#she contradicts herself sometimes in the same book

[separatist-apologist]

canon this, canon that. as if sjm cares

[extremely-judgemental]

Subtext is completely lost in this fandom. I partly blame SJM for it. This is a rant from both reading and writing standpoint and leans towards the characters since I like to psychoanalyse them.

The one thing that tired me the most in these books is the excessive narration. I don’t mean the wordy description to support world-building but the never-ending monologues. SJM takes ‘show, don’t tell’ advice literally with the visual cues when it should apply to the characters and their personalities as well. Where subtext usually exposes depth of these characters and lets you decide who they are, SJM strips away that chance by writing it down for you word by word. The reason so many are going with 'in the book' argument is exactly this.

Here’s what I mean.

In real life, people don’t think linearly. They have an idea about themselves as much as they have about everyone else around them. There are self-imposed restrictions on their thoughts based on who they believe to be and who they strive to be. And it shows in their interaction with outside world. Say, when someone is ashamed of their actions, they will deny it for as long as possible. Someone who regrets something, they will sugarcoat it.

But in her books, her characters think clearly—way too clearly so that you latch onto the ideas she perpetuates. You don’t get to know them based on their thoughts, words, and actions, and see how these three support each other. You don't get a chance to draw conclusions as to if they are the hero/villain and good/evil based on their actions. If their behaviours match their words or if their choices are acceptable. Because SJM sets it in words for you. The characters come with a label beforehand. (Feyre, Rhysand and Inner Circle are good guys. Tamlin, Eris and Nesta, sometimes Lucien are evil.) It's why so many toxic and abusive themes are dismissed because it’s the 'good guy' or the 'morally grey guy’ who does it.

And so, her lead or ‘good’ characters fall flat since they have everything figured out. They know themselves inside out. They are never wrong about themselves, there’s no part they hide from themselves or the others. There’s nothing for you to read and identify the beauty or ugliness in the character. There’s no depth in them because they don’t contradict themselves, they don’t struggle to be someone they always believed to be. They don’t have to prove anything to themselves or others. They say what they think and they do what they say. They are very aware of their shortcomings and they all seem to know the exact consequences of their decisions.

Feyre doesn’t change in the three books. Her ‘rags to riches’ story doesn’t lead to much character growth. She starts out as an adamant, reckless child and ends up being arrogant, reckless woman with a crown. She doesn’t undergo a shift in personality but climbs up the social hierarchy. And that’s considered character development. Rhysand remains the same throughout. He starts out as a villain but later revealed as a good guy playing bad. Instead of growing into a hero—given his crimes, his ill deeds are negated with sympathetic backstory. And from there, it’s a flat line. There’s no growth.

In the end how does the character change in the aftermath of the events? Which of their beliefs are shattered and rebuilt? What is the emotional impact on the other characters? SJM does offer some closure on these regards but they are solely focused on a list of traumas and specific reactions set by SJM herself. And so readers refuse to think for themselves how these scenarios may play out and take the words relayed through the unreliable narrators who are essentially preaching SJM’s biases. Also, when they are so explicitly written down, there’s not much room for subtext. After going through pages and pages of justification, it tires you from using reason.

Even if we get past this (writing) flaw, there are other major issues. Story telling is a way of experiencing life. It helps build empathy, compassion and understanding of the world. Even in a fantasy book, when that world doesn’t exist, when the characters aren’t real, their journey are drawn from real life experiences. Relating to these characters is subjective and solely depends on the reader, but determining the rightness of their actions is not. This too is warped as SJM dictates which behaviour is acceptable and how far through her lead characters(Feyre vs Nesta imprisonment). Instead of allowing you to judge the choices, the verdict is spoon-fed through the ‘hero’. If the characters are forgiven, it’s not abuse. It’s a simple mistake. (It’s a mistake if it happens once and if there’s a changed behaviour after the apology.) If the characters are happy in the end, their acts are admissible. Unless SJM stamps the word ‘abuser’ and ‘bad guy’ in block letters herself(Tamlin), it's not even considered a possibility.

In short, ‘reading between the lines’ exists as long as it supports what the author preaches. When it contradicts ‘it’s in the books’. Logic is valid only if you use it to justify the fan favourites and applaud them. Empathy is conditional. Compassion is conditional. Critical thinking is so discouraged in this fandom that it’s pitiful.

[flightfoot]

Fics with major Alya focus that Alya fans should read

So it's hard to find fics where Alya's a central character, where she has a character arc, focus, development of her own to a significant degree, so I figured I'd rec some fics that Alya fans might appreciate! She's not necessarily the main character in all of them, but if she isn't the MAIN main character, then she's still a major character (and almost certainly POV character) in her own right in the fic. I'm only reccing completed fics for this, btw. If anyone knows the tumblr name for any of the authors involved, let me know!

Also I have a blog dedicated to Alya at alyappreciation, so check that out if you're interested!

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In Direct Opposition by @generalluxun

Alya Cesaire is a brand new student to Francis Dupont, to Paris even. The first student she meets is one Chloé Bourgeois, and Alya is determined to make a friend. Things advance Chaotically. Her new 'friend' is definitely a handful, and suddenly Paris has a supervillain and two brand new superheroes! Alya finds herself balancing a lot of things, trying to live up to her ideals and those of her icons. And then reality seems to contradict itself. As time progresses it seems to happen more often. Becoming a hero, battling villains, staying alive, working through friendships. Something is lurking, tweaking events at times, changing them, and no one seems aware. Alya will need all her wits to get to the bottom of this. Her investigative mind can only get her so far though, and then she needs to rely on her friends. This is not a foe you can beat head on.

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Alya's Guide To Surviving A Magical Terrorist Which You Can't Remember by PumpkinPatchworkQuilt

In a world where the fight against Hawkmoth is kept secret from the public, one Alya Césaire sets out to bring the whole thing to light, (and possibly win a journalism award while she's at it)

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Hold Me By Both Hands by @angelofthequeers

“I know he said never to take you back,” Plagg mutters. “But he’d change his tune if he knew.” He looks Adrien straight in the eye and, more serious than Adrien’s ever seen him before, says, “There’s someone you gotta meet. He’s been looking for that book for ages.” How differently might the events of season 2 have gone if Adrien had also known of Master Fu from the start?

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Vantage Point by @ashes555

Most of the time, with more information, life get easier and things make more sense. But Alya discovers that sometimes, knowing everything is just plain complicated.

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Trust by bi_skyes

They thought that because they believed Lila’s lies, they would not be trustworthy to Ladybug anymore. They thought wrong.

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Closure by bi_skyes

After the events of “Trust”, Alya tries to find closure.

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Lean In by Rachelea3

Marinette spills her secret, and Alya does the only thing she can do.

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Alya Cesaire Should Be Allowed To Swear by @stripesandblossoms

Akuma attacks don't stop just because Alya is no longer a Hero, but that's fine, because she can still help clear civilians from the danger zone. Even celebrity-friends like Adrien Agreste.

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Justifying the Means by @ashes555

When the worst happens, Alya finds that she may be willing to do the unthinkable. Is any sacrifice to big to make for her friends?

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Accidents Are Also Miracles by @liiinerle

After some turbulent days that end with five people knowing her secret identity as Ladybug, Marinette loses faith in her ability to keep herself hidden. Wracked with doubts and insecurities, she pleads with Alya to take over as Scarabella, and tries to disconnect from heroing altogether. Along the way, she starts to date Kagami. Hard as she tries, though, she can't stop worrying - especially not once Monarch takes a particular, and personal, interest in her. At the same time, Alya tries to adjust to her new role while she works to uncover who Monarch really is, and makes some realisations about her own wishes. Kagami struggles against a controlling and abusive parent, and a girlfriend who seems bent on destroying herself - with or without Monarch's involvement. And in the meantime, Alix keeps popping her head back in with offers to help (because cool though time travel is, she misses hanging out in her own time). [Contains some spoilers for early s5 episodes, but otherwise diverges significantly from the plot of the season.]

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Alya's Amended Guide For Internet Safety (The RPF Remix) by @redrikki

Alya hadn’t meant to fall down the Ladynoir fic rabbit hole. It just happened. She didn't mean to make Ladybug to read fic about herself either. That just kind of happened too.

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You Are Just A Grin by Midnightdemonht

Oblivio was the only one to need a second separation, even after the butterfly was torn away.

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the best laid plans (of bugs and bakers) by @mexicancat-girl

Paris is buzzing with the appearance of a new ladybug-themed hero, Scarabella. Alya decides to use her second hero identity to help her best friend Marinette. A bit of her flirting with Marinette is bound to make Marinette's crushes jealous and finally ask her out! Her plan is fool-proof…! Except when it's not. Not enough people are talking about Scarabella flirting with Marinette. How can Alya properly help her best friend if the news can't be bothered to cover Marinette's budding romance with Scarabella and only posts things about Marinette with Chat Noir?! So Alya puts her all into her plan, upping up her flirting each time she appears as the newbie hero Scarabella. This totally does not backfire in any way.

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Radio Silence by @into-september

When an inexplicable change between Marinette and Adrien brings the two closer than ever, Alya is left on the outside of a secret too confounding to be about cheesemaking or puppy love. [No S4 AU]

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Creative Lies and Destructive Truths by @azuriteartist

Alya and Lila are two sides of a never-ending fight. The fight between truth and lies, between honesty and deception, between justice and personal gain. And now they have the powers to elevate that fight to a city-wide level. Can Alya stop the deception before it destroys the city? And can Lila stop the truth before it destroys her?

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The Investigation by @11jj11

Adrien and Marinette are finally dating-- which is what Alya has always wanted... but yet this sudden transformation in their relationship overnight? Things aren't adding up. They are suddenly so much closer than they ever have been before, Adrien is apparently a flirt, Marinette is no longer a stuttering mess, and not to mention the nicknames that came out of no where. Alya is happy for her friends, but she knows there's something more going on, and the reporter in her is going to get to the bottom of it.

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Cat Naps by BookGirlFan

Chat Noir doesn't care if he dies temporarily. Alya's starting to think he doesn't care if he dies permanently. Marinette's way too stressed for this, so it's up to Alya to find out why Chat Noir's willing to let his cat naps turn into the long sleep.

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Where were you the first time you were possessed? by @zanzquest

It should be an easy assignment: write about the first time a ghost took over your body to make varying degrees of mischief. There’s just one issue: Alya hasn’t been possessed yet.

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Is it chill that you're in my head? by @bringthestorm

Alya stared at the picture plastered across the homepage of every single tabloid and news site, whispering every curse she could think of under her breath. SHOCKING SECRET ROMANCE BETWEEN LADYBLOGGER AND PARISIAN SUPERVILLAIN REVEALED!!! the headline announced, casually shouting the words she had been dreading for all of Paris to read. --- Alya had always assumed that someday Paris would discover that she had secretly been kissing their most wanted vigilante, but she had never thought it would happen so soon. As the domino effects of her relationship with Ladybug go spiraling through her life, Alya turns her sights towards the one responsible: the elusive superhero Hawkmoth. AKA Someone outs Alya and her girlfriend so she retaliates by deciding to take down Hawkmoth 

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Lady and the Fox by @ck2k18

Marinette and Alya, known to their subscribers as “Ladybug” and “Rena Rouge,” have a popular cooking vlog using their parents’ kitchens. While moderating comments, Alya realizes that their viewers assume the two anonymous hosts are a couple, and it causes her to look at her relationship with Marinette in a new light.

(punch punch) fall in love by @mexicancat-girl

One day, Sabrina walks up to Alya. Alone. No Chloe in sight. Sabrina wants to learn self defense. Alya agrees to teach her. Alya ends up getting way more invested than she originally thought she'd be, because Sabrina is a quick learner and sometimes her smile makes Alya's insides go weak.

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When I Grow Up by waltzofthewifi

-I want to be a superhero." The class stifled laughs. "But superheroes aren't real!" Someone called out. A look through Alya's life. One-shot.

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disconnected by just_an_ordinary_fan

Lady Wifi believes she might be the only one who does not want to obey Hawkmoth's orders. When she sees another akuma hesitate in the battle, she finds she might not be entirely alone.

Walking that Mile by @nomolosk

Nino and Alya wake up in the wrong bodies. Several things result from this, including, but not limited to, identity reveals and a better understanding of what their respective best friends are going through.

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(may we write it all down) in cursive light by @sunfoxfic

Since retiring as a journalist, Alya hasn't been involved in an interview in several years. But now that her identity is out, that's about to change.

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Strangely Familiar by @sunfoxfic

Alya Césaire’s life is perfect. Indeed, between the success of the Ladyblog, how well she’s doing in school, and the fact that she’s a superhero who has never bore the weight of a crisis of epic proportions, her life almost couldn’t be better. Almost. But Alya has always been a go-getter, and so she’ll chase after that perfect life if it kills her. Which is how she ends up rushing to move out of her father’s apartment and in with Marinette, Adrien, and a complete stranger: Nino Lahiffe. And in fact, her life does seem perfect — she and Nino are fast friends. They spend a lot of time together and get to know each other really well. But in the end, fortunate situations will bear unfortunate truths, and she learns things about herself that aren’t quite comfortable. Like I said, though: Alya has always been a go-getter, and she won’t let new feelings deter her from chasing after her perfect life.

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Trust your instincts by @ultrakart

Alya has the instincts of a fox. Nino finds it hilarious.

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Foxy Lady by WizardlyMagik

In which Nino finds himself unexpectedly attracted to Rena Rouge, tries and fails to tell his friends and get some advice, and desperately attempts to hide it from his girlfriend. (Who in fact, is planning to use it to her advantage)

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No One Can See Us Here, Alone; or, The Behaviors of Binary Stars by artEngine

"Yeah, about that," Nino turns to fall in step with her out the door, "Hows about we take a small break from the quests? Chillax, enjoy our money and things?" "You say that now," Alya eyes him from the corner of her vision, "but would you still say that if I told you this special quest was to find a hidden genie for three free wishes?" "Dude. Yes." "Fine. Look, I promise to chill if we go on this quest. Okay?" Nino narrows his eyes down at her pleading expression. This dialogue is suspiciously familiar. Somehow, he gets the feeling that this time will be different. And for some reason, he listens to that feeling. "You're lucky I like you," he concedes. Alya hip-checks him with a winning smile. "That I am." : : A series of Alya and Nino's exploits as a part of the 10,000 gamers who found themselves trapped in Akihiko Kayaba's VRMMORPG game, Sword Art Online. For AU April with the Miraculous Fanworks Discord. (Knowledge of and/or interest in SAO or ALO is not required to enjoy this fic)

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well somewhere along the way in our words i must've gotten lost by @noirshitsuji

Beelya where Queen Bee visits the Césaire house after Alya writes an article about her fighting Mr. Pigeon alone. Normally Chloé would like the publicity but Alya had titled it ‘The Birds and the Bees’. After that she ends up coming back to complain about her mother. And her father. And about the fact that her oldest friend seems uncomfortable around her. Her visits becomes weekly, then almost nightly. (Don’t forget to include Chloé redemption (and some “Bee Movie” jokes).) * Alya isn’t quite sure how she ended up here, in a place where she isn’t even surprised Chloé would seek her out to talk about her dad, where she wouldn’t even mind her doing so, where she would expect it, where she would– (–thud. She might be in trouble.)

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Me, My Best Friend, and Her Cat by @ladyofthenoodle

Ladybugs aren't known for being particularly sneaky. Good thing this Ladybug has a fox in her corner, watching her back. (And giving Ladybug's love life a nudge along the way. Maybe more than a nudge. In Alya's defense, Ladybug can use all the help she could get.)

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Best Laid Plans by @captorations

Alya Césaire had always known she was going to be a superhero one day. She even had a rather unique plan to protect her secret identity, and it worked like a charm. But tricksters have to be careful, lest they end up tricking themselves.

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Outfoxed by @captorations

Lila Rossi is not a Miraculous wielder. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have power. Alya was under her spell, along with so many others, until the day Lila unknowingly overstepped herself. Freed at last, the true Fox recognizes magic when she sees it, even if it doesn’t come from a source she understands. She is none too happy about this pretender abusing her natural gifts to make fools of Alya and those she loves. Alya Césaire might need an enchanted necklace and the aid of a tiny deity to cast illusions, but she swore to use her borrowed abilities for the greater good long ago. There is none better suited to facilitate the liar’s downfall. And maybe she’ll help her best friend sort out her increasingly complex love life along the way.

[ladydeath-vanserra]

acotar makes me so mad sometimes, and not for all the problematic parts, but for the way there's such a bare bone world building in place 4.5 books later and there could be some seriously amazing and creative and colorful world building potential

acotar has so many vibrant colors and characters and aesthetics but if u scratch the surface and chip away the paint there's so many holes and a lack of creativity in terms of complex characters or complex relationships. The side characters who have created different complexes and trauma in characters don't even have names

I was really hoping to learn more about Nestas past and growth and healing from an incredibly traumatic childhood by her mother only to get.... that

Mama Archeron is a cold, imperious woman who caused so much damage and devastation in her daughters and we don't have her name. I think it would have been so interesting to see something similar with her that I've seen with Cora from OUaT and yet Nothing but more trauma for Nesta and nothing for Nesta to come to terms with

Cassians mom, Azriel’s mom, Luciens mom, Papa Archeron, a SINGLE last name for an IC member

it feels like she keeps adding to the world building (which yay I always enjoy a good world building 🤌🏻) but then doesn't go back and build on things that still have gaping holes. Has Feyre ever once talked to her sisters about the promise that was imposed on her from her mom??

Rhys relationship with his mom and sister. Cassians relationship with Rhys' mom and sister and how those two women and their deaths affected him

idk what I'm really trying to say rn but it feels like,,, there's so much missing in the World Building for the sake of smut and romance but... at the same time she tries to insert commentary on important social issues and then contradicts herself

[fairytalk]

Team Natsu

Natsu dragneel-The team leader and optimistic character of the group. Fire user

good qualities- Natsu Always tries to defend his family when he believes something is unjustified. And often times is there to be the uplifting presence when the people around him loose hope. His admirable trait is that his strength stems from his loyalty to his family and friends.

bad qualities-He goes into situations recklessly without thinking them through first. He is hare-brained about his emotional feelings towards the people he has become closest to and refuses to acknowledge that he may have caused distress. He breaks personal boundaries with his teammate Lucy heartfilia by breaking into her house and touching her body inappropriately without her permission. He has little mental character growth from what we have seen of him from the beginning of the series.

Happy- charismatic counterpart to Natsu and the group. Exceed

good qualities- He is thoughtful and makes good decision a decent amount of the time. He’s aesthetically pleasing to look at. bad qualities- lets be honest he’s a talking flying cat so the most bad he has done is stole some fish or break into lucys apartment with Natsu. besides that I almost didn’t want to add him because he is nearly irrelevant to the development of the series and mostly there as a companion to Natsu.

Erza scarlet-The mother figure / strong physical character of the group. Requip mage

Good qualities- Erza can be a really wise character when talking about her experiences, weather it be with friends or even enemies. She is able to quickly recognize what her next plan of action is. She is open about her feelings on matters during tense situations. She’s always there to offer comfort or advice.

bad qualities- To confident in the power of friendship always pulling through. When she apologizes it’s either too genuine or not genuine enough. I.e when Miliana was upset with her for forgiving Jellal so easily, she didn’t really take any of that to heart and has had a hard time showing her authentic understanding that she did something wrong that has effected her relationship with both people. This sort of happens again during the avatar arc when she offers Gray the position to go undercover in a cult. She tells him not to tell juvia, not thinking that it would screw up her state of emotions. It indeed did and when it was all over she apologized in a half insensitive tone as if she wasn’t all that guilty and would do it again if given the chance. She forgave Jellal to quickly because even though he was mind controlled by Ultear, it doesn’t change all the horrible things he has done to her and her friends. Some character growth but she has blatant issues that are not resolved.

Lucy heartfilia - The book smart / persistent main character of the group. Celestial mage

good qualities- Relatively known for being friendly and forgiving. She doesn’t back down in extensive situations even when her life is on the line. She cares a lot for her celestial spirits and if you come to her with an issue, she is open to talk about it. She’s useful in problem solving even if it falls through a little bit the first time, she masters it pretty quickly afterwards. She’s got extensive knowledge in literature and calligraphy. Power wise she has grown immensely, mentally, she is a wip but she definitely isn’t the same person from the beginning of the series. bad qualities-Thinks to little of her abilities as a mage but then contradicts herself by flaunting her powers to her enemy. Is a bit like erza in that she is ignorant to feelings sometimes i.e she was upset that natsu had left her behind with just a note, but she mostly thought about her losses and didn’t take into account that he had also lost his dad. In turn his runaway quest caused her to isolate herself from the rest of the guild. Keeping track of them only through letters, which she eventually stopped sending because everyone was doing different things. But her insecurities because of the note must of kept her from joining the rest, otherwise she wouldn’t be in a lonesome grieving state. Not that what Natsu did was right but she was definitely blaming him for all of there shared issues. Not to mention when she saw Juvia in a similar depression state she didn’t reflect on it as being similar to her own. When in reality they were both left behind in a different context but shared the same grief. I didn’t appreciate that Lucy didn’t defend Juvia during this time. It was brought back to just her and her friendship with Gray (she slapped him but it wasn’t for juvia.) She never mentioned Juvia at all In that situation even after she had seen the state she was in and knew Juvia had been sick because of it. Why couldn’t she have told him off just like natsu?. Infact she got all blushy when he apologized, it felt selfish. (Further proving that Mashimas statement about writing female characters bad was certainly true. It should also imply male characters as well.)

Wendy marvel - The young healing mage/ younger sister of the group. Air user

Good qualities- Wendy is really useful in dire situations and easily makes amends with a few of her past enemies. She is empathetic and has gained quite a bit of character growth unlike many of the other characters in fairy tail. Once she was timid and felt not useful but now she has some confidence from her experience in battle. She still has a little bit of doubts but she gets back her confidence with a little help from her friends.

bad qualities-She doesn’t really have bad qualities. But in a future post I will talk about her being a child and Mashima really being incredibly gross about it. (Yes she’s over 500 years old but he presents her still as if she is much much younger.)

Carla- The attentive counterpart to Wendy.Exceed

good qualities- she takes up for Wendy that’s it that’s the good qualities.

bad qualities-Grumpy and rude for what. Actually I get it a little bit. But she’s right in that category next to happy.

Gray fullbuster - The quick learning visual expressionist of the group. Ice make mage.

good qualities- Has strong relationships with a lot of people I.e Lyon, Erza, plus team natsu. Reliable, if you ask him to do something, he will try his hardest to get it done. Stays ‘cool’ in most situations. I need help with filling out the rest of his good traits, he’s got to have more*** help.

bad qualities-Back to being reliable, it’s a half and half trait being one of his best qualities and one of his worst. You see when he gets to being obsessed with something he will not stop going after it. It started with Deliora or however tf you spell his name, Gray wanted to be great (Gray-t) enough to surpass him for killing his family and also to surpass Ur his former master. Ok so spoiler alert Deliora is dead and melts away along with the iced shell of UR. Gray’s upset and Deliora still continues to haunt his mind until recently where he is forgotten and is comforted by Ur in an illusion state and his father acting as Deliora to get over his fear. This obsession with something new is created when Silver(his father) tells him to go after the book of E.n.d . Turns out Grays thirst for vengeance never went away, and so with his new devil slaying powers from Silver Gray starts obsessing over finding this book that produced Deliora. Of course Gray becomes a bit of a douche bag in this process, he tries to kill Natsu because he finds out his best friend is attached to the book that caused all his suffering that Natsu knew diddle about. He fiddles with Juvia saying he’ll treat her better or that he’ll give her an answer and runs off to try to get better but really is just holding off on his answer. Much like Natsu he was written with musty traits like, sexually harassing Lucy by asking her for her underwear or commenting on her outfits or her underwear. Stalking Lucy to her home, breaking into her house in an undressed state, trying to spy on women in the hot spring, groping an alchemy of Juvia without consent, putting Juvia in his mouth in her state of undress, this list is unnecessarily long. Next to zero character growth because he hasn’t changed any of his behavior. Please get them all therapy especially Gray.

[autumnrose11]

I brushed through A Little Princess today.

It was one of my favourite books when I was younger, and I still quite adore it! I took it down from my bookshelf today and skimmed over it. It was lovely to meet them all again because I’d forgotten the little things, like Melchisedec the rat, Ermengarde, and Lottie. It has been a while since I last read it, and I noticed so many things I didn’t before!

One of the more heartbreaking moments is Sara finding out her papa is dead on her BIRTHDAY. Imagine the pain of an eleven-year-old having to deal with her world turned upside down and losing the only family she has left on her birthday :(

Much as I hate to say it, some parts of the book are a tad racist, although I suppose it’s reflective of the time period in which the book was written (1905).

  “It’s a’ Nindian gentleman that’s comin’ to live next door, miss,” she said. [...] He worships idols, miss. He’s an ’eathen an’ bows down to wood an’ stone. I seen a’ idol bein’ carried in for him to worship. Somebody had oughter send him a trac’. You can get a trac’ for a penny.”

Sara is really good with languages (she is shown to be multilingual), which is a trait I adore because I love learning languages too! She speaks both French and Hindi, and it shows up in two very different situations in the book. One to Monsieur Dufarge, the French teacher, and the other to Ram Dass, the Indian servant. The descriptions of both men’s reactions to hear a child speaking their respective languages are strikingly similar.

“Monsieur Dufarge began to smile, and his smile was one of great pleasure. To hear this pretty childish voice speaking his own language so simply and charmingly made him feel almost as if he were in his native land - which in dark, foggy days in London sometimes seemed worlds away.”

“She thought she had never seen more surprise and delight than the dark face expressed when she spoke in the familiar tongue. The truth was that the poor fellow felt as if his gods had intervened, and the kind little voice came from heaven itself.”

As someone who speaks passable Hindi and is currently studying French, this is so sweet and touching! To be in a foreign land and feeling like an outsider, hearing someone speak the same language as you must be so inexpressibly comforting, like you have a comrade and a friend.

Miss Minchin is literally abusive and has a heart of stone. She puts Sara through hell. She also shows severe insecurity and covers it up with projecting her feelings of inadequacy (on a 7 year old!) The scene in Chapter 2 where she concludes that Sara does not know French is especially telling.

“One of Miss Minchin’s chief secret annoyances was that she did not speak French herself, and was desirous of concealing the irritating fact. She, therefore, had no intention of discussing the matter and laying herself open to questioning by a new little pupil.”

I have met quite a few adults like this, who are in the wrong and know it, and unwilling to admit it. They are nice and willing to praise kids and make them their golden child as long as things are going well. The second they are contradicted or called out in the slightest, they turn NASTY. So Miss Minchin, horrid as she is, is written very realistically. Excellent characterisation, and I always like reading the bit where she gets her comeuppance at the end.

My absolutely favourite passage in the book is:

“If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it. There was Marie Antoinette when she was in prison and her throne was gone and she had only a black gown on, and her hair was white, and they insulted her and called her Widow Capet. She was a great deal more like a queen then than when she was so gay and everything was so grand. I like her best then. The howling mobs of people did not frighten her. She was stronger than they were, even when they cut her head off.”

This is off topic, but I read this book right around the time we were learning about the French Revolution in school. So I’d come across Marie Antoinette, but she was portrayed in a very negative light in my history textbook, with the infamous quote: “If they don’t have bread, let them eat cake.” So my initial notion of her jarred completely with what I read here. And that was how I ended up reading and researching more about Marie Antoinette, and got to know that she was an Austrian princess married off very young to a French prince, and mocked for her foreignness. She had several miscarriages and fertility struggles, and she loved kids and adopted a few! True, she did spend rather extravagantly, but she was not quite the villain I took her for. That’s when I realised that history textbooks, more often than not, show only one side of the story.

[fantasy-relax]

Dimisisters

Only one romantic relationship for route/timeline the other will be friendship. Except for the poligamy route.

Starting to work you (Ozzy) are told their truly identities, so you do your best to keep your distance but they are not having any of that.

"Lady Bela" "Bela is enough" "but" "are you contradicting me, dear?" "No, Bela"

"Lady Cassandra" "..." "Lady Cassandra?" "..." "... Cassandra" "what do you need, handsome?"

"Lady Daniela" "no, Daniela just Daniela" " my lady I don't think I sh-" " did you don't want to be my friend, why are you so distant? Did, I did I something?" " No, no, please not cry, I'm sorry Dani I'm sorry"

The route that you enter depends on the area were you chose to rest after playing with the children.

Bela

Walking around the house you found the greenhouse, a quiet place were you can relax and write in peace disconnected from this weird world. There is particular spot with a big table and a pretty comfortable chair, you sit there for a while, concentrate on your work you fail to notice the presence watching you, until books are in the table.

"Sorry this your place? I will be gone just give a moment."

"Stay, I don't mind it. What are you doing? "

Like that you and her get closer slowly, talking days after day about everything and anything.

The moment that she knows she is in love:

Her mothers were in dealing with some business, nothing that will take more than a week. Normally only one will be gone but there were matters than needed Mia attention. Alcina was worried but Bela insisted that she was capable of being the head of the house for a least a week, yes she was sixteen but she has been preparing herself for this since she was 10.

The duchess concede (she will breaking all the speed limits to come and go as fast possible) and give a review of everything she needs to do for the week, and that if she needs help send a letter to her or call her grandmother.

The first three days go well, in the fourth day there is a problem with the vineyard she deals with it in the same day but her paperwork grows, a lot. In the six day she is almost tearing her hair, she is in her office when somebody knocks, she dismiss them but the knocking continues she opens the door and found you with a tray of food (her favorite food) in your hands.

"Working with a empty stomach is the worst way to work"

"..."

"don't worry I don't cook it, I asked the chefs to do it, they are worried, your sisters too you know?"

She let you enter, you put the tray on the table and take a look at her work. Is nothing confidential just the more tedious and long paperwork, she needs to make lot calculations and estimations and review the plans for the next week.

"if you want I can help you with the calculations"

" Im capabl-"

"I know it, but sometimes delegate mindless work is the best option so you give the attention to the most important matters"

"...mother can do it alone"

" The Duchess have been dealing with this for years, I'm sure that at the start she was having a really hard time too.

"..."

"eat, I asked the maids to prepare a bath, after that you can keep working"

She sits in silence with her eyes on you, you are working slower than her but you are advancing.

After the bath she sits at your side, and review the work that you have done, is good so she let you be while she finally gets to the important matters. Is silent, jut the sound of rustling papers and the scratches of the pencil, but is comfortable is calming is... The same thing that her mom and mother do, you both keep working until everything is finished, before you leave you take a good look at her and without thinking too much hug her, with your hand at her waist and your face in her neck:

"if you need help, please call for me and will gladly come, I don't wish for you to fall ill"

She hugs yo back and nod silent, you let her go giving her a tired smile and leave; the door closes and that's when hits her, she wants this forever, you by her side, supporting her, caring for her and she will do the same for you, together forever.

She tells her sisters and they are happy for her but they will be more cautious of you, they need to know that you're safe: Cassandra will appoint someone to follow you, and Daniela will subtly interrogate you.

After they are sure that everything is good, they time that you pass with them they will be talking about the oldest sister:

Daniela tells you about how kind her big sister truly is, how she was the one to take care of Cass and her even if she was just a few minutes older, she acts with compassion to their loyal subjects but still keep her hand firm when needed, she is a good sister and she will be a good mother.

Cassandra will talk about her wisdom, how level headed she is, she may not have the same body strength as Cass but she knows how to fight like the time that she broke the nose of a alpha jerk that touch her, she is a perfect heir and will be a perfect leader.

"Bela will be a wonderful mate and wife don't you agree?"

I will post the others later. When the brain rot come back.

[taylortruther]

(I’m playing the devil’s advocate here)

I think people choose to use ‘retconning’ instead of ‘adjusting the lore’ because it is true what you said about feelings being complicated and mixed and us assuming things in the past, but the other side of the coin would be ‘Taylor lied in the past/is lying now’. A take that I read a lot since ttpd got released was that she hid her feelings behind fiction and that the truth was in ttpd (and the truth for these people is “she always loved, Joe was actually the ‘rebound’, the entirety of folkmore is about Matty, blah blah blah’) and whilst I don’t stand by that, I also understand why people would say this because if she said or hinted at something for years, is it absurd to say that she denied it all, factually contradicting herself, or as they say ‘retconning’, or is she just using the same themes and metaphors as many writers do?

i guess for me, having gone through similar things myself, seen other people go through it, i've read books that describe this phenomenon... i don't see it is either "contradicting herself" or "reusing the same themes." those aren't the only two explanations, that's so black and white. what about gaining a different perspective as she gets older? what about the fact that a human can love their partner, want to marry them and have kids with them, and still have a what-if in the back of their mind? what about the fact that she TOLD US she was writing fiction to avoid drama, but never what specific "drama" she was avoiding, so we filled in the blanks ourselves and we were simply wrong about some of the assumptions?

it feels like the "lie" taylor supposedly told is that she and joe were happily in love and never had problems, but why did some fans assume that in the first place? remember the renegade or hoax discourse, where people refused to think there were signs of trouble? the avoidance of that is partly why people struggle with ttpd.

sure, i'm sure sometimes taylor obfuscates or whatever for her own protection, or simply because she wants to. i get the sense that's what she did for the 1, or happiness. and obviously she's enjoying dipping in and out of her past work with the mashups and whatnot, so the different themes are absolutely present. but idk, this feels like such a black and white perspective of very gray, complex human emotions, which are often not logical.

[plain-as-pandemonium]

Regarding Bedelia's book, the question for me is why she decided to write a book at all. After what she supposedly went through, nobody would have blamed her for being too traumatized to ever talk or write publicly about it. And it's not like she needs the money or wants public attention. So, what benefits could the book have for her? It gets her version of the story out there, of course, but by the time it is published, the public opinion of her will already have been determined.

Oh, the book is a fanon thing afaik. At least, nothing in the source material, that I could find, states definitively that she wrote a book. However, nothing states definitively that she didn't write a book either. And I am 100% guilty of perpetuating the fanon thing, admittedly, because I needed it as a plot point in held like hope. So whether she wrote a book is up to interpretation as canon is silent on the matter.

But I am totally with you on the fact that writing a book would be inconsistent with Bedelia's own best interests, to put it mildly. The question is exceedingly relevant and I want to thank you for bringing it up because it's fascinating. You're so right: She doesn't need the money, nor is she the kind of person to revel in public attention (unlike some cannibals we could mention). She has the perfect excuse to NEVER talk about anything that happened between her and Hannibal, and we know she's a master at maintaining boundaries so even if there was ravenous public interest and the press were beating down her door (which I'd bet they were) Bedelia wouldn't feel the need to satisfy that interest.

Nevertheless, even if she didn't write a book, Bedelia definitely did speak publicly about her time with Hannibal, as we know from S3E10, which has her "delivering an inspirational lecture to a capacity crowd" according to the script. While the script doesn't say where this inspirational lecture (snerk) takes place, from the episode we see it's the same classroom at the FBI academy in which Will Graham gave his lectures back in S1. Which kind of implies that the audience for Bedelia's lecture is a group of FBI, right?

GIRL WHAT

What is she getting out of this? We know she escaped any criminal charges following her time with Hannibal by lying her ass off, so what is she doing inviting the scrutiny of the FBI??? AGAIN??? Why does she want to tell her story publicly at all??? Because clearly there are people, *cough Will Graham cough*, who are just waiting to find any inconsistencies in her account of that time that they can use as a gotcha.

I can think of a couple of different reasons for Bedelia choosing to do this, both of which may be true idk, and I'd invite others to chime in with their thoughts. One possible explanation is a confluence of perversity and boredom. It's been three years, maybe she wants the adrenaline rush of pulling one over on the cops again, just to see if she can. We know she sometimes does incredibly risky things at weird moments (e.g., killing her patient, taunting Hannibal about eating his sister when he's in a position to literally drown her), so perhaps this is one of those.

A more likely, to me at least, explanation may be that someone at the FBI (say Jack Crawford?) "invited" her to speak to their people, and the invitation was issued in such a way that she didn't feel entirely comfortable declining. If you look at what she actually said on screen in that inspirational lecture, it's all very non-specific and she mostly talks about herself and not Hannibal:

I awoke in the fresh-smelling semidark, knowing in some primal way that I was near the sea.

Deeply-felt truths of who I am as Bedelia Du Maurier were smoke and mirrors of the highest order.

Um, ok then.

Bedelia, as always, chooses her words very carefully. Nothing in that lecture contradicts her story to law enforcement after she and Hannibal parted ways in Italy. So even if the FBI invited her in the hopes of catching her slippin, well ... not today.

For all we know, that one lecture may have been the only time she ever spoke publicly about her time with Hannibal. Still, not in her best interest omg, and she also didn't give them much to talk about.

[ariamariastark1]

Feminism in ASOIAF: Catelyn's Paradox

Before anything, here's a small disclaimer: This post is my own opinion and personal analysis, so if you don't agree please be polite.

Also, this post was inspired by @allovesthings post on "Cat's views on woman and ladies" as well as @iwouldservehim reblog/addition of my 'Sansa is more than feminine' post.

One of the feminist discussions that are being held in the books is a very real paradox that is mainly explored through Catelyn's character but also other female characters (like Cersei): the irony of women that contradict the misogynistic ideals of Westeros being the same that uphold it the most.

I think that it is already common knowledge that Cast and Arya have very similar personalities and a lot of people like to use this fact to invalidate or claim that Catelyn isn't sexist however this contradiction between Cat's nature and her ideology is a characteristic of more traditional/conservative woman. Catelyn is a character that has a very loud personality, she likes to make herself known and wants to be taken as seriously as any other man but when it comes down to other women she sometimes perpetuates the very same discrimination and judges them or she defends them and is their champion.

Catelyn's paradox however isn't as much with the other Northern ladies, but with her daughters and how she halfway created a cycle of misogyny in them. Cat is a southern woman and she feels wrong and without identity being in the North and is traumatised, she can't separate herself from her children so if she feels like an outsider in the North then both her daughters need to be southern with southern beliefs and behaviour and ideology. So when Arya shows herself being a more northerner, being unapologetic herself, something that Catelyn couldn't beat Riverrun, Cat convinced herself that Arya was wrong (even though she was like Arya growing up) and started being even more conservative and sexist to Arya, passing it down to Sansa as well as other prejudices creating this cycle

[darlinggeorgiedear]

Have u ever read The Quest For Queen Mary? I was kinda shocked to read there that a few different people said that Mary never loved George or that George terrified her and often was rude to her in front of their kids to the point it sometimes made her leave the table (which was claimed by the Duke of Windsor, so, *technically*, the greatest source possible...). But on the whole, the amount of contradicting info in the book also made it difficult to get a coherent view

Yes I have! I think that book says more about court life than who Queen Mary was. It seems like everyone was interested in their dynamic (kind of like Queen Elizabeth and Philip) and would try to decide who wore the pants, yet would settle with opinions that were contradicting like you said. George and Mary's letters prove these opinions wrong, and they loved each other deeply. It is interesting to think that their relationship came off so differently to a variety of people (ex. some say they were in love, yet some say she was scared of him, or he was dominated by her, or she was dominated by him, etc).

My favorite excerpt is from Lord Standforham's daughter who strongly disliked Mary (many believe her dad didn't like Mary too). She goes on about court life, in particular people who in her opinion, blindly worshiped the Royal Family, and would get mad at her for making jokes about Queen Mary. Then Lord Stadforhams daughter goes on about how cold and unfriendly Mary was to her, and how she never loved a human but just things. Pope Hennessy at the point of the interview, is a Queen Mary sympathizer, starts to defend her, and makes a joke that I guess you never loved her. Lord Stadforham's daughter very dramatically says something to the effect of "no I never loved her but that's the thing, she didn't want you too."

If you have read anything about Queen Mary's life you know she did become less spontaneous and outgoing as she got older to mask herself from the critics. This doesn't mean she was always cold, she just didn't show her true self to growing amount of people as time went on. Her BFF Lady Oglivy said Mary was always the same (they became friends as children), but just had a new cold exterior that went away in private. Yet Lord Standforham's daughter worked for her dad so would have seen the King and Queen often in a more intimate setting, yet Mary was still closed off to her, which shows Mary picked and choice who she was open to. The real irony of her interview with Pope Hennessy is how Lord Standforham's daughter never connects maybe the reason Mary wasn't open and kind to her is because she knew courtiers gossiped about her, since it seemed like a two way unfriendly relationship.

My point about bringing up this excerpt is to show that even though what was said about Queen Mary in that book is very bias and can be easily proven wrong with the primary sources we have (letters and diaries) or contradicted within the same book, it still does help the reader have a deeper understanding of Mary in a more indirect way.

Also, George himself admits to letting his anger out on (or being rude to) Mary many times with countless apology letters, so the Duke of Windsor was definitely not lying.

[reirei19050]

Mandatory disclaimer: this rant isn't me attempting to say the authors are inherently malicious people or anything. Though, considering the Erins' reputation with poorly handling serious themes, I cannot entirely trust they are competent enough to have intended what's described below. If they (or just Vicky, since some have described it as being "her book"?) did, they failed.

Without further ado. Been thinking about the most contradicting statements made regarding SpottedLeaf's Heart, depending on how you interpret Vicky's words.

Firs up is a screen shot from Vicky Holmes' twitter, dated April 13th, 2017.

[ID: Much alarm at the Thistle Spotted age gap. Cats don't take any notice of that kind of thing, I'm afraid. I don't condone eating raw mice either. End ID]

I can't tell if she's referring to herself or the audience; probably both, actually. Regardless, I don't think her aim is to defend a fictional pedophile here; reading her next statement makes that a tad more apparent. I can only assume it is a poor attempt at explaining why no other cats took notice.

Here's a second screen shot, from Vicky Holmes' FaceBook page. It is not dated, but also came out at some point in 2017 as well, either sometime before or after Shattered Sky's release date (April 11th of 2017). So, it might have come out before the first screen shot presented, or might not have; I'm not sure.

[ID: Goodness me, I was not anticipating that strength of reaction to SpottedLeaf's Heart. I did warn you that I'd found the balance of the story hard to get right. I wanted to explore SpottedLeaf's character more thoroughly, and show how she ended up becoming a medicine cat, but I also wanted to hint at just how bad ThistleClaw really was.

I am intrigued by the twin themes of criticism, that I have never really proved why ThistleClaw deserved to go to the Dark Forest, and that I have included something as nasty as a very young apprentice being approached by a much older warrior. Well, this is why ThistleClaw was consigned to the Place of No Stars. For SpottedLeaf, becoming a medicine cat was also finding a place of sanctuary from cats with confusing, sinister motivations and ulterior motives.

Huge thank you purrs to everyone who has commented here and elsewhere. Your passion for these books leaves me breathless, as always. Do bear in mind that I only work for novellas now. I'm not a part of the editorial team that creates books within the main series, so I'm afraid I can't talk about Shattered Sky. Warriors has the best fans in the world, with the loudest voices and (sometimes) sharpest claws. Be safe, precious clan mates. Love, Vicky. End ID]

In universe, I honestly doubt that ThistleCunt preying on SpottedPaw romantically is why StarClan sent his ass to the Dark Forest. Or he just appeared there. Obviously, these anthropomorphic cats don't care for age gaps enough to condemn him, Vicky said so herself, but if this is the desired reason as to why he's there as opposed to all his other, also terrible actions long before this book had been brainstormed...Many more characters should be there, including multiple fan favorites. So, even if that's the reason Vicky wanted him to be there, narratively it holds zero weight, because no other characters are held accountable for doing the same exact things. You know, since they're the supposed "good guys" or on the "good side."

Which, is bad. Really bad, for a book series aimed at children, to not make it clear enough how wrong not only his actions are, but any other cats who do the exact same thing. Making the readers feel disgusted by him (and him alone) is not enough. Them being human minded but cats does not take away from the severity. When an author features topics as serious as abuse, pedophilia, etc. in their writing targeted at an audience so young, they need to do it with much care and caution or not at all. You cannot have a villain do something, present it as bad, then turn around and have heroes do the same thing and be justified or brushed off. Or in Warriors case, have the good guys do all the nasty things first, then present a villain who does the exact same shit. It sends the wrong message.

Remember: fictional characters are not capable of having their own thoughts and feelings. They are narrative tools whose decisions are dictated by their creator(s). The "beliefs" held by these kitty cats do not matter, therefore don't work as a defense.

[muqingapologist]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

this is such a hard question because i’ve gone through so many phases of obsessing over pieces of media in my life, and sometimes it’s really hard for me to parse which characters are lasting favorites and which are just part of that phase. but i’ll try! keep in mind, lots of sentimentality ahead…

and this is in no particular order.

1. wei wuxian (the untamed)

ok so this kind of goes along with a previous post i made discussing my feelings of the mdzs book vs. the untamed. when i first watched the untamed at the recommendation of a friend, it was so unlike anything i’d ever seen before. and wei wuxian was so unlike any protagonist i’d ever encountered before. his determination to do what’s right no matter what others do, but also not being above experiencing doubt and uncertainty about his decisions, really touched me. also of course his carefree attitude toward life is something i repeatedly try and fail to achieve myself. it might also have to do with xiao zhan’s acting choices, but he really touched me as a character. it’s hard for me to say if the wwx of the book did the same organically because i read it over a long period of time after watching the show, so im just going to count the untamed version.

2. shizuku tsukishima (whisper of the heart)

this one is probably pretty niche but allow me to give my most heartfelt recommendation of whisper of the heart, my favorite ghibli movie and one of my favorite films of all time. shizuku is the protagonist of the film. she’s a young girl, probably about 14, and so far, her life has been defined by satisfying her imagination by always reading fiction, immersing herself in stories. inspired by the love interest of the film seiji, she decides she wants to try to be a writer. the film is kind of like a slice of life over a few months of this time, and we see shizuku struggle with perfectionism and wanting to follow her dreams and inability to take criticism, etc. i rarely cry over movies but i cried at this one because i had just never felt so seen by a character. everyone please watch whisper of the heart!🙏

3. prince zuko (avatar: the last airbender)

i think 50% of the reason he’s on here is sentimentality since avatar was a show i watched so much throughout my childhood and of course again more recently with its resurgence in popularity, but also what can i say? his character arc is unmatched. i won’t rehash the details. i will say uncle iroh would probably be here instead if we knew any more about his past because he’s off-screen journey is just so fascinating to me.

4. percy jackson (percy jackson & the 12 olympians)

PURE sentimentality but ya know….also im only considering this character how he exists in the original series. he kind of lost me in heroes of olympus. but yeah percy jackson was the first character that really impacted me back when i was 9, and i think i still carry that impact to this day. i also think the original series still holds up reading it as an adult.

5. kim wexler (better call saul)

kim nation!!! reveal yourselves!! i watched better call saul a little over a year ago and damn, it’s so rare to find such interesting, well-developed, flawed within reason female characters in a tv drama like this. her intelligence and her tendency to get carried away with jimmy don’t contradict each other but work together. her emotional journey….UGH!! kim x post-prison jimmy, who else hopes?

6. xie lian (tgcf/heaven official’s blessing)

so this one is new and i’m not completely sure the deep impression will last yet, but i’ll explain. when i first read tgcf about two years ago, i kind of skimmed because it was so long, and the feelings i had toward xie lian were…not super favorable. i was kind of bored by him and….i saw him as a lesser wei wuxian. AND I WAS WRONG!!! because i reread tgcf finally a couple of months ago, no skimming, really thinking about what i was reading and now i love him. his journey from optimistic prince who had never before suffered to carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders to nearly collapsing under that weight but despite all odds, pulling through and once again finding that optimism, or at least hope. it touched me so much this time around!!! also i don’t know why i thought he was boring first time around. this guy is funny as hell! anyway, lots of lessons to apply to my own life and whatnot.

7. ninth doctor (doctor who)

guys….hear me out. notice im not saying “the doctor” because i think most of doctor who is just nonsense. but that one season with the ninth doctor (and okay i like the tenth doctor’s seasons well enough, or i did really love them. less so these days…). so much potential. so when i say he’s one of my favorite characters ever, i accept that it’s mostly the version of the doctor that lives in my head and isn’t subject to the bad writing decisions made later in the show. it’s a lot of sentimentality, but i am really fascinated by this traumatized alien guy who just lost his entire people, finding himself devolving into more violent, unforgiving tendencies, but meeting rose, jack, whoever else along the way is able to remind him of not who he was but who he could be. of course doctor who is forever ongoing though so character development can only go too far lol.

8. nozue (old-fashioned cupcake)

this is also brand new so not sure if lasting because i only just read and watched ofc, but man. this guy’s journey from being defeatist about getting older and turning 40, being afraid of trying anything new, to allowing himself to experience new things, one of those things being falling in love! his whole concept of using regret as fuel for happiness, transmitting that idea to togawa who transmits it back to nozue later!! ahhh!! so like my love for this character might actually just be love for the entire story but i can’t not mention it every five seconds rn so….

9. isabel archer (portrait of a lady)

so this is the protagonist of henry james’s portrait of a lady, which i finally finished reading last month. and gosh! well the book itself was amazing, but i was especially touched by isabel’s character, mainly because she just felt so realistic. her motivations, her goals, her shift, her sorrows, they all feel earned, creating an incredibly vivid character that i think most people can find something in there to relate to, especially other women who have always been told they are clever and imaginative and yet find themselves struggling internally to live up to those expectations.

10. natasha rostova (war and peace)

it’s been years since i read war and peace in my university freshman seminar, so it’s hard for me to speak on the details of why exactly this character is here. but also it’s no surprise because this is a character that continues to be the star of russian literature. what i can say, she’s another bright, carefree character (clearly symbolizing aspects of russian culture but even beyond that) who it’s impossible not to feel deeply connected to. she goes through some pretty life-altering stuff in war and peace (everyone listen to the musical called natasha, pierre, and the great comet of 1812 for those details!!) and as the reader, you just really feel for her. idk man she still stands out in my mind, but also this is also much thanks to the musical i just mentioned above.

i kind of came up with these on the spot so like…who knows how accurate this is, but i like to talk about the things i like so sue me. thank you for the question though!!

[crescentmoon-flower]

Rewatching winx season 4 for nostalgia and realizing how wierd some things are

Ep. 7

Musa posing like the drama queen she is

How did Stella drag roxy upwards like that

"I'm a great shot" im sure you are

Stella darling you managed to contradict yourself

Musa your great, and I wish you kept these spells

Nevermind then musa is useless

Stella contradicting herself again

Oh poor doggy, also I would react the same to someone hurting my baby

Oh wow roxy is strong

Awww, tiny kitten

Flora and anagan flirting, its actually kinda cute

What the hell even is gantlos's power

Aw, sweet old rich woman

And gantlos found them

Yeah that car crash is about right

Also for a second I thought the woman was going to help roxy

Sassy gantlos

Oh wow that was a close one

Wow artu is smart, I wonder is that's a side effect of being around roxy

Spirit speech

Oh poor artu

Oh that's a close one part 2

First magic!

What exactly did roxy do though?

Sudden upbeat Music

Well that's a tone shift

Weren't they all just on the floor in the last frame?

Specialist deus ex machina

Nabu speaks really wierd sometimes

Oh my god Rivington chopped duman's hair XD

Did they just corner ogron and leave the others?

Awww, supportive timmy

Wow aisha is in a great mood.

I... don't thing implicitly is the word your looking for

Naaaawwwww

Liesssssss, you'll end up with more

HAHA, flora and aisha's reactions are great

Wait...... Didn't timmy already have a job?? Did he quit to be around roxy more? Or is he doing both?

How did he go from helia to Tobias? The others are similar but helia?

BOO-BOO XD

Oh okay nevermind

Oh my god, the one who doesn't work there is the only one he got right

As a only child and a girl, I feel you roxy

Ooooooohhhhh, musa

Bloom my god

Hey its that girl who everyone thought is the last fairy

Swimsuits?ok

Animation mistake roxy's sleeves

Spend the whole day talking to the neighbours canary?

Ok at least faragonda is kept in the loop

The fairy pets are adorable but useless

A yes, mcguffin wings bearly used

Guide book? What guide book?

What's with the sudden change of heart about keeping things secret

Why doesn't morgana just tell roxy who she is?

Ep 8

Pointless fluff

Oh kiko

More pointless fairy pet things

Didn't tecna explain the website several times now.

Finally common sense for stupid romance problems

Convenient timing

Did roxy sleep the entire day?

Ok the whole pictures arrange themselves in the same way

Cowboy outfits, actually one of my faves

Kind of worry roxy had a bother reaction to magic wardrobe change

Oh the Stella silent treatment

Ok from experience no large camper or bus like that has 4wheel drive

Suddenly I remember that the driver in world of winx was also aisha

I'd love to go there on horseback

Dramatic duman

Sadly irrelevant to the conversation flora

Don't like this man

Oh no this is going to be a disaster

Snort* flying bear

Seriously what are gantlos's powers?

Wait they can miniaturise what not in enchantix?

Smoke them out, smart

Gantlos is my reaction to

Did the circle burn him or just hurt?

Well that's awsome

Oh my god that man is dedicated to not noticing shit

That smile is creepy

Isn't this man a lumberjack? How is he going to survive now?

Why does bloom get to keep the circle?

And their back

Pets aren't typically allowed at bars

Pointless pet fluff

Nabu forshadowing

Aww tecna is emoting so much, I'm proud!

Damn this all, more mitzie

...well she had a good singing voice

He has work, stella

He's going to break that guitar

More nabu foreshadowing

Creepy surfer man

For a really important episode it feels like 70 percent is pointless

[helenofblackthorns]

(this got way too long i'm sorry lol) don't even get me started on the timeline there's so much that doesn't make sense!! i've tried to map it out because i am insane but i am definitely putting more thought into this than cc herself. like, in the days past 1900 chapter cordelia mentions that she's 13, when it's literally impossible for her to be 13 that year ????

and lowkey i am just very excited to see someone else mention the mess that it is the timeline because i've been thinking about when alastair and thomas must have gone on their travel year (and also during that travel year when thomas must have gone to paris because they wouldn't just give him a holiday immediately right, like it must have been december 1902 they met, yes i am overthinking this) for years lol

my best guess is that charles arranged to marry ariadne in early 1901 but it wasn't officially announced?? it was just an arrangement/promise and then he went to paris and met alastair later that year (though i think they'd already met yikes) and they dated sometime in 1901 (where alastair would have been 16-17 /yikes/), for any of this to work i think we just have to accept that shadowhunters can go on their year abroad before they turn 18, or maybe alastair wanted to get out of the house :( and then maybe charles told alastair of the engagement a little bit into their relationship?? don't even get me started on thomas' travel year, we know it lasted 9 months, was from 1902 to 1903 and he had come back fairly recently in august (and tbh i'm gonna stretch that definition of recent and just say the thieves are all being dramatic when they're still toasting him coming back at the beginning of chog). but he also took two weeks holiday in 1902 and saw alastair (who i have to assume was secretly visiting charles since if he was still on his travel year, he could have just said that instead of being cryptic and hilarious lol) anyways in conclusion the timeline is a mess

i thought cordelia's birthday must be really late in the year but i did not realise this means it would be impossible for her to have her parabatai ceremony lol, okay i can't work out that one unless everyone's straight up lying or don't know their own birthdays

anyways i clearly think about this way too much, sorry for rambling in your inbox, you did not ask for this lmao i have just had many thoughts about timelines from like two years ago that all bubbled up to the surface when i saw your post

okay I am finally answering this, I am so so sorry about the wait </3

honestly when it comes to timelines, I think cc just kinda says things vaguely enough that it makes sense as long as you don't think about it too hard lmao. Also I did not know Cordelia said she was 13 in 1900... In order for that to be possible she'd have to be born in either 1886 or 1887. I wonder if cc just forgot she had said Cordelia was born in 1885? that seems like the only viable option here 😭

Paris 1902 is so bad because a lot of the things that contradict it are in the same book 💀 like with other stuff at the very least you can give cc the benefit of the doubt that she forgot between writing short stories and whatnot. but the same book!! insanity!!

I don't think there's any way to twist it in order for it to make sense? like something has to be wrong. best I've got is Thomas turned 18 in Jan, went on travel year for roughly 8 months meaning he gets back to London right before the start of ChoG in August. He met Alastair in Paris in like, March or April 1903 when he was finishing up his travel year and Alastair was being cryptic just because. Charles and Alastair met in Sept. 1902 when Alastair went on his travel year to Paris; Charles and Ari are already engaged by this point (technically) and every other conflicting detail gets throw out the nearest window lmao. for me at least, shadowhunters going on their travel year before turning 18 defeats the purpose, which is to go on patrol and fight demons in a different country. and if they were able to at 17, I think there's several characters who would be currently on their travel year, like James and Matthew, and who obviously aren't.

The parabatai ceremony thing is annoying because cc actual reconned it :) in the codex it says you have be in childhood to become parabatai, and this is supported by Jem in clockwork prince. however, in tfsa, Simon is still able to become parabatai with Clary despite already turning 18, so now shadowhunters are considered children up until 19 but this only applies to the parabatai ceremony because in every other aspect of life they become adults at 18. this makes sense (not). personally i am of the option that Cordelia turning 18 and being unable to become parabatai with Lucie would have been more interesting, and added some stakes that chot desperately needed. plus it would be funny if they still became parabatai in the end because Will and Jem pulled some strings (the benefits of nepotism 😌)

the timeline of tlh is one of my great enemies at this point and I've held my tongue about it for far too long, so don't feel bad about rambling! (even if it takes me 3 months to reply 🫣)

[ho3smadd]

One day

She'd been friends with him for years now, you'd think eventually the silly infatuation with him would have gone away by now....but no he was still the only person that always made her feel like her 13 year old self, like sometimes her brain couldn't form thoughts when he was around because all she would do was blush.

13

She'd just gotten a phone and it seemed like finally everything was going right for her

One day after school she saw that he added her as a friend and her heart filled with childish hope and thus began their friendship

As a 13 year old girl who was friends with the boy she liked, she tended to see signs where they weren't any and eventually she convinced herself that maybe he liked her too ....

That wasn't the case but she didn't feel all to bad , I mean he hadn't made fun of her or treated her differently and weirdly that's what grew them closer as friends

14

She was entering high school and she had a new crush on another family friend and she didn't think of him all that often

He messaged her about his sister's wedding in a month "if they tell me to go sit next to my girlfriend, I'll come sit next to you" she rolled her eyes knowing that if it came down to it he'd do it just to piss her off. He took so much joy in irritating her

On the same day the other guy asked her out and she said yes

When he asked her what's new in her life she told him and he didn't speak to her til November except for the happy birthday message she got in June

Sometimes she thought maybe he's jealous or maybe he just doesn't want to talk to me

As soon as he knew they broke up he started speaking to her again

15

As the years went on their friendship grew and grew but for some reason it didn't feel like a normal friendship

She was friends with other boys but things just felt different with him. All her friends would tell her "he likes you and you are just blind" she considered it but she was scared to get her hopes up again

They would speak from when the woke up til they went to bed. He knew things about her that nobody else ever did.

She was the hopeless romantic type with her head always stuck in books and he hated books with a passion but whenever she'd read a new book he'd want to know all about it and eventually he started forcing her to read the books to him before bed

Before her birthday people would ask her to send pictures of herself so they could post her and she was complaining because 1 girl made her send 51 pictures of herself and for some reason he was upset because she only sent him 1 picture , so she sent all 51 pictures to him as well. He created an album in his gallery for her

Eventually he ditched the excuse and of it only being for her birthday and would just tell her the folder needed to be updated.... he continued to update the folder for 2 years

16

In the beginning of the year she lost some of her closest friends because they were being horrible and she broke up with the guy she was dating and she felt alone

He was there for her , he listened to her cry and overthink and feel bad about herself and he would always try and make her feel better even though according to him he hated seeing her like this and he hated that she'd pick people who would treat her horribly

And so they became closer than they ever had been before

He started telling her when he was upset and when he was feeling down which he never did before

She'd let him help her pick her outfits and her hair and get excited to tell him about her day and all her stories

And after November exams it changed even more he had been subtly flirting with her for years and then all of a sudden it wasn't so subtle

He'd confuse her and contradict himself

One day he'd tell her to give another guy a chance and the next he'd tell her to stop talking to the other guy because he could give her more butterflies then that guy ever could

And then at a get together the two of them stayed up while everyone else went to bed and spent the night talking and that's when he knew that he'd been blind for so many years and she's was always there

And the friendship officially became more after all the pining and waiting but it still felt like their friendship which forced them to realize that maybe they were never just friends maybe they were always more

And the two of them were so happy together so blissful but when you are that happy things always go wrong

First her grandmother was admitted into hospital and then he broke up with her out of nowhere for no reason

And then he on Valentines day he called her

He said he really needed to speak to her and they did but she didn't know that would be the last time she spoke to him ever again...

That Saturday her world came crashing down and she would never be able to see him again or speak to him

Who would argue with her for hours over nothing and make fun of her and be there for her

Who would listen to her stories about nothing and be interested in them

Who would she have left

She didn't realize how much he meant to her and how much he was in her life til she was sitting and crying while doing bio homework because he used to tease her for finding it hard

She didn't realize how many stories she had to tell and she couldn't tell them to him anymore

She felt empty and broken and alone and everyone was telling her at least you weren't together for years and at least it wasn't serious but she still felt it all the same

He meant the world to her, she didn't Just lose the guy she loved , she lost her best friend and she was never gonna get the happy ending she'd been dreaming about forever because if it wasn't with him she didn't want it to be with anyone else

She was used to being the younger one but as soon as she turned 17 she'd always be older

--------

Ik my writing isn't the best and I suck at it but I just wanted to get my life off my chest