#but we've known this was the endgame for a while

[eyecan02]

Alastor Analysis

Alastor's background regarding romance and sexuality goes all the way back to early drawings that depict Alastor crushing on Kay-cee.

The story then moves on from a crush on Kay-cee to a full on relationship with Mimzy.

It makes me wonder how Viv jumped from Alastor in a relationship to Alastor being ace. It feels like quite a wide leap. With Viv being the creator, I have nothing but respect for her but I feel like Alastor can still love/possibly do sexual acts while still keeping in character and looking out for #1.

I feel like while Alastor was alive, he leaned toward graysexual and this is why. I don't believe this man died a virgin. As we all know Alastor is from the 20s. He's in his late 30s/40s, meaning that it would've been uncommon for a man his age to still be unwed/unattached to someone. I'm sure he went on blind dates set up by his mom, and even occasionally slept with women in order to keep up appearances. He most likely did this in order to make his mother happy since any mother would've liked to have seen their child happily married.

And after Alastor became an overlord, the occasional sex probably didn't stop there, because Alastor is all about about keeping up appearances and deals. He definitely comes off as someone who would use sex as a means to and end. If a woman wanted to trade their soul in exchange for Alastor's protection and one night with him, I feel like Alastor wouldn't turn her down. It would be a decision that would end up leading to an increase in power for him. He just likely wouldn't kiss during the act.

Now finally onto Alastor's relationship with Charlie. From the beginning, we've all known that Alastor has his own agenda and reasons for involving himself with Charlie. He's a master of manipulation, knowing love is a powerful motivator (the way he manipulates Vaggie by making her feel bad about Charlie and the commercial) and also digging into Charlie's daddy issues.

It was clear that Alastor tried to play the boyfriend card to piss off Luci. It was only after Charlie introduced Vaggie that Alastor changed tactics and switched to the daddy card.

This means that Alastor would be willing to play any role to get what he wants from Charlie, whether the endgame is obtaining her soul or becoming her royal advisor or whatever. If Vaggie had been introduced in the pilot as a mere crush, Alastor would've caught onto the daddy issues quick and would've angled for a romantic role in Charlie's life since love and sex would be easy things for Alastor to manipulate (if my theory is right about him using sex as a means to an end).

I feel like this kind of materializes during the pilot with the way Alastor keeps pushing Vaggie out of the way, and how Vaggie seems jealous whenever Alastor impresses Charlie.

We don't know if this weird competition for Charlie's attention will persist between them as the series goes on considering that behavior was absent in season one. What's interesting is that the jealousy aspect switched from Vaggie to Alastor. The second Luci hugged Charlie, we're shown Alastor looking maliciously at Luci with his eye twitching in irritation.

What do we know about Alastor so far? He's an attention whore . He's used to being one of the strongest demon lords (at least from the pride ring) so suddenly not having attention, particularly Charlie's attention is making him act nuttier than usual.

Usually, it's hard for someone to be jealous without at least having some feelings toward the one they're feeling jealousy over. "Ah, an enjoyable collective to be around. I admit that one could get accustomed." This line is for the entire Hazbin gang, but also a real sign he cares for Charlie.

He can still have his own hidden agenda while caring about Charlie and being attracted to her. And he definitely is attracted to her. Calls her "charming and adorable". The constant touching.

Some might argue that that's just a part of Alastor's power play/dominance but he already knows that those types of moves don't intimidate Charlie. In fact, she never seems bothered at all when Alastor tries physically to get closer to her.

Also, the animators placing Alastor in Charlie's bed with both of them on a HEART pillow is insane. They know what they were doing. We see the way Alastor's hands possessively spider crawl up Charlie's shoulders and the way he grips her face.

And by the looks of it, Alastor seems to lust after Charlie's soul almost as much as his freedom. Viv has said that Alastor can't love anyone because he loves himself too much. Yet, she has also described Charlie as "Alastor's mirror".

The fact that they even made Charlie's color palette similar to Alastor's. Her hot pink jacket is almost a reddish color and they both wear bow ties. If Charlie is a reflection of Alastor then wouldn't that mean he does technically love himself by loving Charlie? He could be Charliesexual.

Not saying Viv will change her mind. She already chose her endgame. BUT what if Prime and Viv compromise and we get to have one sided Charlastor where Alastor admits to someone or even directly confesses his romantic love to Charlie herself (without actually trying to steal her from Vaggie)?

[muddyorbsblr]

the brink of eternity pt1

See my full list of works here!

Summary: You arrive in New Asgard to its citizens rebuilding from the wreckage brought on by the god butcher's attack

Pairing: Loki x Sorceress!Reader

Word Count: 2.4k

Warning/s: language (like 2 cuss words…still not sorry, Rogers); canon-divergent up the damn wazoo; mentions of major character deaths; mention of injuries; allusions to cancer; my still rusty af writing [let me know if i missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: assumed unrequited love; Reader is a magic-wielding Avenger that trained in Kamar Taj after the events of Endgame

It had been a while since you went to visit the town that was once known as Tonsberg, but even when Thor in his tragedy-driven downward spiral and Val were surrounded by wood and bricks and cobblestone still waiting to be put together and turned into a new home for the thousands of now homeless Asgardians, it didn't look this…desolate.

Charred wooden planks were dumped onto the middle of the street along with other torn and shredded belongings from the affected homes. The citizens, their soot-covered faces a mix of distraught and exhausted, gave you barely a passing glance even as they clocked your clean clothes, bag slung over your shoulder.

From what stories Thor and Loki shared before, Asgardians were notorious gossips. They seemed to always find a way to whisper amongst themselves when something intrigued them even in the slightest, no matter the circumstance.

Almost always, it seemed, as today felt like the exception to that rule. Their gazes were fixed to the ground, the eerie quiet buzzing of the town comprised of sniffles and shaky breaths. Sounds you were achingly familiar with, hearing them all around you when half the world turned to dust just over half a decade ago.

Sounds of people frantically trying to get hold of their families on the phone, bracing and fearing for the worst.

"Y/N?" Val's voice pierced through the quiet, all heads turning toward her and the whispering intrigue finally starting amongst the villagers.

Our King knows this stranger, they said. You paid them no mind as you walked toward her and let the warrior king pull you into an embrace. When her wince at the contact hit your ears, you grasped at her shoulders, looking her over frantically.

"What happened?"

"You know how it is, my friend. Stab wound, kidney puncture, same old song and --"

"Stab wound?!" you raised your voice to a near shriek, even more panicked over her nonchalant delivery. "Val, what. Happened."

"God killer," she sighed. "Well, he prefers to call himself a god butcher, wields the Necrosword hellbent on making sure that the gods no longer walk this or any other realm." She motioned toward the distraught citizens. "He took the children to lure Thor to him because he needed to summon the Bifrost. Poor oaf's there now all alone trying to rescue them."

"Wait where's there?"

"Thor has gone to the Gates of Eternity. The Bifrost is the key to unlock them and if he does, well…" She sliced her finger along her throat. "Goodbye, gods. Much as I wish to be there to aid him, he's quite determined to have me and Jane rest."

"Hold on, Jane's here? Where is she?"

Val pointed towards the hospital, already walking towards it. "We've much to catch up on, little witchy." Just as she looped her arm through yours, there was a loud bang that came from the hospital, and you saw a blonde woman dressed like Thor flying up into the sky on the back of Warsong with Mjolnir in hand. "Oh no…"

"Is that--?"

"Jane? Yes." Your heart caught in your throat as you saw the tears forming in the warrior's eyes as she told you of Jane's diagnosis. How Mjolnir grants her health and vitality when she wields the hammer, but at the cost of her mortality. "She's gone to fight alongside Thor. Quite certainly to die in battle, too."

Every thought in your head screamed the same thing. "I have to stop her. I've gotta get to Eternity."

After reassuring her that you had sufficient enough means and magic to find your way, Val told you where to find the gates.

At the center of the universe, she said. But that it might be a more accurate shot for the sling ring you had on hand if you focused on Thor instead.

Right before you began to conjure the portal to bring you to your friend, the weakened warrior held your forearm firmly. Desperately. "Please don't die," she pled faintly, already misty eyed just saying the words. "Beat Gorr to Eternity, and keep him from making his wish."

Stepping through the circular glowing portal brought you to an elaborate temple made of what seemed like some celestial-grade stone. The entire place was aglow with lightning striking from multiple places at once, and in front of you was Stormbreaker summoning the Bifrost, seeming to power up a portal to what you could only guess was the Eternity that Val mentioned.

A visibly weakened Jane summoned a lightning strike that hit Gorr's weapon dead on, crumbling what remained of the sword into dust right before she began to collapse to the ground. You took the god butcher's slow triumphant walk to the gate as your cue.

"And who might you be?" he said, pausing to look you head to toe, assessing your power. "You are no god, but you're not entirely mortal, either."

"Hello, Gorr," you said with a sly grin, grabbing a hold of him and throwing him yards away from the gate with your magic. "Goodbye, Gorr."

"Y/N?" you heard Thor weakly mumble your name, relieved when he saw you walking backwards toward the blindingly glowing archway that opened up.

The last thing you heard before you all were transported to a vast white expanse was Gorr's defeated outcry of "Noooo!"

"Make your wish, sorceress," a voice spoke in your mind. When you turned to face the source, all you saw was a skyscraper of a silhouette…consisting of an endless sea of galaxies and stars. "Whatever you desire can and shall be so. Name it. And it shall be yours."

Those words brought you to your knees, the gravity of your situation weighing down on you like a cartoon anvil just dead dropped onto your shoulders. Agonizing memories of the loss and heartache you'd experienced and witnessed in the last few years alone, all the grief you kept bottled up inside, coming at you all at once.

From coming back to the Compound after the Time Heist, only to discover that you were all one Avenger short. Finding out that Nat sacrificed herself so the rest of you could have the Soul Stone.

To the loss of Tony and having to be there to hold Morgan as she cried and thrashed, calling out for her father after the defeat of Thanos and his army. And the loss of Steve shortly after that, realizing the super soldier chose to stay in the past and resume what he believed should have been his life with Peggy Carter. Then Bucky's subsequent pulling away from the team after that.

Losing Wanda, and the look on her face when you stood against her during the fight at Kamar Taj. Only hearing about it in the hours following the wreckage of the temple, and Wong's return, that your friend had perished by her own hand in Wundagore. That in her final moments, she was all alone, believing that this was the only way to ensure the safety of this and all other universes from the dark magic she held.

And then there was the loss that started it all for you, the one that had you slowly but steadily pulling away since the fight at Wakanda. Loki. Seeing his brother come in to the battlefield fueled by rage, and hearing his voice devoid of any strength as he told you about the god of mischief's fate when Thanos seized their ship to relieve them of the Tesseract.

All those words that you held back on saying for fear of having them thrown back in your face with a derisive laugh…they felt like lead in the back of your throat as soon as Thor had told you the news. And you beat yourself up for being so scared and childish to hide it all away like a schoolgirl with a crush. The loss of him, even though he wasn't yours to lose, numbed you. And you swore to never love again.

Love only ever got you hurt.

But looking back at the blond Asgardian, holding the frail body of his love in his arms…you knew that he wouldn't survive if he had to suffer another great loss. If he had to lose Jane. You knew that there were people that you cared about back on Earth that were still grieving and picking up the pieces of their lives.

And you had the opportunity to relieve them of that grief. To spare them the numbness that that same loss had dealt you.

"Look in my heart," you whispered to the entity. "You know what I want."

"It shall be yours, sorceress. Live well," were the last words you heard before Jane's sharp inhale. Like her lungs were near empty and she was gulping in air.

When you looked back at them, she'd visibly regained color, near identical smiles of wonder and relief on her and Thor's faces. Even from this far away, you could sense it. Whatever sickness plagued her body was gone. Every trace of it.

"You--?" Thor asked, pointing a finger toward you as you approached them.

"Guess so," you answered him with a little shrug. "How you feeling, Doctor Foster?"

"Like I could wrestle a horse," she told you with a big grin. "Thank you."

Before you could conjure up another portal to bring you all home, more voices emerged from behind the entity.

"Y/N?"

"Sparky?"

"Lady Y/N?"

Natasha. Tony. Heimdall.

"My friend, what did you wish for?"

You looked back at the bewildered god, grasping his best friend's shoulders and trying to adjust to the new reality that he had returned. "I honestly don't know, I just said that Eternity should know what I want and--"

"Brother?"

The air left your lungs at the sound of the new voice. The voice you'd missed hearing for the better part of the last decade. Your heart beat erratically in your chest watching Loki emerge from behind Eternity and walk toward all of you, already holding his hands up in caution upon seeing Nat and Tony. "I swear I have no intention of harming--"

"We know, Reindeer Games," Stark said, holding his hand out toward the god. "Thor told us all about what you did. You're alright by my book as long as you don't try and raise another ugly ass alien army to take over the world."

Before he could say anything in return, Thor pulled his brother into a tight embrace. "It's good to see you, too, Brother," he said in a strained voice. "But how am I here?"

"Y/N reached Eternity. And she made a wish," Jane answered him, also holding her hands up. "No slaps this time, I promise."

"Y/N?" he said your name breathlessly, nudging his brother out of the way and looking around until his eyes met yours. You did your best not to fidget or pick at your clothes as he made his way over to you, trying to swallow down the lump in your throat when he framed your face with his hands.

"Hiya, Mischief," you mumbled, seeing Tony and Nat give each other a look from the corner of your eye as they slowly backed away, choosing instead to reunite and get up to speed with the other Asgardian.

"This was your doing?" The way his thumbs stroked at your cheeks had you unable to form words, only managing a meek little nod.

"Not bad for a stupid little--" The rest of your words died in a squeak at the back of your throat, cut off by the god pressing his lips to yours.

"Sweet precious mortal," he sighed against your lips. "There are many words I could use to describe you, and 'stupid' will never be one of them."

Before he could kiss you again, you heard multiple people clear their throats, your friends looking at the two of you with knowing and teasing smirks. "Perhaps we should make our way home first, Brother?"

Loki brushed the tip of his nose against yours before threading his fingers between yours, jutting his chin at the lightning bolt in his brother's hand. "Zeus?"

"Long story," he answered simply.

"He stabbed Zeus and stole it," Jane said in a stage whisper.

"Perhaps not such a long story after all," Thor said, chuckling as he held on to his girlfriend's hand, the astrophysicist summoning Mjolnir with her other hand.

"That's a long story even I don't know yet," you told Loki when he squeezed your hand lightly and tilted his head at the couple, Jane now sporting that near-identical armor and crimson cape that the blond god wore.

"Everybody hold on," Thor called out to you all, a large ball made of yellow lightning materializing all around you and spinning at a furiously fast pace. You blinked once, and when you opened your eyes again, you were in the same ruins of New Asgard that you walked through just earlier today.

Val was already there walking toward you all with a relieved look on her face that morphed into confusion when she saw Tony…and then Loki. "I take it Y/N beat the butcher to Eternity?" You all just nodded at her. "Well then, welcome back, all of you." Then she pulled Jane into a hug, playfully pushing Thor away. "I'm so glad you're alive." The king looked up, eyes meeting yours before she mouthing the words, 'Thank you.'

"We were lucky Y/N got there when she did," Thor told her. "What did bring you to New Asgard, my friend? It has been ages since last we spoke."

"I lost Wanda," you sighed, a lump forming in your throat again just saying the words. "And losing her made me realize I've been a shit friend to--well, everyone. Ever since…" You caught yourself before the rest of that sentence came out.

Ever since you told me Loki died, you finished quietly in your mind.

"Ever since Wakanda…the snap…" you told them out loud. You tried to shrug it all off, only to realize that Loki still held your hand in his. "Speaking of that stupid purple ballsacked chin little bitch…I should be getting you two back to New York," you addressed Tony and Nat. "There's at least three people whose worlds are about to turn for the better knowing you're back."

A/N: Okay so I fully intended to lay low and take my time normalizing after the complete insanity that October dealt me on a personal level, but then I rewatched Love and Thunder because I was in need of a comfort watch and I said "I don't like that ending, not one bit…lemme fix it". And slowly but surely the writer brain started its lil awkward shuffle back into the chat 😅

RTC and 'the final Lady Sharpe' are still at the top of the todo pile, and I'm still scared to touch them but I might work at it bit by bit, we'll see. And also this will have a part 2…because yes they might have kissed and they're holding hands but dammit they need to talk 🫠

'everything' taglist: @simplyholl @loopsisloops @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @kats72 @kikster606 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @lovingchoices14 @lunarnights95 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th  @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress @elizabethmidnight2017 @holdmytesseract @smolvenger @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokidokieokie @lunarnights95 @superficialdomina @kmc1989 @november-rayne @goddessofwonderland @buttercupcookies-blog @peaky-marvel @lokiified @tom-hlover @dryyoursaltyoceantears @herdetectivetheorist

[sepublic]

Speaking of; The Owl House's pitch bible got leaked as well! So while I look for the rest of it, let’s examine some interesting tidbits I found on Proto-Belos, or 'Obron' as he was once known, and William AKA Proto-Hunter!

Can I just say, I'm quite smug to know that Belos resurrecting the Titan as his endgame was always the original plan? I called it from the start! It was also kinda obvious, but c'mon. The Bionicle fan in me was obsessed.

I'm not surprised about the mentions of Pupa, or the name Obron or even the appearance; We've actually seen all of this before! But what does make me curious is the mention of two other councilors... So there's supposed to be a trio? Again, I always bring up the three statue motif in my speculation about the original plans of the show, I wonder if there's any connection there. Would Kikimora have been one of the other councilors, and who would've been the third? And it seems the coven system was always a thing, early on at least.

Yeah, the mention of '500 years' and the connection to William, etc. Even as Obron he was supposed to have been a human witch hunter turned actual witch. Comparing this to the pilot we got, it may not be Obron that the characters are referring to, since he's not the Emperor. But maybe he declared himself Emperor since he was basically the only one in charge by that point.

Makes me wonder if he hates humans under the delusion of 'I hate modern humans'. He hates what humanity has become and he's taking out his anger on modern humans; We also know the main reason he wants Luz in the pilot, to awaken the Titan. I presume Obron preserved William in stasis and hid him away, only for Luz to wake him up earlier than intended. I can imagine the scene/episode where Obron realizes William has been awake and roaming about for a while now...

There's the confirmation that Prince William and Hunter are the same character, or were. As I guessed, his witch-hunting tendencies would've been established early on as a strange gag, a quirk, only to become so much more darkly significant. I wonder if in this draft, Obron's past as a witch hunter also has relevance; Does he think he's 'saving' humanity by using the Titan to conquer both worlds, wiping out the denizens of one? Also him being a feral kid subsisting off of food given to him by friends is such Labyrinth Runners vibes. Was William always going to have his dynamic with Willow, given Luz plays a bigger role in him opening his mind?

Given we had a 'proof of concept' animation leaked a while back, I wonder if that was an even earlier draft to the pitch bible, given William is PRINCE William. Maybe he's meant to be an actual European human, because European bigotry towards witches existed back then I think, even if it wasn't as pronounced. And Obron does bear a resemblance to one of the Proto-Belos designs, though I'm not sure which came first.

…Huh. Would William have been Obron’s nephew or. God. Would he have been his brother. And while William never grew up because magical stasis, Obron did and now sees his brother be the exact same but also change. Man. And William just has to reconcile, when he gets his memories back, the jump from his brother, a kid like him, to Obron. So we still got the desperate attempt to preserve his brother, only for his brother/Hunter to ‘betray’ him.

[itspikamefan]

FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK

Spoilers under the cut

I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN! OUT OF ALL 3 TRIO MEMBERS! AND ALL THE GODDAMN TRAPS! God fucking dammit... Oh Mai my beloved Daughter... You deserved so much better (Atleast you got your Student Interview?) ...Regardless, we have a case to solve, and despite what it may seem, I believe we may 8 suspects this time. We'll go in order from most to least suspicious

Yanagi Shigeki: The only student that I think is completely outright innocent despite not appearing in the Body Discovery. Minus the fact he was trapped in the Medbay all night, he definitely would not have touched Mai to harm her in any form unless everything we know about Shigeki turns out to be a lie.

Tamba Ruiko: Again, very close to Mai, highly unlikely Tamba would intentionally or unintentionally hurt her. The only reason she's more suspicious that Takeshi is because she was not trapped or prevented from killing Mai. She did however, have a broken leg that would probably have made her useless against Mai. Not to mention she definitely wouldn't have set all those traps just to set off her own paranoia. So she's cool.

Ojima Takeshi: While I did heavily suspect him this chapter, and last trial, I do believe Ojima is MOST likely innocent? There is a still a possibility that Drunk-jima (AKA Maybe Ojima's alternate zoned out self) is responsible for this entire event. However, since a Killer can not trigger their own body discovery... I'm opting to believe Ojima is innocent. In that regard.

Wada Masanari: Slightly more suspicious than Ojima as he was rarely seen for large periods at a time and was seen briefly by Tamba entering and exiting the Arsenal for some unknown reason. However, considering how small he is and how big he would need to be to get the job done, not to mention he was the other person to discover the body, Im opting to believe Wada is innocent.

And now our Final 4, all of whom I believe are most likely equally suspicious so I'm not going to rule any of them out. But still, I'm going to rank them on my own personal list regardless

Hiroaki Nakamigawa: Was missing for the longest amount of time, was sup-ed up on drugs that would've given him the courage to fight Mai, had knowledge on the Arsenal's weaponry, and has been actively itching to get out and end the game. He's the least suspicious of the most suspicious though, considering he was actively sick from being poisoned by the coffee and he was VERY active across the Investigation. Then again, it could all just be an act to set us off from him so Im still keeping an eye on him.

Hasegawa Ken: The most suspicious amongst the students in my opinion, so if my other theories do fall through THIS MAN is my primary suspect. Definitely would've used the Arsenal to grab what weapons he could. Had been studying people and could have predicted their patterns, is one of the few students who likely knows about the camera, and just generally has been very suspicious this whole time. Now of course, this is all provided my other two theories (Which I think are both likely) are false. However, for the mean time, if there is a student Killer, I'm placing my bets on our Ultimate Quiz Show Contestant.

Down to the final 2 and neither of them is any of the remaining alive students! In all honesty, I think both of them have likely possibilities, considering we've reached the endgame of the Killing Game. However, as for which one I think is MORE likely, well... I'll save that one for later

Theory #1: Hayashi Mai Sacrifice

I think there is a very very strong possibility that Mai killed herself ala Suicide in order to finally end the Killing game. That wouldn't explain a lot of the missing evidence, but then again it's possible that the staff intervened to make it LOOK like a murder, which is why the entire school is so clean of evidence. "But Mai was stabbed all the way through!" I hear you say? Well, if you remember back to Feudal Japan, Samurai had a particular method of Seppuku they would do to ensure they would not bring dishonor upon their family... A single sword directly to the stomach, piercing all the way through... Sound familiar? Now, I do think Mai is also not stupid and didn't set all those bomb traps up for her classmates... Especially since she took most of the brunt herself... Which brings to the more likely theory

Theory #2: Staff Interference

We're getting to the end game, people are freaking out, and Yonekura needs her results for the first killing game... So... What does she do? She has one of her staff kill Hayashi Mai. If she can rig the game so that no students would be allowed to leave the school alive, then her research would still mostly remain true and she could move on to the next killing game no problem. This works especially considering her and Yonekura planned for EVERY student to go missing permanently. Not to mention the entire Arsenal being emptied out could have only been done by someone that had some place to hide it. And since the students never found any of the Bombs or Swords used in the Murder... I have a pretty good guess as to who would have had the time to take it all.

So my current top theories is either Hayashi killed herself, The staff killed Mai, or Hasegawa killed Mai. At the end of this post I'm leaning towards 2 and 3, maybe even with a sort of mix? But regardless this case is fucked, Hayashi deserved to live, Von you were incredible as both her voice actor and director of this series... And YEAH. I'll see you all at the final trial. PEACE!!!

[hopeymchope]

I know Kodaka was fishing for some kind of compliment on his controversial V3 ending — he's even mentioned before that he had to poke and prod and pull to get people to give him their reactions to Chapter 6 in particular. And y'know, that's probably because of how bugnuts and controversials. But even so, you know what? I'll give him some compliments.

Making some of those shocking endgame reveals be lies was a bold choice that virtually guaranteed a lot of people wouldn't "get it." I can't exactly blame them; I definitely wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't upon my very first analysis. It just seemed like the entire climax rendered so much EXTREMELY dubious that the possibilities were vast. But as we now know, Kodaka later made it pretty clear that SOME things were definitely meant to be lies. And regardless of how clear that is or isn't when you play through it, I think the fact that the last chapter serves as this litmus test for how much attention you've been paying to the details of the story is actually very cool.

I think it's neat how we cycle through playing from the perspective of all our survivors at that point. That was a cool touch.

Honestly, the way the fourth-wall breaks keep piling up felt so insane as to become hilarious after a while? I couldn't stop giggling as I played through Chapter 6 for the first time; it's SO nuts, and they take it SO far. The comments coming from the viewing public are particularly hilarious. "Sakura is my muscle waifu" and whatnot. :P

It takes the bold step of feeling very FINAL for this profitable, beloved series. It feels like it we've reached a very definite conclusion, even if said conclusion happens in a different universe/reality from the other games. (And yes, we all know that no profitable/known IP ever truly dies; since then, we've gotten Danganronpa S as well as various other hints at a future for the series. But the fact that we've gone even THIS long without a true new game is both surprising and a little impressive. .... And also, if you're insatiable like me, disappointing. But that's another matter.)

[gaystefansalvatore]

gay stefan salvatore manifesto

(OR can be read as ambiguously bi, his thing with Elena can be read as comphet or genuine)

content warnings: dubious consent/consent issues

"I know we've only known each other for a short while. And I know I'm in competition for your affections. But... I've never met a woman quite like you. I look at you and I see an angel. I touch your skin... and my entire body ignites. I kiss you and I know that I'm falling in love. [kisses her] I am in love with you." Katherine compelled Stefan to love her

He was very young and didn't understand how love worked but isn't that how love feels like? He wouldn't be able to tell

This is what everyone says you should want

^Even after Stefan realized it wasn't real he rationalized it with comphet

"He's gay?" "Not right now" scene with Isobel shows that it's canon that a female vampire can compel a gay man to have sex with her

Stefan spent the last 145 years dealing with the fact that it was actually a violation, Katherine compelled him and he didn't want it

Contrast this with Damon who insists that Katherine never compelled him and his love was real, Damon doesn't understand Stefan's struggle because he's the straight brother

Then Stefan met Elena and she wasn't a vampire and wasn't compelling him, she was SAFE and he wanted to be the perfect boyfriend for her so bad

Being with Elena helped Stefan process and cope with his trauma with Katherine. Dating Elena must be a good thing and he's obligated to her because being with her helped him

another thing that feels like an obligation is Elena likes Stefan so much he feels like he HAS to make the relationship work

Elena being important to Stefan doesn't necessarily have to be romantic

Stefan's father was big on "not bringing shame to the family" and covered up the vampire thing. he would have also NOT approved of Stefan being gay

Stefan's whole thing with repression, his conflict with being a vampire is also intertwined with internalized homophobia

Because of Katherine and his upbringing he wasn't able to process his attraction to men until he returned to Mystic Falls 145 years later

CANON DIVERGENCE

What if Stefan felt himself drawn towards Matt Donovan, Elena's ex? He becomes friends with him, helps him with his absentee mom and Vicki

^Imagine s1 but restructured to have some intimate Stefan/Matt moments, Matt is a genuinely good friend and helps him come to terms with his attraction to men

^they don't necessarily date but I'm all for a Matt/Caroline/Stefan endgame tbh

Meanwhile Elena does like Damon but tamps down the feeling because it feels like a betrayal towards Stefan and also Damon is kind of an ass. Damon eventually wins her over though. I see the appeal it's kinda Enemies to Lovers

[lover-of-mine]

please why are they making up characters that don’t even exist?? 💀💀💀 the show already struggles with having 7 mains (8 if you count Christopher), they already have some amazing characters the public wants to see more of (like Ravi!!) and bt fans think they will have time to *checks notes* make Tommy a main and also *checks notes* create a whole ass new character that will be introduced 9 seasons into the show and will apparently be a main too? that’s one if the reasons why buddie would work so well for them, whenever Buck and Eddie had romantic partners, the show struggled time wise to give all their characters a somewhat consistent screentime AND add two new characters that have enough personality, screentime and engagement to actually be well received by the ga

Honestly, even making someone like Ravi or Karen or Josh maybe, yk, characters we've known and loved for a while, a main would be hard because there're too many characters to follow already. On top of that they would also need to find a way to make a random ass character being introduced way too late in the game compelling enough to make the audience accept the idea of Buck and Eddie being separated. Which at this point is kinda impossible to make because, again, they tried to separate them in s6 and failed so catastrophically that they just said "just kidding, we didn't try to separate them at all *squeezes them together like nothing happened*" and pushed them even closer. To effectively give Buck and Eddie endgame relationships that are not each other, they need to break the Buckley Diaz family, and the concept of Buck, Eddie, and Chris being a unit has been a thing since we met Chris. People are attached to Buck and Chris too, and you need to break that up because you can't have the "I'm Eddie, this is my partner and co parent Buck, that's his boyfriend and this is my girlfriend" because that's unsatisfying narratively. Buck's bond with Chris exists outside of his relationship with Eddie. They would need to separate Buck and Eddie effectively and remove Buck from the co parent role, and make 2 characters compelling enough that the audience would go along with it. 8 seasons in, that's pretty much impossible. The thing that makes buddie is 6 seasons of buildup. You need at least half that to try and build something comparable while not touching on them at all. It's not happening.

[strqyr]

winter & cinder parallels are taking over once again and i'm thinking like. how much the atlas arc might parallel the endgame, particularly the role winter played by contacting weiss and being part of the plan while pretending to still be loyal to ironwood. especially this piece of dialogue:

winter: sir, this course of action— ironwood: i hope you're not going to try to talk me out of it. winter: no, sir. i don't think that's possible.

brings to mind what raven, who claims to know all about salem, said about her, that she can't be reasoned with + what i've been thinking for a while now—and what miles pretty much confirmed in one of his cameos (validation!! lol)—, about the grimm's influence on salem, that while salem's emotions and feelings are her own, the grimm feeds on her negative feelings and, basically, for every problem its solution is death and destruction.

and it interests me so, how much cinder knows about salem's plan, if there's a point of Too Far for her—the risk of the entire world's destruction? (cinder very much likes living, me thinks) salem not keeping her end of the bargain? (cinder wants the maiden powers, and if she's told to stay in vale when everyone else is in vacuo... well. that's probably not going to go well with her)—that could make her reconsidering the path she's currently on.

weiss: but your destiny was chosen for you, without your input. winter: perhaps, but i'm choosing it now. i've made it my own. and i take great pride in it. that has nothing to do with father, or the general… that belongs to me. weiss: i guess we've both had to do a little bit of that. carving out our own way. winter: i suppose we have.

the above, too, like. after the glass unicorn, cinder couldn't have known about the maidens, about the power that exists in the world. sure, she wanted to be powerful, but that knowledge could have only come from salem, who needed someone to obtain the maiden powers; "when i chose you as my vessel for the maidens [...]" -> "but your destiny was chosen for you, without your input."

question is, has cinder made her destiny her own yet? or is that still coming?

[acourtofthought]

Would you still consider it a celebration if Gwynriel’s book is next, bc it at least confirms endgame couples?

I will be very happy for Gwynriels and very relieved that it will help lessen the ship wars though I think I'll still feel disappointed.

I want Elucien to happen but I also adore Elain and Lucien as individuals so an Elucien confirmation isn't the entirety of what I want for them.

Az and Gwyn absolutely deserve a HEA and their own healing arcs but there is something to be said for the fact that right now, they are surrounded by love even without a relationship. Yes, they have their own internal struggles but they have a really strong support system, people that have their backs, that encourage them, that believe in them. Az and Gwyn both have their found families but neither Elain or Lucien do.

Elain and Lucien are regularly pushed to the side in favor of the other characters. I understand why that is, SJM has to stay on course with the narrative that they still need to find the court where they'll thrive, but in the meantime that has resulted in them being misunderstood by the others. It results in others speaking for them, the others not encouraging them or helping them find their powers. Hell, Feyre has known about Lucien's real father since ACOWAR and it's almost two years later yet she's still letting him wander around aimlessly thinking he has no place to go.

A Gwynriel book being next means we're going to have yet another book of Elain floating around the River House with no real purpose. Lucien drifting between Spring and the Human Lands while Tamlin remains depressed which means Lucien will feel the effects of that. Elain again not having the chance to have a POV on how she's feeling about the loss of her father, being made, Graysen's rejection, Az's rejection, how Nesta and Az believe she shouldn't be allowed to do anything dangerous. If a Gwynriel book takes 6-9 months, that means nearly three years will have passed from when Elain will have been forced into the Cauldron, given powers from the Cauldron that she still hasn't fully explored and hasn't been given help on training, a confirmed mating bond that remains unaccepted and unrejected, and we will have never had a single person actually ask her how she feels about any of that outside of Feyre's "you couldn't say a single word to him?"

I will be happy for Gwynriels but how can I personally be super excited when that means my two favorite characters will once again suffer for another 6-9 months without having the same support system in place that Az and Gwyn already do?

Gwyn and Az might not have romance yet but they are respected and loved by their friends and we've witnessed that on page. Meaningful moments, moments where their found family have gotten personal with them and asked them to get personal in response (though Az is kind of terrible in that area, we've seen Cassian and Rhys at least try).

Lucien has "friends" in Vassa and Jurian but we've never actually seen that connection, we're just told it's there so we have to assume it is.

And when he tried to open up to Feyre, she made fun of him.

Elain has "friends" with the wraiths but again, we're just told about it rather than witnessing moments that make us actually feel it. And yes, her sisters love her but they don't try to connect with her (Feyre only thinks of her as a pleasant companion).

And the IC, while friendly enough with Lucien, don't necessarily embrace him with any kind of true respect. There's always this underlying current of "can we trust him?", "what can he do for us?" And of course we know Az has issues with him.

The need to prove that both Elain and Lucien belong somewhere other than where they currently is starting to feel a tiny bit overdone to the point that it's a bit cruel, and while that to me would be a perfect time to end their suffering, I can only imagine what another book of that would look like.

[theaceofskulls]

I need it to be known that awhile back, I burned out on Warframe hard.

I cycle through live games like it a lot and usually I take a bit of time off and come back to them regularly, but there was just a lot of stuff right before I quit that slowly wore away one me.

It started with Railjack, a gamemode I was really looking forward to feeling like a clunky reset that was entirely an uphill grind before I could get to any of the fun parts and continued with the battlepass like systems that eventually saw the release of Glassmaker coming out alongside its third open world, Deimos.

Deimos felt bad, and the current season which would regularly spawn in enemies into the mode while you were trying to work on things made it worse. and it was yet another content island with a very confusing design to me with enemies with too large threat radiuses and several elite enemies with confusing damage resistances.

I felt behind on everything and feeling less and less like I was enjoying the rewards I was getting, but there was one big update that I was waiting for: New War.

When that dropped and it felt like it focused on a dev's pet project while downplaying the things I was looking forward to and then dropped an endgame mode that was on top of all the other ones I'd yet to fully master, I hit my burnout without knowing it and held on lightly until Angels of the Zariman, another endgame mode where the rewards appeared to be all for decorating an apartment with a confusing new faction system and yet another "we got to a part of the game I really wanted to see and this is it?!" moment.

I left the game entirely for two years, only occasionally checking in. When it was announced that Steve would be stepping down to focus on Soulframe, I couldn't even properly get excited at that despite snagging a beta key. Hearing Rebecca take the helm had me interested, as well as seeing the 1999 stuff interested me but I couldn't drum up the excitement I used to have.

Earlier this year after the latest round of 1999 previews, I was interested enough to see if my burnout had worn off and while it did, I don't credit that for why I've stuck with it again. There's been a legitimate change in direction to the game while I've been away, and while a few of the grinds I've missed have the telltale signs of why I burned out, going through the content since then, especially with the major overhaul to the UI and damage system has made this whole game work for me.

I stated in a previous post that 1999 also manages to successfully leverage its story quest into its grind correctly and after a few days of doing the actual grind, I don't just stand by that statement, I feel this is an absolutely amazing teachable design by comparing the older content that caused me to burn out (to be fair, 1999 isn't perfect and I have some stress points)

The story quest doesn't just leave on a "now that's over, go grind out content to get your rewards" it emotionally charges you with "this grind works towards emotions that we've played with in the story" and also does a good job of throwing rewards your way very early and very often. I noticed this same pattern with the Whisper in the Walls content when I got to it, but it's clear that this has taken further lessons.

The fact that the story content has an epilogue that I managed to get unlocked within three days of playing with it, which didn't end the grind nor my reasons for wanting to continue, really goes a long way as well. Compared to New War which launched without its epilogue and required weeks to see it through (and even then, it would be two mainline updates before Duviri which had almost half of what I consider to be the complimenting material to New War), Angels of the Zariman which immediately petered off its story, Duviri which felt like the grind was completely separate from the story, and Heart of Deimos where the story wrapup was entirely contained by the faction grind (and the correct way to actually do that faction grind was actually counter intuitive as I'd learn later), it's clearly such a learning moment.

The fact that engaging with the faction is done in more than just missions (but the missions themselves having the NPCs in them helping you) is also such a huge change to the way the game felt. I'm engaging with this update because I want more and more, not just chasing the gameplay rewards (which often felt out of reach if I didn't manage to cross that threshold to endgame that felt out of reach).

I do think that a lot of lessons need to be applied backwards throughout the game but the things I've seen in the past couple updates it's gone through are incredibly promising. Whisper in the Walls providing catchup mechanic and alternate ways to obtain rewards from other annoying grinds was inspired, and I'm once again engaged with the game and looking forward to seeing where story threads go.

[odense]

so on the one hand, I'm very glad for a particular opportunity that I've been given lately. it's something I've wanted for a while, and someone that I think does have my best interests in mind set it up, so I think I will take the step. On the other hand, I also have some emotional homework to do for it, the first draft of which is an explanation of why actually I don't want to do this OR anything like it in the foggiest, so that's a bit awkward to run into. but like, I already struggle to split myself into two streams; if I'm giving myself to a third party, which well would I draw from? is there enough of me TO give? I've been happy with my current balance.

on the third hand of course though, I remember the first time I took a trip down this road, and @blindalchemistblog set me up SO well to recognise what we're getting into this time. put me on the right track for sure <3

I guess the answer will be to do the homework and turn it in, explaining what I do want to share and why I can't write a blank check. it's got to be reasonable not to be able to dive in head first--I mean, it's known that I'm here as a novice! I'm anxious but don't need to give it the wheel.

...oh, AND I have a clinic the same evening after we've got a first session penciled in. I'm gonna be SO beat lmao. yikes.

Current Mood: determined Current Music: talking heads - life during wartime [but by now, endgame]

[wonjnz]

unconventional heartbreak

₊˚⊹ summary: heartbreak is nothing but a numb feeling, no hard feelings, and yet no love either.

₊˚⊹ genre: angst, slice of life, college!au | wc: 1.2k

₊˚⊹ warning(s): mentions of alcohol, swearing | inspo: taylor swift - the story of us (but less toxic)

₊˚⊹ a/n: logged on tumblr for the first time in 2 years and got the biggest whiplash 😭 this was written on a whim while i was listening to speak now tv

quite frankly, you don’t know how you and taerae became a couple.

you both started as friends ever since taerae offered to help you with your math homework (though most of the time all he did was talk until you found the answer yourself), and you were together ever since.

but it wasn’t until a few months before college started when taerae finally admitted his feelings to you, drunk out of his mind, at matthew’s house party to celebrate your high school graduation. to taerae’s horror the next day, his phone was blaring with messages from matthew about it, and he swore he was about to pass out when you mentioned it while helping with his hangover.

he clears his throat in an attempt to break the silence, “fine, i admit. i've liked you for a while now.” he says in an almost defeated tone. you shake your head, laughing, “dumbass.”

“you don’t even remember the fact i said i liked you too?”

his friends pointed it out the first time you both argued and ignored each other: the fact you were keener on listening to his stories and what-not than joining in on the conversation; the fact you can concentrate on homework much longer than taerae, who’d probably give up by 30 minutes and start procrastinating instead.

“in his defense, i wouldn’t wanna date a carbon copy of myself either.” gyuvin shrugs, to which taerae looks at him ridiculously. “yeah no shit, because you’re gyuvin.”

taerae smiles softly after, “but i guess they’re right with the whole opposites attract thing.”

a few months into your relationship, you’d describe it as walking into a freshly painted room, trying to tiptoe to avoid getting stained. at first, you two were careful with the whole 'romance thing,' waiting for the other to catch up.

months after, you two were more than willing to run across, disregarding the wet streaks of paint across your clothes. to taerae, that was through the first time you both ever kissed while you both pulled an all-nighter for finals; both of you were tired, it was one in the morning, and the taste of coffee was still present on his lips.

and to you, that was being the first to say 'i love you.' with a bunch of wet streaks of paint smeared across your cheeks. you still can't forget taerae's face when you first said it, almost as if you were both kids and you said some forbidden word.

"what?" you say right after, a bit concerned over the sudden silence between you. sure, you were in a library, but still.

"no way." you laugh at his reaction, his mouth slowly forming into a big smile to the point his dimples were prominent. before you could jokingly repeat his words, he pulled you in what seemed to be the longest hug you've had in years.

the paint seemed to be drying up to look like some sort of home, and you hoped this was the endgame. you haven't loved someone like how you loved taerae in years, and everything about him was special.

but now, you were both standing in the very few empty dry spaces of that room. well, more realistically, you were both in his apartment. should this happen a few months back, you’d bask in the warm comfort of it, but god, this silence is deafening.

“you alright?” taerae’s voice brings you back to reality, you realize you’ve been standing around for probably the past 15 minutes while taerae was busy brewing another cup of coffee for the night. “yeah, just worried about a few deadlines.”

but you knew your answer was nothing to taerae, he knows you too well. "right. we've known each other for like, what, 6 years? i know that's not the only thing bugging you lately.” you sigh at his response, a worried look visible on his face, does he know as well? you ask yourself.

and you realize it was cloudy, hindering the paint to dry up. you’re still standing on the same empty spots, both scared to take a step towards some finish line, a window of some sort to let some light in. it felt like all your unresolved arguments, what ifs, unfinished deep talks, and “how are you’s” were the wet paint you were so scared of getting a stain off.

“no really, just tired lately. you don’t have to worry about me.” you walk over and reassure him with a simple kiss on the cheek, to which taerae simply mumbles a small ‘alright.’ though you can still tell he doesn’t believe you.

so you planned to try and be bold on some other day. but taerae’s “hey, love.” the moment he welcomed you back into his apartment with a hug and kiss on the forehead delayed it to your dismay. (it’s not like you hated his touch, but all that confidence building while walking up to his apartment was not worth it).

it's not like you didn't love taerae anymore. you love being the first person to see him in the morning, and the last he sees before he sleeps. you love him. but it wasn't the sort of love that kept you going despite the arguments before.

and all you could do was reply with a kiss and bask in his warmth for a little while. judging from his slightly sad greeting earlier, you know taerae thinks the same about your relationship. the both of you tiptoeing to a blank spot where it’s a constant routine of asking how the other is feeling about something; about this; and finally about us, you hoped.

but you didn’t hope he’d ask this soon. what more during a dark, rainy night while you’re both busy finishing up the leftovers from his fridge. the only thing keeping you both in the same table was the random video taerae started playing that piqued your interest.

“how do you feel about this?” oh. you're backed into an empty corner.

you gaze at him from across the table, a glass of water in hand, “about us?” he continues. the sound of rain and his god-awful cutlery (you could barely poke it through your food) hitting the table amidst the silence was almost deafening.

and that’s when you realize taerae ran back to the starting line, regardless of the paint staining his clothes. so you ran after him with the same sense of adventure you had before, the moment you reached him all you said was “i think it’s better if we break up.”

taerae smiles pitifully, looking back to his empty plate. and he hoped, he prayed you can’t see the hurt on his face when even he knew this might come sooner or later. “yeah.”

“i understand, i thought so too.” he reassures you after a few minutes of silence, pushing his plate to the side. “but you know i’ll still love you regardless right?” he asks, to which you laugh, the tension fading away.

“just not in the same way anymore, right? like the days before you turned up blackout drunk.” you joke. you could never hate taerae, especially not during the days you’d spend mornings with him clinging on; or the nights when he’s busy boiling noodles while you’re studying for exams.

he laughs along, “yeah, as friends.”

but when taerae wakes up the next morning to silence, his bed feeling lighter than usual, the scent of rain still fresh from last night, he’s feeling awfully lonely. but he resists the temptation of typing the typical, rom-com ‘i miss you.’ text, you’re probably still asleep at this time, he knows your schedule by heart.

the thing with the love the both of you shared was how it never caught one by surprise. sure, taerae’s drunken confession is one, but you both took things slow. almost too slow to some. his feelings were a slow buildup, only realizing he was interested in you when he was cleaning up his desk, which was full of trinkets you gave him.

only did he realize he was in love is when he hadn’t taken off the keychain you gave him on his birthday in months, which you pointed out was all dirty and scratched up. but he responded to your complaint with a “but it’s from you!” and he realized it has and will always be you.

and only did he realize you’ll forever have a special place in his heart while he’s still in bed, hair sticking up everywhere and his eyes barely opening as the sun blares through his curtains as the gray clouds slowly disappear.

when the silence finally settles in him, taerae figures he’d rather take his goodbye slowly as well.

[fevers-and-emeto-oh-my]

but it comes off a little weird that people are claiming those are dates when Eddie didn't even know Tommy was gay? like, don't get me wrong, I agree with the chemistry between the two and I'm down for it entirely, but the way it's been framed by certain people is that Tommy took Eddie on dates without telling Eddie, and that read is a little weird, because both sides should know it's a date if it is, in fact, a date. Eddie didn't even know about Tommy's interest and there's nothing wrong with that! but the way it's being framed is just again trying to say Tommy's a predator, when we've been shown that that's not the case - he checks in repeatedly with Buck. If he'd been wanting a date with Eddie, Eddie woulda known about it. he may have been putting out feelers while hanging out with Eddie (there's obviously nothing wrong with that, either), but it hadn't progressed past that. which is honestly kind of a shame, because as much as I love bucktommy, eddietommy would've been interesting as hell

Well then the post I saw should have been better worded 🤷‍♀️ yes, it's wrong if it's BoBs with that viewpoint specifically as a predatory thing. That's as always BoB brand homophobia.

But the post I saw was just SO hostile in a way that came across as directly against eddietommy itself, including in replies and reblogs by other people. they're not wrong for making a post on their own blog, but I'm also not wrong for being hurt by it.

Canon and fanon are different. In canon, Tommy didn't take Eddie on dates. But in fanon, and reading subtext? Anything goes. I read the subtext of 7x04 as Tommy ABSOLUTELY having interest in BOTH Eddie and Buck. Even if their outings weren't legit dates, I totally think Tommy was smitten with Eddie. In my heart 7x04 begins buddietommy endgame. Canon, obviously, Tommy and Eddie are friends and Tommy was always interested in Buck.

(I DO love Lou for saying it was nearly eddietommy in canon. thanks for fueling my fanon dreams babe <3)

The point of MY post is that when you attack people without clarifying, in this case specific BoBs, it can come across as attacking other people, in this case eddietommy shippers. The post I saw did not clarify whether they were talking about a canon viewing or a fanon viewing. I'm well within my rights to feel hurt that I'm potentially being called homophobic for my fanon reading of an episode.

Is it fucking terrible that this fandom labels Tommy as a predator because they hate him for no reason other than him not being Eddie? Yes. The buddie side of the fandom is rife with horrifically homophobic and disgusting behavior.

But you also can't generalize viewpoints like that. Seeing the eddietommy outings as dates isn't inherently homophobic. It's homophobic IF you claim it was predatory on Tommy's part. It's being a fanon shipper IF you can see the outings as dates that Eddie did not disclose to Buck or dates that eddietommy went on while agreeing to be poly.

Making a generalized statement that "if you see the eddietommy outings as dates you're homophobic" is NOT helpful. All that post succeeded in doing for me as a multishipper is making me feel even more alienated. Intent and impact are different, and that post likely didn't land as intended with any eddietommy shippers. All that was needed to avoid unnecessary hurt was to SAY "i'm talking about BoBs who see Tommy as predatory."

(And, in general, I don't care what canon does. I don't care that Eddie was shocked Tommy's gay. I don't care that canon obviously meant them as platonic hang outs. Canon simply hands me Barbies and a sandbox and then I do what I want.)

And for what it's worth, I have read multiple buddietommy fics where Eddie suddenly realizes on like date four or five that bucktommy are wooing him by taking him on dates and he was not informed that they were dates. People are messy. It's not inherently weird or wrong if people accidentally have two different perceptions of the same event, where one party thinks it's a date and the other doesn't. That happens within any combo of genders in fiction all the time. Not everything is automatically "weird" if it goes against the typical status quo.

[sorenversh]

Timerra is a great unit

Yeah. THAT Timerra. When I see people talking about her, they greatly understimate what this girl can do. But honestly, at the same time, I can't really blame them. When Timerra joins the team, there are far many other units that have joined the team that are utterly ridiculous.

Kagetsu, with his insanely high stats. Ivy, a magic user that can fly and use staves that is also kinda tanky. Pandreo also having great stats. Heck, even the girls that Timerra joins the team with are great units in the form of Merrin and the crit machine known as Panette! The only thing that Timerra has that is better than the other two that are with her is that she starts with emblem Ike.

We've talked enough at the absolutely awesome units that she gets compared with the most. Let's take a look at Timerra herself. Timerra manages to be both fast and a physical tank. Her growth aren't really high in any areas, but they reach or surpass slightly 50%, except for strength which is 35%, 40% once she promotes. Her worst stats are magic, res and luck, having an average of 30% in each.

And her bases aren't that bad either. They're fairly mediocre, but she'll have to work slightly to get going. Her main problem however, is her con/build stat, with a pretty pathetic 5 con. That's the main issue with her. She has bad con. However, there are many ways to make it so con doesn't matter nearly as much. Forging low weight weapons, like javelins or engraving emblems to a weapon to reduce the weight of it. Outside of the first chapter she's present in, she should perform relatively well.

Timerra's first impression will be a bad one to any player that tried to make her combat any enemy on her first chapter. And that's also mainly because of her silver lance. The silver lance has 13 weight, which makes her kinda nice speed of 18 go down to just 10. The javelin is a much better option, but because you haven't been able to forge it, the damage is low.

Outside of that chapter's performance, however, Timerra should start to shine. She can promote instantly after the chapter is over, giving her a nice stat boost to everything, con included. From there onwards though, her weapons of choice will be vital to determine how good she is. Giving her that heavy silver lance without engraving or forging it will make her bad. If you give her a forged javelin or killer lance though, things will change completely. She'll be able to double and kill enemies far easier.

And once she levels up more, she'll get access to sandstorm, which whenever it procs, it'll calculate damage with her much superior defense + 50% of it. It doesn't sound like a big change, but the difference is insane. If it procs, it'll kill any unit that doesn't have insane amounts of HP (endgame Berserkers with their 80 HP stat). And while the chance of it happening is of Timerra's skill total (if she has 20 skill, the skill will proc 20% of the time), Timerra's skill is decent enough for it to proc regularly, and with her high speed, that chance will be even better.

Her average but more than usable stats make her able to use any emblem without any problem (not any magical emblems though). That flexibility allows her to be able to use anything that might help her (depending on what you might want for her or stats she got screwed with), and that just makes her even better.

So, to end stuff just let me tell you to give her a chance. I know I did, and I've been using her in pretty much every maddening playthrough I've done. She is more than decent, you just need to give her a bit of love. Plus sandstorm makes her really fun to use. And as a certain pretty girl said, "let's have some fun!".

[highfantasy-soul]

Things I LOVED about NATLA Episode 8 - Legends

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

The Aang Gaang working together in the fight!!!!

Honestly it felt so natural to have all three of them taking out the Fire Nation ship that I completely forgot it didn't happen like that in the animated show!

In the animated version, Aang took out the ship while Katara and Sokka just stood on the ice wall - showing them in battle together and working with synergy was phenomenal

Aang doing AOE damage, Katara taking out soldiers with precision, and Sokka shouting battle plans and taking out the command center - really great way to SHOW the roles each play in battle

The Gaang complementing each other was soo cuutteee!!

"Lu Ten would have been proud to have you as his father" 😭😭😭

Then the Iroh hug!!! 😭😭😭

"I'd say it's 50/50! …. 60/40 😬"

Lol oh Sokka, you're so bad at optimism

Let's go Katara!!!! Going to even the odds!!!

The war balloon showing up early!!!

The entire battle of the North was sooo intense!

I really felt a lot more of the danger and panic than in the animated version

LOVE that Pakku's change to allow women in battle came here, with Katara and the other women standing up to him

The animated show doesn't even have any women helping at all in the battle - we don't even see them healing the wounded. To me, the live-action actually addressed the systemic issue of the sexism in the North rather than just having Katara be the token woman who wanted to fight

"You KNOW we can make a difference!" "We?"

The shot of all the women standing there in traditional clothing was super powerful to me

I know some people think it's 'virtue signaling' or whatever and complain about the shot of all the women heroes in Endgame or Captain Marvel's 'standing up after being knocked down' montage, but call me a stupid woman, those scenes actually mean a lot to me. Why is animated Katara railing against Sokka because she has to do the laundry seen as the height of feminism and yet a group of indigenous women standing up and backing one of their sisters in her bid to make systemic change actually the opposite of feminism? It makes no sense to me.

I LOVE Yagoda backing Katara!!

Katara isn't some 'outsider coming in to change a culture's savage ways' - she's simply the catalyst for the people WITHIN that culture to stand up and say 'yeah, now is our time, change needs to happen and we've known it for awhile'

Yue wanting to be out there helping her people 😭😭

Her father's talk with her really reminds me of Eowyn and Theoden from The Return of the King - even if you want to help defend your home, if you're in a position of leadership, staying alive so you can lead in a fallen chief's place is an important role to play, too

Sokka and Hahn's ….tension as he promises to take care of Yue 👀

The student calling Katara 'master'!!!! 😭😭😭

In my in-depth analysis, I go into why I think it's a title she's completely earned despite her lack of formal training but suffice it to say that if you have an issue with them calling Katara master, then shut the fuck up

Ooohh adding a time-table for the Fire Nation attack with the Ice Moon caveat!

I like adding to the depth and lore of the world which makes it make a whole lot more sense that the Fire Nation would attack the WATER TRIBE during a full moon

LIONTURTLE REFEREEENNCCEE!!!

I like the Fire Sage actually knowing spiritual stuff and finding value in it - even though he's using it to help Zhao hurt them

Yes, Iroh. Zhao is most definitely planning on tampering with the spirit world 😬

Avatar Kuruk coming to Aang!!!!

I really like that concept - like on the Lionturtle, the past Avatars can appear as a mirage to give warnings

And connecting Kuruk's battle against the evil spirits to the Fire Nation twisting the weapons of defense into a weapon to harm - soooo goooood

"Killing the ocean spirit would deprive people all over the world of their lives!!! I'm not a monster!!" 🙃

Aahhh, twisted logic at its finest: after all, what's the point in ruling the world if there's no one to rule

Oooohhhhh and Kuruk's voice beginning to layer with the other Avatars as he talks about how Zhao can't be allowed to meddle with the primal forces of nature!!

Such a great use of the voice alteration that happens when they go into the Avatar state!

Hero Momo!!!!!

Omg I was SO WORRIED they actually killed Momo!!!!

Sokka and Momo's relationship is so cute how they developed it 😭

I like Yue telling her story this way better than in the animated series

Here, the story is connected to what's happening directly: she's saving Momo's life the same way her life was saved and letting us know the spirit oasis water has healing properties beyond regular healing

Zuko and him fire blasting out from beneath the ice - cool in every adaptation!

"How do you know that?" "Because I helped design the thing" 😔

Love that we're getting a direct tie from the war balloon to Sokka - just like with Kuruk's spirit knife and like Sokka said all the way back in Omashu: the Fire Nation can turn anything into a weapon

Though Iroh won't fully stand against Zhao yet, he's totally stalling as much as he can

Zuzu!!!!

"This is about you and me!" aawww classic Zuko - walking into a massive thing and thinking it's still just about him capturing Aang 😅

We've got bigger fish to fry, buddy - oh, shit. No. Oh god. Why'd I use that turn of phrase?? Too soon! Too soon!

Love the full circle moment here with Katara and Zuko's showdown

Aang is now letting her fight while he goes off to another task, trusting that she'll be ok

"Go easy, enough people have been hurt already." "I don't care. "I wasn't talking to you 😏"

Damn right, Aang! Putting respect on Katara!!!

Also, Zuko's face as he realizes Aang doesn't see him as the most important thing here 😬 that's gotta hurt

KATARA V ZUKO ROUND 2!!!!

Love that they're getting a rematch so we can see just how far Katara has come in her combat/waterbending training!

The bending is GORGEOUS!

You can see every move each of them are making and watch the respective elements respond to their movements perfectly.

"You little peasant!!" Oh Zuko, you silly, angry boi "You've found a master, haven't you?"

"Yes, you're looking at her" - DAMN STRAIGHT!

Despite Pakku not agreeing to train her, she's taught herself. She clawed tooth and nail to learn everything she could from every source she had available - she observed other benders and created a waterbending version of the move, she practiced in every spare moment, she grappled with her emotional and spiritual trauma and came out the other side with a more holistic view of bending despite the world telling her to stop - so yeah, she IS her own master.

While I do love the "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun" line, I'm ok with the siege lasting only a day instead of several like in the animated series.

Zuko's little field trip with Aang takes an entire day with nothing really going on in the battle, it's just a few minutes of screen time until we can get back to night again so we can see the moon being killed.

Streamlining it and having Aang seek council before the battle starts rather than in the middle of it I think was a good move. We didn't need a cliffhanger mid-episode like we did in the animated series since it's all a single episode.

Zhao's plan revealed is such great character work - he's just as egotistical as the animated version, down to wanting to be declared 'the moon slayer', but there's so much more depth in the live-action version

He's so ambitious that he actually believes he could become Fire Lord and doesn't take Iroh's threats seriously at all - his pride ensuring his downfall.

LOVE that they kept the blood-red moon as the moon spirit is captured!!

Aang trying to talk down his enemies yet again 😞

No matter how clear their antagonistic motives, he truly believes the best in people and always wants to give them the chance to do the right thing

Oof Zhao cutting to Aang's fear without knowing it: Zhao thinks the Avatar doesn't matter on its face - Aang is afraid he's not good enough as an Avatar TO matter

This sets up Aang's decision to give himself to the ocean spirit - he accepts that he isn't good enough - he doesn't matter, but the ocean spirit does

Iroh shot first!!

In the animated show, Iroh only attacks after Zhao kills the moon spirit, here, he's trying to help the Gaang by distracting Zhao enough for them to save the spirit

But they're too late

They kept the black and white shading where only things bathed in fire or the ocean spirit's blue light have any colors!

I think this entire battle sequence was amazingly done

You can FEEL the terror, you can SEE the cost of such an attack

It's not gratuitous violence - it's showing the realities of war without showing gruesome injuries

I love how Hahn and the other Norther Water Tribe Warriors got to have a heroic stand even without waterbending. Despite their best resource being taken from them, they aren't going down without a fight.

Iroh unleashing on the soldiers and Zhao running like a little bitch!!!!

I love Aang's speech here - he's "following" the advice of past Avatars by putting the world's needs above his own, but it's out of despair, not balance

He's surrendering to a power greater than him because he doesn’t feel like he's succeeded in being the Avatar (which unfortunately, through no fault of his own, is true) and so he's willing to fully lose himself to another power to save the world.

MONGO KOI-ZILLA!!!!

It's WILD that this happens only HALFWAY through the episode!! They really let this sequence breathe and gave so much room for all the character moments to happen

Iroh hugging Zuko while he just stares at the giant koi fish 🤣😭

"Uncle, what is that?" "That, that is wrath" - CHILLS

Zuko ready to fight that monster fish to get the Avatar 😭😭😭😭😭

He really is a crazy dude

"He's a small man who's going to meet a small end"

So right you are, Iroh

Zuko v Zhao!!!

LOVE how the live-action made Zhao a cerebral rather than physical antagonist for Zuko

Even though Zuko beats him physically, Zhao destroys Zuko mentally by revealing all the truths about the royal family dynamic

"You were the fire in which her iron was forged"

DDDAAAAMMMMNNNNN 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Love how each adaptation has Zhao die in a different way 🤣

Honestly, I like all the ways ppl have decided to kill him

The ocean spirit taking him, waterbenders drowning him, and now Iroh killing him for attacking Zuko

I do think I like the animated death the best, but Iroh killing him to protect Zuko is also a nice way to end him - Iroh isn't about this 'give them infinite chances', he's a soldier who's not afraid to get his hands bloody.

The entire attack by the ocean spirit is phenomenal - beautifully shot and you can now feel the terror from the fire nation soldiers

Yue getting the agency to realize she can save the moon and sacrificing herself was a good change

"It's worth it to be alive, even just for a night"

"The world needs you. I need you" 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I think it was a really good choice to move Katara talking Aang down from the Avatar state and telling him they're family to the final episode rather than way at the beginning like it happened in the animated series.

That declaration holds a lot more truth as we've SEEN them become a family

Seeing the actual loss from the battle was heart wrenching, but I think it was really needed

Poor Hahn and the young waterbender

I love that Sokka didn't fight in the big battle - his place was being there to support someone else and provide comfort in a terrifying moment for her. His heart is what was needed in this battle, not his combat skills

And Pakku giving Katara her due - she EMBODIES change and growth, always finding a way no matter how many people tell her no

And she got her spirit water!!

"I'm tired" "Then you should get some rest. A man needs his rest" 😭😭😭😭😭

"How do I do this without causing so much pain?"

Oh Aang, that's a question you're going to be grappling with for awhile.

It's such a wonderful way to sum up his character - he doesn't want to cause pain, even to the point of giving people chances they don't deserve - but that quest to find an answer is the reason the world is saved and Aang cements his own legacy within the Avatar line.

Closing with another lesson from Gyatzo!!!! 😭😭

"Let go of your past, or you'll never have a future" - thesis statement right there

Let's not misinterpret this line to say 'forget the past' - this is a Buddhist version of 'letting go' which is to say 'don't cling to the past so much you cannot take steps into your future'

The Gaang's banter over Sokka always thinking about food!!!! So cute!!

I love the scenes here at the end with the Fire Nation

Ozai still holding out hope that Zuko will surprise them with some 'hidden' reserve of strength, but still willing to let him fall so 'the strong' can rise

Azula taking over Omashu!!!

And the comet!

Makes sense that they didn't give a time-table as kids grow fast and we can't just draw them the same age: Gordon is a growing boy so we need to give some space for how much he grows through the filming process

[depressocafe]

VLD Debate: Lance's Endgame Was Perfect For Him, And Here's Why.

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Summery: something you're passionate about isn't always what's going to make you happy or give you a good life. Lance comes to understand this as being an astronaut fails to make him happy, but the simpler things he's always adored have and this comes to show how the life he's given at the end of the series is ultimately the best for him and gives us the best version of lance.

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The end of season 8 left many fans feeling distraught and unsatisfied. One event that caused these feelings was the ending given to the fan favorite character, Lance Mcclain. Fans felt he was cheated out of a possible better endgame and that the ending he received was not respectful to his character. But I'm here to challenge that opinion.

Lance is one of the main characters of Voltron and makes a strong impression on the fans by the first episode. He presents himself as confident, humorous, arrogant, and kind-hearted. His outgoing personality and ambitious nature immediately threw him into the hearts of fans across the globe. However, as the story progressed, fans seemed to note a distinct change in his behavior. As Lance comes to face more of the reality surrounding him, his nature begins to change to a more depressive yet humble version.

By the end of the show, Lance's desires seem to change and instead of being and ambitious individual bent on a desire to "shoot for the stars", he finds his joy in life in agriculture and farming with his family. Many fans were angered by this ending for the character as it is such a stark change to who Lance is or who we've come to understand as Lance. But what if I told you that this perception surrounding Lance was actually false, and that the Lance we get at the end of the series was not only the best version of him but provided a better life for him.

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Let's back track.

While we know who Lance was at the beginning of Voltron and who he became at the end, what did we come to learn about him throughout the series?

Well for starters, we first learn that Lance comes from a large family, one that he treasures deeply.

We've also known from season one that Lance values the simpler things in life. When confiding in Coran of his sorrows, Lance remarks on the aspects of earth that he misses. Such aspects being the beach where his family would take walks, the way it rained on earth and its bright blue sky. We also come to find that Lance is a natural when it comes to animal care and that his family have always been fond of animals, owning and fostering many pets.

This shows that though Lance likes to live life in the fast lane, a large part of him is tied to simpler values. While Lance seems ambitious, he mostly just wants to experience what truly living is like. Which is something that many of us can relate to, as there is so much In the world and you're so young you just want to know and see it all. The thing is, what may be living for one person, is Hell to another.

Though Lance adores space and wanted to be an astronaut, that's ultimately not what will make him happy, and though it's upsetting, it's a very real thing that many people go through in life when choosing a lifestyle or career. There are many cases of college students who chose a major they were interested in, only to find that what their passionate about is ultimately becoming their downfall as they are not as happy as they thought they'd be. But what are they supposed to do? They can't just drop out, so much money went into this. Could they just change their major then? But if this doesn't make them satisfied then what option could.

We see Lance suffer through this very dilemma within the series, struggling to make do with his position the team, wondering about his place in life, who he is, what does he want then if not this, this is the start of his depressive nature and what ultimately helps him grow further into a matured mind.

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What many people seem to also neglect is that all of the paladins, excluding Shiro, are children. It doesn't matter if they are in their late teens or early adulthood, they are still young, they are still figuring out the world and who they are. And I know many watchers have grasped that when it comes to Keith but I feel the focus on his struggles ultimately overshadowed Lance's character growth, to the point even, that fans made conclusions as to Lance's problems and where he was headed with no grounds to support their claims. But this is just a personal observation.

As Lance grows he's going to change, we all do. It's been clear since season 1 that being an astronaut was going to break him. This is especially previdente when taken into consideration in which any point he's enjoying his life, it has less to do with Volton, and more to do with other aspects surrounding him. Such as the fame and attention from his career, spending time with the other paladins, playing video games, or even when he milked Kaltenecker.

True it can be argued that the other paladins felt the same as well but much of them certainly didn't feel the gravity of the situation as much as Lance did, aside from maybe Hunk. But then that is another thing, Hunk enjoyed space and wanted to be an engineer but ultimately found his joy in life as a culinary mastermind and a bureaucrate.

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Even though Lance had his ambitions, he was young and still learning. What he wanted out of life was joy and experience and what was given to his character by the end of the series puts that into perspective and I find is very respectful to his character overall.

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Post made: 08/28/24