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thisweekingundamwing · 4 years

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This Week in Gundam Wing 12-18 July 2020

Here’s this week’s roundup!

Remember to give your content creators some love! And join in on the events at the bottom!

~Mod Hel

Fanfiction/Snippets/AU Ideas:

@anaranesindanarie

Man Lion Thing Dude (Ch. 11) https://archiveofourown.org/works/22449241/chapters/61250557

Mature

Trowa Barton/Duo Maxwell, Triton Bloom/Duo Maxwell

Duo Maxwell, Triton Bloom, Heero Yuy, Quatre Raberba Winner, Chang Wufei, Relena Peacecraft, Dorothy Catalonia, Rashid Kurama, Catherine Bloom, Original Trowa Barton, Treize Khushrenada, Zechs Merquise, Lady Une, Sister Helen (Gundam Wing), Maxwell Shinpu | Father Maxwell, OC's, Original Characters, Hilde Schbeiker, Lucrezia Noin, Solo (Gundam Wing), Long Meilan

Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Were-Creatures, Angst, Alternate Universe, Supernatural Creatures, Family Problems, Arranged Marriage, body guards, mentions of torture, Smut, Wizards, Magic, spells

Duo Maxwell is estranged from the last of his remaining family who are demanding that he return home for an important announcement. Meanwhile, Duo has been having strange encounters with 'wild' animals, all of whom seem to be hunting him.

@bobo-is-tha-bomb

Bad Publicity https://archiveofourown.org/works/25358377

M/F, Heero Yuy/Reader

Heero Yuy, Reader, Hilde Schbeiker

Romance, Drama, Reader Insert, Alternate Universe

You stared, eyes wide with horror, at the front page’s headlines. You quickly made your way to the kitchen, sitting down at the table to scan the article’s content.

@chronicwhimsy

Strangers (Ch. 7) https://archiveofourown.org/works/24357013?view_full_work=true

Chang Wufei/Duo Maxwell, Background Quatre x Relena, Background Heero x Trowa - Character

OC - Oliver McGann

Long Lost Twins, this was meant to be hijinks but then I got reminded these boys have Issues, Pining, Duo is a stressed-out jerk who needs a holiday, Post-EW, Frozen Teardrop can do one, sex in later chapters

If you said the word "brother" to Duo Maxwell, he'd think of the other pilots.

If you said, "no, your long-lost brother" to Duo Maxwell, he'd think of Solo and be very confused.

If you said, "no, your twin brother you were separated from at birth, and he's now working with the Preventers as a lawyer" to Duo Maxwell, he would go and punch his doppelganger.

Duo Maxwell isn't good at dealing with things, but unfortunately this particular thing isn't going to go away that easily.

@doctormegalomania

Your Body’s Poetry (Ch. 21) https://archiveofourown.org/works/20438891/chapters/61448776

Mature

Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton/Quatre Raberba Winner, Chang Wufei/Original Female Character(s), Relena Peacecraft & Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell/Original Male Character(s)

Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, Chang Wufei, Sally Po, Relena Peacecraft, Lucrezia Noin, Zechs Merquise, Hilde Schbeiker

Past Relationship(s), Slice of Life, Post-Break Up, Slow Burn, Developing Relationship, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence

Long after the wars, long after peace is established the Gundam Pilots discover one immovable fact: Relationships are hard work.

@duointherain

Beneath: Leprechauns and Clovers (Ch. 8) https://duointherain.tumblr.com/post/623591090469191680/fic-beneath-leprechauns-and-clovers-8

Note: I am taking wild liberties with Irish lore.

“I sorry,” Duo said, genuinely sorry he couldn’t give them what they were asking for, “but I don’t speak Banshee. I barely speak fucking proper Earth English and fuck does that piss folk off sometimes. Why can’t I just kill him? He can’t fuck Rey if he’s dead.”

Beneath: Leprechauns and Clovers (Ch. 9) https://duointherain.tumblr.com/post/624032787912114176/fic-beneath-leprechauns-and-clovers-9

Note: I’m doing Google’s CSSI this summer and one of the cool things they gave us was like an hour long lecture by Dr. Adia Gooden on unconditional self-worth. So that’s where the good advice comes from in this chapter. Link at the bottom.

Fingers on his forehead, thumbs on his jawbones, Duo applied pressure and tried to force back the confusion and irritation. For one thing, he was very, very tired of being outside of his body. This shit wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t supposed to be real, but there he lay on the hearth, hair undone like some maiden in a story with the defense rating of an unattended pastry.

@lifeaftermeteor

LAM!Verse https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/624025327508832256/private-island-location-redacted-fiji-south

Private Island [location redacted]

Fiji, South Pacific

12 August 211

“You’re in my sun,” Quatre said with a grimace, his eyes still closed, to the shadow looming over him.

Respite https://archiveofourown.org/works/25361758

F/F, Lucrezia Noin/Sally Po, Sally Po/Lady Une, Lucrezia Noin/Lady Une, Lucrezia Noin/Sally Po/Lady Une

Romance, Slice of Life, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Post-Canon, Post-Series, Post-Endless Waltz, Non-binary character, Non-Binary Noin, Polyamory

Noin, Po, and Une take some time away from their responsibilities and daily lives to take a much-deserved romantic retreat out into the woods.

Pride https://archiveofourown.org/works/25361545

Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy

Post-Canon, Post-Series, Post-Endless Waltz, Fluff, Pride, Gay Pride, Short & Sweet, Slice of Life, Asexual Character, Asexual Duo Maxwell

Duo has only recently come to terms with his asexuality. It took him a long time to understand it, and even longer to embrace it as inherently part of himself. To celebrate, Heero takes him out onto the streets for New York City’s Pride.

Yoiko

Ai no Gekisen (Ch. 12) https://archiveofourown.org/works/7947910/chapters/61463575

Explicit

Gundam Wing, Ai no Kusabi

Zechs Merquise/Heero Yuy

Zechs Merquise, Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton

Rape/Non-Con, dark themes, Sexual Slavery, Bondage, this is not BDSM because there is no consent, Spanking, Public Humiliation, Public Sex, Literal objectification, Aphrodisiacs, Chastity Device, Non-Consensual Drug Use, stress positions, Threats, no actual incest happens in this story

"Given your condition," Zechs said, opting for amusement, "I can't really ask you your name. I think I'll name you 'Heero.' "

katopiyo

Answers https://archiveofourown.org/works/25370617

Duo Maxwell/Quatre Raberba Winner, Duo Maxwell & Quatre Raberba Winner

Post-EW

Duo and Quatre try to kill time on the shuttle back from the former pilots’ and the Preventers’ annual Christmas bash.

Fanart/Crafts/Photo Manips:

@bobo-is-tha-bomb

https://bobo-is-tha-bomb.tumblr.com/post/623923080739340288/i-really-need-to-take-up-art-again-gundamwing

WuFei Chang, fanart

https://bobo-is-tha-bomb.tumblr.com/post/623975050404642817/went-in-and-made-a-water-color-version-i-dug-up

WuFei Chang in color, fanart

@cynfinnegan

https://cynfinnegan.tumblr.com/post/623545925500010497/a-couple-more-gundam-wing-memes-this-time

Relena Darlian/Peacecraft, memes

@gundayum

https://gundayum.tumblr.com/post/623787099348402176/here-have-grown-up-hilde-in-a-god-damn-wedding

Hilde Schbeiker, fanart

@gwfrozentears

https://gwfrozentears.tumblr.com/post/623589386981949440/the-others-gundam-pilots-i-love-duoooo

WuFei Chang, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, & Duo Maxwell, fanart

@janaverse

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/623375597101596672/i-am-duo-maxwell-is-done-and-contains-as-much

Duo Maxwell, edit

@lemontrash

https://lemontrash.tumblr.com/post/622889139332956160/gundam-wing-art-party-had-a-voice-chat-party

WuFei Chang, fanart

Photosets/Gifsets/Screenshots/Manga Pages:

@cuteciboulette

https://cuteciboulette.tumblr.com/post/623474633219424256/cynfinnegan-super-robot-wars-dd-no-relena

@cynfinnegan (for the original game trailer)

Ok so I might have gotten a tiiiiny screen cap heavy here on Heero and most of all Duo…

(Also, the Gundams are so damn cute!!)

Here is Heero & Wing

https://cuteciboulette.tumblr.com/post/623475306697801728/cynfinnegan-super-robot-wars-dd-no-relena

And here’s Duo & Deathscythe Hell (for whom and which I had to make a selection because I took 20 cap of DS, 12 of Duo + all 6 “avatars” variations).

https://cuteciboulette.tumblr.com/post/623628937542680576/i-cant-remember-if-i-ever-own-this-sheet-of-gw

Gundam Wing Stationary page

@janaverse

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/623994461266034688/every-activity-in-the-household-is-up-for-grabs

Duo Maxwell, Sims, screencap

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/623555650802401280/duo-is-thinking-about-a-what-to-do-next-b

Duo Maxwell, Sims, screencap

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/623552160137953280/heero-playing-refuge-and-dodging-arrows

Heero Yuy, Sims, screencap

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/623551604048723968/i-titled-this-one-holy-crap-poor-duo-because-it

Heero Yuy, Sims, screencap

Head Canons:

@jinsai-ish

https://jinsai-ish.tumblr.com/post/623456882470928384/random-thoughts-on-gundam-wing-and-coffee-not

Random Thoughts on Gundam Wing and coffee

Fandom Discourse:

@lifeaftermeteor

https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/623926733835583488/worldbuilding-in-the-ac-univere

World building collection on AO3

Quotes:

@helmistress

https://helmistress.tumblr.com/post/623998635640815616/duo-goth-clowns-are-just-mimes-quatre-my

@incorrectgundamwingquotes

Quatre & Duo

@incorrectgundamwingquotes

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/623557208176754688/trowa-i-dont-really-like-this-mission-peer

Trowa & Heero

MoodBoard/Aesthetics/Playlists:

@lifeaftermeteor

https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/623995934438752256/respite-lifeaftermeteor

Noin/Sally/Une compilation

https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/623995413604810752/pride-lifeaftermeteor

Heero/Duo compilation

Calendar Events:

@gwcocktailfriday

Cocktail Fridays!

Post responses on Friday, during Happy Hour between 3 & 5 pm in your own timezone.

Here’s the prompt for Friday, July 24th! https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/post/623987548985966592/cocktail-friday-post-responses-on-friday-july

In need of SUMMER & FALL/AUTUMN prompts!

@gwoc-october

GW OC October 2020!

Help pick out prompts! https://gwoc-october.tumblr.com/post/621130082429337600/hello-gundam-wing-folks-thats-right-gw-oc

@seasons-of-gundamwing

Summer of Hilde!

Needs more prompts! https://seasons-of-gundamwing.tumblr.com/post/622567839387271168/summer-of-hilde-prompt-call

@thisweekingundamevents

Events Calendar

https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/post/624053314842230784/event-calendar-update

If you are hosting an event currently, or are planning on one, hit us up with links and dates! We’ll add them to the Calendar and reblog your notices to get the word out!

#Gundam Wing #This Week in Gundam Wing #Weekly Roundup #12-18 July 2020

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cobwebsandcathair · 4 years

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This or That: Fanfiction Edition

tagged by @omnishambolichologram - cheers!

I felt the need to link to a few of my absolute most favourite fics from various fandoms so ... that’s a thing that happened.

Slow burn or love at first sight: The burn makes the payoff that much greater, the slower the better. I want to be in physical pain by the time they kiss 100k words later.

Fake dating or secretly dating: I’ve recently read a couple of really good fake dating fics but I probably liked them so much because the fake dating turned into secretly dating. And apparently I have a thing for coming out scenes and/or others finding out.

“Oh no, there’s only one bed” or long distance correspondence: I mean, come on. Bonus points if they wake up accidentally cuddling and/or the whole thing was a setup by their friends to push them together. Long distance isn’t much fun, unless it’s a small part of something much longer.

Hurt/comfort or amnesia: Has to make up at least 90% of the stuff I read, probably because I’m drawn to cursed/disabled/mentally ill/fucked up characters in the first place. --The Golden Bird by pierrot_dreams, original, E (very, very E), currently 170k - take those tags seriously, because I guarantee you WILL be triggered

Enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers: Again, I’ve read some excellent ETL fics lately but the ‘enemy’ part is always based on miscommunication (hello my beloved #stupidboys tag). I don’t do actual enemies (fuck off Drarry). Give me more of that slow-burn, childhood-best-friends, one-sided-pining plzkthx. --And they were right in front of you the whole time by Ihavecoldhands, Evak, T, 18k

Mutual pining or domestic bliss: I feel kind of cheated if a fic ends without a bit of domestic bliss, but I rarely read things that are entirely that. Mutual pining, particularly when it’s third-person limited and the pining is clearly mutual but the narrator misinterprets it or thinks they’re imagining it.

Smut or fluff: If I read a smutty one-shot there’s a very high likelihood that fluff is also in the tags. I like smut as much as the next guy but if there’s no feelings involved then I’m just not interested. N’awws before phwoars. --Mondays at Sixteen by @folerdetdufoler, Evak, E, 163k - copious amounts of both smut AND fluff, what more could you want

Fantasy AU or modern AU: I’m super picky about fantasy and sci-fi in general because worldbuilding is of vital importance and it’s too often poorly done. I’m also not really a fan of real-world magic or supernatural elements in a fic if they’re not part of the canon (including Hogwarts AUs). Modern AUs are a pretty safe bet and some of them are AMAZING. --There Are No Gays in Football by Malu_3 (Grainne), Merthur, E, 213K --Keep the Key Within Reach by SpiritsFlame, Mercy, E, 62k --If You Look to Your Left, You Will See by unoriginal_liz, Thommy, E, 144k

Alternate universe or future fic: Future fic meaning a continuation of canon, or future as in set in the 24th-and-a-halfth Thentury? Either way, I’d pick AU. Especially when canon makes all AUs technically canon also (thank you Julie Andem).

Canon compliant/missing scenes or fix-it: I have TWO absolute-most-favourite fics to add here, one of each, so I can’t really choose between them. --Trauma Medicine by Kispexi2, Mal/Simon, E, 168k - missing scenes; very possibly the best fanfic I’ve ever read in my life --Grow In The Openings by mindabbles, Wolfstar, E, 33k - because the only acceptable post-Marauders Era fic is a fix-it fic

Reincarnation or character death: Not really a fan of either but FUCK character death. No. Just no. Unless that character happens to be a canonically-dead hologram, or a canonically-dead wizard who is then brought back to life.

One-shot or multi-chapter: I’ll go for either but the longer the better. 450k slow burn angst with a happy ending? Yes hello that is my name.

Time travel or isolated together: I’m up for both but the only example I can think of is that Hornblower epic in which Archie didn’t die but he and Horatio were beamed up to the Enterprise, Beverly saved his life, they hung out with Riker and Troi and then Picard married them. (In the unlikely event someone knows this fic, LINK PLEASE.)

High school romance or middle-aged romance: Some of my absolute favourite fics are the latter, but given that my two most beloved ships mostly take place in high school, I have to say the former. --In Case The Scene Gets Nasty by zarah5, Brendon Urie/Ryan Ross, E, 90k - I know people are squicky about RPF, and rightfully so, but this is hella AU and I shamelessly adore it

Arranged marriage or accidental marriage: Not a big fan of either, but the old What Happens In Vegas trope can be entertaining.

Sci-fi AU or magic AU: Really not into either; see above. HOWEVER, this is a good excuse to link to another favourite with supernatural elements which put me off reading it for ages, but god I’m glad I did. --Burning For Your Touch by cuteandtwisted, Evak, M, 257k

Neighbours or roommates: Both have potential for shenanigans and different forms of tension.

Body swap or gender-bend: I have fond memories of a few Wolfstar body swap fics back in the early 00s (and of course, Rimmer and Lister). I’m all for gender-bending if canonically cis characters are written as trans or non-binary.

Angst or crack: Never really got into crack, although there has been the odd one I’ve liked. I prefer to have my heart ripped out, shredded into tiny pieces and slowly put back together again.

Apocalyptic or mundane: Mundanity tends to make the stakes internal rather than external, with more potential for angst and whump, and that’s basically where I live. But if we’re talking post-apocalyptic, then I have to recommend: --Stars Fell On Alabama by saddle_tramp, original, E, 104K

I don’t know who to tag. If you’ve read this far, consider yourself tagged.

#tagged #fanfic #evak #wolfstar #merthur #mal/simon #horatio/archie #bandom #mercy #thommy #i put way more effort into this than required

37 notes · View notes

save-the-spiral · 4 years

Text

at what point are you willing to listen to my silence

HI! guess who wrote a 4K word long nolan & duncan fanfiction. Gay Banter and Emotional Confrontation, that’s all I can say.

(Read it on Ao3)

Nolan chewed at the cord of his amulet, frowning around the harsh black line pressing into his chin, the gem at the end heavy with magic. He was focused on his work, brain sluggish, at the tail end of an all-nighter spent doing his homework. While he was one of the few who genuinely enjoyed Professor Drake’s class, he had to admit that the essay lengths were ridiculous, and the obscure topics made it awful.

Nolan yawned, cord falling out of his mouth, the pendant clattering onto the table, snapping him out of his daze. He hadn’t even realized he was chewing at the cord, and he frowned down at it, before stuffing the amulet under his robe, above his t-shirt, and picked up his quill, ready to edit his work.

Instead of dipping the nib into his inkwell, he ended up toying with the quill, moving his fingers so it would wave back and forth, the plain brown owl’s feather blurring at the speed. It fell from his hand when he yawned again, stretching and rubbing at his sore wrist and hand.

In this dark corner of the library, there was no clock, just the faint ticking from the large grandfather clock by Mr. Argleston’s desk. This late at night, there was nothing else. No shuffling papers, muffled conversation, or even soft breathing. Nolan settled in at around dinner time, and he had heard only a few people come in, and they all left eventually.

Really, it was his fault after all. He had put off the essay for the week he was supposed to be working on it. But it was so infuriatingly broad, so seemingly insurmountable, that he couldn’t even find a place to start. Even with a faint idea, it wasn’t even remotely interesting. So he left it until tonight.

Nolan leaned on his arms, bright yellow sleeves muted in the dim candle light. He let his hood fall over his eyes, dark blue trim working well to allow him peace. This was supposed to be easy. He had done this same thing so many times, and had excelled so much. He just had to grab the quill, and write. There was no excuse that could translate from him just sitting here and trying for hours, ending up with nothing.

He closed his eyes, trying to organize this in his mind. Main ideas, topic sentences, theme. Just copy over the introduction and reword it for the conclusion, add in some information from the body of the essay. It’s supposed to be easy.

In the end he was in that warm nest of his arms, breathing towards his left arm so he could get fresh air between the slant of his arm and the table. It was so dark, and he was so tired. The drifting between sleep and wakefulness was simple.

Waking up to a light prod on his shoulder, however, was not as easy. With a groan, Nolan raised his head, hand already shielding his eyes from the sunlight streaming in-

With a swear, Nolan sat up straight, looking around, only to see Duncan Grimwater, Ravenwood’s resident talented necromancer, sitting across from him with a raised eyebrow.

“Bit early for an afternoon nap, huh?” Duncan finally said.

“Early?” Nolan managed to get out, yawning and then returning to rubbing his eyes, not even fazed by his hood falling and revealing his dirty blonde hair in a bird’s nest, his undercut growing out from lack of care.

Duncan was staring at him, face unreadable. “It’s like, one o’clock dude.” He said dryly, watching as Nolan’s eyes lit up with fear.

Nolan tensed, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to resist the urge to rip up his now useless essay. Professor Drake did not accept late work, even from his best student. Maybe especially from his best student.

His harsh breathing filled the little alcove of bookshelves.

“I, uh, heard that you were asleep in here.” Duncan said awkwardly.

“So?” Nolan finally snapped out, an edge to his tone. “What do you want?”

“Maybe I wanted to grace myself with your presence.” Duncan’s awkward pressed lips quickly twitched into a sneer. “Maybe someone decided to worry about you for probably the first time in your life.”

“Who?” Nolan asked, making a show of looking around for someone not there. If he wanted to encroach on Nolan’s sleep far past any time that would make him punctual to class, he’d have to admit to the real reason why.

“Some asshole who thought he’d try to be nice, I guess.” With that, Duncan leaned back in his chair, making a show of going on the back two legs.

“Key word ‘try’.”

“As if you’re an expert on kindness.”

“Don’t believe it exists without strings attached.” Nolan shrugged, shoulders aching in protest to sleeping slumped over on a table.

“You don’t bring much to the table aside from being good at tests, Stormgate.” Duncan plucked one of Nolan’s quills out of its inkpot and began twirling it, regardless of the spots of ink staining the table and his fingers, his hood falling back a bit to reveal small, thin dreadlocks and an undercut.

“You don’t bring anything aside from knowing how to make Susie Gryphonbane pissed off and an obvious crush on your dead ex-professor.” Nolan snapped.

Duncan dropped the quill back on the table and let the front two legs of his chair slam on the floor. “Well then. As your fellow useless asshole wizard, I was worried about you.”

Nolan swallowed, staring at the small black onyx earrings Duncan wore so he wouldn’t have to make eye contact or acknowledge the implied question of if he was okay. “Seems like a stupid thing to do.”

“Well, it’s obvious you don’t try it. Worrying about yourself doesn’t lead to the hot mess you are now.” Duncan smirked, still mean, but at least not going for the jugular like they had before.

“At least I’m hot for once.”

The startled snort of laughter from Duncan made Nolan smile.

“What’s the deal, anyway?” Duncan said as his laughter died. “You’re brilliant. Spending hours perfecting an already perfect essay seems overkill, even for you. Some new kid impress Cyrus more than you?”

Nolan huffed, shoving the now crumpled and slightly drool stained essay he had slept on across the table. The few wobbly sentences were pathetic, especially in the light of day.

“So I see I had a reason to worry at least,” Duncan read the half finished introduction before sliding the paper back. “So how long until Cyrus puts a hit on you for being a-” He cleared his throat, before starting an awful impression of the awful professor. “‘Disgrace to all beings who have ever even thought of myth magic’?”

Nolan laughed, crumpling up the parchment and tossing it to the floor. “Don’t know when he’ll order that hit, but I hope he does it soon. The waiting’s the worst part.”

Duncan nodded sagely. “Ah. Not your first assasination attempt via the good professor?”

“I’ve got my fake I.D.s and the summer home in Zafaria all set up for times like these.” Nolan’s seriousness was offset by his smirk, by the new light in his pale eyes.

They both shared a laugh, and Nolan began packing up his books into his bag, unwashed hair falling into his eyes as he organized the books by color, making sure to store his quills properly and cap all his inkpots.

He ran a hand through his hair, realizing that he’d have to actually take a shower again even if it was sensory hell, and glanced over to see that Duncan was still sitting there, face more expressive and open than Nolan had ever seen. This wasn’t the stormy streets of Triton Avenue, or the stuffy classrooms, where Duncan constantly picked at obvious weaknesses and strived to prove himself better. In a quiet, sunlit library alcove he was a different person.

“Still hanging around?” Nolan finally said.

“Never got any information to assuage my obviously altruistic worries.” Duncan said, staring hard in a way that made Nolan uncomfortable.

Nolan was always uncomfortable when looking people in the eyes, though, so that was nothing new. The silence stretched on, and Nolan shifted his weight, debating how much running out of the library would be worth the trouble and inevitable temporary ban.

“Are you okay, Stormgate?” Duncan’s voice went soft, and for a moment he might as well have been speaking some ancient language for all Nolan could comprehend it.

Nolan felt his chest tighten, and wondered if he was going to cry. He hadn’t in months. Finally, he just shrugged, voice distant and fragile when he spoke.

“I don’t think you want my answer to that question.”

Duncan’s face immediately shut off, twisting into an annoyed scowl as he scooted back in his chair, the screech of the wood against wood harsh and awful to Nolan’s ears.

“Fine.”

Then Nolan was alone, hand gripping the strap of his bag too hard from where it pulled at his aching shoulder. He couldn’t tell where he misstepped there, and assumed it was starting the conversation in the first place. He yawned again, and stood up straight, stretching, before pulling his hood up.

Younger students walked out of his way when they crossed his path as he walked across the Commons. The dark shadows of the tunnel into Ravenwood were like a second blanket, a comfort in pavlovian, knowledge that he’d be in his safe, solitary dorm soon enough.

Then he walked out into the nice, sunlit courtyard in front of Bartleby, only to see Cyrus Drake striding out of the Myth School. The man obviously noticed him, and began walking faster.

Now was the time to run, he thought.

Turning around and racing back to the Commons was easy, deciding on a direction after that wasn’t so simple. He stumbled on the cobblestone path, then decided to go back to the library. His exhausted brain decided to treat this situation like it was life or death, so of course he made a dumb decision.

His professor would know to look for him in the library, as easily as he’d know to look in Cyclops Lane, where his family home is.

So, maybe that realization was what made him veer off of the path behind the waterfall of Rainbow Bridge, where everyone now knew Nightside was hidden.

Nolan knew too, of course. In theory. He knew a lot of things in theory, but found his own execution lacking. It’s the main reason why he prefered homework over quests, even if the extra credit is enough to never touch a quill again.

He had never seen the dark, dank cave with his own eyes. Or the very intimidating skull embedded into the half open door. It was his lifeline, though, so he walked quickly forward, shaking his hands to get the faint mist of water off of them. He shook his hands out more after that, letting himself stim to help with the nerves that onset him in this new environment.

Nightside was… not as scary as he thought it would be from the stories people tell. It was like a more tame version of the dark caves hiding in the other streets. There were little necromancers milling about, getting out of class. Malorn was herding them like they were a clowder of emo cats, and Marla and Penny were standing on the sidewalk, watching like one watched vaguely wild animals in a zoo.

Then a hand was on his bicep, and Nolan was being pulled onto half wilted grass, close to the wall.

“What are you doing here?” Duncan glared at him, a real one. He wasn’t the sarcastic asshole admitting he was worried. He was back to just being an asshole.

“Drake may have forgone the hit and was approaching me with intent to kill.” Nolan said, voice monotone, not looking Duncan in the eyes, watching the crowd of necromancers as they finally lined up properly, Malorn smiling wide as he directed them all into Nightside’s own small town. Duncan pulled harder, fingers digging meanly into Nolan’s soft flesh, huffing out what a generous person might call a laugh.

“Idiot.” Duncan muttered, loud enough so Nolan could hear it. He probably did it on purpose, there’s no point in pretending either of them are nice people. Wasn’t that the point of their library chat?

Nolan just stumbled along until they finally went into the old death school’s tower. Cobwebs populated the bookshelves more than books did, the rugs were stained and maybe moth bitten, and it smelled vaguely sweet, like someone tried to cover up a smell.

At his scrunched up nose, Duncan laughed, letting go of Nolan’s arm as they both kicked off their boots by the door. “That smell is Penny. She’s got a new pyromancer friend and is now making a lot of candles, the flowery-er the better.”

“Not the worst hobby.” Nolan finally said, unsure how to not insult the girl, even if she wasn’t there.

“Keeps her out of trouble.” Duncan drawled, then walked to a kitchenette. He pulled out a spotless kettle, probably the cleanest thing this building had seen in years, and began heating it up. He shrugged off his outer robe, leaving a plain grey tunic and black school slacks.

“I don’t think she could get in trouble if she tried.” Nolan was still standing by the door.

“Don’t underestimate the lengths Marla will go to when something gets in her head.”

“Trying so hard must be exhausting.”

“You would know, Mister I-Spent-Sixteen-Hours-In-A-Library.”

“Says the idiot who came to see if I was okay.”

“You still never answered my question.” Duncan turned around from his puttering around in the kitchen, and gave Nolan a Look.

“Well it’s still none of your fucking business!” Nolan found himself snapping far quicker than he typically did, voice eager to jump up and crack before slipping down into a yell that sounded far too much like an echo of his late parents’ voices.

“It isn’t?” Duncan walked closer, eyes trained on him as he pulled out two chairs at the table in the middle of the room. “What about the others?”

Nolan snorted, leaning back against the stone wall to watch Duncan, shoulder blades resting uncomfortably against the cold stone. “What others?”

“The other people who’ve made the unfortunate decision to give a shit about you? What, are they idiots like me? Nosy?”

“There’s no one else.” Nolan said.

“Ceren. Malorn. Penny. Artur. Fuck, even Boris for all the time he spends on the stupid newspaper, he notices you and how you look closer and closer to a ghoul every day. I’m just the only one who isn’t afraid to call you on your bullshit. You are not okay, Nolan.”

Nolan stared, feeling himself lean more into the wall, hoping it would open up and bury him inside the stone just so he wouldn’t have to continue this conversation. Duncan was pouring hot water into mugs, and pulling out a box of teabags, dropping them in before turning back around, eyebrows raised expectantly.

“Do you want tea or not?”

Nolan didn’t even try opening his mouth, knowing from the sensation in his throat that he had gone nonverbal, the stress of the situation taking things out of his hands. Feeling weak and tired and ready for another six hour nap, he found himself sitting on the floor now. The stone wall continued to leech warmth away from his spine, the rug was even less comfortable than he thought.

As good a place as any to start crying.

Duncan seemed alarmed when he muttered. “Didn’t know you hated tea that much.”

Nolan might’ve laughed if he wasn’t in the middle of a meltdown that stole his normally white-knuckled control over his body. While he was usually a puppeteer of his clumsy, uncooperative self, when it comes to this his strings, long thin nerves extending from his spine and the tips of his fingers and from every single hair on his head are all shaken, every plate of his body convergent or transform boundaries, tectonics doing nothing but continuing their work, manipulated by outside force into compliance until they shudder and subduct into volcanoes and trenches and ridges and wide, empty abyssal plains. The metaphor falls apart as he is, a slow shattering like ripping up the dotted lines on what will be a puzzle.

The meticulous process of putting it back together is where Nolan often loses himself for days, skipping school just to sit in the home he grew up in and try to process and figure out how to be again, instead of this dissociative being where the world around him is too sped up and he feels like he exists five feet to the left of his body.

“-okay? Nolan? Nolan?!”

Heavy breathing rattled out of Nolan’s chest, and he has both hands on his head, pushing, trying to interlock his fingers into his hair so he doesn’t hit his own skull with clenched fingers, palms stiff and wrists aching. His knees push against his soft stomach, boots sliding a rug underfoot and rumpling it.

Nolan meant to make an inquisitive sound for Duncan to hear but instead it devolved into humming and trying to fill his brain with something other than the shaky feeling of tensed muscles, as if he was a series of rubber bands and paperclips just waiting to snap and cause a mess.

“Nolan? Oh I don’t know anything about healing, are you having a panic attack maybe? I really thought this was going to end with the tea and maybe some flirting- gosh, this is not how I thought any of this would go, I’m sorry.”

Duncan continued to ramble, eventually sitting on the floor in front of Nolan, setting down a tray between them.

Nolan’s breathing slowed, still ragged, his throat hoarse and face sticky from tears. His face hurt, he felt numb, empty again, a water glass overfilled by clumsy hands. Eventually he was reaching out, mind still distant from body, and awkward fingers fumbled for the handle of the blue speckled mug, wrist weak enough that he grabbed it with his other hand as well. The heat from the tea sunk deep into his chest when he brought it closer, and he closed his eyes, trying to not dwell on anything but the tea.

Duncan made a cut off sound, and when Nolan opened his eyes, Duncan’s mouth was slightly open, face twisted by confusion. “Are you… okay? There’s a couch upstairs you can crash on, Nolan.”

Nolan just nodded, sipping the tea, now lukewarm.

Duncan set down his own mug and leaned back on his hands, looking at Nolan like he’d never seen him before.

“Okay then. We don’t… have to talk if you don’t wanna. But we can. Talking to you is nice, Nolan. I’d hate if-” Duncan looked to the side, flushing slightly, “If you weren’t there, y’know. You’re like the rest of us, a fixture of Ravenwood or whatever. But I’d also like to be your friend, I mean, we’d all like that.”

Nolan watched how Duncan’s face, soft without it’s usual anger or derision, twitched into a smile.

“We really all do care. Penny wants to know your favorite color and scent for a candle. Marla wants to study history with you to see if it’s different in the myth school. I want…” Duncan’s voice cracks with emotion, “I just want a friend, one who can keep up when I want to bitch about stuff, one who doesn’t care if I’m nice or not.”

Nolan drained the rest of his tea, gently leaving the mug on the tray, before shifting to stretch his legs out, still silent as he stood, suddenly feeling a lot less small. He still wanted to hide away from the world, wished he was back in his dorm where he controlled everything and knew every object and how to be most comfortable, but right now he would settle for the cold stone walls and the pins and needles sensation in his legs.

He then pointed upwards and cocked his head, face blank and eyes heavy.

Duncan got up hastily when he noticed, setting their tray onto an empty bookshelf. “The couch upstairs?”

Nolan nodded, feeling a headache pulse behind his eyes, crawling in the back of his skull.

“I’ve got some blankets in the cupboard- feel free to head upstairs and get comfortable, it’s clean and usually just for a reading area.” Duncan crossed the room, opening a large armoire.

Nolan’s socked feet began to ache noticeably once he began ascending the stairs. He supposed at least a full day of wearing boots would do that to, and there wasn’t much else to be done. Without realizing, he trailed a hand against the stone wall, palm flat, ready to catch himself if he fell. It was instinct from climbing up the stairs to his dorm for years.

The room at the top of the death tower was a bit dreary. Muted light from a single window gazing over the small opening street of Nightside flooded a slice of the room, leaving the door and the couch on the opposite wall in almost complete darkness. The patchy rugs and mismatched chairs were comfortable looking, and obviously lived in. Though a few of the shadowy diagrams and realistic portraits left something to be desired.

With clumsy hands, Nolan dragged his robe off, crossing the room. He tossed it on the couch, by the pillow furthest from the window. Sitting down, he sighed at how comfortable even this lumpy couch was. He was already glad he managed to get himself together enough to get off of the floor, and this was better already.

“Oh, it’s dark in here.” Duncan’s voice echoed against the stone walls.

Nolan startled, a choked gasp leaving him.

“Sorry! Sorry. Want me to light a candle or something? We’ve got plenty.” Duncan’s arms were full of several quilts, a slightly moth eaten comforter, and an array of strangely shaped knitted blankets.

Nolan shook his head, and stood, grabbing a few of the quilts and the comforter. A sudden sense of insecurity came from him realizing he was in simple black slacks and a white t-shirt, slightly stained with ink, but his exhaustion caught up to him.

“The knitted ones are uh- the death school’s attempt at starting a knitting circle? Please don’t tell anyone.”

At Duncan’s almost desperate tone, Nolan managed a smirk, eyebrow raised.

Duncan snorted. “Well. Tell whoever you want. As long as it doesn’t get traced back to me.”

Nolan shrugged, expression specifically blank just to watch Duncan’s half smile become a bit worried. It was then that Nolan began swaying on his feet trying to set up his ‘bed’, vision dimming slightly.

“Woah there. Woah-” Duncan stepped forward, tossing the knitted disasters behind him to steady Nolan. “I got you, it’s fine.” He muttered, warm breath puffing against Nolan’s cheek, more a reassurance to himself than anything else.

Nolan stood for a moment, yawning while Duncan set out the comforter as something to lie on, and guided Nolan to sit down. Nolan flopped against the pillow, murmuring.

“What was that?” Duncan said quietly, leaning in.

Nolan grumbled, half asleep, and threw a quilt over himself before turning over. “G’night, Duncan.”

Duncan’s eyes widened and he backed up. He walked quietly across the room, only allowing himself to look back when he reached the doorway.

The only visible part of Nolan was his hair, the rest a badly hidden lump of a conjurer. Soft snoring echoed slightly in the room, and Duncan found himself smiling, a hand reaching up to his mouth as he leaned against the stone wall for a moment.

“Goodnight, Nolan.” He finally said, and turned to walk downstairs, and let his new friend rest.

#Wizard101 #Writing #Wizzy101 #Wiz101 #W101 #Wizard101 fandom #wizard101 fanfiction #Nolan Stormgate #Duncan Grimwater #Autistic nolan stormgate is my lifeblood sorry!#wizard101 npcs

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mimzy-writing-online · 4 years

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What annoys you about the way LGBTQA+ is portrayed in books, films, and other media? Is there a stereotype people generally have that really upsets you? Please forgive me if I'm asking a sensitive topic. You do not have to answer this if it hurts your feelings or makes you uncomfortable.

Hi anon! Thank you for asking :)

This is definitely not a sensitive subject, but it might come across as a little ranting. I think talking about sensitivity issues is a brilliant thing and benefits everyone.

Bi-phobia, I hate bi-phobia.

I like when bisexual characters have a healthy relationship with sex and date whoever catches their fancy. Perf.

I hate when media takes a bisexual female character and either objectifies her for it or slut shames her as a joke or includes some line about “but aren’t you worried about her wanting to date girls again?”

Or a character shows interest in men and women, or is coded as bisexual, and they’re either straight-washed or gay-washed. This can happen from both writers/producers and from fandom.

Epithets in writing same sex couples:

This happens so much in fanfiction (because good book editors edit them out of books before they’re published) and I hate it.

In same sex couples, pronouns can get a little tricky because is she being used for girl 1 or girl 2? So writers start doing this:

The brunet/the blond or the brunette/the blonde (there are different spellings for gender, I found this out the not fun way of grammar editing an entire book)

Character A looked at the brunette with longing and said, “I love you.” Character B kissed the blonde.

And both the writer and the reader totally know the names of these characters they’ve seen for seven chapters so far but we’re still using epithets.

The younger man/the older man or woman, and suddenly you get gross sentences like.

Character A pushed the younger man into the kitchen. Character B offered the younger man a cup of tea and some biscuits.

Look, I know there’s only a two year age difference between these characters, but now I feel like one of them is at least a decade older and age gaps are hard for me to stomach as it is. And then, I see it with characters who are like, 18 and 20 and I just... why???

The (title/occupation/species) epithets. You know, if your wizard is dating a knight, and suddenly you have sentences like-

Character A led the wizard (who he has been dating for six months and totally knows the name of) towards the river. Character B touched the knight’s cheek and smiled at him.

Character A smiled at the young teacher and kissed her cheek. Character B blushed under the singer’s lips.

No. Thank. You.

You could find a good editor to fix those problems, ooooor, you could do the smart thing and learn to not do them.

Binding with ace bandages. Dangerous, terrible.

Years ago I watched a short film about a teenager realizing he’s trans and in the film he binds with ace bandages. I watched this before I knew I was gender fluid, and I’m very lucky that I read enough about binding from posts passing down my tumblr dashboard that I learned to never ever do that. I got myself a proper binder and then when I saw a different short film with a clip of the character binding with ace bandages, I almost lost my shit.

The person bullying the queer character was queer as well and possibly hiding their crush for them? Hate it. So. Much.

Would not date a single one of my school bullies, no matter what. I don’t care why they made fun of me. Not. Ever.

On the note of bullying, the thing I hated most about Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda was Martin. Martin never got punished and Simon was outed in a horrible and humiliating way and didn’t get to deal with the emotional aspect of that.

(Note, I love the book and consider it one of my favorites, but oh boy will I shred it when it comes to this topic)

Martin should have been punished for outing Simon. There should have been consequences. Martin was the obvious villain from the beginning and should have been treated as such. But he is repeatedly minimized in Simon’s narrative as so goofy you can’t hate him too much, and mostly harmless, and could almost be friends with if the blackmailing wasn’t happening. Simon tries to pretend he’s not that bad while Martin is blackmailing Simon to set him up with Simon’s friend Abby.

And I read Leah on the Off-Beat, which takes place a little over a year after the events of SvTHSA, and Leah says that she and Abby and Bram all hate and despise Martin, but Leah doesn’t get why Simon tries to be friendly with him when he was the one getting blackmailed for two months.

Love, Simon did it even worse, somehow??

In the book at least Simon had his friends by his side when he got outed. And when Abby found out why Martin was blackmailing Simon, and that Simon had helped set up hang-out time between her and Martin, she was upset. Rightfully so. She thought it was a terrible thing to do, but she recognized that Simon was a victim and she accepts his apology. She still takes time to acknowledge how that made her feel and she knows that Simon regrets what he did.

In the movie tho? Simon’s friends abandon him. I only watched the movie once for this reason, so I’m a little shaky on the details, but... Leah had a crush on Simon, which Simon misinterpreted as being a crush on Nick. He wanted Leah to be happy and suggested Nick ask Leah to the homecoming dance. He also set up Wafflehouse hangouts with Martin and Abby. And after Simon got outed, they talked and realized what had been happening. Sort of.

Because they got angry about what happened to them, but completely ignored that Simon had been blackmailed for two months. And stood there doing nothing, NOTHING, when he was being bullied and humiliated in front of the entire school. They just sat and watched it happen.

(So for that reason, I struggle to watch the movie, even if I adore Nick Robinson and Keiynan Lonsdale’s performances in the movie. The other actors were great. It’s just a writing issue with the script)

Wait, how did I forget how awful the outing post was??! The language in the post Martin made to out Simon was awful, cruel, and humiliating. What Martin said “as Simon” in the post that outed Simon as gay was horrible. And the book never let Simon acknowledge how awful the language felt. On top of being outed, it’s done in the most humiliating way possible, with horrible language and on the site where Simon first met Blue.

The book and the movie should have given Simon the chance to process all the horrible things Martin had done, how it made him feel, and let him heal from that.

I’m gonna end my rant there. I get heated every time I talk about this book.

Deadnaming a character, ever, for any reason

“My name wasn’t always Emma, it used to be [deadname].”

I can’t take credit for that example, because that example gets brought up A LOT in the community. It’s extremely disrespectful to call someone by their dead name, especially when you know better. Calling a character by their dead name is just as disrespectful.

Examples I’ve seen that work far better are, “My name wasn’t always Emma.” End sentence. No dead name given.

“I got [redacted] a present.” If this is someone who regularly deadnames the character, than hiding the name is best.

[redacted] is still kind of uncomfortable, because it just reminds me that there are still people in my life who dead name me as well.

For every trans or non-binary character I’ve ever written, I never give them a dead name. By this, I mean, I never take the time to figure out what their dead name would have been. I met my characters after they realized they were trans and settled on a name and pronouns. I never met them before that, so I have no business asking what it was before.

This is not exhaustive and I probably could go on for hours longer, but I’ll leave it here for now. Thank you for asking!

#lgbtq+#queer #writeblr #Anonymous

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spartan2545 · 5 years

Text

A Snow and Color Blind Date

General Audience

Ilia X Winter

2200 words

FanFiction Link

AO3 Link

Summary: Ilia hasn’t had mush luck with the ladies. None actually. So Neptune sets her up on a blind date. She is in for a surprise by who her date is.

"Thanks for driving me Neptune"

"Not a problem," That stupidly confident grin he perpetually wore growing a bit wider, "After all, if I didn't there is no way you would ever have actually gone on this blind date that I worked so hard to set up for you."

"I would too!" Ilia protested, sounding more like a child than she would have liked.

It was not a complete lie. She probably, possibly might have not chickened out again. Sure, it had been a while since she had gotten a date, and she had never really been in a relationship, but that didn't mean she would run at the first opportunity instead of making a fool of herself in front of an attractive woman. Definitely not.

"Sure you would Ils," His smile had only grown more.

Okay, yeah, fine I probably wouldn't have. But you'll never get to know that.

Though sometimes he made her not want to admit it, Ilia was very grateful to have a friend like Neptune. He had backed off immediately after learning he was barking up the wrong tree on their first meeting. And despite Ilia's initial misgivings, after talking they hit it off better than anyone had expected and became fast friends.

Neptune quickly took it upon himself to become the wingman of the very clearly in distress chameleon girl. His success was somewhat limited. But he counted it as a win when ever he even got Ilia to just talk to a girl in a night, even if it rarely when anywhere further. Never went any further. . .

Just those small things really did help Ilia though. It had been hard getting over Blake after having that crush for so long, though she was very happy for her friend having found that fiery blonde that made her happy. Ilia knew it had also helped her self confidence, and although it still left much to be desired, it was a whole lot higher than the exactly zero it was before.

Talking to hot women was still an issue though.

So this was probably going to be as well.

"Alright, we're here." Neptune announced, pulling Ilia from her internal fears to face very external ones.

Ilia took a breath, "This is it," She said just barely not quietly enough to herself.

Neptune looked to his passenger, "Ilia, you are going to do fine. You're a great person, you're kind and smart. Not to mention pretty attractive. So, anyone would be lucky to date you," And with a trademark wink, "If you weren't gay I know I would."

His reassurance always helped at least a little. Even his joking flirts, now standard banter between them, were quite welcome.

"That's not a very high bar Neptune. You would date a table if it had nice legs."

They shared a laugh before Ilia was once again quickly just about overcome by her worry. She looked down at the burgundy dress she was wearing.

Will they even think I'm attractive? Probably not, I-

Neptune put a hand on her shoulder and unlocked the car door, "Knock 'em dead Ms. Rainbow. I'll be around to pick you up, depending on how well the date goes." He gave her another wink as she full-body blushed as usual.

"Thanks again." Ilia said as she stepped out of the neon blue mustang. A car that would be outrageous for anyone but Neptune.

"You can thank me after your date." Neptune yelled as he pulled away.

Ilia turned towards the restaurant, now realizing she was so wrapped up in her own head she hadn't even looked at it before. It was dark inside, not that it quite looked closed, but that the entire thing was even darker than it would have been with mood lighting. And there were only a few cars in the parking lot. It was a bit odd, she had been to The Ice Snake before and it had never been like this.

She slowly made her way towards the main entrance. Her anxiety building with every single step. Ilia took a deep breath as she opened the door.

And it only skyrocketed when she saw that no one else was in the restaurant. Literally every single table and chair was empty. No waiters were running about, and no one there to seat her.

But it still didn't look closed. The furniture and accouterments weren't put away and she could see two rooms that were better lit, one she knew to be the kitchen. The other, a back room she had always assumed was exclusively for very special (and very expensive) occasions.

Ilia inched towards that back room, more anxiety building along the way. From its direction she heard an odd sound. If she had to guess, it was much like trying to kick open a door with a boot. A sound she was familiar with considering her previous career path. It really didn't concern her though.

The prospect of meeting her date and all the horrible situations she could make a fool of herself continued to run rampant in her mind.

And she was half way there before she broke.

I don't need a date, I have enough in my life as it is.

The faunus hurried back to the glass doors she had just come through.

I'll just tell Neptune they were a no show! I don't live that far away, six miles isn't too bad.

When she got there she pushed against the door, but it wouldn't budge. Ilia looked down at the mechanism and saw that it had been locked.

Why is it locked from the outside?!

She looked up, only to see Neptune on the other side of the glass. He shook his head and pointed towards the back room, clearly having foresaw this eventuality and having stayed to prevent it.

Ilia sighed and did as she was told, seeing no other option. She tried to stay confident as she once again approached the back room.

How bad could it be?

She got closer.

Like who could it be that would be that bad?

She got closer.

It's not like she's going to be incredibly gorgeous.

She got closer still.

Or I already know her or anything,

She was just able to look inside when:

It's not like she's. . . Holy Shit!

Sitting in that back room, at a fully set table clearly only meant for two, was someone whom she knew. Who she had worked with before. Someone who she could almost count as a friend. And someone who she thought was exceptionally out of her league.

It was Winter Schnee.

The dashing, graceful, gorgeous Winter Schnee.

Ilia had heard people, notably Ruby's uncle, describe Winter as cold. But Ilia believed that she was exactly the opposite.

She was wearing a beautiful gradient blue dress, a slit up at least one side showing legs that made it hard for Ilia to think. Well, pretty much everything about Winter made it hard for Ilia to think. It was a good thing the dress had a shallow neckline.

Winter was staring at her scroll, apparently annoyed and sending a text. She hadn't seen Ilia yet. She was wearing boots.

So the chameleon girl bolted to a side entrance, hoping that maybe Neptune wasn't at that one. And of course, she found it locked too.

Only when she looked up this time, it was Sun.

Sun, like his partner, was something of a nearly full time wingman. Though his responsibility was sorting out the mess that was team RWBY. You'd think that having an ancient immortal wizard play matchmaker would have made things easier.

Like Neptune before, he shook his head and pointed to the back room. Ilia surmised he was probably here to do the same job for Winter as Neptune was for her. She put her hands together and bagged silently through the glass, but to no avail. Ilia guessed that only worked on him when you had cute cat ears to fold back.

Again she sighed and went back to the room.

Ilia stole a glance at the other side entrance, to see if maybe with only the two of them it was unguarded. But even in the twilight she could see a blazing gold mane watching from outside.

I guess they gotten Yang to help.

For a moment she gazed at the skylight, wondering if that was a possible escape route, only to see she thought might be a silhouette. It would have to be a very tall woman with a ponytail.

There really was no way out of this.

For what would definitely be the last time, Ilia approached the doorway and took a breath.

You can do this. You can do this. And no matter what, Winter's nice so it won't be bad.

She walked in.

"Ilia?" Winter asked, clearly somewhat surprised by who her date was as well.

"H-hey Winter," Ilia tried to keep the nervousness out of her voice as she stood stupidly, unsure of what action to take next.

"Uh- Please sit Ilia," Winter said gesturing to the other end of the candle lit table, fearful that Ilia's actions were due to her greeting being rude. "I have to say I wasn't expecting you. Though I don't know what I was expecting."

"Completely blind date for you too then?" Ilia asked

Winter sighed, "Yes. My sister and her team finally convinced me to go on a date. They set all of this up, they must have rented out the whole restaurant for the night."

"Neptune did it on my end. I saw Sun here too," Ilia commented, "Did you know they locked us in here?" She continues, a millisecond later realizing that the only way she would have known that was by trying to leave. Her blush was thankfully less noticeable in candle light.

Winter nervously laughed and cleared her throat "Ahem, Yes I did." She glanced to the rear of the room, where there was another exit. With a boot print still clearly visible. This time the Schnee blushed, her alabaster skin clearly going pink "I guess they rightfully trusted neither one of us."

They both laughed a bit, but then was a bit of an awkward silence.

Ilia thought of something to say, scrounge up as much courage as she could muster to spit it out. "W-well, I'm not unhappy about who my turned out to be. You look great by the way" Then came the fear waiting for the response.

Winter softly smiled, blushed a bit deeper, and only a little less nervously said, "T-tank you. I'm not either. You also beautiful tonight Ilia." She caused a similar reddening of her date.

"So. . ." Ilia picked up the menu in front of her "Do you know what you're having?"

"Well I'm certainly not going to have the pork." Winter stated, with what might have been a small amount of disgust.

"That's my favorite!" Ilia exclaimed, "May I ask why?" She then questioned.

"Just promise not to laugh at me," Ilia nodded, so Winter smiled and continued, "You see, the last mission I was on was mostly hunting Boarbatusks. . ."

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

The food had been great, if a little different than they remembered. And the service was excellent, even if somehow the waiter always kept them from getting a good look at him.

It was a few hours of talking, joking, and enjoying each other's company before the pair left the restaurant, hand in hand and laughing.

All this without any alcohol too, as Winter didn't drink considering how well that had gone before in her family.

"I had a lovely time tonight Ilia." Winter said as they stood outside the main doors.

"I did too." Came Ilia's honest reply.

They both now looked somewhere other than the woman in front of them and started at the same time;

"I-"

"We-"

Now both were too nervous to say anything more after that false start. After a few seconds that felt like minutes they both looked up. Grey met blue, and despite each of their fears, they then realized in that moment they both wanted the same thing.

Ilia and Winter drew closer, feeling the other's breath on their skin.

They pulled each other into a kiss, not too long nor deep, it being their first after all. But enough that each was glowing afterwards.

"That was nice."

"We should do this again"

For a very brief they softly looked to each other, before being rather suddenly interrupted.

"Oh Yeah!"

"We did it!"

"Not so useless anymore!"

The pair looked to see Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Neptune, and Sun come out of the darkness from different guard positions around the building. All were clearly elated at their plan's success.

They heard a noise behind them, and looked to see Nora, Scarlet, and Sage come out from the restaurant, all looking like they had been in the kitchen the entire time. Ren came out close behind, and by how her was dressed, had apparently been their waiter. Then they saw Pyrrha and Jaune jump down from their perch on the roof beside the other members of JNPR. They all seemed to share their comrades' joy.

Winter and Ilia both blushed. It really had taken all these people to do this. But it worked.

Hope y’all liked it! I think this ship could be really cute, and I hope to see more of it. I hope this attempt at a date scene did them some justice :)

#ilia amitola #winter schnee #Atlas drop out #rwby #rwby fanfiction

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snake-house · 6 years

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Charlie, Sirius and the Weasley twins? 😅👀 Just to continue with the HP crew 😂 I love your Male!Reader fics set in the Marauders and Young Severus hogwarts time btw, I think is a part of the saga and characters that aren't explore much in fanfiction, so bless you!

heeeellllll yeah i shall :) did you know my first harry potter ao3 fic was a charlie x harry fic? and thank you!! that is my favorite era to write because of that!! you can say anything and think anything about that era and it could be true because we don’t know!!! //some of the headcanons are nsfw and i am not tagging anymore

___

Charlie Weasley Headcanons: (regular headcanons mixed with how he would be with an s/o)

I’ve always seen him as either asexual or gay/demi-sexual

beefy af, nice arms and thighs 👅

he likes to exercise on the regular

he is the sweetest, he will give you a toothache

charlie would definitely be the one to dote on his s/o, not necessarily with gifts, but always doing things for them. (”here, you’re tense, let me rub your shoulders”, “oh, i already did the laundry”, “let me carry in the groceries for you” etc)

his love language is words, he likes to be reassured and told that he’s loved (he’s not insecure, it just makes him feel loved when he’s told)

besides dragons, he loves owls, always found them fascinating

he’s totally hung as fuck, meaning he’s got a big dick bby

he can bake really well (he liked to help in the kitchen when he was younger) and his bread is to die for

he’s not outgoing, but he’s not an introvert, he’s in that grey area in between, but if given the choice he would much rather do something at home than go out

he would def love to work out with his s/o

really good with first-aid!!! if you get hurt, he is the best to go to

loves spicy food, escpecially indian food

Sirius Black Headcanons: (regular headcanons mixed with how he would be with an s/o)

he’s the type that acted out as a kid because he didn’t get enough love/affection/attention from his parents (because regulus started showing signs of a perfect pureblood young)

he’s shorter than remus, but the same height as james at 5′11″

i see him strictly as a top, or a very dominant switch

besides that, i believe he would see his partner as a complete equal

pansexual all the way

i believe he was like harry in the sense his mother cut his hair rather short once when he was younger and it grew back the same day. his parents never tried to cut his hair again

really good with his hands and can fix practically anything you give him, jewelry box, book bag etc. (he doesn’t use magic)

when he was introduced to the muggle world through lily, he was really interested in studying different religions, just because he found it so moving and profound

surprisingly he was wonderful in astronomy

loves to give his s/o pet names, especially the ones that gets a blush in response

^ with that, he would totally be the type to want to tease his s/o all the time, just because he likes the reactions he gets

and totally loves to boss his s/o around in bed (not in a dom or bsdm type of way, just likes to be in charge)

Fred Weasley Headcanons: (regular headcanons mixed with how he would be with an s/o)

one of the small differences between him and his twin, his eyes are bluer than george

with being the more outgoing twin, he’s a bit blunter with his words and doesn’t think of how harsh he can sometimes sound

he’s secretly really good at drawing, his care for magical creatures sketches are the best in his class (hagrid would always praise him over them)

tol (6′0″) and wide shoulders (and not lanky, but slim)

he still has a knit blanket his mom knit for him when he was a toddler (he keeps it under his pillow)

100% bi af (and a total charmer of both guys and gals)

but when presented with someone he actually likes, he’s a nervous wreck

he’s the type to need an s/o to mellow him out a bit

if he was an anime character, he would be the one that gives the audience all the fanservice they want

he’d help you hide a dead body without asking questions

he’s all for pda with his s/o, especially ass-slaps in front of as many people as possible

(secretly super possessive)

not too interested in the muggle world, thinks it’s neat but prefers the wizarding world

George Weasley Headcanons: (regular headcanons mixed with how he would be with an s/o)

his eyes are more hazel than fred’s and he is ½ an inch taller than fred

even though they are both pretty loud and confident, george is the own who isn’t as blunt or straight forward but he is 100% just as impulsive

chaotic bi

he’s also the type to tease his s/o all the time and knows that it’s annoying

he could be considered emotional, but doesn’t let it show on his face if he’s hurt or upset, he would much rather deal with that when he’s alone to sort out his emotions

he secretly thinks that molly mixed them up so much growing up that he may actually be fred

loves fairytales

vanilla baby, he would be too shy in bed to do anything more than missionary, until his s/o suggests something different and then he is all for it

he’s really good with kids

he and fred tried out for the quidditch team in an “ehh what could happen?” and didn’t expect to make the team, but is really proud that they did!

harry introduced him to video games post-war and he fell in love

he takes critism well, you just need to give him some time to process it correctly so he isn’t brash

#ask #harry potter #charlie weasley #fred weasley #george weasley #sirius black #headcanon #headcanons #hp #thank u for asking ;))))

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yellowhalcyon · 7 years

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~ this or that ~

RULES: ANSWER all questions, ADD one question of your own and then TAG as many people as you like!

Got tagged by @budapestalloveragain so here we go...

live session or studio session? studio music sounds so good to me and I’ve never really been a fan of concerts coke or pepsi? please give me some coke disney or dreamworks? dreamworks, never watched any disney coffee or tea? coffee but only when it’s sweet or cold books or movies? I would say books because there’s a lot more creative freedom sometimes and a lot more development of characters windows or mac? windows, macs suck and can burn in hell dc or marvel? tbh Marvel own me a lot of money for the shit they’re pulling at the moment and DC isn’t perfect either xbox or playstation? both, both is good night owl or early riser? depends on my sleeping schedule at the time cards or chess? cards chocolate or vanilla? chocolate, mostly since I find vanilla too sweet vans or converse? my feet are annoying and stupid and I wish I could chop them off star wars or star trek? ...O.O Star Wars, obviously (but I would highly recommend Star Trek to any sci fi, they’re both different but good in their own ways) one episode per week or marathoning? marathoning, then I can watch it whenever I want, since I seem to lose interest when it’s just one week at a time heroes or villains? heroes, villains get woobifyed too much that I’ve kinda gone off them john wiilliams or hans zimmer? so this is basically star wars vs inception sound tracks..? I feel like both are very underappreicated so I would say both because people don’t really realise how much work and effort it takes. disneyland/disney world or six flags? never been to either (or even heard of ‘six flags’) in that case I’ll take disneyland forest or sea? fuck that’s a hard choice, but I guess forests are safer in... some sense flying or reading minds? I don’t like what I know people think of me anyway, so I wouldn’t want to know more, plus I fly in my dreams and it feels so freeing so flying twin peaks or northern exposure? wft is twin peaks or northen exposure?! harry potter or lord of the rings? oh fuck I can’t decide, LotR was my childhood but then Harry Potter is so comforting to me, but I guess LotR is kinda dead now so Harry Potter. cake or pie? pie cos cakes can be too dry for me sometimes you are banished to a desert island, which benedict cumberbatch character would you choose to take with you? Lol, which ever one has the more meat on him so when he inevitably dies (because I kill him) there's enough to sustain me for a long enough period for me to get rescued. train or cruise ship? train cos cruises are for old, rich, white people brian cox or neil degrasse-tyson? Degrasse-tyson is kinda usa and brian cox is uk so cox. wizard of oz or alice in wonderland? alice in wonderland (wizard of oz is really good too) but Alice is so weird and symbolic and unfortunately made by a pedo that’s not to be forgotten fanfiction or fanart? you CAN’T make me chose between these two, like I find art easier to process but then I write fics. I would fight anyone who even thinks to insult these platforms, they’re both amazing and healthy ways to express yourselves. keep making wonderful work everyone <3.<3 the hunger hames - books or movies? the books, movies were whitewashed and boring and should have been 15+ not PG. see the future of travel to the past? the future is always changing and should remain unknown, I believe; I would go into the past as long as they found a way for my germs not to kill everyone han solo or luke skywalker? I would go with Luke cos he’s my gay son. Han is great but Luke is like that guy you could go to crying and, even though he doesn’t know you, he would sit you down and try to help as best he could, whereas Han would just panic and go get Luke. lilacs or sunflowers? hmmmmmmmmmmmm, sunflowers cos they’re tall and bright spring or autumn? spring, I’m a spring baby campfire or fireplace? depends on my mood, but I wouldn’t mind either french fries or onion rings? onion rings are great truth or dare? truth because the dares are always horrible winter or summer? winter because the bugs are back in hell where they belong, I can cover up my ugly body more, and being hot makes me want to die vampires or werewolves? vampires are so disgusting and rapey, also I’m part werewolf so werewolves all the way. red or blue? blood red eyes or lips? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm lips, cos I would rather be blind than deaf burgers or sandwiches? possibly burgers cos I’m really fussy when it comes to sandwiches friends to lovers or enemies to lovers trope? I think everyone thinks enemies to lovers is okay cos they don’t care about how the villain hurt the hero (especially if the hero is a woman) and everyone is like ‘but they’re just friends’ as a way to say something isn’t romantic, so friends to lovers (you should become friends with someone before you love them though) pizza or pasta? pasta is in my blood 24/7 so pizza ancient rome or ancient greece? rome, i guess cos maybe they’re more hygienic foxes or wolves? i love city foxes but then wolves are so family oriented, so both I guess mermaids or dragons? mermaids cos like swimming and breathing underwater sci-fi or fantasy? i can’t decide, fuck me watch a film at home or in a theater? depends on the film, but going to the cinema with my friend is my fav thing fireproof or no more sad songs? ...i don’t know what either of these are bands or individual singers? both are great sweet or salty? salty, I don’t have a sweet tooth monotype corsiva or comic sans? I never use either font so lol turtles or frogs? fuck, I never thought about that... I guess, frogs blur or oasis? oasis baseball or football? that’s such an american question, ummmm... hockey bowling date or movie date? movie cos dates are awkward and I don’t have to talk in a movie fruits or vegetables? i guess veg cos fruits are too sweet sometimes rain or sun? rain cos the sun is *hisses* tattoos or piercings? tattoos cos piercings look painful phone call or text? texting because phones are one of the seven layers of hell animated films or live action remakes? animated cos the live action are usually shit chandler or joey? both have their good or bad points so.... Joey cos he would have more sexual experience have all the boys reunite for a 1d tour but never go on solo tours or have all of them do solo tours but never reunite as a band for a tour? that’s such a fangirl question and I don’t care for either tv show or movie? tv I guess cos I do that film of ‘do I have enough time to pay attention to a 2 hour film? but I’ll totally watch 4 hours straight of a tv show.’ @budapestalloveragain‘s question: ramen or korean bbq? I feel so bad cos I haven’t tried either cos I just don’t eat food creatively (but Catherine is saying I should go with Korean BBQ)

MY QUESTION IS: aesthetic posts or gif set posts?

I tag @buchananbarnesjames and @vinterfalcons and @smilingkat

#my stuff

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bywordofaphrodite · 3 years

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Book Reviews 9&10: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K Rowling & Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

This review’s theme is *drum roll* books I was banned from as a child! Audience age: age 9 and up for reading level… as for content, that will vary between parents !

So to shake things up for my final reviews, rather than reviewing books I grew up with, I am discussing two books that were banned in my household, my church and my school. Triple threat! Good for them. To be transparent, I have not read Harry Potter before at all. I even bought one of the books a couple of years ago and still haven’t made it round to reading yet. However, I have seen all the movies and I love them very much. More than that, I’ve always loved the lore surrounding the series; I think fans have made the legacy more interesting than the movies in adapting the lore to different fanfictions, which I’m sure some people will agree with and others will not. With many people I meet around my age, it is fairly common for me to be asked what my Hogwarts house is (Slytherin, in case you’re curious), and even people I wouldn’t expect to be all that interested will know their house.

As for Twilight, I actually did read these in year 9 in school, and I snuck the movies into my house too (I still have PTSD from my mother bursting into my room and catching me- don’t worry she’s not a crazy religious person anymore. She even watched Twilight for the first time in last year’s lockdown lmao). My friendship groups reference Twilight memes multiple times a day and I even gifted my best friend a poorly printed ‘BWTHHYBL’ (‘Bella where the hell have you been loca?’- God, Jacob, why did you say this) on a piece of paper and stuffed it into a small frame for her birthday present a few weeks ago… which she keeps beside her desk, just as I intended… so I think it’s safe to say that Twilight has not exactly faded into the background of pop culture just yet, even though the hype surrounding the series began well over ten years ago.

Nostalgic review

Rating: ★★★ (for Twilight only)

Book wise, I can’t actually write my old opinions of Harry Potter because I grew up in a weirdo Catholic cult that quite seriously believed J.K Rowling’s works to be articulated by the devil’s own hand (I’m sure Rowling is involved with the devil for other reasons, but that would be due to her obsessive transphobia not her writing). Using my imagination and hypothesising a little here, I’m going to assume that had I been allowed to read the books I would have loved them. Magic books and boarding school stories were a great love of mine, after all.

Now, for Twilight. I read this series just once, about nine years ago, and while I recall thinking that Meyer was not a very good writer I do know I was hooked on the storyline. I don’t know what she laced that series with but it was addictive for no good reason, especially given how many weird racial stereotypes were in there, in addition to her Mormon ideals that permeate Bella’s every move. Whatever it is, I know I ate it all up even with the awareness that it was not good (no, I don’t mean morally due to religion, I just mean it was compelling garbage).

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Review

Post-read: ★★★★

Synopsis: On his 11th birthday, Harry Potter discovers that he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and the survivor of an attack by the evil, most powerful wizard to have ever lived, Voldemort. He is whisked away to the wizards’ school Hogwarts, where he studies and hones his powers, and eventually comes face-to-face with the enemy everyone believed to be dead.

I’ve seen plenty of criticism of Rowling’s writing problems, many of which I absolutely agree with. The writing is not the best, and this article actually dissects Rowling’s patterns and explains how she fails as a writer. Despite this, for the first book of a series that many young children read, I don’t think it is all that bad. My younger siblings struggle to read well, but I’ve begun reading this book to them for bedtime and they say it’s ‘good for learning’, so that’s something I’ve taken into consideration while thinking over this.

In terms of setting and place, Rowling did a good job of transporting me to the various locations in the novel. Part of the charm of Hogwarts is experiencing the rainy weather, the crackle of the fireplaces and the eeriness of sneaking about a giant castle in the dead of night just like the characters. It felt very vivid to me, and while that may be in part due to my having the film scenes to envision while reading, I believe Rowling did well. Harry’s first encounter with the Weasley family and the house-sorting scenes are enjoyable and lovely beginnings to Harry’s found family after a dreadful upbringing in the Dursley home.

Harry Potter is a very clear example of the Hero’s Journey literary route, which makes the storyline very easy to follow; the heroes and villains are very distinct, there are clear goals, and the main characters have genuine and natural character development as the story goes on. The adventures to the Forbidden Forest and other off-limits areas of Hogwarts are all the right amount of engaging and spooky. The opening chapter does have me on the fence still in regards to its length and basis for introduction. Upon first reading it, I found it a bit strange that it’s written from the Dursleys’ point of view, as this awful couple may have adopted Harry, but they are simply not the Main Characters. The conversation between Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall goes on for a longer time than I would think necessary. A brief analysis of this scene is actually available on the Pottermore website, and it explains some of the clever details written in. Regardless, the film’s choice to shift the immediate focus to Harry was a better choice in my opinion.

Something that became a source of amusement to me while reading was the obvious hate every house has for Slytherin, and I know that’s because they contain most of the ‘bad’ characters, but having read so much fanfiction from other fandoms just using the house characteristics and lore meant I’d never read so much consistent Slytherin-hate before. ‘Stinking Slytherin’ Harry says- well, he’ll be maddened to know half the internet bases half their personalities around being Slytherin. Yes, this is a call out, for myself included.

Characters who aged well: good or bad, the characters in Harry Potter are entertaining, even as an adult, the children’s antics and developing friendships are entertaining and heart-warming as they become closer. Voldemort is a solid villain, and the Dursleys and Malfoys are well-written antagonists; children tend to adopt their parents’ values for better or worse, and Draco and Dudley are perfect examples of the way young people turn out when raised within a vicious cycle.

Characters who aged badly: Severus Snape with his weird grudge against Harry. I don’t care about your history with his parents, Harry is a child, and you are an adult school teacher. Get a grip, sir.

It would be remiss for me to ignore the strong controversy surrounding J.K Rowling herself, though it isn’t the focus of this review. Strongly criticised for lack of representation for both POC and LGBT+ readers, Rowling has constantly made alterations in recent years, claiming certain characters to be something they were never written to be; most notably, Albus Dumbledore being announced as gay but with no scene in the books nor the films alluding to it. I would also add in that while Hermione’s character is great for exploring an ‘outsider’s’ perspective (the daughter of two muggles in the wizarding world), she also does take the role of the ‘bossy girl’ in a male-dominated book series. I’ll link an article here that discusses some of the gender roles, sexism and other concerns across the series.

Favourite scene/quote: “‘There are all kinds of courage,’ said Dumbledore, smiling. ‘It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends’.”

A wonderful piece of advice for young kids! It’s something a lot of people don’t learn until they’re older- how important it is to stand your ground no matter who you’re up against, and that sometimes the people you like and admire aren’t always in the right.

As for my favourite scene, that would have to be when Neville stands up to Draco! Harry tells Neville he is ‘worth twelve of Malfoy’, and Neville, red-faced and timid, stammers the words back to Draco later. Neville is my favourite character (he’s just so cute I love him) and I was so proud when he joined Ron to fight against the Slytherin bullies.

Twilight Review

Post-read: ★★

Synopsis: awkward teenager Bella Swan moves to the tiny town of Forks where she meets mysterious classmate Edward from the strange Cullen family and becomes determined to find out more about them.

Re-reading Twilight I was made aware of two things. First, that the writing is just as bad as I remembered it to be, and second, that despite knowing how ridiculous it is, I still love it.

I was still invested in what happens. The romance, the drama, the detective work leading up to Bella’s confirmation of supernatural existence- all of it. As this article acknowledges, much of the appeal of Twilight is its bad writing: the sentence structure is basic and easy to binge-read, making it perfect material for a young audience to enjoy, especially for kids who might not normally pick up a book in the first place. There is also not much to worry about in terms of applying solid concentration, because many scenes border on being simply filler content.

For all of its ease, I still found myself plagued by its many problems the entire read, so at best I would rate it two and a half stars. Sorry, Meyer.

Something I thought about more extensively while reading was that Meyer essentially took away any real ‘flaws’ of vampirism with her reworking their existence. Vampires are evil and eat humans? Solved! The ‘good’ vampires are ‘vegetarian’, eating only animals. Vampires can’t go in the sun or they’ll burn alive? Sort of solved? They won’t die a terrible death, but *shock horror* they will sparkle. Bella describes Edward’s skin to be like ‘thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface’. So, the stakes are what, exactly? The vampires are beautiful, never age and don’t even eat humans. If anything it’s comedic that the Cullens don’t show up to school on sunny days, lest they… sparkle. Honestly, I don’t hate the concept, really, but Edward’s constant referral to himself as a ‘monster’ doesn’t really make sense with the knowledge that the Cullens are extremely tame… after all, humans hunt and eat animals too.

The final chapter and epilogue tie everything quite neatly together, and if Meyer hadn’t continued writing the novel could easily be left at book one. Bella informs her mother she wants to stay in Forks with her father, and Jacob Black the werewolf comes to the high school dance to tell Bella that the Quileute tribe will be ‘watching’ her and Edward, still distrustful of the Cullens (even though the Cullens have done literally nothing, but whatever, that’s over dramatic territorial werewolf-vampire drama, I guess). It ends with Bella still pestering Edward to turn her into a vampire, and him declining. I suppose that’s enough of a cliff-hanger to warrant a sequel?

Characters who aged well: Did any of them, really? To be nit-picky, it could be argued that all of them have one too many problematic roots to age well. I’m going to add in Carlisle and Esme, though, because I can’t find fault any serious fault with them. I’m also going to add in Bella’s father, who despite being criticised very constantly for not keeping an eye on Bella, did a decent job. After all, Charlie had no way to know anything about the supernatural world that turned Bella’s life upside down, and I don’t think he can be blamed for that.

Characters who aged badly: well. Um. A massive part of Twilight’s criticism is Bella’s one dimensional character. I’ve always been on the fence about it, because sometimes people just really are quite bland, and she is a depressed teen so I usually cut her some slack on that count. My real issue is Meyer’s intention for Bella to be a Mary Sue rather than a substantial character: while she can be headstrong and humorous in passing, she does not have any real opinions, thoughts or motivations that aren’t related to Edward or the Cullens to the point that she has no initiative to exist outside of being with him. This also makes her selfish in her lack of care for her father; I understand not caring too much about the kids you have to attend school with- not many choices in a small town- but the way Bella shuts her dad out is just too much. As for Edward, why does he like Bella, really? I understand the intrigue of not being able to read her thoughts, but beyond that there’s really not much going on. I think they actually do have some good banter between them and parts of the relationship are very fun, but if you took away the vampire aspect, none of it makes much sense (*spoiler* like, say, Bella’s sudden marriage to Edward in Breaking Dawn immediately after high school graduation would be just as weird to us if they were only human as it is to the townsfolk in Forks).

Both the novel itself, the film and Edward’s character- and many of the male characters in the series- normalise a lot of misogyny, gender roles and sexism (please refer to the links for further information). Edward’s misogynistic tendencies- rushing in without asking Bella’s consent to ‘protect her’- are portrayed as desirable, and Bella is flattered by it. Every girl in the books- human, vampire or werewolf- is described unimpressively, always some form of shallow and petty compared to every male character having a distinct personality. Rosalie had so much promise for a strong female character, with her university degrees and interest in mechanics, not to mention her revenge on her rapists, but it all becomes lost in her overwhelming dislike of Bella (which worsens with the realisation that Rosalie sees herself as a ‘monster’ because she can’t have children, and she hates Bella for being a ‘real’ woman).

I’m going to link one article here about racism entrenched within the Twilight series. The writer discusses the racial bias within the Twilight saga, and while it is primarily geared towards the movies, the points made also reflect the characters in the books. Concerning the lack of diversity in the series, Stephanie Meyer is quoted saying she ‘wrote that they [the Cullens] had this pale glistening skin!’; she refused to allow Twilight director Catherine Hardwick to change any Cullens to people of colour, wanting the actors to resemble the white friends and family she had in mind writing the books. Hardwicke herself had hoped for Alice to be of Japanese descent, but that her ideas were thwarted as Meyer ‘just could not accept the Cullens to be more diverse’. While Meyer allowed some of Bella’s school mates to be POC, it is concerning that the most prominent character she accepted being non-white was the antagonist vampire Laurent, who was played by a black actor. Along with all the ‘good’ characters being white, there is also the issue of Jasper’s backstory as a proud Confederate soldier- which Meyer seems to portray with a strange reverence.

I’m also going to link a Reddit thread here where people offer their different opinions on whether the novels, movies or Stephanie Meyer herself are racist or at the very least, very ignorant. The werewolves of the series are not as present in the first book/movie, but the legends of the Quileute tribes are referenced- and changed- according to how Meyer wanted to use them in her story. To summarise, many readers believe Meyer’s use of descriptors such as ‘dogs’ or ‘mongrels’ toward the werewolves (the Native American Quileute tribe) are racist. This is due to the Cullens (the good, all-white vampire clan) being the ones to refer to the Quileute people in such a way; furthermore, they are the only non-white people in the books, making Meyer’s decision to liken only POC to animals more questionable; others argue that the ‘dog’ term is only because they are effectively intended to be giant dogs.

Favourite scene/quote: “‘You said last night that you weren’t interested in any of the boys in town.’ But he picked up his fork again, so I could see the worst was over.

‘Well, Edward doesn’t live in town, Dad.’

He gave me a disparaging look as he chewed.’”

Charlie just doing his best while Bella always remains a few steps ahead of him is one dynamic Meyer wrote decently (probably because it was all in aid of Bella’s only motivation in life: being with Edward).

The chapter ‘The Game’ holds my favourite scene from the novel, aka the iconic baseball game regarded as the film’s best scene. It’s a fun moment where Bella watches the Cullens play baseball as a storm rises, requiring the thunder to mask the loudness of their hits. Unlike the film, the novel is able to explain the dynamics between the Cullens and how their powers work, specifically detailing the communication between Edward’s mind-reading and Alice’s ability to see the future.

Overall verdict:

Owing to the stark popularity of the books I’ve discussed here compared to my past choices, there was a lot more material and controversy to discuss for this review.

I found both books to provide a solid feeling of time and place. I love stories shrouded in rain and dark forests and both series are set firmly in just that. Like I mentioned earlier, I have issues with both authors’ writing, though I still feel that it is more acceptable in Harry Potter than Twilight. Interestingly, there is no character in either novel that I really see myself in, which is rare; I like plenty of them, I just don’t relate to anyone in full.

With author Stephanie Meyer’s Mormon beliefs and personal morals obviously creating these characters, it isn’t exactly an easy case of separating art from artist. Twilight is an entertaining read for all its flaws and its too far gone to ‘cancel’ now- although I suppose it has probably been cancelled numerous times anyway?- but it isn’t too late for readers to educate themselves on its problems to prevent Meyer-level ignorance where possible. Harry Potter, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same ties to the writer that Twilight does. Most of Rowling’s problematic behaviour came well after the books were written, but I’ll link one article here that discusses how some transgender fans have responded to Rowling’s actions. For some people, the controversy has affected their abilities to love the franchise anymore; others have chosen to separate the content from author, akin to many Twilight fans.

Personally, if religion hadn’t interfered with my ability to read Harry Potter as a child, I maintain that I would have loved it, especially as I enjoy the films now. Just as with Twilight, I typically find it easy to enjoy stories while understanding their flaws. There is a keen amount of nostalgia surrounding both these franchises and likely always will be, but there are newer stories with real representation being released all the time, and the ideal outcome for me would be working towards popularising these series over wasting our time arguing over already-published novels!

#twilight #stephanie meyer #harry potter #jk rowling #book review #book rating #university project #nostalgia #fiction #representation #diversity

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