#we are not entitled to every single detail

[jmdbjk]

The song “Letter”

Just one thing I want to say...

When Jungkook said the dumpling incident was more than what we’ve been told, that it was serious shit... let that be a reminder that it is possible that not everything we see or hear is the total truth. That everything they show us or tell is us is possibly NOT the whole story. 

It’s not that they are lying to us or giving us half-truths, on the contrary, they want us to know the catalyzing moments. But divulging the less-than-savory details, or details that are too personal, takes away from the point of sharing the moment. I hope that makes sense.

That being said, on the surface and in general, “Letter” is a song for Army. To Jimin, who wrote the song, his music is for the fans in general. He frames the song as one for the fans. We all know what he says is true. ALL of the music is for fans. That’s why they are doing this for a living. And this song is one he wanted to single out as special, and he wanted to offer it in a special way by having it “hidden” on the CD. 

Yet, many interpret the meaning of the song as something else, as is their right to. The song can have multiple meanings to different people. And that is exactly what music is for, to be interpreted in many, many ways that can resonate within us.

Those of us who acknowledge the special relationship he has with Jungkook interpret their relationship along the lines of: this is “possibly NOT the whole story.” 

And Jimin maybe acknowledges that by having Jungkook participate on the song, knowing that the song can now have another more specific and personal meaning applied to it. Jimin knows we know that. They both know we know that. Is there a “level” of this meaning that needs to be applied? No. We all are allowed to interpret it to the level we are each comfortable with.

The general fandom will see it as a special song even more so because another BTS member participated. And that’s it. Which is ok. 

But there are those who specifically do not want the song to be interpreted that way at all in any way shape or form and they spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to knock down those interpretations. Why do they spend so much negative energy on that? Who knows? 

Does Jimin need to come out and explicitly explain other meanings for the song? No, why would he? Why SHOULD he? He already said its a song for and to Army. We know where his heart and emotions were when he wrote it. Just because he doesn’t openly explain other meanings, does not mean there is only one interpretation of the song. IT IS ART!

Interpretation of art is the attribution of meaning to a work...giving meaning to a work. This process is subjective, meaning there is no right or wrong way to interpret the meaning of a work. We schlepp our own personal emotional baggage in everything we do and it is through this lens that we view and react to the world and that includes art. 

Where we often get hung up is whether we agree or disagree if the artist’s intention is relevant to how it is interpreted. 

Did Jimin ONLY mean for us to take his literal words as the meaning and then STOP, no other meanings apply? Or do we also include his literal action of having Jungkook, a specific member of BTS, participate on the track as a specific intention? 

If you don’t get it, that’s ok, it is just something that I’ve seen a lot of debate about and now I’ve said my piece.

Keep in mind that Jimin is an emotional animal. He lives, breathes, speaks, expresses himself with emotions. He is not a surface skimmer. He literally wrote songs about his literal emotions. 

For his sake, think deeper and be a good human.

[msnihilist]

I'm not super involved in the Nicktoons Unite fandom, but I have been combing through fics and I'm already tried of Danny being portrayed as the big brother/second smartest one instead of what he actually is: a fucking idiot.

[finalgirlmoment]

Noteworthy details about the first two PJOTV episodes (spoilers)

First of all, every single of them ATE DOWN. just wanted to throw that out there, i'm so so impressed with the cast, everyone was perfect and gorgeous and i'm completely sat for any and all future installments. A fine piece of media. Let's begin.

Percy's confusion and bewilderment finding out that he's a demigod. "You fell in love with God.... like, Jesus????" LMFAO but seriously his frustration in this moment, thinking there's something actually wrong with his brain, feeling lost and confused and hurt and BROKEN. the struggle in that moment is so relatable to people discovering they have some sort of mental illness or neurodivergence, especially when they weren't believed/listened to etc and i think walker played this part beautifully

GROVER AND PERCY PLAYING MYTHOMAGIC TOGETHER. GROVER AND PERCY PLAYING MYTHOMAGIC TO TRAIN PERCY. I AM LITERALLY SCREAMING OFF ROOFTOPS THE IMPLICATIONS THAT THIS HAS???? ARE YOU ACTUALLY JOKING??????? IMAGINE SEASON 3 PERCY FINDS NICO AND THEY HAVE THIS IN COMMON???????????!?!?!?!?!? FEELING SEVERELY FRANTIC AND MASSIVELY UNWELL ABOUT THIS

luke's empathy towards Percy throughout-- his apologies for what happened to his mother at the bottom of Half Blood Hill, him telling P that he relates to the nightmares, the restlessness, the ADHD..... so fucking sick and fucking twisted, I will be sobbing at the ending, gorgeous job on both ends on making this relationship feel very warm and authentic and the trust starting to build. this will H U R T.

CLARISSE. she's so gorgeous and vindictive. Her beauty took me off guard initially, but she's such a spiteful little badass that I completely fell in love with her. I CANNOT WAIT to see more of her characterization, especially into season two. perfection.

Percy burning the blue jelly beans- the thing he'd miss most- out in the middle of the woods at night in a damn can, just to pray to his MOTHER. *sobbing intensifies* i couldn't ask for a more sweet, heartfelt, honest moment. the perfect addition. 10s across the board

Percy's ANGER. OH BOY this was one of my most favorite parts. I feel like we see Percy as a very happy-go-lucky kid altogether but I loved, LOVED to see his frustration and agitation from the very beginning. Everything is so confusing and foreign and all he knows is that 1. he's been betrayed or left behind by everyone he knows and 2. he's been ignored his whole life by his godly parent. His mission is to MAKE HIS DAD SEE PERCY, at ANY COST. Before he even knows who his dad is. He is entitled to feel ALL of this anger and hurt and resentment!!!!!!!

Annabeth calling Percy "sunshine". TOTAL CULTURAL RESET. I gasped. The dawn of a new age of Percabeth. I will be screaming into my pillow about this for the foreseeable future.

The entire characterization of Percy throughout the capture the flag scene. His contrast of being just a kid- flossing (lol), peeing the woods, petting a gecko, just vibing and hanging out VS. being thrown suddenly into attack from his peers that don't care about the rules, surprising himself and everyone around him with his finesse in battle, quick instincts, swordsmanship..... i'm weak fr. I can't wait to see him grow, train, become stronger and more confident.

Overall, I'm entirely floored and beyond happy. I can't wait to see more. 10/10

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for being upset that my best friend slept with my recent ex and then told me about it in a group chat with multiple people?

I dated someone and we were super close, I was devastated when we broke up. One week later, my best friend initiated a FWB relationship, and told everyone in our friend group about it but me. About three weeks into their arrangement, the friend told me about it by writing in our group chat, "When you have to take a COVID test so that [my ex's name] can fuck you again smh." I DM'd them to ask what that was about and they told me about their arrangement, and also that I was the only person in the friend group who hadn't known the day it began.

Obviously I was upset both by their arrangement and by their method of telling me, which I thought was insensitive. I didn't want to overreact, though, so I didn't tell them I was upset, just said "congratulations" and acted normal. I wanted time to think it over before deciding what to say to the friend, if anything. The friend didn't notice, but my ex was more perceptive, and figured out that I was hiding some feelings. I told them that I was upset by the situation but that I wanted to think about it and calm down before talking about it, and to please not tell the friend that I was upset.

The very next day, the friend sent me a long ass email - like a 500 word essay - saying that my ex had told them I was upset despite my request to keep it between us, detailing all the reasons why THEY thought I might be upset, and then invalidating every single possible reason using logic that boiled down to "I'm not obligated to care about your feelings, your feelings are illogical, and actually by being upset at all youre being oversensitive and controlling." They ended the email by saying they never wanted to speak to me again.

I know that people are entitled to having relationships with whoever they want, and I wasn't angry at them for that. I was wounded, but I would've gotten over it. It was the way they handled all of the communication - they told me about it when I was still grieving the breakup instead of waiting until I was doing a bit better, told me in a group chat by making a joke instead of even sending me a private text message, AND told me that everyone in our friend group had known already except me. On top of that, upon finding out I was upset, they didn't even ask me about it or wait for me to reach out - they pre-decided why I could be upset and that I had no right to be, without even hearing my point of view. It just seemed as though they were trying to be as insensitive and calloused as they possibly could. Am I in the wrong here?

What are these acronyms?

[ireneaesthetic]

Pointing out little moments and details of scenes that need to be remembered.

music room scene • episode 5

i'll never shut up about edvin and omar's acting and this scene is one of the best ones hands down. insanely proud of them.

quick reminder: it's not me taking any side, but an analysis as objective as possible of little moments i like to dive more into.

wilhelm's astonishment when he finds out simon’s song is about him. he was so caught up in his own thoughts and internal conflicts that he didn’t realize it, not even when he heard it standing right there and simon kept looking at him until his cheeks were blushing, pouring his heart in every word he wrote and was singing for wille to listen.

side happy note: this means the adoration on wilhelm's face, hearing simon sing at the ball, was out of pure love and pride towards him.

they are frozen in place, wille's eyes staring but simon's are kind of lost, like he's dissociating for a moment - he zones out.

the camera work in this scene is *chef's kiss*: the way it approaches simon closely and then moves from one to the other, focusing last on him. it captures his emotional state and makes it relevant for what comes next. perfectly done.

he has to put himself together and look away before the "yesterday was a mistake". he gets what it feels like: he's been through this before in the first place - "we should maybe forget about it" - and he wasn't ready either to have his hope and heart shattered by hearing the last thing he wanted to.

simon knows his words will hurt wille just like wille's hurt him back then. they're heartbreaking to hear as much as to let out.

he barely looks at wilhelm before turning around and heading to the door, not even waiting for a proper reaction from him.

it reminds me of the time simon saw wille shed a tear in front of him and walked away as soon as he stopped talking, cos to stay would've only hurt more - this is exactly it.

the camera that gradually zoomes in and the shot getting so close we can easily read wilhelm's every. single. thoughts spinning in his mind.

simon's step back, a physical response that we’ve seen before in relation to wille's behavior - during their first fight in the music room - and it basically comes from his tendency to distance himself when a negative sensation or situation arises.

it's like a defense mechanism.

the impact simon's sarcastic smile has on me istg.

it's more than anger, disappointment, sadness - he is so done. in his pov all he knows is wille kept something crucial a secret from him and there's no valid reason to justify it. he lets him speak, he listens, but can't take it.

wilhelm's silence to simon's words is just as powerful: he didn't know what he chose to do to protect him would turn into the mistake hurting him the most. it caught him off guard, in a 'this is all my fault' type of way: it's fair for simon to be mad, he's completely entitled to feel this way about him, so wille doesn't fight back.

their teary eyes make it x100 sadder.

it's like a vicious circle: wilhelm acts according to what seems best for him in order to fix things but, whenever he tries, he can't make it right. he just wants simon back into his life, but ends up watching him leave eventually - again.

he entered the room to check on simon and clear things up, not expecting to find himself alone with growing anxiety and all he cares about (re)falling apart instead.

[thefirstknife]

Hi Bel,

I keep seeing comments about people complaining about the quality of destiny’s writing and story in the last few weeks. I haven’t really engaged with destiny since season of defiance, what’s currently gotten everyone so riled up? I thought that people were enjoying Season of the Deep/Witch in terms of narrative, why is Season of the Wish causing people to deride the destiny writing staff again?

I don't know!

Deep and Witch have been absolute bangers in every aspect to me. I've been enjoying all interactions and lore tabs we've received. A lot of them are stuff that we've never had before, a lot of reunions and closures, a lot of development and interactions between characters who you wouldn't really think would have much in common.

Sloane's return and healing from what she's been through has been fantastic, Drifter opening up with her to help her because he also got help from others was fantastic, Sloane reuniting with Aisha and Shayura brought me to tears (Shayura's descent into madness was triggered by immense trauma of Sloane staying on Titan and Titan disappearing), everything with Sloane and Zavala...

Witch was just incredible in every single way; the focus on Eris, the amount of Eris and Ikora content!!!!! Everything about Xivu and Savathun and their interactions together!! Eris finally fulfilling her goal she promised Savathun YEARS ago, getting that closure.

Wish so far has been equally great to me. All the new stuff about Ahamkara is amazing, finally giving us proof for long-standing speculation about Ahamkara and how they aren't universally evil creatures and expanding on them as a species. I love all interactions we've had so far; finally we have Petra back, Mara's singleminded focus on figuring out how to defeat the Witness and her continuous work to improve as a person, ALL SJUR MENTIONS!!!!! I won't talk about the "leak" because we have no context for it so I will wait for the full story to be revealed before I can pass judgment; something that I think should be a lesson to learn from this entire year. Maybe wait for the story to finish before judging the story.

Literally everything this past year that involves Osiris, but especially this season now that he's back in his element with the Vex. And of course every little detail we get of him and Saint. Osiris honestly shaped this year for me with everything that he's done to uncover the biggest mysteries. I think a big reason is that a lot of people just don't like Osiris, which I consider a massive skill issue.

Other than that, I don't know what are the issues people have besides just not being interested in any of these storylines and attributing it to a nebulous "bad writing" claim. I also genuinely believe that way too many people get wrapped up too much in fandom, imagine storylines they want to see and then get disappointed when the actual story doesn't go there. Almost like people forget that this isn't their story and these aren't their characters. A lot of it is also fandom completely warping characters into not what they actually are and then feeling like the canon story is the one that's wrong.

Whatever is the reason, I guess everyone is entitled to their perspective of the story and everyone is free to explore the story in different ways through fanfics and AUs and whatever. I do that too!

But I would definitely ask people to be normal with how they engage in criticism, especially in the current state of affairs. Writers are developers; they experience a ton of harassment and negativity from the community and also from inside the company. And they are online: they can see what we're saying. It's been documented that community commentary has been used to harass writers:

Imprint this into your brain and never forget what these people had to go through. Let's not forget also the way people treated Seth Dickinson on social media when he was active with Destiny fans. "Fans" were actively arguing with him about his own work (telling him that HE is wrong) and were utterly disgusting towards him when he tried explaining what he wrote. His works are now hailed as the best writing in Destiny and people want him back. If I were him, I wouldn't want to come back ngl, not with how he was treated and not with how fans are still treating writers (and hey, Seth wrote LF Collector's Edition! So he was back, technically, this year!). Let's not forget that a lot of writers are members of various marginalised groups. And I'd definitely not want to go back with zero support from leadership.

Which is also an important aspect for all developers, including writers: sometimes they have orders they may not like, but can't argue against. They do the best they can with what they're given, the time they have and directions they receive. And with that in mind, I am enjoying everything we've gotten this year, obviously with some specific complaints about things I didn't particularly enjoy (like the universally mid reception of Defiance; I've spoken about my gripes with it before, a big one being the shafting of Suraya who should've at least been mentioned in a lore tab).

I can tell that there is passion in their work, even if maybe they would prefer to do more with it, but can't. Maybe even if they want to take different routes, but can't. But from what we got, I can feel that they care about this world and these characters. I can tell that someone lovingly wrote about Sloane and her friendships with two grieving women. I can tell that they deeply cared about Sloane's friendship with Zavala and that they loved showing us Saint and Drifter caring about a fellow trauma survivor.

I can tell that the writers are immensely careful and loving towards Eris; everything she went through was crafted with love and passion from both writers and her VA. Eris' story is such a fundamental aspect of Destiny and I can tell that this was important to the writing team and that they gave her everything they could to do justice to her character and her arc and her healing and her release from the cycle she was trapped in for so long.

I can tell that there are writers who care a lot about Osiris and Saint and their relationship. I can tell that someone cared a lot about expanding on Ahamkara and giving them more personalities. I can tell that someone cared DEEPLY about Sjur and Mara and that her repeated mentions are the passionate work of writers who want us to remember her.

I could go on. And I know that not everyone sees it this way, which is fine; we all have different ways of perceiving stories. I enjoy discussing things we in the fandom disagree on and I enjoy hearing different perspectives! Unfortunately, this has recently become rarer and rarer. And for the love of god, please try and treat writers with some respect, especially now, especially those who are still working and doing their best with the shitty situation they're in. None of the cries of "poor devs" ring true to me unless the same is given to writers, instead of treating them like punching bags.

[bakuhatsufallinlove]

Chapter 348's "Shitty Nerd" Narrator Isn't Omniscient (And It's Not Bakugou Katsuki)

So, for a good bit there we were all theorizing about what was up with the narrator of chapter 348 calling Izuku a "shitty nerd" for not recognizing Toga's feelings for him, right?

Now, in a previous post I explained the different expectations Japanese audiences tend to have for frame narratives in weekly serialized manga. I posited that this may mean that the identity of 348's third-person narrator isn't necessarily of direct importance and, as a result, may never be explicitly revealed. I maintain the validity of this observation in general, however I no longer think it is relevant to understanding Horikoshi's approach to writing.

Because I am confident I have figured out who the narrator is: Best Jeanist.

To be clear, I do not believe that Best Jeanist is the source of every third-person narration in the series so far—I have yet to go back and research earlier chapters enough to theorize about that. I believe he is specifically the frame narrator who is explaining the critical moments of the Heroes’ final battle against AFO/Shigaraki, most notably in chapters 348 and 377.

Let’s go over the supporting evidence for this reading.

Best Jeanist's speech patterns match the idiosyncrasies found in 348

Back in February, pikahlua pointed out that 348's narrator uses "de aru” (である, also conjugated as であり, de ari) and I have been thinking about this detail ever since. Early on I described 348’s narration to a friend as sounding almost like a textbook, and it is “de aru” which contributes most to that tone. It functions as a connecting verb meaning "be" or "is," but it feels uniquely literary, even a bit archaic. Due to this, I pretty readily imagined that 348 was narrated by an omniscient figure who was telling the story to us as a historical event, like it was a passage from a book on “the great Hero Deku” or something like that.

But I kept wondering if, among all the fanciful characters in MHA, there was anyone who fit the bill for this type of language. Lo and behold:

On top of Shigaraki escaping, we sustained tremendous damage. But… nevertheless, we Heroes must continue the fight with the threads of our faith utterly unrent! This is the hope of our scattered comrades, and it will be spun into a new era… Plus Ultra!

The back cover of the Japanese volumes all have in-character narration blurbs that match the speech patterns and personality of the character featured on the spine of the book. This is not replicated in the English releases, so the above translation is my own. Here, Best Jeanist uses “de aru” (highlighted in blue) for that same literary effect 348 uses. I looked through other volume covers and a few dozen chapters, and I found only a couple other uses of “de aru” in total--by Iida and a member of Spinner’s army shown in 370, neither of whom are likely candidates for 348’s narrator.

Best Jeanist in general speaks in a deliberately refined, elegant way. He uses polite speech at times and, even when talking casually, his word choices are rather serious and poetic. Notice the top orange text highlighted: 一糸の綻び (isshi no hokorobi) meaning the tear of a single thread, an evocative metaphor. Keep this and the bottom orange text in mind (散って, chitte, describing the “scattered comrades”).

Side note: Best Jeanist has used “kare” (彼, meaning "he") in canon to refer to Izuku, seen here in chapter 323:

This is less of a smoking gun than “de aru,” but the politeness of 348’s narration and the word “kare” specifically rule out Katsuki as a potential narrator, so it is worth mentioning.

Volume 31 covers chapters 296-306, with the last chapter entitled, “The Final Act Begins.” I think it is significant that Best Jeanist is the narrator on this volume cover; it may be foreshadowing for his role as the narrator for the Final Battle itself, which leads us to...

Best Jeanist's Threads of Hope

Best Jeanist's Quirk and his entire schtick are about fibers and threads. He makes this a direct metaphor for the Heroes’ struggle against the League of Villains in 292 where he says that they will stop the League by weaving "threads of hope" (一縷の希望, ichiru no kibou). He develops this metaphor further in 294, describing their victory over Gigantomachia.

He also used this kind of language in 311 and 317.

And don’t forget, he sutured Katsuki’s damaged heart back together in hopes of reviving him.

Then, we got this sequence in 377:

A faceless, elderly individual speaking about the Final Battle in the past tense. This person directly references that thin thread to describe the Heroes’ chances and their gambit against the villains.

The blue text in the top panel, which is curiously absent from the English release, says:

「舞い散る桜のように・・・」

maichiru sakura no you ni…

Like falling cherry blossoms…

The verb for “falling” here is actually two verbs joined together meaning “to fall as if dancing.” Literally, maichiru means dance-scatter. The Heroes’ gambit relies on dividing the villains, and in their efforts, they themselves are being scattered, like cherry blossoms. Remember how Best Jeanist described his comrades as scattered? The second verb here is that very same one.

The thread and snap (or cut) wording even gets brought up six chapters later by Tsukauchi:

The “hope” part is technically not present in the Japanese here, but I think official translator Caleb Cook caught on to the thematic parallel. And in my opinion, it is a pretty significant parallel.

So, with all this in mind: My bet is that Best Jeanist is the primary narrator for the final arc of the series.

This is a very interesting choice; it definitely raises questions about whether All Might survives. Best Jeanist is currently in his late 30s, so for him to be the elderly narrator seen in 377, he would have to be relaying these events from 30-40 years in the future, which might mean All Might survives the final battle but dies of old age later.

Whatever happens in the battle against AFO/Shigaraki, I think both Best Jeanist and Katsuki survive. Sometime post-battle, everyone gets the explanation for what happened when Izuku was warped away by Toga, and Katsuki—hearing that Izuku didn’t recognize Toga’s feelings for him—utters some iteration of 348’s infamous line about how, no matter what he does, he is still "a shitty nerd.”

Best Jeanist quotes him in 348’s narration, because... well, even though it is vulgar, it is a pretty accurate and even affectionate description of Izuku’s oblivious nature from his childhood friend, who knows him quite well. I think Best Jeanist, having mentored and watched over Katsuki all this time, deferred to him on the subject of Izuku’s personal life.

But he also did it because it’s funny as hell, and we should never forget that MHA is a comedy.

[valictini]

More thoughts because I saw a post that kind of helped me realise why this situation feels so weird

Honestly I wouldn't be so frustrated with the qsmp rn if they had ACTUALLY reopened the server in a limited matter, like Quackity announced.

Like, why is there so much happening rn when they were supposed to pause everything? Why are admin npcs so active? Are the current admins being paid or volunteering?

The fact that Quackity said nothing about it makes me think it's all volunteer work, again. And I'm not saying that the admins are suffering rn, i want to assume that the admins themselves are at the origin of this, like they don't want to just watch over the ccs, they want to have fun with them and offer them some interactions... but are they paid? And if not, are they really doing this for fun or are they doing this for Quackity's sake?

Do they feel like they need to do this in order for the QSMP not to crash and burn? Are they pressuring themselves with this responsibility? Is this starting a new cycle of people being inadvertently exploited for their passion for the project? I truly hope not. I truly hope they're doing this for fun

Also, as i saw a couple of posts claiming that they're just burning through the backlog of content that they already had... if that's the case, then maybe Quackity should say it clearly? Why do we even have to speculate on this?

I get that we, as the audience, aren't entitled to every single detail of whats going on, but like, when what you do (keep announcing things and letting admin npcs rp) directly contradicts your last public statement (the server reopens but in a limited set up, without admin npcs), I think a clarification is warranted.

[writingsbychlo]

Okay I was thinking about this the other day but how do we feel about a tamlin redemption arc? I personally think sjm has so much potential with him as a character but I also know what he did was messed up so it’s just something I think about a lot and always want other people’s inputs

what he did was messed up yeah but my guy was also fucking traumatised himself after 50 years of being responsible for literally every single person in prythian. HE was the one who was supposed to break that curse. EVERYONE was waiting for him. HE was the one who spent 50 years sending his friends to die and trying to fall in love with their killers to save everyone.

he didn’t handle it well, but like, who could he expected to? honestly like yeah it was wrong but it was a trauma response, all he ever wanted was to keep feyre safe and alive and protect her.

my real beef is the fact that for personal revenge feyre destroyed an entire court because someone gave her a panic attack. babygirl we’ve all been pushed to the point of panic attacks but we don’t actually ruin the lives of thousands of innocent people as a result.

like the people of the spring court? who just wanted to rebuild their homes and recover from the poverty? and she ruined every chance they had. she destroyed their economy and infrastructure and reputation for what? she left them vulnerable to attack and conquer for what? ridiculous behaviour. far more villainous than anything tamlin ever did.

and that nonsense about the tithe? like yeah okay it’s a shitty old tradition that needs changing. but hello where was rhys changing shitty traditions when he kept Velaris a secret from the majority of people in the night court who might’ve needed it? “the people from hewn city are savages though” right but did Mor not come from there? and we’re just gonna overlook entirely the fact that she’s supposedly the only acceptable one with absolutely no explanation for that? alright. and the Illyrians are brutes. but we’re just gonna overlook cassian and azriel and emerie and barth because it’s convenient? like all I’m saying is that these reputations are obviously generalisations and he’s in the wrong too.

if I’m being so for real right now, and I say this as somebody who fucking loves rhys, he’s not even top three best high lords.

helion, thesan and tarquin. no fucking cap these three genuinely wanted what was best for the continent at any given time. thesan hosted the high lords meeting and was pulling up ready to share technology and antidotes?? he fixed luciens eye after he saw what happened and I’ve never seen even a speck of debt for that.

tarquin really got manipulated and robbed when he would’ve been willing to help had they just asked and been honest and willing to trust, and still he didn’t declare war or march across borders which he was entitled to, he sent blood rubies. it was basically a text that said ‘hands on sight if i see u again bro’ and called it a day. he fr didn’t want beef. he opened his home to spring court people instantly after feyre had her petty revenge moment.

helion lives for the vibes and i stand by it the man was ready to fight ready to help ready to show up and show out. perfection. an angel. i see where lucien gets it. an unbothered king.

so like, tamlin. yeah. I think he got done dirty for what happened. all in all what did he really do? accidentally played a role in killing rhys’ family by spilling a location detail? alright but rhys and his father intentionally killed tamlin’s family.

locked feyre up? yeah after being abused for 50 years himself those 5 months he didn’t handle his trauma right, damn yeah he really got what he deserved 🙄

that comment at the high lord’s meeting? he was a man wounded and scarred and embarrassed and tbh it wasn’t even that bad. rhys and feyre fr overracted. azriels lil comment was quite enough. they wonder why he keeps acting up like they don’t keep making a mockery of him??? like??? I KNOW we’ve all said and done mean/petty things like that when we’re hurt, don’t deny. I’ve never brought an entire kingdom to its knees but pop off ig.

so yeah. I still love all the characters. feyre is still great. I still adore rhys. I still like tamlin.

I just think tamlin gets the most insane amount of hate compared to the actions of the other characters. he deserves his redemption arc massively.

[yinses]

shadows on snowflakes

pantalone x afab!reader rated: m

a/n: honestly i have no-one to blame but myself. i’m obviously projecting but who knows when we’ll see this man again. let me have this guilty pleasure. 

“oh man, what a day.’’

you truly admired the free-spirit of your colleague as she twirled around in her seat. you wondered if the way the room spun as the chair finally came to a halt made her feel any less nauseated than you felt at the moment as you reviewed the expense reports for the day. 

one day.

a single day.

it truly never ended. 

despite being a foreign entity in the liyue harbor. money was a common language to everyone it seemed, meaning the northland bank was never without clients. 

fresh store owners looking for a start. 

spry adults getting needing a little extra support for their new beginning. 

oh … and the gamblers. you hated those more than anyone. northland bank never turned away the opportunity to move money, even at the detriment to others. and for that group in particular. 

well, you supposed it was more painful to them in the end. 

pushing papers, after all, rarely got your hands dirty. 

but it was yet again another day. so a fresh list of complaints was the least you were entitled to as branch secretary of northland bank.

as if sensing your oncoming migraine, chyou toed at the ground until her chair swung back around to face you. there was a soft daze in her eyes as the efforts of her spinning settled behind her skull. “i don’t know why you get so worked up about everything. this bank practically runs itself. honestly, if i didn’t know the story of morax i’d say all currency came from here. “

as the saying goes, money makes money. especially when there was a lot of it. so when chyou had been placed in front of your desk as a new trainee, eyes wide with all the information, the job seemed like a no-brainer. 

except that's not how it really worked. had not for the pinch in your brow, you might have cooed at her nativity. it was easy to simplify it all when all that was witnessed were the constant flow of money. it was easy to see it from her perspective as a liyuan native. despite its ties to snezhnaya and the even more distrustful shadows of the harbingers, the bank was a fruitful commodity. 

then there was you, the oh so fortunate associate under the direction of the manager, andrei. 

which would be fine. 

still annoying, because at the end of the day, your job was still draining even when the market ran itself. 

except it wasn’t your only responsibility. 

intertwined intimately, was your second title as in-house liaison to the head man himself of all snezhnayan market affairs. 

the regrator. 

northland bank did its best to maintain separation from the fatui ties. but in truth, there would be no bank without the notoriously wealthy harbinger's intervention. 

once again, naivety, some would call you fortunate to have the privilege to work under a self made businessman. well the few who did know. 

the regrator was as successful as he was handsome. gratuitous in the way he built snezhnaya on a firm pillar of wealth. he was as quick-witted as he was tedious; letters never failing to detail every in an out of the bank. 

to be frank, if you didn’t have a hundred other notices needing to be read, you would be impressed with his insight. except, you knew how to do your job and the harbinger certainly had more important projects to focus on. 

you penned in response as much in his last remark. the returning letter had yet to be placed on your desk, but you had more to worry about than a picky banker. 

“you should come out with us tonight. it's a thursday and tomorrow is already prepped. you can use a bit of easement.” chyou watched you determinedly pack up your belongings with quiet awe. “this much frustration can’t be good for you. why don't we go out for a nice drink?”

shouldering your bag, you declined as politely as you could. what you wanted was to store away the last of these documents so you could curl up in your own home with a cup of tea. 

the bank lobby was finally at rest, only the occasional lingering employee closing up for the day. you waved to a few, silently grateful that you haven't run into andrei along the way. 

the man was nearly as sometimes too good at his job, often persuading you to linger to tie up ends that could wait until morning. 

but you actually enjoyed andrei so there was a difference, you suppose. 

just not tonight. 

with a sigh, you shouldered against the door to your office after turning the key. if luck continued to shine down on you, you'd be able to make it all the way home without interruption. 

“you see, with dedication like this, i never have to worry.”

apparently, no rainbows of fortune came without showers. 

you were rather impressed with the way you kept your composure, heart skyrocketing at the intrusion but your body remaining in place at the sound of familiarity. 

it was sad to say this wasn't the first time a harbinger had broken into your office. but this one was the rarest of them all. 

thick lined coat draped comfortably over the back of your chair, pantalone was a visage of ‘welcomed’ without invitation as he lounged at your desk. there was no telling how long he’d been here, but the fact that he had enough knowledge that you weren’t getting to your tea anytime soon. 

reluctantly, you eased the door shut and flicked the lock.

pantalone cooed at the action, “well done. taught you well. to be honest, i had a bit of trouble with that one this time. new?”

if he was disgruntled by your blatant disregard, his tone made no note of it as you stomped around the room filing away the necessities. as far as you were concerned, your business with him was detailed precisely in every letter he demanded from you, making these unexpected visits more of an inconvenience. 

in fact, there wasn’t even supposed to be a harbinger in this building. 

well there was childe, but he was a joke.

pantalone called himself helpful as he angled his legs to the side to give you room to the bottom drawers of your desk. 

“your last letter made me realize that while i do have my hands in a lot of places, it's important to make sure each and everyone is properly taken care of. your notes are so impersonal now, how am i supposed to know that you're alright?”

you've learned over the years, that there were questions you could ignore and others that explicitly requested a response. these fell into only two categories: ones about business and your wellbeing. 

the curve of his knee wasn’t particularly in your way, yet you shouldered against it anyway out of spite. pantalone offered no resistance to the act, though he chuckled lightly at the notable spite in your attitude. 

“ghosts can’t write letters, pantalone. if you’re receiving them from me that should be telling enough.”

you hated your inability to do anything half-way, habits stopping you from just stuffing the papers into the drawer to deal with later. instead, you were forced to take your time filing them away one by one kneeled beside the ninth of the eleven harbingers. 

what a sight it must be. 

pantalone was respectful of your space however, both your body and desk. you knew despite the fact that he could and had every right to, he didn’t snoop. any and all information was at his fingertips anyway. 

you were simply a voice box.

the man hummed above you,” though a ghost may be more sentimental. you never tell me anything anymore, i have to hear about it from the grapevine.”

unable to resist the bait, you lifted your head to level him with a look. you knew for a fact that the man was above gossip, he simply did not have time for any additional information that wasn't imperative to ‘pumping money around the world’.

which meant that it was volunteered to him. and the only one who would take the liberty was a stupid nosy little water boy who you couldn't pick a fight with because he would enjoy it too much. 

you put away the next file with a little more force than necessary at the thought. “and what is this every generous grapevine saying?”

without looking back, you could hear pantalone shifting in his seat chasing comfort. a moment later came the light drum of his nails. 

“oh this and that. you’re almost too good to a fault. do you do anything other than work?”

“i answer a lot of letters from a nosy boss,’’ you sniped. 

his response was methodically dry, “i didn’t realize andrei was sending you love letters as well.”

with a light huff, you finally pushed the drawer closed and locked it for the night. a glove hand was offered before you could even start your ascend. you took it gratefully, you might be spiteful but your knees were not. 

the assistance was twofold, however, as the same gesture keeps you in place as the man levels you with a long look of contemplation. 

“i dislike having you so far away. you know your position is always open in snezhnaya.”

the position of head manager of not only the largest bank in the country but possibly all of teyvat. a job people still gossiped about in your absence. because surely you had to have done something wrong to have been transferred to a remote location. 

unknowing that it had been of your own violation. 

you tried not to think about the hand planted against the desk caging you in, close but not quite touching despite the intention. 

licking your lips, you focused instead at the slight crease in your clothing from a day of wear. “believe it or not, i quite like the weather here. the only ice i see is in my cup.”

pantalone hums thoughtfully, but the tone was different. more determined this time around. you could feel him trying to catch your gaze. 

it was another request not easily ignored as you felt a light touch under your chin. 

he didn't give you time to get lost in his gaze before speaking,” come home.”

home.

the word felt like splintering ice against the shell of your heart. unforgiving and unrelenting song that you struggled to ignore with each passing day. 

because at the end of the day, liyue was just a place of residence. an olive branch offered to win your compliance. 

because he never wanted you to run. he’d allow distance, as long as you were still in reach.

but liyue had been enough. 

enough space where you weren’t suffocated under the weight of memories frozen for eternity at home. even when they float effortlessly from the letters he sends. 

“i am-”

for the first time in awhile, you witness the cross look on his features. it almost makes you smile, witnessing the pinch of frustration on the face of a man who rarely was seen without a grin. 

and why would he not smile? he’d overcome the drought of poverty in his upbringing and now lived the fruit of his bearings. ones that he once offered to share with you, time and time again. 

“don’t lie to me.”

even when you tried to sever the ties, to learn to grow without his influence. you know deep down the top of you were rooted to the same spot, and it was by his generosity that you were about to branch this far. 

liyue was just another house, but not a home. 

he’d house you as far as sumeru if you needed as long as you didn't forget where you belonged. 

pantalone’s face softened as his hand dropped to follow the slouch of your body as you settled your weight fully against the wood. 

you should have known his letters were leading up to this. it was your own fault after all. the moment he felt you pulling away at the strings, he was bound to follow. 

your eyes dart distractedly to the sway of his earring as he rolls to his feet, neck angling to keep track as he stands at full height. 

there were moments. brief blimps in time, that you realized that even amongst the smog of rumors and truths, the regrator was just a man. 

and every man had his wants and desires. 

you just wished he’d left you as a whim. 

a wisp of a person on the barren streets of snezhnaya. 

that he hadn’t returned after years of separation, boasting bountiful funds and rich clothing as he stood on your tattered doorstep. 

you wished you hadn't welcomed him with open arms. 

wider legs. 

hadn’t remembered he who spent pennies to buy you sweets. 

not fallen in love with the person who held you above the gods who’d forsaken him.

 pantalone brackets your body with his hands on either side of your hips, thumbs resisting idleness as they swipe distractingly against your curves. “it would be nice to visit, would it not?”

he’s never been afraid of words, building an empire on carefully crafted sentences. but you were different. seated on the table, not on the other side and able to decipher the disguised plea. 

the wintery song.

‘come home’.

he hid it well in his letters too. 

always signed ‘ i await your return’.

home to him was the estate he’d built for you both. the wide spanning property with more rooms than you could visit in a week's time. it was well heated, a stark contrast to the thin walls of your past.

yet a different kind of chill had settled into the foundation. 

once you couldn't shake. 

not in front of a warm meal made by chefs of the highest regard. 

not by the roaring fireplace with a grateful head perched against your lap.

not even at night when strong arms held you close with the promise of never letting go. 

he’d asked once what had changed. you remembered the brief warmth of sunlight against the stark white snezhnayan snow as he stood behind you on the porch. he’d finally met his match, a puzzle he couldn't unravel despite spending every waking hour trying to fill the void you'd unveiled. 

you didn't have an answer for him then,

only offering the same sad smile today. 

the one that ate at his heart and stroked the fires under his vexation. 

again, he determinedly stole your lips in a through kiss, determined to reform the shape of your mouth. and you let him, because despite the ache in your heart you truly had no ill-intentions in making him suffer as well.

it was why you took the position in liyue. pressing the excuse that the branch needed a bit of monitoring under the watchful eye of a foreign archon. and of course you were just the person for the job. who else did he trust more?

led by the fainst spark in your eye at the idea, the brightest light he’d seen in months, he’d cautiously approved your transfer papers. he helped you pack your belongings, but never too many. 

certainly you didn’t need a full suitcase for a brief stay. 

but weeks spanned to months and time passed without the crunch of snezhnaya snow under your feet. it was cruel, but you felt a little satisfaction knowing you’d gone to a place that he could not easily follow. 

his harbinger status was too poignant to ignore and not welcome outside of the reach of the tsaritsa. you may not be running, but yet he could not heed your heels. 

so you let him soak in these moments, hands raising to lace together behind his neck, in hopes to placate him for a few months more. but deep down you knew the threads of restraint were fraying. this was his second visit in the span of three months. a feat for a man with his agenda.

which to most may not seem much, but with a man who functioned the world with the grace of a chessboard, he was losing too many pieces. desperation had led him to forsake the gods who denied him a vision and spite fate by buying it for himself. you didn’t want to know what that method of madness would mean for you. 

though in a way he have you a taste of it, in the fervent way he drank from your lips like a man parched. he touched you in ways meant to leave aches in place of the memories because those were harder to ignore. 

the way his fingers would curl, holding you in place as he nibbled –or bit. his hands would always stay stationary at one stop, concentrating all he had to that point alone so that he could make you feel good. 

his lips would always be latched somewhere so that you would not have room to say anything beyond broken moans and soft gasps. lips on your lips, lips on your neck, lips on your chest, lips between your thighs. his movements were somewhat strategic because after he was done with foreplay, ensuring that you were ready before taking it to the next step, he would slide into you and take you back to the oak scented sheets back in the mansion in snezhnaya.

he never let you feel the guilt of taking. because you always would, too weak against the reminder. 

the sex was good. no, perhaps … perhaps it was the art of making love that was good. felt good. felt right despite the world skewing it all.

when your nerves tightened just like a taut bow, you threw your head backwards, caught by his open hand and opened your mouth in a wordless scream, feeling everything fade away to red as your toes curled and your body trembled in release. he, too, sharply plunged in and out again, meshing his addictive-tasting mouth to yours, hands now roving against your wrists and holding them tightly into place as he dominated you purely on the fuel of his frustration. to quicken his impending climax, you shifted a little in place and clenched around him, hard, watching how he screwed his eyes shut whilst murmuring a sweet prayer against your lips before collapsing on top of you, spent. 

during this moment, you pretend you could see the blankets of snow instead of the golden arches of branches and rolling green plains. 

petting his back. minded of the scars he tried to hide from your wandering touches at night after returning home. 

desperately imagining that life was simpler. 

but your heart could not lie. 

not with the fast approaching reality. 

[joyswonderland1108]

JK and Jimin are way way WAY too good to us, we definitely do not deserve it. They are way too good that i'm pretty sure that even if it bothers them they won't even address it, and honestly i hope they do, both of them or one of them i just hope they do address everything and set them damn boundaries on entitled fucking fans.

Sad story it's coming from International Army too, every time there's some bullshittery happening it's from I-Army, acting like they know every single detail and that they're holy, the heroes of the Bangtan story, this is absolutely sad.

I couldn't care less about Army quite honestly i lost faith in them a while ago but you Jikookers? Not all of you but if the shoe fits somehow.. Those who will pretend they don't know it's about them.. Shame on you.

Know your boundaries, know your limits, support them from a distance, Y0U are not their friend, YOU are a fan so stay true to your title and stop fucking involving yourself in shit that doesn't concern you.

[nikayna]

Why the fuck does every fandom thing I get into and love have to be surrounded by this stupid, asinine, absolute fucking DRIVEL of *~discourse~*????

Is this because y’all grew up on the internet? Am I old? I just think maybe social media and commenting threads were a mistake. And yes I know the irony, etc etc.

I just … I joined Tumblr for fan art and memes and short stories and to find other people rejoicing in whatever Thing it is we all supposedly love, and instead it’s just post after post after post of INSANE headcanons that read like you never watched/played/listened to the Thing in the first place, or if you did, you didn’t pay attention to a single detail. Or it’s accusing the creators/writers/other fans of being horrible abusive homophobic racist misogynistic pieces of crap who should just crawl into a corner and die.* Or it’s people who look at this grand world that creators have spent literal years spinning into existence, and saying “okay but it’s not enough you should have done THIS and THIS and added ALL OF THIS here’s my 500K Ao3 fic I wrote to FIX IT ALL despite the fact I got a D in creative writing” like how fucking ungrateful. How fucking entitled and selfish of you to be presented with this beautiful wonderful incredible Thing, and not appreciate the actual wonder in front of you. Is that a young people thing? To only see what you could “fix” or change?

I’m just. I’m so fucking tired y’all. There just doesn’t seem to be any online community anywhere where I can just ENJOY the thing I love and it fucking SUCKS. Finding people who want to talk about it irl is so hard - my coworkers are all banal television and reality show people. It just fucking sucks man.

Be better.

* I don’t want to discount the very real instances of all the -ism’s and -istic’s but not EVERYTHING is that way or intended that way. Be real.

[kerubimcrepin]

Episode 30 - Bonta Folie's (part 1)

This says: "COCO PEOPL PLAQU"

I wonder what this magazine is about, as someone who doesn't read magazines. Swimwear? Beaches?

Guys are we sure she was shaving "him" off, and not "it"? Because I'm scared, Mr submaker.

There are multiple things to point out here:

Simone is basically Joris's babysitter whenever Kerubim leaves. And by god, Kerubim seems to leave a lot.

Living/working across from Kerubim, Julie is familiar with him and Joris, and has a prior relationship. She is an ecaflip, and a fellow business owner, — besides that, being an ex-hairdresser, Kerubim probably has taught her a thing or two. So, she's very happy to see him. Cute.

She discussed Simone's hair, and how to style it with him, without Simone's knowledge.

It's so sad that Simone is trapped in a reality where at times Kerubim Crepin really is as cool and knowledgeable about everything as he likes to present himself.

Imagine if the world's most entitled person entered your coffee shop and turned out to be a 30-year-in-a-row winner of the coffee making competition. Imagine if this happened every day to you at every single place you went to, with the exact same guy.

He's recommended your girlfriend what dresses to put you in, and they're all amazing. Yesterday he forgot a knife on the table, his son began running around with it. You want to beat his ass for both.

The translation here doesn't really carry across that he's saying that he wasn't a male hairdresser, but a Female Hairdresseresse.

"I was a Girlboss, my Jojo! A girlslay, gaslight, gatekeep one!"

Here Julie confirms what I already supposed: that she knows this story, and that he's taught her things.

I want to believe this is Ecaflip's doing, because Kerubim slipping on a banana peel that evil fucking cat left behind twice, and it making his life better each time, would be the funniest brick joke to date.

"LOU PRESENTE

LA _RAIE"

It doesn't look like a V at all, but it would make sense if it said "La Vraie," and they simply didn't bother to add any detail to the letter under his finger.

I think Lou is bisexual, and told him repeatedly about the cool sapphic cabaret she went to, to him, and this man who has never before been interested in cabaret was like "yeah that's probably the best one, the most renowned coolest one." and never understood it's a., lesbian thing.

I think this is the easiest way to explain how he knows about it, yet knows nothing about it.

I will be real, it's heart-warming to see him drink something that isn't beer while in a bar. Though the little artistocratic pinky thing he's doing is... very distracting.

Thank you, ecaflip psychiatric ward, for making him a bit saner, yet insane in new, weirder ways.

Feminism.

(Eric Andre voice) Oh you think the Bontarian Sapphic Cabaret has girl power? Well then, do you think the Bontarian Sapphic Cabaret effectively utilized their girl power by propagating the Bonta-supremacist view among their viewers using their sex appeal, in service of the corrupt nobility?

God, redressing from that costume in five minutes sounds hellish.

A lot of shows would have made an episode, where their male protagonist cross dresses, and infiltrates a "female space", one filled with Goofs about him being a pervert, or uncomfortable, or would have him act visibly flustered. Because it's "funny", man in drag fails at being a woman, laugh.

...I am very happy this one doesn't go in that direction, for many, many reasons.

Realistically, after losing his fiancée, after weeks, or months, in a psychiatric ward, he really wouldn't have "this is a place full of pretty women", of all things, on his mind.

Beyond that, the whole concept of drag as a joke at the expense of the person wearing it, is, well, offensive, and to see it being something more than that, is quite refreshing.

His nerves come from how much he has to do, and how out of depth he is.

This guy has never worked in a high-stress environment like that, he's never done a girly thing before either! He just fucked up a woman's wig, and is about to burn a hole through these clothes. Things are bad.

The real Lili wasn't fucking lying: this really is hell.

Your daily reminder that, for all the jokes of Joris being a manlet, Kerubim is almost the exact same height as he, give-or-take like, ten centimetres.

The thing is that, he used to hate himself so much, that he developed 30-50 addictions and gave her magical amnesia about it.

Now he wants her back so badly that he's drinking tea in taverns, dressing up as a woman (despite, y'know, his incredibly fragile sense of masculinity), and he's chasing her despite knowing how badly he fucked up and that she may never forgive him, simply because he wants to try to make it work anyway.

What he hadn't solved, is his issue with lying, but it is a nice sentiment, — for him to be ready to toss aside his previous identity that used to serve as his shield, in favour of this more vulnerable, girlfailure-esque one.

He can't even muster it in him, to feel bad, when Lou's teasing him here.

I think it's also important to point out that this episode is, funnily enough, one where we see young Kerubim at his most carefree and happy, and his relationship with Lou at it's peak.

He isn't forcing himself to learn how to do make-up through gritted teeth just to get closer to her. He's learning that his girlfriend's interests are fun, and that he likes it. That he's been missing out all this time.

Yes, as an old man he views it as "forgetting who he really is," but to say this didn't affect him greatly, would be a big, big lie. He is still implied to, at times, do drag. He's far more emotionally open with his peers, and doesn't really view it as a weakness anymore. He knits, for god's sake.

Also, and I'm sorry for this., but he has an actual fucking Single-Mom Syndrome. A fatal case of it, in fact. So that's just one last nail in the coffin, proving that this really was one of the most profound thing to ever happen to him, and one that changed his brain chemistry forever, for better or for worse.

[scottmemelordstrashpile]

So anyway, after watching Murder Drones Episode 7... (WARNING: SPICY TAKE CONTAINED WITHIN AS WELL AS GENERAL SERIES SPOILERS.) [Also somewhat of a series review I guess?]

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I hate to say it but I think I'm just done with the series at this point. Or if nothing else I've just kinda stopped giving a shit. At most I might continue to watch out of morbid curiosity but I'm past the point of caring about it on any other level.

I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. I really did. But the problems I have with the show just kinda continue to persist. It's sort of a death by a million cuts thing where my issues just continue to pile higher and higher with each new episode.

Please don't take this as a personal attack if you like the show, if you enjoy it that's fine. You're entitled to. This is just my own opinion however if you don't want to read me being overtly negative and critical of the series then feel free to just continue scrolling. If however you'd like to know more then I implore you to click the "Keep reading" button and you can get a better understanding of why I feel this way.

___________________________________________________________

I have tried very hard to push my feelings aside and put on a positive face.

I kept telling myself "Maybe they'll get better as they go. Maybe the storytelling will get better as it goes on." but every episode I just feel even more confused and frankly kind of annoyed.

Everything just goes by so quickly, we're almost never given time to ruminate or rest. Sometimes it feels like entire scenes are missing with how it jumps between things. Hell, a good example is in-between episodes 4 and 5 where it feels like we missed something in-between. (Episode 5 in general is very confusing and probably my absolute least favorite, but that aside.) The last scene we see is Uzi and N falling asleep on the bus then somehow I guess we're back at the colony in Uzi's room and V is there too now? We don't even know V is there too until later either. At first we think it's just N but then it's revealed V is also unconscious. (And I guess also somehow hooked up to the same simulation or whatever N is? Also how do they know the parts neither of them were there for?) This is just a single example but they do things like this more than once. Jumping between scenes with no context.

It's still unclear who did what or why and they killed off Doll who was like the only character that had a definite motivation which also annoyed me. She was like the only character we actually had a very solid understanding of so to see her get killed off without a thought was almost kind of symbolic with how the writing in this show is.

I don't really get the point of masquerading as Tessa or even why Uzi is important or why the Solver wants her. (Especially when it still has a body, that being Cyn.) [Also why did Cyn need to access the files in the first place if they were just going to blow it up anyway? lol. My only guess would be maybe she somehow doesn't know every drone that's infected with the solver? Which is... strange if that is the case.]

The show just seems to never actually answer any questions and just continuously piles on more and more questions.

But if I went into intricate detail on every little thing that bothers me or doesn't make any sense I'd be writing a novel and this post is already getting kind of long and ranty. Plus I feel like that'd be a bit petty of me to do. (In addition to just taking way too long.)

I know I said before I would reserve my judgement until after the show is "Over" so I guess I kind of lied. But since what I presume to be Season 1 is coming to a close and it'll probably be a long while before Season 2 is announced if Glitch's previous tendencies are any indication I'd say it's a decent enough time to form an opinion. If the show hasn't got me by the end of the first season I feel like something might be wrong. I will not deny, it could also just be the show isn't for me to begin with which I guess I can respect. So I won't go out of my way to say it's bad, but I don't like it. And considering there's only one episode left of season 1 I highly doubt it's going to save it for me. It feels like I'm watching the series out of context when I'm not.

I also really dislike how the series uses so many "Blink and you'll miss it." moments to dispense lore. It gets really tiring, I shouldn't have to analyze a show frame by frame just to have an idea of what is going on. I hate to act like I'm an authority here but I feel like that's bad writing. It feels like the writer(s) completely misunderstand the idea of "Show, don't tell." almost completely.

In general the show suffers from how rushed everything is likely due to it's short 8 episode format, but instead of trying to fit the narrative to their limitations it seems like they're trying to cram all of this lore and information into these tiny 8 episodes and the result is a confusing mess.

Now I'm not familiar with Vicker's history but I would assume this is likely his first big project that has gotten this much attention. It feels like he's trying to go way too big and it shows. The show is almost hurt by it's own ambition to be this big sprawling narrative with deep lore and intricate detail when it probably would've been smarter to go for a much more straightforward or simple form of storytelling.

I feel like it would have been a better idea to instead filter things a bit more, knowing that we only have 8 episodes I feel like they should've cut out any unnecessary elements and tried to get everything across that they wanted to as concisely as possible. Like if something wasn't 100% necessary to the narrative it should probably be removed.

In general the show seems to suffer from over ambition, despite that severe restriction. It feels like the 8 episode limit for Season 1 hurt it more than anything not to mention with how expensive the series is to produce I can see another reason why they would want to rush things and not take too much time to let things flow naturally.

I see a lot of people praising Uzi and N's relationship as well as V's "Character development" but honestly I didn't see much of it at all. Again everything feels so rushed, from our perspective at most Uzi has only known N for a few days at most same for V, it almost feels like kind of whiplash from how she goes from being uncaring psycho to laying down her life for the others.

I'm honestly not even sure what Doll's point for existing even is beyond her debut episode either since she doesn't really play much of a role beyond it or really do anything too interesting afterwards. Barring the trap that led to V's death she kind of just exists. Until she doesn't.

Here's hoping that Season 2 is allowed to have better pacing because... yeah I'm a bit tired of the plot going a million miles at once.

During GlitchX it was hinted that Season 2 might happen and I recall Liam saying something implying that Season 1 is "Just the setup." so one can hope I suppose.

Anyway yeah, probably not going to be discussing it as frequently anymore. So if you were only here for my insane Murder Drones related ranting and want to unfollow now, that's perfectly fine. But I can't ignore my feelings any longer.

I'll still talk about it, but probably not with the same passion I used to. Again it sucks because I really wanted to like the series but... yeah they just keep fucking it up.

(Unless Season 2 actually addresses my complaints anyway. Again assuming it actually does happen. Season 1 will still be tainted, sure. But I'm hoping I can at least be able to say "It gets better after Season 1.")

Oh yeah, everything else is fantastic though the animation, the voice acting, the soundtrack... I just wish the writing was on-par... I feel like the problem is they're being overly ambitious and trying to cram all of this lore and plot into these mere 8 episodes and it just isn't enough.

[ifacotarwasgood]

why was chapter 4 of acotar bad? some short craft lessons

CH 4

DISCLAIMER: not an exhaustive list, etc etc

click here for the full comparison between the original chapter and my revision.

all caps dialogue = amateur hour

tamlin has never felt less threatening than when he bellows, "MURDERERS!" if you ever feel the impulse to all-caps your dialogue (especially when its already tagged with an appropriate descriptor, e.g., "bellow," and italicized), don't. it's distracting and never gives what you think it's giving.

inconsequential micro action = bad pacing

a scene doesn't have to be a catalogue of every action. if I made note of every time one of sjm's characters looked at another character, or took a step, or otherwise moved in a way that had no bearing on the scene on either a physical or emotional level—we'd be here all day.

99% of the time, describing where your character is looking is a waste of words. the human brain can't imagine fine detail very well, so visualizing where a character's gaze is directed can be hard, especially as it changes over the course of a scene. it's also usually unnecessary: if two characters are talking, we can assume they're looking at each other in various ways.

it also isn't dramatic action. 'dramatic' in the literary sense, rather than the theatrical: it doesn't do anything. it doesn't increase tension. unless it's extremely well-placed, it doesn't underline the emotion of a scene in any significant way. all it does is become gristle that the reader has to chew through to get to the meat of the scene.

passive protagonist = deflated stakes

this was the chapter that originally convinced me to do a rewrite. it's such a textbook missed opportunity, I can't believe sjm's agent or editor didn't ask her to change it (it's totally possible that they did, and sjm chose not to).

it's sjm's first real opportunity to show us feyre's character: she's gotten herself into a situation that feels impossible to escape. she's killed a faerie, a crime punishable by death, and we feel the jaws closing in.

but instead of outsmarting or outrunning it, feyre doesn't have to do anything. tamlin (for reasons I guess make sense later? but are ultimately unsatisfying) rescues her from a situation that he put her in by suggesting she come live in prythian. we're told that feyre is good at surviving, but we don't get to see her put that skill to use. we're not shown her thinking on her feet; we're shown her saying 'yes' to a false choice.

tamlin handing feyre a way out makes no sense on a narrative or character level. it also undermines the apparent danger for the rest of the book. tamlin represents how dangerous faeries are: he's literally about to kill her to avenge one of his own. but then he decides not to—not because of her quick-thinking, but just because.

it seems like a small moment, but moving forward, it's hard to take any of the faeries as legitimate threats. not just because we've seen our first example completely undermined, but because it happened seemingly for no reason.

feyre hates her family = unbelievable motivation

purely on a character level, I find feyre's resentment of her family annoying. but who cares? one person's subjective judgement doesn't have any bearing over what should be done at a narrative level.

the problem is that feyre's primary motivation is keeping her family alive. once she's in prythian, all she wants is to return home so she can make sure they're taken care of. but that's hard to believe when we're constantly shown how little she actually cares for them.

time and time again, we're shown her resentment—her sisters are entitled, her father is useless—and yet we're supposed to believe that all she wants is for them to be safe.

in this chapter, sjm doesn't even give her a goodbye with each of her family members. she just has papa archeron tell her:

"You were always too good for here, Feyre. Too good for us, too good for everyone."

???

even a single moment of connection between her and her family would make her motivation feel more real, which would, in turn, propel the plot. it's a massive missed opportunity not to see her saying goodbye to each of her family members.

so that's why I included an extended goodbye in my rewrite. even a small moment of tenderness between each of them helps me understand and believe feyre's motivation as we move into the next sequence.

[roo-bastmoon]

My game-plan going forward...

So Jimin didn't make Hot 100 Top 10. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see where he lands on the charts.

I recommend we emotionally prepare for the possibility that he will break Taylor Swift's free fall record and chart lower than #38, especially if they culled more than 60% of his sales and YouTube and radio are at a near stand-still.

It is extremely obvious this was sabotage. And while that is BULLSHIT and you're entitled to your feelings, remember that Taylor Swift's career and music are doing just fine. These charts need super stars on them--not the other way around.

My game-plan going forward is to focus primarily on quality streaming on every platform and every device, including my smart TVs.

I had one remaining $25 pre-paid VISA gift card that I got from my local grocery store.

I created a brand new email address.

I got my best friend's permission to use her name, address, and cell phone.

I input all those details into the BTS US Store and pre-ordered Yoongi's digital title track and digital album, and I also bought all 5 of Jimin's Like Crazy digitals plus one version of Face digital album.

The best I can do going forward is finish up using a few prepaid gift cards to get Yoongi's 1 digital title track on my extra iTunes accounts.

Then I will be out of resources--both financial and mental. I will have to jockey all my premium free trial streaming accounts until they run out, then keep going with free versions.

But others who have energy and a network of non-ARMY who can help (I imagine at most they might need to tell you a cell phone confirmation text code), please reach out to funding accounts and work with everyone you can to buy for both this and next week.

If at all possible, it's important we try to ease Jimin down on the charts gently within 30 days of debut.

I recommend you don't just rely on a new email address. Make yourself a "new person" this week. Don't steal identities, obviously. But switch up your info and payment methods with folks you trust, enough to look brand new, because we have no idea what BB is tracking to count as a single sale, it's all guesswork right now.

We can work hard. We can work smart. We're ARMY.

And they should be scared.

Because the truth is--radio stations, golden statues, and ranks on a list are not a true gauge of good music.

Fans showing up consistently no matter what is the hallmark of good music.

I strongly urge you to leave encouraging and supportive messages using #To_Jimin on WeVerse today to let him know that no matter what the US Music Industry does, we love his work and are with him all the way.

This is so far from the last we will see of Park Jimin and BTS!

Love, Roo