#and this is driven by his love for gina

[twopoppies]

https://www.tumblr.com/twopoppies/758976522069688320/httpswwwtumblrcomtwopoppies75897385045211545

i’m the anon who sent the original ask, and i hope i can offer some comfort 🫶 ultimately, i agree with gina. harry is just so good at his job, he is such a creative and incredible artist. not only that, but he doesn’t seem to be affected (not anymore, at least, bc allows himself to grow and mature) by the need of going with the flow of the industry because he cares more about walking his own steps and making the music that he loves. i’m sure he enjoys some parts of the success and i’m sure he appreciates it when the public, in general, connects with his music, but ultimately, that’s not his intention when he writes and composes. the intention is actually pure because it is artistic and not money-driven, or attention-driven. and that is so rare in this art forsaken era of tiktok and streaming. so let’s not lose ourselves in this fear to the point of missing out on this amazing thing that we get to witness and enjoy that is Harry Styles The Artist, The Musician, The Singer.

i get where you’re coming from, anon. i really do. stunts kind of ruined a bit of fine line at the time for me, but i think i’ve changed since then, and so has my perspective on some fandom things. ultimately, i think the reason for us to be here, dedicating our energy to this beautiful, outrageously kind man, is because we admire him as the person that he seems to be and because we love the music he puts out there.

honestly, i think the most generous thing an artist can do is share their art with the world. imagine this: taking a piece of yourself (of your mind, your thoughts, feelings, a quite literal piece of you) and putting it out there for other people to gaze and marvel at. what an incredible act of generousness. let’s take this generosity harry is giving us for what it is 💖

Whoever you are, I love you. This is beautiful, and I wholeheartedly agree.

In reference to this and this

[miya2006]

Seb's first single-seater race

*Just a little snippet, more on my AO3*

Thanks to the lovely @pucksandpower for coming up with this idea! And thanks to the anon on her page who asked her about my fic which ended up in us starting to talk!

2003

Today’s the day! 

Sebastian was finally going to drive a single-seater in a race, an actual race! He has of course driven it during practice and the fittings for the seat. But, this? This is different. This is an actual race, this is his chance to make his name known, to make his move into Formula One!

“Basti! Are you ready to go?” Michael shouted from downstairs, shaking Sebastian out of his thoughts. He didn’t answer, was he ready? What if he fails and crashes? What if he ends up outside the points?

“Basti?” Michael had walked up the stair when he didn’t get an answer, worried about his boy. 

“Yeah?” Seb asked, turning to face his father who was stood in the doorway of his room. 

“Nervous?” Seb nodded, Michael smiled softly and sat down besides Seb on the bed, laying his arm over the kid’s shoulders and pulling him closer. 

He dropped a kiss on Seb’s forehead before speaking;

“It’s normal to be nervous, especially when it’s your first race in something. You’re doing better then me, I threw up atleast twice on my first day.” 

“Really? Twice?” 

“Yup. I probably threw up more than that, but let’s say two yeah?” Seb laughed and nodded, the door suddenly flew open as little Mick came running in. 

“Basti! Basti, help!” He shouted and tried to climb onto the bed, Seb helped him but rather then letting Mick sit beside him, Seb pulled him onto his lap. 

“What’s wrong, kleinen bruder?” Seb asked, a fond look in his eyes. Since he got adopted by the Schumachers he has gained two siblings, Mick and Gina-Maria. Though Mick was attached to Seb about 90% of the time, Gina-Maria was more of a mommy’s girl. Though she never refuses a cuddle session with Seb, especially when it’s just the two of them after Mick has gone to bed. 

[autumnfangirler]

ill be the first to admit that i dont interact with the gaa fandom as much as i should, so id be very glad to be wrong about this, but from my (admittedly very limited) observations in the fandom susatos talked about mostly in the context of a) other male characters(naruhodo, kazuma, mikotoba, holmes) or b) shipping. which is fine, it makes sense! shes not very attention grabbing in the game, and while she does have her goofy moments, shes not nearly as silly as the rest of the cast. shes more of a straightman than anything else. but shes such a good character and i really want to see more people talk about her so fuck it, were making the overdue susato rant ourselves gdi

major spoilers for great ace attorney under the cut and in the tags!

i think a lot of people see susato as a #girlboss, which is true and undisputed, but ive never seen people dig into why. personally what sticks out to me is how determined she is. its overshadowed by kazuma, but she Clearly learned a few things. she was willing to travel halfway across the world to work as a judicial assistant, and in kazumas death she helped naruhodo become a lawyer in his stead. she broke the law to help naruhodo win ginas case, a decision that tore her up so much she nearly resolved to quit. and of course she won a fucking courtcase at the age of 16 while succesfully pretending to be a man. when she has a goal in mind, shes seeing it through. shes consistently pulled naruhodo out of (rightful) uncertainty and hesitation with this mindset. she followed kazuma, and then naruhodo, to the ends of the earth because she truly believed it was the right thing to do. shes competent in her work, and shes firm without being unkind.

thats another thing about susato. shes one of the most emotionally mature characters in the games (games filled with adults– iris is probably one of the few characters who rival her in that respect). shes emotional about the things shes passionate about, but shes never overwhelmed by it. the only scene i can think of where emotions really did overtake her was at the end of the first game, where she nearly threw her judicial book into the sea. which is,,, still relatively reasonable? she broke the law and had to leave britain to go back to japan. she couldnt practice as a judicial assistant anymore, and nobody back home had a need for her skills as a judicial assistant. why would she need it anymore? in every other instance, shes polite, calm, and most importantly, the heart of the whole cast.

because while shes a great character on her own, her main role in the story is always in servitude to others– whether that be as holmes number one fan, iris' big sister, or naruhodos ever-reliable judicial assistant. we never get the sense as to why until the 4th chapter of the last game, where her backstory is finally revealed. with it, a lot of who she is is recontextualized. she never had a mother and her father left her before she could have any real memories of him. shes headstrong and driven because there was no direction for her. shes compassionate and polite because her only role model for her formative years was her grandmother. shes emotionally mature because she learned what loss was at a young age and how to live with it alone. and all of that translates to a young girl with a fire to help others in whatever way she can.

shes just,,,, shes such a good character man. i love her.

[storyofwhoiam]

Like this post for a smol thing from one of these new idiots OCs who may or may not be sticking around depending on how I like writing them (feel free to specify if you want from any in particular or I'll pick at random). Alternatively, reply with 🌚 and I'll spam you with memes from them!

Dom Gold, 20-35, narcissistic social media influencer, fitness instructor, casino floor supervisor, cis man, he/him, straight(?), flair for self-aggrandisement

Marvin Perry, 35-65, construction worker, chaotic attempted entrepreneur, cis man, he/him, straight, married and unfaithful, almost always found in a bars or strip club

Gina Perry, 30-60, postal service clerk, cis woman, she/her, bisexual, married to Marvin, anger issues, jaded and hard-edged, never apologetic

James "Jimi" Akiyama, 45-70, retired army veteran, cis man, he/him, gay, still grieving the loss of his first love, functional alcoholism that he blames on his limp

Brenda Johnson, 50-80, retired palliative care nurse, cis woman, she/her, heterosexual(?), widow, loves gossip, here for a good time not a long time

Anne Lin, 30-45, attorney, cis woman, she/her, lesbian, driven by the loss of her childhood friend, specialises in crimes against children and domestic abuse

Also feel free to send other suggestions with this meme (because apparently I am still loving the making new OCs times).

[forensicated]

Admittedly it's taken binge watching to bring it to the fore but it never fails to amuse me just how ship!driven Gina is and how she enjoys participating in the gossip of people falling in love/flirting/getting together.

She is a complete cliché of a trope, God love her! The woman who can't deal with her own feelings/relationships/let most people close to her and who broke up with Adam ONLY because she knew he wanted to have children and she was infertile is also the same woman who loves other people falling in love and can - depending who it is - be the adult version of the kid shoving two dolls at each other shouting "NOW KISS!" She's also the mother of her entire relief of overgrown children police officers.

Early PM Gina is currently shipping Tiny Ears Luke and Kerry whilst simultaneously shipping Craig and Luke. She just doesn't know that her Pet Sgt's mystery man is Luke yet. She only knows that he has BIIIIG FEEEEELLLLIIINNNNGZ for someone (and he's driving her mad that he won't tell her who it is!) and she lights up like this....

... each time she gets some more information out of Craig, especially when she finds out they've kissed. She makes sure to ask him how his love life is and if there's any updates on his Mystery Man almost every single time they chat and tells him to essentially just grab him and go for it! (Later she'll also be the one who finds Craig and Luke in bed together on the morning of Luke and Kerry's wedding and has to run around trying to keep a lid on it as well as deal with the situation and bash Craig about the head for it).

(though how the woman who sees all and knows all has not realised what's going on right under her nose I really don't know!)

She's often teasing - or admonishing Smithy for his bad choices* around women over the years, especially when it's Kerry who to Gina at least has treated Smithy very badly over the last few weeks of her life - including unofficially accusing him of rape and then refusing to decide whether or not she's making it official and almost getting him murdered by Irene and her sons (though she doesn't know that bit which always wrangled with me! Especially as Irene went on to kidnap Gina herself!)

*Let's face it, the only women he's kissed on-screen who haven't gone on to die in a v horrible way (that we know of!) are Cherry from Bad Habits, the irritating shop assistant in A Night To Forget/A Day To Remember and Stevie! (Potentially the nurse in Zero Tolerance but I don't think that went anywhere - at least not onscreen). Ah and not forgetting (sadly!) Kezia.

In the 400's, Rod has just asked June out for a date and Gina is behind the front desk, veeeeeeerrrrry slowly but obviously stepping forward to listen in whilst pretending she isn't and then teases June about it.

She's still teasing her about it like 10 eps on:

And again the episode after that one!

"From Rod is it? Just a friend is it?" "Yeah!" "Yeah yeah!"

If only she'd actually opened up to Jonathan when she'd gone to do so to tell him that she was ready to commit - but then didn't because he was leaving Sun Hill (and only leaving because she wouldn't commit!)😢

[sankta-starkova]

LETTERMAN

007; homecoming

previous chapter | next chapter | masterlist (x)

summary: the one where ej and andy reunite after years when they're cast as love interests, finally rekindling their friendship and maybe getting something else out of it as well

wordcount: 1.7k

It had been a week or two and now it was time for homecoming, something Andy wasn't the biggest fan of. Not only did she feel that it was the most cliche thing but also she didn't have a date. And that was kind of embarrassing.

"Come on. I'm just saying, this is your chance," Big Red explained as they walked through the halls.

He was trying to convince the two of them to shoot their shot. It was easy for him to say with absolutely nothing to lose.

"The last thing I'm gonna do is ask Nini to homecoming on the day of the dance," Ricky said.

"But she's single and ready to mingle, and you should try it out with EJ now that's hes all lonely " Big Red exclaimed.

"Never say that again," she scrunched her nose up, "-and no, just because me and EJ are on better terms now doesn't mean I'm going to ask him out,"

"Yeah, and anyway, Nini hard-core friend zoned me," Ricky said, walking away and leaving Big Red behind.

Later that night she got to school, Ricky had driven her and Big Red, she told Mr Mazzara her name and he gave her the tickets to table ten with the theatre kids.

Andy was wearing a long red dress, one that her sister had leant her from her homecoming, and her hair in a nice casual updo.

She was nervous. She had never really gone to many school dancing before and even though Big Red and Ricky were here with her, she was still feeling anxious.

The three of them walked in and Ashlyn got up, waving them of them over. They sat down at the table, Andy starting to chat away with Ashlyn before seeing EJ walk in, Gina on his arm.

He looked over at her, staring at the  red dress she had on and for a second, his heart skipped a beat before he turned away.

Andy froze. She hated the way that EJ made her feel. She was so conflicted over the situation, over her feelings for him.

She groaned, placing her head on the table, "I'm gonna throw up in my mouth," she said, Ashlyn chuckling

"Excuse us, are these seats taken?" Gina asked, walking over and still holding onto EJ.

Everyone looked awkward, "Sure," Andy said, putting on a fake smile.

She didn't know why it was so difficult for her to see EJ and Gina together, it was probably just jealousy but she hated the feeling.

Everyone talked for a while, EJ looking over at Andy as he thought about everything. He couldn't help thinking about how maybe he should have come with her instead.

But he was cut out of his thoughts by Gina holding his hand, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"He'll show up okay? Maybe he just hit traffic," Andy said to Carlos as he explained that Seb wasn't here yet and they were dates.

"We live in Salt Lake City. There hasn't been traffic since the 2002 winter Olympics," He explained.

"Don't assume Seb stood you up, okay. Maybe he was just in a farming accident," Ashlyn suggested, trying to comfort him but failing.

"Yeah, cause that's better Ash," she said sarcastically, not understanding why she'd say that.

"Could you get me some punch, babe?" Gina asked and EJ nodded, looking awkward as he walked away

"Could you get me some punch babe? Ugh!" Andy impersonated, Ashlyn laughing at her best friends reaction, "I love Gina and all, really, but what the hell is she doing?"

She didn't think the situation could get anymore awkward but then Ricky slid over to the seat next to Gina and she knew that it wasn't going to go well.

"Hey, not to intrude but you can do better than EJ. That guy is bad news," he explained.

"Youre not exactly one to give relationship advice, and when I want your opinion, I'll ask," Gina bit back, not having any of Rickys vindictiveness.

Ricky scoffed. She didn't know what had gotten into him and why he felt like he had the right to say any of that.

"Well I'm giving it anyway cause I thought you were classier than this, but hey, maybe you really are what people say you are," Ricky said.

Everyone else on the table went silent after Rickys comment and even Gina froze up, unsure of what to say. It was incredibly mean of him to say something like that and they were all thinking that.

"And that is?" Gina questioned, Andy knowing this wasn't going to end well.

"Ricky," Andy and Big Red said at the same time, trying to stop him before he dug himself an even bigger grave.

"Just a little too ambitious for your own good, or anyone else's," Ricky said and Gina walked off, a hurt expression on her face.

Later, Big Red and Andy stood with Ricky away from the others, telling him off for saying all those things to Gina.

"That was mad harsh dude, you owe her an apology," Big Red explained, Andy nodding in agreement.

He scoffed, "She showed up to the dance with my exs ex, whats that about?" He asked, still trying to defend himself.

"Maybe it's not about you at all. I'm friends with EJ but you don't see me being a bitch to Gina for it. People are allowed to go out with whoever they want to," Andy explained.

Ricky sighed, realising what he had done, "Can we just get out of here?" Ricky suggested.

"Now? Dude, we're at homecoming. You should be finding eligible hunnies for me to dance with," Big Red said.

He wanted to lighten the mood but Ricky had kind of ruined it by his rude comments and pessimistic attitude.

"Hold that thought. Drama, two o'clock,' Ricky said and they all looked to see EJ and Gina bickering by the punch bowl.

"Whats wrong with you EJ?" Big Red said in Gina's voice, trying to read their lips.

"I'm just so intimidated by Big Red as he hangs out with Andy who looks so hot," he said in a deep voice, impersonating EJ.

Andy smacked him on the arm with a laugh, he always knew how to cheer her up, before Gina threw punch over EJs head.

EJ walked the other way. "Go follow him, you could get something out of this," Big Red said pushing her towards EJ.

She didn't know what her friend wanted her to do but she agreed, this was her opportunity to have a conversation with him.

She sighed, following him over, "You need to stop getting your shirts dirty, I seem to think you do it on purpose," she said and EJ turned around.

"Maybe that's been my plan all along," he said with a chuckle.

"Come here," she said, pulling out a handkerchief from her bag, ignoring his comments about her being an elderly woman.

She ran it through his hair, "You are ruining time and money to make this hair work," he said and she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, but its not like your new girlfriend seems to care," she said as she dried his shirt.

"First of all, I think I can dry my own shirt. Second of all, Gina is not my girlfriend," he said, pulling away from her.

Her face lit up in embarrassment. Why did she do that? There was this self loathing that started at the sound of his words.

"Fine," she said, handing him the handkerchief which was now wet with punch, "But you don't call random girls babe,'

"What are you talking about babe," EJ said sarcastically but didn't receive a laugh, "She thought it would make Nini jealous," he admitted.

It all made sense and she nodded her head, apologising before they walkes back out to see Carlos slow dancing with Seb.

"You want to dance?" EJ asked and she turned to him, not understanding what he was saying.

"With me?" She questioned and he chuckled.

It seemed like a stretch. She would never have ever imagined him wanting to dance with her.

"Sure, both of us seem to be alone. Seems a shame to waste the dance," he said and she blushed.

He held his hand out, her taking it before he pulled her in, the two swaying as his hands rested on her hips and hers around his neck.

"I never really got to thank you, for being such a great friend after Nini broke up with me," EJ said and she looked up, smiling at him.

"What are friends for," Andy replied with a smile, thinking over everything.

He was so close to her that she could feel his breath against hers and could see the fine details of his eyes; she could get lost in them for days.

"The nights almost up, you want a ride home?" He offered and she didn't know what had gotten into him to be so nice to her.

"Its fine, Viv said she'd pick me up," she explained, trying not to seem weird.

"No need. This is boring anyway, we'll drive home, get food on the way. Just like the good old days," he explained.

She had missed him. She had missed having fun with hum and not caring abut anything else.

She blushed slightly, "In the good old days, you didn't have a car," she said.

He laughed, dipping her slightly at the song. She looked up at him, the two of them laughing.

She could feel her stomach fluttering at the action. There was something so intimate about the moment and it broke her heart that she couldn't have him like she wanted.

"Fine, but you're paying," she said, the two heading out of the party after saying goodbye to everyone.

He drives her back after food, the two waiting in his car before either make the move to leave.

"Thanks," Andy said and he looked over at her with a smile, "For the dance and the food and the ride home,"

"Any time, and thanks for helping me out the last few weeks," he said and she smiled.

She opened the door, stepping out and walking to the house. She knocked and Viv opened the door, grinning cheekily at her sister.

Andy turned back and flashed a thankful smile at EJ, who had stayed put to make sure she got in safely. He smiled back, heart dropping slightly as he realised he may have some sort of feelings towards her.

[110789angle]

First the movie Renfield talks about his wife and daughter named Lily that wish he give a new life for them.

Now a new story about Renfield’s Daughter by Aimee Williams

Publisher Description

Born a vampire and adopted as a one-month-old infant by a loving family who is clueless about Gina’s shocking past. She is plagued by a mysterious illness that requires regular blood transfusions and driven by a demanding hunger to consume live animals. She attempts to live a normal, if secretive, life. However, that life takes a disturbing turn when the guardian of long-lost family member recognizes her for what she is. She discovers the horrifying truth about herself and her remaining long-lost family. When an age-old enemy appears, Gina finds that she must make a decision about where her loyalties lie.

[myhiraeth]

Tell me about the people your character would lay their own lives down for. (Do it for everyone)

meme things || always accepting

Louis - Octavia Blake. Jonas Agallon. Honestly if the situation were right, he’d do it for just about anyone- he thinks himself infallible and he knows he can take a hit and take the pain and he’d rather do that than let someone else do it. So if push came to shove and it came down to Louis or someone else, he’ll always throw himself on that sword, not because he’s gallant or brave or noble like that, but because he thinks it won’t kill him. 

Styxx - His twin. His wife Bethany. His mentor/father figure Galen. Any member of Galen’s family. Any innocent person caught in chaos. For my Styxx specifically: Octavia Blake. Honey Lemon. Liesel Ivanov. John Mbege. He would specifically like it noted that he would NOT risk his life for Louis because Louis is a “reckless, thoughtless scamp” who probably ran headfirst into said danger and it’s not his job to babysit idiots. 

Cerci - Here’s the thing: there’s two but they’re different vibes. Nicklas Willams she’d risk her life for, but it would be calculated and if she didn’t have good odds of surviving, she’d find another way to save him that had a higher probability of actually saving him. Stefan Ivanov she would risk her life for but it would be more emotion-driven and less well-calculated; she would react to his danger with her heart instead of her head which is lovely, but also isn’t exactly where she makes the best tactical decisions.

Mbege - John Murphy. Easy, simple, singular. 

Fox - John Murphy. Bellamy Blake. Nicklas Willams. Octavia Blake. Vigilaent’s Gar 

Dick - Literally anyone. Dick is a hero at his core and he’ll always put himself between someone else and danger. 

Jason - Any of the batfam except maybe Bruce, but he’ll never admit it out loud. My Jason specifically would also risk his life for his girlfriend Liesel Ivanov and if the situation were totally and completely forced- her brother Stefan because he’s important to Liesel. Also specific to my Jason is vigilaent’s Gar but he says the why isn’t any of anyone’s business. He just would. 

Blaise- No one. Not a soul. Y’all on your own. 

Gina - Any of the delinquents. Bellamy but not in a dramatic announced sort of way, more in a split second decision type of way such as trying to push him out of the way of a bullet/arrow/explosion/etc. Also same for Raven and Clarke. 

@headstrongblake @noblehcart @starlightfreed @vigilaent @thenightmareofyourdrems @heroach

[rosesradio]

I posted 2,570 times in 2022

That's 2,570 more posts than 2021!

689 posts created (27%)

1,881 posts reblogged (73%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ohnoitsthebat

@bothvinforfaen

@acewhofellonmyface

@macchiatosdumptruck

@danielslaw

I tagged 2,528 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#not tkk - 576 posts

#stranger things - 546 posts

#daniel larusso - 313 posts

#rose's tkk rambles - 303 posts

#hsmtmts - 302 posts

#cobra kai - 291 posts

#byler - 255 posts

#lawrusso - 225 posts

#johnny lawrence - 203 posts

#ej caswell - 158 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#oh to be robby. i’m pretty sure he left at that point but if i heard my new sensei tell my old sensei ‘you know you liked it’ i’d be 🏃‍♀️

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

1.) you have a character named EJ (the letters of which stand for no other than Elton John) (that’s gay)

2.) his narrative foil (just fyi having a same-sex narrative foil is automatically gay) is a bisexual curly haired twink with big brown eyes, cuffed jeans, and a blurred line sense on what is “bro talk” and what is just flirting (i.e. “pretty boy”, the pillow fight, the “lovers” comment, etc.)

3.) both of the characters are within the same love square, constantly shown to have short, flighty relationships with the same girls. despite this, they’ve built up and tried to keep a close friendship outside of unknown, hormonal-driven spikes of jealousy

4.) i have grabbed the mouse by the tail

172 notes - Posted August 24, 2022

#4

every fandom has the gay person’s straight ship. aka the straight ship that is so legitimately good and valid that people don’t ship it just because it’s straight and in the show.

for cobra kai it’s robby/tory (and damanda for the parent crowd)

for stranger things it’s lumax (and, in some cases, chrissy/eddie. i said what i said)

for hsmtmts it’s gina/ej. point blank period portwell is so good

that’s all thank you and gn <3

256 notes - Posted August 9, 2022

#3

i’ve been meaning to say this for a minute but like i think people in the st fandom should--what’s the word--acknowledge fanon content more, and like allow people to ship what they want (to an extent, guys) etc.

maybe it’s because i’ve been in a lot of fandoms where we relied on fanon content to carry the fandom (which is why i left sanders sides lol) but i think that stranger things is so rooted to it’s theories and whatever current ship is being portrayed, that people feel the need to shut others down in their fanon content.

for example, is steddie going to happen? most likely not, they’re going down the (imho basic) route of stancy. does that mean that no one should ship steddie or make content of them, and that the ship is inherently bad, because it’s not in the show? absolutely not.

concepts of things (especially ships) is what encourages creativity and content. i actually think the concept of mileven is pretty cool (but the way they show it in the show makes me not want to root for them). basically, just because a ship isn’t canon, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t like them or make content about it. that’s literally what fandom is for.

257 notes - Posted June 7, 2022

#2

so i was taking uquizzes because i’m super productive (is this a bad time to mention there’s no new ctp update tonight? lol) anyways i found this uquiz (that is not mine!) i wanted to share because i wanna see what my mutuals get. it’s which dead dove trope are you? i’ll share first i got age gap :/ which honestly fair

304 notes - Posted August 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

for all of the ej slander we have endured this season, i am willing to accept an apology in one of four ways:

1.) ej gets an emotional scene in which he breaks down and has a heartfelt song dedicated to him, like all of the other struggling characters have gotten thus far (some have gotten multiple songs).

2.) ej gets a hot villain bop in which he corrupts the entire show as a last screw you all to the cast who has been nothing but inconsiderate of him

3.) ej gets a heartfelt ballad in which we can all begin to sympathize for him until it takes a sickening turn into a hot villain bop

4.) ej gets with ricky

563 notes - Posted September 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[kcyars99]

Why Did It Take a Video to Make People Believe Cassie?

Source: Variety / Getty

On Friday, May 17, CNN shared a harrowing video of Sean “Diddy” Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie Ventura. The video release followed a lawsuit Ventura filed in late 2023. In it, she alleged the record producer had subjected her to physical abuse, sex trafficking, sexual battery and a host of other emotionally, mentally and physically damaging behaviors. Her assertions opened the floodgates for a number of other alleged victims to come forward, each detailing equally dastardly encounters with the hip-hop mogul. As Ventura’s lawsuit went public, Black digital misogynists, the same group who harassed Megan Thee Stallion in the wake of Tory Lanez shooting her, took immediate opportunity to call the singer a liar. Now that there’s video evidence, there’s been a change of heart. Seeing never should’ve been believing. 

MUST READ: 8 Celebrities Who Denounced Diddy’s Abusive Behavior And Empty Apology

Abuse is more prevalent than many would like to admit. According to a statistic gathered by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, “1 in 4 women experience severe intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner contact sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking with impacts such as injury, fearfulness, post-traumatic stress disorder..”. There’s a great chance that someone you know has been physically abused. Knowing that they’ll likely feel the need to prove what they endured, opening up becomes even more of a struggle. With how common abuse is, only 61 percent of domestic violence cases lead to a conviction, and that of course, doesn’t account for charges that are ultimately dropped by victims, often the result of emotion-driven pleas from the abuser, not unlike the ones employed by Combs during his apology video shared on May 19.

Cassie And Diddy Video

Source: Neilson Barnard / Getty

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Now that soulless skeptics have seen Ventura be dragged around, punched and nearly struck by a vase, it’s okay to believe her. But for the attuned, a jarring clip was not required to trust that she had been violenced. The vivid descriptions in her November 2023 filing, and the accusation itself, coupled with Gina Huynh’s disturbing story of Combs beating her, were enough for me. Yet under patriarchy, which has positioned global culture to hierarchize the authority, id-inspired emotions, and public personas of men, there was apparently a sea’s worth of room for doubt for others. Ventura’s motivations were called into question. People speculated that with Combs’ billion dollar net worth, she was after money—a claim initially echoed by Combs’ attorney when her accusations came to light. Diddy supporters also said the R&B singer wanted to bring another monied, famous Black man down, like Bill Cosby and R. Kelly, both accused by a number of women of sexual impropriety.

There are endless reasons why society conspires against battered women. Yes, it is a conspiracy when it is decided that women cannot possibly be acquainted with their truth. The root cause is embarrassingly low. There is simply more value placed on men. Such is made evident by the number of jokes stemming from Ventura’s allegations, as well as quickly-drafted skits recreating Combs’ ill-received apology video. Black digital misogynists have conditioned themselves to believe men are superior, “the prize,” even, and that women exclusively focus on stripping them of their masculinity, finances and social standing. This breeds a contempt for women they don’t even know. It also allows them to view money as a marker of morality. Capitalism, and those who are able to scale it, are seen as unequivocally just. They are the ones who are believed without a shadow of doubt.

“Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to take this matter seriously,” Ventura said in a statement on May 23. “My only ask is that EVERYONE open your heart to believing victims the first time. It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in.”

When the video surfaced, it didn’t ripple its way across the internet. It typhooned. There were reposts, reaction videos, critical analysis and firecracker tweets. Suddenly, there was more than enough evidence supporting Ventura’s claims. In her lawsuit, she recalled this exact brutality, down to the location and month, but it was only made real by watching her be flung about like her life didn’t matter. Imagine the immense strength that it took to trudge back through her past and document the worst points of her life. Now think of the horror that would come from doing that kind of psychological excavation, only to not have the world take your harm seriously.

But man, now? Everyone has seen it. Now you can’t ignore the stain of a liberating, grisly truth. There’s no denying that Cassie Ventura was physically attacked by Sean Combs. But do you know what can be done now? Nitpick. Well, why didn’t she leave? She knew how he was. That’s what Hollywood is. See, it was never truly about the evidence. It was about questioning a woman’s right to speak against a powerful man at all.

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Sent from my iPhone

that’s why it’s fuck everyone who doubts a woman’s abuse

and heavy on the word fuck!

[twopoppies]

Hi Gina. Happy Friday! I just wanted to share a thought I had in the shower (where I do my best philosophizing!)

No matter what the HSLOT performances at the Forum bring us next month, there will be a time in the not so distant future that Holivia has gone the way of Haylor and Hamille. When that happens, there will still be people that genuinely believe their relationship was a tragic love story of two years driven apart by the rabid fans of the most sought after popstar in the world.

It’s at that time I will find solace in the fact that in the creative rooms of public relations agencies all across America and Europe, the legend of the created PR relationship between the director and her boy toy that had the the worst chemistry since Donald and Melania Trump will be told. New junior account managers with their bright eyes and dressed in their fresh new suits and running shoes will listen to the story until the mere mention of it sends cold shivers down their spines.

It will forever be known as the textbook case of how a poorly thought out storyline sold to the unwashed masses came close to destroying the careers of up and coming Hollywood stars and ruining an entire fiscal year for one of the largest studios in the world. A major take away in this case study will be how an entire Fanbase’s ability to think critically and put together context clues was completely discredited.

The true fallout from the stunt probably won’t be known for sometime. Will Harry act again or has he been blackballed by Hollywood? Will Olivia act again or has she been blackballed by Hollywood? Probably… but who knows.

 anyway, philosophizing over. Have a great weekend Gina!

LOL! This is probably already happening as we read this.

I don’t think this fiasco will ruin Harry’s acting career (assuming he still wants one), but I suppose not hitting it out of the park every time can only serve to help someone grow and improve. That is, if that someone is introspective and actually wants to do the work to grow and improve.

Which is why I don’t think Olivia will actually fare very well. She’s gotten this far on hot air and very little talent. Oh, and blaming others for her deficits. I don’t see her thinking she’s the one who needs to change.

[goginaporter]

gina is not ricky’s second, or even third, choice. she is his first.

I have seen a lot of comments, especially as this season has unfolded, that gina isn’t ricky’s first choice, or that he would choose nini over gina given the chance, etc. this isn’t true. the show establishes through many scenes and moments in each season that those statements are false. when we first see ricky and gina connect, it’s as “outsiders” who get each other, as ricky says. I might have to make a separate meta on the relevance of how ricky describes each of them and what it means for their characterization, but I digress. they are able to connect over this shared status. it is important to note that ricky also decided to stop pursuing nini + respect her boundaries at the end of 104/in 105. this does not mean he was seeking to replace nini’s presence in his life, just that rekindling a romantic relationship with her was not in the cards for him anymore at that point in the season. anyways, ricky and gina become close and quickly form a tight bond. many people claim that gina served as a rebound for ricky in these episodes but the show makes very clear what rebounds look like for ricky. he says in 101 that “he talked about nini the whole time” when he was hanging out with various girls that summer. throughout the course of rina’s s1 friendship, nini is not brought up at all until the finale and it’s all but guaranteed gina is never coming back, but we’ll get into that. a complaint nini brings up in the breakup scene in 2.08 is that she feels like she is nini of “ricky & nini” rather than being her own person. I think that the ricky we saw in s1 with gina was ricky as his own person, as opposed to ricky of “ricky & nini” and he displayed significant growth during this time. 

gina’s leaving in 1.07 plays an important role in the idea of choice. after hanging up with her mom, she walks into ashlyn’s kitchen to gather her things, where ricky is waiting for her. he tells her “I’ll call you?” not willing to let her go. however, gina knows ricky struggles with people leaving him + she knows the pain of being left. because of her care for him, she does not want him to feel this pain. she tells him, “honestly, you heard what happened. I don’t think there’s any point in calling me anymore, do you?” and leaves. ricky is obviously not satisfied with this answer and rushes after her, leaving the party. before he leaves, he runs into nini, who tries to reach out and connect with him, which would’ve been everything to 1a ricky. however, he brushes her off and presumably runs after gina. I would argue that this is one of the only moments where a choice between nini and gina is presented to ricky and he chooses gina. obviously, there is a lot more nuance at play than that, but it is an interesting moment nonetheless. anyways, this entire encounter is the first moment that gina removes herself as an option. she does not want ricky to miss her or struggle to let her go. 

this doesn’t stop ricky, and in the next episode, we see him frantically texting gina even as they stand in their burned down theater. he is worried about her and wants to continue contact, even in the face of the possibility (guarantee at that point) that they would never see each other again. yet again, gina not responding to his messages is another boundary she sets up to make the loss of their friendship easier on ricky. in her mind, it hurts less for him for her to cut him off than for them to try to hold on to a long distance friendship. she does respond to his messages later on in the episode, which I personally think is tied to ej getting her the plane ticket and her seeing this as a chance to give ricky a proper goodbye. however, at this point, it has been well established that gina a) does not want ricky to worry over her, even if it hurts both of them, him in the short term (she thinks) and her in the long term and b) is not coming back. this is the crux of this argument. ricky cannot make a choice between someone who does not want to be chosen to save them from hurt + presumably cannot be there physically. at this point, there is no choice between gina and nini because gina has removed herself as an option. 

gina returns to east high on opening night and the first time that ricky sees her is on stage. he is awestruck and rushes backstage to get the opportunity to talk to her. when they see each other, it’s a combination of nerves and awkwardness and relief. the first thing he says is “still can’t believe you’re actually back,” to which gina replies, “one night only. don’t blink, you’ll miss me.” this again establishes the fleeting nature of her return. in one of the only uses of a confessional in this episode, the camera cuts to ricky, where he says that it’s tough seeing gina again. in a short time, she became one of his closest friends (and something more that they never addressed). in fact, he says it feels like she “never left.” he says a lot more, but ends with saying something is different. this scene serves two purposes: showing the impact that gina has had on ricky’s life and showing that he’s regressed into  “who he always was,” a ricky where the only option is nini, and gina’s leaving is the catalyst for that. I can talk a lot more about the implications of this scene and the other talk that they have in the s1 finale but I want to talk about the flashback that we see in 2.06.

by the end of the night, ricky has confessed his love for nini. unbidden by the need to choose, he leans into what feels safe and comfortable and accomplishes in what he set out to do at the beginning of the season. interestingly enough, this moment is directly juxtaposed by gina entering the room just seconds after nini leaves to say her goodbyes to ricky. I think the most important line in the scene is when gina says,  “I wouldn't quit on us if I wasn't moving away. so now, I’m gonna give you a really tight hug and then I’m gonna walk away with my head held high.” tears are in both of their eyes (and mine) as they hug and the scene ends. I think the wording here is so important. gina cares about ricky and wants to let him know that her walking out of his life is not by choice. again, lack of choice in this situation! it’s also interesting to note that the scene ends with the hug, not with gina leaving. 

this is getting scarily long so I just want to add one thing from s3. ricky tells jet, after helping gina set up a promposal for ej, that he can’t believe he let Color War slip through his fingers (obviously meaning gina). ricky regrets not being able to choose gina in the past, and every action he’s done in this season has been him putting gina first, choosing her first in everything. he’s been robbed of this choice in the past and refuses to let that happen again.

[hikari-kaitou]

Capcom's Official AA Fanclub Surveys - DGS Edition

Many Western fans may be familiar with the Turnabout 4koma comics that get posted on the official AA fanclub site that Capcom runs, thanks to some lovely fans on tumblr and elsewhere who have shared their translations. What fewer people seem to know about is the character surveys.

Back in the old days, they used to hold a survey on Capcom's official AA fansite every few months where they'd write about the seasonal activities of a handful of characters and ask fans to vote for the funniest/most pleasant/strangest/etc answer.

They stopped doing them in like... 2016? 2017? The original text is lost for good as far as I can tell. Even the wayback machine couldn't help because the content was password locked and you can't get past the password wall while remaining in the archived version.

Fortunately, I saved some of my translations of them so I thought I’d share them.

Cut for length...

"February has begun, and the DGS cast is nearing the end of their journey aboard the RFS Alacrei. Which of them acted the most strangely?"

Ryuunosuke ~ Exhausted from his intensive study session, he decided to try some katana swinging practice as a change of pace and to combat his recent lack of exercise. But because he wasn't used to handling the katana, he swung it too hard and it went flying out of his hands and got stuck in the wall right next to Sherlock, who had just entered the room. Sherlock asked him, "aren't you supposed to be studying right now, Mr. Naruhodo?" and handcuffed him to his desk.

Susato- worked on developing a curriculum for Ryuunosuke. 'If we keep going at this pace, he won't be able to learn it all in time... It'll be hard on Naruhodo-sama, but we'll have to work hard through a couple of nights together.' With that thought, she created a harsh study schedule, and almost seemed to be looking forward to it for some reason.

Sherlock- Driven by excitement over the thought of returning to England after a long absence, he went up on deck to stare at the ocean. Being February, it was very cold out there and he ended up being chilled all the way to the tips of his fingers. He returned to the ship cabins and amused himself by putting his frozen hands on Ryuunosuke, who was stuck in his room studying.

Van Zieks- Upon hearing from Vortex that there was a Japanese exchange student coming to England to study law, he smashed a Lord's Bottle. He apparently also didn't care for the fact that that Japanese student wouldn't be alone, because he proceeded to shatter his chalice, too.

Hosonaga- in order to provide a respite from studying, he provided some hot chocolate. They enjoyed a pleasant tea time, marveling over how sweet and delicious the drink was until Sherlock piped up with some unnecessary trivia: 'Actually folks, chocolate has long been used in Europe as an aphrodisiac!' Everyone promptly spat it out."

"The long winter is nearly over and spring is on it's way, putting the DGS cast members in a celebratory mood. Who found the best way of enjoying spring?"

Ryuunosuke: the Yuumei University faculty members were holding a flower viewing event, and he joined the assistance committee. He exhausted himself keeping the blankets clean so the intense shower of flower petals wouldn't pile up too high on them, delivering sake and snacks, and mediating whatever pointless fights arose. To top it all off, for some reason his compensation was only a single piece of leftover candy. Talk about a sad result!

Susato- her father and the others living in his dormitory were  holding the flower viewing event, so she got up early to prepare the bentos. But her father carelessly forgot to tell her that they wanted tea cakes, so she had to go around the house and neighborhood collecting sweets. For some reason, she ended up being able to gather caramels, biscuits, candy sticks, basically everything but tea cakes, for the tea ceremony.

Sherlock- he disguised himself as a beat officer and infiltrated Scotland Yard to have some fun. There was a real beat officer napping on his feet in the spring sunshine, and while observing him, Sherlock ended up falling asleep too. Detective Gregson gave them a good scolding when he found them, but then Sherlock revealed his true identity with a "hey, it's me, folks!" "What the blazes do you think you're doing?!" Gregson shouted, his rage growing even more, and Sherlock ended up making a run for it.

Van Zieks- went to the vineyard to oversee the production of the contents of his Lord's Bottle. As he viewed the still unopened grape blossom buds, he thought about how they would someday grow up to fill his Lord's Bottle, and ended up going around to look at each one. But the farm hands couldn't stop wondering whether the bottle itself or its owner's heel might come flying at them and were quite uneasy.

Asougi: exhausted himself running around since early morning helping with the professors' flower viewing event. When it was over, he took a break, sharing his reward candy stick [the name of the candy literally translates to 1,000 year candy] with Ryuunosuke, who had also been helping out. 

"I wonder if the candy's effect is halved if you share it with someone."

"That still gives us 500 years."

They laughed and enjoyed looking at the flowers until dark. Then they parted ways with a handshake and a "see you later, best friend."

(This one was something about celebrating New Years. For some reason I didn't save the original question)

"Ryuunosuke ~ To celebrate New Years, he planned to pound mochi with everyone at the office. He somehow managed to get his hands on some mochi rice and he and Sherlock started pounding. Iris was having such fun watching them that she steamed a whole bunch more mochi rice so they could have some to share, and he and Sherlock spent the whole evening pounding mochi like crazy.

Asougi~ Because it's New Years, he went around to a bunch of shrines. When he drew his new year's fortune, he got a "horrible luck" result. "I'm not worried about it," he claimed, and headed up to the mountains early on New Years morning and work hard on a full training course of purification by water, meditation under a waterfall and wooden sword practice. It seems that he was working really hard to clear his mind of all earthly thoughts

Sherlock- Agreed to help Ryuunosuke pound mochi. As Ryuunosuke was flipping the mochi over, he carelessly dropped his badge into the bowl and Sherlock mixed it in without noticing, so they had to crack open both the hard and soft mochi to look for it. Fortunately they found it in the 4th one they checked, but apparently Sherlock got his hands and face covered in sticky white mochi in the process.

Susato- Wore a furisode and went with her father to do the first shrine visit of the year. The shrine was incredibly crowded and they had to wait in line for a long time, but she brought the Encyclopaedia of British Law and a copy of the Strand Magazine in her sleeves to secretly read as they waited so she actually ended up enjoying the wait.

Van Zieks- Ryuunosuke cheerfully gave him some mochi as a New Year’s (which at that time was celebrated at the same time as the Chinese New Year) gift, which he accepted confusedly, wondering “...Can the Japanese not even keep track of when the New Year is?” Because Ryuunosuke referred to it as a rice cake, he tried to eat it like a regular cake without softening it with heat first. It was so hard that he couldn’t imagine how it could possibly be food, and ended up misunderstanding the Japanese even more!

"Autumn has arrived, and the weather is starting to cool off, which means that everyone is becoming more active. Which character chose the most pleasant autumn activity to keep busy with?"

Iris was making bread but her hands are small and it’s difficult for her to knead the dough, so she asked for Ryuunosuke’s help. She wanted to make enough to hand out to Gina and all the other homeless children in the East End, so she made a massive amount and Ryuunosuke was stuck kneading this massive mountain of bread dough all day. Apparently he became such a expert at kneading that he could be a baker now.

Asougi was practicing with his sword, slicing autumn-colored ginko leaves as they fell from the tree. He cut so many leaves, though, that he ended up making a big mess on the ground, the number of fallen leaves now having increased, and it took him a long time to clean it all up.    

Sherlock: Ryuunosuke told him that he was making anpan (bread filled with sweet red bean paste, the bane of my Asian-dwelling existance) and asked Sherlock to help by being in charge of getting the poppy seeds they’d need to sprinkle on top, so Sherlock went out and gathered a ton of poppy seeds. In fact, he got so many of them that no one knew what to do with them all cuz they had a huge amount of leftovers. Sherlock said, “Well, they’re only the size of poppy seeds! Surely you two can deal with them somehow! Ahahaha!” and Iris scolded him.   

(I couldn’t capture it in English, but Sherlock’s line contained a pun, and a pretty stupid one at that, so that’s part of why he got scolded)

It’s grape harvesting season, so Van Zieks commutes to the winery regularly to direct the production of the contents for his “Lord’s Bottle.” He demands perfection in everything from the selection of the grapes to the way they’re squeezed, and the winery staff is terrified by the “grim reaper’s” gaze and heel swinging (i.e. the leg thing he does in court) so they grumble as they work. 

"Hearing that there’s a holiday in the West called Halloween, the people involved with the court in Japan decided to try it out themselves. Naturally Halloween is a big deal in England as well. So, which member of the DGS cast had the best celebration?"

Team Ryuunosuke and Asougi- Asougi got Naruhodo up on his shoulders and they draped a white sheet over themselves to make a ghost costume. They went out like that, but Naruhodo had such exaggerated reactions to the fear of the people who saw them and to bumping his head on tree branches that they ended up losing their balance and falling on top of each other?!   

Sherlock Holmes- went wearing a horse’s head mask. Iris used her skills to make it a fancy horse covered in stars, but the eye holes weren’t well made and he had to wander around blindly. Because of that he tripped hard over a pile of coal! He ended up getting so dirty that the stars on his costume were covered up!

Van Zieks- took inspiration from his nickname and dressed up as the grim reaper. He covered himself up with a skeleton mask and hood figuring no one would know it was him. Unfortunately he got angry when he saw Megundal (McGilded) pass by and started throwing bottles and glasses and ended up giving himself away.

"November has arrived, and autumn is nearing its end. However, the DGS cast is still keeping busy, even on their days off. Which character chose the most interesting way to spend their late autumn day?"

Ryuunosuke- Thinking that he’d better learn more about British culture if he was going to be a defense attorney in Britain, he went down to the East End with Gina for a little observation. However, because an Asian like him stood out so much, he got mobbed by the other children. On top of it all, his arm band got stolen from him and he had to send a replacement request to Yumei University on the other side of the ocean.

Asougi- He went for a meal at La Quantas. The customer at a nearby table got a persimmon for dessert and scarfed it down, saying “Mm! This is it! This sweetness makes it worthy of being called a treasure among foods!” Asougi tried to comment on this by saying, “The customer at that table sure is enjoying his pershim--gak!” but he may or may not have accidentally bitten his tongue in the process and been unable to finish his sentence.

Iris- She accepted Ryuunosuke’s request to learn more about British culture and prepared a bagpipe and kilt costume for him. “This outfit sure is breezy,” Ryuunosuke said shyly upon trying it on. With Ryuunosuke now dressed, he, Iris, and the others from their office headed over to Gregson’s place to get him to treat them to some fish and chips.   

Sherlock- He accepted Ryuunosuke’s request to learn more about British culture and cooked up some European style curry for dinner. Thanks to the fact that his secret ingredient was a large amount of Chinese herbal medicine style spice, it caused some strange side effects and Ryuunosuke, who’d eaten it, ended up passing out and falling over.

“Another taxing trial for Ryuunosuke has finished and now it’s December. As the year draws to a close, which character acts the strangest?”

Ryuunosuke- he was recruited to help with snow removal around Yumei University and the courthouse and he enthusiastically began his task with the help of a large shovel. He got a little carried away, though, and ended up accidentally burying his umbrella, which he’d left propped up against the side of the building, in the snow he’d just finished shoveling.  He had no choice but to share Asougi’s umbrella on the way home.

Asougi- On the way home, he nods silently to Ryuunosuke’s question of whether he’d finished his travel preparations and changes the subject: “...Come to think of it, it seems that tomorrow is celebrated in the West as God’s birthday.” “I’ve heard that they eat chicken as part of the traditional celebration. Wanna try it?” Ryuunosuke asks invitingly. Asougi is strongly opposed to that particular menu item, however, and they end up going out for their usual beef stew that night instead.           

Susato- in addition to her year-end travel preparations, she also was busy with straightening up the book room in her home. She managed to get the law books in order when she suddenly stumbled upon some old issues of Strand Magazine! She hurried through the rest of her cleaning, then began flipping through the magazines she’d found, trying to decide which to take with her on her trip. She accidentally lost herself in her reading and didn’t realize it until it was already the middle of the night.

Sherlock- he was in the middle of a long ship voyage when Christmas night came. His mind on his partner in a far-off country, he made a toast alone on deck, when suddenly the crew began shooting off fireworks with a cry of “Merry Christmas!” Sherlock had to dart back and forth across the deck to prevent the fireworks from hitting him and setting off the explosive chemicals he carries with him.

Main series edition

[thetypedwriter]

Violet Made of Thorns Book Review

Violet Made of Thorns Book Review by Gina Chen 

Blooming like a lovely violet, this novel thorned me right in the heart. Puns aside, this book was wondrous. Right from the beginning chapters, I knew I was going to like this book. From Chen’s writing, to the enemies-to-lovers premise, to the fantastical setting, everything about this book was a dream come true. 

The plot surrounds Violet Lune, the official Seer for the Kingdom of Auveny. A coveted position, not to mention rare, Violet goes from pauper on the street to being the right-hand of King Emilius. As she grows up in the palace, surrounded by greed and corruption, she learns to divvy truth and lies and to use whichever suits her needs better. 

Beloved by the king, tolerated by the citizens, befriended by the Princess Camilla, and confidante of the pseudo Prince’s adviser, Dante, the only so-called thorn in Violet’s side is prince charming himself: Cyrus Lidine. 

Right off the bat, the premise is intriguing. A morally gray seer, a prophecy speaking of blood and roses and war, a dying King, tumultuous kingdom relations, horned beasts covered in moss roaming the lands, a rot spreading across the bewitched and unnerving Fairywood, and of course, the sizzling tension-filled relationship between Violet and Cyrus. 

My regular readers probably know this, but I’m a sucker for any hate-to-love story. It is my absolute favorite trope of all time. The tension, the build, the slow transformation—it just gets to me. Chen does the trope so incredibly well in Violet Made of Thorns.

To my surprise and delight, however, she also does everything else prodigiously well too. Her writing is smooth and inviting, it sucks you in and keeps you there. The premise has multiple mysteries raging at the same time to keep you on your toes as a reader. The characters were all decently fleshed out, but Violet as the main character made this story shine for me. 

Cyrus is charming on the outside, smirking on the inside sort of Prince, his sister Camilla is unabashedly loud and confident, Dante is studious and reliable, and the other characters are entertaining.

Violet Lune steals the show. She’s cynical, selfish, and cunning, but also caring, ambitious, daring, and funny. As a main character, she was such a fresh breath of air compared to the slew of YA protagonists I read about that are wholly altruistic and mind-numbingly boring. 

I really enjoyed Violet’s POV. She was a complicated protagonist who was simultaneously looking out for herself, for others, wanting the best for Auveny as a whole, but also craving power and status. 

Her POV enthralled me, but also made sense. Violet encapsulated what it’s like to be a human being rather than some perfect literature archetype that doesn’t exist. 

Everything mixed in this novel perfectly. I’m a very character driven reader and while the book had action, an unraveling plot, and intrigue, it also placed a huge focus on the characters and their desires. The pacing aligned with Chen’s writing and I didn’t see it as too fast or as too slow. 

The end delivered everything I wanted from it: drama, blood, tears, reckoning, and suspense for the sequel. For a debut novel, Chen really knocked it out of the park, leaving me craving more. 

Recommendation: A witchy concoction of titillating ingredients: a cursed prince, a selfish seer, looming war, evil witches, bloodthirsty gods, and love that will either be salvation or damnation. What more could you ask for?

Score: 8/10

[insomniactalks]

What do you think Ej and Gina's favorite things are about each other? Like about their personality and physical features. I think Gina loves EJ's eyes. Also I think EJ loves how strong and driven Gina is.

I just had to send you this question too. I would love to hear your thoughts.

To start, I have to say that I absolutely love the fact that EJ and Gina's attraction to one another has very little to do with physical aspects. They truly started to fall for one another because of who they are at their cores.

For EJ, I think his favorite thing about Gina's personality is how brave and driven she is. For physical features, I honestly think he loves the way she laughs/smiles. He's always doing or saying something just for the purpose of making her laugh. LOL (2.05, 2.07, 2.08, 2.10, 2.11, 3.01, 3.02) For Gina, in terms of EJ's personality, I think she appreciates his persistence in doing the right thing. It may be difficult sometimes, but EJ keeps trying even when he fails. For physical features, I agree anon, I think Gina might love EJ's eyes. I also personally think she loves his arms too. Lmao She just loves touching his right arm or shoulder (2.10, 2.11, 3.01, 3.02).

[portwellmakesmeweep]

i now present to you,

“a dramatic post about why ej caswell is my favorite hsmtmts character (and yes, i mean in season one as well) and why i am irritated at the show as a whole”

~~

i think a lot of ej hate comes down to people not understanding the use of ej’s character in season one. ej is, for lack of a better term, the anti-ricky. where ricky is the likable underdog, ej is the popular jock. where ricky is the guy we are supposed to root for, ej is the guy in the way.

but something hsmtmts did really well in season one was develop ej outside of nini. when ej and nini eventually broke up, he was no longer the anti-ricky, but now just another character. so, in order to keep viewers interested in ej, he needed to grow, they needed to give people a reason to like him. so, they had him try to become a better guy.

i also find it shallow to look at ej (from the perspective of season one) and call him a “bad boyfriend” or an asshole. was he both of those things at one point in the show, yes. but was ricky, yes. was nini a bad partner at times, yes. remember that this is a show about teenagers. they’re only learning how to be in relationships so give them the room to mess up. nini breaking up with ej was completely justified, but ej had solid reasoning behind the things that he did. and we are starting to see that the jealousy and anxiety aspect of ej were not just toward nini (because he clearly has some level of fear of abandonment), as he is starting to display those characteristics again in season 3.

so let’s not hate on ej because he’s annoying but rather dig into the complex character that he could be if the writers did him justice. ej, in my opinion is the epitome of a mess of contradictions. he is popular, but disliked by a lot of people. he’s confident, but severely anxious. he’s a COMPLEX CHARACTER. and to be honest, hsmtmts tends to lack those.

i think that i can understand how ej’s arc can feel a little cheesy and forced, with him practically doing a personality 180 between season one and two, but i’m interested to see what they do with his character this season, blending together both the 1.0 and 2.0 version of him (similarly to gina).

1.0 ej was confident, driven, hard-working, romantic, loving, clever

…but he was also selfish, untrusting, overbearing, blunt, short tempered

2.0 ej is happy, friendly, open-minded, more trusting, supportive

…but he is also anxious, unsure of his future, sometimes clingy, jealous,

everyone loves to say that gina needs to find ‘balance’ between the old her and new her. give ej that chance.

ej has issues that go far beyond just a girl. his father is practically forcing a life that he doesn’t want down his throat, he was forced to direct a musical at the summer camp that he just wanted to experience one last time, his girlfriend is flirting with an old fling (no hate to my girl gina, but she is kinda flirting), and literally NO ONE is listening to anything he has to say.

ej is not an asshole. ej is not a bad boyfriend. ej is not a loser. ej is not a villain.

ej is the most complex, most interesting, and most fleshed out (debatably, besides gina) character that hsmtmts has given us. and not only are the fans of the show doing him dirty but the creators are.

i am irritated as a fan of ej and hsmtmts. this season has been so frustratingly repetitive and childish.

(i might be the only person who cares about this, but i could talk about this for hours)