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wafflesandschemingfaces · 3 months

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how dare you that's disgusting get help

is anyone. alive.

#you're too nice #i left insta because #boards

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wafflesandschemingfaces · 3 months

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i'm not. ask tv.

is anyone. alive.

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wafflesandschemingfaces · 3 months

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me.

is anyone. alive.

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wafflesandschemingfaces · 3 months

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is anyone. alive.

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wafflesandschemingfaces · 10 months

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deleting all dating apps. I want to marry someone the old fashioned way. I go into the woods on a midwinter night to pluck snowdrops because of my stepmother and meet my winter king aka. the death God who hurts me but then also heals me <3

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wafflesandschemingfaces · 10 months

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this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy this trilogy

I read the winternight trilogy recently and I couldn't help but compare it to shadow and bone and how differently the two series deal with their main characters. Maybe that's because TWNT touches on some similar themes that SaB deals with.

Both these series have the "magic/power can corrupt" theme but TWNT handles it much better than shadow and bone.

she lurched forward, driven by the sound of feet above, and put a hand on the treasure-room door. Reality twisted; the door gave.

She heard them swearing. Her hands trembled. The sounds of storm, [...] were like three pieces of a nightmare. Reality was shifting too fast to understand.

“I was so frightened.” Reality was rippling around her like cloth in a high wind. She wasn’t sure if he was really there or if she’d just imagined him. “I am so frightened…”

Without thinking she cupped her palms and [...] Fire in her hands…It didn’t burn her. She was on the edge of mad laughter, as blind terror mingled with newfound power. “Konstantin saw me,” she said. “I ran. I was so afraid; I couldn’t stop remembering. So I called a thunderstorm. “Vasya,” said Morozko.“Enough for one day. You will bend your mind until it breaks.”

“It is not my mind bending,” she said, lifting up the fire between them. “You are here, aren’t you? It is everything else. It is the whole world bending.” She was shaking; the flames jerked back and forth.

Vasya is gifted with second sight, which means she can communicate with the unseen spirits and she can also perform magic. When she bends reality to her will within such a short span of time in between and under such stress it inevitably takes a toll on her. She's also someone deeply traumatized by the events that took place not so long ago, in the same city and at the hands of the same man who, in this scene, was chasing after her. She's afraid and her fear is amplified in Medved's presence. All of this only further messes up her head.

Her moral conflict and possible descend into madness due to magic is far more compelling than Alina becoming "power hungry" and that's because a) we actually see Vasya being affected by using too much magic b) the question of how and why can magic turn someone mad is answered by explaining how magic actually works in their world i.e: by forgetting reality. Compare this to Alina's three random anger outbursts that feel completely out of place or forced with little to no explanation on how her power works and the whole "power was affecting her" concept of SaB looks like a failure.

New clothes, a soft bed, hot food at every meal, the chance to be the Darkling’s pet.” “I’m not his pet.” “But you want to be,” she jeered. “Don’t bother lying to me. You’re like all the rest. I saw the way you looked at him.” My cheeks burned

Baghra had no patience with me. If I lost focus for even a moment, she’d smack me with her stick and say, “Dreaming of dancing with your dark prince?”

Alina is constantly shamed for her attraction towards the darkling by the narrative even when she's not acting on it just thinking.

“The clothes, the jewels, even the way you look. He’s all over you.” The words hit me like a slap. In the dark of the hall, I felt an ugly flush creeping up my cheeks. I snatched my hand from his, crossing my arms over my chest. “It’s not like that,” I whispered, but I didn’t meet his gaze. It was as if Mal could see right through me, as if he could pluck every fevered thought I’d ever had of the Darkling right out of my head.

Their demonstration at winter fete and all the time leading up to it was one of the few times we see Alina truly grow as a person who's no longer being held back by Mal or Ana Kuya's lovely teachings. At this point Alina was becoming her happiest and her most confident self only to have her new found boldness be stomped on by her dearest friend. And once again shamed for her private thoughts. Now because the poor girl felt a wee bit horny for the villain all the emotional growth she's had in the past few months is completely sidelined & the narrative focuses more on guilt tripping Alina for feeling attracted to the wrong man.

“Mal, what the Darkling said in the glade about … about him and me. I didn’t … I never …” “It doesn’t matter.” I looked up at him. “It doesn’t? “I don’t care if you danced naked on the roof of the Little Palace with him. I love you, Alina, even the part of you that loved him.” I wanted to deny it, to erase it, but I couldn’t. Another sob shook me. “I hate that I ever thought … that I ever—”

you...you WHAT girl? What did you do so wrong? Nothing! All she did was think darkling is hot and enjoy their kiss but the way they're talking about it you'd think she committed a crime. Also why the desperate need for validation from Mal all the time?? You're not married or committed to him. It's not a sin if you look at someone who isn't Mal! If Mal says it doesn't matter then it doesn't yayyy! life's good 🥰💫 but what if he'd said it did matter to him and that she was a disgusting person. What would she do then? Why does she place so much of her worth in what Mal says or thinks about her and why is she never allowed to grow out of this habit of hers?

Look, I get that she might feel embarrassed that she ever thought she could've a future with the darkling or there's feelings of hurt & betrayal but it's the constant shame attached to it that irks me so much.

We understand each other, he and I. Sometimes it frightens me.” “I am not surprised,” he said. “Spirit of sea and fire that you are; he is the worst parts of your own nature writ large.” His hands were on her shoulders now. “Vasya, he is a danger to you.”

Vasya on the other hand understands the Medved's (he's the devil btw) desire for chaos and isn't shamed for it. There isn't any harsh judgement in Morozko's tone either. He makes her aware of the dangerous line she's walking and how there's a darker part in her that she must keep in check but doesn't sneer with disgust in her face for that.

“I have done good and I have done evil, but I am neither. I am only myself. You will not make me ashamed, Morozko.”

She had dropped her hands, but she did not step back. “Though yes, I want Dmitrii’s admiration. I want a victory. I even want power, over princes and chyerti. I am allowed to want things, winter-king.”

"I'm allowed to want things" I love this line and I love how unapologetic she is about desiring something. This whole scene is my most favourite in the book because we see how sure Vasya is of herself. She never lets anyone, not even the man she loves, make her feel bad about her choices. She is stubborn and self-motivated and brave but that doesn't mean she isn't capable of reflecting on herself or being aware of her own flaws and we see her try to grow and change as a person. It's just that the narrative doesn't let her beat herself over it. She knows what she wants and she doesn't feel ashamed for it. And why should she? Power, ambition, passion and desire aren't inherently evil like SaB treats them. It depends on the one who holds them.

We see the good and bad in Vasya and her use of her magic but in Alina's case, she isn't given any room for such growth and nuance since the very thing that makes her who she is constantly equated with greed & moral corruption. It is frustrating to see how Alina is not allowed any kind of depth as a character in her own story.

Vasya is a great example of a strong fmc done right. Her story ends with her finding out about her ancestors which helps her understand her place in this world and realize her own motives i.e: to achieve a Rus' where humans & chyerti coexist peacefully and to travel to the lands of magic. Alina's story ends with the readers learning about her boyfriend's ancestors and his purpose in the world while she loses an intrinsic part of herself as a punishment for "greed" and goes on to live under a false identity.

Vasya's arc is empowering in a way Alina's isn't and that's because SaB is written as a condescending cautionary tale for young girls with lots of internalised misogyny and moral puritanism sprinkled in. You'd think a book targeted towards young "impressionable" readers as a moral lesson would encourage an arc of self-acceptance and love. Instead this series celebrates a very passive and self-diminishing storyline.

#the winternight trilogy

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wafflesandschemingfaces · 10 months

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morning, guys. I'm back.

Whatever happened to Ava?

oh she posted such a beautiful painting on ig today

@wafflesandschemingfaces liz misses you

#hello Liz #howve you been

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wafflesandschemingfaces · 1 year

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Found the best edit I’ve ever seen ohmygod

@/lvfrcptnswns on Twitter

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wafflesandschemingfaces · 1 year

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Something I just realized about Sara and August’s dynamic (thanks to @zee-has-commitment-issues latest edit) is that Sara brings out the best in August but August brings out the worst in Sara.

Sara keeps this MASSIVE secret from Simon after having a no secrets pact with him. And not only that, she allowed for that secret to hurt Simon by warning August that Simon was going to go to the police. She also acted very sneaky by snooping on Felice's phone and basically threatening Stella with her knowledge of Stella's feelings for Fredrika.

On the other hand, it is with his relationship with Sara that we see August have compassion for someone else. I honestly hate how cute he is with Sara cause in my head I'm like "how dare you make me kinda like you because you're really sweet with her." We see that he has the ability to look past people's social standings and is not as attached to his own social status as previously thought.

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wafflesandschemingfaces · 1 year

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warrior nun cancelled. first kill cancelled. paper girls cancelled. one day at a time cancelled. the owl house cancelled. im not okay with this cancelled. legacies cancelled. everything sucks cancelled. the babysitters club cancelled. dare me cancelled. i know what you did last summer cancelled. teenage bounty hunters cancelled. the wilds cancelled.

the attitude held towards sapphic media is clear and honestly just appalling. im so sick of this treatment we deserve better than this.

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wafflesandschemingfaces · 1 year

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