#((When romance is all it is then the groundwork just isn't there. And for what

[penultimate-step]

In Defense of Ruby Hoshino

Or: Yes, the Aqua/Ruby interactions from the last couple dozen chapters ARE necessary for characterization and thematic reasons, why do you ask?

The Oshi no Ko fandom has kind of frustrated me over the last few months. It feels like every chapter that comes out and any discussion of it now has people making over the top angry exclamations talking about how much they hate incest, calling it "bait" and irrelevant to the story. Now, while of course anybody is free to have their own preferences and things that bother them, I do think some of this is taken out of proportion, and perhaps blinding them to the actual narrative importance of Ruby's supposed feelings for Aqua. Which, I do think this is a critical, load bearing part of Ruby's character arc, and corresponding the themes of the story as a whole, so it bothers me when I see so many people dismissing it as "brocon fanservice" or shipping nonsense.

I think perhaps out of an instinctive disgust reaction, people have trouble engaging with it. The way people act seems to be that either this is a serious romance plot, and the series will end with them dating, or that it is merely for sexual titillation and shock value on the part of the author, with no greater meaning, but it's pretty clear that it is neither of those things - Aqua/Ruby is not a romance, they will not date, they do not have romantic feelings for each other. However, that doesn't mean that what's going on between them is pointless.

The issues that Ruby has, both in their relationship and just in general, hinge pretty explicitly on Ruby's assumptions about her own feelings in her past life. she cannot develop past those without first confronting them.

And this is not a new thing. The groundwork for how Ruby has been acting in the movie arc was laid down long before, and needs necessary followup. To simply not have her talk about potential feelings for Aqua, as some fans wish, would have meant leaving many threads hanging, and made for a worse story. Almost everything about how they've interacted was something that could have been predicted from chapter 77. In it, Ruby makes it clear that she believes her feelings for Gorou are romantic, and that she intends to try to initiate something in her new life. However, at the same time, the fact that it was never going to happen is also, I feel, fairly clear.

In the past, in the flashback scene, Sarina claimed she was in love with Gorou. He told her he would reciprocate when she turned 16. In my opinion, I do not think either of the feelings the characters expressed in this scene were meant to be believed by the audience at all. Sarina is 12 here, she might have a puppy crush on the doctor but I think true romantic interest was probably beyond her. Meanwhile, Gorou isn't actually a pedophile? His statement was made with both parties knowing that she would die long before then, a way to make his rejection hurt her less, and as a desperate attempt to motivate her to keep living as long as she could. Though it is clear that both are the most important people to one another, and that this is an expression of their real care, I very, very, much doubt there was any actual romance in this scene.

Does this not seem very relevant for a series with the theme of people not understanding love? Back then, Gorou was Sarina's one true bond. Her parents had abandoned her and she had no friends to visit her. This was the one example of real mutual care she had, of course she would call it "love." (I mean, I'd also call it love, but not a romantic love. Familial, if anything, but friends works too - the actual name on it is unclear, what matters is that they cared for each other, but not like that.) Now, in her new life as Ruby, she has many more people who love her and who she loves in return, but having died both painfully young before, she hasn't had the opportunity to really grapple with all the old feelings about the doctor. It's pretty obvious to me whenever we see Ruby thinking of Aqua now. Just look at this page from 126:

In Ruby's own mind, he's drawn in a completely different style, like a manga romance hero. Her feelings about Aqua are fantasies, dreams, and projections, not substantial or tied to reality.

Much has been made of how Aqua, despite being Ai's son, still puts her on the pedestal of an idol, and can not see her flaws and interiority, even as he tries to avenge her death. Part of this movie arc is having characters like Ruby, Kana, and Akane start to see Ai from new angles, and relate to the human part of her. But for Aqua and Ruby to truly develop past their issues, this isn't the only pedestal they need to tackle. Ruby's regard for the doctor is a direct mirror to Aqua's feelings towards Ai. Even with the object of her affections right in front of her, she can't she past her own assumptions.

And of course, while Ruby is slowly coming to understand Ai and still failing to understand Aqua, there's one more person in the room who Ruby needs to come to an understanding about: herself, both as Sarina and now. Her refusal to see Aqua's flaws is tied up in her own feelings about the past - to acknowledge him as imperfect would mean understanding that part of the reason Sarina loved Gorou was tied up in her own desperation to love and be loved. Furthermore, while she has many more ties in her life as Ruby, I don't think its a stretch to say part of her is still stuck in that past state, holding people at arm's length.

While she has friends now, the bonds she thinks of as strongest are the ones from back then - her idolization of Ai, her love for Gorou. When Aqua reveal's Ai's secrets, in 106, Ruby says that despite being siblings, raised together for 17 years now, she didn't think of Aqua as family on his own terms - she felt a bond solely because they were linked through Ai, and does not hesitate to cut him off. She doubles down on this in 122, calling them "strangers who happened to be born in the same place." Similarly, while Ruby has been shown to be friendly with coworkers like Kana and Mem, as well as classmates like Frill, on some level she is keeping them at a distance. Beyond the simple fact that she can't talk to them about her previous life, she's been keeping plenty of emotions held in for a long time - pretty much every Ruby appearance from the Miyazaki Return arc to today has shown her not wanting to acknowledge her own struggles. Her pain from her life as Sarina is easy to keep buried. When nobody else knows Sarina exists, all she has to do is not think about it, not talk about it, not say anything, and it's almost like it never happened. Not til her breakdowns in chapters like 115 and 121 does she speak it aloud, but always either with plausible deniability or when she thinks she's alone.

I don't think her bonds as Ruby are fake - part of what she says to aqua, I think, is a defensive cope - but much like how she says she is in love with Gorou now, that is what Ruby believes. To her, all the friendships and bonds she's made in her new life are transient and fleeting things. She can never feel secure that they are based in real feelings, that they won't simply drop her when she becomes inconvenient, as everyone in her past life did. This perception contributes to her own willingness to reject others. Putting her friends at a distance during her revenge arc, cutting ties with Aqua over the Ai reveal, these are all things she does because she has no faith in the foundations of these bonds, and without understanding them she is willing to throw them away for Sarina's old memories - for the sake of the one person she believes will never let her down.

The only way Ruby is going to solve the story of Oshi no Ko is through coming to an understanding. Of Ai, of Aqua, and of Sarina. Ai didn't understand love until the day she died, and both of her children have in some ways followed in her footsteps, but Ruby has the chance to be the one to break this, to understand what was holding her back before and fully embrace loving her family and friends.(platonically. geez.) Reckoning with her feelings for Gorou (and by extension, Aqua,) was always going to be a key step forward for her. These dominoes have been laid down for 60-70 chapters now, at least, and I am excited to see where it goes.

#oshi no ko #ruby hoshino #step.animanga #step.blogger #step.effortpost

[elrielffs]

"Well SJM was gonna do Mor and Azriel but changed her mind to make Mor LGBT+ so she can change her mind for Gwynriel!"

I don't think Mor and Azriel were EVER considered to be endgame. If anything, I think it was Cassian and Mor but that was changed when she decided to do Nesta and Cassian instead of Nesta and Lucien.

I think if she WAS planning on Mor and Azriel, she wouldn't change it just to make Mor gay. I think most people agree that it felt shoe horned in and because of that, she could have picked another character to be gay if she wanted. I'm happy there was more rep, but it didn't have to be Mor at the time.

Regardless, it was SJM who wanted to change the pairings. She might have made Mor gay due to backlash from LGBT rep (we'll never know really why), but that was because she already decided Mor was not going to be a love interest for a bat boy not because she decided that Mor was gay and the bat boys were off the table.

Is that what you really want for your ship? To have bullied the author into writing what YOU want? Basically admitting your ship isn't canon but if you make enough noise online SJM will change her mind?? Disregarding all the build up for other characters??

She changed pairings between the first and second book of the series, when it was still in it's infancy. I think in the first ACOTAR book we know that she wasn't really planning to do much with Elain and Nesta (hence their generic evil step sister tropes) and it was only until ACOMaF when she decided to bring the sisters back in that she really planned in depth for them. I think all the build up since then has been locked in. To change now deep into the series on book 5(6?) after all the groundwork she has laid would be horrible fucking bad writing.

This is just a really personal take, but if I was writing a book series, I wouldn't care what the fans want when it comes to major plot points or romance pairings I had in mind. SJM has stated that she has now planned years in advance, up to what the characters kids would look like, if they had any at all. This is SJM's world. She's should write it how SHE wants and luckily, I think she does.

People forget how much the fandom fucking HATED Nesta before ACOSF, like HATED, and definitely didn't ship Nessian (people were theorizing he was gonna end up with Emerie based on a few interactions they had, just like they do with Gywn now) and now half this fandom thinks Nesta can shit on a ladybug and deserves a standing ovation. (I do like Nesta, just FYI, I love all Archeron Sisters, flaws and all) But the point is, people hated Nesta, they were not excited for ACOSF, the did not want Nessian and SJM still wrote it.

P.S. People also hated Rowan and Aelin and thought it was going to be Chaol and Aelin endgame.

#elriel #anti gywnriel #anti elucien #sjm #acotar

[geneticcatalyst]

as promised, an exploration of my one pet problem in fandom, or: misinterpretation of jby's first death (ft. zzs)

heres the thing. i occasionally see people reference what seems to be a misconception of the (english translation) text in qi ye. both the fact that its a translation and the metaphorical phrasing make it pretty clear to see why they got the wrong idea, but i firmly believe its still the wrong idea. i am by no means calling the people who got this mixed up dumb or bad, i am simply leaning over their shoulders going 'wait no bestie pls read that again pls read that one more time!!' because this is one of my favorite books and this thing is a key piece of one of my favorite things about it.

i said i was gonna pull screenshots for this post but i think it will be a little while before i get to another reread and i can't ctrl+f the google doc so im just gonna whip this out from memory. if anyone does have this particular passage on hand feel free to pop it in here. the rest of the context/explanations are just from my cursory research, im not chinese or a historian.

cards on the table. the only thing i love more than unhinged gay romances is unhinged platonic soul mates. its catnip to me. i go feral every goddamn time. and i havent stopped losing my mind about zhou zishu and jing beiyuan since that first qi ye scene. what do those guys have going on? not even sure they know but it's A Lot. ive got like 18 other unpublished drafts trying to work that out slash losing my fucking mind at the lengths they go to about each other. that relationship is at the center of both novels even if the spotlight isnt on it. so I admit that my readings are colored a bit by how much i like that they like each other!

which is why im shocked baffled and, ok, lightly salted, to see a few people make the claim that zishu (personally) tortured/killed beiyuan in his first life.

so what the text says is that after helian yi stopped trusting beiyuan (after su qingluan's accidental death), he was basically put to death. but even the emperor has to have a half decent reason to execute someone. the text describes these reasons- ten of them- as zhou zishu's masterpieces. it also refers to them as great shames to beiyuan's standing. what's happening is that helian yi has zishu frame beiyuan for treason or other betrayals against the emperor/the country. it isn't specific as to what, but it doesn't really matter, because its all fake and zishu is really good at his job. so yes, it is fair to say that zishu is the INSTRUMENT of beiyuan's death, but he didn't kill him, he just laid the groundwork.

the text goes on to another slightly confusing line where it says something to the effect of that when each of these accusations were read out in court, each line drew blood from jing beiyuan. that's a metaphor! it's just saying that his reputation was torn apart and ultimately his fate is sealed, despite the phrasing there are no literal injuries happening.

also, i may not have the timeline perfect on this part, but in zishu's introduction in the beginning of the novel, the narration tells us outright that while zishu is partially responsible for beiyuan's death, he was like. cool about it. in what seems to be the first and only time he ever steps out of line or goes against helian yi's command (!), after setting all this up but- if im remembering right- before the news actually breaks in court the next day, zishu warns beiyuan. now this admittedly doesnt do a whole lot because the only other possible option (cut and run) isn't a very good one, but it's the only thing zishu can do. he doesnt have to, but he does it anyway (!). of course beiyuan doesnt even consider doing this, he's stubborn and heartbroken, but he really seems to 1. appreciate the risk zishu took here to try to give him a chance and 2. not hold the whole set up against zishu or take that bit personally.

so what actually happened at the end of beiyuan's first life? he was sent the 3 chi of white silk. the text does explicitly say this once, but if you're not familiar with the practice it may not click. receiving the white silk from the emperor is what happens when you're too high ranking to execute like a commoner but you've fallen from grace and are being politely asked to hang yourself in order to clear your name. and of course beiyuan, stubborn and heartbroken, does. yes, it's a forced suicide, but it isn't a murder.

anyway, its in that secret conversation, where zishu secretly meets with beiyuan seemingly to try to convince him to save himself and beiyuan outright refuses, that beiyuan promises that if theres a next life (ha), they'll get drunk together. and of course against all odds, there is and they do.

the thing about the idea that some people might think that zishu killed beiyuan is that after that nothing between them makes sense. even if it was at helian yi's request, i just cant see that not permanently damaging the friendship, i don't think beiyuan could immediately pick back up being best friends in the seventh life with that memory in the way. why would zishu go out of his way to warn beiyuan one day if he was perfectly capable and fine with killing him the next? why would beiyuan not only be happy to meet zishu again in the seventh life but also go out of his way trying to save zishu's? none of their other interactions really make sense if you believe there was a murder done there. idk. it clouds the whole throughline of the story which is that they have a bond!

i think maybe people think it is in character due to the other ruthless murders, and they're not wholly wrong, but that's the kicker for me. zishu will murder all kinds of innocents no questions asked, but he's suddenly trying to give an out to his coworker and drinking buddy? hello? thats insane, and that's the point.

furthermore, if you think maybe it would make sense for helian yi to have beiyuan violently killed (since it keeps fucking happening later), i actually have to become helian yi's lawyer for a moment here and say that that doesnt make sense either. helian yi is sitting on a throne gained by shadowy means but he's the Good Guy Ruler and that reputation is important. hes not a cruel person and he may have become paranoid but he still has a shared history with beiyuan. plus, even the emperor has to abide by a certain amount of decorum when he wants to have people killed, especially when that person is also a high ranking member of court. beiyuan's status is basically second only to the royal bloodline, he's essentially the prev emperor's godson, as well as a previously close confidante of helian yi himself. the white silk was regarded as a privileged, dignified means of offing someone. helian yi is perfectly within social acceptability to do this to beiyuan with the pretext of beiyuan's disgrace. but it would be pushing the boundaries for the good and just emperor to suddenly have one of his top advisors and members of high nobility brutally killed like a common criminal. he could probably do it, but it would reflect on him and his reputation too. he could do it in secret, but would have to cover up the disappearance of a prominent court figure. it just makes sense to use the white silk as the neatest, most acceptable legal justice channel here. maintain emotional detachment, be polite, everybody's honor gets honored and such.

so that's the ted talk. theres even some beautiful fanart on here of white-haired first life beiyuan holding the white silk! he wasn't tortured or outright executed, and he chose to obey rather than escape or fight the false claims of treason even though his friend tried to give him the only out he could manage. to interpret things differently really skews the character motivations and plot for everyone- beiyuan, zishu, helian yi- in a way that warps the story out of believability, imho.

#gently and lovingly nailing my opinions to the fandom's front door <3 #minor qi ye spoilers obv #i think i spent upwards of 3 hours on this draft so believe me this is 10 percent salt and 90 percent love #i wouldnt call this a common misconception either but every time i do see it i have to go walk around the room #i love to think about first life and i love to think about murderbros so. inbox open #qi ye #and thank u to my enablers u know who you are!! #qy meta

[byers-bowlcut]

A few days ago I saw some m*levens say byler shippers always take fleeting glances with no weight to the story and turn it into romantic moments of Mike & Will. And I found it hilarious, cause um, THIS:

Nearly all these shots are HELD. You don't need to edit in slow motion or pause at random times to catch them. And they're all from moments with a lot of weight. Examples: a veiled confession, deep heart to hearts where they're being vulnerable with one another, an apology, an emotional monologue, the hurt from a fight, the happiness after a reunion, and so on.

Also let me mention the fact that you simply CANNOT create a full on meaningful compilation of Mike like this with any other character, save for El, the girl the audience is told he's "in love with". Case in point:

So if those shots with El = "in love", yet the directors + Finn are showcasing literally identical looks over AND OVER with Mike towards WILL in emotionally significant moments, it's suddenly different now?? lmao.

Like it's funny cause the only true difference here in terms of "romance on screen" is the fact that one pairing has scenes of them making out, while the other has way more meaningful conversations. Like that says a lot. Mike is clearly more comfortable and vulnerable with Will. But he's a boy in the 80s that's been repeatedly told and shown the repercussion of liking OTHER BOYS. So you can't just expect him to suddenly go and kiss Will even when he wants to. Especially when he's in a societally safe bubble for dating El. Like yes, El on her own faces bullying for neurotypical traits. But the relationship isn't subject to that judgement. They can publicly kiss, they can hold hands in crowded places, they can display their relationship in front of everyone. Mike is free from fears of getting ridiculed (at best) or hate-crimed (at worst). It's a socially EXPECTED and safe relationship for him. And byler is simply not.

But that's what makes byler all the more satisfying as an endgame. This pairing already has all the groundwork, but also really embodies the main theme of Stranger Things: which is embracing your true self rather than conforming to society's expectations of you.

#byler #mike wheeler #will byers #bisexual mike wheeler #i support both gay and bi mike takes #just to be clear lol #anti mileven

[esther-dot]

Hi I'm the one who send that one link to the Arya and Lyanna post

Wow you guys weren't kidding when you said those people are obsessed with Arya and her being pretty or whatever. I was interested in the post but then it just devolves into random rambling about Arya and how she looks as pretty as Lyanna and- I'm sorry but how is any of that important and why are they so pressed about it?

Also- accusing people of reducing Lyanna to a sex slave to Rhaegar??? When did that happen? Or are they pressed because people rightfully bring up how the R/L shit isn't romantic? Thats not 'reducing' Lyanna, thats calling the horrible thing that happened to her what is it. Twisting it into a star crossed lovers story or romanticizing it is even WORSE and just makes her into someone who's apparently so in love with Rhaegar she's willing to RUN AWAY WITHOUT TELLING HER FAMILY to be with him. Thats not any better and just reduce her to her relationship with that albino prince. HE'S not the most important aspect of Lyanna's character, her relationship with her FAMILY is.

I don't delve into ASOIAF tags much but good grief, no wonder you block a lot lmao. That one post was enough for me. That faction of the fandom seems unhinged and not in a fun way

(continuation of this convo)

Going into the tags is only fun if you’ve preemptively blocked a shit ton of people. 😂

Arya fans tend to be very aggressive, and I often don’t think their rage makes much sense. Arya was incredibly popular on the show, but they used to make these angry posts about how everyone ignored her which made no sense to me until I realized, they meant because no one but their circle believes she will a) have a romance with Jon, b) become QitN. People write about the themes in her story, there’s lots of spec now about her endgame, none of it is enough. It’s the same way everyone acknowledges her and Sansa’s fraught relationship, but they claim it’s ignored because unless you say Sansa was a bully, you’re doing it wrong.

I don’t know anything about that particular blogger, but a lot of Jonry@s believe Lyanna went willingly with Rhaegar and ship them. This one sounded different to me, like they did want to emphasize her family instead, but minimizing what she went through during the last year of her life isn’t how that’s done.

Although, my heterodox belief is that I’m now pretty convinced that Lyanna went with Rhaegar willingly. I had a series of asks about Targ stuff popping up in Sansa chapters which changed my mind about how R/L unfolded. I think Martin gave us parts of Lyanna’s story in Sansa’s:

(link)

Sansa’s “betrayal” of her family (which I don’t actually consider one but you know) isn’t a necessary part of Ned dying (he had already gone to Cersei), but it would allow for a point of connection between her and Lyanna. Sansa wanted her prince (a Baratheon) so she defied her father, Lyanna didn’t want her Baratheon so ran with her prince, defying her father. There are lots of parallels and even direct comparisons between Sansa and Lyannna, so I think it’s likely to lay the groundwork for later revelations about R+L=J.

Also, Lyanna is a play on the Virgin Mary and Rhaegar has some similarities to the Biblical King David (the jealous, crazy guy he’s meant to replace, the harp playing, stealing another man’s “wife,” the “savior” coming from his bloodline etc), so even though Martin has given him an ulterior motivation with Lyanna (he did take advantage, he isn’t being whitewashed), I’m thinking there are more interesting ideas in there than strictly infatuated prince or sadistic, rapist, bastard. That idea, well, I just don’t think Martin’s been spinning out his R/L story this long for the conclusion to be that Robert Baratheon was right all along. I don’t think Dany’s view of Rhaegar is correct either, imo, it’s a mixture.

It’s still a pretty disturbing story, almost like a horror version of the archetypal virgin mother? What can you do when an all-powerful being decides you’re his incubator? It’s def still a possibility Martin takes that to the darkest possible place, but my expectation of getting Jonsa makes me think Lyanna’s reaction to/potential feelings for Rhaegar shouldn’t be brushed aside. Sansa is charmed by Joffrey’s singing, we know Lyanna wept over Rhaegar’s. Jon is hit pretty hard by Ygritte’s singing as well, so that’s a specific thing Martin likes to use as part of romantic relationships. The bigger idea behind Rhaegar may be what a prophecy / the belief of being the chosen one and then the belief you must create the chosen one…an examination of what you can do to achieve that end, the wrong you can justify in its pursuit. Even so, I’m pretty sure there will be more nuance than either “side” of the convo likes to offer because Martin writes that into most of his villains, and I’m sure he intended to with Rhaegar as well.

I personally hate Rhaegar, I’ll never forgive him for what happened to Rhaenys which is just, the most brutal of lines to me,

It was Ser Amory who brought me the girl's body, if you must know. He found her hiding under her father's bed, as if she believed Rhaegar could still protect her

and he really annoys me because he had power to do something about his dad and the fate of Westeros and just, fucked everything up in the most egregious, offensive, public way he could? All the same, how I feel is a distinct thing from what Martin intended. 🤷🏻‍♀️

#dot chat

[found--family]

I think they might be planning a Luke and Leia thing with Turner and Duela? It was kind of telling (imo) that they were "flirting" by talking about how neither of them really know or remember their parents. (Also, possibly a coincidence, but both of them look like they could be Misha Collins' kids. And did you notice that Turner has heterochromia? One eye is blue, the other is brown. Very Two-Face! Also just.. their names. Turner and Duela. What is Harvey if not one character who Turns into Two? (a Dual) I can see it. Ah, isn't spec fun! ;) #Gotham Knights

I actually really like the idea that they could both be Harvey's kids, whether full siblings or half siblings (twins?), and the name stuff is perfect! I confess I didn't even notice his heterochromia at all in the show and I chalk that up to the golden filter and also soft low-contrast lighting and not a lot of close-ups on Turner's eyes. In fact I didn't believe you, so I googled.. 

If Turner is fugue!Harvey's son, talk about perfect casting! 

But my point remains: you can have the reveal of them being Harvey's kids without prefacing that with them flirting/growing close because they have no idea they're related. Tbf, their chemistry can be read as friendship if you squint, but Turner being speechless over Duela's 'makeover' and Duela being against [re:nervous?] about holding Turner's hand just screams Budding Young Love, which is gross. 

If they are both Dents I'm going to be so annoyed they didn't just let them become friends, because you can care about someone as a friend [re:Cullen about Steph, Turner and Steph about each other] without jumping ahead to romance and sexual tension, but teen dramas always tend to make that leap which is sad because friendships take more care and feel more grounded than just having two teens go googly-eyed over each other. 

In short, it feels like shortcut lazy writing (and I hate to say that about this show I love) even if it turns out they're not related it feels like Duela/Turned came about suddenly, like they're forcing it, especially when you compare it to the slow build of Sharper. However, I was just looking at some gifs of Duela watching Turner fight and being impressed, and I'm reminded of how pleasantly surprised and approving she's been of Turner choosing to do 'bad' things or be a badass over the course of the season so far - which I've been reading as a platonic appreciation, though I guess they might have been laying the groundwork for them as a couple...

Imho Turner/Duela is an interesting dynamic on paper (son of Batman and daughter of The Joker) and their personalities are a good contrast, but it was the one thing I didn't like about 1x08 because it didn't feel organic. 

#gotham knights #q and a #thoughts #harvey dent #gk spoilers

[smaller-comfort]

It always comes down to the classics, right? Orpheus and Eurydice, never knowing who will emerge from the darkness with you; Pandora's Box, and the things you can't undo.

Anyway, here's the finale and the coda (which is like an epilogue except it's a musical term; when you play a coda, you go back to the beginning again see what I did there) wherein I go completely off the rails into wild and speculative AU territory. Look at those new pairing tags. I can't believe I quoted The Last Unicorn in the chapter summary. Utterly shameless.

Extensive notes below the cut, because I like to hear myself talk.

Monk is like a baby butch trying desperately not to fumble this sad divorced cougar a second time. It's fine. They'll figure it out. They might even be good for each other; there certainly aren't very many things that would make either of them worse.

A silly little joke about tomatoes evolved into all of this. Over 9000 words! There are themes! Or an attempt at themes, anyway, and an attempt at laying the groundwork for some sort of narrative arc from beginning to end. I tried to make each character scene tie together in some way; I hope I succeeded.

Ninja still doesn't know how to spell PTSD; I should probably add Ninja/A Fucking Nap (unrequited) to the pairing tags.

Writing this was a blast, honestly. Embrace the cringe, be free, write it weird and self-indulgent and unhinged. I keep laughing at my own jokes; this is the longest piece of fanfic I have ever finished and published.

I still might write the sequel where Ninja gets pegged properly. He deserves something nice.

The real epilogue is actually just Shopkeeper and Phantom taking turns curb stomping Resh'an in the void, because if they have to learn to live with their inescapable grief, so does he. This all kind of ties into another WIP I have on deck- I have to make sure I don't just directly crib any Shopkeeper's lines for Resh'an, because they're both out here doing horrible things hoping that the end will someday bring an absolution for the things they've done.

It won't, and they just have to live with it, anyway. I was originally going to have Phantom get into that with Shopkeeper in the coda, but I wanted to wrap things up neatly.

"Of course I did. How could I have ever sent it to anyone else?" The final scene didn't originally have Shopkeeper doing a secret identity reveal, but then that line got suck in my head and I figured why not make everything even more fucked up. (Still firmly in speculative AU territory, really. I think it's more likely for Shopkeeper to be Phantom and Muse's kid than anything else, honestly.)

Okay, so here's Phantom, and this is Phantom's ex-wife, Shopkeeper, but it was an amicable divorce, they still hang out sometimes. And this is Shopkeeper's girlfriend, Monk, and Monk's hapless twunk Ninja (they are in a lesbian-centric semi-non-sexual throuple)-

Look, I think I am hilarious.

Shopkeeper and Monk mostly just flirted outrageously with each other back in the day. Monk is less concerned with romance than she is with being forgiven, which probably isn't clear enough in the story.

I'm still halfway convinced that I should reformat it as a one shot, but I also think I am very funny in some of those chapter notes, so I'll probably leave it. Over 9000 words!

#nattering #the messenger #my fic

[tyrannuspitch]

a few times i've heard people say/imply that all enemies-to-lovers either actually is enemies-to-friends-to-lovers or should be, and i feel like what this perspective misses is that often good EtL is a TIME BOMB. it doesn't have to be shallow or unaffectionate just because there isn't a distinct friendship stage. sometimes the entire point is that you entirely sublimate the friendship stage until all the affection explodes at once.

like. it's not simply - "we're enemies but i like them. :/" it's - "we're enemies. we're enemies, right? my gaze lingers on you but we're still enemies. i may have shown you mercy once but we're still enemies. i'm just putting your death on hold. i'm still going to kill you soon enough. we will always be enemies." it's about driving the characters little by little past the point of plausible deniability but still refusing to admit it. "i can't stop thinking about you. because i hate you. i need you. because our animosity defines me. i think often when i fight you i just want to be near you, but now we're together anyway. but this can't last. we will always be enemies." it's about making the moment they become lovers both surprising and inevitable. it's about laying the groundwork for romance WITHIN what is nominally hatred so that at just the right moment you snap your fingers and it just... falls into place. like the final twist of a rubix cube, or a magic trick - it's about the romance being the answer to a question which finally makes everything make sense.

#carry on reread 2024 #[guy who has only read carry on opining on the romance genre] getting a lot of carry on vibes from this. #now the really innovative thing would be to do this *shape* of arc but the confession isn't romantic. #melodrama rights for enemies-to-friends 2024..... #not sure how it would work #because like. pure desire regardless of emotions is often an important catalyst/glue in these situations #but i bet u could do it

[licncourt]

Hey, hope you are doing good! I love your blog and all your answers to these questions so much!!

I wanted to talk about how there is (almost) no lesbian relationships in the books, and wanted to ask you what do you think about that? Considering "all vampires turn bisexual once they become vampires" (which, I agree with you, feels a little wrong), there should be lots of wlw relationships but the only ones I can think of are Eudoxia and Zenobia who are described as lovers, and Rose’s guardians Aunt Julie and Aunt Marge which reads to me as lesbian parenting but it’s not explicitly said (I could be wrong about that, forgive me if I am). I know some people like to imagine Gabrielle and Jesse as a couple but it’s just headcannon. It’s a waste of good potential romances in my opinion because some characters would be SO GREAT in lesbian relationships, especially Akasha (the official man hater) and Gabrielle. I think a big part of that has to do with AR seeing mlm relationships as sexy and exciting but seeing no point in writing wlw relationships, which is super sad.

Thank you so much!! Hot girl from my notes!!

This is something I haven't talked about much but I've definitely thought about as a lesbian fan of VC. Like you said, if all vampires are "bisexual", there should be just as many relationships between women as between men. Eudoxia and Zenobia are the only canon example I can think of and honestly I hardly remember them. They certainly weren't real, actual characters.

I think this is largely an extension of AR's overall disinterest in female characters, one that grows even more obvious as the series progresses. (I'd say Claudia is the primary exception, though she isn't entirely.) That's another can of worms, but it really is the groundwork for this issue. I think the place this intersects most clearly is in Gabrielle.

The fandom jokes about AR being so misogynistic that she created a super cool butch (or transmasc, I just personally read her as butch) character aren't really an exaggeration. Gabrielle's masculinity is clearly meant to be read as a flaw and a disparaging "not like other girls" and that really says a lot about AR's feelings towards GNC women in general. Her shorthand for "bad woman" is a masculine woman (one of the only times she's really praised in the narrative is when she performs femininity, like at the end of Blood Communion).

There's so little representation for truly masculine women in media, and while it's wonderful to feel that connection to Gabrielle as a lesbian-coded character, the truth is she isn't really. Not intentionally. It's just another instance of fans improving upon canon by applying their own readings. She's just the exception that proves the rule.

Akasha is another great example, but she really reads more like an anti-feminist strawman than a real, well-rounded character. Again, it can be easy to want to cheer her on and enjoy the female power fantasy she creates, but like Gabrielle, she's another "bad woman" who AR made powerful to disparage. Her strength isn't a compliment and she isn't given the courtesy of any real complexity.

Besides AR's clear dislike for GNC/non-traditional women, there's the flip side which is the fetishization of gay male relationships. This isn't a new phenomenon to most people who have any experience with fandom, but it's a very common issue in media. If anything, I would say AR was one of the first authors to really establish this type of straight female gaze for gay men in literature.

To be quite frank, the repetition of the young, white twink in a relationship other young, white twinks has fetishization written all over it. The way they're described and the incredibly lopsided favoring of this kind of relationship in the absence of much else (besides pedo shit still involving at least one white twink and exoticized POC) is very uncomfortable, even more so alongside the absence of good female characters and the extreme sanitation of gay relationships.

The fujoshi craze isn't quite as pronounced as it once was, but the crafting of a specific type of male character in a heavily emphasized yet deeply idealized same-sex relationship that's attractive to a straight female author isn't new. It also hasn't stopped since then. In my opinion, it's the inverse of the straight male obsession with lesbian porn despite dehumanizing actual lesbians and disliking gay men.

As far as we know, AR was a straight woman and she was writing the ideal of what she wanted to see. It's obvious in her writing (and her own words) that she didn't think highly of other woman and thus she had no interest in writing them well. On top of that, lesbian relationships didn't cater to her personal fantasies (and tbh, neither did genuine gay relationships, just fetishistic, curated ones that are basically proto-yaoi).

In a perfect world, VC could be something really special. The biases of the author make it the opposite. There are huge holes in representation and what is there isn't there for the right reasons. It's not surprising that there isn't any real rep for lesbian and bisexual women, but it's disappointing nonetheless. Even more so because women are so used to relating to male characters and stories without representation that she could get away with it. This goes double for wlw who are extremely adept at that while also well-practiced at accepting not-great rep of gay men as our own because it's usually the best there is.

I guess this is just another stick in the pile of missed opportunities and offensive implications in VC.

#thank you for asking this! #it's such a big thing that i can't believe i haven't talked about it before #it's hot and i'm drunk and running on three hours of sleep forgive me if this is nonsensical #answered #vc

[bellthetinker]

shadow & bone is just objectively such a bad tv show! pained having to say so 🫡 but it's not even just how they spun up the grishaverse books in a blender and pasted together different exciting-sounding bits, it's like, as storytelling? it's so bad? they don't even name some of the characters until the 4th ep? there is no build to any relationship or plot point. (my poor father is so confused until i give him an extra 45 min rundown of what happened/what should have happened after each episode)

it just... hurts a little that somehow this is how they treat stories at big production companies? it reminds me of watching an adaptation of my favorite book as a girl (ella enchanted) and seeing them completely miss the heart of the tale.

yes, six of crows is by far the more popular duology. and, yes, Leigh Bardugo really grew and flourished as an author as the grishaverse went on. but there is still a touching, and exciting, and heart-wrenching story to experience in the shadow and bone trilogy.

what i truly don't understand is — an author already gave you an entire plot laid out, beats & twists & growth & everything? and you still mess it all around?

i know if i were Leigh, i would feel pained watching them take some of my very beloved characters (the crows) and giving them "backstories" but just cheaply snatching important plots from future books and tossing them into a plot. i always think that leigh bardugo is a queen of plot twists, and they work because she has laid a groundwork! the tension builds to them, there are all these struggles and little hints that we receive, and then, wham, everything falls together. in the show, there is nothing behind them. maybe it seems like a nice little trick, but the weight of these choices isn't there. (for example, the crooked kingdom plotline?? like that "job"/"heist" grabs at you, because of all the strings that are being pulled, all the hurt and anger and persistence that these characters are working through and pursuing... and the show just completely takes away the chance to ever build towards that moment.)

the show doesn't let us sit with experience. it immediately wants us to like characters, to read into future romances (or just to be slapped with romance right off the bat), to think that it's an epic show. but part of the wonder of a good story is trudging along with the characters through every moment of growth and pain and joy. that's what makes those other moments impactful.

i was trying to explain to my dad that the end of the second book (siege and storm, which they seem to have crammed into the 4th episode) should hit you like losing Gandalf in the fellowship of the ring. like we've toiled and climbed towards success and then had to just watch as everything crumbled.

there is nuance, and fun, and dread in the trilogy. ravka and its politics are complicated and interesting. where is the apparat? sankta alina? there are discourses, moral considerations, the dichotomy of an old world struggling with old problems as a new world is breaking through that we could have explored. the spinning wheel? is that? these characters deserved more.

(there are so many smaller things I could pick at. there's something about both genya's and alina's choices being altered (lessened?)... in how genya acquires her scars and how alina is at her engagement party when the darkling's attack happens... it feels like something is taken away from them (like how Ella's agency and powerful choices are taken away from her in the movie Ella Enchanted) ... i have to sit with that thought more. sturmhond/nikolai and his wonderful character and mind and inventions. why they wrote a whole fanfiction for the darkling and his little group in the house, with him coughing blood like we're supposed to worry about him...)

with this story presented in this way, it is evident that the show's creators didn't take the journey of the books, didn't feel the emotions, didn't listen to the heart of the stories. a real story is not about clever fights, saucy winks, and incensed speeches. the real story is the trek, the series of choices, the ways characters must grow. and the way we grow & feel with them.

this started out as a silly little rant after finishing the 4th ep, oops. (& note, i also haven't finished the season yet.) i am just feeling so much and sense that maybe my thoughts are not coming out so clearly here, but sometimes you just gotta spill.

also my dad is most concerned about "the guy in the jail. is he going to get out? have they gotten him out?" (i think Matthias might be his favorite character)

#shadow and bone #sab #six of crows #grishaverse #also though!! this is not hate to those involved! #the cast is so cute and i love seeing their bond #it's just... what a show it could have been if it had only trusted the story

[seeingteacupsindragons]

My work system has died a horrible death during work hours while I'm trapped in the office.

Let's discuss another rabbit hole my brain went down while I couldn't sleep last night. This one is brought to you by these asks: One and two.

Basically, I was thinking about the way my stories are constructed as branching trees of options and ideas that slowly get shaved off. I think a lot about different ways the story could go, and often have lists of scene/event/plot ideas that I don't end up pursuing.

But they aren't the kinds of ideas a reader would think of the story going another way. And they aren't darlings that get cut.

My scene options aren't lists of "character makes choice a, b, c, and d--what does each do for the story?" Because I know my character and what they would do, the idea of them choosing something else is rarely a consideration for me. Rather, the scene ideas are presenting them with a different choice entirely, or a different activity.

I've had branches for a romance before that I set up early of "Okay, I have like ten different versions of how they get together in my head, let me set up groundwork for several early on, and as the story progresses, one by one they get cut off as I go a different fork in this road to pick one version to actually write down and the others can be in my head-- it's more like "And here's how they get together in a Snowed In situation, and here's how they get together on a class trip, and here's how they get together as a challenge from one to the other---"

Since only each of those paths is an entirely different story, each story gets the other options shaved off, because the multiverse of options simply isn't all going to happen in the same story.

Or I shave off that side quest I could send a character on that would add x, y, and z to the story, but didn't really go anywhere and kind of ended up like a weird little stump that never connected and doesn't seem to have a purpose. It's just a weird distracting tumor to the story that a reader is going to get hung up on and wonder when it's going to come back and matter. Let's cut that off instead of trying to work it into the story.

"What if I have a competing group doing--" Okay, that's going to take too many words to do anything with and it's not that interesting. That branch is pruned and left on the cutting floor.

The branches of the story I see as the writer are wildly different than the ones a lot of readers think of, because we're not coming from it at the same angle.

The branch where instead of going left, it goes right was never one that occurred to me. The tree was always going to go left. I'm just trying to choose branches that are most stable and least diseased.

#writing

[myloveforhergoeson]

look even after not showing up to the party, his weird possessiveness and shit impersonal apologies, every time he comes up im still like hehe dakkk <3 tucks some hair behind my ear. also whats the deal with him creeping around the palm woods? is it that he doesnt wanna get caught by paparazzi or mobbed by fans like in the pop tiger saga? if thats the case, and may be why he avoided the party, he seriously needs to communicate this to roxy goddammit !!! <- shaking dak by the shoulders

and ! why is he, successful movie star generally agreed by the public to be the heartthrob of the month, so threatened by essentially a bunch of nobodies?!?!? dak pull yourself together man!!!!

i know this dak relationship will eventually lead nowhere, but i just want roxy to be happyyyy to have one positive experience with him without him being all weird about her friends. i get youre laying the groundwork that dak isnt The One but aghhh im so frustrated for roxy!! love the fact that she stood her ground and didnt take his shit !

ajbkajbjksbvr i feel the same way about this version of him loll that's why he's so much of a character in tasw :)) he's literally zac efron for crying out loud what am i supposed to do??? not have him be involved with my wonderful, special, perfect oc??? as a plot device to help continue my slow burn???? and idk i thought she had a really positive experience with him when they first met and on their first date...

in due time we will learn about his strange habits and feelings, hang in there anon... it's not for nothing i promise!

im truly about to go full literary analysis mode on my story for you because roxy and dak's relationship is so important to me and all the things i've built up in my head that aren't evident in the story because roxy is bad at dealing with her emotions (as we know, she loves to push aside her own when it gets too much to bear... i just love to use "she pushed the thought out of her mind" as a scene turning point and then it turned into a fact about her on her silly character trait list🙄) and because some things will be present we haven't got there in the plot yet

please find my thoughts under the cut... there are lots and i cannot wait to further incorporate it into my writing once this ball really gets rolling

first off, roxy has never been in a relationship before, which is something she is pretty insecure about, especially as someone who primarily deals in writing love songs. while this isn't really an issue now, seeing as she's currently on the path to one, we haven't really seen this as something that bothers her. because of this, she really doesn't know how a healthy one works outside of the romance books she reads and rom-coms she loves. in those, everything just happens organically, the two people involved work though everything together and it looks completely effortless. she sees this with her friends as well, kendall and jo almost immediately fell for each other, and now all jo is waiting for is for them to make it official that they're together. she doesn't have to deal with strange teen jealousy or the guy she likes standing her up. camille and logan, while still working though their own thing, at their core gravitate to each other. from the way they interact, talk about each other, whatever, roxy knows that they'll find their way to each other eventually. because of this, she's terrified to bring up her own troubles - partly because it's embarrassing and partly because she doesn't want to be a bother about it to people who "so clearly" get it. if she can't bring up her worries to her best friends, she sure as hell isn't gonna bring it up to dak... and heaven forbid she brings it up to the guys because at this point, they all hate him.

perhaps... this will make roxy realize some things shes looking for in a partner... and perhaps... it will give her an image of what its like to date a famous person...

second off, dak is there to establish her type LMAOOO. we know he's pretty, we know james is pretty, all the posters in her room are of pretty people, and once we learn more about mag, we will learn he is pretty. roxy loves a pretty, pretty, PRETTY person! she's like a crow attracted to shiny things. this is also a byproduct of the books, movies, and other media she regularly consumes. she was supposed to love boy bands and not come out a changed woman? okay...

third off, for someone who thinks she's so in tune with her emotions because she's a songwriter she sure is freaking oblivious to those of the people around her. not only that, she's built some pretty solid schemas of her friends and their pasts based on very little information, considering they don't share all that much since they know literally everything about each other. so MAYBE if someone just TOLD HER many chapters ago that they FELT some type of WAY for her she might not even be in this situation to begin with... if only there were a major turning point in their lives that was about to occur that would not only bring them closer together, but would also let their journey occur for many months throughout the united states without any internet access so they have to like actually talk and hang out and do things unrelated to work and the palm woods... hmmm

anyway... dak and roxy's relationship is important and not just because i wanted to write a long story. thanks for reading :) i love to talk and talk and talk

#ash talks tasw #thats all she wrote fic #point three is my fancy way of saying im writing a chapter about their tour #have i started writing it? no. #but it's going to be a good one... i have much planned

[bluetomorrows]

The AFI Top 100: #90 Swing Time (1936)

Swing Time is a fun movie, but one I ultimately don't have a lot to say about.

This is a fun rom-com musical. I understand that this laid the groundwork for a lot of rom-coms and musicals that came later but just on its own it doesn't do a lot for me. In the 80+ years since this came out, we've seen everything it does well done much better multiple times over.

This isn't Swing Time's fault mind you, but just what time does to films. The greatest film of all time is one that has not been made yet.

Oh, also blackface. This is the second film on the list to have it and it is used rather extensively in a sequence near the end of the film.

The songs in this are nice. The choreography is really good. The romance is cute. This is a cute movie. Excluding the racism and sexism.

Yeah if you can't tell this didn't really carry my attention, but I still thought it was well made.

Does this deserve to be in the AFI Top 100?

Maybe? Probably not, but I get why it's here.

Next up at #89 is The Sixth Sense, it seems this list doesn't have many horror movies so this one better be good.

See ya when I see ya

#1930s #film #film review #cinema #review #movie #criterion

[mc-lukanette]

You know what’s disappointing about ML? They literally haven’t provided a reason why Lukanette is incapable. From all I’ve seen so far, Luka and Marinette should still have a chance to be together but we know we ain’t getting that from this poorly written romance of a show. But overall, thank you for providing wonderful Lukanette content to heal from what is canon UwU

Thank you! UwU

What it amounts to is “because Adrien”/”because love square is endgame.” I already talked on another blog about the writer tweets that openly admitted how Adrien gets talked about when he’s not around so they “don’t lose him too long.”

It’s not a writing limitation, it’s a choice, and I could go on forever about it. The fact that they can’t give Lukanette even two episodes that don’t feel the need to shove Adrien in when he serves absolutely no purpose (note that “Truth” features Marinette breaking up with Luka due to her identity and they still had to have Adrien be mentioned over and over again) shows how sensitive they are about it. They couldn’t think of a reason to break Lukanette up and knew that “because Adrien” wasn’t enough. Saying, “because [character],” comes off lazy because it means that they haven’t put in enough effort to work on the chemistry between the main character and their endgame love interest.

The love square is an appropriate name, because “love” and “romance” is all it’s about. Note that Adrien in “The Puppeteer 2″ refers to Ladybug as “the girl I love” and not “my amazing friend” or “someone I’m close to and I’m glad to know.” Note that, when Marinette tries to call Adrien “a friend” when that is what their relationship is supposed to be “officially” at the time, people (usually Alya) are rolling their eyes or they immediately have to crack jokes and shove Marinette against Adrien so the show can wave its hands “reassuring” at its audience like, “See??? Don’t worry, she’s in love with him!” because apparently they can’t be friends if she likes him and friendship is less valuable than love (aros have it rough, man).

Also a fact that the square means needing to slow down to turn corners. It’s just not a consistent speed.

#type: salt #((There was this one show I watched where the main character was on a game show and there was this buzzer for wrong answers.)) #((His love interest (not even endgame yo it's just a tease) was referred to as his ''girlfriend'')) #((and he said that she wasn't yet the buzzer went off to say he was wrong.)) #((He's not. They're not dating. And yet that's not what it comes down to from the view of ship bait.)) #((Friendship??? What's friendship?? It's about rOmAncE... which means that friendship has to either take a backseat or just NOT exist.)) #((and Lukanette isn't like that which is why I enjoy it. Luka didn't pull ANY of that stuff.)) #((He was in love with Marinette and was happy being friends if she didn't want their relationship to go past that.)) #((I love romance. Love love love it. You wouldn't believe how needy I am when I love someone.)) #((I'll gush all day long but that's also not all it is. I don't see love as something completely separate from friendship.)) #((Someone I love (who I'm not dating) doesn't become ''my crush.'' They'd become ''my friend who I happen to have a crush on.'')) #((When romance is all it is then the groundwork just isn't there. And for what? Reverse love square? That'll fix everything?)) #((Reverse love square doesn't fix the issue because we don't hit the stage of ''I'm in love with you but I'm your friend FIRST.'')) #((The show isn't about Marinette. It's not even about Marinette and Adrien or the miraculouses or the lore.)) #((It's just about the ship.)) #((And that ends up being projected onto the fandom. Not everyone obviously but people who buy into the narrative.)) #((Me personally? If the love square wasn't the way it was and I still preferred Lukanette then...)) #((sure I wouldn't be 100% on love square endgame but give me cute fluffy Lukanette friendship)) #((where they're just comfortable and so damn HAPPY to be in each other's lives)) #((and would I complain? No not really. If anything I would argue that the Lukanette friendship on display runs deeper)) #((than some silly romance that's essentially just a marketing gimmick.)) #((But because the entirely show wraps around this whole ''LOVE SQUARE ENDGAME ROMANCE SHIP'' that's all people see)) #((and no matter how Ladybug sees Chat or how Adrien sees Marinette all people care about is making theories about how IN LOVE THEY ARE)) #((or the moment they'll fall in love with the other.)) #((And when people discredit Lukanette they'll immediately jump to ''Marinette doesn't love Luka'' or ''Luka doesn't love Marinette'')) #((and one of the writers tried to fall on the same exact thing as if their love square is some pure untouchable thing. It's not.)) #((Lukanette is great because they're friends first and they don't lean on being shoved into everything even if it doesn't serve the plot.))

[rcksmith]

The Agreement part.2 — Kaz Brekker

Resume/Masterlist

Couple: Kaz Brekker/ Fem!Reader.

Warnings of series: Convenience/arranged marriage, swearing, mention of fight, mention of death, mention of desire, fluff, sensual, mention of post-traumatic stress.

Warnings of chapter: swearing.

Word count: 4k

A/N: I hope you guys like.💖

English is not my first language, so I so sorry if have a mistake.

Requests are closet. Love you ❤️

— — — —

“What?!” Your exclamation came out louder than intended, and perhaps sharper than expected.

The salty sea breeze came through the window once more. The smell of salt and ocean invaded the room and for a second it felt like being in a ship's cabin at sea.

Kaz looked at you as if you were some child. Or someone deaf. But if he was swimming in acidic thoughts, he didn't say them.

"Think carefully." His voice was firm and explicit, the ones men use to convince women of something. “You want freedom, don't you? Live your life without having to fulfill a man's whims or your father's expectations. You wants to be able to snow on a ship without having a date to go back and make your own destiny. You want just needing to care what new adventure knocks on your door and what promise of wonders life awaits. It is not?"

How did he figure it out so well in such a short time? Was he too shrewd or were you too transparent?

You nodded, unable to say anything. Perhaps out of perplexity at how Kaz read you so easily. Or maybe the way he looked like an overpoweringly beautiful fallen angel in the moonlight.

“And the only way to do that is to get married.”

You frowned. “As I recall, Brekker, I came here just so I wouldn't have to get married.”

“And it's a stupid plan.” God, you wanted to kill him. “You asked me to have the Dregs take you to the harbor without your father's spies noticing. But it turns out your father's spies already know you're here.”

Your breath was lost somewhere between lungs and nose.

“Since you arrived, the noise from the Crow Club downstairs has become less shrill. And this is not typical criminal behavior. Either they have adopted good manners or someone they know they should fear has joined the Club.” Kaz sat more relaxed in the armchair behind his desk, his dark blue eyes locked on you. “I would bet on the second option.”

“So I came here for nothing?” You were starting to get angry at his beating around the bush. Because you knew it was manipulation. Brekker was laying the groundwork and you understood that.

“I did not say that. Turns out you can never get rid of your father. Not when he's a man with the purchasing power able to buy an entire country. There will always be someone who will recognize you, someone who will find you. And for the right price, the whole world is capable of being bribed. You would run away only to be chased by other spies, other people wanting the reward your father will give to whoever brings you back home.”

Very early on, you realized that Kaz Brekker was capable of crushing dreams as easily as crushing an insect. His destructive power was colossal and you saw all of your desires floating under his palm. Waiting just for him to brutally clench his fist and crush them.

But that's not what he did.

“You'll only get what you want if you follow his orders.” The breeze came through the window once more, ruffling her charcoal hair. “But if you can't defeat your enemies, change the rules of the game.”

“And is that where marriage to you comes in?”

“See it.” His body leaned very gently across the table towards you, it was a millimeter and ridiculous gesture, but it felt like him standing a breath away from you. “What you need is to get married. But marrying someone who doesn't give a damn about what you're going to do, and don’t have expectations of you. Someone who is not interested in home life, family life or Any other things you can offer other than money.”

Any other things you can offer. The night breeze this time was accompanied by an impure, almost obscene scene of the fallen angel in front of you on a bed of black duvets and caustic weather. A moment when the ends of his black hair brushed your forehead and your nose, moving back and forth as followed the rhythm of his hips and…

The sea breeze was gone, taking the obscene image with it and bringing back your common sense. For a second you wondered where that came from! You hadn't been in his presence for more than two hours and the entire compilation of what it was like Kaz Brekker, so far, had frightened you and attracted you in an absurdly dangerous way.

"And are that you came, I suppose." You hoped your voice couldn't give away your impure thoughts from seconds ago. “Do you want us to form an alliance where you receive my dowry and in return I am free from my father's demands and can do as I please with my freedom?"

“Alliance is a very strong term for what we are doing here.” He was succinct, “I would tell you to look at this as a business transaction. A marriage document is still just a piece of paper. And nothing else. Don't get carried away by sentimentalism. Things only have feelings if you want them to.”

Kaz was right, you knew that. For all your belief in true love and the many books romance novels you devoured, you still understood that a marriage could very well be seen as a business translation. It are a sad, cold way to see something so beautiful, but it still true.

“I have no interest in anything other than your dowry and you have no interest other than freedom. So what I'm proposing is something very sensible and objective. When we get married, your father will set you free, and you won't have any husband to please or any other crap. I don't want and don't expect anything from you, I don't care if you're sailing to Ravka or venturing on The Fold.”

“Do you want the money out of greed or despair?”

Kaz took a second to get a better look at you after that sneaky question. You had asked the correct question amid so many banalities and he realized that you were more cunning than you looked.

If he wanted to know your secrets, you also wanted to know his.

“A bit of both.” He was sincere.

“And what do you intend to do with my father's industries? Because you would win them too. And any misdirection could end up reducing my father's empire to nothing, and I don't want him to see the thing he loves most in ruins.”

Brekker heard the feelings in your voice. There was a hidden pang of hurt, but a lot of determination and honesty. You loved your father and understood him, even if you didn't agree with his principles. You had a fair and upright nature and were able to move mountains to get things done the way you thought was right. That was a red flag for Kaz. You were a good person. And he not.

He could never promise you things that go back to a good guy. But he could promise you honesty and justice. Kaz Brekker would never take something from someone the way it was taken from him so many years ago. He was a monster. But never in the same category as Pekka.

“I have no interest in having an empire doomed to fail.” His eyes were serious. “My motivation has always been greed. Why would I sink the company that is capable of making me such a rich man?”

He would have to be an idiot to let such a lucrative business go. And Kaz Brekker was anything but an idiot.

“Would you let me do anything I want?”

“I have no interest in what you don't or do.”

You hesitated for a second, as if remembering another detail. “My father doesn't believe in divorce, and even if he did, I would be pressured to remarry. Do you understand that we couldn't divorce?”

“I have no desire to marry again. And you might as well get other men you want without making a fuss, without your father finding out.” Always rational and objective. Without any inclination to the heart's desires. “There is no room in this world for feelings. Much less in this agreement. If you fall in love with someone you will have to be content with just relating to them, not getting married. And it seems like a small price to pay for so many benefits.”

It was the perfect plan. Did you know that. It was rational, objective and cunning. Something advantageous for both without costing too much. But why did you feel that something could go very wrong? You were a romantic person and you knew you could see things where they didn't exist. The truth was, you would have to leave your heart completely out of the picture.

Just a business transaction.

Brekker seemed to see a hint of hesitation in your eyes.

“It's very simple, Ms. Y/L/N.” That voice that gave you goose bumps hovered in front of you. “You marry me and you still have your freedom, because I don't give a damn about what you do after.”

“20 million from Kruges. Rich.” his eyes gleamed with a deep glow.

“And how do I know this isn't a trick?”

“I don't promise lies.” His firm face was serious “I won't give you happiness, Y/n. Much less love. Love doesn't exist in Kerch. But I will give you freedom, independence, a comfortable life that you are accustomed. And it seems to be much more than you have now.”

You knew you could be making a deal with the devil. Selling your soul to that man with the face of a fallen angel and the aura of Lucifer. But what choice did you have?

You couldn't go back if you sealed that deal. That man would be bound whit you, even by a piece of paper, for a lifetime. Was it worth the price? You didn't care for your father's press to want to be in the management and you had a lot more money than twenty million Kruges. What would you be missing? Your chance to marry one day whit someone you came to love? But if you came home without someone one day from now your father would marry you to a gargoyle. And the way out to flee no longer seemed a viable option.

Yes, it was worth it.

Seeming to see from the glint in your eyes that you've made a decision, Kaz Brekker, Bastard of the Barrel, reached out a leather-gloved hand toward you. His eyes sparkled with a mysterious spark, the scent of male cologne with a hint of danger lurking around the room. And for a moment, you felt a shiver go up your spine and the feeling that your life had just begun.

“Agree to marry me?” He said.

The feeling was that you were about to embark on the greatest adventure of your life. You didn't know what that little stunt with Kaz Brekker awaited you. But you would find out.

“Yes.” You took his hand in a firm, intense handshake that held a million secrets.

A satisfied, victorious smile came to his lips. And whenever Kaz gave him that expression, it felt like seeing the fallen angel that was the reason so many humans sinned. The clouds in the sky shifted, moving out of the moon's path and making the distilled rays of light shimmer more brightly. His black hair and white skin were graced with those bundles, and for a second his beauty was overwhelming.

You held your breath.

Brekker continued to say something, but you couldn't pay attention. Your heart began to race, the moonlight following in his footsteps as Kaz got up from his chair and went to fetch some papers from across the room. You couldn't tear your eyes away from him. His body was taller and thinner than you deduced when he was sitting down. Kaz had long, slender legs beneath black straight-cut pants, his chest was broad and his waist was narrow. For a second, you felt like running your hand over the contours of his body.

You shifted your attention forward abruptly. Focusing eyes on something else.

That was the curse of handsome men. They fooled women and made them daydream. With his underworld god beauty and mysterious aura with a touch of danger, Kaz Brekker was overwhelmingly attractive. And your blood reacted to that. Any woman would have reacted the same way.

“And we'll have to leave tomorrow morning…” he sat opposite you again.

“Sorry, what?”

You turned your attention to his words, not remembering half of what he said seconds ago. Kaz looked at you intently this time, squinting his eyes millimetrically, as if he was trying to guess which paths your mind had wandered in for the past two minutes.

“Your deadline is the day after tomorrow, isn't it?”

"Yes." You got back to the core of the problem once more. “The trip to my house takes a few hours. Half a day if it's raining.”

Kaz had his eyes on the papers in his hands, maybe they were maps or documents, but you didn't feel like craning your neck to see what it was. Leaning over to view the papers meant getting closer to Brekker, and two hours in his presence was enough for you to understand that nothing good would happen if you got any closer. Or maybe you didn't trust your own feelings and emotions.

“This will have to be done very discreetly.” He didn't look up from his papers. “If any rumors about our deal reach the wrong people, your father will hear about our plan. And that meant you will being forced to marry someone else, and me without my money. Does anyone know you're here because you planned to run away?”

You shook your head. “No. I didn't get to tell my friends. But now that the plan is different, I intend to tell a friend that…”

“You can't tell anyone.” Kaz lifted ocean blue eyes to you in an electrifying look that made you shiver.

“And what is supposed to say to my friends?” You felt a pang of indignation.

“That we are in love.”

This time, your breath was gone. The phrase was like pouring gasoline on an old, flammable woodpile. And you were afraid of what might be the match that would set off a fire.

Kaz noticed your reaction and was amused by it. “Just say some nonsense about falling in love with a criminal. It wouldn't be the first time a rich little girl has fallen in love with the bad guy, and I guarantee it won't be the last.”

“And you won't tell anyone about the truth too?” You wanted to change the focus you.

“I don't have to answer to anyone.”

This time you gave a smug smile and crossed your arms in an insolent gesture. “So everyone will think the infamous Kaz Brekker, Dirty Handes and Ketterdam's most dangerous gangster is in love with a rich little girl?”

Kaz narrowed his eyes at your teasing.

“It won't be the first time that the man with a bad temper and dangerous soul falls in love with the little girl. And I'm sure it won't be the last.” You said.

You were provocative, witty and stubborn. You would always hit at the same height and loved to show people that could very well play their game. Brekker unraveled this perfectly. You weren't the kind of woman who would be peaceful, serene, and calm. You wouldn't be like Inej. You would not take his orders and his taunts in silent, contained rage. You were intense. And that was a danger.

Why did he get the feeling you were so much more than he imagined?

“Let's go to your house tomorrow morning. Nine in the morning.” He changed the subject. “I'll go with you and we'll get married.”

"My father must be preparing everything by now." You sighed. “He takes his promises very seriously and I have no doubt that, when I returns, the ceremony scene will be set in the party garden.”

Partly you were relieved about it now. Planning a ceremony are intense and personal. You never really thought about getting married, but you always imagined that if one day it happened it would be the man of your dreams. And you didn't know if you would want to organize a fake wedding. There were certain things that were inevitable to keep the heart from breaking.

“Better yet, the faster the better.”

The two of you discussed some more details of the plan in the next few hours. It was agreed that Kaz would pick you up at nine from your hotel tomorrow, in an elegant hired carriage (which you obviously would be paying for) and the two of you would go to your house in Kerch. For all intents and for all people, the truth would be that the two of you were in love. It was such a typical cliché that it wouldn't be the least bit hard to believe.

And after a while, you two could already show yourself to the world as a couple who barely saw each other. Rich society was full of them: marriage with coldness and distance, where the man has his bets and lovers and the woman her travels and her jewelry. Your father would surely understand and leave you alone. After all, he had gotten a son-in-law to inherit his empire. A young son-in-law with blood for business who would make your father extremely satisfied. However, now the two of you had to look like a couple in love. And the reality of the situation was a secret that only the two of you would take with you to the tomb.

But, that night it was difficult for you to sleep. Anxiety, restlessness and fear gnawed at you like cunning mice, rolling you from side to side in bed, whispering in your ears millions of futures where everything could go wrong. Where not even Kaz Brekker's plans could free you from the clutches of one of your father's suitors.

When the clock struck seven in the morning, you jumped out of bed with unsettling, restless energy. You didn't like feeling helpless and waiting for Brekker to show up was exactly the definition of a princess in trouble. You had to do something.

- -

“What do you mean to get married?!” Jesper choked on his breakfast, and Nina nearly spit out all her orange juice.

Kaz rolled his eyes and continued sorting through the documents on the large round table. He was going to be gone for a few days at most and needed the people he trusted most to take care of business while he was gone. There were a lot of robberies to do and Kaz spent the night crafting and modifying plans for options where he wasn't involved. He had made a list of what needed to be checked at ports and what needed to be resupplied at Crow clube.

The plan was to marry you when they arrived in Kerch and return to Crow Club the next day. Kaz knew he would have to bring you, the two of you would have to stay together until your dowry was delivered to him. After that you could go on any adventure you wanted.

But dealing with the Crows was being more exasperating than Kaz could have expected.

"I didn't even know you had a girlfriend!" Wylan was in shock.

"Nobody knew!" Nina and Inej had their chins on the floor. Matthias was the only one who didn't seem to care so much.

"I didn't know the affairs of my private life were your business." Kaz didn't look up from the papers he kept in folders for the stupid ones.

"But you never said anything." Inej said.

"It was the intention."

"It's with Y/n, isn't it?" Jesper had bright eyes and a gleeful gambling smile stretched across his lips.

Kaz looked up at the boy with chocolate creamy skin, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

“She spent hours in yours office last night.”

"Oh my Santis!" Inej, Nina and Wylan exclaimed at once, eyes wide.

"The daughter of the richest man in Kerch." Wylan said.

"YOUR DOG!" Jesper clapped Kaz on the shoulder with an open palm, a loud laugh echoing and joy filling his voice.

Kaz suppressed the urge to look at the spot where Jesper had touched him. It had been years since he'd gotten over the most brutal aversion to touch, when the mere thought of getting close to someone made him tingle and dizzy with imminent fainting. At 28 years old, Kaz Brekker had proven to be greater than the demons and weaknesses that haunted him, wanting to see his downfall. A man who wanted to defeat Pekka could have no weaknesses. And he prided himself on almost have none of them.

However, offhand gestures made him look at the spot where he had been touched. The sensation brought was not unbearable or nauseating, but strange. And when the situation was skin to skin in a touch that caught him off guard, the feeling was unpleasant. Like a splinter under the skin.

It was easier with people Kaz felt comfortable with, but it wasn't something he cared about. He forced himself to overcome the most brutal aversion just to be a man without weaknesses, no chance of being defeated in a torture, no chance of being defeated by a faint. No for to touch someon.

“I thought you didn't know her in person when I warned you yesterday.” Inej tried to contain her little smile.

“It was the intention. You guys forgot the definition of secret…”

"Boss." One of the employees had entered that exclusive room. "There's someone here wanting to talk to you, Sir." He looked apprehensive.

Kaz frowned. The crow club had no movement at eight in the morning.

"Who is?"

"I think…"

"Will you please let me through!" The female voice sounded outside the room.

Jesper and the rest of the gang were wide-eyed, mouths opening in amusement and bewilderment. Kaz was catatonic. What the fucking hell were you doing there?!

"What do you mean I can't talk to your boss?!" And you continued. “I spoke to him yesterday...Don't give me these arguments, my dad tells his employees to tell people exactly that...I swear if you touch out about me again I will...”

"Fucking hell!" Kaz came out from behind the counter, crossing the living room and opening the door.

He came face to with that scene. A short girl who argued with a bouncer who was triple her height and size. Kaz knew the man was arrogant and macho, and had probably nudged your temper. He would have been amused by the scene if he wasn't abgry that you didn't follow his explicit rules.

“Ray.” Kaz glanced at the bouncer, a steady gaze that made the brute immediately back away from you.

You even gave the man an angry look before heading towards Kaz.

"What are you doing here?!" He whispered angrily.

"I couldn't wait." You wiggled your fingers, a tic of anxiety. “I could barely sleep. It was lucky I didn't show up at six in the morning.”

“That's not excuses. We have a schedule!"

“But I couldn't wait!" You whispered too. “It's visseral. I can't just sit there and wait!”

What an insufferable creature!

"Well, you'll have to learn because…!"

"What are you two whispering back there? “ Jesper's voice interrupted the discussion in whispers.

The two of you turned to the troupe standing in the doorway of the Crow room. Playful, mischievous smiles were plastered across their faces, and you felt your cheeks blush. Kaz and you looked at each other, and in that second of silent complicity, the two of you finally stepped into the roles of partners in crime.

Tagged: @aleksanderwh0r3 @thedelusionreaderbitch @hi-there-x @mell-bell @glowingatdawn @subjecta13-thefangirl @itsnotquimey @thatchampagnebitch @lamoursansfin @lostysworld @s3xymoonman @is-it-really-a-secret

#kaz brekker x you #kaz brekker x oc #kaz brekker fluff #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker fanfic #kaz x reader #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker x y/n #kaz brekker #shadow and bone reader #shadow and bone imagine #shadow and bone #freddy carter x y/n #freddy carter x you #freddy carter fluffy #freddy carter imagines #freddy carter x reader #freddy carter

[sayruq]

Tbh I don't care about the play or any show related to asoiaf because they will never going to be faithful to books and its themes. We have seen how they destroyed GOT for sake of money and appeasing mass. I will not be surprised the creators will aged up Lyanna or present Ratgar as a tragic hero to make it seems like some tragic romance. I just hope grrm release the books so we will get true story.

actually i disagree. according to what the writers and directors of the play are saying, it's going to be a shakespearean play

An amazing team has been assembled to tell the tale, starting with producers Simon Painter, Tim Lawson and Jonathan Sanford. Their knowledge and love of my world and characters has impressed me from the very first, and their plans for this production blew me away since the first time we met. Dominic Cooke, our director, is a former artistic director of London’s Royal Court Theatre, who brought Shakespeare’s dramas of the War of the Roses to television, and our playwright, Duncan Macmillan, has previously adapted George Orwell and Henrik Ibsen, among others. Working with them (back before the pandemic, when we could actually get together) has been a treat, and I am eager for our collaboration to resume. Our dream is to bring Westeros to Broadway, to the West End, to Australia… and eventually, to a stage near you … It ought to be spectacular.

this isn't going to be a play about rhaegar falling in love with a teenager. it's instead going to be about the power plays happening during the tourney.

And director Dominic Cooke: “I am over the moon at being given the opportunity, by the dynamic producing team of Tim Lawson, Simon Painter and Kilburn Live, to bring a new installment of George RR Martin’s epic story to a life on stage. One of George’s inspirations for the original books was Shakespeare’s history plays so the material lends itself naturally to the theatre. Duncan MacMillan and I are having a great time digging into the dynastic power struggles at the heart of George’s extraordinary imaginative world and he has been hugely generous and supportive towards both of us.”

not only that, the play is going to be critical of rhaegar

The play will for the first time take audiences deeper behind the scenes of a landmark event that previously was shrouded in mystery. Featuring many of the most iconic and well-known characters from the series, the production will boast a story centered around love, vengeance, madness and the dangers of dealing in prophecy, in the process revealing secrets and lies that have only been hinted at until now.

the main thing that everyone remembers about harrenhal is this

Robert had been jesting with Jon and old Lord Hunter as the prince circled the field after unhorsing Ser Barristan in the final tilt to claim the champion's crown. Ned remembered the moment when all the smiles died, when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen urged his horse past his own wife, the Dornish princess Elia Martell, to lay the queen of beauty's laurel in Lyanna's lap.

so the idea that elia will be absent throughout the play or she'll only show up in this moment so that the audience could see how strong rhaegar's 'love' is absurd. anyone who writes anything will understand that if you want a scene to pack a punch, you need to lay the groundwork so elia will be a main character and her humiliation will show exactly what sort of person rhaegar is.

this is why elia stans have been chill about the play. that r/l anon was just playing hyping up something that even their fellow stans have ignored.

#Anonymous #anti rhaegar targaryen #anti rhaegar x lyanna #song of ice and fire