#do we really need romance arcs in everything? can we have a story where the couple is already together and the conflict is something else?

[amplexadversary]

I'm really hoping this isn't another case of the english having mastered the art of queerbaiting.

[2soulscollide]

Write your book STEP BY STEP

hello hello, it's me again!

today i'm bringing you a step-by-step / checklist to finally get your book done. i know it can be a bit complicated to put everything together to make your idea come to life (you're definitely not alone!)

that's why i compiled some tips and made this post, in hopes to help some author out there :D

let's get started.

PREMISE

assuming you already have a good idea in mind, you should start by writing a premise. to help you with that, try to answer these questions:

who is the main character?

what are their goals?

which troubles will they face / what's stopping them from achieving their goals?

do they have an opponent? if so, who?

now that you know the answers to these questions, it's time to write the premise. the premise consists in a sentence that summarizes your whole idea.

PLOT OUTLINE

there are infinite ways to plot your story. you can do it by writing down ideas and linking them together, following a scheme, or any other method.

the most common plot outlines are these:

synopsis outline: one to two pages, where you hit all the major beats of the story

in-depth outline: outline each chapter/scene

snowflake method: develop the premise into a bigger paragraph, and that paragraph into a page (etc.) until you have the whole outline of your story

booken method: plot the start and end of the story, and the main characters

the novel factory created plot sheets for free, and you can choose from eight different templates. you might want to check it out!

KNOW YOUR CHARACTERS

having your outline defined, you should start developing your characters now. the main character's profile might be more detailed than the others, however, it's up to you. there are many character sheets out there on the internet that will help you create flawless characters.

i have a post with resources that might be helpful when creating a character, check it out!

and here you have some prompts and sheets to create a character:

Quick Character Creator - EA Deverell

Extremely detailed character sheet template - @hawkasss

The Best Character Template Ever - Dabble

Character Twenty Questions Worksheet - The Writers Circle

at this point, you should also define the narrator's voice, tone, etc, as well as the pace of your novel.

LOCATIONS

define the principal locations of your story, the settings, and where the story is taking place. it's important to know how the environment looks, and how your characters feel about it.

for this part, you might find it useful to do some research about some locations, if you're not familiar with them. find inspiration on Pinterest, Tumblr, or even on books, paintings, and art. everything is valid.

if your story takes place in a fantasy environment, you might need to fill out a template to create it or write down the way you imagine it to be. try to get as many details as possible, so there are no holes when developing the novel.

SUBPLOTS

you might want to give more depth to your novel by developing a subplot (or more than one). make sure it doesn't get too confusing or that doesn't take the focus away from the main action.

the subplot can be a romance, another character's relationship, a character's arc, a backstory, etc. this will make your story more real and 3D, more realistic.

develop it as a side story and mix it with the principal plot but don't make it as important as the main story, otherwise, none of the plots will make an impact.

SYNOPSIS

write a synopsis as long as you wish, covering every important part of the story. this will help you to really know your idea, and have a solid structure for it. it can range from 500 to 2,500 words, but you don't have to restrict yourself to a number.

things the synopsis should cover:

the status quo

the complication

initial challenges

midpoint

further challenges

the low point

the climax

the resolution

DRAFT

and we get to the best part which is writing! now that you know everything about your story, characters, locations, and scenes, all you have to do is to put all that together in words. don't feel pressured to make everything look perfect already, just write what comes to your mind. if you have a new idea for the plot, good, write it down! if this character doesn't make sense anymore, okay, get rid of them. just go with the flow, following the structure you've planned, and everything starts to come to life.

i know it's so tempting to go back, read what you wrote, and start editing and polishing, but trust me, don't do that! it's a waste of time, and you will take so much more time to finish your first draft. in fact, i've given up on so many stories because of that...

just when you finish the first draft, you will re-read everything and start editing, fixing plot holes, changing what doesn't fit well, etc. but for now, just write, get the first draft done. enjoy the process, don't rush.

thanks for reading!

i hope this post was helpful!

also, you might be interested in this free workbook with over 90 pages and many exercises! check it out here: THE WRITER'S WORKBOOK

resources for this post:

How to Choose a Plot Outline Method: 4 Techniques for Outlining Novels

How to Write a Novel: A Step-by-Step Guide

[marionthegeek]

Stede is in the Gravy Basket, Izzy is Alive

The season 2 finale of Our Flag Means Death is odd.  It hits weird. I think I know why. And this is going to sound bananas, but give me a chance to explain.  Maybe you��ll agree.

It has a huge tonal shift. It seems to speedrun Stede and Ed’s romance. It feels like we’ve missed out on something from the end of episode 7.  The fight scenes and pirate plans are nonsensical, even for OFMD. And most egregiously, a prominent character is killed off in a way that feels disingenuous to his story arc, just for starters.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  We need to go back to the beginning of season 2.  The season opens with Stede looking more piratey than ever. Beard, sash, earring… oh he’s his own fantasy of a real proper pirate.  He’s clashing swords with Izzy Hands and demanding to know where Ed is. He’s dreaming. In the dream he kills Izzy. He and Ed run into each other’s arms while screaming each other’s names. They crash into the surf. Ed says “I knew you’d find me, Babe.  I knew you’d find me, Love.” Stede keeps asking if they’re good. Ed dodges the question. Then Ed asked about the smell. Stede wakes up in a crowded room with farting and shushing roommates.

At first I thought the finale was supposed to be just a “satisfying” mirror to Stede’s dream. Stede and Ed call each other’s names and run into each other’s arms in a display that resembles a more grown up version of Stede’s dream fantasy. There’s some wild sword fighting not unlike Stede’s dream duel with Izzy. And Izzy dies.

It does mirror, but I didn’t find it satisfying. All of the characters except Stede feel flattened. Stede gets to make the heroic plan (that we never even hear) while there’s at least five pirates with better skill sets for it in the room. Ed, as Blackbeard, was described last season as “History’s greatest tactician”; Zheng Yi Sao conquered China; Jackie just took out a room full of British soldiers. Izzy and Auntie are right there. You could make arguments that Jim or Frenchie, or pretty much anyone could make a better plan. Then Stede says “It’s only suicide if we die,” which is horrible considering the plan gets Izzy killed.

Stede’s really the only person in that room who thinks Stede should be making the plans.  So I got to thinking, what if it's not just mirroring the dream? What if it is a dream? Last shot of episode 7 is an incoming cannonball. Maybe he’s unconscious.

Huge shout out to @Arty_Sunflowers on twitter (I’m not calling it X, fuck Musk) for pointing out that that isn’t the only episode that ends with a cannonball. Episode 2 ends with Jim swinging a cannonball down at Ed’s head.  Stede’s not just dreaming, he’s in the Gravy Basket!!!! (Stede even screams “Oh my God!” at the end of episode 7 in the same tone he screams “Oh my God, I don’t want to die.” in s1e9.

Stede’s hopes, dreams, and insecurities shape everything in the finale. And it helps explain the absurdities in the episode when you remember that Stede is living out pulp adventure and romance novels in his head. (He even looks like someone on the cover of one in his episode 1 dream.) But Stede can’t be dead, you say. He’s literally the main character. Well, Ed was dead for a whole episode. Let’s take a closer look.

I could and probably will do another essay on Lucius as a POV character and Ed’s mental health and how the threads they seemed to have dropped aren’t as dropped as they appear. But all of that hinges on me proving the Stede is in the Gravy Basket theory. So for this essay I’m focusing on that.

So for starters we’ve got the cannonball scenes. They’re eerily similar even if the method of cannonball propulsion is different. We don’t know Ed is dead and in the Gravy Basket for about half of episode 3. Neither does he. It makes logical sense you can be there without realizing it for a while. Buttons even said Ed didn’t know whether he was in the Gravy Basket or not in episode 4. It definitely messes with your reality.

One of Ed’s issues is self hate. He manifests Hornigold as his companion. Stede is desperate to be a good pirate and have people be proud of him. And he lives in his fantasies a lot.  So his dream shapes his experience. There’s a whole bit about Zheng needing “soft” and Auntie saying she’s proud of her. That isn’t their issue. It’s discordant with the show previously. But it is Stede’s issue. He’s manifesting.

When we first see Stede and Zheng in episode 8, they’re in a familiar spot for Stede, the bridge from episode 1. But why are they alone? When we last see Stede and Zheng in episode 7, several characters are within 5 to 10 feet of them. Did none of them decide to escape with Stede? Izzy, Lucius,  and Jim are closest. But we know Pete was there begging Stede to stay down during his fight with Zheng. Archie was definitely in the bar. That's why Jim entered the fight. So why is it only Stede and Zheng at the bridge? Because, going back to rescue others fits into Stede's hero fantasies. 

Zheng and Stede also argue about who pulled who to safety and how they got there. Stede waxes poetic about being a failure his whole life, but things always seem to work out for him. He’s such a main character mediocre white guy in this scene. He saves Zheng from two random soldiers, then she has to save him from them. Then they fight a bunch more soldiers on the beach until Blackbeard manifests in full leather from the ocean.  It looks cool. But it's absurd, even for OFMD.

Speaking of Ed, he begins the episode waxing poetic about nature and calling fishermen simple.  Those things are more Stede than Ed. Pop pop tells Ed, “You have no skills” which is something Izzy said to Stede in episode 5.  He also tells Ed, “If you were ever good at something, go do that, you bum.” If Stede’s insecurities could be distilled into one sentence, it would probably be that. (He also talks about being like a wave. I’m not 100% sure it's a The Good Place joke, but it would be thematically appropriate.)

Pop pop also tells Ed he “ruined dinner.”  Back in season 1, in Stede’s flashbacks to life with Mary and the kids, Stede thinks he’s ruined dinner. But remember, we also see another version of the scene where Stede is laughing with Mary and the kids.  Stede isn’t exactly a reliable narrator. Even in his own head.

Despite it being beyond unlikely, Ed finds soldiers reading one of Stede’s letters. I know physics in this show is sketchy, but this seems like a good time to point out no one found the red silk. Stede wants Ed to read a letter and for it to fix everything between them. The letter, plus Stede being in danger, make Ed swim out, find his leathers, and emerge from the sea with them on, while the music is the Swede’s solo from Stede’s fuckery in s1e6. Stede wants to be rescued by his handsome pirate in leather, again, just like a pulp adventure romance novel. Little chance of Ed swimming out and finding his kit.  Even less of him getting leather pants on under the water.

Back to the beach… for some reason two squads of soldiers are wandering around out on an empty beach. A visually incredible fight scene occurs. It honestly reminds me of Pete’s story in s1e2, including flips. Ed and Stede yell each other’s names exactly as in the dream. Like I’m pretty sure they used the same audio track. The same song (I Love My Baby, Nina Simone) starts playing. Ed says “I love you.” Stede says “I know.” (We’ll come back to the Han Solo joke in a minute.) They have a bit more absurd fighting then Ed, Stede, and Zheng sit on the beach complimenting each other. And Ed calls Stede “babe”.  He’s never done that outside of Stede’s dream and this moment. He’s called him mate a couple of times.  Babe is exclusively in Stede’s head.

Back in the Republic of Pirates, the crew are locked in a cell that is actually the “vista suite” at Spanish Jackie’s.  Izzy gets a heroic entrance. It’s as cool as Stede thinks Izzy is. And he gives a speech that sounds like what he probably told Stede to get him to relinquish the suit in episode 5. Piracy is about belonging to something. You can’t ignore the wishes of the crew.  Izzy also knows details about Captain Kidd and Pinocchio. Not impossible, but not exactly Izzy’s wheelhouse. It is Stede’s though. He’s obsessed with pirate tales and he read Pinocchio to the crew.

Stede, Ed, and Zheng show up just as Jackie has poisoned a bunch of soldiers. Stede makes a plan, despite everyone else being more qualified. Everyone disguises themselves as soldiers. Now we’ve seen the crew of the Revenge wear disguises. They never do the weird free styling they do here. Only Stede actually looks like a British officer. Zheng at least wears the disguise properly. Suddenly Ed has a multi gun bandolier like Blackbeard in the books. Pete ripped the arms off. Izzy is still wearing his vest. Doesn’t make sense if we’re going for stealth. Neither does not checking hostage Ricky for weapons or putting Izzy and his wooden leg at the front of the group.

If I'm right, Stede wouldn't know Ricky was behind the explosions. However,  Ricky is basically evil Stede. He's Stede's perfect foil. All of this is reflecting Stede's psyche. So, of course, it's Ricky.

Izzy gets shot and says quite a lot of nonsense in his death scene. “They love you, Ed.” Um, 3 of them were going to leave like five minutes ago. Ed has made some progress with the crew, but we’re not at “they love you Ed”.  The only person who thinks the crew loves Ed is Stede. Stede who weeps for Izzy while most of the crew aren’t showing much emotion. Stede can barely deal with his own big feelings. His fantasy doesn’t give the crew room to have them. Also, given the rest of the season, having Jim just let Ed be the person cradling Izzy doesn’t fit. The crew is also pretty stony at Izzy’s funeral.

I feel like it should be noted the last shot of Izzy in episode 7, he’s got one are around Jim and a hand on Lucius’s shoulder. He sat in Wee John’s lap in episode 6. Reactions to his death don’t make sense.

Also, Izzy’s terrible grave marker is very … Stede. He’d think it was a brilliant idea.

I didn't understand at first why Izzy had to die, even in Stede's dream world. Stede clearly likes him a lot better now. Why kill him? Well, it's because we're supposed to think Buttons is there to go to the Gravy Basket for Izzy. When actually he's already arrived in the Gravy Basket and he's there for Stede. Also, mentors die in pulp adventure novels. Stede sees Izzy as a mentor.

They go aboard the Revenge for Lucius and Pete’s wedding. It’s cute that the crew performs the ceremony, but I’d venture a guess that’s because Stede doesn’t know a captain should do it if it's legally binding. Stede does love the romance of it all.  The sudden uptick in monogamy is also very Stede. He barely understands monogamous relationships. Polyamory is beyond him.

Then Stede and Ed, who earlier told Zheng they’d help hunt Ricky, go back to the island where Izzy is buried to start an inn in a run down shack.  Stede knows Ed wants to do this because Ed told the (Taika’s) kids that they ran an inn.  We hear Ed ask “Jesus, what is that smell?” Now, at first, I thought Izzy, because Ed “knows the smell of my rotting first mate”. But what was the last thing to happen in Stede’s dream? A fart joke.

Last scene is Buttons landing on Izzy’s grave. To retrieve Izzy from the Gravy Basket? No, Izzy’s not dead. He’s with Jim and Lucius, probably watching over Stede’s corpse. Buttons is there to retrieve Stede.

This theory fixes the plot holes and dropped threads problem. We’re coming back to them next season. Ed's amends making should be far from over. And we see several moments during the season where he acknowledged that. And yet here on the island they've set up a horror movie and called it a happy ending.  Well, Stede is the type of boss who thinks things are fixed with a pizza (Calypso) party. In Stede's mind, this is a happy ending.  But really Ed is still off finding himself,  Stede is (temporarily) dead, and Izzy (who is not dead!) is probably guarding Stede's corpse.

They haven't resolved the domestic violence thread, but they haven't dropped it, either. Izzy is alive. Stede and Ed aren't together (yet). There's still time.

This also explains some of the freewheeling nonsense David Jenkins has been spouting in articles. Ed doesn’t see Izzy as a father figure and mentor, Stede does.  Stede almost turned to mush when Izzy approved of him. And David is writing a three volume adventure novel. Han Solo (Stede) is in carbonate (the Gravy Basket). The perfect end to the second act. See, I told you we’d get back to the Han Solo joke.

I still have problems with the season.  I really think they need a sensitivity reader. Even just implying a newly disabled character was fridged is certainly a choice. Especially given the amount of time devoted to how the character handled the disability. The DV scenes were brutal, as well as the suicide attempt, and the Human Puppet joke. I think they need someone trauma informed and disabled in the writer's room. (David Jenkins hit me up!)

Overall, I liked season 2. Especially once I realized Izzy wasn't dead. I'm looking forward to season 3, the conclusion of the Gentle Beard arc, and hopefully 6 seasons and a movie of Izzy (to be clear, he's not captain) and the kids sailing up and down the coast being gay and doing crimes, occasionally checking in with Stede and Ed.

Seriously, David, call me.

Historical Note: IRL Blackbeard died on November 22, 1718, killed in a naval battle off Ocracoke Island in North Carolina. IRL Stede Bonnet died December 10, 1718, hanged in Charles Town, South Carolina for piracy.  IRL Israel “Izzy” Hands survives piracy, death date unknown. I know this show doesn’t actually care about historical accuracy, but this lends a little support for my Ed died, then Stede died, and Izzy isn’t dead theory.

[imbecominggayer]

How To Write Character Motivation

This little (not-so-little) post is all about how to give your character a motivation for that goal all the while taking into account important things like the backstory, worldbuilding, themes, and such.

Keep in mind the fact that there are billions of different goals and connecting motivations so this advice is probably not applicable for everything :)

Again, these are just some tips. I am going to be assuming that you have some basic information about your character like what they want and where they come from :D

A) Questions, Questions, And More Questions

Take your character and ask them what their goal is. Then ask them "why?". Force them to answer. Then ask them different "why" questions based on what they answer!

For example: "Character A wants to kill the dragon"

Why? The dragon killed my family.

Why did the dragon kill your family? My father was a monster hunter who was upsetting the dragon's food resource.

Why did the dragon kill your other family members? My mom and my sister were collateral damage in the dragon's attack.

You can do this little exercise with any type of goal from crime, adventure, romance, to any other genre I haven't listed yet!

B) Deep Psychology

Now you have ask yourself, actually your character but you know, "what is this really about"?

What does this goal symbolize for this character?

Character A wants to kill the dragon because she believes it will end her own nightmares about the death of her parents. This is a thoughtless attempt to grieve without grieving.

Character B wants to steal a treasure of their home village because he believes that by gaining the financial rewards associated, he will be adored by his new community of outsiders. This is a desire for belonging.

You get the point. These goals aren't just about stealing your home's sacred treasure for wealth or killing a dragon for revenge. It's about universal desires we all share. To be loved, to be strong, to be great.

This is necessary because most people don't live in isolated villages housing secret treasures nor do they kill dragons. If you want your audience to connect with your character, the audience needs something universal to latch onto.

C) Themes And Misbelief

Most great stories feature a "misbelief" or mistaken assumption. This is the potentially fatal flaw of this character who believes something that is either not reflective of reality or will endanger something they care about.

Even if Character A kills the dragon ten times over, their family is gone. They can't kill their grief. They have to authentically work through it. Besides, I can't imagine how completely f#cked the food web would be if an apex predator like the dragon died.

If Character B used the sacred treasure to gain untold wealth they most likely would gain the acceptance and support of the "outsiders". But isn't it more important to protect the tradition. Their culture? Their people? It's a good thing to protect things that need to be protected!

These stories can either end as a cautionary tale, a lifeless happily ever after, and an impactful happy ever after depending on the character arc and ending of these characters.

If Character A and B "succeed" in their goals but this ruins their overall life, it's a cautionary tale.

If Character A and B succeed in their goals and they suffer no consequences for their mistaken belief, it's a lifeless victory.

If Character A and B choose different goals as a result of a character arc then they will succeed and reach a true happily ever after.

[three--rings]

to get back to ofmd bitterness for a minute, I'm increasingly over the oh-so-plentiful variety of post that's like:

oh but OFMD S2 is actually perfect, it's only problematic to people who OVERTHINK THINGS.

Like, hi, this is fandom, have we met? THAT'S WHAT WE DO HERE.

And no one is saying you can't enjoy it for what it is and enjoy gifs of actors being cute and kissing and everything, have a blast. You don't have to get deep into textual analysis to be a fan.

BUT, while OFMD has always been a funny, cute show that tells a brisk story, but what I really, really appreciated about it was that when you interrogated it more deeply, it HELD TOGETHER. In fact, there seemed no end of depth to it. Everything WORKED symbolically, thematically. I became used to looking at the story on that level.

And S2 came out and it SEEMED like it was the same. so much depth, so much seriousness it seemed to be treating things with.

And then...it all fell apart in the last half. And that's SO FUCKING FRUSTRATING.

As an example, when the opening scene was Stede's dream of killing Izzy and running to Ed on a beach, looking dashing and manly, MANY MANY people in fandom immediately were like, OH. This is the show telling us what's NOT going to happen. This is the schlocky, cliched version of things. Where the hero is masculine and violent and the evil are punished and the romance is easily happily resolved.

This is the show saying we're not going to do the expected thing.

And then the end of the show killed Izzy and had Ed and Stede run to each other on a beach while doing violence, Stede looking capable and rugged, and they didn't really have to work at resolving their issues they just were Fine Actually.

So it felt kinda like spitting in the face of all the people writing meta about the show. It was playing INTO expectations instead of against them, and that felt like a betrayal of the show's core Thing.

But if you're not someone who was thinking about that kind of thing, then sure, probably it felt like 'oh it's a happy ending, cool.'

And I'm just sad that when I try to analyze these characters and their arcs in this season in detail, as I really on some level feel I NEED to, I'm left holding a bunch of parts that don't fit together. I thought I was being given a bunch of cool puzzle pieces that was going to make a pretty picture but when I was told it was done it was just some random shapes.

And again, if you're a casual viewer, like my husband for instance, you can walk away going "I thought it was pretty good" and be satisfied and that's great.

But I'm here trying to write fic set in a post S2 canonical universe and I CAN'T MAKE THE CHARACTER PIECES FIT RIGHT. and it's driving me nuts.

[lizardkingeliot]

Just gonna pop this full quote from Rolin here for anyone who might need to see it today:

"When I read the novel, it was very clear that this was a romance, and we wanted to tackle it in a big way: overflowing passion, big fights and big reconciliations. A relationship like that may not be the best thing for you in life, but sometimes you just can't control yourself, and that's what happens to Louis and Lestat." Will the show respect the structure of the books, in which Louis disappears and Lestat comes to the fore? "We want to focus on the relationship between the two" replies the showrunner. "That does not mean that they will be together in every scene of every chapter, but when the second season arrives you will have a clearer idea of what will happen to Louis, and even more so in the third, when we adapt The Vampire Lestat. We will keep the spirit of the novels and their emotional arcs, but their plots are built in a very different way than what a TV series asks for. Besides, who would want to get rid of an actor like Jacob Anderson?"

(source)

I understand being worried reading a quote from the showrunner in which he implies Louis and Lestat might not really reconcile for 8 more seasons, but the entire show thus far has focused on Louis and Lestat. They restructured so many things in season 2 to be about Louis and Lestat. The entire trial was about their love! The tower scene ended up being Lestat getting metaphorically broken by losing Louis instead. Dreamstat! Even the Armand and Louis relationship ended up being about Louis and Lestat in the end. Jacob and Sam are co-leads. They will continue to be co-leads. Their chemistry is legendary. The show has never given us any reason to believe they're suddenly going to squander that.

Rolin has said he specifically went in the AMC offices asking to write a love story. Obviously none of us can see into the future and predict how the story is going to unfold, but I'm personally choosing to trust where they're headed with it. This team is so good and they have not let us down thus far in my opinion. Sam has implied they have the whole arc plotted out, and I can't see any reason why they would suddenly change their minds. It might end up taking a different shape than we imagine. We might not get everything we want. Louis and Lestat are always going to have a chaotic and insane dynamic as long as the show is airing. But that insane, chaotic dynamic is the heart of the show. That's what makes it so compelling!

And also, just as a side note, please remember Louis and Lestat do reunite as lovers near the end of TVL. Louis is there for the rockstar era. He and Lestat smooch backstage! Why on earth would the show choose to not give us that turned up to eleven like they do with everything else?

Now let's all just take some nice deep breaths and enjoy our hiatus yeah? Season 3 is happening! We have so much to look forward to! 💖

[casmick-consequences]

i rewatched the finale just now, and I have some thoughts.

mainly, i want to thank taika and david for this wonderful show that's brought me immense joy this last month, and i'll always take it with me no matter if we manage to get a third season or not.

did i like the finale? yes, i really did. did i think it was very rushed, had weird scene placements and could've gone with another episode to even things out? also yes.

as far as izzy goes (and this is where it gets extremely controversial knowing how much this fandom loves him); i am actually glad his storyline ended here.

this entire season, we got to enjoy him and we got to see his redemption arc. from someone who is obsessed with this monster of a being, to someone who learns to come into his own, away from all the toxicity and poison. he gets to find out more about himself, and with that grow closer to the people around him and allow himself to have friends. a family, even. would i have loved to see him live a full life like this? definitely. but story-wise, this is a perfect ending for him. "you born alone, you die alone" he said, and then he passed peacefully surrounded by his family and in the arms of not blackbeard, but edward.

i need the people of this fandom to understand that just because your favorite character died, doesn't mean that it instantly turns into a bad show/season/whatever. you have to look outside of your bias, and instead of going "no fuck this show because i did not want him to die" you could go "i am incredibly sad that he died but i'm so happy to have known him and to have him in my life". it's a show, the character isn't going away simply because he died.

but then again, izzy didn't mean as much as he did to the majority of you and i don't wanna go around telling people how to feel, because feelings and emotions are real and if he meant a lot to you then yes, of course you're hurt. and that's 100% completely valid. just don't take it out on the rest of the show and the show writers (saw some ppl say that nasty things were being tweeted at djenkins and that's not ok. at all.)

idk, even after watching it twice i feel kinda... weird.... like too much happened in little time. but i am OVERJOYED that lucius and pete got to have their little wedding <3333 they're mateys!!!! i just wish it wasn't over in 30 seconds, as well as completely overshadowed by izzy's death 2 minutes before.

but i do think the finale had some GREAT bits in it. even if most of it felt rushed, there was comedy, emotion, romance, GREAT kisses (the way gentlebeard was handled in this episode made me very giddy!!)..... it just always delivers.... and watching this with everything else that happened in s2 I can safely say that this might be my favorite season of any show out there.

once again; THANK you taika and david <3 love youuu

[fortheillithidbaddies]

Larian's Patch 5 notes (...probably)

Highlights

The stans asked so we did it: every companion has been replaced with Astarion. It's Astarion time, all the time!

Companions

With Astarion being the only companion available to everyone, the character and romance options are now Resist Durge & Spawn Astarion or Embrace Durge & Ascended Astarion. Durge & Astarion are really canon now - they're all that's left!

We realize that you should actually know everything about Astarion when you first meet but we decided to give you a little bit of mystery (not too much). He will now tell you every detail of his life on the way to update the grove about the goblins and their children being obliterated (no raiding because why wouldn't you side with the grove? Obviously everyone wants to so we took care of that RP for you). Astarion will share everything from the time he was born, his childhood, his time as a good and just magistrate, the night he met Cazador, then years 1-200 with Cazador. You'll get every detail right up front, no story arc reveals necessary!

Spawn Astarion post ritual: finally tell him you love him! Then have explicit doggystyle sex on the gravestone where he'll yank your hair, spank your ass, and make you call him Vamp Daddy.

Ascended Astarion post ritual: no worries we didn't forget you! Your romance is now chaste. Because really do you think a vampire lord has time for sex in his world domination plans? Yeah right, he'll barely have time for you!

We did want to add a little more for Ascended romances: he will actually put a leash on your character now! Really drive home that you're just a thing to him! That's right - get leashed!

Combat

With Spawn Astarion now comes new powers - call on 7000 spawn to assist the party in battle (Larian is not responsible for your GPUs bursting into flames)

Shadowheart wasn't the only one with spirit guardians {sorry to her but we don't know her anymore} - if for some reason you did the awful choice of killing the spawn in the dungeon (how dare you not let them go live in the Underdark cause really fuck the Underdark citizens...who cares) then Spawn Astarion can now call on 7000 spirits to protect the party in their time of need for 10 turns. No need to worry there's enough spirits for everyone!

[woennix]

I wanna share some positive things the about the QSMP I personally see.

Of course this is just how I see it, but I feel like there's too much negativity and I need some positive stuff so if I don't see it I'll just make it.

The thing I'll highlight here is my favorite aspects of the LGBT relationships in the server in general (Mainly ships).

Firstly of ace character with qCellbit, I'll just say the moment qRoier accepted qCellbit as ace so fucking quickly it made me so happy, and in general I love their relationship and how they supported eachtother during their hardest times (Bobby's loss and qCellbit's whole arc where he pretended to betray everyone). Related to this I love how this doesn't diminish qRoier's friendship with qJaiden and they have such a strong relationship even after he marries qCellbit, she even is seen as part of their family (AS SHE SHOULD!!!!).

I also love qBagi and qTina, where they have a relationship and we can see qTina's insecurities and qBagi's patience for her. I love how qBagi opened up to her and they bonded on feeling alone and now they have eachother :(( (AND A DAUGHTER!!!! THEY WANTED A DAUGHTER AND THEY GOT IT!! W) I don't follow their story as much but their recent developments with qTina's lore is so cool and I'm so excited to see where that's going.

Obviously I love qFit and qPac (I say obviously bc it's all I talk about in my page), but the slow burn story was so good, for both characters where they have a lot to work through but support eachother though everything. My favorite part I guess is seeing them be the ''I am not marrying'' couple. They do not need a marriage to show their relationship and don't care that much about labels. I will say I know they might eventually marry and that's ok, but I for now, I really love how they don't want or care about marriage and that's ok, they're going on their own pace and that's ok too (they haven't had their first kiss yet). Idk I just love them.

The other ships don't catch that much my attention but!! I wanna say I also love the irl representation, with Mike being such an icon and defending the community (and being part of it with his partner Mine <3), Felps always defending it too, and many other. Tubbo, Bagi, Cellbit, also being queer people to look up to, and I am sure I am missing people. But in general I love the server for being so LGBT-friendly always.

I'll also always remember how quickily Slime and Mariana supported Juanaflippa her being trans. All the support she got in-story and outside of it was so nice. (And her as a character in general but that's another topic lmao).

And lastly I'll just say, as an aro-person, I love seeing how not everything is romance, most of my favorite dynamics are not ships, and there are so many found-family aspects on the server, it makes my heart full. Not everything is perfect in it but yeah!! This is an aspect I really love of the server.

[signfromeywa]

I have to say: I love your blog 🥰. I love everything, your OCs, the lore you show little by little, the interesting but fluffy couple dynamics. Etc etc.

I just came here to leave my opinión about Turner and Ana

I feel that, to a certain extent, Turner needed that avatar more than Ana. The circumstances in which he received it were not the best (oh Ana... 😭) But from what I understood from that little story you wrote, Turner was basically just hours away from dying, It's interesting to see how his character arc is basically that he was given a second chance to live and he must learn not to waste it and start a new and healthy one.

As for Ana... Her relationship with Ean'tu is interesting, usually in canon and fanfics involving a relationship between a Na'vi and a human, the human has an avatar that they then transfer to. I'm not complaining, but I feel like it's wasted potential to not explore a dynamic where the human STAYS human. We are talking about a romance that has every chance of failing... but it doesn't, that despite biological, physical and cultural differences, it prospered until it became something beautiful ❤️ even if it ends tragically 💔

Hello! Thank you for your kind words and all your thoughts about my characters 🥰 I am happy that you enjoy them and my blog!

To Turner:

Yes he needed that body even if he would never have dared to ask for one. He always thought he was not worth a second chance in life. He feels damn guilty that he has the body and the second chance and his friend Ana is not. This thoughts keeps him awake at night.

But also he learned to accept the new body and find joy in his new life doing the training from the Na'vi and Mo'at helping him, to accept the body. He needed a lot of spiritual training to get one with his body, because it was a traumatic event when he moved to his new body. It needed time to heal.

About Ana:

Ana and Ean'tu love each other despite the differences in species. She never had and never will get an Avatar. Ean'tu always said, he is aware that she is different, she is human. But he loves her the way she is. He fell in love with a human and thinks she is beautiful in the way she is. He doesn't want to change her. He wants the real Ana by his side.

Also Ana doesn't see the need in an Avatar body. Yes it's hard in Pandora that she can't breathe the air. Also the size difference and that she can't eat everything that grows on Pandora, but still she takes all that burden to be with her husband. To live along with him! She knows from the beginning she doesn't have an Avatar and that she falls in love with Ean'tu, a Na'vi! She knew that this would come with problems she has to overcome and she did! But still they can be together!

Even if they would offer Ana a Na'vi body, Ean'tu and Ana would not want it. He loves her like she is and she knows that he fully accepts her how she is. He loves her pale skin and her brown hair with the little pointy nose. He likes how elegant and filigree she is. He is madly in love with his human wife. And of course what really counts is the soul.

He would recognize and love her in every form and color. 💜

(also both are aware that she will not live as long as Ean'tu. But they still stay together and Ean'tu will be with her till she dies and he is prepared 🥺💜)

[pierrotwrites-hc]

Pierrot I just want to chime in here as a angst lover who has followed TGB since before the rewrite: we are here for the hurt. ALL THE HURT. There are 80 million soft romance fics that anyone can find with a casual search. You are one of the best - one of the only - writers of pain so exquisitely painful that it gives me goosebumps and makes me stop reading to catch my breath. Please PLEASE for the love of god don't ever turn the volume down on the whump or think that your readers can't handle it. It's basically impossible to find any h/c fic as good as yours and it wouldn't be as deliciously cathartic without the deep soul-searing pain.

I get that it's a hurt-comfort arc and that we're nearing the comfort part of that, but... you know, take your time. Your angst-loving readers are here for it and we're not complaining one bit about where the story is. In fact, I hope you manage to make the "comfort" arc a little painful too. After all, healing is not a linear journey and I think as a writer who is so talented at and clearly loves writing whump you'd get bored writing straight fluffy comfort fic for the rest of the story!

I have completely trust in you as a writer so whatever you do will be amazing! I just wanted to make sure you knew how wonderful the deviants like me are finding the fic RIGHT NOW. I'm not over here crying and hoping for a swift rescue for anyone. The angst chapters can stick around for a while as far as I'm concerned. :D

this message was sent c. ch47 and I kept in my inbox for an absurdly long time so I could visit it like a dear friend.

one of the challenges of writing TGB is balancing my own taste in whump with the needs and desires of my readers. I never want anyone to feel like their investment in the story (and in Luca in particular) has been abused or that their trust in me as a writer has been betrayed because of these darker story beats. this message came at a time when I was really getting in my own head about it, and believe me when I tell you the reassurance meant everything to me.

<3

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

About the Adrienette relationship and how Adrien became the therapist trophy bf… idk if I can explain my thoughts right, but I feel like this is the result of a bigger issue with where the writer’s priorities lie regarding Adrien‘s obstacles?

Adrien‘s issues with his family are kind of not that important, or at least don’t affect him that much. When Gabriel does something shitty like not letting Adrien leave the house, it either gets resolved by the end of the episode or it‘s forgotten about. Gabriel‘s abuse feels to me more like a plot device to remove Adrien from the plot until the akuma shows up than a serious issue that affects Adrien mental being and needs to be resolved with therapy and Gabriel loosing custody over him. Adrien almost never talks bad about his dad, it‘s always „oh he‘s just overprotective of me“ or something. It’s like Adrien doesn’t recognize how crappy Gabe is, which does make sense for an abuse victim, but I don’t feel like the show frames this opinion as wrong.

Meanwhile in his relationship with LB, he takes everything super personal. He acts mean and entitled when she rejects his advances (even though he comes around in the end… only to try again a few episodes later) and he gets very angsty about LB… having more than one superhero friend. I know I sound dismissive, mostly because I though the whole arc sucked, but I do understand that it happened because Adrichat has abandonment issues. It makes sense why he feels that way. And he goes off to her in the s4 finale. So suddenly he can realize when he‘s treated badly in a relationship and talk about it? It‘s not like Lb treated him worse than Gabe, not even close!!

Adrien‘s main source of problems is his relationship with Maribug. This gets resolved in s4 on the Ladynoir side, and then in s5 Adriens biggest goal is resolving the Adrienette side, aka getting with a traumatized Marinette, aka the whole point of the show and probably the writer‘s only true priority. And when Adrien actually has a problem with his dad, it‘s only in the context of Gabe trying to sabotage the relationship, because who cares that he‘s an abusive asshole regardless of Adrien‘s relationship status? We need to save the relationship you guys!!

I guess what I‘m trying to say is that Adrien is the therapist in the relationship because (according to the writers), he doesn‘t really have problems. His only problems are when things are obstacles to his relationship with Marinette, which are her trauma and in the second half of s5 Gabriel being a dick to Mari. Other than that? Nathalie dying was a little important for like two minues, Emilie doesn‘t get brought up by Adrien in s5 at all, Gabriel dying and Adrien literally becoming an orphan is cool. None of these things have any influence on Adrienette, so they don‘t bother him and he doesn‘t need to talk to anyone about it or get therapy.

Love conquers all !!

So, confession time: I often tone Gabriel's abuse down when I write him specifically because of a lot of what you brought up (there's also the fact that it makes for a more compelling story if Gabriel's behavior is actually driven by grief and not just how he's always been, but let's not get into that). I've always considered it glaringly obvious that the writer's never meant for Gabriel to come across anywhere near as controlling and abusive as he's actually written. It really is just a plot device even though there are episodes that would have played far better if Gabriel had been less controlling.

For example, Glaciator would have been a far stronger episode if Adrien chose to not go see his friends in order to wait around for Ladybug because then he'd be super clearly in the wrong for flaking on a commitment and the lesson could be "don't put romance above your friends."

As-is, I have no idea what the moral of that episode is supposed to be because Maribug did nothing wrong outside of being a little rude to the ice cream guy, but Chat Noir also isn't really in the wrong because he was banned from going out as Adrien. There's a solid argument to be made for not wanting to risk punishment by going to a very public location with his friends. In episodes like this, it really felt like Gabriel's controlling, unreasonable nature wasn't being used to develop his character, but as a way to absolve Adrien of blame.

Along similar lines, the Adrigami plot in season five feels less like a thing that was included to make Gabriel feel evil and more like the writers desperately padding things out because Gabriel actually does very little to keep Adrien and Marinette apart. He could have pulled Adrien from school! He could have demanded Nathalie give back Adrien's ring so that his commands stuck! He could have interrupted the video game date and banned Marinette from the house. But he does none of that because he's not actually being controlling as a character thing. He's doing it so that the writers can add cheap drama to the Adrienette plot.

The clearest evidence of this is the wacky season five ending. That's not an ending you give to a person you consider abusive and evil beyond all hope of redemption even though that's arguably who Gabriel was by the end of season five. The writers are either ignorant to just how abusive he actually was or they know that he got pretty bad as the seasons went on, but they didn't want to change their planned ending so we got the ending they wrote when the show had less seasons and they'd done less to make Gabriel abusive.

It's just another case of that inconsistent characterization problem I've discussed before. By letting Gabriel be whatever they needed him to be for a given plot idea to work, they created a monster and made Adrien into a victim, but that's pretty clearly not the dynamic they actually wanted to write, so it all comes across as strange, wacky, and insensitive.

This is getting long, but I'll end by noting that I fully agree on the Maribug stuff. The conflicts they give Chat Noir and Ladybug make me super uncomfortable because they tend to center around her being a bad partner for... not reading his mind. Which is a massive personal pet peeve because so many people do this shit (myself included) and it's wildly unhealthy. Not saying she behaved perfectly or that this isn't an understandable flaw to give a character like Chatdrien, but it is a flaw and the show fails to treat it as such. It especially annoys me because it's a terrible conflict to give two people who are trying to keep the world safe. I've mentioned this before, but a big reason why superhero shows aimed at kids tend to develop both the civilian and superhero sides is so that the civilian side can focus on interpersonal conflicts and learn valuable life lessons, many of which will then be applied on the superhero side. Miraculous really needed to use this tool to help Adrien learn to communicate his very valid feelings. It's just bad writing choice after bad writing choice, adding up to a mess of a show no matter how you look at it.

Quick side note: I have nothing against people writing Gabriel as abusive as the show often makes him. I hope I've made it clear that I fully agree with that take, it's just not the take I like to use in my own stuff because it doesn't suit the kind of stories I enjoy telling. I prefer the happy family broken by Emilie's death route that the show pretty clearly wanted, but failed to write.

[acourtofthought]

How would you feel if ACOTAR 5 is gwynriel instead of elucien? In one of SJM interviews she stated that after finishing acotar5 she will be working on the 1st book of a different series. So that means acotar6 will come out 2027.

Disappointed. I think there gets to be a point where an author drags out a particular storyline too long (the Blood and Ash series come to mind) and the writing suffers as a result.

Vassa was taken in ACOMAF, we found out by who in ACOWAR and that she as well as the other girls at the lake have been cursed / kidnapped by Koschei. In ACOFAS we're told her freedom will come to an end and reminded of that in ACOSF.

Spring was destroyed in ACOWAR and in ACOFAS, we're told Tamlin is severely depressed but that they'll still need Spring as an ally. SF shows it's been awhile and Tamlin isn't getting better, that they know they need a strong ally in Springs army.

Elucien's bond snapped in ACOMAF, Elain was turned fae and in ACOWAR she lost her father, stabbed a man, was rejected by Graysen, fought with her sister in SF and was rejected by Az yet we've not once been given her inner thoughts of all she's experienced. We don't even see any of the main characters trying to talk to her about any of those things.

And Lucien, the list is too long to include on all his unresolved plots.

Having Nesta's story told first made sense to me because there was never going to be Elucien progress until Nesta began letting go of her protectiveness over Elain, to accept the idea of Lucien (and technically, Nessian's bond was hinted at before Elucien's bond snapped).

Her healing arc was important to Feyre and Elain's stories too (along with herself of course) however it wasn't very plot heavy. But there was no moving forward for anyone until Nesta's anger wasn't destroying everything in Nesta's path. The series, since book 2, has been as much about the sisters relationship to one another as plot and romance and closing that out before moving into a new era makes sense to me.

But Az having his story before Elain and Lucien doesn't seem to fit especially when a Gwynriel romance would probably need at least 6 - 9 months (meaning that almost another year would go by before we even start getting resolution to the above).

I'm not sure that I see anything in his story that is necessary to lead us into the Koschei storyline.

He wasn't in Feyre's "Let's help one sister before helping the other" speech, he wasn't part of Feyre's "I want them all to be happy" speech in ACOFAS.

To me the Illyrians aren't a bigger concern to their entire world than Vallahan setting their sights on the humans or Beron trying to ally with Koschei or how an entire court is now being neglected by its High Lord.

Dragging out Vassa, Koschei, Lucien's father reveal, the Elucien bond, the girls who were kidnapped, Spring, Elain healing from her trauma while she continues to remain in a court she doesn't truly belong just so Az can have his story which doesn't fit in to any of those things does not make any sense to me and honestly, I think it sends a weird message.

"I think Lucien will never be good enough for her"

"I'll defeat him with little effort"

"I know, I helped rescue Elain after all"

"There is a darkness to the Dread Trove that Elain should not be exposed to"

"She has no interest in him anyway"

Az (no offense) is kind of a dick at times outside of the priestesses.

He makes Mor so uneasy with his behavior that she feels like she needs to lie about what she's doing so he doesn't brood.

He is jealous and bitter towards Lucien and speaks for Elain without ever acknowledging her bravery and strength.

He gives off Tamlin vibes at times and to me that means he needs to be on a time out for a bit. Where he has to really sit and think on why his behaviors were wrong, why he tried to keep Mor and Elain small so he could be the hero, why he had such issues with a guy who is a very decent person.

Giving him a HEA after he treated them like that while Mor still remains unlucky in love, Lucien is struggling, Elain has no found family, it feels like jumping over an important lesson for Az to learn so he can become worthy of Gwyn. Not just in who he is when around her but who he is on his own.

I think Az seeing them happy and actually being happy for them is an important arc for his character.

But, in the end that's just my perception of the situation.

I don't know how SJM thinks, what her plan is, and if Elucien is not next than there's not much I can do but wait!

[equalseleventhirds]

bcos of Reasons (yes ani u have started me on a brain spiral, not ur fault just me thinking too much) i am thinking abt what i, as an aromantic, like to see in media

(and yes i do enjoy a good romantic arc also, this is not exclusive, i do not require to see aromanticism in order to enjoy something, just. like. what am i looking for when i am in a mood to see stuff i can relate to as an aro.)

and i was perusing lists of media with confirmed aro characters, right, and contemplating how many of those characters make me feel..... seen? represented? positive??? w/e.

and a... not even trend, bcos there's not enough for it to be a trend, but a storyline i see a chunk of the time is like, character comes out as aro/not interested in romance, and then has a 'so don't hit on me/don't expect me to date or get married/stop trying to set me up on dates/etc' conversation with another character

with ofc the good end there being the other character is like, oh, of course, i understand, i will do this to make u comfortable and i do not think you are a freak for this

which! don't get me wrong, not a bad story. visibility & affirmation & so on. part of the time it is a side character this happens to but also sometimes a main character! u kno. it's not bad.

but it's not really something i find....... super relatable, or desirable in media? like, it's fine, it's nice, it's not something i am actively seeking out or what i really want when i am looking for 'aro media', exactly.

and that may just be about where i am in my personal life journey, right. i am fine with who i am and how i live and have moved on past needing people to acknowledge my basic existence.

what i'm usually wanting is... well, platonic relationships. strong platonic relationships that have actual screen time, are shown to be emotionally resonant, and have just as much if not more importance placed on them as romantic relationships.

bcos that's what i really want, you know--not to be told 'yeah you can exist and Not Do Romance and that's fine :)' but to have the kinds of emotional connections i make be. yknow. important. to be told yeah, you don't do romance, but that doesn't mean you can't be the most important person in someone's life (even if right now as i am i am not emotionally stable enough to be that important to someone.......... but that's another story).

to..... not be defined by a lack, even tho i know that's. what aromanticism is, u kno, lack of romantic attraction. but having that lack not be the end. of a character, a conversation, a relationship.

it's why i like things like wolf 359, where like, we know jacobi and maxwell aren't romantic, but she's his person. he'll burn down everything for her. in her memory. so even tho neither character is 'canon aromantic', i feel seen & valued by their story.

right? yeah.

(also sometimes to have friendships shown in media that are just as fucked up and toxic and hand-in-unlovable-hand as some of the ships ppl love lmao. yes i'm aromantic but that doesn't mean all my love is sweet and nice. fun to see that shown sometimes. not always but u know. (jazz hands) variety)

[mermaidsirennikita]

Can you recommend some HR with disabled male leads? I read Romancing the Duke and fell in love with Ransom

Sure! I haven't read that one yet but it's very literally on my shelf so I wanna soon.

I'd recommend:

When the Earl Met His Match by Stacy Reid. My favorite Stacy Reid, the Scottish hero was born mute and (I think this is important) ends the story mute. He communicates by writing or with sign language, and he marries the heroine, who's pregnant by another man and on the run from her horrible parents, because they've basically been pen pals for a while and she'll be able to reintroduce his (scandalous) family back into high society. He claims her baby as his own. One of my favorite things in this book is that she learns sign, which I feel a lot of authors wouldn't see the need for her to do...? But it's lovely.

Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale. The hero does not begin the story with a disability; his mistress's husband catches them together, and when he goes out to duel him he suffers what we can assume is a stroke, which leaves him unable to speak or communicate properly. The heroine, a Quaker, finds him in an asylum and begins to establish communication with him, which leads to this really sweeping, challenging, beautifully written romance. I looove it.

Surrender to the Devil by Lorraine Heath. Sterling is not blind when the book's plot happens, but he's losing his vision and knows he will eventually be completely blind. It informs a lot of his character arc, because he shows up in the first book of the series (lmao it's SOOOOO dramatic oh my god) like an absolute ASSHOLE. He's going through some shit everyone!!!! Anyway, he's a duke who sees the lower class Frannie and wants to make her his mistress, but she struggles with the belief that she's frigid due to sexual abuse she experienced as a child. So it's heavy. But it's suuuuper romantic and heartfelt.

Beauty Tempts the Beast by Lorraine Heath. It's hard for me to say what is happening with the hero because it's kind of a reveal...? But it doesn't have a huge physical effect, necessarily--I mean, it does and it doesn't. However, the impact it's had on his social experience growing up is huge and it BROKE my heart. Anyway, this is the one where he sort of accidentally owns a brothel, and he agrees to teach the heroine, who was upper class but lost everything, how to seduce rich men so that she can become a courtesan. In exchange, she'll help teach the women in the brothel how to be ladies so that they can get other jobs (and so that he doesn't have to own a brothel anymore lmao).

My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid. The heroine in this book pretends she's engaged to this reclusive duke so that she can help her sisters in society... then he shows up. He actually uses a wheelchair after an injury, which is why he's stayed away from society. This book is SO GOOD and SO HOT. The thing is that he also thinks he's impotent, and it's very quickly clear that he's actually not, he just has a mental block due to his shame about his disability. The book is super emotional and lovely.

When the Wallflower was Won by Eva Leigh. The hero in this book is a successful gambler who ends up in a marriage of convenience with a super nerdy heroine so that she can join this academic society that won't accept her as a single woman. This one is super hot. The hero is dyslexic, which led to a lot of issues in his childhood, etc, and I enjoyed the way the writer addressed this.

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley has a hero on the autism spectrum; he spent time in an asylum, and at times his family (though they do love him) completely misunderstand him. It's a big part of the story, and I really love this book--he meets this widow, and they basically start a no strings situation that gets quite out of hand.

Rules for Engaging the Earl by Janna MacGregor. The heroine basically asks her childhood friend to marry her because she found out that her dead husband was a bigamist (and therefore their marriage was invalid), and she's pregnant, so she wants to avoid her child being born a bastard. The hero obliges, but is hesitant to get closer to her, in part because he was wounded in the war and now suffers from mobility issues. There's a scene where she takes care of his leg that's so emotional and hot; and I really liked that they had to accommodate his disability in their sex life, and it wasn't treated as this weird thing.

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall. Another one where the hero was injured at war and now has chronic pain/mobility issues. This is also really unique in that the heroine is a trans woman; she and the hero were best friends, and she was presumed dead after the Battle of Waterloo and used that opportunity to make a new life as who she really is. The hero was DEVASTATED and that, plus his disability, lead to him developing some substance issues. The heroine is persuaded to go to his house with some friends to try to help him out, and at first he doesn't recognize her... But when he does... IT'S SO FUCKIN' ROMANTIC. Like, that scene was. INSPIRED. I don't wanna give it away but I'm always like "oh my god the scene where he realizes that [redacted]....." This book also incorporates accommodating the injury in their sex life, which again I like a lot.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian. This is an m/m historical in which a dandy basically asks Kit, a former highwayman who now runs a cafe, to help him rob his dad. Kit refuses, but agrees to TEACH him how to do it. Kit hurt his leg and now has pain/mobility issues, something that is a thing throughout the book and is done really well. Also, the book where Kit is afraid of face fucking Percy because it would be too rough~ and Percy rolls his eyes and grabs Kit's hands to make him do it, because Percy is a true throat goat.

Joanna Shupe also has one with a deaf hero that I haven't read yet: A Notorious Vow.

Edit: I should add that Grace Callaway's Never Say Never to an Earl has a hero with bipolar disorder, and I really liked how she wrote it. But I have bipolar disorder and sort of struggle with the classification of it as a disability (not that it's invalid at all, I just struggle personally with feeling like an imposter when I put those two things together) so if you see it that way, then that is there also.

[bengiyo]

Minato's Laundromat 2 Ep 12 (Finale) Stray Thoughts

Last week, one of my favorite shows continued to shit the bed with this ongoing amnesia plot, severing the compelling mirroring between both couples in service of what feels like a ratings play. I enjoyed getting to hear Nishigaki Sho’s more relaxed voice again compared to the bright one he typically uses when interacting as regular Shin with Minato. Minato went on a date with Shin at the insistence of the rest of the cast, and he tried to remind Shin of some of their moments, heavily leaning on their season 1 moments. It proved ineffective, and then the show hurt us by having Shin finally say Minato’s given name. Seeing that Shin doesn’t remember him, Minato has ended things for now.

Once again, we’re back to some early dynamics with Minato being sick and Shin insisting it’s okay for him to help since they’re friends.

Oh they are finally fighting. I get Minato’s frustration, but I’m also with Shin. It’s pretty lame to learn you were abandoned by what apparently is the love of your life during a moment of crisis.

I guess I’m relieved that this head injury hasn’t interrupted Shin’s plans of becoming a doctor.

I really am a sucker for heartfelt letters written by characters who struggle to express themselves, but I am always frustrated that they never deliver them themselves. Perhaps it’s too realistic for them to end up not working since only one letter like this I’ve ever delivered has worked.

It wouldn’t be Japanese BL if we didn’t have a track and field segment in the finale.

And now we’re back at the beach.

He can remember because Minato’s letter expressed the love that Shin has been asking for. 😐

High-key annoyed. “I remember everything,” is one of my favorite phrases in romance. Hate amnesia plots so much.

On the plus side, Nishigaki Sho and Kasukawa Takuya are good.

My goodness. It took us 24 episodes but we finally released the tension.

Oh, wow, Minato said the thing and kissed him on the street.

Final Verdict: 6, The Finale Doesn’t Erase the Stupid. I’m so sad that I can’t bring myself to give this show a 7. 7s are reserved for shows that stumbled around but were trying to do something appropriate with their characters. This show abandoned reason for madness at the end of episode 9 and gave up on the paired storytelling of its two couples to use a stupid (and honestly ableist) story trope in order to create a false balance shift. Did Minato need to be more open with Shin? Yes. Did he need prove his devotion to reassure Shin? Yes. Was this the best way to do that? Absolutely not. I really love continuations where we get to see the couple grow together and manage the challenges of commitment but this regression at the end of this season really pissed me off.

I still love Minato so much, but I’m deeply frustrated by the cowardly choices of this creative team in the final arc. I don’t know what order came down that made them scramble to do this instead, because I was in love with the slow, painful peeling back of layers of internalized homophobia on Minato for the first 9 episodes. Please don’t use my frustration here to argue that adaptations leaving behind source material are bad. That is not what went wrong here for the first 9 episodes. This feels like ratings nonsense and I hate it.