#these idiots are falling in love with their narrative foils!!

[panncakes]

Have you ever met someone and felt they were a reflection of you? Have you ever felt reflected?

LAWS OF ATTRACTION (2023)

c. hozier / c. jesse ball

[sidekickjoey]

Not to care way too much for a TV sitcom character, but the more we hear from writers on the show about Eric Matthews and the turn the writing took him down in S6-7 and beyond (especially with his love life), I can't help but feel a little mournful for what he could've (and should've) been given by the narrative.

(Actually caring-too-much analysis below the cut)

(credit to @livelovecaliforniadreams for the gif!!)

On the most recent pod, we hear that part of the reason Eric never received a love interest beyond S4 really was because the writers sort of took the route of him "peaking" socially in high school, with his social prowess/game/etc. not really working in the same way it did then in college. For any other character, I think that could've maybe worked. But every other character is not Eric Matthews.

Eric, at his heart, is a sweet person. He makes mistakes and might not be the most book-smart, but the one thing he knows and has proven to be very intelligent on is people -- helping them, caring for them, making them feel seen, smile, you name it. He doesn't have a mean or cruel bone in his body and actually sacrifices his own happiness many times to ensure others are better off, because he doesn't know how to be otherwise. Hates it.

He also has so many talents and a broad swath of knowledge. Is it for more niche stuff at times? Sure. He might not be leading the next Fortune 500 company, but he demonstrates passion and drive -- two very amiable qualities people seek out in others. Hell, even Mr. Feeny noticed it when he said Eric was one of his brightest students. If academics weren't on the table, he had initiative and was there to do the best he could (just look at what he tried to do with meteorology). And are academics important? Yes. But character is so much stronger a quality, one not intrinsically tied to academic success mind you, and Eric had character.

On the topic of academics, Eric did go to and canonically graduate college -- the SAME college that Topanga and Rachel both end up going to instead of Yale, a highly respected institution. It's not like he's some bum or idiot like people claim him to be. Even at his perceived 'stupidest,' he was putting in the work, getting a college education, and receiving his degree DESPITE all of his shortcomings. If anything, I know times/values have changed, but I feel like him overcoming the odds as opposed to just giving up would've still made him even more of an attractive prospect back then as it would've made him now.

Then there's the fact that, canonically, Eric is perceived as a very attractive and handsome guy by MULTIPLE people, all of different backgrounds, looks, interests, etc. Attraction beyond looks varies from person to person, but looks are a little less variable. You don't just suddenly turn ugly to a whole population when you go to a new place. S5 Eric was not a far cry from S4 Eric. Hell, even S7 Eric is not a far cry from his other looks. Everyone's convinced S6 was Eric's peak look™ too, and that was right in the middle of his college career. All other facts about Eric aside and any faults totally disregarded, you're telling me not a single person saw him and though, huh, I want to take this guy on a few dates? That he'd still fall off the market so starkly to go from dating a new girl every week to having almost zero new serious prospects for nearly four years?

This all said, it begs the following questions:

Why would S5-GMW Eric be any less deserving of a satisfying love life then than S1-4 Eric?

Why would S5-GMW Eric be any less destined to find post-high school success than S1-4 Eric?

This brings me to where I sit now, sort of sad for the character of Eric. Because I think his ability to find love was lazily or incorrectly (or both) tied to his struggles in high school, and then exaggerated heavily when the show was later in need of laughs and someone even wackier than Cory's wackier college persona to serve as a foil. He was set up to be punished for doing exactly everything asked of him, because a character like his was useful to have in one's back pocket, but his character itself was too much extra effort to flesh out fully and give redemption/happiness to without him straying too close to replacing Cory as /the/ main character. It's a lot funnier to have a character regress into being a bit of a loser and struggling socially than finding success and getting everything he worked so hard to achieve, after all (I say, with heavy sarcasm).

Eric was deserving of love. He was deserving of success. He was even incredibly smart. Maybe I'll be proven wrong at some point in the future and I'll see that he was just destined to be Dumb!Eric, alone, stumbling his way into a senatorship, continuing to be all laughs with a touch of heart. That day isn't today, though. As far as I'm concerned, the path the writers took him down might as well have been a more unrealistic and wildly undeserved path for him than had they made him incredibly successful.

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: blipblot! @blipblot has 20 fics in the Stranger Things fandom on AO3 and 19 of them are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @blipblot:

Do You Have a Mirror in Your Pocket?

A Lick and a Promise

I'd Build a Home with You

"Their work is always so incredible and fun and they’re just so talented!! And they’ve got so many fics out, and each one is just wonderful — especially their most recent big bang fic, A Lick And A Promise. The worldbuilding is breathtaking, the characterisations are flawless, and it’s so full of love and passion, it’s just all around a perfect fic ❤️" -- anonymous

Below the cut, @blipblot answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I absolutely adore the chemistry that Steve and Eddie have together. Their stories build off of each other so well! The different aspects between being popular and unpopular, growing up rich and growing up poor, alongside the benefits and downfalls of both of those lifestyles and how they impact each other is something I love writing. They’re fantastic narrative foils for one another.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I have tons but I would say idiots to lovers and enemies to lovers are some of my favorites. I love watching Steve and Eddie figure their shit out while also falling in love, it gets me every time.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Is unconditional love a trope? I just love writing stories that focus on love, whether that’s brotherly love, romantic love, platonic love, it doesn’t really matter to me. I get the most enjoyment writing when I’m writing about how all these different types of love affect our lives for the better and for the worse!

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

There’s so many to choose from! Right now I’d say at the top of my list is gayjinkies phenomenal ‘I’m a lover, boy’, if you haven't read it please go check it out and send my love to them if you do!

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

This is such an excellent question, I’m not sure! I just finished my first Historical AU, I’ve written Fantasy and In Universe so I guess the next one I’d like to tackle would be a Modern AU. I think that sounds like an absolute hoot, I’m brainstorming ideas for one as we speak!

What is your writing process like?

It’s so chaotic, it’s ridiculous. I normally just write down everything that comes to mind in the moment and then slowly whittle it into something more legible bit by bit. It is very rarely in order and I very rarely know how it’s going to end but that’s part of the fun!

Do you have any writing quirks?

Quirks, I’m not sure! I feel like I’m known for how I write dialogue but anything more specific I’m not sure I’d be able to pick up on. Maybe pillow fights, I feel like those end up in my fics more often than not somehow.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

In a perfect world, I’d prefer to post when finished but I write pretty slowly so I hate not having anything posted for months at a time. That being said, my posting schedule is nearly nonexistent as well. I just post when I have enough free time to finish a chapter!

Which fic are you most proud of?

I would say Put the Lights Out and Cry. It’s the first one I’ve ever written and looking back on it now makes me really proud that I decided to take that leap of faith and post it. It’s not perfect and there are things I wish I could go back and change but at the end of the day writing it and seeing everyone’s responses to it were incredibly rewarding and I feel so lucky that I got to share my goofy diner au with everyone.

How did you get the idea for I'd Build a Home with You?

It was for the Omegaverse Valentines Day Exchange event so I was sent a few tag ideas from the lovely MysteriousMidnight and let those stew in my brain for a while. I really struggled at first to come up with something but eventually everything sort of clicked into place plotwise.

When writing I'd Build a Home with You, what was something you didn’t expect?

Oh god, for it to be so long! It was all supposed to stay in the school building but that didn’t work out with the plot I had in mind. But once I mulled it over for a bit I just kept writing until the ending felt natural. I’d say it worked out alright in the end!

What inspired A Lick and a Promise?

Watching old Westerns with my partner! It was right around the time that the first Big Bang was happening that I came up with the idea and I slowly added stuff to it in my mind until the next Big Bang came around and I thought, why not give it a shot?

What was your favorite part to write from A Lick and a Promise?

The dialogue between Steve and Eddie at any given point. I LOVED writing them bicker and tease each other while also learning more about one another. Writing dialogue is often my favorite part of writing in general but for this fic it all came so naturally that it was a joy to see how it all came out.

How do/did you feel writing Do You Have a Mirror in Your Pocket??

It was a lot of fun! Writing Steve still in high school isn’t something I do often so that was a fun challenge in itself, figuring out how to write him with where he was on his self discovery journey, not absolutely reformed but not totally at the beginning of that journey either.

What was the most difficult part of writing Do You Have a Mirror in Your Pocket??

I really wanted to find the balance between writing Steve being humbled without going too overboard with it so I sort of struggled with that. I wanted it to be realistic without humiliating the poor guy too badly. Good thing Eddie was there to help out in the end!

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

The one that’s coming to mind now is one from A Lick and a Promise, “Death may be in front of him, but Steve Harrington is standing beside him. He can’t ask for much more than that.” I’m pretty proud of how that came out.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Right now my plan is to finish up Cosa Nostra, my Mob AU, and then *finally* finish the last two chapters of the sister fic to Put the Lights Out and Cry which is titled In the Alley if you want more of that universe in particular!

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

I wanted to thank the moderators that work on the Steddieunderdog blog for all the amazing work they do sharing work that deserves more attention! Y’all are the bees knees and I’m so thankful for the work you guys have done for the fandom <3 

Thank you to our author, @blipblot, and our anonymous nominator! See more of blipblot's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[azure-firecracker]

ATLA Live Action Stream of Consciousness (Episode 1, Part 3).

How does Gran Gran know all of this (how does she know that Aang is the avatar?)

I AM SORRY ANIMATED KATARA WOULD NOT GO HIDE BECAUSE SOKKA TOLD HER TO! Yeah character reinterpretation is a thing but no.

Okay Katara’s monologue to Sokka I see her character there she is! And confirmed the problem was the directing because Kiawentiio acted the hell out of that. Now do more of it! I have also seen her energy in interviews and I know she can bring the power if they just…let her.

“Lord of snow and ice” lmao

Zuko continues to be a reckless idiot that’s good (don’t fall for it-proceeds to fall for it)

I wonder if the substitution of “glory” for “honor” has any deeper connotations because those words don’t mean the same thing.

I know the Water Tribe being SO unprepared for war was a key point in the original but I did like the moment with the village kids I thought it was sweet.

Okay Zuko is the one instance so far where I liked someone saying “burn it all down” because I’ve seen all the comments about him being soft and this reminded me that no, he’s still a bad guy for now.

Who told Kiawentiio to stop moving the second Ian Ousley touched her? That struggle (when she’s trying to stop Aang from turning himself in) doesn’t look realistic at all I’ve seen better stage directions in my high school theater productions. Somebody hire new directors.

I know the Aang and Iroh scene is fanservice and I don’t care.

This Iroh is more overtly conflict averse and I like that we may be exploring that some more. I love Iroh but I’m also glad for the chance to get to see some of his flaws.

The transition onto the Water Siblings flying on Appa was awesome and very reminiscent of the cartoon. I don’t personally need this to resemble the cartoon too much in terms of energy because I can tell it’s so different, but those moments are nice.

God Zuko’s room looks like an emo theater kid’s room too.

He has a fucking detective wall it’s my murder mystery fanfic! Wish fulfillment! (Also self plug here’s the only fanfic I’ve ever finished I’m fond of it and you should check it out).

There’s some good old Zuko yelling.

Katara waterbending moment! Nice!

How are there 15 minutes left in the episode?

They’re fitting…another episode in here? Okay.

I’ve seen people say that it doesn’t make sense to have Aang go into the Avatar State when he sees Gyatso’s skeleton since he already knew about the genocide. I think it passes since seeing something is different than hearing about it. I do, however, think that we didn’t need to see the genocide, have Gran Gran tell Aang about the genocide, and see Aang react to Gyatso’s skeleton. One of those (probably the middle one) could have easily been removed to make time for some more character moments or something.

I miss Katara pulling Aang out of the Avatar state. The vision is nice but having it be Katara emphasized the power of friendship and family which they literally did…so why couldn’t they do it in a way that made Katara more useful? Because book 1 Katara already veers in the damsel in distress direction (ish-more so than in later books) without them taking away when she does important things. I did love the Katara/Aang hug though.

THE TRANSITION TO ZUKO WHEN AANG WAS LIKE “THIS WAS MY HOME AND NOW IT’S GONE” NARRATIVE FOILS MY BELOVED!

[charmwasjess]

25 for Sifo, please 😁

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Oh Ingata, you've unknowingly asked me to present my thesis on my favorite topic and I love you for it. (Okay, this could have been a two sentence answer, but it's me.) So I wrote you an essay on Sifo-Dyas, but I'm putting it below a cut to save everyone from my rambles on Sifo in the old EU and the greater meaning of his doom-ass storyline.

Apparently, I once casually mused to readalong back in the day (exactly how long ago? No need to worry about that!) that Sifo-Dyas must have been a pretty nice guy, what with him putting up with Dooku all those years. Oh sweet summer child. If only I knew then how long I would spend thinking about this idiot and their dynamic.

Back then, he was on my mind simply because of Dooku. In Luceno’s Labyrinth of Evil, Yoda takes some time to describe in length Dooku and Sifo-Dyas’s close friendship, “bound by the unifying Force,” and speculates what Sifo-Dyas knew about the lead-up to Dooku’s fall. That he was desperately worried about Dooku, that he thought Qui-Gon’s death was a breaking point for him, that Dooku might have been actively hunting down his killer's Master to fuck shit up, and this was about to be A Big Problem for Everyone. 

All of this was very interesting, especially back then, when Dooku was not a popular character and depictions of him having meaningful, positive connections in the Jedi Order were few and far between. I want to be careful here, because I’m not calling the EU/Legends bad - Dark Rendezvous has some of the most beautiful Dooku character work I’ve ever read. But compare, say, Jude Watson’s Qui-Gon in Legends Legacy of the Jedi outright calling Dooku “too cold to love,” as a Master, versus examples from new canon, where Dooku repeatedly and effusively praises his Padawans, casts their relationship as mutually loving, and even offers to get drunk and cry it out over Rael’s dead Padawan. Those present really different pictures. So Sifo-Dyas stood out to me right off the bat as unusual for being close with Dooku: a meaningful connection for a character who, at that point, didn't have meaningful connections. 

As for my impressions now, I think I have a soft spot in general for characters who seem to exist simply to die in a tragic, unescapable way, sacrificed to the narrative or for other character’s growth. In a way, Sifo-Dyas’s story is still certainly both of those.

But he’s so much more. He walks into Dooku: Jedi Lost as this vivid, funny, weird, fearless, chaotic good goofball of a character. Sith Dooku is breathlessly, affectionately describing him to Asajj Ventress (of all people) within the first few seconds of his own life story. That's crazy?! "I was born, I went to the Temple, oh, I MET THIS INCREDIBLE PERSON." Sifo-Dyas's first scene in the damn book is to make a silly little song about Dooku’s name and then telling him to "tell it to your face"?! And we’re not supposed to love him?!

I could go on. But here’s the heart of it for me with the character. The penultimate scene in Dooku: Jedi Lost, comes when he and Dooku are estranged, having been for years over what seems implied as a breakdown over an escalating series of visions that cast Dooku at the center of a world-shattering conflict. Yet, when Dooku comes to Sifo-Dyas for help, one last desperate get-the-gang-back-together, he won’t deny him. When Dooku suggests what Sifo-Dyas literally describes as “insane, the worst plan I’ve ever heard” (I’m quoting directly here), his answer is, again, directly quoting: “I’m in.” He never stopped saying that to Dooku. For all their ultimate ruin, it's sort of beautiful.

That’s the impression that stands out the most strongly - not tragic doom or narrative foil - but the aspects of bravery and loyalty to the character. Someone who would have spent his whole life having visions about someone ending the world, and still show up for that person, and later, still come to them with their own problems. It seems very, very likely - he outright says it during a vision in the cursed book – that he knows Dooku is the person who will make all the futures converge into the one terrible timeline. But EVEN THEN, Sifo-Dyas would rather bring hundreds of thousands of lives into existence than take out Dooku. And whether you read that as friendship or something more, at the end of the day, it’s love.

[bestworstcase]

like. okay.

you have the ozlem self-similarity. laying aside the question of romantic arcs and just strictly considering cinder and winter individually with respect to the fractal ozlem narrative:

cinder is what salem is perceived to be, she is the girl who saved herself from her tower, she is selfish and arrogant, she is a deft and clever manipulator, she’s fixated on power, et cetera. arguably the narrative point of cinder is that it DOESN’T MATTER if salem was ‘guilty’ of being selfish and arrogant or not; cinder embodies every one of salem’s supposed sins and yet she too is a person. salem looks upon her defiance and says i understand you. i will not do to you what was done to me.

winter is the obedient soldier whose feelings and aspirations and life do not matter at all; she subordinates herself to the requirements of the destiny laid out for her by her general and follows orders without question. she is ozma perfected; until she reaches the moment when she is forced to make a decision, choose to put penny between herself and cinder as she was ordered to do so or stand tall to shield the people she loves, and without hesitation winter follows her heart. from that point forth she acts, again and again, in whatever small ways she can find, to put up guardrails against ironwood’s tyranny. (gives weiss, penny, and ruby a chance to run, lets yrj go, then chooses not to stay and look for them after they blow up the whale, intervenes to save marrow, etc.) she is what ozpin tries to be while he imprisons himself in salem’s tower and becomes what ozma wants to be as the tower falls. the narrative point of her is that the hearts of men are easily swayed and that is a good thing. it is her easily-swayed heart that saves her.

in more concise terms, winter embodies the trait perceived as ozma’s greatest weakness—that he allowed love to sway his heart—revealed as his truest strength. the hearts of men are easily swayed -> our feelings insure us that we are on the right path and that is what makes us human.

gestures at cinder. the realization of salem’s myriad perceived flaws, and yet she is human too. there is no justification for the cruelty inflicted upon salem.

gestures at winter. the realization of ozma’s fatal heroic flaw, and yet it is her salvation. to follow the heart is not weakness; it is strength.

pained noise.

winter is an ozma lacking a salem: one could argue weiss, on thin grounds (it is winter who encourages her to break from their father), but thematic conceit of weiss with respect to the ozlem fractal is that she is both the princess and the knight.

cinder likewise is a salem lacking an ozma: one could argue jaune by parsing him as an ozma by virtue of his heroic aspirations and tarnishing into ozpin, but that elides his much stronger resemblance to salem; the girl in the tower, the lovable idiot in the tree.

except ARE THEY THOUGH because winter and cinder are both foils and, from the moment ironwood asks winter to become his winter maiden, narratively bound together as personal adversaries. cinder is an exploration of salem’s perceived flaws; winter likewise of ozma’s notional fatal flaw. it is simpler to read them in relation to each other when considering their part in the ozlem fractal.

the tower, for cinder, is destiny. cinder-believes-being-a-maiden-is-her-destiny people i am eating your livers: cinder fall believes in destiny the way pyrrha nikos believed in monsters. her ‘destiny’ is to be hunted and enslaved. “i won’t have to run now”/“that’s all you’ll ever do.” DESTINY IS THE TOWER. OKAY. and cinder is the girl who had to fight her way out of her tower alone; she wants to rip out destiny’s throat with her teeth. and eat it.

ozpin puts himself in salem’s tower.

WEISS: Ironwood’s chosen you. To be the next—when… she dies. How long have you known? WINTER: Since Beacon fell. WEISS: Doesn’t it bother you? He practically groomed your whole military career! WINTER: It did at first, when the general first proposed it to me. But the more I thought about it, the more I saw it as a privilege, a chance to do some real good for Atlas. For Remnant. WEISS: But your destiny was chosen for you, without your input. WINTER: Perhaps, but I’m choosing it now. I’ve made it my own, and I take great pride in it. That has nothing to do with Father or the General; that belongs to me.

and. “so, the destiny i chose for you has arrived”/“you chose nothing; this was a gift.”

gnawing on my hands. pyrrha chose to sacrifice herself to become the fall maiden because she believed it was her destiny. cinder pursued and claimed the fall maiden because believes it is her destiny to be powerless and she is fighting back. the tower falls; do you believe in destiny? yes; she kills pyrrha and scatters her ashes to the wind.

winter’s destiny is chosen for her, given to her. she can accept it only by telling herself that it is of her own choosing, that she has taken it for herself and made it hers. (ozpin puts himself in salem’s tower.) AND YET when the moment arrives, when destiny calls for her, winter makes her choice and refuses. she breaks down the facsimile she made of the tower to find her own way. and when penny passes that magic on to her, she rejects the idea that this is destiny. this was a gift.

gnashes teeth.

the tower is destiny. the one destined to be hunted and hungry refuses to starve. the one destined for greatness forsakes her claim, to her family’s powerful corporation and to the winter maiden.

the fall maiden who named herself cinder fall. (“the fall maiden,” ruby says, and ozpin corrects her: “cinder.”)

and the winter maiden who is un-named. (“the winter maiden! miss schnee!”)

“you atlas elites are all the same! you think that hoarding power means you’ll have it forever, but that just makes the rest of us hungrier! …and i refuse to starve.” / “you can either call him, beg for his money back […] or you could continue to explore remnant, discovering more about the world and, honestly, about yourself.”

“without you i am nothing, but because of you i am everything.” / “you chose nothing; this was a gift.” it’s perpendicularity of course—character foiling—but also. winter would have left jacques to die, if not for weiss’ sake. winter returned ironwood’s violence to him and condemned him to die with his city. it’s destiny-as-hunger (i refuse to starve) or destiny-as-subjugation (that belongs to me; this was a gift).

cinder, who embodies and realizes everything salem is presumed to be—selfish, arrogant, heartless monster—murders winter’s family. “you,” winter snarls, “are going to pay for everything you’ve done.”

(salem didn’t murder her children; she and ozma fought, and the girls were killed in the crossfire. but if she had, would it be the retroactive justification for all her suffering? would it justify choosing to perpetuate a cycle of violence and retribution? this is a question the narrative asks us to consider with cinder. her presence was always felt: he had to destroy salem. you are going to pay for everything you’ve done.)

pained noise. fall and winter.

cinder fall, the maiden of choice.

winter “it seems to me like you have two choices in front of you” schnee. winter “i’m choosing it now, i’ve made it my own, that belongs to me” schnee. winter “you chose nothing, this was a gift” schnee. who is defined by her choices.

winter schnee, the maiden of creation.

cinder “a surname so appropriate she probably picked it herself” fall. cinder “i want to be strong, i want to be feared, i want to be powerful” fall. cinder “but because of you, i am everything” fall. cinder “you turned yourself into a monster” fall. who is defined by the self she creates.

the insurmountable obstacle: penny is dead, and through her death winter became a maiden. how can it be surmounted?—but consider cinder and winter separately from each other. cinder’s hunger for the other maiden powers must be laid down; this is the keystone pinning her character arc. winter’s grief and guilt for penny must be healed; this is a hopeful story. so each half must and will be overcome. the question is whether and to what extent these two threads are wound together into one.

but really. for the love of fuck. grimm are manifestations of anonymity—cinder is grimm and she named herself and ozpin emphasizes that she is cinder, not fall, not autumn, not the fall maiden, cinder—in becoming the maiden, winter is stripped of her name and titled the winter maiden, miss schnee, anonymous scion of the family name she cut herself loose from long ago.

not ‘the fall maiden,’ cinder.

the winter maiden, miss schnee.

i am going to eat my hands.

it’s: the grimm are manifestations of anonymity, and the wizard is an anonymous combination of others but she is salem.

it’s: the wizard, the infinite man, the hero, the man you know as ozpin, the professor ozpin you met who was not my first form and clearly wasn’t my last, the combination of countless men, and salem.

(amber, cinder fall, pyrrha nikos, raven branwen, fria, penny polendina, winter schnee. if the summer maiden is a character we know, it’s either starr sanzang or gillian asturias. the lampshade raven hangs after naming her decoy maiden vernal obfuscates this, but “cinder fall the fall maiden” and “winter schnee the winter maiden” are the only ones Like That.)

think at this point i have to tentatively reconsider my presupposition that cinwin is not in fact happening. squinting and pacing and muttering ‘oho, the winter maiden! miss schnee!’ why are you DOING THAT–

[vrisrezis]

Rocket and reader but with enemies to lovers trope? 👉👈

if you write it, thank you soo much!! :D

So rocket and blackjack … got it 😩🔥

(Hc portion)

Rocket does not ever find himself falling for any enemy, liking his enemies even a little bit. Also, for him to hate you as much as he does, you’d have to be head to head against him constantly. Maybe you worked with thanos or maybe your ideals collide with one another often, maybe you find yourself constantly working against the guardians which is why you’re just a natural enemy to rocket. Maybe you’re just narrative foils. In any event, rocket hates you. He will not come to terms with liking you unless you two end up teaming up against a greater force, and he’s able to recognize the positive aspects about you rather than all the negatives. He’s able to finally realize you’d make an excellent ally if you weren’t the most annoying person on the face of any planet he’s been on. When it matters, he works with you. I think that the battle against thanos would truly be the first time you bond, and that bond would continue through the 5 years everyone you both loved was gone. You find solace in one another, and it’s how rocket is able to realize he loves you, even if you’re an infuriating piece of shit. You dynamic would not change upon being a couple, you would both be at eachothers heads, you’d both still argue and disagree, but you’re not enemies anymore. Rivals, perhaps. But not enemies.

(Fic portion)

Rocket sighs deeply as you give him another infuriating smirk. God how he hated the way you looked at him, over confident and bitchy, almost as if you were completely positive you were just better than him in every capacity, yet you still felt the need to gain his approval in some way. Even if you never admitted to wanting that approval, it was something you showed you clearly wanted every day you two spent together. The showing off in front of him, constantly proving to him you were the strong one, you were the one that could beat him in a fight, no contest. In this alliance, he was the one that needed you. If approval wasn’t something you desired from him, you wouldn’t feel the need to constantly one up the guy. At first he figured it was a lack of self esteem, and to an extent he thinks that is the case. But as if lately, he wonders if it’s something deeper. He wonders if it’s because you think of him the way he thinks of you, late at night, nobody around but him and his thoughts of the one and only, you. Maybe he’s just waiting, hoping, you think of him the same way. Because as much as you truly get on his every last nerve, he has to face the music. He is madly in love, and he’s never felt this kinda love before. It’s the kind of love that makes him scream at you, the kinda love that drives him crazy, the kinda love that’s never made him ever feel this way. The kinda love that never gets boring and never has ever made him feel so many emotions at once.

And he knows, he does the same thing you do. He goes out of his way to show he’s the smart one, he’s the one that makes the cool weapons, he may need you for your strength, but you need him for his brains. And perhaps, he’s come to realize over the many years you two have known eachother, that you balance eachother out really well because of it. Maybe you’ve realized that too. Or not. You are an idiot after all. He asks himself everyday why an actual moron like you was able to one up him for so long. But when he brings himself back to reality, and sees your shit eating grin, he knows why.

It’s because he let you.

Because despite how annoying he finds you, he’s always had some weird soft spot for you. Because what to him is infuriating about you, is also adorably charming. He wishes he could wipe that smirk off your face, but at the same time… he kinda likes that look on you. He likes that a simple face expression you give him could drive him so crazy. Deep down, he knows he doesn’t find you infuriating but rather the feelings he has towards you. Because it’s complicated. You two have been enemies forever, therefor he should not have such attachments towards you. And yet he does. He wishes he could get rid of them. And yet, you feel those things towards him too. And while he thinks you joke about it, he knows deep down you are telling him your truth. You simply don’t care about liking your enemy, and he’s envious of how carefree you are about it.

As the two of you work together more, the more he realizes he wants you on his side, forever.

[cvldbones]

i wanted to dedicate a whole post to this because i love it so much

but a huge thread of s3 is of course this idea of finding someone who sees and knows you - all of the core characters struggle with this theme both implicitly & explicitly throughout the season (eleanor/trent each manipulating each other, for example; fabiola ultimately moving on to addison i think is supposed to be a nod to this, although i found it unnecessary)

but aneesa is the only character who this is outright stated about, and i find it so fascinating that in the exact same episode where she (through narration) expresses wanting to be seen & known - we see ben doing just that for devi. “but you’re naturally curious!” he tells her. and she immediately responds - “I know!”

devi & aneesa have consistently served as foils to each other, and their relationships with ben have helped flesh his character out, as well. and this moment further illuminates that - ben knows devi, and devi feels seen by ben. but in the same way, devi knows ben - in his episode, she’s the one that immediately calls him out on his insane schedule; who notices he’s in pain.

and this is ultimately why, regardless of where you fall on the ~shipping~ spectrum, it makes narrative sense that devi ends the season (hypothetically) having sex with ben. because they see & feel seen by one another, she is comfortable being her most vulnerable with him in a way she never was with paxton or des, despite how much she liked them (and they liked and comforted her)!

and now i’m going to go cry about these two stubborn, beautiful, insane idiots again thx 🥲

[justalittlegoblin]

🗒️📝❕

oh boy oh boy ok ty bud <3 <3 <3

📄What’s a WIP you never finished that you would like to go back and revisit?

The one I think of when I think of my WIPs is from Haikyuu!!, which is a VOLLEYBALL ANIME I had no business falling in love with but certainly did (*looks at my 94 published fics*). Sports animes are big on drawing blatant narrative foils. The mc Hinata and his rival/bestie/boyfriend Kageyama are light and dark, gregarious and awkward, intuition and skill, but both share one brain cell and have literally said to each other, "As long as you're with me, you're the greatest." ANYWAY....

The funky thing about going on the fic journey with a sports anime is eventually you'll arrive at an AU that's just character themes and nothing else? This WIP is peak achy/sad, where H is summer/growth and K is winter/death, and they are eternal, but have very little time they can spend with one another bc they are opposites at their core. K must carry sleeping chestnut seed!Hinata in a pouch against his heart as he blankets the world in snow, and has to plant him in a sacred grove and move on in the hopes that the seed will grow and warmth will come again. It's a very pandemic winter trying-to-preserve-hope-in-the-dark-months vibe.

📝Share a snippet of an unposted WIP, with or without context.

Dorian was lucky that only his lyre was broken – and not his hand – from a close call just moments before. His armor and travel gear clung to him in a sweaty film as he raced after Opal, Dariax, and Orym, with Fearne right on his heels.

“Remember that time I said breaking into a scary-evil-awful-glowing tower was probably a bad idea?” he yelped, narrowly dodging a sconce that ripped at his sleeve like a clawed beast as they advanced down the steadily contracting hallway. He yanked Fearne after him, the both of them escaping for the moment with shallow scrapes. Orym glanced over his shoulder at them, and the red-orange of flames reflecting in his wide eyes proved the trigger downstairs was far from exhausted.

Dorian didn’t have more time to stare, because the stone floor erupted under them in a tremendous wave, like it was made of storm-roughened waters, or billowing fabric, instead of solid rock. 

“Since when do we make smart decisions,” Orym grunted, darting up the side of the wall for a breathless moment to dodge flying shrapnel.

“That Orroyen lady said, ‘the wizard has answers,’” Opal hissed, sliding down the hall on her heeled boots as the walls warped and squeezed threateningly. 

“She didn’t mention if he had hospitality!” Dariax said in that way he had, which – despite everything – had the lot of them wheezing with disbelieving laughter as they sprinted deeper along the twisting corridors. 

Dorian loved these idiots. He felt awful, completely flattened and horrible and dirty and exhausted, but life was nothing if not exciting with them, every single sweaty day.

“Queen bitch, you plan on helping us anytime soon?!” screamed Opal, glaring upward.

Whatever the response was, all the rest of them could hear was the creeping sound of crawling insects, and then the hallway straightened out in a snap, revealing a tall, narrow, turquoise door that had seemed eons away just moments before.

“Check for traps, Dari – okay.” Orym reached out, but Dorian caught him by the armor and pulled him back, nearly slamming him into his and Fearne’s legs where they were plastered against the wall. 

Dariax narrowly avoided the dart that ejected from a hole in the wall, when he finally unlocked the door.

[boasamishipper]

character ask, tell me about Owen baybeeeee 👀👀👀

Sexuality Headcanon: Owen has always been attracted to men and women, but wrote off the former in a 'who hasn't had gay thoughts am i right guys' way for many years. (He likes his men like he likes his women: driven, intelligent, infuriating, and snarky.) Once he comes to terms with his attraction to men, he is slightly overwhelmed by All The Labels out there that well-meaning people try to foist upon him (you're pan! you're bi! are you sure you're not straight?). He feels most comfortable labeling himself as queer and just living his best life.

Gender Headcanon: Cis male.

A ship I have with said character: Owen/Billy has taken over my entire brain (as evidenced by this entire blog and my ao3). Narrative foils!! Snark and sexual tension!! Enemies to friends to lovers!! Chaotic dumbass old men!! This ship has it all. (I also have a soft spot for Owen/Gwyn; they have an Excellent dynamic.)

A BROTP I have with said character: Owen and Tommy are the BEST. Team mom and dad who can be petty and childish around each other (see: Completely Valid and Consuming Hatred for Pearce Risher) while still being supportive friends and co-workers. Give me more Owen&Tommy in s4!

A NOTP I have with said character: Owen/Catherine. I know Rob Lowe is a Republican but you CANNOT ever convince me that Owen is one or would date one, let alone date one who works for the governor of Texas and was canonically called 'Ann Coulter without the warmth'. And honestly?? They can Both do better. I hope to God we have seen the last of her.

A random headcanon: When TK was five and the three of them were at that wedding in Montauk that TK talked about in 3x09, Owen couldn't react or even breathe when he saw TK fall headfirst off the pier. After Gwyn saved TK and he saw that his son was okay, Owen shook TK hard and yelled at him for wandering off, and then hugged him So Hard and apologized for yelling. (He excused himself while Gwyn comforted TK and locked himself in the bathroom and had one of the most excruciating panic attacks of his life). After that, Owen insisted on being the one to teach TK how to swim, and every time he and Gwyn took TK to the ocean or the pool (or any body of water) after that, he didn't take his eyes off TK for even a second. Just In Case.

General Opinion over said character: I was mostly neutral about him at first (I didn't hate him, but I did find him annoying) but he's grown on me a lot, especially over the course of this last season. He's an impulsive idiot who makes a lot of bad decisions, but he's loyal and loves very fiercely and has a lot of pain and guilt beneath the superficial facade he puts on, and I'm very intrigued where they're going to take his character next. (And honestly, some of the hate he gets from the fandom feels very unwarranted. He's not a bad dad or a bad guy! He's just Not Perfect, and that's okay - a realization that I hope is part of his arc in the episodes to come.)

send me a character and i'll answer these questions

[blue-ravens]

also you KNOW i'm going to ask it back, so charles/donna or charles/hawkeye

You know the answer is both. How can I ever choose between my very own canon rarepair who just FIT TOGETHER and deserve the world, and my very own narrative foils (derogatory) to narrative foils (affectionate) ship? H O W. You do not pick. You let them hold hands and fall in love like the stupidly adorable chaotic bi and ace idiots they are.

ALWAYS both.

[jackedspicer]

C.B.H.!

new chowder oc dropped. Youre gonna hate this guy so much

first of all, corned beef hash is a character that my siblings @collectiveazaelas​ & @castingcomets​ and i have collaborated on making. from the bottom of our hearts, we hope you hate him as much as we do

at first glance, corned beef hash serves as a narrative foil to ms rhubarb. his initial conception centered loosely around antagonizing her, but his personality quickly grew beyond that. he is a beast unto himself and others. his only goal is to be self serving and (intentionally) get in the way of others in his life, primarily the other OCs kumquat and pimento, but also canon characters as well. he does this not out of spite or dislike for others, but rather it’s just because he can, and it is often times the fastest route to his goal. he is the freudian id, if the id had a sense of self control and awareness (though he does occasionally blip out on the latter). 

cbh's age isnt exactly clear. he exists in the comically broad adult world that most of marzipan city seems to: anywhere from 25-2500; whos to say? he graduated valedictorian from law school. around this time, he terrorized his dormmate (and future "friend"), pimento (a ram-like man with a few loose screws), to the point of dropping out and going into the culinary field, as "a kitchen during rush hour is still less stressful than sharing a living space with cbh." cbh is at times a petty thief, and at times a criminal mastermind - it depends on his current "schemes" and what is funny at the time. he knows the law to the letter and sometimes uses it to his advantage. though others sometimes think he is a temperamental idiot, most actions are done through thought-out choice and by utilizing his own strengths.

He has a stand in the farmer’s market at which he sells an assortment of mysterious wares and occasionally baked goods that are Evil & Wrong. The quality of his stock ranges anywhere between genuine artifacts to actual garbage from the dumpster, which he will then try to “spruce up” and sell as something more. He’s a hustler no doubt, and he earns his supply through meticulous dumpster-diving, talking down prices at thrift stores, and general vaguely-illegal tomfoolery. At times, he’ll get his hands on elusive items, and how he accomplishes this is seldom explained (he once was arrested and jailed for 12 days because he “accidentally” was selling illegal dognip). He frequently enlists in Kumquat’s help in his various endeavors and typically has her do the dirty work. For example, one of their foraging techniques involves his hooking her onto a fishing line and casting her out to sea; it’s usually just junk, but sometimes she’s clutching a few shiny souvenirs when reeled back in.

He does move the physical location of his stand around a lot, both to “drain fresh pockets” and to avoid growing too known and hated in one area. That being said, he’s been at this for a while, so every vendor at the farmer’s market knows him and is all too familiar with his cycling. The clientele are just unfamiliar enough to fall for his beguilement, though, save for a few skeevy regulars who seek him out for his stuff.

yes he was valedictorian. yes he was a frat boy all throughout college. yes he does beer kegs by pouring the beer directly into his head. yes hes a criminal mastermind. No its not a big deal

being a “bottlehead” (as he calls himself), he doesnt know what sex is (why would he need to?) but he doesnt know that he doesnt know. he loves the culture of it and he’ll hit on anyone. he doesn’t get vocab, but he’s raunchy without hesitation (see quotes section)

he has his eyes on the front of his skull because hes a pursuit predator

his tragic flaw is that he has no flaws. likewise, his lack of complexity is what makes him complex. He has no insecurities. This guy is a black hole. He is everything, but most importantly, he is Nothing.

It’s typical for him to throw around callous, vulgar, and at times offensive references. Case in point: his favorite nicknames for kumquat are Cumsquat and Cumsquirt. Likewise, his nicknames for pimento are Pissmentos, Bimento, Bitchmento, etc.

whenever he does something to boast about, he pounds his chest, turns around, flashes the back of his jacket, and chants C.B.H.! the way a frat boy chants his college's name

he's largely inspired by the way chris fleming characterizes the massachusettsian frat boy. in our minds, he also shares a voice with him.

he feels no shame and he does not hide himself. He may be a bullheaded, grandiose individual, but that doesnt mean he'll withhold his words of affirmation. he'll say something and really mean it - he gives and withholds performances for no one, as he only serves himself.

He devotes no time to introspection. it’s debatable that he might not even know how, but it would be time squandered as there’s not much to introspect On.

it’s a mistake to misinterpret kumquat as his little buddy whom he feels affection for; in his mind, they’re on the same team is all. hes gotta protect his own. It’s as if they’re in the same frathouse. that being said, hes not a good team player. he gets along with kumquat and at times pimento because they’re both socially passive, and the same goes for any relationship he’s ever had. Working with someone of his caliber would guarantee the butting of heads and stalemates on stalemates. A disaster

he’s heavily inspired by 3OH!3

his other inspirations include grunkle stan, brucie kibbutz, and caesar from big top burger, in equal parts

his species is potion

his mother is a lava lamp, his father is a science flask, and he has several siblings, with one of which being a bong named Oregano.

Cannot stand being called Corn

QUOTES

“C.B.H.!”

“You wanna go? You wanna start some BEEF with the HASH?!”

“By the power vested in me by the state of marzipan city i now pronounce you FUCKED PWNED”

“I’LL SUCK YOUR MOM’S DICK, BRO, DO NOT FUCK WITH ME!”

You want to know if his potion liquid is adhesive so you ask him if he has a meniscus and he thinks that youre asking him smth dirty so he says “hey hey i’m on my day job right now. Come by after 8 and ask me then, see what happens”

“If it’s not broke, we don’t sell it!” (motto)

“You wanna throw rocks at this glass house?”

 “Oh i’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was politically incorrect to have my TITS OUT”

“Broskis can you keep it down, im trying to get my wicked sleep gnar gnar on”

“I’M GONNA COME UNCORKED. IM GONNA COME UNCORKED. IM SERIOUSLY GONNA COME UNCORKED”

“Bro, i can’t deal with you trying to kiss me & shit. I’m not gay. Like, yeah, i’ll fuck a dude, marry a dude, but i seriously can’t be seen smooching someone with horns that big, you dig?”

“MY MOM DOESN’T LIKE YOU, STOP PRETENDING SHE DOES!”

“Yeah, no, yeah, yeah, i’m looking at the fucker right now.”

“Whose bottle do i gotta brush to [XYZ] around here?”

his uncieknuckies-type shitpost blog: @corndbeefhash​

and finally, his difficult person ranking:

[jason-pipers]

the jason/piper breakup and jason’s subsequent death

it is a long and angry post so you have been warned 

 I’m really sick of seeing Jason Grace/Piper McLean slander in their own tag, and I’m really, really sick of seeing people justify their breakup/his death as good writing. 

As I’ve been studying literature and text for the past four years at Uni- I can say with absolute confidence that The Burning Maze utilizing Jason and Piper was horrible. Like a bag of shit mixed together then smeared on paper and published kind of horrible. Actually, you don’t even really need a degree to be able to point out the very basic absurdity of them appearing in TBM. So even though I have a paper due on a completely unrelated topic and a lot of homework, I naturally decided this was a much better thing to write about: 

 Maybe in another world, Rick’s ghostwriters will be better at writing his books. The reason why the Jason/Piper breakup was extremely confusing and done very poorly in the sense of their character arcs was that there was no buildup to the breakup. In fact, I think these two got together off-screen and broke up off-screen. Yet, I’m sure Riordan sat at his desk thinking “now why don’t people just like Jason and Piper?? I give them so much!” Actually, you gave them nothing. It’s also considerably easy to disguise their breakup as logical when it isn’t. Now, people will argue that the basic foundation of the relationship was poorly made because of Hera’s meddling and that’s why they broke up. This is a lazy way to think about it because it’s obvious you don’t care about the characters so you should just say that and go. Hera’s meddling (putting false memories of Jason in Piper’s head and wiping Jason’s brain) really only gave Piper a vague notion of Jason (based on real attributes the Mist pulls) and also gave PERCY and Jason multiple relationships after the switcheroo. But Piper actually meets Jason and then has a subsequent breakdown that maybe he’s not her boyfriend. However, once she gets to know the real Jason (very accurate to the one she knew in her memories because Aphrodite said she could sense real possibilities hinting at their romance), she is still developing romantic feelings for him. It’s implied that the reason why Piper is falling so fast is because the memories she has of Jason are based on the real Jason. It’s easy to establish that Piper has real romantic feelings for Jason, not the made up Jason because the majority of TLH is them getting to know each other. If she felt like there was some confusion on her part about developing feelings for him because of Hera switching Percy and Jason- why did it not come up EVER? The months where Jason and Piper started dating. How about that long ass quest on the Argo? It could have been a valid plot line but it never came up. If it had come up near the end of the series or maybe even if it was a small subplot in the series, it would make the breakup logical, at least narratively. But no, we end Blood of Olympus with Jason and Piper coming full circle with the moment in the stars. Flash forward three years later to TBM where everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) about Piper and Jason are thrown into the trash. They’re broken up due to the false memories and overall I guess it’s implied Piper doesn’t have feelings for him anymore or something? Or the trauma of being in something like that prophecy was a lot for her to handle and she needed some time to figure things out? Yeah of course! Just like when she will go through another trauma (Jason dying for her) and start dating someone new right after. This would be so much easier to read and digest if these things are shown- in their own series and maybe not as a side thing to Apollo’s series. Reading it in TOA was completely out of left field. I know SO MANY PEOPLE were like that makes so much sense! Good for you Piper! But I was like girl, who are you? I feel like I have not spent any time with you and none of what you’re saying is connecting to anything you were like before. Which leads me to believe people just did not like Piper in HOO but just say that and go. HOO Piper is not TBM/TOA Piper. RR doesn’t know how to characterize his own goddamn characters. Furthermore, everything in canon up until TBM implies and directly states that Jason and Piper are endgame. It’s not to say they didn’t have problems that were resolved or that the way they got together was conventional. There was not even a smidge bit of reluctance to admit they were canon endgame- I think RR even had Cupid involved. There was no prediction or even hint of what would happen in TBM in HOO, which is a very big narrative problem. Jason, always isolated by loved ones and quite frankly always shouldering way more than a human can handle dies exactly the way he suffers. There is no growth or even a small lovely moment where we can see Jason. 

This brings me to the most unnecessary death I’ve ever read in my life. I know RR’s ego hurt from the complaints about Jason/Piper/Frank/Hazel/Leo (basically a non-Percabeth character) being underdeveloped. I know his ego was fucked when he “killed” Leo but didn’t really kill Leo so everyone was like what the fuck. I know he wanted to prove he is a good writer but like any other bad writer, he decided to jump the shark. And I know he wanted Jason and Piper to be more likable but the fandom really wanted a Leo-esque character. The breakup really happened because he wanted to demonstrate to critics that he could live with couples not being endgame and knew Jasiper was relatively unpopular compared to Percabeth/Caleo/etc. He wasn’t thinking in terms of ‘does this fit what I’ve created’ but in terms of ‘people might be like oh shit this is violent and they’re finally gone!’. I don’t know what idiotic thought process made him reach the point of killing one of them but he obviously got there. See, there is no difference between Jason or Piper dying in TBM. It could’ve easily been Piper who was impaled by Caligula and reminded Apollo “what it’s like to be human”. They were made *that* insignificant in TBM. Pretty much fucking interchangeable. IN DEATH. It also could’ve been anybody else in the world. It could’ve been that cheerleader from The Battle of the Labyrinth. It could’ve been Piper’s dad. It could have been Sally Jackson. Not a single part of Jason’s death was really related to Jason or his growth. Jason was the main/lead from HOO and if he was destined to die (which he wasn’t because RR doesn’t think anything through anymore), he should have died in his own series. That would make his sacrifice more compelling and important, but dying in TOA is just a big fuck you to his character. I think the only equivalent I can think of is if HOO had solely been Jason’s series but RR pulled up Percy to simply kill him and then just kept writing. What the fuck does TOA have anything to do with Jason or Piper? Or even Leo? I usually love when characters make cameo appearances to remind us of the past we loved them in. Kind of like when Lynda Carter appeared as Asteria in WW1984. Conversely, involving them in the plot and then using them as a plot device for the main character- AKA USING YOUR MAIN CHARACTER AS A PLOT DEVICE FOR ANOTHER MAIN CHARACTER IN A SEPARATE SERIES- is not only dumb but it truly makes everything else you’ve written for the first main character devoid of any real significance. Jason was never a fully fleshed-out character, the way he deserved to be written, because RR couldn’t world build as well as he thought and that ‘every single character gets a POV’ didn’t do the legendary thing he thought it did. However, anything that mattered about Jason was pretty much killed in TBM because he was easily killed by a villain that was not even remotely interested in Jason or aware of his existence. What does FUCK does Caligula mean to Jason? Nothing. Did the final battle create a full circle for Jason other than the line “remember?” which is not really related to his amnesia- no. His character arc was about an identity crisis- being pushed and pulled in two directions. Jason barely means anything to Apollo so RR using Jason as a convenient kill to send home a message is also shitty for Apollo. Lead hero characters can die- they sometimes just have to. Marissa Cooper’s death in the OC narratively makes sense due to the nature of the character being a damsel in distress from the very beginning- a foil to her counterpart, Ryan Atwood. But in this case, RR knew he had to shock people to keep getting $$$. I never got the impression RR cared about Jason or Piper, especially since he was incredibly disrespectful and lazy when writing about Piper. (For that- I can link really detailed posts explaining his racism). The truth is Riordan cannot live without putting his characters in relationships- Frazel, Caleo, Tyson/Ella (?), Hedge/Mellie- but he wanted to prove that he could which is why Jasiper broke up.

Piper’s girlfriend in TON- I didn’t read TON for the reasons above and I don’t think I’ll ever read a Riordan book again: I did find out that Piper gets a GF in TON which at first I thought was incredibly neat but then later became angry when I learned it was only months after Jason’s death? I have always wanted Piper to explore her sexuality but RR has this case of never giving important things the development it deserves. He’s incredibly messy and inconsistent when he creates lgbtqia+ characters, usually only including them so he can get credit for including them. He’s never actually explored Piper’s sexuality fully in the series, but he threw her in yet another relationship we didn’t get to read about right after she was almost beaten to death and then witnessed the murder of her ex-boyfriend. If you think that is representation, please rethink that. We don’t get to hear her talk about anything at all, except maybe mentioning the girl’s name. A subtle hint. Just representation is not good representation and it is right that we demand better representation. Don’t settle for less. For fuck’s sake, Riverdale is only really good at queerbaiting but they get so much praise. (Do they? At this point I can’t tell). If we wanted to explore Piper’s sexuality, it could have been done while she was with Jason or even broken up with him in her own series- why didn’t RR explore the nature of being lgbtqia+ in an Indigenous family? He had the chance to demonstrate an awareness of intersectionality through Piper but he fucked up. He had so much to write about. So, people who are yelling happily about that Piper appearance in TON-??? 

 This was long and frustrating to write. But I had feelings.

[plague-of-nice]

Howdy Joie! I saw your post about Ogata, Shiraishi, and Sugimoto- what are some of your favorite trivia about them / what are some of your favorite things about their individual personalities :D?

Clover @tex-treasures

Clover! Aaa thank you for dropping by 🥺 It's true I'm fixated so much on these three right now so I'm glad to ramble about them!

cw: mentions of Parent & Sibling/step-sibling death, Allusions to spoilers (also a few links to clips from the anime; Minor to Major Spoilers)

Regarding Sugimoto...

One of the anime protagonists that I loved immediately. (Well- I haven’t watched too many anime for that statement to have weight, but the impact is still there ajdkadj) He’s charming guy and to me, the epitome of the duality of man. He’s one second chill and a huge softie, the next he’s living up to his name as “The Immortal Sugimoto” and an absolute beast in a fight. I’m super soft for his story too... The fact that he’s looking for gold to help the woman he loved (that woman having been married to his childhood best friend who ended up dying in the Russo-Japanese war) but then shifting to end up being Asirpa’s guardian and helping her... Sugimoto is a very kind and big-hearted man that’s been hardened so much by his rough experiences... It wasn’t part of the plan to end up falling for him but here I am! It’s very hard not to, to be honest, he’s just... so good. 🥺

Regarding Shiraishi...

The unexpected F/O... Ever heard of “Happy Little Accidents” but with self-shipping? Because that’s exactly what happened with Shiraishi, The Infamous Escape King. He is...by all intents and purposes... a huge comic relief character while also simultaneously being a mainstay protagonist alongside Sugimoto and Asirpa. It’s way too easy to just dump him into the “big silly idiot” category but to be honest, to me he can be cool and cunning whenever he’s given his moments. I seriously did not imagine I’d end up loving him the way I do now... I used to swear he was just a really good and funny friend to get into trouble with... 

Why did my feelings eventually turned more romantic? It’s honestly because his motivations are very subtle (Again, because he’s the comic relief): Shiraishi’s very driven by themes of love. Like- With the life he’s lived, he’s hardly had stability in his life. He was abandoned as a baby, and then he ran away as a kid. One time as a prisoner, he fell in love with a shoddy drawing of a nun and used that as motivation to get himself transferred to a different jail just to find her. Heck, his iconic robe was a gift to him by a brothel lady that liked him very much and he wears it constantly... Even as a member of “The Golden Trio”, the main 3, he developed from a wallflower type of guy into someone who actively chooses to stick by Sugimoto and Asirpa ‘til the end. He’s so sweet, silly, and funny... and I fr find it hard to explain just how much he’s been a pleasant surprising mainstay in my heart, I just love him very much! Also he’s the one I have the most solid self-ship lore with at the moment. 😳

Regarding Ogata

HOOO MAN. The one that started the fall. The cold, bastard, mountain cat-like sniper. It’s all thanks to him I got into G.olden K.amuy. Like- I literally just ran into fan art of him on Pinterest, then moments later I already had a pin board filled with the many other art/screenshots/manga panels of him.

As a narrative character, he serves as this huge and unstable foil to everybody’s plans. He joined the hunt for the gold for his personal gains, hopping around the involved parties and coercing to no end. But man... He’s truly one of the most intense cases of “I (wish I) could fix him” I’ve ever encountered. I adhere to canon a good degree and that’s why it’s been a bit of an uphill slope having him as an F/O... Like- There’s a lot to unpack, y’know? Growing up as a neglected, illegitimate child, having killed his own parents and step-brother... He’s been deprived of so much love and care. (Not to mention how things went down recently in the manga...)

AKSAKSJASJ Okay, in a lighter note, he truly is a big bastard at many points and at its peak, it’s also Ogata’s best moments because it showcases how cunning and ruthless he can be. He likes thinking he’s hot shit, and even has canon moments of him asking people to beg for his help and referring to him and his rank as Superior Private... 😳 (’Nuff said about that)

AND OH MY GOD. IT’S A SEASON 3 SPOILER. But this moment is so iconic, it lives in my head rent free. It’s Ogata’s peak. The sexiest he’s ever been. I love me a multi-lingual man, I’m just sayin-

[sineshion]

Nezumi Character Analysis

UH OH SISTERS! Here I am to write an essay on Nezumi and his relationship and actions towards Shion that no one asked for, but I’m doing it anyway.

SPOILERS FOR THE NO.6 NOVEL

Let me start by saying that Nezumi is a really well fleshed out character, and that a lot of his actions and dialogue have more depth than initially comes across. Nezumi starts off as a character who is very closed off, both emotionally and physically. Gradually over the course of the novel, he becomes more and more open, until we reach the climax of his character while in the Correctional Facility. During Shion and his first meeting, he tells Shion that he doesn’t neccessarily care about Shion’s fate, but that he doesn’t want to feel responsible if something bad were to happen to Shion.

“Do you really? I mean, it’s not my problem what happens to you, but if you end up being wiped out because of me, I wouldn’t like that. I’d feel like I did something horrible...”

I find this dialogue to be very telling and foreshadowing, as comparing Nezumi’s mindset from the beginning of the novel and end of the novel shows just how much Shion is able to change him. Though Nezumi might not say it directly, he is just as drawn to Shion as Shion is to him. We come to learn that he keeps secretive watch over Shion for the four years they are apart, in a silent way of protecting him. We could shrug this off as Nezumi simply “repaying a debt”, as he says again and again, but it is far more than that. Shion offers kindness and compassion to Nezumi during their first meeting, which we come to learn is the first real act of kindness he has received in years. Shion shows love toward Nezumi when he arguably needs it most, and though Nezumi might not want to admit it, he is showing love right back by silently watching over Shion, and rescuing him. From the moment they met, Nezumi has become captured by Shion, much like how Shion says he has become captured by Nezumi.

Throughout the novel, Nezumi goes from showing acts of kindness toward Shion, to then showing hostility. Shion is never afraid of Nezumi’s random spouts of violence, in his what I can only assume to be futile attempts to reject vulnerability. Nezumi projects all of his hatred for No.6 and it’s violence against him onto Shion, which he later comes to realize is wrong, and abusive of him.

“This casual act of kindness, or those cold, dispassionate words from a few minutes ago - which one was he to believe? Shion couldn’t grasp him.”

Nezumi tells Shion to throw away his memories, his feelings, and ties to everyone and everything he knows. He continuously acts cold and hostile toward Shion without provocation, which we learn is the result of the way Gran, an old woman who raised him, warped his mind into being. Nezumi has a very unstable and warped mindset on love, and what it would do to him. He has been raised since the age of 4 to fear it like nothing else, which I find so heartbreaking. It is no wonder Nezumi constantly reacts the way he does both to being touched by Shion, as well as kissed, or just generally loved. Gran tells Nezumi from the age of 4 to view any person who loves him as a literal demon who will kill him, thus creating the mental struggle within himself as he tries and fails to keep from reciprocating those feelings.

“Never sigh in earnest. Never cry. You’ll be taken advantage of by demons. Sighing creates an opening, a vulnerability. If you want to stay alive, keep your mouth shut. Never let anyone see your weak spot. Let your heart warm to no one. Never trust anyone but yourself.”

We are told that Nezumi went against Gran’s instruction simply by rescuing Shion. I suspect that a small part of Nezumi wanted to do this (go against Gran’s orders), though he reprimands himself multiple times for his actions. It isn’t that Nezumi is completely helpless from falling in love with Shion, it’s that he actually wants to be loved by the boy, even if only deep down. More and more, he begins to simply sit around and watch Shion, thinking about how beautiful Shion is, how nice it would be to touch him and how much he wants to have physical contact with him, playing with his hair. He begins to lose his sense of control over himself, leaving the door to his home unlocked without even realizing it, sighing over Shion, and risking his own safety to send messages to Shion’s mother unprompted. When he learns of Safu’s abduction, instead of telling Shion, he begins to think of how if Shion found out, it would result in his death. He compares the loss to the loss of his own family, and of the suffering he would feel if that were to occur. Nezumi has already begun to grow attached. He was attached from the very moment Shion and he met.

“He would be experiencing the same suffering again, of being broiled alive in Hellfire.” “I don’t want to lose him. I would suffer.”

This admission is paralleled to Safu’s in a prior scene, where she admits to Karan, Shion’s mother, that she is in love with Shion. She says: “I don’t want to regret anything. If - if by some chance, he ends up never coming back... I’m going to be the one to suffer for my whole life. I don’t want that. I don’t want to lose him.” Nezumi is falling in love with Shion, whether he realizes it at this moment or not is besides the point. He does not want to lose Shion. He does not want to return to a life of seclusion and loneliness, a life without love. He would and will do anything to keep from losing it. Both Safu and Nezumi are in love with Shion, but I would argue that the difference between them, other than obvious ones, as that Nezumi comes to see Shion exactly for who he is, the love he feels for Shion not blinding himself, but illuminating the entire world, whereas Safu does not. Safu continuously compares herself to the person Shion is yearning for, asking why she cannot be them, why she cannot be the one to get to know everything about Shion.

Despite Nezumi’s efforts to hide the truth of Safu’s capture from Shion, this falls through, and he is warned by Inukashi: “If he’s so precious to you that you don’t want to loose him, protect him to the very end. And do whatever it takes to protect him, you idiot, no matter how humiliating it is.” Nezumi wants to protect Shion, and would and later does do anything to keep him by his side, this dialogue from Inukashi foreshadowing Nezumi’s vulnerability and the swallowing of his own pride as he lays everything he is bare before Shion’ feet.

Later, Shion, after finding out that Safu is in danger, confesses all of his feelings to Nezumi, in what he assumes will be the last time they see one another. He kisses Nezumi goodbye, and sneaks out. Nezumi follows after him, and lashes out in a very violent way, and after, saying: “Listen, you’re not allowed to give me a goodbye kiss ever again! Never, ever again!” He tells Shion that this beating is punishment for lying to him, and trying to sneak away, aka trying to die without him. Soon, Shion will turn Nezumi’s warped way of thinking against him in the Correctional Facility, where he will use Nezumi’s reasoning and justification for violence by claiming the two men he attempts to kill are deserving of it, because they have tried to harm Nezumi.

Gradually, more and more, we see Nezumi not only reciprocating moments of intimacy, but initiating them with Shion: “A hand suddenly reached over to him. It was Nezumi’s. It gently pried Shion’s fist open, finger by finger, gently, as if toying with it.” Nezumi still has moments of random bursts of aggression, both in an attempt to continue to keep Shion at bay, to keep from falling more in love, and to prevent Shion from aiding the city or its people in any manner. While Shion admits a love confession, saying: “I’m probably more afraid to lose you than anything - anybody else.” This sparks a fear in Nezumi, at the reality that not only is Shion attached to him, but that he is just as attached to Shion. He’s completely aware at this point of his own feelings. He thinks: “Am I the one who hasn’t known anything all along?” while questioning his past actions, and whether or not he has been seeing Shion in a positive light or not. Nezumi has started to become more self aware through his relationship with Shion, and more in touch with his own emotions.

Once entering the Correctional Facility, Nezumi warns Shion not to lose himself. He promises Shion that they will come back from this together. He isn’t saying this only to Shion, but more so to himself. Nezumi has been captured by the light that he sees in Shion, and though Shion is the one to think that Nezumi keeps him human, it’s quite the other way around. Shion attempts to kill two men, both times Nezumi reprimands him, telling him: “Never put your hands around someone’s throat again!” and “Shion! Shion! Stop - stop, please - Shion, I’m begging you.” and “I want you to stay as you are, Shion.” Shion keeps Nezumi human. Shion is a beacon of light shining down on Nezumi, exposing his own humanity. Time and time again, it is clear that Shion’s humanity and compassion save Nezumi from doom. While Nezumi develops to see the light of humanity and within his own soul through loving Shion, Shion develops to see the darkness in humanity and within his own soul by loving Nezumi. They quite make the perfect narrative foil to one another, developing in an almost polar opposite way. Nezumi ultimately becomes more like Shion, Shion becomes more like Nezumi.

We learn of Nezumi’s past, and of his suffering, in a scene where he allows himself complete vulnerability to Shion, showing him the burn on his back and revealing to us and to Shion how his family and culture were ruthlessly burned to the ground right before his eyes. Shion begins to cry at learning the truth, begins to blame himself for his own ignorance and for Nezumi’s suffering. Nezumi confesses: “I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty. I didn’t mean to accuse you of any crime. I - can’t even imagine wanting to hurt you. I’m sorry.” “Don’t you cry. You were just a tiny kid. You’re not to blame for anything.” He’s starting to drastically change his mindset and perspective which will ultimately lead to him choosing to believe in Shion, to have faith in Shion, trusting that the both of them truly see one another at this point for who they are. Trusting Shion to remain human, and build a better world.

As they begin their infiltration, Shion begins to grow more and more cold and uncaring of human life. As Nezumi kills guards, Shion says that it simply can’t be helped - it’s kill or be killed. This moment is clear in highlighting not only how Nezumi has changed Shion, but how Shion has changed Nezumi. Nezumi is displeased to hear this reasoning from Shion, which is not something he would have thought at the beginning of the novel. Shion is uncaring, which is not something he would feel were this the beginning of the novel. They have both a positive and negative impact on one another, and alwyas seem to take it to the extreme, though it isn’t neccessarily strange given the circumstances and situation at hand. Nezumi begins to see the direct affect his own actions have had on Shion, and how they have begun to warp his mind, much like Gran warped Nezumi’s own perspective on love. He thinks sadly: “Forgive me, Gran. I’ve gone against what you’ve told me. I’ve sighed many times for another. I believed him, and opened my heart to him. I placed the shackles around my own feet. But I couldn’t have done otherwise. I couldn’t cut him away.” Nezumi loves Shion. No matter what he tries, he cannot escape the love he feels for him. He couldn’t do otherwise, because he doesn’t truly WANT to. He wants to love Shion, admitting this to himself now. The seeds have already been planted at this point for Nezumi to begin feeling his own guilt and remorse at trying to change Shion’s personality, and coming to the horrifying realization that it worked. Nezumi didn’t want to harm Shion, or hurt him. He truly and foolishly believed he was doing what was right, what was taught to him. He feels so much remorse at the point that when he is almost killed by Rashi, he entirely gives up the fight. He allows himself a moment of genuine intimacy with Shion, let’s Shion hold him, as he prepares to die with him. Does this sound like something Nezumi would do? A character who preaches survival, is now willing to die with the person he has fallen in love with. He is not afraid, nor angry, nor sad - he simply accepts it. I find this moment to be very telling of Nezumi’s character.

When Shion shoots Rashi, Nezumi, who is already terribly wounded, tries repeatedly to stand up and stop him from finishing Rashi off. It is shocking not just to us, but to him, to see how Shion has changed. He screams for Shion to stop in vain as Shion commits murder on his behalf.

“He didn’t want to open his eyes. If he did, he would have to face reality.”

Despite trying to repress this, he tries to keep Shion grounded, as Shion has already been shown time and time again to be unstable and suicidal. Shion attempts to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head, asking Nezumi over and over if Nezumi and perhaps even God can forgive him for the murder he has committed. Nezumi thinks that it would have been better had they never infiltrated it at all, had he known it would destroy Shion’s mental state so completely. Nezumi, a character hellbent on destroying the government, is now thinking that Shion’s mental health is worth more to him than destroying the city. He thinks, as he starts to have his own mental breakdown, that he is the one who needs to be forgiven, not Shion. He begins to cry uncontrollably, as he mentally begs for Shion’s forgiveness.

“Shion, I’m sorry. I made you bear the burden, one so big it’s making your spine creak. Would I be forgiven one day? Would you forgive me for what I did to you?”

Nezumi is unable to bear the thought that he is the direct cause of Shion’s attempt at suicide. He is forced to confront at this moment his own abusive actions, and all of the brutality he has thrust upon Shion up to this point. He is begging, literally on his knees, to be forgiven. To be forgiven for all of his mistakes, all of his anger, all of his pain and hurt that he has projected onto Shion. Begging for forgiveness at meeting Shion - at coming unexpectedly into his life and, in Nezumi’s eyes, ruining everything Shion is. Nezumi believes he is to blame for everything, and the weight of the guilt he feels is indescribable.

By the time they get to Safu, Nezumi outright refuses to let Shion do anything, going so far as to drag him by force to the elevator, knowing it is too late to rescue Safu. Shion, through his grief, blames Nezumi for what happens to Safu, claiming he used her and used him to destroy No.6. Nezumi plays his part well, and pretends that this is the truth, saying he never believed Safu was alive, which is a lie. He says he deceived Shion, and used him and sacrificed his mind for the destruction of the government, which is also not the whole truth. Nezumi thinks: “Really? Can you really not understand? You’re a liar, Shion. You do get it. You understand every single word. And you’ll never forgive me. You’ll lose faith in me and loathe me. Or would you-“

Nezumi WANTS Shion to love him, and also hate him at the same time. He wants Shion to take his anger out on him. He wants to self sabotage their relationship, and MAKE Shion hate him, by playing a false role, by pretending to be someone he is not. Even when Nezumi tries to shoulder blame that is not his, his true self shines through under the facaude. Nezumi, a character who used to preach that he would only ever fight for himself, now takes a bullet for Shion, trying to sacrifice himself for him. Going directly against everything he has ever believed in.

By the end of the novel, Nezumi, having come back from the brink of Death, and having gone against all of his previous rules, confesses to Shion that Shion scares him. He is terrified of Shion, or more specifically, of Shion’s love, because it is mutual. Nezumi is in love with him. Nezumi’s love for Shion is in fact so strong, that Nezumi was willing and ready to die with and for Shion multiple times during the Correctional Facility, and many times prior, as well. He’s scared of the way loving someone makes him feel. He’s scared of how it almost got him killed many times, and it would have, had Shion not saved him. He leaves not because of Shion, but because of himself. Nezumi does not understand how to express his love in a proper and healthy way - it’s completely foreign to him. The boy is so traumatized that he’s spent the entire novel both half afraid of and half crazing and actively seeking love. I find it strange when people ask or think that there’s a possibility Nezumi doesn’t love Shion, when his actions so clearly say otherwise. I suspect Nezumi feels unworthy of Shion loving him as well, considering his tendency to self sabotage. I think that Nezumi is very self aware, and by the end of the novel, very in touch with his own emotions. He understands that he must change, and only then can he come back to Shion properly. He understands that who he is currently is not suited for a relationship, and so he makes the maturest call he has in the entire story, by leaving. He kisses Shion, promising to come back once he is ready, reassuring not only us but Shion that he really truly does love him.

Shion had thought that Nezumi was the one who illuminated him completely. That everything became much clearer with him by his side. That “by his hands, I was melted, wrought anew, and instilled with new life.” I find this line to be most applicable to Nezumi, as Shion has instilled him with new life, a new perspective, leaving him forever changed by the love shared and experienced. A line from Safu comes to mind as well, “You feel the same way I do, don’t you? You’re glad you were able to know. You wouldn’t be able to live anymore without knowing what yearning and love is like.”

[blarrghe]

1,7, and 19 for the fun writing asks? ❤❤

1. Tell us about your current project(s)  –   what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it? Twelve Nights - The Hallmark Movie I Deserve. A lovely modern au pavellan holiday fic which is going great in that I just finished it! Less great in that it took over my brain and now I’m writing random extra scenes and continuing the story with fluffy ficlets or whatever instead of working on my other actual projects. Am almost done a smut for it, which is not something I write a lot of but I think it’s going well and I’m kind of excited about that. Anyway, I love absolutely everything about the finished fic <3 The Merrill Sessions - DA2 Crew therapy fic. Lots of merrill, conversations about feelings, sometimes a kitten, and a very slow narrative foils-to-lovers Fenders burn. It’s going ok! What I love most about it is the character analysis/meta of it all. Somewhat on hold because of brainworms above, but lots of plans. Going places. Stay tuned. What if we were... - Dorian x Anders modern au mystery plot + romantic writing prompts. Idiots-to-lovers and a good ratio of angst:fluff. I love writing Anders and the modern au setting and the developping spooky mystery plots (which are mainly still in my brain...) it’s been a while since an update but I do have a prompt almost finished for it.

7. What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree? Hm. (Hopefully) good scenery description and pretty atmosphere building, alliteration and listing, too many semicolons, (too many) grounded conversations about feelings, kisses. Not sure what else, but hoping others would agree.

19. Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?) Other than too many semicolons? Characters who need therapy? (and getting them therapy) I like writing “falling in love” and slower burns I guess. Subplots for socialists.