THE BAD KIDS Dimension 20: Fantasy High Junior Year (2024)

art + lemony snicket

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Oh so actually, yeah I will defend early day Adam and Blue and the fact that they dated and that it's crucial to both of them. Not just because it shows us what they both needed in a relationship, and why they didn't work with each other for their conflicting needs (though that is an excellent point and one I attribute to their narrative relevance.) but also because... they're really important to each other?

Adam and Blue meet, and it's when Adam is worried about being judged for who he is and Blue wanting to be wanted (and not just useful which is a concept that breaks me because ahhhhh) and they actually challenge that with each other? Blue is drawn to Adam because while he is attractive, he's also something different - she sees a fray in his jacket, and she likes that he isn't the typical Raven Boy. She likes this aspect of Adam he worries about being judged for. And you can say all you do about how Blue describes him in comparison to something dusty or how she compares him to traits of himself he detests, but while Adam dislikes these things Blue likes this about him. I cannot stress that enough. It was not what Adam needed (this is something Gansey, actually, needed) but it was important.

Blue wants to be wanted, to be around someone who sees her as more than just useful. And, yes, Adam does seem to evaluate her based on how useful she will be to the group, but it's important to note that Adam is drawn to Blue because he wants to be around her. He thinks she's funny. He thinks she's pretty. He legitimately likes her as a person. He seeks her out for physical comfort, not just because she's useful but because he likes being around her, he wants her, he wants her company. There is a lot you can say about how Adam equates usefulness with love and affection and he definitely values Blue based on her usefulness in the group but it's more than that. He envies her ease with which she makes friends, the confidence she has in herself. (Adam + Envy is also a prevalent theme with how he experiences attraction.) Adam genuinely admires Blue as a person. He wants to be around her, appreciates her input and her presence. And that was important to Blue at the moment.

And, yes, the ultimate issue comes into their conflicting needs in a relationship, but I think when it comes to Blue and Adam it's such a beautiful exploration of what a short-term romance brings to teenagers. It's common to explore relationships through these awkward fumbles between what you need in the moment and what you need in the long term. They get those awkward, first relationship jitters and anxieties together, they learn what they both need and value going further into their teen years. And it is messy and complex and all over the place and very hormonal. And that is a really precious thing to explore in a shorter relationship, especially with a friend, and with a person you feel understands you. (Something neither of them had gotten.) Also, if they hadn't dated they wouldn't have brought the group together. Poverty twin rizz, guys. They really carried the first book on their backs.

Anyway, my point is that Blue and Adam together are very valuable to the story, their character arcs, and please know you can give them the respect they deserve without detracting from Bluesey or Pynch or detracting from the significance of their friendships. I actually think if they'd been given more time, that platonic dynamic would've been one of the strongest in the series. Because when you share such a valuable milestone (the horrors of teen dating) you bond on a level many don't understand or relate to. Blue and Adam I love you.

was thinking about the dreaming tree in trb that shows you your worst nightmares and. ronan doesn’t go in—later revealed that this is because he not only knows what it does but also what he’ll see—but his worst nightmare is bringing back wasps. killing gansey. blue sees herself dangerously close to kissing gansey, fulfilling her curse, also killing gansey. richard “he imagined [finding glendower] might feel a lot like dying” gansey sees himself finding glendower. but adam. we’re never expressly told what he sees, only that gansey’s dead and it’s his fault and ronan hates him for it and he hates himself for it too. the difference is subtle but important. the others see the action. adam sees the end result. the others are afraid of killing gansey. adam is too, but that’s not his worst fear. adam’s worst fear is becoming like his father

ALINA STARKOV + her ‘horny for power’ face

skill issue but okay

I do not know steven in real life

The heavy world's upon your shoulders, will we burn on or just smolder? Somehow, I know I'll find you there. Oh, you wanna see if you can change it (change it), still, I know I'll see you there.

↑ I put this verse but they all work, somehow (i wanted to do an even longer drawing at the beginning, sheesh).

Linking music with content is my absolute favorite thing to do. I did it with aftg, and also for trc with this post (muse!!) and obviously the animatic, which happens to have turned 1 year old very recently (happy birthday).

Anyway, I'll do a trc reread soon, last time was two years ago (!!), i've read extracts since but it won't do for much longer.

Kanej week day 1 - mythology

Here’s a WIP/extract bc this fic isn’t even close to being finished but I wanted to put something up for the start of kanej week and I’m always a slut for a soulmates au. Hope you enjoy :)

Every time he took his gloves off, Kaz became more and more grateful for them. Once, when he was alone, at least, he'd been able to take them off in peace. Now, it was always a reminder of something he couldn't escape: Inej Ghafa was his soulmate.

It wasn't a new development–his tattoo had started growing that fateful day in the Menagerie, prompting him to look around and spot her. Since then, he'd gotten used to Inej watching him and the accompanying itch of his tattoo growing. She did it a lot–the tattoo had now taken over one of his arms and was slowly spreading across his back and chest.

But just because Inej was his soulmate didn't mean he was hers. So he kept the glove on at all times, even when he was alone in his room. He couldn't bear to look at his hand, eternally blackened with inked vines.

###

Inej wanted so badly to believe in soulmates. Her parents had been–the golden lines of their tattoos snaking down their arms when she was born and only growing as she did. Her father's hands, last she remembered them, were covered in tightly packed curls, shining golden in the sunlight.

Inej's tattoo was black. Vines that tangled around her legs, winding their way up her stomach. But they grew slowly–Kaz rarely looked at her.

It was for this reason that she didn't tell anyone about her tattoo, not even Kaz. She wasn't going to kid herself that he was in love with her and she wouldn't settle for it just because the universe told her to.

She would find love for herself, if she ever found it. So many things in her life had been out of control but this? This would be her choice.

Is this justice? Is this a new dawn?