#literally not a single thing in common with him so many years later is just incredible and beautiful

[avatarofcuriousity]

How and why Lilith didn't do anything wrong and still deserves justice.

(Or aka, me ranting about the corruption of the Celestial Realm once again)

(This is essentially just me rambling into the void, but it continues to fester in my mind, so please indulge me if you can lol)

Lilith, the 7 sin's sweet little sister who met an unfortunate fate; did NOTHING wrong. What she did was nothing worthy of the severe punishment that was given. It's one of the many instances of the Celestial Realm being corrupted, but it's THIS specific instance that makes my head spin.

For starters, no, Lilith did NOT get punished for falling for and being with a human. This is a common misconception, so I'd like to make that clear.

What Lilith got punished for; was stealing Celestial Realm food and altering a human's life-span. I am here today to discuss why there was entirely nothing wrong with Lilith's decisions and how the Celestial Realm's decisions were nothing but harmful and hypocritical.

Let's get this show rolling. Let's go over my First focus point: The Celestial Realm Food.

My first question; is why. WHY keep something that could be so valuable AWAY from humans? For angels, their very purpose is to help humans, to quite literally perform miracles. So why?

Why not cure this human of an incurable illness when it's so easy? Why do they INSIST on causing more pain to the human in suffering, as well as the people, and in this case, angels around them?

It's not like Lilith's lover was on his deathbed because of old age. It's not like it was his time. So what was stopping the Celestial Realm from just healing him in the first place?

There was nothing to lose. Lilith could've been happy, and with it, an entire WAR could've been avoided.

The fact that even later in the story, WITH MC, Celestial Realm food is just. Treated normally? It's literally one of the VERY first things that come up! That in Lesson 7, they have food served from different realms when staying at Diavolo's castle.

Devildom food on the first day, Celestial Realm food on the second day and Human World food on the third day.

You can make the argument that it could've been a very specific and special Celestial Realm food, after all, it DOES provide healing abilities. The problem with that is; it's a hypothetical. It could've been a very rare and special fruit, or it could've been the Celestial Realm equivalent to a fucking donut.

In the end; it's never stated to be anything special. All that is said is that it's simply made out to be ordinary Celestial Realm food. That's the plain and simple information given, and unless there's something specific we don't know about; we have to take this as fact.

If it's not stated in canon; then it's not canon. This is rule of thumb.

If we go with this, then we can make the argument that all Celestial Realm food is inherently healing to humans. At the end of the day, no one is batting a single EYE with MC eating Celestial Realm food.

Which brings me to my second focus point: No one is batting a single eye with Solomon being immortal.

Let's bring in another hypothetical! Let's just say that whatever Lilith's human lover ate, turned him immortal. I'll first mention how this is very unlikely if not impossible.

Lilith lived a happy life with her lover as a human. Lilith also died as a human. Why would Lilith's human lover be any different? Why would he continue living? If that were to be the case, you'd think that it would make itself a plot point or at least be mentioned; but it's not.

BUT. For the sake of this hypothetical; let's just pretend he turned immortal. Whether he is still living or got killed years ago; let's just assume he was/ is immortal. (Note: Immortal simply means living forever. This does NOT equal immunity and removing the chances of being killed or something happening to you. Tons of people don't know this, and it astonishes me, so please live your life with this knowledge)

So.

He's immortal.

deep inhale...

WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM. LIKE??? DO I EVEN. HAVE TO EXPLAIN MYSELF. AGGRESSIVELY POINTING TO SOLOMON HOW NO ONE HAS A SINGLE PROBLEM WITH HIM BEING IMMORTAL SO WHY DOES IT EVEN MATTER I SWEAR THE CELESTIAL REALM IS SO FUCKING HYPOCRITICAL AND MAKES ZERO SENSE AND--

Conclusion!

So, uh, yeah, Lilith did nothing wrong and I am 100% a Lilith apologist.

Yeah, no, I'm not ending there. I still have one more thing to add. A question I've asked more times than I can count.

Why?

Why couldn't Lilith's lover live? Why did Lilith have to be punished? Why did a war have to break out?

And since no one will be giving me an answer, I'm providing myself one:

Because they wanted this to happen.

Is it really that surprising? The Realm that has done nothing but scheme, manipulate and brainwash, (gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss) that they were the ones to set up the war? Because they wanted it to happen? And still, WHY? Why would they want this to happen?

Well, for one, if you read this other lil theory/ analysis that you should definitely check out by the way--

God is fucking SALTY.

I'm sorry, I genuinely can't describe it any better. Like. I. Yeah. That's. That's genuinely it. That's the summary, that's the conclusion.

Okai, fine I'll explain a bit more.

God wanted to get rid of anyone who opposed him.

The brothers were already on the brink of falling; even before the war and what happened with Lilith. The brothers, along with Lilith I'm sure; were already defying God and questioning the very system they have pledged their lives to. (Not that they had a choice) God saw this; and so he planned. Planned a war, or rather; an excuse to get rid of the brothers. The very ones that have started questioning and defying him; but never stating it outright.

And the other angels and the like; accepted this and followed like sheep, as an unfortunate truth as that is.

Lilith's crimes weren't because she fell in love with a human, and it wasn't because she altered a human's life-span. Lilith's crimes were because she was defying a corrupted system, a corrupted ruler.

And she paid the price for acting as the catalyst just so her brothers could follow down with her.

Wow! So! You made it! Allll the way down to the end of the post! You read it all, I'm so proud of you! Can't believe you'd listen to my silly lil ramblings, so thank you.

[supercalime]

hellooo, fellow bucktommy shipper (and casual b*ddie enjoyer, if it weren't for the horrors...) here! i really liked your take on b*ddie st*ns and how they are now making super wild assumptions based on some latest interviews.

you know one thing that irks me? somehow nobody seems to talk about is the fact that in canon, buck isn't written to be in love with eddie at all. like, can we please talk about this??? because I'm all for Death Of The Author. OS can talk about ships all he wants but in the end, only the canon narrative matters to me personally. i've watched long-form content with endgame couples being set up in the pilot episodes who become canon many seasons later (bones, castle, grey's anatomy, the mentalist, etc.), and the entire point of such couples is to establish that, yes, they have been having romantic feelings all this time since day one. they do so very very obviously. there is zero subtlety or room for questioning.

one of the most common tropes is to give one or both characters (of the endgame couple) another love interest so that the endgame couple can be full of jealousy and pettiness every time that other love interest is mentioned or shown. having another love interests always endangers the original closeness of the endgame couple, and then the breakup propels the endgame couple forward in their relationship. the love interest is always used for comparisons, to make it abundantly clear that everybody else is lacking in some way. at no point in 911 did they do so with buck and eddie??? these dudes go through various romantic relationships, and never ever has it been any issue to the b*ddie dynamic. never was it talked about. never were hints dropped that one of them is jealous. even now, with bucktommy, eddie shows not a single ounce of jealously. on the other side, look at how they showed us buck being obviously jealous because eddie monopolized tommy's time even though buck wanted tommy time himself! buck couldn't stand the jealousy even a little bit, and he ended up literally hurting his bestie because of it. but whenever eddie is involved romantically and sexually with someone, there are zero signs that buck is bothered or threatened or jealous. they both seem super chill? they do not question at any point that them dating other people might hurt their relationship? logically, that must mean buck's never wanted to be romantically or sexually involved with eddie (and vice versa). at it's core, b*ddie has been written as a friendship. to this day, we have no canon proof for anything else.

i would not hate b*ddie to happen or anything. i do enjoy b*ddie fics (those that aren't super misogynist ♥). and i think it could be a great couple if done well! but as you said, even when buck thought eddie was hot... well, so what? that's literally just an objective observation. RG is handsome based on societal standards. chim and hen also immediately acknowledged that eddie was hot in 2x01, and both of them are Not At All romantically or sexually attracted to eddie either. nobody is questioning chim's or hen's sexuality based on the comments they made about eddie being hot. because nothing about this equals real romantic feelings or the desire to be in a relationship. the fandom understands that logic just fine with chim and hen. why not with buck, though? also, we have yet to see a reversed moment for eddie staring at buck and finding him hot. they had no problem to show eddie Immediately having a crush on ana flores when he first met her. this shows that eddie feels sexual attraction just fine. he was, however, never shown in canon to feel it for buck.

also interesting: even though buck found eddie hot when they first met, it did not trigger buck to seriously question his sexuality at any point in the past like, 5 years or so. in all those years of canon b*ddie friendship, the show has never used the plethora of opportunities to propel b*ddie into romantic or sexual territory. the show could have! but the show never did, so i refuse to let b*ddie st*ns or OS retcon this. if it's not in the canon material, it isn't canon. with tommy, it took only a couple of weeks and a handful of interactions for buck to reach a point of clarity about his sexuality. the most logical deduction imo is that buck simply clocked that eddie's hot (like everybody else, duh, he isn't special in that regard), and it's never meant anything deep.

my only real probem with this entire situation is how hardcore b*ddie st*ns are now using this as a justification to harass others even more (especially bucktommy shippers). i'd love to enjoy canon bucktommy and fanon b*ddie in peace! but the hate that b*ddie st*ns are spreading everywhere again (like with every new season and newly introduced love interest) is so overwhelming.

sorry for the long ass rant btw oopsie. feel free to ignore this. i just wanted to let it out and it seemed like you would understand. anyway, thanks for reading in case you got this far!

I’d never ignore a sensible take, anon! (I feel bad that you had to go anon but I understand. We know the drill by now, some stans are scary lol)

But like, ALL OF THIS!!!

Discourse like this is what takes away the enjoyment of media for me. It sucks that fandom experience can have two very extreme opposing sides, specially when it comes to two “competing” ships. You can kinda tell by how bucktommy shippers behave (I’m not trying to flex at all because I am one. A good majority of us has zero problem with b*ddie endgame even though we prefer the other. We like what we are getting and are happy to see this storyline play out) compared to b*ddie shippers (of course not all of them, I’m talking about the entitled ones. That clog comment sections, bother actors, go to the other ships tag to complain about it and say how their preferred ship is better, etc).

Im not immune to bad takes and bad fan behavior. Ive surely acted like these stans in other fandoms and i do regret it, so i hate seeing it happen again and again, no matter where i go.

Not to quote mean girls, but I wish we could all get along…

All that being said, whichever ship “wins”, it’s no one’s call but the writers and producers of the show. Someone told me that Tim writes for himself and doesn’t take outside factors (at least to an extent cause it’s impossible to not know the fan reaction) into consideration when it comes to where he wants the story to go.

[t0jisd0ll]

red wine and midnight skies

genre: angst (no comfort)

pairing: miguel o'hara x gn! reader

warnings: slight ooc miguel, mentions of stalking, one use of [name]

word count: 0.7k

At this point the disappointment had become natural to you.

Getting stood up at a date started to become a common occurrence for the past few months. It was a routine, really. You would spend hours trying to get the perfect outfit, only to sit alone until midnight in some restaurant or cafe, the years threatening to spill from your eyes.

Every single time, your boyfriend Miguel would come up with some pathetic excuse or reason for why he couldn't show up.

Most of the time he couldn't even look you in the eyes as he said it.

You find yourself frequently thinking about how things used to be when you first started dating-when he actually showed up to things, when he was actually there when you needed him.

This is most of what was going through your head as you sat alone at a fancy restaurant, not even remembering how many times you had asked for a refill for your glass of wine. The waiter, along with the other diners had given you looks of pity, you could sense it.

Maybe they could tell that it wasn't your first time getting stood up like this.

Your gaze stood transfixed on your red wine, slowly twirling the glass in your hand to create a mini tornado. It usually helped you overcome the boredom of being alone.

To be honest, you quite liked being alone sometimes, that wasn't particularly new to you. Feeling alone, however, hurt the most.

The alarm on your watch rang. 11:12 pm, it read. You sighed to yourself and called for the bill. Another night wasted in the same way.

You honestly don't know why you bother anymore.

At about this time, the television in the restaurant blared with the alarm for breaking news.

"The attack on Nueva York by mutant lizard forces has been thwarted by Spiderman-"

Ignoring the blaring noises of the police sirens and the loud new, you paid the bill and left the restaurant.

As opposed to most people using their hover-vehicles and such, you actually preferred walking home. There was a decent amount of breeze during the night, and you found it quite refreshing.

Nearing your apartment, you saw a tall figure leaning on the main front door.

You rolled your eyes and slowed your pace as much as possible.

"Cariño, I was just going to come!" Miguel exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear. You scoffed; he was acting like he did nothing wrong.

"Save it, Miguel. I don't want to hear another one of your petty excuses." You scowled, getting even more annoyed by the second.

"I'm so sorry mi vada, I got caught up in some-"

"[name], please, let me just-"

"No Miguel! You can't keep justifying yourself to me like this forever! You should have never accepted my proposal if you're never going to show up to anything in the first place." You half-screamed. aware that it was literally midnight and people would be asleep.

You would probably think about it later on and say that it was the alcohol talking, but whatever comes out of your mouth the first time is usually the truth.

He frowned, "If you feel so much about this, why are we still together then?" Miguel asked, breathing deeply.

"Your right, maybe we shouldn't be together after all." You blankly stated and you stormed inside your apartment building, leaving him standing alone at your doorstep.

Perhaps this was for the best after all...

The city of Nueva York was beautiful at midnight. Miguel O'Hara, however, could not bring himself to admire the scenic view. Not with his current state of mind.

Your words kept replaying in his head. The again, there was nothing he could have done. This was better than a canon event occurring after all.

If you and him had stayed together and lived a happy life and something had happened to you because of his secret identity? No, he couldn't bear to think of it.

This is fine, he said to himself. It's not like he couldn't keep an eye on you for safety. He was Spiderman for fucks sake, he could swing from here to there and make sure you were safe.

Yes, everything would be fine.

© t0jisd0ll on Tumblr. Please do not steal my work as I spend time and take genuine effort to do them.

[yet-another-heathen]

[ Answering in a new post because I don't like Tumblr's "no edit" ask glitch. Thank you so much for sending this one in, @venusski! ]

---

The ifrit have a specific custom of naming through laqabs! For example, Yeezumon's full name:

Yeezumon al-Taasharaih ibn Ramnawa bint Khesha bint Modreya al-Quasim

...is more than a random jumble of middle names and surnames. I know it looks incredibly overwhelming, but do me a favor. Read it once more, slowly. Sound it out in your head. Actually follow every single word.

Yeezumon al-Taasharaih ibn Ramnawa bint Khesha bint Modreya al-Quasim

This is more than a name. It's history—of so many people more than just him.

The rough translation:

Yeezumon the Star-Mapper; son of Ramnawa; daughter of Khesha; daughter of Modreya the Divider

Yeezumon earned the honorific "the Star-Mapper" through his lifelong dedication and renowned skill as a navigator. There isn't an easy way to impress on you just how profound that title is. Not only did Yeezumon learn to read and write (as exceptionally few ifrit or humans in this time do), but he has charted every single star in the night sky over his centuries as a navigator. And, in a time where doing so is both incredibly challenging and dangerous, he alone has mapped out huge swaths of the desert and its surrounding "coastlines" where greenery and life follows the winding rivers at its edge.

It is because of him, and the few other people like him, that sandships are able to transverse the deserts at all.

Yeezumon's great grandmother also has an honorific that gets carried along in his name. There was a massive famine during Modreya's lifetime (just after the ifrit were freed from Solomon), and she was the city official whose responsibility was to divide food rations amongst her people. "The Divider" was a title given to her in honor of her dedication to making sure EVERY person, regardless of poverty or class, had enough food to survive. She was incredibly well loved, and her name is still remembered to this day, almost three thousand years later.

After their honorifics, something else might stand out; ifrit bloodlines are solely matrilineal. There are a great many reasons for this, but the biggest is how common polyamory is in their culture. True monogamy is almost unheard of among ifrit, and relationships that even come close are exceptionally rare.

"The Husbands" earned their title because it is outright bizarre for two ifrit to have been together as long as they have. When you live to be a millennium old, it's accepted that the people you're closest with will eventually grow and change so much over the centuries that you're no longer compatible. And there's nothing wrong with it! That kind of growth is seen as a good and completely natural thing, and animosity between ex-lovers is far from the norm. People stay together for as long as they fit, then make their own way apart when they no longer do.

That being said, Yeezumon and Ifyaa are weirdos. Not only have they been together for most of their lives, but these two literally get married to each other over again every time they come across a culture that does it a different way. They've been married about thirty times and counting, with no plans to stop. Even THEY aren't monogamous in the modern sense—they still have other partners both alone and together. [Sorry Nadi, you're still out of luck.]

But lineage is matrilineal because frankly, not only would be it nearly impossible to keep track of who the sire may be, but to the ifrit? It simply doesn't matter.

Ifrit have such an impossible time conceiving children that when one is born, entire cities erupt into celebrations that last for DAYS. Every child is raised with their entire community as a family. While they'll travel with their mother if she ever moves to a new city, the need for more detailed lineages just don't exist. After their mother, they belong to the People as much as to their sire. And on that note....

Ifyaa's full name follows the same pattern:

Ifyaa al-Mantiqi ibn Aisara-Qshek ira Yareya bint Watlai

Ifyaa the Healer; Son of The People; heir to Yareya, daughter of Watlai

Though the ifrit don't have an equivalent of such a word, Ifyaa was more or less what humans would consider an orphan. His mother left when he was a very young boy, and the people of his city all took him in as one of their own. The entire city became his family. He carries their name in reverence, and will often shorten his own name to Ifyaa al-Mantiqi ibn Aisara-Qshek unless the need otherwise arises.

---

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to go into this! I truly love the world and culture building of An-Nadr, and I'm delighted every time I get to scratch the surface.

[chevelleneech]

https://www.tumblr.com/chevelleneech/760082890025582592/the-fact-that-jm-views-jk-as-his-brother-has-been?source=share

Anon could be right, we'll never know. So I won't even bother providing counter-points about what Jimin has been saying about JK all these years that easily debunk JM possibly seeing him as just his brother.

But this reminded me of the whole Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez story lol. Remember when Justin and Selena became close and the media got so "curious" about the "true" nature of their relationship but they insisted it was nothing but a friendship? Selena was a guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Ellen obviously pried about her relationship with Justin again and Selena was just so appalled that everyone would think she and Justin have a thing going on and literally said "Oh my god, he's just like a little brother to me!"

A year or two later, she came on the Ellen Show again. They had recently gone public as boyfriend and girlfriend. Ellen was like "so... he's like a brother to you huh?". Selena blushed so hard, she was so embarrassed🤣🤣. I can't remember what her response was, I better go search for that interview again.

And I just wanna say that personally I will never really buy it when someone says they see someone close to them, who they aren't biologically related to, as a sibling, especially if they just have the kind of chemistry Jimin and Jungkook have. Yes, it is very possible to love someone like that. But I'd always choose to take such things with a grain of salt

How many times have celebrities said they see each other as siblings only to go public with a romantic relationship later? Selena and Justin aren't the only ones. And I personally know of people who did see each other as siblings for the longest time only to discover they have/or develop deeper feelings for one another later in life.

Half the time, people say shit they don't mean, or say shit they *did* mean at one point that stopped applying later. People change and evolve, and so do their minds and feelings.

People grab on to the “like a brother to me” thing, because they somehow thinks it’ll eventually make JM and JK real siblings.

People have referred to others as familial then ended up dating them, since the dawn of man. Typically because most people date friends anyway. Of course many don’t, but the point still stands. Referring to someone you’re building a career with and must form a formidable bond with, as a little brother, culturally and colloquially, is normal. Not a single person in the world would think it’s strange that persons A and B might say, “They’re like family to me.” about each other, then go on to date. Not only is it a common occurrence, it’s the back bone of both “childhood friends to lovers” and “best friends to lovers” romance tropes. Realizing The One has been standing by your side the whole time.

The only time it becomes weird, is if the people involved legitimately grow up together and/or are raised as blood or legal siblings. JM and JK did not, though. They met while trying to make the cut for the same boy band. They then both made the cut and went on to become best friends, so close they referred to each other as brothers. Then at some point they realized their feelings went beyond brotherly, and are now dating. Possibly.

Nothing about that is odd, because they’re not related by blood nor foster/adoption. So even if they spend the next decade saying, “Like a brother to me.” while dating other people, then at 40 decide to tell the world they’re dating for the first time, it wouldn’t be a big deal. People date their best friends every day.

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

The world moves too fast now for anyone to get to the levels of Julia and George in the 90s/early 2000s....now you can literally be hot on Monday and not on Tuesday. The markets are oversaturated and social media has literally changed the world now people literally know every single thing there is to know about you within 30 minutes of you appearing in public and before people had years to get to know and love someone now everyone moves too fast to Carr and if they don't like you now then it's OK cos their is 30 other people exactly like you for them to choose from.

I also think Meghan has overplayed her hand too many times and she the fact she doesn't have a specific demographic to cater to either hurts her and any brand she's trying to build she's too old for the TikTok crowd she's too young and common for the NYC old money society crowds she's not talented or famous enough for Hollywood she literally doesn't have a single space she can occupy even the oh I'm famous cos I married someone famous club is ram packed and the only difference she had was she married royalty but now he's not even royalty he's 3rd row Harry on a commercial flight home and hour later.

She really put a lot into her "The Duchess/Duchess Meghan brand in the 2 or so years she was a royal and then spent the next 3 years completely smashing it to shreds....like why should we care that she's royal if being royal is as awful as she says it is?

Even the mom and baby club is full and it's full of people who actually show their kids 🙈 celebrity lifestyle and wellness?? Full and with people whi project an aspirational lifestyle....do you want to be like the 40 year old ex actress who spends her whole life fighting with her family and suing the press? Nope...me neither.

If she had spent the last 3 years building her own brand instead of trying to tear down the RFs she might be in better shape.

Even the divorce is gonna go against her IMO cos people genuinely just don't like her, she's not authentic and people can spot she's a fake a mile off, that's why the sugars and her PR attack Kate so much Kate is the real deal, anyone with half a brain cell can tell she was born to do this in fact she does it better than most of the people who were born to do this but Kate also knows this takes work she has honed her skills for over 2 decades..... Meghan is too petty, juvenile and lazy to do that or anything close to it.

I don't see WME being a game changer for her either, she loves attaching herself to big brands and names cos it makes her feel important but she doesn't have any follow through and nothing comes of it, have you ever heard of the sadim touch? It's the opposite to the midas touch and that's what she has. I know we all like to joke but she literally turned a prince into a pauper, he was the most popular royal (even more popular than the monarch) and now he's known as the frozen todger guy sitting in the nosebleeds at his fathers coronation 🙈

Sorry for the essay, if you made it this far congrats 🤣🤣

Great essay!!

I agree with you generally, but I think she a window. The royal connection (tenuous as it is right now) is valuable and it differentiates her. Also, the “feminist princess�� brand the palace built for her is still compelling. They did a great job for her there. The “royal Rachel Zane” persona would still sell.

WME can’t do miracles, but they can get her a guest spot in The View. They can’t get her a job, but they can get her a guest spot, particularly if she delivers a second season of Archetypes that is not seven episodes of narcissism. She can go on Drew’s show. She can get the ghostwriter to write her a bestselling memoir that is not just cringe bitching about her family. She can get someone talented to write her a few good essays for Time. If she’s smart and she works hard she can do it. If she’s super smart and she divorces him, she has an even better chance of sound it.

But that’s the problem. She’s not smart and she doesn’t work hard. She’s going to buy herself some awards, do some random passive aggressive bitching, pose for a few paps, and call it a day. So, in the end, it’s not going to work out for her.

[wowzah2nd]

The Lioness and her Serpent lover: A forbidden love story (Draco Malfoy x reader)

Midnight Meetings

part 1, part 2, part3, part3.5

Word count:2k

Within Hogwarts many secretes and mysteries were held some solved and discovered. The castle may hold many secretes but within those wall were student holding their very own secrets. Y/N potter being one of them holding a secret that would shock not only her brother and friends but the whole school it self. What is that secret you may ask well. She was dating non-other the Slytherin prince Draco Malfoy

Under the cloak of darkness, Y/N and Draco found solace in secret midnight meetings by the Black Lake. The stars bore witness to their whispered confessions and stolen kisses, hidden from the prying eyes of the wizarding world.

Later that evening Draco and I decided to meet up near the black lake. We hadn't seen each other since last year and I had missed him so much as I was making my way down from the girls' dorms. I noticed that people were awake so I decided to wait it out till they went to bed. I wasn’t too worried about them coming this way since it sounded like there were only two boys away. But as i was listening i realised it was harry and ron talking curious i decided to inch a bit closer to listen in on their conversation.

Harry: I hate that she seems to always be around him. She says she's just being nice but i don't know i feel like there's more there

Ron: I don't know mate maybe your reading way too much into i mean she's your sister there's no way he would go near her let alone like her

Harry: It give him more of a reason too since she is my sister i bet he’s only nice to her to get under my skin 

Thats ade me a bit angry how could he say that his only being nice to me to get under his skin how self centred is he

Ron: No way mate you give him too much credit to be thinking like that 

Harry: But what if he is what if he just starts out being nice to her, then he starts being friends with her to get closer then boom tries to date her he knows that would piss me off the most 

Ron: I mean he could but come on man Y/N is a nice person she's nice to everyone even every single slytherin house she a literal angel mate

That was a very nice thing of ron to say about it glad his my friend to 

Harry: Well *scoff* Either way i aint letting that happen if he ever gets near her when he doesn't need to be i'm gonna stop it right then and here he ain't getting any closer then he needs to be. 

Ron: Alright mate but I really think you shouldn’t  meddle in her life you see how she gets. One time I told her to slow down eating and she glared at me as if she was going to murder me if I didn't shut up. She didn't physically hit me but man i felt my soul leave my body imagine doing something even worse than that i think you'd end up dead in a ditch somewhere

Harry: Well i dont care shes the only remaining family i have to protect her no matter what

Ron: Your funeral man better hope she doesn’t find out. Let head to bed now i'm pretty tired 

Harry:y eah your right 

As they got up to head to bed i could feel my anger bubbling to the surface but i had to stop my self or else id get caught as soon as they reached the top i bolted out of the common room straight for the lake i nearly got caught by filch but finally made it to the lake

Y/N: i am so sorry for being late my brother and ron were in the common room and i couldn't get past them till they left

Your groaned thinking about the conversation they had how dare harry try to control you life even if you weren secretly dating Draco you can be nice or be friends with anyone 

Draco: its okay but i'm sensing that's not the only reason your seething with anger 

He chuckled i swear if i didn't love him so much i push him into the lake

Y/N: You're not wrong about that, get this harry is planning to keep you away from me by any means necessary and does want you around me unless needed like class. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT.

Draco : I can and i can't really blame him i do bully him and his friends 

Y/N: don't agree with him plus you've been toning it down, which again thank you for that it was really nice of you to do

Draco: anything for you my love plus I rather you happy with me then angry, you angry is scary

I looked at him shock  what the heck is he being for really right now 

Y/N: that's exactly what ron said when he warned harry, am I that scary

Draco looked worried and scared to answer my question, he didn't even need to answer anymore i could see the answer on his face 

Y/N; oh my god im scary i thought i wasn’t im nice, how can i be scary but nice

Draco laughed at my statement as if what i said was the funniest thing in the world 

Draco; love your the most kind and caring person in the world and when you like that you look so sweet and innocent but when someone crosses you which is rarely your looks could literally kills someone no joke i mean

I stared at him shock what the fuck i mouthed at him unable to get the words out at that he chuckled

Draco: its true pls i've seen it with my own eye when a slytherin from a year above us was bullying a hufflepuff you came rushing in blazing a path behind you and let me say i've never seen someone and scared as that guy trust me and everyone around wouldn't wanna be at the receiving end

I was in  shock, people were that scared of me. That is why the slytherin’s started being nice to me. I thought that was because of Draco but apparently not. 

Y/N I don't know if i should be offended or proud of myself 

I gave a nervous laugh 

Draco: proud cause of you that hufflepuff wasn’t bullied anymore you really help her out 

At the thought of helping someone else it really made me happy and not feel too guilty at scaring people

I leaned my head onto Draco shoulder the leaked really looked beautiful tonight no clouds so the moon was in full view as well as the stars i never wanted this to end 

The i heard bushes rustling 

Y/N: did you hear that 

Draco: yeah i did

He got up from where we were sitting pulling me to stand behind before yelling towards the bush

Draco: Who's there? Come out we know your there 

Draco pulls out his wand pointing it in the direction of the sound. I did the same waiting for whoever was out there to reveal themselves. The wind started to pick up blowing stronger  creating more sound causing me and Draco to tense but then the rustling started again getting closer and closer till..

Y/N: oh thank god its just a dog

It was a cute black dog can’t believe a dog got us all riled up i ended up giggling at the thought

Draco sighed in relief 

draco : glad it was just a dog and not an intruder 

Y/N: me too

I start to walk towards the dog wanting to pet it but Draco grab my hand to stop me

Draco: Hey we don't know this dog what if they have rabies and hurts you

Y/N: don't worry Draco it's a good dog look

The dog started to approach me and sniff my hand, once knowing i wasn't a danger it got up and jumped on me try to lick my face

Y/N: hey stop that 

I laughed at the situation but Draco was still wary of the dog

Draco: oi get off her you annoying dog you're ruining our date 

The dog stopped licking my face then turned to Draco giving him a growl the dog did not like that

Y/N: hey don't growl at him his just trying to protect me and you

I look towards Draco and he looked surprised that i was reprimanding him 

Y/N: don't be mean to the dog his just being friendly aren't you cutie 

The dog stopped growling at Draco and turned back to me looking happy again even wagging his tale 

Draco let out a sigh

Draco: well he seems like he likes you and seems like i'm not gonna win this so ill let it go 

You look at Draco thankfully you always loved animals especially dogs since you were a kid see people taking their dogs on walk and always wishes you had your own fluffy friend

Not that you forgot about you owl O/N she was a sweet bird and will always have number 1 spot in your heart right next to Draco 

You ended up laugh out loud again catching Draco attention 

Draco: Hey what are you laughing about aye 

He asked with a huge smile on his face 

Y/N: oh nothing don’t you worry your pretty little head

He gasped in offence jokingly 

Draco: i can not believe i own girlfriend would hide a secret from me how could you i am deeply wounded

He then turned away from folding his arms like a child throwing a tantrum

I stopped patting the cute black dog and stood up making my way towards Draco still facing away from me 

Y/N: im sorry darling did i hurt you feelings

With a huff he replied

Draco: yes very hurt why would you keep anything from me you loving and amazing boyfriend

I rolled my eyes at his dramatic and fact outburst 

Y/N: how can i make it up to you then 

This tip i tried to make him look at me by trying to make eye contact but he would keep moving 

Draco: you can't do anything i so oh so deeply hurt

He was enjoying this way to much i swear ill get him back for this 

Y/N: would you forgive me if i gave you a kiss

That got him to relax his shoulders seeing that i was winning i decided to go for the kill shot

Y/N: How about a kiss on the lips maybe would that make you forgive 

At that statement he turn around so fact and grabbed me by the waste and gave me a loving but passionate kiss

I put my hands on his cheek to try and deepen the kiss but was rudely interrupted by a loud bark

Y/N: what is wrong with you why are you so mad that his kissing me hmmm

The dog just sat their innocently as if to say i didn't do anything after we stopped kissing i had realised we were out later then we intended 

Y/N: i think we should back into the castle its getting late i dont want you getting in trouble 

Draco: don't worry about me plus i rather you not get in trouble you know how your brother is 

Y/N: your absolutely right about that his such a git  

Draco: i knew that from day one sooo

I laughed thinking of all the time the two fought. They were both so childish at times.

Draco: so can i walk my beautiful Lioness back to her house or will you deny such an honour

He looked at me pleadingly even though he knew i say yes 

Y/N: Of course you can my handsome serpent prince 

I patted the dog once last time before walking backing to Draco ready to leave the lake and back to the castle 

Draco: lead the way princess

I held onto Draco's hand pulling him along with me 

Y/N: not without my prince of course 

At the we laughed today may not have started the best but it ended in the nest way possible 

Being with the one i loved 

[villain-in-love]

I've mentioned him a bunch of times before, but generally tried to stay away, to avoid falling into my old obsession. However, it seemed that I'm back at my bullshit again, regardless of my efforts.

Anyways, allow me introduce you properly.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the myth, the legend, the man himself, the one that caused me so much heartache!

Fucking Xerxes Break

I am so going to spoil you his entire character right now because you need to know this information because from now on I won't shut up about him.

So, Xerxes. In this story, that heavily references "Alice in Wonderland", he represents both the Mad Hatter and the White Knight. He's an extremely weird mix of a cunning bastard, cinnamon roll, and grouchy old man, all at once. Xerxes Break is known by many for his eccentric behaviour and unparalleled fighting skills, being simultaneously the best and the most insufferable swordsman in the entire Pandora organization. Other than that, he's a loyal servant of the Rainsworth dukedom, and an important mentor figure to the main characters.

Most of the time, he acts like a clown. When he's not acting like a clown, he acts like a moody bitch.

He made a bunch of terrible decisions in his youth and is still dealing with the consequences of his actions, even fifteen years later. Break's past is dark and bloody, and he's not proud of it.

At first you might think that he's an untrustworthy manipulator with a few screws loose, but then throughout the story you realize that he's easily the person with the most common sense in this entire freakshow, as well as one of the very few people you can actually rely on. Also Xerxes has always been a better fighter than a manipulator.

In any case, just don't listen to a single thing Break says about himself – his actions often contradict his words. He tries to portray himself as a far more horrible person than he actually is.

He doesn't know how to deal with children, but he keeps accidentally adopting every child he meets. Claims that he doesn't care about anyone but himself, yet actually cares about everyone except himself. And if you dare to hurt people that are dear to him, I hope you already have your place at the graveyard reserved, because he does not forgive that... and because he's a former serial killer (bad decisions, bad decisions).

All that comes in a complect with sugar addiction, creepy ventriloquist doll named Emily, pride that blinds (ha!) him to everything else, thinly veiled suicidal tendencies, trust issues, massive guilt complex, undying devotion, obnoxious tendency to poke his nose into everyone else's business, and completely nonsensical fashion sense!

.......

Also he is quite literally rotting on the inside (what did I say about the consequences of his own actions?), then he loses his eyesight closer to the middle of the manga, and dies by the end of the story, right after finally realizing that he's actually not ready to die.

In short, this man is a walking disaster and I adore him with my entire being.

[apomaro-mellow]

alright, i'm going to go ahead and made a rant post about this car situation just so i can get it out and put it to bed. I don't mind if yall wanna comment or whatever but after this I'm just done.

So we need to go back almost a year. My car at the time seemed to be on its last legs. There was a repair it needed that was going to cost like $1200 and I had already paid close to that amount just a few months prior for another repair. I didn't want to pay that again but was willing to save up until it was suggested that I start looking for another car.

I will give my dad props for this one and only thing. He held my hand during this process bc it was my first time. Every other car I had, had been gifted by my grandparents. This was my first time shopping for one. Now it gets interesting bc instead of just getting rid of my old car, my grandparents were going to foot the $1200 bill anyway so that my brother could get it.

I felt iffy about that situation but figured it was for the best since I'd be getting a vehicle with no problems. The problem came about when he decided to drive it around and rack up tickets while MY name was still on the title (this cause my insurance premium to shoot thru the roof but thankfully i got it fixed). I literally had to escort my brother to the DMV to sort out all the paperwork and even THEN he took forever to actually change the plates so I was STILL getting tickets on my record and I had to be the one to go and take what were still my license plates off the car.

This could have potentially been an asshole move, bc I had no idea where his new plates were, but that's not my responsibility. Lucky for him, the new plates were where? In the car, bc he never did anything with them after our DMV appointment. This all occurred in summer/fall 2023.

Then in December, he starts having problems with that car. It even stops on him a couple of times. There is talks of him getting another one. Just like me, all of his (many) previous cars were gifts from our grandparents. I should have probably said earlier but these are all USED cars. We're not getting brand new ones, but still, good condition that we've never had to pay a cent for.

It's also worth mentioning that in the like....six months my brother has had my old car he got hundreds of dollars worth of tickets. Not a single one he paid on his own. Either I took care of it bc they were in my name and he's literally gone to court for not paying, or my dad has paid. But I feel like I'm digressing.

About last week, he curses out my mom because she asks him to *checks notes* receive his infant child when his baby mama drops her off. Apparently that was disagreeable and he cursed her out on the phone, then later to her face when she got home. The part that stuck out in his rant to me was that no one in our family had ever done anything for him. I think just from what I've stated above, it's pretty obvious to see that's false.

So whyyyyyyy

Why why why

After that breakdown, my dad and grandparents thought "Let's just give him another car"?

It is exhausting to see the same thing happen again and again. But this time kind of burned me bad because he got the exact same car that I have. The one I had to shop for. The one I had to visit sellers for. The one I am currently on the hook for a $10,000 loan with like 15% interest. My mother told me this was the case but I didn't actually see the car until this morning.

Here's where I give my dad the benefit of the doubt a single time: It's a common car, dealers have a ton of them, it's probably still an attractive price range. And that's the end of it.

But what I see, is that I can do everything I was told to do: do well in school, get a degree, get a job, start building my career. And it gets me virtually the same as if I did none of those things and on top of it disrespected my parents to their faces.

Like really, why am I working so hard? If doing what I do gets me the same as a foul mouthed, lazy ass, ungrateful son who's shackin up with the most frustrating baby mama in the world then what the hell is this all for anyway?

[web-novel-polls]

Aroace-spec Tournament Round 1

The aroace-spec tournament will be a double-elimination tournament with 4 matches in Round 1. Polls will start Thursday, August 10th, 2023, at noon CST & remain open for 1 week (close August 17th).

Round 1

Chung Myung vs. Shu Yanyan

Kim Dokja vs. Baek Suryong

Zhao Yue vs. Cale Henituse

Song Lan vs. Liu Mingyan

Tag: #aroace spec round 1

Round 2

Shen Qingqiu vs. [Winner of Chung Myung vs. Shu Yanyan]

Yin Hanjiang vs. Wenren È

Xie Lian vs. Cheng Qian

[Winner of Kim Dokja vs. Baek Suryong] vs. Liu Qingge

Chu Wanning vs. [Winner of Zhao Yue vs. Cale Henituse]

Wen Ning vs. Mu Qing

Feng Xin vs. Wen Qing

[Winner of Song Lan vs. Liu Mingyan] vs. Jiang Cheng

Competitor List in Order of Seed under the cut

Shen Qingqiu from Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Submission 1: Gay Asexual

I mean have you met the man? "Assuming you're straight because you feel nothing towards either sex but you have to be the default, right? before realizing you're romantically attracted to someone but not realizing you're romantically attracted to someone because it doesn't feel like sexual attraction which is how allos explain what love is until the romantic attraction hits you like a sledge hammer" is both a common ace experience and absolutely his story arc. Also I would have submitted him sooner but I thought he was a shoe in

Submission 2:

Asexual, somewhere on the aro spectrum - I would have submitted him earlier but based on the tags I assumed I wouldn't need to and didn't want op to be spammed with too many submissions ;_; anyhow he's here now!

Mod Propaganda

Was completely okay with not marrying anyone (because all the women in the world “belong to the protagonist”)

So fucking weird about sex. He has to mentally contort his brain seven ways to Sunday to even IMAGINE fucking someone (earning him the title of “most homophobic gay person”)

“He’s not gay, Binghe is”

Reads bad erotica and then complains about the plot inconsistencies

Accidentally wife beams/romances pretty much every single character he meets

Jiang Cheng from the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission 1: romantic and sex indifferent aroace

I love that guy, he’s the most aroace guy I’ve ever met. and his outfit is literally the ace flag plus he’s like wearing a ring that looks a lot like wearing a ring that looks a lot like the ace ring. and the fact that he has no canon love interest and is never shown to want a romantic or sexual relationship. he gives me very “romance is something other people do, I just don’t care for it, I got other things to do” you get me??

Submission 2: Aroace

Despite people trying to convince him to get married/get an heir, in 13 years he never finds someone. His list of bride qualities is absurd to the point of "no one like this exists so I'll never have to get married". Is grossed out by displays of sexual attraction. Purple

Submission 3: Both

No spouse. Wears ace colors. Case closed.

Chu Wanning from the Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Mod Propaganda

Mo Ran “unlocking” his sexual desire….ok

Yeah, that’s pretty much it, but it’s pretty definitive. He doesn’t really experience sexual attraction until a little bit after they start dating idk what you want me to say

I wouldn’t say he’s aromantic or aro-spec bc it was more that he was in love with Mo Ran for years, but he’s definitely ace-spec. If he wasn’t, he’d probably be attracted to SOMEONE, but he’s explicitly not even sexually attracted to Mo Ran (who he has a crush on) until much, much later (like, after getting together later), from what I remember.

And in comparison, Mo Ran… experiences a lot of sexual and romantic attraction to different people but doesn’t seem to show/experience it as much after he falls in love with Chu Wanning. It’s clear that he had it for other people, but he’s now devoted to Chu Wanning; even if he was attracted to someone else, I doubt it would be mentioned. Chu Wanning, however, definitely has not experienced sexual attraction to anyone other than Mo Ran, and that was only AFTER they started dating.

Liu Qingge from Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Submission 1: Gay Grayace

He spends most of his life with one interest and that's fighting and then when he falls for a man he's confused by it and proceeds to flirt in the most awkward way possible. Also he has the grey-white-sometimes purple colour scheme

Submission 2: Aroace

The idea of him being asexual is presented right there on the page and you can't take that away from me. Yes I think he is in love with sqq yes I also think he is aroace. He can be both!

Submission 3: Asexual/Ace-spec

I think he’s sex repulsed given his icy or horrified reactions when sexual topics are discussed. He was also once forcibly aroused when hit by an aphrodisiac, and he responded in a way that implied he had never experienced that before. Additionally, his instinct was not to do anything sexual, but to commit acts of violence.

Mod Propaganda

Canonically not interest in romance by word of God

MXTX: “[Liu Qingge] isn't interested in Shen Qingqiu. He isn't interested in anyone. He's only interested in fighting. He wants to be the strongest and the best.” (Source)

Canonically had no clue he was sexually aroused in the Succubi Extra / interpreted it as “wanting to fight” (which isn’t the same as not experiencing sexual attraction, but that’s also not a trademark of allosexuality)

Speaking of, he never specifically seems interested in Shen Qingqiu romantically or sexually - he’s usually shipped with him bc of his devotion, not a clear desire for romance. Though that’s pretty much just up for personal interpretation

Xie Lian from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Submission 1: Demisexual

He's heavily demi coded. Man has no interest in sex what so ever for 800 years and then makes a strong personal connection to one (1) person and is shocked when he's suddenly interested

Submission 2: Demisexual

I think he is demisexual. He was canonically celibate for 800+ years and doesn’t seem to have too much of a problem with it, until he meets and binds with the love interest. Suddenly this whole celibacy thing becomes difficult.

Seeing a character similar to me was an amazing experience and I think he deserves all the love!

Mu Qing from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Mod Propaganda

He’s sworn off sex for, like, 800+ years, and also had no romantic relationships during that time (as far as we know).

Feng Xin from Heaven Official’s Blessing

Submission: Sex Averse Asexual and Aromantic

He had a sexual relationship with one (1) woman and had such a bad time he developed a fear of women in general. Also, he's a very good archer, so he has to be an aroace lolgetit?

Wenren È from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Submission 1: Asexual

I haven't actually read this book yet but I've heard it's ace as hell and I wanted to make sure he was submitted

Submission 2: Asexual demiromantic

Resubmitting him because I have now read the book. And oh boy. He is not allo. He spends the whole book being confused about love and romance, and why that, specifically, would be such a huge motivator for people. He has no interest in it besides how it affects someone else and causes them problems. He falls in love by the end but he still doesn't understand how love works for other people at all

Mod Propaganda

“Wenren È cultivated the Path of Slaughter, and when he saw a beautiful woman, his first thought would be what kind of difference there was to fight a woman versus a man.” - Ch.6

The beginning part of the story is just him trying to understand what romance is and why a novel is saying he was in love with Baili Qingmiao.

Interprets “love is always seeing the other person” as “I should force Baili Qingmiao to be able to physically see this boy at all times”

He eventually becomes stupidly in love with Yin Hanjiang, but it’s a Journey. He clearly does not experience/understand romantic and sexual attraction until then.

Yin Hanjiang from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Submission 1: Asexual

I haven't read this book yet but I heard it was ace as hell and I wanted to make sure he got into the poll

Submission 2: Demisexual demiromantic

Resubmitting him too because, having read the book, he is also not allo. He very clearly draws a line between love and desire, which allo people usually don't do. He spends the entire book being fairly platonically loyal to Wenren E and then when someone explains what love is and he notices that it lines up with how he feels about Wenren E, he's mad about it. Plus the aroace feeling of falling in love with someone and having that shake your entire being to the core. Also, when asked, he doesn't know what love is, but none of the characters in this book do, so.

Mod Propaganda

Literally only cares about Wenren È

“And as for Yin Hanjiang, he actually seemed to deeply believe he was an ice-cold sword, blind and heartless, not caring if what was in front of him was a man, woman, or beast, so long as it wasn’t Wenren È.” - Ch.6

One of the only characters that’s clearly in love/obsessed with someone at the very beginning, but the story clearly talks about how he Only Likes Wenren È specifically, romantically and sexually (probably. Haven’t gotten that far).

Anyway, demisexual and demiromantic.

Wen Qing from the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission: Lesbian Asexual

She just has the vibe. Trust me, I'm ace

Wen Ning from the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission 1: Aromantic ("A Good Aro Boi")

He never shows any kind of romantic interest in anyone. He's definitely in a QPR with Wei Wuxian and tangentially Lan Wangji though.

Cheng Qian from Liu Yao: the Revitalization of Fuyao Sect

Submission: Sex Favorable Asexual

He has the Vibes

Kim Dokja from Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Submission 1: demiromantic graysexual, romance/sex indifferent

bc yoohankim is the most qpr qpr to ever qpr

Submission 2: demiromantic graysexual

yoohankim is soo queerplatonic it makes my chest hurt. and ysa and kdj are THE qpr ever. also i read the submissions list and my jaw deadass dropped when i saw that someone else had the exact same kdj hcs as me like asjdnghfdhdbn!ksnk#**#*@*

Cale Henituse from Lout of the Count’s Family

Submission: Aroace

Not a speck of romantic interest in this man. The only thing he wants to do in bed is sleep

Song Lan from the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission: Asexual or Demisexual

I love whenever I'm reading fic where he is ace-spec it feels very correct

Shu Yanyan from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Submission: Hypersexual Aromantic

She likes the sex. She loves the sex. Sex is how she does cultivation. But she states multiple times that she would never settle down with anyone, and when asked what love is she has no idea. Everyone should read this book

Chung Myung from Return of the Mount Hua Sect

Submission: Aroace

He's so aroace! to me!! He's hard on the outside, but soft on the inside, no matter what he wants us to believe. He also says it multiple times that what he loves the most is the Mount Hua sect! He clearly loved his father/older brother figure, and his best friend, and thinks of them every chapter (they have passed away). And his current friends!! I wasn't expecting them to 'found family' this hard and fast, but they did! These kids care about each other so much </3

Liu Mingyan from Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Submission:

Aroacespec Liu sibs ftw! Only one of og!Binghe's wives he doesn't have sex scenes with. Writes freaky smut fanfic but has no canon love interest of her own (apart from binghe/in the svsss timeline) despite being an unparalled beauty, which is aroacespec behavior

Zhao Yue from The Bandit’s Strategy / Tu Fei Gong Lue

Submission: demisexual & demiromantic

He has a whole mental monolgue about how when he was a teenager, he never experienced neither sexual nor romantic attraction, when all other boys his age around him seemed to - and how he thought this was simply something that wasn't in his fate. And that this only changed after he met, & spent a lot of time with (the other half of main couple) Wen Liunian. (This happened when Zhao Yue was in his twenties)..........To me, this felt like the closest the author could come to describing a character as demi without using the actual word.

Baek Suryong from Best Teacher Baek

Submission: Aroace

Suryong ignores and shoots down, but mostly plainly doesn't notice any flirting attempts. Rather the ones he does notice make him uncomfortable. He shows no interest in either sex or romance, despite meeting many people he'd describe as beautiful. Found a neat lifehack for having children without the pesky inbetween process, and has since picked up a bunch of disciples. When thinking about his future he doesn't considered marriage, or romantic relationships, as future goals. At one point we get a side character's POV, who talks about the many lovestruck people around him. Said romantic attention just never shows up in his own POV.

[scatterbrainedart]

The Frankenstein musical is a really good adaptation of the book and I adore it.

Firstly, bangers. Not a single bad song on there. Secondly, it's very loyal to the original story while taking a couple liberties that generally serve a very good and understandable purpose.

For example, the writing for Victor's creation. Instead of strangling his victims while lashing out, his more common method is embracing them. To me, book!creature is very much like an oversized, inhumanly strong toddler that raised itself. Therefore, he doesn't know how to regulate his emotions at all. Much like an abandoned toddler throwing a tantrum, he hurts people and causes a ruckus so Victor will notice him and meet his needs. They emphasises this a lot in the musical, partially by feeding into the father-son connection of him and Victor and partially by showing more of the creature's emotional state and reasoning for a larger portion of the story.

They still show him as intelligent, which a lot of adaptations seem to completely skip out on. They also emphasise how utterly lonely he is. These are all things that are the same in the book, but are emphasized by subtle changes like the strangling hugs and makes the creature an even more tragic character than he already is.

But then there's The Modern Prometheus. Despite literally being directly named after the novel, it's by far the least book-accurate song of all in my opinion. At least where it's placed. I mean, book!Frankenstein was NOT in that mindspace when he created the creature's bride. He had abandoned science and was doing what he was doing purely out of peer pressure and was considerably zoned out the entire time, trying not to think about what he was doing. Meanwhile musical!Frankenstein was having a whole mad scientist reprise moment, even going so far as to DEFEND HIMSELF when Cherval confronted him.

Okay. Alright. First off, book!Frankenstein would never in a million years defend the creation of the creature after it was actually made. That's the biggest mistake of his life, and he literally spends the entirely of the rest of the book in regret, shame and guilt because of it. Sure, he'd probably explain that he didn't have much of a choice and that he had to make another one to neutralise the first one, but not like that. Not as if he still thought that was by any means a good idea still. Do I get why they wrote it like that? Yes. It makes for a far better climax with much more hyped drama. Mad scientist reprise calls for far more catchy tunes than guilty man working away in a complete dissociative haze. Plus, the song is a straight banger, and that automatically overwrites any problems I originally had with it.

Though. It does annoy me how so many adaptations of the book tends to have someone find out about the creature. Again, I get it, the drama. But the guilt and shame that weighs on Victor for keeping that secret is literally, like, 95% of the whole book. And that all kinda falls apart if people know about it, I feel. And again, it also falls kinda flat if he has that second mad scientist moment later on in the story, as it just... makes all of that previous guilt undone. Although, it also feeds more into the story's theme of hubris. It failed once but he WILL make it work. But yeah, especially the bit with Henry annoys me. Book!Henry had nothing to do with the creature, which is part to why his death hit so hard. He was killed in retaliation, in one of the creature's tantrums. He had just been robbed of his one chance of companionship, and to hit back he decided to rob Victor of his most dearest friend.

Henry Cherval my beloved, my dear, my darling boy. He is always done so dirty. The whole purpose Victor's friend and family play in the story is that they're perfect. He grew up in outmost comfort, outmost love, only to be ripped off it. His loved ones didn't serve to interfere with his plans or the plot. Never once did they tell him what to do. They tried his best to console him and continued to show him the beauty in the world in the midst of his depression. They continued to care for him through it all, and the only reason their consolation didn't work was because Victor knew he had doomed them all.

To me, one of the book's main themes is how beautiful life is. It's a fragile thing, yet an untamed force which he tries to tame. Victor Frankenstein, in both book and musical, creates the creature in hopes of finding a way to cure death simply because life is such a beautiful thing and he wants it to go on forever, for everyone he loves. He wants to build a world that never has to end, because he adores it. It's a tragedy, but after reading it you don't come out wanting to die. You come out of it wanting to live. A character losing something or someone only hurts if they have something to lose, and Victor has everything. And then he has nothing. He has a few months of obsession that results into one moment of hubris which cost him everything.

Although. Literally all of that could have been avoided had he just patented the thing but yknow. He did not. Anyway, what was this about? Oh yeah, the musical.

So yeah. The Modern Prometheus? Banger, but so far from the actual story. Which I think the musical can get away with. As a treat. For again, it is a banger.

May I also just add how absolutely stellar of a performance whoever has the role of the creation?? Gosh, it's so good. It's so much how I picture him. My favourite part of the musical is definitely the creature, had you not guessed already. Both the writing and the performance. An Angel's embrace also feels very true to canon for both characters I feel. I care about that song a lot, actually.

The ending is also slightly different, in how it again emphasizes Victor and his creature's father-son connection. And honestly? I'm all for it. I'm a sucker for family dynamics, so I love that they really kept with that interpretation of the story. Also, the parallels between Victor saying goodbye to a dead Elizabeth and the creature saying goodbye to a dead Victor fucking gets me. It's so good.

So, final thoughts? Very good. Most changes tend to serve the story by emphasising certain parts that might be harder to explain in the medium it is in, and I understand the reduction of certain plot points for the sake of time. I'm glad they didn't try to make it as much of a horror thing as most adaptations do. Because yes, I bet it was absolutely horrific for Victor, but we're not looking at the story through his scared eyes. He is telling the story as a cautionary tale. There is no fear left in that man, only sorrow, anger, regret and guilt. And the musical keeps those vibes. It's a tragedy, it's a warning, and it's sci-fi for goodness sake.

Good family dynamics, good creative decisions about what to emphasize, and overall very loyal to the book.

[henrysglock]

You don’t think the Henry/Edward theory is a little farfetched, a little too cornplatey for a mainstream sci-fi show in its last season, when there’s so much else to cover, and they never hinted at any of that through dialogue or anything that can clearly be seen, even by the vast majority of Bylers who dig deeper and analyze subtext? How can you build a theory off the fine print of newspaper clippings? Like it seems really complex to me and better suited for multiple seasons of a show like Dark, not the final season of a show everyone watches. Unless they show us who Edward is in the first episode of season 5

You see here's the common misconception: We have been seeing Edward. He's there throughout the entirety of NINA. He would not be a new character in ST5, since we've been seeing him.

Also, there have been so many dialogue hints, the most obvious being:

"You remind me of someone I used to know very well...I spent years with One, right here, in this very room" Henry may very well be speaking literally here.

"I always thought Henry was out there, hiding in the darkness" in contrast to "When One kills, he consumes" We never hear Brenner calling El by "Jane" and then a scene later calling her "Eleven". He picked a name in Season 1 and stuck with it...but not for Henry?

Not to mention the everything else about NINA, which ends up being a concerted effort between dialogue, camerawork, set design, and VFX. The theory also comes from Eddie being Vecna in the campaign, the changing corpses and changing jumpsuits and completely different hairstyles, changing architecture and vastly changing ages...all of which is inexplicable within a single timeline framework. And that isn't even the full breadth of evidence. The newspapers aren't the only source. If they were, then sure. Maybe it would be cornplating.

But they aren't.

This ask just tells me you're uninformed on the bulk of the theory.

I challenge you to look at all the details and find any other explanation that ties together every choice the Duffers et. al have made regarding NINA and Henry/Edward's backstory. And then I want you to Occam's-Razor the fuck out of it. Then, and only then, can you come back and tell me whether or not I'm cornplating. Tell me if anything else you can come up with is simpler/more probable than "Hey, maybe there are two guys from mirror universes, and we're seeing them both interchangeably throughout ST4".

And when did the plot of ST become equivalent to "mainstream" mush? It became mainstream, but it is not a mainstream plot. Stranger Things is 100% in the same vein as Dark, and even if it wasn't...who says popular plots have to be predictable and formulaic? Put some respect on the Duffers.

[baddingtonbitch]

watching the new zac efron movie and i don't think i'll ever get used to the new face. i always thought that the "socks on a slippery floor made him fall and break his jaw" story was very hard to buy since his chin, cheeks and lips all looked suddenly augmented too. i just googled it again and i never realised that he claimed the injury happened in 2013(?!) and that him getting an entirely new face a couple of years ago was because he stopped doing certain jaw exercises. jaw exercises that supposedly kept this whole new face at bay for many years until he got lax about them on vacation. so i'm like ten times more flabbergasted that anyone agreed to accept that story. i know that admitting to getting bad work done is like a mortal sin to celebrities but from the way he spoke about the literal eating disorder he was programmed into for certain roles and the resulting mental health struggles, i think it's totally plausible that he tried to get something "subtle" done out of mounting insecurity and whoever operated on him didn't understand what that even meant and just gave him the stock looksmaxxing package.

and yeah i'm sure that feels horrible and lying about feels like a necessary evil and the whole thing is a mental and emotional prison and that's very hard, but there are so many actresses that went through the exact same thing and didn't get even one percent of the grace he did and were not given the benefit of any doubt when they tried to deny their surgeries. it's just sad that countless women get called liars and "plastic surgery disasters" when they get pressured into risky procedures trying to become some unattainable feminine ideal and treated like vain monsters when it doesn't go as planned, but efron can debut a new face that looks like a meme drawn by an incel, give an extremely implausible excuse and people suddenly think anything is possible and multiple outlets will repeat and legitimise that story as if it adequately explains everything. case closed, no further questions, he just looks like this now and any raised eyebrows are attacks against a FALL SURVIVOR

like one of the most famous prettyboys secretly had this massive life threatening facial injury that required emergency hospitalisation, reconstructive surgery, and a decade of physical therapy somewhere in the narrow gaps between some of the biggest movies of his career and not a single soul knew about it until now and it had absolutely zero outward effects on his appearance until the better part of a decade later when it just happened to manifest as a constellation of simultaneous physical changes that coincidentally mimic the most common masculinising cosmetic surgeries men get when they feel insecure. all at once. permanently. but he says that's what happened so it has to be true, and famous men never ever get plastic surgery and he can't possibly have EVER been vain, insecure, or dishonest.

imagine meg ryan trying to get the public to swallow a story like that and tell me she wouldn't have been crucified for it.

meanwhile it literally gets written into his movies as a cheeky little joke.

[yayforstuffs]

For Firemite! His new design got me all curious again! :0

12. What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

46. Are they a listener or a talker? If they’re a listener, what makes them talk? If they’re a talker, what makes them listen?

52. Do they act on their immediate emotions, or do they wait for the facts before acting?

57. What’s a simple daily activity / motion that they mess up often?

58. How many hobbies have they attempted to have over their lifetime? Is there a common theme?

OH this took me ten years buT I HAVE ANSWERS!!!

12. What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific! “Dear Cod.” It was something from a previous group of folks he and Razor had been hanging around for a bit- one of them fished up a rare enchant after hours of trying to get literally anything useful and made the comment “Dear God I thought I’d never get anything.” and every single other person heard him say ‘dear cod’. By then it was late at night n they were all tired and so it was the absolute funniest thing in the world made funnier by how vehemently he tried to stand firm on the fact that he’d said ‘dear God’ and not ‘dear cod’. He makes the reference sometimes still and it gets a chuckle from Razor, and whenever Razor pulls it out (though it can also be partially attributed to just how serious Razor is so he doesn’t joke much anyway) Fire absolutely loves it and laughs so hard. 10/10 comedy every time.

The first time he heard Tyr mutter it to herself when she was trying to figure out how to get one of her newer cats to cooperate out in the main room he lost it. Could not stop laughing for the next five minutes at least.

46. Are they a listener or a talker? If they’re a listener, what makes them talk? If they’re a talker, what makes them listen? I was going to say listener, but the more I thought about it the more I thought that… he might actually be a talker. If he’s fun bouncy sanguine he’s prolly a talker. So what would make him listen, then… I suppose Razor can make him listen, but that’s on virtue of being viewed as more of the decision-maker of the group, n he knows well enough that Razor usually has good ideas. Other than that, though… I suppose quiet might would make him listen- recognizing that he’s talking over someone and it’s Not Good and needs to hush. Hm. I personally think I’m more of a listener so I’m not really sure like. what would make a talker listen slkdhgkl I think that might be as good of an answer as I can give? I dunno. He listens to Razor and he listens to quiet.

52. Do they act on their immediate emotions, or do they wait for the facts before acting? Depends! If it’s more happy/positive, he’s keen to jump to action immediately, but if he’s feeling more negative- sad/angry, etc, he’ll think more on what to do or at least take a second/minute to compose himself. It’s usually bc he’s gonna try to ‘fix things’ and bring the mood back up. It… doesn’t always work though, and he kinda flounders when it doesn’t. If it doesn't, it can end up with him spending some time alone mining to clear his head a bit, and also to let whatever's going on calm down.

57. What’s a simple daily activity / motion that they mess up often? I’m gonna be honest, this is one that’s stumped me like. the most, probably. Is that something that a lot of ppl have, like something that they need to do constantly that they usually mess up? Bc ngl like…. I don’t really see him having much of anything that’s like. a simple daily thing that he messes up often. I think I’ll leave it at an “I don’t think he has one” but if I think of something later I’ll come back and edit this to include it :V

58. How many hobbies have they attempted to have over their lifetime? Is there a common theme? I think he’s the kind of person to have tried many, many different things! So there’s no common theme other than ‘is this new? Sure, I’ll try!’ He likes to go out and learn and discover and make new friends and find new things that he likes, so he’s very keen on trying stuff out. If he doesn’t like it then he at least knows he doesn’t, and if he does, then it’s a win!

[yes0another0outsiders0blog]

Finally rereading The Outsiders like I said I would. I think I'll probably be doing a chapter a day, even though it's short enough that I could probably bust it out in one or two sittings. I'm really prone to burnout and I am trying to write a bit each day and I have a job to work and adult tasks to do and such, so a chapter sounds like a good goal with that considered.

Also, I'm sick as a fucking dog while reading this first chapter. Not relevant, just a little fun fact.

Anyway, have my thoughts while I read it!!

The Outsiders Reread : Chapter One Notes

less than a page in and I'm already tired of Ponyboy being Not Like The Other Girls

he's 14, that's positive, I should not be able to stomach a well-written 14 year old on account of them acting very 14, but also shut the fuck up

"yeah, I read books, unlike EVERYONE ELSE" go to hell

not to intentionally misread and water down a character, but Ponyboy saying "but sometimes I just don't use my head" is literally all you need to fucking know. that's it, that's the book

we get it, Pony, you come from a very hot family, yall are all conventionally attractive. paragraphs, ffs

also, I love that Soda doesn't drink. that he has a drunk on life attitude. could absolutely never be me, love that for him, unfortunately I fw Two-Bit's vibes with alcohol a bit more--

and the fact that Soda is the only one that can tease Darry.

there isn't a single positive thing said about Dallas besides "I didn't like him, but he was smart and you had to respect him." but frfr he's so great.

but if I met any of these fuckers irl Soda is the only one that I'd have a chance in hell at not hating. and that's only because he seems like he'd be enough of an emotionally/socially intelligent people-pleaser to actively try to get someone to like him, lol.

kinda salty about Johnny being called the gangs pet, wtf Ponyboy. not like he's one person's main reason to live, is SUCH fucking ride or die, later kills a man for Pony. but yeah, he's a pet. he tags along. what the fuck ever, man. if anything, Ponyboy (you know, the person that's mainly part of the gang bc he tags along with his older brothers, the BABY of the group, the quiet & sensitive one that doesn't have a single braincell outside of pure booksmarts) is the pet. like, sure, Johnny has trauma and is really quiet, but let's be so fr right now.

despite what is said in the book (bc it's Ponyboy's pov so we only get his perspective, obviously) I'm sure Darry gets after Soda too.

also, oldest children that become parental figures in some degree are allowed to be mean to their baby siblings. it's our right. as a 20-something year old with a young teen baby brother with common sense in the negatives, I am very biased in saying that Darry is always objectively 100% correct in every situation ever (heavily exaggerating, I just relate a lot).

forever mad that we don't get more Sylvia!!! my most random fav!!! so much love to her!!! she's basically an oc with how little we get of her and how many headcanons I have, I don't even really like the main fanon version of her either, but GOD she's my girl fr

NO BECAUSE WHEN I WAS 14 IF SOMEONE PULLED THEIR OWN KNIFE TO DO A DISSECTION THE WAY MY TONGUE WOULD BE DOWN THEIR THROAT. Ponyboy, babygirl, you did NOT deserve for that girl to hate on you like that. RUDE.

"Dallas deserves everything he gets, and should get worse, if you want the truth." agreed, that's my though process as I'm making the nastiest headcanons for him. my life's goal is to make this man suffer or make him into a loser, and all my hcs do both

breaks my heart so much how Ponyboy talks about Darry, leave my boy ALONE, dude!!!

my headcanons for Darry are usually the exact opposite of my hcs for Dally, I just want this guy to have the very best ong. I'll get so unrealistic with it too, bitch, YES I'll give you an absolutely stunning sugar mommy, babe!! just stop being stressed and stop having bad things happen for a few minutes!!! I almost struggle making in character, good headcanons for him because I just want to give him fluff and filler only and nothing else--

[parasite-core]

So when I was growing up my dad always acted like as you get older getting severe upset stomachs from eating onions was just a normal thing that happens. So I wasn’t terribly surprised when I quit being able to digest anything in the onion family myself senior year of college, I was only surprised it happened so soon. Over time I’ve realized it is not normal, I have never met a single other person who can’t eat onions, and what my dad and I have/had is actually a severe intolerance to the onion family of foods.

Now today someone told me that IBS is common in autistic people. I’m autistic, and I suspect my dad also had autism—he always said he’s pretty sure he had something going on in his head he just never got diagnosed for because growing up in his generation they didn’t do that. So it makes me wonder. How many generations of my family have been autistic and unaware of it? Just telling their kids that these things were normal things that happen as they get older. Just considering the symptoms of their autism quirkiness or eccentricity. Learning to mask by just living with it and being socially molded, never knowing that’s what is happening.

Until I told my mom a few months ago that I thought I was autistic, and I was pretty sure my dad had been too, she knew my dad and I were two peas in a pod but she could never puzzle out our eccentric nature. She didn’t get it at the time, but a few weeks later she said that looking back she could see it. I know my mom always thought of my dad and I as eccentrics, we shared a certain stubbornness and more literal way of thinking she never could wrap her head around. We both got frustrated with her over the same things, like asking if we ‘wanted’ to do something when what she was really asking was for us to do something for her. We were also both dreamers and artists—he lived for his work, painting for as long as he could until the cancer made him too weak to lift a brush, and he died not long after that, as if taking away his art took away his life as well. And I am a storyteller, I have made up stories and characters for as long as I can remember, whether I wrote them down or not. My head is always in another world, weaving a story, and if I couldn’t I think I would die too.

I don’t know where I’m going with this. Probably nowhere. There’s just something beautiful and sad about autism being passed down generation after generation, and parent and child having these things in common that the rest of the world doesn’t understand. Now that autism is better understood, I hope more autistic parents know they are autistic, and can bond with their children over this shared experience. I never knew. My dad passed away before I came to this realization, so I never got a chance to talk to him about it. I hope others get the chance I never did, to embrace that connection.