#or that he didn't mistreat anna

[drdemonprince]

I read Anna Biller's (director, writer, set designer, and basically everything-er of The Love Witch) new novel Bluebeard's Castle. And I really found it to be quite the addictive and enchanting read, though all of the criticisms of the book that you'll see on Goodreads and Amazon are completely legitimate.

The book very much does read like a screenplay -- there are long descriptions of interior design and costumes, sometimes positioned in the middle of a scene in ways that break up the emotional momentum, to a hilarious effect. For example, in one sequence the protagonist is considering a gruesome vision of suicide, and then looks in the mirror to admire her hobble skirt and reflect that she's looking very sexy.

Some of The Love Witch's less charitable viewers didn't understand the way Biller's work sweeps from the grand and romantic to the self-involved and frivolous, but it's clearly intentional, and it works on the page for me just as well as it did on the screen. You just have to have the irreverent, glamorous toxic girl sensibility for it. If you love the way Lana Del Rey mixes the high and low brows, the tragic with the prosaic, you'll lap it up here too.

In some cases, Biller's descriptions do feel like placeholders, or are so generically written that it would make perfect sense in a script (because there is an entire team working on the film that can bring a "sexy" dress or a "lovely" piece of furniture to life), but which falls flat here. Because I know Biller's aesthetic style so well, when she tells me that room is sumptuous or well-appointed, I can picture precisely what she means, and most of the time she is so specific with her descriptions of outfits and accessories that you can easily conjure what she's going for. At some random moments, though, things are underwritten and demand that you as the reader fill in the details she normally provides.

Bluebeard's Castle is the story of a contemporary romance novelist and converted Catholic virgin, Judith, who falls under the seductive spell of an aloof, gruff, emotionally volatile Baron's-son, Gavin, who sweeps her off her feet following a fated encounter at a wedding. After a whirlwind romance and a hasty wedding, Biller's protagonist moves into a remodeled castle with her brooding lover, and the cracks in his shining armor begin to show. The charm of the love interest is something of an informed attribute; you have to believe the narrator that he is handsome and dracula-like (or believe that she believes it) in order to allow the story to move along. Since this is a tragedy rather than a romance novel, I think that buy-in is relatively easy to provide. The sex scenes are largely left to the margins as well; this book isn't meant to titilate but rather pull you into Judith's rich, sad, delusional inner world.

Some of the most positive reviews of Bluebeard's Castle describe this as a novel about how and why women find themselves entrapped within abusive relationships. As someone who has been in abusive relationships, I think this truly is where Biller's writing excels -- and she truly gets what it's like to become romantically and sexually addicted to someone who is bad for you to a degree that is almost embarrassing to see oneself reflected in. She truly gets it -- the way you excuse small violations, blot out any consideration of your own consent, justify unexpected outbursts from your partner and then take steps to prevent them, the way you must romanticize every single tender moment, rewrite the gradual conditioning of your own behavior as yourself becoming a canny, subtle manipulator of the situation, and color in between the lines of a truly unfulfilling existence with grand narratives and self-serving lies.

It's not a pretty portrait -- Bluebeard's Judith has a fanciful, inconsistent mind, constantly swapping between admitting to herself that her husband has mistreated her, and seeking refuge in religion, fantasy, alcohol, sex, and self-negation in order to convince herself that such abuses did not really happen, or don't really matter. She also uses other people -- leaning on her sister and a former romantic interest, the respectful, reliable doctor Tony -- extracting as much attention and support from them as she possibly can when she and Gavin are in a rough patch, then abandoning them entirely the moment he returns to her. I think a reader who hasn't been in an extended abusive relationship will probably find Judith infuriating and unsympathetic. But as someone who has done and been all of these things, I feel incredibly exposed by Biller's narrative, in a bracing way. It's like a shot of cold water to the face.

Many people will justifiably write this book off as melodramatic and arch, but I think it perfectly nails the alluring drama of being wrapped up within a terrible relationship dynamic. When you're being abused and you deeply love your abuser, you are absolutely fascinated by their unpredictable emotions and your own love -- you think constantly about how you might elicit the treatment from them that your heart longs for, you're reading into their every gesture and expression all the time, and you're inventing satisfying explanations for your situation in your head all the time. It's an isolated, deluded life, but it's pleasurably intense too sometimes, and those of us who fall prey to it often have some deeper longing for connection and passion that makes us easier to prey on. Biller really understands that.

If you adored The Love Witch, you'll probably have a lot of patience for this book's flaws and feel appropriately targeted by its strengths. Sad girls, Virgin Suicides fans, BPD baddies, Jane Eyre lovers, grown up former Twilight readers, and all kinds of other pitiful glamorous freaks will enjoy it.

[firewalkzwit]

in the mood for love // neil lewis x reader

To accept that life is not David Lynch's magnificent "Blue Velvet", or much less Billy Wilder's "Double Indemnity", was not an easy thing for a man like Neil Lewis, who adored nothing more than to vicariously live through the screen time of the 50's Hollywood heartthrobs that starred as his favourite characters.

So, in the event that a Rohmerian woman whose quirk could even be seen through her yellow lens Godard-ish sunglasses, Neil found it to be an offer he couldn't refuse.

Word count: 2.8k

Cross-posted on AO3

A.N: i actually never finished watching the detectives bc i was honestly not a fan of the plot so bare with me lol, i was only too in love w cill and lucy liu's characters but the movie itself kinda disappointed me

also, yes i made them fans of MY favorite movies, arrest me.

The sound of intense tapping of nails on the counter, crowded by a disastrous attempt at organising countless VHS tapes scattered all over it, caused the plastic of the films to rattle as the table vibrated. Neil's tired eyes rolled upwards to catch a glimpse of the face before him, a slight frown drawn between her eyebrows and an intensely inquisitive stare which hardly helped him to decipher what exactly she wanted that actually merited bothering him.

The harsh placement of the VHS on his desk caused him to grit his teeth, it felt almost imperative, and it ached him to see his most prized possessions be mistreated. His eyes drifted back up to her, the yellow-tinted lens of her sunglasses still didn't stop him from finding them oddly familiar. Scanning to the rest of her clothes as if he wanted to glimpse her personality based on her looks, he felt like a detective. The black minidress on her body was rather loose, and the sleeves ended close to the start of her wrists, as if it was too short for her arms. It seemed like an intentional fashion choice, despite how unflattering it looked to him. The dress hugged her waist in the centre, with a peculiar silver belt he'd only see in the outfit of a woman in a nouvelle vague film. In fact, her entire style seemed to be the one of a sixties Parisian flâneur, as if she was ruthlessly trying to imitate Anna Karina. Over the turtleneck that culminated her dress, a thin, long golden chain that went as low as her belt had a large and round golden pendant hanging from it.

But as soon as she spoke he was disappointed to find no thick, sexy french accent, but rather an ordinary speech, almost too friendly and passive to be attractive. His eyes drifted down to the VHS on his desk; while he expected Vivre Sa Vie, le Bonheur or Pierrot le Fou, there was no La Collectionneuse on his desk, but rather the most unexpected of outcomes.

Jane Birkin would never rent a chick-flick, Neil thought.

The membership she handed did not belong to her, it was that of a man's, an old one too, judging by his name.

"Alright, that will be eight dollars."

"Jeez, eight?"

"Eight."

"You do know the other rental charges only five, right?"

"I was not aware, thank you." Not only was she of poor taste, but also quite irritating. Even though he refrained from explaining how being a smaller business practically obliged him to charge more to make an actual profit, it was before he could begin to explain the late fees that she snatched the VHS from his hand.

"I'm actually going to keep looking." And just like that, she turned and began to walk slightly bent over, looking at the orange labels that hung on the shelves. Curiosity consumed him, and he also felt it his duty as the owner of the videoclub to assist his customers in making a choice.

"Are you looking for something in particular?"

"Well... What do you have with Robert De Niro?" Neil's eyes suddenly lit up, as if her personality had a chance at salvation the moment those words came out of her mouth.

"Most of his works, there's his classics like Goodfellas, Taxi Driver... I even have Heat if you're looking for something more thrilling."

"Heat?"

"Heat is one of the most critically acclaimed nineties crime dramas. It also stars Al Pacino, it's this kinda' cop and criminal trope but so realistically achieved, even the sound of firearms is claimed to be one of the most realistic in the history of film-"

"I'll just take that one." The tip of her finger slowly grazed his as she gently took the Heat VHS from his hands, a friendly awkward grin displaying discomfort. "It's just for my dad."

"Oh... Sixteen Candles' for you I guess." A soft nasal laugh left her body as her head tilted down, shaking in denial.

"No, that's for my dad too." Ok, weird, but by then she had undeniably picked his curiosity.

"Nothing for you then?"

"I prefer a cheaper rental, this is my dad's membership." As if he couldn't see for himself that such a name would never belong to her, it could only be that of an old geezer who he still struggled to recognise even though he was a member. And even though she intended to make a subtle comment, it did not come off that way.

"Oh yeah? And what do you rent in the cheaper club?" Media Giant could have a wider offer and lower prices, but Neil assumed it wasn't a real loss if the clientele consisted of girls like her.

"I like French movies, Harmony Korine, seventies giallos... Why, you want me to rent them from you instead?" While her first pick was particularly predictable, Italian giallos were a genre he was interested in exploring, and of which he hardly had any in his extensive collection. Neil shrugged almost dramatically, trying to incite her to take yet another pick.

"It wouldn't hurt your dad. Except for the giallo part, ‘can't help you there."

"You mean you have no giallos here?" His face deformed into an awkward pout, as if he'd been defeated in his own ground. "You look like the type of guy to own them on Criterion."

"I don't think so, no." By that point, the humiliation of her light cackle upsetted and confused him even further, returning her change as she piled up the tapes.

"If you ever want to watch a good Dario Argento movie, you let me know when I return you these." And marking her goodbye with a soft grin that slightly lifted the sunglasses that rested above her cheeks, Neil was taken aback beyond speech. Was it a date? Was she joking? He couldn't quite understand, and so couldn't come up with a proper response.

But seven days passed before she returned, and he would have to charge her the late fees that added to the sixteen dollars. However, in the course of those five days Neil hardly remembered her, briefly making a comment about it to his friends. Neil was not the type of man to stress easily, and he was exercising his peace that particular afternoon as he watched the director's cut of Psycho, to him a movie that truly never got old. He snacked on the couch in a slobby posture, his limbs spread over it without a care about presentation. It was not the type of day for him to expect too many customers, and it was too hot to go outside anyway. Hardly did he ever struggle to find an excuse to stay in anyway, so when he heard the doorknob pushed down his expression shifted into a displeased grimace. His eyes peered over the backrest, displeased to find that someone had indeed come in.

As he got up and stretched, mindfully appearing to be homeless, he caught a glimpse of her again. Her head was tilted and on her hands were the two tapes she had borrowed. He was surprised to have even forgotten that he'd rented her the films, usually being more attentive about what went in and out of his club. Probably the bizarre interaction had caused him to forget. That time she wore a tiny pair of black shorts with black stockings up the knees and also black, sharp-pointed flats. The usual thick, high-waisted belt accompanied a loose sage blouse, which was accessorised with elongated collars of various unique beads, and the peculiar yellow-tinted shades. Not that Neil cared at all about fashion, nor did he understand it, but he assumed she was going for chic.

"Sorry for not coming by sooner, hope you didn't miss these." She placed the tapes on the counter and quickly began looking through her pockets for the money she assumed she'd have to pay for being two days late. Before he could tell her how much extra she owed, she placed the four dollars on top of the movies.

"How'd you know how much..." Neil's finger drew a circle above the tapes and the money, as if she was some sort of genie or simply gambling with how much he'd charge compared to his prime competitor.

"My dad." She quickly interrupted, offering him her usual small grin of politeness before making her way out. Yet by that point Neil wasn't oblivious to her previous invitation, overwhelmed by the curiosity her strange looks provoked him.

"Is... the offer for that Dario Argento still up?" He could tell she was smiling through the way her cheeks lifted, visible from behind, and the way her voice sounded. When people smile and talk, their voice accommodates to the wider lips and sound friendlier.

"Glad you asked."

It was by that point that the old-Hollywood mystery enthusiast Neil and the French new-wave, foreign murder-thriller enjoyer Y/N frequented each other in what consisted of visits to the Gumshoe Video and her place. In contrast to his original impression of her, she was quite the film collector, owning a perfect shrine that ranged from art house Kino Lorber films to a wide range of classics on Criterion. She was truly well stocked. The only thing obvious to him from the start was that she was a great enthusiast of foreign films, something she even gave away in the unique way she dressed.

She was also an occasional actress, kindly starring in the indie projects of some of her film geek friends, many who shockingly knew Neil as well. It was natural for them to have so many people in common, especially because people with mutual interests were bound to come across each other in such a small town, however he was surprised to not have seen her previously roaming around or in any of his friends' films. She had a look that just gave away she'd be into acting, the role of a muse seemed to fit her character perfectly.

Because of this, as soon as Neil began to grow an interest in impressing her, she was surprised to hear he wanted to try and film an experimental short, try his luck at producing something beyond an advertising trailer for his videoclub, something more artistic.

Obviously he invited her to star in it, and even though he'd expected her to jump in his arms in excitement, never did she show herself to be shocked or taken aback by any of the bizarre propositions he had in mind. Neil wasn't very knowledgeable or even interested in the world that existed beneath experimental indie films, but she seemed to be willing to comply with the various shots of strange ideas he sketched frantically in strangely-drawn frames.

When it was finally time to shoot, it was clear that the whole tape would be very rudimentary, using the 35mm film gauge she had offered to lend him, demanding that he treat her camera with extreme care.

Despite Neil's attempts of disclosing what exactly he had in mind, rough sketches were clearly not enough, as the minute they began to shoot and the scenes began to come to life, it became too clear to her that Neil just wanted to see her naked, behaving like a conceited filmographer in poor attempts of masking his amateurism. It was hard to imagine senior film-makers like Jean-Luc Godard, especially the favourites of Y/N, and the thousands of breast and butt-naked women takes they had witnessed being filmed in their lifetime. Neil found it hard to imagine them behaving with naturality, but then again he assumed it was the only way to behave if they were actually in search of pristine shots.

"You don't seem to be taking this too seriously." She finally scolded, her forearm hugging her chest to cover her breasts once Neil cut the cameras.

"What do you mean? I'm directing here."

"You're wasting film in countless shots of my tits, what message are you trying to convey?" Interrogation was not on his plans, especially because Neil expected artistic and abstract film to not be questioned, but rather merely interpreted.

"It's about... the beauty of the raw human body." His tone didn't project confidence, and Y/N could tell he was feeding her bull-shit.

"Okay, then I'll film you too."

"Sorry, what?"

"It's not the human body if you also don't see the male." He didn't seem too convinced, obviously it was far more amusing to simply watch than to have to partake. "You and all these film-makers are so open minded when it comes to seeing women, but there's still a taboo for the male body." Neil couldn't find in him the interest to follow her idea. Obviously she had a valid point, but he was never the type to pay attention to the underlying message behind highly interpretable films, rather driven to puzzling movies where connecting the dots until the end was the reason to get his brain working.

However, how could he disagree? By that point it couldn't get more intimate than that, and a sudden high of confidence invaded him and prompted him to begin to undress himself. He began by his shirt, clumsily taking it off and visibly embarrassed. As he begins to rid himself from his pants and underwear, feeling the lens of the camera stare at him probingly, the desire to turn back strikes him to his core. He finally stands there, exposed and naked. He tries to look defiant and confident, but he's achingly vulnerable.

The camera is delighted with his expressions, and his body is posed like he wants to bend inwards and disappear into the air, but just when the filming of his most exposed self seems to never end, the camera lowers and his eyes meet with hers, and her own naked body too.

The naturality with which she accepted being in the spotlight seemed to indicate it was not the first time she filmed something of the sort, and Neil began to wonder who exactly had been gifted with pioneering in such a scene. He, on the other hand, was awkward and hardly artistic, his skinny body and shaky blue eyes screaming how out of place he felt.

"Do you think that's good enough?"

"Yes, I can't keep lending you more film anyway."

"That was... something." As she sat on the floor naked, her back arched sideways and her legs to her left as her arm supported the body, displaying total relaxation. Meanwhile, he couldn't wait for her permission to get back dressed, staring at her clothes as he waited for her to pick them up and imply she could do the same.

"It's a great thing when you realise you still have the ability to surprise yourself. Makes you wonder what else you can do that you've forgotten about."

"American Beauty?"

"Yes." In a way, the scene did share odd similarities to the American classic. The filming of odd, regular things and their naked bodies, Neil was bound to expect what would come next would follow as in the movie. He slowly crouched and sat before her, the two sharing brief stares that felt like a lifetime. Her gaze was soft and mellow, contagiously transmitting her tranquillity to his own as he pondered on whether to make a move or not.

By that point it was obvious they were not going to leave that room without something happening before, but the decision of who would initiate the contact seemed to be difficult as the longest minute of their lives passed by them.

So when she finally accommodated her posture and began to lean closer to him, he crawled her way progressing from soft and careful movements to pounding her against the floor. The sound of bone against the wooden floor caused them both to wince, her face wrinkling in a frown of pain. It was before she could hold her head to stroke herself that his own hand slid down from her temple to the back of her head, holding her up to finally kiss her.

The kiss was long, and the sound of their lips engaging in humid contact as their tongues went in and out of each other's mouth echoed across the empty room, Neil's free hand travelling from her navel to her breast as her arms wrapped around his slender body. Her legs followed the motion, soon making her look like she hung from him, clinged to his back as he arched to reach closer to her. Her gaze ogled from the corner of her eye in search of the camera as her arm reached out, finally being released from his grip to set up and continue to film themselves, a prime example of human beauty in its most raw expression.

Needless to say that beyond physical pleasure, it was an intellectual disappointment for the two that despite their love for film, they still couldn't make sex look and feel like a scene from Body Heat, sexiness was greatly rehearsed after all.

this sucks ass i just wanted to write filmbro cillian murphy and yap about my favorite movies tbhngl

#cillian murphy #watching the detectives #neil lewis #neil lewis x reader

[msfbgraves]

Have you ever seen the 1983 BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre? It stars Timothy Dalton as Mr. Rochester! I bring it up because I recently re-watched it on Y*utube, and his portrayal of Mr. Rochester gave me serious Terry vibes, especially Terry in Knights and Pawns. Timothy here is a really passionate, dark, clever, Alpha-type of man, and once “Mr. Rochester” falls for Jane, becomes extremely possessive and obsessed with her. Of course, as the story goes, he hides the darker parts of his past from her, lies and breaks her heart despite being madly in love with her…and then he begs her not to leave him, and becomes a total, broken-hearted mess when she does. All of which reminds me of your story! 

I watched this adaptation when I was 13, and it definitely gave me a thing for tall, dark haired, blue eyed obsessive men lmao. 

Or maybe you always had a thing for those men, potentially, Nonnie, and it simply got activated 😋

It's so kind of you to tell me this and no, I didn't know this one - I imprinted on Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson. I used to think that stories of men realising they've mistreated partners they deeply love was a female wish fulfillment fantasy (Rochester, Darcy mending his ways), but then I saw so many gangster films that have the exact same arc (like wut, Jake LaMotta, you're surprised your wife wants out after you knocked her out cold? Oh, sorry, Paulie, you treat your sister like shit and she needs to die before you regret that, and now you're emo about it? Oh, Michael, Kay needs to marry someone else before you suddenly want to work on your relationship?) that I think this is what a guy Experiencing a Consequence looks like. Pretty rare, apparently, they're always so baffled by it! But Timothy Dalton does look hot while he does it, you're not wrong.

Thomas as Terry (both Silver and McCain) would hurt the one he loves, directly or indirectly (don't tell me that Anna in Excessive Force is happy her ex won't leave her alone first and later gets her involved in a massive gunfight), even when they're crushed when that drives their loves away. It's like they genuinely don't consider the possibility. And maybe they don't, who is to say? It's not like being a dick to anybody else ever backfired badly? Anyway, Terry is always haunted by the fact that he hurt his relationship with Daniel himself, on purpose, before going 'OK, not evil anymore I wanna be loved now, Danny boy 🥰🤩", that's a main ingredient of the Silverusso molotov cocktail...

#silverusso #knights and pawns #terry silver #terry mccain

[alexyskinnerstories]

Bella's Aunt - Chapter Three

*Charlie's Pov*

I sighed and decided to just clean about me being turned into a Vampire like my sister kind and hope she and Bella take it alright.

Me: Alright am not gonna beat around the bush and tell you two the truth and nothing else of it I'm not human I am a vampire of your kind Anna I was turned into one by a man named Marcel Gerard before you ask I willing asked him to do it because I kinda already knew some of your biological life and am sorry I pride into your life sister but I was very worried that you were leaving me in Bella behind and I am sorry Bella but I was trying to keep you out of the supernatural world but it didn't go as planned since you had started dating that little shit and got dragged into it anyway.

Annabeth: It's alright big brother I get why you did it you were scared for yourself and quite honestly it's mainly my fault I did leave suddenly and I didn't leave a note or anything to tell you where I was going or what I was doing I'm sorry Brother

Annabeth came sat on the armrest of my recliner and patted my shoulder I scoffed brushed her hand off and pulled her and her into a much-needed hug

We hugged for a couple of minutes and let pull from each other smiling we both gather our strength to hopefully get the truth from Bella we look over to her with confronting look she started sobbing hard Anna and I walked over to her and pulled her into a hug after she was calmed down she told us the truth about the little shit how he treats her and how he does hit her I got up went and grab my shotgun I was gonna kill that little shit.

*Annabeth Pov*

I see Charlie grab his shotgun he is about to leave I can't let him leave and possibly cause a war or die I a small telekinesis spell to take the shotgun away from him "Exsurgo"

Me: Not yet Brother we will have our revenge on him for what he has done to our little Bells, But now Bella I need to see all the things he has done mentally and physically but you have a mental block that is in the way a bit for me so am asking you permission to temporarily weaken it so I can access the memories

Bella: Okay yes you can go through my memories auntie can maybe erase or take the memories out of my mind.

Me: I know this is about to sound a bit crazy but I think you should keep the memories to remember that you're strong and a fighter that will survive this with your family with you every step of the way and I can take away the pain that comes with the memories though

She nodded understanding what I was speaking about I gave her a small smile and held my hands to hers I gently grabbed her hands in my and focused on the weakening her shield our hand started glowing red and I was mentally dragged into her memories I could only see what was happening through her mind I could hear anything there was no sound at all

( Gifs Incoming)

After I saw everything I was furious I started to shake and growling I walked out back and shifty into my lycanthropy form I immediately started running towards where I smelt up bitch ass boy scent

I got to were he was I see him talking to a blonde man and a vampire with lots of muscle I start running toward him and tackle him we rolled around in the dirt I start clawing and punching him he was trying to fight back but he couldn't I was about bite arm of when I was roughly pushed off of him into a tree I picked up the tree and launch it towards the two vampires who were help him I made the tree unmovable I walk back over to the him I picked him up by his neck and threw through his house glass wall I jumped in after him I beat him more I made him look into my eyes I showed him the memories of him mistreating Bella then showed himself in the future being torn apart by me and my son's and being set on fire our face were blurred I pulled away and ran towards the broken glass before I jumped out I flipped him off and jumped out and ran back home to spend more time with Charlie and Bella.

#black reader #reqs open #x reader #x black reader #twilight #twilight crossover #the originals crossover #the originals #esme cullen x oc #gxg black oc #edwardcullenbashing #Mikaelson reader #hope Mikaelson

[solivagant-muse]

I need more reverse au in my life. Bastard Vinny has to be the greatest thing in my life atm.

THANK YOU!

GLAD TO HEAR THAT!

I love a soft Vince, don't get me wrong but the boy has so much unresolved, inner rage that manifests in the worst ways possible and makes him commit atrocious acts of cruelty <3

I don't have shareable art atm but I can provide you with how I see Vincent being if his face wasn't attached to Bo, and instead was "the pretty face" of the two.

I'll also be sharing stuff that I spoke with @hersweetrevenge about it, because her brain is super wrinkly and big.👀

Anna, please feel free to add stuff if you like!

In this AU, I see Vincent being more confident, snobby and arrogant, he acts "humble" but you know the man is fishing for compliments like a lifeline at every opportunity. Self-entitled as well, being told he was special and talented all the time can make a kid's ego burst to the mountains.

I also see him not being able to handle criticism whatsoever, it's his art and he decides the value. He worked hard to get there, so no one is allowed to dislike his work and put a value on it.

The two songs I would connect with Reverse AU Vincent would be "Love Me Love Me Love Me" by Kikuo and "Being low as dirt, taking what's important to me" by Tuyu. I recommend just reading the lyrics just to have an idea.

Much like OG Bo, Vincent becomes the "face" of Ambrose, he is the one interacting with the victims most of the time. He is still a loner and more on the reserved side, finding more solace being in the basement than anywhere else but much like OG Bo, he has to do the facade of being nice and welcoming to lure future projects.

I also think Vincent can get away with being "weird" because he is an artist after all, and artists are sometimes eccentric.

He has too many knives? Weird but they're really detailed and might be for decoration or material/wax cutting!

He stares too long at someone and is being kind of a creep? Oh, he is just admiring the symmetry of their face! Artists like to people-watch.

His face twists in a bitter scowl if an artstyle he likes gets dunked on? Artists are passionate but sensitive souls.

However, I am of the opinion that the pressure from his mother was much more intense compared to the OG one. He was everything that she wanted; brains, looks, and talent but she still demanded more of him. Vincent had to keep up with what his brothers couldn't do or be. The pressure of being the "perfect son" and "the Sinclair pride" made him snap in a way, but it was more lowkey, less explosive than Bo's but horrible regardless. He was treated better, but their parents' love wasn't unconditional, it never was. Higher praise also meant harsher punishment. Vincent didn't have to experience much to know, Bo was the perfect example of the consequences of misbehaving.

He loves his mother, but he holds a deep resentment towards her. Maybe him making the House of Wax was a direct or indirect way of desecrating the art of his mother. His mother wanted a super talented kid that did everything she asked of him, but she is gone now. Now he is that, and much better.

Vincent feels pity for Bo and treats both him and Lester "nicer" compared to canon Bo but he still has a hold on both of them. He is one of the few who truly loves and cares for them after all. He doesn't mistreat them or yells at them but he can be a little condescending at times in a "I'm so kind to you all and I'm doing what's best for you. Sorry you don't appreciate my worry! 🙄" kind of vibe.

He is the head of the house in this au and has the family ring, he became what Victor and Trudy wanted, it's natural he would be the one to inherit take the ring for himself 👀

Oml, Trudy and Victor having an argument because one wants Vincent to be an artist and the other one wants him to be a doctor!!! Bo and Lester watching from the sidelines, no expectations for the two of them whatsoever.

#I didn't add the screenshot of the messages between her and me because I don't want to impose <3 #If she wishes to add her takes she is totally welcome to do so!!! #I'll be editing and adding stuff to this post after all #reverse AU #house of wax #house of wax 2005 #how 2005 #vincent sinclair #character analysis #long post #if there are grammatical or spelling mistakes I'm sorry 😭 #ask #where's the art solivagant #anon

[liam-and-co-ideas-universe]

Xuissedora Empire's unique citizens Part 1: Royal Family and Servants

Name: Leonintus Bruns

Age: 49

Likes: His daughter, air vehicles

Dislikes: his half son from their mother's side

Leonintus is the emperor of the Xuissedora Empire, he spends his time socializing with the rich nobles and often spoilers her daughter with anything, even a big enough blimp that almost classified as a zeppelin. Hates his half-son since he is a hybrid of an elf and a human. His goal in life is to make his own palace a hot air balloon.

Name: Anne Bruns

Age: 24

Likes: Being flashy, Showing off, Making others jealous. Her crew, Tea, Fencing, Her own father.

Dislikes: Her half-brother, Poor people, Sunken Reef Lagoon, Ava Felicia Heaton, Criminals

Her most important subjects are in the rich noble class as her. She loves to mess with her subjects showing that she is above the law like her father. Had a bit of a rivalry with Ava Felicia Heaton when she got her blimp the first day. She is always spoiled and loves to mess with anyone below the rich class. Can encourage anyone who is rich, noble, or royal to be as spoiled as herself and her father.

Name: Dario Bruns

Age: 28

Likes: Elves, any hybrid species,

Dislikes: His half-sister, his stepfather

Isolated a lot in his life when he found out that his step-father heard about him, he isn't spoiled as much as his step-sister and doesn't get attention as much as her.

Name: Wariner

Age: 22

Likes: Leonintus,

Dislikes: Rebels,

Wariner is the right-hand man to Leonintus. He is given control of the empire's army. He protects the rich noble from any harm from rebels

Name: Janet

Age: 21

Likes: Piloting, Hot air balloons,

Dislikes: Noisy people with her work

Janet was recently hired by the king from his passion project. Janet wanted to pilot a hot air balloon and despite being in a rich family, her parents and didn't like hot air ballooning at all and pilot in secret instead. Her parents didn't start an argument knowing that they would be mistreated by the emperor.

Name: Esabell

Age: 35

Likes: Leonintus, Anne, Dario, The other servants

Dislikes: Other rich nobles, poor people.

Esabell is the maid for the emperor, she spends her time with anyone that isn't occupied especially the prince that the emperor neglects his time with. She gets mad and points out that everyone is busy that she has no choice but to spend time with Dario.

Anne's crew

Name: Manfred Mason  

Occupation: Bulter

Age: 20

Likes: Anne. Serving under Anne.

Dislikes: Anyone hurting Anne. Repairing the Airship. Other crew members betraying Anna.

Manfred Mason served Anne for a while. Always loyal to Anne and never betraying Anne no matter what she does. his family served the royal family for many generations and survived many civil wars.

Name: Tristan

Occupation: Priest

Age: 30

Likes: Praying for Anne’s success

Dislikes: Anyone else praying for Anne’s death

Tristan has been the priest for The Xuissedora Empire’s Royal family for his entire life. One day his church was destroyed in a civil war against the peasants. He decided to join Anne’s crew as a way to protect his life and also keep praying for the Royal family for The Xuissedora Empire

Name: Eleanore Mason

Occupation: Maid

Age: 20

Likes: Serving Anne

Dislikes: Messy people.

Family: Manfred Mason (Brother)

Unlike Manfred, Eleanore didn’t serve The Xuissedora Empire’s royal family, she decided to serve under Anne when Anne decided to cause destruction while piloting her blimp when the poor thought they were winning. She feels like she’s under pressure from everyone else except her brother and Anne.

Name: Helmina Schlim

Occupation: Scientist

Age: 33

Likes: Quiet rooms/areas.

Dislikes: The Destroyer deflating, interfering with her work. Parties

Helmina isn’t very good with handling with fragile stuff, She is afraid of ruining it, especially when The Destroyer is going down. She can’t handle loud noises otherwise she would whimper like a child on the ground.

Name: Esther

Occupation: Scientist

Age: 36

Likes: Helmina Schlim

Dislikes: The Destoryer deflating interfering with her work

Secret Desires: Wanting to be with Helmina

Esther loves to work with Helmina when she gets the chance. She sets her feelings of Helmina aside to get the work done. Rumor has it that Esther is done much earlier when she is with Helmina then all alone.

Name: Aalina the Great

Occupation: Commander, Second in command.

Age: 29

Likes: Orders. 

Dislikes: Chaos.

She led the armies of The Xuissedora Empire for many years, stopping civil wars that were purposely started by the royal family. Recently, she almost fell into battle with a recent civil war, The Royal family decided it would be best for her to aid with Anne's blimp piloting. She is the other person who can pilot The Destroyer but can’t sit on Anne’s throne.

[boricuacherry-blog]

Eartha Mae Kitt, known for her sultry vocal stylings and slinky silhouette, being the voice of Catwoman for Tv's Batman, and confronting Lady Bird Johnson on live television about the Vietnam War, had a rough start. The multilingual Broadway star, feline in agility and dynamic in her stage presence discussed her struggle being biracial, and in particular, light skinned. Her own stage was already set for her upon entry into this world.

Kitt was the product of a black mother and a white father she would never know anything about, except that he was a white plantation owner's son who had raped her mother. Not until she was 71 years old would she lay eyes on her birth certificate - a massive protracted legal battle on her part - and even then, the South Carolina authorities chose to black out the name of her father, still protecting the white plantation owner at the expense of the mixed-race daughter he sired.

Born out-of-wedlock and with light skin to a darker mother presented its challenges. Her own mother, Anna Mae, resented her at times for being lighter. Even in her own community, Kitt's light skin equated to moral ambiguity in their eyes.

"I always thought I was in the way," she said. "My mother tried to give me to a neighbor, who only said she refused take that 'devil light skin girl.' And the same with my mother's boyfriend. The man she wanted to marry said he didn't want 'that yellow gal' in his house. He accepted my half-sister Pearl who was much more darker skinned, but I had to go."

Her mother, desperate to keep him, looked for a family to send her. "The last image I have of my mother is her back as she walked away from me with that man. When she later had a child with him, the feeling I felt was something I still have trouble accepting."

She explained, "When they called you a yellow gal, it was the same thing as 'n****r'. Maybe even worse than that. It means you're not here, and you're not there, you don't belong anywhere; you're in between the cracks. My own extended family didn't even want 'that yellow gal' in their house. My mother had trouble passing me off to anyone."

But her mother eventually found a family to leave her with, but Kitt says, "They only wound up using me as a work mule, picking cotton. And their teenage son was raping me."

She continued, "I was the first one to wake up at the crack of dawn and I did all the chores I was capable of doing at that age. Even my earliest memories of life were of cotton fields and the longest road you ever want to imagine. We were always poor. My mother would go knocking on every door, looking for shelter, and when she was just about to be received, they saw me in the doorway, they saw what color I was, and we were turned away. When my mother spent the night at her uncle's, I had to sleep in the barn, with the animals. I do remember one house we were all received at, only because the lady was blind."

She always felt she was running from rejection, with the only people she felt love from being "the public and my daughter." Not even a man could soothe her spirit.

"They always wanted to lay me down," she said. "But they never wanted to pick me up."

And with the family she was given to, the only reason needed to mistreat her was her light skin. "I was tied me to a tree," she said. "They whipped me with a peach tree for no other reason than I was light skin. They whipped me until I could not sit down, until the blood was streaking down my legs and the welts were so huge that you can't sit, you can't stand, and you cannot show anybody."

Kitt's aunt received a letter saying she was either going to be starved, beaten, or worked to death if she stayed with that family. So her aunt, who lived in a city, sent for her. "I didn't even know what snow was before I went to the city. I'd never seen an indoor toilet. I was still looking out the window for an outhouse."

But the city is where Kitt's career would be born.

#eartha kitt #biracial #light skin #lightskin #lightskin problems #mulatto #high yellow #south carolina #article

[vampiremeerkat]

In your "Until I see you again", you say the original Larie was in love with Ann at the age of 6, but she used him as a punching bag and turned him into a beast. But how did that happen? Was Larie kidnapped as a kid by the fairy Ann so she could experiment on him? Did he give himself up willingly? It isn't worded out properly at all.

Larie came from a nearby human town. He moseyed off into the forest when he was 6, met Anna-Marie, also 6 years old, and kept looking her up since then. She didn't demand his attention, kidnapped him, nor forced him to come back for a daily dose of mistreatment.

#ed edd n eddy #eene #an ann n anny #aana #genderbend #fanfiction #until i see you again #edd #double d #double-dee #ann #double n #marie kanker #larie kanker

[hyperfixatinglove]

Summary; Aiden is bored and decides on new target to hack, trying to forget massive folder of certain civilian in his computer

@moriaenships @dark-magical-ships

Aiden's eyes locked into the computer screen. The screen depicted a folder of audio files. hidden in the deepest depth of the hacker's personal device which he created the majority of his havoc from. Rows upon rows of files, folders within folders, named haphazardly and then forgotten. Simple, few clicks could delete them from existence, and sometimes the Fox desired to. That feeling was always quick and brutal, leaving him disgusted in its wake.

He rationalized many things, he knew this, and rationalizing a personal folder full of info in form of audio was no exception. Click of computer mouse and back to work, the sound echoing in his tiny makeshift base in dock container in middle of city. Muffled sounds of traffic and sirens were his only company.

Injections of code into ctOS, mere child's play by this point, Aiden found himself bored. He needed to take something down. Something big that provided him with challenge. He mused over his possible choices. Some big corporation would do.

Aiden didn't want to merely disable some corporation for measly 24 hours or few weeks, he was thinking permanently, like bankruptcy. His mouse moved rapidly, clicking across websites, across ctOS network, security cameras, the blue screen flickering in dim light of his small base. His eyes scoured the information, his mind thinking of ways of accomplishing this new arbitrary goal he set for himself.

He clicked away from some company logo too fast in his excitement for something new, chaotic for a while. The hacker pursed his lips in annoyance, his cap obscuring his eyes for a short moment. Deep sigh, and a click.

The blue logo plastered on a pleasant street on Chicago's Parker Square sat on the screen. Fairly new company in this side of the town, the other nearest was couple towns away. Only few years ago established as his quick search found out. His haunting blue eyes stared holes at the blue, minimal and simple piece.

"I've seen this before.." he uttered quietly. Web page spawned after a few clicks, articles after articles of shady business practices and mistreating children, posing as benevolent charity, the very community they claimed to help, who wanted nothing to do with them.. It all sound familiar to the Fox. In the back of his mind, in some form, he had known this, before.

More rapid clicks. The same folder of various audio beaming back at him. Few more clicks, deeper into the rabbit hole of personal files, he found the one he was looking for. Double click and audio sprung to life, beaming sound into silent corner of his world. Aiden bought the picture of the storefront beneath his eyes in the monitor.

The voice, who spoke adamantly and passionate, was already familiar to the hacker man. He knew the ins and outs of the voice, the various tones, the telltale signs of forgotten word or attempts to articulate thoughts. Aiden knew how they sounded, happy, upset, sad.. Every way they could sound, Aiden knew. He had spent months studying the person, writing and noting down every aspect of their being, documenting everything to collection of folders hidden deep in the abyss of his own computer. He had voice clips, video, pictures, analyzes, schedule, all of it. He knew how creepy it was, to have a private digital shrine, dedicated to someone he was obviously obsessed over and head over heels in love-

He halted the thought, not yet ready to fully embrace the various implications that came with it. Maybe someday.

The voice described in detail the various crimes of the organization Aiden was staring daggers at, his eyes and brows furrowing in rage as he listened the disgust in the person's voice, Anna's voice. There were things they agreed on, and one of them was exploitation of people.

Aiden had found a target.

He was going to utterly destroy this company. Not merely this branch in Chicago, not merely every instance of it existing with few mile radious, no, he was going to drive the whole company into utter despair in entire United States. So badly, in fact, they'd never consider a comeback. If they did, he would hunt them down and snip their efforts in the bud.

As much as he wanted to walk up to the business base and start smacking the people inside the building with his baton, he wouldn't fancy the resulting headlines. To majority of public, the company had good image. To start such rampage was foolish. No, he'd collect the money they had and actually divert it to reputable sources, one's that actually helped the demographic.

Writing the code would take time, getting access would take time as well. Aiden knew he was going in for a long weeks, but he liked this aspect of his.. job. The thrill of hunting a target, coming up with ways to defeat them, prodding and prodding until finally succeeding..

He was getting too riled up about this. He hadn't adjusted to the feeling, well, feeling anything really. It was thanks to T-Bone and Clara he had felt something, the first in charge of reminding him why he drifted towards hacking in first place. Anna was to thank for his current thrill, however, it was because of her his boredom had been abandoned.

Aiden acknowledged he had dubious reasons for doing what he was shaping to do. Majority of it was due to dispelling his massive boredom as of late, but that was merely the excuse, the one he'd provide T-Bone with if he happened to call his burner phone. The real reasons he had, he couldn't allow such heinous company to exist a moment longer for his own code of morality. Furthermore he had grown to.. like when Anna praised him for his work and even smile when she was fascinated by the fact it was all him. He craved the positive feedback after years of monochrome and negativity from Nicky.

He shook his head, clicked another audio of hers and got to work.

#my fics #idk i got massive aiden feels like oof #masking feelings

[emmeliamathews]

Reading Response For Class

I just submitted my reading response homework for my lit class but thought you guys might appreciate it too, since it analyzes the "enemies to lovers" dynamic in Much Ado About Nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Much Ado About Nothing, oddly enough, had me reexamining my feelings on the "enemies to lovers" trope in fiction. I love to write, and in some of the online spaces I frequent, I have seen people express their love of this trope, which I have been unable to understand. I have wondered how someone could fall in love with a person they hate, and found that some "enemies to lovers" romances could actually be toxic, which turned me off of the trope. (An example of a toxic "enemies to lovers" romance is "After" by Anna Todd.) Personally, I prefer the "fake dating" trope, in which two people pretend to be a couple and over time fall in love with each other for real. Writing this explanation, I realize that Shakespeare could have gotten a lot of mileage out of the trope and probably would have used it in one of his comedies (assuming he hasn't already).

I think Benedick and Beatrice fit into enemies to lovers because of a presence of passion--they care about each other, even if they could never admit it. They had already been a couple prior to the play's events, and Beatrice seems to have had her heart broken by Benedick, which would place them in the "enemies" category. Whenever they see each other, they exchange insults and bicker; if they didn't care about each other, they could have just as easily ignored each other. I believe that the two had never stopped caring about each other, which allows for the bridge from "enemies" to "lovers". Beatrice in particular shows this because she talks about Benedick a lot. Even though she is insulting him when she talks about him, he is still clearly on her mind.

I think what makes this a less toxic example of "enemies to lovers" is that they are on equal ground. Both are witty and sarcastic, and are both exchanging jabs. Also, Benedick doesn't want to change Beatrice and in fact likes that she's not mild-mannered like her cousin. One could even say that he gets an enjoyment out of their snarkfests. Furthermore, Beatrice has a backbone and was willing to go to bat for Hero when she was disgraced at her wedding, so we know she wouldn't have allowed herself to be mistreated by someone. There's also the declaration on Beatrice and Benedick's parts that they didn't want to fall in love. Personally I think what they're saying is that they don't want to be in love with anyone....else. They don't want to marry anyone...else. They would rather be with each other.

In reading this play, I think I've come to understand why people like "enemies to lovers":  the passion displayed by the couple, seeing how everyone around them knows the couple is in love (while the couple is oblivious to it), and watching the couple realize they love each other and come to terms with it before finally getting together. I think Much Ado About Nothing is an example of "enemies to lovers" done right, and it has made me much more open-minded about this trope.

#shakespeare #much ado about nothing #benedick #beatrice #much ado #romance #romance tropes #writing tropes #shakespeare would have killed it with the fake dating trope #yeah i realize how dumb it sounded when i said ben and bea fit the trope because of passion #i was still figuring out where i was going with this #and how to put into writing what i thought about enemies to lovers in much ado

[lethaltuoch]

continued from here - @bitemescftly

It would be foolish and a lie to himself if he didn't she he used to have such a big crush on Anna. She always seemed to bring a smile to his face even after the worse of fights he had been in. She had been the only light and sunshine in the pack for him. The only reason he even stayed as long as he did and that's why leaving had been so hard for him, that's why he had let his wolf take over and she started running and never stopped because if he looked back he would stay for her and continue to be mistreated.

He always thought he'd find his way back here, back to her. It's as if he felt it in his soul. She had been the first person he wanted to see in the morning and the last person he wanted to see at night. Hell many times the two would fall asleep cuddled together in some broken down cabin perfectly contempt.

He didn't regret his words when they fell out and it wasn't just because they were wrapped in a pleasurable embrace at the current moment. He said the words because he meant them with everything in his being. He had loved her since the very moment he had seen her and now he had mated with her. Now she was his and he was hers for the rest of their days together and he wouldn't have it any other way.

His eyes moved to hers as she spoke, his hips grinding softly into hers so she could feel the pleasure of his knot deep inside of her. His brows knit together from the pleasure as he groaned. "I'm sorry I've been gone for so long" he breathed the words against her lips "I'll never leave you again" he admitted before capturing her lips in a passionate and deep embrace groaning softly against her lips as his body moved closer to her own.

#( cyrus verses ) . she makes me whole again #( cyrus ) . convos #n.sfw #bitemescftly

[fromtheboundlesssea]

In the twins AU where Rhaenor didn't marry Alicent, maybe Rhaenyra compares him to Maegor the Cruel because he is another Targaryen mistreating a Hightower lady. She says it in a moment of anger and regrets it but does take it back because a part of her means what she says. She's furious on behalf of her friend because she knows who will end up treated like a leper (idk if you've seen Anna Karenina but I'm imagining that scene when she's back from the country and everyone is looking at her with scorn and judgement, she can't even thank a man for giving her a program without his wife causing a scene)

Maybe

#keep the asks coming #twins au

[blusargento]

this is my last post of the night but. you guys realize it is not only possible but more than likely that john mulaney meant everything he said about his ex? that he loved her completely and thought he would share the rest of his life with her, without doubt? it's just crazy to me how y'all are holding statements he made years ago against him, or like. judging him for making jokes about a person he didn't know he would separate from in the future. yall are like, retcalling your experiences of watching his comedy because "now it feels weird, like why would he joke about her if he would end up leaving her?" ummmm maybe because he didn't know that that was what was going to happen?????? maybe this whole scenario would seem absolutely insane to him years ago, and then life... happened? that's not enough reason to demonize him. it's just life. people fall out of love, shit happens.

i dunno, i keep going back to the fact his addiction was so bad he had to check into rehab. i can't imagine the toll that takes in a relationship, and on the people in that relationship. not only on anna but on him too. it's not that he made this persona only to reveal he was actually full of shit, it's that he made statements he meant with his whole heart, and over time he stopped feeling that way. it's not that he's a bad person, it's just time passing. god.

#only three days #and i'm not saying he's not a bad person #or that he didn't cheat #or that he didn't mistreat anna #like he's literally an addict #addiction makes you do bad things #but i really dont think we have enough evidence to call him names yet #and for the love of god #stop taking this personally #he didnt betray you #he had to have an onstage persona #he had to make jokes about something #he didnt owe any of you being exactly what you thought he was #i thought we were capable of critical thought #god #and im not even defending him because theres really nothing to defend #the only thing yall have against him is that he supposedly cheated because #there is no way he couldve met and started a new relationship in only three days without cheating #well youre right #that didnt happen in three days #thats not how the news work #so why would i need to defend him? the only reason yall think he cheated is because of that #and yes anna couldve been blindsided by this but theyve been literally separated since before he checked into rehab #and he didnt announce it #it was leaked #so what do you have against him #john mulaney

[burr-ell]

Fandoms don't hate poc. They hate heterosexual characters.

White women sent hate tweets to John Boyega because he didn't like their I Can Fix My Pet White Boy ship and then cried misogyny when he rightfully called them out on it. The erasure of Finn's character is largely ignored, or it's weaponized in their arguments that RoS was bad when what they actually care about is that Reylo got sunk and Kyle died.

White Voltron fans treated Allura like garbage, and talked over and ignored black girls and women who were uncomfortable with their Space Mommy headcanon. Klance shippers constantly erased her, and Sheith shippers either ignored her or performatively shipped her with Lance—a character they hated and loved to tear down, incidentally—to get her out of the way of their precious Wife Husbandry ship. Even now, her appalling death and Montgomery and Dos Santos's equally appalling indifference to it are ignored in favor of whining about fanon ships. (Klance shippers also frequently exotified both Keith and Lance with Korean and Latino stereotypes to make them sexier, incidentally, and created an entire AU around this after Season 7.)

White Starfire fans and Dickbabs fans alike sent racist harassment to Mame-Anna Diop when she was cast in the role on Titans, and fans are more interested in Raven and the pasty Batman characters than in either Kory or Gar (both of whom are played by nonwhite actors). The show repeatedly mistreats and sidelines both of those characters—two actual Titans, the team the show is supposed to be about—and fandom largely ignores this.

A vocal subsection of the Fire Emblem fandom erases the personalities and goals of the PoC from Three Houses, insisting that they are a hive mind who hate all white people and can only be shipped with each other, and ignore the fact that Claude‚ the only non-white main character, is biracial in favor of arguing that he actually hates all white people when his canon goal is to bring people together. This subsection of fandom regularly harasses fans of color who don't fall in line with this.

Brian W. Foster, a white man formerly associated with Critical Role, QRT’d a woman of color who criticized the show’s Campaign Three intro to childishly mock and dismiss her concerns. This led to his 183k+ followers dogpiling and harassing someone who was offering genuine, rational critique, with a wide variety of slurs thrown at her. His apology was half-baked and generic and made no reference to the specific person whom he used his platform to attack.

And Yennefer of Vengerberg is repeatedly erased and ignored in a show where she is unquestionably the female lead. Her actress, Anya Chalotra, received racist harassment bad enough for her to leave social media, and the character is torn down by fandom so that fans can fawn over—you guessed it!—their white faves.

Characters of color are disdained, warped, erased, infantilized, hypersexualized, and conveniently "have no chemistry" with the white characters. The fans of color are talked over, ignored, harassed, dismissed, or otherwise have their opinions used as a cudgel when they fit a white fangroup's narrative.

Fandoms. Hate. People. Of color.

#crit tag #asks #vld critical #anti reylo #<-tagged for blacklist purposes

[anarmorofwords]

Hi! You're probably not going to like this ask, but before getting into it I'd just like to say that this isn't meant as Kamala hate or anything, and I don't really want to offend.

Having said that, wouldn't it make sense that we get to see how Kamala treated Anna after she came out? It's in all likelihood one of the things that's weighing on Anna the most.

Obviously Kamala had her valid reasons: her parents aren't as liberal as the Lightwoods, she believes (knows?) their love is conditional as she's adopted, she's not white and not being heterosexual could further any treatment she's suffered from being different... Her reasons have already been listed multiple times by multiple people. Kamala has the right to stay in the closet and fear coming out. And while that shouldn't be villianised, we can't forget that closeted people can harm those around them.

If Kamala had kept treating Anna like a good friend, rumour would've sparked, and even if it was denied, she'd have been harmed by merely associating with Anna. Especially with the life Anna began leading; she could have been labelled as one of Anna's 'conquests' by the Clave. That, as we've established, is detrimental for her safety.

But at the same time, it would create a breach between Anna and Kamala. And Anna had the right to be hurt by it and weary of it when Kamala said she wanted a relationship.

If we look at it from that perspective, Anna's actions (though inexcusable in how they treated Kamala --who was also at fault for not accepting a negative for four months) make sense. Kamala wasn't only a fling of a week*, but also the girl she lost her virginity with, who asked her to be her secret (until she married Charles, after which Anna's affections would be discarded), who hid her sexuality for two years and sat back while Anna suffered from homophobic commentary, and who now wants a relationship hidden from most of the people that know her.

Kamala shouldn't be forced to come out; but the harm that can do to the women she may engage with is reflective of what happens nowadays. I can mostly think of examples with gay men, so my apologies in advance. But how many women have seen their marriages ruined by their husband having affairs with men?

Creating characters that reflect a toxic part of the 'hidden' LGBT community shouldn't be seen as hating or villinifying. Thomas isn't out and he isn't labelled a villain by the narrative --because his actions don't harm anyone. The hate Alastair gets in-universe is because of his past as a bully, not because he's gay. Matthew's not fully out and he isn't villianised --like Thomas, because the decisions he makes to keep his sexuality hidden don't impact anyone negatively.

I'll even go as far as saying that not even the narrative villianises characters like Kamala and Charles. If it were, they'd be seen more like Grace in Chain of Gold. We'd see how Kamala's actions are affecting Anna's in more ways than anger (that in itself put the fandom against Anna), and the characters would note so. We wouldn't see scenes were Cordelia empathised with Charles, nor Matthew said he loved him.

Be it as it may, Kamala and Charles represent ugly parts of being closeted that can naturally occur when someone is in their position. LGBT people are human. Humans, when put into very difficult situations (and Charles risks his career; Kamala her safety), can make decisions that harm those around them. Consequently, the people they're harming have a right to feel, well, harmed in whatever range of ways --this goes mostly for Alastair, and very partly for Anna, whose treatment of Kamala was horrible.

Readers need to understand what is pushing these 'villianised' characters to harm (again, mostly for Alastair) the more prominent characters and go beyond how they are instantly depicted. Because these are complex characters based on complex real people influenced by very ugly realities we will move on from someday, but sadly not yet.

By the way, Charles and Kamala's situations aren't that similar beyond the closeted thing, but I crammed them together because of a post I saw you reblog.

Please understand I'm not justifying Charles's actions; that I understand the pain he's put Alastair through, and know that he shouldn't ever be near Alastair. Nor am I trying to justify Anna's actions nor hate on Kamala.

I'll just finish my pointless rant by adding that I do think cc has sensitivity readers. I think she asked a gay man to go through tec (I don't know if he still revised her other books, though), and know she asked POC's input when writing someone for their culture. I don't know much beyond that, but I doubt who revises her stuff is up to her. Wouldn't that be something the publisher is responsible for (honest question)?

*I've also noticed people using the argument that they didn't know each other long enough for Anna to harbour such ugly emotions towards Kamala, but Kamala also remembered Anna pretty deeply and is 'in love' with her. I just wanted to say that considering cc writes (fantastical) romance where someone can ask a woman they met two months ago marriage, stressing over time spaces doesn't make much sense. Just my take.

hi!!

alright, where do I start? probably would be best with stating that while I can analyse Kamala's situation with what I know/see/read about racism and discrimination and reasonably apply things I've read/heard from PoC to the discussion, as well as try to be as sensitive about it as possible, I'm still a white woman, so not a person that's best qualified to talk about this.

that being said - if someone wants to add something to this conversation, you're obviously more than welcome to, and if there's something in my answer that you don't agree with or find in some way insensitive or offensive - please don't hesitate to call me out on that.

back to your points though: (this turned into a whole ass essay, so under the cut)

I don't think Anna shouldn't be able to reminiscent on Kamala's behaviour/reaction to her coming out, or be hurt by it. what bothers me is the way CC talks about it - I can't remember the exact phrasing, but the post where she mentioned this suggested something along the lines of "you'll see how Kamala sided with the Clave and didn't defend Anna after her coming out", therefore putting the blame on Kamala and completely disregarding the fact that Kamala wasn't in position to do much at all. It suggest that their situation was "poor Anna being mistreated by Kamala". therefore I'm afraid Kamanna's main problem/conflict will remain to be portrayed as "Anna having to allow themselves to love again and forgive Kamala", while Anna's shortcomings - and Kamala's vulnerable position - are never discussed. I think it would be possible to acknowledge both Kamala's difficult situation and the possible hurt her behaviour caused Anna without being insensitive towards Kamala's character, but it would take a really skilled - and caring - author to do both of the perspectives justice. CC would have to find a balance between being aware of the racism/prejudice Kamala faced/ writing her with lots of awareness and empathy, and still allowing her to make mistakes and acknowledging them. As it is however, I'm under impression that she's just treating it as a plot device, a relationship drama.

I'd say no one expects characters of color to be written as flawless or never making mistakes, it's mostly the way these mistakes are written and what things these characters are judged/shamed/

And that's - at least in my understanding and opinion - where the problem is. it's that the narrative never even addresses Anna's faults, and portrays Kamala as the one that caused all - or most of - the pain, without ever even acknowledging her problems and background.

White characters in TLH make mistakes and fuck up - because they're human and they're absolutely allowed to - but the thing is, non-white characters aren't afforded that privilege. Anna's behaviour is never questioned - none of it, shaming Kamala for not being able to come out, dismissing her desire to be a mother, or any of the questionable things she did in ChoI. Same with Matthew, James, Thomas. Alastair and Kamala however? they're constantly viewed through their past mistakes, and forced to apologize for them over and over, forced to almost beg for forgiveness. Moreover, those past mistakes are used as a justification of all and any shitty behaviour the other characters exhibit towards them now, which is simply unfair and cruel. They're held to a much higher standard.

So I'd like to say that yes, Kamala was in the wrong to keep nagging Anna after numerous rejections, and she was in the wrong to not inform Anna about Charles prior to them having sex - but that doesn't give Anna a free pass to constantly mistreat Kamala. And let's be real, Anna isn't stupid - while at 17 she could be naive and uninformed, I can't imagine how after years of hanging out with the Downworlders and numerous affairs and being out and judged by the Clave she's still so ignorant about Kamala's situation. I definitely think she's allowed to be hurt, but to still not understand why Kamala did what she did? Anna isn't blaming her for not telling her about Charles earlier - which would be fair - but instead for refusing to engage in an outright romance with her. She's being ignorant - and consciously so, I think.

Overall, I think you're definitely right about how coming out - or staying closeted - can be messy and hurt people in the process, especially in unaccepting environments/time periods, and I've seen enough discourse online to know there will never be a verdict/stance on this that will satisfy everyone. I, for one, would really like to refrain from putting all the blame on a single person - but, at least the way I see it, CC is pointing fingers. maybe not directly, but she is. Kamala, Alastair and Charles have no friends or support systems, and the only people in the narrative that defend them are themselves (ok, Cordelia does defend Alastair from Charles, but not from shitty takes about him and his "sins"). Also, sorry, but I don't like how you say "hid her sexuality for two years and sat back while Anna experienced homophobic comments" - it sounds very much judgemental. Kamala had every right to do that? The fact that she slept with Anna doesn't means she owed her something, and certainly not coming out and most probably destroying her life, or even defending her at the - again - expense of her own reputation, or more possibly safety.

As for Charles - it's a different issue here, at least imo - I fear that it'll be implied that his refusing to come out will is his main "sin", and therefore not something he can be judged for, which ironically, will be villainizing, but mostly will mean his actual sins are dismissed. This is where the scene with Cordelia feeling a pang of sympathy for him comes into play, and it worries me. I've never hated Charles for not wanting to come out, but rather for, let's see - grooming Alastair, disregarding Alastair's needs and feelings, disrespecting his mother, being a sexist prick, being low-key far-right coded "make Shadowhunters great again" etc.

As for sensitivity readers - I'm no expert, so I don't think my input is worth much. From what I've gathered from multiple threads/discussions on twitter, tho it is probably consulted/approved by the publisher, many authors push for that - and authors less famous and "powerful" than her. I'm not a hater, but seeing fandoms' opinions on much of her rep, I think she could do better. Because if she does have sensitivity readers, then they don't seem to be doing a great job - maybe they're friends who don't wanna hurt her feelings? Or maybe she thinks a gay guy's feedback will be enough for any queer content - which, judging by the opinions I've seen from the fans, doesn't seem to be true.

Again, these are mostly my thoughts and I'm more than open to reading other opinions, because *sigh* I really don't know how to handle this.

Bottom line - I really really don't want to be hating on the characters in general, playing God in regards to judging the struggles of minorities, or even criticising the characters too harshly for being human, flawed etc. What my main issue is is how CC handles those complex and heavy topics.

I hope I make sense and this answer satisfies you somehow - I also hope someone better equipped to answer might wanna join this conversation.

* I desperately need a reread of TLH before I engage in any more conversations like this, but I didn't wanna leave you hanging. So yeah, I might be remembering things wrong. Again, let me know, I'm very much open to being corrected as well as to further discussion.

* I use she/her pronouns for Anna because that's what she uses in canon

#the last hours #tlh #alastair carstairs #shadowhunters #the shadowhunter chronicles #anti charles fairchild #is this anti anna? #kamala joshi #ariadne bridgestock #chain of iron #chain of gold #spilling the tea

[emblemxeno]

What do you think of the FEH OCs?

Alfonse is fuckin nuts and I love him, Sharena's cool and I appreciate her optimistic outlook on things, Anna is... there. Veronica is hilarious because she evolved into tag-along kid, Bruno's hot and that's enough for me.

Fjorm... is nice? She was great in Book 2 but I'm kind of indifferent to her in Forging Bonds and in that TT storyline. It's the same way I feel about Corrin in FEH and Warriors, when they're not the main character making hard decisions or whatnot, the appeal of the character is lost to me (at least the base forms, the feral Corrins were great). The Nifl siblings I feel didn't get enough individual time for them to stick, though Ylgr is fun. The Muspell sisters were good antagonists, and I liked their bond. Killing off Helbindi was a mistake I won't ever forgive. Surtr was like Garon but with no underlying substance or secret machination controlling him to justify his being like that, so he's kinda weak to me. Nifl and Muspell themselves are just quarreling gods and I lack interest in their story/feud besides imagining their potential feelings for whoever they gift power to.

Book 3 has been my favorite of the FEH stories so far, and Eir has a really interesting character regarding her conflicting feelings with her mother, as well as her perspective on death. Lif and Thrasir had a really good tragedy to them, though the latter got pretty shafted compared to the former. Hel herself is full gung-ho evil, and in a way that I find more entertaining than Surtr, since the book was about rejecting death's supposed inevitability.

Book 4 came close to Book 3 in terms of story, if only because the 4 alfar being mistreated human children wanting to save people really is a heartwarming underlying plot thread. Peony is sweet, Mirabilis is pretty funny, Triandra's cool and Plumeria is pretty neat. Freyr and Freyja crack me up, honestly. It's like they took the Eldigan+Lachesis tragedy, made them into gods and made the sister go crazy over it.

Book 5 was fine. Reginn has a pretty typical "lost princess reclaims her rightful homeland" but the story beats were there and executed well enough; nothing spectacular but certainly not terrible. The Jotnar twins kind of felt... a bit shoehorned in? I liked their inheritance feud and their opposite personalities, but honestly I feel like they should've been saved for a different book. Fafnir, the poor sap, he really got fucked over huh. Hope we get an alt of him where he's happy and reunited with his family. Eitri brings an interesting conversation about the "Morals of Summoning" but out of story it doesn't really matter since, y'know. That kind of aesop barely matters irl since summoning doesn't exist in real life and unless you really project yourself into the FEH avatar, it probably won't matter to you for the game's story after a minute or two. Otr? Brocon who really needs sleep, those eye bags are crazy.

Ash is pretty endearing so far, and Book 6 looks like a neat story given they're going back to Askr and Embla. I have hopes for where the plot goes with that.

I will start caring more about Thorr's and Loki's characters once they do something meaningful in the plot besides talk about Alfaðör's business.

...And if you meant how the Book 5 OCs look in their New Years getups? Ignore all of the above lol. Reginn's pretty cute, Fafnir is supreme eye candy in his damaged art, and the Jotnar twins look nice.

#feh #fire emblem heroes #fire emblem