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its-vannah · 1 year

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Girl, Put Your Records On | Eddie Roundtree x Reader

A/N: I haven't seen any fics with him, so I had to make one. I love his character so much.

Blurb: Being the daughter of a music producer has its perks, and one of those is meeting Daisy Jones and The Six's Eddie Roundtree.

Warnings: Just fluff and a hit of angst, implied intercourse (no detail)

Daisy Jones and The Six Masterlist

Being the daughter of a music producer had it's perks. For starters, you were able to listen to new albums and singles before anyone else. While the rest of the world waited for upcoming releases, you were already taking the record out of its sleeve and putting it on the phonograph.

Not to mention all the artists and bands you were able to meet. Your father was constantly popping open a bottle of champagne to celebrate his clients to celebrate their upcoming albums and tours.

Although you were too young to drink yourself, it was nice to feel included. Being there with your father, surrounded by new and interesting people with dozens of stories to share.

But being the daughter of a music producer has its downsides, too. On the smaller scale, sometimes your favorite songs wouldn't make the cut. When you were younger, it hit harder. But as you got older, you just accepted it and moved on.

That wasn't the only down that the role came with, however. You were a young, beautiful, kind girl with a heart of gold and a lot of love to give. Not many men in the industry had any problem taking advantage of that.

There was a thrill to it, for them. Sneaking around with their producer's daughter with the possibility of getting caught at any moment. You were sixteen when you had your first love. He told you all the right things, did all the right things. But the night before he left, he tried to convince you to "live in the moment" while leading you to his van.

It didn't take long for you to realize what was happening, so you freed yourself from his grasp, shoving him back and walking back inside your home.

He was too old for you, anyway. He was twenty, and you were still a kid. It wasn't right, but it was the seventies and he was gaining popularity. It didn't matter what he did, he had every girl in America wrapped around his finger. You, however, had made the choice not to be one of them.

A few years later, when you were nineteen, an up and coming group walked inside your father's studio. He was hesitant about letting them record, but he trusted Teddy and gave them a shot, alllowing you to sit inside the sound booth to hear them play.

You could see the nervousness written all over their faces as they got ready to play. They wanted to impress Teddy, and you didn't blame them. He wasn't easy to read.

Reclining in your seat beside Marcus, who gradually increased the volume on the lead vocalist and lowered the sound of the guitars, you smiled as you listened to them play.

By the end of their demo, you were on the edge of your seat waiting to find out whether or not they'd get an offer.

While Teddy went to discuss it with your father, you stepped out of the sound booth and made your way towards the group.

Smiling, you held out a hand to the only woman, who was closest to you when you walked in, introducing yourself, "Hey, I'm Y/N."

Karen gave you a gentle smile, shaking your hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Karen."

The drummer, who was fiddling with his drum sticks, hollered over her, "That's Karen Karen."

Raising a brow, you couldn't help but release a small laugh, "Karen Karen?"

The blonde shot him a look, "Fuck off, Warren."

Warren grinned, nodding his head as a way of greeting you.

Beside him, the lead vocalist looked over at you, "Is there something you need, Samantha?"

"It's Y/N," You corrected, "And I just wanted to say I like your sound. It's different. I think you guys have a good chance of getting a deal."

One of the guitarists, the one with curly hair who had been ogling Karen for the past half hour, smiled up at you from his seat on the amp, "Thank you, Y/N. Our main focus is creating music that people l-"

"For the love of God, Graham, shut up," The vocalist grumbled, turning back towards you, "Look, it's nice to meet you, but we're a bit busy here."

Graham held his hands up in surrender, returning to fiddling with his guitar, mouthing "sorry" to you.

The fifth member of the group, who had been nervously tapping his foot flashed his bandmate an irritated look, "C'mon, Billy, she's just being nice. At least people actually like our music."

"Eddie, all I'm saying is that we need to spend less time socializing and more time figuring out what we do if we don't get this deal."

On that note, you cleared your throat, "You'll get the deal."

Simultaneously, Eddie and Billy spoke over one another, the former asking if you really thought so and the latter asking how in the hell you knew.

"I know Mr. L/N well, and so does Teddy. Look, the last few bands Teddy has invested in haven't been doing too great. But I really think you guys have a chance. I know you guys do."

Eddie gave you a lopsided smile, "They liked us in Pittsburgh, I don't see how this is any different."

Billy glared back at him, "If you'll excuse us, I think we have a few things to discuss."

Nodding, you turned to exit, giving the band one last smile. But before you could step out the door, Teddy came back in with your father in tow.

Teddy looked at the band, "We're giving you a shot, don't blow it."

The band, who Teddy had earlier referred to as The Six, erupted in smiles, hugging each other and patting one another on the back.

Your dad wrapped an arm around you, addressing the band, "I see you've met my daughter?"

Billy's eyes widened a bit. He thought you were just some random kid. But you had been in the sound booth, he should've known better.

Warren, who was very obviously high, nodded, "Yeah, she's hot."

Wincing, Karen glared at him, "She's been very kind, Mr. L/N."

Your dad eyed Warren, kissing you on the head before congratulating the band one last time, kissing you on the forehead, and walking back to his office.

Once he was out of sight, Eddie took one of Warren's drumsticks out of his hands and smacked him on the head with it, muttering, "Dumbass, that was her dad."

The drummer's mouth formed an "O", "You think he knows?"

"Jesus Christ, Warren," Karen said, shaking her head before turning to Billy, "And you, you need to get the stick out of your ass."

A look of pride settled on Eddie's face. You could tell the two of them didn't see eye to eye just from the small interactions you had with them.

Moving towards the exit, you waved them goodbye, "I'll see you guys around."

Warren and Graham waved happily, Karen and Billy nodded, and Eddie tilt his head to the side with a smile.

Once you were out of earshot, Karen looked back at Eddie, "Jealous, are you, Roundtree?"

"Piss off, Karen."

Warren looked between the two of them, connecting the dots, "Psst, Karen, I think he's jealous."

Rolling her eyes, she flashed him an irritated smile, "Yeah, I figured that out, thanks."

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Billy: As soon as we got the news and packed up, I ran to the nearest phone to tell Camila. She had always believed in us, and now everything was falling into place.

Karen: I think I went back and got drunk in my room afterwards. We may have gone out to eat, I don't remember. We had been living gig to gig, I was just happy to have an income.

Camila: It was the first time in a while that Billy really seemed happy with how the band was going. He had always believed in it, but I really think it helped him to see that everything was coming into place. That we wouldn't be living in a shack forever.

Warren: I don't even remember being in the studio. I was in my twenties, I was doing anything I could get my hands on. Drugs, alcohol, women. I was just along for the ride.

Karen: I could still kill Warren for telling the producer's daughter, Y/N, that she was hot in front of her dad.

Warren: We all thought it. Especially Eddie. I was just the one who said it.

Eddie: There was something about Y/N that was different. She wasn't just a newfound fan, she believed in us from the start. She and Camila were the first people to have our record in their hands. As for Warren's comment to her dad... She was beautiful, still is, I just think he could've handled it better. A lot better. By not saying anything.

Graham: It was nice to know that someone outside of the band and Teddy believed in us. Moving out to LA meant that we were starting over. In Pittsburgh, nearly the whole city had heard of us. At least, the people our age.

Eddie: That day was a turning point for the band.

Camila: There was no going back after that. They started recording and within a month, they were on their first tour.

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You came to every recording session The Six had, excitedly listening to their songs and giving input. You studied the way Marcus moved the volume and reverb, making a mental note of it. What he did had always fascinated you, and he was willing to teach you. It was one of the perks of being F/N L/N's daughter. People bent over bsckwards to make you happy.

Over the course of their time recording, you went out for drinks a few times with them.

You met Camila, who you adored, and quickly became friends with. You wouldn't have changed any of it for the world.

Well, except one thing.

From the moment you met Eddie Roundtree, your heart hadn't stopped fluttering, skipping a beat every time he walked into the room.

Warren constantly teased the two of you about it, suggesting different ways to release the tension between the two of you.

Karen kicked him under the table, giving him a look that sent fear down his spine.

It made the moment awkward for a minute, but the band could sense it was bound to happen.

Eddie was used to being pushed around by Billy, who was by far the most popular and well-known member of The Six. But for once, he was first place. With you.

The two of you often nursed a glass of champagne, talking to one another at the bar while Graham attempted to flirt with Karen, who wound up finding another guy to hook up with, and Warren fell into a crowd of women.

He took a sip, looking down at you, "What's it like, getting to hear new music before anyone else? Not just ours, but in general."

"It's incredible. Don't get me wrong, being in the studio so much has its ups and downs, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. There's nothing else I can imagine myself doing. That's why I want to work in the sound booth."

"You do?"

"Yeah, Marcus offered to teach me a while back. I just wanted to wait until you guys went on tour. I just want to focus on The Six, just taking it all in."

Eddie bit his bottom lip, "So... You and Marcus...?"

You shook your head, "Are friends. My mother is friends with his. We grew up together, he's just a few years older. He's protective, like how I imagine an older brother would be."

He nodded, "So, are you seeing anyone?"

"No," You let out a shaky breath, not meeting his eyes, "Are you?"

"No, are—I already asked you that," He said nervously, swirling his glass in his hand, "Do you... Have an interest in... You know, seeing anyone?"

"It depends on who it is," You said, heat rising to your cheeks, "And you? Anyone on your mind?"

He set down his glass, looking at you, "There is."

Meeting his eyes, you turned your back to the counter, leaning on it for support, "What's she like?"

"You have a mirror?"

You burst out laughing, "Is that your best line, Eddie? C'mon, you can do better than that."

He put his head in his hands, embarrassed.

Pressing a hand to his back, you used your other to pry his head away from his hands, "Don't worry, you can make it up to me."

Raising a brow, he tilted his head, "And how can I do that?"

"Pick me up on Friday at six."

"That's the day before tour starts."

"I know."

He nodded, "Wear something nice."

"Don't I always," You tease, stumbling into his chest.

He lifted the glass from your hands, "You know what I mean. I do, however, think you've had enough of this. C'mon, I'll drive you home"

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Warren: I was so happy to see Eddie leaving with Y/N. He was growing up, leaving the nest. It was about time he got laid.

Eddie: I drove her home. She had driven herself, but I was worried with her having three glasses. Truthfully, I just wanted to see her get home safe. And she did. I dropped her off at her door, walked her up, and waited until she got inside before I left. Once I got back in the car, it hit me—I had a date with Y/N.

Karen: I think he was more excited about the date than the record deal.

Eddie: It had just been a big few months. Moving to LA, getting a deal, meeting Y/N. Things were finally going my way.

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Eddie: Long distance relationships weren't easy by any means. I was the one who had to call, since we were constantly moving around. It strained us a bit, but she was able to go to a few of our concerts and I got to see her, take her out a few times.

Karen: Y/N visited us while we were in the northeastern part of the states. She stayed with us for a week and a half. And I never got any damn sleep while she was with Eddie. They could've been quieter, but I guess it was young love.

Eddie: She had her own hotel room during her time staying with us. Her dad set it up. We'd just stay in mine talking to one another.

Warren: Eddie swore nothing happened in his hotel room when he was alone with her, but I was on the other side of the wall. Look, I was pretty high, but it'd be hard to forget that. I may have been the one to call her hot, but he was the one that took it three, four steps further. Good for him, though.

Eddie: It was only when we got back from the tour that things started to go downhill with me and Y/N.

Camila: After I gave birth to Julia, Billy checked into Rehab. I was on my own for a while. But when the band came back, they were there to help me. Julia enjoyed time with Uncle Graham and Eddie, and Y/N whenever she was off work.

Graham: Eddie and I were there a few times a week just helping out and checking in on Camila and Julia. I loved that kid more than anything. We'd just sit out in the grass and I'd sing to her.

Eddie: Camila needed all the help she could get, especially with Billy not being there. Not that he would've done much anyway, to be honest. I tried to be there for her and Julia in any way I could. I didn't realize that it would tear Y/N and I apart.

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"Eddie, I barely ever get to see you. Can't you go one day without seeing Camila and Julia? You can stay with me. It's better than that shack."

"That shack is my home, whether it's shit or not, Y/N," He grumbled, "Camila needs all the help she can get with Julia. She's only a few months old."

"Her mother is with her, Eddie. She's got her mom, Graham, the whole band really. It's not that I don't want you to be with them, I just want to see you. I never get to see you."

Eddie sighed, "Y/N, they mean everything to me."

"They're your bandmates, I get it, I just—"

"Y/N..."

It was written all over his face. He wasn't just talking about The Six.

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Karen: We'd all known, except for maybe Billy and Camila, that Eddie was in love with Camila. We just thought that he had put those feelings aside when he met Y/N.

Warren: Out of all the girls Eddie had dated, which hadn't been much, she was my favorite. She was fun, she kept up with us, she was passionate about music and the band. When they broke up, I nearly snapped the guys neck. And I'm not a violent guy. She just deserved better than whatever the hell that was.

Eddie: Camila and Billy were married. I would never have come in the way of that. At the same time, it wasn't fair to Y/N. I loved her with my whole being, but I still had some unresolved feelings for Camila that started stiring when Billy was gone. It's wrong, and I know that, but it wasn't fair.

Graham: Eddie was an idiot for what happened. I remember when he came back from their first date. He swore up and down that they'd get married one day.

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When the band broke up, everyone went their separate ways. Karen continued touring, this time without Daisy and The Six. Warren got married and started working on boats, which became a passion for him. Billy stepped away from music and settled into life with Camila and his daughters and Graham continued working in the music industry, starting his own family. Daisy recovered from her addictions, and wound up adopting kids of her own.

These all took years to play out. But not for Eddie.

As soon as the band was over with, the first thing he did was buy a ticket to LA and knock on Y/N's door.

He explained everything and told her he loved her, he always had.

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Y/N Roundtree: Eddie proposed to me the night he showed up on my doorstep. He told me he couldn't imagine a life without me. I was touched.

Eddie: But she said no.

Y/N: I loved him, but I told him it would take time. We still had so much we didn't know about each other. It had been ages since I had seen him. I didn't even know that the Six had split up until he told me. He was back in LA that fast after the split.

Eddie: We did get to know each other, though. And I proposed almost a year later. We got married a few months after that. And the rest is history.

Y/N: It was a quiet ceremony. Eddie didn't want Billy there, and thought it may be a bit off putting for me to have Camila there. But I knew how much he cared about her and the girls, so we extended an invite.

Camila: Billy and Eddie never really saw eye to eye, and with Billy finally getting comfortable with family life, I didn't think it would be good to thrust him back into that.

Eddie: Y/N was a little upset they chose not to come, but understood. If you invite half a family, it doesn't exactly work.

Billy: I was surprised Eddie found the balls to get married.

Y/N: It wound up just being Eddie's immediate family, mine, Marcus, Warren, and Graham. Daisy showed up a few days earlier to congratulate us on our wedding, bringing a guitar with her as a gift. She just didn't think being back in that environment would be good for her. There would be too many questions.

Daisy: Just because the band was over doesn't mean the music couldn't continue. Eddie was a good guitarist and Y/N knew everything about managing sound and rhythms, so I figured it was an appropriate gift. I was really happy for them.

Eddie: Karen was touring at the time and wasn't able to make it, but she visited once the tour was over and stayed a few days.

Y/N: I preferred having a smaller wedding, with the people we knew the most.

Warren: They had great alcohol. I wasn't high during the reception, so I was actually able to enjoy it. I even met my wife there.

Graham: It made me long for a relationship, honestly. But it also made me realize I need to focus on myself first. I didn't want to just settle to settle.

Y/N: Our son was born a year and a half after we got married and music was automatically a big part of his life. He'd sit on Eddie's lap at not even a year old while Ed played the guitar. I still have pictures of them back then on the mantle.

Grant Roundtree, Eddie and Y/N's oldest son: I remember when I decided I wanted to pursue music. Dad sat me down and explained what happens when you achieve fame and how to handle it. Mom told me that I needed to take it one step at a time and really enjoy my childhood.

Farrah Roundtree, Eddie and Y/N's daughter: Grant never stopped playing that damn guitar mom gave him.

Grant: Sometimes I played just to drive Farrah and Eli crazy. I never stopped.

Eli Roundtree, Eddie and Y/N's youngest son: I wanted to be just like Grant when I was younger. He was my cooler, older brother. He even taught me how to play the guitar and I could carry a tune, but my stage fright got in the way of anything beyond that.

Eddie: Grant went into the music field, Farrah pursued modeling and is now acting, and Eli is just now graduating from high school, planning to attend college this fall.

Y/N: I'll always be grateful for Daisy Jones and The Six, but I've got to be honest—I'm even happier it ended when it did.

Eddie: Everything happens for a reason, and for me, it couldn't have ended at a better time.

#eddie roundtree #edward roundtree #eddie roundtree x reader #daisy jones & the six #daisy jones and the six #daisy jones fanfic #daisy jones and the six fanfic #fanfic #fic #x reader #taylor jenkins reid #amazon prime

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bunnliix · 2 months

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The Invisible Strings that Bind Us - Chapter Three

The angst has arrived! It's not as bad as it will be later on, but it's definitely angsty. Also, I'm adding in my own details to flesh out y/n some more, but I'm trying to keep her as neutral as possible, I promise. I have about 6 chapters pre-written, but after that, the chapters will come at whatever pace I'm able to write at.

Masterlist

word count: 3.4k

warnings: ANGST, fighting, yelling, people are angry, mentions of anxiety and panic attacks, but no actual details are provided, Minho being a lil shit, I think that's it

Chan ushers everyone into the room, guiding Y/n over to a chair and pulling it out for her, only sitting down once everyone else had. The two youngest and Hyunjin sat over on the left side of Chan, who sat to the right of Y/n, while Minho sat on her other side, and Han, Changbin, and Seungmin on his other side. Across from them, sat the managers for Stray Kids, and some of the higher ups in the company. As soon as all nine of them had walked in, all eyes in the room were locked on the newcomer, and this was why Chan had kept her between himself and Minho.

Chan breaks the silence in the room, leaning forward towards the staff members.

“This is Y/n, our last soulmate. We’ve confirmed this fact, and there is no way that she isn’t our soulmate. This meeting is just to inform you all about this, so that we’re all on the same page. We’d also like to have a bigger place, and one apartment instead of two separate ones, as we are now a bigger group, and we want to be closer, and not have to be split up.“

Chan spoke for the entire group, as he was the best suited to clearly get across their needs, and the group was on the same page, so no one needed to add onto anything he said. However, the staff didn’t have the same reaction.

“And how have you confirmed that she’s your last soulmate? She could be a sasaeng for all we know, and that she’s fooled all of you. And frankly, this is bad for your reputation and popularity if this gets out. She could ruin you all, you realize that?” One of the higher ups interrupted Chan, looking upset at this news.

“You don’t need to know how we confirmed it, but she’s here now and she’s ours. We all know she’s our last soulmate, and that’s all we care about. She’s moving here to Seoul to be with us, and she’s a part of our lives, as idols and outside of that. We expect that she’ll go with us where she can, and that will be that.” Chan replied curtly, anger filling his voice as he continued talking. “She’ll need security, and if the company won’t provide any, then we will independently find security for her. This meeting is simply to inform you of all of these facts, it was never meant to be a discussion.” He finished.

Chan was visibly upset, fists clenched and his body tense. The anger rolled off him in rage, he couldn’t believe that they would say that. That they’d really believe that he and the boys would be fooled by someone. Changbin laid a hand on Chan’s shoulder, also visibly upset, and trying to reign in his own emotions. Everyone was in varied states of anger, while Y/n was trying to make herself appear smaller, worrying that her presence may hurt the group.

“I’m happy for you all, that you’ve found your last soulmate,” their main manager spoke up, “Though I worry what this will mean, if your fans find out. You know how vicious they can be.” He said.

He wasn’t wrong, but it hurt to hear that from their manager, that they’re close to, that even he thought that their soulmate could bring ruin to their group. Minho pulled Y/n and Han close, feeling the anxiety they were both starting to experience.

“If our fans are truly fans, then they’ll be happy for us that we’ve found our last soulmate. If people get upset about it, then they were never true fans.” Changbin piped up, defending Chan and the group.

The boys all voiced their agreement while Minho just stared down the staff members, anger clear in his eyes. It very quickly turned into an argument between the boys and the staff, words flying across the table, and it seemed as if Changbin was ready to leap across the table, judging by his expression. Y/n and Han both leaned closer to Minho, feeling very uncomfortable amongst all the yelling and loud voices. He held the two of them close, bringing an arm around each of their shoulders.

“I WILL NEVER SEND MY SOULMATE AWAY, NO MATTER WHAT YOU MAY WANT. SHE’S OURS AND YOU’D HAVE TO KILL ME FIRST IF YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT TRYING TO GET RID OF HER!” Chan roared, having stood up and slammed his hands on the table out of his fury. His eyes were burning with anger, and he looked one more word away from strangling the staff members where they sat.

The others were equally as mad, also having stood up when Chan did, ready to defend their soulmates and their group. Minho was done with all of this, standing up and grabbing the hands of Y/n and Han, dragging the two of them out of the room with him. The boys watched as the three of them left, Chan glad that Minho did so, but also worried for his soulmates.

“We’re done here, I’ve just informed you of what you needed to know, so we’re leaving now.” He tells them, before looking at their manager. “I’ll be talking with you later, manager-nim.” He told the man, as he gathered everyone out of their seats and they all left the room, leaving the staff and higher ups by themselves.

The remaining boys followed Chan as they made their way down the halls to the elevator, on a mission to find where their three soulmates had disappeared to. Everyone’s phone’s go off, and Felix checks it to see that Minho was telling them to meet in the lobby. The second eldest was taking Han and Y/n home, and no one was going to stop him. They rushed down to the lobby, finding the three of them on seats in the corner of the lobby, Y/n now wearing Minho’s jacket, almost drowning in it. Felix rushed over, sitting down next to Y/n and wrapping his arms around her.

“We’re taking you home, soulmate. I’ll tell you this every time you need to hear it, but nothing of what those people said is true. They’re looking out for their own interests, not ours. We want you here, you will not ruin anything, nor will you being our soulmate hurt us or Stray Kids.” Felix whispered to her.

Meanwhile, Chan had already called cars to come pick them up and drive them back to the dorms, telling them to be quick. Thankfully, the drivers quickly showed up, and Chan ushered them all into the cars, sending Changbin and Hyunjin with the two youngest, as he stayed with the sunshine triplets and Minho. Felix clung to Y/n the entire ride home, not letting her out of his hold. The car ride felt like it took forever to arrive at their apartments, but as soon as they did, Minho was pulling Han out of the car, before reaching back to pull Y/n out as well, pulling the two behind him as he walked inside and to the elevator. The boys ran to catch up, arriving just as the elevator doors opened, everyone filing in.

It didn’t take long for the elevator to reach their floor, and they were pushing each other to get out of the elevator. Minho took his two to his dorm, Felix pushing ahead to open the door for them.

The members stopped to take off their shoes, Han helping Y/n take off hers as Minho gave her slippers to put on. The duo of them, followed by Felix, lead Y/n into the living room, Han sitting down on the couch and pulling her down next to him. He wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her close and nodding at his soulmate, who left them there as he left to the kitchen. Felix sat down on the other side of Y/n, reaching out for her hand, lacing their fingers together.

“Jagiya is getting us snacks, okay?” Han said to Y/n, getting a nod in response.

Y/n had withdrawn into herself since they left that room, neither Han or Minho being able to get more than a couple words out of her at a time. She hadn’t seemed to spiral or have any anxiety or panic attacks. They were grateful for that, since they weren’t sure what they would do if she had a panic attack. The two sunshine twins just sat with her, keeping her company as cat man Minho prepared snacks and drinks for everyone.

The other five boys came into the room, everyone having separated to change or drop their things off in their rooms, and Hyunjin moved to sit on the floor in front of Felix, while the others sat down in various parts of the living room. Chan turned to look over at the three on the couch, getting shrugs from the boys, and a small smile from Y/n.

“You doing okay, Y/nnie?” Chan asked, adding the nickname in hopes of getting a verbal response.

“I’m okay, promise.” She replied, looking at him, using her free hand to gesture at him to come closer. She wanted him close, he provided her with so much comfort, even when she was just a Stay.

Chan moved closer, and she reached out for his hand, which he grabbed and held. “I’m here, it’s okay. You’re ours now, and we’ll protect you and keep you safe. I’ll protect you and keep you safe, okay?” He said, looking up at her.

She nodded, looking down at him with so much love in her eyes. She may not know if she was in love with him or any of them, but she knew that she loved them in some form, and she trusted them to protect her, and she just trusted them in general. She knew that they’d do what they could to keep her safe. She tried to convey all of that to him without words, because she didn’t think she could put this into words.

Chan could see that, and he couldn’t hold back his smile, squeezing her hand, trying to tell her that he understood. He loved his kids, in many many ways, and he knew he’d grow to love her in those same ways given time. He moved to lay his head in her lap, still looking up at her. She pulled her hand away, only to use it to run her fingers through his hair, and he melted like butter.

The others cooed at him, happy to see their leader and soulmate relax like this. He worked himself half to death, so maybe their newest soulmate could change that, if this is what something little like this could do. Minho heard the coos, and having just finished putting together snacks and drinks for everyone, came out to see Chan and Y/n, smiling at how at ease Chan looked.

“Drinks and food, come get it.” He announced, catching the attention of everyone in the room. He laid the food on the table, but picked up a couple drinks and some snacks for Y/n, Han and himself. He moved to sit down on the couch, replacing Felix’s place next to their smallest soulmate, the sunshine boy, who had gotten up to grab some food for himself.

He sat back on the couch, happy to watch everyone else in the room and just observe. He was content, just to have all eight of his soulmates in one room, and to see all of them happy. That’s what made him happy, and he couldn’t wait until Y/n was here permanently, and when they’d all be in one apartment again, and they’d have so much fun. They could show their smallest soulmate the places here they loved, introduce her to their friends, have someone to come home to every day, there was so much to be excited for. Minho knew that every one of them couldn’t be happier than they’ve been today, to finally feel complete now that they have their last piece here with them.

“So, what are we gonna do now?” Jeongin spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention.

“We could watch a movie?” Hyunjin advised, his sentence finishing on a questioning note.

“A movie is fine with me, but I’m not sure I’ll pay attention.” Y/n said, still carding her fingers through Chan’s hair, the older man putty in her hands.

Murmurs of agreement came from the boys, and it was quickly decided to put on a children's movie that didn’t need to worry about the language barrier, and everyone knew it probably was on for background noise more so than to actually watch it.

“Oh wait, Y/n, we never asked how old you were. So, when’s your birthday? And how old are you?” Changbin asked her.

“I’m a 2000 baby, so I’m the same age as half of you, but my birthday is September 14th. So yes, Han, I share a birthday with you.” She said, looking over at Han while she said the second sentence. Her birthday twin looked shocked, but then quickly pulled her into a tight hug.

“Oh my gosh, my soulmate is my birthday twin!!” Han screams out, causing Y/n to pull her hands up to her ears.

“Could you be any louder Han Jisung?” Chan and Y/n said at the same time.

“Oh! I’m so sorry Y/nnie! I didn’t mean to hurt you! Please forgive me.” He apologized, looking at you with doe eyes.

“I forgive you, but please never do that next to my ears again.” She told him, before impulsively leaning in to kiss his cheek.

Han’s face turned as red as a tomato, not expecting Y/n to kiss him, and the rest of the boys were as shocked as he was, bits of jealousy sprouting in more than a couple of them. Y/n pulled back, her face showing just how flustered she was as well, as she went to hide her face in the couch behind her. They boys all cooed at her, finding her embarrassment adorable.

“Shush!” She shouted at them, but the word and sound was muffled by the couch she was hiding in.

All that happened was them laughing at her and cooing how cute she was. She pouted, and refused to turn to look at them. Minho smirked, and reached out to grab her sides, tickling her, as she screamed and yelled for him to stop. He refused to stop and she eventually moved back towards him, in an attempt to get him to stop. He used this as an opportunity to pull her closer and into his lap. She froze up as she felt him do this, and he chuckled at her actions.

“Jagiya, why did you freeze?” He whispered, leaning down close to her ear.

“You try getting pulled into someone’s lap unexpectedly. I bet you’d react the same.” She whisper-shouted at him.

“Adorable, 토끼.” He said, chuckling in her ear, making her shiver and pull away, moving out of his lap and turning around.

“No. No, bad cat man.” She said, pointing at him.

He just raised an eyebrow at her, and she pulled her hands up and curled them into fists, joking that she’d fight him. He leaned back on his hands, showing no fear, knowing she wouldn’t do it. She’s too cute to try anything.

“Okay, no fighting. Y/n, hands down, now. Minho, let’s not kill our soulmate, yeah?” Chan stepped in, scolding both of them.

Y/n folded her arms across her chest, mumbling, “He started it, the lil fucker.”

Han overheard it, causing him to laugh, which made everyone look at him. “You better not let Jagi hear you say that about him. You’d be in for it then baby.” He said between laughs, not being able to keep a straight face.

Y/n slapped his arm, pouting. “You shut up.” She told him, unhappy with his reaction. He laughed at how embarrassed she was at being overheard. She pouted, getting up off the couch, and out of the living room going down one of the hallways. Chan stood up and went after her. The boys waited in the living room, only to hear a shout of Chan’s name, and their curiosity peaked.

A minute later, he walked back in with Y/n laying over his shoulder. She smacked his ass, telling him to put her down. He chuckled and dropped her back into Minho’s lap.

“There you go.” He said, smiling that smug smile at her, as Minho’s arms wrapped around her waist, locking in her against him. She tried to get out, but his grip was too tight, not letting her go.

“Yah, Minho, let me go!” She told him, only to receive a smirk and a head shake in response.

“So cute, our adorable soulmate.” Changbin teased her, giggling.

She crossed her arms and pouted once again. Why must her soulmates be like this, she wasn’t prepared for this. What was in the drinks Minho gave everyone? There had to be something, with how they’re acting. Lino leaned his head on her shoulder, giggling like a smug lil fucker.

“Why are you so insistent on getting away from me, hmm jagi?” He asked, in a tone a voice that told everyone that he wouldn’t be taking anything except the truth.

“Because you’re being a lil shit.” Y/n deadpanned, done with him by this point.

“Awww jagi, you love me like that.” Minho said, causing the others to look at him, this was the Minho that they saw with Han, the teasy one who was ready to make the other person into a flustered mess.

“Minho, chill out.” Chan barked at him, knowing that he was crossing the line, when it came to their new soulmate, and he wasn’t going to let him go any farther. He didn't think this would be what happened when he left Y/n in the arms of his cat-like soulmate.

“Fine.” Minho replied, loosening his grip on Y/n as well. She used this opportunity to move over to Seungmin, who looked surprised.

“I’m staying with you, you haven’t been bad yet today.” She said, looking at him.

He laughed, smugly smirking at the other men. “Okay, that’s fine with me. We could even go to my room to get away from them, if you really wanted to.” He told her.

“Hmmm, that wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“YAH, Seungmin-ah, no stealing our soulmate away for yourself.” Han inserted himself into the conversation, Felix, Hyunjin and Changbin backed him up.

While the five of them were occupied, Minho found a way over there, grabbing Y/n’s hand and stealing her away. He wasn’t completely unnoticed, Chan was watching all of this and quickly followed behind, leaving the six boys in the living room. Minho led her to his bedroom, but before he was able to close his door, Chan pushed the door back open.

“What do you think you’re doing, Minho?” Chan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m just taking our y/nnie somewhere quieter. Right, jagi?” He answered Chan, directing the last sentence towards their younger soulmate.

The answer they received from her was a yawn, y/n covering her mouth in the process. The two boys cooed at her, smiling at her.

“I think it’s time for you to rest.” Chan said to her, as Minho directed her to his bed. The eldest of the two sat down next to y/n on the bed, as Minho searched his closet for clothes she could change into. He found a long oversized top for her to wear, and a pair of shorts.

“We’ll leave so you can get dressed.” Chan said, as he got off the bed and moved to the door along with Minho. Y/n quickly changed, and hopped back onto the bed as she called out for the two to reenter the room. They reentered, smiling at her as she sat on Lino’s bed. The younger of the two men came over and pulled her off the bed, so that he was able to pull the covers back for her. She crawled underneath his sheets, the man covering her back up again after she was laid in bed.

“We’ll leave you to get some sleep.” Chan said as he moved to the top of the bed, ruffling y/n’s hair before he grabbed Minho and dragged him out of the man’s bedroom.

Y/n turned over on her side, closing her eyes as she heard the noise in the apartment die down. It didn’t take long before sleep claimed her, her dreams filled with the men who were now her soulmates, and everything they’d get to do together.

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Taglist: @queen-thiccness

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sokkastyles · 8 months

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Do you think Toph was jealous (that might be a strong word) of Katara natural femininity And how easy being girly was for katara? It’s just that when they argue they do project some of their own insecurities onto each so it got me wondering. Maybe katara was jealous of toph toughness idk?? Thought?

Oh, absolutely. I don't think that's interpretation so much as textual fact.

I see a lot of discussions of this that take one side or the other, but I think Toph and Katara's relationship is a great portrayal of how gender expectations harm girls in multiple ways, and also can turn them against each other, and people who only take Katara's side or Toph's are missing the point.

Toph is jealous of Katara's natural femininity, and that has to do with why she disdains it, but not because she's a misogynist or she hates girls or whatever, but because those are expectations her parents tried to force on her. A lot of what it is popular on the internet to label as "not like other girls" behavior, in a way that implies that being NLOG is a bad thing, are girls who are rebelling against forced gender expectations. Toph is both an abuse victim and a disabled girl whose disability was used in conjunction both to force her to fit a certain gender standard and keep her dependant on parents who were emotionally abusive, and to reinforce how the nature of her disability meant that she would never fit certain gendered standards. I've written about this before, how Toph can't be totally comfortable with makeup because even when she enjoys getting made up and looking pretty, other people can look at her and know that she didn't do it herself, like the girls in the episode who make fun of her for it. Toph enjoys looking pretty but she also has no control over what she looks like and can't even see it for herself, so that also clashes with her trauma over needing to be independent and distance herself from what her parents wanted her to be, a girl who sits still and looks pretty and is there for other people to look at. Makeup as empowerment is all well and good, but it doesn't work that way for people who have certain disabilities, and there is a lot of ableism in makeup culture. Eyeliner that's perfectly on point isn't always possible for women who have vision problems or neurodivergence, and women who wear makeup are supposed to look perfect but make it look effortless at the same time, and that is naturally going to exclude a lot of people, especially disabled people. The show illustrates that beautifully without condemning one way to be a girl or the other.

At the same time, Katara is jealous of Toph for the way she gets to be "one of the boys," and gets respect from Sokka and Aang in ways that she doesn't. See her anxiety over everyone thinking she is no fun and acts like a mom. Katara is a nurturing person and that's one of her stengths, but she also is a kid who wants to have fun, too. And just because being the "mom friend" is natural for her doesn't mean it isn't hard on her. Just because Katara seems to fit gender expectations a little easier than Toph doesn't mean she doesn't feel the weight of those expectations, and even women who fit gender expectations also get derided for them, because patriarchy both tells women they need to be a certain way and then hates them for it. See Sokka making fun of Katara for sewing but absolutely expecting her to mend his pants. I think Katara also thinks that Toph should be on her side, as a fellow girl. Katara is so starved for female companionship and resents it when it appears that Toph is siding against her, because she's feeling the weight of those expectations. And Toph doesn't always understand that, and thinks Katara's attempts to bond with her are trying to force gender expectations on her in the way her parents did.

#katara #toph #ableism cw #misogyny cw

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autism-alley · 3 months

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i don't know if you answer asks but you're one of the few blogs still consistently posting pjo tv crit and it's been such a relief. with the amount of praise it's gotten i feel so gaslit like am i just being a baseless hater?? but no there's a reason a lot of the people criticizing the show are writers. it's a poorly written show and the more i think about it the more problems i find

like i was thinking about the way the kids in the show just know everything and how boring it is to watch, especially the casino scene, and something hit me

the lotus casino functions perfectly as a metaphor for traits associated with adhd--the need for stimulation and time blindness. anyone would fall for the casino's lure, but especially adhd kids. the fact that the show takes that away is REALLY weird to me, to put it kindly

if i were being less kind? i would say there's grounds to argue that having these characters, who are children with adhd, be impervious to something that is designed to trap people exactly like them is, on some level, erasure of their disabilities. especially since the one character who does get affected by it is the one who doesn't have the same neurodivergencies as the two who don't. the explanation for why percy and annabeth didn't start to forget themselves was such a lazy cop out and i can't believe people ate it up

i don't know what that writers' room has against literal adhd children falling for traps that are designed to trap people, but it's embarrassing for them tbh

i’m so glad to hear it anon!! i’m a little surprised to hear it too tbh, i wasn’t sure if anyone else was still. interested in discussing it? it seems like the pjo/atla fanbase overlap means most people have moved onto to the live action atla show. and while i am an atla fan, i didn’t grow up with the show the same way i grew up with the pjo books, so based on what we’d already seen/heard of the natla show before it even released + my utter disappointment and heartbreak regarding the pjo show, i decided to spare myself the watch. i would rather keep my memories of the original show untainted; what i have seen of the show resonates with people’s criticisms of the writing (and as someone who has done costuming work. one look is all you need to understand THAT criticism lmfao).

but i’m honestly… surprised? the pjo show did not get the same level of criticism as the natla show? it’s not like pjo is not also very popular with that same generation, sure, atla being a show perhaps made it more appealing and accessible to more kids, etc etc, sure. but from the fan bases themselves, size aside? proportionately? the pjo fandom is FULL of show defenders just blatantly ignoring the show’s major foundational issues if not just outright parading them around as successes, meanwhile the critics are in the minority. compare that with what i’ve seen where the complete opposite is true of the atla fandom, it’s weird!! and especially jarring to me bc it seemed pretty clear to everyone in the atla fandom the show had Issues, meanwhile the pjo fandom heard the promise from rick riordan’s very own mouth this show is going to be faithful to the series’ spirit. it’s so weird to see the wildly different responses to what i think are prolly equally bad reboot shows, with a fandom of similar demographics (clearly not the SAME demographics or the response would prolly be more aligned but you get my point). so i agree anon, i do feel a little gaslit by the pjo fandom, and watching the atla fandom’s very reasonable response to the natla show is like. whiplash. another sign you and i are not losing it lmao

as for the lotus casino, this is an excellent point! i don’t even think it can be called unkind to point out how this episode is a symptom of the show’s overall disability erasure. i would say it’s unkind of the show to erase adhd and dyslexia representation. in fact, because of the explicit promise by its creator to see that representation, i would go as far as to call it cruel to then erase it. if anything, based on rick’s promises to add more representation, i was hoping for elements like autistic annabeth confirmation, since when pjo was first written, it was based off rick’s son and his friends who were all ND, and at the time it wasn’t thought to be possible to be AuDHD, but likely some of those kids probably were (and that then made its way into the books in characters like annabeth!). that would have been the perfect opportunity to add something with the foresight of modern times, but instead we got… absolutely no disability rep from the show aside from a few short lines of dialogue as a lame-ass bone-toss to the book fans.

the pjo show’s biggest crime is its lack of spirit of the original book series, and that book series cradled myself and every other ND child or child in an abusive situation who read it. it offered us a mother who never got angry with us when we showed “difficult” symptoms. it offered us camp half-blood, the idea of a place, a home, where people like us were not just accepted, but thrived. it offered us a new world. it offered us a friend in percy jackson. i do not feel the show truly offers anything substantial. it only takes.

#anon going ‘i’m so glad you’re still posting pjo show crit’ had me whipping my head around like ‘YOU ARE?’#so thank you anon lmao #i’m still like. marinating in the idea of making a pjo discord server (where crit is welcome)#i don’t know if anyone would still be interested now the like. hype/reverse hype for the show is dying down #and truly excellent point i had not been able to put my finger on why that scene got under my skin so bad #pjo show crit #pjo tv crit #ris raves

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fanonical · 2 years

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One thing I've been thinking about with, you know, everything that's happening in England right now, is the turning point when I realised that England was, in fact, not as great as I'd been led to believe. And now I realise I can answer the question of 'what radicalised you' with Horrible Histories.

If you don't know, Horrible Histories is a popular series of books written by Terry Deary whose mission statement is to teach kids history with the nasty bits left in, history your teachers won't tell you. It's been adapted into a million things, but its most well-known iteration is the TV show, which took a sketch comedy format, ran from 2009 to 2014, and won several awards. But that didn't exist when I was a kid, so I'm talking about the books here.

Many of the HH books are based around gross and gory bits of history, the kind that appeals to kids. There's poop jokes, there's fart jokes, there's stories about historical people dying in weird ways. That sort of material. And in books like Rotten Romans or Cutthroat Celts, that's all you really need. But the two books that stick out in my memory here are Barmy British Empire and Woeful Second World War, and that's what I want to discuss.

Barmy British Empire didn't really hold back when describing some of the horrific things England has done in the name of colonialism. It included contemporary accounts of slavery from people who had gone through it - never in a way that was inappropriate for the children reading, but not lying to them either.

I was in the Brownies at the time (do other countries have that? Precursor to the Guides, which is itself the girl equivalent to the Scouts) and it was this book that taught me that Lord Baden-Powell, who founded the Scouts, did so with imperialist ideals and was himself just a big piece of shit.

Woeful Second World War is the one that really stuck with me, though. It had a lot more lighthearted material, evacuees dealing with life in the country, people falling over in the Blitz, that kind of thing, but the overall mood was a lot more sombre.

One part I remember vividly was a cartoon, on one side of which was two Jewish children saying what they were told about concentration camps, and on the other side was two German guards discussing the reality of their situation. It was counched in simple terms ("They are shaving our heads to get rid of the lice."/"We are shaving their heads to use their hair to stuff mattresses.") but talked quite frankly about the Holocaust and exactly what happened during this time.

And I need you to understand - when I first read this, I was maybe six to eight years old. We'd talked about World War Two in school, but it was all the nice stuff, all the spin that England puts on these years to further its nationalistic ideas. Blitz spirit, dig for victory, life-was-tough-but-we-pulled-through. Nothing really about what we were fighting against and the reasons the war occurred.

But the other thing I remember was this quiz. As edutainment, the HH books had quizzes sprinkled throughout, and in this particular one it gave you a list of numbered statements and you had to guess which was untrue. It starts with the location - London - and then describes in detail a bombing raid that occurred in an urban area, in which thousands of civilians, including children, were burned to death. How there was no military target in the area. How they didn't have enough shelters for everyone. The fear and panic that spread through the people.

The fact that wasn't true? The location. This was not a German bombing raid on London. This was an Allied raid on Dresden. Everything else was true. This wasn't something done to us, this is something we did.

And again. The idea that we bombed people in World War Two is not exactly news when you're an adult with critical thinking skills. But I was six, and the idea that we were responsible for the same atrocities that we were told happened to us, that we were also responsible for the pain and suffering of innocent people...that was news. And that little spark made me wonder what else we weren't being taught in school about what things have been done in the name of England.

So, thanks for that, Horrible Histories. I know it doesn't seem much. But it really shaped my young life in a way I am grateful for, even a couple of decades later.

#Horrible Histories #Holocaust /#Child death /

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lej222 · 14 days

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ASLFUA Rant//

So I was informed that my very first theory posted on here was shared on another platform. While I'm always open to civil discussion and sharing ideas, I was sad to see just how much my words were taken out of context. I want to thank the person who sent me the screenshots and I want to take this opportunity to address and clarify some things that were written about me and my posts:

First of all, a theory is called a theory for a reason. It does not mean I think what I post will 100% happen or it has to happen in the story. I write about possibilities, and I try to support my ideas by using the webtoon as the primary source. Reader interpretation can vary among different people, that's the fun of reading and the very reason why I started posting in this fandom after seeing that these theories hadn't been discussed before.

I have repeatedly emphasized that I do not care about romantic outcomes in this work because I view the webtoon as a growth story. In my ASLFUA ending theory I wrote about the possibility of Jisu ending up together with Miae. At that time, it wasn't a popular theory, that's why I raised the possiblity of it happening. It doesn't mean I won't like the ending if it doesn't come true. It was a theory for a reason. I wrote that if Jisu was only added to the story to create tension between the two main characters, it would mean bad writing. I never said Cheol ending up with Miae would be bad writing. What I meant was that I want Jisu to have his own character development outside of the Cheol-Miae romantic storyline. I firmly believe he will be an important character because there was no way the creator has left clues about him since the beginning if he wasn't going to be relevant to the main plot. Ever since then, I have made many theories about his role in the story, and I never said he definitely has to be a love interest. Please stop taking my words out of context.

Someone accused me of spreading mistranslations, referring to the lines in ch 2 and 4 about how Cheol will be a special person to Miae whom she'll never forget. The official English translation here is not wrong, it's the same in Korean. If you don't believe me, read the comment section on Naver under episode 2. There are a lot of readers who went back to that episode trying to understand why that line was there. It had a very important placement because it was at the end of the episode, right before the cover of the series which itself was also very symbolic. In the comment section readers have made theories about that line and many expressed their sadness over the possibility of the main characters not ending up together. About the emoji added in episode 4 after the same line, it really depends on your interpretation. I have written several posts where I mention how the narrator treats the characters as kids and uses a playful tone reflecting their age and inexperience about the world. This could be one interpretation - the narrator is looking back on these moments, knowing full well what's going to happen, and even if they don't end up together the tone is playful because those feelings are nostalgic (because with time you grow and look back differently on sad memories). Or you could say the narrator is playful because they are lying and the main characters will actually end up together. As of now, we don't know the answer, so anything is possible. The English translation is not wrong, one question about the series is why that sentence was added in the first place, which opens the door to many interesting theories.

Just my personal opinion, but I do not understand why Cheol and Miae not ending up together would ruin the story when they are 14/15 years old. I don't think many people stay with their first loves, especially if they start dating as teenagers. Then would you guys say that your first relationship was meaningless? Every social encounter, especially romantic relationships, are meaningful because they change us in many ways. We always learn from our experiences. Although, if they end up together, that's also good because some people only date once and stay with them for the rest of their lives, it's not impossible, and those people are lucky. I'm just saying for me a bittersweet ending wouldn't cheapen the story. And I don't understand why it would be a copy of 25 21 when ASLFUA was published before that tv series and likely had its ending planned out by that time.

Last of all, every one of us is entitled to our own opinion, I always ephasize that my theories might be totally wrong, they are theories for a reason. I never try to force my opinions on others, that's why I would happy if even if you share my posts, you wouldn't attack me because we have different theories or interpretations about the series. I won't take down my posts because I have very kind readers who might want to read them again, but I wanted to clarify my stance on this whole issue.

#aslfua #after school lessons for unripe apples

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viola-ophelia · 11 months

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in defense of thranduil

hello! so you know how i occasionally do “in defense of” meta posts about unpopular characters ( X X X ) ? well, i’ve been thinking for a while about doing one for thranduil, but i wasn’t quite sure how to go about it since tbh, i don’t think anyone could call thranduil unpopular. his ao3 tag is very well-populated, and, ahem, a good portion of it is smut lol. he even has a ton of “x reader” stuff about him on tumblr, which to me is usually the hallmark of a popular character. but i’ve felt the urge to defend him anyway, and i think it’s because... well. i do think a character can be both popular and misunderstood, and for all the thranduil enthusiasm i’ve seen, i’ve seen just as much thranduil hate and criticism, so clearly something about him has people at odds. specifically, a lot of people seem to think he’s a bad dad, and/or that the peter jackson movies totally butchered his character, which is really interesting to me because i actually believe neither. so i’m going to try to illustrate why! i’ll be primarily discussing movie-verse thranduil in this post, with a few references to the books as a secondary source. so without further ado, here is why i think thranduil is A Good Dad Actually, and the movies are not a “butchering” of but a compelling darker/grittier spin on a character who - since he exists in tolkien’s written works only in a book for children and in the margins of a sprawling and very bloody history - only really works if you reconcile those two things.

under a cut because as always, this is LONG!

let’s first talk about what seems to be people’s main grievance with movie-verse thranduil: the fact that he’s “turned into this greedy character whose only motive is getting back those gems” when that’s not what he’s like in the book. while it’s definitely true that there are a few key differences between book thranduil and movie thranduil, i actually don’t think that the two versions are so incongruous with each other. the areas where they differ, i think, flesh out movie thranduil into a character who compels beyond his simplified, kid-friendly presentation in the hobbit book and who makes sense within the larger historical context of his world. it’s true that the elvenking in the hobbit isn’t explicitly interested in material gain. he mainly seems to get involved in the battle of the five armies to help out bard, since mirkwood is allied with laketown. and there’s also no mention in the book of the elvenking having lost his wife, even though that’s a key part of his backstory in the hobbit movies. in the movies, those gems that he’s so interested in getting back from the dwarves are actually a necklace that belonged to his wife before she died. he’s still motivated by wanting to help laketown - which is why he shows up before the battle with wagons of food and supplies for the starving people - but he’s also motivated by grief - something deeply personal that none of the other characters (except gandalf, because gandalf knows everything lol) are even aware of, and this, i feel, gives depth to his character.

the thing is, thranduil seems greedy because none of the other characters know of, and thus inherently cannot understand, his real reason for pursuing the gems. and it’s true - at face value, it doesn’t make sense why he’d seemingly put his people at risk for a random necklace. a pretty harsh reading of thranduil’s motives could even align him with thorin’s dragon-sickness. but remember how the battle of the five armies started? thranduil and bard pulled up with their forces thinking it was gonna be all of them against twelve dwarves and a hobbit lol. they probably thought there’d be no casualties and it’d be over in twenty minutes! they had no way of knowing how many other forces were going to get involved. and when thranduil does see the first elves laying dead on the ground, he tries to draw out. he never wanted to spend his people’s lives like that. he realizes he had been blinded by his grief for his wife and had acted selfishly - and personally, i like this a lot better than the book’s sort of handwave-y explanation for why the elvenking is even bothering to involve himself and his kingdom in the (petty, by his standards) affairs of dwarves and men. because... movie thranduil is not just Like That for no reason. he has a whole history, going wayyy beyond his wife’s death even, that makes him the way he is - and that is what is so satisfying about his portrayal in the movies, because it actually attempts to acknowledge that deeper context.

we have to remember that thranduil, at least in comparison to pretty much every other character in the hobbit, is old as hell. he reminds us of this multiple times in the movies: “a hundred years is a mere blink in the life of an elf. i can wait.” for a character who presumably shouldn’t need to worry or think about death, he’s unusually fixated on his own immortality in the movies, a trait that is missing from the books. and while i do get why some readers are charmed by the idea of an elf who doesn’t seem to perceive himself very differently than the men and dwarves he’s surrounded by, i’m a lot more drawn in by the idea of an elf who just can’t forget about how different he is. because if you actually think about where thranduil fits into the bigger history of middle-earth, it’s sort of hard to turn the page back from this darker, more scarred side to him - because yeah, he might live forever if he avoids conflict, but he also knows death in a way that someone like bilbo baggins would not even be able to conceptualize. thranduil was born in doriath in the first age, making him old enough to likely have been involved in not one but two kinslayings against his people. we know nothing about his mother, making it likelier than not that she was lost in one of them when he was still a child. his father, oropher, the original elvenking of the greenwood, was killed in the battle of dagorlad in the second age - the “last stand” of elves against sauron. thranduil, fighting alongside him and the silvan elves, had to watch his father die and then be crowned as the new king right then and there. (also, oropher died in the very first charge of the battle, which then continued on for months. imagine how hard it’d have been to stave off that creeping hopelessness.) and finally, thranduil’s wife was killed in battle at some point not long after their son was born. thranduil’s dragon fire scar on his face is an invention of the movies, and it’s unclear when exactly it happened - at the same battle where he lost his wife? some time earlier? but anyways. i’ve been going on and on about his life for a reason, and that reason is Thranduil Has Seen A Lot Of Shit. it’s easy to look at him in the movies and critique him - why is he so cold? why is he an isolationist ruler when in the books he’s more welcoming (after initially chucking the dwarves in jail, lol)? but the hobbit isn’t really thranduil’s story, so exposing all of this context in the movies wouldn’t have made much sense, would it. and i actually like that there are some gaps, because that’s what makes him so interesting. no one knows his history, and why should they? when it comes down to it, thranduil is just a side character in someone else’s adventure.

the last thing that i really want to address is thranduil’s relationship with legolas, his son - partly to refute the idea that he’s a bad dad, but also partly to talk about how despite all the griping that i’ve seen about how stupid it was to “randomly” insert legolas into the hobbit movies, it actually made so much sense for both of their characters. obviously, while it’s confirmed elsewhere that thranduil/the elvenking is legolas’s dad, legolas is not actually in the hobbit book. but this, i think, is more so to do with the fact that tolkien wrote the lord of the rings (and invented legolas’s character) after he wrote the hobbit, and less so to do with the idea that legolas is inherently “irrelevant” to the story of the hobbit. because if legolas is irrelevant to the hobbit, then is he irrelevant to thranduil? i really don’t think so, because even though tolkien gave us no clues as to what their relationship might’ve been like, even the fact that they’re father and son is really important. for thranduil, the fact that he has a son adds dimension not just to who he is in the movies - and yes, we see a fraught side of his dynamic with legolas as he has to reconcile with legolas growing up and wanting a freedom that thranduil with his too-deep understanding of the world’s dangers doesn’t want to give - but also to the concept of his character. thranduil has lost so many people he loved in horrible ways that now legolas is all he has left, and consequentially there’s so much talk about him as an oppressive parent, so paranoid of losing him that he keeps him imprisoned inside the always-closed kingdom gates. but at the end of the hobbit movies, thranduil also gives legolas his blessing to go on the quest to destroy the one ring. when it comes down to it, he is willing to let legolas do what's best for him, even knowing that this could be how he loses him. i know thranduil isn’t a perfect parent, that’s pretty obvious lol. but i don’t see how people watch these movies and their takeaway isn’t that he’s at least trying his best and that he does genuinely love his son. also, look at legolas! legolas is clearly proud of his identity as a wood elf. and he’s happy, he’s caring, he’s adventurous, he’s even pretty wise despite being one of the youngest elves. i don’t exactly see a traumatized victim of horrible parenting in him (and believe me, there is no shortage of victims of terrible parenting in the silmarillion/elsewhere in tolkien’s works) - i see a strong and well-adjusted young adult who wouldn’t hesitate to threaten anyone who spoke ill of his father’s kingdom with his bow lol.

anyway, if you’ve made it this far through my rambling, i hope you can understand at least part of what i’m trying to say lol. it’s hard, because i have so many things i’m kind of trying to say all at once, but: tl;dr i actually think the hobbit movies did thranduil’s character right, not wrong, and that they do the opposite of proving that he’s a bad dad. :3

#tolkien #thranduil #the hobbit #tolkien meta #the hobbit meta #the hobbit movies #mirkwood #legolas #legolas greenleaf #king thranduil #cat's meta #trying out a new tag lol let's see if i can go back and add it to my other meta #the silmarillion #silmarillion #lord of the rings #lotr #lotr meta #silmarillion meta

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lizbethborden · 2 months

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I never got the hype for Muirs books because they were so oddly plotted and written in super online meme speak which means they’re dated before they come out and honestly come off as really bland YA. Like reading fanfic for a kids cartoon vibes idk like I felt insane watching all my friends laud her as the lesbian writer because the work said otherwise lol but now you’re telling me she’s bi? Wow. Never looked her up but she’s always on my dash and based on how her fans discuss her I always thought she was a lesbian that came out late in life but she has a whole husband? Currently? And people are just eating up the lesbian thing? lol ok. Also lesbian with a male exception is insane people will really say anything to avoid saying BISEXUAL lol

That's how I feel about the books too. They're just truly not very well-written. They're so like memeified fanfiction--that's why I made the comparison to Cassandra Clare. The Mortal Instruments were originally all based on Clare's Harry Potter fanfiction and her writing was incredibly memey (for her time) with tons of lines and plots lifted wholesale from Buffy and similar shows. If every character quips and snarks instead of talking like a normal person, it's just intolerable. It's MCU for wooloowoos and made even worse by the fact that the author is manufacturing clout/authority for herself in a completely-easy-to-disprove way.

I'm not going to say the books have 0 good lines, laughs, or concepts. But their popularity definitely disproves the sense of intellectual superiority tumblrinas et al have re: the media they consume.

#if people would just admit they're basically fun popcorn type fiction #like the equivalent of a feel-good summer movie #i'd be more positive #but everyone acts like it's Literachure. no it ain't #this will definitely be the series of opinions/posts that loses me a ton of followers and gets me canceled

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oikasugayama · 5 months

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OMG NO BC GENUINELY MORI IS SO FREAKING HOT 😮‍💨😮‍💨😭😭 like…the way that he would consume my life if he wasn’t a child kisser…genuinely concerning 😭 also silly little side note- before i actually got into bsd, I thought Mori and Fyodor were the same person 😣 Mori is dilf Fyodor. I won’t be hearing any other opinions.

But fr in all seriousness, ignoring his silly behaviors, he’s such an interesting and well written character. Literally Asagiri HAD to nerf him. His personality and motivations are actually so interesting. He’d be way too powerful bro. I’d lowkey be such a Mori apologist if he wasn’t a kid diddler 😭😭😖 idc what anyone says, Asagiri will totally give us some weird ass Mori redemption arc explaining why he (contrary to popular belief) only likes legal, adult humans (fukuzawa) TRUSTT 🙏

OMG ALSO!! IT ANNOYS ME SM WHEN PPL CENSOR MORI. IT’S AN ACTUAL NAME DUDE AND ITS DISRESPECTFUL ASF TO PPL W THE NAME

-🪐

There's this pic of young Mori smiling dementedly and it's so fucking hot I can't..... Even current Mori is such a DILF.....if he didn't diddle children....... Hopefully Elise, who isn't a person and is just a manifestation of mori's ability, is the only child knows... He was a surgeon and a combat medic so we know he didn't work with children thank GOD.

Asagiri really said "hm I made this dude too cool, he's a surgeon and he killed the Port Mafia exec, and he worked as a combat doc, and he has hella respect for fukuzawa, hmmmm... Too good, too interesting. People can't question why he's the head of the PM. Let's make him a pedo." 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I had to delete a whole paragraph bc I'm not trying to get the wrath of some antis on my case. I'll just finish this off by reminding everyone that all these characters are lines on paper, they're not real, fanfic isn't real either, people can discuss and write what they want and it is not a reflection of the ideals they support irl!!!! 💙

#ask answered #nice to see you 🪐 anon #🪐 anon #i like mori i just have to pretend elise isn't a thing #honestly mori but with mushitaro's ability would be INSANE

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starsailores · 2 months

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Hit me wirh 11, 23, 24 and 30 for holland vosijk!!! 18, 19, 25 and 28 for kell maresh as well!!

cats i hope you are ready for me to lose my fucking mind. adsom spoilers incoming

holland vosijk:

11 - first thing when you think about when you think about them: "'vosijk', he almost said. 'my name is holland vosijk.' but it didn't matter now.". there is so much emotion packed into that line and i have it written on a post-it note stuck to my laptop, so that i can suffer emotionally every time i open it. i cannot think about him without the agonies striking

23 - future headcanon: if he had survived a conjuring of light, he would have worked on improving relations between arnes and makt in order to try and undo some of the damage caused by osaron's disappearance. dying is not the only sacrifice a person can make, and the most selfless thing holland could have done at that point was keep living and keep fighting, and in doing so the magic would gradually be able to return. he makes a better diplomat than ruler, seeing as he never wanted the crown, though he would have reclaimed it until he found someone he trusted enough to take over.

24 - what do you think is a secret they have never told anyone: hm. the danes and osaron would have gotten anything they wanted out of him, and he would have told vortalis a lot of things, but i dont think he would have willingly shared the story of how vor died, both because of the vulnerability it entailed and the fact that he never stopped blaming himself. the wound is too raw even seven years later for him to be able to talk about it, and the one person he could discuss it with was dead

30 - funniest scene: giving another one of his scenes that makes me smile. when he is imprisoned beneath the soner rast, a group of guards come in to attack him on behalf of lila, and he just sits there as kell comes in and threatens to attack them all because he 'thought they wanted bloodsport'. only after they leave does holland say anything, and the bastard simply says 'my hero' and attempts to move on. i believe this was also when kell said (paraphrasing) 'you seem awfully good at making enemies. have you ever tried making friends?'. everybody knows this man is a cunt and he does nothing to dispel the rumours.

kell maresh:

18 - how do you think they were as a kid: this largely aligns with canon, but he was simultaneously quiet and cocky. he would never go out of his way to interact with people outside of the palace + tieren, but he was well aware of his intelligence and skill, and willing to flaunt it to get his way or piss people off (see: fletcher). simultaneously a sweet kid and the most infuriating type of child to try and interact with.

19 - most random ship you've seen: the two most popular kell ships are kellila and kellholland, both of which i am fond of, and the adsom fandom is not big enough for rarepairs to be common, so i have not really seen any random ships with him. that being said. i do not like kell/rhy or kell/rhy/alucard, for obvious reasons, though i have stumbled upon it on ao3 before

25 - when do you think they acted most ooc: this is a hard one, probably when he inadvertently convinced king george iii that he could fly. it is the sort of trick kell would pull on someone from grey london that he disliked, but he was fond of george, and putting someone unstable in a dangerous position, especially when he cared about them, is unlike kell. because that man does not care easily, but he cares very deeply.

28 - most unnecessary thing they ever did: discounting the whole 'kay' thing in threads, because i have only read it once and do not have access to the book right now to elaborate accurately, throwing holland's body into black london. logically, i understand it. emotionally, it was uncalled for, and if he hadn't done that, osaron never would have been set free, and he wouldn't have suffered the issues with his magic post-acol. he said the man had suffered enough and then sent his mutilated body to faux-hell. holland did not deserve that.

#sitting in the environment building at uni answering these questions instead of doing the work i told myself i would do #because this is a better use of my time #adsom #holland vosijk #kell maresh #starsailores.txt

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sammysdewysensitiveeyes · 1 year

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15, 34, 45 (for Pyro)

15. Tell me about a plotline that could have been interesting if anyone else wrote it.

Of course, I wish anyone other than Duggan had written Pyro's stint on Marauders, except maybe Sina Grace, who had Pyro make a cameo in the Iceman series just so Bobby could kick his ass and call him a washed-up loser. (Fair, but not how I want to see Pyro used as main cast member). I actually liked some of what Duggan did with Pyro, there were some good or funny moments, I just wish he was in the hands of a writer who took him seriously as a character or acknowledged any of his past history. I mean, he put Pyro on a boat delivering medicine to sick humans and gave him some vague crumbs of a redemptive storyline, and did not once make ANY mention of Pyro's Legacy Virus experience (even though it would have made perfect sense and built into the idea of redemption), or his heroic death saving Senator Kelly. There was so much potential in Marauders to DO something with Pyro that was genuinely interesting, and Duggan just left most of that on the floor. Pyro on Hellions under Zeb Wells would have been great, at least Wells knows how to write a balanced team book.

Also, after Pyro was revealed to have the Legacy Virus, and was staying on the island refuge of Empyrean (supposed charitable billionaire, actually a mutant villain who wanted to exploit the virus to gain power), the story of Empyrean showing his true colors could have been genuinely interesting. Showing the Brotherhood and Pyro himself having a falling out with Empyrean, because even though Pyro is a selfish bastard he doesn't want to see more mutants infected with Legacy, could have been a great story, but instead Empyrean was written out of Marvel continuity and left stranded in dinosaur times (official scientific term) in a Burger King tie-in comic.

34. Which retcon do you hate the most?

Obviously Pyro switching from English to Australian.

Nah, just kidding. I don't know if Pyro getting essentially "straight-washed" after the obvious and deliberate queer-coding by Byrne counts, but if it does, then that for sure. Or Duggan treating Jean Grey as Pyro's dream fantasy, although I still maintain that says much more about Emma, who was projecting the fantasy into Pyro's mind, than Pyro himself.

I'd also maybe say Duggan's re-imagining of Pyro as a drunk fratboy, but what the hell, Pyro's been portrayed as a violent idiot by other writers before. At least it was a fun version of Pyro, with more focus and depth I would have fully enjoyed it.

45. What’s the worst take you’ve seen about [x] (popular or not)?

Someone once called Pyro a would-be rapist, and their example was that one shitty issue of Daredevil where Blob and Pyro are being really gross about a mutant girl they are capturing. Even though there's no real evidence in the comic that Pyro actually did or tried to do anything with the girl, beyond just capture her for Freedom Force, and Blob is actually much grosser in his behavior. Pyro just seems to be paying lip service to the whole "oh yeah, pretty girl," thing, and is much more interested in fighting Daredevil. Also, the blog discussing the issue that this person linked for "evidence" was even saying that they thought Pyro and Blob were OOC in this issue. Like, I will gladly acknowledge all the ways that Pyro is and has been a piece of shit in the comics. He's vicious and mean, and he kills people quite gleefully at times. But he has barely shown any interest in women at all throughout his history, and he's not a character I would write as being a sleazy sex-pest or sexual assaulter because...he just isn't. The closest he comes is one scene of Ultimate Pyro suggesting sexual assault of a female hero, which made no sense even in that universe because Ultimate Pyro had previously been written as a good guy (it was during the absolute shit-show that was Ultimatum, where Blob also became a cannibal), and that one Daredevil issue. And I guess Pyro comically flirting with Rogue in TAS? Honestly, if your evidence of Pyro as a potential rapist is one OOC story in a non-X-Men book where the "rape" is vaguely implied at best, it's pretty flimsy.

Also that one person who claimed it was "canon" that Pyro had a crush on Kitty, based on an excerpt from his romance novel with a female character who doesn't resemble Kitty at all.

#pyro #st john allerdyce

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jankwritten · 1 year

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rick doesn’t write nor is in charge of whatever goes on in readriordan they do their own thing over there. also mark wrote the book, which is why characters seem ooc - rick still had input in terms of outlining, plot, editing etc but mark basically wrote it. mark has talked about how much control rick gave him so I can’t see Rick being nitpicky about the details. He doesn’t even seem nitpicky in the books he writes solo. now i understand that obviously not everyone knows that and i personally don’t really like mark’s writing style, but they’re a queer poc who put a lot work into writing a story for kids about love, acceptance and overcoming trauma, something they very personally relate to. i’m not saying it can’t be critiqued at all because of this but some of you aren’t even really critiquing it you’re just genuinely being harsh and mean and refuse to even see past the words on the page to see the message and the impact this’ll have on kids, especially queer ones. but no it’s completely irredeemable and a dumpster fire all because clearly people prefer rick’s writing style to mark’s. I just…..ugh. so so disappointing.

well, actually, my genuine problem with it is the way that it was written. the pacing of it, I mean, the way that the story flows just feels wrong, poorly thought out, and poorly executed.

I'm not saying that people can't enjoy the book. And I understand that it's not written for people my age. But from the standpoint of a writer, the book is genuinely just not as good.

Mark writing the book and pouring all their love and devotion into it doesn't change the fact that it feels like it falls flat from an actual writing standpoint. It feels like it was a surface level first draft, the rough outline for what the story was going to be. It's the barest of bones, full of continuity errors and references that feel jarring coming from the characters they come from, moments that feel like they're trying to mimic the original PJO series and instead fall flat and just feel like a mockery.

The topics that the story wanted to address felt like they were shoehorned in - the whole plot was weird and contrived, the fact that Hades was the one who orchestrated the whole thing, the book itself already doesn't make sense just based on that alone.

And the way that the story went about discussing Nico and Will's trauma, I don't know. It felt like every other second Nico and Will were switching rapidly between being confident and flirtatious to individually nervous wrecks, their thoughts didn't feel entirely grounded, the action sequences felt jerky and uncoordinated, I couldn't ever get into the character's head. I couldn't ever really see it through their eyes, if that makes sense, because things were being TOLD to us the whole time, not SHOWN to us. It's one of the first things you're told when you start writing: show, don't tell.

I will say that you're right. Some of us are just being outright mean to the book, which is our right, just like it's your right have not found anything objectionable during your readthrough. And that's totally fine! We're all entitled to our own opinions, that's the joy of being online. Those of us who are roasting the book, calling it a dumpsterfire or saying it resembles a 2013 era Wattpad fic, we're all being dramatic and mean because that's just how fandom is. That's how fandom has always been. We criticize the new media because it will never be as good as the origal, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

You're right that this book also means a lot in terms of queer rep. It's fucking insanely cool that Riordan and Oshiro got to write such a blatantly queer story about overcoming mental health troubles and navigating a relationship when you're young and traumatized! And they published it through Disney! That's a fucking massive win for representation in media, it's a crazy cool thing to have added to such a popular, well known universe like PJO! I myself figured out I was queer through reading PJO and feeling a connection to Nico specifically, so, yeah, seeing a stand-alone story about him and his boyfriend is actually really really cool to me.

That does not mean that I have to kiss it's boots and act like it's gods gift to gay kids, because it isn't. In the end, it's still a just book. it's still fallible. It is allowed to have it's faults, and I'm allowed to say what I want to about it, just like you are.

peace and love, friend. I hope you have a wonderful evening.

#asks!#tsats #tsats discourse #pjo #like yeah. i'm going to rag on the book because I think it blows. but that's just my opinion and other people are allowed to have theirs #as somebody who literally grew up with Nico di Angelo it kind of sucks to see him portrayed in the way TSATS portrays him #shrug. such is the way of life.#I hope you didn't send this ask with negative intentions or in an attempt to make me feel bad for saying what i've said.#i refuse to take any of it back because I wholeheartedly believe this book could have been so so so much better

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booksandpaperss · 1 year

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obsessed with everyone on that post like "not true! there's never more than one woman in the media!" 1. that's literally the type of excuse the post is trying to shut down. 2. that's. still misogyny. like that's misogyny on the creator's end but it's still misogyny. 3. have you tried maybe reading something other than shonen manga and watching something other than a marvel movie, because idk your choice of media could be part of it. like it's actually INSANE to me that you can be on tumblr where shows like spop and the owl house and atla are popular and think there's truly NO MEDIA with good characters. like those aren't the only examples of course it's more than just kids cartoons but. seeing as these people probably don't watch anything without an established tumblr fandom

REAL Also the adamant denial on that post that there’s any piece of media with well written female characters??????

Ppl are also discussing how it’s bc “most ppl in fandoms are attracted to men” like. have u never seen a lesbian in a fandom space.

There’s also been several examples listed of fandoms with shows that have majority female characters and STILL the mlm ship is more popular so that debunks most of the arguments anyways

it’s literally not possible to apply all the excuses ppl are coming up with to every single piece of media??? And more often than not now when female characters are poorly done the male characters are too bc the writing is and all around, or even if it’s just the female characters that’s once again: a different only semi related issue (still misogyny too tho like u said) and not applicable to every show or movie ever??

And once again STRANGER THINGS, which is a very popular well known live action PG-13 TV show has relatively well written female characters (there are some issues but the women in the show are written with care and complexity which is way more than a lot of shows can say, it’s the fandom that tries to take the complexity away) with chemistry yet the most popular ship is steddie, and even byler, another mlm ship, is not as popular as the mlm ship between two dudes that had like 3 interactions, much less ronance in which the two characters in the ship had a whole arc together and one is canonically a lesbian.

And the way ronance and elmax were both voted out on that poll before jopper bc everyone was so quick to sacrifice them.. like Ik it’s Reddit but still this is a FANDOM SPACE I know you guys aren’t choosing a straight ship over sapphics 🤨🤨 the only scenario where I actually prefer a straight ship to a sapphic one is lumax over elmax and that is a rare, rare occurrence

Anyways, rambled, but ur so right and the fact that this is literally a phenomenon in almost every single fandom but ppl are still trying to excuse it for anything other than what it is like come ON.

Oh and fyi this is the post I’m talking abt if anyone is seeing this and extremely confused

#never responded to a longer ask as fast as this lol #booksandpaperss asks

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sokkastyles · 11 months

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So, this is a post for another fandom, but the discussion of Azula and Zuko came up in it, and OP revealed themselves as an Azula apologist. Thought you might be interested.

What's so funny about this is that before OP goes on their rant (so tired of people misusing feminist talking points to excuse abusive behavior) they themselves actually hit on, then immediately dismiss, the reason why people like Zuko more than Catra.

"just because her redemption arc wasn't as good"

Like, that's it. That's the thing. It doesn't matter what actions Zuko did that might be worse (although given what OP later writes, I would seriously question that statement). We're talking about stories, so the character who has a better written arc is going to be liked more, and that's that. It has nothing to do with gender at all. It also has nothing to do with who did what when they were a villain, because if the redemption isn't believable enough, it doesn't matter. Zuko has a better written story and in the land of fiction, that is always going to be more forgivable.

You could argue that there is misogyny in the fact that we don't get enough female characters who are as well-written as Zuko, but I'm a feminist who reads enough fiction that I don't need to pretend something is a good story just because it's female-led. I think a lot of people wanted the She-Ra show to be good for that reason, but in the end, consuming media isn't activism. And from what I've seen of the relationship between Catra and Adora - hell, from the way people talk about Azula, too - a LOT of people will forgive shitty behavior if a woman is doing it on the grounds of "feminism," and that's not only not feminist - how many women suffer because of Catra and Azula's actions? - it's extremely dangerous because it perpetuates the idea that women cannot be abusers.

You want good female representation? Maybe read a book instead of putting all your money on one or two popular cartoon series.

Now that I got THAT out of my system, there's a lot wrong with what OP says about Azula.

None of what OP says to defend Azula is feminist. Like, they don't even attempt to back up this claim the way some Azula stans do, they just say it like they think declaring themselves a feminist makes it so. And then they spend most of the post bashing Ursa, natch. OP will not explain why defending Azula is feminist (because it isn't), but I can explain why bashing Ursa is misogyny. Because you're taking a female character we know barely anything about other than that she was a mother and that she was fridged for the main characters, and insisting she must have been a bad mother based on minimal evidence. Even though we know why her children acted the way they did and we know it had to do with the negative actions of their father. Blaming Ursa for Azula is misogynist because it is shifting blame from a male abuser to a female character who was his victim, and focusing the blame on how she was a bad mother, with very little evidence that she was. But reducing a female character to motherhood and criticizing her for not being saintly is absolutely misogyny.

Where is it "expanded on in the comics" that Ursa gave up on Azula? Or that Azula acted out for Ursa's attention?

Here we see Ursa spending time with both her kids. Azula hangs back because she sees a flower in the garden that isn't as pretty, and waits until Ursa's back is turned to burn it. Then, when Zuko tells on her, she burns Zuko. Azula isn't trying to get Ursa's attention here. She waits until Ursa isn't looking and is mad when she gets negative attention from Ursa because Zuko told on her. She did not want her mother to notice her burning the flower. But when her mother does notice, Azula explains why she did it. Because it wasn't as pretty. It's very obvious what's going on here. Azula is acting out, but not because she's being neglected by her mother. She's acting out in the ways her father groomed her to act out, because her father taught her that if something isn't the best, it's worthless and deserves to be hurt. She then applies this to Zuko, who she thinks deserves to be hurt because he told on her.

And this is a pattern of behavior for Azula that we see not only in the comics, but the series itself. In "Zuko Alone," far from acting out to get her mother's attention because she "gave up on her," we see Azula lie to her mother so that she can get Zuko to play with her, with the purpose of playing a mean prank on Zuko.

Azula appeals to the fact that she knows Ursa thinks she and her brother should get along. If Azula was desperate for her mother's attention, if Ursa gave up on her, Azula would not be able to successfully lie to her mother this way.

What these scenes show is not that Ursa gave up on Azula or that Azula lacked attention from her mother, but that even at a young age (which was more like 8, actually) Azula was influenced by her father's cruelty and acted it out on others, and knew how to manipulate her mother in order to get what she wanted. Shifting blame onto Ursa for trying to teach her child right from wrong, for trying to protect her other child, is misogyny.

Also "Zuko let his insecurities get in the way of his relationship with Azula" is a weird way of saying that Azula deliberately played on Zuko's insecurities to hurt him. Like, you cannot ignore that the reason Zuko is insecure is, in large part, because of Azula, because she provokes his insecurites and then blames him for feeling insecure. This is victim blaming.

Also, the doll thing. I am so tired, y'all. If you automatically assume Azula getting a doll from her uncle is proof he doesn't care about her, who is the misogynist again? If the show wanted us to think this was a thoughtless, sexist, or even misguided gift, that would be shown. We would see Iroh ignoring hints that Azula does not like dolls. Instead, what we see is Azula getting a gift from a relative who hasn't seen her in years, and she burns it because it isn't exactly what she wanted, and then says she hopes her uncle dies. This says FAR more about Azula than it does Iroh, and it is meant to. The OP then goes on to say that Azula was right about Iroh when she mocked his son's death and said he should have burned Ba Sing Se to the ground, but then says he committed more crimes and bloodshed than her, conversely. What bloodshed? We're shown no bloodshed because this is a nickelodeon cartoon show. But we ARE shown Azula mocking Iroh for not being more violent. So don't tell me Iroh is somehow worse. Azula's coup on Ba Sing Se would not be bloodless if this was Game of Thrones, and overthrowing a city using deception isn't more moral than a siege.

Azula also was not "right" about Iroh in the way OP claims because they make it seem like she objected to Iroh ending the siege because she cared about her nation and people. That is not what she said. She said he should have burned the city to the ground to be "a real general." This, and Azula's other actions, such as giving irrational orders and making threats when they aren't carried out from her introductory episode, show that Azula has no real concept of statecraft beyond how to violently assert power, and we know who taught her that.

Also, Azula did not immediately apologize to Ty Lee after making her cry by slut-shaming her (how often the "feminists" forget that). She begrudgingly apologized, and then made it about herself and what Ty Lee should do for her.

Okay, okay, calm down. I didn't mean what I said. [Frontal view over Ty Lee's shoulder.] Look, maybe I just said it because I was a little ... [Whispers.] jealous.

I know people make a lot of this because it's a rare scene of Azula being accountable for her actions, but that alone should tell you something. It doesn't make Azula this kind and compassionate soul. It's not even a great apology. Sincere apologies do not begin with "Okay, okay, calm down." Azula just told her friend that boys only like her because she's easy. The fact that Ty Lee forgives her, especially after everything Azula did to her, makes Ty Lee a saint. And then Azula has a very difficult time admitting that she is jealous, because of course she does. And yes, I know, people make a lot of this because it's Azula, and yeah, it probably did take a lot of effort for Azula to admit that Ty Lee was better at her at something, but that is because Azula is egotistical and selfish and cruel to even her "friends."

And Mai...Azula does not get points for not understanding that she can't force Mai to murder her boyfriend for Azula. Azula asking Mai why she did it even though she "knew the consequences" again shows how little regard Azula has for even her friends, who she thinks she can control using threats. Azula thought she could use Mai to control Zuko and then when Mai's feelings were inconvenient, expected Mai to just watch Zuko die, and is so offended when that doesn't happen.

Also, Zuko never worked on his anger issues? It is literally a major plot point that Zuko says he doesn't want to rely on anger anymore and finds another way. And I've talked about this before, but this idea that Azula is so calm and collected is utterly ridiculous. You only have to look at the examples I mentioned above, but also many more, to see Azula fly into a rage at the slightest provocation, make threats, act out violently, and attempt to control others through fear to see that that is not true. The real difference is that Azula thinks she is justified in acting this way, and when that stops getting her results, rather than trying to change and learning to understand and value other people, she has a breakdown. You have to misunderstand Azula's entire arc to not get that. It is literally explained to us at every opportunity in the narrative.

Conclusion: if you claim to be a feminist, act like one and get to know some feminist theory. And just because you're a woman does not exclude you from being an idiot.

#azula #zuko #the discourse #abuse

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cherrymoonvol6 · 5 months

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Hey your analysis are nice. Do you want to share your opinion on common/popular TOH proships? As an also proship-but-not-really-THAT-proship, I'm interested in hearing what you have to say.:)

:D thank you for your nice words!

truthfully the reason why i call myself a proship is that, as a label, it aligns way more with my outlook in media and the way that i consume it. i'm just interested in well-told stories and interesting dynamics, and often that means that i gravitate towards those pairings that deal more with obstacles and conflict. but fandom hates that sort of stuff, mainly because discourse in that wavelength brings the worst out of people every single time. and like, i think it's important to address how certain tropes or execution of characters/narrative beats could correlate to the thing in real life, kinda like the works of youtube channels like pop culture detective or lindsay ellis. i believe there's a lot of value in that and it's interesting to explore and it's been a very helpful tool to understand other perspectives. but also, the moment that people in fandom begin to have discussions about something in media as if it's Real and happening in our world, i just fall asleep immediately lmfao. mostly because like, why would you analyze a piece of media through the only lens that DOESN'T acknowledge this media as a work of fiction? what's the point of media existing then, to begin with?

this is why i've never liked certain huntlow criticism, like willow using her magic to physically push hunter around. IMO willow could stab hunter through the heart and laugh it off and it wouldn't change anything, because hunter is not real. it's pointless to me to be all up in arms about it when he can't be harmed, not like a real person could. the most offensive thing about huntlow is that it's boring as shit and takes up space where luz's story could've been expanded and developed better. and thinking about it like that allows me to meet the story where it's at, instead of getting stuck on little nitpicks that, if they were to be taken out of the story, wouldn't make huntlow a better couple because their problem in the show is different and far bigger. now, you could argue that in certain places, willow's forceful attitudes towards hunter diminish his agency as a character, like how she makes the decision for hunter to come back to the team by yanking him to the courtyard. you could argue that it's dumb that willow is shown to be more powerful and resourceful than hunter when we know hunter is essentially a child soldier and willow just goes to highschool. and then i'd agree with you and i'd be willing to keep talking about it, because we're back to understanding the show in its own terms, and talking about it as it is: a connected thread of narrative beats and characters written by a team of people with the objective of telling a story. also, you could question the ethics of making willow treat hunter that way in a kids show, kinda saying that women being forceful with guys is okay and funny, and i would also be willing to considerate it through that perspective. but it's just the conceptualizing of the least impactful aspects of hunter and willow's dynamic (like, 10 total seconds in the entirety of the show of willow manhandling him for an in-show joke) as a huge problem that feels pointless to me.

all this preamble is to say that a lot of TOH ships in general fail to really catch my attention. this comes in part to my personal preference in ships. i think it's important that all the people involved in a dynamic have agency in order for their interactions to be really interesting. this is why i've never been into empgold, for example, given how their relationship works in canon: belos grooms hunter into a distorted understanding of the outside world, which leads hunter to close himself off and trust belos and belos only. and then that changes in hollow mind, and their dynamic essentially shatters from there. the resolution of hunter rejecting him and choosing his own path, as it happens in TTT, is therefore a sound conclusion. like, there's not really a lot a fucked psycho-sexual stuff or romantic interest can add to their dynamic, IMO. mainly because the moment hunter finds agency in their dynamic, the whole premise of it falls apart. only deviating their characters from their canon identities could make it more interesting, but at that point we're no longer talking about the characters from the show, are we.

at first glance a ship like beluz could be better in that regard, because luz has agency in the dynamic. she rejects belos over and over, and even manages to get the upper hand in a few occasions (see: king's tide). but looking at their interactions in canon, every time they talk to each other is like they're both interacting with a brick wall: luz is dead set in protecting the witches, and belos is dead set in going through with his philosophy. in that sense, that part in hollow mind where belos goes "can't reason with crazy" is a perfect embodiment of how their dynamic goes lol. even the whole angle of luz fearing she's becoming like philip is window dressing, because she's just being paranoid out of the guilt of the selfish decisions she's taken during the show: not at any point does this parallel make any real sense in canon, and then it's swiftly shut down by the end. it makes sense why this works like that in canon, because belos is supposed to be the irredeemable villain, as the ending shows. maybe there's more window for this to be changed though, because of the wittebane story. and obviously as a lunter enthusiast i'm no strange to using these hints and integrating them in the story to make it a better one. but personally, i just don't see the appeal -- and i'm not a belos enthusiast either, like i see other lunterinas tend to be.

from what i know those two are the more popular proships in the show. there's probably other stuff with the collector and king, or the actual incest pairings, but tbf i'm just pretty uninterested in any other ship in the show besides lunter. it's funny though, because i don't even think lunter has the most potential in the show -- i think lumity could be the best one under the right circumstances, if you could even believe me lol. but this involves a fundamental change in the premise of the show along, kinda converting amity into the deuteragonist by making her become the golden guard by the end of S1. it solves the issue of amity having zero connection to the plot, it adds stakes to luz and amity's relationship, also gives amity a lot more agency... i think that would be the best version of a love interest for luz in the show. but also i fear that that would make it so amity overshadows luz in the narrative. like, idk, a lot of stuff would need to be changed there. and that's what makes it hard to truly envision what the best (aka, the most interesting) version of lumity could look like. in lunter's case, we already have a case in canon of luz being the evelyn to hunter's caleb, and if you watched episodes like "hunting palismen" or "hollow mind" with no knowledge of lumity, i'm sure a lot of people could see the potential of their bond becoming romantic in the future. stuff like luz sadly looking back at hunter at the end of HP or hunter taking luz's hand in HM is pure ship fodder tbh and i'm tired of pretending it's not.

i've also toyed with the idea of terra and raine becoming an interesting dynamic in an universe where lilith and raine got condensed into a unique character. i've mentioned this before in my ideas of making eda and raine a better couple (cause good lord they're just as bad as every other couple in the show and i don't understand how people can deem them as "the good one" ?????), and to realize that it's raine's dynamic with terra that would be more appealing to me if those changes were real is very funny to me. there's also a lot that would need to be changed but so, so much untapped potential. however, it's another case where whatever is in canon barely resembles the best version of their dynamic, and it's hard to picture it with how raine and terra actually behave in the show. in that sense, they're very similar to beluz: raine's mind is completely made up at all times, which means that they would never accept terra's vision of the future.

of course, this is all my opinion. like i said, this also comes down to my personal taste in dynamics. like for example i'm personally not into poly ships in media, only for narrative reasons (economic storytelling: the optimal number is always 2). it's hard to find something that strikes that perfect balance between fucked-up and salvageable, and some of my beloveds like jackparse (from the check please comic) or asgoriel (from undertale) are some examples of that. but in true proship fashion, i think any pairing that you could come up in the show is fine. and of course i'm happy to share my opinions (and bless you anon for giving me a reason to yap about my thoughts <3), but they're just my opinions and the way that i personally approach media. you can like any dynamic in the show, platonic or romantic or sexual or whatever, and it's fine. they're not real people. that's the fun of media, that's the point of it: it's a playground to test ideas and make them interact. as long as you're doing that, all is fine by me.

#answered #long post #proship #uhhh i'm unsure how to tag this #guess i'll go with the easiest one #anti huntlow #the whole point of being proship is that you're ok w everything. not necessarily that you're going to ship the most problematique stuff #like i dislike most non-consensual stuff in fics because it icks me. but people can write whatever the f they want about anything and anyon

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