#but no i am curious where this plotline is going cause so far like thing sbe happening

[socksandbuttons]

oh

it its anniversary time??????????????????

[tiggymalvern]

Burn Notice - the journey continues

International air travel can be joyless and soul-sucking. Or with the right mindset and motivation, it can be an opportunity. Which goes to say that I dumped seasons two and three of Burn Notice into my laptop and thoroughly enjoyed my two days of airports and planes. (There will be more on the international travel later, including oceanic giant mantas and sharks.) So far, my Burn Notice character assessment goes like this: Season one – neutral on Michael (generic white male action lead, whatever). I like Sam, most of the time, when he’s not being too sleazy. Fiona’s really annoying. Season two – still neutral on Michael. Fiona’s actually okay now? She’s vaguely annoying now and then, but a lot better than she was. I absolutely adore Sam. Season three – I genuinely like Fiona, she’s great. (It helps that the actor’s got a stable accent now too.) I adore Sam, obviously – I don’t think I’ve ever fallen out of love with a character once they’ve hooked me. Michael is a giant selfish arsehole who doesn’t deserve any of the people in his life, and frankly he needs to be punched in the teeth. I wasn’t expecting to go on A Journey when I started watching a trashy action series like this, but I am, and it’s fun because the characters and plotlines actually change and develop. Fiona changes a lot, and very much for the better – she gains a real sense of responsibility. Sam doesn’t so much change as revert to who he always was, instead of pretending that he can live a normal life and not be bored senseless by it. Even Michael’s mother steps up, when the central trio finally stop telling her painfully obvious lies and give her (some of) the truth – she adopts Michael’s weird friends, and accepts that her home’s now a safehouse for any number of odd people and occasionally becomes a bomb-making factory. Which is great because it means Sharon Gless gets some real acting to do sometimes. The one person who isn’t changing so far is Michael, and that’s a big problem, because he needs to. He starts the show with a Goal, one which is perfectly understandable and reasonable. But as things progress and the consequences of his pursuit of his Goal get worse for everyone around him, he really should take a step back and reassess. When the two people he trusts and relies on for everything are both telling him, ‘Massive red flags, do NOT do this,’ he should fucking listen. But Michael wants what Michael wants, and screw everything else. At least Fiona and Sam are making their own choices and have the training to live with them. Most of the time, they’re having fun doing Michael things – except when they’re really not (and when they’re not, Michael has zero respect for where they draw their lines). Michael’s mother and brother have no say in any of it, and none of the skills, and when they're threatened, kidnapped, arrested or shot, Michael’s quick enough to say sorry – and he changes absolutely nothing about his life that causes it. I still have another four seasons of this to go, and since it switches up at least once a year, I’m deeply curious where it’s all heading next. Despite the busyness of the last two weeks, the fic's currently at 4500 words out of probably 6k or so, and all the research is done. I think. I keep finding some new detail now and then I need to check on...

[daeva-agas]

I am playing Sakuya route in SLBP (mostly for the reward) and I wonder, where Nobunaga hatred toward ninjas comes from? This is like the 3rd game where he shows his disdain towards them. Can you explain why? Because I'm curious.

Oh no, it's that thing again.

Remind me what are the other ones. Is it Ninja Love? Nightshade? Non-otome games?

Anyway, this is a huge rant and IDK, could clog up people's dash so I will put it behind a cut.

I probably shouldn't say these about Japanese people writing about their own history and legends, but I hate this stupid "Nobunaga hates ninjas" trope, so my very grumpy answer is:

BECAUSE STUFFY CORPORATE SUITS ARE SO TERRIFIED OF CHANGE AND CAN'T BE ASSED TO TRY NEW THINGS. IF BULLSHIT TROPES STILL MAKE MONEY, THEN BY GOD THEY WILL KEEP MAKING IT UNTIL JESUS RETURNS.

And I'm giving the benefit of the doubt that they're doing this because "it's a trope that people seems to like", and not because they're just running off "I saw it in an anime/manga/novel/movie once" and never bother to Yahoo search it or open a book about it.

(I'm not all that mad anymore, but like, I will still go AAAAAAAAAAA every time it comes up)

"Nobunaga hates ninja" is a long-standing trope that's been around for decades in Japan. The oldest one I was able to find is this movie series called "Shinobi no Mono". Maybe there's something older, I don't know.

It's a historical fact that the Oda did invade Iga. However, there is so many context for it. Among many other things... one record says it's actually the people of Iga who sicced Nobunaga ON THE PROVINCE THEMSELVES.

It ended up being transformed into a "Nobunaga hates ninja" plotline because the above historical fact is being combined with the long-standing legend that "Iga is a place where ninjas live".

Also, in the 60s and 70s there’s this like... movement where people are really disgruntled at the government, and so because they can’t flat out write works about how much they hate the Japanese government of the time, they just write stuff about peasant heroes or vigilantes fighting against evil samurai lords as a way to vent their frustrations. Nobunaga being one of the easiest character to caricaturise because it’s not like the “evil stuff” they make him do is entirely wrong. The facts are just taken out of context and twisted for the sake of fiction. Evil/demonic/horrible Nobunaga as a trope in general seems to be relatively new from this era too, since Edo and Meiji works seems to present Nobunaga is an admirable heroic figure.

(well, they wrote about him doing kinda mean things, but it’s presented in a way that makes it sound like the writers think it’s “something that just happens” and not a big deal/not an entirely negative thing)

In real life there is no such thing as "sekrit ninjer village uwu", so honestly, if the above account is true, then it's possible that there's in-fighting among the people of Iga. It's what happens with the Saika people. Suzuki (Saika) Magoichi surrendered to Nobunaga and then some time later makes a request for the Oda army to come in and destroy this one guy he really hates.

If the story about the Iga folks inviting Nobunaga in themselves is actually false, I’ve not seen any other explanation for it yet, but I still think Nobunaga invading Iga is just business as usual. At the time of the Iga invasion, the surrounding provinces are already conquered, leaving Iga as this one tiny hole in the middle of what is technically "Oda territory". Maybe Nobunaga thinks this hostile province could cause problems in the surrounding regions, so he wants them gone. It's no different than, say, Nobunaga fighting a war against the Takeda and conquering them.

It's not even Nobunaga in command of the army (as far as reliable records go), so any depiction of Nobunaga personally leading his army into Iga is garbage. He sent one of his sons and a few generals to go off and fight, while he himself only comes in for inspection after everything's cleaned up.

The standard reasoning in bullshit Sengoku trope/fiction is that Nobu just doesn't trust woo woo shit, and only wants to do things the "legit" way (with soldiers and stuff). Ninja is considered woo woo because of their “secret arts”, and because they’re usually depicted as having no lords/masters but themselves, I guess he is wary of them rebelling against him or something.

Funny thing is, even if you actually buy into the ninjas thing, supposedly even the “guidebook of ninjas”, the Bansenshukai, says that the Oda has ninjas, so “Nobunaga hates ninjas” is just silly all around. Bansenshukai is this book supposedly detailing ninja clans and secret techniques and whatever, written in the 1600s, by one of the Fujibayashi descendants (IDK Sakuya’s grandkids I guess) 

[markantonys]

You're on Gathering Storm? I am curious on your thoughts on the Sanderson books cause the fandom is pretty divided on them (for a variety of reasons). Curious on your takes of what the fandom has dubbed "Darth Rand"

i think it's still too soon for me to say (currently about a third into TGS, maybe a little more) because i honestly have not noticed much of a difference so far! mat's characterization seems to be one of the biggest points of contention, but i haven't seen him yet where i am. and i was already v unhappy with the direction rj took mat's character in COT and KOD (for me he became MARKEDLY more misogynistic and less anti-slavery than he ever was in previous books, and forcing him to have genuine feelings for tuon completely changed (and butchered) his character imo because making mat extremely OOC was the only possible way to make those genuine feelings happen so quickly), and some people have said that what sanderson does is only a continuation and perhaps exaggeration of the bad trend that rj already started for mat, so we'll see if i find TGS mat significantly worse than COT-KOD mat or about the same.

the only big change i've noticed so far is that the pov/plotline switches every chapter instead of staying in one pov/plotline for a long chunk, which i see as about equally good and bad - good because it spares me from getting bogged down for 100 pages in a row of a plotline i don't care about, but bad because it prevents me from really sinking into a plotline i DO care about.

as for Darth Rand (jdkfgj i love that) i actually haven't seen too much of him yet in this book, though from what little i have seen, he definitely feels in a significantly worse mental/emotional place than he was in the previous book. i do kinda feel like his downward spiral arc has been rushed - he was meandering along in a fairly-bad-but-not-as-terrible-as-i-expected-from-what-everyone-said place for a very long time and then suddenly jumped to MUCH WORSE in this book. and i think he has a really big breaking point later in this book that i haven't even gotten to yet, it was just that even from his first chapter he did abruptly feel so much worse than when we last saw him - granted this is the first time we've seen him since semirhage blew off his hand and told him he was terminally insane, so a sharp decline in emotional wellbeing does make sense, but still. i heard so much about the whole "rand loses the ability to smile" thing and i was really expecting that to be FAR more painful than it's been so far lmao, so far it's been A Bummer rather than The Most Agonizing Thing I've Ever Read. i'm probably jinxing myself aren't i?

while i'm on the subject, i think that min being plastered to rand's side has badly interfered with his Decline arc - we're supposed to feel "oh no rand's isolating himself and pushing all his loved ones away and not trusting anyone" but he's just been taking min along on all his trips for 6 books and confiding his plans and problems in her, resulting in a nonsense double standard of rand going "i'm a danger to everyone i love and must push them away to protect them, and i can’t trust anyone but myself! except for min, whom i trust with all my feelings and plans and who is allowed to come with me into any number of extremely dangerous situations even though she is by far the least capable in a fight of all my loved ones." and so i feel that rand's self-isolating arc has not been as effective as it would've been if he had TRULY been keeping everyone across the board at arm's length, rather than making special exceptions for 1 person. (also, since i hate min and min/rand, her constant presence in rand's chapters makes things Difficult for me jfkgj i honestly have not taken much genuine enjoyment in rand's plotline since she became a permanent part of it, which sounds dramatic of me but it is true! i'd probably feel much sadder about rand's arc if my reading of it wasn't constantly undercut by annoyance about min!)

[zeta-in-de-walls]

Hey guys, I was having thoughts on the meta-side of the Dream SMP. Okay, so we know that Technoblade has done much of the scripting for this present arc, Tommy, Dream and Quackity have also done some in collaboration, presumably doing each of their own characters and motivations, and Tubbo and Fundy have also been involved too. Uh, this will be rambly as it’s a lot of unsorted observations.

Obviously these are my thoughts, and ideas purely based on my observations as a viewer but you can definitely tell that they’re all very aware of the fanbase and are likely very influenced by them. I could see this even in the Pogtopia arc where Tommy started reusing phrases before when debating ethics with Wilbur, eg ‘let’s lose as winners, not win as losers.’ or something along those lines and how Techno made a callback to his only universal language is violence speech in his wither monologue. 

But wow, the scripting is definitely becoming a lot more obvious in this new season of the SMP. Not a bad thing at all, by the way, it’s just a difference. Clearly they’ve gotten more detailed plans and are more ambitious with what they convey in minecraft, with more players taking inspiration from Wilbur after how well he executed it. It’s also the difference in how the various people write, I’m sure. 

Tommy and Tubbo have streamed the SMP for the longest and have very gradually evolved into the roleplaying and their respective approaches to it are very interesting. Tubbo’s streams are typically chill and usually involve him working on some sort of project - he’s very chaotic when with other people but is usually very reactionary when it comes to the roleplaying - doing most of his best stuff when bouncing off Tommy, or occasionally Quackity. On his own he doesn’t like to lead bits but is among the best at making other people’s bits work. Same with the RP! His character’s in a weird spot right now as the other writer’s seem to be writing him in quite an unflattering way and he doesn’t do solo, emotional performances all that much meaning he’s less sympathetic right now then he really should be. Like, Tommy garnered loads of sympathy during his exile as he gave a very expressive performance where Tubbo’s character also presumably feels very isolated and alone and he’s being manipulated by the people around him but he gives a lot less. This has made it easier for the audience to start siding more with Technoblade, the literal mass-murderer, over the traumatised kid who was manipulated into exiling his best friend and continues to face terrible choices with no good options.

 While I can of course make less meta theories on why Tubbo should be appreciated more and what it says he’s got no real support and is compartmentalising his problems, in the end it’s how his streams work. Tubbo does plot related streams, and he does streams where he simply vibes - and even in the serious streams, he can joke around and cheerfully lampshade the goofiness by doing things like joking about wanting a good review from Techno while kidnapping him - that stuff is priceless and does not fit into the melodramtic scripts but it adds so much to the SMP and why it is so much fun to watch. Tubbo’s really good at making content better! He’s not afraid to look ridiculous, he will also unapologetically avoid engaging in too much melodrama himself when he doesn’t feel like it. I consider his character highly underrated in the plot right now.

Tommy knows what he’s doing. Even before the roleplaying really took off, Tommy liked to play a character and lead bits and the SMP shifting in a more scripted direction suited him exceptionally well. Tommy focuses heavily on streams with lots of content, only rarely doing more chill stuff - especially more recently. He has always approached streams with a plan - but usually their extremely loose and he has said that he’d sometimes just come up with an idea 10 minutes before the stream and improvise from there. Tommy’s good at improvising and seems to work best with a very loose plan. Where I think Techno likely came up with the plan for Tommy to get exiled from L’Manburg and then join forces with him, Tommy likely filled in how to play his character and - wow.

Tommy’s writing seems to be incredibly simple - each exile stream had no major plot points or anything and the plans that are there don’t even make logical sense (let’s throw a party in one day and let’s invite everyone but have Dream not send out the invitations so no one shows up - and I’m going to do this even with Philza and Fundy literally in the call.) but Tommy pulled every one of them off very well and proved to be compelling enough that no one cared at all whether the plot made sense nor did Tommy make much effort to justify that sort of thing - ‘cause he knows how the SMP works and how much the audience will go along with it. And instead, Tommy focused entirely on his characterisation and spent all his time exploring it. That’s how Tommy works - very simple plans, then improv in character into an engaging bit. He’s managed to pull off the most ridiculous things like that, and has confidence that the other streamers will support it - that’s how he’s prepared to try insane things like pretending to be Clarencio the llama. And, like Tubbo, he’s always willing to throw for content. 

Then there’s Technoblade. He’s streamed the SMP a lot less - though he’s done so much more recently - but he’s spent a lot more time playing on the SMP, doing tons of grinding. He here for the RP but is also committed to playing the game itself very optimally. He seems to have a much larger view, taking in the bigger picture, of the story where Tommy has a very personal view. His approach to content is all about the fanservice. 

He’s always trying to create big epic, moments, that both look and sound awesome. Like the butcher’s army plotline which let him both seem like an underdog, a victim against a mean group, and also an incredible badass figure who outplayed them all and came out as victorious. The butcher’s army were really given an antagonists role there, and were really made to seem unlikeable. Then he met up with fan-favourite Tommy and suggested a team-up with him. (This is also leading to the ultimate fanservice that is the Sleepybois team-up.) Techno’s got a very, dry self-aware sens of humour too and he’ll often make simple meta observations about the SMP - like noting that the pacing’s fast or teasing in the chat in the middle of wars. He’s also made himself into a bit of a meme what with logging just to say his name and leave. 

I don’t know how much it’s just Techno of course, but the plot really seems to be heading in a direction that suggesting that Technoblade was Right. L’Manburg’s seeming corrupt, and Tommy is being seen as Theseus. At the time Techno first made the Theseus speech, I felt like the comparison seemed unfair - but now it’s like the plot itself has bent over to make the comparison make sense, and Techno’s one of the writers of the script. Techno also of course, prepared a vault to show Tommy so he could say ‘welcome home Theseus dramatically - total fanservice as fans were indeed talking about how cool saying a line would be, and then he absolutely did. The way Techno calls his viewers chatting as the voices in his head is also fanservice. It’s not like actually true, as Techno ignores the chat if they tell him information his character doesn’t know and meanwhile all the streamers interact with their chat too - so all chats have always been a part of the story and calling them canon is absolutely meaningless. Not a bad thing though - it is nice and makes the fans happy and makes them feel included. I don’t know if this sounds critical by the way - it’s not meant as such at all - all the streamers love engaging with the fandom, and Techno’s approach to giving lots of fanservice by providing so many epic moments is great. I just wanted to highlight it. 

And those were some meta thoughts on the SMP right now and its writing. I don’t really think I had a point or argument. I just wanting to make some observations and my impressions. If you’re curious I am course a Tommy fan first. I love how he’s evolved with the SMP most of all and I appreciate his character-driven storytelling. His main weakness is probably getting too into bits and going too far and it’s so nice that the SMP is a place where even his weaker ideas are supported rather than shut down. I like how he’s able to improv so well and simply how he streams. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I love Tubbo best when he’s with Tommy as they bring the best performances out of each other. I find Techno interesting as a contrast to both of them, as he approaches so many things in such a different way. 

[pensbridgertons]

ok SO i have Thots on the ether plotline but i was waiting to see how it more fully played out before really sharing so now that we got that scene this week im gonna. and this is gonna be long and ramble so feel free to ignore i just have to finally get these thoughts out sjkjfjk. let me preface this by saying i haven’t read abossa yet so i don’t really know how any of this plays out in the book (other than i’ve seen people say she didn’t start taking the ether herself in the book) so this whole arc i’ve had no idea what was gonna happen. first i just wanna say i’ve been waiting for So Long for this scene to happen and it was everything i wanted in that regard and more. i was getting so nervous as the season kept progressing that there wouldn’t be a big like confrontation-type scene where she finally admits to what she was doing to someone and abt how far it had gone, i was getting nervous it was gonna turn into something she ended up resolving for herself, which i Absolutely did not want. i am So happy w how that scene played out. i esp love that she brought up how she’s always been able to compartmentalize and push things down and doesn’t know how else to cope, so when it didn’t work with this and also led to everything else she’d pushed down coming back to the surface she didn’t know what else to do and turned to the ether. and i also love how clearly this issue has not been fully resolved after just this scene. she has a lot of work ahead of her. what if there are no magic words to fix her. but she finally let someone in and no longer has to do it on her own. i hope to continue to see how she copes with this and how jamie helps her work through it. i had a lot of concerns throughout this arc abt how it would progress and how it would end (and i guess it hasn’t really ended yet) but most of them were relieved w this scene. however, i still have a problem w the like pacing and development of her ether use. it just felt to me like the development went from 0 to 100 between 601 and 602 and then like kind of stalled out for a couple eps until 606. like she went from using it for the first time in 601 to using it in the middle of the day in 602 to strongly considering using it in front of someone in 603. that’s such a quick development of her use, and then to have very little mention of it in 604 just kind of felt like it threw a bit of a dip in the development. like it’s been building up like crazy for the past 3 eps and then there’s just. nothing abt it (besides the mention of it causing nightmares and hallucinations). and like it also wouldn’t have made sense to include anything abt it in terms of her use bc of the focus of that ep, but i feel like bc of that the acceleration of her use should have been slowed a bit more in the earlier eps. it just feels like it happened too fast, the seriousness of her reliance increasing so quickly in such a short amount of time, and then kind of like stalled out for a few eps until 607. and another thing i don’t understand is how literally no one ever walked in on her doing this??? most of the time she was taking very little precautions and just knocking herself out in her surgery. just like at random times in the middle of the day. how did this go on for MONTHS and no one pick up on ANYTHING at all. i just don’t understand that. at the very least i feel like jamie should have been at least a little bit suspicious, or curious maybe, since she seems to have been leaving their room in the middle of the night frequently. like she wasn’t being that careful really so i just don’t understand how she was able to hide it for so long. BUT anyways i’ve just been sitting w these thoughts all season and i had typed up a V long post after like 605 abt this but i decided i wanted to see how it played out to fully form my thoughts and now here we are. sorry if this makes absolutely no sense i just needed to get these words out of my brain shkjgfjk

[st-just]

Semi-coherent thoughts on Words of Radiance

Okay, continuing my efforts to force some actual reflection out of my brain on things I read via posting. In general, I think I liked Words of Radiance a decent bit more than Way of Kings? But, well, I suppose it’s fairer to say that I loved Shallan’s arc (and am now firmly invested in her as Best Protagonist), actually found Dalinor, like, more than mildly interesting this time, Szeth got something like a character arc and Kaladin...well, mostly spent the book moping and struggling with a moral dilemma that, like, it’s really not the kind of book where there was ever a chance he’d break in the other direction, is there?

Though, honestly, in terms of worldbuilding I’m mainly absolutely fascinated by the hints of Parshendi history and theology we get, because I’m always naturally sympathetic to any mythos that starts from the premise ‘our gods were assholes and we are better off without them’. Really quite sad that it seems like all the survivors are the ones who turned into lightning-orcs, but as much as ‘two hurricanes running into each other and destroying the canyon network they were travelling across’ sounds deadly, I kind of doubt the dissenters would get all that buildup just to get killed offscreen? So hopefully we meet them again soon.

Shallan’s plotline was just absurdly entertaining (look, I like protagonists living double lives and keeping important secrets from their friends and allies, okay?) As I’ve mentioned previously, Tyn was great and I’m very sad that she only survived like 100 pages. Sebarial is also easily the most likeable and entertaining aristocrat we’ve yet met, and generally I always the whole archetype of ‘cowardice, decadence and sloth hiding patience, foresight and good government’ as far as characters with power/influence go. Also, the twist behind the masses of childhood trauma and abuse was something I honestly legitimately didn’t see coming, and I am actually curious to see what the story is, and which of the...several nefarious conspiracies she was tied up in as an infant.

That said, maybe I’m just being paranoid, but if Oathbringer has a subplot about a love triangle between Adolin, Kaladin and her, I’m throwing the book out of a window.

Speaking of the nefarious conspiracies, so, like, most of their goals are fairly clear. The Men of Honour are millenarians trying to cause an apocalypse to bring about the Second Coming, the Diagram is just literally Cauldron from worm, the Darkness guy from the interlude who may or may not be associated with them is killing spren-bounded people out of some optimistic magical thinking about how the apocalypse works. But I’m really very curious about what exactly the Ghostbloods are hoping to get out of the end of the world. Possibly they’re just evil cultists of evil, but that seems a bit hard to justify, so presumably there’s at least some self-interest involved?

Regarding the Diagram, I do really like the whole conceit of Taravangian’s whole, like, deal? It’s an interesting blessing/curse, even if it doesn’t actually make any sense in some particulars (at peak efficiency he’s a sufficiently insightful political genius to engineer the collapse into anarchy and bloodless (for him) annexation of a much larger neighbouring kingdom, but incapable of understanding why ordering the stupider half of his subjects to kill themselves might not work out?). Anyway, I forget who said I’d like his character, but you were right.

(Tangentially; Look, I know coming up with a suitable grandiose and ominous name for your grand and sinister god of evil is hard. But Odium is just kind of a stupid name, I’m sorry!)

Kaladin this book was, well, being perfectly honest he didn’t really seem to do too much, beyond fighting Szeth? I don’t know, I never really find the whole struggling with a philosophical dilemma and soul searching too interesting when there’s clearly no chance that the narrative is going to let him come down on a certain side of it. Just, Sanderson really doesn’t strike me as the sort of author who has his protagonist cast aside his superpowers and oaths to allow regicide through inaction for the good of the kingdom, you know?

Really the whole thing with the struggle to live up to the radiant ideal and the importance of honor kind of reminded me of the one really famous bit from Hogfather, though that might just be the season and the number of times I’ve scrolled past it on my dashboard recently. Though Roshar’s a rather less existentialist setting than Discworld, of course – there are quite literally atoms of justice and molecules of mercy, and they’d probably rather take offence to you grinding the universe down to powder and pouring it through a sieve – but there’s the whole similar thing about the importance of living up to ideals and codes, even if they seem somewhere between absurd and actively harmful?

Dalinar and Adolin’s whole noble intrigue plotline was enjoyable enough to read, though it is extremely funny that Sadeus considers himself some master of intrigue when there’s multiple cults and conspiracies a few steps deeper in the shadows seeing far further than he even realizes he should be looking. (Also, to be totally fair to the asshole, it really does seem pretty suspicious that all the suddenly appearing high fantasy superheroes are intimately tied to the household of exactly one of the high nobility? And that same noble then claiming leadership of a refounded militant religious order with miraculous powers and vague but broad authority, in addition to his position as royal grand marshal, really does read as a blatant power grab.)

Anyway, between the brightly colored costumes, super-powers, dramatic compound names and remote stronghold only accessible via teleportation, it is really far too amusing to me how similar the Knights Radiant are to the Justice League.

[malmuses]

Hello Mal, how are you doing? I hope things have gotten better for you on the real life side of things. I'm going through some rough times too, so at least the company is good! I wanted to start by saying that your fics have single handedly gotten me through the most turbulent transition period of my life. I'm almost completely finished with your works on AO3 and your storytelling... *many many many chef kisses*. You are easily one of my favorite writers. I love your writing style, ...1/2

...2/2 your characterization, and how well thought out each story is. Each fic is like a decadent treat for my brain. I was curious, as a fellow writer, what your writing process is like. I've tried a few different methods but was wondering what works best for you! I hope the rest of your 2020 is full of peace and love. Also, I apologize in advance for the spam of comments you are about to receive on AO3. I finally have enough spoons for it!

I’m pasting these into one so I can put the answer in one place! (Tumblr is so awkward sometimes.) Sorry to hear you’ve been going through rough times too! There’s a lot of it going around this year, so I think we have plenty of company. In fact, I think the whole world just needs to lower its expectations and standards this year. Woke up? There’s the first gold star of the day. It's only up from here. I’m so glad that you’ve been enjoying my stories and so flattered that you say they’ve helped you so much...*insert feelings gif* I always tell myself when I write something: It’s okay if not everyone likes it. It’s okay if some people hate it. Nothing is for everyone. I just want one person to *love it*. Then I’m totally at peace. Now, if that person is just me? If I’m the only one that loves it? That’s also cool. Each story comes from a different place. My long-winded point, though, was that you basically just validated the existence of my entire catalog of fics so far, so thank you xD Your question about my writing process though - I’m happy to answer. But of course, first, I have to insert the usual disclaimer that as with most creative endeavors, there is no ‘right’ way to do it. I’m sure you know that, but sometimes I think people underestimate the depth of that truth. Each person has their own unique way of doing things. The struggle is sometimes finding the particular way, or combination of ways, that work for you. There’s definitely no harm in sharing what works for me though, in case anyone else can take anything from it. I’m someone who writes multiple things at once. Some people can’t do this or don’t want to, which I totally understand. For me, this is how I (mostly) avoid any kind of writers' block. If I’m stuck somewhere, I switch projects for a day or two. I do usually still have one main project I’m working on, but I usually have at least three others, often at various stages of the writing process. This keeps me in more of a flow state so I keep going with things, and allows me to write every day. It’s a habit. Now, I’m not saying breaks are bad, and everyone should write every day. I just find that for me, breaks should be deliberate. They should be true, chosen breaks, not because I just...drifted into one.

As you can probably tell from all that, I’m very much a planner and outliner. I outline...a lot. I’d be happy to talk more about my particular outlining process on Tumblr someday if anyone wanted. But, basically, I start with a general idea, then break it down into different story beats, so I can see if there’s something missing or too much of one thing. Then I fill in the gaps, then start breaking each overall ‘part’ of the plot into scenes, etc. Chapters come last. In terms of numbers (I get asked this one a lot), it does not matter how long your chapters are. What matters is that the chapter length feels right for the pacing of the fic, in my opinion, and I really think that is something that just comes with practice and knowing your own writing. Shitty advice maybe, but just the truth as I see it. A lot of it comes down to practice and finding what works for you.

Once I have an outline, I generally write linearly. Some people can jump around a lot. That’s a bit of a last resort for me if I’m stuck on something, or alternately if a scene steams into my head fully formed I will write it...with the understanding that I will probably have to change chunks of it when I reach it. It’s just the way it goes.

Now, when I say I outline in detail (there are literal spreadsheets)  that doesn’t mean that I magically only write exactly what’s in the outline and I stick to it. An outline can be a guide, not a rule. Sometimes stories take you places, and generally, I find it's better to listen to what the story wants. If my story starts going somewhere else or introduces something I don’t expect, I often revisit my outline and think, “Okay, how can I work in this new thing so that it follows the plotlines and arcs I already have? Am I adding to what I have or just distracting from it?” Most often those answers are obvious to me, but sometimes it’s good to ask someone else. A friend, a trusted beta. (I could talk a whole lot about betas and how that works for me, too, in addition to outlining).

I pretty much zero draft my fics. By that, I mean that I will start writing, and I won’t go back and do very much editing until the end. I will, each writing session, go back and read what I wrote the day before. Get into the zone. And sure, I’ll fix something if it jumps out at me - but that isn’t the purpose at that point, and most things won’t jump out, because it's too fresh. My brain knows what I meant, so it autocorrects for me. 

Leading into editing, it’s a two-step process for me. Once my zero draft is finished, I go back to the beginning and go through. This is where most of my developmental editing happens. (Another thing that probably needs more detail...different types of editing.) Once I’ve done that (usually during that pass, I’ve added words) I then put the fic aside. For as long as possible. At least a month, if I can swing that. (Bang deadlines sometimes cause issues if it's a fic for a bang, but I try). 

Once that time has passed, I can come back to it with fresh eyes. I’ll see the mistakes much more easily, then. This is where more intensive line edits happen, where SPAG happens, where I insert anything I made note of during my first pass if I needed to foreshadow anything more, that kind of thing. 

For a WIP, I do these edits chapter by chapter as it posts. For a Bang fic, obvious I have to do it all in one go. Due to the way I write, if you see me start posting a fic -- that fic is already finished, or in rarer instances (for work that was more time-sensitive) partway through the second draft or so. Oneshots are a little different (and I’ve had some oneshots that turned into chaptered fics of their own accord) in that they are just shorter and less intensive and often only have one main plot thread, so they’re a lot easier to do. I can get one drafted, edited and posted within a few days usually, depending on length.

How much do I write? Depends on the day. I have a high-stress finance job, two kids, and write a mixture of original fiction and fanfic stuff. So sometimes it's more than others. Bad day? Maybe 1,000 words. Good, average day? 3-6k. High pressure? Well, last year's DCBB I wrote in just under three days. It was 25k at that point. I have no tips for speed beyond learning to type fast, LOL!

Okay. I’ve probably bored you, and anyone else who had to scroll past all this, to tears. This is way too long. But even so, more specific questions, I’m happy to answer.

Good luck! Best advice? Just write. Write. Write. "Write a million words, then throw them away” is a changeable quote attributed to several authors but all it comes down to is...practice. Find your own vice and way of doing it. In a million words time, you will be a different writer than you are now, guaranteed.

Mal <3

[rubik-ashala]

Let Alucard have nice things!

This doubles as both a headcanon description and a rant so here goes:

I just got done watching the 3rd season of Castlevania and I am not happy. I have two things two say about it. This contains spoilers for the series so you have been warned.

First complaint and observation:

Did anybody get the feeling that the show was supposed to end after the second season but didn't? That everything was wrapped up nicely, Dracula was dead, the big world destruction war was halted, we were shown what the trio would be doing after everything etc. Like it was meant to end there but then a conversation like this happened:

Castlevania team: And that’s a wrap everybody! The good guys took down Dracula in an epic fight, the world was saved, Job Done! Time to move on to new things.

Shareholders, producers, etc: Uhh, actually we already signed you up for a 3rd season. So you might want to get on that.

Castlevania Team: What! But we weren't prepared for a third season! The whole plot is wrapped up! What are we supposed to do?

Shareholders, producers, etc: Don’t know but you better get to figuring it out.

Castlevania: I guess we will just game of thrones it terribly then and hope we make it through.

Because that is what it felt like happened. There seemed to be no overarching plot, just four separate ones and only two of them is even remotely together. They take two side characters Issac and Hector and give them there own plotlines. Issac gets the Denarius treatment for no real reason other than to seemingly follow in Dracula’s footsteps and Hector gets dragged to Camilla’s realm because, she needs a forge master to grow an army so she can take over what has been fractured. They split up the trio, suddenly giving Serphia and Trevor a romantic relationship with little to nothing building up to it and throw them in a quest to keep Dracula from coming back after some crazy monks due some occult doctor who style shenanigans to open a portal to other worlds. And while that is going on, Alucard aka Adrian Tepes gets left alone guarding his fathers now broken castle and the Belmont’s treasure trove for months after everything has happened.

Which flows into my Second point:

Alucard got done dirty in the third season!

We watch as Alucard deals with the mental repercussions of what he did, alone. We watch as he deals with the loneliness of being out in the middle of nowhere alone for months with none to talk too. And we see the toll it is taking on him albeit comedically. 

Then the siblings come in. 

They come to him for help and education on fighting vampires back in their homeland, something that Alucard is more than happy to help with. One, because he has company again and Two, passing on the knowledge to the new generation seemed fitting.

During the time they stay he grows fond of them and they him. You see them training and horsing around, eating meals together and other wholesome shenanigans.

You get to see a conversation where the sibling talk about how they notice how lonely he has been and how they believe he stays out here to punish himself and maybe they should do something for him before they move on. And it’s all like “aww that is so sweet!”

Then you see Alucard trying to sleep and failing miserably in his bed. Even so far as wondering if he should get a coffin to sleep in. Then you see the siblings show up in the door way and begin walking towards him in the bed saying , in a very sultry voice, how alone he must have been, how he should deserve a reward, ectera. Followed by them getting all hot and steamy with him.

 The scene makes a point to show how much Alucard is enjoying this attention, and how happy it is making him. Your watching it and it’s like “Maybe it's gonna be one of those fond memories he will be able to look back on after their gone.” or “Maybe they will become some Badass monster hunting thruple and Alucard wont be alone anymore.”

Nope! Not today in my Grim Dark Gothic Fantasy World!

They instead, after giving Alucard the night of his life, put these metal cuffs on him that shoot out a bunch of ropes that tie him in classic Jesus on a cross position and then proceed to try and kill him. 

Why?

Because the were under the belief he was lying and holding things back from them, and in particular about the castle not being able to move. And they were tired of being lied to.

Luckily for Alucard they didn't realize his sword could move on its own and they weren’t alive for much longer because of it but...Really?

Why? Why do this to him?

He lost his mother to a witch hunt, he had to kill his own father and now this? All in little over a year? What the Hell man!?

Let the Dhampire have nice things! He deserves better than this!

So, I made a headcannon to soothe me angry brain.

I took a fantasy race of mine that was inspired by the Crusnics of Trinity Blood and added them in to Castlevania. In Particular one specific one.

Name: Floki 

Age: Around Adrian’s age give or take a few months.

Hair: Black

Eyes: Mismatched blue/green

Height: About the same as Adrien’s perhaps a little taller.

Personality: Mischevious, HArdworking, Loves deeply, Fiercly but wisely protective, loves to work with his hands, loves to learn more about the world and how it works. Deeply fond of Adrian even though he hasn’t seen him in a few years. Also, a smidge psychotic, but just a smidge.

Floki is part of a race of beings referred to as “The Old Ones”. They are a race similar in habit to the Vampire but they feed off vampires, night creatures and other supernatural beings over humans. They are immensely powerful, even at young ages and have been rumored to be the source of some of the gods of Ancient Mythology. 

Floki’s father (Yet named)  was Dracula’s mentor and where he got much of his scientific knowledge from in his early years. They became friends during his teaching and even after parting ways, would still occasionally see each other every few half centuries or so to trade information and chat.

During this time, Floki’s father was desperately trying to have children of his own and failing. At one point believing that he was sterile and unable to father children. Something Dracula knew as well and so hid Lisa’s pregnancy from him for fear of making his sadness worse.

However, a few months later, It was revealed that his current love was with child and Floki was born accompanied by much drunken Norse revelry.

When the two men met again a few years later, Floki was brought with his father to show to Dracula that he finally had a child. A moment where Dracula also revealed his son and Where Floki met Adrian.

Floki showed Adrian what it was like to play and horse around. They would play pretend out in the woods, get dirty, skin thier knees, the works. And where one was, you would find the other close by.

The visits between the two powerful men became more frequent due to the boys wish to see each other, not that the parents minded all that much.

Over time Floki’s affection for Adrian would change and deepen. His longing to stay by his friends side would get stronger and one fateful afternoon when Adrian got hurt, FLoki would realize how he had fallen in love with him.

Adrian would never know this however, due to Floki’s unstable powers at the time, his sub par control of his hunger and the fear of hurting him.

As they got older, and partly to the above, their visits to see each other would lessen and by the time they were full grown, had stopped entirely. 

That is until Floki Heard of Lisa’s death at the hands of the church.

Even with his incredible power to teleport far distances it took him several months to reach Wallachia. He didn’t seek out Adrian immediately though, too curious to see the truth of what happened.

Each of “The Old Ones” Has a unique skill that is developed and evolved over time, according to personality, interest, skill and homeland. Due to Floki’s curiosity, his love for history and his desire to see how it all works together, he developed what he liked to call, memory recall.

His skill allowed him to see memories of the past through people, objects or locations where something that evoked strong emotional or magical reactions in the area happened. And if there was no such thing, if the event was more recent, if he had access to people that were there and stood on the location, he could see and feel the event as if he lived it.

Lisa’s death held him up in an inn for several days trying to chase the feeling of flames on  his skin. Dracula’s anger and grief laid him up for even longer as he cried himself sick. 

Gregit was better though, seeing the man who did the deed getting called out by a demon and then eaten gave him a bit of satisfaction.

Briela was fascinating though. He had to meet whomever managed to capture the ever moving castle.

By the Time Floki would arrive at the now defunk castle and underground hold, the siblings bodies are already outside on pikes.

This doesn't scare him away of course, and to find out why they were there he uses his memory recall. Where he sees through there eyes what they did to Adrian, albeit a little fuzzy. But is able to hear what the twins were thinking in that moment and see, just for a short time, Adrian tied to the bed afraid and hurt.

This causes him to snap his fingers and cause the corpses to burst into flames.

An action that draws Adrian’s attention causing a little bit of a fight before they recognize each other.

Over the next while Adrian allows Floki to stay and fix the castle as well as the Belmont estate and work towards getting the transportation engine online again. Eventually. 

Overtime, all of Floki’s feelings come back with a vengeance and he gives as much attention and TLC to Adrian as he allows. Eventually getting Adrian to allow him close enough to see though his memory what the siblings had done to him

A scene that will either start a few revelations with both Adrian and FLoki or lead to a very steamy situation. Possibly both.

But it all ends in Adrian getting all the Love and TLC that man deserves after the hell he was put through.

I just hope they aren’t trying to set him up to become an antagonist later... 

[p1nkwitch]

I'm curious about: 7 and 18?

7- What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?

I dont know?? Im not kidding im just not sure? I suppose that my complete hatred for making unhappy endings is one thing, along with having a love for fluff and angst. Plus a sprinkle of horniness and comedy when i can.

But those are tropes, my writing…? I'm just a little creacher trying my best, not sure if there is anything too special on it? I usually think I'm very odd at writing, it feels more like i get hit with a hammer that makes me write and next thing that I know there are words on a page.

18- Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

Oh boy.

The thing is, I usually have an idea and I work towards it, but on the way there I change the plot to fit better so I have to drop it. So I have a lot of unused plots that could no longer fit into the story I made.

Ok i will do a rundown of the ones i can think of clearer.

Heart Machinations: Originally Elias was going to be the big bad, due to him just not interacting with anyone besides Peter. He has no caring for humans but for him. Due to the fact that if I just kept the story contained to the two of them, without any outside forces interfering it would become boring and repetitive with the murders. So I gave them friends.

It helped, but also took a little bit out of it I suppose.

Once Upon a Time: Its not finished, but i can say this, originally i was going to use Jonah, because i had an idea for the end to be used regarding him. In fact the last part of the story was going to be more… mm not fucked up, but i would say less nice. I was not going to include Pasha the way I did, but since I decided half way through the story to be as self indulgent as I wanted I chose to go for the found family trope.

It does however have two endings.

And the sea is calling back to me: Was going to end in chapter 4, i added five because of the joke of Elias getting parental vibes. I did not add it, but I fully intended for him to adopt with Peter. But due to me thinking well i already messed up their characters lets keep it ambiguous, so i did not go with it.

The world turned upside down!!! I know someone always tells me that one day i will go with the sad ending and surprise everyone and this is the closest i was to do that. Twice in fact. I almost let Jonah kill himself for once, and on the other i also almost let him stay in the lonely forever.

Originally he was going to lose his memories forever, but I changed it last minute and by now I regret it, it would have been more powerful if he did, Yet letting him keep them was in fact a way for him to slowly heal and make up for his past too. So im conflicted.

Also i was going to switch the pov, the other would hear the tapes of him reacting to their tapes. Its what makes Peter go to look for him, it would show everyones reactions to him slowly losing his memory and his denial and grief over hearing Jon, Barnabas and Jonathan’s tape. Peter was going to be gutted at him just turning off his immediately.

In the end I went with Jonah’s perspective. Which I liked a lot.

Afterlife beach party: Chapter 1 it was almost at the end that i went ambiguous cause, again i was too nervous to commit to trans Jonah. I still am!! Its why the very few ones i do use that i ask for a beta, I just don't want to sound like i'm portraying it wrong.

Chapter 2 Jonah was going to start calling himself they far more. I was too nervous about it so I kept it to the very minimum.

Chapter 3 Oh yes, that one had a bad end that I decided to not use where Jonah just couldn't leave, he would rather stay in the lie then go and be alone. I also changed him seeing the cat for what it really was instead of Peter like i originally intended, so i could save it for the end.

Chapter 4…. i was going to lean into the gender thing more but i as i said feel like i'm not good at it. There was going to be more about him deciding to use the skirt because he liked it and it didn't really mean much, but I went with exploring it with his opinion of his hair, I felt it was a more natural progression.

Lesson is? I am very nervous and skittish with gender despite the fact that I have ideas on it with Peter and ELias that I like and want to explore a little bit more. Still baby steps, maybe eventually i will be able to do it.

Finally the rise of the sky!! After chapter 2? It was going to be just one more chapter and it was completely different.I It was almost done, all from Stella’s perspective. The lonely didn't take her, she left on her own to travel without anyone noticing. It was her just going on her own exploring and slowly picking up things for her siblings that she gave Salesa to deliver.

I was actually almost done to be honest. But I just scrapped the entire thing and did the siblings chapters instead. Its an entire au from the story that I wish I could end and use, but it feels sort of like a disservice. Maybe I can eventually do what's left and put it as an alternate thing, but I hardly think it matters much.

[know-the-way]

Curious what your thoughts are on the new promo pics. I wonder why Lucifer seems to be helping the coven. And where are Lilith and Faustus?!

I’m sure my thoughts are not any more interesting than the next person’s lol 😅, but sure!

I think it makes a lot of sense for Lucifer to be “helping” the coven. Sabrina’s split existence is between Hell and Greendale and I am imagine her choice not to merge back with herself is going to result in a lot of chaos for both Earth and Hell. So he would be there to protect and save his kingdom. I also imagine he can be of assistance with the Eldritch Terrors. Although there is an implication they are more powerful than him or God, I’m sure - at the very least - he can have some sort of sway when it comes to Faustus, who offered himself up as “the vessel” in the part 3 finale. Which begs the question - if the Terrors do not have a vessel, can they operate within the Earth or other realms?

As a high priest, Faustus would have theoretically had a lot of communication with the Dark Lord. So Lucifer would potentially know a lot intimate things about Faustus through their direct communications and Faustus’ prayers to him (which we know are heard by whatever deity is listening thanks to the scene where they prayed to Lilith). Which also means Lucifer should, in theory, know a lot about Faustus’ fears, insecurities, pain, and weaknesses. Thus, perhaps if they appeal to any humanity/human emotions Faustus may have left, it will weaken his ties to the Terrors and sever any ability to cause destruction. This could also draw a parallel to Sabrina’s duality and whatever resolution to that, wherein they have to convince Sabrina to choose her “true” essence in order to continue her existence in either Greendale or Hell. Methinks there will be a lot of self-reflection and at-a-crossroad decisions for many of the characters.

And obviously, this is all hypothetical, but to answer your question - I could see many a reason why Lucifer would team up with the coven (and most of them are for self-preservation).

In regards to Lilith and Faustus - I’ll also point out that Mambo Marie is not in any of these and that is probably because all three of the characters would be giving too much away, even through a picture. For ex. - if Lilith does or does not appear to be “showing” in her pregnancy (could spoil part of that plotline). And Faustus seems to have a “themed” wardrobe for part 4 that I imagine they want kept secret for similar reasons (think of all the discussion that resulted from that one leaked photo of him in that awful uniform). I know we saw Marie in other photos, but as I’ve suspected before - I think there is more to her than what we’ve seen thus far (like... perhaps she is somewhat of a deity herself... just something I personally have been pondering on). And I think, if there is more to her, that’ll probably be revealed within one or two episodes, so they aren’t giving us many glimpses of her as a result.

Ultimately, I think the season - as hinted at by RAS and others - is going to be centered around the characters facing themselves, their pasts, and what they want for their futures. I am expecting drama, violence, ~*emotions*~, and hella angst like omg I think we will probably be dripping in angst.

Sounds fun, yeah? Full speed ahead for a part 5, lads, eh?

[megalony]

Sweet hurt

This is a new dad! Ben Hardy series I am going to be working on which is kind of like Brothers and Love but with a different plotline. I hope you all like it, feedback is always appreciated.

Taglist: @lunaticspoem @butlegendsneverdie @langdonzvoid @jennyggggrrr @rogermeddow @radiob-l-a-hblah @rogertaylorsbitontheside @chlobo6 @rogertaylors-lipgloss @sj-thefan @omgitsearly @luckytrashgooprebel @scarsout @deaky-with-a-c @killer-queen-ofrhye @bluutac @vousmemanqueez @jonesyaddiction @rogahs-drowse @milanosaurus @httpfandxms @saint-hardy @7-seas-of-fat-bottomed-girls @mrsalwayswritex @rogerina-owns-me

Summary: Ben has never talked to (Y/n) about his family that he has no contact with, but when his sister convinces him to try and reconnect with his family, things get tricky and old feuds and secrets arise.

Ben Hardy masterlist

Series masterlist

Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Who's Thomas?" Those two words made panic bubble in (Y/n)'s chest as she wondered if she was going to receive a response when she knew this question always received an answer that wasn't really telling her anything at all.

(Y/n)'s worried yet curious eyes watched as Ben didn't even turn his head so he was looking down at her, he simply stared at the ceiling like he was basking under the stars and admiring all the different constellations. Ben looked the picture of calm but she knew that in his head, it wasn't so calm or quiet. Ben was the kind of person who had an overactive mind that never seemed to calm down or switch off from a panicked state of being.

He looked like something out of a painting at this moment, laid on his back in bed, one arm under his head with the other wrapped loosely around (Y/n)'s waist. His expression was calm but distant like he was trapped inside his head. He was admiring the light grey ceiling above him that was acting as a blank canvas for his memories and thoughts to project onto.

Drifting her gaze lower from his head down to his chest that she was leaning against, (Y/n) slowly started to trace her index finger over Ben's chest so lightly that it felt like a feather gliding against his soft skin. She slowly dragged the pad of her finger over the lines inked into his skin that covered a large portion of his chest. The ink had been long since set into Ben's skin since (Y/n) had met him, it was a feature of Ben that she knew she wasn't meant to talk or ask about but she could never help herself.

Each time (Y/n) asked who Thomas was or why his name was forever imprinted on Ben's chest, she hoped she would finally gain an answer. But six years of asking hadn't stopped the question from rattling around in her head and it hadn't stopped her from asking, despite never getting an answer.

When (Y/n) pressed her lips against Ben's chest, Ben's head finally became unstuck. He slowly pressed his chin down into his chest so he could look at the girl laid between his legs with the thin blanket draped over her legs and lower back.

Something that resembled a calm but possibly sorrowful smile appeared on Ben's lips as he moved his hand from her waist to reach up and stroke her hair. He slowly dragged his fingers through (Y/n)'s hair, brushing it back behind her ears so loose strands weren't hanging in front of her eyes. It was as if he was painting a picture and his fingers were brushes delicately stroking streaks of paint onto the canvas.

"Does it matter?" Ben's words weren't malicious or cruel or hurtful like they may have seemed upon first glance. They were gentle, calm and reluctant to reveal the truth that (Y/n) was searching for.

A shiver ran through (Y/n)'s nerves when Ben's fingertip pressed against her neck and started to trail along her spine like he was trying to distract her from the topic he knew wasn't going to go away.

"It does to me." (Y/n) pressed another kiss to Ben's chest, not wanting an argument because that would be pointless, she only wanted an answer. Ben had no idea how pressing this subject was on (Y/n)'s mind because it was a mystery that she couldn't solve. Thomas was a person with a blank face in the back of her mind and his presence was something that annoyed (Y/n) because she didn't know who he was.

Every time that (Y/n) saw the tattoo on Ben's chest, she was faced with questions that Ben denied her answers to. At first it was okay, they hadn't known each other long and (Y/n) didn't want to ask about the tattoo he was reluctant to even acknowledge. But as time went on and they got closer, it became frustrating not to know who this person was or why Ben had this name on his chest. Ben only had two tattoos on his body, the one with Thomas inked into his chest, and their son's name tattooed on his right arm.

(Y/n) knew that Thomas, whoever he was, had to be important or close to Ben for his name to be on his skin.

A bolt of fear ran through (Y/n) when Ben started to move and she feared for a second that he was going to get up and walk away from her, but he didn't. He slowly sat himself up so he was leaning against the headboard, resting his hands on her hips to drag her closer. (Y/n) moved her legs so they were on either side of Ben's hips so she was sitting on his lap, feeling his hands holding her waist as she hooked her arms loosely around his neck.

"It took a year for you to tell me where you were from and to open up about anything personal but I still don't know anything about you."

Ben scoffed, a smile pulling at his lips as he tried his best not to seem ignorant or annoying but he couldn't help but scoff at the exaggeration. They had been together almost six years now, (Y/n) knew Ben better than anyone else in the world but she was talking like she had only just met him or she didn't know who he was.

"Six years and you don't know anything about me?" He teased with a small shake of his head that caused (Y/n) to roll her eyes.

"Six years and you know I have a brother and a mum and dad, you know all of my friends, you know when my family's birthdays are and you've met everyone close to me. You know everything about me, but I don't know when you went to uni, if you have a mum and dad, if you're an orphan, if you have siblings or any family you're in contact with. I know everything about you from aged twenty and onwards."

(Y/n) moved her hands so they were resting on either side of Ben's face, brushing her thumbs over his cheekbones as she watched the smile slip from his face.

It was clear by how closed off Ben had been from the start that he didn't like to open up even to someone as close to him as (Y/n) was. That was okay with (Y/n) to a point, but sometimes it felt weird. She knew what Ben did, who his friends were and what he got up to since he was twenty because he told her everything from that age onwards. But she didn't know anything about his life growing up, only that he was born here in London.

(Y/n) had no idea if Ben's parents were alive or dead, if he was adopted or not, if he had any siblings or grandparents, she didn't know why he had no contact with any of his family. (Y/n) didn't know any friends Ben had when he was a teen, she knew relatively nothing about him from birth to a teenager, all she knew was what he was willing to tell her.

There was a debating look in Ben's eyes that made (Y/n) hopeful about him opening up to her. She didn't want nor have to know everything about him in the world, but she wanted to know what was upsetting him so much that he had to shut that part of his life away. She wanted to know why he didn't have contact with his family or just clarification that he had family or not.

"I have three siblings and my parents are alive, but I've not talked to any of them since I was eighteen. It's my choice not to be in contact and I want to keep it that way, my dad doesn't want to see me anyway." (Y/n) knew that was as much about his family as she was going to get and at least it was something. She had an inkling that he had siblings, some of the things he said or when he was drunk the way he spoke made it sound like he did but she didn't know for sure. She also already knew that something happened for them not to be in contact, and it was clear it was Ben's choice for no contact at all.

"You've not spoken to any of them since you were eighteen?" (Y/n)'s tone was sorrowful because she couldn't imagine cutting contact with her family and never speaking to any of them again. When they had Finn (Y/n) felt so bad for Ben because he didn't have any family to tell, he had friends but he didn't call any family to say he'd just had his first child.

"Trust me sweetheart, it's easier this way. The last time I saw my dad he said he wished I was dead, I want him as far away from my life."

Ben let his head fall against (Y/n)'s shoulder when she pulled him closer until their chests were touching. Ben didn't hold the amount of anger for all of his family like he had done when he was eighteen and he didn't feel as much resentment towards his dad as he used to. But Ben didn't want to see any of them again, it was so much easier for him if he kept his family to just (Y/n) and Finn. He had his girl and he had his son, they were all Ben wanted and needed, as far as he's concerned he never had any family before them.

"I'm sorry." (Y/n) carded her fingers through Ben's hair for a while just to make sure he was okay and not about to break down. "Who's Thomas?" (Y/n) asked quietly after a few minutes of silence. Her hand went back to tracing over the tattoo in hopes that Ben would tell her something.

"Someone who meant a lot to me, he's dead now."

(Y/n) lowered her head down but lifted her eyes to look at the tattoo that she could see in a different light now. She still didn't know who Thomas was or anything about him other than he was inked onto Ben's skin clearly because he had passed away. But Ben had never once wanted to bring up the subject of Thomas and (Y/n) couldn't push him to if he didn't want to open up. She had parts of her past she hadn't revealed to Ben over the past six years and that was okay.

"Hey," Ben gently took (Y/n)'s face in his hands and tilted her head up so she was looking at him. He rested his temple against her own causing a small smile to pull at her lips. "I've got you and Finn, you're the best things that ever happened to me. My past is behind me and it doesn't bother me, don't let it bother you."

Ben's past was behind him but he wasn't dragging it around like a shadow constantly nipping at his heels. He was done with his family and that was okay, Ben had had eight years to come to terms with being without them and starting a life on his own. He had a family now and he was at peace with his past, he didn't want it to bother (Y/n) because it wasn't worth it.

"You're my family now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Turning her head to her left, (Y/n) rested her chin on Ben's arm as she looked up at him, wondering why he had suddenly stopped walking. Finn had begged to go to the park and play football and since they both had the day off they couldn't refuse. The four-year-old had run off onto the grass with the ball but he was still within their sights but Ben had just stopped walking causing (Y/n) to stumble.

(Y/n) turned her head to look ahead of them to try and see where Ben was looking and what had caught his attention but all she could see was a woman about five feet ahead of them.

The lady was younger than Ben and (Y/n), she had short blonde hair that verged on platinum and it was cut into a bob that hung around her chin and showed off her features. She had lovely blue eyes that sparkled with the eyeshadow she was wearing. She wasn't too tall and she was rather skinny but she was staring right at Ben like she thought she was looking at a ghost.

"Do you know her?" (Y/n) found herself whispering as if she was afraid of the answer she was going to receive.

"No, come on, let's go get Finn." Ben tightened his hand around (Y/n)'s as he seemed to become unstuck. He nudged his shoulder into hers to get (Y/n) to move to the right towards the grass so they could go and carry on playing football with Finn.

Ben stuffed his free hand into his pocket as his shoulders rose up out of instinct like he was trying to hide himself away in his jacket. He took two steps onto the grass that sunk beneath his feet before he stopped dead in his tracks for the second time in less than a minute. His eyes fell closed and his stomach tingled with anxiety when he heard his name being called in a questioning but very desperate tone of voice that he would recognise anywhere.

"She knows you." (Y/n) mumbled, leaning her head back to look at the woman who hadn't moved but had turned to the side so she didn't lose sight of them.

Her expression was worried and pleading, her eyes wide and her lips curved into a frown and (Y/n) could have sworn she could see the strange girl shaking even from the distance. Her fingers were twitching at her sides like she wanted to reach out and grab hold of Ben. She clearly knew him because she knew his name and she was staring directly at him.

"Ignore her-"

"Ben she knows you've seen her, who is she?" (Y/n) let go of Ben's hand and moved so she was standing in front of him so he couldn't try and walk away. Ben was clearly worried or scared and he didn't want to see whoever this lady was but (Y/n) knew they couldn't just walk away. Whoever she was, she had seen them and she knew Ben had seen her, she wasn't likely to just walk away.

(Y/n) knew this wasn't some angry one night stand or girlfriend, Ben wouldn't cheat on her and this lady didn't seem angry or calling Ben in a desperate ex-lover kind of way.

Biting down on his lower lip, Ben turned his head to glance over at the woman who had taken a few steps forward but had stopped like she was afraid getting any closer would come with consequences. A debate went on in Ben's eyes before he ran his hand over his face in a sign of annoyance because he knew walking away wasn't an option anymore.

"Go stay with Finn, I'll be five minutes."

"Who is she-"

"Just go to Finn, please." (Y/n) sighed before she spun around on her heels and did as asked. Ben was in a twitchy mood that was off-putting because he was always the picture of calm and collected. He was never this kind of nervous or worried and he was clearly unsettled by this woman's appearance.

Ben stuffed his hands deep into his jean pockets as he took long strides to reach the woman he hadn't seen since she was fifteen. She had changed a lot, her hair was now platinum instead of mouse-brown and it was cut a lot shorter and without a fringe than the last time Ben saw her. She didn't seem to have gotten that much taller but her features had changed as she had grown into them.

He could feel his chest quaking and his stomach pulling inwards due to the lack of breathing he was going through. His lungs couldn't catch enough oxygen because he was starting to panic from seeing a face from the past that he thought he would never see again.

"Lucy." Ben nodded his head in recognition but his eyes were cold and cunning, his expression harsh and uninviting which let her know where he stood. He kept a distance between them so that she wasn't inclined to reach over and pull him into a hug or try and rest a hand on his shoulder or touch him in any sense. He didn't want her here, he didn't want to see her at all she was not welcome in his life.

"You've changed." Lucy breathed through the words, unable to stop a very small smile from pulling at her lips as she felt tears welling in her eyes. But the moment she pulled her hand from her coat pocket and attempted to reach out for him, Ben took a step away and shook his head.

"What do you want?"

"Ben, I... I haven't seen you in eight years, I've missed you." Lucy let a tear fall from her eye as she noticed Ben's eyes differ and look away from her for a brief moment. He couldn't say that he hadn't missed her because there had been a part of him that didn't want to walk away, but he had to and he couldn't go back.

"I have to go-"

"No! Don't, please, I don't want you to shut me out I never wanted you to go. You're my brother..." She looked like she was about to say more but she couldn't think of what else she was supposed to say. She hadn't made the choice never to see Ben again, she wanted her big brother in her life but it hadn't been her choice and circumstances caused Ben to turn away from all of his family. He didn't want her in his life, he was happy without them all and he wanted it to stay that way.

"Not anymore. I want nothing to do with any of you Luc, I can't do it." Ben shook his head as he spoke and he felt his heart breaking.

Lucy had hurt him in the past just like everyone else and even though it wasn't her fault, Ben couldn't go down this path. He couldn't let Lucy back into his life because it would let everyone else in as well and he couldn't cope with that. Ben had suffered enough, he had rebuilt his life and he was fine with how it was now, he couldn't let those walls break down just to let Lucy back in.

"Daddy, come play."

"Two minutes, buddy." Ben turned and looked over at where Finn was stood with (Y/n), the football in his arms and a bright smile on his lips that lifted Ben's heart. That was his family, right there on the grass, just waiting for him to come back and play.

"Y-you have a son, but you never said anything... Come and see mum, she'd love to meet him-"

"Don't do that, I don't want anyone knowing about him you can't tell anyone. This is my life now Luc, I don't want them back in my life." Ben hadn't told his family about Finn for a reason, he wanted his life sectioned off from his family because he couldn't let them in. They had all cut connections with one another and that was fine with Ben, he wasn't ready to try and rekindle those severed ties.

"Mum misses you, she'd love to know you've got a family now, please Ben, she's not been very well. If you will come and see us or change your mind, this is my number."

Lucy hurridly rifled through her bag for a scrap of paper and a pen to scribble down her number which she forced into the palm of Ben's hand, curling his fingers around the paper so he didn't let go or throw it away. She didn't care if he put the number in his pocket and forgot about it for days or weeks on end, as long as he kept it so he had the means of getting in touch with her if he changed his mind. She knew he wouldn't give her his number or even dare say where he was living nowadays but she wanted him to have her number because she didn't want him to become a stranger to her again.

"Please think about it."

Ben looked down to his hand with tears in his eyes that he forced away. He didn't say anything, he simply turned on his heels and headed back over to where his true family was.

He stuffed the paper into his jacket pocket before he plastered a smile on his face and quickly scooped Finn up into his arms causing the four-year-old to squeal in delight. Ben kissed Finn's cheek before he threw him over his shoulder, his eyes drifting over to look at (Y/n) as a shared message passed between them saying they would talk about it later.

His smile became more genuine when he heard his boy giggling, hitting his hands against Ben's back as he kicked his legs against Ben's shoulder. But when Ben dared to turn his head back over his shoulder, Lucy was still there.

His smile started to fade.

[scgdoeswhat]

Unpacking The Elementalists Finale

I’d like to dedicate this to my dear Kane anon (and other TE anons) who have been hitting my ask box up for the last several months. I’m sorry this took forever to get out and I know it doesn’t ease the fact that they ixnayed Kane, but hopefully this makes a little more sense of TE’s abrupt ending.

Without further ado...

I’ve been wanting to make this post since Book 2 Chapter 10, but life has been hectic. TE’s finale finally forced my hand and so here I am, with a bunch of theories, points, and thoughts I've had noted since the book came back from its hiatus. First off, now that TE is officially over (😭) we now know that the hiatus was primarily used to tie up all the loose story lines and to give us a tidy ending. The writing in the second half of the book was more solid, concise, and had a clear cut vision of what the writers wanted and where the plot was headed. As much as I hate to say it, the first half of the book may have been overly ambitious. They introduced the Moral Compass, potentially two villains in Kane and Alma, and a plethora of different storylines. I had a number of people tell me through the first five/six chapters of Book 2 that they were confused with the plot because it became too convoluted and hard to follow along. I think they introduced too many elements into the story, which dragged down the arc. Let’s break down some of these individually: The Moral Compass was something we were all excited to see implemented, because it gave us the potential to be an evil MC. In the end, we know it didn’t make much of a difference, save for dialogue and/or violent options. I think this was originally something intended to be greater than what it amounted to, and part of it is the limitations of the medium that the app is and simply, resources. This also ties into…. The plot involving Kane and Alma. I don’t believe having Kane as the Big Bad was supposed to be as defined as it ended up being. The two Sources were written far more ambiguous in the beginning, with the chance that depending on your choices, you could side with either one by the end of the book and/or series. The hiatus streamlined the plot, discarding elements that were difficult to pull off, including multiple MC point of views that may have held the possibility of being evil or choosing Kane, therefore placing Alma as the antagonist. In a narrative story app such as Choices (as opposed to Lovestruck, where the routes have the same players but different stories altogether), I just don’t think this advanced storytelling would have been doable. These plots are primarily linear, and MC being evil/with Kane/etc, it would present a different set of problems, including the fact that this becomes an entirely different story while there is supposed to be one solid ending. (For what it's worth, I enjoy the MC customizability of Choices more.) Looking at the group of friends, obviously Beckett was incredibly fleshed out while the others were not as much. I wanted to delve further into our friends’ backgrounds a bit more, and I think at the beginning of the book, we were on that path. Aster and her wood nymph family was a perfect example of table setting. We had two or three scenes before the hiatus to go to the forest, and I thought the Wand Wars and their involvement against Kane was slated to be more prominent. I think the writers had something bigger planned, but how would it all tie in if players started choosing the evil choices? Again, having too many choices causes a domino effect that makes it nearly impossible to navigate when the story is supposed to end with a particular goal in mind. The chapter where we can receive the wand was a symptom of ending the book early and I think the execution of the actual Wand Wars scene was lacking the emotional punch the initial introduction of it warranted. This is unfortunate because the setup they had in Book 1 made it seem much more violent, disastrous, and full of hate compared to what was shown (i.e. Attuned just being greedy bastards). We were introduced to Shreya's Serene & Sublime business and the potential of family disapproval and lack of support in the beginning, but everything was tied up with the gala chapter. Looking back, I was curious why it was so easy to get so many financial backers this early into the series, but knowing that TE only went for two books makes much more sense why we knew whether S&S succeeded or failed. (Tangent - for anyone who didn't secure backing, is S&S successful at the end of the book?) I think Griffin, his scholarship, and his decision between Natural Sciences and Thief was also slated to be a bigger subplot. We never met his parents, despite them being brought up very early in Book 1. If TE had gone the originally planned three or four books, I have no doubt his family would've been introduced and MC would have needed to help sway his parents (and the committee for the scholarship) whether Griffin continued on the NS or professional Thief path. Doing the Griffin scenes (even as platonic friends) influenced his standing for the scholarship and not doing them made him lose out to Amy, if I'm not mistaken. Question for everyone regarding Zeph and the Thief captaincy: Does he get it in everyone's playthrough? I wonder if the writers always planned for Zeph to get the captaincy or if Griff would have kept it depending on your playthrough if they had all four books to use. Another big plot point that resolved itself out of nowhere was Atlas and MC butting heads over their Sun Source mother. I was not a fan of this storyline at all. I felt like the disagreements between the siblings was unnecessary drama that came off as forced. They tried to explain Atlas' position, and I understood where they were coming from, but Atlas was very unreasonable with their constant “who cares about mom” shtick.

I think this was something that could have been more impactful if there weren't so many plotlines happening and more focus could have been given to it instead of a few screens of Atlas saying they were pissed off before storming away from MC. This was also a plotline that was directly influenced by the Kane/Alma decisions. If MC sides with Kane, it makes much more sense for MC and Atlas to be against each other as opposed to MC being good/siding with Alma.

Five major subplots were opened, but how do you seamlessly weave these elements into a 17-19 chapter book? In my opinion, you can't. Each time something new was introduced, I felt things were glossed over, despite big chunks of chapters being focused on whichever subplot the chapter was about. Throw in the romance and I think it is nearly impossible to resolve each aspect in a complete manner.

What also hurt was the pacing of the series. This was also seen in Book 1, where sometimes a chapter would span one or two days, only for a huge time jump to occur in the next chapter.

So many ideas could have been explored through the course of four books (which is what I believe they had planned), but all the different elements should have been introduced at different times. Instead, Book 2 was an amalgamation of so many ideas but not enough time, space, or resources to thoroughly hash out and have a satisfactory resolution. For what it’s worth, I don’t think it was having too much Beckett that hurt the series. He obviously kept the series afloat and was one of PB's biggest moneymakers in recent history. Despite the constant complaints on tumblr, people fail to realize that the ENTIRE online fandom (FB, IG, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Wiki) comprises maybe 0.5% - 2% of the ENTIRE player fan base. It only made sense that PB capitalized on him because their numbers dictated that the resources should be spent in that manner. The fallout from this was that Beckett was the only one who had his storyline relatively complete, and that was due to the spending power of everyone who romanced him. I think what hurt them the most was the multiple storylines and the indecision of which direction they wanted to go. They had a grand idea of the direction through Book 2 (and Book 3, let’s not lie here) but in-game mechanics and the type of game Choices is made it difficult to pull off. The app wasn’t the correct medium for what they envisioned. In my opinion, the overall story arc had the potential to be brilliant, but again, the app wasn't designed for the type of story the writers wanted to tell.

I also think the timing and having a very short turnaround hurt, as well. Players had high expectations and when you factor in the hype around the other books that were also released on Fridays, TE lost some of its sparkle. Most players didn’t get a chance to miss it for the regular 2-3 months we’ve been trained to wait for sequels. (I recognize that I’m an anomaly and the previous three sentences do not apply to me at all.)

Even with all this, I applaud the writing team for wanting to deliver a story that was worthy of a magical world. I love all the Pend Pals (‘Motley Crue’ for me), the familiars, the side characters, loved to hate the villains, and from someone who is not into Harry Potter lore at all, I was absolutely sucked into the magick universe that the writers built. (Metal Att for life ⚙!)

If TE does return in the future (and I REALLY hope it does), I think it will be even stronger than the first two books because the world building is complete. We know almost everything we need to know now. Instead of using a Book 3 to search for Sun Mama, the family is complete, MC and Atlas are attuned to all the elements, and there are so many open-ended questions that Book 2 left us.

If they implement a time jump where MC and the Pend Pals are all post grad/mid 20s, it also gives the writers a chance to move the story from the Young Adult genre to a more mature setting. We saw this in the later diamond scenes, where the writing appeared similar in their vividness (and coding in the final scene - THANK YOU, glorious writing team) to Open Heart, Bloodbound, and A Courtesan of Rome. This removes the restrictions placed on the group of being college kids, and therefore are almost fully developed with their magick, giving the possibility of moving the story out of a university setting.

If you've made it all the way here to the bottom, thank you for sticking with me and apologies for spelling/grammar since this has all been on my phone 😂 I think this comprises almost all my notes I've been keeping for the last 2 months. Feel free to agree or disagree; I just wanted to post my thoughts on this book and series that I love so much.

Now, I'm going to go back to my holiday (don't worry, I didn't write all of this while on vacay lol) and I'll try to answer asks when I have downtime.

[seolhe]

I was wondering,,, why do you say the dark wife is one of the worst books you've read? I read it a few years ago, and I dont remember anything about it tbh, so I'm curious

Oh boy, where do I start? I had a lot of problems with this novel, both as a Greek myth retelling and from a writing standpoint. Now, keep in mind that I read thisabout 2 years ago, so I might be forgetting some small details here and there, but I’ll try to explain the main reasons it bugged me so much. So buckle up, because this is gonna be a long one.

Characters: All the characters are two-dimensional and poorly developed. None of them have any amount of nuance or depth.Zeus is moustache twirling villain who is evil for the sake of being evil. Hades is as good as Zeus is evil, endlessly noble and selfless and devoted. I genuinely can’t remember a single defining trait of Persephone? She’s such abland and generic protagonist, nothing really stands out about her in my memory other than her obsessive pining over Hades and hatred of Zeus. A lot of this feels like it’s pulled straight from the shallow and occasionally downright inaccurate readings of Greek myths that have become so popular in recent years, especially on places like tumblr (Zeus as an evil rapist, Hades as a pure cinnamon roll, Persephone descending willingly into the Underworld, etc.).But there are also more confusing takes on these characters, like turning chaste virgin goddess Athena into a self-centered, promiscuous lesbian (not to say that being a lesbian or being promiscuous is bad, it’s just such a strange interpretation of Athena’s character that doesn’t make any sense)And don’t even get me started on poor Charis! Charis, Persephone’s first lover in the book, exists solely to be raped and killed by Zeus. She’s fridged to show us that Zeus is BAD and giving Persephone a reason to hate him. The author’s treatment of this character is lazy and offensive. I’m sure this is something that won’t bother all readers, but as someone with a deep love for the mythology, I found the portrayal of the Greek gods franklyinsulting. Plot:“Three thousand years ago, a god told a lie.”Here we run into a big problem with the narrative. We’re told from the very prologue that the story of Hades and Persephone we’re familiar with is a lie, a narrative created by Zeus, and this is Persephone’s attempt to set the record straight.These are the first lines of our story: “I am not my mother’s daughter. I have forfeited my inheritance, my birthright. I do not possess the privilege of truth. The stories told by fires, the myth of my kidnap and my rape, are all that remain of me. Forever I will be known as the girl who was stolen away to be the wife of Hades, lord of all the dead. Andnone of it is true, or is so fragmented that the truth is nothing more than ashadow, malformed. The stories are wrong. I am not who they say I am.I am Persephone, and my story must begin with the truth.Here it is, or as close as I can tell it.”Well, this doesn’t really make any sense when, at the end of the story, Zeus is defeated and thrown into Tartarus. Why does this narrative survive into modern day when Hades and Persephone won? Why is Persephone only able to tell her story now, after thousands of years without Zeus in power? Speaking of Zeus and lies, the justification for the whole “What, Hades is awoman?!” thing really doesn’t make any sense. We’re told that Zeus calls Hades “lord” of the dead as a joke, Hades even refers to it as a “slur” in the story. The reason given for this is that Hades is only attracted to women. Well, if that’s the case, why doesn’t that same logic apply to Athena, who’salso shown to be attracted only to women? Or to Persephone for that matter? Same-sex attraction, even between women, is never shown to be frowned upon in their society, so why would Zeus single out Hades for her attraction to women? And why do all the other gods apparently go along with that “joke” to the point that Persephone literally didn’t know Hades was a woman until she meets her in person? And why, again, did this idea of Hades being a man survive into modern day? The story is constructed so poorly on so many different levels. There are so many threads that are just dropped entirely. For example:- The story starts with Demeter confidently proclaiming that Persephone will become the queen of the gods, setting up this big rivalry between her and the daughters of Hera and Aphrodite. This plot never goes anywhere, in fact, I don’t think it’s ever brought up again after the first chapter, and Demeter basically spends the rest of the book cowering before Zeus. - There’s a significant plotline about Pallas having Persephone try to deliver a message to Athena, a plotline that is unceremoniously dropped without anyresolution. After all the build-up, there’s a throwaway line about Pallas giving the note to Persephone right before the big showdown with Zeus, and that’s the last we hear of it. We never see it delivered, we don’t get to see Athena’s reaction to it, we don’t know how this impacts Pallas, if at all. In fact, Pallas basically doesn’t show up at all after this point. Then there’s the main conflict of the story: Zeus wants Persephone, and as we’re told over and over and over, Zeus always gets what he wants (the author really beats this into our heads). We’re never really given any motivation for any of Zeus’ actions, so this conflict feels weak and contrived. It doesn’t help that we get so much build-up for what a terrible threat he is, and then Persephone defeats Zeus, the most powerful god, feared by all, in like… two pages? It’s such a weak and anticlimactic end to the story.

There was also some sort of convoluted plan concocted by Zeus to, idk, have the dead rise up and overthrow Hades? For some reason? Again, we never get any clear motivation from Zeus. As far as I can remember, we’re never told why he hates Hades so much, or why he wants to overthrow her. I don’t even remember if the author explained what Zeus was going to do with the Underworld without Hades there to rule. I’m sorry, I genuinely can’t even remember the details, but it was just reallybadly set up and, once again, easily solved in a few pages.And that’s really the main problem with the story, everything is so easily solved. Our good guys all get happily ever afters with no sacrifices and no consequences for anything, and there’s always a quick and easy solution to any threat or conflict. Mythology:So how does it hold up as a Hades and Persephone retelling?Well, not great, imho. A lot of classical elements are incorporated into this retelling, but they’re stripped of any meaning or importance to the plot. The pomegranate? It’s there at their wedding, but it never figures into the greater narrative.Demeter causing famine by bringing infertility to the fields? She does freeze the world in this story, threatening everlasting winter, but unlike in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, it’s not an act of agency on her part, refusing to submit to the will of Zeus and fighting to be reunited with her daughter. Nah. She’s just being manipulated by Zeus and it’s used as a cheap reason to tear our lovers apart.And somehow, I don’t even know why seeing as it doesn’t tie into Demeter freezing the earth or Persephone eating the seeds of the pomegranate, butPersephone is still forced to spend half the year on earth and half in theUnderworld.In the epilogue, we see her in modern day New York*, acting as psychopomp (for some reason???), happily guiding the souls to the afterlife, which we’re told is her duty for the half of the year she spends above ground. I’m just so confused as to what the author was even going for here. Where did this come from? It doesn’t originate in the original myths, but it’s also not explained (as far as I can remember) in the book.*This isn’t a problem with the book per se, and it’s 100% a matter oftaste, but I personally really dislike it when mythological figures appearin a modern setting, especially when the author has to put them in anAmerican setting rather than the geographical location of their origin, whetherthat’s Greece or Egypt or Scandinavia or what have you. Romance: Hades and Persephone are destined soulmates and instantly fall in love pretty much the moment they first set eyes on each other, which doesn’t allow for any growth or progression of their relationship. They’re instantly deeply and madly in love with each other and their feelings never change over the span of the story. They spend most of their time together staring lovingly into each others eyes and when they’re separated for literally 3 days Persephone basically spends her entire days languishing in despair.It’s ridiculously melodramatic and cheesy, which again, personal taste thing,I’m just really not into. Other writing issues: - The worldbuilding is pretty much non-existent. The story doesn’t feel grounded in any particular time period or cultural context, and you never get any sense of the setting, or how the world works and what this society is like.  - The pacing was really poor, either dragging or exploding into rushed action. - A lot of page time is spent on describing things that doesn’t really further the plot or has any thematic relevance. One example would be the garden of metal and precious stones Hades made for Persephone. It’s cool I guess? But what purpose does it serve? We also waste a lot of time which could be better used developing the characters or moving the plot forward on watching Persephone play with puppy Cerberus or petting Hades’ horses (see poor pacing). - There’s a lot of talk about Persephone having some sort of grand destiny, and that her actions have been prophesized. This is never properly explained and it only serves to weaken Persephone’s story arc, stripping her of agency by implying that she doesn’t really have a choice in the matter. Prophecy and destiny are story elements that have to be handled delicately and are easy to screw up, and they’re just dealt with so clumsily here.  - Also the writing was just… not very good.I’m sure there are more things I could dig up and complain about, but I feel like this is probably too long and rambly already, so I’ll stop here.

Obligatory disclaimer:This is obviously just my personal opinion. There are a lot of people who love this book (going by Goodreads ratings, I am clearly in the minority) and I am genuinely happy for them! I also mean no disrespect to the author who seems like a genuinely lovely person. 

[adamarinayu]

Now that we're on this hiatus, do you mind telling us what you thought of each episode?

Okay, I know I’m super late to answer this but here I am! I’m not gonna go too in depth on them, but I do want to talk about them.

Treasure of the Found Lamp!

This one was amusing, and I absolutely love what they did with Djinn. I’m so so so glad they changed his name, too, as “Dijon” always bothered me, even as a kid. Also, the story of the lamp was very heartwarming! And seeing Selene again was fun, especially as she had to run around and we find out she’s a terrible liar lol (so she definitely had nothing to do with Della’s disappearance, I think we can all finally put that theory to rest).

The wild goose chase aspect was funny, coming from both sides, and I still think the actress on Ma Beagle’s TV looked vaguely like a character from PKNA so. But Djinn did not pull punches and them Beagles at least got hurt XD

Also. It kinda has a “the greatest treasure is family” vibe to it.

The Outlaw Scrooge McDuck!

As someone who loves Scrooge and loves Goldie, but is indifferent to Scroldie… I still loved this episode. It was great! It was also absolutely hilarious. And Gyro’s time traveling was amazing. Especially Scrooge’s sudden moment of realization when Gyro returned lol.

Louie’s gonna befriend Goldie! That makes me excited. I bet they’re gonna teach each other things that we haven’t even thought of (ie Louie values his family, while Goldie doesn’t even have a family. Maybe Goldie will officially join the Duck-McDuck family not through her strange but obviously antagonistically-romantic relationship with Scrooge, but through her friendship with and tutelage of Louie? Maybe he’s the one who shows her the importance of family and offers her a place in their family… it doesn’t mean giving up adventure, it just means always having somewhere she can call home, and people she can trust and rely on!).

I’m iffy about Jeeves’ redesign, and also his somewhat betrayal of Rockerduck, but I’ve never been like a hardcore fan of the two of them so it was easy for me to move on. I am curious, though, just how they’re gonna come back… guess Gyro’s not quite done with time travel shenanigans.

The only real gripe I have is Sheriff Marshal Cabrera. DON’T GET ME WRONG, I absolutely loved him. He’s a beautiful babby boy. But at the same time, he’s literally just. Fenton. I know he’s like. Fenton’s great grandfather (or maybe uncle, idk) or something. There should absolutely be similarities yes, but it felt like someone had taken the characters and placed them in an old west setting. That being said, I do love him, I just wish he’d been slightly more his own character. Like, maybe a little more like a mix of M’Ma and Fenton! Idk.

The 87 Cent Solution!

…….. You really want to know?

Okay, the episode was good. It was funny, and I enjoyed seeing Glomgold’s timestop shenanigans.

But the funeral scene? That wasn’t cool. I saw the “not really dead” twist coming, I think we all did, but no one thought to tell Donald? Donald thought that, so soon after finally making amends with his uncle, he had lost him for good.

And I get it. It’s meant to be a gag. It’s supposed to be funny. But it kinda really soured the rest of the episode for me. I hate to say that too, because it was a good and funny episode… I just… I can’t believe they did that to Donald. :(

The Golden Spear!

AGONY. Agony is how I feel about this one. Della made friends with the Lunarians! Actual friends! And then Penny made a bad choice, and Lunaris… damn you, Lunaris, you traitor.

All the things Della listed off, wanting to do with her kids and brother and uncle… they’re things the others have already done without her. That hit me in the feels.

AND THEN DONALD- AGH, I CAN’T EVEN. Poor Donald. He’s so stressed and his family loves him so much and just wanted him to have some peace. But alas, it was not to be. And now the fandom cries.

… Even if he really shouldn’t have climbed into that rocket but y’know. He didn’t MEAN to press buttons….

Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!

Della reunites with her boys and no one realizes Donald is gone. And we see Della trying to be a mom, and kinda failing miserably. But she’s trying, and she’s learning!

ALSO THEIR WOULD-BE NAMES HFBVSHKFCS

It really put to rest one of my biggest fears, that all of the triplets would accept her immediately (Louie showed serious hesitation through the entire episode, definitely coming from his place of insecurity that Dewey and Huey don’t share) and she’d be super-mom. She makes mistakes, and it’s acknowledged that she seems to be trying to be one of them rather than be their mother. It does feel awkward at times, and alien, like the boys are trying so hard to think she’s doing great when she’s really causing harm, but in the end when it comes down to it she’d do anything to protect them, and gives them the choice of letting her into their life. She doesn’t try and force her way in (as she kinda did at first, but came to realize this isn’t easy for them either).

Right now she feels kinda more like a cool aunt than a mom, but she’ll learn.

Raiders of the Doomsday Vault!

IS LUDWIG’S CONSCIOUS TRAPPED IN THE VAULT?! HE REACTED TO AND INTERACTED WITH THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE.

Anyway Scrooge and Glomgold’s parts were absolutely A+ hilarious. Della and Dewey bonding, they’re so much alike, but we see Dewey’s insecurity flare up- how he wants to impress Della, feeling like he has to earn her love. Even though she’s already loved them for ten years, even without ever knowing what they looked like.

Della has a moment of realization here, too. She looks down and realizes Dewey is in a dangerous situation. She realizes that Dewey is in danger. She questions if they’re doing something crazy, clearly thinking maybe we shouldn’t be doing this, but when Dewey quotes her “I’m your son, I can do anything!” she instead chooses to encourage him, not wanting to discourage him and possibly cause him to fall.

And then of course, her “exit strategy” thing. I honestly kinda feel like it’s a bit of an ass pull, but it at least makes a little sense. When you’re being hunted by a monster on the moon, you always want to have an escape route planned. Scrooge sees that, even if she’s the same ol’ Della she was before, she’s still changed. Ten years still changes you.

Friendship Hates Magic!

New Girl! New Girl! Violet’s pretty cool. At first she comes off as one of those “um, actually” people, but since I’m one of those “um, actually” people it’s pretty whatever to me lol. And Lena’s back! I’m super excited about that.

Lena gets a little jealous-possessive but who can blame her, Webby’s one of the few people who have always believed in her. And Webby spent so much time we never knew about trying to find ways to bring Lena back, to the point that it’s like clockwork.

The whole “being tormented by her own mind” thing was actually frightening in a way, and I’m just glad it all turned out alright. And now Webby isn’t just a fourth triplet, she’s the central member of her own trio. It’s great!

The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee!

Admittedly another plotline to be seen from far away. A good episode full of secondhand embarrassment, but dang Huey’s LUNGS.

I love Gandra’s design and personality. It’s pretty durn great. I love it! I just have one gripe. Warning, this is a bit of a rant.

Why can’t we let characters be feminine? By this I mean traditionally feminine. Dresses, makeup, shopping, high heels, giggling, soft and compassion and gentle and things I’m not, pinks and lilacs, etc. Yes, Webby’s favourite colour is pink and she likes glitter and wears skirts, she is pretty feminine. But she’s the only one, besides Roxanne Featherby (Featherly? I don’t remember, and that’s only arguably because of her clothes), to be even slightly feminine, and even then it can be argued she’s not all that traditionally feminine because, well… she’s the bruiser of the group. Which there’s absolutely nothing wrong with! A feminine bruiser absolutely works, and I love it, but looking at it from certain angles…

Most of the (non-villain) females, besides Webby, show next to no traditionally feminine qualities- Goldie is the closest, when she dresses up for special events or for schemes. Which I don’t mind, per se, I don’t have many traditionally feminine qualities either, but you’d think at least a few would. The original Gandra Dee, who I am glad they changed mind you, was very feminine; she wore her hair long, wore dresses, enjoyed makeup and manicures, etc. She was traditionally feminine, AND smart. (even if I never liked how they drew her face (the eyes and beak look weird imho, DT17 pulled it off better), and I felt like she left much to be desired *cough*…)

There is nothing wrong with having traditionally feminine characters. There is nothing wrong with having characters who enjoy dressing up, or putting on makeup, or shopping, etc. The problem with traditionally feminine characters comes in when it’s done for sex appeal, or you have a woman running from dinosaurs in 6 inch heels (yeah I’m calling that out) or there’s a feminine character there only to be dragged on by the others for their feminine characteristics.

Anyway, rant about that over. I still love what they did with Gandra, but I’m just noticing this trend where female characters aren’t being allowed to like traditionally feminine things. Yeah, there are absolutely a lot of girls who don’t, but there’s probably an equal amount who do! And there’s nothing wrong with showing a competent, traditionally feminine character. :/

The Duck Knight Returns!

DARKWING DUCK DARKWING DUCK DARKWING DUCK NEGADUCK AAAAAAAA

Need I say more?

Okay, Launchpad is a sweetheart and let’s be honest, we knew the moment we saw him that the other guy at the signing was Drake Mallard.

I love that they kept the “Darkwing Duck inspires Drake Mallard to become Darkwing Duck” aspect of DW’s origin story, while twisting it around so that time travel and paradoxes don’t occur. Also! We still get Jim Cummings as Negaduck, while also getting a new VA for Drake Mallard/Darkwing Duck- someone who does a pretty good job at sounding like them, too. So now Negaduck, who is no longer Darkwing/Drake Mallard from an alternate universe, has his own distinguishable voice!

… And I still think Negs is gonna have an unhealthy obsession with Launchpad, thanks to the “my fan” comment. I figure that’s how we’ll get Nega Launchpad, but who knows! There’s so many possibilities!

Anyway Gosalyn, yesterday please. Gimme.

[littlemisssquiggles]

If there really is going to be a dance arc, my biggest nightmare is Ruby ending up dancing with Weiss or Jaune, and Oscar ends up dancing with Maria for comedy 😓

…Uhm…no???Even if that does wind up being the case, myguess is that it’ll be a moment that plays out temporarily and not within thecontext that you’re thinking of, Miggy. Besides I can more picture our veteran pocket abuelita being thechaperone/fairy godmother type to convince Oscar into dancing with Ruby. I knowit’s a concern of yours but from one RosegardeningPinehead to another, I wouldn’t worry too much aboutthat fam. Allowthis squiggle meister to provide you some assurances.

Generally a Ballor Gala type of episode or arc is anopportunity for the series’ creators to pander to promote all of itsships while bolstering their core pairings as the driving point of the entire subplot. I’ll give you an example. Inthe last gala-related episodic arc back in V2, what did we get?

We got a moment with Jaune and Ruby drinkingpunch and being socially awkward together (Lancaster), Jaune confronting Neptune in favour of Weiss (White Knight), Yangand Blake sharing a dance together (Bumblebee), Blake and Sun going together to the dance (BlackSun) and Neptunesharing a talk with Weiss with the two seemingly spending the rest of the dancein each other’s company (Iceberg).

We even got a moment where Ironwood askedGlynda to dance and she accepts for all the Technopath or Cyberwitch shippers. Sadly no OzGlyn though; unless you count her standing dutifully by his side even at thedance before being approached by Ironwood as a moment. Ey, close enough.

And this whole subplot culminates in the grandest ofshipping moments—Jaune, chivalrously keeping his promise to Pyrhha showing upin a dress and agreeing to share a dance with her.

The last dance arc gave us pretty much allthe core ships: White Knight, Arkos, Bumblebee, BlackSun and Iceberg. I canonly assume the next gala-themed subplot will the follow the same trend withour current ships. The last time there was a dance, you can say that Arkos wasthe face of that arc because it dealt with Jaune and Pyrhha’s feelings respectivelyand it works because this was a moment that led into their development andeventual endgame as of V3.

Yes, I know Arkos sailed and sunk within thespan of the same season. But regardless, the Arkos ship still soared high. Shemay be a ghost ship like the FlyingDutchman but she still sails proud and strong. DespitePyrhha’s absence, you can see that Jaune still cares very much for her andstill remains affected the most by her loss. As a matter of fact, I think adance episode would be the perfect time for Jaune to confront any lingeringfeelings of guilt he still harbours toward Pyrhha after losing her.

It can also provide Jaune with a second chance. Let’s not forget,Jaune originally wished to go to the dance with Weiss. With Pyrhha’s advice, hehad planned to confess how he truly saw Weiss in the hopes that this time shewould give him a shot. But in the end, he missed his window when Weiss asked Neptuneinstead.

This leaves me curious about something. Weiss’ whole gaggle with Jaune is because shecompletely misunderstood his interest in her. Weiss believed that Jaune onlyliked her for her name when the reality was far from that. This makes me wonderhow Weiss would’ve felt toward Jaune if she knew how he truly saw her.

This is why I believe the CRWBY Writers mightopt to revive this plotline and give us curious WhiteKnight shippers and fans the answer to thisquestion.

Would Weissknowing of Jaune’s true perception of her have changed her feelings for him?

That’s what I’d like to know and I think thispotential Atlas Ball could provide that answer.

Regarding your point on the CRWBY Writersmaking Ruby dance with Weiss or Jaune over Oscar—it’s funny, you say that’syour biggest nightmare Miggy but now I’m picturing that idea of yours being a legit nightmare Oscarhas when his anxiety over his feelings for Ruby and wanting to ask her to behis date to the ball gets the better of him.

Imagine the CRWBY Writers trolling the RG fandom by having Oscar dream of Ruby sayingshe’s in love with another potential suitor while dancing with them at thedance and we’re left to think it’s real until Oscar suddenly wakes up revealingit to be all a really baddream. I’d actually laugh if that turned out to becanon.

Apart from that, I’m going to be very bluntwhen I say this. While I respect the Lancaster and the Whiterose pairings as well as their shippers, if you were to honestly ask me myopinion on the potential of these ships, I would tell you that I think neither islikely. No wait, that sounded too harsh and doesn’t fully say all that I wantto say on that so let me rephrase to be more specific.

I don’t believe in the possibility of Lancaster orWhiterose becoming canon at this precise moment in the current RWBY storylinebased purely on the lack of the development for either ships in a romantic direction betweenthe events of the Mistral Arc.

Now before anyone in favour of these pairingschose to bash me for my statement, allow me to further justify my reasoning. I’msaying this out of my personal biasness as a firm Rosegardener. Not only am Ithe type of shipper who respects other ships but I’m also the type of shipperwhere if I notice that there is some strong inclination for a particularpairing provided with firm evidence from said franchise, I will admit that factregardless of my feelings toward said ship. This is why, even though I’m a BlackSun shipper, Icannot ignore or deny the hints of Bumblebee that was sprinkled throughout V6.While I still don’t believe the ship is canon as yet, I will admit that theseries has made a very strong push toward the pairing in the recent season thatI cannot just say is pandering.

I’m not a Bumblebee shipper but for what it’sworth, I would hope that if this is the next pairing the CRWBY are planning tobe make canon like Renora then I hope they just do it if that was the plan the whole time. I’m notone of those BlackSun shippers who are saying that BlackSun will be endgame andthat the CRWBY are only pandering to the Bees for now. If that is the case thenthat will actually cause me to feel rather sympathetic toward the Bee shippersbecause a remark like that heavily implies that the Bee fans are only beingbaited for their support just for the sake of salvaging RWBY’s rollercoasterride of a reputation which in turn paints the CRWBY as rather scummy. I don’t thinkthis is the case since I’d like to think the CRWBY know what they’re doing.

Well…50% of the time the CRWBY know whatthey’re doing and I’d like to positively think that Bumblebee in V6 is part ofthe 50% that highlight’s what the show wishes to do.

As you can probably tell, I’m not a fan of pandering to the fansespecially when it comes to ships. My thing is if you’re going to make a shipcanon, just do it. Don’t say you’re going to go with one ship while teasingothers. This is the same mess that drove the Voltron fandom into the dirt withits insufferable shipping wars and I hope that the CRWBY won’t do this for RWBY.

I mean…well technically, the shipping wars are already here in the RWBY FNDM. Shit, Ithink  the FNDM is even more known forits shipping wars than anything else. Damn.

Nevertheless, what I mean is that I don’t wantthe CRWBY to stroke that fire y’know what I mean? At least not intentionally. Thisis especially more apparent with the LGBT ships.

I’ve been in many different fandoms and what I’velearnt (particularly from fandoms such as Legendof Korra, VoltronLegendary Defender, Steven Universe and even Lifeis Strange of all things) is that people don’t play when it comesto the queer ships. This response post isn’t supposed to be about Bumblebeebut…allow me to deviate here for a sec.

If the CRWBY wish to do Bumblebee then doBumblebee and let them do Bumblebee. If that was the Writers’ plan all alongand it took them six to seven seasons to do so then no one can’t fault them ifthat was their vision and they took the time to build up this bond.

But if you’re a CRWBY Writer, don’t doBlackSun for predominantly five seasons and then push more for Bumblebee assoon as Sun is conveniently out of the picture only to start hinting atBlackSun again when Sun returns to the picture seasons later. Please do not dothat!

This is something that I hope they don’t do for RoseGardenwith respect to Lancaster and Whiterose. Speaking bluntly as a Rosegardener, I donot wish to be a part of some silly ass shipping war. This is why I no longercare about who Blake ends up with. Yang or Sun—this squiggle meister doesn’t care anymore. All I want is for RWBY as a show to just pick onelove interest for Blake and kindly stick to their guns on it. As a BlackSunshipper, I have no issue with Blake ending up with Yang purely because Ibelieve that Bumblebee neitherruins nor kills BlackSun. Regardless of whether hebecame her lover or remained her friend, it wouldn’t matter with Sun.

Do you guys knowwhy I love Sun Wukong so much and why he’s easily my second favourite RWBYcharacter (Oscar being number one as always of course)?

Sun has and always will be a person who caresmore about Blake’s well-being and her happiness over his own. Even if Sunstrongly likes or even loves Blake, he’s not selfish with her. This is why it disgusts me when otherfans try to badmouth Sun and downplay his interactions and intentions toward Blakewhile misunderstanding the type of character Sun is.

Out of the two key male companions in Blake’slife, Sun is the better of the two since he is the complete opposite of Adam. Whenit came to his former relationship with her, Adamwas selfish with Blake to be the bitter end. Adamwould quicker sever any connection Blake had with anyone else. Sun, on theother hand is the opposite of that.

Rather than destroy her bonds, what does Sun do? Hehelps Blake to repair them. Adam was vindictive with Blake’s bonds includingBumblebee. He even voices some of that spite during his clash with Yang in V6which mirrored Gaston’s taunts to the Beast from Beautyand the Beast.

If Bumblebee becomes canon, it wouldn’taffect the beauty of the BlackSun dynamic because so long as Blake is happy, that is allthat matters to Sun. It doesn’t matter if Yang is the person that Blakeultimately falls for, Sun will support it regardless out of his care for Blake.That’s the extent of how much Sun loves Blake. It is selfless kind of love.

Sun will be happy for Blake whoever shechooses even if it’s not him. That is the type of person the series has paintedSun Wukong out to be and thus that’s how I view him. This is why I can never ever picture SunWukong being the jealous, spiteful type who would get piss hurt if hediscovered Blake romantically involved with Yang. Spite was Adam’s word. Earnest was Sun’s because he’s always eager to help someone especially if hebelieves they need it and definitely if he cares about them in turn.

Sun Wukong may not be perfect but by Golly, he is the perfect companion. Asa BlackSun shipper, I don’t mind if Sun never becomes Blake’s lover because hestraight up is her bestfriend/closest confidant and that’s a title that youcan’t take away from him.

But that’s enough gushing over Sun ‘Sunshine Boi’ Wukong. Getting back on track with my problems with pandering, this iswhat eventually drained me of my interest in who Blake eventually ended upwith. I got tired of the incessant back and forth between Bumblebee andBlackSun; not just by the FNDM but in the series too.

I went from being like “I totally ship BlackSun!” during V1 to V3 to “I still totallyship BlackSun but I can also see Bumblebee being a strong possibility too giventhe vibes I’m getting from Yang regarding her underlying feelings about Blakeafter their separation.” during V4 and V5 to “Oh my God, can you please just pick one and stopconfusing the shippers with your ridiculous pandering, CRWBY! I don’t even careabout Blake’s love life anymore. Her relationship drama has been the driving forceof her character arc since the Black Trailer. If you’re gonna do Bumblebee thendo freaking Bumblebee and stick with it. But please don’t do Bumblebee onlybecause Sun is out of the picture and the minute he returns, it’s back to theback and forth! Please no!”

That being said; as I’ll repeat once more—Idon’t wish for Rosegarden to be given the same treatment alongside Whiteroseand Lancaster. As much as I love the Rosebuds and would love to see Rosegarden become canon—if the series has beenshown to be leaning more towards Lancaster or Whiterose over this pairing, thenI would openly admit that. However, this has not been the case at all for thepast three seasons.

I understand that there are some Lancaster andWhiterose shippers whose sole interest in these ships is because they just likethese characters together. Doesn’t matter if their endgame or not and that’stotally fine. But I’m also aware of the other spectrum of these particularshipping groups—the more passionate shippers who believe with all of their heart thatthese ships will be endgame and will go out of their way to proclaim this opinion of theirs at the expense of insulting other Rubyships. Particularly RoseGarden. That is totally NOT fine.

Do you remember when I made this prompt post asking fellow Rosegardeners if they were ever hostile toward othernon-RG ships? Speaking to which, thank you to everyone who responded to thatpost. Your answers certainly helped to prove my point that as a shippingcommunity, we Rosegardeners don’t go out our way to bash other pairings. If wehave to address the other ships, it’s usually done in a manner that tries toremain humble and respectful even in the face of debunking the possibility ofthese other ships with our own opinions.

I made that prompt post after discovering aso-called ‘analysis’ post made by a Whiterose shipper who shared their views on why theythink Rosegarden will never be canon. This was done during RWBY RoseGarden Week1.0 by the way. How nice of them to post that during that time, right?

When I see stuff like this, it makes me feelbad for the Whiterose and Lancaster shippers who aren’t like this. I know everyshipper speaks for themselves most of the time but this type of attitude is generallywhat makes me turn away from certain pairings. Not because of the ship itselfbut its shippers.

Sorry if I sound like I’m going off on sometirade, I just don’t like the idea of the CRWBY baiting anything with regardsto Rosegarden and other ships. I know this is probably inevitable going forward for V7especially if another dance arc is expected. I just don’t wish for myself orthe Rosegarden community to be involved in some dum-dum shipping war. I don’twish to fight any Whiterose or Lancaster shippers nor do I want them to attackme or my fellow Rosegardeners. That’s just silly.

Besides my headcanon is that the CRWBY Writers will push for a deeper RoseGarden relationshipin V7. My theory for V7 is thatthey’ll most likely do another time jumpat the start of the season. That’s what they did forthe Mistral Arc so I’m expecting the same for Atlas. I feel like we’re likelyto start next volume with our heroes already settled into Atlas (sporting newwardrobe—at least everyone minus Oscar) having grown already adjusted to lifewithin the kingdom’s walls for roughly a good space of time—I’d say roughly one to possibly three months. Perhaps enough for Oscar to be aged up.

As of the end of V6, Oscar was confirmed to stillbe 14 years old so it’d be interesting if he’s15 by the start of Atlas to hint that he had a birthday while the heroes werein Atlas. Part of the reason why I want a time skip isbecause it would provide the Writers with an opportunity to add moredevelopment for RoseGarden off-screen.

Imagine if…we start V7 with Ruby and Oscar sharing a closer friendship than theydid back in Mistral because their friendship had a lot of leeway to growoff-screen. As much as I’d love to see more of the Rosebud friendship progresswithin the series, I wouldn’t mind if the Writers do this especially if it’s inthe form of a time jump.

After all, a time jump provided RNJR enough time togrow as a unit of friends so the same can be done with the Rosebuds as well asOscar with JNR. It’s definitely an idea.

Imagine…the audience going into the V7 with Oscar showing more obvious signs ofhaving a crush on Ruby and what could be cute is if Ruby reciprocates thatinterest. Part of the reason why I have a great time believing that RoseGardenis a possibility is because the series has taken it’s time to sprinkle a coupleof hints at these two potentially growing to like each other.

Another reason I adore the RoseGarden pairingis the duality within the ship. Both Ruby and Oscar mirror each other in terms of theirshared interest in each other and their desire to support one another. This iswhy I find it ridiculous when anti-RG shippers try to act like the serieshasn’t been unsubtly edging these two kids together.

I’ll admit something. I wouldn’t be a Rosegardener if RWBY as a series didn’t go out of its way to zone in on these two.Contrary to what some might believe, this squigglemeister didn’t start supporting RoseGarden until V5.I’m not one of the folks who paired Ruby with Oscar as early as V4. This is whyI’m able to stand with my fellow shippers in saying without a doubt that theshowrunners of RWBY are setting something up between these two.

We’re not sure what that is as yet—a potential romance or just a really closefriendship. Who knows? But it’s definitely there and it’sdefinitely something. RoseGarden may not be canon but it’s FRIEND-shipequivalent: Rosebuds is for now. Before a garden can blossom, rosebudsneeds to be planted and tended to. The CRWBY have already established aconnection between Ruby and Oscar in more ways than one. Now what’s left is tosee how and what it grows into.

I’ll give you the key ones. Ruby and Oscarshare a connection because they are both the youngest members of the heroes.They are also inadvertently two of the most powerful beings in all of Remnantbecause they both share an unearthly power that they received from a godly character. Ruby is a Silver EyedWarrior; presumably the last of her kind and Oscar is a Wizard of Light; thecurrent incarnation of a long lineage of brave magical men. Both Ruby and Oscarshare the power of the God of Light within them and that alone screams thatthey share a bond that transcends anything else within the series.

The antis can try their goshdarndiggity hardest todeny the possibility of these two falling in love all they want but what theycannot ignore are the canonical facts that link these two together. And let’snot forget the main kicker that theshow keeps pushing these two together. Even when the plotdoesn’t demand it, they still edge them closer to each other and make sure theaudience sees it.

It’s actually quite jarring how many timesthey do it to the point that it should be its own drinkinggame. Go back and rewatch V6 and take a drinkeach time the series focuses on Ruby and Oscar; whether they are sharing ascene or just sharing a shot. Seriously try it and pray you stay sober enoughto count them all because there is a quite a bit. Definitely more than 5.

Seriously how can you NOT think something is being set upwith these two smaller, more honest souls? It’s just so unapologetically loud. I quite likethat, actually. Then again, I would.

I feel like RoseGarden can potentially beanother BlackSun meaning that it’s a ship that can go either way and still workout swimmingly. It can either be a really strongfriendship or a beautifulromance. The verdict is left to the CRWBY. However Ithink romance is in the cards because a) Oscar has been hinted to draw influence from the Little Prince whosetrue love was a rose and part of his story and journey was learning how muchhis rose meant to him—a feat I can definitely picture Oscar going through tocome to terms with his feelings for Ruby if done right and b) No offense butit’s about time Ruby gets a love interest.

I mean she doesn’t necessarily need one. I justnever understood why she never got one before despite the series being sixseasons long going on seven. Blake, Weiss and Yang each got to have potentialsuitors and dabble in romance yet Ruby was always omitted from that. Not sureif that was due in part to Ruby being so young and often looked at as a child within hergroup but…wait that was it, wasn’t it?

Ruby couldn’t experience love because she wastoo young to understand fully what it was since she was a child. Whelp, Ruby isno longer a child anymore. She’s not the same little girl sporting combatskirts and wielding the world’s deadliest weapon.

Well…she is but she’s not little anymore. Over theseasons Ruby has matured into a fine young woman. She still maintains herclassic Ruby bubbliness but Ruby is growing into a woman now. She’s evencurrently the age she should’ve been when starting Beacon: 17.

So this makes me wonder now if V7 will be mark Ruby’s time to have her own romantic subplot. She’s finally old enough to have her own love story. Hopefully.

If I didn’t know any better, I have a feelingOscar is being set up to become Ruby’s future love interest. His and Ruby’srapport reminds me too much of Katara andAang from Avatar:The Last Airbender even down to the two year age difference.Plus I feel like if love sprouts between the Rosebuds, RWBY will keep itmutual.

I’m starting to really, really love theconcept of Ruby andOscar falling for each other at the same time. Likeas their bond grows, any feelings they might share for one another remains thesame until a point where they both realize they love each other but either a) they’ll remain oblivious to how the other feels (while everyone else around themknows about it) or b) they have these feelings and wish to reveal them but outside factors keep intervening to make them second guess like the Merge or Salemthreatening the Fall of Atlas.

I used to think that Oscar will be the mainpilot of RoseGarden within the series and it’ll be a thing where he’s the onewith the crush and Ruby is just oblivious the whole time. However like I said,the series maintained mutuality with these two.

Any sense of interest, support and dedication Oscarhas for Ruby has been reciprocated by her. In V5, we got Ruby looking out forOscar when the series would allow for those moments. As a matter of fact, Rubywas the one person who really made the effort to care for Oscar when he wasstaying with RNJR and what I liked was that was continued into V6 until it wasOscar’s turn to look out for Ruby.

 When Oscar was going through the ropes andtrying to find his bearings, Ruby was there for him. She’s still there for himmaking sure he gets some attention for his efforts. And when Ruby startedhaving her hard times, we saw Oscar step and support her too.

These two look out for each other and this iswhy I love their dynamic. It amazes me how these two have only known each otherfor no longer than a month and two weeks between V5 and V6 and already theybehave like two people who’ve known each other longer.

It makes me curious to see what theirrelationship would be like if given more time to flourish. If their trust andbelief in one another blossomed this quickly, imagine how much further it cango with more time and focus. In life, there are those relationships that prosperin a short space of time that feel like longer. I feel like RG could be that;if it hasn’t already been done already. Just saying.

To put all of this in a nutshell: I know you have yourfears Miggy but again, I wouldn’t sweat it too much m’dude. Evenif Ruby shares a dance with either Weiss or Jaune, I don’t think the context ofit will be romantic. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep repeating it, Ihaven’t seen anything remotely romantic being teased by either Ruby and Weiss or Rubyand Jaune. The main series hasn’t done anything withthese two respective ships that even give off that vibe. Ruby has always valuedJaune and Weiss as two of her dearest friends who she loves and will go aboveand beyond to protect and this ties into how they both value her as a friend.

By my observation, Weiss and Jaune care aboutRuby like she’s family. They both treat her like a surrogate younger sister and respect her asmuch. I have yet to see either of these two blush or act fidgety around Ruby to suggest that they might have feelings forher beyond a friendship. Unless the CRWBY do something in V7 to  change that point of view, then and only thenwill I believe in that prospect. But until such a time, Whiterose and Lancasterwill only be FRIEND-ships in my eyes. Sorry.

I have a feeling that we’re more likely tosee Oscar kind of go through what Jaune went through back in V2 with hisrelationship with Weiss and Pyrhha.

My Pinehead headcanon is that Oscar will want to go to the dance with Ruby but his chance endsup getting unceremoniously cock-blocked by Whitley Schnee who asks Ruby to behis date. The concept I have is that the AtlasBall will be hosted by the Schnee Dust Company so naturally the Schnees will be most present as invited guests—atleast Jacques and Whitley will be there as the head of the company and hisheir.

Ruby would most likely not wish to go withWhitley but would go on Weiss’ behalf since her BFF convinces her to go in thehopes that through Ruby chumming up to Whit, Weiss would learn of the affairs ofthe SDC that she’ll be investigating during her side of the plot for V7. Or soI’d like to think. That’s my theory anyways. 

Sorry for the long rant Miggy. I hope thisanswer helps alleviate some of your tension about the future dance episodes.

Also, I hope that my comments in thisresponse post didn’t disrespect any Whiterose or Lancaster shippers who might be reading this. At the end of the day, these areonly my opinions and don’t reflect the opinions of other Rosegardeners or the entireRosegarden community just as how I’m certain not all Whiterose or Lancastershippers are hostile toward Rosegarden or its shippers.

My thoughts here are only meant to be anhonest (maybe a bit too honest at times) expression of how I perceive certainthings and for what it’s worth, I really hope I didn’t upset any of you with mypoints about your favourite ship. That wasn’t my intention and if that sohappens to be the case then I humbly apologize.

~LittleMissSquiggles(2019)