#👀👀 i saw that meta

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

Question for Jon stans: so I think a lot of us expect Jon to leave the watch at some point in his story, whether in Winds or sometime in Dream. I tend to think he’s going to straight up desert the Watch, like going ‘fuck it I’m done here’ much like Bloodraven and Mance, instead of leaving on a technicality (i.e., a ‘he’s dead so he’s technically done his service’ type of thing). 

BUT the question is, does he go north or does he go south? I think it’s reasonable to assume either direction works narratively.

We have this:

Lannister studied his face. “Yes,” he said. “I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers.”

Plus he’s been set up to parallel Bloodraven and Mance both of whom go north, and there’s this quote from AGOT that could be foreshadowing:

Far off to the north, a wolf began to howl. Another voice picked up the call, then another. Ghost cocked his head and listened. “If he doesn’t come back,” Jon Snow promised, “Ghost and I will go find him.” He put his hand on the direwolf’s head.

“I believe you,” Tyrion said, but what he thought was, And who will go find you? He shivered.

(Tyrion III)

There’s also symbolism in him embracing the name “Snow” and living in the snowy north….

But then we these quotes from AGOT as well that’s essentially about him finding the Wall to be stifling and equating freedom with the south:

“Yes. Cold and hard and mean, that’s the Wall, and the men who walk it. Not like the stories your wet nurse told you. Well, piss on the stories and piss on your wet nurse. This is the way it is, and you’re here for life, same as the rest of us.”

“Life,” Jon repeated bitterly. The armorer could talk about life. He’d had one. He’d only taken the black after he’d lost an arm at the siege of Storm’s End. Before that he’d smithed for Stannis Baratheon, the king’s brother. He’d seen the Seven Kingdoms from one end to the other; he’d feasted and wenched and fought in a hundred battles. They said it was Donal Noye who’d forged King Robert’s warhammer, the one that crushed the life from Rhaegar Targaryen on the Trident. He’d done all the things that Jon would never do, and then when he was old, well past thirty, he’d taken a glancing blow from an axe and the wound had festered until the whole arm had to come off. Only then, crippled, had Donal Noye come to the Wall, when his life was all but over.

(Jon III)

He had no destination in mind. He wanted only to ride. He followed the creek for a time, listening to the icy trickle of water over rock, then cut across the fields to the kingsroad. It stretched out before him, narrow and stony and pocked with weeds, a road of no particular promise, yet the sight of it filled Jon Snow with a vast longing. Winterfell was down that road, and beyond it Riverrun and King’s Landing and the Eyrie and so many other places; Casterly Rock, the Isles of Faces, the red mountains of Dorne, the hundred islands of Braavos in the sea, the smoking ruins of old Valyria. All the places that Jon would never see. The world was down that road … and he was here.

(Jon V)

And if Jon is to live his best wildling/crow-deserter life, it’ll be about finding freedom - just like Mance.

Plus there’s the whole thing with him seeing three different trees which could serve as representing his arc in the series, and the final tree faces south… 

Just north of Mole’s Town they came upon the third watcher, carved into the huge oak that marked the village perimeter, its deep eyes fixed upon the kingsroad. That is not a friendly face, Jon Snow reflected. The faces that the First Men and the children of the forest had carved into the weirwoods in eons past had stern or savage visages more oft than not, but the great oak looked especially angry, as if it were about to tear its roots from the earth and come roaring after them. Its wounds are as fresh as the wounds of the men who carved it.

(Jon V, ADWD) 

So which one is it?

Also if you think he goes south, where does he end up? 👀 

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

No you don't understand, Anne and Marcy third-wheeling Sasha during the dinner episode (and Sasha third-wheeling herself during battle of the bands) is so important to me. Anne and Marcy have come so far having left Sasha behind. They're happy and confident and strong and closer than ever, all because they were finally free. Because Sasha wasn't there to stunt their growth. Despite how much they love Sasha and how much they don't want to admit the distance helped them, it's true: Anne and Marcy were both victims of a toxic friend and they're learning to move on together. Ik it sounds like I hate Sasha because whenever I write about her I make her out to be a massive piece of shit but that's because... she kinda was! And I love her for that! I love these three, I love their story and their drama and toxicity (I was soooo happy when it was revealed Marcy wasn't as great as she initially seemed like - yes! The CONFLICT is CONFLICTING). Like yes marcanne is my obsession, I have marcanne brain worms, but I think one of the reasons marcanne works so well is because of Sasha. Their past, present and future with her have such a huge impact in Anne and Marcy's relationship with each other and with themselves. You can't separate these three and I love it, how easy it is to ship two of them without making it weird by leaving the third one behind (ironically, Sasha the Character is included by leaving Sasha the Person behind).

Marcanne to me is about two childhood friends living in a toxic situation healing together after leaving, only able to fall in love now that they are free and more comfortable with themselves and each other. They couldn't fully connect with each other before - not really. Anne didn't see the importance of listening to what Marcy had to say nor did she take it too seriously, and Marcy was simply not in contact with real people in the real world at all. None of this was Sasha's fault entirely, but she did third-wheel Marcy and she was possesive with Anne and was just a generally terrible influence on her, while reminding Marcy that, well, she didn't really matter all that much to anyone. Removing Sasha from the equation is not enough but it's a necessary step towards knowing each other better and the fact that they so easily became closer than ever just shows their eagerness to be together for real this time. Marcy's increased confidence and Anne's newfound empathy and admiration for her friend wouldn't have been possible with Sasha's domineering influence present. If they were to fall in love, it'd be because Sasha wasn't there to stop it.

I imagine that, once she finds out, she'd be furious, but mostly just devastated. Her friends only found love once she was gone. As if they think they'll be better off without her.

[fluffypotatey]

you know, i see Heimerdinger from arcane similar to how i see Gaius from bbc merlin, and tbh i see both characters viewed and examined very similarly in fandom spaces

both are characters driven, essentially by their own fears when it comes to magic and lean more towards science as a more beneficial and neutral option. Heimerdinger watched mages and others go mad with power over magic leading to war and thousands of unnecessary deaths all in the pursuit of power. Gaius watched a king commit the genocide of his community because magic would not bend to his will

Gaius advises and urges Merlin to stay low and keep his head down, to barely practice magic because of the giant risk of execution if he is ever found out. Gaius is even complacent to the acts of King Uther throughout the show because of said fear. he even advises Merlin to not tell Morgana about her own magic nor give her some hope of community believing that her ignorance will grant her safety and plausible deniability. Morgana’s knowledge and position as ward are too risky to be combined

but it all gets fucked over anyway because of the complacency. because of the secrets

Heimerdinger objects to Jayce’s experimentation of magic and science, terrified that it will lead to the same horrors of war he saw centuries before. and there is some merit in that thinking since many council members care more about their power and influence than true progression. but in Heimerdinger’s own paranoia of magic, he neglects the Undercity. he neglects Zaun because he is so focused on creating a city without the need of magic and a city of utopia with scientific progress. Heimerdinger forgets and turns a blind eye to Zaun because “progress takes time” and fixing the issues within Piltover and Zaun is too long term and too much of a risk. and Heimerdinger is done with taking risks

but it all gets fucked over anyway because of Piltover’s neglect. because they were too narrowed minded on themselves to look down

but unlike Gaius, Heimerdinger is given the chance to go back. he got to go to a Piltover that was not yet introduced to Hextech, that wasn’t so separated from the Undercity just yet. he was given a chance to take the leap he was too scared to jump before

near the end of s1, Heimerdinger saw what his negligence has done. he is forced to look down and be granted the perspective he refused to see with Jayce and Viktor. Ekko made him listen and showed him how the Undercity had to adapt and progress despite the neglect and how many people he has left behind who could do so much good

and there’s a bit of tragedy to that. here is Heimerdinger, able to fix his wrongs but in a different universe and doesn’t even get to see or know that his efforts for his world aid them.

for Gaius, there was always that fear of discovery. some times he would help in the shadows and archive lost work, but the Purge taught him to bring no attention to himself or Merlin when it came to magic (the only times he would are when Merlin was in danger. it’s those moments where he breaks his own code and draws attention to himself which 🥺 whatever 😭)

but yeah, food for thought. very interesting comparison between the two

[lulu-the-bugaboo]

@damnstrawhats don't apologize for rambling that's what these kinds of posts are meant for! And ty you are so right about everything you said. Especially the fact that Oda does actually hit you in the face with the kind of character Ace is and people still don't get it or don't bother to actually think about it. And I don't think you have to analyze every character deeply (it's fiction we are trying to have fun here) but if you are going to form an opinion with confidence and share it you either have to actually think about it a little more or hear out the people who understand that character better/care more and get more out if that character as a result.

Having Ace as a fav is weird because the takes I see on him are either the type I've always wanted on my favs, digging into his character despite the low screentime and sharing fascinating views or the most brain dead, disappointing, shallow takes known to man

There is no in-between

[myblurryreality]

I saw someone mention that they don't like that so many Fics make Wei Wuxian the poor one who's saved from his circumstances, in modern Fics, by Lan Wangji. They said they think it's rooted in heteronormative ideas of the 'woman/receiving' being below the 'man/giving' and puts Wei Wuxian in the typical woman role that many het romances do. When in reality, in the modern world Wei Wuxian would only be down on his luck temporarily. He's a genius, something Lan Wangji is not in my opinion, and would probably create his own company if he had to. If you do have him being down and out, at least make it make sense. Like he got kicked out, or sabotaged, or black balled, but not his grades aren't good enough for a scholarship 👀 (genius) or he just up and decided no school and he'll do shady shit 👀 (moral ideal). Wei Wuxian is so smart and charming, and I feel like some people don't utilize that enough in their modern fics.

Ignore me though. I'm just ranting into the void.

P.S. About that Lan Wangji not being a genius comment. I think Lan Wangji is a cultivation prodigy who is highly intelligent and well read but I don't think he's a genius. Wei Wuxian is also a prodigy in cultivation but his mind is on another plane, he is in fact a genius. He's innovative and voraciously curious. His mind is fast and makes leaps which propel him into action before others, which to them reads as reckless but they just didn't have enough time to compute what he did. I think a meta I read talking about how Lan Wangji is more likely to make a "reckless" decision because he steps into the danger to stop others from being harmed, as opposed to Wei Wuxian who is able to find the smartest solution in the same amount of time is a prime example of their mental differences. Lan Wangji's mind is quicker than most but Wei Wuxian's is even faster. Hence, genius.

[apple-onigiri]

hi can you talk more about your reading of siffrin and loop's relationship please. I'm so curious 👀

(omg hii i love your analyses)

well i guess now i gotta huh!! the demons (the people on my computer) are telling me to do it, do it, do it, so here it is!! most of it below a cut! because this ended up being really really long!

so! self-love and self-hatred play a big role in isat in general. the whole story is kind of about accepting that you are capable of being loved, and not, in fact, inherently repulsive so maybe you should open up, siffrin. imagine that. and i'd argue these themes crystallize into their final form with sif and loop and how they interact :) my ants. my mentally ill ants

(this sidesteps the curious meta element of how both the narration of siffrin to himself and loop addressing siffrin as they talk uses second person. it's very interesting but this is already gonna be long enough)

looking at all their interactions, especially through the lens of knowing who loop actually is, gives a pretty good idea of loop's attitude towards another version of themselves, and, by extension, their own self (this is a bit confusing because there are Too Many Siffrins Here)

the long and short is the resentment they feel towards themselves - because loop never went through the realization they're not unlovable - is externalized and often taken out on siffrin.

they are very condescending with how they interact with him. he's just a silly little stardust! so stupid, so naive! knows so little about literally everything. awww, let me help you out, stardust, before you hurt yourself.

on my first playthrough i actually initially distrusted loop a lot because of this. i saw it as the last thing siffrin would need when they already put themselves down so heavily; how they call themselves "stupid" multiple times for any and all mistakes they make and how unforgiving they are to themselves (especially the key hidden in the classroom exemplifies this). but with the knowledge of siffrin and loop starting out as the same person, it makes a stark amount of sense. when you have a mindset similar to siffrin's and loop's, no one will ever be more critical of you than you yourself.

it sometimes feels like loop's forgetting they're not talking to themselves internally and that this is a whole separate being they're talking to that they can't just externalize their own self-hatred onto, enough that they have to backtrack and apologize because hurting yourself in a way that resembles hurting someone else makes you think twice about what you're doing to yourself. there's a healthy dose of regret there, and guilt that they said something you can't easily erase from the mind of the person you said it to.

there is still care in loop's behavior. conversely to the previous statement, nothing will make you more sympathetic to your own plight than literally seeing it from an outsider's perspective and being able to acknowledge that you need help (sidenote, but kinda twisted of the universe to grant loop's wish in the most roundabout way possible. you want someone to help you? okay! help yourself! your other self, but hey, it counts, right?)

(cut here because this is getting out of control and i can't let it appear in unabridged form on anyone's dash, especially on mobile)

as acts go on and quests progress, loop gets these moments of honesty and empathy for siffrin more often. they obviously have been helping before but you know what i mean, don't you. those moments where loop's facade drops and we get a feeling that this isn't them acting, this is their true... shades, lol. examples!!

aftermath of touch therapy! of course they'd know what the root problem here is and how to best help. this is something acutely familiar to them and they're able to tell what siffrin needs to stop spiraling. and!! siffrin reciprocates this! haven't talked ab him and his attitude towards loop specifically a lot but this too is important. i'm rapidly becoming ill btw

forgetting the party's names upon waking up on the meadow and calling loop! it happened to loop before so seeing it happen to another version of you must make one feel... complicated. they patiently remind siffrin each name and make sure they're fine.

honestly, throughout the entirety of the story, but especially by the end of act 4, they find it very crucial to make sure they reassure siffrin they're there for him, that he's not alone in this. they know where feeling completely alone leads.

okay i can't take it anymore i gotta talk about this.

loop so doesn't want siffrin to use the dagger on themselves. it's genuinely heartbreaking to see their distress about the idea

they even try to dissuade siffrin from it later on, when you first attempt to use it, and are very very upset still afterwards

they care about siffrin!! they don't want to see him hurt! they don't want siffrin to befall the same awful fate they met where self-destruction melts into the natural state of being and you just spiral spiral spiral! they don't hate him, and seeing them fall so far from okay that they're fine with stabbing themselves to save time in a time loop where literally no time is wasted because it loops back anyway is awful for them.

this is where loop transforms from the voice in your head pointing out your deepest flaws to one that can tell what you're doing is self-destructive and bad for you and you really, really should stop. the, pardon my wording, tug on your stomach, like the one you get when you're standing over the ledge and looking down. and when you get the stupid thought how easy it would be to fall, your brain reacts by jolting you away. loop is the jolt.

loop is the inner instincts of siffrin personified at many points of the story. sometimes they're hurtful towards him as instincts of a self-destructive person are wont to do, which is justified with them just wanting that other version of themselves to Be Better, Get Better. and sometimes, it's self-preservation they depict; feeling at home with your self and expressing empathy towards yourself and your own awful situation.

when act 5 comes, loop is clearly crushed about not being able to help siffrin out, about not being able to get them out of their despair.

then, just like he's done with everyone else, siffrin rejects loop too. when siffrin shuns loop here, it's out of anger for being kept in the dark, yes, but it's also a rejection of any positive thoughts they might have about themselves.

siffrin's rejection of loop isn't only rejecting one last person they're close to like they did with their family members. it's a rejection of any and all instincts to care for himself and his well-being. it's the same thing that allows him to use crafts with no cooldowns. it's the same thing as memory of emptiness that lets him loop to the point where he died and just keep going. it's what lets mal du pays take form.

this refusal of loop's help is, in my opinion, the ultimate act of self-hatred in isat.

okay depression time over act6 twohats happy times yayy!!!

after a little bit because loop is - kinda justifiably - upset at how their suffering amounted to nothing and now this siffrin gets their happy ending. and they don't!! how is that fair? we have to keep in mind a lot of what we've learned was news to loop too. they spent so long in the loops, not knowing why, to the point where they begged the universe to get them out and help them.

their roles from act 5 essentially swap here. here loop is the one self-destructing and rejecting any help at all, and projecting the hell out of themselves onto siffrin, just like siffrin did in the "friendquests" in act 5.

so i haven't talked a lot about siffrin's outlook on loop before now (when his psyche is not literally split into tiny pieces, that is) but my little pet theory is that, just like they really hate repeating their lines, being all fake, and only do so because they feel they have to, they're often annoyed by loop because they can kind of sense the front they put out. if you hate the way you pretend, these feelings are most likely gonna transpose to another version of you doing the same thing.

but in this fight, the siffrin in it is not the one still trapped in the time loops. this is a siffrin tentatively learning that maybe it's okay to not hate yourself. so, just like act 5 is the greatest act of self-hatred, the ending of this fight is the ultimate act of self-love and self-acceptance, regardless of how it ends but with some caveats to both outcomes.

if siffrin wins, he refuses to hurt loop, stating outright that they don't hate themselves enough to do so. he won't do it even if loop is literally begging for it.

if loop wins, they cannot bring themselves to hurt siffrin. they feel too much empathy towards them. it's impossible to hate him - and themselves - the same after seeing the struggle from outwards.

regardless, they both exhibit the kind of care only you yourself can give yourself after fighting tooth and nail to prove to your own self-esteem that you're worth it. siffrin wouldn't be satisfied with killing loop because it would mean a rejection of some fragment of themselves.

siffrin went through a capital-C Change due to the loops (the theme of change in isat is another thing i could write on and on about), and part of that Change was having a version of you, your past self, still stuck in how they used to be and the situation that made them so. a healthy type of growth means changing for the better, yes, but also learning to love and respect who you used to be. if you met your younger self, would you resent them? or would you want them to know that all their struggles weren't for nothing? Change means leaving something behind but not forsaking it, letting it rot and fester unacknowledged

(insert rant about how isa's Change was actually kind of partial because he decided to completely sever ties with who he used to be instead of being appreciative of the aspects of himself he seems to still like, like being smart, and him resorting to hiding it instead WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME RIGHT NOW ASK ME LATER IF U WANNA but tl;dr actshually isa Change doesn't need to be full-on destruction because the eggshell is still there the Change God told me okay enough of this)

this. this is love. self-love given form. to me.

"you matter. your suffering mattered. it helped me become who i am right now. nothing was in vain. it hurt, and might still hurt for a long time - but it was never for nothing." that's what i got from this scene.

anywayyyyy i warned you!!! that this would be long!! if you let me yap! it's yap central over here. if you got all the way down here, thank you for enduring. have a cupcake :)🧁

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

So. Hear 5. Nika. Loony Tunes Luffy, if you will. Tell us your thoughts on him and any potential meta? 👀 I’ve been aching to hear it from you since we first saw him go Full Silly Boy.

it's hard to answer this, because i have so many thoughts. i'm just going to try and start from the biggest points and move down.

i like gear five a lot, and i think this development feels very appropriate as a culmination of both luffy's character and the themes of one piece as a whole because of how it interacts with three extremely dominant motifs that have reoccurred throughout the story: freedom, laughter, and the sun.

from the very beginning of the story, luffy has acted, in small ways and big, as an agent of complete freedom. from his first meeting with coby to his breakout at impel down to the liberation of wano, what luffy does is destroy systems that control and oppress, if only because they are in his way. every strawhat is somehow trapped and held back from pursuing their own dreams when they meet luffy, and he frees them all, along with hundreds of others along the way, whether he's inspiring shirahoshi to venture outside or crushing yamato's manacles. his talent for this has always seemed almost preternatural.

luffy is not necessarily a benevolent person; he doesn't care much about helping people in the abstract. he's selfish. he values freedom for freedom's own sake, not because of any greater moral convictions. he doesn't think much about the negative knock-on effects of things like causing a mass breakout at impel down, and he doesn't really go around seeking out downtrodden and oppressed people to free out of a charitable or selfless instinct, nor does he really do anything because it's the right thing to do. he's dismissive of the idea that he might be a hero.

but because he is a completely uncontrollable free agent, and he doesn't really want anything but for himself and everyone he cares about to be completely free, he constantly collides with the systems of oppression that control his world, and when those collisions happen, it is the systems that fail, time and time again, because oppressive systems always do eventually. they can't withstand the light of day. and because he lives completely confidently and unapologetically, he is constantly inspiring others to do the same.

so by the time we are told about nika for the first time, we already know that what nika is said to do is what we've seen luffy doing for more than a thousand chapters: he frees people, and inspires them, and makes them laugh.

i also find luffy-as-nika to be very interesting and thematically appropriate when positioned in opposition to the various antagonists in one piece who have declared themselves to be gods, frequently some of its most tyrannical and oppressive villains- enel, the celestial dragons, doflamingo. all enslave and imprison people, robbing them of their freedom.

nika is a god of slaves, and a creature of liberation. the natural enemy, as rosinante might say, of that sort of megalomaniacal 'god.'

one piece has also consistently connected the theme of freedom, as embodied through luffy, with the sun since very early on. the sun pirates, former slaves, used the symbol of the sun to wipe away the brand of the celestial dragons. (and aren't i curious to know what jinbei might know about nika- he never did answer who's who's question about it.) the fishmen more broadly view the sun as something to be reached when they are truly free. on wano, the coming dawn is understood as the coming liberation. impel down and the florian triangle, places of indefinite imprisonment, are lightless dungeons where the sun doesn't reach. the sun is freedom.

and luffy has always been thoroughly sun associated, from the visual of his hat to his origin on dawn island in the east blue, to his ship, the thousand sunny.

finally, one piece has always placed a great deal of emphasis on smiles and laughter (laugh tale, joy boy, roger laughed, etc)- but that joy must be real. it can't be forced. we're told again and again, through koala, dressrosa's toys, and most obviously the victims of the failed SMILE fruits, that to force someone to smile, denying them the right to cry, is nothing less than an atrocity. people can't be forced to be happy- they should be happy because they're free.

luffy in gear five is laughing nigh-constantly, but it's just because he's having so much fun. unlike the victims of the SMILE fruits, his endless joy is genuine, because in this form, he is completely free- nobody can stop him, and nobody can control him. as he says himself, he can do whatever he wants.

i know that some people felt this moment was in some way a deus ex machina, but it just didn't feel that way to me, because of how well it plays on the story's established themes and trajectory, as well as concepts like devil fruit awakening having been established hundreds of chapters back.

luffy is the sun, the sun is freedom, freedom is joy. i think it makes total sense.

[variousqueerthings]

ohohohooooooo we just had s4ep3 👀👀👀👀👀

feel like ive gotta copy-paste some of the thoughts had onto here, rather than rewrite them, but suffice to say for the moment, big big character growth for one ray kowalski

the trajectory from early s3 to now as something that at first was very inward-facing (he's aware that his life isn't what he wants it to be, but he isn't at a point where he can pinpoint why and so he's at that stage of jerkily sharing and then withholding emotions, looking at himself and not taking in how others may feel (stella, fraser), and thinking more about how he feels bad, without knowing yet how to challenge that) to end s3pt1 (commitment to change) to these three episodes:

baseball: growing confidence in himself, less insecurity easy money: putting fraser's story first (on a meta level as well, s3pt1 very much pulled fraser back for a bit, and now he's slowly coming back into focus again at the point when ray is starting to take more action) ladies man: looking at his past and taking responsibility for those actions and how they affected someone else and the idea that it's never too late until it's too late (and he made it just in time!) (also like. none of that was his fault. but you get how he feels like it was his fault. and i think it's more that he probably felt like something was wrong about it all for years and it took him all this time to dare face her and ascertain for the first time that she Didn't kill her husband, so it's less that first mistake, and more the subsequent avoidance of trying to rectify it maybe.... things to think about. i am gonna go ahead and hc that beth and ray remain friends btw)

and throughout, he's been less and less ray vecchio. i believe mentioned off-hand in the first of these, but otherwise, he's stepping more and more into his own shoes/his own skin -- and a lot of it also (maybe?) related to those anger issues he has. because ep3 really started us off with that "hey, remember how ray has some really bad anger issues. let's see if he can make a conscious choice to work through those" which is what he did and ended with "guilt, sadness, shame, regret"... much much harder to feel, but he allowed himself to feel them, at last (and cry)

which is also interesting, because fraser is trying to facilitate that/support him and he's LETTING him now, it's more honest, more Real, unlike the false start back in early s3pt1 (especially episode 4 when ray was tryna work through his stella feelings in.... less than optimal ways... stellar ways.....)... which means im holding out for fraser to fall to pieces a little bit at some point as well, because he is Brittle!!!

if i think of this season as a mirror-ish to one another, albeit sort of shifted, because baseball was a bit of an outlier (bdth/easy money being about fraser losing something pivotal and needing to carry on, eclipse/ladies man dealing with events in ray's past that he feels shame about/hasn't been honest with himself about/needs recontextualisation in the present), potentially around episode seeeeven to mirror bounty hunter? throwing it out there as a maybe maybe, i could be overreading this mirror thing (we'll see)

but point is we're really seeing ray having floundered and struggled to identify his emotions and how to act, rather than react to the world and he's pushing against that! and he's feeling his feelings

(something... SOMEone........ who shall not be named.................... could do with? maybe?) (oh but see fraser's very well-adjusted, because he doesn't ever get angry or sad or lonely ever ever, he's Happy-go-lucky just doin' his job 😔😔😔) (fraser acknowledgement that he imagined killing his "father's killers"/gerrard and me like "i know bby, i saw you point a gun at him and throw a knife next to his head, but it's still 👀👀👀👀 to hear you say it out loud.... but also you're STILL doing it for ray's benefit and not your own, i think!")

[scrumptiousstuffs]

As much as I love talking about how pretty First is (he's so pretty! And as far as anyone knows a total sweetheart which is even better), can we talk about how ridiculously talented he is? He just becomes his characters like sliding on a second skin, it's insane. And the microexpressions and subtle changes in his eyes...I feel like it's such an underappreciated form of acting but he does it so well I never want to stop watching him. And he just keeps getting better and better. I can't wait to see what he does with Kant. Everyone keeps saying that these characters are different from what they've done before so im so curious. And also I'm just ready to have a flirty First character on my screen again.

Well, anon - where do you want to start? I’m going to say upfront, I’m not the most eloquent writer in writing meta or analysing any actors acting capability or their characters on screen.

There are other blogs who write all these beautiful meta re: The Eclipse and Only Friends. @bird-inacage wrote many thoughtful analysis of them. Please feel free to read them. Other links: Link 1. But also, just search for “The Eclipse meta” or “Only Friends meta” and so many good commentary from various blogs will pop up. You may agree or disagree with them but I personally find it fun to read through what other people think of the series and the characters in general.

Anyway, back to your topic of the greatness of First Kanaphan as an actor. I agree with all your statements regarding his acting capabilities.

I am entranced whenever First is on screen - whether he played a suppressed queer teenager in high school or the broken, lonely banker to the gruff bar singer with the heart of gold.

His eyes are expressive and the control he has over his facial muscles…exquisite 👌. The way he shifts from one expression to another with us (the viewers) being able to tell them without that much of a change? - it’s definitely a wow everytime I see it. I mentioned previously in a different ask I find First fluid in his acting.

People will argue his character in Not Me (Yok) is the best out of his current projects. I will argue otherwise.

Yes, Yok allowed First to showcase his poweress in acting. First as Yok was able to show massive range from being loud, stubbornly opinionated, flirty (or slutty in First’s own words) etc. before we see him ultimately breakdown when he got betrayed. Definitely A-class acting 👍.

However as Akk, then Alan followed by Sand - these characters are more reserved at baseline and not as “colourful” of a character as Yok. And to some extent, these roles are more challenging (for any actors) to showcase “range” as they need to be able to internally express it without big emotive or gesture.

But the way First embodied them - with just a slight twitch of his jaw, tightness around his lips or when he allowed his eyes to darken with anger or lust (depending on the situation) - we as the viewers can always tell what the character is feeling, and that’s what make him an amazing actor to watch on screen.

And since this is my blog and I can do whatever I want, I’m putting up examples from each series post Not Me:

1) The Eclipse

When Akk first met Ayan in the teacher’s bathroom and saw Ayan’s tattoo - we (and Akk) all got distracted by Ayan’s sexy tattoo. But the quick flick of Akk’s eyes 👀 to that tattoo followed by the slight widening of his eyes and then shifting to hardening his glare while at the same time quick gulp of his throat? - all of that occurred within seconds….and I remember watching this scene thinking oh, Akk definitely has some unwanted thoughts on the new kid

Or when they were wrestling on the judo mat, and Akk pinned Ayan down - teasingly asked the latter to try and free himself. He was smiling down at Ayan but the minute Ayan slide those arms around his neck, the way his smile faded and you can see gay panic in those eyes….

They are of course so many more examples including Akk mini-conversation with his mom at night when he hesitantly tried to explain the pressure he was under at school but ultimately chickened out cause he didn’t want to burden him mom (and you could see this written all over his face).

2) Moonlight Chicken

There was a previous ask, where that anon said he found Alan the most pathetic character out of all of First’s projects. And I will again reiterate here, with the limited amount of screen time he had, First sparkled whenever he came on screen.

The way you can tell his frustration over his destroyed relationship while trying to cling on it cause he just doesn’t know what he did wrong for Wen was painful for us viewers to watch. And I don’t know about you, my heart breaks for him when he broke down after Wen finally screamed at him that he only slept with Alan cause he felt sorry for him - you can again see the flick/shift from anger in Alan’s face to shock disbelief and humiliation when Wen said that to him. You could see the self-loathing in his face after Wen left the living room. And as he silently cried on the floor of their apartment, I cried with him.

Or when Alan finally had his talk with Wen at the bbq restaurant, you could read the quiet resignation in Alan’s face as Wen finally break it off for good by sliding his promise ring back to him.

3. Only Friends

Even from the first episode, when he brought Ray back to his apartment - after Ray puked his guts out and as Ray snuggled on Sand’s shoulder - you could read the half amusement, half exasperation on his face while they both just sat on that bathroom floor.

Or when Ray finally got his chance with Mew, and Sand saw them dancing in the club. We see the wistful, sad boba eyes of his. And when Ray confronted him outside the bar, that cracked in his voice as he told Ray “you and I were never friends.” - yeah, my heart again breaks for him.

Or how about the angry-lust driven kiss in that music room (before Top interrupted them). You could see the mixture of anger, almost despair in Sand eyes, the tightness in his jaw and you could see the tremble in his lips. But even with all that, us as viewers clocked on how much he loves Ray (Ray knows that too…hence why he pounced and kiss Sand)

Plus when Sand confronted Top at the hospital - the narrowed eyes, the low, even tone of his voice where you know he is just barely holding on to his temper

I can go on and on…but I’ll stop here.

Anyway, like you, I’m looking forward to seeing more of him as Kant - I have no doubt we will see him nail it as a flirt (or as First keeps insisting, sugar daddy?). However, I’m also looking forward to see his interactions with Babe, Style and Fadel cause I’m sure we will be blessed with more masterclass in microexpression!

[ppeonppeonhan]

Me, before I saw Ep. 6 of Every You, Every Me: This is a really interesting concept. Each episode is a different love story, but the main couple is played by the same actors. The actors even have different hairstyles, jobs, lifestyles, and gender expressions each time -- as they act out common BL story tropes.

Me, halfway through Episode 6: Ohhhhh it's meta!! Episodes 1 through 6.5 were the movies that these two actors starred in together while they fell in love off screen, and now the real drama begins as one tries to get the other to accept their decision to quit their BL pairing, and become a director. [Immediately googles to see if this is about anyone in particular. 👀] (P.S. They actually reveal it in a post-credits scene in Ep. 4, but I was crying too hard from the sad ending of that storyline to watch what I thought was an extra scene. Smh)

Anyway, I really like how this story structure not only allowed the actors to show their range, but it showed the range of the queer community as archetypes. I...did get bored once it came back to reality, but I hope it inspires other actors to step out of their comfort zone and well-known personas.

Top was out here serving looks like a Vers king.

[cali-kabi]

~ May I present you with some Metadad 👀🫐🦇💫okay so I saw a picture the other day of a bat wrapping it’s child in its wings and I immediately thought of Meta Knight so doing this with little Kirby ;w; he indeed protect take care of the pink child 🥺💖🫐

[milevenstancyendgame]

In Defense Of Mike

Sometimes antis inspire you to write meta - I don't know why, but today I feel like going through these Mike accusations that someone left on my Eleven post, lol:

No one talks shit about my boy Mike on my post.😎

-"And not to make this about shipping because El is her own person and should be discussed outside of ships, BUT" - goes on long ass shipping discourse.

You nailed it right there, buddy.😂

-"Mike babies her throughout their relationship":

I think it's so funny that those who are on the fence shouting about El needing to break up with Mike, to be independent, are doing exactly what they accuse Mike of doing (gaslight much?). You're willfully ignoring her love for Mike, which is canonical, projecting your own dislike of him onto her, like you know what's best for her. You're babying her.

So when does he baby her? I can't think of any time, but since you also said that he's protective and "El wants to be trusted and supported", I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're talking about SOME scenes between El and Mike in s3.

I think it's funny that antis wave Mike's protectiveness over El in s3 as though it was some big red flag.

Like, ya'll act as though he wanted to lock her up in the cabin. Oh wait, that was Hopper in s2, actually. I don't see you hating on Hopper though, even though he's an adult.

Mike is worried and traumatised from losing El several times before. Yes, he doesn't know how to deal with this, but like you keep saying, El is her own person and should be respected as such.

So what does El do? She shows that she doesn't like it, and in an intimate moment away from the over-the-top comedy of s3, she tells him "I need you to trust me".

And how does Mike react? Did you actually watch that? Because it doesn't sound like it. He ACCEPTS what she says IMMEDIATELY, even gives Max an acknowledging glance, and backs off, letting her do her thing.

Like this right there. That's growth.

And that's him doing exactly what you say El needs - that's trusting, supportive, and letting her decide for herself. Which, by the way, he has been doing the whole time and continues to do.

He apologies to her and shows that he has been self-reflecting, and is overly hard on himself. He's aware that he was jealous and that he doesn't know how to deal with his strong love for El.

That's healthy and wholesome, and also huge for a 14-year old emotionally neglected boy, who has no blueprint for a healthy romantic relationship.

But no, you don't want to see this. Nor anything else, apparently. Just literally this ONE DAY on which he was overwhelmed and worrying about El. And you interpret that as "babies her throughout their relationship". That is…wild.

-"Mike puts El on a pedestal" & "Mike never compliments El's personality" :

Wow, this feels like the most unjust accusation of all. You interpret him thinking and telling her she's a superhero as putting her on a pedestal?

First of all, how can you do that, when you just said that he babies her throughout.😆 It almost seems like your various views about him are incompatible...maybe because they're not founded on reality...👀

He's the one who constantly reminds everyone else that El is not a machine, that she has limits, that she has human needs...seriously, have you watched the show? S1? When everyone saw her as a problem or a weirdo or a traitor or a monster or a criminal or a science experiment....and he was the one who treated her for what she was - a scared, friendless child in danger. An equal. A friend.

How come you're not hating on Dustin and Lucas? Maybe you're able to see how they changed? Or Max, because she's in awe of El in s2 and in s3 is 100%ly confident that she will be able to defeat the monster on her own? Maybe you're able to see that she had a normal reaction to finding out about someone's super powers and that she simply was mistaken? Or Steve, because he refers to her as "this girl with superpowers that we usually rely on"? Maybe you're able to see that this didn't reflect any dehumanising on his part?

Oh, but Mike is different of course.🙄

Mike never treats El as anything else but his equal. If he actually put her on a pedestal, he'd constantly be like: "Oh, but I'm sure El can fix it!" for every problem they have, and he'd be disappointed and shocked to witness her humanity - her flaws, her needs, her imperfections.

Well, he doesn't. On the contrary, he tries to provide for her every need, reminding others of them, is worried about her overexerting herself (which you hated on a moment ago, but now strangely seem to have forgotten), and never pushes her to fight for them. He's also always the one who wants to provide a back-up for her, to not let her fight alone or do everything for them (like in the caves in s2, or in s3 when they try to overturn the car in the mall).

Okay, and my personal favourite: "He also does this with Dustin and Will" So I'm guessing you're referring to Mike telling Dustin in s1 that his cleidocranial dysplasia is like a superpower, after being bullied; and in s2, when he tells Will he's like a super-spy now. And of course telling El that she's a superhero.

And you think this is bad????????

😳

Sorry, I just....HOW? He's literally reassuring Dustin that he not only accepts him as he is, but that his difference is cool, he compares him to the coolest people they know and admire, the super heroes from comics. He's trying to cheer him up after he got humiliated for being different. I mean...I guess if he had given him a hug, you would have found a way to interpret that as bad.😬

And the same with Will - he sees that his friend is barely keeping it together, he's rightly panicking, because he's possessed by an interdimensional monster, but Mike finds a way to distract him, invite his mind to see things in a different way that actually EMPOWERS him, reassuring him that they won't let the monster spy back, and again, this is bad, because?

Or do you mean it's only bad when he does it with El?😂 Because it's the same thing. He's trying to reassure her that she's not a monster, that he loves her.

And once again - when she shows in s4 that she doesn't like something he's doing (not saying "I love you"), he accepts that, he feels bad, and tries to give her exactly what she asked for at the next opportunity!

Apparently you didn't see that either.

And "he never compliments her personality". How many hoops do you want him to jump through?🤣

Mike shows that he loves and respects El all the time, he doesn't need to say "You have an awesome personality." for El to feel that. And she never expressed any need for that. Does Hopper compliment Joyce's personality to her face? Did Joyce do that for Hopper? Did Nancy do that for Steve or Jonathan or vice versa? Did Max say that to Lucas? I guess Lucas is the only one who really loves his partner, because he did that once.🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

Oh, and of course, the whole monologue at the end of s4 doesn't count, because. "I love you on your good days, I love you on your bad days, I love you without your powers, I love you with your powers...I love you exactly for who you are."

That's somehow not valid, hm?

Mike can't win in your eyes, because you don't want him to. This is called scapegoating, btw.

Lastly, it's strange that you have a reference to him in your username, when you clearly think he's so horrible and accuse him of all this...together with a reference to Will...hmm...how mysterious....🙄🙄🙄 Almost like you had double standards for a certain agenda.🤔

*Drops mic*

[minamorsart]

What , And how did you start pairing lotura, And Plance .?

Ooooh boy am I excited to answer this!!! This is going to be a long answer, hope you don't mind! Because I have some specific memories about these two ships, particularly lotura, that I would absolutely love to share with you!

Prepare for a long read! Hehe

Starting with lotura, when season 3 came out and Lotor made his debut, of course I was all 👀👀👀 Because that day something awoke in 19 year old me that I didn't realize could ever be awoken lol. And I wish I could remember exactly what my reaction was to his cat-and-mouse chase with Allura in the episode "The Hunted", but at the time I must not have considered the idea of them ever going in the direction of a romance. Looking back now though, how could I have been so blind??! That chase scene is HOT. I mean just look at them!!! Look at Lotor especially woah mama 😳

Season 4 was mediocre to me at the time, I will confess, for a lot of different reasons. But then season 5, man... SEASON 5!!!! I remember it was March 3rd, 2018. I wasn't keeping up with the show anymore, but I just so happened to see an article online that said season 5 had been released the day before on Netflix. I told my sister and we decided, "eh, let's watch at least the first episode."

And we watched the first episode, alright. And then another, and then another and another until we watched all six episodes in one sitting. We were both blown away! Lotor... Allura... together???? 😲

Their adventures, their chemistry, their clear attraction to one another... I was OBSESSED!!! I shipped them hardcore after that. They were and are still my #1 OTP, and it's because of them that I really tried to work hard and improve my art! I wanted to draw them all the time, making mini comics and AUs, and while their tragic ending actually left me in tears and I was upset for a really long time, I can now say that I have been able to heal and move on from it--eh, mostly anyway, haha.

It still hurts, but 5 years later I feel that I've matured and come to a greater understanding and acceptance. I have come to really appreciate how perfect they are for each other, both aesthetically of course (cuz lookit that sexual dimorphism babeyyy) as well as the many, many things they have in common. I have also come to appreciate their flaws, their imperfections, and the mistakes they made regarding each other and their relationship. They may have gotten a sad ending, but they were still truly equals in every way. It's just beautiful, and my love for them now is stronger than ever :')

For Lance and Pidge on the other hand, it's not quite as clear as when I started shipping them! I remember rolling my eyes at Lance and Allura's first meeting, like "okay Lance is one of THESE guys, here we go 🙄"

Other than that I didn't really ship Lance or Pidge with anyone! If I'm recalling correctly, I don't think it wasn't until after season 6 that I started shipping them together. I remember reading metas and analyses of their relationship that people were making in anticipation for season 7's release, and the more I thought about it, the more I started to really like the idea of Lance and Pidge getting together! And there are definitely subtle hints throughout the earlier seasons of Pidge's feelings for Lance, as well as their fun chemistry with one another, like the episode "Space Mall"!

The hints are not so subtle to me now, but back then it wasn't until I watched season 7 that I actually became hopeful that they could be a couple! I especially loved the moments when Pidge indirectly called Lance "cute, in a creepy, hideous sort of way" lol, and when Lance become very protective over Pidge in such a way that I don't think we ever saw him react before! I was honestly taken aback by that moment!

And again, their ending was definitely less than satisfactory, particularly Lance's ending (still hate it with a passion), but just like with Lotura's relationship, I have also come to appreciate many things about Plance's relationship today. While Lotor and Allura have so much in common and are able to reach an understanding with each other that they can't with anyone else, it would seem at first that Pidge and Lance are far too different to be compatible. And it is true that they are very different, but for one, that can be a good thing! The foundations of some relationships are built off of their differences. It can make someone more compassionate and more open-minded when they have a willingness to accept and appreciate the differences they have with their partner, and a willingness to take a genuine interest in the things that their partner is passionate about, even if they don't completely understand.

And two, at the same time, Pidge and Lance DO have things in common! They both love their families, both have a stronger connection to Earth compared to the other paladins, and they are able to bond with one another over fun pastimes such as video games! How cute is that??!

And just like with Lotor and Allura, I also love Pidge and Lance for their flaws. It did take me a while to come around to Lance, because while he has his funny moments and one-liners, I also found him very annoying at times lol. But I think the fact that he can be really annoying honestly makes him the most realistic character in Voltron. Not necessarily the most relatable, at least not for me, but definitely the most human! Because there are people in our real lives that we love and cherish deeply, but they absolutely have their moments where you go, "ugh, you're so annoying and it really frustrates me when you act this way" but we still wouldn't trade them for the world 🥰

And just to draw one last comparison between Lotura and Plance, I especially LOVE how incredibly different the two pairings are even from each other! To me, Lotor and Allura are sexy and passionate, while Pidge and Lance are pure and fun! They're all so unique and special in their own ways, and they bring so much to the table, both for their characters and for their relationships.

I can't help but write essays every time I get asks, I'm so sorry lol 😭 There's so much more I could say about these guys, but I think I'd better stop here haha! I had a lot of fun writing about Lotura and Plance, and I hope you had just as much fun reading this! I really love these characters a lot. I'm so incredibly grateful that they exist, even if in the form of fiction, and I'm even MORE grateful that my love for them has continued to grow over the years. Thank you so much for the ask!!!! 💖💜💙💚

Oh and one last thing: we were robbed of a lot of different potential interactions with a lot of different characters, but I have to say it would have been fun to see more of Lotor and Lance interacting with each other! Lance was always acting out due to his jealousy, while Lotor on the other hand mostly just ignored him lol.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Aita for bluntly telling a telling a friend I don't want to discuss *media* with them after them not taking the hint for a couple months?

I read a serialized manga —nothing mega popular like op or jjk but popular— as do many other folks excluding this friend from a different fandom. This manga fandom is full of shippers who can't figure out how fan shipping works so they shit on the manga for not making their headcanons true. They'll call the author illiterate fetishizer over ships and frankly most of them read it through other fans' tweets or tiktoks so I don't care for those opinions regardless. I think the manga doesn't deserve the hate and real readers who look up meta or volume extras enjoy it more. Needless to say I have my own fave ships with varying degree of canon backing, and I'm a "hag" fan I make my own food without resorting to bashing someone's work.

This dear friend of mine has been on and off into this manga for about a year, has been part of a server that's full of Those shippers, but also talk to me and another mutual separately when they remember we also like it. Problem is that their opinion about the manga changes according to who they're talking to, if it's us two individuals this manga is aight, good shit, if it's the server girlies they Loathe that manga it burned their crops— the latter is their real opinion I have proof of that. Naturally I don't enjoy discussing it with them but lately every time there's a new chapter they comes knocking, "Omg did you see 👀? My fyp was saying this and this"

One time I had dismissed them saying I hadn't read it to discuss anything, I fell into a habit of saying this again and making other excuses while being publicly open about hating the manga hate bandwagon over ships. They should have noticed this but I can't be sure. This week again they wanted to talk but I was pretty upset about something at work so I went unfiltered and ranted just a little bit. My sister believes they use me to form discussion topics for their server which was also bugging me. I said to them, "You should start reading the manga if you want to discuss it. I'm getting tired of correcting you and you should know I can see what you tell your other friends so can you quit making contradicting comments in my dms?"

They got really mad and started subtweeting me so I blocked them. Replies to them are still visible and I saw another mutual tell them whoever didn't communicate nicely was a bad friend and it's sad that a long time friend would break up over ships. I'm having a little guilt feeling now because I was really not in my best mood yesterday.

I can't say I'm new to this sort of inane arguments over ships especially in today's fandom climate, but them being all Jekyll and Hyde to desperately be part of the conversation while never reading the manga first hand is still crazy to me. This could have been a nonissue.

So was I the asshole or are we both in the wrong? please share if you faced something similar or like what my sis said.

—💜

[panicroomsammy]

do you have any weecest fic recommendations? 👀

YES! I’ve actually been compiling a list, here’s what I have so far:

Hands Away - 12 year old Sam and 16 year old Dean. One of my favorite things I’ve ever read. Kind of disturbing and (imo) treated realistically.

Dioscouri - sex potion fic. Most of it isn’t weecest but there are flashbacks and all of it is hot.

(Not) Right in the Head - middle school age Sam discovers sex scenes in romance novels and one thing leads to another. I was going to finish this rec list last night but I actually wound up rereading this one instead lol.

A freak who’s searching for redemption - extremely heavy bdsm while also being so much fun and tooth rottingly sweet.

I’ve Got A Hand For You - Dean helps 14 year old Sam to jerk off. From this rec list.

Head Games - Sam is 12 and there are mentions of younger. The closest I have found to what I actually want to read.

Honorable mention: my own meta post

I figure you sent this ask because of my tags on that one post where I said if you saw the weecest I want to read you’d hurl, but unfortunately the keyword here is “want.” I haven’t actually found very much, though I think it’s understandable that not much exists considering writing extreme underage is uncomfortable even for me. I am planning to write a fic similar to what’s in my meta post at some point though!

Edit: there’s is now a part two to this rec list

[valar-did-me-wrong]

Adar thoughts if you're up!!

Who do you think Adar would have seen as a co-parent if he saw himself as father of Orcs and Uruk? Mairon himself? another fallen avari? would Galadriel be able to overcome the challenges to go into that role if Adar desired it, or is she too "anti-Orc" for that? Or is he just a single parent?

And if he had/does live into the Third Age, what would his feelings and attitude towards Saruman be?

Ooooooooo interesting questions!! (Sorry for not replying right away, asks just dumb me down everytime 🙈)

I'd like to start by saying in my head when I think of Adar this is how I see these questions answered & I bet a lot of amazing fan fic writers & meta discussions have influenced most of these opinions..

1. Who do you think Adar sees as a co-parent if he sees himself as father of Uruks?

I believe he alone was not the sole father of the Uruks, he's just the last surviving one. I believe all of the Moriondor were involved in the process & Sauron was not physically involved in the process (Adar might have held love for Sauron in the beginning but I believe Sauron despises the Uruk too much to be involved in birthing them in any sense. He was just the mastermind evil scientist breaking elven biologies and bodies enough to create Uruk from them)

I see it as a few dozens of Uruk descending from each Moriondor and then interbreeding among themselves there after.

The other Moriondor mustn't have been strong enough to survive through the ages, or something prevented Adar from dying off like them (maybe Sauron's favour because he was obsessed with him or just his grit & resilience which might have made Morgoth to consider him for a bigger role in his army!)

So I believe he sees himself and the other Moriondors as co-parents while they survived and then himself as a single parent..

Whichever poor elleths were involved in the process (which must have been torturous for them and Adar both because my Adar is not a sadist & I'll die on this hill) he believes them more as victims than willing parents and is confident they must hate the children born out of their unions just as much as they must hate their abusers the Moriondor & the dark lords.

2. Would Galadriel be able to overcome the challenges to go into that role if Adar desired it or is she too anti orc for that?

Let me put on my Adariel tinfoil hat & scream out how much I LOVE THEM real quick! 👀

Okay, so the way he forgave Galadriel for the uruk-killings I fully believe that means he would have let her take that role eventually.

Though I think that would have taken an age on both sides to learn & let go. And more than that for the Uruks to accept her. But as Second age is a tragedy, I don't think the Uruk could have been saved in canon 2nd age even if Adar is saved.

(ofcourse in a fix it they are saved! In my fix it the Uruks & Adar have Mordor, they have successful trades starting up & Sauron is shipped away to Valinor)

3. And if he had/does live into the Third Age, what would his feelings and attitude towards Saruman be?

Hmmm now there are two places he can live in till 3rd age, either Rivendell or Lothlorien.

(though for the show's story I'd have planned his death in the Battle of Last Alliance but JD & Patrick cowarded out maybe because of the time limit.. though Adar living to see Bilbo is my fix it fantasy ngl)

In both the scenarios and all of shipping & non shipping perspectives, I believe Adar's behaviour to Saruman & Gandalf would be pretty much the same.

He would distrust them & judge them personally for a long while because he has a lot of experince of Maiar which was horrible! I think eventually he will hear of Gandalf's friendships with mortals who seem not exactly men & those stories warm him up to Gandalf.

But Saruman's personality always reminds him of Mairon so he never really gets too comfortable with him & is the first one to doubt him when signs start to show.