#but i also don't like endgame so. you know. maybe i can't be trusted

[allygatoor]

i think it's time that we as a society realized that actually eternals wasn't bad it was just not standard marvel fare and that's okay

[loulovingho]

I 100% agree with you that that was lazy writing. What was the point of deliberately picking someone the audience (and the 118) were familiar with to be Buck's LI when they could have picked some random. What was the point in delving into Tommy's history and his feelings, what was the point of showing him head over heels for Buck in the last ep, of getting a gift for their 6 month anniversary only to say "oh well, I figured we wouldn't last, so I'm gonna get out now before you break my heart". Why let him get that involved if Tommy's ideology was to never allow himself to move forward in the relationship because ultimately he thought it wouldn't last? It's whiplash for the audience after you saw how INVESTED Tommy was in the last ep! And how exactly is this Buck getting off the hamster wheel? This relationship has ended pretty much exactly like all his others - he gets invested, they leave! They had so much potential as a couple - seeing what it's like for two fire-fighters to date knowing they're both in risky jobs, maybe Buck having to meet/deal with Tommy's homophobic father, getting to explore a "new" character's back story instead of rehashing the same story lines from the mains as well as seeing more of how Buck deals with being in a same sex relationship. All wasted.

And since they referenced Glee, if the plan is for it to echo the Kurt/Blaine relationship in that show where they broke up so they could "explore" before getting back together, by doing so they ruined that relationship so much that by the end it wasn't satisfying that they WERE endgame - they weren't the couple we fell in love with. (And also, way to reinforce the negative stereotype of "you can't ever be long term with your first". I should let my sister, my cousin and my aunt know even though they've all been married for years to their husbands - all their first.) Even if they do decide to bring Tommy back down the line, would it even be the same relationship we fell in love with? Would we even trust the writers to stick with it and treat it well? Or if they did a final episode reunion so Buck doesn't end the series alone, how is that satisfying for the audience?

I have been watching 911 since it started, and I have always been part of the general audience up until S7 where I joined the fandom because I thought Buck/Tommy were adorable. It's the first time in years I've become invested in a couple on a show. It's the first time in years that I've dipped my toes back into a fandom. Like you, this ship inspired me to write fic again. I have a bunch of wip's waiting to be posted on ao3 and I honestly don't know if I'll finish them now. And if they have broken them up for Buddie to get together I think I'll stop watching. And not just because I never saw them as a romantic couple (I only ever saw a deep friendship) but because logistically I don't see it working. Besides the fact that I think that while they work as friends, they probably wouldn't gel as a couple, two people on the same team in a relationship? That will screw up the 118 dynamic, especially as this show looooves relationship drama. If they get in a fight, or worse, break up, then what? How would that work within the 118, unless someone transfers out, but then it's bye bye the 118 we love. And not to mention, in the only 4 months I have been in this fandom I have seen some VILE crap from the buddies, and from what I understand it they've been like that for years. And the show runners know about it, so if they go with Buddie, congratulations, you've rewarded toxic behaviour and given them a license to be worse (look at them already, going in the bucktommy tags and gloating).

I told myself after Glee ended and they royally screwed everything up that I wouldn't watch another Ryan Murphy show because he has a history of doing that sort of thing. When 911 came along I was cautious, but it looked like it would be different - more grown up if you will, especially since Ryan Murphy hasn't really been involved since season 1. I should have just gone with my gut. I just hope that, knowing these last two eps were filmed weeks before they aired, the showrunners see how popular they were and realise crap, we've made a BIG mistake. (Everyone should flood instagram and especially Facebook, whoch is more GA than most social media platforms, with RESPECTFUL comments about how devastated they are, and who knows, it might make them consider bringing Tommy back sometime in 8b - I believe they're still writing the back half of the season.)

Side note, I feel really sorry for Lou. Yeah he's going back to SWAT, and I love him in that (even though his character can be a dick sometimes) but he's said in interviews how he's tired of always being cast as "the muscle" due to his size and he seemed genuinely happy to get this role, which was exactly what he was looking for - the sweet, caring, romantic love interest role where he could show some depth, and they screwed him over (sounds like he even thought Buck and Tommy were doing well and wasn't expecting the break up until the end).

(Apologies for the long rant. But what you've been saying really resonated with me and I needed to share your sentiments.)

.

[longbobmckenzie]

Things I'd do...

... if I were a Fusebox writer. Fusebox, if you're reading this, feel free to take these into consideration. I know you won't though because it would require more work on your part.

(note: this ended up being a lot longer than I expected, but I probably should have expected that)

5 girls, 5 boys

Let's go back to the early seasons when we started off with a full lineup of 5 couples to start off with. Like I said, this means more work, more characters. But it also allows for...

More unromanceable characters

Hear me out. The last truly unromanceable male character was... Toby? I think? But for the most part, all the male characters from S6-S9 are available in some way (even if it's only at the finale/reunion, which is really just a copout from FB because they don't want to branch routes but still want to be able to say that everyone's romanceable).

Here's the thing. Everyone wants to romance their favourite characters, nobody wants to meet a character and really love them only to find out you can't have them. Trust me, I've been there. But it's also not the end of the world, and it means you can read/write fanfics for that character, pine for them from afar, etc etc. Maybe it's my sadism talking, but it kind of makes things more interesting in a way? To me it's kinda boring to have all these guys in the villa who would get with me at the drop of a hat (obviously excepting the slow burn LIs).

But the thing about unromanceable characters is that you NEED them in order to write a realistic season with distinct characters who aren't just interchangeable with one another based on MC's choices. Those characters can help drive the plot, they can have canon storylines, they can be friends, they don't have to share dialogue, etc etc.

First coupling

So with those first 2 points out of the way, here's what I'd like for the first coupling:

Of the 5 guys, 1 is completely unavailable to be chosen, and another is not an endgame LI. Think Noah and Rocco in S2 - one can't be coupled up with but is still a slow burn LI, the other CAN be coupled up with but is always going to be dumped. I think this formula from S2 works so well because it still means you have 3 OG guys to be endgame LIs but also allows for the other 2 to be part of fixed plots.

I want the boys to choose instead of the girls. HOW HAS THIS NOT BEEN DONE YET?!?!?! On the show, the girls only picked on day 1 for the first... 1 or 2 seasons? and then it was always boys choosing until they started messing around with other options. But this could work SO WELL for the game! MC has the choice for each guy to step forward or not. If she steps forward for the unromanceable guy, he picks someone else. If she doesn't step forward for someone, he won't pick her. If she steps forward, gets picked, and then steps forward again for someone else, that person steals her and it gets acknowledged throughout the game a bit (minor branching!) If she doesn't step forward for anyone, she ends up being the last picked. IT WOULD BE SO MUCH FUN

Couples/Sneaking around

You shouldn't be able to do bits with someone you're not coupled up with except under certain circumstances:

Casa Amor

You're developing a relationship with someone but not able to couple up with them (or one of you gets stolen) and you're upfront with your partners about going to the daybeds together

You're sneaking around behind people's backs but there WILL be consequences

Just honour the couples, that's the point of the game. Stop letting people go to the hideaway with people they're not coupled up with.

Consequences/Drama

Further to the above, there should be consequences for BOTH parties if you sleep with someone you're not coupled up with. Even if you go to the daybeds and your partners know about it, they should be able to say how disrespectful that is to them.

Sneaky kisses always have a way of coming out on the show, so the same thing should be done in the game. It's harder to branch because some players may choose not to kiss anyway, so those people shouldn't be attacked for something they haven't done. But if you kiss someone and your partner finds out and breaks up with you because of it? And the partner of the person you kissed also dumps them? That would be fun!

Female villains

Just stop with the whole thing where one girl constantly gets up in MC's face. Whether it's because the girl is gunning for the same guy or for other reasons, it's so tired and annoying. Or a girl being a bitch for absolutely no reason.

And especially stop making them WOC!

More filler scenes

This has been one of the big complaints over the last few seasons, and that's the lack of filler scenes. There needs to be a balance, obviously, because you don't want too much filler - but this is how we learn about the characters' personalities. Let us be involved in fun chats, give our MC a personality other than "everyone loves me except that one bitch who hates me for no apparent reason," let us chill with the other islanders instead of constantly being involved in drama, eavesdropping on conversations, investigating who slept with who, and doing a million challenges

(Slightly) Longer season

Season 2 is the only deviation from the typical 13-14 "day" season (S1 is technically 7 weeks squeezed into 14 days, later seasons use volumes instead of sticking to a morning/afternoon/evening format but they fit so much into them that they just feel chaotic). Adding a little filler and stretching the seasons out a bit (5-7 volumes seems reasonable?) should make them more enjoyable to play (and replay?)

Cliffhangers

I love cliffhangers (insert joke about all the LIs I like who do rock climbing), but not every episode/volume needs one. It's perfectly fine to find a natural ending to an episode (like going to bed at the end of the night, which was common in S2), and save the cliffhangers for when they really matter

Make the challenges make sense

I didn't play S8 and I'm not playing S9, but I've heard some complaints about the order of challenges - playing Mr & Mrs in Casa Amor, etc. And I saw that today's volume included the Excess Baggage challenge, which is fine, but that one should always be near the beginning

Have the 'get to know people' challenges (kissing challenges, truth/dare, never have I ever) in the first few volumes. Once people are coupled up and relationships are developing, hit 'em with the snogathon to maybe create some drama (and do it when new bombshells have just come in so you get a chance to kiss the new guy). After Casa Amor, you can do Mr & Mrs, any other couple compatibility challenges (or do one of these just before Casa Amor to create some drama just before splitting up the couples), and of course Snog, Marry, Pie.

Have a few of the random obstacle course challenges, food challenges, building tents/sandcastles/whatever challenges interspersed throughout, but make them mean something.

And for the love of donuts, make the challenges in Raunchy Races objective - none of this 'coolest person' or 'hottest person' or whatever, just stick to tallest/shortest/oldest/etc or 'one person must snog the person they fancy the most' or whatever like in S2

Casa Amor

I think CA is a great plot device, but there's a fine line between 'too long' and 'not long enough' that's hard to figure out. But either way, let's stop with the hideaway and sending couples on dates, because nobody's coupled up in CA. Give everyone a chance to get to know everyone. Have a couple guys who aren't interested in MC. If MC is wlw, give some scenes with her LI where they can talk about the future and wanting to couple up when they have a chance, etc.

WLW Routes

I don't do WLW routes in the game so I don't know exactly what the experience is like, but I know that it's not great - carrying on a romance with someone with no consequences but also not being able to couple up with them and sometimes watching them also be carrying on a relationship with whoever they're coupled up with.

I don't have any brilliant solutions, but why not spend every night on the daybeds together until being able to couple up? Why not have two guys who couple up together on these routes, like in S3? Or bring in another character like Sammi in S1 to even out the couples? Or an NB/bisexual character who could couple up with a girl or guy depending on what MC does?

Ultimately, the show and the game are extremely straight-coded, and it's not easy to account for players being able to couple up with female LIs early on, but every option should be explored instead of just doing what they're doing every season.

[huggingtentacles]

Alright you just beat Elden Ring. Congratulations! You're now one of the cool folks who can actually beat the game, and you're not ready to put it down yet.

Maybe PvP intimidates you and you just wanna explore the world again. You may try a new build sure, but now that you know more about the game, you might wanna try something different, like a challenge run.

"huggingtentacles I am trash at the game there is no way I could do any of the cool runs, I died to Radagon a bazillion times"

Most people are good enough to beat a challange run. You can define what a challange is for yourself! There is no need to jump into something insane like a rune level 1 run or a torch only run. You can set any restriction you want, and completing the game with an additional challange is immensely more satisfying (and gives you bragging rights)

There are many different challange runs all varying in difficulty. Here are the runs that I've done personally.

Easy:

Region Lock Run — the premise is simple, you can't leave the region you are in unless you best the major boss(es) of that region. You can't go to Liurnia untill you beat Margit, you can't go to Altus untill you beat Rennala, etc. This run is fun because you can't skip over progression (like killing the Caelid dragon early with bleed to be overlevelled for Limgrave) which makes every fight feel appropriately difficult.

Starting Class Run — Only use the gear you start the game with. You can level up and upgrade your weapons and flask, but you can't use any other consumables and talismans you didn't start the game with. This run is quite flexible in difficulty because whether you choose to, say, use ashes of war or different spells or even golden seeds is ultimately up to you. All of them count.

No spirit summons — for some this is just the normal Elden Ring run, but for most it's a challange. While it can be somewhat difficult, not having spirit summons still leaves you with enough options to steamroll through the game if you need to. The challenge comes from actually learning the bosses and their patterns and engaging with combat more.

No status effects — As simple as it sounds. Perhaps you used to crutch on bleed, frost, rot or poison, now you can't. There are plenty of other very powerful damage options in the game, so the run is definitely not very hard, it only limits your arsenal somewhat.

Spells only/melee only — depending on what your previous run was. If you're used to standing behind and throwing pebbles, picking up a weapon might be a fun new challenge. And if you are used to your Big Sword, it's gonna be kinda hard to adjust to managing your FP and putting together a build.

Medium:

Spirit Summons Only — moderately difficult because it requires rather extensive knowledge of the game's mechanics. The basic premise is that you can only deal damage using spirit summons. You can restrict it to bosses only or to the whole run in general. It's an absolutely hilarious run. The AI built into the game can beat the entire game for you. Including the hardest endgame bosses like Malenia. Also playing as a support, healing and buffing your summons is really fun :)

No Crimson Flask — LISTEN. I swear it's not that hard. Yes it sucks a bit in the early game, but there are so many tools and options available to completely replace your flask with regen and heal spells. Just level up your vigor. This run is incredibly fun and it's good if you are aiming for harder runs in the future but aren't sure if you have it in you. I know you do ;)

Taunter's Tongue Run — Definitely my FAVOURITE of all of them. Its incredibly simple: you get Taunter's Tongue as soon as you get access to Roundtable Hold and you turn it on forever. Fight invaders alone or with a friend in 2v2s. If you don't have any PvP experience, this is one of the ways to learn. By the end of it, you won't be half bad at PvP, trust me (unless you just run away all the time which is also an option)

Hard:

Rune Level 1 is such a difficult run to do, but the cultural legacy of Fromsoft "no leveling up" runs makes the completion of it so desirable. Completing this run basically makes you part of the small section of people who actually know how to fight every single boss without relying on cheap tactics and cheese. You learn how to counter every move most enemies make because of how unforgiving it is.

But what's more fun is the sheer variety. Stat boosting gear is so common in this game you can literally use almost anything you want as a weapon.

Permadeath — If you die, you restart. Use any tools at your disposal to survive, play it safe, level up your vigor. But most importantly, brace for setbacks. Restarting because of a dumb mistake sucks, but that's why it's such an impressive run to complete. If you can take a loss on Elden Beast and make it to the inside of the Erdtree again, you will achieve one of the hardest challanges ER has to offer.

An easier variation of Permadeath would be "no rune loss" run. There are tools the game gives you to avoid losing runes, but it's still a very difficult run.

Torch Only Run — You pick up a standard torch from Church of Elleh and you use it to Kill God.

An easier variation would be Torches Only run which allows you to use the entire arsenal of torches. Still a very difficult run that requires a lot of skill to beat.

Impossible:

No Thinking About Kissing Malenia run — still working on this one. Can't figure it out. If you have advice please DM me

Feel free to add more challange run ideas!

[lovemyromance]

I was on reddit, and I feel like the mods are Biased towards gwynriel but also saw a post where the person said something about Azriel's heart glowing of Gwyn? and him thinking about her smile? and them claiming its canon, when did that happen? but I'm a little scared what if they don't happen? I love them too much, saw a lot of support for Gwyn and Azriel? I feel like if Elain and Azriel don't happen my heart will break. What is happening ?

I have literally no idea what's going on on Reddit, I've never been on that platform 🤷🏻‍♀️

But fear not, regardless of how loud Gwynriels are and how much they love to gaslight others and straight up distort the truth sometimes, Gwynriel is a made up ship. Elriel is actually on the page.

Azriel's heart does not glow for Gwyn. He did picture his re-gift bringing joy and a beautiful smile to Gwyn's face. Now, if you ONLY read that part, I could see why you could be led to believe Azriel might have feelings for Gwyn.

However, that's not how we read books is it? We don't swipe through individual discrete sentences like flashcards.

We read things in the context of a greater narrative. A lot of other things happened in that BC, and in ACOSF that makes it clear that it wasn't ROMANCE on Azriel's mind.

If Azriel hadn't just been fantasizing about Elain, and then continued to be in a bad mood even after solstice and changed nothing about his interaction with Gwyn (who he sees every day) - then maybe I'd be more open to thinking he had feelings for Gwyn.

He's not someone who switches up on LIs that fast. He pined over Mor for 500 years for gods sake.

I could see the argument that he would immediately fall for his mate, but WHERE IS THE PROOF THAT GWYN IS HIS MATE. The mating bond would've likely snapped for Azriel in Sangravah 2 years ago when Gwyn was in danger and about to be violated - but clearly it didn't.

That should've been enough to prove they're not mates.

But then again - as if to drill down that point - Gwyn is again put into grave danger when she gets taken for the BR. And Azriel wants to go save ERIS instead.

And people can argue blah blah Azriel admires Gwyn so he wasn't worried - nope. That's not how a mate reacts when his mate is in grave danger.

See: Cassian.

Cassian also admires and respects Nesta's abilities. He also goes batshit crazy when Nesta got taken for the BR.

You also can't even say that Azriel is just calm. Because you know when he did show that batshit crazy same reaction?

When Elain was taken by Hybern.

Trust me, anon. Elriel is happening, whether they like it or not. Their theories and headcanons cannot change what is in the books. ELs ONLY have the mate thing, every other interaction of Elain & Lucien since ACOMAF is a NEGATIVE, a point against them.

Gwynriel has maybe like 3 interactions - and NONE of them are romantic. Not a blush here, no mention of Gwyn even receiving the necklace, no charged glances or touches.

They are desperately trying to turn a platonic friendship into something more - all because they

A) don't like Elain

B) Like Lucien more than they like Elain

C) Like Azriel but not Elain

What they don't seem to understand is that that no matter how hard they try to twist words and perform an honestly impressive level of mental gymnastics to invent this ship - it's not going to change what is in the books.

So rest easy, anon. Elriel will be endgame.

[herestomyhaters]

i have remained silent for too long. i forgot to post this so here are my thoughts on 2x06/2x07!! as always brought to you by a bisexual black girl 🫡

i understand it's a teen drama so cheating is bound to happen but lorddd i was really hoping they wouldn't do that w/ noa cause i hate that bi stereotype. atp it's just bad writing bc why would she want to be w/ jen after all the batshit crazy things she's done ???

call me crazy but i Do Not think shawn punched that whole in the wall and even if he did i still don't trust jen (why would anyone 💀)

also were they expecting him not to react after noa's been cheating since JUVIE, all the lying and the stealing ???

hope i won't need to backtrack here (that'd suck) but why are ppl so obsessed w/ christian being evil/related to bloody rose somehow?? like besides being too obvious i really don't think they would do that to tabby again. also it feels jarring that ppl want to assume the black guy is the threat

i want more 1:1 moments between the girls!! the only dynamic that's been explored so far is tabogen (we got faran/imogen crumbs last week). praying for that in s3

is it me or are all of imogen & johnny's scenes just her trauma dumping myyy god. don't get me wrong i like them together but it just sends me, i also wish they'd explored the whole "player" trope a bit more it could've been interesting to see. i just don't know how believable it is to go from THAT to loverboy in the span of an episode but i guess we have the 8-episode season aspect to blame

redemption house was CRAZY. it was giving "is this fucking play about us?" tbh it ate

speaking of crazy kelly has fully lost it. imogen clocking her was one of my fave moments in the episode. looove imogen she's easily become my top 3

there is also no way kelly's dead

"HENRY, you're a dancer. most of your friends are GAY"

faran and greg: where to even start. i saw this ship coming before the season even started and (hear me out) i do not think they'll be endgame. i personally don't hate greg (maybe it's just elias' charisma) but it feels very contradicting to the show's values to pair faran & greg together. still, it is a semi-realistic situation. i just hope they proceed with caution & are smart about whatever happens next. i do not want faran to be babysitting him into becoming a decent human being

just need to bring up the "my cousin kevin, who lives in riverdale" moment cause i was crying w laughter. this show is so unserious sometimes (shoutout kevin keller tho)

speaking of gays i was quite surprised bi noa wasn't canon already?? might be bc maia has spoken about it many times but i always assumed she was already out 😭

besides that, the fact that NONE of them called noa out for cheating??? they were like "yesss queen slay 😍". i can't, feeling so sorry for shawn atp

also imogen bursting out laughing when noa brought up the "throuple" thing even she was weirded tf out

bloody mary playing while they raided redemption house was ICONIC

that bloody rose reveal was INSANE. imogen tearing the mask off??? bailee's emmy worthy scream queen moment (AGAIN)??!

do y'all have any theories for tabby's final girl moment/who br is? how are u liking the season so far? lmk your thoughts and we can kiki 🫶🏽

[lover-of-mine]

Lady Whistledown.. Gossip Girl. Yep, we have been talking about the same people!! I honestly was just coming to say the same thing. The BT HQ is on fire. I saw you said you were getting shade about if we were all real. Today is the best example of yes we are. GG is the cool one, but I'm clearly the dramatic one. If anyone goes back, they will see that I mentioned multiple times what they wanted that Henren scene to be. Basically, Hen tells the audience shhhhh, we like this guy. If I'm being really honest, it would have been more kind if they never aired because it was one of the last ideas they had...

So let's step into Narnia.. They ended the season thinking BT were each other's people, they finally found safe space, they were comfort. Then Lou ditches them, Oliver ignores them, and that little hope they had for Hen, giving her mother Hen approval is snatched. They are battling back and forth with having to acknowledge this relationship is completely undefined. Every opportunity they had at the medal ceremony to somehow make Tommy a part of the family is gone. They had Maddie and Athena there, nothing. They wanted Tommy at the table with Chris and Eddie, nothing. (Dont let them fool you they wanted Chris and him to interact to show dad vibes). Now they really have to settle into the fact that at best they are fuck buddies and Tommy can't keep up with Buck. Expect them to romanticize or make the idea cool BT content.

Now we leave Narnia

Also, expect some shade is brewing for Hen. Apparently, she wasn't supporting her queer elder. Did you fall over when you felt my eye roll? Its honestlybaffling to me how quick they are to turn on an OG character for this man. It's like Stockholm Syndrome was invented for this moment.

Lastly, weird thing. They aren't sure what to do with Ryan's workout story. This may seem weird, but they kind of cling to Tommy is husky, and Buck is just as "husky." So there is a weird gumbo of where they are trying to land on how they view their bodies. Like they don't want Oliver working out with Ryan and them pulling the S Sex (6) interview scene, you know. I can't tell if they are going to land on body shaming yet. Maybe they are just terrified both will bulk up for a shirtless scene like we expected that season. Also the fact they think it makes Tommy seem older.

Anyways... It's definitely a dumpster fire over there.

Hello my love.

This is... Damn. Honestly, yeah, this scene is a nail in the coffin. It makes him somehow even less likable. It doesn't do Tommy, or bt for that matter, any favors. The relationship is not that serious, Tommy does not care for approval, Hen clearly does not trust him. It crushed so many narratives in 36 seconds it's kinda impressive.

There's so much going on here I don't even know where to start. Considering how they are treating real life wlw people, I have been fully ready for them to turn on Hen and even Aisha since I saw the clip, so I'm already expecting that.

The Ryan thing tho. The obsession with Ryan makes me want to fistfight people. If bt is so perfect and real and endgame, then why the fuck does anything Ryan does matter? And bodyshame the dude? Have they seen him? The dude looks like he stepped out from a catalog. I feel like my brain is melting. The mental gymnastics involved here, man. Crazy. I am happy it's a dumpster fire tho. I feel vindicated.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

The C person's dark side

Behind that innocent face, there's a woman who maybe subconsciously, or maybe not so subconsciously, manipulates situations to get what she wants.

Of course, this doesn't diminish Carmy's free will, as I mentioned here. But that's the whole point, she doesn't really respect his free will, she manipulates it or maneuvers around it, she tries to, in some way, control it and cries when she can't. She got her own 💔 in the process but she will continue doing it even now that she knows better, because it's in her nature. It's IC for her.

So we will unfortunately and surely see a lot more of that this upcoming S3. Claire's dark side will be out in the open, this time perhaps it will be more explicit and not so subtle. I'm not sure how it will be played out bc I gave up on trying to figure Storer out, I just let him be and trust him as much as I can, which is not much at this point, tbh...

But back to Claire, that is my main problem with her, not only because in IRL I hate manipulative people, even if they do it unconsciously, even when I know that someone who resorts to manipulations, especially emotional manipulation tactics, is someone deeply insecure and it's usually not their fault, as insecurities are typically rooted in early childhood and you can't hold a child responsible for anything or sometimes are linked to unsolved trauma, which clearly, you can't blame on the person either. But, here's the catch: I'm a person too, hi, hello! I have issues too, etc, and I don't manipulate shit! I respect people's free will to a fault even if it fucking kills me, and usually it does as a matter of fact. But I suck it up and move on like a pro, I just bounce back and heal without trying to manipulate anyone into acting the way I wish they fucking did. And I certainly don't take it out on others. I go to therapy, blow steam up at the gym till I have to pop painkillers to keep functioning, I skip town for a few days and re-connect with nature, I write FF, I journal, I read, I go to my BBF's house, and cry while she feeds me foods I don't even know how to cook, I swim, I walk my dogs, and lay on the floor with them till I feel better and when none of that works, I occasionally go back to boxing, I try not to bc it's not healthy for me. But I NEVER FUCK WITH OTHER PEOPLE'S FREE WILL, I DON'T CONDONE THAT BEHAVIOUR IN OTHERS IRL AND I HATE THAT MY FAVEST TV SHOW GOT RUINED WITH A CHARACTER LIKE THAT, I DON'T WANNA WATCH THAT. I mean, I will, sure, bc IK Sydcarmy is endgame, but I don't wanna.

Claire embodies everything I hate in people, everything I run away from IRL, her character represents all I think is toxic and should be avoided at all costs, all I consider ethically wrong in the most basic aspects of life because what makes us humans is our freedom and IK this sounds dramatic 🙄 but I believe that who doesn't respect our freedom, free will, etc, is trying to rob us from our humanity, sometimes inadvertently, which I think might be her case most of the time, but some other times they do it on purpose. They know what they are doing and do it anyway, they are willing to outsource and pay others to help them, etc. They know they are trying to force an outcome, which in business might be OK, seeing as at work we may find ourselves in these kinda situations more often than not and we don't really have a choice as to whether we put up with them or not, especially if we work in certain industries, however, we are NOT our jobs! When it comes to human relationships this M.O. goes against my whole belief system. Can't do it. Nope. It's not fair and fairness is where I draw the fucking line!!!

And no, I'm not a Sydcarmy soldier because of that, but yes, I'm ALSO a Sydcarmy soldier bc of that, for sure!

But on a deeper level, and this is actually what I hate the most here: I'm mad at Storer, whom I learned to love and hate in equal measure by now. You'll see, he allowed this character to happen. Either he created it or signed off on it if one of his other writers wrote Claire into existence. WHY!?!?! THERE WERE OTHER WAYS TO DO THIS, CHRIS!

I previously mentioned how shady Claire's behavior was from the beginning and how it probably wouldn't have been tolerated or woulda been flagged as a clear 🚩if a man woulda acted that way with a woman. I go over it in my response/rb to this comprehensive (just the way I like it) post by @damnikindadontcare

So summing up, I don't hate C, I hate Storer and what Claire represents. I hate that I will have to continue putting up with her and her dark side for who knows how many more eps, and every time I look at her all of this goes through my head, it kills the whole watching experience for me but if this is the price I have to pay to see Sydcarmy unfold and Claire eventually walk into the sunset defeated and not getting her way, I will pay it. Fuck it!

YOU WON STORER, NOW GIVE ME WHAT I WANT AND NO ONE GETS HURT (it's a song, not a threat, relax).

[fakesmileinalllive-blog]

I may get so much hate for this but I need to say it.

Percabeth ended in Tartarus.

Hear me out. So far they were cute and lovely (maybe aside from first book where Annabeth was unnecessarily mean to Percy) so for me it would be an endgame. Even if I were a little concerned about the fact that their feelings might be based on mutual trust in eachother and their abilities and not necessarily love or some other positive emotions/feelings that are not connected to the fact that they were constantly fighting for their life together (something like relationships of convenience if you know what I mean).

So it was all fine until the Tartarus part.

I admit it was straining for both of them physically, emotionally and mentally. They went through so much that it still amazes me that they were ready to continue the quest. But in Tartarus they also reached their breaking point for example Percy's fight with Achlys. This is the part that bothers me the most. To protect himself and Annabeth (but mostly her, let's be real) he was fighting goddess of misery while being hurt, tired, hungry and thirsty. He gave his everything to make sure that they'll stay alive and I feel like Annabeth didn't appreciate it as she should. I get it she was scared of him, was overwhelmed from everything. I really do. But after it she made him promise to never again take control over poison DURING WAR. It might have been some slip or bad choice of words on her part but the fact that she didn't stop to think about it later really bothers me.

Girl you're in middle of war and hell and yet you make your protector promise to not use a power that may save ton of lifes. Why didn't she make him promise to not use it unless to protect himself or someone else? Why take away from him one of the means of protection?

And the worst of it is fact that Percy kept his promise during fight with Polybotes or while freeing (dunno if it's a right word) infected Nymphs. Those were situations in which his and other people's life were in danger and yet he consciously chooses death to breaking his promise.

Such thoughtlessness from Annabeth is what broke this ship for me. She ignored that he saved her (and it's somehow valid when I think under how much stress she was), made him make a promise that endangered him and other people AND later on while talking with Piper (who she knows didn't have high or positive opinion on Percy) agreed that he need to be controlled.

Just thinking about it makes me sick and I can't look at them (at her) the same. If they at least at some point came back to this promise and reworded it or something then it would be different. But they didn't. And it hurts.

If you don't agree with my opinion and want to discuss it or anything please stay respectful💜

Have a nice day everyone

[flower1622]

I know some people may say that Rachel represents Percy's human side and Annabeth, the demigod side. I agree with them. But, to say that Percy accepted to be what he is, so this way Percabeth is the endgame...

I don't remember the books very well. From i can see people commenting, it looks like Percy always wanted to have a normal life (Rachel). To be with someone he feels comfortable and just be himself, Sally Jackson's son. He likes his human side very much (Rachel). We see him at his best moments just being Percy.

He may have accepted his demigod side (Annabeth), but that doesn't mean he likes it. There are things we just accept because we have to tolerate them since we can't change them anyway. His relationship with Annabeth seems more like something he tolerates because he is already used to be treated "not that well" by other people. That doesn't mean he likes it. Percy only accepts everything Annabeth does to him because they were friends before and Percy can be a lonely boy. So, of course he wouldn't want to be on her bad side. She has more experiences than him in the demigod side. Percy ends up being dependent on her since there aren't many people he can trust. He sees her as someone that can save him from the loneliness. Percy and Grover get separated. So, Percy only has Annabeth. Percy is kind blind right now. Both are using their insecurities with each other. It's not really love in my opinion, more like an infatuation. Percy acts like the victims of abuse that take all the horrible things their partners do as joke or love because it may be some kind of protection their minds do, you know? So, this way they don't get more depressed and realise how miserable their lifes are. They need to have this perfect world that they think it exists in their relationships because they are totally lonely and broken inside.

After everything Percy went through, he needs to believe that something good happened in his life:

His relationship with wise girl. All relationships have flaws, but some just scream "red flags". The toxic partners usually use their emotional sides to keep the victims with them. Their traumas and fears. The victims confuse this with love and still stay with their toxic partners and accept everything they do to them. One side wants to feel loved and cared and the other is also lonely and likes to feel in control of something due to their insecurities.

I'm not a therapist or something like that and i don't remember the books very well. I just commented because i saw many posts talking about the toxic relationship of Percabeth. So, if i said something wrong, i'm sorry and you can correct me (just try to be polite please).

The real Percy without being influenced by his insecurities would want to date a human girl like his mother and stay with his family than risk everything for just a girl. I guess. When people compare Annabeth to his demigod side, just makes it worse because Percy always tries to stay away as possible as he can from this side. They would never work out in real life. They have completely different interests. It's the same to say that the guy wants to have a family, but the girl doesn't. It happened in real life with a famous couple that i won't mention here. They broke up in the end. Rachel could be the only choice that would make sense with Percy. The rest are very related to the demigod life, even Jason and Nico maybe.

[raccoonfallsharder]

There’s been a few rumours that the Russos (and one of the writers from Infinity War/Endgame) may be coming back for Avengers 5/6! I’m curious about what those movies will be like, because they’re going to be even MORE crowded with a gazillion characters. 😅

And particularly, I wonder what the role of the Guardians is even gonna be in them… or at least Star-Lord, if no one actually has any plans to bring them back — which seems to be the most likely outcome. Personally, I wouldn’t actually mind too much if the new Guardians were brought back to join the final battle or something like that. It might be nice as a last hurrah for Rocket, maybe!

But what do you think? I know your opinions on those movies, so… I know what you have to say will be very interesting. 😁

oooooh boy. this just unlocked a whole bunch of competing thoughts in my head. i hope i can make sense of them enough to type them up.

here's the thing. i don't trust the russos or the IW/E writers but i am a person who (1) believes that people can grow and become better at damn near anything they want to, and (2) i am happy to be wrong. maybe the russos and whichever writer who is coming on board will have taken good lessons from the last five years since endgame (five years holy shit) and they'll come out stronger, better, more respectful storytellers. maybe they'll listen to other, better, more respectful storytellers on the team. hell, maybe disney will even let them be better (disney properties seem to be at their best when the mouse is least invested in controlling its indentured creatives). and of course, quality and effective storytelling won't only be on the shoulders of the russos et al. it will also be on the people who are working on the adjacent, intervening movies, and whether they are capable of and permitted to create compelling narratives and fully-developed characters along the way.

now, another thing i think will be tricky is if they choose to do another massive ensemble-battle (like the final endgame fight). i'm just not sure almost anything they can do will be actually satisfying to anyone who identifies with the characters who aren't the main focus. the reason that so-called "girl-power" moment in endgame was so fucken dissatisfying for so many of us was because it was unearned. condescending. you can't choose to feature so few of these women in the course of the whole movie, kill the only one of them with more than like three lines, and then throw every woman left alive into thirty seconds of battle choreography and think that your target-audience will see that as anything but patronizing. if the russos go for that level of sprawling battle-pageantry, that's what will happen, on some level. we just can't pay attention to every character the way they truly deserve when the cast is that massive.

and... i imagine this is exactly how the guardians would feature, if they aren't picked up by anyone in the meantime: one second of screentime in the background of a big fight, maybe with rocket's signature word as his new team advances to ultimately be lost in the ranks. or a singular star-lord, fighting on the side of the new avengers.

now, i'll let you in on a little and possibly controversial secret: i don't need more of rocket in the mcu. i think the mcu might fuck up a beautiful story. if they were to bring him back - unless it were a complete alternate timeline like a new cartoon - i almost think it would need to be a wholly different genre. here are the best ways i think disney could bring "mcu" rocket back:

fuck copaganda but brooklyn-99 had a distinctly guardians vibe in terms of a bunch of well-meaning dysfunctional idiots coming together under extremely exhausted but HIGHLY effective leadership. we could take this ride through space in a star-trek-esque adventure-of-the-week approach or base it in knowhere so we can really see what it looks like to be a guardian in that community, and meet some of the characters like xlomo smeth, ssssaralami, hoobtoe, the broker, HOWARD, etc.

mst3k but it's like, movie night on knowhere. they project some disney movie on the side of one of the bone-buildings and rocket and groot are always making commentary. but they're not the only ones. nebula's there, and for kid-appropriate movies drax and the kids are too. sometimes howard comes along and he and rocket get drunk and compete to be the harshest critic. adam tries to crack jokes sometimes but he's bad at it.

nebula and rocket during the snap. IN SPACE. mostly. i'll accept occasional visits to terra check in on thor. i suspect we see a lot of kraglin on the third quadrant and maybe spend some time helping with reconstruction in knowhere.

a super-ironic self-aware parody of some old sitcom like full house. i'm open to rocket being the father-figure and the new guardians being the chaotic fam, but i'd also be open to it focusing on the star children, calling it "drax the dad," and having rocket be the uncle-jesse-character. which brings me to my last option, which is

actually center the show around a singular someone else, like adam or phylla, and have rocket occasionally make an appearance as an important background character: a father-figure, a mentor, a captain, a guide, a beloved pain-in-the-ass. occasional conversations over the comms where he's like "are you eating enough? are you cleaning your cannons like i taught you? you still closing your eyes when you squeeze the trigger 'cause i told you to stop fuckin doing that. when are you coming home? nebula misses you and your brother is driving me fuckin crazy"

i do think there are other things that good writers could make work but these are the ones my heart rests on because i just don't trust disney/marvel very easily these days

WHICH IS ALL TO SAY

of course i'm gonna watch whatever disney/marvel puts out into theatres and/or on disney+, especially if the guardians are in it. and especially if my guy is in it.

but i'm also fully expecting to have my heart broken. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

as i said, i'm a person who is happy to be wrong.

[katoska]

https://www.tumblr.com/katoska/766652146419646464/i-keep-rotating-this-thought-and-it-wont-stop?source=share

If I understand your thoughts about B's motivations back in the first Beetlejuice movie correctly, then a simple marriage to a Breather - sans murder and soul stealing - wouldn't truly do anything for Betelgeuse, right?

Wouldn't Lydia be suspicious of that, assuming they did get married in a third movie? Or do you think marriage would still have some effect that B could point to and frame as "getting out"?

Cause I always headcanoned the effect from marriage on Betelgeuse to be a bit like Beauty and the Beast. Lydia probably expects, like, thunder and lightning or something impressive and scary, so if nothing happened post-wedding it would be a bit... well, disappointing. And worrying (to me), in context of your theory, but Lydia would probably just be like "Uh, so... are you free now? Are you 'out'? Cause you still look dead." How do you think B would explain that?

Yeah. The way I see it, the immortality ritual in BJBJ introduces the possibility for a retcon of Betelgeuse's full - much more evil - plans wrt his marriage to Lydia in Beetlejuice. And yes, if Betelgeuse and Lydia did get married and it did not set B free or revived him or anything like that, it would look suspicious, or at least be confusing, to Lydia. It sure would look suspicious to me.

It would make me smug though. Cause I like some sincere darkness with my horror-comedy, and I like being right. Not that it would prove anything conclusively if the marriage had no magical outcomes; it'd just further cement my personal interpretation of his motivations in the first movie. The only thing that would conclusively prove me right is if in BJBJBJ he'd try to kill her and steal her soul post wedding night to become immortal (I would not like that. I don't enjoy being right that much, and I want them to be endgame), or actually killed her and became immortal (ditto, also never ever gonna happen), or pulled a Basic Instinct where we clearly see him consider killing her after their wedding night - Beetlejuice's rating is unfortunately too low to have it be during the wedding night - and then change his mind because he wants to keep her forever (tbh I'd be into that. It is after all a horror movie. Just cause B curtails his evilness when it comes to Lydia doesn't mean he can't contemplate evil thoughts).

As to how he'd explain the marriage not freeing or reviving him as she expects... good question! I don't know. I believe marriage might give him some freedom to haunt Lydia and their home even when not summoned, rather than just the model, but he made the marriage of inconvenience sound far more impactful than just that, so I'm not sure that would be good enough. Then again, I don't see Lydia finally marrying Betel unless she trusted him and his sincere love for her. Maybe she'd believe a simple "my sources on Deceased-Living marriages were bad" from him, and leave it at that. She has no reason to be overly suspicious, after all, cause it's not like she knows what Delores tried to do to him after their marriage (yet. though that... would be interesting, and I hope Delores comes back).

I also don't think Lydia would mind too much if Betel remained a ghost or could still be banished or any of that. Having a magical spouse whom you can send home when he gets to be too much sounds awfully convenient, if you ask me. So she'd be, if anything, sad for him that the marriage didn't do what he said he believed it would do.

[accirax]

initial thoughts on DCAS episode 12

on another episode of "making myself sad about Grett," we learn that Grett has learned to interpret any general statement as an attack on her appearance/person. fuck you, Yul. and also Grett's family.

so true Connor

heheheh, i called that it would be to/at alternate Gabby >:)

oh nice, Connor is one of those cool CEOs that takes pay cuts in order to give his employees higher wages--

WHAT

why are you running like that you fucking nerd (/aff). i don't even have to specify who because it's just that apparently bizarre.

totally makes sense that Alec is fine with Riya "winning immunity" because she'll just give it back to him. he's got his head in the game as always.

i always love to see the villains scheming, but this may actually make more sense for Riya than her current real plan. Alec has been proving time and time again that he's good at, like... everything. everyone should be really worried about him winning if he makes it to the end. i don't know if Riya could beat Ally either (because i don't know what the challenge will be), but she should be thinking about taking Alec out before the endgame. although, she does have to worry about taking him out in a way that won't leave a grudge, given that Alec has proven that he won't root for a former ally just to be petty.

Usain Bolt is now canon to the DCU. no, not that one.

wow, Gabby really is Tumblr Girl! (/j)

at first i thought Alec might have been buttering Connor up in this scene in the hopes that Connor would simply give him the immunity if Connor won it. it's true that Connor probably would have given it to one of the heroes, though, just for strategy reasons. still, this is not helping any hopes Alec has of rekindling a friendship with Connor.

i do NOT trust food made by Marcus and Nina.

just admit that you're besties, you tsundere fool.

i'm not trying to argue that Derek is the greatest dude on the planet or anything, but, notably, i feel like this is one of the only times we've seen him look genuinely sad.

this is a funny speech conclusion from the millionaire guy.

i guess??? this is the reason???? why they were targeting Gabby?????? i'm still confused, honestly. can we take this as a soft confirmation that Tom and Aiden never believed in that idol Gabby lied about having?

you do not understand how worried i was for the sake of my power rankings at this moment.

yay, we finally get to learn what the updated tiebreaker policy is! looks like it will be going to a head-to-head challenge instead of doing a Survivor-style revote -> rocks. Still can't believe that we had a tiebreaker and Yul didn't lose it, though.

KING BEHAVIOR!! god, i wish the DC winner was determined by jury vote. Alec has absolutely played the game most deserving of winning thus far. then again, if there was a jury vote at the end, people probably would have started gunning to take him out already. so, maybe i should be grateful.

i'm glad that these two have made up, both because Gabby needs and deserves more friends than just Ellie in her life, and because it shows how Gabby has grown as a person. instead of just wanting to get revenge on those who have personally wronged her, she wants to use her passionate heart to target those who are making others' lives miserable.

about time!

"if i can't spend time with my gay crush, you can't either!"

i still don't think i've actually processed that Tom won't be in the next episode. like, damn. it was a good choice, though. if they were going to send a hero home, i'm much happier to see one part of the love triangle get axed than have Ally randomly go out.

i assumed something like this would happen, but i was not expecting them to actually visibly kiss. yay for the... krisrek shippers? if they exist?

poor guy :/

another episode that i'm pleased with! ... but how the hell did Yul not go home?! it's got to happen next week, right? like, i know that Alec is a genius or whatever, but it's not like the entire season can go his way. the villains will have to fracture someday. until then, though, uh, #villainsweep. still rooting for Alec, even if i think Jake will win. see you next week!

[moltensmusings]

Since the poll is going around of korrasami/beauyasha. As a fan of both I think I need to say something because a few people are already trying to say beauyasha should win because there's more content around them in canon.

Which, if that is your argument to prove it's a better ship, you've lost the contest. Because korrasami becoming canon was world altering for me as a teenager. For the younger queer fans who don't get it, I want you to understand: the creators had to tip toe around their relationship until the last episode. At that point in time, there wasn't a group of children's media where people could see queer main characters having crushes or relationships. There was no steven universe, Owl House, she ra, etc, that was continuing to normalize these ideas.

People loved korrasami but like most queer ships, the idea of it being canon was more of a naive hope than an actual expectation. I know for me I was hoping that korra would end up single if nothing else because I figured she and mako would be back together by the end because that's what always happened. Popular guy/girl relationship that wasn't the best but was still end game because it was build up.

So when korra and Asami sat down in the final episode on those steps and had a heart to heart I was expecting for them to take a friend trip to the spirit world. Because in what realm would a children's show actually have their female leads be bisexual women. But that last shot of them holding hands and staring into each others eyes before the frame moved away gave me a feeling I'll never forget. I still remember sitting in class the day before Christmas break not being able to scream about it to any of my friends because they didn't watch korra but just knowing how monumental this moment was. The winter of 2014 when legend of korra added itself to queer history.

I was elated, I was shocked, what I thought would never happen did. And the creators only doubled down in the coming days by reiterating that yes korra and Asami were in a relationship. And it was a healthy relationship build on friendship and trust, it was one where you could go back and see the moments people were pointing out as a "maybe korrasami endgame" and just know that those weren't baiting fans but instead moments the creators were allowed to add in to show that yes korra and asami's dynamic was changing.

Younger queer fans can't be going around insulting every past bit of queer representation because we get better stuff now, when the only reason we have that better stuff is because of the previous content that was fought tooth and nail for. That sliver of a hand hold will always mean the world to me.

Fans also need to remember beauyasha is from dnd podcast where players can control their characters and don't have to contend with studio interference when they want something.

It's fine to prefer beauyasha and want it to win. I love beauyasha and was part of everyone screaming when they became canon. But don't diminish what korrasami accomplished to do so.

[ac-liveblogs]

i have not played natlan act 3-4 so uhhhh i wonder how natlan's middle act stacks up to other middle act archon quests (i.e. sumeru and fontaine) in your opinion? my twitter timeline hypes the fuck out of act 3-4 but i really can't trust fandom atp ...

Heya!

Tbh, every time I see someone hyping the fuck out of Genshin, especially Fontaine, I really do just… LMAO, bc the Fortress of Meropide was a chore and Sumeru's middle act was absolutely blatant filler. I think Natlan is better than both, but like, that's because those were bad, not because Natlan is good.

I think the best way to describe the Acts3-4 of Natlan is "straightforward, but boring". Act 3 mostly consists of trying to find Ororon and figure out why he's with the Fatui - that translates into Genshin's traditional "walk a short distance to the glowing light" type gameplay and I think one generic mob fight? Act 4 is... lots and lots of mob fights.

I think Act 3 is the best showing in Natlan - it does an okay job establishing Citlali and Ororon's characters and dynamic and why Ororon is working with the Fatui, but it resolves so quickly and uneventfully I really struggle to care about it. But at the end of it, the emotional payoff for this act is Ororon getting a sudden cutscene that gives emotional closure to the character arc Citlali described to us maybe 20 minutes before. "This is Ororon's tragic backstory" > "instant, easy resolution via relatively chill monologue". I mean, it wasted less time than Furina's, but it's clearly Mavuika they really want us to care about here. She's already had 2 extended playable segments about her past, Act 5 is gonna suuuuck

There's no actual combat or more than a couple of seconds of peril or anything, it's all totally cutscene based. Injecting combat into this sort of thing usually helps raise the stakes, but it's totally absent here… we don't even get to fight Capitano. His plan gets interrupted by Ororon having his Moment and then he just gives up, which is really cool payoff for the guy that's been hyped as the strongest member of the Fatui Harbingers.

An anon described Ororon as a more competent Scaramouche-Irminsul, and while I think Ororon's character works better and it fits the story here more than in Sumeru, at least with Scaramouche he…. god I can't believe I'm saying this, but at least Scaramouche actually… did something… stuff happened that we had to deal with as opposed to stuff ALMOST happening… thhat sucked too, but like… it's… stuff?

I think HYV sometimes forgets how videogames work…? Using combat to convey tone really helps... whatever...

Act 4 was pretty tedious. I know a lot of people got emotional about the war arc, but I've seen it done better elsewhere and I really wasn't impressed. That mostly manifests as bouncing between a bunch of generic mob fights for about 30 minutes, again with no boss. Throwing generic mobs at you in very standard numbers does nothing to enforce any kind of threat, and it exhausted me.

However, it is still better than bumming around the Fortress of Meropide, which I absolutely hated - especially Fontaine Act 3, which was a completely irrelevant timewaster. Natlan's Act 3 and 4 seem to be leading into Natlan's endgame a lot better than Sumeru and Fontaine's did (I think you could excise almost everything from Sumeru and Fontaine Acts 3-4 and end up at Act 5 just fine tbh), and it did feel like there's a bit less yapping than usual...?

There's an effort to show you that "war... war is hell..." with a bunch of dead NPCs, but I don't care about nameless NPCs. Chasca and her sister had very little time put towards getting the audience to care about them (Chasca has some of the least focus out of all the Natlan characters), and she realises she's a hero when her sister dies and goes berserk off-screen, so that didn't work for me.

Also, I cannot get over reaching the end of things, being told BIG ENEMIES COMING, thinking "oh good maybe they'll reuse one of the mat bosses at the very least" and getting confronted with a couple ruin guards.

(Tbh, I think Citlali dying and Ororon reacting to that would've worked better given they spent the ENTIRE PREVIOUS ACT ON THOSE TWO. Or like, Kinich and Ajaw's thing? god. Why put in the thing about Ajaw getting Kinich's body if Kinich dies if you weren't gonna- never mind. It's fine. never mind)

The 6 heroes were underutilised as expected, and it seems like their role concluded this patch. So. Eh.

Overall - I did not get so bored I can barely remember what happened (Sumeru) OR want to bash my head against a wall at any point (Fontaine), but I did get pretty annoyed during Act 4 but overall feel pretty "well that was whatever" about it, so. Natlan 4/10.

[council-of-beetroot]

I love your Tolys analysis so much! There's so much to look at when it comes to Tolys. His relationships with everyone are so complex. He's Ivan's favorite and learns to live around the abuse, he openly dislikes Gilbert, he's ride or die for Feliks, he enjoyed being with Alfred, even though he was still treated like a maid (but obviously a much times better than his usual situation). another sad thing is he's overly serious. He has to walk on eggshells so often, ofc jokes go over his head :(

I love looking at his relationships with others and can honestly see him having intimate relations with all of the above you mentioned as well as very complex ones at that.

So even in a non romantic way, I began to think hmm what makes them work well together, what draws them together and what drives them apart.

Feliks and Tolys

What works or draws them to each other

They know each other better than anyone. They've forged such a strong bond because they had to. Their marriage was purely political but they ended up making it work for a really long time. I think they both push each other out of their comforts since they trust eachother to do so. With Feliks, Tolys is one of the few people he feels truly comfortable to be around. They bring out the other's lighthearted side as well. They have each other's backs.

What drives them apart

They know each other so well they lack boundaries and communication between them can go poorly.

With Feliks, Tolys is one of the few people he's comfortable around and this unfortunately makes Tolys almost akin to a security blanket which puts a strain on their relationship. Also Tolys is not the best with straight forward communication and isn't good with explaining how he feels and setting boundaries which to someone like Feliks it's very hard to read and figure out the way to appropriately interact in response

Alfred and Tolys

What works or draws them to each other

To Alfred Tolys is a good friend, a good mentor and and doesn't dismiss him for his youthfulness.

To Tolys, Alfred is ambitious, driven, and innovative and Tolys finds him very interesting and he is very willing to experience life in the US.

What drives them apart

You know those people who are nice and you consider yourself friends with them but there's something that keeps you from forging a stronger bond because you just can't fully relate and understand each other because you've had vastly different life experiences? That's where I see them drifting apart and maybe not in like a breakup but they are on separate paths.

Also I think Alfred's naïvete and idealism would not mesh well for Tolys.

Ivan and Tolys

What works or draws them to each other

For Ivan, Tolys is kind, reliant, empathetic, loyal, and always willing to lend an ear and listen. Tolys knows Ivan very well and knows his softness, his fears, and sees his vulnerability, Ivan genuinely likes Tolys and is quite affectionate towards him.

What drives them apart

Ivan doesn't want to lose people in his life so in an effort to prevent loss he ends up pushing people away when trying to ensure they don't leave him.

Tolys just like with Feliks is driven by emotion before reason.

Read my fic I sum it up perfectly there.

Gilbert and Tolys

What works or draws them to each other

They have been a constant opponent for the other for centuries, they have studied each other as opponents and know just how intense the other can get and this breeds a mutual admiration for their former opponent, the way it feels in a final match and you see how well your opponent fights and you see an honour in them facing you.

What drives them apart

That's the problem is that no matter how much they try fate seems to bring them back together

Lietpru endgame perhaps?