#the hold this series has over me

[inkerii]

So I couldn't help but browse the THG tag bc those books own my whole heart. I actually check it now and again, and it's been interesting see how opinions have changed over the years, especially in regards to Gale and Peeta. Going through the evolution of them as just potential love interests to being far more complex than I could have expected has been a wild ride. Crazy how this reads different than from when I was a preteen.

That said, I wanted to give my unsolicited two cents on my boys, because though I have been enjoying the discussion on Peeta and Gale and what they mean to the story, I also feel like reducing them to Peeta = peace and Gale = war is far too simplistic... and oftentimes unfair to one or both of them.

See, I don't think Peeta and Gale are peace and war/destruction. They're compassion and indignation.

Peeta worries about the other tributes, or their families, or how to repay people like Rue and Thresh for what they did.

Gale is indignation at how the Capitol treats its citizens, it's anger at the injustice of inequality and brutality.

Both are needed in a story like THG. You can't have people like even Peeta not say something like "maybe we're wrong about keeping things quiet in the districts", you can't have him not drop the baby bomb, you can't start a revolution without Gale's indignation at the status quo. At deserving a better life but being denied it, at having your kids be mercilessly killed for literal sport.

However, if you start a rebellion and loose sight of your compassion, you end up no better than the people you're fighting against. Gale wasn't a bad person, imo. His heart was in the right place. He was flawed, yes, but so is everyone in this series. Gale, most importantly, lost sight of the line between fighting for the people he cared about and fighting against the people who hurt him.

Reducing Gale's indignation to just revenge and hatred ignores so much of what he stands for. Who hasn't seen laws passed that dehumanize people, who hasn't been angry and furious when someone is elected who fundamentally hates everything you are, who doesn't think some people need to pay for the atrocities they committed? There's a little bit of Gale in every single one of us - and it's important that it's there, because that's what gives us strength to challenge the status quo and make life better for the future generations.

But. You can't let it take over. You can't loose sight of your compassion or your empathy.

That's where Peeta comes in. Peeta is the voice in your head that worries about how many good lives will be lost when they give themselves up for this cause. Peeta is the worry about the people caught in the crossfire. Peeta is rebuilding when it's over and believing that the next generation will have a better life than your own. Peeta is being kind, even to people who may not deserve it.

And Gale... Gale looses sight of his compassion, and he doesn't realize it until it smacks him in the face when the bombs go off and Prim is gone and he's too far gone. Meanwhile, Peeta advocates for the end of the war even though it means the status quo remains - and regardless of what he believes himself, I don't think Suzanne chose him to say those lines by chance. It means both mindsets have their flaws: too kind and things that shouldn't remain will never be challenged and changed, too angry and you may loose sight of what you're fighting for.

And that's just how Suzanne uses her characters, both of them, all of them. Just look at who is with Katniss depending on the situation:

- Katniss chooses to "rebel" after Gale is brutally whipped. She kisses him.

- Katniss realizes that in order for D12 to rebel, everyone would need to be in on it, and she realizes most of them are not like her, that they're scared and she understands, emphasises with them. Peeta walks by her side.

- Katniss finally does it though, shoots the arrow at the force field, and Peeta is taken from her, it's now Gale by her side.

(You can't start a rebellion without indignation, and sometimes you HAVE to do it or things will never change, regardless of the inevitable pain that will come along.)

- Katniss is righteously angry at the Capitol bombing a hospital full of innocents to make a point. Gale remains there.

- Coin twists people's compassion into an army to fight for her own personal gain. Peeta is hijacked and looses his sense of self.

- Katniss and Gale go to District 2 and even though she tries to be like Peeta, she's still shot- reinforcing Gale's views, the person who was with her during that sequence.

- Katniss is angry at Snow, Katniss goes to the Capitol to kill him. Gale is there.

- Katniss gets in way over her head and realizes she is responsible for the death of most of her squad. She shares the lamb stew with Peeta, and later cleans his wounds.

- Finnick dies and she's at her lowest up until that point and all she wants to do is give up and give in to the anger. She kisses Peeta and begs him to stay with her.

... Claiming that Gale is destruction ignores the fact that he's with Katniss through her own moments of strength. Her desire to change things, to fight back, is as important as her compassion. Mockingjay just brutally shows you what war does to your indignation, to your compassion. How easy it is to cross a line between righteous anger and revenge, or how your sense of empathy and compassion can be manipulated into something monstrous by others, or by all the terrible, brutal, painful things you see.

How easy it is to loose yourself- and that goes for both of them.

Peeta and Gale aren't static characters, they go from representations of sentiments regarding an injust government to what happens to those feelings when an extreme situation such as war breaks out. All of that, by the way, while dealing with this duality themselves, because they are still characters who think and feel and struggle and have flaws of their own- and while I love what they stand for, I've seen too many comments that pin everything into what they mean, that they forget that Peeta and Gale are still people, they aren't perfect metaphors. They're human.

Ultimately, Katniss doesn't really choose peace. She wants peace, yes. But what she chooses is compassion. empathy. hope. There's a time and place for anger at injustice. There's a time when fighting back is the right thing to do. There are even times when you wanna give in to your despair and lash out. But if you want peace, then you have to choose Peeta, because Peeta represents what you need to focus on to achieve that peace. You have to let go of the anger or you won't ever rest. So Gale leaves, and does not come back... And yet, Katniss still has her moments of indignation, of making a stand, even as he goes - she still casts her vote at that meeting, she still shoots Coin. Katniss does not abandon that part of who she is. It's just not her main drive anymore.

So then she goes on to make the choice, every single day, to be compassionate to others. To have hope. To rebuild. Of course she chooses Peeta.

... Idk, man. These boys are so much more than what I see them so often reduced to. They're in all of us. There will be times to stand and fight, and times to show mercy and be kind. We just need to find that balance, as Katniss eventually did.

#the hunger games #thg #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #gale hawthorne #it took me over a decade but I finally bit the bullet and decided to talk about this series #I love it so much #there's so much more I could say I had to hold myself back #like how BOTH Gale and Peeta are never fully gone even tho most people only focus on Peeta #But Gale knew what he did was wrong #It's not as clear bc he's not a pov character and katniss is too tired to try and read him but #prim's death touched him #he didn't brush it off he didnt see it as justified bc at least now its over #regardless of his reasons he still has enough sense of self to realize this #unlike y'know. characters like coriolanus who makes up so many excuses for what he did #including indirectly killing the character who is the personification of innocence and hope #like prim was #(side note I dont think any of the tbosas characters are direct parallels to the thg ones) #(theres little bits of katniss peeta AND gale in characters like snow) #(bc they're all representative of indignation and anger / compassion / fear and the need to feel safe) #(which every human being in the world has - even that bastard) #(he just chooses a different path) #(tbosas is very good btw) #(y'all should read it before the movie makes it about romance like I'm terrified it will) #ps if anyone knows how to put a read more on mobile can you let me know thx ily

[luck-of-the-drawings]

IMAGINE. working at ur stupid uhhh job or whatever. pulling into your drive way and ready to work on some crazy project in your garage. opening the door to the most unfamiliar silence. did your wife and kid leave for something? could you imagine knocking on your kids door, hardly getting an answer, and opening it to find the splattered remains of your wife across his room your child is scared! hes hardly consolable, in a state of shock and terror. you are too, but youre the adult here. you need to take charge. you need to protect him. you need to do something. you need to do something.

#cw gore #jrwi fanart #jrwi show #jrwi prime defenders #jrwi pd spoilers #ashe winters #LOOOORRRD HELP ME THIS IS A YEAR OLD AND I HAAAATE LOOKIN AT IIITTTT ALL I CAN SEE ARE MY MISTAAAKESSS RRAAGHHHGGG ITS FINE THOUGH #ITS FIIIINE ITS ALL FIIIIIIINE!! IM HARSHER ON MY ART THAN ANYONE ELSE ITS FIIIIIINE IIITTSFFIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINEEEE #ANWYAY SO I THINK ALOT ABOUT THE FACT HE KILLED HIS MOM. FUUUUCKED UP. POOR GUY.. i wish i could learn more about what that day was like #the lil scenario wrote is my own silly little headcanon. but what really happened on that day? was mark there? or did he come home to it? #how violent was it really? was ashe awake the whole time? does he remember exactly how he killed her? does he remember? #who was mrs winters? what was she like? i like to think she was the one that gave ashe the book. taught him what she could before. yknow. #did ashe or mark try to destroy it afterwards? i could imagine mark throwing it into a fire. only for it to reappear with ashe #maybe ashe couldnt destroy it but i could imagine him hiding it. hiding away from it. and yet when we find him he holds it so close #its the only thing he can do! no super powers or anything. this was it. why would he ever throw away the only thing hes good at? #AND GOOD GOD MARK... TURNING TO MERCENARY WORK OVER IT ALL... SELLING HIS SOUL TO A LAbortory that changed him in immense ways #when did it get bad enough for him to start covering his face? what was ashe thinking? he knew his dad was up to something but what? #maRK HAS SUUUCH A CRAZY KILL COUNT TOO. I THINK THE HIGHEST IN THE SERIES IF WE'RE NOT LOOKIN AT THE GODS OR WATEV #MASS MURDER. MAN HAS COMMITTED MASS MURDER AND BROKE OUT OF SUPER VILLAIN PRISON WITH A PEN. MAN BUILDS IRON MAN SUITS IN HIS BASEMENT #OKay okay enough of my ramblin okayokay i just REALLY LOVE THIS SSHHOOOOWWW DUUUDEE EEUUGHTHTHHRHGHGH I LOVE THE WINTERS FAMILY...

[fantabulisticity]

The new Kesha album Gag Order ABSOLUTELY FUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been listening to it on repeat the last several days. It's intense and heartbreaking and chaotic and disturbing and wistful and motivating. Listen to it when you have emotional space for it, but definitely listen to it.

#personal #kesha #gag order #gag order album #edit: it sounds like what it feels like to have a trauma breakdown #like a long one over a series of months and years. she got it perfect. i hope this album was healing and cathartic for her. #it's so important to be able to express the 'ugly' emotions #her anger is justified. she gets to be angry about all the shit that's happened. and she gets to talk about it. it's so so so fucking hard #nothing happened with my rape case. i never heard back about any of it (except the university telling me they dropped my case). #i can't imagine going to court with people pointing cameras in your face and then having your case dismissed AND have your rapist file a... #...defamation suit. and the years that that bullshit has been going on. fucking hell. it's so hard. i feel for her and i hope she has... #...all the support she needs to get through it. she deserves all the love and care in the world. holding powerful people accountable for... #...their actions is so fucking difficult.

[hearts1ckness]

i’ll sing the owl house’s praises till the day i die because not only is it a damn good show, but because as someone who grew up in the era of queerness being stuck in subtext, this is a show i would’ve died to have as a child/baby lesbian

#like genuinely i sobbed seeing lumitys second kiss #because the most overt queerness i saw as a kid was malec in the shadowhunters tv show & that was it #i vividly remember staying over at my mamaws & watching the lok series finale & korrasami only being allowed to hold hands in the last shot #i would have done ANYTHING for a show this queer & neurodivergent as a kid. hell even as an early teen #i was so starved of rep that seeing it now as an adult makes me sob. ESPECIALLY if the rep is coming from a kids show #& it’s so special to me that my sister has shows like toh at her disposal to watch whenever she pleases #the owl house #toh

[thepetesimp]

The relationship between these two characters that never even acknowledged each other's existence in canon is so important to me.

#Me: Oh cool the Big Bang is over now I can return to all those projects I have left on hold- #My brain: ha ha Kim&Pete go brrrr #I think I have a problem #Kudos to all the rarepair loving folks out there #I now understand your pain AND your enthusiasm #kinnporche the series #pete phongsakorn sangthaem #kim theerapanyakul #fanfic writing

[savagebisand]

THE WAY MOND POPPED UP IN THAT ELEVATOR AND I JUST KNEW IN MY BONES AND CURSED SOUL THIS NERDY TWUNK BITCH IS BOEING AND MEW GOT IN AND I WENT "FUCKING MOND?!?" AND TOP WAS. HE WAS FUCKING MOND.

#DJFIFIFKFFKD STFU #im so pleased to see my goblin chaos son again #they are feeding the gramyok ghostship from not me agenda #what a legend choice #look i love mix but mond is so good at playing sneaky smarmy bitches #and i would rather see him than mixs cute lil face on this instance it was such a pleasant shock #ive missed my man. hes here to cause issues. #im surprised hes causin them for topmew in a way but also not?? #look his showing up has raised a lot of thoughts for me #bc blatantly he always cared more about prioritising top even when with sand so it makes sense hes happy being tops insomnia fuck #and wants to compete with mew for top. i just envisioned sand learning of it and going off the rails. #bc top said to sand boeing and him were long done but they now clearly arent. #im hoping sand will realise boeing was never a good match and now ray has picked sand and being better over the so say love of his life #sand will notice boeing never wouldve done that and will simply leave him to fiend for top and get his closure. #and for the love of god start holding boeing accountable but we'll see. #only friends #only friends the series #boeing #topmew

[volfoss]

actually yeah im making a quick poll on this. for anyone who has been around long enough to remember when i made my massive clamp readathon situation (in which i read every single one of the works they put out) be everyones problem. hi. im doing it again but much worse now. reading about 400 volumes (and more if i can find more) of tezuka osamu's work. i am just curious on the general consensus of if i should upload thoughts as i read each one (ie: one post being like i finished kimba/jungle kingdom, heres my thoughts) or just have a MASSIVE post of hey. read them all heres my thoughts (as i did with clamp. which is when i found out tumblr had a max text limit)

#twist rambles #i KNOW this is smth most of u do not care about. however comma. im curious what would be better. esp as like... about 50?? i think percent #of these have no translation fan or official. so its smth where i think discussing the plot/characters/art or whatever could be fun :) #but its also like. obviously a lot. for comparison the clamp stuff was abt 90 volumes (half of them being holic and trc). so this is far #worse. i could read all of naruto 5.5 times over in the time this will take me to complete it. so its smth where i do want to like... get #opinions on. either way i dont plan on liveblogging for most of it other than if i find a silly panel (the really good mw panels u will #ALWAYS be famous <- i post them every time i read i think. theyre very good to me). i do however plan on coloring a panel or page from each #series as my OWN personal way of having a physical way of holding onto my memories w it. sorry this is so long and rambly but im gearing up #for this massive project and by god i need to get ppl to read dor.oro. <- my goal or something. please. its very good. #tzkposting #<- all of my posting abt this will/has been under this tag so its not... in the main tags lmao. #sorry for the rambling but. hi. please vote :3 im making a big spreadsheet for stuff bc like... a lot of his stuff is hard to source so onc #im done w that nightmare situation ill probably post that somewhere bc the days of work ive done on all this should be put out there lol #gonna srb this a few times through the day to get like... an idea of what ppl would prefer :)

[uselessalexis165]

teeny

#this series has a hold over me #my text #murder drones #serial designation v #uzi doorman #serial designation n

[bylertruther]

moodboard for when you lose the idgaf war. or something. again

#when i started this post there was no one online so like. can u guys turn around or smth -_- #anyway. feeling like a chump like a weenie like a marshmallow that's dissolving in someone's hot chocolate feeling very um . Feely #and tht isn't said in a self-deprecating way bc there's nothing wrong with being a sensitive person i'm jus. yk. saying tht it's not always #very fun. like i would very much rather feel like a toasty marshmallow being smushed in a delicious s'more rn but instead i'm trying to #express in the least vulnerable way possible tht i've felt a series of human emotions in quick succession tht make my heart beat funny #bc i think if i were to be any more open abt tht then i would likely disintegrate and i mean tht in the most normal I'm Okay way ever 👍 #and i jus think tht it Sucks tht u can be earnest n true n it won't matter bc if someone doesn't engage with u in good faith then there is #simply literally nothing that you can do but go ''Okay 👍'' #like. goes taut n keels over dead like a cartoon character. then reanimates bc i'm not done #that is just The Worst!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wdym!!!!!! #it should be enough. it should be but it isn't and i'm a little marshmallow melting in someone's drink they're stirring me and #i'm turning into foam like . There Has Got To Be Another Way Out Other Than Through Bro someone grab my collar and drag me out #this bitch like a cat on a leash someone hold their hands out or smth i just . *)%*^76)*%$^)%*43^rty)*%6$)6578^$%(*8796gk@$)*%$ #it will be ok . it will 👍

[myhyperfixationisback]

hey. what the fuck is up with Ratchet and Clank merch

#ratchet and clank #I was like ‘I have literally three pieces of merch of R&C despite it being my special interest since elementary school I should fix that’ #*goes online* the fucking horrors #what do you MEAN everything is at least $100 dollars or more??? excuse me??? #the employee exclusive one is almost always over a thousand dollars. y’all see the one priced like a small car right. #the fucking PLUSHIES ARE A HUNDRED DOLLARS??? #why. #the TINY FUCKING PIN IS $90???? #btw the three pieces I have are the Funko Pops (I am not a huge Funko Pop person but I saw them release and pre-ordered them for my b-day) #and then the Ratchet and Clank art book. that is all #I have all of the games but like. that’s not /merch/ per se it’s the actual series content #actually I take it back I no longer have all the games bc I’m missing the very first game in physical copy + the PSP games + the PS4-5 ones #and I am the most fucking rabid Ratchet and Clank fan. I am autism insane about it. and I don’t have ANYTHING #do you see how much of a tragedy this is. do you understand how damaging this is to me every single day #that I do not have a Clank plushie to hold. a Ratchet plushie to keep him company. and an Alister Azimuth action figure to abuse. #my goal is to make that video essay I’ve had in my brain for years and make Insomniac feel so seen that they gift me something. #bc of the heartfelt please of a disabled poor person that has loved their series so much all their life #I’m going to punch through a steel wall

[homiines]

I’ve finished kingdom of ash . . . I am not okay

#someone hold me. #I hate coming to the end of a series. #I didn’t think I’d love anything as much as acotar but oh my god TOG HAS MY WHOLE HEART #I’ve fallen in love with this series and I am so SAD it’s over. #😭😭😭

[alternatively-undesignated]

Did I think I was gonna end Loki sobbing? No.

Am I surprised it left me sobbing? Yes

Will I put myself though the emotional damage again? Absolutely.

#Mobius has that much hold over me #And the rest of the TVA crew #Gonna go sob now #loki series #loki spoilers #mobius m mobius #loki

[smaugrat]

SO SOMETHING JÙST CAME TO MIND WHEN THINKING ABOUT HOB IN THE SANDMAN, AND, YOU REMEBER WHEN IN EP5 I THINK WHEN DUE TO RHE RUBY EVERYONE IN THE WORLD LOST ALL HOPE, WHAT HAPPENED TO HOB, I NEED TO KNOW, DID HE TOO LOOSE ALL HOPE, HOW DID HE REACT, AND AND AND AND AND WHAT, JUST AHHHHHHH. THE SANDMAN IS JUST TURNING INTO BRAINROT, BUT LIKE A REALLY BAD CASE

#AND LIKE THE FACT THAT THEY DEDICATED A WHOLE HALF AN EPISODE TO TELLING THAT STORY #AND THATS ANOUTHER REASON I LOVE THE SANDMAN #IT HAS SO MANY LITTLE OTHER STORIES BECAUSE THATS WHAT IT ISSSSSS #AND THE DREAM/HOB OR DREAMLING SHIP #EITHER PLATIONIC OR ROMANTIC WORKS SO WELL BECAUSE BECAUSE #IF YOU LOOK AT THE WAY DREAM LOOKS OVER THE CENTRIES #THAT THEY MEET UP ON #ITS LIKE YOU WATCH HIM FALL IN LOVE #AND THEN WHEN YOU SEE HOB START TO SUS HIM OUT #HE GOES AND HIDES BEHIND HIS WALLS AGAIN THE SMITTEN IDIOT #AHHHHHH I LOVE THIS SERIES SM IT HAS ME IN A CHOKE HOLD #NOW RECCOMEND ME YOUR FAVORITE DREAMLING FANFICS PLEASEEEEEE #dreamling #dream of the endless #robert gadling #dream/hob #the sandman #dream x hob

[kwop-kilawtley]

life would be sooo much simpler if smeyer just wrote twilight & forever dawn cause then I wouldn’t be here

#LMFAOOO like write ur little vampire love story and go #i wouldn’t have given a fuck about it #and I’d be free from ruminating about how much smeyer has ruined her own series #like goddamn Jacob and the pack has had me in a hold #for my whole life #JUST FOR HER TO SAY HAHAH FUCK YOU #Its her publishers fault for needing a Saga #like pls.. spare us…. #and now I’m here and DEEPLY UNHINGED AND OBSESSED OVER THE SHIP THAT DIDNT HAPPEN #team jacob #twilight renaissance

[sysig]

Hm ok what's your favorite or a really cool worlbuilding thing you've done? For any fandom or original or even an unimplemented idea

Hmm well at least in the past decade, my big worldbuilding projects have mostly come down to three-ish stories: Other Side of the Gun, Adventures of Gæilo and Ethon, and Just Desserts

OSG was an Invader ZiM fancomic concept I started around 2013 to justify every single Irken headcanon I ever came up with lol - I never finished it, or even really started it, but I put a lot of time and energy into its roughs back in the day :)

^A stick figure recap of Ch. 1, inspired by - what else - the Vargas stick figure recaps lol

One that you can see over here is all the work I did for my DnD campaign, AGE! (Though its sideblog hasn't been updated in a while haha - the AGE tag over here works just as well) I basically homebrewed a pantheon and had an absolute blast designing all the gods and their forms before they became gods and even things like architectural differences in their churches and the BBEG and his motivations and just ah <3 Such a fun project :D

It also laid the groundwork for things like Pokemon Homestyle, specifically all my papercrafts! You can really see how I leveled up haha

And my latest has been Just Desserts! Even with less time under its belt, it's still pretty expansive, as evidenced by my icon and theme and the backlog lol, and it's the one I have the most AUs of! (Though OSG does come close actually haha) There are still some thorny details I'm trying to iron out, especially to do with the magic system, but all the characters and creatures and the fact that I made my own fighting minigame, ah, pleased! I've never been so happy with a sona before Charm! ♥ From the very beginning it's been so fun to work on and I still want to improve!

#Long post #There have been others of course - things like BunBonBop and TMatM and quite a handful of original species lol #I was also involved in an IZRP that got very in depth which is where Bar comes from actually! #As well as my brief stint into being a TGWDLM askblog lol soz to everyone over there ouq #And little stories like Karera no Kotogara and Yanderapy but those mostly set in cartoon-reality y'know? #No magic or sci fi there haha #Man looking back through the OSG stuff kinda makes me wanna unstore Ch. 0 - I've grown a lot since then! #To the point where it almost doesn't feel ''mine'' anymore haha - it has been almost ten years! Maybe to celebrate its anniversary :) #Also yeah if you look hard enough I've been in love with and inspired by Vargas for as long as I've known about it haha #AGE was so much fun <3 I would like to get back to it someday but picking back up after so long is hard! #I still hold all of them fondly of course ♥ Mar especially since they were the tipping point for me loving spiders :D #It's hard to believe Just Desserts is already four years deep! It still feels so new to me haha #I know I big up Charm and her design a lot lol but for me it really is exactly what I want <3 It's my perfect :) #I still really want to get into 3D modeling to make her as I originally envisioned her! #If I had the funds I'd absolutely commission someone but tbh I don't know many names on that side of art haha #I've also heard about people who give advice/brainstorming sessions for magic systems and I've been intrigued ever since :0 #I'd love to sit down with someone and hash out Exactly how their magic works! It feels like it just needs a few more pushes! #Then again that's what I said about the TVAU outfits too haha ♪ Maybe it would all fall into place! #To the base question tho: I never know how to qualify ''implemented'' - does just putting it out there as a concept count? #Writing a story? Making a comic? A series? Polished? Completed?? Where's the line haha #I'm always so full of ideas but focusing on anything long enough to make it ''pretty'' is so hard for me still #I just keep creating never stopping haha

[chryzure]

whew, people get heated over their fav booktok book.

#memorie.txt #once you’ve read more you’re more willing to admit that you love a kinda poorly written book #by god i love jackaby. the writing style is a solid 3/5 and the plot stuff is cheesy as hell. #you get a better frame of reference for ‘this book requires an award’ style of good #and a ‘god this is so my dumb little niche that scratches all those weird little itches nobody else has’ style of good #one of my fav series is the ghost and the goth!! is it good?? i don’t know if i’d go that far!! #is it fun and does it make me think of trysi / chryzure stuff??? yes :) #i’m beginning to wonder abt ppl rabid abt their fav books. anyway this one person was losing their shit over ppl liking apollo #and aurora and i’m an aurora shooter but i digress #they were foaming at the mouth and im like Well. its a little not that serious . #he is letters on a page. and also mostly irrelevant to the story as a whole so im kinda confused as to why ppl feel so strongly abt him #it’s funny because most of my complaints stem from an outside pov #where i critique the worldbuilding / plot work / character writing and its inconsistencies #whereas ppl assume im encouraging villainy irl. it is quite seriously more that the villainy is unmotivated #or otherwise poorly done. i love to hate a good villain if the proper legwork is put into it #because i like observing how others work their craft!!! #but my irritation with stephanie is that she doesn’t work her craft well. it’s shoddy craftsmanship full of retcons or #convenience required for plot that otherwise hold no reasoning in the story #and i can admit that i find the series unsatisfying because it’s marketed as a romance (the romance had little chemistry that could be #understood by anyone that’s not straight. straight romances are always laziest because it’s the ‘norm’ so that equates to chem) #and also it was marketed as having plot when rlly the ‘plot’ was trying to put these characters in weird chemistry-less situations together #so yeah i’ll complain abt the villains being jealous shallow archetypes when it could’ve had depth. #i’ll complain abt a lot. but in the end it’s a silly basic ya romance series that isn’t anything unique #most unique stories will not be found on booktok. i’m sorry #i can show you the beautiful world of horror novels though! #or weird lil 80s fantasy novels that are actually quite long that my dad likes showing me #truly no romance novel will be better than the darkangel trilogy though.. that is what stephanie wanted to write. #but that’s lightning in a bottle ithink. #okay anyway. good night. i worked a long day and i have appts in the morning