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vidavalor · 2 months ago

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How do you think the Ineffable Husbands reacted to the 1914 Christmas Armistice?

Also, it is autumn now and very cloudy and soggy, so here is a seasonally-appropriate recipe: https://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/caramelised-apple-cheesecake

Aw, a recipe! You're lovely. 😊 That looks amazing!

I envy you being in one firm season over there. September is a transition month here in New England. Half-summer, half-fall. It's very strange, though, not terrible. One day is lemonade and watermelon and the next is where's my blanket? and I need an apple something and looking up what day Bake Off starts to air over here. Another week, though, and it'll be pretty much fall from here on out. Definitely going to make that cheesecake. 😊

I think they probably reacted to the Christmas Armistice the same way many of us do when we learn about it-- that it's both beautiful and morbidly depressing at once. It showed people coming together to express a sense of shared humanity but then they went back to killing one another afterwards. It wasn't a new story for Crowley and Aziraphale because they had seen that in people all throughout history but I'm sure they found the same mix of hopefulness and sadness in it that a lot of people do.

The one who understands what it takes to bring about peace now best in the series is actually Gabriel, imho. It's because he understood the deeper meaning of Sandalphon's words that Sandalphon didn't actually understand himself: "you can't have a war without war."

Some short thoughts on ties between war, frozen peas, and one of my favorite of Agnes Nutter's prophecies beneath the cut.

When Sandalphon said: "you can't have a war without war", what he meant was: "Look how clever I think I am to use this word twice in two ways in one sentence! You can't have a war without War: The Character! Mirelle Enos is playing a character that shares a name with large-scale killing and destruction and I pointed it out! I'm so smart!"

Gabriel, though, heard the potential of bigger ideas: "You can't have a war (a large-scale military conflict) without war (people willing to fight in a war and, also, a person's inner struggle leading them to be willing to fight in war)."

Meaning: A war can only happen if people are willing to fight the war.

Meaning: No soldiers, no war.

Gabriel knew Aziraphale heard it like that, too, and was like lol Aziraphale, this guy thinks he's a poet omg let me flatter him enough that he won't notice that I just tried to help you sell more erotica and didn't murder you for having a lover and then we'll get out of here...

Gabriel saying that he "might use that one day" about what Sandalphon says is a line that-- delightfully-- ages quite differently the more we get to know Gabriel.

We know he said it in that moment to make it sound like he was telling Sandalphon that what Sandalphon had said was just so profound that Gabriel was tempted to use it himself... but we also know that Gabriel is neither as dumb nor as vapid as he strategically lets people think he is and that he understood the deeper way of looking at what Sandalphon said more than Sandalphon did.

Looking back on it, it's Gabriel actually joking about mutinying in front of Heaven's most fervent Metatron-worshipping fascist in a way that is very much going over Sandalphon's head. Gabriel is all can't have a war without war-- yeah, true dat, Stasi a Fond. I'm slowly losing it over here and my favorite fantasy is just peacing out entirely of this whole 'Commander of The Heavenly Host' shit and wouldn't that really completely eff up The Ineffable Plan? Oh, my secret daydream... if only I could...

Then, what happens, though, by the end of S1?

Gabriel sees a kid do just that.

The eleven year old spawn of Satan is all yeah, no, you can't have a war without war. I don't want to start a war. I like the world. I've got enough on my plate dealing with my own life-- I don't want to rule over everyone. I want everyone to feel at peace and be happy and take care of each other.

Gabriel was freaked out because of the consequences of this and the fact that he, at the the time, thought The Metatron might kill him for failing to start Armageddon but, after the day was over and Gabriel had a moment to breathe and think about it, you can't tell me he didn't hear Adam saying that it was too much pressure to be in charge of every other living being in existence and he just wanted to chill with the people he liked and live his own life in peace and let everyone else do that, too and think to himself:

Yeah, kid. Me too.

The dude who is told he's responsible for everyone in Heaven and who sees angels falling as partly his fault and whom the humans deify and to whom they make statues was like fucking hell, the little antichrist brat was right.

He realized that it's not about Armageddon, it's about living and building a life until you have all the world you need. It's about what Crowley and Aziraphale have been trying to do and about what he and Beez were as well. Gabriel's proposal to Beez is a simple one:

What if, instead of Armageddon, there was no Armageddon?

What if, instead of war, there's no war?

So, he ended up fulfilling his own prophecy a bit when the one day came when he used what Sandalphon said-- just not in the way that Sandalphon meant it but in the way that Gabriel himself and Aziraphale heard it: you can't have a war without war... no war exists if enough people refuse to fight it.

That's the way to stop Armageddon.

Gabriel came to realize that the best thing he could do as a leader in Heaven and commander of its armed forces was to refuse to fight, come what may. He quits the army and defects to the embassy of the only independent country that exists in the supernatural world: the United States of Crowley and Aziraphale.

As Agnes said:

...the calm cometh when Redde and Whyte and Black and Pale approache to Peas is Our Professioune.

In this case: Redde/Red (Crowley), Whyte/White (Aziraphale), Black (Beez), Pale (Gabriel). To profess: to state. Peas = the talking of frozen peas because homophone: peace.

The calm cometh when Crowley, Aziraphale, Beez and Gabriel talk and each get closer to their own peace and to peace with one another and help each other to spread that mentality throughout all those willing in Heaven and Hell and Earth.

That's what you feed the other ducks-- your frozen peas. Your own stuff that is disturbing your own inner peace and creating inner wars and small-scale conflicts that, if left unchecked, can build into larger-scale ones.

If you break that shit down and talk about it, there needn't be any war.

Sometimes, it means shedding some armor, keeping an open mind, and admitting that you were wrong-- all things that can be difficult...

...especially for those are secretly tender-hearted but put up that armor to survive in worlds steeped in toxic masculinity...

...and, sometimes, it's maddening because people are scared and get set in their ways and do dumb shit and you have to upend power structures and reinforce more positive behaviors to get them to shut up long enough to start listening to one another...

...but the more who learn to unlearn the harmful stuff at the core of their own struggles and who open their minds up to listening to others, the more we're professing our peas to our fellow ducks and getting closer to peace within ourselves and within the world as a whole and that's what it's all about. It might always be approaching Peas is Our Professioune rather than a perfectly peaceful world but the point is the effort of the approach and to just keep making steady progress as much as we can while we're walking the Earth. After all...

#good omens #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #aziracrow #good omens meta #good omens 2 #good omens theory #the archangel fucking gabriel #lord beezlebub #ineffable bureaucracy #sandalphon #pepper good omens #adam good omens #the them #agnes nutter #good omens analysis

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your-name-is-jim · 1 year ago

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What a Kirk/Spock shipper sees in a Kirk/Female-Love-Interest story [PART 2/2]

Part 1 <- Please read Part 1 first. Part 2 won't make sense otherwise!

This panel is absolutely AMAZING and you all deserved to see it :D

So, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah, Laura just proposed.

As you can see, Jim is panicking not sure what to answer, so the first thing he does is calling his two best friends. There are so many things going on here; I'll try to mention everything I care about!

"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together."

This is an important part of this comic: apparently, in this story Starfleet isn't encouraging relationships between officers with a different rank. I know it's sort of implied in canon too, but it's not always clear if it's actually against regulations or if it's fine when the ranks are close.

As a K/S shipper, this detail just gives me an in-universe reason why Jim and Spock aren't considering dating each other in this story: a commander can't probably have a relationship with a captain. I mean, we already know from canon TOS that Jim avoids relationships with the members of his crew, so this just adds a layer to a potential forbidden love story between them. Yeah, I know this isn't what this comic is trying to do, but what can I say? Fans don't stop shipping something just because they learn it's not allowed in-universe… if anything, they can find it more exciting! :D

"We could teach at the Academy. Mind you, she laughed at that idea."

Oh, wait. Jim actually talked to Laura about their possible future together! It looks like he's thinking about them as teachers at Starfleet Academy. Hmm… this sounds familiar:

2277 — Accepts appointment to Academy faculty, moves into San Francisco apartment

This is from Kirk's biography in Star Trek official website. Between The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan, Jim accepts a job at the Academy. We see it at the start of the second movie, after Saavik takes the Kobayashi Maru test.

Wait, who's the other teacher here? :D

Okay, okay, in that era Jim is an admiral and Spock is a captain, so their ranks are still different, but except for that… They both teach at the Academy. And it's literally what Jim proposed to his love interest Laura in the comic! With my Kirk/Spock goggles on, what I read in that panel is "If Laura and I got married, we could both do this thing that I'm totally going to do with Spock in the future." LOL

Did the comic creators notice the parallel? Probably not. However, we K/S shippers have special skills for finding accidental implications about our ship everywhere, so here it is :)

"Your thoughts, please, Mr. Spock."

I said I had a lot to say about that single panel, so of course I can't skip the last line! A human woman has just proposed to Jim, and what does Jim do? He asks for Spock's opinion. This says a lot about Jim and Spock's friendship, and it's very sweet on Jim's part, but it also makes me think about Jim's love life. What about Jim and Laura's romantic feelings for each other? Does Jim want to spend the rest of his life with her? Perhaps the reason they don't talk about it (not even with Bones!) is that it's implied that Jim loves her and she loves him, even if they never say it. However, I still think it's interesting that Jim's discussion on the matter is mostly "logical".

Anyway, I swear I won't post every single panel of this comic, but Spock's reply is an absolute gem you all must see:

"I AM SOMETHING OF AN EXPERT ON THE SUBJECT OF JAMES T. KIRK."

(dkjflsdjlkdjglk brb losing my mind again)

Ahem. Okay, Spock. Noted. Also, wow, nice make up. Did I say that the art in this comic is great? Good.

"I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness."

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I find interesting his use of "equal status" instead of the more specific "equal rank". Status makes me think less of their official position in Starfleet, and more of how two people actually see each other. It's not just about Laura and Jim being both captains; it's about them seeing each other as equals.

Anyway, Jim jokes about Bones and Spock finally agreeing about something, and the conversation continues.

Jim's best friends are both encouraging him to marry Laura. In this panel, I zoomed in on Bones because his words are especially interesting. Based on everything we've seen so far, it looks like having a romantic partner when you're in Starfleet is a pain in the ass in general in this comic; however, Bones is pointing out that for the first time, Jim has someone who really understands. Of course, that's because she's a Starfleet captain too.

About Spock, I won't share the entire conversation, but I just want to say that as a K/S shipper who likes to think Spock is secretly in love with Jim in this era, I find his dialogue where he's supporting Jim's relationship with Laura totally reasonable. It's important to remember that this comic takes place close to the end of the five-year mission. We know that Spock is going to run away after that, trying to erase all his emotions in Gol. So, in this specific part of his story, I find pretty in character that he'd tell Jim to find happiness with someone else. That's what he'd do, regardless of his own feelings.

So, Jim knows his two best friends think he should say "yes" to Laura. What happens next?

During a mission, Jim meets his ex Carol Marcus. She is surprised to find out that Jim is considering settling down. This is not completely related to this analysis, so I won't post it, but I found interesting that Carol knows about every single woman Jim dated before he became captain (the only one she doesn't name is Ruth), and she even says "And that woman in 1930, what was her name?" Just… how the hell does she know? LMAO

At least Jim hasn't told her about Miramanee and Rayna (well, technically he doesn't even remember the latter), but seriously, Carol does know a lot about Jim's private life, even if it's clear she doesn't want her or their son to be part of it. (Not really related to this plot, but in case you're confused about the timeline: David is a child in this era; however, he doesn't appear in this story.)

Anyway, this is what she eventually tells him:

So, I like to think that Carol is genuinely trying to help Jim here, because the spiteful ex girlfriend is another thing I don't really want to see in 2020. I want to think that the creators meant well; however, what happens in the story is that, despite Jim not seeing himself outside the captain's chair, and despite his best friends telling him to marry the captain that is just like him… Jim keeps thinking about Carol's words.

He knows from Starfleet that he's going to be promoted to admiral the moment he reaches Earth. What is interesting here is that Jim could refuse the promotion and be a captain with Laura. This is definitely a different situation from everything else I've seen before. It's obvious to anyone who has watched TOS movies that Jim is not happy as an admiral. He didn't really want to be one. He doesn't want to be one in this comic series either (you can see it explored in Star Trek: Year Five main story). However, thanks to The Motion Picture, we also know that he will accept promotion at the end of his five-year mission. This isn't a canon divergence story: the writers can't really change any major event, so they have to work with what canon offers.

What I find interesting is that in this 2020 comic, Jim finds himself in the opposite situation he is in Gene Roddenberry's The Motion Picture novelization from 1979. In Roddenberry's novel, it's mentioned briefly that Jim starts a relationship on Earth with a vice-admiral, a woman that was basically asked to use her charm to keep Jim grounded. Jim could refuse promotion, but he finds himself lost, without his ship, without Spock, and eventually without Bones. So he tries to convince himself that a life as an admiral with a perfect woman by his side will be good for him (it will not; Jim himself will realize a year later that his lover was an "Enterprise-surrogate").

Now, I understand trying to write something fresher and more modern in this Valentine's Day special, but I confess that I find a little hard to believe that Jim would accept a promotion as admiral if the alternative was keeping both a starship AND a wife. Also, let's not forget that Spock and Bones are both telling him to choose the married captain life. So, while I totally get from a writer's point of view that if you can't change canon, you have to work with what you have, I'm also not sure that Carol reminding Jim that he's always wanted to challenge himself is enough to make him doubt everything.

I guess I can sort of see that as part of a bigger problem: Jim knows he can't be a captain for life; during his first date with Laura, as we saw in Part 1 of my analysis, he talks about it.

"I've been thinking lately about whether I could ever stop being a Starfleet captain. Whether I could ever want to. A friend of mine talks about 'infinite diversity'. That applies to the Federation, too. But here I am, only built for one thing."

So, Jim knows he has probably avoided the subject for too long. Carol is forcing him to think about it. And, more implicitly, we could say Spock and his IDIC philosophy are also making him think, even if it's not what Spock would have expected. After all, Spock told Jim to marry Laura (in the comic), and he'll tell him that being a starship captain is his "first, best destiny" (in The Wrath of Khan).

Anyway, Jim eventually decides to meet Laura and talk to her about his personal concerns. First of all, we find out that the two of them haven't called each other for six weeks. Laura is still waiting for Jim's answer, and she didn't want to call him. If you ask me, their lack of communication is yet another a big clue that perhaps getting married is not a great idea.

Well, now Jim is at least trying to talk to her.

Aaand that's how she breaks up with him.

I'm not sure how to feel about this. I mean, in a sense, Jim doesn't say "I decided to be an admiral instead of marrying you", but Laura definitely sees it that way. I think he was genuinely looking for help, but that just proves that Laura isn't the right person for him. Why marrying someone you can't communicate with? They are such a great team as captains, but it looks like that doesn't apply to their relationship. I pointed out other clues in the previous parts, and now we got this. It's interesting to see that Jim in this comic can have a normal conversation about his future with Spock, Bones, and even Carol Marcus, but not with the person he's supposed to build a future with. Unless something changes between them, it can't work out.

Anyway, this isn't the end.

A year later, when Jim is an admiral on Earth, there's a sudden emergency. A miniature black hole appears out of the deep structure of the universe (don't blame me for the science, I'm literally quoting the comic LOL) and it's attracted to Earth gravity. Short story: they're all going to die, but fortunately the Drake (Laura's ship) can cause an anti-matter implosion that will shunt the black hole outside their reality. Unfortunately, that also means the Drake will have to go inside the black hole. Laura evacuates her crew and asks Admiral Kirk to give her the order to proceed. Reluctantly, Jim tells her that he knows she'll do it, and he gives the order.

Now, please appreciate The Motion Picture aesthetic:

Okay, I know I could have chosen a panel with Jim and Laura, since this is literally their love story, but I did say this analysis was going to be biased, so here is Laura with her two closest friends instead; they would never let her risk her life alone! <3 They are very obviously meant to be a parallel to what Spock and Bones are to Jim, which is very cute to see. Now, Laura, listen to me: I know the three of you have different ranks, but you may die in a few seconds… And I just think that the few times your friends appear in this comic, you have a lot of chemistry with them, sooo maybe you should forget about Jim and just smooch one of them, or both… just saying :)

Ahem. Anyway, after Laura and her girlfriends disappear into the void, there's another timeskip. This time it's 15 years.

Oh, damn.

I said in the premise of this analysis that one of the reasons I decided to read this comic despite shipping Kirk/Spock is that, in my headcanon, Kirk and Spock get together after The Motion Picture. Until this point, this comic hasn't really gone against my headcanon. I can genuinely believe that Jim had another girlfriend during his five-year mission; it's not a big deal. Unfortunately for me, this comic has its last part taking place around The Final Frontier era. Dammit.

Well, it's just one comic. I read until this point; it'd be illogical not to read until the end, right? Nah, it's not logic. It's human curiosity. I know I won't like it, but I still want to see it.

Also, if there's something that I really don't want to see in modern media anymore, is female characters dying just to make male characters suffer. I can accept that in TOS show because it was made in the 1960s, but even TOS movies got better about it! Characters like Saavik and Gillian can have their own lives without having to die for a man's pain. It's not a coincidence that the writers had to kill Spock to make Jim suffer. Without digressing too much, I just wanted to say that K/S bias aside, I went into this comic hoping to read something different from another dead woman for Jim. I'm very glad that, at least about this, the comic creators didn't disappoint me!

So, in this story, it's been 15 years since Laura's disappearance (actually, it should be more, but I'll try not to nitpick, despite being the trekkies' favorite hobby :D). Anyway, the one with the whales The Voyage Home happened, and Jim is not an admiral anymore. He's happy to have a starship again, but he hasn't stopped questioning his life decisions.

We can also see that, 15 years later, he's reading the book Laura liked.

HOLD IT! WAIT WAIT WAIT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??? WHAT THE--

*inhales deeply*

(Friendly reminder to myself that what is obvious to me may not be obvious to everyone else, so I need to explain. Fine. I'll try.)

The screenshots I posted are from The Wrath of Khan, right after Spock's funeral. What Jim is doing there is reading the end of the book that Spock gave him for his birthday. He's mourning Spock.

In the comic panel, Jim has a new pair of glasses, because it takes place a little later in the timeline. But, except for that…

It's the same scene.

The same fucking scene.

I mean, come on! I can't even post the "they're the same picture" meme, because it's not funny if they're literally the same picture! Even the bookmark is the same!

The comic creators literally took a canon scene about Jim reading Spock's book after Spock is gone, and they redrew it with Jim reading Laura's book after Laura is gone. In a Valentine's Day special. Where Laura is Jim's love interest. They made a romantic scene with Jim and a woman that was originally about Jim and Spock.

(Brb, I'm going to chew a pillow until I calm down.)

So. Well. If you wondered why I thought there was something about Kirk/Spock in this comic… you have your answer. Perhaps the artist didn't think anything about it. I certainly do.

And I guess someone could say, "But Jim is still reading Laura's book 15 years later! That's true love!" Why yes, he's not reading Spock's book 15 years later, because he didn't stay without Spock for 15 years; he risked everything and lost all the most important things in his life to save Spock's soul.

Anyway, back to the comic. Starfleet receives a signal from the edge of Federation space. It's the Drake. Laura and her friends are alive.

Jim and Laura have a reunion after a long separation. Since they're both captains now, Jim thinks they are given a second chance.

Oh, whoops.

It's her turn now. It looks like being away for 15 years has changed her (as you can expect, honestly), and she's now glad to become an admiral. In this comic, that means Jim can't marry her. So, this is how the story ends:

So. Um.

This isn't a bad ending, but I also wouldn't exactly call it a happy ending. It's certainly not a happily ever after story. I'd call it open, maybe hopeful? Honestly, pretty much what I'd expect from a love story between an original character and Jim, so I can't say the writing is disappointing about that.

On the other hand, I can't personally imagine middle-aged Jim being so eager to start a romance again with someone he hasn't seen in 15 years who broke up with him 16 years ago. Perhaps he felt guilty about Laura's disappearance because if he had married her, they would have been part of a colonization fleet somewhere else and the incident wouldn't have happened the same way? Maybe. Personally, I would have found more believable an ending where Jim asks her to have dinner together or go for a walk, and then something romantic happening as they get to know each other again. But I can see why the creators wanted to bring up the marriage proposal again, just to close the circle. The comic is just 32 pages, so they did what they could.

"Unless there's someone else." "Not so much. I've been really busy."

Busy with what? Oh, right: Spock's death, Spock's body on Genesis, Spock's rebirth on Vulcan, the time travel (okay, that one wasn't 100% Spock-related), Spock's brother… Honestly, just say there's been a lot of Spock in your life, Jim, because that's the truth :)

On a more serious note, I guess that dialogue could mean that Jim has someone, but "he's been too busy" to do anything serious with them. However, as a K/S monoshipper I don't really like the idea of Jim being in an open relationship with Spock, so Jim's character in the entire scene in the end is just a big NOPE for me. Sorry.

That said, I found very interesting that in a few panels they show very clearly the "captain" rank on Jim and Laura's shoulders, to point out that it's the same. They can't be together forever, but they can have fun for a few days as captains. Because of that, I went back to the start of the last timeskip, just to check out something:

Fascinating.

This is a pretty detailed panel, where you can see the ranks on the shoulders of Jim's friends; the colors of their pins are also pretty good, close to the ones in the movies… except for Spock's.

Oh, please. Did you really expect me not to pay attention to this? :)

Captain Kirk and Captain Spock.

And unlike Laura, this is what they are until the end! The end of a very long life! Generations? What's Generations? Spock will eventually become an ambassador, but that's just a different job. How did Spock himself put it earlier in this comic?

"I am something of an expert on the subject of James T. Kirk. And I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness."

Did the comic creators just play themselves? I don't know, I'm quoting their own story here! LOL

And what about Jim's words from the same scene? :D

"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together."

Partners. Of equal rank. Working together.

That's literally what Kirk and Spock are since the end of The Voyage Home! Without an expiration date!

The comic creators made a big deal in their universe about relationships being better between two captains, and how good Jim and Laura may have been for each other if they had married as captains; and now they can't have their happily ever after because Laura is going to be an admiral… But even if the comic tries to hide it, we know there is a captain in Jim's life. And to make things better, Jim lost his admiral rank to bring him back. Listen, I'm a huge Old Married Kirk/Spock fan, so there's no way anything can make me forget that in the last TOS movies they're both captains. And there's no way I can forget that Jim risked his entire career (and everything else!) for Spock, and that's literally why he's not an admiral anymore.

This is almost ironic in this Valentine's Day comic. If it hadn't been for Spock, Jim would have still been an admiral, and he could have married Laura. Whoops. Too bad.

Speaking of admirals, I didn't notice it at first, but there's also something about this line Laura says in the last panel I posted…

"And don't you dare 'Admiral' me."

Ah, yes, a typical thing you tell someone you're planning to have sex with. Right, Laura? Agreed :)

Honestly, at this point I should just stop checking this comic, because I wonder if I'd just end up finding a Kirk/Spock version of every Kirk/Laura Rhone line LOL

By the way, I have other thoughts to share now that the story is over, but there's one more thing first. Do you remember the last panels of the comic? Middle-aged Jim and Laura kiss; END.

Okay. After that, the comic has a picture of the cover, with Jim and Laura kissing when they're younger.

And then it has this:

dklsfjlskjflskjlksjlkdlkgjdlfgsnfjekniuwanf LISTEN, HOW--

Just how am I even supposed to say anything that makes sense about this…??? I'm just… I can't…

Okay. So. We're talking about a Valentine's Day comic. It makes sense for it to include a cute Valentine card. I also get that Spock's iconic line has become so mainstream that it can be quoted out of context. And you can make parodies.

But… But… A Star Trek TOS fan can't really forget the original context of "I have been and always shall be your friend"? Someone could just not think about it, I guess… But, well, I know that at least I can't forget that this is literally Spock's line to Jim rewritten in a romantic Valentine's Day version. I can't possibly NOT think about it!

And I know it's very possible that the people who worked on the comic story weren't even aware of this extra, but the fact that I'm seeing this after reading about Jim Kirk's romance without happily ever after… Jim kisses a woman he can't stay with forever, and then there's Spock's "I have been and always shall be your Valentine". It's just so fucking funny. I can't. If I was feeling a little down after seeing middle-aged Jim wanting to marry Laura, now I'm laughing again. Thanks, Spock's silly Valentine card. I needed it! :D

Anyway, what did I say about this comic taking things originally created for Kirk and Spock's relationship and making them romantic when they're not about them? I can believe that sometimes it's a coincidence, but this card? Please… In a sense, this is the perfect ending.

---

Conclusions.

I started this comic with a question: in 2020, how do you write a story about TOS Kirk falling in love? I wanted to see this attempt. Overall, I think the creators did what they could. Laura is different from every other woman in Jim's life; they didn't kill her off, and they also didn't force a happy ending. I think they did a good job with the canon limitations they had, especially in 32 pages.

Do I believe that Laura could have been a good match for Jim in different circumstances?

As a temporary girlfriend? Yes.

As a lifelong partner? No.

Of course, I'm aware my answer is biased, but I can try to be a little more "logical" about it.

First of all, I think that the comic itself supports my interpretation: of course, like in every story, different people are going to see different things; however, as I already pointed out, Jim and Laura never say that they love each other, and before the marriage proposal their relationship is pretty casual.

In The Original Series, Jim isn't lucky when it comes to romance because the women he falls in love with can't really understand his nature as a space explorer. Sometimes they can, like in Carol's case, and that's why they break up with him. Laura is the opposite, because she's just like Jim. But here is the thing: I think Laura is too much like him.

What would have happened if Jim had accepted to marry her at the end of the five-year mission? They would have been both captains. On different ships, though. Sure, they could have been part of the same colonization fleet, as Jim says in the comic, and maybe it would have worked for a while. However, would they really have seen each other as much as Jim needs?

I don't know about Laura, but we see multiple times in canon that behind his mask as a starship captain, Jim is definitely more lonely than what someone may think.

First of all, don't get me wrong: in these screenshots from The Naked Time, Jim is single, so of course his attraction to Janice Rand is related to that. It's not the same situation he'd be in if he were married to Laura. Early in the series, he has thoughts about his yeoman exactly because he doesn't have anyone else. Contrary to his fame as a womanizer, TOS Jim in canon always has one woman at a time in his mind, never more.

So, why am I sharing those lines? To show that when Jim is always inside the Enterprise, he does feel lonely. He needs a romantic partner's physical touch. However, we also know that Jim does not want a relationship with one of his subordinates, so Janice Rand and the rest of his crew are off limits.

Laura is good for him because she's part of Starfleet, and not a subordinate. But is that really enough? From what I've seen in the comic, no. At the end of the day, it looks to me that Jim and Laura don't really know how to plan a future together. Perhaps it's because they're so similar, but they don't really think of themselves as a couple, especially Laura. There's Captain James T. Kirk and Captain Laura Rhone; they both love their ships, so they should get married? That's not how it works.

Their relationship is casual. Jim doesn't want to define it. Are they friends with benefits? Are they in an open relationship? Either way, when Laura decides to marry him, she asks around if Jim has someone else, and only after that she asks him. Jim, on the other hand, doesn't talk to her for six weeks after her proposal. He talks to Spock and Bones immediately, but not to her. He even talks to Carol first.

Then, when Jim finally tries to talk to her about his problems, she doesn't listen. Their lack of communication is the cause of their break up.

16 years later, what we see is even worse. It's obvious that Laura has just different priorities. Maybe it's because of what happened to her lost in space, but I'm not sure. If they had married at the end of the five-year mission, would have Laura always refused a promotion to admiral? Would she have tried to get a promotion with Jim? Based on what we see in this comic, it doesn't look likely to me.

Now, as I said, different people are going to see different things, so I'm sure that someone really invested in this romance can imagine that Jim and Laura are really meant to be, and they can get their happy ending after their retirement, or in other ways. However, I admit that Jim and Laura's huge communication issues make hard to me to picture a long happy relationship between them. They should both try to get better, but in those 32 pages there was no hint towards that direction.

There's another thing that makes really hard to find any love interest for Jim as a plausible "happily ever after" option: the stakes. I know that it's just a single comic, so the creators had to focus on a few things; however, I couldn't help but notice that Jim and Laura never really save each other from dangerous situations. They work together as a team, and Jim watches Laura disappearing into the void, but does he do anything about it? Does he try to reach her inside her ship before she disappears into the black hole? Does he try to bring her back from the void? No, he doesn't.

In TOS show and movies, Jim Kirk risks so much for his crew and his ship that a Star Trek fan can't believe that a new woman is the love of his life, unless Jim is willing to do for her everything he does for his friends. And honestly, after The Search for Spock… how can he even come close to do that?

And it's not just about Jim's actions. There's his language too. At the start of the third movie, Jim refers to Spock as "the noblest part of myself". What could he say about a love interest that is as deep as this?

Let's be honest here: the reason it's so hard to write a story about Jim Kirk's true love is that the real love story for him has already been written. You may not see it romantically, but Kirk and Spock's story is absolutely a love story. And when a character has someone he loves so deeply, it's not easy to convince the audience that he could have someone new to love as deeply. In Jim's case, the combination of his personality and his canon life makes it almost impossible.

Anyway, before I end up not so accidentally turning this analysis into a complete Kirk/Spock ship manifesto, I'm just going to mention one silly thing about the Valentine's Day comic. Please, don't take it too seriously, I'm half-joking :)

So, there are two kiss scenes in the story: one when Jim and Laura start to spend a lot of free time together, and one in the last panel. Well, I can't believe Jim isn't holding Laura's shoulders when he kisses her! That's just the basis of the way Jim kisses women! D:

Different Star Trek characters kiss in different ways; it fits their personalities. And because the rest of my TOS posts are probably too gay for these gifs, I'm dropping them as references here:

Sorry, but if Jim Kirk doesn't grab someone's shoulders before a kiss, it just kills my immersion! :P

Okay, a little more seriously: Jim doesn't always kiss women the same way; however, his "shoulder grab" is common enough that you definitely notice it if you pay attention. Because of that, I think it would have been nice to include it in the Valentine's Day comic.

After reading this comic, what kind of person would I consider perfect for Jim?

Well, my answer is obvious. However, I'll try to elaborate.

First of all, this story definitely convinced me even more that Jim can only be really happy with another Starfleet officer (or at least someone who's been deeply involved with Starfleet). He also needs someone who understands him as a space explorer, without trying to keep him grounded. And someone very smart, of course. These are all traits Laura has. But they're just the basis.

I don't think Jim needs someone in command of their own ship as a lifelong partner. As I said before, I can't really imagine it working out. Another starship captain would have their own goals and their own ambitions; that doesn't mean Jim shouldn't marry someone with specific plans for their own career, but I think these plans should keep the two of them close, not on different ships. Jim needs his partner physically at his side; if he could be happy in a long-distance relationship, I believe we would have seen at least one working out in canon. But it's never the case. Working on different starships from the same fleet would be a little better, but in my opinion not enough, unless it's for a short period of time.

And there's also the matter of his partner's personality. Jim is a natural leader; that's why he's so good at his job. I don't think he needs a similar kind of leader as romantic partner. This is just my personal opinion, but I believe they would just fight about everything they disagree about. I think he needs someone calmer in his life, not someone who'd encourage emotional outbursts.

More importantly, he absolutely needs someone he can communicate with. If he can't talk to his partner about everything important, they're not the right person for him. That doesn't mean they can't have disagreements or miscommunication issues, of course, but they shouldn't happen all the time, and Jim and his partner should be able to talk about them and make up.

In conclusion: someone at his side on his ship, smart, calm, trustworthy :)

Now, I know what some of you are thinking about: what about the "no relationships with subordinates" personal rule Jim has? How can Jim be in a relationship with Spock (or anyone else on the Enterprise) if he's everyone's superior officer? Well, first of all, I already said that after The Voyage Home, Jim and Spock are both captains. And before that… I think that Spock in the comic phrased it the right way. Jim can find his happiness with someone of "equal status". I think it's pretty clear, in my opinion, that Janice Rand and Spock aren't the same kind of subordinates to Jim. Just think about it: which members of the Enterprise call their captain "Jim"? Bones, Spock and (occasionally) Scotty. These are the three people I believe are "equals" in private to Jim, no matter their ranks when they're on duty. Because of that, a relationship between Jim and Spock could work pretty well.

By the way, another thing the Valentine's Day comic made me think about is that in TOS movies, Jim sort of does with Spock pretty much everything he does with Laura in this story. Not the same way, of course, but does it matter? Spock is his own person, he's not Jim's copy. That doesn't mean he can't indulge Jim, have fun himself… and try to stop Jim from doing dangerous things "for fun", as an old spouse would :)

Okay, perhaps throwing each other into the water doesn't count as dancing, but it's so much better :D

In conclusion, this is the way I can read the Valentine's Day comic as a Kirk/Spock shipper:

Jim mentions Spock on his first date with a woman.

Jim questions his life choices as he thinks about Spock and IDIC philosophy.

Jim does with Laura everything we see him doing in TOS show, except for playing chess (just the thing he does with Spock).

Jim says Laura and him are a good team in Starfleet because they had a lot of sex (is that true about other people he works well with??)

There haven't been many ladies or gentlemen in Jim's life because he's busy (not because he's not into men, apparently).

"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together." Good for your future with Spock, Jim!

If Jim and Laura got married, they could both teach at Starfleet Academy, something Jim is totally going to do with Spock someday.

Mister "I am something of an expert on the subject of James T. Kirk" Spock.

Also, Mister "I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness" Spock, which is actual foreshadowing of his own future status with Jim.

Hey, look at Jim reading a book that reminds him of his lost love! I wonder where I've seen LITERALLY THE SAME PICTURE???

"Don't 'Admiral' me". This is totally not similar to what Jim tells Spock in The Voyage Home, of course.

Hey, we're both captains now! Just for a few days, but isn't that great? I wonder if anyone else is a captain now, and forever? :D

"I have been and always shall be your Valentine". Totally not a Kirk/Spock line, I don't know what you're talking about! :)

Okay, okay, that's all.

As a Kirk/Spock shipper, I won't deny that I'm a little jealous of this Valentine's Day special comic, because I wish we could get something with amazing art like this where Jim is in love with Spock. On the other hand, Star Trek: Year Five comic series has a few scenes about Jim & Spock's friendship that I really liked. Platonic, sure, but good enough for my K/S goggles!

Thank you so much for reading this post until the end! I hope you enjoyed my analysis! Live long and prosper!

#star trek analysis #star trek: year five #star trek: year five valentine's day special #star trek comics #james t. kirk #laura rhone #spirk #star trek tos #star trek the original series #k/s #kirk x spock #space husbands #my gifs

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lookingfts · 1 month ago

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You know how you always find it strange that your ‘little insignificant’ plot bunnies are the ones that get traction….well here I am on the soulmarks AU still losing my mind. Like LOSING IT.

I love soulmarks, antematter converted me with bloom, which is astoundingly beautiful, and my attraction is that they’re so sweet and heartwarming and tender - but now you’ve completely transformed them for me. The idea of Anthony being feral over her mark, the possessiveness, his and Kate teasing him with it. You’ve changed the game. I can’t stop thinking about it.

Once again, you nailed it!!!!

Hahaha it's so true. I clearly have no idea what people will be into, because I can't tell you how many times I've been like "this is random but whatever I already wrote it" and then people are into it and have all these headcanons for it. It's so fun.

Antematter is the soulmark queen! I also really like The Universe Laughs At Anthony Bridgerton by TeaBrigadier.

Don't want to be pushy since you said you didn't intend to expand on the drabble but Mark sounds like it would be such a sweet and spicy story. (I want to see the dude try it with "close enough" 👀)

Well I wasn't planning to write any more because I wasn't thinking there would be a lot of plot/drama. (Not that you can't have those things with soulmate fics...I just didn't envision this fic that way.) But if everyone would be down for a one-shot where they're just really horny and in love and there's no angst, I'll consider writing it.

Your soulmark AU is one of the best I’ve ever read, truly. And I love that we got just a snippet of them together at the end, idk, it just really works in this. I enjoy when you expand your AUs with headcanons though, do you have any in particular for this one?

Thank you so much! I think we've tackled a lot already (you can go through the "for you i am fragile" tag if you missed any posts). Here's a few more:

Kate likes to bite Anthony's shoulder during sex, right where his mark is.

They fudge the details of how they met (a common theme in my fics, I'm realizing) and then Ben blows it by accidentally letting something slip from that night and his family is like what???

Anthony didn't want to meet his soulmate because he blamed the soulmate connection for why Violet was catatonic after Edmund's death. So he never actively searched for her. But when Ben called to say he found Anthony's soulmate and was going to sleep with her, it just didn't sit well with him, so he went not really intending to do anything but know who she was and cockblock Ben. And then they saw each other and it was pretty much all over from there. But it does still scare him, feeling so much for someone and potentially leaving either of them in that kind of grief.

I think this is true across most AUs: Kate always thought she would hate having a guy stuck to her like glue, but she loves it with Anthony. Neither of them truly understood what having a soulmate would feel like. They quite literally can't get enough of each other.

Kate's Amma and Appa were soulmates, but Mary and her Appa weren't, so Kate just grew up feeling like you could love and be happy with someone who isn't your soulmate and people put too much pressure around it.

Anthony says I love you after a month. He doesn't love her just because they're soulmates, but everything he knows about her shows him why they are soulmates. They are so alike but also complement each other in the most important ways.

Kate also never thought she would like possessiveness, but by god does it work for her with Anthony. Any time another guy hits on her (which happens a lot, because look at her) Anthony has her in some dark corner growling "you're mine" and she melts in his arms.

#for you i am fragile #bridgerton #kanthony #kate x anthony #anthony x kate #asks and answers #bridgerton fic

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another-lost-mc · 6 months ago

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is it bad that as much as i like your ocs (theyre amazing, i love them!), i really miss seeing you write for the canon characters

You know, that’s valid. The proportion of Canon and OC content here lately has been way off. It’s sort of the elephant in the room I ignore every time I think about Obey Me and my inspiration automatically focuses on the world building or OC potential instead.

There’s a few reasons why I’ve been less interested in writing canon lately.

1. Disappointment with Nightbringer. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure why this game exists (except to overhaul the franchise’s monetization structure). The premise and lore payoff hasn’t been that great for me personally - it feels more like an AU rather than a canon addition/continuation of the OG game. It feels like we still end up with more loose ends and questions that we don’t have (and may never get) answers for. I’m still waiting for Raphael and Mephisto to be dateable, by the way. As a result, my focus when writing OM content has been using the OG story/characterization using the odd piece from NB that makes sense, and that leads into…

2. My favourite parts of Obey Me are under-developed in canon. I enjoy most of the canon cast, I really do. But I want more Celestial Realm lore, I want more Michael (and not NB HM Lesson 20 Michael), I want more angels in general. They’ve mentioned Uriel a couple times now, give me that angel please and thank you! (No longer relevant, I wrote a version of him myself.)

The world feels so empty at times but there’s so much potential. Parts of the Devildom are more fleshed out with NB adding to it, but what about the other realms? What’s going on with the Sorcerer’s Society and the reapers? I never know if the interesting hints of lore we get are truly relevant or if it’s just something the game decided was convenient for a plot point and never gets mentioned again. NB has been great for Solomon fans since it’s practically a Solomon x MC fanfic written with a forced roommates trope, and that might be the best thing about it from a lore perspective.

My OCs were originally meant to explore gaps in the world and give the canon characters room to grow beyond the one or two defining traits the game keeps repeating over and over. I like writing Mammon when I can have him interact with Karasu, I like imagining the types of angels other exchange students might meet in the Celestial Realm, I like giving a name and personality to the mysterious owner of The Fall where so many events and Devilgram stories take place. Admittedly, it was refreshing to see that other people enjoyed reading about them or imagining them paired with their own MCs/OCs too. I call them the OC Fan Club with genuine affection.

3. It’s not something I talk about often but before I began writing fanfiction, I was mostly focused on concepts or outlines for original stories. Writing supernatural and horror themes always been my interest as a writer so anything with demons/angels/other monstrous races automatically catches my eye.

It’s a little mean to say, but half-baked worlds like the Devildom are a lot of fun to use as a foundation for expanding my own ideas. The OC story I’ve been working on is one way for me to write longer and more complex pieces which is the type I like most. Granted, it includes nearly the entire game cast and it explores the Devildom and Celestial Realm in ways that tie together some of my favourite personal headcanons and characterization. It focuses on angel characters and the history/culture of the Celestial Realm which are two of my main interests for this game. It’s a huge project - the outline is nearly 20k words on its own, it’s practically a novel divided into four sections with 30+ chapters and an epilogue. I can’t even express how excited I am when I get to work on this.

That being said, I do like writing canon content and I’ve been missing it more lately. I got burnt out when it felt like I was losing interest in NB and was pushing myself to keep writing anyway which isn’t great.

Today someone left a nice comment on something I wrote a while back, an angst piece for the demon brothers. I haven’t read it in a while and after going back and re-reading it, I was like, “Huh, I don’t remember liking this as much as I do.” And then I remembered something in my drafts that’s been rotting away, half-edited and ignored, and realized that I wanted to finish it. So, I’ve been slowly tinkering with things while I work on my angels’ story. Some of my plans are ambitious and real life distractions (mostly health related, like my recent bout of COVID) haven’t helped.

If I learned anything about my writing since starting this blog, it’s that:

writing what you’re passionate about is more fulfilling than writing what seems trendy or popular

giving and receiving feedback and fostering friendships/supporting each other keeps the community thriving

self care self care self care

Anyway. My goal has always been to write about the things I love about the game world and the things I create that are inspired by it. It’s a delicate balancing act that I’m still working on.

#jes.replies #hilariously bad takes abound #somewhat personal?#also I’ve been working on an oc side blog to try and organize things better #this may or may not get deleted if delayed embarrassment kicks in tomorrow

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aspoonofsugar · 3 months ago

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What are your thoughts on the yorkshin arc? My main issue is the arc never really lingered on Kurapika's feelings that much. I honestly didn't feel much for it. We were shown how angry and vengeful he was, but we never really got to see or feel just how hurt Kurapika was over losing his family, friends and home.

Maybe it's my own perception problem. This may sound mean but Kurapika just seem to be this badass arrogant cold-blooded chain bastard. After killing Uvo, he remained stone-cold. He wasnt bothered. He doesnt feel guilty at all. Was he supposed to be like this in the manga?

I still like it overall but i kinda wish it was more emotionally compelling just as Chimera Ant Arc. Chimera arc was super long so it has it's highs and lows. But I would say the highs of Chimera ant are higher than Yorknew.

Hello anon!

I love the York Shin arc tbh :)

I think it is not fair to compare it to the CAA, though, because imo its role in the narrative is more similar to the Zoldyck short arc for Killua, the Celestial Arena's arc for Nen, Greed Island for Gon and the Election Arc for Leorio. These are all set up arcs, where you are not expected to see all the conflicts solved.

The zoldyck arc introduces the main family members and dynamics, but it does not solve them

The Celestial Arena introduces nen, but it doesn't show its most interesting powers or applications

Greed Island sets up Gon's flaws, but it does not really deconstruct them

The Election Arc sets up Leorio's arc and potential as a politician, but it ends with Leorio losing the elections

Similarly, York Shin doesn't solve Kurapika's arc, but simply introduces its major themes together with the Spiders. It is the current arc (the Succession War Arc), that is supposed to give Kurapika and the Spiders the major characters development. Exactly like the CAA does for Gon and Killua. Notice, for example, that it ends in an anti-climax (like many HXH arcs that postpone conflicts). There is no final showdown between Kurapika and Chrollo, really.

That said, I disagree with with your reading of Kurapika as stone-cold. I would say the arc actually makes clear he is going through a huge emotional turmoil. Here are some examples:

Kurapika gets angry at Uvo and Pakunoda because they refuse to betray their comrades. That is because they go against Kurapika's ideas of the spiders as inhuman monsters. Senritsu even comments on this by saying how deep down Kurapika is starting to have doubts about his revenge, as he sees the spiders as humans.

He completely loses its cool and basically runs after them recklessly in a way that makes him easy to find. He is 100% ready to give in to his anger and to foolishly die in a 1 vs 3 fight. The only reason he survives is that Gon and Killua let themselves get caught.

In general, Kurapika is shown clearly suicidal, as he feels that without the Spiders he has no real reason to live. He even says so, which is why Gon telling him to look for his comrades' eyes helps him.

In the end, he temporally gives up his revenge to save Gon and Killua because he realizes that saving his friends that are still alive is better than avenging his dead ones. We even get a little foreshadowing of Pairo there.

Finally, Kurapika is so consumed by everything he literally sleeps for days and everyone is worried sick for him

So, his behavior is not really something I would call cold. Quite the opposite really. He is angry and desperate and at the same time the person he hates the most is really himself. So, he is sacrificing his life and his sense of self in a revenge, which will only lead to his death. I have written more about his arc here, if you are interested.

In short, I understand you expecting a more emotional narrative, but York Shin is not a climatic arc and in general Togashi's style tends to show in subtext much more than saying :) I am expecting more emotional outburst in the current arc, though, even if so far it is incredibly complex and a lot of time is given to explaining everyone's strategy.

Thank you for the ask!

#hxh #asksfullofsugar #kurapika kurta #anonymous

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misc-obeyme · 10 months ago

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sorry that this is coming to your ask box out of nowhere i just have thoughts (spoilers for om s3/4 if people want to avoid them): i know a lot of people love the idea of simeon falling from grace and becoming a demon just like the bros did, but it's so much more interesting and meaningful to me that he becomes human instead. it's another layer of separation he has from the bros and it feels like a neat parallel/contrast to lilith's actions. yes both acted out of a desire to protect a human but no one went to war for simeon. he got punished alone and quietly and by the time other characters noticed they couldn't do anything about it. (pt 1/2)

Oh no anon how could you bring this to my attention I will never be the saaaaaame!! 😭

I have thought a lot about Simeon in general because his story is so much more complex than most of the other characters. And I swear on my life, this fandom sleeps on him, but he's so great in so many ways.

I was kind of annoyed about the whole human thing, I didn't want him to lose his angel status mostly because I was upset about WHY it was happening. Since what he did by taking the ring saved lives, I was just mad about him being punished at all.

I didn't even stop to consider how this would mean he could grow old with MC and now my heart is conflicted lol!

I made that whole post about Solomon being the one who could understand MC's aging in a way the others couldn't, but it hadn't even dawned on me that Simeon could possibly be aging right along with MC. Maybe his understanding of aging and such is different from Solomon's, since he was an angel and everything, but if he stays as a human, he and MC would in fact be growing old together. AND OH MY HEART SHE BREAKS.

It's bad enough that all the demons and immortal beings have to deal with MC getting old and dying, but now they have to watch that happen to Simeon too?? The potential. Imagine how Luke would feel, all grown up and watching his elderly parental figures fade away into death. l;jadsflkdsklf I can't deal with it.

And yes, I love your thoughts about Simeon vs Lilith, too. Simeon is always the one that seems to be left out, on the outside looking in, not part of the brothers, and as you said, no one going to war for him. Punished alone and suffering alone and keeping it to himself for nearly two whole seasons because he can't even accept it himself.

I don't want Simeon to become a demon. I think him being a human is painful and sad, but I think that if he became a demon, it would almost negate all the choices he so clearly made to stay in the Celestial Realm. I think that instead of joining the rebellion, Simeon saw that he was needed in the Celestial Realm as a dissenting voice. He could work quietly from within to perhaps mitigate some of the damage that world has done and caused. I always saw him as hiding his true self, even if deep down he still wanted to be seen as a good angel and maintain his position, he also knew he had to make the choices that felt right to him. Even if it meant going against what he was originally taught. And I think that now, in the OG season four, he's kind of lost that ability because he's not even allowed in the Celestial Realm anymore. He can't even fight from within now. And I think he's struggling with feeling even more outside, feeling like he's slipping away from everything he's ever known, but not quite fitting into the Devildom either.

Augh I could talk about Simeon all day. He's really one of the best characters.

Also, please feel free to bring anything to my ask box at any time, I am genuinely thrilled to receive all of your thoughts!

#anyway I have feelings about Simeon #maybe I should write a long fic about him next #oh but I was gonna do Solomon #I dunno we'll see lol #obey me #obey me nightbringer #obey me simeon #anon asks #misc answers #spoilers #obey me spoilers

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shes-an-oddbird · 2 days ago

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Hello friend!! As our Nancy fangirl, what did you think about last night’s episode? 💛

I love that I'm considered a Nancy fangirl! I mean I 100% am but its nice to be called out on it 😂

Anyways, it was a great episode! I have been dying for a Nancy backstory for so long and I think it worked out beautifully! (btw this is about to be a very long reply oops!)

Honestly I was a bit worried about the episode at first because I suffer the worst second hand embarrassment you can imagine, like have to turn down the volume and just read the captions bad, but I survived and honestly I would never change it because Nancy being awkward it one of the reasons I love her so much. I love that her and Mateo can be weird and awkward together, they deserve that!

The best part was that they did manage to keep consistent with the little bits of backstory they have already given her. She mentions a sister and dad in earlier episodes but never a mom. And making her an oopsie baby and losing her mom at such a young age worked out really well for explaining why she's so attached to her sister. Her sister is probably significantly older than her and probably had to help her through so many milestones as a teenager that she might not have been comfortable going to her dad with. It explains why she looks up to Tommy and considers her not just a work role model but a role model as a mom. She met Tommy when Izzy and Evie were just slightly older than she was when she lost her mom. And I don't really know how to explain it but getting to see that, what she didn't have but what she could give in the future makes me emotional!

I also loved that they kind of confirmed a headcanon that I've had that Nancy probably doesn't think she's as brave as the rest of the team. I know here its in regards to what she could potentially have to go through with being sick and getting treatment but I kind of hope they come back to that maybe while she's acting as Captain. Tommy is very bold about some of the decisions she makes in the field and Nancy, even back when Michelle was around, expresses hesitations about the decisions. It would just be an interesting thing to do, if they have the time to give her a little bit more development!

Also also, last thing, I live for any Nancy and Mateo content they will give me! I thought it was such a fun idea to put them together and then it was like lone star frequently forgot that they did?! Or worse, they would give them a story and not finish it! This is what we get when networks cut down the amount of episodes per season, they deserved more time to be weird together but also to be supportive and starry eyed over each other. That said, I love that Nancy was like 'hold my hand' because the one thing they are consistent about with them is that when they are stressed, they hold hands, even before they were together. It was a very sweet little call back and I hope we get at least a little more of them before the end of the season ❤️

#she's such a good character and half of her development happened on accident I swear but it all worked out in the end #nancy gillian #911 lone star #911 lone star spoilers #tommy vega #mateo chavez #5.06 #ask reply

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waywardsou2 · 7 months ago

Text

Avatar Head Canons pt 1

[Avatar is consuming my life, I am have so man hyperfixations and fandoms on the go atm its insane. So we've started on the head canon route. Enjoy!]

-> Even after living years after being fully na'vi Jake still has nightmares about the mission where he lost his legs, it haunts him remembering being told he would never walk again. He wakes up sweating in the night and he always goes around the village, running, jumping and climbing on whatever he can to remind himself he can.

-> Neytiri got really self conscious when she was pregnant with Neteyam, she knew what she was giving up (even if it was only for a brief time) when she decided to have a baby but she still struggled with being incapacitated, not being able to fight, hunt and fly like she used to. Jake often helped her but she didn't want it, only when she was completely incapable of achieving something on her own (mainly late into the pregnancy) would she allow Jake to help her.

-> Neteyam was always very protective of his family, even Spider. He could never stand the idea of losing them and he took it upon himself to care for everyone whenever he could. Even his parents, it put a lot of strain on him but if it meant his family was safe then he was fine. The stress took its toll after a while. (I feel like that less of a head canon and more of a fact)

-> Lo'ak tried his hardest to live up to Jake's expectations and to make Neytiri proud, but when his relationship with Jake became strained after too many mistakes and close calls he started to realizes how much he was failing. (A bit clique but do I care? No. I will defend Lo'ak with my life).

-> Kiri hated the idea of not knowing the reality of her conception. She loved Grace so much but was frightened by the idea of her conception being unknown or potentially of malicious intent. It concerned her that she was born despite her mother technically being diceased.

-> Tuk hated being the youngest, she is never taken seriously and hates that she is scared all the time and that she relies on others to keep her safe. (I feel like this was kinda dumb considering she is literally 7 but I wrote it so I'm adding it, I will happily discuss this in the comments)

-> Quaritch lost the love of his life on Pandora, it's why he got so bitter, even more so than before. Well at least when he died, he died before his wife could give birth to Spider (she died in childbirth). (I wrote this as a place holder head canon for why Spider exists, coz I don't think it was explained very well and I just needed something)

-> Turns out Grace asexually reproduced Kiri, it's rare in the na'vi species but it happens at time, though with the Eytuakan passed on and Mo'at refusing to come near the RDA base there was no way to determine this, as this was information the RDA had not yet collected.

-> Tsu'tey was never really interested in Neytiri, they grew up together and they were close. But it was more about duty and honour than it was about love. (At least in their case) Neytiri and Tsu'tey had talked about this years prior but he was still mad when Neytiri got with Jake because it meant that he would fail his duty and role within the clan. (He died tho so that wasn't a problem I said it ok! I'm sorry I miss him too)

#avatar #avatar wow #atwow #jake sully #neytiri #neteyam #lo'ak #kiri #tuk #spider #neytiri sully #neteyam sully #lo'ak sully #tuk sully #kiri sully #tsu'tey #avatar 2009 #avatar twow

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bellabrady · 7 months ago

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I need to vent this to someone and idk why but i just feel like you’ll understand me idk but….

I’m terrified about next week’s episode… like I feel like there is so much within the fandom that is hanging onto next week’s episode being a definite thing on whether or not buddie will go canon, and it’s been stressing me out seeing all of the discourse… I have so many strong feelings about the idea of Tommy (who has always pissed me off as a character from the Begins episodes) and how so many people just suddenly out of nowhere love the guy and compare him to Buck and Eddie when there has literally been barely anything comparable to the two of them as characters since he’s been back. Not only that, but the theory of Buck and Tommy being a thing as a potential for Eddie to come to terms with his feelings doesn’t make me feel comfortable— Not in a “omg i just want Buck and Eddie to jump into bed with each other and call it a day” because i don’t… I just know us queer people are still only seen as tokens half the time, and I’m worried that if they pair Buck with a guy (while Yay for bi!Buck) who is a character that A) is from his past, and B) is for some reason all of a sudden adored by a bunch of people (for reasons i will never understand)… I’m afraid they will just put he and Buck together and call it a day, and just keep Eddie and Buck as “brothers” when that is such a disservice to both of them… If Buck does become confirmed as bisexual, I have no issue with him exploring his sexuality with other men who aren’t principal characters because that won’t have any bearing on the finality of buddie as a ship, but I’m afraid that by putting Buck and Tommy together will somehow be ABC’s way of saying “Eh this will do” because of the way so many people have suddenly jumped onto the bucktommy train.

On top of that, the idea of getting jealous!buck would make me happy if it weren’t for the fact that it’s Tommy, and I am terrified that the writers are trying to wrap him up in this glittering duct tape bow and say “we’re not going to give you what you’ve been asking for for 6 years, but we’ll give you this cheap knock off” due to the speculation that Eddie will somehow reaffirm that he sees Buck as just a friend being the catalyst for Buck exploring his sexuality with Tommy.

It would be painful as a longtime buddie truther, but it would also be painful as a genuine fan of the characters because i feel like that would ruin everything they have built together over the past 6 years, and it would be a cop-out because they don’t want to go that route, even though they are the ones who have set up buddie in this context on so many different occasions…. sure a lot of buddie moments can be real things that happened in platonic relationships, but the framing and subtext has always been this will they/won’t they dynamic, and it feels so icky to me for them to make Buck Bi, and have him NOT end up with Eddie.

And I know people are quick to point out Ryan and Oliver in these recent interviews and everything as some sort of evidence towards buddie canon, but I would think a lot of us have been in this carousel long enough to know that if the possibility of a popular queer romance on a show is one of the BIGGEST marketing tactics that shows use. I’m not saying that Ryan and Oliver themselves are queerbaiting because of how much they’ve supported the buddie fandom over the years, but something in me feels like a lot of their PR appearances lately have been to intentionally cause speculation so that they don’t lose the buddie portion of the viewers when they rip the rug out from under us…. (again not blaming Ryan and Oliver AT ALL because they have no say)

idk if any of that makes sense and im sorry for like the novel i just wrote in your asks lmao but i just needed to get that off my chest and you are one of the few people I have seen who also seems to dislike Tommy’s character, and could maybe possibly see where I’m coming from with my anxiety on this whole thing because it’s been making me spiral lately….

it’s just this ship (as i’m sure it is to others) is really important to me and seeing the online support of a bucktommy romance as a means of getting buddie worries me that the writers will take that as people wanting bucktommy canon and just giving us that as consolation for not giving us buddie and that breaks my heart because i have such a deep connection to both Buck and Eddie in different ways, and i want to see them and their relationship done good service, and frankly none of the theories i’ve seen surrounding it have been anything i want to see with them because i hate tommy, and don’t want him of all people to be the reason we get screwed over.

hi there! you pretty much described exactly what i've been feeling and i 100% understand and feel your anxiety. most people have been super excited for the next ep but i truly feel like it won't go over well for us (though i'll gladly be pleasantly surprised). i even had to log off twitter for a bit because thinking about all the potential ways this thing with tommy could go was giving me legitimate anxiety (yes i'm aware that's not an entirely normal way to feel about a tv show, but sue me, i'm mentally ill)

i feel like i also haven't really been able to enjoy 911 twitter, tumblr, tiktok etc anymore because so many people, like you said, just jumped onto the bucktommy train and i hate it for so many reasons. i just wish everybody was as keen on ignoring that guy as i am.

so yes, i completely agree with you and i definitely relate. i'm glad you felt like you could vent to me and if you ever wanna DM me so we can share our anxiety a bit, please feel free! <3

#these are just my personal feelings #i'm not saying i don't like you if you don't completely ignore tommy or something #i'm just saying that would be my ideal reality lol #evan buckley #anti tommy kinard #anti bucktommy #buddie #eddie diaz

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bengiyo · 1 year ago

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Be My Favorite: Now They are Equal

I genuinely liked Episode 11 of this show, and I think we have the potential for an incredibly strong finish from this show. @lurkingshan has asked me to document my thoughts and theory before we get to next week. Before we get into it, let me go ahead and set my clown checkpoint:

I am excited for the final section of this show putting Kawi and Pisaeng before each other as two time travelers who are trying to fix their pasts, where one is used to only thinking about the future pessimistically and the other knowing that they can and will be happy if they choose each other.

Now, let’s get back into some details of this show as to why I believe they’ll face each other as time travelers:

This show constantly erases plotlines, and this is not the first time we spent an entire episode in the future just to erase it.

Kawi retains memories he acquired in potential futures.

Magic Man reminded us that Kawi can only control his own actions and has no power over the world or destiny itself.

We did not resolve Kawi’s core angst about intimacy as established in the amusement park and the Max conversation.

I am not particularly bothered about the plotline with the Gay Love Montage being erased in this show because this show erases futures constantly. We had an entire episode and a half devoted to Kawi going to a future where he’s a successful singer but everyone is unhappy already get erased. His original timeline was erased. The one where Pisaeng kisses him on his wedding day was erased. It is completely within the existing rules of this show to give us time with one future before taking it away.

Next, we’ve seen that Kawi maintains knowledge he gained by jumping backwards and forward. We also know that the Magic Man seems to retain knowledge of what Kawi has changed about the timeline. I think that even with Kawi returning to the night Kawi was awkward in bed, Kawi will have retained all of the knowledge he had from his previous jumps since he only ends up in bed with Pisaeng because of the choices he made from his prior time travel choices.

The Magic Man reminded us that we can’t change other people or the world itself. We can only change ourselves. This is also in line with Pear’s dad’s ideas that we can only choose how to feel about the things that have happened to us, and that we have to come to terms with them to focus on the future. A big part of this episode was Pear moving forward with her mom, whether she has to forgive her or not.

Finally, Kawi and Pisaeng moved forward without dealing with Kawi’s uncertainty. We all noted that they did not talk about what came up at the amusement park before they proceeded to the bed scene, and @shortpplfedup pointed out in our chat that Kawi still felt uncertain about why Pisaeng even liked him as they were moving together. Still, Kawi has made the choice to be “present” (haha, cwutididthar) and move forward with Pisaeng even ask Pisaeng didn’t necessarily answer his uncertainties. I don’t mind them going back to the amusement park angst to resolve that matter because it sets up my favorite thing:

Kawi and Pisaeng are now equals: They are both time travelers trying to fix their mistakes in the past out of concern for their loved ones.

Part of what bothered me for a while is that Kawi has made so many of these choices with knowledge of the future that he hasn’t disclosed to Pisaeng. Sure, he mentioned it while he was drunk and unconscious, but this never felt fully earned with Kawi holding back that information. I am excited that the final arc for them.

I’m so stoked to see them face each other and the reality that even if they choose each other that Kawi will still face a terrifying health moment in the future that Pisaeng has no power over. I like that the optimistic Pisaeng has to ask himself if love is still worth it even if he knows he will lose Kawi much sooner than either of them expected. This hearkens back to some of the ideas in Our Dining Table and choosing love even though you know it will hurt.

So, I think the episode is fine, because now that they’re facing each other properly, Pisaeng also gets a chance at a do-over.

#Ben writes #be my favorite #be my favorite meta #thai bl #bl series #clown checkpoint

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queen0fm0nsterz · 1 year ago

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Thoughts on how TSON will tie into the lore of LN3?

As of the location of the last episode, as well as explaining some more small chunks of lore and locations to expand the world, I think TSON is preparing us already for what we will see next with Low and Alone. Give us something to expect, as well as a minimal explanation of how the Nowhere works, because this is information we need to know for Low and Alone's story to make sense.

Six's story, which was the main plot line of Little Nights up until now, explained how she travelled the world only to end up right at the place waiting for her. A destructive cycle of events that had set locations (the Pale City, the Tower, the Maw -- the Nest being a small detour but an interesting addition to the bunch) and events. Whether you believe Six left the Maw or not (I like to think the former), hers was a story about losing a part of herself to the world she tried to desperately to flee, and while she "won" that piece back, she will never be the same again. It did not necessarely need to elaborate on whether the world itself was her "home" or not -- though it was always strongly implied it was not.

It did try, though. The discontinued comics were an attempt at showcasing that the world beyond the Maw was vast, and that there was even ANOTHER world beyond that same dimension, with the tales of the Refugee Boy and the Humpback Girl respectively. However, at the time, it was confusionary: we didn't know anything but the Maw, so many fans misconstrued what was trying to come across, and ultimately this partially led to the decisions that had the comics be discontinued and the DLC be made instead.

The podcast to me is just that: to make up for those discontinued comics. Some of these storylines sound very similar to the ones you would read about in the Little Nightmares comics in structure: I would not be surprised to find some concepts from them were reused, modified to fit the plot of the podcast and even added to the lore of Little Nights III.

A lot of people seem to think that Mirror Man and North Wind will both make an appearance and frankly, I can see why. I am leaning more strongly on Mirror Man: I wish to see him in action in his own realm considering Low's abilities.

I've heard some concerns about the game potentially reusing the comic characters, but personally I find it a brilliant opportunity to expand on them. Mirror Man in particular is a... blank slate, essentially. He does have a minimum of characterization (<- post where I analyse just that) but besides that you could go wild with him. I'm interested to see if they do bring him forward.

Anyhow, sorry for derailing. As of episode four, we have been brought to a location that seems to match the circus we see in the trailer of Little Nightmares III. Considering the information we are given, it seems that it is suspended in the sky, with it being a literal ship floating above land.

(Two images depicting the "carnival" as seen in the trailer [top] and the steam page for LN III [bottom])

The idea of such a location is an interesting one and, considering the nature of the Spiral, possibly not that far out of reach. It was mentioned that Low and Alone would be travelling behind the Spiral... considering the nature of the Necropolis, which was mentioned to be a city powered by wind, I wonder if the spiral is... a giant hurricane. Or storm. And the locations are all in the middle of it - in its eye, stacked on different points in altitude.

It would be just as Noone said if that was to be the case: places who are on top of each other, like the building she's in, but that do not work together. I think that for this reason, the locations we have seen in the podcast such as the Stone Giant and the Mall might return later on as locations in LN III in some shape of form.

... We have seen a stone giant already...

.. although it would be more metaphorical than literal in this case as the Stone Giant was not really described as a giant baby thing, and the location is different, but you get what I mean hopefully!

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infiniteeight8 · 10 months ago

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Thinking about your soul stone au again. I just love it so much and I'd love to read more if you have more ideas. Maybe ironstrange getting together? Or, will anyone find out what happened with the soul stone? Or, what happens when they get back to Earth?

I have so many ideas for this ‘verse, including everything you mentioned here… so of course I wrote something else. LOL. I went from writing Tony’s break up with Pepper (because that has to happen before IronStrange get together), to deciding I’d written too much of that and just jumping to them getting together, but I didn’t want Tony and Stephen to get together just because the Soul Stone said so, so I thought about how a slower build up would work, and I ended up somewhere intermediate. (And now I have ideas for how they get together… and all the build up before that…)

I’ll probably come back to this if I run out of prompts. Or if someone drops another prompt for this in my queue, whichever comes first. (Four prompts currently in the queue.)

Stephen meets Tony in one of the more private sitting rooms. He brings a teapot and two cups, setting it down on a small side table between two arm chairs. Tony is slumped in his seat, staring into the distance. That seems like a bad sign. “How did it go?” Stephen asks, pouring a cup.

Tony sighs and takes the cup of tea Stephen hands him. “I didn’t tell her.”

Stephen pauses, then pours a cup for himself. “Didn’t you decide you couldn’t keep a secret this big from someone you’re marrying?”

“Yeah.” Tony takes a long sip from his tea, but Stephen thinks he isn’t stalling for time. Steadying himself, maybe. Sitting, Stephen waits. “When I saw Pepper, the Soul Stone asked who she was.”

“It didn’t know?” Stephen’s relationship with Time doesn’t make him an expert on the infinity stones, but he wouldn’t have thought Soul would need a relationship of any kind spelled out to it.

Tony barks a laugh. “Apparently, it assumed she was someone else, because my soul and Pepper’s are, and I quote, ‘Not a good match.’”

Stephen winces. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” Tony rubs a hand over his face. “In a lot of ways, Soul is… another alien. If I met a random alien telepath and they told me Pepper and I wouldn’t work out, there’s no way I’d break up with her on their word.” He pauses and rolls his eyes, but doesn’t speak; presumably Soul weighed in. Tony catches Stephen’s eye. “So why am I considering it now?”

“Because Soul is more than a random telepath,” he says.

Tony hums briefly and sips at his tea. Eventually, his gaze goes to the Eye of Agamotto. “If Time told you a relationship wasn’t going to work out, would you end it?”

“Time isn’t chatty like Soul apparently is.”

Tony’s eyes narrow. “That isn’t an answer.” Shit. “Spill it, Strange.”

Stephen sets down his tea and looks at Tony. “Those 14 million futures I saw? Sometimes there were years between that moment and the final battles; I saw a lot of potential relationships for myself. Some went well. Some poorly. I can’t forget them, so I know that they’ll influence me, but none of them are this future. It’s unique. I have to approach it that way.”

“But statistically—”

“Statistically, you should have died in Afghanistan,” Stephen interrupts. “Statistically, half the universe should have died to Thanos. We are living in the statistical exception, Tony.”

Tony groans, leaning his head back against the armchair. “Pepper feels like the only chance I’ll ever have for a real relationship,” he admits. “I don’t want to lose that.”

“I don’t think this is your only chance. But if you love Pepper, if you think you’ll be happy together, then that doesn’t matter,” Stephen says. Time flickers a hundred futures with Tony past Stephen’s mind’s eye. Stubbornly, he pushes them aside. Potential is only potential, he tells the stone silently. This has to be Tony’s decision.

“Yeah,” Tony says, and sips his tea.

#IronStrange #ficlet

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vorbarrsultana · 2 months ago

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the vampire lestat reread, pt. 2

featuring our monarch gabrielle, two feral narrative foils hissing at each other, and some musings on vampire theatre internal politics

let's talk about GABRIELLE

i can't wait to meet her in the tv series. she is one of the more inhuman vamps, and the fact that she never got to meet claudia is a crime.

the remark that the only humans she finds cool are those extinct for 6000 years is hilarious.

her dynamic with lestat is so fascinating. there is so much codependency going on from their first interaction. you can feel they are almost too much for each other. they are mother & son, they are best friends, they are confidantes.

however, i feel like the undercurrent of deeply buried resentment for their situation and each other was always there, and the lack of clearly set boundaries between them is concerning.

gabrielle was not a good parent. period.

the reason she kept lestat close to her for so many years in augverne is that she lived voraciously through him. she encouraged his interest in hunting, she bought him mastiff pups and flintlock rifle. sure, there was a rational part to this idea (providing for the family), but gabrielle also did it because this way some part of her (the man in her, as she put it) could be out there in the wilderness, shooting the game and skinning deers.

(the downside is that lestat would rather learn how to read in french & italian or play the spinet. the hunting was about her needs rather than his.)

and i know people like to ascribe the "parent who needs their child more than their child needs the parent" to loucladia for some reason, but that's augverne! lesgabrielle, not them.

it becomes even more apparent once lestat turns gabrielle into a vampire, and she's suddenly free to express herself. she doesn't have to live through him anymore, she can do all he does, and (after the honeymoon-esque thrill of newfound companionship expired) they start to slowly drift apart.

and on this reread, their incestuous relationship looked more like selfcest on gabrielle's part. she loves and admires herself in him, and romantic interest is the only way in which she can express that because she was never built to be a mother.

(they are like cersei and jaime lannister, except they are parent and child.)

and lestat is so starved for gabrielle's affection that he will accept any form it takes.

but genuine love was there! gabrielle loved lestat and wanted the relationship they eventually had. she would have loved for him to leave with her too, except she knew that they would be miserable together.

i'll be honest, slow disintegration of gabrielle and lestat's companionship is one of the best parts of tvl for me, and it has potential to be a great tv relationship arc.

also, the way lestat and gabrielle repeatedly circle back to mother-son dynamic despite changing the label of their relationship is similar to louis & claudia's sister-daughter thing. "disaster, my son" after nicki was turned, lestat calling her mother during their farewell in egypt | "go sit on your choice, sister" followed by "the wilderness that is our daughter"...

and now i am a) even more upset; b) curious what was lestat thinking during the 1x06 conversation.

.....

the way my brain rewrote book canon into armand's 2x03 narrative is fascinating (word choice intentional).

book sequence of events is: 1) the coven kidnaps nicki as a bait; 2) then they ambush lestat & gabrielle in the forest, and force them to hide under the altar of a village chirch; 3) they attack them again next night. lestat and gabrielle hide in notre dame, where then they are confronted by armand, who tries to mind-wham them into submission; 4) once he fails, he punches lestat through the door hard enough for him to lose consciousness for several moments, and sets the coven on them; 5) lestat & gabi fight them again, and then they are finally captured and brought to the cemetery.

lestat breaking the coven (armand's version, left vs lestat's version, right):

i hope we'll get to see that scene in it's full glory with gabrielle and alessandra present!

and armand, armand, armand. he is delighfully unhinged in tvl, thriving in his gremlin era.

lestat's "insect" (degoratory) vs daniel's "insect" (affectionate)

like in 2x03, book!armand has lost his faith in the children of darkness beliefs at this point. however, he makes it clear that he doesn't want the coven destroyed. for him, it is the instrument of empowering himself, of securing power over others that he lacked in his early life. the first time his mask slips and he shows all-consuming anger is when lestat & gabrielle threaten his superiority by displaying their vampire skills.

but the coven also helps armand to endure his immortality because it serves the meaning of eternal life on silver platter, and armand hadn't been taught how to search for that meaning on his own.

(armand really said the only reason i didn't burn lestat, nicki & gabrielle on stake is that lestat was well enough to stand and talk. should remedy that.)

and it's so interesting that lestat is the enlightenment rationality to armand's irrational faith. narrative foils are narrative foiling!

armandstat has always been one of my favorite tvc dynamics. however, i feel that recently it has become one of the more fanonized ones because many people tend to forget how much mindfuckery was going on from their first meeting. while narrating, 1985! lestat seems to be pretty sure which thoughts re: armand were his own, and which had been planted in his brain, but it doesn't make it less creepy.

lestat hearing armand's call 24/7 on repeat in his head is a full-on horror movie.

and i forgot that his monologue to madeleine in 2x06 is very similar to something he & alessandra tell to lestat under the cemetery. which, imo, shows how much armand has regressed during the 19th century, and how theatre became more and more cult-like as time went on.

(narrative foils continue narrative foiling atm, this time about love for mortals. lestat is utterly in love with humanity, but for armand they are only means of enriching his life.)

and i'm sorry, but armand's behaviour in season 2 was completely in-character. his response to lestat rejecting him in nicki's flat is to try to murder him next night.

i hate seeing "this is love, this is desire..." quote used as gotcha in shipping discourse because the text makes it clear that these are not lestat's words (and armand SA's him on next page :/). if anything, the palais royal scene is more similar to armand and daniel's "rest" scene in 2x05. it's supposed to be eerie and unsetling,

however, there is intimacy, gentleness and understanding between armandstat. they communicate with their mind more often than other vampires, and what's mortifying about being known for them (does anyone else know the size of your soul?) is that lestat can't love armand like he wants him to because he understands armand too well (crypts in his eyes, and true horror what the vampires are), and armand can't not love lestat because he knows him too (there is a light in you that is almost blinding).

and lestat tries so hard to be kind to armand, he tells him that neither him nor gabrielle can become his marius, that he needs to find himself first because the idea of shaping him into whatever form he likes is terrifying for eternal rebel lestat. but armand percieves that as explicit rejection, and reacts with bitterness.

in retrospect, it's obvious how much of lestat's view on maker/fledgling dynamic is shaped by armand's warnings and curses, and how much of later events is lestat trying to prove him wrong.

armand is projecting so many of his marius issues on lestat. superficial resemblance aside, lestat had done for nicki something he desperately wished marius had done for him. armand wanted marius to walk into the lair of the monsters and free him from santino and his cronies, but he never did. on the other hand, lestat, lestat, lestat freed his love from the coven's clutches, and armand wants to be loved like that.

another underrated part of tvl is vampire politics! there are so many interesting little things about the vampire society in parts 5 & 6, like differences between covens in rome and paris, and how much lives of european vamps seem to be shaped by personality of the coven master.

(don't worry, armand, at least you are the 18th century vampire celebrity alongside lestat, gabi and the ancients! however, it makes me curoius about watsonian reason why louclaudia haven't heard about the armand, the lestat and the gabrielle when they were travelling in iwtv.)

and theatre des vampires didn't kill people on stage during nicki's time as playwright! this seems to be something armand introduced later.

another interesting tidbit is that armand handpicked all new coven members, slowly replacing those who weren't loyal to him, and when lestat comes to paris after the new orleans murder attempt he finds no familiar faces in the troupe.

which leads me to believe that the coup narrative armand was trying to sell in season 2 is definitely full of lies.

we (the readers) know that de landen sisters are alive (i.e. undead) in prince lestat era, so they probably left after nicki's death since they stuck around for him and didn't like armand after he tried to burn them alongside other less fortunate coven members. laurent probably went with eleni & eugenie, and then ditched them sometime in 19th century.

but where is felix?

(now i headcanon him as santiago's dead maker. let's ruin lestat's life further.).

#vc #tvl #the vampire lestat #lestat de lioncourt #gabrielle de lioncourt #armand #armandstat #iwtv

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lucithornz · 9 days ago

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Ship RPF and "relatability and self insert"

So I have seen this idea thrown around a few times now that ship RPFis just x reader fics with extra steps. And as an RPF writer who has written for many RPF ships over the years this just isn't the case. I can't speak for everyone, but I think that this idea stems from a certain way of thinking when it comes specifically to some modern expectations of literature, especially when it comes to the modern romance genre.

I want to start off my saying that I am not trying to shade or downgrade x reader fics. They are not my thing, but I see they have their place, people enjoy them, go crazy have fun out there.

This is going to be talking about why I think some people don't understand the ship RPF side of things and think it's the same as x reader fics. So let me explain my motivations and inspiration for why I write ship RPF, and let's look at where some bad assumptions about people's motivations come from about who reads and writes it and why.

Definitions for clarity.

X reader RPF: any ship where the reader is the one being shipped with a real person in a fictional scenario. Ex. Tom Cruise x reader.

Ship RPF: any ship between two real people that does not include the reader. Ex. Barack Obama x Harry Styles, or for a serious example Charles Leclerc x Max Verstappen.

These are both categories of RPF but they are very different.

I have seen people ask "Why write ship RPF when you really are just writing x reader with extra steps?" The short answer is: I'm not. I am not writing this RPF to be able to self insert.

The reason I write an RPF ship is because there is a specific thing about two people's dynamic that is interesting to me. A rivalry, a friendship, a bitter feud, something that exists between those two people and is full of storytelling potential. Relationship dynamics are varied and there is usually something unique about the way those two people interact that makes me want to explore that dynamic in depth.

The real people, their personalities, their history together matter in RPF ship fic. It would not be the same fic if it was made x reader, at least it wouldn't be good. Because that character would not be them (one of the real people in the ship) anymore, they'd lose all of their characterization that makes them them in the process of stripping them down to make them bland enough for self insert.

I like exploring people's perspectives that are different than mine, both good and bad, in fiction. The fact these people are different from me is part of what makes them so interesting.

My RPF ships to me have a unique chemistry and that is what I aim to dig into with my RPF fic.

Now I want to get into why I think people say "all RPF is self insert"

I think it stems from the more modern notion that all romance is for self insert purposes to some extent. Over the last 10 years, I have seen increasing emphasis placed on the relatability of the main character in a story. That is a high value trait to readers, and this seems to be especially true with modern romance. Because yes, it seems many readers are looking for something romantic, spicy, or some mixture of the two, to relate to.

But I don't think all characters need to be relatable. I personally enjoy reading about characters I have nothing in common with. I find the human condition be relatable enough in it's many facets. This is why you are seeing younger people picking up classics and saying they are unrelatable. There aren't a lot of surface similarities between a 21 year old girl in California living in 2024 and Jane Eyre. But if you dig deeper it's easy to find them.

I have very often seen a critique of a book being "this wasn't relatable to me" or "I couldn't self insert" as if those are things that you should be able to do with most stories. I think that so long as books are written by people then there will be something relatable on the page, a character may be very different but there will be something about their circumstance or emotional journey that resonates with some. I would also add that it is often a deliberate literary choice to create some characters that are very hard to relate to, repulsive villains etc. This is supposed to challenge a reader.

I think that romance as a genre has a lot more to offer than simply being thinly veiled self insert escapism. To me well written romance is a romance that really relies on unique traits of the people falling in love. If a romance is bland enough that it can easily serve as self insert than it has become something else. And again, self insert and x reader stories do have their place, but I have an issue when this becomes the expectation for the genre as a whole.

Is relatability king?

No. I think that expecting stories to always be easily relatable is not a healthy way to approach reading and story telling. It's very narrow minded, and can stray into some dicey territories. I saw a video of one girl who explained she couldn't relate to the main character of a novel because that main character was black. Firstly, this is racist. Secondly, I think it shows just how narrow the window of expected relatiability really is. Some readers need that MC to be just like them to be able to relate at all. I think that if a character is well written and has motivations then they can be relatable in some way, they don't even have to be human characters to achieve this (Red Wall, Watership Down for some examples).

Then there is the implication that if something isn't relatable that it's bad story telling. When if you are finding something unrelatable interrogate why that might be. Is the author making a narrative choice? What is the deeper meaning there? Actually engage with the text instead of stepping away the moment it starts to challenge you.

Back to the RPF of it all

Now why RPF specifically? Because a lot of this can apply to any ship. I think this is more pronounced in RPF because the idea is "that guy is hot, you are writing RPF because you want to have sex with him" (I write sports RPF about race car drivers they are dudes, but insert whichever pronouns are applicable to your case)

Which this isn't the reason some people are writing ship RPF at all. I'm sure there are some. But once again, my main interest in the ship that I write for comes from the chemistry I see between those two guys. I want to see what happens if you put that dynamic in with an alternate universe, a few fucked up tags, and shake well and see what comes out. I often write about people I have no physical attraction to whatsoever.

I think that the above idea is linked to what I discussed earlier about assuming that romance is always an exercise in self insert, which assumes some need for attraction to the love interest. When this is simply not the case.

I think this idea that ship content exists as a step removed from x reader misunderstands the purpose of a lot of story telling, and underestimates an author's motivations, and the reasons people may want to read and write RPF ship stories.

This is once again especially common with RPF about people who are alive and active on the internet today (Kpop, sports, youtubers etc) But I think if you dig into what makes people passionate about a specific ship you will find a lot more depth than you are expecting.

Anyway those are just some thoughts I had on this topic that's been rattling around my brain for a few months,

#lucis essays #long post #rpf #real person fiction #real person fanfic #real person shipping #fandom meta #fandom commentary

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