#but they basically just explore the worlds Ava is in

[eternadreeblissa]

Where... Where am I?...

Darkness created from the boulders and rocks that tower above and cloud the skies, I feel I am in a cave. And the only source of light, was through the shrooms and fungi that glow within this place.

I raised myself from where I laid, the heaviness of my body weighed on me yet it did not stop me from composing myself, until eventually, I can stand on my own two feet.

Where is this place? Is this a dream?..

And then, I heard a voice. Alongside the strumming of a harp.

A voice so gentle and soothing, like a lullaby.. In a language so foreign yet also so familiar to me...

My head turned to the source, as if hypnotized by command from a siren. I closed my eyes in wonder, relishing the music flowing within my ears, before treading forward the dark path ahead.

Before me, was an opening, carved like a ragged archway. And beyond what lies there, is a girl with golden hair showered in the light from the large cracked opening in the distant sky.

A girl? What is she doing here?

...And she looks rather familiar...

For a moment, I did not move much. I allowed myself to listen in, enjoying the melody which her fingers and voice play in harmony. Before slowly, I walked up to her. I dared not rush, for I do not want to startle her and ruin such calming melody. And so, with every step I take, not a sound of even the soft ground beneath my feet would scratch, as I slowly advance forward until I was a meter away.

She had not noticed my presence even once. Seemingly immersed in her melody.

But that's alright. I am but a mere bystander. And all I wish is to enjoy the melodies she plays for whomever. Even if she may not see me, I don't mind staying here for a little while.

Yet, now that the distance had shrunk greatly from where I once stood, my eyes had widened upon recognition on who this was..

"...Zelda?"

...

...Thankfully, the song had ended, when I accidentally uttered her name. It seemed I was correct, as the face she made when she turned to me was one of shock.

"You..."

She... Knows me? No.. She *remembers* me?

"Zelda... What are you doing in here? Should you not be in the village of Skyloft?" The words had slipped from my lips..

"I.. I was just playing in peace in here for only a moment. That is all..." She turned from me, cradling her harp with her crestfallen face. "But... What of you? Why are you here?"

"I've come to find you. I was looking for you everywhere." Was I? Since when?

"I see... I'm sorry for worrying you." She stood and smiled apologetically to me. And then, her face had suddenly morphed into an expression of worry. "No... Wait. We shouldn't be speaking to each other."

"...Pardon?" My thoughts exactly.

"Hylia... Hylia will come for you." She shook her head, her eyes squeezed shut as she grabbed my hands.

"Ava, please, go! Immediately! Please leave Skyloft at once!"

"L-Leave?" I was taken aback. To where? Do I even have the means to depart from a sky island like Skyloft?

"I-I'm sorry. Please go, please leave me here before she—" her pleas were cut off, as her knees had weakened and landed on the earth.

"Sun." I called her. But why Sun? Is it because.. "Sun, I would not blame you for any of this, for any of what would happen. Even if you yourself truly wish for my demise, I know it was only—"

Static. The sounds had been muffled and it's harder to hear. I'm not sure what to make of the rest that transpired.

Yet if there was anything I could at least make out...

"I... I only wanted Sky and I to be happy.. How did it turn out like this? I'm so sorry, A—..."

...Zelda was in conflict with Hylia. A division.

Have I... Done something?

I could not linger on my thoughts for long, nor can I even ask any of the questions I wish to address at least to myself within my own mind. As the sounds of a bell echoed from the skies and Zelda hitched her last breath beneath me. I wish not for her to be alone... "Sun.. I forgive you." I held her close to me, as the light blinded me.

[infinityinakiss]

avatrice au fic recommendations:

i don't think there is a single avatrice au fic that i haven't read so here are some my favorites. i tried to find ones that weren't as popular, so hopefully there are couple here you haven't read.

I want to believe by puppybusby @yashastrongarms - x files au - basically 23k of avatrice flirting while being incredibly reckless with alien shit. unfortunately, it is only a one shot that doesn't delve into their relationship, but it is so worth it. and the tension. woof.

Truly a Steadfast Love by StoicLastStand - medieval au - they have a whole series of ficlets, but this is one of my favorites. there's a tournament to win ava's hand in marriage, ava goes undercover to fight for her freedom, but she ends up falling for the very knight who everybody wants to win. i also love their lucifer au, Greater Sacrifices.

a lover, or something of mine by Smokestarrules - reincarnation au - each chapter is a different life with a different story, and i promise you, if you have anything that even resembles a heart, you will cry. i keep going back and rereading chapter 4 because apparently i love to hurt myself. i also love the world is just illusion (trying to change you) by them, it's a road trip au.

i should love you (and i swear i do) by Noteveryonefitsintothebadbitchgenre - harry potter au (fuck jk rowling) - its that trope where they're married and they talk about each other constantly but nobody actually knows they're married. their students all think that professor silva and professor young have a friendly rivalry, but there are a couple of moments that don't add up.

purple by sxftmelody - hitman au - technically, but really it's just sad, i always cry at the end. beatrice helps ava run away after a job, and slowly they open themselves up and start to fall in love. tw: major character death. also love turning page by the same author, mercenary/princess au.

in our corner of the world by definitelynotthere - roommate au - i know, i know, there's a thousand roommate aus, why would i recommend a fic that isn't even finished and will probably never get finished? i don't know, i just really love this one, and if you're like me, you'll go "ooh, two cakes" and read it anyway.

The last hero of Ogygia by jessnope - percy jackson au - specifically calypso au, ava is calypso and beatrice is the flirty hunter that washed up on her shore. it's super cute.

stay there, 'cause i'll be coming over (while our blood's still young) by britishngay - spiderman au - ava's character voice is actually designed to be spiderman, and bea is the perfect doctor lady that patches spidey up when she gets hurt. plus beatrice telling lilith to "shut up and sit down" will never not be iconic.

sunday people (sunday shines for you) by gilligankane @piratekane - another roommates au - jealous ava is back again and out for blood, specifically jenn-with-two-ns blood.

this is my prayer (I'm in love with you) by nyxtyka - my best friend's wedding/spies au - i'll be honest, this fic went to my marked for laters to die. i don't know if it'll ever be finished, but it is one of my favorite aus, i promise it'll be worth the pain.

spellbound by onomofication - witch au - beatrice is the witch in the woods that ava goes to to finally find a way to explore the world like she has always wanted to. but as she gets to know the surprisingly kind, serious, kinda-sorta witch, she discovers that maybe the world was smaller than she had once imagined. i also love another fic by this author, hit me with you best shot, which is basically a cupid au, where ava runs around trying to stop jc, a cupid, from shooting the love of her life, beatrice.

the celestial glow is blinding by understreetlights - firewatch au - did i think ava and beatrice sitting around, looking at trees, and falling love with each other through walkie talkies was going to be interesting? no, but the world loves to prove me wrong.

too cold, it's withdrawal by KatieQgle - captain america au - give this one a chance, even if you don't like marvel. beatrice is hot as fuck as bucky and honestly the winter soldier plot line needed a little sapphic yearning. come on, avatrice in the army in the 1940s, being badass and fighting nazis together? who wouldn't love that?

i have a ton more, reach out if you want them!

[simplykorra]

golden hour - chapter ten

In what can only be described as a small miracle, Ava wakes up first.

She hasn’t told Beatrice yet, but this is actually her very first motel room ever.

It’s not a huge deal, but part of Ava’s whole ‘see the world’ strategy involved a lot of hotels and motels and various random places to stay.

Which is perhaps a bit far fetched for someone in a wheelchair because the world doesn’t give a shit about people in wheelchairs - but the first determinant in her plan turns out to be the fucking beds.

They suck. This one in particular is so soft that Ava has basically sunk into it, and for someone with no use of her legs, having to drag them out of the pit any time she wants to move in the night is hellish.

Eventually, long after Bea had fallen asleep, Ava nestled up against her let the feeling of Beatrice’s breathing against the back of her neck lull her to sleep.

On Ava’s list of firsts, she reached two more yesterday. Sleeping next to someone, and finger fucking them.

The latter wins so far, but sleeping next to Beatrice wasn't terrible either. She was a very still sleeper - or maybe just exhausted from the drive yesterday. Either way, Beatrice rolled over once in the night, early and hasn’t moved since.

The other thing, the whole fingering her thing, that was…surreal.

Ava will forever be grateful to Genevieve at the orphanage for being so kind to her and gentle with her, for experimenting with her and making her feel like an actual teenager exploring her sexuality if only for a few late night sneak-ins.

However, that was nothing like yesterday.

CONT ON AO3

[nyctoheart]

So I don't really know what to make of all this, and it very well could amount to absolutely nothing, but I think it's fun exploring anyway.

So I thought about Nebu's post that compares the pipes in the gothic Scala ad Caelum to the pipes going into the lifeboat (although their conclusion is not really what this post is about). This is a long post basically comparing the machinery in Hollow Bastion and Daybreak Town to gothic Scala ad Caelum.

I'm first reminded of how Hollow Bastion was overtaken by pipes around the time (I assume) that all its drama went down with Xehanort, Kairi, and the start of the Organization. The pipes in HB seem to grow so fast that they pierced through the building. And while later referenced (KH2’s HB castle has cranes cleaning up the pipes), its never really explained. We assume these pipes originate from the keyhole all the Heartless come from, it certainly looks that way. But pipes don’t appear in any other world that Heartless took over that we know of. I'll admit that the pipes in the lifeboat's room seem different to me personally though because they seem built there, given that there's no rubble and instead deliberate accents in the wall to make room for the pipes.

I also think about Daybreak Town’s tower. The idea that entire tower was a machine of some sort has really been growing on me. There are gears everywhere, even the Master's room, and there’s two different diagrams of the tower that also gives me the vibe that its a machine, maybe because it reminds me of the lifeboat's diagram. IF the entire tower is a machine, part of me wonders if its connected to/responsible for the recording of Daybreak Town, and that maybe Luxu and Ava clashing activated the "stop button". If the gears are not involved with that, then I feel like the only other possibility would be that its related to the lifeboat.

My main point for all this I wonder if gothic Scala ad Caelum will have its own sense of machinery, teased by the steampunk keyblades. IF it does, then I wonder if it too will have its own lifeboat.

I personally have always theorized that there’s a lifeboat at this Scala ad Caelum anyway because I don’t see how else the MoM could time travel to modern times without it. And if Brain couldn’t time travel with the last pod in the data world (some assume time travel would work just as well with a data pod, but we just don’t know. The pods Ephemer and Skuld used were originally from the real world), Brain would have had to use a whole other lifeboat too— at least it seems to me for now.

So I don't really know what my point is other than that its interesting that both worlds we know for sure have a lifeboat are also worlds that have very dense systems of machinery.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Honestly it baffles me to see people trying to make Hua Cheng's love for Xie Lian completely unexistent. Come on, dude fought 33 gods and burned down their temples, lit up 3 THOUSAND LANTERNS FOR XIE LIAN. Died like, 3 times for him, waited 800 years for him, you can't even TRY to argue that Hua Cheng isn't a simp and doesn't love Xie Lian. Now, say that Xie Lian is boring... Anon dearie, you either didn't read the fucking books or your reading comprehension is absolutely flawed. Sure you don't have to love the main character (tho why even like the story if you don't like the protagonist or smt), but at least you gotta respect others and stop trying to push an agenda only you are seeing. Besides, Xie Lian is awesome and I don't know how you can say he isn't. Anyways, Sorry abt the rant Ava, I'm just getting absolutely fed up with this anon and I'm about to throw hands, Calamity style - 🐉🦋

By all means I encourage it!

As you said, you don't have to have a deep attachment for it by any means, but at least understand the basics of the plot that are textual information as comprehension. I spoke of something similar just earlier with @ladypfenix, she said something that is very apt in regards to the fandom (at least the western side of it):

"And probably because they want to treat her (MXTX's) works like marvel fandom where people get shoved together on a whim and a decent author can create more chemistry than the movies do and it just doesn’t work that way."

And this has a lot of truth to it, mainstream western media is given almost nameless slates for fans to project on to garner further revenue, the fans are what are made to fuel and funnel that interest themselves and when others of course join, they are met with something honestly lackluster and you are left there going "this is what was so hyped?". It's an interesting phenomenon that is pretty unique to the western sphere of fandoms. They are made to fill holes that very few creators want to bother with and don't care about character inconsistencies when they're are 20 others also writing a plot. Ironically with many not even actually meeting each other to really discuss the scripting.

This is also why the usual love of "crossovers" doesn't quiet feel so easy to do with MXTX's works, there are rules of her being worlds, that are not interchangeable, nor are the characters interchangeable to fit anything and everyone. They are on such different spheres of experience and personality, I dare say most would not interact with each other of their own choosing. When characters are that deeply explored by the author, there really isn't anything to make "better" or fix without it being a horribly shallow mediocre rendition that loses the charm of the original.

Really one major theme that can be shared by the love interests of her works is their devotion to who they love with their all. And as I have said before, it is not about if that love is deserved, because they don't want to feel as a burden or troublesome to that beloved. It is meant to be a very unselfish romantic love despite all the traumas they may have faced, it is not because of who they loved and they will never see it as such.

Hua Cheng wanted others to stop placing unbelievable expectations on Xie Lian, since saving a nobody at the time that nobody else cared about, was able to save that life. Lan Wangji wanted others to realize that Wei Wuxian was always good and placed the burden of protection of others on his shoulders despite the harm it ultimately did to Wei Wuxian, it wasn't about being right, but being human and caring. Luo Binghe wanted someone to see him at his most awkward and real, to be able to be seen as vulnerable without being tossed away for showing that side of himself and being looked on with the usual disgust if he did fall.

It's an endearing theme for them to be able to finally find someone to have that with and be virginal because you simply are waiting for someone to share that with. Thinking of love as something precious as well as sex isn't something to scoff at, given how much of media tells is the opposite while also degrading those that are casual.

[leoramage]

Tagged by @charlosgoggles, I was pretty busy and kind of late when I saw the post! I immediately sat down once I had my free time to do this. Thank you for the tag my co-F1 astrology bestie in this app!

name: Leora Mage is actually an anagram of my real name! i am currently using it as a penname and stage name!

sign: my big three is leo-gemini-pisces!

time: its apparently 6:47 p.m. when i started writing this down. 9 p.m. when i finished (i had duties to attend to.)

favourite band/artist: i am the music bestie that listens to anything. you can't pin me down and tell me to list my favorite artists/band! ಠಿ⁠_⁠ಠ anyways here's the following:

solo artists: taylor swift, lana del rey, rihanna, doja cat, britney spears, ariana grande, olivia rodrigo, beyoncé, jennifer lopez, madonna, lady gaga, ava max, camila cabello, qveen herby

bands/groups: in this moment, ghost, the great discord, the neighborhood, the chainsmokers, little mix, blackpink, 2ne1, exo, bigbang, coldplay

bonus: i listen to classical music too (tchaikovsky, mozart, beethoven, etc.)

last movie: burlesque (as in christina aguilera) and house of gucci! i watched it for like a whole bus trip.

last show: house of the dragon! i love rewatching because of sir harwin strong & aemond targaryen!

also drive to survive as well, i was finding the episode fernando was in because i told my mom a local artist here in my country has physical similarities to fernando hahahaha

when I created this blog: i created this blog last year's ummer - solely for my practice, learn knowledge from other practitioners about my craft. i happen to love astrology too so it kind of stuck with me and my theme! i am continuously learning and mastering my craft but at the same time explore more.

other blogs: i have another tumblr blog but i forgotten what was the username but i do believe that i made that blog for roleplaying and posting my photo manipulation for a fandom i used to be in.

do I get asks: not until belle and becca sent me a game! i passed them on to my favorite writers and some to my moot blogs. i was supposed to send one to @charlosgoggles but they do not have their ask on lmfao

followers: 20 blogs are following me. most of them are my moots for sure or bots. idk, i did not check who is following me. i do not check who is following me to be fair (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)

average hours of sleep: 5-6 hours but sometimes longer. i work harder than i sleep.

instruments: guitar, ukelele, piano keyboard, violin. i only have a guitar and keyboard with me and i haven't touched them for ages. i learned how to play the other instruments because of my acquaintances who are passionate about music or simply band members.

what I am wearing: black maxi dress that i made myself!

dream job: i do believe i can be who i wanted to be if i put effort in it. so basically i do not have a dream job.

dream trip: world tour (my work requires a lot of that and isolation from the world. so it's quite a tough journey considering the rough waves of the ocean but anything for the bag of moneh)

favorite song atm: uh i do not have a favorite song at the moment. but i listen to subliminals a lot because they just calm my mind (my brain is so active that i need to decelerate it from thinking about the most obnoxious things) but let me check my most played in spotify... okay it says:

dance the night - dua lipa

tagging: @folkloresthings , @lorarri , @love-belle / @love-bellee , @goldsainz and @opheliaas-stuff because you guys are the sweet ones i had been interacting with for the past few days. i love them sm ฅ[⁠ᓀ⁠˵⁠▾⁠˵⁠ᓂ⁠]ฅ

(p.s. feel free to do in your own comfort 𔘓 much love guys 🤍🩷💕)

[fundielicious-simblr]

Harvestfest 🌲🍁🥧

(3rd Person POV)

Harvestfest is here again, with hordes of people descending on Newcrest (and like 5 in Brindelton bay) for a weekend of extreme family time. This post will be on the 'non heir' families that spawned from gen 2, so basically everyone from Danielle down to Harley. Thanks to my new and improved character pages, you should be able to figure out who they are and what their stories are that have led them to this point. I'll be posting them in reverse order so we'll start at the bottom and work our way to the top, so the 'heir + heir-ish' families (Allan, Branden, and Claire's) will have their own posts.

●🌲🍁🥧 ●

[L-R: James Lee (16), Cara (46), and Fletcher (47) Collins; Harley (44) and Gabriel (46) Barnard; Archie (11)(Front), Grayson (44) , Keira (42), and Matthew Collins (16)]

These are the Collins and Barnard Families. They had initially planned to travel to a cabin in the woods for a scenic harvestfest weekend, but conflicting work schedules meant that they put that plan on the backburner. They gathered at Fletcher and Cara's house for their grand meal, before heading to church for the evening service.

[F] Life has found a steady rhythm for Fletcher, Cara, and James Lee, Fletcher continues to work for the Newcrest Police Department, Cara continues her work as a Head of Fundraising and Marketing for the Newcrest Conservative Party. Their son James Lee goes to a top ranking private christian high school in the district, and is enjoying spending his time at after school activities and volunteering at various church ministries.

[G] Grayson continues his work as a doctor at Newcrest General Hospital, looking after patients as well as travelling round to speak and/or attend different conferences. He also speaks at various events, usually for various pro-life organisations and at political events. His wife Keira currently works part time at Newcrest General as a nurse whilst she finishes homeschooling their youngest son Archie, who goes to a co-op. When Archie goes to high school then Keira shall resume working full time at the hospital. Matthew attends the same high school as his cousin James Lee, and the two are thick as thieves, with James Lee feeling like a brother more than a cousin.

[H] Harley and her husband Gabriel continue to live and work in San Myshuno, Gabriel continues teaching at San Myshuno Culinary Academy and Harley still works as Editor in Chief for Myshuno Madness Magazine. The couple vacation regularly to see their family as well as to visit different parts of the country and the world. They enjoy spending time with their many siblings, nieces, and nephews at various times of the year.

L-R: Ava Grace (17), Ruby Rae (19), Rory (19), Elaine (50), Taylor (51), Amelia (14), and Kyra (26) & Tyler (28) Shearer

Life continues on for the Godwin household, Amelia is now a teenager and is working her way through high school at her homeschool co-op. Ava Grace is almost done with highschool and is exploring her options for further education, she also plays on the volleyball team of the christian school that Kyra teaches at. Ruby Rae is a year into nursing school, she commutes to university so that she can save money. She hasn't decided what kind of nurse she wants to be yet, but she's firm in her desire to help people, her aunt Kiera has been helpful in the process of applying and attending nursing school. Rory is also in university

Kyra and her husband Tyler are enjoying married life, they both live and work close to both their families so they both often enough. They're working towards buying a house before expanding their family, right now they're just enjoying being married which they're very thankful for.

L-R: Sebastian (55), Danielle (53), Gabriella (16), Emma (20) & James (21)

The Hunt households are thankful for time together, with James and Emma in Henley-on-Bagley as missionaries they don't get to be together as often. Gabriella is in high school, homeschooled by Danielle, and has not begun thinking about what she wants to do next. She often helps out at her dad's vet clinic, so she considering veterinary nursing as one of her options but she's in no rush. James and Emma moved on Henley-on-Bagley to be missionaries to help grow a church there and they are enjoying their time. They spend their days sharing the Gospel to those who live in town and in the wider area, as well as assisting at church services when needed. They've not had children yet, but are open to any that the Lord will send them. Danielle continues to homeschool Gabriella, and when she's not homeschooling her then she's working on baked goods to sell at various farmers markets or working at the bakery. Sebastian continues to run his veterinary clinic, and he's recently partnered with a veterinary school and will now be training those who make it to their clinical rotations.

[nicoleanell]

DEAR FESTIVIDDER,

Welcome and thank you in advance!! As I say every year (or every-other-year when I partcipate) these are just some thoughts, but feel free to focus on different characters/storylines/etc. I'm excited to see anything you're inspired to make from the sources below!

I also tagged all the fandoms so you can see how often I reblog stuff about them, consider it a vidding vision board. :D

If you're checking out any of these sources for the first time, content warning for some blood/gore in Renfield (played for comedy) and blood, jumpscares, animal death in Midnight Mass.

Film (Safety)

Renfield (2023) - Listen. Cinema peaked when Robert Montague Renfield decorated his little apartment in bright '70s colors and kitty cat bedsheets to Lizzo, and then peaked a second time when Ben Schwartz snorted a centipede. This movie is bloody camp nonsense but somehow also an earnest abuse recovery/revenge fantasy, and it gave me Emotions and a crush on Nicholas Hoult. His giant sad eyes and self-empowerment arc mean the world to me.

Television

Abbott Elementary - Wholesome sitcom in the vein of Parks & Rec following teachers in a Philadelphia elementary school (as a child of two public school teachers it hits close to my heart). I'd kinda like to see an Ava vid, she's so entertainingly terrible but then has great moments of growth as well. Or one centered on Janine, Janine/Gregory, or just any kind of fun ensemble thing!

The Afterparty - Murder mystery comedy with the twist that each episode, a character gives their version of events in the style of different genre parodies. Honestly I'd be fine with just a season 1 vid because I liked it more than season 2. (With the exception of S2 giving me the Sapphic Wes Anderson Movie of my dreams.) S1 had just about a perfect ensemble (Yasper being a highlight) and great execution of the Rashomon-style premise.

The Bear - Drama/dramedy set in the chaotic back-of-house world of a Chicago restaurant. I love how real the environment, relationships, and characters of this show feel. I adore Ayo Edebiri so I'd especially like a vid centered on Sydney, her ambitions and anxiety and passion, but again anything that inspires you about the show would make me happy! I love everyone in this dysfunctional restaurant fam. I don't really ship Syd with Carmy so I'd prefer not an explicitly romancey vid.

Midnight Mass - There's a venn diagram between Catholic Trauma and Vampires that Mike Flanagan seemed to crack like nobody else ever has lol. After Hill House (which I got an incredible vid for a couple years ago) this is my favorite of his horror-drama miniseries, I really love the mood and themes it explores about faith/religion a source of both comfort and harm. Pretty much a "do whatever you want with this source" request!

Web Series/Internet Content

Dimension 20 - There's a lot of source here and even I haven't made it through all the older intrepid heroes campaigns yet (not to mention all the side quests). I've basically seen everything from A Court of Fey and Flowers onward. Favorites include Neverafter, A Crown of Candy, and I'm really enjoying the current Burrow's End series. But honestly if there's any season or mini-season or general vibe YOU especially love and would like to focus on, feel free to do so! And if you want to incorporate stuff like art, minis, fan sources, or just rely on the player dynamics, go for it. I love basically everybody but special shout-out to Lou Wilson.

Amaury Guichon (the chocolate guy) (Youtube/Tiktok/he also had a Netflix show) - Guichon is a French-Swiss pastry chef known for making elaborate, edible chocolate sculptures, and posting usually wordless montage videos of his process. I'm just kinda curious what a Chocolate Guy vid would look like! Watching his videos and the work that goes into each piece is so fascinating, and he has a really charming and pleasant vibe. Love the technical skill, the commitment to the bit, and the fact they often look like they taste good on top of it!

[forgottenroisin]

Character Analysis

THE BASICS: 

Character’s name: Roisin Malconaire

Role in story:  Hot mess/Supporting character

Physical description:  Emily Carey

Age: 21

MBTI: ENFP

Enneagram: Type 7 (the enthusiast), 7w6, 749

Zodiac: Aries

INTERNAL: THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER

What is his/her greatest fear?  Being deprived and in pain

Inner motivation: To be satisfied and content: to have her needs fulfilled, to maintian her freedom and happiness, to avoid missing out on worthwhile experiences, to keep herself excited and occupied, to avoid and discharge pain

Kryptonite: Someone trying to control her (looking at you, Valentina)

What is his/her misbelief about the world?  If she just accumulates enough wealth and fun and experiences she can actually live the perfect, flawless, pain-free life and give it to her loved ones, too!

Lesson he/she needs to learn: Oops, that’s impossible and money certainly won’t buy it! (Just ask Edmund!)

What is the best thing in his/her life?  Her sisters!!  Her home!!  Fun and doing what she wants and exploring all the opportunities this life has to offer!!

What is the worst thing in his/her life?  Probably her stepmom and stepbro #gross No, but honestly most likely the death of her dad if she was old enough to remember him :( Her mom, too, but I'm not sure she ~does remember her?

What does he/she most often look down on people for?  Being controlled, being boring, an uncooperative spirit, a lack of vision, an unwillingness to help others (tho tbf her viewpoint on this is a lil skewed bc she often fails to see the things ppl need etc etc her heart is ultimately in the right place she’s just kinda spoiled and blind bc of it)

What makes his/her heart feel alive?  Adventure!  Laughter!  Inside jokes!  Exploring!  Riches and excitement!  A new frock!  Poetry that inflames her emotions (yes, she’s def rocking those Anne of Green Gables vibes esp when she was little – cue her renaming Goat Road to the Way of the Shephard or smth more poetic etc)!  Spending quality time with loved ones!  Etc, etc!

What makes him/her feel loved, and who was the last person to make them feel that way? Her sisters were most def the ppl <3  Being paid attention to, being supported and shown affection, having fun, quality time, shared fresh air and experiences, shared laughter, etc!

Top three things he/she values most in life?  Her loved ones, fun, security!

EXTERNAL: NOT NECESSARY, BUT GOOD TO KNOW AND SAYS A LOT ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER

What’s his/her favorite book, movie, and band?  She’d love the Idylls of the King!  Ivanhoe and pr much anything by Tennyson and Scott and all the other Romantic Poets!  She’d also love Narnia and Pippi Longstocking and Amelia Bedelia and all sorts of fun, fantastical things as a kid!  Re: tv Bridgerton would be a go-to, and, speaking of regency things, pr much all Jane Austen!  I feel like the most recent Emma, P&P, and Persuasion would be her fav movie adaptations (and tbh she’d probs have more patience for those than reading) but she would loooove S&S just in general all editions of it bc she’d suuuuuper relate to Marianne and the whole sister thing would obv get her right in the feels, also Little Women esp the most recent Amy!positive adaptation too for similar reasons etc!  Gilmore Girls!!  Daisy Jones & the Six!!  Florence + the Machine <3  Fairy tales in general!!! dua lipa, ava max, fleetwood mac

Is there an object he/she can’t bear to part with and why?  She probs has, like, a bracelet or hairpin or smth from her mom that is hella sacred to her but tbh she probs rarely wears it, instead choosing to keep it in this tiny ornamental box where she knows its safe and tbh itll probs get burned asp and she’ll probs have a breakdown bc of it bc im mean <3

Describe a typical outfit for him/her from top to bottom.  This girl is O B S E S S E D w clothes and far more so than i am tbh so i probs can’t even comprehend of the sort of sick fit she’d come up w but suffice it to say she’s always glammed out and rocking the latest trends and probs helping to set them too lbr i also feel like she’s REALLY good at, like, taking her mom’s old dresses and spicing them up to make them ahead of the latest trend or like even making smth completely new out of her bedroom curtains like they might not have much?? since they got an evil stepmom?? but even if so she still living that haute couture life!  the best seamstress in the land tbh lbr! ;D  she ~will find a way!  and everyone will be drooling to wear that next week when she’s already moved on to the next look ;D

What names or nicknames has he/she been called throughout their life?  Rosie to her sisters, Rose to her friends, Roisin to everyone else thank you very much

What is his/her method of manipulation?  Lol, she’s the worst smh anyway that would be guilt tripping, judging you, annoying you

Describe his/her daily routine.  Only gets out of bed when positively FORCED tbh and probs kinda cranky in the morning whoops but omg she comes alive at night and just out there having a stupid good time, def the life of the party type, pranking!! joking!! leaving Brigit doodles of Valentina's face after the latest prank lol, honestly she’s not really someone who holds to ~routine bc that’s the bane of her existence and noT exciting (tho she does actually lowkey thrive on one when its enforced so she goes on jags where she holds herself to this standard...and then gets bored of it or distracted by smth and lets it go haha), but catch her laughing and flirting and dancing and teasing and planning outfits and frankly being impulsive af #facepalm

Their go-to cure for a bad day?  Pranking their stepmom w Brigit!!  drawing!!  whatever the medieval!fantasty equivalent of, like, eating ice cream directly out of the container while watching Gilmore Girls is, putting on her fanciest dress and going to balls and dancing w ppl who look at her like she’s the moon in the sky, probs actually wearing that bracelet/pin she has from her mom for once! making her sisters laugh! general escapism of every kind tbh, exploring awesome places everything from creepy forests to exquisite castles yknow!!  new experiences and having fun w her loved ones in general <3  the medieval!fantasy equivalent of going to one of Gatsby’s parties, etc

CHARACTER GOALS:

How is your character dissatisfied with their life?  Well, she’s an orphan w Valentina (fc: ANJELICA HUSTON IN EVER AFTER ;D) for a stepmom so…i feel like that kinda speaks for itself hahaha plus she wants to save herself and her sisters!!  and obv she hasn’t done that yet so lots to be bummed about :/  fortunately, she’s got a handsome prince on the hook so things’re looking up in that dept! and she’s defffff not considering the huge possibility that ~that won’t last since his ambitious parents almost certainly have other plans for him than some rando orphan!!!! even if she ~is technically nobility (actually she ~does know this but she ain’t looking at that too close up bc she’s a world class ignorer of truths she don’t vibe with <3)  Anyway, basically she’d love to be rich and just important enough to be consulted and included on fun things but frankly noT important enough to have to deal w the bad (but she doesn’t really think about that second part too much ngl) and have fine parties and intellectual but funny convos and be admired and adored by the glittering throng and make her sisters’ lives better w a wink of her eye!!!! but obv this fantasy existence isn’t playing out so!!! dissatisfaction!!

What does your character believe will bring them true happiness or contentment?  Wealth and importance bc that’d allow her to solve all her current problems!  of course, it’d also create a host of new and perhaps worse problems, but!!!! she does not consider this!!!  in her mind, if she were wealthy and important she could fix everything and then it’d be all happily ever after for everyone a la a fairy tale!

What definitive step could they take to turn their dream into a reality?  Marry Edmund and become a literal princess/empress so she can save her sisters and really stick it to her stepmom or, failing that (besides, it'd be pr cool to be bowed and scraped to and wear a crown and a pretty dress!) or marry pr much any of the other male characters so far that aren’t resistance members! bc she's looking to marry rich so she can save her sisters!

How has their fear kept them from taking this action already?  Well, she’d be pr tied down as the wife of an important person and she values her freedom greatly!  how else is she supposed to bask in her precious distractions and adventures?  she couldn’t just take off for the woods at a moment’s notice or prank Amira (she’d probs be executed for that tbh ;D) or smth, plus – and this is the worst one in her mind – lbr she probs wouldn’t be able to see her sisters nearly as much and, gods, she doesn’t know how she’d ever, ever do w/o them!  So!  her solution?  ignore all of this and just hope things continue 100% the way they are rn, forever, problems and all!

How does your protagonist feel they can accomplish their goal while still steering clear of the thing they are afraid of?  Change, of any kind, is anathema!  everything stays the same <3  failing that (bc inevitably that one’ll collapse around her and she knows this), marry someone rich and handsome and powerful who adores her and buy her way to success <3

[mollrat101]

Another piece of Deborah’s new show I would’ve like to have seen explored is the effect of Deborah finally telling the truth about how she’s been victimized. 

Cause the thing is, unfortunately, victims (especially women) are treated terribly in our society. I’m surprised that the writers didn’t show anyone disbelieving her, especially as people would use the fact that she hadn’t said anything in decades as “proof” she’s unreliable. If the Depp vs. Heard trial has taught us anything it’s that women are still by default disbelieved when they accuse powerful, successful men of abuse. 

I can imagine people coming forward who knew Frank and saying that Deborah is a liar after all they knew him, and he was “such a nice guy”. Part of how abusive men can get away with it is presenting a cordial front and then only showing their true self to their victims. Even Ava, says she was surprised because Frank seemed like such a good husband on Who’s Making Dinner. Frank was a very good actor. All of the things he did to her paint a monstrous picture, and many would be inclined to disbelieve her. 

In 1.01, they show us that even a fucking news program presented Deborah setting Frank’s house on fire as the truth. This narrative is baked in so heavily into the public’s mind that I can only imagine Deb would receive some sort of backlash for refuting it. 

Choosing to tell the truth isn’t just a big emotional risk on Deborah’s part, the way I saw it, it carried real social risk. That’s why she didn’t say anything. Deborah said people didn’t believe her back then, but would people be more likely to believe her now? Maybe, maybe not. But also, the risk of shifting the narrative when Deborah has tried so hard for decades not to declare herself a victim might seem jarring to her fans who are used to seeing her as strong, fierce, and almost untouchable. Axel was clearly turned off by this vulnerability, but he’s the only real example we get. Marcus warned Ava in 1.08 that Deb’s new show would be considered off-brand and yet we get basically no reference to it again. 

In my opinion, the writers didn’t give themselves enough room to explore Deborah’s new show to the full extent it deserved. They wanted her to succeed by the end of the season, but the problem is that season 1 built up the show as being so monumental for it contained many moving pieces within it that the journey of it in season 2 feels like a letdown. They were so focused on the destination that they didn’t allow the journey to be messy and complicated which is what we’re here for. 

Deborah’s new show isn’t just about her growth as an artist but is also about her finally telling the truth of what she’s experienced and, in our world, telling the truth comes at a price. 

[avafriedrice]

don’t check the timestamp on this one

rmbr when i threatened all the time about the gender essay. im combining it w the psychosexual essay because the two r kinda inextricable. also you all already know this already so like don’t read my rambling.

it’s the fact that in the end she was so stripped of autonomy from the start. the fact her gender was chosen for her in such a literal medical way, the fact she wasn’t even told of it but only found out after googling the name of the medication she has to Take Every Day Or Else She Dies, and the fact that any sign of gender non-conformity (in the literal loosest sense in that like, even something as simple as playing video games with her brother would read to deirdre as being Too Boyish) was immediately repressed and rejected by her mother because on some level she is terrified she made the “wrong” choice. so ava has to be a girl. this is non-negotiable.

it’s also that so many activities that align with boyishness / boyhood / whatever (you are all aware i am using this in the most basic societal stereotype way and this does not reflect my actual views) were also off-limits due to the number of times she’d hurt herself as a child, and the way this was like, deirdre’s worst nightmare re: ‘they’re going to take you away from me’ type beat. so ava cannot take risks, cannot play outside unsupervised, cannot participate in sports, etc. this is non-negotiable.

so like... where does that leave you? you rebel against a sweet and innocent type of femininity, but femininity is the box you must work within. it is the only way you know to navigate the world, to get what you want; you leverage womanhood to your advantage, you weaponize femininity, you manipulate the people around you and the situations you’re put in to your favor— and so she embraces a sort of femme fatale style, instead.

(weaponizing helplessness specifically is something i was able to explore a lot less due to circumstances of the plot i think... because she doesn’t really WANT to be perceived as helpless (and she thought it could’ve been dangerous for her, too, if someone viewed her as Too Weak)— combined w the fact one of the only times she did try to nearly got her clocked (deserved) meant she let her own competence and scheming come through a lot more / w more people lol)

anyways. this all ties into sex i swear. 

she's so aware of her own mortality and there's this sort of. well. she Could theoretically have someone check her the same way her mother had forced her to, to check her over for bruises and cuts and breaks that could get infected... but consider the trauma. consider the embarrassment and vulnerability and outright hatred of feeling coddled. combined with the fact she Will eventually die and is so convinced it'll come first that there's a certain guilt that has her instinctively prevent anyone from getting Too Close. every interaction has to be wrapped in plausible deniability. there is no room for sincerity here. if she cares for you the kindest thing she can do is push you away, so you don't have to mourn her

so of course all her basic human contact and social interaction is Just Casual Sex. a lot of it. and she doesn't Tell anyone so that they don't hold back and she doesn't end up feeling coddled. and she doesn't enter any serious relationships because how cruel would it be, to force someone who cares for you to watch you die? and she doesn't mean to be cruel (even when she is). and she wants to respect the autonomy of others (mostly). but wouldn't anyone confronted with that choice feel pressured to be kind to the dying girl?

anyways. sincere relationships r so funny they're so hit or miss and so many ppl managed to hit (figuratively) (literally) (etc) she loved a lot of ppl in the end. how nice is that

[notinwonderlandx]

Here’s my two cents about this season mainly in terms of plot, overall themes, and structure:

I’ll preface by saying I really appreciate the cast and everyone behind the scenes who fought to try to make this story live up to its potential

One of the biggest things is there should’ve been more clips of Isi alone. One of the magical things about skam is how much you came to understand the main from their quiet moments alone esp in their rooms. What are they looking at on their phone? What’s their body language saying about their state? That’s what makes you feel like you’re in their head. If you wanna make a point that Isi struggles to be alone then make it. Show/verbalize her being uneasy when alone. I think this is one of the biggest reasons we didn’t feel like we were in Isi’s perspective. We hardly ever knew what he was feeling or why he did what he did which further disconnects us from the events of the story.

Also, LONGER EPISODES!

The main conflicts probably should’ve been:

• Isi & Constantin’s toxic friendship & fallout

• Isi & Ava addressing the bullying (this really could’ve been a driving force for character growth)

• Gender identity

And then sure if they wanted a love interest,

• Isi & Sascha’s relationship (& fight which should include Sascha finding out about the bullying so everything is in the open)

(I like Sascha but who the love interest could’ve been could fill a whole other post I’m not gonna get into that rn [EDIT: I meant this more about casting diversity given skam’s track record but druck has been the best with this so while I think it’s worth mentioning, it’s not a hill I’m dying on])

There were so many potential things to cover surrounding these conflicts:

• How it would change the Instas friend group (let’s learn the group’s friendship origins and dynamic). Also while freeing, leaving a toxic relationship still involves a lot of emotions that we didn’t really see from Isi after.

• Isi making it up to the people they’ve hurt and navigating how to have healthier friendships and be a better person & friend (a talk with Isi’s loving supporting family would’ve been great and realistic here!)

• Actually develop and heal the relationship between Isi and Sascha so it feels earned (like why this?)

• Isi understanding/articulating their gender identity and exploring that in relation to friends and family (like Umut).

And then they could have that classic skam final week of happiness and “the storm is over, I understand myself and the world better now” energy that felt satisfying and deserved.

Some of these just didn’t happen (understanding the Instas), some popped up and went away (bullying; Isi not knowing about gender dysphoria) or got sidelined by wild irrelevant events esp in the first half. So you didn’t really get to feel the build up of weight from ALL the ongoing conflicts on Isi’s shoulders at once which is supposed to break = hell week. The hell has to happen to present the motivation for Isi to grow as a character and for us to sympathize with them. Keeping the plot more cohesive, focusing on all the potential drama of these few conflicts, would give adequate time for growth and to contemplate and resolve each issue with its due respect. This would’ve given a more reasonable amount of time for growth, forgiveness, and acceptance.

I’d like to add there was also a perfect opportunity, when Isi and Sascha were still just friends, for Sascha (who is already involved in the group from my understanding?) to be the gateway to Isi actually going to or even just seeing in on queer youth group meetings earlier on in the season to talk/learn about gender identity. While the subtly we got is also be nice in its own way, considering that skam is about openly discussing and learning about the topics it covers (and that non-binary identities are rarely discussed in media), it feels like a missed opportunity. Why bring up that there’s a whole queer youth group right there if we basically never see it? Especially if you show Isi having questions that would’ve been answered there. Could’ve at least have Isi have a googling session or something.

It was nice to have Lou be an example of confidence and like breaking gender expression norms but otherwise she mostly felt like an agent of chaos that was unnecessary and distracting considering Isi already had poor behaviour to make up for and Consti & Isi’s friendship was already poor enough to trigger a fallout without some “final straw.” The exploration of gender expression could’ve happened at the queer youth group or even with other friends experimenting. If they had to have it, I wish they had let Isi & Lou’s relationship unquestionably be about admiration because the “Love interest? Sike!” felt cheap. Unless they wanted to make a point that Isi feels like she has to like girls to fit in (which they didn’t). The suggestion that Isi only likes guys bc they’re feminine was also never brought back up. An “I like who I like it has nothing to do with my gender expression” point could’ve helped defy that stereotype.

Also on that point, (could probably be it’s own post but) since they added a love interest, while it’s nice that it was a non-issue, with skam being a medium to discuss and offer wisdom about the worries teens face, even just a short conversation about navigating romantic relationships as a non-binary/gender non-conforming person would’ve been a fitting addition (& really affirming to see, coming from a gnc person myself). There’s a real fear that people won’t want you or accept you as a potential romantic partner. While it’s clear Sascha does fully accept and like Isi exactly as they are, a youth group convo or clear verbalization of that in a romantic context would have been lovely (maybe that’s just me projecting 😅)

There was SO much to explore. There was no need to bring up new plots (esp to just drop them after). They took focus and time away from what should’ve been the main conflicts (and other existing characters!) that worked on their own and forced rushed unsatisfying resolutions to them. Yeah, real life is messy but this is a story. It’s supposed to have a specific narrative and message. We get a crumb here and there but never real in-depth meaningful exploration of the themes. While there’s some really great moments esp in these last episodes, the topics feel only half developed. So we’re left with a season where both everything and nothing happened.

[growingingreenwood]

Ava and eowyn’s friendship is very important to me, the only thing holding me together tbh. Do you have any specific headcanons about how they met and became friends?

I’m not sure how many of you are aware of this aspect of my personal headcanons, but I believe that Legolas and Eowyn would have become really good friends basically from the moment what was left of the Fellowship got to Rohan. One of the main reasons I think this would happen is because Legolas is from a Kingdom that allows any member of the realm (regardless of gender) to join their military as long as they prove their skill. So when Eowyn figured out that Legolas was EQUALLY confused about her not being able to serve, even though she was more than capable of doing so, it was the literal definition of refreshing. 

When Eowyn pressed him for even the slightest details about why he agreed with her so wholeheartedly, the first two people Legolas brought up were Avaleina and Eloissa. Without revealing him as the Prince of Greenwood the Great, Legolas told her about how Eloissa had served tirelessly as the Prince’s Second In Command and nearly all patrols since he had been put in charge of his own patrols. 

Next he told her about Avaleina, who had against all odds and expectations had climbed both political and military ladders with such raw determination that she was the only other member of the Greenwood Kingdom who could travel as a dignitary with equal power to the King aside from the Prince himself. 

Legolas told her about how both Elleths parted crowds like a boulder cut through a river without even a thought or a glance. He told her about how each of them commanded the battlefield and their people with such precision and accuracy that even the darkest powers of the world had begun to fear their names. 

With every word that he spoke, Eowyn became more and more eager to know and see every inch of this wonderful world. 

On Legolas’s behalf, he had like one single interaction with Eowyn and was like: “Oh yeah, this human… this human I like. This is the one.” And Aragorn just sort of pats her on the shoulder and is like, “If any of us survive this war, you’re going to have one HELL of an adventure in store for you.” 

And Eowyns like, “What how do you know that?” 

And Aragorn says, “Just trust me on this one. No mortal can be chosen by an elf and hope to live a normal life. Just wait. You’ll see.”

Then the second interaction between Legolas and Eowyn he was like: “Yo Aragorn, wait until this war is over and I introduce her to Avaleina.” 

When it comes to the two of them actually meeting….

I think that it would have happened when Thranduil came to Gondor for Arwen and Aragorn large wedding celebration, since Avaleina would have traveled as part of the Kings Escort. Because if they had not let her do so, she would have traveled the distance by herself and showed up anyways. 

I think that Eowyn would have been drawn to Avaleina even before they were formally introduced after just one glimpse of her walking into the courtyard where Aragorn waited. She never would have seen a women at the head of ‘war party’ before, especially not one that was clearly there due to rank and ability rather than born or married power. 

I think that Ava would seek Eowyn out (probably with Aragorns help) and walked up to her and was like, “I heard that you snuck onto a battlefield in disguise as a man because the wouldn’t let you fight and ended up being the one who kill the Witch King.” 

And Eowyn's like “.....y-yes,” while trying not to stare at any of Avalein’s obvious scars even though it seems everywhere she looks there's another one even worse than the last.

And Ava’s like, “That's so great, I think that’s the coolest thing any mortal has done next to Beorn intercepting the Silmaril after it had been stolen from Doriath.” 

After the two of them are introduced to one another formally, Eowyns like "HEY WAIT A SECOND-"

Then the most BEAUTIFUL of friendships is born. 

Since Legolas spends so much time with Gimli exploring Middle Earth and just generally making the most of Gimli’s ‘limited’ mortal life, I think that Ava and Eowyn would spend a ridiculous amount of time together since both of them would live in Ilithien after Legolas and Faramir officially settled it. (Their time together definitely including their own fair bit of exploring as the pleased, occiasly joining Gimli and Legolas and their adventures or purposeful planning to meet up with them part way through.) 

I think that they would each teach eachother one major thing through their friendship: 

Eowyn taught Avaleina the power of letting go of past situations and their associated emotions that you really truly could not have done any different or better no matter how much you wish you could have. 

Avaleina taught Eowyn that you can be both powerful and feminie, that the two things can co-exist within the same person without contradicting one another. 

Similarly to how Legolas refuses to leave Middle Earth until Aragorn has passed to the halls, Avaleina won’t leave until long after Eowyn has joined her ancestors beneath the grass and flower covered tombs. 

[popurikat]

Newtmas essay when?

Finally getting to this, thanks for waiting, I needed to go over a few bookmarks. (Warning, this post contains spoilers from the MAZE RUNNER book and FEVER CODE book, so if you haven’t read either or yet and want the jist of my analysis; just know that in general the fandom interpreting Newt as gay before it was revealed on a twitter post was not just a random headcanon and that Thomas in general is portrayed to have very strong unconditional love for Newt throughout the series; and it shows. To the point that even the director for the movie has stated that Newt and Thomas have a strong bond and portrays that in the movies. I will also preface that I am NOT adding personal opinion anywhere here, these are just backings from quotes and how they are thus meant to be taken/read as. My words are taken as a reader who is currently reading Scorch Trials has yet to fully read Death Cure or Crank Palace.) Anways, without further ado at 3AM today, I’ll try my best to explain how even though Dashner tries his best to make Thomas have other, female love interests; he creates a not so subtle gay subtext for Tommy boy here when in the context of interacting with Newt throughout the lore. Apologies beforehand for any grammar mistakes along the way.

To commence, I am going to start with FEVER CODE, as its supposed to act as the story’s preface to the actual events that play out later. Newt and Thomas upon meeting each other describe their presence as “familiar” and or as a “long lost friend” and they genuinely hit it off from the start to the point that Newt is okay with having Thomas see him cry over the fact that he and his sister are separated since he is doomed to be WCKD’s control analysis as he’s the only one lacking immunity from the flare itself. Once Newt is done being emotionally vulnerable we get our first instance of his personal nickname for Thomas: “That’s the way things are Tommy,’ he said his voice not quite steady. ‘The world outside’s gone to hell. Why should we expect any different here? [...] He said it as if they’d been friends for years” (ch. 14).   An interesting note here is that Thomas doesn’t bother to correct him or stifle the moment by feeling that all this information was too much, he genuinely wanted to hear Newt out and is fine with seeing this side of him; if not slightly taken aback by how natural it is that they can converse about such aspects of their lives. In fact, Newt makes such an impact on Thomas that Thomas ends up that same night dreaming of him: “Throughout his shortened night, he dreamed of Newt and Sonya. Of Newt and Lizzy“(Ch. 14). The thing with Thomas though is that the idea of comfort and connection is very foreign to him as he’s been basically isolated all his life with only the adults like Ava to talk to and the one exception being Teresa as his only kid companion. So Thomas didn’t even think he could make others like him for being himself unless they were vital to the overall production of WCKD. Seeing this portion right before the end of chapter 14: “Alby, Minho, Newt, Teresa. Thomas had friends.” shows that Thomas really had to deep dive to see how he deals with personal connections and why he was excited about the notion of friendship. He could’ve been happy with just Teresa, but only fully cemented her bond to him as “friend” when his circle grew and these kids he got to hang with taught him he can be himself, a concept he didn’t realize was possible when all his life was dictated on what he was supposed to learn or do. It becomes especially clear just how controlled his life is with the aspect of sentiment when later on Teresa’s mental communication evokes physcial pain and fear in Thomas. I’ll get back to that later as its more of a small tid bit of Thomas’ view on his forced love interest, Teresa. And yes, I say forced because multiple sentences with Thomas have him even wish he could cease all communication with her. Moving on, let’s talk about mimicking for a second. As humans, we mimic as a behavioral response to become closer to the person we care about. It’s the reason why yawning or laughter is contagious and or why we copy the posture of the person we converse with face to face. Thomas is seen to do this the most with Newt’s quirks. I’ll give the example in chapter 15: “Newt has been promising them that he was saving something special, and he did that annoying zipped-lipped sign every time [...] the little light in his eyes showed he enjoyed every second of their torture” versus Thomas: “Thomas did Newt’s zipped-lipped gesture, and that got him a sharp poke in the ribs”. So, we know enough that Thomas’ mannerisms are developing as a sign that he wants to be closer to Newt and to continue this sense of playfulness they both enjoy from the other. This is the start of their budding bond and a clear indication that they hold each other at greater fondness than the rest through this unconscious copying. Through this copying, they also pick up on emotional cues the other lets up on. Newt is especially good at noticing small things like when Thomas is anxious or overthinking: “He was just shocked that with all their exploring, the others hadn’t already discovered it on their own. And there were supposed to be TWO mazes. How had Newt and his friends not stumbled upon either one of them? ‘Tommy?’ Thomas realized Newt was staring straight at him, eyebrows raised. ‘Sorry,’ he said embarrassed, ‘wandered off for a second there what did you say?’ Newt shook his head in admonishment. ‘Try to keep up, Tommy Are you ready to see the grat outdoors?” (ch. 15). Also in chapter 23: “Tommy?’ It was Newt, breaking him out of his thoughts. ‘I can see your wheels spinnin’ up there.’ He tapped the side of his head”. This furthers Newts perceptiveness on his friend and Thomas’ ability to pick out when he is being looked after. And they bounce off each other really well in that aspect. To the point that Newt can crack a joke he knows will land right on Thomas’ sense of humor: “Newt waggled his fingers in front of Thomas’ face [...] A laugh exploded out of Thomas’ mouth that sent a spray everywhere. ‘Sorry’ he said, wiping his lips on his sleeve” (ch.15). It’s enjoyable to know that at least at a surface level, they have fun together and can cheer the other up if needed or know when to ground the other to reality. It is also through these instances that as a reader I pick up that Thomas’ nervous ticks perhaps allude to an anxiety disorder he has; of which Newt is aware of and never puts Thomas down on for exhibiting. He in fact understands it and deals with it accordingly as he himself has a similar circumstance. SO, what does all this paying attention lead to? Thomas’ devotion to protect Newt. Yeah, thats right I said devotion. Thomas’ actions are influenced by his developed instinct to protect Newt at all costs. Here is the biggest example that comes to mind: “What in the world happened to Newt? -- Less then two hours later, Thomas had spliced together a series of camera clips [...] Thomas turned off the feed. He couldn’t take it anymore...Newt, Newt, Newt, Thomas thought, feeling as if the very air around him were turning black.”(ch.52). Essentially, Thomas seeing Newt plummet to his near death by falling from the maze wall as a result of Newt’s ongoing depressive state, this is the moment that makes Thomas realize WICKD isn’t as good as they seem and that he is going into the maze to save Newt. Its admirable how much self sacrifice Thomas does for someone he cares so much about, to the point that their name is like a mantra. Thats a sensible area of passion and fighting spirit for someone who is “just a friend”.    Oh and, the feeling of fondness is mutual mind you if I haven’t been clear. After experiencing the horrors of cranks for the first time, realizing Newt was not immune, and watching Newt until they entered the pits it has been months since they last interacted; this is their first reunion: “What’s up Tommy?’ Newt exclaimed, his face filled with genuine happiness at the pleasant surprise that’s been sprung on him. Thomas couldn’t remember exactly how long it’d been since he’d seen Newt. ‘You look bloody fantastic for three in the morning” (ch. 23). I need to preface this that Newt DOES NOT mean that sarcastically and that out of all the people in the room (Minho, Chuck and Teresa are there in this scene), Thomas only reacts this way specifically toward seeing Newt is okay and back.   The characters are also not afraid of being physically close. “Well, look who the bloody copper dragged in,’ Newt said, pulling Thomas into a big hug” (ch.31), “They shook hands, and then the two of them set off...” (ch. 31), and my favorite: “Thomas jumped at the sound, then stumbled. Newt tripped over him, and then they were both laughing, legs and arms tangled in a pile on the ground”(ch.32). I don’t think this far in the novel, Thomas has been AS (emphasis on as) comfortable with touch  with anyone else other than Newt. And thats a big step forward on the aspect of trust in a relationship, being able to be comfortable with the presence of another person enough to be as intimate with them as shown here.  And all this, is just fever code itself. Mind you this is not the MEAT of the novels as it came out later. But even without it, lets look at Thomas in Maze now, I’ll try to keep this segment a lot more brief. Here’s Thomas looking respectively at boys his age: “A tall kid with blond hair and a square jaw...a thick, heavy muscled Asian kid folded his arms as he studied Thomas, his tight shirtsleeves rolled up to show off his biceps [...] Newt was taller than Alby too, but looked to be a year or so younger, His hair was blond and cut long, cascading over his T-shirt. Veins stuck out of his muscled arms”(ch. 2). Thomas’ initial reaction to being surrounded by boys is to deeply analyze their rugged good looks and heavily emphasize their best physical traits. When reading this the first time, my mind immediately thought this boy at the very least is supposed to be portrayed as bi, especially when later down the line Teresa gets a similar descriptor: “...despite her paleness, she was really pretty...silky hair, flawless skin, perfect lips, long legs.” So right off the bat, we know that be it boy or girl, Thomas emphasizes how attractive someone looks in his eyes when he truly does have a sense of attraction to them. Case closed. Within the same chapter we get Thomas also immediately clinging onto Newt for a sense of grounding, it is now ingrained in him at this point that the boy is his lifeline, a person to rely on. “Thomas looked over at Newt, hoping for help.” And help he does, Newt in this chapter helps ease his worries, explain a general idea of what the glade is and even pats him on the shoulder a bit to ease tension. And Thomas doesn’t bat an eye in the same way he’s weary of literally everyone else. In fact, he’s eager to stay put with him as shown with; “If Newt went up there, then I wanna talk to him.” And if none of that seals the deal, we got early bird Newt being so touch starved he flattens himself next to Thomas to wake him up at the crack of Dawn in chapter 6: “Someone shook Thomas awake. His eyes snapped open to see a too-close face staring down at him, everything around them still shadowed by the darkness of early morning...’Shh, Greenie. Don’t wanna be waking up Chuckie, now, do we?’ It was Newt --the guy who seemed second in command; the air reeked of his morning breath. Though Thomas was surprised, any alarm melted away immediately”. This whole scene follows firstly by Thomas once again impressed by how strong Newt is and then Newt giving him a rundown of what everyone else was too afraid to show Thomas, the grievers. And you know, this scene could’ve ended well and everything as totally platonic, but then we have “Newt turned to look at him dead in the eye. The first traces of dawn had crept up on them, and Thomas could see EVERY DETAIL OF NEWT’S FACE, HIS SKIN TIGHT, HIS BROW CREASED.” Now, look me in the eye and tell me there is a hetero explanation on looking at your best bro like they are the sun reincarnated themselves. But let’s not hog all the homosexual undertones with Thomas here. Wanna know what Newt’s initial reaction to having a girl in the glade was? “It’s a girl,’ he said [...] Newt shushed them again. ‘That’s not bloody half of it,’ he said, then pointed down into the box. ‘I think she’s dead” (ch.8). It’s actually a stark contrast to the other gladers eagerly wanting to know her age, how pretty she looked, and calling dibs to date her; Newt isn’t interested in any of that, he’s more perplexed on her status and not even bothering to remark on her looks, he was the only one not to and even remarks a few other instances that girls are more Thomas’ domain. For instance, he makes a joke in fever code when Thomas remarks that the girls in the institution were going to tackle him down, Newt proceeds to point out sarcastically something along the lines of “wait, isn’t that YOUR dream though?” So Newt is pretty out spoken of his disinterest in girls, and his full admiration and attention on Thomas. Oh, and yes, Newt immediately switches over to “Tommy” the moment Thomas mentions he hates being called greenie, and once again it just becomes a thing between only the two of them. Newt is also the one to be straight forward about the whole Runners business. He warns Thomas about the dangers and doesn’t necessarily turn him down on his desire to be one, he in fact encouraged him to just wait until the right moment. “No one said you couldn’t, but give it a rest for now”(ch. 15). So once again, Newt is the voice of confidence and reason for Thomas to prosper. In turn, this time around Thomas is the one to catch when something is bothering Newt. For instance, “Newt chewed his fingernails, something he hadn’t seen the older boy do before...he was genuinely concerned -- Newt was one of the few people in the Glade he actually liked ”(ch.16). Interesting how we went from fever code “friend” to “like”. And also, when Newt explains his concern about the runners not coming back yet, Thomas pieces together how scared Newt is of the Maze without being told and goes to stand next to him as a physical presence to ground Newt as they wait near the entrance. In fact, this piece is trivial to understand why Thomas does what he does next. When everyone else had given up on the Runners still outside with 2 minutes left til closing, and Newt was escorted away from the entrance, Thomas waited. And when Thomas saw them, he yells to Newt, realizes he’s too far to do anything, and makes a decision himself. He KNEW how much Newt cared about his fellow Gladers, they were like family or “kin” as its said in the book, so what does he do? “Don’t do it Tommy! Don’t you bloody do it!’ ... Thomas knew he had no choice. He moved. Forward. He squeezed past the connecting rods at the last second and stepped into the maze”(ch.16). Yes, Thomas does this because of his empathy for the Gladers, but the chain reaction of Newt’s concern is what sets his decision in stone. And yet again, Thomas enters the maze for Newt.  And that’s pretty much the constant for the rest of Maze Runner the book, Newt just sticking up for Thomas and Thomas in turn just being happy that: “He was at least relieved that Newt was there” (ch.17). And thats basically their entire dynamic. Newt just going: “If you really did help design the maze Tommy, it’s not your fault. You‘re a kid -- you can’t help what they forced you to do” to ease the survivor’s trauma Thomas has, as well as saying “I actually believe you. You just don’t have an ounce of lying in those eyes of yours. And I can’t bloody believe I’m about to say this...but I’m going back in there to convince those shanks we should go through the griever hole, just like you said”(ch.51); and I think thats the most romantic thing to hear from him. Just right out being all for supporting Thomas no matter what happens as long as he stays alive and continues to fight, he doesn’t care about what happened before. And Thomas eats that up because it fuels him even more to seek out a means to escape for the people (Newt) that deserve a life outside of running from monsters forever. So essentially, I’ll state again, it’s always been Newt the catalyst for Thomas to run head first into the Maze and seek freedom. And with all this I can clear that these two are shown to if not be romantically involved, at least have unconditional love for the other that transcends the author’s original intention.  And with that in mind, here’s the thing with Teresa as a love interest. I can list here quotes of every time she mind speaks to Thomas and how that affects him, but then this would be too long. And this is a newtmas post gosh darn it. Teresa is gleeful to humiliate, control, hurt, and force Thomas to believe they’re in love. In multiple instances we get her barging into his mind unwarranted making him understand that she has full access to his inner most thoughts. Theres nothing romantic about that, and I think its why Thomas ends up being so perceptive to the smallest of gestures that allow him to think on his own and feel like his own person. Something I’ve seen Brenda do later in scorch, and something I’ve seen Newt do since the very beginning is that they allow Thomas to come to his own conclusions in order to create his own opinions on the matters at hand. Thomas’ love language revolves around words of affirmation. He likes it when people confirm his thoughts are valid and that remind him that WICKD can’t hurt him anymore now that he has the power to be his own person. This is where Newt comes in very handy. He allows Thomas to grow in ways his female love interests have yet to show, sorry Brenda but I’ve heard you were trying to unite all immunes together to the safe haven by the end and in a sense still only using Thomas to get by; I still think she was the better call than teresa of course and I have no remorse for Teresa getting smushed by a boulder. But essentially my point here is that, how do you fail to make your initial love interests clash so badly where one has no real care about the others well being so long as everything goes according to WCKD by using a form of gaslighting and manipulation? AND THOMAS HAS STATED HIS DISCOMFORT ON THIS MULTIPLE TIMES, but the narrative always erases these instances from his mind in place of pity for Teresa’s well being (as you can tell, Teresa through this becomes my least favorite character, I can rant about her some othe time though with proper backing). The narrative in turn treats it all like a joke. I understand there are scenes where Thomas is worried about her and looks out to make sure shes ok, but even then he doesn’t know how to react with mental images of her kissing his cheek or when she screams the next minute that she doesn’t know who he is or how hes speaking into her mind. And thats because they can’t properly communicate their emotions to the other, not even in fever code could Thomas give a forward answer if he loved Teresa or not, she just assumed. Come to think of it, Thomas really doesn’t show much affection to Teresa of his own accord. So then, how DOES Thomas show his affection? Thomas provides acts of service as his love language, if he cares about you enough he will risk his life for you. Why? Because Thomas values putting the people he loves foremost knowing full well they are what help him have purpose and succeed in continuing on. In a way, Newt and Thomas’ dynamic works in this instance because they balance the other out and because they have seen each other at their worst and at their best. In a way, that's why knowing the ending of the books makes it harder to accept that Thomas would just easily take the shot...when all his life clung to Newt’s survival. But that’s a story for another time where I compare the movies (of which let me make that clear, yes I prefer) over the books. For now just know that the book may have done this by accident, maybe not, but at the end of the day theres solid proof that Thomas and Newt care about each other in a way that is separately portrayed from their connection to the other glade members, and have this consistency of soft moments running through the entirety of the series. In conclusion; newtmas. Newtmas. NEWTMAS, etc.

[catelyngrant]

Deborah Vance for the character meme

My favorite thing about them: Her tenacity. It would have been so easy for her to be ground down and decide that the world she'd chosen was too cruel or took too much out of her to stick with it, but she never quit and she works like hell to remain productive, relevant, and good. She takes her craft - and everything in her life, including her hobbies - extremely seriously and holds herself to an incredibly high standard. One of the things I'm most excited to see for her going forward is her beginning to show the same commitment to fighting for others, not just herself or the people in her very, very small inner circle - we get hints of it in season one, particularly in "1.69 Million", but there's a lot of room for that growth to continue and I can't wait to see it.

My least favorite thing about them: There's very little I'd change about her character just in terms of it all being fascinating and even the more toxic traits (of which there are plenty) are all important parts of the character and are essential for her growth arc, but while that cruel and cutting edge makes sense and is necessary to the character, there are moments when it's hard to watch. I'm particularly thinking of the scene with Perla in "New Eyes" when she found such glee in the "joke" of pretending to be dead. It's one thing for her to be spiteful and cruel around people who bring out her defensiveness or that she feels like she has to be on guard against, and for her to find a mean sort of gleeful satisfaction in that cruelty in those cases, but that level of unnecessary cruelty towards a character who was mildly annoying but otherwise harmless and not someone that Deborah had any real reason to be so awful to was tough to watch.

My favorite canon relationship: The only real romantic relationships referenced/shown are Frank and Marty, and they're both terrible, so I'm going to extend this more broadly and say Ava. They're the core of the show, they have such a great arc from bringing out the worst of each other to bringing out the best of each other, and I love every single canon and non-canon (or at least, not yet canon) element of their dynamic: friends, partners, boss/employee, mentor/mentee (both as both), enemies, romantic, etc. They're so good together and their chemistry is unreal.

My favorite non-canon relationship: Again, taking some liberties in how this is defined - I'm going to interpret it as a relationship that isn't really explored in canon, and for me, that's Deborah and Kiki. I desperately want a bottle episode with these two! Their rapport is delightful and Kiki is one of the people that we see Deborah most at ease and affectionate with, which is just fascinating to me. I want so much more of them.

The sexuality I headcanon for them: I get Grace Hanson-esque repressed lesbian vibes in a big way, but I don't ever see her coming out as a lesbian or really embracing the word queer. Basically, just "not straight".

What I'd do if I could spend the day with them: Deborah's a person who enjoys spending her money and indulging in luxury, so I'd let her plan a day around that, ha. I'd want to get in on that PJ action! And if I could feel confident that getting drunk or high with her wouldn't result in her getting really mean, I'd enjoy the hell out of that.

Random fact about them that I like: It's not technically canon but she and Britney Spears would have been performing in Vegas at the same time and I am obsessed with the idea of Deborah being on Team Britney.

[kitsoa]

So. Khux final. Your thoughts?

I knew I would see you in my Inbox! Greetings, been a while, apologies, summer vacation is tomorrow and I'm finally going to re-energize my fandom spaces. Overall thoughts: It was decent. Definitely a lot of wham moments and twists I didn't see coming. The execution of the characters were satisfying to a point that my complaints are truly weak by comparison. That said... I have gripes. Gripes that may have the bias of simply liking my own theories better but I plan to get the hell over myself. Long Post under the cut

The Darkness Ugh: I haven't commented on months of updated info due to the sinking distaste I had for the entire Sentient Darknesses conflict. I don't think it properly utilizes the Nightmare Chirithy concept and Darkling ideas that were heavily pushed in the early game (all the way to the last world). Regardless of the connection between the impetus of such threats, it felt a little shoehorned to create a new emergent threat in the Darkness Creatures. Ventus gets no blame, MoM and Luxu can feign some kind of noble intention, everyone is basically guiltless when trying to apprehend and eliminate a nebulous and hard-to-kill force such as them. I'll admit that it fits really well in the convolution of the Data-Worlds. The Union Leaders are a honeytrap essentially and it seems to have at least issued a major blow to the force of Darkness. I'm just not a fan of the implications of the future conflict I guess? I'm okay with Light and Dark themes but I really want them to explore it with more nuance. "Light is not Good" kind of tropes. I can't wait to see the Foretellers as bad guys but I don't want to blame some other possessing force. I want to see legitimate error and corruption. Maybe I'm being short-sighted with the development. I'm not giving it enough credit. It still makes my head spin with ideas.

Stuff I really LIKE because it reaffirms my thoughts on fictional realities which have already been confirmed but I am excited to see how literal it can get: Real Daybreak Town glitches as it falls to darkness. It's not as 'real' as any of them would like to believe. "A land where light and darkness cannot be controlled" maybe be fictional to MoM but that sounds like the real world to me. ※ is a literal icon for 'reference' which means the world is a reference to something else. Quadratrum is a reference to ffv13 AND/OR a reference to literal Shibuya the 'heart' of Tokyo. It can literally be both at the same time. I am convinced we are approaching terminal real world through this style of world-hopping. Playernort: I am actually pretty okay with the Player Xehanort thing. I firstly think it's funny because of the 'everyone is Xehanort' joke and now WE are Xehanort. If you believe in the infinite worldline idea than every Dandelion is Xehanort in some fashion because that avatar encompasses the entire Daybreak population and assumes the role of Xehanort's past life in some variation of the world's existence. I think it explains Xehanort's obsession with the keyblade war and finding the Union Leaders while I simply assumed there was something of value within them stirring that need. Heart reincarnation is a new(er) concept that is extremely interesting. It, first of all, says the quiet part out loud and confirms that 'sleeping hearts' are fricken Dead guys. I mean we know this but I don't think we have to call it 'essentially death!' it is death. You can literally choose to move on if you don't just sleep. There is no waking the player character anymore. They are literally a different person. It also invites some musing on Ventus and Sora's connection as semi-reincarnations. It's not exact because Ven did choose to sleep but the same process that happens in reincarnation was potentially invoked during their bond. My lore brain is very happy. Where they left off:

They say that you need someone to remember you at your destination, but Marly, Larx, and Ven had no one to bring them into existence like Maleficent did. A facet to the lore that really stumps me. Is that just a factor to ensure that they have memories? I have to assume so but I have no evidence. And we don't know if they are truly alone really (ven kinda wasn't) but it makes you wonder how the recollection of them was orchestrated. Of course Skuld is omitted, though she shares the unique context of leaving out of the same round of pods as Ephemer... who I don't think left at all. Ephemer is the only one who was still in his pod when it landed meaning he didn't time travel at all. I like to think that the Scala he creates has this... final world feel which leads me to believe he somehow ended up in the final world but he clearly didn't. Daybreak falls to darkness and he's swept up somewhere to create Scala. It's just interesting that he doesn't travel. It's a little similar to Kairi's use of the pod in that it just worked between worlds instead of time. And I think that's intentional on Ephie's part (to create the memories needed to bring his friends to the correct point in time?) The entire Brain situation leaves me very confused. There's Luxu possessing him? and Then he transports ahead in time? How does he have his memories if it was decided that he would arrive in Scala. Ugh. Whatever. It's interesting but dissecting Luxu isn't my forte so I'll leave it for when I'm feeling particularly inspired. Things left unsaid: Ava. That's the point I guess. They could have explained the Keyblade War much better. Worlds ending can be extremely vague.... Also, X-blade my ASS Xehanort was drunk and needs to go home and now I'm pissed at that stupid-looking keyblade and I wish it didn't exist because it CLEARLY DOESN'T APPARENTLY. Also, attempts at convincing me MoM is good have failed and I was not digging the insistent martyr thing he had going. I just don't trust him. Like one bit. I think he's playing everyone, but the Darkness shit bothers me because its not like I think he's siding with Darkness I just don't think that makes him noble or even misunderstood. Conclusion: This isn't necessarily a bad place to leave things off. It's very intriguing and I would love to see this reinterpreted. Thanks for forcing me to put my thoughts together, I had been avoiding this.