#She keeps on trusting them and they keep on betraying

[space-blue]

Fixing Vander and Silco's story (a bit)

Using canon events! Sadly we can't actually fix it, but I hope this makes it a little better. I make my own edit proposal at the end that changes the bar scene to include Felicia without issues.

They meet in the mines, and meet Felicia and her partner there too. They end up together somehow (I think we can put the brotherly allegations to rest now, eh?) and one of them (or both) inherit/buy a bar.

Although Vander is the barman, there is no indication Silco doesn't own or co-own the place. After all he comes to take it eventually as his own, and he's still not bartending. That's just not his gig.

It's implied that Vander and Silco made it, as in, got away from the mines, while Felicia clearly didn't, as she comes home to both her daughters with mining gear and gloves.

So despite Vander and Silco building the Lanes together, the mines aren't closed, and the work "isn't done".

Felicia says they've done it, and Vander is happy to celebrate their success. Meanwhile, Silco has his "NoZ" Nation of Zaun book in which he's scribbling, still planning.

Vander's first memory that Viktor sees even has Silco holding that book.

Later, in season 1 episode 3, we see that Vander tells Silco that he had Vander's respect, the Lanes' respect, but it "was never enough".

There's also this fakeout moment in the memory at the bar, where Vander says they're done, and Silco replies with "You're gravely mistaken". And I thought he was going to go all zealous and say "We'll only be done when we have the Nation of Zaun", but no, he claims he's Bozo 1.

And imo, he is probably right. He calls out Vander in act 1 saying "I trusted you and you betrayed me", and Vander does not contest this. It makes the most in character sense as well that Silco is the brains of the operation while Vander is the brawn.

And we can conclude that Silco's goals were always "bigger" and that the Lanes were indeed not enough.

Years pass, during which we can only assume Silco keeps building his Nation of Zaun and Vander happily bartends and manages the Lanes with Silco. Felicia keeps working the mines and raises Vi, then Powder.

Vi is at least 11, if not more, by the time she's on the bridge. This is just consistent with her model, but also to make her 18+ by the time of act 2.

It's a long ass time for Vander and Silco to be running a bar and the Lanes together. Even assuming Vi is more 8 or 9yo, Vander and Silco spend all that time being together.

Sadly, their models aren't aged very well.

We are also forced here to make some unfortunate assumptions.

It's not a problem, IMO, for Silco to know Felicia and be close to her. It's a problem for him to not be close to Vi and Powder too. Close enough to recognise them at least.

It's easy to say, "Well, Felicia went back to the mines and raised her kids and wasn't super involved with Vander and Silco, who lived much higher up in their bar." Adult friendships and all that.

IT MAKES SENSE, but then it makes zero sense that Vander would murder his life's partner, a man he's been with 10 years at MINIMUM (fuck knows how long they were together while in the mines), over the death of a friend in a revolt they allegedly BOTH participated in.

The memories also imply that Silco is responsible somehow, for throwing a molotov. And yet the molotov doesn't kill the enforcer.

But Vander is shown in the opening of Act 1 season 1 pummeling one to death himself, long after the rest of the revolt has died down. That enforcer wasn't getting back up lol

So whatever we pick, because the writers made Felicia and Silco close, they create a plot hole either way.

Either Vander is whacko and murders his husband over a dead friend at a revolt he set up (since he repeatedly apologises for what he did, and claims he "lost his head after she died" and had that guilt on his hands too)

Or Silco and Vi and Powder spend ALL of season 1 acting like they don't know each other at all. Then Silco takes in Powder and somehow never comments on the fact he was friends with her mom.

Everything being triggered by Felicia's death also means that Vander's emotional thematic moment dropping the gauntlets after seeing what his violence led to is then followed up by a horrible attempted murder on the love of his life, which is... you know. Bad writing.

So I propose that they indeed drift apart. Silco knows of Felicia's kids, and they hangout a bit, but they aren't that close. She's busy mining and being a mom, and Silco is busy making the safe Zaun he promised to deliver.

The creation of that Zaun leads them to act out revolts and uprisings. Vander is happy to follow. He's angry, like he tells Vi. And this manifests in violence. Silco points his violence. It's how they create the Lanes and the moniker of Hound of the Underground. A hound usually has a master, after all.

Vander is Silco's hound, and I think, in Vander's mind this absolves him of some of the consequences of his actions.

So when his friend dies on the Bridge, even if they haven't been that close in a while, well, it's easy to put the blame on Silco.

Since we're following the new canon timeline... we'll have to have him go back with the girls, ready to turn a new leaf.

I think the best way here is to have him either dropping them at an orphanage, or back at their home (trusting Vi to look after Powder for a while) or with friends.

That way, Vi and Powder aren't immediately in Silco's legs back at the drop.

Then Vander and Silco take part in the "clean up" at the bridge. They go get bodies, and since they have no real estate in the fissures, they commit them to the sea (we have canon monsters in there, so I'm sure it all gets gobbled up).

That way, we explain why Vander is weirdly shaved, and why Silco and him are at in the Pilt: they just commited the bodies of the fallen to the waters.

There may have been many others, but Silco and Vander stay there, in the shallows, as they talk.

Vander is done. He doesn't want more of this. He thinks Silco went too far with pushing this one to the bridge. Piltover got defensive and they lost too many people.

Silco doesn't get it. Where he goes, so does Vander, but Vander is his own man, he decided to come too, and he killed enforcers too. Felicia's death is tragic, but as he later will tell Renni about the death of her son: at least she died fighting for the cause, and not some petty infighting, or worse, an accident at the shitty mines.

Vander, the Hound, is not only mad with grief, he refuses to carry the blame of his own actions. It's a character flaw and that's fine! The angry man channels that anger with violence, the only way he knows how.

Silco is probably shocked, and may not say the right things to calm Vander down.

Silco is under the assumption that Vander BELIEVES IN HIS DREAM. That he's a true believer of the Nation of Zaun, like Sevika turns out to be. A true believer would understand sacrifice. A true believer would understand too, that stopping now, after Felicia's death, would make THAT VERY DEATH POINTLESS.

So maybe he screams at Vander! What do you MEAN abandoning the fight? What do you mean, being content with the Lanes? How dare you? You'd make her sacrifice meaningless! You'd make Felicia die a pointless death!

And Vander would bellow that it's over. No more death. No more bloodshed. He rescued her kids from that bridge, and they don't deserve to die too, they don't deserve to see more death.

And Silco screams back that it's their job to create Zaun so these children won't have to see more death. Vander is just delaying the struggle.

And then, perhaps, Silco may even mock him. Say that Vander can't change like that. That he's not that sort of person, to just hang up his gauntlets and go peaceful. That Felicia's blood is on his hands too, and that the only way out is through more blood, more sacrifice.

It would be a horrible point to make, if then Vander truly loses it. Silco runs, and Vander's hound comes out, just grabbing Silco and trying to drown him.

It would be poetic, because then Vander goes home in shame. Gets his arm patched up, hides the scar under a brace, collects the kids and tries to pretend like HE CAN BE THAT MAN. Even though he surrendered his gauntlets and metaphorical violence, and tries to lean into the bartender chill persona, there's what he did to Silco.

And later he'll tell Vander "I'll show you what you really are". Because Silco knows that Vander's promises of being a peaceful good dad are flimsy at best.

Anyway, Vander goes home, and eventually the impact of what he's done really hits him. He's single now, and with kids, and the Lanes to run, and nobody knows where Silco is.

Vander slowly realises Silco was right about one thing. Just because Vander followed, doesn't mean he wasn't behind that event on the bridge. Becoming the solo leader of the Lanes has to have hammered that home for him. Suddenly so much responsibility thrust on him.

So Felicia's death was on him too, and his actions against Silco are the proof that he is indeed the sort of man Silco said he was. At any rate, surrendering violence as his first reaction to any trigger will take a lot of work.

He goes to their old hideout and leaves a letter for Silco.

In the happy AU, Silco finds it, and returns to Vander BEFORE ever meeting Singed. There is no glowing eye, no shimmer, and no cannery.

In our AU, Silco never finds the letter. He finds Singed instead. Starts helping him develop shimmer.

I've been thinking that since the goal of shimmer is a form of "keeping alive" and also "bringing back to life", then it's possible that Silco's glowing eye is a byproduct of shimmer experimentation.

And that the only way to keep it alive and function is more shimmer injections. It would otherwise be grey and dead like in the Nice AU.

So Singed is also a factor here. He gives our Silco a real way to deal scary violence to Piltover. And this changes our Silco. He's more radicalised, and more opposed to Vander, having discovered that Vander works with Grayson to keep Zaun under Piltover's boot (basically making sure the boot stays, but doesn't press down too hard).

Vander is, as always, the enforcer of the status quo.

And though this works for them timeline wise, it sadly doesn't change the fact that Silco should know who Vander's kids are.

Vi and Jinx can be excused for not recognising him, what with him being one of their mom's adult friends, and scarred. But Silco doesn't have that luxury. His great friend Felicia had two very distinctive kids, ONE OF WHICH VANDER FUCKING NAMED! And her death triggered his husband so badly he tried to kill Silco over it. If anything, Silco would be hyper-aware of Felicia's kids.

And no amount of alternate fix-its changes that. It's permanent damage to season 1's Silco.

I feel like we can fix Vander's side of things by inventing an entire scene at the Pilt as I did above, but we can't fix 10 years of knowing your friend's kids and then a lifetime of acting like you don't know them.

I think it also cheapens the found family aspect of both Vander and Silco's adoption. You're left to wonder if they took in the girls only because they were friends with the mom.

Silco's adoption of Jinx and co-dependence with her was great because it spoke of the similar shape of their traumas, and how unexpected their bond seemed.

But now it's redolent of friendly obligation. And lies.

How would I fix it by keeping Felicia in the picture?

I would fully remove Felicia's one-on-one with the boys. That night at the bar? It's a party. Young Sevika is here too!

Felicia and many others are there, all congratulating Vander and Silco over the creation of the Lanes. Eventually Silco tires of the social niceties and goes to write in his notebook at the bar. Or maybe there's a montage of the night as the crowds thin.

In the end, Silco is writing, and Vander is still socialising. He talks to 3 people--Felicia, her husband, and a random person. They thank him for all his work. They've done it! And the conditions in the mines are so much better now thanks to XYZ!

Vander is beaming, he's just so pleased. It's clear for him this is the end goal. Felicia asks him, pointing to Silco, if he's okay.

Vander laughs, says Silco is fine, but he's already got his head back in the clouds. You see, Silco doesn't just want the Lanes, he dreams of a free Nation of Zaun.

The other 2 laugh, but Felicia sobers up. She rubs her belly, thoughtful. Then she says "Sounds like a dream worth fighting for."

I don't think she even needs to say anything about being pregnant, but she could go on with something like "I'm expecting. A girl, I think. I know. And I would love if she could grow in a safe city. I'm so scared she'll have to live the way I did, growing up.'

And Vander smiles sadly and tells her, 'We've gotten this far, and we're not going back. We'll make Zaun safe for your kiddo, I promise you that.'

And that's it.

Vander knows OF Felicia. She is a community member. He knows her enough, maybe from Lanes meetings, that eventually he can recognise her children. But they're not friends, and SILCO definitely isn't friends.

And the disagreement after the bridge is fully about where to go from then on, and Vander deciding he wants to run the Lanes and keep them safe, that what they have now is good enough, while Silco wants "more".

That disagreement can turn nasty, and the fact Vander tried to drown Silco becomes a statement about how violent and temperamental he is as "The Hound of the Underground". Something he'll regret soon enough and spend the next few years working hard to try and change.

What do you think?

[piesafterdark]

Arcane Season 2 Spoilers, In Defense of Vi

Imagine you go to free your sister from jail, and she punches you in the ribs and locks you in the cell. Then, she says "you don't need to worry about me, you deserve to be with her. There is no good version of me." When you ask "what are you going to do" she says "break the cycle."

I'd think she just used me to escape and go off to do fuckshit.

Rewatching that scene from Vi's point of view, it's not obvious that Jinx means that she's going to commit suicide. It could come off as Jinx going rogue and solving the Piltover/Zaun dispute by doing a secret third thing. Plus, this is Jinx finally giving Vi permission to pursue the woman she loves, who she'd been holding back from because of Jinx and Cait hating each other.

Onto the sex scene. Vi instantly is apologetic for believing her sister would change and help them, which led to her escape. She expects to be reprimanded because now a criminal that Cait literally hates is on the loose. But what does Cait do? She says "You really think I needed all the guards at the Hexgates?" Analyze this with me. Sure it can come off as "I waved off the guards, lets make out." But with the context of what Vi said: "Say it. You told me so. I was an idiot to trust her. I went behind your back. I choose wrong every time. And because of it, I've lost everyone." Cait's going to talk about Jinx. Cait deliberately left the prison poorly guarded so Jinx could escape, because she knew that Vi would try to free Jinx, but she also knew that Jinx would betray Vi("Had a feeling I might find you here."). Cait basically let Jinx go, meaning that her vendetta against Jinx is resolved. Another thing keeping Caitvi apart just dismantled.

Also, Cait knows Vi so well omg

Vi, finally being allowed to pursue Caitlyn at her sister's behest and knowing loving her sister isn't an issue to Cait anymore, is no longer in emotional turmoil choosing between two people she loves. Hence, the emotional relief manifesting in the infamous sex scene.

[adashulaz]

You can see how hurt Steb is, but it's most likely not physical.

Steb and Maddie were introduced at the same time, they approached Vi and Loris together. Maddie being much more open and talkative compared to Steb. And now, we know that Maddie is a Junior Officer when we first meet her and it's safe to assume the same for Steb. It's also safe to assume that Steb and Maddie are close due to their shared rank, they probably started training to be an enforcer at the same time based on this assumption. This would make them close, probably friends. Maddie is very clearly friendly while Steb doesn't seem to be the same, typical friend stuff imo, but she probably approached him anyways because she wanted or needed a friend.

A friend that she could fall back on incase people learn that there's a spy or a friend that she could push the blame onto incase that happens. Steb, someone who seems to keep to himself, would be the perfect person for that. It helps that most enforcers seem to be human compared to not, the idea of a spy would immediately cause people to point fingers at non-human enforcers like Steb. Maddie would know that, Ambessa would probably tell her to do something like that so she could keep her spy, and so she turned Steb into someone could either fall back on or stick the blame on. Either way, Steb is a backup plan for her. But first, she would have to establish a bond with him. So she did, making it seem like they truly were friends, best friends even.

When Maddie revealed herself to be a spy during that fight, it would hurt Steb. Maddie, possibly his only friend, betrayed him and played him like a cheap kazoo. It would sting, probably more than inhaling the gray. All because Maddie made it seem like they're friends, close friends at that. But now he's on his knees, most likely about to die after watching Maddie kill their captain/commander. That hurts, that hurts more than anything because Maddie clearly doesn't care about him or anyone else hence why she's a spy.

Not only that, but Steb probably feels ashamed. He can barely look Caitlyn in the eye, he immediately looks away from her the second they make eye contact. He probably feels like he's at fault for this, how could he not notice that his friend was a liar? Maddie was his friend, someone he knew well so how could something like that slip under his radar? Steb knows that Caitlyn most likely feels just as guilty for trusting Maddie but for Steb it would be worse. He knew Maddie longer, he should've picked up on the signs. It didn't matter how small or invisible, he should've picked up on it. Now his captain/commander was going to die because of him not picking up the signs.

[roxan1930]

Elain Archeron is a horrible sister

Come at me with all the hate you want.

I'm hoping she gets a better story in her own book, and desperately want to like her, but let's be honest, she's not a good sister.

When they were kids and their dad was being beaten up, she and Nesta ran and hid and left Feyre to deal with watching their dad be beaten, not even bothering with her or their dad

When their family was poor, just like Nesta, Elain was fine with letting Feyre go out into the woods to hunt and put herself in danger constantly.

She kept whining and spending money, mostly on herself and it felt like she only spend on the others to keep up her "sweet and innocent"-act.

She didn't grow vegetables or and when growing flowers it was never mentioned she tried to do anything like sell them or something else to get them food or money

Whenever Nesta was nasty to Feyre or the other way around, Elain would never really tell either of them to knock it off or help when someone was treated unfairly

She went along with whatever Nesta always said and did, and whenever that was wrong, was fine with Nesta getting all the blame instead of owning up to her own faults

After Feyre turned High Lady and Nesta was suffering, like the others, she never considered how Nesta had her own traumas and was suffering

When Feyre and the IC decided to lock Nesta in the House of Wind, Elain packed all Nesta's stuff without her permission, literally betraying the last bit of trust

Like Nesta said, Elain's loyal to whoever keeps her comfortable. When Nesta was always protecting and guarding her, she always chose Nesta's side over Feyre, but when Feyre was the one providing care, a house and food without Elain doing anything for it, she turned her back on Nesta without a second thought

Like I said, I want to like Elain, but I find it annoying how Feyre, Nesta and the Inner Circle all at some point act like Elain's always so "kind and innocent" who should be protected from everything, including the consequences of her own actions and attitude

[randomnameless]

imma vent about that bit with the empire making claims on the relics bc it really pisses me off for some reason lmao

First, I think Rhea should have never allowed Fodlans people to keep any of the sacred weapons or relics.

After everything she's seen and experienced, centuries of seeing humans fuck up and commit endless atrocities , how can she give these weapons to humanity KNOWING how prone to corruption they are ?! knowing the chances of them abusing that power is so high.

Like they already have crests (stolen from her kin) that extend their lifespan and give their bodies power. Is this not enough? They already abuse crests, do they need powerful weapons to abuse too?

Even more hilarious is that it's Willy's descendents doing it.

Anyway!

If anyone should be seizing those sacred weapons and heros relics it should be the Nabateans. It does NOT belong to anyone else.

Honestly the whole thing just pisses me off. Not only is it irresponsible on Rhea's part (who IMO should have spent her centuries seizing every relic , sacred weapon, and Crest stone) , but the Empire pulling that shit reminds me of Europeans stealing artifacts and making claims on them when it was never theirs.

And Of course it's the Imperialist Adrestian Empire thats going around waging wars of conquest that's stealing sacred artifacts and making claims on them when it DOES NOT BELONG TO THEM . Hilarious that edelstans think their waifu and corrupt Adrestian Empire is even remotely progressive.

Ooh !

I think the relic thing is more or less explained/revealed in Nopes, or at least one of the reasons the families recovered the relics.

Iirc, a Gautier Leader "reclaimed" it to fight back against Sreng ? From pk we also have this (Googled I know :() :

As long as you use the power of the emblem correctly, the Lord will protect you.

When she fights with crested (from the Elites) allies. Now jury's out in the "use the power of the emblem correctly", but imo, it shows how to Rhea, humans can still be trusted to do "right" things.

Leti Gautier was given the relic to protect her border (iirc isn't matthias worried in Fe16 the CoS will recover the relic after the Miklan issue ?), idk, why and how the other houses came to recover their relic though.

As for the sacred weapons, some of them were most likely forged for humans (tfw no brawling Cichol) or given to trusted allies, so it would kind of make sense those allies gave them to people they trusted, etc etc (unless it was a nabatean loan ?).

I still don't think Rhea gave crest stones to people though, it's way too personal and cannot be used by humans- the ones if Tru Piss aren't explained where they came from, is it from Cornelia's own stash who kept some harvested eons ago in Zanado, or Rhea "saved" some before escaping Garreg Mach ?

Imo it's the same "mistake" Sothis herself did with the Agarthans, teach them stuff most likely because she liked them and trusted them, but they turned that tech against her. Rhea lends weapons to humans to protect themselves and do "correct things", and they turn (Tru Piss and Golden Shower special mention) against her, using the very same weapons.

It's her fatal flaw, but also the one that helped her survive after Zanado, Rhea is shown to always trust humans, and in the events of the Fodlan games, we see that trust being misplaced.

Seiros the Warrior trusted Willy (with her brother's shield) and in turn he saved and supported her. House Fraldarius was entrusted with her sister's shoulder plate, and now their motto is to be their land's "shield". Mercedes uses the power Lamine stole to heal the wounded and support people. Ultimately, both VW, AG and AM see Rhea's trust being rewarded as the people with relics, humans she trusted, ultimately save her life.

Granted, the dark side of the moon comes from Adrestia, people who were trustworthy once and haven't been since a long time lol. But is it bcs Ionius used a shiny axe to chop house hrym to pieces for the grave sin of disagreeing with him that house Goneril's shiny weapon to protect their land and people from Almyrans who want to "snatch souvenirs" should be removed ?

Back to the paternalism post, say Rhea prevented humans from crossing the street, telling them 1100 times to wait until the light for pedestrians is green. She lets them cross the street on their own for the first time. Adrestia is hit by the first car, crossing when cars have their green lights. Leicester is hit by the fifth one, and Faerghus hasn't been hit once, always looking right and left and waiting for the pedestrian light.

Was it a mistake to let them cross the street on their own ?

About Adrestia, what I found fascinating from that random is how (s?)he thinks the church's shinies belongs to the Empire, when even during the WoH both church and empire worked together, but were separate entities. What kind of nonsense was this random fed, or worse, this Npc really believes in MAGA, pushing the step further and thinking even the Church of Seiros was part of Adrestia ? They bought the "Willy was on top" Adrestian smut regarding his relation with Seiros the Warrior ?

I'd say it's a bit different from the European razzia on artifacts, back then the excuse used was "those people obviously won't know how to preserve them besides I found it first they don't count", but Adrestia's mindset seems to be the general imperialism/revanchist one "it used to be part of me once so everything they have belongs to me".

[trappedinafantasy37]

Welp, I just did the embrace Bhaal ending with Daedra and I gotta say, this is objectively the worse ending. And it is very much the ending I never wanted for her. Because this was always going to be the ending for a Durge who embraced Bhaal. And Minthara being killed was always going to be her ending too. What makes all of this worse is that Minthara saw it coming too, she just did not realize it.

When she first tells you about Orin, she criticizes Orin by saying that if she could turn the plot of the Absolute towards slaughter, she would take it. Minthara also criticizes Orin for wanting to be Daddy's Little Girl who would do anything to please Bhaal. She perceives these to be character flaws within Orin. Sadly her analysis is incorrect, because these are innate characteristics of Bhaalspawn in general, including Durge. All Bhaalspawn are born with the same urges: kill other Bhaalspawn, breed more Bhaalspawn, and then kill everything. Of course, a Bhaalspawn can fight these urges. But it is a never ending fight, one we see Durge struggle with throughout the entire story. They only "beat" these urges by having Bhaal's blood removed from them.

But because Minthara sees these as character flaws within Orin, she fails to see them in Durge as well. And when Minthara learns that Durge is a Bhaalspawn, of course she is elated. Durge is the child of a god. A deeply religious Minthara would obviously admire that, almost as far as borderline worshiping Durge (cause old habits die hard). She truly believes that Durge is nothing like Orin and would never be anything like Orin, and she has to believe this to be true because she does not want to be afraid of Durge like she is of Orin.

Despite popular belief, Minthara is indeed capable of love and has a strong desire for it. I have always read Minthara as a person who strongly wants what she feels she cannot have. And in Menzoberranzan, genuine love is frowned upon (or at least making it known). So of course she wants it. And there is no shame in that. It is trust that she struggles with, and she always has good reason to be distrustful. And the moment she became an exile, we see her start to deconstruct her previous ways of life, but with great difficulty as it is hard to let go of the only things you have ever known. She wants to love, she wants to trust, she doesn't want to be afraid, and she doesn't want to kill her lovers.

Thanks to the business with the Absolute, Minthara finds herself in a unique position in which she actually can read someone else's mind. And for the first time in her life, she has guaranteed certainty that the person that she loves won't hurt her, or betray her, or use and abuse her, or kill her. And that was a promise Durge made to her. And so she openly embraced Durge with everything that she has and becomes devoted.

Sadly, devotion is Minthara's fatal flaw. There is nothing wrong with being devoted to someone or some god, of course. But Minthara is too devoted in which her devotion makes her blind, and she has spent so much of her life being devoted to someone other than herself, and she does not know how to live a life without being devoted to someone. She does not realize the crux of her devotion until she is turned into a sacrificial lamb by Orin. It is Minthara who questions the worth of devotion if it only leads to death and she starts to become a little more selective of who she devotes herself to. Cause she was once devoted to Orin and was willing to be devoted to Bhaal if given the chance, and yet she was still put on that altar. But this never happens if Orin never takes her.

Edit: I forgot that Patch 7 added in the second part of Minthara's dialogue about Orin. Meaning Minthara can still come to question the worth of devotion, even without being a kidnap victim to Orin. However, she questions her devotion after Durge has made their choice in regards to Bhaal. Despite her beginning to question devotion, she still remains devoted to Durge as she perceives Durge as her savior, and not being like Lolth or the Absolute or Bhaal.

Her devotion to Lolth, still ended with her being abandoned (or so she feels) and left vulnerable to the Absolute, because her devotion to Lolth did not make her an exception. Her devotion to the Absolute still led to her mind being ripped apart, because her devotion to the Absolute did not make her an exception. Minthara may be of a feline nature, but she does not have nine lives and cannot always get lucky. Every time she has devoted herself to someone, it always led her close to the grave. Her devotion to Durge, encouraging Durge to embrace who they are, will get her rewarded with death. And death was always going to be her reward.

And of course she thinks this could never happen to her. She read Durge's mind and Durge did show her that they would never hurt her. That Durge would never do to her what Lolth or the Absolute did, or even previous lovers did to her. That her devotion would be rewarded with mutual devotion. But this is coming from a Durge who has not embraced Bhaal just yet and does not yet want to become Daddy's Special Baby. And Minthara is not stupid for believing that Durge was sincere. No one wants to believe that the person that they love would ever hurt them. That does not make someone stupid or weak. Minthara could only read Durge's mind, not Durge's future.

When Durge embraces Bhaal, she still believes them to be the same exact person with the same exact desires as when she read their mind. Durge has finally followed her advice and embraced themselves, become exactly what she always saw them to be. Durge is now on the path to ascension, to true godhood. And Minthara's proximity to it all will keep her safe from all threats because she would be that god's consort. She can finally have a life without fear or distrust. She will have a god to worship, someone to love, and a new house in Durge's name. She will have everything she could have ever wanted and all she had to do was be devoted. All she had to do was be herself.

In that moment, her devotion to Durge makes her blind to the reality that Durge has changed and has become the very thing she herself criticized about Orin. She still believes that Durge won't hurt her and that Durge won't use the Absolute as a tool for slaughter. Her devotion makes her blind to the fact that Bhaal is like Lolth and the Absolute and most certainly will use Durge like a puppet. Her devotion makes her blind to the reality that Durge has only become a master of their urges, because they are willfully giving in to them and no longer fighting them. And the urge wants to kill everything, no exceptions. Her devotion makes her blind to the knife that Durge will inevitably turn against her, because her devotion was never going to make her an exception.

[soupless-soup]

I agree with all of this!! Susan seems to have a fantastic understanding of Rose and Rosepearl and her takes are some of my favorite.

I think betrayal is a good word- unintentional but it did happen. Susan knows Rose made mistakes but she also knows they don't defy Rose. Rose DID betray Pearl's trust by not telling her about Bismuth + the order. She told Pearl everything yet kept what really happened to Bismuth a secret. Rose primally did this out of fear- I could talk about why she did it for days but this isnt this convo. At the end of the day she betrayed Pearl's trust by not telling her.

She betrayed Pearl's trust by not asking her to keep her secret and instead making it an ORDER. At the end of the day it was a betrayal. Rose made mistakes, but PearlRose are still the best paring, and I still love them. They arent perfect but its okay.

greg will never stop sitting between pearlrose moments & being forced to watch them

[lovesickeros]

in the meantime come to horrifying realization there's like zero yan clorinde content so everyone sit down and listen to my ted talk (this is a requirement I have locked the doors and blocked the fire exits)

personally don't think Clorinde leans towards threats to be honest. she'd feel horrible and guilty if she did and I don't think she could handle you hating her or being afraid of her (maybe if you pushed her far enough then maybe she could justify it because she's trying to protect you but you'd really have to push it).

imo? leans more towards following you around with a hint of subtle manipulation behinf the scenes0. even if it's within the confines of the Court of Fontaine and the place is swarming with Gardemeks you can never be too sure. absolutely fumbles the excuse if you catch her though (if)

the epitome of gentleman, too. she "bumps" into you a lot and always offers to help– even if it's just a few small bags she takes them from you to help ease your burden, basically following you around like a lost puppy. it's a lot easier to trust the nice, polite woman who helped you then the stilted, awkward woman desperate for your attention.

her reluctance to threaten you or force you to do anything doesn't extend to people you know, though. she can cook up any manner of crime that'd get them stuck fighting a duel with her or dealing with a trial that'd get them sent straight to the fortress.

of course, the first thing she'd do is make sure you're okay. she still cares about you (and she really doesn't mean to manipulate you, but really, don't you find it odd that everyone around you is so sketchy? you should be more careful about who you trust. you trust her though, dont you?).

clorinde is very much in for the long game, in the end. she'd only kidnap you as a last resort. she'd much prefer slowly getting closer to you and having you come with her of your own free will (even if it's because she's been planting ideas in your head that you really aren't safe all alone like this. all your friends turned out to be criminals, after all, and what if they start to blame you and try to hurt you? it's best that you stay with her for a while)

if you had a lover, though? oh, she's livid. she makes sure to pin an absolutely heinous crime on them– one that would involve you. after all, she could swoop in and play savior after killing that wretched pest. she did save you from their alleged plan, after all.

a bit awkward with physical affection to be honest, but she tries in her own way. she does what she can to make your life easier– protects you, makes sure you have a roof over your head and nice clothes, a bed and warm baths, expensive foods..anything you want, she would get you without even asking.

why would you ever want to leave? don't you know how dangerous it is outside? who would take care of you if not her? she provides you with all you need, and with only the best (please don't leave)

basically your personal guard dog. she won't bite if you just listen to her and stay put.

and she's just absolutely smitten. careful if you actually use her gifts, because she'll think you're reciprocating her affection whether you are or not. you'll be drowning in new clothes, always trying need food..and she'll always be hovering over your shoulder, watching.

[theonescreencap]

i'm serious when i say this is one of my favorite moments in all of fiction. i got to this part and i was like where has one piece been all my life???

i love the way luffy cares about people. he doesn't do good deeds or help people because "it's the right thing to do" but he fights with all his heart for others to have the freedom to achieve their dreams, if he feels like taking action when he's asked to step in. he doesn't ever want to get in the way of someone else's fight. but just because he doesn't go out of his way for everyone he meets doesn't mean he doesn't love and cherish his friends! he knows exactly what he wants to do and be and he values the people closest to him. not because they're useful to him, as he openly refutes a handful of episodes after this, but because they're kindred spirits who share the same drive to achieve their dream. he gives 200% always and he wants to know that you will too; a plea for help means you're still fighting and he fully understands that

and i love nami so much she is such a good character. even though she had to put up a mask for so long and stay detached and alone she cares so much and loves so fiercely. at her lowest point, she finally has the courage to ask someone for help, and it IS courage... that can be the most difficult fucking thing to do and the narrative doesn't treat her as weak for it. luffy is so strong and so unbothered by everything that she finally feels like this is someone she will not hurt by asking for help. he is the embodiment of freedom. help me. of course i will.

this is such an early arc and the stakes aren't anywhere as high as they get later on but the character stakes are still so intense. this moment is when i went "oh okay nami is fantastically multifaceted and interesting and i love her more than i ever knew i would" and when luffy's character first fully clicked for me. i think one piece really understands the "power of friendship" thing - it's not just some flimsy "well friends are good so i can do anything because i have friends" but instead "friendship and trust and loyalty enrich your life and give you the power to do things you can't do alone because everyone brings something to the table, and relying on others and taking up space is good actually" it shows this to you over and over and over again until you believe it too. i love one piece <3

[exuberantoctopus]

.

[hauntttedbodies]

wednesday will never trust tyler again after the season one finale because her relationships are built on loyalty and mutual understanding, and tyler played her from the beginning and hurt everyone she cares about. in this essay i will

[imaginarianisms]

1 day i will make a meta of sansa's dynamic with her metaphorical champions/suitors & how that correlates to the ashford theory (i.e sansa being betrothed to joffrey baratheon, then promised to willas tyrell, then being married to tyrion lannister, then being married to harry hardying then married to aegon vi targaryen & aurane velaryon but it is not this day. lmao. when i make that meta it'll be so over for y'all.

[chimonai]

On Dahlia’s relationship with Iris. Her twin sister is possibly the only person she ever felt genuinely attached to. She may claim to dislike her, that she thinks of her as nothing but a nuisance and a backstabber, but this comes as the result of a long, complicated history between the two. Her attitude towards Iris during the Bridge case doesn’t reflect her original feelings. 

There are a lot of things that connect them. The shared experience of living under their narcissistic mother, the training to be spirit mediums, the many expectations that were piled onto them, the feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy come the realization they lacked any spiritual powers, and then eventually, life as a lesser member of the branch family. To Dahlia, no one but her sister will ever understand the dreariness of those days. Seeing how much tragedy and drama the Fey clan has produced, I think the overall atmosphere in the village was washed in competitiveness and resentment. If there were other young spirit mediums around ( prior to the DL-6 incident when clan members started to leave and pursued lives in the city instead ), the twins might’ve been target of ridicule and harassment. In the microcosm of Kurain Village, where a woman’s worth is measured in her spiritual prowess, the twins were without value. Dahlia certainly felt cursed.

That wasn’t a reason to complain though. Amidst all the horrible memories, there are a lot of pleasant ones too. Moments of togetherness despite ( or maybe even because of ) all the adversity they faced. Doing each other’s hair, reading their mother’s Senryū books together, sneaking off during training to explore the surrounding area, Dahlia stealing from American tourists on occasion and sharing her finds with Iris, watching the lights of the city in the distance and wondering what life was like down there and whether there was a place for them.

Their relationship delved into rocky territory only after they were separated as children. I don’t believe Dahlia convinced her father to abandon Iris at Hazakura Temple because she felt annoyed by her presence. Instead her action was motivated by the fear their father would return both of them to dreadful Kurain Village. It was an attempt to save herself from that possibility. She absolutely did not want to return, and so chose her own interest over that of her sister. Despite that, they kept in touch.

During the following years Dahlia kept confiding to Iris about her life, her plans, her crimes. At times her sister would assist, but rarely to Dahlia’s satisfaction. Uniquely, Iris was not a pawn, she was an accomplice, a partner in crime. She continued to be a part of her twin’s life, even when her efforts ( or lack thereof ) left Dahlia feeling betrayed. What would’ve been a death sentence for any other person, was simply, bitterly put up with. Iris wasn’t cut out for her sister’s demands, yet she was given another chance to redeem herself and prove her worth by returning an incriminating piece of evidence, the necklace that had been left in Phoenix’s possession. Dahlia was impressed by Iris’ plan, though doubtful; she had failed her before. Months passed and soon stretched into half a year before Dahlia finally had to admit to herself Iris wouldn’t retrieve what she had set out to. She had prioritized that man over her, her own sister. It was the final nail in the coffin of their slowly deteriorating siblingship. The final betrayal that would condemn Dahlia to the rope.

[dirt-str1der]

How do you think majima hit his ex wife ? Do you think he did it like kiryu slapped haruka , he whapped his hand over her cheek like a reflex, without even thinking. Do you think he revved up for a backhand during an argument, or maybe he grabbed her by the shoulders and straight up threw her to the ground while she was at her most vulnerable and then he walked out the door and never looked back

[drakonovisny]

am i supposed to take this seriously after all the shit she's said and done before?

lmao

[goldentigerfestival]

god i just. the sheer fucking hurt in his voice. feeling so used. so untrusted. had a bounty on his head that wasn't even his fault and he still won't be told him the truth and estelle, too, still hides things from him after he helped her and they'd been traveling together. not only that, but the empire is too busy having its own internal issues to pay attention to its own suffering people.

i hate seeing him so upset, that's my baby boy.

more feelings in the tags