#he's been thru so much and i just think he's so interesting and nuanced

[tojiswhore-aventurinesslut]

I love Toji so much like y'all don't understand

#i am in Love with that man #he's been thru so much and i just think he's so interesting and nuanced #and he's so SEXY #he has canonically laid pipe RAW #can you imagine having sex with this man 😫😫😫😫😫 #can you imagine him KNOCKING YOU UP #i would go so insane #and imagine him proposing and then taking your last name #like he is capable of so much love #i have so many hcs about him i could literally talk about him for hours #he's a man of few words but his actions are always there to speak for him #he's a little gruff and blunt sometimes still but he never does it out of malice it's just how he talks and even then his voice is so soft #but only for you #he's never raised his voice at you EVER #he thinks you hung the stars in the sky and for him you might as well have #you're the only thing illuminating his darkess #god #i love him so much mi corazón el amor de mi vida i can talk about him endlessly #he is so precious to me #posts

[liloinkoink]

I wake up and realize belatedly that you asked for my list of trusted techno authors! Let’s go.

hoorayy (author of deviltown)— not a techno or emduo main, but consistently writes pitch-perfect techno in ensemble stuff.

third_crow: also writes ensemble stuff, did an excellent boreal-focused fantasy fic and is now writing a SBI foster au that’s actually nuanced and good? Who knew.

Odaigahara: I see you’ve already mentioned her. Everything she writes is so good. AHHHH.

EmJay_Panziku: the horror fic. The space fic. Somehow it’s not Tommy-centric for once. I am throwing my credit card at the screen. MORE PLZ.

AdrianaintheSnow: if you are okay with Tommy-centric SBI, this is actually good and fun character writing for everyone in that quartet, interesting worldbuilding, soft and cute moments.

Scrolling through my bookmarks like Odaigahara, Odaigahara, Odaigahara again…

Beans_McGee: I think they’ve gone over to hermitcraft now, but they have an unfinished series named Angel teeth that is just some of the best actually funny techno writing around.

Spice_ghouls: haven’t updated in a while so I don’t know if they left the fandom, but some very good emduo.

Inallthingsgoodorbad: okay so yes their most recent work is superhero AU, but it’s a really GOOD one, actually.

Dreamdx (thereisdefinitelyawordforthat): everything they write I must put immediately into my eyeballs. I am throwing my credit card at the screen again.

Fensandmarshes: !!!!! He is so good at every character but his technoooooooo (okay yes I am an awkward autistic but beyond that). Worldbuilding! Voice! Autistic characters!

H_mellohi: they’re more focused on angelduo, but when they write techno or emduo I just relax knowing they are in safe hands.

So for this one the author is anon, but if you search up I Asked For A Monster And You Gave Me A Fairytale, the author has two fics, (both Tommy centric but y’know, you gotta muscle past that I guess in this fandom), one where Tommy goes into the woods to die and gets adopted by a house of monsters, one where Tommy’s a vegan neceomancer used by a cult to bring The Blood God back. They are both very stressed.

Sigh so much of this fandom is Tommy-centric I’m still scrolling—

Okay we all know about findingkairos BUT ALSO FINDINGKAIROS.

OHHH THANK YOU.... i guess i should go grab links for these authors for myself and others hold on lemme--

i dont know hoorayy bc i havent read devil town or anything else by them, but ive heard good things about the fic!

third_crow.. OH TRUST ME. THE BOREAL TRIO FIC, YOU MEAN VISAGE? I KNOW ABOUT VISAGE. ITS MY ALL TIME FAVE DSMP FIC. IM OBSESSED W IT. CANNOT RECOMMEND VISAGE ENOUGH. PLEASE READ VISAGE

i didnt realize how much odaigahara i read until i made that list for that last ask but i really will have to read thru their works purposefully now that its come to my attention. good stuff, quality author

EmJay_Panziku i have read just the space fic (which i absolutely adore) but now that i have their account open i see they have another fic noted, in the tags, as being similar to Sweet Home.. I fucking LOVED that comic!! i followed it for years!! i will be back for this fic For Certain. (i assume this is "the horror fic" you mentuoned)

AdrianaintheSnow ill be honest i just. dont read tommy centric sbi i cant. not my thing. i get bored if techno isnt there and that happens much faster if its tommy instead. HOWEVER if youre ranking this author as being as good as all the other ones that i know in this list then i am sure theyre very good and to my followers who might find this of interest? heres a person to look at. esp if you said their worldbuilding is good, i love fun worldbuilding

Beans_McGee i have read these fics actually theyre fun. i def recommend ppl give the angel teeth series a shot, tho its been a while since i read them so i cant remember specifics anymore

Spice_ghouls ive seen these fics but i havent read them, ill have to check them out!!

Inallthingsgoodorbad i have NOT seen these fics but scrollling thru they look really interesting! i like superhero aus well enough so thats no deterrent, and the snippets of writing used in the summaries on here sound very neat indeed

Dreamdx OH YES. I KNOW THEM. LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR... SO SHIT HAS HIT THE FAN... SO MANY GOOD FICS IN HERE. really nice writing style and really honest and compassionate look at a lot of characters, esp the latter fic's handling of The Fireworks Duo Issues And Problems. its rlly interesting and thoughtful

Fensandmarshes this dude has 400 works. thats insane?? kudos to this author jesus. i dont know if i knew any of their work bc thats So Much to look thru but ill def check this dude out

H_mellohi i trust h with my life. h if you see this i trust you with my life. i love love Love red eggs and ham but i also have read and liked more of their fics but i really need to go back and check out Even More i think

findingkairos. findingkairos

heres a link to that anonymously published fic you mentioned. honestly seems incredibly entertaining as a premise. i dunno i'd personally want to read it but it sounds like an objectively good read

also i want to add to your list, if you dont mind... acuteroses, who ive liked quite a few fics from!

thank you so much or this list!! of the authors of yours i have read, you have fantastic taste

#oink asks #anonymous #lew library

[alazyparallelworld]

httyd2 thoughts | watched same day, aug 12th 

it is, honest to god, stunning how much of a nothingburger this movie is

prior to watching this, minutes before, i relayed what i knew thru online osmosis - “uh, hiccup’s mom is alive? his dad dies. toothless gets this ‘alpha’ superpower and gets blue scales. there’s a big, mean, mind controlling dragon - oh, and there’s a dude controlling it too.” 

and he was like, mm, yeah, you get the gist, and i was like ah OK cool. 

but you know - even if you kind of, nail down the, specifics and importances of content - a movie/show/book/game you kind of expect there to be... more? for the thing to contain more than just the major connector-connecting threads.

uh!

no!

not really! nope! not at all! at least not here!

im sure in some chronically online defense, this is my own fault - for one thing, I KNEW, the aforementioned. sure i did not know how it went down. i did not know about hiccup’s dad being burnt alive, i didn’t know the Big Bad Dragon killed the Little Nice Dragon in order to gain mindfuck powers - but! i got the gist! i had been spoiled, rotten, i had my HOPES UP....  

and you know at the time this movie was released, ‘14, there wasn’t some internet drought thing going on. people talked and thus inadvertently spoiled “the gist” for the rest of us - coming into, new media, without expectation is impossible. it’s a fantasy. we all judge the book by its cover. through, watching the first film alone, i had expectations for its sequel! 

and mm yeah it did not, deliver, on anything. like i genuinely cannot think, at the moment, of any other piece of media that’s just... unabashedly disregarded any and all concern for: cohesive, interesting narrative, nuance, etc... 

now all of this gets the impression of: sequel bad everyone online is wrong, except,

i’m not.... mad. or disappointed. i am confused. i feel like i side-stepped into an alternate universe, reading all of these praises and recalling people who enjoyed this movie, in a, “WOW, IT’S SO DEEP,” it evokes emotions, etc

this is a really good popcorn movie. i fucked up, post-intro, into the scene with hiccup and toothless flying, searching for a new land- by asking, “so, wait, what was the point of that? that scene [ the dragon race ] was really long for a parallel referencing the first’s beginning tone. so it’ll be building up to something, right...?”

unfortunately i broke the silent rule, the singular guideline, of this movie: do not question anything 

this movie had answers.... to absolutely none of my questions. hey, did you ever wonder how hiccup’s parents interacted? well here’s a song! oh, and they dance during it too! and his mom’s a shit cook! so on and so forth...

it is just this - overly long, miserable trek of EXPOSITION that at some ambiguous point becomes lore dropping. but this - here we are, telling the story to you - stuff continues for so much of the runtime, it never feels like the movie’s... moving. it’s still the scenery stage, establishing motivations, over an hour-and-twenty minutes into this movie 

like, goddamn! i should already be invested! YOU, HAD, AN ENTIRE OTHER SEVERAL HOURS TO INVEST ME - THE FIRST MOVIE! I DO CARE ABOUT HICCUP AND TOOTHLESS - and sure, his mom, what’s up with that, that’s exciting! but, we, the audience, ARE HICCUP - watching mom gush over her dragons and her friendship [while also going off on some WE WERE BORN DIFFERENT (BETTER) SWEETIE bullshit, that never gets addressed lol?] and she notices him almost by accident. the touch is sweet, we do see this moment of, oh.... right, my son... he, he is here too.. that’s good! 

then it just - okay, here’s dad, LOOK AT THEM AWWW

and hiccup does not know fuck all about this woman. but because we need to see their love for e/o [as it was invisible prior to this, besides the breastplate gag in movie 1] it has to be done. it’s nothing! it’s... nothing! there is nothing to be said, once you ask questions, because it is not prepared to answer you!

you are supposed to... sit there, and watch, and long, long, LONG into this trek of anti-storytelling does the climax happen - WHICH IS INTERRUPTED, BY OH NO! DAD’S DEATH... and hiccup’s VA, my god, the customer service, “we’re out of bbq sauce,” tone in which he carries, “i’m sorrry dad,” - 

that was it, i think, really. i tried to keep taking this movie seriously, afterwards, but i think that monotone goodbye to a SELFLESS [?????????] chief did me in. that was the knife - and the stupid, stupid, last-minute asspull with the baby dragons that doubles as a ha-ha isn’t that funny moment, and sheep pinball was the knife twisting

sheep pinball 

there is - nothing, to be said, here - this movie is not teaching your kids to “think for themselves,” because - hiccup is wrong! both of his parents are right! drago can’t be reasoned with! THERE IS NO NUANCE HERE! NO MORAL! it’s a movie to eat popcorn to, sip soda, and talk about how cool the designs were and awh man isn’t his mom AWESOME and oh no i cried when his dad died -

rather than 

idk

anything of substance, beyond the food in your stomach. 

#i ramble ★ #2022 august

[earlyspringtranscendence]

corin pushing past his own comfort zone to allow patrick the comfort of touch during a deeply traumatic time for p like literally im so fragile right now i can’t even begin to explain all of what’s going thru my mind. but i will.

like i think the biggest reason this mental image is so important to me is that andrew rowe’s writing with patrick (and mara tbh) has always held so much nuance & tenderness, like here’s this golden retriever type of boy who holds so much love and positivity in his heart, here’s this little nerd who loves the world he lives in & loves his friends so much theyre family (again, same goes for mara who im p sure was the one who said she needed family time while they were discussing blackstone banditry but it could very well have been sera which is still a win for me bc all these characters are so fantastic*) & he would do ANYTHING for coring — remember him being the first person to stand up to magnus for corin ?? remember corin being hit & his first thoughts are thank fuck patrick saw this? cause i dont think he’d have felt that way if it were anyone else, not even mara or sera or even derek or keras (though derek & keras ymmv bc they are still adults in this situation so theyd be far more likely to be able to do anything, but still theres the shame of it which i think would be more pronounced w them than it is w patrick bc he’s just such an unbelievably kind hearted character)

he doesn’t have the same sway over corin’s emotional intelligence as sera does but he still offers guidance by just being so emotionally intelligent himself, and anyway these are all his perfect traits but then not only that he’s also vulnerable (which is still a perfect trait but you get what i mean) and its not the first time he gets to be vulnerable but for the tables to have turned so severely that now its corin who has to be the brave, kindhearted one.... when patrick gets to be fr scared and hurt and young it’s by far one of the best parts of the books that happens outside of the story, because theyre ALL like that, bc in silence of unworthy gods im pretty sure theyre still only 18 (and you can tell the difference btwn an 18yr old who grew up in an awful family, an 18 yr old who grew up practically without a full family/her current family, an 18 yr old who had the best family but other circumstances denied her certain privileges and an 18 yr old whose home life idk jackshit about but i feel like it was probably pretty good bc a) how could u not adore patrick and b) well he came out bright as sunshine so you know, but anyway theres nuances in their maturity and patrick is by far the youngest but theyre ALL young & scared & inexperienced & going through far too much... i mean like read wobm keras is 21 in that im p sure and like ok yes he does go through a whole thing in book 1 fighting gods or whatever (overachiever) but his actual training is a piece of cake in comparison to what these guys go through)

anyway idk where that was going so nvm but its not only corin, it’s keras who .. ok to be honest i havent read more than the first book in 6ss which i need to get to bc i feel like im missing some context lately but keras clearly is in a very bad very stressed out place right now & mara telling him he needs to fucking COOL IT &&&& all of this being done through the medium of touch, which is such a taboo topic in AA because its from corin’s perspective and corin is you know. traumatised to hell and back.

its fucking magnificent. andrew rowe is so fucking good, not just for his worldbuilding but for his characters and his KINDNESS towards them, UGH !

* i was gonna go in depth on that but this is long enough so lemme just say im also loving sheridan this book i mean i loved them before but now that theyre like a more established type of love interest (.. sorta ??) it just makes me giggle bc there is no one for coring to end up with without me adoring the shit out of it. jin? im so down. cecily? i feel like itd be a little sad & they need to build to it but i LOVE cecily so sure !!! sheridan? literally i’d scream itd be so funny and SO good, LUTE ??? i mean. no ones even hinting at that happening but yes 100% yes.

plus i feel like corin has a crush on keras in that ‘thisman is 26 and beautiful & knows so much’ kind of way. anyway. AH !!! 

#plus i will not ever get over the very first scene in this book being keras finally standing up to magnus #& frankly i'll never get over teft offering to duel corin #then again ive always loved teft for his fruity ways #but fr there is not a single character in these books that you cant adore #even the evil guys like. other than magnus i could even love children of the tyrant (source: jonan) #recently read

[sonadink]

As a veteran Sonic fan that’s been around the drive-thru a few times, it is so refreshing to see how all the different and nuanced ways the fandom treats the characters now compared to when I first joined. Idk if that’s because we’re all older and hopefully have wisdom teeth, idk if maybe I just wasn’t around the correct group of people online (it just didn’t seem that big back on deviantart/fanfiction.net??? and i was active for YEARS mind you and had a decent following) but now it is SO COOL like! look:

Trans Sonic???? Trans Amy??? Trans Shadow??? SO MANY TRANS- WHY DIDNT I THINK OF THAT??? WITH THE SCARS AND EVERYTHING

The exploration of Sonic’s trauma in general///TONS of Fleetaway Sonic/Dark Sonic which yes, it was a thing and there were the few that did but I had never seen it explored tHIS muCH in the fandom where like--I’m seeing my mans going apeshit in fanwork daily 

Shadow FINALLY being more recognized as the short-ass, tiny-ass, elf-ass, munchkin-ass, petite-ass king that he is i swEAr I was one of the few who headcannoned him being shorter than Sonic back then 

Also the flexibility with Shadow’s character and that he is no longer just the emo/edgelord?? overly dominant/aggressive lover???of the group???  he is just simply a fluffy Dumb of Ass Alien Freak™ creature who smells like a natural Sleep Aid and raws coffee beans 

In fact, seeing Shadow’s alien biology explored more outside of the naughty parts of fandom has been very fun and interesting to see and you all are very creative 

Rouge!! Being!!! the babysitter/mom!!! of the group!! because she is one of the oldest!! and most empathetic of all the characters!! 

The Exposure of Miles Prower as the manipulative and borderline *dr.eggman voice* we aren’t that different you and i little son of a biscotti that he is

Blazamy just. getting all the flowers. It existed then, yes of course but I see it more nowadays and it’s what we deserve

Tikal just. Swole as hell. What a beautiful concept. 

I’m sure there is more I’m missing but that’s just what I first noticed when I hopped back into the pool recently. And it’s a very different, very comfortable and fun pool now too

#sonadink #plz share your thoughts on this!! #i had fun back then too but it was a lot more #uhhhh constraining in a way? #everyone sort of had a very specific idea on say what was an Acceptable version of sonic or shadow for example #and if you were outside of the box you tended to get overlooked completely #dont get me started on the sonadow stuff #whew doggy #sonic the hedgehog #sonic #sonic fanart #sonic art #shadow the hedgehog #rouge the bat #tails the fox #amy rose #blaze the cat #sonadow

[actualbird]

Happy birthday, Zak! I hope you had a great day! I only realised just how late it is now dgdkgfg the day's almost over. I wasn't expecting a new chapter of shovel talk fic to come today, but I'm not complaining!

Starting strong with the angst I see. It would've been more surprising if Giann didn't end up with PTSD after all the shit he's been through. And unfortunately PTSD doesn't really care if you've returned to safety or not.

I cannot believe Luke would rather a vase be thrown at him than Vyn's muffins. How good are these muffins???? I wanna try one...

I love Luke's idea of improving security being turn a formerly-normal room into something fit for a top quality near-unbreakable secret base. The tranquiliser dart in particular got me. Luke this is a hospital room cgxgjdgj

I see Giann has realised the duality of Luke now. It really is such an interesting aspect of him.

I really wonder how long the title Luke calls Giann would get if he didn't tell Luke to relax. My mind is just conjuring comically long titles that take nearly a full minute to finish.

Oh, nice Lost Gold reference! Extremely cute scenario too, of course Marius would do that. Man, Luke thinking about Marius' hands being important since he's an artist makes me melt a little. It's only a few moments before Luke realised he was in love, but he's still thinking about the little things like that. I don't know, it's just nice.

When I read this I did not expect to get smacked in the face with character traits that resonate with me xjgckhc but I really feel Luke on this one. Asking for help is so damn difficult, how do people do it?

FGKDIFGOC LUKE NOOO GIANN'S HAD ENOUGH FROM VYN AHAHAH!!! At this point I just anticipate the jokes, I can't wait to see how Artem shoots himself in the foot too. Poor Giann, the vagueness of all the jokes honestly probably makes it worse.

As always, I loved this chapter and by extension the character analysis that comes with this fic. There's something about seeing character analysis in the form of a fic that hits different from a regular one, though both are excellent and I'll gladly read any character analysis. Again, happy birthday and thank you so much for this chapter! I look forward to seeing what happens next! On an unrelated note, would you prefer I send fic comments on Tumblr or ao3 in the future? Now that I've sent a few on ao3 I've found that I don't mind either platform, so I'm fine with whichever you're more comfortable with!

🌌

MILKYYYWAAYYYYYY :DDDDDDD!!! nice to see u again!!! i say this as if i havent been constantly rereading ur recent comments on ao3 while the ask was closed, but still sjfgsvdj

thank u for the bday wishes! and thank you for reading ch3 of "standard operating procedure (x4 speedrun)" ヽ(´∇｀)ﾉ

i was super excited about this chapter and quite happy w how it turned out so hrHGRHHH THIS COMMENT!! AN ABSOLUTE TREAT FOR MY SOUL!!!!

in order:

making characters go "no! my brain having trauma responses/mental health issues doesnt make sense! so i simply will not look at it! because TOTALLY a sensible reaction" is my guilty catharsis pleasure in fic jahsvkfhjasvkfa

luke Values Good Snacks!!! and vyn's muffins are the GOODEST. i didnt mention what kind of muffins they were in the fic, but post-fic-humously, i decree them as pistachio w choco chips. not overwhelmingly sweet and the nuts add a rlly nice texture that adds more nuance to the total muffin mouthfeel experience

i adore luke so much but YEA HES SO ?????? like, i think we, as the audience, r desensitized cuz we've been w him for so long. but i rmr when i first played thru That Scene in perso story 2 and Those Scenes in lost gold, i was like HOLY......FUCK.......WHAT?? tried my best to channel tht into giann

and also didnt have to try at all to make luke a hopeless bumbling rambler. just occurred to me that among the boys, i make luke and artem the bumbling ramblers, but luke is the one who goes into long loooong kilometric run-on sentences and loses track of what he originally says, meanwhile artem starts sentences. stops them. starts another. Oh God, Hes Fucking Up, Isnt He? He's GETTING A BAD GRADE AT TALKING!!!

the whole "marius fucks up chopping wood" during lost gold scenario was actually a fic idea i wanted to fully write waaaaaayyy back when lost gold was still running!! i never got around to it, but im glad i was able to use it here. it was wholly bcuz that whole resource collection thing put marius as 2nd most proficient at collecting wood and i read that to mean as "oh his pre-installed inferiority complex aint gonna do so well w that! lemme make it tender romantic" dgjhdvgks

luke: it's hard to ask for help me, the person writing this and making him say that: damn me too

tho jhvkJGVJH while that was 50% projecting (IT'S FUN IT'S FREE ) it is just another one of luke's many quirks in canon that make me wanna strangle him and hug him. so much of his lying is cuz hes scared, he doesnt wanna ask for help, he wants to keep ppl happy by keeping his bright and invincible sunshine boy image untarnished by things like fear and guilt and sadness. but hes trying to be better in spite of all of those, and that matters. and giann, right now, needs to see admitting pain matters

on the "sir" joke: luke, if giann hadnt stopped his nervous ramble, wouldve totally accidentally let it slip that it actually is a sex thing. tho his answer as it is in the fic is vague enough to NOT be construed like that, but alas, giann got his mind primed by vyn. so now giann is hypervigilant over anything that can be even ADJACENT-LY a sex reference. thanks a lot VYN....

deadass, this fic didnt start out w me wanting to make each chapter a mini-analysis microcosm of issues of respective-nxx-polycule-member contrasted w giann's own worries and anxieties, but then it just started happening and i went w the flow. and im glad i did! it's a lot of fun :DDD

and as for where to comment, i dont mind whether it's ao3 or here either!! ive started tagging comments i get via asks so i dont lose them, so whichever channel strikes ur fancy is no problem for me :D

all in all, hhGHGRHRGHH, THANK U SO MUCH FOR THIS LOVELY COMMENT!!!!! im rlly glad u enjoyed this chapter huhu 🥺

#milkyway!anon #asks #commints #i run off to have breakfast now hehe

[drwcn]

Hi! I hope you are doing okay with all the discourse going around. Im white and raised in a very white society so i will never have a say in it, but i was wondering, is there any way i can educate myself more in asian/chinese culture? Im aware i consume content thru western lens and because of that i dont really get all the nuances of the shows, but i would like to have at least some backround. Im guessing just watching the shows doesnt give enough of that, can you maybe reccommend some blogs or books to check out? (If you dont thats totally fine and im sorry if i said anything offensive)

Hey friend! Not offensive at all, no worries. Honestly, I’m not too sure. I think just keeping an open mind about things is a really good start. I’m not really sure which blogs to recommend but if I could recommend some dramas? Since it’s probably easier to watch a show then read a book?

《The Story of Minglan》 is a good one to sort of parse out the intricacy of historical Chinese society in the Song Dynasty, keeping in mind that different dynasties have different practices, so even amongst different time periods there were differences. 《The Story of Yanxi Palace》 is another good one for Qing Dynasty (circa 1740s) if you wanna get into imperial harem stuff. (Or you can watch 《甄嬛传》 or 《如懿传》 for harem stuff. I just think The Story of Yanxi Palace is the most palatable, most aesthetic, and most fun out of the three. The other two are kinda tragic?) There are other dramas but I feel they’re not as... accessible?

Chinese historical dramas come in 3 flavours: serious dramas, idol dramas, and those that ride the fence. What I mean by idol drama is...everyone in it is young and hot and the writing is eh and the acting is eh. More often then not there’s a lot of modern elements to it. The Untamed is so popular because it’s idol drama done really well.  (xianxia and wuxia genre used to be more quality when I was a kid, but now they’re kind of ehhhh.) I would say Minglan and Yanxi are both successful because they ride the fence. 

On the other hand, serious historical drama has A LOT of politics and can be quite dry especially if you’re watching it through half-assed subtitles. The actors typically are more seasoned, older. People jokingly say that idol drama is what mom watches and serious drama is what dad watches, and honestly given my parents’ tv habits...it’s pretty accurate 😂.

Some really well known ones from the past 20 years are: 

The 《铁齿铜牙纪晓岚》 series 1-4. I would only recommend part 1-2, 3-4 are not as great. This one has quite a bit of humour but it might fly over your head a bit because of the language barrier. The story surrounds a well known government official and scholar named Ji Xiaolan  纪晓岚, his frenemy and colleague the (EXTREMELY corrupt) prime minister He Shen, and the Emperor Qianlong. For better or worse these three are depicted as both liege and subjects as well as friends. Trying to see Ji Xiaolan and He Shen one up each other while Qianlong tries to balance his court and rule the country is quite interesting. I won’t pretend this is an easy series to follow, but it’s actually quite fun. 

《汉武大帝》 - is about Hanwu Emperor of the Han Dynasty circa 150 BC? He’s one of the most famous emperors of distant history. It’s basically about the course of his life and the many people that featured in it. 

《大明王朝 》- my memories of this one is very vague, but it is about the Ming Dynasty (the dynasty before the Qing Dynasty c. 1500,1600.) 

《The Advisors Alliance 军事联盟》-  2017 two-part television series based on the life of Sima Yi, a government official and military general who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. circa 150 AD. 

As a side note, a lot of serious dramas for a while now have been focused on the Qing Dynasty, just because it’s the last imperial dynasty before Imperial China fell into decline, WWI and WWII ravaged the country and communism happened. Even a lot of idol drama are about the Qing Dynasty (I feel like I should do a post about this, just to string things together haha). 

So for the Qing Dynasty, because they are Manchurian, their last name is Aisin Gioro or in Chinese Aixin Jueluo 爱新觉罗. Their earlier emperors are much more well known than their later ones and have been the focus of MANY dramas. (You’ll notice their names in the beginning spell very different than the Chinese names you’re used to, but once they take over China, the emperors’ names start to become more and more mainland Chinese and less and less Manchurian.) 

Nu’er Hachi 努尔哈赤/ Nurhaci - The granddaddy of Qing Dynasty, but was never officially Emperor of China during his life time. 

Huang Taiji 皇太极 - Nurhaci’s oldest son. He led the campaign against the Ming Dynasty but died before the campaign was over 

Fulin 福林, Emperor Shunzhi 顺治 - Huang Taiji’s 9th son. He is the real first Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. His uncle Duo’Ergun 多尔衮/ Dorgon was his regent as well as his commander-in-chief. Dorgon was the one who won the war against the Ming Dynasty and instated his nephew as the Emperor. Fulin was 6 years old when this happened, and now you may wonder why the fuck is that? It’s because Fulin’s mother, Huang Taijii’s widowed concubine Consort Zhuang (name: pu’erji-jite bumubutai  (pinyin) 博爾濟吉特 布木布泰/ Bumbutai Borjigit, Da-Yu’er 大玉儿) remarried her brother-in-law Dorgon. Whether Bumbutai and Dorgon were actually in love is....contestable. Certainly one of my favourite serious dramas that depict this part of history is《大青风云》. 

Xuanye 玄燁, Emperor Kangxi 康熙 - Fulin’s third son. Very famous. Very long reign. Serious drama associated 《康熙微服私访记》， 《康熙王朝》

Yinzhen 胤禛, Emperor Yongzheng 雍正 - Xuanye's 4th son. His reign was highly contested because some ppl believed he forged the succession document. It’s probably not true. He was an efficient emperor but very austere, very severe. Not well liked. The best serious drama about him is probably 《雍正王朝》and the aforementioned《甄嬛传》. The former is 100% politics and a fictional re-telling of historical events whereas the latter is 100% harem drama and 100% made up. 《步步惊心》is an idol drama about a girl who transmigrated back to this time and fell in love with Yinzhen. Lol. 

Hongli 弘历, Emperor Qianlong 乾隆 - Yinzhen’s 4th son. I think he’s the longest living/reigning emperor of Chinese history. SOOOOO many dramas were made about him or set in his reign. Of the serious drama category:  《铁齿铜牙纪晓岚》 that I mentioned earlier is really good. There are others but I won’t name them here.  《如懿传》 is a serious drama about his harem, but really terrible? I really didn’t like it (just my personal view). Incidentally it was released around the same time as《The Story of Yanxi Palace 延禧攻略》which is also about his harem and MUCH better in my opinion, because the actor for Hongli in Yanxi is much better skills-wise. 《还珠格格》was the OG idol drama about Hongli’s children. I gave a brief synopsis about it here. It was made in the 90s but damn...so nostalgic. 

There’s many more emperors after him, but they’re not as important. 

Okay yeah, so I’m not sure if any of this is really helpful, but definitely watching serious drama gives you much better context and understanding of Chinese culture than idol drama. I mean when the drama has flying and magic...the historical relevance sort of falls to the side. 🤣

ADDENDUM: I made a typo earlier. Fulin is Huang Taiji’s 9th son, not Nurhaci’s son. Also Abahai is Huang Taijii’s mother’s name (wikipedia lied to me on this one XD). 

#culture #Anonymous #corie replies #recs

[feralphoenix]

SONGS OF RESISTANCE: The View Myla Grants Us Of Hallownest’s Moths

hello again hollow knight fandom, i am back with my picante takes and ready to discuss two things i love: myla hollowknight and the moth tribe! Let Us Be Sad About Them Together.

as with my previous essay i’m going to be putting this fellow up on dreamwidth later for accessibility purposes since my layout text may be too small for high-res pc users. this time i’ll be attaching that in a reblog to avoid this post getting eaten by the dread tungle algorithms.

CONTENT WARNINGS FOR TONIGHT’S PROGRAM: This essay discusses colonialism and genocide both in real life and the fictional depictions in Hollow Knight, as well as racism in the zombie horror genre and in fandom.

ALSO: if youre from a christian cultural upbringing (whether currently practicing, agnostic/secular, or atheist now), understand that some of what i’m discussing here may challenge you. if thinking thru the implications of this particular part of hollow knight worldbuilding/lore is distressing for you, PLEASE only approach this essay when youre in a safe mindset & open to listening, and ask the help of a therapist or anti-racism teacher/mentor to help you process your thoughts & feelings. just like keep in mind that youre listening to an ethnoreligiously marginalized person and please be respectful here or wherever else youre discussing this dang essay

SONGS OF RESISTANCE: THE VIEW MYLA GRANTS US OF HALLOWNEST’S MOTHS

In this house we are all love Myla.

Well, in all fairness, there are probably plenty of Hollow Knight fans who aren’t interested in her character, since which fictional characters one attaches to is always a matter of personal preference. But she’s still well-loved for a minor NPC and inspires a high level of devotion in her fans. There’s nothing that whips folks into a frenzy like a cute character you can’t do anything to help, and unlike some other characters in Hollow Knight Myla’s fate leaves no room for ambiguity. Once you pick up the Crystal Heart you’re left with only two choices: Avoid her, or kill her.

A lot of Hollow Knight’s world is designed to make you care about it so that it will hurt more when Ghost’s violent skillset proves too limited to save something or someone. The consequences of Hallownest’s founding and policies have directly or indirectly caused a great deal of damage to everything, and chief among those consequences with massive damage and a wide splash range is the Infection. Much has been said elsewhere by other people about Hollow Knight’s predominating mood being a struggle against futility, with Ghost arriving at the eleventh hour and every new tragedy designed to make the player more desperate to find something actionable, only finding out by trial and error what’s beyond your personal ability to save.

Myla, in that sense, is a typical example of that worldbuilding. She’s a particular kind of stock character in the zombie horror genre, the innocent who falls victim to the plague and cannot be saved, wrenching audience hearts and demonstrating the stakes.

But Hollow Knight plays with the trappings of zombie horror in a very unusual way, one I find thematically fascinating.

For a quick overview, the “zombie” as we know it in popular culture is an appropriation of a voudou (the Black American spiritual practice) concept that deals with the fear of slavery killing one’s spirit. (People more versed in/with roots in voudou culture can give a much more comprehensive overview than this simplistic one.)

The zombie horror genre, especially in Western media, is part of the great white fragility stock plot trifecta (the other two being alien invasions and robot uprisings). Zombie horror in particular expresses white fears that marginalized ethnic groups will rise up violently in revenge for their mistreatment and destroy white society. The fear of “that which is human, which ‘humanity’ is not” (to borrow mecha visual novel Heaven Will Be Mine’s pithy term) and the extreme levels of violence towards human-but-not bodies typical of zombie horror are often an expression of such bigotries. This is, again, a subject that’s been discussed in greater depth and with more nuance elsewhere.

But what Hollow Knight does is take the ugly metaphors and it makes them literal, makes it harder to ignore the toxic subtext of the genre. The Infection is literally a native god’s revenge on the settlers who committed genocide* against her people. How the Pale King’s colonization of the crater negatively affected the preexisting groups of bugs underpins every level of the worldbuilding, as does Hallownest’s cruelty towards its neighbors.

Hollow Knight is a game that is about the tragedy of Western imperialism. It is one of the work’s central themes. There are a lot of conversations that need to be had about the ways these themes manifest and, on a real-world level, about fandom’s predisposition to avoid the subject.

But, for now, let’s get back to Myla. If she fits such a stock zombie horror archetype, and Hollow Knight uses zombie horror tropes to underline the conversation it attempts to have about colonialism, then what has Myla got to teach us about the overall worldbuilding?

There's two topics I’d like to broach here: First we’ll get into how the circumstances of Myla’s infection fit in to the implied role of Crystal Peak in pre-Hallownest society. Then let’s take a long look at the lyrics of Myla’s song and what it implies.

MYLA, THE CRYSTALS, AND THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

If you think about it, Myla is an interesting outlier compared to the other NPCs we encounter on the verge of succumbing to the Infection. Both Bretta and Sly are unhappy: Bretta is a lonely, anxious bundle of abandonment issues yearning for someone to sweep her off her feet; Sly misses his pupils and loved ones who’ve left him in death (we never learn who Esmy is or what they were to Sly, but we sure can tell they’re not around anymore). The temptation to dream away those sadnesses seems to play a part in their vulnerability to the Infection, and also why Ghost’s interruption brings them back to reality.

Not so Myla. She appears to be blissfully unaware of her fellow miners’ fate, and most of her dialogue prior to her infection (besides the song - we’ll get to that later) is about how much fun she’s having at her job and how much she enjoys Ghost’s occasional company.

Yet she still winds up infected when Ghost’s back is turned. Why?

Not to discard the possibility that Myla’s got her own issues too, but in her case there seems to be another likely cause at hand: The crystals. If hit with the Dream Nail before infected, she mentions that she can hear them “singing” and “whispering”.

Under the The Hunter’s Hot Takes section of the Hunter’s Journal entries on various Crystal Peak enemies, we can learn more about the crystals - particularly in the entries for the Husk Miner and Crystallized Husk.

Crystal Peak’s crystals were thought of as particularly precious in Hallownest and harvested en masse for use in luxury items and the like. To do so, the mining operation was set up throughout most of the mountain, though the area around its peak still remains largely untouched. However, there’s more to the crystals than just that. Like Myla, the Hunter notes that the crystals can be heard to sing very very softly if one listens closely enough.

Perhaps of even more interest than that is this particular comment he gives us, from the Crystallized Husk journal entry: “There is some strange power hidden in the crystals that grow up there in the peaks. They gleam and glow in the darkness, a bright point of searing heat in each one.”

I don’t think it’s a particularly revolutionary idea to point out that there’s some connection between the crystals and Radiance’s power; this is something many players have intuited just based on Myla’s dialogue. But, in order to understand what Myla is demonstrating about the game’s world I think it’s important to think about what that connection is.

Speaking of which, the local Whispering Root has two important clues for us: The phrases “light refracted” and “energy contained”.

The very top of Crystal Peak is one of the only places in the crater where the moths’ architecture has escaped Hallownest destroying it, and is the only place in the entire game setting where their religious iconography remains fully intact. There are stone monuments covered in their language (which has been destroyed with the rest of their culture) and the statue of the Radiance - this is easier to see in the Wanderer’s Journal tie-in book, but the huge stone arches upon the Crown represent Radi’s halo and its rays and encircle her when viewed head-on or from a distance instead of the side view we get in the game.

The crystals grown here were used by the moths to store and cultivate Radiance’s light. It’s impossible to know what sort of architecture/infrastructure existed inside the mountain before Hallownest stole it from the moths. But between the massive scope of her statue and all the texts at the Crown, and the fact that the moths were working with their literal actual god’s freely given power here, it can be safely asserted that Crystal Peak was a holy ground to them.

Hallownest didn’t care about the mind-boggling level of spiritual significance Crystal Peak must have had to the natives, though. To the Pale King and his people, the crystals are just a natural resource to be harvested for personal profit.

This is unfortunately a conflict that still plays out in colonized countries today. If you’re American, #NoDAPL probably comes to mind; Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are filled with these sorts of horror stories too. Settler disrespect for indigenous sacred grounds is a huge problem that needs addressing. If you’re looking at the story of Crystal Peak and thinking it’s very on-the-nose... maybe it needs to be.

Anyway, Myla is nowhere near as miserable as Bretta or Sly, but she still notices that something’s up with these crystals. She hears the voice coming from inside, and she’s curious, and she tries very very hard to listen to it... so she DOES end up hearing Radiance’s voice. Radiance’s real voice, not the songs and whispers inside the crystals: The voice of a frightened, angry, grieving god who knows there’s a new vessel running around in Hallownest, and doesn’t want any part of that. A voice that’s pleading for someone, anyone to kill this dangerous creature, and save her from the threat Ghost poses.

Between how freaked out Radi is to know Ghost is poking around, the tendency we see in her boss battles for her to panic and kneejerk blast things at full volume/vibrance when she’s panicking, and the way her dream broadcast seems to be only a one-way communication line while she’s in the Black Egg... naturally this spells disaster for poor Myla.

Similar to the Moss Prophet, this small tragedy is a demonstration of the eleventh-hour state the conflict is in: The Pale King has escalated this situation so far, and Radiance is so traumatized and isolated, that bystanders who might in a kinder timeline have become Radi’s allies instead get caught up in her AOE. Myla’s definitely not as aware of the overall situation as the Moss Prophet, since she’s a Hallownest bug and not an indigenous one the way they are. But she noticed things were not as they seemed, and she was curious. Who knows what new possibilities could have opened up, if Radiance was able to truly communicate with bugs in the outside world?

Small side note before we move on, but I’ve noticed a tendency among some folks who notice the missed connections to come down extra hard on Radiance and chalk Myla’s infection/Moss Prophet’s death down to deliberate cruelty on her part. I’d like to gently push back against this.

Living in a post-colonial world we all absorb some level of prejudice from our surroundings, and it’s important to take a look at our first assumptions about people (or, in this case, fictional characters lol) to examine whether these prejudices we’ve inherited have influenced those assumptions.

So, if your first instinct is to look at this situation and say the problem is that Radiance is being too harsh and too angry where she should have stepped back and softened her emotions for others’ benefit to gently persuade them to her side... Please think about how when people of color and non-Christians express anger or hurt at our treatment, or even so much as calmly assert our boundaries, white/Christian viewers often view us as much more aggressive and threatening than we actually are. The “angry black woman” trope is a good example of this stereotype. You may want to look up the HuffPost article “Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism” and its discussion of white fragility to further understand this phenomenon.

It is absolutely essential to remember the complex power dynamics in play in Hollow Knight and that the Pale King deliberately imprisoned Radiance (who had at this point already gone through an extreme amount of trauma) in a way that would compromise her ability to communicate with others. If you can extend compassion to characters like Ghost or the Pale King and empathize with their motives/feelings when their actions cause harm, but you are not willing to do the same with Radiance... it’s important to sit down with yourself and examine why that is.

THE MEANING BEHIND MYLA’S SONG

Okay, let’s switch gears and take a look at the lyrics to the song Myla sings, since it’s got some interesting things to tell us too.

The first verse, which you can hear from Myla the first time you meet her/before you acquire Vengeful Spirit, goes:

Bury my mother, pale and slight Bury my father with his eyes shut tight Bury my sisters, two by two, And then when you’re done, let's bury me too

There’s not much particularly story-related going on here except foreshadowing that Myla may in fact wind up dying. Most of what we get here is that a) this is a song about burying the dead and b) it’s morbid as fuck.

Curious, a new player might think of the mention of burying the dead; there are a lot of corpses just lyin’ around all over the ground - something that might lead one to believe Hallownest didn’t have such a custom. Later players will discover the Resting Grounds, confirming Hallownest did bury its dead... and that the gravekeepers are all dead too.

Let’s look at the second verse, which Myla remembers and will sing after you pick up Vengeful Spirit:

Bury the knight with her broken nail, Bury the lady, lovely and pale Bury the priest in his tattered gown, Then bury the beggar with his shining crown

This right here is where it gets interesting. The first verse describes the singer’s family as dead or dying, but the people we’re burying now sure do have some parallels to Hallownest's ruling body, don’t they?

Among Hallownest’s Great Knights, three of them - Dryya, Isma, and Ze’mer - were women. They are also very dead or might as well be: Dryya was killed by Traitor Lord’s resistance, Isma is a tree spreading acid through the kingdom’s waters to cut off access to the City of Tears, and Ze’mer hung up her nail after her mantis girlfriend’s death and only lingers on as a revenant.

While there aren’t any characters who are described in-text as “priests” in Hallownest, the idea of a tattered gown might bring Lurien the Watcher to mind, or perhaps the Soul Sanctum’s magicians before they went rogue.

The lovely, pale lady in the song can only refer to the White Lady, Hallownest’s queen. And there’s only one man in the game who has a shining crown: The Pale King. The lyrics are particularly derisive towards him in a way they aren’t to any of the other figures listed, too.

So, it seems like whoever came up with this song didn’t think much of Hallownest. With that in mind it’s hard to think that it originated from any sort of faction loyal to the king.

We’re missing a line from the third verse, which Myla sings after you’ve beaten Soul Master and she’s beginning to become infected. But what we do see of it is Huge in terms of lore:

Bury my body and cover my shell, [...] What meaning in darkness? Yet here I remain I’ll wait here forever ‘til light blooms again

So. The “protagonist” of this song’s family has died, and they expect to die as well, but even unto death they're waiting for Hallownest to fall and the light to return.

The moths became Hallownest’s gravekeepers after the Pale King forcibly assimilated them. Under the Pale King’s light, the moths forgot Radiance and most of their original culture, but Seer tells us in her final monologue that a few individuals remembered just enough to pass bits and pieces down through the generations. This secret resistance among the moths was what kept Radiance alive and prevented her from being sealed away entirely.

This song Myla sings comes from that moth resistance.

Code songs amongst oppressed ethnic groups are very much a real thing, especially when groups have to communicate or signal each other within hostile parties’ hearing. Since I’m American (and had a big ol crush on Harriet Tubman as a little kid lmao!) the first thing that came to mind for me when I made this connection was the working songs escaped Black slaves used in the Underground Railroad.

These have another point in common with the moth gravedigger song Myla sings, in that they enter the general cultural consciousness through out-group people who don’t know the true context. If you ever pick up a book of American baby songs, you’ll probably find some Underground Railroad code songs in there - often because generations ago white kids heard these songs from Black slaves or servants, and went on to sing the same songs to their children with zero awareness of what the songs were really for.

So some Hallownest bug somewhere probably heard the moths’ song and liked it and sang it in a context totally divorced from its original one, and it got spread around and passed down to become one of Myla’s old favorites, with her seemingly not realizing the meaning behind the lyrics. The moths’ song of devotion to their lost god survived them as a people.

This is some VERY realistic and layered worldbuilding. There is so much to glean from just one NPC’s dialogue when put together with other clues. Of course all of it is SAD and DEPRESSING, but Hollow Knight is a tragedy with a super unsubtle point to make about the unsustainability of Western imperialism.

What happens to Myla is awful, and upsetting, and unfair. So was what happened to the moths and their sacred ground, and to Radiance too. It’s important to understand the scope of the conflict that led to all this happening, trace it to its roots, and lay it at the feet of the ones responsible for engendering all this tragedy in the first place: Hallownest and the Pale King.

*A NOTE ABOUT MY USE OF THE TERM “GENOCIDE”

This is a tangent, but since there’s some debate about whether it’s appropriate to define the Pale King’s actions towards indigenous bug nations as genocide, allow me to cite the official definition of genocide here.

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention for short) defines genocide like this:

Genocide is any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, religious, or racial group, as such:

A) Killing members of the group

B) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group

C) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part

D) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group

E) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

Among the abovelisted, Hallownest is guilty of A (Deepnest and the moths), B (Deepnest physically/the moths vis a vis brainwashing), C (the mantis tribe and the hive), and E (the moths, which we know from Marmu, and possibly the mosskin also - Isma is mosskin).

Then there is cultural genocide, i.e. acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, religious, or racial group's way of life. Let’s look at the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP) and how it defines cultural genocide:

A) Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them of their integrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic identities

B) Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing them of their lands, territories or resources

C) Any form of population transfer which has the aim or effect of violating or undermining any of their rights

D) Any form of assimilation or integration by other cultures or ways of life imposed on them by legislative, administrative or other measures

E) Any form of propaganda directed against them

Hallownest is guilty of every item on this list. A: The moths, attempted with Deepnest. B: The moths, the mantises, the flukes, the mosskin; also attempted with Deepnest. C: The moths, the mantises, the flukes. D: The moths; attempted with the mantises and Deepnest. E: The mantises and Deepnest.

Any sort of discussion of the wide-reaching harm Radiance caused MUST include the context that the Infection is her response to multiple levels of genocide. Discussion that does not include this context loses nuance and simplifies the conflict and power dynamics portrayed in the game in ways that reflect real-life racism and Christian supersessionism.

Now, this is NOT some sort of holier than thou Fandom Purity dunk to say that it’s Bad or Wrong to care about Hallownest’s nobility. Like, one of my favorite characters in this dang game is the White Lady, who spent a long ass time enabling her husband’s actions before she finally walked out on him over the mass infanticide thing. You can, and it is okay to, love TPK and want rehabilitation for him while acknowledging that the dude has done objectively bad things.

I just feel that it’s important to keep things in perspective so that we don’t wind up stirring a bunch of real-world bigotry into our fandom funtimes. A lot of us don’t have the luxury of turning our brains off and simply Not Seeing It, because these same sorts of dynamics are behind a lot of the hardships that threaten our everyday stability.

It’s pretty hard to have conversations about those things in real life if one can’t even recognize them in fiction. So, this might be a good opportunity to start practicing anti-racism so we can better utilize that ideology in real life, where the stakes are much higher.

#hollow knight #hollow knight spoilers #hollow knight meta #myla hollow knight #the radiance #hk myla #hk radiance #essay #long post under cut -

[articianne]

ok actual post about my thoughts on s2 of the great. serious actual spoilers below

obviously I loved this season, honestly more than the first one. The parts that really kicked it up notch for me were:

no Leo. I think I liked him the most when he wasn't being a literal writer's tool for Catherine's own plot. It's fine that he was that, but I'm just glad that he was put to bed, just because now it felt like Catherine's struggles were hyper accentuated just thru herself. Elle's acting this season stood out SO MUCH (that final scene left me starstruck. I felt an actual ache in my chest at her despair) and I think it's because everything is so much more personal to Catherine now—her nation, her baby, her mother (lol), and her reluctance and denial for her love of Peter are out in the open when there isn't another focal point, i.e. Leo, in the way of that. Leo had his job in s1 and it was really well done, but there was a part of me filled with relief that he was confirmed dead and gone in ep1 this season.

PETER!!! Obviously. While Peter's depravity in s1 made him fascinating and also very hate worthy (even tho of course that would NEVER scare me off), clearly being "just the husband" has worked him wonders. His demeanor hasn't changed, not really—hes still offensive as fuck, he still does some SHIT things, but he also has more time for nuance, and growth, and things he didn't get when he was just being hurled into life as the emperor. But the difference is now the shit he does affects him and hurts him... and hurts the people he cares for too. The heart he wears on his sleeve not only beats and aches for himself, but for Catherine and Paul too (and Elizabeth). His family 😭

Now for things I liked a lot, just a little more on the side:

Loved the teacher with Orlo (she was so cute) and the little bit of exploration they had with Orlo's sexuality. I hope there's more of the teacher!

Pugachev was so fucking funny and felt very more like a traditional Nicholas Hoult character 😂

Catherine's struggle with her mother being a bit of the same as Peter's with his own

ARCHIE!!!! I really don't care about him, but I think he had a great season. I was far more interested in him as he... fell from grace? If that's the right term to use.

Elizabeth was a standout. Loved her pain, her care, and also, the fact that she's the only person who supports Peter and Catherine and wants their love to succeed.

that one scene with the clearly Muslim guy. While he was also a dick (as everyone is), I really appreciated that. It hit a little bit home—I found our Namaz set a couple of days ago while cleaning and was personally touched by this.

The outfits!!!! Oh my god!!!!

So many small scenes—Velementov and Peter going truffle hunting. When Peter goes to kill Catherine in the state room during the uprising and immediately throws the thought away when he hears her sobbing and sees her grief, instead immediately trying to make her feel better. Nearly every Orlo scene.

I could keep going but I do wanna mention some things that I wasn't quite a fan of. It didn't bother me much at all, but I think they could've been done better.

Grigor and Marial. I think this is a popular take. It seemed a bit of a random pairing, even though it's such a prominent thing in this season. I was fine with Grigor and George drifting apart, but adding Marial into the mix was... a choice. I ran with it, because whatever, it's a fucked up court anyway and Marial literally married her child cousin for inheritance reasons, so Marial and Grigor being virgins reunited or whatever was the tamest story and didn't bother me at all. Just probably should've been hinted at in s1 at some point.

I know I just said I loved basically every Orlo scene, but honestly I think Orlo got a bit shafted this season. They seemed to make more room for Peter's friends and less for Orlo. I remember more of what happened with Arkady, who was barely there in s1, than some of the other things. This tends to happen in a lot of shows, where some side characters get more time/some more side characters are introduced (the royals from Sweden LMAO) but it tends to sideline some of the more main characters. Sucks that it happened to Orlo and not to, say, Velementov or someone.

I was expecting a little more of Catherine's mother—not personality wise, but literally screen time wise. They did market her a lot in some of the spot teasers, because why wouldn't u market Gillian Anderson, but she was really only in it for two episodes. I don't blame the show for only having her in a couple of eps, though. There was a lot to cover.

and on that note, I do have to say, I'm sure there will be a lot of people screaming about Peter fucking Catherine's mom. I don't care. They explained it in the show, it doesn't change anything for me, and it's already such a messed up court that it doesn't break any show rules or anything. Elizabeth said it best in the carriage ride back with Catherine in the last episode. Absolutely not a deal breaker for me. In fact, when Peter apologized at the wedding, I felt so bad for both him and Catherine that it made me root for them more. I'm excited to see what'll happen in s3, if it theoretically is renewed (I'm sure it will be). How Catherine and Peter will approach their relationship knowing that that was what finally tipped Catherine over the edge to trying to kill Peter—as well as tipping her over the edge in acknowledging how much she loves him—I'm so eager to see where it goes.

anyway! long post!! I loved this season so much! I'm sure there are many people with their own criticisms of it, but it definitely made me giddy. 100% on board for whatever shit they wanna do in the next season!!!

#blah blah #the great #the great spoilers #spoilers

[autisticcassandracain]

black manta, since you've been reading thru his appearances and i hvan'et seen much outside movie/tv

Oh!! Him!!! Yeah something you should know is that Black Manta doesn't have consistent characterization. Like he just doesn't. There's not a single consistent thing about him except that he's an Aquaman rogue. His backstory and personality constantly change. As such, I can't really say that there's a singular way to write him 'in character', so these are mostly opinions on how I'd, personally, write him/like to see him be written. Under the cut because I really couldn't shut up on point 3 specifically, so summary:

Autism

Vengeance(TM) but like, Human

His N52 Backstory is Simply Superior

He's a Manipulative Shithead and Brilliant Tactician

He Cares for Jackson

1. Autism

To my knowledge he's still DC's only prominent autistic character! And until they get off their ass and pick another one to hit with their autism beam, they better not forget the one piece of rep they have. No I don't give a shit that it was written in a terribly ableist way, there's a new continuity, fix it!!! Give the man autism or face my wrath!!!

2. Vengeance(TM) but like, Human

I won't lie, I do very much enjoy shithead "How's the wife and kids, Arthur?" completely irredeemably evil Black Manta a little, but he's just infinitely more interesting when he's actually, you know. Human. I think the N52 and onwards has done that better than ever before (even if, again, character and backstory still fluctuate a lot). I really like Higgins' take on him in Aquaman (vol. 8); I usually don't like 'cycle of vengeance' type stories (bc I think the concept's dumb), but in this case, I think it really works, because they go out of their way to show the ways in which Manta's character has broken down due to vengeance, to the point that he has completely lost sight of why he's even taking it, but also show a nuanced portrayal of how he got there. While obviously I'd also very much love a redemption arc for him (and honestly I'm not ruling it out with the way his solo has been setting his character up so far, though I'm not assuming they're gonna go there), I still think it's entirely possible to write him as a vengeance-driven villain while still being a human and sympathetic character. By extension,

3. His N52 Backstory is Simply Superior

It just is! It's not often that the N52, let alone anything Geoff Johns wrote in the N52, does something actively better than the preboot version, but like, even a broken clock is right twice a day. Death of a Prince is an iconic storyline and for good reason, but it was also written in the early 70's by people who were just beginning to experiment with darker storylines, and it really shows. The actual way Arthur Junior (who didn't even have a name other than Aquababy of all things for the majority of this storyline) died was kinda laughable, Manta had basically no motives other than 'is evil', and Arthur's quest for vengeance got routinely interrupted by a Villain of the Week. And while the influence of the arc has been undoubtedly enormous, I don't think it's all for the best. Mera has gotten repeatedly demonized because of this arc's influence (even though in the actual story she and Arthur made up), for example. Arthur's personal grudge and drive for vengeance against Manta as a result of the arc wasn't uncompelling, necessarily, but it was always doomed to go nowhere, since it's not like they could actually let him kill Manta (partly for hero morals, partly because he'd just come back), and it made writers heavily limited in how sympathetic they could make Manta himself.

By contrast, the backstory he was given in the N52, of watching Arthur kill his father in a misdirected fit of rage, works much better for Manta. I still don't feel like I've read enough of Arthur to fully grasp his character (though by now I've fully read Aquaman volume 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8, all of 7 except Bunn's run, and half of volume 5), but since Arthur has been predominantly portrayed as a very angry person, I think it's not really out of character, provided that it's a) before his career as Aquaman and b) something he immediately shapes up and learns from (which is where I think Geoff Johns really dropped the ball).

And it's just SO MUCH MORE COMPELLING for Black Manta. It gives him an actual concrete motive to go after Aquaman (rather then the weird wishy-washy stuff they tried before), and an inherently sympathetic one at that. And the fact that Manta's quest for vengeance is doomed to go nowhere actually adds to his character's story, since it's the nature of villains to fruitlessly struggle against the heroes, and it provides a very solid foundation for an actually good 'cycle of vengeance' story.

While I have mixed feelings on Abnett's writing of Manta in vol. 8 (since it really felt like it was trying hard to move him away from the motive/character vol. 7 had developed him into, which I think was shortsighted), I REALLY love one of the first scenes with him, where he and Aquaman face off and it becomes clear that neither can kill the other and forever put an end to their useless feud, but that only Aquaman is ultimately at peace because he has moved on from the earlier, more hateful version of himself, whereas Black Manta has clung to it. It's just!!! SO much more compelling than anything regarding Death of a Prince in preboot has ever been.

4. He's a Manipulative Shithead and Brilliant Tactician

Sure, Manta can hold his own pretty well in a fight, but what actually makes him dangerous are his plans. Manta is an very smart and cunning villain who, when some thought is actually put into his writing, pretty much always has a plan. He's also extremely charismatic man with a talent for manipulation, and he frequently uses this to his advantage to win followers. While I don't like the 'fake SJW' angle for him (it should really be obvious why I think the idea of a Black man specifically using ideals of racial and social justice to manipulate other Black people into supervillainy Has Some Problems), it reinforces what I'm talking about here: that Manta is a charismatic manipulator and brilliant tactician.

5. He Cares for Jackson

I DO NOT CARE this one is ENTIRELY subjective. I simply like it better when he's shown to have like, any affection for Jackson at all. I don't necessarily mind when it's overshadowed by his need for vengeance or something, but like, the way Manta's relationship was written in the Teen Titans series as a flat antagonistic one on Manta's end was really really boring. And also I just like it when he cares about his kid. Like don't get me wrong dude's not winning any Father of the Year awards any time soon regardless of how much he cares about Jackson, it just makes me soft whenever he shows affection for him. Manta's solo having the narration being a dying letter to Jackson >>> 'I don't care about you and I'm only using you to my advantage'

#my posts #long post #black manta #infodumping

[shoechoe]

I can't stop thinking about if part 5 was set in a pharmaceutical company, like that's such an interesting take since it does fit. But I wonder what the other conflicts would be, like how LS would fit in? And wouldn't there be a lot of similar problems as to what you have w part 5? The corruption would more than likely b spread thru the entire company, and Bruno bringing ppl into a place he knows is corrupt would be the same as him bringing ppl into the Mafia? Not trying to be argumentative or anything, I'm genuinely very curious about how u would rework this!

 That is also very true. I was just throwing a concept out that I had briefly thought of, but now I want to explore it more, lol. (Although worldbuilding and creative writing is not really something I am super confident in I will give it a try.)

 For a start, I feel like the problems that I had with part 5 would at least be lessened by default due to a couple of things. For one, the setting of an actual company instead of a mafia would make it so Giorno and Bruno’s motivation of solving the corruption would make much more sense (it’s not really possible to have an uncorrupt mafia, after all, but it is at least somewhat possible to deal with the corruption in a company), and Bruno’s thought process would still become a little more coherent and true to the character I think Araki was trying to write. Maybe he’s been in the company since before things started to go wrong and Diavolo became too power-hungry, so he’s attached to the business and wants to restore it back to its previous state.

 I also imagined that the corruption, while very present, could be hidden to many of the employees at first (which I think would fit in with Diavolo’s secretive nature- he might want to conceal what he was doing so no one gets suspicious, right?), and it would really only benefit/be perpetrated by the people at the top, like the managers and CEO- so, Bruno could bring Narancia, Abbacchio and Fugo in while he was unaware of what was really going on behind the scenes, thinking he’s doing a good thing for them while not realizing what was actually happening. I also imagined that hiring Fugo and Narancia for some sort of internship to boost a future career for them would fit considering Narancia’s neglect at home not giving him a very good start and Fugo already being intelligent, but kicked out of school. Their lives would’ve effectively been ruined if Bruno didn’t help them.

 This would make his morality not necessarily flawed in bringing people into the company, but just make him initially ignorant and maybe a little naïve to not see the issues going on until it was too late. (I think this would fit, considering Bruno had to be pretty ignorant and naïve to not realize that Passione was distributing drugs... lol).

 La Squadra is an interesting piece to fit into this, too, considering the kind of characters that they are. I would argue that they are a sort of middle ground in-between the ‘good guy’ status of Bruno and his group and the actual main antagonist, Diavolo. They’re no doubt bad people (being greedy assassins who tried to murder an innocent 15-year-old girl kind of automatically puts you in that category, after all), but their motivations are actually more nuanced, in my opinion. Their grudge against and motivation for hunting down the Boss stemmed from when he hired someone to torture and murder two of their members. That’s really not an inherently evil motivation, and it ended up being the protagonist’s goals themselves after all of La Squadra was defeated as well.

 Functionally, I don’t think there’s anything really ‘evil’ about their desire to hunt down the Boss. The fact that they cared about each other enough to do something like that shows that they’re not pure evil as well. Instead, what was amoral was their methods of achieving what they wanted. They wanted to kill the Boss, so they raced to get to his daughter because she was the only connecting link that they could find, causing harm to innocent people in the process of enacting their vengeance. (I hope that makes sense.)

 So... I think that La Squadra, in the company setting, could be a group of higher-ups in the company (maybe Diavolo turned it into a pyramid scheme /hj). Maybe they had been benefiting from the corruption and abusing the power they had while taking orders from the Boss/CEO up until this point, until two of them (Sorbet and Gelato) got too greedy and broke a rule, disobeyed the Boss, tried to find out his identity or otherwise made him mad enough to react by murdering them, similar to how it canonically played out. This, then, would become La Squadra’s motivation to turn against Diavolo and try to find out his whereabouts to kill him or otherwise undermine his power.

 I think that narrative would work since it portrays La Squadra in a pretty similar way to canon- higher-ups hurting innocent people and overall being scumbags until they see the violent nature of the Boss be enacted on one of their close friends, which then prompts them to sacrifice their status and enact revenge on the person they previously followed, albeit still causing harm to innocents in the process. (I imagine it as less black-and-white and more... a dark shade of gray, I guess.)

 In this case, Unita Speciale (Tiziano & Squalo, Cioccolata and Secco, Carne, etc.) could also be higher-ups that take orders from the Boss. They would probably dislike the main cast because they all benefit from the power they’re given and don’t want things to change, so they are willing to put up resistance to and potentially kill anyone attempting to get rid of their power. (I also just think that a regular boss of a company hiring his employees to straight up kill protesters would be kinda funny.) I doubt Doppio would also be a higher-up in the company due to how young he is, but maybe he could sort of ‘disguise’ himself as an intern while secretly carrying out orders from the Boss and essentially being a spy for him. (I always imagined that he views Diavolo as a guardian figure more than a regular Boss based on the way they interact, so it would make sense that he’s loyal to him to that extent).

 I feel like a lot about Diavolo could remain the same or similar, with him remaining anonymous and not going out in public or revealing his name or face to anyone, so no one really knows who the actual CEO of the company is. It’d be a little more unrealistic than a mafia setting, but I think the whole plot point of trying to discover the Boss’ identity could still work. (I also feel like there’s room for unrealistic/hard-to-believe things happening, considering that’s kind of just what Jojo is like.)

 He’d probably need more of a stated reason to hide his identity, though- maybe he’s trying to avoid the government because of all the illegal stuff he’s doing. (Like, for example, not paying his taxes would be one of them). In that case, his reasoning for killing his daughter would also remain essentially the same as canon. She is a connection between him and the outside world, so he views her existence as a threat and sought out to eliminate her.

 There is one big thing I would change, though, and it’s the role that Polnareff plays in the story. One thing I always hated about Vento Aureo’s narrative is how after Abbacchio was murdered and all hope seemed lost, Polnareff just suddenly appears on the protagonists’ computer and is like “Hey, guys! I have the Boss’ name, face and all of the information and power you need to defeat him! Isn’t that just so convenient?” Like, man... I feel like that was the worst possible way you could’ve progressed the plot.

 Instead, I would like to introduce Polnareff to the story more naturally. Maybe after the events of Stardust Crusaders, he moved to Italy and started working at the company a few years back, so he would be connected to the story in a more sensical way that doesn’t feel shoehorned in. I also think that he could be introduced a little earlier, so we can get used to his presence and he doesn’t feel shoved into the narrative. I think the reasoning for how he found out Diavolo’s name could be pretty similar to canon- Diavolo, in his early days, didn’t do a thorough enough job concealing his identity, which Polnareff managed to uncover, resulting in his attempted murder and leaving him disabled.

 The second main thing that I would like to change is the stuff surrounding the Requiem arrow. While I don’t necessarily have a problem with Requiem stands in and of itself, I feel like it has the same problem as Polnareff in that it was introduced way too late to feel like a natural or non-forced addition to the story. I would also introduce the Requiem arrow earlier on, maybe still alongside Polnareff, so we can get used to its presence in the story.

 As for Gold Experience Requiem and what Giorno does after Diavolo is defeated- for a start, I think the big thing I would change about GER is the fact that the arrow becomes “forever Giorno’s” by embedding itself in Gold Experience permanently. I don’t like that, for reasons I have previously talked about. I think it’d be better if the arrow pulled itself out of Gold Experience after Diavolo is defeated, with Giorno maybe keeping it afterwards just in case, but otherwise using it sparingly. I also might change the ability as I feel like infinite death is generally too overkill (although if we are considering the circumstance that Giorno might not use the ability again since he can only use the arrow very sparingly, the concept does become less bad to me. Maybe the concept of a death loop could be kept with a couple of factors introduced, like for example, the ability is able to be deactivated, or it automatically ends if Gold Experience is destroyed or Giorno dies... infinite death is just a disturbing thought to me, man.)

 As for the very end, I don’t think it would work if Giorno became CEO of the company. (I feel like that would be a little too unrealistic, even for Jojo standards.) I think the most likely thing that would probably happen is that the company would get bought by another corporation/wealthy person, who would take things over from there. Maybe Polnareff, Giorno and Mista could survive and inform the new CEO (who is assumedly a better person, and if not, Giorno could probably threaten them into complying) of what’s going on, so they can seek to stop the corruption going on. I think that is the most sensical way I could see it playing out.

 This would definitely need some more fleshing out + extra worldbuilding if an AU/remake was going to be created, but this is a sort of guideline with some concepts for changes I thought up. (I hope it makes sense even though my knowledge on business is limited).

#agh sorry this took so long to answer my brain is not working right #also busy with things irl #i also had a couple other ideas for an alternate setting. like maybe diavolo could be a monarch in a medieval kingdom #i think aus/concepts for that exist already though #this is definitely not realistic to an irl company but jojo is not realistic either so it's fine yknow #i hope i didnt miss anything jfdfk #vento aureo #shoe talks a lot

[dailyjasontodd]

sorry if this has been asked before but what about titans tv jason is ooc? just curious because i don't watch the show (i got thru 3 eps of season 1 and then gave up lmao)

Okay we got two questions in this vein, so each of the admins replied one with our own thoughts. Okay, i’m not good at putting my thoughts into words so you’re gonna have to bear with me here lol

If anyone wants to share their own thoughts on this, feel free to reply or send us an ask, we’re interested in you know sparking some convo and all that.

Okay i’ve talked about my main issue for Titans!Robin Jason here on my own blog, tl;dr i think they took elements from Jasons robin run without the context it came with? Titans Jason comes across as angry and aggresive “just because”. actually there isnt a tl;dr just read the post SORRY

Jason was 11-15 years old when he was robin, which i know it seems like something very minor, aging up isn’t a bad storytelling tool, done right it’s fine etc etc, but in Jason’s case i feel like it actually took away from his story? Like, by aging him up they made his character more “mature”, with elements that simply weren’t found in jasons original robin run when he was just a child. Titans Jason feels more like they’re trying to portray n52 red hood jason rather than robin jason, which.. isn’t a good thing! Because again context matters! Red hood jason is a certain way because certain things happened to him, and by trying to copy and paste that personality into robin jason without those reasons it loses any kind of  nuance it could’ve had. And im pointedly saying n52 jason which we all know is real jason’s tethered, so they’re giving us knock-off  n52 jason when n52 jason was already on the sale display

Honestly titans robin jason is just new 52 red hood jason without anything of what actually made him red hood. and the fact that they’ve already hinted red hood jason WITHOUT ANYTHING! ANYTHING that made him become red hood pisses me off a little, ngl. 

(like he literally became red hood as a fuck you to bruce, and in the show neither the joker nor bruce are important characters??? AND THEY SHOULDN’T??? BECAUSE ITS A TITANS SHOW???)

which brings me to!

while jason was a titan, he wasn’t a MAIN titan, and he should’ve NEVER gotten this much focus. He’s a batman character, his entire story depends ENTIRELY on batman, BRUCE being present. and when you take that away it may as well be an oc. Jason and Dick weren’t even that close in Jason’s robin comics, it just doesnt make senseeeeeee, if anything he was closer to Donna! and if you watched the show you probably saw how Donna hated Jason’s guts! And anyways back on track, why is red hood going to be the villain for a TITANS show when he’s only ONCE, EVER had a villain appearance for them??? And it was during Tim’s era?? And imagine if Tim does appear, why would Jason be mad a thim when HE decided to go away? DOESN’T! MAKE! SENSE! Why are they going out of their way to include Jason somewhere he shouldn’t be more than a guest appearance on? He should be Dick’s annoying yet endearing little brother and that’s it...

And honestly genuinely i despise how they portrayed Bruce as not caring about Jason at all... again, Jason’s relationship with Bruce is the heart of a lot of his storylines.. centering Jason’s story around the titans rather than Bruce.. yeah you may as well have created an oc.

Honestly if i watched season 2 again i could be more specific on stuff titans did that it was like just. seeing some dude named jason, but it’s so bad.. just so bad. 

Anyways. If i took away the robin costume i would’ve NEVER guessed thats supposed to be Jason tbh. Like, honestly, do you see these panels and think “Oh yeah it’s like looking at titans Jason”

Honestly to summarize it, our friend @redarrow sent this to our groupchat a few days ago and i think it’s pretty relevant to the conversation:

Titans, along with almost every story that contains Jason is once again reiterating the narrative that Jason was a bad robin and that he was inherently bad. “His trauma didn’t make him red hood, he was always destined to become a villain/anti hero.”

At the end of the day, these grown adults decided that it would be okay to violently kill off a child in a comic that children read. A character that was specifically made to target a younger audience. Instead of dealing with the consequences of their actions, they try to justify it by retroactively making Jason evil. What really makes me mad is that robin was created for children, and the moment they make a child character have a realistic background to an extent, they basically say there’s no hope for you.

#Anon #jason todd #asks #mod post #UM THIS MAKES NO SENSE SORRY. im not good being articulate lol sorry #mod opinions

[projectshadovv]

going through Silent’s story so far, and can I please offer some feedback? Don’t take this to heart or as an insult! I genuinely want to see this story reach its full potential! I’m tryna see how silent is good for the clan, im not blaming her, but a story would usually point out how shit isnt her fault, but it feels like the story is indirectly blaming her for everything that's happened

like, i feel you want Silentshadow to be a nuanced character who sometimes makes the wrong choices that came from a bad place, as well as dark and gritty - But….we haven't been given a reason to care about her or her goals, and her struggles.

And from learning about more of the story’s other characters, Russetstrom and Auburnfur are more interesting characters to relate to; their struggles feel genuine and I can understand why they do the things they do.

I’m not saying to make Silentshadow more of a hero, anti-heros/gritty characters can work. But the overall vibes silent gives is melodramatic and not…. relatable? if that’s how I can even word it, like, maybe having her not becoming leader and being a part of a prophecy can help make her more relatable, have her work hard for her goals and achievements and show readers that you don’t need to be in a high position to make a difference - like, maybe she isn’t the chosen one, but the chosen one of the prophecy (mudnose maybe?) does things wrong or twists the prophecy’s wording to fit his own agenda? I don’t know, just ideas I’m rambling about. Again, I personally just want to see this story reach it’s potential. After all, it’s natural stories usually change plots dramatically before a plot is decided on and finalised.

Again! Please don’t take this to heart! I just wanted to give feedback.

I appreciate the thought and care that made you want to send this ask, and i know it comes from a genuine place, and i do understand your POV, but try not to fret too much! Silentshadow is a very deeply rooted and personal character to me, I used to project thru her, and i still sometimes do, the experiences Ive given her I've tried to evolve into more story like and plot important events.

And also, theres a lot to the overall story you guys don't know about, I have a lot more stuff in the back I just, either havent felt the need to share, or havent been able to- and Silentshadow's story is a story for me, not so much as me trying to make this story FOR anyone else. Its not FOR you, i'm just simply sharing what i want to share with yall, and if yall like it, awesome! If not, totally understandable.

But since you in particular want to see the story flourish, I'm afraid you'll just have to find it in you to keep a lookout. I'm not going to justify or try to prove anything to anyone, not because I don't have everything figured out (although yes some things i dont have figured out), but that, I'm just having fun with it! Silentshadow doesnt have to be your favorite character! She's just a creature trying to live (sometimes suffer- she's intentionally edgy like that)

Try to think of the story as a very loose allegory for dismantling the rich upperclass/goverment. The clans in general are a very basic representation of fascism that an outsider like Silentshadow growing up, wonders what the point of Clans and borders are if all they do is prevent other cats who aren't them from surviving. They took over the forest that all cats were once free to come and go as they pleased (namely cats like Silentshadows fathers, who were left to starve or be chased out or to seek out kittypet life), but now the forests and mountains and rivers are off limits to any resource the clan cats have staked an imaginary claim on.

Forced to live in Clan society, Silentshadow grows angry and bitter at the life she's given and expected to live up to by cats and dead ancestors who aren't even her own. She's treated as a weapon, as someone to use as a trumpcard in the future, not as a clanmate or friend or family member and the realization of that darkens her heart. She's taken in by (clan)cat's who also want to overthrow the clans, but more for their own greed and lust for power and just the wrong reasons.

Silentshadow, as a kit, always wanted to see the Clans come together as one, or to let those who want to roam freely do so. A kit's fantasy dream. But it gets lost along the way when cats like Mudnose and Bearstar are more immediate problems and take up more of the story's time.

Basically though, Silentshadow does humble up and becomes leader to protect the ones she loves, and recruits many good cats along the way that help her dream become a reality. And while it's not realistic that every single Clan cat would be up to simply being a Colony, theyre at least free to do what they want, so long as it doesnt interfere in other's welfare.

There was originally going to be like, have all the leaders still, just all leading together, and Silentshadow is one of them, but I think i'll make it so she decides she never wanted to be leader (more like, she had to), she just wanted to live freely and made the stand to fight for her and others' right to. I think when everything has calmed, her, Cometshine, and Auburnfur decide to travel- something Silentshadow's father loved to do but couldnt since he was raising his kit, and run off into the sunset.

That's a super super super messy and vague way to explain the story, its a very long and drawn out story, but you can kinda tell theres a lot i just dont have time to write out- just this took me like 2 hours. Just trust me when i say theyre all good characters, not the BEST written or have the best reasons or motives, but theyre good and for understandable and SOMETIMES relateable (or not) reasons. Maybe you dont relate to Silentshadow, ok! Maybe Cometshine, maybe Foggycloud, maybe Auburnfur and Russetstorm like you said. I'm trying to make a diverse cast for everyone and also NOT everyone

#ive proofread this like 4 times and it mmight still be incomprehensible but im DONE #just trust me when i say i GOT this #also my friends are great writers and they let me know when they have any pointers #SSP isnt my lifes work so . yeah

[violexides]

makoto naegi pseudo-analysis

okay. quick heads up:

1. the way i perceive characters isn’t universal, same with the way i write them, but for the sake of having this make sense i’m going to sound pretty matter-of-fact. because otherwise it’ll be hard to read thru.

2. i don’t remember much of dr1, and i don’t think a ton about makoto. i should, and i want to, but y’know. also this isn’t an all encompassing look into his character, which is why it’s a pseudo-analysis. it’s honestly pretty poorly written. but. yknow. i tried. 

3. i promise to stop mentioning this, but, worth saying: i have a lot of difficulty expressing opinions for reason im uncertain of. i hope this isn’t, like, controversial in any way? i’m just getting my thoughts out, and hoping i dont get killed for it. 

cool beans.

now, onto makoto.

as a start, i think that makoto is a really remarkable character because of a sort of... tactical nuance? he is an interesting take on an “average joe” character, following the strict formula of a perfect protagonist while also playing into the archetype of being just your normal high schooler, who becomes this epic hero. and the way that these two aspects coexist is really interesting.

makoto, as a person, has pretty “standard” protagonist traits. he’s sympathetic (not empathetic, which i’ll touch on... eventually), he’s brave, he’s selfless, he’s persistent, he’s a little bit awkward and a little too trusting, but it sort of sorts out for him. and i think one thing i personally see in him, and really like about him, is that this sort of character trait cluster, if you will, has realistic consequences? if that makes sense?

because, like, you are presented with this person who bears a smile. put through hell, put through everything, (as someone i cannot recall off the top of my head once stated, being put through neglect by his writers themselves) and he’s still smiling. but i think that when you look just a bit deeper, there’s a lot there? a lot of resentment. a lot of hatred. a lot of guilt.

someone who was given the entire world to shove onto their still-adolescent shoulders, someone who has to defy the organization that intends to rid the world of the very thing that almost killed you, that did kill so fucking many, because he believes in a higher kind of hope than the one they discuss. someone who is brave, who has put his neck on the line a thousand separate times-- still smiling, still the ultimate hope-- and this idolized figure of relentless hope (who doesn’t feel anything negative, because he still smiles and only cries twice ever in canotical history, correct me if i’m wrong), and... that’s a lot to put on a person who never really got to be a teenager, right?

and that’s where resentment kicks in.

all the people who accused him, who left him to die when they couldn’t persist in the same way he always had (because why can’t they persist like him? why can’t they lose their entire world, and forgive in the end?), doesn’t he hate them? and this is the stuff that makes me tick, so apologizes for going really deep into it, but isn’t that something that must be so intrisically present? for fuck’s sake, the entire future foundation, most of the class of 78 (because they’re all traitors, in a sense, with all the killing and the decision to lead him to the bottom of that garbage chute, and still he forgave) the remnants of despair that he still wants to save (and his argument with hinata at the end, though i don’t remember clearly, just think about it), and himself. himself!

he’s this average teenager with the world on his shoulders, who lost this, a sort of metaphorical prometheus (but perceived as hardly interesting enough to foster this role), this repetitive martyr, the perfect protagonist-- and he keeps failing, despite his persistence, despite his hope. sometimes i think about, like, how little negative emotion he shows. doesn’t he hate himself, in some sort of way? he was lucky enough to be the perfect person to be the ultimate hope, but not lucky enough to prevent it all in the first place. and there’s the loathing. that’s where it hits.

he’s this incredible human being, sympathetic through it all (but not empathetic, because he doesn’t feel what they go through. he understands it, and he cares-- god, does he care-- but he doesn’t feel it in himself. if he did, he’d be despairing from the start.) and forgiving, but also resentful-- and he must hate it! shouldn’t he be able to take it? shouldn’t he take all the hits, as he always has done, without resenting the people he would rather die than lose (again)?

as a sort of tldr: he’s a sympathetic, heroic martyr, a perfect protagonist, and yet there is endless layers of resentment, written into his very skin, and. yeah. yeah.

(worth saying, i think the dude is smart. i think he’s clever. i don’t necessarily think he’s the most clever protagonist-- all of them have different sorts of smart to them-- but i do think he’s a smart fucker. and i don’t think he’s necessarily childish. i think, after a point, he got mature. 

he’s just idealistic. idealistic, and optimistic (because he can’t dip into nihilism, because what will the world do then?) and sometimes, it makes him out to be a child. but i really don’t think he is. he has childish thoughts in thh, and he still has a boyish quality to him, but he’s been through it. he’s roughened up, as a person.

does he even recognize himself?)

--

that’s my analysis. i... hope someone enjoyed? feel free to add on and stuff, i hope i don’t accidentally start discourse akldfjs. 

#makoto naegi #wow! i already regret it #i am just. #why am i so scared of expressing opinions? idk! #i hope people like it #i contradict myself a lot and im probably wrong #very wrong. #im just gonna post it and hop off tumblr and hope for the best #i really hopw someone likes this #it was fun to write but #yeah

[atlascas]

DEANCAS FIC REC

(last updated 7/1)

FINALLY. this is like. just a place for me to rec and write excessively abt the fics i've been reading lately. it won't be organized but it WILL be very earnest and i'll keep it updated as i find/remember more. also i have obnoxiously high standards when it comes to fic so these ARE the cream of the crop, if u will. the god tier. the s tier. 

very loosely organized into "newer fic" and "classics." these are subjective categories. do what you will

✨ = new fic on the list

💖 = in my brain rent free!

CURRENTLY READING

these are the fics that i’m currently reading! may or may not get recced. usually i read the first couple paragraphs/lines and if i like the writing it gets bookmarked and put on this list.

lazarus needs a robe of scarlet thread by herrosesneverfall, 90k, canonverse au. dean starts getting stigmata. when i was getting back into spn there were a LOT of religious fics flying around bc that was the Hot Topic of Discussion. this was one of them

Three weeks ago, Dean woke up in a pine box. He thought dealing with the nightmares was going to be the most difficult part of his new life after Hell, but at least they were something he could understand. Something he could deal with. Something he deserved.

Then he began having agonizing visions of crucifixion. Wounds appeared on his body out of nowhere. Wounds that refused to heal and coated his skin with the sickly sweet smell of roses.

Stigmata are said to be the marks of saints, but Dean is not a saint and the wounds are only the beginning.

kingdom come by ahurston, 8.7k, coda to 15x18. cas gets to go home. im gathering all the s15 fix-its to my heart and holding them close

Cas wakes up on the coast of Maine. He makes his way home.

hunger by ellispark, 10.8k, s13 au. dean grieves cas, post s12 finale. perfect writing perfect awful heartwrenching characterization so far on dean’s end especially towards jack. nuanced emotional writing

Dean takes his meal and throws it away, plate and all. He's not hungry. How can he even begin to eat, knowing what he kept from Cas — what he kept from both of them?

They could have had something, and now all Dean has is this gaping, empty hole in his stomach, in his chest, and he has to learn to breathe and eat and move around it.

the law of equivalent exchange by awed_frog, 60.8k, canonverse. cas loving dean in all permutations of humanity, throughout time.

“And what’s the point of it?”

“Of love? There isn’t one. Loving is its own purpose.”

NEWER FIC

“newer” just means “i discovered it in 2020/2021 after coming back to spn fandom” so it very well could have been published before 2015 but really who’s checking. not me that’s for sure.

💖 so says the sword by komodobits, 85k, s4 au. cas guards the michael sword in the beautiful room. this is easily the MOST obvious rec on this entire list but it was the first fic i read when i got back into spn this year and jesus christ it set the bar sky fucking high. the way they create a coherent mythology out of the mess that is spn canon is incredible.

The briefing was simple: ‘Stand guard over the Michael Sword until the battle is ready to commence. Await further instructions.’

Castiel doesn’t mind working security duty; he was briefed shortly after the initial salvation of the Sword from the pit, and again before taking up his position. He knows what to do. However, it’s easy to forget that the green room isn’t real. Time moves differently there, the space ever-changing to make a prison of mountains, cathedrals, salt flats, orchards, and whatever Castiel was led to believe about Heaven’s greatest weapon—Dean Winchester is something entirely unexpected.

assimilation by komodobits, 5.6k, coda to 12x01. mary meets dean and cas and they go to find sam. such good character studies of all three of them. the best mary pov fic i’ve read

Mary always thought you were supposed to be able to tell. That you could just look at someone and know they were – you know. One of that sort. It’s not supposed to happen to her son.

cuckoo and nest by komodobits, 10k, ambiguously canonverse. dean and cas navigate relationship anxiety. cute, in character, and their relationship is realistic and the conflict well-written and emotionally nuanced and really really really good. 

For a long time, Castiel thought that every earthly possession other than the immediately necessary was excess to requirement. But Dean – Dean who named his car, who keeps a photograph of his mother in his wallet, some thirty-plus years after her death, who still has the crumpled ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign with a sleeping pelican emblazoned on it from the Microtel outside of Roanoke where he first kissed Castiel, clumsy and unsure, under the unsteady fluorescence of an exhausted bathroom bulb – is sentimental.

It puzzles Castiel, where Dean draws the line between what is meaningful and what it is worthless.

💖 one white lie by komodobits, 11k, au. cas panics when trying to ask dean out and has to fake being a jehovah’s witness. it’s adorable and hilarious and it’s been ages since i actually got butterflies at a kiss in a fic but this did it. it did it. it felt like someone swaddled my soul in a cashmere blanket and kissed me on the forehead

Castiel takes a deep breath and rings the doorbell. He doesn’t need to run through what he’s going to say – he’s already planned and edited and rehearsed it a thousand times. He is going to ask Dean Winchester out to dinner. If it’s not too forward, he’ll say, perfectly charming. You see, I’ve seen you around the neighbourhood and you always seem so earnest and I’d really like to get to know you bette— The door swings open, and Castiel panics.

He intends to excuse himself. He means to apologise and come back some other time. However, in a moment of blind fear, what comes out of his mouth instead are the words, “Could you spare a moment for Jesus Christ?”

a crash course in someone else’s history by annie d (scaramouche), 11.5k, set during s6. cas comes to as his s4 self without any memories of the past two years and has to figure out what the fuck is going on. it’s kind of like so says the sword. you’ll know it when you get to it.

Castiel is captured inside a trapping circle of holy oil set by Dean and Sam Winchester. The brothers call him "Cas", claiming that he has amnesia and that he is obligated to help them take down Crowley to atone for his betrayal of them. It's the strangest story Castiel's ever heard, and one he doesn't have time for because he's only just raised Dean from Hell and has work to get back to.

💖 cas and dean’s adventures in gardening by ahurston, 19k, post-canon au. a series featuring dean and cas living in the bunker, human. cas is very into plants. i read this yesterday actually and it made me smile SO much it’s just so lovely and sweet. i’m also a sucker for any fic where cas has a garden. he deserves a fucking garden okay

In this post-God world, everything is different. A little quieter, a little softer. Cas grows a garden, Dean cooks, and they take care of each other.

tall grass by aeli_kindara, 57k, post-s12. dean and cas live in the bunker on their own, and cas grows a garden. i did say i love fics where cas has a garden. plus domesticity, plus some good case fic, PLUS dean and cas’ relationship is so gentle and good

“I think we should have a garden,” Cas says.

Dean looks up from his beer. He hasn’t had that much to drink, but Cas still has a vague look of unreality about him, a splash of living color that doesn’t fit in the bunker’s echoing stillness. Dean didn’t hear him coming. A lot of the time, Cas is so unobtrusive it feels like Dean has the bunker to himself, with Sam away.

Dean shakes his head to clear it. “A — garden?” he repeats.

in a week by renrub, 2.3k, post 15x18. cas is in the empty. dean saves him. this is genuinely the best “dean pulls cas out of the empty” fic i’ve read so far like conceptually this entire thing just fucks. when cas is cycling through the barn scene. god. SO well written

Castiel is outside a barn covered in sigils. He frowns. This isn’t right. This has never been something he repented for.

i won’t even wish for snow by annie d (scaramouche), 5.6k, college au. cas goes to the winchesters’ for christmas. honestly scaramouche fics belong in the classics section bc she’s like an og deancas writer but whatever. mistletoe! banter! good in-character au! this fic’s got it all

It’s the third year that Castiel’s spending Christmas with his best friend’s family, and he expects it to be much like the previous two. Then mistletoe happens.

convenient husbands by annie d (scaramouche), 39k, canonverse au. cas is a phoenix, dean is a hunter. they get married and have a sick psychic bond. unexpectedly fluffy considering how the fic starts and i love the banter so much and dean/cas’ relationship gets fleshed out and organically developed it’s very cute

"It's only temporary, right?" Dean says. "Just until you're healed up, and then we'll never have to see each other again. So what do you say, Castiel, do you want to marry me or not?"

cinderwings by bendingsignpost, 181k, cinderella au. cas goes to a masquerade ball to save his people from an eternity trapped in a void. he meets prince dean. i can’t tell u how much this fic drew me in - thru good worldbuilding, but mostly thru cas’ social awkwardness. like it works PERFECTLY to his advantage in this fic and reading how expertly he manipulates social situations w/o any fucking idea what he’s doing is both hilarious and inspiring

Under the cover of a masquerade ball, Castiel has five nights to recover the key to his people's freedom. The world has changed greatly in the six centuries since their banishment into the void, but the task isn't impossible. Unfortunately for Castiel, this is going to involve talking to people - especially the Knight Prince who has taken an interest in Castiel and his "costume" wings.

as the crow flies by bendingsignpost, 3.4k, au. dean and cas go on a roadtrip. cas has wings! it’s so dreamlike and meandering and the slowburn is so good. honestly it reminds me of stevebucky/stevesam post tws era roadtrip fics if ur hip LMAO

Cross country road trips with Cas are the best.

long-term relationship by bendingsignpost, 2.7k, au. dean and cas have a Serious Conversation about their relationship.

Castiel says, budging over to make room for Dean on the couch, “I thought we should have a serious talk about our relationship.”

Reflexively, Dean laughs.

Castiel does not.

“Uh, Cas... you know we’re not dating, right?”

all this and heaven too by ftmsteverogers, 7k, ambiguously canonverse. dean is trans. dean and cas are fucking and lowkey hiding it from sam. perfect character study PERFECT trans dean fic it’s so fucking well-written 

“Hey,” Dean said. “I’m not ashamed of you, okay?”

Cas raised skeptical eyes to meet his.

“I mean it,” Dean insisted.

“I understand you mean it,” Cas said. “But I don’t think it’s any better if you’re only ashamed of yourself.”

💖 the love story of the runner up by margo_kim, 4.7k, ambiguously canonverse. cas tries dating other men. bear with me here. this is an outside pov fic from an oc named miguel who is WONDERFULLY characterized and very endearing like i find outsider/oc pov to be on Thin Fucking Ice bc it always ends up as fandom/author self-insert but miguel is his OWN MAN. he gets his own lil arc and everything. dean and cas are concentrated perfectly crystallized versions of themselves and the little glimpses we get of them are amazing. ALSO i wrote like 9k of an spn vent fic (basically the same premise but w an oc named marcus) back in like. freshman yr of hs. so when i first opened this fic i was like what the fuck someone’s been in my google docs. very weird experience 10/10 regardless

“So you saw a white man in a trench coat pop out in an alley,” Paul says, “and you thought, what, ‘I want to see where this is going’?”

“If you get hung up on details like that,” Miguel says, “it will take a very long time to get through this story.”

For a very weird era in his life, Miguel dates an angel who is in love with another man.

sunshine by northernsparrow, 8k, set during s13. dean and cas have a long conversation about their Profound Bond. the description left me off-balance (it really. really truly says “dean is straight in this fic” like okay bro WEIRD hill to die on) but it pulled through w the relationship study and reassurance and snuggles. a sweet fic

One-shot with a single conversation between Dean and Castiel, set in a late-S13-ish world. Gabriel, Cas, Sam & Dean are all living in the bunker together, Gabe's been cracking certain jokes, Sam's found a certain book, Cas is injured and isn’t healing... and it's all making Dean wonder if his angel friend might have some sort of a "bond" with... somebody? Whatever that means.

Maybe it's time for a talk.

💖 still life by catchclaw, 16.5k, post-s8. cas, newly human, goes to live on his own for a while. he and dean maintain a relationship thru the phone. this is LITERALLY the only first person fic i fucking respect okay like i was skeptical! i really was! but the pov is PERFECT and also my man kevin tran is in this fic and i love him and miss him very much. oh and cas going off to explore humanity on his own..............perfect arc. very much in character we love that for him

Dean'd always thought that falling in love was a capital letter kind of thing, an Important Event you carved into the calendar of your life and never, ever forgot. But with he and Cas, it wasn't that simple.

it’s mostly cowardice, and bad timing by ferritin4, 1.6k, pre-canon. actually this one is just a dean study it’s not deancas but i spent an entire night looking for it and i need someone else to read it too. dean is smart!!! SAY THAT

Dean gets his GED.

a list of reasons the bunker shouldn’t get a sofa by lizbobjones, 5.6k, set during s12. sam and dean and mary and cas haul a sofa back to the bunker. cute domesticity and fluff

Let me count the ways that this is a terrible idea.

no kingdom to come by domesticadventures, 16.8k, canonverse. dean and cas deal with being stuck in quarantine in different ways. this is the one and only quarantine fic i’ve read and it’s really good lmao. dean and cas’ relationship is so organic and tentative in this one

“We should fuck,” Dean says.

Cas looks up from where he sits on his bed, hair still damp from the shower, frowning as he places a finger on the page of his book to mark where he left off.

There are a million things Cas could say here; Dean has rehearsed them. After lunch, his restlessness had given way to a vague panic, a dread that matched his every step and crept along with him from room to room. Eventually, he had returned to his bedroom and spent the rest of the afternoon pacing back and forth, playing out all the possible scenarios. When Cas asks him Why? or Are you being serious? or when he sighs and says, in that way he has, Dean, he knows exactly what he’s going to do. He’s going to shrug casually, like he isn’t invested in the answer, like he isn’t desperate for an outlet, and say, Why not? He’s going to raise an eyebrow and say, What, are you not interested? He’s going to crowd into Cas’ personal space, he’s going to shove himself right up in there and whisper Cas against his ear.

Instead, Cas says, carefully, “Okay.”

till the juice runs by deathbanjo, 8.4k, canonverse. it’s like dean’s being cursed to have bad hookups with men. SUCH a funny fic and the deancas tension is so simple and sweet and GOOD. plus cas is so enjoyably characterized here he’s so human and worn in and experienced in his own unique way. perfect use of rowena too

Apparently whoever drew up the venn diagram of Dean’s sex life decided the circle labelled ‘good sex’ and the one labelled ‘sex with men’ should be kept far apart.

turn of the year by kototyph, 3.9k, canonverse au. sam and dean get stuck out in the middle of nowhere on the winter solstice. what i wouldn’t give for a full 80k of this verse actually. also i went on a kototyph binge after reading shut up put your money where your mouth is and they have a SOLID spn repertoire

Fifteen minutes later, Dean gets back in the car with empty hands and ice in his fucking eyebrows. “Get the map out,” he says through chattering teeth, sticking numb fingers under his arms.

Sam holds up the battered 1995 Rand MacNally they keep in the side pocket, turned to a page of uninterrupted green. “We’re going to die,” he announces.

💖 bullets in the gun by kototyph, 4.9k, canonverse au. cas is a cop (i know. still) who gets kidnapped by dean in an unfortunate turn of events. GOD this fic is SO FUNNY. cas’ canny and strategic escape attempts render him a very active VERY funny pov character plus the hate attraction to dean is PERFECTLY WRITTEN VERY BELIEVABLE. dean’s kindness also shines thru even as he literally holds cas hostage like!!!! PERFECT characterization. both of them are so LIKABLE here. if you read anything on this list read this

“Sorry, sweetheart, but I’m going to need to borrow your car.”

as you will by kototyph, 1.8k, victorian au. cas endures a proposal mishap. it’s cute it’s funny it’s sweet!

"No?" Castiel echoes, dumbly.

and if i was looking too? by kototyph, 2.6k, au. cas is undercover where dean works. this fic is just so cute like. bird angels.................

There are some things Castiel hasn't told Dean, and there are some things he doesn't need to.

the most important thing by northernsparrow, 94.5k, s10 au. amnesiac cas raising claire until he comes across someone familiar. claire is so well characterized here i really loved her arc thruout this fic. she just wants her dad back and u can’t even blame her the author rlly does an amazing job creating realistic and heartbreaking motivations for her. oh and dean and cas (esp cas characterization!) are sweet in this but honestly the highlight IS claire for me

Jimmy Novak remembers nothing of the last six years. Reunited with his troubled daughter Claire, he's struggling to raise her on his own. The most important thing is to make Claire happy. But why does he keep having these dreams of wings, and of two men in a black car? (Canon-divergent from S10E11, when we first met Claire again and Dean was still struggling with the Mark of Cain. Takes places several months later).

there’s only one sure thing that i know by blinkiesays, 20.3k, post-s5. dean goes to help cas out in ohio and they end up building a home together. i love the writing it’s rlly funny and sweet.

Dean doesn't even get halfway through explaining before Bobby starts laughing. When he lets himself think about it for more than five seconds, Dean can almost see Bobby's point: he's faced down demons, witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, angels, and Satan himself and now he's been defeated by the God damn Midwest.

💖 to an angel, love and worship are the same thing by geminisage, 10.3k, post s15 fix it. dean grieves cas - and then cas gets brought back back from the empty. i didn’t have this in my bookmarks so i MISSED it the first time around on this list but this was another one of the fics i came back to spn fandom to. it’s so fucking unique?? it actually reads like spn like i think fic tends to soften dean/cas up and makes them more emotional + emotionally intelligent than is ever shown in the show. here the dialogue/characterization adheres RIGOROUSLY to their communication in canon in that dean’s not overtly emotional, and cas is very reserved. they have to negotiate their relationship exactly like they would in the show. it’s all clipped conversation and anger and hurt and (warning btw) LOTS of internalized homophobia on dean’s end but it’s SO worth it. dean navigating his [GESTURES VAGUELY] everything is compellingly written, emotionally true, and PERFECTLY characterized. cas characterization also amazing like u rlly feel the quiet devoted bittersweet love. ok this was long clearly it’s a good fic go read it now

Just as Dean knew they would, the weeks do stretch into months, and then into a year. Grief never gets easier, Dean knows from experience, but you do get better at it. After all, you can get used to anything.

the violin house by teh_helenables, 8.5k, post-s5. dean and cas build a home after stull. so slow and lovely and sweet and gentle. i need to put this here so that i don’t forget it tbh. it’s very much dean as a war wife cas as the husband away on the front

The Apple Pie Life is a slow process, but Dean and Cas are getting there—until Cas is called for battle and Dean is forced to wait.

💖 muscle memory by komodobits, 18.9k, au. amnesiac cas wakes up three years in the future with dean in his kitchen. komodobits DOES NOT FUCKING MISS!!! i CRIED at the end of this i had NO INTENTION OF CRYING the rest of the fic isn’t even SAD i just had to sit there at the end of it w tears dribbling down my face. INSANE work of art

Dear Castiel,

Hello – it’s Castiel. This must all seem very confusing, and I’m sorry for that. Dean says to tell you that this isn’t some kind of ‘time-travel stunt’, although I’m sure that won’t be your first thought. I know it wasn’t mine. I’ve told Dean to leave now, as this is my notebook and I want everything in it to come from me – or rather, from you. I know you think it's the fifteenth of January, 2010, but it isn't. At the time of my writing this, the date is the fourth of October, 2013. Dean Winchester is your boyfriend of a year and a half, and you no longer work at the library, and in early 2010 you were hit by a car and hospitalised. I’m sorry.

a.k.a the 50 First Dates Dean/Cas AU where Castiel wakes up on a day just like any other, except that three years have passed without his knowing, and Dean Winchester is in the kitchen wanting to marry him.

don’t forget the experience points by annie d (scaramouche), 10.8k, au. cas is sam’s work friend, and he and dean get to know each other. genuinely an adorable fic. i adore cas’ characterization in this it’s snarky AND awkward AND confident in a way that i absolutely believe he would be if he had 30 yrs of human life under his belt

It's because Dean was an awesome brother than he took such an interest in Sam's new friend. No, really. What happened afterwards was mostly an accident.

actus fidei by manic_intent, 5.6k, canonverse au. dean’s a priest, cas is still his angel. i was HOOKED from the description alone like That’s Everything I Love in One Sentence. Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the very first time that Castiel manifests in front of Father Dean Winchester, he gets as far as "Rejoice, for you are blessed-" before Dean shoots him with a salt-loaded shotgun.

not with a bang but a yelp by strange_estrangement, 1.4k, canonverse. team free will leave yelp reviews. this isn’t d/c actually it’s just a crack-ish fic but the formatting is cool and the references are SO funny and so well done

What happens when you visit dozens and dozens of motels every year? You leave Yelp reviews.

the courtship of combat by bendingsignpost, 18.2k, medieval a/b/o au. cas is politically coerced into fighting in a courtship melee for prince dean's hand, and he teams up with two unexpected allies to do it. I KNOW HOW THE ABO THING SOUNDS but i swear it's done well - it's by bendingsignpost so ofc he puts his own spin on the premise. im absurdly into it. PLUS jack is in it!!!!!!! it's technically an unfinished series but the first part is so good just on its own

When pressed upon to mate for a political alliance, Commander Castiel dares to refuse his king. As “I do not wish to mate at all” is clearly the wrong thing to say, Castiel takes the other path and lies. “You must know my affections lie elsewhere, my king.”

King Michael studies Castiel’s face long and hard. Then, with a nod, he snaps his fingers, pointing to Castiel. “The Winchester omega.”

“Yes,” Castiel says with no real recollection of who that is.

The ruse of an unavailable omega works well enough, right up until that omega is no longer unavailable. Then, with what seems to be his entire nation cheering him on toward victory, Castiel must enter the melee to win his mate. Backed by allies, training, and his own natural talents, the only question is how well he can contrive to fail.

four letter word for intercourse by bendingsignpost, 194.7k, au. dean calls a sex hotline. OH BOY solid characterization excellent plot/premise like bendingsignpost is so good at turning absurd premises into realistic, believable fiction. also sex hotline fic is usually a BIG turn-off bc of the power dynamics/one-sidedness of a relationship based on sex work but. BUT. bendingsignpost does it well! it’s not weird at ALL i started reading and was immediately reassured abt its intentions and its plot direction

As a grease monkey turned college freshman, Dean's constantly three seconds away from being stressed out of his mind. It hardly helps that he's finally figuring out his sexuality in his thirties.

What might help with that stress is a little phone number (and a big credit card bill). If he can't figure out how to be bisexual in person, he can at least give it a go over the phone, right?

(It's probably a bad idea, but he really can't help himself.)

the tunnel of love by xylodemon, 21.4k, post-canon. case fic! dean and cas have to kiss on a loveboat to solve a case >:)

"We might," Cas starts slowly, pausing like he's choosing his words. "We might have to kiss."

Dean just stares at him.

when you have a future. by firebog, 17.6k, post-s8. dean and sam and cas learning to be human post-apocalypse. reminds me of robotmango’s writing! it’s kind of eccentric and very very sweet and funny.

Sam closes Hell. Castiel closes Heaven. The heroes save the day. There's no Heaven or Hell waiting to cause the next big disaster. There's no more end of the world. There's only a squirmy feeling in his chest that feels a lot like freedom. So, now what?

(Things I promise you in this fic: dog poetry, rabbits, and fluff)

six inch heels by alitneroon, 2.3k, canonverse. dean does drag! excellent fucking character study. prose is fantastic

Dean does drag on a whim, and ends up in way over his head.

sharing is caring by gateskeeper, 2.5k, canonverse. five times dean and cas shared something and one time they didn’t. look. sometimes u just need some saccharine tropey fluff. it’s VERY well written

Sam knows that Dean and Cas have shared a lot together, but ever since Cas became human permanently, it seems like they've been sharing a lot more. 

Or: five times Dean and Cas shared something special and one time Dean refused to.

💖 empty spaces by schmerzerling, 60k, au. dean has to take care of his dying father, and takes up running to cope. that’s just the beginning. HEAVY trigger warnings for ED (specifically anorexia) and suicidal thoughts. there is a happy ending, but dean has to fight to make it there. god. okay. this is a dark fic. it’s also one of the most well-characterized fics i’ve ever read. dean’s spiral is excruciatingly accurate and written with the kind of wry compassion that comes from either extensive research or extensive experience. it’s also completely immersed in dean’s perspective - dean’s relationship w his dad, dean’s relationship w food scarcity, etc. it’s incredible. it’s kinda scary. it’s deeply sad. cas is explicitly autistic and it’s ALSO incredibly accurate and loving, and makes cas so true to his canon self. ugh. and i burst into TEARS at some of the accompanying art, which is so sparse and lonely and beautiful. 100/10 experience one of the best fics i’ve read this year

Dean is fine. The way he sees it, things are simple. He had a house and a family and food in his stomach, and now he doesn't. And yeah, that's a downer, but he's not going to let that stop him from being fine, because he's in control of the situation. He definitely doesn't need anyone to save him. And it's not like the weird guy with the nice butt from down the road is the knight-in-shining-armor type, anyway.

broken road by thegeminisage, 109.6k, 14x13 au. dean makes a wish and gets more than he bargained for. a lot of “john comes back” fics are kinda short on nuance, which this author has talked about a lot - and oh MAN does this fic deliver on nuance. john’s abuse is absolutely present, but his pov makes him a complex character instead of a flat caricature for dean to reject. and the way this fic resolves really makes it clear that the priority is dean’s emotional well-being over all else!!! this isn’t about dean taking the path fandom thinks he should take w his abuser (killing john, punching john in the face, etc), this is abt dean coming to terms w his abuse and finding his own emotionally satisfying way of resolving it. also dean and cas are in an established relationship and it’s very slow and sweet.

A 14.13 Lebanon rewrite. When Dean uses a wish-granting pearl to try and kill the archangel Michael before he can escape the cage in Dean's head, they instead wind up with a newly-resurrected John Winchester.

It's been more than a decade since John died, and a lot has changed: Mary is alive, Sam and Dean have what passes for a proper home in the Men of Letters Bunker, and they're living with angels. John doesn't know angels are real, he doesn't know about the fragile new relationship between Dean and Castiel, and most of all, he doesn't know that Dean said yes to Michael, or that Dean's plan to defeat Michael would send him to a fate worse than death.

Now Dean must contend with both his father asking questions he can't answer, and his loved ones learning about the darker truths of his childhood, all while constantly battling the archangel trapped inside him. But Dean coming to terms with his history may be the difference between this being the beginning of a journey—or the end. 

home is not a place by imogenbynight, 6.8k, post-s11. human cas struggles with belonging, and dean struggles with their relationship. this reads a lot like komodobits’ cuckoo and nest, but it’s its own sweet little thing. they watch movies!!! very cute 

In which Dean is the oblivious one for a change.

love: a retrospective by xylodemon, 40.7k, post-s12. dean tries to deal w cas’ absence after s12 and reflects on their relationship thru the years. this was written before s13 aired, so - no spoilers - but jack plays a different role than he ends up playing in canon. it’s kinda fun seeing ppl’s theories pre-s13 tbh. makes me VERY glad that they took jack in the direction they did in show. anyway this is THEE definitive “they’ve been fucking all along” fic

Pretending Cas is just his friend has been the only thing keeping Dean's head on straight for years. He never realized how much doing that depended on him making himself scarce in the morning ─ not until Cas came back and moved into the bunker.

✨💖 if it all fell to pieces tomorrow by spocklee, 37k, post-s15 fix-it. cas gets broken out of the empty - and he immediately makes a break for it. new fave fix-it!!!! the writing is so understated and so straightforward - SO in character for cas tbh - that every single emotional beat feels like a PUNCH. and there are so many amazing character moments it made my chest seize the fuck up!!!!! perfect characterization perfect relationship moments perfect cas/jack parenting moments. the yearning over the phone is OFF THE CHARTS and spocklee makes the most of that tension!!!! PLUS old canon characters get to make fun appearances!!!!! i cannot recommend this shit enough

After the Empty, Cas has to spend some time alone. Orpheus tries to convince Eurydice over the phone that it’s okay to turn around now.

✨ before and after breakfast by spocklee, 10.5k, post-canon. dean and sam and cas tackle a monster of the week case with unexpected consequences. perfect pov perfect relationship moments SUCH GOOD TENSION. again this writing style just lets the tension dial up to 1000% every word is meaningful and it makes my chest hurt!!! spocklee SHOULD have blown up during the spn renaissance and i STAND by that

The monster of the week is a ghost who hates meat, alcohol, and feeling yourself. Guess who it is during the commercials.

CLASSICS

isn't it cool how every person has diff fics they consider "classics?" anyway these are required fucking reading. if u've been around these will prob be old news.

💖 asunder by rageprufrock, 23k, au. dean and cas go to sam's wedding. i reread this once a year like a religious ritual.

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Matthew 19:6)

💖 the girlfriend experience by rageprufrock, 15k, set during s5. dean teaches cas how to be human. mostly the sex part. literally the gold fucking standard of s4-5 era deancas fic and for deancas fic in general, personally

While it's not like Dean hasn't had a couple of truly regrettable hit-and-runs in his sexual history, this is probably the saddest fucking thing that has ever happened to him.

okay, cupid. by orange_crushed, 4.5k, au. dean tries to sign up for an ok cupid profile and has a revelation. as soon as i put this entry down i realized this entire fic rec was an exercise in futility, because if i could i'd literally just rec everything orange_crushed/robotmango has ever written. still one of THEE best authors in this fandom. go read all her fics. i’ll put the highlights here

"The dating thing?" Dean frowns. "Online dating is for weirdos. Robots. Dudes hanging out in their basements."

"You hang out in your basement."

"I have an air hockey table down there,” Dean says, icily.

💖 pwp: pie without plot by orange_crushed and majorenglishesquire, 82k, post-s8. sam and dean and cas quit hunting for a little bit to open a bakery. this is my comfort fic. i love it so so much.

he is in the kitchen with flour on his hands and an apron and there is flour on his forehead and cas leans across the counter and wipes it off with his thumb and dean says "thank you" and cas says "you’re welcome" very seriously and later dean makes apple turnovers and he only ruins them a little and sam realizes it’s not a real hunt like four days into it and he lets dean stay undercover for like a week and a half or longer maybe way longer because he is such a good everything

💖 la cucina by orange_crushed, 4k, post-s8. dean gets into cooking for a newly human cas. it's so gentle and loving and kind and makes me tear up every time. YES food is a comfort item and expression of love for dean. no i don't want to talk about it

Dean turns around and Castiel is picking through the jars, turning them over carefully to read the labels, totally engrossed. Dean watches him.

"Is there," Dean says, "uh, anything in there you like?" Castiel looks up at him and then back at the apples, sitting in a basket on the counter in their golden skins, ripe and pretty. Castiel smiles up at Dean.

"I don’t know yet," he says.

today, your barista verse by orange_crushed, 13.6k, coffeeshop au. a series of short sweet lovely fics where cas is a barista and dean is a smitten customer. literally the only coffeeshop au i respect

"Is that-"

"My number," says Dean, because he's a fucking champion, he's cool, he's collected, he's Captain Smooth of the USS Smoothtania, that's right. He is definitely not leaning against the counter for moral support. Cas doesn't looked seduced or impressed, though. He does not look like a dude who just met Captain Smooth and wants to ride the loveboat. He looks puzzled.

fata morgana. by orange_crushed, 6.6k, post-s9. dean is the king of hell. bela and cas team up to find him. bela pov. yeah you fucking heard that right BELA POV. BELA AND CAS!!!!!!!!!! makes me lose my mind i love everyone in this stupid desolate fucking hell wasteland.

The endless asphalt and broken road, the empty land and piles of human garbage, the unwanted ends of life, the cracked toys and broken screens and burning cars and gravel. Dean Winchester is the king of hell.

"Oh," says Bela.

That changes certain things.

💖 gran fury. by orange_crushed, 5k, pacific rim au. sam and cas pair up in a last ditch mission to save the world. permanently damaged me at age 15 and i've never recovered. major fucking angst warning.

They sit in silence and Castiel passes him the bottle. There’s not much left to say. Sam takes a gulp and it burns going down, like the cheap shit it is. He holds the bottle up against the light. He can see the Fury through it, distorted like a funhouse mirror. She’s a tomb but Sam loves her. Loves everything that’s left.

"To the end of the world," he says.

"To the end of the world," says Castiel.

💖 shut up (put your money where your mouth is) by kototyph, 24k, au. dean and cas get drunk married in vegas. dean renovates cas' house. this fic is SO MUCH BETTER than i remembered/expected and the entire series is fucking adorable go read it RIGHT now

Dean's done some pretty stupid things, but getting drunk-hitched in Vegas to a colleague he barely knows might just take the cake. His surprise husband, Castiel, is a little weird but likable despite that, and Dean figures they’ll go back to Boston, get a quiet annulment, and go their separate ways. Six weeks later, he’s still married to one of the strangest, most genuine and definitely most dangerously lov-- likable guys he's ever known. Dean doesn't know why or really even how it’s happening, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember that he has divorce papers to file.

not part of the plan by annie d (scaramouche), 338k, arranged marriage au. cas is slated to marry a noble from the winchester house. things spiral out of control. if you’re looking for an extensive well-developed political au, this is fucking it. i love reading about political machinations so this was FASCINATING to me. 

Castiel's spent most of his adult life keeping his head down and staying out of trouble. This is a deliberate choice on his part, because as a cousin of the King, he'd rather stay unimportant and forgotten. This changes abruptly when King Michael decides that he has a better use for Castiel: he is to be wed to a noble member of the neighboring Republic, as part of an agreement between their two nations.

Castiel knows he has to obey, but that doesn't mean he won't rebel in what small ways he can. Unexpectedly, his actions end up having far-reaching consequences.

💖 all things shining by askance and standbyme, 142k, au. sam and dean and cas go on a hunt that's not really a hunt, and against all odds good things happen. it's beautifully written and has scenes that literally make my heart leap out of my chest with joy and awe it's just WONDERFUL it's a wonderful fic. incredible mythology too omg i found that the authors actually created the myth the entire story is based on - like they don’t pull a random one from history, they made one up THEMSELVES. they even self-published it on amazon if ur curious

Something in the world is waking up.

It isn’t long before it’s brought to the attention of the Winchesters and Castiel: miracles are spreading across the country, the paranormal seems to be shrinking back on itself—and it all has something to do with the missing prayer book of a traveling preacher who died over a century ago.

Dean is convinced it’s all the lead-up to another Apocalypse; Sam and Castiel aren’t so sure. Regardless, it sends them out on a less-than-typical road-trip, following the Mississippi and remnants of a very old story that seems increasingly to call to them. And along the way the trio learn much more about themselves—and the consequences and origins of love—than they’d ever have anticipated.

💖 broadway musical by griftings, 12.4k, crack. romcom where cas is supposed to play matchmaker to dean and jo and well. you know. it actually made me cackle out loud when i read it again so you know it's still good. absolutely one of the funniest fics i’ve read

This is the day that marked the Holy and Blessed Union of Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle.

The merging of prominent bloodlines is always a grand occurrence, but breeding pedigree hunter families like Winchester and Harvelle is something to be rejoiced. It is also something to be meticulously planned, which thankfully the Host is very good at.

Or, the romantic comedy where Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle are destined to get married, Castiel is given the task of playing matchmaker and fails terribly, the entire Heavenly Host becomes a sitcom audience, God warns against male pregnancy, and Jimmy Novak is incredibly unimpressed with angels in general.

the five people you meet in heaven by chevrolangels, 22k, ambiguously canonverse. dean dies and goes to heaven and meets five people from his life. NOT a post-finale fic but still horrifically sad. i remember sobbing hysterically when i first read this so

Heaven is white.

Well. Isn’t that fucking stereotypical.

Dean isn’t really sure how he got here. Or even why he’s here. And hell, for all the times the Winchesters have died, he thinks he ought to know the drill by now. But what he doesn’t know is when most folks go, they find something different.

There’s a system God put in place. That when you’re gone (for good), there are a couple things you gotta do first. There are five people waiting for you.

They are the five people you meet in heaven.

any port in a storm by microcomets, 53k, post-s8. dean and cas go on a haunted cruise for a case. you know what happens next. also the art is by anobviousaside and it's gorgeous

The angels have fallen, leaving Castiel graceless and Dean with, well, more of other people’s problems. When a string of couples goes missing on the east coast, Dean and Cas decide to investigate—and find themselves trapped and hunted on a couples’ counseling cruise. Although battling monsters at sea is dangerous enough, sorting through emotional baggage proves to be far more deadly. (And, in which Cas embarks to find his missing grace and Dean is put out. Not necessarily in that order.)

a turn of the earth by microcomets, 95k, pre-canon au. cas is on the run from the empty and crash lands in dean's life. at one point he punches john in the face. a fucking beautifully written character study of pre-canon dean, honestly.

Dean’s your typical half-orphaned, monster-killing 22-year-old until a trenchcoated stranger crashes into his back windshield one September night, claiming he’s an angel that knows him from the future and that he’s on the run.

Frigging fantastic.

(Or, in which Castiel gets stuck in Dean’s timeline preseries and Dean kind of hates it—until he doesn’t.)

unfinished duet by microcomets, 5.8k, canonverse. sam observes dean and cas throughout the years. i remember this breaking my heart back in 2013!

Sam watches Dean and Cas over the years and notices a few things. (Or, Dean and Cas unscripted.)

💖 ergative/absolutive by glassedplanets, 8k, college au. dean and cas are best friends who meet in an astronomy class. i'm never not thinking about this fic it's so sweet and the friends to lovers is so soft and believable

He really shouldn’t be thinking thoughts like this about his best friend who literally just broke up with his girlfriend, but he knows he’ll blame it on sleepiness in the morning. He always does.

a certain light by flightagain, 24k, au. cas works at the gas n sip. dean is a customer. this author’s writing style is so lonely and heavy but it’s very lovely

Castiel works at the Gas-n-Sip. There are half-price nachos and flickering lights, there are office-workers and werewolves stopping by for snacks. Dean is a frequent customer, and his office might be haunted.

the one thing you can’t lose by majorenglishesquire, 5k, ambiguously canonverse. dean can pull cas around and it’s adorable. character study-ish. very sweet.

You know what I like a lot? The thought that Dean can just tug Cas anywhere at any time and Cas, who can lift tons without effort, who can demolish things with the light of his grace, who has battled and gone to war, has defended and broken, will just let Dean do it.

brother lover by twentysomething, 4k, set during s4/s5. dean’s jealous of sam and cas’ budding relationship. this fic is so tropey but it does it well and it’s funny as fuck

However- and it doesn't happen a lot- they have to invoke 'I saw her first.’

his fucking kids by 8sword, 3k, canonverse au. dean and cas raise claire and emma together. yes, claire novak. yes, emma of 7x13 spice girls fame. this was the first kidfic i read for spn i think. obvs written before jack or claire actually came back into the picture but it was the TEMPLATE of kidfic for me for ages

Jesus, the school should just have a parking spot labeled, “Reserved for the Novak-Winchesters,” because Dean’s getting sick of having to cruise around the parking lot looking for a spot every time he gets a call from the principal about Emma.

💖 what has eight tentacles and isn’t allowed to eat pie? by annie d (scaramouche), 16k, post s8. dean gets turned into an octopus. another fic that was SO MUCH BETTER than i remembered i fucking love when that happens. it isn’t even about dean being an OCTOPUS like NO. NOT EVEN. it’s ACTUALLY about the bunker and building a home and a community and a family and about PHYSICAL COMFORT and you can actually feel the world expanding at the end of this fic like a gusty sigh of relief it’s SO WONDERFUL. kevin is in this fic. ellie is too and i had to look her up but THIS is her!!!! danay garcia u were too hot to stay on this show but i love you and miss u

Dean watched an anime porn about this once, but real life turns out to be way less interesting.

Or, the one where Dean gets turned into an octopus.

💖 a beginner’s guide to communing with the dead by suspiciousflashlight, 77k, canonverse au. dean is a cop who summons a powerful entity to help him solve a cold case. oh my god i can’t believe i didn’t put this on here i love this one so much. the writing bowls me over it’s so confident in its worldbuilding like you’re IMMEDIATELY plunged into dean’s pov (FLAWLESSLY executed throughout the fic btw) and you just learn about the world as you go!! and it’s such a fascinating world!!! i love the magic i love the typical bureaucratic red tape procedures i love normalizing the supernatural. i ESPECIALLY love monsters as normal people in a society. at one point there’s this exchange

“Monsters,” says Cas finally. “Beyond the Wall there are monsters.” “You mean, like, vampires and djinn and stuff?” Cas shakes his head. “Those aren’t monsters, those are just people.”

those lines have stayed with me for years. i think about them every time i rewatch an episode of spn.

Maybe it's the little girl whose disappearance turned into a murder, and whose murder turned into a cold case, and who has now apparently decided to move in with him. Maybe it's the unacceptable hole left in his life when his dumb best friend and partner in (the prevention of) crime decided to go and get himself killed. Maybe it's his brother, whose high-profile career and fantastic girlfriend and first-child-on-the-way are steadily leaving Dean in the dust. Pick one. Pick all of them. The why doesn't matter so much as the what, and the what is this: Dean is pretty sure he's going completely, certifiably insane. Sure, he hasn't started wearing all his clothes inside out, and he still showers on a regular basis (anyways, that's not crazy, just a little eccentric); but there's no getting around the fact that he just threw away his life, his career, and his reputation by dragging out his mom's old necromancy book and summoning a Class A Forbidden Entity to his attic. A cranky one, too. With horrendous bed-head.

dean’s list by almaasi, 3k, canonverse. dean makes a list. short and sweet. i read this so much in 2015 that it literally got engraved into my brain line by line and rereading it caused synapses to fire that havent felt anything in years

Dean writes out a list of men he would go gay for. Sam has a suggestion to make.

💖 the path of fireflies by museaway, 63.7k, post-s8. dean and cas open a charming bed and breakfast in vermont. no, literally. another CLASSIC. i think about the food in this fic all the time...........maple bacon baked french toast......the cinnamon rolls.....it literally sounds so good

After his humanity is restored, Dean wakes up in bed with Castiel, a wedding ring, and no memory of the past twelve years.

long nights in cold months by pyrebi, 2.3k, au. dean’s an insomniac and cas works at walmart. i forgot i had this fic ALSO basically memorized. holy shit. pineapple in the fruit aisle.....................anyway it’s short and sweet and the “plot” resolves in such a satisfying way

When you're an insomniac, you get used to the "what the hell are you doing up, man?" look. Dean just hopes the guy who's stocking the shelves will stop giving it to him long enough to help him find some damn pineapple.

incredibly single & ready to mingle by imogenbynight, 3.6k, au. dean and cas meet on facebook. short cute au!!!!!!

Sam uses Facebook like the social media junkie he is. He's befriended literally every person he's ever had a conversation with since he got an account, which means that approximately—Dean checks—eight hours ago, he shared this horrible photo with something in the vicinity of nine hundred people. The caption below the picture reads “incredibly single & ready to mingle ;)” and roughly half of them have liked it.

Dean has never been so embarrassed in his life.

💖 unknown quantities by xylodemon, 8.5k, post-s8. after a post-case tryst, dean has to figure out his and cas’ relationship. human cas fics hold a special place in my heart. funny AND good dean pov AND a misunderstanding that i actually think works!!!!!

No one ever tells Dean anything.

(or: Dean Winchester and the not-relationship crisis of 2014)

#spn fic #spn #dean x cas #this is horrifically long actually.

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

you’ve talked a little bit about this wrt dan, but i’m curious: what are your favorite seasons/arcs for the main gg characters? (serena, blair, dan, nate, jenny, vanessa) cause everyone’s personalities tended to uh, shift a bit from season to season and storyline to storyline, and i’m wondering which eras of those characters were your favorite?

oh, so i sat on this question for a very long time, and spent a ton of time thinking over it. here we go! 

i loved the way serena was written in s1 and s2. she was so full of joy despite all the difficult things she’d endured, so bubbly and warm and... lively is ALWAYS the adjective that comes to mind for serena, despite how it’s a terrible pun. but yeah! she had an energy to her that was very childlike & genuine, and i loved that about her - despite the things she’d endured, she was so full of light (?? how do i describe this.) i know that serena’s arc gets notably more tragic s3 onwards, but i feel like the way she was written lost a bit of depth s3 onwards as well. she had a sharp wit, and a good sense of humour, she was playful and... most notably, she had this little giggle? that she literally NEVER does in the later seasons, which makes me sad?? she stopped laughing like a child at the age of, what, 19?? idk. in s1 & s2 serena had so many layers, and i feel like as the seasons went on they tried to, uh. keep only the surface layers? they didn’t really do justice to the character they started out with.

my answer for vanessa is actually the exact same, with slight modifications. vanessa’s energy in s1 and s2 was unparalleled. literally the best. i loved her and the way she was critical of everything and YET so ready to learn. compared to all these rich, privileged, white people... her presence was just SO good and so important to me, because the way she was so critical of the uber rich was something nobody else really was, and i think that perspective WAS valuable and should’ve remained, haha. idk what it was about s3, but i feel like they didn’t keep the crux of who vanessa was? it wasn’t a BAD vanessa season as much as an incomplete one. i felt they could’ve done so much more with a character like vanessa.... she’s so vibrant and full of life! and the way s3 was for her was very surface. and then in s4 they just demolished her character entirely. i’ve said it before, i’ll say it again: what jenny, juliet and vanessa did in 4x09 was TOTALLY out of character for vanessa. she would never, ever do that. and by the time s4 came around... someone else said this, i don’t remember who. but they said that vanessa was basically being used as a plot device more than as a character. notice how she’s always in the right place at the right time to overhear the right thing? it’s a travesty, because vanessa was just..... so significant to me. like her being there added so much value & even changed the tone of the show imo.

my blair feelings are very complicated. i think she’s fascinating, and i love leighton & her performance. i love book blair so much more than show blair, and idk why or how to explain it. i mentioned this in that post where i ranked the characters, but while watching blair in high school specifically i can’t EVER forget that she would probably hatecrime me, and even when she’s out of school she is still supremely racist at times. i actually liked blair best in s5 - and i know she was going thru ~tragic~ stuff (i think they dialled the tragedy too high actually, like, blair had TOO MUCH on her plate and from a storytelling point of view it was... ambitious, to say the least, to hope to bring all out of that out on tv) but like, keeping her tragedy aside. her capacity for kindness and care really shone thru while she was with dan, and i liked how the d/b relationship took her out of her comfort zone and her “but im a Waldorf!” bubble and let her, idk, be a person. i liked her in s4, too. i feel like blair is a really good, nuanced, fleshed out character as blair, and the way she clung to being a waldorf combined with her rich-white-girl privilege got kind of boring after a while because like. she’s not like louis? her character has so much depth. her character doesn’t need to be reduced to a title, because she’s SO much more than that.

i feel like i need to do a lot more rewatching when it comes to dan because i CANNOT be objective about him. he reminds me far too much of myself!!! down to his flaws and his mistakes and his issues –  i was a precocious little shit in high school at times in very similar ways to dan, i like to think i’ve grown out of that (& am perpetually making an effort TO grow out of falling into those patterns) & that’s what i want for dan, too. dan’s arc feels real to me, because a lot of it is my arc, too. feeling lonely, out of place & unaccepted in high school --> being a popular kid in college… that hits really close to home. s1 & s2 are important seasons to me because i’m extremely protective of awkward, trying-his-best high school dan (he can be awful at times, but he can be earnest and sincere, too!) i feel like s4 is actually the best dan season – took me a while to get here, but halfway thru my s2 rewatch that’s how i’m leaning. but dan’s arc was very interesting to me, and i wish they’d kept his heart. trying to retcon him as evil fell absolutely flat to me, like. who are you convincing! one of my friends and i were joking about how georgie blackmailed dan into pretending to be gossip girl (she obviously has dirt on him that nobody else does.) anyway. dan’s arc felt pretty true until the end of s4. i wasn’t a big fan of how he was written in s5, i felt like something had been taken away from his character, but i don’t know how to say it better. you’re right though, i have gone over this a lot! so i’m not going to break my head over it, ‘cause we’re already a thousand words in and i still have nate and jenny to go.

speaking of jenny, though: i think dan’s storylines REALLY needed more of a big brother arc. the way he was characterised, especially in s1, was very “i would kill a man for my baby sister” and i have NO idea where that went or why they got rid of it. (actually, i do have some idea. fucking chip wiskers apologism & elevation of chair over literally anything else. sigh)

okay, now speaking of jenny in terms of jenny. i liked her s1 arc, like, her trying to make friends with these people & trying to keep her morals and realising she can’t do both was interesting. i think that should’ve been that with her clashes with girls in constance, though. and afterwards, either nothing happens, or she transfers out of constance, etc. jenny’s s2 arc makes me sad – she was exploited and treated like dirt in so many ways :( the jenny/agnes was interesting in s2, though, and there’s no way to interpret it that ISN’T lesbian. i’ve always felt like jenny’s feelings for nate in s2 are very comphet. jenny’s s3 arc made me even sadder than her s2 arc- she was alienating all her friends one by one, making everyone hate her, and just…… spiralling. she really needed a better support system. her s4 arc made no sense. like. why did she come back in the city to fuck with serena like that? it didn’t feel right.

yeah, all that said… i feel like there are many super intriguing elements of jenny’s storylines and arcs, like, even within canon events if things had been executed differently, it could’ve been actually good/empowering. but the writers hated jenny. and this show was never a feminist show.

ah, so… nate. he started out as a flake in s1 & s2. that’s his whole thing. he doesn’t know who he wants to be / how to get what he wants / how to get where he wants. he takes people for granted. he isn’t dependable or reliable, he lets people down (most notably, blair & vanessa.) and he means well, sure! but his life is like amber and he’s trapped in it. he doesn’t follow his heart, he’s too busy trying to please the wrong people, etc etc. in s3 he’s suddenly so ready for commitment, which always breaks my heart because vanessa!!! but anyway. s3 has a shift in his character, possibly him getting dumped at prom and realising that high school is over and one thing that tethered him to his family (being a kid, being a high schooler, being a minor, whatever) –  one big thing that held him there is gone. so it makes sense that he starts trying to be his own person. i like s3 nate, and s4 nate. we see nate sort of gradually try and be a moral compass, and it’s interesting to me. when i write d/n fic something i really focus on is dan finding nate dependable, and i think that’s a value that builds in nate over time. nate of season 1 is not dependable, nope, no way. but nate of s4 seems like a decent friend to have. in s5 and s6 they more or less threw his entire arc to the wind and gave him so many shitty storylines (sage spence, wtf? nate would not do this. he’s been on the opposite end of this before, he would not carry the pattern forward, ffs.)

idk. this almost hit 1.7k, LMAO. i hope it made some amount of sense!

#anon #this is long enough to be a fanfic LMAOO #meta