#all they know is that she’s from a NOBLE family

[cannoli-reader]

Just some thoughts:

I didn’t understand how pervasive such expectations could be in a mono-cultural society.

This, I think, is a major problem with the show writers (and for Rings of Power as well). WoT & Middle-Earth are absolutely monocultural, and instead, the writers decided to make them the same as their own world. Ironically, growing up in a multicultural society, or working in a multicultural city like New York, Los Angeles or London, has eroded their ability to consider, embrace or understand a different sort of cultural background. To paraphrase The Incredibles, "If every culture is special, no one is."

Perrin has difficulty understanding Faile’s culture.

The same thing could probably be said of Rand and Aviendha, or of Mat and Tuon. Or perhaps not ...the characters are more aware that cultural differences fuel misunderstandings.

I think some of the biggest issues in this regard, outside of the overt problem Perrin has (Faile is aware and working the problem - she's simply getting no help at the other end), are actually between Rand & Elayne. Because class is culture as well. Elayne does not see herself as a superior class to any of the non-noble characters (and it's not channeling or lust - the first character she befriends is Min), and so is unaware of any such difference, but Rand is absolutely aware of her status and creates distinctions in his own head.

With Aviendha and Tuon, their Two Rivers partners stumble over specific cultural practices (like proposal/marriage rituals), and belatedly give indications of interest that were not intended as such (the ivory bracelet and the razor horse), but otherwise, culture isn't really a thing. Mat and Tuon more or less know what they are getting into from the start, and as the OP says, are aware of the cultural divide and both are actively trying to bridge it. The problems with Rand & Aviendha, for all they are superficially blamed on ji'e'toh, are more a factor of their own personalities and self-images than cultural problems. Again, Aviendha's nominal relationship to Rand is to facilitate his cultural understanding.

When Elayne is bewailing her inability to approach Rand or initiate an exploration of their potential for a relationship, Egwene cites some of the courting practices of the Two Rivers, which Elayne seems to find rather unhelpful, and to be fair to her, are rather impractical in their circumstances. Egwene simply intends this as an example of the principle that there are ways to communicate romantic interest without taking the risk of openly stating/asking to the other party, but what they are overlooking is how culture is a language. Rand would understand what Elayne meant if she did the things Egwene mentions, in the right context. Instead, Elayne & Egwene go with their on-page approach. And while part of Rand's refusal to accept the depth of Elayne's interest and affection for him has to do with personal factors, a good chunk is that he sees a gulf between them thanks to her rank, that she is unaware of.

In Elayne's aristocratic culture, marriage between people who have never met is not unexpected, and her own marriage might be pursued through any method, up to and including high-level diplomatic negotiations. In Rand's, everyone knows everyone, they grow up in each other's pockets, and marital partnerships evolve organically, with both of them knowing each other to a considerable degree as the relationship forms and by the time it is formalized. Basically, he does not know Elayne nearly well enough for him to be comfortable considering the level of commitment she wants (and refuses to tell him). Furthermore, marriage is an economic partnership, and it being a preindustrial society, male physical labor is going to be a significant source of the income for a family, and thus men are conditioned to consider their obligation to support and "do right" by their partners. This is the premise behind the obligation to marry Aviendha which he perceives after their sexual encounter. Because of his imposed vocation to save the world, Rand is not free to "do right" by a wife, and so, in turn, he does not feel as if he is in a position to make any requests of Elayne, relationship-wise, especially anything that might imply a commitment he cannot fulfil.

This stuff is cultural, because it is all utterly meaningless to Elayne's situation. She is vastly wealthier than he, and does not need his partnership. At her economic level, and in her society, the lack of a male partner is not as detrimental to child-rearing that it might be in a rural agricultural community. She is not at all thinking of that kind of propriety, because she has been raised in a royal court, in part by a cosmopolitan teacher in Elaida, and her mother has also received a partial education from a transnational institution. For Elayne, propriety is whatever her mother says it is, and the possible repercussions to her public image. As we see when she does become pregnant, that's not a whole lot. The closest to negative opinion seen is Elenia's prejudicial judgment (largely driven by her wish to see herself as a superior candidate for the throne, and thus inclination to exaggerate or invent disqualifying factors in Elayne) that her choice of lovers is poor, due to the presumed social status of the father of her children. So Elayne is not working under the same relationship constraints as Rand, and is completely unaware of their operation on him.

On the other hand, Elayne is feeling emotionally vulnerable in her situation, having carried a one-sided torch for him for more than a year, and feels that the risk of crossing her mother is all she is prepared to take. She's willing to take whatever risks come with a relationship with Rand, up to and including death (re: Ilyena), she does not feel she is asking too much to want Rand to make the first moves, and be the one to initiate the next development in their relationship. So when she asks him for a kiss, she dismisses any correlation between physical expression of affection and commitment. And Rand's experience with noblewomen and sexual relationships is actually surprisingly extensive at this point in his life, having been the recipient of attentions of Saldaean noblewoman in situations he considers implicitly sexual (though they do not), approached by two different married women in Cairhien at a party, and being made to understand that they want to have sex with him and do not consider their own marriages an impediment. And just the night before his "first date" with Elayne, Berelain propositioned him, claiming that his purported betrothal was no obstacle to their engaging in intimacy. So when Elayne says their kiss doesn't mean anything, Rand has what he considers to be a body of evidence that she, a noblewoman, means exactly that. Where Elayne, in her rather sheltered upbringing (as the sole heir to a throne, there is a greater urgency to protect her, and as a future Aes Sedai, sex and men were kicked well down the road on her educational journey), feels like she is basically putting out and giving away samples of the proverbial milk before selling the cow, Rand thinks she is just using him for fun times.

And that's just before he conquers Caemlyn, and his combination of Two Rivers indifference to noble bullshit and foreign protocols and Daes Daemar tutelage with a particularly Cairhienin flavor, manages to do all sorts of things wrong so that Elayne's coronation and their relationship are almost mutually exclusive goals by the time she shows up.

Tuon finds out that sul'dam can learn to channel, yet she continues to insist that damane should be leashed.

Those two concepts are not mutually exclusive or contradictory. There is a difference between learning to channel and channeling. Channelers are seen as a danger to society, and that is a danger that women who can only learn to channel will never manifest. Tuon's explanation of the difference is rational and true. There is a difference between the potential to do something and the choice to do it. Tuon cannot channel, and unless she goes out and learns how, she will never present the same sort of threat. This was a thing back in tGH where Rand was told that, because he was born with the spark, like all damane, would not be able to stop himself from channeling. Whereas Damer Flinn reached a very old age without ever manifesting the ability, so he is the male equivalent of a sul'dam. There is a difference. You can't slot this into your conception of bigotry.

The Wheel of Time, culture and gender

Something I find really interesting about WOT is how it explores the way gender is culturally constructed. So many of the characters have very strong culturally ingrained expectations about gender roles and relationships, and when characters come from different backgrounds, then there can be confusion and misunderstanding. Characters often attribute the misunderstanding to gender, when it’s really about culture - culture as it pertains to gender.

I remember when I first read the scene where Elyas tells Perrin, “I’ve only ever met about five Saldaean women I’d call meek, or even mild-mannered” (TPoD). At the time, I found that unconvincing. How unrealistic! I thought. Coming from the same culture doesn’t give women the same personality! I mean, being raised in the same family doesn’t give you the same personality! I realise now that Elyas is not saying that Saldaean women have the same personality. He’s saying they are all brought up have certain expectations of women should behave and how they should be treated, and so on.

I didn’t understand how pervasive such expectations could be in a mono-cultural society.

Keep reading

[kou3218]

The History of Lightcannon

Warning, this is very long so buckle up. (Also spoilers for Arcane)

For those wondering where this ship came from and how it's bloomed from something that was pretty niche into something nearly mainstream. It's an interesting journey. So let's dive in.

Let's start with some context, Lightcannon is the name of the ship between two characters from the MOBA game, League of Legends.

Luxanna Crownguard (though she prefers Lux) from the kingdom of Demacia. She's a mage whose skilled in light magic. She is literally the Light...

...To the Cannon known as Jinx (formally known as powder.) from the slump of Zaun. A psychopathic loose cannon whose also a uncertified genius when it comes to tinkering.

Both residing in the world known as Runeterra.

Now you might be wondering, "How in the hell does a pretty blonde noble mage girl from a kingdom of knights get shipped with a blue haired psycho steampunk Harley Quinn knock off that's a continent away?" (Don't pretend Jinx wasn't made to cash in on the hype of Quinn. Riot is known for cashing in on trends.)

Two words, Cosmetic Skins. League is known for releasing cosmetic skin packs for it's champions. They usually have some fun special interactions with characters and even some lore. Creating AU's of sorts. Some are one shots, and others get expanded up into full on spinoffs with stories and their own expanded narrative.

In 2015 RIOT launched the Star Guardian set. Basically a Magical girl set for the characters: Lux, Jinx, Janna, Poppy, and Lulu. And this set is what kicked off lightcannon. In the lore, they are childhood friends.

Lux being described as, "Cheerful, courageous, and just a bit clumsy. Lux shines the brightest among her Star Guardian team as its captain."

While Jinx is described as, "The cynical teen rebelled, refusing to treat her powers as anything more than a plaything to serve her own interests. While Jinx scoffs at protecting a world she doesn’t trust, she does believe in her childhood friend Lux—and if someone could see into the depths of Jinx’s heart, they’d see a furious, burning need to keep those she holds dear out of harm’s way, at any cost."

If you are at all familiar with Magical Girl shows, you can see how this kicked it off. There is always an undercurrent of Yuri in ever MG series. For this, the classic, Good Girl x Bad Girl with a heart of gold. This even got it's own cinematic. With plenty of shots of Lux and Jinx Longing for each other.

With some rather fun interactions.

And a classic scene from one of the stories

And this is where the ship stayed for a few years. It stayed isolated this this AU. However, there were some people that wondered, "What if their default skins met?" (The two skins shown near the top.)

At the time, Jinx didn't have much lore. She was just the crazy boom girl, and it was hinted at that she had a history with Vi and Warwick. (Too be fair, VI's lore was kind of all over the place and she was mainly "Police Brutality, LoL.")

Lux however had a lot of lore. She was born into a high standing Noble family that is sworn to protect the king. Hence the name Crownguard. She is depicted as a bright, cheerful, and optimistic character. She's also related to the champion Garen, her older brother. However, she is a mage and magic is hated in her country of Demacia. So, she has to hide who she really is. Garen does know and accepts her. There are also a number of stories where she has done very questionable things. One of her decisions led to her trusting the wrong man, Sylas. A criminal mage that tricked her into helping him escape. Which ended up triggering a mage rebellion, which led to a lot of people dying.

Sounds familiar right?

So a big part of what drew these two together was the potential these two could have if they met. The idea that Lux finds someone who encourages her to be herself. To let her magic free and accept all of her. Which also applied to jinx as well. The idea that they could be who they truly are. And still drawing a bit from the Star Guardians, Good Girl x Bad Girl.

Again, this stayed pretty niche. A few fanfics and fanart would pop up. Very much a crackship, but people were pretty creative in what they thought of.

Then came a big shot in the arm for the ship, the Cinematic trailer for Wildrift.

This trailer had jinx hoping around runeterra and grabbing people to join her team to fight. The first person she grabs in Lux, whose bored and wants something exciting to do. And here comes this manic pixie dream girl who pops out of nowhere, jumps in her laps, takes a selfie, and then pulls her into a portal to fight a giant monster like she wanted. Plus the fact that Lux can create pretty shiny lights and massive magical explosions doesn't hurt either.

And then, a year after this, Arcane launched. This not only gave Vi more depth, but also Jinx (Originally named powder). She went from, "lol, random, psycho murder, boom girl." To an incredibly tragic character who who just want to hug and tell her everything is alright.

It wasn't that we wanted Lux to fix Jinx, we wanted them to help each other. And with the ending of season 2, the viability of Lux and Jinx actually meeting skyrocketed even further. With Jinx faking her death and sneaking onto an airship that was seen over open water.

Possibly to Demacia to get a fresh start? Not impossible. Maybe even be her guiding light.

Additionally between season 1 and 2 or arcane. There was this fun little Chinese Animated web series called, Valoran Town. It didn't have too much an impact on the ship, but was still a bit more fuel for it.

Basically, a slice of life series about the champions living in a small town. The main story focusing on Lux as she runs away from home trying to live free and independently from her overbearing Brother Garen. Her best friend and now roommate in the series is Jinx! Since a lot of promo material did have them acting like friends, this just kind of leaned into it.

Each episode is about 5 minutes long, it's just super cute and fun. Also a nice pallet cleanser from the heart ache of arcane.

This person was kind enough to upload and subtitle all 12 episodes.

Give it a watch, it's free. (Just turn on closed captions.)

So, yeah. That's the history of lightcannon. We love it for many reasons, but for me. It's the potential they could have. It's very much a crackship, but I will sail it everyday. Hope you learned something.

And some funny things to think about.

Lightcannon and Caitvi/Piltover's finest means that Jinx and Vi have the same taste in women. Upper class femme.

But it also means the Crownguard sibling also have the same taste in women. Or, at the very least, have a kink for criminals/killers.

Garen with the Noxian assassin Katarina.

Lux with Sylans and Jinx.

Which would also make Lux and Jinx Bisexual too, so represent.

Yes, I support timebomb too. Arcane Season 2 episode 7 is beautiful. I see why people ship Ekko and Jinx together. I'm a multi-shipper. You can do that. They both love Jinx, and she deserves all the love.

[scotianostra]

On November 25th 1835 Andrew Carnegie, was born in Dunfermline.

“To try to make the world in some way better than you found it is to have a noble motive in life.” - Andrew Carnegie

Today I thought we’d look into things we might not know about Andrew Carnegie

So how rich was he really? Well in 2015, the Carnegie Corporation estimated that at his peak wealth, Carnegie was worth $309 billion (accounting for inflation). For comparison, in 2022, Elon Musk is worth about $219 billion, Jeff Bezos is worth roughly $171 billion and Bill Gates comes in at $129 billion.

“To try to make the world in some way better than you found it is to have a noble motive in life.” - Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie's philanthropic career began around 1870 in his native Dunfermline and ultimately extending throughout the English-speaking world, including the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

In 1887, Carnegie married Louise Whitfield of New York City. She supported his philanthropy, and signed a prenuptial marriage agreement stating Carnegie’s intention of giving away virtually his entire fortune during his lifetime. Two years later he wrote The Gospel of Wealth, which boldly articulated his view of the rich as trustees of their wealth who should live without extravagance, provide moderately for their families, and use their riches to promote the welfare and happiness of others. This statement of his philosophy was read all over the world, and Carnegie's intentions were widely praised.

“The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.” - Andrew Carnegie

In 1889, Carnegie published The Gospel of Wealth, publicly extolling his beliefs that personal wealth should be distributed for community benefit once your family’s needs were taken care of.

“The problem of our age is the proper administration of wealth, so that the ties of brotherhood may still bind together the rich and poor in harmonious relationship,” - Andrew Carnegie

Want to hear the man himself reading from his Gospel of Wealth check the link below

In 1911 Andrew Carnegie established Carnegie Corporation of New York, which he dedicated to the “advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” It was the last philanthropic institution founded by Carnegie and was dedicated to the principles of “scientific philanthropy,” investing in the long-term progress of our society. Carnegie himself was the first president of the Corporation, which he endowed in perpetuity with his remaining fortune — $135 million — to be used principally to promote education and international peace. While his primary aim was to benefit the people of the United States, Carnegie later determined to use a portion of the funds for members of the British Overseas Commonwealth. For the Trustees of the Corporation, he chose his longtime friends and associates, giving them permission to adapt its programs to the times. “Conditions upon the earth inevitably change,” he wrote in the Deed of Gift, “hence no wise man will bind Trustees forever to certain paths, causes or institutions…. They shall best conform to my wishes by using their own judgment.”

By the time of his death, Andrew Carnegie, despite his best efforts, had not been able to give away his entire fortune. He had distributed $350 million, but had $30 million left, which went into the Corporation’s endowment. Toward the end of his life, Carnegie, a pacifist, had a single goal: achieving world peace. He believed in the power of international laws and trusted that future conflicts could be averted through mediation. He supported the founding of the Peace Palace in The Hague in 1903, gave $10 million to found the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1910 to “hasten the abolition of international war,” and worked ceaselessly for the cause until the outbreak of World War I. He died, still brokenhearted about the failure of his efforts, in August 1919, two months after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

Andrew Carnegie helped give the world Sesame Street -Yes really!

The Carnegie Corporation provided the American television writer and producer Joan Ganz Cooney with the funds to develop Sesame Street and the Children’s Television Workshop. According to Sherrie Westin, executive vice president of global impact and philanthropy at the Sesame Workshop, “Sesame Street literally would not be here were it not for the bold vision and audacious philanthropy of the Carnegie Corporation.”

The iconic saguaro cactus is named after him, the plant, which is found only in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and Mexico, can live as long as 200 years and grow to be 45 feet tall. Its scientific name, Carnegiea gigantea, is a nod to Carnegie’s philanthropic contribution to botany: The Carnegie Institution, founded in 1902, helped establish the Desert Botanical Laboratory in Tucson in 1903.

One of Carnegie's major philanthropic efforts included donating 7600 of the instruments to churches across the United States. He also oversaw the installation of the 8600-pipe organ at Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh in 1895 and had pipe organs in his homes in New York and Scotland.

In keeping with his wealth philosophy, Carnegie left his wife Louise a small amount of money, as well as their properties in Manhattan and Scotland, when he died. His only child, a daughter named Margaret, received nothing but a small trust. She eventually had to sell the family townhome because it was too expensive to maintain. But that was it—the rest of his immense wealth went to his charitable causes and endowments.

You might think that that would cause some resentment on the part of his heirs, but they apparently all agreed to the arrangement well before Carnegie passed away.

[thisnameisnotspokenfor]

Because some of you are far faster than I anticipated....

Here are the first few pages of next chapter/scrapped pages of the last chapter

WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE READ CHAPTER 37. I AM SERIOUS >:(

ETA: I did add a little extra onto the snippet as a 'sorry' for some of you ToT

She nodded and silently listened as the star gestured to the surrounding glowing trees. “When the order had been finally established, a primordial star decided to give up her spot in the sky, opting instead to stay on earth to guide the order and firmly cement its placement as the bridge between our worlds. It was a move that impressed the other stars, and to show their support for the newly found order, they made the Asterius that you saw in the market. One created and cultivated from the power of each court to symbolize its unity within the order.”

“Was there any particular reason why they chose a tree of all things as a symbol?” she asked, as she stared at the glowing trees, gently swaying in the night breeze.

“Yeah…but what’s with your tone? Trees are cool!” he frowned, almost sounding offended.

“They’re alright…but I mean why do stars take such interest in them if they’re practically everywhere? Surely you guys must have cooler things than just…trees!”

“We do but…Have you ever noticed that no matter how far into the heavens a tree can ascend it must always stay rooted to the earth to survive? It never forgets its origins, no matter how far or great it grows…” he smiled thoughtfully as his foot scuffed against the ground. “Isn’t that something?”

Asha slowly nodded, and turned her eyes upwards “Hmm I guess it does sound a bit more…fascinating when you describe it like that…but why do yours glow?”

The star hummed thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin, “Well, the short scientific and aesthetic answer would be bioluminescence to attract nocturnal pollinators. Plus you can always appreciate their beauty no matter what time of day. It makes the forests nicer, doesn’t it?”

She nodded in agreement, “It does. But what’s the long answer?”

“Well,” he started as he straightened himself. “I don’t know the details exactly but I think it’s also because of their connection to some greater network of energy both with each other and the world around them. One of my nannies would always tell me about it when I was little and couldn’t stop climbing them but it’s pretty convoluted if I’m being honest.”

“A network of energy…” she whispered as her eyes trailed the trees’ glowing roots. “Like your energy?”

“Something like that,” he shrugged before thoughtfully staring at the sky. “I mean they sort of come from our world…so I guess it only makes sense that they would act like that…”

“You know before you told me all of this, I never would’ve thought that something as simple as a tree could hold so much meaning in the grand scheme of things,” she confessed. “Sure there was the wishing tree, but that felt more like a relic than anything else…not some political  cosmic display of diplomacy…”

“You’d be surprised…there’s a reason why most Asterius made today are no longer created by all four courts…”

“They aren’t?” she asked, a bit taken aback as the star shook his head.

“No not anymore, not since Deneb’s asterius came into the picture…”

“Deneb has an asterius?”

“Most members of the royal star families and high-ranking nobles do…but few have a tree as controversial as hers….” he hesitated as if mentally debating over something before he eventually nodded and turned to her. “Asha” he stated suddenly as she straightened herself in sudden preparation. “You remember how when we were in the forest you told me that you knew that the crimson court hated Deneb because of your father’s writings, right?”

“Right,” she nodded, trying not to shift uncomfortably. Somewhere in the depths of her mind, she could hear the king’s voice whispering to her. She couldn’t make out what he was saying but she was too afraid to find out.

“Did your father ever state why?” The star asked, thankfully silencing the king’s muffled voice as she shook her head. 

“No…his master had been vague about the situation…but from what I could tell, it seemed as if the bad blood between the two parties was a little more extensive than just the courts…it seemed like it involved the council too…”

“It did,” Cepheus carefully nodded. “But did he say anything else?”

“Well…he theorized that it was the result of some act of defiance she did a few years ago that involved her children…you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“I do,” he confessed. “I don’t know if you’ll like the story but I suppose for you to understand anything I’ll need to give you a few details…”

He gestured for her to follow as they slowly began to near the forest. “I’m not sure if I’ve told you this explicitly,” he started as the glowing trees and shrubbery began to surround them.   “but the crimson court and cerulean court have always had a mutual hatred of each other. They’ve led countless wars and battles against each other long before the order,  Deneb, and her children ever entered the picture.”

“Why?” She asked as she ducked beneath a low-hanging branch. “Was it differing philosophies? Scandalous love?” She asked the star who’d somehow managed to put a rather large walking distance between them. “Cultural differences? Why did they hate each other?”

He paused as if listening out for something before she finally made her way to his side, “Differing philosophies and a bloodthirsty competitiveness to conquer the galaxies,” the star frowned and abruptly looked away. Had…had he been ashamed of his court’s past? She wondered before he quietly continued, “Nevertheless it all seemed to come to a head when during one of these battles…the council, being as senile as they were, had grown both tired and indifferent to the constant fighting. So they decided to exercise their powers to ensure peace would prevail, one that, unlike their past attempts, could not be so easily dismissed…” The star sighed, slowly moving his hand as the air around his fingers began to glow a soft misty blue.

Slowly the world around them began to ripple, and blur.

She blinked, trying to rub the uneasiness from her eyes as her surroundings slowly began to come into focus as she looked around. They were still in a forest, that much she could be sure of as the familiar sight of large, thick glowing forestry greeted her.

But where the distant town of Banquo had once stood was gone, and in its place was a seemingly endless glowing body of water. 

Were they…at the beach? No this couldn’t have been the beach, at least not one she’d been familiar with. Her eyes traced along the light blue shoreline as she took one hesitant step forward before rubbing her eyes in disbelief.

The beach was glowing. Real beaches didn’t glow. But the feel of the calm sea breeze passing through her braids had nearly convinced her otherwise.

“Wait…” she started, looking around. “Is this another illusion like what you did with the scrolls?”

“Something of the sort,” the star smiled as he spoke from behind her. “Are you enjoying the view?”

She nodded, before looking around again, “Yeah! It’s…beautiful -,” her voice trailed off as she took in the sight of the star who’s skin was now a beautiful shade of cyan, while his hair was nearly white. 

Was this what a blue star looked like? She wondered, as she looked him over and over again.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring, but it was enough to earn herself an all too knowing grin as the star arrogantly extended a sapphire colored wing. “I was talking about the sea, but if you think I’m beautiful as well, and wish to stare,” he chuckled as another wing revealed itself. “then by all means, my dear-,” 

“What?!” She scoffed, before waving her hands dismissively as she looked away. Thank God her blushes weren’t visible. “Ha! No! No way! I was talking about the beach! Not you! It’s the beach that’s beautiful, see?! You’re just…blue!” 

“Mmhmm.” He hummed teasingly as his now gray colored iris seemed bright with laughter. “Well either way I hope you enjoy either view you choose to partake in….although I must admit asha…. That the sea, is unfortunately not located where your eyes are currently focused.” 

“I know that!” She snapped and sharply turned to face the body of water, hoping to enjoy any semblance of peace that she could get.

[hyperfixationcritter]

I personally would've been fine with Caitlyn pulling a bit of a Claudia from The Dragon Prince and staying a definitive antagonist. I think her turn to fascism in act 1 this season fit her character by falling back on her privilege. I still think that was a decent writing decision but they ended up not going through with it. If they did, it would also be an interesting way to show Caitlyn ultimately still doing her own thing despite her initial opposition against rogue plans because of the death of her mom. There's a lot they could've explored with Caitlyn not just falling back on her privilege but prioritizing her family above all else.

When it comes to Jayce, I like meljayvik so I got some bias, but I could potentially be ok with him also becoming an antagonist if it was done well and because I know he and Viktor have pre-established beef in league lore.

Alternatively though, it could've been an interesting plotline to have Jayce, given his development in the first season and even his regressions in s2 act 1, end up taking a definitive stance in solidarity with Zaun, starting with sabotaging any further use of hextech by Piltover against them.

There's a lot of parallels in Arcane but I don't often bring up the parallels between Caitlyn and Jayce as privileged people in Piltover who need to figure out if they're going to look beyond the one undercity person they know/are close with (Vi and Viktor) and take a definitive stance against the Undercity's oppression for everyone's sake or not. The Medardas also play a significant role in their arcs; Mel mentoring Jayce in s1, becoming equals and romantic partners who go through interesting character development together, and Ambessa very easily enabling Caitlyn's dictator arc in s2 for her own ends.

The other layer to Caitlyn and Jayce would be the fact that, while they're both privileged, Jayce was more middle class/lower noble house vs Caitlyn's family who were his patrons and immediately dropped him the moment he was put on trial in s1 act 1.

If Jayce were written to take a solid stance on the side of Zaun and against Caitlyn, though I see it starting out as him still being a bit wishy washy by trying to solely contain the use of hextech because he just resigned as a council member and wants to do science and needs to learn that he should be playing a bigger role in this because he can't separate his scientific ambitions from the political, it would also parallel him telling the other council members, but particularly Cassandra, that he doesn't care what they think of him anymore by fully rejecting his ties to house Kiramman. It would also make for some good "essentially big brother little sister angst" between him and Caitlyn.

It would also give the story as a whole a lead character who starts out in Piltover and chooses to grow and show solidarity with the oppressed.

As for Mel, she already canonically opposes Ambessa and sacrifices a lot to put a stop to things. In this plotline I think it would be interesting to see Mel grapple with how far she's willing to go against her mother at the cost of her place in Piltover. At the end of season 1 Mel already realizes she was channeling her mother by suggesting making hextech weapons and stays true to going against that from that point forward as shown in s2 act 1 whereas Jayce is the one to make weapons for Caitlyn's team without even telling Mel. I would've liked to see a conversation between the two of them about that and for the sake of this plotline idea have them figure out what they want to do as a team.

Mel already knows she's against her mom and Jayce already resigned his spot on the council but to see them both develop into definitively supporting the undercity, not just by extension of wanting to prevent war... I think that could be interesting and also delve more into them and Viktor being the trio that started hextech and see how that relationship with all three of them develops under these circumstances in a way that stays true to themes of classism and systemic oppression in the show. There could still be room to talk about the different types of magic/disprove Heimderginer's "all magic is bad" stance if the writing for Viktor and the hexcore was done differently and the story actually played into him and Mel's parallels in general but in this context, in regards to their magic.

Also if Mel returning to Noxus is still endgame, her sacrificing her place in Piltover for a better future for the people who suffered under them (the Undercity) and to go against her mom taking advantage of the conflict would support that.

These are just my two cents tho but it felt worth it to make a post about it the more I thought about this.

[suratanontherun]

I did the shop part the last, so it's boring.

15 Lake Meadow Circle (Florence Delarosa house) renovation Part 2 - interior

I always try to come up with the personality of the sim(s) I'm building a house for. In this case, I was feeling really inspired and had this very particular vision of who Florence Delarosa is. She calls herself an "old soul" and believes she was born into the wrong era. She appreciates all things vintage and unique - it’s not about the price, it’s about owning something no one else has, no matter how cheap or expensive. She thinks that with mass production, humanity stepped onto the path of self-destruction. Florence would rather live on the street than in a house furnished from Ikea.

No one in Bluewater Village knows her life story. She tells everyone she comes from a noble family, that all the vintage furniture and various knickknacks were originally her great-great-great-grandmother's. Technically, she’s not lying - it could be true. She doesn’t know her family, as she was raised in an orphanage. They could have even been of royal blood - who's to say otherwise? She came up with the name "Florence Delarosa" herself, it can help her flower business.

And the antiques? She spends a lot of time on online marketplaces and frequents garage sales. She has a good eye for things that can be salvaged.

Now that she finally has a house of her own, she dreams of throwing fancy tea parties and making lots of friends.

[asongofstarkandtargaryen]

What do you think Sansa ending will be like?

I was thinking she could do something artsy or creative.

That's a very interesting question!

First of all, let me say that I believe that Sansa will survive the series and have a happy ending.

With that being said, I don't mean a fairy tale like ending where she gets everything she ever wanted as a kid because a. Sansa has moved from her childhood dreams, when once she was dreaming to marry a handsome prince and become his queen one day, she now dreams of her home and what it represents (aka unconditional familial love, safety etc) and b. I doubt that Martin will give any character - even his most important ones - a fairy tale ending where they will get everything they even wanted.

I have many different predictions on where she could end up with, and since there are only speculations on my end I could totally be wrong.

Could she marry Harry the Heir ( if/once her marriage with Tyrion gets annulled) and become Lady of Eyrie? It fits her arc and her anti-parallels the previous Lady of Eyrie, who was also a Tully woman - remember all Stark kids are half Tully from their mama- and she in would be a Lady of an Important House like her Mother - with whom she shares some great parallels - once was. And not any castle, but the place her father spend many years . Thus a place that connects to both her Stark and Tully heritage. The only negative in this theory is that Harry currently seems an arse and I don't want her after everything she had to endure with an asshole. Maybe he's actually not that bad? Who knows we have two more books to find out, assuming that Harry survives them.

Another option would be for her to remain married to Tyrion. And I don't mean for them to suddenly have a great passionate romance but a mutual understanding that their union could benefit them both. They get to be the Lord and Lady of Castelry Rock and visit/or even stay at Kings Landing as I can imagine Tyrion will be heavily involved in politics and probably have a place in the small council of whoever gets to become the next ruler of Seven Kingdoms. I don't think that Tyrion would have a problem with his wife following her arty talents, and Sansa could continue hosting parties - like the one in Eyrie- and be an important influential Lady popular among the other nobles- especially if she is the wife of the Hand of the King/Queen/ whoever sits on the Iron Throne. That could even help elevate her husband popularity and in return Tyrion could offer her security and freedom to pursue her talents and hobbies. It's not the ideal fairy tale marriage but it's better than most arranged marriages in Westeros- her own parents started their union with even less and they managed to be happy together.

Or she could eventually marry a Northern Lord and live close to her childhood home and visit Bran and Rickon ( and anyone else reciting at Winterfell) more often than most ladies of her status visited their family.

Speaking of Winterfell, I personally believe - and as I said before since those are only speculations I could be totally wrong- that the younger Starks ( Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon) at the end of the series need to spend some futher time on their home before they consider moving out due to marrying. Because they are still very young and I believe that they would all benefit by being close to each other.

Sure not of them is an adult and therefore they can't act as the guardians of the younger ones - Maybe their older brother Jon who is adult could temporary do that?- but they can still help each other. Like for example, Sansa who learned how to act like the sort of Lady of Eyrie - while posing as Littlefinger's daughter - could help her brother, Bran, with the ladyship duties until he's old enough to pick a wife to fill that role. And more importantly than usefulness in managing to rule Winterfell, these kids are all traumatized and they deserve to spend some time to their home in order to heal. And to get to reconnect as a family - and least those who are still alive :/.

In Winterfell, I believe that Sansa could also purse her artistic talents because I can't imagine Bran, who is not only the sweetest kid according to his family but also very observant and empathetic, stopping his sister from doing something that gives her pleasure.

And I wasn't supposed to write so much but I was carried away bc I like speculating about characters I've interested at.

( And if you noticed the lack of mentioning Sandor as Sansa's possible endgame isn't because I don't believe that Martin has given them romantic undertones. It's because I unfortunately don't see him surviving the end of the books - again my personal prediction, feel free to disagree- so anything that happens between them I believe it won't be at the epilogue of the series).

[the-au-with-no-name]

You think, but sadly if her father was so easily defeated, there wouldn’t be so much of a story…! Her father is a merciless ruler, who has ruled Ithaca for many decades now. You think he’d lose to some young adult hedgehogs who happened to know Iris for only a few months? Please, as if he’d be willing to sway so easily!

“Oh, our ocean of love. There’s no need for tears.”

Apex seelkadoom: “After all, you’re safe with us now; That old man will never take you away from us again..”

Iris rushes into seelkadoom’s arms and hugs him tightly, tears falling down her face as she feels her lovers’ arms wrap around her in a secure, protective, and loving embrace.

Oh if only it would be that easy. Her father, despite his negligence, is not an easy man to sway for who he thinks is best suited for Iris. There is surely going to be struggle for her hand, and blood will be spilled in the kingdom of Ithaca.

…. To be continued…!

Taglist:

@hunniegl4zed @thebreadmeower

Special thanks to @thebreadmeower for giving me inspiration for nicknames for Iris! 🖤💙🩵💜

[silviakundera]

more Li Rong/Pei Wenxuan/Su Ronqing dynamic thoughts...

Ep 18, Su Rongqing: "Don't forget that if it wasn't for His Majesty's fear of the imperial relatives, you wouldn't have even been able to get close to Her Highness in your life. Not to mention to be with Her Highness."

imo it's key that SRQ is from a super prestigious land-holding family, whose wealth and power are old & deeply entrenched. He's your modern day chaebol nepo baby, smart & educated & ready to inherit his family's slice of the empire.

Because he's every insecurity PWX has, tied up in a bow and sneering dismissively at him lol. PWX whose family worked hard to get out of the countryside and entered officialdom just in his dad's generation, and who doesn't even have the backing of that family. He has had to work 40x as hard and without being the princess consort he would never in his lifetime have achieved the stuff that's just handed to SRQ.

Part of PWX being determined to fight for Li Rong and not letting SRQ get in his head is that he needs to internalize that she sincerely thinks PWX is valueable and has never thought he was inferior to SRQ. None of their problems were ever about that. She saved SRQ for her moral conscience. Then she settled for him because her husband couldn't let go of his childhood engagement crush (plus his own acknowledged pride issues about a marriage arranged by the throne). He never actively tried to repair the marriage - his insecurities overtook him and he gave up. SRQ didn't "win". There was never any contest.

But though Pei Wenxuan tells himself this and tells Su Rongqing that she'll never say yes to him.... we gotta know that it's not that easy to defeat all your inner demons. That's why I think he gets a bit erratic and overblown in his romantic moves in the succeeding episodes - subconsciously anxious to tie Li Rong further to him.

[katartna]

Song of Frosted Light ❄️🕊️

[msue0027]

Doctor who 60th anniversary specials? More like "in today's episode of 'bullying the Doctor'"

[delightfuldevin]

People in the comments of the new splatfest song are kinda annoying ngl,,

Marina is very smart y’all. Even if she was sheltered by growing up in the Octarian domes, I’m preeetty sure everyone wasn’t super kind and genuine to each other all the time. There’s no way Marina doesn’t know what being passive aggressive looks like. She’s not too uwu pure to tell that Shiver was insulting her. She’s just a genuine fan of Deep Cut and she ain’t about that petty insults stuff.

[myfairkatiecat]

mysterious benedict society medieval au

[quietwingsinthesky]

i have many many thoughts about rose & tentoo and how their relationship would evolve in this verse. about how you can't just take the love you have for one person and put it on someone else. not even a clone, a regeneration, a metacrisis. about how that doesn't mean you can't love them, or that you can't fall in love with them the same way, but that love has to be for them.

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

"Oh, I'm very sure," he replied with a grin, making a mental note to wear the pearl cufflinks with his suit on the big day, in order to match with his blushing bride. "I think Ma always anticipated passing them on to my future wife; that and the necklace she wore..."

Remembering it, Randall went back through one of the other boxes kicking around and fished out his mother's jewelry box, including the aforementioned earrings and a few other little bits of jewelry (chiefly bracelets and brooches, nothing overly-extravagant, but still quite lovely), as well as a lovely silver necklace he pulled out to show Emily.

"This is a claddagh," he explained with a small smile. "Pa brought it with him from Ireland; his ma wore it to her wedding, and her ma wore it to her wedding and, uh...w-well, you get the picture. A-Anyways, Pa brought it with him and asked if Ma wanted to wear it, and at first, sh-she was a little hesitant, since she's not Irish herself. But it was such a symbol of love and a celebration of Pa's heritage, a heritage so many people frown on, that she couldn't say no. She took good care of it in the years since Pa died; she planned to pass it on to the next generation."

He smiled as he cradled the necklace in his pale palms; two hands holding a crowned heart, a simple but elegant symbol of love, loyalty, and friendship. It seemed only right that this also be a part of Emily's wedding ensemble-he had a good feeling that, much like with the earrings, his mother would be very happy to pass it on to her son's new wife.

[sage-nebula]

I've now finished DA:I and have a completed World State in the Keep for DA4. I will say that, out of the three games (Origins, 2, and Inquisition) I think that the Inquisition party feels the closest to me. Like they're the ones I feel would actually want to stay together after all was said and done, helped I think by the fact that so many say that's what they want (with Sera almost starting to cry if you have the Inquisitor tell her that Skyhold will always be her home if she needs it). With Origins, it really felt like everyone was there and working together purely because of the mission to stop the blight and no other reason. With 2, it felt like they were there and working together because they lived in Kirkwall and wanted to make their lives easier. But with Inquisition, everyone who was there chose to be there, and sure it was for a cause . . . but also we got bonding scenes like them playing Wicked Grace together, or eating cookies up on rooftops. Even when they fought with each other, I felt a real closeness there. Like it was them against the world (which it kind of ends up being during the Exalted Council).

Of course, this is just all my opinion, and it's possible that this had something to do with how the personalities of each character developed over my playthroughs, as well as the fact that I found it a bit hard to track people down in Kirkwall sometimes and as such didn't bond with my companions as much as I would have wanted. (RIP Fenris, I missed the opportunity to do your character quest and so you died 😔). But at the end of DA:I Trespasser, I had the Inquisition stay together not just because that's what my Trevelyan wanted (as making the world a better place / helping people is very important to her), but also because I didn't want to see the squad break up, even though they had to break up a little due to responsibilities elsewhere in the world anyway. It's just how they made me feel.