Keep swimming, I guess

“The things that I lost here / The people I knew / They got me surrounded for a mile or two / The car’s in reverse / I’m gripping the wheel / I’m back between villages and everything’s still”

PLEASE

yes, rene and andrew used to spar, and they often chatted about trivial things.

but it was kevin whom andrew trusted with his pills. it was with kevin that andrew spent time 24/7 (and they actually talked, not just sat in silence). it was kevin who made andrew feel alive for the first time. it was kevin who promised andrew he’d find the meaning of life. it was kevin who protected andrew from himself, both physically and emotionally. it was with kevin that andrew felt comfortable being physically affectionate.

NORA IS NOT A BAD WRITER. ACTUALLY SHES FUCKING GOOD.

Further proof that not enough people read enough outside of their favorite genres or small circles.

I’m currently reading Game On from the Into Darkness series by Navessa Allen. Do you know how many times this MC has very directly mentioned or referenced their “scandaled past.” With those specific words or some close variation? In the first 20% of the book alone? Just straightforwardly telling the audience like a prompter. Too many. To the point that I’m already bored of whatever scandal it could possibly be.

Meanwhile? Meanwhile??? In TGR???? We get vague mentions at best throughout the first part of the book about Jeremy’s history. And not just vague mentions that something “big” happened, but with enough hints that we need to KNOW. A dead brother, something the entire family blames him for, something that directly affected his other brother, something to do with drugs—all a bunch of small things that give us enough of a picture so that we have an idea, but still missing enough so that we are eager to know what the hell actually happened???

And all given to us in ways that aren’t a character tediously saying in dialogue, “that scandal you were part of.” No, we get Bryson mentioning Jeremy “taking him down with him.” Mentions that a brother is gone but not how or why. His dad asking if he had something to do with Grayson’s death. His family’s antagonism. The pixie sticks at the banquet—which was the most blatant hint of them all, but it was the last one and was specifically the last push to get Jeremy to disclose his past to Jean. That’s escalating narrative baby!!!

The Brittish goverment was unwilling to do anything for two reasons. First was the laissez-faire capitalistic ideology, that put the rights of property owners to make profits above human lives. Rent freeze was unthinkable and they even were unwilling to do proper relief efforts as free food would lower the cost of food. The second reason was distain for the Irish, and the thought that they were “breeding too much” and the famine was a natural way to trim down the population, aka genocidal reasoning.

This is why it’s important to stress it was not a potato famine. The potato blinght was all over Europe but only in Ireland there was a famine. The reasons behind it had nothing to do with potatos and everything to do with the Brittish.

Apparently what made Choctaw want to offer relief to Irish was the news about the Doolough Tragedy. Hundreds of starving people were gathered for inspection to verify they were entitled to recieve relief. The officials would for *some reason* not do that and instead left to a hunting lodge 19 kilometers away to spend the night and said to the starvqing people they would have to walk there by morning to be inspected. The weather conditions were terrible and many of them died completely needlessly during the walk thoroung day and night.

This apparently reminded the Choctaw of their own very recent (and much more explicit and bigger scale) experiences of ethnic clensing, where they were forcibly relocated. It was basically a death march and thousands of Choctaw died from the terrible conditions also completely needlessly.

In 2015 a memorial named Kindred Spirits was installed in Southern Ireland to commemorate the Chactow donation.

Then in 2020:

It’s me-ILLIT (it makes him feel special✨)

Don’t stop the music-Rihanna (dancy dance 🕺)

CTRL+ALT+DEL-Reve (vocal warm ups yk)

Born this way-Lady Gaga (boosts his confidence)

Whatever it takes-Imagine Dragons (aura moment)

bc while jean doesn't always describe kevin in a favorable light (kevin abandoned him in the nest, kevin's an idiot for thinking he can separate himself from the ravens, etc) jean still always seems to describe kevin in this almost untouchable light? like through his pov kevin is shown to be kind, confident, and full of empathy. idk, it really stood out to me

neil's kevin is exy obsessed but detrimentally scared. jean's kevin is exy obsessed, but also someone who yearns for the good in people (his high esteem of the trojans as well as his unfaltering determination for jean to escape the ravens and come out on top even when jean himself doesn't believe in it)

neil's kevin is an unstable alcoholic, jean's kevin is a rock that he refuses to rely on, but who is there nonetheless

neil thinks kevin is too overtly cautious. jean thinks kevin is too foolishly & idiotically brave