#but I plan to read more because I'm still looking at the wiki about things I may have missed

[fireorstormystuff]

I would like to add more, because Ronnie is one of my favorite character in Fiction-

So the first picture you shared is from when Firestorm was accepted into the Justice League, and I just love how they treat him, he's that kid who was allowed to join them, and THATS THEIR KID-

Firestorm is the Youngest member KNOWINGLY Accepted into the Justice League- Looks at Captain Marvel- KNOWINGLY- Ronnie was 15.

(Also he's taken down the entire justice league in a sheer panic because they weren't listening to him, then when they went back to fight him, they stopped because he was crying. Yes, Superman and Wonder Women were in that group he dropped. (Kryptonite Bubble) He is one of the heavy hitters if he gets serious and is focused)

This is from when they transformed back and they all really get the idea down that he was pretty young.

Also when Flash was learning about who was killed while he was away, the FIRST one he noticed was Ronnie (This was when Ronnie was Firestorm alone, so Professor Stein is okay, only Ronnie got killed)

Like, Batman is dead, You can see him at the bottom, but you go to Ronnie first!?

THATS THEIR BOY! He was always a ray of sunshine on the league!

ANYWAYS- I also really like how this comic series tackles a LOT of topics, like it does a really good job-

Like the ･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: DADDY ISSUES :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ

Here's another with Baby Ronnie because... I CAN

Also, if you ever get the Vibes that Professor Stein is his real dad- WELL-

ITS CANON- I know Ronnie call's him dad somewhere, but idk where it went. They have a father son relationship and it's one of my favorite. There's also Jason out here like "WE GOTTA SAVE OUR DADS!" and Ronnie is in Denial.

There's also an Issue that Prof Stein helps Ronnie to being him back to reality-

Ronnie really like to not talk about stuff and bottle things up-

Like when he remembered the Horror's of Deathstorm.

He's a really good character! and I highly suggest everyone to read his comics, he's a SUPER underrated character.

Okay! My last thing are a few funny screen shots of him being a little guy-

tell me about your current Favourite Guy. Tell me anything you want about them you have full permission to Go Nuts. also whats your credit card information

Shout out to Ronald Roy Raymond Rockwell, gotta be one of the characters ever

So, a while back, I decided to watch through various DC animated shows, and really thought that Firestorm was neat, so I decided to delve into his comics (this was also around the start of me finally getting into actually reading comics and not just reading the lore of them because I was so intimidated to jump in and not understand what was going on)

Cut to now where he's my profile picture on every site I can plaster a pic of him onto. He's endearing, what can I say? He has a bit of that Spider-Man charm to him (makes sense I guess, he was co-created by two men who worked on it for a while, particularly Gerry Conway, who wrote for Amazing Spider-Man during the 70's, including the death of Gwen Stacey. Idk I just thought that was interesting) But,

Who the hell is this guy

Ronnie is one half of the hero Firestorm. Then he's the whole shebang. Then he's one half again. Comics are weird man. But the basic deal is that he was caught in a giant nuclear explosion alongside nuclear physicist Martin Stein, and they fuse together into Firestorm, The Nuclear Man. That accident also rendered them the ability to transmute any elements into any other elements. I am fully serious when I say if Firestorm weren't so commited to the bit, he'd be one of the most powerful characters in all of DC. But then a lot of stuff happens, he joins the JLA, he gets caught up in that crisis on those infinite earths, he gets sued, he dies (he got better dw), but I'll just finish off with a few cliff notes

He got essentially drunk off of atomic radiation he absorbed once

He made that goofy ass outfit himself as soon as he figured out his powers

He got sued, yeah. For accidentally destroying property while stopping a villain, but honestly he probably should have gotten sued for a lot of other stuff way before that

Like that fact he turns so much stuff into asbestos to stop fire

Ronnie it's the 1980's people know that's a carcinogen at that point

Stop making things into asbestos

Shit got weird for a bit after he got a nuke dropped on him

Like how the story transitioned from weird science stuff as a base to pure fantasy and Firestorm became a fire elemental which completely nixed the whole nuclear part of the character

Literally two of his villains are more popular than him right now (Killer Frost and the Weasel)

He's got ･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: DADDY ISSUES :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ

He died so bad he came back as a black lantern when that event happened, and when he was fully revived he immediately went back to college and partied it up

But despite all of that, the reason I find myself liking Ronnie is that it's his immediate gut instinct after he gets powers to help people. Even when he's sulking and being angsty, he gets over it as soon as someone needs his help

also i dont have a credit card, would debit work

[manonblaqkbeak]

Iced Tea and Writing

Day 17 - Hobby @rowaelinscourt

just some more fluff lol with a lil mention of sex at the end.

cw: none words: 900+

enjoy!! xx

{ also, there's a tiny easter egg in this fic if you've looked at rowan's wiki page ;) }

Aelin was hiding something, and Rowan was determined to figure it out.

She wasn't scheming anything, he was confident in that, and it wasn't a policy that she was hiding from him because while he was busy rebuilding Orynth and Terrasen's army and navy, councilmen and women still managed to find him and rattled off about their plans that they wanted his support on.

He listened, because it was his duty as king-consort to do so, but he always told Aelin about it before they unwound from their day.

That very thing happened yesterday, and as Rowan walked into his shared study with his mate, Aelin slammed shut a drawer in her desk and turned to face him fully.

He could have sworn that there was a faint blush on her cheeks. He had asked her if she was alright and she said she was, but he sensed the white lie.

And that was when his curiosity was born.

So, with a rare day off for both of them, he told Aelin that he would soon join her in the Queen's Garden but for now, he was pretending to be busy when in actuality, he was going to shift and fly into the garden to see what his wife was up to, as he saw that bundle of paper under her arms this morning, with an ink-pot and glass pen in the other.

Using his magic, he made sure to send his scent the other way as he perched within an orange tree, the branches bursting with fresh, ripe fruit.

He heard the scribble of the glass pen against the paper, her beautiful face scrunched in concentration. She was lying on a thick picnic blanket, a tray full of fresh fruits, cheeses and iced tea laid on top of it.

A pitcher of iced tea that was now empty and Aelin realised it. Huffing, she got up, holding the empty pitcher as she left to refill it.

When he heard the garden door close, Rowan swooped down and read what his mate was hiding.

And became so engrossed in it that he didn't hear Aelin's approach until she hissed in surprised several minutes later.

“Buzzard, put that down!” Rowan didn't and kept on reading. Aelin rushed forward, putting the iced tea away before she extended her hand towards him, silently asking for the papers.

Childishly, Rowan didn't and even extended it into the air where she couldn't reach. His smile was wide enough that Aelin could count nearly all his teeth, his canines gleaming in the sun.

“You're writing a romance story, based on us?”

Aelin scoffed. “It isn't based on us, you territorial beast.”

Rowan's smile grew. “The Fae male is called Raonn, and the half-fae female is called Ayla, how else am I meant to interpret it?”

“It's just a coincidence, Rowan.”

“Raonn is an inch shorter than me, with white hair and hazel eyes and powers of water and invisibility and Ayla—”

“I'm aware of their powers buzzard, as I wrote them.” Her hand was still stretched out, flexing her fingers to hand the papers over.

“Why did you hide it from me?”

“I didn't hide it, I just...kept it locked up from prying eyes. And it's just some stupid scribbles—”

“It's not stupid,” Rowan said, interrupting her. “It's good Aelin.”

“You're just saying that.”

“I'm not,” he insisted, meaning it. “It's descriptive without droning on, the imagery is clear. It's good,” he promised her.

Aelin smiled sweetly at the truth she sensed in Rowan's words. “It's still not based on us.”

Rowan hummed and handed her the papers. “Whatever you say, Fireheart.”

Rowan joined her on the picnic blanket, leaning against the same orange tree he used to hide in. Aelin leaned against his shoulder, handing over the tray of fruits and cheeses. Rowan picked out what he wanted, which he ended up just giving to Aelin as she kept stealing them-pay back for not handing over the papers straight away, most likely.

“I just wanted to do something different,” Aelin said eventually. “After dealing with demon hordes and politics, I just needed to do something that didn't involve the world being at stake.”

“I understand,” Rowan said, “it's good to have a hobby.”

Aelin looked up at her mate, his eyes thoughtful as he stared at her. “You should take up a hobby, too, like drawing. You're good at that.” And he was, her tattooed back was proof of his skills.

His smile from before returned. “Maybe I'll draw Raonn and Ayla, give you some more inspiration. Or,” he begun to say as Aelin opened her mouth to again deny any similarities, “I could draw you in your gold nightgown.”

“I have other colours, you know,” she said, now running a lazy hand up and down his thigh and her mates dark eyes zeroed in on her hand. She had a whole closest full of nightgowns, all different colours and cuts and fabrics. She kept them locked away, however, as she liked to surprise him.

“I know, but it's my favourite.” Which was an understatement, because whenever she wore metallic gold, Rowan fucked her so hard that afterwards she saw stars. “And maybe, right now, I can give you inspiration in the physical sense.”

Aelin snorted as Rowan softly placed her on her back and did give her ideas for her story for later—although she would still deny that it wasn't based on her and Rowan.

Having a hobby was indeed a very good use of her time.

[0aurelion-sol0]

(So before we start with this theory & new post of mine for a long time since my semi-hiatus, I want to repeat that I do not want any new informations about season 5 or anything related to it whether true or not, same for any leaks, set photos whether true not. I ESPECIALLY DO NOT WANT THOSE!!!!! or interviews that are the slightest bit too revealing UNLESS I haven't looked at it myself and even then, easy on any of these. I know something minor about this season & have seen two things about it but that's it, nothing more.

These theories & analyses might be proven wrong or false already or in the future but I don't care, I do this for fun & as a way to explore different possibilities about the story that can be interesting or could have been at least. I hope everyone understands this & will not be a party pooper towards me just to have a "GOTCHA!!!" moment... With that said, let's get into it, shall we ?)

_________________________________________

The Thessalhydra:

Back To The Future &... The Beginning.

_________________________________________

For this first post, I wanted to go back to season 1 as I found it was fitting to explore one of the earliest major fandom theories of Stranger Things since it's final season is on it's way.

"The Thessalhydra as the final threat from the Upside Down."

And while at first everyone at the end of Season 1 thought, obviously, that this creature would be the next threat in it's second season, the Mind Flayer poked it's head and said "not yet!", "I need to experiment with my minions first!" with a Vecna also slowly planning his own armageddon as well. And as much as I don't like him (& his season... 😒), he's here and he proves to be useful from time to time when it comes to theories or analyses because he still part of the show & can help up in terms of parallels, themes & plot.

But now, let's remember the last episode of season 1! The boys playing their new campaign about the Thessalhydra taking a similar turn to the one they did at the beginning of the first season (*wink wink*) & this time Will does a 14 (*wink wink*) & kills the Thessalhydra with a fireball. (*wink wink*)

Now if this wasn't a tv show with multiple seasons, I would tell you that the boys obviously staged the whole thing for Will to win so that he can be happy and because they're all very nice friends & also not repeat the same game at risk of making him vanish again especially if the monster this time is the size of the Empire State Building, (sorry with the luck these characters have, I simply can't believe they can have a happy ending such as this one. WILL HAD UD SLUGS INSIDE HIS BODY, WTF GUYS???!!!) but this is a tv show with multiple seasons. And now, it has definitely become foreshadowing for what's to come.

Especially since in it's fourth season now, we basically have Nancy having an apocalyptic vision of Hawkins with a large creature which is describe by having a "gaping mouth".

And if you look at her face here, she definitely did not find that thing beautiful in the slightest, though she is probably more terrified about the fact that she saw most of her family dead. 🤭

But would you look at that ?! What creature in ST fits that description ? Quite a lot actually but obviously you know which one I'm talking about, yes The Thessalhydra! And oh my god, look at what I've found on the Forgotten Realms Wiki:

"Thessalhydras were hideous and terrifying creatures. They had a large, reptilian body with a long tail, 18 feet (5.5 meters) in length, which ended in a pair of large, sharp pincers. It had no head, instead eight hydra-like heads, each about 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length, surrounded a gaping mouth filled with teeth and acidic saliva."

Well well, after that, it's difficult to argue what else could that large creature be!

End of theory! Bye guys! Thank you for reading!

...

Except I also can do that... 😅 Because I have reason to believe that this future Thessalhydra is a creature we have seen before. One whose campaign mirrors another campaign from the same season.

Yes. I have reasons to believe that the Thessalhydra and The Demogorgon from Season 1 are one and the same.

Do you remember this ?

Of you course you remember this, what a stupid question. It's part of a series of trauma that affected us deeply as a fandom, for different reasons (at least for me) but it proves to be an even more important parallel than we originally thought.

I don't need to tell you about the thematic importance of the parallel or what it means for the characters, we've all already gone through that already, I am more interested in it's significance for the plot.

So El kills The Demogorgon & Henry the same way. By disintegrating them. But that action doesn't seem to end the same way for the both of them & El herself.

What is interesting is that the three of them dissapear in some form, Henry into an Upside Down gate but ends up falling forever through the Hellscape (a different dimension than Dimension X/The Upside Down though likely connected, the same way that Dimension X & The Upside Down probably are the same thing but it's not fully confirmed yet.) before ending into Dimension X/The Upside Down in some way. And we all know what happens from here on out, at least what we know of it since Season 4.

I have a theory for why he ended up there, what is the nature of that place and did not simply disintegrate like The Demogorgon who I also do not think simply disintegrated but we will not go fully through that in this post.

El though ends up in the Upside Down after being taken by the disintegrated part of the Demogorgon or by disintetrating herself (though it didn't really seem that way to me) which I think is probably because the Demogorgon used it's powers on her since he could open gates or send anyone to the UD in season 1. (We will also get into that but not in this post, same for why he was so different in Season 1, both physically and in the way he behaved.)

But the Demogorgon, from what we saw simply disintegrated and we never heard or saw any significant clue of it's existence again. Which again leads me to believe, if we follow the logic of what happened to Henry & to El in some way, it is still alive, somewhere.

And I believe personally that it is in the Hellscape right now, and in the same way that Henry got electrocuted while free falling in that place which marked the start of it's transformation as Vecna, I think the same is happening to The Demogorgon and is slowly being transformed into the Thessalhydra.

I think that El when she disintegrate something, she sends them into the Hellscape which is connected to Dimension X/The Upside Down as some sort of passage for someone who didn't enter via a gate the "original" or "right" way per say. Because being launched into Dimension X/The Upside Down in a state or in a way such as this one could be fatal so it's some sort of transition in a way.

And while Henry technically went through a gate, he was disintegrated before it's opening & that gate couldn't last more than a few seconds which I think is a result of the barrier between the worlds not being thin enough. Plus I think El gave way more strength into Henry than she did the Demogorgon with her powers which in turn also opened a gate behind him.

So as a result, he went into the Hellscape as some sort of "safer" transition between the two dimensions since as we know, and I hope, no gate before that has been opened in Hawkins before.

And as for the Demogorgon, again I think it's a point of it fighting back against El & using it's own powers against her plus again El didn't seem to launch the same type of strength of her power as she did onto Henry since she was standing much closer to the Demogorgon than she did Henry while also using an important memory of hers to defeat him.

Now as to why we haven't seen that Demogorgon or Thessalhydra in ST again, I think it's because the Hellscape was connected to the original version of The Upside Down, Dimension X in a way that it's not anymore with The Upside Down because what happened November 6th, 1983 changed more than just the environment but also the workings of those dimensions since the barriers between the dimensions are now thinner.

So I see 3 possibilities for the Demogorgon, to me it is still free falling through the Hellscape being slowly turned into the Thessalhydra or somehow ended up in Dimension X instead which is still connected to The Upside Down but is seperate it's own plane in some way since The Mind Flayer still come from there or is in a version of The Upside Down that is still Dimension X outside of UD Hawkins.

But still, some things are still up for speculation for how exactly it all works out in the end.

As I said at the beginning of the post, you take Nancy's description and apply to other creatures in ST like the Meat Flayer/Spider Monster (whatever you wanna call it) of Season 3, a gaping mouth with multiple hydra-like heads who in a way also gets defeated by fireballs via Lucas and it's fireworks which we see Will throw with him but the Demogorgon also fits that description with it's own gaping mouth blooming like a flower whose petals could look like different mouths coming from it.

And in a way, it would be ironic for The Demorgorn from season 1 to be The Thessalhydra because if we follow the boys' campaign, the very thing that took Will back then, that he couldn't defeat would also be the same thing he will defeat in it's final season as some sort of karmic consequence for The Demogorgon & The UD as a whole but also as a way to tie it's final season with it's first season in a more concrete way.

It started with Will and it will end with Will.

[donkeys-waffles]

Okay, listen I'm not all that convinced AFO is completely gone. And let's put DFO aside for a moment. His and Yoichi's story feels uncomplete, there are certain elements that were given the time to be graced on but never really elaborated on. Like for example, that possibility that certain elements of AFO's backstory were fabricated to accomplish a certain message.

It's very easy to read over his backstory and gather the idea that he was born evil. But after a deeper look, it's very clear that was the purpose. We are meant to believe AFO is evil because that's what he wants us to believe, that's what he sees in himself. I feel bittersweet towards his supposed 'end'. Because I hate how Bakugou delivered that end, for one. But on one hand I enjoy how he mentioned needing Yoichi, it starts with denial and ends with recognition. And even if this a hot take, I think it's a beautiful, emotional end to such a messed-up individual.

However, I have a weird feeling about two things. First, I'd like to say, one thing I've noticed in writing is if something is brought up randomly, it'll generally come back to bite you later. Nothing is left unsaid, otherwise you have plot holes.

I found it interesting how it's mentioned AFO wasn't able to use his last trick up his sleeve, without any elaboration as to what that would have been. And I would say this was done on purpose, maybe just used as another example of every dream he wasn't able to accomplish before he died. But bringing light to this does nothing to strengthen the impact of his death on the narrative. Another interesting detail was Yoichi's wish. His dream of AFO being the kindest quirk in the world, which I can see being used to cause a reaction in the reader, as if trying to make them feel some heartache for such a bastard. But even with that reasoning, that sentence in the end feels so empty. unfulfilling, and almost lack-luster. It seems odd to be brought up and this could be bias, but I feel like that sentence had more importance than just literary cannon fodder.

We know AFO's main goal, make everyone love him like Yoichi, and his midterm goal was to steal his brother back through OFA. Makes sense.

But I still have questions. I understand why he took Tomura, to get a strong enough host to steal OFA, makes sense. But how does leaving Gigantomachia in the mountains have anything to do with such a goal? For what? Retirement? What did that achieve, wouldn't it better if he kept him around? If he was planning on moving his consciousness to Tomua later, then keeping him around would be better, right? Afterall, he'd be able to meet the child and possibly have a better understanding of the situation. Gigantomachia is an incredibly strong asset (look how he took down SO many heroes in the first war); he could have possibly even used him as backup during his fight with All Might.

And why keep OFA at a distance when his entire goal is to steal said quirk? I'm referring to that one panel in Vigilantes. Thats the entire opposite of his entire 200-year-old goal.

And that whole thing with his copy of rewind... This man is 200 years old, with an extremely strong villain empire, who has earned the respect of a genius scientist... You don't achieve any of those things by being stupid. And now I'm not normally one for completely trusting the MHA Wiki, but I can't blame them for giving him a 6/5 intelligence. He's a genius, and is spectacular with quirk analysis, it's his thing ya feel me. But it does show his lack of self-preservation, which is against what he's supposed to be angry at All Might for.

All Might took his health and his empire; we know he didn't really care about his empire as much from Spinner. (I mean lack of self-preservation because he's using a quirk that will eventually rewind him out of existence, whether he transfers his quirk to Tomura entirely or not. There's a possibility that it won't work, he failed to take complete control the first time remember. Is that what this supposed 'trick up his sleeve' was supposed to remedy? This is the same man that gave himself immortality, the same man that ran away from All Might for years, the same man that has shown to rely on the strength of others instead of dealing wounds himself. And might I add the same man that is supposed to be angry about his health being diminished. Afterall if not his health or his empire what could he possibly be angry at All Might for that's so special, so unique compared to his predecessors?)

This brings me to my last point. Since when the hell did this bitch care about THE CHILDREN! This man literally stole quirks from children, killed thousands, and turned a crap tone into braindead nomu. And he's angry on behalf of the children. Are we ever going to get an explanation for that?

Like I would understand if he killed the children that he apparently gave heroic ideals to. Like Ha! You will pay for passing on your ideals to children by watching me steal their quirks and kill them. But that's not what he means, or he would've stolen Tokoyami's quirk, killed Jiro instead of leaving her with a broken eardrum, and blasted Izuku away with deadly force instead of holding back in the first war. We have no answers for such behavior from a man known for exhibiting zero humanity (and making that behavior his ENTIRE personality.) Need I remind you this man stole Tomura (possibly gave him the quirk that killed his entire family,) and groomed him just to possess him later alright. He also turned Tsubasa into a nomu for shits and giggles, which we have never talked about once! Tsubasa, need I remind, was a small child and was the Doctor's grandson (which you'd think give him immunity to this kind of sick shit but apparently not.)

There are so many questions left unanswered, many of which Yoichi himself can't even answer. Like with all their human experimentation they do on a daily basis, the clone theory wouldn't really surprise me. It would make a lot of sense for his character as well. And even if that theory doesn't pan out, the vestige behind the locked door (which is entirely separate rant honestly,) or even Tomura's AFO vestige maybe. Though I feel if Izuku really saves Tomura in this war, then we might never hear much of anything from that vestige. Especially since their first priority would be to cancel it out as soon as possible. A lot of people bring up how the story is almost over, and they are probably right. But the end date was supposed to be 2022 originally, right? Then it was moved to 2023, now it's 2024-2025. Like yeah it is almost over, but there's still story that needs wrapping up clearly because that deadline has been pushed back multiple times. Too many times to make it a valid counterclaim anymore. Either way, I don't think we are in the clear of the Demon King's superiority complex anytime soon.

[himluv]

DA Review Series – The Calling by David Gaider

<<< Previous Review: The Stolen Throne

At last, my media tie-in tour of all things Dragon Age continues! You can find the previous review linked at the top of each post and I will probably make a master list once all is said and done. But, let's talk about the next thing!

Title: The Calling Author: David Gaider Publication Year: 2009 In-World Year: ~9:10 Dragon (possibly 9:11 Dragon) Verdict: ... eh? There's much more to like here, particularly lore, but it's long and feels longer. If you're determined, give it a shot, otherwise maybe just read the wiki?

The Calling is the direct follow up to The Stolen Throne, but still a prequel to Dragon Age: Origins. In this book we meet Duncan just months after he has joined the Wardens, and they have travelled to Ferelden to ask King Maric for a favor.

The favor? Oh, you know, nothing much... just if he would lead them through the Deep Roads and back to Ortan Thaig so they can find their missing Commander who *should* be dead. So, you know. Typical Warden shenanigans.

And, as one might expect from a dummy like Maric, he agrees. Now, I am being a little hyper-critical. I actually found Maric to be much more likable this time around – he's grown up quite a bit, and he's grieving Rowan's death and a life he never had. He's got some complexities showing through in this book and it looks good on him.

I also really enjoyed the other Wardens we get to meet. Especially Kell, an Avvar, and his hound Hafter, as well as Orlesian battle couple Julien and Nicolas. We also meet quite a few important folks in this book! Obviously we have Duncan, and he is a delight, but we also meet Fiona, Utha, and of course, The Architect.

Which brings me to the point of this book. The Architect has concocted a plan to infect the whole world with the Darkspawn Taint in hopes that the survivors will achieve some sort of middle ground like Grey Wardens do in the advanced stages of their Calling. Ghoulish and horrible, but still retaining their minds.

Except... do they retain their minds? The evidence suggests that the further the Taint spreads, and the more corrupted one becomes, the angrier and more hateful they become. Which is interesting, because I don't know if that's really come up elsewhere in DA. It definitely makes me consider Red Lyrium a little differently, that's for sure.

Of course, if you've played DA: Awakening, then you know that The Architect and Utha escape and do continue... refining(?) their plans to bring a "lasting peace" to Thedas (read my tin hat theory here).

Also important to the series, Maric and Fiona do the nasty in the Deep Roads which results in the birth of one adorable wee baby Alistair. We also get some context about Duncan's promise to Maric to watch out for the boy, so we know his recruitment was hardly coincidence.

There's one more thing I really want to mention before I wind this down. I've been pretty critical of Gaider's writing in these reviews so far, and while I still think the writing isn't great in The Calling, it is GREATLY improved. It's obvious to me that he learned a lot and grew over the course of writing these books. But, there's one moment that I think really shines, where I actually got the sense that Gaider was writing something that mattered to him.

When the party is trapped in the Fade, Maric finds Nicolas in his dream with the recently deceased Julien. It's a poignant and tragic scene, where Nicolas knows he's dreaming, that Julien truly is dead, but chooses to stay anyway. It's beautifully done and made my chest ache with the weight of Nicolas's pain. It also made me think about when it was written, how it was "revealed" so far into the book that these two very buff warrior bros were actually devoted lovers. And how the gaming landscape in 2009 might not have looked upon that with the most kindness and empathy.

I'm glad it's there. To me, it was the best part of the book.

Overall, The Calling is a decent addition to the Dragon Age series. It struggles with pacing a bit, feeling like the pacing of a quest in Origins (which also struggles with pacing imho), but there is quite a bit of lore and extra context for characters we see later in the series.

So, while it took me a little while to get through, I am glad I read it again!

[crazylittlejester]

I can remember if I've yapped about this or not, but hear me out:

Witcher AU.

Time and Twi and obviously in the school of the Wolf, Time being the tutor. They're the professional bunch, and absolute adrenaline junkys. In the most literally sense because they specialized in gaining adrenaline for some reason...

Sky, Wars and Legend are in Griffin school. They're known to be a bit more knightly and as respectable as the Wolves, and some of them rely more on magic.

Wild is that one Cat school Witcher that you found half crazy in a cave. Not that he fits Cat school much, just the situation. Wild get saved by Twilight tho because he deserves nice things. I think Viper school actually suits him the most, stealth and traps and all.

I think Four would be the Cat school instead. Since the feline school do emotion amplifying instead of suppressing, and as a result suffers from wild mood swings and sometimes just goes crazy?? I'm thinking Four is managing the emotion thing by splitting into colours, maybe even physically as a special move.

Hyrule is manticore school, because alchemy and potions seems his style. And the armor too, I just feel like it suits him.

Wind is Crane school, which I didn't know even exist until I looked up the wiki for this au. Like the manticore school there isn't much known about this school, but supposedly they goes along eastern the coastline and specify in aquatic and airborne monsters? Also prefers using swords and rudimentary... guns?? Hell yeah Wind is so getting a gun, even if it's just a serpentine stick.

They're gathering as basically the last surviving members of their respective classes, trying to work as a team for probably the first time in their whole life. Maybe they're going against Ganon or even demise. Maybe they're gathering because why the hell not? It's not like there's much of a point to keep to themselves, not since they're the absolute last bunch of a cruel practice. Necessary evil, but still.

Time and Wars are the only ones left that knows how to create more Witchers, and they plan on letting the bloody trials die with them. They would pass on their knowledge and skills, when and if they can, but there would be no more Witchers.

.

Damn I made myself sad... But yeah. Witchers au would be so cool. Now if only I can read it without needing to write anything........

imma be honest i dont know much at all about this stuff but this seems absolutely cool as hell and I’m obsessed with it ‼️

[plutorine]

Thoughts on Demons (2014)

this was originally going to be part of my demons (2014) thread on my twitter, but i'll just be dumping my thoughts about the series here on tumblr. i'll continue where i left off from where i closed the thread.

spoilers below the cut. there will be triggering content as well (suicide, mention of blood). don't expect this to be coherent. also i haven't read the book yet (oooh when i tell you about how desperate i am in getting a copy here in the PH), so yeah.

long read ahead.

okay. the last scene i watched last night was liza nikolaevna (and mavriky) getting beaten by the townspeople after the death of the lebyadkins due to her connection to stavrogin (and stavrogin being the main suspect of the siblings' death). did they really have to beat the poor girl? why must a woman (yet again) suffer from the misdeeds of a man HGKJDGFJGHDK

also pyotr,,, maniacally dancing in the pig pen....

man. the whole thing about shatov finally getting the chance to be a father and live with a family of his own only to be shot in the head by pyotr is just. :((( my jaw was on the floor i tell you. i was devastated and utterly wrecked.

the thing with demons (2014) is that it's on a different level of insanity than, say, c&p. c&p is depressing. demons wrecked me from start to finish. i cannot stress how many times the hairs on the back of my head stood up whenever pyotr would manipulate and rope in stavrogin in his plans.

it has the vibes of like,, trying so desperately to wash off blood from your hands but the blood just "magically" keeps on getting redder and redder and it doesn't really come off

also what the fuck was that pyotr??? mans just shot shatov in point-blank range and has the audacity to eat chicken (without washing his hands, to boot)??? like OH you going to HELL hell.

this scene with kirillov's lines:

i mentioned in the thread that i had to brush up on russian history before i read/watch demons because otherwise, it would just completely fly over my head

it was pretty interesting watching how this movement that pyotr was trying to mobilize fit the existing narrative then within the context of 19th century russian politics; demons was essentially dostoevsky "warning" of what could possibly be if people who thought like verkhovensky would get the upper hand in deciding the course of the russia's future

i admit i can't really speak about this because well, i'm not russian, but i deeply appreciate the how dostoevsky was able to weave all of this in his novel in such a way that leaves even me, a foreigner, in deep thought about what the implications of such an ideology would have on a wider context outside its country of origin

ok kirillov wtf HAHAHAHAHA ang gago niya XD

stavrogin's confession.

VILE. stavrogin you VILE, VILE, MAN. i don't have any words for it at all. raskolnikov ends up looking like a saint when i put him next to stavrogin.

on another note maksim matveev's teary-eyed face in that scene is so fucking beautiful i almost cried along with him

i seriously want to ask dostoevsky why he insists on making beautiful the characters that we're supposed to dislike/critique

heck even that notion warrants much introspection

like he's about to k-word himself but he still looks so hot? okay i need to stfu

i like the bit here with tikhon talking about revolutions and such:

this reminds me very much of my country's very own EDSA Revolution (there's EDSA Uno and Dos, but I'm talking more about EDSA Uno here because it's probably more relevant to the political state of my country rn). i won't go into depth about it, but you can check the wiki of it to get an idea of what i mean.

(they can be *gets shot*)

the ending scene. okay.

i talked about this w my twt moot and according to her, the most accepted theory is that the kid there (with dasha) is stavrogin's, and verkhovensky's reaction to seeing them there was like him getting the idea to continue his failed twisted plan, but with the kid in the place of his father. just. what the fuck man. leave that kid alone.

i was also told that this scene wasn't really in the book? yeah. so there's that.

concluding thoughts:

at this point i'm quite used to ruslit plots wrecking my mental state and subjecting me to emotions that make me want to stare at a wall, so this experience with watching demons (2014) was not as jarring as i feared it to be XD as expected, there were really some scenes that left me like "huh??? 🤨🤨", but really that's because i haven't read the book. what i plan to do is once i get the book, i'm gonna read it as i revisit the series.

also maksim matveev? yeah. that man is HOT hot. i could stare at his stavrogin all day if i could.

that's it for me! thank you to everyone who engaged with the thread, it made the experience of watching demons (2014) more enjoyable.

my next target watch on the dostoevsky adaptation list is the italian tbk film!! that or the 1968 russian one. will definitely make a live commentary thread about either on twitter as well.

[aphblr-shipfessions]

Turning off anon because I have evidence to support my argument. I was the one of thought of MyStreet Nana X Vylad while thinking of an AU I've been cooking up and never plan to do anything with. But in canon, it could seriously work.

Your honor, if I may, I believe I have gathered enough evidence to convince the jury of my peers of my argument as to why these two particular sets of blocks should kiss.

Evidence 1: Nana is a baker. And the MyStreet Wiki for Vylad says this

As we see from how she acts with a different Ro'meave brother in canon, Nana would absolutely make as many cakes as Vylad wanted. And he would absolutely help her with it because are you about to tell me Vylad wouldn't be a fantastic cooking assistant? Cracking jokes and goofing off to make sure Nana doesn't take it too seriously and still has fun with her passions? And why would he prioritize that?

Evidence 2: Vylad is a nerd.

Nana is a far more creatively oriented person, opting to express herself in various forms of art or through creating fan works of things she likes in her life. While Vylad is a gifted kid who 100% experience burn out, a mid-life crisis at 20, and then opted to start traveling the world about it. But seeing how expressive and endlessly loving Nana is of things that Vylad over looks might help reignite their passion for things he's become distant from. Remember why he liked studying. Why he liked learning. They info dump to each other about their given interests.

Just imagine Vylad lying their head in Nana's lap while she's sat criss cross applesauce on the floor rambling to him about some drama in the online discourse between cake decorators or whatever, just appreciating the way her eyes light up and her ears move to express her different emotions. Maybe Nana is sleepy and just curls up in bed and asks Vylad to tell her some facts about whatever book he's reading. She sleepily responds to some of them, trying to engage him, before she just falls asleep and he gives her a little kiss on the head.

Evidence 3: This gem

I just think Nana baking a big cookie for Vylad with the words "I'm sorry" written across it in frosting after a fight would be very cute. It makes Vylad forgive her for whatever they were upset about.

Evidence 4: They're both BTS fans

Okay only Nana is confirmed as one, but I could see Vylad liking and maybe even learning BTS songs after discovering them from Nana. Maybe Vylad takes Nana on his trip to go to Korea to see then. Maybe he took her to Japan at some point. Maybe that's where they proposed to each other if they decide to take that route. Maybe. A

And for my final piece of evidence: They were roommates

I rest my case, your honor.

(Sorry for leaving a whole essay in your inbox,,,)

*gasp* they were roommates

[anogete]

Oh my goodness

Hello to anyone who remembers me. Real life and mental health both sank their claws into me. I've been avoiding social media because... well, many reasons but most because I feel like I'm a big ol' disappointment.

But today, I've come here like the humble whore I am to ask for a beta. Before you get excited, I have to warn you that it's not for Marvel, which (if you remember me) is what you likely know me for writing. Read on for an explanation about where the fuck I've been and what fandom I've spiraled down into lately.

In 2019-2020, I had a lot of grieving to do for some close loved ones who passed on. This led to a really shitty space for my mental health where I went into a functioning depression. I was doing things, but only the bare minimum required to exist without people catching on that I was in a bad mental space. I can't say I've completely kicked that, but I'm trying to do better. At the same time, I had a bunch of stuff going on a work. Specifically, I work for a team of advisors who provide financial planning services to individuals/families. I was promoted to an associate in 2020 and then we went through a merger with a larger firm in 2022. So, work has been crazy with me taking on additional responsibilities and working to build new processes after the merger. In addition, I managed to finish my bachelor's (20 years after I dropped out of college!) and take classes toward getting a CFP designation over the past 2 years. I'm scheduled to take the CFP exam in November. It's a 6-hour bear of a test covering pretty much all aspects of personal financial planning. And then next year I'll be continuing with my team as an advisor myself. Do I have anxiety? Fuck, yes. But I'm trying to stop cockblocking myself on the career front.

ANYWAY, enough with the boring stuff. I've been drowning in material for classes and studies with so little fun in my life. Somehow I got on CODTok (Call of Duty) and my little imagination ran wild as I watched these absolutely filthy edits of those boys. And for the first time in a long time, I felt that itch to write. I really should be focusing on studying for this exam, but all work and no play isn't fun. It's taken me 3 years to learn that lesson, but it has managed to finally sink into my thick skull.

My problem is that I know virtually nothing about Call of Duty because I don't like video games. As for the characters--I only know minimal info (mostly from YouTube videos and a COD wiki). It would be nice to have someone more knowledgeable than me to look over what I've written. And if not that, then it would be nice to have anyone other than me give it a beta read to point out my stupid mistakes or plot holes. I have about 16 pages of a Ghost/OFC written. It's my usual--heavy on the dialogue and sexual tension with a side of plot/action. I don't know how fast I'll be at writing this. Work is kicking my ass and I still need to dedicate my weekends to studying for this test. But if you're willing to take a little ride with me, I'd love some input. Send me a message or email me at anogete527@yahoo.com if you're interested. I miss and love ya'll.

[zelda-cooper]

Thoughts, Headcanons and Comments on Bushroot (My AU).

This here is more of a commentary blog and maybe a rant, it can also be considered as a headcanon blog and also for Bushroot fans. For those who want to, they can read it as they wish, but I'm already advancing that it's LONG and will have some low-level words (I'll censor it, but it's still worth it). Feel free to leave comments about your opinions...

So... These days I was looking at the Darkwing Duck wiki, more specifically the Bushroot one, until I got to the curiosities... And I came across this...

Then the thought came to me: "Wait wait wait... IS THE BUSHROOT A WORSE KILLER THAN NEGADUCK?!?!?! 0-0"

"WHAT THE F-"

Okay... Sorry... But actually it wasn't like that... I already knew a little bit about it because of Annie that Bushroot was in a way kind of... A bloodthirsty killer... But then a question came to me: How much was that on purpose and how much was accidental? See, I know Bushroot is a villain and is basically insane, but... Considering his personality... Do you really think he kills KILLS on purpose most of the time?

Obviously Disney wouldn't even dream of putting it in a children's series, but... Darkwing Duck tackles death a couple of times like it's nothing! Bushroot itself has "died" a few times and people speak verbally! I don't want to get into how much Disney is very childish to the extreme and how this makes current productions a little worse, but that's not my point... The point is... I don't believe that Bushroot did the murders knowingly or WANTING. And here I get an idea from another cartoon, this time a current one: The Owl House. More specifically... Willow and Gus.

I'm not going to go into the merits of how I love TOH and blah blah blah... But one thing that I found interesting about this series is this characteristic of when the character is having a breakdown or is out of control, the powers apparently get stronger and the eyes of the staff are shining. I particularly like the way Willow looks, basically it's Bushroot. Here comes my Headcanon...

When Bushroot ends up with some extremely strong negative emotion, the most common being anger or fear, he ends up losing control of his powers and this makes him completely lose reason and attack everything in front of him. Be it allies, enemies and even innocent people... And here comes a very heavy question... He may be a murderer, but he's not a sociopath or a psychopath.

Let's face it... Bushroot only killed his Bullies because they harassed him ALL DAY. This one he had a taste for killing them first! The DWD is obvious, the hero was always interfering with his plans (which I honestly think he stopped caring, because Darkwing is not one of the most competent heroes...). But it's JUST THESE people we know he wanted to kill... What about the other victims? Did he mean to kill them or was it an accident?

For me, I think that most of the victims were accidental and, after he got out of that frenzy, if he found out... I think he would go into despair with so much blood. Here is also the question of his remorse and guilt, he would probably cry in despair and Liquidator would be comforting him (although he is not the most emotional person... Then more Liquidator headcanons) or any of the other Fearsome, except for Negaduck, who shouldn't even have feelings anyway.

To wrap up this whole thread... Let's go to Bushroot's weakness... I know everyone knows that this plant zombie is basically immortal in the series, but here I thought of a good weakness for him... Fire.

Reasons? Zombie in most movies is defeated with fire. Plants are easily burned by fire. There are forests that are burned. I think you get the point... It would also serve as something for Negaduck to use as a triumph for him against Bush and could threaten him. This is something from Negaduck, but not giving too much spoiler... Basically the Fearsome Four didn't betray him before in our AU because they were constantly threatened by Negaduck, everything for the negative duck was a matter of having control of everything. He knew the weakness of the four and always used threats and intimidation to get what he wanted. And let's face it... Bushroot didn't have much attitude, so he was easily manipulated by ND. Otherwise...

Yeah, you get the idea... Anyway, I want to thank Annie for the arts and I also want to thank you for reading everything... That's it... Bye!

Arts for @anniesilveratl2

(Tea for the poor guy to relax...)

[td-frog]

thoughts on dcas e5

villains alliance

i like that the notes at the end was just a reveal from miriam and not like an advantage thing for connor. that adds an interesting new layer to the whole thing.

i also really appreciate that only half the villain's alliance is actually being allies and that it's the original villain trio from s1. granted fiore and ellie are more motivated by being the only villains on their teams, but alec clearly meant it when he said they'd work together in spite of that and the rest of yellow team absolutely didn't. which like. obviously.

gonna be honest i assumed grett voted for yul because i saw people quoting it as fact (including the fandom wiki) and checking the handwriting seemed like a lot of work. but i was also surprised because literally in the last episode during their argument he said connoriya would probably vote him out because of his beef with riya and he hasn't even considered her as an option? esp when one vote wasn't revealed so they literally could have both voted for him.

i'm sooo curious what emily wanted to talk to him about. i'm still expecting yellow team villain alliance implosion of sorts but idk that i see yul going first anymore- it seems like they're planning more for him what with the cliffhanger here, his being shitty to grett, and his rivalry with riya. in terms of "who would vote for who" he has more things against him, but in terms of narrative i think he'll stick around. which might just mean yellow wins more for a bit.

magenta team

the hunter / tess conversation was really funny to me because it reads to me like hunter is just the absolute worst at a) situational awareness and b) effective communication. the way he presents the situation to her comes across as "i care and worry about ally because i love her but she's hard to approach when she's stressed" which i do believe.

but in pretty much every interaction he and ally have had this season she's been like "please work with me to help us get through this game and minimize hate" and his response is "why do you care so much what other people think?" like dude. read the room

like it does shift the perspective in that i think some of his shitty boyfriend moments were him (badly) trying to help address the source of her stress (like, in a "you can't control how other people feel so it's helpful to learn how to let go of it" way), but like. of fucking course she responds badly to that, you're essentially responding to "i care about this" with "stop caring" and being surprised when she takes that badly.

anyways i do like where it went. it seems like ally and tess might reconnect soon and i'm looking forward to that.

i also like the decision to get hunter out; i'm obviously biased because i love fiore but also from a drama perspective it makes more sense. his and ally's relationship is in a place where him leaving doesn't get rid of the drama, and the drama of fiore sticking around is better than the predicted 2v2 if she left.

it raises the question of how magenta alliances shake out next. i don't expect jake and ashley to stick with fiore bc they only voted out hunter because it was strategic here. it would make more sense for them to team up with ally now that she's alone (and she and ashley had a brief moment). but ally might not trust that because she'd be in danger later. also we don't know when the merge is and what would change then.

also shoutout to jake playing strategically here, i like the idea that miriam getting out pushed him to think harder about how to actually play.

cyan team

i mentioned in my last predictions that gabby hadn't really gotten to do anything plotwise and that's still sort of true but i can see how it changes- "if ellie were in a villains' alliance she would have told me"

like i love ellie in her bitch era but i think it runs the risk of getting old- she's not trying to be likable at all and that's bound to cause problems eventually, and this is fucking perfect. the thing she said to tess about how you can't trust friends in this game- ellie and gabby have never been directly pitted against each other and i bet that happens here.

i think their relationship is one of the strongest in the game right now, only really behind jaiden but james is out so that's irrelevant. but this raises the question of what ellie would choose between gabby and winning. she'd obviously choose winning over most everyone, but gabby? and i expect that to be painful even if it works out in the end.

also tom!! first off shoutout to aiden for bringing up the drama, he has no idea what's going on but is trying his best. but tom finally admitting to avoiding jake- and the reason is soooo funny.

like it makes sense. their relationship on s1 was tumultuous at best and neither handled it well. it genuinely makes sense that once he was off-camera he would worry that all the drama would continue to follow them and want to cut ties completely. it was shitty to ghost, but like. i get it.

but dude. you came back on the show together!!! you knew he would be here!!

(again i think this is great, i totally get why he's still avoiding jake, it's because he doesn't know how to communicate like an adult and hopes that avoiding all of his problems will make them go away)

i do think it's interesting in light of him being overly hostile to jake last episode? like i wonder how much of that is genuine resentment over stuff from s1 that's built-up unaddressed vs trying to push him away in advance because he's scared of them getting close again.

also he told aiden he was planning to talk to jake. i'll believe it when i see it buddy.

predictions

i think magenta team is safe, barring team change shenanigans.

i think yellow team could be in danger, because they have a lot of plot ready to explode, but they're probably also safe.

if it is them... i think it could be a lot of them. connor for being outside the alliance, yul for everything, alec for the villains alliance betrayal thing?, potentially riya although i'm less confident. i think grett is safe unless specifically sabotaged. but i don't think they'll lose.

i'm expecting cyan team. they're due for drama with the ellie villain thing, at the very least i think they'll be more focused in the plot of the episode.

i think tom and aiden are safe because i don't see the love triangle plot wrapping up so soon. it could be tess because she doesn't have an alliance, but i think she's more likely to be tiebreaker than targeted. i'm leaning one of gabby and ellie, depending on how the ellie villain thing shakes out. narratively it feels like sending ellie home here resolves a bit much, but idk why it'd be gabby. maybe an immunity idol type situation where ellie protects herself and it screws over gabby? or protects gabby and screws over herself? unsure.

aside from elimination

ally's gonna have some fallout from hunter leaving- probably talking to tess and maybe teaming up with either fiore or jake and ashley. but since i don't expect elimination the alliance part probably won't be a huge focus.

whatever happened with emily and yul- idk what it is so no idea how it will affect things.

i'm expecting drama on the cyan team, mainly related to ellie but idk exactly what it'll look like.

maybe tom will actually talk to jake??

[blackbird-brewster]

2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 30, 32, 38, 47, 57, 69, 83, 84

I will answer your ask here shortly! But I didn't want you to think I forgot to ask you ✌️❤️😘

[Send my Writer Asks] TY for so many number!! <3

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

Basically any and every fic with JJ in it is this exact thing. JJ is notorious for going off-script and just doing whatever the hell she wants. I have had to re-write entire fic outlines bc of this. She's a nuisance (affectionate).

4. what is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

I often look at the 4 chapters I wrote for an early season CM fic that's sorta like 'You've Got Mail' (it's a 2006 online dating fic) and lament that I've never finished it. I even *know* the reason why too, it's simply because the coding to do entire chapters in 'e-mail' form on AO3 would require me to build custom skins to make it look like emails and such (yea, I know I don't HAVE to make it look like that, but my brain says You Gotta) and god, I just really hate coding.

5. have you ever made a playlist about something you were writing as an elaborate means to procrastinate when you could have been actually writing and if yes drop a link, son

I currently have over *30* CM character/fanfic related playlists. You should check out this masterlist for all the links plus summaries of each playlist, or just give me a follow on Spotify

12. do you ever have trouble focusing on writing? how do you get around that? 

Sorry, what? I missed the question because I was staring out the window and procrastinating again. The answer -- YES, of course I do. I'm AudHD and I live in a house with three other people, a cat who's an asshole, and on a street where multiple houses are being built. 😭 I try my best to be at my desk at regular hours each week, usually about 10am-4pm M-F. And I close any windows/apps on my laptop that aren't my writing one and put my phone out of reach. Then I set the focus timer on for a designated time and try to write until it goes off. This helps TONS.

13. talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you.

When I wrote what was supposed to be a Emily/Rebecca hate-sex one-shot, I didn't think anyone would read it. Then, when I expanded it into what became 'Do What I Want (Over What's Right)' I was absolutely blown away by the great convos I had with readers in each chapter's comment section. I even met a new best buddy via that fic! (hiiii @swpf)

30. most inspirational quote you’ve ever read or heard that’s still important to you.

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." - Dr Seuss

32. do characters influence your writing style?

Can do, sometimes. My style itself doesn't change all that much, I don't think? I mean, I can look at old fics and see how far I've come since first writing them, but that's less about the characters themself and more about me as a weird little guy.

38. how many stories do you work on at one time?

One. As mentioned above, I'm far too distractable to have multiple-WIP at one time. The exception to this rule is, sometimes, I'll crank out a one-shot while working on a longer project too. But 99% of the time, I only have one WIP going.

47. what story are you most proud of?

Forever and ever, Head Full of Doubt (Jemily, High School AU). That fic explores mental health, friendship, depression, and the pressures of being a teenager. It is my forever proudest achievement as a writer.

57. what is the last thing that a fic made you google when you were reading it?

While reading? Hm, this is gonna sound so petty, but I recently pulled up the fandom wiki to double check a continuity point in a fic. Not because I was judging the author, more because my brain was trying to figure out the timeline they were presenting.

69. how do you write emotional scenes? do you ever feel what the characters feel?

I have such a visceral imagination. I not only see my characters, but I definitely also feel their feels too as part of getting into their heads. When I write emotional scenes, I am usually sobbing myself. On the flip side, my partner knows when I'm writing smut bc my breath gets all soft and short 🫠

83. less is more or more is more?

Do whatever you want forever. Period. No rules, just do you!

84. said: overused or underused?

Again, do whatever you want forever. I use said/replied lots, but I also use more specific indicators to get tone across depending on the conversation and scene.

[bbygirl-aemond]

i want to write an hotd fanfic so bad… i’m watching the early GOT show too as well to try and wrap my head around the lore but i fear that my fic will still be very amateur and show that i don’t really have that big of a grasp on the lore and worldbuilding and language around me.. can you give any advice onto how to tackle this? any specific ways i should research or how to remember every little thing to make the story as accurate and correct as possible?

hi and welcome! don't worry, i have been through this exact process within this fandom haha. i was the queen of sparknoting my way through my lit classes in college when i didn't have other time, so i think i've kind of perfected the art of making it seem like you've deeply read something, even if you haven't.

let me give my usual disclaimer that i don't recommend reading fanfic to get a sense of characters or worldbuilding in a new fandom. that's because to a fresh eye, it's impossible to tell what is the author's invention/headcanon (which may be incorrect/ooc) and what is actual canon. fanfic writing should be about indulging yourself and your creativity, not about trying to cater to the most popular opinions even if you don't agree with them. so i really do recommend sticking to canon as much as possible, and being very deliberate about where and when you use fanon as a reference.

i create a tumblr blog for every fandom that i'm planning to write in to serve as a repository for my research and notes. this blog is unusual in that i forgot to make it private and then had too much fun engaging with y'all to go back. but my first posts were all specifically for stormbreak purposes. if you're nervous about putting things out there, you can password-lock your blog, so you're the only one with access. being able to sort with tags for characters, houses, etc. will be super helpful. another good idea is to take notes in google drive, since you can also search for things there and use the outline feature to navigate. the goal is to have one or two places where you compile all of your work that are easily navigable.

a really good starting place for research is this particular asoiaf wiki. i do not recommend any of the others, especially the ones based on individual shows, because those often do not include details that are in the books. i genuinely cannot tell you how many hours i've spent on this wiki. start your research here- look for dates, places, events, houses, relationships, appearances, etc.

meta analysis is also a really good idea to gain knowledge. tumblr or reddit are the places to go for this. it's really important to seek out posts that are both sympathetic and unsympathetic towards characters or houses. the goal is to get a sense of the different opinions within fandom, and decide which ones make sense to you. on tumblr, you can search a term, select for text posts, and scroll until you find big walls of text. (as an aside: if you're doing this, blocking tags related to fanfiction, imagines, xreader, etc. will help streamline your search and filter out headcanons in favor of meta)

lastly, and be careful with this one since it is fanon but not canon: memes! twitter and tiktok are great for these. they're great for getting a sense of vibes, but not for actual canon facts about a character. remember, fanon can sometimes be very distant from or even contradictory with canon, so take these with a grain of salt. i do still find them useful for forming opinions about personalities, mannerisms, and attitudes of different characters.

if you want more info about how i actually planned out stormbreak, i've answered an ask about it here!

[kradogsrats]

Digging around for... I don't even remember what, in the wiki, and found something that actually had a citation for an early-hiatus Cartoon Universe interview with Aaron and Melanie Ehasz, right after the release of the s1 novelization, that has some stuff in it I felt was worth transcribing:

Interviewer: The first thing I that I want to talk about was unicorns and how they played a big role in Xadia's history. So, we learn in the book—this is a spoiler interview, so I'm gonna go into everything from the book—they taught humans how to use spells and gave them primal stones, and I was really excited to read this because they're barely even mentioned in the show. If we get more of the show (transcription note: lol), is there a plan to integrate this lore into it? Aaron Ehasz: Yes. Those ideas about unicorns are actually some of the earliest ideas that Justin and I had discussed. In fact, in a very, very early version of the world, we were almost talking about the show as dragons versus unicorns. Unicorns had aligned themselves with humans, and kind of this much more magnanimous and compassionate vision of magic, even though it was being abused by some of the dark mages, whereas the dragons and the elves were more arrogant and focused on power. So that was a very early version. I think we will hear—we definitely will hear more about it—I mean, I think people at some point will want to understand, "well, how does the fact that unicorns are supposedly gone connect with the fact that Claudia has shown up with a unicorn's horn for Viren? Where did that come from?" I: Yeah that was my exact next question, kind of—that really leads into, like, how are viewers and readers supposed to think about, like, well she might have killed a unicorn? I mean, we don't know exactly how she got the horn, but you know, they're extinct… you know, how are we supposed to think about Claudia for all that she's done, now? AE: Yeah, it's something—Claudia is obviously very special, and obviously unicorns are very special, so it's something we hope to get into. I mean, honestly probably in season six? But we'll get there. Or it could be in book six, right? It could be, depending on how that story is explored. Melanie Ehasz: I think it just shows how complicated Claudia is as a person, though. That she's delightful and she's quirky and fun, but you know that she's killing innocent creatures, and how do you reconcile those parts of her personality? I: So this is just a little something that I noticed: is the daughter of the elven leader that proposed the Merciful Compromise—which I think I have not heard that phrase before—is she going to be important later on? AE: Um. (Exchanges a look with Melanie.) She's certainly important in history. I don't know to what degree we'll be telling the story of the Merciful Compromise and kind of the reign of Luna Tenebris. We have some storytelling actually that we want to do in season four that's about kind of the end of the reign of Luna Tenebris, and how it transitioned to the time of Avizandum. But yeah, I don't know. I don't know when we'll get to the daughter of the elven leader.

There's some other stuff in there regarding Lissa's reaction to Viren healing Soren (the s1 novelization being the first time we were told about that, as well as her name), the wisps cave as a family excursion location, but none of it was stuff that isn't now common knowledge, and a question about dragon monarchy politics where the answer initially sounds interesting but then becomes clear they're just dropping foreshadowing for the s4 flashback. Also a question that boils down to "who wrote the description of Soren, and why is he hot?" I didn't transcribe any of it because oh my god transcribing videos is a pain in the ass.

Takeaways:

just gonna look pointedly into the camera regarding that early version of the historical dynamic

That being said... yikes. At least it got better.

Unclear whether what is described as season six is still season six as we are going to see it, but eyes emoji on Claudia and the unicorn horn. Of course, this was also a solid 15 months before Puzzle House was even announced, so.

The Merciful Compromise stuff is interesting to me in that it further reduces any potential connection between the Merciful One and the Merciful Compromise, because they consistently use she/her pronouns for the elven leader's daughter.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Dragon Reborn! Chapter 10: Secrets

Secrets come in a variety of forms, and one can argue that the later parts of a story are secrets from everyone who hasn't read that part of the story yet, or at least looked them up on a fan wiki. If you don't want those kind of secrets when it comes to The Wheel of Time series, from book 1 to book 14 plus a prequel, don't keep reading.

This chapter starts with a Whitecloak symbol because they're going to cause Egwene grief.

I will never be collared again! She pushed the thought away, but it came back turned end about. I will never lose my freedom again!

So, as we can see, Egwene has not magically recovered from her months of trauma after months off freedom. Indeed, she will never fully recover and frankly I expect that even if she'd survived the book series she'd have issues for the rest of her life.

Anaiya would be there. And Galad, too, perhaps. She blushed in spite of herself, and banished him from her mind entirely.

Jordan was probably still laying groundwork for the finale that didn't happen with her and Galad pairing off after Gawyn's death. I'm not quite sure when that ending plan would have gone away.

“I swear I will never wear gray again, Bela,” she told her shaggy mount, patting the mare’s neck. Not that I’ll have much choice once we’re back in the White Tower, she thought. In the Tower, all novices wore white.

And of course she'll soon be wearing the seven-colored stole of the Amyrlin, which represents the Gray Ajah as much as the others.

“Do you wonder how Moiraine is treating Lan?” she asked sweetly, and had a moment of pleasure at the sharp jerk Nynaeve gave her braid.

Egwene thinks that wounding remarks don't come naturally to her, but I don't believe that at all. She's quite sharp-tongued when she wants to be, which is often (she's a Jordan woman after all). That said, I think speaking back to Nynaeve is something newer to her; back in Emond's Field Nynaeve was a respected authority and Egwene's mentor.

Six people, Egwene thought, and how many secrets? They all shared more than one, secrets that would have to be kept, perhaps, even in the White Tower.

Amusingly, one of the secrets in this party that Egwene doesn't know about will be revealed to her much, much later in the Tower.

Nynaeve had always been able to foretell the weather. Listening to the wind, it was called, and the Wisdom of every village was expected to do it, though many really could not. Yet since leaving Emond’s Field, Nynaeve’s ability had grown, or changed. The storms she felt sometimes had to do with men rather than wind, now.

It's rather interesting to me how all the members of the EF5 have their styles of divination (Perrin and Egwene have T'A'R, Mat gets the dice, and Rand has a whole book of prophecies written just about him) and yet they're all very indirect when Elaida-style Foretelling exists. I suppose it's not very dramatic to get prophecies as straightforward as hers was on a regular basis.

She was of the Brown Ajah, and the Brown sisters usually cared more for seeking out knowledge than for anything in the world around them. Egwene was not so sure of Verin’s detachment, though. Verin had put herself hip-deep in the affairs of the world by being with them.

Egwene's ability to see how people don't fit the stereotypes of their affiliation is one of the things that sets her up to be a good leader for the Aes Sedai.

Years of experience seemed to have given him some talent at sniffing out wrongdoers, especially those who had done violence.

Poor Egwene is not actually in the loop about Hurin though. Kinda funny that we can see the truth distorting at a single degree of separation.

Egwene thought he might be uneasy at being alone, for all practical purposes, with an Aes Sedai and three women in training for sisterhood. Some men found facing a fight easier than facing Aes Sedai.

She's not entirely wrong, though her ignorance of his talent means she's not quite understanding his motivation.

“The One Power won’t do you much good if somebody kills you before you can use it,” Hurin said, addressing the tall pommel of his saddle.

Damn Hurin, that's a pretty ballsy thing to say to a bunch of would-be Aes Sedai, even if you can't quite look them in the eyes to say it.

“I wish I had some idea how much she does know. Egwene, I don’t know if my mother could help me if the Amyrlin found out, much less help the pair of you. Or even whether she would try.”

Naturally, Morgase does in fact try to help Elayne when she thinks the Tower is doing her wrong, though she is unable to do much. How much of that is Rahvin's fault I'm not sure.

“I will do what must be done,” Nynaeve said sharply, “if there is anything to be done, and you two will run, if need be. The White Tower may be all abuzz with your potential, but don’t think they will not still you both if the Amyrlin Seat or the Hall of the Tower decides it is necessary.”

The benefit of Nynaeve being unable to be humble is that she treats the other girls as her responsibility and thus would destroy her life for their well-being. Of course, all three of them are being dramatic and would not be remotely in trouble for actual self-defense.

I was Healing before I ever thought of going to Tar Valon, even if I didn’t know I was. But it seems I need my medicines to make it work for me.

Nynaeve has quite a few blocks, doesn't she? I don't quite remember when this one goes away.

“Let me do all the talking, children,” the Aes Sedai said placidly, pushing her cowl back to reveal gray in her hair. Egwene was not sure how old Verin was; she thought old enough to be a grandmother, but the gray streaks were the Aes Sedai’s only signs of age.

At present, Verin is about 150 years old, meaning that she could have a 10 year old great-great-great-great-great-grandchild assuming 20 year generations. She has no children and boy did the White Tower screw themselves over implementing those policies.

“Two Tar Valon witches, unless I miss my guess, yes?” he said with a tight smile that pinched his narrow face.

Dain Bornhald does in fact miss his guess, as he misses most everything.

Verin opened her mouth as if for idle conversation, but before she could speak, Elayne jumped in, voice ringing with command. “I am Elayne, Daughter-Heir of Andor. If you do not move aside at once, you will have Queen Morgase to answer to, Whitecloak!”

This is possibly Elayne's biggest moment of stupidity derived from being a sheltered princess in the whole series. Other moments like the veil are more laughable and of course she makes some other big mistakes at points, but she just went from "unremarkable passerby who was going to be harrassed but unharmed" to "high-priority target" and all because she couldn't obey a simple instruction not to talk.

There’s no more time to wait, Egwene thought. I will not be chained again!

And meanwhile Egwene's trauma is so ingrained that the possibility of violence (the Whitecloaks haven't *actually* done anything yet) immediately sets her off. Poor Egwene.

She fought to keep from being overwhelmed, and focused on the ground in front of the Whitecloak officer’s horse. A small patch of ground; she did not want to kill anyone.

At least she isn't completely gone, because seriously after the Seanchan you'd hardly blame her for still being in "kill kill kill" mode at the moment.

Verin was wide-eyed with astonishment and anger. Her mouth worked furiously, but whatever she might be saying was lost in the thunder.

Verin does not get paid enough for this crap.

“What you have done is an abomination. An abomination! An Aes Sedai does not use the Power as a weapon except against Shadowspawn, or in the last extreme to defend her life. The Three Oaths—”

The Three Oaths don't apply to anyone having this conversation. But this still is slowly setting up the Oaths and the many attitudes that Egwene will have about them going forward. Here they're only an annoyance.

“It . . . it was not really using the Power as a weapon, Verin Sedai.” Elayne held her chin high, but her voice shook. “We did not hurt anyone, or even try to hurt anyone. Surely—”

The scary thing is, this justification, if believed, would let many Aes Sedai sidestep that particular Oath. No wonder Verin tries to shut it down hard.

He was only trying to bully us, child. He knew very well he could not make us go where we did not want, not without more trouble than he was willing to accept. Not here, not in sight of Tar Valon. I could have talked us past him, with a little time and a little patience. Oh, he might well have tried to kill us if he could have done it from hiding, but no Whitecloak with the brains of a goat will try harming an Aes Sedai who knows he is there.

And now, after two books of very straightforward good guys vs bad guys, we finally get some of the complications that will run through the rest of the books. Not in the straightforward shades of gray (the Whitecloaks might not be Darkfriends but they're still dangerous assholes), but through Verin pointing out that they're so utterly outmatched that using the Power against them is just fucked.

“We have come a long way,” Egwene went on, “all the way from Toman Head, and if I weren’t so tired, I would never have—”

Egwene, never content to let someone else be number one, makes a bold play to be the person with the biggest mouth in the party.

“My name is Dain Bornhald! Remember it, Darkfriends! I will make you fear my name! Remember my name!”

None of these people will ever see you again, Dain, let alone have any reason to fear you. Dude is like an angry dog barking at everyone outside the fence

“What did he mean about my mother?” Elayne said suddenly. “He must have been lying. She would never turn against Tar Valon.”

That was before they lost her daughter for four months, Elayne, and also before Gaebril, though really I expect that a normal Morgase would still have had issues with Tar Valon over the incident.

“Now you must truly be on your guard,” Verin told them. “Now the real danger begins.”

Verin's not wrong, since everyone in the White Tower is far more dangerous to the girls than most people outside it. And also the Black Ajah is headquartered here. Not that Verin, the world's least suspicious woman, would know anything about that.

Next time: The chapter that contains our first map of Vagina Island!

[vivi-the-goblin]

Coolest thing I found out about Pathfinder 2e as I've slowly moved in is the adventure paths. The main paths have player handouts for free on the site. Most modern ones tend around 7-10 pages (though the early ones were practically books by themselves.) They give a synopsis of the themes of the campaigns, an explanation of any adventure-specific gimmicks, background info the characters would know, and all the character options like backgrounds and spells and such. If you have a home base or reoccurring starting town, they even give little maps with a few important NPCs, so the players can plan things out easier. Best of all, they let you know "hey, there are moments where diplomacy can shine, but you're spending a lot of time in dungeons so there's not a web of intrigue in this one." or "Hey, it's a magic school, but martial classes will work, ranger especially. We ask the GM to use the free archetype rule so martial classes can grab some magic."

1- That's just useful as hell and I don't know how I hadn't thought of that before. Like, it's a summarized session 0 for reference, along with some basic notes to tide them over for the first few sessions and some places they could poke around. Maybe I'll start making a list for my campaigns too, a little page or two of "here's things the character would know, here's the people in your home base, here's the world map as you know it." 2- I get that it's half preview so DMs know what they're buying, but putting the new spell options and backgrounds in such in a freebie for everyone is bold! You gotta have confidence in your adventure for that. Especially because the wiki, archives of nethys, seems to be officially sanctioned to slap every source book and free thing onto itself. 3- Reading through some of these...yeah they have good reason to be that confident. I figured that they wouldn't get worse since the ones I used to read in 1st edition, or what I read for Starfinder, but still! Granted, this is my type of book. I prefer a book to tell me everything I could want to know, flesh out all the characters, and let me cut out stuff I don't want. I don't like 5e's "here's a vague idea, ~you can make the rest whatever you like!~" It's just refreshing. Many of them go all the way to level 20, NPCs don't just vanish into air when you're done, wide varieties of themes between adventures. And again, consistently giving me rules and options and things to do instead of saying "lol just do what ya want?" Feels good. Though take with a grain of salt as I've yet to really run through these, just some cursory playtests to see how encounters feel. I'll follow up if opinions change, but I've run paizo books before to good success. 4- I'm really digging how the adventures come out in 3 to 6 books, often nearing 100 pages each. Like I know the actual reason, there's at least 1 per month with enough content to last that long or more, keep you on that monthly adventure subscription. However, if your party goes off the rails, you can just decide to not pick up that last book. Party decided they didn't like it? hurts a lot less when it was just the $20 for that opening section. And yeah, it's better to get them all at once so you can set up better foreshadowing...but you can just look at one of the many community guides for your section that will point out what parts will be coming back. Honestly, community support for most of these paths seem pretty good, both in guides and homebrew supplemental material. Glad to see that never changed.