#i think she should kill them all but that's just my opinion peace and love. i am god and the volition is my aeor.

[immult]

liliana is so funny to me because she'd make these really sad kicked stray faces at imogen and i'll forget that she is the general of the ruby vanguard and second most wanted person from the moon and back everytime. before her redemption is finalised i think i should get to see liliana whenever imogen is not present. i think i should get to know after liliana hugged imogen goodbye did she come back to the music hall to finish the job? how many volition members executed for each ruidusborn child she counted dead?

[clangenrising]

sorry if this is too harsh to ask. when ever the story leans over to the city cats, they mistreat others or lean on the evil/bad side (look at poor aldertail, lake, scorch, and smokeyrose :( ) the more I read this, the more I'm siding with the clan cats to wipe out all the city cats. that way there can be peace for everyone because I can't see how the city cats have any remorse in the clan cats eyes or yours

Wow. Okay.

Um, first things first, I will never be in support of Wiping Out any group of people. I get what you're trying to say but that's just not an ideology I can get behind. It is honestly a very dangerous and upsetting argument to make and hopefully, I can explain why.

Most of the city cats are not Evil. Most of the city cats are people who grew up in a corrupt system and have been taught to do bad things from a young age. Like Mystique for example: Has she hurt people? Yes. Does she seem resistant to change? Yes. Does this mean she is not worthy of compassion or a chance to grow and be better? Absolutely not!

I was raised Mormon. I know a lot of people, some who I love, who do bad things on the regular - people who voted for trump, people who support homophobic or imperialist policies, people who are hurtful to the marginalized people in their lives. I will NEVER believe that these people deserve to die for the way they are. They are just humans doing their best with the knowledge they were given and the baggage they've accrued.

I do think that there are cats, like Razor for instance, who need to be Stopped, certainly, and removed from positions of power. Unfortunately, cats don't have the ability to institute more systemic solutions to these kinds of problems so they will most often solve these problems by killing the cat. But this should only happen after it is clear that there is no opportunity for a non violent solution.

The world is complicated and messy and it means people are taught bad things and have trauma that makes them hurt other people. I'm not saying that those behaviors are okay. They should be held accountable for the harm that they do. But those behaviors do not make them irredeemable or Evil. Hell, I don't think there ARE Evil people! I don't think there are GOOD people! People can't be good or evil because they are always going to be making new choices. Some of those choices will hurt people, some of those choices will help people, some of those choices are entirely neutral. I believe you can judge people's actions but its impossible to judge their 'soul' so to speak.

There are a lot of cats in the city who do bad things because they see those things as normal or because the system rewards them for doing so. Do you think the Clans should kill all of those people?? Because I will never agree with you if you do and I urge you to rethink how you see the world.

Give me any city cat and I will be able to find a way to empathize with them. Yes, even Razor. They're all just people. And in my opinion, none of them deserve to die. They deserve to change and heal. And I think most of them will. I'm a death penalty abolitionist and that means I don't think ANYONE should be put to death. You don't get to selectively apply that kind of belief only to the people you think are 'good'.

Sorry for how long and rambling my response was. If anyone has follow up questions or comments, I'm open to discussing this further, just please remember to be kind and avoid any sort of harassment, and that goes both ways. Nobody harass this anon for what they said. I believe they are very misguided but that doesn't make them a bad person. If you think that then you've entirely missed the point of everything I said.

[valehour]

been idly discussing this with a friend, and generally just kind of ruminating on the DLC's final boss and end story and how mad it made me. so consider this significant rewrite to make the story more like I think I now want it to be because my opinions are obviously important """fix""" to the story.

What if the Miquella's lord was just- the player character, not Radahn?

(Full (and Extremely Long) justification under the cutoff)

this is born from my previous thought/rant on the fact that the player isn't given a motivation to actually oppose Miquella within the game itself.

By contrast, the player being the potential Consort of Miquella necessarily helps solidify the conflict around Miquella's Age of Compassion, and the player's place in it.

the Fundamental nature of Miquella in this DLC is that, ultimately, Miquella's love is amoral, stretching the full range from compassion to overtly abusive manipulation. one of the most evocative descriptors of Miquella's love is that it is "Terrifying". That feels like it's a fundamentally punchy, heavy thing for the player to wrestle with. The Age of Compassion is something that the War-torn Lands Between so clearly needs, it needs peace, and love, a more gentle place to cope with the trauma and the suffering and the Ruin, not merely from the Shattering, but the world that preceded it. but it's being created and enforced by a "terrifying", manipulative Cult leader (for want of a better term) who's channeling a very "All Shall Love Me And Despair!" energy.

There's a familiar throughline created by this- the player (both as the Tarnished, and as the Player has a particular impression and idea of Miquella, one who ultimately promises and provides salvation. As we advance through the story of the DLC, we increasingly learn the truth behind what that means- who Miquella is and the full extents of the implications presented.

The biggest moment in regards to this, is, of course, the Approach and descent into the Fissure, and the one of the most important parts of the story.

"I abandon here my doubt and vacilation"

"I abandon here my love"

"Kindly Miquella. I see you've thrown away... Something you should not have. Under any circumstances. How will you salvation Offer... to those who cannot be saved? When you could not even save your other self?"

Miquella's pursuit of godhood has excised St Trina, who appears to have fundamentally dissented Miquella's deification, as it's her, delivered through sleep, who tells us that we shouldn't side with him, but kill him, instead.

This Feels spiritually adjacent to something like encountering Darkstalker Kaathe for the first time, and hearing his side of the story, an argument for The Age of Dark. but, as far as I can tell, this doesn't actually matter. Knowing that St Trina values preventing Miquella's Age of Compassion means nothing in the game, it's just an explanation as to why she was ditched halfway across the realm of shadow in a pit . But the argument St Trina raises, the doubting of Miquella's agenda means nothing because the final confrontation with Miquella is not born from the player's decision to reject the Age of Compassion, it's born from someone on the Fromsoft Dev team needing to put a final bossfight into the DLC.

it's this that forms the main Issue with the ending. The Player is forced into a passive role- the story happens To them, not Because Of them. the "choice" given by the game mechanics is to "Fight Radahn", or quit the DLC. but while the second one is technically a valid resolution to not opposing the Age of Compassion. It really isn't in any practical metrics because, well, That's not actually narrative resolution- putting a book down halfway through does technically end the story, but it doesn't resolve any of the plot threads or conflicts that the audience is expected to engage with- it stops abruptly and unsatisfyingly, told that we're not supposed to care about those plot details- Literally just the "it was all a dream" ending, but punching through the fourth wall. Simply Stopping Engaging with it isn't narratively satisfying for any work who's resolution isn't designed around the idea of putting the story down. and SOTE quite unambiguously isn't designed around that. So even if we view it as "an" ending, it's still fundamentally a bad ending.

but fighting Radahn is also narratively unsatisfying as an ending simply because of the fact that it's DLC- there was no space or time to establish or set up this plot thread or idea that Miquella and Radahn had any relationship or meaningful interactions in the base game (which, fair enough, it'd've bloated the main game which already has a lot to say and discuss in regards to it's own story). but without the idea that Miquella and Radahn actually interacted, this "reveal" is unsatisfying because like. Why should we care? Why Radahn? many other people have commented that Godwyn would be a better fit, but regardless, I think it still doesn't really address the underlying problem- The Player is a passive actor in this story.

So then 9+ paragraphs later, we get to the actual proposal of this unhinged rant essay:

What if the player, due to being tarnished, became the Consort of Miquella, much like one becomes the Consort of Marika and thus Elden lord in the age of fracture. Tarnishedness is a status that can apparently be conferred and withdrawn, and is not, in fact, a limiting factor in lordship (given you can become Elden lord regardless). Not to mention that being opposed to the present order, why should Miquella care as to whether or not the Golden Order values tarnishedness or not? Additionally, Miquelladahn already has an attack where he bewitches you (his grab attack), and should he successfully accomplish it twice, provides an instant game over due to your newfound love and affection for your new God.

This confers the advantage that now the player an active participant of the story, allowing them to choose, for themselves, whether they embrace or reject the Age of Compassion. it's the question posed by the ghost in the Fissure: "How will you salvation Offer... to those who cannot be saved?" Opposition is largely fronted by Ansbach (who resents the use of Mohg in this ritual. Which like. Me Too Buddy.) and St Trina, who fears that Miquella will become "trapped" by godhood, much like Marika was. but now the player can also decide for themselves whether or not to Oppose Miquella. maintaining a Hard-as-fuck bossfight as a result of refusal also creates a rather fascinating ludonarrative tinge to the amorality of his love, and it's most villainous side- after all, if he valued a gentle place, why does he support Radahn ultimately destroying you? Clearly, his world order is at least founded on the same violence that everyone else's is. it's a Fascinating argument against pacifism, calling out it's hypocrisy- that in truth, peace is violent, born from crushing those who ultimately oppose it- the police- The State's armed body do not enforce "The peace" by beating bankrobbers in a debate, only by beating bankrobbers. It's a strong argument against meekly accepting the shape of the world and one's part to play in it- that one ought to stand up for themselves against someone else's will, that one should fight for one's own world.

It's an argument, effectively, in favour of the worldview supposed by Ranni The Witch, who is arguably one of Miquella's strongest narrative foils. She used a shocking act of violence (the assassination of Godwyn) as a tool of liberation, to overthrow the order imposed by another. the shape of society shall not be determined by militarist-Faith, or a cult of adoration, but by self determination, the power to pursue one's own ends. Ranni and Miquella both have love play a part of their quest, but whereas Ranni spurns and fears love, maintains a cold exterior in favour of her duty- keeping the power of the Greater Will distant from the world- that the player must actively pursue and be willing to share the burdens of the thousand year journey into the chill night- a choice and a sacrifice you have no obligation to actually make- but you choose to do out of love, a willingness for, just a moment, Ranni to be truly vulnerable, share her past and her beliefs. But, Ranni's world, for all it's freedom, guarantees none of them, guarantees no true success, that people would actually be free, only that they be free to choose. what stops great warriors from simply founding a new kingdom, a new empire? Are Crowns not warranted by strength, after all?

Miquella, by contrast would build that peace, build it so intensely, that it feels obsessive, maddening. You drown you in it- drown in his Peace, his Love. You can choose to agree with him- because the world should be more gentle, more kind, more loving. This war has gone on too long, the cities in Liurnia are sinking into the ground, Leyndell partly buried into the ash of a failing world order. Stormveil suffers under a mad tyrant-king, the Albinaurics oppressed for the "sin" of their birth. Where are the people? Where is harvest and harvesthome? Miquella's peace, Miquella's love can give it to you.

but if you refuse to serve leally, if you refuse to submit, refuse to build his peace. Well, you join the corpses scattered about the divine gate. you walk in again. Godling Miquella asks you once, again, in a voice polite, courteous, filled with love and civility. to join him. You refuse, and he and his servants, be it the resurrected Radahn or some original boss crushes you again. And Again. it hurts. the pain of asserting your boundaries, your body, to refuse to give in to the world he'd build. it'd be so easy to submit.

Miquella would love you, to the best he was capable. and after all, what's the alternative? marrying Marika into an Age of Fracture? perpetuating the age of an obviously flawed Golden Order as it continues to decline? Or is it a more inclusive order- that welcomes those who live in death? It's reactionary principles jolted forward in a moment of tolerance. But Fia's hallowbrand doesn't save the Albinaurics, though- only Those Who Live In Death. It's still a bigoted, reactionary order, making a concession to what is explicitly framed as a social minority only because it's literally written into the laws of reality.

Is the failure of the Order that the gods were not held accountable to it's principles? But Ranni didn't want to be an Empyrean. Didn't want to be someone with explicit fertility-childbearing metaphors. her freedom is in many ways a story of fighting that selfsame Order, the literal Laws Of Reality in the name of her bodily autonomy and her self expression. but that was only because she was not held accountable to The Order, because she could dissent. Don't you see Tarnished? Is this pursuit Not Flawed? But he could fix it. and He would, he would save people To the best of his ability. Miquella loves you and he suffered Apotheosis to save you. But what happens to those who Cannot be saved because they Refuse to be saved. For Miquella Loves you and Suffered Apotheosis to Save You. But only if you submit to his shape of "Being Saved". and If you don't? Well, the Swords of the Haligtree will sever parts of you until you can.

Or I guess we could have what we actually got where we show up and Radahn immediately throws hands for unclear reasons with someone he's seen for like 3 seconds, in a game that fails to like, explain a motivation as to why the player is fighting Miquella aside from "Because the DLC needs a final boss" with his admittedly sick as fuck wrestler intro for a plot thread that has left at least a few fans with more than a sour taste in their mouths. Myself included. Hence the essay. Anyway, if you finished reading this, congratulations. :D

[lightofraye]

You are ridiculous, you have proof of nothing, all you have is selective blindness and deafness. you just choose to ignore every instance in which Jensen shows affection to anyone who isn't Jared. it doesn't matter how many times he expresses that he loves his wife, or his other friends like Misha. or even his own kids. you just don't want to hear it. all the good things he has, all the blessings and the large amount of love surrounding him, you don't want to see that, you rather have a drama novel. you don't want to see Jensen as a real person, all you can see is the twisted version of him that you made up on your head, a poor diminished guy who needs alcohol to cope with his miserable life and whose only friend in the whole wide world is JP. so how does your little novel ends? maybe you should write it down and finally be done with it. does Jensen die at the end? does he kills himself? or perhaps he's murdered by Danneel.

Y’know… I was going to put off answering this until tomorrow, but no.

Because you actually said something so horrific it demanded a response.

You think that’s the fate Jensen deserves? I mean… did you really think he doesn’t deserve a happy ending? Because I never said that. You did.

In fact, the part about the kids baffle me. Where have I ever said he doesn’t deserve his children? If anything my heart has been broken by the fact he’s away so much—forced to be away—that his eldest daughter is crying over it.

And you say I don’t see him as a real person? Really? What’s the flip side of my perspective? The AAs who see him so perfect, never capable of making a mistake? Who of us doesn’t see him as a real person?

I see his flaws. To borrow a phrasing an anon used on another blog, I see his freckles. I see his slightly crooked nose. I see those adorable eye crinkles that come out in full force when he smiles

I also see the man who made a terrible business and personal decision years ago when he decided to pursue The Winchesters without involving Jared. I also see the man whose decisions on the set that nearly cost a man his life.

I see the man.

Not the perfect Ken doll y’all are so insistent he is.

He’s flawed. A real human being.

And no, I don’t think he’s really friends with Misha because he’s never seen anywhere outside of cons with him. And given what a blabbermouth Misha is, we’d know in a heartbeat.

Hollywood is full of users, anon. Leeches. Hanger-ons. And fanatical fans.

No, you’re right, I don’t believe him when he says he loves Danneel—but when was the last time he’s said that? Not “she’s perfect for me” or “strong woman”. When was the last time he said he loved her?

You’re allowing your irritation with me to affect you, anon. I don’t know why you and the others are so insistent on arguing with me. What would be the purpose behind it?

To dissuade me? To persuade me otherwise? Why? I’m not here to change your mind. I merely share my opinions, much like I’m sure you do on your blog.

The only difference is, I’m not going to pro-Jensen blogs or pro-Misha blogs or anti-Jared blogs and harassing them.

That’s the difference between us. I’m expressing my opinions on my blog and am at peace with allowing others to think and feel as they like on their blogs.

I only speak up and act when there’s actual bullying or harassment or threats of violence to others—because we should absolutely care about that, regardless of who it is.

Here you are, mocking me, calling me stupid, coming up with horrific scenarios you seem to think I believe Jensen deserves (really?).

I see the world for what it really is, anon. I try to balance that with a little bit of hope and faith that maybe humanity isn’t entirely lost. That by speaking up about abuse, someone will be saved. By pointing out dangerous lies, someone will open their eyes.

What is your purpose here? To be bitter and angry that maybe, just maybe, your perfect image isn’t perfect after all?

Be better. Do better.

Accept that I have a different opinion. Block me, block my tags.

Go in peace. I hope you someday find some solace in this world.

[i-love-your-shades-of-wrong]

you want complex characters? here's Gale.

I am fully convinced that people only hate Gale bc it's Liam Hemsworth and because they think he's annoying - and yeah, it's true, he IS annoying, but to like president snow more than him? (its pretty privilege)

Most people know by now that the love triangle in thg is for metaphorical purposes - the choice between peace and war. And it's not even a choice as a reader - there is quite literally no chemistry between gale and katniss (in my opinion). But that doesn't merit hatred for the character himself.

He grows up in the seam, poor and being the breadwinner for his siblings. (how sad) We're supposed to disagree with his motives by the end of it - he shouldn't want to get revenge because that makes him as bad as the capitol (yada yada yada). And Peeta is in the right because he wants to show mercy. (peace vs war)

But Peeta grows up as the bakers son. Has he ever gone hungry? No. Are we meant to feel bad for him because of his mum? idk. His name was in the bowl far, far less times. Does that make it any better? No, because he's picked (and this is meant to be about how the system is awful... you get it). But Peeta doesn't grow up hating the capitol because they don't hurt him... until the games.

Is this an attack on Peeta? No, of course not, but circumstances are important as the actions taken within them (situation ethics). Peeta goes into the games and you'd think his outlook on life changes, but it doesn't. Some people have stronger cores - a lifetime of security within yourself does that.

Peeta goes into the games again, Gale saves the citizens of 12 in the bombing. Peeta's kidnapped. And Gale says this:

"He might have been tortured. Or persuaded. My guess is he made some kind of deal to protect you. He'd put forth the idea of the cease- fire if Snow let him present you as a confused pregnant girl who had no idea what was going on when she was taken prisoner by the rebels. This way, if the districts lose, there's still a chance of leniency for you. If you play it right." I must still look perplexed because Gale delivers the next line very slowly. "Katniss…he's still trying to keep you alive."

So, he's annoying, but is he a liar? No. He's ever the strategist, thinking of things from the logical point of view. (really grasping for straws but I need a pro and less cons😭)

People really hated Gale for bombs - killing innocent people that just want to help the fallen? (ohno how sad). But are capitol citizens ever really innocent? Bystanders that simply allow children to be murdered year after year? The idea that they simply have no idea of the harm being caused is ludicrous. Do they not have critical thinking skills? No matter what happens in life, you KNOW murder is wrong. No matter what propaganda media shows you.

(also Beetee helped make those bombs too like gale was annoying but stop giving him full credit like if I was beetee I'd be pissed)

So, that comes to the idea that killing people as a whole is unethical, and it doesn't matter that they're awful people. Is that untrue? No. Is it far to those that have been oppressed their entire lives, being told that using force against their oppressors is wrong? Maybe. It's not an easy issue to resolve (kinda explains the metaphor, doesn't it?)

Neoliberalism probably wants you to blame the individuals. Coin, Gale, Snow. Coin and Snow were two sides of the same coin (ooh pun) - politicians, adults, playing for their own power. Is it wrong to enjoy power? No, of course not, just don't abuse it. Gale enjoyed power. But he was fighting for the freedom of the country, not himself. And he's only 19/20. You're a lot angrier when you're younger, as many adults forget.

The system is the real problem, clearly. Why should the capitol have all the power? Why are the districts being used? We don't know. But that's unimportant.

And then there's Katniss. She's the one making the decision - peace or war. On paper, its peace anyday. Katniss has seen both Peeta and Gale's hardships - Gale is a metaphor for who she could have been. Bitter, angry and hateful. It's not unjustified hatred but under Kantian ethics, murder is always wrong. Katniss does not want to retaliate because it's a vicious cycle of violence.

As far as we know, the capitol don't really pay for all they do. I know if I was a district citizen who suffered, I'd want capitol citizens to feel the same way. That is not to say that it is ethical, but it is not unjustified.

It would be more of a fair argument if Peeta and Gale suffered equally, but can you really quantify suffering. Their experiences shape them. Its easier for Peeta to want mercy for the capitol because he wasn't starved his whole life. And Peeta's stance is the right one.

But see, that's why we say complex character and not good person. Because the decisions aren't malicious in intent, just with clashing personal values to the norm. Like, bffr, half the people online hating on this guy would NOT have stood for mercy for the capitol.

(anyway have a nice day this was my ethics essay plan and I'd better get a 9 on it or else <333)

[biggie-chcese]

yuma cockhead

yuma cockhead.... his silhouette is pretty dick shaped in a way thanks to that haircut now that i think abt it

ANYWAY YUMA SHIPS!!! I LOVE A LOT OF THOSE (spoilers below)

NDA

Shinigami- 10/10 i love these two a lot and they're everything 2 me and i am very much enamored by the idea of a pair sharing mind and body. do yall think they had freaky mind se-

Yakou- 20/10 i have rambled before so ill refrain here but the angst potential mixed with the funny roommates potential is everything to me. i feel So Many things about them. they should have pathetic cringefail sex all the time <3

Halara- 9.8/10 i really love them deeply, especially how easily yuma breaks through halara's walls. the only reason points have been docked at all is because theyre not at the forefront of my mind

Desuhiko- 5/10 i only really like them in memes otherwise i kinda dont care

Fubuki- 8/10 theyre sooo cute together and i love how patient and sweet yuma is with her and how much she opens yuma's mind!!! also just not at the front of my mind but it is a banger ship. anyway can we start calling them kokoclock

Vivia- 20/10 OH BABY... fellas is it gay to be narrative foils? is it gay to change each others' outlook on life and truth and peace and happiness? also this fucking height difference makes me crazy

Kurumi- solid 2/10 i dont hate it but i dont like it either. the game makes me dislike it but ive seen some good fanon stuff. i think it's at its best if kurumi has a one-sided fangirl crush that's lowkey creepy but not outright yandere

Amaterasu

Makoto- 20/10 OUGHHH... i Really like this one. rattling them in my brain all the time. there's something i find deeply interesting in the way that they Truly understand each other. it's even easier to see ones own flaws and needs from an outsider's point of view, and i think that's a Really Good Thing for the world's most emotionally constipated minds

Yomi- 8/10 this one is extremely self indulgent to me because i think angry yuma is... really good. i want them to have nasty hatesex where they try to kill each other

Swank- 5/10 because erm uhhh. this has a very Specific appeal to me sorry. i want a lot of things to happen to yuma. swank should burn cigars on yuma's skin and then shotgun smoke with him in a seedy motel after yuma has made several bad choices in a row

Fake Zilch- 5/10 kind of similar reasoning to swank. not elaborating

the rest of the peacekeepers- idk man 2/10 or something i do not give a fuck about these ships but it's yuma so im open to them

Train Detectives

Real Zilch- 4/10 ive seen cute art but im mostly indifferent

Aphex- 5/10 i like that aphex is mean to yuma he should bully him More

Pucci- 3/10 the scene where their hands touched annoyed me i didnt want pucci to be a love interest. and then a more annoying love interest plot came afterwards so i guess that's how it goes. i dont care man idc

Zange- idk like 2/10. i dont care.

Melami- 4.5/10 i like that the first thing she did was grope yuma on sight. realest shit of all time. speak your truth, girl

Misc

Shachi- 4.5/10 i think it's a bit hot that shachi looks like he could snap yuma like a wafer stick. also i once drew them fucking once so now im attached

Nun- 4/10 i read one particularly good fic

The Literal Book of Death- 5/10 i read one particularly good fic

Ramen Shop Owner- 6/10 it would be really, really funny. besides yuma ramenhead deserves at least some good head from number one for literally solving kanai ward for him

aaand that's everything i feel like giving an opinion about! if you're curious about any others, assume i'm indifferent. thanks for asking!

[atopvisenyashill]

idk if this is where I should be but i like your hotd opinions so….

idk if i am crazy but i always understood that rhaenyra killing her siblings would do nothing but make a problem for her

like we know being a kinslayer is bad, but we also know being a woman in westeros who wants to be a queen in her own right is also bad lol, so how would killing her siblings aid her in anyway??? killing them makes everyone’s thoughts on women ruling real and if they aren’t causing problems she looks crazy

but if she doesn’t, rhetorically she’s faced with war even if the dance doesn’t happen the way it did, but if aegon isn’t veering for the throne, wouldn’t it be easier to just… imprison, tax and kill the lords rebelling against her instead of kill aegon??

Idk i just think there is a lot of options and things that need to happen before killing alicent’s children is mandatory especially if everyone is playing nice in the family, or as nice as they can play since everyone has loose lips

i definitely feel like often when people analyze both the books and the show, when it comes to ~competing claims~ they tend to go for a very typical westerosi way of dealing with it ie murdering the competition or isolating & neutralizing them in some way. the thing is, and i know i sound like a broken clock here but….this never works!! there’s lots of reasons for this, fundamental to it being that feudalism is just a bad, self destructive system but also, not for nothing here, but ned raises jon to love his siblings and jon not only defends sansa and is likely to defend both sisters and bran later on, but robb names jon as his heir. i mean hell, if roose had let ramsay and domeric grow up as brothers, he could have avoided his damn heir getting merked because domeric had an interest in knowing his brother!

so YES i do agree that rhaenyra killing aegon is not only a stupid, reckless decision fueled by anger and nothing more it is also politically just so fucking dumb. and that was part of my frustration with that scene, is i can't believe alicent didn't say that! kinslaying is stupid, people already think rhaenyra is a tyrant (in both the books and the show - the silent six thing does not help her even if i think the velaryons were asking to get got there they're so fucking stupid, and b&c really destroys any and every shot of working towards a quick resolution of this war. thanks daemon you fucking idiot!), adding another incident of kinslaying is so dumb. it's just more needless violence.

and to be honest, this is also the argument against like "rhaenyra will need to kill alicent's children to ensure her own rule and that's why the greens are justified" first of all, wildly misogynistic reasoning here thanks but second of all, no she really does not need to kill them. in fact, it actively harms her cause if she does! she needs to neutralize them somehow, which is a vastly different beast! and something that could be relatively peaceful if anyone involved in this situation wasn't mindlessly and stupidly violent especially on a certain side. "oh but the princes in the tower" that's a wildly different situation and also, idk if anyone pushing "well richard iii killed the princes so that means rhaenyra would have to kill her brothers" know this but like, richard iii got overthrown by henry tudor so i'm not sure child murdering really worked out for him in the end there. which is again, the fucking point!!! turns out when you escalate violence constantly over some stupid fucking chair, it opens the playing field up to getting your own ass whacked by someone else for that stupid fucking chair. rhaenyra and her brothers' best shot at life was to make peace with each other and make sure they were really loud about how much they tried to make peace with each other. you can't murder your own brother and expect people not to think "well shit what's she gonna do to ME if i piss her off?" and considering rhaenyra's dedicating to making sure She Personally did not murder any of her siblings, she clearly knew that.

[theyilinglaozus]

I mentioned this briefly over on MDL yesterday, but since I'm back from my theatre trip I figured I'd say a little something about the Shōgun finale here too.

I've seen quite the divide in how people felt about the ending; some hated it whilst others, myself included, loved it.

I think one of the things that some people feel disappointed by is the fact we never got to see the battle of Sekigahara that the show was building up to. Yet the truth is that Shōgun was never going to show it, because in terms of the story the viewer didn't need to see the battle to know the outcome.

The story was always about Toranaga and the journey he takes towards becoming Shōgun. He is a master strategist, and has been playing the game of war from the very start, just silently and through methods of politics rather than by the sword. He uses every person to his advantage, moving them like pieces on a board for his endgame, even those who he is closest to. Sure, there are moments he likely doesn't account for - the death of his son and the appearance of Blackthorne, for instance - but like any strategist of his level he either adapts them into his plans, or finds a way to use the moment in his advantage. That's what strategists do.

We don't need to see the battle of Sekigahara, because by the end of the show Toranaga has already won. This is what he tries to tell Yabushige before his death. Toranaga's explanation here reminds me to the moment he's talking to his son, with this quote:

'Why is it that only those who have never fought in battle are so eager to be in one?'

War is inevitable, but Toranaga is trying to minimize the number of those who have to die because of it. After all, his goal is for a peaceful era for Japan.

Mariko's death was the final act of Crimson Sky. Her death shakes the foundations enough to cause action to happen, because her death should not have been allowed to happen. Ishido knows this, which is why he sends his ronin to capture, not kill. Mariko's death, while tragic, is the final nail that sparks change. Ochiba, mourning the death of her childhood friend, decides to tell Toranaga in secret not to send the Heir's army to aid Ishido in battle, meaning that without his banner Ishido's war is no longer a lawful one.

While Mariko's death is a tragic one, it is not a meaningless one. It does not feel cheap, and the finale episode allows the viewers to mourn with those who knew and loved or respected her. I thought this was quite beautifully done, as even though she wasn't present in the episode, her spirit was still there, so she was still very much there. Some of the cinematography beautifully alluded to this, especially in moments like when Blackthorne and Fuji are sitting together in silence, yet there's one seat left -- Mariko's. Blackthorne even says then, 'no translator', because once Mariko had been a bridge of communication and understanding between them.

Another thing which I see a lot of confusion upon is Blackthrone's flash-forward scenes -- did he ever return to England? The answer, in my opinion, is told in the finale episode too. No, he didn't. Toranaga tells Yabushige that Blackthorne will never leave Japan, and in the scenes with an older Blackthorne, we see he's holding Mariko's cross. Yet he drops it into the water, showing that he lets it go. The episode title is 'a dream of a dream', and that's what Blackthorne's flash-forwards are: dreams. Another life, another path - but not this one.

The characters of Shōgun are based on real-life people in history -- it's actually really fascinating, and I've been learning more and more about their real-life counterparts whilst following this gem of a show. If you're interested in learning more, look up names like Tokugawa Ieyasu, Miura Anjin (William Adams) and Hosokawa Gracia (Akechi Tama).

All in all, Shōgun to me leaned more into the political intrique side of war, which for some people will be fascinating, and for others, not so much. But this show has so many layers and so much hidden within it, I can see it being one that's analysed for years to come.

[madwomansapologist]

Hiiii I was wondering if I can get a Klaus x gf reader where Bonnie wipes her memory of klaus as a way maybe to get revenge on him but they didn’t know all that Klaus did for her so all she can really do is sit in the boarding house till something happens. So bc klaus is klaus he finds witches of his own (maybe Davina because reader was/ is her best friend and when she heard about what they had done to her she helps gets revenge) and Davina either makes Bonnie or does it herself to give her memories back but also due to the stress of having everything pushed back into her head she’s in some kind of coma and klaus had to go into her head and help her piece them back together if any of this makes sense id appreciate this

Have we met before? | Klaus Mikaelson

Masterlist | Rules | Taglist | Library | More Elijah Mikaelson | AO3

synopsis: Bonnie had enough. Everything she wanted was to live her life at peace. She wasn't looking for problems, but they all seen to find her. And don't matter how much she tries, he always end up hurting her. Bonnie could be sad for you, but Klaus Mikaelson had it coming. [1K]

warnings: angst with happy ending. vampire stuff. damsel in distress. no one dies.

ps: thanks for your request my love! God, that reminds me of a ep on Harley Quinn and.... you may say I took a little bit of inspiration. Anyway, I hope you like it!

Bonnie never mean to harm you. Bonnie never mean to use your compassion against you. Bonnie never mean to trap you. Bonnie never mean to hurt you.

But enough is enough.

She knew that you wanted to stop that war. You were truly trying to make Klaus give up on this plan against Elena. He was already a hybrid, so why he wanted an army so bad? What rest to conquer? Bonnie knew you wanted peace, and she used that against you.

Bonnie tried, but she couldn't hurt Klaus Mikaelson in a way that really matters. In a way that would stop him. Elena, Caroline, Alaric, Damon, Stefan, Jeremy, herself: they all lose family, lovers, friends, themselfs. And Klaus didn't lose a damn thing. Bonnie didn't knew how to hurt him that badly, not until she saw the way the hybrid glare at you.

Klaus care about you. He goes for you when he is hurt. He look for you when he need a opinion. He actually listen to what you say. And when you bleed, he get scare. "His heartbeat almost turn me deaf," murmured Damon when you hurt your knees trying to stop Klaus from killing him. That surprised Bonnie. Klaus didn't feel hunger or desire: the hybrid only feel fear.

Bonnie had nothing against you, but you should know better.

Bonnie called you saying that she had found a way to give Klaus what he wanted, but that she needed you help to make him agree. "I will help you," you said soflty. That break her heart later. How you believed her. How you truly did. "What I need to do?"

You got to her house without telling Klaus anything. If a powerfull witch found a way to stop him, you were sure that Klaus wouldn't be happy about you helping her. But what could you do? Sit and let he burn everything around him for more power? You just wanted to go back to New Orleans. And you aren't the only one to think that way, Elijah want the same.

"I am so glad you call me" In front of her, you couldn't imagine what would happen. You didn't notice how, while you drunk all the tea she made for you, Bonnie didn't take a sip of her cup. "What will we do?"

"I found a way to make him understand that nothing on this city really matters", the witch aswered.

You lick your suddenly dry lips. You were looking for the right word, but they all became a mess. It was like none of them matters anymore. It was difficult to open your mouth.

"That is," you hold the cup tighter. You look down, seeing those green leaves, and realize that Bonnie didn't told you what she made for you. It was sweet and nice, but it didn't taste like anything you had before. A burning spred through your mouth. "All I could ask for."

"I know," Bonnie smiled. She stand up and walked to your armchair. She kneel in front of you and took the cup from your hands. You tried to grab it, but your arms didn't move. You couldn't move. Bonnie caressed you hand, you saw it, but you didn't feel her touch. "Now is time for you to close your eyes. I promisse it won't hurt that much."

Klaus could understand if you needed to spend a day alone. Klaus could understand if you decided to not join him and Elijah to dinner. Sometimes you need to be alone, and that include not being around your loved ones. Klaus could understand a lot of things, but he respect his instincts.

Something was wrong. Klaus didn't had a way to know that, but he knew. Something is wrong. He could had said to himself that he was being dumb, but that would be lying. You wouldn't simply evaporate. Thats not something you would do. If you wanted space, then you would had said that. Something is wrong.

Klaus made his hybrids go after his lover. All he wanted was to hear the right combination of words. Your mate is fine. Your mate was just enjoying a time with some friends. Your mate lost her phone. Your mate is safe. He waited for the last hybrid with a necessity to cry. Part of him knew that only the last hybrid would be able to say something more than sorry. But Klaus couldn't imagine that he would came with you passed out on his arms.

"I found her passed out around the neighborhood." Probably the hybrid continued talking, but Klaus wasn't able to listen. All he could do was to look at you.

You didn't look like you were sleeping. Your cracked lips, the way your eyes continued moving even closed, how your lips murmur something that he wasnt able of understand. Your pink nails dug wounds against the soft skin of your hand, You didn't look like you were just sleeping.

"My love," Klaus took you from the hybrid and carried your body to your shared bedroom. Tears burned his eyes. "I will take care of you."

Under the blankets, you still not responding to his voice. He caress your hair and kissed your forehead. Klaus knelt down in front of you, with the lights off, and cried. "I will avenge you," said Klaus. "I will burn whoever hurt you."

A knock on the door made Klaus look up. "I called Davina," informed Elijah. He thought about saying this another time, but he knew what his brother needed: a target. "She was found near Bonnie's house."

Klaus kissed you forehead again, then got up and locked the door. Ignoring Elijah, he walked to whatever room was next to him. There, Klaus broke all the furniture. "I should have killed her when I had the chance."

"Maybe, but that does not matter anymore." Elijah hold him close, trying to make his brother's brain work again. "But now we need to help her. Niklaus, don't do anything that could harm her more."

"Where is Davina?"

"Rebekah is bringing her." Elijah walked away. "I know what you want, but don't hurt the witch. Not yet."

"It was a spell," Davina was sit beside your sleep body. "But it wasn't made for she to be paralised. No, something went wrong with it."

"Can you save her or not?" Shouted Klaus.

Davina looked at him. Rebekah didn't even let her chance her clothes, she just entered her home saying that her presence was needed. Her nightgown was covered by a cardigan Elijah gave to her.

"I think so." Davina turned to you. She put her forehead against yours, feeling your cold skin. Davina thought Rebekah was rude about not saying why she was need, but now she understand. If she explained what happened to you, how sick you look, Davina would be still crying. "But I will need help."

"More witches?" asked Rebekah.

"No. I know that the spell went wrong, but I don't know what spell she is on. What I know is that she is awaken somewhere inside her head. I've done that before, and it is easier if someone that share a bond with her help me."

"I will do anything." Klaus got closer to Davina. "Just tell me, and I do it."

Davina got up. She walked around the room, trying to calm herself down. "I need you to wake her up."

"We all tried," Rebekah breath out. "It didn't worked, as you can see."

"You will need to find her", Davina ignored Rebekah. She guided Klaus to the other side of the bed. "And you need to do it quickly. Do you understand me?"

Klaus lay down beside his lover. "Do what you need to do."

"Help my girl," Davina licked her lips. "Ille ad eam. Inveniet eam intus. Eam ad ille." Klaus convulsed, it was like lightning had hit him. Unable to do anything to find himself, Klaus held the hand of the woman he loved. "Ille ad eam. Inveniet eam intus. Eam ad ille."

And as soon as it started, it ended.

"It's done." Ravina turned to those other Mikalesons. "Now its on him."

A white room. Nothing more than a white room. Klaus stood up. It was so bright. As he walked, he realized he couldn't actually see any wall. He keep walking, and walking, and walking. Until the saw the oak door.

It burned when he touched it, but he was able to get to the other side.

Now, all he could see was the green of the garden. He didn't knew this place, but he could felt the love. It was innocent. It was warm. It was safe. If smell like childhood. And she was sit there, with a butterfly walking on her finger. She was awake, and smiling, and not hurt. She was... safe.

"Have we met before?" You asked, still looking at the butterfly.

"You could say that," Klaus felt a little bit tipsy. What he need to do? Suddenly he couldn't remember. It was so warm. So safe. "Do you like here?"

"You could say that," a smirk appeared on your face. "You don't belong here, do you?"

Klaus breath in. "I don't think so but I... I can't remember why I am here. Do you know why I am here?"

The butterfly decided that it had enough of you and fly away. You looked at him. "I don't even know why I am here. I just know that I have to forget something, but maybe I already forgot it."

Klaus sit beside the woman, admiring the garden. "So why don't you just go away? Keep walking and maybe you can find something."

"Maybe. But I am affraid of what I could find. So affraid I can't even walk." Klaus reached out to her, his stronge hands waiting for her touch. "I do it with you."

"Are you sure? You are not affraid of what we could find out there?" You asked. "It could be anything."

"I hope so." Klaus smiled. "I hope we could find anything. Maybe we can even find everything. Isn't fun?"

And when you touch his hand, everything just...

"They woke up!" screamed Elijah.

"Who wouldn't with you screaming like that?"" You yawned. When you felt Klaus's height on you, your smile was natural. You hugged him back. "Happy to see me, darling?"

"Do you remember what happened?" Davina asked. Your smile found a way to be even brighter. "The witch promissed it wouldn't hurt that much. She lied."

"Say what you want me to do", Klaus finally was able to use his words. He didn't let you go. You couldn't wish for something different. "One word from your mouth and she is dead."

You hesitated.

"You can have your fun," you said, finally. "I just want to watch."

"As you wish."

GENERAL TAGLIST: @suakemi @notanalienindisguiseblink

if you enjoyed, please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

[thetombedspirit]

So... you know those critics that said that AFOP was basically a reskinned Far Cry?

And... you know the Severed Bonds side quests?

I PRESENT TO YOU AN AU!: Tethered Bonds AU! Where Hajir was able to save a baby Viperwolf and a baby Pululukan before ditching the RDA and joining the Resistance and they just hang around the area, providing protection while receiving love and affection! And eventually, we get side quests to where we would aquire them as buddies, like Boomer and Peaches from Far Cry 5 or the Beast Master quests from Far Cry Primal!

Here's my take on how said quests would go.

After getting more situated to the Resistance and heading out to the campfire with the other Sarentu, there would be a cutscene where a Viperwolf is just... sitting there as the doors open, panting like a dog and looking up at you calmly. Hajir rushes out and placate the whole situation, claiming that 'Apollo' is friendly. He then briefly explains that he saved him and Artemis when he defected from the RDA and that Apollo is fine once he gets to know you, however Artemis only let's So'lek approach. You assume Artemis is also a Viperwolf and move on.

Then, during one of the Severed Bonds quests, namely the one where you confront the main feral Thanators, is where Hajir suggests taking Apollo with you for extra security. You get a mini-quest where you feed him and suddenly he's your buddy!

Now Apollo brings his own sets of skills to the table: like Boomer in FC5, he can tag nearby enemies and can stealth kill any non-AMP enemies unless they in clustered groups.

And then there's Artemis.

After the Resistance move to the Clouded Forest, Alex tells you that Artemis initially took off in the chaos and has been spotted in the Clouded Forest, but is being hunted by the RDA. That's when they reveal that Artemis is not a Viperwolf, but a Pululukan, a Thanator!

And you are given the quest to go and find her. You go and kill all the RDA in the area, and then track and soothe Artemis, even forming a bond with her. So now, you have a Thanator as a buddy!

Artemis would be a mixture of Peaches the Puma and Cheeseburger the Bear from FC5 and the Sabretooth Tiger from FCP. Her skills include being unseen by enemies while in stealth, taking attention off MC during combat, and is very capable of taking out AMP suits! She can even be a mount for MC while on the ground! Making for a very formidable duo.

And why stop there! Start adding Na'vi to your buddy roster!

So'lek is an obvious choice, with his skillset in stealth and human armaments, he'd be a valuable addition.

And you can Etuwa and her Ikran as an aireal assault ally, taking enemies out from the sky like Nick Rye.

And to represent the Zeswa, non other then their Olo'eykte, Nesim, with her sharpshooting with a spear and fierce temper.

And for the Kame'tire, I have been thinking Sa'ney, the hunter who wanted to give a peaceful death to the feral Thanator that nearly killed her. Her drive and skill against the RDA will be invaluable.

And finally, Anqa should be part of the buddies too. With her Sampson and her experience, she'd be great aereal support as well.

I kinda went off on this, but I like it and I could see this being a part of the game.

I hope to hear your opinions💙

[raffaelamusiker]

Raffi Musiker and Michael Burnham for the character ask

Thank you for the ask! From this ask game

Raffi!!

How I feel about this character

Oh gosh, I love her with everything I have. I love all of her good and her bad. I love that she is perfectly imperfect. She's one of the most realistic human characters I've ever seen. She is my baby and she deserves the whole universe and I love her SO MUCH. I relate to her a lot.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Well Seven, of course. I do also like thinking about pre-canon and her marraige and relationship with Jae. Honestly I'm quite open with shipping Raffi with people: B'Elanna, Emmy, Jadzia, a load of OCs ect. She just deserves to be loved by everyone. If Raffi wants to give everyone little kisses then she should be allowed!!

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Raffi and Rios are the top brOTP. Platonic soulmates to the max.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I don't know if this is unpopular but I have seen a few comments about it: Raffi is not ooc in s3. Ignoring the abysmal 'offical' (thats putting it lightly) timeline between s2 & 3 that doesn't make sense, Raffi had been through a lot of trauma that was never addressed again in s2 (surprise surprise). Elnor died in her arms, she watched Seven get deathly injured and nearly die, she herself nearly died and her best friend stayed in the past. All of that and with what she was going through in the first half of s3 would change her, harden her, make her slip over the edge.

I do agree that the show never really knew exactly what to do with her and so we have 3 different angles of her, but its not ooc. Raffi has just been through so much trauma, especially between s1-3 and hasn't had the time to deal with it.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

For her and Seven to officially stay together lmao. No, I loved how she found a friend and supporter in Worf, I love how she's by Seven's side on the Titan Enterprise, I just wish they'd done the family stuff a bit better you know? She deserved so much more than Jae suddenly believing everything she said just because Worf had leaked her medals and such, and not having listened to her himself. (Gabe is different). It just kinda sucked and she deserves better and to be believed and listened to.

Michaeeeel!!!

How I feel about this character

I love Michael a lot. I think she's one of the best captains, an amazing friend and someone who just wants to do the right thing. She knows her flaws and works on them. She's not afraid to emote, to feel, to love. The way she loves her friends so unapologetically <3 She's truly the best.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Michael and Book are cute, but there was this polyamory Disco post going around a while back which I loved too. Michael, just like Raffi is allowed to just kiss whoever she wants.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Michael and Saru's friendship always brings me to tears tbh. Also Michael and Tilly's friendship. I love them being best friends so much. The way they always just hug!! and Michael and Saru doing the head touch kills me every time.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I don't know, probably that she's one of the best captains?? I know it's usually just the trek bros who say shes a mary-sue or whatever, but I think she has one of the best character arcs and character growth on any ST show. I also loved that she got such a good, peaceful ending. It's what she deserves!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

That she got more time as captain. That Disco didn't have to end. I think she had so much more to give us and I miss her!!

[sarnai4]

Went Out For Some Milk

I think that Dagur and Hiccup have more in common than most people realize. An underrated example of this is how they both have parents who just plain abandoned them. To a certain extent, I understand Valka and Oswald. On a deeper level, I really can't get it at all. Here's why:

I get that Valka didn't willingly leave. She was taken by Cloudjumper. That's not her fault in the slightest. She was trying to protect her baby and was taken by a spooked dragon; however, why did she stay gone? She learned how to fly on dragons. Therefore, she had the means to return. The idea of her not being able to come back is gone. The realm with the dragons wasn't too far from Berk. She could ride a flying creature. The next suggestion is that it would've been unsafe. That's the one she used to explain it...but how? I'm genuinely curious if anyone has a reason because I can't think of it for the life of me. Just have Cloudjumper drop you off near Berk, swim to shore, and say you escaped. Or don't say that and try to gradually get the other Berkians to accept dragons. Heck, if she loved dragons so much and didn't want to ever be away, she could have flown to Berk and been like, "Hey, hubby, I'm a dragon rider now. Be cool with that and we can stay together." Stoick probably would've loved her enough to accept one of these. He loved her enough to accept that she made him a single dad for 20 years and wasn't even upset. It's also not fair to Hiccup that he grew up without a mom because she was too scared to be herself around the Berkians or risk losing her new freedom away from the island.

Oswald runs into the reverse of this. For him, I understand why he didn't return. The guy was shipwrecked on an island with dragons who didn't want anyone leaving. My issue with him is that he left in the first place. Why did he go? Why did he not tell anyone? Dagur never should've been able to convince the other Berserkers that he killed Oswald because the man should have told the others he was heading out. If he was going to a peace treaty signing, I'm sure he would've gone with more people. As a chief, it's irresponsible to not let his Vikings know where he'll be going or if he will since they might need his help. As a father, it's irresponsible to leave his son 50,000+ people to be in charge of without so much as a goodbye first. All he had to do was tell someone. An argument could be made that he told Dagur, but the question then becomes why on Earth would he do that and not tell anyone else? Mini Dagur isn't the person you give your location to so that he can be your emergency contact. If he even paid attention, he'd probably laugh at the idea of there being an emergency. Even still, I doubt that Oswald told him because Dagur seemed to really have no idea where he had gone. So, it's highly likely that Oswald just decided he had enough of being a chief and dad, then went to the great beyond.

I'm sure these are both unpopular opinions, but these parents really do bug me. What annoys me more is that I don't think either is shown to be anything other than loving despite that. It's unfair to their kids. I don't want the movie to tell me Valka is just the best mom ever and that they're going to be a happy family now that they found her. She could have returned to them years ago and we wouldn't have had that sad episode back when they were kids with poor Hiccup being desperate to find the one item his mom had given him since that was the only thing he had to remind him of her. I don't want to see a happy scene with Dagur reading about how much his dad loved him. Oswald should have proven it by not abandoning him, then in that same episode with the supposed happy moment, Dagur wouldn't have voiced his doubt that his dad did in fact love him. Just a little something that irks me, but I'm curious what everyone else thinks.

[empressofthesunwriter]

Yin and Yang: Book 1.16

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Book 1.16: The Deserter 

After two weeks I can finally update T.T

I’m so happy I finished this chapter, it gave me so much trouble.

It helped that I worked on My Hero Academia FF Kill La Hero, so give it a look.

Also, I want to announce something: I have finally decided to say fuck it.

People today say we can’t write smut or similar things for FICTIONAL characters even if they are underage.

Do these people not know how teenagers are?

Most of them are horny all the time and when they can have sex they will do it!

They won’t stop watching porn and having sex with each other because we aren’t anymore writing about Fictional Character A having sex with Fictional Character B.

Also, writing should be free!

We should write what we want, it’s not my task to monitor kids and teens.

I put the warning on and if they still can read it, then blame the parents not us authors!

It’s their mission to protect the innocent of their children.

Even if they talk in school about sex.

I can still remember what we talked about in my teens.

And it wasn’t My Little Pony or grades. XD

Sex is something normal and natural and not something to be ashamed of.

And more I don’t say.

If you disagree feel free to block me and search for other fanfics.

You think like that, I think it this way.

Let’s respect each other's opinions.

I’m telling you this because we will experience together with Aang and Hua the first steps in physical love. I don’t think I will let them have sex right now, but dear god I want them French kissing without people coming for my ass.

Also, Zutara is to hot to not have sex when they are a couple ;D

Anyway, we are still a long way away from these things I just wanted to give you a heads-up. ^^

Now on with the story!

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. 

Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

***

It was nearly sunset when Team Avatar reached a little roadside kiosk.

Getting curious they walked up to it.

“This should give us a good idea of what's around here.”, mussed Katara reading the posters.

Sokka flips a small pouch to find it empty aside from a few crumbs.

“See if you can find a menu, I'm starving!”, groaned the water tribe teen.

“I bet we'll find something to eat here, the Fire Day's Festival.”, said Aang, before he read aloud. “Fire Nation cultural exhibits, jugglers, benders, magicians ...This would be a great place for Hua and me to study some real firebenders.”

The Daimon, who had Jaiyi in her arms, raised an eyebrow. “What? Are you saying my firebending lessons are not enough?”

“Hua, we learned the scroll up and down.”, reminds her Aang. “Now we are making it up on the go and I don’t think we are making great progress.”

Hua raises a finger, like she wants to argue, then frowns and signs.

Aang had a point.

They knew the firebending scroll by now without even looking at it.

They needed to learn new moves.

“You are right. It would be good to go to this festival.”

“You guys might wanna rethink that. Look at this.”, called Sokka from the other side of the kiosk.

All joined him to see what was wrong.

The answer was simple.

“Hey, posters of me, Hua and Blue!”, grinnend Aang.

The posters looked good!

“Wanted posters! This is bad.”, corrected him Soka.

Each of the three who had a poster removed it from the kiosk. Blue just grumbled it, Hua studied the painting of herself, while Aang read his poster.

“I think we better keep moving.”, declares Katara.

“The scroll helped us, this could be Hua and mine only chance to watch a master's up close.”, begged Aang.

Hua nodded.

“I’m with him. We will never master firebending only with the scroll.”

Katara frowned, but she had to admit, the youngest had a good point.

“I guess we could go check it out.”

This made Aang and Hua smile, while Sokka and Blue stared at Katara.

Did they hear right?!

“What? You wanna walk into a Fire Nation town where they're all fired up with their ... you know, fire?”, questioned Sokka.

Blue wrote his thoughts.

>>I’m with Sokka. This just screams trouble for us.<<

Sokka narrowed his eyes at him but then signed: “Can’t believe I’m with Mask-Dude on the same side…but this doesn’t mean I will stop keeping watch over you mister?!”

All just deadpannend at Sokka.

His paranoia of Blue was getting old.

Secretly Zuko was happy how only Sokka mistrusted him still. It was one obstacle less in his quest to capture Aang and Hua.

“We'll wear disguises and if it looks like trouble, we'll leave.”, proposed Katara to the two sceptics.

“Yeah! Because we always leave before we get into trouble.”, sasses Sokka back.

However, since the two oldest boys were outvoted, they had no choice but to go with the others to the festival.

Sokka to protect them, while Zuko hoped a chance would turn up to snatch Hua and Aang.

At nightfall, they had nearly reached the town where the festival was held.

They stopped on a hill and Aang told their animal friends to hide. Momo and Jaiyi dived into a bush and Appa hid behind the little bush.

It was adorable!

Then it was time to disguise themselves...

Blue just put the hood of his robe even deeper over his masked face. Hua, Sokka and Katara put on their black cloaks while Aang pulls his orange shawl over his head with a smile, making him look ridiculous.

“It's like you're a whole different person …”, retorted Sokka sarcastically, while Hua and Katara giggled.

Blue just shook his head.

“Let's go.”, said Aang cheerfully.

After a few minutes they enter the bustling town.

People with masks were everywhere, children played and they nearly got run over by a costume dragon.

“I think we need some new disguises.”, told Katara studying the people with the masks.

“Where are we gonna get masks like that?”, wondered Sokka.

It seemed like the universe was good to them tonight since they heard a man calling: “Get your genuine Fire Festival masks here!”

“That was surprisingly easy.”

Blue keeps his mask since they sold Blue Spirit masks too, so hopefully, no one would conclude he was the real Blue Spirit, while the other picked out their mask.

Hua chose a white with red markings kitsune mask, Katara chose a lady with makeup, Sokka a blue smiling mask with petals around the rim, and Aang chose a red mask with a frown on it. 

After looking at them Katara removes Sokka's mask, revealing him to be frowning, and Aang's mask, revealing him to be the one smiling. 

She places Sokka's original mask over Aang's face and Aang's over Sokka.

You could feel Sokka frown even more.

They walked around for a bit looking at the attractions. Sokka nearly burned himself with this food called Fire Flakes.

Not even he was hungry enough to eat them full.

They watched a little puppet show with Firelord Ozai who burned down an earthbender and decided to move along.

Too macabre for them.

Then Aang sees a big crowd and leads his friends there, Sokka murmurs that it was probably an execution.

Zuko heard him.

And it didn’t make him feel good.

The other where the whole time on edge at the Fire Festival, while he remembers happier times, going with his mom and uncle and Lu Ten to them and enjoying them.

How Sokka said that the main attraction of the festival had to be an execution…was this how the other nations saw the Fire Nation?

That when they celebrate, they like to execute people?

What he learned with his tutors so long ago was how the Fire Nation wanted to spread their technological advance over the primitive nations, but this?

It made him question things again.

He was never more thankful as the show turned out to be a magician who needed a volunteer for his next trick, picking Katara. Aang thought she was in danger and airbenden the fire away, which turned into confetti and lost his mask.

As a distraction, Aang made a silly dance, while Hua and Sokka freed Katara from her seat, as people recognised Aang as the Avatar.

Then a wild chase took place and a man in a hood helped them to flee with explosions.

Aang called for Appa with his whistle and they flow away from the festival.

The Avatar praises their new ally for his quick thinking with the explosion and setting off the fireworks, while Sokka impressed tells him how the man knows his explosives.

That’s when the man turns around and they see he is a Fire Nation Soldier!

The man corrected them.

He was once and his name was Chey.

The group lands to make camp.

When the campfire burns, Chey begins to speak.

“I serve a man.”, he says. “More than a man really, he's a myth, but he's real, a living legend, Jeong Jeong the Deserter. He was a Fire Nation general, or wait, was he an admiral?”

“He was very highly ranked, we get it.”, stops him Sokka unamused.

“Yeah! Way up there! But he couldn't take the madness any more. He's the first person ever to leave the army - and live. I'm the second, but you don't get to be a legend for that. That's okay though. Jeong Jeong's a firebending genius. Some say he's mad - but he's not! He's enlightened.”

Did Aang and Hua hear right?!

“You mean there's a firebender out here who's not with the Fire Lord?”, they chorused together, Aang even stood excited up. “We've gotta go see him! He can train Hua and me!”

“We're not gonna go find some crazy firebender!”, makes Sokka clear.

Even normally Firbender where a pain in the butt, however a crazy ex-general/admiral living in the woods, just screamed trouble!

Annoyed Chey comes to his master's aid. “He's not crazy! He's a genius! And he's the perfect person to train the Avatar and Daimon! That's why I followed you into the festival.”

Now the annoyed Sokka makes clear how he was thankful for the help, however, they would leave for the North Pole in the morning.

Now Hua and Aang protested together.

“Sokka, this could be our only chance to meet a firebending master who would be willing to teach us!”

“It can't hurt just to talk to him.”, agreed Katara with the two youngest.

“That's what you said about going to the festival! Why doesn't anyone ever listen to me?”

“Is this again about your instincts?”, mumbled Hua, yet Katara and Aang heard her and giggled.

As Sokka turns to pout, he almost runs right into a spear. 

In a flash, they are surrounded by men wearing straw hats, light armour, tribal make-up, and wielding spears.

Oh-Uh!

***

The Spirits hated him, Zuko was sure.

Not only was going to the Fire Nation Festival a disaster, no, but now he was in one of the huts of deserters and traitors of his country!

If his father ever found out he was near the infamous Jeong Jeong the Deserter, he could forget his throne and say hi to a nice little cell on the Boiling Rock!

Maybe Uncle Iroh was right and his plan did have flaws.

No, he couldn’t think like that!

As long as he keeps his “Blue” theatre-going, no one would ever need to know how he captures the Avatar and Daimon.

Still…when he was a boy, Zuko remembered how Uncle Iroh talked about Jeong Jeong, calling him a military genius and a dear friend.

Could someone, whose uncle so appreciated, really be a bad guy?

The part of him, that was formed through propaganda, said yes, but his emotional side, who trusted his Uncle said no.

So…does it mean the Fire Nation, his father, was in the wrong? It was like someone threw a bucket of cold icy water on him.

How could Zuko think such traitorous thoughts?!

He was his father's and his nation's loyal servant!

That’s why he did this spiel of being friends with Aang and Hua to capture them for his nation.

For his honour and to eliminate their biggest treat!

Still…he looked at the people who slept beside him.

Katara was nearly snuggled on his side, which was not good for his racing teenage hormones.  He was still a teenager and she was a beautiful girl, who was too trusting of him!

Sokka slept behind him to not make any funny business happen.

Like Zuko would do anything to Katara.

Sweet and fierce Katara, who naturally took him in in their group and acted with him like they were old friends.

She didn’t deserve the heartbreak he would cause her when he took Aang and Hua away.

Zuko had seen and felt how Katara saw the two youngest as her own.

But he wouldn’t have a choice.

He never has a choice.

Then there were Aang and Hua.

Hua slept on Aang's chest, gripping his robes, while Aang embraced the smaller girl.

They looked like two puzzle pieces.

A perfect fit.

Just none of these two wanted to look reality in the face.

Behind his mask Zuko signed.

He was already a way to invest with everyone, even with Sokka when they squabbled over random things, it would only hurt when he betrayed- when he had to fulfil his mission.

More than normal he wished for his Uncle's advice, okay, Uncle Iroh would sprout some weird proverb nonsense, but then he would help Zuko figure it out.

Another sign left his lips.

He should try to sleep.

Thinking this all over and over wouldn’t change a thing.

He NEEDED his honour, his place as the crown prince back.

He wouldn’t leave the Fire Nation in the perfectly manicured hands of his cruel sister!

Azula cared for power, not for people.

It’s then that Chey enters their little hut.

So much for sleeping.

Careful, with Hua still in his arms, Aang sits up.

“What happened? Can we see Jeong Jeong now?”, he whispered, while Hua cutely snuggled up closer to him and Aang stroked her black hair.

Yeah, these two were already a couple and didn’t even notice.

How did Katara said to Zuko? Aang and Hua were two lovable idiots in the mysterious ways of love.

He had to agree.

Meanwhile, Chey made a face.

“The thing is…he only wants to speak to the Daimon since her next element is Fire. He doesn’t want to talk to you at all. After talking with the Daimon he wants you all to leave immediately.”

“Finally!”, shouted Sokka, which woke now everyone up.  “Let's hit the road.”

“Why won't he see me?”, wonders Aang, while Katara and Hua yawn and rub the sleep from their eyes.

“He says you're not ready. Says you haven't mastered waterbending and earthbending yet.”, Chey explains.

“Wait, how does he know that?”

“He saw the way you walked into camp. He could tell.”

“I'm going in, anyway!”

“Wait Aang!”, stops him Hua. “I should probably talk first with Master Jeong Jeong. He did ask for me. Maybe I can sway him to teach you too.”

Katara nodded. “I’m with Hua. Let her talk with him first.”

After a second to reflect on it, Aang agreed.

That’s when Chey let the metaphorical bomb explode.

“He wants to talk to the Blue Spirit too.”

All eyes zero’ed on Zuko, while he started sweating.

What did the infamous deserter want from him?

Maybe his rigid body told Chey what he was thinking since the man said to him: “I dunno, why he wants to talk with you. Maybe because you are fighting against the Fire Nation too?”

“Or because he IS Fire Nation.”, whisper-shouted Sokka.

For that, Katara hit with her elbow the side of his stomach.

Ignoring Sokka’s paranoia Hua stood up and waved to Zuko.

“Come on, Blue let’s talk to Master Jeong Jeong.”

Did he have a choice in this matter?

Not if he didn’t want to blow his cover.

So he followed Hua to Jeong-Jeong's hut.

They squabbled a bit about who should go in first before it was decided Zuko should go in first.

Jeong Jeong surely wanted to talk longer to Hua as she was the Daimon, than he who was a vigilante.

Yeah, Zuko had a bad feeling.

The feeling got worse when he stepped into the hut and saw Jeong Jeong already turned in his direction, fixing him with a knowing look.

Nervous Zuko bowed before him.

He wondered what Jeong Jeong wanted from him.

***

Yawing Hua was sitting beside Master Jeong Jeong's hut.

He and Blue were talking quite long.

What did a Firebending master need to tell their friend, which took so much time?

If she wasn’t so sleepy, she would thought about it more, but Hua wanted just to fall back in Aang's arms and sleep till midday.

She was really tired, okay?

That’s when Blue stepped out of the hut. Her friend stared down on the floor, seeming pensive.

“Hey Blue.”, she greeted him, standing up. “Is anything alright?”

Even if his mask didn’t show his eyes, Hua felt them formally on her.

Something desperate and sad was in them.

“Blue?”

He just patted her head and walked in the direction of the forest.

Did he need time to think?

Hopeful he would return soon.

With a sign, Hua stepped into Jeong Jeong's hut.

She could smell the soft fragrance of jasmine as she bowed before the master.

“Master Jeong Jeong it is an honour to meet you.”, she greeted him.

“Raise, girl.”

So she did as she was told.

Jeong Jeong had wild white hair, a scar going down one of his eyes and wore simple black clothes.

He was currently making tea.

That’s why she smelled jasmine.

“Take a seat.”

She kneeled in perfect seiza before him. Jeong Jeong handed her a cup of tea.

“Drink. It’s a brand a friend of mine likes quite much, it will help you to stay awake.”

Hua thanked him with a bow and tasted the tea.

Mmh, what a filigree and delicious taste.

Jeong Jeong's friend knows his tea.

“You wanted to speak with me, Master?”

“Indeed, girl. I know you aren’t an earthbending master yet.”

How did he know?

“But you are getting closer. Your next element is fire.”

She nodded.

“I’m currently training in it with a scroll, but there isn’t anymore for me.”

“I see.”, hummed Jeong Jeong, sipping his own tea. “You need a master.”

“Are you offering yourself, it would be a great help and honour, Master.”

“This would mean, you have to leave your friends and your Avatar.”, he told her simply. “He needs to learn water and has to go to the North Pole, if you wanna learn fire you have to stay here with me before you rejoin him to learn earth.”

It was like a slap in the face!

Leaving….Leaving Aang, Katara and Sokka?

Staying here all alone?!

What?!

“I had a feeling.”, declared Jeong Jeong with wise eyes. “You and the Avatar were brought together too soon and started to learn together 100 years ago, I’m correct?”

Not trusting her voice Hua nodded, before she croaked out. “I lived in the Southern Air Temple a few months before Sozin’s Comet came. With me was an Earth Sage, Master De, who trained me in earthbending, while Aang should have perfected his airbending. Since then we have always been together.”

“What fools.”, grumble the master. “I can understand letting you meet so soon and tell your destinies because the war was on the horizon, but starting the bond between you was foolish! An Avatar and Daimon pair normally meets once at 16 then four times a year, when each season begins, till they have mastered their respective elements. Then the bond should take root and lead to love or companionship. But this mess…only complicated things. You can’t anymore be without each other.”

This made Hua bite her lips nervous.

Should she ask?

She needed to ask.

“Will you teach Aang then with me?”

 “No!”, he said loud and clear. Even the flames of the candles rose up. “He needs to learn water and earth first! But I recognize I can’t keep you from your Avatar.”

Jeong Jeong handed her a little chest, which she hadn’t noted before.

“Here are some Firebending scrolls. More advanced than the one you have surely. Learn with this, till you and the Avatar come to learn fire from me. But before master earth and water. This is the best solution for the mess the monks and Earth Sages did 100 years ago.”

The Daimon thanked Jeong Jeong with a bow, hugging the chest to herself.

“Go in peace, young Daimon.”

“You too, master.”

Hua knew when she was dismissed, so she went to their hut for the night.

How should she explain to Aang that Jeong Jeong didn’t want to teach him?

***

In the end, Hua's worry was for nothing.

Somehow Aang convinced Jeong-Jeong to teach them both.

So the next morning, while Sokka fishes, Katara practices her waterbending and Blue still hasn’t returned, the Avatar and Daimon stand bandy-legged, on flat stones in the river.

Jeong Jeong stands a foot or two away on the bank in front of his cottage.

“Widen your stance. Wider! Bend your knees. Now, concentrate.”, tells them, Jeong Jeong. “Good, good!”

“Wait! What do we do now?”, wonders Aang, while Hua sends him a look that screams don’t speak!

“Silence! Talking is not concentrating! Look at your friend, is she talking? Even that oaf knows to concentrate on what he's doing!”

From Sokka comes an offended Hey.

“But what are we concentrating on?”, asks Aang again and Hua makes an aport-the-mission sign.

“Feel the heat of the sun. It is the greatest source of fire. Yet, it is completely balanced with nature!”, explains Jeong Jeong.

Hua nods, takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.

She tries to feel the warmth, only concentrating on that, but, of course, Aang has to interrupt again: “So when do I get to make some fire?”

“Concentrate!”

“Aang, you make ME lose my concretion!”, shouts Hua together with Jeong Jeong.

Their teacher leaves them and Aang feels embarrassed. Even more when he hears Sokka and Katara giggle behind him.

He blushes.

Hua just signs and follows Jeong Jeong's instructions.

She wants to become a better firebender, if she has to start at the beginning she will.

A while later, Jeong Jeong returns and leads them high up on a mountain.

Aang can’t keep himself from asking if they can make fire now, only for their teacher to say he brought them there to breathe.

The Avatar was in disbelief, but he followed Jeong Jeong's instructions.

Then he leaves the two alone again.

It takes Aang exactly five minutes before he whispers: “Hua, hey Hua!”

The spoken to girl just continued breathing, trying to ignore Aang.

She wants to fulfil this exercise to Jeong Jeong pleasing.

Sadly Aang calls her again a few times.

Hua loses her nerves when he pokes her.

“What Aang?!”, she shouts. “What is so important?!”

“Come on, you have to think this is wasting our time. We already can do firebending moves.”, Aang whines.

“Aang, I think we should listen to our teacher. Jeong Jeong knows more about this then we both together. Look, he already corrected our stance. We were all wrong.”

The boy huffs a little.

But it was so boring!

It was more fun learning firebending with Hua and the scroll.

“You know what, I’m going to talk to Jeong Jeong.”, declared Aang.

“Aang that’s a bad idea, just do the exercise.”

However, her other half was already on the way to their master.

Hua couldn’t help herself to huff.

Aang, the airhead, wanted to have fun, then really learn the elements.

Did he think the war was a joke?

Well, she at least would listen to Jeong Jeong.

She didn’t know how much time passed, it was like she had fallen into a trance when she heard someone come for her.

Silence was around them.

Curious she opened one eye.

It was Blue!

“Hey, Blue, were where you? We have been worried.”, she tells him.

Blue only stares at her.

A bit nervous Hua opens fully her eyes.

“I’m currently meditating, feeling the sun, you know for firebending.”

Still nothing from her friend.

A bad feeling took its place in Hua's stomach.

Then Blue finally moved, coming towards her.

***

After Katara healed Aang's burn, they finally noted their missing friends.

“Where are Hua and Blue?”, wondered Katara.

She had a bad feeling in her stomach.

“She is probably still where Jeong Jeong left her. I know where.”, said Aang calmly.

Jaiyi yipped it at him in a way that said let’s hurry and pick up my girl.

So Aang flows Appa in the direction of the mountain.

What they found there surprised them.

It looked like a battlefield, with burn marks on the ground, yet strangely Blue and Hua were sitting there together, talking with each other.

The girl even seemed to have cried.

“Hey Hua, Mask-Dude!”, called Sokka for their attention. “Need a lift?”

“Hey guys, that would be nice.”, sniffled Hua and Blue patted her shoulder.

They helped them on Appa and Katara fussed over Hua.

“What’s wrong Hua? Did you hurt yourself?”

“No, no…Blue and I talked.”

“He can talk.”, sassed Sokka in between.

All ignored him.

“Blue wants to give you something Katara.”, told Hua.

Now all were curious.

Blue took something out of his pocket and gave it to Katara.

“It’s my mother's necklace!”, shouted Katara happy. She thought she would never see it again. “Blue where did you find it?!”

“I found it on the prison ship you started a riot with the earthbenders.”, talked Blue for the first time to them.

His voice may have been a bit muffled from his mask, but the other three know this voice well enough.

Sokka got his boomerang ready.

“I know it!”, he shouted. 

Slowly Blue took his mask off...and they looked at Prince Zuko's calm and somewhat defeated face!

Muhahahaha I hope you like the cliffhanger!

I wonder what will now happen? :D

Let me hear your theories!

I hope the next chapter won’t take this long, but if it does please be patient with me and motivate me with comments so I keep on writing :D

Till next time <3

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[rey-jake-therapist]

The Blacklist rewatch, Tom's death and bad motherhood representation

I don't care that most Blacklist fans didn't like Tom, that they hated that Liz took him back instead of dating boring Ressler or old Reddington, I'll always be thankful that he stayed for 4 seasons and a half, and very bitter that he was killed off while he was with Reddington the only true GREY characters of the show, and actually brought something.

I saw someone say the show really turned bad after he died and I'm not far from agreeing.

And I for one think he got a redemption too easily, and that Liz looked very naive believing him after he lied to her about his true identity and his presence in her life since the beginning...

But at the end of the day, there was something very... irresistible.... about this man who was 200% dedicated to this woman and his child, who genuinely wanted to lead a peaceful life with them and who became feral if anyone touched Liz.

And I hadn't realized before, but in the car that brought him and Liz at the hospital, Liz thought that Tom would make it and she would die.... and he just begged her to stay with him, because he couldn't live without her. And then she closed her eyes and he thought her dead. That's when he lost the will to live and died at the hospital, while HE WAS SUPPOSED TO MAKE IT! And I'm supposed to be ok? Duh.

What I can't, WON'T accept is that Liz just abandoned her daughter for months to live alone in the woods and mourn Tom there. I'm sorry but no mother in her right mind would leave a one year old baby she couldn't t see for 10 months under the care of a woman who's..... A fucking criminal no less?! Tom's mother, who wasn't even his mom for 30 years and who had never seen the baby before! Only a man could have put this shit out of his ass. At least she could have asked Harold Cooper, who she said was the closest to a father she ever had...

Or no, she should just have never abandoned her daughter at all. The excuses "I'm too angry", it's bs. What's sadder is that it's only the first of a long list of bad choices that Liz did with her daughter. And just like Liz was better off without her deadbeat mother Katarina, Agnes was way safer without Liz. I just can't understand how the writers thought it was a good idea to write Liz this way...

In my opinion, Agnes was a mistake. A BIG one. Once she was born it was clear that the writers had no idea what to do with this baby, and as a result she was basically absent all the time because her parents were too busy doing.... anything else than parents are supposed to be doing! It's a really shame that they gave this "bad mother" angle to Liz, because without that, I LOVED "Darth Lizzie". I loved that she turned dark at last, that she stopped being always nice and pretty and boring, with her weird mood regarding Reddington that changed all the time, and made her very inconsistent as a character.

I was like, "let her do bad things, yeah!! but... the kid?"

[crossdressingdeath]

Jaheira: Dark dreams? Jaheira: I think I can guess. Visions of blood on your hands. The blood in your veins, perhaps. Jaheira: For all the gifts Bhaal's children inherit - a peaceful night's sleep is not among them. Kyvir: How could you possibly know? Jaheira: I've slept beside a Bhaalspawn before. I know the signs - the dreams, the urges... the power. Jaheira: And so I come to ask: what did it take for you to earn that Slayer-skin you hide so well? Kyvir: Innocent blood. As innocent as my own: I have no control over when my body kills. Jaheira: I have spent my life fighting your father in whatever form he chose to take. By rights, I should cut you down here. Jaheira: But that would be a mercy. One you have not earned. Jaheira: You are twice-tainted, yes. But whatever you have done - you might yet serve the good. Jaheira: Whatever its source, the Slayer form is a weapon like any other. And if you mean to master it, I know where you must go. Jaheira: To face the other of your kind - Orin. So long as the other lives, neither of you can claim your full power. Kyvir: And what will become of me, if I beat her? Jaheira: Show daddy dear that you alone choose your fate. You are a child of Bhaal - but that need not be all that you are. Jaheira: And when you stand against him, you will not stand alone. Kyvir: What if I slip out of control again? You will kill me? Jaheira: You will be protected. Even from yourself. Jaheira: For now, rest. Sleep escapes me, so I might as well take the watch. Narrator: *You rest with the knowledge that you are being watched over. Or indeed, guarded.*

The plot thickens! I love how Jaheira confronts you about being Bhaalspawn the same night you remember it, it's like she was waiting.

I assume the bit about Jaheira having slept beside a Bhaalspawn before is a reference to the Throne of Bhaal DLC from BG2? Something from one of the earlier games, anyway. So, y'know, not gonna get into it. I'll probably have more to say when I actually play the earlier games, but for now I'm gonna leave it at... that's probably a reference, that's cool. And of course Karlach also brings up that Jaheira was involved in the Bhaalspawn Crisis when you first meet her, so there's also an explanation here for people who haven't played the first two games as to why Jaheira would have personal experience with them. I wonder if they partially brought Jaheira (or at least a member of the BG2 cast) back because she had that personal experience with Bhaalspawn that would allow her to call Durge out? It would be a bit of a missed opportunity if no one in the group could recognize Durge for what they are, after all.

That aside, it's interesting to me that Jaheira considers killing Durge a mercy. I suspect that's also context I'm missing from having started with the third game, but if it's important and not just her own opinion on the Bhaalspawn I'm sure it'll come up here. I'm also fascinated by how she decides they haven't "earned" that "mercy" yet; if they haven't earned it because they've been a naughty little murderer (which Kyvir has), then she's not killing them when they've proved themselves to be actively dangerous, which seems odd.

It's also very good that while Jaheira clearly isn't exactly comfortable with the idea of adventuring with a Bhaalspawn—especially since in this run Kyvir's killed enough to earn the Slayer form—she also has a certain degree of sympathy for them. She thinks they're dangerous and possibly outright evil, but she also clearly thinks that they are capable of choosing their own path instead of just being loyal to their father! She probably will try to kill them if they don't turn on their father and choose to help him with his apocalyptic plans, but if they instead choose to fight for the future of Faerûn against their father she and the rest of the group will have their back, even if it means fighting Bhaal himself. She also doesn't tell the group about Durge being Bhaalspawn; you can do it yourself, but it doesn't look like Jaheira has any intention of spilling the beans at least at this point. It's really very kind of her to leave that up to them, although it remains to be seen how long she'll keep quiet about it.

And it's interesting that she's also encouraging them to claim the Slayer's full power; I don't know if the Slayer comes up in any of the games she's in (don't tell me), but it doesn't necessarily seem wise to encourage someone who's already so tied to Bhaal and who clearly has at least some desire to please him hardwired into them from their past, whatever the details of that past are, to go after more power from him. But hey, she knows more about the Bhaalspawn than I do, maybe it's fine. I mean, the Slayer's power will definitely come in handy, provided Durge can keep it under control; maybe she's decided that the risks associated with a Bhaalspawn actively seeking out their father's power while they're fighting Bhaal are worth the reward of having a Slayer with all Bhaal's available power behind it on their side. It's also very interesting that that's how it works; Bhaal can't or won't grant full power to any of his children if there's more than one alive? I guess that might explain why he went from sending a whole army of his children in to do his bidding to having two known children and setting one to kill the other.

Also: don't think I missed how Jaheira doesn't actually give a straight answer when Durge asks if she'll kill them if they slip again. Killing them could be covered under protecting them from themselves, if protecting them from themselves includes protecting them from the atrocities they could commit if they lose control.

[biblioflyer]

How Picard should end.

The very probable end of The Next Generation is coming and with it the beginning of the end of the first phase of the revival of Star Trek that began with Discovery. Here's what I'm thinking about.

As I write this, the final episodes of Season Three, the series, and perhaps even this sub-franchise are coming into view. I refer to it as a sub-franchise because I think that Picard as a series has a storytelling approach and a set of themes that it has explored that overlap with Discovery but also has its own identity.

Because of the age of many of the principal characters, there has been a strong theme of having to adjust with grace and empathy to a world radically changed from what was normal and comfortable to you, having to acknowledge your complicity in the faults you find in this world, and of repairing relationships that have been harmed. 

Immersing myself in where Picard has been as a series, even just the first four episodes to date, has given me a strong sense of what it is that Picard is about and thus some strong, but not pugnaciously held opinions on how it should end. The failure to do any of the following will not “ruin” the series for me, although the alternatives better be really well done.

For the first time of the CBS era, I actually really feel strongly that my own aesthetics could be defied and I will still really enjoy the outcome. For example I despise the trope that Jack Crusher represents but the trope has been so superbly executed that I’m almost annoyed at how completely I’m in his corner.

Speaking of Jack Crusher….

I would strongly prefer he not be written off as a space god or killed. For one, this is just Wesley’s arc duplicated. For two, while “NuTrek” is doing a great job at moderating the setting’s default posture that transhumanism is bad, it feels too cliche and even cheap in a way for him to vanish into the aether. Let him live, as a mortal, trying to do right by all of the people who fought and died for him not because he was a space god, but because it was right. 

We’ve had three seasons of intense focus on the deeds of mortal and fallible individuals struggling to know what is right in a morally complicated universe, taking huge risks, and even sacrificing stability, family, love, peace, sobriety, and even their own lives: don’t end this with space magic. Don’t do another “space magic makes it all better so nobody really ever had skin in the game” ending.

Speaking of Wesley, having the two meet would provide a nice bit of closure for Beverly. It would bookend nicely with her line about already having lost one son to the same stars that call Jean luc.

Seven of Nine & Raffi

On again or off again, just pick a lane and make them handle it like adults.

As I’ve said before, I see two equally valid paths for Seven assuming it's handled properly. Seven can remain in Starfleet, her acceptance earned and her merits recognized by all but especially by Shaw. Ideally were this to be the case, I think I would like to see her take up Picard’s mantle of mentor to misfits.

There isn’t a character who is better positioned narratively in this series to become the person who sees something in people that others don’t and can find ways to take the round hole that is Starfleet and make it a square hole for the people who need it.

Or she can walk away and reclaim her full autonomy. Go back to the Fenris Rangers or go into Starfleet Intelligence.

As for Raffi, the past two seasons have intensely focused on the work the character was doing to first recover from addiction and then reclaim her mental health and with that the ability to have relationships without either her need to chase mysteries or the desire for control alienating those around her. It's time for Raffi’s work to be seen by others and to be supported. 

In the first season it was entirely fair for her son to refuse contact: she was too much a creature of her substance abuse and her obsessiveness. Now? Cut her some slack and let her show that she’s mastered the thing that makes her the hero no one is prepared to recognize that they need until it's too late but also makes her the villain in her own life.

I would merrily support a Worf & Raffi spy action buddy cop series. Seven, Jack, Laris, and anyone else unaccounted for who is not really a good fit for traditional ship service can come too if they want. A Star Trek answer to Firefly or The Expanse would be incredibly fascinating with good writing. Given the way Star Trek Picard has been critiquing the limits of institutional power in dealing with the unknown or morally complicated situations, I think the time is right. 

Perhaps this could be the Section 31 series instead of a 23rd century era one. Just have the Guardian of Forever send Georgiou to where she’s needed rather than where she belongs. She’d be a great foil for Zen Worf and the morally flexible but not that morally flexible Raffi.

Section 31 are bad guys, full stop.

Speaking of Section 31, either confirm that Section 31 has been disbanded and formally disavowed or that it had its Church Committee hearings and been folded back into Starfleet Intelligence with strong oversight and strong guard rails. Putting Worf and Raffi front and center in it would afford an opportunity to show that it is possible to address existential threats to the Federation without genocide or the intervention of space gods. 

It's really only been after seeing Discovery recycle the same deus ex ending, only worse, that I have come to realize that the way Deep Space Nine finished the Dominion War arc really, really rubs me the wrong way. My list of things that I think are completely antithetical to the core assumptions of Star Trek is not long, but the Federation being saved not once, but twice by attempted genocide is definitely on that list. 

Don’t get me wrong, Deep Space Nine is probably the most overall well executed series from the point of view of nearly every aspect of the show being consistently competent, but falling back on Section 31 to save the Federation? Not a fan of that.

Romance

I am not on the Bev/JL train. It had its time. For all the ways that Star Trek Picard has been in conversation with critiques of TNG’s very 1990s “end of history” worldview, one thing that was superbly managed was the idea that Beverly and Jean luc could try out a romance, realize it doesn’t work, and then be content with a strong bond that doesn’t need to express itself romantically. It was incredibly, shockingly mature for a 1990s drama.

This show did not kill off Zhabon and an ancestor of Laris for Laris to be killed off or to politely step aside.

Maybe Bev is happy being unpartnered. How about them apples? Maybe a senior woman is perfectly self actualized on her own and can take or leave romance.

This is probably one of the looming plot resolutions I am the most likely to be actually angered by if it doesn’t go the way I would prefer and it isn’t handled extremely well.

Once again, do not fridge Laris to make room for Beverly. 

That would easily make my list of the top five most appalling creative decisions of this show and this is coming from someone who has invested quite a bit of effort into defending and rationalizing its other controversial decisions. Having her step aside with her life and dignity is less distasteful but still frustrating.

The Federation and Shaw

Follow through with the overall theme from season one that institutions solve big problems but rules are not there to follow mindlessly. Conscience matters as does doing the right thing even when you are fearful. 

It may not be fair to ask 500 people to risk their lives for four people who have deliberately chosen to put themselves in harm’s way on a fool’s errand, but then when does it become fair? Does it have to be 501 lives on the line to be worth 500? How morally virtuous do the victims need to be? 

Smaller, more nimble actors don’t have to make these trades. The Mugato in the room is the Maquis. They could easily have provoked war but they did also provide a means by which Federation citizens who wanted their autonomy could contest Cardassian oppression without exposing the Federation to the specter of war  if the Federation failed to ensure their well being.

Also when and if a bad call is made out of anger, fear, or incomplete knowledge of the situation, how the consequences of that decision are addressed matter.

The Federation abandoned the Romulans. As did Picard himself. Picard accepted responsibility in Season One. The Federation extended its protection over Maddox & Soong’s Synth colony but there’s no mention of any peacekeeping or humanitarian efforts for Romulans who have rejected “the old ways.”

Finally, Shaw has his reasons and this series has been nothing if not incredibly nuanced in how it invokes trauma and uses it in a way to explain but not justify the behavior of characters. A theme I have thought about a lot in the context of Captain Marvel is the way that coping mechanisms for trauma often encourage self reliance and aloofness to the extreme. In Shaw’s own words “at some point asshole became a substitute for charm.” I would argue that the final stage of healing would be to become a team player who is capable of forging authentic relationships built on mutual trust and respect.

Now I do think this is coming in the form of a sincere working relationship with Seven but I would prefer it be extended beyond Seven. For Shaw to accept Seven as Seven is a good start but everyone is capable of accepting “one of the good ones.” Some sort of broader recognition that it's on him to swallow his terror and rage, it's not on every single XB to prove they’re not going to assimilate him.

Other characters / elements

BBEG: (Big Bad Evil Guy) I don’t know that I’m necessarily hoping for anything or anyone in particular. Armus would be cool. He’s one of the last entities on the board with an axe to grind who could conceivably be a credible menace to Changelings and shares some of their mercurial nature. 

The alien parasites would be neat as well. That that has long gone unresolved is a longstanding gripe but I feel like the time may have passed. Thematically the Changelings have more or less eaten their lunch when it comes to replacing people and intricate conspiracies. At this point, I think it would be just as well to retcon the infiltrators as having been an early effort by the Changelings to infiltrate other societies without exposing themselves to danger. The Founders certainly have the genetic engineering acumen to design a parasite species.

Elnor: at least mention him as existing, if not give the character some proper closure. Show him thriving in Starfleet and having a good relationship with Picard and Raffi as mentors and surrogate parents, explicitly connect Picard’s experiences with Elnor as a child and his effort to repair his relationship with Elnor as having been a practice run for Jack and the recognition that Jean luc would not have been his father as a parent.

Or show him choosing to leave Starfleet for the Rangers or even just to lead a quiet life of study and meditation. That’s cool too.

Jiurati: if the big bad is the Borg or related to them somehow, it would be cool to see Jiurati’s faction sweep in to help defeat them. Otherwise maybe one more reference would be nice.

The Admiral Janeway cameo is long overdue.

It would be nice for Worf to mention Alexander and Jadzia. Perhaps in the context of giving advice to Raffi on love, life, pursuing rapprochement after being an absentee parent, and living with the knowledge that your life choices place partners in existential danger. It would be a great way to cement their dualistic role this season rather than having Raffi be Worf’s sidekick.

Don’t fridge Tuvok. Find him safely.

Oh yeah, there's also JL himself.

We don't need to have Picard die on screen (again.) As far as I'm concerned Logan is all I'll ever need for Patrick Stewart death scenes. Its just too hard to contemplate. I consider the character of Picard to be a father figure and I'd kind of just prefer that he gets to be happy. I'd like for him to get good with Elnor and Jack.

"I tried so very hard to belong to this place."

Maybe pass the vineyard on as a national park that is Picard in name only. We all know his real home is in the stars. Putting him to work leading a Romulan humanitarian NGO that relies on his Starfleet contacts and credibility is I think the perfect bookend to how the series began with his despair over the Federation's failure and the ongoing interrogation of whether Starfleet is the only legitimate or appropriate entity for solving problems in the universe.