#girl who is going to have so much trauma in the true timeline. good lord

[meowsticmarvels]

posted this on twt but god. i have talked a lot about how insane phi's character is to me but it's just. i will never get over how for most of both vlr and ztd she's relatively cold and unemotional but ztd has moments where she just. breaks. i.e. the shoot:live option of fire where she literally breaks down crying and can barely get a sentence out even BEFORE diana kills herself. or in the final decision when she fucking YELLS at delta and kicks him in the face not even out of reasons like with dio but out of sheer anger for everything he's put her though. like IDK. i fold easily for the "unemotional character is pushed to their breaking point and shows MUCH more emotion than usual" trope but its so fucking interesting. phi i love you we will get you therapy

[heyyy-hey-babyyy]

When We Were Young (part X)

Dean x Fem!Reader; Sam x Fem!Reader (platonic)

Read part I here ; Read part II here ; Read part III here ;

Read part IV here ; Read part V here ; Read part VI here ;

Read part VII here ; Read part VIII here ; Read part IX here

Warnings: Angst, Mentions of trauma/abuse, brief moments of self-harm, mentions of anxiety attack, *moments of assault*

**This chapter contains mentions of assault. Please be aware if this is trigging for you!

B/N: I’m getting a little lost in my own timeline, so apologies for any inaccuracies... All mistakes I claim as my own.

Summary: Dean, Sam, and Y/N grew up together, but when she’s taken away for over 10 years, the boys have no idea what she’s been through. Will asking her to move into the bunker with them reveal more than she’s ready for?

1668 words

You had been asleep for awhile, when you woke with a start, your body shaking slightly. Your legs were entwined with Dean’s under the blanket, and he had his hand clamping yours to his chest, as it rose up and down slowly with sleep. Untangling yourself from Dean while he slept soundly, you slid to the other end of the bed wondering what had woke you. You hadn’t even been the hardest sleeper, always having one eye open, but the sudden and abrupt waking usually followed a nightmare. You couldn’t remember having one. Stuck in your own thoughts, you jumped when a voice whispered out to you in the darkness, making you squeak. 

“Y/N.” The voice called quietly, and you shrunk back against the headboard, contemplating waking Dean, when the floppy haired man stepped into the soft light from the window. 

“Jesus, Sam....” You whispered back, glancing up at the man. He looked like he hadn’t slept, and was still fully clothed, flannel, jacket, and all. “You scared me.” Sam looked sheepish, but reached out his hand toward you with a quick, ‘I have to show you something.’ 

You took his hand and he lifted you abruptly off of the mattress, and through the open door to the hallway, urgency in his movements. Sam was tugging at you roughly, almost as if he was forcing you to follow, and you ground your feet in to halt his swift movements, pulling back at your arm. 

“Sam, what’s going on?” You asked the man carefully, looking into his cool grey eyes, which held no emotion. He seemed to be weighing his words carefully, when a door down the hall opened with a creak and you heard someone whisper “Y/N?” from behind you. Turning you caught eyes with a yawning Sam, his hair sleep mussed and tangled. 

You glanced back at the ‘Sam’ in front of you, and let out a short scream, which was muted by the monster’s hand clapping to your mouth quickly, his other arm snaking around your waist, and spinning you successfully shielding his body from the real Sam in front of you. 

Sam jumped into hunter mode, pulling out his gun and pointing it directly at you, aiming high at the monster shrinking lower and lower behind you. 

“Let her go.” Sam spoke level and you flinched back from the venom in his voice. You had never heard Sam sound so much like his older brother, and you breathed out a quick sigh against the shifter’s hand when the older Winchester emerged from the bedroom you had just left, still in his boxers and undershirt, his gun trained on the monster as well. 

Dean looked directly at you stating quickly, “it’s going to be okay, baby,” before addressing the shifter with slight amusement in his voice. 

“And here I thought I would actually have to hunt you down. But you stupidly decided to make a house call? Bold.” Dean was smiling, but you saw the anger vibrating through him as he stared daggers through the monster. You heard an unmistakable voice behind you, and realized that Greg must have reverted back to his true form, but the look on the hunter’s faces worried you, as they watched his mouth move intently. 

“What can I say?” Greg asked, sounding cavalier. “I can’t get enough of this girl.” Greg nuzzled against your cheek lightly and you struggled against his hold. You heard Dean growl suddenly, and you glanced into the hunter’s green eyes, begging him silently to get you away from this monster, but Dean’s eyes were still fixed on Greg’s. 

“How did you just turn so quickly?” Dean huffed out, and Greg laughed behind you evilly, the sound sending a chill to your bones. 

“You have no idea who I am do you?” Greg challenged and you suddenly remembered the ring on your hand. Raising it up and gripping tight to Greg’s wrist that was clamped down across your mouth, you waited for the satisfying burn of flesh, but didn’t hear anything. Greg chuckled again, pulling your hand simply from his wrist and letting it drop back at your hip. 

“Oh hunny-bear,” he cooed. “That was a good try. But silver has no effect on me.” You yelled into his palm and he increased his hold, making it hard for you to breath, continuing his villainous speech. 

“As you boys are hunters, I’ll break it down into terms you can easily understand. Most monster vulnerabilities don’t work on the alpha.” Greg was so close that you could almost feel the way he was smiling at Sam and Dean and it made you sick to be on this side of the fight, so far away from the security of your boys. Dean never wavered, clenching his jaw in response, but Sam, ever the empath, looked scared at what the shifter was telling them, and you felt tears slip down your cheeks. You realized that the boys didn’t have time to research this particular monster, and if they had no idea how to kill it, they had no way of saving you. You felt the weight of the realization, and you saw Dean recognize it as well, shaking his head at you almost in response to your silent realization. 

Greg was watching the entire situation intently, admiring how you and the hunters were having silent conversations with each other. He let out a breezy laugh, massaging your side a bit while he spoke, his fingers digging into the tender skin just above your hip bone. 

“You really do have a connection with these too, hunny. It’s truly incredible to see! I knew appearing as the younger hunter would make you feel comfort following me blindly, and now I see that it was truly a genius plan appearing as dear Dean here when we shared such a special moment.” You kept your eyes on Dean the entire time, trying to ignore Greg’s words, but tears continued to pour from your eyes down your cheeks and over his hand as he spoke. 

“You son of a bitch!” Dean yelled, taking a few steps closer, his gun raised high. Greg chuckled and simply crouched lower behind you, knowing Dean would never shoot you. 

“Oh, Dean-o. I’m really sorry, but you have to know that I will always hold a special place in Y/N’s life. You’re just going to have to accept that.” Greg was playing with them now, pushing the hunter’s buttons, and you hated the satisfaction he was gaining, knowing it was working in his favor. You shook your head at Dean, both a warning to stay back, and a reminder that what Greg was saying was far from the truth. 

Greg continued to speak, but you shut down your mind to the situation, a move that was quickly becoming your superpower for better or worse. You were desperate, and the longer Greg kept a hand clamped over your mouth the more you couldn’t consider any other plan. So you used your last trick, and prayed loudly in your head for your guardian angel to save you. You hoped that Castiel would have it in him to rescue you one more time. You grinned behind Greg’s hand when you heard the familiar fluttering sound you were growing to love hearing. 

Greg tightened his hold on you and turned slowly coming face-to-face with the blue eyed angel, who tilted his head to the side in confusion. 

“Hello, Y/N.” Castiel said in the same low monotone, his head moving to look behind Greg at Dean and Sam, in their pajamas, guns both raised, putting the pieces of the puzzle together for himself. Castiel’s attention returned to Greg and you thought you saw anger flash behind the Angel’s eyes, before he spoke measured, looking unwavering at the man holding you close.  

“I would let her go if I were you.” Honestly, Castiel looked pathetic standing in front of Greg who towered over him and you weren’t sure if the angel’s powers were anything compared, but you knew this was your only chance. Greg tried to keep the humor in his voice, but you could hear a hint of hesitation behind his words. 

“Well hello there. And who are you? A friend of Y/N’s?” Castiel merely stared on giving Greg that uncanny look. 

“My name is Castiel. I am an angel of the Lord.” 

Greg openly laughed in response, turning to look back at Sam and Dean, “Is this guy for rea--” but Castiel cut him off with a smooth flick of his wrist and Greg was flying backward, dropping you from his grasp, and you fell to the floor at Castiel’s feet with a dull thud. You scrambled forward, moving to stand behind the angel, glancing around wildly for Greg, who had apparently completely disappeared. 

All you saw were Dean and Sam rushing toward you, but Castiel held up a hand lightly stopping them from approaching, as he offered you a hand and you stood next to him. He turned his blue eyes onto you and glanced up and down, with a simple “are you hurt?” You shook your head in response, and the angel looked satisfied before disappearing himself with a flutter of wings. 

Dean was at your side in a second, pulling you into his arms. You tucked your head into the crook of his neck, giving him a kiss that let him know you were okay. You could feel his heart beating erratically, matching your own. You are okay, you repeated to yourself over and over again, but you knew that next time you might not be. The monster was still very much alive. 

You pushed Dean away gently at the thought, and headed toward the room Sam was sleeping in, where you knew your bag was. 

“Y/N?” Sam asked hesitantly as you brushed past him, Dean looking just as confused. Not wanting to waste any time you spoke over your shoulder quickly at the two concerned hunters. 

“We have to get out of here.” 

When We Were Young Tag List: @vicmc624 @woundedxsmile @akshi8278 @supernatural3002 @imaginationisgrowth

Read part XI here!

[goattypegirl]

Harrow the Ninth Live Read: Chapter 6-11

Con: It’s been a while

Pro: We finished part 1!

Con: this post is hella long now.

Chapter 6

Eighth House icon. Oh no. Gotta say, not a fan of the characters from the Eight House in Gideon the Ninth, whose names I now forget. There was Big Dude and Mayonnaise Twink. 

OH OK WE’RE STARTING OFF WITH SOME LOCKED IN SYNDROME SHIT. 

So, panicked person wheeling Harrow is given the title “Sacred Hand.” I vaguely recall seeing that before; is that a title given to Lyctors? Is this one of the OG Lyctors finally making an appearance? Wheeling the frozen Harrow to the Emperor to “unfuck accordingly?” Well, maybe not. Presumably another Lyctor would be able to “unfuck accordingly” themselves.

Oh disregard it is a Lyctor! And if we go back to the Dramatis Personae, this should be... Mercymorn! Originally of the Eighth House! She seems nice.

“It was his order that she not be touched.” Did the Emperor do this? But hwhy?

Calling Harrow and Ianthe babies is kind of hilarious. Aaaand Mercymorn just knocked this random person unconscious. OH wait is this the person the Emperor said to make static-y noises at? Survey says... maybe? They were called the Saint of Joy, which seems a unique title?

The whole description of the Lyctor and the way she visually dissects Harrow is so poetic, but something else catches my eye here. Harrow says her eyes did not have such a startling transition, which helps confirm my theory that Harrow is suppressing or undid the Lyctor process.

Also using the power of Cringe, Harrow partially(?) undoes the paralysis spell done to her. “An emotion was playing out over her face that was- not unfamiliar to you- but nonsensical; you discarded it.” Eh? What emotion could this be referring to? Confusion over what Harrow did? Awe? Fear? All of the above?

OH okay before I forget, Harrow formed a bone hook inside of her to do that, and she made that bone sheath to hold on to the sword, so maybe her necromancy isn’t being suppressed? Well, maybe. That feels more... internal? Like she hasn’t grown any full ass skeletons from bone dust yet.

...Why is Harrow afraid of telling Mercymorn her actual age? Why is the Body telling her to lie? Why fifteen??

Relief? That’s what flashed across Mercymorn’s face? Oh, duh, because Harrow did that and didn’t immediately die. Duh. Also she straight up said “hiss”? That is weird. Also, thinking back, it is weird there wasn’t an age requirement in the Lyctor trials. Also Mercymorn took Ianthe too???

“You’re not as pretty as Anastasia.” Anastasia being the member of the Ninth House listed with the Lyctors, but not as one of the Saints. Doing this liveread has its advantages, namely that I can remember shit that happened earlier! 

OH WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT. “AS Anastasia,” not “As Anastasia was.” Implying Anastasia’s still alive? Matches her name not being struck through in the Dramatis Personae, and Mercymorn said there were 3 OG Lyctors now. Which matches with Anastasia not having that line about being a Saint! I’ve connected the two dots!

Okay there’s a lot going on here. Why is this normal necromancer so fascinating to Ianthe and Harrow? What she’s doing is pretty dope to be fair. Mercymorn called Ianthe 12... which... huh. More on that in a second. First, I need to google what the fuck an animaphiliac is... probably in an incognito window. Oh, okay, it’s just a style of necromancy in this universe okay thank God. Mercymorn also said Ianthe wasn’t as attractive as Cyrus... which is weird... And it reminds Ianthe of being with Mummy... I assume she means her mother, comparing her to Coronabeth? Oof.

So, back to the lowballing age thing. Mercymorn assumes Ianthe is 12, probably  because she’s super old and has forgotten how mortals age. Harrow seems to have subconsciously picked up on this, which is why she lied about her age. I’m still in the camp of the Body being non-supernatural in origin. Yes, she has Gideon’s eyes, BUT, she spoke in the voice of Harrow’s mother and Aiglamene. SO, my theory is that the Body is a product of the trauma Harrow’s gone through, that’s kind of externalizing Harrow’s inner thought process. Like I said earlier, I’ve read Twig, and this is reminiscent of that.

OH hey we’re headed to the frontline apparently? Because 3 warships got shot down suddenly? Which begs the question I’ve had in the back of my mind since first picking up this series, who the fuck are they fighting??? Probably not Ressurection Beasts, given what we know about them. Other humans, probably? Dominicus (probably) isn’t Earth or humanity’s home planet. 

Okay, hold up. The Emperor is trying to get to the frontline now, Mercymorn wants him to return to “the Mithraeum”, which is presumably the capital of the Empire outside of the Dominicus system? Also, Emperor’s been on the ship for 80 years, and been away from the Mithraeum for 100... Once again, the math’s not adding up...

Okay, so God hugs Mercymorn, she freezes, he confirms that he is leaving, and that he knows exactly who shot down 3 warships???

Okay cool we’re not headed to the fronline, we’re headed to the Mithraeum, whatever the fuck that is.

Ohhh and the Cohort necromancer girl died, or committed suicide? And the Emperor brought her back? ...There’s a story there.

Ohhhh Mom and Dad are fighting.

OKAY ONCE AGAIN A LOT TO UNPACK HERE BUT THE MITHRAEUM CAN ONLY BE REACHED BY ONE MEANS???? AND IT MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH BEING A LYCTOR???

...Hey. So. Here’s something. In the description of Mercy’s sword, it says it has a white knob at the end of, and I quote “-you didn’t know the exact technical word. It was a pommel though.” There’s a disconnect there, between Harrow’s knowledge, and the narrator’s knowledge. This has happened a few other times, like just a few pages ago, Harrow says a room is used for bodily functions, but the narrator jumps in and says no one in the universe would call it that, it’s a toilet. And this is going to sound kind of batshit, but like 6 years ago i was in to Undertale, and there was a popular theory that the narrator in that game was a separate character from the PC and... a lot of the points used in that theory kinda ring true here... even the use of second person narration...

So the narrator is a separate character from Harrow? Now, whether this narrator exists in-universe, or if this is a really cool stylistic choice, is another story. Right now I’m leaning towards... I don’t know. Well, hm. If the Body is a kind of externalization of Harrow’s inner thought process, maybe the narrator is an internalization? 

That makes no sense.

Something to keep in mind.

Anyway, the shuttle detaches. There’s a sort of irony, in God being tired of people martyring themselves for him, but giving a speech saying “hey if you die in my service I love you.”

OKAY I think we’re about to go faster than light using necromancy? This should be good. OH OKAY WE’RE TAKING A SHORTCUT THROUGH HELL. COOL.

...so what was their original method of faster than light travel that turned out to be unusable? did it have to do with neutrinos in italy?

okay I love Mercy and the Emperor’s dialogue here. Again, objectively, I’m sure they’re bad people who have committed several warcrimes... but the way they bicker is just hilarious.

I’m googling hyperpotamus, and i’m only getting other Harrow the Ninth livereads, so it appears to be a term made for the book. But I have a terrible feeling it’s a pun on hippopotamus.

There are so many quotes here that I absolutely love, including “said the Lord of the Nine Houses, who apparently existed within a complex power dynamic.”  and “The magma metaphor falls apart from here.” 

...Oh. Okay, serious time. Even at the very start, just post-Resurrection, two of the Lyctors fell to the Resurrection Beasts. Well, one died, and one was “removed from play.” Which sounds horrifying.

So we’re dipping into Hell because you can move fast there. Hell is full of angry ghosts. This explains the ghost ward. Lyctors have hacked the system, and so can kind of survive there. And we learn what happened to Cassiopeia, one of the deceased Lyctors. (Interestingly enough it says she baited physical portions of the Ressurection Beast. Not a beast. Nor is it given a number...)

ALright so entering the River physically sounds fucking horrifying. I’m very glad we only have to do it this once and it definitely won’t come back later in the book nope definitely not.

“and that you felt alone in your head.” ;_;

Chapter 7

Sixth House icon.

There’s not a lot to say here, besides how freaky this is. How much do you want to bet that the faint wail Harrow hears is coming from the coffin with Cyntherea’s body?

JOHN. GOD’S NAME IS JOHN?? #NAME LORE UNLOCKED. IM JUST SO HAPPY I FINALLY HAVE A WAY TO REFER TO HIM WITHOUT STRUGGLING TO SPELL EMPORER EVERY FUCKIN TIME.

Also, Mercymorn knowing his like actual human name further implies some stuff about the timeline of the Ressurection, which I was wondering about previously... but that’s a discussion for later because Harrow’s in Hell!

Not a lot to say here besides 

fuck.

A few things. One. I think they’re going to get out of this okay? And by okay I mean alive? We know Ianthe, the Emperor, and Harrow live up to the point of the Prologue, and I don’t think Mercymorn is going to die already. 

Two. Cassiopeia was from the Sixth House, going by her Cavalier’s last name, which explains the chapter icon.

Three. The lights? The last page or so is very metaphorical, but, at the beginning it says Harrow perceived herself as a “sickly radiance”, and that she perceived the others on the ship as a light as well. She later said she was an “ova cluster of two hundred pinpricks of light.” So I think in this deep part of the River Harrow accidentally sent herself to, souls (maybe?) are displayed as lights. Harrow’s own soul is literally made up of the hundreds of dead House Nine kids, which is. Spooky. But then, at the end, when they jump out of the River, they bring 5 lights with them. So... either something hitched a ride with them, or it has something to do with Harrow suppressing Gideon and the Lyctor ritual. Everyone else on the ship has undergone the Lyctor ritual (or something similar, in John’s case), and they only have 1 light each. At least to Harrow’s eyes. BRUH IDK WHAT”S GOING ON. 

Chapter 8

No further answers here, this is a flashback chapter! So, sheared skull = flashback. And this chapter is going to feature the Fourth House, apparently. Who was Fourth House again? Oh no it was the kids. Oh no. ;_;

So, we are continuing through Harrow’s re-imagination of the events of Canaan House, with her Ortus OC in tow.

Of course Harrow is overwhelmed by normal tea, and of course Harrow thinks dressing up skeletons is stupid. 

AND of course Harrow would have a private prayer wishing doom on anyone that looks at her with any kind of emotion.

Hold up, the Anastasian tomb? Reserved for warriors? And presumably derived from the word Anastasia, the mysterious not-Lyctor of the Ninth House?? 

I can already tell Anastasia is going to become my Pepe Silvia. 

Ohhh this is going to be a lore bomb about the timeline of the Ressurection and I’m going to need to pull out my copy of Gideon the Ninth to see if any of this shit actually happened. 

TEN? TEN NORMAL ASS HUMANS? AND FIVE NECROMANCERS?? BUT THERE WERE SEVEN LYCTORS. THE MATH DOES NOT CHECK OUT.

Okay so I checked and none of this shit actually happened! In fact, Teacher actually said there were 16, 8 necromancers, 8 cavaliers. Where the fuck is Harrow getting 10 from? Who knows! And rather than explicitly saying “hey check out the basement labs to see how to become a Lyctor,” Teacher actually said fuck if I know. Not actually. But still.

Oh of course it’s called the Sleeper!! I had Kill Bill sirens playing in my head when I first read that. 

So,  had a whole ass monologue here, but this is already very long and im sleepy, so to very quickly summarize, the Parahumans series had an entity known as the Sleeper that was intentionally very mysterious and raised a lot of questions amongst fans, and the fact that there’s another entity here known as the Sleeper is flooding me.

So, I’m spooked. Again, this entire conversation did not actually happen. Teacher’s dialogue is precious. “go where I durst not go: because I love my life, and I love noise, also.” and “I do not know the answers to any of these questions, only that, already, you are being too loud.”

So, the rest of the chapter plays out with Ortus complaining to Harrow. Intriguingly, he says that Harrow doesn’t have much of an imagination, when she says there was no one else to choose as her Cavalier... And then one of the skeletons says, “Is this how it happens?” harkening back to Parodos, when the Body says something similar. There’s a lot to unpack here. One, like I said previously, because Ortus, and apparently the entirety of Canaan House, is a product of Harrow’s mind, they can maybe give some insight into Harrow herself. However, the fact that Ortus seems to break character and chastise her for her lack of imagination is... I don’t know.

Okay, theory time. “The Work” alluded to in the letters is not only the suppression of Lyctor-hood, it’s also the erasure of Gideon, and the creation of these false memories. Meaning Lyctor!Harrow somehow crafted them; there was conscious effort behind it. Which means we can totally pick these scenes apart to gain further insight into Harrow! The skeleton and the Body asking if this is what happened, and Ortus breaking character (maybe) are her subconscious breaking through... Maybe that ties into my idea of the narrator being an internalization or compartmentalization of Harrow’s trauma? Hmm...

Chapter 9

Seventh House skull, and not a flashback. I’m guessing this is because we’re going to inter Cyntherea’s body here.

Okay, so time seems to have passed. IDK how much of the River Harrow remembers here. It seems like she recalls it like a bad dream. Ianthe’s here, and they’re in a chapel made of bone. Or at least one absolutely covered in bone. 

Here’s a question. The necromancy Harrow excels at, that’s creating a whole ass skeleton from a single bit of bone. Is she actually creating a new skeleton? Or is she reforming one. Like if she had two teeth from the same skeleton, could she use that to make two new skeletons? In the last chapter the Ressurection was described as not creating anything new... does that apply to all of necromancy, or just what the Emperor did?

Also another side note, Harrow says the stars glow with an unearthly light, which matches what the Emperor said, that they restarted the stars near the Mithraeum with thanergy, so they’re weird now. Except... wasn’t Dominicus restarted the same way? Or is the Dominicus system a hybrid of thanergy and thalergy? I’m getting my energies mixed up.

Anyway yep it’s Cyntherea’s funeral, and Harrow is checking the fuck out.

Okay we have a new Lyctor... and I’m guessing it’s Augustine, since he and Mercymorn are fighting.  

Okay and John’s giving a speech and giving more lore about the pre-Ressurrection and it’s confirmed that this guy is Augustine and-

First gen? Second gen? Sixth installation?? Valancy? ANASTASIA?

bruh im so flooded and this is supposed to be such a reverent moment.

Ohhh this is awkward now that they’re pulling Ianthe and Harrow forward. Okay we get a formal introduction to Mercymorn and Augustine. Augustine trails off before the third... and asks if he, the third surviving Lyctor, knows about the missile strikes...Is the third Lyctor the one leading the people who shot down the warships, which is sounding increasingly like a rebellion rather than a battle against others? Who’s the third again ah fuck it’s ORTUS.

ORTUS is apparently interested in “you-know-what”. Which I don’t know what. Please elaborate. 

ORTUS is here and he’s skeletal. OH AND SO IS RESSURECTION BEAST NUMBER SEVEN.

FUCK.

(bruh what the fuck is a pseudo-Beast)

Okay yep time to fight an eldritch god.

Speaking of which, God’s name is John confirmed.

And Harrow bled from the ear and fell unconscious, hearing the name ORTUS.

Chapter 10

Pog we’re almost done with part 1. Fifth skull, sheared, so it’s flashback time. 

I don’t recognize immediately where we are; apparently this is in the library in Canaan House? Though I don’t remember one from Gideon the Ninth. We see a bit of personality from Ortus, when he complains about Fifth House poetry, which is nice. 

Oh, wait, never mind, that was Magnus speaking. Ortus remains as boring as ever.

Hehehehe dick jokes.

Hey so no fake vow of silence in the false memories of Canaan House! That’s interesting. As is Magnus and Abagail being here, and them being pretty fleshed out characters. As are these cooking instructions from the Lyctors...

HOOOOOOOLD the phone here. The cooking notes mention an M and Nigella... which was the first name of Cassiopeia’s cavalier... How would Harrow know that? The easy explanation is that this is a note that Harrow actually found, and is placing here in her fake memories... The other explanation is that something funky is afoot...

Ooohkay Magnus is asking if this is how it happens now. The simulation is breaking down. AND ABAGAIL CAN TELL THAT HARROW IS A LIVING WAR CRIME. PANIC.

Okay now we’re getting Ortus emotion! He is a grown ass man Harrow. At least, he would be, were he not a figment of Harrow’s imagination.

HEEEEY

WHAT THE FUUUUCK

WE’RE CONTINUING ON THIS DYING EGGS THING

PROBABLY WILL BE RELEVANT LATER.

Okay and the simulation breaks down further when Ortus says “you did have a cavalier with a backbone, I’m not them.” Interestingly enough, it’s hours later Harrow realizes something’s weird... Huh...

Chapter 11

Seventh House skull.

Literally just a paragraph saying Harrow sleepwalked and stabbed Cyntherea’s body.

...She sleep walked... the Sleeper from the fake Canaan House...

[koorinohebi]

6, 30, & 38 !

@ramenthings

Munday Asks - Open and accepting

6. is there any other muse in this fandom you’d like to RP?

Oh wow, do I ever.

I actually have other characters in the fandom that I RP like Nohara Rin (who I have to get posts done for.), but there's probably 2 characters whom I want to try RPing again, try to see if I can do them justice. Back then, when I picked them up, there were very little information to be had so I had to go with what we know and see of them from both anime and manga. That time, back in the early 20's, I dont believe canon-divergence was a very common thing because the moment you stray away from the meta, you're automatically persecuted for being out of character even when you technically arent. RPing these days is great because you have more liberty to take your character where you want them to go based on your headcanons and interpretations without them being less of who they are. Because people are more understanding that a difference in interpretation doesnt necessarily make the character OOC (unless it's really apparent that they are. And people can tell.)

So going back, these two characters are-- well, I guess you could say they are actually three:

Pein, Nagato, and Konan.

I had the chance to RP both Pein and Konan back when forum RPing is a thing. Nagato wasn't a thing then so we just knew Pein as this orange haired Akatsuki leader who was out there trying to gather all the Bijuu. Because there was so little to go by, I really feel like I didnt do either of them justice so I hope to be able to play them again some day, albeit after more research. But first and foremost, I want to try and RP Nagato because I do find his character interesting. I like the way he interpreted how the concept of pain makes a person grow, and how he sacrificed everything for that ideal, and ultimately in order to protect those who meant the world to him...which eventually branched out to the citizens of Amegakure.

Lol, apparently I also like characters who carry deep trauma and who gets lost along the way, so there's that aspect.

30. what are your favorite RP tropes to play? (angst, hurt-comfort, etc…)

Angst is definitely at the top here. In my private roleplays with friends, as well as in my fanfic writing, I do give Kiomi a lot of angst...mostly because my main interpretation for her which follows the anime/manga timeline deals with her having A LOT of regret. Having ran away from herself, deciding to let cowardice fester in her heart, she's stuck in a limbo and can't move forward. So she does a lot of things to try and recompense thinking that it'll bring her peace, but it doesnt. She can't let go of the past, she cant forgive herself, and so she ends up pretending that she's alright with how things turned out. Lies however can only go so far. Which is why, which is why, which is why, I do enjoy my current dynamic for her in terms of her interaction with Kashin Koji. (I'll definitely write a drabble at some point.) Because he helps her make sense of herself. Life lessons part two at the hands of someone a little more unforgiving. She has a hard time lying to him because he calls her bluff and bullies challenges her to quit being such a wuss. I really do hate the fact that this girl often gets bullied into action, but I found her morale is boosted when she's rallied to a cause by a rival or someone who thinks rather little of her. Because she's a pretty sore loser at the core, so she ends up working her butt off to prove them wrong. In this case, she doesnt want Kashin Koji’s approval, she just wants him off her back.

I also like fluff, but it's very hard to RP that with Kiomi because she's so... eh with her emotions when it comes to people. Which is where the slow burn tropes come in. I enjoy building relationships for Kiomi so that everything feels more organic for her. Almost everything with her starts with a lie, and eventually, depending on how things pan out, becomes a truth. It also gives me more drama to work with when she realizes she's grown attach to someone. I do enjoy it when she learns about her own feelings, how that side of her that got buried with her family comes rushing out the surface. Because despite everything, she's a pretty good girl. Just raised in less forgiving circumstances that doesn't afford her the luxury to be kind all the time.

Frenemy tropes. As much as I love giving Kiomi good friends who she share intimate, almost familial bonds with... I really like toxic friendships that starts from being enemies to eventually being comrades with mutual benefits (nothing sexual, she's gonna run). Like for example, how her odd, normally one-sided rivalry with Sasuke turned out to them becoming friends somewhere in Boruto's generation. I say friend, but she has never ever given up on her quest to defeat him (which she hasnt been able to accomplish at all), but at least it's evolved to "I'll beat you up one day!" from, "I'll kill you!". They're at a level of comfort where Kiomi can jab a sarcastic joke at Sasuke and she doesnt end up getting barbecued by him. I'm 100% certain he thinks she's a nuisance, but at least one whom he can sort of leave his back to. (Of course, Sasukes whom I do not know do not need to share this interpretation if we do interact, unless they too agree to it. But one thing is always constant with Kiomi, and that she will always have hate and envy for him because of being Orochimaru's favorite.)

Top of my head these three are my favorite tropes.

38. what’s the best inspiration for your muse?

Jiraiya and his teachings inspired her so much the real her got dragged out.

Kidding aside, this is a good question. She doesn't really find a lot of things to be too inspiring, but if ever one existed, then it's probably anger and fear. The self loathing she feels for not being good enough inspires her to do better so that she'd be good enough to be someone's first choice. Because ultimately, she just wants to be useful in order to feel like she earned her place within her lord's ranks. And at the start of her adventure, because she owes Orochimaru her life, all she really wanted was to be the perfect shinobi tool that’d serve as his sword and shield no matter the circumstance. Alas, not so.

The fear of having to go through the things she experienced as a child inspires her to grow stronger so that she'll never have to go through it again (but she does). She dislikes loss, that's why if Kiomi can help it, she wont form too many attachments that can hinder her judgement (but she ended up gaining them anyway). She believes that being an emotionless tool is the best course of action (but she still has so many emotions that she cant keep under wraps). This girl has quite a bit of contradiction, which is fun to play out because it leads to her true personality showing, the one at least, that's not always shrouded in lies.

[stayflaminhotmen]

My take on the Kataang vs. Zutara

First thing’s first - why I ship Kataang: 

The main reason as to why I ship Kataang is because I love how their relationship was built on a strong foundation of friendship. They were really good friends who traveled the world together, got comfortable together, grew together and overall, really connected with each other through their adventure. I just love how throughout the series, it’s so clear how much they care and love each other. It’s a simple kind of love that’s so pure, genuine and wholesome. 

Aang was obviously infatuated with her but the more time they spent together, that crush turns into a deeper kind of love. Katara, on the other hand, took a while for her feelings to develop. Her signs were less obvious but in the end, it’s there. I think this is a realistic portrayal of how two people can come together. One person seeing only the best parts of a person to seeing them as they really are and loving and accepting that person. Then the other only sees the other as a friend only to later have her feelings grow to something more when they spend more time together and grow together. It’s no natural how their feelings progress and it’s not built on chemistry but a deep connection.

How I saw the ending- the kiss. I didn’t view it as “hero gets the girl” 

I know a lot of people view Katara kissing Aang as the hero gets the girl, but I honestly didn’t see it like that. I saw it as two people who were really good friends, developing feelings for each other but never having the chance to pursue it because of their responsibility to save the world. Once they were able to save the world, they were finally able to freely explore their feelings without the overburdening responsibility on their shoulders. 

Besides the fortune teller episode (season 1, episode 14), the show has moments where they’re interrupted time and time again from pursuing anything because of their responsibility to save the world even though they’re just young kids. In the Cave of two lover (season two, episode two) the two share a kiss and Aang showed how he wanted to talk about it, but Katara wanted to make sure they both got out. They couldn’t talk about what just happened because they had to get out to make sure they made it to Omashu. Then in the episode The Earth King (season 2, episode 18) Aang is about to tell Katara how she really feels but Sokka interrupts to remind them all about their situation - how Aang has to go to away to master the Avatar State, and Katara’s situation where she has to stay to help with their invasion plan. In the episode Nightmares and Daydreams (Season 3, Episode 9) Aang has a daydream about Katara. It looks stupid and silly but if you think about it, it’s normal for someone to dream about someone. What’s sad though is that he can’t pursue her because they have to worry about their invasion plan for tomorrow. Aang is shown to want to be nothing more than a normal kid and being a normal kid means being able to fall in love but he be in a relationship.Then there’s The day of Black Sun: Part One (Season three, Episode 10). He is off to fight the big bad villain that he’s been training to fight off. He doesn’t know if he’s going to come back. He kisses her which is super hero cliche but I feel like it adds a dramatic affect to their situation even though I have to admit that scene could have been handled better. However, Aang making a move does make sense and it humanizes him. In the Ember Island Player episode (season 3, episode 17) it’s the first time he confronts his feelings towards Katara out loud which he was never able to do before. For a valid reason, she’s confused because of the war going on. I genuinely believe their situation could have been handled better in Aang’s defense, but I really like how Katara told him no this isn’t right. Aang also acknowledges that he’s an idiot for doing that. I know a lot of people are like how can Katara kiss him next after this. This is my take on it. I’m not saying it’s correct, I’m saying this MIGHT be why. She said she was confused because of the war. When the war was over, her mind wasn’t confused anymore and the weight she felt was lifted. The thing is, she doesn’t kiss him right away, she hugs him first then kisses her. I think that’s important to note because it really solidifies that they were friends above anything. She literally hugs him so many times during the show. This is the first time she is hugging him without the war going on. Then she kisses him which to me was like her saying, “let’s explore these feelings together.” Yes, they wanted to help fix the world, but they’re able to slow down now. They weren’t on a time crunch where they had to defeat the fire lord on a timeline. 

This is the way I interpreted it. That is why I love their romance as well, because it adds depth to the characters and their situation if you think of it from that POV. They really pushed aside their love until the war was over! Like, if they were regular kids there’s no doubt that they could have been together already and explored their feelings. Sadly, due to the war, they couldn’t. I think that it also amplifies the characters because it’s clear that Aang wants to be just a normal kid (especially from the headband episode) but can’t because he has to save the world. It also shows how Katara constantly sacrifices her feelings for the greater good like how she sacrificed her childhood basically to be the mother of her tribe. 

Speaking of the headband episode (season 3, episode 2), that’s one of my favorite episodes because we see a glimpse of how Aang was probably like when he was a kid traveling the world. He mentions a guy he was friends with named Kuzon and how they would hang out. This episode captures Aang when he’s being his regular and genuine self away from the war currently going on. The dance they shared was a glimpse of how things could have been for them if they were just regular kids. Aang would have been able to sweep Katara off her feet and pursue her. They could have easily been together IF they were just normal kids. However, they’re not those kids because of the war and the responsibility they have in ending the war. 

However, seeing as people saw it differently, it goes to show how it wasn’t CLEARLY put out.  I understand that. With what was shown, it felt like it was hero gets the girl. The thing about creating with motion pictures is that if it’s not done clearly and executed right, the audience might not notice it. However, in the writer’s defense, there was so much more detail put into other things that it’s impossible for them to create everything perfect. That said I’d like to explore the flaw in Katara and Aang’s relationship that could have made people more satisfied with them being together.

The flaw in their relationship and in Aang’s character: 

I have to say this: Katara was definitely giving more of herself to Aang. A lot of people say that Aang liked Katara more, but looking back, Katara definitely liked Aang more. She was always trying to get close with him by reaching out to him A LOT, hugging him A LOT, and giving him cheek kisses three times. Out of all the characters, Katara literally holds Aang the most. I think that was one of the subtle ways that the creators were trying to show the audience that Katara liked Aang too. That said, I genuinely feel like that’s one way that Katara shows her love for people she cares about: physical touch. There are so many moments where we see Katara reaching out and giving someone a hug, or putting her hand out for them. It makes sense for her character because her mom died and her dad went away. She can’t physically hold them anymore. Her holding out to people is a way of comforting someone and also herself by keeping whomever close to her. She’s overprotective because of the trauma she went to as a child losing the people she loved. It comes as motherly, but I think that some people may have a misconception about love being expressed only one way. Katara being caring is her highest form of showing she loves someone.

A lot of people say that their relationship was one-sided. That Aang was the only one who liked her, but I genuinely don’t think that’s entirely true. Aang really liked her but I think the one-sided part was how Katara was the only one who was giving Aang emotional support. That’s the one thing about Aang’s character that I wish was developed more. The thing is, he matures a whole lot from accepting that he’s the avatar. Like he really has matured, but I feel like the writers didn’t make it as obvious as Zuko maturing. It shows how he obviously is able willing to help save someone but he can only help people physically. I don’t see him helping someone emotionally and that’s where his character lacks. That’s where I wish his character could have grown and where his character is overlooked. That is also why I feel like so many people viewed it as a childhood crush - the creators never put a really clear and obvious way of pointing out that Aang matured emotionally as well. It puts Aang’s character down because his way of coping is by being childish and avoiding things - the literal opposite of being mature. I think that people only seeing the childish part of Aang and the overprotective motherly side of Katara is what makes their relationship seem like it doesn’t fit. If they added one or two scenes showing how he cared about her feelings instead of always having Katara only show that, their relationship would have been so much more powerful. That’s the biggest flaw in how their relationship was shown and the most frustrating thing is that it could have been avoided. If they had shown him caring about Katara in an emotional level, their relationship would have been so solid. The thing is, that would be something so in the character of Aang. Like he genuinely is a lot more mature and emotionally intelligent than what meets the eye and I really wish that the creator made an effort to show that. 

That said, another thing I feel like that’s important to touch on is how a lot of people say that Aang was too childish. I completely understand why people would say this. However, I think that people don’t really see how much more mature he really is. He is someone who has gone through so much grief and yet is able to be so genuine, loving, and kind to the world and people. I think that shows an insane amount of emotional maturity. He is more emotionally intelligent than people give him credit for. However, I feel like his character was never given the opportunity to show that side of him as much as it could have. I think that the only time I saw it was during The Southern Raiders when he talks to Katara. I think that the advice he gave to her was spot on really good before she left, to let her frustration out but not to get revenge. That was high-level wisdom that I feel like Uncle Iroh would give honestly. If there were more moments like that, I honestly would have ZERO problems with their relationship. His age wouldn’t matter because it would show that he was mature enough debunking that he wasn’t mature enough. On top of that, not a lot of people knew that he was a master at airbending when he was just 12. He was the youngest one to get his arrows. He is literally so smart when he applies himself but he’s just a kid and of course, wants to have fun. I wish they flushed that out of his character more to show that part of him. 

That brings to what would I have ADDED (+ small changes) to further develop their relationship: 

I would have added in season three moments where Aang was there for Katara emotionally. Season three is where we see Katara’s sides other than her caring motherly side. There are three episodes specifically, The Awakening, The puppetmaster and The Southern Raiders. 

The one thing I wish could have been added if I can was in season three, episode one. There is a moment where Aang meets Hakoda, Katara’s father, for the first time. She is obviously upset, and the thing is, HE KNOWS. HE SAW IT AND HE FELT IT. He even asks, “are you mad at your dad or something?” And she goes, “not at all, why would you say that.” Instead of them having a conversation, the Aang literally takes it to face value and shrugs it off. What I would have wanted was for him to say something like, “you sounded upset when you were talking to him.” And then Katara getting defensive because you know she is and then have her say “I wasn’t upset.” Have Aang hold up his arms and be like “I think you are. *pause* If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here to listen.” Like bro, it would show how much more aware he is and flushed out how emotionally mature he actually is. Not to mention, this wouldn’t at all be out of character for him. That would literally be the Aang a lot of people who have evaluated his character deeper than face value see him as. It frustrates me how the creators didn’t make it THAT obvious. 

Another thing I would have added in the episode: The Awakening is this scene as the closing credit. In this scene, Aang could be flying Appa alone, Toph and Sokka could be sleeping and Katara is looking staring at the sky. Now just imagine this scene where they finally talk about Katara’s feelings for once. Imagine how powerful this would have been for their relationship and for Aang’s character growth… 

Aang: *moves to look at Katara* Katara, are you okay? 

Katara: “I yelled at my father.” *looks at Aang*

Aang: “Come sit here with me so we can talk about it and not wake those two up.” *Katara moves to sit next to Aang on Appa’s head.*

Katara: “I was angry at him for leaving my brother and I for all those years.” 

Aang: *reaching out to touch her shoulder this time* “I’m sorry Katara, that must have been hard for you to watch him leave after losing your mom.” 

*Katara crying and then them two hugging*

Aang: *after they break apart from the hug* “I’m sorry for running away like that too. That must have been triggering for you.” 

Katara: “At least it helped me finally confront my dad.” 

Aang: “I’m proud of you Katara.”

It would show that it’s not just one-sided. Not to mention, that scene would give more credit to Aang’s character for being more mature. That he’s capable of being mature because I know he is. He has grown so much and having a scene like that with that dialogue shows that. It would be so in character for him too, at least for the people who really understand Aang’s character. On top of that Katara’s feelings are finally being expressed. Like literally NO ONE in the group ever talks about Katara’s feelings which is so sad. Aang could have easily been able to be that person. 

Another thing I would have wanted to add was in the runaway. In that episode, I wish that Aang would have asked Katara after Toph and Sokka left and it was just the two of them, “do you want to practice water bending to let it out.” Then they could show them bending water together like they did on the side. I’m serious, it's just the small details of dialogue that were overlooked. This is just a small detail but it would show a parallel to when Aang gets upset with Toph when he couldn’t earth bend. Then, they could have had a moment where Katara talks about how she’s frustrated because she feels like Toph is out of control and Aang’s all like “Katara, I know that you feel like you have to make sure everyone’s alright all the time, but you don’t have to anymore. When all of us were in the desert together, you helped the team survive together but we’re okay now. Please, have some fun too. You’re allowed too.” Then that would help with Katara literally going out of her way to make a scam with Toph. Like imagine that. One thing about this though is that I would have to take away the scene where Toph and Katara are just sitting on opposite sides and they send a message to Toph. Instead, it could have been Sokka and Toph next with that conversation in the following scene. Like I felt like the whole hawk was a waste since it never came back so like the could have been avoided. That’s only a small change though which I feel like wouldn’t have a negative impact on the overall show. 

The last thing I would have added was in the southern raiders episode was Aang going to Katara and hugging her, then asking her if she is okay. That way it would show them two hugging THEN Zuko and Katara. That would balance things out with Kataang and Zutara LMAO. Also, I would have wanted him to say that she was strong enough. Forgiving someone makes you stronger, not weaker. Like a way better message than him going full on pacifist on her. 

Those are the three scenes I would have ADDED. I think that would have been important to add because it showed how Aang was able to help a friend emotionally which he has never done before. Not to mention, it would have been more clearly shown that Aang was more mature and emotionally intelligent than what people think. That’s so important because if these scenes were added, I’m pretty sure a lot of people would have been able to see the maturity in Aang and not just the childish part of him. The best things about these scenes is that the overall story and plot didn’t have to change. It would just be something that was added. 

The thing that upsets me the most is how these changes is literally three episodes in season three. Like Kataang had such a solid foundation in season one and two only for it to not grow in season three. It’s also literally just small little details that were overlooked and could have been avoided, and would have made the show ever better. Like ugh! It’s super frustrating.

Also, I wanted to note that I think that’s what makes people like Zutara. He helped Katara emotionally in a way that no one else in the group did. I have to admit that he was the first one who actually gave her what she needed. You can see that she was usually neglected because she had to take care of everyone. That’s actually why I saw the potential in Zuko and Katara. That’s when I realized furthermore where Katara and Aang could GROW, and then saw how they could have woven that part to strengthen their relationship and Aang’s character. Not to mention, it would give Katara more credit. Like no offense, but Katara was done dirty at times, not going to lie. She literally holds the group together and it’s so unfair how there’s no one holding her. That’s why I would have wanted Aang to be the one to start doing that in season three to show how he truly has grown. Literally that would debunk him not being mature enough/too childish which is literally so valid. 

Now there’s one thing I wish I could have changed, but it has nothing to do with Kataang but has to do with Zuko and Mai. Now hear me out on this. I honestly liked Mai and Zuko because what their relationship added to the overall story. Without Mai, we wouldn’t have the iconic line “I love Zuko more than I fear you.” I love that line because it really teaches someone that love is stronger than fear. However, I have to admit their relationship individually wasn’t healthy. There’s no sugar coating it, it was toxic. In my perspective it was because of Mai’s character having NO ARC. She was the same. At first I was okay with this, like okay, no everyone had to have growth, but then, I saw this post saying how the only way Zuko and Mai could work together is if she changed completely. And I couldn’t have agreed more. Mai is 15. She has so much personal growth to go and I think that her acknowledging that would have been a good arc of her character. It would have given her character more depth. The reason why Mai and Zuko’s relationship wouldn't have worked is because Zuko changed so much while Mai stayed the same. I think that’s why people didn’t like them together which makes a lot of sense. BUT, if you think about it, there’s potential for Mai to develop. 

This is how I rewrote Zuko and Mai’s last conversation together. If I’m being honest, I thought that Zuko and Mai wouldn’t be together especially since if you look at the scene, Zuko holds his arms out and she dodges it. I was shook when I saw this but, that’s when I thought of a better ending… 

Mai: “Need some help with that?” 

Zuko: “Mai, you’re ok. They let you out of prison.” 

Mai: “My uncle pulled some strings, (this is where things change and she still dodges the hug here) but yeah I was in there for a little while.” 

Zuko: “I’m really sorry Mai. I hurt you and you still choose to save me.” 

Mai: “I loved you Zuko to the point where I would do anything for you.” *pause* “While I was in prison, I had a lot more time to think. I’m going to travel the world, to find myself. I don’t want to be the girl that loves someone else more than herself.” 

Zuko: “I think this would be really good for you Mai.” *pause* “And when you come back and find yourself, come find me. I’ll wait for you.” *they hug*

I feel like this would have been so powerful. She would come back a different person which is exactly what needs to happen to her character so she can grow out of her teenage angst phase like Zuko did and then they could come together as two people who were better than they were when they were in that toxic relationship. Like that would have been such a good message to kids. 

On top of that, I feel like one of the only times she expresses an authentic part of herself is when she was mad at Zuko for betraying his country. Other than the beach, we don’t see her expressing herself that passionately. Literally Mai being fire lady makes so much sense because she obviously cares about her country and Zuko. Her dad is known for being governor throughout her whole life. She knows some stuff about all that stuff but I think she doesn’t want to get into all that political thing because of how her dad being part of wanting to be in politics made her have to be silent. Like imagine her literally going out of her way to find herself then stumbling upon politics on the way. The thing is in the comics “Shadow and Smoke” they do that. I genuinely feel like that comic would have been better and more wholesome if it was Mai trying to find herself and then Zuko and her meeting again after spending time apart. Like them bonding over what happens in that comic instead of them being so awkward together LOL. 

I honestly don’t want to say this but I genuinely feel like this was the couple that the creators forced so that there was like less of a chance for Zutara to happen which literally back fired. Like I feel like more people would ship them together and have more fan fictions of them finding their way back to each other and I can’t get over the imagination of that being one good comic segment. Like no offense but the creator’s strong suit is not romance, which is okay! They made something wonderful and beautiful and iconic but it’s still imperfect. It’s just super sad how it could have been way better with just a few scenes. 

Basically, I think that Katara and Zuko were two people that fans a lot because they were more flushed out carefully than Aang’s blind spot and Mai not changing at all. That brings me to the last part… 

The main reason I prefer Kataang over Zutara (+ some other reasons): 

The main reason I’ve come to discover why I wouldn’t want Zutara to happen is how it would affect the overall story and the feel of it. If you really think about it, Zutara would have a ripple effect on the overall story. The thing with Avatar the last airbender is that it’s not supposed to be a romance based story and I feel like having Zutara has the potential of overpowering the overall story. It’s mysterious and holy fuck that would be one good enemies to lovers romance story. And it would have been really powerful to show a “bad boy/ good girl trope” that’s done in a way that’s right. Like one thing that would have been so good about their relationship is that Zuko is a bad boy at first. He literally is an asshole, but throughout the series, you see why he was like that and then you see him grow into a better person. The best part is, it wasn’t because of Katara. NO, the girl doesn’t make the bad boy good, it’s a trusting adult guiding the bad boy to be good. It doesn’t burden Katara with that responsibility as a relationship should be. There’s no denying that would be one good trope and side story. However, that would overall overpower the whole story, not to mention it doesn’t flow with the story's vibe. Here are some reasons as to why this would be so problematic TO THE STORY (not as a couple): 

1. It would have overpowered and distracted us from the story because there could have been a love triangle. Aang literally loves Katara. He flat out says it and was not going to give up cosmic energy, literally unbelievable power, just so he can love her. To make a love triangle realistic and developed, that love triangle would have to be done well. That would take time. The thing is, with what they were given, there’s no way there would be able to fit a realistic and well-developed love triangle. Literally no way they would right when they’re ending it. Way too messy and distracting when they’re trying to end things. That said, if there were going to be a fourth season, that’s the only way I could see it happening. The thing is I don’t want a fourth season. I think that it would have dragged on too long and I feel like it ended perfectly because it’s literally still a masterpiece to this day. 

2. Secondly, love triangles are so messy. The way that the writers already handled romance, I’m sorry but there’s more potential for a love triangle to go terrible for the overall series. That would ruin the masterpiece that is Avatar the Last Airbender because of a side romance. Watching Legends of Korra, we saw how fucking horrible it was to watch THAT love triangle. Literally horrible. I’m sorry but I do not want to see anything like that. I feel like no offense but they showed literally what could have happened if Zutara happened. The worst possible case scenario. Yes, they could have done better but they’re not good romance writers! What makes you think they’ll make a good love triangle and it would be so distracting for that to happen in the end. Like I feel like they’re great writers, but romance is not a strong point for them. It’s literally going to draw everyone’s attention to the ships instead of what’s happening in the amazing world.

3. Let’s say that things do work out for Katara and Zuko. I can’t imagine Aang’s relationship with Katara being tarnished or Aang’s relationship with Zuko falling apart because Zuko and Katara are dating. Those two relationships are strongly built on trusting each other and respecting each other. If anyone’s ever been in a love triangle, there’s that feeling of awkwardness and tension around the room. Love triangles are messy and they can ruin friendships. That is why I truly believe that Zuko never saw Katara as a romantic partner. In the Ember Island Players Zuko’s character says “I thought you were the avatar’s girl?” I really don’t like how they made it seem like Aang was being possessive. I think it also points out how Zuko is loyal to his friends. I think that he might have possibly sensed that Aang liked Katara so he literally never saw her as more than a friend. He wanted Katara to trust him as a friend. Also, Katara was supposed to have a love triangle between Aang and the original boy Toph but they cut that off. Thank goodness they did because love triangles are messy and I’m super glad they avoided it. That helped the relationships each character has with each other have a stronger bond of FRIENDSHIP which is one of the themes in this show. A love triangle wouldn’t be practical for that theme when love triangles literally RUIN friendships. 

4. If Katara would be with Zuko, there’s no denying that Aang would feel awkward around either of them because it would break the trust he had with both of them. Anyone who has ever liked someone deeply then have a close friend date that someone breaks trust. That’s why I always believed in the girl’s code, or the bro code because I genuinely believe that strong friendships are more important that a romantic relationship. Especially one that people claim is valid because of the chemistry you have with them. Basically, by having Zutara happen, the creators would have to deal with love triangle topics which they obviously tried to avoid when they changed Toph into a girl. Like I said before, talking about love triangle stuff just doesn’t make sense in a story about genocide, war etc. Like if you look at all the romantic relationships that were made, none of them dealt with a romantic love triangle (Mai, Ty Lee and Azula was a friendship love triangle but it added to the plot in a productive way).  Yes there was jealousy but never a love triangle that would be damaging to strong friendships. It just wouldn’t help the overall plot to ending things, but instead, it would add an avoidable problem. In the shoes of the writer, I would have liked to dodge that.

5. Also Zuko and Katara would bring up controversial questions and problems. The love triangle is a big one but another one that’s been brought up is would Katara be comfortable possibly being the fire lady? Would Katara want to get into politics? Would Zuko be willing to make time for her? (In the comics, it clearly shows how Zuko’s responsibility especially since he’s rebuilding the fire nation, takes a lot of time). What would Katara do in her free time? Would Katara really be willing to go as far as loving someone that intimately after he traumatized her? Keep in mind she couldn’t forgive the person who killed her mother. Even though Katara is giving and forgiving, there’s obviously a limit for her. Would Katara be okay with having Ozai as her father in law and Azula as her sister in law? Would she be okay marrying someone with the same bloodline as what caused her heritage to be so small? How would it be like for her to tell her children that it was her husband’s father who sent out fire nation soldiers to kill all the waterbenders in the southern pole and she was the only one who survived because her mother died instead. Would Katara want her bloodline to have the same blood as the people who caused genocide to her tribe? There’s just so many questions that I feel like would be so controversial. That’s why people say it’s “toxic” and “unhealthy.” It’s not that they are bad together, they obviously work well together, have chemistry. However, it’s the outside things that they can’t control or change that make their relationship “unhealthy.” I think that anyone can love someone so much but outside factors like this play a huge role. I think that looking at it from Katara’s POV more than in Zuko’s plays a big role in this. My biggest concern with Katara is how it would make her feel dating someone who hurt her like that. Like I said, there’s no doubt that she’s forgiven him but that doesn’t mean that the trauma isn’t there anymore. It’s like a building. No matter how solid the building comes in the top, the foundation that it was built upon was messy, traumatizing etc. If I were Katara, I would stick with friends.

6. Also, I’m not saying that Aang wouldn’t forgive Katara and Zuko if it were to happen. I’m not saying that he would let go of it. What I am saying is that it would taint the strong friendship they already have over a relationship that’s strong because of chemistry. I’m just saying that if I were any of them, I would rather find someone else to have chemistry with. I genuinely feel like that’s why a lot of people who ship Zutara may not have liked Aang because if he wasn’t in the picture, there wouldn’t have been any complications but he is literally a big part of the story. Taking him out of the show for a ship would ruin the show, but everyone loves the show so it’s easier to demoralize Aang’s character.

7. Overall, it would be problematic to the whole show. I have nothing against Zutara being a side thing that fans like to explore. The fan art that I’ve seen is literally so beautiful and there’s no doubt that people can make one hell of a story for the two of them. However, I feel like it should just be on the side, not canon for the sake of Avatar the last airbender being the amazing masterpiece it is.

From the creator’s POV: 

I’ve been looking at their choice of making Kataang canon, and in the creator’s defense, it was the best option. Even though their relationship wasn’t developed as everyone has hoped, it was the best choice. There are people who said how some people from the creator’s team wanted Zutara to happen. However, in the end, it was a collaborative decision. I don’t think they would have pushed through with it if it didn’t make sense. I feel like some of the creators who wanted Zutara to happen couldn’t make it possible to happen. 

1. It was too late for Zutara to be canon. Here are the ways it could have happened in the show and how it would have affected the show…

The Crossroads of Destiny. A lot of people say that if Zuko didn’t betray her, then things between them could have developed. Here are some scenarios that could have happened…

Zuko doesn’t betray Katara. This one is one I’m genuinely so glad didn’t happen because then it would have affected Zuko’s iconic redemption arc. It wouldn’t be ATLA without Zuko’s redemption arc. Not to mention, literally so many things about season three would literally be so different. ATLA is not a perfect show but they obviously did something right if it stands the test of them. That’s why I find it concerning when people don’t really look at the affect their ship being canon would have on the overall story.

Zuko’s scar gets healed. This one is another one that I’m glad didn’t happen because as much as Zuko’s scar is horrible, it’s a part of him. It may not define him anymore, but it was a part of him that he can’t change. By accepting that instead of trying to heal it shows how he’s dealt with his trauma. Katara erasing a part of his identity is like her not acknowledging a big part of Zuko. 

Someone suggested that Katara and Zuko should have shared a more intimate scene and had more time to talk with each other without Aang and Iroh interrupting. That would mean Katara would consider Zuko as someone she would want to be with instead and that would mean Katara not seeing Aang as someone she would want to be with. My problem with this is, I find it super hard to believe that Katara would literally go from I hate Zuko to I see him in a romantic way in one scene. Like I feel like her showing compassion towards him just shows how she is willing to see the good in people. That’s why I genuinely didn’t see anything romantic because it just feels like unrealistic Wattpad writing a girl’s emotion literally going a full 360. 

The Southern Raiders 

This is where I believe things were truly too late. There’s no way they would sneak in a love triangle when they’re literally trying to end the show. Like it would add drama and a whole love triangle and it would just distract from the overall show. The only way that it could have happened is if there was a fourth season but I felt like it ended the way it was suppose to. Extending the show for another season would honestly just drag the show and risk ruining the amazing show.

Sozin’s comet they kiss after Katara beats Azula

The only reason I’m against this is because I find it hard to believe that they would kiss each other. They’ve literally only kissed one person in the show. The thing is the other person is the one initiating the kiss so it just feel like it would be strange for them after defeating Azula is to kiss. Like even Katara doesn’t kiss Aang after she has saved him so many times. Not to mention, Katara literally doesn’t do things on impulse. It just didn’t make sense for me for them to kiss. Like, I’m sorry but REALISTICALLY speaking, it would be so out of character to the point where it would have been like fan fiction wattpad shit that I wouldn’t want to see. And it would literally distract from that amazing Agni Kai, like it would literally come out of no where and surprise everyone. Like I mentioned before, it would overpower what’s truly important in the show. 

Basically, it would ruin the Zuko’s iconic redemption arc or it would just distract the show by adding a somewhat unrealistic fanfic romantic moment that would be OOC. It has a place where it could be explored because it is interesting. However, I don’t think it should have been explored romantically in the show. 

Thoughts on things Zutara fans have said:

It would have been better if Aang got over his crush of Katara to show how some people don’t end up with their first love and to show that coming of age aspect: 

I do agree that would be a good message. It’s an amazing message. However, in the writer’s defense, it’s not their responsibility to literally cover every topic and every message. One thing that the writers decided to focus on is friendships, not romance. I think that’s why it was important to show how a friendship could turn into more. I also mentioned above why I felt like Katara and Aang added to the overall show in an important way. That said, yes, there’s no denying that it would have been a good message for the kids to watch. However, I don’t think that it could have fit the overall tone and story of this series. Normal kids go through that. They get over their crush because they’re able to find someone else easily. However, if you think about it, it’s not easy to get over a crush when you're literally with that person every single day. When I was younger and I had crushes, I wouldn’t get over them until I had my distance with them. To abruptly just have his feelings shut off when they literally have some of the most genuine and connection filled scenes just didn’t feel right to me. Not to mention, neither of them did anything that was completely unforgivable. Yes they got mad at each other, but they never hurt each other in a way that would be considered horrible. That said, Aang having his feelings just go away for no reason makes no sense. You’re telling me that you’re going to spend literally every single day with Katara and have that love go away instead of grow? Like bro, come on, the only person that I would understand is Sokka because they’re related. In summary, it’s a good aspect to touch on which they kinda do in the fortune teller, but it shouldn’t be the story’s biggest message when they’ve built it throughout the whole season. 

Summary of why I choose Kataang: 

Overall, I feel like Katara and Aang’s relationship is literally so tied into the whole story of Avatar that them not ending together and instead having Katara end up with Zuko would complicate things. Personally, the best thing about Zutara (Zuko giving Katara the emotional attention she needed) could have easily been woven into Kataang and Aang’s overall character. However the best thing about Kataang can’t be added into Zutara without messing up a big part of the story and friendships. 

Kataang in my perspective has a purpose in the whole series. The writers claim that is it part of the DNA of ATLA and I truly believe it is. I love how it shows how despite there being a war, even the saviors find love in the most natural way. It adds to the sadness of not being able to be together because of the war and not being able to talk about it. Aang wanting to be a normal kid which also includes falling in love, not just being childish. Katara being confused and not wanting to talk about it because of the war adds emphasis to the burden they have to carry. It’s those details that I like that makes me ship Kataang. Zutara would overpower the story and deter from the Avatar story and the impending war. That’s why I felt like it was more fitting for the overall story and has a bigger emotional impact. That’s why it always made sense for me for them to end up and why the creators choose it.

They made the right decision to make Kataang “canon” but honestly, I felt like they still should have added/changed what I put to make it better. I think that Zutara should just be a side romance that fans who are into to, should explore. But the whole Kataang vs. Zutara war is literally annoying. I think what annoys me the most about it is how BOTH sides are equally correct and have valid points. I think that it’s mostly because of bad writing and neglecting the depth of two characters.

I feel like there’s a lot of people anazlying small parts about Kataang and Zuatara looking for clues. Like nit picking the smallest details in every scene, but I never saw someone straight up say hey one doesn’t work with the overall story. ATLA is not a romance story but the romance that’s there fits the story. No matter what people claim certain scenes mean between the two characters, there’s no denying that one fits the STORY better.

One thing I feel like started this “war” is bevause the creators/writers made it seem like their Zutara ship was invalid. There were so many people who were shipping them and when they the creators neglected to see why their ship was valid, Zutara fans literally went full on looking for evidence. Although I have to say some points are reaching a bit too far, it’s clear that Katara and Zuko shared chemistry. It’s clear that Zuko was the first person to ever acknowledge Katara’s feelings and helped her talk about her mom. That’s powerful. However, for the sake of the story, it just could not work out without ruining the show. At the end of it, the writers sadly didn’t develop Aang’s and Mai’d character as well which is really upsetting and frustrating.

Just wanted to point out that these are my thoughts after seeing so many Kataang and Zutara posts. I’m in no way saying that I’m 100% correct, but I genuinely believe that my points are valid. I’m open to discuss about this. 

[tessatechaitea]

Justice League Spectacular #1 (1992)

Just off-panel: Bibbo's ice cream truck.

I probably shouldn't be reading this or Justice League Quarterly before I read the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League but what can I do? That's the order they were placed in the short box! It would be a different story if free will were not an illusion but since it is, my hands are tied. It's either read this or, um, I don't know. Die from a temporal paradox? I won't risk it! I was looking through a bunch of my old writing and art last week and discovered a bunch of the kind of sentimental and sort of intellectual crap young people write. It's the kind of stuff you hide away and never show anybody ever and hope that when you die, it'll just get tossed in a dumpster with your old porn and Magic the Gathering cards. But it got me thinking about how brave I am! So brave! The kind of brave you wouldn't hesitate to call some jerk who signed up for the military because he couldn't live as a civilian. No, no. More braver than that! And being this super brave kind of person, I thought that maybe I should share some of this old poetry with everybody! But not yet! You have to work up to being truly brave! So instead, I'll share this piece of artwork I did that was supposed to be the first in a lengthy and disgusting series. It's of Lord Fondlerot, a character I created for the Dwarflover online comic I used to do. He was really into fucking things and I thought, "Hey! I should do a series of drawings where he fucks every creature in the monster manual!" But instead of doing an entire series, I drew one picture and grew either bored or disgusted with the concept. So here's that one picture:

Lord Fondlerot fucking an Axebeak.

Now you're probably wondering just how terrible my poetry must be if I'm opening with that! Well, you'll see soon enough! This issue begins with Sue Dibny still alive and visiting a Florida theme park with her husband, The Elasticated Man. Wow, remember when Sue Dibny was killed and all the heroes freaked out about their secret identities and considered doing intense brain damage to every single person who ever knew any of their identities until they found out that The Atom's ex-wife Jean Loring had gone cuckoo for Atom's cocoa puffs? She wanted them back so bad that she began threatening and murdering the loved ones of all the super heroes. It was the kind of story DC sometimes does where you read it and think, "Well, the twist at the end of that mystery was definitely worth the destruction of the most stable marriage in the DC Universe and also the death of Firestorm and Captain Boomerang! So good!" I mean it doesn't make you think that. It makes you think the exact opposite. Tom King would eventually do pretty much the same thing in Heroes in Crisis but instead of Jean Loring fucking up by accidentally killing Sue Dibny and murdering more people to cover her tracks, Wally West fucks up and kills Poison Ivy and some others and then tries to cover his tracks. But at least Tom King's had all of those entertaining scenes where the heroes are doing therapy and we get to see how much they're all suffering from PTSD. That's always a fun aspect of super heroes we never get to read enough about. Dammit! I keep doing it. I meant it was the opposite of fun! Although I still liked it because sometimes I just like seeing other people in pain. Not in a sick perverse way where I pop a boner or something! Just in that way where you sit around all day thinking, "My life is terrible and everything is wrong and I hate my parents for bringing me into this wretched existence and the only thing that might make me feel better is to learn that Superman sometimes feels the same way." Oh, remember when Tom King was writing Batman and he had that two issue Booster Gold arc where we got to see how fucking insane Booster Gold was from living through all of those horrible, wretched, dark alternate timelines? And the only way he can deal with the trauma and the PTSD is by making a joke out of everything? I'll have to think of that as the canon Booster Gold when I'm reading Giffen and DeMatteis's Justice League. Maybe it'll make all of Booster and Beetle's inappropriate joking more appropriate. Back to the story, Sue Dibny, alive and well, and her husband Ralph "The Elasticated Man" Dibny are busy showing a bunch of European diplomats around the non-Disney World theme park.

See? You can tell they're European because they're all smart and shit.

The first stop in the park is to Alice's Wonderland where the diplomats are attacked by the Royal Flush Gang. They are a gang whose theme is playing cards and not expensive toilets. Their powers are the ability to ride on gigantic cards and to make poker puns.

If looking good in tight fitting costumes is also a power, it's my new answer to the question of which super power would I choose..

Ten's outfit reminds me of the days when nipples were allowed to show through tops without being erased away through some kind of editing software. The 70s were a wild decade! Sure, there were also nips on television in the 80s but the 80s, generally speaking, sucked and were a huge contribution to the downfall of America.

The King of Spades mansplaining their entire concept to the Queen of Spades.

It's true that the royal flush beats any other poker hand but I doubt Superman is going to surrender after this concept is explained to him because, in the end, they're not fucking playing poker. It turns out Maxwell Lord paid the Royal Flush Gang to make a little trouble so the Justice League could beat them up and get some media attention. But the Justice League has apparently broken up and The Elasticated Man just isn't hero enough to save the European delegates all by himself. He might have been if the Royal Flush Gang had done what they were told and not really fight back. But why would they do that?! Wouldn't they still be in trouble with federal agents?! Booster Gold finds Blue Beetle busy pouting in the old Justice League cave headquarters. Booster has decided to try to cheer his old buddy up although why wouldn't Booster just travel to a timeline where Ted Kord is already cheered up? Is that how time travel works in the DCU? Or did Booster already try that, it went horribly sideways, and now he's a little more fucked up in the head when he returns to the "real" timeline?

For some reason, Ice and Fire have also come down to the cave. Probably to accidentally go on a double date with Booster and Beetle. Booster and Fire and Beetle and Ice hear a news report about the Royal Flush Gang and decide to go save Ralph. Superman also hears about the situation and heads to Florida where he's almost immediately defeated by The Royal Flush Gang. Not because they're dangerous and competent super villains but because some mysterious benefactor has give them weapons capable of knocking out Superman's powers. Maxwell Lord is not that benefactor so who could have done it? Certainly not Guy Gardner, right?! What would he want with getting the Justice League back together. Isn't he busy being Warrior or something by this point? Power Girl, Metamorpho, and Guy Gardner all join in on the fight. The guy behind it all is that Weapons Master dude who is desperate to get a new weapon for his arsenal: a Green Lantern ring. The attack on the Royal Flush Gang fails to get him the ring so he decides to attack directly. But not in this issue! He has to wait for a regular series issue. Ice uses Guy's ring to contact Hal Jordan because somebody finally decided this Justice League wasn't really a big league Justice League. Everybody reading it knew it for years. But I guess Dan Jurgens was assigned the task to get a new, more believably powerful League together. So Hal Jordan flies around to pick up some new members to save the day. He chooses The Flash and Aquaman which seems about right. But he also chooses Crimson Fox which seems like sliding backwards into goofy Justice League territory. Not that I totally approve of Aquaman but I have to admit he's a "serious" choice for the League.

Doctor Light also joins the party. Although why she'd keep the name of a pedo, I couldn't guess. Just become Lightwoman or something. But no! Once some jerk earns their doctorate, they just have to demand to be called Doctor.

I'm sorry. I was too distracted pointing out that Doctor Light joined the fight and how her namesake was a pervert to comment on Metamorpho acting like a huge fucking pig. Crimson Fox beats up some guys dressed as cards and admits that she's a boring idiot whose favorite part of the game is shuffling the cards. I understand the need to think up some kind of goofy one-liner when you go into battle but shouldn't you at least try to think up one that doesn't make yourself sound like a pathetic asshole? Weapons Master's plan failed but he figures he has enough information to get Green Lantern's ring next time. He'll then sell it to a Dominator for a few bucks and maybe some slaves. The big hitters talk it over and decide they should start a new Justice League without the approval of the United Nations. Yeah! Who needs some stupid Earthly authority when you've got an invulnerable Kryptonian, an all powerful space cop, and the king of the seven seas! All they need is a Greek Goddess and a mentally ill furry with a long history of violent behavior and they'll have the big team back together! Booyah! I mean, without that stupid Booyah shit because Cyborg is basically a toaster at this point. Maybe. I don't know! What am I, Johnni DC, Continuity Cop?! The heroes make one more decision: split the group into two Leagues. So once again, they're forming Justice League America and Justice League Europe. How come I don't remember this shit?! Did the comics get canceled in '92 and then immediately fired back up? I don't seem to remember two different incarnations of these teams. Maybe I should have stored my comic books in chronological order so it would all make sense. Justice League Spectacular #1 Rating: C. I just read the letters pages and it looks like this comic book takes place between JLA #60 and JLA #61! So editorial decided the teams needed to be shaken up and the best way to do it was to disband the League in the regular series, have a special one-shot comic that gets them back together but with a different roster, and then send them back to work in the next issue of the regular series. I guess I should just shove this comic book into the middle of the regular series so when I reread it all again in my 80s, it'll make more sense! Let's close with the worst drawing of Aquaman I've ever seen:

Actually, he looks a little bit like Grunion Guy.

[nomnomzombies]

8x06: Identity and Sigils, The Three Eyed Raven and King Bran

**this disappeared somehow in editing. idk what’s happening guys. i don’t really know how to use Tumblr. so if you saved this and it’s different for the third time I’m so sorry**

This is in response to @dr-doomsduck ‘s post 

I noticed the Raven sigil and I’m honestly not sure exactly how I feel about it. On one hand, there’s all of the pride for Bran, and this feeling of coming into his own. However, when you look at the surviving Starklings, their journey has been a process of identity conflict and reclamation, but Bran adopting the Raven sigil breaks the trend of the other Stark children. Jon and Bran are the most similar in their mentor-apprentice relationships as both of them embraced their mentors’ teachings as opposed to Arya and Sansa, who modified the “curriculum” to adhere to Stark morals and teachings.

When you look at the whole brood, when they’re ultimately faced with the decision of cloaking or adopting another sigil (as a form of concealment or denial), every single one of them has picked Stark. The only exception would be Theon (who is an honorary Starkling), but even though he donned his Kraken and fought alongside his sister, he still died for the Wolves.

Jon, who was trained by a Bear (and adopted those teachings and integrated them into his Stark-ness), was put into the position of refuting the Wolf sigil only once (although his time with the Wildlings put him in crisis in terms of his Night’s Watch oath, it never required him to strip himself of his Stark identity). I’ve discussed before how the death of Rhaegal indicated his inability to adopt a Targaryen identity, but the other part of it is his process of being susceptible to Targ indoctrination via Dany. There was a brief opportunity for Jon to be vulnerable enough to be sucked into the “fire and blood” teachings, but ultimately it just wasn’t there. He refuted Dany as a potential “mentor” for fostering the Targaryen identity, and thus there was no hope of the Dragon developing within Jon.

When Sansa was in King’s Landing, her colour changed to mauve (the melding of Lannister crimson and the blue tones of the North) and the lion began to appear in her costume decisions. Although the lion overtook the wolf in terms of visible sigils, her Northern roots never disappeared, but rather integrated into her Southern influence for strategic cloaking. When she left King’s Landing, Sansa’s clothes began to mimic Littlefinger’s in terms of colouring and cut--her infamous “Dark Sansa” dress integrated feathers into the decor, as Littlefinger’s sigil is the mockingbird. When she escapes Ramsay’s captivity, her dress is grey, and her cloak is unassuming. It’s not until she rides south with Jon to rally the northern houses that she completely reclaims the Stark fashion, and we finally see her don the Direwolf for the first time in the series. (Season 6)

As Arya is in the Riverlands, after escaping King’s Landing in season 1, she’s completely stripped of her Stark and highborn identity. In Braavos, she’s forced to abandon all things Arya Stark, but she can’t part with Needle. She dons the clothing of the House of Black and white and begins her training. In the end, though, she refutes the teachings of her mentor. When given the opportunity to become “no one,” Arya tells Jaqen to fuck right off--”A girl is Arya Stark.” Bran, on the other hand, completely adopts all teachings from the Three Eyed Raven. 

This whole thing may seem moot, because I’m ultimately arriving to the point which the character himself has been pushing onto us for the last two seasons and Meera confirmed in season 7–“You died in that cave.” Bran has been saying, “I’m not Bran Stark anymore.”

Some theorists say that Bran has become a vessel for Bloodraven—but book readers know that the “three eyed raven” (at face value) is much closer to a collective conscience. The parallel that I’ve drawn for people in the past is much like an AI, where the singular conscience becomes a node in the collective once it’s integrated into the “system” aka Weirwood net (or, weirwood.net). Bran Stark the individual disappeared once he uploaded to the collective.

This is why I’m having a very hard time being happy for “Bran”—and a very critical issue that I have with his kingship. Because... this isn’t Bran. This is the Three Eyed Raven. We don’t have any information to suggest that the Three Eyed Raven has been particularly ambitious in the past, but it’s now integrated into two high-profile and highly magical bloodlines (Stark and Targaryen. 

The narrative also proposes that the Three Eyed Raven has been  attuned to the possible timelines, and has been slowly adjusting course to eventually end up in a seat of power. **I’m asserting this based on our understanding from the show, not the books.

The Three Eyed Raven has been saying things to make itself as unassuming and non-threatening as possible, even going so far as to adopt the consciousness of Brandon Stark—who was already paralyzed when the Three Eyed Raven first started appearing to him. We know that the Three Eyed Raven has been appearing in childrens’ dreams for a long time, as it’s stated in the books that the Raven appeared to Euron Greyjoy as a child, but didn’t appear to Bran until after his fall. Was Bran’s disability a deciding factor to him being chosen as the successor?

In Bran’s first raven dream, he sees the corpses of all of the children that “couldn’t fly.” It’s hard to say if these corpses represent physically murdered children, or if they’re more likely to represent a death in the subconscious—the “death” that would leave those people susceptible to madness. Was Euron as a child one of the broken bodies in Bran’s Raven dreams? Moreover, the Raven dreams are very triggering for Bran--the Three Eyed Raven (Three Eyed Crow in the books) is a very sinister entity, and continues to make Bran relive his trauma every time. Bran refers to the Raven dreams as his “falling dreams.” 

@sayruq wrote a post, citing book quotes, as to why Tyrion providing the moniker of “Bran the Broken” completely goes against Bran’s character and monumentalizes one of Bran’s greatest sources of internal pain in the books. He laments being “broken.” 

My initial thought on the matter was that it was just shitty writing, and the point of it was supposed to illustrate that Bran has reclaimed his identity as a paraplegic—much like Sansa’s dialogue was likely meant to illustrate her reclaiming her identity as a trauma survivor. The more I thought about it,though, the more I pieced together that “Bran the Broken” was a moniker that doesn’t go against Bran’s character because it’s not Bran anymore. It’s the Three Eyed Raven, who doesn’t have the same relationship to the word that was very triggering to Bran Stark. 

The Three Eyed Raven has gone to great lengths to make themself seem as innocuous as possible with statements like, “I don’t really want anymore” and “I can never be the Lord of anything,” and integrating with a paraplegic boy. Moreover, before the Battle for Winterfell, the Three Eyed Raven even said that he “didn’t know” if their plan would work, even though we have other reasons to believe that they can see the future. They tipped their hand with the line, “Why do you think I came all this way?” So, yes, in some way, the Three Eyed Raven understood that becoming King was a possible outcome of the Great War, and maneuvered in such a way that they were in the ultimate seat of power.

Allowing the North to secede was likely of little consequence to them because there’s bigger things at play--as demonstrated by the Three Eyed Raven’s preoccupation with finding Drogon. 

Putting corrupted people in the seats of power only further drives home the point that the Three Eyed Raven in power bodes ill for the people. 

Sam is poorly trained despite being one of the most morally “good” characters on the counsel, and even though he’s shown to have the drive to stand up for what’s right, Sam clearly respects the Three Eyed Raven. 

Brienne is also a “morally good” character and she’s the Lord Commander of his Kingsguard—because she broke her oath to Sansa—so she has little say over actual matters of state. But the fact that the Three Eyed Raven was able to convince either Brienne or Sansa to break that oath makes me uncomfortable. Not only do we not know how it happened, but the end result is that Sansa is alone in the North—she doesn’t have a single loyal and true adviser at the beginning of her reign.  

Tyrion is not a good person, and will likely be easy to control as Tyrion has also showed great respect for them—even so far as to personally nominate them for King.

Lastly, I’ll refer to the part that bothered me most about the Small Council scene. As Bran is leaving, every member stands at attention and after Tyrion proclaims, “We serve at the pleasure of Bran the Broken...” everyone attempts to synchronize “Long may he reign!” and Tyrion says, “That will improve.” Implying that this proclamation will happen every time the Three Eyed Raven leaves the room. Formality is expected for a monarch, but we didn’t even see that level of regime-quality salute in the presence of Dany as she emerged to be a dictator.

So, yeah, tl;dr I think that Bran adopting the Raven sigil for his kingsguard is way, way more deeply encoded than at first glance. 

[luninosity]

Okay! Time for a slightly longer Avengers: Endgame thoughts post!

First, I do really, really like the film overall, so let’s get that out of the way right now: I had moments of wanting to cheer, tearing up, all that, and I want to see it again immediately.

Having said that...I do have Some Thoughts, which are not 100% positive.

Spoiler warnings, obviously! Only read if you’ve seen/don’t mind spoilers!

First, the AWESOME. OH MY GOD SO MUCH AWESOME.

--STEVE IS WORTHY OH HELL YES *screams in delight* And Thor’s genuine excitement about this! So perfect!

--STEVE ROGERS STANDING ON THAT BATTLEFIELD FACING DOWN THANOS’S WHOLE ARMY. This is a brilliant Steve Rogers character moment, it’s a brilliant narrative moment, it’s a gorgeous shot visually, it’s EVERYTHING -

--AND THEN EVERYONE ELSE SHOWING UP AT HIS BACK, YES YES YES, I WANTED TO CHEER AND CRY, LOOK AT THEM ALL TOGETHER AND FORMING UP BEHIND STEVE AND “AVENGERS ASSEMBLE” AND *screams more*

--Valkyrie getting to be king! She already has ideas for change! It’s a small moment but so satisfying, seeing where she is now versus her introduction in Ragnarok.

--”AMERICA’S ASS”

--actually everything about that Steve-on-Steve fight scene, Chris Evans’ delivery of every single line, the name-drop of Bucky being what worked

--I actually really love pretty much all the time hops, and Tony going with “Howard Potts” as his alias is both hilarious and heartwarming

--Morgan! Tony being a Good Dad! 3000!

--cheeseburgers, oh god my heart, this moment actually made me tear up

--Tony’s death felt well-earned, satisfying, and in-character, and that “I am Iron Man” - oh god yes, see above about in-character and also heartwarming and heartwrenching simultaneously

--Sebastian Stan continues to be very pretty

--Thor doesn’t magically get his old pirate-angel body back - I have a LOT of other less positive thoughts about this representation, which we’ll get into in a sec - the thing is, I do like this one aspect of it, because he doesn’t need to be magically “healed” of his fatness or anything like that; he’s chubby and damn heroic and still good at being a hero, and speaking as someone who always struggles with weight, that was actually really lovely

--Paul Rudd continues to be weirdly superhumanly likeable

--Gamora’s reaction to Star-Lord

--Nebula! Karen Gillan is fantastic throughout, and so central to the storyline

--Sam taking the shield! I love this - Bucky’s tired of the fight, which Steve knows; Sam has the heart and the will, and he deserves it, and Bucky’s clearly fine with that, and I’m so excited to see Sam Wilson as Cap

--just everything overall felt so fulfilling, like, yes, this is good, thank you, MCU, thank you

The Ambivalent (sure, yeah, okay)

--Clint and Nat: I actually really like Nat’s choice and sacrifice, doing it knowingly, and it also feels in-character for her as a dedicated protector; I don’t quite get why we’re pushing Clint to the forefront so much in this movie when he’s been so absent, and I dislike the implication that he somehow has more to live for because he’s got a biological family, versus Nat’s found family

--Thor’s killing of Thanos and the “I went for the head” and also the arm - yeah, look, you learned something! But also...it really just makes you *not* doing that in Infinity War seem...even dumber. But at least you learned, I guess?

--the Girl Power(tm) moment in the final battle. You know, the super-unsubtle obvious shot. Like, part of me went YES!! and another part of me cringed because WOW, that felt...not at all organic and incredibly staged

--Steve Rogers part one: I don’t actually mind that he took a side trip and saw Peggy and got some closure. It’s a nice nod to the end of First Avenger. And I love Steve getting to retire - not die - as Cap: he can still do so much as himself, maybe art or activism or support groups or all of the above, and he deserves a chance to find out who Steve Rogers is when not Captain America. Having said that, this is ambivalent because I really don’t like how it was done. More on that later.

--I love that Harley showed up at Tony’s funeral, but at first neither I nor Awesome Husband knew who the random person even was. We figured it out, but if you don’t know, it’s really unclear

--Carol. She’s wonderful and amazing in every scene she’s in, but also...weirdly...underused. Were they afraid she was too powerful?

--maybe I’m just kinda over Chris Pratt, I don’t know, but a lot of his dialogue didn’t land right for me? Clunky. Trying too hard to be funny? Maybe.

--I don’t really understand how time travel works in the MCU, but whatever, let’s just roll with it

--Loki! Fantastic to see again, also underused, but I’m very curious to see what’s next

The Not So Positive

--ALL the Thor fat jokes. This is a big one, and it pulled me out of the movie as I was watching it, as this kept happening. It’s obviously a serious manifestation of his trauma and PTSD, and yet pretty much every single character cracks a joke, and no one actually tries to support him. I’m...not a fan of that. (Side note: having just rewatched Infinity War, there’re fat jokes there too, about Quill. Do the writers/directors have an issue with fatness?)

--after Nat dies, there’s a whole lot of scenes of Rooms Full of Only Dudes, and Primarily White Dudes, at that, directing the narrative

--speaking of, how about a memorial service for Nat?

--Steve Rogers part two. (We’ll get to Steve and Bucky in the next point; this one’s about the time travel.) Like I said above, I don’t mind him wanting to take a side trip and get closure; he deserves that. And if I’m understanding MCU time travel right, he created an alternate branch, so “our” reality still all happened and everything. So. My first problem here is that we can assume he spent that alternate reality still Being A Hero - fighting evil, saving Bucky, getting into a happy triad of Steve/Peggy/Bucky if you want to imagine that - but we’re not shown any of that. We’re shown him...suddenly pining a lot for Peggy, which feels odd anyway: part of Steve’s arc has been him finding his place in this new century and his new found family. And then we’re just shown the dance. SHOW US STEVE AS A HERO IN ALL TIMELINES, PLEASE. But I digress. If this is a branching timeline, the way Steve shows back up on the bench shouldn’t work. He shouldn’t just live through all the years and wander over to the bench at the right time, because he’s not in the right timeline for that. (Maybe there’s something we’re not shown, like him tinkering with his time travel GPS? If that’s the case it needed to be much clearer.) There’s also no particular reason he needs to get or stay old (maybe he wants to experience aging, idk?) - we’ve established that we can de-age, for example, Scott. And Steve Rogers is a stubborn kid who will always want to be able to fight whatever might be coming - even if he’s still retiring as Cap, doesn’t he want another few decades with his current family - Bucky, Sam, Clint, Morgan Stark, everybody? Now he’s...much older than everyone, physically and mentally, and I guess that can still work but...it’s going to be a whole strange adjustment for him and for everyone...but anyway, the time travel as it’s shown seems to...break their own rules, and also I don’t like how suddenly emphasized his desire for Peggy is in this film, and I don’t like having to just sort of...guess about what Steve does in that timeline. (Also, side note: why is *only* Steve returning all the stones? Wouldn’t having a partner be helpful? In case things go wrong, as things so often do? AS WE’VE SEEN IN THIS VERY MOVIE.)

--STEVE AND BUCKY. This is the other big one. We all know I am a Steve/Bucky fan, but honestly I’m not even factoring that in here. It’s not about shipping. It’s about the fact that Steve’s narrative arc, Steve’s character arc, has been so entwined with Bucky up to now - and here they barely interact. The person Steve lost - the person Steve keeps losing - is Bucky. The person Steve shares memories of couch cushions and moving in together and Sarah Rogers’ name with - is Bucky. We’ve had to the end of the line, we’ve had even when I had nothing I had Bucky, we’ve had (paraphrasing here, I know it’s not an exact quote) he said Bucky’s name and suddenly I was a kid in Brooklyn again, we’ve had all of Winter Soldier and the relevant parts of Civil War, we’ve established over and over, canonically, that Steve and Bucky save each other. Bucky knows Steve even through brainwashing. Steve fights to save and protect Bucky. They love each other. (Friends love each other. It’s okay to show that.) They sacrifice for each other. And that relationship - in a film that’s meant to be a culmination, a wrapping-up, and closure for Steve Rogers - is almost entirely absent. And I’m not okay with that, emotionally and also as a narrative choice for Steve’s arc - like, as a writer (and English professor!) myself, this legitimately bothers me. I don’t feel fulfilled and I don’t feel happy about it. Especially not - as in the article I reblogged a bit ago - when we’re given other reunions, like Tony’s joy at getting “the kid!” back, with real pathos. I know the film’s already over three hours, choices have to be made, etc. But we could’ve had fewer fat jokes and a few more seconds of Steve and Bucky interacting, y’know? I just...I don’t like it. It doesn’t feel good or right.

Okay! Those are my thoughts.

Once again, I really really like the movie overall, and overall I am left happy and wanting to watch it again. That’s true. There’re just...some things.

I may or may not attempt to write my fix-it fic. There are so many already and I’m not sure what I could add that’s new, and I think I still don’t understand MCU time travel. But I also really want to deal with some of these emotions. We’ll see.

[readbythestarlight]

c2e77

Sam you’re such a loser xD

Give Laura a knife she’ll get that fly

Wow that was top notch Rami Malek there Sam

New aaaaart!

Hmm mixed feelings? I think I like the originals better still (tho Cad looks nice and sparkly)

Jester explaining all the reasons why Fjord totally deserves the sword <3

Lol Nott’s like "give us our stuff back now"

Beau having some muscle envy xD

Hot boiiiii

[[MORE]]

Beau is the best annoying friend I love her so much

The source being himself instead or U’kotoa <3 <3

That’s so FREAKING COOL I love the visual of that

Uh oh... Dairon?? Are you hooome?

Dodudodoo donuts!

Uh ohhhh

Use that neat new Paladin stuff!

"We’re very sorry to have provided you excellent cover"

Dairon is being kinda rude. Like they’re not even home it’s not like she actually has to clean that much.

Hot boiiiiiii! :D

Sometimes I still worry that he’s gonna betray them and it’ll hurt me

Cad and Jester offering to go with Caleb to talk to her

"Widogast"

Caleb babe why confirm who you are babe why

Is he wanting to figure out whether other people are worth saving?

"I had my heart beaten out of me a long time ago. Now it’s about guiding history. Always has been." Yikes.

"Good men don’t conquer. They die, and are forgotten. I’ll die, and be forgotten. But at least I know that some of my deeds will help change the course of history."

"I’m sure he’ll fine you. He’ll be happy to finish what he couldn’t." That’s a big nope from me.

C: "Did you know Astrid, and Edowulf? Are they still alive?"

Prisoner: "I know them better than you do."

C:" That’s probably true."

C: "Maybe if I could talk with you and see one einch of change I wouldn’t have to believe we’re all damned."

C: "You’ve made what I had to do very plain."

Don’t. Like.

FUCK

FUUUUCK

fucking fuck she stabbed him

OUCH 26?! Holy fuck

Please somebody stop her kill her

Good thing the clerics came

Oh shit of fuck

Nat20 relation that gets him 2pts lol

Fuck her uuuuup

Essek that’s kinda badass

Listen I’m not saying Essek fucked her up specifically because she fucked Caleb up buuuuuut

Also I’m gonna need art of worried Cad and Jester saving Caleb and dragging him out STAT

Let’s not talk to the dead guys I don’t think Caleb needs anymore trauma

Or we’re gonna okay that’s fine

We’re not gonna tbh that’s something I prefer

He’s trying to help you guys don’t push him and don’t cross the line

I love Essek a lot

Liam/Caleb I need you to stop being guilty/tragic/soft

Essek "I am always patronizing" Theylass

"Drawing the potential from discarded timelines" oh fuck what

Essek: sees Caleb gets stabbed, turns the person who stabbed him into a human pretzel, agrees to show him more dunemancy. Amazing.

Wow that was a long break

Ooooo anti-gravity object floating spell

Okay you can’t do it to people BUT can you do it to armor that people are wearing

Okay so... immovable objects spell. Very cool.

"Maybe" ohhhh Essek’s giving him stuff he shouldn’t?

I can’t decide how I feel about that

"Friends" ffffff see I do like that but I still worry. Like what are his motives?

Oh unused potential from dead timelines that sounds BADASS

????? The fuck??

OKAY THATS COOL

"Echoes. Potential selves left to fade in unrealized timelines" oh lord

That sounds... dangerous

But also damn Matt this dunemancy stuff is very cool I can’t believe he came up with this stuff on his own

Gasp the echoes can cast a single spell before they disappear that could be so handy!

"An even weaker Wizard than I am" lol Caleb

"I see great peril and lots of time changing and this little part here looks like a mouse..." xD

Essek is such a bitch and I love him so much

Aww Caleb making sure Jester knows she’s strong and skilled too

And now she’s offering him someone to talk to about what happened IM CRY

God guys I love their friendship

She bought him paper that he couldn’t afford and then extra gold dust for pranks xD

Matt is scared already lolllll

Nott teasing Fjord about being "religious" is gonna be great fun I can tell

To Yeza: "HEY WE’RE SAFE. TRIPOD. WHO MADE. WHERE FROM. WHAT FOR?"

Did we know he was 16/17 when all this went down because I don’t think I realized and I’m crushed

"Hi dad" Jester honey

Oh Jester sweetheart

Cad’s talking to the wildmom and in the background Fjord zaps a fly

Somebody make art of that where Cad’s meditating and Fjord’s swatting flies with his new sword

I like Beau and Dairon’s relationship

"I am proud of you" WOW THOSE ARE SOME BEAU FEELS COMING IN

AYYYY MY GIRL’S A FULL EXPOSITOR NOW

I... don’t want them going anywhere near Trent or any of those people

Oh lord y’all gonna ask Essek again?

GASP GO SEE KIRI

Essek’s like "please stop asking me to transport you everywhere"

‘Sup Traveler

"Your friends are coming, yes?" Hmmm

>_>

If he ends up being a jerk who hurts Jester I will crawl through my screen and rip off his head

Y’all need to call ahead and tell Yussah you’re coming

Caleb collects porciline cats??

She gonna give Dairon the medallion

This can’t possibly go wrong

Dairon! Cares! So! Much!

They are making Matt pull out every male NPC he has tonight lol

Oh no

Oh Yasha oh no

Is she killing Colbalt Soul people??

Baby girl :’(

"Vince fails to pull his weight. The angel will see my deeds superior."

Oh godddd I hate this

"The heart buried within the lotus den, and the heart entrusted to the elves within the Velthiel?"

Fuck no don’t like

"Pierced by the tears that run down" YASHAAAAAA

Juriel’s?

Oh no they were in Zedash

They’re all a bit lost, too many ways to go. Can’t wait to see what they decide to do once we come back.

Love you too guys! Have a safe trip Matt!!

[koganeirou]

Goodbye Odin Sphere, you were fun while it lasted.

But was it really fun? Was the emotional trauma and devastation really worth the fun? I will never know.

Also this is quite literally only my second platinum in a non-otoge so I feel I should celebrate lmao.

This game has given me a newfound appreciation for:

1. frogs

2. HAPPY ENDINGS

3. frogs

Despite my salt for the true end, I really did enjoy this game and it’s probably up there with Fire Emblem Echoes, the Ace Attorney series, and Persona 4/Q as one of my favourite video games ever. At the very least, it’s the first game that ever prompted me to read every fanfiction available on AO3. Maybe that’s not a good thing because that just means the game was unsatisfactory to the point I had to use fanfiction to fill the void, but nevertheless it was still one of the most memorable games I’ve ever played and I will absolutely never forget how much of an emotional wreck I was playing this game.

I don’t think I’ve ever cried this hard over any other video game. Actually, to be more precise, I don’t think I ever cried this hard over any other fictional character because 95% of all my tears were dedicated to Ingway, or some scenario involving Ingway. I fucking spent so many evenings just crying or reading fanfiction while crying and even days after finishing this game, I’m STILL vulnerable to crying if I think too hard about him LMFAO. HE HAD THAT MUCH OF AN IMPACT ON ME AND I WOULD DIE FOR HIM.

Narrative wise, I enjoyed the storybook format of the game because I can then pretend that this entire game is a work of fiction based on the characters and everyone is actually alive and happy but after I got to Oswald/Velvet’s books, the story just became confusing as hell and I struggled to piece together the clusterfuck of a timeline lol. I ended up having to refer to the wiki a lot because I was just so confused and I needed clarification, which unfortunately resulted in me being spoiled in way more than I wanted to :/. Oh well. 

I think the biggest reason it was so confusing is because the Three Wise Men are all off doing different things over the course of the game, but they have the same character design, the same personality, and even their voices sound the same so I constantly struggled to identify who was who and who did what jkbheajktheak.

The art was gorgeous, as usual and I loved the sprite details. Though I will say I wasn’t a huge fan of the ost, which really sucks because I think this game’s presentation would have been perfect if the ost was better :/. I liked a few tracks but none were very impressionable.

Gameplay wise, the game was really fun though it really started to get repetitive afterwards. I don’t mind recycling the same 8 stages between all the characters, but I wish the mid/end bosses would be different for each character! Especially the mid bosses, good lord a lot of them were SO annoying and I absolutely did not enjoy having to fight them 5 times over fucking frost ben. 

ANYWAY I know my original favourite list gameplay wise before the sixth book was Cornelius > Oswald > Velvet > Gwendolyn >>> Mercedes, but you know what, after playing the sixth book, it is time to scrap that. 

My favourite list now is probably Cornelius > Mercedes > Velvet > Gwendolyn > Oswald. 

Sorry Oswald, you were fun to play in your own story but you absolutely suck at aerial combat and hitting a single target which is pretty much all the bosses! I take back everything I said about hating Mercedes’ play style because she is my goddess.  I literally did the boss rush with Mercedes to honor my girl who was done so damn dirty by canon and my thumbs were sore af afterwards.

Anyway now that I’m truly done this game, I’m gonna go mope in a corner from post game depression. But not the typical post game depression that settles in because I’m sad I’m done a game. I am glad to be done Odin Sphere, but I’m gonna be depressed for days because of HOW DIRTY MY GIRL AND HER FROG WERE DONE.

[maevelin]

Do you not like how the pregnancy plot was used in acofas as a plot or because you feel that babies don't belong to that universe?

Well I do feel that concepts of immortality don’t go very well with pregnancy tropes but it depends on how a universe truly works and how a writer makes it work. In the ACoTaR universe it is established that even though pregnancy is not an easy thing to happen it is not an impossibility. And given the established population and the familial relationships we have seen this is not out of the norm for this world and the concept of immortality does have its limitations obviously.

My problem was how this was used as a plot and how it affected the female character. We had Feyre making a big deal about certain things in the trilogy and in ACoFaS, things that mattered to her characterization but ultimately were negated by default. This is what happens with SJM’s writing and it couldn’t be more obvious in ACoFaS. 

For example we get the story of the weaver lady in ACoFaS right? We have the void and the hope that inspired Feyre and I was staring at what I was reading wondering if SJM actually forgot what she wrote in ACoWaR because what she was doing was so contradictory. She aimed for the profound message and I was there rolling my eyes because SHE MADE SURE FOR THAT TO NOT FREAKING COUNT.

So Feyre understands the weaver’s loss and decides to have a child because in case that Rhysand would die like the weaver’s mate did she would not have anything left to remember him by and I was like…anyone remembers the suicide pact? The weaver lady was indeed someone to lead an example and was strong and kept on living and grieved and mourned but did not let that grief destroy her and she found hope in the darkness and ultimately was everything Feyre was not. If anything that story line highlighted the weakness of the main characters. We had the survivors of the war and the attack, people that lost their beloved ones and kept on living and turned on their High Lords for support but if we place that mirror against Feyre and Rhysand what do we get in return? They would never be like those people would they? Because when push would come to shove they would just quit life because they wouldn’t be able to handle the loss. It is just so problematic. Too much love is poison indeed as Rhysand has once said. It turns ugly. And it tainted what SJM was trying to preach in ACoFaS. The weaver was admirable for sure. We didn’t see her taking her life because she lost the love of her life did we? No. And Feyre was inspired by this and made it a big deal when the message SJM promoted in the previous book about her female lead was…if the one you love dies go on an die with them. 

So can anyone explain to me using simple logic what was the point of Feyre deciding to have a child so to have something of Rhysand when with their pact the only thing left would be an orphan child without having anything to remember their parents by because they were idiots and committed suicide because they formed a completely toxic codependent relationship?

The weaver plot with the tapestry and the gift and all that leading to Feyre’s decision were literally completely pointless because SJM made them be pointless by default. How is that a motivation for Feyre when she does not have to worry about it given the moronic bargain she made with her mate? And how is it possible that at no point her mind actually made that connection? A bargain mind you that was created in a post traumatic period for both Feyre and Rhysand and the writer made it all seem ‘romantic’? And how did that tie in in ACoFaS? There was no logic or consistency and it really cheapened the whole thing. It would work with how things were presented in ACoWaR up to a point. If SJM had stopped before that pact in the end it would actually be one of the few saving graces of the book. If she knew where to stop that is. With Rhysand’s intentions for self sacrifice for example while he wanted to ensure Feyre’s survival even in the expense of his own life. This was his goal, this was his motivation. For those he loved and for Feyre in particular to survive even if he had to die fighting for them and for that endgame. It was heroic, it was noble. It made sense with who Rhysand was revealed to be in ACoMaF. And on the other end I was not expecting anything less from Feyre either. This is what you do when you love someone. You want them to live and have a good life even if you can’t be there. And it would also show that life does not come with guarantees even for immortals so every day is meant to cherished with those you love as if it is the last because it very well could be and there are examples for that. And if one is gone then the other lives on and should live life to the full extent not just for them but also in honor of those that they lost that would live through them. That is how you honor a memory and a love story either it has a happy ending or not. And the plot with the weaver would tie in perfectly with that. Only it doesn’t now does it? Because the last pages of ACoWaR and the closure for Feysand’s story there ensured that. Now going around in circles around that is a parody really. Senseless.

And putting all that aside let us focus on Feyre and the timeline here. Let us see how this baby plot fits in Feyre’s story and all the points ACoMaF had made? One of the best parts of ACoMaF was that it subverted certain tropes only for ACoFaS to come like a badly written fanfiction and demolish all that progress. Everything in this story happened in what? A year? Two? More or less. So in that extremely small amount of time you get a girl that has been through hell and went through extremely traumatic situations that affected her mentally and emotionally and made life changing decisions that contradict everything she seemed to have wanted when she was recovering from depression and PTSD. 

In the end of the day you have a very VERY young inexperienced girl that was deprived of kindness and basic care in her whole life and has gone through some very traumatic events in the span of 2 years that are bound to affect her perception of the world and those that surround her. Someone throws her a crumb of kindness and they become perfect in her eyes to the point she glamorizes them beyond logic because she is starving for affection. She is starving to have a loving family. She is starving to be loved and cherished and appreciated. So she just jumps in. With a guy that is 500 years old. That has lived his life. That is also recovering from severe trauma. This is where their relationship is based on and how it is shaped. They don’t think clearly. They are still healing. They gave themselves no time to even see if their relationship can stand in time (outside the concepts of mates and with having immortality looming over them). And there is nothing wrong with people wanting to get things they have been deprived of and chase those dreams till they would make them come true. But at least in stories we should get the gradual development that would get us there and not an abrupt conclusion that counters the progress that was made - in entire books- and the progress that was used as a central axis for the characterization of the characters.

With Tamlin for example such a future and so soon for Feyre was a nightmarish terror. Even Rhysand made it sound like that when he was trying to show her how restricting such a life was and couldn’t understand the rush of it all. You put the basics of Tamlin’s expectations with what we are seeing with Rhysand and Feyre and if you strip the storylines down to their core you see alarming similarities. Excluding the abuse of course. But in the sense of a certain lifestyle that Feyre abhorred and suddenly lives on ACoFaS but somehow this is a dream coming true now. With Tamlin the exact same thing when Feyre was in love with him was still something she didn’t want and for good reason but in the span of months this changes all of the sudden and with Rhysand it becomes perfection when she has not been able to achieve the dreams she had before. But what about Feyre as a unique personality outside her romantic interests? So the only difference in the end is the male she is so her life is regulated only as her worth is defined as a love interest in the narrative? The world is a big place and Feyre still has no idea of it. She does not even fully understand the concept of her Fae nature and of immortality yet. She has not even experienced or enjoyed what she has with Rhysand and their bond either. Feyre in ACoMaF had said she wanted time. Said she didn’t want to become a decorative piece while the High Lord would be active and she would be there to basically breed children, sign letters and host dinners and have people serving her while she would be there to be the rich wife. Does that -especially after ACoFaS- sound familiar? And her not wanting children in the near future was something that was discussed in ACoMaF and it was a big decision and Rhysand respected it. It gave a certain depth in their relationship but also in Feyre’s character that wanted to grow and mature before she would be a mother and a wife. She wanted time to live, to love, to be herself, to be with Rhysand and so on. She wanted independence and to mature. And here we are so soon after and everything is once more negated. 

Not to mention that this feels manipulative in a way. There is the mate bond that is influencing Feyre’s emotions to a big extent and not to mention that she has  already seen the image of her future son which is also influencing her decisions.

And it is just so… simplistic. To take an interesting plot that was one of the parts that made ACoMaF so successful and to erase it completely for no reason just a few books later. This is a pattern that keeps repeating really. SJM makes a certain point, hypes it and then erases it. So what was the point of making it in the first place? More so when she is planning for an extended universe that will stretch far beyond the original trilogy and she could give this later on in a time frame that would make sense.

And I get it when fans that like a ship want such things for their dream couple. And I mean…this is what fanfiction is for. And on the other end I understand and respect when a writer wants to deliver to the fans what they want. It is a great thing to want to please your fans that have supported you and your writing like this and with so much passion. But I feel that it should not come to the expense of your writing to this degree and I am sure that this could have been handled much better and with a more consistent writing that would make the delivery make sense without being so contradictory, sloppy, and messy. You can honor the fans while still remaining true to the story and what made the characters and their dynamic so alluring to the fans in the first place. Those things don’t have to be mutually exclusive. 

[aion-rsa]

Best Horror TV Shows on Netflix

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So you want to be terrifed. Well, you’ve come to the right place, my friend. Everybody already knows that Netflix is a splendid place for viewers coming in search of all their bingeworthy content. But less appreciated is how satisfyingly scary some of their horror offerings are.

From originals like The Haunting of Hill House to foreign classics like The Returned, Netflix can be a go-to spot for the scariest horror TV shows available to stream. Here is a sampling of the kinds of series that horror thrill-seekers may appreciate.

Editor’s Note: This post is updated monthly. Bookmark this page to see what the best horror shows on Netflix are at your convenience.

The Haunting of Hill House

Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House is considered one of the most important texts in the horror literature canon. It’s only fitting then that it’s Hill House that Netflix turned to when the time came to make its first big original horror series. It’s also fitting that they turned to Hush director Mike Flanagan to make it happen.

Flanagan’s version of The Haunting of Hill House is quite different from the novel from which it takes its name. This Haunting is a modern story that follows the Crain family as they try to recover from the trauma they sustained as kids living in the terrifying Hill House. Of course, Hill House is still out there just dying to call them all back home. Netflix is going to keep “The Haunting” going with The Haunting of Bly Manor and presumably more to come after that.

The Haunting of Bly Manor

The consensus is that The Haunting of Bly Manor is significantly less scary than Mike Flanagan’s original Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House…and that consensus is correct. But there are still plenty of scares to be had in this worthy followup.

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Bly Manor borrows elements from the works of Henry James, including The Turn of the Screw, to craft another affecting ghost story. Hill House‘s Victoria Pedretti returns as Dani, a young American woman who takes on a job as a governess to two young children at the titular Bly Manor. Soon Dani and all involved will come to find that Bly Manor holds some serious (weirdly romantic) secrets.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

After the Archie comic universe got a gritty reboot in The CW’s Riverdale, it was only a matter of time before Archie cousin comic Sabrina the Teenage Witch got her turn. Thankfully Netflix stepped up to the plate with the Kiernan Shipka starring Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and even more thankfully…it’s gritty as all hell.

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The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina brings witchcraft back to its absolutely metal satanic origins. Sabrina Spellman (Shipka) is like any teenager at Baxter High. She’s concerned about her grades, her social status, and her impending 16th birthday in which she must undergo a dark ritual in which she’ll have to grant her loyalty to the Dark Lord Satan. Such is life for a half-mortal/half-witch.

Ash vs Evil Dead

Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series (consisting of Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness) are some of the most deliriously bloody and fun slasher films ever committed to celluloid. Surely, however, a TV series made decades later couldn’t possibly bring the same level of thrill, could it?

Wrong! Starz’s Ash vs Evil Dead is another installment of fantastic comedy horror. Bruce Campbell returns as Evil Dead hero Ash Williams, who has done seemingly little with his life since battling the forces of evil (and dead) 30 years ago. That all changes when the dead walk once again and Ash, and some new friends must pick up the chainsaw once again.

Black Summer

In a zombie television landscape largely dominated by AMC’s The Walking Dead, Syfy’s Z Nation found a nice with a more playful, tongue-in-cheek presentation of the zombie apocalypse. In this spinoff, Black Summer, things get a touch darker.

Jamie King stars as Rose, a mother who is separated from her daughter during the height of a zombie apocalypse. Rose sets out on a mission to recover her and in the process builds a group of like-minded individuals looking for something they’ve lost.

Stranger Things

It seems so obvious now but in hindsight there was little buzz about this nostalgic tweenage horror project on Netflix from the relatively unknown Duffer Brothers. Little did we know that the Stev(ph)ens Spielberg and King inspired Stranger Things would be one of Netflix’s biggest hits.

Stranger Things takes place in the fictional Hawkins, Indiana in the mid-’80s. Hawkins is your typical smal ltown American city. The kids like to ride bikes, play Dungeons and Dragons, and tease one another. Little does everyone know that the mysterious government building on the outskirts of town may have opened a portal to another world – a portal that will usher in multiple seasons worth of monster fighting mayhem.

Castlevania

Netflix has beefed up its anime offerings in recent years and one of the first IPs they mined to do so was atmospheric Konami videogame series Castlevania. Originally planned as a film, Castlevania makes good use of its serialized format to pick up the horror story from where it begins with 1989 game Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse

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And what a story it is. Wallachian lord (and vampire, obvs.) Vlad Dracula Tepes (Graham McTavish) falls into a mighty rage after his wife is wrongly accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Vlad summons an army of the dead to declare war on the living of Wallachia. The only people who stand in his path are a ragged band of heroes led by Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage).

Haunted

Haunted is a bit of an odd duck among Netflix’s horror offerings. It was introduced for the 2018 Halloween season, just a week before the juggernaut Haunting of Hill House. As such, it got lost in the spooky shuffle. Still, this is a surprisingly effective take on your classic “tell a scary story” style TV series.

In Haunted, people tell their real life scary stories. That’s it. This is well-trodden ground on long running cable series like Ghost Stories and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Where Haunted differentiates itself is in its shockingly high production values, as witnessed in the ethereal screengrab above. Also, these stories are like…really scary.

Chambers

Chambers only survived one season at Netflix, proving once again that it’s tough out there for horror television shows. But the one season legacy the show leaves behind is a decently spooky one.

Chambers tells a story that contains a pretty familiar, yet effective horror trope. Sasha Yazzie (Sivan Alyra Rose) receives a much-needed heart transplant from a girl named Becky Lafevre. Soon, Sasha begins to experience troubling visions and begins to unravel a conspiracy that brings her into contact with Becky’s parents (Uma Thurman and Tony Goldwyn).

Devilman Crybaby

Anime has always been ahead of the game when it comes to horror and there’s no better evidence of this than Devilman Crybaby. This Netflix anime is based on a manga Devilman and creates a lushly realized gothic world. 

In Devilman Crybaby, an ancient race of demons has returned to take back the world from humanity. Akira Fudo, a sensitive young lad, decides to save the world the only way he knows how: by fusing with a demon. The resulting freakshow, called Devilman, possesses the powers of a demon but the soul of a human. Now hopefully that’s enough to defeat the forces of evil.

American Horror Story

Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story is revolutionary in quite a few ways. Not only did it help usher in a renewed era of anthology storytelling on television, it also was arguably the first successful network television horror show since The X-Files.

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Like all anthologies, American Horror Story has its better seasons (season 1 a.k.a. Murder House, season 2 a.k.a. Asylum, season 6 a.k.a. Roanoke) and its worse (season 3 a.k.a. Coven and season 8 a.k.a. Apocalypse). Still, for nine years and counting, American Horror Story has been one of the go-to options for TV horror fans.

Scare Tactics

Scare Tactics is what happens when someone looks at the prank camera show format and thinks “What if this but also dangerous and terrifying?” The concept of Scare Tactics is simple: take normal people, put them in elaborate horror movie situations, and film what happens. Awful? Yes. Entertaining? Absolutley!

Shannen Doherty hosted the first incarnation of the show that premiered on Syfy in 2003. Stephen Baldwin took her place in the middle of the show’s second season. Then after a three-year hiatus, Scare Tactics returned with Tracy Morgan at the helm and lasted three more seasons of hilariously cruel pranking.

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Unsolved Mysteries

Any reboot of continuation of the classic ’80s/’90s true crime series Unsolved Mysteries just needs one element to be considered authentic: that music. Thankfully, this modern iteration on Netflix maintains a version of the original’s haunting theme. Beyond that crucial aspect, Unsolved Mysteries honors the original by continuing the formula to great success.

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Unsolved Mysteries remains largely a true crime enterprise. The show covers unexplained disappearances, murders, and crimes. But it also spends plenty of time with the truly unexplained: the paranormal. This reboot has covered UFOs and some tsunami ghosts. That, combined with the atmospheric music, makes this a suitably spooky watch.

The post Best Horror TV Shows on Netflix appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[borntoslay]

some Johannesburg thots

DIAMOND HEART

I was surprisingly oblivious to the fucking fact that

Because

TBH ...

like T B H... i was so annoyed when she got engaged LMFAO like literally she was like He Gave Me His Heart On Valentines Day<33 and i LITERALLY was like

But once it was pointed out to me the whole song made sense Lol it chronologizes her life in a similar way to BJ † AF, with the first verse covering her go-go dancing days with her newly revealed (post-Till It Happens To You) trauma, (“some asshole broke me in, wrecked all my innocence”), with the second verse “a cruel king made me tough” being about Lüc Carl (”I’m just a holy fool, oh baby, he’s so cruel”)... which could place the trauma sometime either RIGHT before she made it big (~2008), or during The Fame (2008-2009), because she dated Lüc again during TFM/BTW... but with the bridge (“better get a good look baby, ‘cause soon I’m breaking out of here...”), we can place the entire song as pre-The Fame (2008)!

So the song is saying that she’s had bad ...romances in the past, but she managed to find “the one,” (”I might not be flawless, but you know I got a diamond heart”)

The only thing I’m confused about is whether she wrote this song pre- or post-breakup with Taylor... it seems like everything from LG5′s first attempt (the one that RedOne produced 8 tracks for, with a single to be debuted at the 2016 Grammys) got scrapped when Mark Ronson was brought in to produce (~January/February 2016), and Gaga was notably distant from Taylor throughout early-mid 2016 before announcing they broke it off...

Hmm

A-YO

JOANNE

So obviously I know this post is mostly just a joke but... what if it’s not?

Honestly, I know where you’re going And baby, you’re just moving on And I still love you even if I can’t see you anymore Can’t wait to see you soar

“So just so you know, someday you'll be up here instead of me, and I'll be sitting in the back cheering all you guys on.” (~2010–2011 at The Monster Ball)

“I hope that you always remember this time in our lives together, when we painted each other’s faces and called each other “Monsters”. Talked about love and art, all night long. Every year when I travel around the world, I always wonder if things will be different. Maybe one year you won’t come to the show, or you’ll be less festive, or not dressed up. What I realized during ARTPOP is that we belong together and sometimes some stories have no end. I will follow you around the world as long as you’ll have me because I love making music, I love making art and I love, love meeting all of you beautiful and creative people. When this song is over, the clock will start ticking until the next time. I appreciate you so much, thank you for believing in me always. I’ll always believe in you. When I die, they’ll say, “Lady Gaga was special, but her fans, her Monsters, they were really something.” (2014 at the final ArtRave)

JOHN WAYNE

All songs with male names as the title are metaphors for her male partners; all songs with female names as the title are metaphors for herself!

Alejandro, Judas, John Wayne

Bloody Mary, The Queen, Venus, Donatella, Mary Jane Holland, Gypsy (with the exception of Joanne... except technically Joanne could be literally named after herself S0)

Hmm... John Wayne is lyrically about going for joyrides and both John Wayne and Judas had motorcycles in their videos so I was thinking maybe there was something more to it... like maybe all of the songs about male partners have this in common... except Alejandro doesn’t have anything to do with cars...

but then I remembered the existence of Summerboy, which technically could count as a male name... “hey there Summerboy, let’s go for a drive...” and THEN i remembered that there’s this:

which was pointed out as eerie foreshadow 1.5 years ahead of this:

which is might’ve lead to “bust the rearview and fire up the jets ‘cause it’s you and me, baby, for life” in Gypsy... not to mention we also just got this for John Wayne

So she’s told this same story... on every single album.......¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ and it still slays us every single tiMe¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿???//¿¿

DANCIN’ IN CIRCLES

This song is about masturbation, and some fans noticed it’s also an acronym for DIC...

Glitter and Grease is also a song about masturbation, and also an acronym for GAGA (Glitter And Grease Around)...

PERFECT ILLUSION

EXPECTATION: COULD THE METALLICA / GAGA COLLAB AT THE GRAMMYS FINALLY BE THE DEBUT AMERICAN TELEVISION PERFORMANCE OF PERFECT ILLUSION?? 

Reality:

Anyways, as with all her lead singles that I initially hated, I have really grown to adore Perfect Illusion. I hope it gets a true epic moment that it deserves... sigh

MILLION RAISINS

If you think about it, every single song performed at the Superbowl was laced with a double entendre, whether it was already written into the song, or it was freshly baked in due to current events.

Obviously her God Bless America / This Land Is Your Land medley has been deciphered as the latter was written as a protest song, tapped off with her excerpt of the Pledge of Allegiance, “ONE nation, under god, INDIVISIBLE, with liberty, and justice for ALL”...

Dance in the Dark, a song about finding a way to be happy when you’re living in fear and insecurity; “Tell ‘em how you feel, girls”

LoveGame, a song essentially about embracing your sexuality

Paparazzi, “We are the crowd” / “Don’t stop for anyone”

The Edge of Glory, a song about the passing of her Italian-immigrant grandfather who she saw as a champion of life in his dying moments

Poker Face, a song about bisexuality!

BORN THIS WAY IM FUCKING CRYING

Telephone/Just Dance, following her mission with this performance of wanting to make everyone feel good + forget about their fears, “I don’t wanna think anymore, I left my head and my heart on the dance floor” / “Just dance, gonna be OK”

Million Reasons has a new meaning for everyone feeling scared, feeling unsafe, wanting to abandon the country altogether, maybe even wanting to give up on life altogether; “I’ve got a hundred million reasons to walk away... but baby I just need one good one to stay”—she starts off the whole song with “America... world... how you doin’...”, ever-so-subtly changes just ONE lyric, and saying it while looking and even pointing to camera TWICE, “I bow down to pray, I try to make the worst seem better. Lord, show me the way, to cut through all his worn-out leather...” and it’s immediately a different song from the one she wrote and released pre-Trump presidency.

Bad Romance, with the country of course!

SINNER’S PRAYER

When The Fame first came out, there were reviews for it citing Brown Eyes as the worst tracks because they come off inauthentic and I was like

But now we enter the Joanne era where she’s a country/folk singer seemingly out of nowhere, and although this is a perfectly good song, this one stands out the most, to me, as inauthentic. A-YO, John Wayne, and Dancin’ in Circles manage to take influences from the genre and turn them into pop songs, Joanne manages to still sound like a traditional Gaga ballad (Princess Die, Living on the Radio, I Wanna Be With You, etc)... but Sinner’s Prayer just... doesn’t.

I was thinking maybe it’s the instrument choice (guitar instead of piano)... but Joanne is basically done entirely with a guitar and there was no problem on that one... IDK

COME TO MAMA

“So why do we gotta put each other down when there’s more than enough love to Gaga-go around?”

God imagine if this was a Born This Way bonus track would we all have even made it all the way to 2017? Holy fucking shit. This song feels like every single good time I’ve ever had with the friends I’ve made through Lady Gaga, and, to that extent, this song sounds like every single time I was happy since 2009. I love this song so MUCH

The double-entendre here is that I can almost guarantee that this song was written with the intent for it to have become Hillary Clinton’s theme song, so it touches a lot upon the current state of our country... AS WELL AS, of course, the current state of her fans as she, “Mama” Monster is seeing that we all seemed to have forgotten all the love and acceptance we practiced during the Born This Way era.

Man, it wasn’t that long ago we were all living in the jungle...

Who are you gonna follow? There’s gonna be no future if we don’t figure this out...

Speaking, of course, about Hillary’s candidacy in regards to the country’s problems, as well as about needing to resolve her fans’ sudden indifference following ARTPOP and C2C if she’s to maintain her career!

Dude in a lab coat and a man of God Fought over prisms and a forty-day flood Well, I say rainbows did more than they've ever done So why do we gotta fight over ideas? We're talkin' the same old shit after all of these years

This is a beautifully written second verse talking about the age-old battle of religion vs science...

As well as the age-old battle of Monsters VS people who like this person; “rainbows” is Born This Way, as she suggests, being more successful and impactful than both... BUT dismissing stan wars altogether “so why do we gotta fight over ideas? We’re talking the same old shit after all of these years; Come to Mama”

HEY GIRL

This, to me, is the most important and necessary track to ever come out of 2016 and literally if you even slightly disagree, fucking block me please

ANGEL DOWN

When this song title and the concept was announced, I was so sure (and uncomfortable at the idea that) she was going to use it as a double-entendre for herself and her hits and misses post-2011, especially with this

But it would seem that she really did dedicate this solely to Trayvon Martin and the Black Lives Matter movement, and that’s exactly how it should be.

I also have a theory about alternate universe timelines and how this song would’ve gone into play if democracy actually existed and Hillary had won the election, but I’ll save that for another one of these days

Ok we are in for a treat, because although I preordered the physical release of the deluxe edition of Joanne, I was so busy through the end of last year that I was never able to import the CD into my library, so I just had the downloaded standard edition leak and have just been listening to that since then...

I heard (a live version? of) Grigio Girls, surprisingly never heard or saw proof of the existence of Just Another Day (which makes me sad that it might not be very good Lol) but I just sat my ass down and imported the remainder of the deluxe edition... so In The Words Of Mother Monster, Hear We Go...

GRIGIO GIRLS

Ok the production on this is just right, it would’ve served as a bridge between Diamond Heart’s genre crossover and Sinner’s Prayer’s flat out genre jump.

I... think,, this might be the weakest song on the album LOL AND I ONLY SAY THAT BECAUSE, objectively, it is. However, I do recognize how important it is to them and their friendship and if I was in that circle of friends, this song might be my absolute favorite song she’s ever WRITTEN! However I’m not, and I can step outside of that bias and see that this song isn’t nearly as strong as the rest.

It’s kind of like that “Monster For Life” song Gaga wrote for SPW and Lady Starlight + performed a capella at the 2014 SXSW set. It’s very sentimental for them and their circle of friends, but the melody is all over the place, the lyrics are pretty half-assed, so maybe it would’ve been better if these just stayed personal songs

I have a rule for songs (which I’ve started using with ARTPOP), and that is, “IF the song I dislike were a bonus track, would I like it more?” When Applause first came out I HATED it, but used this rule and TBH if it were a bonus track, it would’ve SLAYED MY WHOLE LIFE! (For the record, I ended up loving it all on its own just a couple of months later so don’t come for me) I also used this rule on Donatella, Dope, Fashion! and even Swine and Gypsy... and magically they’re all perfectly ok songs... but this rule doesn’t seem to be working on actual bonus track, Grigio Girls!

AGAIN, don’t come for me, I understand its importance and how personal it is

JUST ANOTHER DAY

OH MY GOD. WHAT THE FUCK THIS SONG IS SO GOOD... I THINK PROBABLY TOP 5 OR EVEN TOP 3 FAVORITE FROM THIS ALBUM??? HOW THE FUCK YALL PAID IT DUST IT IS SO SWEET AND PERFECT OMFG IT KINda sounds like Oh Well and Blueberry Kisses¿ especially with the horns and the way her voice sort of marches across the melody

Honestly this was literally me listening to it just now oMFg

but anyways omg i LOVE IT WHAT THE FUCk wow ok here’s my final rating I THINK

Come to Mama / Hey Girl

Just Another Day

A-YO

Dancin’ in Circles

Million Reasons / Angel Down / Perfect Illusion / John Wayne

Sinner’s Prayer

Joanne

Diamond Heart (sorry)

Grigio Girls (SORRY)

AnYwAyS thats all! I love this album : ‘ ) I think aside from Grigio Girls (SORRY!!!) even the songs that I don’t really like are still really good

And I still stand by the idea that she should re-release Joanne like she did with The Fame/The Fame Monster and call it Stefani Joanne

Ok thats all