (Raven Cycle, Ronan & Henry, Ronan & Declan, Adam/Ronan, T rated, aka the bartender/artist AU) okay "favorite fic titles" isn't the question here and I'm not sure this one would WIN but it's the one that still kinda cracks me up the most. I absolutely love writing more than just two characters/one relationship and fitting in friendship and family relationships, and this one was just a blast to do. The interactions and the plot (to the extent there is one) all just kinda evolved naturally from very bare bones and I think it ended up in a sort of unexpected but interesting place.

Loose Lips Sink Ships: (The 100, Miller & Clarke, Miller/Monty, T rated, aka the 'sorry your ex's proposal went viral' AU) One thing I really enjoy is writing about non-obvious friendships or combinations of characters, so as soon as that one tumblr post went around of "headcanon that Clarke and Miller knew each other on the Ark" I knew it would be my destiny to write a story where they were bros. One other thing I enjoy is writing shipfics that are secretly as much if not more so about the platonic friendships happening around the couple, and this was just a fun good time writing both of those things at once and also including so many em tags that AO3 broke my html coding and I had to spend like two hours fixing it.

The Visit: (Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Jake-centric gen, T rated, aka the 'I have a lot of feelings about Jake and the finale, especially as viewed through the lens of the episode The Visiter' fic) Funny story, the last person that I hooked up with saw my DS9 tattoo and literally was like "okay we're going to talk about DS9 for a bit and it's not going to be a sex thing, what character do you relate to most" and I said "Jake" and she just had completely no idea how to react to that. (Hers was Jadzia, because, yeah, of course it was.) But I just have so many Jake feelings and this fic isn't my only attempt to do something about them but it's my favorite. Pretty much all my fics, when I think about them, there's at least one thing that I'll remember about them that I wish I'd done differently, and this one does not.

[aspoonofsugar]

What is your opinion about the Maidens in RWBY and their importance?

Hello anon!

I like the Maidens and especially how they explore two main ideas:

1) The concept of cycles and generations.

2) The trope of the chosen one.

THE CYCLE OF SEASONS

I think it is clear Ozpin created the Maidens partly because he wanted guardians and partly as a way to grieve his four daughters. He has symbolically dragged them into the cycle with him and Salem.

In a sense, the story keeps repeating. Salem kills Ozpin, he is reborn and his daughters are victims of the conflict between them.

Because of this, the four Maidens have become one of the many symbols of this endless cycle, which is clealry breaking its protagonists more and more.

This is well conveyed by the Maidens having a season theme. Seasons are in fact linked to the repetition of time aka one of Ozpin’s motifs:

At the same time, the idea of an older woman passing the torch to a younger one can be easily read as a metaphor for a mother-daughter dynamic. This is not always the case, but so far this interpretation is important for two of our four Maidens:

Penny receiving the Maiden’s powers from Fria is important on multiple levels and it plays on Penny alluding to Pinocchio. Fria (The Blue Fairy) recognizes Penny as a real girl, something she has been struggling with since the beginning:

Penny: Ruby... I'm not a real girl.

And is still struggling with:

Cinder: I don’t serve anyone. And you wouldn’t either, if you were built that way.

That said, Penny is not only struggling with enemies that consider her a robot, but also with the (understandable) overprotectiveness of people who love her:

Pietro: I lost you before. Are you asking me to go through that again? No. No. I want the chance to watch you live your life.

Penny: But dad… I am trying to.

She is not only a robot, who wants to prove she is a real girl, but also a daughter, who wants to grow into her own person.

This idea is made even stronger by Penny having been “created” through Pietro’s aura. She is a part of Pietro becoming someone completely different and independent from him. Still, isn’t it what all children are?

Raven is instead Penny’s opposite since she is not a daughter, but a mother. Not only that, but she is a mother, who fails three times.

She fails her biological daughter Yang by abandoning her and putting her in danger.

She fails Vernal, who dies for her.

She fails the previous Spring Maiden, who clearly looked up to her and was betrayed:

Cinder: Vernal was a decoy the whole time. The last Spring Maiden must've trusted you a great deal before she died. I bet that was a mistake...

This is well conveyed by Raven’s case being the opposite of what should ideally happen. Normally an older Maiden should pass her power to a younger girl, so that the cycle keeps going and that a new generation can keep fighting for good. However, Raven steals the powers of the Maiden for herself, just like she uses her shape-shifting ability for selfish objectives:

Ozpin: Everyone has a choice. The Branwens chose to accept their powers and the responsibilities that came with them. And later, one of them chose to abandon her duties in favor of her own self-interest.

She presents herself as a mentor for young women, but in the end she is a failure because she is too self-centered.

In conclusion, Rwby is both a coming of age story and a story that deals with cycles. Let’s think about the many abusive cycles in the story or the damaging cycles present in society, for example. All these cycles need to be broken and I would not be surprised if this will be the case for the cycle of the Maidens as well.

THE CHOSEN ONES

Up until now, the person who should be a Maiden never becomes one.

a) Pyrrha was destined to be the Fall Maiden, but Cinder stole the power.

b) Vernal is foreshadowed to be the Spring Maiden, but Raven turns out to be the real one.

c) Winter has been preparing herself to inherit the Winter’s Maiden’s role, but Penny is the one chosen by Fria.

Why is that so?

The story is clearly playing with the idea of the “chosen one” and asking some questions.

Are people chosen by destiny:

Cinder: It’s unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours.

Or do they choose it?

Red-Haired Woman: She understood that she had a responsibility… to try. I don’t think she would regret her choice, because a Huntress would understand that there really wasn’t a choice to make. And a Huntress is what she always wanted to be.

What if the chosen person is the wrong one?

Lionheart: She was determined, at first, when she inherited her powers, but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She... ran. Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago. There's no telling where she could be now.

Finally, is it even right to choose a person?

Weiss: Doesn't it bother you? He practically groomed your entire military career.

Winter: It did at first, when the General first proposed it to me. But the more I thought about it, the more I saw it as a privilege, a chance to do some real good for Atlas. For Remnant.

Weiss: But your destiny was chosen for you, without your input.

So far each Maiden has explored this concept in a different way. Moreover, the story has highlighted many problems with the method used by Ozpin and his allies to select their guardians.

First of all there is the machine used to transmit aura:

Ironwood: We've made... significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it.

Qrow: Capture it and cram it into something else. (gestures to Pyrrha as she takes a second to realize what that means) Or in your case ...

Pyrrha: (to Ironwood) That's...

Ironwood: Classified.

Pyrrha: ... wrong!

This method has been presented in-universe as sketchy and unethical both for the person who is having her aura taken and for the person receiving it.

It is also interesting that this machine is basically the technological equivalent of the Grimm used by Salem and Cinder to steal the powers in the first place:

One is the product of destruction (The Brother’s Grimms), while the other is the result of creation (in-universe technology is linked to creation). However, they both do essentially the same thing. They steal another person’s aura and change the one absorbing it:

Raven: You turned yourself into a monster just for power.

Secondly, there is the fact that so far several Maidens have died or have been targeted in horrible ways.

Some of them were specifically attacked because young and less experienced than others, like Amber. Some others made their choice without truly understanding it, like the Spring Maiden. And some of them. like Pyrrha, were not even given all the elements to make an informed choice.

In short:

Hazel: You send children to their deaths for a cause that you know has no victory, no end!

It is true that Hazel is a hypocrite that feels anger for Ozpin sending students to their deaths only to be the one killing them. It is also true that he does not respect his sister’s choice:

Oscar: Did she know the risk of being a Huntress?

Hazel: She was only a child! She wasn't ready!!

Oscar: She made a choice! A choice to put others before herself! So do I.

However, the narrative harshly criticizes Ozpin for not giving people all the information, “the knowledge”, they need to make that choice:

Yang: There was so much you hadn't told us! How could you think that was okay?!

Finally, we arrive at the current volumes where we see how Ironwood has tried to control Penny, Winter and Fria aka all the three people involved in the passage of the Maidens powers...only to fail miserably.

And in this failure probably lies the true mistake which has been made over and over again. The whole point is that probably the whole cycle (thematically) can’t and should not be controlled to this extent:

Goodwitch: At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed on to young women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more... intimate.

Pyrrha: ... Intimate?

Goodwitch: As we understand it now, when a Maiden dies, the one who is in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power.

The powers are passed from a person to another through emotions. It is not by chance that the last person in a Maiden’s mind is the one who gets the power. It is because the power is linked to emotions and to ties and you should not try to weaponize them.

MAIDENS AND RELICS

Finally each Maiden is clearly linked to the theme represented by her respective relic.

Pyrrha and Cinder are both linked to the idea of destiny and choosing. I have shared some thoughts on them here.

I would say that Cinder wants to be chosen. She wants to be special and to be given value. This is probably why she is serving Salem. It is because Salem has chosen her for an important role:

Salem: When I chose you as my vessel for the Maidens, I put my trust in you.

This is not positive. It is dehumanizing:

Salem: This game is not yours to win, Cinder, it’s mine. Just because you’re more valuable to me than a pawn, does not make you a player.

But Cinder sees this as a chance.

Pyrrha is instead a person, who chooses her own destiny:

Pyrrha: When I think of destiny, I don’t think of a predetermined fate you can’t escape. But rather… some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life.

In other words, Pyrrha has an active role in her own destiny, while Cinder so far has accepted it passively.

This might seem ironic because all in all Cinder has been a pretty active character. She was born as nothing and fought to free herself and to become more powerful. However, she is still leaving her own life in the hands of another person, who is specifically coded as an abusive mother-figure. It is probable that her arc will be about taking back the agency Salem is clearly stealing from her.

This might very well be why she is the Maiden of choice. It is because in the end she’ll make an active choice to get her own freedom back.

At the same time, Pyrrha being active in her choices still leads to her demise. This is because she represents a choice without knowledge, as I have stated in the meta linked above:

She had been explained only a fragment of the truth, while the whole point is that one should learn, meet creation and destruction and then make a choice. This is why we have yet to meet the relic of choice.

As a matter of fact it is clear that knowledge and choice are complementary, just like destruction and creation.

This is highlighted also by their respective relics. On one hand the Lamp offers knowledge of the past. On the other hand the Crown gives its user a vision of a future choice.

This is because one has to know the past to change the future:

Bartholomew Oobleck : History is important, gentlemen! If you can't learn from it... you're destined to repeat it.

In a sense, knowledge is the passive condition of choice, while choice is the active goal of knowledge.

This is why one needs both to contribute to the world in the most effective way possible. If one acts without knowledge they might make the wrong choice. At the same time, knowledge without choice is just passiveness, as shown in The Indecisive King fairy tale.

Too much knowledge might lead to indeciveness or even cynism. This is why Raven is the Spring Maiden. It is because she is Pyrrha’s opposite aka knowledge without choice:

Yang: Which is it, mom? Are you merciful, or are you a survivor? Did you let me walk into that trap because you knew I could handle it, or because it meant you could get what you wanted?!

Raven keeps making decisions only to run away from them immediately after. Knowledge did not make her braver, but just a coward.

Finally we arrive to Penny and the idea of creation.

I have mentioned Penny in the meta linked above:

Penny is an artificial human, a creation who was given life because her father loved her so much that he sacrificed a part of his aura for her… twice. She is at the centre of the theme of creation and it represents the good sides of it. She is a creation with a soul, a child, the fruit of parental love. It is because of the love she received that she is willing to protect creation.

Penny is at the centre of the theme of creation in two ways.

a) She is a child, who wants independence.

b) She is a good declination of technology.

On one hand children are new lives that join the world. They are the embodyment of creation.

On the other hand technology is an expression of human creation and a way humans have to change and influence reality.

Penny is both. She is Pietro’s girl and a robot with a soul:

Pietro: When the General first challenged us to find the next breakthrough in defense technology, most of my colleagues pursued more obvious choices. I was one of the few who believed in looking inward for inspiration.

Ruby: You wanted a protector with a soul.

Pietro: I did. And when General Ironwood saw her, he did too. Much to my surprise, the Penny Project was chosen over all the other proposals.

Ironwood choosing Pietro’s project over others is very interesting and ambiguous. Did he choose this project because at the time he understood the importance of “a protector with a soul”?

Probably consciously yes, but the way he has treated Penny since volume 2 suggests also something different. It suggests a desire of domination. The idea that putting a soul into a metallic body would make it easier to control it.

After all:

Ironwood: For the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a more scientific standpoint; how it works, what's it made of, how it can be used. We've made... significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it.

Each one of humanity’s gift has another side of itself. Knowledge can lead to fear and choice is linked to passivity/agency. When it comes to creation, this gift brings with itself the temptation of control.

Why shouldn’t a creator “own” theis creation? Why shouldn’t they be entitled to it? Why should they share it with the rest of the world?

If one looks at Ironwood, at Atlas and at the other protagonists of this volume this way, a lot of things resonate.

Atlas is the most technological advanced kingdom, but instead of sharing its resources it closes off. Ironwood’s embargo is just another declination of this same idea of losing control.

Similarly the Ace Ops and Winter are all repressing their emotions. They want perfect control over themselves. They are taught they should be like drones.

Technology itself is often misused by the characters. Technolofy should be like Penny. It should have humanity and a soul, but Ironwood likes it because he sees it as something logical that can be controlled (and of course he keeps losing control over it). Ironwood wants to become like he thinks Penny is aka a controllable soul. He fails to understand that Penny is special because she has her own free will.

Finally, this same desire of control is present also in familial relationship. It is not by chance that the Schnee Family is in Atlas. Weiss’s story has always been about exploring this specific idea of a family. A family, which is cold and controlling, just like ice. Weiss’s arc is about melting this ice, in herself first and now in others as well.

Technological control and the control of people. In short, the control over two aspects of creation. This is the the idea Atlas represents and this is why it is currently falling.

In short, the creation must be free and it is not by chance the world is in its current predicament because the Gods tried to control their creations with disastrous results.

CONCLUSION

These are my main thoughts on the Maidens so far. That said, they might chance since the story is far from over as the arcs of all the maidens we have met so far.

As a final note, I find interesting that so far none of our four protagonists is a Maiden. It is an interesting choice and I think that it lets the series make a good use of its ensemble cast.

That said, I wonder if our four protagonists will end up calling back the original Four Maidens instead.

The fairy tale is interesting on multiple levels.

In-universe, it is interesting because it tells us something about how Ozpin was probably inspired by the original Four Maidens to try to save the world again. Ozpin is inspired by four normal people, who are just trying their best to help others.

This is a recurring idea in Rwby and this might be why none of the four protagonists has been selected to be a Maiden yet.

If read as a stand-alone, the story is an interesting tale on how to overcome depression.

The story starts with the old man closed in his house and it shows how he progressively opens up until he himself is able to help others.

Winter is the one who teaches him how to work on his own interiority even when the world is cold.

Springs prepares the terrain for him to come out. It makes the garden more welcoming. It is like when a person has to find the right environment to open herself up.

Summer is the one who finally drags the man out and gives him energy.

Finally Fall is the one who makes the man realize he can now share his new found energy with others.

Theirs is a virtuous cycle and I would say it is very different of the tragic cycle that sees the current Maidens as protagonists. Who knows? Maybe it is about going back to that virtuosity.

Thank you for the ask!

[galaxxiwrites]

In A Daze. (ft. Louis & Yakumo)

I don't know if people still like Code Vein but I do and that's enough justification for me to post this on my blog (￣ω￣;)

prompt: we suck at the game so we keep dying Your partner watches in horror as you die over and over again, somehow stuck in a never-ending loop of pain and loss. Inspired by KagePro's Kagero Days.

warning: mentions of graphic deaths and trauma ; I'm sorry if it's really messy compared to what I usually write, I just wanted to blurb on about Code Vein again ＼(º □ º l|l)/

As Revenants, it was normal to come back to life after death, as long as their heart wasn't destroyed. In the beginning, he believed that that was merely what was happening, that you were simply coming back to life after dying again. But at some point, he noticed that this was much more than just a mere revival, as every waking moment felt like a routine he had been repeating over and over again.

Yakumo Shinonome

Yakumo was at a loss, and was starting to believe that everyone at the base was messing with him. After all, despite not having much to do there, there was no way everyone was able to repeat the exact same movements they did the day before.

There was no way Louis had not moved on from the same page of his book, nor was there any reason for Coco to tell him that it was the same day of the same month again. Nor was there any reason for Yakumo to have such vivid memories of you dying so many different deaths while everyone else tells him he's crazy, as you had merely sustained too much injuries in your last skirmish but were close to reaching full recovery.

"No, I swear! Yesterday, they were impaled by Jack..."

Everyone looked at him with their eyebrows raised.

"Yakumo, you know Revenants can't come back after having their hearts destroyed."

Louis says as he places a hand over Yakumo's tensed shoulders and tells them to rest, that perhaps the last skirmish had taken a toll on him as well. The raven-haired Revenant also recommended that his friend sit out the today's expedition, but much to everyone's surprise, Yakumo lashes out at Louis.

"No! I need to stay beside them! I-" Yakumo catches himself and calms down, "I'll rest for a bit, but I'm not sitting out on the mission."

Much like every other vivid dream Yakumo had, he, yourself and Louis would later head out to the Gaols to purify more bloodsprings an mistles.

Yakumo was on high edge the second he saw one of the Gaol's horrific beasts along the path, just like what he saw in one of his dreams.

He leads them along to a secret path to avoid confrontation with the beast, and were fast approaching the area where he knows a few bloodthirsty Revenants lay in wait. He tells to prepare much early, and to be cautious of their backs as there was a revenant laying in wait for them after they defeat these others out and about.

The whole journey, Yakumo guides them, perfectly getting them out of what would otherwise be messy or fatal situations.

When you ask your red-haired partner just how he was able to lead them through the path as if he knew it at the back of his hand, it took Yakumo all his strength not to tell them, I saw you here again and again.

And finally, at the end of their path, he was expecting to see Jack, much like the other time. He was caught in shock however when he saw an extremely powerful horrific beast of the mists instead.

It was a hard fought battle, but Yakumo was convinced that he wouldn't let you die here. Due to his conviction, he never once faltered even as he stood in between you and that monster's attack, and he himself got impaled through the chest.

It's a shame, he thought. But at least now, they can continue on living.

Those were his last thoughts before fading into dust.

The next day, you awaken at the base, but didn't move from your bed. You were listening on the conversation the others were having, about how Yakumo has been having nightmares of you dying over and over again.

"When will this ever end..." You whimper underneath your breath.

Louis Amamiya

Unlike Yakumo, Louis would have realized that this was no mere coincidence. That for some reason, he was stuck in a loop, and only he remembers whatever happens.

He, however, bears this realization all in silence. This time, however, he'll try to do things differently.

When his eyes lands on your resting figure as you recover from the injuries you sustained in the "last" battle, Louis felt pain in his chest. On one hand, at least you're back to him, on the other, you were fated to leave him again, only to return to this very same day.

"I'm calling off today's expedition. Forgive me."

Louis tells to the gang after you woke up. Yakumo points out that he looked extremely out of it, and that calling off the mission for today was a smart decision.

Louis then spends the entire day with you, never having you farther than arms length, which made everyone curious.

"Did you just call off today's mission to spend the whole day with your lover?" Coco teased, which prompted others to join in. He was unable to answer them, and simply buried his face at the crook of your neck to hide his embarrassment.

"Get a room, you two!" Yakumo said at the sight.

Though you didn't mind that your lover was suddenly showering you in so much attention, he was never one to call off a mission simply just to spend time with you.

Louis had always been goal-motivated and wasn't a slacker, so you were worried that something must be bothering him to the point where he had to cancel your expedition.

"It's nothing much, love. Just, I'm tired, is all."

Louis said weakly, his red eyes which usually shined so bright had for once looked so dull.

Much to his delight, the day was going along smoothly. He was slowly starting to convince himself that maybe today, the cycle will finally end.

"What!? How'd that get in here- Louis, (Y/N)!" Yakumo called out, to them, and immediately the two of you darted out of your shared room and head on outside the base.

"What are the creatures from the Gaol of Mists doing here!?" Louis said as he prepared for combat.

Just when you were about to arm yourself, your lover immediately stopped you and instead tells you to run away.

The two of you end up arguing amongst yourselves, which would prove to be your downfall.

"(Y/n)! Behind you!" Davis shouts out.

You looked to see one of the horrific beings coming for you, but your reflexes had not kicked in yet, and you were about to be killed.

That was when Louis shoved you aside, and you watched in horror as the horror from the Gaol ravaged your lover.

The next day however, Louis awakens with regret as he sees you again, sleeping on the bed as you were recovering from your injuries.

"Why...Why hasn't it ended?"

[karouvas]

pretty little liars and the raven cycle!

Pretty Little Liars 

will do show first then books :)

Show:

favorite character: Spencer Hastings!! Mona is a somewhat close second and I love all 6 of the main girls but Spencer is everything to me

least favorite character: Ezra Fitz. Byron Montgomery is in second place which makes sense as they are practically the same person 💀

brOTP: I’ll say Spanna even though I also like them romantically, and Spencer and Jason have a really interesting dynamic as siblings/foils that I appreciate a lot

OTP: Vandermarin and Spemily, Vandermarin’s probably #1 ultimately because they’re soo the canon love story of Pll… but Spemily is so underrated imo and it’s my favorite Spencer ship and Spencer’s my favorite character so that gives it something extra for me. 3rd place is Spencer x Mona

OT3: going to say Hanna/Mona/Alison is ultimately the most fascinating one to me in the narrative but I’m open to a lot of different poly combinations with this show

NOTP: I don’t like any of the main het pairings but especially not Ezria

favorite storyline: Spencer’s 3b arc and Spencer’s 4b arc I love when my fave is suffering and in a spiral it’s fascinating xd. 4b is probably my favorite section of the show period between the Spencer addiction plot (which definitely has it’s issues in the writing but Troian is just fantastic playing it), Shadow Play, the EzrA stuff and Aria’s processing which I find very engaging especially in She’s Come Undone, it’s also where Emily/Alison is most interesting to me because of the attention given to Emily processing her feelings (attention that it never given again after this :/) Hanna stepping into the role of detective more than Spencer and Spencer and Emily’s fights so a lot of interesting shifts in dynamics caused by them knowing Ali is alive now, Ali’s coded diary… I just love it in all it’s messiness xd.

least favorite storyline: Ezria and the deadnaming both were terrible. A lot of post time jump storylines

what I wish had happened but didn’t: Ezra going to jail, men being held accountable for literally anything, for the writers to care more or at all the last two seasons I think anything even slightly good that happens post time jump is thanks to the actors and not the writers and even most of them seemed tired

what happened that I wish hadn’t: Ezra/Aria endgame male chars being given unwarranted grace in general

Books

favorite character: Aria Montgomery she has a slight edge over Spencer if we’re going with book versions of the chars specifically.

least favorite character: Wren since Ezra is less relevant in the books

brOTP: Spencer and Hanna + Spencer and Emily

OTP: Aria x Noel and Aria x Emily

OT3: Aria/Courtney/Emily

NOTP: Spencer/Wren since Aria/Ezra is less relevant in the books

favorite storyline: Emily faking her own suicide to then hunt down Alison in the last book slayyy.

least favorite storyline: Spencer’s romantic storylines in the second half of the series why so many flops :/ and then the Wrencer endgame yuck

what I wish had happened but didn’t: I wish Hanna’s arc had been stronger in the second half of the series although I’m not a fan of her post jump arc in the show either so…

what happened that I wish hadn’t: Wrencer endgame ugh.

TRC

favorite character: Blue Sargent there was a time when I readily considered her my favorite character in anything full stop still one of my forever girls I adore her.. Adam Parrish is a close second love him to pieces <33

least favorite character: I don’t really have one, I’ll say Kavinsky but mostly because he’s overrated/his stans are insufferable, while I’m reading he works fine within the story (this is the same way I feel about the Darkling actually)

brOTP: Blue and Ronan, Calla and Persephone and Maura, The Gangsey as a group

OTP: Bluesey ultimately but also Adansey and also Pynch and also Blue x Noah I contain multitudes <3

OT3: there is a lot of poly shipping potential in this series… Blue x Gansey x Henry is practically canon and I love them but I also am very into Gansey x Blue x Noah and Adam x Gansey x Blue… and Ronan x Adam x Gansey is also good…

NOTP: Ronan x Kavinsky less because it’s toxic I’ve shipped worse more because again the fandom is annoying

favorite storyline: the entirety of Blue Lily Lily Blue there’s so much in that book I adore, Persephone mentoring Adam, Blue and Calla scenes and Blue’s internal conflict while her mother is missing, Gwenllian and her dynamic with Blue and learning more about mirror abilities/what Blue is, Adam’s character arc in that book in general, so many of my favorite Bluesey and Pynch scenes and Persephone’s death is a gut punch that really works and the title… I love it :).

least favorite storyline: the ending of TRK is kind of anticlimactic even though I still love it like the other books

what I wish had happened but didn’t: Blue’s arc to have better closure in book 4

what happened that I wish hadn’t: the whole Adam and Ronan being racist to Henry part :/

ty!

[seaofashes]

Tagged by @unpheenix (thank you for the tag!! These are always fun to do)

Rules: answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to get to know better/catch up with!

Three ships: ooh that's a hard one there's so many aaah mmm let's see Codywan, Zerith(Zack and Aerith deserve to be happy 🥺🤧), anndd Jarlos(RE3). A bonus: Captain Rex x Happiness and peace bc it's what he deserves

Last Movie: I literally just finished watching The Iron Giant (my younger brother had never seen it and I needed to change that)

Last Song: Vantablack - Novo Amor

Currently Watching: aside from my 9 millionth tcw rewatch I have been watching The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. I don't watch very much, especially alone. I have a hard time starting something and focusing on it unless I start it with another person bchcgv

Currently Reading: I'm rereading The Raven Cycle, and catching up on BNHA & Jujutsu Kaisen!

Currently Craving: Sleep and peace tbh 😔✌🏻 but also some Mango lemonade from wetzel pretzel and chocolate pudding for some reason 🤷🏻‍♀️

Tagging: @code-verxnica @visual-explorxtion @hellishgoat and anyone who wants to do this!!