#this is SUPER LONG under the cut

[ink-the-artist]

Rabbits

Some bonus art, I initially started making this in a totally different art style but changed my mind about halfway through lmao, here are the parts I finished

[curatoroffiction]

Overprotective (Part 1)

Based off of this post It all came to a head with The Incident™.

You were frustrated, having just left Levi's room. You'd brought him a series that you thought he'd love, it was much more like some of the stuff he used to be into, which had heartbreak and drama, but you'd heard it had a good resolution, even if it was sad. But the second things started turning sour emotionally, he began to panic. And when he asked if you knew what would happen, and you said "I've heard about the ending, but I saved actually knowing it for you", you didn't expect what he did next. He stopped the show and took the DVD out. This started a long fight that you barely understood. Him being upset that you weren't 'taking care of yourself', and you being upset that he was trying to micro-manage what you watched! You even jabbed at him telling him that "Avoiding the sad stuff isn't healthy!" which only made him more upset. You didn't understand why, so you just left. You ran into Asmodeus, who started worrying about the stress you were visibly under. Stress isn't good for one's health. He first asked if you wanted to take a soothing bath with him, which you shrugged off, thinking that would be the end of it. But it wasn't. He kept badgering you to let him help you destress. It started very flirty at first... Until it became desperate. You continued to decline, and he became more worried, which caught Satan's attention. When Satan heard you were stressed out, several stress-related illnesses flashed through his memory and he became very serious trying to give you other options. If anything, their insistence on controlling another aspect of your life was making it worse. You were on the verge of exploding when Belphegor came around. You called out to him, but he turned right around and walked away. You frustratedly chased after him, but when you turned the corner he disappeared behind, he was gone. Instead, you found Mammon. With the shadiest bag of vitamins you've ever seen. No label, just some random supplement in a plastic bag. "You want some vitamins?" The sight would have made you laugh a week ago, but right now, it was just frustrating. "No! I want everyone to stop badgering me! And for Belphegor to stop AVOIDING me!" "Sounds like you could eat. Lemme cook you up something." Mammon was the one who was the best at reaching out. He'd been slyly learning how to cook on the side, so he could get more veggies and fruits into your diet. And the food he's learned to cook was really yummy. Begrudgingly, you accept, and he takes you to the kitchen, also giving Asmo and Satan a covert thumbs up. The two let him take care of you, seeing that your stress instantly began to melt at the idea of food. That is.. Until you got to the kitchen. Mammon begins pulling out veggies and fruit to make you a few dishes, but Beelzebub keeps hovering around to try to control your portions. No matter how much you told him it was insulting, he just couldn't bring himself to stop worrying. Mammon always makes you too much food, seeing as how he keeps trying to pack in the nutrients like they're going to culminate in prolonging your life indefinitely. Once again, you're pissed, and this time with new vigor. You finally storm out of the kitchen and out of the house, only to see Lucifer coming in from the walkway. And he's blinded by how dangerous it is for you to walk around Devildom alone. He tells you as much and you just shout "WELL I HOPE I DIE THEN, BECAUSE IT'D BE BETTER THAN THIS HELLSCAPE" while trying to brush past him in frustration. You didn't even mean the words, but no one had been listening to you and no one was giving you a chance to control anything in your life without supervision. They've been so controlling and so accidentally belittling, making you feel less-than, making you feel like a child in a house without love. Part 2

[ohtobealady]

If you'd want to do another one-word prompt, I would like to suggest: provoke! <3 I'm living for all your new drabbles! The Cobert content that feeds me <3

Hi, sweet friend! Thank you so much for this prompt word--it's a great one. I set this as a missing scene during S5E8. Existing dialogue is at the top of the drabble (which you'll likely recognize) as well as some callbacks to JF's dialogue throughout S5. (I also included an original one of mine.)

There was a little line in this episode that struck me...along with the realization that Robert definitely goes to Bond Street (and therefore Sotheby's) after hanging around Susan and Shrimpie.

---Provoke------

He really hadn’t been paying much attention to what his valet was saying, but when Bates paused, silent, Robert realized he should speak. “Ah,” he tried. “Do let us know if you need us to do anything for you.”

It seemed to work, and Bates moved the slippers closer to Robert’s feet. “It isn’t necessary, my lord. Not yet. But thank you.”

He nodded at Bates, feeling a little sorry he’d not paid better attention to what he’d quietly said to him. Instead Robert’s thoughts had been on the dinner he’d endured, Susan’s ugly words tossed carelessly about, provoking everyone just the way she always did. He smiled at his valet, wishing Bates a good night, before slipping his feet into his house shoes. Truthfully he’d been eager to discuss the dinner with Cora all evening, but everytime he sought her out there was another person there beside her—Susan twice, which wouldn’t do. So he went through the small dividing door to their bedroom at Grantham House, happy to have her alone at last.

“Sinderby's going to be quite a challenge for Rose,” he said immediately upon entering, hardly waiting at all for the door to close behind him. 

His wife barely looked up as she sat on the small settee at the end of their bed, scribbling notes in her little notebook that she’d rested upon her lap. “No doubt about that.”

“And what possessed Susan?” he continued, untying his dressing gown as he stood before her. “‘Do you have any English blood?’” he repeated what his cousin had said to the boy’s parents. How had she had the gall to say that to them? “Really.” 

Cora, sighing and shaking her head in agreement, lifted her eyes to look around the room as if she were trying to find the answer floating in the air. “She speaks without thinking.”

And just as Robert was about to open his mouth, to continue saying what he’d stored away in his mind to tell her when they were finally alone, Bates’s words from his dressing room only moments ago came rushing back. Robert looked at Cora, and he dipped his brows. “By the way, did you know Bates and Anna are going to Scotland Yard tomorrow morning?”

“Certainly not!” she exclaimed. “Why?”

Robert frowned. “Bates didn't really give a reason.”

“Do they want character testimonials?”

“I offered, but he said no.” The weight of remorse that he’d been distracted earlier made his limbs heavier, and he walked to the bed. “Not yet.”

He picked up his book and dropped upon the mattress. He flipped through the pages he knew he’d already read, and then, just as he did at Downton, he swung his legs up and into the sheets before lifting his eyes to Cora who still sat upon the blue settee. 

She looked pretty there. He watched her for a moment, watched the braid of her hair as it moved upon her back when she looked down again into her notebook. He heard her pencil writing, and he wondered, distantly, what about. 

“Seems a strange business,” she said quietly, still looking down into her lap.

“Yes.” He drew in a breath, and although he made his eyes find the page of his book, it did not work. He still thought of Bates: the way he’d moved the muscles in his jaw when he mentioned their errand; the flippant way Robert had spoken to him; the way Bates had said his wife’s name, nearly reverently. And next, Robert’s mind inexplicably went to Susan. He sighed when his mind heard again what she’d said: “We’re not in one room? Together?” Her voice had not been soft. Her voice had been strained and annoyed.

Cora had been so embarrassed for Shrimpie, standing there in the foyer, fresh from the gangplank, his wife affronted that they may have to share a room. And Cora, in her way, had tried to diffuse it, giving some sort of excuse in order to bring some reason into it, but Susan could not be diffused. 

Robert’s eyes, like his thoughts, drifted up to find his wife once more, her delicate frame all dressed in creams and ivories as bent over her tiny notebook, writing. 

What had Cora said a moment ago? Whenever Robert had come in grumbling, incredulous at what Susan had said at dinner? What was it that Cora said? 

“She speaks without thinking.” 

Robert frowned. No, Susan did not speak without thinking. She thought about every single word that came from her lips. She was angry and bitter, and she made others angry and bitter, too. And Cora’s gentle assessment of his dreadful cousin—Cora’s nature to think better of everyone, to think that Susan had no malice there and instead only blundering impulsivity—-was far more than Susan deserved. 

But that was Cora. She didn’t consider the mean and undignified qualities that most people acted on from time-to-time, and Robert admired that in her—usually. He was grateful for it when he’d been on the receiving end of her grace, but then … Oh. Though he didn’t want to, he thought of the night weeks ago that she’d come into his dressing room, telling him to come back to her. He thought of the way Cora had shook her head when he argued with her, even after he’d joined her in their bed. He thought of the way she’d told him, tearily, as they trudged uncomfortably through the conversation, “I never expected him to think I’d do anything. He never gave any clue that’s what he was after.”

It made Robert angry then, for that man had given her clues. It made Robert angry that Cora had not noticed them. How could she not have noticed them? How could she possibly not have known that man—Bricker—didn’t simply want to speak of art; he didn’t just want to flirt. How had she not known he’d want to bed her? 

Again, he watched Cora’s braid move upon her back as she wrote in her little notebook, and he listened to the little sounds her pencil made … and suddenly Robert’s heart ached for her. 

“Cora?” he asked softly. “Aren’t you nearly finished?”

She twisted to glance at him over her shoulder. “Oh. Yes. Sorry, darling.” 

He smiled when she closed her notebook, and he watched the soft silk of her nightdress billow out behind her as she walked towards the bed. She slid her notebook upon her side table, and then her fingers unbuttoned the two small buttons at her neck to remove her cape of a dressing gown. 

He’d been staring at her, wondering at her. How had he not seen her this way weeks ago? 

“What is it?” she nearly cooed, a bashful smirk upon her lips, and Robert broke her gaze and laughed.

“It’s nothing,” he smiled down at his book. “You look very nice is all.”

He was rewarded with one of her real laughs, a surprised sort of burst of air that warmed the space around them. “In my nightclothes?” she asked as if Robert had lost his senses. He heard the switch of her lamp before her small weight rocked the mattress beneath him, and then came the subtle wafts of the warm, sweet smell of her perfume. And Robert closed his eyes. 

Beneath this very roof, two of the men he admired most likely lay in their beds uncomfortably. Bates, the echo of his voice feeling more and more like a pit of dread in one’s stomach. Shrimpie, his stiff features at dinner like an over-starched collar cutting into the soft flesh of one’s throat. 

And yet Robert lay here, in his soft bed, surrounded by sleepy whispers of jasmine perfume and a soft silk nightdress he knew was wrinkled and bunched beneath the sheets.

How did he deserve it? 

His eyes, those disobedient things, moved again from the printed words they would not read and to Cora beside him. He indulged himself by looking at her, at how she still shifted to find a comfortable position on her side, at how she tilted up her chin and how his lamp cast golden light on her face. He looked at her closed eyes, her still mouth, the fingers of her hand that rested upon his pillow. 

And instead of smiling, he frowned. 

“She speaks without thinking.”

No. Cora was wrong. 

“I never expected him to think I’d do anything. He never gave any clue that’s what he was after.”

Wrong, but he loved her so much more for it than he ever had before. 

“Cora.”

She opened her eyes and found him. “Mmm?”

He must’ve looked very serious, for she blinked at him, and he forced himself to grin. “I—-.” But he hadn’t a single thing to say aloud to her. Nothing that would make sense to her. Nothing he could put into words that could express how sorry he was that he’d ever imagined she was anything but … good.  

In spite of his grin, his silence alarmed her for now the blinking was also a furrowed brow. “Robert?” She lifted herself slightly upon an elbow. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.” He swallowed. “Only I find myself unable to sleep.”

This did the trick, and Cora laid back down, her features softening and relaxing once again. “Well you are reading,” she said. “It’s difficult to do both at once.”

Chuckling, Robert closed his book, and he slid it to the table beside him, and like his wife, switched off his lamp. 

“I didn’t mean you had to stop,” he could hear her saying as he shifted down into the bedding. “That is, if you aren’t tired.”

He ignored that, and instead he lifted his arm and invited her closer beside him. “Come.”

“Oh?” But she was laughing, lowly, in her throat as she moved to touch his side. 

With his arm around her, and her hand in his own lying in the dark, his heart beat madly against his ribs. Eventually, after a few still and silent moments, Cora whispered, and her breath was warm even through his nightshirt. 

“This is unlike you.”

“Nonsense.” He pressed a kiss to her head. And then to her forehead. And then, when she looked up at him, to her soft lips. “It’s exactly like me, to want to hold you.” 

She inhaled against him, and he could feel the lift of her thin shoulders and chest. “Well, since I like it, I won’t argue with you.”

“Do you like it?” His voice had been deeper than he thought it’d be, and he saw in the darkness of the room the way Cora’s lips parted before she nodded against his shoulder.

And he kissed her.

“We really shouldn’t,” she whispered against his mouth, even as he could feel her breath quicken. “Someone may hear.”

“And if they should?”

She laughed at this, a rumble of a laugh that hardly filled the space between them, before he caught her again in a kiss and began to move her beneath him. 

“Darling,” he heard her sigh, and he smiled at how sweet it was, even if he longed for more. He wanted to hear the care in her voice, the contrast to all the bitter and angry words at dinner.

“Say my name,” he asked of her as he kissed her ear, as he settled his weight upon her hips, between her knees. 

He heard her soft noise—confusion or surprise, he wasn’t sure, but it was quiet and if her lips hadn’t been against his jaw, he’d have missed it. “What?” 

“I want to hear you say my name.”

“Robert–” but it wasn’t soft or quiet. It was only the prelude to her small resistance. “We can’t.”

“Won’t you let me?” 

She hummed against him as his hand felt the thin silk of her nightdress. His breath caught at the sensation. 

“But what if we embarrass Susan? If she hears?”

“She won’t.”

“Her room shares a wall—“

“No one’s ever heard us before.” He closed his eyes at the soft skin of her thigh. She kissed his shoulder, his cheek. Her hands were at his chest. His back. And his heart beat madly. “We won’t make a sound.”

“The bed and …. everything’s been so uneasy between them … I wouldn’t want to make her feel—if—“

“Let me,” he begged as his head fell to her throat. She’d lifted her chin to give him access, and he could feel the soft curls in her braid against his forehead. Robert’s mind whirled, thought after thought, each one reminding him how he’d been such a fool. Reminding him how wonderful she was. Reminding him that he loved her so terribly, terribly much. “You’re my wife,” his voice prayed against her skin. 

And she stilled. 

He felt that she had. Her fingers that had been at his jaw slipped away. Her head tipped away from his lips. And when he lifted himself to peer at her in the dark, he could see she was not cross, but she did look different. For beneath him, she drew in a breath. Although she smiled, it didn’t reach her eyes. It was not one of her real smiles, not the ones that were so often in the heated air between them—the ones that wrinkled her nose, and Robert wondered what had happened. What had he done? 

But then, she nodded. “Very well. But please be very quiet.”

It wasn’t until she’d drawn in another deep breath that Robert realized what she’d heard: “You’re my wife.” Possession. Which, of course, she was his as much as he felt he was hers. But he’d not meant that. He meant it with gratitude, pride, love. And also guilt. 

Her fingers were working at his pajama bottoms when he stopped her, quickly pulling away and feigning a quick chuckle. “Wait.”

Her eyes met his.

“You’re right.” He sighed. “Of course you’re right.” He rolled from her and to his back.

“Oh?”

“Not that I care much for Susan’s feelings…” he mumbled as he fixed the bedclothes.

“Are you certain?” 

He looked at her, and just as he’d done before, he lifted his arm to invite her in. “Yes.” 

Like before, she moved to him and rested against him, his heart beating a little quicker in his chest. Again he pressed a kiss to her head, and his hand found hers. 

“I’m sorry,” her voice rumbled against him. “It isn’t that I don’t want to—“

“Don’t apologize,” he answered, and again he thought of buried memories so recently made new again. Of flirtations gotten out of hand. He thought of the break in her voice when he’d accused her of letting that man in her private life—into Robert’s place in her heart. “He thought it. And he was mistaken.” He thought of her smile when he entered the gallery at home, after he heard that man pour compliments upon her as she showed him the Della Francesca. “It’s nice to show it to someone so appreciative.” 

And at last, he thought of her soft little words about Susan. Words that couldn’t be more wrong: “She speaks without thinking.”

Robert blinked in the dark. Cora’s head on his chest. His heart beating beneath her. And suddenly he knew what he wanted to do.

“I think I’ll go to Bond Street tomorrow.”

“Oh?” He felt the warmth of her breath. “What for?”

“I want to see about something.”

He heard her yawn, but quietly. “Do you want company?”

“No.” Robert pulled his wife closer to him—-his darling wife—-and he closed his eyes. “But thank you.”

[screwpinecaprice]

@fedriz-marini 😁 She's pretty fun to draw. Though I admit my attention got divided for a time that I didn't stop to think about what the texture of her pants is until it's all over. 😅

[crushedsweets]

I know this shit is long as hell and you probably won't answer since you have so many asks but I just wanted to say I found a backstory for Cody(X-Virus) for your AU!!!

It's not as creative as your ideas but I tried to do something original and meaningful for him. He deserves more love and recognation.

I'm so so sorry for bothering you and I apologize for my mistakes.

Hope you like it and can't wait to hear your opinions about it!!!!

▼・ᴥ・▼

Cody never got adopted by a scientist, instead, he lived in an orphanage where he constantly got bullied. The reason for this situation was just straightly absurd. He just couldn't understand peoples and their emotions like other kids because of his lack of emphaty.

That's why he focused on academic knowledge rather than human relationships. Because mathmetical problems were easier for him compared to comforting a crying person.

Cody always was a succesful and smart kid so he could easily pass his exams in middle and high school. Because of that, in high school, he didn't bother to focus over boring topics like his daily lessons anymore.

No, he focused on more complicated science fields such as quantum physics, anatomy and organic chemistry.

Of course Cody couldn't understand everything he read easily, that's why he spend hours and hours on studying and having countless nights without any sleep. He read articles and textbooks, he watched professors' lectures on youtube, he tried to solve problems on his own and more.

Overworking on university lessons was not a good way for socialising, he got more and more isolated and the bullying was increased.

In last year of high school, he was worried because of the fact that he needed to win a success scholarship for all the cool topics he worked over, moreover, for a diploma. He could easily go to a college, however, he wanted the best of them. Because only the best could satisfy his hunger for research and true knowledge.

Cody was also confused about choosing which major to pick and he was stressing about this topic all the time. So many good fields were lying ahead him but he could only choose one of them and he wasn't sure which one is the one he wanted to dedicate his entire life. What if he would made a mistake and regret for his lost years for the rest of his living?

So yes, this was a very overwhelming decision for Cody. Since he was anxious all the time and he was going through a serious depressive episode, he decided to give a shot to the Chernobyl school trip in his school.

Obviously it was not like they really went inside of the nuclear powerplant since most of them weren't even over 18 years old. More like they wandered around the places in Ukraine which were close to the powerplant(Chernobyl City) and they visited some important museums.

But this was not enough for Cody.

He wanted to see the inside of the powerplant. He wanted to learn more details about behind the scenes. He wanted to see the deformed bodies. He to carry out experiments on dead humans who got affected by the radiation.

That's why he stole a gas mask and sneak out to the powerplant while everyone else was sleeping in a hotel.

He was truly breathless because of what he witnessed.

That's when he decided to became a chemistry engineer.

Of course he they got him and he took a huge punishment which caused to screw his school life.

Even though he got a really high score in his university acceptance exam, his applys were rejected by all the big schools he dreamed about. He got so, so upset about this that he even wanted to kill himself rather than living as a worthless piece of shit.

While he was rolling in thoughts of negativity, a teacher who respected Cody's success wrote a reference letter for him to an school.

The school decided to accept Cody with a few conditions. This school was not as big and as fancy as other schools he wanted but it was still better than what he could aford without that reference later. So he immediatly accepted this offer and thanked his teacher.

He did not became a chemistry engineer.

He majored in psychology which provided him the chance to do some different kind of experiments on mental health hospital residents.

He did a double major in chemistry, not in chemistry engineering.

But he's mostly using all his time for psychlogical experiments over chemical experiments. Sometimes he uses chemistry too for topics like neurotransmitter matters and the structure of hormones.

He's mostly a psychologist who you not want to cross and he works in mental health hospitals. He mostly manipulates his patients for doing something morally grey or hurtful for them either mentally or physically.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS AND PLSSS DONT BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF ITS WRITTEN BEAUTIFULLY AND I LOVE WHEN PEOPLE SHARE THINGS WITH ME. I PROMSIE UR NOT BOTHERING ME AND ITS SO GOOD.

OK IMMA CHAT A LITTLE WITH IT UNDER THE CUT CUZ I LIKE IT

"That's why he focused on academic knowledge rather than human relationships. Because mathmetical problems were easier for him compared to comforting a crying person." I ABSOLUTELY LOOOOVE characters like this. who lean into math and science because they just cant grasp all of the wishy washy of emotion and that kinda stuff. characters who like clear, linear paths with rules and whatnot. i think its really interesting way to try to define a character

which is why i love "No, he focused on more complicated science fields such as quantum physics, anatomy and organic chemistry."

i love how much you focus on his desire for knowledge. i think its cool when someone CRAVES for intelligence, they want to learn, they wanna know everything they possibly can - and i think its especially interesting when that turns into scary, morbid curiosity

and i fucking love how scary it is that he decided to go snooping around during his Chernobyl trip. it just sounds like a really unsettling turn of events and i think is such a creative, yet creepy, take on what made such a big shift. going from a kinda awkward, focused, troubled kid to someone who is willing to hurt and sacrifice people for his own morbid curiosity. SUPER SCARY

and i like that he still couldnt get what he wanted. i like that he still got stuck doing smth that didnt truly appease any scary urges he had, and that he has to do his freaky killer stuff in a roundabout way by manipulating his patients

would be interesting to see if any other creeps could perhaps be his patient . . .

[kasumikoujou]

april end innovade update (and possibly one of if not final update)

Statistics:

this was the first month in which i've only drawn one out of all trinities (michael only) (-)

the draw rate has raised since last month's 2.04 to 2.16/day (+)

first time ive drawn a piece including all innovades i tend to usually draw (+)

first time inclusion of 'others' (with the miku innovade designs) (+)

still only drew least drawn innovade a single time (sky) (-)

total drawn - 249

per innovade:

tieria - 59

laetitia - 15

regene - 23

revive - 19

bring - 18

divine - 17

anew - 14

sky - 6

hiling - 33

ribbons - 41

trinities

michael - 9

johann - 3

nena - 3

other - 2

—

ending note / long ramble about the whole situation

its been a long while huh 😭 exactly 4 months. minus a day ! on a year with a longer february as well, nonetheless. its been fun, but i may stop drawing them now; not to say natsume has utterly obliterated my love for innovades inside of my brain (though i thought of announcing it this way with a funny headline like BREAKING NEWS ! natsume has murdered the entire species of innovades in cold blood. we are sorry for the inconvenience), but also as of late it did sort of become a bother to draw them; mostly because of the keeping track of it as well and because i did not want the draw rate etc to drop. i did get to 1/4th of my goal.. minus one ! im not saying i will NEVER be drawing them ever again, but i doubt ill be keeping track of it anymore — alongside that, i do not think i will be drawing them almost at all anymore either (now, for a while. but they may still appear here and there from time to time.. as all my past fandoms do), so if you were only here for them and not me & my works, feel free to unfollow. i will still be up to have talks about them ! but i just wont devote such a high amount of time and effort to them anymore. it is hard to say ive been slowly falling out of love with them, and mayhaps even harder to say im falling in love again with natsume 😭 and EXACTLY a year later after i last stopped drawing him too... which is crazy .

i feel like besides this, it was also becoming apparent that drawing them has become a chore to me ; i was not feeling up to drawing highly detailed pieces with them anymore that id spend time on. i was not happy with the results on many of them either. and things like the page of every single tieria outfit, despite it used to be a thing i was once hyped about doing... back in january when i just got here, it no longer was that way. yes, i pushed through with it, but it took me a very long time and i kind of disliked going back to it, which is why it even took me that long 😭 and was moreso just done to keep up the numbers of innovades drawn ; for myself, for others.

i cannot lie about the fact it did make me happy i was giving to such a small fandom and brightening other peoples days, and this is a big flaw i have that i tend to put others above myself, but this has become much too big of a bother to me to keep on doing it. i still love them ! not as much, but i still do, especially ribbons. there is nothing wrong with them, i just do not wish to continue essentially wasting so much of my time drawing things i do not enjoy drawing, unless i am to see it finished and thats all the joy i get out of it.

as for the requests with the innovades, i am unsure if i am to do them anymore except for a singular one that ive also not received thru an ask but dm, purely because i am actually hyped about it 😭 and that may be the extent of which you will be seeing anymore 00 content from me.

im sorry if ive let anyone down & thank you for following me through this journey ; i hope to see you again :)

[bionicle-ramblings]

... I apologize in advance, but also regret nothing

This has been on my for a VERY long time and now I'm getting it out

Bionicle characters as cats!

More specifically if you owned these cat!Bionicle characters

This post is going to be SUPER long under the cut

Hope you enjoy!

Nuju: Used to be an outdoor cat before finding the paradise that was the indoors. Took a while to get him inside, and there’s no way in hell he's leaving, and you wouldn't get rid of him for the world. Nuju still enjoys laying against cold windows and drinking cold water from your cup or dipping his paw in it, even likes laying on ice packs when they're still frozen. He doesn't like being pet that much, will claw you if you go near him, and gets mean and nasty when someone tries to pick him up or hold him, and that sometimes includes you. He enjoys being on places that are hard for people to reach, and those places are the best to JUDGE on, because he'll either disapprove of something you're doing or about to do or he'll disapprove of the company you invited over; you ruined the perfect silence of his home. Regardless, he loves you, though he shows it through laying on you, rubbing against you, playing, all that jazz. You still let him go outside, but you're always with him, and you make sure you got out when the night sky is clear because Nuju meows and purrs SO MUCH when he sees the stars. He likes watching the snow fall too, and you sometimes take him outside so he can play in the snow. He's got a clear and pronounced meow, and you swear he knows what will make you tick because he's yelled at you until you brought snow in or brought out a tray of ice or an icepack for him to lay on. He likes to move things around too, so that's fun to keep watch for, especially when he sees you're drinking coffee. In terms of breed, he's like a white haired persian, and you make sure he's looking his best, even if he yells at you for it(though he does like it). Some of your friends and family wish you'd gotten a cat that was friendlier while others think he's a riot because of the resting bitch face he has and seeing him in the snow or laying on a tray of ice is adorable. If they push his buttons or pet him when he doesn't want to be, he will move their cups or plates or even cutlery or even phones when they aren't looking so they're on alert and confused. He wears a collar like the boss he is and you made sure it had star or snowflake patterns on it just for him

*

Matau: Has been through a fair number of homes before ending up with you. He's a cat with hardly any chill; you wake up to a cat racing up to you every morning before darting away, maybe even vaulting off the walls and door. He also likes playing and will climb up on you until you can hold him or until he reaches your shoulders. You've gotten him toys for enrichment, but he goes to entertain himself by playing with and showing off for you first. You've asked if the amount of activity he has is normal, but the vets assume it's just hyperactivity and maybe super zoomies, which you assume makes sense because he's a tabby. He's got fur that's more green than the usual tabby golden organge, but he's still a tabby. The vets explained that's from a previous home and while he's healthy, the dye used still needs to wash/grow out. Matau calms down when you're chilling. You need to help him relax, like help him sit and lay down, but you get him calm with some scratches and just telling him he's a good boy. He's also a peacock in cat form; he likes to strut and show off his body and legs. Owning Matau, you learn that he can bark, chirp(like a bird), squeak, croak, caw, and make all sorts of sounds no cat should be able to make. You once heard him imitate your ringtone and have had your phone on vibrate since. He learned to imitate that as well. Whatever you do, Matau is with you doing it, and that includes making meals, even when you've had to cook stuff. You've tried everything and he will not stay off the counters. You've also started bringing a cat carrier where you go and leaving the heating or cooling on in your car because Matau wants to be with you 24/7. You two love being outside, but Matau ends up being the reason you have too many friends. Some people think he needs some chill pills, but they change their minds when they see him calm down and even perform by barking and making all his "not a cat" sounds. Some people find him endearing, even when he's shoulder surfing. You've tried and failed many times to give him a collar, but he knows you two are going out whenever he sees the harness you got just for him

*

Nokama: For a while, she was the bookstore/library/campus class cat that stuck around for lectures or for reading, which you swear you've seen her do because you watched her paw at someone to turn to a certain page in a book and nuzzle them before sitting down and slowly read the page. Eventually, you ended up both feeding her and helping her read books enough that she followed you home. Even since, you've had the BEST study/school mate ever. Nokama will paw at your pen or pencil when you've got the answer wrong, will help you stay awake to study just a little longer before reminding you to go to bed, and will be resting on your shoulder as you read or do homework or study. Leisurely reading is especially fun because when you reach the plot twist, you two are both shocked. You also swear that Nokama can understand EVERYTHING you say. You've vented about your day and find Nokama at your heels and looking up at you, like she's listening. Your peers, friends, and family find it doubtful, but you just know that you're right, having tested it by saying something outrageous to the point Nokama stared at you and began stalking toward you, and then avoided going near you when you revealed it to be a lie and to have gotten proof that you were right. Not a very outdoorsy cat. She'll watch the world from outside the window and go from your house to the library to the bookstore to class and back, but that's it. That's all she wants to do with the outdoors. She's not a very "nighttime" cat either, as she'll rest with you and fall asleep close by. She's not a loud cat at all. When she meows, it's gentle and you hear it whenever you two "talk." You also hear it whenever you're bathing or showering or when she's asking to have a bath because Nokama likes water and is possibly the cleanest cat in the world because of her love for water. She is the cat everyone wishes they had, being a quiet, mellow, smart, Russian Blue, but they also retract that when they realize you were right when you said Nokama knows and understands what people say because, when talking amongst each other or on the phone, they see her watching them a bit longer than they think she should and had the literal HELL scared out of them when they asked her a question AND SHE NODDED AT THEM. You wanted to get her a little bowtie collar, but Nokama picked a simpler collar for herself and who are you to deny your friend her choice?

*

Onewa: For a while, he was a cat that a lot of people avoided because whenever they tried to get close, he'd back away and his at them. He even hissed at you when he saw you, but you learned his previous owner died and your heart won you over, so you went home that day with a very angry, very hissy cat that you had to tell to calm down a few times as you set up the room he was staying in and let him adjust to his new home. For a while, you two left each other alone; he stayed out of your way, you stayed out of his. As a hobby, you carve stuff and often set pieces of cut off wood down on the floor to deal with later. You found Onewa scratching one of the pieces and started to give him his own aid to carve up. While you two aren't exactly ride or die best friends, you're close enough that he'll greet you when you come home, let you pet him, and lay on or by you for a while, or until you have to move. He'll only go outside to join you in carving, but that's it. He's also slow to warm up to you and keeps an eye on you because he's nervous to lose you too. Onwea's also good at getting what he wants. You've seen him sitting by his food bowl, the door to the patio or mini balcony you carve on, or anywhere else, and you've gotten lost in his eyes. It's easy to because he's a Siamese and they have STUNNING eyes, but you're putty when Onewa wants something and he knows it. He also "laughs" at you whenever you stub your toe or have you get something you put down somewhere on accident. You get him back when you catch him staring at your carving or watching something sappy that you threw on because you felt nostalgic and lightly pick on him for it. He doesn't get you back in any drastic ways, just ignores you and hisses at you, but you two make up and are back to being friends later. NO ONE really wants to be near him, but that's fine because Onewa doesn't want to near them either. Just you. Anyone who's tried to pet him, despite your warnings, has gotten scratches as a lasting reminder. No bites, just scratches, and they'll have to get through YOU if they want to give Onewa back to the shelter. You could not get a collar on him to save your life; he's taken that as a challenge and that's a fight you're not willing to fight

*

Whenua: A friend gave him to you because they couldn't take care of him. Whenua minded a bit because you and your home were new to him, but he soon got used to living with you, and you got used to him leaving through the window and returning with something he found like a pretty leaf or flower or, what takes him A WHILE to come home for, war medals, vintage coins, anything old or vintage that he's so proud of finding, and you're proud of all his finds, as long as he doesn't bring any animals home, dead or alive. There was an instance where a mouse got in and he wouldn't let it go or leave you alone until you told him what it was. That's fine because he is eager to hear more about what he found because you easy access to the information(don't you just love the internet?). Whenua likes chilling with you when he's not seeking information or things from the outside to find. He's usually hanging out on your shoulders, napping on your lap or on your stomach, or chilling in your arms. You've always known cats can see in the dark, but Whenua takes that fact and runs, because during a power outage, he found the flashlight, candles, and batteries for the flashlight than you did. You asked your friend about it and they admitted it isn't a trick they taught him, he just knows how to find stuff and won't leave you alone until you tell him what he found, and you know he found something when he meows. It's a very low, very easy to hear sound that gets your attention every time. When your friend was able to take care of Whenua again and asked him if he wanted to go with them("He's a lot smarter than people think he is," they said.), Whenua looked lost for a moment before rubbing against your friend and then hopping onto your shoulders. It was at that moment where you both realized that Whenua had found his home and it was better to not move him again, your friend promising to visit as much as possible. You two got him a collar together, one that looked cool and that Whenua brought to you both to learn more about because it was one of those flea collars so he's a little more safe when he's venturing and looking for stuff

*

Vakama: Was a rescue from a house fire, but has since recovered and will enjoy the warmth of a fireplace, bonfire, a heating pad, and even a blanket in your home. Better yet, he'll find you lounging and, after a bit of letting him know he can join you, lay on or beside you. If you're taking a bath or shower, expect to find Vakama laying either right by the door or laying near your towel. It actually took a little while for you too to get close because, at first, he only stayed in the room you made for him so he could adjust, hiding himself in the corner or taking shelter in the holder he was brought home in. He warmed up to you once he knew you weren't a threat. You've never seen a cat panting in real life until you've had Vakama, and you see in numerous times because he gets nervous a little too easily for a cat, i.e. when you're cooking, when you go to the bathroom or shower and close the door, leave for work or school, when it's time to eat, when you're sitting for too long, when you're standing too long, when you go outside, when you take him outside with you, it's all at the drop of a hat. You've tried giving him medication to calm him down, but he'd rather snuggle up to you instead. For the longest time, you thought he was unable to meow, thinking it was permanent damage due to the fire, but while drawing or sculpting at the table, on the couch, or wherever, you heard an odd, polite little meow-honk and saw Vakama quickly join your side, honking away until he saw what you were doing. After he tried pawing at it, you got him his own little sketchbook, some pet-safe ink pads, and pet-safe, air dry clay so he could join while you create. You think Vakama can see the future and turn invisible sometimes, mainly because he's a little too good at hiding and you thought you actually lost him the first time he "disappeared." You didn't; you found him in the kitchen, looking for you. You say he can see the future because he saved you from getting boiling water all over you by sitting on the table and staring at you until you picked him up off of it. He's a fairly pretty Burmese cat, with red-auburn furr and the greenest eyes on a cat ever. His furr always feels weird, though, but the vets explained it to be because of the fire. Your friends and family either love him or hate him. On one hand, the perpetual hiding, poor meowing, and the need to ALWAYS be by you is a little annoying, but seeing a cat that loves you so much that he sleeps in your coat or jacket is adorable and he's saved your life a good handful of times in the past. There was an instance where younger relatives scared the living Heaven and Hell out of him and he didn't make any kind of appearance. You heard him meowing and found him in the dryer, which you swear you closed, while he GLARED at you. He didn't stay mad when you relaxed with a heating pad nearby and ultimately took a nap. You put a collar on him once, one with a bell, and he hid from you for a whole day or two before you lured him out and took off the collar so you two wouldn't be upset ay each other. He honkedat you so the collar could be put back on, but you had to take the bell off first, and Vakama hid it from ypu after you did. You know you will NEVER find that bell again because Vakama knows ALL the best hiding spots

*

Takua: One half of a bonded pair. He's a little guy, but he's an old breed of cat, one that turns heads and make people ask if you're actually going to adopt him because they can care for him instead. You carry pepper spray of you when you adopt Takua and the cat he's bonded with. He's an adventurous little one, always eager to see what's new, and that includes your hime because he slipped out of the carrier he was in and immediately started looking around. He wasn’t too upset when you had to have him stay in the same room as his friend so he could adjust, but when he's out for reals and exploring, he always gives you this look of, "Don't lock me in that room again." It's not a matter of him disappearing on you, you just find him in the weirdest places like in an empty sink, in your shoe, on the cabinets, the underbelly or your table, your laundry basket, the pantry, all sorts of places. You always find him because he's got a very chirpy meow and he meows enough that you teach him to "whisper" because neighbors started getting mad at you. You SOMETIMES take Takua outside, but you have to hold onto him so he doesn't go anywhere. He's never run away or anything, but you don't want to risk it. He's good at finding things around your home, too. Hair ties, Bobby pins, spare change, snacks, you name it. He also likes chilling on your shoulder and even on your head. Whatever you're doing, he wants to do, so he's got a mini "laptop," there's a bowl you have for him to chill in while you cook, you've got little books for him to "read," just a BUNCH of little things so he doesn't feel left out. Your friends and family love and adore him, even if his high energy and tendency to wander gets to them sometimes. He wears a collar with a bell, and you somewhat regret it because now he RUNS into the room and rolls around as much as possible to eother get the bell for himself or to make as much noise as possible

*

Jaller: The other half of the banded pair. He's also a little guy, but you've been scratched and bitten by him before. He didn't trust you that much, but be started to when he saw you weren't going to do anything to him or Takua. He's always trailing near Takua, making sure nothing happens to him. You tried getting him some mini stuff so he didn't feel left out, but you found that getting him little cozy thungs to lay or sit on works better. He's very easy to make purr and he'll curl up on you, but you need to help him relax because he's always on guard. Spiders, flies and bugs don't come into your home anymore because Jaller hunts them down. He even alerted you when someone nearly stole a package you had. You rarely hear him meow, but when he does, it doesn't sound like meowing. It sounds like a shout instead, which is especially fun to hear when he's looking for Takua with you. He likes warm things too, much more than Takua, so heating pads and warm blankets are a must. He looks after you to the point where he might as well be a guard cat. You sometimes see Jaller pulling Takua around by his scruff, but no longer intervene because he growled at you when you accidentally made him let go and Takua ran to climb the curtains. You're not fully sure what breed of cat Jaller is, as in certain loght his fur can look either gold or red. He's too calm to be a tabby, so your options are limited. Also limited is his patience with any visitors you have over because they distract him while he's "working." They think he's an adorable little grouch, but they never see when Jaller is about to swat at them for saying that. Jaller does wear a collar, but it doesn't have a bell.

*

Nixie: Another little cat and a one that followed you home, this time from a night walk. You'd never seen her before, but you know she's seen you because she's a little too friendly, like she knows you will adopt her. She's a fairly chill cat, oddly enough. She just stares at you a lot. Nixie didn't let you pet her at first, but soon she did. You have a few astrology books, and she doesn't leave you alone until you take them out and lay them out for her. You didn't know cats could read, but you learned they did when you saw Nixie reading your books. And staring at the astrology poster on your wall. You have had your day saved by Nixie, whether that be when she more or less revealed someone you were meeting was someone to not associate with, when she let you know the smoke detector was broken, when she knocked a cup of tea over because there was something in the tea you were allergic to, and more. She more or less wanders around your home, only knocking books to the floor so she can read them. Doesn'tmind you picking her up, but she likes to lay on you and rest on your shoulder or lap. Your friends do not believe you when you tell them all the things Nixie does. Your family does, though, because you stayed over once with Nixie, had a family vacation, and many family members swear they found Nixie trying to pull the books from the shelf before she opened them up and started reading them on the floor. Nixie also woke you up early the next morning to get breakfast because she, somehow, knew who was cooking and what they were making. And knew the roads were bad from a storm and hid everyone keys long enough for them to learn of the damage. She's a Russian Blue, like Nokama, but she has a very whispery meow, one people hear when she gets close enough to them. Enjoys a good bath too, but she's a menace in that she'll try joining you in the tub or just lay on the side of the tub and dip her paws in the water. She REFUSES to wear a collar, having lay on her side and not moved for hours when you put one on her. You did take it off, but Nixie hid the collar so you wouldn't try again. She still loves you and still vibes with you, but you know she hasn't dropped the collar

[bisexualamy]

I see people talk about fanfiction and novels being different mediums a lot, and while I don’t necessarily disagree, I don’t feel like I understand either. In your opinion, what makes them different mediums from each other? What decides that two things are separate mediums like in general? It’s totally cool if you don’t wanna answer this btw, I know it’s kind of a lot

No worries I think that's an interesting question! With any categories, the boundaries on this are going to be fuzzy, but the reason I believe they're different mediums is that fundamentally, on a metatextual level, the languages are different. What do I mean by this? Let's use film as an example, a medium that I'd argue is very obviously a different medium than novels, even if we may not be able to articulate all the reasons why.

What are some attributes of film that differentiate it from novels (another storytelling medium) or paintings (another visual medium)? Films and novels are both storytelling mediums, but films have visual and auditory components. They also mainly consist of storytelling through visual cues and dialogue. Exposition is given visually or in media res by characters speaking. In a novel, your omniscient narrator giving you a few paragraphs of background on your main characters is common, and so expected it probably flies over the reader's head. In a film, a narrator doing the exact same thing for all the main characters often comes off clumsy. It takes you out of the story in a film, where it doesn't in a novel.

Film is also a time-based medium. A film unfolds over time, and you cannot experience the entire film in one moment or glance. That's not true of a painting (at least traditionally). With a painting, you can view the whole painting in one look. Now, you can sit with a painting, pick out details, analyze the craft or ponder it for a long time and watch as new aspects jump out at you. Fundamentally, however, if you wanted to view a whole painting in one look, you can, and it would still make sense. You cannot do that with a film. On the other hand, a painting is typically not an auditory experience. To do so would be an experimental use of the form. In modern film-making, the exact opposite is true. Music, dialogue, and environmental sound, all of these things are essential to how a film tells a story. To not use them would be considered experimental or odd.

These are three different mediums with three different "languages" in how they interact with their audience. They may share parts of their languages, like I said above, but they don't speak the same language. What works well for one medium can come off clumsy or strange in another.

I believe fanfic and novels have sufficiently different languages that they should be considered different mediums. Both of them are short or long form written mediums telling some sort of story. But fanfic's relationship to its source material is such an inherent trait that novels do not have. The relationship doesn't have to be positive (it's often, in fact, argumentative or strained or dismissive), but the relationship exists. Even in AU fanfiction. Even in fics full of OCs.

In canon compliant and even canon divergent fics, this relationship is more obvious. These fics are both conversations with the source material as much as they are stories. They're playing in the author's sandbox, or they're wrecking their sandcastle and building something else. They're saying "I like/dislike what you did with this specific story, and I'm going to show you that by rewriting or expanding it." They take large aspects of the author's story whole cloth: the characters, the setting, the magic system, the tech, etc.

These fanfics often have little exposition at the top because they presume a familiarity with the characters, the world, or both. This alone makes them really different from novels. Creatively and seamlessly integrating exposition, immersing your audience in a new world and convincing them to stay, is a really important aspect of a novel that these fics don't have to contend with. This alone fundamentally changes how you'd structure a story.

For AU fics, both fics in AU settings and AU fics full of OCs, the above still applies. These fics are still a conversation with the source material. Something about the source material compelled an author to flip it and remix it and change it around. That conversation might be "in the source material, these characters suffered, and I don't want them to suffer any longer" or it could be "I felt the story had a vacancy that this OC fills" or it could be "if these characters had the time/awareness/ability to grow closer, they would've fallen in love." These are all direct commentaries on the original work.

An exercise that I believe illustrates this point the best is to try and adapt an AU fanfic to an original work. Try to file the serial numbers off. I've done this with some of my fic, and it just doesn't work. You don't realize how much you presume the audience knows until you have to cater to an audience who knows nothing of the source material. That hilarious joke you wrote? Turns out it's only funny because it's a nod to this character's original characterization. This awesome climatic plot point that ties the whole story together? Turns out in relies on a specific bit of lore, a quirk of the magic system, or an aspect of the character's past history or personality. Now that this is a novel, you have to back-fill all of that exposition. And you can try to do that, but watch how your story gets clunky and bloated. You will have to start viciously killing your darlings, as you realize that your favorite scene is beautiful in a fic, but sounds awkward and out of place in a novel. Soon, you're basically just rewriting the whole thing to fit a different medium.

Many fanfic writers are extremely talented. And much of that talent, that wit, that perfect line that you can't get out of your head, is integrally informed by your knowledge of the source material. The irony falls flat without having read the source books. The relationships suddenly feel shallow when you don't have seasons of backstory to deepen them. You do not realize how much of fanfic writing consists of this back and forth until you go looking for it.

And here's the thing: if your fanfic has a totally AU setting and it consists of completely original characters, I'd argue that's just a novel posted to AO3. If all you need to do is change the names to make it work, that's a novel. This is why Clueless is inspired by Jane Austen's Emma and not an AU fanfic of it. If you've never read Emma, if you went into Clueless not knowing that Emma was the inspiration for it, you'd perfectly understand the movie.

In fanfic, the source material is always present. It can be obviously present with canon compliant fic. It can be antagonistically present with canon divergent or AU fic. And it is still present, floating in the background, with totally AU fic. Ultimately, the changes a fanfic author makes to the source material are, themselves, as integral to the fanfic as the words on the page. It is a dialogue with the source material: what it did well, what it could've done better, what this author believes is the essence of the story, or the world pushed to its limit, that even though we're in space or in a coffee shop or 1920s New York, we're still, on some level talking about the source material.

This is an aspect of fanfic I love that novels do not have. Novels have a lot of other great stuff! I love novels! But while novels are often engaged in a dialogue with their present society or their predecessors in a genre, that conversation is much more nebulous than it is with fanfic. You can read Slaughterhouse-Five or Gravity's Rainbow, and while knowing their contexts helps you understand them on a deeper level, that is unnecessary to their enjoyment. They are fundamentally more standalone works than fanfic will ever be.

This is ultimately why I think comparing fanfic and novels is comparing apples to oranges. They're different mediums. They use different languages. They require different skills and they fill different artistic niches. You might as well be comparing a film to a painting just because they're both visual art.

[basket-of-radiants]

Proposal for Re-working the Kholins’ Character Arcs - a semi-coherent “essay” by me (feat. @akpaley​, thank you for your contributions and for your attempts at editing.)

Hey guys. Different kind of post this time around, compared to my usual brand. It’s time for some fix-it fanfiction masquerading as literary critique. I won’t be using a readmore, I dunno, probably to punish anyone still following this blog or something. So! In this post I’m going to solve the all the issues of racial theming associated with the Kholin family.

I’m often very harsh on the Kholins for benefitting so much from exploitative power structures while doing little to help those below them. But then I’ve also criticized them for actually addressing these very problems in-universe. How can I be upset at them for their inaction and then also be annoyed when Jasnah ends slavery? The short answer to all of this is just that the ways these topics are addressed all feel very inauthentic. For example, in real life history it took over a century of protests, slave revolts, political campaigning, and civil wars to legally end slavery in Europe and America, and abolitionists were met with fierce opposition at every turn. A fictional world need not follow our same historical trajectory, but it still seems a little disingenuous for a monarch to just decide to end it within her first year of power because it doesn’t mesh with her philosophical framework. It’s more like trying to wrap up a subplot than actually address the topic.

Ultimately however, there’s only so far this line of criticism can ever take me because the Kholins are the protagonists and you can’t get rid of them without turning the whole story into something else entirely. And Sanderson shouldn’t have to, these are characters that he created and he’s allowed to tell a story about them. And I actually like a lot of their personalities and arcs and outlooks quite a lot. I do think it’s...unfortunate...to have used slavery and racism as disposable props in a story that ultimately turned out to be about a bunch of royals learning to be better people and saving the world along the way. So I guess what I’m interested in is if there’s a way to keep the premise, keep the characters, keep the general story beats, keep the themes of honor and personal growth, keep the basic structure of everything, and still handle those themes with grace. You know, could this be a compassionate story about addressing racism told from the point of view of nobility? Is such a thing possible?

Well, I’m going to try my best. And I’m going to be imperfect about it, obviously, so if you actually care enough to read all this shit, I welcome discussion and disagreement. 

Jasnah is the most obvious example to point to as being indicative of the problem, but I also think she has the easiest character fixes. She’s already been established as an outspoken dissident on many of her society’s deeply ingrained values. Just add to her atheism and feminism that she’s also always been an outspoken abolitionist. Give her ties to an ongoing reformist movement. Have her lecture Shallan about it in Way of Kings. Make that a reason she’s butted heads with her family so much. I do think it’s poor writing to have a ruler end slavery on a whim, but I won’t deny that having the right person in power can make a huge difference. It’s not as cathartic as having Kaladin lead a slave revolt (or as having Moash destroy society <3) but that doesn’t make it inherently bad so long as the topic itself is still treated with weight. Have her moralistic ideology be firmly pre-established so that when she has to explain why she’s abolishing slavery, her reasoning can be purely pragmatic. The reason she’s moving so fast is because this is a historical point of heightened change, and so her reforms are more likely to work, but if she waits too long and things settle back into a new status quo, she may have missed her window. Not to mention, when her nephew comes of age, her own legitimacy as a ruler might be challenged, so she needs to do as much as she can in what may be end up being a short reign. As a character, Jasnah has always been able to girlboss her way past political realities through sheer force of personality, and that’s great and all, but I think it heightens her character’s competence if she does have to deal with real backlash, not just to her but to her policies as well. The narrative doesn’t even need to linger on her opposition, but acknowledging it and acknowledging that she’s simply a member of a preexisting and ongoing movement would have done wonders to portray slavery as a real and prescient issue. Then again, this is a topic which people have fought and continue to fight wars over, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable for her to have receive major backlash either; perhaps when the Kholins hear in Words of Radiance that she was assassinated, the news could come as tragic but not entirely unexpected so as to imply that her opposition has attempted such in the past. All this is to say, I don’t think it’s at all wrong for Jasnah to do what she did. I also don’t think her entire stance on abolitionism should have come down to a comment where she tells her uncle she’s trying to rule according to ethically consistent values. The fact that slavery was insultingly easy to end not only delegitimizes is as a topic worthy of discussion, but also is a really scathing indictment of literally everyone else in the ruling class who didn’t even think to try.

Jasnah done, easy, Dalinar next.

Dalinar is probably the most complicated character for me to discuss and form coherent statements on. He’s just so rife with contradictions down to his core. That’s probably why I continue to like him so much, why he’s still my favorite, even though I still consider him to be a Bad Person over all. I think deep down I’ll always lean a bit too pacifistic ideologically to ever consider a warlord/general to be a good person, no matter how honorable he may be or how much growth he may undergo. Don’t get me wrong, I still do love his growth. Dalinar is characterized by his constant change and forward momentum, even moreso than the rest of the cast. So for discussing him, at what point can I point to him and say “this is Dalinar, this is who he is, this is what he believes and what he cares about”? Of course, during any point in his arc, you’re going to have to grapple with the fact that all of his lofty rhetoric about honor and striving for personal betterment is ultimately going to be pretty useless to all the people whose lives he’s meaninglessly thrown away across his military career. For me personally, when I talk about his character I like to take the end-of-oathbringer approach, where I acknowledge everything he did in the past as Blackthorn, I agree that it was pretty fucked up, and I forgive him and grant him a clean slate. All this to say that even if I’m judging him purely by his behavior as the current Dalinar within the present day continuity of the books, he’s still a massive hypocrite with horrific amounts of blood on his hands which he’s never even bothered to consider. I dunno, when I first read Way of Kings and I first got to meet this general who’s leading an army in a literal genocide campaign, I sort of figured he’d get some kind of “wait am I the bad guy” moment at some point in the future. And he did get a moment in Oathbringer where he has to fully confront his guilt over past actions, it was great, I really really loved it! But it was also all about actions he took before the series even started, so I guess wiping out the listeners wasn’t a sin he thought needed any atonement. I’m not going to get into the narrative’s treatment of singers and listeners on this post (for no other reason than because I have waaaaaaay too much to say there) but the point I’m getting at is that however good Dalinar’s growth is and whatever direction it takes, it’s always going to have poisonous roots to me. And his treatment of class/racial issues is no different. 

Fixing Dalinar is going to take a lot of what Dalinar does best: introspection. In Way of Kings, Dalinar dislikes how Sadeas treats his bridgemen because he believes it to be dishonorable, because he believes Sadeas is forcing others into a situation that he himself would never put himself into. He also has various sympathetic reflections here and there about how sad it is when soldiers die, and about how without the benefit of the Thrill, violence is actually kind of bad. You know how it goes. But I don’t think he ever put himself at risk to actually help or protect any of the people who are dying. Whether he wants to end the war or not, he still continues to participate in it. And he’s still willing to set aside the lives of literally everyone beneath him so he can pursue his dream of unity. The book ends with Kaladin and the rest of bridge four saving him and Adolin, and in gratitude, he purchases their freedom and gives them honored positions in his household. You know, because he’s so honorable. Everyone loves this scene, so I’m going to make it the catalyst for Dalinar’s new and improved character development. The problem with saying Kaladin helped Dalinar so Dalinar helped Kaladin is that when I’m being reductive and uncharitable (like I’m being right now), I can argue that their relationship basically started as a quid pro quo. This scene is meant to prove that Dalinar really is the most honorable person in Alethkar, just as Syl thought, only it doesn’t actually do that. See I don’t actually want Dalinar to start treating Kaladin as an equal. I want Dalinar to, in that moment, realize that Kaladin is better than him. That for all of his pontificating about honor, he would have never even considered risking his own life and the lives of his own family to rescue a bunch of bridgemen. I want him to see Kaladin’s honor, and rather than be validated in his beliefs, I want him to be thoroughly humbled. Let him spend all next book reflecting on all the lives of darkeyes he’s destroyed. Let it shame him, as Evi’s death shamed him. He already flirts with these lines of thought, and he already has an arc about confronting his past actions. Let the racial injustices he’s participated in be a part of that. Let him abandon his books and traditions instead look to Kaladin to learn what honor truly means. I don’t know how any of this would translate to his actions, because if we’re being honest his ideals are already quite incongruous with his actions, but the fact that he manages to have such strong theming regardless makes me think maybe that’s okay. I guess ultimately it would be enough for me if his character, as someone who symbolizes the ideals of a nation, was able to look at a darkeyes publicly be a follower rather than always trying to lead by his own personal example.

That’s Dalinar. Elhokar next?

I actually don’t think there’s too much wrong with Elhokar’s writing, especially in the first two books where a much greater emphasis on these themes were placed. He’s not a protagonist and we the audience aren’t supposed to endorse his actions. Most of what I’d change about his story is more about Kaladin and Moash than it is about him. I definitely don’t love that he can throw away the lives of his own people by the thousands in the genocide campaign that was the vengeance war, and then have the narrative just ignore all that in favor of him being sad about his own incompetence. If Elhokar is meant to be a sympathetic character, then when he calls himself a bad king, that’s what he should be thinking about, the number of lives he’s wasted over these years. I actually like him a lot more as a less sympathetic character, and I think I would have preferred if in oathbringer the narrative and the other characters would have stopped making so many excuses for him. Back to Kaladin and Moash, those are the two characters defined by their experiences as members of the downtrodden caste, so I personally sort of judge the problematic-ness of the whole story by how they get treated. Everyone loves to talk about how those two are foils. So. In order to strengthen Kaladin and Moash’s characters, either Elhokar needs to be as much of a monster as Amaram, or Amaram needs to be just as sympathetic and conflicted and having-of-a-toddler as Elhokar. Don’t get me wrong, I genuinely love the trope of finding at the end of a revenge quest that the person you hated has changed and grown. But I hate how this means that Moash’s hatred is wrong and unjustified, whereas Kaladin’s is validated at every turn. I don’t actually dislike Elhokar. I mean I think he’s a bad person, but I like a lot of characters who are bad people. I just think that if this story really wants to grapple with class and race (because it sure brings them up a lot for a story that doesn't want to talk about them), then Moash is a much more important character than him, with a lot more to add to that kind of discussion, which is why I think Elhokar’s characterization would have to come second to Moash’s development. (Obviously if this series were being reworked to be better on this topic, Moash would have to be written with a lot more compassion in general, but this post isn’t about him.)

Intermission time. Gavilar.

Gavilar is already perfect, 10/10, great character all around, what a guy, no notes, no wonder he’s so universally beloved among all of the fans, social justice icon.

Okay onto Navani.

I may not be the best person to talk about Navani. She has never been a favorite character of mine, and so compared to the others I haven’t thought as much about her values or the way she thinks or the narrative impacts of her actions. Someone who has more love for her would probably write better criticisms of her. (I’m going to reject any premise that falls along the lines of “Navani isn’t racist because she feels X,” but I’m not wholly confident in my analysis here, and I welcome any good faith critiques both of my own thinking and of her character when come at from other angles.) It’s hard to say where she should have grown from how she starts out viewing darkeyes because I don’t actually know how she starts out viewing darkeyes. I know I’m probably meant to assume she just treats everyone equally because she’s a Good Person on Team Good Guys, but it’s hard to just accept that she had all around good values when she married a warlord and was in love with his more violent brother. I dunno, was her “good guy” status meant to have always been an element of her character, or did she get it secondhand from her association with the new and improved Dalinar? With someone like Adolin, we got to see what shitty values he held at the start of Way of Kings (I’m talking about the Alethi warmongering, not his interest in fashion) but we also got to see how his father gradually won him over throughout the course of the book, and then later on we get to see him develop further on his own. For someone like Navani, I find it strange how she’s always so proactively supportive of Dalinar in everything, even when his own goals and values are in flux. I assume her character is just meant to be super ride or die when it comes to her family, and I do like that in a character, but that also means that she’s been wholly willing to support or at the very least excuse her family’s oppression and exploitation of darkeyes without comment. (See, Lirin is a much better parent than Navani, he would never have let his son start a whole genocidal vengeance war for fun and profit (I say this as if I’m joking but I’m kinda not.)) Some people have reminded me that she was pretty much shut out of the political process by Gavilar and Elhokar, and I agree with that, but I don’t really have any evidence that she would have cared much about darkeyes even if she had been more involved. In general it just seems like the whole topic doesn’t matter much to her. So what I would wish for the narrative would be to lean further into this. Draw attention to her cognitive dissonance and try and make the readers feel conflicted about her as a person. Highlight the fact that she’s willing to overlook the suffering that befalls other families if it means success for her own. I think one of my issues with her is that to me, this is a major (and interesting!) character flaw, but the books never seem to treat it as such. Honestly I think if this were intentional, I’d probably find her character really interesting, but from my reading of the text, I feel that I’m supposed to think of Navani as a generally decent person who’s by and large on the right side of things. The thing is, with the caste system playing such an integral role in their culture, I think she needs to have some sort of feelings about it, or else the fact that she doesn’t should be an issue to overcome. Otherwise she becomes another factor delegitimizing racial oppression as a real and important problem. If she’s a good guy and she doesn’t care about racism, then that’s saying you don’t have to be antiracist to be a good person in this world. 

Probably could have done that one better. I dunno. Leave me angry and hateful comments if I’m totally misrepresenting your favorite character. Moving on.

Adolin already has some great character development across the books. And he already has kind of engaged with this stuff in his story. Unfortunately, that’s less used in the “this person was racist but is becoming better sense” and more used in the sense of “Kaladin learns that #NotAllLighteyes are bad” which is pretty unfortunate for a number of reasons. Especially since, if he actually was going to prove he’s different from other lighteyes, out of all the Kholins I think Adolin is the best candidate for being a full on class traitor. I’m serious, looking back over the events of his plotlines, it would suit him shockingly well while disturbing the overall narrative shockingly little.

Adolin’s current plot is loosely as follows: in Way of Kings he likes all the things someone of his station is supposed to like, clothes, violence, dueling, warfare, swords, hangtime with the guys, all the good stuff. At the beginning of the book he doesn’t understand why old, stuck-up Dalinar can’t just let loose and be a relelntless war-monger like everyone else, but by the end of the book he’s come to understand a certain value to honor and thus has begun to become a better person himself. Words of Radiance has him lose his popularity, fall out of favor with all of his friends, grow disillusioned with his society, perform a prison sit-in in solidarity with Kaladin, and murder Sadeas. Most of this is done again, because of his father, and how Adolin now wants to help and support him and his ideals. In Oathbringer he mostly isn’t involved in courtly politics, being away on a mission for much of it, but he does make a pretty big move by rejecting the throne. In Rhythm of War we see the schism that’s formed between him and his father until he leaves on another long-distance mission. Summary over. In general I reject the idea that making the Kholins be individually less racist makes for a better, or more nuanced and compassionate discussion of the topic, but if anyone is primed for a “lighteyes learns racism is wrong” character arc, I think it’s Adolin. Imagine him following a bit less in Dalinar’s footsteps and a bit more in Jasnah’s. You almost don’t even have to change any story beats: in getting to know Kaladin, something clicks in Adolin where he realizes that if he wants to treat Kaladin as his equal, he has to treat all darkeyes as equals, and so he realizes to his horror that he and his entire caste of friends and family are all monsters for treating them the way they do. (Actually, there is one plotline in WoR I’d probably scrap, and that’s his slowburn bromance with Kaladin. I mean I get what Sanderson was going for with the ribbing and then eventual friendship, but Kaladin was an absolute stranger who risked his own life to save Adolin and his father from certain death, and so I feel there should probably have been a bit more overt respect upfront there.) In pushing for his newfound belief in equality, he ends up burning through all of his intracaste goodwill and political capital, causing all of his friends to drop him. When he kills Sadeas, it doesn’t have to be about protecting Dalinar or about personal revenge, it could also be that he’s gotten to know Bridge 4 and learned firsthand about the atrocities they’d gone through, and so there’s no way he’d allow such a pioneer of human rights violations to stay in power. In the following books, maybe he’s become so politically toxic due to challenging the very foundations of his own power, his own family has to send him away on missions so he can’t rock the boat too much at home. Maybe refusing the throne was more of a political statement than a personal one, because he’s come to understand that being a ruler means oppressing thousands of others. Maybe this is another form of hypocrisy he criticizes Dalinar for, how Dalinar might claim to value darkeyes but how he still retains power bought with thousands of their corpses. None of this has to modify actual events very much, it just affects the reasons for them. And it would also meaningfully show why he gets to be a “good lighteyes” if he actually engaged with his status and rejected it, knowing it comes at the expense of others.

Okay, enough about that. Renarin maybe?

I won’t say too much about Renarin here, because I’d probably just end up repeating a lot of the same criticisms of how he’s used as a “good lighteyes.” From a narrative standpoint, all those criticisms hold for him as well. You know, he wants to join Bridge Four, and future-villain Moash doesn’t like the idea because he doesn’t trust lighteyes, but Kaladin reassures him that Renarin is a good boy, so don’t worry about it, and everything works out fine in the end, proving that lighteyes are good people just like you and me. This isn’t a problem with him as a person or character, it’s just more of that general theme of “the caste system is fine so long as nice people are at the top” which I clearly think should be interrogated. Thus far, in contrast to the rest of his family, Renarin is very young and has had much less of a political presence, not to mention fewer POV chapters anyway, so I think delving too much deeper here will feel a bit hollow to me.

Does Shallan count as a Kholin? I’d like to talk about her super briefly.

Unpopular opinion, but I actually think Shallan is one of the better characters on the topic of race insofar as how she’s written, especially compared to the other Kholins. But wait, I hear you say, what about all of her dozens of instances of casual racism? Yes, that’s what I’m referring to. I like how Shallan demonstrates how ingrained these harmful ideologies are in their society. I like how every time she has a distasteful thought, we the audience are reminded that racism still exists and even good people will continue to promote it if they don’t view it critically. I like that Shallan is problematic, because their society has problems! At least with her it doesn’t feel like the story’s trying to sweep the fact under the rug. There are plenty of issues with her writing, plenty of jabs at Kaladin that probably shouldn’t have been treated as cute. She’s actually the main character whose racism and classism I see criticized the most. And I think that’s a good thing! My issue with the Kholins isn’t that I think they should all be less racist, my issue is that their positions are inherently oppressive, and it seems as though the narrative doesn’t think that matters so long as deep down they’re good people. When people critique Shallan in specific instances, I tend to see a fair amount of consensus and agreement there, but when I critique the Kholins people will argue with me by pointing out that Dalinar/Adolin/Navani/whoever actually treats darkeyes as equals, so my arguments are invalid. Purely my own anecdotal experience of course, but it tends to make me think that there’s something in Shallan’s writing that’s working right, something that isn’t working for the other lighteyed characters.

Now obviously with all of this, I’m not saying I want these books to have more racism in them. What I’m arguing is that if the books are going to explore the topic (which they do) then they should treat the topic with an appropriate amount of gravity rather than acting as if it can be solved by having aristocrats become nicer people.

If you’re still here with me, thank you for reading, I love you, I hope you enjoyed yourself through my descent further and further into rambly nonsense. If you just scrolled to the bottom, that’s fair enough, there won't be a tl;dr but you’re welcome for filling your dash with massive text blocks.

[youredreamingofroo]

OKAY!!! Thank you @slightly-ludic @kuroashims @groovetrys for the tag !!! Ya'll tagged me in this last week and unfortunately it was when I was lowkey depressed BUT NEVER FEAR!! I did see ya'lls posts and have finally gotten motivated enough to do this!

I'm kinda surprised I got Lawful Good, I honestly see myself as Chaotic Neutral or Lawful Evil 🤔🤔 But anywho! I did the picrew for me AND Roo (as always), I was REALLY cooking up ideas for what kind of adventurers we'd be so if you'd like to read all that, it's below the cut :)

I'm not tagging anyone cuz I'm 5 days late but- if you wanna do this, feel free to do it and tag me!

Quiz and Picrew

If I was an adventurer... I'd be some conglomerate of Arachnid/Reptile Alchemist, in the case of a game where you choose a character to start with (no character customization to start with), my character would have a frustratingly high Strength attribute only for me to not be able to do Melee damage (for example, if the average beginner Strength attribute was 5, my character would have a +8 Strength Attribute and a special passive along the lines of "Cannot do melee damage / Perform melee attacks." My main source of power/magic would be Water, who can also do Lingering Poison and Electric damage (While Poison and Electric are also an area of strength, I wouldn't do as much damage with either than I would if I were fighting with Water). If I had a familiar/companion, it'd be a black cat (reflecting my irl pet, a cat :))

My Adventurer name would probably be something like "Achar the Aracho-alchemist" (alliteration ftw)

If Roo was an adventurer... Roo would be an Elf/Goat (Satyr?) Archer, he's a lot more feeble and fragile, however does pretty reputable damage, although he's a master in normal flint/iron tipped arrows and a wooden bow, he can also deal damage via crossbow bolts and a crossbow, or variously tipped arrows (poison, fire, etc), but like me, the damage wouldn't be as comparable to what he's good at using. Along with being an archer, he's also a bard and has a once-per-battle spell where he can enchant the opposing party into being distracted for 3 turns / 2 turns ( smaller enemies / bigger enemies [ In the case of a time-based battle and not turn-based like bg3, it would be somewhere around 1 minute / 45 seconds for smaller / larger enemies respectively ]). He's also that one character that makes you wonder if he's dressed for the role and the answer to that would be no, no he is not, but somehow makes it work LMAO His familiar/companion would be a deer (I think it just fits his twink-ish vibes </3)

His Adventurer name would be something like "Roo the Rising-in-Fame Archer" (rising in fame would be a nod to his musical talent and the archer part is obv OASJHDNB)

[t-u-i-t-c]

Bistrot Jurer

13 → Favorite Location (Main Base) - Super Sentai

Bistro Jurer

A French bistro owned by Kogure, that is the base for the Lupinrangers. The bistro is used as a front for the Lupins while they search for pieces of the Lupin Collection. The Lupins also use their positions at the bistro to gain intel from the Patrangers, who frequent the bistro.

The Yard

A small area behind the bistro. The area is mainly utilized in two heavier scenes, in which Kairi's resolves are called into question. One point is to question his resolve regarding doing anything in order to retrieve a piece of the Lupin Collection even at Touma's expense. The other point is when Kairi shows how his relationship with Keiichiro is making it more difficult for him to keep a clear head and focus on his goal.

The Kitchen

Located off the main floor, in view of customers. The kitchen is basically Touma's space as he is the one tasked to do all the cooking.Touma was a chef at a top restaurant prior to the mass disappearances, and is shown to find joy in cooking, even though he claims otherwise.

Dressing Room

A room in the bistro where the Lupinrangers change into their Lupin outfits before following leads about the Lupin Collection.

Kairi’s Room

A nearly empty room upstairs. The room has few personal items, having only a photo of Kairi and his brother to indicate that it is his room. The lack of personal items aligns with Kairi not feeling that he has a home and shows how the Lupins must be ready to flee at any time.

Dining Area

Located on the main floor, this is the area seen most frequently. The Lupins serve their customers here and discuss their plans as Lupinrangers after closing. When open, Umika is in this area most, as Touma spends most of his time in the kitchen and Kairi sneaks out whenever he can.

The dining area is also where the Patrangers frequently interact with the Lupins unknowingly. It is due to the growing relations with the Patrangers at the bistro, and even expanding outside, that the Lupins struggle throughout the series and most memorably in the final arc. An important thing to note is that Umika and Touma are shown to think of the bistro as their home, while Kairi does not. In the end, Umika seems to have the strongest attachment to the bistro and the memories made there.

[irbcallmefynn]

Bit of a simple one here. Nauno simply spying a new target. Didn't spend all too long on it.

Yesterday I looked up if Avali could eat chocolate (did not find my answer btw) and noticed that planets in the habitable zone for humans would be unbearably hot for Avali. So it's time for me to bullshit an explanation for why Nauno isn't miserable or outright dead that will probably contradict things I've said or drawn before!

The temperature where Fynn Nauno and Euphi live is quite variable. In the winter it can get bitterly cold, and Nauno is all over that. Sometimes they might bring an icepack with them if it's a bit warmer out, like seen above. More often than not though, Nauno is completely fine in the winter.

In the summer? Forget it. This guy is not going anywhere in the summer. The AC in his room is very very strong (thanks to a little demon magic from Fynn), so it's basically a refrigerator in there (Fynn can't even walk in there without feeling sick). Fynn (with some help from Euphi) "borrowed" some chemistry equipment from a nearby school and use it to make their own dry ice. They then make "Dry Ice Packs" for Nauno, which help a lot! It's at least enough for him to go out and get lunch with Fynn during the summer.

For Fynn it's basically the opposite. Loves the summer, can't go outside during the winter. One time when visiting his mom (which he does every couple of years) he picked up a few loose stones from Hell and keeps them in his pockets during the winter. So at least his hands are nice and warm, so he won't collapse from the cold. He'll just be super uncomfortable.

Euphi doesn't really care much about the temperature. It's precipitation that bothers heart. Euphi can't walk outside at all without an umbrella if it's raining or snowing. It's not going to kill heart, but it is extremely unpleasant and painful (basically imagine sweating into an open wound. Not very pleasant is it?)

[nexus-nebulae]

found my ancient mp3 player recently. finally found a charger for it and plugged it in. and remembered i found a yt playlist of the whole httyd movie chopped up into like 20 videos and i downloaded the mp3s of all of them to listen to on the school bus. which is why i can effortlessly quote the whole first movie now

[seancamerons]

Mia Jones

so mia's life post degrassi isn't very simple there is a life beyond degrassi community school. (under the cut!)

so its like what? 2009? 2010 if i remember correctly she went to paris so from paris onward. she was working there for a time but it's different than growing up where she did and maybe she wants to do things beyond modeling. holding that thought on the back burner but it comes in and out her consciousness.

she's isolated or with the party scenes and such maybe she experiments a lot left to own devices goes a little bit overboard in a lot of ways. after some clarity or fear of losing everything, eventually maybe if things dry up or things are changing going in other directions job opportunities aren't so much of a pay off just getting generally bored and exhausting and competition and it all becomes too much maybe she gets homesick or something? whatever it may be, maybe she wants to focus on her lifetime responsibilities. so before all that realization and looking inside of herself and her life big picture, aiming high but being realistic of course say initially her mom and Isabella pack up and move and join her in pairs where the damage was done and mama jones regrets the whole thing, and sees mia is either depressed, addicted to drugs, maybe drinking to much or a combination and maybe something huge happens where she hides it for a long time and then by the third or fourth week it appears to be what it is and mama jones and mia talk rehab, talk about maybe making changes, and mia is disillusioned self conscious and like it or not tired. the money and vices that come with modeling perhaps come up they have to devise a new game plan, for the best interest of everyone. mama jones (name?) maybe wants more stability for isabella, while she can't live with irresponsible lucas, and jane has since skipped town and eventually traveled and did run into mia and updated her in the 411 back at home. what became of peter and their other friends and lucas came up naturally or whatever. he seemed to never really launch or aspire to be anything and still lives with their mom. who does continue to keep in touch with mama jones and mia and of course always sends her love and gifts and such.

lucas had since been kind of on the outside of mia's life and Isabella's. but now that he's older he feels guilty, but also doesn't want to do anything with his life either. with his former friends in varying things such as working, or in jail, or bad boy turned good johnny dimarco distantcing himself from his bad boy past.

like mia and all avoiding that kind of stuff too the difference between mia and lucas is that mia clawed her way out in contrast, lucas stayed pretty much the same and got by coasted on videogames and weed self medicating and in the last 10 years has not communicated much. he signs moms cards. he doesn't go out of his way. isabella stopped caring or expecting anything from lucas.

she doesnt even call him dad but by his first name. legally he's not even responsible because something I'll explain later. obviously he's not really dad material so mia as always picked up the slack with the help of mia's mom obviously.

we know mia's mom did double duty but mia is ready to give Isabella stability. we all know the modeling gigs she got in France were lucrative. she did jetset for a time to Milan and became a muse for a start up fashionline and it was the most she'd been paid for anything ever but felt tempted again and started inching her way toward the allure of the lifestyle that almost killed her career and had to take a step back.

by this time, she's getting older now, she wants to leave that part of her life behind. she's not so keen on returning back to degrassi/toronto so she settled in california and with her earnings she saved up over time. she did it smart, played it safe but for good reason. she always knew it wasn't going to last forever but it was a fun experience while it lasted and something she was immensely she's grateful for. modeling was sometimes good, but ultimately it wasn't for her.

between the consequential nature of her first gig (t-bombz) there were several smear campaigns (fans of tom of course) that caught wind of the less than clean-cut contradicting image of tom who was embroiled in scandals after a while when people started tipping off the press to his less than innocent sex parties with minors it landed in him in hot water naturally metoo movement decimated his career and he was hurting in his wallet. he allegedly was injured around this time and all these things were coming out and none of it looked good for him or mia, and his career dried but he has money like mia, but he's low profile. he'll do anything for the limelight he's cashing in and worked on some memoir where he dished.

so he does some interviews for promoting the new book on tv and it was all over the place, inescapable and the fall out was AWFUL and like holly j in the past the receipts and past caught up to mia and her now teenage daughter by this time in life.

she sues for defamation, he countersues but eventually they both settle it's rough on both of them this lasts a long while, Isabella is discovers this about her mom and thinks back to her limited memories and finds it horrifying and their relationship isn't the best and they go thru a rift and low point in their dynamic. she really didn't know her mom, raised by her grandma for over a year while mia was first starting out with her modeling career obviously, so she became more accustomed to that. mia made sacrifices but claimed it was mostly for them, issy doesn't buy it. mia and her daughter fall out privately, now that was all in vain because issy doesn't want her mom around her, she needs time to heal from that and is closer to grandma anyway.

so with her deadbeat dad, mom's bad reputation and sordid rep, grandma seems the best option. they relocate back to toronto and she even goes to degrassi for a time but mia stays in California for commercials, modeling, influencer culture and tries to put the past behind her. a roller coaster esque uphill and downhill battle.

she really never intended to be a mom anyhow and doesn't feel the motherly connection she did when she was full-time mom part-time student, pre-modeling.

she and peter reconnect and they make beautiful music together literally and figuratively. he too lives out in la and works for various music outlets as a producer and mia was signed to one of these record companies, he helped her cultivate her image, hire staff and they eventually though late night recording sessions made a love story of their own working on mia's album. they lived pretty happily ever after and eventually got married a year or two later.

her mom's upcoming marriage to her former high school flame prompted Isabella to want to be close to mom once again, mend fences and such both suffered a lot. maybe they didn't have the traditional mother-and-daughter relationship at any point in their lives but Isabella decided to accept peter as a father figure and reclaim her place with mia once again. mia put her mom in a motherinlaw suite by their pool house to take care of her mom so she's still close. she approves of peter. lucas' life tragically continued going downward and he stayed in toronto watching mia continue to rise, their daughter being taken care of by mia's family and he feels hurt. jane's mom chooses to be more active and visits Isabella and mia with jane sometimes. lucas on the other hand does nothing about it accepts it, and signs over his parental rights and neglects to tell them.

So Jane and of course their hs friends and former studz members even spinner and such visit peter and mia from time to time a few times out of the year and its nice. sometimes it truly takes a village, absence makes the heart grow fonder. sometimes found families are the best families. nobody has it completely together, teen moms can live productive lives, sometimes the career you initially pursue realsiticly isn't the best fit. sometimes people struggle. sometimes with the best intentions, you can't control the feelings and reactions of others such as Isabella and mia's struggle to find peace and comfort in their later years and eventually can rebuild their relationships. some people even if you push them, they got to want to be successful or try and fail, instead of remaining complacent and doing nothing to improve their situation. all people are valid, all of this is some people's reality perhaps not the modeling and singing and peter' (i can't believe this is peter) but some version of a guy who started one way and grew up to be admirable, sweet and responsible with goals and passions and living sober and working hard every day to remain that way and be a good example to friends, family and success isn't linear

blady blah. this is rooough, and long and all but here ya go! thank you! TLDR mia models for a long time but grows disinterests and tries on many careers before finally moving on and up and reconnects with peter and they later marry. her relationship with Isabella is rocky and inconsistent and eventually become better than ever and mama jones lucas' mom, jane and old friends often visit and take big roles in Isabella, mia and her mom share a property and mia takes care of her mom and is thankful for her and Isabella. lucas' life tragically never becomes much of anything and is essentially a bum, a footnote and not involved, signed over his rights and Isabella doesn't take him seriously being burned by his neglect and does not really talk or keep in touch. it's not all perfect.

💌 ask me about a degrassi character/fictional character to rewrite/expand upon

[fisshontoast]

ID: a digital drawing of my oc, osian, and two children. Osian is sat on a short wall, one knee up with the foot resting on the wall and the other down. It has one hand lifted, gesturing as it talks. Hanging onto its arm is a young girl who is kneeling beside it, mouth open in excitement. In front of osian and the girl is a boy sitting cross-legged on the ground, with an amazed expression. Osian has a speech bubble, and it is telling the story of a hero fighting a dragon, illustrated by simple images. Osian is a person with short dark hair, antlers, deer ears and pale skin. It is wearing a red feathered cape, an oversized yellow shirt, brown trousers, and a pink mask painted with flowers and leaves. The girl is wearing a red dress and has light blue hair and the boy is wearing a blue shirt and brown trousers and has dark blue hair. The background is a row of houses with a few people walking around. /end ID

Fuck it I'm drawing full illustrations of my ocs now

[reverieinsimlish]

I took Ernie to Uni and there was the usual fuckery. Then he ran into Kaz Nasri at a party and I was like... hey.... I remember that guy!

Until....

BUUUUUT, that gave me Cason,

and the early angst of star-crossed lovers and soapy dram a that I really super enjoyed

but ultimately he got his HEA.

And I got Viola and Roan

Who kicked ass....

but had a hard time not offending people with her brutal honesty and awkward sense of humor

It took soooo looooong to get my heir, but March has always been worth the wait

Especially to her childhood bestie

And even tho they might have went in different directions for a while

it wasn't forever

and all their dreams came true with hard work that Tumblr will not allow me to inline link in this post as there are already 10. Maybe I should make a master post. In the morning and not after working 12 hours.

Now there's Eartha, or maybe Dorian... and I have no idea what they'll do.