#maybe i misunderstood the concerns of the series

[wasp-coffee]

Probably Incoherent Shadow and Bone rant

right off the bat, I haven't read the books - this is going entirely off the TV show

I think something that's really bothered me about Shadow and Bone through the first season and into the second and that has become clear as I've finished it is the idea that darkness is final.

Maybe I've been brainwashed by pop culture into hoping for redemption for villains, but I thought the way Aleksander was treated in the series was generally horrific. I mean from the get-go I knew he was going to be the "bad guy" (hello black colour scheme) but the thing is that I still don't think his motivations were bad. I understand why he did what he did, why he'd become what he had, and what he did was (imo) very similar to what Sarah Alder did in Motherland: Fort Salem (this is me telling you to go watch it btw).

I think something quite harmful which is mentioned in the series is the idea that darkness is corrupting and there is no coming back from it. Also the idea that you cannot change who you are - that everything you are comes from your birth. Any child no matter how good born with power over shadows would have been demonised and because of it no one ever gave him the chance to prove anyone otherwise. (See: Jonathan Morgenstern) Because really Aleksander never stood a chance, no matter how good he could have been. He was always going to become something awful because of the power he had no choice over and the way people treated him because of it. There was no chance for a dark magic user to be a good guy.

But the series focuses heavily on his choices. His decisions. Because he, as a hunted minority with a gift that people feared, wanted to protect himself. The idea that evil is intrinsic, that it can't be prevented and is inevitable in some people but not in others... The black and white view of "good" and "evil" really started to annoy me in the second season. Despite everything he'd done I still saw a posibility for Aleksander to do good because the change he wanted was for the good of his people and their safety. He was always treated as evil, as irredeemable, by his mother and everyone else around him so that's what he became but... it's all his fault, right? Nature not nurture?

When Alina 'goes dark' its okay because she's good actually and she can be pulled away from it no no don't touch that its bad. She has to fix it because she's good. That's all she can be - good. No wiggle room. She's born good, and even after everything remains recognised as such. But Aleksander was right good cannot exist without evil and I think the reverse is true. The idea that he has nothing left - that he's only fighting for himself, for power, I never thought held any water because... the whole reason he built the little palace and everything else was to keep his people safe. His motivations cannot be selfish because the whole reason he did everything he did was because he wanted to save his people.

When Alina wants to save her people it it's good and right but when he does it it's wrong and evil?

I think the reason why the ending felt very unsatisfying for me was because none of the reasons why Aleksander did what he did are ever really addressed - everything just trots along normally. Like Grisha aren't going to be killed for who they are... like they aren't hunted and in danger and reliant on leniency and goodwill to keep them alive.

I think Aleksander could have been a really compelling character if he was allowed develop further - he was starting to feel very one dimensional evil during the end there. I think his end was... unreasonably cruel (even though I knew he was going to die from day one) and his final moments only confirmed the capacity for goodness that I saw throught the series.

I don't know... I just can't help but thinking that he never stood a chance.

(Please be kind in the notes, I've only just finished the series and am in no way claiming to be an expert or writing the definitive bible this is just some thoughts.)

(I wouldn't mind hearing what you have to say though please tell me if i've forgotten something or got something wrong)

[fandomxpreferences]

Heartbroke Bitch

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Ex!Rafe Cameron x Female!Reader

TW: 18+, drug and alcohol use, angst, fluff, self destructive behavior, I think thats it

Summary: When youre left heartbroken, you cope in a less than healthy way. But what happens when Rafe sees you hanging on the arm of one of his best friends? (Loosely based off Escapism by Raye)

Word count:3.2k

A/N: Let me know if you want a part 2!

Ever since that night, you've been a different person. Rafe ending things sent you reeling and the words keep playing in your head like a record. 

"It's just not going to work. I'll have Sarah drop off your things."

That was all he gave you before all but kicking you out. He didn't even have the respect to give you a reason, though you've come to the conclusion it's because you're a pogue. You and Rafe never should have started anything in the first place; you knew you were playing with fire. 

JJ and John B tried to talk sense into you, but you were too lovestruck. All you cared about was the misunderstood kook king, and now you're heartbroken. The first week you cried and drank as the group tried to get through to you. 

The following weekend, you went out to a kegger at the boneyard and saw Missy Thompson giggling into Rafe's ear and something inside you snapped. You were tired of feeling hurt, so you decided to beat him at his own game. 

"Where are you going dressed like that?" 

There's a teasing lilt to Sarah's voice, but you don't miss the concern in her eyes. She already knows the answer to her question. You've spent the last three weeks staying out until sunrise, various drugs coursing through your veins and different men sneaking out every morning. 

Your eyebrow quirks as you look down at your less-than-modest outfit and shrug.

"Out. I was invited to that new club." 

JJ frowns and stands to walk over to you. He stops a few feet away and you look at him expectantly. 

"Again? Y/N/N, you can't keep doing this. I mean I'm always down for a good time, but you're going to hurt yourself." 

The pain in his voice causes your chest to tighten and you roll your eyes to cover it up. That's exactly why you're doing this; you're tired of feeling hurt and so far losing yourself in white powder and men whose outfits cost more than your car has proven to be effective. 

"So what if I do? I'll be fine, JJ. Don't worry your pretty little head." You smile while patting him playfully on the arm. 

They watch as you walk off and give each other worried looks, unable to do anything but stand by as you set out on a path of self-destruction. 

An hour later you're in the VIP section sipping on champagne that's expensive enough to solve all your money problems and having a great time. The music is loud enough to drive your thoughts away and you let yourself get lost in the moment. 

You aren't sure who the people here are; you've made a lot of new acquaintances since going out more and you just happened to strike up a conversation with the man that brought you here. You're not even sure what his name is. 

You think it's something along the lines of Andrew, or maybe Everett. You don't really care enough to remember; you just know it's something pretentious that reeks of old money. Not that it matters much. By morning he'll just be another notch in your belt and you'll never see him again. 

You're just about to do a shot when a familiar voice calls your name. You look up with a frown, trying to place where it came from. A smile breaks out when you place its owner and Topper plops down next to you. 

His arm wraps loosely around your shoulder and you lean in a bit, happy to have someone you know around. 

"Didn't expect to see you here." 

Topper isn't exactly known for tolerating - much less liking - pogues but he grew fond of you during your time with Rafe. 

You nudge him lightly with your shoulder and he grins. 

"A pleasant surprise, I hope." 

He leans in a little closer and nods. You can't help but notice his spicy yet sweet cologne as his body heat radiates against your skin and it's almost as intoxicating as the alcohol. 

"Very pleasant. You smell good. Like cotton candy and tanning oil." 

Your eyebrows raise at the forward comment and you let your eyes drop down to look at his lips. 

"You like it?" 

The other man is long forgotten as Topper invades your personal space and suddenly your target changes. 

"I love it. What is it?"

You lean back with a laugh and the way his body chases yours isn't lost on you. The game is afoot and you've discovered you love the thrill of the chase. 

"Something expensive. That's all I'll say, a lady never reveals her secrets."

His smile turns devilish and his nose presses against the column of your throat to inhale your scent again. 

"Something tells me you're not much of a lady." 

Butterflies erupt in your stomach as he flirts back and your hand laces in his hair to tug his head back. 

"You have no idea, Top."

Your words hang in the air for a moment before he pulls you closer so you're halfway on his lap. You watch as he pulls out a baggy and waves it at you suggestively, your face lighting up as you nod while he sets it up on the table. 

You don't think twice before bending down and snorting a couple lines, tilting your head back with closed eyes. This has become a regular occurrence for you, and Topper lets out a surprised laugh before copying your previous movements. 

"Didn't take you as the type to do party drugs." He admits and you press farther into him. 

"Mmm, there's a lot you don't know about me." 

A few minutes later you're both feeling the effects and you gladly follow Topper as he takes your hand and leads you to the dance floor. You aren't paying attention to what song is playing as you grind on your ex-boyfriend's friend, your hands wrapped around his neck as he nips at your shoulder. 

Rafe immediately feels annoyed as he walks into the loud venue, his first instinct being to turn around and leave. Before everything with you, this would have been his scene. However, despite being the one to call it quits, he's been having an exceptionally hard time. 

He thought it would be easy to move on, but every time he tries, his thoughts are consumed by you. He gave up hope after he moaned out your name with another woman and she slapped him before storming out. He didn't realize he was in love with you until he watched your tail lights fade in the rain. 

He downs a shot to settle his nerves, the burning sensation distracting him from the thumping bass. He's just about to take a seat when his eyes land on you. Bile rises in his throat as he watches you party without a care in the world.

He thinks this hurts worse than the initial breakup. Seeing you laugh and dance as if you aren't feeling the same heartache as him is bitter and he doesn't like it. 

He knows he's the one that tossed your relationship in the trash, but he thought he meant more to you. At least enough for you not to be living it up a month after he left. 

You were never one for the. club scene, and he's honestly not sure why you're here. It's not until you bump into him on the way to take another shot that he really takes you in. 

You stop to apologize and his eyebrows pinch when it takes you a second longer than it should to realize who he is. Recognition finally crosses your features and much to his surprise, you give him a short hug with a smile. 

"Hey, Rafe."

He stares at you in shock for a second, trying to figure out why you seem so unbothered by his presence. He's certainly not feeling as relaxed with you standing a foot away. An unfamiliar scent washes over him and he realizes it's coming from you. 

He's always loved the way you smell, and that is certainly not your usual perfume and body lotion. It almost makes him sick to his stomach. His eyes rake over your face for a moment as he tries to place what's so different about you. 

He doesn't even recognize the woman in front of him and his heart breaks as the realization sets in that this is his fault. He broke you. 

Your body is covered in a skin-tight dress that's six inches too short and glitter. He notices you seem taller than usual and his eyes pan down to the sky-high stilettos on your feet. 

That's not what concerns him most though. You're clearly drunk as you struggle to keep your balance and your pupils are completely blown. 

If he had to guess he'd say coke or Molly, maybe both based on your apparent indifference to your life. Either way, it makes his stomach turn and he barely resists the urge to break Topper's hands as they sit a little too close to your ass.

"Hi." 

It's all he can manage as guilt and pain consume him and he wants nothing more than to go back in time. He doesn't get to say anything else before you're stumbling away, resembling a newborn fawn. 

He ignores his friends' protests as he pulls out his phone and steps outside. His thumb finds Sarah's contact and he presses the call button without hesitation. The line rings a few times before she answers and he leans against the brick wall. 

"What do you want?"

There's music in the background and he knows he's interrupting her night but he can't bring himself to care. 

"Is Y/N okay?"

There's a moment of silence before his sister sighs and his eyes squeeze shut. 

"Rafe, you lost the right to ask about her." 

He knows she's right, but he's going to get answers even if he has to drive to the cut himself. 

"I know, okay? I know. But I'm at this night club and she looks absolutely wasted. I'm worried." 

He can almost hear her mulling over her next words on the other end of the line when she finally responds. 

"We all are. Between me and you, she's been on a bender. She's gone out almost every night since the breakup. She comes back completely fucked up with random men at like 6 am. We thought it would pass, but it seems like she's not slowing down anytime soon." 

His stomach lurches at the idea of you going home with strangers while completely intoxicated and he takes a deep breath. He hates that he's been sulking while you've been sleeping around, but that's not what's at the forefront of his mind. 

His main concern is your safety. He knows that sooner or later you'll take too much or trust the wrong man and something will happen. 

"Thanks." 

He hears her start to ask something but doesn't wait to listen, quickly ending the call and heading back in. He's on a war path to find you and when he does, his blood boils. 

You're laid on a table while Topper does a body shot off you and his feet carry him forward before his brain can catch up. He rips his friend backward and Topper is about to cuss him out when he sees the look on his face. 

His hands come up in surrender and before you can process, you're being thrown over Rafe's shoulder and carried outside. Your arms and legs flail as you slap at his back and his grip tightens. 

"Fucking put me down!" Your voice is slurred but loud, and your heels click as your feet hit the pavement. 

You take a second to get your bearings before snapping your head up to glare at your ex-boyfriend. 

"What the fuck, Rafe?!" 

Your anger does nothing to deter him and his arms cross over his chest as he blocks you from going back inside. 

"I could ask you the same thing."

His voice is firm yet gentle as he looks at you and it pisses you off. 

"Actually, you can't, asshole. What I do is none of your business." 

He scoffs and if you weren't so far gone, you'd probably take your shoe off and stab him with it. All of this is sobering you up and you definitely need to be high to deal with this conversation. 

"This isn't you. Why are you doing this?" 

It's a stupid question, he's aware of this. Still, he wants to hear you say it. 

"Maybe it is. You don't know who I am anymore."

The words are harsh as you snap at him and his fists clench while he tries to hide how much it hurt him. 

"Yes, I do. So I'll ask one more time. Why are you doing this?"

He softens when he notices the way your chest is heaving and you're gnawing on your lip the way you always do when you're trying to fight back tears. 

"Because I don't want to feel how I did that night, okay? I want to be numb. Is that what you want to hear?"

His heart clenches when your voice wobbles and he reaches out to grab your hand. Pain shoots through him when you recoil from his touch and take a step back. 

"Don't fucking touch me." 

His hand drops back to his side and his mind spins as he tries to figure out how to fix this. That first week was hell, especially when you sent him drunk texts and left voicemails with jumbled words. He figured you were drinking away your sorrows the same as him, but he never imagined it was this bad. 

He fought the urge to call you back and fall to his knees while he begged for another chance. He figured pushing you away was in your best interest. He knows you think he did it because you're a pogue; Sarah called to chew him out over it. 

If that's what helped, he was happy to let you believe it. In reality, it couldn't be farther from the truth. He didn't care about that at all. He knows he's fucked up and all he did was hurt you. 

He figured cutting ties and letting you find someone else was the better alternative to hurting you over and over again. 

He knows that you would never leave him, even if you should. So he decided to do it for you. 

"Okay, I won't touch you. Just please come back with me so I know you're safe. You don't have to talk to me or look at me the entire time if you don't want. Just crash in the guest room and I'll take you back to John B's in the morning." 

You know it's a bad idea, but you're starting to come down and you really miss how comfy the beds at Tannyhill are. He does an internal victory dance when you nod your head and has the valet pull the car around. 

The ride back is dead silent, but he doesn't mind. He's just happy to have you back in his passenger seat where you belong. It's a relatively short drive, and before you know it he's pulling into the long familiar driveway. 

He opens the door for you and you have to remind yourself not to grab his hand the way you normally would. He puts his hand in his pocket to keep from placing it on the small of your back and lets you take the lead. 

An amused smile splits his face when you stop to take your shoes off and thrust them into his stomach. He takes them without any hesitation and carries them without complaint. 

This is familiar to him; your feet always hurt at the end of the night and it wasn't uncommon for him to end up carrying you or toting your shoes and bag around while you were dating. 

He even went as far as keeping a pair of flats in his truck; they're still in the back seat and he kicks himself for not remembering to offer them to you. 

"You're back ear-"

Rose stops mid-sentence when she sees you, and Rafe shoots her a look that tells her not to ask questions. His heart leaps as you trek up the stairs, the path second nature to you. 

He isn't expecting you to swing the door to his room open though and he wonders if it's intentional or just because you're too inebriated to realize. 

He takes a detour to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and painkillers before joining you. He stops in his tracks when he sees you rummaging through his closet and watches as you pull out your favorite hoodie of his, struggling to put it on. 

He debates offering to help before deciding not to push his luck. You're already back in his room when he never thought he'd see it again. The last thing he wants to do is drive you away.

He stands in place as you crawl under his comforter and settle into your side of the bed, nuzzling your head into the soft pillow. His scent is overwhelming and it brings you comfort.

You're sure you'll regret this tomorrow, but right now all you can focus on is being back in his white Egyptian cotton sheets. 

He hesitates for a second before going into the bathroom and grabbing a washcloth and moisturizer. His movements are calculated as he sits on the edge of the mattress and starts wiping away your makeup. 

You don't protest and he takes that as his sign to continue. Once your face is clean, he rubs the expensive lotion that you love into your face, making sure to use upwards movements the way he always saw you do. 

He grabs a pair of joggers and starts to leave when your voice rings out. 

"Just get in the fucking bed, Rafe." 

He doesn't need to be told twice and moves at lightning speed as he slips off his shirt and throws on his sweatpants. He makes sure to leave plenty of space and his heart stops when you roll over and lay on his chest. 

You seem to sense that he's about to say something because your hand comes up to cover his mouth. 

"Don't ruin it with words. Just enjoy it while it lasts."

He nods against your palm and you return your arm to its previous resting place across his abdomen. He hears his phone vibrate and grabs it off the nightstand, careful not to disturb you. You're already snoring softly when he unlocks the screen. 

There's a text from Sarah. 

Do you know if Y/N is okay? We can't get ahold of her and Topper said she left with you.

He snaps a quick photo of your sleeping figure and sends it. Her response is a red heart and he locks the phone before setting it back down. He settles in and falls into a peaceful slumber, elated to have you back in his arms.

[midnight-in-town]

Frances Midford : The Mentor, a summary

To follow with my post about fighting against misinformation, here’s a first topic. 

Ciel’s remaining aunt is often viewed by the fandom as a mean lady who doesn’t care, because of a) all the mysteries around the family that Ciel doesn’t know about and b) the use of comic relief in Kuroshitsuji often used to hide some relevant clues, as previously demonstrated in this post. This is actually far from what her character really is about and I intend to demonstrate it now with a (long) recap post. 

I have talked about Frances a lot in the past, about her caring about our!Ciel and about her possibly knowing, like Tanaka, that he was lying about his identity. While the former is undeniably true, the latter is still up for debate. [X][X][X][X] However, with the upcoming adaptation of the Weston arc (probably) in 2024, I don’t want the old discourse to come back, so without further ado...

What Yana has said about Frances’ character

Besides our!Ciel, Frances is the last remaining Phantomhive (not counting real!Ciel as a BD). She’s Vincent’s younger sister, they both have the same parents (that is to say Claudia P and Cedric K. Ros) and she married out of the family (implying that maybe the Phantomhives have distant relatives still alive), becoming Lady Midford. 

According to Yana, Frances takes after their dad while Vincent takes after their mom and the same is true for her kids, meaning Ed takes after her (thus takes after his maternal grandfather) while Liz takes after Alexis. 

As far as her relationship with our!Ciel is concerned, here’s what Yana said in the guidebook : “Frances' strength of character is why Sebastian chose her as a role model Ciel should follow”. Since her relationship with Lizzie is sometimes also viewed negatively, I’d like to add that both in the guidebook and on twitter, Yana said that “Liz thinks her mom is kind and strong so she looks up to her mom as a role model she aspires to become”, hence the similar hair style.

TL;DR Yana’s overall description of Frances is that a) she’s kind and strong which is why b) she’s Lizzie’s role model, as well as the role model Sebastian thinks our!Ciel should follow.

Now that this is established, here’s what the canon story gives us, to illustrate Yana’s words. Spoilers for the entire manga series and long read below the cut.

Frances’ introduction

Frances is introduced in ch14 and, boy, what a generally misunderstood chapter by some parts of the fandom. xDD

Contextually, ch14 is Ciel’s birthday, meaning it is also the anniversary of the massacre of the previous household and Madam Red just died, after trying to kill him. For those who might wonder, the guidebook confirmed that our!Ciel was quite saddened by Ann’s death (obviously), so really, what a fun 13th birthday in perspective. Cue Liz and Frances. 

The comments on her strength aside, Frances’ introduction is otherwise often misread as her nagging being inappropriate but I beg to differ. As mentioned by @akumadeenglish​ and @chibimyumi​, Yana is Japanese author who likes to explore writing tropes in depth. Though it’s also important to remember that, before the curry arc, Yana didn’t know how long the series would run so everything had less intent, because the story was initially supposed to end quickly.

In other words, Frances’ introduction really is initially to be read as the severe mother-in-law (based on Japanese comical stereotypes) coming to check on how he handles his household, which is why Seb is so stressed out when everything goes bonkers. But that’s only the surface. 

Most importantly though, Frances showed up because it is Ciel’s birthday and, as said above, there’s a lot of negative and dreadful memories associated with this day. So...

...let’s change his mind, shall we? 

Phantomhives love games and Frances is a Phantomhive too, the last one besides our!Ciel, so she knows her nephew and chooses an activity she knew he wouldn’t be able to resist. 

Ch14 also introduces two important facts that are still relevant as plot points, especially as far as the Blue Revenge arc is concerned. The first one is that our!Ciel protected Lizzie from that bear, so Frances said she owes him. 

Secondly, as stated by Frances herself, she knows the ropes of the “game” (aka acting as the Watchdog) better than our!Ciel (”you’ve still got a decade to go before you can even think of winning against me”). 

In fact, like our!Ciel with real!Ciel, Frances was probably raised as Vincent’s spare [X][X], but compared to our!Ciel who knew next to nothing about his father’s real job until 3 years ago (at the time of ch14), Frances is an experienced veteran...

And that’s why Seb chose her as a role model for our!Ciel.

Therefore it is my opinion that ch14, despite being written back when Sensei didn’t know how long the series would be published, is still relevant as heck when it comes to Frances’ role in the series, aka acting as a mentor for our!Ciel (and for Lizzie, as Yana also stated). Kuroshitsuji is a slow story though, with a lot of build up and it’s why some fans still fail to see how significant Frances is to the plot and to our!Ciel’s development. 

Campania arc

Liz is the one who comes to ask our!Ciel to come with her whole family (thus introducing Alexis and Edward) on a cruise, but it’s also very important to note that she conveyed that Frances thought that our!Ciel should take time off of work:

This led some of us fans to theorize that maybe Tanaka used to send updates to Frances about our!Ciel’s wellbeing and how he fared as the Watchdog: the timing of the cruise works well with Frances’ remark, considering that the Queen just sent Charles Grey as a merry punishment for Ciel’s deeds during the Circus arc. 

This arc mostly highlights Frances’ bravery and strength : she didn’t hesitate to fight for countless of passengers unrelated to her (something that UT said isn’t very typical of Phantomhives, during Weston)...

More importantly, we finally get into Lizzie’s personal motivations and we indeed have the confirmation that...

...Frances is a big key to Lizzie’s strength, confirming the role model/mentor position that she holds in Lizzie’s eyes. I’d like to also point out that Frances completely trusts in her daughter’s abilities, which highlights a very positive mother/daughter dynamic.

Lizzie’s flashback gives us this very important bit...

...a part that’s unfortunately often overlooked by the fans complaining that Frances is too severe with our!Ciel and Lizzie. This scene however makes way more sense once we find out, after the Weston arc, that Frances lost her mother Claudia (the Watchdog before Vincent) when she was probably about 12 or 13 years old (Vincent being 15 years old then). 

To me, this is a big explanation as to why Frances is as serious about training as she is:

Indeed, she lost at least her mom (and later her brother) so, since her daughter is betrothed to the future Watchdog, she wants Liz to be strong enough to survive. All I see in the former panel is a mother saddened by the burden on her child’s shoulder and desperate to imagine that she will be exposed to a lot of danger as an adult. 

Side point there, but it’s likely there’s a very relevant reason Frances’ only daughter was betrothed to Vincent’s heir when they were young kids. We’ll dive into it later, but I believe the answer is tied to the Phantomhive lineage introduced in ch103. 

Lastly, our!Ciel’s flashback also gave us another important bit to explore...

...which is that our!Ciel directly applies what Frances once told him to his current path for revenge: 

Also note the allusion again to Vincent “losing the game”, creating a parallel with Frances telling our!Ciel in ch14 that “he still has a decade to go before he can even think of winning against her”, because he has a lot to learn from her, especially since even he admits that he knows next to nothing about his own family.

The previous spare teaching the spare. How fitting. :D

Weston arc

Even if Frances only appears in this arc during the cricket game, I think there is a lot to be deduced from it. First, I’ve said it long ago and I’ll say it again: I strongly believe Frances played a part into Vincent’s victory during the first blue miracle.

Mind you, Tanaka basically confirmed that Vincent cheated to win (since he knew what Seb and Ciel were up to) and I could totally see Vincent asking his strong little sister to crossdress in order to destroy the Green team. xDD Besides, she certainly seems uneasy whenever the topic is brought up and she also wasn’t fooled by Ciel’s act when he won, haha!

This is silly, but this shows (imo) that Frances and Vincent had a good sibling dynamic, with Frances supporting her brother as the Watchdog as much as she could, which is heartwarming because this means Frances would have no reason not to support her brother’s sons after his death. 

Tanaka (who, according to Yana, was already in the household taking care of Vincent and Frances as children) and Frances happily dancing together at the end of the tournament also confirms this. Vincent and Frances having a strong sibling bond would also explain why, despite Claudia’s death, Frances would agree to the betrothal between Lizzie and Vincent’s heir (and would keep it that way, even after Vincent’s death).

All that to say, I’m sure the cricket game confirmed to Frances how similar our!Ciel is to Vincent on some aspects (the second blue miracle attests to that), which probably makes him somewhat predictable (and reassuring?) to her.

One thing that I also believe is important is Ed’s mini flashback during the game. On this topic, Yana has said that she couldn’t draw his backstory in detail, so she’ll probably expand on that in the future, which makes me think that there is some foreshadowing in there. 

TBH I think it’s ironic that Ed would consider himself as “ordinary”, considering the whole lineage thing introduced one arc later. xDD But also, if we consider that the tale of Vincent’s first blue miracle is supposed to hint that Vincent and Frances were close as siblings, it’s nice that Ed, who takes after his mom the most, would also have his own flashback about loving and looking up to his sister a lot, despite his small inferiority complex. Considering that Liz sees their mom as her role model though, I guess that means Ed also sees his mom as a role model (though the Campania arc already made that pretty clear). 

During the Weston arc, Frances also managed to surprise Sebastian, both by recognizing him (lol) and by stopping him despite his intent to leave, which is, according to the demon himself, no small feat: 

Like the usual nagging she does towards Seb though, it’s played for laugh, but as introduced in this post, I believe overused comic relief is a way to foreshadow some hints and we’ll dive into it with the next arc. 

Last but not least, during this arc UT commented that our!Ciel was different from his ancestors when he willingly put himself in danger to save Joanne...

...but as presented during the Campania arc, it seems it’s a trait he shares at least with his aunt, furthering the parallels between them and the fact that she would definitely make a good mentor for our!Ciel, because they’re quite alike and can probably understand each other. 

Green Witch arc

The only relevant part of this arc with Frances’ character is the introduction of a special lineage in the Phantomhive family by German Shinigamis...

...something that might explain why our!Ciel was able to notice them, when even Seb didn’t. So this begs the question: who else in his family shares this lineage? And obviously, Frances and her kids might !

My personal opinion is that the lineage thing is old and is probably why the Phantomhive family became the Watchdogs, many generations ago. But also, if our!Ciel can notice Shinigamis thanks to it, could it explain why Frances was able to detect and catch Seb during opening ceremony before the cricket game at Weston? And why she always nags him about his appearance (both hair and face)? That remains to be confirmed, but...

...at the very least Bravat in the recent arc confirmed that some gifted people like himself can “sense” that demons are different. Just like animals [x][x], apparently. Bravat is irrelevant besides being a small scale villain though, so I take it as a hint for a more plot significant character, such as Frances, whose nagging behavior towards Seb is way too overused as comic relief anyway. 

The lineage thing is yet one more family topic on which Frances probably has answers to give to our!Ciel (the only other people who might know about it being Tanaka and UT). 

Bonus : if what Vincent said below about strong-willed women in the family line (from a side story “With Father”) is a hint towards the lineage thing...

...then it’s probably why Vincent wanted Lizzie to be betrothed to his heir in the first place and why Frances agreed. 

Blue sect & blue revenge arcs

I already mentioned that Bravat’s innate ability to recognize Seb as a demon was a hint that other characters, like Frances, might be able to guess that Seb is a demon as well, so moving on to ch151 :

This chapter confirms that UT has known Frances since she was very young (which is a hint to the UT = Cedric theory of course), which also explains why, knowing about her strength, UT went on with the whole BD massacre on the Campania despite the presence of our!Ciel and the Midfords on board. 

Also, while this chapter neither confirms nor denies if Frances knew about our!Ciel lying about his identity (like Tanaka and UT did), she didn’t show anger nor disbelief about the situation, just her incomprehension.  

More than anything, this chapter strongly hints that our!Ciel will at some point seek his aunt for a talk before the final confrontation with UT and real!Ciel, because both are seeking answers to their different questions (our!Ciel needs to find out about UT & his grandmother and the lineage thing, while Frances will want to know what’s the deal between the twins). Speaking of which, a talk between Lizzie and Frances is probably also in order, before Lizzie can choose our!Ciel’s side again.

Lastly, ch151 hinted that Frances doesn’t fully believe that real!Ciel’s return is “natural”...

...and, i mean, why would she? She faced the Bizarre Dolls on the Campania and, for all we know, Edward told her how the Weston arc ended so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ considering that UT has been involved every time, the Midfords probably aren’t far from connecting the dots about real!Ciel being already dead. 

To sum up !

Outside of the narrative, Yana said that Frances was Lizzie’s role model and that Seb also wanted her to be the model our!Ciel should follow. And, in my opinion, the entire series so far (as I tried to present in this post) is slowly building up to that because :

our!Ciel and Frances are very similar: both the spares & both survived their parents’ and brothers’ death 

both saved folks unrelated to them despite being Phantomhives, meaning that they are a bit alike and can understand each other

our!Ciel literally built his path of revenge following the advice Frances told him about how to counterattack an opponent

Again, to understand who targeted his family, our!Ciel needs to find out about his grandmother, about the lineage and about why his dad had to be killed amongst other things. The only people who can answer him are UT, Tanaka and Frances. 

I believe UT and Tanaka are more connected to Claudia, but also both are by real!Ciel’s side for now, making them less accessible for a talk. This leaves Frances for the time being and, as Vincent’s sister and Claudia’s daughter, it seems appropriate that answers would be coming from her. 

Also, in shonen series, usually the hero(es) have a mentor figure who will help them “unlock their potential” through training. Kuroshitsuji is not your usual shonen and I doubt our!Ciel can become better at fighting lmao, but Frances can certainly help him better appreciate the massive scale he’s bound to face when seeking his revenge. Especially if it all goes back to events from 3 generations ago and a worldbuilding full of supernatural elements, as well as a world war he doesn’t entirely comprehend yet. 

Frances acting as a mentor/role model for her own kids also foreshadows that they’ll follow our!Ciel on his journey and, like him, they’ll definitely need her wisdom/knowledge to be able to reach the necessary level for survival by his side.

As to when all that is going to happen, well, I’d say Frances will probably take on a more active role in the plot when, to quote Seb in ch14, "[our!Ciel] will overconfidently believe that he cannot lose and that it will be necessary for him to carry himself with humility while striving for his goal". Because by then, "an adult who will be firm with him is what he'll need". 

If that doesn’t foreshadow the current conflict between the twins, I don’t know what does. xD

Thanks for reading!! As always, let me know if I’ve forgotten anything !

[lovebeatriceplz]

❥ A Dabi/ Touya Todoroki analysis ( also just some thoughts and telling the difference between fanon and canon). ❥

Few songs that remind me of him:

This one is gonna have a little kick

• Touya todoroki is an interesting one. I think I've always liked his character but it didn't really start to intrigue me until late season 5( cs i haven't read the manga, yet).

• So just like all of the villains in the series he didn't wake up one day and choose mass murder. It was a process, chip by chip, little punches here (metaphorically) a couple kicks there until he starts to crack. The whole idea of being the n.o1 hero, being the best was instilled in him by his father. Parents play a huge huge role on the opinions and morals that kids develop. Then when he can't seem to reach that standard, the one to please his old man, it frustrates him, but he was like what 10?. He didn't give up, he was determined, he didn't care if he hurt himself in the process, once he achieved his goal it would be worth it ( which I'll talk about again).

• So when his father insist that he should stop, he should give up, it's just, so odd, to hear a parent telling their child to give up. Knowing Enji this wasn't just for his child's safety, it was probably also for his image, and because he saw it as a waste of time to train his soilder if he couldn't fight on the battle field. Touya knew this too.

• I've seen on many apps, or maybe even edits saying that if endeavor just went to see his son on seketo ( is that it? ) peak that day, it wouldn't have happened and he'd be 'normal', or somewhere close to. I beg to differ, it would have happened anyways, his sheer will to just outshine whoever his dear, precious father wanted outweighed his concern for his own well being. Especially with shoto being born and the new focus of attention. It was just a matter of time, fate, even.

• I remember TikTok in covid time💀, i was on of those people who had a hugee crush on dabi and tomura (mostly dabi), and i remember i used to say things like "I could fix him" "he's just misunderstood" "he secretly loves the league but just can't show it" no pookie bear that is definitely not the case😭. Fanon dabi is.....cool, but if i actually tried to interact with him he'd just, i don't kill me? I don't think he cares about anyone.

• Definitely not his siblings, he hates them too. He has an almost patronizing look on the women in his family, not doing anything to help or protect him ( not that he wanted it). He hated his little brother, shoto, for stealing his life, the life that he wanted. He hates his father for igniting a spark in him, then abandoning it, causing it to burn him up. He hates natsu, for not understanding and just accepting that they were both failures. His relationship with natsu, based on the little snips that we got give me very bittersweet, angsty vibes that i do want to look into. I digress. But no, Touya cares about no one, not even the league, they're just another tool to get him closer to his goal.

• He doesn't care about himself either as i mentioned earlier. Remember that spark i talked about?, it didn't burn him up completely, left a nasty big scar though. It's still burning, it's just fueled by something else now, a desire, a need to torture and kill Enji Todoroki. He isn't afraid of death, he was at it's doorstep and age 13, he's tasted it. He only puts in effort to preserve his life because his goal isn't complete. If he dies during or after, once he gets what he wants, and sees the look on their faces, he couldn't give a shit about what happens to him.

• Touya is not emotionally constipated. He's fucked up yeah but i believe that he's learnt how to feel his feelings, which are mostly anger, disgust and hatred. He appears nonchalant cause he channels those emotions into his revenge plan.

• I'd like to say he's a typical case of a psychopath, psychologically speaking. It's just that he has a motive to kill, most psychopaths do not (realize i said most) they just kill for the thrill. But other than that he checks off all the boxes. He's killed on multiple occasions, having very very little or non existent remorse for his actions, not very socially inclined, and if you think about it, is kinda selfish.

• Do not believe for one second that touya would see and remember the things he went through and be like "no, I'm above that". You're wrong, he would gladly mirror the behavior that he grew up around if it suited him. Top tier gaslighter and manipulater energy from this man.

• I'm not trying to demonize him, it's not his fault he doesn't care about anyone. It's just that he's never felt it, he doesn't actually know what it is, so he can't give it, you can't give something that you don't have. Some may argue that he had his siblings and rei, not saying they didn't love him but he didn't feel it, or want it, he wanted his father's love which he didn't receive in the slightest.

I didn't go over this so they're might be spelling errors

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Ahhhhh, a case of tumblr's "how dare you say we piss on the poor" reading comprehension, once again found in the wild. I don't think I've ever seen you call Ganondorf a good guy, or misunderstood. From what I've seen you, and anons, say you'd wish there had just been more depth to him. Very different than "secretly misunderstood uwu baby" not like him having an actual personality and story would have negated him being a horrible person. A character born from misunderstanding and hardship, can still turn into an unquestionable monster and villain.

Oh well, I mean the thing is, it's the kind of position that it's hard to argue with once you already made your point. Not everybody just... has the tools to understand the actual argument too, which I mean, it's why I think it's important to talk about themes and cultural shortcuts and the history of tropes on top of the general history, because in many cases it needs to be actively sought for.

And yes, I think what bugs me with this whole thing is... Like, wouldn't it make for a better story? Just, pushing all of the more sensitive reasoning of representation to the side (even though it's not neutral to constantly demonize men of color or render them lovingly stupid, which does remain a pattern in the series), wouldn't the story gain more momentum and investment if the bad guy had compelling motivations that made sense (and I'm not even saying they have to go all poor little meow meow, they could just be: why is Power a good thing for him)? I honestly don't see what it would remove, I only see advantages to making Ganondorf slightly more complex, and I don't really understand the opposition to that. Are you guys like... okay with the most generic anime man motivations known to mankind spurred out of his mouth in a way that is basically completely indistinct from any other generic baddie out there? Like is this peak quality? Can't we be like "Nintendo, your game is great, but you kind of cheesed this thing a lot of people expected you to handle better and with more thoughtfulness, like I'm not sure I would have been able to tell if you had gotten Chat GPT to write this instead of an actual person, and your unwillingness to take narrative risks is getting a little concerning. TotK is a very fun game, but maybe reinvest in the narrative department next time because it was not the best you could do and you probably know this"

And like... for this to be a normal and reasonable opinion to have and share?

I don't know, the defensive atttitude about Nintendo when their games are faced with extremely mild complaints all things considered is just an extremely puzzling phenomenon to me.

[jaydastorm13]

So...as I've been watching Strong Girl Nam-soon, I've been feeling like Ryu Si-o is deeply misunderstood. Yes, he's behind the drugs and a few murders, I'm not being delusional there. But there were soft moments when he tried to see if he could confide in Nam-soon. He let himself smile, he let loose, and not only that, he's been trying to find his childhood friend. As soon as he found out that he was betrayed, he fucking LOST IT. I've been feeling like he stayed in the Mafia out of obligation, or maybe to destroy them from the inside. I don't know, I just feel like there's more to it. I also want to point out that for Nam-soon to be so sweet, she also tends to brush people aside or their concerns, because she's strong. I'm not attacking her, as I've seen this from all of the women in her family...but to see her callously discuss using Ryu when he had feelings for her didn't sit well with me. Or how the formerly homeless woman she met has randomly disappeared, but she didn't ask the ex-boyfriend about her? (I don't remember their names, maybe it was a plot hole?) I don't know, these are my random thoughts as the series will be over soon.

[bookofmirth]

I’m the anon that asked, “If HOFAS takes place three months after SF (instead of nine like originally) maybe we’ll see Nesta and Cassian’s mating ceremony! Gwyn said she might go 👀 and Emerie would probably go so. . . I’m only a little unsure, because I think SJM said she wouldn’t write one, but it would be nice to see.”

I was meaning this for the next ACOTAR book! I’m sorry if I confused you or anyone else into thinking I meant for HOFAS! I think since HOFAS takes place three months after SF, and if Azriel’s book is next in the ACOTAR series, and you believe his POV starts a little before Bryce enters Prythian, then we could have Nessian’s mating ceremony. Maybe not, but it would be nice to see.

(original post)

I meant to respond to this yesterday so it didn't get lost, but I understood you! I was actually answering your question with acotar5 in mind, not hofas or another cc book. I saw that someone commented, but I think they misunderstood.

I still think that it would be more likely to occur in a bonus chapter, rather than the main arc of the story. If acotar5 starts just before Bryce lands, then it would still be a month or two late for us to see the nessian mating ceremony. But... could we start right where acosf left off? Maybe! Maybe we would start digging more into the other worlds research that Merrill is doing, maybe Rhys shares what he has learned/his concerns with the IC, and then they are prepared for when Bryce shows up. Not for her specifically, just with the knowledge that it's possible and a plan for what to do.

Either way, my thinking is that we see more behind-the-scenes of how the IC prepares for/responds to Bryce's arrival, and that Az's POV is how we get it :D And whether that happens a couple months before she lands or just before, either could work.

It would be a nice, fuzzy way to start acotar5 though.

[wannaseewhatshangin]

I ADORE your Dallas x single mom fic if possible could you do one where ally calls Dallas dad? I think that would be so cutee. no worries if not xx

Omfg! I literally love this!! I love you for requesting this 😭!

Also PLEASE do requests your ideas to keep this series going! I love y’all’s ideas and the things y’all come up with! Y’all are so creative! 💛💕🫶

Dallas x Single mom! Reader (pt 6)

It was the next morning and you look over to see Dallas watching tv and Ally sleeping next to him.

“I just…want dad..” you heard her mumble in her sleep.

You were confused.

She never met her dad.

You looked at her with a confused expression.

“The fuck..” you said under your breath.

“What?” Dallas said, wondering what’s up with you.

“She just said she wanted her dad. She has never met him before.”

He paused.

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe she saw a picture of him and knew it was him.”, he said, eating the rest of his chips.

You thought for a moment.

There was no way she could have seen him.

You never kept the pictures.

“But..I don’t have any pictures of him.”

You decided to just give up.

A few minutes later Ally woke up, wrapping the blanket around her.

“Mommy..I’m hungry..” she said, still half asleep.

She scooted next to Dallas, sitting next to him with her head against his side.

“Dad..I’m thirsty..”

He almost choked on his chips while you had your hand covering your mouth in shock.

“What did you say, love?” You asked her.

She looked at you, looking like she was about to pass out.

“I said I’m thirsty.”

You paused.

“No. What did you say before that?”

Maybe you misunderstood her.

“Oh…I said dad? I think?”

You were shocked and confused.

Dallas, however, wasn’t even concerned.

He was smiling like an idiot.

“Yeah. Y/N. She’s thirsty. Come on, boo. Let’s go get some juice.” He said, picking her up and carrying her to the kitchen.

You followed, not being able to speak.

Dallas say her at the table and grabbed her some juice and made her some cereal.

Hell, if you didn’t know about his reputation, you would think that he was a real stay-at-home dad.

“Thank you, dal-dal.” She said, sipping her juice.

He was kinda disappointed that she didn’t call him dad that time.

“Um..anything else you wanna say?” He said, trying to get her to take a hint.

“Um…I love you?” She questioned.

He zoned out.

“Yeah..uh love you too.” He said as he exited the kitchen.

Dallas came back with a new set of clothes for her that you got.

He helped her pick out what she wanted to wear.

Which was a cute jumper with flowers on it.

“Why am I getting dressed, mama?”

You decided to speak.

“Hey. Uh..Ally. I registered you into preschool..last week and uh you start today.”

“What?! Nooo.” She whined.

“I know, boo. I should’ve told you earlier but it’s okay because I got you a backpack and all your school supplies.” You said, showing her the backpack you got her.

Her face lit up.

“That’s mine?!” She exclaimed.

“Yeah!” You put the backpack on her and put her school supplies in the backpack.

You packed a lunch for her with a snack and attached it to her backpack.

You knew she was gonna be a little late because your alarm didn’t go off and you had yet to get everything she needed.

“Come on! You’re gonna be even more late than you already are!”

You did her hair and got everything ready.

“Hey dal, can you walk with me to take her to the school? I don’t wanna walk back by myself.” You said, picking her up.

“Of course, doll.” He said, taking her out of your arms, snatching her up for himself.

The whole way there he couldn’t stop tickling her.

“Dally! Stophahah.”

“Okay okay.”

“We’re here Ally.”

She looked at you two like she was gonna cry.

“I’m scared.”

Dallas bent down and hugged her.

“It’s gonna be alright, doll. You’re tuff. You got this.”

She smiled.

“Okay love y’all! Bye mom!”

She went down the sidewalk before running back to Dallas.

She gave his leg a big hug.

“Bye dad!” She said as she ran off.

Dallas didn’t know what to do.

“Uh..bye!”

“Okay let’s go back.” He said, trying to avoid the school.

You punched his shoulder playfully.

“You might as well be her dad.” You laughed.

“Bitch..I AM. Her dad. I’m awesome too.” He said as a joke, being silly.

“Yeah yeah.”

You both walked home together, occasional playful pushes and shoves to each other.

[mikodrawnnarratives]

Lots of talking ahead spurred by me reading Cinder's adventure

You know from a lot of the text surrounding Magpie in the series and outside of it, it talks so much about Maggie being a possible threat and her being trouble with the BIGGEST OF squinting eyes

But Maggie's pov just shows her with a similar view to Nova in the beginning, which is PRETTY VALID, and her using her power to steal so she can pawn it for money.

At like 11-12 years old.

And then it says "some people were always meant to be villains"

And I'm HUHH??????

SHE'S SAID ONLY FUCK YOU TO A WORLD THAT HASN'T SHOWN TO CARE ABOUT HER

From what we understand of her motivations, they seem pretty reasonable. She even showed herself to feel a little guilty for some of her theft, but had to rationalize it cause she's surviving.

She's a child. Trying to survive. A misunderstood Magpie. I have a hard time believing she can scale up to become a bigger threat later. Marissa Meyer will have to give a bit more motivation for her to be an actual threat rather than a child with self preservation and a bitter personality.

She's antisocial and a thief that's like. The majority of what all the characters that we've seen interact with her acknowledge! (Correct me if I'm mistaken)

Adrian I think is the one to show the most sympathy, hopeful that she'll try to change her ways in the renegades. But.

No one, from what has been shown, has addressed her living situation. Where is she living? It was marked unknown so why is that even an issue? Adrian says they TRY to match kids like Magpie with renegade families but. Why is there a TRY in the first place it should be a guarantee

No one is holding an intervention from what we've seen. No one. They were busy during the books, yes. And Maggie isn't the focus in the books, yes. But how long has Maggie been in the renegades and it hasn't been addressed. What about the time between the first and second book? WHO'S SHOWING CARE TO THIS GIRL

No one apparently

Maggie's pov REAFFIRMS this when her pic confirms that it was clear no one cared about "another orphaned prodigy"

That's why I'm not convinced I should be treating Maggie like she's a villain, or evil. I'll accept she might take on the title of "villain" as a badge and say "fuck you" to her world, but so far it looks like she's right to say that.

I'm not convinced that a kid acting rude, abrasive, annoying, melodramatic, etc would justify any of the renegades not stepping in and intervening. I'm just not.

Her actions should sprout concern from at least ONE person to be like. Hey. Why is that child acting this way. Maybe we should look into this.

Really do hope we get another book in the future for Maggie. Preferably more of her pov. I get that from what we've seen they're setting her up as a villain that had a tragic backstory that may or may not be redeemed. But.

Marissa Meyer can't have a whole bunch of characters stand around and say "she's trouble" and do nothing.

If there's another installment I really need to sink my teeth into some Maggie backstory and perspective so I can see what is her fault, the fault of the system around her, and really just get to analyze her under a microscope

I say all of this but I am looking heavily at some sections of Cinder's adventure that hint similar events could play out to what is shown here in future books for Renegades

Though tbh even though the events in Cinder's Adventure aren't canon, if this is supposed to be a small hint of what's to come I have the biggest sigh to give

The actions of Nova and the anarchists don't seem to have made any difference and the cycle has repeated with the renegades having too much power. I did get a chuckle when Cinder was like "Thorne's more heroic than these renegades" like yes dhchfhv

It probably won't be written badly and I'll be along for the ride if a book installment comes out, but it does look to be a similar story repeating itself

TLDR Future installments need to expand Maggie's character more than she actually is if she's going to be a believable threat. Current foreshadowing through characters standing around saying "that girl is trouble" isn't convincing with what has been given

[canmom]

Hi! Question about the Baru Cormorant series for you! Any chance you could expand on Barhu finally discovering that the blood of Empire of gold? (Or do you do that in your analysis series? Maybe I missed it) It doesn't seem like a realization many other 'dystopic'-ish works address.

hiii! always glad to talk Baru, but I admit I'm a little confused about the question. guessing like, the blood of Empire is gold? implicit in the metaphor of bleeding Falcrest by siphoning its circulating wealth out through Baru's trading concern? but I think it's pretty likely I misunderstood you!

anyway I talked about Baru's grand plan in Butchering an Empire - that's where I went and learned about the history of John Law in France, which was a bold new financial scheme that collapsed on itself when it turned out that colonising Louisiana wasn't as immediately profitable as expected, and the British 'South Sea Bubble', which was an elaborate insider trading scam around slave trading. what I said there was that while those were both financial disasters for their host empires, and may have checked their ambitions to expand and even laid some seeds that affected the later French revolution, they clearly weren't fatal. when the financial system broke, the governments tore it up and made a new one, because the collective fiction of money was no longer serving their interests. call it a blood transfusion if you want.

but Baru aspires to more than that - not merely to pop a speculative bubble but to usurp the actual flow of goods so the Oriati Mbo can cut Falcrest out of the equation by force. in that case the analogy is like uhh... you're a vampire and you drain someone's blood before having a boxing match with them?? anyway would that work? maybe! then I go into a long aside about denazification and its limits as an analogy for what might happen afterwards, because destroying a financial system and political structure doesn't put an end to ideologies and social relations and such.

so I'm not sure how far that answers what you were asking about. i can take some guesses like circulatory system : body :: economy : empire. we could be more specific e.g. money is the universal equivalent which allows the capitalist optimisation process to quickly redirect its efforts, at least in theory. is the circulatory system analogous? it circulates oxygen and glucose, which we could liken to fungible raw materials like yards of linen (;p), and ig you could say like, when part of the body demands oxygen and glucose (a muscle in the leg when you're running), blood flow increases to match, so that's kind of a similar function: directing resources to where they are in demand. and by this analogy disrupting a financial system is like... an artery getting clogged, resulting in getting tired more easily. i can see it being a productive analogy as they go.

i actually don't know how the body directs blood flow too much. i assume something unconscious in the brain controls heart rate? but what about how capillaries open and close to help manage temperature, is that determined more locally? would be interesting to look up.

anyway, as i understand, part of the theme of book 4 is going to be deflating this whole idea of baru's that one sufficiently clever person can have such an outsized influence on historical events. but also it sounds like the redrafting process is pretty brutal even by seth's standards lol, so i don't really know where it's gonna go.

anyway, i agree that the economic angle of Baru and its ability to make that immediately engaging does a lot to help the setting of baru feel solid, and thus its model of colonialism in a bottle feel meaningful. it uses it to greater effect than for example the stories of Daniel Abraham that I've read, which use economics for flavour...

...but at the same time it's still a shell game, like all fantasy. I am certain that Seth didn't work things out in spreadsheets behind the scenes, because it's not about simulation, nor should it be. it's an exciting, dramatic story that dresses itself in the exciting parts of the history of economics. because it's a story about the worldview of someone indoctrinated to view the world in that light, as a huge deterministic machine, that she needs to solve.

no idea if that's a proper to your question, anon. lmk!

[queerrocket]

Hi :) sorry to barge in. I promise, I mean this in the gentlest way possible and I am only writing because I initially agreed with you and then changed my mind. - This is about saying in the tags that 'it's-fine-to-skip-nine's url is incorrect.

Because, like obviously, when I first read the url, I disagreed strongly, just like you did. Nine is amazing and their season should be watched and OBVIOUSLY you shouldn't ignore it by starting with series 2 and never going back to it.

But that's not what the url is about. The concerned blog has a pinned post which explains it better than I could, so check that out for context if you like. But the take away is: by now nuwho has become large and long. And people start watching at all different stages. Telling newcomers they have to start with series 1 or that they are fake fans if they haven't watched it, does more harm than good. It might discourage people from getting into the fandom and antagonise them.

And according to the blog and in my opinion, it is completely fair to start with series 5 or series 11 or even series 8 or anything in between. (I actually started simultaneously with series 10 and 3 but that's another story and maybe not the best idea.) As long as you go back eventually and appreciate series 1 and the ninth Doctor.

The url is about allowing people into the fandom at any stage, and not actually saying that the ninth Doctor is worth less or series 1 worse than any other season.

Hence, I just felt like I should defend it's-fine-to-skip-nine because they're lovely. I think there is a lot of truth to the url, if you understand it like it is meant, but I completely get how you would mistake it for something else. I mean, it did happen to me too.

I hope you're not mad at me for this? Because I really love seeing you in my notifications and I enjoy your takes. And also your reaction made me mostly happy. I just think the blog gets a lot of similar messages and I hate to imagine how that feels. I mean, I would not keep a url like that that can easily be misunderstood but I totally get their point and I understand why they want to share the thought.

So I felt like something needed to be said and maybe it's not always them who have to defend it?

(also your icon is gorgeous 😍

Thank you so much for explaining, I’m not at all mad, I love seeing you round too <3.

Honestly I just saw the url and kept scrolling so I appreciate you pointing this out and I completely agree. My own first episode of who was season 8(? I think) and I recently recommended my friend start at season 5 (I just think the eleventh hour is a brilliant ep and a great introduction to the show), because op is definitely right, who has stuck around for so long in large part because it’s constantly renewing itself, you can jump on the train wherever and whenever you like. Which is something that’s pretty bloody important when the shows been around for 60 odd years (and ideally going to be running for another 60 years).

Their intended message is lovely and I’ll dig a little deeper next time before poking fun. Fuck gate keeping and fuck calling people “fake fans”.

It’s entirely lovely of you to defend them and thanks again for the message. (I’m in love with this pfp if I ever change it know that I’ve lost all sense)

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

(reads tags) Ahh so I misunderstood the prompt a bit. I think the deities would be like the founders of the clans who got mythologized as time passed. Palkiacat being said to see anywhere across space and while Dialgacat was able to see anywhen across time. As for the wardens and the nobles, my first though was make them cats (and I like the idea of Sneasler being Ingo's mentor when he first joins Pearlclan), but if we really stretched the wc rules [1/5]

[ The nobles could be like other animals that are living in the area that have developed a mutual relationship with the clans for several generations. The wardens have similar roles to pla canon, but with slightly less of a religious bent. They're more ambassadors than attendants. There's a friendly badger that speaks cat in later series so it could work. And other predators are implied to be similarly sapient as the cats (sometimes) [2/5]

Canon warrior naming styles would be the most fun but just sticking to pla canon would be less potentially confusing. I don’t think Ingo would be super comfortable being renamed though. It’s like the one thing that he remembers and gives him a sense of identity in the aftermath so I don’t think he’d give it up even if it would make things easier for him. [3/5]

Hardest part of translating hisui to a smaller scale would trying to figure out how to make the alabaster icelands and the crimson mirelands work right next to each other. Though i guess you could rely on seasonal weather to do the heavy lifting. Winter and summer would be the times of year the respective regions most resemble their ingame counterparts. [4/5]

Also, its funny mentioned the leaders not being chosen and having only one life because in the current arc one of the clans is going through a succession crisis after the death of their leader and deputy and due to starclan being contactable right now due to events in the previous arc that's actually a pretty pressing concern. Sorry for the spam I saw your answers and was turning them over in my head during work. Worldbuilding is fun :D. [5/5] ]

oooh mythologized clan founders (pearlstar and diamondstar?) is really fun. and then by extension would they also be like, the Founders of starclan? admittedly my recall for the starclan lore is not super fresh but maybe in this au there's something where like. they were the first cats that went to starclan when they died bc their souls like, created it, and subsequently all the clan cats got to join them in death. and the NOBLES BEING NON-CAT ANIMALS... that's very very fun i like that. i remember the badger i liked the badger this is fun. and then the wardens being like, apprentices/assistants to the nobles in whatever task they work with the clan for... but then it's also kinda hard to assign all of them to their own unique animals. like some of them are obvious but what about electrode? lilligant? avalugg? and idk abt the vibes of having these ten different animals all involved it might get to be a little Much on top of the regular warriors stuff

otoh sneasler being ingo's mentor at first is VERY fun yes. and that's an ez warrior name like she's direclaw bam done. idk if dire is a valid prefix but i also dont really care considering i already said "iridistar" earlier so i think we're past that point. i DO think warrior cats-ifying their names sounds like a fun challenge esp. if we want to pull occasionally from the fact that a lot of the pla names are derived from different plants. melli is now tea-something. sabi is spicepaw. and like... ingo being a clan cat but keeping his old name is kind of an interesting reverse ravenpaw thing BUT if we want to REALLY angst him up, and considering pearlclan would probably really prefer if he took a "normally" formatted name, we could just. say that he forgot even his name. and then eventually Remembers it later and gets to have that crisis

that's true abt the climate shift hmmm. WELL if it's similar to the regular landscape of hisui, we could say that they live on a mountainside and the climate shifts are due to verticality, w/ the "icelands" being the highest-up point that the cats usually venture to? which you still probably wouldn't get AS dramatic as canon hisui is, but you can get a pretty significant temperature change by moving up and down. and then you can maybe have diamondclan runners vs pearlclan climbers too.

MMMM the one thing i like more than worldbuilding for stupid things: interpersonal political drama. so juicy to me. and dont apologize this is very fun!! this is what we're here for! kicking ideas around!!

[bredforloyalty]

hey every time i log onto this website and read ur posts, i relate so heavily to your personal intertwinement with the story + characters and i absolutely understand your perception of R&M cuz? i always saw it as an encapsulation of the cycles of abuse especially through generations within family? and when i try to explain that to other people like irl or w/e while watching it theyre like wat .. so i UNDERSTAND where ur coming from and i FEEL bad that u get embarrassed or w/e (altho i deal with those feelings too?) basically just trying to tell you you are HELLA seen and far far from alone

🥺🥺🥺 THANK YOUUUU i appreciate that..... mayhaps a certain type of childhood or family life primes a certain understanding of rnm and an investment others don't always have. it's a factor that plays heavily into connecting with this series for sure.. many of us (fans. or whatever) are like this, like it is that deep for us but even to those people, i can scarcely relate. because most of them have this umm desire to see the wrongs righted and to be comforted by the show and then the writers notice that and then i don't feel that rick's change of character is gradual enough and involves enough sacrifices and struggle and lol you get the idea!! i like tragedies, i prefer to be hurt by my shows, that's the type of comfort i need. i digress.. but the point is, often i feel like a minority in here, thanks for taking the time to tell me you relate and you understand <333

also hmm i feel like within the group of fans that are dedicated and care about the future of this show, very few are in it for. comedy. or cool sci-fi moments? or maybe more like, all of the dedicated fans are dedicated to the story and the characters and definitely not to the old structure of rnm that allowed it to be an endless fun machine. at some point you have to make the stuff that happens count and affect the characters so people have something to come back for, so the episodic format could not have been maintained, not with the sudden widespread interest in the show. the new direction, the sincerity and drama and addressing canon and letting the characters grow Are for us, those who ended up caring! but i'm still embarrassed about caring, in my worse moments, i can't help it :P the writers even went out of their way to make fun of us for our investment in s4 and 5 and since it's popular, i see many casual viewers around who simply don't care that much. and are just here for a laff. that's weird to me!

and, the new direction puts me in a weird position because i did love it for the dysfunction and the angst, that's an integral part that needs to be featured predominantly in my opinion to make the hopeful moments really hit (and it's prominent in my family too HYDHBY so that would just feel more realistic for me and satisfy Me personally)

maybe i'm just concerned with what upcoming seasons are gonna do because if we have a long way to go until the end, i would have preferred if they took more time with the overarching storylines of seasons 1 through, idk, 3..... and just generally approached the previous seasons with very slow character development in mind, but character development for sure. if they were more deliberate about it and didn't have an "oh shit we have expectations to live up to now and loyal fans to satisfy. but we don't wannaaaa.. don't tell us what to do :'(" crisis in the middle of it lmao. i don't have a fundamental problem with betterment arcs, i'm just not sure this will be done right in the particular instance of rick and morty

i'm also just pondering the different subsets of viewers now and how conflicted the show has seemed (in the past. i wouldn't apply this to s6) about what it wants to be... and thinking about all the ways my affection for rnm could be misunderstood 😔 the worst "fans" have been the loudest, they didn't exactly give us a good name lol, but this is personal for me so i can't just stay away or keep silent (duh!) so i oughta consider the public perception. and perceptions are super varied! it's another one of those shows that isn't a show, it's popular enough and inconsistent enough to be a phenomenon. so inevitably i will be embarrassed, it means so many different things to different people and i care. i care very much

[teddyshoney]

I posted 546 times in 2022

65 posts created (12%)

481 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@gleefulpoppet

@steph-luvs-klaine

@klainetkm

@jayhawk-writes

@klaineccfanficlibrary

I tagged 377 of my posts in 2022

Only 31% of my posts had no tags

#glee - 138 posts

#sweet sweet boys - 111 posts

#klaine - 107 posts

#blaine anderson - 105 posts

#kurt hummel - 98 posts

#klaine fanfic - 65 posts

#writing friends - 33 posts

#klaine fanart - 32 posts

#sweet sweet boy - 31 posts

#best friend writers - 29 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#with blaine's help kurt grows into this confident boy who knows what he wants and can help blaine through his emotions and struggles

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So, the @gleeful-paintbox-project prompt got me inspired to write a little ficlet, which got me inspired to leave this open-ended so I can fill other prompts in a similar style. So, here we are with Glee According to Kurt Hummel.

The first ficlet in this...series?...is called Mr. Cellophane, in which Kurt is standing backstage, waiting to audition for the New Directions.

Ficlet below the cut. Or you can read it on AO3 or FF.net.

Kurt Hummel stood backstage behind the curtain, taking deep breaths and trying to calm the butterflies currently stirring up a tornado in his stomach. He thought he was going to be sick.

He could hear the clear, strong voice of Mercedes Jones demanding R-E-S-P-E-C-T, and it added more fear to the lump in his throat. He began to second-guess himself. Am I actually going to do this?

A beat went by, a beat of indecision. I shouldn't do this. It was a silly idea. I thought I could fit in somewhere, but I don't know how important that really is. I'm okay on my own. Right. Right? Am I? He immediately remembered some of the thoughts he had earlier in the hallway outside the counselor's office and shuddered. Maybe I'm not. Am I really going to do this?

He reminded himself that he had to. He could hear his dad's voice in his head, telling him that he wanted him to join a club. The request had come out as a do-this-or-else command, but Kurt had grown to know his father well enough since his mother's death to understand that his dad was looking out for him as best he could. He loved him, no matter how gruff he sounded or misunderstood Kurt felt at times. Kurt loved his dad, too, and appreciated his concern.

It did little to help the butterflies, though. Am I ready for this? I've never sung in front of other people before. What if they make fun of me? What if I sound bad? What if I can't hit that high note? Why didn't I pick a different song? Should I go a little more Top 40?

Then his thoughts shifted gears, moving to the future. He loved watching reality TV, and he had been on a kick recently, watching cast reunions and interviews. Will I make friends like that? he wondered. Will there be people I remember fondly, want to see at class reunions? Will I find someone who actually wants to be friends, who sees me for who I am? The thought Who knows I'm gay? flashed through his head, too, but he shoved that backward. Better to not be too hopeful, he told himself.

Just then, he heard Mercedes sing her final note. Then, there was the sound of Mr. Schuster's voice, saying something to her.

He took another deep breath in through his mouth and closed his eyes, letting it out ever so slowly through his nose. Center yourself. Focus. You can do this. Maybe it will even be fun.

He opened his eyes just as Mercedes walked by him, and he made himself give her a smile, however unconvincing. Then, he heard Mr. Schuster call out for the next person, and he took one last deep breath before he squared his shoulders and headed out on the stage. I just have to try. If I don't like it, I don't have to join. This doesn't have to define my high school career.

The next thing he knew, he was standing on the "X" in the middle of the stage. His voice came out stronger than he expected when he said, "Hello. I'm Kurt Hummel, and I'll be singing Mr. Cellophane."

46 notes - Posted January 22, 2022

#4

Klaine 3-2-1 Prompt Bang Fic: When You Wish Upon a Star

Author: @teddyshoney

Artist: @teddyshoney

Prompt Provided by: @gleefulpoppet

Pairings: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel

Rating: M

Word Count: 15,459

Characters: Blaine Anderson, Kurt Hummel, Isabelle Wright

Summary: When Kurt leaves California for a fashion show to premiere his line he's been working on for a few years, he never expects to hear a familiar voice or see a familiar face, one that he hadn't thought he'd ever see or hear outside of his head. It all starts with one sentence, and it blossoms far beyond what either Kurt or his mysterious and handsome stranger could ever have imagined.

Genre/Tropes: Strangers to Lovers, Meet Cute, Soulmates

Warnings: None

50 notes - Posted July 23, 2022

#3

Klaine 3-2-1 Prompt Bang Fic: To Serenade an Angel

Author: @teddyshoney

Artist: @teddyshoney

Prompt Provided by: @redheadgleek

Pairing: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel

Rating: T

Word Count: 12,375

Characters: Blaine Anderson, Kurt Hummel, Roderick Meeks, Trent, Nick

Summary: After the death of his father, Kurt receives a letter from a prestigious musical college, inviting him to attend. He decides to attend, and shortly after his arrival, he hears a strange voice beckoning him down a forbidden hallway. Kurt begins a relationship with the voice, unsure why he finds him so intriguing and why his heart beats more rapidly each time he thinks about the voice. Who does the voice belong to? And what does it want with him?

Genre/Tropes: Emotional hurt/comfort, friends to lovers

Warnings: minor character death mentioned; minor mentions of abuse

51 notes - Posted July 13, 2022

#2

This story is now complete! All 14 chapters have been written and posted! Thank you to everyone who has been reading! I appreciate all of you! And thank you very much to @klaine-word-scramble for the challenge! It's been fun!

Title: Words Unwritten; Stories Untold Chapter: 14/14 Words: 58,181 Summary: During his first ever author book signing event, self-published poetry author Blaine Anderson meets famous writer Kurt Hummel during a slightly awkward chance encounter. Blaine considers this to be a self-esteem boost and nothing more until an innocent-looking email turns into a whirlwind summer romance that Blaine is certain he'll never forget. To read it from Chapter 12 (the first new chapter), click HERE! To read it from the beginning, click HERE!

58 notes - Posted October 31, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Klaine 3-2-1 Prompt Bang Fic: Measure for Measure

Author: @teddyshoney

Artist: @datshitrandom

Prompt Provided by: @quizasvivamos

Pairings: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel

Rating: M

Word Count: 16,588

Characters: Kurt, Blaine, Sam, Tina, Mercedes, Mr. Schue, Ms. Pillsbury, Rachel (mentioned), Madame Tibideaux (mentioned)

Summary: Blaine Anderson, the new band and choir director for McKinley High School, immediately feels a connection to Kurt Hummel, the English teacher, during their initial teacher inservice days. He wants to get to know him, and after a conversation with the art teacher, Tina Cohen-Chang, he finds out that Kurt is stand-offish with nearly everyone at school—except his students—and his only real friend is Mercedes. Spurred on by his feelings, Blaine decides to do something brash: give himself five days to win Kurt Hummel. After he learns more about what secret Kurt's been hiding, however, that might prove to be a taller order than he'd originally thought.

Genre/Tropes: Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Pining, Love at First Sight, Drama

Warnings: Sexual content (see fic tags for more information)

Author's Notes: The title Measure for Measure has a double-meaning in this story! If you want to know how, check under the cut. I don't want to spoil it here! Many thanks to @datshitrandom for the gorgeous artwork. You can find another lovely piece below the cut that is also located at the end of the story! Also, a big shoutout to my friends, @jayhawk-writes and @gleefulpoppet for their support and beta skills! ❤️

Read it on AO3.

See the full post

65 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[sorikkung]

OH MY GOD SGSJDJSHSDJDJ you wrote 😭😭 a trans reader royal au 😭😭 I can't even put in words how happy that made me. THANK YOU!!!! 💜💜💜💜💜

Also I saw you're open to writing for other identities 🥺 it would mean the world to me if you could write something with ateez and genderfluid/aromantic/asexual reader (maybe all the three? Hehet or not, you decide it)

But thank you so much. Representation matters and you're making the difference <3

you. you right there are Exactly why i felt the need to write of princes and princesses. people like us who never get to see ourselves in fic and get so thrilled when we do, it's just so important. thank you so much for reading, and you're welcome.

as for your request, i think you may have misunderstood my offer ^^; im not opening requests for new fics, but simply to rewrite that of princes and princesses specifically for other identities since the story itself is about being queer and being seen. if that's still what you want, i could rework it, but it might take me some time since im quite busy with work and writing takes a lot of my energy- but if you're requesting something new/different, i will have to politely decline.

that being said, as far as genderfluid readers go, ill definitely be writing more of them in the future as i am genderfluid myself! i just chose to make the opap mc a binary trans man because it was easier to tell that kind of story that way, especially in a oneshot. my mc in my main series what goes on in neverland - im on mobile rn at work so cant rly grab the link but my masterlist is pinned - features a masc-leaning genderfluid mc, although he's yet to have a chance to talk abt the intricacies of his genderfluidity bc it simply hasn't been relevant to the plot so it's more just transmasc nonbinary. but i am in the process of planning one monster of a longfic with an explicitly genderfluid mc who travels between dimensions and changes genders in each one, from body types to pronouns and labels, so stay tuned for that! it'll probably take a while to get there though.

as far as ace/aro readers are concerned, im sorry to say i probably won't be writing any, as i primarily enjoy writing romance and sexual relationships, so without that it's just not really the kinda story i write. sorry to disappoint ^^; that being said, i am developing a concept of asexual taehyun in that genderfluid mc longfic - it'll be multifandom - who's sex-positive and enjoys bdsm for non-sexual reasons but still engages in sexual acts. that's probably the best you're gonna get unless i decide to make a side character ace or aro, but yeah, sorry.

either way thank you for your support im happy it reached you! side note please change your icon, title your blog and start reblogging things because if you didn't send this ask i would've thought you were a bot and blocked you. most writers do this. reblogs are the backbone of our community bc likes are useless so please do share fics around if you enjoy them!! it's the least you can do for all the effort writers put into writing fics for you.

[prowerprojects]

I was thinking maybe a weird mix of both?Between his older friends, where he feels he has to pull his weight harder in order to keep up and his younger ones where he, not necessarily needs to "set an example" but knowing when to stand up and lead when there's a problem or a sense of danger ahead. Especially for those who look up to HIM; as he does Sonic. (Allows for him to have some flexibility, and just more tastes of his progression and what he could be in the future.)

(Nah, I get ya. Although it could make for interesting dynamics, just because certain characters have similar ages or traits does not mean they have to hang out with each other only. Nor should it be the SOLE reason.)

In some aspects, yes. "Wanting to be cool and stronger" has been a goal since his debut. He's made progress, it's the independence that's a struggle. (Sa1 was him making the epiphany. Frontiers is like him, reaffirming his goal or him making it 'clearer' after looking back a bit. But again, it's just words until we see results. Who knows what we'll be saying by 2032.)

Yeah, just a few tweaks and maybe some accessories. But nothing to throw off most fans. (Although I don't see them changing Sonic's iconic shoes, I know some really like his SOAP ones. It'd be cool if they did some happy medium between the two.)

Heh, if he got his own game again, Tails would probably have a more gadgeteer look to him there. (Also, I like the idea of him slowly upgrading his friends' gear as his skills [and confidence] grow.)

There's a lot of confusion during that time, I remember some being concerned that Sticks would replace Cream; or just Modern in generally. (But yeah, gotta be careful with redesigns. I don't think anything will top how Movie Sonic first went.)

Heh, it seems like it was a small experiment they were testing the waters with. Now that they have a flow and the series has been received positively so far, they might churn out more at a quicker pace. (No rush though. I suspect we'll get one more before the year ends.)

Oh yeah, I probably misunderstood what you were talking about last time a bit. I'm just gonna say that I hope we get more of Tails character focus.

Personally I love what they did with Sonic's shoes in sa1, they look like classic shoes but modernized, but the ones he wears nowadays just look kinda weird and metallic.

Oh yeah, they would probably be allowed to spice up the look in a spinoff. Hehehe. (You're making me waaay too hopeful about it)

You know what could be cool about upgrading the gear? If you could get upgrades for other characters in future games, and they would canonically come from Tails.

Oh I hope ^-^