#have a gifset of a moment that destroyed me

[tardxsblues]

You're back.

[allmyandroids]

fuck...I felt that 😭

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Ava Gardner (The Killers, The Barefoot Contessa)— She's so goddamn hot. Her and Frank Sinatra could've sandwiched me and I would've thanked them for the privilege

Jean Seberg (Breathless, Saint Joan)— Some of us watched À bout de souffle as a lil French undergrad and had the trajectory of our lives changed by Jean Seberg. She IS French new wave!! She is the moment!! She sadly had to work with a lot of shitty directors in her career but even so, she has this magnetic energy whenever she’s on screen. In her personal life, she was also very supportive of civil rights causes, and was even targeted/harassed by the FBI for financially supporting the Black Panther Party.

This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Ava Gardner:

Ava Gardner is one of my favorite actresses of all time. Although a lot of her roles in movies are about her being beautiful and nothing else, there are some films where her acting truly shines.

Gifset: https://www.tumblr.com/pelopides/721438308726603776/ava-gardner-as-pandora-reynolds-pandora-and-the

Gifset 2: https://www.tumblr.com/portraitoflestatonfire/731899355804598272/if-the-loustat-reunion-doesnt-look-like-this-then

HER FACE. LOOK AT IT. Also was a life long supporter of civil rights and a member of the NAACP, had lots of fun love affairs with other stars, bullfighters, married several times but was also happy in between to just have lovers and was unapologetically herself.

I literally gasp every time I see her.

Between 1942 and 1964, Ava Gardner was credited in no less 50 films, and is still considered by some to be the most beautiful actresses that ever graced the silver screen. Despite life-long insecurities regarding her talent as an actress, she weathered public scandal, industry hostility, and outright condemnation by the Catholic Church with fearless grace. She would later in life talk candidly about the reality and pain of living through two (studio approved!!) abortions during her short marriage to Frank Sinatra, and while the two of them could not make their relationship work, they remained in each other’s lives for nearly 30 years. She would forever describe herself as a small-town girl who just got lucky, but always felt like a beautiful outsider.

Really genuinely one of the most beautiful human beings I have ever seen. An autodidact. Had amazing chemistry with Gregory Peck to the point where I do think about watching On The Beach again sometimes because they're so good together even though that movie did destroy me. Was a great femme fatale in many movies.

Jean Seberg:

anyone who plays Joan of Arc is kind of hot by default tbh

she's gorgeous, she's cool, she has the original blond pixie cut

She donated a lot of her money to civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and the black panther party as well as Native American school groups, as a result of this the fbi ran a smear campaign against her and a surveillance campaign which is thought to have led to her suicide tragically.

idk if this is propaganda but the COINTELPRO and the FBI are widely blamed for her death. If the FBI was after her for supporting the Black Panther Party you know she was good

[velvet4510]

Ok so I came across an Erik Lehnsherr hater who shall not be named (I don’t even remember their username anyway and frankly I don’t want to if this is how they think) who claimed that:

Erik was an emotionally abusive predator to Charles, intentionally drawing Charles closer to him and targeting his insecurities so he could break him in First Class.

Erik intentionally drove Charles and Raven apart so that he’d always have one of them under his thumb and purposely planted the seeds that the fallout was all Charles’ fault and emotionally manipulated Raven into hating Charles so that they wouldn’t be able to stand united against him.

Erik was overall no better than Shaw in how he handled the human vs. mutant situation - but also on an individual level; the example given was that he tried to shoot Raven in front of Charles, just as Shaw shot his mother in front of him.

the overall message of the prequels is “don’t try to help a traumatized person that you happen upon in the ocean because that person will destroy your life,” a message apparently sealed by the Paris proposal finale in which Erik “waits until Charles is physically and emotionally isolated from everyone else in his life to swoop in and play savior and take him away to his remote home to keep calling all the shots.” (I’m paraphrasing here, but that’s the gist of what they said.)

Firstly, my friends, I am tired. I am sick, fighting off a bad cold. I am up to my neck in schoolwork. I don’t have the energy atm to write the kind of rebuttal to this claim that I want to make. And the fact that I’ve no idea how to create my own gifsets certainly doesn’t help.

Secondly, we all know that Cherik do not have a perfect or even healthy relationship. I really don’t think any of us are under such an illusion; we all regularly express our frustration with many of their moments. But I do think that there are more than a few flaws in this user’s claims that can be articulately opposed.

So I summon my fellow Cheriks. Do whatever you want. Be as academic or rageful as you like. But address these claims in some way, please??? Help me dive into the nuance, pick it to pieces! Once I’m well again, I’ll make my own post to add to the discussion.

Also spread the word; tag others you know so they can chime in.

(I personally would love it if anyone with the gifset skills that I don’t have could make some kind of master set of every time, every moment big or little where Erik is kind to Charles or soft with Charles or just shows/indicates that he genuinely loves him. Just to really put a bruise in that “abuser” accusation.)

Even if the original accuser never reads any of this, I think it’s worth it to put the discord out there for the rest of the fandom. Usually I don’t wish to give haters the time of day, but these claims were just too extreme and too juicy for me to shrug them off.

So please, however way you want to do it, let’s not let these claims go unanswered.

@wishchip106 @star-lights-up @swordsandsadness @cherikdogfood @uniquecellest @sinspirefly @caramelc0rgi

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Medieval Supercorp AU

EDIT: it's this gifset

Continuing from this gif inspiration by @weinzapfel, have this full angstified story overview:

This makes me think Lena and Kara are both noblewomen of a kingdom at peace. They grow up together at court, sharing tutors and charming the king with their adorable antics while they're young enough to be adorable.

And then as they grow older, everyone continues to assume that they're the best of friends, which they are, but little do their parents know that their afternoon rides through the forest take them to a hidden copse of trees where they cuddle gently in dappled sunlight.

Their eventual marriages of politic are a distant future, leaving them with a present that is just the two of them, happy and in love.

Trouble comes, as all trouble must, when the King dies with neither an heir nor a ratified succession plan. The two greatest families in the realm, the Luthors and the Els, each claim a right to the throne, sparking a year of discord and unrest at court. At first, their youth and their stations as younger children of each family leave them out of the fray, but when forces storm the castle one night, all that changes.

Lena and Kara are sequestered together when the assault begins. No one tells them whose family is storming the Citadel, and so they wait in wary apprehension to see which crest comes bursting through the door.

It's the el mayarah.

For a brief moment, Kara is relieved, because she knows her family's forces won't harm Lena. Not if Kara speaks for her. But these soldiers don't heed Kara's protests as they rip Lena from her arms and drag her from the room. Kara struggles to follow, but the soldiers shove her back and lock her in.

By the time she is finally released, she demands to see Lena, decrying her friend's treatment and the brutish actions of her house in taking the stronghold. To her shock, her family knows nothing of Lena's whereabouts. They had stormed the castle, yes, but they hadn't entered the living quarters until that morning.

At first they believe Kara mistaken, but the staff confirm they witnessed the same. A search of the castle is ordered, but no trace of Lena remains to be found. She has disappeared, and with no Lena to present as proof of her survival, the Luthor family not only refuse to acknowledge the Els as the rightful rulers, they swear vengeance for the murder of their beloved daughter, cruelly mistreated and killed by the rebels.

Years pass, and the realm falls into further turmoil. The Els maintain their hold on the citadel, but the Luthors have established their own capital city safe on the far side of the northern mountains. Lex Luthor and Kal El have destroyed each other in the conflict-- Lex on the battlefield, and Kal at the hands of a Luthor assassin in retribution.

Kara is now the surviving heir, though her family elders rule in her stead as she gets a crash course in regency. It’s hard for her to embrace her duties however, as doubt eats away at the back of her mind as to what happened to her best friend. With no answers, she wonders if her family did in fact had something to do with her disappearance and presumed death. She has nightmares, none of which she clearly remembers but leaves her with a deep unease she can’t shake. For years, she struggles to rise above and be what her family needs, but can’t fully engage in her role with half her soul missing.

Then one day Kara’s having a rare moment of escapism, participating in a hunt with some of her closest friends. During a break, one of the scouts comes thundering in through the brush. Kara’s tease about scaring off the game dies on her lips when she sees the page’s frantic gaze and desperate puffing breath.

“Your Majesty-- we’ve found something.”

Something is a pit set into the ground, deep enough that the sunlight filtering in through the canopy can’t find the bottom. Their torchlight can, and Kara’s blood chills at the sight of iron shackles dangling on long chains from a bolt in the wall. 

“What is this place?” she asks, half to herself. Her mind races, piecing the puzzle together. If this was a prison, then there must have been traffic to and from. Her eyes scan the forest floor around the mouth of the pit, and feels her heart seize when the light of her torch glints against something metal half-hidden among the detritus. “Nobody move.”

Her party all freezes, and Kara reaches down and lifts the golden chain of a familiar necklace from the dirt. From it dangles the crest of the House of Luthor, adorned with a long tear drop pearl.

“Is that...”

Lena’s.

“Clear out. Retrace your own footsteps. If there’s tracks, we need to find them.”

There are no tracks. Lena’s pendant is tarnished with time and the elements. If Lena had been there, it had been months ago, if not years. For the first time wielding the powers vested in her as the royal heir, Kara launches another wide scale search, the largest since Lena’s initial abduction. 

This time, they find her.

Deep in a vassal’s dungeon, royal guards find Lena chained in the dark, pale and gaunt from years of imprisonment. The vassal lord is arrested and held for questioning, while Lena is installed and seen to in proper rooms on the estate until she’s well enough to travel. Kara’s duties keep her from traveling to the vassal’s holdings herself, but the moment Lena arrives back in the capital she’s aching to visit, but heeds her mother’s warning to let Lena get comfortable first, so that she isn’t overwhelmed. She’s been sleeping most of her days regardless. So Kara gives her a day to settle in, but when evening falls, she can’t wait a moment longer.

She knocks softly on Lena’s door, and enters on shaking legs. Lena sits wrapped in a shawl near the windows, which have been left open to admit the cool evening breeze. It’s a long moment before Lena turns to regard her, and when she does, she rises only to dip into a deep curtsy.

“Your Majesty.”

“Lena--” Kara surges towards her, to lift Lena to equal footing, to embrace her, to hold her so tight she’d never let go... But Lena recoils from her touch, and Kara stops short. “I’m sorry, I-- I didn’t mean...”

But Lena can’t meet her gaze, and in her features Kara reads the distrust, the suspicion. And in that moment Kara knows that Lena believes that her family ordered her imprisonment. 

“We didn’t order it,” Kara says.

Lena nods, but says nothing, gaze still askance. Her discomfort is plain, and so Kara does the only thing she can. She turns to leave. 

“Word has been sent to your family. At this time of year, the mountains will be impassable, but I give you my word that you will be safe here until they are able to send an emissary to collect you.”

Just before she leaves, Lena finally speaks. “I still dream of you,” she whispers, trembling with tears. “Every time I reach for you, you disappear into the darkness. I don’t-- I don’t think I’ll survive if I reach for you again and you’re not there.”

Kara pauses, then returns to stand before Lena. Her head is bowed, tears glistening on her cheeks. Kara’s own throat locks around the sobs rising in her chest. 

“Then let me reach for you.”

She slowly, carefully, reaches up and cups Lena’s damp cheeks between her palms. The moment their skin touches, a sob pulls from Lena’s chest, and finally she reaches for Kara, clinging to her as the years of fear and helplessness releases in a flood of tears. Kara holds her all through the night, spilling no small amount of tears herself. 

When morning comes, the light shines on them both, together once more.

[cursedvida]

Honestly. Every two or three days someone publishes a post saying "oh why do you like nomae? If mae is bad, she's the villain, blah blah blah" that makes me wonder if these people have a life beyond wasting their time hating.

If you don't like something, can't you just block it? Or can't you just focus on promoting what you like?

Oh my god, do something productive with your lives.

It's good to see that lately even those who don't ship nomae are against these people.

There are many points we can discuss about this.

For example, we can talk about how absurd and pointless it is to throw hate at a ship. I mean, what do people gain from it? Making others feel bad? Do they really get satisfaction from shaming and trying to make people feel guilty for just trying to escape reality for a while by shipping and fangirling over things they like in a healthy and purely playful way? Do they seriously find any pleasure in it? Does it give them dopamine or something? Because if they really need to crush people to feel better about themselves, what I would recommend is to leave the internet and start therapy because these are indeed very sadistic and sociopathic behaviors.

Putting aside the melodramatic and catastrophic moment, we can also talk about how sad it is to waste time hating something instead of doing something productive like, for example, creating content. They complain that the KotPotA tags are infested with things about Nomae, but do they contribute anything beyond the hate? Do they write dissertations, present theories, upload gifsets or fanarts? No, of course not, they just throw crap. I mean, if it bothers you so much that when you enter the tag 90% of the content is not to your liking, then I invite you to fill the tag with things you do like. You are free to do so. But I guess it’s much easier to just complain instead of making an effort to contribute.

This brings me to another point that I find very ironic. Yes, everything is full of Nomae, but that is precisely what keeps the fandom alive. Every day someone uploads some fanart, some video, some comment or fanfic. Every day there is someone talking in this tag about the topic that, whether many like it or not, means talking about the movies. Let’s be honest, those of us who keep fandoms alive (and I speak in general) are the shippers, especially when they are fandoms of franchises whose content are movies that take years to come out. If it weren’t for people fangirling all the time, there would be no content on social media. I’m sorry if you don’t like that content, but once again I invite you to use your freedom of expression to create rather than try to destroy people’s self-esteem.

But well, as you say, at least there are people with common sense and enough mental maturity to understand that if you don’t like something, the best thing to do is ignore it and that’s it, as well as understanding that shaming people on social media is very much a thing of 15 years ago and today it’s just pathetic.

[onaperduamedee]

Hi ! I know we never talked, and I don't want to hurt you even more by making you think about this more than necessary, so feel free to ignore me

I just read the addition you made to your post about WOT, and why it's so difficult for you to deal with the fandom and the whole situation rn, and I wanted to say thank you. You put into words what I feel, too, and it almost made me cry. The whole part about not letting it contaminate all the joy that came before and not destroy your creativity is exactly what I'm struggling with since Thursday, too, so thank you for saying it, I guess? I don't really have a point other than that, so yeah, just thank you, and I guess good luck for dealing with this whole mess ❤���‍🩹❤️‍🩹

Thank you very much for your message and for understanding. I'm so sorry you are in the same place because it is the most harrowing feeling in the world. It's such an incredibly lonely and useless sensation. It is one thing to be shocked by a show's decision, it's another to have that decision change the way you see the story and the fandom so profoundly that it rewrites your own history with said story. I have several WIPs I don't know what to do with because I was waiting for the finale to provide certain scenes for gifsets or drawings. 

It's like opening the fridge to make a dish you had bought all the ingredients for and discovering they are rotten. Did I use the crème fraîche yesterday? Were people sick? Now do I cook something else or try to run to the store although it's probably too late? 

I have so much stuff that I want to create still! Gifsets and doodles and metas! But who am I going to share that with? With fans who have always treated the queer characters like they were on borrowed times? Who have tolerated the presence of gay fans and now that those fans are upset they are to be reasoned with like children? Who wholeheartedly agree with the showrunner that there was never anything more to Siuan's story than this, Moiraine's tragic girlfriend? I would feel silly to share my art with that knowledge. 

Ultimately what I mourn most profoundly is the loss of the community. I always knew some fractures were deep; they are inherent to fandoms and can never be mended. But for a moment, while the show had two lesbians as part of the main romances, it seemed like the corner in which gay fans are generally confined was not a corner but the whole playground. It felt miraculous to know that Moiraine would have a powerful arc as Rand's mentor and Siuan, in a smaller capacity, would go on to weave a brilliant tale about resilence with Egwene. But it was never part of the deal.

The deal was that the apotheosis of Siuan's story would be death, and their happy ending will likely happen in death. And most of the fandom is fine with that, while I cannot find it in me to be.

I don't really have an answer against that rotting feeling and the way it is making me question my enjoyment of past interactions. I guess I will retreat to more private spaces for sharing my art and thoughts because I cannot stop creating and talking about this universe that means still so much to me. But as I said, the show and its fandom have been tainted and perhaps it will clear out with time.

For now, there's just a lot of love I don't know what to do with. 

So I'm really glad you reached out because it does make me feel less alone to find other creators stuck in this in-between, shallow quicksand that refuses to let go or swallow the light entirely. I hope you find something a way out of it as well. Thank you ❤️

[secriden]

so @rayandgay's gifset of mahasamut slipping the leash got me thinking and...

one thing that makes jak such a well written villain is how quickly our perception (of jak) as the audience shifts in this moment and how utterly believable that is.

jak is honed in on tongrak throughout the scene, even when mahasamut gets up, you see jak is focused fully on tongrak and doesn't even glance at mahasamut until he's grabbed and decked in the face. and at that point all he seems to register is shock.

perhaps its blind arrogance or his obsession with controlling tongrak, but jak doesn't actually seem that...smart? like, this is after he's sent 2 goons to beat up/kill mahasamut and they came crawling back severely beaten up themselves, so he should really have been expecting mahasamut to be a physical threat.

but also, it helps us as the audience understand and empathise with the hold jak has over tongrak. because jak has devoted time and effort to creating this larger-than-life perception of control, power, and ability to harm and/or destroy the things and people tongrak loves. tongrak cannot even perceive his own father's weakness at this point. manipulation is what jak's actually good at.

but then, it's also why his control over tongrak finally breaks here because mahasamut manages to show tongrak just how weak jak really is.

and we as the viewer experience the same flip in perception as tongrak does! prior to this moment, the show really makes it seem that jak is going to be this huge threat, this big looming final boss that they have to fight to get their happily ever after. in the scene with prin, it feels like he's the mastermind behind her. like she's supplying the money but the true brains behind the encroaching threat to our lovers is jak. it helps that jak is physically terrifying cuz he towers over everyone else in the cast.

but in the confrontation all it takes is 2 punches for him to go from threats to begging. he's begging after 1 punch, and barely takes 2 the entire scene to be rendered out of commission.

(this is not a flattering screenshot of jak and i do NOT care)

we go on the same journey as tongrak does in this moment: "is this it? is this really the larger than life man? this!? could it be that this man was nothing more than a pathetic opportunist who got his hooks into a child and has been using that to maintain his control this entire time? could it be that he only seemed so strong before because he was an adult who took his strength out on a child?"

jak's written this way to get us to understand tongrak better because we as an audience have been taken in that same emotional journey. we, too, are fooled by jak's looming presence and vague threats and lies. but we are also released from the hold by mahasamut's actions. we see jak for what he truly is (a sad, pathetic excuse of a man who had a golden opportunity and took it) and that sets us up to understand tongrak's journey (and it was a journey; its implied by the multiple flashbacks and tongrak's name that his mom tried for several years after he was born to keep jak around - so tongrak had jak's cruelty and physical violence and probably verbal snide remarks for years). it's why tongrak takes episode 10 to finally be free. its why we love tongrak so much, because mame helps us relate to him and how desperately he needed to be set free. and mame gives tongrak (and us) that with mahasamut. <3

[knickynoo]

Well, I was sufficiently enabled for the idea, so here it is: ✨Alex P. Keaton's Top Neurodivergent Moments✨

The funny thing is that the amount of time I put into scrolling through my encyclopedic mental inventory of Family Ties scenes, compiling these moments in a list, making gifs, and finding past gifsets/analysis to link back to makes creating this post one of my most neurodivergent moments. Good for me.

These will be organized by season (easier for me than trying to rank on a scale) and are in no way ALL of the moments. I'd need like...15 posts for that. Also, tumblr only allows 30 images/gifs per post, so I'm going to include links to past posts when possible.

ENJOY!

• Alex gets his first-ever failing grade and immediately decides to quit school

Exactly what it says. Alex strolls into college all bright-eyed and confident and ends up a broken shell of a guy just a week or so later. The prototypical Gifted Kid from the moment he learned to speak, Alex cannot handle anything less than perfection. Getting the first F of his life shatters his entire self-image, and he wants to drop out of college entirely.

• Alex's friend Doug announces he's getting married, and Alex spirals into despair. As one does.

The entirety of the "Best Man" episode is one big Alex displaying neurodivergent behaviors moment, honestly. There are a whole lot of Alex-centered plots that are set into motion because A Change happens, and he just cannot deal with it, and this is one of the best examples. Alex is so distraught at the suddenly altered dynamic that he wanders the house like a lost soul—sad and confused and needy. He walks in on Steven's shower just to give him a hug, offers to go shopping with Mal and play dolls with Jen, and also draws up a seven-year contract for his other friends to sign to ensure they stick to their regularly scheduled card games, lest they also run off to get married and destroy his life.

• Alex P. Keaton: child development expert

When faced with the news of another sibling on the way, Alex has some very nurturing advice at the ready for when the baby is crying.

• The Keatons all laugh at a funny story. Alex is not amused.

This is one of my favorite Alex scenes of the series. Uncle Rob shares a memory of the time Steven was young and got in trouble because he started rebelling against the system and refused to write his name in the designated spot on his school test papers. The family shares a hearty laugh. Alex, king of black-and-white thinking and lover of rules, is deeply upset.

I love him so much. He genuinely cannot see how they're enjoying such a story. The Name Spot is for names. And his father dared to write in the Not For Names Spot?? Jail for Steven.

He's so ridiculously autistic.

• Alex's favorite childhood toy

It was a cardboard box. I can't quite put into words why this sets off my ND radar, but it does. Maybe it's the being attached to unusual items thing that's common with autism? The intense fixations that make other people go ????

The Alex and Ba-ba plotline provides some wonderful Alex Lore.

• Mr. Mustache

Yeah, those intense fixations? In the "Fool for Love" episode, Alex grows a mustache and legitimately cannot speak about anything else for the several days that follow. He's asked to present a speech at Mallory's homecoming dance and centers his entire speech around his mustache. He's unable to have a conversation that doesn't involve mustaches. It's incredible.

• Everything in "Matchmaker"

Alex is so sweet in this one. After Mallory comes home crying after a bad date, Alex promises to help her find a great guy. Unfortunately, putting someone who struggles socially and with processing emotions in charge of your love life isn't exactly a great fit. Alex uses the power of science to craft a formula to find Mallory's perfect match (he isn't), then tags along on their date and helps foster a very natural environment (it isn't) for the relationship to flourish (it doesn't).

The episode ends with a great scene between Alex and Mallory that shows just how well Mal understands the inner-workings of her big brother's head.

• Divorce is tough. Alex has some advice.

The Keaton kids are shocked to learn that their Uncle Rob is divorcing their Aunt Maureen. As Jen and Mallory reel from the information, Alex helps to reframe things.

He then pulls out the Special Interest Card and compares the divorce of their aunt and uncle to a "failed merger, not unlike the breakup of the phone company—although obviously less emotional. Nothing more than a natural fluctuation in the marketplace of love and marriage."

And the thing is, he IS impacted by the news. He just hasn't the slightest clue how to actually process it. So, a simple failed merger it is!

• You had one job

Mallory needs some croissants for a fancy get-together she's having with her poetry class. Alex helpfully offers to go pick them up.

Now, I debated about this one because there's part of me that's like, "Hmm, did Alex purposely do this to annoy Mallory?" Is this just a jerk move? But you know what? It stays on the list because the whole "I personally don't like this thing and struggle to see how anyone else could. Therefore, I will get the thing I like" is (for me) a relatable aspect of being ND.

• Every single second of "A, My Name is Alex"

For real, though. This episode is a deep dive into how Alex became the person he is, and it is FILLED with "flashbacks" of an intensely neurodivergent child whose issues were made worse by the people around him. (Mostly teachers and peers. Steven and Elyse did their best with him, but I do also have some critiques of the way they parented him). Anyway, he represses his emotions to the point of a meltdown

And then there's this

Full coin gifset here. Also, I made posts on the full episode, which can be found here and here.

• "Alex has a weird body"

That's Mallory's explanation to Andy as to why Alex can't help her when she needs someone to model one of her latest clothing creations. She says Alex's head is too big for his body, and those words, unfortunately, find their way back to him. In a mini plot reminiscent of the mustache one, Alex proceeds to obsess over the comment.

And I mean, I think being told your head is too big for your body would make anyone insecure, but it's the way Alex handles it. He's unable to have regular conversations for a while because he can't stop fixating on the size of his noggin'.

Both of the "Read it and Weep" episodes fit in this list, to be honest

• An accurate statement by Lauren

I've got to include this because it really does neatly condense a lot of who Alex is

So true, bestie.

And then, to wrap this whole thing up, there's all of this

And this is just what I can fit in this here post without going over the limit lol. Obsessed with the way MJF played Alex.

Thanks for reading ✌️

This is me with Alex, btw

[atopvisenyashill]

why do you think jonsa is happening tho? jonerys is different bc they are going to be enemies, but i don’t see what jonsa does for the story

so let me first lay out roughly what i think is going to happen should jonsa become canon. I personally love going down meta and graphic spirals, so I'm including links to other people’s theories/explanations/graphics of events too - also I would like to shout out @istumpysk because half these metas and gifsets were stuff I found on their blog initially, and also was the one who really convinced me that jonsa is less of a crackship and more of a contender for an actual canon theory, and from there i really found my niche in this fandom. specifically this meta about jon being the mummer's dragon is what pulled me out of my "we're never getting twow and if we do it's just gonna be that stupid dany has jon's magical baby while tyrion watches, then they all die theory" slump and lit my brain on fire again. let's goooo:

The Ashford Tourney Theory - Something Shady goes down at the tourney Petyr has planned that requires Sansa to make a quick getaway, and likely causes her to run into Brienne while fleeing. This theory for me is about hinting at Sansa's romantic future, allies, and how she's getting the hell out of the Vale: both the dark haired, Not Targ Looking Targ Prince that is the son of A Great Prince That Never Was being her romantic endgame but also it's about Brienne (/Dunk) getting her the hell out of there and becoming Sansa's number one ally and protector (with Sansa's number two being Bronze Yohn!! But he's not fleeing with her - if he helps her get out of the Vale, it'll be to cause a distraction or a fight so Sansa can slip away unnoticed. Bronze Yohn is coming with the knights of the Vale later to help defend his girl!).

The Girl In Grey - Out of options on where to go, Sansa & Brienne makes a long, fast, and dangerous trek to the only family she knows is still alive: Jon Snow at the Wall. No, I don't think Alys Karstark is the girl in grey on a dying horse; I think she's a red herring, the same as the scene where Sweetrobin destroys the snow castle, and that the real girl in grey (who slays the savage giant) is Sansa. Melisandre says that she sees "Jon's sister" but doesn't specify more than that, or how she knows it's Jon's sister, even - why would she assume Alys is Jon's sister and not some random Northern girl? Why was she so sure that it was his sister? It's because Alys isn't the girl in grey, it's Sansa, her horse dying because she's traveled halfway across the continent with Brienne and Pod, desperately trying to keep ahead of the dozens of people hunting her down.

The Blood of Winterfell - Sansa and Jon will reclaim winterfell together. This one is similar to above; just like Alys was a red herring, the scene where Sansa rebuilds the castle has a lot of foreshadowing (imo) but that isn't the moment in the prophecy Arya hears. The Savage Giant is Littlefinger, the castle of snow is Winterfell, and Sansa is going to liberate her home alongside Jon and what's left of the Northern lords.

Stone and Snow Remains - THIS is where Sansa and Jon will fall in love while fighting for the North. This is also the part where you lose a lot of people, because they think the evidence is real weak sauce but like, I also think the Jonerys "evidence" is weak af too (and no wonder, we have at minimum 2k pages left to get through!!). There's several believed foreshadowing points to this one, bare with me for this weird ass formatting because I can't do sub bullet points on tumblr:

1. Sansa's linking of snow with love and affection - "drifting snowflakes brushed her face as light as lover’s kisses, and melted on her cheeks...She could feel the snow on her lashes, taste it on her lips. It was the taste of Winterfell. The taste of innocence. The taste of dreams." along with her snow maiden and snow knight.

2. Bael the Bard and the Rose of Winterfell - the chapter where Sansa gets her period for the first time, Cersei refers to it as “flowering” a dozen times, linking being a maiden (a young girl, not quite of age or just barely of age) to flowers and several people refer to sex as ~plucking. Also notice the one who stole her from KL is Lord BAELish.

3. Aemon the Dragonknight & Queen Naerys - Sansa compares herself to Naerys, Joffrey to Aegon, and wishes for an Aemon, among the many similarities between her life and Naerys'. Jon not only calls himself Aemon, he has a deep connection with a different Aemon Targaryen. And if you’re thinking “Sansa isn’t Naerys, X is Naerys” I would remind you that Sansa as a character existed first, George purposefully had her compare herself to Naerys, and parallels don't belong to just one character.

4. Jenny of Oldstones and The Prince of Dragonflies - there's honestly a lot of parallels between them but like the Aemon/Naerys parallel, the Jenny/Duncan one stands out to me.

5. Janos Slynt - I mean. Iconic. This was the scene that made me first think about what their relationship could be in the future and there’s a reason Jonsas fixate on it. It’s about Sansa being desperate for a hero and the hero she dreamed about being Jon the whole time. 6. Societal Alienation - There's the bastard parallels here, the "it would be so sweet to see him again", the "Winterfell belongs to my sister, Sansa." It's about how Jon, through circumstances of his birth, finds himself alienated from the rest of society and reconnects with his prim and proper sister Sansa, who finds herself alienated from the rest of society as well but for vastly different reasons.

Robb’s Will - Howland is going to show up in the North, along with Maege and Galbert, with some WILD news about why Jon can’t rule Winterfell. There’s a lot of contention around this. Bran probably shows up around this time too, and Arya gets to the Riverlands to discover Lady Stoneheart and give her the gift of mercy. This is where all the inheritance stuff is going to happen and I have no idea how it's going to go down besides it's going to be messy as all fuck.

The Pact Of Ice And Fire - Jon & Sansa get secret married bc they’re in love, not siblings, & jon is the only man she trusts not to steal her claim. This isn't the only possible foreshadowing instance of a marriage either - some believe the Sandor/Sansa scene during the Battle of the Blackwater is foreshadowing as well (personally I feel that's a bit of a stretch but I wanted to include it anyway).

Jon As An Envoy - I talked about this in my "what's Jon's ending" a little but I believe Jon will act as an envoy for either Sansa or Bran to Aegon VI, essentially playing out a similar story that he does in the show with Daenerys. By which I mean, Jon is not the King because the ruler themselves do not go as an envoy, that’s stupid and dangerous, but he goes as an ambassador for Sansa or Bran, to treat with a new claimant to the Iron Throne that is gaining support - Aegon VI & Jon Connington. They will probably clash, Jon will probably have yet another identity crisis, there had BETTER be gay incest subtext, then Aegon dies, and Jon has his sixth quarter life crisis in a row.

“King” of the Gift - again, something I touched on in my Jon meta is that I think he’s going to have a hand in resettling the Gift. Personally, I think it's likely that Jon leaves to protect the claims of his siblings (see: Duncan and Jenny) and goes to the Gift to help resettle it to keep out of the way. This ending is typically referred to as the "bael the bard" ending but i like to think of it as the "brandon's gift" ending instead - though he is not physically with his family, Jon feels fulfilled having confirmed his family loves him through reclaiming Winterfell and marrying Sansa, being reunited with Arya, and being given the Gift by Bran. Sansa claims her children were fathered by a wolf.

So…what does all this do for the story?

Well, in my opinion, several things.

I think the main barrier here is that most people in the greater fandom describe Sansa's story as ~growing past childish wants~ and Jon's as ~rejecting love~ and I do not agree with either of those takes even a little bit. This is where (imo) the dividing line between Jonsas and the rest of the fandom is. I don’t think the answer to Sansa’s question “will anyone ever marry me for love” is going to be “nah" - that's not just a sad story to me (wanting to be married isn't childish! craving intimacy and understanding isn't childish! it's also not wrong for a child to be childish!), I think the idea that Sansa (or Jon) will not find another love just doesn't line up with how George approaches his story. Who Sansa's husband will be has been such a big question, and her story is so heavy into the more romantic tropes like courtly love and chivalry and the line between politics and love and identity, that the question of Sansa's hand in marriage will be plot relevant. I also think it's kinda naive of people to pretend like George isn't very interested in the sexual dynamics of the characters he writes about (yeah, sure, no woman needs a man but "needing a man" is not what this is about. look at everything this man wrote in F&B and tell me he is going to write a female character that longs for sex and desire and doesn't get it!).

After AGOT, nearly every time Sansa thinks about marriage involves her longing for love but believing she will never get it because a man will only ever love her for her claim. Giving her a man - like Jon - who not only will not steal her claim and in fact has defended it twice over already, who will love her for who she is and not what she can give him, is a really important aspect of her story in my opinion.

As for Jon, I am even more firmly against the opinion that his story is about rejecting love; Jon’s story is about wanting to be a good man, to measure up to his father ~despite~ his bastard blood. When Aemon asks if Ned would choose honor over love and Jon stubbornly says yes, Jon is wrong and it’s important to not forget that. Ned has never once in his entire life chosen honor over love; he chooses his daughter’s life over his honor, he chooses his sister & her son’s life over honor, he chooses Arya & Nymeria over honor, and on and on!!! Ned chooses love at almost turn but none of his children know that just yet - look at Robb choosing Jeyne’s honor over his own and how upset he is at the idea that Ned would be disappointed despite the fact that Ned would have understand Robb’s decision! Jon's whole arc is tied up in realizing that it is not wrong or dirty to feel and choose love, passion, and desire and if he never has another romantic arc again, I think you lose the second part of that lesson which is "you are responsible for how you act when you feel love but that doesn't mean that simply choosing love makes you a bad person."

There's also the fact that George has talked a lot about "who lives, who dies, who gets married" and yet we have not one marriage at the end of the show AND there's not a lot of guesses at what "who gets married" means besides Jon/erys (and even if Jonsa doesn't happen, I simply do not see Jon/erys happening. they are not similar enough, they will not be in the same space for long enough, and they are on wildlly different trajectories for their story, they are not getting married let alone having sex). I think Jonsa fits that bill very well.

These various theories - from Sansa being queen, Jon living in exile, The Ashford Tourney Theory, the secret marriage, every one of them - are ideas and themes that I have really been thinking about for about 12 years now. I think Jon and Sansa's relationship could fit with the themes in their stories, the overarching themes in the books, and my own personal opinions. I think it gives George a great opportunity to delve into the courtly love aspects he enjoys so much, as well as delve into inheritance, legacy, legitimacy, honor, incest (yes, that too), and above all, what George himself has said the whole series is about - love. The human heart in conflict with itself is what I think Jon and Sansa as a romantic couple does for the series.

[brandytusk]

The following thoughts, or maybe confession, contain Arcane spoilers. Please keep that in mind should you continue. It's a long story, I apologize in advance.

Now I will say, I am no LoL player, thus unfamiliar with its lore with the exception of what I search for, or what education I get from others. I had a passing interest in Arcane due to my best friend's insistence, rambling on about its beautiful art style, symbolism, and compelling writing. It was one of those things I did in fact, try and make a habit of to sit and watch at dinner, see what all the rising hubbub was about. I'll admit, I don't know where I stopped in season one, but I didn't finish it. As I recall, the plot felt too grim. To me, it felt like it was a show getting praise for being artistically depressing. When season one's ending was spoiled for me, I was glad I hadn't got as invested as other people I knew. To have developed characters so sincerely in a season's time, just to end it the way it was done…I disapproved, and I shook my head. Forgot it all at the time.

I'm a millennial who has lived through recession, through pandemic, and I am not middle class. I'm anxious, and there are days that feel hopeless and painfully long. I want to escape into the media I consume, let characters take me on a journey with them, far away from the oppressive, hanging air of everyday life in late stage capitalism. I don't want a tragic story, no matter how much it is praised for its art direction. Moving forward every morning can be bleak enough. Maybe others like these kinds of harsh stories for its relatability, and that's fine! I am happy for those that can appreciate it in that way, but I cannot. I'm tired, and perhaps not just as a struggling individual, but as an LGBT+ person with a husband.

Mainstream, popular shows (that get shown to American audiences, at least) don't often get obvious queer representation, or when it does, the show is often cut short. I felt baited in what I did see of season one, and rolled my eyes that fanfiction writers were fed enough to work their magic and fill the holes, as per usual.

Then, the next season of Arcane releases, and my social media feeds became flooded with screenshots and spoilers. I didn't block said spoilers and told myself I was no longer invested in Arcane -- only to see the most alarming screen captures I'd ever seen.

I especially liked what I'd seen of Viktor and Jayce in the past. I enjoyed seeing two intelligent, determined male creatives share screentime and share their story of a growing, deepening friendship. As far as I was aware, Jayce and Viktor were well bonded colleagues, if not each other's 'ride or die', once mutually and deeply invested in a greater outcome to benefit the whole. Compared to the rest of what I'd seen of Arcane's first season, it still hadn't gripped me enough to stick around as I wanted to save myself from heartache. Long story short, season two's spoilers revealed to me Jayce making a frantic, truly desperate effort to revive his fallen, disabled partner Viktor after the explosion. While he's successful, this fuses Viktor with tech Jayce once swore to destroy. Jayce draws close and is just relieved Viktor, in his birthday suit at this moment mind you, is alive, while Viktor is disappointed Jayce didn't keep his promise. They go separate ways, and the scene felt like an intimate argument, a break up. Well, at this point with that much revealed to me, I was relieved to see the two of them alive after the first season's ending. I was curious again, so I continued to look at screen captures and gifsets.

Viktor develops magic skills to heal others, and in his new body things, seem to fall into place for him. He is appreciated, and maybe it's suggested he gets a following. While its unclear how 'good' the arcane is, what he's doing with it seems right for the character. It looks like a victory…until Jayce comes along and puts a hole in Viktor's chest, keeping his promise. Viktor only meant to talk to him. Jayce, who had fought so hard to revive this man, kills him, as far as I'd seen it. It felt like petty shock value. Not knowing there was more episodes to come, I thought that was it. More tragedy, more pain.

My husband knows me well. I very rarely get affected by the shows I watch, and when I do, I am reserved about it. Instead, I sobbed, the kind where you can't see passed the tears and the snot. I felt so betrayed by my curiosity, by my hopeful feelings. I spent days ranting to my friends and my husband, offended and angry. How dare these writers throw around this disabled character and give him no relief, and what was more, develop two men in such a way as to suggest one simply cannot exist without the other only to shoot down one of them, by the hand of their partner? I had let myself be baited again, and I was feeling it. It burned, it hurt, I raged. I gave up.

A day or two ago, my best friend chimed in again: I should check in on Arcane. There had been more episodes, the season had finished. Trusting they knew how sensitive I was about all of it, I did. Again, I was moved to tears, but for different, much better reasons.

What was this?

Fortiche and its writing team had bothered to weave together and tell a story of two men ultimately destined for each other through every timeline, the kind of trope reserved for romantic movies and literature? They held hands, kept each other close, were honest with each other in the starry nothing. Hand to nape, forehead to forehead, and colorfully blinked out of that current existence, together? Such intimacy didn't need a kiss or a sex scene to feel real, there was love there. Their fated, interwoven existence, their deep and complex relationship, saved the world. In the end, there was hope.

You can tell yourself that it wasn't romantic if it makes you feel better, but in all its passionate details it very much was. To this stressed, exhausted LGBT+ person in these real uncertain times, I needed to see it. I felt deep relief, satisfaction, and most of all a need to pursue the Arcane fandom, a desire to enter. To at the very least, gush about my impression of it all, and what it means to me to see two men tenderly portrayed in ways they typically aren't. Fortiche, well done. You did give the Caitvi shippers something to blatantly feast upon, you also gave lesbian characters depth and variation, but this isn't about that.

You let two male characters show dedication, affection, and softness. Thank you. Jayvik folks, I am with you. Arcane, let's start over at the first episode, I can't wait to watch all of you now.

[galedickarios]

The brain, it's high above the city now. Far away from any innocents. I can end this now. Stop the absolute and spare the city. The stage is set for my final act, Mystra's bidding and the redemption that lies beyond. You brought me right where I need to be... I have no right to ask more of you. It's time I spirited you to safety, for this is a fate I must face alone.

Forget it Gale. You don't have to do this. Look at how far we have come, and everything we have achieved together. We have more we can achieve still, by each other's side as we should be.

It's now or never. There will not be another moment to get everyone away. If it comes to the point where we need to use the orb, everyone will go down with us. Please, for too long I've lived in fear of taking a host of innocents with me when I expired. Now at least I can be assured my demise will be saving them instead.

No Gale. We are going to end this together, and live to tell the tale. We can do this.

If you're mistaken, this could be the end of everything. We'll be failing right at the last hurdle. But, I only made it this far thanks to you. Who am I to question such sterling guidance now? Mystra won't be pleased, but perhaps trying to please the Gods is a fools errand. Lead on then.

Neither Gale romance ending is quite right for Cyril and him, but I have done both now. This gifset is from my first playthrough where I chose to marry him instead of ascending together. Cyril's canonic ending with Gale would go 1 of 3 ways. For the first two, he ascends with Gale but not via the orb and the crown, instead Cyril does as Cyric wants him to and defeats the death three, then takes Gale as his chosen and Godly lover. From there they would either go on to kill Mystra, and Gale took over her domain as Cyril would have done with the dead three, OR Cyril would realize how much he hates divinity and he would destroy the Cyrinishad in hopes of restoring his father's mind and giving him the dead three's domains once more. If he succeeds, him and Gale would go back to Waterdeep with Cyric's blessing and get married almost immediately.

The other ending, the one that is closest to the one I went for in this playthrough, is where he chooses to say fuck it and not go for any of the gods. He goes against what his father wants and listens to his own desires for a more normal life with a loving spouse, where they would go off adventuring and helping people as he and Jaheira always have. This is more likely to happen in a world without Osiris, as he would have less reason to validate the need to kill the dead three at all.

[chinzhilla]

most popular vs favorite gifsets of 2024

tagged by the love of my life jay @kantpattanawat to do this fun little retrospective. it's cool to go through each month and reminisce on what shows were airing at the time, how insane they made me, and what i created as a result!

january most popular: yeowoon in ep 4 because he cried on the track field after myungha was nice to him and none of us ever recovered Favorite: phayatharn x first light. there are some things i would change about it now and my vision was hampered by tumblr's size limit but i still love this set

february most popular: myungha being infatuated with yeowoon. the lfls era was really something 🥹 favorite: i am gonna cheat and do two here because phayatharn x fly to you (flash warning) is one of my favorite lyric sets i've ever made but i also had soooo much fun with my little passion project abcs of love set

march most popular: latte appreciation post 🐶🩵 favorite: tharn blorbo bleebus set. up there for favorites ever, another one that was a lot of fun

april most popular: thk pilot trailer. one of my favorite fandom moments ever was that trailer drop kasjdfjk favorite: same as above. we are entering my giffing dry spell so there won't be much to choose from, especially super creative sets, for the next three months

may most popular: chainpun (mostly pun) reacting to tanfang's romance journey favorite: babe's big sparkly anime eyes 💖

june most popular: word of honor episode 10. no i never finished this rewatch. check back with me in 3 to 5 business years. favorite: i suppose it has to be the only other gifset i made in june - ryuzen flashbacks

july most popular: pun making up for lost time. we deserved so much more of them than we got but this moment will always be legendary favorite: was shocked kitsune!vee didn't take the top spot this month but he has top spot in my heart. one of the scenes of all time and i really like the coloring i landed on here

august most popular: cringefail tyme. as it should be. favorite: definitely ray x trust me mate (flash warning). the second gif is one of my favorites i've ever made

september most popular: akkayan face kisses. warms the heart. favorite: 4 minutes ep 8. i think it's one of my prettiest episode sets. love the gif of bible with the neon wings especially

october most popular: jackjoke being in love in front of everybody's salad favorite: jackjoke and the almost-confession. true to form i ignored the dialogue and just giffed them staring at and being soft for each other and i still get warm fuzzies looking at this set

november most popular: jackjoke and the confession of the year favorite: i'm doing three this time because this is my post and i make the rules. #1 is akk(ayan) x beginner's guide to destroying the moon (flash warning). this set ended up being less than the sum of its parts but i really like some of the components, like the shifting letters in the first gif and the the text illuminated by akk's lighter. #2 is jackjoke evil parallels because sets like this are very darkly fun for me to make and nothing fuels me like the 'sick and twisted' tags i get. and #3 is the sign rainbow because it's the first rainbow set i've made and i really like the way it turned out.

december most popular: style tormenting fadel in the kitchen. one of my better colorings i think favorite: gotta be ray x black box warning (flash warning). another set that was just fucking fun to make, the ideas just flowed so easily. and i love how it turned out. also honorable mention to this hope moment that changed my life. not many people felt the same way apparently but this set has a million notes. to me

and that's that! not tagging anyone cause i think most people have done something like this already if they wanted to (and also i'm slightly hungover and after all that i simply cannot be bothered. love you all though <3). that said though if you haven't, and you want to, please use this as an excuse! and tag me if you want!!

happy new year beloveds i wish you all a joyous 2025 💖

[zoloteh-volossya]

I love your reblog on that Astarion post! What do you think is the best way to recruit Minthara while aiming for a more positive outcome for her? Personally, my favorite approach is "accidentally" destroying the grove by stealing the idol and then reluctantly aligning with Minthara. It feels like the character is acting out of confusion or desperation, not malice. This way, you still get that pivotal moment where she feels safe with your character and begins to break free from the Absolute. (and when you rescue her later she still hoped you would save her)

I'm basic - I personally prefer the knockout method. It's a pity that you miss the discussion after the sex scene and the romanced version of the conversation at Moonrise - it was a gifset of that conversation (see my pinned post) that grabbed me by the heart and dragged me into this fandom, after all.

But to me, it's important that Minthara isn't special. Her life isn't worth more than Alfira's or Dammon's or Mol's, ultimately. I personally care about her more, am more invested in her character, but struggle to justify the deaths of the refugees in the stories I want to tell. It's a different story, the act 1 scene, but to me the meat of the Minthmance happens once she gets her mind back so it's an acceptable loss.

(Of course, in my personal Mintharamance playthrough, I did commit Grovicide. My Dark Urge Krov was largely uninterested in getting involved in other people’s business, so I engineered the Worst Possible Grove Visit. She entered the grove, got robbed, didn’t step up for Arabella so she died, got poisoned by (then killed) Nettie, got arrested for trespassing in the kids’ hideout to get her stuff back, broke out, talked to Sazza and freed her, got the hell out of town, and then ended up murdering Alfira that night anyway. When Minthy told her to help raid it she was like, might as well, fuck that place, the only person I liked there is already dead by my hand.)

I think that triggering the Grove's violence via following Mol's request makes a lot of sense! It's definitely the way I'd go in a fic if I were writing a scenario where Tav/Durge romances Minthara in act 1.

In my fic ideas, I 'justify' the nonsense knockout option in different ways.

With my good bard Tav, she infiltrates the goblin camp for several days, slowly pitting Dror Razglin against Minthara (using Gut's death to stoke tensions between them). She was hoping to have the two sides fight it out and then have her team sweep in and clean up the survivors. However, all the goblins side with Dror. So then she just focuses on buffing and healing Minthara, figuring that the more goblins she kills the fewer the Tadfools will need to deal with. To her surprise, Minthara both wins and is genuinely grateful, tending to Tav's own wounds. In return for this unexpected kindness, she helps Minthara escape when 'adventurers' attack the camp, promising to distract them and then meet up with her at Moonrise later. (This fic idea began before the knockout method was added to the game, so you can tell I've been on my bullshit for a while.)

With my neutral ranger Tav, she doesn't infiltrate the camp at all. She sneaks into the camp via the other bridge, gets to high ground, and starts an outright assault. By the time Minthara is informed that the camp is under attack, everyone outside the shattered sanctum is dead. The bulk of the battle happens in the throne room, with all of the goblins and True Souls mounting a desperate defense against a two-pronged attack by Team Tadpole. They lose, but Minthara is able to overwhelm my Tav (mechanically much weaker than her) and make an escape, and the team is too exhausted to give chase.

Both of these have a very different dynamic with Minthy than a Tav/Durge who romanced her in act 1, of course. With my bard Tav, there's a preexisting connection, but also a betrayal - Minthara was used by this person, unknowingly danced on her strings. Regaining trust after that is a key plot point. With my ranger Tav, the arc is more one of coming to trust a former enemy (and dealing with the repercussions of becoming a drider, but that's unrelated.)

Thanks for the ask! That was... a very long answer. Hope you enjoyed it, at least.

[ilreleonewikia13]

◌TDIOBCB chapters as gifsets ↪

∯ C H A P T E R 4 : The Reckoning of Time

That was the very first time the prince witnessed his wife stepping into her role as High Priestess before other followers of the Old Gods of the Forest, and what he saw deeply unsettled him. Only then, while those men begged for her blessing upon their families, did the prince truly understand that he was not bound to a mere mortal woman whom he could bend to his will—but to a being of near-divine power, one who was revered and worshipped by powerful and influential people, people like the Blackwoods and the Starks. Some time later, Aemond would learn how his wife, with the support of the Lord of Raventree Hall and his house, had managed to escape the executioner’s blade—and of the alliance she had forged with the Protector of the North. He would come to understand the true extent of her influence over the politics of this new kingdom that was being born. But instead of feeling reassured, this knowledge only deepened his anxiety and dread. In that precise moment, while he still stood—ready to be handed over to his new captor and with the icy wind brushing his face—despair screamed within him to turn away, to flee as far from her as he possibly could. Maybe if he had started running toward the forest at full speed, he might have been able to lose them and make his tracks disappear. “Run? And to where?” a woman’s voice asked inside his head. “Don’t you understand? There’s nowhere you can hide. Now, you have nothing left but me.” When he lifted his gaze from his bare, blistered feet, the prince’s left eye met Alys’s vivid green ones. She was staring at him with a smile on her face, as if genuinely pleased to see him alive. Aemond told himself he ought to feel relieved, maybe even grateful to be reunited with his wife—the mother of his child, his savior. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t. All he felt inside was rage and despair for his fate. The woman now standing before him had been the source of all his misfortunes, and the fact that after doing everything to destroy his life she now sought to save it only made her all the more detestable.

-(x)

[zalrb]

why do you think the writers chose to make the steroline proposal so similar to the stelena one?

If I were a Steroline shipper, I would say that the purpose is to show that SE was a long-ago fantasy but SC is what's real and immediate and in front of him and that's what the parallels are meant to indicate. The "healthy" Steroline equivalent of Delena's "We're messy and we're complicated but we're real".

As a Stelena shipper, and taking in the fact that season 8 has a lot of loaded Stelena moments (not even accounting for season 7)

In season 8 Stefan could’ve spoken about how he told Caroline at the festival that things would be OK again, that they’ll make it through, he chose to speak about Elena

Caroline is the one who brings them up

Bonnie tells him to find hope,

the first thing we see him do is write in his diary to Elena:

The show even continues the narrative of Stefan being unable to leave town because Elena keeps him in MF:

which is a pattern Katherine brought up in season 5:

that we saw in season 1:

And season 3:

In 3x04 Klaus returns with him to Mystic Falls because Stefan couldn’t adequately lie to Rebekah about maybe loving someone else the way he loved Elena.

In 3x21, 3x22 he says he’ll leave town if she chooses Damon but she chooses him instead and more than that becomes a vampire so he stays.

Even Cade who is manipulated by Katherine, the way Katherine tortures Stefan has nothing to do with Caroline directly, she’s a casualty of her plan yes, but her plan is focused on making Stefan destroy his relationship with Elena once and for all, to poison their relationship:

taking in the fact that Elena is the last person he sees before he dies

taking in the fact that in season 6, Julie said this

Julie Plec: They [Stefan and Caroline] are sharing an experience of having to say goodbye to someone they care about [who] ultimately is Stefan’s true love. (source)

in season 8 KW said this

He pauses, then continues, “If there was any other conversations, we ended on this one. This show was always about Stefan being the hero, and if Stefan could not have Elena, Stefan could do this very nice thing of giving his brother the chance to live with Elena.”

I think the parallel is what I said in my "Just Be Happy" gifset

When I spoke to the anon about 8x05 and the kitchen scene, there was something about it that felt off to me that I couldn’t articulate until now. Making breakfast and getting coffee/tea whatever in the morning with your partner is innocuous enough, thousands of couples do that all the time, but within the context of other scenes in the season it feels as if Stefan is trying to recreate the Stelena fantasy life with Caroline in an effort to do what Elena told him to do in 6x22: be happy.

When push comes to shove, Elena is still the person Stefan draws hope, strength and inspiration from as seen in 8x01 and in 8x05 and there’s just something mechanical about his life with Caroline.