#like most of the relationships in her books have zero development
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Read Between the Lines
read it on ao3
Lena reads the review, rubs her temples a few times, then reads it again. There is no way Super_Girl has rated this book five stars and then wrote multiple paragraphs waxing poetic about how fantastic it was. Lena already submitted her own one-star review which included her breakdown of the writing, the characters, and the plot, of which this book had none.
For months, Lena has been seeing Super_Girl reviews pop up on the same books Lena recently finished. She wondered at this point if Super_Girl might be doing this on purpose – reading the same books just so she could rate the book the opposite of whatever Lena did. At first, it was simple - “Loved it!” or “Couldn’t get into this one,” but as of late, the reviews had gotten longer and more descriptive.
Lena herself always used the same formula for reviewing books: overall star rating with a breakdown of her thoughts on the characters, the plot, and the writing. Books, like most things in life, are easy to rate when you understand the evaluation system. Books follow formulas and rules for a reason – it’s what makes them good. A romance novel, for instance, requires a “happily ever after.” Without it, it cannot be considered a romance, and it certainly wouldn’t be a good one.
So, as Lena reads the latest review by Super_Girl, Lena can’t help but leave a comment. Maybe this person simply needs an education on the book rating system.
“What criteria do you use when rating a book?”
It’s a good starting place for this conversation. Lena has amassed quite the following with people interested in her book reviews and the last thing she wants to do is stir up internet drama to damage her good reputation. She knows how easy it is for people to take something out of context.
The reply comes almost immediately.
“Vibes!”
Lena blinks a few times, then closes the browser and leaves her laptop for the night.
**
Super_Girl does it again with another five-star rating for a book that made Lena seriously consider contacting the literary award agencies to complain about their selection. The book sounded like it was AI generated and had zero plot. And the characters? Don’t even get her started.
“How can you consider this a masterpiece?” she writes under the review. “There is zero substance in this book. It’s just a bunch of flowery words that mean nothing and make no sense. If this is your idea of romance, then I’d hate to be your girlfriend.”
Her phone rings and Lena spends the next hour talking with her assistant, Jess, about the priorities for the week and when they can finalize some presentations. Later, as she lays in bed scrolling on her phone, Lena thinks to check her goodreads account. There, under her latest comment, is a reply from Super_Girl.
“Amidst the turmoil of the crumbling world around them, two people take the time to write love letters to each other. What’s more romantic than that?
I want to meet you in every place I have loved.
I want to be in contact with you.
Swoon.”
Speaking of taking things out of context.
While Lena can see Super_Girl’s point, that’s not enough to change her mind about the book. Especially not in the context of it being a sci-fi fantasy that relegated war to a backdrop in much the same way Hollywood did with Pearl Harbor. Don’t get her started. She types out a response before closing the webpage and going to sleep.
“Relationships develop over time. Even if I agreed with your assessment, this book still lacked any real narrative and there’s zero reason to believe these two people would fall in love. They don’t know anything about each other except that they can write a decent letter.”
**
Oh, no, Lena thinks. Her latest read has her questioning her entire belief system about books. She liked the book. Not because it had a great plot. Not because she was rooting for the characters. She liked the book because…it gave her good vibes. She genuinely had a good time reading it, despite it being a complete shitshow. This never happened to her before.
She opens her goodreads page to leave her review and finds that Super_Girl hasn’t read this one yet. She feels the slightest pang of disappointment but pushes through to her review. At the end of her standard format, she adds a new category: vibes.
It takes a few days, and Lena finds herself checking her account every few hours. She’s sitting at her desk and scrolling on her phone when she gets a notification that Super_Girl commented on her review.
“Vibes?!?! I’m SUPER proud of you! And we agree the characters were awful and the plot was weak, but it was well-written.”
She doesn’t even realize she’s smiling until Jess comments about it.
“Oh, nothing,” she says and waves her hand. “Just a literary rival.”
Jess looks at her. “You’re smiling because of…a rival?”
Is that what they were? The word didn’t really feel like a good fit, but Lena goes with it.
“Agreed with me on a point. Can we please stay focused?”
And they do. Lena and Jess go over the latest reports and prepare for an upcoming meeting with one of their international partners. Lena doesn’t think about Super_Girl again until she’s lying in bed and that damn smile creeps backs onto her face.
**
Her next review is not a good one. It makes Lena question the romance genre as a whole. Has the world become so used to being treated like garbage, people can’t even tell the difference between healthy and toxic love?
She’s barely hit submit when Super_Girl comments on her review.
“They were flirting the whole time!”
Lena is still sour enough she doesn’t bother to hold back on her response.
“Flirting where? Being in each other’s orbit is not flirting. Why can’t people just say, ‘I like you and I’d like to go on a date with you?’ instead of whatever BS was happening in this book. Honestly, I’m worried for your love life if you think this is a healthy way to approach communication.”
Super_Girl goes silent for a long while after that.
Lena worries something may have happened and questions whether she should reach out. They haven’t gone this long without a reciprocal review since they started this little dance of theirs almost a year ago. She finds herself rereading their reviews and wondering about who Super_Girl might be behind the screen name. There’s no profile photo, no personal information at all. Just a single word.
Golly.
Lena smiles at that. In fact, she smiles at everything Super_Girl has written. While they may not agree on books, Lena can’t deny that whoever is behind the reviews is a wordsmith who comes across as the sweetest human on the planet.
It surprises her when she receives a notification that she has been selected to read a new release ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review. Lena doesn’t usually agree because she doesn’t want to give people any reason to think her reviews are biased or influenced in any way. She’s about to deny the request, but the cover art depicts two women, one blonde, the other brunette, and Lena never turns down a sapphic story. She accepts the request without another thought.
**
When Lena finishes The Write Stuff, she starts it over and reads it again, cover to cover. The writing, the pacing, and the storytelling are superb. It’s as if the author has studied every article about how a romance novel should be written. The characters are so well written, she has clear images of who each of these women are. She understands their desires, their fears, and their motives. Not only does she care about these people as a couple, but she also cares about them individually in a way she hasn’t cared about a character in a long time. As for the plot itself? It’s perfectly cheesy and still somehow realistic enough to be believable that it could happen in real life.
Lena hasn’t felt this…satisfied by a book since well, since she can’t remember.
So, that’s exactly what she writes in her review.
“I especially loved this line:
I would rewrite history if it meant a chance for a happy future with you.”
When she’s done, she looks up the author and finds that she’s written one other book.
Lena doesn’t recall reading it, but when she clicks on the title, she finds her review posted with a few hundred likes and several dozen comments. One star and zero positive things to say about it. Lena can’t help but think how far the author has come from this first book to the most recent one. It’s an impressive improvement, and Lena Luthor isn’t easily impressed.
Supergirl leaves a comment on her review a few days later.
“It looks like the author has been paying attention to your feedback.”
**
The following week, Lena is staring at the meeting invitation with furrowed brows and a healthy dose of confusion. She presses the call button on the speaker on her desk.
“Yes, Miss Luthor?” Jess says.
“Jess, why do I have a meeting with Supergirl on my calendar?”
Jess is quiet for a moment. She’s quiet so long, in fact, that Lena’s door opens and a blond woman with thick-rimmed glasses wearing chinos and a tucked-in button down steps just inside. She has a nervous smile and fidgets with her glasses.
Lena recognizes her from the photo bio she still has pulled up on her web browser and stands to greet her.
“Miss Danvers,” she says, “please, come in. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Kara Danvers, author of The Write Stuff, who Lena has been internet stalking for the past week shifts in the doorway. Lena comes around the front of her desk. They stare at each other in silence for a moment before Lena hears a faint “go” from Jess in the reception area. That makes Kara shake out of her stupor.
She brings her hand out from behind her back and holds her arm at full length with a bouquet of…plumerias. Lena can’t believe what she’s seeing. Her favorite flowers which represent love and new beginnings are being offered to her by this stunning woman who wrote one of her favorite books of the year. Lena looks from the flowers back to Kara’s face.
“I like you, Lena Reads” Kara says, “and I would like to go on a date with you.”
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Reasons I despise Shadow and Bone
• Inej Ghafa in the books was an SA survivor and a girl who despite all that she went through, held hope close to her chest. Book Inej was so scared of the menagerie, she couldn't walk past it without the fear of being recaptured. She finally moved on from this fear when she choked Heleen at the Ice Court, stole her diamond choker and ran, calling her silks feathers. And finally believing that she was free after facing her fear, her abuser head on. So seeing the show Inej casually walk into the menagerie as well as merely shrugging upon hearing of Heleen's death this season, was not just extremely ooc but disrespectful and had zero depth.
• Kaz Brekker's disability was basically neglected this entire season and his cane treated like an accessory. Not only that they butchered the entire Kaz-Nikolai meeting in CK. Kaz would've immediately recognized Nikolai, like that was such a downgrade. Not to mention Nikolai threatening Kaz (and Jesper). Kaz wouldn't be threatened. Instead he'd make negotiations with Nikolai on his terms. Oh and most importantly, his entire backstory was rushed and played off like it was nothing serious. That intensity of two innocent small-town boys being tricked by an adult with agency and power, I couldn't feel it as much as I felt reading the books.
• Jesper Fahey's backstory is very emotional and beautiful. The memories with his mother and his coversations later on with his father, all lead up to him slowly accepting his grisha side more and embracing it. Embracing being a zowa. The show speed-ran through it and well, it lost its depth.
More importantly none of the backstory material makes much sense and lacks so much depth because there was nothing that lead to that development. The books, whatever transpires in SoC is what leads to and triggers their individual character developments. So any backstories stuffed in the show made no sense.
• Nina Zenik's bisexuality is completely erased by the show. Its like netflix is allergic to sapphics 😭
• Now Kanej! We got so much Kanej content we should be happy right? I agree. The scenes did give me a momentary high because those are some of my favorite parts of the books and its a blessing to be able to see them adapted on screen. Except, none of those scenes made sense, especially since season 1 barely hinted about some chemistry between the two and then season suddenly escalated all that slow burn into significant moments badly stashed into the show plot. I mean ofc we got the chapel scene and all but.. The whole wound patching-up scene was a pivotal moment in their relationship and it was completely downplayed in the show. And then there was also Kaz getting mad at Inej freeing some children from slavers? Like ofcourse even book Kaz would be slightly miffed but he wouldn't outright reprimand Inej and tell her she's off the team due to it, but thats what show Kaz did. And then after everything that happens, the sudden drop of “how will you have me” and the “without armor” dialogue completely did dirty to that moment. Like ofc she says “gloves on, fully clothed, head turned away so our lips never meet”. But in the books, Inej utters those words because of all the secrecy and lack of effort for pursuing a proper relationship between them. The “no armor” Inej says is addressed towards wanting him to be more open about himself (since Kaz knows basically everything about her, from her full name to how she was captured and ended up in Ketterdam) but Inej knows nothing about him, not even if Kaz Brekker is his real name. But the show made the “no armor” dialogue so bad. Its made Inej look so shallow as if she is merely speaking in terms of her physical wants.
Ohh and I did mention this in another post but everybody fucking knowing about Kaz's backstory? Everyone but Inej? The only person he actually tells in the books. Him even telling the fraction of stuff he tells Inej spoke volumes about their bond and how he trusted her enough to reveal this truth about himself. Show Kaz's past is revealed to Nina and Jesper casually walking in and listening??? WTF was that? And no Inej in thaf moment. Call it nitpicking but it was WRONG.
• Wesper has been reduced to the token gay couple of the show. Their sweet first encounter has been completely eradicated and they're turned into this typical trope of people who had a one night stand and accidentally met again. Their romance is so sexualised in the show, as many tend to do with queer ships (which is extremely disgusting imo). More importantly, we'll most likely never see the “no, not just girls” in that possible spin-off 🙂
• Ketterdam: the show has given no proper insight on Ketterdam. I bet most of the show only people don't understand much about the city and the gangs. I wonder if many even know whats a Dime Lion. And Pekka randomly having the stadwatch in cahoots with him was so shitty writing?
And these are just a few that i can remember right now. Also i don't want this post to get too long.
–» If you're one of those sheep fans, don't comment shit like “creators already told us its different from the books, so you shouldn't be mad” 🤪 cause I'll definitely delete your comment.
If you are one of those, scroll past this post. Cause what do y'all even mean? People can't freely discuss or criticize a piece of media now? STFU!
#shadow and bone#six of crows#sab spoilers#kaz brekker#inej ghafa#kanej#jesper fahey#wylan van eck#wesper#nina zenik#matthias helvar#crooked kingdom#grishaverse#freddy carter#amita suman#kit young#jack wolfe#calahan skogman#danielle galligan#shadow and bone season 2
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Today I will rant about Malina
Because this ship tried to be passed on as an ideal relationship to have.
*spoiler: it wasn't*
Malina is a ship that was shoved down our throats throughout the trilogy. Whether you shipped it or not you were bound to read about it in literally every other page.
And what are the negative aspects of this ship?
Literally EVERYTHING.
Let's start with Mal. The number 1 asshole in this trilogy.
And yes he is the number 1 and not Aleksander since Aleksander was a character with a goal. He had a grand plan that exceeded selfishness and pure evil and he used any means necessary to fulfill it. But Mal? Remind me, what was his plan?
Well, at the start of the trilogy to fuck around girls and then, when Alina began to feel something for someone else, to undermine her, latch on her and chastise her. There you have his role.
The minute Alina started having a life of her own outside his influence, the little jerk felt overlooked and his pride got hurt.
It's evident that Alina felt quite unseen from Mal in the beginning. He flirted and fucked girls right in front of her face (since she very clearly knew) and he even stopped hanging around with her as much as he did in the past.
Quite a start.
And then when Alina found her strength, happiness and place in the Little Palace he got offended. Why isn't she tortured as the rumors had said? What are these clothes that she's wearing? Why is she happy? And, most importantly, WHY IS SHE HAPPY WITH ANOTHER MAN??
Alina at that moment felt like she was walking on eggshells around him. She didn't know what to say without provoking him further. And when she found her voice, the little prick got all puffed up and left without even apologizing for ruining her nice evening.
Then we have Mal not talking to her as if it wasn't his own decision to abandon the army and follow her and again made her feel bad for even mentioning the Darkling.
It appears that Mal had no problem when his best friend bullied Alina but went actual feral when a (powerful) guy showed interest in her. Insecure, aren't we Mal?
In the following books we have Mal being okay that Alina doesn't use her powers and therefore being weak.
We have Mal being more concerned if Alina fucked the Darkling than being tortured by him. Apparently he wanted her virginity for him, I don't know.
We have Mal acting like crazy because Alina decided to return to Ravka to lead the remaining Grisha. But what about him?? What about his needs?? And what if he decides not to follow her? What will she do then?
(people call the Darkling manipulative but let me show you another person that you overlook as manipulative, my friends)
He gets angry when she hesitates to kiss him and again makes her feel bad about it. And how does he respond with that?
Revenge!!✨✨
Kisses Zoya, a woman he fucked before, and then threw the blame to Alina ("at least she doesn't flinch when I kiss her" "why do you care? You don't care about me anyway") Gaslighting at its finest form, my friends! 👌 Knew that she would be hurt, knew that she had feelings for him and still did it.
Oh and let's forget how he wanted the good, old Alina back! The sickly one that always depended on him for company and strength. He basically asked her to tear out a piece of her soul! 🥰🥰
And then, of course, jeopardized both her image and her safety by getting drunk and getting into fights (*whispering* we, the readers, are supposed to find this very romantic, okay? A man that drinks, sulks and makes the heroine feel bad. Just so you know).
Then the author made a 360° and presented Mal in R&R as changed and a very good person. Willing to die heroically for his love. How did she do that?
💕💕With zero development!!💕💕
One minute he's up there in the chapel being a jerk and the next minute he's underground and changed. I think it must have been the change of air, what do you think?
I have a huge problem with Leigh Bardugo about this. She presents Darklina as toxic. And it is. She presents Nikolina as little to zero toxic. And it is. But when she presents Malina, it's a really good, cute ship!! Not toxic at all with lots of possibilities! Leigh has constantly defended it saying "Oh but Mal was a teenager".
Ma'am? I was a teenager once and I never made my best friends feel like shit.
And as have everyone said before, Mal hits veeery close at home. He's every jerk that you have met in your life and you will meet again.
With Darklina you have nothing to fear. Because no one will put the collar of a magical stag around your throat, no one will have a nichevo'ya bite your shoulder, no one will ask you to abandon your friends so you can save some Grisha from the persecution. But plenty of men will slut-shame you for what you're wearing, plenty will feel insecure for being stronger and more famous than them, plenty will make you feel like shit for finding happiness and plenty will sabotage you by taking revenge kissing someone else.
Malina is a ship that is REAL.
While Darklina is your typical, fantastical ship.
Her hard efforts to pass it on to the readers as something healthy and inspiring is disgusting and makes me hate it even more.
Now from Alina's perspective things are even more tragic, since Alina never grows as a character because of him.
She always thinks "What about Mal? Will Mal follow me? What if he doesn't? It's my fault. It's all my fault. Where is Mal?".
This is it. This is the trilogy in a summary.
A heroine that seems more concerned about Mal than the country and people that expect from her to save them.
"Alina doesn't want a crown. That's why she left"
Girl, I don't want to go to work every day either.
Kids don't want to wake up to go to school.
People don't want to pay taxes every year.
But we do them because we MUST.
Just like Alina should stay, lead and rule because that's what she should do as the protagonist. Not pass on her own duties to others and say "gotta go lolz". Malina could be used as a plotline for Alina to gain strength from by casting aside Mal's influence and finding her own power inside herself. Instead Leigh did the opposite: stripped her powers (her own self) to fit in Mal's world.
And this excuse that the author had given ("some women don't want to wear crowns") is pathetic and idiotic.
Frodo didn't want to carry the Ring but chose to do the right thing. Harry didn't want to fight a war with a psychopath but did because it was the right thing. The Pevensie siblings didn't want to fight the White Witch and rule a country but did both because it was the right thing. Every hero in a proper story does the right thing. He or she becomes selfless and sacrifices his own happiness and well being to stand up against the evil and corruption.
In the trilogy instead we have Alina who had a responsibility and duty but unfortunately for Ravka and the Grisha she was not a responsible person but a girl that wanted to depend on a man. She didn't want to use her influence to protect her people but hide.
Apparently the "evil villain" understood the assignment better than the author ever did.
Alina never grew as a person or as a character. It was only Mal and Mal. If only he had stayed dead in R&R then the world would shine brighter. But no! The author brought him back and gave us an explanation with how that happened that I still don't understand because it doesn't make a goddamn sense.
I guess the easy explanation is: "I brought Mal back because Alina had to end up with him somehow. Deal with it."
And we just have to accept this (just as Alina did) whether we like it or not.
Well I don't.
Because I've met people like Mal and they're assholes. They want to be the strongest one in the relationship, they want their girl to look up to them and depend on them and when they make mistakes it's none of their fault.
Because I've met people like Alina that try hard to please their man while in the meantime they "crumble down" emotionally and feel insecure. They never shine with their own light but seek only the one that their toxic partner can give to them. Without it they're lost.
Because I've met couples like Malina. And it's never a happy relationship or has a happy ending.
And when you try to pass on this relationship in fiction as something healthy, then you really need to reconsider.
#this was bullshit. the way Leigh defended it and how she presented it. it makes me sick#darklina#the darkling#pro darklina#anti mal oretsev#anti malina#alina starkov#pro alarkling#leigh bardugo#shadow and bone#grishaverse#grishaverse trilogy
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A Brief History of Alternative Romances in Choices
Series - TRR's Alternative LIs: The "Romances" that Didn't Happen
TW: Mentions of OH2's handling of Rafael (though not in detail), racism.
To be clear, this introductory essay isn't directly related to the rest of this series. TRR operated very differently to the other Choices series' when it came to alternative LIs, so a lot of what I'll discuss here won't actually apply to its specific romance mechanics.
Still, it is important to explore what it means to give an LI an alternative romance in PB, and for that we need to look at what the approach to such romances were. Both in the past, and after TRR became popular. Looking into this gives us a general idea of which specific LIs got an alternative romance, why just them and not others, and what such developments said about the way the writing team viewed a particular character.
The Choices App was introduced in 2016, with three stories that were likely meant to cater to different audiences. Out of the three, the crime drama Most Wanted was the only series that focused on a single romantic pairing.
The other two - The Freshman and The Crown and the Flame - presented players with multiple romance options for their main character(s). TCaTF split its narrative between two main characters - Kenna Rys and Dominic Hunter - exploring both Kenna's fight to gain back and then expand her kingdom, and Dom's discovery of his heritage as a member of the Fire Tribes. Even though Kenna and Dom could be paired romantically, they had other potential LIs. Notably, Kenna had 6 (Dom, Tevan, Raydan, Annelyse, Val and Diavolos) and Dom only 2 serious contenders (Kenna, Rose, Sei, Will Jackson all had romances with him. Of these four, Rose was eliminated early on in the series, and Will was a last-minute addition at the end of TCaTF3). TCaTF didn't seem to focus much on the love lives of these LIs outside of Kenna and Dom, until Book 3 in 2017 - and of the cast only Raydan and Tevan seemed to get hints at other potential romances (with Aurynn and Zenobia, respectively).
Unlike MW and TCaTF, The Freshman's focus zeroed in on just one character. It was the first series to feature a customizable MC, whose experiences and choices alone would move the story forward. The original three-book series featured romances with three LIs - Chris Powell, James Ashton and Kaitlyn Liao. By the third book, two more were added to the roster - Zig Ortega and Becca Davenport.
You could choose a boy/girlfriend by the end of Book 1, and change partners in Book 3 if you weren't happy with your first LI and/or wanted one of the newer ones. The first three books didn't really have any alternative romances for the LIs themselves, but all that was about to change (for two LIs) in The Sophomore (released in 2017).
(Screenshots from the UnruleLee Gaming Youtube Channel)
In TS, the MC had the opportunity to pair James and Kaitlyn up with other side characters if she wasn't dating them. Kaitlyn begins to show an interest in Annisa, the new keyboardist in her punk band. Similarly for James and Reyna, a member of the editorial staff of Hartfeld's student-run newspaper. Both pairings only resulted in long-term relationships if the MC encouraged them enough, and she had both free and paywalled opportunities to do so.
What is noticeable at this point is that there are three LIs that are not given romantic alternatives - Chris, Zig and Becca. Though members of the fandom did headcanon certain pairings that had some potential in canon (such as Zig with his roommate Aaron and Becca with Madison), the narrative itself never indicated any romances for these characters, preferring perhaps to focus on their romance with the MC.
A possible reason for this could have been popularity. At the time, some in the fandom theorized that Chris was the most popular of the OG LIs, and that Zig and Becca garnered popularity quite quickly when they emerged as options in TF3. So there would be a lot more investment from the teams in charge of the book to focus their writing on their MC-centric routes.
James and Kaitlyn received criticism and sometimes outright hate from fans - some of whom complained ad nauseum whenever options to help them with their professional lives or personal development came up, while being largely accepting of the more popular LIs' conflicts. So it is possible that the writing focused on giving these two LIs other romantic options, in a way they didn't need to for the other three.
However, giving James and Kaitlyn other love interests didn't affect their overall writing. The Freshman series handled the balance between all five LIs with a deft hand, ensuring that every LI had adequate growth, development and attention within the narrative. Whether they were single or paired with the MC, all of them had unique stories that allowed the characters to make mistakes and learn from them, to confront their fears and conquer them, to deal with their problems in a realistic way.
James' story wasn't simply stuck on Reyna - he spent most of TS honing his writing skills and developing a novel, and later co-writing a play with the MC. Kaitlyn's story wasn't simply about romancing Annisa - it was about dealing with her insecurities, building her band from scratch, getting over her fears of Natasha sabotaging her again, being comfortable in her own identity. Their romances with Reyna and Annisa felt like bonus side stories that we could get if we were interested enough...not the be-all and end-all of their stories.
Alternative romances for LIs didn't happen in all books. Many didn't bother with one, especially those that wound up being one-book stories. Some books that ended with an elaborate wedding for an MC and their LI also seemed to do away with this too, mostly by eliminating other love interests or making their presence scarce (for instance, in RoE, the other two LIs for "Katie" virtually disappear when she make her choice, only featuring in brief cameos and mentions). Alternative LIs often featured in series' that were successful enough to get three books, so more often than not, two-book series' like #LoveHacks would barely even have the time to develop new characters to date any LI.
The books that did end up following this route often lasted long enough for at least three books (with PM and ATV standing as exceptions), and likely had more than 3 LIs. In certain books the pairing was paywalled, and in others you could choose a number of free options to encourage the romance.
After a while a pattern seemed to emerge in who got such romances. Sometimes the alternative LI was given only to the "forgotten fourth/fifth" of a series (the extra LI who would get the least attention) - sometimes the "lucky" LI would be a character that was NOT a late addition to the roster of LIs, but an OG LI that just got so little attention and buildup it became obvious that they were given an alternative because the writers couldn't be bothered to imagine what their romance with the MC would look like. One can confidently say this because very often the "alternative romance" was written with more thought than the romance with the LI or any of that character's individual problems, and it started becoming very obvious that the writers felt more comfortable imagining the playthroughs where such LIs could only be friends with the MC.
Once the Choices app found its "core demographic" and started churning out more books, there were more and more cases of the writers indicating who their favourites were, early on (through providing a higher frequency and quality of diamond scenes for certain LIs, and through their interviews before the book releases). Which resulted in those characters getting more popular and others less so. And it was this "popularity" that often impacted writing choices and treatment.
Such a system of storytelling results in a vicious cycle, where a team will either assume already that one particular character will rake in more money, and give them a head start over others...or where a writer - through intentional or unintentional bias - could push forward a "favourite" front-and-center to the detriment of other LIs.
Here's a list of books that wrote alternative romances for certain LIs (except for OH, but I will get to that one in a minute). See if you can figure a pattern in at least most of these books:
High School Story 3 (2018) - Caleb Mitchell (Jade Ali), Emma Hawkins (Luis Marino), Aiden Zhou (Cameron Levy)
High School Story: Class Act 3 (2019-20) - Skye Crandall (Lilith Vidal)
Desire and Decorum 3 (2018-19) - Luke Harper (Cordelia Parsons)
Perfect Match 2 (2018) - Sloane Washington (Khaan Mousavi)
Across the Void (2018-19) - Zekei Sentry becomes a love interest both to the MC as well as their sibling Eos Elara.
Endless Summer 3 (2017-18) - Quinn Kelly (Kele), Sean Gayle (Michelle Nguyen). (Technically, almost every LI does get some potential in terms of alternative romance...but Estela and Jake's pairings feature mostly in the AUs shown by The Endless (Sean x Michelle, Estela x Zahra, Jake × Yvonne are all shown - among other AU romances). Quinn and Sean's romances, however, are solidified in the MC's handfasting ceremony with their LI, where the couples could share a romantic look and Michelle even leans on Sean's shoulder.)
In theory, the alternative romance could sound tempting. It allows the MC to demonstrate care and concern for an LI regardless of their romantic interest, or lack thereof. It may potentially give the reader the surface comfort of seeing an LI they rejected lead a happy life with someone they can love. It seems like a win-win situation for everyone.
But it becomes apparent when you comb through both the romantic and friendly versions of these characters' stories, that something is not quite right. I will take two LIs here as an example.
(Screenshots from Abhirio's YouTube Channel (D&D3) and Danni Stone's YouTube Channel (PM1))
Sloane Washington's major character points in Book 1 involve her love for coding and astronomy, as well as her strong bond with her mother. Book 2 (2018) does very minimal work on either of these; once Khaan enters the picture, almost every diamond scene she gets focuses solely on the possibility of a romance with him. The narrative doesn't even focus the reunion with her mother Kim on her!
Likewise, many, many complaints emerged during D&D3 (2019) about the way Luke's wedding was handled. His mother - who is supposedly very close to him - only features in letters and one memory about his brother Ezra's gambling addiction, doesn't have a name, is given a used sprite that isn't even dressed in period-appropriate clothing, and never even attends his wedding. On the other hand, his alternative romance with Cordelia was explored in excruciating detail, to the point where the two are given a wedding and the promise of a future child. It is almost as if the writers couldn't bear to envision him marrying their precious MC.
There are two major things that become apparent the more you observe the above list of LIs who got alternative romances.
One, the LIs that don't get "alternative LIs" are often white and male (Chris in TF, Micheal in HSS, Ernest in D&D, Meridien in AtV) with a couple exceptions. The writing takes care to weave their issues and conflicts into the MC's larger narrative and try their best to ensure that we become invested in whatever they have going on in their stories. A good example of this are Ernest's larger storylines about his stepson Percival and his destroyed house in Book 3. On certain rare occasions (especially when there is no default white man in the LI cast), an ambiguously brown man who can be easily exoticized fits into this role of "Creator's Pet" just as well. The writers spend enough time on perfecting their romances with the MC that there is literally no time for anything (or anyone) else.
Two, in all but two of these books, the LI that gets their 'alternative romance' most often...is a black love interest. On the rare occasion a white character is included in such a list, it is often a canonically queer white woman (only if she is an LI tho, because white female side characters have attention and love practically showered upon them) who ends up in such a position (Emma and Skye from the HSS series'). But besides that, it is usually the black LI - who btw is often one of the first people we interact with and written as the most approachable - that bears the brunt of a narrative that makes it clear that it isn't interested in exploring their story on their terms.
That is why Luke's mother never gets a name or his younger brother is hardly seen. That is why Sloane is sidelined in her own reunion scene with her mother. That is why most of the romantic playthroughs featuring these characters feel so scarce on the details or the nuances, while their white male (or ambiguous brown male) counterparts chew scenery in their own and everyone else's playthroughs.
In narratives like these, the "alternative LI" is no longer the sweet, sensitive, "they deserve happiness" route that it pretends to be...but more a sign that the writers are uncomfortable with writing said LI in a romance with the main character, and the audience they most want to cater to is uncomfortable reading it.
When the intent behind such a supposedly-nice gesture becomes so rife with bad faith, what is the end result? What happens when an 'alternative LI' - a route that seemed to promise happier futures for certain LIs - becomes more of a tool to punish them for lack of popularity? What happens when the company that created this system stops pretending to value the diversity they claimed to pride themselves in??
What happens - is that you get a story like Open Heart 2.
A lot of the stories I mentioned above were written within the space of 2017-2019. In fact, most of the books in the list came out in 2018. During these years Choices was gaining popularity in the choice-based storytelling business, and romance stories were on the rise. Many Choices Books at this point had at least 3 LIs - 2 male and 1 female - and some had more. And most of the writing teams managed to get away with treating their LIs of colour (specifically their black male and female LIs) badly without significant backlash.
At the time of OH2's release (2020), the book had four LIs in its lineup. Ethan Ramsey - like most white male LIs - was meant from the start to chew scenery. Comparatively the other LIs: Jackie Varma, Bryce Lahela and Rafael Aveiro were at a disadvantage and often it felt like the team seemed to work more on writing them out rather than incorporating their stories organically into the narrative. Rafael particularly seemed to suffer from this in the first book, and by this time making one LI the "forgotten fourth" became accepted as the norm. So when OH2's cover showed every single LI except for Rafael, there was a sense of mild alarm.
It soon became clearer, however, that something more insidious was afoot. The book itself began with a funeral, and Rafael was missing in the first chapter. When Rafael stans finally did get to see him, in Ch 2, they would be hit with a nasty surprise - the LI who was utterly devoted to their MC and introduced them to his beloved Vovó, would be shown dating a childhood sweetheart without any explanation or warning.
(Screenshots from Gabbieschoices YouTube Channel)
When asked about the sudden shift, PB's response was cryptic...but also ominous to a fandom who had already seen all kinds of unfair, horrible treatment meted out to a wide range of black characters by then:
For all intents and purposes, the relationship between the MC and Rafael appeared to be over, with very little by way of closure. Even the few diamond scenes they would get later would show friends-only options. As the book went on, it became frighteningly clear that the narrative was planning to do away with Rafael. At one point, Rafael even spoke of leaving the city altogether, and there were hints towards a far, far worse manner of departure in later chapters.
(Most people who were playing at the time remember PB's plans for OH2 Ch11-12, and the backlash, response and hiatus that followed. If you weren't there at the time, PB's Statement following the backlash - "Representation at Pixelberry" - briefly alludes to the issues that people in the fandom had with the writing decisions OH2 took at the time)
As most of us know by now, this ended with significant changes in the existing story - ensuring that Rafael lived, reinstating him as an LI and having Sora break up with him so they could disappear from the book altogether. Post 2020, no further attempts have been made the "alternative LI" route for LIs.
Part of this could be attributed to the change in format. With the introduction of VIP-access and single-LI books, the need to prepare an alternative romance for an LI has reduced greatly. Other factors too could have contributed: the extra romances becoming too much work, possible fatigue among fandom towards such pairings leading to less revenue from diamond options featuring them, certain books having only one or at most two LIs.
No one in PB has spoken of Rafael's treatment or the inclusion of Sora in OH directly...but since OH2 featured the last ever alternative romance till date, it would be safe to say that perhaps even PB recognised that the Sora story crossed a significant line. In any case, this practice hasn't been adopted in recent books in a while.
At the outset, one could argue that the Rafael and Sora situation is extremely different from the "alternative romances" I have listed so far. Unlike all the others, the intent behind introducing Sora was to deny the player a Rafael romance altogether, rather than present Rafael himself with an option. Whatever the problems with the other LIs, at least they got a romance with the MC!
However, I do think the Sora story was rooted in what the alternative LI route had become over time. It may have started with good intentions - with the idea that perhaps if the numbers showed certain LIs being ignored, it may be kinder to give them happy futures with other people who would love them. As long as the alternative romance was just a part of the character's larger story (as is the case with James and Kaitlyn), it felt less harmful and more sweet.
But when the ability to rake in finances becomes a marker of a character's worth, when the writing itself rigs the game from the start of a series, when both PB and fandom find themselves incapable of examining their own biases with regards to said characters...the purpose of such romances becomes warped.
At such points, it becomes more about establishing that this character's romance with the MC is not worth exploring. About delivering the message that it's okay to drop this LI - that as a player, you had more chance of getting your money's worth if you did drop them.
To be more clear, the Sora story is a culmination of what happens when a certain type of LI is set up to fail from the start. There are less opportunities for them to win the reader over, less time, less options to bring in money. In such an environment, the "alternative romance" becomes about considering certain types of LIs "less worthy", and spending far less time developing their MC-route - because as far as the "data", "money" and "finances" are concerned, they hardly have one!
The culmination of such a system, is that the worth of an LI can be brought down so much that the writers become comfortable with killing a non-main and non-white LI. Sora, as an alternative LI, was a way to write Rafael himself out as a romantic option, not a route meant to move his own story ahead. Sora is what happens when PB pushes forward favouritism and racism to the point where the writing is emboldened to take such steps for LIs of colour (particularly black LIs) they deem unpopular.
Which is why - in the present climate - the elimination of such a system is a marginally better prospect. If we cannot trust such a seemingly "nice" process, what's the use of having it around?
This essay series isn't about all of PB's stories, however. It is about TRR. Still - it is essential to explore and understand the original intent behind using these romance routes, and the history of how such storylines developed over time. Considering that TRR released from 2017-2018, analysing the significant patterns of that time places the writing of TRR's alternate romances into context.
TRR's approach to the alternative LI route has been different from other books, in very specific ways. One of the most prominent ways was that the narrative featured romantic options for the three OG LIs, and briefly attempted one for a fourth (the closest parallel to this in another book would be Endless Summer). Even popular love interests were presented with romantic routes, in case the MC wasn't going to marry them.
Does this mean that TRR managed to avoid falling into the same rabbit hole of bias and favouritism, that the other books did? Not by a long shot. The same problems just manifested in very different ways - and in this essay series, I will discuss those problems, romance route by romance route.
Next - Liam and Olivia: When You Prefer the Side Character to the Main
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the IC have been involved in 3 (and a half) books at this point. Rhys has been in all 4 but like, their character growth is all static from book 2 to 4, especially Rhys. there's no pushback against the other characters or plot that actually builds character development. instead the plot just carries the characters and nothing changes. Rhys has been the exact same since book 2. he does not develop or change with his relationship with Feyre. he keeps lying, he keeps not giving her all the information so she can make an informed choice
Rhys and the IC are written as pinnacles of morality who are never in the wrong and yet they're the ones who left the Springs defenses wide open for hybern to destroy Summer, but were supposed to believe its Tamlins fault even tho Feyre had to *manipulate* people in order to get them to turn against Tamlin. they're the ones who abuse their power over Nesta, but we're not supposed to believe that. Cassian has WRECKED a building in Summer, They have stolen from the Summer Court but were,,, *supposed* to agree with it
Rhys and Feyre and the rest if the IC do not change. Only Nesta and Elain have had some growth to a degree and Nesta's 'growth' was degrading her to the point of losing herself to fit in the mould the IC picked for her bec the narrative decided they were 100% in the right and she was 100% in the wrong (fun fact most situations aren't like that sorry)
they're boring. and static. especially Rhys. there's zero forward momentum with his character
#a court of thorns and roses#acotar#anti rhysand#sjm critical#anti cassian#anti ic#anti inner circle
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I feel part of the reason toh is hold in such high standart over series of the same demographic is how fast it abandons the episodic format in favor of a more serialized vibe. I have noticed lately that audiences have come to see episodic as the lesser form of storyteling in comparation to serial, and unlike series like amphibia that remain episodic the vast mayority of their runtime, toh feels very serial in his later half even if it still holds an episodic format for most of s2. People like that didn't bother them with 'silly & inconsecuental' episodic adventures more than other shows. There's a reason some people skip most of s1 of amphibia and a big part of that is how episodic it is.
Okay so this is going to get wild because I'm going to seem incredibly critical of filler but I want to make something clear here: Filler is flavor. As a writer, I'm actually happy that I personally think I've been adding MORE filler to my stories. There's a reason I have a good number of reviews on my early books commenting how surprised people were that I get a LOT done with a low word count after all.
But let's first define Filler. It actually refers to non-canon material in anime which... makes sense actually. The issue with filler arcs, even the good ones, in anime are that you have to reset to zero afterwards for the sake of being able to keep in line with whatever the mangaka creates eventually.
But how does that translate to Western animation where the director for a given show is effectively its mangaka? Well... It's complicated but many will position themselves as it being anything not critical to the plot, themes and core elements of the show. Put a pin in the phrasing I use there.
With that being the definition though, how much of TOH do you have to see to grasp its core narrative? Well...
A Lying Witch and a Warden simply to be introduced to the main three characters and for the setup.
The Intruder so as to learn about the curse.
Covention so as to learn about Lilith and Eda's relationship as well as the Coven system.
And then Agony of a Witch/Young Blood Old Souls to see resolution to the curse and the destruction of the portal door.
And if you're going "What about-"
What about anything else? Amity doesn't develop Luz's character in any way that changes her actions in the finale, though arguably at all in general. Gus and Willow appear in the finale and Covention but you don't need to be introduced to them. As far as the plot is concerned, "Luz's friends" is literally all you need to know and you don't need a full episode's introduction to that. Lilith and Eda's relationship starts catty and slightly childish and competitive and the last thing they do before the finale? Play a Grudgby Match that Eda would have probably tricked Lilith out of having to pay the consequences for if she'd lost... Literally just like back in Covention but less dramatic. Literally NONE of these elements matter to the story of TOH.
It gets WORSE for S2/3. Hunter's whole character payoff is in Belos' Backstory... Which doesn't matter. The Collector never matters. Going to Earth doesn't matter. Hell, the portal does so little to progress ANYTHING but Lumity, that it doesn't matter. The episodes that matter are:
Elsewhere Elsewhen because Luz is the main character so knowing the context for her angst arc is important, even if her angst arc goes literally nowhere. You might think this means Yesterday's Lie but the promise in that literally doesn't matter as her angst is unrelated and not about the promise. She wants to stay in the human realm for other reasons, rendering Yesterday's Lie and Vee pointless... Except this episode is pointless because the reveal of Belos as Philip is the only part that matters which-
Hollow Mind: Is done properly here to the cast as the one in Elsewhere Elsewhen only is to the audience and so demanded that it be done a second time, harming this one's reveal. You won't know as many specifics but as Luz claims the light glyph was part of her sin when we see literally no evidence of him knowing the light glyph matters... Yeah, the writers didn't care about the specifics either.
Edge of the World: I almost included Echoes of the Past because that introduces this issue but it's so different from how King is for 80% of S1 that really what you need to know is that King is the Titan's son. Not even that he himself as a Titan as King is not important to the story of TOH. Only the fact that he is related to the thing that will allow Luz to beat Belos matters to the story of TOH.
And then Watching and Dreaming for S3... Because Luz confronting Belos in King's Tide doesn't matter. It's not like it even weakens Belos in a substantial way and King releasing the Collector doesn't matter either. Moments like "I want to be understood!" in the first two parts of S3 don't matter to Luz's character because they actively make the dream sequence at the start of the finale worse because the show is still mining the same conflict for Luz that it has been since Hollow Mind. Luz's friends and Hexide are barely in the finale, you're only missing out on caring about them during the epilogue and despite skipping over Harpy Eda, Harpy Eda barely matters to Eda's character, same goes for Raine.
That's the thing with people claiming filler as much as they do online. They POSITION themselves to be about plot and narrative. About getting down to just what matters. If they were being honest, they'd admit that most of what they call filler is because it doesn't cover elements they care about. The Plantars are main characters of Amphibia but many who criticize filler in Amphibia explicitly don't give a shit about the frogs. A lot of them skipped S1 because it focused on the frogs and Anne was rougher...
But that's also why VERY little of S1 of Amphibia IS filler. I would argue it's more serialized, just in a more classic manner of making old elements eventually important, because the development of its characters and the push and pull the characters have about change versus who they are and how to handle change is important to the payoffs of the series overall. Hop Pop's Noir episode? Actively talking about things that will come up even in the FINALE of the series. Anne learning to ride Bessie? Teaches her about learning the quirks of others and the importance of doing something right instead of wanting instant gratification.
And instant gratification is what TOH is all about... Ruining its serialization. Like I pointed out with Lilith: Eda and hers relationship starts as sympathetic towards Eda and NEVER CHANGES. What if in Covention, Eda had to be saved and over the course of S1, we saw Lilith softening so the tragedy of Agony of a Witch hit harder as Lilith decided to go back to who she was. To do anything for the Coven... And thus make Belos' betrayal SO MUCH WORSE?
Luz starts as a genuinely good person. Hell, she regresses over the course of the series as in Young Blood, Old Souls, she chooses that sacrificing one life isn't worth her safety or her potentially not screwing up... And then condemns an entire world to death when she chooses not to go back in Thanks to Them. She doesn't learn and grow and her relationships are shaky at best. They also arguably do a poor job at pushing the themes of TOH because TOH struggles to keep consistent with its themes. If it's about community, why is the EC purely demonized instead of trying to be rallied so Hunter doesn't have to lose his community? If it's about self expression, why do both Hunter and Amity end up being clones of past generations where Amity is just her father, right down to being subservient to the girl who enchanted them in High School, and Hunter is just Caleb? If it's about individuality and creativity versus rigidity and order, why don't Amity, Gus or Willow ever actually pick up a second coven or just in general, why aren't the covens treated as the illegal thing they are instead of college? This is why I say TOH struggles with theme because it's all about wish fulfillment for Luz and how she's just the greatest person in existence who never had to change and grow which is a pretty shit theme.
BUT
With all of that said, TOH would be WAY worse without the filler... Because Filler is Flavor. Amity adds a lot of good to the show in S1. Hunter adds good flavor to S2. Raeda is neat. I honestly wish I had more good to say about Gus or Willow because their episodes are genuinely filler as they don't make the world more interesting, usually make it genuinely worse, and are kind of boring in general with their episodes. Or repetitive for that matter. Lilith and Eda though? I still like that Grudgby match they have, even if it's derivative because it's fun and it's neat to see different sides of these characters.
Honestly, I kind of wish My Adventures with Superman had MORE filler. Just more time to breathe and just enjoy these characters being kind of quirky or fun or just neat. Not everything needs to feel breakneck. If it's plot time all the time, an issue for S2D of TOH where after Hollow Mind everything is EXHAUSTING, then you never get a chance to breathe. Never get a chance to just enjoy the world and explore it.
I just wish there was more to explore with TOH but it's too busy not caring about its own elements or making an interesting world to explore anything. Not anything explore anything besides how clever it thinks it is. Just like how people think it's clever for claiming to be serialized when it really isn't.
After all: How much of green haired Amity do you really need to see in order to understand Purple Haired Amity? Like people kept pointing out: Would you believe these two are even the same character?
Does it even matter? For a serialized story, it should have and that's why TOH isn't serialized.
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If you're looking for some indie novels to get you into the Halloween mood, let me recommend the works of my friend Ren Montgomery. She's self-published over on Amazon, and I want to get the word out for her three books.
Horror
Haunt is a period piece set in the late 1970s. It tells the story of the Stewarts, a dysfunctional family who are looking for a fresh start in a brand new housing development, but the trauma they bring with them feeds into something sinister within the house itself. Pete is an abusive alcoholic, Mae is a lapsing fundamentalist at her wits' end, and their three young girls Kelly, Robin, and Lori are just trying to get through the new school year without slitting each others' throats.
Ren explores what it means to have faith when your views don't line up with what your Church dictates, and when those in power don't have your best interest at heart. Haunt is about the ties that bind a struggling family together, for better, or more often for worse, and the pain they face while trying to break the cycle of abuse. The presence which darkens the doorstep of the Stewarts' new haunt heightens their worst impulses and brings each and every one of them to their personal breaking point.
Haunt is both terrifying and gripping, and the 70s setting permeates every aspect of the plot; it doesn't feel like a modern story with a nostalgic 1970s coat of paint over it, it feels like something straight out of the dingy, smoke-filled, no-seatbelts-or-airbags era, an oft forgotten aspect of the decade that so many authors struggle to capture on page.
Contemporary fantasy
Monsters Are We is a story about burning bridges, both accidentally and on purpose. With some relationships, when the passion is gone, you can cut your losses and go your separate ways, but Penelope Draven doesn't have that option. Her old life with Leo the soul-sucking cheater needs to come to an end so her new life can begin.
She's danced this dance before, but this time around is going to be much more difficult for two very important reasons. First, she finally has something that makes her hesitate before throwing it all away, something she wants desperately to take with her when she goes; her teenage daughter, Clementine. Second, Leo knows what she is, what she's done, and what she's capable of, and he's not going to let either of them go so easily.
Ren explores the relationship between a mother and daughter from two very different generations, but who are more like one another than either realize. Monsters Are We is about figuring out who you are and choosing who you want to be. It's about being allowed to make irreparable mistakes so you can learn from them. The Draven girls find themselves on a road trip to hell and back which puts their lives and the lives of their closest friends into Leo's crosshairs. When they find themselves down on their luck, Penelope knows how to make her own, but it comes with a price.
Psychological thriller
Drawn to You is the story of the one that got away and one woman's twisted machinations to try and get it back. Ruby Deardon never got over her college crush, Sean Chaplin. They could have had something beautiful, Ruby tells herself, if only they had had anything at all. The timing was never right, the dominoes never fell the way she needed them to, so she lost her chance at her fairy tale happy ending.
Well, after nearly a decade of pining from a distance she decides to take matters into her own hands and insert herself back into Sean's life so they can finally have the life she's always wanted. He wants it too, she's sure of it, he just doesn't know it yet.
But just as she's about to zero in on Sean, she learns that Jeremy is zeroing in on her. She's was his one that got away, and while most women would be wary of his level of obsession, Ruby sees him as nothing but an obstacle standing between her and the future she's set her mind on. Jeremy is an unexpected dog in Ruby's game of cat and mouse, but cats have claws, and he has no idea what she's willing to do to make sure the mouse gets got.
#horror#contemporary fantasy#psychological thriller#novels#books#book recommendations#indie books#self publishing#halloween#halloween season#halloween books#halloween novels
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HS2 ramblings and complaints
I feel like HS2 would've worked so well as a story set in the same world but with a different cast. There were so many ways to milk this universe without involving the same characters that had close to zero development during the timeskip. I hate this kind of continuation, but even using the descendants of the previous group could've worked, without erasing/ forgetting about their parents. Fuck it, even a prequel might've worked, showing someone's story before Vicky died, not necessarily Rebecca's (although yes, that would've made me happy, but most readers either hate her or love her so).
That would've also gotten rid of the need to read HS to get into HS2, because you would've just understood how things work by going through them. Sure, you don't have to read the first book, you can just get a bunch of random info dumped on you in the first chapter, meet a bunch of characters that mean nothing to you because there's no attachment to them and go from there knowing little of what's going on.
I've seen readers complain about the LIs and they make good points. A lot of people are into the new LIs in HS2 because they're new, they're something fresh. The original cast is basically the same, in some cases worse than before, and it's a mix of nostalgia, good looks and angst that builds up to something (again) that keeps them relevant; this doesn't mean they aren't complex characters, just that their journey should've ended with their happy ending/ death, since their entire progress basically happened in the first book.
Another problem arises: overcrowding. You can only make so much space for so many LIs without turning the book into a dating sim and still getting the plot across. LIs that appear later need time to grow, same as their relationships with the MC, and it's hard for everyone to coexist with already established characters and relationships. Even if you get rid of the unpopular LIs (which is pretty iffy, but whatever), you still have many people left.
HS wasn't popular for no reason, even if it had its faults; there was a lot to work with, and things could've been different with the second book (I'm not a superfan of the "everyone is revived now" thing, even if it's nice to see dead characters again).
But HS2 is apparently more popular than HS, so what do I know really
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Chapter 27 of Harrow the Ninth
Is this just a reference to Ianthe killing Naberius, or was there someone else that she murdered in Harrow's false memories?
Ok, so, this... arm removal scene
A long while back I made a post about my old fanfic and how I'd somehow managed to write a scene with zero sexual anything in it that someone nevertheless described as "hot" and how it was just a matter of writing it with the right tension peaks, and like, narrative beats, and whatnot, and that apparently if you did that people would 100% hallucinate sexual stuff in there between the lines and you didn't even have to write it? I think this scene is exactly what I was talking about. It has exactly the narrative cadence and beats and tension spikes/etc. as an actual sex scene, and also I think this is the right point in the book in terms of overall plot structure and the development of their relationship for such a scene, so it reads exactly like a sex scene except that in terms of actual content it's a scene where Harrow cuts off Ianthe's arm and makes her a new one. It's not just the narrative cadence, there's also a lot of word choice in here that contributes to this effect, but like, a lot of it is the narrative cadence
This actually made me remember something else I wanted to talk about earlier, because sex scenes are definitely not the only kind of scenes that have their own very specific narrative cadence patterns. The whole chapter in Gideon the Ninth where the Fourth Teens are murdered has an extremely textbook horror narrative cadence to it, and it stood out to me because although you can describe these books as horror, the rest of Gideon the Ninth, and so far all of Harrow the Ninth, doesn't have that specific horror cadence to it, even the parts where Gideon the First is trying to kill Harrow. And I like this, actually, because I tend to avoid horror generally because I really dislike experiencing the standard horror cadence over long periods of time, it makes me feel awful, but I never had that reaction to these books even though they are full of horror content. And in fact, right here we have a scene which is horror content + sexual cadence
I did expect most of this scene already (i.e. that Harrow has to make Ianthe's arm from her actual bones rather than it just being a prosthetic as I originally thought), but this was interesting:
It's mainly interesting in that Harrow has been spending all this time on the Mithraeum figuring this out, and even though this book is supposedly from her POV, we're only finding out about this now, when she says it to Ianthe. Maybe this is another indication of the third party narrator, but the narrator has had the ability to see (and critique) Harrow's thoughts in other cases. Or maybe the narrator just doesn't care about the technical details of Lyctor healing abilities
Ok, so that's why the arm is gilded in the prologue
Gideon expected a different ending to this chapter, didn't she? I think I'm sure this is Gideon now, I'll leave it as a point of future inquiry why she now seems to know some necromancy stuff or at least doesn't think it's boring nerd shit anymore and has an opinion on Harrow's feelings about flesh magicians
I mean, I think Harrow has already shown that she's perfectly capable of killing him on her own, the only thing that stopped her was John. Harrow hasn't exactly been going around thinking "if only Ianthe would help me, I could succeed!" Unless Ianthe has some plan or idea to bring John around to this I can't imagine what use she would be here
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Because I love salt, what do you find to be the most annoying lines of so-called evidence or foreshadowing for ships you hate? For me it’s hard to pick just one but Jon saying Sansa looked radiant is up there for me because the idea that Jon had a crush on Sansa in the first book or before is so much worse than the thought of them meeting again and then developing feelings (which I still hate, but it’s just not as bad). It’s super normal for people to think their siblings look nice. Arya’s POV chapters also remark that Sansa is beautiful. Ashford theory is annoying because it was originally about the hound and Sansa (also hate this ship but the fans are a million times more tolerable). I also roll my eyes when fans insist that the bride of fire line foreshadows Dany marrying Jon (and I even LIKE that ship but only in an AU in my head where Lyanna is Jon’s mom but Rhaegar is NOT the father)
"Because I love salt"
You have come to the right place as this is an accurate real life photo of me running this blog:
Thats a good one I hate though, multiple siblings and family members in this series all compliment one another. Even characters with bad relationships compliment each other. In the books, Arya recalls that her father calls her pretty, which only Jon ever also called her. Does that mean Ned had romantic feelings for Arya? Or Lyanna for that matter? No of course not. Thinking someone in terms of beauty is zero indicator of attraction in any way.
Also its even funnier with Jonsas because Sansa herself notes that Arya looks just like Jon, and then on multiple occasions notes that she thinks Arya is ugly. So, its even less compelling.
In the show Tyrion compliments Cersei's beauty all the time and we know there is nothing to it. It's reading into something that isn't there beacuse if they ignore the way beauty is used in this series as a common compliment towards other highborns, then its a really simple box to check on really stock symptoms of attraction. (I also dont really enjoy Sansan but it is funny how they just stay in their circle and mind their business like they somehow are winning based on being not fucking annoying alone).
I'm gonna rapid fire for Jon here because pretty much every single ship he has is backed by the worst evidence known to man.
The idea that Jon never thinks about Sansa because he loves her the most is dumb and not how we know Jon works. He holds back what he says not what he thinks. He thinks of Sansa the least because despite being his sister, she treated him like shit because she looks down on him for being a bastard. Jon cares about her, but not anywhere near how he cares about his other siblings who have clearly shown him love and respect.
The worst of Jon and Arya is a very very old outline that grrm scrapped. Its an outline that wasnt used and most of it isnt canon so it is literally a piece of non evidence for a ship that is disgusting. (Both Jonsa and Jonrya make Jons good older brother behavior towards his sisters look predatory and the shippers are all literally too blind to realize it)
Jon and Dany have literally nothing to back that up, because they are staged as moral oppositions to one another, dont know the other exists, and the idea that the motif of ice and fire will be about the coming together of romance is antithetical to everything grrm has established about the themes of his story. They are so far from being a ship that literally the ONLY thing they have to support it is the show and thats an absolute joke (see my every post that got me blocked by jonerys stans for more detail)
Ygritte is a rapist, so I accept literally zero "evidence" on that ones validity.
I also hate the "the actors have chemistry" argument to support really bad ships, because some actors having chemistry doesnt equal good romance, it equals good on screen dynamics in its own unique way. Like Tywin and Arya in season 2 have GREAT chemistry, but I don't need to explain why shipping that is creepy. Catelyn and Jaime have great chemistry, but it doesn't mean anything was actually there which could've worked.
Like shipping is fine, but so many people just INSIST it is canon or meant to be instead of something fun to think about. I joke ship about Stannis and Davos because its fun but I'm not over here arguing that people who don't ship it are "ignoring the text in front of them deliberately".
Also honestly, its really funny to me that you had to specify you'd only like that ship if they weren't related. Big oof on that one. Jonerys stans hate the idea they couldn't be related because they somehow think Dany being his AUNT isn't at all creepy. Like, Dany is related to Jon the way Jon thinks hes related to his MOTHER. There is no capability of romance or attraction there, that's crazy.
People who are biologically related but don't know it, 99% of the time are in fact, still not accidentally attracted to each other because that's biological survival instinct. Anti inbreeding protocol. But they think because DANY was raised to think her families blood superiority driven incest is fine, that somehow means JON would think its fine. Jonsas have no argument for that they just have to pray desperately that Jon would want to fuck his little sister despite how much it makes him look like a predator.
I'm sorry, I hope you have water on hand to wash down all this goddamn salt I just threw at you all at once.
Really, it isn't individual lines that irk me, its the overall tendencies of these ships to put more emphasis on things that don't even exist to justify something they don't even realize WHY people think it's creepy. I don't hate a lot of ships, just...all pro incest ones, and ones that promote predatory/rapist behaviors. Which is why I don't ship much in this series.
We're probably not meant to ship many people in this series if I in any way understand even a modicum of why grrm writes the lack of romance the way he does.
#game of thrones#a song of ice and fire#asoiaf#anti jonsa#anti jonerys#anti jonrya#anti jongritte#anti jonerys stans#anti jonsa stans
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Do you think these hardcore E/lriels (like your last anon who tried to pick a fight about "faerie racism" 💀) are longtime fans who just refuse the acknowledge where Sarah is going with the series?
I'm a new reader, finished the last book a few weeks ago and for me Elucien and Gwynriel seems the most likely outcome. I'll share my reading experience if you don't mind, maybe it will be a bit long.
So, I started reading acotar because I saw some pretty fanart of Az on instagram and became interested in his character. :D I saw that there are two possible ships for him, many liked his dynamic with Gwyn better, many liked the aesthetic of him and Elain together and I also saw the comments on how they have "4 books of build up" so I was interested to see for myself which one I will prefer.
So after acotar, I went into reading acomaf with the mind paying extra attention to all Elain/Az moments, and when I finished I literally was like "that's it??". Apart from that dinner scene where they had one polite conversation, it was very clear Az is in love with Mor, and Elain is with Graysen.
So then I went straight to Az's bonus chapter because I could not understand the hype about these ships and I wanted to see. :D Obviously I had no context, so all the bonus chapter did for me at that point is that I became interested in Gwyn's character. :D
Then I read acowar, again paying extra attention to all Elain/Az interactions. There were cute moments in acowar that I think had a possible romantic coding, but again I just found them lacking. Simply because it was clearly established they were still in love with other people.
Acofas was the first where I personally started to see them develop some romantic feelings (Az and Rhys's talk about how he refuses to check on Lucien's whereabouts for the sake of Elain's privacy - idk that whole part suggested to me Rhys kinda knows whats up //the infamous potato scene where Elain runs back to the kitchen to rebraid her hair - I interpreted it as her having a crush and wanting to look more presentable //he starts a conversation with her// she gives him a present and he laughes and blushes etc.) and we can also see Elain and Lucien's relationship kinda hit rock bottom. But, still there were mentions of lingering feelings for Mor and Graysen for both of them.
And then came acosf and Gwyn quickly became my new favorite character of the series. Since I was paying extra attention to Gwyn bc I was interested in her from the start, I picked up on all the cute moments she had with Az, but personally I don't blame anyone if it flew over their heads because they were subtle. None of them is ready for a relationship right now and that's fine. However reading the bonus chapter again, now in context, I was just stuck wondering: where the heck all these sexual thoughts came for Az about Elain?? I really don't see 4 books of build up, as I said for me acofas was the first I started to see them in a romantic light, but even that was more platonic. So that means, in the 9 months between acofas and acosf, Az started to fantasize about Elain instead of Mor. Offpage.
Although E/riel does have cute moments, I just really don't see the endgame potential based on everything we know about Sarah's writing style. She likes the mates to be equals, and Gwyn was made carynthian like Az. She and Az have banter, a lot of similar personality traits, even hobbies (singing). I think it's pretty clear she is set up to be Az's perfect match, not to mention the mate language in the bonus chapter (those theories blow my mind actually! :). Meanwhile all I see for Elain and Az is attraction (even that is questionable for me since it happened offpage somehow), they made zero effort to really get to know each other in the past two years, even though Lucien was not around.
Now Elucien is another question, since we know so little about how Elain feels. But I fully believe they will become a couple in the end, simply because otherwise Lucien's storyline makes zero sense :D. Lucien suffered the loss of his first love, and was given a mate who rejects him, only to find love with a human queen who will again die after 60-70 years while he lives on for centuries alone?? No thank you. Give my boy Lucien a chance for his happy ending. With his Mate.
Sorry this was so long, I just think when you read all 5 books after each other, it is clear what direction Sarah is going. (Which is the mates being endgame since she writes about fated mates) But I also understand that there were 2-3 years of waiting for acofas and acosf, so the picture might be different for people who joined the fandom back then. To be fair, of course Sarah can also decide to go with an E/riel outcome, although in my opinion that will just mess up the whole plot she established so far.
I appreciate all your thoughts and I think a lot of Eluciens and Gwynriels would agree with everything you've said.
What I find the strangest is not that anyone ships E/riel because I absolutely understand the specific scenes that have led them to that conclusion and they did receive validation in the knowledge that Elain and Az wanted to kiss so it's not like there's nothing there.
The part that I find strangest is that they do not also acknowledge it as a very real possibility that despite that, Elucien CAN still end up together and so can Gwynriel.
Feyre and Tamlin shared a very real relationship. They kissed, they had sex, they were engaged, he wanted to protect her and she was WILLING TO DIE FOR HIM. They were leaps and bounds ahead of whatever E/riel has shared after their supposed "multiple books of buildup" yet they still did not end up together. Not to mention Feyre was not in love with anyone when she first fell for Tamlin while the entire E/riel setup has coincided with her not being over Graysen while he has not completely gotten over Mor.
SJM eventually drew attention to the major red flags in the Feylin relationship and she also wanted to be sure that we knew that Feyre and Rhys were always destined to be together because they were mates, the most sacred of relationships that two characters can have.
But before that happened, Feyre hated Rhys at times and considered him her enemy.
Rhys always knew they were mates (proving that just because a character knows about the bond doesn't mean the love is less meaningful).
Yet they both came together, loving one another equally, regardless of where they each started from.
Nesta hated the fae at first and treated Cassian with absolute disdain. She then all but admitted her undying love for him only to turn around in the novella and tell him to leave her the hell alone while sleeping with other males. Then in SF, she began sleeping with him, even started falling in love with him but refused to call him her mate and proclaimed that she didn't know what she wanted because she didn't have a choice in any of it.
Elain was engaged and in love with Graysen when she got the shock of her life and found out Lucien was her mate. She still had not processed any of that and was holding out hope for a reconciliation with Graysen in ACOWAR only to be rejected. Though she hadn't full recovered after the war, we got glimpses that maybe there was hope for Elucien when she invited him back to Velaris.
But just like Nesta, Elain does a 180 in the novella and suddenly, she's pushing Lucien away (for reasons unknown), just as Nesta pushed Cassian away.
Elain suddenly shows interest in another male in the novella, just as Nesta showed interest in many other males in the novella.
In SF, Nesta starts the series with another male in her bed but ends up happily mated to Cassian by the end of it.
So why then, according to E/riels, is there absolutely no chance that Elain can start off her book at odds with Lucien (and either interested in Az or not interested in anyone after what happened on Solstice) and end up with her mate (just as every other SJM main character has done across all series) by the end of it?
It doesn't matter that Elucien's setup looks somewhat different than Feysands or Nessians (no one would expect them to be identical because that would just be weird) but there are enough similarities in their initial hesitation toward their mates and 2 out of 3 have so far ended up with the same outcome.
We don't know enough about the Gwynriel setup to see what sort of tension will exist between them however introducing her to the series as Nesta's best friend (meaning she's always going to be within Az's orbit) as well as having Az be the only one who saved her and the first male we've ever see her act a bit flirty with after her trauma seems a bit intentional, does it not?
It's not that I begrudge anyone for shipping E/riel but the problem is when they call us misogynists, stupid, clueless, "delucien's" (which I'm guessing is "delusional Eluciens?", lacking reading comprehension, etc. for shipping Elucien and Gwynriel.
I have to believe they can't be that blind to the patterns in SJMs writing and the reason they've resorted to name calling is because they're worried that E/riel won't be happening rather than them really thinking Elucien and Gwynriel aren't just as much a possibility.
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How The New Twilight Series Will “Fix” Twilight
Bella is now a Strong Female Character(tm), which means she will FLIP OUT at Edward’s watching her sleep, call him out on his overprotectiveness and mood swings, demand that he tell her the truth at all times, be mildly depressed in New Moon, insist on going to college for at least a year (and only change her mind when she is in danger and should therefore probably be a vampire asap), and overall do reckless shit like antagonize vampires and werewolves without consequence. She will also stand up to Jacob’s jerkishness, but also be way more into him because we got to play up that nonexistent love triangle. Her female relationships will get much more screen time and development because it’s Problematic(tm) that Bella’s closest relationships are with her love interests. And of course, Bella’s parentified personality (Cinderbella) would be removed entirely à la Movie Twilight. She will be perfectly perfect in every way and completely intolerable.
We’ve seen Movie!Twilight as an indie teen rom com/CW teen drama. Now get ready for Twilight as a higher-budget fantasy series that will de-emphasize the romance as much as possible. Or simply drain all the spice and tension from the relationship and make it as unproblematic (and thus completely boring) as possible
If they go for this, then Bella and Edward are no longer the protagonists. The Lore(tm) is the protagonist, which means more focus on the other Cullens, the Volturi, vampiric world in general, the Quileute werewolves, and the mysteries. Hell, throw in a couple of murders of human characters we know, because Twilight is totally a murder mystery now. What? It’s what the fans who are totally fans and not antis with a weird obsession with this series want, right???!!!!
Everything to do with the Quileute characters will become more true to the real-life Quileute legends regardless of whether it fits Twilight or not. To do so otherwise would be ~culturally appropriative and ~problematic. Also, the Quileutes will get more screentime and be portrayed as practically perfect in every way. Jacob may also get this treatment by proxy and his more problematic traits will be yeeted out the window.
Edward will be either be even more overprotective and high-handed, his charm and his sense of humor erased (to contrast with our new Gary Stu Jacob)…or simply be perfect for Bella from the get-go. He will agree with her on everything and have zero problems listening to her and trusting her. No misunderstandings, no social comedy, nothing. The latter is most probable if Meyer is there to make sure her canon is adhered to, but there will still be a passive-aggressive undertone in the writing for Edward.
The Quileutes’ attitudes towards Leah will either be portrayed as misogynistic and Leah will definitely call them out for it in the most cringeworthy scene ever…or be removed altogether. Now the Quileute boys are totally fine with Leah joining them. Hell, they just might remove Leah’s bitterness altogether and her role in getting Jacob injured.
They will change how imprinting works. I don’t know how, but it is guaranteed to 100% suck worse than the books, fall apart at the slightest scrutiny, and divide the fans further.
#twilight#twilight meta#twilight renaissance#new moon#eclipse#breaking dawn#i am torn guys#i firmly believe twilight wasn’t properly adapted#otoh these new people could be even worse#hell they will be worse in some ways#number one is almost guaranteed
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While I’m not a dinbo fan (din/fennec all
The way) I do have to say your positivity of this season is refreshing. I feel like I’ve been defending this season all by myself. Dave and Jon are excellent writers and I trust them with my whole heart. This season has really focused on the subtle plot choices that are going to come clashing together and make sense.
Nice to see another fan enjoying the show. 🧡
I love this! Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts. It's so nice to hear from other voices who are not so quick to jump on the negativity bandwagon. The Mandalorian tag has definitely had its ups and downs over the seasons. I can remember when the chief complaint was that there were too many episodes with canned plots that were "filler" or "slow" or "side quests" and everyone kept asking "where is the plot?" Of course, the overarching plot (that all those canned episodes contributed important pieces to) always came crashing down in the last few episodes of the season and they complained about that too.
This season has seen a lot more world building and has been incredibly focused on character development. The chief complaint I've heard now is that Din's character is "regressing" or being "sidelined". In the first two seasons, Din's priority was a) keeping Grogu alive and b) getting Grogu to a permanent home. Since The Book of Boba Fett, Din has accepted that Grogu is now his responsibility for the long haul. That has shifted his whole world. He can't keep dragging a baby on bounty hunting missions and even if he could, he wants something better for Grogu. He wants to give him a home and people, a stable lifestyle. Bo-Katan can make that happen and he is willing to support her in any way possible to help her succeed - not just for his and Grogu's benefit - because he truly believes in her.
And though I understand and respect that Dinbo is not everyone's cup of tea, I do believe that is the direction the writers are taking their relationship, especially in light of the fact that Bo has voluntarily (with zero prompting from Din) assumed a motherly role with Grogu. For me, I just really want to see these characters find some peace and happiness. I know that in Star Wars peace is always temporary, but it would be very satisfying for me to see Grogu, Din, and Bo (three characters who started this journey utterly alone) become a family. They have each grown so much over these three seasons and the writers have spent the most time focusing on them for a reason. I believe their story can be told well without detracting from the bigger picture of restoring Mandalore and pushing back against the restoration of the Empire.
We know that Star Wars fans are a toxic bunch who aren't happy unless they're complaining. I'll be the first to admit, I went through a phase where I really hated on the sequels (even though I was actually enjoying them until TRoS). We've all done it. And let's be real, there are legitimate reasons to be critical of some of these shows/movies. But I really do believe that a lot of the negativity over this season of The Mandalorian has been predominantly from fans who were just salty that their hyper specific headcanons weren't coming true or because they jumped the gun and judged it before they got to the end. If I had a nickel for every complaint about loose threads, I'd be rich. Even before the season is complete, the vast majority of those threads or pieces have become relevant and now everyone can clearly see why those were important. Patience is a virtue, y'all. Let the season play out and just learn to enjoy the ride. Save your criticisms for after it's done - you'll probably have a lot less of them and you'll undoubtedly feel less stupid when that plot thread you thought was just dropped actually became relevant (looking at you people who thought they went through all that trouble with IG-11 for no reason). Maybe we should all start meditating on my new favorite Mandalorian proverb:
"One does not speak unless one knows."
It sounds a lot like this other favorite of mine:
"Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive." Proverbs 17:28
#the mandalorian#din djarin#bo-katan kryze#the mandalorian spoilers#dinbo#grogu#the mandalorian season 3#i'm not saying ALL the criticism of this season is unfounded#However - a lot people's objections are truly foolish
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Give me all your thoughts about tsitp!!!!!
ALL OF THEM??? That's a lot of thoughts, seek!!! With very little guidance!! So here, please have a bunch of thoughts with zero segues between them.
Though some caveats before I dive in: 1) I have not rewatched S1 since it aired so my memories are FUZZY; and 2) I read the first book (and only the first book) back in 2015 and started the show knowing I preferred Jeremiah to Conrad.
WITH THAT SAID.
First, I want to wax poetic again about the "Delicate" scene, despite having already screamed about it in the tags of multiple reblogs. But it was just!! so!!! good!!! Altered my brain chemistry, cleared my skin, watered my crops etc. The timing is just SO!!!! "I pretend you're mine all the damn time" as they're holding each other and staring??? Belly breaking the stare and slipping underwater and swimming away as "'Cause I like you" fades into "is it cool that I said all that?" because she's not sure what to do, especially after the golf course? The camera switching to Jeremiah staring uncertainly after her during "is it chill that you're in my head?" only for him to go after her?? The instrumental break as they talk, and then "isn't it isn't it isn't it" playing as their hands reach for and grab each other? I AM LOSING MY GODDAMNED MIND THE ACTUAL FUCK.
Okay, now that I've screamed about that again, moving on:
I think our feelings are aligned re Conrad. The moody, bad communicator, maladjusted boy is not for me. Even when I was a teenager, Conrad-like male characters generally weren't my favorite (obvs that's not a hard and fast rule--if you look back at what I was shipping as a teen, there are moody boys there, although I'd argue those moody boys developed into much less moody, healthier characters). So I don't think it's a surprise that I do not enjoy Conrad. I'm open to changing my mind, but I'm also not invested in his growth. 🤷 To the extent I am invested, it's vis-à-vis Jeremiah, not Belly. Part of that undeniably is because Jeremiah is my fave, but a larger part is because narratively Jeremiah should be his most important relationship. I hope the show surprises me, but I'm also not holding my breath. Also, also! Going back to the most recent ep, where Conrad insists that he went home whenever he could to help with their mom: it's hard to buy that when the only time we see him come home was when he wanted to guilt Jeremiah into blessing his relationship with Belly. Of course, that's Jeremiah's POV, and maybe he's an unreliable narrator (in this case, only showing us that one time Conrad came home when there were many others). But so far the only evidence we have that Conrad made an effort with their mom is Conrad's assertion that he was there, and I'm not buying it.
Next, Belly. I'm gonna be honest: there is very little in this world that will get me to defend or love a character more than making them a teenaged girl. There is only one teenage girl in the history of media that I can recall actively disliking, and the rest I would probably kill for. Society hates and looks down on them, writers often fuck up their writing and create a narrative that unfairly blames them, and thus I grant them a lot of leeway. I absolutely have a double standard--if a teenaged girl does something questionable, I generally am much more willing to forgive than if it was any other character. So even though she's acted fairly selfishly this season, I have a lot of love in my heart for Belly and, unlike with Conrad, I am interested in seeing her hopefully grow and recognize that this should not be about her. Susannah was important to her. That house is important to her. But at the end of the day, she didn't lose her mother, and that house was never hers. Her feelings should come second to Jeremiah's and Conrad's, and right now that's not happening. None of this is surprising for a teenager, but I need the narrative to call this behavior out, and it's not. I also really, really, really need her to recognize that her relationship with Conrad was not healthy, and that it will not be healthy unless and until they both (but especially Conrad) work on themselves. Finally, and I touched on this with my villain origin story ask, it's frustrating that Belly is getting pieces of information about why Jeremiah has had his walls up, but not recognizing it as that. I can buy her being confused about Jeremiah on the golf course because Conrad told her he moved on. But then for Jeremiah to reveal, hey, Conrad actually came to me and made me give him my blessing, and for Belly's only reaction to be, "Conrad cared so much that he went to Jeremiah!!!" and not "wow this does not align with what Conrad told me when I was worried about Jeremiah" is kdslfjdksljf. Will the show circle back and have Belly question this? Maybe, but again, based on how they've framed it so far, I doubt it.
Jeremiah is easily my fave, and has been from the start. Characters that act happy-go-lucky, like they can't be relied upon, like all they care about is having fun, while actually being the one person who will always be there for the people they love? Characters hiding grief behind beaming smiles? Characters with heavy responsibilities placed on them too soon??? THEN MAKE THEM ONE HALF OF A BEST FRIENDSHIP TURNED MORE SHIP??? 100% my kryptonite, I was a goner before I picked up the book 9 years ago. Just, god. This 17-year-old boy having to deal with 1) his mother has cancer; 2) his brother KNEW his mother had cancer and never told him; and 3) the girl he thinks he has something with (I can't remember where his relationship with Belly stood at the end of S1 oops so hopefully this is accurate) kissed his brother and now she wants to pursue a relationship with that brother?? All of it at once?? And what he chooses to do is take care of his mom, figuring out smoothie recipes to keep her healthy, putting on a beaming face for her so she won't worry, hanging out with her in his senior year of high school when the only thing he should be worried about is applying for college (which, and I think you've touched on this--has he???)? Get the fuck out, this boy deserves the world and all he gets is hate.
Finally, I am Angry that Laurel has been missing for so much of this season. Outside of Jeremiah and Conrad (notwithstanding how I feel about the latter), Laurel's reaction is the most important--much more important than Belly's (sorry Belly). IDK. Again, maybe I'm biased: I've had the same best friend for 20+ years, so to see their friendship pushed aside?? To not focus on how Laurel is processing all this? Fucking criminal. (And look, I know this show's target audience is teens/early 20s. But Back In My Day teen dramas also focused on the parents to capture that 25-49 demo. And because they had 22-26 episodes to fill, and I am realizing yet again this is why the 8- to 10-episode seasons are fucking cursed.) How many times has Laurel thought of something and reached for her phone to text her best friend? How many things in her house are from Susannah, or are from a trip with Susannah, or just makes her think of Susannah? How many times has she said or done something that she picked up from Susannah, only to realize she only says that word that way because of Susannah and almost crumbling from the grief of that realization? And god, what was writing the book like? What was it like trying to distill into writing one of her most important relationships? What was it like putting Susannah out there for everyone to know, to judge? How many times did she think about not publishing because Susannah is hers, because she wasn't ready to share her best friend with the world, because any criticism of the book would feel like criticism of one of her great loves? I need to know, I want to know, and I deserve to know!!! I want to see Laurel dealing with this, and not just as it affects her relationship with Belly (which is also important!!! do not get me wrong!! but Laurel didn't stop being her own person when she became a mother). Give me the Laurel-centered episode, show! We can go without the love triangle shenanigans for 50 minutes, I promise!
So there are thoughts!
#characters: jeremiah fisher#characters: laurel park#characters: susannah fisher#characters: conrad fisher#characters: belly conklin#miss the days where searching for a term only brought up the tags#the summer i turned pretty
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Hi!! I love your writing so much I was just wondering what do you plan to do in the future? I’d love to live in your brain for like one minute because the ideas you have and the way you write is so amazing and unique.
Hi!! <3
My brain is a very crowded, forgetful and cramped place, zero out of five stars would not recommend lol.
I have a few ideas for the future!
Of course A Servant of Death. I have four parts in total planned for that series and there is a vampire arc coming up in part three I am so excited for! It’s a huge project and I try not to stress myself out to prevent burn out. The first part ended up being longer than the HP book it was based on 😅. So that - even though it’s updating slower rn (I might have gotten a tad too excited and published too many WIPs right after one another 😅) it’s my baby, my love, my passion project. It’s not getting abandoned, it’ll just need some time to grow 🥰.
I am being strict with myself to finish my WIPs before I publish anything longer than a oneshot. Your tears is nearing its end though I am beginning to fear it’ll be longer than I anticipated because I’ve had a few more ideas (cramped and crowded brain and terrible planning skills + a lack of self control 😬). A most unexpected turn of events won’t be too long (she said optimistic for the fourth time now???) and with Carrying Atlas I honestly have no idea. I could spend forever developing their relationship and ignore the plot I have planned. I’m avoiding sitting down and fleshing it out for now in favour of writing smut!
As for oneshots:
I have a second part for Ministry Documents planned!
A Snape/Reader/Voldemort oneshot, the reader is either an Auror they trap and ‘punish’ together or a new recruit that has to prove her loyalty, haven’t decided yet, might write both.
I have a half finished Snape/Reader/Crouch jr professor-student oneshot lying around where the reader has been sleeping with both her professors but neither knew about the other and they punish her together.
I am writing on a Snarriet oneshot, Snape is a demon Harrie summons but something goes wrong.
I have a few more ideas for Snarriet, including one Muggle AU where James and Lily are alive and Snape is Uncle Sev 🤭 (no blood relation!!) Questionable but it’s intriguing me.
Then I would love to rewrite an old fic of mine. It’s a Snape/OC story that’s very dear to me. It has its own magical society within the wizarding world. It follows Snape and Theodora O’Brian who has to attend Hogwarts against her wishes. She experiences racism, discrimination, classims, cultural genocide and the literal murder of her relatives because they arn’t ‘real’ witches and wizards.
It takes place during the first and the second war. They both join Voldemort after school, both get sucked into this cult and soon realise it’s not what they were promised it would be. Voldemort takes advantage of them, he seduces them and they have to navigate their life together, their complicated feelings for Voldemort, Dumbledore’s questionable morals and many more challenges. So it’s teen!Snape and adult!Snape. And there is an irish wolfhound named Duchess!
I have a Severitus fic with fem!Harry planned! Snape has to care for baby Harrie after the war. Voldemort is dead once and for all, no Horcruxes. It’ll be a bit of a character study I think, exploring Snape’s trauma and his struggles with reentering the ‘normal’ society after a horrible time among Death Eaters, his struggles as a parent, his wish to do better for her than his parents did for him. I think Snape reconciling with one of his parents during his journey as adoptive dad would be nice too.
Another old story I’d like to rewrite is about Snape suddenly having to take a far more active role in raising his baby sister. It takes place before Harry comes to Hogwarts. She is sixteen (or fifteen??? I can’t remember lol) and a whirlwind of chaos, anger and some underlying issue she isn’t talking about. She went to Ilvermorny because Eileen moved to the US with her when she was a baby, leaving Snape alone with their father. After their mother dies Snape lets her stay at Ilvermorny. She gets expelled and Snape brings her to Hogwarts to finish her education. They bump heads all the time. It’s a lot of chaos 🤣 but also a fiercely protective older brother!Snape 🥰
I have probably more ideas that I forgot about and are now rotting in some notebook I’ll rediscover in a few weeks 🤣
But these are those stories I have lined up to write once I have cleared some things off my plate ☺️💚
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The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance Book 3) - Spoilers
I've just finished The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik and I need to write my thoughs because I have some opinions XD These are just my thoughs as 20+yo freshly after finishing the series in one go (+listening/reading some opinions on-line). Also english is not my first language so I hope my message won't be lost in traslation.
El is unreliable narrator but she's a great character imo. Yes, she's ulikable, stubborn, 17yo brooding edgelord full of trauma BUT (for me at least) she's an believable on top of all of that. What I mean by that is I can believe that this is what a 17yo girl would sound/think/akt like. That doesn't mean her actions are always right but who doesn't make mistakes (especially when they're a teenager) ? But despite all the trauma she's endured during her stay at the Scholomance as well as before that and loads of self-loathing she's always been a good kid at heart to whom the world/fate has been really unfair. I love her journey throughout the series I truly do even though this journey is just beggining, but that's what's amazing about this character because now evry reader can have their own headcannons about her future. And that's what makes El Higgins one of my favourite characters of all time and makes me love this character!
Orion on the other hand had been made dirty imo. I'm sorry I really wanted to like him but he literally has ZERO personality he's just a depressed mawmouth shaped like a boy who wants to hunt mals and be next to El... It's sad because his whole story is genuinely tragic yet I felt next to nothing while reading it (only after finishing the golden enclaves I've started to think about everything he'd been through...). Also kinda unrelated but WHAT is Orion now? Like is he human enough to idk... get old? Or will he remain a 17yo till the end of Scholomance? On that note if he'll get old like a normal human being then what will happed to Scholomance once he passes away? (I don't expect to ever recive an answer to any of those questions but I am curious about it).
So... what do I think about Orion x El relationship? Well I think it was good for them while they're in Scholomance and (of course) it was crutial for the plot progression. But do I think this has a future? Absolutely not. For the first two book I was authentically rooting for them. They were good for each other and helped each other grow and mature, but reading The Golden Enclaves I couldn't help but play this tiktok sound (the one that goes: "He is not 'the love of your life'! He's literally just a guy. Just hit him with your car!") in my head for most of the Orion-related parts. And while what happened between Orion and El was genuine and beautiful and was working pretty well for the time being but they're teenagers in their first realtionship (that was formed in confined space where death was waiting for them litterally behind every corner and for what they knew they could die in the next 5 minutes, and lets not forget the social structure of small comunity of Scholomance - and while you can find some analogies beteween that to the outer world, they're not the same) and I don't think it'll survive past the point of when their frontal lobe will be fully developed... But I do think they'll remind good friends after that. That's just my opinion!
And that's I'm SO glad that the Liesel x El subplot happened! Some people say it came out of nowhere just to get representation points but I disagree with that sentiment... Don't det me wrong - I didn't saw it comming until the scene in London enclave, but when it happened it cliked for me and everything from The Last Graduate till the end of The Golden Enclaves started making sense... (?) My interpretation of the situation is that El DID notice Liesel in Scholomance and WAS atracted to her (considering that El's our narrator and we only see her version of reality, everything we learn about the world is El's understanging and observations of it - we only know things she considered important enough to describe to the reader AND she considered Liesel to be worthy of describing her multiple times to this degree that we KNOW that during New Year's cleaning El was looking at Liesel's boobs and wasn't complaining about it (she was complaining that Orion wasn't doing the same thing) maybe a the time she wasn't considering herself being attracted to the same sex - it might be because she wasn't quite experienced with social interactions and it was all new to her.. I mean newer than to 'normal' 17yo who's just begining their dating life). The biggest tell for me that El was attracted to Liesel was her reaction when she figured out what Liesel was proposing to her in London. What I also like in golden enclaves is the character development of Liesel herself. Watchin how this prideful, cunning, inteligent and fierce girl starts to care (even deeply) for El and how this relationship catalyzes her own process of healing from all the trauma.
And don't let me get started on thie whole "cheating" discourse... The first time El and Leisel get intimate is when we are sure Orion has been eaten by maw-mouth and the only reason for El to go back to Scholomance is to kill said maw-mouth so Orion along others victims to can die peacefully instead of suffering in eternity. So she's grieving and everyone grieves differently and it's not our place to judge that. The second time on the plane is slightly more complicated but also I wouldn't say it was cheating (I wouldn't even say that El and Orion were dating again at that time... it was more of will-they-wont-they-situationship where Orion specifically asked El to kill him if his mother won't heal him - and we all knew she wouldn't), it was a shitty move tho... Let's remember we're talking about deeply traumatized and mentally fucked-up kids (ok... young adults). I don't condone what El did in that moment but I also try to remember the context of these decisions and I refuse to judge her by my standards (+ I highly doubt that after all of this El never mention to Orion what happened between her and Liesel, just because she didn't do it right away after the events from the book doesn't mean they wouldn't have talked about this - it's just that hiding this information from Orion doesn't sit right with my interpretation of El's character).
El's just a teenage girl who's going through her first love but it doesn't mean she's gonig to close herself from the world just for this boy she met in school (in contrast to her own mother who's the archetype of mourning widow). I just really want to hope that in the case things wouldn't work out between her and Orion it wouldn't be the end of the world for her.
I'd like to believe that what these kids started was a revolution at the core of the rotten magic society and the whole system build on death and suffering, and that the change will come (after some probably long and painful process but IT WILL COME - that's my headcannon and I don't accept any other outcome for my own mental wellbeing XD). But also alongside of the changing/rebuilding world these kids need to heal/grow/change themseves. They've been through some serious shit and need to redefine who they are and find their own place in the new reality. I'd love to read about older versions of our heroes (because I'm 100% sure they won't be the same kids we left at the end of the last book) but I also don't think we'll ever come back to this world to see what happened next with our beloved misfits but I really hope the future will bring more fanfictions, headcannons and other fan-media that will keep this world alive and will allow us to dive in this world once more!
All to all I loved the series! It's not ideal (in many aspects) but overall I've really enjoyed it & sincerely recommend reading it and to shape your own opinion on the matter! Please keep in mind that it's only my interpretation of the series which is based on translation of the books and my personal life experiences and if you disagree with me you are more than welcome to express it (I'd love to see other perspectives) but please don't send hate! Lots of love <3
#golden enclaves spoilers#el higgins#galadriel higgins#Liesel Mueller#orion lake#the golden enclaves#the scholomance#el x orion#el x liesel
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